Another First for the Gophers

In the tradition of the Rocky Movies, Ron Moore and Steve Gallow took on the challenge of running 2 marathons in the same year.

Only 6 weeks after completing the Wine Glass Marathon, Ron and Steve traveled to run the Philadelphia Marathon on November 19th.

The weather was perfect for the event that would take the two through the streets of Philly to end at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (The steps that Rocky ran in the first movie). Steve and Ron quickly found that this was no flat course, and was a more difficult route then they had ever run.

Steve's story

After hitting the wall at mile 18 in the Wine Glass Marathon, Steve wanted to run a smart race. He worked hard at properly training, nutrition and rest before the race. On Sunday morning he was ready to start conservativly and come on strong in the end. Although he didn't come on as strong in the end as he hoped, he did not hit the wall. The last few miles took everything he had to complete the course and set a new PR. His total clock time was 4:09:04. He had shaved off almost a minute from his previous best marathon, the Steamtown marathon last year.

In addition to running 2 marathons in the same year, Steve had another first. This year there were 2 stops in the marathon offering beer. Steve decided to try it, and found that this was a welcome addition to the marathon experience. The beer quickly got rid of the terrible after taste from eating the Gu packets.

Ron's story

Ron's stomach was giving him problems before the race. He had many concerns as to what would happen with his stomach. Ron started the race well, and was on track with his outstanding Wine Glass Marathon time, but his stomach began to cramp at mile 9. By mile 22 the cramps were so difficult that he had to walk. Ron had to walk from mile 22 to 25, where he then ran the last quarter mile to finish the run with a 4:25:36.

Slide Show

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When We Grow Old, We want to Run like Ron!!!
Wineglass Marathon 2006

Ron Moore shattered all Groton Gophers running accomplishments in this years Wine Glass Marathon. His time of 3:37:11 is just about 7 minutes off of a Boston Marathon Qualifying time. Ron took off at mile 1 in his usual fashion. We all figured we'd see him on the sideline at about mile 22. It never happened. A miscalculation of thinking he only had 7 miles left at 14 miles kept Ron running strong through the whole race. Congratulations Ron.

Stephen Codner described this as his transistional marathon. He has a 3 year plan for qualifying for Boston. (Editor's note, He'll do it before the 3 years.) His plan was to start very slow for the first 10 miles. He was running so slow that he was back with Gallow. From there he'd pick it up to an 8:30 pace to about mile 20 and then push it. Codner had an incredible run with a 3:45:42. With this under his belt, there's no holding him back next time. He's on his own now. Expect big things from this runner.

A couple of quotes come to mind for Steve Gallow. "Just when you think you have this marathon thing figured out, it comes back and bites you." S Gallow 10/1/2006 Wineglass
Marathon. Gallow bonked at mile 18. He started out with Codner and George Hade at what seemed to be a comfortable pace. (~8:5?) Mile 10 Codner left the slow pokes to continue on
with his race. At around mile 13 Gallow took a pee break. When he returned to the marathon he attempted to catch George Hade. (A Big Mistake). At mile 18 his legs had no more energy. They were not sore at all. It's such a strange feeling. The last 8 miles took forever, and he came in with a 4:15:26. The second quote that comes to Gallow's mind is by Thomas A. Edison "I have not failed. I've just found 10000 ways that won't work." Gallow is going back to work on a new strategy for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 19th.

The Gophers also had a relay team in this years Wineglass Marathon. Gideon Gal flew all the way from Israel to join Groton Gophers Ray Wagner and Gary Rightmire. Gideon stated, "I've always dreamed of being able to run with the Gophers. Today I have acheived that dream." All 3 members of the relay team had a fantastic run with a time of 3:31:07.

A day of Suprises at the Arc 1/2 Marathon.

The Groton Gophers had incredible day on September 9, 2006. All of us set our own Personal Records for a half marathon.

The Arc 1/2 Marathon in Long Branch Park, Liverpool NY is the place to set a Personal Record. The course is very flat, and very well run. This is the return of 3 of the Gophers to this course. Stephen Codner had an incredible run to lead the Gophers with a 1:39:46 (7:37/mile pace), followed by Ron Moores first Arc Half Marathon with a 1:41:16 (7:44/mile pace). Next came Steve Gallow with a 1:48:49 (8:19/mile pace). Ray Wagner who decided that working in California and not running for about a month would be his strategy came in with a 1:52:17 (8:35/mile pace)

A Good Time was had by all, and were looking very strong for a sub 4 hour marathon come October 1st at the Wine Glass Marathon.

Check out the slide show of our adventure.

Race the Train. August 2006. Adirondacks

In August the Gallow's went to the Adirondacks to hike Mountains, Spurlunk, Swim, Canoe, and attempt the gruling race called "Race the Train."

