Thursday, July 31, 2008

Summer Cross Country Series Race #7
It was hotter than the hinges in hell so Stacy had two waterstops on the course - one at the start and one at the finish. It was too hot for me to count how many people were there, but I guess about 30. Randy King was the top runner with a time of 16:09. I believe that he cracked the top ten fastest times at the Princeton Course with that performance - more remarkable due to the heat. Again it was too warm to wait for the top women to finish and Stacy is a year older. There are only two races left before an end to the 40th Annual series.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Race Party Friday in August
In the month of August, there are races on the first three Fridays. The Runners' Club of Greater Cincinnati is associated with two of them. Details of the three August Friday races are below:

Monday, July 28, 2008

Summer Cross Country Series Race #6
More people than I could count(I stopped at 30 when the gun went off ) showed up for the July 24 run at Princeton Community Middle School. Compared to last week, it felt like fall with low humidity and temperatures in the low 80's. Brian Bea won the men's race as he outfoxed a top cross country runner from Lakota West High School at the finish. I heard from several unreliable sources that Race Director Stacy Osborne(now a year older) and his trusty sidekick Mike Smith(just
recovering from the prior weekend's Tahoe 50K Trail Race) started to to tear down the course before the first woman crossed so I have no idea who the top female was. Rumor has it that if they waited in their current condition of old age and insanity(Who in their right mind runs a 50k in mid-July?), they might be taking down the course until the next day. The next race in the series will be Thursday, July 31 at 7:00 PM at Princeton Middle School.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

13th Annual Backpack Trail Race at East Fork Lake State Park-Recap
The Backpack Trail Race is Cincinnati's Oldest Trail Race and it is also the most unique race in the area. The goal of the race is to attempt to have all the runners finish at the same time as each runner is handicapped based on age, sex(male or female), and now performance in other races from the Dirt Trail Series. The slower that you are the earlier you start and the faster that you are the later that you start. Typically they alter the course from year to year as you run one direction one year and the opposite direction the following year. Over 100 people showed up for the 13th Annual Race. The unexpected uphill start killed me along with the heat, humidity, and of course more hills. The postrace was unique and quite good due to the Unwritten Chef. Top five finishers were Jordan Payne, Heather Poast, Kristen Mudd, Amy Bancroft and William Rathkamp. If you want complete results or net times, go to www.runningtime.net.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Runners' Club of Greater Cincinnati Blog
For about 4 years, the Runners' Club of Greater Cincinnati has had a blog unbeknownst to the Cincinnati running community. 4 years ago also was the last time that it was updated until now. The blog will feature recaps of running events like races, group runs, and fun runs in the Cincinnati area, and of course more shameless promotions of club events. Eventually, it will give you a chance for some quick feedback and comments about events in the area.
Summer Cross Country Series Race #5
Over 60 people showed up for the July 17 run at Princeton Community Middle School. It was hot and humid and of course there were two waterstops - one at the start and one at the finish. The heat must have gotten to the race director(Stacy Osborne) as he had trouble remembering the male and female winners since they were new to the series and with the heat he and all of us wanted to get out of it pretty quickly. The top male was from the Running Spot with a time of 16:55 and the top female was a freshman from Oak Hills High School with a time of about 20:05. The next race will be this Thursday at 7:00 PM Princeton Middle School. The turnout should increase with more teams getting ready for the upcoming cross country season. See you there.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Tuesday Group Run at Mojo Running
This past Tuesday went to the Group Run at Mojo Running. Mojo Running is located on Union Centre Blvd in the US Bank Centre next to Chipotle. They have been open for a little over a year. While the club group runs are on summer break, I decided to take a tour of the other group runs in the area. Since Mojo Running is the furthest out, I decided to go there and work my way back down to where I live. Anyway, it was hot and humid and the group run leader is Mark who is also a store manager. About a dozen runners showed up for the run which considering the heat and sumer vacations seemed to me a good turnout. Mark had two routes for us. One was a 4 mile route and the other was a 6 mile route. Since I have to taper for Thursday's cross country series, I chose the 4 mile route. I was running with three other people who chose the 4 mile route. One was training for the Augusta Half Marathon. The other two were a husband and wife getting back into running and soon to be moving to Lawrenceburg Indiana. They are looking for group runs on that side of town. I knew about races in Indiana, but group runs are a completely different story. Maybe the club will have to put one there. We followed the route okay initially but we got busy talking with each other that we missed our turn so we had to come up with a new route. The new route took us down Cincinnati Dayton Road and then we decided to take Allen Road by the new Ikea Store. There were no sidewalks, but the berms (I think that is what they are called) were pretty wide on Cincinnati-Dayton Road, not so much on Allen between Cin-Day Road and the IKEA Store. We managed to hook up with some of the runners from the 6 mile route and found our way back to the store. The store did have water for the runners. Overall it was good experience, and the courses were nice and flat. They also have another group run on Saturday which goes longer. Recently, they moved the group run time on Saturday from 8:00AM to 7:30 AM. Runners of all abilities are welcome to either group run. If you happen to live or work in the area, the group runs are worth checking out.
13th Annual Sayler Park 5k
There are not many races on the West Side of Cincinnati. Even fewer that are less than 10 minutes drive from where I live. The race was this past Saturday July 12 and put on by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. The race had about 170 runners /walkers and a very reasonable race day entry fee of $10(T-shirt not included). The race ran through the the streets and neighborhood of Sayler Park. The course was flat overall and the neighborhood of Sayler Park is a nice place to run with big large houses, neighborhood businesses etc. I ran a pretty slow 29 minutes. Post race was good with bagels, and cream cheese, water, cookies, bananas, and I believe gatorade. The only problem was that they were a little slow with awards. They used finish cards which sometimes makes results take a little longer rather than the standard bib tear offs. Hopefully, they will post results at their website so I can see how I did.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Summer Cross Country Series
The Runners' Club of Greater Cincinnati Summer Cross Country Series is in its 40th year of existence and is Cincinnati's second longest running contribution to the racing scene behind the Thanksgiving Day Race. The Series runs every Thursday at 7:00 PM at Princeton Middle School until August 14 so we are almost half way done. Admission is free. The 3 mile cross country course is spectator friendly and there will be two waterstops - one at the start and one at the finish.

