RMRRlogoRocky Mountain Road Runners

The Rocky Mountain Road Runners is a non-profit, volunteer organization for runners and walkers in the Denver Metro area.

March/April 2008
News Bits

Note to members ... from Club Prez Deb (posted 3/20/2008)

Hi Road Runners,
As spring arrives and we start to think more about training and racing, keep in mind the club’s upcoming events.  These events form the core of our club.  Increasing participation in them is our goal for 2008.

First, Track practice starts on Wed, April 2 at 6:15pm at Heritage High School.  Heritage is located at 1401 West Geddes Ave. in Littleton.  Club member Tracy Peterson is the track and xc coach at Heritage.  Thank you, Tracy for extending use of the track to RMRR.

Second, the trophy series continues on with the 4 mile race on Sunday, April 6 at 9am at Denver’s City Park.  The race starts at the boat house on the west side of the lake.  After seeing 122 of you at the February race, our participation took a severe hit in March.  Maybe it was the snow and gale force wind?  We had 49 hardy souls racing and 10 more volunteers.  My thanks to all of you who braved the elements to run or volunteer with us.

Third, the fun runs at Wash Park on Tuesday nights and at deKoevend on Saturday mornings are drawing more participants.  Join us for company through 2 laps at Wash Park or on varying distances on the Highline. 

Last, the fall Marathon Training Series is back by popular demand.  It may be a bit early to think about your fall marathon or ½, but the club has thought about it.  We plan races of 10-20 miles in the July – September timeframe.  See the website for more details.

In addition to these events, the club will also reach out to new faces by marketing our events more heavily:

Last, I continue to be excited about where we are going.  I feel the energy all of you are bringing to our events.  As the spring running season ramps up, RMRR will be there – promoting the club events you can participate in to Celebrate 50.

Deb

 

RMRR Club Reaches Out to the Community (posted 03/20/2008)
by Karen Voss Szymanski

Every year the RMRR Club receives a generous grant from Qwest to use toward helping people to achieve their goals in fitness and well being. This year the club is using the money to support a group of individuals using fitness, particularly running, to help them break free of their addictions. Twenty memberships were granted to members from the Denver Rescue Mission through the efforts of Nick Sterner of the AIR Foundation. (Nick leads the running programs locally at the Denver Rescue Mission and Urban Peak of Denver.) We will follow these men on their journey to wellness as they train for the Colfax half and full Marathon event. You will meet them either in passing or directly at the RMRR trophy series races. The following is some information about the organization, their beginnings and mission. We will keep you updated on their progress and feature each one of them for our newsletter throughout 2008.

The following description is from the website, www.AIRfoundation.org. The AIR Foundation, established in 2007 is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to inspiring, training, and supporting those desiring to rehabilitate themselves and achieve their true greatness. Participants in our programs are able to get back on their feet and start their lives a new with a better connection to their community and a healthy foundation for the rest of their lives. To provide the necessary coaching, training, support, and inspiration to those in need of rehabilitation, so that they may create a vibrant, healthy, and satisfying life through healthy living, consistent training, goal setting, and athletic achievement.

Just in case you are wondering, AIR stands for Activity Inspired Rehabilitation. Their
Mission Statement is one we all can relate to on some level:

At The AIR Foundation we believe that everyone possesses athletic ability & talent that when discovered, nurtured & inspired can create a new identity and passion for life.  The accomplishments or our participants serve not only to build their self-esteem and confidence, but also to inspire others to accomplish their goals as well.  There is no feeling in the world like that of athletic accomplishment.  Knowing that you pushed your limits and did more than you ever thought was possible is what you will experience and discover with our AIR programs. What accomplishment does for one’s self esteem, and the euphoria that accompanies it is better than any addictions one might have had in the past.

Next article: an interview with members of AIR.

 

Training in Other Places - Running in Peru (posted 03/20/2008)
by Felix Lopez

Running was very popular in Peru when the Incas needed reports to be brought from far away lands. These messengers, named “Chasquis,” would bring news to the Inca to keep him up to day with the latest developments in his land.

More recently, running in Peru has become less popular. Since sponsorship from the government has dropped, only very few runners take part of international events in Latin America. One of those events, in which Peru takes part, is called The Pan American Games. I believe that Peru, best known for its soccer and women volleyball, has one runner competing in marathon events these days. Maria Portilla is the best know Peruvian marathon runner. She recently won the Pines Peak Ascent in August 2007 with the time of 2:35:46.

