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SQRR Quarterly Newsletter |
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Dear Squannie, Welcome to the summer all! The wet weather seems to have given us a break (finally) and boosted our mosquito population, but I hope everyone is able to get out to enjoy some summer running. The hot and humid weather hasn't diminished the number of Squannies I've seen out on the roads...and it is easier to see everyone with the eye catching new uniforms. The Outback Run (Wednesdays @ 6:30 pm on the bike path at the end of Station Ave.) has shown great attendance to date with almost as many runners as deer flies on some nights. The Dunstable Firecracker 5K on the 4th of July was well attended by SQRR and included some great performances by club members as well. Congrats to all that ran. We're still meeting on Sunday mornings at the Groton School @ 8 am for 4-7 miles at various paces. The club will be participating in a few races in the coming months...one being the Winnipesaukee Relay (September 23rd @ 8 am) - don't tell the kids, but September isn't too far off! I hope everyone has a super summer and I look forward to seeing y'all out on the roads! Chris Shaffer, President
Proceeds from each year's Groton Road Race are funneled back into the community in various different forms. We make direct donations to several local organizations, offer some funding for the Summer Track & Field program, and provide college scholarship money to graduating seniors from Groton-Dunstable High School. Our scholarship committee (Kerri Strauss, Mark Graf, Chris Shaffer, and Steve Legge) reviewed the scholarship applications. The applicants were required to submit information regarding grade point averages and class rank. In addition, essays written by the applicants detailing their volunteer work, job experiences, athletic experiences and future ambitions were evaluated.
After careful consideration, the committee selected
four graduating seniors (two boys and two girls) to
receive a $250 SQRR scholarship. At Class Day, May
31st, Mark Graf recognized the following recipients:
SQRR is hosting The Wapack again this year. The club picked it up last year when the previous race director left the area. (He had been helped by the North Medford Club and friends.) The Wapack has been a long-time member of the Grand Tree Series and has a very loyal following. Last year, with only a few weeks notice, we had 35 entrants. This year, we’re expecting 100 or more. The Wapack is a very tough 18 mile run along the Wapack Trail, from Windblown Ski Area in New Ipswich, NH down to Rte. 119 in Ashburnham, MA. Runners go up and down four mountains each way on this out and back course: Barrett, New Ipswich, Pratt, and Watatic. It’s about 3,700 feet of climb, but it seems like more! The Wapack will be on Sunday, September 3rd this year, and it will start at 9 am. The fastest runners finish in about 2.5 hours and the last runner can come in at 6.5 hours (as last year when that person ran on an injured leg for the second half of the race). This year, EMS and Montrail are sponsoring a few of the Grand Tree Series races, and Wapack is one of them! As part of their sponsorship, they have provided free technical shirts. I’m having them silk screened and we’ll give them out free to the first 90 runners that register. If you’re in really good shape and want to try something tough, run The Wapack. But if you aren’t quite up to that yet, please volunteer to help out either at the finish line or at the turnaround point at the base of Mt. Watatic on Rte. 119. Contact either Paul Funch, Race Director, or Mark Graf (water stops), or Amy Schilp (finish line area). As an incentive, the first 10 volunteers to sign up and show up will also get a free t-shirt. They are way cool, so don’t delay! To view the race website and register, click here.
The club is targeting three different relay races over the next six months. They each are quite different in terms of difficulty, distances, and level of committment. The first of them (and the easiest!) is the Moose on the Loose Relay, August 20th, in Nashua. (See the photo of the 2004 SQRR relay team.) This race is also targeted as the club's August Race of the Month. The relay is comprised of 4 x 2.5 mile legs, or someone can run two, three, or all four legs if desired. The race is run in Mine Falls Park, behind Stellos Stadium, and run on hard packed dirt trails. There is a small incline during the second half of each leg, but overall the course is quite easy. We are looking to field a couple of teams, and this is a perfect venue for families who would like to introduce their kids to the fun of relays. Please contact Sue Hoxie if you'd like to participate and she'll assign you to a team. The cost per runner is $16 and this will be a self-funded race (e.g. the club is not picking up the entry fees). The second relay on the calendar is the Fred Brown Winnipesaukee Relay, September 23rd, starting and finishing at Weirs Beach, NH. This 65.1 mile race fields at least 150 teams from all over New England and New York. Teams are typically 8 members, but can be as few as 5 members, and the legs vary between 4 and 11 miles. Chris Russell is heading the effort for 2006 and he's looking for a few additional people to round out the team--male or female. It is a very challenging race, but oh, so much fun! And, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. Please contact Chris if you'd like to participate. The last relay of the year is the Mill Cities Relay, December 3rd. SQRR fielded nine teams at last year's race (a club record) and our male master's team won 2nd place. More details will be distributed later, but please mark your calendars now!
