STRIDERS NEWS

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Central Maine Striders
November 8, 2017
Big G’s Deli



  • Introductions
    • Present were: Alicia, Stephanie, Karen, Amy, Ron P., Shara, Ron, Donna, Susan
  • Financial Report (Ron Peck)
    • $1,826 in account
  • Communications Report (Alicia MacLeay)
    • Requests for articles, race reports, & member introductions
  • 2018 Membership
    • Renewals: Automatic notices from runsignup; Alicia to email current and former separately
    • Member benefits needed
      • Company discount codes
      • Ask around for area benefits and local discounts
      • Merchandise & Shirt Designs
        • Look into less expensive clothing options - Brendan
        • Beanie option on Atayne - Brendan;
        • Look into a couple shirt designs (overall, January Thaw, Riverlands, etc.) - Chad
  • Annual Meeting
    • Potential Date and Location: January 10, 2018, at Mainely Brews (TBD) - confirm date and room
    • Awards:
      • In past have done: Strider (M/F), Youth (M/F), Most Improved (M/F), Volunteer, Sponsor, Race Director
      • Gene Roy (January Thaw) - Strider of the year
      • Send nominations to Alicia
  • 2018-19 Officers
    • Secretary (Shara Marquis) already voted in
    • Vice President: needed
      • Helps organize events
      • Ron P. suggested Ryan
      • Ron suggested reaching out to Quarry Road attendees, asking to join the club/VP
    • President (Brendan): first term ends in 2017, up for reelection
    • Treasurer (Ron Peck) and Communications (Alicia MacLeay) term out at end of 2018
    • Susan said she will volunteer
  • Riverlands Relay (Karen Gross) - May 12/13
    • Register by end of January perhaps
    • 1 team of Striders so far, looking for more interest to create a 2nd team full Striders team
    • Karen will help coordinate
    • Strider-specific shirts would be nice for unified team
    • Club can provide tent gathering area
  • Upcoming (end of year) Races
    • Turkey Trot - Athens 11/19 @ 2pm $5 - Ron provided details
  • 2018 Events
    • January Thaw - 1/21 @ 11
      • Get the word out to other club sites; great awards
    • Unity College Spring 5K - April
    • End of Quarry Road Series Potluck
    • Set a general calendar of events ahead of time to get people involved in helping (seasonal potlucks, etc)
  • New Business
    • Ron P. would really like to move forward with some new shirt designs. Shara and Ron will mention the design work to Chad.
    • Karen - would like to establish group runs at Riverlands in Turner; open to all & gather interest in the Relay.
  • Next meeting: Wednesday, December 13, 6 p.m. at The End Zone, 38 College Ave., Waterville
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Have fun hanging out with your fellow Striders club members while competing in a 100-mile relay race this spring. Members are currently organizing several Striders teams for the 2018 Riverlands 100 & Relay race in Turner, Maine, on May 12 and 13.


Riverlands 100 is 100-mile relay or solo trail race organized by Trail Monster Running. Each relay team has five runners and each runner completes a 20-mile, out-and-back loop. 


Karen Gross, who ran the inaugural 2017 race with team Kennebec Trail Runners (read their 2017 race report), is helping to organize Striders teams for 2018. 


All abilities are welcome to join a club relay team. The Riverlands course is mostly wide dirt roads and is very easy to run, says Karen. Aid stations are positioned about every five miles along the course. The cutoff time is 32 hours, so even slower runners will have plenty of time to finish.


​The cost is $55 for each relay runner ($275 per team). This includes a race tee and a very cool hooded sweatshirt with a race logo if your team finishes before the cutoff time. For a bigger challenge, solo runners can compete in the full 100 miler ($160 registration fee).


If interested in joining a Striders team at Riverlands or if you have questions, please send an email to run@centralmainestriders.com or reach out to Karen Gross directly. 


For more information on the Riverlands 100 & Relay, put on by Trail Monster Running, visit www.riverlands100.com.


Striders Club Run at Riverlands

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The date for the club run at Riverlands has been postponed due to trail conditions. Once a new date has been selected we'll update the info.

Weather permitting Karen Gross will lead an easy, no-drop, 10-mile club run at Androscoggin Riverlands State Park for Striders members interested in joining a relay team.

The group will follow the Old River Road Trail on an out-and-back run, so runners can adjust the distance up or down to their liking. Meet at the Androscoggin Riverlands State Park entrance off Center Bridge Road, Turner, Maine.  


