Happenings – Page 4 – HappyCapeCod

Run the Cod Challenge Part 1

The placemat in the background is one of six from 1984 and one of my favorite items in our home.

Author’s Note: I never thought this would be the case, but I am a runner. It happened by chance, mostly because of my friend Frank’s family connection to the Ragnar Relay races. The challenging distances, mildly competitive divisions, team format and focus on fun, quality and travel, was a great place to start a running career. I graduated onto a few marathons (my first being the Cape Cod Marathon), a handful of halfs, and a bunch of local 10K and 5Ks. I regularly run in three local races each year, otherwise, I keep an eye out for a new race, location, or challenge to keep running fun, fresh and exciting.

All smiles on leg 1 of my first Ragnar Relay Cape Cod. And I made their photo gallery!

My “I’m a runner realization” dawned on me when people started asking questions about running and seeking input on topics from injury prevention, to gear, to training plans, to the race best bling/swag. One running buddy recently told me about a long standing running challenge she was 1/3 of the way through – Run 169 Towns Society. Not long ago, I had no idea what that meant other than knowing there are 169 towns and cities in Connecticut. She quickly filled me in that this particular challenge is to complete a timed running race in every town (169) in Connecticut. My friend is in her 30s and has already run a race in over 1/3 of the towns. Runners join the group before completing the feat, critical to figuring out how to find a race in some of the smaller rural towns where there may only be one race offered. As she explained the upcoming town races, her excitement was contagious. Later that day, I thought more about the concept of completing races in a specific geographic location and then the lightbulb went off, why not do this in my favorite place in the world, Cape Cod!

Run the Cod Challenge Part 1-The Challenge.

All jokes before starting my first marathon – Cape Cod Marathon in Falmouth.

Have you ever wanted to visit a Cape Cod town you’ve never been to, but was not sure “what to do” when you arrived? Well, if you are a runner, plan your next visit around the town’s road race. With Run 169 Town Society (CT) roots in mind, this running challenge is similar: run (or walk) a timed road or trail race in all 15 Cape Cod towns, the 2 islands and 1 off-Cape town (can’t forget our friends on the other side of the canal). Only then, have you Run the Cod!

Since the initial “light bulb moment,” I determined there were three pieces of the research puzzle that needed to be assembled. First, I needed to know if any existing local running clubs, athletic groups, or any social media savvy south shoreline runners claimed this feat or promoted a similar series/challenge. I found none. Check. Second, I needed to make sure it was even logistically possible to run a road race in every Cape Cod town. It is. Though, as expected, a few towns only offer two events per year, and many events are so small, registration pages are not set up (since permits are not yet acquired) until shortly before the race. Check. The bottom-line; no one is doing this, yet it can be done. As Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother would say, “[Cod] Challenge accepted!”

Feeling a little tired after finishing the Cape Cod Marathon in Falmouth.

The final bit of information needed was to list – and make a calendar of – all the races in each town to get a sense of the schedule. At last count, there are over 70 races on Cape Cod, the Islands as well as plenty off-Cape, particularly in Plymouth. Races are spread through the busy summer tourist season as well as shoulder seasons as part of a local celebration or annual event (Wellfleet Oysterfest hosts a 5K, New Year’s Day celebrations hosts “First Day 5ks,” some pubs host their own timed fun run, etc.), and can be a big economic driver for the host town. Check.

This challenge is a great way for runners and lovers of Cape Cod to better understand each town’s history, community and cultural identity while supporting the economy through lodging, shopping, eating and drinking (fun will be had by all). Additionally, most road races tend to have a local nonprofit partner or charitable program, which benefits from the net proceeds. That’s right, in addition to supporting the business community, you are also supporting a good cause and helping those in need. Even better! And of course, running requires a little motivation and physical activity so on top of it all, you are getting in those steps and burning off those chowder calories. Winning!

Team Monomoy Legs Tired (“Man-are-my-legs-tired was the idea) at the finish line of our first Ragnar Relay Cape Cod in 2013.

So, if you are up for traveling to – or around – Cape Cod, exploring every town, clipping on a running bib, and bringing some friends along, then join me in accepting the Run the Cod Challenge. As Barney Stinson would also say, “It’s gonna be legendary!”

Run the Cod Challenge Part 2 will feature a list of Cape, Islands and off-Cape road races. (Finding and linking all the race websites is proving to be a labor of love!)

Happy Running on Cape Cod!

