In a post last year, Mysterious Animal in my Front Yard, I wrote about a creature that took up residence in my front yard. Even though many people don’t believe they exist, I’ve concluded the animal is Sasquatch, also known as Bigfoot.

My efforts to catch sight of the Sasquatch have failed over the months – until now. Last week I was doing a run on my front yard running paths when I collided with something that knocked me to the ground.

I couldn’t understand what happened because there was nothing in my path to collide with. When I looked back, I had the shock of my life. Standing not ten feet away was Sasquatch, glaring at me. My front yard cam captured the image below.

The stare down lasted but a moment – the Sasquatch darted away, and by the time I got to my feet, he had vanished. I was mystified how he could appear and then disappear so quickly. It’s like Sasquatch have magical powers. Unfortunately, he was just outside the viewing range of my front yard camera.

It’s hard keeping such an amazing experience to myself. However, when I tell others, I’m mystified yet again. You’d think my eye witness account would result in astonishment and follow up questions. Instead people laugh or act like I’m trying to pull a fast one on ’em.

In the below photo, my amazing Sasquatch experience is causing fellow members of the Manito Running Club, Madeline Reich and Mike Tonkyn, to laugh non-stop.

Madeline laughed so hard she got a stomach ache. I heard Mike laughing on and off the entire run.

I’ve been nicknamed Sasquatch Jim, and asked when I’m going to get to the bottom of other mysteries like the Loch Ness Monster and aliens. This infuriates me. How can I solve the Loch Ness monster mystery? I don’t live in Scotland. And why would Sasquatch Jim take on aliens? I have no reason to get involved with aliens unless I saw them living in my front yard.

If I happen to run into any of you readers, I’ll expect the utmost in respect and consideration as I tell my story. If not, Sasquatch Jim will get very, very, angry.

Used to be I didn’t carry any sort of device while running. However, because I really want to be a fancy boy, I’ve positioned myself at the forefront of a new trend – carrying binoculars while running. More about this in a minute.

A couple women once complimented me for not getting sucked into carrying a GPS unit. They said sometimes the pleasure of running is lessened by giving so much attention to all the stats a device gives.

I had to deflect the compliment because not carrying a GPS unit is mostly because I lack initiative. Sometimes I am interested in the pace or how far it was, and I’ll ask someone I ran with who has one.

Usually though, judging my pace and distance works for me, and I can often be pretty close. It’s only recently that I finally started using any kind of device – a headlamp for nighttime running.

However, for those who insist on using electrical devices while running, you should be aware of an issue that could upend your life if you overdo it.

Several years ago I wrote a post about how Amy Smet DePaolo, a former, running club regular, used multiple electrical devices while running. Her bio-rhythms got enmeshed with the electrical fields of all her devices, and she morphed into a droid-like state, abandoning her family and becoming a solitary, elusive, bio-electrical unit. You can read about this disturbing incident by clicking Gadgets Take Over Runner. Friends Say She’s No Longer Human.

In a post from earlier this year, How to Become a Really Slow Runner, I detailed how I’ve slowed down immensely. This is the real reason I run with binoculars – not because I’m trying to be a fancy boy.

When I’m unfamiliar with the route at a running club get-together, and I’ve fallen way behind everyone else, I can keep the group in sight. This prevents me from losing my way and becoming lost.

Several times over the past few weeks, I’ve been awoken in the middle of the night by an animal in my front yard grunting and making high-pitched howls.

I transformed my front yard from lawn to native vegetation about 15 years ago. I also made paths so that when I want to go for a run out in the country, I head to my front yard.

I really wanted wildlife in my front yard wilderness, so I hired a consultant, Ruby Redpepper. To evaluate its suitability, she used a cat-like animal native to South Africa that’s an indicator of habitat quality. To my delight, she explained that despite the small size of my yard, it’s so high-quality, a concentrated diversity of wildlife will thrive.

She was right. Over the years I added animals that she suggested. With binoculars in hand, I did a day-long hike hoping to find out what mysterious animal has made a home in my yard.

