by Rick Platt
For the past few years, runners participating in the Colonial Road Runners Wednesday afternoon interval sessions at Walsingham Academy have had to contend with about a sixth of a mile per lap of medium-sized rocks, used to cover the maintenance road from the far end of the track, along the woods line, and to the baseball backstop and dugouts. While run-able, the rocks were not fun to run on, and slowed down the pace for that section.
That inconvenience is now history. Back in March Walsingham agreed to purchase a dump truck-load of finely crushed stone, which was left in four large piles. The Colonial Road Runners agreed to provide all of the labor in moving the existing rocks to the side to provide an even base, then loading and dumping countless wheelbarrows full of the crushed stone, before smoothing out the finished running path.
Led by project coordinator Rick Platt, the regulars (with at least three work sessions) included Frank Caruso, Andrew and Mercedes D’Amico, Frank Faykes, Jim Goggin, Ian Hawkes, Ed Irish and Ann Jurczyk. Also putting in at least one work session were MacKenzie Carnes, Greg Dawson, Rex Hoover, Ashley Hoover, Steve Menzies, Paula Pickering and Daniel Shaye.
The finished smooth, flat surface is wide enough for two runners abreast, and is similar in condition to running paths at Noland Trail, Warhill, or Newport News Park. Try it out sometime!
So if you’ve been avoiding the Walsingham intervals in the past year or so, because you didn’t like running over the rocks, that excuse is gone! Come on out, and join us for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, which will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28th, in a ceremonial lap around the “short loop”, before the regular interval workout. Even if you can’t make the ribbon-cutting session, we hope as many of you as possible will become regulars at the Wednesday workouts on our new path.
Note that the October 28th interval session will be the last one at the regular March-through-October 5:30 p.m. starting time. With daylight savings time ending on Sunday, November 1st, all workouts from November 4th through the end of January will be at the winter starting time of 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
FLY, FLY AWAY
By Sally Young
yo-sal@cox.net
I was wondering why the deer fly kept getting bigger and bigger, and then it hit me right in the eye. I was running in the middle of a flash mob offlying bugs, trying to keep my mouth shut and my speed up, but they were landing all over me, morphing my style into that of a frenzied hackeysacker. I finally smacked one, and pulled my hand back, horrified to see it covered with my own blood. That's when a fly hit my eye, with another going straight into my mouth, mid-"ow". I reached up, smearing red across my eyeand knocking out my contact lens, reducing myself to blind staggers and drooling, like I was fresh off a Haitian white powder binge.
Deer flies thrive in damp, wooded areas or fields during warm weather. They begin swarming at dawn for about three hours, and then again around sunset.They're attracted to forward motion, and can't be outrun. A fly will circle its victim's head and shoulders, delivering a painful cross-shaped cut that pools with blood. Insect repellants are ineffective, but attaching a flypaper-like Deer Fly Patch on your hat will help ease your run. Google Tred-Not Deer Fly Patch.
yo-sal@cox.net
I was wondering why the deer fly kept getting bigger and bigger, and then it hit me right in the eye. I was running in the middle of a flash mob offlying bugs, trying to keep my mouth shut and my speed up, but they were landing all over me, morphing my style into that of a frenzied hackeysacker. I finally smacked one, and pulled my hand back, horrified to see it covered with my own blood. That's when a fly hit my eye, with another going straight into my mouth, mid-"ow". I reached up, smearing red across my eyeand knocking out my contact lens, reducing myself to blind staggers and drooling, like I was fresh off a Haitian white powder binge.
Deer flies thrive in damp, wooded areas or fields during warm weather. They begin swarming at dawn for about three hours, and then again around sunset.They're attracted to forward motion, and can't be outrun. A fly will circle its victim's head and shoulders, delivering a painful cross-shaped cut that pools with blood. Insect repellants are ineffective, but attaching a flypaper-like Deer Fly Patch on your hat will help ease your run. Google Tred-Not Deer Fly Patch.
The Many Faces of Running
by Dr. Daniel Shaye, Chiropractic Physician
Running. Covering ground on 2 feet. It's a universal experience, one we runners all share... or do we?
When you and I think of running, we may think of lacing up our shoes and heading out for a half hour run, or even a race; but there are many faces of running. Here in the USA, running is a form of recreation, a type of exercise, a path to health and/or personal joy. When I lived in Kenya, I saw running used as both a career path and a road to national pride; but I also saw it used as transportation-- especially by kids traveling to and from school. In America, our transportation typically has wheels and a motor. This is not the case in the more rural areas of developing nations... and sometimes they don't even wear shoes (the legends are true).
