By Rick Platt
In its first year, this weekend’s Run for Achievable Dream races will be the largest running event ever held in Williamsburg . As of Tuesday morning there were already 1,650 entrants in Saturday morning’s Fit to Run, Fit to Dream 8K Run/Walk (8 a.m. start), which has been given the 2011 USA Masters 8K Road Championship status by the USA Track & Field governing body. And Sunday morning’s Run for the Dream Half Marathon (7:30 a.m. start) already has 2,700 entrants. Additionally there are 150 entrants in the kids runs, and 40 Wounded Warriors. That total of over 4,500 pre-registered runners already dwarfs the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon and 5K, which had over 2,000 entrants at its peak, and last December’s inaugural Christmas Town Dash 8K at Busch Gardens, which had just under 2,000 entrants.
Those still wanting to enter either race can register at the expo and packet pickup at the Williamsburg Woodlands Conference Center , 119 Visitor Center Drive , on Friday (noon to 7 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). For further info visit the race website at www.RunForAchievableDream.com, or call the Achievable Dream office at 757-599-9472.
The two pre-race favorites for the USATF Masters 8K Championships, Mark Andrews of Rochester , NY and Sonja Friend-Uhl of Nashville , TN , both recently turned 40, becoming eligible for Masters (ages 40+) competition, and both are familiar with the roads of Williamsburg . As a 27-year-old Andrews won the 1998 Colonial Half Marathon in 1:05:46, the first year that race switched from the Colonial Parkway/Route 199 course to its current Carter’s Grove Country Road/Kingsmill course. Andrews’s time was the course record for the hillier version until 2005, when Azat Rakipov of Belarus ran a 1:05:22, but remains the No. 2 time ever, despite repeated attempts by international elite. Andrews is the last American male to win the Colonial Half. He has already won the 2011 USATF Half Marathon Masters Championship in 1:10:33.
Friend-Uhl, originally a state champion from Delaware, graduated from William and Mary in 1994, where she developed into a national-class middle-distance runner and school record holder in the 800 meters (2:08), before moving to West Palm Beach, FL with husband Brad Uhl (a former W&M football player), and then to Nashville, with daughters Brianna, 10, and Alexa, 2. At the W&M Homecoming Run 5K, Friend-Uhl has won three times, and still holds the race age-group records for women 25-29 (18:15 in 1996), women 30-34 (16:42 in 2003, the race record) and women 35-39 (17:25 in 2009). Her lifetime bests include times like 2:06.4 (800 meters), 4:13.96 (1,500 meters), 4:37 (mile), 16:19 (5K), 33:57 (10K), 1:15:20 (half marathon) and 2:49:25 (marathon). She turned 40 in March, and is considered the best in the U.S. for Masters women in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 meters.
Wiliamsburg’s world-class Masters runner, Steve Chantry, 56, who was instrumental in bringing the USATF 8K championship to Williamsburg, and will be vying for men’s 55-59 honors (M55), notes many national-class runners entered in the race. Besides Andrews and Friend-Uhl, there is Francis Burdette (M45 division), Olympian John Tuttle (M50), David Canon (M50), Kent Lemme, and Chad Newton for the men, along with Alisa Harvey of Manassas (F40), Laurel Park (F45), Lorraine Jasper (F45), Sabra Harvey and Kathryn Martin for the women. Some will age-grade over 90%, considered world-class.
There is USATF 8K championship prize money, men and women, for the top three overall Masters ($500-300-200), top five age-graded ($700-450-300-200-100), individual age-group winners from 40-44 through 85-89 ($100 each), along with team prize money ($250 for first, $100 for second, from 40-49 through 70-and-over, for scoring teams of three). The home-team Colonial Road Runners will have full teams for men and women, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-69, and Chantry gives them a chance for as many as three team gold medals and two team silver medals.
Both races will start on Jamestown Road , near Phi Beta Kappa Hall on the campus of William and Mary, and include portions through the historic streets of Colonial Williamsburg, before finishing inside W&M’s Zable Stadium. The half marathon also traverses Lafayette Street , York Street, Quarterpath Road , Route 199, and the Colonial Parkway , before returning through the streets of Williamsburg to campus. Post-race festivities will be held at the Sunken Gardens . The race is managed by Dave McGillivray of DMSE Sports, the race director for many years of the Boston Marathon, and is organized by the Achievable Dream office of Newport News , two nationally-recognized K-12 schools.
