Arkansas RRCA State Rep Blog

Spring Fling 5k and Capital City Classic 10k

Spring Fling 5k

I’m not sure how it was possible but there was no rain for the Spring Fling — there wasn’t even a threat of rain.  It was spring time in Arkansas and everyone was deeply confused.  March 24 brought clear skies and moderate temps.  Hosted by the Cabot Country Cruisers at the very nice facilities at Cabot High School, the Spring Fling is the 2012 championship 5k for the Arkansas Grand Prix.  Normally, as runners finish the Spring Fling in the past they quickly made their way to the fieldhouse for snacks and the awards.  This year all the finishers hung out on the track and even watched the Kids Run since the weather was so nice.

Despite the higher stakes of being a championship event, all the runners were very chatty at the starting line.  Once the race got started, the racers got serious.  Imari Dellimore of the Little Rock Roadrunners got tripped up and fell the ground just as everyone was rushing forward at the start.  A couple runners were able to help pull him up and he got going immediately. Imari took that bad start and turned it into a victory by finishing first overall in 16:56.7.  Little Rock Roadrunner Leah Thorvilson was right behind him to lead the women at 17:26.5.  With these two strong finishes, it’s not surprising that the Little Rock Roadrunners took both the male and female team victories.

Capital City Classic 10k

A long standing race with old school traditions, the Capital City Class was held on April 7 in the Two Rivers Park northwest of Little Rock where it has been held the last several years.  While known to some walkers, runners, cyclists, and gardeners in the area, Pulaski County’s Two Rivers Park has only seen moderate use since it was created.  That has changed in the months since the Two Rivers Bridge was completed and park use has exploded; the county has even invested in a nice bathroom to replace the port-o-potty.  The morning brought cool, crisp 50 degrees temps with a nearly clear sky barring a few whispy clouds.  Standing near the registration table, I looked back across the park which was still a little dark before the sun had risen very high.  I could see a line of headlights from cars snaking into the park and was reminded of the final scene of Field of Dreams — put on a race and they will come.

The Capital City Classic is hosted by the Little Rock Roadrunners and is one of the few races in the Grand Prix that doesn’t use chip timing.  Runners’ times are recorded on a ten-key machine and the chutes are used to maintain finishing order.  For the Grand Prix, the top male finisher was Conway Running Club’s Max Sawyer with 32:58.9.  Leah Thorvilson of the Little Rock Roadrunners took the women’s race with 34:58.6.    The Little Rock Roadrunners also won the men’s and women’s team competitions.

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Run the Line Half Marathon and Chase Race 2M

It’s been a long time coming but here are a few reports from recent Grand Prix races. Thanks for your patience as I get caught up.

Run the Line Half Marathon

The Run the Line Half Marathon was held February 19 in both Texarkana cities. This is the non-championship half marathon for this year’s Grand Prix and this race is well organized and supported. The weather was cool and fair. Yours truly ran this race again this year just to have some fun and to be part of the great post-race party that they throw every year. If this race keeps growing they’ll have to find a new venue for the awards; that restaurant was just about bursting at the seams with everyone packed in there. The winning teams for this race were the Conway Running Club for the women and the Little Rock Roadrunners for the guys. Max Sawyer of the Conway Running club lead all runners with a scorching 1:15:57. Tiffany Gaulke from the Spa Pacers won the women’s competition with 1:34:10 in her only race so far.

But on to the important stuff: the Arkansas-Texas Challenge. At the end of the race, many people at the race asked me who won the challenge.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get state information for the top runners while at the finish line. It had been our plan to calculate the results and to make an announcement during the awards ceremony. But, we were later able to determine the state for most of the top runners. For those runners we didn’t know, we counted their results for Texas. Even with this generous tabulation, Arkansas crushed Texas in the scoring. Arkansas came to win and we left no doubt! Recently I attended the national RRCA convention and met my counterpart from the North Texas area. I played up the dominating win and she promised a stronger showing next year. We’ll see if they can keep up.

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Upcoming Capital City Classic and 2011 Grand Prix awards

Hello Arkansas Runners!

The State Rep blog will get updated soon with coverage of the Run the Line, Chase Race, and Spring Fling races.  In the meantime, I’d like to remind you of the Grand Prix race this weekend.