Having diversified my athletic endeavors, I've discovered other faces of running. I wouldn't dream of lacing up my high-top basketball shoes for a 3-mile trail run; yet for basketball, they're a must. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined giving up a trail run for 1-3 hours of sprints up an down an 84-foot-long hardwood, indoor court... yet it's still my legs, running and bounding, that carry me. The experience has its differences from distance running, to be sure: No deer sightings, no spikes, no precipitation, and never a hill or bump. Even so, it's still a thrill and joy to experience my body, moving through space, my heart pumping and lungs expanding.
We runners are a diverse family. A sprinter or triple-jumper might in some ways have more in common with the basketball player than the 5000 meter specialist; yet can even the 5K runner compare him or her-self with the marathoner? And what of the ultra runner's experience? I've never "been there," yet I understand that going 50 or 100+ miles is very, very different from the half hour or even 2 hour runs I've known.
Some of you might argue that we runners are all a family, sharing in a unique life that is separate and distinct from what basketball players or others might experience... yes? But again, I wonder if our family is bigger than we think. Some runners are driven by the watch, or the scale, or by competition. Some live running as a primal joy, a mental health exercise more than a physical one; and still others live a desire to move beyond desire, to be one with the experience. If such diverse people, doing such disparate things, can all call themselves "runners," might our family be even bigger than we at first conceive?
Whether we run, or racewalk; whether we bound and race, or shuffle along; whether our shoes cover our ankles, or exist not at all; and even whether we run for reasons as different as spikes and trainers; we runners of all stripes share a bond. A distance run, or playing 5-on-5 basketball, both require that our own two legs carry us-- and no one else's. We can experience the forms of the run as our solo treasure, or build a community and social support network around the activity. Perhaps we can expand our family, even while we experience what is in so many ways an intensely personal experience.
I'll see you on the road... or trail... or track... or court... or wherever you choose to run.
Yours in running, health, & fitness,
-Dr. Daniel A. ShayeCertified Chiropractic Sports PhysicianFellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic, 1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com ; or visit www.performancechiropractic.com
Running. Covering ground on 2 feet. It's a universal experience, one we runners all share... or do we?
When you and I think of running, we may think of lacing up our shoes and heading out for a half hour run, or even a race; but there are many faces of running. Here in the USA, running is a form of recreation, a type of exercise, a path to health and/or personal joy. When I lived in Kenya, I saw running used as both a career path and a road to national pride; but I also saw it used as transportation-- especially by kids traveling to and from school. In America, our transportation typically has wheels and a motor. This is not the case in the more rural areas of developing nations... and sometimes they don't even wear shoes (the legends are true).
Having diversified my athletic endeavors, I've discovered other faces of running. I wouldn't dream of lacing up my high-top basketball shoes for a 3-mile trail run; yet for basketball, they're a must. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined giving up a trail run for 1-3 hours of sprints up an down an 84-foot-long hardwood, indoor court... yet it's still my legs, running and bounding, that carry me. The experience has its differences from distance running, to be sure: No deer sightings, no spikes, no precipitation, and never a hill or bump. Even so, it's still a thrill and joy to experience my body, moving through space, my heart pumping and lungs expanding.
We runners are a diverse family. A sprinter or triple-jumper might in some ways have more in common with the basketball player than the 5000 meter specialist; yet can even the 5K runner compare him or her-self with the marathoner? And what of the ultra runner's experience? I've never "been there," yet I understand that going 50 or 100+ miles is very, very different from the half hour or even 2 hour runs I've known.
Some of you might argue that we runners are all a family, sharing in a unique life that is separate and distinct from what basketball players or others might experience... yes? But again, I wonder if our family is bigger than we think. Some runners are driven by the watch, or the scale, or by competition. Some live running as a primal joy, a mental health exercise more than a physical one; and still others live a desire to move beyond desire, to be one with the experience. If such diverse people, doing such disparate things, can all call themselves "runners," might our family be even bigger than we at first conceive?
Whether we run, or racewalk; whether we bound and race, or shuffle along; whether our shoes cover our ankles, or exist not at all; and even whether we run for reasons as different as spikes and trainers; we runners of all stripes share a bond. A distance run, or playing 5-on-5 basketball, both require that our own two legs carry us-- and no one else's. We can experience the forms of the run as our solo treasure, or build a community and social support network around the activity. Perhaps we can expand our family, even while we experience what is in so many ways an intensely personal experience.
I'll see you on the road... or trail... or track... or court... or wherever you choose to run.
