Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from all of the Cabot Country Cruisers! We hope you and your's have a safe and best holiday season ever.  

Everyone is always anxious to see what the new medal will be every year for the Little Rock Marathon. Can it get any bigger?  How big will it be?  What will the theme be?  Well the chicks in charge have released the reveal of the 2015 medal.  And it's bigger than ever before.  If you haven't signed up for the Little Rock Marathon yet there is still time. The half medal is not bad itself though it does look small in comparison.  The reality is the half medal is still bigger than a lot of the full marathon medals out there.  

Here is the link to the 2015 medal unveiling. It's big!   http://youtu.be/yzgIR7ysXMo

 RRCA Grand Prix Ironman 2014

To earn the RRCA Grand Prix Ironman award, you must complete all twenty races scheduled within the year. At the end of the 2013 RRCA Grand Prix series, Eugene Atha mentioned to me that the Spa 10K would be his 100th consecutive Grand Prix race. It was Jim Miller’s 62nd consecutive Grand Prix race. Both earned the Ironman award again this year giving Eugene 120 consecutive races and Jim 82 consecutive races. In 2005, I had set my running goal to earn the Ironman award. However on July 4th at 6:00AM on a training run, I stepped on a broken ball from a trailer hitch and broke my ankle. Every year I run Grand Prix races but I did not set the Ironman award as my goal again until I talked with Eugene and Jim last year. They were my inspiration to set the Ironman award as my running goal for 2014.















Ironman is a challenge because of the commitment of your time, energy and willpower to stick with the long-term commitment. There are times when running buddies or biking buddies go out of State to an event, but you must choose to stay home and run your Grand Prix race. I ran one 5K with a sick stomach and ran the 20K when the heat and humidity absolutely ate my lunch. After about 16 or 17 races, all you think about is not being injured and getting the last few races completed. As I mentioned the Spa 10K 2013 was Eugene’s 100th consecutive Grand Prix race. He shared with me that he and Jim drove separate cars in case one broke down. He was not going to miss that race!

There were 20 races during the 2014 season. Listed below are my results and times.

 I would like to thank Missy Grande and Susie Jenkins for helping me achieve my goal of earning the Ironman award. Missy helped me get off to a great start this year and Susie helped me finish strong by joining me at all races over the last several months. Thank you girls!

I encourage all runners to join the RRCA Grand Prix. It is the only organization that ties runners together from all across Arkansas. It is a great way to run our beautiful State and make running friends in every county.

I praise God for blessing me with great health during 2014.


Running Arkansas,

Vic

Congratulations to Vicki Ingram for completing her first Iron season in the RRCA Arkansas Grand Prix Series!! Also congrats to Cruiser's Jim Miller and Eugene Atha for another great Iron season completed.  


What does it mean to be Iron the the Grand Prix?  Well, it means completing every race in the series from January through December. That is 20 races from 1 mile distance to Marathon distance.  Not an easy task when you consider some of the logistics involved.  Races are held all over the state with the furthest being Texarkana, Hope, Fayetteville & Fort Smith. A lot of sacrifices have to be made just to show up to all the races and then you still have to finish. Typically there are 8-12 each year that complete the Iron season out of hundreds of runners.    



In order to be Iron all of these races had to be completed:
January 26th - One Hour Track Run - Danville
February 1st - River Trail 15k - North Little Rock
February 16th - Run the Line Half Marathon - Texarkana
March 8th - Chase Race 2 miler - Conway
March 16th - Valentines Day 5k - Russellville (Rescheduled from Feb. 8th due to weather)
March 22nd - Spring Fling 5k - Cabot
April 5th - Capitol City Classic 10k - Little Rock
May 3rd - Toad Suck 10k - Conway
May 24th - Rock Run 8k - Little Rock
June 14th - Go Mile - North Little Rock
June 21st - Arkansas Runner 2 mile - Benton
August 2nd - White River 4 mile - Batesville
August 9th - Watermelon 5k - Hope
August 30th - Ark 5k Classic - North Little Rock
September 20th - Arkansas 20k - Benton
October 4th - Chilli Pepper 10k - Fayetteville
October 18th - Survivors' Challenge 10k - Fort Smith
November 1st - Midsouth Marathon - Wynne
November 22nd - Spa 10k - Hot Springs
December 13th - Casa Half Marathon - Pine Bluff

As you can see this is not an easy schedule just to drive to. Lots of miles driving and lots of miles running. One thing for sure, you are guaranteed to have have a good time and meet some amazing people along the way. Do you have what it takes to be an Iron person in the Grand Prix?  The 2015 season will be starting up in January so start your plans now.  You can check out the upcoming races soon on the Arkansas Grand Prix website at 
http://www.arkrrca.com/.  

The Cabot Country Cruisers are huge contributors to the 3B26, both in volunteers and runners. They rank in the top five cities for registered runners and certainly the highest per capita if such statistics were kept. They are also manning a key aid station at miles 3 and 16. When Annette Blanton isn’t busy training for her next marathon or sizing you up for some new kicks at Bill Torrey’s Rock City Running, she presides over the club and had this to share with you:

“The Cabot Country Cruisers is a group of Central Arkansas runners, walkers, cyclists, and swimmers who promote healthy, active lifestyles for both the adults and youth of our community. The nonprofit club is a member of the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA), and its members compete in Arkansas Grand Prix races, as well as local and national marathons, half-marathons, triathlons, duathlons, Ironman events, and bike races and rides. 

The Cabot Country Cruisers don't just gather together to exercise, they give back to the community by organizing service projects such as Summer Family Track Nights, The Inspiration Run, Quarterly Litter Pick up, and a Christmas Coat Drive. The club also holds a yearly 5K race, Spring Fling, from which all proceeds are donated to Cabot Schools Physical Education programs.

Club members enjoy the fellowship they share and pride themselves on the level of support they give one another through training together. The consistency of their group training runs around all areas of Cabot helped create the club's tag line -- "We run this town."



For more info on the 3 Bridges Marathon visit their site at http://www.3bridgesmarathon.com