February 2015

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Lake Grapevine Runners & Walkers February 2015 Dear Lake Grapevine, Welcome to the February 2015 edition of the Footprint! In this month's issue, we celebrate a fantastic and successful "Bold in the Cold" 5K &15K race and thank all of the volunteers who made it happen! We feature great reads including a personal account of the Charleston Marathon by RAW member, Ricardo Roberto, and a story about an unconventional way of running Cowtown Marathon by Cori Halliburton.

Also, check out RAW February's "Off to the RACES" - the Haltom Stampede 5K. RAW members are eligible for a reduced entry fee, if you register by February 7th. See the RAW "Off to the RACES" below for details.

Calendar of Events

RAW Off To the Races

Join us for our scheduled run/walk gatherings!

Saturdays and Sundays 8:00 AM RAW Clubhouse

My Membership Expires: LGRAW

Quick Links contact us membership renewals volunteer sign-up

Trail Run/Walk Wednesdays and Fridays 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM RAW Clubhouse

water duty instructions RAW forum like us on facebook

Track Workouts Tuesdays 5:00 - 6:30 PM Grapevine Middle School Track (subscribe to grapevinetrackies Yahoo Group for schedule and/or location changes) Newbie Sunday Sunday, February 1st 7:00 AM RAW Clubhouse Board Meeting Monday, February 9th 7:00 PM RAW Clubhouse Lunch Bunch Tuesday, February 17th 12:00pm Red Dog Right 3311 E. Hwy 114,

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Off to the RACES!!!

LGRAW board of directors

February 2015:

RAW Privileges

5K distance:

Dallas Athletes Racing 15% discount on select 2015 races. Coupon code: Raw15.

2/14/15 - Haltom Stampede Special team sign up discount through February 7th: http://www.haltomcitytx.com/news-events-parks-recreation /1604-2015-haltom-stampede-february-14-2015 Registration Options: 1.Print out the PDF form & mail it in with a check. Choose 5K timed team ($15 per runner).

2.Register online. Create a profile and sign up for the 5K timed team. There are no online fees.

Use "Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers" as your team name for either online or paper sign up.

2/28/15 - Cowtown 5K 10K distance:

Luke's Locker 10% off most purchases with your membership.

Running Warehouse Enter LGRWD at checkout (exclusions apply).

RunOn! 15% off purchases on the day they come out to RAW for a shoe demo.

Southlake --------------------------RAW OFF to the RACES February 1, 2015 Texas Half Marathon February 14, 2015 Haltom Stampede 5K February 28, 2015 Cowtown 5K or 10K SAVE THE DATE! March 21, 2015 Grasslands Aid Station

2/28/15 - Cowtown 10K Half Marathon distance: 2/1/15 - Texas Half March 2015: 5k distance: 3/14/15 - Shannon Brewery Run 5k Half/Full/Ultra distance: 3/21/15 - Grassland half, full and 50 miler trail run Special Note - The 2015 El Scorcho race date will be announced after Cowtown. Check out the El Scorcho website or Facebook page for details!

Footnotes Congratulations On the engagement of Kimberly Kay and Tom Shetina.

Thank you To all RAW water duty volunteers who take just a few minutes of their time to stock the course with cool water and Gatorade EVERY Saturday and Sunday! Without your kindness, there would be A LOT of thirsty RAW runners on the course.

Lost & Found Left something at the clubhouse? Check to see if we found it. All unclaimed items are in the clear tote along the north wall of the clubhouse (just outside the bathroom).

Volunteer Opportunity The Grasslands Trail Run will take place on Saturday, March 21st.

Each year, RAW and its amazing volunteers host an aid station.

We hope you will consider being a part of the aid station by volunteering and cheering runners and walkers on the course.

Email Joe Luccioni or sign up at the clubhouse to volunteer!

Board Meeting Don't forget to check out the February LGRAW Board Meeting!

The meeting will take place on Monday, February 9th, 7:00PM at the clubhouse.

Do you have an agenda item you would like to add? Email the secretary@lgraw.com by February 5th, and we will add your item to the agenda.

Hoka Shoes Coming to Visit RAW Wondering what all the hubbub is regarding HOKA ONE ONE shoes?

Our friends at RunOn! and Kendall from HOKA ONE ONE will be at the clubhouse on Saturday, February 7th before the 8am run/walk start to reveal the magic about the HOKA ONE ONE shoe line. Samples will be available to try. So stop in before or after your run/walk and learn about HOKA ONE ONE shoes.

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Sunstone Yoga (First Sunday of the month) FREE Yoga classes at ALL DFW area Sunstone Yoga locations.

Print this newsletter as proof of your membership.

