The Social Racing Team for the Cooper!

Social Racing Team takes on the Cooper River Bridge Run!

The Cooper River Bridge Run provides a world-class 10-K foot race. The race promotes continuous physical activity and a healthy lifestyle through education and opportunity.

OBJECTIVES

• Increase interest in cardiovascular exercise in the Community.
• Raise funds for public education on the importance of exercise.
• Generate a spirit of community involvement and volunteerism.
• Promote and publicize the Cooper River Bridge Run.

A History of The Cooper River Bridge Run

At 10A.M. on Sunday morning, April 2, 1978, the starting gun was fired for the First COOPER RIVER BRIDGE RUN and the race began.  Even at that time it was successful beyond the organizers wildest expectations.  Or was it?  The first race entry form had this prophetic line just under the race name:  ".....destined to become a legend".

     Race director for the inaugural race, Keith Hamilton said that best part of the day for him was standing in the parking lot at Patriots Point after the race started and seeing the bridge covered with humanity.  He said they had expected a maximum of 500 runners and that 340 had pre-registered.  The $3.00 entry fee included a T-Shirt designed by the race director.  There were only 4 awards categories in the first race, with merchandise awards 3 deep in each.  The categories were: open male, open female, masters male and masters female.

    Race day morning was sweltering hot, but despite the 82 degree heat, another 600 or 700 runners registered.  Olympian (1952, marathon) Ted Corbitt was one of the runners.  A lot of runners fell out from the heat and some had to be hospitalized.  In the early days of road racing there was a lot of debate as to whether water should be provided for runners on race courses and by committee vote there was none for the first Bridge Run.

    Race day morning, after the race had begun, the police made the race officials move the finish line back about 150 yards, which made the course short.  The race began at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, went across the reversible lane of the new bridge (use of the bridge had required legislation sponsored by State Senator Dewey Wise), went down Meeting Street to finish at White Point Gardens on the Battery.

The Social Racing Team Members will be taking to the streets in their "Powered by Pinot" Pink shirts and running their way over the Ravenal Bridge and all the way to Social for drink specials, friends, family and great times!

Social Racing Team Members:

Amanda Mishue

Amanda Thurber

Ashley Moreland

Bradley Mishue

Brandy Malcom

Charlotte Frampton

Chase Burnworth

David Cross

Derek Workman

Erin Workman

James Murphy

Jennifer Heuvelman

Jennifer Riddle

Joe Pohl

Kate Berwald

Kelly Bowen

Kimi Parkhill

Kristie Day

Laura Burnworth

Mandy Granda

Michele Smith

Meredith Holcomb

Nicole Hitte

Paige O’kelly

Ryan Keiper

Ryan Riddle

Scott Peterson

Tabitha Ottiwell

Taylor Brewer

Van Barnhill

 Racemates will be partnering with Social Wine Bar for an exclusive after-party following the 2011 Cooper River Bridge Run. Whether you are planning to conquer the Ravenel Bridge that morning or you just want an excuse to start the party early, please make plans to join us. The festivities will kick off around 9:00 am. Here are some of the specials that Social will be offering during the party:

- $10 bottomless mimosas
- $10 brunch buffet
- Bloody Mary Bar - provided by local company Fat & Juicy
* and of course you can order off the regular drink menu

To help make this event a complete success, please pass this invite on to all of your family and friends. We look forward to seeing you on April 2nd.

 See you this Saturday morning at 10:30 at the bottom of the Ravenal Bridge (on the Mt. Pleasant side, water fountain).

 Go Get’Em!

Social Racing Team and After-Party!

Social Wine Bar and Racemates have officially joined forces in an exciting endeavor to educate the great residents of Charleston and their loyal tourist patrons on how to Eat, Drink and be Social.

On April 2^nd, 2011 the gun will sound and 40,000 plus Elite Racers, Runners and Walkers will take to the streets of beautiful Mount Pleasant and historic downtown Charleston to compete in the 34^th Annual Cooper River Bridge running in sunny Charleston, S.C.

The Cooper River Bridge Run starts in Mount Pleasant, crosses over the Arthur Ravenel Bridge and wines its way through historic downtown Charleston until the finish line on Meeting Street, near George Street.

Brad Ball and the wonderful Staff at Social Wine Bar will be hosting a Racemates/Cooper River Bridge Run “After Party” with wine, drink and food special for all runners and family members to enjoy. So come on by to take full advantage of Social’s $10 bottomless Mimosa’s and $10 breakfast buffet.

Check out the sweet American Apparel shirt you will receive for being part of the Social Racing Team!

Click on the "Race & Sponsors" Tab and sign up to get your shirt today!

See you all at the Cooper River Bridge Run and After-Party!

GO GET'EM!!!

Half Marathons are taking over...

To run a Marathon or not?

That has been the question that is being pushed more and more by elite, amateurs, runners and jogger alike for the last 1-2 years.

The Half Marathon is a friendly event and does not take the time, dedication and long runs in order to complete. In addition, after running a Half Marathon you are still able to walk and enjoy the city you are visiting. The Marathon can be a nasty experience and can leave you in serious pain and more times than not prevents you from enjoying your entire trip.

A great example: I trained, did my 20 and 22 mile runs, my tempo runs, my track work and easy days. I traveled up to Chicago for the 10-10-2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the ultimate goal was just to qualify for the prestigious Boston Marathon and really enjoy my time in the Windy City. I was very happy until the 23 mile mark and that is where I hit the wall, the good news for everyone, is that it will hit you, it is just a matter of time, some people hit it at 18 miles and others, including me, hit it at 23/24 miles. I have spoken to 2:10 marathon runners and 4:30 marathon runners and they have all told me that no matter the speed, pace or length of time you take to cover the grueling 26.2 miles, it hurts the same for everyone. The “Wall” is out there and it is waiting for you…so do you want it or not…?

The best advice I can offer up to you is to ensure you get those “max time on feet” runs so that you can enjoy you marathon experience. I have read that once you run a marathon that you will run another and another…I have to admit, that is the absolute truth. Another truth about the marathon is that you don’t want to run another marathon until you are fully recovered. I promised myself within seconds of completing the Chicago Marathon that I would never do that ever again!! But like I mentioned before, once you are recovered, you are ready to go again. It is quite amusing how quickly we forget the pain that we experience during the last 4-6 miles of the marathon and how happy and excited we are to put ourselves right back in that hell, the human spirit is a weird and wonderful thing.

I truly believe that once I complete the 2011 Boston Marathon I will retire my Marathon shoes for a while and fully focus on running half marathons and 10km’s. These two distances, 13.1 and 6.2 miles, are very pleasant, are easier to train for and do not wear the body down to unhealthy depths.

So I leave up to you Racemates, to run the Marathon or not…?

Until next time…Go Get’em!!!

The Grinch, Iranian Style...

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has gone too far this time!!