It’s not too late, it’s never too late

I’ve been getting quite a few e-mails lately asking me if it’s too late to enter the 2009 Shave Your 5K Challenge and as you might have guessed from the title of this post it’s not too late, it’s never too late. I was going to respond to all your e-mails individually but frankly that sounded like a lot of effort, so instead I’m writing this post to answer your questions which has the added benefit that I don’t have to come up with a real post for today.

Here is a list of the most common inquiries that I’ve been receiving, or frequently asked questions if you will:

Q. Is it too late to enter the SY5K?
A. No. There are no time restraints for your running your Stubble Time or your Smooth Time this year. The only requirement is that you complete them both by January 1st, 2010.

Q. Isn’t that a time restraint?
A. Shut up.

Q. If I submitted a Smooth Time to you last year and I want to use that for this year’s Stubble time do I need to e-mail you to tell you that?
A. No. If you ran a Smooth Time last year and sent it to me you are automatically entered in this year’s SY5K, whether you want to be or not.

Q. If I didn’t run Smooth Time last year can I use last year’s Stubble Time as my Stubble time for this year?
A. No. That would give you 2 years to shave your time which is not the point.

Q. I ran a 5K with a friend at their pace, can I use this time as my Stubble Time?
A. No. You’re missing the point again, we’re not trying to determine who the biggest sandbagger is, we’re trying to see who can legitimately improve the most.

Q. I haven’t run a 5K yet, can I use my 5K split from my marathon as my Stubble Time?
A. No. I highly doubt that you ran the first 5K of your marathon the same way you’d run a 5K race, but if you did I would have loved to watch you from miles 20 through the finish.

Q. It seems from this here list of FAQs that your answer is always no, is that true?
A. No. If you look closely you’ll see that one of my answers was “Shut up.”

At some point I’ll tally up all the results that I’ve received thus far and get a list of entrants posted. In the meantime, if you have any questions that have not been answered above then please feel free to e-mail them to me. Then when my inbox is sufficiently backlogged with SY5K questions I’ll do another post just like this.

The 2009 Shave Your 5K Challenge

The SY5K Challenge is back for 2009, which means another year of relentless speedwork, searching for local 5Ks and me ignoring your e-mails for months on end. When I first announced the SY5K Challenge last year I got a little too addicted to creating rules, because it made me feel important, but the post ended up being waaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too long, albeit delightfully pretentious.

This year in the interest of making things simpler there will be no limitations on when you have to run your stubble 5K or your smooth 5K. Run them both the same day if you want, see if I care. Furthermore, if you submitted a smooth time race for last year’s challenge then I’m putting that down as your stubble time this year, meaning you only have one 5K left to run. Those of you who ran slow races at the end of last year are sitting pretty, but if you run a fast 5K early in the year and feel compelled by the spirit of good sportsmanship to have me update your 5K stubble time (like Sherry, one of the winners from last year) then you can feel free to do that, and also, you totally lack a killer instinct. Since some of you seem to enjoy running on New Year’s Day (when you should be sleeping in and shaking off the cobwebs of the previous year) the contest will end at midnight on January 1st, 2010.

Depending on the number of entries there will probably be 3 different starting corrals: The Super Fast Corral (sub-20:00? sub-21:00?), The Half-Fast Corral (21:00 to 29:59), and the Awkwardly Named Corral (30:00+) that doesn’t want to call you slow but is totally thinking that it could beat you in a footrace. Shaving will be calculated solely on percentage of time shaved and will include bumbling, mathematical errors which are not to be pointed out or questioned for fear of insulting me.

It shouldn’t need to be said but please participate within the spirit of the competition, which is to see how much faster you can get in 2009, not to set the bar really, really low and see how much you can clear it by. That’s what work is for. If you run a race with a slower friend then don’t submit that as your stubble time, there’s no sandbagging allowed. And of course just to try and cover myself from a legal standpoint, all of the lengthy terms and conditions from last year still apply.

All entries should be submitted via e-mail and should include your time, the name of the race, your blog address (if you have one), and your name or online identity.

