Sunday Aug 10th

Meeting at the Floral Clock at 8:30AM

Details to follow by next newsletter.
 

June 20 7:00pm St. Gregory's 5K, Maple Road, Williamsvile, 688-5678

June 21 11:00am Kyle Reid Memorial 5K, 5980 Abbott Rd., Hamburg 648-7757

June 21 9:00am Donald Carroll Races, 5k,10K, Duathlon-10k run 16m bike, Team Duathlon, GCC, Batavia, 622-2686

June 25 6:30pm St. Teresa's Comeback Run 2.2 Miles, South Buffalo. 822-0608

June 27 6:30pm Clarence Rotary Club 5k, Clarence Town Park 583-2311

June 28 9:30am SBAC Kids "I Did It" Run, Cazenovia Park, South Buffalo 822-0790

July 3 7:00pm Tommy's 5k, Orchard Park, Yates Park, 662-8597

July 4 9:00am Dick Bessel Independence Day 2.3 Mile Race, 3278 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island. No Race Day Registration. 773-9680

July 4 9:00am *Depew-Lancaster BOYS & GIRLS Club 10K, 5440 Broadway, 683-6755

July 5 8:00am The Andy Run 5k, Niagara Road, Wheatfield 731-3481

July 7 7:00pm The Eden 5k, Eden Elementary School, Schoolview Road, Eden

July 8 7:00pm Loughran's 5k, 4543 Main Street, 839-0283

July 10 6:30pm The Kenmore Week 5k, 2919 Delaware Ave., 831-1001

July 12 11:00am Running For The Children 5k, Jefferson & Best Sts, 886-2199

July 13 8:00am Utica Boilermaker 15k, Utica, 797-5838

Darya Brach 6/1

Mary Casey 6/1

John Rummel 6/2

Chuck Miller 6/3

Wendy Kolb 6/5

Mia Symoniak 6/5

Christopher Basty 6/6

Laura DiValerio 6/6

Bill Harden 6/6

Jennifer Herko 6/6

Pam Krieger 6/6

Joannie Padginton 6/7

Emily Neumann 6/8

Leah Neumann 6/8

Mike Heitzenrater 6/8

Gene Wells 6/8

Keith Bonas 6/9

John McGuire 6/10

Amy Vigneron 6/10

Brian Januszkiewicz 6/11

Bill Ripple 6/11

Renee Martinez 6/12

Vicki Mitchell 6/12

Marty Farrell 6/14

Amy Dockery 6/15

Thomas Ferrentino 6/16

Jim Majors 6/16

Chip Skop 6/16

John Baker 6/18

Helen Bueme 6/18

Ted Paget 6/19

Karl Shallowhorn 6/19

Mark Spelman 6/19

Matt Ruddy 6/20

Ray Bailey 6/22

Marnie Housler 6/23

Toby Mazur 6/23

Mark Guasteferro 6/25

Lisa Tranquilli 6/25

Mary O'Keeffe 6/27

Paul Wandel on loss of his father

Mike Kennedy on loss of his mother.

Lauren Lorek on the loss of her grandmother.

Joanie Hays, Sara Hays

20:58 22:13 = 43:11
Aimee Snyder, Jody Snyder

21:06 23:26 = 44:32
Mary McCleary, Kaitlyn McCleary 34:17 41:06 = 1:15:23
SISTER/SISTER TEAM Gina Barrett, Rosanna Pellicano

