Happy New Year!  All of us at Fleet Feet Sports would like to thank you, our loyal and supportive customers, for continuing to support a local business.  We will be 9 years old in March.  Fleet Feet Sports is proud to have 10 full-time employees and 3 part-time employees.  We are very excited about 2012, as we continue to expand our initiative to help people live an active and healthy lifestyle.  More opportunities to participate in training programs are planned this year along with fun/social runs and in-store clinics.  Great examples of this are our 26.2 and 13.1 training programs in which we have 50 participants and the Montrail Movie Night  on January 24. 

 

Because of the continued support of customers like yourselves and our desire to continue to help make Roanoke and Southwestern Virginia a more active and healthier place to live, Fleet Feet Sports is excited to announce that we will be moving to a new home this summer!  We will be moving to the building that currently houses Play it Again Sports on Highway 220 in front of Lowes Home Improvement.  This new location will offer us more space to better serve you, our customers, and provide the Fleet Feet Sports staff with a better work environment.  We will keep you posted as we move forward in this process and keep you up to date on time lines.   

 

Robin and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this great community and to have such a caring and attentive staff and loyal and wonderful customers such as yourselves.  We have a lot going on in 2012 but know that none of this would be possible without each one of you.  Every one of you along with our staff has made Fleet Feet Sports-Roanoke what it is today.  Thank you! 

 

See you on the trails!

Blaine

Downtown Roanoke hummed Thursday with runners, walkers and well-behaved dogs as a surge of more than 14,000 people zig-zagged 3.1 miles from near the Roanoke Rescue Mission to the Roanoke City Market Building in the annual Drumstick Dash. 

The fundraiser for the Christian ministry to the homeless dwarfs any other footrace in the region in terms of numbers and drawing participants in all shapes, sizes and ages. 

The event once again was blessed by sunny, cool starting weather in the mid-40's, and drew large numbers of group entries from churches -- Roanoke County's Church of the Holy Spirit with the largest contingent -- along with businesses and nonprofits.

Hayley Billingsley was the top female finisher, completing the course from Reserve Avenue to downtown, back to the Roanoke River Greenway and through Wasena Park and South Roanoke, in 1 hour, 36 minutes and 25 seconds. The course features 315 feet of elevation gain during the 13.1 miles.

Keran Billaud led the men, with a 5 minute, 59 second pace to finish in 1 hour, 18 minutes and 21 seconds.

April Snow, 42, of Roanoke, was the top female masters division finisher at 1:40:04. Rob Moorefield, 48, also of Roanoke, was the top male masters division finisher at 1:25:19.

There were 443 finishers in the half marathon, which is sponsored by the Star City Striders running group, according to chip-timed results prepared by Mountain Junkies.

Bill Jones, whose 150-pound weight loss over three years and training to run his first half-marathon at age 56 was reported in today’s newspaper, finished the race in 2 hours, 34 minutes.

Pikea Reynolds-Saint struck a heroic pose at the paddle boat's bow as her father guided the craft through a sparkling riffle on the Roanoke River.

Across town, at Fallon Park, Roanoke native and cyclocross racer Matt Marchal struck a playful pose sprawled in the mud hole that had rudely interrupted his race. Marchal, 41, lives now in Richmond and was in the midst of a twofer Saturday — participating in the cyclocross race and then heading to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech football game.

And then there was the Greenway Memory Miler race along the Roanoke River. And plans for mountain biking and hiking and slacklining and much more.

The first Roanoke Outdoor Circus continued Saturday on a glorious fall day from its main site along Reserve Avenue at the city's River's Edge Sports Complex.

And the event will reconvene today from about 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The R.O.C.'s website said it will be an annual event.

No Spandex required. No exercising necessary. And the event is free.

The Roanoke and New River valleys abound with outdoors recreation opportunities and word has been spreading. And that's cause for celebration among regional economic developers, many outdoors enthusiasts (who are willing to share the goods), small businesses that sell outdoors gear and other businesses trying to attract talent to the region, as well as organizations that promote healthy lifestyles.

Roanoke's Department of Parks and Recreation was R.O.C.'s primary organizer and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the weekend event's major sponsor.

Pete Eshelman, director of outdoor branding for the Roanoke Regional Partnership, has been deeply involved in marketing the region's so-called "lifestyle amenities."

At The R.O.C. on Saturday, Eshelman said Carilion Clinic happened to have recruits in this weekend and that he had helped one of them tailor an outdoors itinerary for their visit.

Eshelman said planning began in August for this weekend's event. He said he anticipates that The R.O.C. 2012 will attract more national companies that make and sell outdoors gear to come and demonstrate their products.

The cyclocross course created at Fallon Park by the department of parks and recreation received accolades Saturday.

"It's a great course," said Bob Bowman, a Roanoker who is an official with the USA Cycling Federation.

Andy Craver and Larry Carter were two of the parks and recreation employees who worked on the course and they are also cyclocross enthusiasts.

"It's a tough course," Carter said.

