More Beauty On The Trail

Rob "Large" Whiteside and his daughter Phoebe "White Rabbit" continue their travel through Vermont on the Long Trail.  Check out all their pics of their reprise of their Appalachian Through-hike in at Whiteside AT Hike 2016

 

Workout Wednesday: Snowmageddon Edition

 

Somewhere in the nominations for favorite running courses/loops, someone mentioned a fun run in the snow (Steve Balkey).  I remember one in particular.

While the first team was away at an Indoor Meet, the rabble like me was left behind to fend for ourselves. So it was with great surprise that I heard from Rob Whiteside on a Sunday morning about going for our usual distance run.

But it was snowing with already a foot on the ground (curse me if it was only 10 inches!) and the motivation wasn't high.  But Rob has always been my muse.  It is why I made him my Best Man, confusing many in those years long ago.

Rob persisted and off we went.  We went down 4 Hills and headed to Swatsworth Road (another loop I forgot to put on the poll!).  Instead of heading toward the Deer Pens and the Observatory, we turned up the hill much later and headed to the newly expanded Airport which had cut off our old route through the woods to what the younger crowd call Sh*tspray.  

This meant about 5 miles through 12 inches (10 inches?) of snow until we hit the fence and had to turn around and retrace our steps.  Those 10 miles in snow without snowshoes was the equivalent of an easy marathon or at least "a hard 20".

But this was back when men were men (and women mostly avoided us).  I forget if I made it back for Brunch in the dorms.

It Always Ends Up In An Interconnected Web

So it was the NCAA Regional XC Weekend at Lehigh, and the Nittany Lion Women won their race to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the 10th time in 11 years.

WOMEN'S TOP FIVE TEAMS
1. (AQ) #18 Penn State, 73
2. (AQ) #28 Villanova, 77
3. (RV) Georgetown, 91
4. Princeton, 93
5. West Virginia, 122

But I was much further north in Canton NY for the Division III Regionals with Daughter the Younger.  It was 14 degrees at the start and the whole course had to be plowed earlier in the week!

Daughter the Younger

In the Mid-Atlantic Division III Regional at Lehigh, two other Penn State Track Alumni Golfers had daughters competing.  Well, Rob Whiteside's Daughter the Elder and friend of the group's Martha White Collins's Daughter were competing.

Phoebe Whiteside placed 28th for All-Region Honors for Swarthmore and Valerie Collins was the 5th runner in 42nd for Carnegie Mellon's qualifying team.  Smart and talented!

All-Region!

And as we learned 4 years ago, Rob and Phoebe had hiked a substantial portion of the Appalachian Trail with Valerie Collin's Uncle.  I'm telling you, there's always a web!

NCAA XC Regionals Weekend

There was consistently cold and windy conditions across the East.  The weather added an extra challenge for the Nittany Lion Women.  But they came through and attained their 9th out of 10 years moving on to the Finals.

And Danae Rivers has added to her already great resume by placing first for the Women despite falling in the early race.  With her newly aquired range, she is becoming one of the greats of PSU Middle and Long Distance running.

Photo by John McGraw.

Oh, the carnage I! John McGraw photo

Oh, the carnage II! John McGraw photo

Brave and dedicated Alums! John McGraw photo

 In other news of the weekend...

• Mary Cate Curran's St. Lawrence team advanced to the Division III Finals at Dream Park in Southern Jersey.  I saw her at one point, but was unable to say hello.
• Daughter the Younger ran in her first XC NCAA race and learned the valuable lesson about going out too fast!  Hartwick improved on last year's performance.
• Rob Whiteside's daughter Phoebe placed highly in the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Bethlehem,  PA for her Swarthmore team.
• Martha White Collin's daughter Valerie also placed highly in the same race with her Carnegie Mellon team moving on to the Finals.
• John Ziegler and I suffered mightily through a long weekend of Podiatry CME lectures.  John's rewards were many, however.  I took him to lunch at Wegman's for Kung Pao Chicken and got him 50% off on a new pair of shoes at the King of Prussia Roadrunner Sports store! 

