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 Tom finishing the 2022 Lexington, Kentucky, A Midsummer Night's Run "Meet Our Members" is where we get to know a little more about our fellow Striders—who they are, why they run, why they're part of Central Maine Striders. Recently we caught up with new member Tom Farmer, who stepped up to be our club's Volunteer Coordinator after moving to Maine only last year. Thank you, Tom! We asked Tom to introduce himself and share some of his running life. Hello, Central Maine Striders! Firstly, I would like to thank you all for being so welcoming. My wife Elise and I knew exactly one person when we moved to Maine in August, and that was our landlord. Getting to know you all has been a true pleasure. I am formerly of the Frankfort (Kentucky) Striders and I hope to do the best I can as a member of my new group of striders. I started running as part of a health journey that began in spring 2020 (COVID lockdowns) and that journey continues today. Lately I've been hampered by a few elements (such as the joy of navigating icy sidewalks on a regular basis), but look forward to getting back to form as a member of the Striders. I reside in Hallowell with my aforementioned wife, Elise, and our two cats, Toki and Skwisgar. In Frankfort, Kentucky, I spent a lot of time volunteering for, as well as coordinating, community efforts. As such, when club president Martha said the Striders needed a volunteer coordinator I couldn't help myself. As your new volunteer coordinator I hope to help the Striders leadership by finding new opportunities for Striders engagement. But most importantly, I hope to help the leadership by managing volunteer assignments for Striders events so as to ease their organizational burdens. For now, stay tuned as I work with Martha and others to gather all the information I need to maintain connections. If, however, you have any immediate thoughts, ideas, or desires to commit, then my electronic and telephonic door is always open. You can reach me at (502) 767-4422 or [email protected]. Thank you, Tom! We asked Tom some additional running questions about himself: How did you find Central Maine Striders? Before leaving Kentucky I searched the web and Facebook for run clubs near Augusta, and the Central Maine Striders were top of the list and clearly the most organized. Anything from your past Striders club you'd like to see as part of this Striders club? I could give you a long answer explaining my thoughts on this, but I'll try to summarize it as best as I can. The Central Maine Striders do have a diverse group of people and fitness levels, and your organizational level is above and beyond. Short version, you all are amazing! I think that can be leveraged to encourage others to join even if they're not fast runners or runners at all. Social runs are a great way to encourage movement and fitness or, in my case, remind me to get back to it! Can you share a memory of a favorite or memorable run and/or race? I have two. The first was the day that I was walking in Cherokee Park in Louisville, Kentucky, as I had been doing every morning from April 2020 to July 2020 and I realized that I wasn't sweating or breathing heavily (like I had been)...so I started running. Second was my first (and only so far) 10K, when I got to the end of the traditional Frankfort 5K route and all the doubts about going another 5K vanished. Any runs/races you're looking forward to in 2025? I'm looking forward to the social runs and using those to get me back to form in time for the Doc & Mardie Brown 5K in August. I promise I'll still do volunteer work, I'll just need a 30 to 40 minute break during the race. Best running advice you ever got? "Shoes, dude." —my brother Any running advice you'd share with others? Brains are funny...you run way better with people than you do by yourself. Make friends. What do you do when you're not running? My wife Elise and I like to explore national and state parks, go to wineries and breweries/cideries, kayak...but with a hefty added dose of video games. Anything else you'd want fellow Striders to know? I have always been socially awkward (dork for life), and that anxiety usually manifests as me talking way too much. So, I truly appreciate you all as a group being warm and welcoming. It's tough pulling up all your roots and moving 1,100 miles from your home of 40 years, but you all are making it a lot easier and I thank you. Also, I can officially say that I think I am now the second Irish citizen member of the Striders, thanks to the benefits of ancestry, various documents, and a not insignificant amount of euros.  Tom and friend Tip Mixson at the 2021 Frankfort (Kentucky) Striders Christmas party  Congratulations to the following club members who were recognized by President Martha Nadeau at the December annual meeting for their service, support, and spirit for the club in 2024:
2025 Officers Elected Attendees also elected new and returning officers for 2025 at the December annual meeting and jingle bell run:
  At our December club meeting, the following members were voted to be Central Maine Striders officers for 2023:
At the meeting, the board of directors was also reappointed. The board of directors consists of: Patrick Guerette, Alicia MacLeay, Tom McGuire, Julie Millard, Ron Paquette, and Ron Peck.
