Author: Marv

  • O’ Dark River

    With our bodies still adjusting to DayLight Savings time, a group of eight SNOR’s (Slight North of the River) Guys went, well…down towards the river. The enjoyment of the sunrise and light from the last few weeks has been replaced by turning our clocks back what seems like 9 hours or so as the group started, and finished, in the dark.

    Granted, the sunlight at 7pm later that day helped with some yard chores that were called on…so that was cool. But man, starting and finishing, again, in the dark feels like we are going backwards as a society.

    Anyway, the route was pretty easy…take Cave, Bat down to the river. Go upstream 22:30, make a U-turn and head back to the flag. We should theoretically call this the Bodos route.

    If you know, you know.

    See you, truly, in the Gloom sometime soon.

  • The GameDay Run

    It’s GameDay for the VCU Rams as they take on the Spiders in a late season Richmond Area Honda Dealers Capital City Classic. Tip off is at 7pm. The line is the Rams -14.5. The Rams won the last game by 41, but -14.5 is pretty thick for a road team.

    That said…

    Thirteen fellas showed up YHC to Jericho run around the Robins Center and then trundle around the south portion of the Westham neighborhood.

    The Thang…

    The Jericho run is based off the Old Testament story of some group of Old Testament people (Israelites?) marching to the city of Jericho and then parading around the walls seven times. Trumpets are blown, walls fall down, the guys take the city. I try to replicate that as much as I can when I travel on the road…having run around arenas in Dayton, Charleston, New Mexico…plus other fun runs up and down the strip in Vegas, around “the country’s favorite city park” in St. Louis and downtown Annapolis.

    We headed clockwise around the lake…then up a “kinda burner hill” (1-800) to the Robins Center. Run around the Robins Center….counterclockwise the first time, then turn around and clockwise.

    Take the parking lot to the baseball field and out of campus to College Dr. College to Lakewood, Lakewood to Wood…then Baldwin…but not left on Baldwin, but RIGHT on Baldwin. That turns into Hampshire…Hampshire bends it’s way to Ridge Top.

    4s–Realized that Wheeler is super tough to see off of Ridge Top. So the 4s ended up heading with the 5s and 6s to Chandler…they went Chandler to Gardiner, to Wheeler to the bridge. Over the bridge to Boatwright, up Boatwright and back down to College Dr to UR Drive to the flag.

    5s–all the way up Chandler and back down. Ridge Top to Devon to Waveny to Wood…that will then get you back to the flag via Lakewood and the parking lot.

    6s–A bit of a mess. YHC had to make sure the 4s and 5s knew where they were going and lost contact with the 6s. 6s ended up going Ridge Top to Patterson, back down, right on whatever street that was that the former F3 guy got caught with all the bombs and weapons. Back down Westham, right on Woodberry, left on Sweet Briar, left on Rock Creek, left on Baldwin. Baldwin back to the flag the normal way.

    Thanks for the Jericho help, boys. Go Rams.

  • Traffic at the Portajon

    Pretty busy morning on Baldwin, just east of Westham for a group of hearty souls looking to get some exercise in the gloom. This one is going down as the Spotswood Run…here goes…

    Go through the parking lot by the baseball field to College. College to Lakewood to Wood to Baldwin. Cross Westham on Baldwin and take a left on Rock Creek if you are a 5…go one more to Stuart Hall if you are a 6.

    Head South to Spotswood…go into that pocket neighborhood. 4s & 5s go one lap of Spottswood, 6s go two. 4s come out of the neighborhood and head back to the flag as quick as possible.

    5s and 6s go Forest to Ziontown Crossing to University. 5s cross Ralston and stay on University and head back to the flag from there. 6s head down one more street, take a left and then head back to the flag.

    Be aware of women walking their dogs right next to a strategically placed porta-potty. Just sayin’.

  • Still Running Circles in Windsor

    Happy Valentine’s Day, boys!

    The 6ers and one 5 did YHC’s Windsor to Hillcrest route. It wasn’t the same without Bodos taking a wrong turn and then grousing a bit that the directions weren’t “run this straight line to this point then run back.”

    The tough part about the run is making that cut through from Dover, over Lock to Pocohontas…to be sure, if you aren’t looking for the two pieces of wood that separate Lock from Pocohontas it’s not easy to find. Once you are on Pocohontas you head to Hillcrest, do a couple of loops around that bad boy then head north to Patterson…east to Commonwealth then back to the flag.

