April 23-May 6th Charlotte, San Jose, Carmel, Monterey, Cincinnati, Raleigh, NYC, Mahwah
Charlotte NC—John Lineberger conducts a comprehensive, year-round program, and one of our largest. I met several folks who travel more than 45 minutes each way to run with the friendly group. They confided that this is the only way they would do the longer long runs. Now, they simply love the members of their training group.
San Jose CA—Jenny Lockwood leads our growing group in this very runable city. We had an energizing running school and a “meet and greet” in Urban Sports, our running store partner. Thanks go to Lance, the owner. This is another socially fun group with a running problem.
Carmel CA—This is a quaint and very scenic coastal town that is unique. Barbara and I stayed at Sunset House, a “homey” B&B type place with fireplace. A few minutes of downhill jogging brought me to one of my favorite beaches in the world. If you’re interested in staying at one of these cozy properties contact Bobby Richards (bobbyrichards6@gmail.com) and feel free to mention my name.
There’s a wonderful scenic path just above the beach that winds for miles. On Friday morning I teamed up with Rich Pepe, owner of Little Napoli (Dolores St at 7th). We took a walk/jog to the beach, did some cadence drills, and then enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Little Napoli, as I talked about staying injury free for life. Pepe promotes a number of fitness activities and serves delicious food.
Monterey CA—For most of Saturday I gave clinics to help runners deal with the many hills of the Big Sur International Marathon. I love this event—the committee is composed of dedicated people who work together to produce a masterpiece marathon experience. Many runners have reported setting personal records on this course because there is more downhill than uphill. My advice is to relax and enjoy the wonderful scenery and good people.
Big Sur Marathon—The weather is usually ideal or almost ideal for the 10 years I’ve been coming to Big Sur, and April 27th was no exception. One of my roles during the weekend is to be part of the “Bob and Jeff show” with pacing tips and announcements before the start. A few minutes before the gun fired, Bob asked me, on air, what I planned to do during the race. I explained that Barbara and I were shooting for a time around 5 hours, using a run-walk-run strategy of (run a minute/walk a minute). Bob invited anyone to join us as I climbed down from the platform, and waited with Barbara to start the race.
At the first minute I did a 5 second countdown so that our runners could get over to the side of the road to walk. I looked behind and saw about 60 folks with us. For the next few miles we picked up a few more each mile and held steady through about 19 miles where some fell off. But as we swept through the next 6 miles we picked up another dozen or so who were losing steam but were able to run one minute at a time with us.
I’ve heard from many in the group who ran their best time that day, or who were not prepared for the event, and had a wonderful experience by using 1-1. I came in after the 5:05 mark. Barbara ran off and left me, finishing about a minute ahead. The next morning I was in heaven, running down Carmel beach.
Cincinnati April 30—Our very social Galloway group in this city, led by Suzelle Snowden, has two sponsor stores. I gave a clinic at 5:30pm at Meters & Miles, and a 7pm session at Fleet Feet in Blue Ash. The second clinic had a very large turnout with lots of new folks aiming at a Fall half or full marathon. There were also requests for last minute tips for the Flying Pig Marathon, on May 4th. Cincinnati has experienced an increased growth in running due to this event—which is fun.
Raleigh May 2 and 3—My noon clinic was held at the new campus of Rex Healthcare. On the wall of the auditorium was a picture of Rex Hospital, where I was born. I spent many happy times during my youth in Raleigh. We had a successful “Mizuno meet and greet” at the Raleigh Running Outfitters on 6 Forks road.
Due to the great leadership of Ron Wahula, our Raleigh program has the largest Galloway enrollment. Ron has a series of great folks helping with marketing, social functions, etc. They have fun and have helped thousands to change their lives in a positive way while bonding with new friends every year.
Monday in NYC—our kickoff in the big Apple was at the Westside YMCA. We had the largest group of new runners that I’ve seen on any of my NYC trips. That program has unlimited opportunities to grow.
Tuesday in Mahwah—my good friend Ed Nekel allowed me to stay at his house. I had two great runs on the Saddle River trail system in Paramus NJ. The Mahwah group is small but growing and full of energetic folks. I conducted a clinic and did a demo run that featured the cadence drills and acceleration-gliders.
This weekend I will be in Conway AR and Springfield MO. There’s still space available for my running school in Conway, on Saturday May 10th (contact Carol at ccmiller@mindspring.com).
We’re starting a new program in Springfield MO which will feature a new hometown event: the BassPro Marathon on November 2nd. I will be there and I hope that many of you can join me.
Enjoy your runs—Jeff