Front Royal Kiwanis 5K 2023 – Results

[At the SVR Banquet on March 17th, 2002, 83-year-old Ray Gordon gave a talk on the founding of the Shenandoah Valley Runners & the early parts of the club’s 25-year history.  Unfortunately we didn’t have a public address system set up until halfway through Ray’s speech, so a lot of people didn’t hear what he had to say.  Thus, we’ve cobbled together this article!  It merges parts of Ray’s talk with excerpts from a letter he sent to Karsten Brown a couple years back.  Hopefully we’ve done the story justice.]

Maud and I moved from the Washington, DC area to Front Royal in March 1974.  I’d been a runner most of my life, competing through college and through twelve years in the military.  I resumed competitive running in 1964, at the age of 46, after a layoff of almost twenty years.  The DC Road Runners Club had started scheduling races regularly in about 1962.  Even in DC it was a big turnout in ’64 if a dozen to twenty runners showed up at a race.  This changed in 1972, however, after Frank Shorter won the Olympic marathon in Munich.  From that point on, interest in running blossomed, and races were attracting hundreds of participants within a couple years.  Also in ’72 I founded the Potomac Valley Seniors Track Club, which is still a viable competitive club in DC– now open to runners (and racewalkers) of all ages.

Coming out here to the Shenandoah Valley presented me with a problem. At that time I had been running races at least once a week for a decade, and I didn’t want to give that up because it had some very obvious benefits for me.  So during the first three years we were out here, I went back to DC for races.  Or I would drive up to Hagerstown, MD to run with the Hagerstown Run for Fun Club, and later to Frederick to run with the Frederick Steeplechasers.  Or I would run in the weekly summer track meets put on by Rusty McDonald at James Wood High School in Winchester.  I did all these and learned of other runners here in the Shenandoah Valley.

I pursued with a group of these runners the idea of starting a club to sponsor year-round races.  This was a very small group– no more than six or eight.  There was agreement, and we formed the SVR at a meeting at my home in late 1976.  I had about three names that I had proposed for the club; some of the proposed names had the words “Blue Ridge” in them.  “Shenandoah Valley Runners” was the one that won out. Incidentally, the word “club” is not in the title “Shenandoah Valley Runners”.

We decided on a logo, similar to the one used today.  The winged foot in the logo belongs to the Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the gods.  I though that was particularly appropriate, because old Phidippides ran the first marathon after the Greeks defeated the Persians on the plains of Marathon north of Athens.  Hermes’ foot is superimposed on an apple, since apples are grown at many orchards here in the valley.

What we planned to do was to schedule a race every two weeks, and we built our schedule around some of the existing races that were held elsewhere in the area.  Our first scheduled race was at Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal on the first weekend in January 1977.  This race was covered by Running Times a month or so later.  (I gave my only copy to Nancy Specht in 1997 when the club had been in existence for twenty years.)  The race was run in an eight-inch snow cover– as a cross-country race.  I can’t remember how many entries we had (less than a dozen, I’d guess).  We also had a half-mile race for kids on the track before the main 3.5 mile race.  7-year-old Tony Walker of Strasburg won the first SVR race ever, covering the half mile in 4:27.  Front Royal resident Dennis Driscoll won the 3.5 miler in a little under 24 minutes.  There were no females in the race, nor were there any women in the club for several months.

Some of the people who were originally in the club were the Hodson brothers, Jim and Dick… Doug Walker… Mike McKiernan, who is now a teacher and coach at Handley High School… Larry Barbour… Bob Peake… Rip Flick… Russ Chew… Marty Dietz… Randy Wingfield… and Gilbert Stickel, who was killed in a tragic accident a number of years ago.

The club limped along in the early days.  Most of our races were almost extemporaneous affairs.  We had them at Jim Barnett Park, at Clearbrook Park, and at Sherando Park.  We put on a number of summer races at Sherando, almost amounting to a series.  Most of them were very short– maybe two miles in duration.  My wife was getting fed up with the number of awards I had around the house, so one day she added up about fifty of them and said, “Why don’t we give these out as awards?”  She took the plates off and had new plates made.  I remember what Mike McKiernan (then a teenager) said to me when he turned over one of these awards: “Mr. Gordon, you must’ve run this race before I was born!”

