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SQRR Quarterly Newsletter |
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Dear Squannies, Who says runners never smile? When talking with non-runners about running they will often joke about how whenever you see people running, you never see them smile, and they always look like they're in pain. Well, they've obviously never seen us run. As I was thumbing through my pictures of club events to put together a collage for the Grotonfest booth, I realized we are always smiling! I have picture after picture of healthy, happy people who obviously are getting a big kick out of what they are doing. Pictures of people in the middle of races giving a big thumbs up and a great grin. Pictures of happy kids in strollers. Even the dogs are smiling. Evidently we've found the secret to happiness. Let's keep it up and try to share it with others. Today, as I write this, is the Autumnal Equinox. Gordon can give you a three-hour science lesson on this, but suffice to say it's the official beginning of Fall. Fall is a very active time in the New England running scene. There are a host of good Fall races and events. There are a bunch of local marathons. We are going to have our traditional water stop at the Bay State Marathon. This is a great event, the kids love it. You fill cups for an hour. Then there is 1 runner, 2 runners, 4 runners, 16 runners, 100 runners, 1000 runners. It comes by like a human tidal wave. It's quite fun. There are also some cool trail races. One of our own, Paul Funch, runs the Groton Trail Race over in the town forest in West Groton. He puts on a 3-miler and a 10-mile monster. I've run this a couple times and it is one of my favorites. You haven't had fun until you have to climb out of a glacial kettle at the 8 mile mark! Check it out, it's a hoot. We are also planning a breakfast run at Maria's in October. Some of us are threatening to run in costume. That should be worth a few neck turns in the village. We will be starting race planning in earnest soon. We are going to tie in with the Groton 350th anniversary. We are aiming high this year. Be prepared to bring your energy and support. I'm looking for someone to support/coach a newbie- beginner running group this fall, who will step up? In conclusion; enjoy the cool weather, get out there, I hope to be joining you soon, and KEEP SMILING! Chris Russell, Club President
For the third time in four years, SqRR fielded a team of runners for the Lake Winnipesaukee Relay Race. Held this past Saturday, the race starts and finishes from FunSpot, just outside of Weirs Beach. We ran as a mixed open team (four men/four women), comprised of Chris Shaffer, Kathy Kurdzo, Steve O'Brien, Alix Chace, Jim Ray, Sue Hoxie, and two non-SqRR members--Debbie Cole and Scott Homan. The team finished in 9:18:39 (8:31 pace) or 12th out of 17 mixed open teams and 64th out of 81 teams. The race was much smaller than in past years--down about 50 teams. Race directors chalked this up to competing with Reach the Beach relay that was the week before. It meant that the runners were much more stretched out than usual. Some of us never saw another runner during our legs. Chris Shaffer set us off with a blazing first leg from Weirs up the hills to the entrance to Gunstock ski area. For awhile during Kathy's run she swore she'd never run again, but by the end of the day (after a few beers) she committed to conquering that leg next year! The photo above is Chris passing the baton off to Kathy at the first exchange point. Debbie and Scott ran legs 3 and 4, respectively, and retreated back to the North Shore so that Scott could head out to a bachelor party. Talk about a busy day! Jim and Sue got through lonely legs 5 and 6 as support vehicles are not permitted on these sections of the course. We have to compliment Jim on how seriously he took his commitment to supply the team with beverages for post-race consumption. Well done! Too bad he quickly headed back to Groton for a family commitment, so he wasn't able to share in a celebratory beer afterwards. Steve and Alix finished up the relays with the last two legs--both being fairly difficult because of the road surface, amount of traffic on the course, and, oh, did I mention the hills? Steve presented Sue with a screw he picked up during his run as a subtle joke for assigning him that leg! Bottom line, everyone had fun. A few agreed to come back next year, and we all agree that we should try to field to SqRR teams in 2005!
The first month of the season was spent investigating area waterways for a possible training site. Fleur de Lis was used for the meat of the summer. Thanks to the contact Dave has with the owners of Lis, they let us use their beach access and parking lot on Monday nights (which was the one night per week that they closed Lis). The end of the season with the waters cooling off and the darkness coming earlier, the Nashoba River at Nod Road was used for the training. With the various members that attended the training all had fun at the minimum, while others not only had fun but improved on some weakness they had whether it was their swimming strokes or endurance, climbing hills on the bike, or transitioning from their "biking legs" to their "running legs". No one was left behind in the training session. Before the next segment of the training was started, everyone regrouped and started together. The triathlon season in New England has come to a close, but hopefully folks will join us next season for some triathlon training. There is no pressure to perform all of the events, some have come out this year just to watch in amazement (or bewilderment) of folks in training. Hope to get more of you out there next year. Chris & Dave.