24:12 29:19 = 53:31
Maria Forti, Lena Forti

27:45 29:39 = 57:24

Bach Weslow 17:00 1/M30-34

Thomas Dessauer 17:32 1/M35-39

Gary Raby Jr 17:57 2/M15-19

Gary Raby Sr 20:14 3/M50-54

Kathleen Yesny 22:33 1/F45-49

Catherine Meyer 22:53 1/F35-39

Sandy Hunt 23:09 1/F15-19

Michele Bauman 24:29 2/F40-44

Rosalie Marino-Soehn 25:42 1/F50-54

Fran Rowe 29:23 2/F60-64

Edna Hyer 30:44 2/F65-69

Leah Neumann 32:35 2/F 0-14

Michael Heitzenrater 20:47 2/M20-24

John McMahon 0:21:41 1/M35-39

Kevin Burke 0:21:46 1/M30-34

Jerry Irving 0:22:40 1/M50-54

Bob Carroll 0:22:56 2/M45-49

Ted Paget 0:23:04 2/M50-54

Allen Dise 0:23:26 4/M40-44

Paul Donnelly 0:23:28 4/M20-24

Frank Bogdan 0:23:44 6/M25-29

David Alessi 0:25:11 4/M50-54

Fred Lew 0:25:16 5/M50-54

Debra Morris-Allen 0:25:21 1/F40-44

Larry Krajewski 0:25:28 6/M50-54

Amy Fakterowitz 0:26:03 1/F35-39

Mike Harrison 0:26:19 2/M55-59

Rebecca Heuer 0:26:35 2/F35-39

Christy Petry 0:26:45 2/F20-24

Amy Hurta 0:27:25 2/F30-34

Jessica Hamm 0:28:10 1/F15-19

Diane Sardes 0:28:32 1/F50-54

Douglas Ostrom 0:28:38 5/M55-59

Bill Harden 0:28:51 4/M60-64

Sandra Harmon 0:29:39 2/F50-54

Joe Antkowiak 0:29:45 2/M65-69

Ellen Hamm 0:29:55 4/F35-39

Jeanne Chiarmonte 30:02 5/F35-39

Patricia Kunselman 30:25 1/F55-59

Catherine Meyer 30:386/F35-39

Maureen LaChiusa 31:18 3/F45-49

Sandi Ludwa 0:31:35 4/F55-59

Marcy Sheehan 0:31:46 5/F50-54

Eileen Leary 0:35:54 2/F45-49

Amy Dockery 0:36:27 7/F30-34

Barbara Sauer 0:37:47 5/F55-59

Sandy Bueme 0:38:12 1/M75-79

Fran Rowe 0:39:06 4/F60-64

Edye Radice 0:39:35 2/F65-69

Helen Bueme 0:40:21 1/F70-74

Gloria Santarpia 0:40:44 3/F65-69

Edna Hyer 0:41:10 4/F65-69

Patti Pembleton 0:43:37 4/F45-49

Joseph F. Biasillo 1/ 52:M35-39

Daniel Dengler 1/ 50:M45-49

Judy S. Arlington 1/102:F35-39

Eric W. Newton 1/ 17:M 1-14

Ralph Yacinthe 3/ 43:M40-44

Brenda Spillman 2/102:F35-39

Jonathan Bialek 3/ 20:M20-24

Peggy L. Towers 1/ 66:F50-54

Kathleen Yesny 2/ 94:F45-49

Mark Spelman 2/ 27:M55-59

Marcy A. Sheehan 2/ 66:F50-54

Helen E. Botti 1/ 7:F65-69

Edna E. Hyer 3/ 7:F65-69

Congratulations to all of Checkers Marathoners, Half-Marathoners, 10K runners, and team members. It was a great day. The weather couldn’t have been better, and the club performed well. Checkers own Judy Arlington took second place for the women. Our teams took the medals, and everyone seemed to enjoy a new, and improved Buffalo Marathon. Members results are inside and at the web site.

Judy S. Arlington 1/F35-39 3:07:59

Frank J. Bogdan 7/M25-29 3:08:54

Ron J. Snavely 10/M35-39 3:14:42

Richard Carpenter 1/M 1-19 3:17:38

John Rummel 15/M35-39 3:25:267

Douglas S. Ackerman 16/M35-39 3:27:00

Paul A. Wandel 13/M45-49 3:29:49

Michael Schiavone 14/M45-49 3:34:55

Ed Mills 30/M40-44 3:35:17

Thomas J. Evans 25/M35-39 3:36:07

Gene Wells 4/M55-59 3:46:14

David J. DiValerio 35/M35-39 3:49:33

Diane E. McGuire 2/F45-49 3:50:51

Terry Murphy - 3:53.02

Gina M. Barrett 5/F30-34 3:54:06

Jacquelyn M. Martin 6/F20-24 3:58:20

Tom M. Kandefer 22/M30-34 3:59:29

Marty P. Farrell 40/M35-39 4:00:45

Helen E. Botti 1/F65-69 4:14:04

John A. Radzikowski 11/M55-59 4:17:12

Timothy P. Zelasko 61/M40-44 4:27:261

Jonathan Bialek 15/M20-24 4:29:361

Mike Curry 30/M50-54 4:34:281

Keith V. Scranton 42/M45-49 4:36:591

Patrick Dalton, Sr. 42/M50-54 5:10:261

David P. Sardo 2/M35-39 1:27:49

Brendan Hickey 4/M35-39 1:32:31

Tom W. Evans 3/M50-54 1:32:59

Fran S. Emmerling 4/M50-54 1:33:47

Eric Butler 3/M30-34 1:35:22

Nicole Ludwa 2/F20-24 1:40:38

Jennifer L. Parr 3/F25-29 1:47:36

Jim L. Collins 4/M55-59 1:58:11

Sandra J. Hebeler 3/F50-54 2:05:41

Edye P. Radice 1/F65-69 2:25:47

Trey H. Gardner, Amy Hurta,

Amy Fakterowitz, Ted Washburn

Sibatu Khahaifa, Roger A. Roll

Kevin Lozano, Sandy C. Bunn

John P. Feroleto, David J. Szafran

Bob M. Kolodziej, Kathy Melling

Peggy L. Towers. Philip Halpern

Marcy A. Sheehan, Greg Lavis

John G. Baker, Jerry Bergman

Toby Mazur, John W. Moore

Carol L. Heiligenthaler, Cindy L. Stankiewicz, Michele A. Bauman

Patricia M. Kunselman

The 25th annual, and last, Connors-Kait-Harrity Memorial Race ended in a dead heat. Working it to the very end Steve Bohan and Todd Witzleben broke the tape together in a spectacular kick to the finish. The tie gave Checkers Michael Heitzenrater a second-place finish. About 900 participated in the final Connors-Kait-Harrity.