Directions: Travel Route 117 east from Turner about 2 miles, turning right at a fork just before a four-way intersection. Continue onto Center Bridge Road and proceed another 2 miles to the parking lot on right just before the Turner boat launch.
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Run, walk, waddle, or race and join Central Maine Striders for an invigorating run at the 39th annual 4.5-mile January Thaw Road Race. This year’s race is scheduled for Sunday, January 21, at 11 a.m. at the Belgrade Central School.

The top female and male runners will receive $50 gift certificates each from New Balance. There also will be a post-race raffle for all runners with movie passes to local movie theaters, $20 gift certificates from local businesses like the Korner Store and Deli in Oakland, and gift certificates from local lumberyards. All runners get lightweight cotton gloves.

Refreshments will be served after the race in the Belgrade Central School cafeteria and will include oranges, bananas, hot chili, dark chocolate brownies, and Poland Spring water.

In the case of severe weather, the race will be held on Sunday, January 28, instead.

Registration:
  • Race fee: $10 on the day of the race (please make out checks to Central Maine Striders)
  • Registration will be held at Belgrade Central School (158 Depot Road, Belgrade) starting at 9 a.m. on race day
  • Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/events/693862517488903/
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The club now has a popup tent for races and other events, thanks in part to a donation from member Mark Fisher. While Mark lives in New Hampshire, he annually joins Strider friends on the Central Maine Striders team for the Mount Washington Road Race. He and his wife, Linda, also vacation often in Maine. Thank you for your generosity, Mark!

Get to know more about Mark below.
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I was an athlete in high school (Avondale High in Michigan) and thought in general running was a punishment versus a joy. After graduating my first college roommate was a runner. We started running our freshman year and kept it up through our time at Western Michigan. This is where I ran my first race, The Paper Chase 5K. 

For the past nearly 30 years I have lived in a number of places (Michigan, Illinois, North Caroline, Pennsylvania, and now Chichester, N.H.) and run consistently. I have completed two marathons and about a dozen halves. I've run in the capital area race series for about 10 years and have been an age group winner several times.  

I joined the Striders about a decade ago at the suggestion of Ron Paquette and Dean Rasmussen because I lost any excuses about not running Mt. Washington when I made the mistake of moving there. I am now 12 years in and would not miss it for anything. Ron, Dean, and Donna Jean Pohlman are not just my running heroes but life heroes as well. The joy is in the doing and being, not the time. 

Currently, I work at Sanofi Pharmaceuticals as part of the Organized Customer Group account team. I find the work challenging and rewarding and am energized in how we can help patients with our medicines. 

  • Favorite race: Mount Washington of course.  But it is about the Guinness and pizza at the Shannon Door afterward.  Also love the Canterbury Shaker Village 5K XC
  • Favorite run: Lakefront in Chicago is tough to beat, but vacation running near Moosehead Lake is tops. 
  • Favorite piece of running gear: my silly iPad and podcasts ("99% invisible," "Judge John Hodgman," and "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!")
  • Favorite running advice/mottos: To steal two: "Just one Hill" and " anything worth doing is worth doing poorly". ​
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The new Striders tent at Last Man Standing Ultramarathon at Pineland Farms in September

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A big welcome and thank you to Shara Marquis, who recently was voted in as the new Central Maine Striders secretary. Get to know Shara below.  You can also join club members and officers at a monthly Striders meeting, typically held at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month. Check the club calendar for upcoming meetings.
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I was not born a runner. I wasn't on any sports teams in high school or college. Most would not consider me athletic by any stretch of the definition. About four years ago, I realized I needed to do something to get healthy and maybe lose a bit of weight. So, I ran... I ran 1/10th of a mile before stopping to walk a bit.

I started the Couch to 5K program and on day one it took me almost 20 minutes to go 1.4 miles. It was hard, harder than I thought it would be, but I kept with the program until I could run a full 5K. I ran off and on since I finished, but started to take my running more serious when I had to train for my first half marathon in 2015. It was an amazing and tiring experience! 

From that point, I went on to run a number of 5Ks, a handful of 10Ks, a few half marathons, and a couple relay races. I've cut back a bit this year, but I still get out to run when I'm able. I am definitely not a race leader. I run for the fun of it, the exercise, and just to get away from the hustle and bustle of life for a while. While I don't have a date set yet, I am planning on completing a full marathon at some point. 

Currently, I work at Colby College in the IT department. I've lived in Waterville a little over a year now, and I'm slowly adding new running spots to my collection. I've been a Strider for just about a year and now, as secretary, I am hoping to help increase membership and spread the word about our club as well as lend a hand wherever I can. I love to help motivate people to be the best they can be and support them at their level.

