GRR sponsor Bicycles East are holding a sports nutrition information session on Wednesday, May 30th at 5:30 PM. They’ll talk about the different options for eating and drinking while exercising. They’ll also discuss the …

Continue reading »]]> Worried about refueling while running or cycling? Not sure which energy drink, gel, powder or bar to choose – if any?

GRR sponsor Bicycles East are holding a sports nutrition information session on Wednesday, May 30th at 5:30 PM. They’ll talk about the different options for eating and drinking while exercising. They’ll also discuss the importance of maintaining your energy levels so you don’t bonk during a race.

The session is free and there’s no need to book – just add it to your calendar and turn up.

Bicycles East are located at 331 New London Tpke, Glastonbury, CT 06033. See bicycleseast.com for more information. Thanks to the GRR publicity committee for setting this opportunity up.

Good luck to everyone running the Sugarloaf Marathon in Maine this …

Continue reading »]]> The following groups will be running this Saturday, May 19th. Do check back, as this list is frequently updated with changes or extra options. If you’re a potential new member considering joining the club, check our New Members and Training Groups pages for information.

Good luck to everyone running the Sugarloaf Marathon in Maine this weekend!

The Original Spitfires

The weather is looking great for Saturday and you know what that means… road trip! Let’s meet at the Rose Hill Field parking lot in Portland (169 Rose Hill Road Portland).  It’s a little further south than our usual South Glastonbury run but will be worth the extra miles. We’ll shove off at 6:30. Early birds and over achievers can start at 06:00 and circle around.  We’ll get about 14 miles in.

Here’s the route on Google Maps. If you need directions, email Brett. Good luck to the marathoners this weekend.

Fabulous Fours

Same as the Original Spitfires, above!

Civilized Running Group

Those who are doing 20 miles on Saturday please meet in the Parking Lot across from the Fountain at 6 AM. We will run 4 towards East Hartford and back to join the rest.

The rest (8, 10 or 12 mile runners) can meet at 7:30 in the Parking Lot. We will proceed towards JB Williams and stop at David’s house for drinks.

• 3 miles to David’s house from the Parking Lot
• 6 miles  – 3 miles out and 3 miles back from David’s house to the water fountain at Smith School.
• 3 miles back down to the Fountain.

New & Nearly New

The group will be meeting Saturday in the parking lot opposite the fountain at 7:15 AM to run 4-11 miles. We’re looking forward to some awesome weather!

Beginners

The beginner training group, organized by Dawn Emanuele, will meet at Riverfront Park parking lot at 08:30.  Check the beginners page for details.

Walkers

The Glastonbury River Walkers will be meeting at 7:30 AM in the bandstand at Riverfront Park – contact Margaret Rorrio for more information or download the training plan (Walkers training program PDF).

We currently have 29 participants in our training group that have been very dedicated to their training. While this group is smaller than our first group this year, their drive is just as strong. Our Tuesday weather has been very rainy the last two sessions and yet we have the determination of …

Continue reading »]]> By Dawn Emanuele

We currently have 29 participants in our training group that have been very dedicated to their training. While this group is smaller than our first group this year, their drive is just as strong. Our Tuesday weather has been very rainy the last two sessions and yet we have the determination of some participants shining through by showing up regardless of the weather!

Even if they can’t join our group sessions at times, I am being told that they are doing the training on their own on another day or time. Each participant is accomplishing their weekly goals at their own pace knowing that they will soon be able to complete our NRG Energy Firecracker 5K race on July 1st. Keep up the GREAT work! Each of you are doing an awesome job!!!

I also want to mention how dedicated our volunteers have been this session. This training group is all possible because we have so many wonderful people willing to help out. Many of them are volunteering after just completing the previous 5K Training Program themselves and joining as NEW GRR members.

I think that shows how much they appreciated the program, made running a part of their lives and now want to pay it forward to the participants of this group. We have the best members ever!!!

Congrats to all!

We need to come up with a few more volunteers for this Sunday’s (May 20th) Ten Penny Ale Shamrock Duathlon and 5K race in Glastonbury!

