BCRR This Week, January 14 through 21, 2013

HELLO BAYOU CITY!

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We have three new BCRR members: Michael Lynch, Tracey Priem and Ricardo Young. Welcome to the club!

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BCRR Birthdays This Week: Tom Helm (January 15), Sue Leone (January 15), Mark Montgomery (January 15), Maggie Kirkpatrick (January 16), Steve Davis (January 17), Keesha Erickson (January 19) and Beverly Handy (January 21).

Have a very happy birthday!

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Happy Hour this Week: Friday, Jan. 18, 6:30 PM: BlackFin 1910 Bagby

 
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Congratulations to all of you who braved the cold, wet and windy conditions at the start of the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday. A record 25,000 runners registered for this years race and only 16,773 finished. Despite the bad weather at the start many BCRR members had PRs and many more actually placed in their age group. We'd like to give a special shout-out to the following BCRR members:

Marathon:
Scott Bounds 3:09:30, 2nd AG
Fred Steves 4:18:44, 2nd AG
Larry Lindeen 4:30:10, 3rd AG
Jody Berry 3:20:55, 2nd AG
Alexandra Paddon-Jones 2:59:58, 2nd AG
Rhonda Emerson 3:59:20, 3rd AG (also 4 hour pacer!) 

Half-marathon:

Jose Pablo Rivero Moreno 1:13:18, 3rd AG, (18th Over All; 1st local finisher M30-34) 

Rich (Pineapple) Vega 1:40:33, 1st AG

Streakers:

Bob Kirkpatrick completed his 22nd consecutive Houston Marathon.

Great job to all of you!

Special thanks to all the BCRR volunteers that came through for the runners at the BCRR aid stations at miles 14 and 21. 

You were a very welcome sight indeed this year and truly saved many of us who were hurting.: fresh fruit, Advil, Vaseline, gummi bears, beer, pretzels change of clothing, Baileys and coffee and lots of encouragement. 

Special thanks to the following BCRR volunteers who braved the bad weather and step-up for their fellow BCRR members we really appreciated your efforts:

Mile 14 volunteers: Katie Decker (captain) and her band of renowneds (Gail Webster, Andrew Young, Roger Redding, Janet Sutton and Rosie) and a few other passers by (Kathy Molitor et al).

Mile 21 volunteers: Susan Cita (captain), Sheila Ramamurthy, Tom Wille, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Sonja Longbotham and her daughter. 

If anyone was not included in the above but should have been, please reply to this message and we will get this corrected.

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Thanks to Chuck Bracht and Cheryl Verlander for once again hosting an awesome post race party. The party would not have been successful without the help of co hosts Mary and Ralph Feniello who spent the afternoon cooking red beans and rice and for setting up and working throughout the party. John Koenig manned the grill and Alan Svoboda prepared the margarita's. Also thanks to all of those who of you who setup the tables and chairs and stayed to help take them down at the end. Without all of these people the party could not have been such as success. 

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Approximately 50 people that attended the Pre-Marathon Pasta Party last Thursday at the Cadillac Bar and Grill. The food selection was great and everyone seemed to have a really great time. 

We had 16 entries in the Marathon Guess Your Time contest and the winner was Heidi Zimmerman with a predicted time of 3:40:00 and had an actual time of 3:39:59. We had seven entries in the Half Marathon Guess Your Time contest and the winner was Sam McMurtrey with a predicted time of 2:28:30 and an actual time of 2:22:42.

Special thanks to Susan Davis for working so hard to make this event a great success.

Finally, please email your marathon or half-marathon stories and pictures to Chris McGrew at bcrr/news@gmail.com to put in the newsletter.

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WORD FROM THE BIRD wants to hear from you. Feel free to contribute with any interesting running material you want to see in the newsletter. The bird is always on the lookout for entertaining run/race reports, how-to/technical articles, editorials, and photos. Just submit your story to (bcrr.news@gmail.com). The Deadline for consideration to the next newsletter is always the 20th day of the month.

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Possible BCRR Marathon Road Trip:

Few marathons are in a class of their own. Le Marathon des Chateaux du Medoc on September 7, 2013 is one. Routed through 59 vineyards in the fabled villages of the Medoc region, this event appeals to the true connoisseur of fine runs. Where else do they ask you at the aid stations, "red or white Madame?" Thankfully there is plain water if you so choose.

Over half of the field dresses up in costume and every year there is a new theme and this years theme is "The Science Fiction".

The course reads more like a wine list than a race course: Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Lynch-Bages, Pichon Lonqueville, Beychevelles among others.

We want to hear from you regarding your interest in this BCRR Marathon road trip to the Medoc region in southwestern France. We understand that some BCRR members are already considering this race. Registration opens in February and is limited to 8,500 runners so if you have some interest, please reply to this email promptly and we will get back to you with more details. For more information visit the following link: http://www.marathondumedoc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66&tmpl=index_en

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Want to know about local races, training runs and BCRR events? Just go to (https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=runwiththebird1%40gmail.com&ctz=America/Chicago)

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REPORT YOUR RACE RESULTS: We want to know what our members are doing on the roads and/or trails. Send all your results to us at (bcrr.results@gmail.com)before the 20th day of the month and we’ll make sure they hit the next newsletter!

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Running Calendar:

SAVE THE DATES: HARRA SPRING SERIES & PIM DATES:

• Buffalo Wallow: Feb 9 
• PIM start: Feb 27 (tentatively) 
• Bayou City Classic: Mar 9 
• Law Week: Mar 23 
• Bellaire Trolley Run: Apr 13 
• LP Run: To be determined 
• Bayou Bash: To be determined

Wednesday (Rice University): Join us every Wednesday evening at Rice University for Sprints and Spirits. The group meets at the First Christian Church/School parking lot off Rice Blvd. (1628 Rice Blvd.) at 5:45 pm (run leaves at 6 pm). The Bayou Run (6.6 miles) is the usual route but there are shortcuts and alternative routes as well. All levels are welcome. And the best part is the cheap beer at Valhalla, a delightfully casual and economical watering hole, afterwards. Come on out! It's a great way to break up the stressful work week.

Friday Hills at Mount Bacon (Tanglewood): Join us for this weekly run from St. Martins Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road to Mount Bacon. We meet in the church parking lot at the corner of Sage Road and Woodway Drive at 5:30 am. We have a 1.3 mile warm-up run to Mount Bacon and do 2 to 4 miles of hills with a 1.3 mile run back to the church.

Sunday Long Run (Memorial Park, 6:30AM): Join us for the weekly long run from Memorial Park zero-mile marker. We leave promptly at 6:30 and members typically run between 10 and 15 miles. Breakfast afterwards at Whole Foods.

Your BCRR Board!!!

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Are you stressed, sore, or do you just need a relaxing massage? Contact Peter Blackwell, LMT, a BCRR-affiliated massage therapist. Call(832) 248-2339 and let him know you're a BCRR member when you book your appointment.

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