Todd
Henderson has our TRAIL JUNKIES hopping!
Saturday, January 12th, proved to be a banner day. Todd proudly stated we
had the most number of trail runners training, and the group included 3
IRONMEN: Todd Henderson, our leader, and visitors from Carrolton, GA,
Vince Adams and Bobby Wynn. The weather was a bit nippy (26 degrees at
7:00 a.m.), but the sun rose as the group greeted the day. (Pictured
before the 16.5 mile jaunt through the Cheaha Mountain woods: Bobby Wynn,
Vince Adams, Brooke Nelson, Wayne Phillips, Todd Henderson, Johnny
Jonakin, and Will Williams.)
The streets of Birmingham were full of runners competing in the Vulcan 10k on Saturday, Nov. 3. More than 35 of those participants were local runners! Our ARC singlets captured attention as spectators yelled to our members, “Go Anniston Runner!” or “Almost there Anniston Runner!” Our club should be proud. Our own Tom Downing said a few words of welcome at the start of the race. Eight of our members placed in at least the top five in their respective age groups, and four placed in the top three- Ken Brewer placed 2nd, Yo Setser earned a 1st place, Joanne Fort brought home a 2nd place, and Brooke Nelson secured a 1st place. All received Vulcan cutout trophies with the RRCA Championship emblazoned on them. Several ran it for the first time and many PRs were set! Everyone had a blast. For full results, go to: www.vulcanrun.com Kyle Medders, Dennis Dunn, Landon Henderson, Austin Marsh, Graham Nelson, Joanne Fort, Christy Riddle, Kim and David Stevens, Jonathon Bowling, and others set PRs. Congrats!
A great big thanks to our Vice President, Bob Pearl!
Bob did a wonderful job organizing this year's Run @ Work Day campaign.
In a recent memo to our RRCA club state representative, Ron Macksoud, Bob
had this to say:
"This year's event was a huge success and a great effort put forth by the
Anniston Runners. We look forward to having this event grow each year and
developing into a great tool to attract runners and businesses alike. We
spent a few hundred dollars on this campaign, but got a return of several
thousand dollars, not including the residuals' of such a promotion. We
were live on the radio during the Morning Mayhem Show with Chris and
Steve. They also plugged us several times during the week leading up to
the event. We were featured on the front page of Anniston Star, and the
Anniston Star's community section. We had well over a thousand hits on our
website, and attracted several new runners as well as businesses that
could be potential partners for the Runners Club. All in all it was
another great team effort by the Anniston Runners Club."
Congratulations to the
winners of our local RRCA Run @ Work Day campaign! They sure do look
like they are enjoying themselves! However, receiving a brand new
fifty dollar bill is enough to make anyone's day!
Our little girl is all grown up! Check out the latest pics from our very own Anniston Runner - Megan Williams! Megan is on a track scholarship at the University of Alabama. She is not only working hard in the classroom, but she is obviously shredding the competition on the cross country circuit as well! I can't wait to watch her on TV someday!
A big thank you to everyone who helped to make our club commercial! We had dozens of runners to show up for a chance to be a star. Click on the play button in the bottom left corner of the screen below. There are two commercials imbedded in this you-tube file. Unfortunately much of the taped material hit the cutting room floor in an effort to shorten our commercial. Many of you ended up with a brief cameo appearance. If you have not seen it running locally, this is posted on the internet for the whole world to see!
Fresh off my 12 day New England trip, I was fortunate enough to travel through 14 states and make it home in one piece. I was truly blessed to encounter a part of America previously unseen by my eyes. In my travels I was able to "light the way" at the Presque Isle Lighthouse on Lake Erie, get soaking wet at Niagara Falls, make a few Amish friends, meet Mandisa from American Idol, and catch up with one of our very own members - Jim Parham! Meeting up with Jim was probably the most memorable. I was able to find Jim at a swimming competition in which hundreds of swimmers and kayakers "Swam The Bay" from Newport, Rhode Island to Jamestown. What were the odds of that happening?
We had a great Woodstock 5K committee meeting the other night. Dozens of members turned out for our Woodstock training run and meeting! In the pictures you can see we were all puzzled. Where was Leigh Marsh? Shouldn't she be here? While we were hashing out the details of our club's biggest race - Leigh was busy joyriding in Nashville! Click on the pictures below:
While we are a running club, many of our members like to do a little cross training. Other members just like to party! Here are some photos of our members at the 2007 Cheaha Challenge bicycle century. We want to thank all of our members who manned the Anniston Runners club rest stop at the top of the mountain. We would also like to thank everyone who helped with the Noble Street festival and the Friday night packet stuffing. It is awesome to see our local athletic clubs coming together to put on such a wonderful event like this! Our club has no boundaries and our members have no limits. Even at the top of Mount Cheaha, our members are still above the rest! Even the devil can't keep away!
