Our membership now stands at 485. I’m not really sure what this means, but my best guess is that among other things, there must be 485 people who want to run and hang out together on the trails. The VHTRC seems to me to offer different things to different people. Of course our club is all about our big three races (Massanutten Mountain Trails 100, Bull Run Run 50, Women’s Half Marathon). But it is also all about our many and varied fat ass events, our social times together, and that intangible feeling of connection that comes through those shared times out on the Happy Trails.
Two things came along serendipitously, and got me to thinking. The first thing is the sixth running of one of our fat ass low key runs, the Elizabeth’s Furnace Fat Ass 50km (EFA) which is scheduled for March 10. The second thing was opening up the March issue of Ultrarunning magazine and seeing a huge article about Maryland runner Mike Morton and his astonishing comeback to ultrarunning.
Quatro Hubbard and Mike Bur have been sharing co-race director duties for the EFA every year since 2007. But there is some history here that goes back twenty years. Bear with me.
In 1992 the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) moved its one day 50km hike known as The Dogwood Half Hundred to our neck of the woods. The hike started and ended at Powell’s Fort Camp. At that time the camp was open, and hikers could reserve a bunk in one of the cabins, and the post hike food was served in the dining room of the lodge. The course used a few of the trails that now comprise the EFA course, but in 2000, the PATC reconfigured the course to the course we all now know as the EFA course.
Although the Dogwood Half Hundred was billed as a hike, some miscreant runners found out about it, and so every year there would be a small group of people who ran this challenging course while all the hikers did their thing. The field of runners and hikers grew every year, and by 2000 there were about 250 hikers hitting the trails on the last Saturday in April when the dogwood trees were in full bloom.
The hike route in 2002 was supposed to be the same as before but a last minute forest fire caused a re-route of the event, adding quite a bit of extra mileage. It was during this rendition of the hike that runner Bonnie Day tripped and fell on the course. She suffered brain edema, and tragically couldn’t be rescued in time to save her life. After this sad episode the PATC stopped their support of the event, and thus 2002 was the last Dogwood Half Hundred 50km one day hike. But in 2007 Quatro and Mike picked up the ball PATC dropped and ran with it. They started fresh, made it a run, and moved the start finish to the Signal Knob parking lot. The course was the same one the Dogwood had used in 2000 and 2001, and thus, out of the ashes of the Dogwood, the Elizabeth’s Furnace Fat Ass 50km was born.
I know all this ancient history because I participated in the Dogwood Half Hundred every year beginning in 1991. For several years I hiked, but by 1997 I’d begin running and thus joined the small band of runners seeking adventure out on our beloved Massanutten trails, and I was there every year up to the end of the event.
So what does this have to do with an article about Mike Morton? Like I said at the top, I believe a lot of the appeal of membership in our club is that we’re just a bunch of runners who like to hang together. So as I prepared to run the EFA and looked forward to this low key fat ass and hanging with other club members, I thought it might be fun to see who I’d been hanging out with back in the day, when the Dogwood Half Hundred was flourishing and serving as the inspiration for one of our beloved events. So I went to the archives.
I’m not too good with names or remembering who is who, but apparently some guy named Joe Clapper ran most of the Dogwoods and in 1992 he finished in 6th place. In 1996 Clapper was back and finished 4th. Ahead of him that year were Eric Clifton, Mitch Craib, and Andy Peterson. Behind him, Scott Mills finished 5th, and in 9th place was….. Mike Morton.
Some of the top 10 finishers of the dogwood in 1997 were Eric Clifton, Mike Morton, Andy Peterson, Scott Mills, Joe Clapper and some kid named Karsten Brown. This was the first year I ran and although I wasn’t top 10, I finished up in 24th place.
Familiar names in 1999 included Scott Mills, Bill Wandel, Jeanne Christie, Larry Dehof, Jay Finkle, Carolyn Gernand, and Kev and Faye Hawn. Pam Gowen ran in 1999 and finished in 24th place. This was a good year for me, and I managed to finish in 14th place, waaaaaay ahead of some young kid in 74th place named Aaron Schwartzbard. Gee. Pam and I both finished in front of Aaron. and we must have really scared him because he’s never asked for a rematch.
