The regular meeting of the Nittany Valley Running Club was held on Tuesday, August 5 at Governor's Park in Bellefonte in conjunction with the Annual Picnic. Despite the rain, there was a decent turnout of about 20-30 people. Bob and Christine Rice hosted the shindig by providing food and doing most of the cooking. Several people brought side dishes and desserts to share. Pam Scott brought some of the best dang fudge in the universe. I had two pieces, and as I told Pam, I don't even *like* fudge!

Not much business was conducted. After everyone ate, Marty Mazur got up and reeled off some of the Club news of note. The Arts Fest race did well despite the heat and some course snafus. The course was fine, but we need to more thoroughly mark it next year. The *really* slow 10K runners tend to lose sight of anyone ahead of them, and then wander off the course. And we need more volunteers. And more water. Also, based on reports, I think it would be wise to move the finish back closer to the baseball park. The reason we moved it to IM was to avoid strung-out lines of runners crossing University late in the race. But that meant finishers had a quarter-mile+ hike back to the stadium after the race. Dave Eggler reported that the race did well enough for us to be able to augment the Sue Crowe Memorial Fund by $500.

The Annual Herbie's Home "Town Loop" extravaganza (that's what it's getting to be) is going to be August 16. It's a day of family activities honoring the memory of Jeremy Herbstritt, who was killed at Virginia Tech. The only competitive event will be a 4-mile race through the streets of Bellefonte. But there will also be a 16 mile bike ride, a canoe/kayak ride, activities for kids, music, and other events. Information is on the web site. Volunteers are needed. Kim Gasper announced that the Herbstritt family is directing that all proceeds from both Herstritt races (spring campus race and summer Bellefonte event) will go toward getting Bellefonte High School a new track.

The following weekend's Sunday, August 24, is the Run For The Fallen. It's a 5K race and 1/2-mile walk organized in conjunction with a larger, national level event that will honor the memory of soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Proceeds will go to several charities that aid the families of casualties of those wars. Information is on the web site.

NVRC performance shirts have sold well. The women's sizes all run a bit smaller than most of those ordering them expected. We'll try to accommodate up-sizing. We will likely order long sleeve shirts in the Fall.

Mike Casper reminded us of his second annual fun run in Tussey to "Greet the Dawn". It'll be Saturday, August 9, at 5 AM from the Tussey Ski Area parking lot. Bring a flashlight! Mike also updated us on some new films added to the Xtreme Running Film Series. These films are shown on some Wednesday evenings at Appalachian Outdoors. Details on the web site. Mike has also been involved in helping organize races for next year's calendar. A race director is still needed for the spring campus Herbstritt race. Mike also mentioned that the Tussey race is coming along. There's still time to get a team together if you want to run. And he could sure use some volunteers.

Evan Casper got up and talked for a few minutes. At 2, the kid sure has a lot to share.

Finally, Dave DeGroote and Marty Mazur will be rolling out the new web site in a few days. It's going to have a lot of new features. But as with anything new, we expect a few snafus. Be patient!

Next Meeting: October 7.