Monday, August 31, 2009

Shoe Dryer

One thing that made Bob Schul, Billy Mills, Bill Dellinger and the other great distance runners of the 1960s so tough was leather shoes. Even Abebe Bikila, who won a marathon gold medal barefoot, trained in those awful leather shoes. A pair of leather training flats weighed several pounds dry, and they weren't often dry. A run through wet grass, in the rain, or on a hot humid day had the shoes soaked through with dew, rainwater, or sweat. A U.S. gallon of each of these fluids weighs eight pounds, and it seemed like each shoe could soak up several gallons. Once soaked, leather shoes took a week or two to dry out, assuming you let them sit around long enough to get dry. Chances are, you would have to pull them on while they were still damp and get them wet all over again.

By the mid-1970s we were being spoiled by lighter shoes with nylon uppers that didn't soak up nearly as much water and would actually dry out if you gave them half a chance. You do have to give them that chance, though. In the bad old days, you might as well throw your wet leather training shoes in the bottom of your gym locker and let the moulder, because they weren't going to dry out, anyway. So how do you get training shoes with nylon uppers dry before your next workout? Because you do want them dry, and as soon as possible, if for no other reason than that the current crop of training shoes all smell like cat urine if left if they're run in hard and put up wet.

There are a few methods that you should under no circumstances try, because just about all these shoes are put together with heat-activated glue. So when your grandmother suggests putting your wet athletic shoes on the radiator, thank her for her advice but under no circumstances follow it--and don't leave your wet shoes laying around so that she can helpfully place them on the radiator, on the water heater, in the oven, or in the clothes dryer. The heat from these sources will reactivate the glue holding your shoes together and it will cease holding your shoes together. Another place not to attempt to dry your shoes is in your car under the window. I rediscover this every ten years or so, most recently with a pair of racing flats.

I've been advised that carefully towel-drying the inside of the shoe and then stuffing it with newspaper is effective. It also seems to be a bit labor intensive to me. I'm not one of those people who pre-washes all the pots, pans, and plates before loading them into the dishwasher. After all, if a machine is billed as a dish washer, then it should be able to wash dishes. It's enough for me to remove some of the larger bones before dropping the dish in the machine, right? So I'm not much for the stuffing-with-newspaper method of drying shoes, especially when the shoes came off my feet after a long run. But dry, moving air seems to be enough to dry the shoes. It doesn't have to be desert-dry, nor does it have to be in a wind tunnel. Sitting in an air-conditioned room under a ceiling fan will work. Of course, ceiling fans tend to be in the center of a room, which is probably not where you want your wet shoes displayed (remember the cat-urine odor), especially if you have them on top of a bar stool to be closer to the source of moving air. Refrigerators used to have prominent warm-air exhausts, and a wet pair of shoes placed in front of the exhaust would dry in a few hours. This would probably still work if you could figure out where they are hiding the warm-air exhaust on refrigerators nowadays.

And then there are shoe dryers.

I've been told that these don't work very well. The one that I've been using works great, and you could use it even if you were doing two-a-day workouts in a rainy place like Washington using the same shoes all the time. Which you really shouldn't do because you should rotate your shoes, right? But you could, because that's how well the dryer works. I don't know where it came from or how much it cost because it's quite a few years old, which speaks well for its durability. It was never beautiful, and age hasn't improved its looks, but it lives contentedly in its corner of the garage. It's a plug-in unit containing a small heater and fan, from which two hollow plastic stalks rise. Your shoes go on the top of the stalks, which carry a gentle puff of warm air into the shoes. After a few hours the shoes are dry. There's no noise, so you might forget to turn the dryer off (which you do by pulling the plug; there's no switch). One shortcoming of the unit is that it only dries one pair of shoes at a time. If you're in a household that produces multiple pairs of wet shoes then you're going to need more than one shoe dryer.

An embossed label on the base of the unit proclaims, "PEET The Shoe Dryer." I don't know if they're still around. I kind of hope they are. After all, this unit can't last forever.

Postscript:

Of course, amazon.com still sells PEET Shoe Dryers.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Chris Lake wins Miller Landing Madness 2009

I first learned that Chris Lake was planning on running the Miller Landing Madness 8K the day before the race. He stopped me as I was shuffling toward the Phipps Park trails.

"Listen," he said, "Do you know the course for tomorrow?"

"Not really," I denied. "I looked at the map once."

"There are some big rocks out there. Do you know if we run over those?"

Thinking of the Salute to Prefontaine 5K, I replied, "Based on the Gulf Winds Track Club's record of holding cross-country races designed to cripple runners, I'm guessing so."

Lake may not have been entirely happy with my answer, but he showed up Saturday morning at Phipps Park in spite of the prospect of some rocky footing and turned in a 28:05 8K for the win at the 2009 Miccosukee Madness on August 29. Lake had command of the race by the end of the second mile and never relinquished the lead again. Behind him, early challengers John Robida and Vince Molosky faded and were overtaken by Charlie Johnson, who finished in the runner-up position in a time of 28:38.

Kati Gosnell likewise enjoyed an early lead in the women's division, but was overtaken in the last mile of the race by Sarah Docter-Williams, who ended up with a six-second margin of victory, 33:03 to 33:09. Docter-Williams was also the fastest woman master on the course that morning. The top male master was Maclay School coach Gary Droze, who finished fifth overall at 29:44.

Last years Madness had to be postponed due to Tropical Storm Faye and run a week later. This year the weather was not a factor, and the only delay was the race starting ten minutes later than its scheduled 8:00am. For those too young or lacking in ambition to run 8K, a 5K was run concurrently. The 8K was followed by a 3K for youth, also run on a hilly cross-country course through Phipps Park.

Links:

Friday, August 28, 2009

Ugly Feet

The other morning, while trotting around the Lake Overstreet loop, I caught my toe on a root and went down, banging my knee. This isn't unusual, and happens regularly enough to be embarrassing, especially because it was already light enough out to actually see the root. But this was a knee that has given me some trouble over the years--a missed 1977 cross-country season due to bursitis, a missed 1978 track season due to bursitis, and a lot of pain in the early twenty-first century culminating in a partial menisectomy. Bouncing back up from the road, I wondered if the knee deserved the thumping it had just gotten. I remembered a passage from a Mike Royko column:
I don't even take it personally when someone steps on my foot any more. I just say: "Don't apologize, he had it coming. Step on the other one, too, he's just as bad."
Royko had what might have been a love-hate relationship with his feet, except that there was absolutely no love involved. His feet were flat, or at least flat enough to cause pain while not flat enough to prevent him from serving in Korea. He relished describing how ugly his feet were:
My father had size twelve feet. And so did I--on the day I was born. And the doctor later said that I was the only infant he had ever seen come into the world with calluses and corns and cracked toenails. My toes are longer than most people's fingers. If the toes were extended, I'd probably wear a size twenty shoe. But they curl under about three times so they look more like large clenched fists than feet. They're also very wide. They might be as wide as they are long, which has always made it difficult for me to find shoes that fit properly.
Which is not all that Royko had to say about his feet, but some of the rest of it sounds like it might have been slightly exaggerated.

Royko's ugly feet were apparently congenital. One can acquire ugly feet during one's life, though, as did one of the characters in Brooke McEldowney's syndicated comic strip, 9 Chickweed Lane:



Marathon runners may not be subjecting their feet to the same forces that ballet dancers do, but the runner does it over and over and over again. I don't do marathon training anymore, but even with the modest amounts of running that I do nowadays, it's a rare occasion when I have all my toenails, when I don't have blisters in some stage of healing, when I don't have a build-up of callous that only a jack-plane could trim. I generally keep them locked up inside shoes, so their usual color is a corpse-like white--at the beach, they burn in seconds.


I also seem to have some of the bad genetics that Royko complained of, possibly from the same Chicago-Polish roots. But I didn't know that I had bunions until a podiatrist remarked, "When you're done with running, we can operate on those." Well, when I'm done running, you can pickle them. I'll be done with my feet and the rest of the flesh.

But however bizarre my asymmetric bunions look, they've never given me any pain. In general, my feet haven't been much of a problem for my running. They've been so blistered at times that almost the entire sole of the foot has sloughed off, but most of that must have been callous, because I could always run a day or two later. Plantar fascitis? Not me. These have been good feet, and I bear them no ill will.

