THE PACER

NOVEMBER- DECEMBER

In This Issue:

 

SCANDALS ABOUND!

 

BATBOY at BALL STATE!

 

A CHRISTMAS STORY

 

CHICAGO PAPER SCOOPED

 

Regular Features……

President’s Message

 

Kathy’s Korner

 

Walk the Walk

 

ARRC News and Highlights

 

Race Schedules

 

Race results

 

 

No longer satisfied with Thursday night races and the Road Series,  runners and walkers are seeking out marathons, trail races, triathlons and other various types of races to satisfy their competitive spirits, senses of adventure, and cravings for fun. It’s hard to keep track of our marathoners going for 50 states but know New Hampshire was a recent destination.  Some of us continue to do the DINO series in adverse weather conditions as others did the Knobstone trail half marathon. I know several of our runners have done triathlons including a young lady who will be profiled later in this issue. Some of our runners and walkers embarked on their first marathons, some finished all fifty states. The Indianapolis Marathon, half marathon and 5K races were initiated into the road series this year and many members enjoyed great success including many PR’s. The oncoming winter shouldn’t change things what with the HUFF, Siberian express, warm climate locations for marathons...Arizona, Tampa, Las Vegas, Alabama, all on the horizon.

 

If anyone has run a terrific race, or had a great or not so great experience, please let us know so we can include that in the Pacer. Also we don’t want to be missing any race times.  E-mail me with your results so they can be published.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the Thursday running season has come to a close, it has been an exciting, challenging year of growth.  There have been several new faces with new friendships developed.  Thank you to all that have stepped up and met the challenges that accompanied that growth.  Bob Kearns has done an outstanding job directing our weekly race with great record keeping and great variety.  Of course Elsie has been right out there keeping Bob and all of us on the straight and narrow.  She has a never-ending smile as she hands us our place sticks and encourages us to the finish.  Thank you Elsie!

 

The Fun Run has completed another successful year under the direction of Frankie St. Phillips.  He has had an average of 70 kids per week, with a total of 197 different kids participating throughout the season.  The parent participation has been outstanding which was evident at the final awards/ Halloween celebration at Mounds Park.  Several members of the club have worked with Frankie and the kids every week to ensure that they had a fun, safe and well organized program.  Thank you to all!

 

We have implemented new programs and processes that I feel contribute to the attentiveness we show to our membership.  The Thursday night race season is over but there is still much to be done.  The Road Series still has two races, the Mounds Run November 7th, and the Kris Kringle Run December 4^th.  The Youth Cross Country program competitions have begun and we can be proud of the performances and sportsmanship the coaches and kids display while representing the Anderson Road Runners.  See more details in the Cross Country update.  The Thanksgiving Day 2 lap run, the Christmas party, and the annual awards meeting/pitch-in, are additional events to add to your calendar.

 

We are putting together the details for the annual meeting, which includes the awards for the season as well as some special awards.  The annual business meeting is held at that time with elections of officers for the upcoming year.  If you have any interest in running for an office, please let me know so we can add your name to the list.  The offices include, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Editor, and two (2) At-large officers.  There will be membership forms available for 2005 (the form is also online) and it is a good time to renew your membership before you forget.

 

We are planning on holding the 2 lap races at Shadyside again during the winter months in 2005.  The dates will be determined and sent out via ARRC News.

 

Speaking of the ARRC News, thank you Carolyn McKinney for all of the time you spend sending out notifications of special events, reminders of scheduled events, and postings of race results and birthdays.  We appreciate the information you provide to us.

 

There are informal groups that regularly meet all throughout the winter for training runs/walks at both Mounds Park and Shadyside.  If you are interested in finding a group to keep you motivated during the winter months, contact me or one of the other officers and we will try to hook you up with one of those group’s schedules.

 

Run/Walk Safe & See you out there!

 

Tommy G.

BAT BOY in  MUNCIE, INDIANA

Legend appears on stage at Ball State!!

An elusive half-boy, half bat creature came out of the cave and onto the stage in “ Bat Boy “ at Ball State. The show, which has grown into an off-broadway cult hit , was staged  in October in Strother Theatre.

In this musical version, the bat boy is brought out into the world and educated, though he still lives on the blood of animals. “This is a story with a message worth hearing,” said Karen Kessler, director. “ It tells the tale of a different person who comes into a society and wants to fit in but is rejected because of his differences.”

