ORANGE RUNNERS CLUB

JUNE GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

DATE & TIME: 6/6/08 @ 8:05 p.m.

LOCATION: OLD ERIE PUB & GRILL, Middletown , NY

Todd Jennings, Club President, welcomed all members and advised that the business meeting would be brief as our meet-and-greet with members & special guest Frank Shorter had been somewhat extended. Todd gave his thoughts on “Making Running Fun”, and methods of evaluating and reshaping your personal program when running becomes a chore.

Club Business & Information  

• Phil Melillo's monthly membership report showed that membership is up by 10 members from last year's total.
• 59 of the members are new (not renewals) and 235 are renewals.
• Phil advised that we would have a table at the Classic 10K to promote the club and recruit new members. At this time, we are offering a promotional rate – if someone joins, their full year payment will give them membership for the balance of 2008 as well as 2009.
• Anyone who has an idea on how to promote club membership & growth, please share it.
• Website report
• The website continues to be updated with current events
• Anyone with photographs, please email them to webmaster@orangerunnersclub.org and they will be posted.
• George Shurter gave the monthly treasurer's report.
• Ed O'Connell gave the track report this month. Track workouts are held at Minisink H.S. with warmup at 5:45 p.m. every Wednesday. Attendance is generally 25-35 people, and the workout is structured with several groups working at different speeds. The workout is varied and designed to help improve runners at all levels.

Upcoming Events

• Classic 10K, Sunday June 8 th with the 5K starting at 7:45 a.m. and the 10K at 8:30 a.m.
• Valerie Kilcoin, registration chairperson, advised that pre-registration numbers were good, with a total of 858 so far.
• Todd talked about race strategy during the type of excessive heat and humidity which is projected: “Start slow, then slow down.” On a serious note, everyone was cautioned to be aware of the warning signals for dehydration and heat exhaustion. Medical staff will be on hand should anyone require attention.
• Club Social Evening on Friday July 18 th at The Captain's Table, Route 17M in Monroe at 6:30 p.m. We will meet in the back (outside area) for a social evening – kids welcome, as there is a big sandy area where they can also have fun.
• Second Annual ORC Walk Party Saturday July 19 th 9:45 a.m. This non-competitive health walk will be held at Fancher Davidge Park , Middletown NY (same location as last year). The club goal is to get 100 walkers. Breakfast will be served after the walk, and live music will be provided by Sarah Morr.
• Bull Run – September 20 th 9 a.m. at Thomas Bull Park . Further details will be available at next meeting. This ORC race is a 5K run in conjunction with the Senior Games and the Parks Department.

There were a number of shoutouts to our club members for their recent achievements.

Guest Speaker

Middletown native and Olympic champion runner Frank Shorter addressed the club with his unique perspective on running and how it has evolved during his lifetime. He spoke about growing up in Middletown and what his experience is returning each year for the Classic 10K. Frank spent some time discussing efforts to eliminate the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports, and shared his belief that this situation has shown continuing improvement over the past years. He took questions from the group after concluding his talk.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

Next month's meeting will be on Wednesday July 2 nd at Old Erie Pub & Grill in Middletown , NY . Food at 7 p.m. and Meeting at 7:30 p.m.