Chester Woods Pictures

Finally !!! We have the pictures back from the 2008 Chester Woods Trail Races. You can view and/or copy from the website listed on the right titled Chester Woods 2008.
Thanks to Melissa for taking the photos she got very busy at work and she tried to correct some problems with the pictures needless to say it wasn't the best conditions for taking pictures. And thanks to all who participated in their patience

Pictures

Here are a few pictures taken By Scott (the gator driver )

Pictures

I along with a lot of you am anxiously awaiting the pictures taken by the photographer at the race. According to Dan Lovik she is going through the pictures and fixing up a few things. As soon as their available we will put them on the website.
I ran the 10 mile course on Saturday, actually I walked a great deal because I wasn't used to the heat. Every week there is something different to see new flowers blooming etc... It's a good thing we had the race a week prior there were a few spots that the trail water issues. At the 1 1/2 mile mark the reservoir had crept up over the trail, at the 8 1/2 mile mark springs had opened up and water was running down the trail and the second bridge was under 3 inches of water. It might have been fun running the race in those conditions though.
On Sunday I went fishing at Chester Woods and the Blue Gills and Bass were cooperative. The lake was filled with fisherman, kayakers and paddle boats . Everybody was having a great time. There is an Eagles nest on the back end of the lake and its really fun to observe the momma watching over the babies.

Age group winners

Here are our age group winners
10 mile race
19 and under males - none entered
19 and under female- Laura Jacobson 1:25:56 new record
20-29 male Peter Maves 1:07:29 new record
20-29 female Racheal Pederson 1:18:30
30-39 male Patrick Steward 1:06:59
30-39 female Laura Lenz 1:26:22
40-49 male Jim Hannon 1:04:27 new record
40-49 female Deb Humphry 1:22:17 new record
50-59 male KC Reed 1:29:36
50-59 female Lin Gentling 1:33:55
60-69 male Kenn Pulchalski 1:45:33
60-69 female none entered
70 and older male Justin Murray 2:21:43

5k Race

19 and under male Kevin Dammen 18:37
19 and under female Rachel Schmitz 27:22 new record
20-29 male Paul Callahan 20:04 new record
20-29 female Lily Tamire 23:06 new record
30-39 male Mitch Baures 22:25
30-39 female Therese Schmucher 23:10 new record
40-49 male Aurther Clark 23:23
40-49 female Anne Schmitz 27:23 new record
50-59 male Todd Wade 31:41
50-59 female Chris O'Brian 39:23 new record

New course records

Despite the weather some very nice times were recorded at the race. Kirk Walztoni (36) of Eagan is the new record holder with a blazing fast time of 1:03:46. That is a pace of 6:23 per mile over a tough course. Jim Hannon took second with a time of 1:04:27. Jim was our winner last year and that time was1:05:23. Patrick Steward came back and was third in 1:06:59 also improving his time from last year by over 1 1/2 minutes.
For the women course records were also set. Cynthia Blenderman (26) of Rochester is the new record holder with a time of 1:17:38 Last years winning time was 1:22:28 turned in by Britt Erickson of Rochester. Not far behind Cynthia was Rachel Pederson in 1:18:30, followed closely by Cailie Fura, 1:19:37 and Tasha Pike in 1:21:51. There was actually five girls that beat last years winning time, way to go !
In the 5k records were also set. The Dammen brothers absolutely smashed last years course record. Kyle was the winner in 18:35. Thats a pace of 5:59 per mile on a course thats still pretty tough to run that fast. Last years winner was Logan Clark in 21:29. Following Kyle closely was brother Kevin in 18:37. I think Austins Cross Country program will be in pretty good shape with the Dammen twins. In third was Paul Callahan of Kasson 20:04, followed by Charlie Burnham, Rochester, 20:36 ,13 year old Henry Hartzler of Byron 21:00 and 14 year old Mickel Frisch of Dover 21:12. Thats six people faster than the course record including a 13 and 14 year old, way to go guys!
The winner for the gals was Lily Tamire in 23:06 Second was Therese Shumaker 23:10 Third was Nicole Weisenback 26:25
I'll get to the age groups later