Daughter the Younger before the start.

Spouse the Better and John Ziegler.

Progeny In The Endurance Ranks

This post features the offspring of friends continuing family athletic exploits in Division 3 Endurance Sports.  I have to say Endurance Sports because noted crackpot and our Erwin Shroedinger Endowed Chair for Advanced Physics has a daughter who apparently received slightly more than 50% of her genes from him!   (Just kidding, Ron Moore.  Ultra-Trail running isn't even slightly crazy.  Wink Wink.)

First up is Elizabeth Moore, who is a triathlete in the new sport of Women's Triathlon at Transylvania University in Kentucky .  She has won all three events so far as a Freshman, and is qualified for the National Championships.  I have a feeling we will be seeing more of her in the future.

Elizabeth Moore

Second up is Phoebe Whiteside, who we all know from her trek of the entire length of the Appalachian Trail with her dad, Rob Whiteside, 2 years ago! Remember, I have also trekked the entire width of the Appalachian Trail and have a t-shirt to prove it. She runs for Suburban Philly Swarthmore College.

Phoebe Whiteside

Third is Valerie Collins, daughter of Group Friend Martha White Collins.  She runs for the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon University in the Burgh.

Valerie Collins, 87

Last, but not least is Anne Baskwill, Daughter the Younger, who has found a new love for running at Hartwick College near Cooperstown, NY.  With her previous hurdling activity in high school, she may just run the Steeplechase for the first ever year of Track at Hartwick.

Anne Baskwill, front left

Please forward news and pics of any more progeny in the college athletic ranks!

Cross Country Finally Heating Up

The Nittany Lions are at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Oklahoma while the Paul Short Invitational was held yesterday at the Lehigh Course in Saucon Valley.  The Cowboy Jamboree is actually the oldest Cross Country race in the country! These big invitationals are getting bigger and bigger every year because they can garner points for the team for at-large bids to the NCAA Championships.

The Nittany Lion Womens team is ranked 9th in the Nation and 1st in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  The Men are ranked 5th in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

I notice that Sophomore Phoebe Whiteside, Appalachian Trail co-through-hiker of Rob Whitside, was the seventh runner for the Swarthmore Garnet at the Paul Short Invitational.

A Couple Of Mirthful Running-Related Items

Blog Central is on the move again!  This time I will come within a couple of hundred meters of the stadium for the Pitt game, as I visit with Don and Lynn Ziter at their tailgate. Hope to see some other Track alums in a mirthful mood.

But first, here's a bizarre item I will not be duplicating...

Decathlon While Wearing 100 T-shirts 

And we all remember Rob Whiteside's conquering of the Appalachian Trail last year.  Now the overall unofficial record has been set by someone totally unsupported!  "Stringbean" is a former cross-country runner from Boston College who already has the record at the Pacific Crest Trail.

Appalachian Trail Crushed! 

5 Track Alumni (Golfers), 11 PSU Degrees And 29 Years

In rooting through my childhood home, I came across a wedding album I didn't know existed.  I thought it was lost to posterity just like my medal from the 1977 PIAA Track Championships.  But alas, there it was with pics of the wedding party including my brother, 2 sisters, my wife and her two brothers and the Best Man, who is my blog muse!  We were married 29 years ago at Eisenhower Chapel and had the first ever wedding reception at the newly built Atherton Hotel.  Man, how time flies.

Steve Black, sisters Sue and Beth, Barb, me, Rob Whiteside, brother John and Gary Black.

Our official wedding photo.

Blog Muse Rob Whiteside toasting us.  Wish I could remember what he said. Something about "What took you so long", I suppose.

The Performance Of The Year 2016 (and Was It My Fault?)

The results of the Performance of the Year Finals went like all of us suspected.  But what a year it was, after all!

