Lindsey Vonn supports Wings for Life World Run May 4

Wings for Life World Run logo,
PRNewsFoto/Wings for Life World Run

She didn't race most of the World Cup ski season. She missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Lindsey Vonn may have been absent from the skiing action we followed this winter as she underwent knee surgery, again, and rehab, but she's not letting a bum knee keep her from participating in the Wings for Life World Run on May 4. In March, Vonn vowed her support of the first-time event even though she won't be able to run it because of her knee.

"I'm inspired by the Wings for Life World Run and what they are trying to accomplish, which is finding a cure for spinal cord injuries," said Vonn, a Wings for Life Ambassador. "This is an opportunity for everyone to be part of a global race - and run for those who can't."

The Wings for Life World Run is a running race that was organized to raise awareness and funds for spinal cord injury research. All of the registration fees ($50 at the Denver event) go directly to the Wings for Life Foundation to fund research to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Crested Butte Reopens for the Weekend

Bonus ski weekends are the best. OK, so maybe I've only skied one of them--last year when Vail had so much snow on its official closing day on April 14 that it reopened a good portion of the mountain the following weekend--but it was pretty amazing, and I'd do it again without thinking twice.

So when I heard that Crested Butte was reopening for one final hoo-rah of the season, I was giddy. I skied there for the first time this season, and on a weekend where freshies were nowhere to be found, yet you wouldn't find me hesitating to go again, powder stashes or not. It also helps that we found some of the best pizza west of the Mississippi and the closest thing to Joy Yee's Governor's Chicken outside Chicago.

Act Fast! Register Before the Chicago Marathon Lottery Closes

Tomorrow's not tax day. Nor is it Marathon Monday where we'll all be watching the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. But Monday, April 7, is a special Monday if you are in the market for running a fall marathon, specifically the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It's the Monday when registration closes for the October 12 race.

Sure, it seems odd to be announcing that a race's registration is closing. Usually we're waiting in anticipation for registration's to open (hello Ironman) so we can grab one of the coveted spots before they're gone. But after last year's Chicago Marathon registration debacle where runners flooded the registration system and caused it to crash, the race turned to a lottery system to randomly select entrants who weren't running with a charity partner, had completed the race multiple times in recent years, or were fast enough to use a qualifying time to enter.

At noon central time tomorrow, the registration period will end for those runners who'd wish to enter the marathon's lottery system or register as a legacy finisher or time qualifier. Lottery entries are not guaranteed, but those entrants will be notified of their status on April 14. Time qualifiers need to have run verifiable races after Jan. 1, 2012, of sub 3:15:00 for men and sub 3:45:00 for women. Legacy finishers need to have finished the Chicago Marathon five or more times within the last 10 years (2004-2013).

Fit-Pic: My Happy Place...on Skis

Everyone has their happy place. The fantasy land Happy Gilmore imagined. Cruising the Queen K on a bike. Scuba diving off the gulf of Thailand--or maybe in Banff, which I didn't know was even an option until last fall.  Running the trails outside your house. Swimming in the open water of an ocean or lake.

It's the place that puts a smile on your face even when the conditions might not be optimum. It's the spot you want to go to again and again. It's where you plain and simple just feel happy.

Here's mine: Bolshoi Ballroom (or at least what I think is Bolshoi Ballroom if I'm reading the trail signs correctly) at Vail. Located in Siberia Bowl in Vail's Back Bowls, it's easily my go-to ski run.

I Want America's Best Summer Job in Vail!

Hanging creekside at the 2013 GoPro Mountain Games

It might be one of the most overused phrases about Vail: "You come for the winters but stay for the summers." I've heard it, I've had it repeated to me at media events, I've read it, I've even experienced a weekend of it at last summer's GoPro Mountain Games. But what's so appealing about a place that was built specifically for skiing during the one season that's not for skiing?

There must be something special about that mountain flora and fauna that makes those snow seekers stay. And Vail wants one person to find out this summer and share those experiences--and get paid for it--in 10 weeks at America's Best Summer Job.