Coming Attractions - August 2014

August looks like an exciting month.

I'll be checking in with a young lady from Alice Springs, Emma Kraft, who is headed for the World Mountain Running Championships, representing Australia. That article should be out around the 12th of August. Along the way, I'll explain how I ended up with a half-marathon entry, good for the next decade.

Local high school cross country runners know Rick Riley as the coach at St. George Academy and a nice fellow. He was also a rockstar track athlete who raced - and beat! - Steve Prefontaine. Here's a Spokesman Review article on him. He's agreed to an interview - once I get over my sense of awe, I'll come up with some questions.

Writer Jack Welch got hold of me after the Tim Tays interview (lots of positive feedback on that and thanks to all of you!) about his book, When Running Was Young and so Were We. Only partway into it, but Jack is a man I'd like to sit down and have a few beers with. His joy of running - of life- combined with some keen insights, shine. Looking forward to finishing the book and seeing if I can corral Jack for an interview. I think it would be a hoot.

The tail-end of August will be the start of the cross country season and the start of my next major project, InlandXC.com. I'm hoping to build a network of volunteers to do race reports for the Inland Northwest - Washington, Idaho, maybe Oregon - but first I get to pave the way.

I also get to coach, part-time, junior high cross country. Love the youngsters, love their enthusiasm, getting better at herding cats. They can be a handful but a delightful one. Blogging may drop off a bit then.

For those that don't know, I have a newsletter I put out monthly. It's in the early stages of development and I was thinking it would be fun to play a bit. Sign up for the newsletter (August Letter comes out on the 21st) for the details. You can find the sign-up on the right sidebar, along with the RSS feed link and social media.

Take care and see you on the trail.