Tri State
FATRUMPS, relay teams complete 200-mile journey
Annual Tom's Run Relay honors late Coast Guard officer
Photos
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
BETHESDA, Md., June 5 -- So a group of runners wanted to run from Cumberland to Bethesda over the weekend, a one-way trip of 200 miles.
Annual Tom's Run Relay honors late Coast Guard officer
Photos
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
BETHESDA, Md., June 5 -- So a group of runners wanted to run from Cumberland to Bethesda over the weekend, a one-way trip of 200 miles.
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And somewhere along the line, someone thought that was a good idea.
Despite oppressive heat and humidity, mosquitoes, gnats, a little bid of mud, a lack of sleep and real food, runners traveled mostly along the famous and infamous C&O Canal towpath through Green Ridge State Forest and other points of interest beginning early Friday morning before finishing up at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences inside the U.S. Navy Medical Center in Bethesda at about 11 a.m. on Saturday.
“It was fun but totally exhausting,” team member Becky Walter posted on her Facebook page afterward.
Before anyone reading this gets the idea FATRUMPS members and their associates were brave or other-worldly honorable, let’s get one thing straight. They aren’t. The name “FATRUMPS” stands for Frederick Area Trail Running Ultra Marathon Plodding Simpletons.
By definition, a simpleton is a fool, a numbskull, a blockhead. Yes, yes and yes.
Frederick Area Trail Running Ultra Marathon Plodding Simpletons – comprised of team captain Mary Zielinski, Steve Dobson, Bill Susa, Steve Milburn, Becky Walter and FATRUMPS pretender Kevin Spradlin – were joined every step of the way by Donald and Regina (Clark) Crone on their bicycles.
Despite oppressive heat and humidity, mosquitoes, gnats, a little bid of mud, a lack of sleep and real food, runners traveled mostly along the famous and infamous C&O Canal towpath through Green Ridge State Forest and other points of interest beginning early Friday morning before finishing up at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences inside the U.S. Navy Medical Center in Bethesda at about 11 a.m. on Saturday.
“It was fun but totally exhausting,” team member Becky Walter posted on her Facebook page afterward.
Before anyone reading this gets the idea FATRUMPS members and their associates were brave or other-worldly honorable, let’s get one thing straight. They aren’t. The name “FATRUMPS” stands for Frederick Area Trail Running Ultra Marathon Plodding Simpletons.
By definition, a simpleton is a fool, a numbskull, a blockhead. Yes, yes and yes.
Frederick Area Trail Running Ultra Marathon Plodding Simpletons – comprised of team captain Mary Zielinski, Steve Dobson, Bill Susa, Steve Milburn, Becky Walter and FATRUMPS pretender Kevin Spradlin – were joined every step of the way by Donald and Regina (Clark) Crone on their bicycles.
Mary Zielinski after completing her second leg of the
day in Washington County.
day in Washington County.
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Want further evidence FATRUMPS harriers are “special?” Most teams had 12, sometimes more runners. FATRUMPS had six at the start and just five at the finish line.
It should be noted that a co-founder of FATRUMPS and the man who devised the catchy acronym has the multiple roles as training run coordinator, veteran ultramarathoner extraordinaire as well as the nickname “Magellan.” Proving that FATRUMPS members are a special lot, it should be noted it was Magellan who was late to his first leg, a jaunt that was to begin near Bond’s Landing along the Potomac River.
It should be noted that a co-founder of FATRUMPS and the man who devised the catchy acronym has the multiple roles as training run coordinator, veteran ultramarathoner extraordinaire as well as the nickname “Magellan.” Proving that FATRUMPS members are a special lot, it should be noted it was Magellan who was late to his first leg, a jaunt that was to begin near Bond’s Landing along the Potomac River.
That was one of many unplanned events through with Zielinski, as logistics coordinator, had to muddle through. It also was the easiest. One particularly challenging stretch came around 2 a.m. Saturday – about 21.5 hours into the run - when the team was notified that Spradlin (yes, that’s me) was dropping out due to illness. In truth, he arrived at the starting line out of shape and fully unprepared for the task at hand.
Like any good team captain, Zielinski and the rest of her charge rebounded from the news in style. FATRUMPS entered the military campus at 10:59 a.m., a mere 60 seconds from the planned arrival.
“I don’t know how Mary did it,” Walter told her Facebook friends.
After a first leg of 6.1 miles at about 8 minutes per mile, the lack of general fitness showed. My next leg average time was about 9 minutes per mile and my third scheduled run, a 4.3 mile run, was barely under a 10:00 pace. After being sick to my stomach on two occasions, I bailed. Call me a wimp (it’s true), but maybe I’m the smart one. This was one tough event. Hats off to those who reached the finish line.
Like any good team captain, Zielinski and the rest of her charge rebounded from the news in style. FATRUMPS entered the military campus at 10:59 a.m., a mere 60 seconds from the planned arrival.
“I don’t know how Mary did it,” Walter told her Facebook friends.
After a first leg of 6.1 miles at about 8 minutes per mile, the lack of general fitness showed. My next leg average time was about 9 minutes per mile and my third scheduled run, a 4.3 mile run, was barely under a 10:00 pace. After being sick to my stomach on two occasions, I bailed. Call me a wimp (it’s true), but maybe I’m the smart one. This was one tough event. Hats off to those who reached the finish line.
Bill Susa
Regina Clark Crone (bicycle) and Becky Walter
FATRUMPS, relay teams complete 200-mile journey
Annual Tom's Run Relay honors late Coast Guard officer
Annual Tom's Run Relay honors late Coast Guard officer