FTC II

There are 9 STR members who are taking the challenge to let some air out of their spare tires in the 2009 Flat Tire Challenge. Shawn " The Ice Dog", "Chez", Dave " The Tank", "Vinnie", Mindy "I am not a runner", "Nordberg", Brian "Big Fella", "Not so little" Mac, and the "Dominator" will be on the four month deflation journey. Mac is back to defined his title as flattest tire. Last year he had to go all the away to Africa drop enough pounds to beat out Mindy for the title. This year he plans on shoveling a lot of snow in Traverse City to drop the lbs. The FTC will award the top three members who loose the highest percentage of body weight. Good luck to all.

Gobble, Gobble

STR had another fine showing at the Detroit Turkey Trot. Chez dominated his first ever race with a 29:17 for the 5k. Vinnie put the hammer down to cross the 5k line at 28:05 and Theo with her last race before another knee surgery with and impressive 29 minutes of one ACL running. The 10K course was dominated by; Dave "The Tank" rolled on with a 52:17, Nordberg with "I hope my foot does not hurt after this" 58:39, and Ann "Sammy" with a steady pace to cross the line at 1:01:10 followed by Allison Mills with a 1:02:27 Way to go! You guys started off the holiday season on the right foot.

STR teams up with MAS

STR is proud to announce a partnership with Michigan Adaptive Sports (MAS) for the 2009 season. MAS is an educational organization established for the purpose of providing sports, recreation and physical fitness opportunities for persons with disabilities. STR hopes to provide MAS with volunteers for their events and clinics and help raise some funds so they can continue their efforts in providing their incredible programs to even more people with disabilities. This winter, MAS will be holding several learn to ski/snowboard clinics at Pine Knob and a learn to race weekend at Shanty Creek Resort. MAS also offers other programs throughout the year such as water skiing, kayaking, and hand biking. For more information about MAS go to www.michiganadaptivesports.org .

WAM - 300 success

The weekend of July 24-27th this cyclist-wanna-be actually completed her first century! (100 miles in one day, in bike-speak). A feat I have always wanted to do but always felt was way beyond my reach. I am here to tell you that if I did it, *ANYONE* can do it!

I am 30 pounds lighter and a LOT better in shape than I was at the beginning of this year. I did not complete all 300 mile of the ride, but I learned that indeed, it is easier to cycle in a group, a hydration pack really IS a good thing to bring on a ride, and you really can do more than you think. (I did 115 miles on day 2. :)

This ride is amazing because you are raising money for Make-A-Wish & they have terrific volunteers that support this ride amazingly well. The staff will sit with you while you are being treated for dehydration, even when the hospital is making you wait for hours and hours and hours and hours. (like I said, hydration pack is a good thing and I will bring mine next year)

This was a very fun ride, I am going to do this again next year. Any other STR's want to try it with me? :)

Detroit Marathon

Today was a great day in THE D!
The Z-machine, Freeman and Boondogglato completed their first Marathons early today. Meanwhile Vinnie, Steinert, Ann, KB and I (The Ice Dog) ran the half-marathon before joining the Ellis family to cheer everyone home. While we were able to see Anthony and the Z-machine to cheer them on; Freeman was possessed and too fast for our tired legs. Sorry no group pictures, we all woke up too early (4:45am) to think straight today!

Congratulations spare tire racers, you guys DOMINATED THE D!

The John Rogucki Memorial Kensington Challenge-Dominated

I had my second straight top ten finish on Saturday out at Kensington for the John Rogucki Memorial Kensington Challenge. After running a 10K race on 8/30 and finishing tenth in my age group, I completed my first 15K distance race and finished 10th (out of 13) in the Male Clydesdale Division 4. The course was tough, a lot of undulating hills and it really did take its toll on my pace towards the end of the run. My time was 1:29:19 (9:36/mile) and was easily the fastest I have every run that loop. Anyone that has run Kensington knows what I mean about the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) hills. This was a great tune up run for the half marathon in October. I had to plug out 10 miles anyway this weekend, it was a perfect test for me to see if I could hold my pace. I'm close - the target for Detroit is ~9:33/mile, still a lot of work left in the next two weeks. - Vinnie

Road Runners!

I’m happy to share some great news with the STR nation, KB and I successfully completed the Akron Marathon today.

Kim has been struggling with some serious Plantar Fasciitis in her right foot. But, thanks to Ralph’s excellent “Magic Tape,” she was able to gut out a great race and finally break the 4 hour mark. KB and I finished together in 3:57:36! And let me add, Akron is HILLY! VERY HILLY! Making it even more impressive that KB was able to complete this race on a bum wheel. Otherwise, this race is extremely well organized and a great marathon!

Also, Vinnie had a great 15k race at Kensington in 1:29:19 and Z completed a Run Fit Training Run of 20 miles (his longest ever) in 3:10:30– congratulations!