Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK

Didn’t have a chance to make a donation yet? It’s not too late! Gifts to the Bob Perks Fund can be made online at http://www.active.com/donate/BobPerksFund or by sending a check to “The Bob Perks Fund” to MTB50, 103 E. Hamilton Ave., State College, PA 16801.

All gifts will count toward the grand total donation from the race, which will be announced at the December 6 Nittany Valley Running Club meeting (public welcome), 6:30 p.m. at Hi-Way Pizza, on N. Atherton St., State College. Put this on your calendar and plan to attend!

Local runners may remember Emily Herring as a recent addition to the NVRC, or as the organizer of the 2011 NVRC summer picnic, or even as a Penn State student who ran the ultramarathon at this year’s mOUnTaiNBACK. All true! If you haven’t had the good fortune to meet Emily yet – she’s a gem – you can learn more about her in this interview, from just before the race: http://wearecentralpa.com/fulltext-centralpalive?nxd_id=315917.

Emily is also a cancer survivor, and she has an inspiring personal message and invitation to share:

Hey, everyone! My name is Emily Herring. I’m a 22-year-old, fifth-year senior here at Penn State double majoring in Marketing and Nutrition. Three years ago when I was 18, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It was one of the scariest experiences I have ever had to deal with, and I was one of the lucky ones. Not everyone is blessed with the support that I was blessed with through family and friends; not everyone is even lucky enough to survive. Before I was diagnosed with cancer, I was so naive to the topic. I really had no idea what a toll it takes on the patient along with the patient’s family and friends. It’s a stressful time for everyone involved, financially and emotionally. But even through the dark times, I still found light. I have become a runner since my diagnosis. I ran my first marathon a year directly after I was diagnosed, and have run 4 additional ones since. I also ran two ultra marathons this year, a 50K in March and just recently the Tussey Mountainback. I never want anyone to experience cancer firsthand, but for those who must endure the pain, I wish them the strength and support that I was blessed with. So, with my story, I hope that you will take the time and donate to the Bob Perks Fund and help everyone else become as lucky as I was!

Gifts to the Bob Perks Fund can be made online at http://www.active.com/donate/BobPerksFund or by sending your check to “The Bob Perks Fund” to MTB50, 103 E. Hamilton Ave., State College, PA 16801. All gifts will count toward the total donation from the race, which will be announced at the December 6 NVRC meeting (public invited!), 6:30 p.m. at Hi-Way Pizza, on N. Atherton St., State College. Put this on your calendar and plan to attend!

Thank you , Emily! Run ON!

This week’s Discovery series training run on the Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK course offers a workout of about 8 miles on unpaved, mostly shaded roads in Rothrock State Forest: Legs 2 and 3 of the course (7.8 total miles).

RUNNERS: You will need to be at Whipple Dam State Park (beach parking lot) no later than 5:40 p.m. sharp to catch a ride to the start (at the end of Leg 1). The run will start at 6:00.

SHUTTLE DRIVERS: Several vehicles are needed to shuttle runners to the start. If you can help, get to Whipple Dam a little early and let runners know you can take some passengers to the start of the run.

The complete Discovery Series schedule, including meeting times and driving directions, is available at: http://www.tusseymountainback.com/tips.html.

This comes up as a topic of discussion periodically. For several reasons, we prohibit headphone use during our October 50 mile event. The Wyoming Valley Striders take a no-nonsense perspective on it in their newsletter (the all caps are theirs):

HEADPHONES AND RADIOS ARE AMONG THE MOST DANGEROUS PIECES OF EQUIPMENT A RUNNER CAN WEAR. WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY, THEY ARE A MENACE. NOT ONLY DOES WEARING THEM ENDANGER YOU TO VEHICLES, BIKES AND PEOPLE, BUT YOU BECOME A DANGER TO OTHERS ON THE ROAD WHO BELIEVE, QUITE REASONABLY, THAT YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE.

