20090501footnotes

FOOTNOTES

For the Members of the RRCA by the Members of the RRCA

MAY 2009

Deena Kastor

Roads Scholars

Recipe for a Great Running Town

Year of the Runner

RRCA Travel 2008

Table of Contents

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 1

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FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

Cover: RRCA Convention morning run downLombard Street, the “crookedest street in the world” San Francisco, CA May 27, 2009 Photo by Sandy Walton

FEATURES 2008 TheYear of the Runner by Bob Kopac..20 FUNdamentals of Youth Running.........13 Recipe for a Great Running Town

by Mike McCormick...................................14 Roads Scholars 2008...............................6 Roads Scholar Deena Kastor....................8 RRCA State Rep Saves Boy From Drowning............................................10 RRCA Travel 2008 by George Rehmet......46

REGULAR CONTENT Coaching Certification Programs.........48 Executive Director’s Note......................4 FoodFit Recipe....................................11 From the Experts...................................38

Race Day Health & Safety by John Colianni MD Pain In the Stomach by Elizabeth Rothe MD

RRCA Personal Fitness.........................12 Running Around the Nation Eastern...........................................15 Southern.........................................24 Central...........................................40 Western..........................................41 The Un-Comfort Zone..............................45 Deadlines Work by Robert Wilson What’s the BIG Idea?................39, 44, 45 Women’s Distance Festival..................23

RRCA National 10K Championship The Presidio 10 - 10K & 10 Mile San Francisco, CA March 29, 2009 Photo by Sandy Walton

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 3

Road Runners Club of America RRCA Board of Directors

Brent Ayer..................................................President David Cotter......................................Vice President Dennis Novak............................................Treasurer Mark Grandonico.............................Eastern Region Lena Hollmann................................Southern Region Mitchell Garner.................................Central Region David Epstein..................................Western Region Kelly “K2” Richards....................................At-Large Dan Edwards...............................................At-Large

Executive Director

Jean Knaack ................................. execdir@rrca.org

Program Services Director

Eve Mills.............................. membership@rrca.org

Office Manager

Dorothy Commock...................... dorothy@rrca.org

Webmaster

Warren Finke.......................... webmaster@rrca.org

Editorial Committee

Cathy Fiesler, MD……............…………...Medical Patti Finke….……………...........………..Coaching Mel Williams, PhD…............. Exercise Physiology

FOOTNOTES Managing Editor

Executive Director’s Note: Time flies when you are having fun. We realize that it has been a little while since we posted an issue of FOOTNOTES on the website. During the time between the November 2008 and this issue, Spring 2009, the organization has been actively working with the Running Network LLC to develop an exciting partnership. This partnership was formally announced at the 51st Annual RRCA Convention in San Francisco during the kick-off meeting.

Coming soon to your mailbox will be the first issue of Club Running magazine. This complementary publication to the household members of the RRCA is made possible by the partnership with the Running Network LLC and their advertisers.

To ensure that the RRCA continues to offer a robust set of publications for our members, we will produce 3 issue of Club Running magazine and 3 issues of FOOTNOTES (online) in 2009 for your reading pleasure. Both publications will showcase the rich diversity of our member clubs and events.

As always, our publications are only as good as the articles and photos you submit we receive from our members. We encourage you to send us your compelling stories and photos for inclusion in both FOOTNOTES now Club Running magazine.

Happy Running,

Sandy Walton............................ footnotes@rrca.org

Please submit materials for publication via email to the editor at footnotes@rrca.org. Submission Deadline for the August FOOTNOTES is Friday July 10, 2009.

All materials herein are fully protected and may not be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the RRCA or the author.

Views expressed herein are those of the authors exclusively. No advice should be taken as medical advice. Consult your physician if you have questions about your health and fitness.

The Road Runners Club of America is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Road Runners Club of America 1501 Lee Highway, Suite 140 Arlington, VA 22209 Phone: 703-525-3890 Fax: 703-525-3891 Email: office@rrca.org 4

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

Jean Knaack RRCA President Brent Ayer and Executive Director Jean Knaack at the RRCA National Championship 10K The Presidio 10 in San Francisco, CA Photo by Sandy Walton

Road Runners Club of America MISSION The Road Runners Club of America is the national association of running clubs, running events, and runners dedicated to promoting long distance running as a competitive sport and as healthful exercise. RRCA’s mission is to represent and promote the common interest of its member clubs, events, and individual runners through education, leadership, programs and other services.

VISION The Road Runners Club of America is the premier national organization dedicated to promoting the development and growth of running clubs, running events, and supporting the interests of recreational runners throughout the country including those that walk because they are unable to run. The RRCA strives to provide quality programming that can be replicated throughout the country by member clubs from small towns to large cities that promote and support running, runners, and supporters of the sport at all stages in life. The RRCA is dedicated to providing the running community with educational information and programs that will keep them safe, healthy, and informed. Furthermore, the RRCA strives to promote excellence in nonprofit management for the National Office as well as member clubs by providing services, benefits, and regular communication that support this vision.

VALUES • • • • •

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Running, runners, and the promotion of running as a healthy lifestyle choice Strength and support of its network of grassroots members and volunteers, and as such, we strive to maintain positive relations will all of our members Diversity in its member clubs and encourages all clubs to maintain an enjoyable atmosphere for all members Promotion of safety for all runners and the enforcement and development of laws and infrastructure that protects runners’ safety Running as a competitive sport and we support the Zero RRCA National 10 Mile Championship Tolerance Policy for the use of Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Washington, DC April 5, 2009 performance enhancing drugs in Photo by Mark Gautier the sport.

Participation of people who support the sport of running but are unable to run due to various circumstances Financial contributions and support of members, sponsors, volunteers, and donors to the organization Good communication with its members and the running community as a whole Prudent financial management that enables the organization to achieve its mission while ensuring adequate cash reserves Strong relationships with national and local media that cover the sport of running and running as a healthy lifestyle choice

We Run the Nation!

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 5

2008 Roads Scholars Elite American Runners Since 1996, the Road Runners Club of America has awarded stipends through its Roads Scholar program to assist American post-collegiate road runners who show great promise to develop into national and world class road running athletes.

and October. I had gotten engaged to my fiance, Anna Willard in June and we started looking at options for where we would relocate to train. We visited Mammoth Lakes in September and quickly decided to move there in early October. Once I started working on rehab and therapy with my new coach, Terrence Mahon, my comeback went smoothly, and I slowly built back up to full training by December. We have big plans for 2009. I’m excited to have a big year and plan to make the World Championship team for Berlin.

The Roads Scholar program has distributed over $260,000 to emerging American distance runners. Grants in the amount of $5,000.00 per year have been awarded to four to six athletes annually since the program’s inception. The driving factor in the creation of this program was the goal I also wish to express my gratitude to the of improving the state of long distance RRCA Roads Scholar program because I ended up needing the grant money running in the United States.

Jonathan Pierce My 2008 racing season was unfortunately, only partially successful.

I did run personnel bests in several events, 3:44 in the 1500, 8:37 in the steeplechase, and 28:43 for the 10,000. I also was fortunate enough to be selected for the USA World Cross country team after finishing 11th at the US championships and was the 7th finisher for the US in Scotland, placing 96th overall. I was absolutely thrilled to make my first US national team and it was a great experience. I look forward to going back to World Cross in the future to place much higher. I also gained some valuable experience on the roads, running a road 5k in Armagh, Ireland, and the US 8k championships in Central Park where I was 12th in 23:21. These were all positive races and experiences; however my season was cut short when I developed a sacral stress fracture in early June. I attempted to compete at the trials after cross training for three weeks but ran poorly finishing last in my heat.

Due to the severity of my injury I spent the next three months visiting doctors, seeking various medical opinions, using a bone stimulator, and resting.

Despite missing out on a lot of the races I had hoped to participate in the past summer and fall, things started to come around for me in September

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even more than expected when I applied.

This money was very helpful in keeping me afloat, because I accrued so many expenses and bills from the injury and also lost out on a great deal of potential prize money during my recovery. I believe that programs like this one are of utmost importance in encouraging young American runners to continue on at the elite level, especially when they may be facing some tough times.

Sally Meyerhoff My running has gone very well from the time I received the RRCA grant in May. In June I placed 3rd overall in the women’s field at Grandma’s marathon in 2:42:57 and it was the first time an American born woman placed in the top 3 since 1993. In August I raced in the America’s Finest City ½ Marathon in San Diego and placed 4th overall in 1:15:47 and was the first American woman. In September I raced in the USA 8k Championships in Akron, OH and placed 9th in a huge PR, 26:31. In October I raced in the San Jose Rock and Roll ½ Marathon and ran a huge PR of 1:12:52 to get 4th overall and be the first American. In November I raced in the New York City marathon and placed 14th overall in 2:40:57.

The above-mentioned races were my bigger races for the second half of 2008 but I have raced numerous races locally in Arizona and have been undefeated

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

and also beaten many men. It sure has been fun to meet people and run really well after moving back to Arizona.

Receiving the RRCA grant has made a world of difference for me with my running. I am able to afford special running gear that I would have had to think twice about in the past and I am able to save some more money for training somewhere else this coming summer; the heat in Phoenix can be unbearable for serious runners. My next big running event will be the P.F. Changs Rock and Roll marathon here in Arizona on January 18th. I would like to go for the win and run in the 2:30 range so that I have a big chance of making the World Team to represent the USA at the World Championships in 2009.

Julia Lucas In retrospect, the year 2008 went well. I did come out of it with new PRs in the 5k (15:33) and the1500 (4:15). I placed 10th in my first road race, the Central Park challenge 8k, and 8th in he cross country national championships. However, because it was an Olympic year, all my goals were wrapped up in the Trials and an untimely metatarsal stress fracture put an early end to both the race and my season.

This situation has run it’s course as many times as there are highschool cross country runners, and any coach who’s worth his Reeboks will draw from a myriad of time tested clichés: The hay is in the barn, the money’s in the bank and so on. The real achievements of 2008 are in the ways they will effect 2009 and 2010 and so on, as long as I am doing everything I can to be great in this sport. So, instead of saying that 2008 didn’t go so badly, allow me to start again…

During the year 2008 I gained one year of experience training with the best of the best in Mammoth Lakes, CA. For the first time in my running career I emulated just what the world beaters did. I got regular massage and chiropractic adjustments. I took supplements regularly, spent time at altitude, and got

to keep the competitive juices flowing.

blood tests to moniter the effects. I came out of the year with PRs in every distance I ran, and I’m hungry for more in 2009!

The spring and summer I have some strong goals. I would like to run near 28:00 for 10,000m on the track this spring. This summer I plan on doing a handful of road races including the Steamboat Classic, Peachtree Road Race, Midnight Madness (Ames, IA), and Bix 7. I’m especially looking forward to running the Bix because I’ve run it quite a few times growing up.

Brett Gotcher As for my running, 2008 was a solid year. I started off with a 10th place at the US Half Marathon Champs and a 9th place finish at the US 15k Champs. Track season brought a couple of personal bests and a spot in the 10k field at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene. I lowered my 10k time to 28:27 and my 5k to 13:56.

Thanks so very much for you support! I cannot thank you enough.

I started off the fall with a couple of low key road races. I won the Tucson 8k in 23:30 and followed that up with a 3rd place showing at the Santa Monica 5k, finishing in 14:01. Next came the Synaptics 5k in San Jose, CA against a loaded field. I ended up running 13:58 in that race, good for 11th place. 2008 culminated at the US Club Cross Country Champs in Spokane, WA. I came away with a 5th place finish and helped our team to a National Championship.

2009 has started off even better, with probably the best race of my career coming at the US Half Marathon Champs in Houston, TX. I came away with a 2 minute personal best, running 62:09 and coming in 3rd place behind Meb and Dathan. I followed that up with a 7th place finish at the US Cross Country Champs in Derwood, MD, which gives me a shot at making the Wolrd XC team.

Brett Gotcher Sally Meyerhoff Jonathan Pierce, Julia Lucas, and Josh Moen

Josh Moen Since receiving the Roads Scholar grant this past summer, I’ve moved to Minneapolis and joined Team USA Minnesota. The funding allowed me to relocate my training to make the necessary improvements to be the best I can. This past fall and summer I put in large, quality block of training with the focus being on the spring/summer of 2009. I did my first marathon at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. Although I didn’t come near my goal of finishing in the top 3, I enjoyed the experience. I plan on doing more marathons in the future.

So far this winter I’ve been a little banged up with a tight hamstring tendon. I’ve taken a couple weeks off and am now running pain-free, which is liberating. I was planning on running the Aramco Houston 1/2 Marathon, but the injury caused me to rethink racing it. I’m going to be looking for another substitute road race

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 7

Deena Kastor

1997 Roads Scholar - Elite American Runner

RRCA American Long Distance Running Hall of Fame

CHICAGO (March 29, 2009) - U.S. Olympian Deena Kastor (CA) and Emmanuel Korir (MI) led a field of 13,714 runners through the snow at the 30th Anniversary Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K. The 8K run through the city and 5K Fitness Walk along the lakeshore continued its storied tradition by ushering in the spring season in true Chicago fashion with temperatures in the low 30’s and steady snowfall throughout the morning. Beginning and ending in historic Grant Park, the 8K provided an abbreviated preview of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon course as it circled the city’s stunning downtown architecture. 5K walkers were treated to a scenic stroll along the shores of Lake Michigan in the shadow of the magnificent city skyline. Online registration for both events opened on Thursday, January 1 and closed on January 29 when the 32,500 participant capacity was reached.

13,714 Runners Brave the Elements to Tackle 30th Anniversary Shamrock Shuffle 8K Including Champions Deena Kastor and Emmanuel Korir Photo by Sean Hartnett

While 30,000 runners registered for the popular race only 13,714 elected to brave the elements. With the vast majority of registrants hailing from the Chicagoland area they were familiar with the conditions Mother Nature can deliver during springtime in Chicago.

Korir won today’s 30th Anniversary Shamrock Shuffle 8K, crossing the finish line in 24:18 while Kastor led the women with a finish time of 27:15. Kastor, the bronze medalist in the 2004 Olympic Marathon, was making her first return to road racing since an injury forced her to drop from the field mid-race of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon. Kastor set the current American women’s record in the 8K distance at the 2005 Shamrock Shuffle with a 24:36 finish time.

In the inaugural year of the Elite Club Competition the HansonsBrooks Distance Project team (Rochester Hills, MI) won first place for the men. Team members are Chad Johnson, Nick Arciniaga, Mike Kilburg and Ryan Sheehan. The women’s race was won by the Fleet Feet/Nike Racing Team (Chicago) featuring team members Jessica Langford, Colleen Newhart, Jokotade Agunloye, Christina Overbeck and Elizabeth Engel.

Photo by Sean Hartnett

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FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

Complete race results are available at www.shamrockshuffle.com.

Top American Distance Runner Deena Kastor Enters World Famous ING Bay to Breakers 12K Olympian Deena Kastor is set to conquer the streets of San Francisco and battle a strong elite field in the 98th Annual ING Bay to Breakers 12K on May 17.

