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Runners keep rolling when roads are jammed
By JOE SHAFRAN
Runners are sometimes immune from the woes of traffic. It comes to mind when I notice the stories about the afternoon traffic backups on eastbound Rte. 50 over the Severn River in Annapolis. Thankfully, many of us runners who don’t have to drive it get a pretty good overhead view of it in our neighborhood as we run the Ridgely Avenue overpass. I’ve heard some of our group term the afternoon and evening traffic a rolling backup, and as runners glance down to the slow moving vehicles below, the agreement seems to be that in each vehicle we see a somewhat relaxed driver who has come to expect the delay as a fact-of-life. On our morning runs, we see a different driver, on the Annapolis side of the Severn whizzing underneath us, having come over the bridge,now doing 70 mph, more serious and determined, leaning into the steering wheel, headed for a day at work or business .
And that brings up another traffic issue -- the weekend eastbound backup on U.S. 50 from the Bay Bridge. I sometimes think this column is partially to blame for it especially over this mid-week July 4th holiday . The race calendar in the column, during the summer months, lists some of the runs at the ocean beaches, and we know there are some runners who think nothing of driving three and a half hours for a race, no matter where it is. At the ocean beaches, there are a lot of people who combine a Saturday morning run with lying to the beach or at a pool and then jumping in the water. Two weeks ago, this column listed two Dewey Beach, Delaware, races and I was not totally surprised to find that some of those from this area headed there for a run and also for another reason, a bachelor party this past weekend for one of my trainers, Sky Canine, and I am told the party planners had encouraged everyone to get there in time for the Saturday morning run. However, there was no confirmation as to how that went.
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Hint of the week….For females, especially those wearing headsets. If you have a choice, don’t run alone in a secluded wooded area. Last weekend, I happened upon a young woman on Dubois Road in Annapolis who actually thanked me for suggesting she not enter into an area that was heavily wooded. Turns out she was a visitor and not familiar with the territory. There have been times when I’ve been accused of being condescending for making such suggestions. A few days ago, there was a report in the Washington Post of a woman jogger who was attacked at a secluded point on the Old Dominion trail along 1-66 in Arlington, Virginia.
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There was another wildfire in California this past week near Lake Tahoe… and in each of the stories there was mention that the flames had destroyed some well-known jogging trails. The weekend of June 23rd and 24th was about the time the fires started, and there was a question as to whether it would affect the running of the annual Western States 100 mile ultra-marathon endurance run from Squaw Valley to Auburn. While the runners breathed some smoke from the fires, the mountainous trail was not affected. Last year, Matt Mace of Arnold did the run crewed by Charlie Muskin. While Matt ran it, sometime through waist deep water, Charlie had to drive through the mountains from one aid station to the other in that hundred mile stretch to feed and tend to Matt who completed the run. The winner this year started at 5 A.M. and finished in 16 hours and 23 minutes.
The other night on C-SPAN, I saw the repeat of an interview with reporters Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Nixon-Watergate era in the1970s. A panelist asked if there could ever be a story like that again and their answer was “no”, that we have expanded our thinking to a global level and I’m thinking that it’s happening also in running. I list the race of the week as the5K Annapolis run for the Friends of Sudan, Saturday morning July 14th. Organized and directed by Cathy Nagle of Annapolis and is a run and a fun walk. Nagle says it will benefit the village children of Southern Sudan. Nagle, a local runner and triathlete, had met some refugees from the ongoing civil war in Sudan and has since dedicated herself to helping improve their way of life. The race starts and ends in the Nagle front yard on Meadows Drive in St. Margarets. She has arranged for police direction at the intersections on some county roadways. As of last weekend, she had registered 75 .You can call Nagle at 410.626.8487.
Hal Higdon the runner, who writes in Runners World on form, may have noticed the mention in my last column of Maryland Governor O’Malley ending up on crutches with shin splints. Higdon quotes a fellow by name of Lance Tarr who says there are two types of runners… those who have had shin splints and those who will have shin splints. There is a Don Higdon into running in this area, and I have always wondered if there is a connection to Hal. I see also there is a female runner by name of Salazar in this area and wondered if she is any relation to Alberto who beat Dick Beardsley by seconds in the 1982 Boston Marathon.
Running Calendar
July 8, Sun. Columbia, 8 A.M. Women’s Distance Festival , Howard County Striders,
Howard Community College, 5 K. 410.964.1998
July 8, Sun. Dewey Beach, De. 8 A.M. 5th annual Taco Toss 5K.
www.races2run.com/sisters
July 14, Annapolis , Women’s Distance Festival 5K and the run after the 5K for men.
Annapolis Elementary School, Corner of Annapolis and Melvin , across from Gus’ eatery.
The Strider’s race features the graduates of the Striders Beginning Runners. 7:45 for the women and 8:30 for the men . Melissa Currence 410.360.9019, or Ginger Andrews. 410.544.1490
This race includes the Children;s Championship Series For that be in touch with susanmnoble@comcast.net
July 21, 8 A.M. Broadneck High School. The John Wall one mile run. Honors by age groups. Last year, Scott Koehler, in his early twenties won it in 4:33, but not to worry. Scott is on to something else this summer and might not be in the race. Call Will Myers, 410.987.4883
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If you have a suggestion for the runner of the week,
please e-mail me with a contact number.
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