Kristen Bartecchi Rozell hugging our good friend and nominator, Carolyn Brown

After training well all summer for an athletic event, and training smart, and knowing I was the favorite for that event, I would be mighty pissed if I didn't come out the winner. Can't help it. I'm a competive guy, and I find that most people who compete are the same way.

That's why, when my wife Kristen finished third in the Equinox Marathon last month, she had every reason to kick the dogs, pout for a few weeks, and make her husband's life hell.

Instead, in the hours after the race she befriended the winner, who slept in her sauna, flashed her smiles at everyone with whom she made eye contact, and rebounded almost instantly. I don't know how she did it, because these girls (no matter how much they argue against the notion) are just as competitive as we boys. But she accepted her bronze with a grace I can only hope to someday acquire.

Maybe that's why a bunch of members of Running Club North here in Fairbanks voted her "Most Inspirational Runner" for 2007. Maybe it's because she came in third in a marathon one year after having a baby. Maybe it's because she looks so good in blue jeans. I don't know, but it's a pretty cool award. Our friend Andy won it a few years ago, and I know it meant a lot to him. Seeing the tears welling in her eyes suggested it meant something to Kristen, too.

We have a great running club in Fairbanks www.runningclubnorth.org

You can run a well-organized race almost every weekend of the year, and you meet old friends every time you toe the starting line. Inspirational.