Thursday, August 29, 2013

Don't Mess with the GRC Women's Team

Elbows, the heals of the hands, and knees... these are some of our best weapons for defending ourselves, especially if you are a bony distance runner.


On Sunday, ten members of the women's team took a two-hour course on self defense, taught by Marine Sergeant Laurie Porsch and her much-abused assistant, Andrew. A colleague of GRC runner, Sean Barrett, Laurie is an Instructor of Combat Conditioning and Martial Arts in the Marine Corps, and teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the Femme Fatale Fitness Boot Camp at the Academy for Body Efficient Tactical Arts (BETA Academy) in NW DC.

The course revolved around the three basic principles of self-defense:
  • Whenever possible, avoid situations/ people that might put you in danger.
  • Do not protect your property. (It can be replaced.)
  • If attacked, respond violently with the intent to escape. Do whatever you can to avoid being taken to a "secondary crime scene," where the attacker has full control.
Per the final point, Laurie and Andrew walked us through a series of drills to practice the best way to fight off an attacker. As they donned pads and mouth guards, we elbowed, kneed, and fought our way through the morning. Though there is no way to predict how an attack might happen, they guided us through scenarios wherein we were grabbed from behind, choked, and knocked to the ground. We learned the best ways to regain control in these compromising (and terrifying) situations. Laurie emphasized that we should aim for our attacker's vision, ability to breathe, or ability to walk, in order to aid our escape. And the key is escaping, whether or not we injure our attacker or ourselves in the process.

Laurie taught us valuable skills that (though we hope we will never need them) may save our lives one day. Yet, despite the underlying seriousness of the course content, we had a solid workout, found our (often unseen) inner aggression, and the exercises frequently ended in peals of laughter.

For more pictures, see our Facebook Album.

JOHNNY FOOTBALL SUSPENDED -- JOHNNY RUNNING STILL RUNNING

It has been widely reported that Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (also know as "Johnny Football") received a half-game suspension for an "inadvertent violation regarding the signing of certain autographs."  Readers of this blog should rest assured that GRC newcomer and recent Texas A&M graduate "Johnny Running" has in no way been implacted in this scandal.  As of this writing, there is no evidence that either Johnny Running or any other GRC athlete has accepted money in exchange for an autograph or has otherwise improperly allowed the use of their likeness for financial gain.  Coach Jerry Alexander has decreed that violators of the GRC Code of Conduct will be required to sit out the first kilometer of the upcoming Kentlands 5k.    

Monday, August 26, 2013

Dix Wins XC Race at Alma Mater

Normally a long distance specialist who races the roads, GRC's Dickson Mercer won the Gettysburg XC Alumni Race this past weekend.


CAPTION: Dickson Mercer (Class of 2004) takes his 3rd individual title and leads the (Gettysburg) Alumni to their second consecutive victory at Gettysburg College. 

Expat Marren has Baby Girl



News out of Burlington, VT...

GRC alumnus Jake Marren (aka Jack Manner) and wife, Ella, welcome a little baby girl into the world - Cora Hazel Marren (5lbs, 2 oz)

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Tommy Ten Mile

Tom Kelly, in what was his longest race ever, ran 57:26 at the Annapolis Ten Mile this morning for eighth place. He is typically a mid-distance runner and had never raced longer than 8k.

Friday, August 23, 2013

SHOP RUN

9 a.m. tomorrow at the store?  I'm going long but am happy to add on if others are keeping it shorter.  Comment or just show up if interested. 

Sunday, August 18, 2013

FLASH: GRC Sweeps at Leesburg

1. Sean Barrett 2. Kieran 3. Evan...is he part of GRC?

1. Sean 1:06:13
2. Kieran 1:06:40
3. Evan 1:08:24
7. Dickson 1:13:36

Monday, August 12, 2013

ESPN's Nine for IX: Runner

Tomorrow night is the debut of "Runner," an ESPN documentary about American distance runner Mary Decker and her collision with Zola Budd in the 3000m finals of the 1984 Olympics.  I haven't seen the film but it would be difficult to make a documentary about this race that is not worth watching and it appears that the director, Shola Lynch, was a past Millrose Champion.  Budd was initially disqualified but race officials rescinded her disqualification only an hour later.  This piece published by Runner's World last spring argues that Budd got a bad rap for this race and with respect to charges that she did not speak out against the apartheid policy of her native South Africa.  At any rate, this seems like a cool show and I for one will likely be talking about it at BCC on Wednesday night.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Sunday Long Run

Sounds like most people went long today but I'm planning to do 15 tomorrow @ 8am, probably from The Line (but I'm flexible on location.)

Thursday, August 8, 2013

UPDATE: Saturday - Edward's Ferry @ 8am


UPDATE: due to the weather, Dickson and I are NOW meeting at Edward's Ferry at 8am on Saturday for 20 miles. 

As most of you know, the loop we're running is 10 miles, all of which is on natural terrain - we'll do it twice.

If anyone else is interested in the full 20 or wants to run part of it let us know.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Sunday Run: Pennyfield Lock at 8:30am


Karl, Dix and I are meeting at Pennyfield Lock - (http://goo.gl/maps/P2Lqx) tomorrow at 8:30am for a relatively flat, EASY hour of running. We'll probably run north towards Riley's Lock.

Comment if you're interested in linking up OR if you plan on running somewhere else and want company...

Friday, August 2, 2013

Hey everybody!

Sam and Murph are planning to run from the Georgetown Store (M and 34th) and 9 a.m. Saturday. Join them!

Great article: Teal wrote this!


It was Brian Young's birthday last week. Think about the future you're building for him.



Stefan got engaged to his girlfriend, Sarah.
Married life may take away from his current passion:
equestrian.
(photo via Wiggyleaks)

GRC Ex-Pat Matt Ernst also recently got engaged

The team race calendar is updated. Fill out your races