So, who’s in?

Shave Your 5K Results!

When I first announced this challenge back on January 14th last year I wanted it to be a competition that anyone could win, from the beginning runner to the seasoned veteran. In that vein I stated that prizes would be awarded for most seconds shaved and highest percentage of time shaved, thinking that this would respectively benefit slower runners and speedier runners. Unfortunately this did not work out as I had planned because the top 3 shavers by actual time were also the top 3 percentage shavers. So, in order to stick to the original intent of the contest every runner was placed into 2 divisions based on their Stubble Time; The Over 30 Minute Division, and The Sub 30 Minute Division.

The winner of the Over 30 Minute Division (and overall winner) improved so much over the course of the year that when he first e-mailed me his Smooth Time I called him a liar, a cheater, a sandbagger and a toe-jam-licking-snot-guzzler. I had no idea about the last one but it seemed likely and I needed something that stung a little bit worse than ‘cheater’. After a few e-mails back and forth and after checking his other race results on Athlinks I decided that he was in fact telling the truth. Give it up for the overall SY5K winner: Shaun.

Name	Stubble	Smooth	Difference
Shaun	39:37	25:57	13:40

Congrats Shaun, sorry I insulted you and keyed your car... a little turtle wax will get that right out, the insults I mean, those scratches are there to stay.

The Sub 30 Minute Division winner was none other than: Sherry.

Name	Stubble	Smooth	Difference
Sherry	28:19	23:58	4:21

Sherry entered the SY5K contest with an initial time of 32:03 in February of ’08 and then in a raging bout of honesty asked me to reduce her Stubble time after she ran another 5K in March in 28:19. Sherry then went on to shave an additional 4:21 off her new stubble time when she posted a time of 23:58 in a November 5K, making her the best shaver in the sub 30 minute starting corral. Ironically, had Sherry not told me about her improved Stubble Time she would have remained in the over 30 minute starting corral and would not have won anything. Honesty, you guys should try it sometime.

Both winners will receive a Performance Microfiber T-Shirt complete with the SY5K logo emblazoned above the word “Winner” and a mildly humorous slogan. The rest of you can purchase one of said shirts right here, but without the “Winner” inscription, sorry, you’ll have to get the affirmation you so desperately crave elsewhere. I’ve contacted the winners by e-mail and asked them for their shipping address, which probably creates quite a conundrum for them. On the one hand, you want the free shirt, but on the other you don’t want me to have your home address because I’ll likely sign you up for all kinds of junk mail and maybe even send you a dead cat, or worse, a live one.

Please join me in congratulating Shaun and Sherry on Shaving their 5Ks this year.

Full Results

Over 30 Minute Division

Name	Stubble	Smooth	Difference
Shaun	39:37	25:57	13:40
Kitzzy	44:38	33:50	10:48
})i({ Runnergirl	38:40	30:14	8:26
Chris	31:48	25:18	6:30
AndrewE	31:01	24:38	6:23
Stacy	39:14	33:33	5:41
Katie	36:07	31:12	4:55
J~Mom	35:01	31:17	3:44
KimsRunning	30:50	27:25	3:25
Danielle	39:03	36:18	2:45
sherijung	30:02	27:27	2:35
Jim	31:15	28:42	2:33
Jess	30:54	28:29	2:25
Viv	35:57	33:33	2:24
Mrs. Half-Fast	31:54	29:40	2:14
Bill	41:55	40:48	1:07
Pam	31:34	30:40	0:54
Jeanne	30:22	29:59	0:23
Linda	32:11	31:59	0:12
lil 1/2 pint	34:41	35:12	+0:31
Non-Runner Nancy	31:40	32:45	+1:05

