Website upgrade. After (re) approving upgrading our website at last month’s Board Meeting, the change has finally taken place. I am working toward updating the look, so for now, it mirrors the Geocities site (and many of the pages still are on Geocities, but linked to the new site).
Go to http://www.arec-lb.com
On that same note, I have gotten several suggestions for items people would like to see on the web page. A couple of suggestions I am considering:
Membership. A point of contention with some members is whether to extend the benefits of the club to non-members and whether to press people to join and renew.
One of our (re)founding points was not to be like many other clubs – that is, dissuade people from running by constantly pressing people to join. I believe that with any membership or subscription, one should be able to test-drive it for a while before shelling out money.
If you have been running with us for awhile and have never joined, please consider it. For $25/year, you get a technical team t-shirt, over 100 running/training opportunities, a few social events, plus a monthly newsletter, website and more.
Renewing members don’t have to fill out another form – it’s pre-printed, and I can e-mail to you if you want a handy reminder.
One other membership-related issue we discussed was whether to have rolling membership (that is, to renew by the date you started). This actually doubles my work, because there are separate reminders for every member, and then what action should we take if they don’t renew?
However, we changed one policy as regards first-time members joining late in the year: If you joined AREC after the Long Beach Marathon (October 16, 2005), your membership will extend through 2006 (if you think this applies to you, see me to re-sign the liability statement). This does not apply to renewing members, though you are welcome to pay your renewal early.
Destination Races. One idea we would like to extend is getting AREC members together for road (or day) trips. In 2000, about 16 AREC members (probably 50% of the total membership at the time) travelled to Las Vegas to run the Full and Half Marathon. Last summer, a number of people went together for the SF Half Marathons.
If you have a particular run in mind, talk to Ed V. or make an announcement before the run.
Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon. Mark your calendars. The date is Sunday, April 23, 2006 in Griffith Park. Looks like Bernard will be the barbecue chef again! Todd Rose is taking sign-ups for people who want to participate, but if you have a team in mind, please try and coordinate the details (collecting money, carpooling, etc.), but give to Todd so that the teams will be assigned the same area in the handoff chute.
For newer members, JSRM is a 26.2 mile course, split up into 5 ~5.2 mile loops. There are several hundred teams, and it is an extremely fun day. The cost for a team is $200 (or $40/person).
LB Marathon Training. Training for the 2006 Long Beach (LBICBM) Marathon and Half Marathon will begin on May 20, 2006.
If you are thinking of running the marathon, you should be running regularly (3-4 times a week, around 5 miles). Even though it can be done, a marathon is not for a beginning runner (the recovery will be HELL!).
Even if you are not planning to run the Half or Full, we are looking for multiple runners to come out and assist with the runs. By assistance, we mean people who can run at a fairly steady pace and WITH the runners (running a consistent 5-minute mile will not be helpful on a long run, unless we get elites in our program).
We are also looking for people who can assist in other ways, such as manning a water station or helping out at the start of the run.
If you can assist, that would be great!
Safety. The Wednesday evening runs are getting lighter, but it’s still important to wear light colored clothing and/or reflective clothing/lights. AND, even if you wear the right clothing, also remember to give cars a WIDE berth. In runner versus car, car wins every time!
Quintennial Rose-Rahl 5K Challenge. On Tuesday, March 7th, I turn 35 years old. One day later, our illustrious President turns 40. Thus for one day and one day only, Todd and I can compete in the same age group.
On Tuesday (March 7), we are putting on a FREE AREC 5K, starting at the corner of Ocean & Bayshore (where the Sunday runs start) at 7pm.
This run will count in the AREC standings! And then, afterwards… well, who knows?