wrr january 2013

The Wicked Running RegisterJanuary 2013 • Priceless EST. JAN 2010

Reach the Beach Relay to Support the Boys & Girls Club of Greater SalemDoug Bollen

I am excited to be Team Captain for my first Reach the Beach Relay Race. I have been running for over 30 years. I’ve run in hundreds of road races and directed over 40, including the Wild Turkey 5 Mile Run on Thanksgiving Day. But my favorite running event to participate in is the relay race, where team members support each other on the course, work-

ing together towards one goal. I’ve participated in a number of relays such as Lake Winnipesaukee, Mill Cities and Lynn Woods, but this will be my first 24 hour relay race. I look forward to the team camaraderie both on and off the course as we work together to complete the race, and meet our personal and team fundraising goals to support programs at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem.

The Reach the Beach Relay will take place on May 17 & 18. It is a 200 mile run from Mt. Wachusett to Westport, MA. The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem has formed a team of 12 runners who will take turns running continuously day and night until we reach the finish line, with each runner raising a minimum of $1,000 in support of this cause. Our team is ready for the challenge! I hope you will consider making a donation to this worthwhile cause to support the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem. You can make a donation at this link: http://www.bgcgs.org/give/doug The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem is the second oldest club in America and has been fulfilling the same mission for over 140 years: to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, car-ing, responsible citizens. Today, the Club serves over 1,200 members in Salem and Peabody, ages 8-18, with an average daily attendance of 150+ youth. The member-ship dues for the Club’s drop-in program are just $10 per school year, including a wide range of programs such as homework help, dance, athletics, nature studies, leadership activities and career and college planning. All programs are mentored by professional staff and support the goals of the Salem school district.

Thank you!

The Wicked Running Register • January 2013 • [email protected]

Registration is NOW OPEN at northshoretimingonline.com for Miles 4 Markie and Wayne’s Walk!Sunday, April 7, 2013 | Race starts at 10:00am; walk at 10:30am

Last year’s first annual Miles 4 Markie was an enormous success! With your help I was able to raise over $6,000 for the Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Department and I am asking for your help again!

Registration for this year’s Miles 4 Markie is now open and there are a lot of exciting changes taking place! First, this year the event is growing from a 5k to a 4-mile multi-terrain run! We are currently undergoing certification from the USATF and also incorporating a 2-mile Wayne’s Walk so everyone in the family can participate!

Trophies and medals will be awarded to those who finish top in their categories, and commemorative buttons will be given to the walk participants!

All who register on or before Friday, March 22 will receive a T-shirt regardless of which event you choose!

Let’s make this year even more successful than before! I hope to see you all there! Happy Running!

—Kendra Patterson

QUOTES ON THE RUN:

“ Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.” —Patti Sue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

Seen and Heard on the Run

The Maine Coast Marathon is back after 26 years! It’s a beautiful course withquite a history, especially for a race held for less than 10 years in the ’80s.

Rich Tabbut (aka Hammer) will be Running the Boston Marathon & the Maine Coast Marathon within 30 days of each other. He paid a $15 entry fee for Maine Coast as that is what they used to charge for a marathon — he got the special rate because he is an “alum-ni” of the original 1983 event. Rich’s marathon PR of 2:54:12 was done at Maine Coast in 1983. He walked most of the last 3 miles, because he went out too fast. Qualifying time for Boston was 2:50 for his category back then.

Jason Carraro, while a great guy, cannot find his way around the Emer-ald Necklace. Do not let him lead your group run in strange territory!

There are a number of trailblazers in women’s history...Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Julie Arrison, and Nicole McGuinness.

Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe/Mud Run: When asked if he minded run-ning in the mud instead of the snow, Mike McKie’s answer was that he loves getting dirty. As a child he wanted to be an archeologist or firefighter, be-cause they were both dirty jobs. Aaron Toleos fought blood sweat and tears at the snowshoe race, literally — as he emerged from the trail covered in tears and scratches from thistles and thorns. But he still ran ‘bloody’ fast!

