Globe trotting around the country

A handful of companies have created destination races, such as the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon.

But you can create your own destination event by running a race during your travels.

It's fun to show off t-shirts that you've earned in races outside of your home region.

Some race directors also have a whole lot of fun with their prizes, too.

Take the Hit the Bricks 5K in Fort Worth, Texas. They give out bricks—with a name plate attached—to age-group winners.

The Rhino Romp 3K at the Brevard County, Fla., Zoo gives out stuffed rhinos to age-group winners. They also have great Brooks tech shirts with a cute rhino on the front.

With the Web, it's easy to find lists of races for just about anywhere in the United States.

RunningInTheUSA is a good site to begin your search, since you can click on a state to find more local races.

If you don't see anything that appeals to you there, try a google search, using words such as, "Naples, Florida, running race calendar."

Google typically pulls up local running clubs and timing companies and their race schedules.

So the next time one of your friends calls you a globe-trotter, they just might be right.

World Masters Athletic Championships—all but ignored

The World Masters Athletic Championships, held July 6-17 in Sacramento, is kind of like an Olympics for slightly older runners.

(In track and field, masters is anybody 35 years or older.) They even have a participant who is 101 years old.

As you walk around, you hear a multitude of languages, from the Portuguese of Brasil (as they spell it) to Norwegian from Norge.

But when the runners step on the track, any difference in languages disappear.

They're here for one thing, and one thing only—to do their best with the hopes of bringing home a medal.

What's sad is the event attracted more than 5,000 participants. Yet many of the businesses around Sac State  University and Sac City College didn't know about it.

Sure, nearby restaurant employees wondered why they saw more customers and more customers who spoke different languages. But they didn't know why.

During the morning distance events one day at Sac City College, the stands were nearly empty except for a few friends who had come to watch.

The local television stations had a blurb or two at the beginning of the events July 6. But coverage was scant to non-existant after that.

You'd think with the football and basketball lock-outs going on, local t.v. sports would clamor for stories about inspirational athletes.

Take Ed Whitlock, the 80-something runner who continues to shatter age-group records. Whitlock, who calls Canada his home, ran a sub-3-hour marathon when he was 70.

If this is the type of reception that a major sporting event draws in Sacramento, it's no wonder why they have a hard time attracting events.

Each to his or her own

There are some who say that you're not a "real" runner unless you've completed a marathon.

Most of the time, this opinion is expressed by someone who focuses on the longer distances and not the shorter ones.

And I beg to differ with them.

Each distance, whether it's a 5K, a 10K or beyond, takes a different type of training. And each carries with it a different type of pain and suffering.

If you blow away a 5K in 18 minutes, are you a better runner than someone who takes 6-plus hours to complete a marathon?

Are you less of a runner if you complete a marathon barely under the cutoff compared to someone who runs a sub-3-hour pace?

Each person tends to have a picture of what a runner is in his or her mind.

Don't burst their bubble.

It might be that the best runner of all—or at least the smartest—is the one who keeps his or her mouth shut if the subject comes up.

Give me Five! Fingers, that is

It seems wherever you go nowadays, you see someone wearing Vibram Five Fingers (they look like gloves for the feet) minimalist running shoes.

Or "barefoot sports shoes," as Vibram bills them.

I even saw a guy wearing them to a restaurant with his girlfriend/SO in Colorado recently.

Many people I know are trying them out—some with undesirable consequences.

So should you get on the minimalistic bandwagon?

Probably not, says Matt Fitzgerald, a certified sport nutritionalist, long-time competitive runner and author.

Injuries related to this fad are up significantly, with the difficult-to-overcome plantar faciitis accounting for 90 percent of them.

In the shoed population, PF accounts for only about 10 percent of all injuries.

If you're doing fine with shoes, why fix something if it ain't broke, as they say.

If you're having problems running with shoes, chances are you may have more problems with the minimalistic approach.

You may have poor foot stability, poor biomechanics or a body that' s just not cut out for pounding the pavement mile after mile.

Even if you do decide to proceed, approach it very slowly, like you SHOULD any new type of training.

Maybe even starting with just 1 minute of running in the new shoe-like coverings and work slowly up from there.

Me? I think I'll stick with real shoes.

2011 Modesto Classic

The Modesto Classic 5K was the first race I ran in Modesto, and it's still one of my favorites.

This year it's May 28 in Modesto's Tuolumne Park on the south end of town. The event features a 1-mile and certified 5K as well as a free 800-meter kids' fun run.

Except for about a quarter mile in the 5K, the events are run entirely in the park. That means very few encounters with traffic.

The course is mostly shady and goes along the Tuolumne River. There's only about a quarter to half mile near the Modesto airport that's in the sun. So it makes for a great run regardless of the weather.

The course also is fast. So if you're shooting for a P.R., check this one out.

Visit http://www.cvrunning.com/calendar.htm for more info.