Running Backwards to 2011: A Jog Into the Striders Archives

4/26/2020

So far "Running Backwards" has taken us to 1981, 1982, and 1999. Continuing our sprint forward in time, we're heading to 2011 in this issue. Don't worry, sooner or later, we're bound to stumble back into the 80's.

In 2011, the Interval newsletter was being cranked out on a monthly basis by Linda Benn, who had taken over the newsletter duties back in the middle of 1994 and kept at it until the end of 2014. During 2011, the newsletter always had the masthead you see above and the clipart logo you see to the left. Each month the front page also included a "front page" article written by a rotating cast of novelists.... oops, I meant "runners". These articles would start on the first page and then be continued on the second page (and sometimes even onto the third page too). As interesting as all of them are, we unfortunately don't have the space to reprint all of them here. So, we're going to skip Craig Lewis's "The Health Benefits of Running" front page piece that was published in the January edition and move right into Jerry Allanach's article on the "2500th Anniversary of Phidppedies" (which wikipedia tells me is actually spelled "Pheidippides" or "Philippides" or "Φιλιππίδης" if you prefer Greek) and his experience running the Athens Classic Marathon. We edited it a little bit for length. The original filled most of the first three pages of the newsletter.

Greek legend has it that in 490 BC, the Athenians overcame enormous odds to defeat the Persians on the plains of the village of Marathon. As most of you know, the legend claims that the Greek soldier Phedeppides ran back to Athens and upon announcing that they had won a great victory fell dead. I have been blessed with the opportunity to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon by running the Athens Classic Marathon this year.

While I learned a few things about the facts versus myths, in this article I'll share with you my experience of running a marathon that began at the site of the ancient battle field and ended on the track of the 1896 Olympic Stadium in Athens.

The journey actually began almost a year ago when Marathon Tours sent me a promotional email about a group tour that included this historic run. Knowing that age, wear, and tear are taking its toll on my body, I figured if I only have a few marathons

left, this one was just too unique to pass up.

When we got there, we discovered that there is actually a track that runners can warm up on. While I don't usually warm up anymore for marathons, I couldn't resist jogging a lap in the track and field stadium in Marathon, Greece. Numerous people dressed in 490 BC warrior attire.

I think this was my 4th marathon measured only in kilometers and I have to confess I like it. When runners get tired in the 2nd half (not that it happens [to] you), I think the majority of us really look for the mile markers to prove to ourselves that we are still making progress toward that finish line. I've found that even if I have to walk some, those kilometer markers come a lot quicker than mile markers, even though there are more of them. (26.2 miles = 42.2 kilometers) Based on my training runs, the inevitable slide with age, and the fact that it's a fairly hilly course, I had estimated that I would likely be between 4:05

and 4:15 depending on how much the hills slowed me.

One thing that was a first for me after 30 years of marathons, the water stops passed out bottled water, generally with the caps still on. I would guess they were the equivalent of our 12 or 16 ounce bottles. I drank about half each time before tossing the bottle. Another thing that I had not seen before was runners pulling over to the side and having the backs of their legs sprayed by race volunteers with something. The only thing I could think of was sun screen, but I found out after the race it's something that will almost instantly help loosen stiff and cramping muscles.

From about the 8k to about the 18k it was gently rolling and I was consistently under the 5:35 [per kilometer goal pace]. Then from there to about 31.5 k it was pretty much uphill. It was warm (about 70) but not hot and the hills were long but not steep as the net gain over those 13 kilometers was about 700 feet. My training and

experience paid off as I was able to keep the splits between 5:25 and 5:50. As we got closer to Athens, the cheering crowds got progressively larger and louder.

