All across the country, turkey trots will fill streets and parks on Thanksgiving Day morning. From serious runners who show up to win or set a personal best to a family looking for a bonding experience, Thanksgiving offers everyone the chance to pull the shoestrings tight and put left in front of right.

While each race certainly has its own significance and charm, the folks in the Cincinnati area may very well be in for the best treat. The 100th Annual Thanksgiving Day race, which begins and ends at Paul Brown Stadium and is set to start at 9 am on November 26th, 2009, will bend and curl through the streets and over the bridges of Cincinnati, ultimately covering a 10k (6.2 miles) distance. The urban setting serves as the picture perfect backdrop for runners and walkers alike, all gathering to celebrate a national holiday and a city's tradition.

After registering, each participant will receive a high-tech long sleeve commemorative t-shirt, have access to a customized running program, and can read 100 Footprints, a series of stories about the race on a newly designed blog. McDonalds, the race's official sponsor, will provide each 100th person to register with a $10 Arch card, and Local 12, a area news channel, will include every person in a race commercial--and you'll get a special place on the starting line--who can help register one hundred people.

Inundated with incentives and family fun, the race also seeks to support seven area charities and, in addition to McDonalds, has fifteen major sponsors. With entertainment and camaraderie, participating in the event will surely allow you to spend the holiday in style, and it will provide a wealth of family memories on a day that should be about just that.

So, slide the turkey in the oven and grab your sneakers. For more information about race specifics and registration, visit http://thanksgivingdayrace.com.

The Major League Basebal All Star game has recently become a star-studded event, with two full days of festivities to celebrate America's pastime and to highlight the game's best and brightest stars. People come from all over the country to partake in the events that surround the game itself, so naturally the opportunity exists for charities and organizations to spread their word to the masses and to generate exposure for their causes.

Major League Baseball, in an attempt to reach out into the community and serve the country's best interests, this past July staged its first ever All Star Charity 5k and Fun Run. With all proceeds donated equally to three charities supporting cancer research—the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Stand Up to Cancer, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure—the MLB wished to raise funds and awareness in one remarkable morning.

With participation in the thousands, officials designed a baseball-themed course punctuated along the way with baseball legends and team mascots. Runners and walkers alike traversed the course at their own pace, all in the name of the greater good. With the Fun Run being an un-timed event, participants could enjoy the atmosphere, socialize, and soak in the scenery. The 5k portion, a timed event with official results, offered serious runners the chance to not only run in the shadows of an enormous national event, the All Star game, but also, and far more importantly, it gave them the chance to make a real difference in the lives of others, most of whom they would never even know or meet.

With great anticipation, MLB looks to generate this event again next year when early July rolls around. If you want to experience an amazing baseball event and, while you're there, become part of something that truly matters, set your course for Anaheim, California, home of the American League West Division Champion Angels. Help raise funds to fight our nation's leading killer. Donate your time and your legs to find the cure for those who need it now and those who will need in it the future.

Not all running events get listed in the local news bulletin or have major sponsors promoting their existence. Not all running events are found on a calendar eagerly awaiting a registration fee. In fact, not all running events are even events. Some of the best runs, those that are born from pure desire and adventure, come to fruition because a person decides to create his own path and set out on a journey that means something.

No where is this ideal more apparent than in the story of three men who decided to run the Sahara Desert, a trek that took them over 4,300 miles and through Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. Using handheld GPS navigation systems, the three-man team finished the expedition on the shores of the Red Sea some 111 days after they began.

As they traveled, they encounter picturesque beauty as well as pure poverty. They faced near impossible conditions only to realize that the human spirit can endure anything, as they watched small village children shout to greet them and run along side them. The true value of the event buried itself deep beyond mere running, and it unearthed itself at a finish line that was more symbolic than final. The three men emerged from the trip changed people whose cores became something of legitimate substance knowing that they had accomplished something no ordinary man would even dream to attempt.

The expedition, which will soon become a documentary film narrated by Academy Award winner Matt Damon, should send one simple yet clear message to all runners: Blaze your own path, one that is laced with passion and reason. You don't always need to wait for someone else to create an event for you to run. Take your life into your own hands and use running as the vehicle to carry you to a far greater understanding of yourself and the life around you each day. Let your mind generate your inspiration, don't just sit back expecting someone else to do it for you.

