Race Weekend!

Millennium Meadows Runners--looking forward to having some fun this weekend.

A few people have been writing to ask about parking. Don't worry. It's a big park and there are lots of parking spaces.

Also--please read through the website. There is a lot of information about start times, aid stations, all kinds of stuff. Sometimes when it's race week people send me questions, but it's super busy so I don't get to them as fast.

Oh--someone asked me what we'd do if it rained. Most of you already know the policy: In case of inclement weather, the race will be held OUTSIDE.

Race week stuff. Pepsi had our Gatorade shipped to my house a couple days ago. The box I opened is orange flavored. Interesting thing that happened though--the truck driver's name badge said Bob. But he looked familiar. I asked his last name. Clark. We're friends on Facebook. His dad, Bob Clark Sr., was my high school debate coach. One of my old mentors. His step-mom, Mary, was my junior high choir teacher. I hope Bob didn't get in trouble for spending so much time at my house, but there were lots of stories to be shared!

I'm heading to Pepsi this morning to pick up some bottled water and Gatorade for this weekend as well. Then over to Gordon Water for, well, water. Busy couple days ahead, which is why you're getting this a little earler than a normal Thursday.

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Welcome

New sponsors for Millennium Meadows!

Wolf Kubota--getting us the transportation we need for course setup and support!

Archival Brewing will be there, our Millennium Meadows Beer Sponsor.

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FREE 10 & 20 MILE TRAINING RUN

SEPTEMBER 28, 2024

AT THE DAVID D HUNTING YMCA

A supported 10 & 20 Mile training run, courtesy of your Grand Rapids Marathon Staff, Team World Vision, Hope Water International, and RunGR.

IT'S FREE! BUT

PLEASE SIGN UP SO WE KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE TO PLAN FOR

CLICK

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MILLENNIUM MEADOWS MARATHON PARTICIPANTS

Hey guys--we're happy to answer questions, but we're also busy with race prep. So please go to the website and scroll down and find the answers you need. They're all there!

See you on race day! CLICK

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Swimmers--Bostwick -- I'm planning on 7am every Sunday and 6am every Wednesday (when I'm in town) now that it's "open water season." Bostwick Lake swim area.

If you want to meet up with other swimmers out there at other times, check out OWS Budz group on Facebook. (You have to join the group, but hey, we let everybody in.)

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I asked Ben if there was anything special we should put in the last newsletter before Meadows. He said, just a huge plug. So here you go.

Hoping this will spark something.

RunGR

Our Official Training Partner

Facebook link

Saturday, Aug. 24, 7:00 a.m. @ Fulton/Grand River Parking Lot

Long Run

6749 Fulton St E Suite C/D, Ada, MI 49301

Long Run (8-16 Miles) starting at parking lot on corner of Fulton and Grand River. Route will take us toward Roselle Park and Knapp.

We host community long runs the 3rd Saturday of the month each month, except in May and September.

All speeds and ability levels. Free two week membership to check us out! CLICK.

GR Urban Herd

Gazelle Sports Urban Herd (8/24/2024):  East Paris Nature Park 5595 East Paris Ave SE, Kentwood

• Check in starts at 7:00 am. We will start at 7:30am with going over the routes, introductions, and a question to help everyone get to know each other.
• All paces welcome! Walk, run, or ride with us!
• Route options: 3, 5.5, or 8.5 miles

Striders Free Group Runs

Wednesday 6:00 PM, Saturdays 8AM at Striders

Creston Run Group

Come join us at Saugatuck Brewing Creston Tap Room at 6:00 PM on Mondays for a run and drinks/food afterwards! SAUGATUCK BREWING IS THE OFFICIAL BEER SPONSOR OF THE GRAND RAPIDS MARATHON FOR 2024!

Lyon Street Run Club

Tuesdays • 6:00 AM • 3 or 5 miles

August location: Outside Coffee Co, 734 Wealthy St SE

Wednesday Night Hills and Stairs

Wednesday night at 5:30ish & 6:30pm at City Built Brewing Co. in downtown Grand Rapids to run hills & stairs. We run every week through sunshine, rain, snow, or whatever weather our lovely state desires to bring on. After the run, join us inside City Built for food, drinks, and conversation.

Trail Point Run Club

Mondays at 6pm at Trail Point Brewing in Allendale. $1.00 off pints afterward.

Society Track Club 

Thursdays @ 6:00pm 

Meet at D&W in Gaslight Village

 What’s Old is New

Ed Kornoelje DO

Sports Medicine|University of Michigan Health-West

I’ll be honest—sometimes it seems like everything I write I have already written about, and not just the re-do articles that are good reminders every year like ferritin and running slow, but even the “new” articles.  There are some new concepts from time to time of course, but in general there are just so many running topics to talk about.  So with that in mind I am going old-school today—a few thoughts from various sources that I find helpful when talking running and health.  You will find some overlap here as well—some thoughts stand the test of time and are worth repeating.



