Runner

With nearly every eye at Pimlico fixated on either the uncatchable leader, Oxbow, or the Kentucky Derby winner and heavy betting favorite, Orb, Itsmyluckyday cruised under the radar to earn a little bit of redemption in Saturday's Preakness. After failing to challenge Orb on the muddy track at Churchill Downs two weeks ago and finishing near the back of the pack, Itsmyluckyday finished in second place in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. "We did run our race, but we just weren't lucky enough to win," trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said.

With nearly every eye at Pimlico fixated on either the uncatchable leader, Oxbow, or the Kentucky Derby winner and heavy betting favorite, Orb, Itsmyluckyday cruised under the radar to earn a little bit of redemption in Saturday's Preakness. After failing to challenge Orb on the muddy track at Churchill Downs two weeks ago and finishing near the back of the pack, Itsmyluckyday finished in second place in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. "We did run our race, but we just weren't lucky enough to win," trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said.

May. 18, Post Time: 10:45AM Entries and comments provided by the Maryland Jockey Club First - Purse $55,000, AOC $25,000-$20,000, 3 yo's & up, One And One Sixteenth Miles Post, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds 1 Aussi Austin, Rosario, R.Rodriguez, 3-1 2 Bob's Gone Wild, Vargas, J.Lopez, 20-1 3 Jarrod's Commando, Karamanos, C.Garcia, 10-1 4 Warrensburg, Boyce, D.Barr, 20-1 5 Benny Or Local, Cruise, D.Kobiskie,...

Kate Joyce detests running. She has since she was in high school. But the prospect of trotting through vibrant clouds of yellow, blue, orange and pink has prompted her to make an exception this weekend. Joyce will be among 25,000 people participating in Saturday's inaugural Baltimore Color Run, a 5K race - in the loosest possible sense of the noun - that's non-competitive and all about having a blast as runners are smothered in colored cornstarch. Many won't break into anything more than a brisk saunter over the entire course, surrounding Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium.

Kate Joyce detests running. She has since she was in high school. But the prospect of trotting through vibrant clouds of yellow, blue, orange and pink has prompted her to make an exception this weekend. Joyce will be among 25,000 people participating in Saturday's inaugural Baltimore Color Run, a 5K race - in the loosest possible sense of the noun - that's non-competitive and all about having a blast as runners are smothered in colored cornstarch. Many won't break into anything more than a brisk saunter over the entire course, surrounding Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium.

Owings Mills senior Alyssa Taylor, an All-Metro first-team selection in cross country, has made a commitment to run at Kentucky. Taylor finished third in the Class 2A state championships this fall. With her time of 19 minutes, 55.4 seconds, she was one of only 14 runners among all four classifications to finish under 20 minutes at states. Taylor also runs indoor and outdoor track for the Eagles. She capped her indoor season with a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters at the Class 2A state meet.

A squirrel scurrying across home plate was the story of Wednesday's NLDS game in St. Louis. The critter has become an Internet sensation after it stole home on Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt, who got the loss as the Cardinals forced a Game 5 with a 5-3 win . OK, so it wasn't technically a steal of home because it ran down the first base line, but I think we can all agree the squirrel is still a smarter baserunner than former Orioles enigma Felix...

Like many veteran marathoners, Bob Pohl always had an eye on the clock. "I used to tell my wife that if I drop in a race to stop my watch because I don't want to go to the hereafter with a bad time," he said. "The joke was funnier before. " The 55-year-old Marriottsville runner did collapse during a race. He was about 200 feet from the finish line of the Baltimore half-marathon on Oct. 15 when a blockage in a main artery stopped his blood from flowing - and his heart from beating.

1 Check out the Celebration Village From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Ravens parking lot C will feature food and drink, interactive games and live music. The bands scheduled to perform are the Jenny Leigh Band (9 a.m.-11 a.m.), Hot Tub Limo (11 a.m.-1 p.m.) and Vinyl Rhino (1 p.m.-3 p.m.). 2 Get healthy at the Health and Fitness Expo Shoes, apparel, gear and health-care products will be available from vendors at the expo, sponsored by the Baltimore Sun Media Group. Other groups will also be on hand, offering materials, advice and all manner of good-for-you stuff.