Sub 30 Minute Division

Name	Stubble	Smooth	Difference
Sherry	28:19	23:58	4:21
Jon	26:35	22:23	4:12
Chad Stevens	24:12	21:25	2:47
Kevin	22:01	19:25	2:36
KdoubleA	22:43	20:27	2:16
Amanda	26:40	24:25	2:15
Reluctant Runner	28:00	26:12	1:48
suzee	28:30	26:44	1:46
Robert	27:49	26:23	1:26
Viper	25:37	24:20	1:17
Kristin	26:16	25:04	1:12
Glaven Q. Heisenberg	27:34	26:25	1:09
Shoreturtle	22:18	21:12	1:06
audgepodge	28:45	27:41	1:04
Renée	24:37	23:53	0:44
Sarah	23:19	22:44	0:35
running private	17:05	16:32	0:33
Vanilla	25:56	25:26	0:30
Laura	24:37	24:17	0:20
Eric Gervase	23:08	22:53	0:15
Ewen	21:30	21:45	+0:15
speedygeoff	19:25	19:54	+0:29
Marcy	23:16	23:50	+0:34
kyle	21:44	22:46	+1:02
kara	24:36	25:48	+1:12
runatthemouth	28:14	29:27	+1:13
Bill	21:02	22:55	+1:53
Irene	27:26	33:30	+6:04

Regular Posting Will Resume Shortly

This week has been crazy at work and I’m quite certain that you don’t care unless you’re my boss in which case thanks for making me sit on that conference call that did not apply to me in any way, shape or form. *Deep breaths* Anyway, I usually try to post my inane ramblings here 4 times a week, furthermore I’d like to get back into the habit of regularly posting the Weekend Splits and I think things will return to normal next week, or maybe the following week since I’m running a marathon next week. (Side note: AHHHHHHHH!)

So I don’t have much time to post anything of substance today but in the meantime you can read the following e-mail that I sent out to everyone who hasn’t submitted a Smooth Time for the SY5K Challenge. It may even apply to you. If you didn’t get this email, then I got your results or my e-mail went straight to your junk mail folder, I hear they have a tendency to do that when you repeatedly use the word ‘ass.’

Subject: Hey, Remember the Shave Your 5K Challenge?

Hello all,

You are receiving this e-mail because at some point in the last year you thought it would be a good idea to enter the Shave Your 5K Challenge at that oh-so-awesome blog Half-Fast and you have not sent me your Smooth Time. Maybe you posted the result on your blog assuming that I’d see it, but you know what they say about assuming. (It makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘ming,’ and ‘ming’ doesn’t care too much for your insolence.)

I originally set some parameters around when the Smooth Time had to occur but I’ve made so many exceptions that I’m no longer holding people to running their faster 5K in the Nov/Dec window. If you ran a 5K last year at some time after your original Stubble 5K then please feel free to send me that time and I’ll include you in the results which will be posted on Monday January 12th.

Perhaps your attempts at Shaving Your 5K all fell dreadfully short of your original time and so you have not submitted it to me, but I encourage you to reconsider. I already have several people who posted slower times in their later races and the sting of my mocking will be greatly reduced if there are more of you to mock. I’m
kidding of course... it will still sting just as bad.

Since the results will be announced on Monday, I will include any results that I receive before noon on Sunday, January 11th. That’s Mountain Time.

Some of you have already asked whether I’ll be doing this again next year and the answer is: Yes. I plan on making the 2009 SY5K Challenge a little simpler while throwing in a few new wrinkles. “But Vanilla,” you ask, “how can it be simpler and have more wrinkles?” Well I’ll save that for a later post when I’m not busy missing deadlines and ignoring clients.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Get to Shaving Already!

Of the 94 stubble times that have been submitted for the Shave Your 5K Challenge, I have received only 19 smooth times. Perhaps people have forgotten about the challenge, or perhaps they’ve gotten slower and are too ashamed to e-mail me their times, fearing that I will mock them mercilessly (a well placed fear if ever there was one). The good news in all of this is that the less people who submit smooth times the greater your chances are of winning! Thus far it appears that there has been some pretty impressive shaving going on and I’m sorry to say, some pretty impressive cheating going on too. I just re-checked my originally posted terms and conditions and wow, are they long. They are as lengthy as my... well... let’s just say that they’re lengthy and leave it at that shall we? Anyway, the terms and conditions do state that I have the right “to disqualify anyone who submits a stubble time that I feel is significantly slower than it should be” and I’m so glad that I put that in there because disqualifying people sounds like a total power trip and tons of fun to boot.

