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Jogging Joe writes on running and exercise for the “Maryland Gazette”, America’s Oldest Newspaper est. 1727, “The Capital” in Annapolis & “The Trident” at the United States Naval Academy. The columns appear in the sports section on Saturdays in the Maryland Gazette, The Capital every other Thursday, and as a guest column in The Trident from time to time.
Here’s Joe’s latest column on running and exercise published in “The Capital”, Annapolis, May 8th, 2008. Any ideas for a column? E-mail them to Jogging Joe. You can read Joe’s previous articles here.
Crownsville run gives glimpse of future
By JOE SHAFRAN
At the at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington a week ago last Saturday night, President Bush said that with less than a year left to go in office, it is impossible for him to do all the things he would like to get done aside, he said, from the upcoming wedding of one of his daughters. On the Friday before that speech, I got a package in the mail from the White House that contained a signed photo of the President and a rejection notice. It was a note from one of his assistants that read, “after much consideration, the President would not be able honor my request that we do a run together on the South Lawn White House running track” . You may know that he came into office nearly eight years ago as a marathoner, about which I wrote, and that he was known to train at a seven minute mile clip. However, he developed what he said were knee problems four years ago and to keep in shape, he gave up running and switched to mountain biking. A few months ago, I was given clearance and did run the track, alone, and reported to you that it’s a quarter of a mile circle with a good fall, and a good rise with one of those rubberized surfaces. One of the correspondents, knowing of my interest in Presidential running, suggested writing a book entitled, Mr. B’s Knees.
The idea of a White House running track came about when Bill Clinton came into office in the early nineties. as a runner and decided on his first morning at the White House to do an early morning run on the streets of downtown Washington, D.C., which pretty effectively tied up rush hour traffic. I can recall that morning when traffic on westbound 50 was backed up almost to Annapolis. It is said that the next day they began construction of the running track in the South Lawn of the White House that Clinton used for the 8 years he was in office, minus some time out for an occasional helicopter landing and a foot injury sustained when he tripped coming out of Greg Norman’s house.
That traffic back-up was several years ago, and I am wondering if that was the thing that set off the permitting issue that is now causing the rerouting of some local races. Five years ago, I recall writing about the voluntary rerouting of a short Bachman Valley Farm run in Carroll County when it was decided that, for safety reasons, they would take the race off the county and state roads and contain the race mostly on private farm roads, paved and unpaved. However, that plan may have gone by the boards. Running in that area has gone big time and they now have the Bachman half marathon that attracts hundreds and overflows onto roads outside the farm near Westminster.
But we did see something a week ago last Sunday at the Indian Creek School 5K run/walk that may be the future of running. That race was also taken off public roads and run entirely on the grounds of the Indian Creek Upper School on Crownsville Rd. This is the race that memorializes the late Dr. David Nagey who died while running the race a few years ago on the original course near the Lower School, also in Crownsville. In her recent Capital column, Elaine Nagey, the widow of the doctor, pointed out that on this new course, if one were to stand on the high ground at the school, one would be able to see the race in it’s entirety and that was so. . The only problem was that to get a parking space you would have had to be in the parking lot before they locked the gates at the start of the race and walk.
It’s spring and the past few weekends have been back-to-back 5K runs, and each time I would stand at the finish line at any of them, I would see the same early finishers, mostly high schoolers, J.R. Spencer, Christian Smooth, Zack Sullivan. And then there was the ubiquitous 47- year- old Jim Anderson and others,and last Sunday at the Severn School Legends Race at Severna Park, it was Tyler Larkin finishing first, at about 18 minutes, among the three hundred or so entrants. This was another run that except for a short stretch on a county street , was run on school property which as you may know is not at all a crowded campus.
Runners of the week... The record class of well over a hundred who have signed up for the three time-a-week 2008 Striders Beginners Running Class
Race of the week. The Tiger Trot 5k run/walk at Central Elementary School at Edgewater Saturday that offers a pre race "carbing out' at Squisito's Friday night.
Hint of the Week... Signs on Kent Island trails... Give a vocal or mechanical warning when overtaking a runner, hiker or biker.
Race Results
Run For Your Life 5K
Johns Hopkins Health, Glen Burnie, May 3
1. Dave Berardi, 47, 16:35, 2. Michael Wegner, 11, 17.:57. 3. Sheryl Kline, 45, 18:45, 4. Brett Palmer, 49, 21:49, 5. Kathleen Wegner, 42, 22:07, 6. Paul Wegner, 44, 22:31 7. Ben Schmitz, 15, 23:14.8. Sarah Balles, 12, 24:06. 9. Bob Bowes, 42, 24:10.10 Lori Ruff, 52, 25:10
Running Calendar
Saturday 8:30 a.m. Vincent's Run. at Hillsmere Elementary School in Annapolis, in memory of 5-year-old Vincent DeBerardinis, who died 5 years ago of Lukemia. Call 410.280.6226
May 17 9 a.m. Bates Track, Spa Rd. Annapolis. Strider's 2 mile track run and Kids championship series. Third race in series. Download entry at www.annpolisstriders.org
May 17 Piney Orchard. 9 a.m. 5K run and walk. For the Elementary School PTA. www.pineyorchard5k.com
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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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Running results and items of interest can be mailed to Joe Shafran at the Capital, P.O. Box 911, Annapolis MD 21404, faxed to 410.280.5953 or e-mailed to joggingjoe@letsshapeup.com. Joe is a member of the Maryland State Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and hosts Let’s Shape Up on cable TV.
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