Way To Go Kathy!

Congrats to Kathy Baumbach and her Rochesterfest Triathlon relay team! They won their division! Very well done!

As many of you know, this was Kathy's first race of any distance. What a way to start out your racing career! I'll have to get after her to see if she can give us an overview of the event.

Nice work!

Fun!

It was an enjoyable evening for Team R.E.D. Not only did we walk/run the Hills of Melbyville, we also had some great conversation. Below the slideshow, I've listed a few of the things we learned from each other (I'm sure there was more, this is off the top of the head thinking (most of the names have been removed to protect the not so innocent).

One Team RED member had his share of strugges in the water, what a great recap of his first Sprint Tri event.
One Team RED member has a "disciple" runner, who is wanted by the police in Michigan.
One Team RED member can't live on chips alone. Subway appreciates his business.
One Team RED member doesn't mind that gas is $2.55 gallon, therefore drove up the hill.
One Team RED member (Kathy) is running her first ever race! She'll handle the 5K portion as part of a relay for this weekends triathlon.



Have a Great Weekend!

Thursday @ The Melby's

Hope everyone is surviving the heat! At least some of the humidity slid away last evening, turned into a pretty nice night.

This week's Team R.E.D. will start and finish at Paul Melby's place, located at 245 10th St NE in Byron. Water, beer, mixed nuts & chips will be provided by the host, Thanks Paul!

Routes are posted on the Right hand side of the blog. I'm going to stare at the map again, see if we can come up with one under 2 miles as well, since all these routes will provide some hills. See you there!

Fathers Day Weekend

The O'Leary's want to thank Al Jorgensen for tipping us off to a fantastic event this weekend! It was the Minnesota Military Appreciation 5K Run and fun walk. This was to support an organization that provides cash grants to families who have a loved one serving in combat zones. It was very well organized and they really raised a lot of money!
Shane and Tom ran the 5K (at blistering paces of course), while Wendy and Megan participated in the walk, led by many flags, it was very impressive to see.
Along with registration, participants received a Thanks tee-shirt, 4 tickets to Sunday's Twins game (they lost by the way) and 4 tickets to a Timberwolves game in November.

Remember, this Thursday evening, we can beat the heat by running from the Melby Mansion. Paul is already making his grocery list, and so far, it seems to consist of mostly beer.

Humid!

Good work last night! That was warm, humid & sticky to say the least. I think I finally stopped dripping sweat about midnight. I'd post photo's if I had remembered the camera.

The Covered Bridge 5K/10K is Saturday in Zumbrota at 8am. Race day registration is available starting at 7am.

Thanks go to Paul Melby, as he has offered to host next weeks Team R.E.D. gathering. Paul lives at the top of a hill... so at least we get to start out, downhill. Address and details will follow, as well as a reminder email.

Weather Girl is predicting storms

Last time I checked out the weather girl forecast on the right hand side of this blog (if you don't see her, scroll down a bit), she was predicting some storms for Thursday. Team R.E.D. is still on, as weather forecasts are often very poor from an accuracy standpoint. If it's nasty nasty at 7pm, we may shorten things or head straight to the bar. We can discuss at game time.

Paul @ Chester Woods Trail Run

The Chester Woods Trail Run race director (Jim Mason), provided this picture of Team R.E.D.'s Paul Melby. Paul is center in this picture, wearing yellow & #903. We couldn't help but notice, Paul seems to have an admirer behind him. Click on the photo for a larger view, and it "appears" that he's being checked out! Then again, she might just be wondering where he buys his shorts.

Oxbow Review & Upcoming Events

We had a small but mighty crew at Oxbow! The trails are a blast to hike and run, a great change of pace from pounding the pavement. Mason & Hurricane, pictured here, get the award for tackling the longest distance last night. The prize? Well, ok... just bragging rights! After the jaunts were complete, we were able to hang out and share some peanuts, popcorn, beverages and good stories. Thanks for those who were able to join!

Next Team R.E.D. is 7pm at Bears Den on Thursday 6/18.

If you're around this weekend, there are a lot of race options, see below:

6/13 @ 8:30am is the Pine Island Ribbon Run (5K). All proceeds from this event will be used for breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs. Registration is at the Pine Island H.S.

6/13 @ 8:15am is the Fountain Trail Runners 5K. Race starts at the Trail Head in Fountain, just off county road 8.

6/14 @ 5PM is the MacAttack 5K Run & 3K Fun Walk for the Ronald McDonald House & Brighter Tomorrow's. Registration and starting line are by the Silver Lake Swimming Pool.

6/16 @ 5:30pm is the All-Comers Mile. You may often think of the all-comers meets being for kids... this one let's the adults participate as well! 1 Mile race at Soldiers Field - this event is FREE.

Thursday 6/11 - Oxbow!

We're taking the show on the road, well, actually, taking it off the road and to the trail! Thursday night marks the first session of a weekly Team RED run/walk during the summer. We'll meet at at 7pm at Oxbow Parks 1st Bridge (which is the 2nd parking lot on your left as you enter oxbow). We'll discuss the routes and head out!