el Presidente
14th Annual Brian Rohne 5k Run/Walk - August 15
Brian Rohne was the most valuable athlete for the Men's Cross Country team at Northern Kentucky University in 1992. Brian was fatally injured in January 1993 on a training run and the race is held in his name. The race raises money for the Northern Kentucky University Cross Country team. Pre-registration is $18.00 which includes a shirt. For Runner's Club members pre-registration is $15.00 which includes a shirt. Race Day is $20 with the shirt while supplies last.

Race Details:

* When: August 15, 2008
* Time: 7:00 pm
* Where: Albright Health Center, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights KY
* Distance: 5k.
* Cost: $18 Pre-registration(includes T-shirt). RCGC Members $15 with T-shirt. Race Day Registration is $20(T-shirt included while supplies last). For more information, check the website www.cincinnatirunning.com. We hope to see you there.
Crazy 8 on 8-8-8 - August 8, 2008
We hashed on 6-6-6, we raced on 7-7-7 so let's go crazy on 8-8-8 with the RCGC Crazy 8 on 8-8-8 at Mount Airy Forest at 7:00 PM. The club will venture for the first time in a long time into trail running with an 8K Trail Run. Top 8 Males and Top 8 Females get awards. Pregistration is $8.88 (add $8 for a T-shirt). Race day registration is $16(add $8 for a T-shirt). Racing fliers must be postmarked by Friday August 1, 2008. Online registration will be available through Monday August 4, 2008. For more information, check our website www.cincinnatirunning.com. We hope to see you there.