  • Favorite race: Tough choice between Riverlands 100 (my first trail and first relay race), Down East Sunrise Trail Relay (my first overnight run), and Santa Hustle Half (love getting in the Christmas spirit)—all different, but fun, experiences. 
  • Favorite run: I will run pretty much anywhere, and almost always have a bag of running gear in my car.
  • Favorite piece of running gear: Something simple to have, but annoying to be without...a hair elastic
  • Favorite running advice/mottos: "Step, step, step" and "Suck it up, buttercup"
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by Alicia MacLeay
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Knowing something is hard and doing something that is hard are not the same thing.
 
On July 15-16 I ran the Vermont 100, a race I’ve wanted to do for several years. It was hard. It was far. It was painful at times. It was incredible.
 
Established in 1989, the Vermont 100 is among the four oldest 100-mile races in the country and is part of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. The course covers 68 miles of rolling dirt roads, 30 miles of trails, and two miles of pavement. It’s considered a fairly runnable 100, but with more than 15,000 feet of elevation gain it’s not flat.
 
There’s a 30-hour cutoff, although the top runners complete the race in half that. My goal was to finish in less than 30 hours and earn my first 100-miler finisher’s buckle.
 
At 4 a.m. I lined up in a dark Vermont field with more than 350 other headlamp-wearing runners. In addition to managing acute pre-race anxiety, I hadn’t run a single mile in nearly three weeks due to shin pain.
 
What had seemed like a minor shin splint had progressed, despite rest. I was convinced I was out of the race the week before when, on a tearful hike, sharp pains shot up my left leg with every step. Thankfully, I’d been cleared to run Vermont by my sports doctor, albeit with caveats and the risk of a stress fracture. While I didn’t know if my leg would hold up or literally crack, I was going to take this chance.
 
The race started and after a few miles of panic-inducing twinges my shin was forgotten. In the way of ultras and life, things change and you move on.
 
The field spread out as we left the initial trails for dirt roads. I ran. I walked steeper hills and tried to keep things easy. The sun came up.
 
Vermont is the only 100 with a simultaneous horse ride. Horses with cheery riders passed me on the dirt roads. I passed some on a steeper trail. After 21 miles I came to the first of eight handler aid stations and saw my crew, husband Dave and coach/friend Brendan Gilpatrick.
 
Aid stations require a mental shift. You’ve been running along alone, passing or being passed by the occasional runner, and suddenly you enter a hubbub of activity—food, drink, ice, crews, runners, medical checks—and you need to focus, attend to your needs, and move along.
 
I was extremely grateful to have Dave and Brendan as my crew. When you’re tired and sore, it helps to have people who you trust and who understand you. They systematically made sure I stayed on top of my food and hydration plan. They outfitted me with a full pack and new socks, clothes, and gear as needed. They kept me focused on what was coming up. They did all this and said nice things while kicking me out of each aid station.
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I spent much of the first 70 miles running by myself, in my own head, occasionally greeting another runner, volunteer, or spectator. I was often alone, but never lonely. I lost track of time except for the mile I was in and to know whether it was day or night.
 
I climbed hills up dirt roads and trails and over fields. I heard the song fragment “Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb…” in my head on every hill. There are a lot of hills in Vermont.
 
The descents became increasingly painfully as my quads tightened and my knees began to ache.
 
I occasionally noted milestone distances, like farthest run ever, but avoided calculating how far I had to go (ultra math is faulty math). The race distilled down to running and moving forward mile to mile, aid station to aid station, crew to crew, and letting those miles add up. ​

At one point some guy yelled, “you run like a girl” at me. I called back “thanks!”
 
When people ask what I like about ultras I say it’s the mental challenge on top of the physical, needing to be flexible and figure out unknown and unexpected challenges as they come. And then unknowns happen, like my quads not being able to run downhill, and, of course, the unknown isn’t what you thought it would be and doesn't come how you expect.
 
I’d signed up for Vermont because it was hard, because I wanted to do something beyond my comfort zone, and knowing there were no guarantees. That was the appeal. And yet there came a moment in this race, running alone on a dirt road, when I realized that I could do everything possible and still fail. I’d thought I already knew that.
 
One in four of us who started in that dark field would not finish, despite how much we wanted it or how hard we worked. I’d already seen a few of them, a man hunched over on the side of the road, another vomiting in a field atop a scenic hill. They were OK; I checked. But, I was determined not to become one of them.
 
So I ran when I could for as long as I could. I walked and power hiked hills. I forced my quads to stretch and my knees to bear each impact downhill. I would do what I could at the time and hope it all added up to 100 miles in less than 30 hours.
 