I had the chance to be in Peru in January. I had brought with me my running shoes with the intention of running the old trails, the same trails I used to run when I was going to college.

The first day of running brought to me many memories of those days. I remembered that running is better early in the mornings. The humidity makes running very hard at times other than the morning. If you do not have the privilege of running by the ocean, it is better to wake up early. So, that day, during my run, I was able to run along the major roads full of traffic. Cars honking their horns to let me know I should stay away of their way…. The smell of early breakfast along the way… etc.

I also remembered that it was on the same road, during my first competitive race, that I have realized before sprinting to the finish, that my parents had been following me during the entire course with water and emergency supplies in case “something” happened to me.

Who knows what destiny awaits for you. Maybe, one of these days I may come back to participate in one race in my beloved country. I sure would like to do that …

 

"Maybe this is the Year to Change My Running Form" (posted 03/20/2008)
First of a series of articles regarding running form
by Peter Szymanski, PT, IOC, CFMT & Karen Voss Szymanski, MS, OTR, SIPT, IMC

The following article provides a brief look at some aspects of running to consider.
Think about your running tendencies. Can you vary your speed, do you run the same pace for 5k and 10k or even 1/2 marathon distances. Does your shirt always “fall” to one side, does the same side knee always hurt, do you feel prone to injury every time you either increase your training effort or change your training routine. Do you struggle with speed with running feeling “hard”? If you answered yes to any combination of these, you stand to benefit greatly from changing your running form.

            Altering your running form can be an overwhelming or frustrating experience if too many aspects or components of your running are addressed at once. By committing to what you want to accomplish, you will be better able to keep your focus on the ongoing process one or two aspects at a time to attain greater efficiency in your running. It’s a good idea to keep a log of what you would like to get in your running and what the barriers are. By identifying barriers we mean determine what gets in the way of achieving the running lifestyle you want. It may be time constraints, pain, fatigue, functional or structural limitations in your body, lack of “know-how” or lack of awareness of your body’s limitations and abilities.

            We found the mechanics of running to be much easier to define than to put into practice. During movement; the whole body is the sum of its parts working together synergistically and not in isolation of each other. When aligned, muscles are in position to do their job as designed. When one segment moves out of alignment, another segment must adjust to provide counter balance. As long as the shift from alignment is consistent with the intended direction of forward movement for running, there is balance.
When a segment moves out of alignment in an opposite direction from the intended movement of the body, misalignment occurs. This sets up an event compromising efficiency and increasing risk of injury. Misalignment begins a pattern of muscles being put into a position of overuse usually in a shortened range while others are silenced and put on tension or hold. Misaligned segments results in greater “pounding” of joints decreasing function of our body’s built in shock absorption and interrupting “elastic-recoil” for efficient propulsion. Learning to run efficiently helps you improve coordination of all of your body’s joints and muscles in their intended range and motor sequence pattern. 

         Strength, endurance, and speed will come to you with consistent training. Consistent training can only happen when the flexibility and coordination components are in place in your body.  Trying to change your form only when you race will lead to frustration and will not get you the results you want. Make form training happen everyday in your routine with running & walking. Training your body is about changing your body’s habits and increasing your body awareness. Your mind may know what the body is supposed to do but the memory in your muscles, movements, and tissues need greater repetition to impact their habits or memory. Long-lasting change is an accumulation of joint and soft tissue flexibility with coordinated movements within full range, resting or supporting tissues in full range, and ultimately creating a new level of strength and endurance in that full range. 

We will do a series of articles addressing running form and give ideas of ways to influence your own form throughout the 2008 running season. For now, process this information and begin to take note of your habits, tendencies, type of running you want to achieve and your body awareness level.


Peter, a physical therapist since 1984, is certified in Orthopedic & Functional Manual Therapy. He is currently enrolled in the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program at Regis University, teaching courses to his peers, mentoring, and treating.  Karen’s background is in occupational therapy with adult neuro-trauma and pediatric clients. She is specialized in Functional Orthopedics, soft tissue mobilization & movement analysis. They both enjoy teaching Running Well Seminars®, mentoring youth, distance running and multi-sport events. Peter and Karen have over 40 combined years of experience and are in private practice in Denver.
You can contact them at 303-458-9660 or email info@CatalystTherapies.com with any questions or for consultation.