I was able to get photos of a few animals. I saw several deer. This one lives near my front porch.

I came across a marmot. He lives just outside my bedroom window.

A red-tail hawk has a nest in one of my pine trees. He’s often perched on an old TV antennae on my roof looking for a meal.

I saw a snake near the front curb.

Then I came across the remains of a rabbit. I knew just the person who could identify the predator that got it.

I guessed it was a coyote or fox, but after examining the photo, Ruby Redpepper said a very large and controversial animal did it, but refused to say what.

The remains and the middle-ot-the-night noises were still a mystery, along with why Ruby Redpepper declined to identify the predator. A few days later, I caught a glimpse from the corner of my eye and couldn’t believe what I saw. Searching further, I found evidence I was not imagining things.

This footprint is almost 3 times bigger than mine. Obviously it’s bigfoot. Apparently my front yard wilderness is such terrific habitat a bigfoot was drawn to it. But how did it find my yard?

Several days later, I got my answer when I came across this house less than a mile from mine. I’m guessing the population density got too high and one moved on.

I’d really like to observe my front yard Sasquatch. Like people who put up bird feeders to attract birds, I’m going to put up a Sasquatch feeder by my front window. I’m not sure what Sasquatch eat, but I bet they like fruit. I’ll start with that.

Most runners like to push themselves to get a good time or finish well. Very few choose to meander at a really, really, slow pace. It’s boring, and it takes a long time. If you’re in a race, finishing after the finish line fixtures have been taken down and nobody’s around is not appealing. Running extremely slow may appear comical to others. And if it’s cold, you can’t generate enough body heat to stay warm.

I’ve been exploring the nooks, crannies, and pits of being a slow runner, and I’m not even intentional about it. An unavoidable consequence of aging, I keep hoping I can overcome it and still be kinda fast, sometimes.

Some days, not only do I run slow, I have a hard time just running. There’s no injury, pain or fatigue from a recent workout. My age has caused my body to sometimes have a negative reaction to running. Almost always I do a warm-up before a running group run. Despite my very slow warm-up pace, the resistance can be so great, and I feel so lousy, I have to walk, hoping the break will help me feel better. This can happen multiple times during my warm-up. It’s especially bad on morning runs as I’m not a morning person.

Even after my warm-up, it’s not unusual during the group run for me to see someone running really slow, and it really strikes me how slow they’re going, yet they’re ahead of me and pulling away. It’s demoralizing.

Yet sometimes I can run at a decent pace for someone who’s 66 years old. This brings me hope my running can stay satisfying enough that I’ll continue to run. However, there have been times I felt so lousy that If it became the norm, I’d give up or drastically reduce my running.

On the plus side, I realized I’ve done enough slow running that I’ve become well-qualified to teach runners who want to learn how to run really slow. This has turned into a neat opportunity, and for the past several months I’ve been working on the most effective methods for teaching this skill. Now I’m ready to offer instruction.

If you’d like to enter my program, you’ll find there’s much more to running very slow than you’d imagined. Becoming proficient may cause you to happily dedicate yourself to lifelong slow running. However, after joining my program, you’ll be asked to work on a couple mental barriers that must be overcome. These are non-negotiable requirements:

• An attitude often used when doing a job or task – I’m making good progress must be eliminated from your mindset and replaced with It’s hard to tell if I’m making any progress.
• Doing something with the idea that it won’t take long must change to This is going to take a long, long time.

My program involves both in-class study and field work. Analyzing video is key. Below is one sample that both inspires participants and shows what’s possible by the end of the program.

I contacted Washington State University, submitted my curriculum, and it has been accepted, and my course is certified. It will be offered at the WSU Spokane campus beginning next semester. For those of you interested in learning how to run really, really slow, I look forward to seeing you soon.

It’s been awhile since I Must Run Everywhere had a quiz. Sprint McDowell, former host of the quiz show Race to Win was the source of my previous quiz posts, but he had to resign in disgrace. Sprint is pictured below after receiving news his improprieties had become known.