We recently asked club members what their greatest running accomplishments of 2021 were. Here's what our club members accomplished this past year:
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!
 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 Be sure to check out our club newsletter for a discount code good for $10 off entry into the Save Your Breath 5k.
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.
The first week, BOOM 7 lbs. down. Then I thought hey I'm really onto something, why not add in some exercise? So I would use my lunch to walk around town and get some miles in, BOOM another 10 lbs. down! Then I thought why not walk when I get home from work with the wife and kids? Add in good meal choices and portion control and by the end of the month I had lost 34 lbs and was tied for 1st place in the competition.
At this point I was feeling so great that I knew I had to keep the momentum going so I walked faster and further every week. It was on one of my walks that I felt I couldn’t walk fast enough and broke into a jog, it wasn’t for very long but I was hooked, it felt euphoric so from then on it was jog/walk/jog every time I went out. Before I knew it was jogging almost a mile at a time before I had to walk again and catch my breath. I slowly increased that to a mile and half, then two or more. This went on for 9 months, and with a continued change to healthy eating I had lost 85 lbs. total! Winter was upon us again at this point and it was getting uncomfortable to continue exercising outside, so I joined a gym and started using the treadmill everyday on my lunch hour. A few months later I had lost 100 lbs., and that’s where my weight loss journey has concluded. Since then I have slowly increased my running speed and distance to where I am now. Finding the Central Maine Striders group on facebook has taken my running to the next level. I have run my only 2 races this year thanks to following this group and their passion for running. The Quarry Road Trails Racing series opened my eyes to trail running as I had never run any trails prior to my first race. The Doc and Mardie 5K race recently was my first in person race and now I am hooked! I love what running continues to do for me physically and mentally and I am so thankful the members of the Central Maine Striders have accepted me into the fold. I look up to so many runners from the group and really enjoy the friendships I have made so far with hopefully many more to come. We are sad to announce that a former member of the Central Maine Striders and inductee to the Maine Running Hall of Fame, Leona Clapper passed away earlier this summer. From her obituary in the Bangor Daily News (Jul 5, 2020): Leona E. Clapper March 11, 1930 - June 28, 2020 BUCKSPORT - Leona E. Clapper, 90, passed away peacefully on June 28, 2020, surrounded by her loving family. She was born on March 11, 1930 in North Haven, Maine, to Clarence and Lena Stone. She spent most of her adult life in Bucksport, where she raised her twelve children with her husband of 67 years, Charles. She had a strong love for her family and friends. She was always smiling and ready to give a hug to all. Leona was a competitive runner in the local community for many years. She completed a number of marathons. She was well known and admired among runners. In 1992, she was inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame. Besides running, Leona also loved playing bridge and knitting. She and her husband frequently played in bridge groups. She knit numerous items for family and friends, and also donated many to her church's craft fair. She was a long time parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Bucksport. In addition to her parents, Leona was predeceased by her sister Harriet Pendleton and her husband Danny Pendleton, by her sister Eleanor Jackson, by her daughter Barbara Thompson, and by her sons-in-law Richard Stevens, Richard Leach, and Richard Schroeder. Leona is survived by her husband Charles, her sister Marjorie Pendleton and her husband James Pendleton, her brother-in-law Paul Jackson, her son Charles and his wife Alta, her daughter Leona Stevens, her daughter Catherine Leach, her daughter Theresa Clapper, her son Thomas Clapper, her son-in-law Thomas Thompson, her son Gerard Clapper and his wife Caskie, her son Joseph Clapper and his wife Renee, her daughter Margaret Jones and her husband Christopher, her daughter Mary Buck and her husband Bryan, her daughter Patricia Craig and her husband John, and her son Michael Clapper and his wife Regina. She is also survived by dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren. There will be a private service for family only later in the summer. There will be a celebration of life for family and friends at a later date. Arrangements by Mitchell-Tweedie Funeral Home and cremation Services Bucksport.  And from her 1992 Maine Running Hall of Fame profile:
