If the walls in a running store could talk, they'd have some pretty interesting tidbits to divulge.

On today's episode of Loafing Around the Register at the Runners Roost, the topic of happiness came up. Well, not directly, let me backtrack. We were taking about Emilie Forsberg, her perpetual adorable smile, her seemingly everlasting happiness, and how this just has to be because Sweden is ranked one of the happiest countries in the world.

I mean, who wouldn't be ecstatically…

I never really thought that I would find myself in a seemingly perpetual state of cognitive dissonance doing something as simple as selling people running shoes. Thing is, it's become rather infrequent that I am actually fitting a regular runner in shoes. Generally those people already know what they want and ask immediately for it, or they don't come in at all because what they know they need can be found cheaper online...such is the struggle of brick-and-mortar businesses. Story for…

My college coach, God bless 'im, seems to believe that I am on my way to becoming a professional cyclist. The guy just loves a good rags-to-riches story, and has a keep-fighting-the-fight-and-never-ever-say-die attitude, which is a large part of why I ran so well under him years ago. When I told him several months ago that running wasn't going so hot, with at that time no light whatsoever at the end of the tunnel, and I told him I just made a terribly financially irresponsible decision…

I can remember a few years ago, hanging out in a hotel room with my then-BRC/Adidas race teammates following a Club cross country after party which was, as always, completely glorious in its displays of intoxicated-awkward-runner dance moves and even more awkward advances from Masters runners who prowled the bar and dance floor looking for some poor unsuspecting runner girl to attempt to seduce with an age group medal.

Ah, like Springsteen says, "Glory days, they'll pass you by."…