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Central Maine Striders
  • Home
  • Striders Gear
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    • January Thaw Road Race
    • Quarry Road Trails Summer Race Series
    • Doc & Mardie Brown 5K
    • Central Maine Striders Fall Classic 10K
    • More Maine Races
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  • Running Resources
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    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Run: Where to Go
    • Train: Find a Coach
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Striders News

2023 Annual Meeting, Social Run, and Holiday Party

10/26/2023

 
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Join us for the Central Maine Striders Annual Meeting!

This event will be hosted by club Vice President, Kate Scott, at her home in Waterville. Club members, prospective members and their families are welcome to attend. Please RSVP with your number of guests and Kate's address will be shared with you.

We will start off at 5pm with an optional 1-3 mile neighborhood run to enjoy the holiday lights. Jingle bells provided, headlamps and reflective gear recommended, ugly sweaters and/or other holiday costumes are encouraged! Following the run, please join us inside for food, holiday sweets, and a brief annual meeting (including awards and voting for next year's officers). BYOB. Non-alcoholic drinks will be provided.

Check your latest club newsletter for the link to the evite!

Volunteering at IRONMAN 70.3 Maine

10/19/2023

 
by Julie Millard
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There’s not much that gets me up before 4:00 AM, but the two events that severely cut into my beauty sleep this summer both involved the Striders! One was the Downeast Sunrise Trail Relay— which hardly counts as “getting up early” as there was no bed the night before— and the other was volunteering at IRONMAN 70.3 Maine.
 
It was pitch black when fellow Strider Lindsey Madison and I rendezvoused at the local “park and ride” (AKA Marden’s parking lot) for the short trip down to the Augusta boat launch. The sky was showing the first glimmers of light as we picked out our loaner kayaks and paddles from the pile and found the other faithful Strider volunteers, Amy and Allison Stabins and Martha Nadeau. We had a short briefing meeting in which we were given our assignments, then maneuvered our kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards to our designated spots on the river about half an hour before the first wave of triathletes entered the water.
 
At 6 am, the canon signaled the start of the elite men’s race, and the pack churned through the water in a perfectly straight line. Shortly thereafter, the elite women were off, similarly powering through the course on a perfect tangent from buoy to buoy. For the next hour, wave after wave of swimmers went by, and that’s when our work really began. Volunteers flanked the course all the way down the river, and just maintaining location against the current required some serious paddling. Several athletes needed assistance, often holding onto a boat to catch their breath. Others swam completely off course and needed to be wrangled back inside the markers. Motorized police boats patrolled up and down, shouting instructions through bullhorns at volunteers, particularly when a swimmer appeared to be in distress. When the tail end of the competitors finally proceeded down the river, we were each given an assigned swimmer to escort. By about 7 am, the last athlete had made it out of the river and onto their bike for the next leg. The exhilarated volunteers paddled their way back to the boat launch and made it home in time for breakfast!
 
Several other Striders volunteered for the race that weekend by handing out packets, directing athletes along the route, and in other capacities. Shout out to all the Striders, who included Drew McCormick, Jan Santerre, Kate Scott, and Heather Cable—our club volunteers worked together to earn a $500 grant from Ironman, which we will use to further our mission of supporting running in central Maine! Hope to see you on July 28th 2024…on the Kennebec River

Reaching Out to Local High School Runners

5/22/2023

 
By Julie Millard, Ryan Goebel, and ChatGPT
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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-woman-tying-her-white-sneakers-on-running-track-3763869/
The Central Maine Striders are excited to announce our new High School Outreach Committee, focused on supporting local high school cross country and indoor/outdoor track runners in Central Maine. As a community-oriented running club, we believe in the importance of fostering young talent and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. To that end, we are reaching out to local coaches for ways that we can support their athletes. Examples could include assistance with the purchase of running gear, discounted race entry fees, and volunteers for track meets. We hope that this initiative will provide high school runners in our area with the resources they need to achieve their running goals. Martha Nadeau will lead the committee, but we encourage all members of our club to participate and contribute to this effort, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact that we can make together.  

