6/30/10 Board Meeting Minutes

Posted by: littlerockroadrunners

LRRC Board Meeting-6/30/10

1. Review of Changes-
Brian got everyone’s opinion on how the Board felt the election process went with regard to voting. Everyone agreed that it went well and the electronic votes were received.
2. Treasures Report-
Reviewed the Treasure’s report for the year from Steve Hollowell, Treasurer. The report looks good.
3. Membership Drive/Discounts-
Members receive discounts at Go Running, Sporty Runner and Easy Runner. Listing this as well as other member discounts on the website was discussed. Brian mentioned that members make up their membership dues with the discounts they receive on shoes. Offering a discount to LRRC members for their CCC 10k registration was discussed. LRRC members will receive a $3 discount on race registration.
4. July 5k’s-Firecracker/Twilight/Dam Night Run-
The Firecracker is this weekend and the club has volunteers at the finish line and registration. For the Twilight 5k, the Board discussed the type of food and what we can offer. Brian said he will contact other members about bringing the grill and cooking the food. The club will offer hot dogs and needs volunteers there. For the Dam Night Run/Tailgate Party, a member is providing a boat and we will have a canopy, tables and possibly a generator.
5. Race for the Cure 5k-
The commitment from Race for the Cure is $1500. The club will be working the finish line. Bill said we will need at least 30 volunteers and 1200 runners will have a chip this year. Part of the Club’s job will be making sure the first 300 finishers get a medal. The Race for the Cure is October 15th.
6. LRRC Track Meet- Brian mentioned that he would like to organize an actual
track meet either open to the public or for LRRC members only. Having some other clubs involved was mentioned as well as the track meet being open to non-members. It could be done at no charge and will have various distances.
7. Board information on website-e-mails
Brian confirmed with the Board members that he could add their e-mail addresses on the Club website.
8. Two Rivers Park Bridge-Opening Ceremony-Buddy Villines-July Meeting
Brian said he attended a meeting on the new Two Rivers Park Bridge and it is currently ahead of schedule. It could open as early as February 2011 but could be June. At that meeting they discussed with Buddy Villines ideas for an opening ceremony. A relay race from down town and a fun run were discussed at the Board Meeting. Buddy Villines will speak at the July meeting about the Two Rivers Park Bridge on July 15th at Whole Hog.
9. Miscellaneous
Steven mentioned the club having a calendar where any club member can access it and add a run they are doing to it as well as view where other runners are planning to run. Brian discussed starting back up a Thursday night run at 7 p.m. The club agreed and this was mentioned in the newsletter. Ginea mentioned that we need to get more lights on the River Trail.

Summer Season Started at the Brickfest 5K

Posted by: Brian S-ski

It’s definitely summer in Arkansas.  That means heat, humidity and 5Ks.  First on the docket for 2010 was the Brickfest 5K.   There was a new course this year for the race, otherwise things felt as sticky as ever.  The route started in a large parking lot, turned onto a side road, turned again to plunge down a short, steep hill then flowed along next to the Ouachita River until reaching a cone at the 2.5 K point.  The course turned at the cone and traversed the same route back to the finish line in the parking lot. 

The new route did the job, but I preferred the old race course to the new one.  There was more traffic and more congestion on the course this year.  The race organizers were forced to change though, since the entire Brickfest Festival moved out of downtown. 

The good news is that our men’s team took top points!  Gary Taylor, Scott Anderson, me, Imari Dellimore, Kevin Golden, Steven Preston, Joel Perez, Carl Carter, Jeff Maher, Dan Belanger and Carl Northcutt combined to easily take down the 2nd Place Conway Running Club.  That also moved us into sole possession of 1st place on the 2010 Leaderboard.  But don’t get too big in the head, there are still 9 Grand Prix races left this year.

The women’s team finished fifth place at Brickfest.  Leah Thorvilson, our female team captain and resident assassin was in Seattle but will be back in action for the next race.  Oh, and we got a new female recruit named Tracy Johanning.  The future looks good for the women’s team.  The LRRC ladies at the Brick were Tina Coutu, Becky Humes, Ashley Philbrick and Alesa Davis. 

