November 2024 The Strider

group run photo
01 Nov, 2024

T h e   s t r i d e r


KAT ROBINSON & BRIAN GLASSEY FASTEST TO WHITEWATER ! 
Course (w)Records broken @ “Run 4 SNOW !”
Austin Anderson, Spencer Shelberg, & Ivar Skaarseth in top 5 @ Ouray Mtn Run !
But … probably the most amazing running effort these past few weeks, was … RYAN SULLIVAN, 4th over-all @ Leadville 100
THANKS to Conrad Cole, Andy Winnefeld, Megan Sand, and Tom Ela for contributions

October 13:  RUN 2 WHITEWATER – this 18-mile point-to-point event has been conducted for many years now – and eleven stalwart souls (and we assume 22 soles) survived the course, presumably in good stead & fashion.  Fastest(s) was/were BRIAN GLASSEY, 2:08:14 (6 min. off course record) and KAT ROBINSON, 2:36:39 (3rd over-all, 8 min. off record).  Grant Roper was a close 2nd over-all, 2:09:20.  They were followed by …
Ian Rogers, 2:47:51
Donnie Tietsema, 2:53:36
Megan Sand, 2:59:51
Ashley Ahlholm, 4:26:30
Karla Nephew, 4:27:48
Nicole Sturrock, 4:27:50
Kate Avery, 5:00:16
Cory Maas, 5:00:18.

OURAY MOUNTAIN RUN (13 mi.) – September 21:  This is a TOUGH run –we’ve all been to/through/around Ouray – THERE IS/ARE NO FLAT/LEVEL RUNS.  Anyhow, Timmy Parr (age 42, from Gunnison) has won this race several times now – his 1:50:00 was 5.5 minutes faster than runner-up AUSTIN ANDERSON, from GrandJunction (age 29), who had 1:55:34 of, uh, fun.  Two more G J runners were 4th & 5th:  Spencer Shelberg (29), 2:02:10 and Ivar Skaarseth (26), 2:11:59.  Sabrina Stanley (Silverton) was women’s winner, 8th over-all, 2:18:50.  Three more decent finishes from happy valley (well, G V) were Garrett Moehring (18th) and Kyle Stone (Fruita) at 21st and Connor Burke – 30th over-all.

MMS Directors meeting, AUGUST 13:  all 9 directors were present.  Andy reported that the recent Peach-Fest runs (300-some in the 5k, 100 ran the 10k) should NOT allow kids on bikes!  Financially “we” (MMS) are doing well – as usual.  It seems that the MMS does have an all-time low, however, of road-type races we put on (Appleton, Valentine’s, Thanksgiving).  We encourage anybody who might be inclined to create a new road run.  The Valley might appreciate and support a road-Marathon – besides the Monument-RimRock run.
    We spent some time discussing a letter to the Sentinel – which, as far as the Editor understood, lamented the not-infrequent occurrence of more than one running races occurring on the same day and same time.  It was suggested that whoever/whatever organization considering and planning an event contact the MMS so as to try to avoid overlapping runs.  Perhaps one good way to avoid (or lessen the occurrence of) this is for the Sentinel (if that’s the outlet a potential running event is advertising through) also contact the MMS – so as to avoid two races at the same time.  However, during optimal event/running times of the year, this cannot be altogether avoided.  (“Applicable extra note” à as this NL goes to print, Conrad told me that there were THREE races on Saturday (Oct 26) at about the same time!)
    For those of you who wish to participate in our Board-of-Directors gatherings, ask any Director when the next meeting is – (you might be ‘elected’ to the Board – weirder things have happened).

Did you know? The Mesa Monument Striders club has a Gender Inclusion Policy outlining the gender divisions which participants in Striders races can self-select. For the past year, Striders races that have top gender category awards have offered the option to select the following divisions: Men (M), Women (W), Non-Binary (X), and Participant (P). A runner’s self-declared division at registration is accepted at face value. Why such a policy? According to the board-approved policy, its purpose is "to establish rules to encourage and facilitate the participation of transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse runners at Striders events," and has the goal of "ensuring fair and inclusive practices that respect the personal rights and dignity of all entrants while preserving the integrity of competition for awards and records based on division." It is also in alignment with the club's stated purpose of promoting the health and welfare of the community through running and other forms of exercise. The policy in its entirety can be viewed on the club's website. Go to www.mesamonumenstriders.com, hover over About, and click on Gender Inclusion Policy. This policy is reviewed 1-2 times a year, based on the feedback of self-identified transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse members of the club and/or board. Reach out to Megan at [email protected] to provide confidential feedback about this policy, or feel free to chat with Megan in person when you see them at a Striders event. Megan would also love to hear about any additional ideas anyone might have about how to make this club more inclusive and welcoming to all.     