Mount St. Mary's is well aware that a win against Northeast Conference rival Wagner this Saturday propels the team into the league tournament as the No. 4 seed. But before the Mountaineers can focus on the Seahawks, they will get a visit from No. 8 Maryland, last year's national runner-up that will travel to Emmittsburg for a Wednesday night meeting. Mount St. Mary's coach Tom Gravante said the players should expect a very motivated Terps squad after falling to No. 4 Duke, 6-5, in Friday evening's semifinal of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

The folks at "House of Cards" sure love the Baltimore area. Not only is the majority of the political thriller filmed in and around the city (and, full disclosure, in The Baltimore Sun newsroom), now the show's head honcho, Beau Willimon, is slated to come to Towson University on Wednesday (April 24) to discuss how he developed the addictive series. According to a Towson University press release, Willimon will speak at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Van Bokkelen Hall, Room 204. The event is free and open to the public.

BALTIMORE -- A tuba and banjo duo dressed in saddle shoes, khakis and button-down shirts plays polkas and foxtrots by a set of escalators at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Friday morning. A nearby shoeshine man takes a break from his work to watch them and smile. It's a lighthearted moment that contrasts strongly with the scene a few feet away. There, in security lines for Terminal C, passengers intentionally avoid making eye contact as they shuffle toward whirring machines, removing their shoes and preparing for the possibility of delay, interrogation or arrest.

Sixty-six runners dashed, jogged and walked through the streets of Annapolis on Saturday to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and raised money for one of the hospitals that treated their wounds. "When I saw what happened in Boston, I knew we had to do something, and we had to run," said Caitlin Chapman, who organized the race and got quick permission from an Annapolis official to stage the start and finish at City Dock. "It could have been any of us running in that race in Boston," Chapman said, "and it could have been our family members who were standing there watching us finish.

Owings Mills senior Alyssa Taylor, an All-Metro first-team selection in cross country, has made a commitment to run at Kentucky. Taylor finished third in the Class 2A state championships this fall. With her time of 19 minutes, 55.4 seconds, she was one of only 14 runners among all four classifications to finish under 20 minutes at states. Taylor also runs indoor and outdoor track for the Eagles. She capped her indoor season with a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters at the Class 2A state meet.

Ryan McGrath and other Baltimore-area runners were relaxing after the Boston Marathon, refueling with some burritos, when they heard the blasts. "I thought maybe it's one of those boat-type things that just shoots off a cannon every day," said McGrath, a Highlandtown resident who organizes a running group through Falls Road Running Store in Mount Washington. "One of my friends was like, 'Man, that didn't sound like a cannon.'" Police and emergency vehicles quickly flooded the area, and marathoners and spectators ran by crying, McGrath said.

Steven Leibowitz is trying to run as fast as he can, but the trail is muddy and tree roots are hiding under the soil, slowing him down. Now there's a stream blocking his path, with no way to cross, save a few widely spaced rocks. But Leibowitz can't give up. He has to keep running. It might sound like a scene from "The Hunger Games" or "The Blair Witch Project. " But for a runner in the XTERRA Trail Run Series, it's just the path to the finish line. XTERRA, a national multisport company, puts on races that are much more than your average 5K on the street.

Q: An old but colorful Oriental rug covers our entrance hall, which leads to a wooden stairway, which is also in need of some kind of floor covering. We can't afford to buy antique Oriental carpeting for the stairs. Can you make an alternate recommendation that won't involve frequent maintenance?A: The category of "Oriental rugs" covers a multitude of styles as well as colors, so I'm not sure exactly what your rug looks like. I'll assume, though, that it's done in a large and geometric pattern with colors ranging from beige or red to deep blue, a fairly typical motif.

Every good coach has a way of getting the most out of an athlete.Some athletes need pampering, others need to be yelled at and others can make the most of the most subtle points.Westminster cross country coach Jim Gilford was trying to make one of those subtle points to senior Jim Holford a couple of summers ago.Prior to every fall cross country season, Gilford takes his 10 top runners out on a trial run. The top five go in one group, the remaining five go with Gilford in another.Holford, a junior at the time, found himself running with his coach.

Racking up a high score of 176.5 points, a team average of 605 and a total pins-plus-handicap for the season of 41,153, the team from Harford Tech won the Forest Hill Lanes 2012-2013 High School Bowling championship. The team was comprised of Chris Marshall, Ben Marshall, Alex Sorlin and Flavio Reyes. Second place, for the second year in a row, were Ben Smith, Aaron Simpers and Matt Wassin from Aberdeen.   Other significant winners were Wassin from Aberdeen, who for the second straight year racked up the individual boys' highest average.

The Century boys' track and field team and Manchester Valley senior Abby Culp were the definition of excellence at the Maryland Class 2A-1A indoor track and field state championships. Century easily won its second state title in three years during the Feb. 18 event at the Prince George's County Learning and Sports Center while Culp set a new state and Class 1A record with a time of 11:24.12 to win the 3,200 meter race. The Century boys outdistanced runner-up Largo by an astounding 39 points in the Class 2A meet.