Price > $75 CAN = potentially good shoe.  If you walk into a sports store, you are immediately overwhelmed by the number of choices you have for a running shoe.  Which is the best one?  The answer is, it depends.  It’s always a good idea to get help from a knowledgeable sales person, preferably one that runs him or herself, who can match you with a shoe that meets your particular body type, gait, and training load.  While you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune to find a good shoe, you do need to stay away from the bottom end shoes you might find in a department store.  Please note, that you can sometimes violate the $75 CAN rule if you pick judiciously from the clearance table. 

Temperature when its too cold to run = - infinity.  Urban legend has it that local runner Andy Beal once ran 7 miles when it was –47 C, and that’s before the wind chill, kids.  Personally, I’ve clocked 4 miles when it was –46 C and lived to write about it.  Freezing your lungs?  Bah, that’s another urban legend. 

Size of trophy won is inversely proportional to the importance of the race.   Have you ever noticed that small, insignificant races like the Bug Tussle Fall Classic or the Rubber Boot 1/3 Marathon award massive trophies, while really important events give out small, discreet medals.  The second largest trophy I ever won, which was just under knee height, was when I finished 4th in the 1980 Rolling Hills 21 mile Marathon.  This trophy was trumped in size by one other; the year I finished 3rd in the 1981 Rolling Hills 21 mile Marathon.

(4 x (Volume + Appropriate Intensity)) + (State of Mind + Tactics + Weather Conditions + Diet/Hydration) = Performance.   This formula may seem complicated at first glance, but its essence is simple:  80% of the game is putting in the work (i.e. volume and intensity); the other stuff is just the icing on the cake.  Put another way, superior tactics or a good diet are nice, but you’ll never be able to finesse or eat your way to a championship without a lot of hard physical training first.

Length of a guy’s shorts is directly proportional to his “old school” quotient.  The old boys who started running in the 70s or 80s are not afraid to parade around in short, shorts that would make Richard Simmons blush.  On the other hand, kids these days (damn, I like that line now that I’m 40 …) show up at the track with basketball shorts hanging down to their knees and boxer shorts protruding over the top.  What’s up with that?  How are you supposed to run fast when the crotch of your shorts is dragging on the ground?  Save the hoops fashion for the playground, kids.

Number of days which aren’t good days for a run = 0.  To steal a line from the late, great hockey icon Badger Bob Johnson, “It’s a great day for running!”