I reminded myself that “The best way out is always through,” according to the wise Robert Frost, once poet laureate of Vermont. And I kept going.
 
I thought about Dave and Brendan waiting for me at the next handler station. And I kept going.
 
I thought a lot about that buckle waiting at the end. And I kept going.
 
Eventually it was night, and I ran the first hours by myself following glow sticks in the dark. I heard gunshots. I heard an owl. I met a nice man from Baltimore and we ran together for a while before I moved ahead.
 
At the mile 69-aid station, I looked up and saw millions of stars in the sky and then the little light of the International Space Station tracking across its own black path.
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I set off from that stop with Brendan, who would pace me for the final 30-plus miles. I could not have asked for a better pacer and companion. He patiently stuck with me, reminding me to eat or drink, being positive even as I slowed and grimaced in knee and quad pain with every downhill step. He patiently answered the thousand times I asked, “are we okay?” about cutoff time.
 
We saw an amazing red moonrise. We talked some. We were quiet a lot. Morning mist settled in the woods. The sun came up and the mist burned off. It was another day. And we were still going forward.

​At mile 95 I saw Dave for the last time. I ate a bite of a waffle, put on my Striders shirt, and Brendan and I took off…at a shuffle. “Just” five more miles.
 
I thought of my 9-year-old daughter, waiting for me at the finish with handmade signs that said, “you can do it.” I didn’t want to let her down. I wanted to be able to tell my 13-year-old son back at home that I’d finished. I wanted to offer them some small glimpse of what I was experiencing.
 
After winding around in the woods for the longest mile ever, I finally came around a bend and saw my daughter sitting on the side of the trail. Above her was the finish banner and then I was on the other side being greeted by race director Amy Rusiecki. After thinking I wouldn’t make it to the start, it was now over. I’d come through. I nearly cried.
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I spent some time lying in the field before being able to stand up without passing out. My left ankle was so swollen Dave had to cut off my calf sleeve. But an hour later, with my daughter acting as a crutch, I managed to stand up and get my buckle at the awards ceremony.
 
My time of 29:11:52 was slower than I expected, but I was beyond happy to have done it and have earned that buckle. I was touched and grateful for the volunteers, other runners, and especially Dave and Brendan who’d helped make it happen. Having people devote their time to help you reach your goal is an amazing gift.
 
Now, two months out the race is a bit blurry. I only recently looked at my Garmin data to see what actually happened out there. It says I went a mile. And then I went another mile, 100 times, which feels about right.
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The Vermont 100 Endurance Race is a major fundraiser for Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, which provides outdoor recreation opportunities for people with disabilities. This year’s race had its first ever Athletes With Disabilities (AWD) division for visually- and mobility-impaired runners, making Vermont the first trail ultra with such a division. It was impressive!
Pictures above by Brendan Gilpatrick or Dave MacLeay , unless otherwise noted.
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Congratulations to Chris Cote and Vanessa Holman, the overall winners of the 2017 Quarry Road Summer Race Series!

Overall and female and male age group winners were determined by the total of each runner's best 3K, 5K, and 8K race times over the summer trail race series. Thanks to everyone who came out to run!
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  • Overall: Chris Cote and Vanessa Holman
 
  • 14 and under: Olivia Tiner and Noah Koch
  • 15-19: Natalia Fuentes and Billy Chambers
  • 20-29: Liz Atwood and Forrest Labbe
  • 30-39: Amelia Conlon and Ian Doyle
  • 40-49: Tracey Cote and Ron Peck
  • 50-59: Julie Millard and Jeff Tiner
  • 60+: David Benn
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Thanks also to series sponsors New Balance (Lead Sponsor), Inland Hospital (Fun Run Sponsor), and Trailspace (Start & Finish Line Sponsor), and to weekly sponsors The End Zone, Selah Tea Cafe, Downtown Smoothie, and Big G's Deli.

Full 2017 Quarry Road Series Results

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On Tuesday, August 22, join us for group runs at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville, followed by casual potluck socializing.

August 22nd is the final makeup date for the Quarry Road Summer Race Series. If no makeup races are needed, join us at 6 p.m. for informal group runs on the trails, including the new singletrack.

​Meet other club members and local runners. Bring some potluck (main or side dish, apps, or dessert) to share afterwards. All abilities and speeds are welcome!

​If there is a Quarry Road race that night, come run it, celebrate the overall and age group series winners, and share some potluck afterward.

