There were four new Alabama State 10 Mile Records broken:
Lori Strand - Age 35 Birmingham, AL - Time: 1:02:44 6:17/M Pace from Birmingham, AL;
Theresa Burst - Age 53 - Time: 1:16:12 7:38/M Pace from Birmingham, AL;
DeWayne Morris - Age 80 - Time: 1:36:58 9:42/M Pace from Birmingham, AL; and
Josh Whitehead - Age 33 – Time: 52:03 5:13/M Pace from Madison, AL. Josh also broke the course record by over 3 minutes. Way to go Josh!!

The 10 Mile RRCA State Championship winners are:
Overall Male: Josh Whitehead, Madison, AL Time: 52:03:00.
Masters: Paul Sykes - Birmingham, AL Time: 1:00:24.
Grand Masters: Kirk Mueller, Birmingham, AL Pace: 1:05:39.
Senior Grand Master: Jeff Hawkins , Birmingham, AL, Pace: 1:14:55. 
Overall Female: Lori Strand - Birmingham, AL Time:1:02:44.
Masters: Lori Goldweber Birmingham, AL, Pace: 1:10:58.
Grand Masters: Theresa Burst, Birmingham, AL Pace: 1:16:12.
Senior Grand Master: Linda Allen, Birmingham, AL Pace: 1:38:25.

Thanks, to Championship Racing and Trish Portuese, Race Director, for producing an outstanding and successful event, which, along with Red Nose Run 5K, benefits Ronald McDonald Charities of Alabama.

In the days of the First Running Boom, newbies were eager to learn the Rules of the Road when it came to running and especially marathoning. There was no Internet in those days, so new runners learned at the smelly feet of veteran runners. Where to line up at the start of a race; how much mileage per week is most effective; what to eat the night before a big race, etc. Today runners are so overloaded with information in all phases of their existence, that it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to running and racing. In this presentation we will review 11 blind alleys down which no marathoner should run. Primarily keyed to new marathoners.

Title: XI Commandments of Marathoning
Date: Friday, February 24, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CST

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now

About the Presenter
Richard Benyo is the editor of Marathon & Beyond magazine and is the author of Timeless Running Wisdom. He was editor of Runner’s World between 1977 and 1984. He has written two dozen books, many of them in the areas of fitness, health, and running. He is chairman of the board of the Napa Valley Marathon and along with his running partner, Tom Crawford, was the first runner to run from Badwater in Death Valley (lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and hottest place on Earth) to the peak of Mt. Whitney (at 14,494’ the highest peak in the Lower 48) and back, in the middle of summer; the course is nearly 300 miles, and both ends of it are located in the same county (Inyo) in California. Benyo has recently had three books published on the topic of growing up in the Coal Region of central-eastern region of Pennsylvania.

Jean Knaack Outlines What Makes a Runner Friendly Community

Bill Gray Introduces Ricky Flynn - 2012 Olympic Trials - Marathon Finisher

Lynchburg has shown that it meets, and exceeds, the program’s criteria, which includes community infrastructure, civic backing, and local business support for the sport of running. Their infrastructure fosters physical activity in a safe environment; a proven track record that organizations and businesses work together to promote running as a healthy exercise and sport; and they create and maintain positive relationships between the running community and local government.

View the ABC News coverage
View the WDBJ coverage

“Lynchburg is a shining example of the positive benefits running can bring to a community when everyone is on the same page,” said RRCA Executive Director Jean Knaack.  “While we are proud of all of
our Runner Friendly Communities, we feel Lynchburg has provided a blueprint for future communities.”

Lynchburg has been home to the Lynchburg Road Runners Club (LRRC) and the “Virginia 10-Miler” since 1974.  “The Festival of Races” offers a youth one mile fun run, a four mile race, and a four mile walk, in addition to the 10-Miler.  The LRRC offers several informational clinics and seminars related to running and wellness.  These clinics and seminars resulted from partnering with YMCA of Central Virginia, Centra Health, The Orthopedic Center of Central Virginia, and Pilates to Breathe.

Lynchburg has two fantastic park systems: Blackwater Creek Natural Area and Peaks View Park.  The city currently supports eight miles of paved trails and 15 miles of natural trails for running, walking, biking, roller blading, etc.  Residents even use these trails to commute from residential areas to the downtown business and government area.

In October 2010, the Mayor’s Youth Council created the first ever “Lighten Up Lynchburg Walk for Childhood Obesity” event.  The youth running initiatives aim to engage the youth of the city and include the Lynchburg Road Runners Summer Track Series, Peaks View Pacers running club, and YMCA Achieve youth running program. 