Those knees, however, had better watch it.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

26 August 2009 Tallahassee 100-Mile Race Calendar

This is the Tallahassee vicinity road-race schedule for 26 August 2009. If that's more than a week ago, the latest schedule is always available via this link:


This is a listing of upcoming races within 100 miles of Tallahassee, Florida, roughly the area in the map below. If a race isn't listed, I probably haven't heard of it, so post a comment and let me know about it.

Map

29 AUGUST 2009
  • Miller Landing Madness 8K/5K/3K. 8:00 am ET. Elinor Klapp Phipps Park, Miller Landing Road, Tallahassee, FL 32312. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Mike Sims (850)514-3424 or Tom Perkins (850)894-2019
  • Winnersville Sprint Triathlon. 7:30 am ET (Sprint, 45 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3.6 mile run). Valdosta Lowndes 4-H Facility, 5000 4-H Club Road, Lake Park, GA 31636. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Registration form.
5 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • 30th annual Midnight Chase 5K Run & 1-Mile Fun Run. 12:00 am CT. Panama City, FL. Registration on active.com. Nancy Dingus 850-763-6891 or Joe Edgecombe 850-774-0018
7 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • 2nd annual Red Cross Hurricane Run 5K. 8:00 am ET. Southwood Office Complex, Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Debara Jump, 878-6080 ext. 106 or debara.jump@tallyredcross.org
  • Labor Day 5K & 1500m. 7:30am ET 5K / 8:25am ET 1500m. Get Active, 3200-C North Ashley St, Valdosta, GA 31602. Entry form and flyer. 229-219-0010.
12 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Sickle Cell Foundation of the Big Bend 5K. 8:00 am ET. Jake Gaither Park, 801 Tanner Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32305. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Velma Penermon Stevens, (850)222-2355
  • Beach Blast Triathlon and Duathlon. 7:00 am CT (Sprint triathlon, 0.35 mile Swim, 15 mile Bike, 3.1 mile Run; Olympic triathlon, 0.7 mile Swim, 25 mile Bike, 6.2 mile Run; Sprint duathlon, 1.2 mile Run, 15 mile Bike, 3.1 mile Run; Olympic duathlon, 3.1 mile Run, 15 mile Bike, 6.2 mile Run). Mexico Beach, Florida. Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
  • Third annual Loop the Lake 5K. 8:00 am CT. First Baptist Church, 216 East Live Oak Avenue, De Funiak Springs, Florida 32435. Event web site. Entry form and flyer.
19 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Tallahassee Women's Distance Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Optimist Park, East Indianhead Drive, Tallahassee, FL. USATF certified course #FL00022DL. Entry form and flyer. Lisa Unger, ungertl@juno.com or 850-562-2901.
  • Race of the South 10K / 5K / One Mile. 7:30am ET 10K & 5K / 9:00am ET one mile. Moultrie YMCA, 601 26th Ave SE, Moultrie, Georgia 31768. Entry form and flyer. Contact Leslie Peretti (229) 985-1154 or leslieymca@hotmail.com
  • Gulf Coast Community College Commodore Sun Run 10K / 5K / Fun Run. 6:30 am CT. Aaron Bessant Park (at Pier Park), 500 West Park Drive, Panama City, FL. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com.
  • Trot with S.W.A.T. 10K. 8:00 am CT. Dothan Civic Center Parking Lot, 126 N. St. Andrews Street, Dothan, Alabama. Entry form and flyer. Brian Goguen 334-794-9029 or cgoguen@sw.rr.com
26 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Salute to Prefontaine 5K Cross-Country Run. 9:00 am ET. Silver Lake Recreation Area of the Apalachicola National Forest, Silver Lake Road, Tallahassee, FL. Jeff Nielsen, 850-459-8859 or dobieman@comcast.net
  • Quail Trail 5K. 8:00 am ET. Historic Pebble Hill Plantation, US 319, Thomasville, Georgia. Entry form and flyer. Helen Fennelly, 229-225-2186 or htfenn@hotmail.com
  • A Bridge to a Brighter Day 5K. 8:00 am CT. Carl Grey Park, Panama City, FL 32401. Online registration at active.com.
  • Jog For Jake 5K. 7:00 pm ET. Tift County High School, One Blue Devil Way, Tifton, Georgia 31794. Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
  • Headland Fall Farmers' Market 5K & One-Mile Fun Run. 7:30am CT. Gazebo on the square on Park Street, Headland, Alabama. Susan Owens 334-889-2225
3 OCTOBER 2009
  • Pine Run at Tall Timbers 20K. 7:30 am ET. Tall Timbers Research Station, 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee, FL. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Gordon Cherr, 850-556-5957 or scam22@aol.com
  • Pelham Wildlife Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Family Bank, 134 Hand Ave W, Pelham, GA. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Pelham Chamber of Commerce at 229-294-4924 or Carol Harrison at 229-328-6147.
  • Salmonole Run. 8:00 am ET. Florida State University, 117 North Woodward Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32306. Online registration at active.com.
  • Hahira Honeybee Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Hahira, Georgia. Event web site. honeybeefestival@yahoo.com
  • Joann Weintritt Memorial Pumpkins in the Park 2-Mile Run. 8:00am CT. Under the Oaks Park, 5843 E Hwy 98, Panama City, FL. Online registration at active.com.
10 OCTOBER 2009
  • Parent's Weekend 5K. 7:30 am ET. Florida State University Integration Statue, South Woodward Plaza, Tallahassee, Florida 32304. Event web site. Entry form. parentsweekend@admin.fsu.edu
  • Stepping Out for your Heart 5K. 8:00 am ET. Tift County High School, Northeast Campus, 3021 Fulwood Rd, Tifton, Georgia 31794. Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation web site. Darian Peavy 229-353-7796 or darian.peavy@tiftregional.com, or Ernest Lang 229-383-4264.
  • Oyster Spat Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Sugar Hill Beach in St George Island State Park, 1900 E. Gulf Beach Dr., St. George Island, Florida 32328. Event web site. rickplesinger@yahoo.com
  • Marianna Fire Rescue "Stepping out for Fire Safety" 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run. 7:30am CT. Marianna Fire Rescue Station 1, 4425 Clinton Street, Marianna, FL. Online registration at active.com. bennettb@cityofmarianna.com or 850-526-4612.
  • Champions of Hope 5K. 8:00am CT. Southeast Alabama Medical Center, 1108 Ross Clark Circle, Dothan, AL 36303. Entry form. Race flyer. (334) 673-4150.
17 OCTOBER 2009
  • Girls Incorporated Half Marathon. 8:00 am CT. Pier Park, Panama City Beach, FL. Online registration at active.com.
24 OCTOBER 2009
  • 11th annual Alan Sundberg, Jr. Memorial 5K. 8:00 am ET. Maclay Gardens State Park, 3540 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, FL 32309-3413. Event web site.
  • Expression 5K. 8:30 am ET. Christian Heritage Church, 2820 Sharer Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32312. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Liz Baker, 850-212-7406 or lizbaker777@aol.com or expressionrun@gmail.com
  • Riverfront Run 5K. 8:30am ET. Broad Avenue next to Hilton Garden Inn, 101 S Front Street, Albany, Georgia 31701. Event web site. info@riverfrontrun.com or (229) 436-8191.
25 OCTOBER 2009
  • FSUCares Homecoming 5K. 4:00 pm ET. Florida State University College of Medicine, 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32304. Event web site. Registration form and flyer. Laura Davis, led07f@med.fsu.edu
31 OCTOBER 2009
  • Boston Mini-Marathon. 8:00 am ET. Commercial Bank, 124 West Jefferson Street, Boston, GA 31626. Entry form and flyer. Brad Johnson, bradjohnson@bankcb.com or 229-498-8500 (day) / 229-226-4679 (evening).
  • Celebration Baptist Church Fall Fest 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run. 8:30am ET one mile / 9:00am ET 5K. Celebration Baptist Church, Tallahassee, Florida 32309. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Alan Hart, 850-321-4143.
  • Tricker Trek 10K Run & 1 Mile Family Fun Run. 8:00am CT. Marina Civic Center, Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL. Online registration at active.com. Gumby Weckherlin (850)271-5896 or Joe Edgecombe (850)774-0018
  • Sixth annual St. John Road Race 5K, 1 Mile, and Tot Trot. 8:30 am ET (5K), 9:30 am ET (1 Mile), 9:45 am ET (Tot Trot). St. John Catholic School, 800 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA 31602-1699. Entry form and flyer. 229-244-2556
7 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Cops For Kids 5K. 8:30am ET. Tallahassee, Florida. Cops For Kids web site. Entry form and flyer. Mike Rogers, 850-566-4131 or 850-566-2560.
  • Alligator Lake 5K / 10K. 9:00am ET. Alligator Lake Park, 1498 SW Country Club Road, Lake City, FL 32025. Online registration at active.com. Dusty Smith, halfmiletiming_dusty@hotmail.com
14 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Miles for Smiles 5K. 8:30 am ET (one-mile fun run), 9:00 am ET (5K). Coffee Regional Medical Center, 1101 Ocilla Road, Douglas, GA 31533.
  • YMCA Holiday Chili Run. 8:00 am ET. Albany YMCA Central Facility, 1701 Gillionville Road, Albany, GA 31707. Online registration at active.com.
  • Trot for Tots 10K & 5K. 9:00 am CT. Panama City Marina, 1 Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL 32401. Online registration at active.com.
21 NOVEMBER 2009
  • 15th annual Draggin' Tail 18-Mile Run, Relay, & 5K. 8:00 am CT. St Theresa's Catholic Church, 2056 Sunny Hills Boulevard, Sunny Hills, FL. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Marty Kirkland 850-265-8439 or Joe Edgecombe 850-763-5005, joeruns@yahoo.com
  • Run With The Son 5K. 9:00am CT. Altha Area Recreational Park, 15727 NW Bodiford Road, Altha, FL 32421. Online registration at active.com.
26 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Tallahassee Turkey Trot 15k / 10K / 5K. 8:00 am ET. State Office Satellite Complex at SouthWood, Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, FL. Event web site.
  • Valdosta Thanksgiving Day 5K. 8:00am ET 5K / 8:55am ET 1,500m. Patterson Street in front of Get Active, 3200-C North Ashley St, Valdosta, GA 31602. Contact Get Active, 229-219-0010.
28 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Pilgrim Chase Trail Run 5K. 8:00 am CT. Westgate Park, 801 Recreation Road, Dothan, AL 36303. Larry Dykes 334-792-6021
5 DECEMBER 2009
  • 2009 Gulf Winds Track Club Ten-Mile Challenge / Five-Mile Run. 8:00 am ET. Killearn Lakes Elementary School, 8037 Deerlake Drive East, Bradfordville, FL. USATF certified courses FL07049EBM (10 mile) and FL07048EBM (5 mile). Event web page. Judy Alexander, 850-383-1361 or jalexander98@comcast.net
  • Reindeer Trot 5K and one-mile fun run. 8:00am ET 5K / 8:45am ET one mile. Bainbridge Country Club, 312 Country Club Road, Bainbridge, Georgia 39819. Entry form and flyer. Contact reindeertrot@gmail.com
  • Run For The Redfish Half-Marathon, 5K, and Kids' Fun Run. 8:00 am CT. Pier Park, Margaritaville, 16230 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach 32413. Event web site. Registration form and flyer. Online registration at active.com.
  • Christmas Parade 5K. 6:00 pm ET. Douglas, Georgia. Cathy Browning (912-384-1616 or cbrowning@windstream.net) or C.M. Jenkins (912-384-7448 or 912-383-5445 or cimjenkins@windstream.net)
  • Jingle Bell Jog 10K / 5K / One-Mile. 8:00am ET (10 km) / 9:00am et (5 km). Tift Park, Corner of 5th and Monroe, Albany, GA 31701. USATF certified courses GA05018WC (10 km) and GA05017WC (5 km). Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
12 DECEMBER 2009
  • 29th annual Tallahassee Ultra Distance Classic 50K/50M. 7:00 am ET. Wakulla Springs State Park, 550 Wakulla Park Drive, Wakulla Springs, FL. USATF certified course FL08072EBM. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Gary Griffin, runlong@nettally.com
16 JANUARY 2010
  • Gulf Winds Track Club 30K / 15K. 7:30 am ET. The Retreat at Bradley's Pond, 9002 Bradley Road, Tallahassee, FL 32309. USATF certified courses FL06013DL (30K) and FL06014DL (15 K). Jerry/Jackie McDaniel (mcdanieljackie@hotmail.com or 850-297-0009)
6 FEBRUARY 2010
7 FEBRUARY 2010
  • 36th annual Tallahassee Marathon and Half-Marathon. 7:30 am ET. Mike Long Track, Florida State University, Chieftan Way at Spirit Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306. Event web site. USATF certified course FL06020DL (Marathon), FL06021DL (half-Marathon). Online registration at active.com. Tallahasseemarathon@gmail.com
6 MARCH 2010
  • 4th annual Snickers® Marathon® Energy Bar Marathon and Half-Marathon. 7:00 am ET. Veteran's Park, Front Street, Albany, GA 31701. USATF certified course GA07003WC (Marathon), GA07002WC (half-Marathon). Event web site. Online registration at active.com. info@SNICKERSmarathonenergybarmarathon.com
27 MARCH 2010
  • 35th annual Springtime 10K, Publix 5K & Fun Station 1-Miler. 8:00am ET. Leon County Courthouse, 301 S Monroe St, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Event web site. USATF certified course FL96048DL (10 km). Judy Alexander, jalexander98@comcast.net or 850-383-1361.
10 APRIL 2010
  • 36th annual Palace Saloon 5 km. 8:00am ET. James Messer Fields Park, Jackson Bluff Road and Dupree Street, Tallahassee, FL 32304. USATF certified course FL99027DL. Online registration at active.com.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

