Odds + ends for my running friends

Several interesting nuggets to pass along on this gorgeous fall day, including details on: the fastest middle-schooler in Charlotte ... a class that aims to teach you how to run "faster, farther, and with much less effort" ... and a running store coming to a town near you.

Twelve-year-old Alana Hadley of Charlotte won the female overall title at the Charlotte Turkey Trot 8K on Thanksgiving morning. Alana's time of 29:37 works out to a pace of 5:58 minutes per mile; she finished 30th overall out of 3,741 runners. In an e-mail today, Alana wrote: "I thought the Turkey Trot was a great race. It was a lot of fun to run in a race with so many people. The course was very good, with only one mile that had many hills. I have to say one of my favorite parts was the turkey trophy that they gave out for the awards -- it's one of my favorite trophies I have ever won." Click here to read my September profile on Alana. Since that interview, she was second overall female at the Hit the Brixx 10K on Sept. 26 (in 38:09) and took third in the women's division at the Runway 5K on Oct. 31 (in 17:49). Alana tells me her last race of 2010 will be the Dec. 12 Jingle Jog 5K, held in conjunction with the Thunder Road Marathon.

Amy Peacock is leading a ChiRunning workshop next Saturday (Dec. 5) at Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics, 11725 Verhoeff Drive. ChiRunning, created by Danny Dreyer of Asheville, professes to teach runners "how to heal and prevent injuries" using a running style based on "disciplines such as yoga, Pilates, and ... T'ai Chi." The session will run from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and costs $95; at last check, there were only nine spots left in the class. For more info or to register, click here. To check out Amy's Web site, click here. Not sure whether this is an incentive or a disincentive, but I'll be attending as a first-timer...

And finally ... Fleet Feet Sports, a national running-store chain, is reportedly planning to open a location at Birkdale Village in Huntersville. Fleet Feet stores carry shoes, clothing and accessories made by all the usual suspects, including Brooks, Asics, Mizuno, Nike, Saucony and New Balance. It will be the company's fifth N.C. store; currently, the closest location to us is in Hickory. Stay tuned for details (the Web site for the Huntersville store is here), but this can only be good news -- expect the other local running stores to get even more competitive, and surely they'll sponsor/create a few good races.