The M M Strider February 2025 Edition
ANNUAL TREASURER’S FINANCIAL REPORT!
Almost 360 runners (some walkers) @ Fruita “SweetHeart” RACES!
THANKS to Gerhard (@ Foot Support Group), Megan Sand, Larry Ingram, Conrad Cole, and
Tom Ela for contributions
MMS Directors meeting, October 29: all 9 directors were present.
Conrad brought up a point from the RRCA (Road-Runners-Club of America) – of which
we are a chapter or somehow a part of – which states that all member groups “have to have
elections” (for Board/Officers/etc.). We will discuss this further in the upcoming meeting.
Hmmm … the editor has maintained for quite a while that the MMS is “an autonomous
collective.” Oh well, quasi-official-dom probably is soon uppawn uss ~
Specifically, RRCA Article IV (Membership), Section B.1.b states: Nonprofit Running
Club Members must be recognized as a nonprofit through the RRCA exemption with the IRS.
1. Nonprofit running club members must have a set of governing bylaws and an
independent board of directors with a minimum of three (3) board members who are elected
every two years, and they must provide a report of financial operations to its membership
annually. (Well: GOOD JOB CONRAD – the financial stuff, at least, has been in competent
hands).
There is a possibility in the (near?) future to have an MMS Annual Dinner. The MMS
had an annual “banquet” for several years some time back – usually coinciding with the annual
Monument 37k (later becoming the RimRock Marathon). & … we often had a semi-famous
guest-speaker! I will try to remember sitting at the same banquet table with Don Kardong until
my me(s)mory diminishes further … (he was 4th in the 1976 Olympix marathon, and his friends
gave him the unofficial 4th-place “medal”, made of wood, for just missing the podium). My
spouse looked around the room and asked “who is the guest speaker?” Don, sitting next to
her, dressed very casually in a faded jean jacket and holes-in-his-tee-shirt, spread his hands
like “I have no idea” when she looked directly at him. We had a good laugh later on …
The subject of the MMS considering a Code-of-Conduct was broached. The RRCA
strongly recommends all member clubs have a (formal) Code of Conduct. Former member
(maybe still?) ROBB REECE & his son did quite well in a recent world-championship duathlon.
For submissions for next newsletter: Email articles to [email protected]
Doesn’t have to be a ‘submission’ – as the editor should be told of O-missions, etc.
Any out-of-area (weird) races/events members have participated in? If not emailing, send via
‘regular’ mail to MMS, c/o Betunada, 230 Sunset Hills, Grand Jct., CO 81503
M M S Directors are:
KARLA NEPHEW -- President (& Jaguar-Timing-System).
ANDY WINNEFELD – Vice-President (& frequent medical insight).
TOM ELA – Membership (among many other things). ROSCO BETUNADA – Secretary, NL.
LARRY INGRAM -- Calendar, Race Director Consultant. MARTIN WIESIOLEK -- Web Site &.
CONRAD COLE – Treasurer & Purchaser of Stuff. *MEGAN SAND – “Board Member #9”
*Megan’s title should change to #8, due to recent retirement of another director.
C A L E N D A R
(phone #s, if any, are 970-area unless otherwise noted)
MARCH 13 *Thursday 6:00pm PI DAY RUN, 3.14 Mi. trail, Lunch
Loop Karla 970-279-3282
Saturday March 15 9:15am CANYONLANDS HALF MARATHON & 5 MI,
www.madmoosevents.com
March 16 Sunday 10AM MESA MELTDOWN 20/5K CC Ski www.gmnc.org
22 Saturday 6 a.m. Behind-The-Rocks Ultra, Moab www.madmooseevents.com
APRIL
5 *Saturday 8:30am WIDOWMAKER app. 7 & 11mi. Trail run, start at
Trail head 3 mi up Little Park Road. 970-279-3282
5 Saturday 9:00am DIALYSIS DASH 5K Las Colonias Park GJ
The 2nd annual Run Up For Air Moab is on for April 5, 2025, starting 8:00 AM.
https://runsignup.com/Race/UT/Moab/RunningUpForAirMoab
Run or hike up and down a beautiful, iconic trail in Moab, UT! See how many laps you can do
in 3, 6, or 12 hours.
