CHUCK BEDNAR

According to most websites, the release for the new American Idol and Biracial Achievers books will be on Oct. 15, although Amazon.com has some of them available for sale now. For the record, I have kindly been provided with advance copies, and I am quite impressed with the excellent work done on the formatting and layout of each. If you're a fan of Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, David Archuleta, American Idol, Beyonce, Derek Jeter, David Blaine, or Rosa Parks, I hope that you will come away pleased with these volumes.

As promised, more photos have been uploaded from the Green Mile and Debbie Green 5K--some personally shot, some from family and friends, and some courtesy of the official Debbie Green Memorial 5K website.

I walked in the mile race on Friday, winning my age group for the second straight year and shaving nearly a full minute off my 2008 time. My mother Darla, brother Ed, and nephew Alex also competed that night and did quite well too. In fact, Ed was a top 10 finisher in the Green Mile and also took first place in his age group during Saturday's 5K.

Furthermore, as you can see from the pics, there were balloon animals, craft projects, and my nephew Logan even got to meet and get a picture taken with Spike, the mascot for the ECHL Wheeling Nailers hockey team.

Most importantly, thousands of dollars were raised for a good cause--helping out a local little girl, five-year-old Emily Binger, and her family as they struggle through the difficult journey of childhood leukemia. It was a fantastic weekend in so many ways, and while I am immensely sore this morning, I am so very thankful to have been some small part of it all.

Kudos to Ron Green and all of the race volunteers for putting on an incredible event that works so much good in the community. Next year's Debbie Green events will be held on August 6 and 7, so set aside those days and come to Wheeling to "Race for a Reason!"