Tag: RAMM

Mary Munford Elementary

  • Where’s Willmetta?

    Twenty, yeah, YHC said twenty, men of purpose scraped off the barnacles of the Fart Sack and cast off on the latest edition of the Run At Mary Munford. Temperatures were 70 and sunny. According to the newspaper delivery people flashing their lights on Berkshire, the following might have happened.

    Everyone: Leave MM, then head east on Willmetta (Q forgets to turn on Willmetta) to Kingscrest Parkway. Right on Malvern, cross Cary.

    From that point, you are entering the Windsor Farm “loop,” which looks like a lightbulb, or the Millenium Falcon, or something else, on a map. Follow the loop, starting with Canterbury and circling around to Berkshire, then right on Cambridge. When you arrive at Canterbury, that’s one loop.

    4s do TWO full loops, then turn LEFT on Canterbury to Malvern to Kingscrest Parkway to Willmetta.

    6s do THREE full loops, then turn LEFT on Canterbury to Malvern to Kingscrest Parkway to Willmetta.

    5s do TWO full loops, then on the third loop, turn left on Commonwealth and back to Mary Munford.

    Numbers, names, (YHC forgets one guy), and Funny Car (from F3 Hampton Roads) took us out.

    Announcements:

    TYA will be leading The Bridge on October 26th along with Shakedown. Bootleg may be coming, or maybe Bootleg is just arriving. Anyway, YHC is glad to have Bootleg back. In an omage to Lab Rat, YHC apologizes for leaving Bootleg out.

    NMS: Solid morning for a run. Light mist, and always a pleasure to chat with Splinter. Congratulations to F3 Kotter and all around good guy Viral for winning an RVA Tech Award (apparently, “the” big award). Good on him.

    YHC sends up a little prayer for a colleague with a big heart and a huge mountain in front of him fighting pretty active cancer. Same goes for Fudd, his family, and especially his sister, Mary. We are all with you, my friend.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Philosophy Friday

    Eighteen by ruck, run, or road bike surrendered to the moment of a perfect morning. Routes were perfectly curated to highlight some of the finest running roads in RVA. Some sections were new, some were well trodden, but all together exciting!

    Announcements: The Bridge is coming up in October. Look for more info soon!

    YHC took us out with deep thoughts about being in the moment between past and present.

  • FTLOBD

    With a lethargic dissemination of the running routes, the pax proceeded to cover their chosen distances.

    To those I inadvertently added to the pax list…you’re welcome. To those I omitted, feedback is welcome

    Saab abides

  • The Munford 9

    A crisp and cool low 60s greeted the Munford 9 on this, the first Friday in the month of September. Have we seen the last of the humid low 70s in the morning? The current forecast has it pushing 83-85 on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week…which isn’t terrible, but you do get the feeling the tropical oppression has one more run left in her before the fall settles in for good.

    Speaking of one more run…9 guys showed up on Friday morning for a trundle around the near west end. When in doubt, you can never really go wrong with a jaunt down Monument Avenue, where, even in the gloom, it’s one of the best tracks in all of the Mid-Atlantic.

    The Thang was pretty simple. The boys headed north on Commonwealth (even though you are going down hill…am I the only one in the world that struggles feeling like you are heading north when you are going down hill?). Anyway, north on Commonwealth and then east on Monument. You run east on Monument until the 4s get to about 19:00, the 5s 2

    0:30 and the 6s 21:30. Admittedly, that was a very unscientific and, actually, pretty lazy way to map out the route…but I forgot my computer at the office last night, so Map My Run wasn’t available.

    You head south (uphill) on whatever 19:00, 20:30 and 21:30 street you find…for the 6s it was Allen until you hit Cary. From there, you are back west on Cary to Malvern…Malvern to Groooooooovvvvveeeee and then Grove on in. YHC was hoping for the added smells of Can Can that sometimes arrive when you breeze by there in the morning, but, alas, there were no added smells from Can Can. A few times there was some added smells of weed in this part of the city, but that really pales in comparison to the bread of Can Can, doesn’t it?

    I hope everyone’s weekend has (had) a down hill yet northern vibe.

  • Let’s run some hills!

