John Finishes His First Half!

Congrats to John Batchelor on finishing his first half marathon. John joined the RMEC a few months ago inspired to train for a full marathon. He decided to use the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon is a training race.

Unlike last year, the weather was anything but perfect. It was a hot and humid day. The warmer temps did not appear to impact John, as he ran a 1:43:31 and finished 75th in his division. For an event with well over 10,000 runners, this is one heck of a race debut.

One more thing. . . John did this race without a taper at all. He ran a 20 miler last weekend, and another six miler just two days before the race. Great job John! Good things are ahead in Chicago.

Sad News

An FYI for the triathletes in the group. I have not found all the details as to what caused her crash, but it sounds like it was in a corner while going downhill.

Please be careful out there and watch for (and call out) rocks and gravel at intersections. Please remember to always ride in pairs at a minimum, and the bigger the group the more visible you will be. Hopefully at least one member of the group will have a cell phone and it would be courteous to your riding partners to carry identification with contact numbers etc on it (even a small piece of paper in a zip lock). Be safe. - Eric

RUN RSVP: Saturday 08/30

Looks like the nice weather we had the last two weekends has left us. The humidity is back, and tomorrow looks like more of the same. Get your run in early, and then watch college football all day! This weekends schedule calls for runs of 4, 12, and 18 miles. Several of us ran this morning already, and I don't think anyone has an 18 miler for tomorrow, so I have just listed two routes below. I did put a five mile route that can be adjusted down if needed.

Run Details:

• Where: Saturday, 6:00 am @ Harris Teeter
• Supported: TBD
• Weather: Forecast (70F at start)
• Routes: 5 miles; 12 miles

The Half Marathon plan calls for a 4-miler this week. I picked a 5-mile route, because I know some of you are ahead of the plan, and the route I selected can easily be cut back to four by leaving out the last loop. Don't do more than your body is telling you to do.

I am not able to put out any fluids. If someone can, please post a comment here, and give me or Scott your receipt. As always. . . ANYONE is welcome to join us! Tell a friend. . . RSVP online with your pace and distance.

Quote for the Day:
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T S Eliot

RMEC Your Help Is Needed Again!

Thanks to everyone who gave Ford's Colony a push last week to help fill in the remaining spots. There are only two 5k spots left, and less than 20 10k spots. We now need your help again for the Medoc Trail Races!

The final price increase for Medoc occurs this coming Monday (09/01). So if you don't sign up over the weekend, you will pay the extra 10 bucks. We want to try to get a late push to fill in some of the remaining race spots.

We are on pace right now for 220-240 total runners, so it is not a concern of having enough people. The more runners that sign up early, the easier our planning is. We need to order shirts, finishers medals, food, gels, water bottles, timing chips, etc. All of this take lead time, so knowing our runners early helps.

I realize finding people to run a 5k is easier than finding people for a trail race, but please do your part and help us find runners. If you read the comments under the Medoc Meltdown post below, you will see nothing but praise. Several first time trail runners had a great time and did very well. Don't let the "trail aspect" of the race keep you away.

Lastly, if you can't find us a runner. . . find us a volunteer. This is key to the success of the race. No experience is necessary. If you can smile, point, clap, cheer, hand out cups, give out food, etc, then you have the skills we are looking for!

Don't let us down RMEC. . . If you are reading this post (even if you are not a RMEC member), do your part to help make this event a great success!

Medoc Meltdown Results

Hats off to Frank and Cameron for puling off a great event at the Medoc Meltdown. There has been lots of positive comments in the previous Meltdown post a few down. Sounds like it went very well, and that we may have found some new trail runners in the RMEC!

One, two, three or four loops. . .congrats to everyone who finished!

OBX Marathon and Half Marathon

From speaking to many of you, and based on our "Fall Races" poll a few months ago, it appears there is a large number of RMEC members running the OBX Marathon or Half Marathon. This could turn out to be another trip similar to the one people made for the Myrtle Beach races with 10+ runners making the trip. Let everyone know if you are planning to run, by posting a comment here.