So I’ll come up with the questions and the topic is Spokane Running Clubs. Readers who live out of the area may feel disadvantaged because you live out of the area. However, like Sprint McDowell use to do, I’ll embed clues in the questions to give you outside individualists a chance to win a gold star.

Good luck~ I hope all of you finish in a tie for first!

Question 1 – Name the granddaddy of all Spokane running clubs that was started by a guy named Peter in 2006 and has spawned a bunch of other running clubs over the years.

A.) Acme Running Club

B.) A-1 Running and Fitness

C.) ABC Running Club

D). Flying Irish

Question 2 – Ben Bersagel started a group in 2016 that meets Wednesday evenings at the below location in downtown Spokane. Name this running group.

A.) Brick Building Running Group

B.) The Bersagel Running Co-op.

C.) Iron Goat Running Club

Question 3 – Aric Trantum started the Beer and Blisters Running Club that meets Sunday mornings for a 10-mile run. How did he come up with the name Beer and Blisters?

A.) It’s a truncated version of the meet up location, a coffee shop/bakery named, oddly, Bread, Brownies, Bagels, Beer and Blisters.

B.) One day Aric was popping a blister on his foot and beer shot out.

C.) A name concocted with a pair of words many runners associate with running.

Question 4 – Jody Shapiro, pictured below, started the Manito Running Club in 2008 which meets year-round on Saturday mornings. Where do they meet?

A.) The Vista House at the top of Mt. Spokane.

B.) Down by the river, under the bridge.

C.) At the 18th Ave. entrance to Manito Park.

Question 5 – The Brick West Running Club, started by Joey Addington, has had 3 names since it was originally established as C:/Next IT/Run in 2011 by Jeff Schuster. Why the name changes?

A.) The group had to enter the running club witness protection program.

B.) Next IT, an artificial intelligence software firm where Jeff worked, asked him to change the name because forward slashes had become uncool.

C.) The Monterey Cafe, where the group met, took over sponsorship and the group’s name from Next IT. Eventually Monterey management ceased sponsorship, and Joey found a new home at Brick West in 2021.

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A quick break and a confession – I have an ulterior motive for doing this quiz. I know with 100% certainty that I’ll be hearing from Sprint McDowell. He’ll blow his top when he finds out I did a quiz post when previously he did them for me. It’s comical watching him lose his temper. Sprint talks so fast that he uses the wrong words, mispronounces them and his facial expressions are hilarious. It’s great entertainment. Here’s Sprint getting mad at me during a Zoom interview when I “accidentally” called him Spuds McDowell.

Okay, on to Question 6 – For years, Dominic Bartoletta (pictured below) has made the inflated claim that the group he manages, Run Perry Run Club, might be the 4th best running group in Spokane. How does he justify this extravagant boast?

A.) There’s no justification. It’s a profusion of preposterous wishful thinking.

B.) A runner once told Dominic that she rates his group somewhere between 4th and 15th best on her personal scale. Dominic took the high-end rating for his frequent online promotions.

C.) Conor Craigen, co-manager of the Run Perry Run group, made it up and Dominic believes him.

D.) A local weekly, The Inlander, published an informal readers’ poll for best running clubs. Run Perry Run was not among the top 3 named. With self-deprecating humor, Dominic came up with the slogan, Quite possibly, the 4th best run club in the city.

Question 7 – Which running club meets Monday evening in Spokane Valley?

A.) The Palisades Running Club whose founder, the intensely lazy Brett Danielson, doesn’t even get off his couch to attend club get-togethers. Members meet at his house.

B) The Millwood Milers, managed by Lisa Skay and Sadeen McAlister. Running routes are posted on social media not in miles, but kilometers. The group should change its name to The Millwood Kilometerers.

C.) The Green Bluff Running Club whose founder, Jim Dietz, settled on a barn in a rural area north of town for post-run socializing. The building by happy chance houses Big Barn Brewing Company.

D.) The Spokane Valley Running Club, started by David Blythe, meets at The Monkey Bar. With a bison logo mascot, incorporating animals into group identity should be taken a step further with members called gazelles and David being Head Gazelle.

