Power Lunch -- They've Swapped The Blue-Plate Special For Sweat Socks And Gatorade, But The Deals Happen Just The Same.

"Timlin had better (huff) pitch (huff) well."

Meet Greg Adams: lawyer, Mariner fan and runner.

"So the Mariners did (huff) do it (huff) out of desperation (huff)."

That's Matt Rudolf, a money manager.

"They had to give up on the guy they (huff) wanted."

And that's Jim Miller, also a lawyer, Mariner fan and runner. He's not happy about the Mariner trade of Jose Cruz Jr. for Mike Timlin and another pair of relief pitchers.

The three are running in Myrtle Edwards Park, sharing their Mariner analysis with seven other members of the informal Torrs International Running Group, about 20 downtown lawyers, bankers, real-estate developers and businessmen - all men - who belong to the Washington Athletic Club and run together regularly at noon.

The name comes from the label on a van the group rented several years ago to drive to a relay race. Most days, the conversation is just social: the Mariners, local politics, stock prices, plans for the group's latest ski trip.

But after about 20 years of running together, these men have formed some tight business connections in the streets of downtown, Queen Anne and Capitol Hill.

Business happens for this group at a seven- to eight-minute-mile pace, as small groups of runners drop behind the pack to discuss client referrals, trade advice on transactions in the works, or casually initiate a business deal.

It's just what you might expect from a round on the golf course, that stereotypical businessperson's playground, where schmoozing with potential clients is supposed to increase one's deal-making ability.

But this is Seattle, where social status seems less important than sweating hard in your free time, where joggers outnumber Mercedes drivers downtown, and where it sometimes seems like businesspeople are fitting work in between their workouts.

About 16.6 percent of Seattle-area residents run, compared with 13.8 percent nationally, according to an American Sports Data survey.

Here, professionals like Adams, Miller and Rudolf boast of the number of marathons they've run. And when they're training, they can't help but talk a little shop.

After a 30- to 40-minute run with the group, "I'm refreshed, revitalized, and my endorphins are going," said CB Commercial first vice president and runner Stanley Kravitz. And sometimes, he's further along in a deal than when he left work.

Through his daily runs, Kravitz found a lawyer to help Pathogenesis, one of his clients, finalize the lease for a building on Elliott Avenue. He found another lawyer to assist with a complicated transaction involving the sale of a building, and yet another to do an environmental inspection of a property.

Adams has referred clients to real-estate brokers in the group, and Miller has used his running connections to finalize the details of a commercial-building lease.

Why take the time to golf or even lunch, some execs say, if you're fit enough to schmooze, er, talk, over a run, a bike ride or a mountain climb?

"I don't do the lunch thing. I don't do meetings. I don't play golf. I'm like, `Do you work out?' " said Starbucks real-estate manager Tracy Hallgrimson, who runs five days a week. "Running is when I slow down."

On regular business trips to Phoenix, Hallgrimson meets with landlords and brokers to find new Starbucks sites. They want to go out for drinks. She suggests a run to get in her daily workout and prove to her mostly male co-workers that she can keep up.

Several weeks ago, Hallgrimson hiked Squaw Peak near Phoenix with her broker. They're trying to finalize more than 30 deals together.

"He cuts all my deals," she said. Working out "is my way to build rapport."

So they hiked and talked about the status of Starbucks' leases and construction start dates.

Golf might have done the trick, but she doesn't have the time. A run - or her 6 a.m. hike - takes an hour. A golf game can take half a day.

Like Hallgrimson, Miller spends a lot of time running - with clients, opposing attorneys and witnesses in preparation for trials.

As Miller explains it, it's not that he doesn't like people who don't run. But, "runners tend to be mentally and physically healthy. When I'm looking for a professional to do business with, they're one of the first groups I look to."