Yep, I’ve been neglecting my blog, the Slammin’ Stan Podcast, and my writing! Truth is, I’ve been compelled to run on a nearly daily basis. This compulsion was sparked by two sources: the book “Born To Run,” which my big bro Erich sent me for my birthday, and my recent trip to San Francisco.

“Born To Run” is a huge bestseller by Christopher McDougall that spotlights the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico, who are an elite group of distance runners, their participation in American long distance races, and American runners’ participation in a race on The Tarahumara’s turf. The book also focuses on and lauds the current trend of barefoot running.

Ironically, the key focuses of the book are not what has me revved up. I’m not sold on running barefoot, and while The Tarahumara sound like amazing runners and a fascinating group of folks, neither of those topics are what held my attention. Rather, it’s McDougall’s brief but dynamic profiles of each individual participant in the book; and there are plenty of key players in this book, so doing each person individualized justice could not have been an easy feat. Intriguing people like Manuel Luna, Scott Jurek, Ann Trason, and two hard-drinking crazy-ass-cats named Jenn Shelton and Billy Barnett (picture Dr. Jerry Graham turned from an individual to a hot looking young couple) are what juiced the passion in this book for me.

No, I’m not becoming an ultra-runner, hell, I’m not even gunning to do a marathon. This book simply reminded me how fucking good running feels. I totally recommend this book, whether you’re a cat like me who runs just for the rush of it, or a runner setting high goals. In fact, I would say check this book out even if you have no desire to run— the essence of this book could inspire you to throw yourself into any project you’re into, be it athletic, artisan, or sheer couch-potato based goals (that last description not sardomic. Love what you do, and if you love couch-potatoing, be proud of it!).

My highest goal as a runner? After trekking up to San Francisco to see the March 6 Roller Derby at Kezar Pavilion, I just gazed upon a few of those steep San Francisco streets and decided “I wanna run up a few of those!” So— there ya go!

Speaking of the Roller Derby at Kezar, I want to thank Broadway Danny Wolf (the coolest play-by-play Roller Derby has had since Dick Lane) for being an awesome host, supplying the transportation complete with Sirius radio. Yep, Sirious; I’m that far behind current technology that I was blown away by the vast kingdom of playlists and station on its system. Danny has great taste in music, and we heard scores of 70s hits (Wolfie’s fave decade for music) from Chic to The Detroit Spinners to The Doobie Brothers to ABBA to Mungo Jerry. Too cool!

Old-school Roller Derby drew a 3,300 crowd that evening at Kezar. Not shabby at all! The classic Americana sport will likely never thrive like it did in the past, but it still has life in it!