NC Masters Swim Results

This past weekend was the North Carolina Short Course Yards Championships for masters swimming. Three people from the Rocky Mount YMCA participated in the event, and did very well. Doug Slater swam in men's 45-49 division, Brooks Whitehurst in women's 25-29 division and Mike Schuttinga in the men's 40-44 division.

Doug, took two 2nds, two 3rds, and a 4th place finish:

• 4th 50 Yard Freestyle 24.86
• 3rd 100 Yard Freestyle 53.55
• 2nd 200 Yard Freestyle 2:02:.12
• 3rd 500 Yard Freestyle 5:45:85
• 2nd 100 Yard Backstroke 1:01:93

Brooks, also took two 2nd finishes and a 6th as well:

• 2nd 50 Yard Freestyle 36.07
• 6th 100 Yard Freestyle 1:22.58
• 2nd 100 Yard Freestyle 3:06.67

Mike, had a 2nd place finish and two 3rds:

• 2nd 1000 Yard Freestyle 12:44:50
• 3rd 50 Yard Butterfly 27.08
• 3rd 100 Yard Butterfly 1:00.37

This is truly a remarkable performance by all three swimmers. This event hosted some of the top competitors in the state. Only three people from the Rocky Mount YMCA swam in the event, yet the still managed to finish in the top six eleven times! Great Job everyone! For complete results click here.

Mike Schuttinga has done an excellent job building the Masters Swim program at the YMCA. If you have any interest in swimming, or are looking to supplement some of you running with cross training, please take some time to speak to him the next time you are in the Y.

Movie: Saint Ralph

If you get Runner's World you may have seen them mention the movie "Saint Ralph" a time or two. It is a movie about a 14 year old Catholic boy whose mother is in a coma. He believes that if he can produce a miracle that it will wake his mother.

Ralph is far from being a Saint, but is a charming and a good natured kid. He decides early in the story that winning the Boston Marathon is just the miracle he needs to produce. I know, the plot sounds far fetched, but you will fall in love with the characters, and be standing up to cheer for the underdog. I promise that you will not be disappointed, go rent this movie!

It is on some of the movie channels now (Encore I think), but it can be picked up through Blockbuster or Netflix's too.

RUN RSVP: 04/28

We are running again this weekend. Hope to see everyone out on the roads again. We will leave from the Harris Teeter at 8:00 a.m. I created two route options again. Please choose what works for you. As always, you can add or subtract to either route as needed.

I will not have time to create written directions this week, so please look over the routes before running. If anyone else wants to create written directions, feel free to post them in the comments below. I will then add them as part of the map, so we will have it in the future.

Run Details:

• Day: Saturday
• Time: 8:00 a.m.
• Where: Harris Teeter
• Distance: Route #1 - 9.8 miles, Route #2 - 4.0 miles (add or cut as needed)
• Route: Map #1, Map #2
• Supported: TBD
• Weather: Forecast

There are several new posts below, so if you have not been to the blog for a while, be sure to scroll down.

Survey Results

I ended up with 24 responses to my training team survey. Because I did not realize I only had 10 days to view the responses, I am now locked out unless I pay for Zoomerang Pro which I do not intend to do. Prior to getting locked out, I did copy the more important data from the first 21 surveys, which I will share below. I am only including the questions that really have any value in their answers.

1. Do you plan to run a marathon in the fall of 2007?
7 - Absolutely
3 - Most Likely
8 - Maybe
4 - Doubtful
0 - No Way
So it looks like 10 people are in for a Marathon, with eight other possible runners.

2. If you plan to run, would you be interested in a marathon training team?
I am happy to say that 100% of you said yes to this question. I guess we did something right last year.

3. How would you rate the importance of the following features?

No real big surprises with the above results. The Weekend running groups with planned and supported routes was clearly tops on the list. It is also evident that having a race along the way is important, which we can work in again this year. The Clinics were low on the list. I think some of this has to do with the experience level of our runners. I think we could still do clinics again this year, but try to add to the topics to make it more interesting. Also, these clinics can be more valuable to runners who are training for their first big race.

