Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Poll Results for March
Here are the final results from the March poll. The question was: How many miles do you plan to run in 2010? 501 - 1000 miles was the top choice with 10 votes followed by 1001 -1500 with 7 votes. Thank you to the 22 that voted in March. The full results will be left up for the next couple of days. The poll question for April will be out this coming Monday.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Heart Mini Marathon Recap
One of Cincinnati's oldest races is the Heart Mini-Marathon. In 2010, they made a few changes from 2009. They moved the 15k ahead of the 5k and started it at 8:00 AM instead of 10:00 AM and they expanded the space and times for the Heart Mini Expo. Reviews seemed mixed about both when I asked members of the club, but overall they liked the 15k change as they could be done earlier in the day. I did not run the 15k due to the fact that most members of the Runners' Club run the 15k and I needed to keep watch on the rooms and get members into them(Each year the club gets two rooms at the Westin to allow club members a place to put their stuff, avoid the portolets with 6,000 other runners and walkers, avoid the other restrooms in the Westin with 1,000 other runners, and a chance to socialize with other members and guests).
I believe that the Heart Mini 15k is harder than many half marathons in and around the area due to the undulating hills on Columbia Parkway. Course for the 15k takes you from downtown out on Columbia Parkway where you turnaround on Delta and come back. To get the extra .3 mile, they throw Torrence Parkway into the mix on the way back. Conditions for this year's 15k were better than last year's as 2009 may have been the worst in recent memory. Going out they had to face the wind even though it was a net downhill. Coming back you had the wind at your back(maybe not, it died down for about 10 minutes) plus a net uphill. I was at the finish line for the 15k and headed back up after the top women had finished so I could be in the rooms and get ready for the 15k.
In the 5k, you just go out Columbia Parkway and comeback. This was the 2nd year that I ran the 5k and the interesting thing was that I could see the turnaround from about a half mile away, which I never noticed before. I ran the 5k quite slow as my hamstring, foot and hip were bothering me somewhat today. I did not check out the postrace as much, but it seemed better than in year's past. I got back up the Runners' Club room to enjoy good company, good food and good drink.
Thank you to the Westin Hotel in downtown Cincinnati for being gracious hosts to the Runners' Club of Greater Cincinnati and Tom and Julia Glasscock for helping clean up the rooms afterward.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Angela Bizzarri Semifinalist for the Sullivan Award
Found out from a recent Run Ohio email that nominees for the 80th Annual Sullivan Award include Angela Bizzarri. Bizzarri was a top high school runner in Ohio with two state titles in cross country and 6 state titles in track while running for Mason High School. She recently won the 2009 NCAA cross country national title as a senior at Illinois. She was also the NCAA champion in the 5,000 meters and placed third in the 5,000 at the 2009 U.S. championships.
Fans can vote online for the Sullivan Award semifinalists at USA Today through March 30. Finalists will be announced on or before April 2, with the winner being named on April 14.
Take a minute to vote for Angela Bizzarri and encourage your friends to do the same. To vote go to the following link - http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-sullivan-award.htm.

About the Sullivan Award: The AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the USA. Presented annually since 1930, the Sullivan also is based on leadership, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of amateurism. Go to www.aausullivan.org for more information.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Group Run Update - Saturday's Run Moves To Fountain Square
Spring is here and the Flying Pig is less than 40 days away, so beginning this Saturday, the weekend group run will meet at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati for the next few weeks to get ready for parts of the Pig Course and to tackle "the hill" and then tackle a few other hills.
The Wednesday Run in Hyde Park from Hyde Park Square will remain the same , but will always be an adventure.
Weekly Group Run Details:

  • Wednesday - 6:30 PM Run - Hyde Park Square - meet by the fountain - Wednesday's route will be posted on twitter on Wednesday afternoon.
  • Saturday - 8:30 AM Run - Fountain Square - Downtown Cincinnati - meet by the fountain - Saturday's route will be posted on twitter on Friday. A few garages in the area offer weekend parking for a 1.00 or you can always park on the street.

