President's Corner Hello runners. Many of us are now in winter training mode. Love it or hate it, most of us our forced to run in the dark and in the cold.

For morning runners our cozy beds beckon us to stay while we struggle to head out into the frozen world. But once we are out the door and on our way we are soon dreaming of that spring marathon or maybe this will be the year you set that PR at Broad Street. Or maybe you just enjoy the fact that you are just out there at all. It is a time to regroup and get our base miles in. It is a time to reinvent ourselves once again. And for me it is a time to get healthy.
As many of you know after a successful Boston marathon I suffered a nagging achilles tendonitis problem. I was able to barely get myself in shape to run the “Reach the Beach” relay and then took more time off to properly heal. Now I am slowly coming back but have decided to make the trip to Boston as a spectator this year and will enjoy cheering on the SJAC from the sidelines this year. I will especially enjoy cheering our own Joy Hampton as she has a great shot at winning the Women’s senior division (60+). It will be a great weekend celebrating with our Boston qualifiers.
The SJAC will also be going for it 6th USATF Mid-Atlantic Club Challenge title this year. We actually picked up a surprise bonus for winning in 2006 as the normal $500 check turned out to be $800. It will only make this year’s competition even greater. Good luck to everyone. This should give you some incentive on those cold winter mornings.
At the last meeting we discussed putting committees together to address such things as developing a scholarship program, increasing our public relations and outfitting our club with athletic apparel. If you want to get involved make sure you show up at our next meeting as we need to finalize our committees so we can move forward with our initiatives. Your opinion counts so let us know if there is anything you think the club can do to make us more successful.
I hope this year is a healthy one for you. Our club is making great strides and continues to grow with new faces and great enthusiasm. I hope to start attending more of our training runs so I can honestly signoff with…

See you on the roads,
Brandon Hamilton
SJAC President

SJAC Wins 2006 Club Challenge!

For the 5th consecutive year (every year it has been contested) SJAC won the Mid-Atlantic USATF Club Challenge! This competition among area running clubs has been a rallying point for SJAC members as well as fostering friendships among runners of the various club participating. The final standings and club point totals are below.

At the end of 2006, there were 82 Mid-Atlantic USATF members recorded as "attached" to SJAC. No less than 8 and as many as 48 of these members turned out for Grand Prix-Club Challenge races during 2006. This tremendous support by our club's membership is the major reason we are the five-time defending champions of the Club Challenge!
SJAC earned the top prize of $800 for the 2006 Club Challenge championship!
The 2007 Grand Prix Circuit schedule is listed below. We'll have a large group at each of these races. Join us to run or come to cheer on your fellow club members!

The 2007 Grand Prix schedule will be available at:
http://mausatf.readyhosting.com//ldr/TheGrandPrix.asp

Description of our participation:
SJAC-Club Challenge Info

SJAC Named Mid-Atlantic USATF Outstanding Club for 2006!

Mid-Atlantic USATF annually selects one member club as the recipient of the Jack Milne Outstanding Club Award. At the annual awards luncheon on January 20, it was awarded to SJAC! This honor is distinctive because it transcends the long distance running community and includes all 60 - 70 member clubs in Mid-Atlantic across all disciplines. The plaque commemorating this award is pictured below.

SJAC Committies to be formed

Initial discussions were held during the January 2007 club meeting on forming committees to spearhead the club's efforts in several areas such as; SJAC uniforms/apparel, publicity, scholarship award and SJAC conducted races. Let us know you're interested in assisting with these initiatives at the club meeting on February 7!

Philadelphia Marathon, Half Marathon, Relay and Rothman Institute 8K
November 19, 2006

Fifty-one SJAC members ran in one of the four events conducted on this Sunday before Thanksgiving. Among these were 23 marathoners, 4 half marathoners, 2 marathon relay runners and 22 runners in the 8K. Sixteen club members commemorated the day with age group awards. Click here for their results. Check the Photo Gallery in the near future for photos from these events.

2007 No Frills Race Series
Kicks Off on June 12, 2007

Runners await the start of the August 23, 2005 race

The 15th edition of SJAC's "No Frills, Just Thrills" race series starts on Tuesday evening June 12. Held on alternate Tuesday evenings during June, July and August, the "No Frills" series provides a weekday summer evening outlet for runners interested in some good competition, a hard workout or just a run with others. The series offers an economical entry fee of just $5, $3 for SJAC members and is free for full time students! Come out to run one of the races or volunteer your services and help us put the race on. After the award are distributed, our "race crew" and several of the participants head over to the deck at Connie Mac's Pub for post-race food, beverages and socializing.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
......................6:30 P.M 1 Loop (3.65 Miles) or
......................................2 Loops (7.3 Miles) or
......................................3 Loops (10.95 Miles)

BOSTON MARATHON 2007

At press time, approximately 16 SJAC members have commenced training for the 2007 Boston Marathon to be conducted on Monday April 16.

SJAC does the 2006 Off Road Series!

In the third year of it being contested, SJAC participated in the Mid-Atlantic USATF Off Road Series.
Nine club members made the trek to Reading, PA on Feb. 26 for the Ugly Mudder 7+ mile trail race. Six club members completed the Tyler Arboretum Trail 10K in Media, PA on Apr. 1.
While we didn't muster up the required 5 members in any of the remaining 4 races, SJAC placed 4th in the 2006 series earning the club a $50 award. If off road running is for you, come join us in the 2007 Off Road Series races!

The 2007 Off Road Series schedule will be available at:
http://mausatf.readyhosting.com//ldr/TheOffGrandPrix.asp

REACH THE BEACH RELAY
SJAC team "Truck On Cheese"
returns to the beach!

Reach The Beach is a 210 (or so) mile relay from Bretton Woods to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire that 12 members of SJAC participated in on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15 - 16, 2006. Information about the relay can be found at the Reach The Beach Web Site
With a 12 runner team, each runner ran a total of 15 - 21 miles spread over 3 relay legs. Photos from SJAC's adventure on this relay in 2006 can be found at this link: SJAC - Reach the Beach.

SJAC members have participated inthis event in 2005 and 2006. If anyone is interested in participating this year (Sept. 14 - 15, 2007) or if you have any questions, just let Brandon or Ed know by email or in person.