Steamtown Marathon, Scranton, PA 10/07/06

Race report by Keith Hosman... I have been training for this race for around 5 months. My last 6 races have all been good. I put in a lot of 20 mile runs and did speed work, and I felt good about my training. Two days before the race I caught a cold from my daughter. The only good thing about that was that for once I got a good night's sleep in the hotel the night before the race.

Steamtown is a point to point race. A bus takes you to the starting line. On the way out you begin to think "Gee this is a long trip. I dont think I can run that far." A civil war cannon was used to start the race. The fall colors were perfect for this race. I went out fast due to the fact that the first 10 miles are all down hill. I covered the first 20 miles in 2:41 which would give me 54 min to do the last 10k, and qualify for Boston. I thought I was in good shape until around mile 23 I hit my first big hill and crawled up it with dead legs. At mile 25 there is another huge hill that does not stop until mile 26. I crawled up it also. I got to the top and had to sprint to the finish line to qualify. My chip time was 3:35:14 I made it by seconds!

Some RidgeRunners ran the National Capital 20 miler. The race course follows the Mt. Vernon trail. Keith Hosman ran 2:43:58 and Carol Housaman 2:59:41

Race report by Mollie Galloway... The weather was the best it has ever been for this race since I've been running it in 1997! It was overcast and a little breezy. All of the Ridgerunners that came out had great finish times!

Tom Corris = 1:17:09
Keith Hosman = 1:17:14
Mollie Galloway = 1:19:02
Marty Lindeman= 1:22:25
Byron Galloway = 1:23:22
Vicki Crosby = 1:32:06
Pete Mendel = 1:48:48
Mike Johnson = 2:20:43

We also enjoyed good food and company at the annual tail gate party following the race!

Report by Rannveig Fredheim... As you know, I had pledged to run a marathon, in memory of my brother, during Relay for Life, the annual fundraiser for American Cancer Society. It was held May 20-21 at Forest Park High School in Woodbridge. 104 times around the track! And I did it! “Running around” has gotten a different meaning after that! Hundreds of people walking the track, kids running around, entertainment like the "Miss Relay" beauty pageant for males only! To keep track of the number of laps, I stopped at our site (The school nurses had a team!) for every 4 laps and made a tally mark. At one point, I heard the announcer say: “Attention, we have a runner on the track”  Oh oh, I thought, now I won’t be able to run anymore. Well, he continued to tell everyone about what I was doing. The entire crowd was cheering me on after that. It was a very emotional event.

I finished in time to light the luminaries and to listen to someone playing the bagpipe from the top of the bleachers. So beautiful. And I did not get sick! Thank you for your donations, it is very much appreciated. With your help, I raised about $700.

EX2 Off-Road Marathon & Half Marathon Prince William Forest Park, Triangle, VA 05/07/06

Report by Keith Hosman... I guess I didn't get enough trail running at the 24 hour adventure trail race at Prince William Forest park. I signed up for the Full Marathon the next week-end on May 7th. The race is a 13.1 mile loop that starts at the cabin camp down Burma Road. The course goes from Burma to Taylor farm Road, then right on High Meadows to South Valley trail. There it hooks left and runs to Cabin Branch trail and then North Valley and back to Burma Road. There were 7 aid-stations so I ran without a water belt. I thought I was pushing hard on part of the first loop where I could open up and run. When I came in at the half way point I saw I was around 50 min. off my normal half marathon time. I then knew I would but being out on the course a long time I decided to treat the second loop like I was doing an ultra. I walked a lot of the hills the second loop. There were not a lot of other runners doing the full marathon. Most just did the half. I only saw 3 other runners my whole second loop. The nice thing is that there was no cut-off time. My time was 6:03:43 over 2 hours over my normal marathon time. Yikes!

Report by Race Director, Joe Malinowski... We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful race day morning.  It was a sunny, cloudless 50 degrees!  More like an October morning, but great for running. A pleasant surprise was a visit by Congressman Tom Davis to who I relinquished "official starter" duties for the Fitness Walk and Run.  Our field of 98 runners didn't disappoint the spectators as our overall winner, Lake Ridge resident, Andrew McGreal (15 yrs) finished in under 18 minutes with a great 17:57.  He was followed by Wayne Hugar (42 yrs) of Dale City in 18:09 and Scott Teribury (16 yrs) of Lake Ridge in 18:26. The ladies clocked great times as well!  Our first female overall winner, Karla Pavich of Lake Ridge finished in 22:14, followed by Ellen Craven (18 yrs) of Culpepper in 22:47 and Allyson Bodmer (10 yrs) of Manassas in 23:50.Our 27 fitness walkers also had great times from 38:24 to 1:03:40!  Thanks to all of our walkers, runners, sponsors, supporters and volunteers for making our May Day event another success!