People get bored very easily. That is a fact that is about as certain as death and taxes. Think about the high school kid who falls asleep during a forty-minute lecture on the Italian Renaissance or the security guard who drifts off during the graveyard shift. When a person experiences something that spans a long period of time and offers no alterations or adjustments, there exists no possible way for a legitimate focus to occur. As a result, body and mind change course, looking to either rest from exhaustion or re-stimulate itself with something else.

Training for triathlon is no different. While following a detailed, structured workout schedule will give you the format to stay consistent, doing the same routine day after day will result in two situations: a serious loss of mental motivation and a seemingly unbreakable physical plateau.

Mentally, when you continually change your patterns, the brain stays sharp, as it constantly has a new goal to reach. You provide the stimulus your brain requires to keep your body moving in a manner that permits progress. For example, using a swim workout based on stroke count one day, always working to lengthen the body's reach to reduce the number of strokes it takes to cover a given distance, and the next day swimming against the clock, a place where strokes are less important and time rules, provides you with a different set of challenges. Your brain avoids the patternization that generates boredom and fatigue.

Likewise, physically, if you can repeatedly alter your goals, you can keep your body from reaching those plateaus that stunt growth. Confusing the muscles, making them work similar groups in a variety of ways, dodges the monotony of identical workouts. For example, running an endless string of treadmill workouts will never produce the long-range results you need. Instead, get outside and hit the trails or do a track workout. Try plyometrics or Kenpo. Mix in multiple variations that will strengthen the muscles while keeping them fresh and stimulated.

Overall, you will be a happier triathlete if you mix it up. Failing to do so will not only hurt your performance, but also it will take away the pure joy associated with the sport. Keep yourself mentally and physically excited and vary those workouts as much as possible.

Running events always seem to have a purpose, and not one designed for the individual alone. Charities and fundraisers normally serve as the backbone for countless running events with folks coming together for a common cause. The spirit wrapped inside these types of events displaces the running itself, and instead makes the experience one of empowerment and generosity. And while each event holds a sincere significance to all involved, the need associated with the Marysville Marathon Festival is dynamically real on so many levels.

Marysville, Australia, a cozy town nestled in the Victorian Alps, home to an endless string of tourists and the former stop-over for those on their way to the goldfields at Woods Point in the late nineteenth century, was nearly obliterate on Black Saturday, February 7, 2009, in a fiery inferno. With a devastating loss of life, the town now seeks to rebuild and rise from the proverbial ashes; however, the task exists as near impossible without the help of others. Thus, the Marysville Marathon Festival was born.

A place that was once teeming with tourist accommodations and events, Marysville now has little left, and calls upon runners, walkers, and virtually anyone to come join this critical inaugural and possibly annual event. The festival holds four trials: a full marathon, a half marathon, a 10k run/walk, and a 3k run/walk. Serious runners can cover the full or half course while those who just wish to support a more-than-worthy cause can bring their families and walk the other distances. The roads are wheelchair and stroller accessible, except for one small portion of gravel, and the race officials permit pets on leads, especially on the short course.

The community needs you to help, so make your way down if possible. People in the world must embrace each other, and reaching out to those in need, even on other continents and under foreign flags, makes this planet a better place to live. Run the Marysville Marathon Festival to not only support a town's recovery, but also, and maybe more importantly, to show the real strength in humanity.

Runners are generally serious people with Type-A personalities, the kind that find motivation in the chase of perfection. They normally enjoy structure and relish the chance to evaluate themselves by their wristwatches. Rigid training schedules format their day so as not to allow anything to disrupt their much needed run. Yet, on some rare occasions when the pressures of competition and training become too much, runners can let their guard down, and, in the case of the New York City Underwear Run, their pants too!

Held annually the Friday evening prior to the New York City Triathlon, the Underwear Run contains approximately 500 highly motivated fun seekers who clad themselves only in their skivvies. Bodies of all shapes and sizes adorn little more than a smile and a positive attitude as they bounce, shimmy, and glide through the world's most famous park. Sports bras and bikini briefs. Boxers and boy shorts. Pink ones and black ones. Lace and elastic. Traditional and downright bizarre. If you wear it under your day clothes or just in the darkest hours late at night, you'll see it trekking through Central Park in all its glory.