Next up is the Dam Night Run 5K on July 31st.   Come for the race, stay for the LRRC tailgate party!

President Coutu Bids You Adieu

Posted by: Preztc

May has been a month of merriment! Actually the hard work had to be put in before the revelry around the Maypole. Just ask Leah Thorvilson and all our members who participated in the Fargo Marathon Saturday May 15 ^{about the pain and glory. Leah has tried and worked hard the past couple of years to qualify for the Olympic Trials and she succeeded at Fargo. Anyone who knows Leah can attest that she cares about everyone else’s goals and accomplishments as well as her own and is so much fun to be around, but this quote from www. Arkansas360sports.com 05/25/2010 states just how serious this woman is:}

We all are so proud of her and appreciate her contribution to our club and team. I am proud of all our members and their accomplishments. There are many members who have had notable things in their lives this month. Paul Ward is mentioning some and so is Jenny Weatter, but let me make mention of long time member and contributor to the running community and this club, as well as an amazing athlete. David Williams was honored by the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association as a co-recipient of the Henry Woods Lifetime Achievement Award. (The Little Rock Roadrunners club receives valuable gratis advice from Mr. Williams) David put a lot of work in the beginning of my term writing the By Laws we now have in place. Thank you, David.

Members who attended our May meeting benefitted from knowledgeable and gratis advice from Mike DuPriest. Mike gave an interesting and fact-filled talk with some opinion thrown in (although he tried to refrain from offering opinion) on shin splints. Mike speaks through his medical background as a chiropractor here in town as well as an athlete; he runs 100 milers, bikes or runs to work daily. Thank you, Mike.

May began as predicted with the hot, wet, humid conditions to make everyone’s efforts at Toad Suck and Rexfest more challenging. Toad Suck was a little drier this year as thankfully we did not receive the deluge of rain as predicted. The following weekend Go! Running sponsored the MacArthur Park 5K, a Friday evening fundraiser for the downtown military museum. This was so much fun because when we were through slogging through the steamy and breezy downtown streets we were rewarded with pizza, beer, live music, and a medal awarding ceremony by 42 NCAA championships coach John McDonnell. As well as “rubbing elbows” with a bunch great people-Bill Hoffman, Steve Preston, Michael Harmon, Steve Yanoviak and Eileen Turan, Rob Wistrand, Chuck Spohn, Bill/ Carole Torrey, new member and winner of the female division Tracey Johanning, the S-skis’ entourage, Erin/Gary Taylor (sponsors), Ashley and Jon Honeywell, and many more - if I did not mention you, I’m sorry but I was glad to see you all there enjoying the lawn party!

Running and family joys continued with the Dino Dash held Saturday, May 22. Adult and child athletes abounded in the Rivermarket along with happy vendors and cheerleaders. Member Patrick Mathieu, aka Skippy Peanut Butter Potentate, created more happiness in the crowd by giving away jars of the good stuff. It was a pleasure to witness the excitement of the children and family runners like the Spohns, Barrons, Olneys, Taylors (Go Running), Wistrands, Hildebrands, and Dellimores (The Dino Dash featured family) come across the finish as part of a fabulous finish line crew-Polly and John Russell, Paul Ward, B. Torrey, Harold Hays, Craig Lair, Bryan Jones, Eileen Turan forgive me, I know I left many out. Second time Race Director Jeff Maher did a nice job handling the record registrants. As a part of the finish line team I got to stand in the onset of finishers and tell the “men” where to go. This job in the past was Karen Call’s and those are tough running shoes to fill! Again I had to leave the visiting of many fine folks and enjoying cheering of the tots to go sell those running shoes at Gary Smith’s Easy Runner :).

This was a bittersweet column for me to write as it is my last President’s message. The June 17th LRRC monthly meeting will be elections where members will formally vote in the new slate of officers and Brian S-ski will be your next president-Good Luck Brian and officers up for election (Leah, Steve P and Jenny)! I will still be on “board” to help accomplish some things to continue the growth and development of our wonderful club. Members please keep doing what you’re doing and enjoy your running. As I wrote in June of 2009 it was/is an honor to serve the club and it certainly has been a wonderful year and I have loved every minute of it.