6 Sunday ELEVATE KIDS.org 2.5/5/10K Las Colonias, GJ
11 - 13 Fri-Sun DESERT RATS TRAIL RUNNING FESTIVAL 10K, Half, Marathon, 50
Mi. FRUITA www.geminiadventures.com
12 Saturday 8:ooam AMASA RUN, TRAIL 25,15,10.5K. Moab
www.madmooseevents.com
23 Wednesday 5:30pm LINCOLN PARK KIDS TRACK MEET #1, Parks/Rec 254-FUNN
26 Saturday 7:00am SALT LAKE CITY MARATHON(.com) Half, 5K
26 Saturday 6:00am THELMA & LOUISE HALF MARATHON, and other distances
(15k, marathon, & more) www.madmoosevents.com
May 10, Saturday, 4 p.m. COLTERRIS WINE RUN 5K. This new event will be at Colterris
Winery, 3907 N. River Rd, in Palisade https:wine5k.com/Colterris
By the time the membership receives this, at least two “Valentine-themed” events will have
occurred: the Fruita “Sweetheart” and the “Valentine’s Massacre.”
VALENTINE’S MASSACRE BEVERAGE PREDICTION 3 MILE RACE
Saturday, February 15, 2025 Cloudy, 30s, Damp, Calm
On a similar day in 1929 “Big Al’s” South Side Gang mowed down 7 members of “Bugsy’s” North
Side Gang in Chicago.
On Saturday 9 members of the weather mob showed up near site of the “Ole Black Bridge” over
the Gunnison at the bottom of Little Park Road to “attack” the 3 mile, hilly loop around Heather
Ridge attempting to claim beverages with their best time predictions, not bullets. They included
two CMU young men who found the run on-line while looking for a cheap fun run, but they didn’t catch the beverage part of the entry “fee” and brought canned food instead. This, I believe, was a first-ever and we all had a good laugh about drinking canned beans.
Long time participants, the Steels, brought their “A game” as usual with Suzie’s 26:00 leading
the finish parade, breaking Liz Norris’s 65-69 age group 32:29 record, her :50 sec. off was only
bettered by husband Marshall’s :48 sec. pre-dict and together they won the Couples’ group.
They just edged out the CMU guys by 15 sec. And JJ Williamson (56 sec.) and Carson Junk (57
sec.) were also 4th and 5th closest-overall. (NOTE, Suzie and Marshall own the best-ever
combined pre-dict at :01 sec. In 2013. )
Conrad Cole, running by himself for the first time since proposing to his wife-to-be on the course
in 1998 was 3rd best predictor at :55 sec. off. Wife, Kim, wasn’t able to accompany Conrad due
to injury so was great finish help along with injured Bob Thome.
GOOD FUN, GOOD SOCIALIZING, AND THE WEATHER COOPERATED.
1. Marshall Steel 64 27:12 - 48
2. Suzie Steel 65 26:00 - :50
3, Conrad Cole 74 44:55 - :55
4. JJ Williamson 23 27:04 - :56
5, Carson Junk 26 27:03 - :57
6. Ernie Langelier 72 28:55 +1:25
7. D Plunkett 60 35:01 -1:59
8, Scott Hollmier 70 29:43 -3:17
9, Sheryl Douglas 74 39:00 -5:00
--+-- * --+--
The Fruita event (“Fruita SweetHeart” runs) was a bit more well-attended in that there were
about 360 participants (but, ya’ know whut, probably not quite the charisma nor functitude of
the “Massacre”) ~
Feb. 8 –There were 2 separate races, so …
10k: about 100 runners participated in this – fastest women were (1) Jennis Gillespie
(age 29) in 43:06. 2. Keesha Matz (28), 43:49. 3. Kari Hemming (35), 43:57. Of note was
6th-place Deborah Anderson (47:48) – first ‘master’ at age 42. She was closely followed by
Lindsay Stansfield (43) with 48:51. 65-years-young Suzie Steel was 12th over-all, 52:07 and
Jeannie Grooms (a bit “more seasoned” than Suzi) 17th lady with 56:49.
Men: led by Whit Blair (26), 33:03. 2. James Roche (37), 37:07 3. Cody Hunt (31),
38:56 4. Morgan Murri (60 !), 41:10
80 men (and boys) ran the 5k, and more-than-double that number of women also were
in the race. WOMEN: Hailey Antil (21) was fastest – 23:43. 2. Andrea Clement (33), 24:29
3. Gretchen Gardner (14), 24:57 and notably 6. Lily Kokh (50) was undisputed master’s
fastest – 25:12.
