While I had already registered for my first race in 2008, the St Patrick’s Day Human Race 8K will be the first one I’ll run. I registered at the beginning of March. This is the first race in the USATF Circuit. The 8K distance is just short of 5 miles and is the collegiate cross country distance.

It is kind of a unique name but they help explain it on their page:

In 2005 a scientific article was released that caught our attention. The authors claimed that the human body has evolved to be the shape it is because of running. That`s what we have thought all along, that running isn`t just something we do, it makes us human!

It also has a strong community focus:

The St. Patrick`s Day Human Race benefits the community in four distinct ways. First, the event is a celebration of fitness and healthy living, which we believe are positive community values. Second, each year we conduct a shoe drive to collect worn (but not worn out) shoes for distribution at a local free store. We collect over 700 pairs of shoes each year. Third, beginning in 2002, The Sporting Life has designated Human Race Heroes and initiated a fundraising effort for the charity of choice for the honoree. In 2006 we honored Bonnie Sons and Chris Celichowski, and fundraising for their charity of choice, Bolder Options. Finally, we recruit community groups to work at our event in exchange for a donation to their organization.

The 36th running of this event is on March 16 at the University of St Thomas in Saint Paul. The out and back course runs along Summit Ave which is also the finish of the Twin Cities Marathon.