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Home

• Heart & Sole Road Race
• 1995 GBTC Relays
• Running Shorts ... a few words from the editor
• President's Column ... Mike Turmala
• Welcome New Members
• Cross Country
• Coach's Profile ... Women's Team
• Track & Field Report
• Track & Field Gran Prix
• 36th Yankee Homecoming 10M/5K
• Race Results
• Nancy Clark
• Cross Country Schedule
• Publication Banner

Note: This www version of the Wingfoot Express is the result of running the printed version through a scanner, an ocr program, a spelling checker, a little html hacking, and a little reordering. I'm certain that many typos remain. --Mark Tuttle

Heart & Sole Road Race

On Thursday, August 3, we held our fifth annual Heart & Sole Road Race at the Sheraton Needham Hotel. This year we shortened the race from 5 miles to 5 kilometers and moved the race from the traditional fall Sunday date to a summer date on a Thursday night. This was done in the hope of gaining more participants in the event. By all accounts we made the right decision. In spite of an early evening rainstorm we had 100 more participants than last year.

The race was delayed 15 minutes as we allowed some additional time for runners traveling on Route 128 to arrive at the hotel. There was a water main break at Highland Avenue just two days before the race, and traffic was snarled as crews tried to repair the damage. The race went off promptly at 6:15 P.M., and wound through the industrial park surrounding the Sheraton. The mile splits were accurate, and no complaints were heard on this usually volatile issue with runners! A short 15 minutes later the first runners started making their way up the infamous hill back up to the finish line in front of the Sheraton. Some runners literally sprinted up the hill while others had a little more difficulty with it. By 7:45 everyone had finished, and we had our awards ceremony and post race party in the ballroom. The menu featured hamburgers and hot dogs along with a variety of thirst quenching beverages. Thanks to Dick Nickerson for controlling and monitoring the beverage dispensing area!

From a financial standpoint the race was also a success, with the additional participants and by controlling costs, we were able to generate a profit of approximately $250, versus a loss last year of approximately $800. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many club members who took the time to volunteer at the race. It was through your hard work and dedication that we made the race a success. I'm looking forward to next year's race!

1995 GBTC Relays

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (June 7, 1995) - Even though the raindrops held off, the records continued to fall at the 11th annual GBTC Relays. Five meet records fell at the June 7 event at MIT's Steinbrenner Stadium. The meet also was the title event for the first USATF/GBTC Wednesday Night Challenge.

The men's 400 meter mark continued to drop as GBTCer Kevin Russell crossed the line in 49.1, eclipsing Jim Robinson's 1992 record by 0.3 seconds. Kenneth Bakstran of Westfield State College was second in an identical 49.1 while Robinson was third in 51.3.

One of the meet's oldest remaining records fell when Reebok's Kathy Franey shattered the 1989 women's mile mark by 32 seconds with her 4:34.2 posting. She was followed by Christine Pfitzinger of New Balance in 4:48.9.

Nationally ranked 800-meter runner Alisa Hill of Footlocker AC took first in a meet-record 2:01.0, nipping Franey's 1994 record by 1.5 seconds.

A men's relay team from Westfield State College lowered the 4 x 400 record to 3:23.7. Kashea Jones of Boston Charger TC set a new record in the women's 100 with her 12.1 clocking.

Not to be outdone, some GBTCers turned in some stellar performances.

Bill Newsham was second in the mile in 4:28.9, just 6.4 seconds behind winner Gerard Ostheimer of Waltham TC. Tom Cotter was eighth in 4:54.0, Ron Spangler was 10th in 5:00.2, Bruce Bond was 15th in 5:04.2 and Charles Ferguson was 18th in 5:11.9.

In the women's mile, Jennifer Weaver placed 5th in 5:19.4 and Julie Donahoe was sixth in 5:33.4. In the men's 400, Jim Robinson was third in 51.3 and Jon Berit was 15th in 1:05.l. Kevin Russell, who won the 400 in a meet record, was third in 100 in 11.6.

In the 2 mile, Jim St. Pierre was eighth in 10:08.7 and Gratten Baldwin was one place back in 10:18.3. Other 2-milers were Chris Hussey in 12th (10:32.3), Doug Burdi in 13th (10:35.6), Hugo Cortes in 15th (10:54.5) and Charles Ferguson in 19th (11:13.0).