So the founding of the SVR was based on a somewhat selfish motive– my desire to have races closer to home.  But this was offset by the fact that Maud and I did most of the work concerned with the club: we measured courses, put on races, produced a newsletter, etc.  I can still remember our cranky mimeograph machine and my hands stained purple from the fluid.  I served as SVR president for the first several years until I conned Jim Hodson into taking the job.  We got the club off the ground, got it flying, and guided it through its course until we got some movers and shakers in the club– people like Nancy Specht, Kathy Smart, the Riemenschneiders, and Jean Bauserman. Once these newer people got involved, the club began to grow significantly into the 1980s.

But I digress…

The one aspect of my mediocre running career is that I have never missed a day of training due to weather. Nope, not one. Oh I may have had to change the workout or shortened the run, but I always get out. Now I have two (2) things going in my favor. First, I teach in Frederick County where they close as soon as they see the first snowflake fall. Second, I live on a country road so there are few cars out especially when the roads are bad.  Now I have gone days without seeing a plow but the farmer’s are out getting hay to their cattle and they pack the snow down pretty good and at least give me deep ruts to run in.

And I have to say that I enjoy running in the elements. I love the heat, the wind, the rain, the cold, the sleet, the snow, etc. Of course, I would not want to run in any one of these elements for long periods of time but there is something very satisfying in getting out and not letting the elements beat me.  Or maybe I just needed to get away from all those women in the house who thought I wasn’t very bright….

Which brings me to the point of this article (I can hear Ruth now – “Is there a point to this?”)

Last winter, we had a few back to back snow storms and I woke up on another weekday morning to hear we had a snow day (almost as good to hear that as hearing Ruth tell me “You might be right.”).  The radio also said that due to the blizzard conditions of drifting snow and gusty winds, Apple Pie Ridge Road was closed. Now that’s a challenge I could not resist.  I have a great 7-mile loop that takes me on the Ridge from mile 2.5 to mile 5 and I was eager to see why the road was closed. Chris Northrup, who drives in any kind of weather, came over and at 8 AM we set out to run this course.  I told Chris the Ridge was closed but we sloughed it off as only tough guys can do and off we went.

Now there’s a flat stretch before we climb the short steep hill to get on the Ridge that has a bank on the right side topped with a fence to keep the cows in and the top of the fence posts are over my head. We hit this stretch and all we could see was packed snow but as our feet hit the snow, there was running gushing over the road under the snow. We were now running with cold rushing water over our ankles with a thin layer of packed snow over it. Chris went left with no bank and soldered splish splashing his way through this mess. Being the weenie that I am, I opted to climb the bank on the right and jog/walk along the top of it reaching DOWN to grab the top of the posts barely sticking out of the snow to steady myself.

We go along in this manner for maybe 200 yards just cussing like sailors and running right into the teeth of the wind. The water goes away as we begin the climb up the short steep hill to make a left onto the Ridge.  We get to the top in an open area and the wind is just howling and the snow is blowing all over and as we gaze at where we have to run on the Ridge there is no road. No road!  The snow has blown from the fields on the right to left and you can see for about ¾ of a mile as the road goes up with a steady incline and the drifts are piled as high as can be. There isn’t a tire track to be found so we stop and stand in awe of this scene.  I am eager to get going as I want to tackle this and my ankles are freezing, as I am just about to start to run on the Ridge, Chris weenies out!

“We have to go back,” he says. No way I tell him and now, for the next 1-2 minutes, we are having a discussion about the best way to go while the wind is whipping and the snow is blowing. Forward into the drifts that appear to be at least 6 feet high in places or back through that freezing water.  I am itching to go forward but Chris, who does have responsibilities to his wife and 4 boys, talks me into going back.  So with tears in my eyes, I follow his lead, we slosh through the mess and return to the house.  And what’s makes it more ironic, is Chris HATES out and back training runs.

How did you get started in running?
I always played sports while growing up.  I was on the basketball and tennis teams in high school.  During my college years, I started watching sports instead of participating in them and my weight started to climb a little.
When I was about 25, I remember playing tennis and feeling so frustrated that I couldn’t play well because I was slow and always felt winded.  I decided to lose some weight and get back in shape by running.   I remember struggling with my first couple of runs, but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to run a little longer and faster than the previous time.  It didn’t take long before I was hooked on running and I decided to sign up for my first race, the Apple Blossom 10k, in 2006.

