This year, HRW participated in two 4th of July races. The longest standing race was the annual Ward Parkway Four on the 4th, starting near 87th & State Line in the shopping center. There were multiple races, including the traditional 4-miles, a new 4K and a Kids Fun Run. This course has multiple hills, and our brave walkers impressed the runners: Maggie McCoy took 7th/11 in the 70-74 division; Alan Poisner and John Anderson took 2nd and 4th in the 80+ division (the others were runners). The organizers were impressed enough that they are considering adding a racewalking division next year.

In a newer holiday race, the Stars and Stripes 5K on the Asperia campus next to our home base at the Jewish Community Center, our walking contingent also made the runners look on jealously. Janice Kelble and Kathy Dobbelaere took 1st and 4th/8 in the 70-74 division. This was a PR for Kathy. Janice’s first place finish was a tribute to her athletic development and a great PR for the Heartland Racewalkers. Way to go, Janice and Kathy!

HRW participated in the Annual Village Shalom Father’s Day races from 2010 through 2017 when it was canceled due to construction and later COVID. During some of these races, we were one of the sponsors. 2024 saw the return of the races (5K and 10K) and featured a racewalking division (thanks to our partial sponsorship). We entered all of the divisions except the Kid’s Fun Run. (see Results link).

11 of our members entered the racewalking division and showed grit and stamina in the hilly 5K course. We coopted Pat’s brother Joe to walk the course with us. Janice Kelble entered the regular 5K division and took second overall while competing against runners. Husband Joe came along while recuperating from a medical problem and managed to finish the 5K in his own wheelchair division with some family help.

A third race was the 10K (no racewalking division), and Alan did double duty by completing the 10K after finishing the 5K racewalk. He took first in his division (the only one in the 80-89) and had the advantage of walking on his home course since he lives in Village Shalom and frequently walks in this area. For all results, see https://heartlandracewalkers.com/results

In this first year back for the Father’s Day Run, Village Shalom did a great job on a slightly altered course, and next year, they plan to have more than this year’s 326 entrants-and they will with help from Heartland Racewalkers.

HRW sent three of its regular Gold Miners to Columbia, Missouri, in June, and they came away with three Gold Medals in the 1500-meter racewalk. Lori Groom, David Eisenberg, and Alan Poisner each took Gold (see Results link). In a new adventure, they also entered an 800-meter predicted-time race before the start of the 1500-meter walk. This is the same format as our annual Be-A-Walker (except for the shorter distance). They did not try to go out hard so close to the scheduled walk, but they did manage to garner a Bronze, Silver, and Gold in their respective age groups.

Last year, HRW sent three walkers to Louisville, bringing home a Silver medal, several Golds, and an American record in the 1500 meters by Alan Poisner. This year, a different threesome did it again in Chicago, with Karen Swisher adding an American record in the 1-mile race and medals from Alan and David. (see Results link).

On Day 1, Karen set the F 70-74 American record in the 1-mile race at this infrequently held distance, while Alan and David joined a number of fellow walkers who succumbed to some very zealous judges. However, on Day 2, all three of our club members took Gold medals in the 3000-meter race. This was Alan’s 5th Gold medal in the indoor 3000-meter race in various age groups, and Karen and David moved up from previous Silver medals at that distance.

So, once again, HRW shines on the national stage in Masters Racewalking, with more awards expected in the years ahead, including the USATF Masters Outdoors in July.

The international WMA has posted the 2023 ranking of racewalkers in different age divisions. Three past and current presidents of Heartland Racewalkers were recognized.

The table below shows their finishing places compared to walkers in the US, the North and Central American and Caribbean (NCCMA) and the overall World competitors (WMA). The detailed results for Karen Swisher, David Eisenberg and Alan Poisner can be found by clicking the Results link.

2023 World Masters Rankings	U.S.	NCCMA	World
Karen Swisher W 70-74
Road 10K Racewalk WMA	1	3	5/11
Indoor 3000 M Racewalk WMA	1	1	2/11
Outdoor 1500 Racewalk	1	1	1
Outdoor 3000 M Racewalk	1	1	3
Outdoor 5000 M Racewalk	1	1	3

2023 World Masters Rankings	U.S.	NCCMA	World
David Eisenberg M-70-74
Road 10K Racewalk WMA	1	5	8/20
Indoor 3000 M Racewalk WMA	1	1	7/18
Outdoor 1500 Racewalk	1	1	1
Outdoor 5000 M Racewalk	1	4	27

2023 World Masters Rankings	U.S.	NCCMA	World
Alan Poisner M 85-89
Indoor 1500 M Racewalk	1	1	1
Indoor 3000 M Racewalk	1	1	2
Outdoor 1500 Racewalk	2	2	2
Outdoor 5000 M Racewalk	1	1	5

NCCMA = North, Central American and Caribbean Masters Athletics
WMA = World Masters Athletics Torun, Poland March 28-31

After reviewing the results of USATF sanctioned races in 2023, the USATF racewalking committee chose Racewalker of the Year age-division awards for Karen Swisher (W70-74), David Eisenberg (M70-74) and Alan Poisner (M85-89). This was the first time for Karen and David and the fifth time for Alan, the veteran of the group.

This recognition was based on indoor and outdoor races in national and international events. Karen and David raced at the WMA Indoor event in Torun, Poland in March (see RESULTS link) where Karen not only took a Silver Medal in the 3000-meter individual race in a very competitive field, but also achieved a 91.2% age-graded result-the highest ever for a member of our club and a lofty world-class result. David was the top American walker in the M70-74 division and shared the Bronze medal in the team event.

Kansas City Star covers achievements of three club racewalkers in 2023

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/article282843008.html#storylink=cpy December 8, 2023

Members of Kansas City’s Heartland Racewalkers club clean up at recent USATF meeting

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KC Jewish Chronicle reviews Alan Poisner’s awards in September

https://www.kcjc.com/current-news/top-stories/9069-dr-alan-poisner-record-breaking-race-walker-continues-to-win-awards-in-his-80s Sept. 28, 2023

Dr. Alan Poisner, record-breaking race walker, continues to win awards in his 80s

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KC Jewish Chronicle reports on David, Alan and Sharon after Senior Ganes

https://www.kcjc.com/current-news/community-news/8928-community-members-win-big-at-national-senior-games July 20, 2023

Community members win big at National Senior Games

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Harvard Mens’s Health Watch Features Past-President Alan Poisner

http://www.health.harvard.eduwww.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/walking-advice-from-a-master-walker

June 1, 2023

Dr. Alan Poisner, record-breaking race walker, continues to win awards in his 80s Walking advice from a master walker

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Kansas City Star features David Eisenberg https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/community/johnson-county/article273204400.html

March 22, 2023

One step at a time, this Johnson County man is keeping his competitive edge

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USATF acknowledges Alan Poisner setting a new record https://www.usatf.org/news/2023/american-records-fall-on-first-day-of-competition-

March 10, 2023

88-year-old Alan Poisner added another record to the bunch when he crossed the finish line in 10:48.16 - breaking John Star’s 2016 time of 11:26.24.

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HRW Scores again at 2023 USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships

Just 14 days after our club brought home a slew of medals from the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh, and 4 months after our successes at the USATF National Masters Indoor Championships in Louisville, our past and present presidential speedsters continued our medal collection on July 21-23 in Greensboro, NC at the USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships - see Results link: http://heartlandracewalkers.com/results.php

On day 1, David Eisenberg and Alan Poisner entered the 5000-meter walk on the North Carolina A&T track and came away with a Silver and a Gold medal. David, in his first USATF Masters Outdoor event, earned a Silver Medal in a veteran field of 7 walkers, beating some former medalists in the 70-74 division. Alan had been in 5 previous Outdoor events and garnered his 6th Gold medal, this time in the 85-89 division.

Two days later, David entered the 10,000-meter walk (Alan chose not to enter) and garnered another Silver Medal, while again beating a number of seasoned veterans with a time of 1:07:07. His speedy time was close to the time he finished at the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland in March, in his first race at that distance. He should continue to be a force at this distance in 2025 when he will be in the 75-79 division.

HRW has continued its winning ways in 2023 and we expect more recognition in the rest of 2023 and in the year ahead.

Dave McGovern Racewalking Clinic Hosted by HRW April 22-23

Dave McGovern, the nationally recognized senior racewalking coach and athlete, will be making a return engagement to the Kansas City area, April 22-23, to present another one of his popular racewalking clinics. His website is https://racewalking.org/ Information about the clinics can be found at https://racewalking.org/clinic-dates.html#

The clinic is hosted by the Heartland Racewalkers and the contact person is John Anderson VAJuan@yahoo.com Check further updates on our homepage; www.heartlandracewalker.com

Early Bird price: $195; within two weeks of clinic: $225. Click link below to pay by check or credit card, or Venmo/PayPal/Zella to rayzwocker@aol.com Secure Online Payment Gift Certificates Available!

Heartland Racewalkers move outdoor for more national medals

National Senior Games 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA, July 7-9, 2023

After taking a number of medals at the USATF National Masters Indoor championship in Louisville in March, the Heartland Racewalkers started the outdoor track season at the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh at the beginning of July. Due to the relatively mild July, there were a number of excellent times and a couple of records.

The seven racewalkers came away with 4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 2 Bronze medals, along with 4 ribbons in the two races: 1500 meters on a high school track and 5K in a venue paralleling one of the three great rivers in Pittsburgh.

Karen Swisher, a former club President now living in Wisconsin and still a club member, took Gold medals in the 1500-meter and the 5K races, breaking her own record in the 5K in the 70-74 division. Alan Poisner from Overland Park, a veteran walker who was club president for 20 years, also took two Gold medals. This was the third time that he has taken two Golds in the 85-89 division, while beating 22 of the 53 men who were in younger age divisions. David Eisenberg, the current club president, won two Silver medals and continues to show faster times after his breakout racing success at the World Masters races in Torun, Poland in June. Lori Groom won a Bronze medal in the 5K walk, while Eileen McManus won a Silver for her time in the 1500-meter race and a Bronze for her 5K time. Earning ribbons, given to those who finish in the top eight places, were John Anderson and Maggie McCoy.

In the Power Walking 1500-meter race, Sharon Poisner took 4th place in the 85-89 division in the very first race she had ever entered. She beat a woman in a younger age division and is looking forward to her next race.

View race results here

HRW SHINES AT WMA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

World Masters Association TORUN’, POLAND 26-31-March 2023

Two Heartland Racewalkers ventured abroad to show their walking skills and made a very impressive showing in this international athletic event.

Karen Swisher, our former president and a current member who resides in Wisconsin, made a dramatic entrance to international walking by taking a Silver medal in the 3000-meter race on March 27. Her time of 18:27.4 earned her an amazing 91.2% age-graded status, the highest value ever garnered by a member of our club. She was the top American and beat 9 of the other 10 elite walkers in the 70-74 division in this typically indoor event.

Four days later, she did another fast time in the 10K (outdoor) race and finished in 5th place in a time of 1:06.56, allowing Team USA to take the Gold medal in team competition.

On the men’s side, our current president, David Eisenberg, was also the top American and finished the 3000-meter race in 18:47.1, good for 7th place in a star-studded field of 18 walkers. This was a dramatic start of international racing in David’s short racewalking career (just 3 years).

In the 10K event, David not only made a PR (1:07:02), good for 8th out of 20, but also led the American team to Bronze medal status in the team competition. The times of the three fastest from each country are added to determine the ranking.

Members of Heartland Racewalkers have now been on Gold medal teams in international competition in both indoor and outdoor races (2011) and can now add a Bronze to the medal collection. We can expect more in the future. (see Results link).

HRW Scores at USATF National Masters Indoor Championships

Our club brought home more medals to add to our substantial collection at the USATF National Masters Indoor Championships in Louisville, KY March 10-11 (see Results link).

On day 1, Lori Groom started off the women’s 60-64 1500-meter race by taking her first medal in the nationals-and it was a Gold! To show that this was not a fluke, she followed up the next day by doing another PR and winning a second Gold Medal.

David Eisenberg, club President and rising star on the national stage, made his USATF indoor debut in the 1500-meter race a Gold Medal performance when he beat all the other men in the 70-74 division, several of whom were former champions. His speedy time in the 3000-meter race garnered him a Silver Medal to go along in his impressive medal collection. This was another PR and a warmup for his races at the World Masters Championships later in the month in Torun, Poland. See related story in News.

The veteran in the group, Alan Poisner, returned to indoor competition where he has won Gold Medals four times in the 3000-meters and set a record in the indoor mile in 2017 in Albuquerque (80-84). In the 1500-meters, his finishing time of 10:48 not only took Gold but also beat the former record in the 85-89 division by 38 seconds. He took another Gold in the 3000-meters.

Heartland Racewalkers impressed the national racewalking community in Louisville and once again brought home more athletic accomplishments to the Kansas City area.

Dave McGovern Racewalking Clinic Hosted by HRW April 22-23

Dave McGovern, the nationally recognized senior racewalking coach and athlete, will be making a return engagement to the Kansas City area April 22-23, to present another one of his popular racewalking clinics. His website is https://racewalking.org/ Information about the clinics can be found at https://racewalking.org/clinic-dates.html#

The clinic is hosted by the Heartland Racewalkers and the contact person is John Anderson VAJuan@yahoo.com Check further updates on our homepage; www.heartlandracewalker.com

Early Bird price: $195; within two weeks of clinic: $225. Click link below to pay by check or credit card, or Venmo/PayPal/Zella to rayzwocker@aol.com Secure Online Payment Gift Certificates Available!

Pat repeats Dogwood 15K Trail Run

Pat Durkin completed this race for the 11th time on Nov. 13 The event is a family affair with three generations of the family's women showing up to compete or cheer. The course provides the most beautiful, challenging event I have tackled”, reports Pat! The race motto is: get wet, get dirty, race Dogwood.

Dogwood Canyon is located north of Branson in the Ozark hills. The course starts on the canyon floor, crosses streams 12 times as you climb steep, rocky ascents and loops back down to the canyon floor before ascending and descending again and again. Pat races with hiking poles, moving at a trot not a racewalk, to help with the uphill climbs and to help save her knees on the steep descents. The starting temperature was 22 degrees making for freezing temperatures with some icy spots on creek exits and a frozen camelback water delivery tube until 8.8 miles. The goal of finishing in 3 hours was accomplished with her family cheering her in. As the only woman in the 75 and up age group, Pat received her 10th 1st place award. She is also a champion and inspiration for the Heartland Racewalkers.

Huntsman World Senior Games 2022

HRW sent six walkers to the 2022 version of the Huntsman World Senior Games, which also served as the Utah Senior Games (Oct. 10-12), and they came away with a load of medals in racewalking and power walking. The results can be found in the Results link.

In the opening racewalking event, the 3000 meters, three HRW walkers entered and took 2 Golds and a Silver. The next day was even more impressive when five entrants took 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and a 4th place ribbon. Finally, the 5K yielded 2 Golds a bronze and another 4th place ribbon.

In power walking, Martha McCarter entered the 3000 M and 1500 M races and took Gold in both. Janice Kelble won a Bronze in the only race that she entered in the 70-74 division. Martha and Janice were listed in one higher age division since this event used the Senior Games definition of age (age on Dec. 31).

Congratulations to Martha McCarter, Eileen McManus, Janice Kelble, Maggie McCoy, Pat Durkin, and David Eisenberg. Thanks to Sandy Eisenberg for taking some great pictures. They will be posted in the Pictures link.

Alan returns to road racing. It has been four years since Alan racewalked against runners in a local road race-the Leawood Labor Day 5K in 2018. This year, after recovering from COVID, he decided to try it again-to enjoy the ambiance of the local racing scene and to advertise racewalking. The event was the Oktoberfest 5K in Martin City (135th St, east of Main).

It was a cool (he wore 5 layers) morning and a very hilly route. Alan’s time of 39:40 was fast enough to beat 98 runners and walkers and the only other entrant in the 80-99 division, a 5-years younger 82-year-old. It would have been good enough for an 81.7% age-graded result if the course had been certified and judged.

There are a few more community road races coming up, like the Ward Parkway Thanksgiving Day 5k on Nov. 24 and the Jingle Bell Run on Dec. 4 on the Asperia Campus. Let’s get some more HRW racers to spread the word about racewalking in the local running scene.

Patriots Run 2022

HRW participated in the Annual Patriots Race on September 10th, 2022. on the former Sprint Campus called the Aspiria campus with a 10 member team.

Traditionally the race is held for 9 hrs and 11 min. with our team competing for the entire time. Since KS Senior games were held on September 11th our club made the decision to modify our participation. Our team was trimmed down to 9 members when Pamela Felton had to scratch due to an injury. So, 9 racewalkers each completed one 1.5 mile loop of the course for a total of 13.5 miles in 3 hrs. 9 min. We started at 9:11 AM and finished at 12:20. PM. A slower 24 min lap estimate was scheduled due to hot weather and the KS Senior games the next day.

Lap times varied from 18 min to 26 minutes.

Team Members:

1. Julie Haller
2. Janice Kelble
3. John Anderson
4. Debbie Schmelzle
5. BJ Thornburg
6. David Eisenberg
7. Maggie Mc Coy
8. Martha McCarter
9. Pat Durkin

Kansas Senior Games 2022

HRW again supplied most of the medal winners at the 2022 version of the Kansas Senior Games in both the 1500 M and 5000 M walks on Sept. 11. Individual results are shown in the Results link. In addition, we also set all-time records in a number of events. Martha McCarter set records in both the 1500 M and 5000 M walks in the 60-64 division. Janice Kelble set records in both races in the 70-74 division. Pat Durkin beat her own record in the 5000 M race in the 75-79 division. Those Sunday morning interval sessions really paid off.

In an amazing example of our geriatric excellence, Pat’s time in the 5000 M racewalk was better than the women’s record in the 5K road race in the 75-79 division. Alan’s times in both the 1500 M and 5000 M racewalks beat the existing records in both the 1500 M track and the 5K road race running events in the 85-89 division and garnered another repeat All-American status from National Masters News.

HRW strikes Gold in Iowa

Two of our speedsters took Gold Medals in Iowa this summer. In June, Lori Groom raced in the 60-64 division at the Iowa Senior Games and finished first in the 1500 meters (9:02.7=76.4% age-graded) and the 5K walk (33:02; 74.5%). In another Senior Games success, Lori took 1st in the Mississippi Sr Olympic in the 5K with a time of 33:30 = 73.4%.

In July, David Eisenberg made a one-day visit to Ames for the biannual State Games of America and returned with a Gold in the 70-74 division with the swift time of 9:18.17=80.05%). The age-graded values were calculated using the table from Howard Grubb on our website and using the month of birth instead of the lower number. In David’s case, he was 72.4 which would qualify him for All-American status if they used fractions. But it is only a matter of time before he reaches that standard without needing to use a fraction. We look forward to his bettering this time at the Kansas Senior Games in September.

We are proud of these speedy club members who have taken advantage of the Sunday morning training sessions that we have carried out at Blue Valley North High School and more recently at Leawood Middle School. We expect more racewalking accomplishments from these HRW stars.

HRW shines at National Senior Games 2022

HRW found the Fountain of Youth in Florida May 10-11, in Ft. Lauderdale, bringing home multiple medals and ribbons. Garnering ribbons were Bill Hebb, David Eisenberg, John Anderson, Lori Groom, Pat Durkin and BJ Thornburg. Medal winners: Bronze-Pat Durkin; Silver-David Eisenberg and Eileen McManus (2); Gold-Karen Swisher (2). In addition, Karen set a record in the 1500 M 70-74 division. All results are shown in RESULTS link. David and Pat were first-time medal winners at this national stage-congrats! Eileen and Karen are past winners and continue to show their excellence in our sport.

Two records held or were broken by the missing in action (due to COVID) past president Alan Poisner. His records in the 1500 M and 5K walks in the 85-89 division are still unbroken but his string of 14 consecutive appearances at this biannual event came to an end.

HRW continues to shine on the national stage with a blend of old timers and newcomers. We expect our prominence to continue at the next annual event in Pittsburgh in 2023.

HRW honors three distinguished walkers June 6, 2021

The youngest of the three is Karen Swisher, young in years with HRW (just 6 years) but an “elder star” in national racewalking. Karen has also served as President from Dec. 2017 to summer 2020 before moving to Wisconsin to be closer to family. Karen brought a commitment to excellence as President of the club and expanded our membership via social media. During her HRW time, she garnered many awards in national racewalking competitions, including USATF Indoor and Outdoor Gold medals, with national records in the Indoor Mile. She has won numerous medals at National Senior Games and has “owned” the Kansas and Missouri Senior Games. In 2017 she was chosen USATF Senior Racewalker of the Year in her age division (65-69), beating out former Racewalker of the Year Marian Martino, a Hall of Fame racewalker. Just as impressive as her athletic accomplishments are the love and excellence in leadership that she brought to Heartland Racewalkers.

The Second honoree is Tom Oakes, long-time Treasurer and board member of HRW. Tom joined HRW almost 18 years ago when we were located at Health Plus and he saw us on the track and was hooked. He indicated that the health benefits also appealed to him and the “use it or lose it” philosophy. He served as Treasurer for 12 years and kept our club financially secure. His racing memories include taking first place in a club Be-A-Walker 3000-meter race and being on our Patriots Day 9-hr:11-min race team. Tom stated that his memories of HRW which were reciprocated, include the wonderful friendships that he made with fellow racewalkers.

The top name on the latest plaque is Fred Adams. Fred decided to try racewalking after a a heart attack in 1988 at age 55 when he saw our sport in the St. Louis at the Senior Olympics. He was an athletic champion at an early age, being on the Tangerine Bowl winning football team representing the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He continued racewalking when he moved to Arkansas and looked up our club when he moved to Kansas City. He became a fixture in racewalking in the area and nationally. Fred has won many medals at Missouri and Kansas Senior Games and at National Senior Games and Huntsman World Games. Fred has served as both Clinic Director and Treasurer for our club. Fred performed this service to our club while commuting from homes far away to the north in Liberty and KC North. Fred also gave back to racewalking by participating in community outreach seminars and presentations. He has had his role models in Tom Young and Jean Brunnenkant, our most senior HRW members. Now Fred is a role model to his many friends in HRW.