Yours in running, health, & fitness,
-Dr. Daniel A. ShayeCertified Chiropractic Sports PhysicianFellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic, 1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com ; or visit www.performancechiropractic.com
Friday, October 9, 2009
The First Crapolfest 5K
By Rick Platt
Soccer and running were intertwined at the inaugural Crapolfest 2009 5K Run last Saturday, starting and finishing at Albert-Daly Field, the soccer stadium for William and Mary. The race benefited the Andrew E. Crapol Soccer Scholarship, and was organized by the W&M Tribe Club, with assistance by the W&M men’s soccer team.
Andy Crapol (1978-2009) was a Williamsburg native who played soccer for Lafayette High School, then at William and Mary under Coach Al Albert (the race director for the Crapolfest run). The 5K was a Colonial Road Runners event. Andy’s mother, Jeanne Zeidler, is on the Williamsburg City Council, and is the current mayor of Williamsburg. His father, Edward Crapol, is a professor emeritus in history at W&M.
Andy was diagnosed with esophageal cancer early this year, and died tragically within months. His wife, Allison Simmons Crapol, was at all the weekend events, including handing out the race awards.
There was almost $12,000 raised from the Crapolfest weekend events (also including a mini-golf tournament Saturday afternoon at Pirates Cove), and with $4,000+ in additional contributions made to the scholarship fund, that made for over $16,000 raised. The Crapol scholarship is now endowed with over $70,000.
There were 195 finishers in the 5K run/walk, and an additional 31 finishers in the 1 mile fun run/walk. The mini-golf tournament attracted about 125. There was also a W&M women’s soccer game Friday evening, and a men’s soccer game Saturday evening, where rival George Mason prevailed 1-0.
The top three overall men were Danny O’Callaghan, 37, of Houston (17:04), Gregor Kranjc, 35, of Williamsburg (17:13) and Daniel Shean, 26, of Williamsburg (18:07). O’Callaghan coached Brittany Lane, a junior starting midfielder on the W&M women’s team, for the Challenge Soccer Club in Houston, and came to the race with Brittany’s father, Brent Lane. Kranjc is a visiting professor in the same W&M history department as Andy’s father.
The top three women were Alaina Redd, 16, of Midlothian (and Cosby High School) in 20:53, Claire Zimmeck, 22, of Williamsburg (22:02) and Kristin Morgan, 24, of Williamsburg (22:48). Zimmeck was a two-time All-American for the W&M women’s soccer team, graduating in May.
The race course was mostly flat, and included a loop around Dillard Complex to start, then heading out the recreational bike path past the James City County Williamsburg Recreation Center, down Longhill Road to Ironbound Road at James Blair School, then back past the Plumeri Park entrance road to the finish at Albert-Daly Field, where refreshments were served and awards handed out.
Some of the notable runners, with soccer or W&M connections, placing in the top three of their age groups were Robert Bryden of Richmond and Greg Westfall of Manhasset, NY (both ’97 soccer grads); Scott Cooper of Toano (a coach in the Virginia Legacy soccer club); Sean Pieri (vice president for development for W&M); John Tuttle (W&M ’88, who was recently named one of the top 25 men’s soccer players of the CAA for its past 25 years); Gonzalo Abrigo (father of current men’s player Nick); Milam Walters (married to Andy’s older sister Heidi Crapol); Brent Lane (father of Brittany); Christine Connelly (wife of W&M associate head soccer coach Chuck Connelly); Brita Marmon (W&M assistant women’s soccer coach); and Karen DiNuzzo (mother of Michael on the W&M men’s team). Jonny Kamara, the second assistant coach for the W&M soccer team, who also coaches Virginia Legacy, would have been one of the top finishers, but he was accompanying his 3-year-old son Atticus to an impressive 39:23 time.
There were numerous other family members of Andy’s participating in either the 5K or 1 mile events, including Jeanne Zeidler, Ed Crapol, brother Paul Crapol, sister Heidi Crapol, aunt Marianne Crapol, father-in-law Robert Simmons, mother-in-law Patricia Simmons, and sister-in-law Kimberly Simmons.
Andy Crapol was best friends with Shane Emmett and the entire Emmett family since they were little kids, and all the Emmetts participated, including father Bob, mother Pauline, and brothers Shane, Casey (who designed the race entry form) and Quinn (designer and webmaster for the http://www.andycrapol.com/ website), and sister Molly (who ran barefoot).
Al Albert’s son Graham, also a former W&M soccer player, ran the first mile holding a soccer ball, then once the course opened up a bit, dribbled it for the final two miles of the race.