How did you get involved with Shenandoah Runners and why do you stay involved?
I ran a couple of local races and was surprised by the amount of support that other runners (that I did not know) provided.  In a world, where it seems that every newscast is filled with so many negative stories, it was nice to be around so many positive and encouraging people.  After running more and more races, I started to develop some friendly rivalries and enjoyed the competition and the feeling of being part of the local running community.  I’ve developed some great friendships along the way and feel lucky that we have such a great local running organization. The Winter Series is also a great part of SVR.  It helps motivate me to stay in shape during the cold winter months.

What are your best achievements in running?
Running the Richmond Marathon in 2009 has to be my biggest running achievement so far.  I was always intrigued about running a marathon, but never really thought I could do it.  A friend, Rick Feathers, who had run his first marathon about a year or so before, gave me some pointers and encouraged me to sign up.  It wasn’t easy, but the feeling of crossing that finish line is something that I will never forget.

Other than the physical benefits, what do you get out of running?
Just like everything in life, what you put into something is usually what you get out of it.  The more you run and focus on stretching, fitness, and nutrition, the better your runs will be. Most people know about the physical benefits of running, but non-runners really don’t understand the mental benefits of running.  The freedom you feel while running can just melt away any stress you have in your life.

Favorite places and races?
My favorite distance is the 5k, but I like to mix in a longer race (10k to 10 miles) every once in a while.   My favorite place to run is Sherando Park.  I like the trails and the new expanded bike/running path on Warrior Drive.  Seeing the teams practicing at Sherando always brings back some good memories too.  Go Warriors! My favorite races are the Apple Blossom 10k and the Sherando Thanksgiving Day 5k.  I also enjoy the challenge and the uniqueness of the Greasy Gooney 10k.  I also have to add two races that I tried for the first time over the last year:  the South Berkeley Christmas Parade 5k and the Civil War Sesquicentennial Race/Scavenger Hunt.

How do you find time to train?
I’ve never been married and do not have children, so finding time to train is really not much of an issue for me.   I help coach a middle school basketball team in the winter, so I often just bringing my running gear with me, so I can run right after practices.

How do you train and how do you keep from getting injured?
I usually like to average about 20 miles a week most of the year.   If I have a longer race scheduled, I usually try to increase the mileage. I sometimes meet a friend for an early morning run, which is sometimes tough on those cold winter mornings.  Most of the time, I usually run in the evenings. I think it’s important to mix in other sports/exercises to keep things fun and to work different muscles.  I have always enjoyed playing tennis and try to play one or two matches a week when the weather cooperates.  About a year ago, a SVR runner recommended that I start doing some upper leg work and cycling to help prevent injuries.  So, I’ve tried to mix in some spin bike and weight training for my upper legs over the last year.  I do think it has helped.

Do you have a coach?
I don’t have a coach, but I sometimes consider SVR as my coach because there so many experienced runners who offer a lot of great advice.  I also use DailyMile.  DailyMile is a social network where people can post their runs, rides, and other fitness activities.  It is a great source of information, encouragement, and motivation.  I’ve met a lot of local runners through it.

What advice would you give to other runners?
For beginners, I would recommend not worrying about pace for a while.  So, many new runners get discouraged when they can’t run a specific pace or keep up with someone who has been running for a while.   Just keep it fun and work on increasing your cardiovascular health and stamina for a while.  Try a local race and don’t worry if you can’t run the whole thing or if you finish near the back.  It’s all about having a good time and improving your fitness and your life. For an experienced runner, I would recommend trying to run with someone that is faster than you or mixing in different workouts (mile repeats, hill repeats, speed intervals). My sister started running last year and she started out slow and has gradually increased her distance.  We have both signed up to run the Hershey Half Marathon in October.  This will be the first half for both of us and I’m really looking forward to it.

As an avowed trail runner, incidental mud is part of the game. But this past year brought  my first encounters with intentional mud.

