E. Neil Culbertson is a native-born (5-11-54) Oregonian, ex-druggie, highschool dropout, college grad, etc., and the least-likely person on the planet to have had any interest or enjoyment in athleticism. However, upon finishing seminary studies in Michigan, marrying a Canadian honey from Ontario, he and his new bride boarded a plane bound for Guam. Here they have lived for 26+/- years on a semi-tropical island where the running is year round.

  Shortly after settling down on Guam, a retired Naval corpsman introduced Culbertson to long distance running. Patiently entering him into a few 5ks and then training him up to 10 milers, the running bug bit hard and Culbertson was hooked. The Cross Island 10 Miler was his first run of that distance and it remains one of the absolute sweetest in his memory.

  Culbertson has always been overly organized and plans with persistance as if the planning is almost as good as the execution of the plan. He also saves every scrap of data he generates and finds it painful even to empty waste baskets without first sifting through each piece to make sure that he's read it.

  Early prototypes of the running log developed out of Culbertson's insatiable need to compile statistics (as if his grandchildren will want to read his training logs!). Mead spiral notebooks, with hand-ruled lines and columns, were the first efforts. For a brief period Culbertson tried the on-line running logs that were available, but at 56kbd he grew bored and tried a software package from which he could retrieve data more quickly. Still, for this paleolithic treader of terra firma, the more "hands on" feel of a log you actually fill in while reliving the moment was the preferrable training tool. Also the rumours of on-line logs being great until the site shut down or other cyberspace quirks lost data, simply made the tangible presence of a real log the safer bet. The manually operated log provided Culbertson a more durable record of his running legacy. In the final analysis its just a matter of personal preference. The technology is there, but Culbertson prefers the feel of thinking while drawing a #2 pencil across a heavy weight page. He likes flipping through the weeks of progress as it enhances the illusion of power and control over his life.

  The first published running logs were marketed exclusively in Guam as "The Guam Runner's Training Log© to the growing community of runners there. Now a cult classic, this annual, dated log has sold out to the Guam running community for the past 9 years.

  So, why did Culbertson develop a Northwest runners' version of this classic log? It is most likely because he and his family are thinking of migrating back to the Pacific Northwest, due to urges akin to spawning salmon. Family is close by and after 25 years it would be nice to see them again. Culbertson also harbors the ultimate conceit that his running log has more character and is better laid out for the training runners must engage in than those boiler plate versions with a few celebrity quotes and training advice interspersed. Culbertson believes you can get all the running advice you need on the internet, largely for free. So why, he wonders, would people want to pay for pages in a log cluttered with stuff they could get easily, and for free! off the internet?  Culbertson developed his running log with a maximum of space to allow for one's own useful comments and observations on the quality and experience of each run. As his eyesight has worsened and his eyeglass prescriptions have become stronger, these spaces have gotten larger. A win-win for all concerned. Why there is enough space to record double runs on each single day or multi-sport entries like swimming and biking.

  The early logs were interspersed with stories from Guam's roadways. Some humorous and some contemplative, these stories resonated with the running community on Guam and propelled the running log to intra-island acclaim. Though Culbertson's musings no longer appear in the more recent editions of the running log, they are making their way onto this website to be freely enjoyed by whoever drops in.