Question 8 – The SoHi Running Group use to meet Mondays at Miguels Mexican Restaurant on 29th. Their use of the restaurant was revoked. Why did Miguels take this action?

A.) Group members’ tradition of wearing oversized sombreros at the post-run gathering knocked servers’ trays to the floor, poked customers in the eyes and damaged hanging light fixtures too often.

B.) An ongoing dispute with the rival Highlander Running Group, started by Eric and Summer Enser, which also meets on the South Hill, resulted in frequent post run brawls in the Miguels parking lot.

C.) During the pandemic, Miguels halted inside service. Since reopening, business is down and being open on Mondays is not yet feasible.

Question 9 – Greg Wallweber started a group in 2016 called Tuesday Off Season Running Group. What is the basis for this group’s name?

A.) Originally named Thursday Off Season Running Group, several weeks of comments and explanations by members finally convinced Greg he had misnamed the group which always meets on Tuesdays.

B.) In Greg’s own tangled words: “Tuesday and Thursday are major days. But which is more majorer in the off season? That’s a hard decision especially when Monday is a close 2nd and Saturday is really improving. Suddenly Wednesday looks like a winner.”

C.) When the Run Perry Run group ends organized runs at the annual autumnal time change, the Off Season Tuesday group starts up for diehard winter runners.

That’s it. if you guessed the last answer given for each question, you got a 100%. I have a wall chart hanging in my office. Email me your name and I’ll write it in and affix a gold star after your name.

The groups in this quiz can be characterized as social running goups. A few small social groups weren’t mentioned, as well as ones whose main focus is competitive racing. The Bloomsday Road Runners Club, which puts on a bunch of races and has been involved in many aspects of the local running community, has been around since 1978.

Finally, now that this post is online, I see a notification requesting me to join a meeting. I’ve devised a way to look in as the “inviter” waits for me to join. Here’s a screen shot. See…just like I predicted. It’s Sprint McDowell, and he looks very, very mad.

The minute I join this meeting, Sprint will go into a tirade. This is going to be fun.

There’s problem I been halfing with grammar, spelling and choosing the right words due because of head injury obtained while during a run. I cant wait for completely 100 percentage of recovery as it’s time to do post, so qwality of writings might be more lower compared of previous. Please bare with myself as I inspect “Dumb Jim” to improv back to old self in short periods of time.

For this post, I write the things that going on lately which not earth shattering, just ordinary stuff of dally life.

First, I continue the running even with injuries of the head. Proof is availeble in below photoshot.

I invention new sandwich. I cut the tofu into slice. Onions and pickles too. Cheese already cut into slice. Add thyme and the miners lettuce from gardon. Dried and ground serrano pepper add the heat but you may substitution the store-bought red pepper flakes. I disbelief at grate taste.

A common wildfire grows my front yard.

Name is arrowleaf balsamroot. You see many these wildfire in forest around the town, but few in yard of the houses. They hard to start, but I started after some tries.

The cat Gloopy and me relationship become contentious.

She 20 years age and become more demanding. She used to meow rarely but now she meow loudly for eats and speshal treatment and wants now. I refuse the coddling of kitty cats so I fight back. It like battle but Gloopy must be regular cat not royal one.

I anger at electricity power tool for cutting the face due because on/off switch failure.

Less than 4 year old but period of guarantee defunct. I email maker – works grate but i decide exchange to new brand due because short life. E-mail disappear. It send? I anger more. I phone 8 hundreds number. Man say email breezed in. Two question later, new unit mailing forth, money charge lacking. Gold medal saluting to Remington of Spectrum Brands.

I write history stories that sure to spread into wildfire or sell for hotcakes.

It availeble at area store spots, but I assembel webbed site for people outside of here for buy. This sentence is link to click for internet transfers to Jim’s webbed site of book info and propaganda.

Webbed site book sale to U.S. houses only. Sorry foreigners of other countries. But if you excursion to Spokane for buy, I will smash 10% off.

