by Deb Cunningham
Hi Road Runners,
How about that August trophy series race? Those of you at the August race know we set a record for running in the heat. The daytime high in Denver was 102 degrees and it didn’t get much cooler for the start at 6:30pm. Despite the heat, 94 of you ran the race compared to 72 in 2007. Just for grins, the record low temp for a race was 3 degrees. That temp greeted us at a March race at Crown Hill Park. If you have an interest in little known RMRR facts, check out the records posted on the club website. We give you a taste of these with the course records for each trophy series race, but there are a lot more records we tracked over the years.
Getting back to the here and now, August means the end of summer, cool morning runs and thinking about the last races of the season. This fall, we’ve got the eight mile trophy series on Saturday, 9/13 and two more MTS races. The timing for our September race is atypical because of The Race for the Cure and another event out at Chatfield on Sunday.
We have two more marathon training series races this fall – one on Sunday, 8/24 and the final one on Sunday, 9/14. Both races begin and end at Westminster City Park. The races are 20 miles long, but feature a course that goes out for 5 miles and comes back. This means you can run any distance you choose. Each mile is marked, so the course is perfect for any distance of 10-20 miles.
On the marathoning front, I don’t think we have many teams set up yet for the Denver Marathon. We’d like to sponsor a few teams – decked out in RMRR logo merchandise or our temporary tattoos of course! Bob Basse is the team coordinator. Contact him at the September race or email him at bob.basse@questar.com. As the club’s team director, he’ll point you in the right direction.
I mentioned the tattoos. These were a big hit at the August trophy series race. They feature the new 50th Anniversary logo. You’ve all see it by now and you’ll be seeing more of it as we wrap up the year. We’ll use it to promote the 50th anniversary events planned for next summer.
Along with the events, we’ll have new merchandise for raffle prizes and volunteer awards. We may even have merchandise available for purchase. The board is looking at ideas right now in order to pick a few items that will get us into the spirit.
I mentioned volunteer awards. You may not know that you qualify for RMRR logo gear by volunteering 30 hours or more. In the past, merchandise like duffle bags, backpacks, fleece shirts, jackets, and technical shirts were awarded. If you direct a race alone or with someone as co-director, you also qualify for a prize. The prize committee hasn’t selected the awards for 2008 yet, but one thing is certain, they’ll feature the club’s 50th anniversary logo.
Finally, I’ll close with a thank you for making this a summer of growth for us. We have seen stable membership numbers and more participation at our events. This is great and encourages me for next year. We are always looking for people who want to get involved. Whether you are on our board, making the decisions needed to keep the club going, directing a race, or coming out to volunteer or run, your actions keep RMRR vital. I’m happy to be a part of this group and look forward to the fun we’ll have as we gear up to Celebrate 50.
Deb