Happy Fathers Day!

Tina

Spring Arrives, We’re Alive, And We Thrive!

Posted by: Preztc

As the trees are budding, flowers blooming, longer, warmer days arriving, it seems like spring has finally arrived-Welcome! And welcome to any new members and old members joining a new.

Last month’s column noted things that have never been done before and the then upcoming Little Rock Marathon, congratulations to all members participating and, kudos to all involved as this was an outstanding event and I can now say that from a personal level. This was my first Little Rock Marathon. Yes, I did many training runs, volunteered, and worked the expo, but for some reason resisted the whole marathon mostly due to the last 6 miles of Riverfront Drive. My friend/hero John Woodruff was a big supporter and fan of this race and I decided to run it for him-the third anniversary of his death was Saturday, March 27th. Although not fully prepared for this as I worked for Easy Runner the weekend of the marathon,- but I threw myself into the energy of the event as another motivator came with everyone’s favorite runner/triathlete Kirsten Davis (now of New York), who arrived to run this marathon for the first time as well. Also, I decided to push myself to get out on this course officially by using it as a training run for Hog Eye Marathon (another first-we shall see). My longest before LR was maybe an exaggerated 16. The weather was mild and actually perfect for this long training run with a couple of thousand fellow runners on race day. This was exciting to run the course passing many famous sights of LR with so many out-of-towners and locals running, walking, and cheering, the crowd support was both amazing and amusing. Many fun groups were out there on the sidelines. Governor Beebe was greeting runners as they passed his house. I was amazed at the crowd offering support, hospitality, and shouts, especially going up Kavanaugh. I was dreading the downhill on North Lookout by Allsopp Park due to a bum knee since mile 8.5, but I really wanted to get to John Woodruff’s Memorial water stop at mile 25 and yes, after all this I wanted that HUGE medal. A few things assisted me along the way to my destination. Yes it hurt going down N. Lookout, but at one point I looked up and was able to greet and hear Gary and Libby Smith of Easy Runner fame encouraging the marchers from the balcony of their home. Running backwards (took some pressure off knee) at the risk of looking foolish but it sure helped, and Allison Acott (aka marathon angel) came up alongside when it seemed like I needed it most, and encouraged and pushed me on. She had just finished the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans a week or two before and really offered uplifting words that worked until mile 20. At mile 24 while taking a walk break another angel, Melanie Baden, appeared. Although she did not have any shots for my knee, her bright manner got me back running enough to get me up to Dillard’s and the “had to see” John Woodruff Mile 25 memorial and the finish. This was a good experience in spite of me and I will do this race again and hope you will too.

Speaking of marathons, motivation, and inspiration, Randy Oates spoke to a fairly well attended monthly club meeting (considering all the competition) on Mar 18th at Whole Hog Café., Good food, fellowship, and strength of spirit was experienced as Randy updated us on his very hard road of learning to walk and ride a recumbent bike. Once an avid athlete (runner, triathlete, boater), Randy had to face the situation of possibly never being able to walk about three years ago and has made miraculous progress. Listening to Randy’s personal account of working very hard to accomplish tasks we take for granted makes a person stop to think what we would do if faced with something that took away our ability to train-where we would we find the discipline and desire to make us move and not wallow in self pity. Thank you Randy for sharing and helping us to remember we have to continually be in training for a marathon or any event we set our sights on. Not just give it a half hearted try but to be vigiligant and constantly be on it. Randy is an excellent example of what we can accomplish when we train and purposefully go after our goals.

Posted by: Preztc

Reminding all members our potluck meetings are resuming for the Spring and Summer at Murray Park Pavilion #2 at the same time-starting at 6:00 pm on April 15th. Since most will be have gotten their taxes done by then, you can come and celebrate. Not sure on theme yet-wanted members to speak on their Boston experience to prepare those about to run the Boston on the 19th , so please bring medals, jackets, and stories and contact me at tcoutu@att.net if you would like to speak. And if no one wants to speak, we will just fellowship. Our May 20th speaker will be Mike Dupriest and June 17th is elections.

