Every running club has outstanding runners. You can find these folks at or near the front of local road races. Some of them may also be competitive at a state or even a national level. Every running club has some great older runners who continue to race and compete in their age bracket. Every running club has runners who specialize in, or at least prefer, certain distances and terrains. There are 5K-10K speedsters, marathoners, and ultramarathoners. There are road runners, track stars, and trail dogs. Every running club has experienced runners and newbies. You can often find the latter being coached or mentored by the former. Of course, most members fall somewhere in between, and every running club has both older and younger runners, which is not the same as experienced and inexperienced.

So what is notable about our running club, the Medina County Road Runners? Maybe nothing. We have runners who fit the descriptions above; their accomplishments are many, and in some cases, yet to come. But that’s true with other clubs. What I think is special about the MCRR is our mutual admiration and encouragement for one another. Even this surely occurs at other running clubs. But let me tell you some more about the MCRR anyway.

A good impression I run with Jack Reilly nearly every Sunday. We meet at Hinckley Metropark for a weekly run that’s open to all. On some Sundays, 20 or more runners show up; other times it’s just Jack and me. The route is a tough one: nine hilly miles, mostly around the perimeter of the park. The plan had been to meet at 7:00 a.m. every Sunday and to do one such challenging loop. As time went on, some of us would follow that nine-miler with a shorter three-mile loop around the lake, inside the park. Eventually, several of us reached the point where we could do two of the

© Chris Kovacs

▲ The usually shy and reserved author, with his peeps.

longer loops back to back. Jack and I, and sometimes a few others, begin this ordeal by showing up at 5:30 (that’s 5:30 a.m., on a Sunday morning) to do the first loop and return in time to do the 7:00 a.m. loop, usually with more company.

During one of these runs, Wendy Kouvaras mentioned that a friend of hers had won a large local five-miler with a fast time. Wendy and I remarked how impressed we were with runners like that. This led to discussion and admiration for many other runners, some of whom we knew well. Jack eventually exclaimed, “I’m impressed with everybody!”

I knew exactly what he meant and couldn’t have said it better. Of course, I’m impressed with the fast folks. I want to be like them someday, at least as much as possible and practical— maybe when I grow up. But I also admire the new runners, the ones struggling to get in shape for their first half-marathon or marathon, the ultrarunners, and the high school kids. As a matter of fact, I’m just as impressed with these folks as I am with the speedsters.

Jack should talk. Although he has been running for many years, he has been doing races only for the last few. He has found himself to be highly competitive in his age group as he continues to persevere and improve. Jack’s nature is to be effusively complimentary of others. His enthusiasm makes him an inspiration to all.

Interestingly, to my knowledge, Jack has not yet met fellow club member John McCarroll. John is competitive in the same age group as Jack (the one that’s still a bit under 70), is also of Irish descent, is also a vegan, also wears minimal shoes, and most of all is also inspirational to all the rest of us. John even competes at

a national age-group level in events such as the 1,500 and 5,000. He trains by running gobs of miles and has many great stories to tell of the old days of racing. One of these days I’ll get these two guys to meet and maybe even stir up some friendly competition at a local race. I would bill it as a “race to the death.”

Origins Joe and Lisa Herbert, a husband and wife team of chiropractors who love to run, founded the Medina County Road Runners Club in 2007. Soon thereafter, I became aware of the group, met Joe at a club race, and signed up. They seemed to be a friendly bunch at the time, but I wasn’t sure what to expect.

A week or two later, at a different race, a guy introduced himself as an MCRR club member and further welcomed me to the club. “Mayor” Ladd Clifford isn’t a real mayor; he’s just called that by his wife, Marsha, and his many friends because of his inquisitive but friendly, welcoming nature. “If he sees another runner ahead, he’ll sprint up there to get a good look at them, and, if they’re not already a member, invite them to join the MCRR,” relates Jeannine Nicholson, his sometime training partner. “

What? Someone from Medina won the Cleveland Half-Marathon, and we don’t even know her? We have to get her in the club!” Ladd was talking about Mandy Yates, whom he did later recruit. Mayor Ladd also makes it his personal goal to pace others to help them meet their own goals, whether those goals are to finish a first marathon or to get a Boston qualifier.

Ladd’s better half, Marsha, is—as every mayor’s wife should be—in charge of the club’s top-notch newsletter. She has done such a great job on gathering stories, race results, and photos that it appears that no one—but no one—can ever take that spot over for her. She has the job for life. Well, maybe.