Joe Kovacs became the first ever two time winner of the Performance of the Year, as the Olympics dominated the voting.  Joe also won last year for his Shot Put World Championship.  A silver medal in the Olympics is certainly worthy of at least 86% of voters attention.  And two PSU teammates (Joe Kovacs and  Darrell Hill) making the same Olympic team in the same event is worth way more than 42% of voters in my book.

It is also very rare to have an athlete named as Athlete of the Year at the Penn Relays Carnival (Brannon Kidder).  But this year it garnered only 33% of voter's minds!  And there may be only one Penn State Track Alumnus who has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail with his daughter (Blog Muse Rob and Phoebe Whiteside) but that only nabbed 19% of voters.

And I did make it to the Land of the Rat after repairs to the brake lines in one of the two Dopey Challenge team vehicles.  I got here just in time to take a 3 mile run and then watch the beginning of the Rose Bowl before everyone was ready to go to Disney Springs for dinner.  In other words, I watched the first few minutes of the game and saw the Nittany Lions go down 13-0.

Thankfully, the ship was righted as soon as I left and paid no attention to the game while walking to a very, very crowded Disney Springs.  I wistfully remember the days just a few years ago when the then named Downtown Disney was always practically barren.  PSU 49 - USC 22 while I abstained from the game as promised.

But I didn't know that today's games take nearly 5 hours and I made it back to the room in time for the start of the 4th quarter.  Needless to say, USC 17 - PSU 0.  I'm not making that up.  I missed every single Penn State point, but saw complete and total dominance by USC sandwiched around an otherwise a barn burner.

Disney in the AM

2016 Performance Of The Year Poll

The final 9 are here!  Please vote for your Top 3 overall performances on the left sidebar.

1. Brannon Kidder - Athlete of the Meet Penn Relays.
2. Rob and Phoebe Whiteside Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail.
3. Joe Kovacs win the Silver Medal in the Shot Put at the Rio Olympics.
4. Isaiah Harris wears his PSU Track Alumni Wrist Band to place 6th in the NCAA Outdoor 800M.
5. Brannon Kidder sets the Indoor 1000M Collegiate (NCAA) Record.
6. Joe Kovacs and Darrell Hill both make the Rio Olympic team in the Shot Put.
7. Womens Team wins the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Cross Country Regional Meet.
8. Pre-Olympics Diamond League Overall Winner in the Shot Put - Joe Kovacs.
9. Isaiah Harris sets the School Record in winning the Big Ten 800M title.

Second Semi-Final Of The Performance Of The Year 2016!

Be sure to go to the full web site, http://psutafalumnigolf.blogspot.com and vote in the second round of the Performance of the Year on the left sidebar.  Vote for your top 3, as 3 will make it into the Final Round.

1.  Tessa Barrett wins the Regional NCAA XC Meet.
2.  Isaiah Harris wins the 800M at the NACAC Meet.
3.  Joe Kovacs and Darrell Hill both make the Olympic team.
4.  Brannon Kidder's 9th Big Ten Title (1500M)
5.  Mark Parker joins the Disney Board of Directors.
6.  Rob and Phoebe Whiteside thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.
7.  Cas Loxsom and Isaiah Harris both in the Finals of the Olympic Trials 800M. 
8.  Isaiah Harris wearing our Group Wrist Band and finishing 6th at Olympic Trial 800M. 
9.  Brannon Kidder 4th in the NCAA 1500M.

How Does A Real Writer Bring The Story Of The Appalachian Trail Conquest To Life?

 "It's easier than living in the normal world and having to go to work or school."

-Phoebe Whiteside, about her thru-hike of the AT

I have kept all of you updated with the shenanigans of Rob Whiteside and his daughter Phoebe on the Appalachian Trail since April.  But now that they are done, I figured someone else will tell the story better than I.  A real professional writer, for once...

Father, Daughter Hike the Appalachian Trail

Turns out they averaged more than 16 miles daily, with Rob holding her back some!  But they still beat the average thru-hike (only 20-25% of those that start out!) by about a month and a half.

And Rob owes me a post for the blog and I owe him a Ruth's Chris Steak. (grilled vertically at 1800 degrees for 9 seconds and served on a 500 degree plate coated with butter!)

