RBRC NEWS - Rehoboth Beach Running Company

runrb.com
301 Rehoboth Avenue ∙ Rehoboth Beach ∙ DE 19971
(302) 227-4848
RBRC NEWS
Interview:
Betsy Carpenter
!
Betsy Carpenter holds eight Delaware road
race records in two age groups. In the 30-34
category—as Betsy Winter and member of the
Delaware Racing Team—she earned the 15K,
10 mile, 20K, and 13.1 titles and in the 50-54
group the 5K, 15K, 10 mile, and 13.1 crowns.
Her 10-mile mark, a 58:04 in 1988, is the
fastest by a Delaware resident. Carpenter, now
59, talked with Bill Meehan in Rehoboth Beach.
RBRC News: Of the eight Delaware road racing
records, which one means the most to you? BC: The ten miler. That’s it. !
RBRC News: Why that race? BC: It was the Broad Street Run, and it was a huge thrill coming in
second woman. Just a huge thrill. This is where I got good. !
RBRC News: Could you elaborate? BC: I’ll tell it to you very simply. I was running 42:00 10Ks and
all of a sudden started training with the Tower Hill group on Monday and Thursday nights and within
six months dropped from a 42:00 10K to a 38:00 10K. And that’s because of Joe McNichol and
joining that group. He knew what he was doing. He coached Vicki Huber. You remember. On
Monday it was 220s and on Thursday we did quarters. Every week. !
RBRC News: How did you train for the record-setting Broad Street Run? BC: I had Brett Lunger as
my coach for that race. He was very methodical. He told me, ‘This is what you’re going to do.’ I’m
very coachable and did exactly what he wanted me to do. I was within two seconds of every split
and interval on the track. I work well with coaches. You leave me to me, and I will get injured. !
RBRC News: I saw some of Brett’s programs. They were tough. I believe he was influenced by a
book he told me about and I used. It was The Self-Coached Runner, which consisted of structured,
disciplined training. BC: Yeah, boom, boom, boom. He gave me a three-week layout, every three
weeks what I was to do. And I did it precisely. !
RBRC News: The records themselves, overall? What do they mean? BC: I had to give it the best I
had, so that the next person who came along had to work like I had to work.
Volume 1 ∙ Number 3 ∙ July 2014
©RBRC/WFM
1
runrb.com
301 Rehoboth Avenue ∙ Rehoboth Beach ∙ DE 19971
(302) 227-4848
RBRC News: Did you ever start a training program with a record in mind? BC: Only in the 50-54 age
group races. I hired a coach through my niece, who was training for her first Ironman and being
coached by Kelly Clarkson, in Boulder. I paid for Kelly to coach me. She told me what to do. Again,
I’m coachable, and did what she said. !
RBRC News: Was there a secret to your training that made you so competitive? BC: Don’t listen to
myself. I’ll get myself in trouble. I will get myself injured. I will do too much. We Winters used to say,
‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing.’ And it really isn’t, because you’ll end up in physical therapy.
Betsy Winter sets the 15K record at the Delaware Distance Classic
in 1988. Bill Meehan photo.
RBRC News: Did you have a favorite race? BC: Caesar
Rodney Half Marathon. RBRC News: And what about marathons? BC: One, in
1977, and told myself I’d never do one again. It was hell.
Hell. Everything went wrong that morning that could go
wrong. I hurt from mile 3 on. I felt lousy the whole time.
!
RBRC News: Was it due to lack of proper training? BC: No, personal things that were just stupid.
Just stupid. How old was I? I was born in 1955, so 22 or 23? What does that tell you? That tells
volumes about how I screwed up the night before. !
RBRC News: Did you have a favorite running shoe? BC: You couldn’t because they keep changing
the model. You’d start to like a shoe then they’d get rid of it and make you buy something else that’s
ten dollars more. And then they’d get rid of it and make you buy something else that was ten dollars
more. You couldn’t have a favorite running shoe. Isn’t that your
experience? RBRC News: Yes, it is. And we hear about it from
customers almost daily at the store.
