What's New...

• Mellow Mondays - twice monthly on the second and fourth Mondays
• Gasparilla weekend events announced
• It's time for spring cleaning
• New updates on the Sunday morning long runs

ORC Calendar

The ORC is introducing a new calendar using Google Calendars.  We will post all Club events, local running events, and any out of town races of particular interest.  Please be patient as we make the transition to this new format.  If you have suggestions or an event to post, please contact the calendar administrator.  

Gasparilla Distance Classic

Are you running in any of the Gasparilla races in Tampa on February 27 - 28?  Join other ORC members at one of several social events throughout the weekend.  If you plan to attend any of these events, please RSVP via email so we can make sure we have adequate reservations. 

• Sat, Feb 27 - 2-4pm, the ORC will host happy hour at Four Green Fields (205 Platt Street)
• Sat, Feb 27 - 5:30pm, join other club members to carb load before the race at Bella's Italian Cafe (1413 S. Howard Ave.)
• Sun, Feb 28 - around 12pm (or whenever you finish), recover and celebrate with brunch/lunch at Daily Eats (901 S. Howard Ave.)

If you wish to carpool or share a room, email the ORC travel account and we will try to connect you with others with similar interests.  For a list of who is going to be in Tampa, check out the ORC "On the Road" page.  Email the webmaster to have your name added.

ORC on Facebook

Check out the ORC group on Facebook.  This is an open group for ORC members and others in the Orlando running community.  We will post group events, initiate dialog about topics of interest to runners, discuss ideas for upcoming group runs and races, and provide social networking for members, friends and visitors.

Mellow Mondays

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the first Mellow Monday.  We had a great turnout and a good time, with runners completing both the 3 and 5 mile courses.  By popular demand, the next Mellow Monday will be on February 8.  We will meet again at 7pm at the Mellow Mushroom in Winter Park (2015 Aloma Ave) for a group run, pizza (20% off) and drinks (happy hour pricing). 

Urayasu Runners Exchange

The City of Orlando/ORC selection committee wishes safe and fun travels the four runners selected to participate in the Tokyo Bay Urayasu City Half Marathon in February 2010 as part of our annual cultural exchange.   

The selected runners are:

• Dave Berry

• Jason Johnson

• Melissa MacDonald

• Cathy Lowe

For more information on our cultural exchange program with Urayasu, Japan, click here.

The URC created a blog to help ORC and URC members keep in touch.  To post a message or read what others are talking about, check it out at http://orcandurc.blogspot.com/.

Spring Cleaning

It's time to clean out your closets and get rid of all of those race t-shirts you never wear.  The Orlando Runners Club is collecting new and gently used t-shirts for the Orlando Rescue Mission.  Please bag and bring your clean race t-shirts to the ORC tent at the Winter Park Road Race on March 13.  Other clean clothing in good shape will also be accepted and donated.  For questions or more info, contact Neil Paulson.

Sunday Morning  Long Runs

The Sunday morning group continues to grow.  Each week we welcome new faces and regulars.  To check on the progress of the Sunday runners, check out Jack's Corner, with periodic updates on our group runs. 

Also, read Dylan's weekly chronicle "Adventures in the Thin Trade" with regular updates on the Sunday group.

Two of our runners have recently been in the news, check out articles on Jen and Wendy.

Come join this unique group of runners which meets every Sunday morning at 7am on Park Avenue at Welbourne.  Distances and paces vary, but range from 5 to 11 or more miles.  For more information, please contact Jack Gallagher.

RRCA Blog

Check out the RRCA North Florida blog site for upcoming events, RRCA information and other interesting running news and websites.  "It's everything you, an individual runner, or a prospective club might have wanted to know about the North Florida district, RRCA, or the myriad of events we have in Florida."

ORC Race Into Summer 5K

Thank you to all of the participants and volunteers that helped make the ORC 4th Annual Race Into Summer 5K a huge success.  We had yet another record turn-out for the event and the post race party.  Mark your calendars for the 5th annual event to be held on June 5, 2010.

