The longest event in the Cuyahoga Valley starts tomorrow morning.
Good Luck to all NEOTC runners.
Also Good Luck to all those volunteering their effort to help support the runners as they make their way from Squires Castle to Chargrin Falls.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
NEO Trail Leadership Annoucement
Just a quick note to announce that our commanding chief and fearless leader Bob Combs is in the process of moving out west to Colorado. As many of you know, Bob was the RD for the YUT-C 50K/25K and club president for the past 6 years. We will miss his guidance, camaraderie, and humor. He will continue to be involved with the club, however, to provide his insight and wisdom, and hopes to be present at YUT-C this year.
This transition should be flawless though, as Jim Harris will be picking up the slack as the new club president. He has been involved with the NEO Trail Club and YUT-C since it's inception and is also the RD of the Dirty Dog 10K. If anyone needs to contact him, he can be reached at james.a.harris@delphi.com.
Also, for anyone that would like to run with Bob one last time before he moves, there will be a group run this Sunday at 9:00am starting from the Wick Recreation Area (Rocky Ridge) in Mill Creek Park. Visit this link for directions to the parking lot - http://tinyurl.com/3przerj
This transition should be flawless though, as Jim Harris will be picking up the slack as the new club president. He has been involved with the NEO Trail Club and YUT-C since it's inception and is also the RD of the Dirty Dog 10K. If anyone needs to contact him, he can be reached at james.a.harris@delphi.com.
Also, for anyone that would like to run with Bob one last time before he moves, there will be a group run this Sunday at 9:00am starting from the Wick Recreation Area (Rocky Ridge) in Mill Creek Park. Visit this link for directions to the parking lot - http://tinyurl.com/3przerj
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Race Report from the Wellness in the Woods 5K
5k AG win!
I am not sure when exactly my injury started, but I have photos of my foot brace for it from October 2010, so I am pretty sure I had it for a few months prior. Plantar Fasciitis is not always 100% debilitating and I ran on it for months and months. I ran a PR marathon, I ran a PR trail marathon, I ran a PR 50k, and I finished my first 100 miler all while dealing with the heal pain that would creep in somewhere after 15 miles or so, and require gait adjustment, pain creams, Aleve, and shoe changes to accomodate. At some point after the 100 miler, I just had had enough, and though I tried all the stretches, night splints, icing the foot, rolling it on a ball, and a frozen water bottle I wasn’t getting the relief I needed to progress or even maintain.
I had been seeing the doctor but when relief didn’t come, he suggested it was time for a cortisone shot. I agreed. I had heard very good things about this and thought it could help me turn the corner. The cortisone shot to the heel summed up all the pain I had experienced in the previous 6 months and delivered it in a second or two to that heel. HOLY crap batman did that hurt! I promised ole doc to abstain from running for 3 days and then go by feel on my return. As it turns out I didn’t feel like running on it for most of a week, and then it was getting a little better and I had a free entry to a 10k so it was time. I ran the 10k (oh yeah, PR'd that too) with only minor discomfort and took a bag of ice to my car for the drive home. For the next week I had difficulty WALKING, let alone running. So back to ole doc. I was going to DEMAND an MRI. Didn’t have to, he suggested it first.
MRI showed that the front of my heel bone was taking on fluid and was weakened by the process, so he put me into a boot to immobilize things for two weeks (17 days it ended up.) By the end of that I was feeling optimistic and coming out of the boot they put me back in physical therapy and allowed me to start walking for a week or so, then some elliptical (I hate those) and then a slow return to running. I have been pretty faithful to that and am now released to go on feel and have been trying to be smart. Whenever the running brings on the first tenderness I back off and take a day or two.
Last week I finally had some consistent running and did two 10 mile runs with no pain, and then this Sunday it was time to test out a “race.” I went down to the Greenswell Wellness in the Woods 5k at Scioto Audubon Metro Park and signed up. I did a warmup half mile or so, and I knew it wasn’t going to be a great day to race because the humidity made it hard to breathe even on the warmup. The race starts and I am coughing and hacking for air by the first half mile, but the legs feel great. No heel pain. Normally at a race I am running on the edge of what I feel my legs can handle and call that the edge. Due to the humidity, and perhaps being out of shape, this day I was running on the edge of oxygen starvation. I just kept the needle at the “I can breathe, just barely” setting on the dial and did the best I could.
This race included a 2 mile option and at the one mile sign only one teen girl was making the turn back for the 2 mile race. I had a 30 yard argument with myself about making that turn and chasing her down to try to win my first ever race, but resigned myself to the race I entered and kept motoring out on the 5k course. To cut it short, I hacked and wheezed all the way to the finish, pushing that edge, but not really kicking much. I finished in 24:41 which is just off my 24:13 5k PR and to my surprise I ended up winning my age group which must have been pretty weak this day. 22nd out of 89 runners for about a 25 percentile finish, which is also high for me. So all in all, not too bad of a result in my first race back. Time to either better that in a 5k, or find a 10k and start working my way back to marathons and ultras. YUTC, and URINEO are calling to me!