The board positions that are open for nominations this year are President-Elect, Secretary, and Membership Chair. You may send the nominations to the above address or give them to me at the April meeting. Here’s the actual wording from the by-laws: (View them at www.littlerockroadunners.com)

.Go! Running has opened a new store in the Heights and present Prez-Elect Brian S-ski reports that owners Gary and Erin Taylor want to join the LRRC and Gary wants to run for us (yeah us-he is very fast)! Brian also reports that Gary will offer LRRC members 10% off.

April is a busy month for fund raising for our club-more than one way to give back and rest and recover from the Boston Marathon…..The club is of course sponsoring the Capital City Classic on April 3rd and many have signed on to run and assist this Grand Prix championship 10k.

The club is doing the finish line and timing for funds for the club at two races: -April 17th is the Miles for Missions 5K at Pulaski Heights Methodist church and on April 24th is the Catholic High Rocket 5K at the school. Please help if you can on these dates.

Thanks for your support of running, community, and the club!

T

February Featured Founders, March Offers Inspiration

Posted by: Preztc

Since last newsletter something happened that had never been done before-The Saints won the XLIV Super Bowl, this was a good game where the “underdog” won. Also at February 18th’s LRRC’s “presidential” meeting we almost got 30 years’ worth of past presidents together at one time. All but a few came to share the running lore with a large crowd of old and new members. For those who could not make it, we missed you! I wish this meeting and some moments in life were like a football game where we could make an approx. 1 ½ hour event into typical three. If we could stop the “clock” every so often or take time outs we could have listened to more stories and heard more advice and history on how good clubs are made. The LRRC started in 1977 with eight members and today there are over 200.
Lou (Ole Gristle) and Charley (Harley) Peyton were part of the founding group and they graciously sat on a panel along with Bob Hilts, Paul (Galloomphing Gourmand)and Bill(Ole Runner)Hoffman. They answered questions and told stories of beginnings of the LRRC. Bob Hilts offered the comment of how things have changed with all the gadgets and technology to improve running, where in the “old” days they relied on running groups and training partners to improve. They also shared that there were a lot of splinter groups at the beginning and yet I find that is the case now. They focused on creating and organizing races and training groups, like primarily focusing on marathons and certain time goals, particularly for example the White Rock Marathon. T-shirts and photos were brought out as evidence; Lou and Charley had t-shirts from the first LR marathon and women’s run and 3:20 training group. Bill Hoffman had some neat photos of the existing Sunday morning run and the first Arkansas Running Hall of fame inductees. Paul Johnson and Bob Hilts recounted humourous events. There was fierce competition its seems, but also camaraderie and encouragement were evident. I hope we can foster this and when the next generation takes over the club we tell the same kind of lore. Three past presidents received a much deserved award for the years of repeat service and they continue to promote and encourage and support this club. Tom Barron, Steve Hollowell, and Bill Harrell received the coveted plaques. While the president’s were recognized as they are due, this was also member appreciation dinner for we could not have the best club without the best people bringing it all together for volunteering, cheering, racing etc. Thank you all members and presidents.
Running offers many opportunities for people to try something they have never done before, and having a network from joining LRRC will help. You will find many training groups and people available to assist you in a first time 5K up to a marathon, as such as the LR marathon training group (Tom and Hobbit offer an encouraging environment to lead people into new territory.) Running offers things that will change your life for the better. As the Little Rock Marathon event is next weekend,-good luck participants and all those supporting the race!
I hope you will attend this month’s meeting for motivation and a reminder about the important things and not letting excuses get in the way of having and living a full life by listening to Randy Oates recount his progress since last year’s meeting.
Another positive force out there is the splash we are making with our new hoodies with the LRRC logo. While in Texarkana for the Run the Line half marathon, most of us wore them, showing team and club pride. I had someone ask me how many we had attend this event. So there was good publicity for the best club in the state!

Grand Prix Season Underway

Posted by: Brian S-ski

In what seems like a blink of an eye, the 2010 Grand Prix season is already 20% done!  The LRRC racing teams are looking strong and, as of this writing, have 64 club members in total signed up.  That matches our year end total from 2009, which was an all-time record for greatest Grand Prix participation by one club.   So….. we need just one more person to sign up and we will break our own record!   Thank you to each Roadrunner that signed up for the Grand Prix to represent the club - Go Birds!