Finishing Eliza's Run

9/11/2022

 
by Ron Peck and Ryan Goebel
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The Central Maine Striders met on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 11th to honor the memory of Eliza Fletcher, a dedicated runner who was abducted while on her morning run in Tennessee and later murdered. Running communities across the country have held events to "Finish Eliza's Run" to mourn a fellow runner and raise awareness that all people deserve a safe environment to enjoy the outdoors. About twenty members of the Striders met for a moment of reflection led by club Vice President Kate Scott, then ran 3-6 miles in memory of Fletcher.

Our Running Achievements in 2021

12/28/2021

 
We recently asked club members what their greatest running accomplishments of 2021 were.  Here's what our club members accomplished this past year:

Derek Huffman:  "I ran my first races since high school (20 years) this year. I broke my 42-minute goal for the Fall Classic 10K by finishing in 6th place with a time of 41:41.  Jessica, June (7), and Wade (3) Huffman, ran their first races (ever!) in the Quarry Road Summer Running Series. We look forward to many more races in the coming years!"
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Amy Stabins: "My greatest accomplishment in 2021 is competing in the TUCARD race.  It was in an area I'm unfamiliar with, with people I didn't  know, and as I get older I get less and less competitive (ie, I'm likely to come in last...).  But the race looked like so much fun and I'm so glad I did it!"

Harold Shaw:  "Very simply, to still be running and being healthy enough to run. It seemed that the first half of 2021 was devoted to various injuries and that the older you get the longer it takes for those things to heal so you can do what you love. Now, to get comfortable enough to get back to racing and life will be good again. ​😊"
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Karl Foss:  "My Greatest 2021 running achievement was running 13 miles of the Down East Sunrise Trail Relay.  I ran 6.3 miles starting around 11:30 at night and 6.7 miles starting around 6:30 in the morning.  I trained hard for it and with the pandemic going on, it was really emotional."

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Patrick Guerette:  "​I had some really great experiences this year; first 100mi, Mt. Washington, Jay Peak 53.1k... but getting an actual win at the Strider Fall Classic, was my first race win in a while.  Also, I'd like to add/share that my wife [Kristina Guerette] ran Boston 9 weeks postpartum, I am sure she would love the recognition :-) "
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Martha Nadeau:  "The Downeast Sunrise Trail Relay: an overnight relay race, 100.7 miles Ellsworth to Eastport. I had relegated this to my 'love to, but I am not good enough to do' list. Glad it didn't stay on that list! My team was awesome and this race was more than I could have imagined. Running in the middle of the night, with only moonlight and a headlight to guide me along the trail in the woods, often being the only person around. So proud of myself and my whole team for not only finishing, but coming in under the expected time."
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Laurel King:  "My greatest running accomplishment of 2021 was the Mt. Washington Road Race. My time wasn't anything to brag about, but I actually had fun running those 4,650 vertical feet."

Ryan Goebel:  "After more than two years of not being able to race due to injury, I returned to racing and even surprised myself on how well I ran in several races, including the Flight Deck Half Marathon, Central Maine Striders Fall Classic 10k, Save Your Breath 5k, and Millinocket Marathon.  It feels great to be back to running regularly and being able to compete."
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Beth Bridger:  "The best thing that happened in my running world this year was finding a whole bunch of new friends who are just as passionate about running as I am. As much as I love running my body tells me I need to back off. So I'll be volunteering and cheering and telling everyone about the joys of running. One of the best days I had in 2021 was interacting with the Thomas College track & field team during a fundraiser. Seeing the impact that the sport and their coaches have on these athletes reminded me that I absolutely need to continue to be involved with runners and trackies. Here's to a new year a new adventures in running."