It started in August 2010 with the Run Amuck. A non-running friend convinced me that she was going to get in shape and run it as her first race. I was hesitant, more for the price ($35 for a 3.5 miler—WHAT??!!!) than for the mud, but wanting to support a fledging runner, I signed up as long as she guaranteed that she would do the driving to Quantico Marine Corps Base. So much for guarantees—she bailed. To her credit, she at least found me someone to ride with, so off to Quantico for a mud adventure.

As promised mud abounded—not just mud, but dirty mud, man-made mud, mud you wondered what was in it mud. The race starts off with military precision as expected from a U.S. Marine Corps sponsored race with waves of runners (mudders?) taking off every few minutes from Butler Stadium. The first mile and a half was pretty much like any other race but about two miles in the obstacles start. Hay bales to jump, tires to run through, and sit ups and pushups with a Marine calling out numbers of reps (and probably wondering who in the world pays 35 bucks to do this voluntarily).  Next the mud. A downhill into a mud pit with a cargo net to pull on to get out, a mud slog on hands and knees and random muddy areas to slip and slide through. The race ended up back on the road with a cold shower under the Quantico Fire Department’s fire hose about two stories up on the fire ladder–ahhh, bracing—and finished back in the stadium.

After a quick stop at the snack tent, most of the runners returned to the fire hose area to wash out muddy shoes in the water streaming down the gutters in the road—very much a third world experience and a :50 finish.

Jump ahead to 2011 and an email from Kathy Smart in January. Anyone up for the 9.3 mile Mt. Penn Mudfest in Reading, Pennsylvania in April? Hey, why not? I’ve got mud cred! But this time we are talking mud, real mud, flowing down rocks and into stream beds mud—yeah man, my kind of mud!  I’d had my eye on that race for a few years—very slow runner-friendly and put on by Pretzel City Sports and Pagoda Pacers. I’ve been getting Ron Horn’s Pretzel City Sports e-newsletter for quite some time and I have to admit that I also wanted to meet the man himself. This is a man with something to say and a website and newsletter  to say it. Check out his website www.pretzelcitysports.com and read any of his information on trail races  or trail race applications  to get a feel for why I love trail running.  It’s not just the pleasure of being in great places in the woods;  it’s the vibe of the races, captured exquisitely by Pretzel City Sports.

So….Kathy recruited eight of us to go, four bailed the week before the race, four diehards (Kathy, me, Carol O’Leary and Anne McIntosh) loaded into Kathy’s Subaru and headed up I-81, through Harrisburg, and on to Wyomissing (suburban Reading)–rain pouring down most of the way after a week of intermittent rain. Comfortable digs at the Hampton Inn, a rainstorm to greet us in the morning, a leisurely 10 am start that commenced with a stuffed pig shot into the air, and we were off!

I did great for six miles on the steep descents down to the rushing creek with three very cold, feet numbing stream crossings some parts knee deep, fine on the extremely steep uphill with slippery rocks and tons of mud, survived the cup of “alternative beverage” served at the Brew Pub at mile 6 at the top of the toughest, steepest hill. (At least I didn’t try the candy peeps dipped in a margarita that was offered to me and went with the Yuengling.) But…..at mile seven on the rocky flat,  I looked up to see what was going on at the finish line just barely visible through the trees (hey, any more beer over there?) and down I went.  Luckily, no paparazzi jumped out of the bushes to grab my face plant, so I bent my glasses back into shape, assessed by rapidly swelling elbow and knee, and took off….walking.  I hobbled the last two miles over the relatively flat but narrow and slippery way to the finish for my beer glass finisher prize (alas, not filled with beer).

A band, dubbed Old Spice and the Roll-ons, greeted me singing “Sweet Caroline” and I headed to the car to wash off at least enough mud to get into dry clothes (helpful hint: take a gallon of water and washcloths to a trail race). Back to the finish with my $3.50 worth of meal tickets where the local Little League was serving up hot homemade chicken noodle soup and coffee.  I finished in 2:44, Carol streaked in at 2:15, Kathy came in 2:26 taking third in the 60-69 age group, and first time trail runner Anne finished in 2:28.

