Runner’s Book Club - DiVine on Main - November Time/Date TBD

“What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” by Haruki Murakami drew a larger crowd than our first “meeting,” including two new faces of the MRM Club! We sipped & snacked while discussing the gut reactions that Haruki instigated. A mixed bag on whether to recommend reading this book, but it did lead to some great storytelling and a great reason to socialize within our Community! 

Next on the agenda for Early November, “Once a Runner” by John L Parker, Jr.

Quarterly Education Returns! - TBD

Summer definitely got away from us, but we are bringing Quarterly education back and are hoping for a September AND end of October/early November gathering. We are finishing up the details and will announce it ASAP! 

A Message from the President-Becka (August 2024)

I ran my first race in over 5 years! 

Last November at “Friends Giving” with my Quinnipiac Physical Therapy Girlfriends we decided we would all run Beach to Beacon 10K  together this August…if we could get in! In early February we all sat on our computers with fingers poised to click “Register” - I had to apologize to my first patient of the day as it opened during their session, oops! Needless to say, we all got a spot and the countdown began. 

My training didn’t go quite as planned with my mileage much lower than I expected (my own doing); and as my always straightforward husband put it, I was becoming a “master of rest & recovery” when it came to running. Two weekends before with no longer than a 6 mile run under my belt this summer I decided to show up to Valhalla Running Club’s “Grinder Mountain Challenge” on an exceptionally hot & humid day. Off I went with a 3-tiered goal - I like to set myself up for some amount of success!

Goal 1: 4 Laps = Pack Monadnock. 

Goal 2: 5 to 6 Laps, putting me in my highest mileage day of summer. 

Goal 3: 7 Laps, 16.5 miles, and Monadnock’s elevation. 

I conquered Goal 3 as the quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, arches, and everything else in between started to tell me enough was enough. 10K, no problem!

August 2nd we drove to Maine, I forgot to bring my running shoes, not a joke, who does that?!? Dick’s Sporting Goods was the only spot open, so I got my very first pair of HOKAS and started praying like mad that my feet didn’t quit before the finish line. August 3rd, the race was delayed 1 hour due to thunderstorms - we are really on a roll so far. We took the shuttle and were dropped a mile from the starting line, then stood in the rain for 2 hours waiting for the race to begin. It was hot and muggy, but if you stand in the rain, half naked long enough you start to get cold. A short warm up helped and then the gun went off, let’s hope the race goes better than the lead up.

My first thoughts were how strange it was to run in such a large crowd of people, but to also be keeping up pace. Next came the realization that the rain had stopped and now the asphalt was sending up heat and humidity while the air around us held plenty of its own - stifling. 2.5 miles in - dead animal smell. 4.5 miles in - bacon being cooked and handed out roadside - the stomach rolled. 5 miles in, turns out there is a sneaky set of low grade climbs to get you into the park. 6 miles in, a sharp uphill turn that I couldn’t help but crank up. 6.2 miles, 47:58 just sliding in under my “Reach Goal” of 48 minutes and well surpassing my “I’ll Be Pretty Happy Goal” of 50 minutes. 

I think I might enter some more races…that was fun! And the Lobstah Roll after was pretty darn good too! 

Website Upgrades - New & Ongoing Changes

The MRM Membership page has been upgraded to a new system and is about ready to go live. You will be able to select your membership tier, add it to your “Cart” and checkout like any other online shopping transaction. Our hope is that by implementing this system it allows for a smoother registration & renewal, improved data keeping and communication on our end, and overall a more streamlined system.

We have updated and activated MRM Gear & Garb. There are currently a handful of T-Shirts available for purchase with our 2024 Logo, however new items will be added to include more running/outdoor apparel and our “OG Logo” will be available as well! Whoever said “out with the old, in with the new” had it all wrong - we have such a cool history and want to keep it all in the mix! 

Website upgrades will continue and major changes will be announced here, all in hopes of a more user friendly experience. Not to send summer out the door too soon, but we expect more changes to occur as daylight decreases and weather patterns shift. How can you sit behind a computer screen in the summer?!?

Chiller and Membership Shirts (August)

We are almost there! A handful left to distribute, so please reply to my emails if you got one! I do plan on being at Run for the Honey and will bring any unclaimed shirts with me in hopes of running into the last few folks! As a reminder, shirts can  be collected on Wednesday nights at the ConVal Track or you can connect via cell: 603-801-5762 to set up a different time that works for you. 

