April 2008 - Richmond Road Runners

Race Reports
Racing Calendar
Group Runs
Miles & Minutes
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MILES & MINUTES
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Monument Avenue 10K - April 5 [Richmond Sportsbackers]
Whistlestart Elementary School 5K - April 12
Saint Francis Home 5K - April 12
Crossover Ministries 15K & 5K - April 19
Saints Sprint 5K - April 26
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April 2008 • Volume 31, Issue 4
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Letter From
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First Time Race Directors
Take the Plunge p 3
Maintaining
Motivation p 8
Descent Into
Mania p 10
Turn Me On,
Dead Man p 4
Call It
Love p 14
The Ukrop’s Monument
Avenue 10k features
something for everyone!
Enjoy the rockin’ music and imaginative
cheers from the Spirit Groups along the
scenic, tree-lined medians. Soak in the
applause from thousands of partying
spectators. Celebrate people-watching at
its best as costumed runners and walkers
mingle among the 30,000 participants.
Then join the awesome post-race party
in Monroe Park. It’s all part of the Ukrop’s
Monument Avenue 10k, voted the best
road race in the southeast.
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Volume 31
Miles & Minutes is the official newsletter for and by
members of the Richmond Road Runners (RRRC).
The RRRC is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to
foster fitness and a healthy lifestyle through running in
the metro Richmond, Virginia area. The club is affiliated
with the Road Runners Club of America and sponsors
15 races throughout the year with distances ranging
from 2 miles to 50K. As a service to the community, the
club contracts to provide race services. These services
range from renting equipment to full-computerized race
timing. The club provides services for over 30 events
during the year.
Club Officers
Don Garber
Sean Cusack
PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
Anne Zielinski
SECRETARY
Ed Carmines
TREASURER
Function Heads
Cherie Fernandez
Nancy Jakubec
Gary Leader
Sean Cusak
Ed Carmines
Bob Davis
Mike & Trudy Levins
Martha Hodges
Mike Levins
Newsletter Editor
Associate Editor
Advertising
Graphic Design
Printed by
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
PUBLIC RELATIONS
EQUIPMENT MANAGER
RACE COORDINATOR
WEBMASTER
CLUB HISTORIAN
RACE SCHEDULE
HOT-LINE MANAGER
HOT-LINE MANAGER
Richard Lampe
Brett Busang
Jack London
Richard Lampe
Dominion Graphics
Board of Directors: Tony Basch, John Christmas, Chevy
Cottrell,
Issue 4
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Karl Cover, Daniel Cunnane, Don Garber, Marcy
T
he 5K-race distance was not always the most popular for running events.
Years back, races of the 10K variety predominated. As the running boom
mushroomed, and as many people new to the running scene laced up a pair of
running shoes, the 5K distance grew in popularity. If one’s goal was simply to finish,
the 5K was the event of choice. Organizations that sponsored races as fund-raising
events turned more frequently to the 5K.
The 5K distance offers something for all competitors. If you have never been a fan of
speed work, or if you’ve never had the patience nor the discipline for track workouts,
a seemingly endless string of 5K weekends offers an excellent training modality: racing makes you fast.
But whatever your motivation or running avocation, if you are an aficionado of the
5K distance the month of April, and spring in general, is a kind of heaven to be
savored over the course of consecutive weekends. Beginning on April 12 there are
no fewer than seven consecutive weekends offering a total of at least twelve local 5K
events. The fun begins on April 12th with three races: the Monacan High School 5K,
the Whistlestart 5K, and the St. Francis Home 5K. April 19 brings the popular CrossOver Challenge 5K (and 15K too). The last weekend of the month boasts the Saint’s
Sprint 5K.
The fun continues into May with the Mass Mutual 5K and the Run for Hope sharing
the same weekend on May 3. Two other 5K’s, the Cinco in May and the Race for the
Cure are run on May 10. There is a 5K race at the Petersburg National battlefield,
the Run the Crater 5K, on May 17 and finally the 5K Race for Autism finishes off the
string on May 24.
George, Michael George, Mark Guzzi, Faith Hecht, Nancy
Jakubec, Richard Lampe, Mike Levins, Doris Morgan, Mike
Muldowney, Pete Neal, Greg Roth, Lee White, Robert Woo,
Anne Zielinski.
Deadline: The deadline for submitting letters, articles, pictures
and volunteer credits is the 1st of each month. The deadline
for all other material is the 10th of each month. Send articles
directly to Richard Lampe at [email protected]. Please keep
article submissions to under 1,000 words. Miles & Minutes is
distributed 12 times a year.
Membership: RRRC dues are $5 for students, $15 for individuals
and $20 for families. The club mailing address is Richmond
Road Runners Club P.O. Box 8724, Richmond, VA 23226.
Members can renew or sign up on-line at www.rrrc.org. Unless
otherwise noted, opinions expressed in Miles & Minutes are
those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Richmond
Road Runners Club
If racing is your passion, and the 5K your preferred event, enjoy this small bit of
heaven in the annual racing schedule.
Contents
Out of the Blocks
Richard Lampe .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . p. 1
President's Message
Don Garber . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .p. 2
New Race Directors Take the Plunge
George Hedges. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . p. 3
Turn me on, Dead Man - The Beatles Run
Richard Lampe .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . p. 5
Survivor’s Story
Eileen Abbott . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . p. 6
Maintaining Motivation
Mary Davison ................................ ..p. 8
April 2008
Descent Into Mania
Gaela Stromberg. ............. ................ p.10
Letter From England
Lady Brett Ashley .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . p. 12
Call It Love
Mike McCormick.. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . p. 14
Learn To Move Better With Video
Damien Howell, MS, PT, OCS ..........p. 16
At the Races
Photos..................................... ....back covers
This Month’s Cover: Running on Abbey
Road. Cover Design by Richard Lampe
Miles & Minutes
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
What We Do Well, What We Can Do Better
President's Message by Don Garber
E
ach year, our board tries to take
a few hours to talk about global
issues that are affecting the club.
At this year’s session, we tried to look at
what the club is doing well and what it
needs to do better. I want to share what
we think about the club, but I would also
like to encourage everyone to sound off.
The more people participate, the better we
can all do our jobs. As always, my email
is at the bottom of this column.
What the Club does well
• The Club does a good job of Managing
Races (both Club Races and Contract
Races)
• The Club is in a Strong Current
Financial Condition
• The Club has a Strong Commitment
from Volunteers
• The Cost of Club Membership and the
cost of Club Races is a Good Value
• The Club provides Training Teams that
enables members to train for the Patrick
Henry Half Marathon and the Ukrop’s
Monument Ave. 10K. It also provides a
group to train for Spring Marathons
• The Club has a Strong Group of Race
Directors
• The Club has a Good Newsletter
• The Club has a Well-Received Website
• The Club Provides Encouragement
for NEW runners through the Byrd Park
Group.
Things That Need Improvement
The club is a bit too internally focused.
By this I mean that the club does very
little advertising or public relations. We
also do very little advocacy for running in
general.
Key volunteer jobs depend on a small
store of dedicated members. While we
have been very fortunate to have large
numbers of people who come out to help
with the club races, we find that some of
the key jobs
in the club are taken by the select few. If
we had more people doing these key jobs,
the club would
benefit in terms of overall vitality.
We are not bringing the next generation
along. In some cases, we have failed to
meet all the expectations of newer runners
who have run bigger races and come to
the smaller club races not know what to
expect. We are not reaching high school
runners, specifically those who are not
with cross-country programs. And our
core is aging.
While we have a strong group of race
directors, these dedicated people get little
organized support from the
club. In some cases, there are inconsistencies in how club races operate. We do not
do a very good job of
recruiting, coordinating or training volunteers (as most of this is left up to the race
director)
In many cases, the various demands of
staging a road-running event are beyond
our present capacity. Most of our major
races fill up. Many local organizations
want to put on races that will draw on a
larger pool of runners who are not necessarily in the club
We are not meeting all the need of all our
constituencies. This includes the ultracompetitive runners, first-time racers,
newer runners and, to a small degree, recreational runners.