I’ve decided that I won’t be posting the results until after the competition ends on January 1st just to keep you in suspense. Okay, you got me, it’s mostly because I like to procrastinate and put things off to the last minute, I haven’t even bought a single Christmas present yet. Why would I? There’s still 2 more weeks left before Christmas!

That’s all I’ve got for today. Have a good weekend and enjoy this video of the Mother of the Year and her son enjoying some kind of evil amusement park ride. Or maybe it’s the mother who’s evil, not the ride. By the way laughing at this video is equivalent to punching your one way ticket to Hell, so it’s a good thing that I wasn’t laughing at the video but rather at a joke I heard the other day.

Shave Your 5K Update

This is just a friendly reminder for those of you who are participating in the Shave Your 5K Challenge that you only have 5½ weeks left to get achieve your Smooth time so you’d better get your butt out there and start running some 5Ks. My dilatory way of processing the results means that many of you didn’t receive an e-mail confirming that you were entered into the challenge, but if you sent me an e-mail with a 5K result then you should see your name on the results page. If you don’t see your name, then you need to send me another e-mail so that I can ignore you again correct my oversight.

All Smooth times must be e-mailed to me before the end of the day, January 1st, 2009. I’ll plan on announcing the winner’s and sending out prizes some time in January and I promise to be somewhat punctual about it.

Finally, here’s a video that is not related to anything I’ve said in this post whatsoever, but it’s Friday and I needed a laugh and you look like you could use one too.



Have a great weekend everyone!

Race Weekend

Saturday is the Skirt Chaser 5K, which is my first 5K since I posted my Stubble time of 25:56 at the end of last year so it will be a good indication of how well I’m Shaving My 5K. If you’re a new reader of Half-Fast and have only just heard about the Shave Your 5K Challenge it’s not too late for you to enter, especially if you’ve already run a 5K this year. If you haven’t run a 5K this year then it’s still not too late to enter but it probably is too late to win. Enter anyway, because life’s not just about winning; it’s about the journey, the camaraderie, it’s about pushing yourself to the limits because it makes you a better person, and a bunch of other crap like that - anything that takes your mind off the fact that you’re not winning, loser!

The Skirt Chaser race is all about fun, and I have several friends, including Carl, running the race with me so I’m not going to set a real aggressive goal for myself. I want to have enough energy left for the post race bash so that I can party like a rock star. Except without the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and without the musical talent, or the groupies, or the good looks, or the expensive tastes, or the wild temper, or the propensity for dating Pamela Anderson. But other than those few missing details, I’ll be partying EXACTLY like a rock star.

The goal for Saturday is simply to set a new PR, but I’m undecided on how to go about doing that. I usually try to reign myself in at the beginning of a race so as not to fade at the end, but I also recently read this article on Runner’s World that talks about runners having success in 5Ks by going out fast. I kind of like the idea of going out fast because then I’ll be able to catch Candis much sooner, but I also like having a nice strong kick to the finish because it makes me feel good and it always sucks to get passed at the end of a race. Let me hear your thoughts on 5K strategy in the comments so that I can arrogantly ignore them and do my own thing.

The Skirt Chaser 5K

As you no doubt remember from my last race report miles 11, 12 and 13 were unending in their torment of my psyche and my quads. I am bound and determined to make sure that doesn’t happen in my next race, which is why I have picked a race that doesn’t have a mile 11,12, or 13. In fact, it doesn’t even have a mile 4 because it’s a 5K, hopefully the title of this post didn’t give that away too early.