Capon Valley 50K, Yellow Spring, WV 05/06/06

Report by Kelly (Bergenstock) Byrd... So, yeah, running Capon Valley is always a must because of the beautiful scenery, the wonderful aide workers and of course the chicken at the end! However, I seem to have trouble remembering just how many “hill” climbs have been added over the years! Or maybe I am crazy…and they’ve always been there…can’t be sure! I know the map has looked the same for the past few years and yet we seem to have veered off course on several occasions…and not because the ribbons are at horse level! And who thought that was a good idea? The first rule of trail running is to look down… but let’s put the ribbons up in the trees? Can’t be sure. I’m not complaining… just making observations as I soothe what use to be my quadriceps. This year (In addition to Joe and George) I had the pleasure of running with two of my Outer Banks buddies….Tricia and Brad. I sort of told them about the race, maybe left out a few details here and there and perhaps focused on the chicken and tailgating a bit too much?? In any event, they were happy to make the trek through the woods in search of the pimp bus, washing machine and strange family in the woods. We got two out of three…. I fear the family ditched us this year for the Apple Blossom Festival! Joe found a second home for he and Kathy around mile 10 something. It still had the padlock and cement pilings on it but I’m sure they can make do! Tricia giggled all day (can’t be sure what that was all about), Brad reminded me that I forgot to mention a few “hills” … and well… I cussed a lot…nothing unusual there. You see if we had some hills here in the Outer Banks, it might not take 7:57 to finish and 8:00 race! Our idea of a long run is making the 6 mile trip to Wally World! So….perhaps next year a bit more training would be a wise idea. All in all another great day! We got to hang with our fellow Lunatics, Tricia was officially crowned a Lunatic and we topped off the evening with some pizza, beer and complaining! It was great to see Joe, Kathy, George, Jean and Bobbie Boy! Can’t wait to do it again…or something! Can someone send me a steamroller to get the lactic acid out of my legs? I think I’ve gone toxic!

Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon, Nashville, TN 04/29/06

Report by Mike Johnson... I saw Kim & Sharon at the start of the half marathon and the three of us were talking about you and your run.  The four of us finished the half marathon.  The weather was nice but a little on the warm side, it was 68 when the race started.  The start was unusual.  They started us of in waves of 1,000.  They would wait about a minute and a half before starting the next corral.  Kim, Sharon & I started at the same time about 30 minutes after the first gun went off.  Pat was in an earlier corral.  I will never do another half marathon with training for it.  I was not able to carry my camera in my bag during the race.  The only pictures I took were of Pat & I in front of the Grand Olde Opery.  We didn't go in because we were there to early.  We did get to go into the Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame.  That was interesting.  Results were: Pat Johnson 2:18:47, Kimberly Prica & Sharon Konieczko 2:59:04, and Mike Johnson 3:26:43.

George Washington Parkway 10 Mile, Alexandria, VA 04/23/06

A few RidgeRunners entered this Spring Classic and had great performances.  Results: Keith Hosman 1:18:37, Joan Massaro 1:21:37, Vicki Crosby 1:26:48, and Lori Benson 1:37:23.

14th Battle of the Bull Run 50 Miler, Clifton, VA 04/08/06

Report by Phil Silas... To Mike Johnson, Keith Hosman, JC, Vicki Crosby, Dave, Ray & Mary Jane McQuade, Tom & Sally, Burl Hickman, and Rannveig Fredheim, Thanks for your help in making this year's running of the Bull Run Run a success!  It was great that we pulled together to overcome the adversities and still keep smiling!  I saw our Ridgerunner friends Alex, Tom, Marty, and Dionisio at Hemlock where, after cleaning up and some hot food in front of the fireplace, they all said they especially appreciated the support from us at Fountainhead!  

We were able to come under budget by $30 which the Ridgerunners BRR Fountainhead Aid Station crew donated to Rannveig's cause in remembrance of her brother.  Hope all got enough pizza and leftovers to make up for the conditions. We'll see Art gets his large shirt, and also, Bob, if possible, I'd like to get 2 more XL shirts for 2 more runners that weren't there yesterday but helped anyway.  Joe Malinowski gave me meticulous notes and a shopping list, and advice from his experience last year as Captain and Ernie Fore lent me his Ford Expedition so I could haul everything to and from Fountainhead.

Chris Scott, the Race Director, said there may be a free pair of shoes (or 2) for the volunteers.  If so, Rannveig ought to get it based on taking care of photos, cuts, hypothermia, and guiding us to get more trash "ponchos" bags!  I had a few runners at Hemlock tell me they WOULD NOT HAVE FINISHED if not for the help of a poncho we provided.   Rannveig suggested we get more, and a special thanks also to Dave for driving out with my less than perfect directions to buy more. Second, Mike Johnson who recorded the runners thru our place twice with frozen fingers, and brought the Pop-ups!   With the help of the Wireless folks, it was nice to have no unaccounted for runners before we left Fountainhead.