Check out the duds on these guys! 18 of our members participated in the Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon on April 28th. It was very easy to pick them out of the crowd since they were wearing their brilliant new singlets! Many of them set PR's and some of them even placed in their age groups. I understand around 40,000 people ran in this event including former all-pro NFL running back - Eddie George (red shirt) ! If you missed this marathon, you have got to sign up next year. Music every mile....
Congratulations to Bill
Holstine for his impressive finish at the 111th Boston Marathon!
Despite the freezing temperatures, rainstorms, and 30 mph wind gusts, Bill
achieved what so many of us can only dream of - BOSTON! Bill, we are
inspired by your dedication and commitment.
We are extremely proud of all of our members and look forward to sharing in your triumphs. Our newest group of members (all from Pell City) have been all smiles as they set a new PR every week. There is nothing more exciting than a new runner full of enthusiasm! These Pell City Pacers are going to be a force to reckon with by the time Woodstock comes around!
Pictured below is former Anniston Runner Club President and RRCA Vice President- Tom Downing with Alabama RRCA State Representative - Ron Macksoud. Ron proudly displays his RRCA State Rep of the Year award. Tom, graciously accepted John Moore's Honorable Mention certificate for the Rod Steel Memorial Volunteer Award. John and Ron are all smiles after the Seaside Half Marathon in early March!
Three is the magic number! Take a look at the three pictures below. From left: Mighty Kasey came to bat! Congratulations to Kasey Peck for his 1st place overall finish at the Cleburne Classic 5K! Three's company when Vickie Varnes, Leigh Marsh, and Mary Anne Dollar get together! These three ladies have made a pact to run at least one 5K per month. Not only are they doing this, but all three joined our club at the same time! We are glad to have you girls! Our third picture is of Athena Naugher. Athena competed in the Alabama RRCA State 10 mile championship and set a new state age group record of 1:16.16. Congratulations Athena!
This is what running should be about! Pure laughter and enjoyment! The 2007 Mardi Gras 5K was great fun for everyone including a big number of newcomers! Several runners, including Andrew Dodson and Samantha Hughston, competed in their first ever 5K event. And for those of you who were a little disappointed in your finishing time, well don't be. There were two different people (wearing GPS devices) that told me the course was a little long. A long course could add anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute to your time. Keep that in consideration as you pat yourself on the back! If you were unable to compete in this Grand Prix event, don't worry, there are still 12 GP events left! Oh and by the way, Happy 70th birthday Yo Setser!
The Mount Cheaha 50K was the talk of the running community this past weekend! We had 5 members to participate and over 12 to volunteer! Todd Henderson has had his hands full this past month as he planned, organized, and directed this event. This event, covering over 31 miles of trail running, took tons of Todd's time and virtually consumed his personal life. We appreciate the job Todd does with this race and the help he gives the club. Congratulations Todd! You are one of the best! Congratulations also to Laurie Phillips, Dave Roberson, Linda Hearn, Johnny Jonakin, and Robert Jackson. These runners all completed the 50K course. Simply amazing!!!
Take a look at the amazing turnout our club had at this year's Mercedes Marathon weekend! We had members to compete in every single event from the 5K to the Marathon! Congratulations to the following members: Matt Camp, Mercy Pilkington, Wayne Phillips, Megan Williams, Will Williams, Kasey Peck, Steve Dotson, Ed Turner, Brooke Nelson (4th in age), Melissa Love, Kate Love (who ran in the kid's marathon), Dennis Dunn, Jeff Tucker (4th in age in the BE&K), Ken Brewer (1st in age), Matt Brick (1st in age), Kent Garrett, Laurie Phillips, Carter Jones (5th in age), Patty Dodson (4th in age), Phillip Burgett, Jean Deal (4th in age), Raul Magadia, Daley Speer, Scot O'Dell, Frank Bowie (5th in age), and last but not least Anthony Phillips! In all we had 26 members to participate. Wow!!!
Do you want to have a leaner, more muscular physique? Join the Anniston Runners Club! Look what it did for two of our members below! Yes, Devin and Dan Futral are in great shape. But they owe most of it to their high school wrestling team. These brothers are indeed a fast set of runners, but it seems their real talent lies with the sport of wrestling. The Futral boys, along with 9 other Oxford High School students, have qualified for the state wrestling tournament and will represent their school this weekend. In addition to the TV infomercial abs, they have the added advantage of runner's lungs. The State tournament won't know what hit 'em. Good luck guys!
Interested in joining the Anniston Runners? Click here for a membership application or here to register online Anniston Runners Club - 2007 membership
Congratulations to the following weekend runners: Carollynne Blakney, Frank Bowie, Donna McKinnon and Todd Henderson. Carollynne, Frank, and Donna represented our club in the Brenda Ladun 8K while Todd journeyed to Huntsville to complete the Mountain Mist 50K. We hope they all had a great time in their race and look forward to running with them soon!
