Weekly Rundown
for August 17, 2004

BCRR joins e-mail list
5K Training Program
Race Results
Upcoming Events and Races
Upcoming Marathons
Group Runs
Local Runner Happenings

GREETINGS KALAMAZOO AREA RUNNERS, BATTLE CREEK ROAD RUNNERS AND RUNNING FRIENDS!

We would like to welcome the 65 members of the Battle Creek Road Runners to our group E-mail. We are currently in the process of adding everyone (our system limits us to 10 per day) and should have all our Battle Creek friends on the group e-mail by the end of this week, bringing total circulation to over 300 local runners! A few of you have already been on our list, but for those who are new, please let us know if there is anything you would like to share with the group. The Kalamazoo Area Runners and Battle Creek Road Runners are currently exploring opportunities to partner or combine to better serve our running community. More to come as plans unfold…..

Are you a new runner or know of someone who would like to get started? Gazelle Sports is offering a 5k training program for new runners or walkers who are interested in getting started in the sport. The training program begins Aug 19 and runs until October 7 and will meet at Gazelle Sports (old Walgreens location) at 6:30. The cost is $45 and includes moisture wicking socks. You can sign up at Gazelle in advance or the first night of class – tomorrow!

Races galore! The 2004 Ready or Not 5k and the South Haven Blueberry Fest 5k are now history. The men’s overall winner of the Ready or Not 5k was none other than Vickburg’s high school star Dan Roberts with a 15:54 while the women’s champion was up and coming star Jenna Matthews with a 19:23. The South Haven Blueberry Festival was won by Tad Holst with a 16:18 while Jesse Stewart of Kalamazoo won the women’s race with a 18:25. Awesome races!

In the meantime KAR Presidents of the past and present jammed at the 12 th Annual Tower Trail Run 8k held in Michigan City Sunday. Our fearless leader, Dave Walch emerged as the men’s overall winner (and we are not talking Masters here either folks) with a 34:01 on a very sandy course with a climb up to the :”Tower”. In the mean time, former KAR Pres Allison Wolf finished fourth overall for the women with a 39:27. Great job!

Missed the deadline for Chicago? Didn’t win the New York Lottery? Don’t despair. There are still plenty of fall marathons to choose from though. See our list below for other great options!

We just finished E-mailing membership renewals to all KAR members expiring through August. Please take the time to print out and complete your renewal application and send it back to us.  We want to keep you on our list!

A Clinic for Men and Women Coaches and Distance Runners is being held Saturday, August 28, 2004 at Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac. Ron Gunn and his staff will present a total program for coaching and training scholastic and intercollegiate teams and runners. Ron is the winningest coach in NJCAA history and established an outstanding program that generated 8 national team titles and 130 Al l Americans. Contact rgunn@swmich.edu for more information on this unique program.

Visit our website, www.kalamazooarearunners.com for more running news and information!

Here's what's coming up...

SPECIAL EVENTS AND RACES

Saturday, August 28

If you want to experience the thrill and excitement of a big city marathon without having to do 26.2, then The Crim Festival of Races 10-mile run is for you. This truly is the Coolest Race in Michigan as they claim. The festival not only includes the 10-mile, but also an 8k and a 5k. This event is usually televised, is jam-packed with elite runners, and features a seeded start for those who have completed a certified 10k below 7:00 minute pace. You don't have to be an elite runner to enjoy this fun-filled event, however. See www.crim.org for all the details. This one is truly worth the trip.

Saturday, September 11, 2004

The infamous Dances with Dirt 100K Relay, 50K Ultra or 50 Mile Ultra happens today in Hell, MI with lots of local teams among the 320 in the running. It is too late to sign up for this years relay (if you are thinking about securing a spot for next year, make sure you send a representative from your team, check in hand, to the registration run held next February!) Intrigued? You can still sign up for the 50k or 50 Mile Ultra,though! See www.danceswithdirt.com for more details!

Please note the correction in the date of theGrape Lake 5k Run/Walk from the Gazelle Calendar. This takes place today and is a fast, flat 5k run in the heart of Paw Paw. Visit www.lakeviewcares.com for more information.

A third option for something a little different is the Kazoo Area Foot Chase held in Portage. See www.kazoofootchase.com for more information.

Saturday, September 18, 2004

This is it, folks, the final event in our Club Championship Series, the Peacock Strut 10k and 5k Races are today at Celery Flats in Portage. Here's a hint: You can gain about twice the points by running both of these events! See www.classicrace.com to register online and for more information.

Saturday, September 25, 2004

The Run for the Son 5k will also be held at the Celery Flats in Portage. For online registration and details check out www.classicrace.com.

The first annual Run for the Hounds 10k kicks off at 8:30 today at the Fort Custer Recreation Area. For more information, contact Sue DeHollander at 269-665-9633 or visit www.scfg.org for more information.