As the club grows, our structure as an allvolunteer organization is being taxed. We
must find some way to
expand our volunteer base as well as
include more people generally.
There are other issues that involve the
structural organization of the club, such as
the relationship between Board membership and functional responsibility as well
as how we define success as a club.
We also discussed certain tactical adjustments.
As we go along, we will be concentrating
on these issues as we work toward moving
the club forward. I
will try to periodically keep everyone
informed.
Club Championship Races
Although it was publicized, I am not sure
everyone realizes that, in December, the
club adopted a resolution to proclaim
certain races Club Championship Races.
That means that at each distance the club
does a race; we will proclaim one of our
club members as the champion for the
year at that distance. We will recognize
and reward all winners at our annual club
banquet.
Our first championship race was the
Frostbite 15K. John Sharp (men’s) and
Anna Catanese (women’s) are our 2008
15K Club champions. Congratulations to
both of them.
If you need to contact me, I can be
reached at [email protected]
Volume 31
Issue 4
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
First-Time Race Directors Take The Plunge
by George Hedges
W
here does a race begin? For
first time race director John
Clark, it all started with a void
in the generally slow winter race schedule. Clark had an idea for a new 10K
club race to be run on New Years Day
2008. He contacted Road Runners Club
president Ed Carmines in the fall to get
things rolling.
staff failed to appear on race morning
and the emergency phone numbers did
not work. Clark was able to persuade
the girl’s basketball coach to allow use
of the bathrooms in the school’s field
house.
A race on New Year’s Day? Outside of
Richmond, such races are fairly common, but The Richmond Road Runners
Club had not held one in years. Like
Thanksgiving Day’s Turkey Trot, New
Year’s Day is a day when most folks
and college students are home for the
holidays. A race on New Year’s Day
would benefit from this fact. The venue
for this new race was the rolling hills of
the Smoketree-Stonehenge course. This
challenging course was last used in an
RRRC race on a warm day in May 2004.
“The hills make it interesting and
challenging, particularly because there
is hardly a flat section on the course,
except the first three quarters of a mile”,
Clark said.
So what’s involved in organizing a new
race? A parade permit was required
from the Chesterfield Police, as well
as a permit from VDOT since the race
was planned to be run on public roads.
Monacan High School graciously agreed
to the use of their facilities, and they
scheduled staff to open the school on
race day morning. This eliminated the
need for portable toilets, something that
is generally required at each race but
adds to the cost.
Thinking ahead, Clark obtained two
emergency phone numbers in case of
problems on race morning. As fate
would have it, the Monacan High School
George Hedges
The RRRC maintains liability insurance coverage with a annual policy.
Generally, at the beginning of each year
the insurance company is notified of the
club’s scheduled races and the approximate number of runners for each event.
In order to allow the RRRC use of their
facilities, Monacan High School required
an insurance certificate naming them as
an “additional insured party” according
to Ed Carmines.
No race can be run without volunteers,
and Clark scoured the bushes for help. “
I recruited neighborhood residents, local
Scout groups and friends ahead of time
and I gave them specific assignments
because I wanted to leave as little as possible to the last minute” Clark said. In
addition to these helpers, volunteer turnout from RRRC was strong on race day.
On race day, the weather cooperated
with sunny skies and temperatures in the
fifties for the 270 finishers (including
26 runners in the growing Clydesdale/
Athena divisions − classes now included
in most club races). Post race amenities were good. Each runner received a
pair of running gloves and Runner Bills
graciously donated random prizes. Papa
John’s provided the pizza. This highly
successful event benefited from a race
director like John Clark who successfully
anticipated and navigated the pitfalls of a
first time race.
But not all race directors have to deal
with organizing a first time event. For
Jen Brumfield, who also had never
directed a race before, the challenge
wasn’t creating a new race from scratch,
but taking over the race directing
responsibilities for an existing race: the
Sweetheart 8K. Bill Lis from Runner
Bills approached Jen and asked if she’d
be interested in directing the race. Not
wanting to see the race cancelled for lack
of a director, Jen, who has run 13 marathons in the past four years, agreed to the
challenge.
“ Running is a major part of my life and
I wanted to volunteer for this race so
others could enjoy running and I could
give back to a sport that has given me so
much,” Jen said.
To get started Jen contacted then club
president Ed Carmines. He provided an
information sheet with contact information for trophies, Port-o-Johns, food,
t-shirts, and the seemingly endless list
of other necessities required to run a
Continued on page 17
Miles & Minutes
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
The Long and Winding Road: A London to Brighton Ultra Marathon Memoir by Richard Lampe
P
“A run you run alone is only a run. A run you run together is reality.”
– Yoko Ono
aul is third. The words are clear
enough if you play ‘Revolution
Number 9’ backwards at 45 RPM.
Allegedly, it is John Lennon’s voice making this cryptic pronouncement, but for
the rest of us, all the proof we really need
is contained on the famous cover photo of
the Fab Four crossing Abbey Road on that
summer day in 1969. Indeed, there for
the entire world to see, is poor old Paul,
in third place and shoeless yet! He is the
only Beatle holding a cigarette, but what
does it all mean?
On a warm fall morning in 1968, Paul
McCartney was on his way to Apple
Studios at 3 Abbey Road near St. John’s
Wood in London. There he was scheduled to meet the other three members
of the group to try to work out all the
problems with the release of their upcoming new double album, tentatively titled
“The Yellow Album”. Yellow was Paul’s
idea, but the rest of the group hadn’t
liked the color choice. In addition, half
of the songs weren’t finished, and George
and Ringo had fought angrily at the last
meeting before Ringo stormed out of the
session. But for now, Paul thought as he
walked, those problems could be ignored
for a few minutes. For one thing, the
morning was unusually warm and pleasant for October and Paul was annoyed
at the idea of heading directly to the
studio. He knew well that Lennon and
Yoko Ono never showed up anywhere on
time, and so, on a whim he extended his
walk down Abbey Road. It was a good
day, and the sunshine was pleasant. In
no time it seemed he had covered the
four or so miles to the Thames River and
Westminster Abbey.
As Paul approached the river he beheld
an awesome sight: more than 100 runners
were crossing Westminster Bridge and
heading off for god only knew where.
“Where are they off to?” Paul asked no
one in particular as he watched the group.
“Brighton,” came the answer from a local
flower girl. “Want to cop some hash?”
“Brighton! That’s more than eighty kilometers from here!” McCartney said, lost
in his thoughts.
As he retraced the four miles back to
Apple Records, Paul couldn’t get the idea
of the race out of his head. The more he
thought about it, the more it sounded like
a great idea. Creatively, the band was
stagnating, and Yoko Ono caused nothing
but trouble for the lads. For Paul, who
had run some track and field in school,
the idea seemed a natural: get the lads to
buy into long distance running big time,
and sign up for next year’s London to
Brighton race. It might be just the medicine to get the band’s creative juices flowing again, and who knows, maybe scare
up a little healthy competition between the
members of the group? It also might get
John away from Yoko for a few hours a
day. That, in and of itself would be worth
the effort. To Paul, all of these were
sound reasons to broach the subject with
the other band members. He walked back
to the studio with determined footsteps.
“Are you out of yer bleed’n head?”
Lennon was incredulous. “I’m not runnin’
halfway across the universe to Brighton.
If you wanna go there baby, you can drive
my car – but I wouldn’t bleed’n drive
there much less run there.”
Paul’s arguments were falling on deaf
ears. He knew that it all depended on
John – if Lennon would go along, so
would Ringo. George, he knew, would
do it just for the karmic experience, but
John was turning out to be a tough nut to
crack. In desperation, Paul decided to try
a different tack and convince John to just
try it – no commitments - just try running
for two weeks. Paul was set to redouble
his efforts with this new argument when
an ally suddenly appeared from an unexpected corner.
“I bet Paul can beat your sorry ass.” It
was Yoko sitting on the end of the sofa,
quietly taunting John. There was a long
pause. No one said anything.
“Paul could probably outrun you at any
distance he chooses,” Yoko went on in
that kind of measured, singsong voice of
hers. “You tell Paul you’re not going to
do it. No way! Tell him now.”
