What can I "buy" with my points?

Hi Bobby,

The short answer is "yes... eventually". I had in mind being able to swap points for free trips (like to Kenya, to see how "they" train); paid-for race entry fees; oodles of gear -- shirts, shoes; loads of books.... but then I asked Steve (one of the guys who REALLY runs this site) and he put me straight:

"The 'points' for now are a way of keeping track of folks'
activity on the site", he says. "We hope to come up with some sort of system
where they're worth something -- perhaps in collaboration with a
sponsor. But frankly, it's a tough thing to make work on a site like
this. Do we reward points that are worth money or merchandise to folks
who post a lot of stuff? That's just incentive to put a lot of stuff
on the site even if it's low quality. Better to reward points for
posts to the website that are excellent and interesting! -- so the
points system serves to make YourRunning.com more lively and
interesting for everyone.

"That's a long way of saying that we're still trying to figure out how
to use the points system. We welcome ideas and feedback!"

So now you know. I think?

As for races on the horizon. Well, the short answer is "yes... eventually".

My training is a bit up and down at the moment. My "goal" race is not till August, but I was planning on getting out there and having some "fun" in cross-country and the early 5k races in February and March, with maybe a shot at the Carlsbad 5k in April. But I'm just not feeling fit enough to do the business. The snow and ice here has not helped. As ever, I go by how I feel, so if the speed-endurance bubbles up OK, I'll look for a race.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, it'll be a short one, somewhere warm!

Thanks Simon,

That's what I figured (about the points). The site makes it clear that you earned another point when you post something, so I thought I'd ask.

Good luck with your quest to run Carlsbad! I hear it's a scorcher!
Bobby (aka Irondad aka Baselbutt)

"if you run for yourself, you might let yourself down, but if you run for someone else, you'll never let them down..."

The Carlsbad 5000 is an excellent race. Always a nice breeze from the Pacific to cool you down. However, today the temp was 88, might just be a scorher this year.

Local knowledge! Thank you!

We are enjoying a totally blistering 56 today :) But we have another dump of snow due on Monday night. Arg.

We did a 5k test yesterday (after clearing the track of ice), and I had to work hard to get under 20 minutes. This low serum ferritin thing has really taken a toll, so I am STILL not sure I'm going to be ready for Carlsbad. But maybe I should run it anyway, just to get used to the event. What do you think? It doesn't really sound like the kind of race you can relax and enjoy yourself in ?! :)

I hear Nolan Shaheed and Henry Ronon are both likely to be there, and it would be great to see them.

But WHAT am I going to do about the heat?????

Also running every year is Steve Scott, he designed the course and set the record in his younger years. Don't worry about the heat this race is over before you know it. Three miles around the city makes the race go by fast. The race normally is so packed the first mile is slow anyways and the course is always lined with people screaming/cheering at you. If like past years, the races are staged in groups since everyong can not fit in the narrow street. Men, Women, and the last two races are the elite racers, men/women. So you get to run your race, and afterwards line the course to cheer on and get a chance to see the worlds fastest 5k runners. This is a nice race for runners and non-runners. My wife and kids like to watch it. So if you can't run it, come on out anyways, you won't be let down.
Pat