The Carnival of Running #60

Welcome to the 60th edition of The Carnival of Running!

If you missed the Millrose Games on ESPN2, here’s Bernard Lagat winning his 8th Wanamaker Mile with a convincing kick:

That’s a great achievement, but I wonder if it surpasses that of Nolan Shaheed, who ran a world record 4:57.06 mile – at age 60.

You might experience performance anxiety, but how about Stacy Schwartz, whose half-marathon was followed by a matinee performance in a musical, the same day? That’s nothing compared to Adam Goucher, who has a deadline of late April to impregnate his wife, Kara. If he fails, she will resume marathon training. Do you realize how many running jokes I could place here?

In race organizing news, the Big Sur Half Marathon received gold certification from the Council for Responsible Sport for being so eco-friendly. I’ve run that race twice, and I was more impressed with the beer and minestrone soup. Toronto has two major marathons, but the traffic problems induced the city to attempt to merge them. Honda signed on as the title sponsor of the Los Angeles Marathon, while the Sacramento Cowtown Marathon will ditch the marathon distance, and needs a new name for the half-marathon because of the spoilsports in Fort Worth. So they’re having a naming contest! See the rules here. You’ve got until February 17. The winner receives a lifetime entry.

Princess Beatrice of York is being headlined as the first member of the British royal family to attempt a marathon. I loved the photo that accompanied this story. It was captioned, “Princess Beatrice and her long-term boyfriend Dave Clark leave Nobu restaurant at 1.30 am.”

Her long-term boyfriend seems to be a disarticulated arm, which I guess some women might prefer.

Beatrice will run the London Marathon, probably because registration for the Krispy Kreme Challenge is already closed. Doughnut veteran Laura Eynon has some important tips for those who received entries, such as, “You can’t let the doughnuts see you get afraid.”

Chances are now very good that participants in the World Record Kilt Run in Perth, Ontario, will in fact set a world record. As of last week, 815 runners were registered, which would smash the previous record of 200. The first 500 registrants received a free kilt, and they’ll be able to get their faces painted like Braveheart, too.

If you haven’t already, read this San Francisco Chronicle article about a vast study that finds more mileage is mo’ better.

Here’s an interesting idea. The folks at WearYourNumber.com imprint your bib number directly onto a racing singlet or tech shirt. No more safety pins!

Anyone can give you running advice. Christine Luff gives you porta-potty advice.

This week’s linky love goes out to Looking for Serendipity and Sesa in Stride, where it’s a circus. A flea circus.

That’s all for this week, friends. Today is The Day the Music Died. Submit your posts to carnival@runningisfunny.com. Until next time, run away!