5k men: 1. Seth Mewhinnery (27), 22:28 2. Brad Samuels (32), 22:41 3. Jace
Hartlerode (12), 22:47. Master’s fastest was 4th-place Joel Kincaid (56), 23:03.
Group training run every Monday, 6 PM
Monday continues to have a "no drop" group that will ensure you don't have to run alone. Meet
at Basecamp Provisions on Mulberry St, downtown Fruita. We run in all conditions. Like the
Thursday night group, this is casual and all abilities are welcome with various distances to
choose from. Tom 970-773-3124
Group training run every Thursday, 6 PM
Meet at Handlebar at the corner of Broadway and Monument Rd. That will give us a warm
place to gather before and after and a hard surface to run on in all conditions. 6PM as always.
Bring a headlamp!
For more info, pictures and posts: www.mesamonumentstriders.com/
www.facebook.com/pages/Mesa-Monument-Striders/282653486288
Messages or to get on or off the list: Tom Ela [email protected]
MORE running websites: sjmr.club ( SJMR ) San Juan Mountain Runners, 631 S. 2nd
Street, Montrose, CO 81401
West Colorado GIRLS ON THE RUN: gotrwesterncolorado.org
Steamboat Springs: www.runningseries.com – this site should show all you need to
know about most (or all!) the Steamboat-area races. Get on their e-mailing list!
rrca.org (road runners clubs of america) and colorado runner:
www.coloradorunnermag.com
Support the underwriters / sponsors of the MESA-MONUMENT STRIDERS:
The following: ALPINE AUTO-HAUS, the FOOT SUPPORT GROUP, ZEALIOS,
WEBCREATE.COM, Dr. Andy Mohler -- family practice, and Dr. Andrew Winnefeld (also family
practice), have assisted in keeping membership costs lower than they could be. And: they
support running in the Grand Valley (& elsewhere). Support them if you can!
Andrew Winnefeld, MD, Family Health West Primary Care
401 Kokopelli Drive, Unit 1, Fruita, CO 81521 (970) 858-9894
ALPINE AUTO-HAUS, 539 BOGART LANE – (970) 248-8004
Consider this auto-repair/servicing shop – especially for your Audi or BMW or VW or MINI ~
FOOT SUPPORT GROUP Foot/gait/orthotics/bracing/modification specialists
“European Craftsmanship – Biomechanical Design” 3212 F Road, Clifton, CO 81520
888-242-3881 or, in the 970 area code: 434-2727
Dr. Andy Mohler, family practitioner – with the Primary Care Partners PC, 3150 N. 12th (G.J.,
81506), 245-1220
WEBCREATE.COM – just as it appears: need help with your website?
[email protected]
Appleton Freezer. As one of the Strider’s longest running established races, there's a lot of history
out on that course. Brian Glassey and Olivia Terwilliger took their places in the history book as this
year's winners. Full results are here:
https://mesamonumentstriders.com/raceresults/appleton-freezer-2025
STRIDER “TOM” TURKEY 6 MILE PREDICTION RUN
Saturday, November 23, 2024
NO. NAME TIME +or-
*1. James Roche 34:39 + :03 *2. Chuck Mattson 55:40 - :20
*3. Deb Hill 66:23 + :23 *4. Daniel Baker 36:18 - :42
*5. Kristi Siman 47:22 - :49 *6. Scott Vig 44:57 + :57
7. Corey Mull 57:52 -1:08 8. Bryan Baroffio 47:01 -1:11
9. Sara Friedman 53:38 -1:22 10. Shalie Dahar 69:06 +2:06
11. Richard Leclercq 69:08 +2:08 12. Rochelle Morrison 68:40 -2:20
13. Sheryl Douglas 80:23 -2:25 14. Marshall Steel 53:46 -:2:44
15. Lisa Dillahunt 61:32 -3:28 16. Megan Sand 53:46 -15:33
*win turkeys
Beautiful fall day on Orchard Mesa without the usual east wind off the Mesa. The dirt part of
the course was in great shape after drying out from the rain/snow storms.
To work on getting all runners to finish close together and get the awards determined and
all on their way to enjoy their weekend we did two starts. Those figuring a race pace over 10
min/mi. started 10 minutes earlier than those under 10 min/mi. Worked well.
