The Manhattan Beach 10K Run is a nice, hometown race in Southern California that's well worth participating in.

If you're the planning-ahead type when it comes to races, you might want to start thinking about the Manhattan Beach 10K Run. This year, the Manhattan Beach 10K will be held on October 4, 2008 and will start at 7:30 a.m. When I lived in Los Angeles, I used to run the race every year and would recommend it for any serious runner who also likes to give back to the community.

The Manhattan Beach 10K is a partnership between the race committee and the city of Manhattan Beach and the race committee donates all the race proceeds to the Manhattan Beach community (something I always loved). They fund scholarships to high school seniors, new equipment for area high schools and also provide improvements to area parks.

Another thing I really like about this race is the way they time the runners. Every runner has to have a timing chip tied to their shoe, which is activated by stepping on a mat when they begin the race. The time will then be stopped when the runner passes over a similar mat when they finish the race. The timing is incredibly accurate, but you have to make sure you wear the chip. If you don't, your time will not be counted and your name won't be included in the official results.

The cost for the Manhattan Beach 10K Run last year was $25 for early registers and $30 for late registers. Runners under 15 years old can register for $15 and $20 for late registration. The registration fee for 2008 hasn't been announced yet, but it will probably be around the same price.

The race is really fun, very laidback, with friendly volunteers and nice runners. Split times are called at each mile, and there is even on-course entertainment.

Also don't forget to check out the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair after you've finished the race. It's not connected to the run, but it's a fun event with interesting booths, entertainment, arts and crafts, food and even a display of antique cars. After finishing the run, it's a nice place to hang out. The fair also operates the shuttles for the runners and they're nice folk too.

For more information, contact the race organizers at 310-374-2397. If you're in or near Manhattan Beach, you can also register for the race at the Village Runner store on Sepulveda Boulevard.

Billed as the largest 10k race in the world, the 39th annual Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree 10k Race will be run on July 4th this year in Atlanta, Georgia. Like every year, around 55,000 people are expected to show up to run the 10k and, with a new finish line, it should be an interesting race. Every year, the Peachtree 10k has to turn away almost 20,000 race applicants as the popular race can only handle 55,000 people.

The Peachtree is a 6.2 mile (10,000 meter) race, which starts on Peachtree Street and, this year, finishes at the intersection of Juniper and Ponce de Leon. The race has always finished in Piedmont Park but because of Georgia's drought situation, the city has banned large gatherings of people in the park as they say it's too damaging to the grass and would take too much water to fix the problem after the event.

Within the race, the Peachtree 10k race also hosts the USA Men's 10k Championship and names America's fastest 10k runner that day. The race also includes a wheelchair division with more than 100 participants running in a wheelchair. The fastest wheelchair runner, Saul Mendoza, completed the race in just over 19 minutes, an amazing time for someone in a wheelchair. On the same day, there will also be a satellite race in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait with about 3,000 people (mainly soldiers) running in these three countries.

The fastest runners ever to run the race in both the men's and women's divisions are both from Kenya and it's likely this will be the case again this year. The race t-shirts are very popular every year as only a limited amount are printed and they're only given out to people who finish the race. In past years, the designs have been beautiful, and they're an added motivator for people to finish the race as it gives them a status symbol only available to a limited number of people every year.

Entrance fee is $28, but as all the 55,000 race numbers have already been distributed, if you don't have yours already this year, you'll have to wait to sign up until next year's race. But head down to Atlanta, Georgia and watch the race. More than 150,000 spectators show up every year to cheer on the runners and create an Independence Day party atmosphere of their own.