The O'Leary's will provide high quality drinking water. If you enjoy a cocktail post-run, please bring your own, I suspect I will.

If you've never hiked or run the trail of oxbow, you're in for a treat! If you have, this will be a reminder of how wonderful this park is in our very own backyard. Here's a link to info on the park if you're interested in learning more. http://www.co.olmsted.mn.us/upload_dir/pw/oxbowpark.pdf

Check out the trailer for Spirit of the Marathon (near the bottom of this blog). I saw this at the theater, and it's simply amazing! If you've ever run a marathon.... you'll love it. If you've ever considered a marathon... you need to see it.

Spirit of the Marathon captures everyone, from elite athletes to first timers, unsure if they can accomplish the feat. It's such a great story... check it out. Fathers Day is just around the corner (hint hint O'Leary family!)

Summer Schedule

Based on the results of last weeks poll, we're moving to an every week schedule for the summer! No worries, if you can't make it all the time, please come to the Team R.E.D. get together that you can.

Summer Schedule: we'll keep the 1st & 3rd Thursdays at the Bears Den... then the 2nd & 4th (sometimes 5th) will start a finish at another location, providing some change in scenery. The location will be determined week by week.

This Thursday, June 11th, we discussed meeting at Oxbow Park, and hitting the trail system. There are flat, easy trails.. as well as some steeper options for those interested. I'll check out the trails Wednesday, if they're still really wet/muddy, we'll come up with Plan B.

Congrats!

Congratulations to last weeks guest runner, Steve DeBoer, as on Sunday June 7th, Steve celebrated another anniversary of his running streak, consisting of running at least one mile per day, every day, since 1971!

I know for those in attendance on Thursday, the general thought was that is absolutely amazing! Below is a link to the official U.S.A. Streak Association. Interesting, as Steve mentioned, Rochester MN has the highest percentage of streak runners in the nation. (I would have expected a warmer climate to hold that honor).

runeveryday.com

Routes & Guest

I've moved up our Thursday evening start time to 6:45pm to provide an opportunity to speak with Steve Deboer (pictured here). Steve is 5th on the U.S.A. Active Streak Running list... and this Sunday will mark his 38th complete year of running at least one mile, everyday since June 7th 1971! We'll chat with Steve a bit and then plan to be on the road at approx 7pm.

The routes for this week have been linked to the right hand column of this page. I'm re-using some routes from a few weeks ago (as I ran out of time!)

On an unrelated note: Who wants to make a trip to Chi-town this fall? This race looks awesome! Thanks to Mike Schmitt for sharing it. The race is sponsored by Men's Health, but both men and women compete.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4121778001?bclid=4132873001&bctid=4239942001

News & Notes

Hey everyone.. first off, I'll just brag a bit as Megan O'Leary competed in the Kids Triathlon this past weekend. They had to swim 200 yards, bike 5 miles and run 1 mile. She did great, beating her time from last year by more then 2 1/2 minutes!

Ok.. on to business. It's Team R.E.D. week! I'll have the routes posted online later today, or early tomorrow. Please come join us this Thursday at Bears Den at 7pm!

A week from tonight marks the start of the 39th Annual All Comers Track Meets at Rochester's Soldiers Field track. This is a great event, which runs for 6 consecutive Tuesdays starting June 9th. The running events range in distances from 50 meters to one mile, and the long jump is also offered. Children run against others in their own age group, which range from ages 2-and-under through high school. (parents can run to assist their children if they like). Here's a link to the website http://www.rochestertrackclub.com/RACES--ACTIVITIES/All-Comers.aspx Just check out this little guy collecting his ribbon! What fun!

The Byron Track Booster Club and Byron Community Education also co-sponsor All-Comers meets, and they start a week from Sunday. Details below:
*_Byron All-Comers Track Meets...All Ages Welcome!!!_*
When: Sundays, June 14, 28 and July 12
Where: Byron Middle School Track/Field
Time: 6:00 pm
Events: 25 meters - 50 meters – 100 meters – 200 meters – 400 meters
1 mile run (If enough interest)
Field Events: Long Jump – Any age
Shot Put: 8 years and older
High Jump: 8 years and older
Cost: FREE to all!! No Charge!
*_BRING WATER TO DRINK_*
Participation ribbons and ribbons for 1st, 2nd and
3rd places will be awarded in both girls’ and boys’ categories. Ages of
competition will be: 2 years and under, 3-12 year olds will be competing
with their own age groups, 13-15 years, 16-18 years and adult.
Handicapped athletes are welcome to attend and compete.

Also note, there's a great race coming up this Saturday. It's the Chester Woods Trail Run at Chester Woods park. Go to: http://rochestertrackclub.com/Calendar/Calendar-Detail.aspx?raceID=274 to find all the details, including down loadable entry forms, online registration and a link to the race directors (Jim Mason) blog.

On that note, we have one Complimentary Chester Woods Trail Run entry up for grabs this week! Please let me know if you're interested, and I'll pull together some type of contest to see who is the winner! (I know of two people interested so far, I do recommend this race, it's well organized and great fun!)