Leave your modesty at the door if you elect to dive into this ocean of flesh and cotton. The 1.7 mile run, which in 2009 broke the world record for total people gathered in one place in their underwear, winds through the tree-lined streets of Central Park, drawing plenty on onlookers and an impressive number of cell phone cameras. With no timing chips, no transitions, no race numbers, no fancy gadgets or gizmos, the run represents the heart of the Big Apple's approach to life: personal expression to the greatest conceivable degree. Absurdity and fun don't get any better than this.

So, if you are interested in a run as memorable as any, or if you simply want to figure out exactly what Victoria's secret actually is, go to http://www.nyctri.com/Central_Park_Underwear_Run.htm for additional information and pictures of last year's race. You may want to train for this one and eat a few less cookies though. Failing to do so may bring about a whole new definition of indecent exposure. Not to worry, however, as next year's race is a ways away...on July 14th at 7:30 pm.

Countless road races dot the American landscape each weekend, with runners following painted arrows from school parking lots through city streets or flagged meadows in local parks. Most offer a distinct challenge: make the individual push harder than before while offering enjoyment and lifelong fitness. Regardless of the distance, whether a spirited 5k or a marathon, the race gives the runner a blank canvas upon which to become something greater.

However, not all races are created equal, nor provide the same challenges. Yes, the goal remains the same in regards to a person proving something to himself, but the experience varies, and no one place gives a more creative, unpredictable run than the Leatherman's Loop.

The race, a 10k trail run held annually in April at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, New York, is a massively popular event, with the 900 spots filling up in a mere 16 hours. Combining all that Mother Nature can dish out, the terrain houses mud bogs, deep streams with moss-slicked rocks, steep sand hills, and paths barely wide enough for both feet side by side. Although the budding tree canopy can provide some protection, the pounding sun, which recently reached a record high of 90 degrees on race day, can sap your energy, and the punishing wind can make the race double in its perceived distance. Needless to say, the race is physically abusive. It is one of those workouts that will have you hating it while you're doing it, but loving it when it is all over.

The atmosphere, one that is as supportive as it is fun, more than washes out the agony the race can bring. Runners can be found all across the course pulling others along, un-sticking them from the mud or pushing them up the hills. The sense of camaraderie bubbles over the second you arrive, as runners share advice, trade stories of duct-taped shoes and pricker-torn legs, and promise to meet for a drink at the finish line. No one feels alone on this day, with each person's success seemingly everyone's concern.

Regardless of your ability, take the chance and go. Train hard and enjoy the race that has the potential to keep you coming back for more. Not only will you have accomplished something physically impressive, but also you will have proved to yourself that almost anything is possible.

The sport of ultrarunning is certainly tough enough, with athletes running an incomprehensible number of miles, totals that defy logic and the body at the same time. However, it has grown in popularity in recent years, and the sport's most dedicated athletes always seek to push the athletic envelope to places most would not, or could not, even imagine.

The Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the Untied States according to the Travel Channel, and an easily recognizable place for anyone who is old enough to have completed the third grade, plays host to millions of visitors each year. Vacationers with handheld cameras, artists with paint and canvas, and campers with headlamps and Coleman stoves flock to this mesmerizing place conspicuously nestled in northwest Arizona to seek adventure and inspiration; however, they are not the only ones.

Normally starting out in the early morning hours, somewhere around 1 a.m., small groups of highly trained and motivated runners dispel the warnings posted on trailheads and begin the rim-to-rim-to-rim run. Equipped with flashlights and handheld water bottles, these runners begin the 47-mile trek along the Bright Angel Trail dressed in shorts and long sleeved tops, their breath smoking in the thirty-degree temperatures. Soon they will shed the sleeves in favor of a smaller top to manage the seventy and eighty degree heat that is the high noon sun, and they will traverse rocked paths and cut trails that dip and dive to an approximate elevation change of 11,000 feet.

The course, which should take an accomplished runner around 14 or 15 hours, will not only encounter varying temperatures, but will also navigate its way through weather extremes, with clouds and storms circulating throughout the canyon. After crossing the Colorado River and edging the Roaring Spring, runners will begin to realize that this task is not one of mere distance and endurance; instead, it is a mental challenge that, if finished, can change a person for life. Surrounded by sheer, breathtaking beauty, each runner has deep time to reflect on the experience within the moment itself, and, in the process, come to understand more of who they are. The journey is both a physical and spiritual one, and then end is truly a beginning.