Random prizes filled a picnic table and included many pig-related items and bags of Godiva chocolate. We all walked away with a prize—my choice a large pink ceramic pig.  Besides random prizes, Godiva chocolate was awarded to finishers who successfully carried a raw egg from the race’s start to finish. I wasn’t the last to finish but I certainly wasn’t anywhere near the first—first male finished in an unbelievable 1:00, female in 1:14.

SVR members may submit articles, race reports, or other news to the editor for inclusion, and race directors may request that their race flyers be included in the newsletter by contacting the Colleen Snyder at csnyder123@comcast.net or 540-636-7785. Photos from races are particularly welcome. If you have any questions about the newsletter, inclusion in the newsletter, or suggestions for things to cover in the newsletter, please contact Colleen Snyder. (Inclusion of any material is at the discretion of the editor.)

Race Directors: Please contact the editor as soon as you decide you would like to have your race flyer in the newsletter so that arrangements can be made to obtain the race flyer via an electronic file. It is the responsibility of the race director to be aware of the deadline schedule listed below so that a race can be included in the newsletter in a timely manner.

Newsletter Schedule

Target Publication Date Submission Date
Feb. 1                                    Jan. 25
May 1                                    Apr. 25
Aug. 1                                   July 25
Nov. 1                                   Oct. 25

“Joel McKenzie, first American at Scottish Grand Prix Final”

That sounds like a great headline. I’m not sure if it is true or not. I think I might have been the only American in the race.

Last spring my wife and I started planning a trip to Scotland when we knew that both of our kids would be off in college this fall. So, instead of being sad empty nesters, we took a big two week vacation in September. We traveled a large part of the country seeing the sites and where the McKenzies came from.

In August I decided to see if I could find a race in Scotland that fit our schedule. I did find the City of Stirling 10K which fit perfectly. It was only 30 miles from Perth, where we would be the night before and it was basically on the way to our next stop on the west coast. This race was also the final event of the 2009 Scottish Road Racing Grand Prix and was hosted by the Central Athletic Club.

After registering online (cost was 13 pounds), I got an e-mail around the end of August saying they would be mailing out the chips and bib numbers soon. I contacted them to see if they really wanted to mail my chip to the US, and if so they better hurry because I was leaving to come over there. They decided to send it to my hotel in Perth. Well, it didn’t arrive there either. The Royal Mail union was on strike and apparently over 50 people didn’t get their chips. It might have been more, because the race filled up its 1000 person quota and only 839 started the race. Anyway, they were very organized and gave me a new chip and bib number on race morning.

The weather was ideal for the race and it was fun at the start listening to all the Scottish accents chattering away. I wore my SVR singlet with “McKenzie” on the back, but nobody asked me where I was from. The course was very flat and scenic. Stirling has mountains close by, but is mostly flat. We could see the William Wallace (Braveheart) monument on one hill and Stirling Castle on another. We crossed over the River Forth twice on a foot bridge, going into the old village of Cambuskenneth built around an ancient monastery. One kilometer of the course was out and back on a single track (one lane) road. You could only get about two wide in either direction, so it slowed you down some there.

One thing they did differently than here was to post kilometer marks instead of mile marks. Even though there were 10 instead of 6, I liked it better. The kilometers came faster and made me feel like I was progressing faster. Another oddity happened at the finish line. They handed everyone a banana and a plastic half-pint bottle of milk. I asked another guy if that was a Scottish thing. He said no, he thought it had something to do with one of the race sponsors. The race was very competitive, being the final of the Grand Prix series. The top four guys were Eritrean and finished under 30 minutes.

I finished the race in 45:10, nearly a four minute improvement over my Apple Blossom time this year. So I was pretty pleased with that. Having traveled five time zones away, carried heavy luggage up lots of steps and slept in strange beds, I was just glad my back let me race.

My biggest complaint would be the T-shirt. It was black letters on a white shirt.. It basically says City of Stirling 10K, which could be Stirling, Virginia because it doesn’t mention Scotland anywhere. Other than that it was a great experience to run a well managed event in a foreign country.

As more and more people get GPS devices to use while running, it seems that there has been increased discussion about discrepancies in distances between GPS readings and course markings. I recently received some information about course certification provided by USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. I thought I would pass this policy on as part of the dialogue about how to best obtain accurate course markings since so many of SVR’s courses are USATF certified courses. In addition, I would like to point out that the certification procedures manual is available online at www.usatf.org/events/courses/certification. Click on “Procedures Manual” and then “Statement of Requirements” for details on how a course is certified through USATF.

