Thursday Track: Track Venue For Fall (REVISED!)

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Written by Bwana Bwana

October 4, 2017

The Thursday Track Crew meets every Thursday at the Curtin-Burrowes entrance to Rec Hall at noon for a warm-up run to the Penn State track. You can run with the group from Rec Hall (about a mile-and-a-half warm-up). They leave around 12:10. Or meet at the track for the workout at about 12:25.

NOTE: Until we find the magic key to unlock the PSU outdoor track (we're working on it!), we'll be running speed repeats at the IM Fields on the north side Park Avenue between the Law School and University Drive as long as the weather is nice. On rainy days, or once the weather turns wintery, we'll be at the MSF Indoor Track, which is just south of the Bryce Jordan Center on University Dr. and Dauer Dr. PSU affiliates should bring an ID and sign in at the desk at the lower entrance. Others will have to hail a PSU person and sign in as a "guest" of that person.

NVRC Supports 2017 United Way Day of Caring

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Written by Martin Mazur Martin Mazur

It’s seven years in a row now. Cheree Jones helped to organize a crew of bushwhackers for the United Way Day of Caring, this time with the help of Liz Kisenwether. The project was again the golf course perimeter bikepath/jogging path, this time along the southwest edge of the Penn State Blue Golf Course along Blue Course Drive. Brush was also cleared at intersection of former railroad bed and road leading up to the Walker Clubhouse. The usual saplings, bushes, logs, branches, vines, and thickets had encroached on the jogging path.

The volunteers were: Keller Williams Realty, Kid Tech, the Penn State Women's Softball and Lacrosse Teams (around 60 volunteers from among these groups, including over 20 from each of the PSU women's teams), and Joe Hughes--Penn State Golf Courses PGA General Manager/Head Golf Professional, who helped tremendously with the planning and execution, and Liz and Jim Kisenwether and Cheree Jones. The crew cleared the way so that runners have a clear treadway and golfers can see runners so they can yell "fore!". The NVRC, as usual, chipped in to pay for some food and refreshment. Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Cheree Jones.

Group shot of some of the participants in the 2017 Day of Caring

Read more: NVRC Supports 2017 United Way Day of Caring

2017 Race Series Cup

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Written by Marty Mazur Marty Mazur

The 2017 Race Series is well underway. So far we've had 5 races in the Series with another one (the Beidleheimer Sidewinder 10K) coming soon. Tallies are available right now for the first two races, First Night and the Indoor Mile Series. More will be added as we catch up.

Check your tallies here. If you spot an error, please contact Bob Shafer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Check here for rules and here for the list of Series races. There are also numerous opportunities to earn Volunteer points: Helping out at NVRC races, at the NVRC/Centre Parks and Rec Youth Cross-Country Meets, Volunteer coaching with the Nittany Track and Field Youth Group, and donating blood at the NVRC Blood Drives, and many more. But to participate, you have to be an NVRC member to participate. Join the Club! More information on the Series is here.

Minutes of the October 3rd 2017 Meeting of the NVRC

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Written by Erika Christiansen Erika Christiansen

Board Meeting:

Club officers present: Bob Shafer (president), Marty Mazur (communications director), Marty Klanchar (membership director), Erika Christiansen (secretary/archivist). Others present: Cheryl Keller Capone and family, Jake Clements and family.

The officers continued to discuss the NVRC outdoor track, Multi-sport facility and Rec Hall Policies. Marty Klanchar brought paper work that needed to be signed by the president, Bob Shafer. The Athletics department will respond once they have looked over our application and paper work.

Read more: Minutes of the October 3rd 2017 Meeting of the NVRC

Thursday Track Report: Uneasy Lies The Head That Wears A Crown

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Written by Bwana Bwana

October 19, 2017

Sunny, warm, and dry. And beautiful! We feel blessed when we get one or two days like in mid-October. But a whole week? And thankfully, the humidty has been turned down all week. About 15 or so runners, including Tom Cali, John Domico, Bob Cornwall, Bob Shafer, Mike Weyandt, Meira Minard, Mike Zimmerman, Judd Michael, Mike Martin, Adam Ilgen, David Lloyd, and Marty Mazur turned out at the IM Fields today for the weekly speed workout.

Bwana hasn’t been to the track workout in a few weeks, probably the longest he’s been away from the track in almost 20 years.. Busy, traveling, etc. In the meantime, the workout has moved, at least until bad weather comes, from the MSF Indoor Track to the IM Fields on Park Ave. And in the meantime, a new leader, with new protocols, new ways of calling the workout, has come to the fore. The trouble is, Bwana doesn’t even know who that is! He got to the workout site just as the workout was being discussed. “Discussed” being a term of art meaning "argued over", with Zeagle, Domico, Meira, and a few others trying to figure out what’s the what and who’s the boss of the square. The new protocol involves not recognizing latecomers (even Bwana, apparently). So Bwana and a couple of others were left to figure out by follow the leader. But, it was all good. The IM Fields are foot friendly, with plenty of marked out square fields for soccer or some other lesser sport. Lots of ways to do do reps of the same distance (even if you don’t know what that distance is). The day was great, and a good workout was had by all.

Whoever’s in charge these days will soon find out that the mantle of Bwanahood is not something to take lightly. You’re “in charge”, but nobody to take you seriously. You’re “in charge", but you’ll have lots of arguments and complaints about the workout. Looks like it’s happened already!

NVRC Joins Clearwater Conservancy For Group Run For Slab Cabin Run Initiative

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Written by Martin Mazur Martin Mazur

The Clearwater Conservancy and the NVRC will join in a group run on Saturday, August 19 that will help inform participants about Clearwater’s Slab Cabin Run Initiative. The Clearwater Conservancy is a nationally accredited land trust serving Centre and surrounding counties. The Slab Cabin Run Initiative is a plan by Clearwater to permanently conserve 300 acres of agricultural land owned by the Meyer and Everhart Families of State College. Located next to densely populated neighborhoods—across the street from the State College Friends School and Foxdale Village along University Drive—the property lies in a vital portion of the Spring Creek Watershed, within the Source Water Protection Area for the Harter-Thomas wells which supply the majority of the drinking water to Centre Region residents. Clearwater has raised 88% of the 2.75 million dollars needed to fully fund a land conservation easement on the property. More information on the Slab Cabin Run Initiative can be found at http://www.slabcabinrun.org and in this press release:

http://www.clearwaterconservancy.org/clearwater-conservancy-comes-home-stretch-effort-protect-local-water-suppy-permanently-conserving-300-acres-farmland/

The group run will start at the Friends School on University Drive at 8:30 AM with a brief overview of the initiative. Runners will then proceed on the bike path along University Drive past the Toll Brothers development site to the Musser Greenway, through the Greenway and on to the Musser Gap parking on Shingletown Rd. There will be a brief stop along the way to explain the Musser Gap connection to the Slab Cabin Initiative. Then runners will return to the Friends School. All are welcome. The full run out to Musser Gap and back is about 6 miles. Since the route is out-and-back, runners can take in as much or little of the full run as their time allows.

All participants and their families are also invited to return later in the day, at 4:30 PM, for a social at the Cobble Creek Clubhouse where there will be snacks and refreshments and a presentation by the Clearwater Conservancy of a broader overview of the Slab Cabin Initiative. The Cobble Creek Clubhouse is at 3296 Shellers Bend. (Turn onto the northernmost entrance to Shellers Bend from Blue Course Dr. Look for the Cobble Creek sign on your left. Make a left into Cobble Creek, then take a left and follow the driveway until you come to the clubhouse on the right.)