Community leaders who provided support and letters of recommendation include Joan Foster, Mayor; Jonathan Perrotto, President of Lynchburg Road Runners Club; Elena Edwards, COO of Genworth Financial; Catherine Mosley, External Communications & PR, AREVA; Susan Brandt, Communications/Marketing, Centra Health; and R. Sackett Wood, President & CEO, Moore & Giles.

Learn more about the program, including detailed information about Lynchburg and all of the 2011 Runner Friendly Communities at http://www.rrca.org/programs/runner-friendly-community/official/.

About RRCA: The mission of the RRCA is to promote the development and growth of running clubs and running events throughout the country and to support the common interests of runners of all abilities during all stages in life. Through the RRCA, we provide a national infrastructure for the development of adult and youth running clubs and events that have boomed into a robust sporting activity.

For more information contact William Dyson, program coordinator, at .

**The race shirt must have the RRCA logo on it to be considered for judging**

All entries should be mailed to the RRCA National Office at 1501 Lee Hwy, Ste 140, Arlington, VA, 22209 by February 15, 2012. Please include the name of the event, event date, location, host club, contact name, contact email, and contact phone number with the shirt. The 2012 RRCA Convention attendees will vote on the finalists to select the 2011 RRCA National Race Shirt Winner, and the winning shirt will be announced at the 2012 RRCA National Running Awards Banquet.  The contest is sponsored by Sport Science, and the winning event will receive a prize pack from our sponsor.

HOUSTON - Two of the fastest races in Olympic Marathon Trials history took place on the same day Saturday in Houston as the six men and women who will represent Team USA in London earned their way on the squad. Shalane Flanagan set an Olympic Trials record of 2:25:38 in only her second marathon, while Meb Keflezighi earned his third Olympic berth by winning the Trials in a personal best time of 2:09:08. Flanagan led a Trials record five women under 2:30 while Meb led four men under 2:10 for the first time in Trials history.

Keflezighi’s performance (Mammoth Lakes, Calif) came only 69 days after his last marathon, where he also ran a then personal best time of 2:09:13 to place sixth at the 2011 ING New York City Marathon. The 2009 ING New York City Marathon winner and 2004 Olympic silver medalist became the first man to win both the U.S. Olympic Trials and the New York City Marathon in his career. At nearly 37 years old, he is the oldest man to win the Olympic Marathon Trials.

Defending Olympic Trials champion Ryan Hall (Flagstaff, Ariz) led much of the race en route to securing his second Olympic berth. Hall set a torrid pace early, with a projected finish of 2:06 that held up through the half-marathon mark. Wind and leg fatigue slowed Hall’s pace, as he shook his arms out regularly, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from again making the Olympic marathon team as finished second in 2:09:30.

Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) turned heads in the lead pack. Entering the Trials with the 14th-fastest qualifying time, Abdi hadn’t run under 2:14 since setting his personal best of 2:08:56 in 2006. Soldiering through a year and a half of injury, Abdirahman finished third in 2:09:42 to clock his fastest marathon since 2006 and make his fourth Olympic Team at age 34.

Dathan Ritzenhein (Portland, Ore.), the top American marathoner at the 2008 Olympics, knelt at the finish with his head in his hands as he was 4th in 2:09:55. Ritzenhein had fallen off from Keflezighi, Hall and Abdirahman at approximately the 18-mile mark, and at one point lost sight of the leaders, but he rallied to finish only eight seconds behind Abdirahman.

Brett Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.) led the chase pack through much of the race and held his position as other men fell off the back of the pack to place fifth in 2:11:06.

Flanagan (Portland, Ore.) bettered the women’s Olympic Trials Marathon record by two minutes and forty-seven seconds in her Olympic Trials marathon debut - just the second marathon of her career. Flanagan was in the lead pack throughout the race, but did not step forward as the clear leader until the 21st mile once the lead group of three was clearly set. Flanagan exchanged the lead with Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.) several times before surging ahead at mile 24 to run away with the lead. Her winning time was a personal best by nearly 3 minutes.

Davila on Saturday added the word Olympian to her growing resume. Davila led portions of the race from five miles on before dueling with Flanagan in miles 22 through 24. Once Flanagan took the lead for good, Davila held on to finish in 2:25:55, only 18 seconds back.