On September 6th Candis and I will be running in the Denver Skirt Chaser 5K. The women start off in the first wave with a 3 minute head start, and the men start in the second wave, also called the skirt chaser wave. A 3 minute head start is a sufficient amount of time for me to boil an egg and then chase down Candis somewhere before the 2 mile mark. Once I catch her I’ll give her a taunting loving pat on the butt and then speed off to finish the race as far ahead of her as possible, reminding her that I am superior and belong on a pedestal. Do not bother to respond in the comments about how Candis is going to ‘totally kick my butt’ because it is a virtual certainty that she will be ‘husbanded’ before the race is said and done. (‘Husbanded,’ another one for the list Nitmos? Or maybe Vanilla’d?)

It’s been a while since I’ve run a 5K so this will be a good judge of progress as to how well I’m Shaving My 5K. The skirt chaser race series is supposed to have one of the best post race block parties with beer and music aplenty so I’m looking forward to the event. Additionally, there are going to be at least two other bloggers that I know of who are heading out to Denver to participate in this event so perhaps I’ll get to meet them too.

For those of you who are wondering, Candis will be running in a skirt, I will not, despite this generous offer that I received shortly after my Men’s Running Skirt post:

Just a line to let you know that if you want a running skirt for free it would be my honor to make one for you. Send me your measurements and color and type you desire. - Davian Steffen, SkortMan.

At first I thought that it would be kind of funny to go ahead and get a skirt to run in, so I clicked on the link to his site, SkortMan and then I took a long hot shower in the fetal position because it was quite a bit different from what I was expecting. Go ahead, click the link.

So on the off chance that Davian Steffen is reading this, thanks for your generous offer but I’m going to have to pass.

It’s Shaving Time!

As you may remember today (March 31) was the original deadline that I set for completing your stubble time 5K for the Shave Your 5K Challenge. Thus far I have received 67 entries for the SY5K Challenge and I know of a few others that are taking advantage of the extension I granted, so I’m confident that we will exceed 70 entries before all is said and done. Remember that the deadline for sending me your $5,000 entry fee is tax day (April 15).

Many thanks to all of you who have helped me publicize the SY5K Challenge and to everyone who is taking part. The results page is updated as of this morning so if you think you entered and don’t see your name listed then you need to resend your e-mail. If you sent me an e-mail and did not hear back from me within a week then your e-mail probably did not make it past my spam filter. Please e-mail me again and this time, leave out the word “penis.”

Like the title of this post implies, now is the time to get busy shaving. To improve your 5K time I recommend lots and lots of rest days, a high-fat diet, and plenty of time on the couch, especially for the 20 of you who posted faster times than I did.

The Shave Your 5K Challenge

This is your comprehensive guide to the Shave Your 5K Challenge. It will contain links to all the posts about the SY5K Challenge as well as results which will be updated as I receive them. If you haven’t heard about the SY5K Challenge then this is the place to start. If you have heard about it then just skip this post, its sole purpose is to give me a place to host the results that can be linked to from the Shave Your 5K tab above.

The basic idea is to see who can shave the most time off their 5K time during 2008, so everyone will run a 5K at the beginning of the year and another one at the end of the year. The winner is the person that shows the greatest improvement. To enter just e-mail me your name (or online identity), your 5K time, and the name and date of the race. That’s the short version, if you want all the fine print and the terms and conditions see the links below.

• Results Posted!
  
• The original Shave Your 5K Challenge announcement
• The amendment to the rules
• Further suggestions
• SY5K Logos (Huge, Small)