Kastor, the 2004 Olympic Games marathon bronze medalist, has been on the mend after breaking her foot during the Beijing Olympic marathon. Now completely healed and race ready, Kastor is set to compete in the ING Bay to Breakers 12K, a distance of which she holds the American record (38:24).

At stake is the opportunity to bring the race title back into the hands of an American, a feat which has not occurred since Lynn Jennings won in 1993. Despite her eight national records and 20 national titles, the Mammoth Lakes, CA resident will face stiff competition from a tough group of international athletes, as well as her 2008 Olympic teammate, Magdalena Lewy-Boulet of nearby Oakland.

“We are exceptionally thrilled to have Deena head the elite field,” said Josh Muxen, the race’s elite athlete manager.

“Deena is always a tough competitor, which will serve her well - taking on defending champ Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya will be no walk in the park.”

What: ING Bay to Breakers 12K. ING Bay to Breakers is a USA Track and Field certified 12K (7.46 miles). The name reflects the course which takes tens of thousands of participants from the northeast end of downtown San Francisco, near The Embarcadero (the “bay” side of the city), to the west end of the city and the “breakers” of Ocean Beach.

Where: San Francisco, CA The race starts at the intersection of Howard St. at Beale St. at the Embarcadero and finishes at the Great Highway and John F. Kennedy Drive. ING Footstock will take place after the race at Spreckels Lake and 36th Ave. in Golden Gate Park.

When: Sunday, May 17, 2009. Start Time: 8:00 am. (Always the third Sunday in May!) Who: In the indomitable spirit of San Francisco, ING Bay to Breakers is a celebration for everyone. Thousands of costumed participants from diverse communities and all over the world join with professional and recreational runners, families, weekend runners and neighborhood residents.

Why: Each year ING Bay to Breakers 12K draws approximately 65,000 runners and 100,000 spectators to San Francisco.

The draw is the race itself, but for many other non-race participants the spectacle of professional, recreational, ‘fun’ and costumed runners is a major attraction for San Francisco residents as well as visitors from around California, the nation, and the world.

For more information, visit www.ingbaytobreakers.com.

good things come in threes t h e n e w 2 0 0 9 h e l i u m b e lt s

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 9

RRCA State Rep Saves Boy from Drowning FORT WORTH, TX - For one drowning child, an out-of-towner was at the right place at the right time as he jogged along the Trinity River Wednesday evening, March 18, 2009 in Fort Worth.

After receiving a call about a drowning, a diving team and emergency crews rushed to the Trinity River banks to discover a total stranger had already done the job.

With spring break underway, hundreds of kids were enjoying their down time along the Trinity River. Jogging along the Trinity Trails, Mark Ward, RRCA Georgia State Rep - who was in town on business said he spotted something unusual.

“I noticed there was some commotion going on in the water,” he said. “There was three little heads bopping up and down in the water in the middle of the current.”

Ward said he ran down the hill, took off

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his shoes, dove into water and swam into the middle of the river.

Ward said that little face has stuck with him and he wants to meet with the child again.

“I said, ‘Who do I need to take first,’ because they were all drowning,” he said. “I would love to see him again,” he said.

“There’s no doubt about it, but they were playing toss with this boy trying to keep The child and his mom were checked out

by MedStar and were okay. him above water.”

They tossed the child to Ward.

“I grabbed him [and] I put him on my chest,” he said. “I said, ‘You hang on.’

He said, ‘I don’t want to die,’ and he must have said that five or six times.”

Ward got him safely to the river banks as the other two women in the water made their way out of the river.

“He says, ‘I didn’t mean to fall in. I didn’t mean to,’” Ward said of the boy. “He was so worried about being in trouble after all that.”

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

BEST Budget-Friendly Healthy Recipes

Baked Pork Chops with Apple Stuffing This recipe serves: 4

4 pork loin chops salt to taste freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1/4 cup chopped celery 2 tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and chopped 1 1/2 cups bread cubes 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup apple cider 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard Per Serving: 1. Preheat the oven to 350Âş F. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and brown them on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.

3. Transfer the pork chops to a baking dish, turn the heat to medium and add the remaining olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion and celery and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the apple and cook for 5 minutes more.

4. Add the bread cubes and parsley and remove from heat. Stir in just enough cider to moisten the mixture and season with salt and pepper.

5. Spread the mustard on top of each chop. Divide the stuffing mixture among the chops and pat it onto the mustard.

6. Bake the chops until they are fully cooked and the stuffing is nicely browned, about 20 minues.

Calories Fat Protein Sodium

364 12 g 33 g 284 mg

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 25 mins

Carbohydrate Fiber Saturated Fat

31 g 4g 3g

Yield: 4 servings

User rating: Rated by 1 visitors

rich in protein

low in fat

lower in carbs

FoodFit.com is an award-winning healthy eating and active living website dedicated to providing consumers

with the information and tools they need to lead a healthier life. FoodFit integrates hundreds of features and interactive tools with thousands of recipes and tips from over 100 leading chefs. Its reliable guidance combines information from experts in the fields of nutrition, medicine and fitness.

Join the FoodFit Healthily Living Plan through the RRCA to get healthy and help support the RRCA’s Personal Fitness at www.rrca.org/programs/personal

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 11

ROAD RUNNERS OFOFAMERICA ROADCLUB RUNNERS CLUB AMERICA 1501 Lee Hwy, Ste 140 1501 Lee Hwy, Ste 140 Arlington, VA 22209 Arlington, VA 22209 703-525-3890 Phone:Phone: 703-525-3890 Fax: 703-525-3891 Fax: 703-525-3891 www.RRCA.org www.RRCA.org

Since 1974, the RRCA has been helping motivate runners through the Personal Fitness Program. From beginning runners to experience endurance athletes, we all need a little motivation now and then. To reward individuals for their dedication to living a healthy life and incorporating running as their regular exercise, we invite you to join the Personal Fitness Program. Program fees are varied based on your goal.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS:

Select your 6 month total mileage goal from below Log onto www.RRCA.org/Running/Tools.

Create your FREE Account to Log Your Miles Start running and logging your miles After six months, indicate your total on this form (we will verify your mileage log online) and mail it along with your payment to receive your reward.

Celebrate your accomplishment!

6 MONTH GOAL:

300 miles in 6 months Approx 12 miles a week

6 MONTH TOTAL MILES:

_______________

300 Mile Patch and certificate

$10.00 Circle One

600 Mile SportScience T-Shirt, Patch and certificate

$25.00 S, M, L, XL

1000 Mile Embroidered Golf Shirt, Patch and certificate

$35.00 S, M, L, XL

1000 Mile Embroidered Fleece Vest, Patch and certificate

$50.00 S, M, L, XL

(please type or print clearly)

Name:_________________________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________

600 miles in 6 months Approx 25 miles a week

_______________

1000 miles in 6 months Approx 42 miles a week

_______________

Waiver: I know that running is a potentially hazardous activity. I should not run unless I am medically able and properly trained. I assume all risks associated with running and participation in the Personal Fitness Program. I have read this waiver and knowing these facts and in consideration of your accepting my entry, I, for myself and anyone entitled to act on my behalf, waive and release the ROAD RUNNERS CLUB OF AMERICA and all sponsors, their representatives and successors from all claims or liabilities of any kind arising out of my participation in this program though the liability may arise out of negligence or carelessness on the part of the persons named in this waiver.

Signed:_________________________________________________________________________

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Yes, I achieved my Personal Fitness Goal! Please send me the following reward: COST SIZE

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

City:________________________ State:______ Zip:___________ Phone:_______________________ Email Address:____________________________________ Check enclosed or

Charge my credit card

Name on Card:__________________________________________ Card Number:_________________________ Expiration Date:___/___ Signed:______________________________

RRCA: Kids Run the Nation ® The FUNdamentals of Youth Running Taken from the Kids Run the Nation Program Guide

The Road Runners Club of America promotes the following guidelines for youth running.

These guidelines are based on the 10 developmental principles that guide training and racing for young distance runners outlined in the book Training for Young Distance Runners written

by Larry Greene, PhD and Russ Pate, PhD, published by Human Kinetics.

and emotionally at different rates, and this will factor into their ability to participate in running.

increase over the duration of the program, but should remain appropriate for the individual student.

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Limit systematic training and competition before puberty: Before puberty children are rapidly growing and changing. Excessive, systematic training may interfere with normal growth and cause injury in a child. Between the ages Make Running Fun: of 3 and 9, encourage regular First and foremost, running exercise, which can include should be fun. Do not use organized running for fun running as a punishment. as outlined in this program Encourage children to guide. Around the age of 8-12, participate and try their best. children may enjoy participation in a more organized running Emphasize good program that has a more technique: Teach youth good systematic training environment form early and help eliminate that lasts 2-3 months. Around bad habits such as excessive arm the age of 12 for girls and 14 for movement, twisting of the upper boys, key developmental changes body, or over striding. will enable students to slowly Focus on participation increase training distance and duration leading to participation and self-improvement: In in a systematic and competitive grade school, running should training environment. be about participation and developing a healthy lifestyle, Increase running not about being the fastest kid workload gradually: Running in the school or program. Save workload includes volume competition for middle and high (distance), intensity (speed or school aged students. effort), and frequency (number

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of days a week). Just like with adult, running training, children should start a running program with a low volume, low intensity, and limit frequency to a couple days a week. Workload should

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Consider individual differences: Avoid a one size fits all running program.

Accommodate for differences in abilities within the group.

Children mature both physically

Participate in age appropriate running events: Running in a kid’s fun run or youth track event can be a great experience for kids. For children 5 and under focus on “dash” events that range from a few yards to 400 meters. For children 5 and over, kids fun runs that are a ½ to 1 mile long may be considered, but allow for a combination of running and walking. Children ages 12 and over may want to participate in a 5K run.

Children ages 15 and older may want to participate in a 10K to half marathon event.

Children 18 and older may want to participate in a marathon or further distance. These are general guidelines and the distance a child can physically and emotionally tolerate will depend on the individual, however longer distances (10K and over) should wait until after puberty.

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 13

Recipe for a Great Running Town

by Mike McCormick

selection of high quality running a great way to enhance our membership.”

Richmond is a great running town. gourmet events and training programs for experts There is no other way to say it. Richmond runners of all ages dine on an eclectic and sumptuous buffet of year-round offerings for which they are all too eager to share with friends and family.

and novices alike. And their prominence in the local sports landscape has led to an eight-year surge in Richmond Road Runners Club membership numbers from about 500 to over 2,200.

From the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K, the James River Scramble, the Patrick Henry Half Marathon, the McDonald’s X-country Festival at Maymont, and the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, there is a

The reason for all this great club activity is a unique partnership between the Richmond Road Runners Club (RRRC) and the Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers, a nonprofit sports commission (voted best in the country in 2006 by the National Association of Sports Commissions) that works to maximize the community benefits of sports tourism through events they own and organize.

Ukrops Monument Ave 10K, Richmond VA March 29, 2009 Photo by Bill Cullen

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FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

“The Sports Backers with its professional expertise and the Road Runners with their running event expertise have come together to make Richmond a great running town,” said RRRC President Don Garber, 56, who also sits on the Sports Backers board of directors. “We’ve seen this as

The Road Runners sponsor 17 races a year from 2 to 20 miles in length. They also provide services for 30 races a year, several of which are owned by the Sports Backers including the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K, the James River Scramble, the McDonald’s X-country Festival at Maymont and the SunTrust Richmond Marathon. In addition, the Patrick Henry Half Marathon, held in Ashland, Virginia in August is a two-year-old partnership between the two organizations in which they equally share the workload and profits.

“Thanks to our strong collaboration, the Richmond area has more races with more people and a stronger volunteer base than a lot of larger cities,” says Jon Lugbill, executive director of the Sports Backers.

The relationship began in 1997 when the dwindling registrations led Richmond Newspapers, Inc. to drop its sponsorship and organization of the Richmond Marathon events (450 marathoners, 900 half marathoners, 900 8K runners). Rather than let the city’s marquis running event die out, the RRRC declared their intention to save it. Richmond Newspapers agreed See TOWN, page 49

EASTERN REGION: MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, PENNYSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO, DISCTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Runner Helps Send Kids to Camp

Mike Brooks, a retired firefighter, runs nearly 500 miles to benefit Camp Sunshine

by Kathryn Skelton, Sun Journal Mike Brooks is pretty sure he’ll never do that again.

Resting at home on Monday, days after a grueling 10-day ultramarathon in New York, his feet were still blistered up, his aching back was recovering. He fell a little short of one goal, running 500 miles, but hit the second one, raising more than $10,000 for a Casco camp for critically ill children.

“I’m very happy with my performance. I missed it by 9 miles - it’s better than missing it by 90,” Brooks said.

“Seven families are going to be able to go to Camp Sunshine - that’s an awesome feeling.”

The retired Auburn firefighter, 63, has been a twice-a-month marathoner for years, finishing marathons in all 50 states three times around, but hadn’t before tackled a race for so long. He started strong, running 77 miles the first day of the Sri-Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Ten Day Race in Flushing Meadow Park.

Sunshine. “He should be really proud of what he’s accomplished.”

A person who pledged $500 for Brooks’ 500th mile called him after the race. “He said, ‘You’re going to get it, it was a great effort,’” Brooks said.

He’s still catching up on sleep and figures it will take months to physically recover. He’ll run in obscurity for a little bit; the next fundraiser for the camp may be running Death Valley at age 70.

In the more immediate future, he’s signed up for the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge 50K at the end of May. In June? A marathon in a South African game reserve. He talked to a racer in New York who’d already run it and told him, sorry, there wasn’t any running amongst the lions.

“They have a helicopter and it buzzes the course and chases the animals away,” Brooks said.

By day 10, Brooks was down to a mile an hour.

Mike Brooks of Danville, Maine ran 491 miles in a 10-day ultramarathon in New York and raised more than $10,000 for Camp Sunshine.

His feet had started to hurt around day five, then his back. Visits to an on-track chiropractor and message therapists didn’t help.

“By the sixth or seventh day, (you’re thinking,) ‘Oh, I got to keep doing this?’ That was kind of challenging,” Brooks said.

He never seriously considered giving up, he said. Track-side visits from friends helped, as did people walking up to hand him money for Camp Sunshine. The other racers also kept it interesting. He talked with a runner who had gotten a partial hip replacement not too long ago.

“He asked his doctor if he could run a race.

The doctor said, ‘Yeah’ - he never told him it was a six-day race,” Brooks said.

“I enjoyed the people,” he said. “I was getting a sunburn; this Russian guy told me, ‘Turning red, turning red.’”

Brooks finished 14th in a pack of 22 runners Saturday. The winner ran 777 miles.

He said he’d been nervous in this economy about hitting his fundraising goal for the camp.

The total might approach $11,000 from more than 90 donors.