Paul remained quiet, watching John’s
face. This was classic Yoko: pitting members of the band against one another for
no reason whatsoever, other than the facts
that she could do it and she liked causing trouble. John’s competitive hackles
Continued on next page
Volume 31
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Issue 4
Continued from previous page
were rising, and that was pretty much the
end of it. The next morning the Fab Four
were out training on the streets of London.
That pleasant fall day of Paul’s walk to
Westminster Bridge had extended into a
two-week period of halcyon weather vindicating the group’s decision to run. Each
morning the lads could be seen cruising
up and down London’s streets. John and
Paul would usually lead out, one occasionally sprinting ahead of the other just
to show he could do it before laughing
and dropping back to the group. George
usually ran third and Ringo brought up the
rear. The experience proved beneficial for
the lads in several ways. The training got
them out early and set the tone for the rest
of the day. Arguments decreased among
the band members, and John and Yoko
became timelier in their habits. And all of
this was having the hoped-for beneficial
effect on the group’s creative juices. The
new album started to come together nicely. Paul dropped his idea for the bright
yellow cover in favor of a plain white one.
But one thing that it did not bring about
was, it did not separate John and Yoko
for long periods of time. Yoko followed
the lads around, driving her small white
Volkswagen Beetle acting as a ‘sag
wagon’. She would drive alongside the
Fab Four yelling out the window to them
as they ran, exhorting John to pick up
the pace. All the Beatles took it in good
stride and their humor improved. In some
ways, it was like the old days again.
Paul had not given up his idea for a
Yellow Album, but instead of having a
knockdown fight with John over this,
John had simply agreed to yellow, as long
as it was part of something else.
“Yellow Tank Engine,” Ringo volunteered.
“Cosmic Flower,” suggested George.
“Submarine,” said Yoko, and that was
that.
As fall turned to winter and then again to
spring, the four lads continued to run and
train. They got fitter and lost weight. All
of them stopped smoking except for Paul
who couldn’t kick the habit, though he did
take a sudden interest in Abebe Bikila, the
famed Ethiopian marathon gold medallist
who set a world record running barefoot
in the 1960 Rome Olympics. Paul adopted Bikila’s technique, and tossed away
his running shoes. And all the while the
group continued to pour their souls into
their music while the day of the LondonBrighton race neared.
The night before the great race, Paul and
John were quietly discussing strategy at
Apple Records. George was meditating
on a rug in the corner, and Ringo was
engrossed in a game of solitaire. It was
clear that, come race morning, it would be
every Beatle for himself, and John wasn’t
going to be hanging around pacing Ringo
all the way to Brighton. In the middle
of John and Paul’s whispered discussion,
Yoko wordlessly swept into the room,
waving a piece of paper.
It was a single bib for the London to
Brighton race with the number 9091 on it.
Yoko had been relegated the task of registering the Fab Four for the race and picking up the bib numbers, but clearly something was amiss here. Paul waited for an
explanation but there was only silence.
Silence, and Yoko waving the single leaf
of paper back and forth.
“Well?” ventured Paul. “Where are the
other three?”
“Other three? All you need is one, man.
You’re all running this race together,”
Yoko replied. “Just one, like the blissful
oneness with the infinite in the still depths
of the self.”
It was difficult not to speculate whether
she was serious or not, or whether this
was just another in a series of her manipulative mind games.
John pointed over his shoulder with his
thumb at Ringo and George. “Well, I’m
not runnin’ a race to Brighton tied to those
two joss sticks.”
“That’s fine with me,” Ringo replied.
“Your dumb-ass girlfriend couldn’t register a dead ‘orse for a trip to the glue
factory.”
“My sweet lord! Man, if all you guys
can do is spread bad karma through your
bourgeois competitions and hatred, I don’t
want a piece of what you’re selling.”
This came from George in a surprisingly
nasty voice. A door slammed, and Ringo
was gone.
“I knew competitive running would be the
end of it all,” George continued. “You
couldn’t just run for the beauty of running itself, could you? No. You had to
skip over Yama and Niyama and try to go
directly to the 3rd and 7th steps. Acharya,
Yogeesh!”
Another door slammed and John was gone
muttering to himself down the long dark
stairway to the street below.
“Listen, I’ve got better life paths that
don’t burn this kind of karma,” George
said to Paul. “See ya around, Macca.”
George quietly closed the door behind
him, leaving Paul and Yoko together in
the suddenly too-empty room. Yoko
continued to wave the bib back and forth,
smiling slightly.
Yoko looked at Paul and Paul looked at
Yoko. With a sudden lunge, Paul grabbed
the bib number out of Yoko’s hand, and
the door slammed for a final time.
Only one Beatle ran to Brighton the next
morning and, as far as the record books
are concerned, it wasn’t John, or George,
or Ringo, or even Paul. As Yoko had
shouted out the window to Paul when
he’d left the night before, “Shears. It’s
registered under the name Billy Shears!”
Miles & Minutes
A Survivor’s Story
I
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
n a split second his life changed so
much he almost didn’t live to tell
about it.
He was a young, energetic, and talented
tri-athlete; newly married and on cloud
nine. A joyous future was ahead of him
filled with high hopes and dreams. But it
all came crashing down in an instant.
Twenty-five year old Jay McLaughlin was
riding his bike on Patterson Avenue when
a car hit him. It was reportedly going
sixty-five miles per hour. Everything
went black . Jay doesn’t remember anything. He was in a coma for five days.
“It was lucky I was wearing a helmet, or
we wouldn’t be having this conversation,”
Jay told me during our interview. He was hit so hard, his helmet shattered
into three pieces, and Jay suffered a serious brain injury.
His mangled bike was found under the
car that hit him. Jay says the driver of the
car claimed to have been blinded by the
sun, which was setting over the West End.
To almost lose his life was bad enough,
but the accident was just the beginning:
everything in Jay’s life started to go
downhill.
That accident happened twenty years ago.
But the details are still very clear in Jay’s
mind.
“I was in MCV for two months,” says Jay.
“Then I was in Sheltering Arms for another four months. It took a toll on my marriage. I had been married for only nine
months when the accident happened. My
wife left me. Then, shortly after recovering, I lost my job.”
These devastating losses weighed heavily on Jay. He was admitted to MCV for
depression.
But instead of taking antidepressants, he
by Eileen Abbott
had something else in mind.
“I want an exercise bike. That makes me
feel good,” he told the hospital staff.
After three weeks, and sinking to an emotional low, Jay began to pick himself up
again.
“What do I not have to be positive about?
I could be dead.”
His spirits are up, but the physical effects
of the accident are very clearly present and part of his life today. There are
marked indentations on both of Jay’s legs.
The bones were broken in such a way that
the nerves were damaged − so damaged
that he can barely hold up his leg without
a brace.
“My bones actually came out of my leg
during the accident and severed the nerve.
I limp when I walk now, and it's more
pronounced when I run.”
Scars from the surgery are also apparent
on his arm. “I have a plate and seven
screws holding my arm together.”
Despite that, Jay realized he had to keep
going. So he started to finish what he
had set out to do the day of the fateful
accident. He started to train again to do
a sprint triathlon. His perspective about
racing had changed, however. It was no
longer about how fast he could finish.
“I just want to have a good time. I just
want to enjoy the experience, no matter
how long it takes. For some people, to do
a sub 2:30 marathon, that’s a ‘good time’.
But you can also do a marathon in five
hours and have the same endorphins and
have fun at it; and that's a ‘good time’,
too.”
One year after the accident, Jay competed in a
sprint triathlon and he
finished it.
“I thought that would solve everything −
if I did what I was setting out to do.”
The satisfaction of meeting such a challenge made Jay decide to kick it up a
notch. He did a Half Ironman triathlon.
But he didn't stop there.
In the years since his accident, Jay has
competed in and finished five Ironman triathlons, and he plans to do his sixth later
this year.
“I'm so fortunate. What a gift every day
is. I hope people learn that without a
catastrophe happening to them.”
Although his running is slower than it
used to be, that doesn't bother Jay at all.
“Life is not a fifty yard dash. Life is an
endurance race. To recover from a brain
injury and do an Ironman--that gives you
confidence.”
