Pr esiden t 's M essage

Transcription

1 MARCH/APRIL 2017 NEWSLETTER VOL. 33, Issue 2 NEWSLETTER Leh igh Valley Road Ru n n er s Established 1993 Pr esiden t 's M essage by Neal Novak The Club received an prior to the Superbowl Tailgate race asking,?where does my entry fee go?? A very valid question since there are many for-profit races. Please see the article?club Philanthropy,? further on in the newsletter for the shocking answer. Some wonderful events since the last newsletter: Superbowl went very well thanks to Laurie Reinhart and her great committee. January?s Ice Scraper had a great number of runners and February?s event was more akin to a Summer Series than an Ice Scraper. Spring is just around the corner which starts the hectic season for the Club?s Board and Race Directors. Emmaus 4 Miler will celebrate its 40th running, try to come up with any race even close in the Valley, aside from LVRR?s South Mountain, that can claim that kind of streak. St. Luke?s Half & 5K follows directly after Emmaus and like other LVRR races, the committee is on task. The popular First Strides, a women?s TABLE OF CONTENTS Race Calendar... 2 Club Philanthropy... 4 Trail Runner or Road Runner...5 Kids' Series Contest...7 Grant Committee Update... 9 LVRR Scholarships walking-to-running program begins in March. This super program has started thousands of women running. Check out the flier and if you know any woman who has expressed interest in starting a running regiment please share this information and check out First Strides online page. Please keep in mind our online Club Gear, super stuff and you can have it personalized. As Always, Good Running, Neal

2 Race Calendar APRIL-M AY 2017 Sunday, 3/12/ :00am Ice Scr aper 5K Win t er Ser ies #4 Lehigh Parkway, Allentown PA Saturday, 4/22/2017 2:30pm St. Lu k e's You t h Ru n Allentown, PA Saturday, 3/18/2017 9:00am Cor n Beef & Cabbage 5K Camp Olympic, Emmaus PA Sunday, 4/23/2017 8:00am St. Lu k e?s Half M ar at h on & 5K Contact: Race Director Sunday, 3/19 / :15pm West En d St. Pat r ick?s 5K Muhlenberg College, Allentown PA Saturday, 4/29/2017 8:30am Lu n g For ce 5K Ru n / Walk No registration fee? donations accepted Lehigh Parkway, Allentown PA Contact: Ashley Keller x240 Saturday, 4/01/2017 8:30am Ru n t o Live 5K, 8K Ru n / Walk Ironton Rail Trail, Coplay, PA Contact: michelle@pcflv.org Wednesday, 5/03/2017 6:30pm LVRR Su m m er Ser ies #1 Lehigh Parkway, Allentown PA Saturday, 4/01/2017 9:00am Fools Ru n 10 M i & 5K Kutztown PA Saturday, 5/06/2017 9:00am Apple Blossom 5K Breinigsville, PA Contact: Kay Schwalm, kschwalm@ptd.net Saturday, 4/08/2017 9:00am Big Hear t s Br igh t Hope 5K & 1 M i Hanover Township Community Center Contact: Jennifer Gross x 18 Saturday, 5/13/2017 8:30am Rock n?roll 4 Kids 10K, 5K & Kids Ru n Coca Cola Park, Allentown PA Contact : Saturday, 4/08/2017 9:00am J?s Ru n 5K/ Walk Lehigh Parkway, Allentown PA Contact: Sunday, 4/9/2017 9:30am Em m au s 4 M ile Classic Emmaus PA 2

3 Regist r at ion En din g Soon Registration for the St. Luke's 5K, St. Luke's Half Marathon and Half & Half 26.2 will close this Wednesday, March 15th. 100 fundraising spots will open on March 20 until April 9 for the half marathon ONLY. Registration for the Emmaus 4 Mile Classic ends April 1st. We are unable to accept orders for windbreakers beyond March 23, so if you want to upgrade to a windbreaker or add it in addition to your race shirt PLEASE register by end of day 3/23. LVRR Boar d of Dir ect or s Neal Novak, President Leslie Billowitch, Vice President Brian Shaffer, Treasurer Jill Forsythe, Secretary Lloyd Trego Loretta Dodson Chris Garges Brian Patterson Laurie Reinhart Bob Bodkin Meredith Longo Tim Lambert Lisa Bellito 3

