April 2024 Newsletter

Running clubs, and more generally sports clubs, have been a joy for me at different times in my life and in different places. 

At one of my college reunions, I remember a conversation with a classmate. After talking about how I was on the Track and Field team, they had expressed a bit of regret for not pursuing more extracurricular activities. The term, ‘extra curricular activities’ struck a note with me. Never did I think of the track team as something I would decide to join. It wasn’t something I took casually, as if I needed something to do after classes. Running, training and competing was something I was compelled to do. Even my parents knew this. At one point in college, I thought maybe I should just focus completely on my school work. They instantly replied with surprise, “You enjoy it. Why would you do something like that?” They didn’t entertain the idea for a second. At the time, they knew me better than I knew myself. I knew they were right. I dismissed the thought as quickly as they did and never looked back. I loved training with the team. Even if I did not reach my goal of becoming an All-American, I still did well and look back on those times with gratitude.

There were different times in my life when routine would take hold, and I would find myself searching for something to brighten up my energy. Time after time, it was an athletic club that did just this. Running clubs have definitely been the mainstay. Having lived in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan area for many years, I ran with the Central Park Track Club, Haddonfield Running Club, and Fishtown Beer Runners Club! All of them were always welcoming. Whether training on the legendary indoor track of the Armory, beautiful rolling hills of suburban Haddonfield, or the urban streets of Philadelphia where we ended at a bar, it was always a joy to meet up with other runners and burn off some excess energy. There is a feeling of camaraderie as we warm up, talk about the workout, then head off as a herd to get our hearts pumping. 

Other sports too have provided just what I needed when I needed it – a healthy burst of energy. One of them was ice hockey. For three glorious months I was an ice hockey player. I went to “Play It Again, Sports,” bought myself some hockey gear, and enrolled myself in an adult developmental clinic at the Red Bank Armory. I never watched NHL games. My cousin played for Penn State and I always thought the sport looked really fun. When I put on all my gear for the first practice, I actually had the hockey socks on the inside of the protective gear. The coach was so kind. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t make me feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. He pointed to my shins as he was walking by and casually remarked, “Those socks go on the outside.” I replied, “Oh,” with a sheepish grin and went back into the locker room to put them on the correct way. I had the locker room to myself, since I was the only girl. I thought I was signing up for a co-ed group, because that was what  the person on the phone had told me. As it turned out, no other girls had signed up. More precisely, the one girl that had signed up stopped attending. There was another person who started the same day as me. We both finally had on all of our gear (properly) and walked out onto the ice. The coach had us do a few skating drills to make sure we could move on the ice. After skating a bit, he then said, “OK - Now, run and take a dive.” I am like, “Just – take a dive?”  “Yes.” I ran with a few bounding steps, then through my hands out as if I was sliding into home plate. Once I started sliding belly down on the ice I just started laughing out loud at the sensation. I was going to love this.

All the players were very supportive. I even scored a goal during one of the scrimmages. I enjoyed the 8-week clinic so much, that I immediately signed up for a second one. The second one had more than twice the enrollment, and was a little more intimidating. Slapshots were all over the place, and the skill level was much higher than the first round. My ice hockey career came to an abrupt end. I eventually exchanged my hockey gear for a tennis racket, but still held on to the skates. Though it was only about 3 months all together, it still made for a great winter when I really needed one. 

As with most things, it was the people who helped make those memories. I think that is what is so nice about running clubs – the quiet encouragement of just showing up again and again. The consistent effort to stay healthy, stay positive, train when the weather turns, and get yourself out there when it is sometimes easier to stay inside.

Racing Updates

Missed the Nashua Soup Kitchen? No worries! The next New Hampshire Grand Prix Race is on our home turf! The Shaker 7 (23 Jun)! Help us maintain our impressive lead! Also huge congratulations to:

• Pam Moore
• Laurie Reed
• Liba Hladik
• Gunner Currier
• Dan Shea

For being our top runners and scoring a cumulative 464 points for the club!! The scoring system means that EVERYONE scores and EVERYONE’s points add up! So let’s get out there and race!

Next UVRC race is a new one to us the Lake Morey Ice Break 5 Miler (14 April)

Road races not your thing? No worries, in May the Western New Hampshire Trail Series kicks off with the Dirty 5k (12 May)

Club Announcements

Tuesday Night Track: Looking back at my notes I audaciously stated that Spring is here and we would be heading back to the track indefinitely. Since then we have gotten two snow storms sooo I guess that’s on me, sorry for the jinx. Anyway I tempt the devil once more and say that as of now our TNT workouts will proceed on  Hanover High School Track though we may move to the Dartmouth Track if allowed. Keep an eye on your email to stay up to date! 

