Petra is leaving. Spokane will no longer be her home, and she’ll be very,very far from here.

I’m bummed because of Petra’s new job on the East Coast.

Last time I wrote about Petra, we were about to enter into a relationship and start a lifestyle I call intense realism, in which we’re a couple, yet are fluffy with others.

But Petra was offered a job at the National Institute of Running Sciences in Washington DC. Besides being a good runner, she has a lot of business acumen. Her job title will be director of corporate relations. It’s an excellent opportunity and excellent pay. Plus, any time of day she and co-workers can have elevator vs. stairs races in the multi-story Institute building.

I’m happy for Petra, yet it’s not welcome news. I cannot walk past the photo of her on my dresser top without getting really sad. I had to lay it down to stay functional.

Petra has a couple weeks before she has to leave, so I’ll still see her, but it won’t be the same.

She tells me she can arrange flying into town almost monthly, but I’m doubtful how successful a long-distance relationship can be.

To occupy my time and get over her after she leaves, I’ve got a project planned that’ll take the entire fall season to complete.

I’m making a hiking shell out of cayenne peppers. I’ve got tons of ’em in my garden, and I won’t have to buy bear spray anymore.

Welcome to Race to Win. I’m your host, Sprint McDowell. We have a great show lined up, and you can win big money.First of all, I’d like to thank everyone watching here at the studio. We have a packed house today.

Keep track of your choices. Answers are given at the end. Let’s begin the competition!

1)  Term for being beaten by a girl in a race.

• A)  I took a gender hit.
• B)  I got ponytailed.
• C)  I got chicked.
• D)  Sports bra 1; jockstrap 0

I like the responses to that question. People know their running lingo. I see some prize money coming your way!Let’s see how you do on question number two.

2)  Common phrase for a runner slowing way down and finishing poorly.

• A)  My legs got fried like chicken.
• B)  I died.
• C)  I wasted my pace in the middle of the race.
• D)  When I tried turning it on, there was no switch.

Another great response there! Did you know Race to Win has been the No. 1-rated running game show for the past five years? In my book, our contestants are No. 1 also.

Let’s move on to question number three.

3)  Term for a strategy where you stay behind the leaders before making your move late in the race.

• A)  Hang back.
• B)  Hang out.
• C)  Run incognito.
• D)  The sneaky grim reaper.

Oh, our studio audience is really getting into today’s contest. I hear a group chanting someone’s name. A couple banners are being waved. That’s nice!

Okay, next question.

4) Term for the item pictured below that runners wear at races.

• A)  Number thingy.
• B)  Post-race hook-up referral number.
• C)  Covert race security tracking number.
• D)  Race bib.

Let’s take a break. I’d like to get to know you, the contestant. Tell me about yourself. Have you had any good races lately? How’s your training going? Just speak at the photo of me below which activates an app that collects your words and delivers it to me real time.

Okay, thanks. Only two questions left, but it’s the toughest part of our quiz, Double Race to Win. Good luck!

5) Evan, a highly-rated US ultra runner, said, “I signed up for trash, but I cleaned like polish”, after running a 50-miler. What does this mean?

• A)  He ran into a tree.
• B)  He picked up litter while running.
• C)  He fought off a bear.
• D)  Profuse sweating rinsed away trail dust on his legs.

Our studio audience is loving it. They’re on their feet screaming. But I know that can be a distraction. Hold on just a moment while I quiet things down.
Okay, that’s better. Here we go, our final question.

6) Courtney, a very talented and artistic Canadian marathoner, said of her upcoming race, “I got my ducks in a line like cocky soldiers.” What does she mean?

• A)  There’s no stopping her sprint to the victory podium.
• B)  She’ll smash the course record.
• C)  No one, man or woman, will come close to beating her.
• D)  All of the above.

And here’s the answers:

• 1) C – I got chicked
• 2) B – I died
• 3) A – Hang back
• 4) D – Race bib
• 5) C – Profuse sweating rinsed away trail dust on his legs.
• 6) D – All of the above

If you got all questions right, you’re a winner of $100 – great work! I salute you. If you got only 1 wrong, you’ve got $75 coming your way! And if you missed 2, you have won $50! Getting 3 or more wrong means you miss out on prize money, however, just for participating, you get $2. It always pays to play Race to Win!

This has been so exciting. We’re taking a hit because so much cash was won, but that’s why we have generous sponsors. To claim your earnings, register your score at Racetowin.com, then download the app Cash for Me. Tap the envelope below on your mobile screen, and a slot will form, dispensing your well-earned money.

I’m your host of Race to Win, Sprint McDowell. Until next time, keep on running and keep on winning! Bye!

Some runners, especially women, like to drink wine. This is a big mistake. I consider drinking wine similar to drinking poison.

Runners need frequent fluid replacement. Wine is a poor choice. Though resveratrol and other antioxidants in wine are supposedly good for you, they have a negative impact on running. For those who foolishly choose to drink wine, it should be done only for that rare quiet and romantic moment.

Recently I received a bottle of wine as a gift. I put it in my cupboard, intending to dispose of it first chance I got.

Several days later, It occurred to me I’d forgotten to throw it out. When I took it from the cupboard, I noticed it was cabernet sauvignon, which is such a beautiful word. It’s no wonder French is known as the language of romantics.As I reached for the garbage, my arm brushed a hanging unit that holds pans and utensils. A wine opener fell to the floor.

I didn’t know I had a wine opener, but since I never use it, I must have forgot. Was this a sign? I uncorked the bottle and took a sip.It actually wasn’t too bad. With each sip, it tasted better. So I had a glass, then another. Next thing I knew, the bottle was empty.

I didn’t want my good feeling to end, so I went to the store and bought another.After a couple more glasses, I really wanted a woman to come over and enjoy wine with me. It was awfully late to call someone though. However, thanks to a stroke of ingeniousness, a hot woman was soon at my table.I changed into a nicer outfit and splashed on some cologne. She really liked my wine, and our conversation was so stimulating and romantic.We looked deep into each other’s eyes. I was so taken by her beauty and her charming femininity. I told her that her long, slender, Audrey Hepburn-like neck was so beautiful.

Soon we were toasting to a great evening and great company.

When it was time to bring the evening to a close, I laid down, whispering, “Good night, my precious love doll.”

I needed a pause in my running, a break from the training grind, so I arranged a trip to the Kona Coast in Hawaii. A friend pointed out that I’ve been injured and haven’t run in weeks. I totally forgot about that.

Besides the wildlife, plants in Hawaii are so unlike what we have in Spokane.

Ruby Redpepper, owner of Animal Fulfillment Specialists, was doing a seminar about Hawaiian wildlife. I hired Ruby a few months ago as a consultant when I released indigenous, wild animals into my naturally landscaped front yard. She knows so much about animals, and I really, really like animals. I wasn’t about to miss this seminar.

We spent the first day in the classroom learning about island wildlife.

Ruby sips water while listening to a participant describe how dolphins crawled onto a beach to lay in the sun with him.

During our first excursion I put my head in the water and did sea turtle calls like Ruby taught us. After a half hour without any luck, I fell on a sea urchin in a tidal pool. It took fellow group members fifteen minutes to pull out all the spines.

Then Ruby tried and right away a turtle came.Ruby has such a way with animals that it tried crawling out of the water and into her lap. But Ruby says it’s important not to touch the sea turtles.Whenever I approached the turtle, it swam away quickly. I grabbed a rock, but Ruby calmed me down. I like sea turtles, but not when they’re uncooperative. Ruby talked in a kind and gentle voice and persuaded the turtle to approach me.Geckos are everywhere in Hawaii. You’ll find them in some stores and homes roaming freely. They eat bugs that get inside.The gecko below lives in the house that I rented. If you get close, they scurry or jump away very quickly.I saw a pretty bird in a tree so I climbed up to get a picture. Ruby said there was no way that would happen, but I might see a chameleon. Sure enough, I did, and I got a close-up picture.

