4/03/2024
CVR Birthdays this week:
Happy Birthday to: Meg Allison, Jackie Jancaitis, Ben Kidder, Jean Miller-Arsenault, Ricky McClain, Luke Miller, Alexander Maurice (new age group), and Robin Jackson!
Hello from Montpelier,
It’s my first News and Notes as the newly elected club president, and I wanted to introduce myself briefly as I’m still a relative newcomer to the club and the Montpelier area, and likely many of you reading this have not yet met me! I moved to Vermont in December 2020 from Colorado, a decision that brought me closer to my family and back to a place I had spent many precious winters of my childhood roaming (I learned to ski at Mt. Ellen and spent a lot of time with family friends in Middlesex!). Upon my move, I was hoping to find a running group to connect with, as I’d belonged to an informal one out west and it was a big part of my social life. I Googled “running clubs vermont” and CVR popped up so I thought, why not join and see what happens? The annual New Year’s Eve race was coming up – virtual that year due to the pandemic – so I decided to check it out on that cold, crisp, and clear New Year’s morning. As I set out on the course, a woman was in front of me with long braids flying – I couldn’t catch her. Once I came back to the finish, I saw her on the sidewalk and decided to introduce myself like I was the new kid on my first day of school. “Hi, I’m Heather, I just moved here from Colorado!” I blurted. She smiled at me and said, “I love Colorado!” and that is how I met club legend Dot Helling (and past president Chris Andresen!) and she then folded me into other local runs and introduced me to others who have also become close friends. The rest, as they say, is history.
I’ve felt incredibly supported by the Central Vermont running community in the 3+ years I’ve been involved with the club, and it’s an honor to take the reins and help lead us forward – but it’s not possible to do that without lots of help, which is why I’m hoping to meet many more members and help shape the club into what you, the members, want. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or other members of the board directly with ideas, feedback, and initiatives – we look forward to hearing from you!
Meanwhile, everyone enjoy the upcoming eclipse, and if anyone takes in that event in while running or doing running adjacent activities, send pics and we can feature here next week!
Warmly,
Heather Tomlins
| Upcoming Races and Volunteer Needs Sunday, April 7, 11am: the 43rd GMAA Kaynor’s Sap Run, Westford. It’s a hilly out and back 10K with a great downhill to the flat finish. The course can be challenging due to weather and road conditions. From Chris: I’ve run it on frozen/snowy, muddy, and dry dirt roads, but I really like the countryside it takes you past. Good cider donuts at the finish as well.Saturday, April 13, 8:45am: CVR’s Paul Mailman 10 miler and 5K, Montpelier. This is a CVR/ORO race series race with a mixture of pavement and dirt – a really fun course with only one hill in the 10 miles. Volunteers still needed! John still needs 2 people to be course marshals (at the Jones Brook intersection and at the 5K turnaround). If this sounds like you, please contact John at jhackney67@gmail.com. Sunday, April 21, 10:00am: the Mutt Strut 5K, Waterbury. Pretty self-explanatory – run with your pup, or if you don’t have one but want to hang out with the big dogs, meet a lot of other pups! Always a fun event. (Maryellen has enough volunteers signed up – amazing job folks!).And on deck…Saturday, May 11, 10:00am: CVR’s Adamant Half Marathon and Relay, Adamant. This is a CVR/ORO race series race – a very fun and challenging figure-8 course through the hills and valleys of beautiful Adamant – don’t miss it! Pre-registrations have been strong, and thus volunteer planning is starting – Donna needs about a dozen volunteers so please sign up to volunteer through the members link on the website or send her an email at dosmyers@gmail.com. Thank you!Saturday, June 8, 9am: CVR’s Capital City Stampede 10K and 5K Power Walk, Montpelier. This is a CVR/ORO race series race – the fastest 10K course in Vermont! This race is also shared with the Vermont Senior Games Association. New this year is a 5K Power Walk option that will be open to ages 10 and up.CVR cannot put on races without volunteer support, and your help is needed. Please volunteer now to help the race directors fill necessary jobs and plan for full race day support. Volunteer now online using the Volunteer link on the CVR website homepage at https://cvrunners.org OR by email to the race directors above. |
| Winter Group Runs –> Spring Group Runs –> Fun Runs –> Trail Season! Thanks to Darrel and Cheryl Lasell for hosting a great group of runners in Randolph Center this past weekend – and always great to see so many folks in that reflective, bright gear during these gloomy, technicolor days of early spring! This weekend, we will bid goodbye to the official WGR season in Danville with host Michelle Risley. More info and the WGR sign-up sheet are here. We will send out more details in a Thursday email blast to the WGR listserv. Last weekend at the club meeting, we talked about continuing the Saturday group runs until the trail season starts in later May/early June (depending on conditions). There is no official coordinator for these runs, but we are looking into putting together some ways to get information out to folks interested in meeting up on weekends. While we figure that out, feel free to suggest a run meetup on this google sheet and let me know you did so, that way we can get the word out through this weekly email. |
Tuesday Fun Runs
CVR folks have re-started our traditional “unofficial fun runs” at 5:30 on Tuesdays at the Montpelier Bike Path from the Dept of Labor Parking lot. Not that there is anything official about them the rest of the year, but our sign says May-Nov on the bike path, so until May we call it “unofficial”. We are currently discussing how to incorporate a more regular social aspect to the Tuesday Fun Runs – this plan will evolve as the spring/summer unfolds but we’ll start with meeting after the Fun Run on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Bear Naked Growler and on the last Tuesday at Penzo’s Pizza. Fun Runs will still start/end at the DoL parking lot though. For the month of April:
- April 9 – Bear Naked Growler
- April 30 – Penzo’s