Capital City Classic

Saturday, April 7, 8:00 am

http://www.littlerockroadrunners.com/index.php?main=capitalcityclassic

https://secure.getmeregistered.com/get_information.php?event_id=5786

If possible, please pick up your race packet at Easy Runner on Friday, 10a to 6p, 11525 Cantrell Road, Suite 102.  Also, you have until the end of today to get registered the Grand Prix if you aren’t already if you want points for running the CCC.

Directions

From I-430, take the Cantrell St exit in Little Rock and head west. Drive approximately 3 miles on Cantrell and then turn north onto Pinnacle Valley Rd. Pinnacle Valley Rd will gradually curve to the right after passing over the train tracks. Continue straight on what is now County Farm Rd for almost two miles and turn right at the entrance to Two Rivers Park.

This is the first running of the CCC since the Two Rivers Bridge opened and this is not where the race is.  Just to be clear, if you park at the base of the Two Rivers Bridge, you have about two miles to cover just to get to the starting line.  Unless you want a warm up run, be sure to follow the directions to the Two Rivers Park.  Plan to get there early; we are expecting around 600 runners.

Also, I’d like to ask everyone to be patient when they are finished with the race.  The drive to enter and exit the park is also the race course.  If you must leave before the race is over for everyone, please do not pull out in front of runners, do not block runners, and drive extremely slowly.  Help make the race a great experience for all participants regardless of their speed.

2011 Grand Prix Awards

I have several award plaques from the 2011 Grand Prix that I need to get to the winners.  A few of these awards are corrections for various mistakes; others are awards that were not picked up at the awards ceremony.  I will bring these awards to all the Grand Prix races that I can.  If you see your name below, please find me to get your award or send someone to pick up yours for you.  I will be wearing a bright yellow RRCA runner’s hat on Saturday.

James Sinclair

Mark Ferguson

Chris Goins

Ross Bolding

Zach Stafford

Mark Hagemeier

E.F. Jennings

Kevin Golden

Donna Duerr

Kelly Frantz

Judy Massingill

Penny Koller

Chrissy Ferguson

Joseph Kopecky

Jenny Smith

Debbie Scriver

Cindy Knott

Kathleen Rea

If you cannot pick up the award at a race, you can pick them up at my office in downtown Little Rock on any work day.  Otherwise, please contact me to work out a different arrangement.

Keep in touch with the Arkansas RRCA:

David Meroney, Arkansas RRCA State Rep

http://www.arkrrca.com/

http://www.facebook.com/ArkansasRRCA

@ArkansasRRCA

staterep@arkrrca.com

River Trail, Awards, and Valentine’s Day

On the actual Valentine’s Day, I have a triple whammy for all you:  the River Trail 15k, the 2011 Grand Prix Awards, and the Valentine’s Day 5k.  Also, need to make mention of the upcoming Run the Line Half Marathon so in reality it’s a quadruple whammy.  I hope you can handle it!

February 4 saw both the second Grand Prix race of the season  as well as the Grand Prix awards for 2011 held in Burns Park in North Little Rock.  With foggy and muggy conditions, a record 466 runners signed up for the River Trail 15k.  Maxwell Sawyer won his second race in a row and Aimee Larkin was the top women’s finisher.  Conway Running Club’s women won the team competition and the men from Little Rock Roadrunners winning as well.

The River Trail 15k is put on by the Arkansas RRCA with contributions from many of the various running clubs.  It’s been said time and again but this is a race truly put on for runners by runners.

Following the River Trail, many of the runners made their way to the Burns Park Hospitality House for the chili cook off and awards ceremonies for both the RT 15k and the 2011 Grand Prix.  Many thanks to the people who brought chili and all the fixings.  There was very little left of the food and drink after everyone came through.  While the Hospitality House is convenient from a location point of view, we were certainly bursting at the seams so next year we may need to find a bigger venue.  Congratulations to all the top finishers in all the many different categories, the teams, and to the Iron people.  With so many different awards, I hope that everyone can see that a GP award is well within their reach.  Aim high and run hard!

The following week, the Grand Prix returned to Russellville for the Valentine’s Day 5k with frigid conditions.  It’s a day like February 11 with temps in the mid-20s that we see how truly giving the volunteers are who will stand or sit for a few hours literally freezing.  This year the races were broken up into four heats to help with the congestion on the Bona Dea trails which seemed to work well.

Leah Thorvilson took the women’s competition and overall with an amazing 17:02; Imari Dellimore won the men’s race.  The team competitions were taken by the Conway Running Club women and the Little Rock Roadrunners men.  With three races in the books, this year is shaping up to be a battle between CRC and LRRC for both men and women but several other clubs are within striking distances as well.