New HRW Bench Plaques 2020

Two new plaques were installed on the HRW bench in Roe Park on Nov. 7, 2020, honoring Sunday Cavallaro and Alan Poisner. Sunday was honored for her long time service as club secretary and clinic director, for the joy that she brought to our get-togethers, her recognition as winner during the last three consecutive years of the Alan Poisner Service Award, her significant athletic success, and the inspiration that she brought to her fellow club members while dealing with serious medical issues for several years. Alan was recognized for his longtime support of the club since its founding, for his service of 20 years as President and his support of racewalking and racewalkers in the KC area. He also has brought recognition to our club and the Kansas City area by winning Gold medals at multiple national and international competitions.

Photos of the installation ceremony can be found in an album in the Pictures link. A special section on Sunday is reported separately in the News.

Sunday Cavallaro 1957-2021

It is with deep sorrow that HRW faced the loss of Sunday Cavallaro, our longtime secretary, clinic director and heart and soul of our club She passed away after several years of dealing with recurrent cancer without decreasing her joyful inspiration to all of our club members. Sunday transitioned from a full-time runner to a racewalker in 2012 and excelled in local, regional and national races.

Even more impressive was the way she could bring joy, humor and support to her fellow racewalkers, including many social gatherings at her home. Her unselfish service to our club was recognized by installation of a plaque bearing her name in November 2020 (see preceding story). We also recognize the service that her husband Rich Cavallaro provided to our club by allowing us to share her time, by frequently providing transportation, by many social gatherings in their home, and supporting HRW over the years. A link to her obituary can be found at: penwellgabelkc.com/Obituary195226/Sunday-Cavallaro/Olathe-KS. Her memory will live on in the hearts of her family, friends and her extended family, the Heartland Racewalkers.

Lori Groom makes a trifecta

The summer and fall of 2020 produced a trifecta in racewalking success for HRW's Lori Groom. In August she picked up a couple of Gold Medals in the Nebraska Senior Games in Kearney (1500 M and 5000 M). In September she repeated those twin successes at the Kansas Senior Games in Topeka. To top off this three month haul, she won two more Gold Medals in October in the Louisiana Olympic Senior Games in Hammond, near New Orleans. This was an unusual duo since the two distances were 800 meters and 1500 M. Her time in the latter race was a PR of 8:50.5, 76.1%. We look forward to more Golden seasons for Lori as she adds to her racewalking accomplishments.

US Masters Summer Virtual Series

In the absence of national races this year, Erin Talcott, a nationally famous 50K walker, coordinated a 'Virtual Race Walking Series" this summer where walkers could choose their own location and report their results. HRW chose to use the Blue Valley North Track, and also one day in Topeka, for their September series. The distances offered were the one-mile and the 5000 M.

HRW had the largest turnout, with 11 walkers participating in one or both races during the first three weeks of September. Our 11th member was our Northern family member, Karen Swisher, who walked a 10K in an excellent time of 1:08:24.

Women pedestrians included: Martha McCarter and Lori Groom (55's); Janice Kelble and Karen Swisher (65's); Pat Durkin and Maggie McCoy (70's); and BJ Thornburg (75's). The men were represented by Tom Edmondson (65's); David Eisenberg (70's); John Anderson (75's); and Alan Poisner (85's). The detailed results will be posted in the RESULTS link.

Congratulations to all our walkers who earned their certificates by coming out week after week, improving their racing performance and continuing to spread the camaraderie and spirit of racewalking around the community.

Kansas Senior Games 2020

HRW made another impressive display at the annual Kansas Senior Games in Topeka on Sept. 13, with all 11 walkers taking Gold or Silver medals in the 1500 M and 5000 M races. There were four new age-group records set. Pat Durkin set records in the 75-79 division in both races, shattering the record in the 5000 M by three minutes. Maggie McCoy broke the record in the 5000 M race in the 70-74 division by over one minute, and Alan Poisner beat the 5000 M record in the 85-89 division. His time was 43 seconds faster than the record that he set in 2019. An added bonus for HRW was the practice and shadowing judging that John Anderson and BJ Thornburg provided. See the RESULTS link for the details.

Be-A-Walker 2020

The 27th version of the annual Be-A-Walker Predicted-time race was a 3K in Roe Park with a nice temperature (about 65) and field of 14 walkers. They included four who were in a 5K version 15 years earlier (2005).That list included Eileen McManus, Julie Haller, BJ Thornburg and Pam Felton. Once again the winner was not the fastest walker (just barely) when newcomer David Eisenburg burst through in the last few meters to come in first with a 75.1% age-graded finish. But another relative newbie, Lori Groom, took the Gold by coming in just 2 seconds faster than her pre-race prediction. Of course, her strategy included stopping for awhile to tie her shoes. The second place predictor was also amazingly close to her prediction. Julie Haller was just 3 seconds off her prediction, which was close to her 4 second margin in 2006 when she was the Gold medalist in the 5K race.

Thanks to those who made this edition go smoothly, including Charlotte, Maggie, John, and Fred. Details will be posted in Results.

Changing of the Guard-2020

Heartland Racewalkers has had a change of leadership in midyear due to Karen Swisher’s move to Wisconsin (see previous story). The new president is the former Vice-president, Pat Durkin, who has already been a significant supporter of HRW and promises to build on the outstanding work of Karen Swisher. The new Vice-President is David Eisenberg, a relatively new member of our club who has shown rapid ascent in racewalking ability and service on our board. The rest of 2020 and beyond looks promising for HRW with continued excellence in leadership.

End of an Era: Karen Swisher Moves North

Karen Swisher, President of Heartland Racewalkers since December 2017, is moving to Wisconsin to be near her family in nearby Minnesota. HRW had a celebration picnic in Roe Park in her honor on Saturday, July 26. She gave a thank-you talk to show her love for our club members and heard from many of our club members in return. She was given a Shutterfly book with photos and best wishes from members. The book was a result of the efforts of Rich and Sunday Cavallaro, with photos and notes supplied by many members. To introduce the book, there is a special appreciation message from Alan Poisner that he read to Karen and those assembled. It is shown below.

The state motto of Kansas is “Ad Astra per Aspera”, to the stars through difficulty. Karen Swisher has been the shooting star of the Heartland Racewalkers for the past 6 years.

Karen burst upon our walking scene in 2015 and quickly made her presence known on the racing scene. In April she was on the winning Brew to Brew 43-mile relay team, in June she took first in a local road race that included runners, the Father’s Day 5K, and followed these successes with a Gold Medal in the Kansas Senior Games 1500 M (10:15). The age-graded result (AGR) from that race was 69.8%, that little foretold the heights to which she would rise in competitive racewalking.

In 2016 she took Gold Medals in the Missouri and Kansas Senior Games and the Sunflower Games, achieving 80.9% AGR in the 1500 meters (8:56) in the W 65-69.

2017 was a breakthrough year for Karen in which she won a Gold Medal in the USATF National Masters Indoor Mile in Albuquerque in February and set a record while beating the 2016 USATF National Racewalker of the year (in a dramatic finish). This was just a start for Karen since she later took Gold Medals at other national meets: the National Senior Games in Birmingham where she achieved another high AGR (83.2%) and the USATF National Masters Outdoor Meet in Baton Rouge with two more Golds-5K and 10K (in brutal conditions) and came away with an 86.2% AGR! She also collected two more Golds in the Kansas Senior Games; and just to cap off a remarkable year, she took first place in our club’s annual Be-A-Walker predicted time 3K race with a 4 sec prediction victory. In 2017, Karen was awarded National Masters Racewalker of the Year by the USATF in the 65-69 division, in just her third year of racewalking.

2018 found Karen taking on the leadership of the Heartland Racewalkers as President and expanding our club while again collecting Gold Medals in the Missouri and Kansas Senior Games.

2019 was another year of national triumph as Karen repeated as the 1-mile champion in the USATF National Masters Indoor Meet in Winston-Salem and beat her own record from 2017 and again beating her internationally famous competitor from Colorado. She repeated her two Gold Medal wins at the National Senior Games in Albuquerque and has the fourth fastest time that has ever been walked in her age division. She also took two more Gold Medals in the Kansas Senior Games and continued her unbroken successes in achieving AGR’s of 80% or more. That is the threshold for All-American status for the USATF.

Just as impressive as Karen’s racing victories have been her dedication and service to our club as President the last 3 years. The Heartland Racewalkers would not be where they are today without her expert leadership and friendship to all, including recruiting and mentoring new members.

The “Per Aspera” part of Karen’s walking career has included recovering from a broken arm that barely slowed her down. The “Ad Astra” part of Karen’s resume is the way she has shown us how to shoot for the stars while having fun and bringing along our grateful pedestrians.

2020 Officers and 2019 Awards

The annual year-end holiday party was held at Sunday Cavallaro's home once again with good food and fellowship. The [b]election[/b] of officers and board members for 2020 resulted as follows: President-Karen Swisher; Vice-President-Pat Durkin; Secretary-Sunday Cavallaro; Treasurer-Tom Oakes; Past-President-Alan Poisner; Board Members at Large-Leslie Brown; Janice Kelble.

Several awards were presented. The Alan Poisner Service Award was shared by [b]BJ Thornburg[/b] and [b]Sunday Cavallaro[/b]. BJ had a terrific year in service to the club, racewalking success and other athletic accomplishments, including finishing a half-marathon in the 70-74 division, and accomplishing a 43-story competitive stair climb for charity. Sunday once again showed remarkable service as our clinic director while dealing with medical issues, kept us all smiling and still managed to get into local, regional and national races.

Two other awards were presented. [b]Karen Swisher [/b]was presented with a plaque, acknowledging her setting a new American Record in the one-mile walk in the 65-69 age division (breaking her own record from 2017). [b]Alan Poisner[/b] was presented with a certificate of appreciation for receiving All-American Status again in 2019 from USATF Masters and his continued mentorship and promotion of racewalking Karen concluded the meeting with a review of the past year and a preview of 2020 which is anticipated to be another Golden year for Heartland Racewalkers.

Sad News and Happy News at end of 2019

HRW lost an honorary member, [b]Floyd Delon[/b], at the end of the year. Floyd was a long-time member and soul-mate of [b]Martie Lykens Delon[/b] another honorary club member. Floyd was 90 and had been a loyal member for many years and had raced locally, regionally and nationally. He met Martie at one of our club sessions and their romance developed during their time in HRW. A donation to the club Service Fund was made in his honor.

The happy news is that [b]Alan Poisner [/b]received the Racewalker of the Year Award from the USATF National Masters Committee in the 80-84 age division. This is the third time that he has won this award in this division and he also was recognized in the 75-79 division in 2011. In 2020 he will race in the 85-89 division and will enjoy being the baby in the group.

More Medals and Ribbons: Natlonal Senior Games 2019

The biannual National Senior Games in Albuquerque in June saw HRW bringing home a slew of medals and ribbons in both racewalking and the new demonstration sport of power walking. The 1500M race was held at the University of New Mexico track, an excellent facility, while the 5K races were held at the famous Balloon Festival Park on a 1K non-oval lap path. Our defending Gold Medal winners from 2017, Karen Swisher and Alan Poisner repeated in the 1500M and 5K walks, Karen in the 65-69 and Alan in the 85-89 (although he was in the 80-84 division in 2017). Alan’s times were new records for his age division. Other racewalk medalists and ribbon winners included newcomer Manna Caffrey-Silver medals in both races, Juie Haller-Bronze in the 1500M, Fred Adams-Bronze in 1500M and Silver in 5K; Martha McCarter-5th place ribbon in 1500M and 8th place ribbon in 5K.

In the Powerwalking event, Martha McCarter brought home Silver in the 1500M and Gold in the 5K. Matt McCarter took 4th place in the 1500M and 6th place in the 5K. BJ Thornburg garnered 6th place ribbons in both races. This was an auspicious debut for the McCarters and HRW in an event that might become a regular feature in future Senior Games.

The results have been posted in the HRW Results page and the Kansas City Star

There were other notable (but not positive) events at this year’s Senior Games: a never-before experienced 1.5 to 2.5 hour wait that athletes had to stand in line at registration to pick up their credentials and materials, with the unhappy crowd at the Albuquerque Convention Center resembling rush hour at a New York subway station; and another unprecedented delay in announcing winners in the 5K that also lasted over 2 hours , and caused some winners to miss their opportunity to be on the winners stand. Nonetheless, our HRW gang along with a large support group of family and friends, did some fun dining together, had a great time at this year’s event, and look forward to the next edition in 2021 in Ft. Lauderdale.

HRW Strike Gold-USATF Natl Masters Indoor

March 1 and 2, Winston-Salem, NC saw our defending Gold Medal winners repeat at the annual indoor meet. In the one-mile race Karen Swisher not only defended her win from 2017 in Albuquerque, but also set a new American Record, beating her old record by 3 seconds in a time of 9:46. In doing so, she once again beat USATF Hall of Fame walker Marianne Martino in the 65-69 division. Although Alan did not finish that race, he holds the American Record in the 80-84 age division.

In the 3000-meter race on March 2, Karen took the Silver medal to add to her collection of national medals. Alan, a veteran of many USATF races, took the Gold in the 80-84 division for the third time in the 3000-meter race in that age division.

The results will be posted in the HRW Results link. a report in can be seen in the Kansas City Star

Heartland Racewalkers Officers 2018-2019

HRW officers were elected for 2018 and reelected for 2019: Serving as President: Karen Swisher; Vice-President: Charlotte Haupt; Secretary and Clinic Director: Sunday Cavallaro; Treasurer: Tom Oakes; Past President: Alan Poisner; Other Board Members 2019: Fred Adams, Maggie McCoy. We thank them all for keeping HRW among the top racewalking clubs in U.S.

Alan Poisner Does it Again in 2017

Alan Poisner, founding member and past-president of the Heartland Racewalkers, repeated as USATF Masters Racewalker of the Year in his age division (80-84). He had previously won this award in 2011 and 2015. This was based on his Gold Medal wins at the USATF National Indoor in Albuquerque (one-mile and 3000 meters) and the National Outdoor Championships in Baton Rouge (5000 meters and 10K). He was also recognized for setting a new record in the Indoor one-mile walk. In the 9 national and international races in 2017 he earned 9 Gold Medals.

This year had some serious challenges, including racing the 5K in the National Senior Games in Birmingham during a drenching rain on a course full of puddles and sloping surfaces. Also a challenge was the 10K race in Baton Rouge where the humidity was greater than his finishing time (76 min) and survival was the goal.

After the Indoor meet in Albuquerque, Alan went further south to compete in the World Masters Games in Auckland, New Zealand. This is described in the news item posted in May. He competed in the 1500 meter and 3000 meter racewalks and took Gold in both, achieving an 86.1% age-grading result in the 1500 meter race. He also beat the Russian who had come in second to him in 2011 in the World Masters Athletics Championships. This guy probably was taking the wrong drugs.

After New Zealand, the next two events were also south, but in the U.S. In the National Senior Games in Birmingham, Alan repeated as the Gold Medalist in both the 1500 meter and the 5K walks in the 80-84 division (now at age 83). Then at the USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships in Baton Rouge, he took Gold in the 5000 meter race on the track (LSU) and the 10K on the road (mentioned above).

The final national race was the biannual State Games of America which was held in Grand Rapids, MI. Our club was instrumental in part in including racewalking as an official event, just like it was in 2015 in Lincoln, NE. Alan was the sole representative of HRW, although other club members had qualified by taking medals in the Sunflower Games or the ShowMe games. He repeated his 2015 win by taking Gold in the 1500 meter walk.

In addition to these achievements for racewalking against walkers, he also won a Phidippides Award from the National Masters News for his participation and wins in many road races (racewalking against runners). He has now won this award 6 times.

2017 has been a special racing season for Alan, now in his 33rd year as a racewalker.

HRW 2017 Annual Party and Election

HRW held its annual year-end party at the home of Sunday Cavallaro on Dec. 2. President BJ Thornburg with the help of the Board gave a report of the year's activities. Alan Poisner, the past president, acting as chair of the nominating committee then presented the list of officers and board members for 2018. These were voted in by acclamation and the list is shown below.

The Alan Poisner Service Award for 2017 was presented to Karen Swisher (also a 2016 recipient) for her dedicated service to the club. A series of special awards was then presented to Karen along with a trophy and that is described in a later message.

Karen, as incoming President, then gave her view of our club's activities in the coming year with lots of interesting events planned. Also discussed was a plan suggested by Alan to expand our club's mission to include power walkers in our community. That will be codified in a updated By-Laws that will be presented in the new year.

The club expressed their thanks to BJ for her two years of service as President with cards and some special gifts. As usual, the annual gift/door-prize activity was again a popular way to conclude our 29th year as one of the premier racewalking clubs in the country.

• Officers and Board Members for 2018
• President Karen Swisher
• Vice-President Charlotte Haupt
• Secretary Sunday Cavallaro
• Treasurer Tom Oakes
• Asst. Treasurer Steve Fraley
• Clinic Director Sunday Cavallaro
• Past President Alan Poisner
• Photographer Maggie McCoy
• Website Mntce. Alan Poisner/Karen Swisher
• At Large members: Fred Adams, Pat Durkin, Maggie Link

Karen Swisher Excels in 2017

Karen Swisher had a spectacular year in just her third year as a racewalker, garnering awards that had not previously been earned by women in our club. She started out the year by competing in the USATF National Masters Indoor Championships in Albuquerque in March, the first national USATF meet that she had ever entered. The first event was the one-mile walk, a rarely held distance (usually 1500 meters) and Karen not only took first place, she beat the former Racewalker of the Year, Marian Martino, nipping her at the last stride by 0.5 sec AND she set a new national indoor record for her age group (65-69). Adding to her Gold Medal, the next day she took Silver in the 3000 meter walk.

Next on Karen’s 2017 walking victory march was the National Senior Games in Birmingham, AL in June. At this location, she took Gold in the 5K race while it was raining and beat 32 of the 34 other women in the 50-69 divisions except two who were 10 years younger. Her time was good enough to earn an All-American Award (81.7%). She followed this up two days later by taking another Gold in the 1500 meter walk, beating the other 8 women in the 65-69 division and all 10 walkers in the 60-64 age division. She again attained an age-graded finish greater than 80%.

The next national competition, the USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships, was even further south, Baton Rouge, and in July. That means HOT and HUMID, and it was. But Karen was really hot, taking two more Golds (5000 meters on the track and 10K on the road) in really brutal conditions. Her time in the 5K, 30:28, was good enough for 86.2% and she came in ahead of all of the 8 other women who dared to race under the glaring sun for over one hour.

Finally, just to keep her winning form going strong, she entered the Kansas Senior Games in September and took Golds in the 1500 meter and 5000 meter walks, beating all of the men and women in both events.

As a result of her performance in the USATF races, Karen earned the USATF Masters Racewalker of the Year in the 65-69 age division, which was a spectacular result in this just her third year of racewalking. Because of this record that had never been achieved by women in the Heartland Racewalkers in its 29 years, Karen was given a special trophy by her fellow competitor, Alan Poisner, a founding member of Heartand Racewalkers, who has 32 years experience in competing in national races, and can’t keep up with Karen any more. But neither can many others around the country. Congratulations, Karen.

National Masters News Story on Alan Poisner

The National Masters News featured an article about Alan Poisner in the June/July Issue.Read it here

Poisner takes Golds at 2017 World Masters Games

HRW past-president and founding member Alan Poisner brought more honors to our club by taking two gold Medals in the World Masters Games held in Auckand, New Zealand. This event is held every four years and is larger than the Olympics. It drew 28,000 athletes and supporters from 100 countries who competed in 46 sports in 5-year age divisions. Alan entered the 1500- and 3000-meter walks in the 80-84 division that were held on April 25 and 26.

His winning times of 9:53.8 and 20:54.4 were good enough to beat walkers from Russia, Canada and New Zealand and corresponded to 86.1% and 83.3% in age-grading. In the 3000-meter walk, he also beat all three medal winners in the 75-79 division. Alan commented that “it was a long way to go (9000 miles) just to walk a little less than 1 and 2 miles”. He previously took Gold in the 5000-meter walk in the World Masters Games in 1998 in Eugene, OR and in the 5000-meter walk in the World Masters Athletics Championships in Sacramento, CA in 2011.

New Year's Day Fun Race

Several of us showed up for the New Year's Day fun race. We had fun, but we didn't really race walk because the paths were covered with ice. We did, however, enjoy the traditional post-race breakfast at LePeep. I think Phil is still eating his HUGE pancakes! Pictures on Flikr

2015 Annual Holiday Party and Election

Heartland Racewalkers celebrated their 27th year on Dec. 19, 2015 at the home of BJ Thornburg. 24 members and guests attended this event. After a delicious brunch, it was time for announcements, awards and elections. Alan distributed the year-end summary of events and gave his report of another successful year. Awards (special plaques) were presented to BJ as the “Come-Back Kid” of the Year (because of her courageous recovery from her bone fractures that she suffered at the Missouri Senior Games in June and to Jean Brunnenkant who has continued to make racewalking history with our club up to her 99th birthday party. We are looking forward to her 100th in August. John Anderson took honors for accumulating the most participation points during the year (gift to received later since he was out of town). .
Door prizes were selected with the help again of Sharon Poisner and BJ. Alan thanked the officers and board for the work that they had done to support the club during the past year. Alan then presented a review of the 20 years of his Presidency (a type of Farewell Address). This is the first significant change in leadership since 1995 and represents 20 of the 26 years of Heartland Racewalkers. This review is shown elsewhere in the News.

Handouts were passed around, including a history of the Brew to Brew races that our club has entered.
Elections for the 2016 year were held with the first significant change after 20 years, since Alan has decided to move on to Past President and our current Vice-President, BJ Thornburg, was elected as the incoming President. Pat Durkin was elected Vice President. The Secretary (Carol Smith) and Treasurer (Tom Oakes) were reelected. Another retirement was that of Fred Adams who has served for many years as Clinic Director and his replacement is Sunday Cavallaro.

This was another banner year for HRW. We had a number of outreach events in the community with the help of BJ Thornburg, John Anderson and Alan. We continued our good relations with the Kansas City Track Club by hosting a Wednesday Night Run and participating in relays and road races. We won lots of medals at state and national events and the Prez set some national records and received the National Racewalker of the Year Award from the USATF Masters Racewalking Committee. News, results and pictures of the past year can be found at the respective links on our website. We expect HRW will continue the tradition of racewalking excellence and camaraderie in 2016.