Other GBTC performances included Wendy Newsham's 10th place finish in the 400 (1:15.8), Sandy Miller's fifth place in the 800 (2:48.4) and Jim O'Briens 15th in the 200 (27.9). In the men's 800, Dave Sasek was 14th in 2:17.6 and Jon Berit was 18th in 2:26.7.

In the men's 4 x 400 relay, the GBTC "A" team was second in 3:46.6 with the "B" team fourth in 4:22.9.

Three GBTCers were among the eight winners in the inaugural USATF/GBTC Wednesday Night Challenge. Kevin Russell tied Conroy White in the 100 and Bill Newsham and Julie Donohoe were winners of the men's and women's miles, respectively.

The Wednesday Night Challenge was a mini grand Prix that involved the four USATF Mini Meets in May and the GBTC Relays as the title event in June. Athletes competed in the 100, 800, mile and long jump.

More than 125 athletes competed in the 1995 GBTC Relays, down slightly from the high of about 150 the previous year.

The one casualty at the meet was the meet director himself. Yours truly hobbled back and forth across the track on a severely sprained ankle suffered 30 minutes before post time.

A hearty thanks to all the many volunteers -- especially Tom Richardson and Dave Hanafin for their computer expertise and Michael "Mr. Everything" Turmala for use of his van and securing prizes from Marathon Sports. Thanks also goes to Steve Vaitones of USA Track & Field for scoring the Wednesday Night Challenge and helping officiate at the meet. For everyone else, if I tried to make a list I'd probably leave somebody off - and I'd feel terrible about it.

Next year's meet is tentatively set for Wednesday, June 5, 1996. See you there.

Running Shorts ... a few words from the editor

With our growing membership, it can become difficult to keep track of everyone. We have included the GBTC membership roster in this edition of the Wingfoot Express for all present GBTC club members. Remember, this is only to be used for track club business.

Soon, we will have crisp fall air. There is a lot of excitement about the cross-country season, with both the women and the men preparing for competition. Tom Derderian's strength program with repeat miles should provide a great base for winding through trails and attacking hills. Bill Durette is planning his program for the women to repeat as the USATF Grand Prix champions. Perhaps we will even see some of our sprinters try the shorter races. This kind of training is excellent for the speed burners to build their base for the indoor season, and Jon Berit is having the sprinters return to practice following a break from the outdoor T&F season. Time is flying. Enjoy the heat while we have it.

An interview with Billy Mills in the newsletter, "Running Strong for American Indian Youth", that I received as part of a charity's solicitation -- Q. Before you won the 10,000m, you were relatively unknown, even in the US Track Circles. Your victory was call-led one of the greatest upsets in Olympic History. How did it feel to run that race, when only a few people believed that you could win? Billy: At the race's halfway point I was within I second of my best 3-mile time, but I was in 4th place. That was a small problem. I had 3 miles to go. That was a big problem.... Q. In light of your victory, what do you have to say to others who strive to reach their goals? Billy: The ultimate goal of competition, is not for me to compete against you, but for us to reach within and compete against ourselves.

If you have not run Lake Winnipesaukee Relays, you should. The Relays consists of 8 legs covering the 66-mile distance around the lake. No shortcuts across the Lake! Half the fun is planning and implementing the logistics to get your team members to the hand-off location in time. It should be easy, but many arc up late the night before the race trying to calculate the exchange times. Please call Dick Nickerson for information. The GBTC Women's Masters team owns the course!

We are planning to hold the annual membership meeting in late October. At that meeting, the Board of Directors is selected for the ensuing year. For those of you who would like to get involved with the business side of the club, consider running for the Board. If you would like to get a better understanding regarding the activities and responsibilities of the board, feel free to ask any present or past member. New people bring new ideas and energy.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this and the previous edition of the Wingfoot Express: Jon Berit, Sandra Chinoporos, Nancy Clark, Lisa Conboy, Tom Derderian, Bill Durette, Karl Hoyt, Frank Monkiewicz, Jim Rattray, Mike Turmala, Jennifer Weaver. To those submitting articles for the next edition, please get information to me by the 24th of October. Ideally, I would like to receive information on a DOS-formatted disk, in nearly any word processor language. Disks can be returned.