Jay also decided to reach for the stars in
his professional life.
“I didn't have a college diploma, so I
decided to go back to school. Now I have
a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling.
Life,” he says, “is good.”
“I was in a coma; almost died, lost my
wife and job. To go from that and then
do five Ironman Triathlons and earn a
Masters degree. It's a great feeling. I
didn't know what I was capable of. I've
been competent at many things, but I
never thought I was particularly good at
any one specific thing. But now I can
say I'm exceptional at recovering from an
accident,” Jay said. And smiled.
Continued on next page
Volume 31
Survivor continued from page 6
He smiles a lot these days because he’s
realized how precious life is. And he
especially smiles when he’s running
because he has the gift of life.
“Even when it’s bad, it’s good. When
I'm running in a race, I don't feel like I'm
pushing hard. I feel like I'm being pulled
to the finish. It's indescribable. You get a
great feeling when you've overcome what
I have.”
Jay’s story wows other Ironman triathletes
in Richmond. Like Daniel List. List is
recognized as one of the top runners in the
area and has completed several Ironman
triathlons.
“It was certainly the most physically challenging thing I've ever done in my life.”
List, who is a physical therapist at James
River Physical Therapy, says Jay is
remarkable.
“To be challenged with a physical disability and to compete and complete the
Ironman event − it is inspirational.” He
adds, “I think it serves as a reminder for
other folks that don’t have a physical disability that they can do it.”
Jay says his parents and siblings helped
him overcome the odds he faced as he
recovered. Jay wants to do the same for
others. His job − and his passion − is to
help severely disabled people overcome
their challenges.
“I try to do whatever I can to help enhance
the quality of their lives. And it feels wonderful. I actually get paid to do this,” Jays
says in disbelief. “But it's so gratifying to
me. If I can help someone else feel happy,
how can that not help but make me feel
happy. It’s mutually beneficial.”
To have a job that helps people, Jay says,
is a blessing.
“I am very lucky. I'm just trying to take
it one day at a time,” says Jay. “Today's
been good. Hopefully, I'll make tomorrow
a good day too.”
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Issue 4
Huguenot
3-Miler
Race
Report
by Jill Swansoon
W
hat do you call a race that’s
just a tenth of mile short of
an honest-to-God 5K? The
Huguenot Park 3-Miler, of course!
Woohoo and here we go again with yet
another race report from your adventurous and intrepid race reporter. I have
to admit up front here that I did not run
this race, so I cannot report to you any
first hand experiences with the actual run
itself. I was present, however, to cheer on
my good buddies Irwin and Schupp, who
arrived almost at the last minute to run
this exciting race.
The race began on the street adjacent
to Robius Sports and Fitness center in
Midlothian. The cool thing about holding
the race here was that runners had access
to the fitness center before and after the
race. The course was an out and back
affair
with a
double
loop built
in on the
trails of
Robius
Park.
My
scouts
reported
the trails
were in
good
condition, but that there were a couple of
mighty tight and twisty hairpin turns in
the woods. If you were expecting them
– no problemo, but if not – you might
have had to do some fancy footwork
to keep from flying off the trail into
the underbrush. After the second loop
through the woods, the course headed
back to Robius Fitness, where the finish
line waited behind the building.
All in all it was a great race. The weather
cooperated with sunshine and temperatures that felt like they were in the upper
forties, and for March 2 believe me, I will
take it.
A field of almost 200 came out for this
event that appeared to run flawlessly.
Volunteers (and especially course marshals) were prominent around the course.
The water stop was great, but to quote
one of
my running
buddies,
“Who
needs
water
for a
3 mile
race
in 40
degree
temperatures?”
The
overall winner was Ryan Paavola with his
15:45, nine seconds ahead of second and
third place finishers Justin Kendall and
Graham Kearney who recorded identical
times of 15:54. Top three female finishers were Anna Catanese with her 18:45,
Kristel French with 20:00, and Peggy
Bryan with a time of 22:22.
Eight year-old Matthew Pinson was the
youngest finisher with his excellent time
of 25:52. Way to go, Matthew!
Miles & Minutes
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
Maintaining Motivation
F
or many women, running is part of
a full and vigorous life. We fit in
our running around jobs, school,
family activities, community responsibilities, child-care, and volunteer work. As
a personal trainer and coach and a busy
mom of two young children, I am often
asked how I keep motivated to run every
day. For me the answer is easy. I simply love running and I’ve found it to be
the easiest way to maintain my health
and fitness. I would be lying if I didn’t
acknowledge an occasional block or barrier – or just a blah sort of mood. We’ve
all had those days when we feel tired and
would like to sleep in a little more; when
the weather turns cold and wet; or when
we’d prefer to sleep in for no good reason
at all! All sorts of things can dampen our
enthusiasm for running! The following
tips can help keep you motivated and on
your way to reaching your health and fitness goals.
them. For the runner who is training to
complete a first 10K, there are numerous
plans available online or in various running books. For the runner who desires a
more personalized approach and greater
accountability, consulting a running coach
or personal trainer can be helpful. Having
constantly remind yourself of your goal
so that it stays real to you. Some runners
paste profiles of their goal racecourses on
their refrigerators or as a screen saver on
their computers. Pasting up pictures can
help to stimulate you mentally and keep
reminding you of your goal. One runner I
know even uses her goal marathon time as
her computer password. This is a simple
way to remind herself of her goal on a
daily basis.
Set Mini Goals Along The Way
It can be easy to lose motivation and
focus when training for a goal race that
is four months away. To help motivation
along, break up your training into chunks
with mini goal markers along the way.
For example, after four weeks’ build-up
training, give yourself a reward for sticking to the program for that period of time.
The reward can be anything that motivates
you – a dinner out, a relaxing day at the
spa, or a favorite CD. Meeting these mini
goals will enhance your confidence and
motivate you to continue.
Set Goals
Whether you are a recreational runner who wishes to lose weight or an
experienced marathon runner aiming to
break three hours, in order to motivate
yourself you must be goal-oriented. Sit
down and think about what you would
like to accomplish with your running
and your health and fitness over the next
12 months. Once you’ve thought about
it a bit, write down your goals. Ensure
that the goals you make for yourself are
specific, clear and attainable. Write something like this: “I want to run my first
10K race at the Turkey Trot in November
2008.” When you identify goals that are
important to you, you are more motivated
and are thereby in a more ideal mental
state. Realizing these goals is much easier
once you’ve taken them on in your head.
Devise A Plan To Reach Those Goals
Once you have set your health and fitness
goals, devise a plan to help you reach
by Mary Davison
Add Variety
a coach makes you feel committed, not
only to your own development, but also to
not letting this person down. You could
even go as far as making a contract with
yourself. Draft it, get a witness to sign it,
paste it up somewhere, and stick
to it.
Constantly
Remind Yourself
Of Your Goals
In order to sustain
motivation once
you’ve set your
goals, you need to
Running the same route day-in and dayout can be monotonous and can easily
cause you to lose motivation. Choose a
variety of courses and routes to run so
that you have something new to look for-
Volume 31
Motivation continued from page 8
Issue 4
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
ward to each day. Schedule in cross-training days or speed workouts, which will
add variety to your current routine.
Run With a Partner or Training Group
Run with a group or training partner
or with your kids alongside on a bike.
Training with others who have similar
goals makes the process a lot enjoyable
and will keep you more motivated as
well! Organize a Saturday post-long run
group brunch. It’s a fun way to socialize
with others and something to look forward
to at the end of each run. It may be easy
to bag your own run, but not so easy to
cancel out on a friend.
Visualization
Practice achieving your goal in your
head! You must believe it to achieve it!
Sit down in a quiet place and visualize
yourself meeting your goal. Convincing
yourself that you can meet your goal neutralizes negative thoughts. Visualization
builds up a positive attitude and heightened sense of self-esteem that will help to
keep you motivated.
Bargain With Yourself
If you are struggling to get out the door
for your workout, strike a deal with yourself. Say, “Okay, I’ll go for a run, but if
it feels crappy, I’m turning around and
coming home.” You’ll very likely end up
enjoying the run and going farther than
you anticipated.