Drew McCormick:  "I would have to say my biggest (also longest) accomplishment of 2021 was competing in my first marathon at the Maine Marathon held in Portland,ME. I had never experienced the amount of community and passion around the event and the sport of running, I simply found it fantastic."
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Susan Brooks:  "​My greatest running achievement is every day that I lace up my shoes and get out the door. This year has been particularly challenging as I’m coming to terms with ever-slowing runs and races and the need for more time to recover. After fifty (50!) plus years of running I’m learning to cross train with a goal of more rounded fitness that will keep me healthy and injury free as I run on into each decade. It’s still one run at a time and each is an achievement.  I did finish 3rd in my age group at the Millinocket Half (290/939 overall)"

Thanks to all of the Striders who sent us their running achievements from this past year.  And thanks to all of the Central Maine Striders members, both in this article and not, for making 2021 another great year for the club.  We're looking forward to running into the new year with all of you!

The First Ever Striders Online Trivia Night

1/2/2021

 
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Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Maine Striders weren't able to have their annual year-end social this year.  As a way to foster some kind of social spirit amongst the members of the club, Club President Ryan Goebel hosted an online trivia night after the December 15th Striders monthly meeting.  The 25 questions were all running-related, with topics ranging from Striders history to movies about running to songs with running in them.  Although some may say that the random algorithm that Zoom used to divide the teams wasn't very fair, the "Running With The Dogs" team (Julie Millard, Ron Peck, Pat Guerette, and Rob Krickus) came out on top of "The Mainiacs" (Alicia Wilcox, Tom & Lynda McGuire, and Drew McCormick) and "Posterior Cross Bite" (Deb Violette, Sapan Bhatt, Shanon Delaney, Brian Morin, and Kate Scott).  Although Julie Millard proved to have some impressive Striders historical knowledge, no one could have guessed that it would be Ron Peck's knowledge of the song "Run" by Korean boy band superstars "BTS" that held onto the win on the final question of the night.

​Thanks to everyone who participated.  We already have plans for a second trivia night coming soon.

Running 2020 = Cha-cha-changes

4/27/2020

 
by Harold Shaw

Let’s think for a minute - for the year 2020 we all probably had goal races, big plans and were going to accomplish many of them. 


Basically, my goals in 2020 were to race more than I have in a long time, well as long as the old body held up to the demands of training for an October 18th super-secret race. Unfortunately, like most of you, back in March I put all those great plans, goals, or whatever you want to call them...well to be blunt I and most other runners I know threw most everything out the window when....

The Coronavirus pandemic happened.

Which largely ended many of our plans for spring racing and restarting of Strider group runs (thank you Sapan, Jordan, & Julie), where members were beginning to enjoy the camaraderie of being around our friends or meeting new friends through running again. ​
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Unfortunately, the way things look now this pandemic has also put both the summer and possibly/probably the fall racing and schedule for any major races in jeopardy, along with Strider plans for group runs as well. This most likely means that our running will not be about preparing for racing (other than virtual races) or spending time running together anytime soon.

That sucks!!!

All those plans, goals and motivation to run - gone...so what are we supposed to do now?

Keep running of course.

Okay, enough whining about COVID 19, it is here, we are dealing with it and we have choices:

  1. Sit on the couch, watch TV, drink adult beverages, mash chips, whoopie pies or other great tasting stuff into our pie holes, add on a lot of lardage, continue to whine and complain about how unfair life is and sulk all the time. Then when you can start to train for those races your body is going to tell you in no uncertain terms I haven’t done this for awhile and probably rebel against your idea of what it should be doing.
  2. Just keep training for the races and hope that they happen.
  3. We can keep running and work on building a base, improving our weaknesses, staying healthy, and focus more on simply running to have fun.

Okay, if you are reading this newsletter and are a Strider, #1 is not the answer you are looking for. I don’t know about you, but if I stopped doing the things I still can do, I would gain 20-30 pounds over the next few months and become unhealthy again. Like most of us I have worked too hard to go back to that lifestyle. 

#2 is appealing to many of us, constantly training for races either believing that they will probably be canceled or turned into virtual races just doesn’t work for most of us. It will probably only result in injury or burn-out. 

Unfortunately, without being too negative, I just don’t see major races happening until there is a vaccine or some miracle cure comes along from the good people over at Colby - which means no major races in 2020. However, I am hopeful that there might be some smaller local races allowed in the fall.

For me, the choice was easy #3. 

