fter having enjoyed the afternoon races, I wandered towards Goldshire. It was raining, but I knew that wouldn't stop the next race. At least that was what I told the guards when I exited Stormwind. They didn't seem to care. When I repeated the statement, one of them told me how to get to the herbalism trainer. I don't think he really heard what I said. The helmet must have made him deaf.

When I finally arrived, Maud Doe was standing in the doorway of the Lion's Pride Inn. Half into her stalking personality, I almost didn't notice her. She quickly inquired if I knew what to do. I replied with a confident yes, before she ran off, half sneaking towards Stormwind. I then began to consider if I had any clue what to do. I then briefly pondered where the race would take place.

Stormwind Intermediate Sprint (Sponsor:

Duzell of the Talah Adore Al'shar)

I noticed Xala, the organizer of the event, sitting on her horse near the inn. She looked vaguely annoyed, but considering the amount of rain, this was quite understandable. When I asked her when the race was, she replied with a grunted"Now."

There were no racers, though. I briefly considered if she was planning me to be the racer, and hunt me down for sports. On the other hand, then there wouldn't be anybody to write about the event.

I mentioned the lack of racers, and she groaned. "That," she said, face buried in her hands. "That is the problem."

She began yelling about the race as loud as she possibly could. I was surprised to discover how much noise such a small woman can carry, and quickly retreated into the inn. The noise was still alarmingly high in there, but at least my head didn't explode. How her horse made it through the ordeal, I don't know. I assume that it has grown used to it. Or deaf. Or most likely, both.

When her yells were finally silenced, I looked outside to see if she had fainted. Luckily, however, it seemed that she had finally gotten the racers she wanted. It would be a sin of me to compare them to the majestic racers Maud had written about. Although Xala had skipped forward to the intermediate sprint, these people

were obviously not the highest ranking members of society. I don't mean to be a snob, but these people didn't even have a hat to protect them from the rain. I considered if I should give them a few copper, but as a reporter, I wasn't allowed to interfere.

In either case, the human, Acer, won the race, finishing quite a distance ahead of all the other runners. He was kind enough to spare a few minutes for the Azeroth Journal, and when asked about his victory, he calmly said "I just blinked all the time, that's all, lohl." He then proceeded to summon a blizzard and began to dance. The Silver medal went to Thrydan, and the Bronze one to Alon.

he Stormwind Marathon

The next race took place in Redridge. Despite not allowing mounts, a few hunters were allowed to keep their pets out, on the condition that they didn't hold on to them or otherwise use them to gain speed.

Like with the previous race, Xala had to sit on her horse, screaming like a madman, to get the racers she needed.

Running from the small town of Lakeshire to the Cathedral in Stormwind, the contestants had to cover quite a distance. Luckily, they didn't seem to have much trouble with this.

The winner, Lilyana, later mentioned that

she had suffered a few bites from wolves. Still, she didn't seem to have any noteworthy injuries, and still haven't shown any signs of rabies.

When asked about her victory, the Nightelf replied confidently that "I would like to say

that without my friends who raced with me today, and without Rhyye pushing the wrong buttons, such an exciting race would not have been possible." I'm not sure what buttons Rhyye was pushing, so I can only assume that she meant he failed to throw grenades at the other racers.

LAST MINUTE NEWS: for unknown reasons, the final winners of the medals were:

Gold Medal - Alcohlichus
Silver Medal - Senneuh
Bronze Medal - Chortan

len-Ais Challenge Cup (Sponsored by Abbess Xala Klen-Ais)

The third race ended up being the final. Xala screamed until she almost lost the ability to speak before she got the racers she needed.

This time, mounts were allowed, and people casually got onto their beasts. A few giant riding cats, a horse and a mechanostrider were among the contestants.

In the end, to no surprise, really, the Mechanostrider ended up victorious. Its rider, a gnome by the name of Narcissa Wrenchwhistle, quickly proclaimed a victorious "Power to the gnomes!" as she crossed the finish line. The Silver medal went to Ibelin, and the Bronze one to Kuranaga.

When asked about the race, she said she was glad to have been part of it, and found that there had been worthy competition, even for a gnome. She did, however, ask

if she could use the possibility to get attention to her Equal Heights Campaign: An attempt to lower the discrimination against gnomes. She didn't mention any place where you could get more information, though, so we will conduct an interview in the nearest future.

After this, Xala decided to postpone the rest of the races. It was getting late and her voice was hoarse from yelling. When asked about how she thought the races went, she admitted that her inexperience

as a hostess showed. However, she would continue to arrange events.

So keep an eye out for race yet to come. If you have the feet for it, and if you feel that you can beat Xala's guild members who kept suspiciously winning, there are still prizes to be had. If you wish make donations, you can contact Xala by mail. So far, no date has been set.