Running husbands and wives Mandy and Brian Yates ran competitively in college. They took some time off to have children and are now both competing once again (although now it’s on roads). In fact, Mandy qualified for the 2012 US Olympic Trials. Brian may be faster at shorter distances, but Mandy has done better at marathons and half-marathons. It’s interesting that we rarely see the two of them running together. With their kids still young, one of them usually has to stay home to let the other one run. In rare cases they can find a sitter or family member, enabling them both to come to the same race or training run. And once in a while they bring the kids so they can both show up at the club’s Tuesday evening track workouts.

Joe and Lisa Herbert’s kids are young enough that their parents rarely train or even race together. In fact, they and another married couple of competitive runners, Matt and Denise Young, usually take turns with an entire marathon training

cycle. For example, Matt may do a spring marathon so Denise can train for one in the fall, with Lisa and Joe doing the same sort of thing. What do you call a training partner who happens to be of the opposite sex but is not technically your own spouse? Why, that’s your “running husband” or “running wife,” of course. An example is Jeannine and Ladd. Another is Marsha Clifford and Charles Elkins. Charles trained hard and completed the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon wearing a 35-pound backpack. Marsha and Charles have both had gastrointestinal problems while running long distances. There is a story about the two of them stopping at a porta-potty partway through a marathon, he in back and she inside, where they could hear each other’s “terrible noises.”

There are other running husbands and wives, but it may be best to leave the story as it is, other than to say that nothing has ever gone over to the other side; it’s never gone further than hearing strange noises coming from the running spouse. Really. I think.

Peer pressure About a month before the event, Ladd and I became aware of a 24-hour run on New Year’s Eve in North Carolina. “I’ll go if you do,” we told each other during an early-morning run. That evening at the track I ran with Dan DeRosha, an

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© John McCarroll

▲ A fun little club track meet with several club members.

Ironman finisher who has never been known to back away from a challenge. I told Dan that Ladd and I would go if he would. Within six hours, all three of us were signed up. “Ladd’s an addict; he’ll do anything,” says Connie Gardner. Connie should talk. (Connie was the subject of a November/December 2009 Marathon & Beyond article. She is undoubtedly the MCRR’s most decorated runner.) A month later we took a road trip, ran an all-day-and-night ultra, and had plenty of stories to tell. This is quite typical of how things work in the club. Someone gets an idea, makes it known to a few others, and it often begins to take on a life of its own. The peer-pressure angle doesn’t hurt, either.

Something in the water Medina is a small Ohio town 33 miles southwest of Cleveland. The seat of Medina County, it has a historic town square, good schools, and along with surrounding areas, pretty, rural scenery. But there is something else about Medina: everybody runs. No, it’s not Boulder or Eugene, but for its size, it boasts much more than its fair share of runners, and they come in all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Much of this is the direct result of two related factors: Connie Gardner promulgates running’s virtues to everyone she bumps into (a lot of people), and the Medina County Road Runners collectively encourage folks of all abilities to get out and get moving.

As for the second factor, I haven’t figured out exactly what it is, but the phrase “something in the water” has been heard more than once. Medina High School, nearby Brunswick High School, and to a lesser extent, the other Medina County schools, have proven to be powerhouses in track and field and especially so in cross-country. Many top young runners have emerged and continue to appear. Unlike other cities where the only focus is football or basketball, folks in this community are aware of and support these kids, who often continue to run well at the college level at universities near and far.

Best of all is the attitude of some of the cross-country and track coaches with whom I’ve spoken. To paraphrase one (Jon Brenenstuhl, a club member), “I try to instill a love of running that will outlast their competitive career, regardless of their ability. This is something they can keep with them the rest of their lives.” Jon is not alone among the local coaches in this attitude.

Double trouble and the North Coast Since it’s still young, the club organizes only two public club races: Double Trouble, a local 5K/10K, and the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run (NC24), a national championship ultramarathon, which takes place in Cleveland. Joe and Lisa organize Double Trouble, and I am the race director for NC24. There are a couple of other races that are directed by MCRR members.

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Club members strongly support these events, both by participating and volunteering. Double Trouble is small on overall participation (around a hundred competitors) but big on enthusiasm (by the volunteers and race directors).

NC24, the USATF 24-Hour Run national championship, attracts the best ultrarunners in the country as well as many local runners, including MCRR members. Here, too, MCRR volunteers make the event a special one. And since a 24-hour event takes all day and all night to run, the fun just keeps going and going.

I should also note that MCRR runners have distinguished themselves at these events, among others. Mandy Yates won Double Trouble in 2010, and Connie Gardner became national champion once again by winning the 2010 and 2011 NC24 run. Of the many MCRR members who participated, several did so as their first ultramarathon.

In recent months the club has begun organizing races for (mostly) members only. Since these events are free, this is a great benefit of membership, and it keeps things lively. The runs include a two-mile “quickie,” a trail 2.5-miler, a track meet, and a trail 50K. What could be more fun?