12 so far:
Posted. . .Jeff H, Scott, Ursula, Steve, Tampa, Frank, Derek, Ryan, Arthur, Levi, Tracy H, Eric P
Heard on the run. . . Michael (new guy), Others . . .

RUN RSVP: Saturday 08/23

I know many of you are running at Medoc, so we may have a small group on Saturday. Once again we have three different distances planned. As always, all routes can be adjusted. Please be sure to review the directions before the run and print them if needed. To see the turn sheets, look below the map. If they are not there, click on "Notes". The newer maps have it under notes. The 20 miler does not have directions for some reason, but I feel confident those doing 20 know where they are going.

Run Details:

• Where: Saturday, 6:00 am @ Harris Teeter
• Supported: Yes
• Weather: Forecast (65F at start)
• Routes: 5 miles; 14 miles; 20 miles

The Half Marathon plan calls for a 4-miler this week. I picked a 5-mile route, because I know some of you are ahead of the plan, and the route I selected can easily be cut back to four by leaving out the last loop. Don't do more than your body is telling you to do.

The weather is going to be fantastic! Mid 60's to start in unbeatable is August, so take advantage of the cooler temps and have a great run! Fluids will be at the tracks, at my house, and at Co-Ah-Bar (can someone put fluids there again). ANYONE is welcome to join us! Tell a friend. . . RSVP online with your pace and distance. . . See you tomorrow!

Quote for the Day: "It’s Better to Try and Fail Than to Have Never Tried At All"

Cotton Century Ride

Some of you have gone to Greenville in the last couple of years to participate in the Cotton Country Century ride. The event is coming back again on September 21st. This year they are going to depart from downtown Greenville and use a new route that will go north of town.

As in the past, they are offering metric century and full century routes, along with a shorter 30 mile route for beginners. You can get more information online at their race site. Here you will find maps, registration forms, and more. You can also register on their club web site (www.ecvelo.org).

Friends and Family Coupons

Foot Locker, Champs, & Footaction are all having their Friends & Family Sales with an additional 30% off in store starting today, August 21 through August 24. Click on the store names to open a link the printable coupons. These will only work in the stores (no online codes). Enjoy!

Medoc Meltdown 50k

Don't forget about the Medoc Meltdown 50k this Saturday. Over 30 runners are expected to be at the park for the run. Most are doing one or two park loops, and a few others are going for the full 50k! As a reminder, this is a non-supported run, so bring your own fluids. You will however be motivated by lots of other friendly runners.

This is a great chance to get a training run on the trails before the Medoc Trail Races on October 4th. It is a stress free event. Take whichever pace you desire, and run as much or as little as you want.

If you plan to participate, contact Frank or Cameron through their site. This way they know who is coming. To let the RMEC know, you can post here as well. There is probably a great chance to set up some carpooling.

EVERYONE is welcome to join. Slow or fast. . . experienced or not. . . come out and run!

Brian Sell: Olympic Marathoner. . . Home Depot Employee

Okay, this might only be funny to a few weird people like me, but I know Scott thinks it is funny too (he found the clip). Most of you know that Brian Sell is representing the USA in the Olympic Marathon. You may not know that he is also a pretty regular guy when he is not running 2:10 marathons. He is actually a Home Depot employee. Below is a video clip of Brian that shows an average day on the job.


Brian Sell Bio: Brian Sell, whose recent third place triumph in the 2008 Olympic Trials in New York landed him a spot on the USA mens’ Olympic team, is known as the “man who knows how to run that last 10K of a marathon.” Backed by a powerful network of family, friends and former coaches, Sell will pack his bags, shoes and growing reputation to hit the track at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and represent Hansons-Brooks Distance Project and the United States.

Sell has racked up quite a collection of records and achievements, including: placing 25th at IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2003; membership to USATF World Championship marathon team in 2005; first place in the U.S. Half Marathon in 2006; Chicago Distance Classic Champion in 2006 (1:04:25); first place in the USATF 25K Championships; and third in the 2008 Olympic Trials (2:11:40). His personal best marathon was run in 2:10:47 in October of 2006.