Base Building - Building a good mileage base is crucial for running better - just the way it is. Putting in the miles necessary to be in shape before the training that we will be doing for races in the future is a great investment in our running - call it prep work. Especially since there is no pressure to perform or get ready for a race anytime soon, we can increase our mileage to higher levels at a healthy progression, versus the usual do too much too fast and finally get off the injured merry-go-round that many of us ride. 

Weaknesses - We all have them and yes, we hate to admit it. Whether they are strength training, yoga, pre and post-run routines, improving running form, our diet, learning more about different training methods, attempting something new versus the same old same old that we always have done, looking at changes to running shoes and of course learning more about the mental side of running. 

So much to do and so little time...well we have a little more time now to take a look at those weaknesses and make changes or turn them into strengths.

Staying Healthy - Running, in my opinion, does help to improve our health both physically, mentally and, from what I have read lately, probably helps improve the immune system as well. However, in these uncertain times, too much of a good thing can also be detrimental to our health. This is probably not the time to be doing Yasso 800s, 20+ mile training runs, 12x400 at mile race pace, or any of those myriads of workouts we runners do that leave us totally drained and may weaken our immune system at a time when we need it to be at its best.

Personally, I have taken the conservative approach and am attempting to limit my mileage to 25-35 miles a week, with most of the runs at the comfortable effort level, not a certain pace. Once or maybe twice a week, I might go ahead and do a comfortably hard run, but very little running at harder paces and then that is usually by accident. Also, I have limited my longer runs to 6-8 miles. Could I do more - sure, but at this point, I want to be healthy more than I want to increase my speed or mileage.

I know this does seem to conflict with my comments on base building, but if/when I decide to increase my base mileage I can do it intelligently and still be healthy.

Having Fun - How many of us take our running so seriously that we forget that for most of us running is not our day job and we need to look closer at why we run and if we need to make changes to make it a more positive part of our lives. Many of us plan, tinker, read about, study our training logs for trends, pour over graphs, charts and summaries of our recent efforts and we forget that our running is supposed to be something we enjoy...yeah fun, not yet another stressor in our lives. 

Think about it, when was the last time you were out on a run where you stopped, looked around and thought to yourself “How lucky I am to be out doing this thing that I love!” Smiled a big smile, laughed out loud, then sheepishly looked around quickly to see who saw you laughing and still felt like the weight of the world has been thrown off your shoulders. If it has been a while you might want to think about what running really means to you. Running should not be another chore that we dread simply to get ready for another race - a means to an end. 

Running can be so much more than that.

If you primarily run on the roads, maybe attempting some easier trails (there are several in the area), barefoot strides on grass, running at different times of the day, doing a scavenger hunt while running, stopping to take photos of odd, unusual or stunningly gorgeous scenes that you will see. There are many things that we can do while we are running to make it seem less like drudgery and more fun. 

No, it does not always mean to be plugged into your music playlist either, it might be time to listen to nature’s music.

The reality is that 

Runners run for many reasons and having the motivation of an upcoming race is great, although not being able to race is not the end of our running journey. Especially, when we are members of the Central Maine Striders because we are also a part of a larger running community that supports and helps each other with our running and often beyond running. 

The next time you can - watch how children run. They do not run hunched over, their faces grim and focused on the ground in front of them as they gasp for air - you know like the guy in the photo below.
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They run with joy, giggles and abandonment that we have forgotten in our efforts to be grown-up. Their heads are up, big grins and lots of laughter and yes, they do suddenly stop to look at the butterfly flitting around their heads or the thing crawling around on the grass. Maybe we need to lighten up and find some of that joy in our running and make running fun again.

At some point the pandemic will be under control enough so that racing and our training for those goals we have will return, but until it does we can keep running, smile more, remember to stop in the middle of a run and looking around thinking about the idea that “I get to run, versus I have to run” and yes, running can be fun. 

Who knows maybe I will get to train for that super double-secret race on October 18th, but I don’t think that I will be holding my breath too long in hopes of it actually happening.

However, I do hope that we get to start up the Strider group runs as soon as we are allowed to. Although I have a feeling that those of us who are in the more at risk group for the Coronavirus will wait until things are even more calmed down.