Each day after class, I returned to my rented house so excited by Ruby’s seminar that I read about animals till the wee hours of the morning.

Some readers may remember a post I did last year about how I did away with my lawn and put in indigenous plants. As a follow up project, I made running paths that allow me to go for a run in the country without leaving my front yard.

Eric Nelson, a fellow Manito Running Club member, suggested I hold a marathon race in my yard. I took him up, got the course Boston certified, and wrote about the event in a post called Basalt and Pine Marathon.

I was hoping to make the marathon an annual event, however, some issues arose during last year’s race that forced cancellation of this year’s race.

• Over 2,400 runners entered my event. Entrants spent most of the race trying to squeeze past other participants without making much progress.
• Since the race course was a 220-foot loop, race officials soon lost track of lap counts and placing.
• Many runners left their warm up clothing in my neighbor’s yard, and I forgot that my event and his lawn-mowing schedule coincided. The shredded outfits left a bitter taste among participants.

The native plants have really grown and multiplied. Good to look at. Not good for running.

I leave you with a photo of me, gazing among the plants, wondering if I can corner one of the four marmots that live in my yard. The pair of coyotes watching me may laugh, but they haven’t had much luck either.

Sitting down to write this week’s post, no ideas came. I became desperate because all I could think of was random things, some about running and some not. I apologize if this post bores you, however, if you have trouble falling asleep, it’s an excellent resource.

In the 2011 Bloomsday 12K, a photo was taken of myself and a couple other runners. Of six feet, none were touching the ground.

I once read an article about this and was surprised how high the ratio of both feet off the ground is to time that at least one foot is on the ground.

Below is a photo of me watching a track and field race on YouTube.

Non-runners (and some runners too), probably think it’s boring to watch people run in circles over and over, but I find it very interesting.

Here I am standing atop the compost pile in the corner of my backyard.

The guy who lives across the alley once asked my next-door neighbor if they hate me. My neighbor asked why he would think that. He replied that he saw them tossing weeds into my backyard. My neighbors toss their weeds over the fence and into my pile because I’ve asked for their compostables.

I’m going to reveal something embarrassing. Maybe you’ll find it disgusting. I grow lots of tomatoes in my backyard. I eat plenty fresh, but I also boil down a bunch to make spaghetti sauce. I dehydrate a lot for wintertime eating as well.

I cut up a lot of tomatoes to dry. This is one batch which I repeat a bunch times more.

When I cut bunches of tomatoes, there’s a large pool of tomato juice left on the cutting table. The juice is especially sweet and good-tasting. I put my lips to the table and suck it up.

I’m a bachelor, and I live alone. I can get away with this. However, if I start seeing someone, don’t take a screen shot of this photo and send it to her. I’ll come after you.

I thought I’d have a pleasant outing in the woods last Sunday picking huckleberries, but there are some very rude people out there.

This year’s crop of huckleberries is very good.

Because I must run everywhere, I ran from my house to Mt. Spokane, a forty-six mile round trip. Huckleberries, a type of blueberry, grow mostly at high elevation around here, are delicious and even more healthy than blueberries. I eat lots fresh and freeze enough to eat almost daily until late spring. Though quite common, they resist domestication and must be picked wild.

Because many Inland Northwesterners are huckleberry aficionados, good-producing, easy-to-reach patches get hit hard. However, I know of an excellent patch on Mt. Spokane that requires some hiking. I’ve been going there for years, and only once have I seen another picker.

I use a couple milk jugs with the top cut off and when attached to my belt, it frees both hands for picking. As you can see, it was a decent harvest.

