Runnin' Fool-related odds + ends

Wanted to fill you guys in real quick on what a few of the local runners I've profiled over the past several months have been (or are currently) up to. Here goes:

*Jonathan Savage, the ultra-runner I profiled back in July, has accomplished two feats recently that would cause most of our bodies to crumble. This past Saturday, he won the Triple Lakes Trail Race 40 Mile Solo in a time of 5:56:19 -- beating his closest competitor by almost 20 minutes). It was the fourth time he has won this particular race. (Also worth noting: Marathon Maniac Hazel Tapp, in her first-ever ultra, ran an 8:02:25 in the Triple Lakes 40 and was the third overall female finisher.) Just two weekends earlier, Sept. 19-20, Jonathan set a new course record at the Hinson Lake 24 Hour Ultra Classic, where logged a mind-boggling 132.24 miles -- beating his closest competitor by more than 12 miles. "Hinson Lake was a big deal for me," he says. "I had no expectation of doing so well; I honestly could not have imagined running so far." The performance earned him a spot in next year's Umstead 100 mile endurance run, reserved for ultrarunners who can cover 100 miles in less than 17 hours.

*Danielle Walther, who with one race to go is the odds-on favorite to win the women's Grand Prix Series sponsored by Run For Your Life, is running the Steamtown Marathon in northeastern Pennsylvania on Sunday. With a 995-foot net elevation drop, it's ranked as one of the fastest official Boston Marathon qualifying courses. She says her "realistic" goal is sub-3:10, and that her "super secret" goal (not so secret anymore :) is sub-3:00. Danielle told me today: "I feel like I can run sub-3:00, just not sure about my ability to run it at this particular moment."

*Aaron Linz, chairman of the Charlotte Running Club, ran the Army 10-Miler on Sunday and finished 57th overall out of more than 21,000 participants. His chip time was 55:55, which works out to 5:35 splits. Oh, and today he received in the mail his medal for finishing first in his age group (35-39) at last month's Rock N' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, which hosted nearly 16,000 finishers. Chip time was 1:15:55.

*Remember Kevin Collins, the guy who has been raising money for charity by promising to do an Ironman in Florida while wearing a cheetah-print running skirt and a mohawk? He wore the skirt for the Hit the Brixx 10K on Sept. 26, then unveiled the new 'do at the Komen Charlotte Race for the Cure this past Saturday. Today, he sent me a photo taken before the 5K (see below). Public reaction? "It was well-received. A dozen people or so asked me if I was the guy from the paper; they had read your blog and wanted to know how to give ... after they stopped laughing, of course," Collins reports. "I have received a couple donations from complete strangers."