Stay safe and be well

Harold

Meet Our Members:  Jordan Castillo

3/31/2020

 
Jordan Castillo moved to central Maine a couple years ago.  The first time he attended a Central Maine Striders meeting was last December.  By the end of that meeting, he had been voted in as the new club Vice President.  In his short tenure as the VP, he's organized several group runs (and brunches), started the club's Instagram account, and generally been one of the more energetic and enthusiastic club members.  One weekend at brunch this winter, he shared the story of how he started running.  It was such a great story that I asked him if he could write it up for the club webpage and newsletter.  So, just in case you weren't at that brunch, here's Jordan's running story:

"Hey, how about we run a marathon?"

One day after school during my 10th grade year, my dad asked me a question that became the spark to a life-changing journey.
 
“Hey, Jordan, how about we sign up for a marathon?”
 
I turned to him and gawked at this absurd-sounding question. “Dad, what? Are you for real?”
With confidence and excitement, he responded, “Yeah! Your younger brother is going to join, too! C’mon! It’ll be fun!”
After feeling a bit uncertain, I eventually agreed to sign up with my dad and brother for Grandma’s Marathon, set to take place June 20, 2009 in Duluth, MN. I felt like I had no idea what I was signing up for. But if my dad believed I could run a marathon, then so did I.​

​Training began in January, which means I quickly learned how to brave running with near-zero temperatures and snow-covered sidewalks. Our first run was three miles at a slow, jogging pace. It was a slog. At the end of the run, I probably screamed something like, “Dad, how the heck are we going to get up to 26.2 miles? Three miles is enough, this is crazy!”

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I was so excited to finish my first ever marathon... you can tell how tired I was (I'm on the left)!
Slowly, but surely, my brother and I began to see the results of our training. Three miles started to feel like a warm-up distance. I began to feel like I could slow my breath enough to even carry a conversation while running. The first time I finished a 13.1-mile run, I felt like a straight-up champion. Many times, my brother and I would join my dad’s running club for long runs on the weekends. The runners carried such an encouraging, infectious energy. They loved seeing young people like my brother and I training for a such a big race, and it was always motivating to hear their stories about running accomplishments and the goals they were setting for themselves.

​As the weeks passed, I came to believe that finishing a marathon was actually possible—I just had to stick with the training plan and know that my body was capable of carrying me further than I could ever imagine.

​Fast-forward to race day. I had barely slept because I was so nervous and excited. With my green singlet and black running shorts, I joined the other runners in the starting area. It was a clear, sunny day and 6,000 of us were about to embark on this 26.2-mile journey along the beautiful north shore of Lake Superior.
I also need to take a moment to explain what it felt like to be at that starting line. If you’ve ever participated in a race, you know that the race environment is unreal—full of positivity, motivation, excitement, and thrill. The energy is so electric, it’s almost tangible. Another part of my experience is that some of the runners would give looks of delightful surprise to see my brother and I with our race bibs labeled with the word “Marathon.” I knew I wasn’t about to break any world records or anything, but it felt pretty great knowing that I was one of the youngest people in the race. Standing with the thousands of others about to run Grandma’s Marathon, I truly felt like there was no place I’d rather be, nothing I’d rather be doing than finishing my first marathon.

​“3, 2, 1!” 
Bang. And the race began.
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The 2011 Minneapolis Marathon was the first race I did with both my brothers and my dad... we all finished together!
One of my strongest memories of the race is the feeling of camaraderie between my dad, my brother, and me. They always kept me focused on the goal, especially near the end when I felt more fatigued than ever and I began to seriously doubt whether I could finish. I also remember all the fans on the side of the road who encouraged us and handed out free water, Gatorade, salty snacks. Some of the fans even had water hoses to cool us off, and some were literally grilling on the side of the road and giving out hot dogs and hamburgers. There were so many moments during the race when I just felt rushes of gratitude and excitement from seeing all the fans. Crowd support makes such a huge difference!
PictureIn 2012, my dad, brother, and I went to Canada for our first ever INTERNATIONAL marathon! =D
Around mile 23, I started to hit “the wall.” Each step felt like it required ten times the normal amount of effort, and I felt all my muscles ache with each strike of the ground. I actually remember feeling angry and wondering why I was running the race in the first place. My brother was so good at reminding me that this race was possible and that we were going to make it to the end. I was in so much pain, so my brother’s encouragement made a huge difference.