The Wicked Running Register • January 2013 • [email protected] 3

Presidential Perspective T.R. Ramsdell

As the new year begins, I’m thinking about the things that I’d like to accomplish this year as your President.

First and foremost, I want to continue to promote Wicked to anyone that will listen to me. I’d have to sort through the membership list for an exact count, but I’ve managed to convince around 25 people to join our awesome club. Now, I only mention this to put the bug in your ear. Don’t you know some great people that could benefit by becoming a Wicked member? Think about what you get out of this club. New friends with like goals, train-ing partners for those difficult runs, social gatherings, relays, group runs, Grand Prix Series, destination races, clinics, club races, 300 new Facebook friends! I’m sure that every one of us has several friends that would love to join in on the fun. Maybe they just need that “push” from you to get them to commit. Joining anything new can be somewhat traumatic to some folks, be it a gym, or a book club, or the PTA. Some people will just never take the steps to join anything fearing rejection or embar-

rassment. I used to be this guy. I was very timid about meeting strangers, and absolutely terrified if I had to speak to a group. Joining Wicked has changed all that. I’m the first one to approach a stranger now, and love speaking to large groups. There are many more people just like me out there that need us. Let’s try and change that. I want to challenge you to extend the invitation to someone you know and try and get them to come out for a run with us. Once they’ve met us, the club sells itself. We have 300 of the nicest, most supportive people on the planet in our membership. Wouldn’t it be great to in-crease those numbers? When I joined in January ’09, we had barely 100 members. We’ve now grown to 300ish in that 4 year span. Let’s see how close to 400 we can get this year. We get a ton of complete strangers who find us by doing a random internet search. Imagine how many people we already know that would love to join us. So that’s your mission this year. Re-cruit! Let’s spread the love. Talk to your co-workers and friends. If everyone brought in only one person each, we’d hit 600 by years end! Just imagine......

Wicked Board 2013:

President: T.R. [email protected]

Vice President: Kenny [email protected]

Treasurer: Melissa [email protected]

Secretary: Alison [email protected]

Membership Director: Tennille [email protected]

Clothing Director: Michael [email protected]

Member-at-Large: Doug [email protected]

Member-at-Large: Michele [email protected]

Member-at-Large: Mike [email protected]

Non-Board Positions

Newsletter Editor: Michele [email protected]

Grand Prix Series Co-Coordinator:T.R. [email protected]

Grand Prix Series Co-Coordinator:Rich [email protected]

Webmaster: Tennille Doyle [email protected]

Social Activities Coordinator: Tennille Doyle [email protected]

“ We have 300 of the nicest, most supportive people on the planet in our membership.”


Race ReviewWalt Disney World Goofy Challenge

Julie Arrison

One night at D5K, after a long hot Chi-cago training run and rehydration with a beer or two, a dream was born. Andrew Bencal completed his first marathon at Walt Disney World in 2010 and I have been on a tear of marathons since 2011. Whether it was the beer or T.R. whis-pering, “Do it, do it, do it,” we found ourselves signed up for the Goofy Chal-lenge—which is a half marathon on day one and a full marathon on day two.Andrew’s training plan started in June and consisted of a program much like marathon training early on. After I fin-ished the Chicago Marathon, things ‘got real’ in terms of long runs and training. There were many Friday long runs of 7-10 miles backed up with Saturday long runs of 16-20 miles through the months of November and December. Andrew found that Lynn Woods was a great alternative to the roads and both of us were happy to have company for the many miles.

Race day was coming and nerves set in for both of us—especially when the forecast came out. One of the great things about WDW Marathon weekend is that the run typically takes place in dry conditions with a temperature in the high 50s or low 60s—perfection for distance running! A balmy, humid warm front was passing through Florida in 2013, though, and all runners packed shorts and singlets—as well as shorts and tee shirts for fun in the parks—to prepare for the anticipated highs in the 80s.

