Enter, 2003
A full range of racewalking events is on our
calendar for the new year.
The schedule includes Year Five of the popular
5-kilometer races at Danehy Park in Cambridge,
MA., held the second Sunday of the month from
April through October. The races are judged but
no one is disqualified; the judges are there to
offer encouragement and useful advice.
Also in store is our annual Grand Prix
competition. Participants are ranked by their
times in their four best designated events, as
measured against age-graded tables. Last year we
expanded the number of races and opened the
eligibility to all walkers in New England, and
the changes were met with one of the strongest
showings we'd had in years. Keeping with the same
formula for this year, we offer this lineup:
Jan. 12 |
1 mile |
USATF-NE Masters Brown University |
Jan. 19 |
3K |
GBTC Harvard University |
Feb. 23 |
3K |
USATF-NE Harvard University |
March 30 |
3k |
USATF National Masters, Reggie Lewis
Track |
April 27 |
8k |
Clamdigger, Westerly RI |
June 1 |
20k |
Ninigret Park, Charlestown RI |
July |
3k |
Bay State Games |
July/Aug |
5K |
Eastern Regional, Springfield |
Oct |
10k |
Conn. |
A 10k and/or a one-hour race may also be part
of the schedule. Stay tuned.
New year's resolutions
What are our racewalking goals and hopes for the
year? As always, the query brings a variety of
sentiments from club members and friends.
***
Fred Anderson
I just hope to keep walking. I'd love to do more
races this year. I hope to do a half marathon
with my 15-year-old son (His idea).
***
Bob Ullman
My goals for 2003 are simply to stay healthy and
enjoy the competitions and company of my fellow
New England Walkers.
***
Marcia Gutsche
My goals for 2003 are as follows:
- To fully recover from a nasty hamstring
injury.
- To successfully complete the Antarctica
marathon on March 3rd - continent #6 in my
quest to complete a marathon on every
continent. Only South America will remain!
- To meet the 3K qualifying standard for the
Indoor Nationals.
- To significantly improve upon my 20K time
to see how close I can get to the National
Outdoor qualifying time and to post PR's in the
5K/10K distances.
And, of course, to keep it all in perspective and
to remember that I walk to have fun and stay fit
and for the enjoyment of the camaraderie of all
the great folks that I've met through
racewalking.
***
Brian Savilonis
Stay healthy (or healthier)! Peak for a
significant race, perhaps the Nationals in
Eugene. But I wish I could make a resolution for
the sport of racewalking in New England -- that
we each find some new competitors, and that our
races have a healthier profile. That walkers
support our key events; that our talent pool is
not so diluted; that we actually can have races
with more than a handful of participants. And
that the race is longer than 3k!!
***
Richard Ruquist
Now that I am over my groin injury, my goal for
2003 is to race so slowly that I stay
injury-free.
***
Ken Mattsson
I would say that my goals are to get back in
shape enough to race at a non-embarrassing level,
and to also get back into having a more organized
set of races and plans.
***
Bill Harriman
In 2003 I hope to stay healthy and fit enough to
duplicate or improve on the times I posted in
2002. I would also like to walk the Boston
Marathon in April and attempt the 40k-50k double
in the fall, but the most important thing as
always is to beat Tom Knatt in our head to head
series and win the bottle of wine. I would also
love to see some new faces at the races. Come on
out, all you NEW members! You have joined the
club so you must have some interest in
racewalking. We need you!
***
Charlie Mansbach
I have a wealth of memories of 2002. I cut 15
seconds off my previous year's time in the
National Masters 3K; I outdistanced a host of
people at the Senior Games who had never
racewalked before; I completed the National
Masters 10K without falling over. I even
racewalked around a track for two hours in the
middle of the night as part of a cancer society
fund-raiser. I look forward to more such fun in
2003.
Membership renewal time
If the date atop your mailing label does not
say "2003" or later, your New England Walkers
dues are due. The payments support races,
clinics, mailings and other activities throughout
the region. At $6 a year, it's still the best
deal around. Please send your check to:
Justin Kuo
39 Oakland Road
Brookline, MA 02245
Members may also renew membership or sign up
online by visiting our web page at
newalkers.tripod.com
or by
clicking
here.
***
It is time also to renew your membership in
USA Track & Field. Membership is required for
participation in the many USATF-sanctioned events
during the year. The form is available at www.usatfne.org.
You can also register on-line by clicking
here . For further information, call the New
England office at 617-566-7600.
On The Road To 50K, Part 3
By Bill Harriman
Sunday November 10, 2002 dawned cool and
cloudy, windy and humid in Hauppauge NY, on Long
Island. Joanne and I made the short drive from
our overpriced hotel room to the race course and
had about 45 minutes before the 9 AM start.