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
 


The 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 &
SHERYL DOUGLAS (former President & still? Keeper of the Keys). 
CONRAD COLE – Treasurer & Purchaser of Stuff.
MEGAN SAND – “Board Member #9”



RUN 4 SNOW, G M N C,  Sept. 28
           Yes, that’s right, “run for snow” put on by the Grand Mesa Nordic Council, on, as the following attests – “pristine fall day” – (approx. 10k)
28 runners and 16 walkers showed up at the (Mesa/Delta) County Line Trailhead on a pristine Fall day for the Run for Snow. No snow in sight after our particular invocation but it will come eventually and we’ll be skiing these same trails. In the meantime, everyone enjoyed the weather and the fun course although some rather briefly. Yes, course records for men and women both were broken, the men’s dramatically so. Whit Blair cruised to an easy win and took over 13 minutes off the previous fast time. Tracy Thelen took over a minute off the previous fast time for women. Austin Anderson was reportedly not too far behind Whit when he missed a turn and added about 5 miles to his run. He would have joined Chris and Jake who also beat the previous fast time. Steve Defeyter gets extra kudos for sweeping the course and picking up flags. Ela Family Farms provided apples and pears for door prizes. A big thanks to our volunteers who make it all happen!
1. Whit Blair, 35:21 (yes, course wreckord by 13 minutes)
2. Chris Sovacool, 45:05
3. Jake Gottschalk, 47:13
4. TRACY THELEN, 49:08, Tracy was also Master’s(mismasters?) winner
5. Cody Esbenshade, 49:29
Molly Helgerson was 2nd woman, 59:02 & Sue Lee (56 yrs young) was 3rd, 59:49.
2nd “master” over-all was Jeremy Hart, 55:25 and both John Unger and Ernie Langelier were mega-master’s fastest(s) – John is 67 (with 63:34) and Ernie (72) had 64:23 of fun.

C A L E N D A R
(phone #s, if any, are 970-area unless otherwise noted)
Nov 2, Saturday, 10 a.m.:  Pear Park Panda-Waddle 5k, Long’s Park, Nick: (970) 250-0786
Nov. 2 – 3:  MOAB TRAIL MARATHON, HALF-M, 5k
Nov. 3:  Las Vegas Marathon, Half-, 5k
November 3, Sunday, 7:30 a.m.  RIMROCK MARATHON – yes, through the entire Colorado National Monument ~ 
Half-Marathon starts @ 9 a.m.
Nov. 9:  KESSEL ULTRA RUNS – choose between 4 different distances from 10-mile up to 50-mile – FRUITA ! 
Nov. 16, Saturday, 10 a.m.:  Mustache5kRun w/HandleBar Tap House grandvalleybrewruns.com/handlebar-tap-house 
Nov 23, Sat., 10:30 a.m. STRIDER “TOM TURKEY” 6-mile Prediction Run.  2932 B Road (G.J., of course) – Larry (970) 270-0774.  This unique event has the distinction of awarding (worthwhile) prizes not necessarily to the fastest, but to those who come in the closest to their pre-run predictions – TURKEYS !  This is one event you WANT to be a turkey!
           Ed. Note:  this event is among the first I participated in after moving to G J in 1978.
Nov 28, Thursday, 9:30 a.m.  23rd Annual (G.J.) Fireman’s Turkey Trot 5k, Lincoln Park – (970) 255-8370.
Dec 7, 10AM   Moab Locals 10K  Moab Inexpensive! ($35 until Nov. 1, then $5 more).  Mostly downhill course from GolfCourse to M. Hospital.
 

Group Runs
Group training run every Monday, 6 PM
We will switch to “winter mode” in November. 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   
Our last trail run will be Thursday Oct. 31. Yes, Halloween! -- Tabeguache Trailhead on Monument Road  After this last Tabeguache run the following Thursday we’ll 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!

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:
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]
 

Strider Spotlight:  As Striders and as runners, we’re all a bit quirky in our different ways. Some of us are more outgoing and will chat the ear off of anyone willing to run near us, and others of us change up our pace in group runs just so we can run in solitude. For those of us who are a little less chatty but would still like to get to know other Striders members, we’ve created the Strider Spotlight. I will randomly corner a member at Striders events to ask them questions related to running. Semi-kidding about the cornering - participation is entirely optional! The interview questions originally included “What’s your most embarrassing running story?” but I decided we don’t need to publish those stories in print and instead I can keep them for potential blackmail. Feel free to let me know if you’d like to volunteer to be highlighted in a future Strider Spotlight!
-Megan

Race Results -

August 24   Mary's Loop Trail Race 9-Mile
The course is actually 8.6 miles – still, 17 runners completed the scenic loop, with MEGAN SANDS the fastest in 1:09:31.  Next in was Nicholas Andrews (46 yrs. young) at 1:18:54. 
3.  Mike Magill-Collins (44), 1:19:38  4. Dave Dillahunt (65!), 1:23:13   6. Karen Ganns (37), 1:35:04
https://mesamonumentstriders.com/raceresults/marys-loop-8-mile-2024 

