By Julie Clark
This year’s Springtime Training Group was a blast. I cannot overemphasize the enthusiasm and excitement of this group. It was the largest group ever with 49 registrants (39 completing the Springtime 10K race). We had a mixture of types of runners ranging from those like Frank Rudd training for his first 10K, Suzanne Morris returning to running after 20 years, Linda Johnson second year graduate, and Bob Fisher a fast runner who wanted to practice the course. The final week of the group included a course trial run and a dinner/graduation. Congratulations and many thanks to all the participants and volunteers!
The success of this group can be largely attributed to the dedication and support of five outstanding volunteers which included Tome Wilkerson, Dawn Brown, Lisa Unger, Lynn Powell and David Brey. These volunteers were true even in rough conditions ranging from below freezing, dark, windy, rainy to hot and humid. Toma Wilkerson handled traffic control, keeping people on course and missing person searches on her bicycle. Dawn Brown rescued the back of the pack people and the walkers sometimes staying out there when everyone else had gone home. Lisa Unger ran with the middle group to keep them smiling and on the right roads. Lynn Powell was a big help talking to the new runners and always making people feel comfortable with the group. Our Navy commander David Brey would delay his starts to make sure that anyone who came late would have someone to run with. If no person arrived late, he would then have to run very fast to catch the rest of us. Thanks again to all these wonderful volunteers!
Of course, a successful group is the result of the contributions of the members. These hard core runners actually pushed me to continue amidst some very nasty weather conditions. They are an inspiration to me. Watch out? their attitudes, energy and joy in running may be contagious!
The following is a list of participants who completed the Springtime 10K race (note: PR = personal record, 1st = first 10K, TS = Monday Group team scorer, AG = Age Group winner). Please forgive me if I have missed some names or personal records. Al Sanders (PR, TS), Alycia Syck, Barbara Zulak, Bert Wilkerson, Bob Fisher (AG), Brett Lloyd (TS), Cheryl Johnson, Chris Skinner, David Brey (PR), Dawn Brown, Diana Kennedy (PR), Doc Horton, Dot Skofronick (AG) , Edye Coxwell, Estella Phelps (PR), Frank Rudd (1st), John Morrill, Judee Pouncy, Judy Bakstran (PR), Julie Clark (AG), Karen Sutterfield (PR), Ken Midkiff (TS), Kim Johnson, Kimberley Ruscher-Rogers (1st), Kyle Ledbetter (1st), Linda Johnson (PR), Lisa Unger, Margarita Fernandez, Marguerite Matthews, Maria Vives (PR), Melia Flores, Michelle Ledbetter, Monya Newmyer, Olivia Starling, Paula Thompson, Peter Ellis (TS), Salim Talib, Sherri Martin, Steve Gould, Suzanne Morris (PR), Tim Hoomes (1st, TS).
See you again at the D.O.T. parking lot at 5:30pm on the first Monday after New Year’s day in 2003!