From Gene Newman USATF/RRTC Chairman/Course Registrar
“Policy on GPS Measurement: In response to requests to formulate an RRTC policy on use of GPS (Global Positioning System) for course measurement, Gene Newman announced the following: GPS is never acceptable for measuring a race course. GPS may be used for measuring a calibration course, provided that the GPS device used is a professional surveying-quality instrument (these typically cost $30,000 to $60,000), and is actually operated by a licensed surveyor. Coordinates determined by GPS may be useful in documenting positions of points along a race course, although only as a supplement to the distances from landmarks which are specified conventionally for documenting point locations.”

For an ongoing discussion on the use of GPS, the USATF Road Running Technical Council (RRTC) has a section on its bulletin board (http://measure.infopop.cc/eve under Electronic Measurement) that goes into more depth on the use of GPS measurement. As the use of technology increases and more mapping tools become available (check out google earth, mapmyrun.com or the USTAF’s own America’s Running Routes at www.usatf.org/routes/map for cool tools to figure out distances), I am sure the discussion will continue on how best to determine course distance.

In my early running, I ran my freshman year of high school. I ran anchor on the 4×400 and also anchored the shuttle hurdles. We set school freshman records in both. I also ran the low hurdles. But I was a basketball player and that was all I wanted to do. My high school won the West Virginia state meet in cross country my senior year in 1975 with a guy named Chris Fox, who would later run a sub 4 minute mile. He coaches at Syracuse now. I didn’t think of it then but I have regrets now. I could have been on that team! After years as an avid bicyclist I got back into running in my late 30s by running in some all-comers track meets and liked it so much I wanted to get into 5Ks. Later Karsten Brown gave me information about the SVR club so I joined. I still didn’t run my first 5K until I was 43.

How did you get involved with Shenandoah Runners and why do you stay involved?

I love SVR for the unique winter series. In my early days as a member, the newsletter was a source of upcoming races. Now with computers you can search for races without being a member of a club. But SVR was my first club and I’ll always be a member. The officers take the club seriously and have good ideas to keep it a good club. I also enjoy talking with many members before and after races. I encourage anyone with running questions or comments to e-mail me at mmroadrunner@comcast.net.

What are your best achievements in running?

Achievements for me are not always measured in wins and times. Some achievements to me are ones no one else even knows about, except maybe my daughter, such as the recent 10 mile workout I did on the track. We have a favorite quote which says, “A champion is one who is bent over, dripping with sweat, to the point of exhaustion, when no one is looking.” Another achievement for me was a streak I started after having hernia surgery in 2001. Since March 1 of that year, I have never missed running two consecutive days. If I take one day off I know I will run the next day. That can be motivational also. In 2008 I believe there were only 25 days that I didn’t run. As far as concrete achievements, being the first 50+ age runner to run under 40 minutes in the nine year history of the Greasy Gooney 10k was an intense goal which attracted me to the race. Also, I am proud of having run in 10 straight Apple Tramples with the last five being sub-18 minutes. Last year at age 51 the 5:01 I ran at my first Loudoun Street Mile ranks up there, and also last July I went to the Pennsylvania state games and in a meet that is 29 years old I broke two meet records in my age group with an 18:33 5K on the track and a 2:18 in the 800 meters. I just missed a third one by 1 second with a 4:47 in the 1500 meters with all three races on the same day. The 5K was the first time I had ever attempted an event such as that on the track. Very mentally challenging.

What have you learned from running?

I have learned you can push beyond the comfort zone to achieve things never thought possible. Nutrition is something I have learned a lot about also. I enjoy running as a way of life. Running is not just what I do but who I am. I think it defines me.

What is your favorite distance or type of race?

My favorite distance is the 5K but I love the track races from 800 meters up to 5K on the track. Anything more and I feel I don’t have the proper training time for preparation. The few 10Ks that I do I really enjoy though for the challenge they provide such as the Greasy Gooney. I also search out anything cross country style as these are more about challenge than time. It is very different racing on grass.

How do you train?