Sleep at last

After the race I think I was finally able to get a decent nights sleep, without waking up in the middle of the night thinking of more things that needed to be done before the race started.
Well, considering what we had to deal with as far as weather, everything turned out just fine. We had a drenching rain about 1 1/2 hours into the run, so a fair amount of people got soaked. But after talking to people later, it seemed a lot of runners enjoyed the rain.
Even with less than perfect weather we had a nice increase in numbers over last year and most of the overall and age group records were shattered. I'll give more details about the winners tomorrow. We had some problems at the finish line recording numbers properly, I'm sure the rain didn't help.
My thanks go out to fellow bloggers Kel ,Wayne, Bryan and Renee. Renee and Wayne have some nice pictures on their bolgs.
I will be posting a bunch of pictures from our race photographer as soon as I get them.

One more day !

We started marking the course yesterday, and it looks fantastic. We quite about 10:00 I grabbed a couple hours sleep and I am going to head out this morning to get some more work done . It looks like tomorrow is going to be storm free in the morning although hot and windy.

Two days to go

Well my head is in full blown spin dry mode now. If you say something to me and I just stare off into space, thats known as race director syndrom. We'll try to start marking the trail tonight, it should be a piece of cake. The forecast is only severe storms today followed by strong winds tomorrow. Saturday sounds like it should be good, I've looked at links to several weather websites and it looks like sunny and hot, hot, hot, with, of course a chance of storms later in the day.

If its as hot as it sounds like its going to be you might want to cool your feet at the Chester Woods beach. Its located near the registration area.

Pickle Power

Dan Lovik (volunteer coordinator) and I decided to add something new to our post race treats, big ole dill pickles. I found out a long time ago that after a long run, when you've sweated out copious amounts of salt, your body craves salt. So what better than a nice cool pickle. They really are good. you'll find them right across the bridge, with bottles of water and gatorade, after you cross the finish line.

I feel like I'm on a merry-go-round spinning faster and faster as race day nears. I'm furiously making notes trying to make sure I've got all my T's dotted and all my I's crossed :-) or something like that. Thats OK I like to work under pressure, it makes the time go by faster

Weather Report

So far the weather is looking good for saturday, sunny and upper seventies. Friday might be interesting though it might be a little stormy setting up the course. Just like last year.

On-line registration ends tomorrow. but you can still mail in or register the day of the race.

Chester Woods in HD !

I ran most of the 10 mile course Saturday morning and it was fantastic. The woods were very fresh from the rains the previous day. Because the area is very sandy, there are very few muddy spots, so my feet stayed dry until the later miles when I had to run through some longer grass. With the morning sunlight streaming through the forest canopy it would spotlight different sections of the woods. It was very surreal. The air was cool and fresh, spiced with the sweet smells of honeysuckle.

Six days to go until the race and everything seems to be falling into place. The forecast is for upper seventies and partly cloudy, perfect.

Active Rewards and Snickers will be shipping out a bunch of Snickers Marathon bars for the race, its one of my favorite energy bars.

The bright side of $4.00 gas

I've always been an optimistic, glass half full, kind of guy. But when the gas prices spiked up to the four dollar a gallon mark even I was feeling pretty down.

Maybe this is just the kick in the butt we needed in this country. Suddenly a lot more people are riding their bikes to work, people are thinking twice about unnecessary trips in the car, and sales of scooters and hybrid cars are skyrocketing. The extra exercise forced upon people has got to help, if even a little, with health care costs. The high price of diesel is jacking up the price of food because of shipping, so maybe there will be more vegetable gardens planted.

Now, this morning I heard the price of a barrel of oil is going down because of less consumption and a stronger US dollar. I hope we don't revert back to our old ways.

If only we could make the price of watching TV and playing video games go through the roof ?