Thanks again to all for braving the rain, mud and cold to bring the runners the support they needed to accomplish something they'll never forget!  Look for photos and stories soon at www.vhtrc.org.

RidgeRunner results were: Alex Papadopoulus, 9:31, Tom Corris, 9:43, Marte Lindemann, 9:53, and Dionisio De Leon, 12:45.

Umstead 50/100 Mile Endurance Run, Raleigh, NC 04/08/06

Report by Joe Malinowski... One thing I have learned over all these years is that no matter how much you plan, getting the stars & planets to align for a given day is a crap shoot! This was my 6th attempt at 100 miles.  I had been working with a personal trainer at Gold's Gym (Lisa Fenton) for the last 4 months, ran 2 smart marathons, long runs on the treadmill, Manassas Battlefield Park, Pr. William Parkway, and... I catch a cold a few days before race time!

All the meds I took only lessened the symptoms.  After 3 loops (37.5 miles) the elevation gains had me wheezing and I just couldn't get any oxygen down deep.  This was a tough DNF. 

Congratulations to James Moore (100 miles 29:02:05) and George McVeigh (50 miles 13:42:22).

50K HAT Run, Susquehanna State Park, MD 03/25/06

Three of our RidgeRunners joined the craziness of ultrarunning and ran the 18th Annual 50K HAT Run in the hills of Maryland.  Results are: Bob Phillips 6:03:56, James Moore 6:39:02, Dionisio de Leon 6:42:32, and Phil Silas 7:41:31.

Shamrock Sportsfest 8K, Half-Marathon & Marathon VA Beach, VA

03/18-19/06

Report from Joe Malinowski... On an extremely windy weekend, our RidgeRunner contingent braved the cold temps and had great times.  On Saturday morning, the coldest of the weekend, the following challenged the wind and finished the 8K: Mike Johnson 1:06:12, Ray McQuade 1:16:28, Allyson Hosman, Kathy Malinowski and Mary Jane McQuade all with a fine 1:24:23.

In the afternoon, we had a great time with Mike & Mary Flaherty who came in for packet pick-up because they were running the Half-Marathon on Sunday.  We all went to lunch at Laverne's Restaurant and "caught up".  We miss you guys!!

 

Saturday evening the group "carbo loaded" with pizza from CHICHO's and some of the finest Irish beers! We found out that Keith Hosman's secret weapon is Murphy's Stout!!

 

Sunday morning it was a few (very few!) degrees warmer, but it became a beautiful morning as the sun came up... still somewhat cool and breezy though!  Our Half-Marathoners had the following results: Vicki Crosby 1:54:58, Amanda Rumble 2:12:10, Pat Johnson 2:22:21, Sharon Konieczko 2:36:43, and Rebecca Moore 3:22:11.

 

Another surprise was the appearance of Kelly "Bergenstock" Byrd for the Marathon.  Kelly and her friend Tricia Dove embarked on a journey to honor athletes who fought the good fight on earth and now reside with God in heaven. It was their very first charity event for Athletes Sent to Heaven (ASH) as Kelly and Tricia raised fundin memory of the following athletes:

Christopher Dove (Tricia's brother)
Michael Hess (Kelly's Uncle)
Bonnie Day (yes, our own Bonnie!)

All funds will be donated to the Church of the Outer Banks in support of their Life Groups Program. You can still donate by going to their church's website and click on the PayPal link:

Our Marathoners: Keith Hosman 3:54, James Moore 4:30, Joe Malinowski 5:00, Kelly Byrd 5:38, George McVeigh 5:48, Christine Papadopoulos 6:21 and Kelly Prica 6:52.

Gasparilla 5K and Half-Marathon, Tampa, FL 02/25-26/06

John and Charla Tempone may be living and enjoying the good life and "temperatures" in Tampa, but they are running.  John & Charla ran together the 5K and finished 42:13 and 42:12.  John then took on the Half-Marathon on Sunday and finished in a fine 2:05:27.  Enjoy the weather guys!!

Report from John Tempone... hard to moan about the morning showers, but we had a front move thru and we had boomers just before race time. No big problems; heavy rain before the start [being close, not a problem]  then light rain for the morning with temps about 68 - - just perfect! - - at the end of the race it started to stop raining and the temps started to drop, windy and about 63 right now - - perfecto!!!!

I did a 2:05 for the half, including stopping and dropping off the coffee mug and rain gear at the villa.  I missed Charla at the finish but we did get pictures! We changed and went to breakfast on the Island and really had a good time.  It would be great if you all were with us - - next year we will do it like big dogs.

Colonial Half-Marathon, Williamsburg, VA 02/26/06

Kim Prica and Sharon Konieczko kept true to their training and running commitment and finished the half-marathon in 2:52:21 and 2:44:37 respectively. Great job ladies! And... now on to the Shamrock Marathon!

