Tuesday, September 11, 2007 10:53 PM EDT (exerpt) Labor Day has come and gone, but, it’s still considered summer until Sept. 21, which means it’s not too late to hand out the annual Honors for Extraordinary Achievements in the Summer or HEATS awards for 2007. Recipients are:

The Runaways Runaround 5-Miler: This annual benefit run for Community VNA Hospice, turned 5 on a gorgeous Sunday morning, Aug. 19, and is proving itself to be a staple of the summer road-running circuit. Offering a nice course through downtown North Attleboro and on some of the rural roads that border some of the town’s remaining farms, it’s a nice way to get some exercise on a summer Sunday, and to help an excellent cause in the process. Special HEAT awards to Olympians Amy Rudolph and Mark Coogan, whose participation this year greatly enhanced the race.  

LARRY KESSLER is a Sun Chronicle local news editor. Reach him at 508-236-0330 or at lkessler@thesunchronicle.com.

BRYANT UNIVERSITY NAMES TRISH HILLERY CROSS COUNTRY / TRACK & FIELD COACH

August 24, 2006

SMITHFIELD, RI –    The Bryant University Department of Athletics & Recreation is pleased to announce the hiring of TRISH HILLERY as its new men’s and women’s cross country / track & field coach.  The announcement was made today by  Director of Athletics Bill Smith.  

A 1989 graduate of Providence College, Hillery was a four-year standout member of the Friars’ cross country and track & field teams for coach Ray Treacy.  During her career, Hillery placed in the top 10 in all four BIG EAST Conference Cross Country Championships and captained the Friars’ cross country team to the 1989 conference championship. 

An all-conference academic selection in 1988, Hillery placed second in the 10,000 meters at BIG EAST Conference Outdoor Championships. 

A native of Limerick, Ireland, Hillery was the Irish High School Cross Country Champion from 1982 to 1985 and currently holds the Irish High School 3,000 meter record of nine minutes, 51.0 seconds. 

A resident of Greenville, R.I., Hillery has been an active competitor on the local racing circuit.  In 2003, she placed third in the 3,000 meters at the U.S.A. Track & Field Indoor Sub-Master’s and captured the 2004 New England Runner Magazine Pub Race Series title. 

CUMBERLAND, RI – You can’t beat it for ‘Good Old Days’ picture postcard Fourth of July Americana.
Since 1927, the villagers of Arnold Mills have gathered along Sneech Pond Road – today’s Nate Whipple Highway – to mark the Fourth of July with a parade, followed by good summer eats and a concert of patriotic songs.
And for the past 39 years, the day has started with a village road race.
The four-mile run, which starts at 9 a.m. at the Lafayette Masonic Lodge and ends at the North Cumberland Fire Station, typically draws 450 athletes. Last year, Chris Magill of Cumberland was a five-time winner clocking 20 minutes and 19 seconds.

For more club info, to join, or signup for our newsletter go to: http://runawaysclub.org

Dedicated as the “World War II Veterans Memorial Trail” in honor of soldiers who defended our Country.

The trail provides a multi-purpose recreational trail within the Town of Mansfield and provides bicycle access to town facilities and recreational areas. The off-road portion is a shared-use path along the former Old Colony Railroad Right of Way from *41 East Street to *395 Fruit Street. This 2 mile shared-use path consists of a 3 foot grass shoulder along the westside, a 10 foot asphalt paved multi-use trail and a 5 foot graded dirt shoulder along the east side for horses. The remaining portion of the top of the Rail Road embankment is cleared of underbrush. Also included is a small parking area for five cars within the former Old Colony Railroad Right of Way near 395 Fruit Street.

* This address is an approximation for Mapquest purposes.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/3/3_1/three-men-run-4000-miles-.shtml

Three men run 4,000 miles of Sahara in 111 days
Runners first modern athletes to cross Sahara

By The Associated Press
Posted Tuesday, 20 February, 2007

IN THE WESTERN DESERT, Egypt — Three ultra-endurance athletes have just done something most would consider insane: They ran the equivalent of two marathons a day for 111 days to become the first modern runners to cross the Sahara Desert’s grueling 4,000 miles.
“This is 100 percent, without a doubt the hardest thing any of us have done,” said American runner Charlie Engle, 44, while eating tuna and plain pasta during a lunch break about 112 miles northwest of Cairo on Saturday, day 108.

Engle, 38-year-old Ray Zahab of Canada and Kevin Lin, 30, of Taiwan, finished their ultra-marathon Tuesday afternoon at the mouth of the Suez Canal in Egypt after running through the night.

In less than four months, they have run across the world’s largest desert, through six countries — Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and finally Egypt.

A film crew followed them, chronicling the desert journey for actor Matt Damon’s production company, LivePlanet. Damon plans to narrate the “Running the Sahara” documentary.

For more info contact Jim Whelan at the above number.

Name: Willow Run Rating: unrated Distance: 4.65 miles / 7.48 km Location: Start: Track – Mansfield, MA, US Attributes: loop, mostly flat, roads.

Click for a map: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=73967

Let us know runawayclub@msn.com how you rate this route.

February 1-4, Dunleer Ireland

A trio of New England runners performed well at a pair of races in Ireland over the weekend. Based on their placing at the New England cross country championships in November, Mark Miller (BAA), Ian Marcus (Gr.Springfield Harriers), and Ben Schmeckpepper (BAA) earned a trip oversees to compete in the Armagh Road Race and the Ras na hEireann international cross country competition, and represented the region and the USA well with their efforts.

The international opportunity, created by race director Charlie Breagy has been going on for 10 years. Breagy, the affable Irishman who is the director of the CVS Downtown 5K in Providence which is the USA Championship for the distance, oversees the Ras na hEireann from this side of the Atlantic; the race is organized by his long-time competitive club, the Dunleer AC.

The competition week began at the 17th Armagh Road Race, the final event of two hours of competition on the Aragh City centre park mall. Miller led the closely bunched New Englanders in 14:35 for 13th over the multiple loop 5K, followed steps later by Marcus (14:37/15th) and Schmeckpepper (14:38/16th) in the 196 runner men’s race. The first two teamed with race winner American Christian Hesch (14:07) to score as the third international team.

Three days later, on February 4 at the Ras na hEireann international cross country festival in County Lough, the trio reversed their order exactly in the highly competitive field. Ben led the way in 7th (19:08, just 7 seconds out of fourth), followed by Ian (10th, 19:18) and Mark (12th, 19:22). The combined placings scored a close third among the five international squads, earning a set of team medals. The invitational field 6K race, which dates back to 1970, was won by Irish champion and world competitor Seamus Power in 18:32.

Find more information about these events at the Ras na hEireann website.

Announcing …

For beginners and independent joggers and runners.
Jim Whelan’s Home Town Team for fun and exercise runners. You can be among the first to signup for this new team. Your team t-shirt is included with your initial signup and you will be notified of team happenings by e-mail every week.
Joining a new group, making a new beginning is precarious. You want to be more healthy and fit, and each time you go out for a run you’ll  encounter a new side of yourself — one that’ll become part of your daily life.
For more info and to signup, click http://runawaysclub.org/home_town.html