The whole purpose of this race, is to beat the train. Looking over previous years times, there was an outside change that Steve could do it. If he ran his best, and the train slacked off he might do it. A 8.4 mile course at a 7:50 was a possibility. Steve figured that a course near a train had to be fairly flat. (right) Oh contrair, the devious minds that came up with the race decided that the course should start with a 2 mile uphill, much of it on sand. The course from that point was either going up or down a hill. On top of it all the train comes in at a 7:41. Needless to say, neither one of the Gallow's beat the train. Judy did complete the most difficult race of her life, and she did GREAT!!!

Back to the marathon training for Steve. October 1st is coming fast. 

Gophers Defeat World Champions in the 2006 Utica Boilermaker

In an amazing show of strength and fortitude all four of the Groton Gophers went on to defeat one of the winners of the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon in the July 9, 2006 Utica Boilermaker. "Sure the guy is a lot older then us, and didn't take the race seriously, but we'll take any victory we can get.", one of the gophers was heard saying.

All gophers performed to the best of their abilities and scored PR's in this race. Stephen Codner had a time of 73:25 (7:53/mile). Ray Wagner had a time of 74:37 (8:00/mile). Ron Moore had a time of 76:11 (8:10/mile). Steve Gallow had a time of 76:27 (8:12/mile)

Marathon Training Schedule for Wine Glass Marathon

Codner Shatters all Gopher Records by running sub 7

In an amazing feet of strength Stephen Codner shattered all Gopher records by running a 21:37 for a 6:57/mile pace in the Nate Race 5k in Canastota, N.Y.

Codner stated the night before that he was ready. It turns out that the secret to a great race is the Collegetown 9's deep dish pizza and beer the night before. No longer will the gophers have to chow down at the pasta dinners before the big race. Just bring us the pizza with the broccoli.

Ray Wagner also came in with a very impressive time of 23:15, and is on his way to setting a 5k PR this year.

Weedsport Historical 8k Run June 3, 2006

One of the most fun runs the Gophers do is the Weedsport Historical 8k. This is a combination road race/ trail run which includes a drumlin. A drumlin according to Dictionary.com is "An elongated hill or ridge of glacial drift."

This year the weather was 54 degrees and raining which made the race even more fun. The drumlin was extremely slippery with many people slipping and falling. Many of the races decided that running through the mud puddles on the tow path was much more fun then avoiding them. Some runners even choose to hit the mud puddles along the edge of the road.

After last weeks races of setting 5 PR's the gophers decided to take it easy this week, and only set two new PR's.

Stephen Codner went on to place 3rd in the 40-49 age class, followed by Steve Gallow taking 4th, and Ray Wagner taking 5th. Gallow and Wagner feel they should include prices for the top 5 finishers of each age group.

Results:

24th Steve Codner 37:36

25th Steve Gallow 37:55

27th Ray Wagner 39:06

Camillus Memorial Day 5k May 29, 2006

"I've got a mule, and her name is Sal", could be heard as the Gophers ran along the Erie Canal in the Camillus Memorial Day 5k. Ray Wagner Stepher Codner, and Gary Rightmire believed that one difficult race in a weekend is not enough, and talked Steve Gallow into joining them.

As the gun went off, and the Gophers began their run through the cheering crowd Gallow and Codner took off to run a sub 7 for the first mile. Codner pushed Gallow to run hard. At the end of the day in the blistering heat Woohoos could be heard as the two of them had 2 PR's in one weekend.

The results were as follows:

68th Stephen Codner 22:29
80th Steve Gallow 22:54
105th Ray Wagner 23:37
210th Gary Rightmire 28:12

Recway 10k May 21st, 2006

The Gophers began their busy summer race season with the Recway 10K. This race is run on the South Hill Recreation Way in Ithaca, NY. The 3 veteran runners of this Race, Ray Wagner, Stephen Codner and Gary Rightmire warned the newbies, Steve Gallow and Ron Moore that this is a difficult course to run. Being the first time that Steve and Ron ran a 10k race, they were guaranteed PR's. The day was perfect for running. It was a little warm, but a slight mist of rain helped cool the runners.

The official times are as follows:

16th Stephen Codner 47:16
17th Ronald Moore 48:19
18th Steve Gallow 49:09
21st Ray Wagner 50:36
38th Gary Rightmire 56:17

Keep up the great work Gophers!

(Special Note: The Gophers all ran so fast that it was impossible to get a picture of them in this race.)

The Gophers made a very strong show at the 28th Annual Mountain Goat 10 mile race.

Elite runner Steve Codner continued his sub 8 min/mile pace to dominate the gophers. Codner shattered his time from last year by 6:06 to finish with a time of 1:16:23 for a pace time of 7:40

Following next was fast starter rooky Ron Moore with a 1:22:19 for a pace of 8:16. We expect great things from Ron.