Derrick Carr and Scott Mills seemed to develop an annoying habit of finishing together in first place. Clapper continued to be there most of the time along with other people we know like Bill Vantwerp, Ed Demoney, and James Moore. My personal best finish at the dogwood was 10th place in 2002, the final year of the Dogwood, but in a field of hikers this is really misleading.
The EFA is only one of our great smaller low key events. I think it's the appeal of these small events, just as much or maybe even more than our big premier events, that keeps drawing runners to join the VHTRC. The fact that our membership continues to grow reflects more than the generic increased participation in trail and ultra running. I’m pretty sure most of our growth comes from runners seeing what we do and who we are and what we are about. They can see we have something pretty special going on here, and they know they just have to be a part of it all.
The Elizabeth's Furnace Fat Ass 50km is just one of our runs that helps to draw in new members. And as you can now see, those EFA trails have been drawing like minded friends together for a really long time.
If you have any history to share, insights into what our club means to you or anything else at all, I’d love to hear from you.
Happy Trails!
VHTRC President's Page
VHTRC club president Alan Gowen posts his thoughts about the club, its events, and running in the woods. E-Mail Alan at: alangowen@gmail.com
Did you ever notice that the really cool race shirt you receive at any VHTRC event doesn't have any advertizing on it? It may have the name of the race and it might have VHTRC, but it doesn't advertize, endorse, or even mention any sort of sponsor.
Did you ever notice that when you cross the finish line at any one of our races, the banner you run under says only VHTRC? It doesn't say Montrail, North Face, Patagonia, or anything else. Just VHTRC.
Did you ever notice that the VHTRC puts on more free events than fee events?
Did you ever notice that for the most part what the VHTRC is all about boils down to nothing more than a bunch of folks getting together and going for a trail run? That's it. Let's meet somewhere and just run.
Zany. Madcap. Quirky. Irreverent. Screwball. The VHTRC had the amazing good fortune to be founded by a group of guys who were all of the above and more. Just by chance this bunch of yahoos contained a few guys who were just anal enough to see to it that the rest of the goon squad stayed in line, and so whereas we certainly know how to throw a party, we know how to put on a race too.
The VHTRC is famous for superb course marking and over the top aid stations. But we're also famous for supporting trail running in our community, informal runs that have become sacred traditions, and an arms wide open welcome to anyone who wants to join in the fun. We're famous for being a great group of fun loving folks who love running trails, and just happen to put on some of the highest quality races in the country.
We owe a lot to the club's founding fathers for defining what has now become, for lack of a better term, the VHTRC brand. Our brand may mean slightly different things to different people, but it is who we are and how we do things, and unlike brands created by marketing wizards to sell products, we are our brand by simply doing what it is we do. And all this doesn't happen just by chance, either.
We actually have a formal policy about corporate sponsorship. This policy enables us to actually be just a group of friends who want to get together for a run and do what we want. What this policy boils down to is that we're not going to be beholden to anyone or anything. If you're some corporate enterprise and you want to give us stuff we might take it, but were not going to advertize for you or let you have any control over what we do. And besides. Since no one makes a dime off of any of our races we really don't need your stuff anyway, because we already have some of the lowest entry fees around, and that low entry thing is part of our brand too.
We also have a policy concerning support for trail runs that aren't owned by the VHTRC. It is mandated in our bylaws. What it says is that if you want to put on a little trail run and you need money, make your case to us and we'll probably help you out. This is how many of the fat ass runs we all enjoy can have great post run cookouts and offset some of their other costs.
We don't want to be the biggest club or the one that puts on the most races. We don't want to promote some corporate agenda. We just want to continue to be a bunch of friends who like to get together and have fun trail running, and we do that in a way that I think sets us apart and helps define our unique brand. When runners in the trail running world hear Virginia Happy Trails Running Club, they know what that means. The VHTRC brand is who we are and what we do. The policies and traditions of our club ensure that our brand continues to define all the things that make our club what it is today.
If you have any thoughts about our brand, or anything else for that matter, please just shoot me an email.
Happy Trails!
VHTRC is remarkably like that couple who began married life in a modest house, raised their family, put on an addition, enjoyed the visits from the grandchildren, fixed up the basement, installed several little storage buildings in the back yard, and never, ever, moved.
We have stuff. A whole lot of stuff.