FOOTPRINT Submissions Share your race or training experiences with RAW! We are always looking for content to include in the FOOTPRINT. If you have a running/walking related story or photo you'd like to share with the club, consider submitting it for the FOOTPRINT. Click here for the submission guidelines.

Footnotes: Want to give a shout out to your running buddy in the footnotes section? You can send congratulations, condolences, get well, speedy recovery wishes, or wishes of good luck.

All submissions must be received by the 15th of the month for the next issue.

Send all submissions to pr@lgraw.com.

From your Bold In the Cold Race Directors....

By Sakina Vidacak and Julie Smith There is an African proverb: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want

to go far, go together." This certainly holds true for RAW and the club race, the "Bold in the Cold".

For the past two years that we have co-directed this race, we have witnessed what drives this race to succeed. First are our knowledgeable and expert volunteers who design the artwork, attend meetings with City of Grapevine staff, walk the parking lots and trails to inspect and identify potential hazards and shovel dirt and ice off the trails before race day, put out signs, fill and empty countless coolers, prepare medals and packets, work packet pickup, prepare and hand out thousands of cups of water on race day, register and ready race day runners, marshal the course, time all participants, prepare post run refreshments, set up and clean up on race day, and perform many more crucial tasks. Second are our wonderful sponsors who support us financially, donate great raffle prizes, greet our runners with samples, offer hot chocolate on race day, warm up, stretch out, and patch up our racers. Last, but not the least, are our enthusiastic race participants from the speedy age groups winners to our first time racers and to our race's first ever hand cyclist.

We do it together because we could not get far on our own. Thank you!

Volunteers Make The Difference

By Carol Schumm, BITC Volunteer Coordinator One More Time for our BITC Volunteers......

It can never be said enough... Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the BITC volunteers.

"Bold in the Cold" was a huge success, largely due to you, our volunteers. Not all the tasks were glamorous or fun, but everything you did was appreciated. Our race directors, crew chiefs, fellow volunteers and runners salute you.

We so appreciate your taking time out of your busy life (and quite possibly of your own training) to help out. The only problem is that you did such an awesome job, that you'll probably end up being recruited to help again next year! Thanks so very much!

Running Charleston

By Ricardo Roberto My training and racing strategy was simple. I would simply choose as my marathon training and racing partner:

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BITC Race Directors Sakina Vidacak and Julie Smith

Someone I had known and run with for over a decade.

Someone so disciplined and attuned to pace that she would disrupt my idiotic tendency to start races too fast only to end in despair and ignominy (okay - I'll admit that I should probably look that word up before I sneak it into something written for others).

Someone who had publicly taunted me for HER ability to maintain pace as payback for all the Saturday long runs where I led her out of the gate too fast, and we BOTH paid for it.

Someone that we all love and cherish.

Let's call her M3 to protect her identity and reputation.

Ricardo running Charleston with the Coupled with that, all of my marathons are determined by the chance to visit elusive "M3". friends, especially if those friends live in places like Rome and Paris where hotel prices make me cringe. So when M3 told me that she was planning to run the Charleston Marathon in January, I called some old friends who had promised to meet us there for a weekend when we made our first visit, and the die was cast. Sometime after we had decided to run, another RAW member (let's call her HBee to protect her identity) also let M3 know that she was running the same race.

Charleston is a beautiful Southern city with a noteworthy history. As it was a major port when our cash crop was cotton, it was sufficiently wealthy that it abounds with beautiful old mansions dating back to the Revolutionary War. Let's also add that they started the Civil War by bombing and occupying Fort Sumter, thus forcing the North's hand in entering into our first (and thankfully ONLY) full scale civil conflict. The city also abounds with wonderful restaurants and has typically sunny weather. All in all, it is a paradise for runners, most of whom only really run, so that they can enjoy the occasional high calorie meal (by occasional, I mean Saturday or Sunday, depending on which day they put in their long run).

The Charleston Marathon was really small. There were about 2,000 marathoners and 2,600 half marathoners. M3 and HBee had already arrived in Charleston and eaten TWICE before I even made it to the running expo. We met at my hotel to give them a break where they only had a couple of local beers. Try the Holy City Lager, if you get a chance.

After that, it was off to dinner.

Up to this point, you may think all had gone swimmingly. But that's only because you've forgotten that this is a running story. The mid-January race date had presented a variety of challenges. First, M3 and I had not run TOGETHER for nearly two months. Secondly, I am old and at this point not in any kind of decent physical shape. Third, the immediate post-holiday marathon was just not a good idea. Fourth, M3 has hip issues, and my knee is going bad, and HBee has a remarkable number of infirmities for someone her age. But as I said, the strategy was not to put in an intense pre-race program to run a fast race. Rather we met in Charleston and enjoyed many nice meals. During dinner before the race, we agreed that our pace will be SLOW. Race morning was sunny and cool. The runners congregated at the hotel bar for breakfast, and our families determined their support plans. We went out the back door of the hotel and discovered that we were about 400 yards from the start. There were no corrals and only a few runners, so the start was a breeze.