| Trail Running Trail running is still getting organized for the summer. Keep your eyes open for trail running info in coming weekly newsletters. The club is looking at organizing all group running opportunities in one place, so check here for updates. |
| Club Needs, Opportunities, and Reminders Quarterly Newsletter Support We are still looking for a club member to support on the quarterly newsletter, which has gone dormant the past few years. If you are someone with skills in digital publications (such as formatting or using a software platform to do layouts) please reach out. This would be roughly a 4x a year commitment. Speaking of newsletter, do you have a story you’d like to tell that you’d like featured in a future newsletter? All ideas are welcome!Send pitches or fully formed content through John Hackney at info@cvrunners.org and he can route appropriately. We can also feature short notes on your races or running adventures outside the region on the website – if you have competed in or undertaken a cool running adventure and want the club to know about it, you can share those with John as well to be published on the CVR website. Green Up Day The Club will host its own Green Up on a weeknight around Green Up Day. Club volunteers will green up the Fun Run course. I will share more information in the coming weeks on when, where, and what to bring! Membership Renewal – Reminder Stan is sending out a reminder to folks about renewing. Renew so you can continue to receive these amazing newsletters! It takes less than 5 minutes. Check your status! There’s a link to RunReg at https://cvrunners.org/join-cvr (“JOIN CVR”). This page also has a printable form for those who prefer to mail their renewal. Renewing with a multi-year membership means fewer year-end renewals for you and less administration for the club. CVR Equipment Use Anyone wanting to use equipment send Sal (and cc myself) a request that includes 1) Date equipment to be removed from the shed, 2) Itemized list of equipment being removed; including quantities, 3) Date equipment will be returned to the shed. Please send Sal (and cc the club president) and email to let us know when the equipment has been returned.Race SeriesThe race series is on again! Allee from ORO is putting out a new poster for the race series. There is a change to the race series. The Groton Forest Trail Run has been moved to September 7th. |
| News, Races, and Updates from around the Region The New England Challenge – 2 Coupons Available for Discounted Marathons/Half Marathons We received an offer of 2 coupons for CVR members interested in the New England Challenge race series. This is a six day marathon race series, where each consecutive day they hold a race in one of the New England states. The series begins in Fairlee, Vermont on May 10th and ends in Hartford, CT on May 15th. Their marathon courses are USATF certified, looped courses and are chip timed. All participants receive a race singlet, and finishers receive a medal. If you are interested in a coupon, please reach out to me, first come first served. St Monica/St Michael 5K St Monica and St Michael are hosting their 7th annual 5k fun run/walk on May 31 to help raise funds for the school. https://runsignup.com/Race/VT/Websterville/SaintsShuffle Blue Ridge Marathon Runners wanted!!! We know the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon is a “bucket list” item for many and we have our own bucket list too … to have a runner from all 50 states to have participated in the BRM! We have representatives from 37 states so far and are on the hunt for the final 13. So if you know a runner (or are a runner) who CURRENTLY LIVES in Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana. Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont or Wyoming we will give you a FREE entry to the 4/20 race if you are the first one to sign up! (Contact us for details) Sign up now: https://runsignup.com/Race/VA/Roanoke/BlueRidge VCMThe price of The M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay is about to go up, don’t miss out on this opportunity to sign up before the price increase! Richmond Trail Running Club Richmond Trail Running Club is offering a WFA course tailored to trail runners. We have had the course open to our members for a few weeks, and now we are planning to open registration to all the other run clubs we know. Here is the registration link. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/solo-wilderness-first-aid-and-cpr-with-rtrc-tickets-780230348977?aff=oddtdtcreator The dates are April 6th and 7th, and the venue is the East Monitor Barn in Richmond. Details are in the link. We would love to have some of the CVR community join us. The registration is open to anybody, but we are thinking we’ll keep it exclusive to run clubs for the next two weeks before Andrea Kane (our instructor) opens registration to the public on her page.Vermont’s 100 on 100 Relay Race AUGUST 10, 2024Round up your closest friends and prepare to take on 100 miles of scenic Vermont terrain–while you make an endless supply of memories! The 100 on 100 Relay is a challenging relay where friends converge from across the country to complete 100 miles together along Vermont’s historic Route 100. Push beyond your limits, lean on your teammates, and complete something extraordinary. Plus, we’ll be having an epic after-party at the finish line with delicious food, live music, and beer (21+). FOR SALE 10% off Opened in October 2022 in Waitsfield Vermont The Mad Rover carries lifestyle and outdoor apparel for all seasons. We carry STIO, KUHL, PRANA, JETTY and FAIR HARBOR to name a few. We stock backpacks and bags, Sunglasses, Jewelry, Socks, Hats and Hydration vessels of all sizes. All CVR members get 10% off. Owner Steve Kenny has been an avid runner for 20 years. |
| Club Info:Elected Officers President – Heather Tomlins Vice President – Tim Noonan Finance – John Valentine Secretary – Cheryl Lasell At Large Executive Committee: Anne Treadwell & Dot Helling John Hackney: web page and timing Donna Smyers: timing Sal Acosta: Equipment tracking/storage Stan Brinkerhoff: club membership tracking Jackie Jancaitis: Race director support Heather Tomlins: Winter Group Run organization. Jeff Prescott: MailChimp Administrator Ann Bushey: Running Grants Joe Merrill: Race Series Tracking and Awards Dinner MC |
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