2004 was a great year for running in Ohio. Numerous new and old time races were contested and the competition was great.

RUNOHIO and the readers of RUNOHIO would especially like to congratulate the following individuals who were chosen as the RUNOHIO Runners of the Year. Robert Gary and Rob Myers are the co-Male Runners of the Year: Robert Gary was recently chosen as the 2004 United States Cross Country Runner of the Year by Track and Field News. Gary also qualified for his second Olympic Games in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Rob Myers won the 2004 USA Indoor Track & Field 1500 Meter Championships and placed third in the U.S. 1500 meter Olympic Track & Field Trials. Briana Shook is the RUNOHIO Woman Runner of the Year and set the American record in the women's 3,000 meters steeplechase. Bill Valenzano is the Male Master top runner. Debbi Kilpatrick won the Woman Master top honor as she won both the US Open and US master Championships in the 25km and won the US Open Runner Up and Woman master Championships in the half marathon. Terry McCluskey is RUNOHIO's top Male Grand Master. Terry Mahr is the top Female Grand Master. Terry also was chosen by Running Times magazine as the top US Woman runner in the 55-59 age group. Congratulations to these runners and the other runners who had a great 2004 season. Good luck in 2005.

My brother Jeff and I attended the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. While at Disney, RUNOHIO and the other members of The Running Network had our yearly meeting. It is always good to get together with others to discuss our sport. Our goal as regional running publications is to provide the runners in our area the best possible coverage of running events. There are a number of great magazine owners who love the sport of running. All of the publications of The Running Network look forward to continue our efforts to serve the readers in our markets. To help us serve you please continue to send in race information and results. Also, if you have suggestions or would like to contribute an article to RUNOHIO please contact me at: runohio@ee.net

New for next year at the Walt Disney World Marathon, the half marathon and 5km will now be held on Saturday and the marathon will be held on Sunday. This move will allow more runners to participate.

A special insert, The Running Network Spring 2005 Shoe Review, is included in this issue.

The RUNOHIO Grand Prix races are listed in this issue. I hope you will be able to participate in one or a number of these events. There are a few new races this year. The dates all should be correct, but the Toledo Classic date is not yet firm.

A number of March races will kick off the spring racing season, but because of my coaching responsibilities I will not be able to attend all of the races I would like. This issue's Race Calendar has races for March, April and the first three weekends in May.

I hope to make the make the Capital City Half Marathon/5K on April 2nd. If you register for this event online - http://www.capitalcityhalfmarathon.com - before March 26th and if you enter "RUNOHIO" in the registration coupon code box, you will receive a $5.00 discount on your entry fee for the Capital City Half Marathon or Commit To Be Fit 5K.

I plan to attend the April 3rd Cincinnati Heart Mini Marathon. This event is celebrating its 28th anniversary. Two other long time races will also be celebrating 28 years as the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon/10K (http:// http://www.clevelandmarathon.com) will be held on May 22nd and the Columbus 10K (http://www.runohio.com/news/02-05Columbus- 10k.html) will be held on June 5th. Rite Aid will be bringing in their national Health and Beauty Expo which will coincide with the marathon's expo. I help direct the Columbus 10K with the Columbus Recreation & Parks Department and the race start and finishes one block from the Columbus Arts Festival.

On April 10th I will be helping my brother time the Athens Marathon and Half Marathon. If you register for this event online you can save $3 - http://www.athensmarathon.org

I hope to attend the 25th annual Miami University Red Brick Run 5km on April 17th. I started this race while in graduate school as a fundraiser for the women's cross-country team that I formed as a club sport. At the time Miami University was the only Mid American Conference school that didn't have a women's cross-country team. Also, the NCAA was not sponsoring women's championships and the club was organized under the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.

Last month a friend of mine who ran in college and I were talking about running while having coffee on a Saturday morning. He and his wife suggested we should start a running club in Granville. After talking to a few other runners in the area there seemed to be an interest. A number of runners said they would help with the club, so we were on our way. In less than a month we it up and running. The Running Club of Granville will be known as RUNGRAVILLE. To find out more about this newest running club in Ohio check out the club's website at: http://www.rungranville.com The club's next meeting will be held March 22nd at 7:00 p.m. at the Granville Village offices.

After having surgery last December I recently went out and ran for the first time since the surgery. It was good to get out for a run. Hopefully, I will be able to get in better shape in the next few months.

The deadline for the May/June issue is April 7th for race calendar information and April 14th for advertising. Also, race directors please send your results as soon as possible after the event. They can be emailed to me at runohio@ee.net

Good luck with your training and racing, I hope to see you at a road race or track meet this spring.

Matt McGowan