Stubble Time Results
17:05 running private
17:10 Paul
17:27 Andrew
17:44 Relentless Runner
19:25 speedygeoff
19:36 Paul
20:18 Turi
20:41 J-Money
21:02 Bill
21:30 Ewen
21:44 kyle
22:01 Kevin
22:18 Shoreturtle
22:43 KdoubleA
23:06 MMCS(SW/AW) Jason Tucker
23:08 Eric Gervase
23:16 Marcy
23:19 Sarah
24:12 Chad Stevens
24:36 kara
24:37 Laura
24:37 Renée
25:37 Viper
25:52 John
25:56 Vanilla
25:59 Meg
26:09 Strugglepants
26:16 Kristin
26:22 Tall Girl Running
26:35 Jon
26:38 Kaeti
26:40 Amanda
26:43 Karen
26:53 K
27:05 Christine
27:12 Maddy
27:26 Irene
27:33 Tiggs
27:34 Glaven Q. Heisenberg
27:45 Bryan Daneman
27:49 Robert
28:00 Reluctant Runner
28:02 Nikki
28:14 runatthemouth
28:19 Sherry
28:30 suzee
28:34 Aaron
28:45 audgepodge
29:16 Dawnie
29:21 Sarah
29:40 Ali
30:02 sherijung
30:20 Eric
30:22 Jeanne
30:39 Jennie
30:48 Gary
30:50 KimsRunning
30:54 Jess
30:56 Derek
31:01 AndrewE
31:04 Cropstar
31:04 Yas
31:07 Slow Poke
31:09 Donna
31:15 Jim
31:34 Pam
31:40 Non-Runner Nancy
31:48 Chris
31:54 Mrs. Half-Fast
32:11 Linda
32:41 lifestudent
32:52 Bev
34:02 MissAllycat
34:08 jkrunning
34:41 lil 1/2 pint
35:01 J~Mom
35:43 *lisa*
35:46 Mike
35:47 Jill
35:57 Viv
36:07 Katie
37:31 miss petite america
37:36 Darlene
38:40 })i({ Runnergirl
39:03 Danielle
39:14 Stacy
39:15 Theresa
39:37 Shaun
40:16 Jenn
40:30 Anna
41:55 Bill
44:38 Kitzzy
45:18 311boysmom
57:45 Melissa
1:02:40 Darla

Let me know if any of these results are incorrect, or if you want me to change the link or name etc. Results will be added within a few days of me reading your entry e-mail, which may be drastically different from the date that I receive your entry e-mail.

Shave Your 5K Suggestions

I’ve already written way too much about the Shave Your 5K Challenge so it’s probably the last thing you want to hear me drone on about in today’s post. But look, here I go, typing away, not caring. I’m forging ahead with some dos and don’ts for those of you participating in the SY5K Challenge.

• Do get faster this year.
• Don’t get slower this year.
• Do use the CRN Race Calendar. It’s a really useful calendar that will allow everyone to see when you’re going to be racing and I strongly urge you to use it. If you include “SY5K” somewhere in the title of your race entry I will even be able to create a special feed or widget for the contest. I’m not sure yet if I will do that, but I could do it and that’s comforting to know.
• Do pick a flat 5K to race for your smooth time.
• Don’t accidentally pick a 5 mile race.
• Don’t forgo entering the contest because you are training for a longer distance. I’ve seen several people mention that their goal this year is specifically to run longer distances not to get faster. I was guilty of the inverse of this at the beginning of the year but getting faster and getting longer are not mutually exclusive. Last year I trained to run a half marathon which was a longer distance than I had ever run before, the end result of my training was not only that I could run more miles than before but also that I was faster than before. Your marathon or half marathon training will also benefit your 5K time, in fact in my most recent copy of Runner’s World magazine they stated that “runners training for a longer event, like a half or full marathon, can use 5-Ks in place of speedwork... It's a good way to race into shape.”
• Don’t forget to e-mail me your results.
• Do include all pertinent information in your e-mail.
• Do feel free to talk trash to other participants.
• Do pick a 5K with a good post race spread.
• Don’t get “chicked,” unless you are a girl in which case…
• Do “chick” some poor guy when you kick to the finish.
• Don’t be faster than me. That’s just rude.

Shave Your 5K Amendment

If you haven’t read the initial Shave Your 5K post then you should start there, this is merely an amendment that seems destined to turn into a full blown Bill of Rights.

Several people have mentioned that they are having difficulty finding a 5K during these brutal winter months. If you are one of those people who cannot find a 5K to run before March 31st and you didn’t run one in December ’07 (remember the stubble time window extends back to December ’07) then I will make an exception for you and for Katie Holmes. (Seriously, Katie call me.)

Keep in mind that the longer you wait to run your 5K, the less time you will have to get faster by the end of the year. In that vein, I will give you as long as you need to run your stubble time 5K. I’m going to stick to my original decision that your smooth time 5K must be run in November or December because there tends to be a lot of races during that time of the year.