“We’re thrilled. It was a Herculean effort,” said Matt Hoidal, executive director of Camp

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 15

EASTERN REGION: MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, PENNYSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO, DISCTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Turkey Trot 5K (left) Jonny Wilson, Dan Franek, Gordon Scannell, & Maine State Rep. Sandy Walton (below) Cait Bradley, Christine Reaser, Jeanne Hackett Photos by Don Penta

RRCA State 5K Championship Maine Running Co. Turkey Trot 5K Cape Elizabeth, ME November 23, 2008 OPEN MALE Jonny Wilson

20

Falmouth, ME

15:37

OPEN FEMALE Cait Bradley

22

Portland, ME

18:29

MASTER MALE Dan Franek

43

South Portland, ME 15:30

MASTER FEMALE Christine Reaser 42

Biddeford, ME

19:38

GRANDMASTER MALE Gordon Scannell 56

Yarmouth, ME

19:41

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Jeanne Hackett 50

Scarborough, ME

19:55

RRCA State Marathon Championship Northern Central Trail Marathon Sparks, MD November 29, 2008

Northern Central Trail Marathon Overall Winners Doug Mock & Kristin van Eron Photos by John Roemer IV

16

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

OPEN MALE Doug Mock

41

Ellicott City, MD

02:41:52

OPEN FEMALE Kristin Van Eron

37

Timonium, MD

03:17:57

MASTER MALE Thomas Kramer

43

Gaylordsville, CT

02:52:15

MASTER FEMALE Renee Bates 41

Germantown, MD

03:32:47

GRANDMASTER MALE Denis McDonald 54

Woodbine, MD

03:03:38

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Valerie Kilcoin 50

Middletown, NY

03:38:5

EASTERN REGION: MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, PENNYSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO, DISCTRICT OF COLUMBIA

RRCA State 100 Mile Championship Ultra Marathon Set For October

by Stella Ruggiero Titusville, Pennsylvania -- Oil Creek State Park will be ground zero for “ultramarathoners” from across the nation -- and potentially around the world -- in the second weekend of October.

The rugged trails of the park will challenge serious runners with three long distance races, including a 100-miler.

The Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs are expected to draw as many as several hundred marathoners the weekend of Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 11. The three “ultra” races include a 100-mile race, a 50-miler and a 50K. Although race director Tom Jennings resides in Erie, he makes regular use of the Titusville area for runs. He is working with friend and running partner Norm Pattison, of Titusville, to coordinate the event. More than a year ago, Pattison suggested holding an ultramarathon in Oil Creek State Park because of its challenging terrain and connection to oil history. The idea finally came to fruition in January when a Web site was set up for the event. In the last few months, the site has received hits from more than 30 countries.

The biggest event of the Oil Creek 100 will be the 100-mile race.

It will begin at 5 a.m. on Saturday and loop through the park approximately three times. Marathoners will have until 1 p.m. on Sunday -- 32 hours -- to complete this race. The other two races will also start on Saturday morning, but they will be staggered with a 6 a.m. start for the 50-miler and a 7 a.m. start for the 50K. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Over The Hill Gang (OTHG), which established Oil Creek State Park’s Gerard Hiking Trail in the early 1980’s. The trail, which was named after OTHG founder Ray Gerard, has been maintained by the group ever since with no financial support. According to Jake Weiland, park manager, there wouldn’t be passable trails if it weren’t for the members of the OTHG. The Gerard Hiking Trail, which is 36 miles long, encompasses the entire park. This group of approximately 12 volunteers gather for breakfast every Wednesday and head out to the trails to cut fallen trees or trim brush. Weiland emphasized that he hopes this event will help highlight the hard work of the OTHG. He’s also excited about prospect of “connecting visitors with our resources.” In addition to the runners, the race could attract potentially hundreds of people. Marathoners typically travel with friends and family, and sometimes crews.

Ultra finishers will be awarded with a belt buckles, which are associated with ultramarathons. The ones for the Oil Creek 100 will be specially designed.

If you don’t fall into the category of an ultramarathoner, there will be an “OC100 sampler” race of 7.75 miles, according to the event’s Web site.

To learn more about the Oil Creek 100 Trail Run, or to register, visit oilcreek100.org.

RRCA National Championship Dates to Remember: August 22, 2009 Parkersburg, WV Parkersburg News & Sentinel Half Marathon RRCA Regional Championship Dates to Remember: October 4, 2009 Portland, ME Maine Half Marathon RRCA State Championship Dates to Remember: May 16, 2009 Parkersburg, WV Chick-Fil-A 10K May 19, 2009 Alexandria, VA One Hour Track Run May 24, 2009 Burlington, VT Keybank Vermont City Marathon May 25, 2009 Ridgewood, NJ Fred D’elia Ridgewood 10K June 14, 2009 Rutland, VT Crowley Brothers 10K June 21, 2009 Fort Hunter, NY Mule Haul 8K September 26, 2009 Northport, NY Great Cow Harbor 10K September 27, 2009 Alexandria, VA National Capital 20-Miler October 4, 2009 Portland, ME Maine Marathon

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 17

EASTERN REGION: MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, PENNYSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO, DISCTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Our running group can handle all of your needs for marathons, half marathons, triathlons, 5k & 10k races, charity walks, charity races, aquathlons, running, biking, swimming, walking, and ultra running.

medallions - Custom medallions are designed and manufactured based on complexity, budget, and use. We start with the finest raw materials including amaloy, pewter, jeweler’s bronze, wood, and acrylics, as well as precious metals such as sterling silver and solid gold. Color, stones, and printed ribbons can be added to medallions to enhance the final look. pins - Custom designed pins have many

purposes: event souvenirs, trading pins, club membership, awards for achievement, and fundraising. We have a wide variety of manufacturing processes such as; hard enamel, soft enamel, photo process, and two-tone pins without color. All of our pins are designed and manufactured for your use based on your logo, theme, and budget.

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run (right) Sally Meyerhoff

awards and plaques - Custom plaques and awards are a great way to express appreciation. We pride ourselves in designing and manufacturing custom awards that are tailored for our clients.

Our awards components are primarily manufactured out of pewter, acrylic, crystal, and wood. We decorate our components using laser engraving, rotary engraving, sublimation or offset printing. keytags - Keychains and zipper pulls

are usually manufactured in conjunction with a medallion program. This gives the participant another use for their award after the event, however they can be manufactured exclusively.

ribbons and lanyards - We have a wide variety of lanyards and ribbons that can be custom woven or hot-stamped to your specifications. Ribbons and lanyards are typically an add-on or they can be manufactured specifically for your use.

18

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

Photos by Dennis D Steinauer

EASTERN REGION: MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, PENNYSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO, DISCTRICT OF COLUMBIA

New American Female Best Set at 37th Annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Sally Meyerhoff, RRCA Roads Scholar, made history at Sunday’s 37th annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, setting the American best for a women’s-only race.

Bert Rodriguez (51:07) was the best Washington, DC-area male finisher at 22nd place. Amanda Trotter (57:11), also of Arlington, was the top local female.

Runners competed for the largest purse in event history - $40,000 in prize and bonus money.

The 25-year-old Phoenix, AZ native posted a time of 54 minutes, 38 seconds, breaking the old mark of 55:42, set by Turena Johnson Lane in 2006.

One familiar face among the starters was Bethesda runner Ben Beach, who participated in his 37th consecutive Cherry Blossom race. An editor at The Wilderness Society, Beach is the only runner to have finished every year since the race started in 1973. He also will start his 42nd consecutive Boston Marathon on April 20th.

That record-setting performance was part of a great day of racing under ideal conditions on a mild, sunny day in the District. One year ago, Moroccan Ridouane Harroufi and Kenyan Lineth Chepkurui celebrated their first visits to the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run with victories in the male and female races.

A 400-runner satellite race organized for U.S. troops serving in Iraq began simultaneously with the start of the mass race at 7:40 a.m. The organizing committee provided t-shirts and bib numbers for the event at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq and promised a free entry into the 2010 race for any soldier competing in the event at Camp Victory who wants to participate next year.

The experience was so much fun the duo made a return appearance on Sunday morning on the Washington Monument Grounds. And -- while they did so in vastly different ways -- both runners defended their titles.

Harroufi (27) broke away from a tight pack of six runners in the final 500 meters to finish with a first-place time of 45 minutes, 56 seconds. He became the first competitor in a decade to break the 46-minute mark.

Also in this year’s field were approximately 25 runners from “Students Run LA,” who raised $25,000 to make the trip from Los Angeles to participate.

The group consists of at-risk high school and middle school students who commit to a rigorous running program and meeting strict academic standards

The final group of male runners included 19-year-old Ethiopian Feyisa Liesla, who demonstrated great poise for a teenager down the stretch. Liesa placed just two seconds behind Harroufi at 45:58. Kenyan Silas Sang (31) was right there with them, finishing third at 45:59.

The top American male was Jason Hartman (48:03), a Boulder, CO resident who earned 14th. Arlington’s

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run also serves as the Road Runners Club of America’s 10 Mile National Championship.

The title sponsoring Credit Union Miracle Day Committee is a partnership of more than 70 Credit Unions and affiliated organizations, partners and event participants. Nearly $1 million was raised for the Children’s Miracle Network this year. Approximately $400,000 of that money will go to Washington, DC’s own Children’s Hospital. More than 600 Credit Union members served as volunteers and over 6,200 race entrants were Credit Union members.

Supporting sponsors include Gatorade Endurance Formula, Navy Federal Credit Union, and Metro Run & Walk.

The event is part of the Professional Road Running Association (PRRO) Circuit and the 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival held from March 28 to April 12. This year’s festival celebrates the 97th anniversary of the gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the citizens of the United States and Japan.

RRCA National 10 Mile Championship Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Washington, D.C. April 5, 2009

The women’s race, meanwhile, featured no such drama at the finish line. Chepkurui, a 21-year-old Kenyan, pulled away from a pack of 16 runners just after the eight-mile mark. She finished with a time of 53:32, which was 23 seconds ahead of Belianesh Zemed Gebre (53:55) and 26 seconds ahead of Ethiopian Teyba Naser (53:58). Naser’s performance was notable considering she had just finished second in the highly competitive Cooper River Bridge 10K Run in Charleston, SC on Saturday.

to help escape the hard-scrabble life of inner-city Los Angeles. Event organizers waived the entry fees for the studentathletes, who were making their first visit to the Nation’s Capitol.

OPEN MALE Ridouane Harroufi

27

Morocco

OPEN FEMALE Lineth Chepkurui

21

Kenya

MASTER MALE Ray Pugsley

40

Potomac Falls, VA 52:08

MASTER FEMALE Maureen Ackerly

40

Richmond, VA

1:00:18

GRANDMASTER MALE John Tuttle

50

Villa Rica, GA

55:42

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Beth Moras

50

Ridgewood, NJ

1:09:01

FOOTNOTES

45:56

53:32

MAY 2009 19

2008

The Year of the “Runner”

by Bob Kopac JANUARY

I write a Packers-Giants playoff game article (writing cross-training) for the Poughkeepsie Journal newspaper. The Packers lose after Brett Favre throws an interception in overtime because he wants to get out of the cold. The East Rutherford Giants then beat the Foxboro Patriots in the Superbowl . Don’t get me started talking about teams who leave a city; for example, Rat Modell taking the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore and THEN winning the Superbowl . I am still a Browns fan; there is no good reason why.

FEBRUARY

At the MHRRC Winter Run (aka Super Bowl Run), I work as a traffic control volunteer. I wear a Green Bay Packers Cheesehead hat because: (1) The yellow Cheesehead will be highly visible to drivers, (2) I can use the wedge to point runners in the right direction , and (3) The Packers will never leave Green Bay because the townspeople own the team, not Rat Modell . Don’t get me started.

I develop BPV (benign positional vertigo), where ear particles break free and float into the area of the ear associated with vertigo. This proves I have rocks in my head. I do exercises (cross-training) where I flop on a bed and turn my head to move the particles so they can be trapped in a “sack” inside the ear.

(This is true.) Appropriately, it is similar to the childhood hand game where you try to get ball bearings in a clown’s eyes, nose and ears.

MARCH

My spouse Lynne and I receive a visit from our friends, Icelandic hiking (cross-training) tour guide Sverrir and his spouse Kristin . They spend lots of money at U.S. department stores. As a result, the U.S. economy rebounds—temporarily. Later in the year, England uses an antiterrorist law against Iceland’s banks, proving the English have a sense of humor. Or humour.

While working as a traffic control volunteer at the MHRRC Ed Erichson Run , I take photos of the runners while directing and dodging cars. Don’t try this at home, although why there would be traffic in your living room, I can’t explain .

Lynne and a contingent of Hudson Valley women runners invade NYC’s Central Park for the More Marathon and Half Marathon . I like to watch.

20

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

APRIL

I work as a traffic control volunteer at the Kingston Classic. I get church members to leave the services before the road is closed, and the members are very Christian about it. I then handle traffic in front of an apartment complex where, surprisingly, the tenants are very Christian about it.

Lynne and I run Sean’s Run in Chatham, NY. Before the race, students participate in a contest to see which team can fasten seat belts the fastest.

Lynne and I volunteer as Marathon Project mentors to train “at-risk kids” (at risk from obesity, drugs, gangs, pregnancy, Britney Spears, etc.) to run .

MAY

Lynne and I run the YMCA Bridge Run as Marathon Project mentors. At the start of the race, our friend Larry Knapp observes the MP kids, who are wearing yellow T-shirts, running downhill much too fast, and he comments to Lynne that there will be yellow wreckage left all over the course.

After months of planning, the MHRRC Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation 5K is a rousing success, with race director Lori Decker doubling the number of runners and raising $15000. Lynne is the race honoree. She runs the race wearing a pink wig and pink fairy wings; I run the race in a pink cowboy hat. Our friends Julie Johnson and Lainey Yang come up from NYC to run the race, and they pick up garbage after the race. This is how we treat guests.

No good deed goes unpunished: while running back to the Laurel Run finish line after working a water stop with MP kids, I see my shadow, step on uneven pavement, and have six months of pain .

Peace, Love, and Muscles (slow-twitch): Lynne runs, and I volunteer, at the Woodstock Races.

JUNE

We run the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Rock on the River 5K. During the race, Lynne regrets wearing her pink wig and pink angel wings in the sweltering heat. However, she changes her mind after the race when a mother asks if Lynne could talk to her young daughter because the daughter thinks Lynne is a fairy. How cute is that!

At the Bridge Fever River Run 5K, Lynne runs with MP kids, and I direct traffic in front of the crewing building. Due to my traffic control directions, no runners end up in the Hudson River, although that would have been excellent cross-training.

With the encouragement of some MHRRC vegan friends, Lynne and I decide to give up meat, dairy, and refined sugar, and it ’s not even Lent. Lynne loses 10 pounds; I lose 15 pounds and 33 cholesterol points. Giving up meat and dairy: small price.

Acting self-righteous: priceless.

JULY

I take photos at the Mark Abrams Firecracker 5K. Two local elite runners miss the race start because they think the race is an hour later. They are such good runners that they could have made up the time and caught most runners.

We visit the Tomkinson family, our English friends now living in Switzerland. They are fabulous tour guides. We all attend the Montreux jazz festival , hike at Rochers de Naye, enjoy the hot springs at Leukerbad, visit the 400-year-old town of Evolène, and travel to the top of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France. And that is just one week. While hiking down a mountain (crosstraining) at Rochers de Naye, we encounter a sign in French that says serious injury or death can occur because of the treacherous slope. There are 2 problems with that: (1) The sign is halfway down the mountain , so it would be difficult to climb back up; and (2) The sign is in French .

