Are you interested in purchasing some Central Maine Striders gear?  

We've partnered with Joseph's Sporting Goods in Waterville for some exciting new Striders apparel.  They'll have Striders short and long sleeve tech tees, singlets, hoodies, and hats available for ordering.  Click here to download the pricing sheet.

To order, you can call Joseph's at (207)660-6676, or stop by their store at 146 Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville.

It's getting to be that time of year again.  The temperatures are dropping and 2021 is approaching.  That also means that it's time to renew your membership for 2021.  Also, memberships for anyone who joins now will be valid through December 31, 2021.

Keep in mind that membership benefits include:
- Membership for your entire household
- Being part of the oldest, active running club in Maine
- Subscription to our e-newsletter, The Interval
- Discount on entry to local road races, including the January Thaw 4.5-Mile Road Race, Central Maine Striders Fall Classic 10k, Doc & Mardie 5k, Quarry Road Summer Race Series, and Save Your Breath 5k.
- Discounted or free Central Maine Striders gear
- And more benefits coming soon!

Go to www.centralmainestriders.com/join for more info and the link to join.

Hi, my name is Deb Violette and I am Board Secretary and member of Central Maine Striders.  I am not your typical member as I do not run.  You are probably thinking, “How did you become a Board Secretary and Member?”  Here is a bit of my story and how I came to Central Maine Strider’s annual social December 2018.
I started a foundation called Free ME from Lung Cancer in 2012 to help researchers find a cure for lung cancer, help Maine high risk patients get access to early lung cancer screening and low income home owners get access to radon air abatement systems. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.  In fact the Environmental Protection Agency states that one in every three homes has radon high enough to warrant mitigation. 

I started Free ME from Lung Cancer because I am a  22 year lung cancer survivor.  I was given a 10% chance of living two years.  During my treatment I knew that I wanted to help others diagnosed with this disease.  A disease that often leaves the patient isolated, shamed and blamed for their disease because so often it is linked to smoking.  Through research we now know that this is not the case at all.  If you have lungs you can get lung cancer. 

I host two events annually. A themed auction and a "Save Your Breath" 5k.  You may have seen my post on the 5k [on the Central Maine Striders facebook group].  In December 2018 I saw a post about Central Maine Strider’s annual social.  I asked if anyone could come to the social and I was told yes.  So I joined the group that night with the intentions of introduce myself and talk a bit about my foundation, my passion to improve the lives of lung cancer patients and make a donation to the club.  The club members was so very gracious to let me post my event on their FaceBook page and never once complained about my obsession in doing so. The group introduced themselves and then allowed me a few minutes to talk.  

As the evening unfolded the group began their year end election of officers.  They didn’t have a social media/webmaster lined up so I volunteered to take the social media piece for them.  I was a social media director for another nonprofit plus my own and thought, “What’s one more FaceBook page to support?”  I paid my dues for the upcoming year and returned home.  A few days later my phone rings and it was [Club President] Ryan Goebel.  Ryan asked if I  would mind holding the Secretary’s position.  He wasn’t able to find anyone to hold that seat. I said any way that I can help was fine with me and that is how a non runner became a Board Secretary and member for the oldest active running club in the State of Maine.

If you are reading this and not a member yet I encourage you to come to one of our meetings on ZOOM.  I have enjoyed serving as Board Secretary these last several months.  The members are really fun, creative and friendly. I know you will enjoy the group as much as I have.

If you are interested in learning more about Free ME from Lung Cancer  and our upcoming virtual Save Your Breath and virtual online auction please visit us at freemefromlungcancer.org or call me at 207-215-9035.  I hope to see you at our next board meeting scheduled for November 10th at 7pm.

Deb Violette, Board Secretary for Central Maine Striders

Thank you to all of the runners, volunteers, and sponsors who made our inaugural Central Maine Striders Fall Classic 10k a success!

My running story is a little bit different from the other Central Maine Striders members I have read. I never actually set out intentionally to run in the first place.

​My story begins 2 and half years ago when I turned 35. I was overweight, had been for about 15 years, and was generally unhappy with my body and health. I always felt tired and never put much thought into exercising and changing my lifestyle habits. The one week a year I felt my best was when I took my family to Florida to visit my parents who spend their winters there. It was coming back from the trip of my 35th birthday that changed me. Without realizing it, I had managed to lose 15 lbs. just in that week! Wow, I thought that’s incredible, how can I keep this momentum going? ​

Well I've always been a very competitive person (for better or for worse) and the key for me was to find a weight loss competition. My wife had done a "chub club" group on facebook in the past and really found inspiration from other peoples' journey's and friendly competition. Lucky for me there were some friends of ours who were also feeling the pressure of growing older and wanting to make a change. My wife set up a new "chub club" and sent out the invitations. One by one friends from all over the country started joining and before I knew it we were up to almost 50 participants! The only catch was that on the first day everybody had to post a picture of themselves standing on a scale for the group to see, THE HORROR! I really didn’t want my friends to see how much weight I had packed on since high school, but in the end I knew that would only make the payoff that much sweeter! Did it ever, I started by just changing my diet, no more fast food runs for lunch and extra sugary coffee and donuts every morning.