4. How would you like the cost to be organized?
This was one of the questions I lost the responses to but I remember seeing the answers somewhat split. Some people liked having one fee for everything. Others wanted to pay their own race entry fee. Depending on the race (or races) for 2007, we could take either approach. If I can arrange a discounted race entry due to the size of our group, it may be beneficial to just have one fee for everything. I will wait to see how things go, and what race we decide to run.

5. Of the following fall marathons, what is your interest level?
This was an interesting question. To quantify the results, I had to weight your answers. If you were "absolutely" going to run a marathon, your answers were given more weight than those who were "maybes". I also weighted your response based on interest level in the races we listed. Depending on how I tweaked my numbers, Raleigh and Richmond were at the top of this list by a wide margin.

This makes for an interesting decision for 2007. By early next week, I will post something on the blog about some options for a training team for this fall. Although November is still a good waysoff, we should still make a decision and start our planning soon. The Sports Backers have already signed up over 200 runners for their 2007 team.

6. If we organize a team for Richmond, would you want to be part of the Sports Backers again?
100% of those interested in Richmond would partner with Sports Backers again. This is good to hear, and shows you all saw value in being part of the team. Don has already contacted me to see if we plan to be back again.

7.Are there other races you are interested in running?
This was another question, where I lost your answers, but I know there was interest in:

- The Rock and Roll Half Marathon.
- The DuPont Park Trail Marathon
- The Dismal Swamp Stomp
- City of Oaks Half Marathon
- Others that I cant remember

8. What activities would you personally like to see the Endurance Club try?
Triathlons was at the top of the list, which is no surprise considering several of you are already entered. Biking, both mountain and road were also high on the list. Competitive Whack-a-Mole, I believe actually came in 2nd. My kids will start a training class at Chuck-e-Cheeses next week for that. Kayaking was also put on the list, which I admit sounds like a lot of fun.

9. What do you think of the emails/blogs?
I combined two questions into one here, but the general response is that people enjoy both, so I will keep them going.

10. If you ran with the train team in 2006 would you recommend it to a friend?
This question had a 100% yes answer, which is another good sign.

11. What you be interested in coaching/leading?
There was some "soft" interest in this answer, but I did not find anyone jumping out of their seat to coach at the time of the survey. I really would like to have a half marathon training team this fall as well, so I am hoping someone out there will step up to the plate. You do not need to be an expert (see myself for evidence), but you do need to be able to organize and motivate. Let me know if you are interested.

Again, I will follow up soon with information about our plans for this fall, and get your feedback once again, now that we can narrow down to just a few choices. Thanks!

5k in Wilson on 05/05

I just add the 8th Annual Wilson Road Race to the upcoming races links to the right. I thought this one may appeal to many of you looking for a short distance race, but within easy driving distance. The race is on Saturday, May 5th, and begins at 8:00 AM at the Regency Athletic Club on 2402 Wooten Blvd. The actual race starts at 8:30. The course is very spectator friendly, and allows fans to see runners four times easily by only walking a few yards.

There is also a one mile fun run if you were interested in bringing out the kids. On Race Day, late registration will begin at 6:30 AM for both races, and end at 7:30 AM for the one-mile race and at 8:00 AM for the 5k race.

For a small town race, this event has a lot to offer. They provide free daycare for children 6 weeks to 12 years of age, a full service locker rooms, smoothies, and access to Regency Athletic Club fitness equipment. Post race, they have lots of food with a breakfast sponsored by Chick-fil-a, bagels, fruit, subs, Dominoes Pizza, Coca-Cola, Dasani water and/or Powerade!

Enter by this Friday, to guarantee yourself a t-shirt! Not a bad deal for $15. . . child care, race, food, drinks, and a shirt!

So, who plans to run?

Your 2007 Race Times

I mentioned a few posts below that I was going to create a page with race results for everyone. That is now available in the right navigation under Quick Links. Please take a minute to review your results and let me know of any errors or omissions. I will keep this updated during the year, but need you to tell me when you run a race. Enjoy!

Buzz Lightyear can't stop Scott!

Scott Wingfield, submitted a picture to the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon recently for their photo contest. They had asked for pictures of people wearing their race t-shirts. Scott, his son Griffin, and Buzz Lightyear are now on the front page of their web site.

He even got in a plug for the Rocky Mount Endurance Club. Check it out!