Apparently English and German people are expendable.

Then it starts to rain , the only time it rained during our vacation , of course. When we finally reach the bottom, we encounter a sheep that has fallen to its death , showing how treacherous the area is. Or, maybe the sheep was just very clumsy.

AUGUST

At the Dennings Point 5K in Beacon , NY, Lynne runs, and I take photos. Once again no runners end up in the Hudson River.

I chaperone 3 Marathon Project kids at the Dutchess County Fair. It is similar to herding cats.

They talk me into going on a fair ride; I think the ride is called Chiropractor Visit.

We travel to Youngstown , OH for the Julie Johnson-Caleb Muhs wedding; we do not have to pick up the garbage.

SEPTEMBER

Lynne runs the MHRRC Dutchess County Classic Half Marathon , and I work two traffic control positions, causing runners to experience déjà vu and to question if they have been running too hard.

OCTOBER

Lynne withdraws from the NYC Marathon shortly before the race because of a periformis injury.

Only runners know what a periformis is because non-runners do not get this injury. Then why run?

Because running makes you dumb, and the longer you run , the dumber you become.

NOVEMBER

We watch the NYC marathon (because Lynne is masochistic) at Fifth Ave. and 105th with Jen Wright-Tubbs and her family. Jen is the founder of the iRUNLIKEAGIRL clothing line.

RRCA FOOTNOTES publishes my “Who Let the Mice Out?” article. See page 14 at the http://www. rrca.org/resources/footnotes/20081101footnotes.pdf web site.

We go by chartered bus to the Philadelphia Marathon as Marathon Project mentors. Lynne recovers enough from her periformis injury so she runs the half marathon . (Running makes you dumb…) I take photos at the finish line. We do not eat Philly cheese steaks. We do not lose anyone at the Runners Expo, and all 100 kids and mentors finish their respective races. On the drive back to Poughkeepsie, the bus stops at a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway where there is nothing Lynne and I can eat. Vegans must starve in New Jersey.

Lynne and I drive to Youngstown , OH for Thanksgiving, passing the time on Interstate 80 looking for Obama voters in western Pennsylvania, without any luck. Instead of stuffed turkey, Lynne makes stuffed pumpkin . It is not a jack-o-lantern pumpkin , but a “cheese” pumpkin; this confuses me, since I know we are not eating dairy.

DECEMBER

Lynne and I attend the wrap-up Marathon Project party, where project director Susanne O’Neil receives much-deserved accolades. I subject people to a “slide” show of the jpegs I took at the Philadelphia Marathon . There are no jpegs of anyone ending up in the Schuykill River (cross-training).

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 21

The RRCA has partnered with the Running Network LLC to launch the new publication, Club Running. This complimentary publication for the household members of the RRCA is made possible by the generous support from the Running Network advertisers. Household members of RRCA running clubs and training programs will receive three FREE issues of Club Running in 2009.

Club Running is designed to embrace and celebrate everyone in our membership and to shine a national spotlight on the rich diversity of running around the United States. Your contributions of photographs, running club and event spotlights, training articles, outstanding volunteer spotlights, and more will help ensure that Club Running is a success. Each issue of the magazine will outline how to submit content for future issues of Club Running.

22

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

In 1979, the RRCA started the Women’s Distance Festival in response to the lack of distance running events in the Olympics Games for women. The first Women’s Distance Festival events were held on July 13, 1980, the date of the men’s marathon at the Moscow Olympics.

Today, the Women’s Distance Festival celebrates the history of women’s rights to participate in running events at any distance and at any age.

While women’s participation in distance running nearly matches that of men, the Women’s Distance Festival continues to serve as a celebration of the determination and dedication of women runners across the country. Women’s Distance Festival events kick off on Mother’s Day and run through November of each year.

The RRCA encourages clubs and events to designate their race as a Women’s Distance Festival events if the event is a women’s race or has a special women’s only start time or wave. Women’s Distance Festival events are encouraged to hold a health fair or event that highlights women’s health and the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise.

Most WDF events focus on a 5K run/walk or longer.

Clubs and events are encouraged to involve beginners in the WDF events by holding pre-race training programs.

June 28 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Women’s Classic 5K July 11 Springfield, IL Women’s Distance Festival 2-Mile Run & Walk November 7 Grand Junction, CO Harbert Lumber Fall Festival 5K Women’s Distance Festival Girls on the Run 5K Grand Junction, CO May 2, 2009 OPEN FEMALE Olivia Sommers

9

Cactus Valley, CO 23:57.7

MASTER FEMALE Liesl Schumacher 40

25:34.0

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Liz Norris 56

27:28.1

FOOTNOTES

Chipeta, CO

MAY 2009 23

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Alabama 1 Mile Championship One Mile RiverBottom Burnout!

Florence, AL October 18, 2008

RRCA Southern Region 15K Championship Peachtree City Classic Peachtree City, GA October 18, 2008 OPEN MALE Andrew Fuller

23

47:50

OPEN FEMALE Donna Garcia

40

Marietta, GA

58:11

MASTER MALE Sergey Kaledim

40

Fayetteville, GA

48:38

MASTER FEMALE Barbara Chandler 40

Atlanta, GA

1:03:40

GRANDMASTER MALE Ken Youngers 52

Decatur, GA

55:03

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Sonya Tucker 52

Peachtree City, GA 1:07:02

RRCA Southern Region 10K Championship Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival 10K Fayetteville, AR October 18, 2008

OPEN MALE Heath White

25

Florence, AL

4:56.68

OPEN FEMALE Sandy Lynch

39

Florence, AL

5:56.55

MASTER MALE Stacey Lemay

46

Florence, AL

5:55.97

MASTER FEMALE Lisa Schafer 44

Florence, AL

7:30.86

GRANDMASTER MALE Mike Allen 51

Florence, AL

5:57.53

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Joy Harbin 50

Muscle Shoals, AL 10:15.20

RRCA National 10K Championship Vulcan Run 10K Birmingham, AL November 1, 2008 OPEN MALE George Towett

24

Marietta, GA

OPEN FEMALE Janet Cherobon

30

Lawrenceville, GA 34:01

MASTER MALE Scott Strand

40

Birmingham, AL

30:36

MASTER FEMALE Barbara Holcomb 46

Birmingham, AL

40:03

GRANDMASTER MALE Russell Dewitt 50

Madison, AL

34:59

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Ann Eller 54

Pelham, AL

43:19

OPEN MALE Godfrey Siamusiye 36

Fayetteville, AR

5:20

33:05

OPEN FEMALE Sherolyn Johnson 40

Bentonville, AR

6:41

41:29

MASTER MALE Joshua Sakon

42

Fayetteville, AR

6:03

37:35

MASTER FEMALE Sherolyn Johnson 40

Bentonville, AR

6:41

41:29

GRANDMASTER MALE Reith Willsy 52

Mena, AR

6:09

38:13

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Lisa Mills 51

Rogers, AR

7:03

43:48

SENIOR MASTER MALE Ross Bolding 62

Monticello, AR

6:52

42:37

SENIOR MASTER FEMALE Mary Jo Brinkman 66

Fort Smith, AR

9:26

58:37

24

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

29:32

RRCA Rod Steele Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Tom Orehowsky and fiancee Lee Lewis - Bradenton Runners Club, FL Photo by Sandy Walton

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Arkansas Marathon Championship Midsouth Marathon Wynne, AR November 1, 2008 OPEN MALE Kevin Dorsey

37

Memphis, TN

2:57:17

OPEN FEMALE Carolyn Rock

44

Collierville, TN

3:28:40

MASTER MALE Paul Turner

45

Conway, AR

3:05:28

MASTER FEMALE Sarah Harris 43

Bartlett, TN

3:52:45

GRANDMASTER MALE Alan Krenzelok 52

Jonesboro, AR

3:14:00

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Bernita Lovelace 54

Conway, AR

3:48:38

SENIOR MASTER MALE Tom Detore 60

Lenexa, KS

3:54:00

SENIOR MASTER FEMALE Rosemary Rogers 61

Maumelle, AR

5:30:45

Championship Event!

RRCA Florida 5K Championship Palmer College Paint the Towne 5K Daytona Beach, FL November 2, 2008 OPEN MALE Kyle Bowling

24

Port Orange, FL

17:07

OPEN FEMALE Tina DiGiovanni

27

Port Orange, FL

19:47

MASTER MALE Mike Cain

49

Ormond Beach, FL 18:36

MASTER FEMALE Sue O’Malley 48

Port Orange, FL

20:23

GRANDMASTER MALE Virgil Williams 53

Palm Coast, FL

19:09

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Debora Diaz 52

Ormond Beach, FL 25:40

West Virginia State Rep Tom Kramer

Thank you for competing in the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Championship Event. Since 1958, the RRCA has awarded championship status to running events around the country at the National, Regional & State CHAMPIONSHIP RACE level. The purpose of these events is to promote access to the sport of long distance running and to celebrate outstanding performance at the open, masters, and grand masters levels.

For more information about the RRCA and to find running clubs in your community visit us at www.RRCA.org.

Photo by Sandy Walton

The RRCA championship database of results was launched in early 2008 and can be found at http://www.rrca.org/programs/championships/showlist.php

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 25

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Texas Half Marathon Championship Dallas Running Club Half Dallas, TX November 2, 2008 Times and temperatures sizzle at the DRC Half Marathon, the 2008 RRCA Texas State Half-Marathon Championship.

With only 400 yards left in the race Kip Kangogo, sprinted away from a three-man lead pack, to win the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon, the RRCA Texas State Half-Marathon Championship.

Kangogo, 29, finished the challenging 13.1-mile course that loops White Rock Lake and weaves through adjacent Dallas west side neighborhoods, in one hour, six minutes, 52 seconds. He edged runner-up James Kirwa by two seconds, and third-place finisher Joseph Mutinda by six seconds. The close finish thrilled the spectators, who went nuts cheering according to DRC Club President and Race Director, Libby Jones.

Rose Kosgei successfully defended her DRC Half overall female title, clocking a 1:16:04. Last year, she won in 1:15:52, in her debut half marathon. Women’s runner-up Lisa Cron of Irving, 29, clocked a 1:17:30.

The DRC Half drew a record field of 4,000 for the half marathon and 500 for the 5K. Temperatures hovered in the mid-60s for a pleasant start but approached the 80s as back-of-the-packers filed in after 11 a.m.

OPEN MALE Kip Kangogo

29

Lethbridge AB

5:06

1:06:52

OPEN FEMALE Rose Kosgei

27

Santa Fe, NM

5:48

1:16:04

MASTER MALE Ernesto Caballero 43

Dallas, TX

5:32

1:12:32

MASTER FEMALE Sheila Natho 42

Dallas, TX

6:47

1:28:51

State Champion Kip Kangogo receiving award from State Rep K2.

Overall Female Winner Rose Kosgei defended her title she was last year’s winner too.

RRCA Louisiana 10K Championship 28th Annual Cajun Cup 10K Lafayette, LA November 8, 2008

26

OPEN MALE Kevin Castille

36

Lafayette, LA

4:52

30:11.3

OPEN FEMALE Kate Accardo

23

Franklin LA

6:07

37:56.7

MASTER MALE Dan Vollmer

40

Lafayette, LA

5:36

34:42.6

MASTER FEMALE Alice Aissi 44

Lafayette, LA

6:31

40:22.7

GRANDMASTER MALE Jimmy Bienvenu 51

Palm Coast, FL

6:28

40:08.3

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Fillis Friedman 55

Franklin LA

7:29

46:22.8

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA State Championship Dates to Remember: May 2, 2009 Orangeburg, SC Rose Festival 12K May 9, 2009 Albamarle, NC Beach Blast 5K May 9, 2009 Oak Ridge, TN Haiti Run for Health 4M August 1, 2009 Batesville, AR White River 4-Mile Classic September 5, 2009 North Little Rock, AR Clear Mountain 5K

RRCA National Championship Dates to Remember: August 1, 2009 Anniston, AL Woodstock 5K RRCA Regional Championship Dates to Remember: May 2, 2009 Pensacola, FL Fiesta of Five Flags 10K RRCA State Championship Dates to Remember: May 2, 2009 Conway, AR Toad Suck 10K

Speakers at the 2009 RRCA Convention Marshall Ulrich: world class ultra runner, record setting adventure racer, and Seven Summits mountaineer Dean Karnazes: one of the world’s greatest endurance athletes, ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days in 2006 Frank Shorter: only American Olympian to have won both a gold and silver medal in the marathon Photos by Sandy Walton and Mitch Garner

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 27

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Southern Region Half Marathon Championship OBX Gateway Bank Half Marathon Outer Banks, NC November 9, 2008 OPEN MALE Tamas Kovacs Micheal Bunker Ryan Vanhoy

25 26 21

High Point, NC 1:05:12.10 Blowing Rock, NC 1:11:56.00 Chapel Hill, NC 1:13:04.30

OPEN FEMALE Janet Cherobon Molly Nunn Caitlin Chrisman

30 25 22

Lawrenceville, GA 1:13:24.70 Winson Salem, NC 1:22:30.90 Charlotte, NC 1:22:36.50

MASTER MALE Chris Hicks David Duggan Dwight Jacobs

42 41 47

Florence, SC High Point, NC Greensboro, NC

1:17:27.20 1:17:52.60 1:18:15.70

MASTER FEMALE Jennifer Vandiver 41 Roberta Meyer 44 Cassina Hunt 47

McLeansville, NC Shepardsville, KY Pinehurst, NC

1:28:07.40 1:31:44.90 1:42:14.00

GRANDMASTER MALE Mick Gallant 51

Greensboro, NC

1:21:40.40

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Mary Moss 53

Raleigh, NC

1:50:32.70

2008 Grand Prix Season Comes to an End in Hot Springs with SPA 10K and Annual RRCA Arkansas State Meeting 2008 RRCA Award Winners Were Announced at the RRCA State Meeting • Male Runner of the Year: Brian Sieczkowski • Female Runner of the Year: Leah Thorvilson • Male Masters Runner of the Year: Kevin Golden • Female Masters Runner of the Year: Virginia Anderson • Male Most Improved Runner of the Year: Steven Preston • Female Most Improved Runner of the Year: Andrea Sieczkowski • Male Youth Runner of the Year: Zach Turney • Female Youth Runner of the Year: Kaitlin Bounds • Outstanding Club President: Stan Ferguson, AURA • Race Director of the Year: Ken McSpadden, 4 Mile Classic • Buzz Wilson Spirit Award: Dan Belanger • Al Becken Volunteer of the Year: Kim Howard • Male Ultra Runner of the Year: Stan Ferguson • Female Ultra Runner of the Year: Chrissy Ferguson • Male Masters Ultra Runner of the Year: Po Dog Vogler • Female Masters Ultra Runner of the Year: Kimmy Riley

Arkansas Male Runner of the Year: Brian Sieczkowski Arkansas Female Runner of the Year: Leah Thorvilson Arkansas Ultra Runners of the Year: Stan & Chrissy Ferguson

