The Roadrunner - April 2018

THE ROADRUNNER A Publication of the Memphis Runners Track Club www. memphisrunners. com

April 2018 • Vol. 38, No. 3

Support Memphis Catholic & Education That Works

THE ROADRUNNER

In This Issue From the Editor’s Desk

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Message from the MRTC (by Rob Hunter)

Nutrition on the Run (by Ashley Holloway) A publication of the Memphis Runners Track Club April 2018 Vol. 38, No. 3

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Protection from the sun (from the AMAA)

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Supporting Youth Villages (by Christina Morgan)

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Boston strong Memphian (by Brent Manley)

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I dare you (by Cory Adams)

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Mountain man (by Henry Cotter)

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On the road again, in a way (by Sean Phipps)

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Welcome New Members

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Mama needs a jacket (by Rob Rayder)

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Sweet memories (by Bill Butler) Marathon results (compiled by Sherilyn Huey)

On the cover

5K & 10 Miler See page 8

Cover design by John Bookas.

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Faces in the Crowd

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Serious study (by Joel Lyons)

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Group runs

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Race Calendar

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Advertisements Bad Dog 5K

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Start2Finish Event Management

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Youth Villages 5K & 10 Miler

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Nationwide

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In His Steps 5K

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Grizz 5K

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Coke 10K

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Education That Works Out 5K

Inside Front Cover

Kids Run Memphis Running Camp

Inside Back Cover

ADVERTISING INFORMATION Ad Sizes and Rates Ad Size Price One Page $325 1/2 Page $250

6 Months $290/mo $220/mo

One Year $250/mo $190/mo

Cover Advertising Rates: Inside front or inside back cover: $450 per insertion Back cover: $600 per insertion A one-page ad is single side of a two-sided page.

The front and back of a page is considered a two-page ad. Contact the editor for details about multiple-month insertions.

Specifications for Submitted Art Full page ad with bleed: 8.75 x 11.25” Full page live area: 7.75" x 10.1875" Full page ad, no bleed: 7.75” x 10.1875” Half page horizontal ad: 7.75” x 5.25” Half page vertical ad: 3.75” x 10.1875” • Preferred formats are PDF, JPG or TIF. • Resolution should be 300 dpi minimum, at actual size.

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Brent Manley Roadrunner Editor brentmanley@yahoo.com 901-246-6477 The Roadrunner is published monthly except January/February and July/August, which are combined issues.

You can join the MRTC or renew your membership online at www.memphisrunners.com.

Article Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to the editor as Microsoft Word or text attachments. Please include name and telephone number with submissions.

Photographs should be labeled with names, dates, locations and any other pertinent information.

For more information about guidelines for submitting articles to the Roadrunner, contact the editor.

MRTC Board of Directors 2018 OFFICERS President/ Special Projects/Results John Payne 901-494-8266 johncharlespayne@comcast.net Vice President / Sponsorship Director Steve Spakes stevemrtc@gmail.com Treasurer Brian Williams brianbwilliamsmrtc@gmail.com Secretary/ Club Photographer Jessica Suzore 901-409-9570 jessuzore@comcast.net

DIRECTORS Past President/ Roadrunner Editor Brent Manley 901-383-8782 brentmanley@yahoo.com Past President/ Course Measurement Rob Hunter 901-246-1565 robhunter33@comcast.net

Past President/ New Race Coordinator Wain Rubenstein 901-278-1792 wrubenstei@aol.com Past President/Special Projects/Legal Matters George F. Higgs 901-528-1111 ghiggs@stonehiggsdrexler.com Volunteer Director Beverly Pickens 901-277-8950 pickensbg@aol.com Finish Line Director/ Equipment Lane Purser 901-483-8929 lpurser350@aol.com Timing/Results Rich Tutko 901-481-0498 rtutko@hotmail.com Women Run/Walk Memphis Director Allison Andrassy 901-409-6620 allison.mrtc@gmail.com Director Kent Smith kent824@bellsouth.net Director Suzie Hicks-Hurt 901-496-1377 s_hickshurt@bellsouth.net

For information about MRTC or running in the Memphis area, contact any board member or visit www.memphisrunners.com Administrative Secretary/Scheduler April Flanigan 901-574-8908 aflanigan@memphisrunners.com Magazine Services Printing and mailing services provided by Paulsen Printing 901-363-5988

From the Editor’s Desk Brent Manley Being of service to others is what brings true happiness.

— Marie Osmond

A fine day improved

On the second Friday in March, I was having a really good day. I was outside, running through the Davies Plantation subdivision. Only minutes before I drove over to the subdivision, I had spoken a person at the hotel in North Carolina where I had left two shirts — one of them my prized Wade’s Big Adventure finisher shirt (great race). I had already received a sports shirt I had left at the hotel, and I had just been assured my WBA garment was on the way.

As I ran in the mild weather, I was envisioning future runs and enjoying a small improvement in my fitness. It had not been that long since my return from my annual business trip to Australia, where I had been able to get out and run just about every other day, which has not always been the case on those trips.

I came home feeling tired thanks to a 15-hour flight from Sydney to Houston, but fitter because I got in those runs. I was doing something I love and looking forward to more. I didn’t think my day could get better. I was wrong.

I was about halfway through my Friday run when a car pulled over and the passenger-side window rolled down to reveal one of my favorite people in the running community: Debi Bookas. On the driver’s side was another of my favorites, Debi’s husband, John.

In case you don’t know it, John and Debi have been seriously big contributors to the running community for a long time — think of the Ultimate 10K/5K races to raise funds for Youth Villages and a host of other volunteer activities benefiting MRTC and area runners.

John recently stepped down from his position on the MRTC board of directors, but he and Debi are likely to continue to make an impact.

They are, of course, not the only couple who are volunteer stalwarts for the club, but they constantly set examples — and they do it cheerfully. They are two of the nicest people I know.

I suspect that most of John’s many friends know how tech savvy he is. I learned long ago how helpful he can be to me in my capacity as editor of this publication.

I’ve lost count of the times John has stepped up to design a front cover for the Roadrunner, even when I asked him for help at the last minute — not a good practice for someone who is serious, occasionally cranky, about adherence to deadlines.

I am sometimes reluctant to ask John for help because I’ve done it so often, but he is always happy to oblige, and it’s obvious he has high standards for his creative work. John delivered the front cover for this issue. No need to say more about his expertise in this area.

Last year, when I wrote about Sara Estabrook and Tom Bandler and their successful efforts to have Memphis officially designated as a runner-friendly city by the Road Runners Club of America, Sara and Tom were eager to note that John, along with MRTC Secretary Jessica Suzore, contributed a lot to the dynamic video that demonstrated the runner-friendliness of our community.

John provided videos, one of his specialties. Jessica, another dedicated volunteer, offered photos. You can check see the video at http://tinyurl.com/rrcamemphis. I guarantee it will get you excited.

I haven’t mentioned that on top of all John has contributed to the club, he is also a past president.

MRTC has been fortunate to have many good leaders, especially in recent times. I assure you that MRTC did not get to be one of the best running clubs in the country by accident. Thanks, John and Debi, for all you have done to help get us to this place.

"I didn't think my day could get any better. I was wrong."

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A Message from the MRTC

By Rob Hunter, guest columnist Our president, John Payne, has been sharing this page with different members of our board and it is my turn this month. I may be a little rusty since the last time I composed a message for the MRTC newsletter was in 2009.

Since that time I have not run any races, but I have received a new metal knee and Lane Purser and I (and a few others) have measured a lot of new run courses.

I have been on quite a few “coning teams” during this time as well.

Oh yeah, I have helped lead some bicycle rides, too, but that is another organization. Anyway, as you can see, it is not at all difficult to stay busy serving our running community.

If you are interested in sharing in this fun, contact our Volunteer Director, Beverly Pickens, for regular races, or Julianne Tutko for road race series events. Both work very hard to make sure our races have enough volunteers to assure an enjoyable experience for our runners.

Beverly and Julianne can get you on a volunteer work schedule. I probably should not mention it, but tired or injured runners make great volunteers.

Speaking further about volunteering: Thank you, George Higgs, for outfitting the 2016 RRS volunteers with high-quality rain jackets. These really came in handy for us during the rainiest February ever in the Memphis area.

As I write this, we are finally seeing some earlyblooming flowers, trees and shrubs and I trust that when you read this we will be full-blown into the spring season and all the great road races that roll around this time of the year.

For 5K races, we have the Grizzlies, Margie Dowell, Earth Day, Bad Dog and Memphis Catholic coming your way (see the race calendar on page 34). There’s also the Youth Villages 5K/10 Miler. I promise that the Wolf River will have receded and the Greenway paths will be dryer by April 21.

There is another event to put on your calendar: MRTC’s Spring Quarterly meeting at Rhodes College on

April 22. Our “MRTC Grill Team” will be serving burgers and dogs, kids will be racing on the track (Thanks, Dayna Lytle and team) and you can show your stuff on a 1-mile run if you are so inclined. April is another busy month in the MRTC world.

Also, another big “congrats” to Kevin Raney and his hard-working team (some of them were family members) for putting on a highly successful Winter Off-Road Series. As it turned out, we had great weather for all four races but, man, was it wet and muddy this year! Of course, that’s just the way you runners like it, from my observations. It was really a nice tribute to see so many members of Joe Buckner’s family running in the 8K at Stanky Creek /Nesbit Park in his memory. It would also be appropriate to mention that the WORS is our primary fundraiser for the MRTC College Scholarship fund. I’m proud to share that we will soon be adding to the $190,000 already contributed to our two scholarships.

You should all be proud of the good work your club, MRTC, is doing in the Memphis area.

If you have been following MRTC on our Facebook page or our website, you are probably aware that registration is open for the 2018 EJ Goldsmith Memorial Road Race Series. The MRTC Graphics Design Group East (Henry Cotter and Dulcy Stout in Singapore) have really brightened up the colors for this year’s shirts, bibs and chips. You will not want to miss out on the RRS this year. I recommend that you set a goal of doing all 10 races and snagging that coveted Road Warrior trophy. It’s a major commitment/ accomplishment.

Anyway, great talking to you again as I get back to my backlog of course measurement documentation. It looks like our team is going to be really busy in 2018.

Look for our white paint and washers nailed to the pavement in a street or bike path on your training/racing routes. It seems like I see them all over on my bicycle rides. Cheers!

I may be a little rusty since last time ...

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Ashley Holloway, MS, RD, LDN Ask the Dietitian Question: How does the protein that I eat turn into muscle?

Question: Should I try a Detox diet?

Answer: Detox diets are touted as a way to flush toxins out of your system. These diets are quite popular, but they are not scientifically proven.

The specifics of detox diets can vary — but usually a period of fasting is followed by a strict diet of raw vegetables, fruit and fruit juices and water.

Some detox diets also recommend using herbs and other supplements along with colon cleansing through enemas or colonics to further empty the intestines.

You may lose a little bit of weight from a detox diet, but it is usually temporary from a combination of being on a very low-calorie diet, losing water weight and from having empty intestines. Plus, you’re likely to lose weight and then gain it right back when you go off any extreme diet.