[Late breaking news – Mbarak Hussein, who will be one of the race favorites, will also be running in the USATF Masters 8K Championship on Saturday]
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Race (?)
-Dr. Daniel A. Shaye
It wasn't a race.
Or was it?
At most races, you know you're racing before the event begins. You sign up, pay your fee, pin on a number, warm up... you know the drill.
This day was different.
It was 1990-something, and I was on a run at Newport News Park. Up ahead, there was a cyclist. At the risk of being politically incorrect, he would have been listed in the movie credits as "Fat Kid on Bike." I glided towards him, the distance slowly narrowing. I paid him little attention, focused more on form and pace and my mind's meanderings.
Then he glanced back. No big deal, not a lingering look, nothing to portend that our encounter would be memorable. Life went on, the run went on.
Then he looked back again. And he sped up.
I remember thinking, "This isn't a race..." and then I (or something within me) added, slowly, with a joyous smile beginning to play on my heart: "... or IS it?"
And I sped up.
And he looked back again.
And he sped up again.
And soon, it was ON.
I remember ramping up the pace a little bit. I remember his legs going from leisurely, to not-so-leisurely, to pumping furiously. I have no idea what went through this kid's mind. Was he excited by the prospect of the race? Was he suddenly terrified by the madman, the crazy runner chasing and actually holding pace with him ON FOOT? Would he too remember this day?
The pace kept increasing, and I'd long-since abandoned "training pace" in favor of race pace. Lack of a number, lack of racing flats, lack of spectators, lack of a finish line or published results... these did not matter. It was race day, and we would each remember it.
A mile or three later, I had him. Some horses blocked the path, and he slowed. I tore past the cyclist and the horses, never looking back. Now, they're behind me... many years behind me. But I will always remember the not-race that became a race.
I hope that kid remembers that day, too. I imagine (hope?) it changed him for the better in ways I can imagine, or even not imagine. Perhaps any fear he might have felt was the fear of wondering, "Can I do this? What IS this primal thing within me, the chase, the race? And why is it hard, yet feels so right, so joyous?" I imagine that he became an athlete, a great cyclist, or perhaps a great runner or triathlete. I'll never know, unless he reads this. Maybe he'll contact me with a wondrous story; or perhaps he'll call me up and say, "Finally! Now I know who the jerk was who scared the heck out of me as a kid!"
But regardless... what a race!
I'll see you on the roads and trails, my friends.
-Dr. Daniel A. Shaye
Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician
Fellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com; visit us on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/performancechiro; or go to www.performancechiropractic.com
It wasn't a race.
Or was it?
At most races, you know you're racing before the event begins. You sign up, pay your fee, pin on a number, warm up... you know the drill.
This day was different.
It was 1990-something, and I was on a run at Newport News Park. Up ahead, there was a cyclist. At the risk of being politically incorrect, he would have been listed in the movie credits as "Fat Kid on Bike." I glided towards him, the distance slowly narrowing. I paid him little attention, focused more on form and pace and my mind's meanderings.
Then he glanced back. No big deal, not a lingering look, nothing to portend that our encounter would be memorable. Life went on, the run went on.
Then he looked back again. And he sped up.
I remember thinking, "This isn't a race..." and then I (or something within me) added, slowly, with a joyous smile beginning to play on my heart: "... or IS it?"
And I sped up.
And he looked back again.
And he sped up again.
And soon, it was ON.
I remember ramping up the pace a little bit. I remember his legs going from leisurely, to not-so-leisurely, to pumping furiously. I have no idea what went through this kid's mind. Was he excited by the prospect of the race? Was he suddenly terrified by the madman, the crazy runner chasing and actually holding pace with him ON FOOT? Would he too remember this day?
The pace kept increasing, and I'd long-since abandoned "training pace" in favor of race pace. Lack of a number, lack of racing flats, lack of spectators, lack of a finish line or published results... these did not matter. It was race day, and we would each remember it.