28

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Southern Region 10K Championship Spa Pacer 10K Hot Springs, AR November 22, 2008 OPEN MALE Jake Johnson

31

Sherwood, AR 5:16

32:40

OPEN FEMALE Leah Thorvilson

29

Little Rock, AR 6:26

39:56

MASTER MALE John Pankey

45

Hot Springs, AR 5:33

34:28

MASTER FEMALE Lisa Feldt

40

Cabot, AR

7:16

45:06

GRANDMASTER MALE Keith Willsey 52

Mena, AR

6:09

38:11

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Karen Call 55

Little Rock, AR 7:46

48:09

RRCA Southern Region 10 Mile Championship Turkey 10 Miler Creola, AL November 22, 2008 OPEN MALE John Brigham

22

Mobile, AL

5:09

51:33

OPEN FEMALE Elinor P Carter

48

Mobile, AL

6:50

1:08:28

MASTER MALE Brad Davis

45

Fairhope, AL

6:16

1:02:44

MASTER FEMALE Sarah McMurtry 45

Spanish Fort, AL 7:51

1:18:35

GRANDMASTER MALE Leonard Vergunst 53

Ocean Springs, MS 5:51

58:37

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Cindy McMillan 52 Mobile, AL

8:27

46

Chapel Hill, NC

26:18.1

OPEN FEMALE Shalane Flanagan 27

Pittsboro, NC

26:20.0

MASTER MALE Gary Slade

49

Carrboro, NC

27:56.0

MASTER FEMALE Kim Certain 46

Chapel Hill, NC

30:20.0

Overall female winner Shalene Flanagan just seconds behind first place winner John Hinton at the “Double B” Gallop & George 8K

Photo by Sandy Walton

1:24:33

RRCA Southern Region 8K Championship “Double B” Gallop & Gorge 8K Carrboro, NC November 27, 2008 OPEN MALE John Hinton

Alabama State Rep Ron Macksoud North Florida State Rep Michael Bowen South Florida State Rep Don Nelson

FOOTNOTES

Southern Director Lena Hollmann Photo by Sandy Walton

Outgoing Southern Director Ken Bendy Director at Large Kelly “K2” Richards Photo by Michael Bowen

MAY 2009 29

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO Carpet Capital 10 Miler (right) Race Director David Leatherman awarding Roger Hagues Dean Thompson Steve Bradley (below) Jacy Christiansen Donna Garcia Lynn Pinyerd

RRCA Georgia 10 Mile Championship Carpet Capital 10 Miler Dalton, GA December 13, 2008 OPEN MALE Roger Hagues

24

Columbus, GA

5:32

55:10.4

OPEN FEMALE Jacy Christiansen 15

New Ipswich, NH

6:36

1:05:58.5*

MASTER MALE Dean Thompson

43

Cohutta, GA

5:53

58:40.8

MASTER FEMALE Donna Garcia 40

Marietta, GA

6:49

1:08:07.8

GRANDMASTER MALE Steve Bradley 50

Ringgold, GA

6:52

1:08:32.4Â

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Lynn Pinyerd 50

Marietta, GA

7:30

1:14:52.4*

* Under USATF Age-Group guideline Photos: Hagues & Christiansen

RRCA Southern Region Marathon Championship Rocket City Marathon Huntsville, AL December 13, 2008

30

OPEN MALE Josh Cox

33

Mammoth Lakes, CA 2:21:23

OPEN FEMALE Jill Horst

30

Rome, GA

2:48:00

MASTER MALE James Beyer

41

Dayton, OH

2:33:06

MASTER FEMALE Kathy Wolski

42

Knoxville, TN

2:59:23

GRANDMASTER MALE George Dewitt 50

Madison, AL

2:39:16

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Jane Harlan 55

Greenville, SC

3:32:43

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Texas 5K Championship Texas Club Challenge Championship Run Dallas, TX December 13, 2008 Held in conjunction with the Mayor’s 5K Fun Run & Walk, the RRCA Texas Club Challenge Championship Run 5K is all about fun and bragging rights as big as Texas.

Grab your fellow RRCA club members to participate in the Inaugural RRCA Texas Club Challenge Championship Run for the chance to be deemed the Fastest RRCA Club in Texas! The club with the most participation (runners or walkers) will be named the RRCA Texas Club Challenge Champions!

Minimum 3-7 runners depending on club size (clubs up to 100 members = 3 runners with a minimum of 1 female; clubs up to 500 members = 5 runners with a minimum of 2 females; clubs over 500 runners = 7 runners with a minimum 3 females). Runners competing in the “Fastest” competition count in the Club Challenge (overall participation). Be sure to select your RRCA club from the “Select a Club” section when registering at Active.com. Anyone may participate in this event however only an RRCA club is eligible to win the RRCA competitions.

RRCA Louisiana 25K Championship 33rd Annual Larry Fuselier 25K Jefferson, LA December 14, 2008 Nick Accardo and Mark Mendrek-Laske gave top local runner Brendan Minihan, Jr. a good run through the half-way point with Mark leading the way followed by Nick just off his shoulder and Brendan lagging 100 yards behind. Brendan was coming off a fast 53-minute-plus 10 mile race the day before in Baton Rouge. After the turn Brendan took the lead and put the hammer down to finish first and claim the 25K RRCA Louisiana State Championship for the 7th year in a row and the 8th time out of 9 years. Brendan’s time was 1:31:34. Caroline Smith led the women’s 25K throughout to take the RRCA State Championship crown with a 1:50:43.

OPEN MALE Brendan Minihan, Jr. Nick Accardo Mark Mendrek-Laske

33 26 19

5:53 6:05 6:10

1:31:34 1:34:42 1:36:00

OPEN FEMALE Caroline Smith Carolyn Mikulencak Leigh Drye

37 33 38

7:07 7:38 7:55

1:50:43 1:58:44 2:03:08

MASTER MALE Janusz Malski

47

6:24

1:39:28

MASTER FEMALE Fillis Friedman

56

8:16

2:08:27

GRANDMASTER MALE JJ Waguespack

50

7:20

1:53:56

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Susan Opelka

53

9:41

2:30:33

SENIOR MASTER MALE Carleton Smith

63

7:33

1:57:20

SENIOR MASTER FEMALE Tillie Clark

61

11:27

2:58:06

RRCA State Rep. Betsy Boudreaux presents 25K State Championship awards to the top three female open division finishers: Leigh Ayn Drye, Carolyn Mikulencak, and Caroline Smith.

Brendan Minihan, Jr. wins his 8th (7 in a row) Louisiana RRCA 25K State Championship.

FOOTNOTES

Photos by George Waguespack

MAY 2009 31

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Texas Marathon Championship Dallas White Rock Marathon Dallas, TX December 14, 2008

Racers Breeze Through Course On Their Way To Becoming State Champions A record number of runners toed the starting line of the Dallas White Rock Marathon the 2008 RRCA Texas State Marathon Championship on Sunday, December 14, 2008. The going was smooth until the runners reached White Rock Lake, the race’s namesake, where strong winds slowed nearly every athlete from the ordinary to elite. The wind might have put a RRCA North Texas State Rep. Kelly “K2” Richards with Dallas White damper on the runners pace but not the excitement in the air Rock Marathon winners Svetlana Ponomarenko and Henry Serem as the top two men finished seconds apart. Henry Serem won Photo by Rick Sanford in 2:22:07. The women’s winner Svetlana Ponomarenko ran 2:37:14. Ponomaenko was never challenged and won by over four minutes.

OPEN MALE Henry Serem

31

5:25

2:22:07

OPEN FEMALE Svetlana Ponomarenko

39

6:00

2:37:14

RRCA Florida 5 Mile Championship 8th Annual Manatee River Run 5 Miler Palmetto, FL December 27, 2008

RRCA Louisiana 30K Championship 30th Annual “The Wall” Destrehan, LA January 4, 2009

OPEN MALE Darren Brown

23

24:58.96

OPEN MALE Matthew Manning

28

5:43

1:46:42

OPEN FEMALE Amy Yoder Begley 30

26:39.49

OPEN FEMALE Elle Ellender

25

7:33

2:20:54

MASTER MALE Eddy Hellebuyck

47

27:29.87

MASTER MALE Andre Olivier

46

6:48

2:06:59

MASTER FEMALE Denise Skinner 52

34:31.11

MASTER FEMALE Marianne Garvey

47

8:08

2:31:51

GRANDMASTER MALE Jack Silva 53

30:43.58

GRANDMASTER MALE Dave Dessauer

52

7:16

2:15:38

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Debra Donald 50

36:06.62

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Fillis Friedman

56

8:10

2:32:21

SENIOR MASTER MALE Albert Wieringa 62

32:28.08

SENIOR MASTER MALE Denis McCrea

60

8:49

2:44:30

SENIOR MASTER FEMALE Sandy Meneley 61

37:24.84

VETERAN MASTER MALE Joe Burgasser 70

33:08.11

VETERAN MASTER FEMALE Joanne Egan 71 1:12:05.52

32

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Alabama 10 Mile Championship Red Nose Run 10 Miler Homewood, AL January 10, 2009 Heavy rain that subsided about 30 minutes before the start of RED NOSE RUN 10 MILE didn’t dampen the turnout for the ALABAMA RRCA 10 MILE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood. A record number of participants signed up for the 3 events; 1,210 in all for the 10 Mile, 5K, and 1 Mile Fun Run. There were 554 finishers in Alabama’s first RRCA Championship of 2009.

Thanks to Championship Racing and Trish Portuese, president, for producing an outstanding and successful event that benefits Ronald McDonald Charities of Alabama.

OPEN MALE Todd Hagadone

23

Starkville, MS 5:30

55:01.3

OPEN FEMALE Emily Hardin

25

Birmingham, AL 6:13

1:02:10.2

MASTER MALE Curt Arthur

40

Memphis, TN 6:07

1:01:12.0

MASTER FEMALE Barbara Holcomb

46

Birmingham, AL 6:43

1:07:13.4

GRANDMASTER MALE Tracy Pool 53

Birmingham, AL 6:48

1:08:00.4

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Yorke Williams 56

Birmingham, AL 7:37

1:16:05.0

RRCA Alabama Half Marathon Championship Auburn Classic Half Marathon Auburn, AL January 17, 2009 OPEN MALE Alex Hagan 1:12:05 Lucas Sieb (new State record) 1:14:43 Josh Whitehead 1:16:10 OPEN FEMALE Heather May Katie Stringfellow Emily Ansick

1:29:16 1:38:30 1:40:03

MASTER MALE Oliver Prigge

1:28:48

MASTER FEMALE Jennie Rountree

1:43:50

(left) Tracy Pool Male Grand Master winner

GRANDMASTER MALE Alan Reed

1:34:19

(below) Barbara Holcomb Female Master winner

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Beverly Long

1:53:42

Photos by Sheldon Davis Sokol

Race Director Trish Portuese hugging Mr. Red-Nose clown Photos by Sheldon Davis Sokol

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 33

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Arkansas 1 Hour Championship One Hour Track Run Russellville, AR January 25, 2009

RRCA North Carolina 8K Championship 26th Annual Winter Flight 8K Salisbury, NC February 7, 2009

OPEN MALE Chad Sanders Josh Holt Justin Radke

5:49 5:54 5:56

10.33 miles 10.17 miles 10.11 miles

OPEN MALE Ryan Woods

29

25:26

OPEN FEMALE Leah Thorvilson Sunnie Butcher-Keller Jenny Brod

OPEN FEMALE Molly Nunn

25

29:30

5:52 6:53 7:05

10.22 miles 8.71 miles 8.46 miles

MASTER MALE John Anderson

47

29:29

MASTER FEMALE Lynn Pitson

48

33:50

RRCA Southern Regional 2 Mile Championship 2nd Annual Run 2 Calvary 2 Mile Run Tuscumbia, AL January 31, 2009 OPEN MALE Josh Whitehead

30

Madison, AL

10:09

OPEN FEMALE Sandy Lynch

39

Florence, AL

12:49

MASTER MALE Robert Whitaker

50

Yorktown, VA

11:25

MASTER FEMALE Whitney Hollingsworth 44

Elkmore, AL

13:25

GRANDMASTER MALE Mike Allen 51

Huntsville, AL

13:25

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Athena O’Dell 53

Southside, AL

14:49

RRCA Louisiana Marathon Championship 45th Annual New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon New Orleans, LA February 1, 2009

RRCA Tennessee Half Marathon Championship Cedars Frostbite Half Marathon Lebanon, TN February 14, 2009

by Melodie Thompson The Cedars Frostbite Half Marathon RRCA State Championship was held on Saturday, February 14, 2009 with the race starting at 11:00 AM CST at Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, TN. This was my first experience as the RRCA Tennessee State Rep, and I was not sure what to expect. Driving up to Lebanon, 136 miles from my home, it was spitting rain and nasty stuff.

I wondered if this was going to be a bust. I know from my own experience as a race director, that turnout can be bad if the weather is bad. As I got closer to Lebanon the weather cleared and was in the 40’s to 50’s, which makes for great running weather.

I was working the 10-mile mark & water stop, when the front runner, Steve Vilt came smoking through the gravel part of the course. He was clearly in the lead followed by Ted Towse of Nashville, Hugh Enicks (a friend of mine) of Signal Mountain, Andrew Holbrook of Murfreesboro, Jason Cummins of Adams, Graham Hemmingway of Nashville, and the first woman, Melissa Begin from Nashville, who blew in with the other front runners.

OPEN MALE Meyer Friedman

29

2:24:32

OPEN FEMALE Autumn Ray

OPEN MALE Steve Vilt

24

Nashville, TN

1:08:52

28

2:58:23

MASTER MALE Leonard Vergunst

OPEN FEMALE Melissa Begin

32

Nashville, TN

1:26:08

53

2:44:29

MASTER FEMALE Elinor Carter

MASTER MALE Hugh Enicks

49

Signal Mtn, TN

1:21:27

48

3:20:26

GRANDMASTER MALE Steve Noone

MASTER FEMALE Kimberly Vera 43

1:43:11

50

2:51:19

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Fillis Friedman

GRANDMASTER MALE Kirk Pierret 56

Franklin, TN

1:26:16

56

3:39:42

SENIOR MASTER MALE Jostein Pedersen

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Sherrie Giles 51

Franklin, TN

1:48:33

61

3:40:50

SENIOR MASTER FEMALE Joan Palatto

SENIOR MASTER MALE Dallas Smith 68

Cookeville, TN

1:36:18

60

4:28:47

SENIOR MASTER FEMALE Janet Jernigan 64

Bradyville, TN

2:02:48

34

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA South Texas State 5 Mile Championship Park to Park 5 Miler Houston, TX February 21, 2009 OPEN MALE Luis Armenteros

36

5:09

25:46.4

OPEN FEMALE Peggy Yetman

40

Beaumont, TX

5:45

28:46.8

MASTER MALE Wilmer Bustillos

43

Houston, TX

5:24

27:02.5

MASTER FEMALE Sabra Harvey 60

Houston, TX

6:27

32:17.8

GRANDMASTER MALE Fernando Lopez 50

Houston, TX

5:44

28:39.0

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Suzanne Day 52

Houston, TX

7:00

35:00.4

Park to Park 5 Miler Winners

RRCA North Carolina 20K Championship Coach Bubba 20K Durham, NC February 21, 2009

Cedars Frostbite Half Marathon (above - clockwise bottom left) Dallas Smith, Kirk Pierret, Hugh Enick, Steve Vilt, Melissa Begin, Sherrie Giles, Janet Jernigan, and in front Linda De Paulis, Race Director RRCA Tennessee State Rep. Melodie Thompson near the finish line.