As expected, the hills had taken a toll but the good news was that the last 10k was mostly downhill. Of course downhill hurts sore muscles more but it sure helps with pace. Only the 42nd and final full kilometer was over 6 minutes. Entering that 1896 Olympic Stadium will always be one of the highlights of my long running career. It literally gave me goose bumps and I yelled as I crossed the finish line "Rejoice, we are victorious!" I significantly exceeded my expectations with a finishing time of 3:56:42, an unexpected Boston qualifier. I did try to check my official time but the website was "all Greek to me." It wasn't until Thursday that I was told by another runner that there was a little British flag in the upper right corner that converted it to English.

The front page of 2011 newsletters also always had a section called "Editor's News" at the bottom of the page, where Linda Benn would share short bits, club announcements, requests for more people to write front page articles, thanks to those who had submitted front page articles, and would often include a holiday greeting in months where holidays were coming up. Here are some excerpts from throughout the year:

Gene Roy had the front page honors for May 2011 and waxed philosophically about whether or not running is a sport. You may notice that Page 2 starts out by saying that it was continued from Page 2. No, the Striders did not succeed in bending the fabric of newsletter space-time. Surprisingly, this ultramarathon-lasting copy-and-paste error persisted throughout every issue of The Interval from July 2008 until December 2011.

I don't personally know Mike Brooks, but I do know that he raced a lot, traveled a lot, and wrote three front pages of The Interval in 2011 (and is still a CMS member today). Although all of his front page articles are interesting race reports from various corners of the US, it was his article on the back-to-back races he ran in Hawaii that was the most exciting to me. Here are some of the highlights of that article:

The Hilo to Volcano 50k is mostly a relay race and this year had 28 solo runners. If you are running solo, you can start when you want and tell the officials at the finish line your time.

Outside a bar, there were a bunch of drunks getting ready to fight, one had a knife, this quickened my pace for a short distance.

I thought the race started on Coconut Island, but it actually starts in the parking lot for the island on the other side of the bridge to the island. My friends hollered and screamed out my name, but I never heard them. They waited a few minutes, then started without me. I waited for them about ten minutes, then started. Outside a bar, there were a bunch of drunks getting ready to fight, one had a knife, this quickened my pace for a short distance. Catching my friends a few miles later made me feel a little better knowing I would have some company in the race. There are no aid stations on the course, so Denise drove the course supplying us with what

we needed.

It stayed dark until 6:30, the clouds kept the temperature in the 60's and at times there was a light drizzle. Once it got light I noticed Walt [Mike's brother], a very experienced ultrarunner, had new shoes. They were on sale for $40, big mistake. As we continued towards the Volcano, Walt's feet started to blister badly. The last 4 miles is when the sun came out, it was in the 80's and Walt was doing a painful run/walk routine.

After crossing the finish line, we told the race director our times and thanked him for putting on a race for 30 bucks which included a long sleeve tech shirt, finisher's medal, and lei.

It was then a shower and off to the airport for our flight back to Honolulu for a connecting flight to the island of Maui.

[The next morning,] I walked from the hotel to where the bus would pick us up and drop us off at the early 4:30am start. We got there late and the race had already started.

Once sunrise arrived, we were treated to

Walt wore sandals in this race because his feet were so blistered. I bet he does not wear new shoes in a 50k again.

ocean views for 20 miles and saw whales in the distance several times.

Walt wore sandals in this race because his feet were so blistered. I bet he does not wear new shoes in a 50k again.

It was now time to relax. The next three days were spent lounging around the pool, snorkeling, and whale watching.

In conclusion, let me say that I think most runners would like the Maui marathon. It is a very scenic course, lots of aid stations and just a few steep hills. On the downside, it will probably be hot and all the races are expensive [there's also a half marathon and 5k]. The Hilo to Volcano 50k is not scenic, has 4000' of elevation gain, no aid stations or spectators. On the upside, it's only 30 bucks, you can start whenever you want and it is one of the easier ultras in the Hawaiian Islands.

In April 2011, several Striders ran in the Unity Spring 5k and in the Fly Like an Eagle 5k (which was a race held at Erskine Academy in South China).

Ron Paquette took over the front page article in June of 2011 and offered his thoughts on the cost of running.