Marathon Weekend at WDW is a big deal. While it’s a difficult race to “race,” the organizers treat the weekend like any big city marathon blended in with Disney’s organizational prowess. The expo runs for 3 days and is stretched across the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. Number pick up and shirt pick up is flawless. The expo itself isn’t a personal favorite due to size of venue

and merchandise available, but if you’re a first time runner in a distance event, you’d never know the dif-ference. The expo is also home to a series of kids races starting with the wee distance of a 50 yard “diaper dash,” making it a weekend that a family can really devote to health and fitness. The weekend also boasts a 5K and a “Pasta in the Park” party and

all events truly encompass the runners through the weekend.

Race day itself is an interesting affair. I’ve only stayed on property and have taken WDW transportation to the races, but this option works great. Each on-property resort has buses that transport the runners to the start of the race. Because the first wave of the race goes off at 5:30 a.m. and it’s about a half mile walk to the starting corrals, early arrival is mandatory, so the transporta-tion leaves these hotels around 3:00 a.m. Once you arrive at EPCOT, you are greeted by cheerful volunteers, cowbells, party music, spotlights, and an incred-ible pre-race atmosphere that would make even the worst morning person put a smile on their face. Bag check is effortless and porta-potties and water are abundant.

The walk to the starting corrals is also lined with music, characters, and more porta-potties. Once you are in the start-ing corrals, you are essentially locked in for anywhere from 30-60 minutes, so it’s important to plan that walk accordingly. In the corrals, there is more music, guest speakers, chats with celebrities and elite runners, and more. Then 5:30 a.m. arrives, the fireworks go off, and Corral A takes off down the stretch. Each corral is treated to the same en-tertainment as you move closer to the rolling start and really makes the staring line exciting.


The half marathon course travels through the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT and the full marathon travels through all four WDW parks as well as a tour around the Richard Petty Speedway and the ESPN Wide World of Sports. One of the biggest downsides to both races is the amount of time that is spent on access roads. While there was music from local high school marching bands, stops for pictures with characters, and funny signs along the way for distrac-tion, it’s tough to distract from the boredom on these stretches—especially during the full marathon. The part that stank, literally, was the trek right by the water treatment plant around mile 11-12 of the full marathon course.

The highlights are enough to make you forget the hot, boring stretches though. Running up Main Street in the Magic Kingdom will never get old. It puts Wellesley’s famed scream tunnel to shame with spectators and Disney Cast Members yelling and cheering and en-joying the sunrise. The run around the Speedway was surprisingly enjoyable and featured not only Disney “character”

cars such as Herbie and Lightning Mc-Queen, but also about a mile of amazing antique and vintage autos that owners brought for viewing while they cheered the runners on. Though we missed out on it, apparently there were rides open in the Animal King-dom and you could take a jaunt on the Expedition Everest Coaster if you chose. The Wide World of Sports gave runners

the chance to run on a world-class track and also round the diamond at the Atlanta Braves spring training facility. Hollywood Studios was full of cheer-ing cast members and some interesting movie related sites. EPCOT also boasts the end of both races and great crowd support.

The support along the course was perfect as well. There is no need to travel with a belt as there is a water and Gatorade stop just about every mile as well as Clif Shot stops. The volunteers were excellent at both races—full of smiles, cheers, and encouragement at every corner. I was also impressed with the amount of medical staff on the course who really had a diligent eye on the runners in the unexpected heat.So, the question to ask—would we do this race again? Despite a glowing review for Disney’s organization, likely not. The training for the race is signifi-cantly more than marathon training at its peak weeks and two days in a row of what many consider significant distances may not be the choice for either of us. While I certainly appreciate the health

and fitness of a run like this and while I want to cheer for all on the course, it is not a race for you if you want to truly “race” the entire time. During both races, there were couples romantically holding hands and strolling along and groups of friends walking 5-6 abreast on narrow paths. It can be frustrating.