Bedford resident Kenny Palmer, 43, ran the cyclocross race Saturday and helped organize the Rotor Meltdown mountain bike race set for today at Carvins Cove. Referring to Carvins Cove, Palmer said, "I would probably call it the mountain bike hub of Southwest Virginia."

The cyclocross event drew several people from the Chesapeake area who were racing with a team from Fat Frogs Bike and Fitness in Virginia Beach.

Morgan Shutz, 25, races with a pacemaker in place.

Thomas Carey, 13, also came to compete, supported by family. The Careys said they have been to Roanoke before for cycling events.

"We love the outdoor culture of the city and the friendliness of the cycling community," Elizabeth Carey said.

Online: www.theoutdoorcircus.com.

The phrases "well run" and "good times" are common at cross-country meets. In a sport where time is everything, those words usually refer to athletic performances.

At Saturday's eighth annual Knights Crossing Invitational, held at Green Hill Park in Salem, those words not only were fitting for many runners' efforts, they also were appropriate for the event's management and spectator enjoyment.

On a day with clear skies and pleasant temperatures, more than 1,700 runners representing more than 80 schools and four states registered for the daylong competition - nine different races for various age groups and performance levels.

"We probably had 1,400 or 1,500 actually run," meet director Tommy Maguire said. Some bailed at the last minute, he said.

Every race started on time - no small feat, considering a crowd estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 was jockeying for observation points all day long.

Maguire, Cave Spring's coach and the event's founder, was pleased the turnout was several hundred ahead of last year's.

"It's been a hard week," Maguire said with a smile. "I haven't seen much of my team since Wednesday."

Colonial Forge senior Brian O'Loughlin recorded the fastest 5K time (15:45) of the day, a pace slightly more than five minutes a mile. Race officials feared that heavy rains from earlier in the weak would muddy the course, but they were pleased that the track had dried out and was in generally good shape.

The four marquee events, which started at 10 a.m., featured high school varsity teams.

Mount Tabor, from Winston-Salem, the No. 1-ranked AAAA team in North Carolina, took the large-school (red) boys competition, while Colonial Forge High School from Stafford won the girls red division.

In the smaller and private schools varsity competition, Turner Ashby was the boys team (black) winner while Peaks View (a home school team based in the Lynchburg area) won the girls competition.

Top Timesland teams in the red division included boys squads from Blacksburg (second), Abingdon (fifth), Patrick Henry (eighth), William Byrd (ninth) and Cave Spring (10th) and girls squads from Jefferson Forest (third), Blacksburg (fourth) and Christiansburg (fifth).

In the boys black division, Timesland teams took sixth through 10th place - Giles County, Staunton River, William Byrd, Jefferson Forest and Salem, respectively.

In the girls black competition, Jefferson Forest was third, James River was fifth, and Salem placed seventh. Alleghany and Staunton River were ninth and 10th, respectively.

Outstanding individual performances by Timesland runners included Blacksburg's Nick Link (second in the boys red, turning in a personal record 15:53, eight seconds behind O'Loughlin) and Cave Spring's Cody Seymour (third, boys red, 15:56). Staunton River's Stuart Robertson finished fourth in the red division.

Timesland girls took six of the top 10 places in the red division - Katie Fortner (Cave Spring, second, 18:42), Carolyn Bethel (Hidden Valley, third, 18:44), Lindsey Siska (Salem, fifth, 19:14), Melissa Teeple (Franklin County, seventh, 19:25), Eliza Eaton (Christiansburg, eighth, 19:30) and Kate Buss (Blacksburg, ninth, 19:32).

Like Staunton River's Robertson, Siska competed individually in the red division even though her team competed in the black.

"I was going for the win," said Fortner, the top-ranked Group AA cross-country runner. She finished 17 seconds behind Molly Breidenbaugh, of Hanover, who is ranked fifth in Group AAA but has recorded faster times than Fortner. "We're both sophomores, so we'll be meeting again," Fortner said.

In the boys black division, Luke Munsey (17:47) and Jake Munsey (17:55) from Giles County finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while Byrd's Zach Doss (18:02) was eighth, just a half-second ahead of Glenvar's Daniel Pinard.

James River's Anne Grumbine (21:28) was fourth in the girls black, and Marie Abowd (21:38) from Jefferson Forest was fifth.

Lord Botetourt senior Peter Tainer, a double amputee who runs with artificial legs, finished the course in 19:34, navigating through heavy track and placing ahead of 59 runners in his division.

"I was mostly worried most about catching my legs on some runners ahead of me and bringing down a large group," said Tainer, who hopes to compete in the Paralympics in London in 2012.

In the ninth and final race of the day, the boys junior varsity, where participation was unlimited in number, Blacksburg dominated, placing nine runners near the front of the pack.

Blacksburg coach James DeMarco, who has won multiple Group AA state championships in the in boys and girls cross country, said the JV runners are vying for varsity spots each week during the season.

"That gives them incentive," DeMarco said.

