2nd Annual PUSH To End Alzheimer's

I'm proud to announce that the Alzheimer's Association of West Virginia has decided to include skaters again this year in conjunction with their annual Memory Walk. Last year's event was a huge success and thanks to PUSH organizer Tom Sloan we have been invited back. The PUSH event is a 10k (6 mile) distance skate around Charleston, WV to "raise awareness, hope and funds to defeat Alzheimer's disease."
This year's event is scheduled for Saturday, October 29 from 9:30am - 12:00pm, beginning at Appalachian Power Park.

The following is editorial opinion so keep an open mind while reading.

Hopefully the issues we experienced last year will be worked out this year and skaters will be on their best behavior (if there is such a thing, I mean come on, we are skaters) for this event. If you are asked to stay to one side of the street in the best interest of the safety of the walkers, then please do so. Before the start of last year's event an announcement was made asking skaters to stay to the right side of the street, but by the second lap most participants chose to ignore the request for one reason or another. Many of you are my close personal friends so don't get your tube socks in a wad over this, it is just my opinion. We are invited guests at this event so in my opinion it would be a great idea to not treat the walkers as "slalom cones" as some have suggested. This is a charity event so if you and your friends wish to make it a competitive race in which you snake in and out of the walkers who are participating in the Memory Walk, then please be aware that we may not be asked back for a third year. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. If you had lost a loved one to Alzheimer's and were participating (walking) in this event, would you want to contend with this behavior? Probably not. To me, this event is about camaraderie and fun and showing support for our friend Tom who has worked hard to get us in this event in the first place. It's not always about who won, who came in first, or crossing the "finish line" the fastest. There are plenty of other events throughout the year in which you can do that (such as "outlaw" slalom events and various other competitive PUSH races).