20-year Farewell Report by Alan Poisner

Now I would like to add an addendum because this is not only the report for the past year, but in my case, the report for the last 20 years. That is how long that I have been President of the Heartland Racewalkers in our 26 year history. As you probably know, I have decided that it is time for someone else to take the reins and lead our club in the coming years and, fortunately we have a veteran officer of our club who has agreed to do that, BJ Thornburg. Before I conclude this major portion of my life, I would like to reflect on some of the things that our club has accomplished in these past 20 years.

When I took over the club in 1996, I had just come back from a one-year sabbatical in Durham, NC. I had been racewalking for about 10 years at the time and was able to enter a large number of local races in North Carolina as well as competing in the National Senior Games in San Antonio that year. The club was not very large at the time since we had lost our main coaches, Don & Debbie Lawrence and then Pathe Price and Jim Fogle. For a while we maintained our twice a week clinics, with the second one being at 6:30 on Wednesdays. But that dwindled away after a few years. Then we started getting renewed interest, partly due to the website that I set up as our newsletter under the editorship of Ed Levy and myself was superseded by our electronic newsletter and then the whole expanded website with Jake Fowler as webmaster.

Our meeting place (initially called Health Plus) had a number of owners over the years, from Health Midwest, to HCA to private owners. During this time, we also moved our meeting room from upstairs to downstairs to the front room to one of two back rooms. Steve Figoni and I ran several training sessions for outside groups: one was breast cancer survivors who wanted to train for the Race for the Cure. Another was the transplant group that was training for the National Transplant Games. We are very fortunate that Pamela Felton started with that group and has sustained her membership with us over the years. I have presented many racewalking clinics around the Metro and then was aided a number of times by BJ and Fred. These were for adults, coaches and youths in the area. Fred and I made a number of visits to a grade school in Independence to start a racewalking activity at their recess period and our club also sponsored them in a race around Arrowhead Stadium.

In 2004, we hosted the USATF World Cup Team trials in 2004 in Corporate Woods when Curt Clausen visited us. Most of the elite racewalkers came in to participate in this series of races, the chief one being the 20 K walk. In 2008, Eileen McManus and I represented the club in the USATF National Club Track & Field Championships where there were no age divisions and still picked up enough points to beat some running clubs. In 2013 our club was the local team at the USATF National Masters Outdoor meet in Olathe, I had the opportunity to help certify the course. Our club garnered 14 medals between the 5K and the 10,000 meter walks.

Over the years, we brought in a number of national coaches to present clinics. These included Ray Funkhouser, Dave McGovern (twice), Jeff Salvage, Carolyn Kealty, Debbie Lawrence and Jonathan Matthews. That is another way that our club is known on the national stage. Because of our national prominence, several members of our club were featured in a book on racewalking by Brent Bohlen, including profiles of Jean Brunnenkant and me and a comment about Tom Young.

Our club has entered many races over the years that were initially set up for runners. In 2001, I set up our first team to enter the Brew to Brew Relay to Lawrence. We were the only racewalking team and set a precedent by beating a number of running teams using the age-graded finishing times. At one time we had four teams in the Brew to Brew. I also arranged to have teams in the Blue Springs Marathon and Half-Marathon Relays in Independence. Once we had five teams who entered. In recent years, we have also set up teams in the Patriots Day Run. That has been in four different locations in Olathe and we have had wonderful participation, many times with 20 or more walkers.

I have also been able to persuade some local road race organizers to include racewalking divisions in their races. These have included the Gobbler Grind, the Father’s Day Run and the Cliff Hanger and there have been others. This has raised the visibility of our club and helped promote racewalking in the Metro. In addition to gaining support from some local race organizers, I have also been able to gain discounts for our club from some local running stores, that includes Gary Gribbles (now 20%) and Metro Walk/run.

Over the years we have had a number of youth members who excelled in regional and national competition. That included Emma Carter who won medals in the NAIA national meet in Olathe and actually competed in the USA-Canadian competition and did a sub-24 minute 5K. Other successful youth members who did well nationally included Kiara Bunton, Santosh and Lakshmi Dandi. A major event occurred in our club’s history a few years ago when Health Plus, now called Fitness Plus, closed their doors. Their old building and management couldn’t compete with the newer public and private fitness centers. This was a critical time for our club since a physical indoor facility is vital for a club in the Midwest. Fortunately I was able to negotiate an arrangement with the Jewish Community Center that has proven very successful, with indoor and outdoor venues and meeting rooms. We are very lucky that it is also only a short distance away from our former location.

An accomplishment that I cherish is the bringing together of Floyd Delon and Martie Lykens. Martie was one of the founding members of our club along with Phil Jacobs and me. When I recruited Floyd into our club many years ago when he was a widower, he met Martie who had lost her husband. The rest is history during which they not only got married on a ship in the Mediterranean but also have entered countless races locally, regionally and nationally. Another twosome that found the Heartland Racewalkers a warm place to meet were Jean Brunnenkant and Tom Young, who were my role models and frequently featured in local newspapers. Jean brought more glory to our club by winning the Senior Sportswoman of the Year from the WIN Network some years ago. Several of us were able to attend the banquet at the Hyatt Regency with about 1,000 in attendance where the award was given. She was recognized in a competition that included all sports, not just running or walking. Because of Tom Young’s many years of service to our club, we recognized his name on a plaque on a bench in Roe Park that also recognizes some other meritorious club members, including Al Armstrong, Ed Levy and Don Swegel.

On a personal note, the inspiration from previous coaches of our club has helped me attain recognition at the national and international level with many Gold Medals at the National Senior Olympics, the USATF Indoor and Outdoors and the National State Games of America. This also includes Gold Medals at the Huntsman World Games in St. George, UT and the Nike World Games in Eugene, OR. The highest honor that I got was taking two Gold Medals in the biannual World Masters Athletics Championships in Sacramento in 2011 (5,000 and 10,000 meters). I was also part of the USA country championship team that resulted in another Gold Medal and selection as the USATF national racewalker of the year in the 75-79 age division. As mentioned before, this honor was repeated this year in the 80-84 division. Along the way, I have also collected a number of state and national records from 1500 meters to 5K.

Finally, my greatest satisfaction over the years with our club is the realization of just how many individuals, from the younger to the older, have taken up our sport and achieved a better level of fitness while having fun. They and you are all emissaries to the wider world who now have a better appreciation of what a grand pastime that we have adopted.

2015 Annual Report

This is our annual month-by-month “State of the Club Report” for the past year. This was the start of the second quarter-century of the Heartland Racewalkers. That will be mentioned later.

On New Year’s Day, we joined the KC Track Club for the annual start of the year run/walk which was followed by the traditional brunch for some of us at La Peep. We had 10-12 (incl. spouses & friends

At our January meeting, we had a speaker on nutrition sponsored by Steve Fraley. We had 18 members who braved weather with wind-chill down to -12 degrees to attend this first meeting of the year.

Our February meeting featured JonathanStepp, sponsored by John Anderson. He spoke about his successful fight against bone cancer and his inspirational message as an athlete and role model

Our March speaker, Betty Sherrer, sponsored by Carol Smith, led us in a program of drumming-for rhythm and aerobics. Later in March, John and I went to Winston-Salem, NC for the USATF National Masters Indoor Championships. John served as a cheerleader for Alan (having missed out on the registration) and it worked since I set a new American Record for the 3000 meter walk. Unfortunately, it will not to be certified as a record since the number of judges was reduced at the last moment from 5 to 4 and 5 are needed for full certification.

In April, our speaker was Bob Akers, sponsored by BJ Thornburg. He spoke about electronic recycling. Then later in the month we fielded three teams in the Annual Brew to Brew relay from KC to Lawrence. The Heartland Hipsters, under Captain BJ Thornburg, came in ahead of the Perpetual Pedestrians and the Wooly Walkers, Alan and Mark were captains of those teams and were veterans of many Brew to Brew races. Afterwards, we had our traditional post-race feast at the Mad Greek’s restaurant in Lawrence. Nancy Perih again put on the most miles in attending by driving in from Topeka to participate and then backracking to Kansas City before returning to Topeka.

At our May meeting, we had a review of the Brew to Brew race so all of our members could see some of the scenes. On May 20, HRW hosted the Wednesday Night Run once again at Leawood City Park. Thanks to Tom Oakes (our order chef) and the o11 ther members who helped host this event.

At our June meeting, Don Culp, who had been part of the KC Walkers and an early members prior the establishment of the Heartland Racewalkers, gave us some historical recollections about the early days. Also in June, our club collected a lot of medals at the Missouri State Senior Games. This year’s meet was noteworthy not for the records set by Dave Couts and Alan but mostly for the disastrous fall that BJ suffered on falling on a slippery spot in the 5K and breaking bones in her ankle. Fred and John were there to help her until she finally was taken care of in the hospital. Fortunately, BJ’s courage and persistence has led her back to recovery and she is back to racing again. She is an inspiration.

In July we did not have our meeting on the first Saturday because it was the 4th of July (a number of us got into races). On the second week, we had our annual picnic in Roe Park with 22 in attendance, including Jean Brunnenkant our Walking Queen who was just a month before her 99th birthday. Top point winners in the first 6 months of the year were John, Pamela and Lynn. In July we also had four medal winners in the Sunflower State Games: John, Sunday, Nancy Perih and Alan. At the Show Me Games in Columbia, Fred and Dave Couts each won two Gold Medals.

July was also the when the National Senior Olympics held the racewalks in St. Paul. We had 6 competitors and one cheer-leader, Maggie McCoy. Our club came away with 2 Gold medals, 3 Bronze medals and 6 ribbons for 4-8th. Included in that were one all-time record in the 80-84 division in the 1500 meter walk and a second best of all time in the 5K and one 9th best all time in the 5K. Later in the month, on July 26, your Prez took another Gold medal by winning the 10,000 meter walk in the USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships in Jacksonville, Fl. It was very hot and humid and took place on a track-25 laps with rigorous judges watching.

In August, Carol Goslin, our multi-time marathoner spoke to us about her experiences and acknowledged that she was a top veteran of the marathon maniacs. We salute her for her many years of dedication to her passion for locomotion. On Aug. 1, our youth member, Maggie Boley, took 3rd out of 19 in the 9-10 year-old age division in Norfolk, VA in the AAU National Championships Jr Olympics in the 1500 meters in a time of 9:27.

Another national event that occurs every two years is the State Games of America. This year it took place in Lincoln, NE on Aug. 1. HRW took 3 Golds and a Silver. This is the national event that requires qualification in one’s own state, like the Sunflower Games and the ShowMe Games. John, Fred Alan and Nancy were our representatives.

September found us in a variety of activities. At our monthly meeting, Nan & Sid Kantor spoke about their activities promoting the Special Olympics. Then on Sept. 11, the Patriots Day Run on 9/11 found us with two teams who kept the paths at the Mid America Nazarene Campus in Olathe busy with racewalking for 9 hours and 11 minutes. The Heartland Patriots (John Anderson, captain) finished the long day with 39 laps, beating out the Heartland Hipsters (Pat Durkin, captain) who had 36 laps (miles). The Kansas Senior Games were held on Sept.

In October, our schedule Be-A-Walker had to be postponed due to the reconstruction going on at Roe Park. Instead we had a substitute speaker, the Prez, who spoke on “Nobel Prize Winner that I Have Known”. This is a favorite topic of mine and I presented to my medical alumni class at our 55th reunion the week before.

In November, our monthly speaker was Matt Kirsh, sponsored by Pat Durkin. He is a personal trainer at the YMCA and he spoke about fitness.

Thanks,

2014 Annual Report

This is our annual “State of the Club Report” for the past year. It was an especially fulfilling year since it was one where we celebrated our 25th anniversary. That will be mentioned later.

We ended 2013 with our annual party that was held at BJ Thornburg’s home and had a good turnout of 25, incuding BJ the DJ Taylor who was our guest. Awards were given to John, Carol and Lynn for their special support of the club during the year.

On New Year’s Day, we joined the KC Track Club for the annual start of the year run/walk which was followed by the traditional brunch for some of us at La Peep. We had 28 members who had renewed at this time.

At our Feb meeting, we discussed the Brew to Brew over the years in preparation for our April race.

Our March meeting featured a nutritionist from K-State extension who spoke on how to eat out healthy. She was sponsored by Carol Smith and gave an excellent presentation.

At our April meeting, Mark spoke about foot problems. We have our own resident foot specialist which is our good fortune. On April 6, we had a record FOUR teams and 4 volunteers at the Brew to Brew relay race from Kansas City to Lawrence. Phil’s “Walking Shoes” team won with the help of the St. Louis flash, Dave Couts. Afterwards, we had our traditional post-race feast at the Mad Greek’s restaurant in Lawrence. Nancy Perih again put on the most miles in attending by driving in from Topeka to participate and then backtracking to Kansas City before returning to Topeka.

On May 3, we had a report about our Brew to Brew teams with a slide show from the Prez. Also in May, we had a team of 6 members who did the WALK KANSAS program sponsored by the K-State Extension of Johnson County. We did a “Virtual” walk around Kansas (about 1500 miles, more than the goal of 1200) by recording our weekly mileage. exercise and healthful eating habits. We received a certificate of accomplishment and were third in our division, which was mostly runners. The participants were: Mark, Carol, Sunday, Martha, BJ and Alan.

At our June Meeting, Linda Sher spoke to us about life at KCUR, an NPR station where she is a frequent announcer. She has made arrangements for a future tour of the studio and we will be soliciting members for their preferred visiting time. In June, HRW once again collected lots of medals at the Missouri State Senior Games in Columbia-and set several records.

On July 5, we had our annual picnic and used this for our 25th anniversary celebration.

HRW took some more medals at the Sunflower Games in Topeka.

At our August meeting, Maggie spoke about the KC Track club, its history and activities. We have had a close relationship with them over the years. A lot of that comes from Maggie’s work on the Wednesday Night Run as well as the Brew to Brew and other events. Thanks, Maggie.

On Sept. 6, Tom Cotter, a runner and sports chiropractor, spoke on sports injuries. He was sponsored by John. In September HRW once again garnered many medals. New Senior Games records were set by Carol Smith, Eileen McManus and Alan Poisner. Alan made a presentation at the JCC in the St. Luke’s South wellness program. We recruited one member last year from this activity, Donna Misiti.

In October, we had our annual Be-A-Walker, predicted time 3K race at Roe Park with 18 walkers. The top finishers were Carol Smith, Peg Armstrong and Martha McCarter.

In November, the Prez spoke about the history of racewalking and his own personal history (29 years in the sport). At the Cliff Hanger, a race with a racewalking division, John Anderson was the top male and first overall, BJ was the top female. This is a great race that we should continue to support and get more walkers involved.

That brings us to December. We now have 67 members and hope to have more of them as regulars in the coming year and as well as welcoming new members. Our webmaster, Jake Fowler, had some health issues during the year but continues to put our race results up on our home page I encourage all members to periodically view this page for information, including links to many resources on the Internet.

I look forward to the coming year not only because of my love for racewalking and my racewalking friends, but also because I have started a new phase in my life with a wonderful mate, Sharon Shoham Poisner. When she joined our club in May, I decided that I would do whatever it took to keep her in the club. So I married her in October. That should convince you of my devotion to the Heartland Racewalkers.

I hope that you will continue to enjoy and benefit from racewalking and our club’s activities in 2015. Please give me and the other officers and board members feedback about what you would like our club to do in the coming year, at weekly clinics and special events.

I thank you for helping me enjoy this adventure that has lasted 29 years for me, with 19 of them as president in the 25 years of the Heartland Racewalkers.

Respectfully submitted,
The Prez, Alan Poisner

HRW Prez wins 2013 Year-end awards

After each calendar year, different organizations honor track and field or road running athletes with various awards. One of these, sponsored by the USATF, is the Phidippides Award that is earned for long distance running. Alan Poisner won this award for 2013 even though he did his racing by racewalking rather than running. He also won this award in 2010, 2011 and 2012. All of these races were open to runners without racewalking divisions but miles are miles regardless of the locomotive style. Some runners in the area probably earned this award as well.

Another award that is promoted by the National Masters News is the All-American Award that is open to all masters' competitors. In order to earn this designation, athletes must perform in a road race, a track meet (track or field) or a racewalk and achieve a result that is 80% or better on the age-graded tables that are shown in their publication. The criteria for race walking can be found online at http://www.nationalmastersnews.com/aa_rw_m.htm and an online calculator for runners and racewalkers is found at: http://www.eracewalk.com/CalcAgeg.htm

For 2013, Alan won this designation for races at three different distances and this was published in the January 2014 issue of National Masters News: Track & Field: 1500m Race Walk-9:19.59 ; 5000m Race Walk-34:02.78 ;10000m Race Walk 1:09:38.50. Alan has won All-American status many times in recent years and this should become easier after October when he reaches a new age division (80-84).

Another award for 2013 was earned in a new series of races sponsored by the Ujena Racing club. They have been conducting races across the U.S. in their Double Road Race format, which is a 10K event followed a short time later (30-60 min) by a 5K race.. After many races in 2013 they ranked the winners based on age-grading and finishing times and gave prizes to the top finishers. Alan raced in Overland Park on June 30 and took first place in his age division while being the only racewalker. At the end of the year, he received this message: 'Congratulations! You have been awarded the 2013 Ujena Fit Club Elite Racing Top 100 medal.

Ujena Fit Club members posted thousands of races they ran in 2013. 100 points were given to each race completed, 20 points for each mile raced and performance points if you placed in the top 500 of age-graded performances. You placed in the top 100. That was not easy but you did it! https://www.doubleroadrace.com/o.php?pg=FitElite.html

Racewalking in the Olympics is truly an endurance sport (currently 20K for men and women and 50K for men), Competition for Masters is frequently 10K or less. Alan has shown his endurance by continuing his 28-year journey of racewalking. Pictures of the awards can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/racewalker/

2013 Year-end Report December 7, 2013.

This is the annual State of the Club Report which reviews the activities of the Heartland Racewalkers for the past year and make some projections for 2014.

Our annual party last year was held on December 1 at Fitness Plus-the last time that we used that facility for our year end party since 1989. 25 people were in attendance. Awards were given to Sunday Cavallaro, Mitch Kranitz and BJ Thornburg. Election Results: Pres-Alan Poisner, Vice Pres-Chuck Zarrelli, Secretary-Sarah Justice, Treasurer-Tom Oakes, Clinic Director-Fred Adams; Historian-Jean Brunnenkant.

On January 1st, we started off the New Year by taking part in the annual New Year's Day Run/Walk at the Athletic Club of Overland Park, sponsored by the KC Track Club. It was a 28 degrees and icy so that encouraged our walkers to finish fast so that they could have a warm breakfast afterwards at La Peep. Ten of us made the trek. This is an annual club tradition and I invite you to join us this year.

At our January 5 meeting, Eric from Gary Gribble's gave a presentation on shoes that are popular with racewaklers He brought a number of models for us to see.

Jan 27 was the ill-fated Ground Hog 5K in the cave where our own Mitch Kranitz fell down (or was pushed) shortly before the finish line. He eventually got up and finished and took a medal-BUT had suffered a fractured hip and was taken by ambulance to Shawnee Mission Hospital where the next day he had hip replacement surgery. I am happy to report that his rehab program is going well (he walking up to a mile at a time) and he should be back with us soon.

Jan. 27 was also a very sad day for Heartland Racewalkers when we lost our senior and beloved member Tom Young. He was a fixture in our club for many years, having been 'recruited' by Jean Brunnenkant, his long time companion. Tom had an enormous impact on our club with his positive outlook on life and his ever-present sense of humor kept us delighted for many years. He also was a successful racewalker, winning many Gold Medals at state and national events. He also was honored for his service to the country and last year took an honor flight with Fred Adams to Washington, D.C. He did so much for so many people in his 95 years.

February 2 Our speaker at our February meeting was Matt Lane, a sports chiropractor. He and his colleague spoke on injury prevention.

March 2 In March, we viewed a new video on racewalking and a video of Tom Young over the years.

March 28 We had a second meeting in March to accommodate the schedule of our speaker, Dr. Jeff Burns, a neurologist from KU Med Center at the Director of the Alzheimer Research Center. He spoke on the effect of exercise in preventing memory loss and cognitive decline. We had 46 members at this time.

April 3 BJ hosted the Wednesday Night Run/walk at her home and we had a good turnout of HRW members.

April 7 In April, HRW fielded three teams in the Brew to Brew but were missing Alan for the first time since we began this fun popular in 2000. BJ, Mark and Phil were the captains. We also had 4 volunteers.

May At our May meeting, we reviewed the Brew to Brew race. It was deemed another success. HRW again hosted the WNR on May 22 at Leawood City Park and enjoyed some more camaraderie with the KC Track Club.

June Racing took off in June with 6 members entering the Missouri Senior Games in Columbia and taking 7 Golds and 2 Silvers. We also had club members entering the Amy Thompson 8K, the Father's Day 5 and 10K and the Double Road Race, a new event that featured a 10K, followed after about 30-60 min by a 5K. Due to his strategy of being the only one in his age division, Alan took the Gold and was thrilled to have it presented by Billy Mills, a former KU athlete and the10K Gold Medalist at the 1960 Olympics.

A major change in the life of the Heartland Racewalkers occurred in June when our host facility, Fitness Plus, shut its doors, unable to stay financially viable. Thankfully, HRW rose to the occasion by conducting a few clinics at Roe Park where we frequently have met and then, thanks to some negotiating by Alan, we were given permission to use outdoor and indoor facilities at the Jewish Community Center at 117th & Nall. For outdoor walking, we first gathered at the pavilion near the tennis courts at the JCC and then walked the interior sidewalks on the Sprint campus. It is about 2 miles round trip to make one loop. When the weather turned cold, we were able to meet indoors and use the 10-lap track, as well as two meeting rooms. Based on historical events, this has probably save our club from a demise suffered by the precursor club, the Kansas City Walkers. It is important that we do not abuse this relationship and recognize that we are really lucky that we have found a welcoming facility just 5 minutes away from our former home (since 1989).