I gave myself several pats on the back for coming up with the idea of running home with the containers placed at my hips. Carrying the extra weight will really increase my leg muscle mass.

However, so many people passing by in cars laughed at me. One guy yelled out, “Run faster, huckleberry boy!” Oh, I got extremely angry.

I shook my fist at the mean driver who called me huckleberry boy. I don’t like that.

Later, another driver honked his horn, and I waved, thinking it was someone I knew. But no, he laughed and yelled, “Wash up, huckleberry hands.”

You can’t pick huckleberries without getting purple hands. I usually have purple lips, cheeks and chin too.

Then a problem developed. I glanced behind, and on the road was a trail of huckleberries as far as the eye could see. My berries were bouncing out.

However, I solutioned this issue very brilliantly. If I ran home in only half the time as my normal pace, only half as many berries will bounce out. So what to do was obvious:

Extreme Speedrunning!

Unfortunately, when I arrived home, the huckleberry bounce rate apparently increased during my extreme speedrunning. I had so few berries left.

I became incensed about the wastiture of precious huckleberries. I was seething for hours, and not being able to get hold of my anger management counselor didn’t help either. Finally, as I’ve done before, I vented my anger in a non-destructive manner.

So, next week I’ll have to make another trip to Mt. Spokane – by car, which actually is how I got there today. I didn’t really run to Mt Spokane and back. 🙂

I was a high school senior when I walked into the kitchen as my mother prepared breakfast on May 30th,1975. On the radio was news of the death of America’s top track and field distance runner – Steve Prefontaine.

This poster I purchased forty years ago is pinned to a wall in my basement.

He was only twenty-four years old, and I was truly struck by his death in a one-car accident in Eugene, Oregon. I couldn’t help thinking how such a talented, charismatic runner was going from setting records to being buried in the ground.

He was a young college student when I watched him on TV challenging for the lead with a half lap to go in the 1972 Olympic 5000 meters, only to get edged for a medal by the older, more experienced favorites.

When I was in high school, before Pre’s death, a teacher assigned a collage project which I have little memory of. Among the hundreds of magazines we had for cutting out photos, I came across a 1971 Sports Illustrated with Pre on the cover. I pilfered it, and after reading it over and over, I eventually boxed it and put it in my closet with other mementos where it sat for years.

Because Pre is the track and field equivalent of movie-star James Dean, his untimely death has made this edition valuable. I only recently discovered that ones in excellent condition can sell for up to $500.

I saw Pre but once in-person – when he won the NCAA cross-country championship that was held in Spokane in 1973.

Most people when out in public want to look good, even while running. This can include not only the way you dress, but how fast you’re going.

A slow warm-up is a good way to start a run, but it doesn’t impress.

Women are especially good at choosing outfits that are attractive and eye-catching. From form-fitting outfits to yoga pants and short shorts, I like it when women dress nicely.

Some guys also have an eye for fashion, but for the most part, we guys don’t make it a priority.

When I run, I choose routes that have little traffic, are uncongested, and it’s often after dark, therefore, I wouldn’t impress many people if I wore a stylish outfit.

However, the long days of summer allow me to get in a run after work when there’s still light. Living in the city, I cross arterials now and then, pass by or through business districts, or cross paths with other runners or walkers.

I get the notion sometimes to pick up the pace if I’m in these situations. I think a runner looks good running at a brisk pace.

A group of women ahead, and I’m ready to impress. Estimated pace per mile: 5:15-5:20.

However, if I maintain a brisk pace too long, I’ll have a price to pay.

Good thing no one is around on this side street. Estimated pace per mile: 20 min.

In some situations where I run a really fast pace for too long, I experience total collapse.

When I really overdo it in these situations, I’m reduced to walking on my hands and knees.

Since this has happened several times, I carry a medium-sized swatch of fabric in my running shorts pocket. Yes, it’s a strange sight, and embarrassing, but at least people can’t see who I am as I crawl home.