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Given Drew Thompson's accomplishment Sunday, his race on Friday in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association's cross-country meet will be little more than a walk in the park. A short sprint, at the most.

The Wesleyan Christian Academy sophomore on Sunday completed the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington. Thompson, 15, covered the 26.2 miles at a steady pace in three hours and 45 minutes. And now he is turning his attention to Friday's season-ending championship meet and a shot at making all-state at Hagan-Stone Park in Pleasant Garden.

"My soreness should be gone," Thompson says. "I'm guessing by (today), I'll be almost pain-free. I'm looking to do just as well as I normally would without running a marathon. I want to get in the 16:20s (for Friday's 8K meet). Hagan-Stone always has been one of my faster courses."

Thompson, the runner of the year for the Piedmont Athletic Conference of Independent Schools (season-best 16:46), also completed the Marine Corps last year (4:47:14), although the race came two days after the state meet. He ran Sunday with not only the endorsement of his coach, Brian Roberts, but also his help.

"He 's definitely pushed me," Thompson says. "We did a couple of runs during the year that were pretty long with the team. About two of the 10-milers were with the team. He's been very understanding with me, maybe taking it easy a day or two after the long runs."

Read Roberts' thoughts and Thompson's teammates' plans for next fall at the Running Shorts blog.

The event will feature 50 teams and 500 runners. The schedule: 10 a.m., Class 3-A girls. 10:45 a.m., Class 3-A boys. 12:30 p.m., Class 1-A/2-A girls. 1:15 p.m., Class 1-A/2-A boys.

GOBBLER UPDATE: The field for the Greensboro Gobbler, a popular 5K run on Thanksgiving morning, is about three-quarters full. The event, at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 26, is open to 1,000 participants. Go to www.greensborogobbler.com.

KETTERMAN'S STREAK: Greensboro's Matt Ketterman might be the Cal Ripken of running in our area. After all, Ketterman has run at least one mile every day since July 1, 1991. That's before Clinton was elected. Before Carson retired.

Ketterman, 38, is ranked No. 101 on the U.S. Running Streak Association's list. He has encountered a few challenges: Flu, food poisoning, ice and freezing rain -- and wife Amy's delivery of their son.

Go to the Running Shorts blog and read how Ketterman has managed the streak.

NCHSAA REGIONAL MEETS: High school cross country teams from Eastern Guilford, Northern Guilford, Northeast Guilford and Southern Guilford will be among those competing at the N.C. High School Athletic Association's Class 3-A Mideast Regional on Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The boys will race at 2 p.m., and the girls will run at 3 p.m.

Several area teams will compete in the NCHSAA's Class 4-A Midwest Regional on Saturday at Hagan-Stone Park. Among them will be Dudley, Grimsley, Page, Smith, Southeast Guilford and Western Guilford from the Metro Conference, plus High Point Central, Northwest Guilford, Ragsdale and Southwest Guilford of the Piedmont Triad Conference.

The top four teams in each region, plus the five fastest individuals not on one of those teams, will advance to the state meets Nov. 7 at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons.

WALK 'N WAG: Guilford Day School is hosting its first Walk 'n Wag, a 5K walk-run and 1-mile family walk, at 9 a.m. Saturday at Bur-Mil Park. Walk 'n Wag is a service learning project run by the senior high students to raise money for Guilford Day School and Red Dog Farm, a local animal rescue organization.

Same-day registration will be available at 8 a.m. Saturday ($25 per walker or runner, $5 per dog). Information: www. guilfordday.org or 282-7044.

Now, it's my turn

For the first time in about 18 months, I'm going to the starting line for a marathon. The City of Oaks Marathon on Sunday in Raleigh will be my first since the N.C. Marathon in May 2008 in Greensboro and my 13th overall.

My training consisted of runs on four days per week -- with no watch. I've tried to make every mile mean something: Tempo runs, hill sprints, midweek runs of 8 to 11 miles and the traditional long runs on Saturdays. As for the watch, I've focused on the quality of the run and not worried about the bottom line.

People have asked, "What's your goal?" And honestly, I don't know.

The Greensboro marathon, on a hot day and a challenging course, didn't go my way, nor did the recovery. At 4:45, that race produced my second-slowest time, way outside of the 3:53-4:01 range in which I'd been cruising.

So I'll cop out and say I want to finish without getting injured, I want to have something in the tank for the last 10K, and I want to have fun.

That last goal is in the bag.

Contact Eddie Wooten at 373-7093 or eddie.wooten@news-record.com