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• More Lodi homes selling — but prices remain stagnant

• Lodi students go back to school, but bigger classes are common because of ongoing deficit

• Regional Roundup

• Suspect in woman's death arrested near Tower Park

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

February 2nd, 2010

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Jumpers across California

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

• Patients can expect faster, better service when Lodi Memorial Hospital's new emergency room opens

• Man killed by Amtrak train in Lodi

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• President Obama's first year (67)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future (60)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (49)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen (31)

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Lodian Randy Diehl competes in first run — the Wharf to Wharf Race — at age 54

Randy Diehl tried to take up jogging in his 20s, but it didn't stick. He's done some bicycling over the years, but never really adopted an active lifestyle.

However, that all changed last Sunday when the 54-year-old painting contractor from Lodi was one of 15,000 runners in the Wharf to Wharf Race, a six-mile run from Santa Cruz to Capitola.

"I'm going out to run right now. It lit a fire in me," Diehl said on Tuesday afternoon, two days after his fitness transformation.

"I've changed my outlook," he said. "If I can do it anyone can. Everyone ought to try it once."

Diehl said he was challenged by his son, Alex, a recent Lodi High graduate who had a successful running career with the Flames and will continue logging miles at Chico State this fall.

Alex Diehl and several other recent Lodi graduates had competed in the Wharf to Wharf Race — also known as the "The best little road race in California" — last year and Diehl thought it would be cool to have his dad tag along.

Randy Diehl wasn't so sure, but he did like the idea of spending more time with his son.

"As you get older there's not too many things you can do with your kids," he said.

Three months before the run, Randy Diehl began training for the first race of his life. It was a humble, one-step-at-a-time undertaking.

"I did a little walking and a little jogging and slowly built up my distance," Diehl said. "I would get sore shin splints but I just took my Advil."

Diehl was hoping to complete the race in an hour or less.

Sardined in the back of the pack at the start of Sunday's race — the faster runners, like his son, start in the front of the pack — Diehl slowly inched along in the wave of runners that flooded the Santa Cruz boardwalk.

"It's pretty wild," Diehl said of the start. "The gun goes off and you start running but you can't really go anywhere. You have to move with the masses.

"For the first race, I should have done a smaller local race. You walk into a crowd of 15,000 runners and wonder if you will get trampled or go down and never be found again."

Eventually, the pack dispersed a bit and the speed picked up.

Diehl said he was energized by the beautiful oceanside scenery, the bands that played blues and jazz at every corner and the crowds that cheered on the runners.

"The people rooting you on know that old farts like myself are hurting," said Diehl, who finished the race in 53 minutes, a feat that made him feel like he was in his 20s again.

"I got passed by 65-year-old people and thought 'Wow, I should beat them,' " Diehl said. "But that's okay. It's really about you and I was going to finish one way or the other. I did good for me. There's something special about meeting a challenge and that good feeling you experience at the end."

Diehl was also proud of his son, who cracked the top 100 in the men's race, placing 64th with a time of 34:08. The top 100 runners received a jacket.

Former Lodi High graduate Sean Marzolf was 24th (31.24) among the men and former Flame Humberto finished 45th (33:15).