Tip: You don't need any sides at Ruth's Chris. Entree and dessert (Creme Brulee!) only.

It's A Small World, After All

Without even realizing it, Rob Whiteside and his daughter camped with a nice husband wife combo somewhat related to our group early in their trek up the spine of the Eastern United States.  They got along well enough to be invited to stay at their house in New Hampshire toward the end of their quest.

But because you are known by your Trail Name when hiking, they never got any further along to find out they were hiking with the brother-in-law and sister-in-law of another Group friend and familiar face.  It turns out that Wonder and Santa are related to Martha White Collins, a familiar name to most of us (and the namesake of Daughter the Elder!). Cheryl and Kelly Collins are currently in the 100 Mile Wilderness.

Even further shrinking the small world, one of the Collins' daughters graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville (near Harmonsburg) , where Rob is from! Allegheny Run For Fun!

Wonder and Santa

From their Journal:

White Rabbit and Large

We have been hiking with a father/daughter pair from Princeton, NJ. He used to make his girls walk the streets with him because they were "practicing to hike the AT". White Rabbit finished high school a year early, got accepted to Swarthmore and then took a gap year to hike. She got her name because she's fast, times herself and is obsessed with time. Her dad came with his trail name. She hikes in and gets set up then waits for her dad. He is usually in about 2 hours after her. White Rabbit makes him dinner and fusses over him. Some hikers have named them Large and In Charge. She usually determines how far they will go each day and he goes along with the plan. It has been really fun getting to know them.

To further make the world small enough for us, the latest visitor to Coach Groves was a high school AND PSU teammate of Greg Fredericks at Wilson High School.  Scott Hagy was a national caliber javelin thrower and occasional long jumper in the PSU Class of 1971.

Coach Groves and Scott Hagy.

One Update And Possibly Another

It turns out that the world is always smaller than we thought.  As Rob Whiteside (Large) and his daughter Phoebe (White Rabbit) trekked on toward the finish of their thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail they met another pair of hikers, Wonder and Santa.  Turns out they are the in-laws of Group Friend Martha White Collins, Kelly and Cheryl Collins!  Wonder and Santa are finishing things up in the 100-Mile Wilderness.

And as I head to State College in Mobile Blog I to move Daughter the Elder into an apartment for the Fall Semester, I will take Nano-Drone 800U for possible pics of the progress of the Outdoor Track refurbishment.

White Rabbit And Large Summit Mt. Katahdin

That means they did it!  A through-hike of the Appalachian Trail is a very hard enterprise, but I never had a doubt.  Congrats to Rob Whiteside and Phoebe Whitside.

Phoebe will be starting college and cross country shortly.  I wonder how this hike translates into XC training?  As she told me, "We'll find out."

Appalachian Trail Dominated: It's Only A Matter Of Days

Rob Whiteside and his daughter Phoebe are nearing the completion of  "the hardest thing I have ever done".  And that includes running with the likes of All-Americans with our Group back in the day!  They have had their first glimpse of the prize, the finishing summit of Mt. Katahdin.  The hardest part remaining may be dealing with the strictest Rangers on Earth!

There is a reception for their supporters and admirers, but please RSVP if interested on the Facebook site.

The finish from afar.

Large and White Rabbit Entering "The Hundred Mile Wilderness"

It sounds daunting, and I have heard it is.  Rob Whiteside and daughter Phoebe are doing just that this AM.  This is the final stretch of their Appalachian Trail through-hike.  I'm happy they are together, at least each evening when Rob catches back up to her!

Because they won't be able to read this until they are done, I will add that Maine is where the recent news came of the finding of a "lost" hiker from 3 years ago occurred. (Addendum: They have already passed the area where this occurred!)  Her husband found the trail too daunting here and she decided to go on by herself.  She followed the trail protocol for a bathroom break* and never found the trail again!  She kept a log of her 30 days of wandering and finally succummed to starvation in her tent on a hill-top clearing 1/2 mile from the trail, 3 miles away from where she left it.