    16 or so PAX emerged from the gloom looking for some mileage and were greeted by gorgeous weather. YHC picked up the Q at the last minute and leaned on a route from earlier in the year to add some hills to the RAMM diet this week in honor of the upcoming BRR.

    The route is mapped here: https://onthegomap.com/?m=r&u=mi&w%5B%5D=Routes+may+not+be+suitable+for+public+use.&c%5B%5D=Route+data+%C2%A92023+On+The+Go+Map%2C+OpenStreetMap+Contributors&d=8090&f=6f235d0b33&n=1&dm=1&context=share&r2=ixeb7zgWvEc1l2s1l3i1x2o1f3o1f3s1j3u1r3c1j2Ml18FMj1o1f349w1v3m1Z3_1%7E3u1p34Be1l2o1h3c1j2U%7E1u2t5W4h8_3d8w3z7NFl4f3j5j4z3h2v2X2%7E1TJ7f1D6X1p4p3DBf2x1f1X1LLx1X2l8r6x2Lp2l1n1p1j4X3h1LH1F0Z1IRUFK58f2u28o1GCu7y5C6c1Gm24W3Gu2g2g5k4k1W2Y2s3g2c2W4w3KCQs2GCUSW1Y1IUEy16m12G2q1Li2f1q1b1g1BAj2m152X16PBn1JZ1F7Eb1m2X4d3JHCp10p2VX2b1Vh2r1JJTVt1f2X1X3Dt2Ht1X1r1Vj17NFv1z21h3Ul2OY1m2j1w1NOHUDo19o1Lm4f1s2x1_3z1_39Od1s2d7qF5Y16SAEm2_1a1Sa3k2a2n4W4j8m2d5W1b227y1z3q2l6Qz1CPMVSRW1o2Y1w2K_1Ma2Cy1Oo1_1e1S0y11u1Ns1f1q1n2s4w3c1l28Da1Gi2W1Y3c2oDu944t2u5TW2b1k2n1i3d1m23Ct1q3z1W4l1a3v1w33An1g3T_1Lm1b1k2t1s3r1k3n1g3n1g3h1y2r1m3Lm1

    Summary: West on Grove, left on Tuckahoe, cross Cary to Paxton, down the hill on Paxton and follow the loop back as it turns into Ampthill, back up to Cary and across to Stratford Crescent, follow the crescent back to Cary and dogleg over to Hill crest. Head down the west side of Hillcrest and start coming back up the east side:

    • 4’s continue up to complete the Hillcrest loop, cross Cary to Oak and follow to Grove. East on Grove back to MM
    • 5’s and 6’s turn right off Hillcrest on Charmian and climb the steep hill, follow Charmian around as it turns into Westmoreland and take a left on Pocahontas and return to Hillcrest
    • Keep going up the east side of Hillcrest
    • At the top 5’s return via Oak/Grove
    • 6’s do another Hillcrest loop and then return via Oak/Grove

    Announcements:

    • F3 RVA 10 Year Anniversary Convergence 9/21 at Dogpile – Main workout starts at 7am / Check the pre-blast for all of the other related activities including a family friendly potluck/cookout at Huguenot Park at 1:30p
    • 9/2 Labor Day Convergence a new AO – To Be Named at Nuckols Farm Elementary off North Gayton Road

  • Out and Back

    Bikers, ruckers, runners of all different distances and start times headed east for 22 minutes, north a block, west 22 minutes, and south a block.

  • Appropriate Punctuation

    Equal parts runners and bikers, this crew covered miles in all directions. The runners explored the Wilton House territory with its mix of hills and straightaways.

    TYA took us out with a message that we should reflect on weekly, if not daily. Let’s mark these chapters of life with ample punctuation to differentiate the passing of time.

  • Upchuck the Omniscient

    Seven RAMMers debunked Debby by huddling in the non-lit parking lot waiting for instructions. Once they were given, and Upchuck proclaimed his prediction was accurate, off we went through the knee high fescue for an oldie but goodie route.

    The Route

    • West on Groooove
    • Right on Three Chopt, right on St Christophers
    • Right on Patterson
    • Spot the golden arches
    • 4s right on Westmoreland
    • 5s right on Malvern then back on Grove

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Announcements

    • Kudos to The Bridge patriots for signing up a couple times a year. If you haven’t been (YHC included), prioritize it one weekend.
    • 8/21 birthday celebration at First Watch
    • Pickleball tourney on 8/17
    • Prayers for Sippy as he recovers. See you out here soon!