And now for a quick recap of the action thus far…

January 24th:  Grand Prix Race #1 - One Hour Track Run at Russellville

Yanoviak and Nichols fight the wind at the One Hour Track Run

Both the men’s and women’s LRRC teams took 2nd place at the first GP race of the year though we did have both the individual winners with Leah Thorvilson and myself (yep, the sun shines on a dog’s rear every now and then).  As would become a theme in the first four races, the wind was a factor.   At the Track Run at least, the headwind is broken up into short little segments.  Then again, the lack of head wind is just as fleeting.  Our men’s team at the Track Run consisted of Steve Yanoviak, David Williams, Joel Perez, Mark Hagemeier, Tim Steadman, Ross Bolding, Joseph Nichols, Craig Lair, Billy Shurley, Roy Smith, Andrew Kenley, Michael Harmon, David Meroney, Dave Conrad, Bill Bulloch, Dan Belanger, and Carl Northcutt.  For the women’s team it was Thorvilson, Andrea Sieczkowski, Alison Acott, Ashley Philbrick, April Rand, Eileen Turan, Alea Humes, Becky Humes, Alesa Davis, Rhonda Smith, and Coreen Frasier.

February 6th:  Grand Prix Race #2 - River Trail 15K at North Little Rock

Becky Humes sprints for the finish line in Burns Park at the River Trail 15K

The good news is the LRRC Women took first place at the 15K!  The other news is that the Men took third place.  On the positive side though, we did get Scott Anderson to sign up for the GP after the race.   Leah Thorvilson won again to lead our women’s team at the 15K: Mary Wells, Tina Coutu, Becky Humes, Alea Humes, Eileen Turan, Ginea Qualls, Lisa Alberius, Ashley Philbrick, Wyanette Traub, and Coreen Frasier.  The men’s team was me, Kevin Golden, Steve Yanoviak, Joel Perez, Greg Sorenson, Billy Shurley, Bert Sanders, Bryan Jones, Kevin Groustra, Brian Watson, David Meroney, Mark Hagemeier, Joe Nichols, Jeff Bost, Dave Conrad, Bill Torrey, DHW, Ross Bolding, Roy Smith, and Carl Northcutt.  In other words, it was another huge turnout for the Birds.  Would have been even bigger too, except so many club members selflessly volunteered to work the race: Steve Hollowell, Robert Holmes, Lisa Luyet, Dan “the Man” Belanger, Paul Ward, Alesa Davis, Linda House, Steven Preston, and Glen Mays.  Mary, Ginea and Tina also helped with registration and then ran the race too.  Andrea and I have directed the 15K the past two years and couldn’t do it alone, so again, thanks to all that helped out!

February 13th:  Grand Prix Race #3 - Valentine’s Day 5K at Russellville

LT collects some hardware

The LRRC men came through at the V-Day 5K with their first win of 2010!  The women had a good showing too, finishing 2nd to the hometown RVR crew.  Leah Thorvilson was the overall female winner, our own Justin Radke got 2nd on the men’s side and Becky Humes and Joel Perez won a Couples Award.  The women representing the LRRC at the V-day 5K were: Thorvilson, Humes, Lisa Luyet, Alea Humes, April Rand, Eileen Turan, Ashley Philbrick, Alesa Davis, Lynnette Watts, and Coreen Frasier.  The men were lead by Radke, then me, Presto, Yanoviak, Joel Perez, Tim Steadman, DHW, Mark Hagemeier, Roy Smith, Michael Harmon, Dave Conrad, Billy Shurley, Carl Northcutt and Dan Belanger.

February 21st:  Grand Prix Race #4 - Run the Line Half Marathon at Texarkana

The LRRC crew at the starting line of the Run the Line Half Marathon

2010 marks the Grand Prix debut of the Run the Line Half Marathon, and (I think) the first ever GP race in Texarkana.