I like to think that Half-Fast is an EOB (equal opportunity blog) so if any of you SOBs have any other issues with this challenge you can shove them up... e-mail me and I will do what I can to make things easier for you. That’s what I’m here for you know, to make your life easier.

All joking aside, I’d hate for someone to not enter the challenge based on a technicality, so I’m more open to making concessions than a Vegas club owner when Lohan hits the Strip.

That’s all for today, I’m off to buy a new pair of running shoes. Yipee!

Announcing the Shave Your 5K Challenge

I’ve stated previously that my goal is to get faster this year, and I’ve read countless other blogs where many of you have stated the same thing. With that in mind, I’m announcing the Shave Your 5K Challenge. Here’s how it will work: You’ll enter a 5K race sometime before March 31st ‘08 and you’ll e-mail me your official time, this will be your “stubble time” (i.e. un-shaven time). I’ll keep track of everyone’s times and then we’ll all run 5K’s again at the end of the year which will give you your “smooth time” (i.e. freshly shaved time). Whoever shows the greatest difference between their stubble time and their smooth time is the winner. Before you go getting any brilliant ideas let me clarify that to state the greatest difference in a negative direction wins, loopholers.

Everyone who posts a better time at year-end will be subject to my superfluously lavish praise while anyone who posts a worse time at year-end will have to suffer my stinging wit and sarcasm. But best of all, everyone who supplies me with their blog address will get a link when I post the results, and I know you all want a little link love. It’s what we bloggers crave more than air itself.

Qualifying months for running your stubble time will be from December ‘07 through March ‘08, so you may have already run a race that qualifies you for the Shave Your 5K Challenge. Qualifying months for running your smooth time will be November ‘08 through December ‘08 which means that this challenge will last for the entire year, or longer than 70% of Pam Anderson’s marriages.

Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in two categories: Highest Percentage of Time Shaved, and Most Actual Seconds Shaved. If we have a lot of entrants prizes may also be awarded for 2nd and 3rd place. Real prizes like a “Shave Your 5K” technical running shirt or other highly coveted running booty.

All I ask in return is for some help publicizing the event, so if you plan on entering and you have a blog then please mention it - feel free to steal the graphic from this post.

The real beauty of this event is that it should be easier for newer (or slower) runners to shave minutes off their 5K time than for someone who’s running 18 minute 5Ks, while it will be easier for the 18 minute 5K’ers to shear off percentage points. At least I think that makes sense. Also, you were probably already planning on running 5Ks during the qualifying months so you can enter this event without having to run any additional miles. BRILLIANT!

Official Terms and Conditions
Let me know in the comments if you plan on participating so that I can have an idea of the number of participants that we’ll have. I’ll also start a group over at the Runner’s Lounge to clarify any issues and for general discussion (SY5K Runner's Lounge Group). To enter you must e-mail me your name (or online identity), your 5K time, the name and date of the race.

If you run multiple 5Ks between December ‘07 and March ‘08 then you MUST submit your best time for your stubble time. If you run multiple 5Ks between November ‘08 and December ‘08 you may use your best time as your smooth time. If you’ve already run a 5K this month or in December, you can e-mail me your entry today. Just be sure to update me if you run a faster one before the end of March.

Your 5Ks must be completed as part of an official race and you must use the official time that the race issues. If possible you should provide me with proof of your time.

NO CHEATING. You’re only cheating yourself everyone else who participates, so don’t do it. Cheaters will be persecuted, yes persecuted. I will be checking everyone’s race times, and will be comparing them to your posted training times and any other races you run, I reserve the right to disqualify anyone who submits a stubble time that I feel is significantly slower than it should be. I also reserve the right to disqualify anyone who runs their 5K wearing Nebraska red or Yankee pinstripes. You know who you are.

If you need me to make an exception to these rules and you feel that you have a valid reason, then please e-mail me, I’m a reasonable guy. Reasonably handsome that is.

Update: See the Shave Your 5K Ammendment.