A mile or three later, I had him. Some horses blocked the path, and he slowed. I tore past the cyclist and the horses, never looking back. Now, they're behind me... many years behind me. But I will always remember the not-race that became a race.
I hope that kid remembers that day, too. I imagine (hope?) it changed him for the better in ways I can imagine, or even not imagine. Perhaps any fear he might have felt was the fear of wondering, "Can I do this? What IS this primal thing within me, the chase, the race? And why is it hard, yet feels so right, so joyous?" I imagine that he became an athlete, a great cyclist, or perhaps a great runner or triathlete. I'll never know, unless he reads this. Maybe he'll contact me with a wondrous story; or perhaps he'll call me up and say, "Finally! Now I know who the jerk was who scared the heck out of me as a kid!"
But regardless... what a race!
I'll see you on the roads and trails, my friends.
-Dr. Daniel A. Shaye
Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician
Fellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com; visit us on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/performancechiro; or go to www.performancechiropractic.com
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
... Ergo Sum
by Dr. Daniel Shaye, Chiropractic Physician
Do you exist?
It seems an odd question, but it's an ancient one. French mathematician-philosopher René Descartes pondered this question, and decided that since he could think, he must exist. "Cogito, ergo sum" he declared.
What do you declare?
On a recent Sunday, I pondered this question as I watched a YouTube video of a competitive cross-country race (yes, sandwiched between my own runs, I sometimes watch other people run). The power and intensity and speed of these athletes thrilled me... as did the size of the pack, the living energy of it almost like an entity of its own. Each individual flashed by, self-propelled yet part of, one with, the pack. Each athlete was so focused, so intense, carefully gauging pace, spacing and contact with other runners, terrain, effort, distance. And as I watched, I felt my perspective change as I realized what each one was doing: Striving to exist.
Not all of us will run in a tightly-bunched pack of competitive, spike-wearing runners; yet many of us will enter an event/race this year, and still more of us will run or walk with others. For the solo runners and walkers, you too are part of a group, an entity called "runners" or "walkers" or "athletes." Being active in this way is an expression of who you are, your desires, and perhaps who you wish or declare yourself to be. For some of us, a time or place or performance marks that level of "success" or declaration that we have accomplished something worthy, notable, defining. For others, it's more a matter of the ritual, the doing-what-I-do because, well... that's what "I" do. Yet regardless of why you do what you do, your very doing it says something about you.
What are you declaring when you lace up the shoes... or, as some do, the non-shoes?
For the competitor, the pack is an exciting entity. Try watching a competitive pack of runners without emotion (I can't do it). I can hear that pack-- not the runners in it, but the pack itself-- thundering in footfalls and in unspoken words, a terrifying possibility:
"YOU are NOTHING! YOU will be LOST in the pack!"
Equally strong-- no, stronger, I can hear another voice speaking through me:
"You have the opportunity to BELIEVE; and in so doing, to delightfully, beautifully, spectacularly, and joyfully declare: TODAY, I more than EXISTED... I TRIUMPHED over the fear, the distance, the anonymity. Today I dared to dig deep and find ME."
It's that second voice that speaks to our competitive fires, that helps us hold contact with the next runner, that draws our eyes up towards the clock as we give it all we have towards that beckoning finish line.
Today, somewhere, a runner took her first steps. Another dreams of a high school record. Another ponders personal records. Olympic athletes train with long-term focus on the upcoming Games, or the next cycle beyond. Whether or not you focus on such lofty goals, or whether you use running to move beyond goals, beyond pressures, beyond the over-active mind towards peaceful mindfulness... go forth and enjoy your existence. Walk, or run... and as you do so, enjoy that YOU EXIST, in this way.
I'll see you on the roads and trails, my friends.
-Dr. Daniel A. Shaye
Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician
Fellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com; visit us on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/performancechiro; or go to www.performancechiropractic.com
Do you exist?
It seems an odd question, but it's an ancient one. French mathematician-philosopher René Descartes pondered this question, and decided that since he could think, he must exist. "Cogito, ergo sum" he declared.
What do you declare?