Would we do one race or the other again? Absolutely! It’s a “fun run” for a distance run. We enjoyed the company of Nicole McGuinness for the 13.1 and friends of mine completing their first marathon for that race. There were lots of laughs, people watching, costumes, and joy. There were also celebrity sight-ings and we had the chance to run with Joey Fatone of N’Sync and Dancing with the Stars fame during the last mile of the run. (Author’s Note: he swears like a trucker and was drinking a 22 oz. beer. My hero.) The finish of both races makes you forget any pain and suffering as you cruise past an amazing gospel choir and into a finish line with specta-tors at least 8-10 deep.

The post-race is a breeze as well. There are an abundance of volunteers with medals, there are tables of icy water and Gatorade, and bag pick up is as effort-less as drop-off. Friends and family are fairly easy to find (especially when they greet you with Goofy hats!) and trans-portation back to the resorts moves quickly.

We’ll be there for the 13.1 next year and encourage anyone to join us in the fun!

I give this race 3.5 cats for a monoto-nous course with the exception of the actual theme park areas and for the por-tion of the run that goes by the water treatment plant.

Wild West: Julie (left) and Nicole McGuinness made a new friend at Disney—in cowboy body paint. Yee haw!


Join in the conversation about road races and running with North Shore Road Race Guide on Facebook! Check us out at facebook.com/northshoreroadraceguide

Second Annual Comedy for the Coalition Fundraiser

Sunday, February 176:30pm — 9:30pm

Celebrate President’s Day week-

end with Wicked members Julie

Arrison and Shari Hewson at

Giggles Comedy Club/Prince

Pizza, Route 1 South Saugus, for

a night of gut busting between all-

you-can-eat pizza and laughing at

our expense as nationally known

comics discuss our insanity for run-

ning a marathon.

All proceeds from the night will go

to supporting youth and athletic

programming for the Franklin Park

Coalition (www.franklinparkcoali-

tion.org). There will be a 50/50

and raffle with many prizes includ-

ing a chance for Shari and Julie to

pick up your bar tab for the night.

Tickets will be $20.00 in advance

and $25.00 at the door. Tickets

can be purchased from Shari

and Julie directly or by mailing a

check to Julie Arrison, 18 Leavitt

Street, #3, Salem, Mass. 01970.

Join Julie at the Boston Marathon for a Great Cause

Only 4 spots left on Team Franklin Park Coalition!

It’s a good time...three returning Wicked members would agree...

I am the Marathon Charity Team Leader for the Franklin Park Coalition in Boston, Mass (www.

franklinparkcoalition.org). We have the privilege of being part of the BAA’s Official Marathon Charity

Program. For us, this means over $60,000 dedicated to park restoration, youth programming, athletics, and cultural

opportunities in Boston’s largest greenspace. For runners, this means four months of free USATF certified marathon coaching, online and in-person fundraising support, training gear, organized group training runs, a race day experience like no other charity offers, and, of course, guaranteed entry into the 2013 Boston Mara-thon.

Runners are required to raise $4000, but we provide immense support to work with the runners to help them reach their goals. Even if they are not directly connected to Franklin Park, this is a great chance for someone to fundraise who loves the out-doors and greenspace, works with kids, has a passion for athletics, or loves diverse cultural programming.

If you could share this email with your club, it would be greatly appreciated. They can be in contact with me directly via [email protected] or by calling 413-530-0831.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Kind regards,Julie Arrison • Boston Marathon Charity Team Leader


Wicked Grand Prix Series 2013 T.R. Ramsdell

Get out your calen-dars and your big red marker, and get these dates marked off for the 2013 Wicked

Grand Prix Series. We’ve chosen the line-up for the upcoming season, so get ready Wicked, here they come. I asked for suggestions from members for some of their favorite races they’d like to see in the schedule this year. We’ve chosen 8 races that fall on 8 different months, in 5 different towns. We have a few returning favorites, a few that might not be your favorite (but you’ll do them because you’re Wicked tough), and a couple newbies. Same rules apply as usual, you must complete 6 out of the 8 REGULAR series races to be considered a series finisher. Relays are bonus points, and help greatly to boost your score if per-haps you don’t happen to be as fast as Dave Long or Tim Short. For a com-plete explanation of the rules and how the series is scored, please refer to the Grand Prix series section of the Wicked website, or ask me. Some of the dates haven’t been final-ized, so they are marked TBD (to be determined). Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the dates posted. If for some reason a race is canceled, another race of similar size will be substituted at the WGP coordi-nators’ discretion. I will update the exact dates as soon as I receive them, so stay tuned.