In closing, mark the achievement of
having reached your goal by rewarding
yourself! Just as you rewarded yourself
when you met your mini-goals along the
way, reward yourself with something
special for meeting your big goal. Once
you achieve this big goal, it’s important
to rest both mentally and physically. A
mental break or little vacation from your
routine will help you feel all the more
motivated and renewed. Before you know
it, you will be setting new, exciting goals
for the future.
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101 Year-old Plumber to Run Marathon
He is already Britain’s oldest employee. Buster Martin, who was born in 1907, is taking aim at becoming the oldest person in the world to complete a marathon. His goal
is to finish the London marathon this year and celebrate the accomplishment with a
pint of beer and a cigarette.
Don’t count Martin out just because of his age. The sprightly and bearded plumber
recently completed a half marathon in 5:13. Still employed on a part-time basis, the
former British Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London
plumbing company. He reports that he trained for the half marathon in his spare time.
“I’ve said I’ll attempt it,” he said from his workplace at Pimlico Plumbers. “I haven’t
said I’ll complete it. If I do make it, all the better. I hadn’t thought of doing it before
but someone asked me and the money goes to charity so why not?”
His sponsorship money will go to the Rhys Daniels Trust, which provides temporary
accommodation for families of patients in specialist children’s hospitals.
Martin, who had 17 children and returned to work at the age of 99 saying he was
bored after two years of retirement, would beat the previous record for world’s oldest
marathon runner by eight years.
“If I finish, I’ll do what I always do and have a pint and a cigarette,” he said. “People
ask what is my secret but I haven’t got one. They say cigarettes and booze are bad for
you—but I’m still here, aren’t I?”
Miles & Minutes
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
My Descent Into Mania
F
lashback to the summer of 2005. A
friend asked me if I wanted to run
the Ntelos 8K with her. I was not a
runner and just how far was 8K anyway, I
wondered?
I didn’t have to take a blood oath, but
I did have to sign up for the Swinging
Bridge 50K the following weekend
to secure my place as a maniac. Had it
Now jump ahead to November 2006 as
I watched a friend finish the marathon.
My husband got a nervous look, but he
relaxed visibly when I reassured him that
I had no desire or intention to run a marathon − ever. Two weeks later, registration
for the 2007 30th anniversary Richmond
Marathon was announced with a special
price of only $30. What woman can pass
up that kind of a bargain?
Marathon Maniac Gaela Stromberg
crossed my mind that I had never run
Are You A Marathon Maniac?
• Do your thoughts switch to the next scheduled race immediately after finishing a marathon?
• Are you signed up for more than one race right now?
• Do you know specifics about many of the marathons? Dates, cours
es, years run, etc.?
• Do you know the story of how the marathon got started? Also why the course is 26.2 miles?
• Do you read books on marathons like Marathon and Beyond?
• Do you look at the race schedule more than once a week?
• Do you start to feel down when you haven’t run a marathon in a while?
• Are your closets and dressers filled with marathon t-shirts?
See www.marathonmaniacs.com for more info!
10
trails before? Or that I had never completed the 50K distance before? Sure, but
a marathon maniac does not bother with
such trifles. I was already slipping down
the slope.
Okay, as it turned out, I have to admit I
was unprepared for the 50K and I missed
the cutoff. With 2 marathons and a 35K
under my belt, I felt an urge to find some
more races to run. Next in my sights was
the St Valentine’s Day Massacre Marathon
in Greensboro, NC. Mostly relay teams
entered this race, but there were 15 of us
maniacs that ran solo. I came in as the
second overall female. You’ve got to love
those small marathons.
Somewhere along about the middle of
our marathon training, a couple of us
also decide to run the Walt Disney World
marathon in January 2008. It was around
this time when I learned of the Marathon
Maniacs and I knew that I must find a way
to get in.
The Richmond race came and went and I
continued my training to get me to Disney.
by Gaela Stromberg
Still not quite to my goal, I found the
Umstead Trail Marathon to be a fantastic
race; a few miles of single-track trails,
lots of mud, rain, giant hills, and up and
down the beautiful bridle path of Umstead
Park in Raleigh. I met marathon maniac
Larry Macon, a guy who was running his
420th marathon. What an inspiration. He
almost had me following him to the Lower
Potomac Marathon the next day.
So there it is. I’ve now run four marathons, but it was the last three in three
months that finally qualified me. I was
now admittedly insane. I eagerly joined
my new club. You can check out who
the Marathon Maniacs are for yourself by
going to the website www.marathonmaniacs.com.
I already have Shamrock on my schedule
and the first inaugural United Healthcare
Marathon on May 3. After that, who
knows? They say the first step to recovery
is realizing you have a problem . . . but
what a pleasant problem to have! Maybe
my next races will be a double: Richmond
and Outer Banks?
Signed,
Marathon Maniac #855
Volume 31
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Contact This Month’s
Contributors
Richard Lampe [email protected]
Damien Howell
[email protected]
Don Garber
[email protected]
Mike McCormick
[email protected]
Eileen Abbott
[email protected]
Issue 4
Weather Issues? Is
the Race Still On?
Call the RRRC
Race Hotline
(804) 360 – 2672
11
Miles & Minutes
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
Letter From England
I
t was early in our regular Wednesday
morning run, surrounded by
beautiful country views and pushing
the pace with my buddy Joe. We were
on our favoured scenic route around
Ashby de la Zouch, a small market town
in North West Leicestershire, England.
Joe was putting the world to rights. I
was breaking in my new Nikes, and
ignoring a blister (and most of Joe’s
philosophical ramblings). We were just
three miles in, watching the sunrise and
feeling pretty good. It was going to be a
fine day. Suddenly, something moved in
the corner of my eye.
Ashby is fairly rural, with ditches sandwiching the country roads. It was on
one of the ditch banks that I saw the
long yellow grass move slightly. On
closer inspection and with heart pounding, I noticed a jute sack, all damp and
squirming. Initially both Joe and I
seemed to expect an explosion or, an
alienesque creature to pop out and insert
babies down our gullets. After a timid
stick poke I realised it was squeaking
slightly, an alien for sure, maybe two.
Yanking off the tie, there, inside were
three frightened, wet and extremely
small puppies.
Fits of giggles at our cowardice followed! Promises never to tell and glad
to have no witnesses. Once the levity
subsided, we knew what we had to do.
At this point Joes’ house was closest
and knowing how my girlfriend would
react, we tied up the sack and trotted
off. Joe’s dad came to the door with his
mug of tea in hand. Within five minutes
a broad smile spread over his face and
I could see where this was going. That
early morning run was over for sure.
Scamp (the wiry, naughty one) is still
12
by Brett Ashley
Joe’s dad’s greatest companion, keeping him active with all the field walking. My girlfriend (eventually) let me
keep Lucky, and he’s been with me on
many runs since. Millie was the prob-
lem. Joe’s neighbour Jack kept a couple
of sheep and a goat in his yard, and a
dog would have to be pretty easy going
to fit with that little menagerie. As if
she knew her life depended on it, she
did. In fact they became accustomed
to her ‘rounding’ them up from time to
time. She also went on to have her own
beautiful litter of four healthy puppies.
The dogs were the best breed ever, the
Heinz 57 variety. We guessed they were
about 50% Collie, which made them
highly energetic, intelligent, and best of
all loyal.
I can’t remember ever getting so much
out of any run, since that day – maybe it
was the exuberance of new Nikes but I
like to think it was the doggy factor.
April 2008
Gebrselassie Wins
at Lisbon
Haile Gebrselassie dominated the EDP
Lisbon Half Marathon from the start
and made it a solitary race from 10th
kilometers on, en route to his victory in
59:15. In the women’s field, the race
had an emotional finish with Kenyan
Salina Kosgei achieving her third victory in Lisbon.
Near the 5K mark (in an official time of
14:00) Gebrselassie, with the Kenyans
Charles Kamathi and Robert Cheruiyot,
took the lead from a small group, but
from the 10K mark the Ethiopian ran
alone without “rabbits”, and so, the
split times where below the requirements for an attack on the World
record. With 27:59 for the 10K and
42:03 for 15K, Gebrselassie struggled
for the mark, and along with it, a
50,000 euros bonus.