So many running events are representative of a stern individual challenge, but ever so often a truly genuine chance arrives, one that permits this normally solitary sport to be enjoyed by groups of close friends, that defies normalcy and lets people accomplish something that there is no way they could do alone. In the bright Florida sunshine, the Ragnar Relay series is that place, and any runner, from novice to seasoned, should think deeply about partaking in such a memorable event.

Starting on the Gulf of Mexico in Clearwater and ending on the Atlantic coast in Daytona Beach, you and eleven teammates will traverse the 191-mile course in relay form, running anywhere from 3 to 8 miles at a time, with each member taking three turns. Trailed by a maximum of two support vehicles stocked with apparel, food, and water, the runners will cheer one another on as they cover the entire width of Florida. The vehicles will perform leapfrog maneuvers to get runners to and from check points to keep the race moving and organized, so there is no need to worry about logistics and technicalities. Just train and run!

Live music will line the scenic course, which covers Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, New Port Richey, and parts of the Ocala National Forest, and prizes will be given to top finishers by team and age division, and the best decorated vehicle will be honored at the race's completion. The relay's tone, one of celebration and triumph, will surely inspire all of those involved, as the end result is not one that rewards just a single person for crossing first; instead, the relay's intent is one that seeks to promote camaraderie and togetherness, ideals that the world certainly needs a little more of.

If you are not interested in running, or physically cannot, teams can offer volunteers to work the race route, and registration information can be found at ragnarrelay.com/florida. If you are looking for a memorable event, one that brings you to a place a sheer beauty, one that will deeply test your fortitude and leave you proud, grab your running buddies and find your way to the sunshine state...there is no way you'll ever regret it.

Although Usain Bolt's dynamic performances have dominated track and field headlines as of late, and America's obsession in recent times has been with the sprint distances, no event over the history of the sport has generated more interest and enthusiasm than the running of the mile. Having its roots set deeply in English history, the mile became official in 1850, which was the first year recording results came to be, and later, in August of 1865, the first real spectator race, which housed approximately 15,000 onlookers, was held in Manchester, England, with the world's best milers competing. The winning time was 4:17. And so it began.

Now, some 144 years later, the mile remains a strong draw, and the idea of 4:17 being the world's fastest time is almost laughable. And while so many remarkable stages exist across the world upon which this time-tested, treasured event is contested, the energy and excitement felt all along Fifth Avenue, in the heart of New York City, is ever so tough to replicate.

With some of the world's quickest milers converging upon the Big Apple to compete in the professional race, normally held at the end of the race day, fans flock to see just how fast the Kenyans or Ethiopians can go. However, the day also provides the chance for the commoner, the regular runner, to trudge up the world renowned street in their own glory.

With open divisions extending from the age of 8 all the way through 70+, the day has reserved spots for any miler who wants to take on the challenge. On September 26, 2009, this year's event will kick off at 9 am with the wheelchair and handcylce division and will conclude with the professional men at 1:05 pm. Sponsored by Continental Airlines and in conjunction with the New York Road Runners, the race is sure to have moments that exhibit incredible athleticism and endurance as well as those poignant stories that pull at the heart and make us all remember why we run.

After providing a nominal entry fee, you can fly up Fifth Avenue with all you have, run beneath the big timing clock, and dive headlong into the post-race refreshments. Whether you are a professional poised to win or a regular runner searching for that personal best, participating in the Fifth Avenue Mile will undeniably be an experience you'll always remember.

While not a specific race, World Run Day, founded in 1999 by Long Island runner Bill McDermott, seeks to promote the sport of running and enhance charitable giving around the globe. On Sunday, November 8, 2009, runners from around the world will join together by simply running. Whether competing in small groups in local races or individually as part of the "virtual" experience offered, people come together to not only raise awareness of the sport, but also, and more importantly, to gather funds for meaningful charitable organizations.

Runners, after registering at runday.com, can plan and submit their favorite running routes in their town or city, and they can generate groups to follow that path. World Run Day offers schools, charitable organizations, individuals, businesses, running clubs, and corporations to host legitimate fundraisers that have a direct impact on the communities in which they serve.