The dark side Speaking of ultrarunners, Shannon Fisher and Roy Heger, another running husbandand-wife team, fit this category and are also great and accomplished trail dogs. In fact, Roy has run over 45 100-milers and shows no signs of slowing. Shannon and Roy run almost exclusively on trails and eschew pavement as much as possible. As far as they’re concerned, the steeper, rougher, more gnarly, rocky, or technical the trail, the better. I had the opportunity to witness Roy tripping and falling during an attempt to run on relatively smooth pavement. “That’ll teach you,” I said.

Shannon and Roy lead trail training runs at least once a week, and they also organize some low-key ultra events. The training runs are open to all, and no one is left behind; Roy boasts that he hasn’t lost anyone (for good) yet. One of the ultras they direct, the Run With Scissors Trail Marathon and Double-Marathon, is rapidly growing in popularity.

Enter Jan Roe. Jan was new to running but had already done a few shorter races, including at least one half-marathon. Jan has what I would call a pleasing personality, even by MCRR standards. It’s impossible to meet her and not instantly like her. Runningwise, she is also a little on the unfast side. At a half-marathon where club member Matt Young won the race outright and several others received age-group awards, Jan came in dead last. But she is so much fun that most of the rest of us ran out onto the course to finish the final mile with her. We all got something out of that one.

Jan decided that she wanted to run a marathon. Conventional wisdom has it that your first marathon should be run in a large city with plenty of cheering

spectators and an abundance of support. Had she asked me, this is what I would have recommended. But she didn’t; instead, she fell in with some bad company, Roy and Shannon. They somehow convinced her that her first marathon should be on trails: Run With Scissors, to be specific.

When I heard this, I was incredulous. At a time when most of my road marathons were in the range of 3:15 to 3:30, I finished Run With Scissors in 5:40. I had gone in thinking that I would do two loops and complete the double marathon, but after one marathon loop, I was done.

But not Jan. After months of training under the tutelage of Shannon and Roy, she completed the single-marathon version of Run With Scissors with flying colors, to the enthusiastic cheers of everyone present.

Angie and her list Angie Kovacs is always up to something. Whether it’s scrapbooking (“digistyle”), cookbook blogging (“How to Stay Fat”), photography, or marathon training, she has the market cornered. Among her new passions is leading groups of new runners through her own version of a “Couch to 5K” training program and also a half-marathon training group for first-timers.

Angie, who lost a lot of weight when she began running, has taken it upon herself to help others do the same—by all accounts, with great success. The new runners on her list are encouraged to join the club, which accomplishes two things: it works to keep these new runners motivated to keep going after their initial success, and it continues to keep our club infused with new runners who bring new ideas and enthusiasm.

The most Our club had its first awards presentation at last year’s annual holiday party and banquet. The prizes for some of the categories proved to be nearly an impossible choice. Who would we pick as Rookie of the Year? It turned out that several club members had just begun running and some were already into marathons—even running them well. Perhaps we would pick Brad Holzinger, who went from hockey player to marathoner in a flash. What about Tara LaFlamme, Dan Daubner, and Michelle Wolff, who weren’t hockey players but whose accomplishments were similar? And of course, there was Jan, another beginner, albeit a famous one. Guess what? We picked Jan.

With so many runners who had gotten into the game not long ago but not so recently that they could be called rookies, the Most Improved category would be at least as difficult to decide. Should it be Jeannine, who made incredible strides

© John McCarroll

▲

Marsha Clifford and Charles Elkins at the Buckeye Woods 50K.

throughout the year? Or Debbie Scheel, who did likewise, qualifying for Boston on her second try? The prize went to Jeannine. Finally, who would be our Most Inspirational Runner? Should it be Jan or Angie, both of whom inspire many? Or would national-class runners such as Mandy or Connie be the better choice? The winner, in a closely contested race, was Connie. As a small consolation prize, Mandy won Runner of the Year honors.

And so it goes with the Medina County Road Runners. Who are those guys? We’re people like you, of course. We just try a little harder to be nice. Author’s Note: This article was originally drafted early in 2011 and underwent some changes over time. It’s the same with the MCRR itself. Some of those latter changes include •

As you may expect, some of our former “rookies” are now experienced runners. • Jack and John have now met but haven’t yet, to my knowledge, raced to the death. • Mandy and Brian Yates moved out of the area and then left the club. •

Jan has taken over the newsletter duties from Marsha. (I hadn’t thought it possible.) She too is doing a great job. • I have been named president of the Medina County Road Runners. And now we’re all just beginning to hate one another.