Hilary and Bob Keating had just arrived, and Jack
Starr, Eileen Druckenmiller, and Ed Gowinski were
already there. The seven of us had dined in a
fancy Italian restaurant the night before, and a
show of hands revealed that Eileen, Ed, Jack and
I were all rookies in this 50K business. Jack is
74 and Ed is 75, and both would be trying for age
group records. The field also included Cheryl
Rellinger, Rod Craig, Nick Bdera, Vlado Haluska,
Jim McGrath, Erin Taylor, and Sylvan Martin.
Walkers could also sign up for shorter distances,
and one walker declared for 5K, four for 10K, and
Joanne for 20K. The course was perfectly flat on
a pleasant, tree lined road with a grassy median,
closed to traffic, and shaped like the letter U
with an upslant to the left at the tops of the
letter. The start/finish was at the lower left of
the U on the straightaway facing "down", about 50
meters before the first turn. Two kilometer loop,
25 loops to go at 9 AM. There were 8 judges,
including race director Gary Westerfield and old
friend Maryanne Torrellas.
Although I had had a fitful sleep the night
before, I felt good at race time. I had tapered
gradually since my last long walk at the Bay
State Marathon 3 weeks earlier, and had decided a
few days before the 50 that I would finish no
matter what, except for a DQ. After a very short,
easy warmup I stuffed my "Race Ready" shorts with
GU and I was ready to rock and roll. The gun went
off and I eased into it as almost everyone pulled
ahead of me. Let 'em go, plenty of time! Craig,
Rellinger, and Keating took off fast, and even
the ageless Jack Starr pulled away from me. Oh
well, at least I was ahead of my wife, although
not by much. My early 2K splits were in the 15:30
range, and I reached 10K in a very comfortable
1:17:29. So far, so good. It was cloudy and quite
windy, but it looked like the rain might hold
off.
After an hour and a half, all the 5K and 10K
walkers had finished and there was already a DQ
and a DNF in the 50, so there were fewer of us
out there going back and forth, back and forth. I
felt great physically, but found it mentally
tough to think of such a long way still to go, 5
more hours. Best not to think of that. More 15:30
laps got me to 20K in 2:34:40. Still felt strong.
Joanne finished her 20K in 2:36 and was ready to
serve as my pit crew. Another DQ at 20K dropped
the field by one, and the fast folks had lapped
me a few times.
Between 20 and 30K my splits started to creep
closer to 16 minutes, although I still felt very
good. I hit the halfway point in 3:13:55, for a
projected 6:27:50. At 30K I was 3:53:42, and I
knew that I would finish. I was psyched! Two more
people had dropped out, so now there were 7 of us
left, going back and forth, back and forth.
Cheryl Rellinger was still hammering away, but
Rod Craig and Bob Keating had gone out really
hard, and they were slowing down. In fact, I was
catching up to Bob, although he was 3 laps ahead
of me. I decided to try to catch him, just for
something to do, and I did. What a novel
experience, to pass Keating in a race! Okay, he
was 6K ahead of me but I'll take my little
triumphs wherever I can find them. I was now
getting excited, knowing that I would finish, and
would achieve a long cherished goal. I was
getting tired and my legs hurt but I managed to
hold my form together. All those long workouts
were paying off now. I hit 40K in 5:11:08 and
Gary Westerfield shouted "5 laps to go". I would
have kissed him but I didn't want to break my
stride. Only 5 more times back and forth, back
and forth.
That last 10K was tough but not as bad as I
thought it would be. My splits were 15:58, 15:54,
16:14, and 16:17 through 48K, with one lap to go.
I felt like I was going faster and faster, but I
was slowing down, and was very, very tired. My
legs hurt. I dug in for a strong finish though,
to try to get in under 6:32, and managed a 15:33
for that final, glorious lap. I crossed the line
in 6:32:01, and the thrill was almost equal to
that of finishing my first marathon, Boston 1972.
Maybe I'll do another 50 someday, maybe even next
year. I'd like to see how close I can get to 6
hours. When you lose your mind, the rest is
easy.
It was great to see that all the 50K rookies
finished, and Ed Gowinski got his age group
record. Jack Starr missed his record, but he
still finished despite being twisted like a
pretzel with back pain at the end. He's an
inspiration, as is the legendary Bob Keating, who
hasn't missed a day of training in over 22 years!
I'm happy when I go a whole week without missing
a day. The race was very well organized, and I
would recommend it to anyone looking to do a 50K.
It will be held there again next fall. Any
takers?
Congratulations to …
Joanne Dow of Manchester, NH, whom
we've watched over the past decade go from novice
racewalker to national champion and international
competitor, who was awarded the Ron Zinn Award
last month as the nation's outstanding female
racewalker for 2002.
