THE DRIVE FOR 23
Our journey has only begun, but already 58 of us have been involved in the Carroll ES Running Challenge. There is 23 schools, how many can you touch? How many can touch all 23? Below is a list I will try to maintain tracking how many schools everybody has touched.
23 Schools - The Super Hero Club "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" The Cheetahs: max speed of 70 mph:
Sara Abbott, Stephanie Bowman, Andrea Everton, Mindy Grosh, Ed Haser, Robert Holt, Lisa Lance, Teresa Langley, Brian Lawton, Jane Linde, Kathy Miller, Marcus Miller, Margie Neighoff, Stephanie Phillips, Karen Rinehart, Loel Romeo, Jean Smink, Sherry Stick, Jamie Sullivan, Debbie Tiburzi, Becky Walter, Bobby Ward, Carole Williamson
22 Schools - The VIP Club "Almost there, just 1 school to go" The Mako Sharks: max speed of 60 mph:21 Schools - The Titan Club "So close we can taste it" The Wildebeests: max speed of 50 mph:
20 Schools - The Conqueror Club "Light at the End of the Tunnel" The Lions: max speed of 50 mph:
Shannon Everton, Liuda Galinitas, Steve Kerzel, John Schmitt
19 Schools - The World Class Club "The longest and toughest journeys are normally the most rewarding" The Gazelles: max speed of 50 mph:18 Schools - The Hot Shot Club "This is the challenge that never ends, it keeps going on and on my friends, some people started running it not knowing what it was, they'll keep on runing it forever just because..." The Marlins: max speed of 50 mph:
Janice Kurtenbach
17 Schools - The Hero Club "Does it count if I do the run in my head?" The Killer Whales: max speed of 48 mph:16 Schools - The Idol Club "At this point, there is no going back, I must finish this" The Greyhounds: max speed of 46 mph:
Christine Johnson, Scott Kohr, Donna Larkin
15 Schools - The Dynamo Club "Where's the next water stop? You promised water stops..." The Jackrabbits: max speed of 45 mph:Jason Stick
14 Schools - The Star Club "Wouldn't it have been easier to drive from school to school?!?" The Elks: max speed of 45 mph:Jennifer Marcinko, Becca Minor
13 Schools - The Risk Taker Club "Lucky Number 13, just 10 to go!" The Cougars: max speed of 45 mph:12 Schools - The Maverick Club "Starting to wonder what I was thinking when I told Bob I would do this" The Kangaroos: max speed of 44 mph:
Emma Kurtenbach, Dave Larkin, Mandy Lustig, Michele Pearson, Eileen Voigt,
11 Schools - The Olympian Club "I think I can I think I can" The Ostrichs: max speed of 44 mph:Pete Knapstein
10 Schools - The Champion Club "Officially at double digits now...and it all started with just one" The Horses: max speed of 43 mph:Bryan Cluts, Bob Sommerville
9 Schools - The Believer Club "I remember the first two were only two tenths of a mile apart...now they are all miles apart" The Coyotes: max speed of 43 mph:Rachel Larkin
8 Schools - The First Rate Club "1/3 of the way there, and I'm still standing" The Gray Foxes: max speed of 42 mph:7 Schools - The TNT Club "I'm doing it for the Chocolate Milk!!" The Zebras: max speed of 40 mph:
6 Schools - The Warrior Club "I'm doing it for the Cookies!" The Antelopes: max speed of 35 mph:
Melanie Biemiller, Laurie Frederick, Chris Reese
5 Schools - The All Star Club "There is no one giant step that does it, it's a lot of little steps" The Hyenas: max speed of 35 mph:Krista Quenzer, Maura Linde, Chris Snyder, Paul Valez
4 Schools - The Traiblazer Club "Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try" The Giraffes: max speed of 35 mph:Betsy Hiner, Sharon Inge, Chase Kurtenbach, Angie Linde, Christine McGovern, Andrea Valez, Helen
3 Schools - The Contender Club "It may only be 1 run...but it is "several" schools" The Emus: max speed of 31 mph:Chris Coder, John Linde, Kenneth Loebenberg, Nanette Melton, Sam Piazza, Frank Tiburzi, Chris Tobias, David Wilson
2 Schools - The Bar Raiser Club "It doesn't matter that you can see Parr's Ridge from Mt. Airy, it still counts as 2 schools" The White-tailed Deers: max speed of 30 mph:David Dushkin, Emily Fulkerton, Isaac Fulkerton, Barbara Guthrie, Peggy Haser, Erin Larkin, Katie Mead, Jason Ruch, Shaye
1 Schools - The Competitor Club "At least we got off the couch - Journey of a thousand miles starts with one step" The Bobcats: max speed of 30 mph:Rudy Linde, Erin
How It Works
This is just meant to help those who want to participate in the 2013 Carroll Elementary School (ES) Running Challenge - whether it is running just one or two of the runs, most of the runs, or all of the runs. I have organized this by questions you may have (this way you can skip sections if you don't want to read the whole thing). Let's get this thing started!!How can I find out who is missing which runs, or when the next run is scheduled?