Training for me is rarely planned out. What I feel that day is usually what I do, unless it is a week of a special race. I try to have a speed work day each week in warmer weather and a long run early in the week but I don’t always stick to a plan since I race week nights in the summer, alternating track races in Hagerstown and Greencastle with two mile cross country races with Chambersburg Road Runners, while still racing most Saturdays. June and July could be 15-20 races each month culminating with the Pennsylvania Keystone Games in late July. It a hard demanding schedule but it makes me stronger in the fall. Overall I usually run 30-40 miles weekly. Anything above that is too difficult with having a midnight job.

Any favorite places to run or favorite races?

Of course a favorite race would have to be my hometown Apple Trample. It is unique in that the course is lined with parade spectators and many of them know me and let me know that they are there during the race. Many races that you grow to like over the years disappear though. My favorite places to run are any trails, with Poorhouse Park in Martinsburg at the top of the list. I love the C&O canal for long runs. I also search out places when I travel. Many people don’t like running circles on a track but I love it. You can lock me in a gym and I could run in circles for many miles. I have done it on bad weather days in the gym where I coach middle school basketball.

How do you stay motivated?

Motivation has never been a problem for me. My competitive nature takes care of that. With increased age I am motivated to maintain my fitness level for as long as possible. I am self-motivated in my workouts and the intensity of them is just the type of person that I am.

How do you balance your work/family obligations with your running?

Having a running daughter makes this easy. She is the best training partner anyone could want. She is the most dedicated runner I have ever been around, besides myself. We talk life situations as we run and I find out things I would never know otherwise.

What advice would you give beginning runners?

Beginning runners should keep it short and keep it enjoyable. Create a base of mileage before taking on bigger things. Short creates a desire to want more and eases the pain. My daughter was 11 years old and started with a half mile but she couldn’t wait for the next day, then the next day after that. She was training for the Hershey track program and ended up third in the state in the mile and half mile. Running without racing may just take fitness as a motivation. Those who want to race though eventually have to leave the comfort zone to get better. A myth is that the longer you run the easier it gets. That may be true if you continue at the same mile pace. But to get faster there has to be pain at some point. That means leaving the comfort zone, a pace you are comfortable with. I love the pain of a hard workout or race, as strange as that sounds. All running is good though and I tell young runners that running is something you can do lifelong. No matter what advice you pick up though you eventually have to sort through it and use what works best for you.

I was born in Dumfries and lived in North Springfield until 1975 when my parents wanted to move to the county and ended up in Catlett. I went to school in Pennsylvania for a few years and then migrated back to Fauquier County. I currently live in Warrenton where I moved in 1996 after getting married.

How did you get involved in running?

I have played soccer since second grade and I think running was the best part of my soccer game–speed and endurance. I did do a few races in my 20s as Bob Gurtler recalls, the Fauquier Democrat 10k, Prince William Hospital Fun Run 5k and a few others, but mainly I did the running to help me have greater endurance for soccer. In 2003 I was turning 40 and wanted to complete a marathon for my 40th birthday. I knew Bob Gurtler was a big time runner so I talked to him a few times about running and running a marathon. Bob told me that SVR had 10 spots for the Marine Corps Marathon for 2003, so if I joined the club I could get a spot in the marathon even through it was too late to sign up and get a spot. So I joined SVR and I still have the marathon form that Karsten Brown sent me for MCM. My goal was to run under four hours. I trained for and accomplished a 3:56:35. I gave up soccer a few years back and then started playing again but soon realized that soccer was not complementary to running. I realized it after I played a 90-minute soccer game on Saturday, got a hematoma on my left ankle, and then had the Army Ten Miler the next day. I did run my best 10 mile time at 1:02:56 but I know it could have been better minus the soccer game and injury. So I gave up soccer and I have been more focused on running.

Why do you stay involved with SVR?

I stay involved because of all the events that the club puts on and the great people that I enjoy running and competing with. The SVR organization does a great job for all of its club members. The Winter Series races have become a favorite of mine because at that the time of year there is not much going on and I enjoy running in the cold and in a medium snowfall anywhere. It is a soft quiet run that is like no other. I like to run on trails when possible that are not too rocky. My favorite race is Boston but I also enjoy the Apple Blossom 10k. I have run that race more than any other. My fastest time on that course was this year with a 38:18.