There is little evidence that detox diets actually remove toxins from the body. Nor do you need to help your body “detoxify.” Your organs and immune system handle these duties, no matter what you eat. Your kidneys and liver are quite effective at filtering and eliminating most ingested toxins. So there is no need to “detox!”

Some say that they feel better on a detox diet, but why they temporarily feel better may actually come from the fact that they are avoiding highly processed foods, extra sugar and fat. These benefits may come at a cost. Detox diets that severely limit protein or that require fasting can result in fatigue, muscle aches and irritability. Long-term fasting can result in vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Colon cleansing through enemas and colonics can cause cramping, bloating, nausea and vomiting. Even dehydration can be a concern. And if a diet recommends pills, herbs or supplements, these items are not backed by the FDA and can interact with different medications and can cause issues on their own.

Finally, keep in mind that fad diets are never a good long-term solution. For lasting results, your best bet is to eat a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean sources of protein.

Answer: When you eat eggs, turkey, beef, pork, and other sources of protein, your body uses about 8% of the calories from protein for muscle building and repair.

Here is simplified tutorial on how it all works: Step 1 - Digestion: When you eat protein, enzymes from your stomach and small intestine break down protein into smaller pieces called amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and peptides (which are chains of at least two or three amino acids.)

More enzymes in the small intestine further break down the peptides into amino acids for use throughout the body.

Step 2 - Transport: Once the protein is broken down completely into amino acids, they travel to the liver through a vein called the hepatic (liver) portal vein. One of the functions of the liver is to send amino acids back into your bloodstream to be used by your muscles.

Step 3 - Response: Your muscles are made up of woven bundles of muscle fibers. When you exercise, you develop small micro-tears in the muscle fibers.

When this happens, your body signals to your immune system that muscle repair is needed. Growth hormones, stem cells and amino acids are all called in to help repair the damage.

Step 4 - Construction: Amino acids are then woven together to form myofibrils, which are bundles of protein threads to be used in muscle building and repair.

Step 5 - Repair and Growth: These bundles of protein threads are then fused with the damaged areas of your muscles to repair the micro-tears that were caused by exercise. These myofibrils not only repair the damage, but also help to make your muscles bigger and stronger.

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Protection from the sun

From the American Medical Athletic Association

It won’t be long before you will find yourself out running in the heat and humidity of the Memphis area.

Unless you’re a big fan of treadmill running or staying indoors all day, it will be difficult for you to avoid the sun once summer begins.

Even if you’re not running, you may be inclined to spend some time on the beach or around the pool.

This article, a production of the American Running Association, was originally published in the spring of 2017 and is aimed at helping you avoid skin cancer while enjoying the outdoors.

As beach season approaches, a useful and somewhat counterintuitive new study published in JAMA Dermatology is worth keeping in mind. JAMA is the Journal of the American Medical Association.

To explore the effects of sun exposure on people using different forms of protection, the study randomized 80 subjects into two groups. One group was instructed to apply sunscreen every two hours while on the beach for 3.5 hours beginning at midday. The other group used UV-blocking beach umbrellas to protect them from the sun at the same time of day and for the same duration.

The sunscreen group, which utilized a very strong SPF-100 sunblock, fared better than the group seeking shade under beach umbrellas. One day after sun exposure, the participants were evaluated for sunburn by a clinician. The umbrella group had a total of 142 sunburned areas, as opposed to only 17 such areas in the sunscreen group.

Another way to frame this data is to compare the differences between the two groups as measured against their baseline level of sunburn. Compared with baseline, global sunburn scores increased significantly in 78% of the subjects in the umbrella group versus 25% in the sunscreen group.

While the study was relatively small, the differences in the outcomes between umbrella shading and strong sunscreen are certainly meaningful. It is worth noting here, as the authors do in the study, that even still, neither method completely prevented sunburn from all seven areas of exposure on the body that were examined after the day of sunbathing. And this study highlights what is known about UV exposure: shade works by physically shielding skin from direct harmful UV rays, but skin may still remain exposed to reflected and indirect UV rays. It remains a best practice to use a combination of sun screen protections to minimize risk

of UV ray exposure, especially given the significant rise of skin cancers in recent years.

Sun exposure is one major way for humans to get sufficient vitamin D. Our skin manufactures it when in contact with sunlight. Yet, as we explored in the previous issue, several leading endocrinologists have been arguing lately for a lowering of the currently accepted threshold level of 20, feeling that many clinicians are overscreening for and unnecessarily treating perceived vitamin D deficiency.

Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.

With statistics like this, it may be time to prioritize aggressive UV protection over the benefits of exposure on vitamin D production. For more info on identifying potentially cancerous skin irregularities, continue reading.

JAMA Dermatology, 2017, Vol. 153, No.3, pp. 304-308, http://jamanetwork.com/journals/ jamadermatology/article-abstract/2597893

Check yourself for skin cancer

Even if you are diligent about applying sunscreen and wearing protective hats and clothing outside, it may not be enough. A regular head-to-toe self-exam can help detect early signs of skin cancer. By checking your skin regularly, you’ll learn what is normal for you and can more easily note abnormalities you should call to your doctor’s attention.

After all, between 40 and 50% of Americans who live to age 65 will have either basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma at least once. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer, with more than 4 million cases of BCC diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. More than 1 million cases are diagnosed in the U.S. annually.

Melanoma is a third type of skin cancer-much less common than basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers.

However, melanoma is very hazardous because of its increased likelihood of spreading.

Additional skin cancer stats from the Skin Cancer Foundation: Each year, there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon. (continued on page 13) 6

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Youth Villages 5K & 10 Miler celebrates 36th Anniversary

By Christina Morgan Photos courtesy of Youth Villages Youth Villages, a private nonprofit organization, will hold its 36th YV5K & 10 Miler on April 21 at 8:15 a.m. on its popular Ridgeway Loop course at the Marsh Center at 1000 Ridgeway Loop Road.

More than 1,000 participants are expected for the race, and all runners must be registered by 7:45 a.m. You can register at yvraces.org.

Amy Loyd Linthicum, then a volunteer at Memphis Boys Town, started the 5K race in 1982, organizing it from the trunk of her car with the help of a committee of Realtors from MAAR. The early races supported the boys receiving help at the facility on MemphisArlington Road. Four years later, Youth Villages was formed in the merger of Memphis The 2017 Youth Villages 5K gets started.

Boys Town and Dogwood Village — now the Bartlett and Dogwood campuses.

“It was very humble beginnings,” Linthicum has currently is an SVP of Operations with Evolve Bank said. “Back then, the (Memphis Runners) Track Club & Trust and a new volunteer with the Streetdog had these big clocks, and you put it up on top of your Foundation rescue. She and her husband, Greg, have car. At the finish line, you just put a piece of tape been married since 2014. In her spare time she enjoys across the street, and the clock was ticking as people spending time with her dogs and when she has the ran across the piece of tape on the street. After the race chance, running. was over, I went home and counted all of the money, MRTC’s connection to the race includes its support I took the race results, called The Commercial Appeal of the Youth Villages Runners Club managed by — I basically just hauled everything around in the Paul “Spunky” Ireland. Last year, children receiving trunk of my car. Everybody teases me about it.” help at Youth Villages ran 16,049 miles with MRTC Linthicum and Meribeth LaBarreare are founders volunteers. More than 600 kids participated in and guardian angels of the event; Allyson Jarrett, Runners Club, and nearly 850 volunteer hours were race director for the third time in 2018, is this year’s recorded. recipient of the Lionheart Award for exceptional “At last year’s Youth Villages 5K, we had 66 kids service. She has served on the Youth Villages 5K and run and 15 volunteers,” Ireland said. Volunteers run 10-Miler committee since 2013. Prior to joining the with the kids on the Bartlett and Dogwood Campuses race committee, she volunteered with Youth Villages by every week, and more MRTC runners are always participating in Soup Sunday, Birthday Heroes, Bartlett appreciated. You can find out more about the program, and Dogwood campus activities and the mentoring by emailing paul.ireland@youthvillages.org. program.

The YV 5K — the oldest race at that distance Jarrett is a longtime resident of Memphis, and in Memphis — has raised more than $2 million to 8

involve intensive work with the child and family, as well as a focus on measuring outcomes; keeping children in the community whenever safely possible; and providing accountability to families and funders. With 74 locations in 14 states, Youth Villages’ continuum of programs includes intensive in-home services; residential treatment; foster care and adoption; YVLifeSet for transition-age youth; mentoring; and crisis services. The organization has been recognized by the Harvard Business School and U.S. News & World Report and was identified by The White House as one of the nation’s most promising results-oriented nonprofit organizations. Learn more at www.youthvillages.org.

Youth Villages 5K founder Amy Loyd Linthicum. help the children of Youth Villages and still draws incredible support from the real estate community. Money raised has been used to build a walking track, cafeteria, children’s cottage renovations, and for the Paul W. Barrett, Jr. School on the Bartlett Campus.

More recently the YV5K funds three important Youth Villages’ programs: YVLifeSet that helps young people aging out of foster care, the Chris Crye Mentoring Program and the Spiritual Life program.

About Youth Villages

Youth Villages is a national leader in children’s mental and behavioral health. Founded in 1986, the organization helps more than 25,000 children annually through programs that

Eileen Kuo of Cordova celebrates her finish in the 5K.

5K Race Director Allyson Jarrett with Matthew Marshalek, first overall male in the 5K.

Russell Polk of Memphis and Ron Aldrich of Brighton finish the 5K in their respective age groups: 50-54 and 60-64.

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A humble runner with an impressive resumé

By Brent Manley Most runners know that the Holy Grail of the sport is qualification to run in the Boston Marathon, an achievement worth celebrating. Each year in April, Memphis sends a strong contingent to Boston, a tribute to the talent and commitment of the top runners of the fifth-largest running club in the U.S. Some MRTC members are regulars in Boston, qualifying each year and making the trip to add to their impressive running resumés.

Among these talented runners is Ray Johnson, who flies under the proverbial BQ radar despite having qualified 20 times. He has earned 10 Boston finisher medals.

Dayna Lytle, director of the MRTC Kids! training program, has worked with Johnson, a volunteer coach, since she took over the program last year. “He is so humble,” says Lytle. “I never knew he had run Boston Ray Johnson 10 times.”

Johnson, 65, was born and raised in Miami FL. He left after high school to enroll at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering in 1975. Today, he works for Solenis, an American company that manufactures specialty chemicals for a variety of markets. Johnson’s job is selling chemicals to pulp and paper mills.

Serious running entered Johnson’s life in 1985, when he made a New Year’s resolution to commit to the sport. At the time, he was living in Wilmington DE, where Solenis has headquarters. Before that, he ran only sporadically to stay in shape for tennis.

After starting a serious running program, Johnson ran a few 5Ks and kept up the training. “By the end of June,” he says, “I had lost 50 pounds, and I had gotten fast.”