Welcome New Members

• Nancy Horgan
• Kevin Russell
• Toney Mullhollan
• Dawn Pelton
• Charrissa Lin
• Grattan Baldwin
• Charles Ferguson
• Jim O'Leary
• Carles Serra-Pages
• John Bowser
• David Robbins
• Bill Mason
• David Sullivan

President's Column ... Mike Turmala

August 20, 1995 - As I am writing this column during a beautiful weekend at the Falmouth Road Race, many things come to mind regarding our club. First of all, I would like to thank all of our club members that came out to volunteer at the Chemical Bank Corporate Challenge on July 26. We had 29 people working at the Kenmore Square turnaround point, and we earned $870 for our efforts. Secondly, I would also like to thank all of our members that volunteered at the Heart & Sole Road Race on August 3. Due to their efforts, this race was a tremendous success! Our next volunteer effort will be on Monday, October 9, at the Tufts 1OK Race for women. Please let me or any other GBTC board member know if you have the time to help out.

As many of you are aware, we have moved our regularly scheduled track workouts to Tuesday nights at 7:00 PM., at the MIT track. We realize that some of our club members are not able to attend these workouts due to scheduling conflicts, and we are addressing this issue. We have had ongoing discussions with our coaches, and we are planning to add a second track workout to our weekly schedule, on Thursday evenings, at 7:00, also at the MIT track. Hopefully, this will allow those of you that are unable to attend the Tuesday workouts another opportunity to get a track workout in. This will also allow others the opportunity to get in two quality track workouts per week, along with racing on the weekend. The Thursday workouts should begin the first Thursday after Labor Day, which will be September 7.

The fall racing season is upon us, and our coaches are preparing a fall cross country schedule. We anticipate having strong teams for both men and women. Please contact any of our coaches for details on this program, and a schedule of meets.

We also realize that many of you are training for a fall marathon in order to qualify for Boston, 1996. Dave Emery has volunteered to coordinate the long run schedule, and you can reach him at (508) 623-1075 DAYTIME, or (617) 894-1400 NIGHTS and WEEKENDS. Thanks to Dave for stepping forward on this!

In closing, I would like to wish all of you the best in your training and racing this fall and I'll see you at the track and at the races!

Cross Country

You won't have to travel to Moosebutt, Minnesota this year to run in the national USATF Cross Country Championships, because they are going to be in our own backyard, Franklin Park, on December 3rd. Which, of course, means you definitely should run some races beforehand to get yourself into the cross country groove.

The fact is that the cross country season in Boston is one of the best racing schedules on the local running calendar. 'Mere arc plenty of high quality races with consistently good competition throughout the season. Such races as the Eurostyle 3x3K Relay, the Boston Mayor's Cup and USATF NE Cross Country Championships arc all exceptional events. Team competition is an added dimension that further enlivens the races and heightens your racing experience. Translated that means: no matter how much you feel like dropping out you can't, because there arc five or six team mates depending on you to finish.

Talking about competition; do the members of the men's team know that the women's team has won the USATF Grand Prix team challenge for the past two years? It took a lot of hard work and commitment to win and by the end of the season you could tell the women were both glad they won and glad it was over. This year we will be back with some new faces and most of the team members who competed last year.

The Grand Prix is a series of five races, the first being held on September 24th sponsored by Yankee Runner Magazine and the last race, the NE Championships being held on November 12th. Certainly coach Tom will be looking for dazzling,individual and team performances from the men's side. All who were at the club's annual meeting will recall the diagram Tom drew on the board outlining his plan for GBTC domination of the local running scene. Undoubtedly, his objectives have not changed unless they have been enlarged to include world domination.

In any event, most agree cross country has the best races and is the most fun. Many people on the team tell me how they look forward to the upcoming season. We encourage everyone to give cross country a try. We will have race entries available at practice and be putting teams together, so just let us know you want to compete, before we ask. Look for the race calendar in this newsletter, and remember; "You not only have to run hard up the hills but you have to run hard down them."