OPEN MALE Marc Jeuland

30

Carrboro, NC

5:19

1:05:54

OPEN FEMALE Kristin Price

27

Raleigh, NC

5:58

1:13:59

MASTER MALE Ulf Andre

41

Hillsborough, NC

5:57

1:13:44

MASTER FEMALE Amy Fowler 40

Chapel Hill, NC

6:47

1:24:02

GRANDMASTER MALE Henry Blinder 57

Durham, NC

6:38

1:22:09

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Cynthia Gurganus 50

Durham, NC

8:43

1:48:04

RRCA Southern Regional Marathon Championship ING Georgia Marathon Atlanta, GA March 29, 2009 OPEN MALE James Boitt

29

Peachtree City, GA 2:22:15

OPEN FEMALE Serkalem Abrha

22

Bronx, NY

2:41:21

MASTER MALE Valentin Alvarez

40

Marietta, GA

2:36:22

MASTER FEMALE Albina Gallyamova 49

Spicewood, TX

2:43:36

GRANDMASTER MALE Bob Wilson 50

Kennesaw, GA

3:09:00

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Becky Lowrance 51

Branson, MO

3:23:00

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 35

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Southern Regional 10 Mile Championship Max Bayne 10 Miler Fort DeSoto Park, FL March 29, 2009 OPEN MALE Jon Mott

22

St. Petersburg, FL 5:54

58:57

OPEN FEMALE Leslie Sanderson

41

Ottawa, ON

6:35

1:05:50

MASTER MALE Fred Dorsey

52

Tampa, FL

6:31

1:05:09

MASTER FEMALE Carol Bancroft 49

Safety Harbor, FL

8:02

1:20:19

GRANDMASTER MALE Joe Link 57

Cape May, NJ

6:50

1:08:20

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Molly Durham-Moore 51

Clearwater, FL

8:45

1:27:32

RRCA Southern Regional 8K Championship Old Mobile 8K Mobile, AL April 4, 2009 OPEN MALE Richard Ondimu

28

Mobile, AL

5:05

25:21

OPEN FEMALE Amy Huff

38

Daphne, AL

6:14

31:03

MASTER MALE Brad Davis

45

Fairhope, AL

6:02

30:03

MASTER FEMALE Christine Conrad 40

Mobile, AL

6:40

33:10

GRANDMASTER MALE Douglas Meduna 52

Mobile, AL

6:14

31:02

3M River City Run 10K

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Laura Rodgers 52

Mobile, AL

8:07

40:21

David Riddle, Emily Harbin, Marty Clarke, Madelyn Patton, Robert Whitaker, and Ovella Jesse

RRCA Alabama 10K Championship 3M River City Run 10K Decatur, AL April 11, 2009 OPEN MALE David Riddle

27

5:10

32:07.8

OPEN FEMALE Emily Hardin

25

6:04

37:39.0

MASTER MALE Marty Clarke

47

5:56

36:53.7

MASTER FEMALE Madelyn Patton

46

7:15

45:00.7

GRANDMASTER MALE Robert Whitaker 50

6:16

38:52.0

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Ovella Jessee 51

7:38

47:26.6

36

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

Photo by Russ Morlando

SOUTHERN REGION: NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUSIANA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PUERTO RICO

RRCA Alabama 15K Championship Statue to Statue 15K Birmingham, AL April 18, 2009 OPEN MALE Kyle Shepherd

25

6:13

57:53.8

OPEN FEMALE Emily Hardin

25

6:30

1:00:31.1

MASTER MALE David Aarons

48

6:36

1:01:23.0

MASTER FEMALE Elizabeth Leeds

45

7:14

1:07:16.1

GRANDMASTER MALE David Stearns 55

7:29

1:09:39.8

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Ann Eller 54

7:35

1:10:36.3

Statue to Statue 15K Kyle Shepherd with Emily Hardin, who was also fourth overall!

Photo by Ron Macksoud

RRCA Alabama 5K Championship Swampers 5K Muscle Shoals, AL April 25, 2009 OPEN MALE Josh Whitehead

30

5:12

Swampers 5K

16:09

OPEN FEMALE Lilli Mook

20

6:36

20:30

MASTER MALE Robert Whitaker

50

6:02

18:44

MASTER FEMALE Pam Berry 52

8:00

24:51

GRANDMASTER MALE David McKinney 50

6:22

19:45

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Jan Woods 60

8:23

26:02

Josh Whitehead Robert Whitaker David Mckinney Lilli Mook Pam Berry Jan Woods Photo by Ron Macksoud

RRCA State Reps & Board Members at the 51st Annual Convention in San Francisco

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 37

FROM THE EXPERTS Race Day Health & Safety

by John Colianni, MD

No one ever expects to have an injury or medical emergency on race day. By taking several basic precautions, you can keep yourself healthy and having fun. However if tragedy should strike, there are some prior preparations that will help the medical team at the race provide you with optimal care. Here are several tips that you can follow for your next race: As part of your pre-race routine, be sure to read through any medical information that comes in your race packet. Often times, the race medical information includes descriptions of typical environmental conditions to expect. Bear in mind that unseasonable weather does occur at any time of year. Always check updated weather reports prior to leaving for the race in order to plan your clothing choices. Due to extreme weather, races have had to be postponed, delayed, or cancelled to protect runners’ safety.

Race maps will usually display the location of water stations to help guide your race preparations. While it is important to stay hydrated, the dangers of over-hydrating in longer, marathon-distance races are very real.

Over-hydrating can cause dangerous lowering of your blood salts (also known as hyponatremia) if you drink excessively during a race. You should take fluids during a race only when you are thirsty. If you feel dizzy, confused, lightheaded, or have severe cramping during a race, you should go to the nearest first aid location for assistance.

In addition to maintaining proper hydration, it is important to take on calories during a race lasting longer than an hour. As an example, a normal-weight individual can burn over three thousand calories during a marathon. Be sure to eat a good meal at least two hours before the start of the race. There are many individual differences and preferences for pre-, intra-, and post-race nutrition. It is best to experiment with what food

38

program works best for you during your training sessions, so that come race day you have a regular routine.

Writing your name, address, phone number, medical history, current medications, allergies, and emergency contact person’s telephone number on the inside of your race bib will assist the medical team if you need emergency aid on race day. Make certain that your emergency contact person knows your race number. It is best to make arrangements to meet family or friends at a designated location past the finish line after the race.

Safe and Healthy Running!

Pain in the Stomach: Gastrointestinal Cramping in Runners

by Elizabeth Rothe, MD

What are stomach cramps?

Many runners experience a common, though not commonly discussed, problem – stomach and intestinal (or gastrointestinal) cramps while running. Along with these cramps can come nausea, bloating, gas, and diarrhea, making your run

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

very unpleasant to say the least!

They occur when the stomach and intestines (the gastrointestinal tract) stop functioning like they normally do, decreasing the absorption of fluid and nutrients by the intestine into the body.

Why do I get these cramps?

There are several causes. When you are exercising, blood is diverted from your stomach and intestines to the muscles. This can cause cramping and nausea and prevent your body from being able to absorb fluid, leading to diarrhea. Every impact of your feet on the ground also tends to jostle the intestines. Finally, running can aggravate other conditions, like lactose intolerance that may not normally bother you.

What can I do about this?

The main focus of treatment is in the diet. Look at what you are eating before meals, and see how it affects your run. Here are some helpful areas to start with: 1. Decrease your diary. Start with no dairy for twenty four hours before you run. This not only includes milk, but also cheese, and ice cream. Dairy contains

FROM THE EXPERTS lactose, and this is a sugar that is very hard for adults to digest.

You can replace cow’s milk with soy milk, which does not contain lactose. Also, many yogurts contain bacteria (“live active yogurt cultures” should be written on the container) that can help digest these sugars.

2. Avoid dehydration.

Lack of water in the body contributes to difficulties with digestion and leads to cramping. Trying to hydrate too much while running can lead to a sensation of a full stomach, and drinking anything with sugar in it can slow down the absorption of fluid from the intestines into the body. Try drinking about half a liter of cool water before you run to delay cramping.

3. Decrease your fiber before you run. Fiber is very important to keep your gut working properly, but too much fiber can lead to gas and cramping with running.

After you run is the time to eat your fiber. Refined, processed white flour is easier to digest.

This is found in pasta and bagels.

White rice is also an option.

4. Slow down on the sweeteners.

Sugar and artificial sweeteners (like fructose and sorbitol) can lead to gastrointestinal distress.

If you use gel, take it slowly. If you drink energy drinks, look at

the ingredients. Some glucose is okay, and ingredients called “maltodextrins” can also help aid absorption of fluid from the gut.

5. Watch your pre-race diet. Keep food high in fat, protein, or fiber out of your body before you run.

Aim for high carbohydrate meals that are lower in fat and protein the night before and morning before you run. Also, avoid big meals for three hours before you run, and eat dinner at least 2 hours before going to bed.

6. Finally, certain foods can help with your digestion. Mint can help speed digestion and ease cramps. Mint tea before you run or peppermint capsules are ways to incorporate mint. It can worsen heartburn however, so avoid it if you are prone to this. Also ginger can decrease stomach acid and relieve nausea and gas. It can be taken in many forms, such as ground, candied, or in teas.

Resources: Runners World: Runners Digest by Kristin Bjornsen, published 8/17/2006 www.runnersworld.com Rice University SportsMed Web by Dr. Mark Jenkins, MD and Caryn Honig, RD http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/ abd.pain.html

What’s the BIG Idea?

by Sally Young BULLY FOR THE BAR MARKET If you love the race but hate the waste, meet Tom Szaky. A few years ago, he and fellow Princeton student, Jon Beyer, started TerraCycle Inc., a company that is dedicated to the manufacture of useful, everyday products “where literally every part of it is made from waste.”

Running events happen year round, all over the world.

Participation often reaches tens of thousands. Together with spectators and support crews, the volume of discarded packaging in and along the racecourse grows in absurd profusion, a visually juddering terrain of trash. There is no garbage in nature. Manmade trash has doubled since 1960, now at five pounds per day per you and per me.

TerraCycle keeps trash out of landfills by repurposing bottles, yogurt containers, drink pouches, and snack food wrappers into retail-ready totes, backpacks, office accessories, and house and garden supplies.

In 2008, TerraCycle partnered with Cliff Bar and Balance Bar to launch the Energy Bar Brigade.

Wrappers from “energy, granola, nutrition, cereal and protein bars with an inner foil lining” can be exchanged for two cents per wrapper, which is sent to the collector’s school or non-profit.

Anyone can sign up; it’s free, and it costs you nothing. Visit www.terracycle.net/brigades // www.terracycle.net/brigades> .

Sally Young is a freelance writer and artist. Email yo-sal@cox.net

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 39

CENTRAL REGION: OHIO, MICHIGAN, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN, MINNESOTA, IOWA, MISSOURI, OKLAHOMA, KANSAS, NEBRASKA, SOUTH DAKOTA, NORTH DAKOTA

Corina Canitz, Overall Female RRCA Regional Marathon Champion Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon start Photos by ASI

RRCA Regional Championship Date to Remember:

RRCA Central Regional Marathon Championship Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon Milwaukee, WI October 5, 2008 OPEN MALE Brent Alexander

27

Wilmette, IL

5:40

OPEN FEMALE

May 3, 2009 Corina Canitz 42 Brookfield, WI 6:54 Lincoln, NE MASTER MALE Lincoln Half Marathon Rick Stefanovic 46 Milwaukee, WI 6:12 June 20, 2009 MASTER FEMALE rs owe Stubitsch Barbara 43 Arlington Heights, IL 7:30 Kalamazoo, MI ott B c S by o t o Kalamazoo Klassic 10K Ph GRANDMASTER MALE Tony Rodiez 52 New Berlin, WI 6:52 June 20 & 21, 2009 GRANDMASTER FEMALE Loudonville, OH Laura Morrisey 50 Barrington, IL 8:00 Mohican Trail 100 Trail Run RRCA Nebraska Marathon Championship RRCA State Championship Lincoln National Guard Marathon Date to Remember: Lincoln, NE May 3, 2009 May 31, 2009 OPEN MALE Matt Dewald 26 Vermillion, SD 5:34 Ann Arbor, MI Dexter-Ann Arbor Half OPEN FEMALE Ashley Tousley 25 Des Moines, IA 6:30 Marathon MASTER MALE June 13, 2009 James Bresette 48 Clinton, AR 6:15 Omaha, NE MASTER FEMALE The Nebraska Five 5M Paula Molstead 45 Charles City, IA 7:20 June 20, 2009 GRANDMASTER MALE Kalamazoo, MI Ray Workman 59 Salt Lake City, UT 6:47 Kalamazoo Klassic 5K GRANDMASTER FEMALE Pamela Wauters

40

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

50

Cedar Park, TX

8:04

2:28:24 3:00:48 2:42:19 3:16:24 2:59:50 3:29:39

2:25:37 2:50:06 2:43:37 3:12:14 2:57:46 3:31:19

WESTERN REGION: MONTANA, WYOMING, COLORDAO, NEW MEXICO, IDAHO, UTAH, ARIZONA, NEVADA, ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, CALIFORNIA, HAWAII, GUAM

RRCA New Mexico Marathon Championship Duke City Marathon Albuquerque, NM October 19, 2008 OPEN MALE Alex Romero

23

Los Angeles, CA

6:07

2:40:33

OPEN FEMALE Keri Nelson

27

Gunnison, CO

7:20

3:11:52

MASTER MALE Kirt Goetzke

47

Plymouth, MN

6:37

2:53:14

MASTER FEMALE Jane Tunnadine

41

Gunnison, CO

8:03

3:30:59

RRCA New Mexico Half Marathon Championship Duke City Half Marathon Albuquerque, NM October 19, 2008 OPEN MALE Eric Ollila

35

Placitas, NM

5:21

1:09:59

OPEN FEMALE Jacquelyne Gallegos

25

Albuquerque, NM

6:29

1:24:49

MASTER MALE Chris Jerome

42

Albuquerque, NM

6:20

1:22:57

MASTER FEMALE Laura Warner

42

Gunnison, CO

6:35

1:26:15

RRCA Colorado 12K Championship Aurora Sports Park XC 12K Aurora, CO December 6, 2008

by Dan Shaw

time of 61:08 (8:12). There were no women competitors in the masters and grand masters age groups.

The 12K distance of the Colorado Masters Running Assoication’s Aurora Sports Park XC on Saturday, December 6, 2008 served as the 2008 RRCA state championship for cross country. 70 hardy runners came to play in the fields around Aurora Sports Park and the surrounding open space, none speedier than 26 year-old Boulder steeplechase specialist Robert Mandje, who also won the October Colorado Masters race.

