Mark your calendar: Sunday, November 3, 2024—we will run and celebrate the 30th annual Oley Valley Country Classic 10-Miler and 5k. This will be a special, one-of-a-kind event!
This year, the race will start and end at Oley Valley High School. Pre/post-race activities and registration will be indoors. There will be plenty of off-street parking for this year’s RRCA Eastern Regional Championship race. Despite the new starting location, the course will be almost entirely identical to the previous year’s course.
This course is awesome: slightly rolling hills over rural roads along Oley’s beautiful landscape. The changing leaves and cool temps this time of year add to the scenic nature of the Fall Classic.
Munchiez Food Truck will be on site serving breakfast plus their regular menu! We will also serve some post-race fare—carbs and fruit!
Register by October 21 to guarantee your long sleeve shirt, and join us at this great event! The shirt will incorporate past logos as well as a unique one for our 30th running of the OVCC!
A new special event this year will be the running of the 1st annual Croc-O-Mile! Who is the fastest human in Crocs? Lets find out…it’s all for fun and for charity anyway, so enjoy running the Croc-O-Mile on the high school track for only $5. We will run this event throughout the morning, so you will have ample chance to run our primary events (10M/5K) and still squeeze in a Croc-O-Mile!
More details to come on this, but count on it being fun! People may travel from all over the world for the first Croc-O-Mile!
Questions? Email the RD—oleyvalleycountryclassic@gmail.com
Looking forward to an exciting morning for everyone to run their hearts out!
This month’s “Weekend 10-Miler” will double as a Blues Cruise Training Run — and runners will have many options to run shorter or longer distances.
The details:
Mark your calendars for a Blues Cruise training run July 27, 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Justa Road Parking lot off Brownsville Road.
The route will be a 5 mile “figure 8-ish” loop, with about 700 feet of climbing.
This event will be a fat-ass style run, meaning it is an informal gathering in which participants bring snacks to share. There is no registration or awards. We’ll have cold water and Gatorade and mark the loop. You can run it as many times as you like! The beauty of this system is runners of all paces can enjoy a long run together at their own speed, while intersecting each other multiple times during the event. Bragging rights available to those who complete the most loops or distinguish themselves in any other way that catches our fancy!
Here’s a TENTATIVE course we are considering. Don’t miss out on the chance to see the mysterious Fugawi Aid Station location before race day!
***THERE ARE NO REST ROOM FACILITIES AT JUSTA ROAD. Nearest bathroom is at State Hill Boat Ramp; plan on stopping there on your way in.
Bring a snack to share, hydration vest or belt, reusable cup, lawn chair, and some dry clothes if you don’t want to leave sweaty. Post run refueling at Ganly’s Irish Pub! https://ganlysirishpub.com/
The Pagoda Pacer Wine and Cheese Party is back for 2024 at the Barn at Cacoosing! This fun event will be held on Saturday, September 7th from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm and is a great way to relax and mingle with fellow Pacers.
TICKETS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT!
Your ticket includes wine, beer, soda, a large variety of cheeses, meats, fruits, desserts and more. The main event will be in the barn, but if it is nice weather, please feel free to bring a chair to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
Tickets are $20 per Pacers and $25 for non-members through 8/25, and then $25 for members and $30 for non-members through 9/7.
Tickets must be bought in advance online, we will not be accepting cash at the door.
Advance ticket purchase makes this much easier on the club volunteers and helps get an accurate head count for food and alcohol. Also, you must be 21+ to attend; please leave the little ones at home to enjoy an evening out with your friends! We can’t wait to see you there!
Our mid-week group runs have at least two different distance options (3-4 miles and 5-6 miles) with an appointed leader for each route. Each run will have its own Facebook “event,” and the routes will be posted a couple days before the run. After each run, those who can will stick around for food, drink, and good conversation, either at a nearby restaurant or a club member’s residence. Come for the run; stay (if you can) for the fellowship. (If you don’t have time to stick around, no worries–just come run with us!)