You can check out the Carroll County Running Challenge Upcoming Runs Page - this page will tell you who is missing each of the runs (in case you want to hook up with other runners needing to make up a run), or you can find out when group runs and even some make up runs are scheduled.
What is the Carroll ES Running Challenge?
In 2012 a group of about 30 people did the Carroll HS Running Challenge. It was a huge success, and many hoped we would do it again this year. This year we decided to do the Carroll ES Running Challenge. There is 23 Elementary Schools in Carroll County. The idea is that over the course of the challenge we will run to each of the Elementary schools. Bob Ward has established a series of 14 runs in which we can get to each of the schools. Each run starts at the last school we ended at, till we have reached all 23 schools.
What was the Carroll HS Running Challenge?
The Carroll HS Running Challenge was a series of 7 runs where we ran from one high school in Carroll county to the next till we had completed them all. 15 individuals finished all the runs and got commemorative medals for their achievement. Many of the individuals also bought shirts made by ERR President Jane Linde that were extremely popular. The first run started at Liberty High School, and the last run ended at Manchester Valley High School. After the last run, many of the Challengers added an 8th run to the challenge - a relay from Manchester Valley back to Liberty. One fool ran the whole way.
When does the Challenge Start?
The first run is set for Sunday, July 7th at 4:00 pm
When does the Challenge End?
For the Carroll HS Running Challenge we set out to finish it before the end of the year (2012). With 14 runs, we decided not to try and do that as it will be very hard to pack it all in for such a short time. Tentatively we have set Labor Day 2014 as when we want to finish this by.
When will each run be? Will they always be on Sunday afternoons?
No, each run will not be on Sunday afternoons. They will vary. We may have some on Sunday Mornings, Sunday afternoons, even a weekday evening if the run is short enough. We will try to avoid Saturdays for the most part so everybody can attend Bagel runs. We will figure out a date that works for a few people before we email the group to tell them when it is.
How far are the runs?
Nearly half of the runs are between 5 and 6 miles. There is one run that we can't avoid being longer - it is over a mile longer than any other run. It is approximately 10.7 miles. We calculate the length of the runs using mapquest and mapmyrun, but they always seem to end up slightly shorter than what we calculate on the sites. The longest run is the second to last run of the series
The one thing we don't like about the way we have to do this one is that the first run is the second longest run of the challenge. Last year we started with a couple short runs (and got people involved) before we hit a challenging run. If we change the start location then we will add mileage to several of the runs. Our first run is 9 miles. Note - last year a couple runners that couldn't run the whole distance on one run decided to meet us halfway. There is nothing wrong with that if you want to do that.
We also have had many people splitting up the longer runs. Run #1 was split up by half the group into two 4.5 mile runs, and Run #3 was split up into two runs of 3.5 miles and around 5 miles. As long as you eventually connect them all together it counts!
How fast does the group run?
We get all sorts of runners. The average runner is usually between 8:30 and 9:30 minute miles, but we always have a few faster and a few slower. Our fastest growing group is our 10 to 11+ minute milers that like to start a little earlier then the rest of the group with Robert Holt. For the group runs last year, it seemed that everybody was always running with someone. There is no award for being the first one there, and we won't take the group photo till everybody gets there.
If I want to attend a run, do I have to respond to the email saying I am coming?
No. Sometimes plans change, maybe you find out at the last minute you can come, or maybe you won't know if you can come till the morning of (or maybe frankly you just want to see how you feel that morning). We will always ask you to respond if you can come, but it is not required.
If we don't have to respond, why do you ask us to respond?
It can help with planning sometimes. For instance, Bob always makes cookies and brings chocolate milk to all the runs for when we finish (if you haven't had chocolate milk after a run, you will be surprised that it tastes much better than it sounds, and it is THE BEST recovery drink you can have after a run!) Having a rough idea on how many are coming can help him to make sure he has enough. On some of the runs we might need to make sure we have enough people for rides (will explain in next question about rides).
If we start and finish at different points, how do we get back to our cars?
We have found the best way to do this is that we will typically all meet at the ending point of the run. Then we will car pool to the start. After we finish we will make sure those that have their cars at the start can get back to their cars.
I heard you have to touch each school. Is that true?
Yes, part of the fun. We will have touched every school!