Striders Group Runs and Potluck
Tuesday, August 22, 6 p.m.
Quarry Road Trails, 300 Quarry Road, Waterville

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by Julie Millard
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The 2017 Central Maine Striders DEST Relay team in Eastport (left to right): Bruce Maxwell, Jess Beers, Julie Millard, Pat Cote, Tracey Cote, Ron Peck, Shara Marquis, and Chad Tracy.


Back in May, Crow Athletics founder Gary Allen (caw!) invited the Central Maine Striders to field a team for the Down East Sunrise (DEST) Relay via our Facebook page. Being a relay aficionado from way back, I quickly followed up in the comments to gauge interest. Within 48 hours, seven other Striders had joined me in registering for our club’s first overnight relay team. Prior experience ranged from relative novice to virtual professional, with everything in between!

Our start time on Friday, July 21, was calculated based on our self-reported half marathon pace times, so that all teams would finish at about noon on Saturday, July 22. My quick estimate was that we would average about 8 minutes per mile, allowing us to complete the 102-mile course in about 13 and a half hours. The Crow folks clearly have similar math skills, and our official start time was 10:30 p.m.

Waves of teams departed from an Ellsworth parking lot adjoining the trail at half-hour intervals, and before we knew it, our lead-off runner Ron Peck was on the line with runners from Sleepless in Eastport and Whackos in WaCo. The darkness was punctuated only by headlamps, Tiki torches, and a string of holiday lights across the start banner. Then the bullhorn sounded, and they were off.
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The 10:30 p.m. start of the DEST Relay with Ron Peck (right) representing the Striders at the Ellsworth start.

Our team had eight runners, and all ran two legs in different orders:
  • Ron Peck: legs 1 and 12 (19.6 miles total)
  • Bruce Maxwell: legs 2 and 16 (14.3 miles total)
  • Pat Cote: legs 3 and 15 (15.3 miles total)
  • Shara Marquis: legs 4 and 10 (8.9 miles total)
  • Tracey Cote: legs 5 and 11 (13.1 miles total)
  • Jess Beers: legs 6 and 13 (12.8 miles total)
  • Chad Tracy: legs 7 and 14 (7.4 miles total)
  • Julie Millard: legs 8 and 9 (11.3 miles total)


​Paranoid about leaving a runner behind, we had a carefully planned out spreadsheet with estimated run times and van assignments for dropping off and picking up each runner. Van #1 shepherded the first three runners to their starts, while Van #2 hopscotched ahead to the start of leg #4. While runner #3 ran only 7.6 miles, the driving distance was 21.5 miles! On twisty back roads with no street lights! And intermittent cell phone reception!

But Van #2 overcame these obstacles and found the blinking red light beacon that marked the start of leg #4. Its occupants catnapped for about 30 minutes until our alarm went off, and then we waited at the exchange point for our incoming runner. An unforeseen problem was figuring out which runner was ours.

Pro Tip #1: Make your runner easy to identify in the dark by using colored blinking lights or a waist light in addition to a headlamp. Alternatively, bring a support person on a fat bike so that they can ride down the trail, intercept the incoming runner, and then ride back to the exchange point with an update. And don’t forget the bug spray!

The best leg of them all had to be leg #8 (just a coincidence that the person who assigned the order got this one!). It's described as follows in the Race Handbook: “The trail becomes semi-remote again in the four mile stretch from Columbia Falls to Jonesboro Station.”

The “semi” is an overstatement, as my only companions, with the exception of the two runners who blew by me, were the songbirds and frogs as the mist rose over the bog. But I enjoyed running east as the horizon slowly turned orange and brightened to the point where the headlamp wasn’t necessary to see the big rocks underfoot. 

Pro Tip #2: Minimalist shoes are not a good idea. The trail is more like a dirt road, with some sizable stones. A former rail trail, it is also extremely flat, leading to calf cramps in some of our runners. Compression socks helped!

Team members encountered a variety of wildlife along the trail, including porcupines, skunks, deer, and a bear (heard about, not seen, fortunately!). The larger problem was probably intestinal issues that plagued several runners, which may have been compounded by the scarcity of toilet facilities. Either we didn’t get the nutrition quite right, or the body does not take kindly to running hard when it thinks it should be sleeping.

When our anchor runner Bruce Maxwell cruised across the finish line in Eastport, we had beaten our projected time by more than four minutes! We ended up sixth out of 26th teams overall (first equal-gender team), with a 7:51 average pace.

​Next year we would love to have more than one Strider team representing the oldest active running club in Maine, so put this one on your bucket list!
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Striders team at the finish line in Eastport: Jess Beers, Ron Peck, Bruce Maxwell, Tracey Cote, Pat Cote, Julie Millard, Chad Tracy, and Shara Marquis.