:-)

Awards

Our awards for the overall winners are a handmade pen/pencil set that Larry Pederson (co- race director ) makes. Age group winners get a pen or a pencil if they won last year. I also made a pen/pencil holder with a deer and turkey lazer engraved on the front. I think they are kind of unique, something different than a trophy or medal.
I would never turn away somebody that wants to help at an aid station and we could always use more. If somebody wants to see the start of the race, and drive out to the 6/8 mile aid station to watch a friend, it can be done. Contact me at jmason@greenway.coop

Med City Marathon

Congratulations to all who participated in the Med City Marathon. I watched the start and several spots along the route. I was talking to a friend at the beginning of the race, his wife was running her first half marathon, you should have seen the smile on her face at the one mile. Anyway, he said he couldn't believe all the different types of people in the gym before the race. Yes, we runners come in all sizes and shapes, some older some younger , but we are all athletes.
What people that don't run fail to realize is, there are no losers in our sport. There are only a select few that really stand a chance of winning a race. The rest of us are there to compete against ourselves. Trying to run a PR, or just completing a distance that we haven't done before, or sometimes just running for the fun of it and hanging with a lot of great friends.
Peg and Wally Arnold, former race directors of the Med City coined the phrase "Its all about the journey ". I couldn't agree more.

Trail report

Matt and I did a 10 miler last night at Chester. We ran 8 miles on the course and added another 2 miles of brutal hills to add to the fun. at about mile 5 on the course the ground is a little rough from some horseback riders entering the park when the ground was too soft, but its only for a short distance. It was a very pleasent evening out there, a lot of apple trees are in full bloom yet, and the many songbirds were singing.

We put in a pretty good effort bombing up the hills and only walked at the top of The Big Dam Hill. Who thought of putting a huge hill at the nine mile point of a ten mile race ? After recovering at the top of BDH we sprinted back to the finish. Matts been putting in a lot of miles lately and all I can say is , "look out the Hurricane is back". He should do well at Med City providing he doesn't get to full of himself and take off too fast

Ahoy, Bill Barnacle

I know it sounds like a character on Sponge Bob Squarepants but its actually a state woodland area south of Rochester. This is really a beautiful valley along the Root River and it has some trails that are runnable. Matt wanted to go for a run at Chester Woods, but I convinced him to try Bill Barnacle. I parked the truck and after Matts stretching routine we set off across a small creek and up a long ,long hill. I thought Matt was going to lose me as he was full of energy and I'm like a diesel engine, slow to warm up but... once I get going I can put-put forever. After running down an old road for a couple of miles the trail turned down the hill and petered out to a pair of four wheeler ruts and started crossing a creek numerous times.
Now Matt has the Forest Gumplike ability to run one road race after another but, crossing creeks is not his strong point. I would leap across on a fallen log only to see Matt standing there, on the log, shaking like a puppy trying to pass a peach pit. Well, we managed to make it across the river bottoms without falling in any water and, it was pretty with a million bluebells in bloom. I'm ready to head back any time but I think Matt prefers a little less exciting adventures :-)

Trail report

On Sunday Matt Schrader, David Sletton, Dan Valintine and I went on a preview of the 10 mile course. It was a really nice afternoon for a run. We didn't see much for wildlife except at about 3 1/2 miles Dan suddenly jumped in the air. I couldn't figure out what he was doing until I saw the huge snake he leapped over. I am sure glad the snake was on his side of the trail and not mine.

We've got 51 pre-registered for the races so far. This is double what we were at last year at this time. There are a lot of people coming a from all over to run. With gas prices being what they are, thank you.

I should add that the Snake is a Fox Snake and they are harmless and in the hundreds of times that I've ran the trails this is the second time I've seen one

Out of the sun ?