Johnson, who wasn’t much of a runner as a kid or

in high school, had taken leaps and bounds in the sport.

“I discovered at age 32,” he says, “that I was a good runner.”

Johnson, by then a member of the Delaware Track Club, ran his first marathon in Philadelphia in 1985, finishing in 3:01. “The guys I trained with were 20 minutes faster than I was,” he says. “I trained at a 6:30 pace, and I thought that was the way everyone trained.”

He returned to Philadelphia the following year, finishing the marathon in 2:52, good enough to qualify for Boston.

Johnson’s last appearance in Boston was in 2010. He suffered an Achilles tendon injury two and a half years ago and lately has turned to biking for much of his exercise. Despite the injuries, he won his age group (65-69) in the 2017 road race series.

Besides his status as one of MRTC’s best runners, Johnson, always affable, is a star at volunteering, routinely helping with finish lines at races administered by the club.

Lytle says she would hate to try to run the MRTC Kids! program without Johnson, who invented a warmup exercise for the young runners that is now called the “Ray Twist.”

“He is genuine and kind and amazing with the kids,” says Lytle. “He’s also easy going and fast.”

Johnson has occasionally run with the Germantown Thoroughbreds running group. Charles Hurst, who leads the group, says Johnson is an impressive runner and a “good, positive influence on our running group.”

Johnson says he started keeping track of his training miles in 1985 and figures he has run more than 54,000 miles since that year. “I’m working on 55,000,” he says.

Johnson rises each day at about 4:30 a.m. to go out for a run, usually on the Shelby Farms Greenline 10

when he’s not traveling for work. He retired from the chemical business in 2008 to join the faculty at Southern Illinois University. He un-retired about 18 months later, going to work for Buckman Laboratories, which is how he ended up in Memphis.

Johnson watches his diet, having made the decision while in Boston for the 2009 marathon to become a vegan, meaning he eats nothing that comes from animals. Dairy products are a special no-no for him.

Johnson plans to compete in the 2018 road race series, but he isn’t sure if or when he might return to running marathons. He has finished 30 of them.

“I might think about Boston when I’m 69,” he says, noting that his wife, Joanne, has her own thoughts on the matter.

“She wants me to run Boston again,” he says. “She likes going to Boston.”

Ray Johnson running the Rocky Mountain Marathon in Denver CO in 2016. ▲ Ray Johnson’s 10 Boston Marathon finisher medals.

Interesting facts about the Boston Marathon From the website Mental Floss

Very few road races around the world carry as much significance as the Boston Marathon. Not everyone can meet the strict qualifying times, and those who do face a grueling 26.2-mile course through the Boston suburbs and (eventually) into the city itself. Whether you’re running, spectating, or following from afar, read on for more about the prestigious competition, now in its 121st year.

1. The marathon is hosted by the Boston Athletic Association.

Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association’s stated mission was to “encourage all manly sports and promote physical culture.” Ten years later, it hosted a 24.5mile road race for 15 participants (only 10 of them made it to the finish line). The Athletic Association’s symbol, the unicorn, still appears on today’s Marathon medals.

2. There is a logic to those non-traditional mile markers.

Whereas most races post pretty straightforward mile

markers — “Mile 1,” say, or “Mile 15”— Boston, in its early years, included seemingly random numbers. Running legend Amby Burfoot recalled thinking that the 19 7/8 mile marker he spotted during his first Boston Marathon was especially ridiculous. The signs weren’t just for quirk’s sake, though — the checkpoints were chosen because they helped race officials easily locate the transportation they needed to get from checkpoint to checkpoint.

3. Around 500,000 spectators cheer on the runners each year.

Approximately half a million people show up to watch 30,000 runners every year, giving the local economy a massive boost. This year, the athletes, their families, and fans are expected to spend $192 million around town — or about $311 for every Boston resident.

More Boston Marathon facts coming in a future issue.

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Bad ideas and good times

By Cory Adams I will never run the Boston Marathon.

In fact, to even have a fighting chance to qualify for Boston I would have to shave Godfather II off of my PR. I have nothing against the Boston Marathon or the people who run it every year, but I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count all the people I’ve seen run their way into the specialist’s office trying to get there. I have to ask if it was worth it?

About 17 years ago, when I flirted with college basketball for a few weeks, I learned that some people have gear that I just don’t have. No matter how hard I worked and no matter how many performanceenhancing drugs I took, I just couldn’t hang with these guys. It wasn’t an easy thing to do at the time but I accepted the fact that these guys were just better athletes than I was.

The same thing happened to me after I took up running. I got my speed up and I thought about trying to push myself into Boston, but after getting an expensive lesson as to what my insurance does and doesn’t pay for from a running injury, I decided to back off. It was a tough pill to swallow, but 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds just isn’t a Boston Qualifier body.

Thankfully, there are thousands of running events other than the Boston Marathon. Most of them don’t have any prerequisites or qualifying times, so all you have to do is hand over your money and sign the waiver. With all this in mind, it’s important to remember that just because it’s a bad idea doesn’t mean it won’t be a good time.

I’m not one to brag, but if you look at my ultrasignup.com results you will see some pitiful finishing times and some catastrophic DNFs. It was a bad idea to sign up for most of these events, and actually showing up for them wasn’t a good idea either but I had a good time doing it. Epic failures and last-place finishes always make better stories than the finishing in the middle of the pack, so don’t let the fact that you didn’t get into the race you wanted get you down.

I’m sure that Boston, New York and Chicago are wonderful, but my best running memories have happened in towns that most people have never heard of. Places like Boone NC, Commerce OK, Kings Mountain NC, Blairsville GA and Cassoday KS, to name a few. The bottom line is that there are a ton of races to choose from, so don’t let the one you didn’t get into ruin the ones you actually got into.

I write at length about epic running destinations, but the most important factor when choosing a run should be the difficulty factor. The harder it looks and the crazier it sounds, the better. I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but you really don’t know what you’re made of until you try something that sounds impossible.

There’s nothing wrong with finding the flattest course you can find so you can crush a PR, but there’s something to be said for the WOW! factor as well. Don’t get me wrong, starting off slow and easy is a good way to start if you’re new to running, but sooner or later you have to try something that shows you that you’re not as smart as you think you are. Flat terrain is your friend but elevation is a vegetable for your legs and soul.

It’s supposed to be hard. If at first you succeed, you’re not setting the bar high enough. There has to be that fear of failure in order to really appreciate what it means to succeed. Failing is never a pleasant experience and the closer you get to success the more it hurts when you fail.

It’s not always fun, but failing is the best way to learn and it’s the only way you can reach your full potential. You always want to succeed and there’s no better feeling than meeting or even exceeding a goal, but to really appreciate this feeling there have to be

It's not always fun, but failing is the best way to learn ...

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some failures that come before it. If this were an easy thing to do then everybody would be doing it.

It’s been my experience that attitudes on success and failure vary according to distance. Marathon runners and any distance shorter than that seem to be about chasing target times and PRs. Meeting the goal doesn’t really seem to be celebrated all that much unless it’s a Boston qualifier. Crushing a half-marathon or even a 5K PR is fun, too, but the important thing is that you got off the couch and did something.

I’ve never had that feeling of getting a Boston Qualifying time, but I do have a few marathon moments that I am pretty proud of and I have a DNF I took that hurt like hell. Running around a track on top of Grandfather Mountain and running through Neyland Stadium to finish two of the toughest marathons I have ever attempted are experiences I will never forget. On the other hand, my decision to tap out at the halfway point of the Tupelo Marathon was a learning experience in hydration the night before a race.

And then there are those crazy ultra-runners. Most

experienced ultra-runners can offer up a dissertation on what it means to come up short. The greater the degree of difficulty, the more DNFs you get to meet at the finish area. With this many people sharing their epic failures in one spot, it’s a good chance to compare notes and it’s also a source of cheap entertainment.

Of course, everyone cheers those who actually finish, but it’s been my experience that you have to wait until the finishers get some sleep until you hear the good stories. It might hurt, but you might get good insight as to what you did right, what you did wrong and what you need to do to cross that finish line the next time. Failures are a part of finishing and the whole point is to get out there and enjoy yourself.

Triumphant finish or epic failure, the important thing is that you had the courage to sign up and show up. Signing up may or may not have been a good idea, but when you show up and cross the start line, the only thing you need to remember is that you are out there to have fun. Always remember that just because it was a bad idea doesn’t mean it won’t be a good time.

Protection from the sun (continued from page 6)

using a comb to move your hair for better visibility. If necessary, have a relative or friend check your scalp through your hair.

2. Look at the front and back of your body in the mirror. Then, raise your arms and look at your left and right sides. Bend your elbows. Look carefully at your fingernails, palms, forearms top and bottom, and upper arms.

3. Check the back, front and sides of your legs. Also check the skin all over your buttocks and genital area.

4. Sit and closely examine your feet, including your toenails, the soles of your feet and the spaces between your toes.

5. Learn where your moles are and their usual look and feel. Check for anything different, such as: • a new mole that looks different from your other moles • a new red or darker-colored flaky patch that may be a little raised • a change in the size, shape, color or feel of a mole • a sore that doesn’t heal • a new flesh-colored firm bump Write down the dates of your skin self-exams and make notes about the way your skin looks on those dates. You might want to take photos to help monitor changes in moles over time. If you notice anything unusual, speak to your doctor.

• Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.

• Organ transplant patients are approximately 100 times more likely than the general public to develop squamous cell carcinoma.

• Actinic keratosis is the most common pre-cancer; it affects more than 58 million Americans.

• Each year in the U.S. more than 5.4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are treated in more than 3.3 million people.

• About 90% of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

• The annual cost of treating skin cancers in the U.S. is estimated at $8.1 billion, about • $4.8 billion for non-melanoma skin cancers and $3.3 billion for melanoma.

Checking for Skin Cancer

The following was compiled by Matthew Solan, the executive editor of Harvard Men’s Health Watch, from info supplied by the National Institutes of Health Senior Health.

The best time to check your skin is after a shower or bath. Using a full-length mirror and a hand-held mirror in a room with plenty of light, follow these five steps to check yourself from head to toe: 1. Look at your face, neck, ears and scalp. Consider 13

The author with his wife, Dulcy Stout, at the Vietnam Mountain Marathon.

The area around Sapa has historically been inhabited by a number of indigenous hill tribes, of which the Black Hmong and Red Dao are the largest groups.

Today, Sapa is a small city with an economy dependent on tourism, specifically trekking, and is filled with hotels, restaurants and outdoor equipment outfitters.

You could go to Sapa empty handed and buy pretty much whatever you need for a trekking adventure fairly cheaply.

The VMM is organized and run by a Danish and Vietnamese company called Topas Travel, which organizes mountain treks, remote homestays with local hill tribe families and runs an ecolodge (Topas Ecolodge) that serves as a showcase for sustainable tourism. The ecolodge, which hires most of its employees from the local hill tribes, also serves as the finish line for the VMM. The mountains the race runs through are part of the southeastern-most stretch of the Himalayan mountain range and though obviously not nearly as high, they are still tough to traverse. There are five distances to choose from: 100K, 70K 42K, 21K, 15K and 10K. The 10K race is run on Sunday after the other distances have been completed, so if you aren’t hurting too badly from the previous day you could walk away with two

This is the second part of the report on the Vietnam Mountain Marathon from MRTC members Henry Cotter and Dulcy Stout, who live in Singapore.

