Coach Fischer News Journal Article
A good article about Jim Fischer by Kevin Tresolini was printed in the News-Journal a couple days ago. Unfortunately what the University of Delaware is doing to him isn’t so nice. It seems the school values him about as much as it values the cancelled men’s running programs. Anyway, here’s the link: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120313/SPORTS07/120313004/Fischer-devotes-life-shaping-runners?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|s
Banquet Photos
Pictures from Pike Creek Valley Running Club’s banquet on March 3, taken by Kim Riccio, are now posted on our website’s home page: www.pcvrc.com.
Pre-CR Pasta Dinner
Ray is hosting his 9th annual pre-CR pasta dinner in “The Beer Room” Saturday 3/24 at 6pm. Not required to bring anything, but let him know if you’d like to bring one of either: a couple folding chairs, a salad/side (specify), italian bread, dessert, a six pack of soft drinks or beer. Please RSVP by Thurs 3/22 to or 302-633-1482. Location is on corner of McKennans Church Road at 2630 Crossgates Dr. Wilmington 19808.
Columbia (South Carolina) Marathon
A lot of our members know Scott Hodukavich, who relocated to Columbia, S.C. about two years ago. He still makes appearances around here. Over a year ago, Scott had e-mailed me, knowing that I had relatives in Columbia, about a new marathon which was being created for the city. This past fall I made the decision to do the inaugural event since I hadn’t seen my sister in 13 years. As a plus, my niece, who is a critical care pediatric physician, offered to let me stay at her home, which is right across the street from the Governor’s mansion and less than a mile from the race venue and start.
My sister Pris had gotten into the spirit by volunteering for the race, which she had never done before. Her only request was that she be placed near the end of the race so that she could see me finish. The organization agreed to use her at the 13th fluid stop, which was just at the start of the second loop of the two-loop course and less than a hundred years from the finish. That way everyone would be through that aid station long before I finished.
Unfortunately, several days before my departure, Pris had stubbed her small toe on her right foot and broke it. As her foot took on various shades of purple, she doubted she would be able to fit into a pair of shoes, much less stand for hours. But as the week went by, the swelling subsided enough for her to eventually get on a pair of tennis shoes. Dealing with the discomfort, she did participate at the aid station. By the time I went past, she really looked into it, being the lead person on one side of the road passing out drinks. Apparently the experience meant a lot to her. She came away pleasantly surprised by all the remarks of thanks from the runners.
Some of you may recall I had traveled to Myrtle Beach two years ago, only to have the race cancelled for fear that four inches of snow inland from the beach would present too much of a hazard for the volunteers to travel the event. So the Columbia Marathon was my chance to finally get in a South Carolina marathon. I knew in advance that the course was hilly. In fact Scott wrote that it looked like the director went out and found every hill in Columbia. My sister confirmed that idea when she said that Columbia really wasn’t that hilly. Nevertheless this course was.
When the races (half and full marathons together) started, we went down several nice flat blocks, but as soon as we turned a corner, there was a steep hill up ahead. For the first five miles, every mile had a hill. Then up to mile eight it was flatter before a rather continuous two mile uphill. Most of it was a mild climb. At about mile 9.8, there was an unofficial fluid stop, organized by the local hashers. Scott had brought this concept from Delaware, where the hashers will man the stop near the Delaware Art Museum on the Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon course. As I passed by, Scott saw me and rushed to grab a special barley and hops charged energy drink, but I said “Next time” and went on. This was where the two mile hill got steeper for three tenths of a mile.
At the top we turned and were now running along a street which had traffic. But enough of the road was dedicated to runners for the traffic to not be a problem. Heading toward the halfway point, there were still two more steep hills to climb. Approaching the aid station where my sister was working, I threw aside the long sleeve tech shirt I had on at the beginning when the temperature was in the low 40s. By then it was in the 50s and sunny. More or less perfect weather.
Then it was time to repeat all those hills again. Having approached the entire event with caution because of all the hills, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not slow down that much on the second loop (and actually ran the marathon over a minute faster than any of the ones I did in 2011). Finally I got to the hashers’ stop and this time Scott handed me half a cup of green-tinged barley soda (they had a St. Patrick’s Day theme). I took most of it, turned around for a picture with Scott (which is viewable on my Facebook page), and turned to face the steeper part of the hill. Scott jogged halfway up with me, giving words of encouragement.
I didn’t mention that at the start of the event, I had lined up with the 4:30 pace group. But I found after a mile or two that the pacer seemed to be going a little slow for my taste because I knew from experience that I always slow down in the latter miles. So I had to go a bit faster in the beginning. I told the pacer that I was with him, but I was moving ahead. Now, as I got near the top of the steep hill the pacer chugged past me, being stronger on the uphills. However, there was nobody else with him. After cresting the hill, I used him as a marker and on a downhill, I caught up to him. I reminded him of what I said earlier. He told me I had 16 minutes to go 1.4 miles. That was good, because I still had to deal with the two steep hills, but I made it in 4:28:38 (chip).
Recommendation: This is NOT a fast course. But it is scenic. There is a Sheraton hotel less than 50 yards from the race start, but it’s probably pricey. This area, where both the expo is located and the race starts and finishes, has a myriad of bars and restaurants, being near the University of South Carolina campus & an urban renewal area – think Main Street Newark meets the Wilmington Riverfront area. There was even a place, which I was intrigued to go in, but never got to, named The World of Beer. I was probably extremely lucky with the weather, as there was a day the week before when the temperature had reached 80. Remember the women’s Olympic Trials Marathon was held in Columbia in 2000 and most of the participants had trouble with a day in the upper 60s with high humidity(and that was several weeks earlier in the year). So go to make it a destination spot, not for a PR. BTW, the local zoo is considered to be a pretty good one and I went through it with my niece in the afternoon after the events.
Note on race stories: The E-Bulletin is not my personal blog. I write about my experiences because I like to write. But I’d love it if other club members would share their stories. Please e-mail anything you’d like to include about your running experiences.