*Don't expect flush toilets on the A.T. Most A.T. shelters have privies, but often you will need to do your business in the woods. Proper disposal of human (and pet) waste is not only a courtesy to other hikers, but is a vital Leave No Trace practice for maintaining healthy water supplies in the backcountry and an enjoyable hiking experience for others.

No one should venture onto the A.T. without a trowel or a wide tent stake, used for digging a 6- to 8-inch deep "cathole" to bury waste. Keep in mind the following guidelines when pooping in the woods:

• Bury feces at least 200 feet or 80 paces away from water, trails, or shelters.
• Use a stick to mix dirt with your waste, which hastens decomposition and discourages animals from digging it up.
• Used toilet paper should either be buried in your cathole or carried out in a sealed plastic bag.
• Hygiene products such as sanitary napkins should always be carried out.
• Use soap and water; hand sanitizers kill some germs but are not as effective against norovirus.

Lives Are Always Changing. And The "Experts" Tell Me That This Is A Good Thing

As a lifelong York Countian, I am averse to any change.  And yet change is inevitable.  Qualified people in various professions tell me this is as wonderful thing, and should be embraced and celebrated.  But that doesn't take away the fear of the unknown.  But we must all dive in at some point!

Rob Whiteside conquered his fear and went on a lifetime quest with his daughter to traverse the entire Appalachian Trail.  He prepared for this over years, and just dipping a toe into the cold, cold waters of change occasionally.  And yet looking back, he did prepare well enough to actually do it!  Rob and both of his daughters are probably the only people on planet earth who have walked every single road in Princeton, NJ.  So I am confident that Rob and Phoebe will be the world's only people to trek the Trail and have seen every inch of Princeton!

Well, ALMOST do it, as he is now entering Maine in the final couple of hundred miles of tough, rugged hiking.  I was invited to tag along on his quest a long time ago, as I am a fan of the Trail overall.  But in the same way I am a fan of Mt. Everest.  I will never do either, but I have extreme interest in both.  And admiration for the brave, brave folks who conquer themselves and the target of their fears.

Rob took a break for one day after topping Mt. Washington, scene of America's worst weather.  He was pleased to have some of the best weather there that can possibly be.  My vibes must have worked...

Morning in New Hampshire..

And Stephen Walsh has decided to enter a new phase of life also.  He has ended his track coaching career at William and Mary after award-winning stints there, Providence and Penn. His PSU degree in Accounting will serve him well!

Stephen Walsh.

One final note for today:  Upon learning of the passing of Coach Bell of Indiana, Coach Groves smiled a little and noted that he had outlived another one.  There really is only one Coach Groves. Thanks to our Course Marshall for the Coach update.

Challenging The White Mountains

Rob and Phoebe Whiteside continue on through New Hampshire toward Katahdin Mountain and the prudes of the Maine wilderness.  I have always heard that the hiking is at the toughest at this part, and Rob gives us confirmation of that...

Submissions From Fans Of The Blog!

I love receiving just about anything from my 100's of fans!  Yes, I did say hundreds.  Things are really starting to pick up steam here at Blog Central.  And just about anything YOU submit will be included too.

• Coach Bill Preston generously submitted a more complete map of the PSUAC Mont Alto XC Course I helped to map out last week. Thanks Coach!  I will certainly be there for the races.
  
  
• KKOB sent me an article reminding us that PSU was there at the very beginning of the Nike Oregon Project.  Friend Tom Clarke, PSU Biomechanics PhD, started it all and recruited Alberto Salazar as the coach.  Previous post on this HERE.
• Rob Whiteside and his daughter Phoebe (Large and White Rabbit) have had a terrible time of it once they entered the New England area.  They are currently in New Hampshire headed toward Maine on the Appalachian Trail, where the hiking is at some of the most difficult of the whole trail.  Weather has not been their friend at all, and Rob took a tumble with a few lingering side effects.  I hope all of you say a prayer for them as I do daily.