The idea to run the Vietnam Mountain Marathon started when a friend named Brian, a Scotsman who has been living in Singapore for the last nine years, came back from running the race in September of 2016 and described it as “brilliant.”

My wife, Dulcy, and I had been interested in traveling to northern Vietnam for some time, and since we’re both runners we decided to kill two birds with one Saucony and so we thought “Why not?” The decision for Dulcy was whether to run the 21K (half marathon distance) or the 42K (marathon distance).

With encouragement from Brian — “It will be easy,” he said — she entered the 42K.

The basics

Sapa is the city that serves as the home base for runners of the Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM).

Located just 37K (23 miles) south of the border with China, Sapa is a small mountain town founded by the French military, who placed a garrison and a sanatorium for ailing officers there in the late 1880s.

14

finisher medals. All the distances except the 10K are point-to-point races. You get dropped off in the middle of the mountains and you make your way to the finish line at the ecolodge within the designated cutoff time.

The course is very well marked by white- and redcolored plastic tape hung from branches, shrubs, fences and anything that a marker could be hung from along the trail. For the 42K, the one Dulcy and I did, there’s a 15-hour cutoff. Aid stations are spaced roughly every 7K and are well stocked.

was dotted with small waterfalls that provided a soothing natural soundtrack to our ears as we pressed on. I kept thinking that there are race directors elsewhere who would give a limb for views like this, which is a testament to the region’s natural beauty.

Among the terraces

Dulcy and I continued, surrounded by our constant companions, the rice-terrace-covered mountains.

Occasionally, the trail would take us through a farm village where we walked on narrow concrete pathways lined with small corrals for livestock and small shacks for the human residents. Chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs lazed around, not paying the runners much attention. Village children quietly watched us pass by and we waved to each other. Some of the children were a little bolder and tried to entice us to buy some small trinkets that we had to decline.

The region we were in is mountainous, so terraces need to be cut into the mountainsides to get enough flat land to grow rice. In Sapa, rice is harvested in September and October and there is enough rice grown, just enough, to feed the local hill tribes, so none is exported. The terraces we passed were in various states of harvest, some being completely worked over and others that had yet to be touched. One common feature of the terraces was water buffalo. Found everywhere in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia, water buffalo are indispensible animals, helping farmers plow and fertilize the fields and transport rice once it is harvested.

We reached the first aid station, which was stocked with plenty of water, bananas, cantaloupe and watermelon. The aid stations were always in small towns, so if you wanted anything the aid station didn’t provide, you could purchase it nearby on your own.

After the aid station, the path took Dulcy and me into the limestone valley of Ta Phin and we got an

Mud, then beauty

The 42K race started at 7:30 a.m., so we didn’t have to get up super early. In fact, race morning was quite leisurely. If we had run the 70K, we would have started at 3:30 a.m. If we had run the 100K race, we would have started at 10 the previous night. After a bumpy 30-minute bus ride, we reached the start line.

The start line was pretty much what you would expect in any race in the U.S. Lots of runners in expensive gear, a sound system pumping out Pop music, an electronic timing system, a drone flying overhead taking video while all the runners, including me, waved at it and people, including me, taking lots and lots and lots of photos and selfies.

Dulcy and I exchanged well wishes with the friends we came with who were also running the marathon and — just like that — we were underway. The road we started on was open to traffic, so as we wound our way along it for a short stretch we had to dodge cars, trucks and motorbikes. We took a left turn off of the road, a trip past a depressingly large garbage dump located amid the beauty of the mountains and we were into the first descent on a narrow trail. Actually, calling this stretch a trail is being generous. The descent was little more that slippery-rock and vegetation-strewn trench.

It seemed everyone around us was slipping and hitting the ground. I lost count of how many A view of Ban Quan Valley, times Dulcy fell. I can’t believe I part of the Vietnam Mountain managed to stay on my feet, if only Marathon course. just barely at times.

Once we emerged from the descent, we began our first climb.

The views were absolutely stunning.

We looked down at the Ban Quan Valley, ringed by emerald-green mountains shrouded in mist and dotted by wildflowers with green and gold-colored rice terraces cut into them as far as the eye could see.

The trail — a real one this time, used by local farmers and livestock — through this first stretch of mountains 15

up-close look at a stretch of rice terraces. As the smell of smoke from burning piles of harvested rice husks hung in the air, we climbed up and down the mostly harvested terraces, navigated around streaming water and tried our best to avoid mud holes. Unfortunately Dulcy had a shoe sucked off her foot when she stepped in a mud hole. As some experienced trail runners know, retrieving a shoe stuck in mud isn’t the easiest task. The mud doesn’t want to give it up easily, but I did manage with some effort to get it out — and we were off again.

thinking to myself “I’m glad we don’t have to climb after those goa ... ” Then I saw the trail marker hanging from a branch just past where the goats were headed. Brilliant. This would be the steepest slope of the race. It was also getting dark out. It helped that small steps were cut into the dirt on the hillside, but it was still tough, especially as fatigued as we were. Those goats made it look so easy. We climbed and climbed and climbed and it got darker and darker and darker and before we could reach the top we broke out the headlamps, which was on the list of required items to carry. As we climbed we could see the hillside dotted by the headlamps from the other participants and you could see the path by playing connect-the-dots.

We reached the top of the peak in full darkness and started our final descent on what I refer to as the long road to nowhere. Of course, the road did go somewhere, it just seemed like it didn’t. The road down was unpaved and covered with gravel that ranged in size from very small pebbles to fist sized rocks. The footing could be precarious at times and when Dulcy kicked a rock — they were in abundance on the road so it happened often — it was excruciating for her.

The road we descended on was a switchback and it seemed to descend forever. I think the darkness made it worse than it was, mainly because we weren’t able to see where we were on the mountain, which made the descent seem like an eternity. I think we got off lightly in spite of my feelings about the road, because we later learned that our friend Brian was running down this very road, tripped on a rock and took a tumble. He made it through and would finish the race in one piece.

Hard labor

After our trek through the rice terrace, we hit the aid station at the halfway mark feeling pretty good about our progress. We managed to finish the first 21K in a little over 5 hours, so I figured, naively it turns out, that we could finish between 10 and 11 hours. We started the second half in good spirits even though we knew that there would be no flat sections for the rest of the race. The footing was an improvement because we were trekking on small farm roads. As we re-entered the mountains, we were once again surrounded by beautiful vistas of rice terraces being harvested by local farmers with water buffalo grazing on the leftover vegetation.

Seeing the process of cutting and threshing rice by hand gave me the briefest of glimpses of just how laborious life as a subsistence farmer is. As Dulcy and I walked, the thump-thump-thump sounds of farmers beating the rice plants on threshing racks filled the valley.

Long road to nowhere

Dulcy was starting to get a blister on the bottom of her foot and her big toe was hurting her because it kept hitting the toebox of her shoe on our descents. It got to be so bad that she was thinking of dropping out of the race. That would have been awful, to come all this way to drop out with less than 10K to go. I just kept encouraging her to take it step by step, a little at a time.

We got to the aid station located before the final ascent, had a quick bite to eat and were on our way, not wanting to stop for long because we might not have started again. We saw some race participants sleeping (!!!) at the aid station. If I had taken a nap then, I’d have a DNF because I wouldn’t have gotten back up.

As we started out, we bought a couple of bamboo walking sticks that some local kids were selling and started up the final mountain. The first part of the ascent was on paved road and as it got steeper we saw six goats standing in the road. As we approached the goats they started walking away from us. At this point, the road curved to the right and there was a steep embanKent to the left that the goats started to climb effortlessly. As I watched the goats climb, I remember

The glorious finish

We finally hit paved road again and we learned that we were less than 1K from the finish line. Tthat was music to our ears. About 0.5K out, we could hear actual music, as the party at the ecolodge was raging full force and then there it was, at long last, the glorious finish. We crossed the finish line 12 hours, 57 minutes after we started. Not the 10 to 11 hours I’d imagined. We received our well-earned finisher medals and reunited with the friends we came with.

We were the last ones in our group to finish and Brian was worried that we might not make it before the cutoff time. Actually, he was worried we wouldn’t make it in at all. Two of our friends were staying at the ecolodge, so after a shower in their room and a quick bite to eat, we boarded the bus back to our hotel in Sapa. As our bus bumped along road, Dulcy and I sat and reflected on the previous 13 magnificent hours of our lives.

16

I

Why I’m running the marathon after 26 years off

used to refer to myself as a marathon runner.

Then, for a long time, I referred to myself as a “former marathon runner.” Now, I’m not so sure how to refer to myself, because after a looooooooong hiatus (poetically, 26.2 years), I’m attempting to become a marathon runner again. I am running both as one of the “St. Jude 50,” and also as a St. Jude Hero, the latter meaning I am also attempting to raise funds in the process.

So here I am to explain why I’m running, and why you might consider opening your wallet to support this effort. If you want to just cut to the chase and make a donation, you can do so here: https://tinyurl.com/2018-hero-sean-phipps But if you decide to read on, I apologize for the novel — brevity has never been my forte.

I suppose you could say that I’m running this marathon purely by the grace of dog (not a typo — we’ll get to that below).

I ran my first marathon while in graduate school in Cleveland in 1982. I got in a couple of more before the chronic Achilles tendinitis caught up with me, and while playing basketball one day I suffered a complete rupture of my left Achilles tendon. That was in 1985 and was followed by surgery and about eight months of rehab before I could run again.

Amazingly, the long respite from running cured me of all my other minor running injuries and aches and pains. My basketball career was over, but distance running was something I could still do. I really got back into it during my time on fellowship in Los Angeles, running the L.A., San Diego and San Francisco marathons, several times coming close to qualifying for Boston, but falling just short.

When I moved to Memphis in 1989, I ran my first (and to this point only) Memphis marathon. The race had no connection with St. Jude back then and was relatively small.

It also had a nice, flat, out and back course, and on a clear but frigid day, I knocked 10 minutes off my personal best and easily qualified for Boston. This was followed by my “peak” in 1990, when I ran the Boston, L.A., and New York City marathons in the same year. I didn’t realize then that my marathon days were winding down. I returned to Cleveland the following spring, when I ran my last marathon in May of 1991.

It wasn’t an injury that stopped me initially. It was life. Marriage, parenthood and an increasingly

(still crazy after all these years?)

By Sean Phipps

demanding career all rendered marathoning a timeconsuming, and unnecessary distraction. I didn’t stop running, but it became a much smaller part of my life.

Before long, most of my running involved chasing after my kids.

I really didn’t think about it too much. Then, about 10 years ago, with the kids getting older, and after the marathon became a St. Jude affair, I thought about getting back into it. I ran the half marathon that year, and though I was a lot slower, I finished without problems and began thinking about a marathon the next year. That’s when the Achilles started acting up. Not the one that was surgically repaired. That one has never bothered me again. This time it was on the right side.

