Here are a few odds and ends from the past week you might want to catch up on:

• Go! St. Louis’ Read, Right & Run Marathon is among a dozen finalists for Running USA’s Youth Program Awards.  Winners will be announced Feb. 11. The marathon for elementary school age students was launched in 2001. The requirements: Read 26 books, perform 26 good deeds and run 26.2 miles over a six-month period. This year, more than 105 schools enrolled in the program, which concludes with a 1.2 mile run for students in grades 1-5 and a 5K for sixth- through eighth graders. This year, organizers added training runs and a pilot program with eight schools to gauge fitness levels before and after the program.
• This is a total guy thing. I pass it along only because our friends at Big River Running insist the information is useful to male runners. A blogger named Mike Morgan sings the praises of Runderwear. I suppose it’s worth some consideration, but I”m not the best judge.
• Registration opened for the 2008 Chicago Marathon, scheduled for October 12. Even though heat and humidity ruined last year’s event, the race still is among the most popular in the world. So if you’re considering running, sign up now.  Or do you even want to give the race a second chance?