Thank-you for visit I Must Run Everywhere. Hoping you half a wonder full day and even more better tomorrows.

Last January, while running on a steep, unlit road at night, I came to a patch of ice. My legs flew up, I landed on my back, and my head whiplashed against the pavement. I was quite dizzy for a minute, but was able to get up and finish the run. Since then, I’m a little dizzy for several seconds whenever I get up from a lying position. I don’t really have problems with my writing, and a CT scan showed I had no injury, but I’m still waiting for the dizziness to go away.

There’s a new mind control facility in Spokane that attracts runners. I decided to go there undercover. It seems to be working quite well as I saw lots of people who look like runners and people I know personally who are runners.

The way it works, the facility stages events that are designed to attract the running crowd. They flock to the site hypnotically, lining up to get inside where they sit obediently, silently watching a “performance” that affects their mood.

Like robotic cheerleaders, they clap hands at certain moments, yell things and then go into a stupor, moving their heads back and forth like watching a bug flying circles in front of them. It disgusts me, yet somehow I was drawn into it, too.

This facility is called The Podium, and what attracts runners are track meets.

It’s brand new, and I’ve already been to two track meets. What makes this place different from the other indoor running tracks in our area is its large size and that it’s a banked track. This allows for fast times, which really appeals to track athletes. Here’s a couple photos of very fast runners at The Podium.

This facility allows big indoor meets to be held in Spokane which couldn’t have happened before. When there is no track meet scheduled, the running track can be dismantled for other sporting events to take place.

One of the meets I watched was the U.S. Indoor Track & Field Championships. The two top finishers in each event qualified for the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. I got to see Cole Hocker, currently the top middle distance runner in the U.S, win two races.

A unique feature that no other track facility has is the Athletes and Fans Interactive Playground in the courtyard. Designed for athletes as a pre-event warm up and for fans needing a break from sitting, it is well used. Mingling is encouraged, and a kiosk with a generous supply of pens and writing paper allows fans to get all the autographs they want.

I think The Podium is a great thing for Spokane. So is the playground which isn’t really a designated warm up area for athletes. It just happens to be close to The Podium in Riverfront Park.

I’ve often written about the numerous awards and honors I’ve received for outstanding running performance. Below are a couple photos from previous ceremonies that left me with a range of feelings, from proud to being so touched that tears flowed like spigots wide open.

Because of the pandemic, I ran on my own for over a year before getting vaccinated. It hasn’t been that long since I resumed participating with running clubs. Not surprisingly, I’ve already moved into the winner’s circle, snagging yet another prestigious running award.

All my previous awards for outstanding running performance were self-awarded, and the ceremony involved just myself, alone at home. In no way, however, does this mean they were not legitimate examples of amazing and exceptional running performance.

In the below photo, I’m with the organizer of Runmas, Kayla Bishop, who presented the trophy I’m holding in my hand. Runmas is a Christmas yard-decoration scavenger hunt for runners. Several teams of 2-4 runners departed from Perry Street Brewing in Spokane with a list of things to find.

My Runmas award differs because I received outside recognition, and there were others present, though I’m not sure they were paying attention.

I’m truly proud how another facet of my running ability has been revealed. Earning the Best Holiday Attire award shows I’m not one dimensional.

No attention should be given to the fact that only a handful of people dressed up. Nor should you think Kayla’s outfit should’ve won her the award. That she declared herself ineligible also is immaterial.

In the days following my victory, I’ve been on cloud nine and can’t stop thinking how well I did. It’s so satisfying to sit at the table and stare at my trophy. I think this will occupy my afternoons at least until the end of the year.

President Joe Biden is proposing a big spending bill to upgrade infrastructure. However, no attention is being shown to a very big community – runners.

I’ve taken up the cause for funding running tracks, running trails, running clubs and importantly, subsidies to bring down the cost of post-run beer for running club members.

I traveled to Washington, D.C. to try to get a meeting with Joe Biden to pitch what I call, “Get a Run for Your Money” economic stimulus and infrastructure improvement plan.