Fun Fact About Texarkana that Radke Doesn’t Believe:  the name Texarkana is actually derived from three states: TEXas, ARKansas, and louisiANA.  Apparently, back in the day the entire local region was often called Texarkana.  It was so catchy that the towns adopted the name even though their location was 30 miles north of the Louisiana border.

Quick Quiz Based on the Fun Fact:  The name “Texarkana” was first coined for…

A.)  A Steamboat
B.)  An Alcoholic Beverage
C.)  Just made up by a Railroad Surveyor
Answer will appear at the end of this blog post.

Anyway… for those that didn’t make the trip, I highly recommend you put it on your to-do list for 2011.  The course starts in Texas, heads into Arkansas, crosses back into Texas, runs a bit on the actual state line, then finishes in Arkansas.  Immediately crossing the finish line you can head into an open bar with free hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta, porkchops and beer.  The finisher’s medal is actually cool too.  And once again, the LRRC Blog will be the first to break huge news: our Arkansas RRCA State Rep is working with her Texas counterpart to create some sort of Arkansas-Texas challenge at this race for 2011.  And… a traveling trophy is likely to be involved.  Stay tuned for more details.

And now the big news: LRRC swept the team titles at Run the Line!  The men won in very dramatic fashion by a single point over the River Valley Runners.  Special mention needs to go to Joel Perez who set a big PR as our third scorer and to Joseph Nichols who sealed the deal as our 4th man as he continues a strong rookie GP season.  Oh, and I guess we can give a few props to Radke who actually won the race.  Our men’s team also consisted of me, Billy Shurley, Roy Smith, and Carl Northcutt.  On the women’s side, Leah won her fourth (of 4) GP race this year.  The women’s team was completed by Tina Coutu, Becky Humes, Ashely Philbrick and Lisa Alberius.

Quiz Answer:  D.)  All of the Above?  It is actually uncertain which, if any, of these three urban legends is the original source of the name Texarkana.  Thanks for playing!

President’s Day-February Meeting

Posted by: Preztc

Happy New Year!

Posted by: Preztc

Happy New Year! Hope all members enjoyed the 2009 holiday season and the beginning of 2010 as much as I did. If you have made resolutions I hope that you have kept them and continue to do so., If not, as my sister says, every minute starts another 24 hours. Keep trekking especially for those who have made the commitment to spring marathons and the Grand Prix racing season. For all runners for whatever reason, the bottom line is running makes you better. So here’s to a better you and a “best” year of running.

Looking back at December, the weather not rainy like October but cold (and won’t go away) did not keep the club from experiencing opportunities to fellowship together. The Christmas Party held on the 19^th at the Capitol Hill Building was very nice indeed-hats off to past President/current Treasurer Steve Hollowell for securing this location; it was well attended with lots of food, wine, laughs, and most important, good company! Thank you all for attending.

From that evening plans were made to celebrate the longest night of year (Winter Solstice) on the following Monday. Glen Mays hosted a run from his home on Kavanaugh to the Capitol grounds where we gathered to view the Nativity and saw some box with writing on it. From there the fast guys continued their evening jaunt to the River Market before returning back. The rest of us trooped back to the Mays’s warm kitchen, replenished and rehydrated with leftover libations and goodies from Saturday’s gig. Once Glen arrived back with Brian Scieskwosi. and Steve Preston, we pounced on the fresh baked gingerbread men cookies Glen had baked. This was a great run and hope this tradition continues. Thanks Glen!

Christmas Day gave us clear and bright skies with very cold temperatures. A few of us got out and showed spirit. Laura Naill and I ran later that morning, Joel Perez, Becky Humes, Joel’s brother and sister-in-law, and their wonder dog joined us for a very nice (?) hilly and chilly six plus miles through the Heights where we caught a glimpse of Santa (a fast and thin one who oddly enough resembled David Williams).