The July edition of the newsletter featured an early version of "Running Backwards", or at least a look back at the results of the Joseph's 5k from 20 years earlier. We're not sure what top secret information got redacted here.

Gene Roy used the front page of the October 2011 Interval to tell a story about telling stories.

My Dad used to tell stories. Usually this happened while we were riding in the car or sitting around a campfire in the dark of night. There weren't many choices for my brothers and I when it came to avoiding a story we'd heard before. We could step outside the car or wander around in the dark. I'm certain that your Dad told stories too. Most of the time they weren't bad, they were just re-runs. We'd heard them all before. He would relate incidences that had taken place some years before; many of these were reports of weather, personal achievements, or his experiences. My brothers and I would look at each other and roll our eyes. To his credit, the stories he told never changed nor did they get exaggerated with age. There was of course no way to corroborate the facts.

So now I find myself telling stories to my kids. I realize I'm doing it as soon as I start and I can't stop myself! My kids listen politely and they don't stop me to say they've heard it before. When I recognize it's a told tale, I still have a hard time stopping.

If you're wondering what this has to do with running, well let me tell you a tale.... don't roll your eyeballs!

This is a story about racing, then and now. "Then" happened in the early 80's, I will refer to this time as the "Golden Age of Road Racing". The "Now" is the year 2010 for which I have data for all the races that are still around.

During my competitive years, I kept all my racing results and the complete results for that race. I also kept data on weather, and type of workout for each day. I kept track of weekly, monthly, and yearly mileage. I did this for more than ten years. I have plenty of hard data to back my claims.

My point here is that racing in the 80's was more competitive than it is now. The fields in many of the races today are larger than they were then. Though many of the races from that era are gone now, many new races have taken their places.

[Gene then goes on to provide several examples of his race times from "Then" and how that same race time would earn him a better finish position in that race "Now".]

So what's different? I believe it's the approach to training. Does anyone take their pulse

every morning? Run 70 mile weeks? run two a days? Do two speed workouts a week? Average 2700 miles a year or own a pair of skin calipers? Can you expect great results on casual training? Or, without reading the latest research results on training? I'm saying the level of commitment to training has lowered a lot. The selection of races reflects this casual approach to training, most 10k's are gone and in their places are 5k's. Many of the longer runs are gone too and you don't see 6-10 runners running a 20 on a Saturday morning.

Many of the best races are gone now and it wouldn't be fair to compare times in different races. For now at least the 5k reigns as a popular race distance, but I must tell you that I don't have a personal best for a 5k. I never ran one in those days, they were very rare. I think the only place they were run was on a track.

Will we ever return to the days of hard nosed training and racing? Probably, everything goes in cycles. Maybe 10k's will make a comeback. Runners will look at their times and wonder what they can do to become faster. At that point, the "Then" will be now and the "Now" will be then.

Gene, I think some runners "Now Now" (2020) would disagree with some of your claims about "Now" back then or even "Then" back then, but you're still more than welcome to tell us some stories, regardless of whether they're from "Then" or "Now" or "Now Now". We won't even mind if you've told them before. We're happy to have you as a Central Maine Strider, for both the contributions you made back "Then" and the contributions you continue to make to the club "Now Now."

In 2011, The Interval even had a random Sudoku puzzle published in it. We're sorry that we no longer have one without the solution already written into it.

The November 2011 issue of The Interval featured a front page article by Ron Paquette, which featured a nice piece about crickets that he found in Ultrarunning Magazine.

David Benn used his time to write the front page Interval article in December 2011 to cover the Champions Thanksgiving Day 10k.

Mike Brooks had been mentioned several times in this edition of Running Backwards. For those of you who don't know who he is, Ron Paquette has this great writeup about Mike in the December 2011 newsletter.

And just like that, we've made it to the end of 2011. Thanks for jogging back with us. We hope you enjoyed it!

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Running Backwards to 2011: A Jog Into the Striders Archives

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