April Runner’s Night Out will be April 9th, at Hanover Ramuntos! Come hang out with your pal’s after Tuesday Night Track and discuss your Eclipse experience!

Spring Couch to 5k is starting up April 20th!

Volunteer Opportunities

In case you missed it we’re doing a 2024 UVRC VOLUNTEER CHALLENGE see the March Newsletter for full details! 

Upcoming Opportunities

The Mount Washington Road Race is in need of volunteers! Historically the MWRR crew assigns volunteer positions by club/group so we all focus on one task e.g. one club does water hand out, one club does check in, etc. We haven’t been assigned a task yet but in the past the UVRC has been instrumental in keeping the flow of traffic going and managing the parking which requires a lot of friendly faces to keep everything working smoothly! In general we also need volunteers to get our racers down the mountain! If you’re interested in volunteering please reach out to uppervalleyrunningclub@gmail.com or signup with this link

The Covered Bridges Half Marathon is on the horizon! Didn’t get in through registration but are itching to take part in one of the most beautiful and sought after races in New England? Well good news! The UVRC is looking for pacers for the race! As a pacer you run the race at a fixed pace to achieve a set goal time and serve as a beacon to your fellow runners who are trying to meet or beat that goal time. I speak from experience when I say it is one of the most rewarding activities I have participated in (apart from being your President) as nothing compares to the joy of helping other people achieve the goals they’ve worked so hard for! It’s time to start getting in pacing shape so reach out to uppervalleyrunningclub@gmail.com if you interested in being a pacer!

Great work to all the UVRC runners who ran the Lebanon Shamrock Shuffle 5K in March! I didn’t do a careful count, but rumor has it over 100 of us. That marks the second race in the Upper Valley Running Series (UVRS), and a great event for the club.

Spring is here and couch to 5k is just around the corner! This spring, join us for practice twice a week to prepare for a brand new (to us) 5k! We will meet twice a week for 10 weeks and increase our exercise time gradually each week. We break up into four groups to match up with those that most align with your goals. Supportive coaches, alumni, and participants will be on hand to help encourage you and keep you accountable week to week.

What you need to know:

• Practices Thursdays 5:30-6:30pm and Saturdays 8:00am-9:00am
• Location - Pat Walsh Park, Bank Street Extension, Lebanon, NH
• First practice is Saturday, April 20th
• Our 5k this year is the Lace up for Laura race in Weathersfield, VT on June 29, 2024. They're very excited to have us! Website here: https://www.laceupforlaura.com/

Registration can be found on the City of Lebanon website, here: https://secure.rec1.com/NH/city-of-lebanon/catalog. If this program isn’t for you, please share with a friend, family member, neighbor, or colleague! We hope to have many new, and returning, participants this spring! Please reach out to Keri Niles (keriann.ketcham@gmail.com) if you have any questions, or if you'd like to join us as a volunteer coach!

7.5 years, 3030 miles, 250 hikes, 78 friends, 576 peaks. Let me explain…

In December 2015, I took my road shoes and high school cross country sweatshirt up Camel’s Hump with my new friend Lydia. It was much colder at the top than I ever expected and my lack of traction on ice quickly put me in my place. She and her partner bundled me in all their extra layers and I vowed never to winter hike again. Holt’s Ledge and Cardigan in the summer provided minimal hiking experience going into my first 4000’er, and I definitely never hiked prior to moving up north from suburbia. 

Memorable, wouldn’t trade the scars, thorns:

