John Finishes His First Half!

Congrats to John Batchelor on finishing his first half marathon. John joined the RMEC a few months ago inspired to train for a full marathon. He decided to use the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon is a training race.

Unlike last year, the weather was anything but perfect. It was a hot and humid day. The warmer temps did not appear to impact John, as he ran a 1:43:31 and finished 75th in his division. For an event with well over 10,000 runners, this is one heck of a race debut.

One more thing. . . John did this race without a taper at all. He ran a 20 miler last weekend, and another six miler just two days before the race. Great job John! Good things are ahead in Chicago.

Sad News

An FYI for the triathletes in the group. I have not found all the details as to what caused her crash, but it sounds like it was in a corner while going downhill.

Please be careful out there and watch for (and call out) rocks and gravel at intersections. Please remember to always ride in pairs at a minimum, and the bigger the group the more visible you will be. Hopefully at least one member of the group will have a cell phone and it would be courteous to your riding partners to carry identification with contact numbers etc on it (even a small piece of paper in a zip lock). Be safe. - Eric

RUN RSVP: Saturday 08/30

Looks like the nice weather we had the last two weekends has left us. The humidity is back, and tomorrow looks like more of the same. Get your run in early, and then watch college football all day! This weekends schedule calls for runs of 4, 12, and 18 miles. Several of us ran this morning already, and I don't think anyone has an 18 miler for tomorrow, so I have just listed two routes below. I did put a five mile route that can be adjusted down if needed.

Run Details:

• Where: Saturday, 6:00 am @ Harris Teeter
• Supported: TBD
• Weather: Forecast (70F at start)
• Routes: 5 miles; 12 miles

The Half Marathon plan calls for a 4-miler this week. I picked a 5-mile route, because I know some of you are ahead of the plan, and the route I selected can easily be cut back to four by leaving out the last loop. Don't do more than your body is telling you to do.

I am not able to put out any fluids. If someone can, please post a comment here, and give me or Scott your receipt. As always. . . ANYONE is welcome to join us! Tell a friend. . . RSVP online with your pace and distance.

Quote for the Day:
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T S Eliot

RMEC Your Help Is Needed Again!

Thanks to everyone who gave Ford's Colony a push last week to help fill in the remaining spots. There are only two 5k spots left, and less than 20 10k spots. We now need your help again for the Medoc Trail Races!

The final price increase for Medoc occurs this coming Monday (09/01). So if you don't sign up over the weekend, you will pay the extra 10 bucks. We want to try to get a late push to fill in some of the remaining race spots.

We are on pace right now for 220-240 total runners, so it is not a concern of having enough people. The more runners that sign up early, the easier our planning is. We need to order shirts, finishers medals, food, gels, water bottles, timing chips, etc. All of this take lead time, so knowing our runners early helps.

I realize finding people to run a 5k is easier than finding people for a trail race, but please do your part and help us find runners. If you read the comments under the Medoc Meltdown post below, you will see nothing but praise. Several first time trail runners had a great time and did very well. Don't let the "trail aspect" of the race keep you away.

Lastly, if you can't find us a runner. . . find us a volunteer. This is key to the success of the race. No experience is necessary. If you can smile, point, clap, cheer, hand out cups, give out food, etc, then you have the skills we are looking for!

Don't let us down RMEC. . . If you are reading this post (even if you are not a RMEC member), do your part to help make this event a great success!

Medoc Meltdown Results

Hats off to Frank and Cameron for puling off a great event at the Medoc Meltdown. There has been lots of positive comments in the previous Meltdown post a few down. Sounds like it went very well, and that we may have found some new trail runners in the RMEC!

One, two, three or four loops. . .congrats to everyone who finished!

OBX Marathon and Half Marathon

From speaking to many of you, and based on our "Fall Races" poll a few months ago, it appears there is a large number of RMEC members running the OBX Marathon or Half Marathon. This could turn out to be another trip similar to the one people made for the Myrtle Beach races with 10+ runners making the trip. Let everyone know if you are planning to run, by posting a comment here.

12 so far:
Posted. . .Jeff H, Scott, Ursula, Steve, Tampa, Frank, Derek, Ryan, Arthur, Levi, Tracy H, Eric P
Heard on the run. . . Michael (new guy), Others . . .

RUN RSVP: Saturday 08/23

I know many of you are running at Medoc, so we may have a small group on Saturday. Once again we have three different distances planned. As always, all routes can be adjusted. Please be sure to review the directions before the run and print them if needed. To see the turn sheets, look below the map. If they are not there, click on "Notes". The newer maps have it under notes. The 20 miler does not have directions for some reason, but I feel confident those doing 20 know where they are going.

Run Details:

• Where: Saturday, 6:00 am @ Harris Teeter
• Supported: Yes
• Weather: Forecast (65F at start)
• Routes: 5 miles; 14 miles; 20 miles

The Half Marathon plan calls for a 4-miler this week. I picked a 5-mile route, because I know some of you are ahead of the plan, and the route I selected can easily be cut back to four by leaving out the last loop. Don't do more than your body is telling you to do.

The weather is going to be fantastic! Mid 60's to start in unbeatable is August, so take advantage of the cooler temps and have a great run! Fluids will be at the tracks, at my house, and at Co-Ah-Bar (can someone put fluids there again). ANYONE is welcome to join us! Tell a friend. . . RSVP online with your pace and distance. . . See you tomorrow!

Quote for the Day: "It’s Better to Try and Fail Than to Have Never Tried At All"