Bring your family and hang out at a water stop or at a key intersection for the cyclists, then come by the Green on Hubbard for some …

Continue reading »]]>

Have a heart – volunteer at the Shamrock Duathlon & 5K

From Peggy Bryam

We need to come up with a few more volunteers for this Sunday’s (May 20th) Ten Penny Ale Shamrock Duathlon and 5K race in Glastonbury!

Bring your family and hang out at a water stop or at a key intersection for the cyclists, then come by the Green on Hubbard for some food and a T-shirt!

Here’s where you sign up. Just check “General volunteer” and we’ll assign you a post.

BTW, if you want to put up a tent for a meeting place on the green, near the finish line, let me know.

Thanks for your help!

Peggy Byram
Training and Volunteer Program Manager
Hartford Marathon Foundation

Continue reading »]]> GRR All-Time Records: Half Marathons – Men

Rank	GRR Member	Time	Race	Date
1	Mike Keenan (37)	1:18:39	Iron Horse Half Marathon	6/6/10
2	Mike Keenan (36)	1:18:39	Colchester Half Marathon	2/28/09
3	Mike Keenan (39)	1:19:33	Surftown Half Marathon	9/18/11
4	Mike Keenan (39)	1:19:54	Iron Horse Half Marathon	6/5/11
5	Derek Hyde (51)	1:20:32	Hartford Half Marathon	10/8/11
6	Derek Hyde (50)	1:22:02	Maine Half Marathon	10/2/11
7	Connor Gralton (14)	1:23:55	Quincy Half Marathon	3/18/12
8	Derek Hyde (49)	1:24:09	Hartford Half Marathon	10/9/10
9	Derek Hyde (50)	1:25:21	Colchester Half Marathon	2/26/11
10	Kevin Rice (47)	1:26:25	Surftown Half Marathon	9/18/11

GRR All-Time Records: Half Marathons – Women

GRR Age Group Records: Half Marathons – Men

GRR Age Group Records: Half Marathons – Women

Notes

1. Times achieved while an active club member.
2. For corrections and additions, please email info@glastonburyriverrunners.com
3. Thanks to Rich Baber for compiling the half marathon rankings.

Special congratulations to Joe Hallisey, who won his age group and came 6th overall with a time of 18:52.

Who else ran? Please submit your results here!

Click here for full results from the Bill Landers 5K.

Continue reading »]]> From Derek Hyde: A friend of mine organizes a yearly Pub Run which is now in it’s 25th year. This is not a race but purely a fun run with friends that includes beer and food. Below are the specifics. The start time is 1:00 so it should not impact anyone’s morning long run.

Manchester Pub Run

Next Saturday May 12th will be 25th running of this great event and will also mark my final year as the organizer. The history of the event dates back to a rivalry between former Manchester High and East Catholic XC runners. We will once again have a talented field with runners joining us from as far away as Florida, former college all-Americans, as well as the 60 – 65 age group winner from 2011 Chicago marathon.

The course is a double loop 3 mile course (1.5 miles per loop) and includes stops at 3 bars per loop for a beverage / beer (yes, that’s a total of 6 beers). If that is too much of a challenge for you, you may want to join me in completing a single loop (my organizing duties prevent me from completing both loops).

After completing the running portion of the event, the fun continues for several hours at the last bar as food and additional beverage is provided as part of your registration fee. The app and a cover letter with details about the event are attached below.

Feel free to forward this to any runner you think may enjoy this unique event.

John Paggioli

Download the Manchester Pub Run Application
Download the Manchester Pub Run Letter

Continue reading »]]> We had another fantastic turnout at Sunday’s Zoomerangs practice with a whopping 80 kids registered! The kids started off with some dynamic stretching led by our club president, Erik, and then hit the track running. Kids were all smiles at the end of practice when they handed in their popsicle sticks for lap stickers, Silly Bandz and a gummy worm! Check out our kids in action on Flickr.

Zoomerangs meets every Sunday at 3:30 PM at the Smith Middle School track. Come on out and show your support for the next generation of GRR record breakers!

