When you go to the nutrition/energy bar section at the store, which brand and flavor do you reach for?

I’ve tried many brands, but I buy Clif bars most often. I support the company’s ethos as well. Chocolate brownie is my favorite flavor. No surprise for someone who likes chocolate.

I know you’re supposed to use energy bars in conjunction with a workout or training, but I sometimes buy them as a snack or treat. They’ve become a substitute for candy bars.

I used to buy Luna bars a lot, and I was very worried that I’d be stopped at the check stand or told to take my business elsewhere.

However, not once was I caught, and I often gave myself a fist pump after walking out because I’d gotten away with something. As you can see in the below photo, the phrase under LemonZest tells you what I got away with.

On a few occasions when I know I’m going to be in the company of someone I don’t care for, like, say, Sprint McDowell, I choose the berry-flavored Power Bar. Because of Its color, it looks like a giant tongue after being properly shaped, and it’s easy to show displeasure.

Turning to another topic, after today, my post schedule will change. I’ve been doing a new post once a week, published on Sunday evening. From now on, I’m going to do them intermittently, without a sticking to a schedule. I Must Run Everywhere has been on-line for over two years now, and though I like writing posts, I’m getting a little tired.

As I’ve done before, I will offer refunds if you feel you’re being short-changed. Mail your request to me, and if I receive it within 10 days, I will double your refund!

So…okay…here’s the deal; I’m looking for someone to run with. It’s not race related or intense training. Just everyday running for exercise. You, my fine reader, might be just the person.

However, there’s one big issue I have to bring up. If we’re about to head out and you say, “I think I”d rather walk today,” we’re gonna have problems. When it’s time to run, we must run.

I have an equal opportunity running partner policy. I will not discriminate against any applicant based on gender, race, religion and all those other things except one. If you happen to look like Petra, or are Petra, you’re hired on the spot.

My running partner must be able to run three to eight miles a few times per week. You should run at the same pace as me, but if you pull ahead for a short time, that’s okay. If you get way ahead of me, I get really mad, and I won’t talk to you the rest of the day.

Now, about myself: I’m an excellent running partner. I’ve won many awards for being a nice guy and an unbelievably thoughtful individual. I’m very good at staying on the right side of the street, and I have an uncanny ability to see cars coming.

Also, I’m really friendly. Just look at me smiling. It’s not a fake smile either.

Please take a moment to fill out the four-question application below. Perhaps you and I will soon be running together through the streets of Spokane.

1)  Do you like running?     A___     B___     C___     D___

2)  Are you a girl or a boy?     Yes___     No___

3)  Do you enjoy conversation?  I think so___  Yes, if available___  I talk nonstop___

4)  I’m scared of dogs. If one chases us, will you take care of the situation and comfort me afterward?

A fellow member of several Spokane running clubs told me recently that distance running has a unique camaraderie compared to other sports.

Rich Goggin ran track years ago as a high school student, but he also played football well enough to be courted by college football coaches.

Rich Goggin, a member of several Spokane running clubs.

He says there isn’t the level of camaraderie among football players like there is among distance runners.

I never played high school football, so I can’t confirm this, but I feel distance runners do have a unique camaraderie. Maybe it’s just the nature of running to feel a comradeship with other runners. Also, perhaps since distance running is less popular and visible compared to the major sports, coaches have less pressure to produce. Could be this lower intensity, combined with the downtime at practices and meets, allows quirkiness and off-beat humor to be expressed more easily.

Though I could give a bunch of examples of camaraderie-building goofiness, I’ll detail just one.

In high school, the track and field distance team was on a run, and we came across a pack of cigarettes laying in the street. I suggested we pick them up and smoke them in the locker room, because I thought it’d be so funny if coach discovered the distance runners had taken up smoking.

The rest of the track team had finished their workouts and gone home. We knew coach had a meeting and would come back later to lock up, so we lit up and filled the locker room with a thick haze of blue smoke. We dropped the butts on the floor, grinded them out and left them there.

Our coach had a sense of humor, and we had a great rapport with him. However, he didn’t say anything to us the next day. It had me thinking it was such a minor thing, he’d already forgotten about it, so I inquired what he thought about the distance runners’ new habit.

Of course, he didn’t believe we’d taken up smoking, but he complained about having to clean up the locker room.