Hello to our Run Tucson running and walking friends.
You know that we love our local non-profit running club, the Southern Arizona Roadrunners. SAR has been one of the nation's premier non-profits, winning accolades as a top club and helping Tucson and Pima County be named as an RRCA RUNNER FRIENDLY COMMUNITY.
In our final Runner Profile of the year, we're happy to introduce new SAR President, Caroline Gardiner. Caroline is a long-time Tucson runner who has done just about everything -- she's won races overall, she's placed in age groups, she's volunteered at most every race, and she now spends a boat-load of time helping SAR achieve its mission of promoting health and wellness in Tucson and Southern Arizona through running and walking.
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Runner Profile: Caroline Gardiner
Age: 63
Profession: I am retired now, but have worked for local utilities in financial
management, operations, and human resources.
Two truths and a lie about you:
1. I still have the course record on the old 10-mile Special Olympics Benefit run
2. I started running as a freshman in High School
3. I used to go fox hunting and rode competitively hunter/jumper through out high school and college
When and why did you start running? I started running in High School with indoor track. After the first week of practice, I could barely walk downstairs since my quads were killing me. I eventually started beating the best girl on the track team, and well the rest is history.
When and why did you get involved with SAR leadership? Back in the day I ran a lot of SAR races and always appreciated the effort that went into putting on all the year’s races. Since 2018 when I couldn’t run so much due to injuries, I thought being on the SAR board would be a good way for me to give back to the organization.
What do you hope to accomplish with SAR? My main goal at SAR is to develop a leadership group that can keep the organization going into the next decade. We need younger and diverse board members who are willing to make a commitment to the organization, develop their leadership skills, and continue to develop SAR into a strong volunteer group to fulfill SAR’s mission of promoting health and fitness in Tucson and Southern Arizona through running and walking. I feel like we are at an important tipping point of creating a more technically driven organization and still keeping the family friendly races going and developing new programs to meet the needs of our members.
During the pandemic our Board worked very hard to keep the organization going, develop Covid protocols, and managing the new standard of virtual racing. Hopefully we won’t have to have virtual races again, but the times have changed and SAR needs to continue to change to offer great programs to our members.
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Caroline, in red above, volunteering yet again!
What is one of your favorite Tucson-area running locations? How about around the world -- anyplace super-special to you? Of course locally it is hard to beat Sabino Canyon, Pima Canyon, and Saguaro National Park, but I do miss running in the fall in New England when the leaves were changing and if you were on a trail, the noise of shuffling through the fallen leaves. It was very peaceful and mesmerizing.
What is one of your favorite workouts and why? I love doing repeat quarters. In order to run fast miles and 5k’s you have to have a decent quarter mile time.
It didn’t matter how many or what the rest was in between, I just loved the rhythm of doing the repeats and trying to nail the split time. I got pretty good at pacing my quarters, all before Garmins were around. I think it is important for runners to feel their pace without looking at their watches every two seconds for verification.
What is your least favorite workout and why? I hate repeat miles. Its just too long for me to concentrate and I guess if I was doing longer repeat miles it meant I was racing longer which was not my favorite. I liked the summer track meets and 5ks. I did the longer races, but I was not a big fan. I think it is because I started out as strictly a track runner.
What groups, if any, do you run with? How can people contact them? I don’t really run anymore but I used to run with Rob Tenney back in the late 90’s, then I ran on my own for a while, I ran with the Grinders for a while, and then ran with WOG for a couple of years. I am trying to get my knee in better working condition.
Right now, I am just walking and struggling with that. I am trying some new therapies in a couple of weeks and I am hopeful. I have bad arthritis in my left knee.
Tell us about a run, a race, or a training cycle that did not go well. Did you learn anything from that experience? I had qualified for Boston marathon in 1998. Unfortunately, that winter I was home for the holidays and slipped on ice and bruised my tail bone so could not train and missed the race. I was able to defer my entry one year. I think I was super excited to run and over trained. About a month before the race, I ran a long run starting at U of A and running all the way up gates pass almost to the Desert Museum and back. I felt great and kept up with the guys I was running with. I think the next week I did one more speed work out on the dirt track at Reid Park with some tempo intervals and tweaked my calf.
After that it just kept getting tighter and tighter and soon, I couldn’t walk. So, I never made it to Boston. Very sad, but I guess the thing I learned is that it is very easy to do too much, especially with marathon training and don’t leave your race out on your training run.
What is your favorite race distance? Do you have any advice on how to train for that type of race? I love 5k’s and miles. They are a perfect combination since the mile requires fast quarters and the 5k requires endurance speed. The faster you can go in the mile, the more relaxed you will be pacing your 5k at an aggressive pace.
Advice for non-running workouts? Hiking, elliptical training, swimming, weight lifting.
Advice for trail running? Don’t fall down, so go slow enough you don’t hurt yourself!
Advice for how to use running to be happily married? Both my husband and I used to be runners, we are now both walking and trying to avoid injuries. I feel like we understand and appreciate the ability for one of us to take the time to run or walk consistently.
Advice for doing track workouts – don’t be afraid to do short intervals to develop speed strength.
Self-Promotion: is there something cool we should know about you? I graduated from UMass with a bachelors of fine arts in ceramics but went on the get an MBA and MA in economics.
The truth about two truths and a lie: I started running track in my Junior year of High School!
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Join the Southern Arizona Roadrunners |
We are grateful for our 25+ year friendship with SAR, one of the best running clubs in the nation.
Check out the great community programs offered by our local running club, the Southern Arizona Roadrunners.
