Can't skirt this bet ...

In the summer of 1998, I was an outfielder on a very, very good co-ed softball team in Fall River, which had a roster loaded with drunks, delinquents, and the best-looking girls in the league -- and good enough to finish 10-6 and mercy-rule a lot of teams along the way.

I thought we were so good and I was so confident in my team's ability, that when we started off the season with a 3-1 record, I called out the next team we were going to play (in Terrell-Owens like fashion) and told them that I would wear a dress to the next game we played if my team lost to them.

And guess what happened? We didn't hit and we lost a 12-4 game that was highlighted by a simple grounder hit to me in right-center field in the top of the third inning that I misplayed into a three-run homer. True to my word, I wore some ugly dress from the '70s to my next game. I had an excellent nine-year career in that league, but to this day, whenever my name comes up in conversation around the park, some folks still talk about that stinking dress!

Well, that was 12 years ago, but now I'm going back to the future. On my Facebook page, I made a vow that if I raised $700 OR got 12 members of my running club, the Rhode Island Road Runners, to donate at least $5 to my cause, the American Cancer Society, then I will run in the pictured dress (from runningskirts.com) in one of the biggest spring races in southeastern Mass., the Thomas Giunta 5K in Fall River on Sunday, April 11, which last year, drew over 1,000 runners and should do so again this year.

A lot of family, friends, and folks I haven't seen in a while will be at this event, and there's a chance they will see my with this skirt on and I'll feel the same shame and humiliation that I felt the game after that 12-4 loss. It's a gutsy move and a dumb bet on my part, but if I don't raise $700 or get 12 RIRR donations -- and honestly, I don't think either is going to happen -- then I'm free and clear. But if I'm wrong ...

Georgia on my mind

When someone’s birthday ends in a zero, whether it’s their 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or beyond, they usually celebrate the occasion either with a big party or a night on the town or by doing something else extravagant.

I already know what I’ll be doing for my 40th birthday on March 21 -- I’ll be heading to Atlanta to run in the ING Georgia Marathon.

This week, I toured cyberspace and made visits to coolrunning.com, hitekracing.com, and a few other web sites to find some races that will help get me ready for the Boston Marathon. I had my sights set on the Eastern States 20-Miler at the end of March as my final 20-miler before Boston, but my wife Bozena had the wild notion of flying away to somewhere warm on the week of my birthday and starting the week with a big race. Los Angeles was an option, especially since the marathon also fell on my birthday, but I’d rather settle for a shorter flight. Besides, I’ve never been to Georgia and the Florida panhandle’s just a drive down the road.

Some runners may find it crazy to run marathons on consecutive months -- and others may think it’s no big deal -- but I’m only doing this as a training run, so don’t expect anything in the neighborhood of 4:00 from me! I took a virtual tour of the course and there’s really a lot of historical things to check out, such as the house where Dr. Martin Luther King was born. There’s also some rolling hills to contend with, so I should get a good workout along the way!

I also registered for the Stu’s 30K on March 7 in Clinton, Mass., which is a great prep race for a marathon and features a difficult rolling course around Wachusett Reservoir. And in February, I could be running in the following:

-- Feb. 13, Martha’s Vineyard 20-Miler. I’m 50/50 on this race, probably because of the 45-minute ferry ride and the potential for having a good puke or two before the race. But I’ve heard very good things about the race, from the mostly-flat course to the post-race chowder and minestrone soup.

-- Feb. 21, Old Fashioned 10-Miler in Foxboro, Mass. or the Half on the Hamptons. Tough call here. I did the 10-Miler last year and really enjoyed the race, but I’ve seen the web site for the Hampton Beach race and that looks promising. From the race to the post-race festivities, it would be a great way to spend a day.
The Foxboro race may end up being my choice for the day because it’s a 20-25 minute drive there and I just found out that they are looking for runners to donate old race t-shirts to the race organizers so they can pass them on to some local shelters and community-based programs. I have a ton of t-shirts that I never wore and they are taking up a huge clump of space in my closet, so this would be a good chance to get rid of them.