I quit running, focused on school, and didn’t run regularly for a long time.  Life happened.  A cross country move, graduate school, a career, a marriage, a baby, another move, another baby, another move (to Maine) and eventually a divorce.  I ran the occasional 5K or beach run while on vacation, but rarely much else.  Then, in 2018, while watching my daughter run at a junior high school track meet, I was reminded of how fun running can be.  The excitement of a track meet woke up my inner 16 year old and inspired me to train for a marathon! 

A marathon had always been a goal of mine, but I never quite got past the initial planning stages.  This time was different.  I joined the Central Maine Striders, made a pact with my friend Cynthia to run the Twin Cities Marathon in October, printed out a marathon training plan and promptly set about planning my life around my weekly long run.  It was a great summer and I enjoyed the journey of slowly adding more mileage, planning new running routes across bridges and over multiple town lines, and running the Quarry Road Summer Race Series.  My fitness improved and running all those hills prepared me well for keeping up with my big sister during an allegedly non-competitive family reunion group run. (After which she ran another 10 miles – true story!)  I also ran my first half marathon, the beautiful, but hilly, Triple Threat half marathon in Rockport, Massachusetts, which I finished in 1:53. ​

All the issues of The Interval newsletter in 1984 featured the same masthead which showed the club's association with Road Runners Club of America and The Athletics Congress, our familiar PO Box 1177 address, and a list of the officers.  [Anybody out there want to run for "Data Processor" in 2021?]

In the January-February issue, President Dean Rasmussen was happy to ring in the new year and perhaps even happier to hand over the position of President to another (un)lucky soul. 

Central Maine Striders t-shirts were available for $12 each.  [Speaking of t-shirts, we're working at getting some new Striders shirts made here in 2020.  Stayed tuned for more details.] 

The president elect had a few comments in which he names the other new officers (including current Strider Jim Moore), but fails to name himself.  Who is this mystery president elect?

Amongst the race results, were some results leftover from the end of 1983.  In the Veterans Day Half Marathon, Donnajean Pohlman seems to have dashed across the finish line one second faster than Ron Paquette.

Also in November 1983, several Striders ran in a cross-country race at UMaine-Augusta.  Striders teams nabbed the first and second place team prizes.  Current Strider Gene Roy placed 4th overall with a time of 17:27 in the 3-mile race.  Other current Striders that raced in Augusta that day included Dean Rasmussen and Sarah Roy. 

And yet another November 1983 race that featured a ton of Striders was the Gasping Gobbler 10k.  Gerry Clapper set the course record with a time of 31:09.  Also there were current Striders Geoff Hill, Jerry Allanach, Dean Rasmussen, Jim Moore, Ron Paquette, and Sarah Roy.

Outgoing president Dean Rasmussen had one last word and shared the newly ratified Central Maine Striders Constitution (only partially reprinted here).

Thanks to the April 1984 Interval masthead, we find out that the mystery president elect is none other than Fred Judkins II.  Also, it seems that the "Data Processor" position that he held previously was eliminated and/or absorbed into the position of President.  Club Presidents are very accustomed to absorbing all the miscellaneous duties that no one else wants to do.

Some of President Fred Judkins' first words in newsletter were to congratulate Super Strider Gene Roy with the Presidents Award.  

Speaking of Gene, there was also a nice profile written up about the entire Roy family in that newsletter.  We're proud to say that most of the Roys are still members in our club. 

Race results that were "In The News" in April 1984 included the January Thaw, where Ron Paquette, Jim Moore, Donnajean Pohlman and Sarah Roy were amongst the finishers.  

The St Pat 10k in Waterville was also "In The News".  Current Striders that ran that day included Jerry Allanach, Ron Paquette, Jim Moore, and Donnajean Pohlman.  

[By the way, a 10k in Waterville sounds like a pretty good idea, don't you think?  Have you heard about the Central Maine Striders Fall Classic 10k?  Click here for more info.]

The May 1984 newsletter was a bit late getting out thanks to a blown wordprocessing diskette.  Hashtags weren't invented yet, but this surely would be classified under "#1984problems".

Kids, don't worry if you don't know what a "wordprocessing diskette" is.  If you blew your wordprocessing diskette back in 1984, I imagine it was kind of like dropping your iPhone into a river and then coming home to find that Apple replaced their 2-day express shipping with three-week shipping.

Oh... injuries.  Unfortunately, too many of us Striders have been through the dreaded running injury and subsequent recovery period.  It's all part of being a runner.