George Washington Birthday Marathon, Greenbelt, MD 02/19/06

Report by Keith Hosman... I think that this is the hardest marathon I have run, due to the hills. The whole thing is done on hills. There is a short out and back and then a 3 loop course. On every loop there is a hard hill at the end of the loop, then there is a killer hill at mile 25 on the out and back to the loop. I had a hard time but Allyson had it harder than me. She had helped out with this race last year and was going to this year also. When she saw how cold it was going to be for the weekend she told me not to send an email saying she would help again this year. Well once you do something once you can count on being asked to help out again. 2 days before the race the race director called the house and said he needed her bad. It was 14 degrees outside when we left for the race from the hotel. BRRRR! She got to stand outside and hand out sports drinks and water. I just had to run. My time was 3:57:30 ,not bad for a hard course.

BI-LO Myrtle Beach Marathon, Pelican Pedal Pusher Bike Ride,
Ripley's Aquarium Fun Run - Myrtle Beach, NC 02/18-19/06

Report by Joe Malinowski... A great opportunity to run a new marathon, see our retirement property, be with great friends and enjoy a holiday weekend. We also saw Mike & Pat Johnson at the marathon starting line along with long-time RidgeRunners, Sam & Chris Konrad who now live in North Carolina. We stayed with the niece of Ray & Mary Jane McQuade who has a beautiful beach house at Ocean Isle Beach. On Friday evening, Ray, Mary Jane and my wife Kathy did the Ripley's Aquarium Fun Run (1 Mile) that also went through the aquarium. They said the aquarium actually is a clear tunnel with the sharks swimming all around you!

Saturday morning was marathon time! This has to be one of the "flattest" marathon courses around.  The support was incredible... aid-stations every 2 miles and then every mile for the last 3 miles. They even had medical stations at 6 locations because of the potential for hot weather. But, we were blessed with temps in the low 40s for most of the morning.  The real nice thing about a 6:30 AM start is that we were sitting in our friends' home by 1:00 PM. I came in with a 5:22 and Pat Johnson finished with a 5:47.  See Mike's report below for the Bike Ride.

Report by Mike Johnson... On Sunday February 19, as part of the Bi-Lo Marathon weekend, there were three sponsored bike runs, 10 Miles, 31 Miles, & 63 Miles. Mike Johnson participated in his first bike run, the 10 miler. The morning starting temperature was a chilly 40 degrees with a wind chill of just above 30.

Fortunately the course was very flat. I had a head wind at the start until the turn around. We then went back for about six miles and then another turn around back to the finish of about two miles in a head wind. By the end of the run, my finger tips were completely numb. Other than the chilly temperatures the run was enjoyable. My finishing time was 1 hr 25 min.

Road Runners Club of America, Columbia, MD 2006

As reported by the RRCA... Proving once again that you don't need a big organization, (65 members), to have a great web site, Webmaster/Club President Joe Malinowski is a repeat winner from 2004. The Best Site award will be presented at this year's RRCA convention in Houston.

Again, my thanks to all the club reviewers for their help looking at the pages. Without the help of these reviewers, it would be impossible to reduce the judging job down to anything manageable. Special thanks to Freddi Carlip, Jean Knaack and Bryan Finke who helped do the final judging.

The six clubs awarded the "Top Site" award all had their own strengths. In the end the "RidgeRunners" had what most felt was the most personality. Comments like "looks like a fun, friendly and active club" were made by the reviewers. They also had the most support for the RRCA through the news feed, RRCA calendar link and references to the organization.

If you are building a club web site, take a good look at these 6 examples, their structure, layout and content. If you are trying to improve your web site look deeper into how some of these sites are implemented with the new technologies available. But most of all, try to capture the personality of your club and show it up front.

Report by Keith Hosman... Houston is a flat course which can lead to a quick time. I was worried about the heat after running in the Virginia cold. I need not have worried for divine intervention helped me to a new PR. I was running along the course and came to a large Catholic church with bells ringing. Along the course there were 4 Catholic priests sprinkling holy water on the runners. I took a year of latin at NOVA so when I got close to them I said Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord in Latin. One of them offered me a communion wafer which I declined. Later I found out that they do this every year and they call this the Blessing of the feet. So I now have Blessed feet! I attribute this to my new PR chip time 3:45:42, 8:36 per mile.

About our resident Gazelles... Art Reynolds captured his age group (65-69) in the 2005 Fredericksburg Area Running Club (FARC) Grand Prix Series scoring an impressive 5002 points and winning 2 of 7 events he entered and placing 2nd in the other 5; Harry Wiggins placed 2nd in the 55-59 age group winning 1 event of the 6 he entered and placing 2nd, 3rd, 4th (twice) and 5th in the remaining events. CONGRATULATIONS!