Will there be any water stops on the run?
If you participate in a group run, then we will do something to set up 1 or 2 water stops on the way. If you would like to help let us know. Last year we had 4 people that set up water stops on different runs we did (actually met us at points in the run to hand out water). Maybe you know someone that lives near the run we are doing that would want to help, or know someone that can't do a run but would like to be a water stop once. Just let us know when we send out the email about the run the week before and we can coordinate it. We will make sure something is set up for the group runs, even if it is just a cooler on the side of the road.
What do I get if I finish all of the runs in this Challenge?
You will have great pride...and another commemorative medal or shirt.
Do I have to do all the runs in order to do any of the runs?
No, you might decide to only do a few of the runs, or a couple of your favorites. There is no requirement that you have to do all the runs in order to come to a run.
What if I can't make a run but want to still finish them all?
You are not required to do the runs with the group in order complete the challenge. If you miss a group run, and make up on your own or with other people then you just need to let our Coordinator Bob Ward know. For fun, he does ask that you get a picture as a group (whoever ran that run) and send it to him. He will keep an album on his facebook page of all the Carroll ES Running Challenge photos. He will keep of who has completed all the runs so that everybody gets their medals.
Will there be Group Make Up Runs?
If there are a few people that can't make one of the scheduled runs, a make-up run might be announced in case others want to join in. For instance, already two people said they can't make the July 7th run, so they are making up the run with Bob Ward on July 4th at 8:00 am. Let Bob know if you already have a make-up planned, or if you want to do a make-up with him or other people. He will know who is interested in making up the run, or if a make-up is already scheduled. Rather than emailing the whole group every time a make-up is needed, he will try to coordinate it for those that ask.
People have planned make up runs nearly every day. there was an almost 2 week period where every day a group of runners was doing a make up run. Many of the make up runs are posted on the ERR facebook page, and sometimes people email Bob to find out who else needs to make up runs. There is always people that want to run the runs a second time.
Do we need to bring anything?
Nope, just something to run in. We will have cookies and chocolate milk at the finish (sometimes other goodies) as well as water and gatorade.
What is the BUDDY AWARD?
Anybody that runs at least 10 miles of bonus mileage (meaning they ran one of the runs multiple times with someone to help them make up a run) will get a special award at the end. To be eligible for the buddy award you do have to complete the challenge yourself. This IS NOT for the person that does the most mileage (Bob Ward is dominating that category right now), it is for anyone that does at least 20 miles of extra miles in the challenge.
Can I invite others to join?
Yes, please do. If you know someone is coming, let us know, but again it is not a show stopper if you show up with someone we weren't expecting.
I hear you go out to breakfast afterwards, is that true?
Sometimes a few of us will decide to go to breakfast afterwards. We will usually try to let everybody know in the email the week before if we plan to do that, but occasionally a group of us will decide at the last minute. Bob loves IHOP (loves going to breakfast with a group even more), so he will rarely turn down a trip if people want to go.
Do you have to do the runs in order?
No, but there is something neat about starting where you finished. All the scheduled runs will go in order but if you miss one you can make it up in any order or at any time.
What is the order of the runs?
The distance in parenthesis is approximate. Usually they end up shorter than what we have.
Run #1 - Mt. Airy ES to Parr's Ridge ES to Winfield ES (9.1 miles) See the Route
Run #2 - Winfield ES to Linton Springs ES (4.5 miles) See the Route
Run #3 - Linton Springs ES to Eldersburg ES to Piney Ridge ES to Carrolltown ES to Freedom ES (9 miles) See the Route
Run #4 - Freedom ES to Mechanicsville ES (4.3 miles or 6.4 miles) See the Route
Run #5 - Mechanicsville ES to Sandymount ES (5.5 miles) See the Route
Run #6 - Sandymount ES to Robert Moton ES to Friendship Valley ES (7 miles or 8.2 miles) See the Route
Run #7 - Friendship Valley ES to Westminster ES (4.5 miles) See the Route
Run #8 - Westminster ES to Elmer A Wolf ES (8.5 miles) See the Route
Run #9 - Elmer A Wolf ES to Taneytown ES (6.2 miles) See the Route
Run #10 - Taneytown ES to Runnymede ES (4.5 miles or 6.5 miles) See the Route
Run #11 - Runnymede ES to Charles Carroll ES (6.5 miles) See the Route
Run #12 - Charles Carroll ES to William Winchester ES to Cranberry Station ES (9 miles) See the Route
Run #13 - Cranberry Station ES to Spring Garden ES (10.2 miles) See the Route
Run #14 - Spring Garden ES to Manchester ES to Hampstead ES to EB Valley ES (8.9 miles)