July was an even busier month. We had our picnic on July 6. Then on July 11 and 14, HRW entered 11 walkers in the USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships that were held in Olathe. We came away with 6 Golds, 5 Silvers, a Bronze medal and 2 ribbons. This event has never been held in our area and drew elite athletes from all over the country. Dave Couts, our St. Louis member, and Alan each won two of the Gold Medals. We are proud of our members, many of whom had never been in a national rigorously judged competition. Two weeks later, HRW was again competing on the national stage at the National Senior Games in Cleveland. At this biannual event HRW garnered 3 Golds, 1 Silver and 3 ribbons. Dave Couts and Alan had the top two age-graded-results of all racewalkers, male or female, in the 1500-meter race.

August Our August meeting was the first indoor meeting at the JCC. We had a reports from the National Senior Games in Cleveland and from the USATF National Masters Championships in Olathe. Martie Delon won two Gold medals at the National State Games of America in Harrisburg, PA. Maybe being close to her home state helped. We also had the pleasure of celebrating Jean Brunnenkant's 97th birthday with a cake under the shelter house at the Jewish Community Center.

September At our Sept. 7 meeting, Alan showed the club how to view links on our homepage, including results, pictures and age-grading. On Sept. 11, HRW again fielded two teams at the annual Patriots Day Run. This 9 hour 11 minute celebratory event featured two veteran teams, captained by BJ and Alan. BJ's team came away with a one-lap victory. The Perpetual Pedestrian team featured Mark Landry doing several laps on his way to 13 miles.

On Sept. 21st, we had a ceremony with the installation of a plaque on our club bench in Roe Park honoring Tom Young. Two of Tom's sons and their wives came in from out of town for the occasion. This was followed by a picnic in our favoritie shelter house.

On Sept. 29, HRW 6 walkers were successful at the Kansas Senior Games in Topeka: Sunday, Nancy, Julie, John, Lee and Alan. Everyone won one or two medals. In addition, the Kansas Senior Games committee presented a special award (Haefle Lucite trophy) to Alan for sportsmanship and activity). This is the 3rd year that this award has been given and it is open to all track and field athletes.

October Our Be-A-Walker on the 12th was held again in Roe Park with a great turnout-24 racers and volunteers. The top walkers in the predicted-time 3K were John, Kendra and BJ. John's finish was only 6 seconds off his prediction.

November There were a number of races in November, including the Cliffhanger and the Gobbler Grind that gave awards to racewalkers. BJ and John Anderson took Golds in both of these racewalking events.

There is another underground race this year and it is tomorrow in Lenexa, the Jingle Bell Run. HRW has always had racers in this event even though it does not have a racewalking division. The opportunity to walk on a guaranteed dry surface with temperatures of 55-65 degrees in December is a strong incentive. Our lub usually manages to have medal winners anyway. I also want to draw your attention to the New Years Day run/walk at 10:00 am at the Athletic Club of Overland Park at 103rd & Marty, hosted by the KC Track Club. We always have a number of walkers who do this fun way to walk and socialize with other runners and walkers. Some of us finish up this non-competitive walk with the first brunch of the year.

That was a busy and successful year, our 25th. We ended with 55 members and look forward to another good year ahead.

2013 year-end party and New Year's Day walk

HRW held its annual year-end party at BJ Thornburg's home once again . There were 25 in attendance, including BJ (Taylor) the DJ. Awards were given to John Anderson (most points) and Carol Smith and Lynn Sandbeck were recognized for their participation. The Prez gave the annual report for another very successful year and we shared a moment of silence for passing of Tom Young. The election of officers was held with the following: President: Alan Poisner, Vice-President: BJ Thornburg, Secretary: Carol Smith, Treadurer: TomOakes. Clinic director: Fred Adams. We also celebrated Martha McCarter's birthday with a cake.

On New Year's Day, HRW had 10 walkers who moved briskly in the cold weather outdoors from the Athletic Club of Overland Park together with the KC Track Club and then moved to La Peep for our first group meal of the year-a good way to start the year.

Brew to Brew 2013

The 2013 Brew to Brew from the Boulevard Brewery in KC to the Free State Brewery in Lawrence (well, almost to the brewery -- just short by a couple of blocks) was record-setting. That was because the Heartland Racewalkers showed their true strong colors by committing to three relay teams, instead of two as in past years. They were as follows: Coming in in first place, the Whiz Bang Walkers with two rookies and three veterans. In second place were the Perpetual Pedestrians also with two rookies and three veterans. And last, but not least, were the Pedestrian Predators with only two veterans and three rookies.

The weather was probably as good as it's going to get. Cool at the 6:00 lead off (not cold) with temps warming gradually to a nice spring day. Dave Couts (Mr. Speedy) came in again from St. Louis, and Nancy Perih again came in from Topeka. We sure enjoyed having them. Dave gave some good instruction to us on the finer points of racewalking. By April 6, 2014 (the day of the next B2B) we might set new records as teams. Another record set was our number of club volunteers. Carol Smith, Charlotte Haupt, and Mitch Kranitz helped out at the end of Leg 5, and Tom Oakes helped park cars at the end of Leg 8.

Our rookies were Sunday Cavallaro, Lynn Sandbeck, Martha McCarter, Amy Siebes, Terryll Brown, Jane Zaccardi, and Jodi Cusick. Our veterans were BJ Thornburg, Fred Adams, Raj Dandi, Phil Jacobs, Dave Couts, Lakshmi Dandi, Mark Landry and Nancy Perih. Almost everyone, including volunteers, were treated to a welcome dinner at The Mad Greek following the race by the esteemed leader, Alan Poisner, who was absent this year. We were beneficiaries of people who do good work, as was the Cystic Fibrosis organization who helps so many lead a better life. There were signs posted along the route that showed how, over the years, the life expectancy of those born with CF has increased due to better treatments offered to them.

Something was in the air about one veteran racewalker doing the whole 44.4 miles in 2014. We shall see

2012 Annual Holiday Party and Election

Heartland Racewalkers celebrated their 24th year on Dec. 1, 2012 at our home base at Fitness Plus. 25 members and guests attended this event. After a delicious brunch, it was time for announcements, awards and elections. Alan distibuted the year-end summary of events and gave his report of another successful year. Awards were presented to: Sunday Cavallaro-the Newcomer of the Year (special club shirt); Mitch Kranitz-Top Point Winner (Club cap and a gift certificate); BJ Thornburg-Volunteer of the Year (Gift Certificate); and Lakshmi-Youth Honoree (New Racewalking DVD).

Door prizes were selected with the help again of Lakshmi Dandi, our designated number caller. A number of members showed off the medals that they had won at national competitions. Our Historian, Jean Brunnenkant, brought scrapbooks showing historical events in the last few years. Alan thanked the officers and board for the work that they had done to support the club during the past year.

Elections for the 2013 year were held with all officers being reelected (no term limits). The results showing the resulting years in office:

• President Alan Poisner (18)
• Vice-President Chuck Zarrelli (2)
• Treasurer Tom Oakes (7)
• Secretary Sarah Justice (10)
• Clinic Director Fred Adams (12)
• Historian Jean Brunnenkant (15)

This was another banner year for HRW. We had a number of outreach events in the community with the help of BJ Thornburg, Martie Delon, Fred Adms and Alan.We continued our good relations with the Kansas City Track Club by hosting a Wednesday Night Run and participating in relays and road races. News, results and pictures of the past year can be found at the respective links on our website. We expect HRW will continue the tradition of racewalking excellence and camaraderie in 2013.

Blue Springs 50/50 Marathon Relay-2012

Oct. 28, 2012. Heartland Racewalkers returned again to the Little Blue Trace Trail in Independence with a new starting point this year. The team captains were Alan Poisner (Peripatetic Pedestrians-PP) and Eileen McManus (Wily Walkers-WW). Alan & Fred Adams picked up the bibs and shirts on Saturday evening at Fazolis in Blue Springs. Again this year, Alan and Eileen McManus walked the first two legs (in the dark)at chilly 28 degrees. That allowed Alan to tie his all-time record in the BS Relay-he wore 7 layers of outerwear. After 5 legs, PP was exactly on the predicted time pace and WW was just 3 minutes slower. WW had all veteran walkers: Eileen McManus, Nancy Perih, Lakshmi and Raj Dandi. PP included veterans Alan Poisner, Fred Adams, Phil Jacobs and rookies John Anderson and Sunday Cavallaro.

After almost six hours, WW came in 7 minutes before PP and took the first prize of a bottle of champagne. The second prize was the same and we will share this at our annual holiday party in December. We congratulate all of the walkers, especially our rookies. We thank Maggie McCoy and Raj Dandi for doing some of the driving. Alan did most of the critical chauffeuring that allowed walkers to get to the proper locations.

It was another impressive turnout of runners who managed to go distances ranging from 13.1 to 26.2 to 31.3 (50K) to 50 miles!

Pictures and Results can be found at the respective links.

Kansas Senior Olympics 2012: Striking Gold and Silver-again

Sept. 23, 2012-Hummer Sports Park, Topeka. Once again, Heartland Racewalkers hauled in the bulk of the racewalking medals at the Kansas State Senior Games. Our 10 walkers came away with 10 Gold medals and 5 Silvers in the 1500-meter and 5000-meter races. New state games records were set by Mitch Kranitz (M80-84) in the 5000-meter race and Tom Young (M95-99) in the 1500-meter race. Other walkers included Martha McCarter (F50-54), BJ Thornburg & Nancy Perih (F65-69), Lee Debault (M65-69), John Anderson (M70-74), Julie Haller (F70-74), Alan Poisner & Fred Adams (M75-79), and our reigning queen, Jean Brunnenkant (95-99). All qualified for the National Senior Games to be held in Cleveland in 2013. Some will be defending medals that they won in Houston in 2011 and they showed that they still are speedy. Results and pictures can be found at the respective Links our homepage.

HRW does it again at the Patriots Run- Sept. 11, 2012

In another return engagement, HRW fielded two teams in this special relay that allows 9 hrs and 11 min and honors first responders on 9/11 and the Salvation Army. The Roaring Racewalkers (BJ Thornburg-captain) and the Peripatetic Pedestrian (Alan Poisner-captain) coped with extremely windy and often hot weather on the 1-mile loop course at the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe, KS. We had some guest walkers and some new members with us at this annual patriotic event. Thanks to Dick Ross for many of the photos (see Pictures link). Thanks to all of the 19 walkers for HRW (see Results).

>A Celebration for Our Queen B-Jean Brunnenkant

On Sept. 1st, our club had a birthday party for Jean Brunnenkant, our Queen B, a few days after her 96th birthday. She has been a role model for racewalkers, runners (and couch potatoes) for many years, winning Gold medals in 5 different age divisions at the National Senior Olympics, and being a friendly, helpful presence at our club for over 20 years. Just recently (Sept. 23) she won another medal in the 1500-meter racewalk at the Kansas Senior Games in the 95-99 division (see Results). We are truly blessed to have Jean as part of our racewalking family and continue to look to her for inspiration.

Brew to Brew 2012

HRW again had two teams with the same names and captains in the 2012 version of the Brew to Brew Relay (44.4-miles) that started at the Boulevard Brewery in KC and ended in Lawrence a few blocks from the Free-state Brewery: Perpetual Pedestrians (PP) and the Walking Warriors (WW). The morning start (6:00 am) was cool and the skies were overcast when our journey started. We were not as accurate in our pre-race predictions this year because the predictions last year were almost perfect (see results from 2011). We had a national champion racewalker in the 55-59 division on one of our teams this year. Dave Couts came in from St. Louis and walked some very fast legs. In fact, the combined net times for our two teams were the fastest since 2006. This was partly because of the speedy legs of Dave and partly because our handicap points are getting larger. A record was set when Alan wore only one layer of clothing (that can be compared to the 8 layers he wore in 2007). But the one layer was probably too much because the heat almost stopped him on the last leg when the temperature was 87 degrees. He eventually recovered thanks to some potato chips supplied by Nancy Perih.

We had 8 veterans this year (Alan Poisner, Mark Landry, Phil Jacobs, Susan Rico, Raj Dandi, Lakshmi Dandi, Nancy Perih, and Chuck Zarrelli) and 2 rookies (John Haynes and Dave Couts-a ringer). Nancy Perih came in again from Topeka. There were over 4,000 runners who participated in this unique event that raised $50,000 for the cause-Cystic Fibrosis research and treatment. Each walker did two relay legs, each being 2.6-5.6 miles. The race was scored with age- and gender-based handicaps. WW finished 38 min before PP but after the handicaps were factored in, the net times were WWW: 8:07 and PP: 7:57. Both of these net times were faster than those of a number of running teams (see Results).

Congratulations to all of these HRW members who competed in this 12th year of our club's participation. Also, thanks to Tom Oakes who once again served as a volunteer at one of the exchange points. Pictures from this event can be found at the PICTURES link on our homepage (click on the PICTURES link, then the SETS and then on the Brew to Brew set). Captions can be seen by clicking on the individual pictures or just the NEXT link (scrolling down to read captions). Results will be posted to the RESULTS link.

Year-End Awards for HRW Prez

As 2011 draws to a close, more awards came to HRW President Alan Poisner. Because of his record this year of taking Gold Medals in the USATF National Masters Indoor 3000-meter racewalk in Albuquerque in March, the 1500-meter and 5K racewalks in Houston in June and the 5000-meter and 10K racewalks and 10K team race in Sacramento in July, the USATF National Masters Racewalk Committee selected Alan as the NATIONAL RACEWALKER OF THE YEAR in the 75-79 age division. Some age divisions had no one selected because of criteria that had to be met.

In addition, in each of these races his age-graded times were greater than 80% and thus qualified for the ALL-AMERICAN AWARD given by the USATF National Masters Committee to runners and walkers.

Finally for the second year in a row, Alan received the PHIDIPPIDES AWARD from the USATF Long-Distance Running Committee for successful completion of a significant number of road races, including two half-marathons (track races do not count). Although Alan only racewalked in races that were open to runners, he did win Gold in all but two of the 16 road races that he entered this year. In two he got a Silver when the Gold medal winner was a runner. This was the second year in a row that Alan entered 25 races and it was his most successful year since he started racewalking in 1985. He attributes his success to luck (not getting injured), a supportive spouse, and the help of many national racewalking coaches who have visited Kansas City over the years. The Heartland Racewalkers have been a major support and inspiration for him as well.

A picture of some of these awards and medals can be found at the site below. Clicking on each photo will bring up a description. http://s1095.photobucket.com/albums/i465/apoisner/Racewalking%20awards/ or http://www.flickr.com/photos/racewalker/sets/72157628528184201/

2011 Annual Holiday Party and Election

Heartland Racewalkers celebrated their 23rd year on Dec. 3, 2011 at the home of BJ and Jerry Thornburg in Overland Park. 28 members and guests attended this event, including once again our honored guest, Dick Ross, the racing community photographer extraordinaire. Dick was presented with a memento of appreciation and made some a generous comments about the racewalkers. Photos from the previous year taken from our homepage on the Internet were shown on a large-screen TV. Many had been supplied by Dick. Thanks to Jerry Thornburg and Alan for setting this up. After a delicious brunch, it was time for announcements, awards and elections. The newcomer of the year award was announced as Mitch Kranitz and he received a club jacket (and our thanks). The volunteer of the year award was BJ Thornburg who devoted a lot of time to support our club while she was recuperating from a back injury (not sustained from racewalking). The Dandis received an award for the outstanding family. Other point winners were Julie Haller and Denise Donaldson. Door prizes were selected with the help of Lakshmi Dandi, our designated number caller. A number of members showed off the medals that they had won at national competitions. The state of the club report was delivered by Alan and a hard-copy was distributed. Our Historian, Jean Brunnenkant, brought scrapbooks showing historical events in the last few years. A highlight was the book on profiles of our members that BJ Thornburg had prepared. Alan thanked the officers and board for the work that they had done to support the club during the past year.

Elections for the 2012 year were held with the following results (resulting tenure in office-no term limits)

• President Alan Poisner (17)
• Vice-President Chuck Zarrelli (1)
• Treasurer Tom Oakes (6)
• Secretary Sarah Justice (9)
• Clinic Director Fred Adams (11)
• Historian Jean Brunnenkant (14)

This was another banner year for HRW, especially with the large number of medals at national and international competitions, and with our outreach to the community. News, results and pictures of the 2011 year can be found at the respective links on our website. We thank BJ and Jerry for allowing us to celebrate the year in their home and thank all of those who helped make it possible. We expect HRW will continue the tradition of racewalking excellence and camaraderie in 2012.

Blue Springs 50/50 Marathon Relay-2011

Oct. 30, 2011. Heartland Racewalkers returned again to the Little Blue Trace Trail in Independence with a new starting point this year. The team captains were Alan Poisner (Perpetual Pedestrians-PP) and Fred Adams (Walking Wonders-WW), who picked up the packets, bibs and shirts on Saturday evening in Independence and also explored the new starting point behind the shopping center. Again this year, Alan and Eileen McManus walked the first two legs (in the dark) and then Fred Adams joined Alan for the next two legs. At that point, the two teams were half-way and reached the exchange point together, just a minute short of the pre-race prediction. The other walkers were Floyd Delon, Raj and Lakshmi Dandi (PP) and Mitch Kranitz, Phil Jacobs and Lee Debault (WW).

After almost six hours, PP came in 9 minutes before WW and took the first prize of a bottle of champagne. The second prize was the same and we will share this at our annual holiday party in December. We congratulate all of the walkers, especially our rookies: Lakshmi, Lee and Mitch. We thank BJ Thornburg and Lee for doing some of the critical driving that allowed walkers to get to the proper locations.

Pictures and Results can be found at the respective links.

>Cliff Hanger 5K & 8k

Nov. 6, 2011. HRW provided racers in both the 5K, which had a racewalking division, and the 8K in this 26th edition of the race in an historic district of northeast Kansas City. Two personal bests were set in the 5K. Lakshmi Dandi made a PR and was the fastest overall racewalker in a time of 34:20.9. She also took 2nd overall of the girls in the 12-14 running division. Mitch Kranitz made his PR in the 80+ division in a good time of 42:22. Fred Adams was the first place male racewalker and bettered his 2010 time by 2 minutes in 36:58.1. Entering a race with very little recent training was Chuck Zarrelli who hopes to get in more racewalking activity now that his retirement is just a month away.

In the 8K, Alan Poisner took 1st (75-79). He used his frequent strategy of being the only one in his age division but bettered the time that he walked last year in a fast time of 55:28 (81% age-graded). We thank Raj Dandi for being our club volunteer and helping with the photos. Over 1000 racers and volunteers enjoyed the traditional pancake breakfast afterwards. A bonus was the door prize that Fred Adams won (gift certificate to Macaroni Grill). We express our thanks to Sue Robinette and the KC Track Club for once again sponsoring this excellent event. We also appreciate the photos that Dick Ross took of us at various times during the morning. See Results and Pictures.

Be-A-Walker Predicted-Time 2-mile Race

Oct. 1, 2011. This year for the second time our predicted-time race was 2 miles on the paved trail around Roe Park in Overland Park. We also had a nice cool start and dry weather for the 4+ laps around the athletic fields. The top three in predicting ability were (1) Julie Haller, (2) Martie Delon and (3) Tom Oakes. The top walker in the age-graded division was Mitch Kranitz. Raj Dandi was the fastest walker. We want to thank the volunteer timers (Fred Adams and Alan Poisner) and those who brought the delicious refreshments and helped with the setup and cleanup. Awards were made following a great feast. Some corrections have been made afterwards. Check out the Results and Pictures links.

Kansas Senior Olympics 2011: HRW takes more Gold and Silver

Sept. 25, 2011-Hummer Sports Park, Topeka. Once again, Heartland Racewalkers hauled in the bulk of the racewalking medals at the Kansas State Senior Games. Our 10 walkers came away with 13 Gold medals and 4 Silvers in the 1500-meter and 5000-meter races. Also, Dave Couts set a record in the M55-59 1500-meter walk. Other walkers included Nancy Perih (60-64), Lee Debault and Chuck Zarrelli (65-69), Julie Haller (70-74), Alan Poisner and Fred Adams (75-79), Floyd Delon and Martie Delon (80-84), Tom Young (90-94) and our reigning queen, Jean Brunnenkant (95-99). Many of these members had won medals at the National Senior Games in Houston in June and they showed that they still are speedy. Results and pictures can be found at the respective Links our homepage.

Heartland Racewalkers Stroll Again at the Patriots Run

Sept. 11, 2011. The Patriots Day Run (Relay for 9 hours 11 minutes) was held again at the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe. The Westminster Walkers (WW: BJ Thornburg, Captain) completed 38 miles and the Walking Marauders (WM: Fred Adams, Captain) did one more (39 miles). Martha McCarter did 9 miles for the WW team and BJ did 6. Lee Debault, Raj Dandi and Nancy Perih did 6 for the WM. There were a couple of guest walkers: Judy Swofford, Dwayne and Nate Gentleman. Proceeds go to the Salvation Army. All who participated in this unique event should be commended. Check out our Pictures and Results links.

HRW excels at World Masters Athletics Championships

After winning a number of medals at the National Senior games in June, HRW sent two of its walkers who had been training together to compete at the international level in Sacramento in July. BJ Thornburg and Alan Poisner entered this biannual event that attracted 4600 track and field athletes from 64 countries.

On July 7 they raced the 5000-meter walk at Sacramento City College. It was hot but not as bad as in Houston two weeks earlier. BJ came in 11th out of 26 of the best walkers in the world in the 65-69 division. There were 12 countries represented outside the U.S. Alan jumped out to a big lead in his race and was able to hold it to take the Gold in the 75-79 division. Trailing him for the Silver and Bronze were walkers from Russia and Great Britain and then 6 other countries as well as 6 from the U.S.

The next Race was the 10K on July 12 in a park near Sac City College. The weather during the 10K was uncharacteristically cool (in the mid 60's) and this led to some fast times. The course consisted of 6+ loops on a relatively flat road. BJ came in 14 out of 24 and beat walkers from Australia, Russia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Sweden and the U.S. Alan raced later (8:20) and walked side by side for 6 miles with the Russian who had trailed him in the 5K race on the 7th. Once again the Russian could not match Alan's sprint at the finish and that gave Alan his second Gold Medal at the meet. The U.S. had the 3rd and 4th fastest walkers so the U.S. won the team championship in the 75-79 division (and another Gold Medal). Alan attributes much of his success to the fact that one of his sons and his three grandchildren live in Sacramento and he has been there many times, including races. A bonus was that his son David and wife Roselle were there to cheer him on and take pictures.