19 August 2009 Tallahassee 100-Mile Race Calendar

This is the Tallahassee vicinity road-race schedule for 19 August 2009. If that's more than a week ago, the latest schedule is always available via this link:


This is a listing of upcoming races within 100 miles of Tallahassee, Florida, roughly the area in the map below. If a race isn't listed, I probably haven't heard of it, so post a comment and let me know about it.

Map

22 AUGUST 2009
  • 4th Annual Valdosta State University Community 5K. 8:00am ET. West Hall Fountain, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Contact Shawn Phippen sphippen@valdosta.edu or (229) 245-4307.
  • 23rd Annual Sandestin Triathlon (½-mile swim, 20-mile bike, 4-mile run). 6:30am CT. Finz Beachside Grille at Sandestin Resort, 9300 Emerald Coast Parkway West, Destin, FL 32550. Event web site.
25 AUGUST 2009
  • Hot Summer Nights 5K Trail Run. 6:00 pm CT. Westgate Park, 801 Recreation Road, Dothan, AL 36303. Larry Dykes, drcprez@yahoo.com or (334) 792-6021. Last of a series of weekly non-competitive events
29 AUGUST 2009
  • Miller Landing Madness 8K/5K/3K. 8:00 am ET. Elinor Klapp Phipps Park, Miller Landing Road, Tallahassee, FL 32312. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Mike Sims (850)514-3424 or Tom Perkins (850)894-2019
  • Winnersville Sprint Triathlon. 7:30 am ET (Sprint, 45 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3.6 mile run). Valdosta Lowndes 4-H Facility, 5000 4-H Club Road, Lake Park, GA 31636. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Registration form.
5 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • 30th annual Midnight Chase 5K Run & 1-Mile Fun Run. 12:00 am CT. Panama City, FL. Registration on active.com. Nancy Dingus 850-763-6891 or Joe Edgecombe 850-774-0018
7 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • 2nd annual Red Cross Hurricane Run 5K. 8:00 am ET. Southwood Office Complex, Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Debara Jump, 878-6080 ext. 106 or debara.jump@tallyredcross.org
  • Labor Day 5K & 1500m. 7:30am ET 5K / 8:25am ET 1500m. Get Active, 3200-C North Ashley St, Valdosta, GA 31602. Entry form and flyer. 229-219-0010.
12 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Sickle Cell Foundation of the Big Bend 5K. 8:00 am ET. Jake Gaither Park, 801 Tanner Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32305. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Velma Penermon Stevens, (850)222-2355
  • Beach Blast Triathlon and Duathlon. 7:00 am CT (Sprint triathlon, 0.35 mile Swim, 15 mile Bike, 3.1 mile Run; Olympic triathlon, 0.7 mile Swim, 25 mile Bike, 6.2 mile Run; Sprint duathlon, 1.2 mile Run, 15 mile Bike, 3.1 mile Run; Olympic duathlon, 3.1 mile Run, 15 mile Bike, 6.2 mile Run). Mexico Beach, Florida. Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
  • Third annual Loop the Lake 5K. 8:00 am CT. First Baptist Church, 216 East Live Oak Avenue, De Funiak Springs, Florida 32435. Event web site. Entry form and flyer.
19 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Tallahassee Women's Distance Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Optimist Park, East Indianhead Drive, Tallahassee, FL. USATF certified course #FL00022DL. Entry form and flyer. Lisa Unger, ungertl@juno.com or 850-562-2901.
  • Race of the South 10K / 5K / One Mile. 7:30am ET 10K & 5K / 9:00am ET one mile. Moultrie YMCA, 601 26th Ave SE, Moultrie, Georgia 31768. Entry form and flyer. Contact Leslie Peretti (229) 985-1154 or leslieymca@hotmail.com
  • Gulf Coast Community College Commodore Sun Run 10K / 5K / Fun Run. 6:30 am CT. Aaron Bessant Park (at Pier Park), 500 West Park Drive, Panama City, FL. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com.
  • Trot with S.W.A.T. 10K. 8:00 am CT. Dothan Civic Center Parking Lot, 126 N. St. Andrews Street, Dothan, Alabama. Entry form and flyer. Brian Goguen 334-794-9029 or cgoguen@sw.rr.com
26 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Salute to Prefontaine 5K Cross-Country Run. 9:00 am ET. Silver Lake Recreation Area of the Apalachicola National Forest, Silver Lake Road, Tallahassee, FL. Jeff Nielsen, 850-459-8859 or dobieman@comcast.net
  • Quail Trail 5K. 8:00 am ET. Historic Pebble Hill Plantation, US 319, Thomasville, Georgia. Entry form and flyer. Helen Fennelly, 229-225-2186 or htfenn@hotmail.com
  • A Bridge to a Brighter Day 5K. 8:00 am CT. Carl Grey Park, Panama City, FL 32401. Online registration at active.com.
  • Jog For Jake 5K. 7:00 pm ET. Tift County High School, One Blue Devil Way, Tifton, Georgia 31794. Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
3 OCTOBER 2009
  • Pine Run at Tall Timbers 20K. 7:30 am ET. Tall Timbers Research Station, 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee, FL. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Gordon Cherr, 850-556-5957 or scam22@aol.com
  • Pelham Wildlife Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Family Bank, 134 Hand Ave W, Pelham, GA. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Pelham Chamber of Commerce at 229-294-4924 or Carol Harrison at 229-328-6147.
  • Salmonole Run. 8:00 am ET. Florida State University, 117 North Woodward Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32306. Online registration at active.com.
  • Hahira Honeybee Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Hahira, Georgia. Event web site. honeybeefestival@yahoo.com
  • Joann Weintritt Memorial Pumpkins in the Park 2-Mile Run. 8:00am CT. Under the Oaks Park, 5843 E Hwy 98, Panama City, FL. Online registration at active.com.
10 OCTOBER 2009
  • Parent's Weekend 5K. 7:30 am ET. Florida State University Integration Statue, South Woodward Plaza, Tallahassee, Florida 32304. Event web site. Entry form. parentsweekend@admin.fsu.edu
  • Stepping Out for your Heart 5K. 8:00 am ET. Tift County High School, Northeast Campus, 3021 Fulwood Rd, Tifton, Georgia 31794. Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation web site. Darian Peavy 229-353-7796 or darian.peavy@tiftregional.com, or Ernest Lang 229-383-4264.
  • Oyster Spat Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Sugar Hill Beach in St George Island State Park, 1900 E. Gulf Beach Dr., St. George Island, Florida 32328. Event web site. rickplesinger@yahoo.com
  • Marianna Fire Rescue "Stepping out for Fire Safety" 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run. 7:30am CT. Marianna Fire Rescue Station 1, 4425 Clinton Street, Marianna, FL. Online registration at active.com. bennettb@cityofmarianna.com or 850-526-4612.
17 OCTOBER 2009
  • Girls Incorporated Half Marathon. 8:00 am CT. Pier Park, Panama City Beach, FL. Online registration at active.com.
