Ford's Colony Feedback Requested

Congratulations Runners. In this post, we are requesting feedback on the Ford's Colony 5k and 10k. If you ran, walked, or volunteered we want to hear from you.

To leave feedback, click the comments link at the very bottom (way down). You do not need to register with blogger to post a comment. You also do not have to be a RMEC member. We want every one's input.

How was the start? Did you like the course? Did packet pickup go okay? Did you like the awards? Was there enough food and drink? Was the course marked clearly? Did it get too crowded? Could we handle more runners? Did you like the shirt? Did you like the registration process?

Anything that was important to you, is important to us. We can only get better if we know what we did well, and where we need to improve.

Thank you!

Michael Forrester & Scott Wingfield

Tropical Storms Can't Stop Dave and Jeff

Two RMEC Members braved the storm last weekend and raced at Williamsburg. The Patriots Point Triathlon had several weather issues. Saturday's Half Ironman distance was canceled completely. Sundays Sprint and International distance events were converted to a biathlon instead. The water was simply not safe for an open water swim. They still had 155 men show up to compete.

Jeff Miller finished 33 overall with a total time of 2:13:50. His second run was a 44:51 10k. Very impressive time on it’s own, but even more impressive after nearly 90 minutes of running and cycling. Jeff finished 9th in his age group.

Only 19 athletes behind was Dave Lavely with a total time of 2:20:16. Dave took the lead from Jeff on the cycling portion of the race, but Jeff passed him again during the run. Dave finish 4th in his age group.

Way to go RMEC!

Great job tonight everyone! The RMEC really came through big time. The race packet stuffing could not have gone any better. We got it done in under two hours thanks to all of your help.

I really appreciate the club stepping up to help out with Ford's Colony. I know some are working with packet pickup, and many others are racing on Saturday. If you have a RMEC shirt, wear it with pride in the race. Even if you are not volunteering, you still represent the RMEC. Do everything you can to make people feel welcome before, during, and after the race.

I look forward to even more great support as we get ready for Medoc! We still REALLY NEED volunteers for this event, so please do your part to find us assistance. Medoc is a far more challenging event to pull off. It can't be done without willing volunteers.

Thanks again!

RMEC Your Help is Needed Again!

Hard to believe, but the Ford's Colony 5k and 10k race is this weekend! We are expecting over 300 runners, spectators, and volunteers to join us Saturday morning for this inaugural event. There are a few prerace activities where Scott and I need your help.

Race Packet Assembly: Tentatively we are planning for Wednesday afternoon/evening to assemble race packets. This means getting the right chip, with the right number and the right shirt in the runners bags. We also are adding in some coupons, key chains, coozies, etc. from our sponsor. Each bag and race number will be labeled with the runners name. The location is not set yet. I am trying to figure out if I can do this in the our old board room. This gives us LOTS of space to set up an assembly line with several tables. We can do it anywhere, but having lots of clear space is a BIG plus. If you can help, post here, and let me know what time you can do it. Thursday is also an option, so if you reply give your availability for both days. We will have pizza!

Race Packet Pickup: We are strongly encouraging local runners to pick up their race packets in advance. This will make race day far less stressful. Early packet pickup is available at Davenport Honda on English Road this Friday from noon - 8:00 pm. We will remind runners of this with an email this week. I would not be surprised to see over 100 runners pick them up early. I am looking for people is two hour blocks to work this table. Two people per slot is probably enough, but three would not hurt.

• 12:00 - 2:00 pm (Busy) - Michael F, Mike V., Scott
• 2:00 - 4:00 pm (Slow) - Ursula, Steve
• 4:00 - 6:00 pm (Very Busy) - Patti, Tracy P. , Ursula
• 6:00 - 8:00 pm (Moderate) - Ron, Kelly, Eric P

Whoever does the last shift, needs to bring the race packets, and race banner from Davenport Honda to Ford's Colony Friday evening.

UPDATE: Here are the bag stuffing volunteers for Wednesday. We will meet Wednesday at the RBC Building at 6:00 pm. Thanks everyone for offering to help. I think we have enough now to get this done quickly. Anymore people, and it might get confusing.

• Michael
• Scott
• Patti
• Sandy
• Brian
• Kelly
• Eric P
• Derek
• Arthur
• Frank
• Ryan

Please try to get here right at 6:00 so we don't need to keep running downstairs to let people in. The building is secure so Frank, Scott, or I will need to let you in and escort you. Thanks to Frank for making his two conference rooms available!

Marathon Movie DVD Release

The documentary Spirit of the Marathon will be released on DVD on October 7th, 2008. You can sign up for the pre purchase starting on Monday. Pre-orders will be signed by the director. You can find more at the official movie site.

If you are not familiar with this movie, it follows multiple marthons as they prepare for the 2006 Chicago Marathon. The follow elites, and first timers in what is one the the closest finishes in marathon history. Patti had a chance to see it last year at the Chicago film festival and gave it race reviews.

For a preview clip (which I still LOVE to watch), visit this old blog post.

RUN RSVP: Saturday 09/06

First of all, sorry for a pretty inactive blog this week. Ursula has been out of town since Sunday, and I have been on kid patrol. Add on top of that that our YMCA has been closed all week, so I have been trying to squeeze in runs at random times. I just have not have any free time this week.

I am posting a Saturday RSVP post, but I am not posting any routes for several reason.

• Four of us got our long run in Thursday
• Many of you are out of town racing (weather permitting)
• And a tropical storm is supposed to be here on Saturday

There is a chance Saturday morning will be fine for running, but I want you all to use your best judgment. First of all, if you do run, I do not suggest starting in the dark, so push the start time back to 6:30 am. Secondly, understand that if conditions are good enough to run, there will likely be lots of people out going to the store and taking care of last minute things. They most likely are not looking for runners on the roads. Bottom line. . . Be alert!

If you plan to run at another time like Saturday afternoon, or Sunday post a response here. Let people know where you are running, how far, and what pace. Happy running!

Updated Running Groups:

• 5:45 am Scott and John for 16-20 miles at 8:45ish pace (Harris Teeter)
• 7:15 am Kinnie, and others for 6 miles at 9:30 pace (Harris Teeter)
• 1:00 pm Elaine and Misty for 8 miles at "slow pace" (Location TBD)
• Others that may run: Kelly, Robin, Tampa, Tracy H, Tracy P, Jason, and Michael

Please keep posting comments!

More Rock 'n Roll Results

Well, I did not do a good job of looking at the RnR results. There were some other RMEC members who raced as well.

Travis Hartney (the son of Jeff) ran a 1:58:58. This an impressive time for just about any runner, but Travis is only 14. His sub 2-hour performance was good enough for 12th place in his age group! Way to go Travis!

Steve Cooper has been having an amazing summer with his marathon training. Every run he seems to get stronger. It should come as no surprise that he set a new PR, and broke the two hour barrier for the first time. His finishing time was 1:56:34, knocking 18 minutes off his previous PR. WOW! (edit: make that 7 minutes off. . . still impressive)

Several others from Rocky Mount, Battleboro, and Nashville also raced who will be in Ford's Colony. If you are a reader but not a member (you know who you are). . . Congrats to you too!