So HRW followed up its success at the national level in June with success at the international level in July. Our next goal is to take on the Martians.

Results and pictures will be posted to the respective links soon.

HRW shines at National Senior Games

HRW made another impressive showing at the biannual National Senior Games. This year the events were held in the Houston, TX area in late June.

The 1500-meter race was held on the 24th at an excellent high school track about 30 miles north of Houston. Despite the challenge of navigating to the remote site and dealing with some hot Texas weather, our intrepid pedestrians took a number of medals and ribbons. Gold Medals were won by Jean Brunnenkant (in her 5th different age division: 95-99), Tom Young, Alan Poisner (in his second different age division: 75-79) and Dave Couts (55-59). Silver Medals were taken by Eileen McManus (55-59) and Fred Adams (75-79). BJ Thornburg won a Bronze Medal, her first medal at a national competition, In addition, top finishing ribbons (5th-8th) were captured by Martie Delon (80-84), Julie Haller (70-74) and Floyd Delon (80-84).

The 5K racewalk was held the next morning on a course around the Reliant Arena parking lot. The four lap course had some ups and downs and was held in the extreme heat. Gold Medals were earned by Dave Couts and Alan Poisner; Bronze Medals were taken by Fred Adams, Eileen McManus and BJ Thronburg; Julie Haller garnered a 6th place ribbon. The most suspense was whether Alan could get to the race on time since his car battery had died overnight. Fortunately, his hotel was only 2 miles away and he had time to walk (fast) to the starting area. The other item of interest is that the course organizers repeated the mistake from the Senior Games in Tucson by providing a shortened course. This did lead to some fast times and to the lore of the National Senior Games.

All of the finishing times are shown in the RESULTS section and pictures will be posted. So once again, HRW made a significant impact at the national level.

June is Racing Season

June is busting out all over-with races. On June 11 and 12, HRW was represented at the Missouri State Senior Games in Columbia by 6 walkers who brought back a number of medals (1500-meters on Friday and 5K on Saturday). Then, 24 hrs later, a number of them joined some other club members in the USATF Mo. Valley-Ozark Association Border Challenge in Liberty, MO (William Jewell College track). We took more medals in the 1500-meter race (after waiting around for 4 hours) but did not hang around for the 5K (4 hours later). Our youth corps, Santosh and Lakshmi Dandi, did the 3000-meter walk, and also entered some other events. The annual Father�s Day race in Overland Park on June 19 had a 5K with a competitive racewalk division and we supplied the winners, as well as a 10K race (no racewalking division but we also took first place in the 70+ division). The last weekend of the month found 10 HRW members in sunny Houston for the biannual National Senior Games-see the separate report.

Even more racing opportunities will be found in July. These include the region 19 Junior Olympics qualifying meet in Lawrence (9th & 10th) when our youth corps will be trying to qualify for the national Junior Olympics (to be held in Wichita the last weekend in July). Also in July is the World Masters Association meet in Sacramento. There will be a 5,000-meter race on July 7 and a 10K on July 12, with athletes from all over the world. HRW will be represented by BJ Thornburg and Alan Poisner. This event has not been held in the U.S. for 16 years and this is probably the first time that HRW has been represented in this prestigious track meet. Results from some of these races may be found at the RESULTS link on our homepage and the others will follow soon.

Brew to Brew 2011 or 'Gone with the Wind'

This year HRW again had two teams with the same names and captains as in 2010 in the Brew to Brew Relay that started at the Boulevard Brewery in KC and ended in Lawrence (43 miles) a few blocks from the Freestate Brewery: Perpetual Pedestrians (PP) and the Walking Warriors (WW). A similarity to the 2007 race was that we experienced sustained wind speeds of 20-30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph but it was dry and much warmer. Our stalwart group of walkers managed to get to the starting line before 6:00 am (in time for pictures) and reached Lawrence about 10 hours later. Another similarity to 2007 was that one team (PP) finished within 2 minutes of the pre-race prediction but the other team (WW) finished exactly to the minute according to the printed pre-race prediction by Alan. This was a record in the prediction category-not bad after 616 minutes! Unlike 2007, Alan wore only two layers on leg 10, not the record 8 he used in 2007 when it was sleeting.

We had 7 veterans this year (Alan Poisner, Phil Jacobs, BJ Thornburg, Raj Dandi, Nancy Perih, Mark Landry and Chuck Zarrelli) and 3 rookies (Lakshmi Dandi, Lee Debault and Julie Haller). Nancy Perih gets credit for the most mileage for the day since she drove in from Topeka for the start and returned to KC after the race to pick up her car for the return trip. Each walker did two relay legs totaling 6.5-9.9 miles. The race was scored with age- and gender-based handicaps. PP finished 31 min before WW but after the handicaps were factored in, WW was 14 min faster than PP. Both of their net times were faster than 7 running teams. Congratulations to all of our members who competed in this 11th year that HRW has participated in this unique event. Also, Thanks to Lee, Bernice and Liz for serving as volunteers. After the race, a celebration was held at the usual restaurant in Lawrence.

Pictures from this event can be found at the PICTURES link on our homepage (click on the PICTURES link, then the SETS and then on the Brew to Brew set). Captions can be seen by clicking on the individual pictures. Results can be found at the RESULTS link.

March Madness for HRW

Heartland Racewalkers started off March with some impressive walking. Mark Landry and Phillip Jacobs went South to Little Rock on March 6 for one of their many marathons. Also going South was Alan Poisner who entered the USATF National Masters 3000 meter walk in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 4. His time of 19:47 was good for the Gold in the 75-79 division (80.4% age-graded) and would have earned a Silver in the 65-69 or 70-74 divisions. HRW now looks forward to April excitement when they send two teams to the Brew to Brew 43-mile relay from Kansas City to Lawrence on April 3. Stay tuned.

All-American and Phidippides Awards

The National Masters News and the USATF provide awards for achieving certain marks in track and field and for long-distance road races. The required marks for the ALL-AMERICAN Award for racewalking are shown in the PICTURES link, together with a picture of the award that Alan received for his 2010 award.

The PHIDIPPIDES award, inspired by the historic masters runner, is based on points accumulated over the calendar year for road races. A runner (or walker) is eligible for one award per year. Points are earned based on the following basis:

• 1 Point 5 km to 5 miles
• 2 Points 10 km to 10 miles
• 3 Points 10 miles to Marathon
• 4 Points 25 km to Marathon

• ***Age****40-59**60-79***80+
• Gold*******20******16*****8
• Silver******16******12*****4
• Bronze*****12*******8*****2

This table and a picture of the award achieved by Alan Poisner for 2010 are in the photostream under the PICTURES link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/racewalker/

2010 Annual Report

We started off 2010 on Jan. 1st with our Annual New Year's Day walk with the KC Track Club in Overland Park on the trail in the snow. 8 members made a 30-min trek and afterwards had the first brunch of the year at La Peep. Our monthly meeting the next day featured a tutorial by Alan on using our homepage to get information on racewalking, with the help of Pamela's laptop and projector. This was followed up at our February meeting by showing a Power Point Presentation that Dave McGovern gave to the USATF on the status of racewalking in the US.

At our March meeting, we some more of the Jeff Salvage video on racewalking (always good to get a refresher lesson).There were two races in March indoors at Johnson County Community College (sponsored the Heartland Athletic Services-not a subsidiary). Racing the 1-mile and/or the 3000-meter walks were Fred Adams, Chuck Zarrelli, Mark Landry, Alan Poisner, Nancy Perih (in from Topeka) and Barb Schwartz (her first racewalk). Bo Kremer came to support our efforts and also took some video footage.

In April, Barb Schwartz, a new member, talked to us about what it takes to become a personal trainer. Barb has been very active in the club,including recruiting new members. On the 6th, Alan and BJ made a presentation to the KC Express, the women's running/walking club (part of our community outreach). The big race event in April was the Brew to Brew where we once again field two teams, beat several running teams, finished within a few minutes of Alan's pre-race prediction and ended up, as usual, at the Mad Greek's restaurant. We had unusually friendly weather this year. Maybe we can have three teams in 20111.

The speaker at our May meeting was Chuck Zarrelli who told us about the history of the railroad in the U.S., a fascinating presentation on one of Chuck's many specialties. HRW once again hosted the WNR for the KC Track Club, using the large shelter house at Leawood City Park-good food and fellowship with our friends in the running community. We had another outreach event on May 26 at the 15th Annual In Step and In Shape Walk & Health Expo sponsored by the Johnson Co. Parks & Rec. Martie Lykens and Alan were our representatives once again at the large event at the Ritz Charles.

In June, Floyd Delon made a presentation on genealogy. This was partly inspired by the gene study that some of us began at the National Senior Olympics at Stanford. DNA testing is a new addition to learning about family history. There were lots of races in June and HRW was well represented: the All-Comers 1600-meter race at JuCo, Missouri Senior Games in Columbia, the USATF Missouri Valley Association Outdoor Meet in Liberty, the Iowa Senior Games in Des Moines, the Heartland Athletic Services at JuCo (1000) and the Father's Day race in Overland Park. Several of our members raced the 1500-meters in Columbia of Friday evening and then returned to the area to do the Missouri Valley USATF 3,000-meter walk in Liberty on Saturday afternoon, delayed due to a storm.

On July 10 we had our annual picnic with awards. 21 members enjoyed the food and festivities. Awards were announced for Barb Schwartz, Charlotte Haupt and Denise Donaldson. Youth awards were presented to Lakshmi and Santosh Dandi. Another outreach event was held at the Matt Ross Community Center. Alan, BJ, Tom Y and Jean B represented HRW and also did some demonstrations on the track. A number of people came to our table for information. Races in July included the Sunflower Games in Topeka and the ShowMe Games in Columbia. HRW picked up medals in both of these and thus qualified for the National Sate Games of America that will be held in 2011 in San Diego.

Our speaker in August was Mike Goodman from the KC Area Safety Council. He emphasized pedestrian safety. This Metro agency also sponsors several of the races that we enter, including the Gobbler Grind. The big event in August was the full weekend World Class Racewalking Clinic offered by Dave and Loretta McGovern. We had 22 people attending, including walkers Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, St. Louis, and out-state Kansas. Dave had previously presented a clinic here in 2000. Dave & Loretta provided instruction, video picture taking, drills and stretches over the 2.5 day period. BJ and Jerry Thornburg generously served as hosts for the Friday evening get-together. The outdoor part was held at Shawnee Mission South High School and the indoor events were at Fitness Plus. His clinics are popular all over the country and we enjoyed this special experience.

Our September monthly meeting focused on a Jeff Salvage DVD concentrating on technique. This was a good lead-in to our big Patriots Day Relay on 9/11. Once again we had two large teams who kept the course busy for the full 9 hrs and 11 min. The Patriotic Pedestrians (BJ Thornburg-Captain) beat out the Perpetual Pedestrians (Alan Poisner-Captain) by 1 mile (40 vs. 39). BJ and Alan had been at the Great Mall of the Americas in Olathe since before Noon and finished their last laps in the dark. HRW continues to get good PR from this event and were also awarded a special plaque. The last week of September found us competing in the Kansas Senior Games. The following members won medals and qualified for the nationals to be held in Houston next June: Couts, Poisner, Haller, Zarrelli, Sells (renewing member), Adams, Delon (Floyd and Martie), Brunnenkant, Young. We hope to collect a lot of medals and ribbons to equal what we achieved at Stanford in 2009.

October start off with our annual Be-A-Walker Predicted-Time Race. This year it was a 2-mile race around the path at Roe Park, near our fitness center. We had a great turnout (19+4 volunteers) and good weather. Winners were Santosh Dandi, Charlotte Haupt, Vijaya Dandi, Chuck Zarrelli. Santosh finished just 2 seconds off his pre-race prediction and also was the faster walker of the day (a first for this event). In Utah, Fred Adams walked away with three Gold Medals in the Huntsman Games (1500-meters, 3000-meters and 5K)-a busy week in a beautiful part of the country. HRW has done well in this walker-friendly event in the past and we encourage all to give it a try. The last day of October (Halloween) featured the Blue Springs 50/50 Racewalking Marathon Relay. We had three teams this year with 13 members walking in the period from 7:00 am to about 12:30. The first team to cross the finish line was the Walk-y, Talk-y Racewalkers (Eileen McManus, Captain), followed by the Perpetual Pedestrians. This is a fun event and gives walkers a chance to try some distances longer than a 5K. Thanks to Lou Joline for organizing this unique series of races.

Our speaker in November told us about efforts to promote children's health and nutrition and emphasized the need to stop the current obesity epidemic showing up in kids as well as adults. We came into November with 58 members (our high point for the year). Matt and Martha McCarter finished the Athens Marathon on its 2500th anniversary (plus or minus a few years). We will get a full report at a future meeting. The racewalker-friendly Cliff Hanger race was held in the historic northeast district of Kansas City and followed by the traditional pancake breakfast. HRW won medals in both walking and running divisions. We appreciate the volunteering by Pamela Felton and Chuck Zarrelli at this event. Later in the month, HRW was represented in both the 5K and the half-marathon at the Gobbler Grind with racewalking divisions in both. We thank Rusty Collins for continuing to offer these events for us.

Finally, I want to thank the 2010 club Board for their efforts behind the scene that other members do not see: Pamela Felton, Peg Armstrong, Leah Luckeroth, Phil Jacobs, and Chuck Zarrelli. I also want to thank the officers who have spent many years serving the club:

• Secretary; Sarah Justice finishing her 7th year
• Treasurer: Tom Oakes finishing his 4th year
• Vice President: Floyd Delon (first year as officer; many years as board member)
• Clinic Director Fred Adams: finishing his 8th year
• Historian and Assistant Clinic Director: Jean Brunnenkant 12th year as historian.

Last year, in my Annual Report, I mentioned some Prospects for 2010 for our club. If you look back at them (listed on our homepage) you will see that we did achieve our major goals and, as I said then, 'With the dedicated members that we have now, there are good reasons to be optimistic. I hope that we can continue to observe our main club rules: Don't get hurt AND Have fun.' This applies to 2011 as well.

Finally, beginning my 16th year as President (no term limits) and a member of the club since its founding in 1989, I admit that it has been a labor of love to see so many in our community take up this life-long fitness activity that keeps them fit physically and mentally.

Annual Holiday Party and Election

Heartland Racewalkers celebrated their 22nd year on Dec. 4, 2010 at the Kingswood Manor in Kansas City, MO, hosted by Floyd and Martie Delon. 30 members attended this event, including our honored guest, Dick Ross, the racing community photographer extraordinaire. Dick was presented with a certificate of appreciation, a gift certificate and a special cake (see pictures). A banquet feast was enjoyed by all with special help from Leah Luckeroth and Peg Armstrong. Awards for the top point winners were given to Barb Schwarz and Charlotte Haupt. The Dandis received an award for the outstanding family members and Pamela Felton received the Volunteer of the Year Award. Door prizes were selected with the help of Lakshmi Dandi, our designated number caller. Matt McCarter described the experience that he and Martha had at the Athens Marathon and Fred Adams reported on the Huntsman World Masters Games (he won three Gold Medals). The state of the club report was given by Alan (see separate report). Our Historian, Jean Brunnenkant, handed out a special abbreviated History of the Club document and also put on display the many picture books from her collection. Thanks to Jean for all of her dedicated work.

Elections for the 2011 year were held with the following results (resulting tenure in office-no term limits)

• President Alan Poisner (16)
• Vice-President BJ Thornburg (1)
• Treasurer Tom Oakes (5)
• Secretary Sarah Justice (8)
• Clinic Director Fred Adams (10)
• Historian Jean Brunnenkant (13)<

After the party, a number of members were able to take a tour of the Delon home-a real treat. This was a wonderful way to end a very successful year. We thank all of those who made it possible. View selected pictures from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/racewalker/sets/72157625542749924/detail/

Gobbler Grind 5K and Half-Marathon<

Nov. 21, 2010. The Gobbler Grind this year was blessed with an unusually mild November day (over 60) and Alan set a record by wearing only three layers (after a half-mile). HRW actually had more members in the half-marathon than the 5K this year. The 5K saw Fred Adams taking 1st in the men's race and Nancy Perih (who came in from Topeka) and Charlotte Haupt taking 1st and 2nd in the women's. Fred also took 2nd and Charlotte also took 3rd in their running divisions.

The half-marathon also saw HRW taking awards in both racewalking and running divisions (although they only walked). The top men racewalkers were: Alan Poisner, Mark Landry and Phil Jacobs. The top women were: Eileen McManus (fastest overall), Martha McCarter and BJ Thornburg. Alan and BJ also took 1st place in their age divisions in the running category. Martha had recently returned from Greece where she and Matt had completed the fabled Athens Marathon. This race was just a short one for them and for Mark, who is working on his second 50-state marathons. So HRW is making its mark locally, nationally and internationally in these longer races. See results and pictures

Cliff Hanger 5K & 8k

Nov. 7, 2010. HRW provided racers in both the 5K, which had a racewalking division, and the 8K in this 25th edition of the race in an historic district of northeast Kansas City. We had one out-of-town competitor who came in from the St. Louis area, Dave Couts. He took 1st in the 5K racewalk as expected for a national champion. The first woman was Julie Haller (all the way from Olathe). Fred Adams took second for men in the racewalk and 2nd in the running division (75-79).

In the 8K (no racewalking division), Martie Delon took 2nd and Floyd Delon took 1st (both 80+), while Alan Poisner took 3rd (75-79). Floyd and Martie had intended to do the 5K but they were having so much fun that they decided to push on for an extra 3K. Mark Landry not only added this short (for him) race to his portfolio but also brought along his wife and son to race. We thank our club volunteers, Pamela Felton and Chuck Zarrelli, for their help. They were able to join all of the assembled record number of racers in the traditional pancake breakfast afterwards. We express our thanks to Sue Robinette and the KC Track Club for once again sponsoring this excellent event. See results and pictures.

Blue Springs 50/50 Marathon Relay

Oct. 31, 2010. HRW returned to the Little Blue Trace Trail this year for the marathon relay and fielded three teams: Primary Perpetual Pedestrians (Alan Poisner, Captain), Walk-y, Talk-y Racewalkers (Eileen McManus, Captain) and Fox Trotters (BJ Thornburg, Captain). The captains walked the first two legs (9.1 miles) starting at 7:00 am while it was still dark. They were followed by Nancy Perih, Katrina Everhart, Fred Adams, Barb Schwartz, Raj Dandi, Santosh Dandi, Charlotte Haupt, Phil Jacobs, Mark Landry, and Floyd Delon. Chuck Zarrelli was a late scratch because of a kidney stone problem but his slot was taken up by Alan. Pictures can be found at the PICTURES link and the official RESULTS will be posted soon.

Be-A-Walker Predicted-time Walk 2010

Oct. 2, 2010. This year for the first time our predicted-time race on a newly paved track around Roe Park was 2 miles. Another first was that the fastest walker was also the one who came closest to his pre-race prediction. Santosh Dandi had predicted a finish in 20:00 minutes and hit the finish just 1 second later, an accuracy better than 99.9%! Also receiving awards for their accurate predictions were Vijaya Dandi (the winner last year) and Charlotte Haupt (just 3 seconds off) and Chuck Zarrelli (see Results). Our 19 walkers had a cool start (54 degrees) and enjoyed the dry weather. We want to thank the volunteer timers (Tom Young, Leah Luckeroth and Alan Poisner) and those who brought the delicious refreshments. Awards were made following a great feast. The results can be found at the RESULTS link. Pictures will be online soon

Kansas Senior Olympics 2010: HRW scores again

Sept. 26, 2010-Hummer Sports Park, Topeka. Once again, Heartland Racewalkers hauled in the medals at the State Senior Games. In addition a number of new records were set. Speedy Seniors and their age divisions included Dave Couts (55-59), Chuck Zarrelli and Jimmy Sue Sells (65-69), Julie Haller (70-74), Fred Adams and Alan Poisner (75-79), Martie and Floyd Delon (80-84) and Jean Brunnenkant and Tom Young (90-94). New age-division records were set in the 5K by Dave, Alan, Jimmy Sue and Julie. There were a total of 19 walkers this year and HRW came away with 10 Golds and 5 Silvers in the 1500-meter and 5K races. See the Results link.

Patriots Run-Sept. 11, 2010

HRW once again fielded two teams in this annual event that goes for nine hours and 11 minutes. In addition, two of our team members (Martha and Matt McCarter) did full marathons which included 3 miles on our teams. Team Captains Alan Poisner (Perpetual Pedestrians) and BJ Thornburg (Patriotic Pedestrians) were the lead-off and final walkers of the day. This year the event was held at the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe and was a festive and patriotic event with over 500 runners and walkers. Also, as usual, BJ the DJ served as the announcer and gave his usual strong support to racewalking. The Patriotic Pedestrians took home the first place racewalking award (by one mile) and Martha McCarter achieved the most mileage by a racewalker (26.2 miles). It turned out to be a beautiful day and we may have even more walkers next year (22 in 2009 and 24 in 2010). Pictures from the event are found in the sets on our homepage.

Surprise Birthday Party for Jean Brunnenkant-Aug. 31, 2010

Aug. 31, 2010. HRW gave a surprise (94th) birthday party for our Queen, Jean Brunnenkant at the home of Leah Luckeroth. Tom Young and Leah were the chief conspirators and pulled off the surprise. A number of her many friends dropped by to wish Jean well and express their thanks for her friendship, leadership and inspiration. Some pictures from the event can be seen on our homepage at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/racewalker/4987989426/in/set-72157624824859843/

World Class Racewalking Clinic, Overland Park, KS Aug 6-8. 2010

Heartland Racewalkers hosted Dave McGovern's World Class Racewalking Clinic Aug. 6-8 in Overland Park. 22 walkers, ranging in age from 12 to 93, participated during one of the warmest weeks this year. Participants came from Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas and Kansas and Missouri.