My first stop was the White House. I felt a huge and solemn duty embarking on this quest as a single individual representing all runners nationwide. There are so many hopes resting on my shoulders.

Unfortunately, an armed guard told me it wasn’t time for meeting Joe Biden. Instead it was time for me to leave.

Right after this I found out he was joining a meeting at the Capitol building and was scheduled to be there for just half an hour. I immediately set a hot pace for the Capitol.

When I reached the Capitol building, I swore I could see the President at a window looking out. I gave a wave.

It appeared he noticed me because he stayed at the window, watching. I was hoping he’d come to the Capitol entrance to accept “Get a Run for Your Money” documents I had in my satchel, and listen to my short spiel about how badly runners need funding.

Unfortunately, a team of armed guards stopped me short of the entrance. Again, they told me it was not time to meet Joe, and that it was time for me to leave. In exchange, I made them take the “Get a Run for Your Money” proposal to give to the President. They said they’d absolutely do it first chance they got.

It’s been a few days since I got back from D.C. I know the President’s a busy man, and my hopes for funding runners has slowly waned. I knew it was a long shot, but we runners are worth it.

Then something really, really special happened. Yesterday I received the below letter in the mail:

NICE!!!!!

Last month, Bob Maplestone, who came from Cardiff, Wales to run college track and cross-country at Eastern Washington, died near Seattle. Because of a chance encounter on a city street, I got to know Bob.

Running through a north Spokane residential area with my best friends and high school cross-country teammates, Mike and Dave Dixon, we came to an intersection at the same moment as Bob Maplestone.

We recognized him right off. Before I’d even taken up running, Bob got a lot of media attention by winning the 1972 open mile at the Drake Relays, a prestigious collegiate track meet in Iowa. He set a meet record of 4:00.4 and beat the American record-holder, Jim Ryun.

Our chance meeting at the corner led to conversation in which we found out Bob lived just down the street. We mentioned we were high school seniors-to-be trying to keep our mileage up over the summer. Bob was weary of running alone and suggested we get together a few times a week.

So Dave, Mike and I regularly ran to Bob’s house, and we got in some good runs over the remainder of that summer.

After our season started, our training runs ended, but Bob came to watch our first cross-country meet of the season. I wouldn’t see him again for a few years.

Though track and field had a higher profile back then compared to now, its participants had to compete as amateurs. Unlike professional sports, the highest competition for a track and field athlete was the Olympic Games, and only amateurs were allowed. The money that athletes in other sports earned wasn’t possible in track. A couple instances illustrate how informal the sport was back then.

The same year Bob won the Drake Relays open mile, he won an indoor mile race in San Diego in 3:59.5. He was the first British runner to go under 4 minutes indoors. However, to get credit as the British record-holder, he had to get a signed official result from the race referee and send it to the governing body of British track and field. Bob didn’t know he had to do this, thus he never became the official record-holder.

Still in 1972, he ran a 3:39.7 1500 meters (3:57.2 mile conversion), just missing the British outdoor 1500 meter record and qualifying for the British Olympic trials.

Despite his fast time and being a favorite to make the Olympic team, Bob had to skip out because he couldn’t afford the trip back home.

However, I remember reading in the newspaper of a fund-raising effort on the Eastern campus to pay Bob’s travel expenses. It was successful, and Bob flew back and ran in the trials. However, I’m sure he felt he’d let everyone down. He lamented how lousy he’d run in finishing 4th, missing out on the 3-man Olympic team.

Bob had just finished his career at Eastern when we ran into him. He soon went on to Oregon State and earned a masters degree. After that he joined the faculty of Highline Community College south of Seattle and coached track and field.

When I was a student at Washington State University in the late 1970’s, I walked into a pub one Saturday evening and there was Bob sitting at a table. His Highline team had competed in a meet in Pullman, and he was headed home the next day. I joined him at the table, and though I can’t recollect what we talked about, I’m sure it was mostly running stuff.

Bob spent his career at Highline Community College teaching engineering. He was 74 years old.