Note From The Foot Whisperer - Save Glad Run Lake

Well, May is behind us and the 2013 Pittsburgh Marathon is now history. Yours truly ran two legs of the relay for my favorite charity, The Alzheimer’s Association. And now we are all in the summer race mode. There are lots of good races out there. For several years now, we’ve been putting on the Saxonburg Distance Series, a three race series of 5K’s ending in early September with the Saxonburg Festival of the Arts 5K. Check out RacerSignup.com for more information

After the Pittsburgh Marathon ends and all of the shoes and apparel are put back in their proper location at the store, I like to take a little time out to go on vacation with my family. We generally make it to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for some of the three R’s (Rest, relaxation, and running!). This morning, while taking a walk on the beach, I saw one of the wonders of nature, I witnessed an osprey (Also called the “fish hawk”) as it hovered over the water not far from where I was standing. It was looking down at a possible meal and just hovering over that portion of the ocean for a good 3 or 4 seconds. Then all of a sudden, it folded its wings, and dove, talons fist after a fish. When it came out of the water, there was a sizeable fish securely in its talons! It flew around us a couple of times, showing off its trophy before flying off to its nest. What a sight!!!

My reason for telling you all about this wasn’t apparent until I realized there are currently displaced ospreys that used to live right in our back yard. That’s right. The former Glade Run Lake was the home to several ospreys. That lake has since been drained. And the ospreys have found a new home. And our goal is to bring the lake back! It serves as the home to many forms of wildlife, such as the ospreys or passing bald eagles. We cannot allow this beautiful piece of nature to disappear. We at Up-N-Running are taking it on our own to bring attention to the Glade Run situation. And we have created the WOW 10 K (Where’s Our Water!).to get the running community involved in this worthwhile endeavor. It takes place on Saturday, July 6 at the sight of the former lake, and runs through the beautiful countryside of Butler County. Check out RacerSignup.com for more information. Help us bring back this wonderful jewel!!

~Ed