Coach's Profile ... Women's Team

Elaine Christy has one of those interesting runner's personalities that you come across every once in a while, which is: quiet, determined and very competitive. Traits that have allowed Elaine to make tremendous progress in her running over the past year. As a coach, it is often difficult and it takes awhile to get to know the runners really well. You often learn about them by observing their performances from a distance, when they probably do not even realize you are watching, trying to discover their strengths and weaknesses.

Coaching Elaine has been both surprising and delightful, and on top of it all a really satisfying experience. It has been rewarding for me to be able to contribute to her success and I know it has been a satisfying experience for her as well to have made so much progress. Recently, Elaine set a personal best of 19:37 at a 5K in Portsmouth NH and finished fourth overall in the women's division in the Chilmark 5K in a field of 1,500 runners. She was second in her age group battling to the end in a hard fought finish. Her goal is to break 19 minutes for the 5K, which I believe is well within reach, if not this year then the next.

In fact, Elaine is so committed to her running she moved into a condo on Commonwealth Ave. so she would have an unobstructed view of the Boston Marathon. Personally, I am delighted that she has absolutely no desire to run a marathon, although, she must as we all do (except for marathoners) constantly explain to non-runners we meet at parties and the like that; "No, I have never run the marathon, and did you know that there are races other than the marathon?"

Elaine went to High School in Kennebunkport, Maine and she does not know and has never met George or Barbara Bush. Both her parents worked for the Nike athletic shoe company in New Hampshire and she still gets discounts on equipment, so you always see her running around with some nice hat or shoes or other piece of equipment that I wish I owned.

In real life (the running scene being really real) Elaine is a dental hygienist. I am not only her coach but I intend to become her patient, so she can tell me what to do for a change, so my teeth will stop waiving around in my head, as she puts it. I hope not to part with them until I have ground them down to stumps.

Another interesting fact about Elaine that I did not know is that she was second in the state meet in Maine in the high school indoor high hurdles. I find out all sorts of interesting things about the runners when I write these articles, most of which , of course, we can not print, but it sure is entertaining to listen to. Elaine is 32, and as I and people on the board know she is not only unhappy with the club's uniforms she is working to do something about it; checking out prices and distributors for better quality products that are comfortable to wear in races.

Lastly, Elaine is glad I am the women's coach because, like the rest of us, she finds coach Tom a little scary because his workouts are so tough.

Track & Field Report

Well another season is over as well as the T&F Grand Prix series.

Jim Robinson won for the men for the 2nd year in a row and Julie Donahoe for the women. Complete stats can be found elsewhere in the newsletter. Not much is going on in the way of training at the moment as there are no meets until December. I would like to have the track athletes back for workouts on the 1st Tuesday night in September. My recommendation for training now is distance work to build up strength as well as weight training. An additional option would be cross country races in the 5000m range. The season starts with a 3 X 3000m relay at Franklin Park on September 9th.

On another note, Andrew Parker, the first sprinter that I ever coached has accepted a job in Colorado and will be moving there at the end of August. I wish him all the best in sport as well as missing our frequent track and field statistical conversations.

Track & Field Grand Prix

Here are the final standings in the T&F Grand Prix broken down by event. The first name in the list is the leader. The points after each name, for the performance in parenthesis, arc obtained from the 1992 Hungarian scoring tables currently in use by the IAAF. The number in bold is the average. The exception is the 55m dash, where there are no point tables, therefore only the performance is given. The overall winner is determined by the total of an athlete's top 15 performances. The top finishers are listed at the end. This year 30 men participated and 6 women. Kevin Russell, during his tenure with the club scored the highest performance ever with 91 0 pts for a 49.42 400m effort. Jennifer Weaver scored 803 pts for a 5:19.4 mile.

The Gran Prix results are available as a scanned image by clicking here.