Leona Clapper Unselfish Giving Has Made All the Difference A native of North Haven, Leona Clapper, born March 11,1930, is one of the legendary Clapper family of Bucksport, perhaps the best-known running family in road racing from the late 1970s through the ‘90s. Leona and her husband, Charles, also an avid road-racer, raised twelve children, six of whom took up competitive running. The best-known was Gerry, who became one of the best college distance runners ever to run for the University of Maine. Leona, a housewife and mother most of her life, started running when she was 48 in 1978, drawn into the sport from watching her children run. “We decided we wanted to do it too,” she said in 1994, a few months after she was inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame at its ceremony in Waterville. Leona was one of only a few women who competed in the 50-plus age bracket during the early 1980s, and she set many course records. Her best career efforts include a 22:09 5k at age 54 in 1984; and a 1:18:52 10-miler at age 52 in 1982, when she also ran her fastest marathon, 3:50:33, in Orono. Among her best races were a 45:33 in the Great Pumpkin 10-K in 1981 at age 51; 22:39 in the Cranberry Island 5-K, 1982; 22:29 in the Terry Fox 5-K, 1984, age 54; and 72:14 15-K at Schoodic Point in 1984. Through 1994 she had completed six marathons, her first at the Paul Bunyan Marathon in Orono in 1980, two years after she started running. A member of the Central Maine Striders, she was honored as Strider of the Year in 1986. Among her many great admirers over the years was Jerry Saint Amand, president of the Central Maine Striders from 1985 through 1990. Saint Amand wrote the following about one of his favorite people: “It’s easy to overlook this gentle, gray-haired lady, now in her late 60s, should you see her in a group,” said Saint Amand. “She has never been loud, always a simple person in dress and manner, and she would blush and poo-poo you should you recognize her as one of the leading lights of women’s running in Maine for many years. “It was never her running times that made Bucksport’s Leona Clapper someone you’d notice at the top of state race results. It was instead her love of running, the surprise within herself at her love of age group competition, and her becoming the unofficial ‘mother’ of all women runners that made her a core person in Maine running. This is a woman who started late in life, for it was daughter Margaret and son Gerry who were usually listed among the leading male and female finishers in the early to mid-‘80s. Leona didn’t start showing up in results until her late 40s. At 49, she was finishing the Grand Willey 10-K in August of ’80 in 58:13. Not much to shout about you might think, until you find her at age 50 crossing the finish line in the well-known Benjamin’s 10-K in Bangor in November of 1981, in 45:48,” continued Saint Amand. “It was her determination to improve that kept her busy, but it was her gracious manner and genuine smile that won the hearts of all Maine runners and officials who knew her. Leona and husband Charlie opened their hearts and their home to runners from all over the state after each summer’s Tour du Lac 10-Miler in Bucksport, a tradition that continues today. It has been Leona’s warm words of encouragement to countless younger female runners that inspired them to keep going as she herself set the example that older women can run distance from the popular 5-Ks to marathons! Voted by Maine’s second-largest running club, the Central Maine Striders, as their female Strider of the Year in 1986, Leona also shared the special Bruce Ellis Award with her husband Charlie in 1991 for their contributions to running over the years,” added Saint Amand. Saint Amand concluded: “I am only one of the people who Leona has quietly encouraged when things were not going well, and her acceptance of life and its ups and downs continues to inspire many of us. The Maine Running Hall of Fame has places for Maine’s fastest male and female runners, and for others who have had long, successful running careers. I truly believe there must also be a special place for those whose unselfish giving of their hearts and souls to running has made the difference for so many others, and Leona Clapper is the finest example I know of.” Former Maine Running publisher Bob Booker feels much the same way. He wrote in one of his issues: “One day this spring, Tanya went to the mailbox and retrieved a brown shipping envelope addressed to Ethan. She opened it and found a beautiful, hand-knit sweater with the words, ‘Paul Bunyan Marathon’ across the back and the legendary lumberjack himself on the chest. A note was attached that simply said, ‘For the little fellow.’ Right out of the clear blue! No strings attached! That’s the kind of person Leona Clapper is. A woman who has dedicated her life to the concerns of others before her own needs and desires.” The Central Maine Striders are proud to have several active members that have been with us since the early days of the club. "Catching Up With The Pack" is where we track some of them down and get some updates on what's going on in their life these days. Last month, we caught up with Gust Stringos. And this month, as I was gathering articles for our latest edition of "Running Backwards: A Jog Through the Strider Archives", I came across a couple excellent articles by Joanie Rhoda about her experience qualifying for the Boston Marathon at the age of 59, only to have her Boston experience marred by the 2013 bombing. Since our flashback to 2013 was getting to be a pretty long article, I decided to include her 2012 and 2013 marathon articles here, along with our "catching up" with her. I believe the last time I wrote in the Club newsletter was in 2013 after running in the Boston Marathon. That was the race where the terrible bombing happened at the finish line. I had reached the 25 1/2 mile mark with less than a mile to go when the throngs of runners were stopped in their tracks and could not complete the race. It was a heartbreaking moment for me and I’m sure for thousands of other runners to not complete something we had aspired to and trained for, for months and even years. However, I found a way I could mend the brokenness I felt over what happened. In the spring of 2014, my son Adam, who was flying home to Maine from Seattle where he lives, met me in Boston and together we ran the last mile of the marathon. It wasn’t quite the same as it would have been on race day – we had to dodge people on the sidewalks – but it did heal my heart somewhat and brought some closure to an event that started out so joyfully and ended so tragically. As a longtime member of the Central Maine Striders (it was the Maine Road Ramblers back in the 70’s), I was asked to provide an update on my running life now. Unfortunately I had to stop running in 2016 due to arthritis in my second toe. With bone on bone, it caused quite a bit of pain. I believe the injury was caused by dropping a can on my toe years ago or by a horse that stepped on my foot a long time ago. Surely running wouldn’t have caused it! My second toe was the only joint affected. In 2017, I had an implant inserted into the toe joint which helped decrease the pain but not enough for me to feel safe stressing it by running. I miss running very much. It was part of my life for 45 years, and wasn’t something I ever thought I would stop doing. In the beginning after the surgery, whenever I saw a runner on the road, I’d feel a stabbing sensation in my heart because I wanted to be that runner in the worst way. It’s been 3 years since the surgery, and I can look back on the years and races with happiness and pride. I had run in countless races and completed 9 marathons, including 6 miles of the Boston Marathon while 8 months pregnant in 1984. The Club was a source of unity for runners like me. The joy of running united all of us, and because of that, we were all friends. I have found other ways to exercise that are just as satisfying (well almost) as running – walking, bicycling, and backpacking. I am a section-hiker of the Appalachian Trail and have back-packed from Georgia to Vermont – over 1,600 miles – over 15 years. My husband and I have about 600 miles to go over some of the toughest sections of the entire Trail. I consider it an adventure of a lifetime which will take the rest of my lifetime to complete. I look forward to reading the stories of other Club members, especially the friends I had back in the early days. Joanie Rhoda From the March 2012 issue of The Interval:    From the July 2013 issue of The Interval:   From the August 2013 issue of The Interval:    |
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