The Pace Setter - Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club

Pr~of~R.wtnerMICHAEL WASHCDWhat is your occupation, background, age,hobbies, and other sports or other interests?I currently work as a mental health counselorat Hudson Valley Community College. Ialso adjunct teach at The College of Saint Rosein their Masters Counseling program. This pastyear at HVCC we established a 1st ever peereducation program of its kind called ProjectAware. Our students have been very activewithin the community, and have won severalnational awards for their work. Working withstudents and teaching is truly a passion ofmine. I'm 31 years old and moved to the areain 1997 to attend college at UAlbany. While atUAlbany I obtained my BS in Sociology, MSin Rehabilitation Counseling, and participatedon the track & field team for 2 years. I was alsoan active member of the Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity,and an active volunteer for the NationalAlliance for Mental Illness while in college.I'm a huge college basketball fan coming fromSyracuse. Even though I live in Albany, I'mstill a season ticket holder and attend gamesboth in Syracuse and during the NCAA tournament.Along with Syracuse, the Yankees keepme pretty glued to the TV as well. For the last6 years I've run a co-ed softball team duringthe summer which has participated in severaldifferent leagues and tournaments throughoutAlbany. It's been an amazing experience andgiven me the opportunity to learn some valuableskills and to hang out with friends I maynot see as often as I would like.When and how did you get started running?I first started running in middle school,and did so up until my junior year of college. Inever had a large group of friends growing upand often had a hard time fitting in. Because Iwas very good at running/sprinting however, itgave me the opportunity to participate on multipleteams (football, cross-country, indoor/outdoortrack) and opportunities to meet people.I honestly believe running has been the oneconstant in my life that I could always fall backon when I needed a lift.Do you have a favorite race or races?It's hard to put my finger on one particularevent. After I quit running my junior year incollege I picked up smoking. Up until this pastOctober, I had been an active smoker. Sincequitting, running (again) has given me the motivationto remain smoke-free. Each race inmy mind gives me a reason to not start again;something to look forward to. So to answer thequestion, I guess every race is my favorite becauseIt's reminding me of what I truly enjoydoing and to remain a non-smoker.What are your most memorable races?I have to say my most memorable race thispast year was directing my own SK event, RaceAway Stigma SK. The purpose ofthe event wasto raise awareness of mental health stigma,and to offer local area runners an affordable,unique, and fun opportunity to participate inrunning. What was so memorable for me wasthe odds and doubts against us in putting thisevent together. We pulled it off with great success,and once again through running taughtme some valuable lessons. I also met somegreat people and new friends in both the runningcommunity and greater capital region.HMRRC and ARE in particular.How do you train? Do you have trainingpartners?Training is pretty hit or miss because of mybusy schedule. I try and get out a few timesa week and participate in as many events aspossible. I also feel you need variety in yourlife in terms of training. Playing Nintendo Wii,softball, walking, eating correctly, it all helps inthe long run and you never get bored.What are your current goals?Keep improving for the future yet enjoy thepresent (both ill running and life).Do you have any future running goals?My current goals for the upcoming seasonare to become a little bit more competitivetimewise, and to meet more people within therunning community. I was very competitive inhigh school and college but need to remindmyself constantly I'm not 18 anymore, and wasnot running for several years. It's been a processbut I'm looking forward to the upcomingseason.Do you have a philosophy of running?Stay within yourself. Every race I constantlyremind myself that I'm looking to improve bothmy overall time and pace. I'm running againstmyself and not anyone else. It's also all abouthaving FUN and maintaining my health goals.Any funny stories?I'm still amazed at what a complete strangerwill tell you during a race, or what I'll hear othersdiscussing during an event. I wish I couldsay what many of these conversations are butI'm sure many of you know what I'm talkingabout, 101. 0Pace Setter Writerand Reporter GroupNow FormingThe Pace Setter staff is seeking to organizegroups of reporters and writers interested inparticipating in the development of articlescovering HMRRC races. The role of the reporters,who would be present at the race aseither a participant/spectator/or volunteer,would be to organize their race observations,interviews of race participants/overall and agegroup winners/race director, into short but organizedparagraphs. The reporters' contributionswould then be organized by a writer intoan article for The Pace Setter. This approachwill allow for individuals who may have aninterest in writing an article, but who are otherwiseunable to attend a race, to work withthe reporters' contributions to complete an articlefor publication. The goal is for all HMRRCraces to receive coverage while also increasingopportunities for interested individuals to contributeto The Pace Setter while not necessarilycovering an entire event alone. If an individualis interested in covering the whole race, thenthat approach is also still welcome.Each writer or reporter will receive 10 volunteerpoints for their contribution and eachindividual will receive byline recognition. Thevolunteer registration link now has a link forwriters/reporters interested in working withThe Pace Setter to register and this list will beused to organize coverage for upcoming races.Direct inquiries can also be sent to pacesetterarticles@nycap.rr.com.There is a request thatregistered volunteers commit to covering oneHMRRC race per year as this will enable bettercoverage for the races. Everyone is encouragedto register and participate! 0The Pace Setter - 19