It started innocently enough. MLB.com’s Anthony Dicomo (pictured on the left, showing off his fine running technique) and I (pictured on the right, holding strong at Mile 21 during the Chicago Marathon) began to debate who could beat who in a race.

I felt I could easily defeat Dicomo in any distance one miler or longer, considering I’m a four-time marathoner and a former high school cross country runner. Dicomo felt he could easily defeat me in any distance under one mile, considering he was apparently a sprinter for his high school track team back in the day.

“I’ll take you on in a one-mile race,” I offered.

“A quarter mile,” he countered.

“Half mile,” I compromised.

“Done,” he agreed.

And, with that, The Dotcom Dash was born. This was in the early stages of Spring Training. Now, here were are, it’s March 23, and the trash talk has heated up, especially if you’ve followed us on Twitter (@MLBastian and @AnthonyDicomo).Well, today, things came to a head.

We finally settled on a date, time and place: March 24, after we’re done working the Blue Jays-Rays Grapefruit League game, Port Charlotte High School. Here is an image from Google maps, showing where Dicomo will be eating my dust. Might want to keep your glasses on so it doesn’t get in your eyes, buddy.

As if that wasn’t enough, our little race was written about on Hardball Talk on nbcsports.com and then, it got a bit more serious. The Drunk Jays Fans blog decided to back me and challenged a Mets or Yankees blogger (since Dicomo helps cover both clubs) to back him, putting some charity on the line.

A few minutes ago, I received this Tweet from the Jays Care Foundation:

Not that I needed any more motivation to beat Dicomo, but now it’s REALLY on, my friend. I do not plan on letting the children of Toronto down.

~JB