The upcoming Run the Line Half Marathon on Sunday, February 19 is both a Grand Prix race as well as the only competitive event we have with another state.  Since it is held in Texarkana, there will be runners from a number of states but mostly from Arkansas and Texas.  Last year we started the Arkansas - Texas Challenge which takes the top 10 men and 10 women finishers from each state, takes their place number, and adds them together; the lower score wins!

Also, the Run the Line is offering an early start for participants who need 3 or more hours to finish.  Per the rule that we enacted last year, GP competitors who take the early start will be scored no better than 3 hours regardless of how they finish.  For those truly needing more than 3 hours to finish, the 7:30 start is for you.  However, nearly all Grand Prix runners should be at the main 8:00 am start.

Be sure to thank the volunteers in your next race!

One Hour Track Run

One Hour Track Run, January 22, 2012

I have a couple housekeeping items to note before getting to the OHTR.  First of all, today is the deadline to be registered in the Grand Prix and to receive points for the River Trail 15k on Saturday, February 4 at 9:00 am.  If you register online today, it will count.  Anyone have problems with registration, please email me immediately so we can work out the problems.  Register for the Grand Prix at http://register.macsrts.com/Search/event.aspx?event=d619a2d6-07b9-4661-a523-03c4642e143b.aspx.  Register for the River Track 15k at http://register.macsrts.com/Search/event.aspx?event=110fee36-b95f-40d9-9983-c938c871b447.aspx

Secondly, following the River Trail 15k will be the Grand Prix awards ceremony for the 2011 series and chili cook off!  We have the Burns Park Hospitality House (http://www.northlittlerock.org/entries.aspx?id=307) reserved which will be open at 7:30 am before the River Trail 15k.  Bring your crock pots before the race and we’ll have outlets in the kitchen for power.  Come have some chili and cheer on all the winners of the 2011 series!  BYOB is perfectly acceptable; we’ll have a few soft drinks as well.

Now, onto the One Hour Track Run which somehow always makes the weather turn cold, rainy, and downright chilly.  The foggy, misty, and cold conditions did not appear to dampen the spirits or slow the runners for this January 22 race.  The OHTR seems to be almost entirely a GP event as nearly all participants were also in the Grand Prix.  The top finishers were Leah Thorvilson and Maxwell Sawyer; Maxwell and Alex Goff ran side-by-side all race but Maxwell kicked at the end and wound up with 222 more feet than Alex.  The Little Rock Roadrunner women won the team competition.  For the men, the Conway Running Club ended the LRRC’s consecutive winning streak for Men’s teams dating all the way to the Spa 10k in 2010.  With such a strong first race, Conway is showing that 2012 will be a competitive season.  I am looking forward to year full of great races!

Grand Prix season is about to start!

The first race of the 2012 Grand Prix Series is the One Hour Track Run in Russellville which is this Sunday, January 22.  There is still time to register for the Grand Prix and get points in this race; register online at http://register.macsrts.com/Search/event.aspx?event=d619a2d6-07b9-4661-a523-03c4642e143b.aspx or print out the form at http://www.arkrrca.com/html/forms/grandprix.html and bring it to me.  I’ll be at the Saline County Strider meeting Tuesday evening and can take your registrations there.  We have about 250 people signed up so far.

The second race of the season is the River Trail 15k which is shaping up to be a great race.  Be sure to stick around after the race for the 2011 Grand Prix awards ceremony and chili cookoff!  We’ll have that again in the Burns Park Hospitality House just like last year.  As a vegetarian, I think it’s time to have two categories of chili:  meat and non-meat.  There were two vegetarian submissions last year; maybe we can get a few more.

Good racing!  And don’t forget to thank a volunteer!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from your new Arkansas RRCA State Rep!

With excitement and trepidation, I take over this role that has been so expertly performed the last three years by Andrea Sieczkowski.  I want to thank Andrea for her hard work and strong leadership during her three year term as State Rep.  I also want to thank her for having faith in me to be the new State Rep.  We all wish her and Brian well with the new baby (and Darwin too)!  Fortunately, I’ll be able to go to her for questions and help which is also true for all the previous Reps.  David Samuel, Don Still, Bill Torrey, and Kim Howard have all offered help and guidance; I feel they all have my back.  I think it’s great that they are not only still involved in the running community but also running competitively.

