Opportunity, sooner or later, comes to all who work and wish.
--Lord Stanley

For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these:
"It might have been!"
--John Greenleaf Whittier

Spring is a time of renewal, and never has its arrival been more anticipated by runners in the Washington area than it has been this year. To live here during the winter of '03 was to endure snowstorm after snowstorm and cold wave after cold wave (not to mention having to watch every episode of "Joe Millionaire" so that you could participate in coffee-break chat at the office). In short, we are in desperate need of springtime's blessings.

Don't worry. Relief is just around the corner (so long cabin fever, hello heaven!), and I'm not just talking about warmer weather. On Sunday, April 27, you'll have the opportunity to feel like a kid again. Unless you've spent the winter hibernating with Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog that thinks he's Bob Ryan, you already know that April 27 is the date of the Pike's Peek 10K, often heralded as one of the best races on the racing calendar. But just in case your memory needs jogging (am I allowed to say the J-word here?) because the so-called March Madness of NCAA basketball has fried your brain, here are a few details:

The Pike's Peek 10K, conducted by the Montgomery County Road Runners Club, will start at 8 am on Redland Road near the Shady Grove Metrorail Station and proceed down Rockville Pike to the finish line at White Flint Mall. White Flint will host the sumptuous post-race brunch and the awards ceremony, and deejays from radio station WBIG will be there to spin some oldies but goodies. There will also be a 1K Family Fun Run and a 50-meter Toddler Trot in front of the Mall.

Veteran race director John "Walks on Water" Sissala is heading the MCRRC team that will be providing its customary, top-notch brand of race management, so you know it's going to be a first-rate production. Moreover, the MCRRC is mobilizing its formidable volunteer corps to ensure that race entrants receive all the amenities they've come to expect from an MCRRC race. (Do not, however, expect little mints on your pillow.)

For most serious runners, the aforementioned particulars, while noteworthy, do not make this race special. What does? you ask. Does the phrase "PR course" pique your interest? Does the adjective "point-to-point" do anything for you? How about "net downhill" (read: "190-foot drop from start to finish")? What makes the Pike's Peek 10K so compelling, you see, is the opportunity to set a new personal record for the 10K distance. (A New PR! Say it loud and there's music playing; say it soft and it's almost like praying.) But there is one catch: In order to set a new PR (and I may be going out on a limb here), you have to run the race.

It is said Opportunity knocks but once. In this case, it's trying to kick in the door. For cryin' out loud, let it in. Ask it to dance. I mean, you have a chance to boogie down a PR course that is sure to be on everyone's dance card for years to come, so don't be a wallflower.

Me, I envision the race this way: the Pike's Peek starting line will be one of running's sacred shrines someday. Runners from around the country will make pilgrimages to this place of spontaneous healing, this site of the race-cum-miracle-at-Lourdes (you know: one minute, the folks you're chatting with at the starting line are reciting a litany of their injuries, and the next--after the starter's gun goes off--they're all suddenly on PR pace). So to all of you within shouting distance of my keyboard, the path to your new 10K PR can be summarized in three words: "piquing," "peaking," and "peeking." If the thought of a new PR is piquing your interest, then tailor your training so you're peaking in late April and go (Pike's) Peeking on Sunday the 27th.

Look at it this way: When the prancing down the Pike has ended and the Fat Lady starts to warble, will you be at home trying to get through the Sunday Post and hear the faint, haunting strains of her lament to what might have been? Or will you stand with her in the White Flint parking lot and join her in a full-throated rendition of Beethoven's choral exhortation "Ode to Joy" in celebration of your new PR? The choice is yours.

Bernie Greene is well into decrepit geezerhood and may not run the Pike's Peek 10K. He did say, however, that if his body holds out, he may have a good shot at finishing the Toddler Trot.

For more information on the Pike's Peek 10K, including a link to online registration, see the race Web site.