36th Yankee Homecoming 10M/5K

August 1, 1995 - The GBTC continued its participation in the USA Track & Field/New England Road Race Grand Prix at the Yankee Homecoming 10 Miler in Newburyport on August 1. The race is always held on a Tuesday night, making it difficult for some to attend. However, it is well run, has a nice course, great spectator support (including many garden hose sprays for the typically sultry weather and knowledgeable residents looking for a sign from the runners that they want to be sprayed), a stadium finish, and food and massages for the post-race celebration. With the dry weather this summer, even the mosquitoes were in control for those congregating on the infield after sundown. There is also a 5K for those not prepared to run 10 miles, but the 10-miler is The Race! Try to work it into your schedule next year. If you want a T-shirt, apply early. Only the first 1,000 entrants receive them.

Of course, the humbling feature of any USATF/NE Grand Prix race is the excellent competition offered at all levels of ability. With understaffed teams, the GBTC worked hard to earn a 5th place finish in the Women's Masters division, 9th in the Open Men's, and 12th in the Open Women's (which apparently were our three Masters Dotty Fine, Kay McDonald, and Sandy Miller). We didn't field a full Men's Masters team.

Tom Cotter led GBTC in 45th place with a time of 56:23 (5:38 average), followed by Jim St. Pierre, Doug Burdi, Bruce Bond, and Hugo Cortes, as open men's team scorers. Dick Nickerson and Dotty were our first Senior's Division placers.

Although it appeared to some to moderate during the race, the event started under oppressive conditions. (It was difficult to try to warm up tight muscles before this 10-mile race.) A couple GBTCers dropped out of the race after they were, shall we say "correct-sized' by their bodies - some of our latter finishers had stopped to assist a temporarily distressed teammate. For finishers and nonfinishers desirous of another chance, the venue doesn't change for the Yankee Homecoming 10 Miler. There is always next year for all of us! I haven't been certified on Jennifer Weaver's "Agony Factor' criteria, but I think it is a race you should not avoid, so it cannot be too bad. Jen, go to the 37th so this race can be rated, and take a team of open women with you!

Our finishers were:

45    Tom Cotter         56:23    5:38
72    Jim St. Pierre     58:04    5:48
75    Doug Burdi         58:08    5:48
99    Bruce Bond         58:59    5:53
132   Hugo Cortes        1:00:45  6:04
150   Chuck Ferguson     1:01:48  6:10
217   Karl Hoyt          1:04:32  6:27
572   Andrew Bloch       1:12:43  7:16
583   Michael Minogue    1:12:52  7:17
648   Dick Nickerson     1:14:09  7:24
1133  Dotty Fine         1:22:43  8:16
1150  Kay McDonald       1:23:02  8:18
1257  Frank Monkiewicz   1:25:30  8:33
1321  Sander Miller      1:27:03  8:42

Race Results

The Athlete's Kitchen: The Athlete's Guide to Fast Foods

Fast but fatty foods are what quick service restaurants historically offered -- an array of dietary disasters that filled the stomach with fat, clogged arteries, but left the muscles unfueled with carbs. Today's quick service restaurants offer higher-carbohydrate and lower-fat options. You can actually chose a decent sports diet at most places. But only the most dedicated of athletes seems to partake of the healthier menu items. Fatty foods taste the best, as confirmed by the strong sales of Big Macs (26 grams fat) but weak sales of the McLean Deluxe burger (1 2 grams fat). Many active people who are on-the-road or in-a-rush appreciate the convenience, affordable prices and consistent foods of quick service restaurants: that's why these places are so popular. While the occasional burger & fries type meal is of little health concern, fast foods that are a common part of your daily diet should be counter- balanced with nutritious carbohydrates. Be sure to pack your gym bag with supplemental muscle fuel, such as apples, pretzels, fig cookies, bagels, pita, crackers, raisins, dried fruits, juice boxes, sports bars or granola bars.

Your best bets for fast-foods-that-fuel include the following options at quick service restaurants:

Breakfast

• For a high carbohydrate breakfast, choose pancakes with syrup, hot or cold cereal, juice, plain bagels, english muffins, or other muffins (preferably lowfat). Jam and honey adds extra carbs. Skip the egg, bacon, sausage, croissant or biscuit combinations. Treat yourself to hot cocoa for a higher carb choice than coffee.
• If you are staying at a hotel, save yourself time, money and temptations by bringing your own cereal and raisins (and spoon). Either pack powdered milk or buy fresh milk at the corner store. Use a water glass or the milk carton for the cereal bowl. Or, find a dell with nice fresh bagels, fruit, juice, and yogurt.