Each month, the Pagoda Pacer Long Run Committee plans a local, 10-mile group run here in Berks County, usually on trails at one of our many local parks. Often we will go out for lunch together after the run.
This month we will run at Rustic Park on Saturday, June 22.
Each month, the Pagoda Pacer Long Run Committee organizes a group run in a location beyond Berks County, so we can explore new trails together. We also typically go out to lunch together after the run before heading home. Come join us!
This month’s run will be in Mount Gretna, PA on Saturday, June 29th.
** Please let us know if you will attend, so we can plan for food.**
We submit a headcount on the Monday before the meeting. You can mark yourself “Going” to the FB event, comment on the event, or contact president@pagodapacers.com.
Susan Jindra appointed Secretary by the President.
Minutes from April meeting were accepted as posted.
REPORTS
Treasurer Report (Shaun Luther) – Balance $87,923 (137% of Target). Shaun will finish taxes by the deadline. He will also finalize the 4th CD.
Membership Report (Jason Karpinski) – Currently membership totals 252 (individual 109 & family 143) which is down slightly from this time last year. Jason shared items on the Membership Application that need to be updated.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Steve Vida moved that “participants in the 8-week beginner runner program are not required to register for the Grings Mill race.” The motion was adopted without debate.
I started my build up for this race the week of Thanksgiving, 2023. I built up coming off the Harrisburg Marathon with weeks of 20, 30, and 40 miles before I started adding 10% each week. I decided to run Jack Daniels 2Q program, as I liked the flexibility of the workouts, which fit in great with my family’s hectic schedule (we now have 2 girls under 2 years-old, and I just started nursing school while working 30 hours / week). At the end of January, I was experiencing some lower tibial pain. I decided to stop running entirely for a week after coming off my then highest volume week ever of 57 miles. This ended up being a great decision. I scaled back up pretty quickly and didn’t miss any other 2Q workouts, and the pain never flared up. I think running on the road/snow in trail shoes after a snowstorm caused it.
I averaged 50-60 miles for the majority of the block which was about 15-20 miles more per week than my Fall buildup.
I had two key workouts that really gave me confidence going into the race. The first was a repeat of a route that I did in my fall prep except I went from 20 miles at a 8:40 pace to 22 miles at a 7:39 pace, including a 6:45 last mile where I pushed because I felt like I had gas in the tank. The second was my last long run before tapering. This was a 19 miler that featured 1350 feet of vertical gain which is substantially more than the entirety of the Pittsburgh Marathon course. Average pace was 8:05, which was a bit slower than I wanted, but the elevation was brutal. At the time, I honestly thought to myself that I am an idiot and I should’ve picked a flatter route because this didn’t really give me confidence going into the taper.
Pre-Race
I said this in last year’s report for Pittsburgh, and it bears repeating: 10/10 organization and race experience. Plenty of bathrooms, quick and easy gear check, easy access to corrals, such a relaxed pre-race experience. The only stressful part of this morning was coordinating a photo with a group of other local runners for a pre-race picture. Ironically, I was the one who suggested the meeting area, and I was the only one who went to the wrong spot.
Race
Race strategy coming into the race was to run at a 7:15 pace and shoot for a final time of 3:10, with as close to even splits as possible.
Miles 1-11
One of my favorite things about the half and full in Pittsburgh is that they set off fireworks right after the gun start and after the start of each subsequent corral. My wife ran the half and this was a major selling point to her. I love how the excitement isn’t reserved for just the first corral. The first 11 miles vary between flat and rolling as you go up and down a few bridges. During this period I clocked miles between 7:07 and 7:15. For all of training and race day, I went with Tailwind powder for my nutrition. I absolutely LOVE it. I was concerned that carrying 2-750 ml soft flasks in my flip belt with 3 scoops (scoop has 25 carbs) would be annoying and cumbersome, but throughout training I found it wasn’t that annoying and I felt super well fueled and hydrated throughout my training runs. I took roughly 1/3 of the flasks every 3.5 miles.