4 Clu b Ph ilan t h r opy The question the runner asked was,?where does my entry fee go?? I guess it is the fault of the Club that we should better communicate where our finances go. Let?s consider that we, you the Club, endows seven scholarships each year, add to that the huge amount of grants that the Club provides to various youth groups, not to mention the stipends doled out to the organizations that provide service that helps the Half function. Thrown on top of all that, we have to place the cost of our free Youth Series that has thousands of young participants. The figure is not just blown smoke but is concise. Every penny can be accounted for. So let?s have some fun, take a guess at what you think your running club gave back to community last year considering all of the above. Check the answer at the end of this newsletter and believe me it is totally correct. 4

5 Tr ail Ru n n er or Road Ru n n er : Wh ich Ar e You? I have been a?road runner? (no pun intended) for a very long time. This past year friends who are members of the Lehigh Valley Trail Chasers encouraged me come out of my comfort zone and try trail running. It sounded intriguing but the more I thought about it --- rocks, trees, and ticks --- yeah, no thanks. So I kept saying?thanks, but I have these group runs to lead and you aren?t even starting until 9:00 a.m., that is coffee time for me, blah blah blah?. by Leslie Billowitch And to train, I had only run up to 12 miles on the road; something I never would have done had it been a road race. The Phunt course was very technical, meaning narrow paths with lots of rocks, stumps, and branches. Happy to say I only fell twice, didn?t poke my eyes out or impale a lung and mastered the superman pose in many near falls - all within the first 15 miles. I found that if my brain wandered, down I went, so I really needed to concentrate. Try to tell that to a road runner who yaps with people the entire run?running back and forth to see how everyone is doing. Now I had to pay attention and be serious. I did manage to chat with a few experienced trail runners, a man working on his doctorate and some new trail runners. I found that just keeping my nose down and following the feet in front of me helped. These trail chasers never gave up. Most knew I loved?change of grades? in a run, so they started talking about this awesome 15K race, Quadzilla. How could I resist? Who doesn?t want to run up and down hills and trails in the heat of July? Sounds fun, right? I did venture out to Trexler Game Preserve to run twice before the race and the people were a lot of fun. The trail? Well, we played in the water, we ran up a shale hill and we laughed and moaned. Not totally different from a road run (except for playing in the water and that really steep hill) and this group of Trail Chasers were very welcoming and way crazier than me. My GPS has the meeting location at tagged as?run with Ticks?. I am happy to say I survived that race tick-free and loved it. When I crossed the 25K mark, which is also the start and finish line, I chatted with my friends, grabbed some oranges and then figured?what the hell?? I had now passed the point of no return and was on my way to 50K. I quickly found a gentleman who has run this race many times. I told him it was my first 50K and hunkered in behind him for the run. At mile 22 I sent a?proof of life? picture to my sister and friends at home to let them know I was that crazy. That gentleman and I played leap frog a few times over the next 13 miles, but after the last aid station I pulled ahead with 3 miles to go. When I reached 1.5 miles to go I heard my name and looked up to see my friend Jerry standing there telling me I was almost done and that there were few women ahead of Fast forward to January and?. a bunch of my Trail Chasing friends and I are in Delaware running in the woods again. One could sign up for a 25K and if fully crazy, continue for a 50K instead. My goal was to do the 25K and see how I felt. If I felt good, I would keep going. If not then I would stop at the 25K. I had survived Quadzilla, but this was longer so I didn?t know what to expect. 5

6 Tr ail Ru n n er or Road Ru n n er (con t in u ed) me. He started to run me in, and I really wanted to walk or crawl. How many women were ahead of me didn?t matter to me at this point. Both feet hurt from my toes jamming into the front of my trail shoes, the bottom of my feet felt like I was running with sandpaper in my socks, and I was just plain tired. My feet never felt like this in my road shoes! He ran ahead and I started walking. Then I saw the fence. It wasn?t far now! I decided I could run in, started to slog, and that?s when I saw it? the finish line and my friends Brian, Lisa, Jerry, Stephanie and too many Trail Chasers to name - all cheering me on. At that minute I knew I had crossed the line? I was now a trail ultra runner. I ended up being the 4 th female in the 50K and 1st in my age group. Quite shocking and not bad for this newbie. Wh at did I lear n abou t t r ail r u n n in g? Aid st at ion s? Trail runners know how to eat. It was a buffet: M&Ms, peanut butter sandwiches, oranges, chocolate coated graham crackers, bananas, pretzels, cookies, crackers, nuts, licorice, soda, trail mix and lots of other foods. You would never see a buffet table in a road race with people standing around laughing while shoveling food in their mouths. Recover y Tim e - After a marathon I am sore for at least 5 days. After this trail run, I felt great, and within 72 hours I was running my hills again. Bu t t h e best t h in g?. While I was leery of a trail race or anything over 26.2 miles, I found that these trail chasers were a community just like us?road? runners. They stick together, and encourage each other to reach milestones - or even just the top of a mountain - and will always have your back. Personally, trail running has made me realize that I like to run. I know that sounds silly, but when I first started running it seemed silly to race for 26.2 miles. Why would you want to do that? Having done it a few times and getting to Boston has been awesome, but it has felt great to try something uncharted and to spread my wings. (continued on page 9) 6

7 LVRR Kids' Ser ies The LVRR Kids' Running Series presented by Victaulic is having a slogan and t-shirt design contest. Kids ages three through fourteen are eligible for the contest. All entries should be original, have a running them and include the name, age and phone number for each entrant. The winning design will be on the front of the t-shirt and the winning slogan will be placed on the back of the t-shirt. Please submit all entries by June 24th to: Lehigh Valley Road Runners Kids Running Series PO Box 592 Allentown, PA

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9 Gr an t Com m it t ee Updat e 2017 is off to a running start with grant requests that have been approved in the first months of the year. The Grant Committee has approved $17,800 in grants since January 1st to the following organizations: - Renovation of Raub Middle School Fitness Room Adaptive bicycles for children with special needs via Lehigh Valley Steel Force Trojan Cross Country Summer Camp Liberty High School Cross Country/Track for team shirts Seed money for 2019 USATF Club Cross Country Championships Catholic Youth Organization track & field season Girls on the Run Lehigh Valley Women's 5K Classic (continued from page 6) I wanted to see if my body could do the mileage, and it can. I still have a racer?s mind and I have to keep reminding myself that I am only racing myself and that it is OK to walk, but when you see the back of a racer in front you something clicks and the urge to pass them is very hard to resist. I still plan to run the roads as I truly enjoy it, but since this January race I have run a 20 mile trail run (Naked Bavarian? which is fully clothed and I ended up turning it into a marathon, because who just runs just 20 miles?) and am pondering another 50K. Will I ever do more than that? I don?t know, that just seems silly? who would run more than 31 miles. But, if I decide to take the plunge, would you like to join me? If you happen to see any of these runners/walkers out there. Don?t be surprised if they detour your road run up a hill, through the trees and water and down the other side of a mountain. They are some of my trail chasers and they are always looking for new friends. 9

10 LVRR Sch olar sh ips Available Did you k n ow t h at Leh igh Valley Road Ru n n er s gives aw ay seven sch olar sh ips t ot alin g $22,000 each year? The scholarships are funded by LVRR races and through fund-raising efforts of the club. This is one way the club gives back to the community. Its purpose is to foster interest in the sport we love and to demonstrate our commitment to youth running. By supporting young people who have demonstrated academic and athletic excellence, community involvement and a strong interest in running, we are encouraging healthy, productive and disciplined lifestyles in these young adults who will be the leaders of the future. The Leh igh Valley Road Ru n n er s Sch olar sh ip Fu n d was established to assist local high school graduates with college expenses. Four scholarships of $4,000 each are awarded to residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties who have also competed on their high school track and/or cross country team. The Ed Th om pson M em or ial Sch olar sh ip and the Nicole Rein h ar t M em or ial Sch olar sh ip are available to an eligible male and female Emmaus High School senior, respectively. Each award is $2,000. Both seniors must have run track or cross country. In 2013, the Leh igh Valley Road Ru n n er Clu b Sch olar sh ip was founded, available to one child of an LVRR member in good standing, who also runs. This scholarship award is $2,000. Please visit the LVRR Sch olar sh ip w ebpage for all of the details, deadlines and for scholarship applications. The total amount of club philanthropy is $92,000 10

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