The race immediately proceeded down the west side of Charleston's peninsula, headed east and then took runners north on fashionable King Street. The initial scenery was really pretty, as you ran along the water and through the old neighborhoods and through the most popular and historic city street. We all started strong, but HBee immediately warned us that we were starting too fast for her. About mile 6, M3 and I decided to take a bathroom break, came out and caught up with HBee about a mile later. She wisely decided to keep her pace, and M3 and I surged ahead, while discussing the important political and social issues of the day. At mile 16, after so much intellectual stimulation, I informed M3 that I was going to need to slow it down. I didn't see her again until the finish.

At this point in the race, the citizens of Charleston clearly showed a disinclination to sponsor a race through their serene streets, because it seemed that we kept getting shunted off and forced into repetitive loops as we neared the finish.

Just after I passed the 25 mile mark, HBee ran the opposite direction and greeted me. I was walking and suddenly was overwhelmed with the idea that somewhere along the way, she had passed me, and that I still had a long way to go, as I thought that I would have to run the other way and then follow her to the finish. Fortunately, HBee has a wonderful husband and a fellow runner, who encouraged me at just the right time and reassured me that the finish was just ahead and to the left. Many thanks - I really needed the guidance at that point.

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At the finish, I discovered M3 had appropriated a chair and had taken charge of the finish line. Her time of 3:57 was good enough for a fifth place in her age group (and no, I can't reveal her age either). I arrived in 4:21, not the worst time of my life, but it was a badly run race. HBee came in with a respectable 4:53, especially when considering that she went out of her way to throw me off at the end.

I fell in love with the marathon during my first race. The marathon is about setting a difficult goal, overcoming one's pain and fears, and achieving the goal. Along the way, the celebration is shared as we discover phenomenal people and places along the way. There are good races and bad races, but that's the view of every individual who is trying to live up to expectations which are self-imposed. There is NO bad place or race, if you believe that running and healthful living are simple, positive elements of every life. For the people along the race course, we are ALL incredible.

Of course, the best part of any marathon is the finish. We were collected by family and friends, joked and drank beers, ate shrimp and grits, and enjoyed Kelly's surprise at winning an age group award. And of course, we made dinner plans.

Boot Scoot COWTOWN 26.2

By Cori Halliburton Cowtown is just around the corner. For those of you training, check out Cori's challenge at the 2013 Cowtown Marathon.

My finish at the 2013 Cowtown Marathon, all 26.2miles in 12-year old boots and worn out blue jeans.

My standard response when someone asks me "why?"

My brother-in-law bet me a beer and a burger that I wouldn't do it. I submit, that was a tasty beer and burger he owed and bought for me. I would not recommend this approach for anyone. I will never attempt this again, but I am glad I did it.

RRCA Kelly "K2" Richards, RRCA Director-at-Large Congratulations to RAW for hosting the first RRCA Texas State Championship Series race of 2015 and putting on another fantastic race at the 17th annual Bold in the Cold 5K & 15K. Spring is right around the corner, and that means so is the 57th Annual RRCA National Convention being held in Des Moines, Iowa, in conjunction with Drake relays April 22-26. The Convention consists of educational workshops on best practices, the RRCA Annual Meeting of the Membership, the National Running Awards Banquet, and several social networking luncheons and events. Clubs are encouraged to reward their key volunteers with a trip to the RRCA Convention.

The RRCA also offers a Leadership Development Scholarship. The purpose of the Leadership Development Scholarship is to provide annual funding for up to 4 individuals per year (one per region) to attend the RRCA Convention on behalf of their running club.

The RRCA is accepting board nominations for 2015-2017 term. Details about officer and director nominations are covered in the RRCA Bylaws and the 2015 Nomination Procedures document on the RRCA website. The deadline for submitting nominations is 5:00 PM Eastern on February 9, 2015.

RunPro whose mission is to assist promising young distance runners in making the transition from collegiate to

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professional running has been rebranded as RunProUSA. Stay connected to the RRCA on Facebook and Twitter.

2015 Bold In The Cold Visions

BITC Runners are warming up before the race.

BITC first hand cyclist, Mike King, is at the start of the 15K.

BITC 15K Master Winner, Colleen Casey, is making it look real easy.

Volunteers are enjoying a post race celebration.

The Noell family is keeping warm and enjoying the course.

Jackie is cutting up the bagels for hungry runners.

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