For more information contact us.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Memorial Day Race 34
Cincinnati's second oldest race is back this year at Armleder Park at 9:00 AM on May 31, 2010. Since most runners are swimming in T-shirts, the club has decided to make the Memorial Day Race T-shirt an optional purchase for 2009. In order to entice you to purchase one, the race will feature technical shirts for the preregistration price of $10. 
RACE INFORMATION
     
  • DATE: Monday, May 31, 2010 
  • TIME: 9:00 AM 
  • PLACE: Otto Armleder Memorial Park, 5059 Wooster Road, Cincinnati OH 
  • PREREGISTRATION: $10.00 General Public and $7 Runners' Club Members / Age 21 and Under. Technical Shirt available for $10. Preregistration ends Monday May 24. 
  • INFORMATION: Spectator friendly flat 5K (3.1 Mile) Course. Real bathrooms. Food, awards and doorprizes follow the race.  Get the flier or register online. More Race Information.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Flying Pig Marathon Mile 22 Waterstop
Water Stop Volunteers Wanted!
Once again the Runners' Club of Greater Cincinnati will have a waterstop at mile 22. Mile 22 is where the marathon really begins for the marathoners and your support and encouragement means plenty to them. If you are running the marathon, please encourage your friends and family to help out. If you're not running, join us for a little fun and help us help the runners at mile 22.
To volunteer at our waterstop:
  1. Go to the Flying Pig Website Volunteer Page
  2. Click the Sign-up with registered group
  3. Select the Runners' Club of Greater Cincinnati, use the password RCGC (case sensitive).
  4. Fill out the information
If you have any questions or problems, let us know.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Races
It is about a week to go until St. Patrick's Day but for the next two weekends, there are races to help you celebrate from March 13 to March 20. Details of the races are below:

  • Saturday March 13, Shamrock Shuffle 5k & 10K, 8:30 AM, The Square at Union Center, West Chester OH. Race information available at www.wclfoundation.com and www.runningtime.net.
  • Saturday March 14, 10 th Annual Emerald Miles 5k Run/Walk, 9:00 AM, Newport on the Levee, Race Information available at www.cincinnatiepilepsy.org.
  • Saturday March 13, 4th Annual Run for the Green 5K Trail Run, 9:00 AM, Landon Deerfield Park, Maineville OH. Contact Greg McCormick at 513-793-0508 or visit www.runningtime.net for more information.
  • Saturday March 20, ORRRC St. Patrick's 5k, 10:00 AM, Middletown High School, Middletown OH. Visit www.orrrc.org for more information.
For more races in Cincinnati and the area, do not forget to check out our race calendar.

Monday, March 08, 2010

Sprint for Special Olympics Recap - March 7
I ran this race one time in the early 2000's when it was known as The Run to Dubliner. The course was in a neighborhood in Pleasant Ridge behind the restaurant called The Dubliner. Most people ran it for the postrace party afterward which featured Irish Food and also to help the Hamilton County Special Olympics. The next year and the year after that and the year after that, I worked as a volunteer at the finish line or a course marshal on the final turn to the finish. The race changed names to Molly Malone's Gaelic Gallop when the Dubliner became Molly Malone's in the mid 2000's.
In 2009, they moved the race to O'Bryon's in O'Bryonville and a new 3 mile course was developed along with a new start time and of course a new name. It became "The Sprint for Special Olympics"
For 2010, they were back at O'Bryon's but with an earlier start time of 10:00AM. The race is quite unique in that they do not have online registration yet they get over 200 runners anyway. Course starts by the bar and goes down and around a street. You can actually see the runners on the course across Owls Nest Park from the finish where I was handing out finish cards to the top runners. It was a sunny and great day for a run. The top male was Runners' Club Member Harvey Lewis who ran about 17:15 followed by another Runners' Club Member John Zerhusen. I did not catch the name of the top female of the race. The post race was also excellent but I am on a soup kick and I was disappointed that it did not have potato soup. Oh well the beer was cold so I can live without soup for a day.

Monday, March 01, 2010

Cycle/Run/Walk Across America
Berkeley Lab has designed a transcontinental virtual trip across the United States. Each time you enter your mileage of either running, walking or cycling, they add it to your total and show you exactly what you would see if you had been traveling on the TransAmerica Trail from Yorktown, Virginia to Florence, Oregon. They also provide maps that show your progress and the progress of your friends if they have an account. If you wish, you can form teams to race across the United States. You can check it out at http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html.
New Poll Question for March
The new poll question for March is out! We want to know: How many miles do you plan to run in 2010. Answer now!