Steve Vaitones, managing director of
the USATF-NE office and a longtime competitor,
race director and judge (and who has been known
to fill all of those roles in the same meet), who
was awarded the 2002 Mike Riban Award as
outstanding US contributor to racewalking.
Team-in-training report
By Michael Hoffer
As we are in the holiday season it's time to
reflect on the past year and be thankful for all
of our positive experiences and memories and look
forward to another enjoyable year. My efforts on
behalf of the Leukemia - Lymphoma Society's Team
in Training program remain alive and well. We
have just completed our 7th year with our walking
program and we continue to have a 100% completion
record for all of our participating teammates.
The money we raise continues to fund research and
the cure rates are steadily improving, bringing a
higher quality of life to the people afflicted
with these terrible diseases. The FDA recently
approved the drug Gleevec, which treats chronic
myelogenous leukemia. The drug was developed by
Dr. Brian Drucker, one of the researchers the
society funds.
Personally, 2002 was an exceptional year as I
did 6 marathons, (which brings my total to 29)
and I have raised over $76,000 for cancer
research.The year started with a first place age
group finish in the Disney World Half Marathon,
and 1st Grand Master finish in the Mardi Gras
Half Marathon, and in each event I walked with my
team for the second part. Next came the Boston
Marathon, which was a real thrill as cheering for
me out on the course were my wife, family members
(including two granddaughters) and my honored
patient Caitlin plus all of her family. After the
early part of the year I took teams to the
Anchorage, Maui and Baltimore marathons, so I
experienced all different cultures plus extreme
temperature differences.
In all of the various marathons we hear some
of the most rewarding success stories of how
through courage, medical breakthroughs and a
desire of the human spirit, people have defeated
these diseases. Unfortunately, we also hear how
these dreaded diseases have claimed lives of
innocent victims. As I enter the 8th year as the
Head Walking Coach for the R. I. Chapter, we are
excited about the two upcoming events in early
2003; Disney World in January and Mardi Gras in
February. The prognosis is good that we will
continue to see new drugs developed which will
improve the cure rates because leukemia still
remains the number one killer of children under
the age of 15.
So as we close 2002 and look forward to 2003 I
want to wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe
holiday season and hope everyone is ready for an
exciting new racing season.
2003 race calendar
As always, our list of racewalking events is
not engraved in stone. Some races are added
during the season, others are changed or
canceled. It's always best to verify time, date
and location with the race director before
setting out.
January
12- mile, USATF-NE Masters T&F
meet, Brown University, Providence RI
401-863-1041.
Entry form.
12 -Dartmouth Relays, Hanover NH 9 a.m.
1 mile, men and women.
19 - 3K, Greater Boston TC Invitational
at Harvard University. 9:30 a.m. 617 282-5537. Entry form.
February
17 - 28th annual Presidents' Day
3.7-miler, 2 p.m., D.W. Field Park, Brockton, MA.
One of our favorite traditions. Group meal to
follow at nearby restaurant.
23 - 3K, USATF New England Indoor
Championships, Harvard U. New England track and
field office, 617-566-7600.
Entry form.
March
1-2 National Indoor T&F
Championships, Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic
Center, Boston. 3000m women, 5000m men.
Qualifying times. New England track and field
office, 617-566-7600.
30 USA Masters Indoor Nationals, Reggie
Lewis Track & Athletic Center, Boston. New
England track and field office, 617-566-7600. Entry form.
April
13- 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA,
9:30 a.m. Contact Bill Harriman at 978-640-9676
(before 9:30 p.m.)
27 - Clamdigger 8K, Westerly, RI. Joe
Light, 401-596-3173.
Entry form .
May
11 - 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA,
9:30 a.m. See April listing.
June
1 - New England 20K, Ninigret Park,
Charlestown, RI
8 - 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA,
9:30 a.m. See April listing.
July
4 - Dedham 5-miler, Dedham, MA. An
unjudged walking division as part of the town's
holiday road race.
13 - 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA,
9:30 a.m. See April listing.
? 3K, Bay State Games.
August
10 - 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA,
9:30 a.m. See April listing.
? Easter Masters 5K championship,
Springfield College, MA.
September
14 - 5K, Danehy Park, Cambridge, MA,
9:30 a.m. See April listing.
Phone any time
For up-to-the-minute information on race
schedules, clinics and other events, call the New
England Walkers hotline at: 781-433-7142
The New England Walkers
Send material to:
Charlie Mansbach
25 Larkspur Road
Newton, MA 02468
E-mail address: mansba@globe.com
For membership information, contact
Justin
Kuo at 617-731-9889