UPCOMING MARATHONS

 September 11, 2004
North Country Trail Run 26.2 & 50 Mi Trail Runs in Manistee, MI www.stridersrun.com

 September 12, 2004
Mile High City Marathon, Denver, CO www.milehighcitymarathon.com 

September 18, 2004
Air Force Marathon, Wright Patterson AFB, OH www.Afmarathon.wpafb.af.mil/ 

September 26, 2004
Boulder Backroads Marathon, Boulder, CO www.boulderbackroads.com

 September 28, 2004
Fox Cities Marathon, Fox Cities, WI www.foxcitiesmarathon.org 

October 2, 2004
Road Runner Akron Marathon, Akron, OH www.akronmarathon.org 

October 3, 2004
Lakefront Marathon, Milwaukee, WI www.badgerlandstriders.org/marathon

 October 9, 2004
Whistlestop Marathon, Ashland, WI www.whistlestopmarathon.com

 October 10, 2004
LaSalle Chicago Marathon, Chicago, IL www.chicagomarathon.com*** Now Closed to New Entrants

 October 17, 2004
Des Moines Marathon, Des Moines, IA www.desmoinesmarathon.com 

October 24, 2004
Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon and Half Marathon, Detroit, MI www.detriotfreepressmarathon.comPlease note the correction in the Date on this one!

 October 31, 2004
Grand Rapids Marathon, Grand Rapids, MI www.cooladventures.net 

October 31, 2004
Marine Corps Marathon, Washington DC www.marinemarathon.com 

November 7, 2004
New York City Marathon (by lottery or qualifier), New York, NY ***Now Closed to New Entrants  

November 25, 2004
Atlanta Marathon, Atlanta, GA www.atlantatrackclub.org 

November 28, 2004
Seattle Marathon, Seattle, WA www.seattlemarathon.org 

GROUP RUNS

Saturday, August 21
The  Gazelle Sports/KAR Marathon Training Program meets today at 7:00 am. Starting Location will be forthcoming from Gazelle staff. The Gazelles and Gnus will be picking up speed for 13 mile pace runs while the Impalas will kick it up a notch for a 10 mile pace run. The KAR team of Charlie Crouch, Charlie Broberg and Judy Way will be safari leaders.

LOCAL RUNNER HAPPENINGS  

It was such a pleasure to meet so many of the members of the Battle Creek Road Runners Monday night at our Board meeting and dinner including Linnell Goodrich, Max Sine (who tried to convince KAR members dessert is a must!), Wynne Lane and Pat Galligan. What a great discussion we had with BCRR’s Pat & Toni Galligan and Jane Rolfe as we began to explore ideas for the future-and what an exciting future it is!  Hills, Hills and More Hills!

The Gazelle’s, Gnu’s and Impalas of the Gazelle Sports/Kalamazoo AreaRunners Marathon Training Group have been sore as of late, due to the efforts of talented course-master Chris Crowell! We will be thanking him profusely for all his hard work when we are easily cruising along the flat courses of Chicago and Detroit or powering up the bridges of New York! But for now, the conversation amongst the herds has centered around the best ice bath strategy. Here it is in a nutshell: Don’t plunge your entire body into the icy water, sit on a stool and submerge just your legs, drink Cappucino, wrap your upper body in a towel or sweatshirt and pour icy water over your quads. Don’t follow these instructions – you will get the shakes or even worse!

After completing her work in the Hiawatha National Forest, Michelle Post returned from trail running amongst the bears and wolves of the Upper Peninsula to run the streets of Kalamazoo with her friends of the Marathon Training Group.

Speaking of marathon training group, Gazelles, Gnus and Impalas, please be careful out there! One of our speedy Gazelles collided with a car whose driver wasn’t paying attention making a right hand turn. Fortunately, she just left handprints and is okay. Run aggressively, but defensively at the same time-the cars own the roads!

It was great hearing about the Iron Man Triathlon experience from Jason Nicolai. Ralph Meyer, the word horizontal is only supposed to refer to trail running (as Don Vandermeer learned during a brutal trail run at Al Sabo), not road running! By the way, Michelle, Ralph and Don all earned “guts” awards this week for their toughness-a little blood didn’t scare these warriers off! The band-aids and betadyne are all gone, though. Welcome back to marathon training Robin Carpenter-it good to see you out there again!

The KALAMAZOO AREA RUNNERS
The BATTLE CREEK ROAD RUNNERS

News for August 17, 2004

Kalamazoo resident and former Track Coach, George Dales, is over in Athens serving in the capacity as the President of the International Track & Field Coaches Association. George is also Greek and has been a consultant for the 2004 Games!

Results of the 2004 Otsego Ready or Not 5K!

News for August 12, 2004

Olympics on TV! See www.nbcolympics.com

Think your stride is too short? Unlikely! In a study of elite runners, good runners and untrained, but equally physically fit runners, Dr. Don Morgan, an exercise physiologist and recreational runner at Middle Tennessee State University, and his colleagues found that about 20 percent of the runners tested were overstriding, or taking steps too large for maximum efficiency. None were taking steps that were too small. The researchers set out to train the overstriders to take shorter steps. For three weeks, five times a week, the athletes ran on treadmills at the physiology lab, their pace set by the beat of a metronome. That rhythm forced the runners to shorten their strides, and, as a consequence, they ran about 3 percent faster. "For someone like me, it wouldn't make any difference," Dr. Morgan said. "But for an elite runner, that small percentage change could mean a big deal.