Odds + ends for my running friends

Races and other runner-friendly happenings going on this weekend (and later this month):

FEELING TOUGH? Here's something different (and difficult): The first annual Rock-N-Race Weekend is a two-day event hosted at the U.S. National Whitewater Center this Saturday and Sunday; it will consist of four races "utilizing the technical, challenging, yet fun and scenic trails along the Catawba River." There are 8K and 20K trail runs, an off-road duathlon (3K trail run, 20K mountain bike leg, 8K trail run), and the grueling XTERRA Whitewater event. What's XTERRA Whitewater? Click here for more details on it, and on everything happening as part of Rock-N-Race Weekend.

MEET YOU AT THE TRACK: If you got hooked on the Summer Track Series at Myers Park HS and are craving more speed … the Carolinas Track & Field Club is hosting its Summer Track Meets at UNC Charlotte on Friday evenings in July, beginning this week. Registration starts at 5 p.m.; running events (50m for kids 8 and under, followed by the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 and 3200, plus 400 and 1600 relays) start at 6:15 p.m. Entry fee: $3 per person.

AND YOUR BEST 5K BET IS: The James K. Polk 5K, scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday at Belle Johnston Park, 1000 Johnston Drive in Pineville. About 350 people participated last year, when Matt Yost won in 16:56 (Brooke Spencer of Rock Hill was the top female in 19:40). The course winds through residential areas and isn't flat, but also isn't terribly hilly. Cost: $20 (or $30 on race day). For more info, click here.

A DAZZLING DEBUT: Saturday's inaugural Tri! Ballantyne -- presented by the Morrison Family YMCA -- is officially sold out. Setup Events lists 377 total participants for the event, which will consist of a 300-yard pool swim, a 12.7-mile bike leg, and a 5K run through the Ballantyne community. If you would like to support Tri! Ballantyne as a volunteer, you can sign up by clicking here.

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK: The Miles of Mooresville summer race series -- which I've mentioned before and competed in myself last month -- is a really cool and different type of event, featuring 1-, 2- and 3-mile races. It continues next Friday evening, July 16, with start times of 7 p.m. for the one-mile race, 7:20 for the two, and 8 for the three. (Sound challenging? It is. I crushed the mile, but suffered in the 2-miler and barely had anything left for Race #3.) Cost is $25, or $30 on race day; runners can participate in any or all of the races and will receive a technical T-shirt plus one free beer. For more details, click here.

A WALKING/RUNNING CLASS DESIGNED FOR WOMEN BY WOMEN: Lorri Elliott knows there are women out there who want to learn to run but feel uncomfortable because of their age, weight or inability to run -- after all, she was one of them not so long ago. (Read her story here.) So with her coach Jen Frank, she developed the idea for Ladies in Motion, a LiveWELL Carolinas! training program that focuses "on women's needs in order to provide a comfortable environment to learn to run." The next six-week session begins Tuesday, July 20, and runs every Tuesday leading up to participation in the Greek Fest 5K on Saturday, Aug. 28. Interested? E-mail jenfrank@athleticorecoaching.com or Lorri.Elliott@carolinashealthcare.org.

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