Now began the long trail of multiple orthopedic evaluations, different approaches to physical therapy, getting better for some time then relapsing. When the Achilles acted up, it wasn’t fooling around. Running was not an option, I could hardly walk. Eventually,

Running was not an option. I could hardly walk.

17

I went for a last-chance procedure, a platelet-rich plasma infusion directly into the tendon. When I relapsed again after this procedure, I became the first patient at Campbell Clinic to have it done twice. Not a very pleasant experience, by the way. I would actually have preferred surgery, but that was not an option.

When the pain came back this time, I had to accept the fact that running was over for me. I had to find another activity. Eventually, I could go to the gym, and do some time on the elliptical or a stationary bike with only minor discomfort. I hated it, but that’s the way it was. I didn’t run at all for about 18 months, and thought I never would again.

My saving grace was that I also walked the dogs.

Sometimes, when I was walking them, runners would pass me, and I would think wistfully about my running days.

One day, walking them across the golf course in Overton Park, it struck me that the discomfort in my Achilles was gone. I tried jogging a couple hundred yards with them. No pain.

The next time it was a quarter mile and it still felt good. The dogs liked it, too. After a few weeks of this, I decided to go out and try a real run. My Achilles did not complain. I was running again. Taking it slow and easy now was not a problem, it was the only thing I could do. I was thankful for each run without pain. At that point, I was happy to just be running, and I had no ambition to ever run anything more than a 10K. And that’s probably where it would have ended, until earlier this year when Dr. Downing, St. Jude CEO (and my boss), laid out the challenge for 50 St. Jude employees to run the marathon. I thought about it and began playing with the idea, when I suddenly realized that it was exactly 26 years and 2 months since my last marathon.

There had to be some kind of message there. I am not necessarily into numerology, but numbers have been pretty significant in my family. I have two sons born the same day nine years apart (3/20).

My daughter was born on her grandfather’s birthday (9/19). And my wife and I, without planning it that way, were married on a double palindrome (12/21/1991). It’s called “capicua” in Spanish and is thought to bring good luck. So, we have lots of numbers to play in the lottery and now I had the number 26.2 sticking up and seeming to beckon me back to the marathon.

Once I decided to do it, the first step to make it a commitment was to say it out loud publically. A few of my friends and family have questioned my sanity.

And on some of those long runs, I have questioned it myself. But what made it fun was that I really began to see it both as a new adventure and a trip down memory lane.

When the orgaizers of the St. Jude 50 asked whether I was a newbie or a veteran, I felt like I could honestly say “both.” Well, now we’re almost there. I’ve had a couple of setbacks along the way (nothing related to my Achilles, knock on wood), and I’m not where I’d like to be, but I can see the finish line. I didn’t want to write this until I was pretty sure I was going to make it, and I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m feeling pretty good. It has indeed been an adventure. Maybe more than an adventure.

A quest. And while I’m confident I am going to finish, I also anticipate that my time will be about two hours slower than it was when I last ran Memphis and qualified for Boston. All things considered, I’m more than OK with that.

Now, back to the fundraising part. After all, it’s not about me, but about the kids, the mission of St. Jude, the fight against childhood cancer, and all. This part really ought to be easy, but the truth is, I’m not sure what I can say that hasn’t already been said a thousand times better, in the compelling, persuasive stories of the St. Jude telethons, or this week with the Today Show and Thanks and Giving.

I can’t match that. Though having witnessed it first hand for many years, I can say with certainty that St. Jude is simply the best charitable organization in the world. Period. Most of you know that we provide leading, state-of-the-art care for children with cancer, and their families, and that no family ever has to pay a penny for this treatment. Ever.

You may also know something about the basic science research being conducted, that has led to many major breakthroughs in the treatment of childhood cancer, a diagnosis that was almost universally fatal 50 years ago, and today has survival rates approaching 90%. This is probably the single best example of progress in medical research over the past half century, and St. Jude has been a key contributor to this success.

Not everyone has been directly touched by childhood cancer, so it’s important to recognize that the research at St. Jude is applicable not only to childhood cancer, but to addressing the mysteries and challenges of all cancer types. Almost everyone has had their life impacted significantly by a cancer story or many many cancer stories. Mine began in

There had to be some kind of message.

18

childhood when I lost my mother to breast cancer. She was 46. I was 12. My wife’s mother was also a victim of breast cancer. She survived that only to succumb to a second malignancy several years later, related to the intensive chemotherapies she received.

Today, my older sister Bonnie is a breast cancer survivor, a beneficiary of the many advances in treatment from the time our mother was diagnosed.

My colleague, and the first person I had the opportunity to hire at St. Jude, Maggi Dunavant, is currently in treatment for breast cancer. She has been inspired in her fight by many of the children she has worked with over the years. Her ability to face this challenge with courage and good humor inspires me.

The person who hired me, and my chief in Psychology for many years, Ray Mulhern, provides another story. He lost his battle with renal cell

Carolyn Able & William Eggert Neal, Jenny, Abigail & Josie Asbury Amanda Bachman Cynthia Bailey David Branner Ken Bringle Zachary Brownsberger Julie & Michael Campanaro Patrick, Erin & Brian Celeste Kellie Clelland & Roxanne Tamez Ashley Colotta Dwaine Corder Nicole & Leila Craig, Trinity Williams Cynthia Eskridge Cole Fields

Charlotte Fletcher Audrey Godfrey James Grandstaff Alison Hagin Michelle Hammett Regina Humble David & Krista Jones Tyler Kinder Yolanda Lacy Mike Larrivee Sarah Latshaw Gary & Morgan Leach Debra Lee Debbie Lindsey Kelly & Andy Luckett Natanael Luna Marianne Luther Tessa & Phillip Mahnken Gavin & Edward May

carcinoma, during the prime of his life and at the peak of his career.

The list of friends and family members is long, which I know is true for most of us. Of course, in my 28 years at St. Jude, the list of patients who have touched my life is quite substantial. There are so many in my memories, those who are now survivors, leading happy, productive lives, and those who did not make it. So it is not hard for me to find inspiration to run. I’ll be running for the kids and for the mission of St. Jude.

I’ll be running for my mom and mother-in-law, for my sister and for Maggi and Ray, and for so many others of our family and friends. But if you’ll indulge me, I guess I’ll also be running for the dogs. Finally, I’ll be running because I can. If you’d like to make a donation to St. Jude in support of my run, you can do so here: https://tinyurl.com/2018-hero-sean-phipps

Matt, Sara, Dylan & Drew McCann Jessica & Micah McCauley, Marissa Hall, Micah & Macen McCauley Erik McClure & Annie Hao Andrea McDonald Ryan, Jaime, Jessa, Braden & Savannah McElroy Sky McEwen & Jeremy Fuller Peter Mercredi Milos Mikic Steve, Marlene & Tara Norman Don, Jackson, Carter & Kate Oliver Michael Peters 19

Bianca Phillips Lindsey Reap Jacob Reeves Stephanie Riales Pete Riley Jessica Roberts Dawn Rodriguez Alex Rodriguez, Jordan & Cameron Booth Christina Ross Shawn Sandy Caroline Smart Darren Smith Eric Spangler JD & Jerrica Stambaugh Suzette Stewart Rodney Stewart Lucy Stone & Grant Shao Michael Szpara

Ryan, Christina, Austin, Lauren, Nathan, Joshua & Jordeyn Tucker Paige Turner Amandalyn Wallace Grant Weesner Kristelle & Christopher Wells Darrison Wharton Ralphlia Whitsett Bobbie, Mary Hellen & Hannah Katherine Wilkerson Emerson Wilkerson Robbie & Megan Wisniewski, Lyn Talley Bekah & Nicole Wolcott, Kasey Berard, Dawn Rice Bradley Yarbrough

Running the path of the warrior

By Robert “the Lone Runner” Rayder

she usually went to only a couple of events in a given year. If she paid for a full series of races, she felt guilty about wasting money on unused entries. Hence the squished face and the “firm no” any time I suggested that she saddle up for the full series. The exchange between us had become a yearly ritual of inquiry and rejection. I had to find a fresh approach.

This year, fortune brought me just the opportunity I had been looking for. My adult daughter, Rebecca, had taken a new job that had every weekend off. That may sound trivial, but it was a first for her and opened her schedule up for the series. Thus, Rebecca could, at least in theory, accompany my wife to every single race. There would be no “running alone” excuse to ditch races.

There was only one problem with my plan.

Rebecca was no more enthusiastic about running a race series, filled with the potential of all sorts of nasty weather conditions, than her mother was. Motivating my daughter to run in the rain, heat, cold, humidity or any of the other arbitrary moods of Mother Nature on race day could be challenging.

I knew I had to step up to the plate and swing for the fences. I offered my daughter $300 if she and her mother completed all 10 races in the series. In other words, I bribed my daughter to run.

Other than blowing any chance I might have had of being nominated for “Parent of the Year,” it seemed like a great plan. Like all young people just starting out in life, Rebecca could make good use of some extra cash. She would certainly be highly motivated to insure my wife went with her to each race. Christina would likely go, not wanting to be responsible for spoiling her daughter’s chance at collecting her prize.

Still, it almost wasn’t enough. When I told Christina of my plan, she asked me a question that I should have been ready for but still caught me completely off guard.

“And just why do you believe I would want to run that much anyway? It’s a little excessive, don’t you think?”

I had to think quickly. The success of my plan

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

— George Bernard Shaw

Whenever I would suggest that same old idea to her, she would tighten her face into a knot that would obscure any emotion other than consternation. The words she uttered after that were superfluous. There was no need to guess at her response. Her face said it all. “No Way!” Further debate was to be taken off the table.

“But it’s a great value,” I would counter, desperately trying to appeal the frugal side of her personality. “I know how much you love a great deal.”

Deal or not, when it came to these particular series of foot races, she refused to budge.

She knew full well that it was very likely I would have to miss at least some of the 10 MRTC Road Race Series events because of work and other obligations.

Budgeting off work for 10 races, all on Sunday mornings, is nearly impossible when you work at least two (and sometime three) weekends every month. In the 26 years I’d lived in Memphis, I had not been able to complete the series a single time. To be counted among the finishers, a series participant must run a minimum of one of the two races offered at each specific distance in the same year — a 5K, a 5-miler, a 10K, a 10-miler and a half marathon. It’s never happened for me.

I sign up for the series anyway, finishing four or five races, but that’s all. Over the years. I have asked my wife, Christina, and kids (when they are not away at college or competing for their high school teams) to sign up with me.

And that’s where my wife drew the line. She, too, has run every distance of the series multiple times.