On a recent Sunday, I pondered this question as I watched a YouTube video of a competitive cross-country race (yes, sandwiched between my own runs, I sometimes watch other people run). The power and intensity and speed of these athletes thrilled me... as did the size of the pack, the living energy of it almost like an entity of its own. Each individual flashed by, self-propelled yet part of, one with, the pack. Each athlete was so focused, so intense, carefully gauging pace, spacing and contact with other runners, terrain, effort, distance. And as I watched, I felt my perspective change as I realized what each one was doing: Striving to exist.
Not all of us will run in a tightly-bunched pack of competitive, spike-wearing runners; yet many of us will enter an event/race this year, and still more of us will run or walk with others. For the solo runners and walkers, you too are part of a group, an entity called "runners" or "walkers" or "athletes." Being active in this way is an expression of who you are, your desires, and perhaps who you wish or declare yourself to be. For some of us, a time or place or performance marks that level of "success" or declaration that we have accomplished something worthy, notable, defining. For others, it's more a matter of the ritual, the doing-what-I-do because, well... that's what "I" do. Yet regardless of why you do what you do, your very doing it says something about you.
What are you declaring when you lace up the shoes... or, as some do, the non-shoes?
For the competitor, the pack is an exciting entity. Try watching a competitive pack of runners without emotion (I can't do it). I can hear that pack-- not the runners in it, but the pack itself-- thundering in footfalls and in unspoken words, a terrifying possibility:
"YOU are NOTHING! YOU will be LOST in the pack!"
Equally strong-- no, stronger, I can hear another voice speaking through me:
"You have the opportunity to BELIEVE; and in so doing, to delightfully, beautifully, spectacularly, and joyfully declare: TODAY, I more than EXISTED... I TRIUMPHED over the fear, the distance, the anonymity. Today I dared to dig deep and find ME."
It's that second voice that speaks to our competitive fires, that helps us hold contact with the next runner, that draws our eyes up towards the clock as we give it all we have towards that beckoning finish line.
Today, somewhere, a runner took her first steps. Another dreams of a high school record. Another ponders personal records. Olympic athletes train with long-term focus on the upcoming Games, or the next cycle beyond. Whether or not you focus on such lofty goals, or whether you use running to move beyond goals, beyond pressures, beyond the over-active mind towards peaceful mindfulness... go forth and enjoy your existence. Walk, or run... and as you do so, enjoy that YOU EXIST, in this way.
I'll see you on the roads and trails, my friends.
-Dr. Daniel A. Shaye
Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician
Fellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com; visit us on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/performancechiro; or go to www.performancechiropractic.com
Friday, March 11, 2011
Do Not Stress Over Your Competition
Many runners sometimes get anxious when they go against a tough opponent. They get nervous on who they are competing with and they get so worked up that they lose focus on their own running. In the end, they make mistakes and end up beating themselves up if they do not win. As a result, here is a list of techniques that a runner can use to help manage the stress of going against the competition.
The first step is to learn as much as you can on your opponent. Although this may seem obvious, some runners may think they already know what they need to know. Remember there is always something to learn about your competition. Read the reports about your opponent and watch him or her performance. Try to figure out an angle on how you can beat your competition. The more you know about your competition the better your chances are you will win. This will also help to reduce your worries in the future.
Do not assume anything about your competition whether they are stronger or weaker than you. Every athlete has his good and bad times and just because you may be facing a stronger opponent does not mean that you will lose. Remember that you and your opponent both have an equal chance of winning. You are both starting from scratch. This should help you to give you confidence going into your next event.
Focus on how you can best strive for perfection in your own running instead of worrying about your opponent. For instance, you are going against the number one athlete in the tournament and you are nervous. Instead of focusing on how good your competition is, focus on your performance. Concentrate on how you can perform your event and how you can best improve on your problem areas.
Realize that you can't win all of the time and that also includes your competition. You may be the best athlete in the world, however you will still sometimes lose. No one can win all of the time. When facing a tough competitor, use this fact to your advantage. Even the best athletes will make some mistakes.
It is not uncommon to get nervous when you go against a better opponent. All you can do is to focus on your skill sets and do the best you can. This will help you in the long run.
BIOGRAPHY
Stan Popovich is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods" - an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to:http://www.managingfear.com/
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