The weekend started with a pasta-dinner hosted by BJ Thornburg and some video highlights of a World Cup racewalking competition. Dave and Loretta Schuellein McGovern provided coaching instruction, individual video-taped technique analysis and used heart rate monitors to estimate HRmax and threshold. We all survived the heat on the high school track and the video feedback showed the improvement of both the beginners and the experienced walkers. This was the second time that Dave presented a clinic here and we look forward to the next one. Pictures will be found at our homepage http://www.heartlandracewalkers.com

Annual Picnic on Saturday, July 10

Saturday, July 10, Heartland Racewalkers celebrated their annual picnic at Roe Park. 25 people attended, ranging in age from 17 months (Deanna's granddaughter) to 93 (two walkers). We also had a number of guests who enjoyed the beautiful weather and the interesting company of walkers. After some walking, the members settled down for some really good eating (see photos). The Prez announced prizes for points for the first 6 months of 2010: Barb Schwartz was overall top winner, getting a club jacket. Denise Donaldson and Charlotte Haupt won copies of BoomerWalk, which features several of our current members. Awards were given to our youth corps (Lakshmi & Santosh) and to the winning team from the Brew to Brew relay. More than a dozen door prizes were selected. Looking ahead: we announced that the annual holiday party will be at the Delon's home on Dec. 4

Racing Season for HRW

June is busting out all over-with races. Official racewalks were held on June 5 (Heartland Athletic Services All-Comers Meet at Johnson County Community College), June 11 & 12 (Missouri State Senior Games in Columbia and June 12 (Missouri Valley USATF Outdoor Championships at William Jewell College in Liberty). HRW had entrants in all of these and came away with lots of medals (see results and picture links). Upcoming are the Iowa Senior Games (several of our members are doing that the weekend of June 19-20) and the HAS Outdoor meet at Johnson County College on June 26. In addition, several local races will have a racewalk division, including the Father's Day race on June 20. July will also have some official racewalks including the Sunflower Games on July 16. If you are interested in the upcoming races, contact the Prez. These are great opportunities to check your fitness, support racewalking and various charitable organizations.

Heartland Heart Throbs Celebrate-Again

Martie and Floyd Delon celebrated their first anniversary while attending our monthly meeting on June 5. There was a small cake to mark the occasion. However, Floyd added to the celebration by making a presentation on genealogy from his and Martie�s families. He also described how he used some of the information from the 23AndMe DNA results that came from the testing at the National Senior Olympics at Stanford last August. We look forward to more celebrations in the future from the Delons who recently moved into their new home in KC, MO.

HRW hosts the WNR-2010

May 19: This was the third year that HRW hosted the KC Track Club's weekly WNR (Wednesday Night Run). Nine of our pedestrians showed the assembled runners that we can walk in the rain-and provide some good food as well. Tom Oakes, with a little help from HyVee, supplied the main course and other goodies came from the participants. It threatened rain and waited until most had left for the trail before really opening up. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all, with a little help from Dick Ross, our friendly photographer. Some pics can be seen at the PICTURES link. We have banned precipitation from next year's event.

Brew to Brew 43-Mile Relay Through the Years

Year	Time	Net Hcp	Captains	Team members
2001	485	439	A. Poisner	T. Zinchuk, P. Zinchuk, S. Figoni, K. Christensen
2002	524	462	A. Poisner	T. Zinchuk, P. Zinchuk, P. Jacobs, D. Acuff
2003	539	491	A. Poisner	T. Zinchuk, P. Zinchuk, L. Bainter, J. Slate
2004	541	493	A. Poisner	A. Christensen, P. Jacobs, L. Bainter, E. McManus
2005	542	486	A. Poisner	A. Christensen, P. Jacobs, L. Lund, V. Harmer
2006	529	457	A. Poisner	A. Christensen, P. Jacobs, BJ Thornburg, E. McManus
2006	530	483	T. Zinchuk	S. Rico, P. Zinchuk, L. Lund, J. Anderson
2007	577	485	F. Weddle	N. Perih, S. Batthauer, BJ Thornburg, R. Weddle
2007	570	490	A. Poisner	K. Dockter, P. Jacobs, E. Wheeler, M. Paulsen
2008	547	501	M. Landry	S. Batthauer, S. Rico, BJ Thornburg, R. Dandi

Brew to Brew 43-Mile Relay-April 11, 2010

This was the 10th year that HRW participated in the Brew to Brew 43-mile Relay from KC to Lawrence. There were close to 3,000 individuals who ran/walked all or part of the way. This year, as in 2008, HRW had the two teams: the Walking Warriors (WW-Mark Landry, Captain) and the Perpetual Pedestrians (PP-Alan Poisner, Captain). The weather was excellent, unlike the freezing rain and blowing wind in 2009. Both teams had faster age- and gender-adjusted times than the 2009 team.

We had 4 rookies (Barb Schwartz, Lynn Gentleman, Chuck Zarrelli and Fred Adams) and 6 veterans (Mark Landry, Phil Jacobs, Alan Poisner, Nancy Perih, BJ Thornburg and Raj Dandi). We all gathered in front of the Boulevard Brewery on Southwest Blvd. about 5:40 am for group pictures and to load our two cars. Each team sent one walker at a time on the route (much of it along the Kaw River levee) while the others rode to the next exchange point. Each person walked 2.5-5.8 miles and then did it again after about a 1-4 hour interval.

After almost 10 hours, the teams finished very close to Alan's pre-race predictions: WW: predicted=581; finished 586; PP: predicted=580; finished 578 min. These 5-min and 2-min differences are really close considering all of the variables in the race (hills, temperature, rookies vs veterans, wrong mileages, etc.), but those who have done the Brew to Brew in the past know that Alan's predictions have been very close over the years. A summary of HRW's experience in the Brew to Brew Relay in the last 10 years are shown in the preceding News Item. PP not only came in first in the walking division, but also beat 10 running teams in the age- and gender-based ranking, That always looks good when the KC Track Club posts the results. Note that everyone who took part and challenged themselves was a winner, especially our rookies.

The most unusual training method was used by Mark Landry who walked the Olathe Marathon (26.2 miles) the day before the relay. He indicated that he might not use that method next year.

We thank Tom Oakes for once again serving as a volunteer-and making some great peanut butter sandwiches for the solo runners. Thanks also to Mark and Phil for supplying the cars and doing most of the driving.

As in the past, both teams celebrated afterwards with a feast at the Mad Greek's restaurant in Lawrence and were joined by Tom Oakes, Jerry Thornburg and Chuck's friend Paula.

Check other links on our homepage (Pictures and Results)

Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/racewalker/sets/72157623892486988/

Results: http://heartlandracewalkers.com/results.php

You might want to try this exciting event next year.

Awards for 2009

At our annual meeting on Dec. 5, the following awards were announced:

• High point achievers (HRW Point Program): Martie & Floyd Delon and Peg Armstrong - $25 gift certificates
• Newcomer of the year award: Chuck Zarrelli - Club Jacket
• Volunteer of the year awards (2008 and 2009): Tom Young and Tom Oakes - Medals
• Youth Excellence Awards: Santosh and Lakshmi Dandi - Racewalk clinic in a book (given earlier)

Awards for past races

Patriots Day Run: Chuck Zarrelli - Plaque for 2nd place team

Members of 1st place team received framed certificates: Alan Poisner, Nancy Perih, Marie Wilkie, Jean Brunnenkant, Julie Haller, Pamela Felton, Tom Oakes, Floyd Delon, Forrest Weddle, Raj Dandi

Gobbler Grind Awards - Stocking caps

5K Walkers: 1st Male-Santosh Dandi; 1st Female-Lakshmi Dandi

Age-group winners (running division)

Male 70+: 2nd Floyd Delon, 3rd Tom Young

Female 70+: 1st Jean Brunnenkant

Half-Marathon Walkers: 1st Male-Alan Poisner; 1st Female- Eileen McManus

2010 Saturday Clinic Time Change

Beginning on January 2, 2010, the regular Saturday morning clinics will begin at 9:00 am and we will keep that time throughout the winter. Monthly meetings on Saturdays will start at 10:00 following clinic. Our later starting times will be especially helpful for those who have to travel a substantial distance to reach our meeting place (Fitness Plus, 107th & Roe).

2009 Annual Report

This is the annual State of the Club Report which our President gave on Dec. 5, 2009 that reviewed the activities of the Heartland Racewalkers for the past year and made some projections for 2010.<

We had our annual meeting last year on Dec. 6 with 40 people in attendance, including our special guest, Dick Ross, and Lori Bainter-Ratzlaff's two daughters. After the meeting was over, our friend, BJ the DJ paid a brief visit.

Elections for the 2009 year were held with the following results:

• Vice-President Forrest Weddle
• Treasurer Tom Oakes
• Secretary Sarah Justice
• Clinic Director Fred Adams
• Historian Jean Brunnenkant
• President Alan Poisner

Other board members selected were: Wayne Kerns, Jean Brunnenkant, Tom Young, Moe Lago, Ruth Weddle, Leah Luckeroth, Kathy Dockter. Alan gave the State of the Club address and thanked the officers and board members for the past year. Trudy Nepstad showed off her winter wear as usual and has offered to donate 20% of the sales to our Club's Development Fund. Thanks Trudy.

On January 1st, we started off the New Year by taking part in the annual New Year's Day Run/Walk at the Athletic Club of Overland Park, sponsored by the KC Track Club. This was followed by breakfast afterwards. This is an annual club tradition and I invite you to join us this year.

At our first meeting of the year, we showed videos of the Jonathan Matthews Clinic last April. At the end of the month, 7 Members kept up our tradition by entering the Ground Hog 5K (in the Subtropolis cave). It's always about 58 degrees for this race, regardless of the outside weather.

In February, we showed videos of racewalking history, including our founder, Debbi Lawrence who was to pay us a visit later in the month. We had 44 paid up members. Debbi Lawrence (now Debbi Sullivan) made a presentation to our club and gave a brief clinic on racewalking. 32 walkers attended as did the Fitness Plus manager, Jenny Wallace. Santosh & Lakshmi Dandi competed in Manhattan in the Mo Valley USATF indoor championship.

At our March meeting, Denise Strickler talked to us about Bee-Keeping along with some larger than life pictures of the little creatures. The Dandis told us about their races in Manhattan and we celebrated Phil Jacobs' retirement. Our homepage on the web had now had a cumulative total of 5000 hits, with about 100 per month. 12 of our members entered an indoor race at Johnson County Community College, sponsored by the 'Heartland Athletic Services'

In April, Rebecca Smith gave us a talk on lung function and respiratory testing, her professional activity. It was very interesting and shows that we have a lot of talented members in our club.

On April 5: Our Brew Relay Team. The Perennial Perpetual Pedestrians walked the 43-mile trip to Lawrence in very challenging weather that ranged from freezing rain to 45 mph winds. Our hearty band (Phil Jacobs, BJ Thornburg, Susan Rico, Alan Poisner and Laurie Bell) braved the elements and actually beat 5 running teams. We celebrated afterwards with our traditional meal at the Mad Greek Restaurant.

In May we showed some a video of the South Texas Walking club, a youth team. Santosh Dandi was listed in the USATF monthly magazine as one of the youth honorees in his age division, based on his performance at last year's nationals. There a number of races in May that our club entered including Fred in the St. Louis Sr. Games and Martie & Floyd in the Raytown one-miler. We again hosted the Wednesday Night Run (WNR) at Leawood City Park with a picnic after the running and walking.

In June, we had a guest speaker from the Johnson County Volunteers. We have a special member who has been doing Meals on Wheels for many years, Tom Young. Heartland Racewalkers received a report of a heartwarming event: the marriage onboard a ship in the Mediterranean of Floyd and Martie Lykens Delon). There was a reception for Martie and Floyd at Martie's church later in the month. It was one of the rare times where a large number of HRW members congregated without wearing exercise clothes and shoes. An article about Jean and Alan appeared in the Overland Park Sun and is copied on our homepage. Alan manned a table at the Johnson County Parks & Recreation Step in Shape Program again this year and passed out information. We were lucky that Marie Wilkie was there and has since become an active member of our club.

There were some important races in June. The Heartland USATF Outdoor races were held on June 5 at Park Hill HS. Our members did the 1500 meter and/or 3000 meter walks; and Lakshmi and Santosh Dandi also did the shot put. The Dandi's almost didn't make it because there car came to a stop a few blocks before arriving at the track. On June 12, we had racers in the Missouri Valley USATF Outdoor Championships at Shawnee Mission South HS, including youth, open and Masters (1500, 3000 and 5000 meters). We also had members who competed in the Heartland Outdoor meet at Johnson County Community College. Three of our members did the Beat the Heat race on June 21 (Fathers' Day).

In July our monthly meeting was actually the second Saturday of the month and we had a great picnic in Roe Park. We learned that Carol Goslin completed her 50-state marathon quest and will be featured in a future article in the KC Star. Mark Landry finished his 47th on his way to completing his 60-state quest later in the year. Alan, Martie and Floyd again did the Freedom Day Run on July 4th in Lenexa-a fun event. Martie & Alan won medals although there was no walking division. We had a good picnic on July 18 with 30 walkers and guests. Santosh Dandi raced in Wichita and qualified for the nationals but Lakshmi accidentally was not able to enter her race but later the national officials allowed her to enter the National Race to represent the Missouri Valley USATF. Other races in July were: the Sunflower State Games in Topeka, in which all members of HRW won medals (and qualified for the nationals next year in San Diego). Also the Missouri Senior Games were held in Columbia with less than usual judging. The national USATF Junior Olympics were held in Greensboro, NC and Lakshmi and Santosh represented the Missouri Valley and our club. Santosh took 7th in the 3000 meters and Lakshmi took 11th in the 1500 meters with a PR time of 9:21'. Congratulations to both for excelling at the national level. There success was due to much hard work and training and we are very proud of them.

In August, the article about Carol Goslin appeared in the KC Star Northland edition. The Dandis continued to train at Shawnee Mission North High School Track and Alan was there for a number of sessions to help them and him prepare for national races.

The big event in August was the National Senior Olympics in Palo Alto at Stanford University. Heartland Racewalkers were well represented as usual and came away with a number of medals and ribbons, including two Golds (Jean B-1500 meters and Eileen McManus-5K). We also won two Silver medals (Martie and Alan in the 1500 meters) and 2 Bronze medals (Fred in the 1500 and Alan in the 5K) and a 4th place ribbon (Fred) and 8th place ribbon (BJ). Our walkers were Jean B, Tom Y (in the 90-94 division), Floyd and Martie Delon. Fred Adams, Alan Poisner, Julie Haller, BJ Thornburg. A larger than usual number of walkers was disqualified in the two races and the race director gave a tutorial on Sunday a day before the 1500 meter race. That helped several of our walkers who survived the second race at Stanford.

We met later in the month and had reports from the National Jr and Sr Olympics, including videos and pics. Thanks to Jerry Thornburg and Keith Masterson for the video and to Forrest for the tutoring so our camera operators could use our club camera to record our members at the National Games.

At our Sept. 5 meeting, we viewed video on racewalking judging and technique and I explained the rules about judging. Fred and Alan are the only members of our club who have experience in both racing and judging-it is not easy. A major annual event occurred on Sept. 11 when our club entered two teams of 10 in the Patriots Day Run. This is a 9 hour 11 minute race that we did in relay fashion which raised funds for the Salvation Army and is a major activity in Olathe honoring our service men and women and first responders to emergencies around the country. Once again the Perpetual Pedestrians nosed out the Avengers for the team 1st place award. Special thanks go to Nancy Perih for coming in from Topeka, Chuck Zarrelli for helping out when Alan was temporarily absent, and Bo Kremer for some early help. This event has been such a big success that the organizers are going to have to move it to a larger venue next year, rumored to be near the Great Mall in Olathe. On Sept. 27 the Kansas Senior Olympics were held in Topeka and Julie Haller, Martie and Floyd Delon, Fred Adams, Alan Poisner and Tom Young all won Gold or Silver Medals, keeping HRW at the forefront of racewalking in Kansas and the Midwest.

Our October meeting was our annual Be-A-Walker 5K in Roe Park. We had 19 members plus guests. Awards were given to the top three for predictions (Vijaya Dandi, Tom Young and Denise Donaldson). Jean B received a medal for the best age-adjusted time (85%).

There were several races in October where our senior members took medals in races without walking divisions. This included the Cure SMA 5K where Martie and Trudy took 1st and 2nd and Floyd took 2nd in the 75+ division, Abby's Run for the Heart 5K where Alan took 1st in the 70+ division; and the Waddell & Reed 5k where Alan took 1st in the 75+ division. It helps our PR in the KC Metro for others to see someone walking faster than they can run.

At our November club meeting Carol Goslin and Mark Landry spoke about their 50-state marathon achievements (very impressive). Tom Young told us about his Texas racing adventures and Forrest Weddle set up a video of our Be-A-Walker. Carol and Mark had the honor of cutting their special recognition cake, avoiding their own decapitation.

There were a couple of races in November with and without walking divisions. The Cliff Hanger had 7 racers and 2 volunteers. We won awards in both the racewalking division and in some age-divisions for the runners, although we all walked.

Other races with walking divisions included the Gobbler Grind 5K and half-marathon. This was held on Nov. 22 and the top walkers in the 5K were Lakshmi and Santosh Dandi. The top walkers in the half-marathon were Eileen McManus and Alan Poisner. Other walkers were Phil Jacobs, Floyd Delon, Tom Young and Leslie Votaw in the 5K, and BJ Thornburg and Martha McCarter in the half-marathon. Carol Goslin and Mark Landry did the marathon. They just can't seem to get that difficult challenge out of their system. Carol came in first in her age group.

On Thanksgiving Day in Sacramento, Alan took first in the 75-79 division in the 5K (only one other competitor) but there were 30,000 walkers and runners in the combined 10K and 5K. This is the 5th year that I have done one or the other of these races in order to join my kids and grandkids for Thanksgiving.

Thanks to previous year's board: I want to thank the 2009 board for their efforts behind the scenes that other members do not see: Ruth & Forrest Weddle, Kathy Dockter and Moe Lago. We welcome incoming board members: Floyd Delon, Pamela Felton and Peg Armstrong (repeat terms) and Leah Luckeroth, returning member) and Chuck Zarrelli a new board member

I also want to thank the officers who have spent a lot of years serving the club:

• Secretary; Sarah Justice beginning her 7th year
• Treasurer: Tom Oakes beginning his 4th year
• Vice President: Floyd Delon (first year as officer; many years as board member)
• Clinic Director Fred Adams: beginning his 9th year
• Historian and Assistant Clinic Director: Jean Brunnenkant 12th year as historian.

Prospects for 2010:

We look forward to an exciting 2010. We hope to expand our outreach in the KC Metro by encouraging more adult and youth walkers. We look forward to more accomplishments from our youth corps: Lakshmi and Santosh Dandi. We will continue to keep the media advised about our activities. In the past we have been successful in being covered by TV, newspapers, radio and the internet. We hope that our current members can continue to serve as PR representatives for our club: by word of mouth and by handing out material, such as club cards. Suggestions for other forms of outreach are welcome.

With the dedicated members that we have now, there are good reasons to optimistic. I hope that we can continue observe our main club goals: Don't get hurt AND Have fun.

Finally, beginning my 15th year as President (no term limits) and a member of the club since its founding in 1989, it has been a labor of love to see so many in our community take up this life-long fitness activity that keeps them fit physically and mentally.

Election Results for 2010 Year (Resulting years in office)

• President-Alan Poisner 15
• Vice-President-Floyd Delon 1
• Secretary-Sarah Justice 7
• Treasurer-Tom Oakes 4

The following are also serving the club:

• Clinic Director-Fred Adams 9
• Historian-Jean Brunnenkant 12
• Newsletter/Web-Alan Poisner 8

Board Members:

• Chuck Zarrelli
• Leah Luckeroth
• Pamela Felton
• Peg Armstrong
• Phil Jacobs
• Tom Young

November meeting featured tales of long walking

Our November 5 monthly club meeting featured three members who had made some significant achievements. Carol Goslin and Mark Landry spoke about their historical achievements in joining the 50-state marathon club. Carol has actually now done 70 marathons and just keeps going. Later, Tom Young spoke about his exciting races at the Texas Senior Games where he had to deal with rain and lightning and still came away with three Gold Medals. We also had the opportunity during the meeting of watching the video taken by Forrest Weddle of our Be-A-Walker 5K predicted-time race in October. We had a total of 25 members and guests at this very special meeting. Our annual year-end meeting and party will be Dec. 5.

Racewalkers Beat Runners-Again

October found two races in which racewalkers took medals in running races. On Oct. 4, Floyd Delon took 2nd place in the male 75+ Division in the SMA 5K Run in Roeland Park (46:59). The posted results actually showed him 3rd behind Martie Delon, who was 1st in the female 75+ Division (43:48). Martie edged out Trudy Nepstad (46:31) in this division. This was a new race and Heartland Racewalkers have already staked out a claim as winners.

The second race was Abby's Run 5K (now in the 7th year) and Alan Poisner took first in the 70+ division (34:23). This was practically in his back yard, starting in Town Centre at 119th & Nall. So the home-court advantage worked-although the weather was cold enough that he had to go to his 5-layer approach, with Heartland Racewalkers showing on the top (heavy sweater) layer.

So, even though there were no walking divisions in these races, HRW is still garnering medals with their swift pedestrianism.

Be-A-Walker Predicted Time 5K

Oct. 3, 2009. A long-standing tradition was maintained in 2009 with our unique predicted-time 5K race around Roe Park, near our fitness center. Our 17 walkers finished 6.5 laps on an unseasonably cool day. The first place predictor was Vijaya Dandi (-7 seconds), followed by Tom Young and Denise Donaldson. The top walker in age-graded time was Jean Brunnenkant, our leader in many ways, who managed a fantastic 85%. We want to thank the volunteers, who included Fred Adams, Alan Poisner, Sarah Justice and Forrest Weddle. Awards were made following a great feast, despite the cool weather. The results can be found at the RESULTS link. Pictures will be online soon.

HRW Golden at Kansas Senior Olympics

Sept. 27, 2009. HRW took a slew of Gold Medals at the 2009 version of the State Senior Games at Hummer Park in Topeka. We had the usual hot weather and some fast times. Our speedy pedestrians were: Nancy Perih, Julie Haller, Alan Poisner, Fred Adams, Floyd Delon, Martie Delon and Tom Young. Most did both the 1500 meter and the 5000 meter racewalks. This was a non-qualifying year and our club once again kept our sport alive and well. The results can be found at the RESULTS link.