Needless to say, Sell says he’s looking forward to the “hot, flat course in Beijing.”

Calling All RMEC Members!

Even with the addition of 50 runner spots, we still fully expect the Ford's Colony races to sell out. As organizers of the events it is far easier if the races sell out in advance of race day. This way we do not have to worry about race day registrations, running out of the right shirt size, and worse of all turning away runners on race day once the cap is reached.

I have a challenge for every member of the RMEC, and I hope you will all take it seriously: FIND AT LEAST ONE PERSON TO SIGN UP AS A RUNNER OR VOLUNTEER BY WEDNESDAY OF THIS WEEK.

We have 40 RMEC members. If each of you can just find one runner, we will sell out by the weekend. Seriously, that is all it will take. Tell them to put your name in the "How did you hear about this event" question. I would love for you to find more people for the 10k, but I will just be happy if you all accept this challenge as find us some new runners regardless of race.

We are supposed to be promoted in an email that will be sent from the Chamber of Commerce this week, and also on an email sent through Finish Strong. Those two emails will also give us a spike in registrations as well.

UPDATE:

• Scott - has 2
• Eric S - has 1
• Michael - has 2
• Tracy P - has 1
• Misty - has 2
• Eric P - has 1
• Elaine - has 1
• Tim - has 6
• Rob - has 1
• Steve - has 1
• Brent - has 3
• Patti - has 1
• Dave - has one pending
• Amber - has 2 prospects pending. . .

TELL PEOPLE TO REGISTER ONLINE IF POSSIBLE SO WE DONT HAVE APPLICATIONS IN THE MAIL WHEN WE SELL OUT.

RUN RSVP: Saturday 08/16

Last week we had a big crowd with several new faces. We hope to see you all again. Once again we have three different distances planned. As always, all routes can be adjusted. Please be sure to review the directions before the run and print them if needed. To see the turn sheets, look below the map. If they are not there, click on "Notes". The newer maps have it under notes.

Run Details:

• Where: Saturday, 6:00 am @ Harris Teeter
• Supported: Yes
• Weather: Forecast (65F at start)
• Routes: 3.7 miles; 12 miles; 14 miles

The three mile route that was planned got a little longer. I was trying to put you on some different roads, and this was as short as I could get it. If there are some new people coming out that only planned on three, you can walk the last .7 as a cool down. I think many of you are already going longer.

The weather is going to be great, but drinking is still important. Fluids will be at the tracks, at my house, and at Co-Ah-Bar (can someone put fluids there again).

Please encourage others to come out and run. If you are not a regular runner, this is a BIG day. The "half marathon train" is starting to warm up. If people want to get on board for the half marathon, they need to get on in the next few weeks. Tell a friend. . . RSVP online with your pace and distance. . . See you tomorrow!

Distance Runners Performance Clinic

I stumbled on to something today that sounds pretty interesting and could be very beneficial to all of the RMEC. Both experienced and new runners could learn something from this.


This Saturday in Raleigh there is a Distance Runners Performance Clinic at the Athletic Performance Center. This is no charge for the event. The goal of the event is to learn how to enhance your running performance. They will cover:

• Running efficiency
• Injury prevention & strength training
• Recovery and regeneration
• Video gait analysis, and more.

The event starts at 10:00, so there is enough time to do your morning run with us at the Harris Teeter, and get to Raleigh in time for the event. Check-in is from 9:30-9:45. This honestly sounds pretty cool. Not sure if you guys are willing to give up three hours of your Saturday, but I hope you will consider this.

Inspirational

The link below is an inspirational story that Eric has shared from ESPN. Regardless of being a runner, swimmer, or cyclist you will enjoy this story. Thanks for sharing Eric. Link to Story

Ford's Colony Is About to Sell Out!