The 2007 World Championships bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, Kara Goucher (Portland, Ore.) claimed her first spot on the Olympic Marathon squad by finishing third in 2:26:06 After not competing in 2010 due to maternity, this is Goucher’s second marathon in nine months after her 2:24:26 showing at the 2011 Boston Marathon.

Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) appeared to be the last runner dropped by the top three as she fell back around 16 miles, but moments later she charged ahead to take the lead. However, by mile 20 she could no longer hold her position and fell back for good to finish in fourth in 2:27:17. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom finished fifth in 2:29:45, a nearly eight minute PR.

Read more

RRCA Road Scholar Spotlight

Congratulations to the following RRCA Road Scholar grant recipients that finished the Olympic Trials - Marathon. 

In the men’s race, Brett Gotcher (2008 Scholar) finished 5th followed by James Carney (2005 Scholar) in 9th place.  Mike Morgan (2005 Scholar) finished 17th followed by Patrick Smyth (2010 Scholar) in 22nd place, Stephan Shay (2010 Scholar) in 34th place, Tyler McCandless (2011 Scholar) in 50th place, Clint Verron (2001 Scholar) in 67th place, and Trent Briney (2005 Scholar).

In the women’s race, Deena Kastor (1997 Scholar) finished in 6th place followed by Michelle Frey (2007 Scholar) in 22nd place.

WATCH: Saturday, January 14, 3:00-5:00 p.m. EST on NBC

Visit the Olympic Trials Marathon website for all details and follow the weekend events on the RRCA’s Facebook page.

Eat right, stay active and maintain a healthy weight, it sounds like a simple concept, but maybe we need a little help taking it from idea to reality.  Joining BrandStar Entertainment’s popular morning show, The Balancing Act on Lifetime, is Lisa Gable from the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and Jean Knaack from the Road Runners Club of America.  Make sure to tune in to BrandStar Entertainment’s special ‘My Health’ edition of The Balancing Act on January, 16th at 7:00am (ET/PT) as they air on Lifetime Television. 

In the ‘My Health’ series on The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV, Lisa and Jean will talk about some programs and concepts that work towards getting and staying—healthy.  They’ll also educate The Balancing Act Lifetime viewers about physical activity for the whole family and the importance of staying fit to keep the weight off.  “We’re excited to join up with The Road Runners Club of America.  They have a couple of initiatives that we like partnering on, like Energy Balance 101 and Together Counts™,” Lisa says.

“We welcome this opportunity to appear on The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV to help educate viewers on our joint efforts, and common goals,” Lisa adds.  “The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is working hard to teach kids how to maintain a healthy weight.  We believe that fit kids grow up to become fit young adults.”

Make sure to join BrandStar Entertainment’s The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV to see how much fun running and living an active lifestyle really can be.  Tune in January, 16th at 7:00am (ET/PT) to learn more.

About “The Balancing Act” on Lifetime Television
The Balancing Act TV show airs daily on Lifetime Television at 7:00am (ET/PT).  The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television is America’s premier morning show that’s about women, for women and trusted by women.  For information or to view a show, visit http://www.TheBalancingAct.com. 

About BrandStar Entertainment
BrandStar Entertainment is well known for their cutting edge content driven women’s programming, including “The Balancing Act” on Lifetime Television.  The Balancing Act TV show inspires and empowers women with entertaining and educational segments, placing them in the best position to achieve success in every aspect of their lives.  For more details about BrandStar Entertainment please visit www.brandstartv.com.

Pete Pfitzinger, a two-time Olympic marathoner, exercise physiologist, coach and co-author of Advanced Marathoning, provides insights on how to develop your marathon training program to reach your potential.  In this free webinar, Pete provides details on the right balance of training to optimize your marathon performance, including long runs, tempo runs, marathon pace runs, VO2 max training, speed training and recovery runs.  The session will wrap up with a discussion of how to taper your marathon training over the last few weeks so you are fit and fresh for a personal best.  This webinar will be useful for any marathoner who wants to improve their performance.  It is also a good opportunity to earn one hour of continuing education for RRCA Certified Coaches.

About the presenter: Pete Pfitzinger ran in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic marathons, both times finishing as the top American. With a personal best of 2:11:43, Pete is a two-time winner of the San Francisco Marathon and placed third in the 1987 New York City Marathon. He was ranked the top American marathoner in 1984 by Track & Field News, and he is a member of the Road Runners Club of America’s Hall of Fame.

Pete now works with High Performance Sport New Zealand (http://hpsnz.org.nz/) and was a triathlon coach with the New Zealand Olympic Team in Beijing.

