An Olympic Trials competitor is giving away their shoes for this blog's first ever contest!

Who's giving away their shoes for the blog's first ever contest?

What originally started out in the spring of 2007 as a blog chronicling my personal experiences in the sport of track and field has evolved into one of the best sources of news and information about professional and collegiate track and field athletes with ties to and/or from the state of Washington.

paulmerca.blogspot.com has spanned the globe to bring you the best in track & field, cross country and major road races, from Mombasa, Kenya to Terre Haute, Indiana, and from Ephrata, Washington to Berlin, Germany. I've witnessed the triumphs of Bernard Lagat and Brad Walker in Osaka, and the perfect 15 by the Washington women's cross country team.

I've done my best to cover the state's Division I & II schools to the best of my abilities, and even try to cover the state's Division III, NAIA and community colleges when I can. I've also made it a point to cover this state's top post collegiate athletes, because as you readers know, they don't disappear between Olympics.

As a reward for your loyalty and support of the blog, one of the athletes that we've covered from the beginning is offering an autographed pair of competition shoes they will use at the US Olympic Track & Field Trials, which begins on Thursday in Beaverton on the Nike campus with the hammer, and continues Friday June 22nd through July 1st at Hayward Field in Eugene.

In addition, the athlete's sponsor will put up a pair of shoes and a jacket for you to run in when you're not admiring the athlete's shoes!

What's the catch?

First of all, make sure that you visit the blog's new Facebook fan page at facebook.com/paulmercablogspotcom and "Like" us…you can't play unless you "Like" us! :-)

Then, keep checking back on the page and on the blog for the contest we'll run for a chance to win the shoes!

We'll end this post with a question for you--who do you think is the athlete who's giving away their Olympic Trials competition shoes?

Please post your answers either in the comments section of the blog, or on our Facebook page!

We'll tell you Thursday!