I went to the Stay Out Of The Sun Run on Friday. This is a race to raise awareness and funding to fight skin cancer. Ironically it was one of the sunniest most beautiful days we've had for a race this year. Tim and Susan Burris do a fantastic job with this event it has quickly become one of the most attended races in Rochester.
The "trail of the trail "preview run is this afternoon at 4:00 PM it should be a spectacular day for a run through the woods.
The question has been brought up , can people walk the 5k course ? Sure, the only thing I would worry about is blocking the trail for 10 mile finishers. If you want to walk the course stay to the right so those blazing fast runners can pass, the trails should be plenty wide enough.

This-n-that

Matt and I hit up the woods for a little over a hour last night. I don't have any idea how far we went because we ran mostly on trails that aren't on the race course. The woods are looking very lush right now. There's something kind of nice about the brand new leafs and plants this time of year everything is virginal and perfect with nary an imperfection from any bugs chewing on anything. I saw a few turkey feathers on the trails but no turkeys, they must be getting shy.
I'd like to thank Mike Wooden and crew from River Valley Power and Sport. They have provided the John Deer Gator for the race and also for some high school cross country meets that I have helped at.
This Sunday at 4:00 PM we will be doing a preview run of the 10 mile course. Anybody that wants to come just show up. It will be a very easy pace, I just hope I hold together, it'll be the longest I've run in a long time. I'm feeling pretty good right now, soon I won't have any aches to complain about. Yah right.......;-)

Trail report

I went about eight miles last night with Matt " Hurricane " Schrader. My Achilles problems seem to be behind me now. Matt and I both just need to burn off some of that fat we accumulated last winter. You could feel the woods shaking with our every step.

The plum tree blossoms are just starting to peak out, its one of my favorite times to run through the woods. The sweet smells are intoxicating

The Grandfather of Minnesota trail running

The Rochester Post Bulliten did a great story on Larry Pederson. Larry is certainly a pioneer in trail racing in the Midwest and is responsible for a lot of the most popular races in Minnesota. Anybody who hasn't seen Larry's beard flowing in the wind in a race is missing something, and he's also one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

I'm hoping Larry can make it to the Chester Woods Trail Race, I would love to hear his opinion about the race. Congratulations on the nice story Larry, hope to see you on the trails soon

Thanks

I was just thinking I should express my thanks to a couple of Upper Midwest Trail Runners. Kate Havlin contacted us last year about adding the Chester Woods Trail Run to the Minnesota Trail Running series. I couldn't have been more excited to have this first year race added to a series which also has such prestigious races as Trail Mix, Superior Trail etc....


Kate ran in the inaugural Chester Woods race and was on hand to autograph her book "Minnesota Running Trails " Thanks Kate.


Kieth Krone contacted us for this years trail running series, and somehow while doing some Internet surfing I stumbled across his blog.Kieth also ran the first Chester Woods run , he did a really good job of describing his race experience and had some awesome pictures included. Kieth was kind enough to let me use some of his pictures for the race website etc... One thing we forgot was to have someone taking pictures on race day. It was because of Kieth that I got this idea to do this blog. Thanks Kieth.


I know Kate is busy for this years race, but I'm hoping to meet Kieth and some of the other trail runners whose blogs that I read on a regular basis. I'd like to see those funky shoes Kieth wears up close.


I'm hoping that the Chester Woods Trail Run can be part of the MNTRS for many years to come and I'm going to do my best to make it a race everyone can look forward to

Trail report

I went for a run last night on the 10 mile route. The trails are drying up nicely .There are only a couple of wet spots. The aspen trees are in the lead as far as leafing out and you are starting to see a little more green as you gaze out over the valley. With no leaves on a lot of the trees yet ,you can see into the woods very well, its fun to watch the herds of deer as they leap over the fallen logs ,stop , and stare back at you for a few seconds before turning and crashing through the woods some more.
My plan was to run as far as I felt comfortable then walk for awhile I ran about six miles and then walked the last three, I skipped part of the Zieman Loop. My Achilles is feeling pretty good today so I think I can finally step up my training a little more. Actually walking through the woods gives you a whole new perspective. You don't have to focus so much on your footing and can enjoy the woods a little more. We trail runners should always plan our runs so we allow a little time to walk , cool down and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the woods.
As I was walking in last night I actually stopped and soaked up the sight of the far shore of the reservoir. The fading sun was lighting up the trees as the buds are swelling and bursting into leaves. The water was perfectly still except for the ringlets from fish feeding on the surface. I could here the rat-a-tat-tat of woodpeckers first on one side then the other. There was no sight of a human being anywhere.
I heard somebody won the lottery last night in Minnesota, I think it was me.