​Without a doubt, the final .2 miles of the race was the most agonizing, challenging part. I remember passing the 26th mile marker and thinking, “Wow! I’m done! We are at the finish line!” But the reality is that .2 miles is still .2 miles. It also didn’t help that there were still a few turns after mile 26, so I couldn’t even see the finish line until a minute or so after passing the final mile marker. When I eventually did see that finish line, though, I ran with everything I had.

“From Lakeville, Minnesota, we have Jordan and Spencer Castillo, about to finish their first Grandma’s Marathon!” The announcer was cheering us on, along with the hundreds of fans lining each side of the road. Those last few seconds of the race seemed to last an eternity, and I couldn’t believe that I was actually about to be done running those 26.2 miles. With a time of just under five hours, my brother and I crossed the finish line. My dad and brother were right there, and we grabbed each other with a sweaty, beautiful embrace. I felt a sudden rush of accomplishment, relief, pride, and overwhelming joy like I’d never felt before. At the age of 16, I had just finished my first marathon.

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Last year's Moose Mountain Trail Marathon... you can tell it's only mile 2, I've still got so much energy! =D
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Moose Mountain Trail Marathon victory photo with the bro's... feeling so fortunate to finish this race with them!
During the drive home, my Dad turned to my brother and me and blurted, “So, who’s ready for the next marathon?”

​“Haha, are you kidding me? Too soon, Dad,” I answered. “Maybe in a month, you can ask me then.” And a few months later, my dad did, in fact, ask me about running Grandma’s Marathon again.

 
“Sure, why not,” I responded with a soft smile.
 
So, the next year, I ran my second Grandma’s Marathon. The year after that, I ran another marathon with my dad, and the year after that, too. Because of that initial nudge from my dad, I have been running long-distance consistently for 11 years now. I am proud to say that last month I completed my tenth marathon in Napa, California (with a PR of 3:29!), and in less than three months I will go back to where it all began to run Grandma’s Marathon again, this time with the intention of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
Running has become my stress-reliever, my motivator, my opportunity to center myself and reflect on things like gratitude, well-being, and vision for my life. Running reminds me that I am always capable of more than I might think in a moment, and that our realities are largely defined (and sometimes limited) by our minds. Running has become my way to communicate a mantra to the universe: “I can.”
 
Thanks for reading this story. Each member of the Central Maine Striders community has their own unique “why” behind running, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share about mine.
 
To close, I’d like to leave you with something to reflect on: What is your “why” behind running? And what might your running experience be teaching you?
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I convinced my good friend, Luis, to run Napa Valley Marathon with me last month. Running with friends gives me LIFE!
Thanks for sharing your running story with us, Jordan!  We love the energy and enthusiasm that you've brought to the club.

If any of you would like to be featured in a "Meet Our Members" article, contact us at [email protected].  We'd be more than happy to publish your running story and/or interview you.

Running Shoes - Yes, We Need Them

3/3/2020

 
by Harold Shaw
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Over the past few years, I have bought far too many pairs of running shoes (about 20-25 pairs a year since 2012) - hoping or is that dreaming about the "right" shoes that will magically allow me to become the runner that I have always wanted to be.

A typical runner’s dream, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, as I have learned the expensive and hard way, there is no such thing as a pair of magical running shoes that are going to make you or I, a better runner. If you buy into that line of thinking you will spend a LOT of money searching for that magical shoe. 

I have.

Besides, just like everyone else my body changes a little each year and what would have worked for me as a younger person, doesn’t work for me now. Those Asics Excalibur GT’s that I loved in the ‘80s would kill my feet now and so many other shoes that I have loved over the years would not work at all for me in the body that I have now.

