news-record.com

Kyle Petty is not only a race winner in NASCAR's top series, he's a marathon veteran.

Petty completed 26.2-mile races in 2005 at Las Vegas, where he scored his PR of four hours, 16 minutes and one second, and in 2006 at Disney World.

Petty will take part in the 5-mile run at Sunday's Run to Victory road race in Randleman, benefiting the Victory Junction Camp that he and his wife, Pattie, started in honor of their late son Adam. After his run is complete, he'll greet half-marathon runners as they cross the finish line.

Petty took a few minutes by phone recently to talk about the Run to Victory and his own running efforts (read more of the interview at the Running Shorts blog).

ON THE RUN TO VICTORY EVENT: "From the first year to the second year to the third year, it's almost doubled every year. I don't think it will double this year. But if we have a 20 or 30 percent increase, that's realistic. It's just gotten bigger and better, and the community has embraced it a lot more. The first year people were mad about shutting down country roads."

WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE ON RACE DAY? "Mostly I say the prayer before we run. I just give a blessing for a safe run and for everybody. The first couple of years I went straight to the start-finish line. Colin, a camper with us, challenged me to run the 5-mile with him (last year). We ran-walked 5 miles, and it was a lot of fun to be with him and his family. Colin, since he beat me, he's got to greet me when I get there. I will run with some of the campers."

WILL YOUR DAD, 'THE KING,' BE THERE? "Most of the time he is. What he does, he kinda cheats a little bit. He comes in to the cafeteria and eats while everybody else is out in the cold running. He never advertises that he's going to be there. He just kinda shows up most of the time."

WHAT ENJOYMENT DO YOU FIND IN RUNNING? "I don't think people understand how much racing is a team sport. From the driver to the crew chief to the guy who busts his rear end to build those things. It's a total team effort. At the race track, you've got 150,000 people everywhere. You're in a crowd all the time. What I get out of running is the solitude. When you go out when it's pouring down rain like today, or you go out and it's 20 degrees or 100 degrees, it's just you and a pair of shoes."

'The Penguin'

John Bingham, one of the running world's best-known personalities, will take part in the Run to Victory again Sunday.

Bingham, 61, is a former couch potato who smoked and drank and was overweight. Almost 20 years ago, he began setting the example for people of all ages and ability by getting himself moving, being the champion of a run-walk method. An author and writer for Runner's World magazine, Bingham has completed more than 40 marathons and many 5Ks and 10Ks as he tours the nation delivering motivational talks.

He talked last week about his efforts to start running, how he finds joy, about running vs. walking and more at the Running Shorts blog, news-record.com/blog/running_shorts.

Run at the Rock

Dennis Shelton, an editor at the News & Record, ran in the Run at the Rock in Alamance County on Saturday. His report:

"The Big Muddy.

"That would be an apt description of the fifth annual Run at the Rock, a 7- and 14-mile trail run Saturday at Cedar Rock Park in Alamance County. As the race announcer advised, the course was a muddy mess. We're talking deep, inescapable, tennis-shoe-snatching mud.

"About 650 runners registered for the races, and the Times-News of Burlington reported that about 500 finished. Temperatures were in the low 40s, and a light drizzle was falling.

"Runners had to balance speed with keeping their footing. In fact, balance was the key word. Quite a few runners fell on the slippery slopes of the forest trail, which rose, fell, flattened, widened, narrowed, crossed small creeks and featured a pretty view of a waterfall. But the most obvious feature was mud. Some runners went out of their way, trying to avoid the worst of it.

"But the best course was clear: Embrace the mud."

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

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday: Triad Trail Race Series: 10K, 9 a.m., Bur-Mil Park, Greensboro. $20. www.offnrunningsports.com

Saturday: Reindeer Romp Road Race, 9:15 a.m., Jamestown. $15 fun run, $25 5K. offnrunningsports.com

Sunday: Run to Victory Half-Marathon and 5-Mile Run, 10 a.m., Randleman. runtovictory.org

Dec. 31: Running of the Lights, 11:45 p.m., Clemmons. setupevents.com

Jan. 9: Frosty Fifty 50K, 8 a.m., Winston-Salem. $30 through Tuesday, $50 until Jan. 5. twincitytc.org