OCTOBER 5:  WEST ELK CHALLENGE (point-to-point) MARATHON
One-hundred&25 intrepid runners finished this year’s “Challenge” – which started at Crawford Reservoir and finished in Paonia – most the course was upper-altitude wilderness forest.  Stuart Kramer (age 38) from Paonia was fastest – 3:33:27 – followed up by runner-up (& women’s fastest) Kaley Holyfield (27), from Laramie in 4:02:25.  Brian Barkhardt (37, Hotchkiss) was next in 4:22:56.  Next (4th) was women’s runner-up Careth Arnold (34), from Paonia in 4:24:35.  Master’s fastest was 7th-place Jason Kassoff (51), 4:33:26.  Another good age-group effort was done by Andrea Bauer (62, Carbondale) – 15th with 4:59:53.
           Local (Grand Junction) finishers included Maddy Watkins, 5:00:47 and Bronwyn Steves, 5:08:00 who were 6th & 7th women.  Bruce Sharp was 23rd and Justine Salganik was 48th.

Visit https://thenatureconnection.net/west-elk-challenge-trail-marathon/   for interactive map, and more!

BOO run w/Grand Valley Brew Runs  
October 19th at Edgewater Brewery was the first … of 3?  Never-the-less you might want to check in/on this series – not only do these events involve, well, beer, but are fund-raisers for GIRLS ON THE RUN. 

Local Robb Reece and his son Zenon somewhat recently competed in the World Cross Duathlon Championship in Australia. Zenon placed 3rd in the 18-19 group and Robb won the 60-64s. World Champion!

Strider Ryan Sullivan was 4th overall at the Leadville Trail 100. Bravo! Max Robinson accomplished this major feat also and Sean Cotter ran a long ways in a strong effort.  Yes, on August 17, Mr. Sullivan ran for 17 hours and 21+ minutes, out-running 400 other finishers in this year’s Leadville 100.  The editor is not exactly “up to date” on what’s tough, running-wise (no, NOT running-stupid) in Colorawdough but the Leadville event has got to be the toughest long-distance running circumstance one could participate in our state nowadaze.  (The editor participated in, but did not finish, the “World Championship” Pack-Burro Race from Alma to Leadville quite a few years ago).

Palisade Peach Run - Still in the Race
[A history of one of our area’s longest-running running races, submitted by (Dr.) Andy Winnefield]
First, a disclaimer:  This article is written based on my memory, which like all human memories, can be flawed at times.  If I have an incorrect fact or wrong year, it is not intentional!
           For years I have said I was going to write an article on the history of this race.  Well, this is the year!  I don't pretend to know the entire history of the race, and this will only be my history in the race.
           My history in this race starts in 2007.   The race started and ended at Taylor Elementary School.  I believe it was a 5K.  The next couple years it was there as well.  Maybe it was 4 miles a few times? I also remember there being about 50 runners or so.  One year it was particularly hot and there was only purchased 1, 8 pack of water for all the runners.  I remember being the 9th runner needing water that year.  I also remember a map of the United States painted on the playground at the school.  It was missing the state of Delaware.  The following year, Delaware was still not on the map.  Then the next year, there was no longer a map, or the route did not go near it.  The race became more popular, and I think in 2010, it was part of the Colorado Road Race Series.  (Not sure if they still do this, but most of the events were on the Front Range and you could score points by placing near the front.  At the end of the year, prizes were given based on accumulated points.)  Anyway, unfortunately that year, the lead runners did not know where to go down at the boat ramp and many ran the wrong way.  Eventually, someone got down there to direct traffic, but it was too late.  Since many people ran different routes, it was difficult to say who should win the awards.  Also, the race was subsequently voided by the Colorado Road Race Series.   After this, the race had some tough years and suffered from lack of organization sometimes.  One year everyone seemed to go different ways and followed their GPS out 1.55 miles and then ran back.
           In 2017 my wife got involved and took over the race.  The Mt. Garfield Middle School was in need of books, and it was renamed "Book it for Learning."   The race started and ended on the Riverfront Trail. The following year, Mad Racing took over the event and changed it into a cross-country course that started and ended in Riverbend Park.  There was also a 10K option.  They also managed the race 2018 and 2019.
           In 2020 the race was cancelled due to COVID.
           In 2021 the Grand Junction Sports Commission took over the race and is still doing so today.   I believe it is better organized than it ever has been!
           This year there was a 5K and 10K option and the race started and finished near Veterans Park.I have lived in Palisade since 2016 and have run every race since that time.
           Also, I seem to get slower every year!    Now, averaging a 10:30 mile, I used to have a chance in my age group. Recently, I attended a 35-year high school graduation reunion.   Among the people there was a man I ran with in high school for 4 years on the cross-country and track teams.  He was always much faster than me!  He told me a few years ago, he had to have ankle surgery and can no longer run, but he is still doing marathons, by walking at about 15 minutes a mile!
           Truely amazing!  He says he has to find races without time limits.
           So, I remember a sign I once saw that said, "The race goes not to the swift, but to those who keep running."


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Mesa Monument Striders
PO Box 3685
Grand Junction, CO 81502-3685