    Moleskin

    YHC finished #bigdata last night and was surprised while reading through some of the early RAMM backblasts how simple they were (Inaugural RAMM). TYA always jokes about that but for some reason YHC didn’t realize how consistently simple they were. Always on Grove, generally with time at the end for a little Mary before the clock ran out. Today was a tribute to some of those OG routes, simple but effective.

    The east wind made for a quick jaunt down grove, followed by stale air on St Chris before turning right into the belly of the beast on Patterson. Wind and a little rain was welcome as the tropics were in the air.

    Enjoyed the fellowship as always gang. SYITG.

    Splinter out

  • International Be Kind to Your IT Department Day

    9 runners and 4 bikers convened for this week’s edition of RAMM and RAMM Gears.

    The bikers planned their route and YHC reviewed the routes posted last night which consisted of several hills south of Cary before crossing back to Grove / Patterson and returning to the flag.

    4s: https://onthegomap.com/s/4okb8mbh

    5s: https://onthegomap.com/s/l6jb66eb

    6s: https://onthegomap.com/s/jeq8tr6n

    Announcements – see Slack for the many announcements across F3RVA.

    Prayers – Bone Thugs is getting an MRI soon and hoping for some good news. Sippy Cup’s surgery was postponed but he is upbeat it will happen soon.

  • Amateur Hour

    Three cycling professionals and 4 semi-pro runners gathered at RAMM today, hoping for just the right amound of rain but not too much. Cyclists were pleased, runners were not. After Offshore looked at Phonics and Phonics asked, “are we riding today? ok.”, a theme appropriate route was called and off we went.

    The Route

    • Gears crew did their thing, crossing paths with the runners a few times. We will call their route the “Flock of Gnats” route.
    • Runners, after some discussion of what was forwards and reverse, did the Reverse Carillon route.

    Numbers, names, no announcements before YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    There was a lot of discussion this week about amateur RAMM gears so YHC was expecting a large crowd today. When I arrived at 522 to see nary a soul (except TYA wandering around on his bike), I began to wonder if I had the wrong day? Apparently the weather scared away the amateurs, leaving only professional bikers.

    Since no one grabbed the RAMM Q, YHC sat for a minute or two thinking about an appropriate route to complement the (apparent lack of) RAMM Gears participants, I was reminded of a classic Marv incident that got Saab all riled up back in the day.

    You see… there was a period of time where RAMM Qs got lazy. Someone would just show up and call out a well known route and off we would go. Saab, in his peak of youthful running shape, would go out early for a pre-run and then show up back at the launch (when someone actually had the Q), expecting a well thought out route that would possibly bring in virgin ground. At least something unique. When someone didn’t think of something unique, Saab would express his disdain and off he would go with the rest of the PAX. If words could describe his facial expression when this would happen, it would be:

    Looks like I completely wasted my time coming back to meet up with these nincompoops.
    I should have just kept running by myself.

    Saab. circa 2021

    Which brings us back to the main part of the story. During an amateur RAMM gears outing a few years ago, Marv had signed up to Q RAMM proper. YHC texted him the night before and said, “ditch RAMM, find a bike, and let’s go ride.” So he did just that.

    Marv, sticking with his MO, shows up about 2 minutes prior to launch, hurriedly getting his bike prepped, before sticking his head into the circle of runners and shouting two words. “Reverse Carrilon”. Given the context above, you can imagine how excited some people were. Trust me, read Marv’s backblast from 2021 and you will see my memory is actually pretty sharp on this one.

    That that brings us to today. With very little time to plan a route and it being amateur RAMM gears day, YHC thought it would be a fitting tribute to call out reverse carillon. So that’s what we did. And it was kind of funny for a few seconds.

    I don’t know why I felt like calling out Saab so much in this backblast because he actually wasn’t even there today. He will also likely not read this backblast so it will fall on deaf ears. But as Paul Harvey used to say,

    And now you know the REST of the story…

    Good day!

    Splinter