More Turkey Trot Domination! And Horace!!

Grand, Exalted IT Czar Jeff Sanden brings us news of the New Cumberland Turkey Trot, totally pwned by PSU Track Alumni Golfers.

The Fuller Brothers, you all know I can never keep them straight, placed 1st, 2nd and 4th at the race of several thousand Turkey Day morning runners.

Brian Fuller,  15:36

Mark Fuller,  16:08

Kevin Fuller, 16:42

New Cumberland never even saw it coming!

And here's legends Tom Fleming and Horace Ashenfelter III at the Ashenfelter 8K in Glen Ridge NJ. It looks like Horace could win his age group to me.

Records, Diamonds and Singlets, Oh My!

The Turkey Day Runs around the Country seemingly went well.  Tyler McCandless set a record in his run in Colorado.  The Fosters both snagged diamonds. And my family joined 5,000 others in a race in York.  (Hard to believe...   5,000 runners in York?)

Ryan and Kara Foster show off Berwick Diamoinds.  Kara won and Ryan was 5th.

Tyler McCandless broke the 4mile record by more than 30 seconds!

Mark Hawkins was somehow cold in Florida?

Ryan Foster sported an Alumni Singlet!

Kara Foster was too fast for even the photog!

I did a spirited 5K on the Treadmill getting ready for this weekend's attempt at 5 miles a day!

Happy Thanksgiving

As I awake today, alone,  because everyone else is off to "run" the local Turkey Trot, I amThankful for a few extra hours of sleep.  I do run nearly every day, but can't quite make myself "race" anymore.  What's the point?  Run as hard as I can, risk injury, ridicule and shame, all to end up "running" twice as slow as I too easily remember.  I'll just await results and photos from everyone else.

There are a few Alums running for the diamonds today in Berwick.  There are a few running Boalsburg's version.  There are some running Horace Ashenfelter's Annual race in up-state New Jersey.  York's version has more than 5,000 entered! Tyler McCandless is gunning for his Coach's record in Colorado.  And speaking of Tyler, he apparently is having a Turducken* for dinner!

A Turducken has to be better than Howard Wolowitz's mom's Turbriskifil**



*Of course, a mostly deboned turkey wrapped around a deboned chicken wrapped around a deboned duck wrapped around stuffing.

**A deboned turkey wrapped around a beef brisket wrapped around a gefilte fish. "It's not as good as it sounds."

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and don't forget to send me some Turkey Trot stories and photos.

Just in Time For Thanksgiving Dinner

“Here come pieces of… MY GOD!”

I once attended a Podiatry Conference where Dave Barry was the Keynote Speaker.  And as he would often say, "I'm not making that up!"  He told many stories, enlightened the crowd like no other Podiatric lecturer ever could, and I even got 2 CME credits.  It was a bargain that can never be repeated again. I mean, the authorities won't allow it anymore...

One of the stories he told was the classic exploding whale story from 1970  told in his syndicated column in the days when he still needed money (1990).

The Farside Comes to Oregon

Fair Warning: This could ruin your Turkey Day meal.  

But it's also good to know that anytime a whale dies and ends up on the beach, it's not a good idea to poke the thing with anything sharp.  The build up of gases tends to make them quite explosive without adding any dynamite. This is a recent example.

Fair Warning: This one is worse.  Not for the squeamish.

Turkey Trot Exploits Wanted!

This is the time of year for some silly "Turkey Trots" as well as some competitive "Runs" for diamonds and other such baubles.

I once won a turkey at a Turkey Trot in Millersville PA running 51:11 for 10 miles and coming within a whisker of my best all-time run (according to the IAAF standards).  My best ever run by 3 measly IAAF points was my 10K on PSU's track in 1980, although I was lapped by Greg Fredericks twice!  Pitiful, I know...  But I did enjoy that turkey.

We want photos and stories from this year's Turkey Day exploits.  Particularly if they involve Alumni Singlets or costumes of any sort.  And Diamonds!  Don't forget Diamonds!

The Frozen Fifteen

I think it was 1978, but I could be wrong.  For my first 3 years at PSU, we had a "race" of sorts at the beginning of December which happened to be the "Airport Loop".

My log is quite sparse, but my memories aren't:

• December 10, 1977 - Airport Loop  1:36.
• December 4, 1978 - Airport Loop  1:36.
• December 2, 1979 - Airport Loop  1:34.

The Airport Loop was more than 15 miles.  Fifteen miles of desolate, unending, unshielded, monotonous miles.  Sure, maybe it would have been scenic in the early hours of a cool summer day.  But it was never scenic in early December.  Especially when the temperature reached single digits and the wind speeds were double digits.

Like I said, I think it was the 1978 one that stands out in my mind.  That's the day I saw gray skin on the Wolfe twins after the finish.  At the time, I could tell the difference between Al and Jeff Wolfe by the body part that turned gray in cold weather runs.  I can't remember which was which now, but the nose and ear alerted me at the time.  "Hi Al, how's the ear feeling?"  I'd say.  Or maybe it was Jeff.

When I reached the Creamery, with less than a half mile to go, my parents were standing in front of the Creamery cheerily saying "hello" as I desperately tried to hold it together, with icicles precariously hanging from my nose and ears.*   "I'M IN A RACE!" I garbled through frozen lips before limping home to Rec Hall and the impending semblance of warmth.

