Resolve to run next year

I started working on this column about 7:30 a.m. Thursday in the third mile of a 5.3-miler.

Running against 30 mph wind gusts and a 28-degree wind chill, I felt my mind and nose numb as I puzzled over what to write.

With just three weeks left in this year, I thought of the first two area runs scheduled for next year.

The Brazosport Area Road Runners Association Runner of the Year Series begins the local race season Jan. 28 with the sixth annual Spectacle Spectacular 10K Run/5K Run/5K Walk in Angleton.

The Angleton Noon Lions Club sponsors the contest. All of the race proceeds benefit the Children’s Eyeglass Program in local schools and other Lions charities.

I suggested in my Oct. 31 column that you set finishing the Spectacle Spectacular as a goal to help you keep the weight off between Thanksgiving and the end of the year.

If you have trained, as I suggested, you will be fit to complete the 5K run (3.1 miles).

If you have erred and strayed from your ways like a lost sheep, Jan. 1 you should resolve to walk the 5K.

The Moody National Bank, First Choice Power and Compass Bank provide $75 in prize money for the first overall male and female finishers and the first male and female masters (40 and older) finishers.

The first male and female finishers in eight age groups from 12-and-younger through 70-and-older will receive medals, while the fourth and fifth finishers in the age groups will receive coffee mugs.

Post-race activities feature food and live music indoors.

Registration for the Spectacle Spectacular is $16 through Jan. 7, or $20 after and on race day.

Still looking for something for the runner on your Christmas list? Registration for the race is a good, last-minute gift.

For additional information and entry forms, call J. Patrick Henry at (979) 849-8752 or e-mail phenry(at)angletonisd.net.

If you have trained hard over the winter and want a bigger challenge than the 10K or 5K distance, BARRA sponsors the second annual Surfside Beach Marathon and Half-Marathon on Saturday, Feb. 11.

The Surfside Beach Marathon/Half-Marathon is the only contest run almost entirely on the beach. Both races begin and end at Stahlmann Park. The marathoners run all the way to San Luis Pass and back, the half-marathoners run halfway to San Luis Pass and back.

Overall and age-group winners receive unique awards, all registrants receive long-sleeved T-shirts, and all finishers receive medals.

We drew almost 200 last year, so we increased our limit to 300. At press time, more than 150 had registered, with some runners from as far away as Minnesota, Florida, Colorado, Missouri and New York.

The runner comments about last year’s inaugural contest were positive.

“I had a great time,” College Station’s Jim Dunham said. “Also please send me the address of the church that sponsored the meal. I want to send them a thank-you note and offering.”

The New Hope Fellowship Church of Lake Jackson furnished the barbecue lunch with all the trimmings and will reprise the feast in 2006.

Why not pay the registration fees for both contests as a Christmas gift to the runner on your list?

The registration fee for either contest is $50 through Dec. 31 and $60 through Feb. 10.

Online registration is available at www.active.com. E-mail questions to surfsidemarathon(at)yahoo.com, or call Daryl Beatty at (979) 297-8224.

Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays if that is more politically correct for you), and I hope to see lots of runners at the starting lines Jan. 28 and Feb. 11.

Bill Shaw’s running column appears every other Monday in The Facts.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.