I am not sure when exactly my injury started, but I have photos of my foot brace for it from October 2010, so I am pretty sure I had it for a few months prior. Plantar Fasciitis is not always 100% debilitating and I ran on it for months and months. I ran a PR marathon, I ran a PR trail marathon, I ran a PR 50k, and I finished my first 100 miler all while dealing with the heal pain that would creep in somewhere after 15 miles or so, and require gait adjustment, pain creams, Aleve, and shoe changes to accomodate. At some point after the 100 miler, I just had had enough, and though I tried all the stretches, night splints, icing the foot, rolling it on a ball, and a frozen water bottle I wasn’t getting the relief I needed to progress or even maintain.
I had been seeing the doctor but when relief didn’t come, he suggested it was time for a cortisone shot. I agreed. I had heard very good things about this and thought it could help me turn the corner. The cortisone shot to the heel summed up all the pain I had experienced in the previous 6 months and delivered it in a second or two to that heel. HOLY crap batman did that hurt! I promised ole doc to abstain from running for 3 days and then go by feel on my return. As it turns out I didn’t feel like running on it for most of a week, and then it was getting a little better and I had a free entry to a 10k so it was time. I ran the 10k (oh yeah, PR'd that too) with only minor discomfort and took a bag of ice to my car for the drive home. For the next week I had difficulty WALKING, let alone running. So back to ole doc. I was going to DEMAND an MRI. Didn’t have to, he suggested it first.
MRI showed that the front of my heel bone was taking on fluid and was weakened by the process, so he put me into a boot to immobilize things for two weeks (17 days it ended up.) By the end of that I was feeling optimistic and coming out of the boot they put me back in physical therapy and allowed me to start walking for a week or so, then some elliptical (I hate those) and then a slow return to running. I have been pretty faithful to that and am now released to go on feel and have been trying to be smart. Whenever the running brings on the first tenderness I back off and take a day or two.
Last week I finally had some consistent running and did two 10 mile runs with no pain, and then this Sunday it was time to test out a “race.” I went down to the Greenswell Wellness in the Woods 5k at Scioto Audubon Metro Park and signed up. I did a warmup half mile or so, and I knew it wasn’t going to be a great day to race because the humidity made it hard to breathe even on the warmup. The race starts and I am coughing and hacking for air by the first half mile, but the legs feel great. No heel pain. Normally at a race I am running on the edge of what I feel my legs can handle and call that the edge. Due to the humidity, and perhaps being out of shape, this day I was running on the edge of oxygen starvation. I just kept the needle at the “I can breathe, just barely” setting on the dial and did the best I could.
This race included a 2 mile option and at the one mile sign only one teen girl was making the turn back for the 2 mile race. I had a 30 yard argument with myself about making that turn and chasing her down to try to win my first ever race, but resigned myself to the race I entered and kept motoring out on the 5k course. To cut it short, I hacked and wheezed all the way to the finish, pushing that edge, but not really kicking much. I finished in 24:41 which is just off my 24:13 5k PR and to my surprise I ended up winning my age group which must have been pretty weak this day. 22nd out of 89 runners for about a 25 percentile finish, which is also high for me. So all in all, not too bad of a result in my first race back. Time to either better that in a 5k, or find a 10k and start working my way back to marathons and ultras. YUTC, and URINEO are calling to me!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Lefelhocz Finishes Vol State!
Paul Lefelhocz finished the last Annual Vol State Race in 8.04.15.55
That is 8 days, 4 hours, and 15 minutes! This was the long way across Tennessee!
We hope to have a race report from Paul once he catches up in real life again soon.
That is 8 days, 4 hours, and 15 minutes! This was the long way across Tennessee!
We hope to have a race report from Paul once he catches up in real life again soon.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Buckeye Trail 50K Race Report
As reported by Joe "Moose" Novicky:
The BT50k was the best long run I have had since Umstead 2009.
It was not fast for me but very fun and considering I survived the heat I am pumped.
The re-vamped oak grove picnic area has tons of parking and there was no problem getting a spot to park. Maybe the only issue with the larger crowd was that it did get crowded and backed up in the first mile
but soon that was no issue. If you have a problem with that you need to consider that when lining up.
The two things that stand out the best are this.
First, NO heat headache at all in the warm second half. It seems many times when its over 90 I get a headache from the heat (only at bt50k).
Second, in the second half , although not fast I still pursued and raced down anyone I could in front of me. I passed about 14 people in the second half and only two of those passed me back.
