Fall Frolic Training Run - A Chilly Success!

Old Man Winter was no match for the almost 90 brave souls who joined us last Sunday to tackle the Great Bay Half course. The team that Rohr'd (led by Lisa Rohr) around the full half-marathon loop garnered almost 40 runners. At 8:30 sharp, a bright pack of runners were seen taking over South Main Street in Newmarket and heading out.

By 9:00 I was ready to go (despite wearing the WRONG SHOES - I was in a pair of Pegasus - Will the LOCO Gods forgive me?) with almost 30 runners at the Stone Church for the 8+ to 11 mile loop.

Temps in the mid 20's did nothing to dissuade the fun banter of our group as we headed out onto Dame road and tackled the Great Bay hills. LOCO Linda headed up the 4 mile group - where runners were pleasantly surprised to find that it was only 3.7 miles. A hearty group of over 45 people hung around afterwards for the Stone Church buffet where huge breakfast burritos and Tomato bisque were scarfed down, followed by cold draft brewskis.

"Let's do this in January too" was a common theme throughout the day as many people got in a fun and FREE long run. Many thanks to Lisa Rohr who really thought up the idea and to all who joined us. Stay tuned for details of the next Club LOCO free training run.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made this event a success.

See you out there,

LOCO Mike

p.s. There are some pictures of the the event in this Facebook album. Check them out. Read More!

Smuttynose Half Marathon & RockFest

2009 Smuttynose Half Marathon & RockFest was a blast!! Big news coming…….

What can we say? – LOCO runners ROCK!! Here at LOCO we’re used to putting on great running events but the 2009 Smuttynose Half Marathon & RockFest on October 4^th was truly a standout. We were blown away by registrations during the weeks leading up to the race and finally closed the field just shy of 1,400. We knew to expect an enthusiastic crowd and were not disappointed. Race day began overcast and cool but turned out to be fantastic for pacing through the 13.1 mile course. Runners were treated to 5 acoustic music performers out on the course and a rock show at the finish.

Speaking of finish - the course record was blown out of the water as Dan Vassalio of Reading, Mass., won with a 1:08:42 time - more than six minutes better than the record Justin Montgomery set a year ago. Abbey Gosling, a 23-year-old from Meredith and former distance standout at Quinnipiac, finished in 1:24.28 and good for 12th overall. But there was equally compelling action going on behind those stars as waves of runners, on a sea of cheering spectators, lapped the shore of the Atlantic as they crossed the line, phew!

Speaking of lapping – finishers were treated to a smorgasbord of food & drink. Of course, the taps were flowing in the beer garden (thanks to our sponsor Smuttynose Brewing!) and pizza, hot soup, BearNaked granola were enjoyed by all. And the biggest hit of the day? – Klondike Bars!! – as we went through hundreds of ‘em. There’s nothing like a little chocolate covered ice cream to replace blood sugar after a half marathon – makes you want to dance!

Speaking of dance – the always hopping Spectras provided musical entertainment after the race. The band wended its way through favorites from the 60’s, 70’s and (big hair!) 80’s and were enjoyed by “kids” of all ages. They were, as they say, big news.

Speaking of big news – there are plans afoot to add a MARATHON to next year’s race. Right now, we’re thinking of limiting the marathon field to 500 so interested runners will want to register early to secure a spot. We anticipate a full field as this will be on of (if not the) flattest marathon courses in the northeast – a Boston qualifier in the making! Now, to start the hunt for next year’s band………………

Posted by Arlon, one of the LOCO Guys

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Everyone Needs a BOSTON!

Long ago, I was a marathoner. I dreamed of running fast. Fast enough to be in the top 100 of the Boston Marathon. Fast enough to win the coveted BAA Boston Marathon Medal. (In the 70's and 80's only the top 100 at Boston received finishers medals) To me, the top 100 at Boston was my Olympic dream.

But no matter how hard I trained or how hard I raced, I fell short.
It never discouraged me. Heck, I ran just a little over 2 and a half hours for a marathon which is about as fast as my talent would allow. For over 20 years, through countless winters and nasty springs I trained, religiously logging my 20 milers on weekends, hitting the indoor track for speed and suffering though hard tempo runs. At some point, family and job obligations took over and I could not train as hard anymore, so my quest ended and I started running races "for fun". I tried hard in most races, but still it just was not the same.

Recently I had the urge to run some of the races I did as a youth. So I entered the New Bedford Half Marathon and the Mt. Washington hill climb - both races packed with serious runners, both races which still exemplify a serious competitive race. Since I had not "run" Mt. Washington for 28 years, I was unsure how I would do. Friends who completed it each year regaled me with sordid stories of pain and misery, yet I entered the lottery and "won" a spot in.

Just as predicted, it was tough, battling a sore back and a sore hip. I managed to "run" the first three miles at about 11-12 minute pace, then succumbed to the walk/jog-run a little scuffle that everyone else around me was doing. The miles dragged on and I entered a delirious state of exhaustion. By mile 7 - where even my power walking gave out - finally I hit "THE WALL".
Ok, you have heard about "the wall" in marathons, but seriously, the last 100 feet of Mt Washington is a 22% grade, steeper than most stairs! Gasping and swerving I barely made it to the top. Elated at simply finishing, in 1 hour and 43 minutes, I was pleasantly surprised at my effort and performance. I realized that I had found my "New Boston". Here was a race where your adversary is the hill - and where speed does not really matter. Here is a race which one can aim for year after year with no hope of conquering the hill, but always demand the ultimate of ones ability and fitness. There is no "running easy" on the Mountain.

In our own LOCO races we have found many individuals that have claimed our race as their "Boston". They have adopted our race as their own. A race that will help them stay focused through the year to run or walk to stay fit so they can do that one big race. To me that is what our races are all about.

Thanks for reading, stay fit, and write often.

Mike - AKA the LOCO guy
Running since 1969 Read More!

Mike still smiling on Mt. Washington

Welcome to the Club LOCO Blog!

Make sure to stop back frequently to read behind-the-scenes updates and get details on events and special offers in the LOCO store.

To start off, here's a pic of Mike (in red) still smiling during the recent Mt. Washington Road Race. He and Arlon were representing Club LOCO and did the team proud! Read More!