The second monthly SJAC meeting of 2004 was held on Wednesday evening Feb. 18th at our usual location, Franco's Place in Haddon Twp.

Welcome! That is the word that best sums up how I feel about our first two SJAC meetings. There are a lot of new faces out there and lots of returning faces.

At our first two meetings it was great to go around the room and introduce ourselves to each other. We all have different goals and different reasons for being part of this group. But we all have one thing in common. We are all runners..

At the last meeting I took some time to get to know some new runners and one runner said to me that the best feeling he had was when someone called him a "runner". What a powerful statement! It does feel good to be a runner. It feels good to know that we are out there when there's a wind chill of 20 degrees and the wind is in our face. It feels good to know we are out there even when there are a hundred excuses not to be out there. And it feels good to know that we belong to a group that understands what it means to be a runner.

It is an affirmation that we are alive and in motion. It is an affirmation that we are taking care of ourselves. And it is an affirmation that we are not taking the easy way out. But the best part is that most of us are humble about it. We don't run around telling everyone how great we are. Most of us do it for one simple reason. It makes us feel good.

If there's one part of our life that we can control it's that time we have when it's just us and the road beneath our feet and the wind against our skin. That one moment when we transcend our ordinary selves and become extraordinary. I really believe that many times we become our best possible selves when we are out there. Sometimes when the day is long and the road is hard we can't wait to find our special place where we can sort it all out. And on some days when our happiest moments come upon us we can't wait to lace up our shoes and celebrate with a fancy-free five miler.

But you know what? I bet you already know all this. Why? Because you're a runner.

See you on the roads,

Brandon Hamilton SJAC President

Have you paid your 2004 club dues yet?

Featured Speaker

Long time club member Walt Pierson was our featured speaker for the February meeting. Walt has run many races in his long running career and based on some quite impressive times and his nature of always looking like he is "in shape", Walt would be considered the picture of health. In 2002 Walt suffered a stroke and thankfully recovered with no damage. His doctor subsequently ordered a stress test. Walt eagarly approached this, looking to score "off the charts". However, an abnormality was reflected and further testing revealed an 80% blockage in a major artery. A stent was inserted in the artery to remedy the problem. As Walt geared up to resume his more regular running schedule, more testing revealed a blockage in the stent. Walt received an additional stent and medication which should prevent a recurrance of the blockage. As runners, we are typicaly more fit than most and because of this, we may postpone routine medical checkups or an annual physical exam. If we take anything away from Walt's talk, it should be that no matter how healthy we feel, the importance of a regular medical exam cannot be ignored. We thank Walt for a very important and meaningful talk.

Doug Campbell's 2003 Philadelphia "Marathon"

Last November's Citizen's Bank Philadelphia Marathon had some unique participants. One of them was 11 year old Kelsie Cain of Warrington, PA, winner of the "Not Your Typical Runner" contest selected to participate in the marathon. Kelsie raised over $2600 for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), a non-profit organization that breeds, trains and provides service dogs to individuals with physical disabilities. Funds were also provided by Citizen's Bank who sponsored the contest.Kelsie, who has cerebral palsy "ran" the 26 mile course in a special wheelchair pushed by members from several local running and sports clubs, including our own Doug Campbell. Every two miles a new pair of runners, many of whom ran the entire way with Kelsie, pushed Kelsie on. Doug's assigned starting point was at the 12 mile mark. Being no slouch, Doug ran the remaining 14 miles of the marathon with Kelsie! Kelsie reached the finish line in 4 1/2 hours, and as she approached, her CCI service dog Rose met her to celebrate her achievement.

Kelsie's team wore bright pink shirts, her favorite color, and were emblazoned on the back with the slogan "Running is for the Dogs."

Local teams and interest groups assisting Kelsie included the Ambler Area Running Club, Tri-State Multisport Association, Valley Forge Striders, the South Jersey Athletic Club, New York Road Runners, Newtown Veterinary Hospital, GMAC Commercial Mortgage, PECO Energy, and CCI.

Grand Prix scoring change for 2004.

The scoring system for the 2004 Grand Prix will be changed from previous years. Instead of awarding points to only the top 10 age graded finishers in a 20-18-16, etc format, all Mid-Atlantic USATF members completing each race will be awarded the points represented by their age graded percentage based on World Masters Athletics (WMA) percentage tables (previously known as WAVA scores). The percentage is the time run for the race distance relative to the world record, adjusted for the athlete's age and gender. An athlete's total accumulated points for their 8 best performances in Grand Prix events will determine their total points after the conclusion of all events. If an athlete runs the Philadelphia Marathon and their WMA score for that race is among the athlete's 7 best Grand Prix performances, it will be counted twice, replacing their 8th best performance.

For a thorough explanation of the Mid-Atlantic USATF Grand Prix & Club Challenge, click on this link:

Grand Prix - Club Challenge details

Many of us have explored various methods of training. Here's a link to some very thorough information on distance training. The author uses a screen name of "Hadd" and remains anonymous:

Hadd's Approach to Distance Training

SJAC is Mid-Atlantic USATF Club #14

Mid-Atlantic USATF Award Luncheon

On February 21st, the Mid-Atlantic Association of USATF held its annual Award Luncheon honoring achievements of 2003. Seven SJAC members attended accompanied by their spouses & guests. In addition to Youth and High Performance, Long Distance Running and Grand Prix awards were presented.

On behalf of the club, president Brandon Hamilton accepted the award (a $250 check) for winning the 2003 Club Challenge. The check will be deposited in the club treasury.

Joy Hampton received the award for finishing in first place overall in the Grand Prix. Jim Flanagan received the second place Grand Prix award. Joy and Jim also received certificates for completing 10 of the 12 Grand Prix events.

An additional eleven SJAC members received Grand Prix age group awards or awards for completing 9, 10, 11 or all 12 Grand Prix events as follows:

Rita Alles - 2nd place age group Doug Campbell - 3rd place age group Rich Gardner - 10 event certificate Brandon Hamilton - 1st place age group, 9 event certificate Jim Harris - 3rd place age group Joe Kopacz - 1st place age group Ed Maher - 12 event mounted certificate Marge Morris - 3rd place age group Jack Moskovitz - 2nd place age group Nick Pomponio - 3rd place age group Ann Warsing - 1st place age group, 9 event certificate.

Also recognized in the awards program were those members who placed in the top runners overall or in their age group in the Mid-Atlantic LDR Championship races at 5K (Bancroft), 8K (Moorestown), 10K (Stone harbor), 15K (Delaware Distance Classic) and 20K (Penn Relays). Twenty SJAC members garnered 8 overall and 40 age group awards! Congratulations to (in alphabetical order):

Doug Campbell (2 age group), Denise Dahlhoff (2 overall), Jim Flanagan (3 age group), Rich Gardner (3 age group), Lori Hageman (2 overall, 2 age group), Brandon Hamilton (1 overall, 3 age group), Joy Hampton (2 overall, 4 age group), Jim Harris (2 age group), Bill Jenkins (1 age group), Joe Kopacz (2 age group), Ed Maher (4 age group), George Morris (1 age group), Marge Morris (2 age group), Scott Morrow (1 age group), Jack Moskovitz (2 age group), Nick Pomponio (1 age group), Sylvia Schenk (1 overall, 1 age group), Sue Schwenderman (1 age group), Chris Scola (2 age group) and Ann Warsing (3 age group).

Some interesting stuff:

Web MD Top 10 Fitness Trends for 2004

SJAC is RRCA Club #1430