• Any way you look at them, burgers & french fries have a high fat content. You'll be better off finding an eatery that offers more than just burger-type meals, (Note: Active people can appropriately eat some fat for calories and eating pleasure; 60 to 120 grams fat would be considered a low fat diet for most hungry athletes who eat 2,400 to 4,800, calories. But too much fat Interferes with optimal health and muscle fueling.) If you do order a burger, request an extra roll or extra bread. Squish the grease into the first roll, then replace it with the fat-free one. Boost carbs with fluids such as juice, soft drinks and lowfat shakes and enjoy your gym-bag snacks (pretzels, fig bars) for dessert.
• Better yet, satisfy your meat hankering with a lean roast beef sandwich. A Roy Rodgers Roast Beef Sandwich has only 4 grams fat--preferable to a Burger King Hamburger that has 10 gm fat. Both are 260 calories.
• Beware of grilled chicken sandwiches If they come with a special sauce. The 29 grams of fat in the BK Broiler makes It as bad as a fried chicken sandwich. Wipe that mayo off!
• Meals with chicken that is roasted or grilled are generally preferable to fried chicken meals-- if you remove the skin. By removing the skin and wing from a KFC Rotisserie Gold Quarter Breast, you remove 13 grams of fat and 115 calories. If you do order fried chicken, get the larger pieces, peel off the skin, and eat just the meat. Order extra rolls, biscuits with honey or Jam, corn on the cob, potatoes, baked beans, and other vegetables for more carbohydrates, Although many of the accompaniments are buttery, they are still better to eat than no veggies,
• At a salad bar, be generous with the colorful vegetables, chick peas, kidney beans, pasta salads and hearty breads, and carefully choose lite dressings. Beware of Caesar Salads; Boston Chicken's Chicken Caesar Salad with 4 tablespoons of dressing totals 670 calories, of which two-thirds are from fat (47 grams). The better bet is a chicken breast (w/o skin and wing), corn broad, steamed vegetables, and corn: 80 fewer calories, only 15 gms fat.
• Baked potatoes smothered with cheese sauce and fatty toppings are a poor addition to a sports diet. Wendy's cheese-stuffed potato, for example, gets 35% of its calories from fat (23 grams, the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of buffer). The chill & cheese topping isn't much better--36% fat (24 grams fat). Your best bet is to order an extra plain potato and split the Broccoli & Cheese topping (14 grams fat) between the two. That way, you end up with a hearty 770 calorie, higher carbohydrate meal that fuels your muscles. For protein, drink a glass of lowfat milk.
• Order pizza that's thick with extra crust rather than extra cheese. The more dough, the more carbohydrates. For example, a slice of Pizza Hut's pan pizza (250 calories) has 10 more grams carbohydrates than does a slice of their thin 'n crispy pizza (200 calories). Pile on veggies (broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, onions) for a vitamin boost.
• Seek out a dell that offers a sandwich with more bread than filling. For example, a large submarine roll provides far more carbohydrates than a small pita. 'Hold the mayo' and add moistness with lite salad dressings (it available), mustard or ketchup, tomatoes, and lettuce. Best bet fillings: turkey, ham, roast beef.
• Hearty bean soups accompanied by crackers, plain bread, an english muffin, or corn bread provides a satisfying, carbohydrate-rich low-fat meal. Chili, If not glistening with a layer of grease, can be a good choice. For example, a Wendy's large chill with 8 saltines provides 400 calories, of which only 25% are from fat (11 grams).
• Lowfat frozen yogurt is a 75% carb (read that, sugar-laden) dessert. Preferable to gourmet ice creams (only 35% carb but gobs of calories from fat), frozen yogurt is fun, refreshing, and a fast food that fuels, A "best bet"!

Nancy Clark, MS, RD offers private nutrition consultations at SportsMedicine Brookline in the Boston-area. Her popular "Sports Nutrition Guidebook" ($18) and "The New York City Marathon Cookbook" ($23) are available by asking at your local bookstore or by sending a check payable to Sports Nutrition Services to 830 Boylston St #205, Brookline MA 02167.

Cross Country Schedule

The Wingfoot Express