This is something I think that we tend to overlook when we look at running shoes, how much our bodies do change as we get older. The reality is that it really doesn’t matter what our age is, our bodies are always changing whether we 25, 43, 62 or 75 and the type/style of running shoes we need constantly change as well. 

What have I learned

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So think twice and then think again about what you are reading, watching or being told.

Over the years, I have learned that there are no magical running shoes (although some claim otherwise as the current controversy over the Nike Vapor Fly line shows) and that the best ways to improve as a runner are to focus more on:

  1. Running consistently - the more uninjured miles run - the better, in other words, training smarter, is more important to being a better runner, than what running shoes I am wearing.
  2. Lose weight/eat better - getting rid of the extra 5-10-15 or more extra pounds of flubber and looking at what we eat, are far more important to running better, than how much different shoes weigh.
  3. Be aware of the BS factor - When it comes to running shoes, we have to wade through the ever-present marketing hype, discussions, bluster, believe it or not maybe even a few facts -- in magazines, ezines, blogs, forums and yes even on Twitter or Facebook, along with our ever-present running buddies about running shoes over the past few years.  So much so that most of us runners do not really know what works versus what is hype most of the time. 
  4. Have an open mind -  we need to figure some things out for ourselves by doing the research, actually thinking about what we are seeing or doing and even be willing to go beyond our usual authors, friends, coaches, websites or brands for information related to running. It might even mean - heaven forbid, that we need to think outside of the box from time-to-time and look at brands or ideas we have not used in the past. I know that I have been surprised by what works and does not work several times.
  5. Don't jump on the next great bandwagon shoe or shoe style. Just because it is a certain design, style or the next best thing since whatever, it doesn't mean that it will work the same for you or that it is even the right thing for you and the way you run. The minimal, maximal, carbon plate bandwagons come to mind pretty quickly. All have led to mixed results and caused more or different injuries than have been reported or talked about.
  6. That all the major brands have at least one running shoe style that we can or could run in - Not really what we want to believe, after all, such and such a brand couldn’t possibly work for me. While it is true that I run better in certain styles of running shoes and I tend to stay with the brands that have those styles. 
  7. BE COMFORTABLE - this is the most important thing, find a shoe that you run comfortably in - one that you put on and forget about. Get beyond brand marketing, the salesperson's prejudices or preconceptions, the running store's limited selection and find the pair of running shoes that feel comfortable to you when you are running. 

Although I gotta admit that the wrong running shoes really do screw things up royally from time-to-time! The litany of injuries I have had over the years are a testament to bad shoe choices, training mistakes and just being stoopid.

Then you have the fun issue of when the brands update that style/model that you love and the new version is a different shoe than the one you loved. It sucks big time and happens all too often. Then we have to go out and start looking for a new running shoe all over again - it has happened to almost all of us who have been running for a while and yeah, it does suck.

The reality is that...

All runners are different, we have different likes, needs and wants from our running shoes and in today's world, most brands have a shoe that will satisfy that need.

The primary purpose of running shoes, in my opinion, is to protect our feet from the ground, tar, concrete, trail or whatever you are running on, which in turn allows us to run more safely or comfortably than without them (no I do not believe in running barefoot other than for drills - it doesn't work for most of us, especially in Maine in the Wintah).

While I believe that proper running shoes can make a difference (good or bad) for a runner, at the same time I strongly believe that I (and other runners) put too much emphasis on the importance of their running shoes and how much of a difference they actually make.

The biggest lesson I have learned over the past few years is that my running shoes are a lot less important to my running than what I am doing as a runner, but even so, I am ever hopeful that someday, I will find that running shoe that works for me and hope against hope that its updates continue to work for me.

Hmmm let me see what Running Warehouse has on sale this week. :-) 

Yeah, I know I am an incorrigible running shoe geek. Hehehee


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Harold Shaw lives in Sidney, ME and retired from the U.S. Coast Guard a long time ago. He has been a Striders member since 2012 and a running shoe geek for way too many years before that. When he isn't injured he tries to run 30-40 miles a week and someday will finish another marathon if he can ever stay healthy long enough. Maybe he will even find that magic shoe that will help him achieve that goal.

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