Spring Run

The RTC had the Spring Run last Saturday. Again the temps were in the mid 30's in the mourning with a light rain. Its got to be nice one of these race days. Usually as you run this race you are treated to thousands of bluebell flowers along the bike path , while I guess there were some flowers out, just not the normal amount.
The next day my left leg was totally cramped up and I didn't even run. I helped clip the race timing chips off the shoe laces. I think all the knealing down to snip the chips off must have got me. I must be getting fragile in my old age :-)

Tagged

I've been tagged by Kel to write a six word memoir. Here goes.





" LIVE LIKE IT'S YOUR LAST DAY "





And I'll tag Renee , Jess , Steve , Joel, and Kirsten

Hope I'm doing this right. I'm kinda new at this so I just picked a few people at random

Greatest sports story I've ever heard

If you havn't heard this story yet, read on ,but you might need some tissues

Gary Frederick thought he had seen everything in 40 years at Central Washington University. He'd coached baseball and women's basketball for 11 years, been an assistant on the football team for 17 and athletic director for 18.
Last weekend, he learned he was wrong.
In the top of the second inning as his Wildcats played host to Western Oregon University in Ellensburg, Wash., something happened that spoke to the beauty of athletics. It came in the form of a home run that no one in attendance will forget.
"Never in my life had I seen anything like it," said Frederick, 70, in his 14th season as softball coach.
"It was just unbelievable."
Central entered Saturday's doubleheader one game behind Western Oregon in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference race. At stake was a bid to the NCAA's Division II playoffs. Western won the first game 8-1, extending its winning streak to 10 games. Central desperately needed the second game to keep its postseason hopes alive.
Western Oregon's 5-foot-2-inch right fielder came up to bat with two runners on base in the second inning. Sara Tucholsky's game was off to a rough start. A group of about eight guys sitting behind the right field fence had been heckling her.
"They were giving me a pretty hard time," said Tucholsky, a Forest Grove High School graduate. "They were just being boys, trying to get in my head."
At the plate, Tucholsky concentrated on ignoring the wise guys. She took strike one. And then the senior did something she had never done before -- even in batting practice. The career .153 hitter smashed the next pitch over the center field fence for an apparent three-run home run.
The exuberant former high school point guard sprinted to first. As she reached the bag, she looked up to watch the ball clear the fence and missed first base. Six feet past the bag, she stopped abruptly to return and touch it. But something gave in her right knee; she collapsed on the base path.
"I was in a lot of pain," she told The Oregonian on Tuesday. "Our first-base coach was telling me I had to crawl back to first base. 'I can't touch you,' she said, 'or you'll be out. I can't help you.' "
Tucholsky, to the horror of teammates and spectators, crawled through the dirt and the pain back to first.
Western coach Pam Knox rushed onto the field and talked to the umpires near the pitcher's mound. The umpires said Knox could place a substitute runner at first. Tucholsky would be credited with a single and two RBIs, but her home run would be erased.
"The umpires said a player cannot be assisted by their team around the bases," Knox said. "But it is her only home run in four years. She is going to kill me if we sub and take it away. But at same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do. . . .
"That is when Mallory stepped in."
Mallory Holtman is the greatest softball player in Central Washington history. Normally when the conference's all-time home run leader steps up to the plate, Pam Knox and other conference coaches grimace.
But on senior day, the first baseman volunteered a simple, selfless solution to her opponents' dilemma: What if the Central Washington players carried Tucholsky around the bases?
The umpires said nothing in the rule book precluded help from the opposition. Holtman asked her teammate junior shortstop and honors program student Liz Wallace of Florence, Mont., to lend a hand. The teammates walked over and picked up Tucholsky and resumed the home-run walk, pausing at each base to allow Tucholsky to touch the bag with her uninjured leg.
"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people.' "
Holtman got her answer when they arrived at home plate. She looked up and saw the entire Western Oregon team in tears.
"My whole team was crying," Tucholsky said. "Everybody in the stands was crying. My coach was crying. It touched a lot of people."
Even the hecklers in right field quieted for a half-inning before resuming their tirade at the outfielder who replaced Tucholsky.
Western Oregon won the game 4-2 and extinguished Central Washington's playoff hopes.
Afterward, Central coach Frederick said he received a clarification from the umpiring supervisor, who said NCAA rules allow a substitute to run for a player who is injured after a home run. The clarification, however, could not diminish he glory of Holtman's and Wallace's gesture. Holtman downplayed her role, which her coach said is typical of the White Salmon, Wash. native.
"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain and she deserved a home run. . . .
"This is a huge experience I will take away. We are not going to remember if we won or lost, we are going to remember this kind of stuff that shows the character of our team. It is the best group of girls I've played with. I came up with the idea, but any girl on the team would have done it."
Tucholsky went to the doctor Tuesday. Her knee was still swollen; her trainer suspects she tore her anterior cruciate ligament. She will be in the dugout this weekend when Western Oregon attempts to cement an NCAA berth with games against Seattle and Western Washington.
Tucholsky will graduate this spring as a business major with a minor in health. She plans to continue her studies at Portland State and pursue a career in the health field. But she will never forget the generosity of her opponents in her final collegiate game.
"Those girls did something awesome to help me get my first home run," she said. "It makes you look at athletes in a different way. It is not always all about winning but rather helping someone in a situation like that."
Holtman knows something of knee injuries. On May 8, she is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees, which have pained her all season. On June 7, she will graduate with a degree in business. She intends to study sports administration in graduate school at Central Washington.
Holtman believes sports has made her a better person.
She wants to give back.
Mallory Holtman plans to do that by becoming a coach