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DATE: TBD - but now we're looking at later in February - details in the New Year! |
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TMC Earth Day 5k Run/Walk at the Biosphere 2
Saturday Morning, April 22
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We're comin' back to the Biosphere 2 for the TMC Earth Day 5k!
We had so much fun up in Oracle that we're heading back to the northern foothills of the Catalina Mountains to celebrate Earth Day, 2023.
Souvenir shirt, souvenir medal, free entry into the world-famous Biosphere 2, and more festivities for the whole family.
This will be our only event at the Biosphere 2 in 2023.
Early-bird discount pricing of $30 through December 31, 2022 - use coupon code of "newsletter" for an additional $5 off!
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TMC Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run + Festival of Miles
Saturday Night, May 27, 2023
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Make plans for Memorial Day Weekend and the 17th Annual TMC Night Run/Walk and Festival of Miles
Staged at Armory Park and the Children's Museum in the heart of Downtown Tucson.
Adults will like the beer garden, live music, Cirque Roots, food truck roundup, and after-party at Hotel Congress.
Families will like the free entry to the SAR FitKidz Mile, the free High School Mile, the free entry to the Children's Museum, jumping castles, roving magician, and more!
Speedsters will like the prize money, age group awards, and RRCA West Regional Championships awards.
Festival of Miles includes the Open Mile, Free High School Mile, and Free SAR FitKidz Mile
This will be the first-race of the three-race Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown, raising funds for the BEYOND-Tucson Foundation. Additional Beneficiaries include the Children's Museum, Educational Enrichment Foundation, Greater Tucson Leadership, and Cox Charities.
The TMC 5k is part of the SAR's 2023 Running Shop Grand Prix.
Team discount of $5 off once five members join the team, plus super-early-bird discount of $25 through December 31, 2022
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Saguaro National Park Labor Day 8-Miler and 5k
Monday morning, September 4, 2023
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52nd Saguaro National Park Labor Day Run
One of the only courses in the nation allowed on actual National Park land, the beautiful course rolls up and down the 8-mile paved road amid the lush Cactus Forest at the base of the Rincon Mountains.
Souvenir shirt to all registrants, plus entry into the Saguaro National Park. We at Run Tucson are proud to be the race directors for this Southern Arizona Roadrunners event.
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TMC Tucson 10k and companion 5k
Sunday morning, September 10, 2023
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Tucson's only fall 10k is back with a new date, now September 10, 2023!
All participants will receive a race shirt and souvenir medal to celebrate competing this beautiful course among the rolling hills of the Painted Desert in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains.
This is the 2nd leg of the 2023 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown.
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TMC A-Mountain Half Marathon, 4-Miler, and Cox Family Mile
Sunday morning, October 22, 2023
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We're coming back to the A!
We're working on staging the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon at the Annex of the Mercado San Agustin, tucked at the base of Sentinel Peak, with a route that includes scenic A-Mountain and the speedy Santa Cruz Riverpath.
We may introduce the TMC A-Mountain 4-Miler, as well as continue with our COX Charities and SAR FitKidz Mile.
The 3rd leg of the GabeZ Triple Crown will have goodies for all race registrants: souvenir coaster medal, cool race shirt, post-race fun, and more!
The TMC Half-Marathon is part of the SAR's 2023 Running Shop Grand Prix.
Super-early pricing through the end of December 2022.
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Grand Canyon Trail Half Marathon and 5k Run/Walk
Saturday morning, November 4, 2023
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5th Annual Grand Canyon Trail Half Marathon Run and 5k Run/Walk
Run or walk a half-marathon or 5k in the beautiful and rugged Kaibab National Forest, just south of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Souvenir race medal, colorful long sleeve shirt, race goodies, and more to commemorate your iconic journey through the trails near the South Rim.
Visitor discounts for hotels, food, and activities.
Use the discount code "newsletter" to take $10 off your registration!
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Thanks to TMC for everything it does for Southern Arizona - visit TMCNow for health care from your home
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FREE RUN/WALKS + BIKE RIDES
Every Monday: Meet Me at Maynard's, Hotel Congress/Maynard's Kitchen
Every Wednesday: Meet Me Wednesday's, St. Phillip's Plaza
Every Saturday: Parkrun Himmel Park
https://www.parkrun.us/himmel/
Interested in building or maintaining local trails? Think about joining or supporting the Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists -- see them here.
For a detailed list of social and recreational road and mountain bike rides in the Tucson community, see Damion Alexander's list at https://bikepilgrim.com/. To subscribe to the email list, email damion@damionalexander.com and put "ride list" in the subject heading.
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We've updated our runtucson.net page and the all the registration pages, but if we missed anything, please let us know!
Cheers all,
Randy and Tia Accetta
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How Do I Get Off This List? You can hit the "unsubscribe" button below or you can email us at randy@runtucson.net.
Who Sends These? Run Tucson (www.RunTucson.net) is a local event production company for running/walking events in Southern Arizona.
To promote our mission of making Tucson better through running, Run Tucson advocates for health & fitness, enhancing community engagement, and promoting the local economy.
In addition, we make significant contributions to worthy charities, providing over $300,000 to local organizations over the years.
Our partners include the non-profit Southern Arizona Roadrunners, plus Tucson Medical Center and a host of local sponsors.
Why Am I on This List? You've participated in one of the events we've produced, either one of our charity running events in Arizona, or as part of Meet Me at Maynard's, Meet Me Wednesday's, Meet Me Downtown PHX.
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MORE INFO
For information about our events, the RRCA, and The Workout Group, contact Randy Accetta
(520) 991-0733
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COACHING
For information about in-person, online, or group coaching, contact contact Tia Accetta.
(520)891-4369
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