It would be an ideal project for a young person to take on as a volunteer project to earn community service hours. The work is not substantial--probably only 5-10 hours a month. For more complicated requests, Kev is still available to consult. Please let me know if you or someone you know is interested.
Below is the schedule for Groton Road Race planning meetings. All meetings will start at 7:15 pm unless otherwise notified. Volunteers for meeting sites are appreciated. We won't make too much of a mess!
We have a total of 13 new members who've joined the club in August and September. Much of this was generated by our booth at Grotonfest on September 19th. Several of our new members are high schoolers. They are:
Here are a some words of introduction from new members: From new member Austin Rand and the rest of his family: Hey there! I am very excited to get running with the Squannacook River Runners!!! I have lived in Groton for nine years now and looking for a group to add some support to my running regime. I am currently attending Parker Charter Essential School on Devens and am in my Junior year. I have been running with the X-country and Track teams for four years. Before I began running at school I ran on my own in various road races in and around the area. I completed my first road race in second grade and have been running ever since. I generally run 4-8 miles a day with one workout day and one rest day a week. In the end though I really just run for pleasure and am looking forward to participating in group runs and other activities. From new member JR Roberts:I run cross country and track for Groton Dunstable Regional. I kind of fell into running and it turned out to be something I excelled at. I've run for my track times 400/800/1600 54.6/206.9/442.1 and 17:01 for 5k. I'm in my senior year and looking to bring home a team state championship with an outstanding team. Editor's Note: JR, and his sister Meredith, regularly win their age group awards at Groton Road Race. From new member Karen Erasmi: I am happy to be a new member of the SQRR. I have been running for about 15 years. I usually run 4-5 days a week between 4 and 6 miles. I've run in a bunch of road races over the years with Falmouth and Tufts being my favorites. I am tackling a new distance as I am running in my first half marathon on October 2nd. I've already enjoyed a few Sunday morning runs and look forward to having a group to help motivate me in the winter months! I am married and my husband (Tim) also runs and we have one child (Cameron). We also have two dogs. I work at Verizon as a Solution Architect for voice services. I also enjoy hiking, riding my bike, golf and reading. I look forward to meeting all of you. From new member Howard Hersey: I am have recently joined the Squannacook Road Runners. My family and I have lived in Groton for about 7 years and other interests include volunteering on the Groton Country Club Authority and West Groton Boy Scout Troop 1. A couple years ago I decided to get back into running again as a way to get into shape. I found it rather challenging at first as I hadn't run actively for about 20 years! Since then I have made progress and run some shorter 5K length races in the region including the Groton Road Race, Westford Road Race, Parker, Dunstable Firecracker, etc. I have joined in on some of the SRR runs on Sunday mornings and thought it was about time I officially join. I am also a member of CMS (Central Mass. Striders) and have done some training with them. Look forward to finding some new people to run and train with and will enjoy supporting the group's events.
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.
Ursula & Mark Graf organized a "Breakfast Run, Without All That Running" on Sunday, September 12th. The idea was to capitalize on the cross-training craze that has been sweeping our club this summer and to give Mark a good way to celebrate his 29th birthday in the company of his friends. (Please... No comments on how haggard he looks for being only 29. He's a bit sensitive on that subject.) The morning was sunny but brisk. Overnight temperatures had been in the 40s. Club members assembled at the No. Middlesex High School parking lot in Townsend and got off to a prompt 8:00am start. Their route led them ~14 miles westward through Townsend, Ashby and into Ashburnham, mostly on Rte. 119, and included a scenic incline through the Willard Brook State Forest. The destination was Stodge Meadow Pond, where Ursula & Mark have a lake cottage. Stodge Meadow Pond is situated at 1133 ft. above sea level, which means the total climb from Townsend was over 800 ft. The 11 riders made it up the hills with nary a problem, and arrived in three waves to find breakfast laid out for them by the "advance crew" that had preceded them in cars. A large chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting was also shared. (Did I mention that Mark likes chocolate?) The cool temperatures kept all but the hardiest swimmers from taking a plunge. Club President Chris Russell, who rode out on his motorcycle because he's still recovering from a cracked patella, was in the water for a considerable period. And Jim Podolske took a quick swim as well, during which time we estimate he probably swam the length of the lake up- and-back three times. After the feasting, we were able to enjoy the 800-ft. climb in reverse. It was mostly coasting on the ride back to Townsend. It was suggested that this be made into an annual event. Mark agrees that this would be an ideal way to celebrate his 29th birthday again next year.
Note of correction from the July newsletter. I was in error to state that Groton Recreation participated in the planning and administration of this year's program. The summer T&F program was handled entirely by SqRR members, Linda Beneke for administration, and Kerri, Brett and Andrew for all the "hands-on" activities.
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