    There is some concern that we lost Boberry as he was the only 5 and we 6s, admittedly, didn’t do a good job of keeping an eye on him. Our bad, Boberry…I do hope you made it out of the southside of Cary St ok. In all seriousness, I’ll take the heat on that one, I wasn’t prepared for only one 5 to show up and should’ve done a better job explaining the route.

    Anyway, I hope everyone had a special February 14th with their loved ones, whoever they may be.

  • The Vistas of Mt. Henrico

    Ten vibrant and enthusiastic men showed up before the snow did (and as of 8:35am (haha! 8:35am for this post, suckers! Who’s procrastinating on posting now, huh??) still hasn’t) in the bowels of the University of Richmond on the 11th day of February, 2025.

    A good chunk of the PAX…dare I say Hall of Famers (OBT, Bleeder, TYA, Swirly, BT…they could easily be compared to Ruth, Cobb, Cy Young, Christy Mattewson) went off for a Ruck with their dogs to places unknown to YHC. Good for them for getting a 45 minute traipse around Henrico.

    The 6s ran the good ol’ Mt. Henrico where the views are always dazzling, if you enjoy looking over Parham Rd into the lobby of a Blue Ridge Bank. The air always does seem a bit thinner up there but the feeling you get when you are at the summit of Julian and Parham is pretty amazing.

    There were no 5s on the route…Hitch did his own thing…possibly down river and back as that was an option.

    Still waiting for snow.

  • Running up That Hill

    With the New Year comes a renewed sense of commitment to our health, our minds and the hills of the Greater Tuckahoe area. To that end, it was terrific to see 15 fellas out for Spider Run this week…especially since all signs pointed to the fact that last week was a no-show week for the 4s, 5s and 6s (the ice was pretty bad and a few of us were out of town…plus there was the water shortage deal).

    YHC set out to mix things up, if only a bit…trying to find some of the hidden hills of the area. Today, we landed on Spottswood, right off Forest.

    Here’s how it went…

    The first part was the opening to Mt. Henrico (baseball field to College, to Lakewood to Wood to Baldwin). The 4s peeled off at Rock Creek, the 5s and 6s to Stuart Hall. Everyone then ran to Spottswood, which is halfway up Forest on your way to TES and right by 1-800s abode.

    4s and 5s ran the Spottswood loop once. The 6s ran it twice.

    The 4s then went up Forest to Lakewood and Back to the Flag. (Not to be confused with Cooper Flagg).

    The 5s and 6s got over to Ziontown which led the 5s to University back to the Cooper Flagg.

    The 6s went a bit futher down Rawlston, to Kingston to Gayton to University back to the Cooper Flagg.

    Go Rams.

  • R-E-S-P-E-C

    For the last time here in Richmond YHC trotted around the hills of Westham garnering no respect from the PAX. I guess nothing will change, really, but it’s a bit hard to believe that next week, theoretically, when we go birth name, F3 Name and age…there will be an adjective (adjective? adverb? gerund?) afterwards. Crazy how time flies.

    The Thang…

    Modified Fudd Run today through the Westham neighborhood with some serious hills, on purpose, because, well, I’m almost 50 so why not?

    4s, 5s, 6s–Out by the baseball field to College Ave. Lakewood to Wood to Baldwin…Baldwin all the way to Rock Creek.

    Rock Creek straight up until it merges with Sweet Briar then right on Woodberry. Woodberry to Horsepen, quick zag on Devon then to Ridge Top. Ridge Top left on Chandler…

    4s take a right on Gardiner down to Wheeler, across the woods to college and then back to the flag.

    5s and 6s go up to Chandler and back to take a left on Gardiner to Wheeler to College Ave…YHC screwed up the instructions and should’ve told the 5s to go up Boatright and then back down to Towana to Three Chopt (“the Y”…IYKYK) to Roselawn back to the flag….but I forgot the Boatright part.

    6s did do Boatright to Roselawn, U-turn on UR Drive to Richmond Way Back to the Flag.

    Next week we’ve got the Turkey Trot on Tuesday, which is always a ton of fun. The 30th is the Marv 1/2 which is more or less anyone wanting to do a 1/2 on that Saturday at 7am from River Road.