Get tuned for your next race - and for the October 23 Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK - with this great series of Thursday evening runs covering the entire mOUnTaiNBACK course. These 8 informal group runs will take you over the 50 miles of scenic Rothrock Forest roads. The series offers great camaraderie and a break from the heat. Visit our Events page for full details, including driving directions, start times, run distances and levels of difficulty.

Descendants of Lyman Treaster, for whom Treaster Kettle Road is named, will be on hand to start the 7th annual Treaster Kettle Test-Your-Mettle 10.6 mile run on Sunday, June 5. This run is the fourth of five Tussey Teasers covering parts of the mOUnTaiNBACK course. The run is an out-and-back on Leg #10.

Lyman Treaster was in charge of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp established in 1933 called Stone Creek Kettle, which later became Penn Roosevelt State Park. CCC was segregated then, and the camp was one of only 12 Black camps in Pennsylvania. Corps members lived at the camp and constructed recreational facilities, including a 195-ft log-crib dam that has since been stone-faced, and many of the surrounding forestry roads and trails. Two fireplaces, a unique stone bake oven, and other ruins of the camp can still be found. Early historical information is sketchy, but according to Linn’s History of Centre County, a man named Treaster settled west of Pleasant Gap with animals and a kettle.

Treaster Kettle Road constitutes most of this run, which begins at Colyer Lake’s south access parking lot on Lake Road and follows Treaster Kettle Road to Bear Meadows, a distance of 5.3 hilly miles including one 0.6-mile hill. Runners will have an opportunity to rehydrate there before making the return trek back to Colyer Lake. The run is free. Participants will also have an opportunity to purchase a Treaster Kettle Test-Your-Mettle shirt commemorating the effort.

Anyone who’s run the mOUNTaiNBACK solo or as part of a relay team is likely to remember Leg 10, the upward rolling piece between Colyer Lake and Bear Meadows. This out-and-back run doubles up those 5.3 miles for a great trainer or test of where your training is. It’s great for any training run, and especially nice if you’re fortifying for a marathon or for the solo version of the mOUnTaiNBACK.

This run is free. There will also be a limited supply of Test-Your-Mettle shirts available, for $8. See the events page for a waiver form.

The 8th annual Beidleheimer Sidewinder 10K – 6.2 scenic rolling miles in Rothrock State Forest with 429 ft elevation loss, finishing at Whipple Dam – awaits you on May 7.

Sidewinder veterans will remember the spirited team competition and age and gender-graded results and trophies, not to mention the pre-race tour of the course via school bus, post-race Subway party subs, and of course the chance to dive into the lake. Proceeds support the Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund.

You can get your entry form at: http://tusseymountainback.com/downloads/applications/app_Sidewinder_10K_2011.pdf. Race day registration is from 8:30-9:15 a.m. at Whipple Dam State Park, Pavilion #3 on the beach road.

Thanks to CaliKlineBenton of Re/MAX Centre Realty and Subway Restaurants for their enthusiastic support.

The race held a press conference on 3/22 to make the announcement and got a good response from the media. WJAC-TV6 did a story, which ran last night. WTAJ-TV10 is planning coverage. Here are some local news recaps:

http://www.centredaily.com/2011/03/23/2600691/tussey-mountainback-names-beneficiary.html
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2011/03/23/tussey_charity_event_selects_beneficiary.aspx

We look forward to seeing many of you at the next Tussey Teaser, the Tussey-to-Whipple 11 Miler, on April 9.

Sixty-two runners came out for the March 12 Switchbacker 10K, an out-and-back on Leg 1 of the mOUnTaiNBACK course. Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the runners and the route was mostly clear of snow and ice. Constantin Scheiber and Kristen Althouse dominated the field. Series sponsor, Subway, provided a 6-foot sub that was efficiently polished off by the crowd. Watch for the next Tussey Teaser, an 11 miler slated for April 9.