Good morning, athletes!

Here it is March 28th, and Oklahoma City awakens to 20degrees wind chill. Not what we would expect this time of year, but we're truly fortunate, as area codes around the country are threatened by blizzards, snow storms, and floods. Fargo, N. Dakota, site of an upcoming marathon a few friends will attend, are being beseiged by heavy waters; sending real positive thoughts their way. OKC Memorial Marathon Training Group, which has welcomed 150-200 runners weekly in preparation for the OKC Memorial Marathon April 26th, moved the 12-mile "character-builder" in the Edmond Hills to tomorrow, and with temps expected to hit 70's by Sunday afternoon, remember: Hang in there! Each day means we're one closer to being beyond multi-layer-attire running days.

I've been away from the blog a few months, but I'm back. Thanks to those who kept urging me to get back to it; you think you're communicating with the masses, and realize there are others whose paths you don't cross for awhile. I'm grateful for the interest.

Running in Oklahoma City hasn't flourished like this in years, by my view.....a great thing to see. The groundswell of interest in being a part of the OKC Memorial Marathon (a distance for EVERYBODY; long, short, walkers, runners) has certainly been instrumental in this, and having experienced running scenes of many and varied area codes, I can state proudly that our city ranks with any in enthusiasm, community involvement, and inclusion. Hats off to Oklahoma City!

Looking forward to late-April, and the 9th Annual city-wide celebration of life that we call the OKLAHOMA CITY MEMORIAL MARATHON. As well, to getting a few miles in with my buddies Bill Rodgers and Dick Beardsley (Dick having had a knee replacement early this year after some withstanding some 12 knee operations previously.) Dick, as many of you know, is as POSITIVE a guy as you'll ever run across, with a passion to help those enjoy running and more importantly, realized their potential to overcome whatever roadblocks may have befallen them. Dick's found another passion-the bicycle-but is back to light running, and said he wants our annual tradition to continue (a few miles together the weekend of our race.) It was a 10-miler with Dick 7 months after my hip replacement-White Rock '07-that I rank as one of my all-time favorite outings.

Wishing you all a "world-class" start to April, safety and gratification on the roads, and hope to see you out there soon!

All the best, athletes!
Mark