I climbed pretty easy most of the way due to my Colorado experience. I finally noticed that in 2003 some boy scouts re-did the stair case going up the reverse way n blue hen falls as there used to be to many
metal spikes sticking up on that staircase.
The course was dry and hard so lots of roots stuck out more than ever. There was no place you had to get your feet wet and some streams where not streams at all.
Maybe the coolest thing was that one area in the first section that is a long strip of 14 inch wide asphalt single track. The growth of the plants on each side where high enough to be as cool as laurel ferns. These where some kind of flowering weed that had a nice smell to it.
Support was great as usual. This year they also had the new huckle berry hamer gel which tasted great. The gourmet hamburgers and hot dogs at the finish where also good.
I had a triple stacked hamburger with 5 slices of tomato and two hot dogs at the finish. Needless to say I didn't need diner when I got home.
Vince and an assistant DID carry one guy off the course to EMS. I hate to say I have never seen more gu wrappers and just the tips of the gu packs here and there but I am certain the "crew" will clean them up.
Of course , Bruce the Moose was there but I missed all the rest of you.
The BT50k was the best long run I have had since Umstead 2009.
It was not fast for me but very fun and considering I survived the heat I am pumped.
The re-vamped oak grove picnic area has tons of parking and there was no problem getting a spot to park. Maybe the only issue with the larger crowd was that it did get crowded and backed up in the first mile
but soon that was no issue. If you have a problem with that you need to consider that when lining up.
The two things that stand out the best are this.
First, NO heat headache at all in the warm second half. It seems many times when its over 90 I get a headache from the heat (only at bt50k).
Second, in the second half , although not fast I still pursued and raced down anyone I could in front of me. I passed about 14 people in the second half and only two of those passed me back.
I climbed pretty easy most of the way due to my Colorado experience. I finally noticed that in 2003 some boy scouts re-did the stair case going up the reverse way n blue hen falls as there used to be to many
metal spikes sticking up on that staircase.
The course was dry and hard so lots of roots stuck out more than ever. There was no place you had to get your feet wet and some streams where not streams at all.
Maybe the coolest thing was that one area in the first section that is a long strip of 14 inch wide asphalt single track. The growth of the plants on each side where high enough to be as cool as laurel ferns. These where some kind of flowering weed that had a nice smell to it.
Support was great as usual. This year they also had the new huckle berry hamer gel which tasted great. The gourmet hamburgers and hot dogs at the finish where also good.
I had a triple stacked hamburger with 5 slices of tomato and two hot dogs at the finish. Needless to say I didn't need diner when I got home.
Vince and an assistant DID carry one guy off the course to EMS. I hate to say I have never seen more gu wrappers and just the tips of the gu packs here and there but I am certain the "crew" will clean them up.
Of course , Bruce the Moose was there but I missed all the rest of you.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Kimba Takes 3rd at Big Bear Lake 12 Hour
Kim Love-Ottobre completed 12 Hours at Big Bear Lake in Bruceton Mills, WV, taking 3rd place. Her blog post is here: www.ultratrailgoddess.com
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Lefelhocz Running Vol State
Paul Lefelhocz has joined the runners for the Last Annual Vol State Race.
The Last Annual Vol State Run is a non-stop race from Dorena Landing, MO to Castle Rock, GA. This is a distance of 314 miles.
This is a race across the state of Tennessee-the long way.
This is a link to the map of the runners: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200687420624110668378.00048a47071d95b5c32f5&msa=0&ll=35.737595,-84.375&spn=5.269115,11.590576
Monday, July 11, 2011
Mattapoisett Sprint Triathlon
Eric and Jim Harris competed in the Mattapoisett Sprint Triathlon on Sunday over near Buzzard's Bay, in Mass.
Eric won the 18 and under age group, and ended up with the fastest run split overall.
He also was top 20 over all out of 240 competitors.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Hardrock 100
The eighteenth running of the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run is scheduled to start at 6:00 am, Friday July 8, 2011, in Silverton, Colorado. In 2011, the course will be run in the counter-clockwise direction - a big loop through the San Juan Mountains of beautiful southwest Colorado: 100-miles plus 33,992 feet of climb and 33,992 feet of descent for a total elevation change of 67,984 feet with an average elevation of 11,186 feet - low point 7,680 feet (Ouray) and high point 14,048 feet (Handies Peak)
Good luck to NEO TC Members Bob Combs, Roy Heger, and the legendary John DeWalt!
Live broadcasts can be followed here on Friday: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/aravaiparunning
Good luck to NEO TC Members Bob Combs, Roy Heger, and the legendary John DeWalt!
Live broadcasts can be followed here on Friday: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/aravaiparunning
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Howland Stars and Stripes 5K
Results are posted on the NEO Trail web page here.
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