Spokane Valley Running Club

A few days ago, my curiosity led me to do a search for Spokane Valley running clubs on Facebook. Lo and behold, there IS a Spokane Valley Running Club. They meet by the Buffalo Wild Wings by the Valley mall every Monday night at 6pm to run 3-4 miles. After the run, they go to Hop Jack's for a beer or two.

Not knowing anyone, I showed up last night and ran with the group. There were 11 of us, and everyone ran their own pace. I ended up mostly running with a lady who runs close to my current pace. We finished 3.8 miles, averaging 8:50 per mile. Then we all (minus one) went to Hop Jack's for a beverage.

Due to some fairly recent physical concerns, I don't drink much beer anymore, but since I didn't know these folks, I thought it would be rude if I just ran with them, then left. So, I partook. A couple of Mack & Jacks and two hours+ later, I made my way home for a late dinner of Easter leftovers.

It was a fun group. Most were my age or a little older. I joked with a friend that they were a drinking club that also enjoyed running. I found out that some of them do several group runs per week, meeting with other clubs to run and...drink beer, of course. I don't think my kidneys NOR my wallet can handle that, so for now, I think one night a week will suffice.

I've never minded running solo, but sometimes it's fun to run & socialize with other runners. I miss my old Mill Creek Running & Multisport club. This club has quite a different vibe than my old club, but I'm looking forward to making a few new friends.

Spokane Valley Running Club. Yours truly on the left.

Too Kind Shout-Out

Last month, Craig Romano (a senior writer for Northwest Runner magazine) and I finally met in person at the Fowl Fun Run (my last run to-date, where I paced my daughter in her first road race). We had a great conversation. He followed up with an email, asking about not only my club, but my running parody songs & videos, saying he wanted to mention them in his Club Report article the following month. I just received my copy in the mail today (Jan. 2011 issue) and he was WAY too kind. It was much appreciated. Aside from one slight misstatement (I've only played all instruments except drums on ONE song so far, but I'll be doing that more for future songs; oh, and there are 20 songs now, not 19), it was a great blurb from a great writer & very nice guy. If you live in the Pacific Northwest and you're a runner that doesn't already subscribe to their magazine, you should!
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