Headphones

This has been quite the hot topic over the last year. A lot of races are banning headphones. It's a safety issue because there have been times when runners can't here the warnings from race officials due to headphones. Yes, I have worn headphones many times but not in a race. Still I would not want to see somebody miss a run because they just can't run without their tunes.
This got me thinking about running in the woods. not only do you see a lot of things, flowers, animals, beautiful sunsets etc... but, its what you hear that's really cool. I've heard the screech of an eagle flying overhead, the squawk of a rooster pheasant in the meadow, the turkeys gobbling, the gentle song of the meadowlark, the wind rustling the aspen leaves. a doe crashing through the woods hustling her fawns away from danger and I've actually stopped running to hear the frogs symphony on a hill above some wetlands.
Wear your headphone if you want, but me, I'll just listen to natures orchastra

Rain,Rain Go Away

I managed to slip out to the woods for a little run last night. I probably got in about six miles, although I walked the last few hills. I prefer to run longer runs even this distance with another person the time goes by so much easier and I have a tendency to go too fast by myself. About halfway through the run I saw a big tom turkey and hen running down the trail ahead of me and in the last mile I saw a bunch of deer running through the trees. If I'm running by myself out there its a sure thing I will see deer or turkeys or both. In the meadows the pheasants were raising quite a racket, it must be dating time. Just as I was finishing my run the rain drops started falling again, good timing.

