The Season For Racing

President's Message

Racing season is upon us and BRRC members are taking full advantage. Runners of all experience levels and abilities are racing from 5K to ultra distances. Our Club races are attracting more runners than in recent years, and our Training Programs are graduating new runners for their inaugural races.

The My Training Group Newsletter for May contains 5 full pages of race results for training group participants and coaches. Many of our newest runners PR'd in Spring races, and coaches Tom Nasuta and Christian Creutzer ran in the Umstead Endurance Run, with Tom finishing the 100-mile race and Christian the 50-mile race.

BRRC hosted two Trail Races in April and our New Members Run, all of which were well attended. Results can be found here. Great pictures from both races, and many of our other events, can be found on our Flickr site.

Tom Nasuta has updated the Baltimore Area Ultra Runner List to include Spring races, too. Check out the list to see what incredible feats some of our members are accomplishing.

And, finally, on a memorable day in Boston, many BRRC members participated in the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. Member Graham Peck placed an impressive 59th among 31,805 finishers with a time of 3:26:36. Congratulations to Graham and the other BRRC members who ran in this special race. What a special year to have run the race, with Meb Keflezighi's bold win.

This month features two BRRC races, the Women's Distance Festival on May 18th and the Patapsco Trail Race on the 25th, and a host of other local and regional races in which many of our members will participate.

In April, we tested the new idea of a Team Store, offering members the opportunity to purchase BRRC-branded apparel for a 3-week period. The gear was finished this week and looks great! Our partner in the Team Store tells us 47 orders were placed for just under 100 pieces, a good result for the initial launch. Board Delegate Johnny Lyons spearheaded the Team Store effort and is already planning our next Team Store, which will offer cool- and cold-weather gear. Look for it in late summer. Once again, the store will be open for three weeks, with order fulfillment two weeks later.

Oh, yeah, and our Training Programs coaches are now outfitted in BRRC coaching gear. They should be easier to spot now during training sessions!

Now that good weather is here, remember that on Thursdays BRRC hosts informal track sessions at Goucher College. Get there at 6:30 pm to warm up for workouts that start promptly at 7:00 pm. On Saturdays, we meet at 7:00 am at Loch Raven Reservoir at the corner of Loch Raven Drive and Morgan Mill Road for long runs. A variety of distances and surfaces can be run from there. Find a partner or partners and go!

Put on your calendar the date of Sunday, June 22nd for the BRRC Family Picnic and Awards Presentation, starting at 1:00 pm. Look for details in our next Monthly Update and on the website. And, remember that we are looking for candidates for our Performance Awards. More information can be found here. Contact us to nominate a friend or yourself.

For many years, BRRC has hosted a water stop on Key Highway at the Baltimore Running Festival. This year's Festival is scheduled for October 18th. We are looking for someone to lead the volunteer effort this year, which consists of recruiting Club members help set up, hand out water and Gatorade, and tear down after the last runners have passed. The event represents a great way to support the local running community and show off the BRRC colors. Please let us know if you are interested.

Registration for the 25th running of the NCR Trail Marathon, our premier race, will open soon. Watch the website for details. This year, we are adding a Rails to Trails 8K to allow for more runners to celebrate the Silver Anniversary. The big day is Saturday, November 29, at 8:30 am. I encourage all Club members to participate by running the marathon, relay, or 8K. Or, join us as a volunteer! It will be a great day to acknowledge what a great community we have at BRRC. I hope you will join us.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Board Members Betsy Schwartz and Johnny Lyons on their recent engagement. Johnny asked Betsy to marry him while they were marking the course for the recent Gunpowder Trail Race. Talk about a commitment to the Club!

As always, if you have a suggestion for the Club or an observation about Club activities, please let me know. And, a special "Thank You" to our many dedicated volunteers.

Thank you for being a part of BRRC. I look forward to seeing you at the races!

Tim