Haile said: “I tried to push myself for
a better performance but I couldn’t do
better. It’s a little bit hot, I’m feeling
well, but I couldn’t achieve my goal.
It’s no excuse, but I’m a little bit worried about my father’s health. I’m
in good shape and I can’t tell why I
couldn’t run faster.”
Behind him, the battle for second place
was very tough, with Cheruiyot (six
times on the podium in Lisbon without
a victory) being passed by his compatriot Kamathi in the final meters.
If, in the men’s race, Gebrselassie
grabbed the lead and dominated the
race, among the women, the title was
in play during the entire race. All the
favorites ran together, respecting each
other’s form, and only in the last meters
was everything played out with Salina
Kosgei winning her third title, after
wins in 2005 and 2006.
Volume 31
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Issue 4
Saint Francis Home 5K Saturday, April 12, 2008
Saint Francis Home is a charitable organization established in South Richmond in 1973 to offer quality assisted-living care
for the low-income elderly and disabled, regardless of creed, race, color, gender or the ability to pay. The Home has the
capacity to care for 106 residents. All proceeds to benefit Saint Francis Home.
Place: Parking near Legend Brewing Company, 321 W 7th St, located south of the James River.
Time:
9 a.m. start for 5K road run; 9:15 a.m. start for 5K walk
Course: Start will begin at the Flood Wall Trail, along the James River. Course will follow along the river and is an out and
back route with rolling terrain.
Fees: Adults-$15 before or on Saturday, April 5; $20 postmarked on and after Monday, April 7. There will be registration
on race day, at 7:30 a.m., refreshments provided post race. Please make checks payable to Saint Francis Home.
The 8th Annual
Saints Sprint
5K and 1 Mile Fun Run
April 26, 2008
Place and Time: Both races start and end at the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church parking lot
(6000 Grove Avenue). The 5K begins at 8 a.m. and the 1 mile “Fun Run” immediately follows at 8:45 a.m.
Registration: Pre-register and pay online beginning March 1st through April 23rd. Log on to
www.st.catherines.org , click on Daisy Days and follow the instructions for Saints Sprint
registration. Race day registration begins at 7 a.m. at the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church parking lot
(6000 Grove Avenue).
Race Fee: Pre-registration fee is $20 for each runner. Race day fee is $25 for each runner.
Children in strollers (Fun Run only) are free. The maximum fee per family is $75.
Race Information: For information, call Susan Yoo at (804) 527-2280 or email
[email protected]. This is a certified USATF race that will be administered by Richmond Road
Runners.
Proceeds Benefit St. Catherine’s School
St. Catherine’s School, 6001 Grove Avenue, Richmond, VA 23226
13
Miles & Minutes
Call It Love
P
atrick DeBono loves three things
– he loves to laugh, he loves his
wife, and he loves trying new
endurance sports events. With his entry
in the off-road sport class in the National
Duathlon Festival being held right here in
Richmond on April 26, he thinks he’s hit
the trifecta.
“For an average Joe like me, how many
opportunities do you get to be a part of a
national championship festival?” DeBono
said with an easy laugh. by Mike McCormick
the McDonald’s ITU Duathlon World
Championships. Both were impressed
with the quality of the athletes and
thought they’d like to enter the USAT
National Duathlon hampionships. Because they had a previous commitment
for April 27th, the day of the on-road
duathlon championships, Patrick decided
that the off-road sport class appealed to
him most of all. “It’s shorter and I don’t want to kill
“I’m looking forward to the fun of it.”
DeBono and his wife, Bridget, who live
in Chester, are relative newcomers to
Richmond, having moved here from
Rome, New York in 2005. After co-running the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K,
they discovered how training for endurance events enhanced their relationship.
“Bridget whipped me by six minutes in
that first Monument Avenue 10K,” chuckled DeBono. “And I swore that she’d
never beat me again – and she hasn’t.”
That experience led them to try other
events like the James River Scramble,
local mountain bike races and the
NTELOS 8K, where they discovered
that they thoroughly enjoy training and
competing as a couple. As members of
the Richmond Triathlon Club, they have
undertaken a kind of ultimate challenge,
which has made them a family-in-training.
“And the family that trains together is in
pain together,” joked DeBono. “No, we
really enjoy training together. It’s one
more way we can spend time with each
other.”
The DeBono’s first glimpse of a duathlon came last October when they volunteered together at the transition zone of
14
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
To offset the exclusionary nature of
Saturday’s off-road event, traditional
on-road duathletes can sign up for a
Sunday race, which has no qualifying
requirements. This is a great chance for
anyone to try duathlon for the first time
and possibly win a national championship
in their age group!
OFF-ROAD EVENTS SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 26, 2008
7:30 am -- Off-Road Youth Age Group
Races
Ages 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 (1K run, 4K bike,
1K run).
8:30 am -- Off-Road Junior Age Group
Races
Ages 13-15, 16-19 (5K run, 10K bike,
2.5K run)
Sport Race (5K run, 10K bike, 2.5K run)
10:30 am -- Off-Road Championships
(10K run, 30K bike, 5K run)
myself because I am an Average Joe,” he
said.
DeBono’s off-road sport race promises to be an excellent weekend warrior
adventure. He’ll hit the ground running
from the start line/transition zone off
2nd Street for 3.1 miles on the Kanawha
Canal Walk, then he’ll jump on his trusty
Diamondback mountain bike and pedal a
6-mile course that loops around Belle Isle
(and includes portions of the Buttermilk
Trail) before a final 1.6-mile run, also
on the Canal Walk. Bridget, who is not
as proficient at mountain biking, has
opted to cheer him on from her post as a
volunteer. All in all, it will be yet another
great family outing for the DeBonos.
National Duathlon Festival Note:
ON-ROAD EVENTS SCHEDULE
Sunday, April 27, 2008
7 am -- Age Group Races (10K run, 40K
bike, 5K run)
9 am -- Elite Races (10K run, 40K bike,
5K run) - Draft Legal
11:30 am -- Youth Nationals (ages 7-8, 910 and 11-12) (1K run, 5K bike, 1K run)
12 Noon -- Junior Nationals (13-15 and
16-19) (5K run, 20K bike, 2.5K run) Draft Legal
1 pm -- Sport Race (5K run, 20K bike,
2.5K run)
Volume 31
Huguenot 3-Miler
Volunteers
Issue 4
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Steven Brown
Ed Carmines
Glen Chaulkley
Walter Crenshaw
Noelle Dibeneditto
Rich Gattett
Michael George
Marcie George
Mark Guzzi
Bruce Jones
Susan Laverty
Michael Laverty
Max Lewis
Jeff Luke
Amanda Luksetich
Kimberly Nagosky
Micheal Pulley
Roselle Schutte
Anne Zielinski
2008
RACE
SCHEDULE
April 2008
5
12
12
19 26
Monument Avenue 10K
Whistlestart 5K
St. Francis 5K
Crossover 15 & 5K
Saint’s Sprint 5K
May 2008
3 Run for Hope 5K
18 Carytown 10K
24 Race Against Autism 5K
June 2008
1 Stratford Hills 10K
7 Race Against Domestic Violence
14 James River Scramble 10K
21 Our Lady of Hope 5K
July 2008
4 Jaycees Firecracker 5K
7 Cul-de-Sac 5K #1
14 Cule-de-Sac 5K #2
19 Run for the Future 5K
21 Cul-de-Sac 5K #3
26 Mass Mutual 5K
August 2008
9 Hometown Waterboy 5K
16 Moonlight 4-Miler
23 Patrick Henry Half
September 2008
6 Mark Wislon 7K
14 Midlothian Blaze 5K
20 Virginia Naturally 5K
26-27 Maymont X-C
October 2008
4
4
12
18
25
Scholarship 10, 20, and 30K
Pumpkin Run 5K
Building Wishes 5K
Salisbury 6K
Run for Read 8K
November 2008
1 No Frills 5K
15 SunTrust Marathon and NTelos 8K
22 Jingle Bell 5K
27 Turkey Trot 10K
December 2008
10 Bear Creek 10-Miler
14 Toy Run 5K
Races in italics are
Richmond Sportsbacker’s
races.