There is nothing better than seeing 90 kids of all ages enjoying running, jumping and throwing. The summer track & field program meets every Monday and Wednesday from 4 pm - 6 pm at the track behind Groton's Florence Roche Elementary School. The program runs from June 26th through August 16th. A typical night consists of each group rotating to four various stations (field event, running, jumping and other - such as plyometrics or game). We also have four special nights, such as, time trials, obstacle course, color night and on the final night we will have a meet and a cookout. To volunteer or for more information, contact Kerri Strauss.
From Chris Russell: One of my patriarchal duties over the last five years has been to help coach my daughters' soccer teams. This spring season we had a great time--such a good time that I decided to prolong the activities and offered to teach them all how to run. I've got a group of 9-10 kids and some parents who are participating on the C25K (Couch to 5K) this summer. It's a very low intensity program designed to take non-runners to completing a 5K in two months. We’ve been meeting down at the Littleton track M-W-F @ 6 pm. We are in our second week now and they are doing well. Most importantly it gives them an excuse to get out of the house once a week. If anyone wants to swing by and say ‘Hi’ feel free. Thanks to SQRR for indirect support and old t- shirts. I'm sure we'll be seeing some of these little women at our races in the future!
Since the last issue of the newsletter (October 2005), we've welcomed the following new members:
If you have something you'd like to add to the calendar, please let me know. We'll post it on the sqrr.org web site.
If you haven't purchased a uniform, or if you'd like to purchase another style from what you already own, please contact Sue Hoxie. There are sizes left in all styles, except the black wind barrier. Those will need to special ordered. In addition, Sue has ordered 3 dozen Coolmax running caps with an embroidered SQRR logo. Those will be priced at approximately $10/each. Please contact Sue if you'd like to purchase one. Again, pricing is as follows:
All these items are of high quality and have gotten rave reviews from the membership!
BRSE '06? What is that? "I'm a graduate of Knowitall College, BRSE '06," said the cocky young job applicant. No, BRSE '06 is not an advanced degree from some high-falutin' institute. It's the third annual installation of the fabled Bike/Run/Swim/Eat. Details are still being worked out, but we're shooting for a date of Sunday August 13th. Mark it in your calendar, and stay tuned to this channel for further details. Or, write Mark Graf for more details.
This article was contributed by Kerri Strauss who
managed SQRR's support of this event. In the 11-12 yr. old girls age group sixth grader Katie McKenzie of Tyngsboro improved her best by ten inches to leap 7’9” in the standing broad jump and take third place. The event was won by Jamie Granskie of Norwell with an amazing 8’1” effort, while Michelle Meranda of Somerville took second at 7’9.25”. Eleven-year-old Amber Sullivan of Dunstable showed the most dramatic improvement from one’s seed time as she dropped over 24 seconds in the 800 meter run to take seventh place in 3:06.64. She was a half second out of sixth place in a race predominately consisting of 12 year olds. Groton resident Breanne Happell improved her time by more than four seconds (1:25.61) in the 400 meter run and took 13th place. In the boys division of 11-12 year olds, fourth graders Anthony Roufos and Brendan Colton earned 12th place in 200 meter dash and 14th place finishes in the 400 and softball throw, respectively. Seventh grade classmates Marisa Benson and Zach Shea both achieved bests in the standing broad jump (6’8”, and 6’6”, respectively) with Marisa earning ninth place with her effort and Zach 12th. Both also competed in two running events. Benson was 10th in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes, and Shea was 11th (with a PR) and ninth in the 800 meter and 1600 meter distance races. The Hershey state and local meets are sponsored by the Hershey Food Corporation, the Massachusetts Recreation and Park Association and local groups such as SQRR to promote track and field and physical fitness.
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