Boston

Congradulations to all who ran the Grandaddy of all marathons The Boston Marathon. I see quite a few of my friends from the area ran it. Way to go everybody.
My co-director Larry, just sent me a list of entries for Chester Woods 21 entered so far. Thanks everybody ! It makes it so much easier to get food, hats etc... when you know how many people plan on coming

Team NOVA

I turned on the TV this mourning to watch the Weather Channel and instead found this show on PBS. It is absolutely a must see for runners or want to be runners. I found my eyes tearing up as I watched the group finishing the finish line at the Boston Marathon. Its a story about a group of non-runners training to run the Boston Marathon. At any running event you find stories like this its what I find so endearing about our sport.
Click on Team NOVA in the links setion you'll be glad you did.

Running with your kids

I ran a 5k yesterday with my 11 year old son. This is an experience no parent should miss. We've been doing some easy training now for about 3 months. He's actually run 3 5k's and on Saturday he pr'd by about 2 minutes. There is nothing like seeing that smile on his face after finishing. If you have kids old enough to run with you do whatever it takes to get them run with you. you will find its much easier to talk about anything while out on a nice easy run and you will build memories that you and your child will never forget.

I'M ...B A A A C K

After months of little to no running (because of sore Achilles tendons in my left ankle). Last night ,I went for a five mile run in the woods and felt almost no pain. Wow ! did it feel good. There's nothing better after too long of a winter than hitting soft soft trails in the woods.

As I was running with a buddy we heard a bird screeching, we looked up to the sky and saw an eagle and osprey circling each other. There is always something fun to see out there. Even the sleet/rain couldn't wipe the smile off my face as we finished the last mile.

Burma Shave Signs

I thought I should mention something about our mile markers for Chester Woods. Larry Pederson came up with a great idea last year to use Burma Shave slogans for mile markers. Now unless you were born prior to the sixties you might not have heard of Burma Shave signs but , from the 1930's to early 1960's they were on almost every road side. Burma Shave signs were cute little jingles posted on a series of signs with the last sign saying Burma Shave. An example would be : THE BIG BLUE TUBE'S........... JUST LIKE LOUISE...........YOU GET A THRILL .........FROM EVERY SQUEEZE..............BURMA SHAVE. Only on the race course there would be one more sign saying NINE MILES TO GO. As you are running along the race course these signs are something to look forward to.

Fetzer 20k

I volunteered to help at the Dr Fetzer memorial run last Saturday. I love to run in races but, sometimes it also fun to sit back and help out instead. It gives you a great opportunity to be involved and see all my friends. At the particular water stop I was working at there happened to be some kids from the local Boys/Girls Club. Wow, what an enthusiastic bunch of kids one charming young guy would yell to the runners "You are fantastic, you make me want to say whooo!!" and then do the, raise the roof with his hands. I had already contacted the club to work at Chester Woods and now I am very glad I did.
We had a little snow/ice on the race course but it all turned out very well. The race was set up with the women starting 12 minutes ahead of the men to make it competitive and the winner was to receive $500.00. A Kenyan runner from Coon Rapids won ( William Serem ) It was amazing to watch him run , So effortless.

Snow, are you kidding me?

I am helping out a fellow race director at a 20k (Fetzer Run ) tomorrow. The forecast is for maybe 1-3 inches of snow and a high of 33 degrees. This should be interesting , I'm going to be the one wearing the "Ice Team "ice fishing suit. I always feel more sorry for the volunteers in weather like that , as a runner once you get the moter warmed up you can run in cold damp weather easily.
I approved the artwork for the trophies. Its a lazer engraved picture of a deer and a turkey standing in the woods. I liked the design so much I'm going to make a few more for our sponsers.I can't wait to see what the runners think of the trophies/pencil holders.
I e-mailed some fellow bloggers to let them know about Chester Woods. I can understand if somebody doesn't want to run my race for various reasons I just don't want somebody to miss it because they havn't heard of it.

We've got a starter

Coach Severt Legred
One of my friends helping with the race thought his coach would be interested in coming to the race, lo and behold we have an official track and field hall of fame race starter. Severt Legred sounds like a very interesting man and I can't wait to meet him. Thanks Dan Lovik for getting Severt to come .