24 OCTOBER 2009
  • 11th annual Alan Sundberg, Jr. Memorial 5K. 8:00 am ET. Maclay Gardens State Park, 3540 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, FL 32309-3413. Event web site.
  • Expression 5K. 8:30 am ET. Christian Heritage Church, 2820 Sharer Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32312. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Liz Baker, 850-212-7406 or lizbaker777@aol.com or expressionrun@gmail.com
  • Riverfront Run 5K. 8:30am ET. Broad Avenue next to Hilton Garden Inn, 101 S Front Street, Albany, Georgia 31701. Event web site. info@riverfrontrun.com or (229) 436-8191.
25 OCTOBER 2009
  • FSUCares Homecoming 5K. 4:00 pm ET. Florida State University College of Medicine, 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32304. Event web site. Registration form and flyer. Laura Davis, led07f@med.fsu.edu
31 OCTOBER 2009
  • Boston Mini-Marathon. 8:00 am ET. Commercial Bank, 124 West Jefferson Street, Boston, GA 31626. Entry form and flyer. Brad Johnson, bradjohnson@bankcb.com or 229-498-8500 (day) / 229-226-4679 (evening).
  • Celebration Baptist Church Fall Fest 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run. 8:30am ET one mile / 9:00am ET 5K. Celebration Baptist Church, Tallahassee, Florida 32309. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Alan Hart, 850-321-4143.
  • Tricker Trek 10K Run & 1 Mile Family Fun Run. 8:00am CT. Marina Civic Center, Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL. Online registration at active.com. Gumby Weckherlin (850)271-5896 or Joe Edgecombe (850)774-0018
  • Sixth annual St. John Road Race 5K, 1 Mile, and Tot Trot. 8:30 am ET (5K), 9:30 am ET (1 Mile), 9:45 am ET (Tot Trot). St. John Catholic School, 800 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA 31602-1699. Entry form and flyer. 229-244-2556
7 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Cops For Kids 5K. 8:30am ET. Tallahassee, Florida. Cops For Kids web site. Entry form and flyer. Mike Rogers, 850-566-4131 or 850-566-2560.
  • Alligator Lake 5K / 10K. 9:00am ET. Alligator Lake Park, 1498 SW Country Club Road, Lake City, FL 32025. Online registration at active.com. Dusty Smith, halfmiletiming_dusty@hotmail.com
14 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Miles for Smiles 5K. 8:30 am ET (one-mile fun run), 9:00 am ET (5K). Coffee Regional Medical Center, 1101 Ocilla Road, Douglas, GA 31533.
  • YMCA Holiday Chili Run. 8:00 am ET. Albany YMCA Central Facility, 1701 Gillionville Road, Albany, GA 31707. Online registration at active.com.
  • Trot for Tots 10K & 5K. 9:00 am CT. Panama City Marina, 1 Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL 32401. Online registration at active.com.
21 NOVEMBER 2009
  • 15th annual Draggin' Tail 18-Mile Run, Relay, & 5K. 8:00 am CT. St Theresa's Catholic Church, 2056 Sunny Hills Boulevard, Sunny Hills, FL. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Marty Kirkland 850-265-8439 or Joe Edgecombe 850-763-5005, joeruns@yahoo.com
  • Run With The Son 5K. 9:00am CT. Altha Area Recreational Park, 15727 NW Bodiford Road, Altha, FL 32421. Online registration at active.com.
26 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Tallahassee Turkey Trot 15k / 10K / 5K. 8:00 am ET. State Office Satellite Complex at SouthWood, Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, FL. Event web site.
28 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Pilgrim Chase Trail Run 5K. 8:00 am CT. Westgate Park, 801 Recreation Road, Dothan, AL 36303. Larry Dykes 334-792-6021
5 DECEMBER 2009
  • 2009 Gulf Winds Track Club Ten-Mile Challenge / Five-Mile Run. 8:00 am ET. Killearn Lakes Elementary School, 8037 Deerlake Drive East, Bradfordville, FL. USATF certified courses FL07049EBM (10 mile) and FL07048EBM (5 mile). Event web page. Judy Alexander, 850-383-1361 or jalexander98@comcast.net
  • Reindeer Trot 5K and one-mile fun run. 8:00am ET 5K / 8:45am ET one mile. Bainbridge Country Club, 312 Country Club Road, Bainbridge, Georgia 39819. Entry form and flyer. Contact reindeertrot@gmail.com
  • Run For The Redfish Half-Marathon, 5K, and Kids' Fun Run. 8:00 am CT. Pier Park, Margaritaville, 16230 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach 32413. Event web site. Registration form and flyer. Online registration at active.com.
  • Christmas Parade 5K. 6:00 pm ET. Douglas, Georgia. Cathy Browning (912-384-1616 or cbrowning@windstream.net) or C.M. Jenkins (912-384-7448 or 912-383-5445 or cimjenkins@windstream.net)
  • Jingle Bell Jog 10K / 5K / One-Mile. 8:00am ET (10 km) / 9:00am et (5 km). Tift Park, Corner of 5th and Monroe, Albany, GA 31701. USATF certified courses GA05018WC (10 km) and GA05017WC (5 km). Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
12 DECEMBER 2009
  • 29th annual Tallahassee Ultra Distance Classic 50K/50M. 7:00 am ET. Wakulla Springs State Park, 550 Wakulla Park Drive, Wakulla Springs, FL. USATF certified course FL08072EBM. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Gary Griffin, runlong@nettally.com
16 JANUARY 2010
  • Gulf Winds Track Club 30K / 15K. 7:30 am ET. The Retreat at Bradley's Pond, 9002 Bradley Road, Tallahassee, FL 32309. USATF certified courses FL06013DL (30K) and FL06014DL (15 K). Jerry/Jackie McDaniel (mcdanieljackie@hotmail.com or 850-297-0009)
6 FEBRUARY 2010
7 FEBRUARY 2010
  • 36th annual Tallahassee Marathon and Half-Marathon. 7:30 am ET. Mike Long Track, Florida State University, Chieftan Way at Spirit Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306. Event web site. USATF certified course FL06020DL (Marathon), FL06021DL (half-Marathon). Online registration at active.com. Tallahasseemarathon@gmail.com
6 MARCH 2010
  • 4th annual Snickers® Marathon® Energy Bar Marathon and Half-Marathon. 7:00 am ET. Veteran's Park, Front Street, Albany, GA 31701. USATF certified course GA07003WC (Marathon), GA07002WC (half-Marathon). Event web site. Online registration at active.com. info@SNICKERSmarathonenergybarmarathon.com
27 MARCH 2010
  • 35th annual Springtime 10K, Publix 5K & Fun Station 1-Miler. 8:00am ET. Leon County Courthouse, 301 S Monroe St, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Event web site. USATF certified course FL96048DL (10 km). Judy Alexander, jalexander98@comcast.net or 850-383-1361.
10 APRIL 2010
  • 36th annual Palace Saloon 5 km. 8:00am ET. James Messer Fields Park, Jackson Bluff Road and Dupree Street, Tallahassee, FL 32304. USATF certified course FL99027DL. Online registration at active.com.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Bowlegs 5K Winners, 1985-2009

