You've gotta love a race that's called the Vulcan Run. Even if you're not a Star Trek fan, you must admit, it's kinda cool to be running in a race called the Vulcan Run. And if you are a Star Trek fan, well, even better. Put on your Nikes, power up your Vulcan strength, attach your Spock ears, and you're ready to run the 2008 Vulcan Run.

The Vulcan Run is actually a 10K race that's held in Birmingham, Alabama every November. It's been ongoing since 1975, when it was organized to celebrate the Bicentennial. Nowadays, it's mostly won by Kenyan runners every year but, even if you're not up to their league (not really able to muster much of that Vulcan power!), it's still fun to run in a race with so many top class runners.

This year's Vulcan Run will be on November 1st. In 2006, Runner's World listed it as one of their top six favorite races and, with more than 2,000 runners expected to enter, it's still small enough to not feel lost in the crowd but big enough to have a lot of excitement and challenge.

An additional added bonus to running this race is, if you're in the Birmingham area, the Birmingham Track Club organizes a 'Couch to 10K in 10 weeks' program for beginning runners. For $49, you get individual coaching, information about diet, exercise, training and clothing, and 3 or 4 group runs every week. You'll learn some great tips, meet some fellow runners, and end up in great shape for the 10k race.

The Vulcan Run also has a 1 mile Fun Run, so if you have any kiddies or out of shape relatives or friends, they can still join you on the day with no excuses.

The race starts at 8am on November 1st. You can register at the Trak Shack (see how, if you squint, it looks a bit like 'Star Trek'?) in Homewood, Alabama or online at http://www.active.com. So, sign up for the Vulcan Run. It could be your chance to boldly go where many men have gone before (come on, I had to say it, right?)

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://vulcanrun.com