Pete is the co-author of Advanced Marathoning-2nd Edition and Road Racing for Serious Runners and a contributor to Run Strong. He was a senior writer for Running Times from 1997 to 2007, in which his popular column, “The Pfitzinger Lab Report,” appeared.

Alaska Salmon Runs
AMPM Running
Athletic Equation, Inc.
Atomic City Roadrunners
Birmingham Marathon
David Hall
Fort Worth Runners Club
Frederick Steeplechasers
Freehold Area Running Club
Fulmont Road Runners Club
Gail Ruderman
Heather’s Hope Foundations Inc
James and Jean Knaack
Joseph O’Conor Jr.
Karen Dubin Memorial Gift
Kelly Marzano
Kelly Richards
Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers *
Lisa Caruccio
Lori Beveridge
Maine Marathon*
Maine Track Club *
David and Sharlee Cotter
Michele Biagioni
North Carolina Roadrunners Club *
Oil Creek 100 Trail Run
Orlando Runners Club
Patrick Hogan
Peggy Mayo
Pensacola Race Management
Petit Jean Runners
Run at Borderfest
RunSignUp.com**
Run4Youth
Runner’s Edge Foundation
Saline County Striders Club
Santa Barbara Ultra Trail Runners Association
Seashore Striders
St John Land Sharks
Team Footworks *
The Guam Running Club
The Virgin Islands Pace Runners
Tidewater Striders
Whatcom Tesseract
* $1,000 and above contribution from race proceeds to the Kids Run the Nation Fund
** $5,000 and above contribution

Road Scholar Fund Donors as of December 16, 2011
The following clubs, events, individuals, and corporate supporters have helped raise over $27,300 this year to support the Roads Scholar Grant Fund.  We invite you to join this list and help the RRCA reach their goal of $30,000 for the Roads Scholar Fund.  Please support this program with a tax deductible, year-end contribution.

Alaska Salmon Runs
Atlanta Track Club*
Atomic City Roadrunners
Avenue of the Giants Marathon
Blue Cross Broad Street Run
Brent Ayer
Carl Sniffen
Central Maine Striders
Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Race**
Cumberland Valley Athletic Club
Daniel D. Edwards
Frederick Steeplechasers
Glenn W. Stewart
James R. Paige
Jim Stasaitis
Jon Hughes
Leonard M. Goldman
Lilac Bloomsday Association
Lori Beveridge
Mitchell E. Garner
Montgomery County Road Runners
Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon
Oil Creek 100 Trail Run
Orlando Runners Club
Pensacola Race Management
Petit Jean Runners
River City Runners Club
Run4Youth
Saline County Striders Club
Seashore Striders
St John Land Sharks
Subaru 4 Mile Chase
Syracuse Chargers Track Club
The Boilermaker Road Race
The Virgin Islands Pace Runners
Travis Eliot Landreth Memorial Scholarship Fund
Utica Road Runners
Virgin Island Pace Runners
Whatcom Tesseract
Willamette Valley Road Runners
* $5,000 and above contribution
** $10,000 and above contribution

Annual Program Fund Donors as of December 16, 2011
The following events, clubs, individuals, and corporate supporters have donated to the Annual Program Fund.  We invite you to join this list and help the RRCA invest in programs such as the State Reps program, the Runner Friendly Community program and more. Please support this program with a tax deductible, year-end contribution.

Alaska Salmon Runs
Alpine Runners of Lake Zurich
Arlington Turkey Trot
Association of Running Event Dir.
Atomic City Roadrunners
Birmingham Marathon
Bradley Rhoden
Chicago United Runners
Cilongo Foundation
Dan Edwards
Dave Boone
Frederick Steeplechasers
Fredericksburg Area Running Club
In Memory of Karen Dubin (Suzanne Preston, Jack Gorelick, Marilyn Swimmer, Bernice Roberts, Dennis Lindenberg, Judith Shankman)
Gary Henry
Janice Woolery
Kelly Richards
Maine Track Club
North Carolina ultra running
Oil Creek 100 Trail Run
Old Colony Runnning Events
Orlando Runners Club
Pensacola Race Management
Petit Jean Runners
Prairie State Road Runners
Roni Davis-Watson
Rosskc LLC
RRCA Turkey Trot
Run4Youth
Saline County Striders Club
Santa Barbara Ultra Trail & RRA
Seashore Striders
South Florida Racewalkers
The Virgin Islands Pace Runners
Tidewater Striders
Topeka Community Foundation
Virgin Island Pace Runners
Whatcom Tesseract
WR5K4DPD, Inc