Heartland Racewalkers Stroll Again at the Patriots Run

Sept. 11, 2009. The Patriots Day Run (9 hours 11 minutes) was held again at Two-Trails Park in Olathe. HRW teams were the Perpetual Pedestrians-3 (completed 40.8 miles) and the Avengers-3 (completed 38.6 miles). There were 10 walkers on each team and included veterans and rookies. Nancy Perih came from the longest distance (Topeka). A large number of ultra-runners, marathoners and teams turned out this year (without the rain that we had in 2008). Check out our Pictures and Results links. Proceeds go to the Salvation Army and we all joined in this event�s patriotic emphasis. One of our members, Larry Burch, made a special effort and walked 26.9 miles from 3:00 am to 8:37 am in order to recognize the service of soldiers in Afghanistan who were running at the same time. He and all of our members who participated in this unique event should be commended.

>HRW Scores at the National Senior Games - Palo Alto, CA

Aug. 8-10: The biannual National Senior Games were held this year on the Stanford campus. HRW sent 9 walkers and they came back with 2 Gold,2 Silver, and 2 Bronze medals as well as 4th and 8th place ribbons. We were represented by our nonagenarian pedestrians, Jean Brunnenkant and Tom Young, as well as the youngsters Floyd and Martie Delon (recent newlyweds), Fred Adams, Alan Poisner, Julie Haller, BJ Thornburg and Eileen McManus. Gold was brought back by the oldest and the youngest, Jean and Eileen. This year the judges were particularly active in giving DQ's to 23-37% of the walkers in the two events (5K and 1500 meters). This was discouraging to many but we believe that better days are ahead for those who were awarded the red cards. Some of our members drove to the event in the San Francisco Bay area and did some exploring before or after. The various adventures in racewalking and elsewhere were reported at our August monthly meeting (Aug. 22). The results are shown under the RESULTS link and pictures can be found under the PICTURES link. There are two sets of pictures (5K and 1500 meters). The 2011 Games will be a little warmer-in Houston.

50-State Marathon Club

Two Heartland Racewalkers have joined (or about to join) a very exclusive club. Carol Goslin has recently finished a marathon in her 50th state in her quest to join this impressive club. Carol will now have more time to spend with her racewalking buddies. Mark Landry is using a marathon in Montana in early July for his 47th state and hopes to get to number 50 before enrolling for Medicare. We are very proud of these masters of endurance and know that they have enjoyed the times where they racewalked past some tiring runners.

Heartland Heart-Throbs

Two of Heartland Racewalkers favorites, Martie Lykens and Floyd Delon, were recently married (June 2009) onboard a ship in the Mediterranean. Obviously, walking is not only good for the heart but also for heartfelt feelings. A reception was held for them after they returned and a number of HRW members were able to attend. We wish them many more years of happy walking together. For a picture of them together on the Fourth of July, check out our PICTURES link.

New Book-BoomerWalk-features HRW Members

A newly release book written by Brent Bohlen, an Illinois lawyer and racewalking devotee, includes pictures and stories about Jean Brunnenkant and Alan Poisner as well as comments about Tom Young. This is addressed mostly to the Baby Boomer generation but is intended to stimulate interest in all age groups. Commentary in a local paper can be found at our "Pictures" Link. Then click on the line that says: " To view individual pictures and sets click here. You can view captions by clicking on individual pictures.

Click on the Newspaper article to enlarge it and then click on the magnifying icon (all sizes +) above the picture.

>Brew to Brew 43-Mile Relay-April 5, 2009

This year was a challenge for our HRW team of walkers that included one rookie (Laurie Bell) and 4 veterans (BJ Thornburg, Phil Jacobs, Susan Rico-Presnell and Alan Poisner). At the 6:00 am start, the temperature was about 38 degrees and falling with a 5 mph breeze. After that, it deteriorated. By 10:00 am there was a strong freezing rain coming in from the northwest that made it feel like wet needles being driven home. Finally, by the last part of the race, we had to contend with 35-40 mph winds. Although it was dry by this time, the force of the winds was enough to lift the anchorman off his feet on more than one occasion.

We were supported by our volunteer, Tom Oakes, who bravely manned the peanutbutter sandwich station that served the amazing solo runners. This year, BJ Thornburg was our nautical teammate who got to take the boat ride over Stranger Creek. Laurie Bell, our rookie, had the privilege of taking leg 6 which has an unending succession of hills but that did not seem to faze her (she likes to train on hills). As a matter of fact, Laurie and BJ trained for this event by doing the Olathe Half-Marathon on the preceding day. That is not a recommended training routine but somehow they both survived. As usual, our team celebrated their achievement with a feast at the Mad Greek restaurant in Lawrence, arriving about 4:00 after almost 10 hours. Also, as usual, our team beat at least 5 running teams in the Scratch division due to the age- and gender-based scoring (See the Results Link). Some pictures can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/racewalker/3424818764/in/set-72157616425978743/ (click on each picture individually to see comments).

2009 Heartland Open/Masters Indoor Track & Field Meet

March 21, 2009: The inaugural 2009 Heartland Indoor Track Meet featured two racewalk events. Heartland Racewalkers provided 8 walkers in the 1-mile event and 6 in the 3000 meter race. This was a new experience for most of the walkers who rounded the 200-meter track 15 times in the 3000 meter racewalk. Raj Dandi was the fastest walker in the 1-mile race and Eileen McManus was fastest in the 3000 meters. Awards were given in 5-year age divisions. Detailed results will be posted soon, along with pictures.

Racewalking Clinic by Debbi Spino

Debbi Spino, who started the racewalking program in the Kansas City area, visited Fitness Plus on Wednesday, Feb. 25 and presented a mini-clinic (6:30-8:00). Debbi, a three-time Olympian and holder of many American records, spoke about her national and international racewalking experience and also provided help on racewalking training, technique and habits for good health. 35 walkers attended the clinic and demonstration. It was a great home-coming week for Debbi. We look forward to future visits.

2008 Annual Report

Our annual party last year was held on December 1 at the Fitness Plus facility. 23 members renewed at this time. Awards were given to the newcomers of the year (the Dandi family), to Kiara Bunton, as the outstanding youth member, and to Kathy Dockter and Elaine Wheeler as the top point winners-for the second six-month period in a row.

Elections were held with the following results:

• Vice-President Forrest Weddle 1st year
• Treasurer Tom Oakes 2nd
• Secretary Sarah Justice 5th
• Clinic Director Fred Adams 7th
• Historian Jean Brunnenkant 10th
• President Alan Poisner (year in office) 13th time

Other board members selected were: Amy Christensen, Wayne Kerns, Jean Brunnenkant, Tom Young, Moe Lago, Ruth Weddle. Alan gave the State of the Club address and thanked the officers and board members for the past year. Trudy Nepstad showed off her winter wear as usual and has offered to donate some of the sales to our Club's Development Fund. Thanks Trudy.

We learned that Floyd Delon had moved to Columbia but he will still be visiting us in in KC periodically. Fortunately, it has been fairly frequent. We received some new technical wicking shirts and some were given out at the annual party, including a (size very small) shirt to Alana Bainter-Ratzlaff. She demonstrated it while walking to the goodies table (several times).

On January 1st, we started off the New Year by taking part in the annual New Year's Day Run/Walk at the Athletic Club of Overland Park, sponsored by the KC Track Club. This was followed by breakfast afterwards. This is an annual club tradition and I invite you to join us this year.

At our January 5 meeting, Our guest speaker was Heidi Valenzuela, a yoga instructor who gave a great demonstration. Our newest members include Dr. Mark and Mary Landry. Alan announced that our club has been offered a discounted subscription to Walk! Magazine. 20 members have joined in this program which provides a cheaper rate as the number of subscribers increase. We had 9 members participating in the Ground Hog underground 5K this year. We made our usual impressive showing in our red shirts. Martie and Trudy took 1st and 2nd in their age divisions and Alan took 3rd. We had 38 paid-up members and about 3,400 hits on our homepage

In February, our speaker was Dr. Mark Landry, a podiatrist, marathoner and a new member. He spoke on foot care, injury prevention and treatment. Our membership is now 44 with new member Jimmy Sue Sells from Reading, KS.

In March. Jean Brunnenkant continued her terrific job on drills and review. This has been well received. Our membership has grown to 46, including our former member who lives in St. Louis area, Dave Couts. Hits on our homepage have increased to 3639, about 100 per month. The editor of Walk! Magazine has asked Alan to write a short description of our club for a future issue. We received the TV/DVD cart that Tom Oakes ordered to use for our club presentations. This has allowed us to have a permanent presence in our meeting room. We planned for a special April clinic by Jonathan Matthews.

April was a very busy month for HRW. At our April 5th Meeting, we had a social get-together & prepared for the upcoming Brew to Brew Relay. Tom, Forrest and Alan have been dealing with Johnson County Parks & Recreation Dept. for obtaining a memorial bench to be in Roe Park.

On April 6, we had two teams in the Brew to Brew 43-mile relay: the Walking Warriors (Mark Landry, Captain) and the Primary Perpetual Pedestrians (Alan Poisner, captain). After about 9 hours the teams finished in the same time but the PPP's were the winners because of the handicaps. Both teams then celebrated at our usual Greek feast afterwards. We hope to have 10 people again this coming year to field two teams. Check with me about your interest.

On April 17, Alan, BJ and Fred put on a clinic for Blue Valley teachers at their district headquarters at 151st & Metcalf. 17 came to the district presentation and 6 came to our regular clinic on the following Saturday. The clinic was very well received.

On April 20, Alan and Floyd did the Broadway Bridge 5K and both took first in their age divisions.

On the weekend of April 26-27. we had the delayed Clinic by Jonathan Matthews. This clinic was postponed from April 12-13 because of transportation problems that Jonathan had from Helena. It probably was a lucky break because the weather was winter-like on that weekend but was much better on the 26th. 17 people registered and two college walkers from Concordia College were able to come. This was a very successful clinic that was aided by the video camera that Forrest Weddle obtained and was later used for feedback. We used the Shawnee Mission South HS track for some of our clinic. Jonathan was pleased with the clinic and the feedback from those attending was also positive. We have now had three nationally prominent racewalking coaches who have come to present clinics: Dave McGovern, Jeff Salvage and Jonathan Matthews. All were very well received and we may plan more in the future.

At our May Meeting, we reported on the Matthews Clinic.

We had two races in May: the Steps to the Cure 5K on the 18th where we had 9 walkers. Two of our walkers also received awards in the running division: Martie Lykens took first in her division and BJ Thornburg took third in hers. On the 26th 3 walkers did the Amy Thompson 8K and Kiara Bunton did 2-mile at Loose Park.

On May 28th, Martie Lykens and Alan once again represented HRW at the Johnson County 50+ Step in Shape Event. There were close to 100 people who came to walk at the Deanna Rose Family Center (and Martie & Alan did some demonstrations). Then the group met at the Ritz Charles center where there were information tables sponsored by various organizations, including US. We handed out information and had 11 people sign up to receive more info. We also gave out a free- membership in the door prize drawings. The organizers of the event sent us a big thank-you afterwards. Alan continued to work with them in preparation for the 50+ games in September.

Later that day, HRW hosted the Wednesday Night Run (WNR) for the KC Track Club. at the Lions shelter house in Leawood City Park (the same as last year). Alan set up the poster display that was used earlier at the presentation to the Blue Valley teachers. It was well received by the KC Track Club group and they gave us good PR in their internet communications.

Our June meeting featured Tom Young who discussed his elder hostel trip to Israel. He brought a map and made an excellent presentation.

Our membership was now 49, including Debbie Pahura-Bonner Springs and Shirley Coffey.

There were lots of races in June. (9)

• June 7: Iowa Senior Games: Fred Adams and Tom Young got Gold Medals
• June 7: Hospital Hill: Alan, Eileen McManus & BJ Thornburg: 10K race in some hot weather. We got our usual positive responses from runners and spectators.
• June 8: Missouri State AAU 2008 Junior Outdoor Championships-Independence, MO: Kiara Bunton took first place in her 3000 meter race: outstanding time: 18:36. This qualified her for the regional championships.
• June 13: USATF Mo Valley Jr Olympics Qualifying: Kiara Bunton, Santosh and Lakshmi Dandi - We also had three volunteers: Sarah Justice and Fred Adams & Alan, who served as racewalk judges.
• June 13: Night Flight: Floyd-5K-Lee's Summit-nightime
• June 15: Beat the Heat 5K: Eileen, Floyd, Alan
• June 20-21: Mo Sr Games: BJ, Martie, Dave Couts, Alan, Fred, Tom Young, Floyd: Lots of Gold
• June 28: USATF Masters: Rockhurst: Eileen, Julie, Raj, Wayne, Bo Kremer, BJ, Alan
• June 28: AAU Regional Joplin: Kiara Bunton-3K-Silver Medal

July: We used our July 5 monthly meeting for a picnic at Roe Park. We had more than 30 walkers and one visitor! Lori Bainter brought her two girls. Alan gave out awards for the 1st 6 months. Martie was the top with 58!

Membership: we now have 55 members. New member-Debi Waters. Amy Christensen returned from her month in Sweden. Our home page registerd its 4,000th hit.

Many races: (5)

• July 4: Freedom Run 5K and 10K (Olathe) (no walking divisions): Alan took did the 10K and Floyd did the 5K.
• July 13: USATF Region 9 Junior Olympics (Tulsa): Lakshmi & Santosh Dandi took Gold medals to qualify for the nationals. Unfortunately Kiara could not compete because of a foot injury.
• July 18: Sunflower State Games (Topeka). Jimmy Sue Sells and Alan won their divisions and qualified for the national meet in Colorado Springs next year. Last year Alan won two Gold Medals in his age division at this meet at the Air Force Academy.
• July 19: USATF National Clubs Outdoor Championships (Olathe). Eileen and Alan represented HRW (about an hour after our picnic) and took Gold (EM) and Bronze (AP). There was only one woman and 4 men in this 5000 meter race, which wins points for clubs. BJ Thornburg was a volunteer and our cheering section included Raj, Santosh & Lakshmi Dandi, Floyd Delon, Martie Lykens and Bo Kremer. HRW won 16 points by virtue of Eileen's and Alan's results and therefore our club finished 15 out of 26 clubs in overall points! The Kansas City Smoke (Mo Valley) won the most points for the men's competition. This event included all track and field events so we did well competing in only one event!
• July 20: Run to the Sun 5K (cave in Independence-no walking division): Floyd 1st in the 75-79 division.
• >July 27: AAU National Jr Olympics (Detroit): Kiara Bunton took the 8th place medal in the 3000 meter racewalk-congratulation
• July 27: ShowMe State Games (Columbia) 5K: Floyd Delon & Dave Couts represented HRW

August: At our August 2 meeting, Darren Anderson-Exercise Physiologist-gave a demonstration of VO2 and HRmax measurements on a treadmill, using Alan as the guinea pig. After the demo we went downstairs and celebrated the awards of Lakshmi & Santosh Dandi (with a cake)

Races:

• Aug. 2: ShowMe State Games (Columbia) 1500 meters: Fred Adams & Dave Couts represented HRW-taking Gold
• Aug. 16: Farmstead Stampede 5K: Floyd Delon carried the colors for HRW
• Aug. 17: Stroke Stroll (4 miles): Hy Vee-123rd State Line: Raj Dandi was 1st (M); Leah Luckeroth and Julie Haller were 1st & 2nd (F) in the racewalking division. Julie also took first in her age group in the running division. Alan took 2nd in the 70-74 running division.

September: Sept. 6: We had the dedication of our memorial bench in Roe Park. This park memorializes and honors special past members: Lew McNaughton, Ed Levy, Al Armstrong and Don Swegel. Remarks were made by Alan, Wayne, Floyd, and several family members, including Jean Levy and Peg Armstrong. Afterwards we had a brunch at the shelter house. The bench looks great and photos from the dedication are on our homepage. Club members and families of our late members made contributions that covered the cost ($900). Thanks to all who made contributions and those who helped with the refreshments and also the logistics in getting the bench: Tom, Forrest and Alan.

Membership: Charles Zarrelli recently joined after walking at the 50+ games. Laurie Bell also joined, although we have yet to convert her to a racewalker.

Past Races:

• Sept. 7: Head for the Cure 5K:Corp Woods-Alan and Floyd represented HRW;Alan took 1st place in the 70+ division.
• Sept. 11: Patriots Day Run (9 hours and 11 minutes): (Two-Trails Park) Olathe. We had 24 walkers on two teams: (13 on one the Avengers-2 and 11 on the Perpetual Pedestrians-2). This was an increase from the 22 that we had last year. The proceeds went to the Salvation Army. We once again got great PR, many photos on the internet, and kudos from the racing community. The Perpetual Pedestrians won by 1.5 miles over the Avengers. Awards were given by BJ the DJ. Thanks to all who made this another memorable event for HRW.
• Sept. 14: 50+ Games 5K: Olathe (Heritage Park). HRW had 7 members and good PR. Forrest Weddle took some pictures and brought some home-grown pears before the race-thanks. Larry Burch, a member who lives in the Northland was first overall. Alan worked on the organizing committee. Also competing: Charles Zarrelli, Fred Adams, Floyd Delon, Tom Young, Julie Haller, Jean Brunnenkant. Alan was the club volunteer.
• Sept. 28: Kansas Senior Olympics (Topeka): Gold medals by Nancy Perih, Jimmy Sue Sells, Julie Haller, Martie Lykens, Jean Brunnenkant, Eileen McManus, Alan Poisner, Fred Adams & Tom Young. All qualified for the National Senior Olympics which will be at Stanford next August. We are still making our club known at the nationals.
• Sept. 28: Free to Breathe 5K (Overland Park): Floyd took 2nd place in the 70+ division.

October: Oct. 4: Be-A-Walker at Shawnee Mission South. This year we had a 1600 meter (4 laps) race. Awards were given for the top three in the predicted-time event and for the top walker in the age-graded category (Martie Lykens) and to the fastest walker (Santosh Dandi). The results and pictures are posted on our homepage. Forrest Weddle used our video camera to record our walkers and we will play it back at our year-end party. The reason that we moved away from our usual 5K site at Roe Park was because another organization had reserved Roe Park for a 5K. We will decide next year what venue to use.

November: Nov. 4: We were treated at our monthly meeting to Nancy Perih telling us about her elder hostel experience in Iceland. Thanks, Nancy.

Member news: Fred Adams was remarried recently and we wish him and Betty much happiness in the coming years.

Races

• Nov. 2: Cliff Hanger 5K: We had 7 walkers and 2 volunteers at the race this year. The top walkers in the 5K: Males (Raj Dandi, Santosh Dandi, Fred Adams, Moe Lago, Chuck Zarrelli; Females (Lakshmi Dandi and Martie Lykens); we had one walker in the 8K: Alan Poisner. We also had two volunteers: Tom Young and Sarah Justice. Moe Lago walked to the race from his home (less than 1500 meters). We had the usual pancake breakfast afterwards. Fred Adams and Martie Lykens also won awards in the running division. The KC Track Club has continued their friendly cooperation with us for this race and we should continue to support it.
• Nov. 23: Gobbler Grind (5K and half-marathon). On a very cold day, HRW had three walkers on the 5K and 2 in the Half-marathon. The Dandi family walked off with the honors in the 5K (Raj, Lakshmi and Santosh, in that order. Alan and BJ Thornburg were our two in the longer race. The results should be posted soon to our home page. Rusty Collins who has worked with Alan before provided awards to the racewalkers. Lakshmi and Alan also won awards in the running division. BJ the DJ made his usual complimentary remarks about racewalking at the finish. We should continue to support this event; and they will make awards to the top 3 male and female walkers-if we can supply the numbers.

Prospects for 2009: We look forward to an exciting 2009 when HRW defends its medals and ribbons at the national stage at the National Senior Olympics, the National State Games of America, and the Huntsman World Games.

Also, we hope to expand our outreach in the KC Metro by encouraging more adult and youth walkers. We look forward to more accomplishments from our youth corps: Kiara Bunton, Lakshmi and Santosh Dandi. We will continue to keep the media advised about our activities. In the past we have been successful in being covered by TV, newspapers, radio and the internet. We hope that our current members can continue to serve as PR representatives for our club: by word of mouth and by handing out material, such as club cards. Suggestions for other forms of outreach are welcome.

With the dedicated members that we have now, there are good reasons to optimistic. I hope that we can continue observe our main club goals: Don't get hurt AND Have fun.

2007 Annual Report

Our annual party last year, was held at the home of Forrest and Ruth Weddle in Olathe. 21 members enjoyed great food and viewed some excellent video and still photography that are part of Forrest's many talents. We observed a moment of silence in honor of our late friend Al Armstrong. Awards were given to those who accumulated the most points in the past 6 months. The top two were Floyd Delon and Martie Lykens. Election results: President: Alan Poisner; Vice-President: Amy Christensen; Secretary: Sarah Justice; Treasurer, Tom Oakes

In January, Trudy Nepstad (who is here today) gave an excellent presentation of her trip to the Antarctic, along with pictures and maps. We had 27 paid-up members and about 2,000 hits on our homepage. 8 of our members took part in the New Year's Day walk-and then had breakfast afterwards. This is an annual club tradition and I invite you to join us this year.

In February, An exercise therapist spoke at our monthly meeting about the Egosque Method. Ask Jean B about it.

In March, we showed a video that Forrest took of us for feedback about technique. This was helpful and we will be doing it again. Our membership was now up to 38 and included a K-State senior, Marja Poulson. Marja has moved to Miami after graduation.

April began with the Brew to Brew 43-mile relay from Kansas City to Lawrence. HRW had two teams if 5 walkers who started at the Boulevard Brewery in KC and ended in Lawrence a few blocks from the Freestate Brewery: Walkers without Wheels (WWW) and Still to be Determined (StbD). The good (weather) news was that it was on April 1st instead of the middle of March as in past years when it was frequently really cold. The not so good news is that we walked into wind gusts that sometimes blew up to 30 miles an hour. Nevertheless, our stalwart group of walkers managed to get to the starting line before the 6:00 am beginning and reached Lawrence about 9.5 hours later, within one minute of Alan's pre-race prediction.

We had 3 veterans this year (Alan Poisner, Phil Jacobs and BJ Thornburg) and 7 rookies (Forrest & Ruth Weddle, Nancy Perih, Marja-Lisa Paulson, Kathy Dockter, Elaine Wheeler and Steve Batthauer). Nancy Perih gets credit for the most mileage for the day since she drove in from Topeka for the start and returned to KC after the race to pick up her car for the return trip. Each walker did two relay legs totaling 8-10 miles and both of our teams beat a number of running teams. Pictures of this event can be found on our home page. WWW (Red Team): Forrest & Ruth Weddle (Captains and drivers), Nancy Perih, BJ Thornburg, Steve Batthaur.