-- Feb. 27, Colchester Half Marathon in Connecticut. I ran this race last year and the odds are very, very good that I’ll be back for it. And I know a lot of runners are going to Hyannis that weekend to run in either the marathon or half, but I think I’d rather take the road to be less traveled and the shorter drive to Connecticut.
This race is by far the toughest half marathon I have ever run, a lot tougher than what Hyannis has to offer! This was the only time I ever finished a half in over two hours (2:05), and for good reason. The start of the race is a slight uphill, the final mile or two is a giant uphill, and there are so many uphills in between that you swear that there’s no downhills. And the race director seemed to pop up on the tougher stretches of the course and offer some high-fives and laughs to the runners, so that was cool to see.

Officer Thomas Giunta 5K (1995-2010)

Here's some good news -- registration is now open for the Officer Thomas Giunta 5K Memorial Road Race on Sunday, April 11, in Fall River, Mass. Here's some bad news -- the front of the web site notes that this will be the final race in its 16-year existence.

This news really bums me out because this race ranks among my top three favorites and it gives me a chance to race in my hometown and run into people I know from Fall River that I rarely see. If you have never ran it before, it takes place on a nice course with an uphill at the start and a downhill midway through the race, features one of the best post-race buffets around (picture two 60-foot rows of food) with two of my favorite Fall River dishes (chourico & peppers and Fall River chow mein), and a superb post-race party at the Elks Club four miles up North Main Street with a few kegs of beer, good company, and a scaled-down version of the band Bob's Day Off playing music.

It's surprising that this great race is coming to an end, especially since last year it drew over 1,000 participants (1,040) for the first time in its history (a 25 percent boost from the 823 it drew in 2008) and the city really gets behind it. The Giunta family and their race committee put a ton of work into making this race one of the best in this chunk of New England. I'm definitely sad to see this race come to an end, and I'm sure I'm not the only runner who feels this way.

Here's how I'm starting this blog ...

Most people take up running to lose weight or get in shape, try to quit an addiction (whether it’s smoking, drinking, or drugs), or overcome something else personal in their lives. Not me. I started running because my Sunday morning softball team in Somerset got royally upset in the quarterfinal round of the 2004 playoffs and I had nothing to do the following Sunday.

So I gave into the pleas of my then-girlfriend -- who begged me for years to run in the CVS Downtown 5K in Providence with her -- and signed up for that race. The semifinals always took place on the weekend of the race, and had we made it back to that round, there was no way on earth I was going to miss them for some stupid, boring race. And that’s what I thought about running, from high school to 2004 -- stupid and boring. There were times during the past few summers when she would ask me to go running with her, but I’d always bark back, “I do my running on the basepaths!”

Nevertheless, I did a little training that week, and the following Sunday, ran in my first-ever road race. I didn’t do that well (26:43), but I had such a wonderful time that I had to run in another 5K, so I ran in three more that fall around Rhode Island before pulling my right calf halfway through the old Scituate 5K and calling it a year.

The next two years, I was off-and-on-and-off-again with running, especially since I was selling my house in Fall River, buying a bigger house in R.I., and getting married, yet I still managed to run here and there and squeeze in a total of 25.

But I really became full-time devoted to running in 2007, and in each of the last three years, I’ve topped 40-plus races that spanned a total of over 250 miles. I’ve also done seven marathons in six states, placed in my age group (30-39) here and there, and have had some very profound luck in post-race raffles.

Now I’m getting ready for the Boston Marathon in April, but I decided to do some extra special for this event and run it for the American Cancer Society. I just think that after running 160-something races for pretty much no one but myself, it’s time to do something for people who are less fortunate than me and suffering from this deadly ailment.

And that’s kind of why I’m starting this blog. I want people who decide to donate money to my cause (or are thinking about it) to see how my training is going and if I am worth the investment of a few dollars. I want them to tell me in the “comments” section of this blog to take off the prom dress and high heels and pick things up if they think I’m slacking in my training (and I know some people who will be good at doing this!). I also want them to throw me some advice if they think I’m doing or not doing something I should, or comment in any way they wish. It’s all good.

And hey, if you don’t want to support my cause and just have to kill and want to read about some wacky guy who during the winter, likes to run in the snow (and at times, around a 1-13th of a mile indoor track in East Providence) and do yoga three times a week to stay sharp and keep his edge, then that’s also fine. This is going to be a ride and you’re welcome to “get on board” for it …