Races in bold are
Richmond Roadrunner’s
Club races.
Youngblood 5K Photo by Jeff Luke
15
Miles & Minutes
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
Learn To Move Better With Internet
Video Technology by Damien Howell MS, PT, OCS
L
earning Style Theory implies that
individuals learn more when the
educational experience is geared
toward their preferred style of learning.
There are multiple learning styles, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic (feeling),
and even olfactory (smell). Whether an
individual’s preferred learning style is
something we are born with or whether it
is something we acquire with practice is
open to debate.
As a clinician I think it is important to
identify each client’s preferred learning
style. Physical Therapists primarily work
with musculoskeletal pain syndrome and
movement system impairment. A majority of what a Physical Therapist does,
is educate the client to move better. If
an individual’s preferred learning style
is visual, my intervention will be more
effective if I can present the necessary
information in a visual format.
There are self-assessment tests available
on the internet to determine an individual’s dominant learning style, but clinically,
I find the answers to the following simple
questions to be helpful.
•
What is your preferred learning
style?
•
Do you learn better by hearing it,
seeing, or doing?
•
What adjectives would you use
to describe a day at the beach?
If someone responds by saying it is bright
and sunny, his or her preferred style is
likely visual. If they say warm, sandy,
with a gentle breeze, their preferred learning style is likely kinesthetic. If they say
the waves are crashing and their kids are
laughing, their preferred learning style is
likely auditory. If they say “I smell the
16
sun tan lotion” their preferred learning
style is likely olfactory. Of course there
are many individuals who use adjectives
from more than one sense.
Video Technology
Whether someone’s preferred learning
style is visual or not, with the development of Web 2.0 (second generation
web-based communities such as networking sites, wikis, and blogs) digital
video technology, along with high-speed
Internet access, anyone can now obtain
knowledge and information that was previously unavailable to them. Recently
there has been a massive influx of video
clips available on the internet. We are
familiar with the comic clips of bulldogs
on skateboards, or celebrities in moments
of embarrassment, but there is a growing
wealth of serious information and educational video clips coming available.
Searching the internet using the standard
search engine and using a key word of a
particular musculoskeletal injury or diagnosis typically leads to results in narrative
and picture format, but will not list video
clips. Adding the word video to the key
word search or using search function in
one of the specialized websites dedicated
to videos will result in video clips on a
particular topic. An interesting web site
with videos on the topic of running is
www.runningmovies.com/instructional.
htm. I am sure there are similar web sites
on other topics such as swimming, posture, or knee pain. As with any information that is obtained from the Internet, the
reader should beware and view the information with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Recurring repetitive use injuries often
occur because of faulty movements.
Being able to see and visualize what is
considered ideal movement patterns in
video clips,
especially
in slow
motion
video,
through the
Internet is
a powerful way
to learn
to move
better. Being able to see an example of
a professional athlete move in an ideal
way helps our minds eye identify a goal.
However, knowing what we are supposed to move like and actually doing it
requires practice and feedback. Web 2.0
networking sites, discussion groups, and
video blogs allow an individual to share
their own personal video clips with others
through the internet so that they can get
peer or expert feedback on their particular
movements.
Resources
I have started to collect video clips on
my Youtube channel (www.Youtube.com;
search under the term “motion analysis”)
of ideal running form. I also have some
examples from individuals who submitted
video clips that have been converted to
slow motion, with suggestions on how to
correct movement faults.
Learning to move better requires identifying what is ideal movement, getting feedback on whether your movement is ideal,
and practicing ideal movements. All of
these things can be enhanced using web
video clips.
Volume 31
Director continued from page 3
good race. Jen also took advantage of the
“Members Only” section of the RRRC
website where she found helpful information about putting on a race. Drawing
on years of experience, this sight is well
detailed and explains in a step-by-step
fashion the things a race director needs to
do to organize and run a successful race.
Jen also met with the race’s previous
directors who had saved permit forms
and helpful contact information. Working
from the previous year’s race application,
she built up a new application and distributed it to local gyms, health clubs, and
YMCAs. After receiving a parade permit
from Chesterfield Police, Jen wrote to
VDOT requesting the required permit.
Two police officers were required for traffic control at a cost of $180. The normal
charge for this is $90 per officer, based on
a 4-hour minimum. Larger races, like the
Carytown 10K required 20 officers, plus a
supervisor for a total cost of $1900, a significant overhead expense. Even for some
smaller races, like the Moonlight 4-miler,
traffic control can cost as much as $450.
Jen’s debut as a race director was a huge
success. The Sweetheart 8K had 225
finishers on a chilly but clear February
day. Feedback from runners was positive
about the race, the random prizes, the long
sleeve shirts donated by Runner Bills,
and the unique trophies handmade by
Kevin O’Connor. As with most races, not
everything always goes as planned, and
feedback from Jen and John, the two new
race directors, has helped guide the RRRC
into formulating a plan to assist first-time
race directors.
“It would have been nice to have a direct
contact or a ‘checklist’ from the RRRC
for a new race director,” Jen said. “Even
if I had a list of what exactly was going
to be on the RRRC truck, that would have
helped.”
John Clark has suggested the club
appoint someone knowledgeable to
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Issue 4
Next RRRC Club
Meeting
April 9, 2008
6:00 p.m.
Sports Backers Stadium
work with novice race directors so that
they are not completely left to their own
devices. As for other improvements, “I
would better organize the RRRC volunteers and make sure that they all had an
assignment,” Clark said. He also suggests
a new race director should assist a veteran
race director to see how things are done.
O’Connor agrees that an experienced
director should act as a co-director to help
guide the novice through their first race.
Race directing is no easy task.
Coordinating and dealing with the million
and one details associated with any race is
a time consuming process that can seem
a lot more like work than fun. But there
is also an element of creativity present in
a race director’s tasks, whether it is the
course selection of a brand new race, or
simply the choice of finisher medals and
ribbons. As John Clark and Jen Brumfield
have both shown, first-time race directing
can be a rewarding and positive experience. To echo Jen’s sentiments, it is fundamentally good to return something to
the running community, “so others could
enjoy running and I could give back to a
sport that has given me so much.”
17
Miles & Minutes
Carytown 10K Sunday
May 18th 8:00 AM
Walkers Welcome! The Carytown 10K welcomes
and encourages walkers. Enjoy a beautiful, scenic
walk through Carytown on a spring morning!
The Course
The course starts and ends at Cary Court in
Carytown and is run mostly on Cary Street and
Grove Avenue. The course is flat and measured to
USA Track and Field standards. There will be mile
markers at each mile. Water will be available at
about 2 and 4.5 miles. Post race refreshments will
be available at Cary Court.
Race Information
The race is limited to 1,500 runners. Additional
information about the event may be found at www.
rrrc.org. Contact the race director, Anne Zielinski
at [email protected] or call the race hotline at 804-360-2672.
Race Timing and Results
The race will be computer timed. Results will be
posted after completion of the race and online at
www.rrrc.org.
Parking
Parking is available in the decks north of Cary
St. and in the Ukrop’s lot at Thompson and Cary.
Please do not park in front of Elwood Thompson’s
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
Sports Recipes You Can Try
W
by Meg Allweather
hat two better sources of carbohydrates
could runners ask for than Beer and
Pasta? Here is one dish that combines
the two and is quite simple to make! This is a
slightly zesty pasta dish that calls for the use of
Cajun spices. If you don’t like the strong Cajun
flavor or spiciness, you can cut down on the
amount of Cajun spice used, or even eliminate it
completely. The beer is the finishing touch in this
recipe that brings all the ingredients together nicely. You don’t want to use a weak or light beer in
this dish, nor do you want to use a dark beer. Any
good, flavorful pale ale will do the trick!