OUR STARTER
A MEMBER OF THE MINNESOTA TRACK AND FIELD
HALL OF FAME
SEVERT LEGRED

Severt Legred. A native of Bricelyn, Minnesota, Legred competed in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field in high school. He graduated from St. Olaf, earned a Master’s Degree and went on to teach economics at Gustavus where he was the head coach for the cross country team and distance coach for the track team from 1967 to 1969. He moved to Golden Valley Lutheran College, a two-year junior college in the fall of 1969. There, Legred founded the men’s cross country program and the track program the following spring of 1970. Under Coach Legred’s guidance from 1969 through 1985, Golden Valley remained a powerful force in cross country and track in National Junior College competition. The men’s team placed 3rd in the National Cross Country Championship in 1973 and moved up to 2nd place in 1974. Highlights included two National Men’s Marathon Team Championships in 1980 and 1981. Coach Legred also assisted with the founding of the women’s teams in 1974 at Golden Valley. Legred’s Golden Valley women won the National Cross Country Championship in 1981, plus twice finished 2nd in 1980 and 1984. In total, Coach Legred’s teams won 28 Men’s State Championships, 10 Women’s State Championships, 25 Men’s Five-State Regional Championships, and 8 Women’s Regional Championships. As Individuals, his athletes accumulated 37 Men’s All-American and 30 Women’s All-American honors, and 11 National Championship Gold Medals. Five of his athletes qualified to compete in the US Olympic Trials. Legred resides in Golden Valley during more moderate Minnesota weather and in Mesa, Arizona the remainder of the year.

Snows melting......

I went out to Chester Woods to check out the trails yesterday. When I was about two miles out I get a call from work and have to leave. I did see that the snow is almost gone and the trails are looking good. I'll probably hit the trails about three times a week now just to clear my head and see what its looking like out there. I love to walk through the woods and see everything come to life there's something new to see every time I get out there. I'm hoping to transition to running the trails rather than walking, I've had some Achilles problems but its getting much better.

I've got the pencil holder/ trophies done. I made them myself out of oak and had Image by Design do the lazer engraving, I think they look pretty good. Caps are ready. Now we just need runners hopefully a lot of them.

Fools Five

Yesterday, I attended the Fools Five road race in Lewiston , Mn . This is the first time I was there and didn't run in the race. For those of you who havn't run this race it's pretty neat. Lewiston is a town of about 1500 people and the race attracts 2000 runners . I think everybody in town gets involved. Proceeds from the race go to cancer research a very good cause. I was at the race to promote the Rochester Track Club and of course Chester Woods. The next best thing to running a race is just talking to other runners and sharing stories. I think I convinced a lot of people to come and give trail running a try.
In my last blog I mentioned an incident that happened last year . As a director of a trail race you always worry about somebody getting hurt. While my race is pretty smooth compared to some trail runs there are a couple spots with uneven ground and sure enough about halfway through the race I hear of a runner down. I thought they were just messing with me at first because this was the last person I would want to see sprain an ankle. You see, Steve DeBoer is a streak runner, He hasn't missed a day of running in 36 years and down he went in my race my heart sank when I saw it was true. The good news is Steve managed to run the next day with a boot on his ankle. One 15 minute mile far off his usual pace but, the streak lives.

Views from a director

I enjoy reading blogs from other runners so I thought I would start one of my own. This will be the second year for a race that I created ,the "Chester Woods Trail Run ". I used to comment to my friends all the time while running the trails at Chester Woods, "somebody should have a race out here." Well that somebody became me. Last year the Rochester Track Club needed to fill a spot where another race fizzled out and thus the Chester Woods Trail Run began. The track club paired me with some very capable partners Larry Pederson and Fred Woolman. We settled down and came up with a route, and decided to give away caps rather than tee-shirts.
Larry makes some neat walnut pens and pencils, so that was to become our awards. To make a long story short the race went off without a hitch , well almost. I'll tell about that later.
This year the race is on June 7th at 8:00 AM and in the coming days I will describe how it all comes together.

Jim