CNW Member eNews Late Winter 2010

ANNUAL MEETING - The 38th Annual Meeting of Club Northwest will be held on Monday, March 8, at 7 p.m., with a social hour beforehand beginning at 6 p.m.  We offer free pizza as an incentive, as well as assorted sodas.  Elections for open board positions will be held, as well as election of officers for 2010-2011.  Please RSVP by Friday, March 5, to board member This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so that we know we are ordering enough pizza!  It's going to be an exciting year as we host our 42nd year of all-comers track & field after the biggest-ever 2009 season set the bar at a new height, host the track & field events for the third Washington Games, attend club nationals in San Francisco (track & field) and Charlotte (cross country), and continue planning for the 2011 national club cross country championships at Jefferson Park Golf Course.

SOUTH SOUND CHAPTER - Our South Sound chapter, headed by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it has a couple dozen members now, and is getting involved with the Rock Candy Mountain Run (see below) as a first event activity.  As well, plans are being laid to work with Saint Martin's University and coach Julie Sullivan -- a new member! -- on cross country and an off-shoot of the Winter Grand Prix next fall, along with an all-comers season at SMU this summer.  Watch for more news shortly!

TEAM NEWS - The Men's 50-59 team was unopposed for the team title at the USA Winter Nationals in Spokane on Saturday, February 13.  Without new member Joe Sheeran (not eligible yet) who was first overall, the team members were Rick Becker, David Cannon, Mark Billett, David Richard, Robinson Howell, and Jerry Zyskowski.  And Becker, Cannon, and Sheeran were 1-2-3 in the overall age-grading for the event, sweeping the top prize money positions!  Kelly Kruell was our lone masters woman, finishing second in her division (50-54), and we had three open men -- Brett Winegar in 41st, Kevin Murphy in 49th, and James Conrick in 69th -- in the 12 which selected the squad for the world cross country in Poland later this month.

Speaking of South Sounders, Karen Steen was the runner-up in the women's master's mile invitational event at the USA Indoor Nationals at Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday, February 27.  She ran 5:01.32, finishing second to So Cal TC's Lisa Valle's 4:54.73.

MEMBERSHIP IDEAS - We need to have another social soon, and we are looking for ideas!  E-mail membership chair Ed Haywood if you have an idea.  The event parameters are pretty open, but generally should be directed at the bulk of our membership -- 19-59 men and women -- without being family un-friendly. 

WINTER GRAND PRIX WRAPS UP - We had another successful season of the New Balance / Super Jock 'n Jill Winter Grand Prix, although mostly we were greeted for the six events by weather which could hardly be classified as wintery!  CNW's James Conrick was the overall winner of the series, and several other members -- including Gail Hall and Karl Kunkle -- either won their division or placed very highly!  All of the winners were feted at the post-race pizza party at Sand Point's The Brig rec center after the last race.  We owe a lot to our long-time sponsors, especially Super Jock 'n Jill (thanks to Ty!), which filled in some gaps left when New Balance had to cut back a little in their title sponsorship.  Shelley Neal brought Zats a Better Bagels every week, and Chet and Judy James from Jock 'n Jill hosted a coffee and snack booth at race #4.  Thanks also to members Mark Mandi (who designed our shirt), Rex Philpott (Mr. Registration), and Nick Fleming (Mr. Hospitality), and to Trevor Robinson, a senior at Nathan Hale High School, who recruited and led our volunteer group each race for coach Cary Stidham.  Season 15 starts Saturday, December 4th!  Make sure New Balance and SJJ know how much you appreciate their efforts!

ST. PATRICK'S DAY DASH - CNW members wishing to get entered in the St. Patrick's Day Dash as part of the elite field need to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  We encourage ALL members to wear orange and GREEN for the race -- after all, those are the colors of the Irish flag!  Come by the start and finish lines and say hello!

ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN - Members of our South Sound chapter are heavily involved in the Rock Candy Mountain "Challenge the Peak" event on Sunday, May 14.  There is a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rock-Candy-Mountain-Trail-Run/278292121264 which has a brief description with location, time, course, contact information, and more, and another page that can be linked to from www.runoly.com.  The event is USATF sanctioned, and will have a designer tee-shirt.  It's much more low-key than St. Patrick's Day, and involves a unique challenge as well!
  Rock Candy Mountain Trail Run

MAGNUSON SERIES - The Magnuson Series just keeps slowly, but steadily, growing.  Our events in January and February were both around 150 participants, with a new distance of 15k adding some new folks to the mix.  The March race is a regular event for the First Day of Spring on Saturday, March 20, and for the Memorial Day event on Saturday, May 29, but we offer some unique wrinkles for the Saturday, April 17, EARTH DAY event, including a halfmarathon!  We are also trying to find a course at Magnuson which traverses more of the wetlands without encroaching on them!  Tahoma and Bill are also doing a double on Earth Day weekend, with a Sunday, April 18, EARTH DAY event on the WWU campus in Bellingham.  More info and links on our web site.

NEW EVENT AND RENEWED EVENT - More details to follow, but ProMotion Events has many events on their calendar in the next few months.  Chief among them are the April 11 Whidbey Island Marathon and Halfmarathon, the Kirkland Halfmarathon and 5k on Sunday, Mother's Day, May 9, and several June events like Fremont and the Washington Brewer's Festival.  New to the list is the new Top Pot 5k Run on Sunday, April 25, at Green Lake, and a race renewed last year is the May 23rd Great Kilted 5k Run at Magnuson Park.  More information on the ProMotion Events website.

ANOTHER NEW EVENT!!  -  Bryan Beightol This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it has written to tell us about a new event for May with King County Parks. The event is quite unique as it has opened up the competition to virtual contestants around the world.  Also, they are allowing team entries… that is, five runners on a team fitting one of these categories:  high school, college clubs, corporations, and of course LOCAL RUN CLUBS!  The Big Backyard 5k Run/Walk and VIRTUAL 5k is set for Sunday, May 23, at 9 a.m. at Marymoor Park in Redmond.  You can read more and register online at http://www.bigbackyard5k.com/  Why have a VIRTUAL 5k, you ask? (1) Reduces the carbon footprint of the event by allowing participants the ability to compete without actually driving to the event, (2) Saves $10 on entry fees for those who participate this way, (3) Opens a regional event to the entire world, and (4) It’s EASY!  Just run 3.1 miles, map using Mapmyrun.com, and post your result on our results page!

ALL-COMERS JUST AROUND THE CORNER - The first meet in our 42nd year is Wednesday, May 26, and the series will be 12 weeks consecutively at Shoreline Stadium again this year.  We are looking to completely fill our sponsorships for this year.  Each meet can be sponsored for $500, with each sponsor able to have a booth on their night, offer special prizes, have employees come and run, walk, jump, or throw, and have a banner up every week during the season.  Contact me if you have some leads you'd like me to follow up!

It is already promising to be a busy spring and summer -- expect more issues of the eNews, and visit the web site often for updates!

Bill Roe
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