Speaking of backing me up, the Long Distance Running Committee for 2012 is almost finalized.  I have a couple seats remaining to be filled; when it is set I’ll make an announcement.  If you aren’t familiar, the LDRC is the voting body that helps decide the Grand Prix schedule and any rule changes.  They represent your home running clubs.  I would like to visit all the running clubs at one of your regular meetings; I already have plans to stop by the Saline County Striders and the Arkansas Running Klub in the next few weeks.  Please look at your club’s meeting schedule and let me know when would be a good time.

Some of you may ask what qualifies me to be your State Rep; I wonder that myself. :-)  This role will be lots of work, zero pay, probably some grievances, teeth gnashing, politics, walking on eggshells, and hand holding.  Looking at all this going forward, I welcome it and think it will be great.  I see this as my opportunity to give back to all those who have enabled this great running community that we have in Arkansas.  I hope to do a good job and when I’m done, the State RRCA, Grand Prix, and general running community will be in even better shape than when I started.  I think we’re doing pretty awesome right now.

As a little information about me, I’m 41 and running in one the most competitive age/gender divisions.  I grew up in Pine Bluff and attended Hendrix College.  In junior high, high school and even in college I ran both for fun and competitively.  A knee problem in high school knocked me off the track and football teams.  I wish I had been running all along since college but the truth is that I started an office job and got fat and lazy.  The knee problem is gone but now I have a disc slightly out of place in my lower back which was exacerbated by being overweight; just 5 years ago I was at least 40 lbs. heavier.  After dropping weight by just watching what I eat, I thought it was time to start running again.  From time to time I’ll step on something wrong and will mess up my back; if you see me gimpy, that’s probably what’s going on.  I always dreamed of running a marathon so in August 2007, I signed up for the Little Rock Marathon.  I went from barely being able to run for a quarter mile to running a marathon in about 8 months.  I now have 8 marathons to my credit and even scraped together qualification to be a Marathon Maniac (#3231).  Running marathons is quite a feeling of accomplishment but I am just as proud of running every race of the 2011 Grand Prix series including the Hogeye Team Relay and earned the Ironman of the Grand Prix distinction along with several other great runners.  It’s been a great year full of PRs and making new friends.

I’m married to the lovely Christine Meroney who is an occasional runner; she could really ramp up her speed and abilities if she had the time.  We don’t have kids but we stay busy with our own kitties and doggies as well as animal rescue.  We both volunteer with Last Chance Arkansas which is a rescue group that primarily takes dogs out of the Little Rock Animal Services shelter, fosters and cares for them, and then sends the dogs to where there is a shortage such as New York, Connecticut, and British Columbia.  We take good dogs that have issues such as an injury or have heartworms which means they would not be adopted locally; we are literally their last chance because dogs that are not adopted are euthanized.  We save as many as we can but we are a small group and the need is so very large.  Fortunately there are other rescue groups in the area that are doing all they can.  Help the local animal population problem by spaying or neutering your pets and adopting your pets from a rescue group or a shelter.

I am also involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters and have been matched with my second “Little” for 5 years now.  He and I just transitioned from meeting at his school to meeting outside of school.  We do all sorts of fun stuff together; I might even bring him to a race one of these days.  Mentoring with BBBS has been one of the easiest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done.  If you have any desire, there is a Little out there who would love to be matched with you.

Unfortunately, all the running, volunteering and other fun activities have to be financed in some way and I’m not independently wealthy.  I’ve got a great job with Complete Computing and have been a sales rep there since 1994.  I work regular business hours which means that I may not have time to respond to questions during the day but I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.  We are going to maintain the staterep@arkrrca.com address which has been forwarded to me along with Andrea for the last few months.  Andrea is no longer receiving those emails so if you need to reach her, please send to her directly.  State rep emails are forwarded to my personal email; if I reply from my computer the address is davidmeroney@mac.com but replies from my phone or iPad will be davidmeroney@me.com — it’s all the same account.  Brian Sieczkowski will continue to be the webmaster for the RRCA site as well as scoring the Grand Prix.  This is a tremendous amount of effort and I thank Brian for his willingness to keep doing these vital functions.