At the Trolley Run: Fred Adams, Floyd Delon, BJ Thornburg joined many thousands for the 4-mile race (no racewalking division).

May was a very busy month for our club. At our monthly meeting, Alan showed a video of a talk about Drugs used by Athletes. This was before Marian Jones had her medals taken away and Bary Bonds was indicted. Our membership had now risen to 42 and we had 2300 hits on our homepage. We had a birthday party for Tom Young who turned 90-years young. He is still an amazing

At the Steps to the Cure 5K (benefiting the Parkinson Association)., Floyd Delon, Jean Brunnenkant, Martie Lykens and Wayne Kerns carried out colors and got medals. New members included Frank & Peggy Chenoweth who live south of Wichita but wanted to joint THE Kansas Racewalking club. They have walked with us at numerous state and national senior Olympics.

The middle of May was a sad time when we lost Betty Delon, Floyd's wife and a week later we learned that Fred Adams' wife, Sherri, passed away. A number of club members attended services. We sent our condolences to both. Marja Paulson graduated from K-State. Emma Carter, our past junior superstar, graduated law school at KU and has taken a job with a law firm in Wichita (immigration law). Kiara Bunton won a race in St. Louis. Alan served as a judge in an AAU track meet in Kansas City Kansas.

A major event was when our club served as hosts for the KC Track Club's Wednesday Night Run at Leawood City park The KC Track Club members have give us kudos and thanks for our hosting. This was good PR for our club and we should consider doing this annually-as do the KC Track Club members and the KC Express. HRW participants included: Kathy Dockter, Elaine Wheeler, Forrest and Ruth Weddle, Wayne Kerns, Eileen McManus, Alan Poisner, Peggy Armstrong, Tom Oakes, Carole Price (and husband Steve).

June was also a very significant month for Heartland Racewalkers. We started off the month with a birthday party for Martie Lykens, one of the founding members of our club. Our membership has increased to 48 with the addition of Betsy Edwards and John Howard. A lot more material was put up on our homepage, including pictures and results. There have been 2500 hits so far and have included a link to 'Map my Walk.com' where members can plot out their walks and see those of others. Let me know when you have tried this.

Sadly we lost our long-time friend, Don Swegel, who finally succumbed to his bone cancer. A number of members attended his funeral and have made contributions to our Development Fund in honor of Don.

Alan and Fred did some coaching with the AAU club at the Johnson County Community College and made contact with a number of kids and adults, including the Dandi's and Lynn Gentleman. Some of the kids have now competed in regional and national races.

HRW on the radio. On June 9, Alan was on the Weekend Warrior Show on 97.3 FM. This is a weekly talk-show on sports and we had almost 25 minutes of air-time. Reports from the field indicate that it was good PR. Alan spoke with the moderator about future reports from our club and he suggested that we get Jean B and Tom Y on the show.

Fred Adams, Floyd Delon and Tom Young raced at the Missouri Senior Games in Columbia in the 1500 Meters & 5K. We had our three musketeers: doing the races on a Friday evening and Saturday morning. That was two Missourians and one Kansan-and they didn't fight with each other. Congratulations to them for continuing to show off HRW to the east-and bring home some medals. The results have been posted to our website.

On June 17, We had 8 walkers and one volunteer at the Beat the Heat: 5K. We had good PR as usual from BJ Taylor and good pics taken by Dick Ross. Walkers were: Eileen McManus, BJ Thornburg, Nancy Perih (in from Topeka), Leah Luckeroth. Ruth Weddle, Wayne Kerns, Forrest Weddle and Floyd Delon. Thanks to them for carrying the colors. We should try to get more participants next year since they continue to give medals and provide positive PR.

At the end of June (the 30th) HRW had 9 people at the National Senior Olympics-Louisville. Over 12,000 athletes from all over the country attended having won medals in their respective states. Two days later, they had the 5K race. Our speedy bunch included Eileen McManus (just a baby at 50), Jean Brunnenkant, Tom Young, Fred Adams, Floyd Delon, Nancy Perih (Topeka), Julie Haller, Martie Lykens, and Alan Poisner. Frank & Peggy Chenoweth, came in from the Wichita area (Clearwater). In the 1500 meters, HRW took 2 Gold medals, 2 Silvers, 1 bronze and several ribbons. Jean Brunnenkant won a Gold in her fourth different age division-this time in the 90-95. Alan won a Gold for the first time, surpassing the Silvers that he won in Virginia in 2004. Tom Y and Martie took Silvers and Eileen took a Bronze-a great start. Then on July 2nd, we raced the 5K at a local park (rather hilly). This time we took a Gold (Jean) 2 Silvers (Tom and Alan) and a Bronze (Eileen). We also had ribbon winners:

The rest of July wasn't as exciting but it was busy. At out monthly meeting we had a birthday party for Fred Adams and gave a report about our experience in Louisville. We now have 52 members, including Lynn Kirk from Columbia and Raj, Santosh, Lakshmi and Vijaya Dandi. The Dandi's and Kiara Bunton will be going to the nationals in Knoxville having qualified by taking top positions in the regionals in Joplin last month-Congratulations.

July 21: Sunflower Games-Topeka: Representing HRW were Nancy Perih, Alan Poisner, and Raj Dandi. All won Gold medals. It helps to be the only one in your age division. There was an extremely low turnout-only 6 total walkers in the 1500 meter race. We should get more of our members participating. This does qualify for participation in the National State Games of America which are held every two years.

July 22: Race 4 Hope 5K (Corporate Woods). We had 6 members who carried the club colors: Eileen McManus, Kiara Bunton, Jean Brunnenkant, Fred Adams, Floyd Delon and Tom Young. This race benefited the National Brain Tumor Foundation and was run by BJ the DJ.,

On July 28 HRW was again on Weekend Warrior Radio Show on 97.3 FM). This time the host interviewed Jean Brunnenkant, Tom Young and Alan about our participation in the National Senior Olympics. This was more good PR for HRW. We have some low-fidelity tapes of these radio shows and may play them if we have time.

At the end of July, Kiara Bunton and Santosh Dandi raced in the national AAU championships. Kiara took 9th place in the country in her 3K race. She is getting faster every year.

August was another busy month. We used our August meeting to practice pacing at Roe Park and had a picnic afterwards. Awards were also given for those who had accumulated the most points in the first six months of the year: Kathy Dockter, Elaine Wheeler and Martie Lykens. We now have had 2800 hits on our homepage.

>We have had a number of contributions to our Development Fund made in honor of Don Swegel and also in memory of Al Armstrong, Ed Levy, Lou McNaughton. Members can honor of any of our past members and spouses by donating directly to Heartland Racewalker. These will be acknowledged in our newsletter and to the families.

On Aug. 5: Alan took Gold medals in the 3000 and 1500 meter racewalks at State Games of America (Air Force Academy-Colorado Springs). I almost registered for figure skating. This was another huge event with 12,000 athletes competing, but this time at 6,500 feet.

On Aug. 19: We had a good group at the Stroke-Stroll (4 miles): Eileen McManus, Nancy Perih, Lynn Gentleman, Wayne Kerns, Martie Lykens, Floyd Delon.

On Aug 23, Lori Bainter had another girl, Kenda Jo. Our newest racewalker-to-be came in at 8 lbs 5 oz. In the last few weeks, Kenda has visited us accompanied by her sister Alana and Lori.

September: At our monthly meeting, Nancy Perih talked about nutrition for athletes and we also celebrated Jean's birthday. Our membership is now up to 60 and the hits on our homepage were 3005.

Newspaper coverage: An article in the KC Star about Jean and Tom finally appeared and it received wide attention with Iots of positive feedback.

Sept. 9: Head for the Cure (5K-Corp. Woods-. Alan took first place but there was no racewalking divison. If we can get enough participation next year, they will offer a racewalking division.

The big event in September was the Patriots Run-a 9 hour 11 min relay. This was a huge success with 22 members of our club participating. We had two teams of 11 and were able to have walkers from each team on the course for the entire 9 hrs and 11 min. The Perpetual Pedestrians accumulated slightly more mileage than the Avengers. Trophies were awarded to both teams. In addition, they gave out medals for the top three male and female walkers (in terms of miles walked). We got lots of positive PR from the running community at the event. We will have to decide if we want to participate next year.

Sept. 15: Air Force Marathon: Nancy Perih did her third marathon in 6 hrs 29 min. She keeps getting faster and will really show her improvement after attending the week-long racewalking camp in Florida with Dave McGovern.

Sept. 16: KC Senior Games (Olathe): 5K. HRW was represented by Fred, Steve Batthauer, Floyd, Wayne, BJ Thornburg and Jean B. All won Gold medals (each in a different division). Alan has worked on the organizing committee and is working to persuade the Jo Co Parks to find a flatter course next year. We need to improve our turnout of walkers and volunteers.

Sept. 23: Quad Cities Marathon: BJ Thornburg did this one ~6 hrs 27 min

Sept. 23: KS Senior Olympics (Topeka): 1500 meters and 5K. Only 4 HRW members entered this year. Fred, Floyd, Alan and Julie carried the colors (red and then white) and took home Gold and Silver medals. Next year is a qualifying year and we should have a much bigger participation.

October: We had our annual Be -a- Walker predicted-time 5K and it was a very successful event. There were 22 walkers and 5 volunteers : Fred,Amy, Sarah., Pamela, Julie Haller( injured Foot and Alan. Also Forrest Weddle took a lot of great pictures. Peg Armstrong helped ahead of time with refreshments and table cloths. Thanks to all who participated. The overall winner this year was Lyn Yarbough (Zero seconds off the predicted time!) Also the weather cooperated this year- kudos to the weather Gods

October 15-16: Fred, Floyd and Alan participated in the Huntsman World Games and came back with 3 Gold and 2 Silver Medals. We made a great "red'' display in Utah and made some good connections. Fred got a Gold (3K) and two Silvers; and Alan got two Golds (1500 meters and 5K). There were over 12,000 athletes at these games. The racewalkers sang Happy Birthday to Alan on the 15th after he won the 1500 meters in his age division. This is a great venue (ask any of us) and you should consider taking in this friendly event in the future (with side trips to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and even Las Vegas).

Newspaper Coverage-: The Kansas City Star placed a short description of Alan's and Fred's medals at the Huntsman Games. Alan has been in communication with Mike Fitzgerald, the assistant Sports Editor. Our progress in PR is incremental and we will just have to persevere. Alan has had several people comment to him that that they have seen the item. So it does get seen.

Oct. 28: Blue Springs Relay: We had 4 teams entered in the half-marathon relay with 3-4 on a team. The race was scored with handicaps based on age and gender. The fastest team (Eileen McManus captain) was the last after handicap adjustment. The last-place team (Nancy Perih captain) came in first after the handicap. This was almost a biblical result. The usual awards (bottles of champagne) have not been received yet but Lou Joline has promised to supply them soon. A calendar 'accident' by Phil Jacobs permitted Alan to finish the half-marathon as a solo racer and take first place in the male racers. He also used the well-known strategy of being the only one in his division.

November; At our last meeting, Gilbert Castillo from the Mo Valley USATF spoke to us about the upcoming races in Lawrence: The Mo Valley regional and the national cross-country races on Dec. 8.

Mo. Valley USATF Cross-Country race-Nov. 17 at Rim Rock course in Lawrence. We had a number of volunteers on a beautiful day in Lawrence and on a great cross-country course. Ruth & Forrest Weddle, Pamela Felton, Floyd Delon, Jean Brunnenkant and Alan helped out and earned some good PR for the club. We need more volunteers for the race next Saturday when almost 3,000 kids from all over the country will be competing. Please contact me about signing up. We only have about three so far. Volunteers will receive shirts and other goodies and will have to spend most of the morning and early afternoon at the Rim Rock course north of Lawrence. We will be carpooling again.

Nov. 4: Cliffhanger 5K was held in Moe Lago's neighborhood-a beautiful area on northeast Kansas City. The fastest finisher was Eileen followed by Fred, Moe, and Floyd. Moe, Floyd took first in the running division. Volunteers were: Alan-Tom-Phil . We all enjoyed a pancake breakfast afterwards.<.

Nov. 17: Six members served as volunteers for the Missouri Valley Youth Cross-Country championships in Lawrence on a beautiful day and a great course, lined with statues of KU running heroes, including Jim Ryan, Billy Mills and Glen Cunningham.

Nov. 18: Gobbler Grind Half-Marathon ' Corp Woods; Alan did this for the 5th year and recruited a walker from Wichita to enter (and join our club): Roger Hainey. Alan took first in the walking division and second in the running division with a time of 2:43. That was in part due to some long training walks that taken with Eileen McManus.

Nov. 27: Run to Feed the Hungry 5K: Alan was in Sacramento and entered the 5K. There were 22,000 people in the various divisions and untimed walks. He took first place in the 70-74 division with little competition.

Dec, 1. We had our annual party at the Fitness Plus facility. Awards were given to the newcomers of the year (the Dandi family), to Kiara Bunton, as the outstanding youth member, and to Kathy Dockter and Elaine Wheeler and the top point winners-for the second six-month period in a row.

Elections were held with the following results:

• President Alan Poisner
• Vice-President Forrest Weddle
• Secretary Sarah Justice
• Treasurer Tom Oakes

Alan accepted the nomination (for the 13th time) with the platform of continuing to double his salary every year. He thanked the other officers and board members for their service to the club in the past year.

DECEMBER 8: NATIONAL USATF JUNIOR OLYMPICS CROSS COUNTRY in Lawrence

We will have a number of volunteers for this large (3,000) event at the Rim Rock course.

Jan. 1: 10:00 Annual New Year's Day walk AND BREAKFAST

2008: Possible clinic by Jonathan Matthews in the spring.

Qualifying year for Senior Olympics

Another great year for HRW ahead.

Brew to Brew March 19. 2006

SEE RESULTS LINK LATER FOR OFFICIAL TIMES

On a cold and windy day, Heartland Racewalkers broke several records and made noteworthy accomplishments in this year's version of the Brew to Brew 43.2 mile relay from downtown Kansas City to Lawrence.

1. HRW fielded two teams of five walkers-a first!!
2. The two teams finished just one minute apart after almost 9 hours of walking
3. We had 3 volunteers: John Anderson, Lauriann Lund (also walkers) and Tom Oakes. Special thanks to Tom Oakes who had to stand outside in some tough conditions.
4. Susan Rico-Ahrens did three legs (she is training for a half-marathon). Great going!
5. John Anderson reached the exchange point about 30 second before his leg was to start, providing some excitement for the WWW team. He did have the pleasure of doing the leg that included an aquatic experience.
6. At the half-way point, both teams made the exchange exactly according to Alan's pre-race prediction (10:29 and 10:40).
7. The second half of the race was faster than predicted, probably because the wind was at our back AND we wanted to finish faster so we could go eat.
8. BJ Thornburg, our rookie, performed brilliantly and even had her hubby as a cheering section for part of the race.
9. Alan set a personal record by wearing 8 layers of clothing for the last leg, that still did not bring him up to the average weight of his team.
10. Because of more handicap points, the PPP team actually did prevail, but we all shared in a fun and exciting experience. We've been told that a trophy awaits the team.

PERPETUAL PEDESTRIANS PREVAIL: FINAL ADJUSTED = 529:03
Phil Jacobs, Amy Christensen, Eileen McManus, BJ Thornburg, Alan Poisner

WICKED WANDERING WALKERS: FINAL ADJUSTED = 530:23
Tom Zinchuk, Patty Zinchuk, Lauriann Lund, Susan Rico-Ahrens, John Anderson

Jeff Salvage Clinic in Kansas

May 6-7: Jeff Salvage, nationally respected racewalking coach, will present a two-day clinic in Overland Park. He has presented clinics around the country and will utilize video-taping for individual instruction. see also www.racewalk.com. For information, contact info@heartlandracewalkers.com

Award for Jean Brunnenkant

The Kansas City Sports Commission has selected Jean Brunnenkant as Senior Sportswoman of the year 2005. The WIN and UMB Bank combined to honor Jean at a luncheon celebration at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Feb. 1.

Her many Gold Medals at National Senior Olympics are just part of the record of her accomplishments. We are proud of Jean who has been an outstanding role model for racewalkers for many years and an inspiration to women of all ages.

November and December Meetings

The November meeting featured our club favorite, Jean Brunnenkant, telling us all about our feet: from structure to function and how to use them for efficient racewalking. She had us all practicing in our stocking feet. We appreciated that she knew what she was talking about-you do not win Gold medals in three different age divisions at the National Senior Olympics without excellent technique.

Later, Martie Lykens told us about her recent trip to Scandinavia and also showed us some beautiful pictures. She is the second club member who has told us about visiting Norway (Trudy Nepstad previously described her marathon experience there).

Our December 3rd meeting was our annual holiday party held at Alan's house. We had 23 members who all received awards and/or prizes. Elections: President: Alan Poisner, Vice-President: Amy Christensen, Secretary: Sarah Justice, Treasurer: Fred Adams. The state of the Club was presented and a good time was had by all.

Blue Springs Marathon Relay Oct. 23, 2005

HRW fielded two teams at the annual Marathon Relay hosted by the Blue Springs Runners: the Walking Wonders (Captain-Kathy Cairnes) and Pedestrian Power (Capt- Alan Poinser). Our teams started in the dark and finished 5 hrs and 40 min later in much warmer conditions, just 3 seconds apart. However, with the handicaps (age- and gender), Pedestrian Power came out ahead (see RESULTS link).

The traditiona award (2 bottles) willl be shared at the holiday party on Dec. 3.

Annual Be-A-Walker 5K Oct. 1, 2005

The previously rained-out 16th Annual McNaughton Be-A-Walker predicted-time 5K sponsored by the Heartland Racewalkers was held in Roe Park on Oct. 1 and this time the weatherman cooperated. Thanks to Peg Armstrong for coordinating the refreshments and to our volunteers: Peg and Al Armstrong, Fred Adams, Don Swegel, Lori Bainter-Ratzlaff, and race director Alan Poisner. Some pictures from the event can be found now at the PICTURES link at this site. The full results for all walkers will be found at the RESULTS link. Medals were awarded to the winners in the predicted-time race and the top age-graded finishers will also be recognized. The most outstanding result was the 85.3% age-graded finish for Jean Brunnenkant, who once again showed why she is the national champion. We also want to acknowledge the performance of 11-year-old Kiara Bunton who was entering her first 5K race (longer than the distance usually entered for athletes in this age division). We also want to recognize first-time racewalkers Susan Rico-Ahrens and Jennifer Gallagher. Most of our walkers greatly overestimated their walking time indicating that they were actually faster than they realized.

Winners in the predicted-time 5K:

1. Amy Christensen -15 sec
2. Virginia Harmer -17 sec
3. Sue Knapp -21 sec
4. Kiara Bunton +21 sec

Tops in the age-graded finishers:

1. Jean Brunnenkant 85.3% (GOLD MEDAL CALIBER)
2. Eileen McManus 69.4%
3. Kiara Bunton 68.3%

Tops in actual finishing time:

1. Eileen McManus 33:29 (Excellent time for this course)
2. Virginia Harmer 34:05
3. Kiara Bunton 35:53

Kansas Senior Olympics

On a warm September day, HRW supplied 5 walkers for the Kansas Senior Olympics in Topeka at Hummer Park. BJ Thornburg and Julie Haller garnered medals in their very first state games; while Bobbie Thrutchley, Floyd Delon and Alan Poisner added to their previous collections.

The 1500 meter race was held at 10:00 am and included the national masters 55-59 champion Mike Wiggins who blasted to a 7:28 finish. At 12:30 (and about 90 degrees) the 5K had many fewer competitors. BJ, Julie and Alan braved the midday sun (just like mad dogs and Englishmen).

The results will be found at the RESULTS link of the homepage.

>Kansas City Senior Games

In between periods of thunder and lightning, the Kansas City Senior Games 1500-meter racewalk was held at the Bishop Miege high school track on Sept. 18, 2005. This was the inaugural year for racewalking and it was exciting. 11 walkers braved the conditions and were well served by a group of volunteers: Sarah Justice, Amy Christensen, Lori Bainter-Ratzlaff, Carla MacMillan and race director Alan Poisner. In addition Mary Lee brought in 3 other judges from Lawrence who made it an official racewalk event. Thanks to them all. The results are/will be displayed in the �Results� link. We also want to thank Chad Tower and Jennifer Spellman for doing most of the organizing for the Johnson County Parks & Recreation Dept

Portland to Coast Race

HRW members Carol Goslin and Alan Poisner were on the winning team at the 128-mile Portland to Coast Relay Aug. 26-27. Their team, Portland to Chaos, consisted of 6 men and 6 women in the 40+ age division and finished the journey from Portland through the coast mountains to the coast in less than 23 hours.

There were 315 teams of walkers (most with 12 members) and the race was the same weekend as the Hood to Coast race with 1,000 running teams Each walker did two legs of about 4-8 miles each with about 11 hours in between.

Carol and Alan were tired but excited to be on the team that not only won their divison but also arrive at the coast before all of the other team. Actual results will be shown on the Results link.

August races

HRW was active at two races in August. The FLAG Run 5K on Aug. 20 and the Stroke Stroll and Run on Aug. 21. The FLAG run was wet and muddy for Amy Christensen, Tom Young, Julie Haller, Martie Lykens, Fred Adams, John Slate, Cliff Hunter and Sue Knapp. Sarah Justice and Alan Poisner as volunteers.

The Stroke Stroll and Run 4-mile race on Aug. 21 was dry but somewhat hilly. HRW was represented by Bonnie Downs, Floyd Delon, John Slate, Sarah Justice, Bev Sherwood, BJ Thornburg, Jean Brunnenkant, Carole, Price and Amy Christensen. Alan Poisner served as the course monitor and record keeper and photographer. See Results and Pictures links.

National Senior Olympics June 13-15, 2005

HRW won 5 medals and 3 ribbons at the Senior Olympics in Pittsburgh. Results of the 5K and 1500 meter races will be posted to the results link. Special congratulations to Martie Lykens who won a medal in her very first national event.