Unlike the relatively close finish of the Coal Creek Cross Country Challenge, Robert built and maintained a lead to the finish. A professional runner coached by former marathon great Lorraine Moller, Robert claimed the Open Championship in a blazing 43:14 (5:48 per mile) on this challenging course. Jitka O’Farrell, 31, claimed the women’s open title with a time of 57:29 (7:43). The 2008 Masters (40+) winner is Keith Johnson, 47, with a time of 47:32 (6:23). The Grand Masters (50+) title went to Greg Ayres, 50, in a

The race featured 3 laps of a 4 kilometer (about 2-1/2 miles) loop, starting and finishing at Coal Creek Rodeo Arena off 6th Avenue in northeast Aurora.

About half of the course was run on the beautiful green lawns bordering the soccer fields of Aurora Sports Park. The other sections of the course included a variety of surfaces: sandy, single track trails, a dirt road, short stretches of gravel and asphalt paths, and open fields. The most unique portion was a 100 meter-long narrow, winding “tunnel” through willow brush. Most challenging to runners was an icy creek crossing.

Most competitors avoided getting their feet wet by working their way over fallen logs that bridged the cold water. A few brave harriers chose to save time by splashing through the murky foot-deep pool at the crossing.

FOOTNOTES

At the 9:00 am start the sandy trail sections, rutted by horse hooves, were frozen into ankle busting ridges and portions of the lawns were crusty. By the time the 12K race was over the trails and lawns grew soggy with melting snow.

Despite the challenges, our youngest competitor, 7 year-old Kathryn Stone was the first female finisher, completing the 4K distance running with her father Chris Stone in an amazing 23:33. The oldest competitor in the field, Ken Green, impressed and brought a rousing cheer from the finish line crowd by completing the full 12K distance with a time of 94:27.

OPEN MALE Keith Johnson

46

7:04

52:44

OPEN FEMALE Karen Voss 42

8:11

1:01:01

MASTER MALE Adam Feerst 47

7:13

53:49

MASTER FEMALE Connie Ahrnsbrak 68

11:20

1:24:25

MAY 2009 41

WESTERN REGION: MONTANA, WYOMING, COLORDAO, NEW MEXICO, IDAHO, UTAH, ARIZONA, NEVADA, ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, CALIFORNIA, HAWAII, GUAM

RRCA National Marathon Championship Gilmore & Coordt are 2009 RRCA Marathon Champs of the plan.”

Gilmore is preparing for a competitive, prize money marathon this coming spring, but he hasn’t finalized plans for a specific race yet. He finished 8th at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but an untimely chest cold forced him to drop out of the 2008 Trials race midway, thwarting his Olympic aspirations.

NAPA, Calif. - March 1, 2009 - Peter Gilmore, 31, of San Mateo, CA and Mary Coordt, 39, of Elk Grove, CA took home victories at today’s 31st Annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon (NVM). Both runners registered clearcut wins, well ahead of their competition.

Gilmore’s winning time was 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 5 seconds, the second fastest men’s time at this race in the past 15 years. Coordt topped all women with a finishing time of 2:48:54 and claimed her third victory at NVM. She also won here in 1997 and 2005.

“It turned out about how I expected,” said Martin who won three marathons last year, but whose 2:20:04 personal record is almost eight minutes slower than Gilmore’s. “Peter ran a strong race.

I tried to keep the pace honest for as long as I could.”

Martin finished second in 2:27:23, over four minutes behind the winner. Former University of California-Berkeley All American James Nielsen, 29, of Palo Alto, CA was third in 2:31:45.

Coordt equally dominated the women’s race following a strong fourth place

Despite rainy, but otherwise temperate conditions, a remarkable 1,822 runners out of 1,895 starters finished the 26.2mile race that runs the length of the beautiful Napa Valley. It was the alltime highest finisher count for the race for the second year in a row. The event is limited to 2,300 registrants, which is largely determined by the number of available hotel rooms in the worldrenowned Napa Valley wine producing and tasting region.

42

finish at last year’s NVM in which she ran a time of 2:46:30, a personal record that qualified Coordt for her third U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials.

This year, Coordt took the lead from the starting gun and never relinquished it.

Her nearest rivals were Jenni Johnson, 29, of Tustin, CA who finished second in 2:56:08 and third placer Monica Ochs, 39, of Anacortes, WA in 3:03:46.

“I ran with some men for as long as I could, but I was alone from 18 miles to the finish,” said Coordt, who will turn 40 in June. “The weather actually wasn’t that bad, but I didn’t feel perfect. Yet I’m very happy to get my third win here.”

Gilmore is a world-class runner who owns a swift personal best in the marathon of 2:12:45, but this year’s NVM marks his first marathon victory ever. Andy Martin, 34, of Bend, OR led the men’s race for almost 16 miles, as Gilmore followed, but he could not match Gilmore’s strong second half of the race over the rolling, point-to-point course.

“It took me a while for my body to loosen up because I didn’t get a chance to warm up at all before the race,” Gilmore said. “My goal for this race was to run a good training run, to go out at 5:30 or 5:40 (per mile) pace and then speed up. That’s just what I did. I ran miles 21 through 25 pretty hard, which was part

RRCA Executive Director Jean Knaack presenting the commemorative of wine courtesy of the Napa Valley Marathon to Mary Coortd.

Christine Iwahashi (West Sacramento, CA) is the only other three-time women’s winner (‘86, ‘87, ‘90) of NVM. “I think Mary (Coordt) is awesome,” said Iwahashi, 53, who is Coordt’s teammate on the Sacramento-based Buffalo Chips running club. “This is a very special race for both of us. It’s neat to see Mary’s consistency here, and in running in general.”

Iwahashi topped the women’s 50-54 division at this year’s race in 3:41:33.

Peter Gilmore leading Andy Martin.

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

Each overall winner (Gilmore and Coordt) took home titles as 2009 Road

WESTERN REGION: MONTANA, WYOMING, COLORDAO, NEW MEXICO, IDAHO, UTAH, ARIZONA, NEVADA, ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, CALIFORNIA, HAWAII, GUAM Runners Club of America (RRCA) national marathon champion. The event served as RRCA’s National Marathon Championship event. Both winners won five cases of premium wine donated by the Napa Valley Silverado Trail Wineries Association. Each winner also carried home a specially produced, etched bottle of Napa Valley wine.

Johannes Rudolph, 43, of Boulder, CO finished fourth overall in 2:33:41 and captured the men’s masters (40 years of age and older) victory. Cinthya Vielma, 42, of San Jose, CA won the women’s masters title in 3:06:15.

RRCA National Marathon Championship 31st Annual Napa Valley Marathon Napa Valley, CA March 1, 2009

Although Major Tim Burgess, 37, a soldier based in Kuwait, couldn’t be on this year’s starting line, he ran the Napa Valley Marathon “remotely” on his U.S. Army base at Camp Virginia this morning. Burgess, who lives in Healdsburg, CA was accompanied by another soldier, Captain Sam Kang, for 15 miles. He ran the remainder of the 26.2-mile distance alone except for two supporting Medics. Burgess finished his solo jaunt in 4:26:15, and he will be placed in the official NVM results.

“I felt great for the first 11 miles before I felt any soreness,” Burgess reported via e-mail. “Then, just after mile 17, I started to slow. After mile 21 I kind of shuffled along. The last two miles were pretty tough. But I’m proud that my finishing time is almost five minutes faster than what I ran last year at the Napa Valley Marathon.”

Burgess is the first “remote” overseas participant to finish NVM.

Full race results for the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon, plus a personal commentary and photos of Major Burgess’ remote NVM, are available on the event’s web site at www.napavalleymarathon.org.

All proceeds from the Napa Valley Marathon (a non-profit organization) are donated to local charities in the Napa Valley.

31

San Mateo, CA

5:28

2:23:04

OPEN FEMALE Mary Coordt

39

Elk Grove, CA

6:27

2:48:53

MASTER MALE Johannes Rudolf

43

Boulder, CO

5:52

2:33:40

MASTER FEMALE Cinthya Vielma

42

San Jose, CA

7:07

3:06:15

GRANDMASTER MALE David Elger 55

Sequim, WA

6:41

2:55:09

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Dr Janet Cain 57

Sonoma, CA

8:18

3:37:31

RRCA National Championship Date to Remember: July 18 & 19, 2009 Lake Tahoe, NV Tahoe Rim Trail 100M Ultra Run RRCA Regional Championship Date to Remember: August 22, 2009 Calabasas, CA Bulldog 50K Ultra Run

“We’re very proud of the accomplishments of all of this year’s Napa Valley Marathon finishers, including Major Burgess’ valiant run,” said Co-Race Director Rich Benyo. “Finishing a marathon is a unique personal achievement, and we salute these runners’ commitments.”

OPEN MALE Peter Gilmore

FOOTNOTES

RRCA State Championship Dates to Remember: May 9, 2009 Billings, MT Montana Women’s 5M/2M Run May 17, 2009 Tucson, AZ Tucson 5000 June 14, 2009 Tarzana, CA Valley Crest Half Marathon July 18, 2009 Lake Tahoe, NV Tahoe Rim Trail 50K & 50M Ultra

MAY 2009 43

What’s the BIG Idea?

WESTERN REGION: MONTANA, WYOMING, COLORDAO, NEW MEXICO, IDAHO, UTAH, ARIZONA, NEVADA, ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, CALIFORNIA, HAWAII, GUAM

by Sally Young IT’S PACE WITH A TEMPO The best training techniques are the ones that have staying power and get you in “game shape.” They’re fun, challenging, and sharpen your pacing skills and concentration.

Tempo runs are the foundation of outstanding runners for these very reasons.

The pace is steady and comfortably hard, somewhere between jogging and sprinting. The heart rate is kept north of 65 percent of maximum heart rate, but out of the 90 percent anaerobic zone where fatigue would quickly set in.

Jean Knaack and Central California State Rep George Rehmet presenting award to The Presidio 10K Male Overall winner and Roads Scholar Jonathan Pierce

Female Overall winner Kristi Rossi Photo by Kevin Murray

Photo by Mitch Garner

RRCA National 10K Championship The Presidio 10 San Francisco, CA March 29, 2009 OPEN MALE Jonathan Pierce

25

5:05

31:31

If done diligently, performance is measurably improved with faster times over the same distance without an increase in perceived effort.

OPEN FEMALE Kristi Rossi

40

Hillsborough, CA

6:39

41:19

MASTER MALE Sherwick Min

42

Santa Clara, CA

6:35

40:51

Staying within the aerobic zone, especially near the upper range, generates major physiological adaptations. The number of mitochondria in working muscles increases, orchestrating a massive Macerana of oxygen and energy transport that goes to completion, a clean burn. Beyond this point, called the lactate threshold, sugar is only partially metabolized, forming lactate, because there isn’t enough oxygen available.

Although lactate doesn’t directly cause fatigue, it is a marker of anaerobic metabolism and the early demise of sustained speed.

MASTER FEMALE Anne Mason

43

Alameda, CA

7:10

44:30

GRANDMASTER MALE Lynn Walker 52

Ben Lomond, CA

6:43

41:45

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Mary Bihr 53

Petaluma, CA

8:34

53:10

Typically, 20 minutes is sufficient to condition the body. Long distance runners, such as marathoners, benefit from longer runs of up to 60 minutes.

Sally Young is a freelance writer and artist. Email yo-sal@cox.net

44

RRCA Regional 10 Mile Championship The Presidio 10 San Francisco, CA March 29, 2009 OPEN MALE Tim Naylor

34

Los Gatos, CA

5:51

58:32

OPEN FEMALE Kelly Couch

31

San Mateo, CA

6:24

1:04:03

MASTER MALE David Purinton

42

Huntsville, AL

6:09

1:01:25

MASTER FEMALE Diane Perun

41

San Francisco, CA

7:09

1:11:30

GRANDMASTER MALE Ed Bickley 50

Calgary

6:43

1:03:31

GRANDMASTER FEMALE Wendy Georges 51

Berkeley, CA

7:55

1:19:11

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson Deadlines Work

As I sit here writing this column against the deadline, I’m reminded of my days as a young advertising copywriter when I occasionally needed a deadline as motivation to finish a boring project. The deadline did more than motivate me to finish -- more often than not, it was what finally stimulated enough creative thinking to move me forward -- in other words, it motivated me to think outside of the box.

“Thinking outside of the box.” Boy, has that phrase become overused. People are so often telling us that we need to think outside of the box that it has fallen into the realm of cliche. Never-the-less it is still true. Sometimes, however, we need to be put into a box first before we can think outside of it. A deadline is just such a box.

I used to believe that the more freedom I had, the more creative I could be. But it doesn’t necessarily work that way. Ingenuity needs to be motivated by something, and if the desire to achieve isn’t there, then an uncomfortable boundary may work.

Have you ever watched a man or a woman with one leg running a marathon or competing in downhill snow skiing? I have, and every time I’m deeply impressed because I have both of my legs and I can’t do either one. I used to wonder why they were able to do so much more than me when I was the one born with the greater advantage. Now I can see that the difference is that they were challenged by a boundary and I wasn’t. Some of them might even argue that they were the ones born with the greater advantage. Being unable to walk made them uncomfortable, and conquering their disability became a powerful motivating factor. They had to get out of that box!

Think of creativity as a prisoner trying to bust out of jail. When your resources and opportunities are limited you must become innovative. A good illustration of this is the World War II movie The Great Escape. It is an amazing tale of ingenuity.

Men with little to work with escape from a German POW camp. In addition to digging three tunnels without shovels, they made hand drawn traveling documents and identification papers that looked authentic

enough to pass for ones made on a printing press. Now that was a box to get out of!

I have enjoyed working for myself most of my adult life. People frequently tell me they wish they could be self-employed like I am. They say things like, “If I could just get one client then I could quit my job.”

My response is always the same, “Until you quit your job, you are never going to find that first client. There is nothing like the deadline of a rent or mortgage payment staring you down at the end of the month to motivate you to get out and look for clients.”

Everyone works under some kind of deadline. They force us to prioritize our responsibilities; they limit procrastination; and they help us achieve our work related goals. But, we often lack them in our private lives. We are not given deadlines to accomplish our most important personal goals and without those boundaries procrastination can creep in and destroy our best intentions. The trick is to impose a deadline on yourself. But it has to have some teeth to work.

Here’s how to do it: Write down your goal.

Then set a reasonable date in which you can achieve it. Next, go to your bank or attorney and set up an escrow account. Now add the teeth -- put into the account an amount of money that will hurt to lose: $1,000... $10,000... $100,000... you decide! Set it up so that if you haven’t achieved your goal by the deadline then the funds go to a favorite charity... or make it even more motivating: let the funds go to your worst enemy!

Not ready to try that? Then try the buddy system. Pair up with a friend and each of you take responsibility to follow up on the other one. You can get together once a week and check on each other’s progress.

If goals aren’t being met, then nag each other into the UnComfort Zone!

Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is a motivational speaker and humorist. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. For more information on Robert’s programs please visit www. jumpstartyourmeeting.com.

