Well, the evening was a blast. Ten area athletes were presented to a near sell-out crowd over drinks and dinner. Votes were cast, stories were told. Being the ultrarunner in a crowd of top-notch professional and collegiate athletes, I have to say I was surprised at the amount of genuine respect I received, rather than the somewhat typical shock about the extremeness of what I do. I don’t think Bobby Engram is going to give up his job to join me out there, but I felt the other athletes understood our sport more than the general public might. They put a lot of commitment into being their best, just as we do.

Read the P-I article about the evening here.

I didn’t take top honors for the evening. I have one fan out there protesting. Read Jim Moore’s P-I story here.

For those of you who haven’t yet heard or have been procrastinating your purchase of a 2008 wall calendar, Glenn Tachiyama launched a great project a few years ago. In an effort to raise awareness and funds for our Washington Trails Association (WTA), which plays a pivotal role in trail building, preservation, and maintenance, Glenn launched the calendar project, in which all proceeds from sales are directly donated to WTA. This is an organization I do a lot of trail work with which does amazing work throughout the state of Washington.

This year’s calendar was prepared by Glenn and Wendy Wheeler-Jacobs. Thank you both so much for your efforts! For those of you still in need of a 2008 calendar or for a trail loving friend, I’m told there are still some copies available. You don’t have to be a Northwest trail runner to enjoy the images, as many of the photos are from trails outside the area. For a peek at the images, click here. You can order the calender online from Zombie Runner or Pacific Coast Trail Runs, or check with your local running specialty shop.

The Seattle P-I has named me as one of their “Sports Star Award Winners.” A great honor for me and for ultramarathoning, the P-I takes nominations of ten athletes, recognizing their accomplishments at the end of each year. Local runners have been telling me for years that they’ve been nominating me, so there’s some excitement in Seattle’s running community this week.

Read the feature article here, or if you live in Seattle, check out today’s sports section.

The 73rd annual Sports Star of the Year awards banquet is next Tuesday, January 22 at the Westin Seattle. I’ll be introduced with the other award winners along with a video and interview. The program will conclude with the announcement of THE male and female Sports Star of the Year as chosen by the audience that evening. Tickets are $75 and can be ordered by calling 206.448.8066.

Thank you to the P-I and the Seattle community for recognizing me and congratulations to the other award winners. Looking forward to next Tuesday.

This past Sunday, I loaded up my bicycle with at least 50 pounds of local, organic food. Not in ownership of a car, this is nothing unusual, although these are special occasions when I have to be creative about using the panniers, rack, and a backpack.

Not more than a mile from my Seattle apartment is the Broadway Farmer’s Market where I bought ten pounds of pinto beans from one of my favorite growers. In the Yakima Valley, Alvarez Farms grows peppers, tomatotillos, onions, garlic, peanuts, beans, and much more. They tell me next week they’ll have two other varieties of beans which I also plan to stock up on. Their fresh beans I’ve bought in years past, but wished I’d done so in larger quantities as the freshness is like nothing else!

Another large purchase this week included 24 pounds of heirloom squash from the brand new Local Roots Farm. The bright oranges of their flesh make great risottos, raviolis, and soups. Or possibly even better just baked in the oven with salt, pepper, onions, garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. The passionate and energetic young farmers have also grown some of the best foods that have landed on my plate since spring. Some of my favorites have been their collard greens, brussels sprouts, carrots and arugula.

Next week is the last for this year’s farmer’s market on Broadway, so I hope to load up on more potatoes, onions, and garlic, as well as the beans I previously mentioned. However I will be able to find many of my favorite farmers for winter greens at the Ballard and University locations throughout the winter, as well as at the Pike Place Market, where Alvarez sells daily.

People all over the US are buying more and more from local farmers, enjoying the benefits of superb taste and a higher nutrient profile from foods picked often the morning of your purchase. With the average meal in the US coming from as far as 1,500 miles away, buying food grown near your home is also great for the environment and supports the local economy. Many studies have shown local, organic foods purchased direct from the farmers are similar in price or often less expensive than conventional grown produce which has traveled from miles and miles away.

You can search for farms, farmers markets, or community supported agriculture shares in your area with some of the following links:

Puget Sound Area Farmer’s Markets
Local Harvest
Natural Resources Defense Council
USDA

Also of interest may be these case studies from Rural Roots, including one of Alvarez Farms: Northwest Direct Farm.

Enjoy this season’s harvest!

I’m honored to be recognized by Seattle Metropolitan as best “running coach” in their July 2007 “best of the city” issue. Check it out on page 96!