Last year’s predicts were unusually way off with none under a minute. This years group
was “tough” with all six turkeys going to under 60 second predicts. James Roche (37) did it
best, running the fastest time in a fine 34:39 and was only :03 seconds over his predict to win
the big Butterball. Plus he added his name to the leading prediction race lists. Daniel baker
(27) came down from Delta and chased James to come in 2nd in 36:18 to claim the 4th turkey.
Deb Hill running in the first wave made good on her guess by being :23 seconds off for turkey
#3. The fastest lady was Kristi Siman (44) with a good 47:22 and her :49 under her predict
claimed turkey #5.
Good runs and socializing by all. Also great help from the injury crew of Conrad Cole
and Bob Thome, Thanks.
ADDENDUM to Dr. Andy Winnefeld’s “STILL IN THE RACE”
The previous STRIDER edition, (Oct./Nov.) featured an article submitted by Dr. Andy W.
He wrote his version of the history of the Palisade Peach Run. We haven’t put out a newsletter
since then, so the following “Addendum” to Andy’s article was submitted by Gerhard (with Foot
Support Group, a MMS underwriter/sponsor) --
As we follow our ambitions to keep running, time is not necessarily our enemy nor
nemesis, as Andy justly quotes: “The race goes not to the swift, but to those who keep running.”
Our bodies and minds are an inseparable construct, thus requiring a balance be maintained to
keep both entities happy and healthy. How many of us have experienced the “Today I MUST
run” in our minds, even when our bodies were saying: MAYBE. With time both in speed and
years, we can restore and maintain this balance: Is it to “win” this race, or still be running 20
years from now? Give yourselves the advice you would give a fellow runner asking the same
question.
Happy, Healthy, Mindful Running ~ Gerhard
Strider Spotlight
Hey Striders! I slacked on Strider Spotlight interviews in the last newsletter, but have a couple
fresh ones this time around. Thanks to Corey and Sari for their patience in getting their stories
out! As mentioned previously, if you’d like to volunteer to be highlighted in a future Strider
Spotlight just let me know. - Megan
Corey Maas (she/her)
What is your favorite local race? Silverton Kendall Mountain Run
What can you be found doing when you’re not running? Yoga
What is your go-to running food (before, during, and/or after a run or race)?
During a run: apples. Sometimes I’ll just bring a whole apple in my pack. They’re just crunchy,
delicious, sweet, and full of sugar.
What is your favorite local trail/route to run? It’s a secret!
What is your dream race (real or imagined)?
There used to be a trail run on Klondike Bluffs Trail in Moab, and they don’t have that race
anymore. Maybe a 20 mile race in January when it’s a little bit colder, but still desert running.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of?
Having rheumatoid arthritis and being able to stick with running for all these years.
What is your favorite thing about being a Mesa Monument Striders member?
All of the wonderful friends that I’ve made and kept over the years. All of my favorite people are
Striders.
*Side note: Over the years, Corey has contributed tons of time and energy to the Striders in
various ways such as offering a no-drop option at the Monday group runs in Fruita, and
previously helping to coordinate Striders trail work days. Thanks for your contributions to the
club, Corey!!
Sari Dennis (she/her)
What is your favorite local race?
Because I just moved here in May, the only local race I’ve done so far is the Just Peachy 5k. I
liked getting the peaches at the end, and I thought the course was well organized.
What can you be found doing when you’re not running?
I like going out to eat, going to new places. I really like hiking and using the Grand Junction
hiking app where you can redeem points (the Grand Junction Outdoor Adventure Pass can be
accessed here: https://www.visitgrandjunction.com/outdoor-pass/). I also really like going
camping.
What is your go-to running food (before, during, and/or after a run or race)?
If it’s a morning run, I always have a banana and PowerAid before the run. After the run, I really
like rice, vegetables, and tofu.
What is your favorite local trail/route to run?
Pretty much all the trails along the Colorado River.
What is your dream race (real or imagined)?
One of the Disney races, those have always seemed really cool to me.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of?
Two things: one would be running the Hoover Dam Marathon back in 2019 - that was extremely
rewarding and exciting to do. And graduating from university - I’m really proud of myself for that.
What is your favorite thing about being a Mesa Monument Striders member?
The community that it brings - when I moved here I didn’t know anyone besides my uncle who
lives in Delta. It was hard moving aways from all of our friends and our life back in Utah. Joining
this group has helped me make a ton of friends which has made a huge impact on my husband’s
and my experience moving out here and it’s been really great.