Full results can be found at http://colonialroadrunners.org/2009Crapolfestresults.txt.
Soccer and running were intertwined at the inaugural Crapolfest 2009 5K Run last Saturday, starting and finishing at Albert-Daly Field, the soccer stadium for William and Mary. The race benefited the Andrew E. Crapol Soccer Scholarship, and was organized by the W&M Tribe Club, with assistance by the W&M men’s soccer team.
Andy Crapol (1978-2009) was a Williamsburg native who played soccer for Lafayette High School, then at William and Mary under Coach Al Albert (the race director for the Crapolfest run). The 5K was a Colonial Road Runners event. Andy’s mother, Jeanne Zeidler, is on the Williamsburg City Council, and is the current mayor of Williamsburg. His father, Edward Crapol, is a professor emeritus in history at W&M.
Andy was diagnosed with esophageal cancer early this year, and died tragically within months. His wife, Allison Simmons Crapol, was at all the weekend events, including handing out the race awards.
There was almost $12,000 raised from the Crapolfest weekend events (also including a mini-golf tournament Saturday afternoon at Pirates Cove), and with $4,000+ in additional contributions made to the scholarship fund, that made for over $16,000 raised. The Crapol scholarship is now endowed with over $70,000.
There were 195 finishers in the 5K run/walk, and an additional 31 finishers in the 1 mile fun run/walk. The mini-golf tournament attracted about 125. There was also a W&M women’s soccer game Friday evening, and a men’s soccer game Saturday evening, where rival George Mason prevailed 1-0.
The top three overall men were Danny O’Callaghan, 37, of Houston (17:04), Gregor Kranjc, 35, of Williamsburg (17:13) and Daniel Shean, 26, of Williamsburg (18:07). O’Callaghan coached Brittany Lane, a junior starting midfielder on the W&M women’s team, for the Challenge Soccer Club in Houston, and came to the race with Brittany’s father, Brent Lane. Kranjc is a visiting professor in the same W&M history department as Andy’s father.
The top three women were Alaina Redd, 16, of Midlothian (and Cosby High School) in 20:53, Claire Zimmeck, 22, of Williamsburg (22:02) and Kristin Morgan, 24, of Williamsburg (22:48). Zimmeck was a two-time All-American for the W&M women’s soccer team, graduating in May.
The race course was mostly flat, and included a loop around Dillard Complex to start, then heading out the recreational bike path past the James City County Williamsburg Recreation Center, down Longhill Road to Ironbound Road at James Blair School, then back past the Plumeri Park entrance road to the finish at Albert-Daly Field, where refreshments were served and awards handed out.
Some of the notable runners, with soccer or W&M connections, placing in the top three of their age groups were Robert Bryden of Richmond and Greg Westfall of Manhasset, NY (both ’97 soccer grads); Scott Cooper of Toano (a coach in the Virginia Legacy soccer club); Sean Pieri (vice president for development for W&M); John Tuttle (W&M ’88, who was recently named one of the top 25 men’s soccer players of the CAA for its past 25 years); Gonzalo Abrigo (father of current men’s player Nick); Milam Walters (married to Andy’s older sister Heidi Crapol); Brent Lane (father of Brittany); Christine Connelly (wife of W&M associate head soccer coach Chuck Connelly); Brita Marmon (W&M assistant women’s soccer coach); and Karen DiNuzzo (mother of Michael on the W&M men’s team). Jonny Kamara, the second assistant coach for the W&M soccer team, who also coaches Virginia Legacy, would have been one of the top finishers, but he was accompanying his 3-year-old son Atticus to an impressive 39:23 time.
There were numerous other family members of Andy’s participating in either the 5K or 1 mile events, including Jeanne Zeidler, Ed Crapol, brother Paul Crapol, sister Heidi Crapol, aunt Marianne Crapol, father-in-law Robert Simmons, mother-in-law Patricia Simmons, and sister-in-law Kimberly Simmons.
Andy Crapol was best friends with Shane Emmett and the entire Emmett family since they were little kids, and all the Emmetts participated, including father Bob, mother Pauline, and brothers Shane, Casey (who designed the race entry form) and Quinn (designer and webmaster for the http://www.andycrapol.com/ website), and sister Molly (who ran barefoot).
Al Albert’s son Graham, also a former W&M soccer player, ran the first mile holding a soccer ball, then once the course opened up a bit, dribbled it for the final two miles of the race.
Full results can be found at http://colonialroadrunners.org/2009Crapolfestresults.txt.
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