So, without further ado, here is the schedule for the REGULAR race series: March 17 Olde Salem Greens 5k Cross

Country, Salem.May 2 Pipestave Hill 5k trail race,

W. NewburyJuly 30 Yankee Homecoming 10

miler, NewburyportAug. 16 Derby Street Mile, SalemSept. 15 Lone Gull 10k, GloucesterOct. 20 Baystate 1/2 or full mara-

thon, Lowell (your choice, both will be scored)

Nov. 28 Wild Turkey 5 miler, SalemDec. 15 Festivus 5k, Salem And the relays (all dates TBD): Aug. Lynn Woods RelaySept. Lake Winni RelayDec. Mill Cities Relay This is NOT a jacket series. Anyone that completes all 8 races plus all 3 relays will receive a special gift at the Winter Ban-quet. That gift is at the discretion of the WGP coordinators. This year, it could be beer mugs or toasters, etc. Depends on what we happen to decide. I’ll have a preview for you next month for our first race, The Olde Salem Greens 5K on March 17. C’mon, who’s in?


Wicked Kudos

From Melissa Jaynes:To Jennifer Howland and Aaron Toleos: Thanks for an awesome last couple of miles at the Derry 16 mile Boston Prep run. Three Wicked run-ners finishing together was a great way to end the race on a warm-hearted note (despite Aaron wearing a T-shirt in temps that were 15 degrees with a decent headwind). See photo below.To Michele Dunkin for her willingness to conquer the cold 2 degree morning Front Street run after moving here from North Carolina. To Kerry Phelan for pulling together a Wicked awesome slide show while home from college for the Holidays. You are the cat’s MEOW!

From Amber Woolfenden:Thanks to Lisa Kelly for being my spin class buddy. Thanks to Mary Bruno and Michele Campbell (Hey! That’s me.) for hanging with me on long runs. Thanks to Susan Keezer for being my track motivator.

From Kelly Gifford:Wicked kudos to Mickel McClish & Leeanne Nagle for braving the humid-ity and taking on the 15th Annual Key West Half on Jan. 20th. Extra shout out to Mickel who placed second in his divi-sion. Go Wicked.

From Julie Arrison:Thanks to Kenny Hewson, Denise Ramsdell, and Nicole Phillips for being at the finish line at Goofy with smiles, cheers, and even Goofy hats! It was a great end to a long day! Thanks to Andrew Bencal for training for and taking on the Goofy Challenge with me. It was great to have a buddy for 39.3 miles!

From Kelly Gifford:After a 5-6 week absence from running due to illness (flu), what is the safest yet fastest way to get back on course for training if one hopes to complete a 26.2 this fall?

The good news is you have plenty of time! Serious training for a fall marathon will start in June / July, so the number one thing to focus on now is your health and coming back the right way. I always encourage my runners to ease in to running by limiting the runs to 30 minutes at the start of a comeback. You could follow this for 2-4 weeks and still have plenty of time to prepare for the fall. After this time, start increasing 1-2 days per week as health permits. The 30 minute run is by far the biggest bang for your buck....It has the most upside with the least amount of risk! Good Luck!

If you have a question for Mike, send it to [email protected] and it will appear in the next newsletter.

Q&AAsk the Coach With Mike Toomey

Annual St. Patrick’s Road Race/WalkSaturday, March 16, 2013 (All day)Registration begins at noon. Walkers start at 12:30 p.m. Runners start at 1 p.m.

