March, 2008

Teammates & Friends:

Apparently a number of people thought I was Mass Velocity. Apparently a number of people thought that without me that Mass Velocity would fold. Apparently a number of people thought that I was getting out because Mass Velocity was on the verge of folding and as one non-member put it, I was "getting out while the getting was good."

None of this is further from the truth.

I am not the team and the team has enough glue to hold itself together without me doing all the work. My exit from competition, whether it's permanent or just until I can find a way to get my knee working better and my request to off-load some of the work was the gist of my Final Thought piece last month.

I was very upset that a certain someone, who never joined the team because he was always looking for a faster relay, would think that Mass Velocity was dying and I was abandoning ship. Not so! Will never happen!

The Newsletter may be smaller, there might not be so many photos (unless you guys start taking them) but with Bob and Tuck doing such great work organizing practices, helping new members and organizing our team for Penn - and with the new Mass Velocity Yahoo Group [Not a member of the Yahoo Group yet? Click here to create an account] as a way for all members to better communicate with one another, the Red and White is just as strong as it's always been - and probably stronger.

There is real danger that an organization will collapse when one person does all the work and then that person leaves. But I am not leaving Mass Velocity. I am stepping down as President. I made myself President and I can abdicate if I choose. But I will not let Mass Velocity die - and if I can't get others to pick up the baton (and I think many already have) I'll get back in with all that I can muster to keep our club going.

I will be at the MAC Championships in NYC on Saturday (with my youth team, not running). I will be at the Indoor Nationals as a USATF volunteer, not a competitor. You will see me on the track this summer - I promise. In Springfield, look for the MVTC canopies to shelter you from the sun or rain.

I was devastated to learn that a few valued members HAVE indeed abandoned ship. It's not too late to come back. If anyone would like to talk to me regarding my role, or the future of the club, please e-mail me at Larry@MassVelocity.org or call me Toll-Free at 877-250-4410.

NOW ... this month's Newsletter -

[Editor's Note: This was enclosed with Roger's dues and I hope he doesn't mind that I'm sharing this with you] "Greetings Larry. Here is a check for 2008 dues. Sorry it's a bit late. I am not running at this time or training for that matter because it has become physically, extremely difficult. None of the injuries and physical problems were caused by track related events. Here is a list of injuries:

2 torn rotator cuffs
2 torn biceps tendons
1 adductor tear (healing somewhat)
1 hip problem (possibly hip flexor)

It's difficult to sleep, there is so much pain from the rotator cuffs!! That said - I have not given up. I am counseling others with injuries and attempting to heal and practice patience, which is difficult for sprinters! I'm here and will be at meets. God Speed, Roger"

Tucker has been doing a great deal of work organizing the Mass Velocity Entries for the Penn Relays. Please refer to this constantly update online spreadsheet to see how the relay teams are shaping up:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ppg8ZQiGgGpCFXkNBKFoXFg

Tuck writes that the spreadsheet "tries to capture who is interested in which relays. Notable items are that we have a 40+ team for the nationals 4x800 for the first time, organized by Terrence, consisting of Terrence, Ian, Darin Brown, and Dave Neumann. That sounds like a dynamite team. We should also have at least two 50+ 4x400 teams and a 60+ 4x400 team at the nationals.

At Penn, things aren't quite as solid yet, but we certainly hope to have 40+ 4x400 and 4x100 (the 4x100 is a bit light right now, so encourage folks to reply to my e-mail), and both an A and a B 50+ team in both relays, and at least one 60+ team for both. I will be sure we have lots of alternates this year, so nobody will be left at the gate due to having too few alternates. Ironically, the 40+ folks seem to be having more trouble staying healthy than us older fogies."

If you have any interest in Penn and you are NOT on the spreadsheet, PLEASE get in touch with Tuck right away.

We will have a Special Edition of the MVTC Newsletter in April, featuring the Indoor Nationals. With Spring in the air, the Outdoor Season is just around the corner. Bob is working on putting together the Outdoor Meet Schedule and we'll be putting it up on the website soon. Many state Senior Games dates are already announced and many states (including Mass, Conn and others) are inviting 40-49 year olds (and younger) to participate. This being a qualifying year for next year's National Senior Games (in the SF Bay Area), the competition should be very good and all meets should be using fully automatic timing.

Bob and the guys on the MV Yahoo Group are busy right now discussing locations and days for spring/summer practices. One of the things that many members and prospective members have been looking for are team practices. Considering our members are spread out of a wide geographic area, the best we can do is to organize practices where we have the greatest concentration of members, which seems to be the Greater Boston area. When the days and locations are set, we'll get the word out to everyone.

After last month's Newsletter I received a great outpouring of e-mail support from so many of you. At first I thought I'd reprint them but upon reflection, that seemed to be much too self-centered.

I want all of you who took the time to write to me to know that I read and re-read every piece of e-mail and I can't tell you how much it means to me to know that so many folks care about me and appreciate the work that I've done to get Mass Velocity from dream to reality.

I am so sorry that my (possible) farewell to competition and abdication of my throne left many with the mistaken idea that Mass Velocity was in its final days. If anything, I believe we are creating a stronger club by getting more members involved. I've always insisted that this was YOUR Newsletter and MVTC was YOUR club. Perhaps now, my dream of a member-run track club will come to fruition. But I will never be far away - you can't get rid of me that easily!

Peace, speed and good health,

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