I’ll close with this thought that I plan to have as a theme for 2012.  When you are interacting with race volunteers whether they are helping you sign up, get your packet, give you water on the course, or being a course marshall, thank them.  Volunteers are freely giving their time and energy so that you may have a good run and hopefully a great race.  Volunteers are as important as race participants in making a race happen.  Thank them; make them feel appreciated; this will encourage volunteers to keep helping with more races.  Every runner has the power to ensure the success of future races by making the day fun for everyone.  Thank a volunteer today and in every race!

Best wishes to you for a successful 2012.  I hope you set your goals high and then exceed them all.  See you out racing!

End of Season Wrap Up

The XXX running of the AR RRCA GP has come and gone.  As usual, the end of the season was very busy.  On October 29th, GP runners headed to Conway for the Soaring Wings 1/2 Marathon.  Overall winners were Jonathan Cherono and Leah Thorvilson.  Top GP male was Imari Dellimore.  This finish officially cliniched the 2011 GP title for Imari.  Congrats!  Team competitions were won by the men and women of LRRC.  Next, runners heading to Wynne for the MidSouth Marathon.  Team competitions were once again taken by the men and women from LRRC.  The overall titles went to Leah Thorvilson and Justin Radke.  The final race of the season brought GP participants to Hot Springs for the 30th running of the Spa 10K.  The men of LRRC were able to bring home a perfect season with their win.  The ladies of AURA were the female team winners but LRRC was able to hang on for the overall 2011 team title.

17 runners completed an Iron season.  Congrats to Hope Drake, Josh Drake, Gideon Drake, James Erwin, Brian Yeager, Nicholas Norfolk, Joe Milligan, David Meroney, Jim Miller, John Hunnicut, John Miller, Don Preston, Jill Davis, Eugene Atha, Alise Atha, Moniqueca Christensen and Bradley Thomas for completing all 2011 GP races.

Finally, AR RRCA runners headed to the Arlington Hotel for the annual AR RRCA awards and state meeting.  Despite the Razorback game in Little Rock, turn out was great.  Every single slice of pizza was consumed which made for easy clean up!  Congrats to all award winners and nominees.  A complete list of GP and AR RRCA award winners can be found here:  http://www.arkrrca.com/archives.php?main=2011

And last, but not least, this is my final blog as your AR RRCA State Representative so let me say that it has been a joy serving the runners of AR for the last 3 years.  Thank you all for being such an amazing group of people.

2012 GP Schedule

• Hour Track Run-Jan 22
• River Trail 15K-Feb 04
• Valentine’s Day 5K-Feb 11
• Run the Line ½ Marathon-Feb 19
• Chase Race 2M-Mar 10
• Spring Fling 5K -Mar 24
• Capital City Classic 10K-Apr 7
• Hogeye Marathon Relay-Apr 14
• Toad Suck-May 5
• Rock Run 8K-May 26
• Go! Mile-Jun 16
• White River 4M-Aug 4
• Watermelon 5K-Aug 11
• ARK 5K Classic-Sept 1
• Sara Low Memorial 5K-Sept 8
• Arkansas 20K-Sept 15
• Chile Pepper XC 10K-Oct 13
• Survivors Challenge 10K-Oct 20
• Soaring Wings ½ Marathon-Oct 27
• Mid South Marathon-Nov 3
• Spa 10K-Nov 17

Championship races are bolded.

Chile Pepper XC 10K and Survivors’ Challenge 10K

We are in a very busy stretch of the GP even though there are only 3 races to go.  On October 15th, GP participants traveled to NWA for the only XC race in the series, the Chile Pepper 10K.  As usual, the weather and the course did not disappoint.

The team competitions were won by the men of LRRC and the women of AURA.  The overall Chile Pepper titles went to Leah Thorvilson and Aaron Batey.   Top male GP finisher was Imari Dellimore.

Next up was the Survivors’ Challenge 10K in Fort Smith.  The Western Arkansas Runner (WAR) are fairly new to the GP scene and though the Survivors’ Challenge race is not new, this year saw a change of venue and the 10K was added.  Runners were treated to lots of great food and plenty of family friendly activities.

Top GP finishers were Imari Dellimore and Tina Coutu.  The team competitions were won by the men of LRRC and the women of SPA.  The LRRC men have locked the 2012 team title but it will be interesting to see if they can remain undefeated for the rest of the season.  The women’s competition is much closer with only 12 points separating the first place team, LRRC, from the second place women of AURA.

Only 3 races remain and it will be a tough couple of weeks for the Iron candidates with the Soaring Wings 1/2 Marathon and the MidSouth Marathon on back to back weekends.