Miles 12-14
The part that everyone talks about and fears in Pittsburgh is Birmingham Bridge and Forbes Ave. Last year I picked a hill nearby that simulated the Birmingham Bridge and strategically placed it at the end of my long runs. This year I went a step further and had hilly routes for 90% of both my easy runs and my 2Q workouts. This paid off BIG. Going into the race I told myself to not burn my candle out in this stretch and be ok with 8min or 8:15min miles. I ended up running 7:26, 7:31, and 7:16 for miles 12,13, and 14 which featured 41,102, and 43 feet of vertical gain. I did moderate the effort on the inclines, but I think this was a spot where the carb loading paid off from a power production standpoint. I also think my final key workout that I deemed “too hilly” paid off. I was feeling really good here. There was a small group of people midway up Forbes Avenue, and I turned to them, made a “eating-with-a-spoon” gesture, and said, “I eat hills for breakfast!”
Miles 15-19
This part of the course was a little bit quieter, but I enjoyed running through parts of the city that I hadn’t previously experienced. At about this time, I started to notice that there was a particular spectator who was showing up solo at various points of the race with a small sauté pan and wooden spoon to cheer people on. I didn’t see any bicycle, so I’m not sure how he was getting from point to point so quickly. My times for these miles ranged between 7:07 and 7:28.
Mile 20
Mile 20 features the highest point on the course–the last substantial incline–after which is a steady decline to the finish. It was around this point that I was starting to feel the effort become more difficult. I had music on the entire race, and I paused it for about 20 seconds. I had forgotten that someone I run with weekly was coincidentally going to be in Pittsburgh visiting a friend. Luckily my music was off because I heard him say my name and cheer me on and that gave me quite a boost when I needed it most. Clocked my slowest mile here (7:39). The “Pan Man” showed up 2 more times in this stretch.
Miles 21-26 (Race #2)
The mental boost from my buddy really helped me reset, and I realized that I actually felt pretty good for being 20+ miles into a marathon. At this point, the wall hits a lot of people, but I never ran into that issue. Shoutout yet again to Featherstone Nutrition on IG. I followed her carb loading calculator as always and I am now 3-for-3 on not bonking nor really hitting a wall in my marathons. The “Pan Man” made another appearance and I said to him, “ You are f****** everywhere!” His last appearance was around mile 25, and he seemed to be with a group of friends at this point, so this time I said, “Hot damn–it’s the man with the pan!” They thought it was funny; I thought it was funny; my wife when I told her did not think it was funny.
I was clocking miles at 7:15 or better at this point. I was slowly running people down, one-by-one, as I was surging at a time when others struggled. This was a mental boost for me, and I ground out my fastest mile at mile 24 (6:57), which had a major elevation drop of -175ft. Mile 25 took 7:21, and Mile 26 was 7:08.
The Finish 26-26.4
I unfortunately did not run a perfect course (who ever does lol) so my finish was .4 miles according to my watch. I clocked a 6:07 pace with a top pace of 5:16. The finishing stretch was super crowded as the half and full marathon course came back together. I had to weave a bit but finished strong and on my feet. I crossed the line with an official time of 3:10:52, which was almost exactly a 10 min PR from the nearly pancake-flat Harrisburg Marathon.
Post- Race
The finish line feeling is what I train for. The feeling of all the hard work paying off. All of the many early morning runs in the dark, the below freezing temperatures (including some in single digits) and lifting 3x a week with a heavy leg day weekly. I steadily climbed from 238th place to 181st by the finish, jumping 25 places in the last 10k. I was patient and executed my plan to perfection, all while having the most fun throughout the race that I’ve ever had.
I am constantly driven by me desire to find my true potential because I have already surpassed what I thought my potential was when I started my running journey less than two years ago in August of 2022. Next up for me is the Philly Marathon this November, where the goal is to BQ (sub 3 hrs). Realistically, this won’t actually qualify me a spot in Boston 2026 because of even faster cutoff times.
Pittsburgh has been an absolute joy to run in, so maybe in 2025 I’ll run it again and truly punch my ticket to Boston?
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