Category: President’s Message

Today’s race at Stone House was held under a blazing sun, but that didn’t stop 135 of you from running and racewalking your way around the course.  I was happy to see the big turnout from current members and was awed by the number of new runners racing with RMRR for the first time.  There was no let down after the 50th!

First time race directors Scott Kukel, Mike Quispe and David Rothenburger marked the course perfectly and then ran at 0:00 to make sure we have a fully staffed finish line.  Volunteers galore helped them conduct a great race.

Next up for RMRR is the 15 mile Marathon Training Series next weekend. 

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Reflecting on the week that Rocky Mountain Road Runners turned 50…

As club president, I want to thank everyone who participated in our Weeks’ Worth of Running.  I was amazed and impressed by:

• Loyal members who attended every event!
• Adventurous members who tried something new!
• Members who came back to the club to renew old friendships and make new ones!
• Those whose smiles told me they were having a great time!

There are so many examples of smiles from:

• The kids fun run at the pancake breakfast race. 
• The members from the 1960s & 70’s having such a good time at Runner’s Roost that we had to reluctantly tell them time was up.
• The group of speedy guys who ran so many miles at the 50 mile relay event that we topped 150 miles for the day.
• The volunteers who came out to time the predict run & eat cake and ice cream at Boulder Running Company.

See the photo gallery to see what I mean.   (All images are not uploaded yet.  Email Deb Cunningham any pictures you would like posted.)

I would like to give special thanks to event leads for the week:

1. Pancake TS:  Doug Smith, Bonnie Keefe and Carmen Kitts.
2. Monday Reunion:  The group of “Honorary Chairpersons” and Dave Cunningham who helped me connect with former members.
3. Tuesday Wash Park Run:  Eric Greene and Dave Cook.
4. Track w/ Maureen Roben & other clubs:  Scott Kukel & Mike Quispe.   And of course Maureen!
5. Trail running with the Denver Trail Runners:  David Rothenburger. 
6. Predict Run:  Kevin Downing and Dave Cunningham.  And celebrity starter Mark Plaatjes!
7. 50 mile Relay:  Karen Voss Szymanski & Peter Szymanski. 

Next, let’s give special recognition to Joe Arrazola, the founder of RMRR.  At 75, Joe is still going strong.  Thank you, Joe, for making the drive from Pueblo to attend the reunion and to run laps with us at Saturday’s relay.  You’ve still got it!!

Finally, our club really came together this week.  We had a core group of people who attended every event or nearly every event, got to know each other better and established a strong foundation for the future of our club.  I’m proud of how we worked together to create a memborable experience for everyone who attended.  Years from now, we’ll look back on this week as a fun time in the club’s history.  To those of you who participated, THANK YOU!   Road Runners is a great club!!

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Road Runner’s kicked off our 50th anniversary week with a great showing for the 2 mile pancake run at Bible Park.  150 runners participated and more then 50 volunteers, friends and family stayed for our traditional griddle cakes.    The AIR Foundation brought 10 new runners from their spring program to the event and 10 kids participated in the fun run as well.

Runner’s sported their club logo wear with a variety of singlets, t-shirts, and warm ups showing the sun logo that was the symbol of the club for 49 years.  Some of the gear was vintage wear and matched the clothing on Ric Robinette’s display board showing club gear from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.  Other gear featured the new 50th anniversary logo.

In addition to club shirts, the anniversary blankets arrived.  All participants received a logo key chain as well.

The June race was run on a new 2-mile course.  With the higher turnout of 150 runners, the old course was too narrow and had too much loose gravel at the finish.  Race Directors Doug Smith and Bonnie Keefe worked with Ric Robinette and Adam Feerst to design the new course.  Numerous compliments were received, so this course is a keeper!  With the new course came new course records from Scott Kukel for the Men’s Scratch, Deb Cunningham for the Ladies, and Mike Blanchard for the racewalk.

Thank you, Board and volunteers for getting the week’s worth of running off to a wonderful start!

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101 of you came out for the 5 miler at Stapleton’s City Park.  The day was cool with some people in winter running gear & others sporting shorts and T-shirts.

John Meyer of the Denver Post was at the race, taking photos and interviewing club members about the upcoming 50th anniversary.  The club will be featured in a story on the front page of the sports section the day before the Bolder Boulder.   Aurora Arlet, the club’s PR Director, worked with John to arrange the media day.

Two new course records were set at the May race, the second time we’ve run on the Stapleton course.  Congratulations to Mike Blanchard, racewalk recordholder with a time of 39:05/7:44 pace.  Scott Kukel set the Men’s record with a time of 23:11 or 5:48 pace.

Next up for the club is our 50th Anniversary.  The fun starts with at 2 mile race at Bible Park on Sunday, May 31.  This race is followed by a kid’s fun run and a pancake breakfast.

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