Ingredients:
2 Bottles of a fairly strong ale such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or an IPA
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 chicken breast, pre-cooked
10 ounces Penne pasta
2 tbsp garlic butter
2 tablespoons Cajun spice (or spice to taste)
10 to 12 ounces Alfredo Sauce
How to Make It:
Packet Pick-up
Race packets may be picked up on Friday May
16th from 1 to 5:30 and on Saturday, May 17th
from 10 to 4 at the Road Runner Running Store
(3002 W. Cary St.). You may pick up a packet for
another runner provided you have a copy of their
photo id or email race confirmation. Race packets
may be picked up on Sunday from 6:30 to 7:30
at the Cary Court. There will be no day of race
registration.
Open one of the bottles of ale and drink it while you slice the peppers and dice
the chicken. Add garlic butter, the peppers, the diced chicken, and some Cajun
spice to a frying pan. Sautee until the peppers get slightly cooked and the garlic
butter melts, but does not brown. Be careful not to overcook the peppers. You
want them firm and crisp, not soggy.
Awards
All pre-registrants (before May 1) 10K runners
will receive a race t-shirt. The top three males and
females will receive plaques and running shoes
compliments of the Road Runner Running Store.
First male and female masters and Clydesdale and
Athena will receive plaques. Top three five-year
age group males and females will receive ribbons.
Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta and stir until hot. Makes two portions.
18
Open the other bottle of beer and add about 6 to 8 ounces to the mix. Simmer
until it reduces to a slightly thick consistency. When the alcohol has cooked off,
add the Alfredo sauce and heat to almost a boil, making sure that you stir continuously to avoid burning. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for a few minutes.
Next month: Easy and Lite Summertime Lunches, including an avocado,
sprouts, and tomato sandwich made with brown mustard and Munster cheese.
Until then, happy running and bon appetit!
Volume 31
Issue 4
Visit www.rrrc.org for More Club News and Information
Merchant Discounts to Club Members
$90 Discount off of training package.
Sheltering Arms Spine & Sport Center
1501 Maple Ave., Suite 100 Richmond
545-FAST(3278)
10% Discount on services.
8910 Patterson Avenue, Richmond
741-1599
15% Discount on personal coaching rate.
Dennis LaMountain
www.lamountaincoaching.com
355-3874
10% Discount on services.
1811 Huguenot Road
Suite 103, Midlothian
594-0403
10% Discount on services.
James River Physical Therapy
9019 Forest Hill Ave. Richmond
330-0936
Free ½ Hour Full Body Massage
Free Consultation (includes 2 x-rays)
Southside, West End, and Hanover
www.virginiawellness.com
$20 off the first hour massage and 10%
discount on all visits after that.
1215 Foxcroft Rd. Richmond
285-9259
www.revitalizemassage.com
10% Discount on merchandise.
13569 Midlothian Turnpike, Midlothian
378-8080
10% Discount on merchandise.
3224 West Cary Street, Richmond
353-tenK
10% Discount on merchandise.
445 Ridge Road, Richmond
288-4000
10% Discount on merchandise.
4021 Lauderdale Rd., Short Pump
288-4000 ext 4
15% Discount on merchandise.
110 Old Preston Avenue, Charlottesville
(434) 293-7115
Free Consultation
15% discount on treatments
4908 Monument Ave., Ste 100
Richmond
754-5108
10% Discount on merchandise.
9 Elliewood Ave., Charlottesville
(434) 293-3367
15% Discount on services.
2313A W. Cary St. Richmond
380-6103
www.neatfeet.biz
10% Discount on food.
2526 Floyd Ave, Richmond
359-3122
19
Miles & Minutes
Mondays
•
•
Sunday Park, Brandermill, 6:00a.m., 6-8 miles. Meet at Brandermill Church Parking lot. Contact Toshia at Toshia. [email protected]
Wyndham/ Twin Hickory. 6:00 a.m., 3-6 miles. Meet at Nuckols Road and Old Nuckols Road. Contact Steve Long at 262-9650
Tuesdays
• Robious Sports & Fitness Center, 6:00 p.m. Speed work.
Contact Thom Suddeth, 353-8365.
• RunnerBill’s Sports–Midlothian, 7:00 p.m., contact Bill
Lis, 378-8080.
• 4605 Monument Avenue, 5:30 a.m., 3-6 miles at 8-9:00 pace. Contact Tony Basch at 513-6650 or via e-mail at [email protected]
• Wyndham/ Twin Hickory. 6:00 a.m., 3-6 miles. Meet at Nuckols Road and Old Nuckols Road. Contact Steve Long at 262-9650
Wednesdays
• 4605 Monument Avenue, 5:30 a.m., 3-6 miles at 8-9:00 pace. Contact Tony Basch 513-6650.
• The Road Runners Running Store, Carytown, 5:45 p.m. 5-8 miles at 8-10 minute pace. Contact Thom Suddeth 353-8365.
• Skirt Run, first Wednesday of each month, 6:30 p.m. Legend Brewing. All paces welcome. 30 minute run along floodwall. Contact Cheri Fernandez, 897-3593.
• Ashland Grub Kitty Group, Food Lion parking lot, 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. depending on mileage (6-10 miles). Pace is 8:30-10:00. Contact Michelle Quinn & Kirk Jeter [email protected] and [email protected]
• Sunday Park, Brandermill, 6:00a.m., 6-8 miles. Meet at Brandermill Church Parking lot. Contact Toshia at Toshia. [email protected]
• Wyndham/ Twin Hickory. 6:00 a.m., 3-6 miles. Meet at Nuckols Road and Old Nuckols Road. Contact Steve Long at 262-9650
Thursdays
• 4605 Monument Avenue, 5:30 a.m., 3-6 miles at 8-9:00 pace. Contact Tony Basch 513-6650.
20
April 2008
Race Hot-line: (804) 360-2672
• ACAC Fitness. 5:45 a.m., Robious and Huguenot Rds. 8 miles at 7:30 pace. Contact Ed Carmines 502-9275.
• Museum of Fine Arts, 5:30 p.m. 8 miles at 8:00 pace. Contact Gary Hearn at 741-0411.
• 3Sports Tuckahoe Shopping, 6:00 p.m., 4-6 miles. All levels welcome. Contact Jennifer 288-4000.
• RunnerBill’s Sports–Midlothian, 7:00 p.m. Contact Bill Lis 378-8080.
• Wyndham/ Twin Hickory. 6:00 a.m., 3-6 miles. Meet at Nuckols Road and Old Nuckols Road. Contact SteveLong at 262-9650
Saturdays
• RunnerBills Sports –Midlothian, 8:00 a.m. Pace and distance depend on group. Contact Bill Lis 378-
8080.
• Byrd Park 7:30 a.m. at the Vita Course water fountain. Beginners contact Robert Woo at rwoo@ teamwoo.gmail.com. Intermediate runners contact Susan Laverty (smylly@ earthlink.net) or Bruce Jones ([email protected]).
• University of Richmond, 7:00 a.m. Pace is 7:30 to 8:30. Meet at the track next to the gym. Group leaves promptly at 7:00 am. Contact Michael Kerner 804-741-2266.
Sundays
• Mary Mumford School, 6:30 a.m. Betwen Cary and Grove on Commonwealth. Long runs 10-13 miles at 8:00 pace. Contact Bob Ericson 782-3239.
• Byrd Park 7:30 a.m. at the Vita Course water fountain. 9-14 miles. Contact Mike Laverty (smylly@ earthlink.net) or Bruce Jones (bruce.m.jones@ comcast.net).
• Shady Grove YMCA, 7:15 am. 7-9 min
pace. Contact Greg 754-3268 or via e-mail KN293@ aol.com. http://shadyrunners.homedns.org/Sunday
CHECK WITH GROUP LEADERS
BEFORE YOU RUN!
Brief Description: A community-wide friend raising event to support healthcare services for the working poor throughout greater Richmond. Fast and mostly flat 15K &
5K around the seminaries and beautiful Ginter Park neighborhoods. Kids 1 Mile Run
will be held on the walking track for ages 6-12.
YOUNGBLOOD 5K
Youngblood 5K Photos by Jeff Luke
HUGUENOT PARK 3-MILER
Check the expiration date on your label. Is it time to renew?
The Richmond Road Runner’s Club
PO Box 8724 • Richmond, VA 23226
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage Paid
Richmond, VA
Permit #1262