 

Girls

Red "A" race

Individuals

1. Molly Breidenbaugh (Han) 18:25.17, 2. Katie Fortner (CS) 18:42.35, 3. Carolyn Bethel (HV) 18:44.16, 4. Molly Foster (SH) 18:57.61, 5. Lindsey Siska (Sam) 19:14.15, 6. Martha McCoy (SH) 19:23.08, 7. Melissa Teeple (FC) 19:25.08, 8. Eliza Eaton (Chr) 19:30.82, 9. Kate Buss (Bla) 19:32.96, 10. Chantel Wilson (Mor) 19:33.46, 11. Megan Rebholz (CF) 19:43.41, 12. Shaina Manual (CF) 19:39.93, 13. Claire Ewing-Nelson (Bla) 19:43.02, 14. Jenna Walker (CF) 19:43.41, 15. Cherie Wilson (Mor) 19:46.07.

Teams

1. Colonial Forge 77, 2. Science Hill 147, 3. Jefferson Forest 150, 4. Blacksburg 153, 5. Christiansburg 177, 6. Mount Tabor 190, 7. Heritage (Leesburg) 210, 8. Morrison-West 279, 9. Freedom 285, 10. Hanover 289, 11. Hidden Valley 318, 12. Dobyns Bennett 329, 13. Patrick County 387, 14. Patrick Henry 402, 15. Lord Botetourt 411, 16.Cave Spring 419, 17. Northside 443, 18. E.C. Glass 483, 19. William Byrd 483, 20. Lebanon 509, 21. Rockbridge 513, 22. Radford 534.

Boys

Red "A" race

Individuals

1. Brian O'Loughin (CF) 15:45.70, 2. Nick Link (Bla) 15:53.37, 3. Cody Seymour (CS) 15:65.69, 4. Stuart Robertson (SR) 15:57. 17, 5. David Pennesi (CF) 16:05.47, 6. George Oliver (MT) 16:05.76, 7. Thorp Lichtenberg (Fre) 16:14.92, 8. Chris McElroy (DB) 16:19.89, 9. Quinton McKinnish (Mor) 16:23.23, 10. Michael Ellis (MT) 16:25.26, 11. Joshua Copus (MT) 16:29.92, 12. Walker Mogen (Rad) 16:30.20, 13. Cimarron Nicely (All) 16:33.56, 14. James Poyer (Han) 16:34.99, 15. Tanner Cook (AH) 16:37.62.

Results

1. Mount Tabor 73, 2. Blacksburg 130, 3. Colonial Forge 137, 4. Freedom 214, 5. Abingdon 232, 6. Morristown-W.Va., 235, 7. Dobyns Bennett 260, 8. Patrick Henry 328, 9. William Byrd 346, 10. Cave Spring 352, 11. Hidden Valley 359, 12. Science Hill 360, 13. E.C. Glass 381.

Girls

Black "B" race

Individuals

1. Elizabeth Vernon (PV) 20:32.28, 2. Carly Kreber (BM) 20:29.72, 3. Danielle Crist (Rus) 21:09.11, 4. Anne Grumbine (JR) 21:28.26, 5. Marie Abowd (JF) 21:38.46, 6. Abby Quigg (LC) 21:47.34, 7. Danielle Stum (TA) 21:49.69, 8. Brianna Eichhorn (BM) 21:54.05, 9. Lauren Onestak (TA) 22:05.30, 10. Lauren Capasso (TA) 22:06.53, 11. Alex Errington (BM) 22:07.07, 12. Hosannah Vickery (PV) 22:07.65, 13. Charis Jantomaso (PV) 22:13.62, 14. Abby May (JF) 22:15.14, 15. Maggie Grumbine (JR) 22:21.86.

Results

1. Peaks View 60, 2. Turner Ashby 99, 3. Jefferson Forest 95, 4. Bishop McGuinness 96, 5. James River 112, 6. Liberty Christian 123, 7. Salem 161, 8. Rustburg 214, 9. Alleghany 242, 10. Staunton River 324, 11. Chatham Hall 326.

Boys

Black "B" race

Individuals

1. Trey Fisher (LC) 16:56.80, 2. Kyle Bibler (Rus) 17:15.41, 3. Hunter Bass (Rus) 17:41.26, 4. Sam Williams (BM) 17:46.26, 5. Luke Munsey (Gil) 17:47.97, 6. Jake Munsey (Gil) 17:55.80, 7. Greg Redden (BM) 17:57.89, 8. Zach Doss (WB) 18:02.49, 9. Daniel Pinard (Gle) 18:02.96, 10. Josh Showalter (TA) 18:44.03, 11. Seth Short (Gre) 18:04.02, 12. Joshua Goodman (BC) 18:13.12, 13. John Denlinger (TA) 18:1918:19.51, 14. Alex Preudhomme (BM) 18:27.67, 15. John Pemberton (PV)18:30.33.

Team

1. Turner Ashby 81, 2. Bishop McGuinness 84, 3. Rustburg 159, 4. Peaks View 161, 5. Gretna 171, 6. Giles 183, 7. Staunton River 193, 8. William Byrd 193, 9. Jefferson Forest 206, 10. Salem 208, 11. Liberty Christian 219, 12. James River 300, 13. Radford 351, 14. Glenvar 383, 15. Bland 389, 16. Hargrave 398, 17. Liberty 438, 18. Carlisle 480.