The Carnival of Running #47

Welcome to the 47th edition of The Carnival of Running!

Running Is Funny wants to officially endorse a campaign by Steve in a Speedo to create a brand-new marathon tradition. Check his blog for the rules, but these two videos are sufficient to get the idea.

I have only two suggestions: 1) If you’re going to go to the trouble of dressing up, spend some time on choreography; and 2) it needs a single unique name to make it immediately identifiable during a YouTube search and elsewhere. I haven’t been able to come up with something clever, but maybe you can. Post ideas in the comments section.

Here’s a company that takes your old synthetic running shirts and turns them into shoe bags for free. So instead of having a pile of running shirts you never use, you have a pile of shoe bags you never use.

Have you ever been able to put your running abilities to practical use, like catching a plane?

Lots of great stuff from the Chicago Marathon. A Chicago Tribune photographer ran his first marathon there and took pictures the entire way, and this slideshow is excellent. Chicago Now reporter Amy Guth used the occasion to explain how to get a kick-ass finish line photo, while her colleague David Wallach submitted two stories about his experience; the first was about being with a back of the pack runner, and the second about his own race, where he advises, “Warning- It is never a smart idea to try and run a marathon with only two weeks of training.”

What’s it like to be aaallll the way at the back of the pack? The Detroit Free Press profiled Detroit Marathon last-place finisher Lisa Newman, who completed the course in 9:09:58. Meanwhile, Mike Brookbank of the Free Press got video advice from his colleagues before running the race. It wasn’t all that funny, but the sports editor gets plus points for the Quisp shirt.

What kind of low-life do you have to be to bandit the Race for the Cure?

Here are some tips on how to go on an exercise date. I’m pretty sure leaving her in the dust in the first quarter-mile and then taunting her at the finish is frowned upon. On the other hand, it’s a good way to find yourself a fast woman.

Sunday’s Columbus Marathon made racing history as the first event featuring Tweets by running shoes… which produced content superior to 98% of what you’ll find on Twitter.

We have a couple of pretty good accounts of marathon spectating, one by Ashley Bond of Chicago Now, and the other by Kent Sundberg of The Spectrum in Utah. However, not all bystanders love the race. In Toronto irate motorists booed the marathoners because of traffic gridlock.

This week’s linky love goes out to the delightfully titled Running from Zombies. BRAAAIIINS!

That’s all for this week, friends. Jumping queues and making haste just ain’t my cup of meat, so Happy Birthday, Manfred Mann! Submit your posts to carnival@runningisfunny.com. Until next time, run away!