Greensboro Birds

Welcome, Running Shorts readers! You intrepid Web surfers are hereby rewarded with this shot of Barefoot Josh, pre-Grandfather Mountain Marathon, and in shoes (sort of). You’re feeling motivated now, aren’t you? Great! Then come out to Madison this Friday and join the MadMayo Running Club for the 1st Annual January 1 and Done 1-Mile Walk/Run. It’s free, and you might even win the world-famous raffle!

Join the MMRC gang on Saturday, November 21, at 10 a.m. for our next group run. Meet in downtown Madison at the intersection of Murphy and Dalton Streets (near Piedmont Distillers.) We’ll run three miles (give or take) around the metropolis of Madison. There will be a few hills, as well as a scenic stretch along the Dan River.

We’ve timed this group run to coincide with ShineFest, which is the brainchild of the Southern Culture Society, so you might want to hang out in downtown Madison for the day to enjoy old-time music, arts and crafts, BBQ (woot!), adult beverages, and even meet racing and moonshine legend Junior Johnson! Honestly, any time MMRC can schedule a group run around BBQ, moonshine, and Junior Johnson is a banner day. Join us! The full press release with meeting info is below.

MadMayo Running Club Group Run: November 21, 2009

MadMayo Running Club, a newly (and loosely!) organized group of runners based in Madison and Mayodan, invites runners of all levels to its next group run, on Saturday, November 21, at 10 a.m.

Join the MMRC gang for a fun and sometimes hilly three-mile run around Madison. Afterward, you might want to hang out in town for the day to enjoy old-time music, arts and crafts, and BBQ at ShineFest, hosted by the good folks at the Southern Culture Society. Rumor has it racing and moonshine legend Junior Johnson will be in town!

Who: Runners of all abilities and speeds
What: MadMayo Running Club 3-Mile Group Run
When: Saturday, November 21, 10:00 a.m.
Where: Meet at intersection of Murphy and Dalton St. (near Piedmont Distillers)
Why: Burn a few calories before pigging out on BBQ. Door prizes!
Cost: All MMRC group runs are free!

(Note: MMRC is not affiliated with or sponsored by ShineFest or the Southern Culture Society. We just love a good festival—especially when BBQ is involved!)

MadMayo Running Club (MadMayoRunningClub.com) welcomes runners, joggers, trotters, and walkers of all ages and abilities. From beginning joggers to hardcore marathoners, everyone’s invited! MMRC is based in Madison/Mayodan in Rockingham County, but members can live anywhere. To find out about scheduled group runs and other club events, visit MadMayoRunningClub.com or email info@madmayorunningclub.com.

Yesterday, Josh, my pal Christine, and I got up at the crack of the crack and drove down to Lexington for the annual Hawg Run 5K. It was originally planned as my athletic debut, but it turned out to be my third official 5K since I started trotting back in August. I set a new PR (personal record) of 33:44, shaving about three minutes from the time of my first run in September! Christine crossed the line just behind me, at 33:56; the extra seconds were taken up by her victory dance. Josh kicked the ass of the race, setting a new PR of—hang on—20:33! He took second in his age group and 24th overall. Did I mention that he runs barefoot?

Unfortunately, the Hawg Run is NOT held during the Lexington BBQ festival, which is a crying shame. But we enjoyed insanely good ribs back here in Madison at Mountain Side Restaurant, where I was overjoyed to discover that 11:00 a.m. on Saturday is never too early for a rack of ribs!

Also? We had our first frost this morning. Woe is winter!

This morning heralded my old buddy Sam Peabody (aka white-throated sparrow). He scratched around below the feeder while I fed the chickens at sunup. Just now, the brushy area at the edge of the yard yielded—get this:

• A golden-crowned kinglet,
• Yellow-rumped warblers,
• A pine sisken, and
• Two yellow-bellied sapsucker!

All that’s left are the dark-eyed juncos, ruby-crowned kinglets, and cedar waxwings, although waxwings hung around Farris Park all summer, so they’re probably somewhere out there as well.

We had what I guessed was one last wave of monarchs on Monday the 13th, which was a gloriously warm, sunny day. So many monarchs made their way through that I figured the cold weather to come was pushing the late-departers to Mexico. I also predicted that the winter birds would be arriving with the cooler, drizzly weather that followed Monday’s mini-heatwave. Just call me Jean Dixon.

THE HEAVENS—In what is being described by advance marketing materials as “the first divine creation in more than 6,000 years,” God Almighty, Our Lord Most High, introduced a brand-new species of bird into existence Monday.

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