'Runting' off to a slow start

Run camp organizers were discouraged after their first week of introducing "runting," when campers apparently failed to take the new sport seriously. Runting is the combination of running and hunting, and organizers felt the blended sport would not only appeal to hunters, but also create much needed PR for camp.

"You know, The Gazette pays a lot of attention to so-called sportsmen," said Chris Crowell, who steps into the lead role of camp spokesperson when the newspaper is torqued at Blaine Lam. "We figured we'd get more coverage with runting than we are with just running."

But things got off to a rather miserable start when not a single runner brought an animal back to the YMCA after Saturday's run. "At first, I thought maybe there was something humane going on, like catch and release," said Crowell, "but then we learned that because we hadn't delivered on some puppy giveaways and cancelled the rattlesnake roundup, we just weren't as credible as we thought we were."

Crowell acknowledges that every sport has its cheaters and that some run campers may be hunting with their cars, not their bare hands, "but that's just something we'll learn to deal with." Runting will resume at Gull Lake.