!
RBRC News: What about a type of shoe? Cushioned, stability, motion
control? BC: I wore orthotics, so the shoe had to fit them. I got them
very early on, in 1984, because I did something stupid. I was running
60 miles a week and had no business running 60 miles a week. !
“I work well
with coaches.
You leave me
to me, and I
will get
injured.”
RBRC News: Did you ever venture into multisport races like duathlons
or triathlons? BC: I did one. And I beat Caroline [Lunger]. It was
Biathlon for the Homeless in Wilmington. For some reason we ended
even on the bike. Even though she could kick my ass on the bike, we -BETSY CARPENTER
got off the bike at the same time. I just took off and left her in the dust.
I gave it everything I had and beat her. I came in second overall, but it
was just that friendly competition. Volume 1 ∙ Number 3 ∙ July 2014
©RBRC/WFM
2
runrb.com
301 Rehoboth Avenue ∙ Rehoboth Beach ∙ DE 19971
(302) 227-4848
!
RBRC News: Were you involved in competitive sports before you got into road racing? BC: No. I
have no hand-eye coordination. I tried out for teams at Mt. Pleasant [High School] and the only
reason they took me was I had potential. I could run like the wind. But I had no hand-eye. I could
not dribble a hockey ball. In lacrosse I would get the ball and run it all the way down the field. Don’t
ask me to throw it, don’t ask me to catch it. I’ll just run it down the field. Without the hand-eye, I’d
get nervous. This was before Title IX kicked in, so track was not available as a women’s sport at Mt.
Pleasant or the University of Delaware. !
RBRC News: How were you able to avoid injuries? BC: Hire someone to a coach me and do exactly
what they say. !
RBRC News: What kind of training are you doing these days? BC: My doctor told me I have to start
running again, so I did my first couple of runs last week. But I usually bike and swim. As long as I’m
off the roads, running is okay, but it’s very violent to me to pound asphalt anymore. I’ve always been
a very heavy runner, people can hear me coming. That’s why I had a metatarsal stress fracture the
winter before last and two years before that. But the common denominator was doing yoga and
being stuck in the Downward Dog position. Yoga considers the Downward Dog a resting pose.
Really? You’ve got to be kidding. !
RBRC News: Any races in your future? BC: Absolutely not. Nada. Road races equal injury. !
RBRC News: What did you enjoy most in all the years of running? BC: Playing tag on Sunday
mornings at the Brandywine Creek State Park. You know, you were there, it was great fun. Joe
McNichol started it as a way to have some fun while running for a couple of hours in the woods. As
soon as you were tagged, you were killed. And my biggest fear was being killed by Mike Clark. ✍
PureFit: 1 Bar, 14
Nutritional Needs
RBRC is Delaware's
exclusive retail source for
PureFit Nutrition Bars, the
balanced 40/30/30 bar
intended for use before or
after training. One easily
digestible, delicious bar
provides 18 grams of protein
and meets 14 nutritional
needs. The gluten-free, nondairy, kosher, vegan bars
contain only 220 calories.
Volume 1 ∙ Number 3 ∙ July 2014
©RBRC/WFM
3
runrb.com
301 Rehoboth Avenue ∙ Rehoboth Beach ∙ DE 19971
(302) 227-4848
Triathlon Clinics: July 5 & August 16
!
!
RBRC and TriCoach team up
this summer for two free
triathlon clinics for beginners
who want to learn more about
the swim, bike, run event that’s
growing yearly in popularity and
participation and that’s now a
NCAA women’s sport. The July
5 program is geared toward
7-17-year-old youth/juniors, the
August 16 agenda toward U23
women. For more details, call
Bill at RBRC: (302) 227-4848.
Photo Credits: (L-R) Boby Hutton/RBRC, Rehoboth VegFest/Tara Lausch, Bill Meehan/RBRC (2), Maggie
McConnell/RBRC
Volume 1 ∙ Number 3 ∙ July 2014
©RBRC/WFM
4