Fun Run; An Oxymoron? Not to Many 

There are many things that I can understand but can't appreciate, and among them is the joy of running and especially of long distance running. I understand that there are a lot of people who say they like to run and that there is is a great joy and pride in completing a marathon, but I never appreciated the effort necessary and the pounding taken by the joints in running a long distance. I'll bet that if running had been part of my routine, I'd have been walking around on metal knees a long time ago instead of just the last few years. But, then again, that was probably as much a matter of heredity and early diet as it was of wear and tear.

The Friends of Galveston Park (FoGISP) appreciate that there are a lot of people who do like to run and that having a New Years Fun Run is a fine way to ring in the New Year and to get a lot of people out to the park who might never have come there if not for the Fun Run, so along with Galveston's own Fit to Run, we're sponsoring the event again this New Year season on January 7, 2012.

The 5k and 10 k courses run along a combination of paved park roadways and grass carpeted hiking trails, through tall prairie grasses and wooded areas and alongside long fingerlike bayous and freshwater ponds and marshes. The runners tour all the natural habitats of the park, and they may get a glimpse of the huge long legged wading birds that fly the skies overhead and wade in the waters of the bayous alongside. It's a refreshing change from the hot and noisy pavements that usually host marathons. It's also a great and safe place to bring the spouse and kids to cheer  you on and perhaps to have a picnic afterward.

For details go up to our www.fogisp.org website. You'll also find a printable application form and an online registration facility.  While you're up there, take the time to look at the views of the park and the other regularly scheduled and by appointment nature experiences and activities available at the park. FoGISP invites each and every one of you to join us as we welcome in our eleventh year of service to the park.

Frank J. Bowser