During the Bull Run Run, when you come to the Marina aid station, you probably don't ask yourself where those coolers full of water and Gatorade came from, do you? At last count VHTRC owned nineteen of those things. When that smiling volunteer filled your hydration pack, she was probably using a club owned pitcher.
During MMT, in the middle of the night when you finally drag your sorry ass into the Visitor Center aid station, and it's raining, and you are sitting under a portable shelter with lights strung all over it, if I know you, you probably didn't ask yourself where that shelter and the generator that's powering those lights came from now did you? Yup. We own those things too. And when the smiling volunteer hands you your drop bag at Gap #1, rest assured it arrived in one of the gazillion plastic tubs the club owns.
How about Mike's bitchin' sound system that's cooler than the one SONRAP put in the old Nash Rambler? Well it really isn't Mike's. We own that too.
VHTRC, by its very definition a running club, somehow survived seventeen years without owning a clock. We cleared that little oversight up a year ago when we purchased that really cool display clock you'll be staring at as you streak across the Bull Run Run finish line. Yup. We also own those colored pennants and even those bollards they're hung from to form the finish chute.
Our clock was kind of expensive, but now with the help of Anstr's timing crew we have control of all our timing needs. And we've already rented out our clock, and will continue to do so when given the opportunity.
Our race directors know they have all sorts of stuff at their disposal. Unlike that old couple who never moved and just kept acquiring stuff, we use all our stuff, and it enhances our ability to continue to put on great events.
So if you ever wondered where your cheap dues and rock bottom race entry fees go, just remember that now we can all proudly stuff it.
Check out a list of some of our STUFF. And if you have any comments or concerns about Stuff, or anything else, please just shoot me an email.
Happy Trails
SWAG. What does SWAG mean anyway?
"A bundle; the package or roll containing the possessions of a swagman who is a seller of low-priced trashy goods, trinkets, etc." And a swag-shop, for the sale of such things, was, "formerly, a plunder-depot” presumably because, swag used to mean, "Goods or property obtained by forcible or illicit means." SWAG evidently also stands for, Something We All Get.
OK. Now somebody is probably wondering about SHWAG. I won’t even attempt to figure that one out. All I know is that we runners seem love our plunder. Or SWAG. Or SHWAG. Or whatever.
One of the many great benefits of belonging to the VHTRC is that we can all be proud of the cool swag that is available for club members, and as part of our events, but did you ever wonder where all this cool stuff comes from?
Well, I don’t know for sure where it used to come from, but a few years ago a small but dedicated group within the club got together to form the Swag Committee, and was responsible for most of us getting some pretty cool “official” VHTRC swag.
More recently the newest iteration of the VHTRC Swag Committee has been the driving force in selecting, designing, and procuring the cool stuff members are able to purchase, as well as some of the swag you and others receive when participating in some of our events.
The Bored finally got around to defining the Swag Committee’s mission and that can be found here if you’re interested. Swag Committee Policy But the short version is that the Swag Committee has the responsibility for the design, selection, and procurement of items such as club shirts and other club swag. The Swag Committee is also always on standby, ready to help our race directors, if asked, with swag for their events.
Keith Knipling is “The Person in Charge” of the Swag Committee. Quatro Hubbard is the “Board Member Involved,” and the other dedicated folks sharing the work are Pam Gowen, Bobby Gill, Laura Bur and Mel Saraniero. What has the Swag Committee done lately? How about those instant collector’s item hats that were given out at The Eagle Run? Additionally, the committee has been working with Anstr on the selection and purchase of entrants and finishers shirts for the Bull Run Run, and also they are currently working on a design for a new club decal
The Swag Committee. Members involved in their club, giving of their time and energy, helping to make the VHTRC the kind of club that you and I want to belong to.
If you have any concerns, comments, or input, concerning club swag, or the Swag Committee, grab one of the committee members next time you see them or shoot them an email.
And as always, if you have any concerns, comments, or input concerning this or anything else about the club, please, just let me know.
Happy Trails!
As a result of the growing popularity of our great VHTRC runs, it was only a matter of time until The Bored could no longer ignore the dreaded personal listening device issue. You know. Say they’re OK? Discourage them? Ban them all together? Our insurance allows the use of personal listening devices, but it also requires we not do anything that can be taken as actively encouraging their use, and this means we can’t put off addressing the dreaded PLD policy any longer.