Ray Wagner came in with a strong finish at a time of 1:23:24 for a pace of 8:23.

Steve Gallow was next taking about 1:30 off of last years time. His time was a 1:25:18 for a 8:34 pace. He's decided that maybe next year he'll try the Italian wine and cheese training again to see if he comes in with the same time that he had last year.

Another first timer to the Moutain Goat was Gary Rightmire with a 1:39:10 for a 9:59 pace. Gary had run one of the training runs at a faster pace. He was experiencing some muscle cramps this time.

Although it was a great day for the race, some of the Gophers found it a little hot. Steve Gallow commented, "I knew I was in trouble when Codner wasn't wearing any gloves." Gallow likes it cold, and prefers the 20 degree days. He starts wearing a shirt at that temparture. Codner and Moore like it hot. Bring on the heat is their response.

All in all it was a good showing at a great race.

Stephen Codner took some other great photos at the race.

The Groton Gophers had an impressive showing at the 24th Ithaca Annual Skunk Cabbage Classic 10k and 1/2 marathon on April 2, 2006. This race is sponsored by the Fingerlakes Runners Club.

Pictured here Team Gopher included Gary Rightmire, Ray Wagner, Stephen Codner, Ron Moore, and Steve Gallow.

Rightmire and Wagner represented the Gophers in the 10k, while Codner, Moore, and Gallow took on the treacherous 1/2 marathon. Codner, Moore and Gallow all went on to complete the difficult course with personal records. David Jung also ran the 1/2 marthon. (He wasn't around when we took the photograph.)

We have begun to rethink our motto of "Starting Slow, and Taper from There." Listen to interviews on the April 3rd edition of the Podcast. You can also view the the photo's on Stephen Codner's web site.

The Groton Gophers welcome their newest gopher, Polly Case-Codner, at the Cazenovia Chilly Chili.

Once again many of the Groton Gophers began their season at the Cazenovia Chilly Chili.

Veteren Ray Wagner stated that he was going to go out strong the first mile, and die after that. (Ray, the wisdom of Walt Stack is start slow and taper from there.) Ray hit the first mile at 7:35 followed by Ron Moore and Steve Gallow at around 7:45.

After that it wasn't until mile 2.5 that Ron and Steve caught Ray. From there Ron and Steve battled it out until the finish line. All the running Gophers came in strong:

Steve Gallow placed 151 out of 734 with a time of 23:55 a 7:42 pace.

Ron Moore placed 153 out of 734 with a time of 24:03 a 7:45 pace.

Ray Wagner place 161 out of 734 with a time of 24:09 a 7:47 pace.

All Three shattered their previous times from last year.

Judy, Polly, and Kris all said that the time doesn't matter and sugguested that we get a life.

Stephen Codner becomes the elite Gopher

Stephen Codner not only traveled to the west coast for the Pacific Shoreline Marathon, but he also shattered all Gopher records. He has set quite a bar for the rest of us this year. Let's hope that we can hang on to his shirt tail this year.

View his adventure on his web site.

Also view the professional photos of him.

Pacific Shoreline Marathon

February 5, 2006

Hey Everyone!!

I am in my final stages of training for the Pacific Coast (half) marathon! I fly out on Friday morning and will be on the beach by noon PST on Friday. I will probably get settled in and run an easy 2 miles that afternoon. Saturday I will attend the running exposition right at the Hilton Hotel where I will be staying and possibly drive 16 miles north and see the Queen Mary - unless I take a surfing lesson. Sunday is the race. Over 7000 runners will participate. The course runs right along the coast and back. My plan is to run between an 8min/mile to an 8.30min/mile to bring me in at at personal best of 1 hour 45 min to 1 hour 50 minutes. Training has gone real well and I am now sporting a weight of 169lbs and feel great! Big party on the beach after the run where I expect to drink heavily and party hearty with the California Girls ;) (sorry Polly) Fly home on Monday :(

Wish me luck and you may get a phone call from the beaches of southern California this weekend!!

Steve

(picture is Huntington beach - where the course runs)

Message from Steve Codner

Welcome to the Groton Gopher Blog Site.

This site is dedicated to all those runners who consider themselves a Gopher. The requirements are very stringent. If you would like to become one, raise your right hand and repeat after me. "I'm a Groton Gopher". Congratulations, you're a member.

Last year we used a wiki to keep everybody updated. (http://seedwiki.com/wiki/groton_gophers/groton_gophers.cfm) This year we're trying the blog format.

Hopefully Stephen Codner will return with his great newsletters.

Have a great year of running Gophers, and remember to start slow and taper from there.