Update: Yesterday was a big day for Ford's Colony race entries. There are now only 15 spots open in the 5k and 23 spots open in the 10k. These will most likely be gone in the next several days. If you have any friends planning to sign up, they better do it now. Assuming we don't fill up this week, the prices go up five dollars on Friday.

Race Cap: There is a chance we may add more entries for each race, but this is not a guarantee. We need to discuss this with Ford's Colony, because the parking is limited. We also need to discuss with Finish Strong, to ensure there are adequate chips for the race. Finally, we need to obtain additional race numbers, and adjust our shirt order. In other words, if you want to guarantee your spot, sign up now.

Wait List: When we fill up, we will create a waiting list until we have confirmed the actually number of runners we can handle. More details will follow on this.

Age Groups: The 5k is short on men under 30, and women over 50. Sign up a friend, and have a great chance at an age group award.

Volunteers: I want to make another push for volunteers. I really want to see our runners run, but I also would love to see your family and friends on the course passing out water, helping with race day registration, and helping to clear the course after the race. Please encourage people to volunteer.

Medoc: Don't forget that Ford's Colony runners get 10% off their Medoc registration. Visit the From a 10k to 10-miler section for more information.

5k/10k in Fayetteville

I just out about a 5k/10 race in Fayetteville that may interest some of you. It is the 2nd Annual Red Cross Run for the Red. In it's first year it drew 500 runners, and should be even larger this year, as the 10k is 2008 RRCA State Championship. The race occurs this Saturday.

If anyone is planning to run, post here. We could probably arrange a carpool to save on gas. I would love to get out some information on the Ford's Colony races to the runners, so if you are going I can give you some brochures.

RUN RSVP: Saturday 08/09

There is a break in the weather this weekend. It is supposed to be 63 degrees at 6:00 am! Take advantage of the cooler temps and get out for an early morning run.

We have three different distances planned. As always, all routes can be adjusted. Please be sure to review the directions before the run and print them if needed. To see the turn sheets, look below the map. If they are not there, click on "Notes". The newer maps have it under notes.

Run Details:

• Where: Saturday, 6:00 am @ Harris Teeter
• Supported: Yes
• Weather: Forecast (63F at start)
• Routes: 3 miles; 8 miles; 18 miles

Please try to encourage friends to come out for the run tomorrow, and the next few weeks. We have a 3-mile route planned to help people start getting ready for the First Carolina State Bank Half Marathon. This is the time to get started if you plan to run the race. I would love to get new people out to give endurance running a try.

Fluids will be at the tracks for the run. The 3-mile route does not have a fluid stop, but you should be fine tomorrow. If you think you will need fluids, bring them with you. For those doing 18, I will also have fluids at my house. If someone can put drinks at Co-Ah-Bar, let me know. We probably only need a few bottles there.

Tell a friend. . . RSVP online with your pace and distance. . . See you tomorrow!

Beginner Half Marathon Program Begins!

If you have thoughts of running the First Carolina State Bank Half Marathon this fall, your training begins now! I originally had plans of partnering with the race to make an official training team, and have several coaches, but I have not been able to work through details with Butch. That being said, we will still have a training program for those wanting to train.

The Program: We will follow the novice plan developed by Hal Higdon for a half marathon. Hal has some of the most popular and successful training plans you will find. Hal's plan is a 12 week program, ours is 14 weeks. We have added two extra weeks on the front end to allow for a little more base miles. We will also tweak ours slightly so people can race the Ford's Colony 10k. The Half Marathon is on 11/22/08.

The Base: People wishing to do this program should be able to finish a 3 mile run with limited walking. Runners who use the Galloway (run/walk) approach are also welcome to join us. Regardless of how you get your miles in. . . 3 miles should be "doable" for you. If you are not sure if you can do it, come join us this weekend and see how you do. We are a no pressure running group, and want to encourage everyone to try. Speed does not matter.

Who's Invited: Anyone who is willing to try! Old or young; big or small; experienced or a newbie. . . If you are willing to give it your best effort than come join us. Every RMEC member will confirm that training with a team of people is more motivating and a key to your success.

