We are featuring the Monster Bash, a fun, family-friendly adventure 5K, on May 26.  Founding member of our Club, Jonny Simpkins and family are directing five adventure events for 2012.  Adventure running is the sport of running over a variety of surfaces (dirt, sand, water, roads, mountain), generally over long distances, where the racer has to overcome nature.  Jonny’s events are shorter distance ones, which opens up his events to a wider range of participants.  Adventure races, like the Muddy Buddy drew 40,000 participants last year.  The Tough Mudder drew 140,000 participants and the Warrior Dash drew 700,000 participants to 33 races last year.  Jonny is offering you the Yakathon (run, kayak, off-road bike) on July 14th, the Hot Pursuit 5K (cops chasing runners) on August 11, the Highlander (3 and 6 mile) obstacle runs on September 22 and the Halloween 5K, a nighttime event where you must outrun monsters seeking to take your flag, not your life, on October 27th.  Check them out at rockon.adventures.com. 

The Monster Bash Dash is a very unique race here in Florida. It will be all about having a scary good time with friends, family and coworkers!  Check out our site for information! http://tinyurl.com/6qpqb6m

The Central Florida Striders Club assisted at the second Annual Pig Run 5k here in the Lake Nona area, as well as the Orange County Health Department 5K, where we debuted our new start/finish chute.  As proud parents, Nadine and I watched our son James, finish in first place in the Health run for his third consecutive year, with a time of 16:48.  Elite runner, Clarence Smith and an excellent high school runner, Tyler Switcher were on hand to give James a challenge.  He was able to hold off Clarence by 14 seconds and Tyler by 34 seconds.  Clarence was a good friend of Tim Simpkins and visited Tallahassee, winning several races there.  At the Pig Run James finished fourth overall (21:34).  Contestants stopped at the “Pig Pen” to eat doughnuts at approximately the 2 ½ mile point of the race.  Partially digested doughnuts don’t look so good in the finish chute.  Strider members Judy King and Nadine ran, while I worked the clock.

In March we started our eight-week Spring Training Class for beginning and intermediate walkers and runners.  This class currently has 30 members and is held at Village Walk, a gated community in the Lake Nona area.  We hope you have happy and healthy walking and running.

Safe Running…..

    Dex Dexter CFS President

P.S. Motorola has a MP3 music player watch called the Motorola Motoactv 1.6″ MP3 music player watch.  They sent me one to try out.  Nadine got to it first and she got the MP3 music player watch and I got the empty box!  This unique watch gives you course maps, fitness data, music, timepiece, phone access and more.  All in a nifty case that can be worn like a watch.  Nadine loves it!

P.S.S.  I just finished a novel - Murder on the Outer Banks, The Methuselah Murders, by Joe C. Ellis. I downloaded it to my iPad 2 to read!  Athletes will find this an interesting read, as it is about a runner developing a healing, long life, youth rejuvenating serum.