What are your best accomplishments?

Between 2008 and 2009, I have hit some major milestones that I had set for myself. For example, in 2007, I raced four 1-mile races, and all four races were 5:20s, so I thought that was the best I can do. But, I ramped up my training, and in 2008 I ran a 5:13 Father’s Day Mile, 5:12 Loudoun Street Mile, and then a 5:06 5th Avenue Mile. My goal is now to break five minutes, and I am still working on that one. I finally broke the three hour mark at the New York City Marathon with a 2:58:54. Then this spring, I raced with a pacer Bert Jacoby down at Shamrock Marathon and ran a 2:56:12. I guess I would have to say my favorite achievement was a month later running a 2:55:36 at Boston 2009. I would like to attribute some of my success to downloading a training plan off the Boston Marathon website. Based on the mileage and my marathon times, I choose to do a 16 week intermediate training plan. I did not follow every item on the list but I did become smarter about training in general instead of just going out and running miles. This training plan I adopted was to ready me to run a three hour Boston in 2008. I ran a 3:00:18 for Boston 2008 which was great but the 19 seconds was frustrating. Then for 2009, I downloaded the 2009 Boston Veteran Training Plan. It was more mileage but also speed work, intervals and hill work. Per Bart Yasso’s book, I ran the Monument 10k in Richmond. Bart says this is one of the fastest 10k courses in the nation. I have to agree because I ran a 37:15 down there this spring.

Other than the physical benefits, what do you get out of running?

That it is really about you. It is fun to compete and try to beat certain opponents but it really comes down to bettering yourself and the time or speed in which you are able to run a race per the venue, weather, and competition. I love the outdoors so that is a big part of the enjoyment for me. It is therapeutic and helps with problem solving and sometimes is helpful with creativity. I tend to think through things more when training then when I am racing I am really in a zone and focused.

What is your best distance and how do you train for that?

The marathon. I think I do better at the longer stuff. But I do believe that I am fast at short distances as well. I run 6-7 days a week anywhere from 5-10 miles per day. I go to the Freedom Center in Manassas and do light weights, stretching (foam roller), swimming, and rowing machine twice a week for 1.5 hours, if the family permits it. My mileage goes up when in marathon training mode. I think stretching, swimming, and bike riding helps to use different areas of the body so there is not so much repetition with just running. I like to ice my knees or anything that is sore in the evenings with SnowPack wraps–kind of a therapeutic thing–while watching TV or do a leg drain with my legs propped up on the back of the sofa.

How do you stay motivated and continue training?

I guess by setting goals for myself or races that I want to run or do well in. There are down times–in a hard race or one that I am not racing well–when I ask myself why am I doing this? but it only takes a little time and I get over it and I start thinking about the next race or goal that I have. I tend to train in the morning when it does not really affect my wife and kids. The gym work I do I usually tradeoff with my wife who has school meetings. She is an avid quilter and does things on the weekends as well. So we trade off there. The kids like to do mile races and some other events. I don’t push them too hard. I let them decide what they want to do or not do. I don’t have too many conflicts with my work schedule. I am pretty much 9-5. We recently switched to a different schedule that has longer days, but I have every other Friday off!

What advice do you have for other runners, especially beginners?

I would recommend creating a training plan and committing yourself to it. Put in training that is not always easy like hill repeats. I am 45 and I have to admit when I go out to run 10 hills repeats and 7 miles I would rather avoid it if possible. But every time I do them I feel better and stronger for it. Speed work on a track is not fun but it makes you better and faster. Try to pick a goal or a range of time for a race that you have the potential of making. It is very depressing if you set goals that cannot ever be reached. For beginners, start out slow with low mileage. Find another beginner runner to run with. Increase the amount you do no more than 10% a week. Also consult a doctor before starting your new hobby. Join a club like SVR and take advantage of all the knowledgeable people in the club that can assist you with running. Pick out a local small race to run like a 5k in two or three months and pick a pace or a time that you would like to run as your goal. Go out to a running store and have your gait analyzed per what type of running shoe you need and maybe pick up a cool shirt and shorts and socks to go with them. If you’re going to be a runner, you should dress like one and also be comfortable!