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The Valentine's Day Massacre Marathon and Relay took place today at Country Park in Greensboro. Running Shorts asked fellow runner and blogger Josh Sutcliffe of the MadMayo Running Club to offer his report on the event.

"Off 'N Running put on another great event with this year's Valentine's Day Massacre Marathon and Relay in Country Park. Full spread, plenty of Gatorade and water. And I managed to be disciplined enough to wait until after I was done running to sample the chili. I especially enjoyed the 'bowling move' that all the relay runners executed to make sure the mat read their chip. Maybe there should be a Bowling/Running Biathlon? The 'bowling' ball is in your court, Mr. Bassett.

"My relay team, the MadMayo Misfits, performed like the well-oiled machine we are. Running is easy. Running fast is hard, but speed only takes practice. Running with a genuine smile requires good running buddies, and we were smiling the whole way. Well, not the whole way. We tripped, wrestled dogs, had wardrobe malfunctions, and realized we were going to miss the green flag for the Daytona 500. But other than that, we were smiling. Well-oiled machine.

"What a crazy-fun way to run a race. Every time I took hold of the custom-made MadMayo Running Club baton, it was as if my body was saying to my brain, 'What? I thought we were done!' The time between laps offered opportunities to hang out and talk smack with other runners. I met fellow barefooter Allan Buccola, who ran three of the four laps barefoot. (I did only one, because it turns out bare feet on ice makes me cranky. Fleece socks and aqua shoes kept the toes toasty and mood cheery for the other three laps.) Of course, this means I'll have to start doing some speedwork, since I'm no longer a 'shoe-in' (har har) to win the barefoot division."