Striding Along - Gate City Striders

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN BY MICHELLE POUBLON
WE DID IT! The Gate City Striders are
the 2008 Mill Cities Relay Champions!
This past Sunday, more than 124
members ran on one of 26 GCS teams in the 25 th
Annual Mill Cities Relay, scoring enough points to
win the overall team title- the first time since 2000
and only the second time ever in the history of the
event. This year’s victory helps ease the
disappointment of last year’s third place finish (we
were edged out of first place by only 2 points in
2007.)
MCR has long been one of my favorite events of
the year and after today I can tell you exactly what
makes it so special: MCR exposes the true mettle
of this club. I am amazed by the dedication and
determination of our membership. The
camaraderie and teamwork that I witnessed today
was inspiring. I saw runners gritting it out in lessthan-ideal
conditions, teammates shuttling each
other back and forth, and everyone cheering each
other on from Nashua to Lawrence and every spot
in between. And the best part about today? When
it was all over, I saw a bigger post-race gathering of
GCS members than I’ve seen all year!
While every member of every team played an
instrumental role in today’s win, there are a few
members who deserve special recognition. First, I
would like to thank Michael Wade for his hard work
in creating the teams and maximizing our scoring
potential. If you recall, Michael put out the official
call for MCR way back in October at the Last
Supper; since then, and right up until the final day,
Michael has spent countless hours planning and
tweaking the team rosters to give us the best
possible chance of winning. Thanks also to Stan
Klem, who is our club’s rep on the MCR
committee, and to Kevin Reynolds, GCS equipment
manager, who once again did a fine job organizing
the start of the race at the Nashua Y. To everyone
who ran, and to those who otherwise played a
supporting role: thank you and congratulations!
Now, for those of you who have no intention of
slowing down now that the Mill Cities Relay is over,
I have some good news. For the third consecutive
year, we are offering a coached indoor track
program at the New Hampshire Dome in Milford,
NH with GCS coaches Jim Stronach, Richie Blake,
and Keith O’Brien. This year we will meet for 12
weeks on Tuesday evenings. Visit our website for
more information and to download forms if you
haven’t done so already. Act fast though, as our
first session begins on Tuesday, December 9 and the
number of participants will be limited to 40. Also,
don’t forget that we meet all winter on Wednesday
nights at Pennichuck Middle School in Nashua for a
5-mile informal run in the neighborhoods adjacent
to the school. (Remember to wear reflective gear!)
Continued on page 5
December 2008 - January 2009 Striding Along 4