THE Chuck Hargrove (Three-peat)
As always we begin our year on the right foot and focus on the Honorable Chuck Hargrove. If you are somewhat new to our little running community, then perhaps you should familiarize yourself with the first two editions here and here . Or, if you want his short biography, here you go: At Hillwood High School he was their first All City athlete, at Belmont University he pretty much jump started their running program to bring it to where it is today, and with East Nasty he has basically become both our spokes model and cover boy.
Instead of doing my typical interview with Chuck this year though, I asked him to write up his own thoughts on 2010 and what we have to look forward to in 2011. Here is what he had to say.
~~~
Dear East Nasty Running Group,
As first ever East Nasty of the Week (ENOW)--and apparently now the first ENOW of each new year--I am honored to again receive this award. 2010 was a productive year for running and running related topics. May 2010 fellow East Nasty J.P. Cowan and I completed the Keys 50 Mile ultra in just under 12 hours. Conditions were brutal with daytime temperatures in the mid-80’s and heat index approaching 103. A knowledgeable support crew is vital to ultramarathon success, so J.P. and I want to thank and recognize East Nasty Holland Carley and my childhood friend Nancy White. We could not have completed this race without them.
Many of you may know I speak with great admiration for my former high school and college teammates. This summer I worked on a project with former Bellevue and Hillwood teammates. In November we submitted paperwork to nominate our late coach, Doug Hall, to Metro Schools Athletic Hall of Fame. Coach Hall is also namesake to the Doug Hall Relays, a prestigious local high school track meet. Mark Miller’s Christ Presbyterian Academy teams have competed at these Relays.
I was also honored to join some younger and much faster Belmont University alumni in a September college cross country season opener. Despite injuries to some fast Belmont Alumni runners, we managed a fourth place team finish. This was my first time as teammates to join Belmont distance running legends, and East Nasties, Ryan Snellen and Kip Magut. By finishing fourth we extended my personal record over University of Memphis varsity cross country team to 2-0. My Belmont teammates and I defeated (then) Memphis State in 1983, and added an alumni win in 2010.
October I ran a personal record for 60K at Nashville Ultra. However I could not repeat as overall male winner like I did in 2009. Nashville City Paper covered my fall running exploits in a flattering article, which you can read HERE.
I am very proud of other East Nasties who achieved road race personal records, first time marathon finishers, ultra marathon finishers and our first Couch to Tomato 5K group. Keep up the fantastic work and results.
Here we are, at New Year’s Day 2011. East Nasty has some very exciting news including our official non-profit status, Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) certification, and our running programs. Expect big things from our East Nasty Resolution to King 5K group, and our traditional winter East Nasty Country Music Half Marathon training groups.
Yours in running,
Chuck Hargrove
CowanHargrove
JP and Chuck at the end of a VERY LONG Road!
~~~
So there you have it East Nastys. Happy New Year and see you out there on Wednesday nights, Sunday mornings, Monday nights for the new Couch to 5Kers, or anywhere in between.