FOOTNOTES

What’s the BIG Idea?

by Sally Young READY- SET- SLOW! Running slow settles you into a nearly tireless rhythm of motion. It feels like you could go for hours - and you should.

Comfortable pacing bolsters your self-confidence, letting you know that you can do more than you thought. It strengthens your heart and circulation, burns more calories from fat than glycogen, and is the springboard for faster running.

This is aerobic training, the steady supply of oxygenated blood meeting the needs of active muscle, nerve, and bone.

It accounts for the enhanced density of cellular mitochondria and capillary beds in the heart, lungs, and legs of endurance athletes. In sedentary people, this development is poorer, putting blood circulation, as well as general health, at risk.

Easy-paced roadwork should be no more than 65 percent of your maximum heart rate. To estimate this, run as fast as you can sustain for 15-20 minutes, and then add two and a half minutes per mile.

Arthur Lydiard, legendary coach of Olympic medalists, found that running for two consecutive hours, with the emphasis on relaxing instead of speed and distance, ramps up the aerobic system. The amount of time spent running, not the total mileage, was “the most important aspect of conditioning.”

Sally Young is a freelance writer and artist. Email yo-sal@cox. net

MAY 2009 45

RRCA Travel 2008

by George Rehmet RRCA Central California State Representative 51st National RRCA Convention Director

2008 started out with having my hometown San Francisco being selected as the host city for the National RRCA Convention.

A couple of months later, I would make 2008 my year to reaffirm my life. The month before in December, I had survived a roll over car accident in the Santa Cruz mountains last winter. A couple of months later, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure despite having low risk factors (like running regularly). As I examined my medication that I would take for the rest of my life, I wanted to reaffirm my life. My goal was to completing 12 marathons and beyond (ultras) in a year.

I would incorporate as many states as I could in order to achieve my long term goal of doing a marathon in every state.

And as the 2009 RRCA Convention was starting to take shape, my quest was also a trip to the various RRCA families across the nation to promote the convention.

My first race was in March which was the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas. But prior to this, I had stopped in Chicago for a conference. It was there that Beth Onines, the convention director for the convention in 2007, showed me around and gave me very useful information on putting on a RRCA convention. I had the distinctively cold pleasure of running in sub-freezing temperatures with Beth’s club, the Alpine Runners.

Seeing that I was sitting alone at the pasta dinner for the Little Rock Marathon, Laura and Bart Yasso invited to me their table and introduced me to race directors of CICs (Chicks in Charge). Eventually, I was talking to other runners (and reunited with former Arkansas State Rep. Bill Torrey) about the convention. At this point, I realized that I better get some business cards made up for me. And the marathon went well, and the evening party went even better. Little Rock rocks!

In April, I signed up for the Diablo Marathon which was put on by Pacific Coast Trails Runs. The marathon went to the 3,849 feet summit twice or there is nearly 8,000 feet of elevation gain. On the first outing to the summit, it took me over 2 hours to cover 8 miles nearly straight up. But I finished. After the race, I decided to do their series of their ultras. In May, I would do a 6 hour race. In August, it

46

would be a 50 mile race. And in October, I would do a 12 hour race. I would take first in my age group and the second overall in the series.

Next was the RRCA Convention at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. For the first time in convention planning and to the pleasant surprise to the attendees, we introduced a survey to get input for the 2009 convention. Also, a special thanks to Bart Yasso for letting us borrow his suite to promote the 2009 convention.

significant uphills (with the highest being 9100 feet), I had to walk many times.

The glimpse of heaven was the scenery, especially of Lake Marlett with Lake Tahoe in the background. The other bit of heaven was it was reunion with Jean Knaack, Dave Epstein, Lisa Paige, and Goody Tyler (past RRCA president Bee McLeod’s husband).

The Flying Pig Marathon was more like a leisure stroll through Cincinnati.

Afterwards, I had to do everything in my power to recover for the Lake Merrit 6 Hour race which was in 5 days. I guess it paid off as I complete 38.7 miles and ended up 2nd overall.

I needed a marathon for June. Given that I had to use my frequent flyer miles soon, I searched for the most expensive place to fly to - Casper, Wyoming which was free to me. The Windy City Striders put on the well organized Casper Marathon. I loved the pasta meal, the flat course, and . . . the BEST FINISH LINE EVER! The finish was in the hotel parking lot and my hotel room was only 20 steps away. For once it was nice just to finish, get my food, and then walk to my room for a shower and nap.

In July, I was invited by Dave Cotter (who was the 2004 director for Tahoe and is currently assisting use with this convention) to run his race, the Tahoe Rim trail 50K, which has the tagline “A Glimpse of Heaven and a Taste of Hell.” When I was done, I was thanking myself that I did not run the companion 50 or 100 miler. The taste of hell was the altitude. After mile 11, I just could not get oxygen into my system. Coupled with the

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

For the first time in my running history, I almost sabotaged my race by wearing two different types of running shoes. Lisa noticed this 10 minutes before the start. I got a ride back to my car to get the correct shoe on. Luckily, I just missed the start by 90 seconds. Dave Cotter’s Tahoe Milers did a wonderful job with this race and made me feel very grateful that Dave was helping us with the convention.

I flew off in late September to Billings for the Montana Marathon which was hosted by the Yellowstone Rim Runners.

At the 2008 RRCA Convention, I won a free entry, dinner, and lodging at the auction. Montana State Representative John Devitt had always asked me when I could come to his state. Now I had an affordable reason. Former New Mexico State Rep. John Farrow joined us. We had a great time. Billings, Montana had the great honor of being the first place to get 2009 convention flyers. Regarding the marathon, my airline changed my flight to an earlier time so I had to finish in about 3:30. I ran a 3:38, took 2nd in my age group, and made my flight in time.

Five weeks later in October, I covered 65 miles at the 12 Hour race at Crissy Field in which 2009 convention attendees got to check out. A week later and having qualified with a fast time, I was in the

worth it. I improved my patience knowing that this goal would take nearly a year to complete. I pushed myself to new limits mentally and physically. The best part was just seeing and running in new places and promoting the 2009 RRCA Convention in the meantime. And then there are all the people from the RRCA family that I met and ran with. For 2008, I could say that “I Run the Nation.”

New York City Marathon with 38,000 runners and over 2 million spectators. The New York Road Runners were celebrating its 50th Anniversary in which the Empire State Building was lighted in the club’s colors. I plodded in at 4:43 but I reasoned that I was enjoying the scenery longer.

With the crowds, sights, and organization, I could see why NYC is considered one of the greatest marathons in the world.

One month later, I was ready for my last marathon as I travel to Huntsville, Alabama for the Rocket City Marathon which is put on by the Huntsville Track Club. Alabama State Rep. Ron Macksoud vouched for that it was okay for me to display convention flyers at the event.

It was a perfect day to get below 3:30 which I easily did in 3:28. Deep down, I knew that I could have gone faster but my legs were tired. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that this was my last race for a long while. It was my easiest race due to being a flat course. I felt a sense of liberation during the race and accomplishment completing 12 marathons or longer in one calendar year.

I was able to get some convention networking done in New York. At the marathon expo, the California International Marathon, who is one of the convention sponsors, displayed convention flyers. In addition, I met Wally Kastner, race director for the Big Sur International Marathon that is another convention sponsor. At the post-marathon party, I bumped into the New Orleans Track Club and I had a great time dancing and drinking with them. A

As I reflect back, I find that doing 12 such long events in a span of less than 10 months is a challenge mentally and physically.

I lived with the fear of a goal ending in injury until my last race. In the last 2 months, I was living with constant fatigue in which I would only run every other day.

And my runs were just maintaining my aerobic endurance. A big contradiction would be that after I finished a marathon, I would feel a sense of achievement, but a sense of dread, too, as I wondered if I could recover in time and be ready for my next long race which would sometimes be only a week away.

In conclusion, such a feat involves sacrificing speed, developing extreme patience, being smart about rest & recovery, and living with fatigue.

Nevertheless on the other hand, it was

special thanks goes to NOTC’s executive Director Chuck George and Louisiana State Rep. Betsy Boudreaux for giving me sound advice on how the little things can make a convention better.

Lake Zurich, IL: Alpine Runners. www. alpinerunners.com Cincinnati, OH: Flying Pig Marathon. www.flyingpigmarathon.com Casper, WY: Windy City Striders. www. windycitystriders.com South Lake Tahoe, CA: Tahoe Mountain Milers. www.tahoemtnmilers.org Billings, MT: Yellowstone Rim Runners. www.rimrunners.org/ Sacramento, CA: Sacramento Long Distance Running Association. www. runcim.org Carmel, CA: Big Sur International Marathon. www.bsim.org New York City, NY: New York Road Runners Club. www.nyrrc.org New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Track Club. www.runNOTC.org Grand Canyon, CA: Grand Canyon Hermit Marathon. grandcanyonmarathon. com Huntsville, AL: Huntsville Track Club. www.huntsvilletrackclub.org

Tips for Successful Multiple Marathoning/Ultrarunning 1. Err on the side of rest.

2. Stretch daily.

3. Massage or use the Stick 4. Get enough sleep.

5. Cut out/reduce the speedwork.

6. The races will serve as the long run.

7. Proper nutrition.

8. Take walking breaks.

9. Cross train (biking, swimming, weightlifting) to rest your legs, but maintain aerobic conditioning.

10. The name of game is to finish: realize that there is an end, so enjoy the journey.

Two weeks later and taking advantage of a free flight for a conference in Phoenix, I was at the inaugural Grand Canyon Hermit Marathon. The race organizers allowed convention flyers in the goody bags. After finishing this well organized and scenic event, I talked to race director Michael Nash who commented how previous Arizona RRCA State Rep. Tandy Chalmers assisted them with the insurance and getting into the RRCA.

“We Run the Nation” RRCA Clubs in My Travels

FOOTNOTES

MAY 2009 47

COACHING CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS Coaching certification sessions are scheduled at selected regional locations throughout the year.

Note: registrations are limited and there are no waiting lists for full sessions.

Session May 15 & 16 May 23 & 24 June 6 & 7 June 6 & 7 June 13 & 14 June 26 & 27 June 28 - CEC July 11 & 12

48

Location Denver, CO Cary, NC Pasadena, CA Maplewood, NJ Las Vegas, NV Richardson, TX Richardson, TX Clarksville, TN

FOOTNOTES MAY 2009

Registration Deadline Race Registration Closed Colfax Marathon - May 17 Registration Closed May 23 Registration Closed May 30 Registration Closed June 11

Run On! Marathon Training Run July 4

TOWN, continued from page 14

Highlights of the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K include the Richmond TimesDispatch Dress Up and Run Contest, the AT&T Dash for the Cash contest, numerous bands, cheering groups and a high energy post-race celebration.

as long as it was the professionally staffed Sports Backers who took possession of the event and co-organized it (the year before the Sports Backers had orchestrated a successful World Cup Soccer Qualifier between the U.S. and Trinidad-Tobago in Richmond).

Sports Backers then partnered with the RRRC, landed Crestar Bank (later bought up by SunTrust Bank) as a sponsor, and upped the registration numbers by almost 50 percent.

In addition to races, the RRRC-Sports Backers collaborate on several training programs. Over the past eight years, Sports Backers YMCA 10K Training Team has prompted over 13,000 Richmonders to get off the couch and train as a walker or runner for the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K. In 2008, over 3,000 people signed up for the program which includes an automatic entry into the race.

“It was the marketing and advertising expertise of the Sports Backers combined with the running event expertise of the Richmond Road Runners Club that saved this as a major running event in Richmond,” says Lugbill.

“The YMCA 10K Training Team helps people who don’t run at all to get up and run a 10K,” says Lugbill. “Many of them get the bug and join the Road Runners who have a recruitment table at our expo.”

The now SunTrust Richmond Marathon, which has been nicknamed by Runner’s World Magazine “America’s friendliest marathon, will have over 13,000 registrants this year for the marathon, the McDonald’s Half Marathon, the NTELOS 8K and the Richmond Times-Dispatch Kid’s Run. Given its welcoming vibe and relatively flat course, it is fast becoming a favorite destination for marathoners all over the country.

The Road Runners also put together a program for their members to attain personal records in the event. Adds Garber: “The Road Runners Club Advanced 10K Training Team that we and the Sports Backers worked together to create is a fantastic training program for faster runners.”

Another strong training program is the Sports Backers Marathon Training Team, of which Garber is the head coach. A five-month preparation geared to help first-timers or intermediates train for and complete the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, it averages over a thousand runners a season.

The program combines fun, fitness and camaraderie in equal measure. Last year for the SunTrust Richmond Marathon’s 30th anniversary, Garber, led the nostalgia parade, donning a ‘70s leisure suit and groovy guy wig for a run with his team as Disco Don.

As success breeds success, the rescue of the Richmond Marathon led Lugbill to follow through in 1999 on an idea for a 10K run on Monument Avenue, one of Richmond’s most historically stirring and beautiful streets. Richmond’s beloved grocery chain Ukrop’s Super Markets signed on as title sponsor and the event took off.

“If we hadn’t taken over the marathon, we wouldn’t have done the 10K,” says Lugbill. “The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K is successful because it’s a beautiful street and it’s a beautiful time of year.”

In 2009 the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K will celebrate its 10th anniversary on March 28th by hosting an anticipated 35,000 participants, which makes it the fourth largest in the country. The event has grown well beyond a running race into a citywide rite of spring which Richmond Magazine named 2008 Best Richmond Moment. Last year it was also the host event for the USA 10K Men’s Championship, which was won

by Abdi Abdirahman.

Another local favorite is the James River Scramble trail run which is held on Richmond’s surprisingly rugged urban trail system in the James River Park in May on the same course as the XTERRA East Championship athletes ran.

And this year, the Sports Backers hosted the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Hanover County on December 13th, attracting thousands of USATF club runners. That marked the third running-related national championship held in Richmond in 2008 (USA 10K Men’s Champs and the USAT Duathlon National Championships).

All in all, this ongoing collaboration between the two organizations bodes well for Richmond’s running community for years to come. Garber sees it as a surefire recipe for success and recommends other regions emulate it. “Anywhere there’s a sports commission that sees the creation of participatory events as a driver of economic growth, if there’s a running club to partner with them, that club will grow their membership,” says Garber.

For more information on the Richmond Road Runners Club go to www.rrrc. org. The Sports Backers are at www. sportsbackers.org

“The Marathon Training Team takes people to another level where they are committed to training and racing yearround,” says Lugbill. He also notes that the Sports Backers popular Fit For Life youth running program for grade schoolers is a great recruiter of future runners.

“The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue is truly a collaboration where we work together to put on a major event,” said Garber. “And the 10K championships were great for our experienced runners to come and run a race alongside the country’s best distance runners. Without the Sports Backers it never would have happened.”

country’s top high schoolers for a 3.1-mile race through Maymont Park, an expanse of rolling grassy hills and tree lined lanes overlooking the James River.

Richmond’s high school runners also benefit from the McDonald’s X-country Festival at Maymont, which attracts over 3,000 of the

Muddy Buddy Ride & Run, Richmond VA May 3, 2009

FOOTNOTES

Photos by Amanda

MAY 2009 49