What's Included: The RMEC is a running group with several organized runs during the week. Some runs have a few people, sometimes we get 20 runners. You will be invited and encouraged to join as many of these runs as you want. If a run will be "supported" (fluids, energy gels, etc.) we will let you know. Ultimately we are giving you a plan, and a team of people to help motivate you.

What else could be included:

• Clinics - Most of our group (but not all) have several races under our belts. If the half marathon training brings out several new runners, we will try to coordinate some clinics about running, racing and training. In the past we did clinics on Shoes and Gear, Stretching, Core Strengthening, and Mental Preparation. These were great events, and we can do them again if we believe they will be well attended.
• Shirts - If there is interest we can order some "Training to Run 13.1" shirts.
• Training Races - We can either find some local races or create our own mini-races just for club members

What do I need to do: Bring a positive attitude and willingness to work hard at group runs and on your own. Come out and see what the RMEC is all about. If you like it, we would love to have you join the club. Club members gets discounts at Raleigh Running Outfitters, and on some local races too. Weekend runs will be supported, so you can save money on Gatorade too.

Again, everyone is welcome! If you think you might give it a try, send an email to us so we will know you are coming. Any details about your running background would be helpful.

Club Members: Now is your chance to bring out friends to run. The more runners that decide to train for the first half marathon, their more successful this will be. Everyone likes to train with a friend. Finding similar paced people with similar experience will help to build the confidence of everyone involved. So encourage people to join us over the next month and start training!

RMEC Mentioned in Images Magazine

Several months ago the Chamber requested the RMEC show up for a photo shoot. They were trying to get a picture of professionals enjoying Rocky Mount. I had forgotten all about it, but it appears they have used the picture now. You can see a small picture of Gerry, Ursula, Kevin's ear, Michael, Doug's head, and Carol. We will be signing autographs next Saturday at our "monitor signing" party.

Goldsboro Tri Results

The RMEC did extremely well at the Goldsboro Tri this weekend, bringing home several age group awards, and lots of impressive times.

Tim was doing his best to chase down Dave, and almost caught him on the run. Likewise, a strong swim by Carol made Andy have to work hard to catch her shortly before the finish.

Dave, Mikah, Andy, and Carol all place in their respective age groups. Both Dave and Tim finished in the top 20 overall. Great job everyone!

Good Luck Triathletes

Several RMEC members are heading to Goldsboro this weekend to compete in the Goldsboro Family YMCA Sprint Triathlon. Andy Barker, Carol Dickens, Dave Lavely, Brent Brondyke, and Mikah Brondyke will take on the race. The event begins with a half mile swim, followed by a 20 mile bike, and finishes with a 5k run. Good luck everyone. Bring back some hardware! Please share your results when you return.

RUN RSVP: Saturday 08/02

The Group run is scheduled for 6:00 am at the Harris Teeter. According to the summer long-run schedule, we are supposed to have an 11 and a 16 mile run this weekend. I know that Derek, Ryan, Tracy, Scott and myself all did our long runs already because of other commitments. For this reason I am not going to list a 16 mile run, because I don't see anyone running it. Instead I have a seven and an 11 mile route.

Run Details:

• Where: Saturday, 6:00 am @ Harris Teeter
• Supported: Yes (TBD)
• Weather: Forecast
• Route: 7 mile; 11 mile

The 11 mile route has two "repeat-loops". One is on Steeple Chase, and the other is at Iron Horse. If you want to do less than 11, do not do those loops. The seven mile route only has the "repeat-loop" at Steeple Chase. I am having trouble seeing the lines of the route on my PC, so let me know if others are having the same problem.

I need someone to take fluids out if possible to the train tracks. The second water stop on the 11 mile route is a water fountain at Stone Park. Please RSVP with your pace if you are coming. If you are bringing fluids post that as well. Save your receipt for what you buy. If in doubt. . . bring your own fluids. It is too hot to run without them right now.