Paul Ward continued his traditional New Year’s Resolution run on the first day of 2010 that was well attended despite below freezing temperatures (again). It was so good to see all the members from both sides of the river come out to run. New member Mark Hagelmeier, who has also joined our Grand Prix team, was there with lots of energy and enthusiasm. He is a positive influence in the running community as he encourages and appreciates other runners and their accomplishments. One of his training partners was there, Joe Cordi. Joe is another positive person who encourages and makes an impact. As Joe and I were running back we reflected on how fortunate we are to be here in Little Rock running and appreciative of our running community and friends. Joe frequently guides Dave Wilkinson, a visually impaired athlete on races and training runs. He has influenced his lovely wife Sandy to quit smoking and take up running-she was out there in the cold that Friday as well. We needed these warm fuzzy moments as Kirk Riley, Mark, Robert Holmes, and Joe tried to stay behind David Williams and Bill Torrey pushing up the hills on the course, and assumed Kirk turned off early due to having to prepare for the even colder Winter Series run the following day. It was great to see Sarah Olney and Mary Wells out there as well as Rosemary Rogers-(Ginea was there too). Thanks to all runners who came out, especially the only one who didn’t run: Paul!

 Returning to a warm house and hot coffee after this cold but “heartening” run, I started cleaning up Christmas decorations and found this fortune cookie saying under my tree: You will soon be surrounded by good friends and laughter. The back had the Chinese spelling and pronunciation for FRIEND. Reflecting back over the past year and especially the past six months as your club president, I can say that this indeed is true. Many events that I have been blessed to experience and enjoy have originated with running. ….here’s to more of that in this new year. As my dad and another good friend passed on to me in holiday greetings, I pass on to you:, “All the Best for 2010″.

*To assist you in reminding you to have the “best” year, please attend our club meetings held on the third Thursday of every month.

 January 21-”Best” times on the books- Randy Taylor will speak about long distance records and perhaps life as a Razorback runner.

February 18th-”Best” Running club leaders- honoring LRRCs past President’s. It has been the tradition in the past few years to honor the past president as the incoming president takes office in the summer, so at this meeting I would like to give all those previous president’s an opportunity to be appreciated during President’s week

March 18th-”Best” recovery/inspiration-Randy Oates returns to give us an update on his healing and life since his devastating “accident”.

Calling all club members to join the LRRC Grand Prix team!

Posted by: Brian S-ski

Okay LRRC, it’s time to sign up for the 2010 Grand Prix Series!

In 2009, we had a total of 64 LRRC members on our GP team. That was an all time state record for greatest participation by one club! Let’s beat our own record and get at least 65 in 2010.

So far we have 14 men and 10 women signed up for our team:

Dan Belanger
David Conrad  - new to our team for 2010!
Mark Hagemeier - new to our team for 2010!
Greg Helmbeck
Robert Holmes
Bryan Jones
Hillary Kogo
Joseph Nichols - new to our team for 2010!
Joel Perez
Ron Sanders
Billy Shurley - new to our team for 2010!
Brian Sieczkowski
Roy Smith
Steve Yanoviak
Allison Acott
Alesa Davis
Kenya Doucette - new to our team for 2010!
Alea Humes
Becky Humes
Lisa Luyet - new to our team for 2010!
Ginea Qualls
Andrea Sieczkowski
Rhonda Smith  - new to our team for 2010!
Eileen Turan - new to our team for 2010!

If you’ve run for the LRRC in the past, we need again for 2010.  If you’ve never entered the Grand Prix before, this could be your year.  You can find out more information on the Arkansas Grand Prix Series at www.arkrrca.com, but in a nutshell it is a series of 20 races all across the state.  For every race you finish you accumulate points in your age group and help out the LRRC in the team competition.  We were able to win both the men’s and women’s team competitions in 2009 largely because we had great participation from club members and that helped us score points at every race.   No matter your speed or racing frequency, you can help out the LRRC and probably have a lot of fun in the process.

There are two ways to sign up for the Grand Prix:

Click here for Online Registration
-or-
Click here for a printable entry form that you can mail in

That’s all it takes.  Your Grand Prix entry just has to be received 5 days before a race.   The first race is the One Hour Track Run on January 24th, so if you plan on running that race then make sure you sign up for the Grand Prix by January 19th.  But there is no benefit to waiting, so just sign up today - the data entry personnel for the GP Series (me) would be very happy if everyone didn’t wait until the last minute!