The Billy Bowlegs 5K "Run For Scholarship" was started in 1985 by Dr. Leitch Wright. After his tragic and untimely death, Bill Hillison and Larry Giunipero took over race director duties in 1987. The 1987 race was billed as the "Wright Run For Scholarship," but after that year the race reverted to its original name. In 2002 the event became a Gulf Winds Track Club race.

The earliest editions of the race were run on a course on Florida State University's main campus (USATF FL88014BH), starting and finishing near Tully Gym. Eventually the directors moved the race to its current location, a course through Innovation Park (USATF FL95008DL) with the start and finish at the Florida A&M University / Florida State University College of Engineering. The Bowlegs 5K has always raised funds for scholarships awarded through the Faculty and Friends Club of FSU.

As best I've been able, I've listed the date, the top male and female overall, the fastest male and female master overall, and the number of recorded finishers. In some years the published results did not include the runners ages, so I wasn't able to determine who fastest masters were. Where possible, though, I always listed the fastest masters, and not who would have been given a masters' trophy based on a no-duplication-of-awards rule. I could argue that this is so later historians can more easily determine the masters records for the events, but it's really just my personal preference.

A big thank you to Rex Cleveland and Fred Deckert for their invaluable help in completing this list.

Bowlegs 5K "Run For Scholarship" Winners, 1985-2009
2009 JAN 10  OVERALL MALE       Tim Unger               17:59    117 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Tim Unger 17:59
OVERALL FEMALE Micah Adriani 20:09
TOP FEMALE MASTER Julie Clark 22:03

2008 JAN 19 OVERALL MALE Tripp Southerland 16:32 121 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Michael Martinez 17:28
OVERALL FEMALE Carly Thomas 21:39
TOP FEMALE MASTER Kirsten Baggett 22:08

2007 JAN 20 OVERALL MALE Matthew Mizereck 17:37 109 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Todd Smoot 17:57
OVERALL FEMALE Sheryl Rosen 19:02
TOP FEMALE MASTER Julie Clark 21:39

2006 JAN 14 OVERALL MALE Shawn Patterson 16:43 152 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Carlos Nordhielm 17:52
OVERALL FEMALE Stephanie Liles 19:22
TOP FEMALE MASTER Julie Clark 21:38

2005 JAN 15 OVERALL MALE Art Remillard 17:42 72 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Bill McCord 18:26
OVERALL FEMALE Sarah Docter-Williams 18:10
TOP FEMALE MASTER Sarah Docter-Williams 18:10

2004 FEB 21 OVERALL MALE Adam David Churchill 17:06 82 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Bill McCord 17:57
OVERALL FEMALE Breeda Dennehy-Willis 18:21
TOP FEMALE MASTER Julie Clark 21:32

2003 FEB 08 OVERALL MALE Paul Orfield 16:56 76 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Doug Gorton 18:14
OVERALL FEMALE Fran McLean 21:15
TOP FEMALE MASTER Fran McLean 21:15

2002 FEB 09 OVERALL MALE Thomas Kunish 16:20 77 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Larry Mengelkoch 17:50
OVERALL FEMALE Allison Eagen 20:20
TOP FEMALE MASTER Lynn Fellers 23:13

2001 FEB 10 OVERALL MALE Gary Droze 16:48
TOP MALE MASTER Steve Barraco 17:41
OVERALL FEMALE Sarah Docter-Williams 18:18
TOP FEMALE MASTER Mary Jean Yon 22:01

2000 FEB 12 OVERALL MALE Aaron Sheer 15:49 83 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER David Yon 18:14
OVERALL FEMALE Laurel Slyck 20:42

1999 FEB 13 OVERALL MALE Robert Pautienus 15:57 77 Finishers
OVERALL FEMALE Breeda Dennehy-Willis 16:54

1998 FEB 14 OVERALL MALE Damian Wilson 16:23 104 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Bill McGuire 17:35
OVERALL FEMALE Sarah Docter-Williams 17:47
TOP FEMALE MASTER Fran McLean 21:16

1997 FEB 15 OVERALL MALE Gary Droze 15:45 163 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Tim Simpkins 16:36
OVERALL FEMALE Jane Johnson 18:20
TOP FEMALE MASTER Peggy Simpson 21:04

1996 FEB 17 OVERALL MALE Tim Simpkins 16:12 77 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Tim Simpkins 16:12
OVERALL FEMALE Janice Hochstein 19:33
TOP FEMALE MASTER Janice Hochstein 19:33

1995 FEB 18 OVERALL MALE Reid Montini 15:41 158 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Tim Simpkins 16:10
OVERALL FEMALE Jane Johnson 18:09
TOP FEMALE MASTER Peggy Simpson 20:39