Sign up for this annual four-mile sanctioned event! All are welcome! Recruit family and friends to walk or run to help raise money for the Barton Center for Diabetes Ed-ucation. They run two camps during the summer for kids affected by diabetes where they can be with others just like themselves. This event is followed by a delicious buffet and an awards ceremony. Pre-register and get a T-shirt. If you have any questions, please call 508-987-2056, Ext. 2003 or email [email protected]. Visit bartoncenter.org to register and fundraise.


SUSAN HENNESSEYSalemJoined Wicked because: I’m new to running and a friend of mine (who is a member) spoke very highly of the club!

Favorite race: Miles Over the Moon

Favorite Distance: 5k

Goal for this year: 1/2 marathon this fall in Salem

This photo is from last June during that awful wind and pouring rain storm at Castle Island in Boston which ended up being a personal best - which completely shocked me!

KATE COMEAUBeverlyJoined Wicked because: I love running and running with others is great too.

Favorite race: Frosty Four in Salem or Wild Turkey

Favorite Distance: 5K or 4 mile

Goal for this year: Run a 10K

Secret talent: I can say the alphabet backwards.

When I’m not running I like to: make soap

Contact Ann Sousa at [email protected] to be featured in Member Spotlights.

Member Spotlights:AMANDA GOMMSalemJoined Wicked because: I’m tired of running and/or training alone.

Favorite race: Wild Turkey 5

Mile Thanksgiving Day race 2012

Favorite Distance: 10k

Goal for this year: The Portland Marathon in October..Portland, Oregon!

Secret talent: I’m an awesome cook, but it’s not really a secret!

When I’m not running I like to: Cook, read, spend time with my family.

KATIA DE MELLO RINDEIKOLynnJoined Wicked because: I love Salem, I dis-covered that I enjoy running and WRC is the coolest!

Favorite race: Miles Over the Moon

Favorite Distance: 5 miles

Goal for this year: 1/2 marathon.

Secret talent: decorating my house (inside and out).

When I’m not running I like to: spend time with my daughters Victoria and Yolan-da, the sunshine of my life!

ABBY BENTSalemJoined Wicked because: I was told how nice and welcom-ing everyone in the group was.

Favorite race: Big Sur Half Marathon.

Favorite Distance: 13.1

Goal for this year: Qualify for the Boston Marathon

Secret talent: Carpentry

When I’m not running I like to: Bike, kayak, and cook

AARON BALDWINSouth HamiltonJoined Wicked because: I moved to the area this sum-mer for Grad school and wanted to be

involved in a running group/commu-nity. I joined mid-summer.

Favorite race: I really enjoyed the Frosty Four.

Favorite Distances: Mile, 5k, 4 mile, 8k, 10 mile

Goal for this year: PR in the 8k and 10 mile

Secret talent: Strategy Board and Card Games

When I’m not running I like to: Read! Fiction, theology, religion, philosophy, autobiographies, relationship, social commentary, and running books!


Where in the World is Wicked?Key West, baby and Salem (of course)!

Rockin’ it tropical: Kelly Gifford, Leeanne Nagle and Mickel McClish at Willy-T’s in Key West, Fla. And Mickel represents in the ocean.

Tennis is dangerous: At the Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic, Michele Campbell (far left) shows onlookers Mary Bruno, Amber Woolfenden and Holly Allison how she managed to hit herself with a tennis racquet during a recent match. Then she showed them the bruise on her shoulder. Classic Campbell.

Don’t Miss the Doyle’s 5 Miler

April 7, 2013 at 10 a.m.

The Wicked Running Club is invited

back to enjoy our own little corner in

the sun for the Doyle’s 5 miler. As a

club, we’ll have our own private tent

and area for the after party--which is

one of the best after parties for a race,

sponsored by Sam Adams and full of

live music.

The race is April 7, 2013 at 10 a.m.

and goes through Franklin Park. Please

contact Julie Arrison (juliearrison@

gmail.com) if you plan on running.

For all information, visit: http://doyles-

cafeboston.com/Events.html

wrr january 2013

Documents

beach relay race

oldest club

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mile run

hour relay race

years miles

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team camaraderie