A Message from the President (July 2024)

From the President,

Writing this column, typing those first three words, is very foreign to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I like being in the thick of it, and being in control of the things that matter to me and where I spend my time.  But President?  Doesn’t really seem to ring true.  I like being in the background and that’s not where the president is at.

So I think I’ll go with something different here.  I just wrapped up 25 years of high school coaching last week, presenting at my 70th or so sports awards banquet, and to be honest, it felt really good.  Having spent a quarter century focused on helping high school athletes not just become better runners but better students, better all around athletes and just plain old better people has been extremely gratifying, I wouldn’t change it for the world.  

But doing so can be hard.  To be effective, you need to bring it every day.  You need to be willing to give up on other aspects of your life, like family events, friends outings, social occasions you’d generally attend but you can’t because you have cross country or track.

I’ve been lucky to have some great athletes that have done some very special things, Becka being one of them.  I’ve had extremely talented athletes that underestimated their gift and others that were not blessed with traits that make them fast but more with an abundance of grit that made them formidable.  From that we’ve seen some state and regional level performances.  Many of my kids have gone on to great things, not having to do with running.

And I’ve been along for the journey from the get go.  I’ve seen the successes, the trials and tribulations, and growth that both of those induce.  The highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  I’ve seen some of the greatest humility through achievement and the gut wrenching, soul searching feeling in defeat.  Both success and failure are an important part of this sport. It has been a fantastic ride.

But that ride is over.  Time to change horses.  Time to invest that energy into my own running and those that make up my running circle.  I love this sport, it made me who I am, and I’m interested in how it makes you, you.  So if you see me around, asking questions, talking smack, cracking jokes, and running slower by the day, certainly feel free to chime in, ask me a question, or let me know what you think.

And please don’t call me president…

MRM’s Housekeeping (July 2024)

Website Upgrade Continues

The MRM Website is in the process of getting upgraded! Why? The website has been operational for quite some time and functions off of an outdated platform causing it to be rather “clunky.” Feedback from the board, members and potential members is that it is challenging to navigate to become a member, manage memberships, connect to the club, find event info, etc. Sean Radcliffe our Website Guru and Pam Kingston, who brings a background in sales/marketing/website development, will be working together to complete the upgrade and smooth out processes to make the site more user friendly. 

Chiller and Membership Shirts

I am slowly making my way through the list of folks needing to collect their shirts. If you haven’t been emailed yet, you will be and you can reach out to me directly as well! I am attempting to avoid mailing shirts as much as possible, but if you did respond that that is the best way, please know they will all be mailed at one mail drop vs me making multiple trips to the post office. As a reminder, shirts can  be collected on Wednesday nights at the ConVal Track or you can connect via cell: 603-801-5762 to set up a different time that works for you. 

A Message from the President (June 2024)

Welcome to June!

If you are anything like me you had a moment where you were blown away that May has gone past and we are nearing the “longest day” of the year! Our household has been stocking up on Vitamin D while getting the yard, garden, windows, and other spring/summer chores tackled, while also maximizing the fun! I think that is where May disappeared to…

Part of the May fun was the start of our Wednesday Night Track Workouts. The turnout has been excellent and we are seeing new faces, all ages, and all abilities showing up and “grinding the gears!” We recalibrated to the track with 200 meter repeats, gathered some data with a 10 Lap Time Trial, worked on shifting pace with 300/100s, bailed to a Rail Trail Negative Split on a scorcher of a night, and finished off May with “The Michigan” to get a baseline measure on speed, recovery, and endurance. Looking forward to June and continuing to see attendance grow with fewer mid-week commitments as school goes out of session. 

In taking on a leadership role with the Monadnock Regional Milers, we had vision for connecting our community club back into the Community. We are off to a good start this year and June has me excited too! Our first MRM Book Club will be meeting at Divine on Main, combining a few of my favorite activities together - running, reading, and relaxation!  And we are adding a new standing weekly run that is going to be led by Jon Blair. Jon is co-owner of Lifelong Athlete and one of our Annual Club Sponsors. Details on both of these events are below! We have also connected to our community on a more global level through a program called Sneakers4Good, which takes used sneakers and sends them to Third World Countries to be recycled and put back into use. So far we have sent over 30 pairs of sneakers, how cool! 

I hope you all continue to take advantage of this beautiful weather, long days, and the simple pleasures of summer in New England! 

See you on the Track & Trails!