1994 FEB 19 OVERALL MALE Philip Healy 16:02 83 Finishers
OVERALL FEMALE Chateau Mangaroo 22:18

1993 FEB 20 OVERALL MALE Gary Droze 15:33 143 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Paul Hoover 16:52
OVERALL FEMALE Carrie Hunnicutt 19:33
TOP FEMALE MASTER Peggy Simpson 21:58

1992 FEB 15 OVERALL MALE Mike Macinko 15:51 81 Finishers
OVERALL FEMALE Paula Johnson 18:37

1991 FEB 16 OVERALL MALE Bill Crooks 16:15 67 Finishers
OVERALL FEMALE Tina Davies 20:37

1990 FEB 10 OVERALL MALE Felton Wright 17:28 112 Finishers
OVERALL FEMALE Paula Johnson 19:30

1989 FEB 04 OVERALL MALE Rick Miller 15:44 165 Finishers
OVERALL FEMALE Barbara Balzer 20:02

1988 FEB 13 OVERALL MALE Rick Miller 16:05 220 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Bill McGuire 17:51
OVERALL FEMALE Janice Hochstein 20:02
TOP FEMALE MASTER Mae Cleveland 20:56

1987 FEB 07 OVERALL MALE Randy Jordan 15:54 186 Finishers
OVERALL FEMALE Sarah Patterson 20:00

1986 FEB 15 OVERALL MALE Rick Miller 16:12 150 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER Bill Hillison 19:17
OVERALL FEMALE Janice Hochstein 20:00
TOP FEMALE MASTER Dot Skofronick 23:12

1985 FEB 16 OVERALL MALE Scott Hinkle 16:44 153 Finishers
TOP MALE MASTER David Hagemes 17:03
OVERALL FEMALE Darien Andreu 18:48
TOP FEMALE MASTER Patti Sudduth 20:32


Links:

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Patrick Swain wins 2009 "Breakfast on the Track" Mile

race photoHolding off a homestretch challenge by John Robida, 2008 FHSAA-1A cross-country champion Patrick Swain won the annual "Breakfast on the Track" one-mile run, hosted by Gulf Winds Track Club on the Maclay School track on Saturday morning, 15 August 2009. Swain's time was 4:43.40, less than a second ahead of Robida's 4:44.04. For Swain, it was a payback of sorts--in the 2008 edition of the "Breakfast on the Track" he had finished fourth in 4:43.12, a single place behind Robida's 4:41.43. In this year's mile, Robida had led much of the early stages of the race, with Swain taking over the pace on the final lap, then fighting off Robida's surge in the last hundred meters.
race photo
The male masters also had a dramatic finish, but at the finish line it was Michael Martinez inching out defending masters' champion Jay Wallace for the title, 4:58.15 to 4:58.56. Martinez and Wallace finished fourth and fifth overall, respectively. Finishing sixth overall and winning the 2009 women's title was Jana "Stretch" Stolting of Maclay School, running 5:05.66. Stolting was less than four seconds ahead of women's runner up Stefanie Kurgatt, who finished tenth overall in 5:09.21. Kurgatt also runs for Maclay, and will start her freshman year there later this month. The top woman master was Jane Johnson, 45th overall in 6:12.37, well-ahead of the next over-40 woman, Nancy Stedman, who was 65th overall in 6:39.73.

The race photo"Breakfast on the Track" is an annual track meet with one event, the one-mile run, run in multiple sections based on projected time. This year there were 177 finishers in nine sections. With the exception of women's master champion Jane Johnson, all of the titlists ran in the first section (runners projecting a finish time under 5:15), which somewhat later than the scheduled time of 7:45 am ET. Temperatures were mild for mid-August in north Florida with intermittent cloud cover. Athletes (and anyone else who happened by) were treated to a pancake breakfast after their race. Spectators saw some fine racing, and even the annoying pop music blaring over the public address system while the running was going on could not spoil the morning.

Links:

Friday, August 14, 2009

Reflections on the current state of the Apalachee Regional Park cross-country loop, 14 August 2009

While making a late afternoon stroll around the new cross-country running loop out at Apalachee Regional park, I made a few observations.

Course PhotoThe starting area is still very nice. The ground is rough under the grass, but this isn't supposed to be a golf fairway. The grass itself is long, which is to be expected in Florida during a summer with nearly normal amounts of rainfall. If your grass wasn't mowed this morning, it probably needs mowing right now. There is really no way to keep all the grassy areas of the course mowed all year round, short of installing a large herd of sheep or goats in the park.

Speaking of ruminants, I saw my first deer on the course, a large doe that bounded across the starting area, proving that a talented runner can cover that part of the loop at a good clip. I've always seen deer tracks all over the loop, but had never actually seen one of the animals until today.

At the end of the starting field, there is now a 100-foot wide opening through the oak hammock, and the live oak canopy is undisturbed. However, the leaves and loose mulch need to be removed from the opening before athletes can use that avenue to run from one field to the next. Once that's done, the course should be able to accommodate races with hundreds of starters.

The crushed oyster shell surface on the third quarter mile of the loop is holding up well. The rain has washed very little of it away, and the loop here is more like a track than a cross-country course. On the fourth quarter mile, the meadow and the piney woods could use some mowing--but we've already discussed mowing.

Starting near the end of the first mile, a lot of small branches were down, most of which I picked up and threw off the trail. This is going to always be the case, especially on the jungle portions of the fifth and sixth quarter miles. In fact, after a big storm, you'll probably need a team with chainsaws to go in and clear the course of fallen limbs. This is the price you pay for running in the woods, and the only way to avoid paying that price is to have everyone run around treeless fields.

The causeway across the lowest spot of the course is still in great shape, over a hundred yards of fast running through the jungle over crushed oyster shells. The rest of the route through the jungle is holding up equally well except for the last hill, where the crushed oyster shell is being carried downhill toward Lake Lafayette during every rainfall. This stretch is either going to have to get a new load of oyster shell periodically--say once a year--or it's going to have to be dirt-and-leaves like the rest of the jungle.

The loop is easy to learn, but you have to be taught by someone else who already knows it. Without a few signs, anyone venturing out to Apalachee Regional Park on their own is not even going to suspect that there's a running loop on the grounds. And even if they know the loop is there, they're not going to be able to find it. Pin flags are a possible temporary way of marking the loop. Blaze marks painted on trees would be another, or strands of surveyor's ribbon. One Day there will certainly be handsome permanent signs and mileage marks on the loop, but right now there's nothing.

The loop is certainly not perfect, but it has a lot going for it and very little wrong with it that can't be fixed.

Links:

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Questions about heat acclimatization and athletics

We're in the final laps of the southern summer, which means that I've had several months to think about the heat and how the body adapts to it. It's clear that the body does indeed adapt to performing in hot conditions, and I know what a few of those adaptations are, but there is a lot that I don't know about heat and athletic performance. I'm not sure if anyone knows.

How do you adapt to heat?
Obviously you're going to adapt to running in the heat if you get out and run in the heat. But is there anything else you can do? World-class runner Benji Durden had a reputation of getting out in the heat of the day and running in double sweatsuits. I can't say that I ever saw him actually doing this, but it's one of those great stories that the truth is never going to kill. Would such training increase the degree of heat adaptation, or cut down on the time required to adapt to heat? Durden was also rumored to sleep in a warm-up suit. This brings up the question of whether spending more time in the heat either hastens or increases heat adaptation. Should you avoid air conditioning? Wear flannel shirts? Drive around with the heater on?

Does a greater volume of training help?
If you run a lot of miles, it seems like it would increase metabolic efficiency (cutting down on the waste heat your body produces). At the very least, though, it should lower your body mass, decreasing the amount of energy your body needs to run and giving your body a more favorable surface-area-to-mass ratio for radiating heat (beach balls have a poor shape for heat radiation, so the less you look like one, the better). Are there other heat adaptation mechanisms that would be triggered by high mileage?

Does training in heat only get you ready to race in heat?
Assuming that the best way to prepare to race in heat is to train in heat, is there a more general benefit to training in the heat? This is an attractive idea if you're sweltering on the coast without the means to relocate to an altitude training camp. Altitude training seems to have some general benefits, so why not heat training? I've asked around, though, and haven't come up with any answers. I once spoke with Chuck Amato, an assistant football coach at Florida State University, when his players were in the middle of two-a-day August workouts, and asked him about the possible benefits of heat training. He shrugged. "We have to do the workouts, and it's hot." Maybe the University of Minnesota football squad is missing out on an advantage that the Florida schools have in the pre-season, but there doesn't seem to be any research that indicates so.

