Author Archives: dcreamer

By David Freeze

Sheriff Travis Allen has become a regular at the races over the last few months. Here’s his story and why running is working for him.

Not a stranger to running, Allen said, “I would use running to lose weight or try to get fit, off and on but never consistently. While a young deputy, I would run in order to stay in shape for the SRT/SWAT team, but most of my running adventures would end in a few weeks due to injury from doing too much too early. But just putting in the ear buds and disengaging from life for a few minutes helps me keep getting better and healthier. I have Type 2 diabetes and running really helps that. Good Brooks shoes from Ralph Baker and compression socks have so far kept the knots and injuries away.”

A competitive person by nature, Allen loves the challenge and chasing goals associated with running. He said, “Running is much more enjoyable when done with others, and I have met several new friends that drive that competitive spirit. Running my own race, I just want to get better each week and catch the one in front of me. And then the next, but often I am the one getting passed. The races are a great way to support our local charities.”

Allen is 53 and started back exercising on Dec. 27 with speed walking. He now runs four days a week with about four miles a day, totaling 215 miles since his restart. Wanting to avoid injury and a return to the couch because of it, Allen said, “My goal is to run a sub-30-minute 5K by end of summer, knocking off 2 minutes and 30 seconds to make that goal. I don’t have any aspirations for longer runs until I lose a little more weight. If I lose about 25 more pounds, longer races might be in the future.”

Allen met Joel Whittington, another restarting runner, at the Will Run for Food 5K. He said, “I kept Joel and a woman in sight and reeled in the woman, but Joel kept adjusting his pace to stay ahead of me. I finally got him this past Saturday at the Mt. Hope 5K, after Joel had gone to his church and told friends he ran from the law and the sheriff couldn’t catch him. These are the types of encounters and new friends that make races so much fun.”

Competing against the clock and himself, Allen runs each week to beat his best time. He has recently been training on hills to maintain his intended pace. Allen joins Salisbury Police Chief Patrick Smith and previous Sheriff Kevin Auten as those who see the benefits of running and finding time to spend alone. Allen still is just a phone call away should any concern arise.

A lifelong resident of Rowan County, Allen was born and raised in the Woodleaf area. His family currently lives near Mount Ulla and the Millbridge community. After picking tomatoes as a teen at Wetmore Farms, Allen calls himself an old country boy at heart. His wife of 31 years, Michelle, is currently teaching at North Hills after about 20 years in the public schools. She has always taught art.

The Allens have four children. Daughter Kaitlyn is married and lives in Concord. At 28, she flies the Airbus for United Airlines. Oldest son Avery is a N.C. Wildlife officer assigned to Richmond County. Middle son Bradley is 22, married and living in Mooresville, is in sales. Youngest son Wesley is 16 and a 10th grader.

Allen said, “I hope the community enjoys me being on the roads and at the races. I enjoy the citizens of our county. Even if I can’t catch them.” I think he’ll catch more of them soon.

Up next week is the popular West Rowan Bible Teachers Association 5K and Fun Run at West Rowan Elementary School, starting at 9 a.m. on April 6. Proceeds pay for Bible teachers in the schools. Sheriff Allen is already training on the course.

Look for the WRBTA races and others ahead at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org.

By David Freeze

Things are much different with races these days from when I began running in 1979. 5Ks are all the rage now and there are lots of choices within an hour’s drive. Forty-five years ago, we often drove 2 or more hours to find a race and 8K, 10K and 10 milers were popular. The 5K was usually the secondary race if it was even offered. Walkers seldom participated then, but last week’s 5K at Concordia Lutheran Church Love Thy Neighbor event had them as about a third of the field. Races were affordable nearly everywhere, but today’s pricing often tops $40-45. There were no participation medals then, but now the biggest city races nearly all have them. But good races had accurate courses and they still should.

In the ’80s and early in the ’90s, we didn’t have as many ways to measure the distance of the race or a run of any length. The best way to get an idea of the distance was to drive the course and hope the vehicle odometer was calibrated correctly. Nobody had satellite-capable watches like the industry standard Garmins that arrived on the scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

I believe that these Garmins are the best satellite watches on the market, but still they are not totally accurate. Neither are popular sites like MapMyRun and Strava. It is very common for a new race to call with the idea of already having their course mapped out. Or that they have drawn it on GIS. None of these methods are recognized as accurate by the Road Runners Club of America or the United States Association of Track and Field. All this will come as a shock to a large percentage of runners, and at least one race director in a nearby county who still drives his car over the course for a measurement.

So, how do we get an accurately measured course? It starts with a solid wheel on a handle, one that can be rolled along ahead of someone walking the course. Called wheel measurers, they measure feet and inches. The wheel is solid, not air inflated. This wheel or a Jones Counter, a bicycle mounted measurer, are all that are recognized as accurate. With the Jones Counter, the bicycle tires have to be calibrated for air pressure. No wonder the measuring wheel is the easiest to use device.

When setting up a course, either the start or finish point have to be chosen by the race director as most important. The 5K course can be measured forward or backward, and I usually measure forward if the start line is the most important while going backward if the finish is most important. By measuring backward, I would measure the .1 of the 3.1 total course first and then measure the third mile next, then 2 and 1. Each mile is 5,280 feet. That figure never changes. A tenth is 528 feet. A 5K course is 16,368 feet. Each of these points are marked with paint and occasionally with an old-style bottle cap secured with a nail driven into pavement.

Next most important to the actual distance is that the course be measured the way an experienced runner would run it. In other words, to match the shortest distance possible over the designated course. This term is called “running the tangents.” Legal, proper and expected.

There is a certain amount of math that complicates an intended course when it is not an out and back to a point that includes both the start and finish. A few of our local courses end several hundred feet from the start. Sometimes a turnaround point has to be calculated, and always should be marked and designated with a big cone or barrel. It gets to be even more interesting when different roads, called a loop, are used to return to the start or finish.

The next time you line up to walk or run a 5K or any distance race, remember that someone put a lot of effort into making the course accurate. Rowan County courses have a great reputation on this subject.

Look for future events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org