    Y’all have a good week.

  • We Were All “Who’s This Guy?” Once

    As I was sitting in my car at 5:27am in the otherwise empty Tuckahoe Elementary Parking lot I began to wonder what I was going to do if no one showed up to Hoedown on this November Monday. Do I do a workout by myself out of spite (kinda like Conspiracy did that one time he was late and TYA immediately bolted up Kingscrest at Munford)? Do I go home and go back to the sack? Maybe I just go for a run, although I’m not wearing my running shoes? What’s the protocol here?

    Fortunately, three other west enders showed up, including Vandelay, who apparently was talked into coming by some guys at Libbie Market over the weekend. Good work by those guys getting Vandelay back in the saddle…and also well done talking someone into going and not showing up yourself. It has been a bit light at Hoedown lately.

    The Q itself wasn’t all that noteworthy.

    Basic COT to begin with…some dead man hangs, a runner’s stretch, arm circles, 25 2 count side straddle hops.

    Down to Lindsay, partner up. Pretty simplistic run to the top and back while the partner is lunging, bear crawling and crab walking.

    Same deal on Paris next to Lindsay.

    Same-ish deal on the soccer field at Tuckahoe…except it was dips and pullups while YHC unsuccessfully tried to kick a soccer ball into the goal.

    Some donkey kicks and American Hammers to finish.

    In between we knocked out fifty two-count Mercans. Here Here.

    Quick Pigskin appreciation post– When Pigskin first came out to Hoedown, it was definitely a “Who’s This Guy?” situation. His in cadence included numbering in all different kinds of languages, including, but not limited to, Spanish, German and could that be Russian? It was a lot for the guys at Hoedown to take…we’re not into change and, by and large, it isn’t a group that calls a ton of attention to themselves. To jump out and start speaking Russian on your first day requires some intestinal fortitude…but there he was, all 70 years-ish old making us all look like out of shape schlubs as he sprite-ed around TES hammering away burpees like he was doing 12oz curls.

    I’m inspired each and every day I work out with Pigskin. I’m come to enjoy the multi-lingual cadence counting, it’s pretty charming when you think about it…Shaka Smart would always say “Variety is the spice of life!” Russian language is spice, for sure. You tell me that age 72 I’m running around a snobby west end elementary school in the dark before the sun rises and I’ll absolutely take it right now, no questions asked.

    This Thursday I’m heading to Charleston on a business deal and I plan to workout with those guys somewhere down there. I guess, on that morning, I’ll be “that guy” of the “who is this guy” fame. Maybe I’ll brush up on some of my non-existent Russian.

  • The Day we Ran Mt. Henrico

    There is some irony in having been awarded the best backblast ever and always being super late in writing backblasts. (That trophy, by the way, is proudly displayed on our mantle in our living room. I have a couple of championship rings, including the Final Four, which are stashed away collecting dust…but that trophy is out for everyone to see). Anyhoo, maybe because I one day would like to replicate that one that I wrote years ago I always procrastinate, hoping that inspiration will strike. It rarely, if ever, does.

    So three (or so) weeks ago a group of 15 guys set out on a quest to get to the highest point in Henrico County. We met our Sherpa at Trinity and she took us the rest of the way. We left with 15 and came back with 14…only because Faceplant had to bug out early. All of needed oxygen in one way shape or form.

  • Post Halloween Hanover (Street)

    An unclaimed Q for RAMM had us all staring at eachother at around 5:27am the morning after Halloween. A week earlier Lockjaw had us run down Hanover, which each year tries to do Halloween in a big way…but they hadn’t quite set it up yet. Halloween, unlike Christmas, isn’t necessarily a season…but a “let’s get some stuff up for tonight”.

    Either way, we tried it again on Friday and had a little more success. There’s some theories, preported mainly by me, that it isn’t what it used to be on Hanover street. 15 years ago when I took my 2.0 my mind’s eye is telling me there were a lot more houses doing big, fun things out front…but maybe that’s just time and hyperbole.

    Either way, we saw skeletons in a canoe, some goofy/scary clowns and more skeletons. The skeletons in the yard direction phenmomena has been fun to watch…I like it when they give them everyday tasks, like sitting in lawn chairs or mowing the grass. Maybe next year I’ll jump into that troupe.

    Either way…good idea Lockjaw, albeit a week early.