She, too, had yet to complete the road race series for a number of her own reasons, not the least of which was that she refuses to run races alone. Even if I offered to go to an event, that was no guarantee that she would go with me. If the weather was too hot or too cold, or if she was too sore or too tired, she took a pass. Thus 20

depended on my answer. Going with the obvious though I didn’t earn anything for myself. My mind responses like, “You’ll have a great sense of couldn’t picture what the Road Warriors were holding. accomplishment,” or “It’s a wonderful way to stay fit,” I wished I had paid more attention. weren’t going to cut the mustard. She knew all that Thanks to the internet, we eventually discovered a already. Offering her cash was silly. She shared my photo of a young runner wearing a jacket stamped with same bank account. Any money exchanged would be the words “Road Warrior 2016.” My wife and daughter purely symbolic. looked longingly at the jacket. I knew they were sold Then inspiration struck. “If you run all ten races,” on the idea. If for nothing else, they were going to run I blurted, “you win the series for that jacket. a special prize.”

“Sign us up!” my I recovered and wife said with a smile. steadied my gaze.

“Mama needs a new Trying to muster jacket!” a little awe in my voice I proclaimed, So it was that we “You will become a found ourselves toeing ROAD WARRIOR!” the line of the series’ I fumbled a little first 5K, experiencing trying to remember the heat and humidity the proper term for that comes with a a perfect ten race mid-summer race in finisher.

Memphis. The crowds I was proud of were thick, and there myself at being able was a lot of excitement to pull the word out in the air. This series has of my long-term grown to become one memory. I hadn’t of the largest running thought about that events in the region. concept in a long It was so different time, being obsessed than the series races as I was with just I ran years ago. Back being a regular then there was a small finisher. “That’s cadre of mostly the same actually is kind of a runners who were all Rebecca and Christina Rayder with their Road Warrior trophies. big deal.” training to run in the My wife was clearly intrigued but still eyed me Memphis Marathon in December. Each race had the with suspicion. “And what do I get for being a ROAD feel of a friendly training run.

WARRIOR?” she retorted, using my same “awed” Not so these days. The series is a major event in its voice to repeat those last two words I had struggled to own right, greatly anticipated by runners from all over find mere moments before. the region. There are still those who plan to run in the Her mocking tone was clearly in jest, but she was St Jude Memphis Marathon and Half Marathon, but also deadly serious about the bling. The two of us love there are many others who have no intention of running our running mementos from various races. We have run either race. The series stands alone and separate in races for no other reason than they offered cool finisher their minds. Each race is a major event, and is hotly medals or other unique awards or knickknacks. It may contested at all ability levels. In other words, the road be shallow motivation to some, but to my wife and me, race series is the place to be, and everyone in the the race awards and keepsakes are a big deal. region knows it.

Honestly, I couldn’t really answer my wife’s Christina and Rebecca struggled through the question about what was awarded to freshly minted first race together, both woefully undertrained and Road Warriors. I knew there was a big party in January overheated. I did only a little better, but suffering in during which the awards are presented. I had been to the heat was nothing new to me. By the time July rolls previous ceremonies a time or two in the past, even around, I had long ago convinced my body that the 21

heat was my friend, even if I knew it to be a lie. at the end of all her hard labors. It was obvious that By the second race, my daughter had convinced dream was not going to come true. A seat cover, no one of her non- running friends to join her for the matter how cool, was just not the same. She had her series. Her friend was most comfortable walking the heart set on that jacket. She was crushed. distances, so Rebecca decided to stay with her friend Thus over the next few days, while all her muscles instead of racing at the run-walk strategy typical of my still ached from her first pass across the belly of the wife’s race pace.

Beast, Christina resolved she was not going to run any more of the series. It just didn’t seem worth it. There Thus something I never expected to see became didn’t seem to be a point to it all anymore. a reality: My wife would run many of her races on her own. Even more surprisingly, she grew to like the Fortunately, the pain faded, and Christina solitude. She started making playlists and reconnecting thought of all the people she’d met, the songs she’d with music. She started to value the time she ran alone reconnected to and the fitness benefits that she never to think through the problems she faced each day. Her knew she had. By the time the second 10-miler came time alone became precious. It helped her decompress.

She also started to notice she was getting faster. She started looking forward to beating her time from one race to another. The series was changing her, both physically and mentally.

Then came the 10-miler. For the uninitiated, this event is one of the most beautiful races in town. It takes place in the colorful fall foliage seen at Meeman Shelby Forest. It’s called “The Beast” by some because of the series of brutal hills that are part of the course. It is universally regarded as the most difficult race in the series, but it is also wildly popular among series runners.

During the race, Christina found herself walking up some of the famed hills. This gave her ample opportunity MRTC finisher garments and custom-made Road Warrior jackets for to talk to her fellow racers to distract her Christina and Rebecca Rayder. from the pain of the miles. On one of around, she begrudgingly got herself ready and headed those nameless hills, she started a conversation with to the start line for an encore dance with the Beast. some MRTC board members who were part of the committee whose job it was to choose the finishers’ She felt much better during that second race, where award for the series. she actually ran up some of the hills. She was even able to chase down one or two other runners at the Christina excitedly talked about her primary finish, something she hadn’t been able to do in years. motivation for signing up for the series, the cool She began to realize that maybe there was more to all embroidered jacket, awarded to all finishers. The this running than just the jacket after all. embroidery on the front included “Road Warrior” for all finishers who did all 10 races.

The two half marathons came and went with only a modest amount of grumbling from my wife The board members informed her that the award and daughter. They even managed to run a third half each year was different and that they were going to get marathon in the month of November, when we went to something cool this year, maybe a car seat cover, but Las Vegas on an off weekend to run the strip at night. definitely not a jacket since that had been the award the They both bragged how easy the flat race was after last year. strolling over the Beast twice and cruising over the This was devastating news to my wife, especially rolling hills of Singleton Parkway just a week earlier. when it was delivered during the most painful race in After conquering the last half marathon, my wife the series. She had visions of donning her dream jacket 22

and daughter both earned the title of Road Warrior (and my daughter collected her cash reward promptly.)

They were both exceedingly happy about the whole thing, even to the point of being a little smug. I had to remind them that it was my idea, after all, that they signed up in the first place. Somehow that didn’t score me any points with either of them. I felt a little like the comedian Rodney Dangerfield. “I tell yah, I get no respect!”

Naturally, everyone began to wonder what the prize would be for official series finishers, which would, of course, include Road Warriors.

You see, inspiration struck after my pair of Road Warriors earned their stripes. I went online and found a place that makes custom jackets to order. So for Christmas, Rebecca and Christina were awarded their

Quotable runners

very own jackets, complete with the words “Road Warrior 2017” embroidered on the front pocket and “74,8 miles” across the back. And no, the comma in front of the 8 is not a typo. That’s how the jacket came.

I guess that makes the garments custom European style jackets. Anyway, it gives them a little added character, don’t you think?

As for the official award given out at January’s jubilee, besides a really cool gender-specific Road Warrior trophy, the girls earned a nice gray pullover prominently embroidered with the words “Road Warrior” in lime green right on the front.

Actually, I’m rather fond of my own pullover, complete with bright yellow embroidery that proclaims me to be a “Finisher” of the series.

After all, I couldn’t let the girls have ALL the fun!

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24

Runners in amber

By Bill Butler Those of us who constantly and consistently refer to ourselves as the old bunch, the old guard, the guys in the beginning, etc., are like those amazing insects caught in amber from ages past.

Amber is the hard resin from fossilized evergreen trees. You may have seen photographs of those insects from an early time in our Earth’s age. In fact, amber is still used in some jewelry when it can be found.

And thus are we there, caught in our minds forever mid-stride, hammering a 15-mile training run from the old University of Memphis track to Tom Lee Park and back at a substantially fast pace. There we are, racing again at Boston after qualifying when the standards were tough. See us there? There!

At the Memphis in May 10K pushing along Second Street, looking ahead to catch a glimpse, if possible, of a competitor before the final mile rears up and smacks us in the face. Or at the original Elvis Presley 5K in summer’s heat and humidity and the hills of Whitehaven. On training runs at Shelby Forest, roads only! When water was available at the start of a 10-miler and on the return to that start. We were rarely at a 5K. There weren’t that many, and for many of us, hardly worth the effort to make an early race morning.

There was laughter and camaraderie on those training runs, rarely at a race where we came to compete. Our place and our official time were as important as the plastic trophy handed to us, and which we displayed so proudly. There were jokes, and personalities to thread through. And unlike old photographs, the image captured in amber never fades, never disintegrates. And there are still some of us who compete, seeing ourselves as truly competing when in reality we are perpetuating our myth, building on it.

And I don’t mean this as a cruel point, it is just where we are after a certain age and number of years on the roads and trails.

Some of us veterans look as if we could compete at any distance while others show the scars of battles fought against rivals and ourselves, scars hidden under tights, long shorts.

To me, the veteran women runners surpass belief.

They are all still radiant, beautiful, fit and fierce, and if they’ve endured a few of the psychic ravages of life as well as the physical battles, they are even more radiant.

Running does that.

It keeps us lively beyond our years, beyond the usual physical limitations that beset the average non-running or non-exercising American.

Running has allowed us to make friends, meet lovers, mates who reflect ourselves in their exercise habits. It is an exception to find a veteran runner who is infirm unless the sheer number of physical ailments exceeds the modern physician’s capabilities. And that does happen. Plus some physical deterioration is genetic, or can be pinned on the very earliest of days in running when equipment was rudimentary at best, and training methods lacked the sophistication of today’s running gurus.

Still, we see ourselves as vital and alive as many of you do. We are caught in the amber of our heyday.

We will always be there in that golden light when the trees sang early-morning October, the air turning crisp, and the gang was eager to get one more long run in before fall season began. We are the veterans.

We were there before you were, and we didn’t wait for you to don the shoes and shorts. We were already dressed and running.

As you run along, look about you. Those days are sooner gone than you might believe. But the rich golden amber will keep your memories of this run forever.

And there are still some of us who compete ...

www.memphisrunners.com 25

MARATHON RESULTS

Mercedes Marathon Birmingham, AL February 11, 2018 Julie Landrum Nesbit, MS

26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer Jacksonville Beach, FL February 11, 2018 Jere Yates Lakeland, TN 6:02:16

FOR MEMPHIS-AREA RUNNERS Compiled by Sherilyn Huey

Tallahassee Marathon Tallahassee, FL February 4, 2018 Nathan Berry Memphis, TN Mississippi River Marathon Greenville, MS February 10, 2018 Ryan Eshleman Batesville, MS Emily Fyda Batesville, MS Matt Weickert Memphis, TN Cory Tulley Cordova, TN Reid Rainer Germantown, TN Scott Garner Memphis, TN Scott Hoover Cordova, TN Michael Spradlin Cordova, TN

4:13:10

Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon Ft. Lauderdale, FL February 18, 2018 Albert Weeks Memphis, TN

6:32:12

Austin Marathon Austin, TX February 18, 2018 Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo Memphis, TN

4:06:10

Houston Wolf Lori Mills

3:15:48

3:23:34 4:39:58 2:40:24 3:15:56 3:36:26 3:42:24 5:56:40 6:10:06

Attention: Fellow Runners!

