Birkie Marathon in 2010? That's Right!

Many of you know that my other sports passion is cross-country skiing. I will be skiing my 30th American Birkebeiner 51K in February, but that's another story for another day. The "Birkie," as it's affectionately known by the Nordic ski crowd, which includes thousands of runners just like you, also puts on a great fall event called the American Birkebeiner Trail Run, Relay & Trek. It includes a 26.2-mile (marathon) relay, 13.1-mile run, 5K fun run/walk and a 21K Nordic Walking Trek on the hilly and super-scenic Birkbebeiner trail (30 feet wide). This great day of racing for serious and casual athletes is set for Saturday, Sept. 26 this year in the Hayward-Cable area in northwest Wisconsin. There is a Nordic Walking Clinic the day before. Now, the big news. Birkebeiner Executive Director Ned Zuelsdorff just told me in an e-mail that the Birkebeiner Board of Directors approved a full marathon for the 2010 Trail Run at its meeting last night. This will give next fall's marathon runners a unique alternative to the other established 26.2-milers in places such as Chicago, Twin Cities, Fox Cities, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Columbus, Des Moines, Detroit and elsewhere. For information on this year's Birkie trail event, which does NOT include an individual marathon, go to www.birkie.com or call 715-634-5025.