Does ability to adapt to heat decline with age?
This is something you start to think about as the miles and the years behind you add up. You'll find many older runners who say that they don't handle the heat as well as they did in their rosy youth, but is that true, or are their recollections blurred by the foggy lens of memory? Assuming that it is true, though, there are other age-related variable to consider--lighter training loads, slower pace (the same number of miles has you out in the heat longer), and, um, increased body mass. If there is a separate age-dependent factor in heat adaptation, it would be interesting to know what it is.

Those are some of the questions I think about when I'm sweating. If they haven't been answered yet, then they're going to need someone with an exercise physiology lab (and maybe some grant money) to settle. Budding scientists are welcome to any of these puzzles; send me a link to your dissertation when you've got a solution.

Links:

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

12 August 2009 Tallahassee 100-Mile Race Calendar

This is the Tallahassee vicinity road-race schedule for 12 August 2009. If that's more than a week ago, the latest schedule is always available via this link:


This is a listing of upcoming races within 100 miles of Tallahassee, Florida, roughly the area in the map below. If a race isn't listed, I probably haven't heard of it, so post a comment and let me know about it.

Map

15 AUGUST 2009
  • Breakfast On The Track One Mile Run. 7:45 am ET. Maclay School track, 3737 N Meridian Rd, Tallahassee, FL. Bonnie Wright, 850-386-3500 or bwright@electro-net.com
  • Georgia Veterans Duathlon and Triathlon. 8:00 am ET. Georgia Veterans State Park, 2459 U.S. Highway 280 W, Cordele , GA 31015. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com
  • Life is a Beach 5K Trail Run. 7:30 am CT. Westgate Park, 801 Recreation Road, Dothan, AL 36303. Event web page. Larry Dykes (334) 792-6021
18 AUGUST 2009
  • Valdosta All-Comer Cross-Country Series 1-mile and 5K #7. 7:00 pm ET one mile / 5K immediately follows. Freedom Park, 3795 Guest Rd, Valdosta, GA 31601. Get Active, getactive.val@earthlink.net or 229-219-0010.
  • Hot Summer Nights 5K Trail Run. 6:00 pm CT. Westgate Park, 801 Recreation Road, Dothan, AL 36303. Larry Dykes, drcprez@yahoo.com or (334) 792-6021. Weekly non-competitive event.
22 AUGUST 2009
  • 4th Annual Valdosta State University Community 5K. 8:00am ET. West Hall Fountain, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Contact Shawn Phippen sphippen@valdosta.edu or (229) 245-4307.
  • 23rd Annual Sandestin Triathlon (½-mile swim, 20-mile bike, 4-mile run). 6:30am CT. Finz Beachside Grille at Sandestin Resort, 9300 Emerald Coast Parkway West, Destin, FL 32550. Event web site.
25 AUGUST 2009
  • Hot Summer Nights 5K Trail Run. 6:00 pm CT. Westgate Park, 801 Recreation Road, Dothan, AL 36303. Larry Dykes, drcprez@yahoo.com or (334) 792-6021. Last of a series of weekly non-competitive events
29 AUGUST 2009
  • Miller Landing Madness 8K/5K/3K. 8:00 am ET. Elinor Klapp Phipps Park, Miller Landing Road, Tallahassee, FL 32312. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Mike Sims (850)514-3424 or Tom Perkins (850)894-2019
  • Winnersville Sprint Triathlon. 7:30 am ET (Sprint, 45 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3.6 mile run). Valdosta Lowndes 4-H Facility, 5000 4-H Club Road, Lake Park, GA 31636. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Registration form.
5 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • 30th annual Midnight Chase 5K Run & 1-Mile Fun Run. 12:00 am CT. Panama City, FL. Registration on active.com. Nancy Dingus 850-763-6891 or Joe Edgecombe 850-774-0018
7 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • 2nd annual Red Cross Hurricane Run 5K. 8:00 am ET. Southwood Office Complex, Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Debara Jump, 878-6080 ext. 106 or debara.jump@tallyredcross.org
  • Labor Day 5K & 1500m. 7:30am ET 5K / 8:25am ET 1500m. Get Active, 3200-C North Ashley St, Valdosta, GA 31602. Entry form and flyer. 229-219-0010.
12 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Sickle Cell Foundation of the Big Bend 5K. 8:00 am ET. Jake Gaither Park, 801 Tanner Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32305. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Velma Penermon Stevens, (850)222-2355
  • Beach Blast Triathlon and Duathlon. 7:00 am CT (Sprint triathlon, 0.35 mile Swim, 15 mile Bike, 3.1 mile Run; Olympic triathlon, 0.7 mile Swim, 25 mile Bike, 6.2 mile Run; Sprint duathlon, 1.2 mile Run, 15 mile Bike, 3.1 mile Run; Olympic duathlon, 3.1 mile Run, 15 mile Bike, 6.2 mile Run). Mexico Beach, Florida. Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
  • Third annual Loop the Lake 5K. 8:00 am CT. First Baptist Church, 216 East Live Oak Avenue, De Funiak Springs, Florida 32435. Event web site. Entry form and flyer.
19 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Tallahassee Women's Distance Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Optimist Park, East Indianhead Drive, Tallahassee, FL. USATF certified course #FL00022DL. Entry form and flyer. Lisa Unger, ungertl@juno.com or 850-562-2901.
  • Race of the South 10K / 5K / One Mile. 7:30am ET 10K & 5K / 9:00am ET one mile. Moultrie YMCA, 601 26th Ave SE, Moultrie, Georgia 31768. Entry form and flyer. Contact Leslie Peretti (229) 985-1154 or leslieymca@hotmail.com
  • Gulf Coast Community College Commodore Sun Run 10K / 5K / Fun Run. 6:30 am CT. Aaron Bessant Park (at Pier Park), 500 West Park Drive, Panama City, FL. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com.
  • Trot with S.W.A.T. 10K. 8:00 am CT. Dothan Civic Center Parking Lot, 126 N. St. Andrews Street, Dothan, Alabama. Entry form and flyer. Brian Goguen 334-794-9029 or cgoguen@sw.rr.com
26 SEPTEMBER 2009
  • Salute to Prefontaine 5K Cross-Country Run. 9:00 am ET. Silver Lake Recreation Area of the Apalachicola National Forest, Silver Lake Road, Tallahassee, FL. Jeff Nielsen, 850-459-8859 or dobieman@comcast.net
  • Quail Trail 5K. 8:00 am ET. Historic Pebble Hill Plantation, US 319, Thomasville, Georgia. Entry form and flyer. Helen Fennelly, 229-225-2186 or htfenn@hotmail.com
  • A Bridge to a Brighter Day 5K. 8:00 am CT. Carl Grey Park, Panama City, FL 32401. Online registration at active.com.
  • Jog For Jake 5K. 7:00 pm ET. Tift County High School, One Blue Devil Way, Tifton, Georgia 31794. Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
3 OCTOBER 2009
  • Pine Run at Tall Timbers 20K. 7:30 am ET. Tall Timbers Research Station, 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee, FL. Entry form and flyer. Online registration at active.com. Gordon Cherr, 850-556-5957 or scam22@aol.com
  • Pelham Wildlife Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Family Bank, 134 Hand Ave W, Pelham, GA. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Pelham Chamber of Commerce at 229-294-4924 or Carol Harrison at 229-328-6147.
  • Salmonole Run. 8:00 am ET. Florida State University, 117 North Woodward Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32306. Online registration at active.com.
  • Hahira Honeybee Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Hahira, Georgia. Event web site. honeybeefestival@yahoo.com
  • Joann Weintritt Memorial Pumpkins in the Park 2-Mile Run. 8:00am CT. Under the Oaks Park, 5843 E Hwy 98, Panama City, FL. Online registration at active.com.
