Yes, as you can tell from the recent postings all loaded with links to the BAA’s website, the Boston Marathon rapidly approaches. The club has reserved the standard room at the Lenox – ask for the CCAC or John Worgan’s room at the front desk – and all club members are welcome to unwind, recover and shower in a nice, downtown room amidst all the action. The Falmouth Track Club’s room is just down the hall so expect all kinds of Cape Cod festivities at the Lenox. We’ve also culled a list of every registered Cape Codder so you can track your runner – let us know if we’ve missed a name or two – and will post finishing times after the BAA compiles the results. If you’re running, don’t forget to visit your CCAC volunteer friends too; several will be out on the course, Cathy Whitelaw and friends will be working the food distribution, and Geof and Becky Newton will be at a new Gatorade station in the finish system. See you in Boston!

Each year around this time, my thoughts turn to Boston. Writing this for the Cape Cod Athletic Club, this of course elicits a big "duh" for anyone reading and even for the person writing it.

I think of Johnny Kelley. Again, "Gee, ya’ think?"

But here’s the thing; I think of Johnny as a young man, cruising painfully home, still striding strong through the physical and emotional burn of winning and losing. I also think of him smiling in the Dennis sunshine, an old man who seemed to do nothing but look at the positive, hopeful side of life.

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Team Big Fix, anchored by the CCAC’s Virginia Ryan, will be headed to Boston in a few short days. In advance of their tour from Hopkinton to Boston, they’ll be sponsoring a fundraiser in support of Cape Cod’s NOAH Center and other housing assistance efforts on the Cape. Join them on 15 April at Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub in Hyannis from 5-7PM for live entertainment, refreshments, raffles, and other fun. Contact Virginia at 508.771.5400 for more information.

With summer right around the corner, club members Joe Weinberger and Annie Gibbons invite you to “get fit, lose weight, reduce stress” at their annual 10 week running clinic. Focusing on beginners and intermediate runners, the program officially begins on 17 April at the Johnny Kelley Park in South Dennis at 8:30AM and culminates at the 5K Run For The Arts in June. The beginner’s program will transition you from walking to running continuously for 30 minutes and the intermediate program is designed for runners already logging regular 30 minute runs who want to increase their speed or endurance. Since many school vacations begin the weekend of the 17th, coaches Joe and Annie are offering a ‘free’ day this Saturday, 10 April. Come run, learn about the program, and get 11 weeks for the price of 10! For more information, contact Annie Gibbons at 508.237.0595 or Joe Weinberger at 508.394.3012.