My picks for tonight's men's 10k: Fisher, Pros: he's the best, seasoned & consistent Cons: none I can think of. Kincaid, Pros: been there, done that, it's his type of race Cons: at some point it's one too many. Young, Pros: has all the tools Cons: it's already been a long year.

My picks for tonight's men's steeple: Bor, Pros: wins a lot Cons: coming off broken foot. Rooks, Pros: strong finisher Cons: not the only strong finisher. Wilkinson, Pros: he's silky Cons: it's hard to win from the front. Keter, Updike & Rotich make this a tough team to make.

My picks for tonight's women's 5k: St. Pierre, Pros: you can't run away from her & can't outkick her Cons: nada. Cranny, Pros: the best of the rest Cons: nada. Schweizer, Pros: still too strong for Andrews & Valby Cons: coming off injury year.

My picks for tonight's men's 1500: Nuguse, Pros: can win different ways Cons: not always in best position. Hocker, Pros: has a devastating kick Cons: ditto on position. Kessler, Pros: getting better at championship racing Cons: inexperience.

My picks for tonight's women's 800: Mu, Pros: defending Olympic champion Cons: under-raced this year. Nia Akins, Pros: consistently good this season Cons: haven't seen any. Grace, Pros: well-timed kick Cons: semis may have been too taxing.

My picks for tonight's women's 3k steeplechase: Wayment, Constien, Jennings with Markezich as a possible spoiler.

My picks for tonight's women's 10K: Schweizer, Pros: is back to old form Cons: may still have tough 5k in her legs. Kelati, Pros: has raced well this year Cons: hasn't won many big track races. Valby, Pros: this is her best event Cons: will have to lead much of the race.

My picks for tonight's women's 1500 meter: St. Pierre, Pros: in top form this year Cons: has a lot of fast races in her legs this OT. Hiltz, Pros: smart racer Cons: haven't seen any yet. Cranny, Pros: has honed her speed this year Cons: hasn't run a championship 1500 in awhile.

My picks for tonight's men's 5k: Hocker, Pros: at his best right now Cons: none. Fisher, Pros: American record holder Cons: good but not great kick. Kincaid, Pros: has a way of making teams Cons: not always there at the end to use his kick.

My picks for tonight's men's 800: Hoppel, Pros: World indoor champion Cons: none. Kessler, Pros: the kid has arrived Cons: the kid is inexperienced. Miller, Pros: consistently good this season Cons: haven't seen any yet.

There is nothing better than slamming ice cold milk after a good run. I've been doing it for years. Have never had a stress reaction or fracture or bone issue. Tastes good & is good for you.

MN lake life

I used to run the 10k & could never have finished like this even if my hair was on fire. This was an amazing, beautiful race by an incredible field of runners. So happy for Grant Fisher to get this reward for all the years of hard work.

Ready early & excited for the first day of the 2024 Nova Cross Country season! Lots of new kids today starting their journey of self-discovery through running.

As much as anything else, having 8 runners I coached coaching this fall at the high school, college & professional level of the sport is gratifying. They all seem happy & their teams are successful.

This week in the old journal, when I decided to run a marathon & took up training mileage like Frank Shorter & Bill Rodgers cuz they were the best. I never became the best but I became myself.

Me & Tim Walz wear identical running kit. If we had a running club it would be called Fellas. #fellas

The ⁦Nova Classical Academy⁩ fellas ran well today in our season opener. Not sure how well because results are still messed up. But we had 7 guys faster today than our 4th runner last year on the same course.

Fun day with my granddaughter at the MN state fair. She won a tiara, had a malt (& other stuff), petted a baby pig & went on rides.

Our team ran well today, finishing first of 29 teams!