Do you have some unusual experiences as a runner, or some thoughts about our sport you would like to share? Don’t keep it to yourself — share with your fellow runners.

You can contact the editor at any time to discuss potential contributions: 901-246-6477 or brentmanley@ yahoo.com. This is your publication. Be an active part of it.

– Brent Manley, Editor 26

Phoenix Marathon Mesa, AZ February 24, 2018 Cordova, TN Bartlett, TN

3:58:08 4:32:37

Black Mountain Marathon Black Mountain, NC February 24, 2018 Chuck Lumsden Germantown, TN Sarah Soltau Memphis, TN

5:40:03 5:48:56

Shelby Forest Loop Marathon Millington, TN February 25, 2018 Cory Tulley Memphis, TN Sarah Harris Bartlett, TN Tom Bandler Collierville, TN Liz Dial Memphis, TN Tiffani Glass Dyersburg, TN Sara Estabrook Germantown, TN Katrin Hartwig Arlington, TN Cash Murphy Lakeland, TN Julianne Purdy Germantown, TN Kelli Brown Germantown, TN

3:15:13 3:48:46 4:02:51 4:19:26 4:42:58 4:47:19 4:58:05 5:06:48 5:21:35 5:21:35

Cowtown Marathon Fort Worth, TX February 25, 2018 Charlie Lambrix Memphis, TN

3:04:43

My name: JT Wood My age: 59 My occupation: Inventory Control Specialist Why I like running: Being outdoors, making new friends, sense of accomplishment, keeping healthy.

My favorite race(s): Elvis 5K, RRS 10 miler.

My name: Bryce Sharp My age: 28 My occupation: Web Developer Why I like running: I like running because of the personal health benefits, the Memphis running community, and it’s the best excuse to travel.

My favorite race(s): St. Jude Marathon

My name: Ashley Roper My age: 39 My occupation: Oncology Nurse Why I like running: I love to get outside and run! It gives me a chance to get away and to see how strong I am.

My favorite race: I love the Road Race Series because I get to run the 901!

My name: Barry Sauls My age: 34 My occupation: IT Manager Why I like running: It’s a fun way to exercise and enjoy the outdoors!

My favorite race(s): Disney’s Castaway Cay 5K, Shelby Farms Starry Nights 5K

My name: Wren Womack My age: 23 My occupation: Student – full time Why I like running: It is a great way to stay in shape and it gives me a chance to clear my mind.

My favorite race(s): MRTC 10 miler, MRTC Half Marathon, Country Music Marathon (Half) My name: Pramod Kumar Kizhakke Purayil My age: 47 My occupation: Software Engineer Why I like running: To maintain physical and mental health (keep running and stay young :)) My favorite race(s): St. Jude marathon, Marine Corps marathon, Chicago marathon, MS Blues etc.

My name: Belinda Henry My age: 48 (almost 49!)

My occupation: Stay-at-home wife/ mother; PTA Board Why I like running: Helps me stay fit while making new friends — and allowing for some friendly competition!

My favorite race(s): St. Jude 5K/10K (doing my first Half this Dec), RRS Beast, MoveItMemphis 4-miler

My name: Brian Spangler My age: 50 My occupation: Customer team leader, AVP for L’Oreal Consumer Products Why I like running: It’s not just good exercise. It gives me time to clear my mind. My favorite thing about running is the sense of accomplishment when I achieve that next milestone or a PR. My favorite race(s). The road race series has been a great experience. This is my first and I plan to repeat.

I could name any one of them as a favorite, but when I place, that just might be my favorite race!

My name: Leigh-Taylor White My age: 37 My occupation: Attorney Why I like running: I am happier, healthier, and have more mental fortitude when I am running regularly.

My favorite race(s): RRS 10 miler 27

www.memphisrunners.com

By Joel Lyons, PT, OCS Research updates – Part 1

of loading or estimated cumulative patellofemoral joint stress per 1 km of continuous running. However, treadmill running resulted in 12.5% greater peak Achilles tendon force (P<.001), 15.6% greater loading rate of Achilles tendon force (P<.001), and 14.2% greater estimated cumulative Achilles tendon force per 1 km of continuous running (P<.001) compared with overground running. There were strong (r>0.70) and moderate agreements (r>0.50) for most patellofemoral joint and Achilles measures, respectively, between treadmill and overground running.

Below are some recent journal articles I thought were interesting as they related to running and walking.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve highlighted some of the important points made by the authors. Some points may seem basic but it is good to see that they are backed by research. They are all taken from the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy.

1. Patellofemoral Joint and Achilles Tendon Loads During Overground and Treadmill Running

Conclusion

Background

No differences were observed in loading characteristics to the patellofemoral joint between running mediums, but treadmill running resulted in greater Achilles tendon loading compared with overground running. Future investigations should examine whether sudden bouts of treadmill running may increase the risk of mechanical overload of the Achilles tendon in runners who habitually train overground. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(8):664â&#x20AC;&#x201C;672. Epub 12 May 2016. doi:10.2519/ jospt.2016.6494

Little is known regarding how the potential differences between treadmill and overground running may affect patellofemoral joint and Achilles tendon loading characteristics.

Objectives

To compare measures of loading of the patellofemoral joint and Achilles tendon across treadmill and overground running in healthy, uninjured runners.

Methods

Eighteen healthy runners ran at their self-selected speed on an instrumented treadmill and over ground, while 3-D running mechanics were sampled. A musculoskeletal model derived peak load, rate of loading and estimated cumulative load per 1 km of continuous running for the patellofemoral joint and Achilles tendon for each condition. Data were analyzed via paired t tests and Pearson correlations to detect differences and assess relationships, respectively, between the two running mediums.

2. The 5- or 10-km Marikenloop Run: A Prospective Study of the Etiology of Running-Related Injuries in Women

Results

Objectives

Background

The popularity of running events is still growing, particularly among women; however, little is known about the risk factors for running-related injuries in female runners.

The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and characteristics (site and recurrence) of

No differences (P>.05) were found between treadmill and overground running for peak load, rate 28

running-related injuries and to identify specific risk factors for running-related injuries among female runners training for a 5- or 10-km race.

the knee in the 10-km runners. The 10-km runners had more knee injuries than the 5-km runners. Bivariate analysis revealed that BMI was a risk factor for running-related injuries, whereas multivariable analysis identified weekly training distance (greater than 30 km) and a previous running injury (greater than 12 months prior) as risk factors for running-related injuries.

The incidence of running-related injuries found in this study (25.4%â&#x20AC;&#x201C;26.6%) was lower than that reported in other studies of female runners (28.7%â&#x20AC;&#x201C;79.1%).

In our study, participants registered for a 5- or 10km race, which means that our study population was probably more diverse and less likely to train under the supervision of a trainer and/or coach.

Our findings regarding the site of running-related injuries are in agreement with the literature; the knee was the site of most injuries overall and in the 10km runners. The lower leg and hip/groin were the most common sites of injury in the 5-km runners, and although the lower leg is in agreement with the literature, the hip/groin has not been reported previously as a major site of running-associated injury.

We have no explanation for the difference in the most common site of injury between the 5-km runners (hip/ groin) and 10-km runners (knee).

In the bivariate analysis, a higher BMI was associated with running-related injuries, which could be the result of increased physical stress related to excess weight. This is consistent with a recent study of novice runners.

A high weekly running distance is associated with an increased risk of sustaining running-related injuries. This trend was also seen in a prospective study of women who ran regularly and in the current study of women preparing for a 5- or 10-km run. This suggests that the musculoskeletal system cannot adapt to a high weekly running distance, thereby making runners vulnerable to running-related injuries.

In the recent systematic reviews by van der Worp et al and Saragiotto et al, a previous injury was identified as the sole risk factor for running-related injuries. Our study is the first that confirms these findings, especially among female runners who had sustained an injury more than 12 months prior.

It is not clear whether a high rate of re-injury is due to incomplete healing of the original injury, an uncorrected biomechanical problem, recall bias, and/or the definition of the injury.3 However, as this risk factor is consistently reported in different study populations, it would seem advisable to prevent recurrence of runningrelated injuries. This might be achieved by adapting training and exercise programs to the personal injury

Methods

Four hundred thirty-five women registered for the Marikenloop run of 5 or 10 km were recruited.

Follow-up data were collected over 12 weeks using questionnaires, starting eight weeks before the event and ending four weeks after the event. Two orthopaedic tests (navicular drop test and extension of the first metatarsophalangeal joint) were performed in the eight weeks before the event. Running-related injuries, defined as running-related pain of the lower back and/ or the lower extremity that restricted running for at least one day, were assessed at one-, two- and three-month follow-ups.

Results

Of 417 female runners with follow-up data (96%), 93 runners (22.3%) reported 109 running-related injuries, mainly of the hip/groin, knee, and lower leg.

Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that a weekly training distance of more than 30 km (hazard ratio = 3.28; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23, 8.75) and a previous running injury longer than 12 months prior (hazard ratio = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.03, 3.45) were associated with the occurrence of runningrelated injuries.

Conclusion

Hip/groin, knee, and lower-leg injuries were common among female runners. Only weekly training distance (greater than 30 km) and previous running injury (greater than 12 months prior) were associated with runningrelated injuries in female runners training for a 5- or 10-km event.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(6):462â&#x20AC;&#x201C;470.

Epub 26 Apr 2016. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.6402

Discussion

The overall incidence of running-related injuries was 26.1%, with the hip/groin and lower leg being the most common sites of injury in the 5-km runners and

(continued on page 31) 29

30

history of runners, so as to optimize loading of the previously injured tissue.

In this study, navicular drop (foot pronation) was not identified as a risk factor for runningrelated injuries. Buist et al and Bennett et al found that women with a greater navicular drop were more prone to running-related injuries. The discrepancy between our findings and those of these two studies might be due to the greater diversity of the runners in our study compared with the runners in the studies

by Buist et al (only novice runners) and Bennett et al (high school cross-country athletes). Further research is necessary to determine whether foot pronation is associated with running-related injuries, especially for preventive purposes, because the navicular drop can be measured and corrected (i.e, shoe advice, inserts, and foot exercise) by physical therapists.

The age of running shoes was not associated with running-related injuries, and in a post hoc analysis the distance run with a pair of shoes was also not associated with running-related injuries.

Our earlier systematic review showed that women running on a concrete surface had a greater risk of running-related injuries than men running on the same surface. We expected that a harder running surface, with

higher impact force, would increase the risk of runningrelated injuries. However, in this study, no association was found between running surface and runningrelated injuries. Our findings are consistent with those of the narrative review by Nigg et al, who found no supporting evidence that vertical impact peaks and/or vertical loading rates contribute to running injuries.

Major strengths of this study are its prospective design and the large cohort of more than 400 female runners preparing for a 5- or 10-km race. There were, however, limitations. The study sample was small in relation to the total number of Marikenloop participants (n = 10 991).

Conclusion

This study shows that weekly training distance and previous running injury may influence the occurrence of running-related injuries. More prospective research, with a large group of runners and a detailed description of running exposure, is needed to confirm our findings, especially among female event runners. These runners form a large group and should be encouraged to continue running, without injury, in order to profit from the long-term beneficial effects of physical exercise.

