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You can read a
lot more about Rick on the Message Board
Our old
President Rick Curwen is in regular touch with The Harrier, so it is appropriate to update everyone with the Stateside News. He was
an esteemed holder
of the Club Marathon Record (breaking it 4 times over a ten year period), excellent Club Member, and
Very Social Partaker in the Derbyshire
Training Weekend, memories of which could bring tears to my eyes.
Rick has lived in America for some time now, working
& running and like most of this section, drinking real ale whenever
possible.
Here are some of the pictures & writings he has
recently sent.
Approaching Timberline (6000 ft) on Mt Hood last August
21st. The last leg of 5 miles (2000ft ascent ) took 1 hour, the descent 8
minutes. This had been planned as a 90 mile round trip but mechanical problems
(not my bike) made us cut it short after 55 miles, and 6,000 ft ascent.
This was taken at the 2004 Winter Solstice Mud Grand Prix, about a half
mile from the finish. It was the first outing for the new Harriers'
vest. My first impression is that it isn't as fast as my old one.
I was going to put this picture in the new
Harrier, but it would have been black & white and not done justice to the
colours of the Harriers. See what I mean!
So Rick or anyone else away from Britain, any news you have & want to share, send it
here then we can all read it!
Wildwood Trail
We run this trail regularly in the summer.
The great thing about the forest is that it's a lot cooler in summer and
protects us from the elements in the winter. The day the photo was taken it was
raining but the rain wasn't really getting through to the forest floor.
A picture that looked bad in a previous Harrier due to bad black & white
reproduction.
The photo was taken last summer during one our
regular Monday night runs from Niketown in Portland. There a 3 routes and the
options are 3, 5, or 7 miles. When the photo was taken Dick Bruce, an ultra
runner, and I were heading north, pretty close to the river. We were in
training for the Le Grizz 50 mile race in Montana. We both developed injuries
and didn't end up doing the event.
By coincidence we were running on the Portland
marathon course at around the 7 mile point. This area of NW Portland is very
industrial and is in the middle of various regeneration projects. In the
background is the Freemont Bridge.
16th February 2005
Numbers were down last night. We noted the
following apologies from our regulars: can't make it, injured, studying for an
exam, have a meeting and won't be able to make it in time, injured but will
walk instead, wife's birthday but will bring her down for a beer later. This
left Dick walking with a newcomer (but pub regular), Joe Kregal and myself.
The weather has been clear recently and Joe
has been itching to get back on the trails. To hell with the fact that it
would be dark in 30 minutes. We usually run the trails during the summer
months; when the clocks are on daylight saving time. I set out on the trails
with Joe and Margie last week on the Pittock Mansion run. Joe managed the
whole ascent; Margie decided discretion was the better part of valour and so
we took the road after about a half mile where the trail crosses Fairview
Drive.
Last night was different. Joe and I took off
early, we didn't have to wait for anyone, and headed for the Japanese Gardens.
From there we ascended to Wildwood and headed along the trail towards Pittock.
We climbed sharply, crossed Fairview, descended the other side and soon
turned onto the White Pine trail. This climbs fairly sharply before levelling
out. After about a mile there is a short descent that precedes a lung-busting
climb on the aptly named Hemlock trail and another crossing of Fairview, We
then drop back onto Wildwood at the MP 0.25 mark and complete the loop to the
feeder trail from the Japanese Gardens at MP 1.75.
By the time we hit White Pine it had gone
dark but the moon was providing enough light to see. The went without incident
but we did come pretty close to a Western Screech Owl. It looks like this.
Press
owl's beak to make it squeak.
The descent to the Japanese gardens was a
little too dark and we had to take out time. Joe had been thinking of driving
across town to do a hash and decided to take a short cut when we reached the
tennis courts, just over a mile from the end of the run. I took the usual
route and after a quarter of a mile saw Joe fast approaching the road from the
left. The short cut had gained him at least one second. At this point he gave
up on the Hash and we jogged back to the Goose. We'd been out for about 75
minutes.
The precedent has now been set. The
faint-hearted and unsure of foot better come equipped with head torches next
week.
23rd February 2005
Sunday saw the last of the Canned Food
series, a low-key series of runs/races in which the entry fee (canned food )
is donated to the local food bank.
The run was a 10 K along a bike path which
follows the Columbia River out by the airport. My perfectly timed drive over
there was cocked-up when the bridge over the Columbia was raised to let a
boat through, causing a huge traffic jam. My pathetic attempt to navigate a
short-cut through the nearby industrial area resulted in me arriving late
for the start.
All these races are "organized"
by Doug "Spud dog" Henderson and always start and finish at a pub;
in this case the aptly named Sextant. The runs are self-timed so a late
arrival doesn't mean the end of the World (as we know it).
I set off into a head wind on the out and
back course and after a 1.5 miles caught Sue and Randy, my friend Dick's
daughter and son-in-law) with their daughter Carly in the stroller. Sue is
five-and-half months pregnant and so is doing very well to get out.
As I got closer to the turn, the leaders
Paul and came past on their way to the finish, followed by Mike, Joe and
Dick. I caught Spud at the turn, then set my sights on Dick, who had
obligingly decided to wear a distinctly colored shirt.
It soon became obvious that, despite the
following wind, it wasn't going to be easy to catch Dick. (It turned out
that he had jogged to the turn with Spud, then cranked it up for the return)
His goal for the return was to catch Mike and keep ahead of me.
I reduced the gap slightly and caught Joe
with about 400 to go, nearly 2 minutes slower than last year but at least I
was 10 seconds faster than last year for the return leg.
We then retired to the Sextant for lunch
and a few beers.
Monday was a bank holiday here but a few
of us still ran from Niketown last night. I ran with Dick and we both felt
OK considering that we'd run hard on Sunday. After the run I tried out the
new Nuke Free, a very light racing shoe. (More on that later).
Monday is cheap beer night in Portland
(Miser Monday). A few pubs have microbrews (= as near as you get to real
ale) for $2.00. A cheap night. Our venue changes, depending on whether Carly
joins us. She didn't last night so it was the New Old Lompoc, and old
favourite from when Judy and I lived in the area.
taken at Produce Row (children friendly
until 8:30). L-R: back: Rick, Terry; front: Randy, Joe, Carly, Sue, Dick,
and Dave.
We came to leave the pub last
night and the waitress, who had been very good to us, had to find change out
of $20 bills for each of us. (The cost was $10.00 each
and we need change for the tip). As she gave me and Dick our change in $1
bills she said. "Now, you boys make sure you go straight home.
OK?" (This is a reference to the practice of tipping exotic dancers
with $1 bills).
Good to see how our Britside Tuesdays have finally
gotten through to Stateside. (Pictures in Pubs!)
You may like to see the
blogger's cultural piece on Night Running.
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have any pictures or news you would
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