10 OCTOBER 2009
  • Parent's Weekend 5K. 7:30 am ET. Florida State University Integration Statue, South Woodward Plaza, Tallahassee, Florida 32304. Event web site. Entry form. parentsweekend@admin.fsu.edu
  • Stepping Out for your Heart 5K. 8:00 am ET. Tift County High School, Northeast Campus, 3021 Fulwood Rd, Tifton, Georgia 31794. Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation web site. Darian Peavy 229-353-7796 or darian.peavy@tiftregional.com, or Ernest Lang 229-383-4264.
  • Oyster Spat Festival 5K. 8:00 am ET. Sugar Hill Beach in St George Island State Park, 1900 E. Gulf Beach Dr., St. George Island, Florida 32328. Event web site. rickplesinger@yahoo.com
  • Marianna Fire Rescue "Stepping out for Fire Safety" 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run. 7:30am CT. Marianna Fire Rescue Station 1, 4425 Clinton Street, Marianna, FL. Online registration at active.com. bennettb@cityofmarianna.com or 850-526-4612.
17 OCTOBER 2009
  • Girls Incorporated Half Marathon. 8:00 am CT. Pier Park, Panama City Beach, FL. Online registration at active.com.
24 OCTOBER 2009
  • 11th annual Alan Sundberg, Jr. Memorial 5K. 8:00 am ET. Maclay Gardens State Park, 3540 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, FL 32309-3413. Event web site.
  • Expression 5K. 8:30 am ET. Christian Heritage Church, 2820 Sharer Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32312. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Liz Baker, 850-212-7406 or lizbaker777@aol.com or expressionrun@gmail.com
  • Riverfront Run 5K. 8:30am ET. Broad Avenue next to Hilton Garden Inn, 101 S Front Street, Albany, Georgia 31701. Event web site. info@riverfrontrun.com or (229) 436-8191.
25 OCTOBER 2009
  • FSUCares Homecoming 5K. 4:00 pm ET. Florida State University College of Medicine, 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32304. Event web site. Registration form and flyer. Laura Davis, led07f@med.fsu.edu
31 OCTOBER 2009
  • Boston Mini-Marathon. 8:00 am ET. Commercial Bank, 124 West Jefferson Street, Boston, GA 31626. Entry form and flyer. Brad Johnson, bradjohnson@bankcb.com or 229-498-8500 (day) / 229-226-4679 (evening).
  • Celebration Baptist Church Fall Fest 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run. 8:30am ET one mile / 9:00am ET 5K. Celebration Baptist Church, Tallahassee, Florida 32309. Event web site. Entry form and flyer. Alan Hart, 850-321-4143.
  • Tricker Trek 10K Run & 1 Mile Family Fun Run. 8:00am CT. Marina Civic Center, Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL. Online registration at active.com. Gumby Weckherlin (850)271-5896 or Joe Edgecombe (850)774-0018
  • Sixth annual St. John Road Race 5K, 1 Mile, and Tot Trot. 8:30 am ET (5K), 9:30 am ET (1 Mile), 9:45 am ET (Tot Trot). St. John Catholic School, 800 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA 31602-1699. 229-244-2556
7 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Cops For Kids 5K. 8:30am ET. Tallahassee, Florida. Cops For Kids web site. Entry form and flyer. Mike Rogers, 850-566-4131 or 850-566-2560.
  • Alligator Lake 5K / 10K. 9:00am ET. Alligator Lake Park, 1498 SW Country Club Road, Lake City, FL 32025. Online registration at active.com. Dusty Smith, halfmiletiming_dusty@hotmail.com
14 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Miles for Smiles 5K. 8:30 am ET (one-mile fun run), 9:00 am ET (5K). Coffee Regional Medical Center, 1101 Ocilla Road, Douglas, GA 31533.
  • YMCA Holiday Chili Run. 8:00 am ET. Albany YMCA Central Facility, 1701 Gillionville Road, Albany, GA 31707. Online registration at active.com.
  • Trot for Tots 10K & 5K. 9:00 am CT. Panama City Marina, 1 Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL 32401. Online registration at active.com.
21 NOVEMBER 2009
  • 15th annual Draggin' Tail 18-Mile Run, Relay, & 5K. 8:00 am CT. St Theresa's Catholic Church, 2056 Sunny Hills Boulevard, Sunny Hills, FL. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Marty Kirkland 850-265-8439 or Joe Edgecombe 850-763-5005, joeruns@yahoo.com
  • Run With The Son 5K. 9:00am CT. Altha Area Recreational Park, 15727 NW Bodiford Road, Altha, FL 32421. Online registration at active.com.
26 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Tallahassee Turkey Trot 15k / 10K / 5K. 8:00 am ET. State Office Satellite Complex at SouthWood, Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, FL. Event web site.
28 NOVEMBER 2009
  • Pilgrim Chase Trail Run 5K. 8:00 am CT. Westgate Park, 801 Recreation Road, Dothan, AL 36303. Larry Dykes 334-792-6021
5 DECEMBER 2009
  • 2009 Gulf Winds Track Club Ten-Mile Challenge / Five-Mile Run. 8:00 am ET. Killearn Lakes Elementary School, 8037 Deerlake Drive East, Bradfordville, FL. USATF certified courses FL07049EBM (10 mile) and FL07048EBM (5 mile). Event web page. Judy Alexander, 850-383-1361 or jalexander98@comcast.net
  • Reindeer Trot 5K and one-mile fun run. 8:00am ET 5K / 8:45am ET one mile. Bainbridge Country Club, 312 Country Club Road, Bainbridge, Georgia 39819. Entry form and flyer. Contact reindeertrot@gmail.com
  • Run For The Redfish Half-Marathon, 5K, and Kids' Fun Run. 8:00 am CT. Pier Park, Margaritaville, 16230 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach 32413. Event web site. Registration form and flyer. Online registration at active.com.
  • Christmas Parade 5K. 6:00 pm ET. Douglas, Georgia. Cathy Browning (912-384-1616 or cbrowning@windstream.net) or C.M. Jenkins (912-384-7448 or 912-383-5445 or cimjenkins@windstream.net)
  • Jingle Bell Jog 10K / 5K / One-Mile. 8:00am ET (10 km) / 9:00am et (5 km). Tift Park, Corner of 5th and Monroe, Albany, GA 31701. USATF certified courses GA05018WC (10 km) and GA05017WC (5 km). Event web site. Online registration at active.com.
12 DECEMBER 2009
  • 29th annual Tallahassee Ultra Distance Classic 50K/50M. 7:00 am ET. Wakulla Springs State Park, 550 Wakulla Park Drive, Wakulla Springs, FL. USATF certified course FL08072EBM. Event web site. Online registration at active.com. Gary Griffin, runlong@nettally.com
16 JANUARY 2010
  • Gulf Winds Track Club 30K / 15K. 7:30 am ET. The Retreat at Bradley's Pond, 9002 Bradley Road, Tallahassee, FL 32309. USATF certified courses FL06013DL (30K) and FL06014DL (15 K). Jerry/Jackie McDaniel (mcdanieljackie@hotmail.com or 850-297-0009)
6 FEBRUARY 2010
7 FEBRUARY 2010
  • 36th annual Tallahassee Marathon and Half-Marathon. 7:30 am ET. Mike Long Track, Florida State University, Chieftan Way at Spirit Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306. Event web site. USATF certified course FL06020DL (Marathon), FL06021DL (half-Marathon). Online registration at active.com. Tallahasseemarathon@gmail.com
6 MARCH 2010
  • 4th annual Snickers® Marathon® Energy Bar Marathon and Half-Marathon. 7:00 am ET. Veteran's Park, Front Street, Albany, GA 31701. USATF certified course GA07003WC (Marathon), GA07002WC (half-Marathon). Event web site. Online registration at active.com. info@SNICKERSmarathonenergybarmarathon.com
27 MARCH 2010
  • 35th annual Springtime 10K, Publix 5K & Fun Station 1-Miler. 8:00am ET. Leon County Courthouse, 301 S Monroe St, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Event web site. USATF certified course FL96048DL (10 km). Judy Alexander, jalexander98@comcast.net or 850-383-1361.
10 APRIL 2010
  • 36th annual Palace Saloon 5 km. 8:00am ET. James Messer Fields Park, Jackson Bluff Road and Dupree Street, Tallahassee, FL 32304. USATF certified course FL99027DL. Online registration at active.com.