Currently, the top five participating cities in the United States are Baltimore, Anchorage,Houston, Pittsburgh and San Diego. Also, the top five charitable organizations that have received donations are the American Cancer Society, the ALS Foundation, the Children's Wish Fund, World Vision, and the St. Jude Children's Hospital.

Each team captain will receive a planning kit that covers all the basics to get his group started on becoming completely prepared for a successful experience. Items such as bib numbers, pacing charts, advertising posters, training logs, and certificates will be distributed to each participant. In addition, every person receives tickets to an online expo with running apparel and merchandise from around the world.

While running is largely seen as an individual pursuit with personal goals and accomplishments, opportunities do arise that let runners become something far greater than themselves. World Run Day, and all of its associated items, gives runners that chance. Becoming a piece of something that has a greater good can alter not only the lives of others, but it can regenerate your own spirit. If you are going to run, why not run for a cause? Jump on board and become part of World Run Day.

As if marathons were not long enough, some runners crave a challenge even more monumental, more painful, more satisfying than trekking the 26 miles to a well-earned finish. Instead, the newest breed of runners, referred to as ultra runners, has taken the concept of distance running to an all new level. And, while numerous events exist around the world that eclipse the 100 mile mark, only one can truly claim that it spans an entire country.

Britain's Coast to Coast Ultra Marathon, which resides in the country's northern section and begins on the Irish Sea Coast and concludes near the North Sea in Northumberland, entices runners to cross the 170-plus mile course over a six day period. While each day concludes with a relaxing camp, a good rejuvenating meal, and a sound night's sleep, participants can bet that the competition is fierce and the terrain is as challenging and awe-inspiring as can be.

Navigating the largely untouched, untrodden landscape near the Scottish border, Coast to Coast takes runners through a piece of England's most storied and historically significant countryside. While pushing through everything from gravel roads and rocked trails to wet marshes and muddy bogs, those running will be rewarded by sights such as King Edward I's place of death, Carlisle Castle, and endless ruins and remnants of the Roman occupation, the farthest westward point of the Roman Empire.

Unlike traditional running, competitors must bring with them all essential equipment, except for tents, and they must navigate for themselves from check point to check point. Although this is an individual endeavor, the camaraderie established with other participants will motivate and inspire, for merely finishing a stage is accomplishment enough. With all of the mental, physical, and emotional struggles the runners will face, relying on each other for strength may not only be essential for the race itself, but it stands also to change the lives of those involved.

Thus, if you can train for it and desperately want the ultimate experience, set a course for northern Britain.

The mundane daily run, the one that passes the same houses, businesses, parks, etc., can become a true drag on a runner's much needed enthusiasm. Likewise, the identical race series than follows the paths and streets run down the previous years simply fails to stimulate a runner's spirit. To reinvigorate your soul and challenge your every physical fiber, collect your loose change, pinch your pennies, and make your way to the Swiss Alps and Glacier 3000.

Entering its third year and boasting a starters' list that eclipses over 500 athletes, the 26 kilometer run covers each type of terrain known to man, thus making it as spiritual and meaningful as it is physical. Beginning in the small village of Gstaad that sits 1,050 feet above sea level, the race climbs its way almost 2,000 feet through Feutersoey, Gsteig and Reusch to Glacier 3000. Beginning on asphalt roads and rocky trails, the race transitions to soft forest paths, gravel corridors, old cart tracks, and steep mountain ridges, with the final 500 meters covering the ice and snow of the Tsanfleuron glacier. The beautiful landscape passed will engage your mind and motivate your weary legs as they attempt to defy that desire to quit, that point each runner confronts, and upon conquering, makes him feel untouchable. Knowing that running is a physical activity guided by a mental toughness, you will experience a pure euphoric feeling when crossing the finish line seemingly on top of the world. And this will happen regardless of where and when you complete the course; after all, the race's motto is "the path is the goal," so everyone wins.

With a supportive competitive environment full of people very proud to run, the event offers everything a runningenthusiast could wish for: challenge, beauty, and pride. So, if your wallet agrees, book those tickets and begin training. Like any true test in life, you'll walk away a better person inundated with lasting memories and a rewarding sense of who you are. What more could you ask for?