Crazy Eights

I've been rolling up the miles in June, both on foot and in the car, as I've criss-crossed the state participating in various road races. Starting with the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, Ind., on June 2, and ending this evening with my second race of the day in Oakboro, N.C., I've completed eight, count 'em eight, running events this month. I've become a race junkie!

By scouring running calendars on the Internet and getting creative with my schedule, I was able to run at least one race on each of the five weekends in June. The past three weekends have included multiple races with a pair of Friday night/Saturday morning race doubleheaders and today's double-dip with a morning 10K and evening 5K. Along the way I've met some friendly people in the running fraternity in quaint North Carolina towns like Denton, China Grove and Oakboro.

Eight races in a single month may seem a bit extreme, but with two races already on the schedule this coming week, it looks like I'm going to continue to feed this addiction in July.

Following is a summary of my "Crazy Eight" races in June

• Sat., June 2, Sunburst Marathon, South Bend, Ind., 3:54:46
• Sat., June 9, Race for the Cure 5K, Raleigh, N.C., 25:26
• Fri., June 15, Tour de Kale 5K Night Run, Denton, N.C., 23:57
• Sat., June 16, St. Francis of Assisi Run for Peace 5K, Raleigh, N.C., 24:55
• Fri., June 22, China Grove 5K Main Street Challenge, China Grove, N.C., 22:49
• Sat., June 23, Law Enforcement 5K Torch Run for Special Olympics, Selma, N.C., 22:27
• Sat., June 30, Freedom Run 10K, Greensboro, N.C., 53:23
• Sat., June 30, Freedom Run 5K, Oakboro, N.C., 22:28