In a nut shell, this is what we came up with. We don't want to ban these things. We simply want runners to be considerate of others with whom they are sharing the trails.
Some runners remain aware of what's going on around them and some don't, and for some runners the use of PLDs is part of this. We want to remind everyone that on trail runs it is bad manners to be oblivious to one’s surroundings. We're not banning PLDs, just suggesting that runners be aware and be considerate of others. This really applies more to runs like the WHM and the beginning of BRR than to MMT or PHT. So it’s OK to have PLDs, but it’s not OK to use bad judgment as to when you turn them up. Sometimes it’s just plain annoying to be out there with someone who is in another world, especially when you are trying to pass a runner who can’t hear you and doesn’t know you’re even there.
We tried different approaches to this, and after we weighed all the different angles I’m pretty happy with what we came up with.
Personal Listening Device Policy Statement
"The VHTRC discourages the use of personal listening devices by runners participating in our events. Runners using PLDs are less aware of their surroundings, and can impair other runners, especially on narrow and / or congested portions of the course. Please refrain from using earphones, ear buds, headphones, or any other device that impairs your ability to hear what is going on around you when you participate in our ultra distance events, especially where there is any chance at all that your lack of awareness may have an impact on any other runner. For runs shorter than ultra distance you should not carry a PLD at all. It is impolite and simply out of place."
BTW. This has nothing to do with, and should not be confused with, the new MMT Solo Division requirement of no headphone use. That is an entirely different matter designed to add an additional small amount of self sufficiency and greater challenge to the other tougher demands of that particular competition.
So. This is our new policy concerning the dreaded personal listening devise issue. I think this pretty well covers it. Of course nothing is forever chiseled in stone, and I certainly welcome feedback on this, or any other issue. In the meantime, be careful; use your good manners, and Happy Trails.
Alan
Imagine that. I now have my own page. The President’s Page. Nice ring to that title. So. I presume the question raised is; what to do with my own page? I think I’ll use this newly opened avenue to communicate things I see as being of interest, to whoever takes the time to read what I have to say.
I note that as of October 6, we list 455 members on our roster. Of these 455 I’m guessing that maybe 100 members are “active” in our club. I think we usually get about 70 or so at our “official” social events. I’m not sure what this means, but it does seem to indicate that we have a lot of members who haven't really connected us and what it is we do.
The only requirement for membership is that you pay your dues. If you participate in the club’s activities, I think all will agree you get more than your money’s worth. But if you don’t come out and hang with the other members, hopefully while running with us, we still have your dues. Of course that means more beer for the rest of us. As much as we like drinking beer, we really would prefer to have everyone participate in the club in some fashion. And rest assured. We have never run out of beer due to lack of funding.
The purpose of our club is pretty simply to get together and run and have fun. This doesn’t mean it has to be at “organized” events. How about informal training runs? Do you have a group that you run with? Do you meet up with your buddies on Wednesday nights and do a few loops through a park somewhere or get together on Saturday morning and get in a quick 10 miles? Ever thought of opening up your runs to some other VHTRC members or friends? If you regularly or even irregularly go out on training runs, how about offering the opportunity for some additional like minded souls to come out and join you? This is a perfect way for folks to connect with us and what it is we are about, without the pressure or structure of some big “organized” event. You can share information, learn some stuff from others and possibly make some new friends. I think this goes to the core of what we are all about. Getting together and running and sharing time with our friends. Maybe some of your fellow club members would love an invitation to join in on some of your runs.
OK I’ll go first. There is a small group of us that run on the great trails at the Hashawha Environmental Center, just outside of Westminster MD once a week or so, usually on weekday evenings. As we lose daylight I guess it is more late afternoon than it is evening when we run, but if anyone is interested in joining us sometime, simply get in touch and we’ll make a plan.
Our Web guru is working on a brand new and easy to use Training Run Web page to make it easy for you to advertise your informal runs and for others to find something they might want to try. It’s not ready yet but will be any day now. Keep an eye out for this new page and take advantage of this great way to find friends to run with. What a great way to get more members involved in our club. Check it out.
And of course I’m always open to your suggestions, comments, or whatever. Just let me know what’s on your mind.
Happy Trails
