With a couple of more months of hot weather running many athletes are looking forward to the fall with cooler temperatures. Don't forget to drink plenty of water before and after your runs. This is especially important during the hot and humid summer days.
Next month many junior high, high school and college athletes will be gearing up for another cross country season. Many consider cross country one of the purest sports. If not racing yourself, hopefully you will be able to watch an upcoming cross country race and cheer on these athletes. I have been the boys and girls cross country coach where I teach for thirty-four years and look forward to good weather this season. While in graduate school I started the Miami University Women’s cross country club and coached the team for four years and each year the club team finished fourth in the All Ohio Cross Country Championships, behind varsity teams from Bowling Green, Ohio State and Ohio University. In 2007 RUNOHIO helped to sponsor a women’s post collegiate cross country team which won the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships at the Voice of America Park in West Chester and a year later (missing one of our top runners) finished fifth in Spokane. Good luck to everyone running cross country.
Read Rod O’Donnell’s Life Lessons from Cross Country - http://www.runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/104-what-is-a-virtual-race-by-matt-mcgowan
This time a year there are usually dozen of races in Ohio on any given weekend. Most summer and fall running events are either cancelled or have gone to a virtual event. A virtual race is an event which can be run or walked from any location the athlete choices. The athlete can run or walk on the road, on the trail, on a treadmill or on the track. The athlete runs the race at their own pace and times it themselves. In the last month the Flying Pig, Air Force and Akron Marathon/races announced they will be Virtual. The 41st Columbus Marathon and the 50th New York City Marathon cancelled this year’s races due to the virus. There are a few smaller races which are going to try to run using a staggered start with no spectators and a number of other restrictions.
I co directed the Arnold 5K and Arnold 5K Pump & Run on March 8th which was the last weekend of somewhat normal racing. Without any St Patrick Day and Memorial Day races and only a couple of July 4th events I am not sure what will occur on Memorial Day or Thanksgiving Day. However, if you are sponsoring/directing a race on Thanksgiving or in December, January or February please send me your race information for the next issue.
I am working with the Columbus Running Company’s Andy Harris to offer two virtual races. The August 9th Jeff McGowan Memorial 5K will be in memory of Jeff as well as Mark Dempsey - https://runsignup.com/jeffmcgowan5k Mark who passed away on January 10th was a past president of the Columbus’s Shamrock Club and owner of Dempsey Food and Sprit and was a good friend of Jeff. The Circleville Classic in Memory of Jeff & Jean McGowan on October 24th this year will offer 1 mile, 5K and 5 mile Run/Walk virtual options - https://runsignup.com/circleville5 I hope you will run/walk one or both of these races along with your family and friends. There is more information on both of these events in this issue and on www.runohio.com
Read “What is a Virtual Race?” http://www.runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/104-what-is-a-virtual-race-by-matt-mcgowan
All current subscribers will receive at least and extra three issues added to their subscription until road races are back to normal.
With the COVID-19 – Coronavirus cases starting to increase, remember the various safety guidelines.
I hope you and your family is doing well and you are able to safely continue your running.
Matt McGowan