At this time it is not known whether Bat Boy plays himself in the play or if an actor plays the role.

Inside sources say that since Bat Boy has been sighted in this area,  he may well have made a special appearance in the show. As a Bat Boy aficionado, I desperately wanted to see Bat Boy for myself, but received strange vibes that prevented me from performing at my own free will. It was as  if Bat Boy was controlling my mind. 

I may have been prevented from seeing Bat Boy in action but now know that it is my quest to learn as much about this creature as possible. Please  continue to be on the lookout for Bat Boy , especially in wooded areas like Mounds.

1. Bat Boy’s favorite musical group is *NSYNC and his favorite singer in the band is Justin who is a dreamboat.

2. He loves Count Chocula cereal.

3. He once defused a terrorist bomb aboard an airplane by urinating on it.

4. Bat Boy sheds his wings every three years, and is able to regenerate a new pair.

5. His favorite comic book super hero is not Batman...it’s Spider– Man.

6. Bat Boy supported Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election.

 

The above story has been excerpted from Weekly World News

 

Please e-mail Bat Boy sightings to rthmddr@prodigy.net. A reward is being offered for proof of  Bat Boy.

ARRC does not confirm or deny the existence of Bat Boy but leaves that to the discretion of the reader.

 

Youth Program Continues to Grow

The board of directors of the Anderson Roadrunners Club are pleased to announce a new program for its members.  Beginning with a new Youth Cross Country Conditioning Program this summer, area youth from that program have formed the first Anderson Roadrunners Youth Racing Team.

 

  Forming a youth racing team is a natural extension of our club's mission to promote fitness through running and a healthy, active lifestyle.  Coaches Mark Volk and Perry Knox, along with ARRC volunteers and involved parents, offered the Conditioning Program participants an opportunity to become members of the first ever ARRC Youth Racing Team.  Eleven kids stepped up to the challenge and after researching available meets, a schedule was determined and practice officially began October 9th.

 

     Coaches and harriers meet almost daily at Mounds State Park for rigorous practices that include distance work, hill work, fartlek and interval training.  "We use a system I like to call Active Recovery for our training method", states coach Knox.  "Because our kids are as young as nine years old, I do not believe in a training system utilizing high mileage.  Instead, we do more intensity, manage a reduced rest/break period and keep total mileage down".  Mounds State Park officials have been very generous in allowing our team permission to practice in what we all agree is a great place to train for the various course terrains associated with cross country racing.

 

     Sanctioned by both the A.A.U. and U.S.A.T.F., our racing team will be able to compete in a variety of competitions and enable individuals on our team to compete possibly as high as a national level of competition.  This type of exposure for young people has not been available in our area, unless as a parent there was a personal initiative to educate, train, and execute a training system and arrange a meet schedule to get the child to these different events.  Each member of Youth Racing Team including coaches are required to obtain individual membership to these sanctioning organizations and the team is required to be sanctioned as well.

 

     For our first year, we will be sending our team to state championships for both A.A.U. and U.S.A.T.F. with each youth having the opportunity to advance to a national finals competition.  The youth runner will compete with other state youth in one of 5 different age/gender divisions with the top 20 of each division given the opportunity to represent the state of Indiana at a national finals competition.  Along with coaching, the Roadrunners will provide use of its tent and banner at these meets as well as uniforms for its participants. 

 

     The Anderson Roadrunners Club supports wholeheartedly this exciting new youth initiative.  Our youth now have an opportunity that is not readily available in area communities.  Participation in the Anderson Roadrunners Youth Racing Team is limited to club members who enroll in the ARRC Youth Cross Country Conditioning Program during the summer.  Coaches provide basic training in running, use of a runner's logbook, stretching, and how to prepare for competition.  As a club, we would like to extend an invitation to all area youth to become a youth member of our organization and be a part of a running organization that can become a valuable resource for area youth runners.  Our organization supports area running youth through reduced membership fees, weekly races throughout the summer, involvement in local road races, coaching through our summer conditioning program and finally our new ARRC Youth Racing Team.  At this time, we wish Mark, Perry, and these Youth Runners much success with our ARRC Youth Racing Team.

 

     For additional information about the ARRC Youth Racing Team please contact Coach Perry Knox,  oldtoys@insightbb.com

    

Youth Program Continues to grow