We will be holding two informational meetings at the store:  Wednesday March 17th and Wednesday March 24th.  Both meetings will start at 7 pm.  Sherry Hecker our Program Coordinator will give you all the info on the program and answer any questions you may have. 

 

 

 

Reigstration for the race is now open.  Please see our Medved Lilac Race Page (the link is on the fist sentence of this article) for all the event details including links for registration. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ninth annual USSSA National Snowshoe Racing Championships were held in our "backyard" this past weekend in Highland Forest outside of Syracuse in Fabius, NY. Race director Chary Griffin put together both an event and a course that won't soon be forgotten. Last week's winter storm provided plenty snow to race with and in fact seemed to turn to sugar making a tough course tougher, we raced in what many thought to be the most challenging snow any of us has ever seen. Add some serious elevation gain and loss (including a brutal finishing climb) with the most competitive field yet in the history of the sport, this day would be a serious test.

 

The juniors took their turn at the course first, with several local guys toeing the line. We watched with great anticipation with many of us chatting about how long 5K would take on this course. David Geary (Ithaca College, Brighton grad) soon tore out of the woods and attacked the sledding hill with Scott Smolensky (Brighton) and Colin Kerr (Wayne) in pursuit. The boys held place, congrats to all for making the national team. Sam Lewis of Boulder, CO won the girl's race, finishing tenth overall.

 

The ladies took their turn next and again, it was awesome to see so many familiar faces. There were also a lot of familiar names, fast competitors from previous national teams from all over the country; this would be a competitive race. Michelle Weiler stuck her nose in it right from the horn, 200M in she positioned herself right up front as they hit the woods. The race director provided a shuttle for spectators to see the race from two vantage points but I chose to get warmed up and wait for the ladies at the finish. Amber Ferreira (NH) and Cheryl Paulson (CO) were the first two to appear and they were just seconds apart, an exciting back and forth duel ensued with Ferreira's climbing ability at the end making all the difference as she took the gold. Erin Ward was next out of the the trails with Weiler in pursuit, the two had a gap so our group really began to cheer as we knew Michelle had her national team spot locked up. They held place with Ward 3rd, Weiler 4th. Kellie Gregoire was the fifth lady to take on the sledding hill, she had also separated herself from the next racer so the cheering grew as she approached the finish to take the fifth and final spot for the national team. Gregoire, sixth at the National Championships in VT four years ago, recently competed at the World Snowshoe Invitational in Vancouver finishing ninth. A very cool moment seeing these two ladies finish top five. Many friends followed, doing quite well grabbing a pile of age group awards.

 

So now it was our turn, over 130 men turned out for the big show. After a few words from Mark Elmore, head of the USSSA, we were off - pretty cool trick having a race with both an uphill start and finish...The course proved to be as challenging as we had heard and I couldn't help but be impressed at how well others were pulling away from me, the snow had me feeling like I was spinning my wheels. Highland Forest offers some gorgeous wooded sections, this was a fantastic course. Sections of singletrack required a lot of concentration in order to stay upright and halfway through an unexpected aid station was a very welcome sight for rehydrating. The trail rarely flattened out, the roller coaster took us like that for almost six miles when we finally popped out along side the lodge before taking on the sledding hill. The downhill was over in a matter of seconds, but of course, what goes down has to go back up. And what a grueling slog it was, few runners managed to run this climb. After what seemed like ten minutes to cover 200M I reached the finish line in dire need of some oxygen and water soon after. It didn't take long to hear the great news that Zach Rivers had finished third behind champ Josiah Middaugh (CO)and Scott Gall (IA), making his first senior national team (Zach is a three time junior team member). Greg Hexum (MN) and Fred Joslyn (Syracuse) rounded out the final two spots. Several other area athletes also did quite well, winning age group medals - congrats to all. And to Chary Griffin, Mark Elmore, and all those who had a hand in putting on this event, well done.

 

Results: Auyer Timing

The trend lately in the outdoor industry (and rightly so) is "Green," and Brooks has clearly been leading the way in running.  In July 2008, they introduced their revolutionary BioMoGo midsole material in the Trance.  They introduced a non-toxic additive to their MoGo midsole material that encourages anaerobic microorganisms to "munch" away on it once it is in a landfill.  The traditional EVA midsole material can last up to 1,000 years in a landfill, and the additive that Brooks has used speeds that up by 50 times, decreasing the degradation rate to within 20 years.  Brooks has estimated they alone will save 29.9 million pounds of landfill waste.  Within the last two years, they have expanded the use of the BioMoGo to the Adrenaline, Defyance, Glycerin, Cascadia, Ravenna, Ghost, Infinity and the Adrenaline ASR.  In short time, all of Brooks' performance running shoes with the MoGo midsole material will feature the BioMoGo material.  

 

Brooks has not stopped there.  In February 2010, they introduced the Green Silence, a fast and of course, Green, racing flat.  Along with the BioMoGo midsole material, the Green Silence boasts biodegradeable insole and collar foams, water-based adhesives throughout, and non-toxic dyes and colorants.  Seventy-Five percent of the shoes materials are post-consumer recycled, and the laces, gillies (lace loops), and reinforced webbing are 100% post consumer recycled.  

 

Remember, though, The Green Silence is not only Green, its fast.  It also has a performance story.  Weighing only 6.9 oz, this shoe is nimble and quick, but with a thicker midsole layer, the inherent support lets you take this shoe to the marathon distance as well.  Like the midsole, Brooks gives you full thickness of the outsole in those high impact areas, reducing it in areas of low impact, giving you the durability needed for longer runs.  The upper features an asymmetrical lacing system and a non-sliding wrap-over tongue to hug your foot like a sock.  They employ fewer seams to reducing rubbing and abrasion.

 

I was given the chance by Brooks to give this shoe a test drive, and have taken full advantage.  In training for an upcoming marathon, I have used this shoe in all conceivable ways.  I was first impressed by the flexible comfortable upper as I used it in indoor track workouts at faster interval and repetition speeds.  I was equally impressed with the shoe at a recent workout employing longer tempo training, so I decided to give the shoe a try on a more conventional run of seven miles.  It functioned equally well on that run, so this past weekend, I took it to the streets for 17+ miles.  It performed as any other full trainer I have run on.  Brooks has a real gem here.                      

 

 

This year's Medved 5K to Cure ALS will once again be held on Father's Day, which will be Sunday June 20, 2010 at Frontier Field.  As we have done in the past, individuals who raise/donate $50 or more in contributions for ALS will receive a free entry for the race. 

 

Those individuals who raise or donate $250 or more, not only receive a free race entry, but will have their name (or a name of a business) on the official race t shirt, along with a message.  The deadline for the Race Sponsorship is June 6, 2010.

 

On line contributions:  This year we are pleased to announce that you can raise money on line.  To create your on line donation page, please click here, and then click on the Login/Register option to get started.  (Please reference the race somewhere on your page so that ALS-TDI, our benefactor, knows that your page is connected with the race).  If you need assistance in setting up your page, please contact Vanessa Plant at vplant@als.net  or call her at (617) 441-7281.

 

Contributions (or a report showing contributions raised or submitted on line) must accompany the submitted entry form to receive the free entry.  If you have any questions about becoming a race sponsor, please email us at dan@medvedrunwalk.com .