ROSE CITY RUNNERS

Greatest Feets 2011

<-at the Run for Rachael 5/23/10 Yulgoo Nyhan, Amy Duncan, Emily Lummer, Betty Fisher, Lou Grundfelder, Cande Olsen, Dede Paul.  Yulgoo's first race!

We all know that our Club is made up of some of the most talented and energetic people you’ll ever want to meet. One can’t attend the Saturday morning run without feeling that you are rubbing elbows with a very accomplished group of people. But what exactly are their individual accomplishments? If asked directly, most would reply, “Ah, it was nothing.” So we had to use a combination of firsthand knowledge and direct coercion to put together this celebration of a cross section of club member’s individual achievements—their Greatest Feets, if you will—in 2011 that has continued our club’s tradition of having one awesome group of terrific peopleSpeaking of feets, at the top of the list,

is Lou Grunfelder whose heel injury would have made Achilles feel dissed.
But like the immortal warrior of yore,
Lou finished the season strong despite still being sore.

For Rob Powers who approaches training like the Marine he is,
He set his sights this year to accumulate the PR’s that he’s missed.
By working his butt off with Dave Hoch out on the track,
Rob’s lost 25 lbs., and has been PRing consistently and never looked back.

Derek Shendell accomplished so much from last January through the Fall,
That we had to make more room for him to get it all on his wall.
He used his athletic prowess in duathlons and the road racing sport,
To raise money for breast cancer and other charities of that sort.
Upon reaching this objective, he focused on a new goal of equal urgency,
He published numerous public health papers in CA, Nigeria and New Jersey.

The speedy Kimberly Borin, continued to confound,
She ate her way through a 50 miler without gaining a pound.
Then in Italy she pioneered performance running in on top of military tanks,
Plus got an invitation to join her school’s kindergarten kids for recess, as their way of saying “Ms. Kimberly, thanks.”

Eileen O’Brien has been setting records of her own in road racing.
She was winning first place in 2011 medals with great elation.
But the icing on the cake came in her last race of the year in Somerville,
She ran a 5K in 26:27 that was a PR and a huge personal thrill.

Will DeRoberts cited his wife’s accomplishments as what he values most,
Susan ran 18 marathons in 2011 he admits without the hint of a boast,
But what really makes him glow from ear to ear,
Is that Susan has qualified for Boston this year.

Barbara and John Rushman have been running for years,
But as a swimmer and dog trainer Barbara has few peers.
Last year she set a new PR by swimming over 200 miles.
And their dogs, Daisy and Ryan, together won 104 agility competition first place titles.

DeDe and Chuck Paul, awesome runners in themselves,
Are most proud of their best friend, Lady, who is in her twelves.
At Barbara’s Hounds and Harriers race last year, she did it again,
She pulled her owner to a place in the elite Top Ten.

If this wasn’t a marathon, it had all the adversity,
Nan Masterson decided to get a PhD at Columbia University.
In 2011 she finally passed her last test, and with her doctorate in hand,
She attended her son’s graduation from the University of Maryland.

And Elliott Koppel, at home in forest or river, always has a new outdoor adventure in his quiver.
Last year he paddled from Hancock to Trenton, the full length of the Delaware River.
That’s 198 miles of living with eagles and hawks in the air,
Not to mention the danger of ever present black bear.

Below are some shorter citations about members that achievement begets,
Just to make sure that no one forgets.

->Doctor Joe B. achieved the ultimate goal of working for a large corporation,
   He retired confident he could spend the rest of his life on vacation.

->Joe McVeigh with athletic credentials that are beyond reproach,
   Was invited to join the New York AC as a runner and a coach.

->Barry Lass ventured where most athlete’s only dream about,
   So his completion of the 2011 Ironman World Championship certainly deserves a shout out.

->Al MacLennan has turned walking into an endurance sport.
   Last year he logged 2,000 miles or something of that sort.

->Knut Lundburg proved once again why Norwegians are known for coming on strong.
   He placed 44^th in his age group in the Nautica NYC Triathlon.

->Finally, the multitude of age group trophies Shirley Pettijohn won in 2011 is not a matter of luck,
   She says she follows Woody Allen’s adage that “90% of life is just showing up.”

Now we could go on and one, citing the 2011 achievements of many a Rose City Runner,
But these are all of the entries we got, which is kind of a bummer.
Hopefully, next year we will be deluged with entries that stretch a mile,
Then we can celebrate the accomplishments of our immensely talented members in a much grander style.