The Carnival of Running #18

Welcome to the 18th edition of The Carnival of Running!

I know you’ve been waiting many years for the opportunity to… evaluate Steven Seagal’s running form!

The track and field typo of the week goes to the Australian newspaper with the headline, “Asafa Powell to ruin 400m in Sydney”.

A newspaper columnist completed his first marathon and learned the universal truth: “The expression, ‘You’re almost done,’ is highly subjective”, while another columnist discovered the best part of an early morning run is the guilt-free afternoon nap.

Running companions were a big news item this week. There was a woman who runs with Siberian huskies, others who ran with polar bears, the running of the brides, and running with strangers.

If those aren’t odd enough for you, you could try the April Fools Backward Mile and 5k.

Looks like the city of San Francisco may compromise on those new Bay-to-Breaker rules.

In this week’s science news, we learned that runners have better eyesight, that our toes are designed for running and not hanging from trees, and that runners crave fruit and not biscuits.

Well, maybe. But Paula Radcliffe craves chocolate, and other British runners crave pancakes so much they race with them. We even learn that bears love pancakes and running (see video).

We also know that bears love to go in the woods. Running into the Sun lists the possible side-effects of running, such as “confusion about what constitutes an acceptable toilet.” joyRuN apparently accepts side-effects and coins new terms for them, like “popping a squat in the forest.”

Jeanne at Not Born to Run explains why bagging it is sometimes your best option.

Xenia at Diggin’ It shows off a hairy coo. Once again, get your mind out of the gutter.

Who’s In First lists five fun things to do on a treadmill. Tellingly, running is not one of them. Walrus to Warrior sets out to find a core.

Non-runners shopping at race expos? Sacrilege!

Want to use Nike+ iPod technology but don’t like Nike running shoes? The Bean Pod might be for you.

The Runner Inside tries out a few running one-liners, including “if you are going to try cross-country, start with a small country.”

I’ve come to expect hash house harriers everywhere, but was still shocked to find they’re in Phnom Penh.

That’s all for this time, friends. You can run. You can be funny. But don’t be runny. Remember to submit your posts to carnival@runningisfunny.com. Now run away!