Many thanks to the local businesses that donated equipment, food, gift certificates and other items - Track Shack, Fleet Feet, EMMI, Panera Bread, Publix, Mellow Mushroom, and Pepperidge Farm/Billy Kovaly among others. 

Full results are available here. 

ORC Club Competition

We are half way through the 2009 - 2010 Challenge Series race events, and preliminary results have been tallied.  If you have any questions or corrections on the below results, please contact Bob.  For more information on this fun club competition, click here. 

2009-2010 results:

Challenge Series - Overall / Age Group

Race to Win - Overall (Competition ends June 30)

ORC Group Runs

ORC Group Runs are held on the 1st Tuesday, 3rd Thursday and 4th Monday of each month.  The first Tuesday run starts from O'Boys BBQ in Winter Park at 7pm.  The 3rd Thursday run will rotate to different venues around Orlando.  The 4th Monday runs from Mellow Mushroom in Winter Park. 

Volunteers are needed to host third Thursday runs throughout Orlando.  If you'd like to help coordinate a Thursday run in your area, please contact Michele by email.  Watch the Upcoming Events section or the Calendar for details each month.

"The race is not always to the swift, but to the one who keeps on running."

--anonymous

Upcoming Races

• Lady Track Shack 5K - February 6

• Run Around the Pines 5K - February 20

more ...

To join the ORC, simply complete and mail in your Membership Application or click here to register online. 

Join us on Facebook

Upcoming ORC Events

• Feb 2 - Group Run  - Join us the 1st Tuesday of each month for a group fun run (course map).  Meet at 7:00 pm at O'Boys BBQ, 565 W. Fairbanks Ave in Winter Park. (directions)

• Feb 8 - Group Run, meet at the Winter Park Mellow Mushroom at 7pm for a 3-5 mile run

• Feb 15 - Board Meeting, Crispers, Winter Park

• Feb 18 - Group Run, TBD

• Feb 22 - Group Run, meet at the Winter Park Mellow Mushroom at 7pm for a 3-5 mile run

Suggestions/Events?  If you have suggestions for the website or events you would like included, please email the webmaster.

Have news to share?  Check out the ORC Footnotes page for interesting information about the Club and its members.  If you have news to share, please email the webmaster.

Going somewhere?  If you are planning to run in an out of town race - let us know!  We encourage members to post (here) out of town races they will be participating in.  If you'd like to find out places to get a great pre-race pasta dinner, course info, or travel with other members of the Club, this is the place to start.  Email the webmaster with the race name, location, who will be attending and the date.

"Runners' Corner"  If you are an ORC member, send a note to the e-Letter editor to post or find a neighborhood run.  We'll publish your scheduled run in the next newsletter, or post a notice you are looking for a running partner.  Be sure to include the day/time of your run, location, distance and a way to contact you.  Regular neighborhood runs will also be posted on the Training Partners page of the website.

Rules to Run By - Courtesy of Florida East Coast Runners.  This is a fun read with some good points.

Have an injury or fitness question?  Ask the professional at ProFormPT

Click here to send a question to Ed Dullmeyer, PT, MBA, OCS, CSCS - Board Certified Specialist in Orthopaedics

Donations

The Orlando Runners Club is a non-profit corporation under the laws of Florida.  To make a tax deductible contribution, please click here.

Road Runners Club of America

The Road Runners Club of America is the national association of running clubs, running events, and runners dedicated to promoting long distance running as a competitive sport and as healthful exercise.  RRCA's mission is to represent and promote the common interest of its member clubs, events, and individual runners through education, leadership, programs and other services.  The Orlando Runners Club is a member club of the RRCA.  For more info, click here.

ORC Apparel Now Available

The ORC is happy to announce that we now have ORC shirts available for sale to our members.  Shirts are available in men's and women's cuts in sizes ranging from small to XL.  All shirts are $15 and will be delivered upon receipt of your order.  Shirts are made from a technical fabric from Sports Science^TM and have the ORC logo fusion printed on the front.  For more details, click here.