And then I heard it.  A wail.  An isolated, animalistic wail, coming from the back of the building.  A desperate, blood-curdling child-like cry.  It was Dave Felice, who had finished far ahead of me, and had been wearing those new kinds of shorts made with spandex or some such horrible material and had a built-in liner.  Scant protection for certain body parts other than the lips, nose and ears.  Frostbite and The Airport Loop are forever linked in my mind.

*In town for a Sports Weekend.

The Secret to Running Success Revealed!

Well, maybe not to running, but certainly recovery!  It's compression combined with ice.  Heck, if I had the miracle that is compression garments 30 years ago, I might still be competing today.*

110%

The Equivalent of the Fountain of Youth?

With my wife running The Dopey this year at Walt Disney World's Marathon weekend, we went looking for a way to keep her upright and walking the Parks each day after each of the 4 runs.

1. Thursday - 10K -  Followed by a tour of Epcot, culminating in a Kung Pao meal at the Nine Dragons Restaurant in China.
2. Friday - 5K - followed by a leisurely stroll of the Animal Kingdom, culminating in another Asian meal at the base of Mt. Everest.
3. Saturday - Half Marathon - Followed by rambling about at Disney Hollywood Studios, culminating with dinner at Herbie's Drive In.
4. Sunday - Marathon - With the triumphant limp around the Magic Kingdom with all 6 medals earned.  Not sure about dinner plans.

The best place to pick up your ticket to perpetual movement is The Inside Track in the Harrisburg/Hershey area, conveniently located on Rt. 322!  There are also stores in Lancaster, Mechanicsburg and a new one in Lewisburg at Bucknell University.

Manager Henry Klugh displaying the 1977 District 3 gold Medal he won in the Mile after I was disqualified for tripping him.  Thanks to him, I went on to run the 2-Mile at States instead, for which I'm ever thankful.

* We all know that I made that up.  But let's all pretend anyway!

I Can't Believe XC is Over!

Matt Fischer was 78th in 31:06 at the NCAA Championships in a muddy, chilly Indiana.

The lone Lion stays warm before the start.

Not sure if these are shoes or not?

The Women placed 25th as a team.

Cushioning is Back!

The minimalist running shoe fad has, surprise surprise, led to injuries. Well looks like the injured have turned to trainers with a plethora of cushioning to stay healthy. The minimalist fad never made much sense to me as every half decent runner I know trains in normal (cushioned or stability) running shoes. Of course you can find an article or research to support your opinion on just about anything so what do I know.

We all know Dave's opinion on barefoot running (here and here). Go figure a podiatrist would have some knowledge regarding proper footwear. "A little heel height never hurt anyone."

A Steeplechasing Zombie!

There's no hope of getting away from this zombie.  She isn't the classical "slow" type of zombie, for sure!  And even if you run away over barriers and jump water hazards, she'll still catch you.  Your grandparents probably already told you that life isn't fair.

Bridget Franek for, I assume, Halloween!

Thanks to W and M's Brian Mount for the link!

To Stretch or Not to Stretch. That is the Question

The most inflexible runner ever wins again!

The last time I actually stretched was in 1980.  And by no means do I figure I'm better off or recommend it to anyone.  I just despise stretching and always have.  When I used to watch Alberto Salazar beating all the flexible runners in every race, I figured something was amiss. And scientific literature has been accumulating over the years that stretching:

1. Provides no benefit in the prevention of injuries.
2. Provides no benefit in the performance of athletes.

There has actually been strong scientific proof that weightlifters lose 5% of their strength if they stretch prior to lifting.  This applies to other strength activities like starting from starting blocks or suddenly accelerating in a race. Rather than cite the actual scientific literature on the subject, Ill just post a pro and con fluffy article from the recent common man literature.

Stretching Is Essential For Runners

Better Runners Are... Inflexible?

This loss of flexibility is a natural adaptation to training that makes you more economical. It may seem like a negative effect, but it’s actually a positive one, and you don’t want to interfere with it by doing too much stretching.

Sometimes, a Diamond First Appears to be Just a Rock

"We pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the nation  we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall be no more repeated or thought of." 

                                           -Editorial in the Harrisburg Patriot and Union, 1863. (rectified by an editorial in the Harrisburg Patriot News in 2013.)

The same can be said for many people and things we come across every day.  I am reminded about how many diamonds I happened to run with at PSU back in the day.  At the time, most seemed to just be a bunch of rocks.  Only looking back with the wisdom of a few years and the open-mind that time seems to provide, do I realize just how much of a diamond mine we had among our group in Happy Valley. I really do appreciate things so much better now.

When President Lincoln delivered his address in rural Pennsylvania in 1863, he was mostly ignored by those in charge.  A mere formality hastened his invitation and appearance and just a few minutes of time on the podium at the end of a long ceremony.  The main speaker spoke for hours.  Lincoln spoke for just 2 minutes or so.

Abraham Lincoln, at Gettysburg.

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."              

                                                                    -Abraham Lincoln, 11/19/1863.

Sometimes it takes just two minutes to change the world.  And sometimes it takes 150 years to realize the world has been changed.