Florida Track Club - West
by Hal Goforth, Jr.
Our FTC “West” group is growing. You should see more members joining FTC now that the UASTF team XC Championships were last Saturday. Some were obligated to race for the SDTC one more time. You should already have Me, Jim McNevin, Gerard Buckmelter and Richard Williams as members for 2012. Soon Ron Wells, Ron Enos will join and the others (Jim Calloway, et al) may have to wait until the spring.
The two Rons did well in the USATF XC 10k Team Championships (Ron won the 65-69 yr div and Ron placed 6th in the same Div. and their SDTC over 60 team placed 5th). I ran as an individual in the “Big Orange” but can’t officially enter under the Florida USATF until the 17th of December due to the required 90 day waiting period rule. I caught a chest cold the week before and dropped out at 6k to preserve my health. It was my first ”dnf” in a race and hopefully my last. We did not see a FTC Masters team? Not women nor men? I plan to work on a way for us to race as a Masters FTC team next year….what all will we need to do?
Photo number “100_3562″ was taken 12/03/11 in my backyard. We had just run our weekly tempo workout (2 mi warm up, 4-6 mi tempo and 1-1.5 mi cool down) and were about to sit down to breakfast at my home.
Left to Right- Chuck Bailey 48, Ron Wells 65, Hal Goforth 67, Ron Enos 66, Jim Mc Nevin 54, Gerard Buckmelter 53, Artie Ojeda 50, Not in photo
Jim Calloway 69, Richard Willams 76 and Ryan Goforth 33.
Photo “SSFTCTeamPhoto” was taken after the Silver Strand 5k and 1/2 marathon.
Let to Right: Jim McNevin 1st Pl. 50-55 div 1:26:44, Artie Ojeda 2nd Pl.50-55 div. 1:31:19, Chuck Bailey, 3rd Pl 45-49 div 1:28:14, Hal Goforth, ran as a workout with his ill son-in-law’s bib (did not cross time strip) time was 3rd Pl 65-69 div 1:53:20, Jim Calloway raced the 5K 1st Pl 65-60 Div 21:36.
(not in photo Richard Williams 1st Pl. 75 and over div. 2:15:20)
A little History of this group.
We have been training and racing together for over 6 yrs. I have run 34 consecutive Bostons and these guys gradually joined me in my marathon training hoping to break 3 hrs. Most of them have do better than break 3 hrs (range from 2:45 to 2:59). Ron Enos broke 3hr when he won the 60-65 age div (I was second that year in this div.). Ron Wells joined us most recently. He places in the top 5 in his age Div at every USATF championship he enters. Three of us (Jim McNevin, Chuck Bailey and Hal Goforth) are High School XC coaches. Artie Ojeda is a NBC afilliate anchor-person and doesn’t get home til 0130 many nights before our workouts at 0700 so he is training with less sleep than ideal (to say the least).
Our regular workouts together (those who can make it) are Wed at Balboa Park and we run on the grass, Saturdays at Lake Murray or Lake Miramar (w/asphalt roads marked in 0.25 mi units around the perimeter). On Sundays we do long-easy runs with who every lives nearby (one group runs in the North county and the other group runs on mostly flat dirt trails in the East county). We have a pancake, waffle and fresh fruit breakfast about once or twice a month after the Sat. Tempo workout at Lake Murray.
We all have the typical injuries (tendonitis of Achilles and patellar, hamstring flare up, plantar fascitis, and knee issues) and have learned to address these asap with ice/rest and do core exercises or get physical therapy. Our next goal is to race with our singlets in the Southern California Half Marathon, Irvine CA on 7 Jan 2012. Then we will train for Boston by running local races (10-15k) as tempo workouts. We all have a copy of Jack Daniels’ Running Formula, Pete Pfitsingers’s Advance Marathoning and most have read Once a Runner by Parker. I have an original 1978, 3rd printing paperback issue.
Here’s a funny story you may share with John Parker.
About a year ago, Chuck Bailey bought and read the 2009 hardcover edition to Once a Runner. He was so impressed and energized, that he went out and bought me a copy, as a gift. When he handed it to me he said “You just gotta read this”…I looked up and said thanks Chuck…”Would you like to see my original 1978 paperback edition?”
He thought he had found a “new book ” that would inspire us all. As you well know, it was read by any serious runner in the late 70s-early 80s and was partly responsible for our passion for competitive training and running during the “golden years” of distance running. Along with Frank Shorter, Liquori, Galloway, et al!
In response to Chuck’s surprised look, I could have said ….”Chuck, any real runner during 1974-1983 read this book and … could run a 4:30 mile in high school”