• “Cabot Waumbek Day,” the bane of my existence, which I did 5 times over. It’s a totally silent experience putting in a full 9hr door to door workday in solitude for 2 measly spots on the spreadsheet and 0 summit views. (I never perfected my sales pitch and always went alone). The day includes a 2hr drive to Cabot for a 9mi out and back, driving 50min. around the mountain range to hike 7mi out and back to Waumbek from the other side, then drive 1hr 40min. home. On those days I usually lulled myself to sleep by whispering “WTF am I doing” and “was that worth a tank of gas?” 
• Summiting Moosilauke solo in a frigid whiteout, taking my jacket off my back and putting it under a rock as a makeshift cairn, because I couldn’t see the summit from the last cairn. 
• Starting up Isolation alone after fresh snowfall. The last hiker on the mountain (another gridder) turned early and said I’d be all alone out there and his footprints would end soon. I broke trail in my sneakers, submerging them in ice water too many times to count. I hopped across snowy boulders on the 10 river crossings, summiting in a whiteout with the sun setting (I didn’t bring a headlamp). I faceplanted on the way back and involuntarily muttered “I’m so tired” as I hit the ground, then laughed/cried to myself from exhaustion. Just after dark I reached the car with a solid 2 inches of ice sealing the laces on my shoes. I couldn’t take them off for the whole drive until they melted. 
• Postholing up to my butt in sneakers on Owl’s Head with Lucy. I did learn to invest in gore-tex, but it turns out 3 feet of snow can find a way into your gator-less shoes. A stranger asked me “what’s with the sneaker shit?” I hate snowshoes. 
• Bonking on the first step of a pemi with Chris and dreaming of salty cheese on the initial summits. By the time we reached Bondcliff, an angel approached asking “cheddar or havarti?” He gifted us both kinds of cheese with crackers to fuel the Lincoln Woods slog. 
• Summiting the Carters alone at sunset in single digit weather with frozen water, a pocketful of cheese, a phone that was about to die and debilitating foot pain.
• Anxiously biting all my fingernails off on a late afternoon drive to the Osceolas, reaching the summit at sunset and returning alone in the dark. I’m terrified of the dark. 
• Seeing a bear about 10 feet away while on Cabot alone. Summiting anyway because I already invested in the drive. 
• Spending my 30th birthday (Christmas) alone on Carrigain. In retrospect this was really emo. 
• Traversing Garfield and Owl’s Head in pouring rain and shin deep mud with Emily. 
• Losing a toenail on the Tripyramids with Leah. Getting a thorn between my eyeball and tear duct on the Hancocks. Losing feeling in my fingers and toes on most, if not all, winter hikes. Bonking, bruising, bleeding, scraping and chafing. Running my forehead and legs straight into branches and downed logs. Wading waist deep rivers. Faceplanting over rocks and into postholes.

I swear I did learn a lot about safety out there. I’m more aware of what can go wrong, though I’m lucky not more did. My “last” hike was exciting and anticlimactic at the same time. I hope nothing changes. I hope the drive continues. I hope I can now be more creative about how I adventure in the Whites and more selective about the weather. Lydia and two others joined for my final romp, in a complete whiteout over Jefferson, Washington and Monroe. It was the worst visibility I’d had in a while with -10 to 0F windchill and 35-50mph winds. We even lost the cog a few times, which we had to follow because we couldn’t see the cairns! 

Now that it’s over I feel the weight lifted that was personally placed on my shoulders. I chose to chase something that added difficulty to my otherwise privileged life, but the stress I opted into felt heavy and real. Towards the end, I constantly worried about the forecast, rain, ice luges, fresh fallen snow, arctic temperatures, the sun setting, gale force winds, heat and humidity. I weighed the risks of snow bridges breaking and wading through raging rivers. Of going out alone, hours from other people without cell service. Being in the alpine when it was below zero and wondering if my judgment was clouded. How many hours was I willing to have numb feet? Or a dehydration hiking hangover the next day? Was that new pain serious or would it go away after the first hour? With two years to go, each month presented a frantic puzzle, trying to fit my remaining list into free time, finding the perfect combination of motivation, weather, trail conditions, and possibly a hiking buddy who was available and willing to spend hours on my antics. It took almost all 7.5 years to learn the puzzle could be configured in infinite ways and the rules demanded release of any sense of control. Just as the ink dried on a plan, a new puzzle piece shaped like a snowstorm would fall into the mix and teach a lesson on adaptability. The point of the game was in navigating where to fit that piece, and the only input necessary was willingness to play. I’m proud of myself for being the 169th person to open the box and piece it together in my own way. In some ways I’m a completely different person than at the start, and in others just the same, swirling in my little world of obsession. Still, I feel lucky to have found something that gives me purpose. 

I’m now operating without a spreadsheet, which comes with its own stress, but more freedom. Once the snow melts, I’ll have time to explore the less direct routes, less than 4000’ peaks, and less traveled trails. I hope to finish my last sixteen 4000’ers in the ADK and find a meaningful experience in the Whites this summer, but for now, stoke sleeps and waits for the next spark.