Part 2 will be published in the May 2018 issue.

31

Run with a Group Do you need some help in finding a running group or are you interested in starting your own group? Contact MRTC Coordinator of Running Groups, DJ Watson: djw@virtualmvp.com.

Sunday morning

Monday afternoon

Tuesday morning

Run: Germantown

Run: FIT4MOM Run Club Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Visitor Center at Shelby Farms Park (6903 Great View Drive North) Distance: 5K training Contac: Amy Earnest amykearnest@ gmail.com or visit www.memphis.fit4mom.com 8-wk session March 19th - May 12th

Run: Fitness Plus Lunch Run Time: 11:45 a.m.

Place: Fitness Plus, 2598 Corporate Ave. off Nonconnah between Millbranch and Democrat Distance: 7 miles Contact: Rick Ellis, 901-345-1036 Showers and extras available. Access to Fitness Plus facilities free to runners on group run day

Monday afternoon

Tuesday afternoon

Thoroughbreds

Time: 6:30 a.m. - (June thru Sept.); 7 a.m. - (Oct. thru May) Place: Panera Bread 7850 Poplar Avenue, Germantown Distance: 4, 7, 12.5 (or more) miles Contact: Charles Hurst 901-491-2096 or churst9676@gmail.com Water stops provided on the course.

Big fun group with all paces.

Run: Cool Runnings Time: 7 a.m.

Place: Shelby Farms Visitor Center, lower parking lot Distance: 10+ miles Contact: bostonbear13@gmail.com Run: iMARG: Indian Memphis

Association Runners Group

Time: 7 a.m. on weekends (mostly Sunday) Place: Johnson Park, Collierville Distance: 3.1 to 20 miles Contact: Sheshu Belde 901-413-4456 Facebook page: https://www.facebook. com/indianmemphis.runnersgroup Note: This information is provided as a courtesy in an effort to help MRTC members enhance their running experiences. MRTC encourages members to run with groups of their choice, but the listed running groups/group runs are independent and not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the MRTC. The club makes no representation that the information provided is accurate. Persons who wish to participate in activities with these groups should contact the individuals listed for further information and participate at their own risk.

Run: Fleet Feet Coed Fun Run Time: 6 p.m.

Place: Fleet Feet, 4530 Poplar Ave. (Laurelwood Shopping Center) Distance: 3, 5 and 7 miles Contact: Eric Flanders, 901-761-0078 Run: Southaven Striders Time: 6 p.m.

Place: Central Park (Tchulahoma entrance, east side of park) Distance: 3-5 mi. (9- to 12-min. miles) Contact: Kyle McCoy, 901-299-8630 Kalmac220@gmail.com Angie McCoy, 901-233-0168 anggail09@gmail.com

Run: Track House Workout Time: 6 p.m.

Place: U of M Old Field House Track Distance: Various workouts Contact: Paul Sax, 901-276-5758 Run: Black Men Run Memphis Time: 6 p.m.

Place: Varies. Check https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/425282507588975/ for location Distance: Usually five miles Contact: Roland Woodson: roland@blkmenrun.com

Run: Salty Dogs of

Bardog Tavern

Time: 7 p.m.

Place: Bardog Tavern, 73 Monroe Ave., downtown Distance: 3-5 miles run through historic downtown Memphis and afterward enjoy food, drink and camaraderie.

Contact: Jessica Grammer 901-734-5731 or jessgrammer@gmail.com

LifeGreen Checking 1.800.regions | regions.com/green © 2009 Regions Bank.

32 REL-TN-P91348 RoadRunners.indd 1

6/9/09 2:06:05 PM

Wednesday morning

Thursday afternoon

Run: Cordova Early Birds Time: 5:30 a.m.

Place: Breakaway Running store on Germantown Parkway and St. Philip Church at Davies Plantation (alternating weeks) Distance: 5 miles Details: Meets year-round if road conditions permit Contact: cordovaearlybirds@gmail.com

Run: Breakaway Running Time: 6 p.m. Beginners group Place: Breakaway Midtown 2109 Madison Contact: Barry, 901-722-8797 or 901-754-8254

Run: Fleet Feet Time: 6 p.m.

Fleet Feet hosts individualized speedwork sessions including track and tempo workouts for runners Run: Southaven Striders Time: 6 a.m. who want to get a little quicker.

Place: Central Park in Southaven No fees.

(Tchulahoma ent., east side of park) Contact: Feb at 761-0078 or lovetorun@ Distance: 3-5 miles (9- 12-minute miles) fleetfeetmemphis.com Contact: Kyle McCoy, 901-299-8630 or kalmac220@gmail.com

Wednesday afternoon Run: Breakaway Running Time: 6 p.m.

Place: Wolf River Store 1223 Germantown Pkwy.

Contact: Barry, 901-722-8797 or 901-754-8254 Run: Midtown Run Time: 6 p.m.

Place: Corner of Madison and Tucker, across from Huey’s Distance: 6 miles

Saturday morning

Run: Breakaway Running Breakaway’s Marathon and Half Marathon Training Group meets each Saturday morning through December to help prepare our friends for the St. Jude Marathon.

Check website or Facebook page for location and time. Join us!

722-8797 for more info.

Run: Fleet Feet Time: 7 a.m.

Place: 4530 Poplar (Laurelwood Center) Run: Bartlett UMC Fleet Feet hosts long runs on Saturday Time: 6 p.m. mornings geared toward upcoming Place: Bartlett United Methodist Church, races. Many distance options are 5676 Stage Road; group meets in available. the gym lobby Call 761-0078 or email Distance: Varies lovetorun@fleetfeetmemphis.com for more information.

Contact: Sam Thompson, 901-386-2724 or Run: FIT4MOM Run Club sthompson@bartlettumc.org Time: 8 am Run: Bartlett Run Location: Visitor Center at Shelby Time: 6:30 p.m.

Farms Park (6903 Great View Drive Place: W.J. Freeman Park, North) 2629 Bartlett Blvd.

Distance: 5K training Distance: 4-6 miles Contac: Amy Earnes Contact: Paul “Spunky” Ireland amykearnest@gmail.com or visit h. 901-388-5009 c. 901-826-7496 www.memphis.fit4mom.com or paulireland@att.net 8-wk session March 19th - May 12th 33

MRTC bad-weather policy MRTC contracts to provide finish-line services at local races.

When there is inclement weather, the race director has the option to postpone or cancel the race and is responsible for notifying the MRTC and participants. In the event of a cancellation, rescheduling is unlikely because of the number of races already on the MRTC calendar.

For MRTC races (the Road Race Series, the Winter Cross Country Race Series and the Hill & Dale 8-miler), the policy is that the race will go on, rain or shine. The start of a race may be delayed to let bad weather pass, but scheduled races will be run.

Run: Run & Play Time and Place: meet the first Saturday of the month at 9 a.m. at various locations in town (see website for each month’s location) This group is geared for moms with strollers and/or toddlers.

Info: www.seemommyrun.com/tn/ Run: Mommies on the Move Time: 9 a.m.

Place: Shelby Farms Visitors Center Details: For mothers with strollers and toddlers Contact: www.seemommyrun.com/tn Run: DAC Fitness Collierville Time: 9:30 a.m.

Distance: from 5K beginner to half marathon training at various paces Contact: Heather Nichols 651-1065 or Brandy Heckmann 443-653-0385

Various Days Run: Tipton County Road Dawgs Time: Friend us on Facebook under Road Dawgs and check posting of upcoming runs, usually on Sat. a.m.

Place: Check Facebook Distance: All distances, all ages, all paces. Runs are in Tipton County and north Shelby County Contact: djroaddawg@yahoo.com

Race Calendar Date & Time: Saturday, March 24, 8 a.m.

Race name: In His Steps 5K Location: Christ United Methodist Church

4488 Poplar Contact: See ad on page 24.

Date & Time: Sunday, April 29, 2 p.m.

Race name: Education That Works Out 5K Location: Memphis Catholic High School

61 N. McLean Contact: See ad on inside front cover.

Date & Time: Saturday, March 31, 9 a.m.

Race name: Bunny Run 5K Location: Independent Presbyterian Church

4738 Walnut Grove Road Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Friday, May 4, 6 p.m.

Race name: Mug Mile Location: Germantown High School Track Contact: www.racesonlime.com Date & Time: Saturday, May 5, 8:30 a.m.

Race name: NAACP Fund Run 5K Location: Audubon Park Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Saturday, April 7, 9 a.m.

Race name: Grizz Fit 5K Location: FedEx Forum, 191 Beale Street Contact: See ad on page 30.

Date & Time: Friday, May 11, 6:30 p.m.

Race name: Running of the Rams 5K Location: Oak Elementary School

3573 Oak Rd., Bartlett Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Saturday, April 14, 9 a.m.

Race name: Margie McDowell 5K Location: Bellevue Junior High School

575 S. Bellevue Contact: www.raceonline.com

Date & Time: Saturday, May 12, 9 a.m.

Race name: Junior League of Memphis 5K Location: Wiseacre Brewery, 2783 Broad Ave. Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Sunday, April 15, 2 p.m.

Race name: Earth Day 5K Location: Shelby Farms Park Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Friday, May 18, 7 p.m.

Race name: Ryleeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Run 5K Location: Mike Rose Soccer Field Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Saturday, April 21, 8:15 a.m.

Race name: Youth Villages 5K Location: Ridgeway Loop Contact: See ad on page 7.

Date & Time: Saturday, May 19, 8 a.m.

Race name: Bard on Broad 5K Location: Broad Avenue Historic District Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Saturday, April 21, 8:15 a.m.

Race name: Youth Villages 10-Miler Location: Ridgeway Loop Contact: See ad on page 7.

Date & Time: Thursday, May 24, 6:30 p.m.

Race name: Zoom Thru The Zoo 4-Miler Location: Memphis Zoo Contact: www.racesonline.com

Date & Time: Sunday, April 22, 2 p.m.

Race name: Spring Mile/MRTC Kids!

Location: Rhodes College Contact: www.memphisrunners.com

Renew your MRTC membership at www.memphisrunners.com

Date & Time: Saturday, April 28, 8 a.m.

Race name: Bad Dog McCormack 5K Location: Overton Square Contact: See ad on page 2.

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Kids Run Memphis Summer Running Camp Ages 8-11 June 4 - 8 8:30 - 11:30am June 9 at 8:30am Graduation Run $100 Visit www.fleetfeetmemphis.com for more information.

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Memphis Runners Track Club P.O. Box 17981 Memphis, TN 38187-0981

Non-Profit Org U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

MEMPHIS, TN Permit No. 960

Mild March Day plus Shelby Farms Park = A great time and place for a run Doren James and his son, 3¹½-year-old A J , rest up after a short run near Hyde Lake. They live in Arlington. ▼

Memphian Jon Hizer gets in a run while exercising the dogs. ▲

Quela Graham of Memphis finishes a run around Hyde Lake. ▲

Check out Group Runs on page 32 inside.