You’ll notice he started slow and ran a negative split.

But the good people in the upscale neighborhoods of Columbia, South Carolina, aren’t too crazy about the alternative.

The Mullet Haul consists of five- and ten-mile trail races in which mullets are not required, but highly encouraged. Not only can you compete for an age group award, but for the top spot on Rate My Mullet! (Competition, as you can see for yourself, is fierce.)

Don’t delay. Bring the whole family!

Thanks to Closer magazine we learned from “an insider” that Victoria Beckham exercises hard:

“She works out six days a week and runs four to six miles a day on the treadmill. But she worries about getting ‘runners face,’ where muscles sag, so she does facial exercises to tone up.”

First, congratulations to Ms. Beckham on her running regimen, although I would suggest a large stack of flapjacks might be beneficial to her workout. Second, it’s important to note that “runner’s face” is a phony syndrome concocted by a cosmetic surgeon trying to drum up business. Third, he describes this made-up condition as when runners over the age of 40 develop “a skeletal and bony face.” This would suggest that Ms. Beckham is locking the barn door after the horse’s cheeks have bolted.

We return to Closer magazine for the last bit of unintentional humor. A new story on its web site has the headline: “David tells Victoria ‘we barely see each other.’”

Again, flapjacks would take care of that problem.

That’s when he mistakenly followed the lead vehicle for the marathon into a right turn and up the street.

“I ran for 1:05 and then I looked at my watch and said, ‘Where is the finish line?’ ’’ Alemayehu recounted later.

James Boitt won in 1:06:41. Alemayehu dropped out.

Morale of the story: Include a sextant in your race day gear.

ESPNW has listed the five best races for women. They are:

1) Disney Tinker Bell and Princess half marathons

2) Nike Women’s Marathon

3) ZOOMA women’s race series

4) Women Run the Cities

5) St. Luke’s Celebration – “the largest women’s 5K in the country.”

I’m fascinated by this, as the best races for women have one thing in common – lots and lots of women and (virtually) no men. I may be wrong, but I suspect the best races for men would also include lots and lots of women.

Some academic should do a study about the interaction of the sexes as it relates to running, because there are several contradictory dynamics going on. In one sense, running is the ultimate level playing field – everyone covers the same distance under the same external conditions. Regardless of sex, some runners are hyper-competitive and others use road races as social opportunities or community events.

On the other hand, female-centric races and diva nights clearly have great appeal to women, though male counterparts would seem prehistoric and trashy. I’ve never thought it was appropriate to chat up women while they’re running, though the existence of flunning makes me wonder if that’s just old school thinking. At the same time, a race/expo for dudes only would have no special appeal for me, and I suspect most male runners would feel the same.

Why wouldn’t a “best race for women” simply feature more – and cleaner – porta-potties, lots of convenient viewing areas for family and friends, and gender-specific t-shirts? What are guys doing that make women-only races such a draw?

“Two terrified runners have spoken of their face-to-face encounter with South Lakeland’s mysterious big ‘black cat,’” the paper reported. “It follows years of apparent sightings of the curious creature in Kendal, Levens, Natland, Witherslack and in the Winster Valley.”

Anjela Jones and Eve Grayson were traversing the foggy moor during their evening jog (OK, I don’t know if it was a foggy moor, but it makes for a better story) when they spotted an animal shape in the dark. Angela said the animal was jet black, the same size as a labrador, had long legs, a tail and was staring straight at them.

“We stopped, shone our head torches towards it to get a better look and saw two orange eyes and the outline of a large feline animal,” said Angela “It was definitely a big cat.”

Let’s put on our deerstalker caps for this one. I have a theory…

But it’s hard to devote sufficient attention to solving this mystery while being distracted by the photo accompanying the story.

Is this meant to be a re-enactment of the incident? Did the two women really hide behind a thin tree branch and pull it down in order to see?

Even more baffling is the photo caption: “Angela Jones and Eve Grayson, who say they saw South Lakeland’s mystery big car.” That’s right, it says “car.” Were they really hiding behind a tree branch from a big black car?

The reporter adds to the riddle when he describes the culprit as “the mystery moggy.” The term can be applied to a cat, but also a cow, a mouse, or “an untidy woman.”

Hmmm… definitely a three-pipe problem.