One of my favorite reads is the morning shakeout by Mario Fraioli.  With a weekly newsletter and sometimes podcast, he is a runner and coach who I find particularly instructive.  A couple of thoughts from a recent article of his titled “Mario Fraioli’s Secrets to Becoming a Better Runner” I completely agree with (and have said myself) are: 

Do some resistance work 2-3x/week. Bodyweight work will get you a long way but dumbbells and kettlebells are a good investment. Better yet, learn how to lift (relatively) heavy.

Surround yourself with good people on and away from the run. A supportive environment is one of life’s most important pillars.

The entire article is short and an excellent read (I wish I would have written it as he boils down running and training about as well as I have ever seen it done), and these two nuggets in particular are often afterthoughts for many of us.  

Keep these thoughts in mind as we look at a couple more principles from a Runner’s World article that speaks to me: “9 Ways Top Masters Marathoners Stay Fast After Age 50” by Cindy Kuzma (and it’s the after age 50 part that speaks to me—less the fast part):

They find strengthening and stretching routines that work.

They train with groups (and younger runners).

Now I cherry picked these tips from each article as they reinforce a couple of principles that I strongly believe in, but the fact they are both in different articles shows just how important they are.  As we age (and from a medical perspective we start aging ever so slightly in our mid-20’s—sorry all—and pick up speed as we hit our 50’s and 60’s) muscle mass (among other things) decreases, leading to both a drop in performance and more difficulty performing daily activities.  Strength training helps to lower injury risk, keep performance high, and reduces fall risk—things that should make us want to strength train.  But as my wife (and many others) says: it’s hard. And that’s where the supportive groups come in—it’s much easier to start or keep doing hard things when you have people to do it with and cheering for you.  (We will revisit strength training over the next few weeks).

Let me leave you with two more thoughts from the articles:

Fraioli: Finally, sleep at least 7 hours a night, 8-9 if you can. This is the glue that holds it all together, not just training but overall health and well-being.

Kuzma: They find doctors who take them (and running) seriously.

Sleep is pretty self-explanatory—we do better mentally and physically when we get good rest.  Our minds and bodies need to recover to get stronger—sleep is the ticket.  And I hope finding a doctor who takes runners and running seriously is obvious as well.  In order to function at our best in running and life we need to be active, and if running is your jam, you need someone who gets it (and you).  “Just take two weeks off” or “You’re probably too old to run” is not the type of advice you need (or should really ever be given).  If you hear those words, it’s time to find someone else to work with you on your quest to stay or get healthy.

So “what’s old is new” should probably be “stick with what’s tried and true.”  There will always be new gadgets or thoughts on training, but they are often variations on concepts that have been around for a long time.  Stick with the basics to keep moving ahead.

If you are looking for a group of clinicians to come along side you in your journey check us out at UMHWest:  www.umhwest.org or call 616-252-7778.  And (let’s say it together)…

Be active!

Quick Thought: FREE ENTRY TO ANY OF OUR RACES.

If you make a $1000 donation to the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, Kent County Parks, or My Team Triumph, show me the receipt and I'll send you a code!

Oh--and if you had a baby at University of Michigan Health-West sometime since our last event. An old tradition.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Our races, plus a few good friends

Millennium Meadows Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 

Marathon Relay

August 25, 2024 CLICK

Jump in now!

Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon - Grand Rapids

Sunday, September 8, 2024 CLICK

Coming up soon!

GRM 10 & 20 Mile Training Run

September 28, 2024

FREE!

CLICK

U of M Health - West Grand Rapids Marathon

Foster Swift Half Marathon

Pepsi Zero Sugar Marathon Relay

Run Thru The Rapids 5K & 10K

October 20, 2024 CLICK

13th Annual Groundhog Day Marathon, Half Marathon, Moonlight 1/6 Marathon

February 7-8, 2025 CLICK

2nd Annual White Pine Thaw Marathon Relay

March 9, 2025

Comstock Park, Michigan

CLICK

The Fred Relay 200 mile, 100 mile, 50 mile, 25 mile relay

2025 dates: July 11-12, 2025

CLICK



AND...Triathlon Season, of course. CLICK

Use our hashtags: 

Marathon - #GRMarathon

BQ - #BQGR

Groundhog - #GRGus

Meadows - #RunTheMeadows

We Appreciate Our Runners!

Some of you are doing your first marathon, half, or 10K this weekend. We're excited you've chosen us for that. We'll try to take good care of you.

Speaking of taking good care--in Ed's article above, he talks about finding a doctor who takes running seriously. He's one of those! One of US. Multiple marathon runner who will keep you in the game if it's at all possible.

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On my mind--Ever read an obituary of someone who lived a normal life-span and all it seems to talk about is what they did in high school? I'm hanging out with runners. Goal oriented people who aren't content to talk about the glory days. People who just sign up for the next challenge. Go out and make things happen. Turning their whole lives into highlight reels.

Yeah. I'm talking about you. Hope to see you this weekend.

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See you at the FINISH LINE.

and the adventure continues....

Don Kern

Race Director