[As a comparison, as of 9/7/2020, we have 72 family memberships which translates into 126 members.]

Included in the race results that issue was the Boston Primer Readfield 15-miler.  Jerry Allanach flew through the 15 miles in 1:35:55.  Gene Roy was only two-and-a-half minutes behind that.  And Donnajean Pohlman once again eked out a victory over Ron Paquette by a margin of one second.

In what is possibly one of the greatest race names ever, the Strides of March 10k was held in Waterville.  Some familiar names (Jerry Allanach, Ron Paquette, Sarah Roy, and Donnajean Pohlman) were amongst the current Striders that raced that day.

[Hmmmm.... another 10k in Waterville?  You know you want to run in one too.  Click here for your only chance to run a 10k in Waterville in 2020.]

Although not in Waterville, yet another area 10k was held that spring in China.  Thirty-four Striders showed up to race there!  THIRTY-FOUR Striders in the SAME RACE!  How awesome is that?

The Roy kids showed up to take 136th, 163rd, and 177th places in the fun run.  Wait... how big was this fun run?  Was every kid in central Maine there to run?  

[10k's were cool in 1984.  Help the Striders make 10k's cool again by signing up for the 2020 Central Maine Striders Fall Classic 10k.]

In the August 1984 newsletter, President Fred Judkins sent out his "deepest empathy" to all the injured runners out there.  Unfortunately, being injured is part of being a runner, as our current president knows all too well.  Luckily, the sun will shine again and you will most likely run again after your injury heals.

There hasn't been many book or recipe recommendations in The Interval over the years, so that makes this one all the more interesting.  For those that are curious, Amazon still sells a newer edition of this book, so I'm sure that some local bookstore out there also does.

Have any of you tried the "Hass Crabmeat Au Gratin"?  We'd love for you to let us know if eating it helped you win anything.

Wait a minute...  He ended up 10 miles away from the finish on a 4-mile course?  Now that's what I call getting lost!

We no longer provide this service, but found it interesting that you used to be able to request a membership roster.  I guess privacy concerns have changed a little over the years.

Jerry Allanach ran a 2:54 and Ron Paquette clocked a 3:42 in 1984's edition of the Maine Coast Marathon.  Not bad, guys!

And then there was everyone's favorite "only one hill" race -- Mount Washington.

Hey look!  Another 10k.  This one was in Fairfield.  Jerry Allanach notched a sub-40-min 10k just a few weeks after this sub-3-hour marathon.  Geoff Hill also ran sub-40-minutes that day.

Although not quite as well named as the "Strides of March", the "Save Your Sole" 10k is still a pretty good race name.  Oh yes, it's another 10k.  [Did we mention anything about the 10k happening October 11, 2020 yet?]  

There was a Waterville 10k in August too.  Because you just can never have enough 10k's.  

At the Renovation 10k, current Striders Jim Moore, Donnajean Pohlman, Dean Rasmussen, and Ron Paquette were finishers.

It seems that the Striders had a surge in interest in biathlons and triathlons in 1984.

The October 1984 issue of The Interval served up some more 10k news.  However, this note from the president wasn't about the 10k race itself, but rather the "controversy" of former Striders wearing Striders singlets.  There was even a main-in poll about it contained in this newsletter.  Although we're not sure what the final results of that poll were, we just want to make it clear that in the 2020 edition of the Striders, if you paid for your singlet, you're free to wear it whenever and wherever you want.

The final issue of the year came out in November and had some bad news.  The Striders were running low on cash and the final newsletter of the year had to be squeezed onto one page using a really small font.

I'm not sure if a Triple Crown or Grand Slam of Maine marathons still exists, but Gene Roy nominated Jerry Allanach for the Grand Slam award in 1984.  Jerry cruised through four marathons in the state of Maine that year, clocking sub-3-hour times in all of them, including a very impressive 2:50:40 at the Casco Bay marathon.

At the bottom of the one-page November 1984 newsletter, several race results were squashed at the bottom (we've done your eyes a favor and magnified the font for you here).  Lots of familiar names here.  And look at all of those 10k's!!!  [One last time: have you registered for the Central Maine Striders Fall Classic 10k yet?]

Cecilia Morin and her dad, Brian.
(all photos courtesy of David Colby Young and Maine Running Photos)

Our only live LOCAL race was held successfully on Saturday, August 22, 2020.   
Race results can be found by clicking here. 
 
Congrats to overall winner Elijah Caret (M, 19) with a time of 16:59,8. 
Top female finisher was Strider Cecilia Morin (21) with a time of 20:56,2. 
Oldest female finisher was Paula Sawyer, and oldest male finisher was Ron Paquette. 

All race photos shown here are courtesy of David Colby Young and Maine Running Photos.  To see more, go to Maine Running Photos or Flickr.

Congratulations to all of the Striders who ran in the Doc & Mardie 5k: