DDC 15K Needs Help
More volunteers still needed for the Delaware Distance Classic 15K!
Dear Club Members: As editor of the club’s e-bulletin, I am only a peripheral part of the club’s effort to put on a successful Delaware Distance Classic. I must say that I’ve sat in on a couple of the meetings and have been amazed at the effort and talent of some of our members, who have stepped forward to build the success of our signature race.
As the race approaches, with six days left (on Monday), we already had 220 pre-registered. The event looks like it’s going to have close to 400 participants, larger than any DDC field in years. A strong effort was made to obtain sponsors and the club is already guaranteed success because of the thousands of dollars already pledged to the race. But the race needs one more thing to make it successful: Your participation. If you are running it, you are probably already in. But if you aren’t, please consider volunteering. This event is going to make it possible for the club to expand it’s programs and social events. You will benefit as a club member. To volunteer contact Jim Steele ASAP at .
Lee Kauffman, who has now run 25 consecutive Boston Marathons, will also be running it next year. His long streak gives him automatic entry to the race and so he hasn’t been listed among the entrants yet.
News Journal
Club members who were featured recently in the News-Journal: On Monday a front page article on treatment of stress fractures with Lite Lasers featured Connie Montana or more specifically, her tootsies. Today, the “360” photograph of the Newark Mile (taken last year), which is coming up this Saturday, showed, among the other speedsters towing the front line, Sue Simmons.
Divas Half-Marathon
From Andrea Rubinoff:
On 10/2, I ran the Divas Half-Marathon on Long Island. It’s part of a series that includes San Francisco, Honolulu, Myrtle Beach, Puerto Rico, Vail, & North Carolina. I was going to be in NY visiting relatives & found it on the internet just prior to leaving. It was all women (>2600 strong). Runners were all decked out in their best diva outfit (mostly pink with lots of bling). If you registered early, you got a personalized bib (e.g., “Diva Andrea”). I was too late. Oh well. I bought a pink top & pink/black shorts for the occasion. At mile 12, volunteers handed out pink feather boas & tiaras.
At the finish line, they gave us champagne & one red rose. They gave out the biggest medal (that spins) I’ve ever seen, complete with bling & a spot for your photo. The shirt was a women’s fit technical tee (pink, of course). Pictures were taken with hot, partially clad firefighters. Unfortunately, I left the area to see family & they wouldn’t let us back in. So…no picture for me! I’ve been fighting a sore hamstring & my goal was under 2:00. I ran 1:59:06. Not great…but not bad. Sixth in my age group. I highly recommend this race to any female who wants to feel really special.
Freedom’s Run recap:
by Editor Dave M
I picked this venue in the small town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia for several reasons. I had run a marathon three weeks ago, so I was ready for another. The location gave me a marathon in West Virginia, making my 10th state in which I’ve done a marathon and, therefore, allowing me to join the 50 States Marathon Club. [No, I don’t intend to run in all 50 states!] But this town was as close to Delaware as one could be in W. Virginia, requiring less than three hours travel. The price was reasonable. The course was historic – going through Antitiem Battlefield – site of the bloodiest single day in U.S. military history. The race had a party with a commemorative mug and the first beer free. With Shepherd University being the main employer, the town has a historic area with a good number of places to eat and drink – think of it as a mini-Newark. There was also a half-marathon, a 10K and a 5K, allowing Carolyn to do her first ever 10K. Another good feature was that the Clarion Hotel, where we stayed, was only a half mile from the race venue (and the 10K start).
On race morning I didn’t have to leave my hotel to catch a bus. So many runners were staying there that a bus picked us up at 5:35 A.M. to take us to the start in Harper’s Ferry. Unfortunately the forecast,which had been 30% chance of rain early in the week, was 80% chance was that morning. Actually, it should have said that it would rain 80% of the time – light drizzle before the start and then by seven miles it was a steady light rain the rest of the way. The temperature stayed in the low fifties. This actually made for great running conditions.
Right before the 7:00 A.M. start, the race director announced a rather bizarre ceremony. Instead of the Star-Spangled Banner, a young woman sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The director said that because no flag was present, we were supposed to face the generator which had some overhead lights powered up. He took off his cap while the song was sung. Sorry, I don’t take off my hat for a light generator.
Off we went – first out of the park to a gravel road leading past a historic farm. Then back to the park and out the other side, down a long hill. It was feeling like the hill out of Hopkinton and I felt like I was going to pay for the speed I was going. I had started talking to a guy(Mike) who had taken a walk break at mile one at exactly the same moment I took one. By the hill I had found out he was a 50 Stater from California and intended to run a 4:30 time. I thought that would be good as we could stick together. But right about then, he sped up and I said he was going too fast for me. At the bottom of the hill, we ran across the sidewalk on a bridge over the Potomac into Maryland (in which almost 22 of the miles were run) and then had to walk down three flights of steps to get down to the towpath along the old C & O canal. From mile four to mile 15 we were on the towpath. It’s a beautiful area and would have been more so if the sun had been out.
Coming off the towpath, the real work began. Running up into the Antitiem Battlefield required taking on a series of steep hills. On the steeper ones, almost everyone had to walk at some point. After several of them, I noticed that my hamstrings really didn’t appreciate the amount of pushing they had to do when walking up the hills. That convinced me to run as much as I could until I couldn’t do it aerobically. On we went, past many monuments to the various groups of soldiers who fought in the battle there. I saw one dedicated to the Delaware Volunteer Regiment. When I started the race, I had a couple of anti-war messages written on the back of old race numbers, which a few people had noticed. But by then the signs ran with red ink, much as those fields ran with the blood of men in September 1862. At some point in Antitiem, I caught up to and passed Mike (who eventually finished seven minutes behind me).
Leaving the battlefield, we headed through Sharpsburg, which was the Confederate name for the battle. These miles were still hilly, but were more downhill than uphill. I was pleasantly surprised to find that after having had some 12+ minute miles in the battlefield, that I was then running some 10 minute miles. Usually in a marathon, when I slow down, I don’t pick it back up. I’ll chalk it up to: many walk breaks, consuming a lot of calories while I ran, and the previous marathon, which had some unexpected hills, but which, apparently, helped prepare me for these hills. In the last miles, I was desperately trying to get under 4:30. I ran the last two tenths of a mile, which went into the stadium of the school and finished on the fifty yard line at an 8:50 pace. Yet I was six seconds over. Good enough for the conditions and over 14 minutes faster than the last one.
Then came the downside of the rain. Carolyn had been standing around for over an hour since her race was over. Shortly after I stopped, I began to cool off. We both needed a hot shower. The idea of trekking over to the party at the Bavarian Inn in the rain, which we passed after we crossed the bridge back into West Virginia, was not appealing. So we made our way back to the hotel, get cleaned up, and ate right there at its bar.
I recommend this race, especially if you have time to take in some history. If the weather had cooperated, it would have been nice to take in historic Harper’s Ferry before heading home. The one drawback with Shepherdstown is that it has no stoplights. There was one four-way stop in particular that would force everyone to crawl for ten minutes before getting through. The other possible problem with this race could occur in warmer weather. The latter eleven miles – through the battlefield and Sharpsburg – have no shade whatsoever. I could imagine a brutal combination of sun, warmth and hills.
Race Results:
Pearls of Hope 5K
17:42 Greg Cauller, Overall Winner
Pro Physical Therapy Foundation 5K
21:33 Dan Simmons, 1st 60-69 & 4th Overall – rounding into shape after recovering from injury
More Philly Rock “n” Roll Half-Marathon results:
1:29:05 Chris James
1:29:36 Epi Camacho
Freedom’s Run Marathon
4:30:06 Dave McCorquodale
Freedom’s Run 10K
1:12:18 Carolyn McCorquodale, 2nd 60-64