5/17 Greg Lavis Whitey's (Waterdon, ON) 15k 1:05:24 7:02

5/25 Sandra Hebeler Buffalo 1/2 Marathon 1/2 Marathon 2:05:41 9:35

On Memorial Day, May 26^th I had the pleasure of participating in the 25^th Bolder Boulder 10K held in - yes, that’s it - Boulder, Colorado! I have very deliberately stated ‘participated in’ rather than just ‘raced’ because it was much more than a race; it was truly an event.

My daughter Lori and her husband Ryan (both serious marathon runners) who currently live just outside of Boulder, have encouraged me to come out to run it for several years; this year I did and it was much beyond what I have experienced in racing.

The event started for me on Sunday the day before the race. Lori and I were at a morning fun run of the Boulder Road Runners and the usual comments by their President, on this occasion, included recognition of approximately 35 coaches who were coaching runners just for the race and some advice by none other than Frank Shorter! He cautioned against running the first mile ( slightly downhill) too fast; I listened! The fun run included a portion of the race course and provided a reminder for me that I am a low altitude flatland runner (Boulder is at an elevation of 1 mile).

Race morning broke cool and uncharacteristically cloudy although the clouds were gone by race time which varied depending the ‘wave’ you were placed in. I was in wave E, # 12 of 90 waves ! ( 90 waves were needed because there were over 48,000 registered runners). The first wave left at 7:00am; mine at 7;15 and I was careful that first mile which went well. From that point on though, there were ups and downs which constituted the most challenging race I’ve ever run. Completing the race was very much in doubt during the 3^rd and 4^th miles (uphill) but I hung on and finished with a better time than anticipated; just under 57 minutes. Not a PR by any means but I was happy to finish.

The finish line was in Folsom Stadium with the stands about one half full. From there we walked through a very large building where they passed out snacks, a nifty nylon lunch type bag, one can of beer and water. That didn’t seem like much but then there was the Expo. where you could fill shopping bags with all sorts of freebies including lots to eat and drink. What a great opportunity for GO-GOO next year!

The city shut down all streets along the route; there were no traffic control problems whatsoever. And the streets were all very wide so I had no course congestion problems.

Runners were on the course until noon - 90 waves worth - when the elite races started.

Elite runners were present from all over the globe including Australia, South Africa, France, England, Japan and, of course, Kenya. The men and women raced separately over a different (easier) course than the rest of us and those races were inspiring to watch.

We received a T shirt and calendar/ guide to the race. Fed Ex provided mobile lockers. There was a ride service, massages, showers, a whole special section in the Sunday paper devoted to the race, numerous newspaper articles, live TV coverage on two different channels. President Bush did not run or attend but sent a letter commending the event’s dedication to health and fitness and for honoring of our fallen military personnel. The starter for each wave was Kenneth Cooper, Bush’s personal physician.

This was a great race; the biggest and best I have ever been in. I recommend it, will run it next year if I can get away, and will provide info. to anyone who wishes to do the same.

The Perfect Weekend

The Experts said it would be cold and rainy all weekend, but thank God, they were all wrong. Marathon weekend May 24^th and 25^th brought out a nice Saturday and a great Sunday. On Saturday, my wife Mary and I went to the Hyatt to register and check into the club’s two hospitality rooms. The rooms were perfect with connecting doors, large bathrooms with showers and a great view. From there it was on to St Anthony of Padua’s to help at the competitor’s pasta dinner. Diane Sardes did an outstanding job organizing the whole thing, and Checkers members turned out in numbers to volunteer when the call for help went out. Everyone leaving said how good the food was and that everything was so organized. After volunteering, it was back to the Hyatt to rest and hang out. Vicki Mitchell stopped by to chat and help organize who would get door keys for the following morning. As I was walking Vic back to her car, Club member Guy George pulled up with three cases of Coors beer and a freezer chest, which he donated for the hospitality rooms( ITS NICE TO HAVE CONNECTIONS). Sunday morning we watched the start of the marathon and relays under beautiful skies. We then walked over to the 10 K relay stop to encourage members and teammates, and then it was off to Nichols for the last leg and my turn to run. As I warmed up around Delaware Park, I had the opportunity to encourage friends and club members who were running the half and full marathon. I waited anxiously with other runners at the 30K marker looking down Colvin for our teammates. Soon my teammate came and I was gone, with many friends and strangers yelling encouragement either by name or by GO CHECKERS along the route. Special note (It was the first time Matt Glynn had to pass me in a race). Back at the Hyatt after the race, Judy Arlington (second overall female) and family along with Vicki were finishing changing and soon the rooms were filled with tired runners looking for a shower and refreshments. As I looked around the crowded room with pictures being taken I realized how much a extended family Checkers has become to me (With way too many sisters). Then it was on to the post race party to exchange stories and collect hardware.

I am sorry I cannot name all the Checkers members who volunteered, ran and yelled encouragement, but THANKS, THANKS, THANKS… Just a quick pat on the back to Sandy, Sibatu, and Kevin for being on my team and making it the Perfect Weekend.

Roger.

Volunteer to help out at track 10 times this season and receive next year’s membership free!!