Several members ran Providence Marathon:

Michael Keenan: 2:59:12 Jenny Ort: 4:07 Syed Hashmi: 4:14 Kim Beaver: 4:48 Peggy Kehoe: 4:51 Michael Bekele: 5:07 Sal Nicotra: 5:12

Two members achieved excellent times in Providence Half Marathon:

Anne Ciccio: 1:39:21, which is 32nd out of 1329 …

Continue reading »]]> May 5-6 was a fantastic marathon weekend for GRR members.

Several members ran Providence Marathon:

Michael Keenan: 2:59:12
Jenny Ort: 4:07
Syed Hashmi: 4:14
Kim Beaver: 4:48
Peggy Kehoe: 4:51
Michael Bekele: 5:07
Sal Nicotra: 5:12

Two members achieved excellent times in Providence Half Marathon:

Anne Ciccio: 1:39:21, which is 32nd out of 1329 women overall and 12th out of 362 women in her division.
Jessica Doyle: 1:45:49, a PR for her and 17th out of 275 women in her division.

Find full results from the Providence Marathon and Half Marathon.

Andy Williams ran Pittsburgh Marathon in 3:55 despite an ankle injury that forced him to walk/jog the last nine miles – see Andy’s race report.

David Zevin ran the Kalamazoo Marathon in Michigan in 4:46:41.

John Ferguson ran the Wisconsin Half Marathon in a strong time of 1:51:58, finishing 2nd in the 65-59 age group. He now holds the club age group record for this distance.

Gary Richards completed the Long Branch Half Marathon in New Jersey in 1:53:44.

Congratulations to all! And if you raced this weekend and haven’t submitted your race result, do it right now. We are now keeping track of club rankings for marathons, half marathons and 10Ks. See the marathon all-time and age group records here.

This weekend I participated in the Pittsburgh Marathon. I choose it because I am currently working in Pittsburgh (as some of you know) and I was unable to run Boston this year.

Like many events, this event had many participants with interesting stories. While waiting at the start line, I met a …

Continue reading »]]> By Andy Williams

This weekend I participated in the Pittsburgh Marathon. I choose it because I am currently working in Pittsburgh (as some of you know) and I was unable to run Boston this year.

Like many events, this event had many participants with interesting stories. While waiting at the start line, I met a Gingerbread Man. He was trying to set the world record for running a marathon in a gingerbread man costume. In case you didn’t know, that world record is 3:40. Unfortunately, I don’t know for sure, but I think the heat caused him to miss the record since I think I one point I saw part of the costume on the side of the road.

The organizers did a great job picking a route that toured the city with only a moderate amount of hills…nothing any worse than what we have in Glastonbury. The community support of this event is fantastic with people throughout the course and over 60 bands playing throughout the course. We even had a choir singing to us that steps of a church (can I count this for Sunday mass?)

Participants who complete the “Steel City” marathon are given a metal and the title “Runner of Steel”. While I earned the title by completing the marathon, it was not my best time (3:55:37). A nagging Achilles strain caught up with me on mile 17 and it was slow going after that. While this was not the outcome I had hoped for, it was a great event that I would recommend to others.

Background info

After registering, I learned that the this marathon took a 5 year hiatus between 2004-2008 due to lack of interest or a sponsor (and perhaps the reputation of being a very hilly marathon didn’t help). With the support of Dick’s Sporting Goods and a growing local running community, the Pittsburgh Marathon was re-instituted in 2009. In just four years the event has grown tremendously selling out with a reported 25,000 participants in one of three events a 5K, half-marathon and full marathon.

See full race results from the Pittsburgh Marathon.

Continue reading »]]> Here is an exercise that will help you develop the muscles of your gluteus as well as the muscles in your abdomen. Strength in your gluteus and abdomen contribute to strong running. Start by lying on your back, knees up and feet flat on the floor. Then lift your hips and squeeze your gluteus muscles as you lift your hips. Repeat 10 times for one set. Aim for three sets. Happy Running!

Bridge Start

Bridge Finish