Pride of the Chatham A’s: Cornhole Boards

Pride of the Chatham A’s: Cornhole Boards

About this time one year ago, my friend Matt (well, in this case, “frienenemy” Matt, more on that later), was building his own custom cornhole boards. Three years earlier, I had done the same thing with my neighbor, now friend Tom, when we both first moved into the neighborhood. Side bar: There is no better way to bond with your new neighbor by building your very own cornhole boards together. The combination of playing with power tools, making supply runs, and celebrating small successes with a cold one was plain old fun. I highly recommend building your own boards if you have the time.

Rustic looking cornhole boards fresh off construction.

Now frenenemy Matt’s architectural plans called for a customized paint job of the logos of his, and his wife Kate’s, college alma maters. Since the boards neighbor Tom and I built took a little longer than we told our better halves to expect, construction was our only goal. A paint job would have to wait – 3 years. While I’ve always wanted to paint the boards, I never gave much thought to settling on a theme, logo and colors. At first, I liked the rustically toned, barren wood look; it kind of fit into our woodsy backyard. It later dawned on me while ‘tossing bags’ in our Chatham front yard, to make the theme of the boards the one and only Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod Baseball League. That was one year ago.

Not only was paintings the boards after the Chatham A’s fitting for where they are used most, but due to the uniqueness of appreciation for the Cape League, these boards may literally be one of a kind. Although, Cape League Cornhole Boards were announced for sale earlier this spring on Twitter, so mass production of individual team themed cornhole boards could be coming. But that’s not the point. I made these boards with my own hands, and hands of my wife (ellen) neighbor friend (tom), and frienenemy (matt) – he’s an Orleans Firebirds fan, ugh — and have many humorous stories to tell of each step in the project.

My summer hero, A’s Mike Daniels, 1989 season.

My appreciation for the Cape Cod Baseball League stems from the 1980s while attending one of their week-long youth baseball clinics. The clinics are half-day camp for the 8-14 year old avid baseball players, whose parents needed a deserved break. I loved every moment of that week. I didn’t mind getting up early or running in the heat because the coaches are all current Chatham A’s players. Big Brothers. Heroes. And remember, 1 in every 6 Cape league players gets called up to the show so getting coached by future major leaguers is pretty cool. My dad even bought a dozen donuts for the coaches the last day of the clinic to show his appreciation for returning a happy (i.e., tired) child.

To this day, one of my favorite memories was the conditioning drill at the end of the day where the group is divided evenly; one group on home plate as the “batter,” the other group on second base, as the “baserunner.” On the whistle, the first batter ran down the line, rounded first and ran into second base mimicking hitting a double; while the baserunner did the opposite; ran to third, then to home plate mimicking scoring from second base. Once the runner touches the base/plate, the next person in their line repeats the play until everyone in line is on the opposite side of the infield. It’s race – and I was the anchor in the second base group. When my turn came, our team was a good 2-3 seconds off the pace, and somehow, I dug deep (likely to impress the future stars of Major League Baseball-MLB) and made up the time just to cross the plate before my opponent reached second! My teammates and coaches screamed and cheered, the latter excited likely due to $20 and a case of beer on the line for the winning team. We won. As an eight-year old kid, getting high fives from my teammates, many older than me, and Cape League player-coaches was the best reward. My loyalty and pride for the Chatham A’s is still strong after all these years.

The Cape Cod teams are run by volunteers – amazing when you think about how polished the product. Since games are free to attend, teams rely heavily on donations from fans, merchandise sales as well as a $100,000 grant from MLB. Hold that thought as we bounce back to my cornhole boards…

The big decision that faced me was which logos to paint on the boards. For a quick trip down memory lane, over half of the ten team league used to be or is named after a major league franchise (though in some cases, the Cape team name predated the MLB team name). Why does this matter? Because MLB trademarked the names first. In 2008, MLB decided to enforce their trademark law, preventing Cape teams from using certain vendors for their merchandise sales (merchandise sales count for about 1/3 of their revenue), essentially forcing Cape Cod teams to choose between maintaining a link with the major leagues and remaining true to their hometown heritage.

Three of the six teams caved to the pressure from MLB, including Chatham (formerly A’s, now Anglers), Hyannis (formerly Mets, now Harbor Hawks), and Orleans (formerly Cardinals, now Firebirds). In Chatham’s case, team officials smartly chose “Anglers”, a name with a strong cultural reference to the town’s maritime history and current industry, plus the name starting with the letter “A” provided clever branding similar to how their old “A’s” logo was used. Three other teams, Bourne Braves, Harwich Mariners, and Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox kept their hometown heritage but could not use the full team name in any merchandise sales. Their uniforms/t-shirts could only read “Harwich” or “Mariners,” but cannot be used together. All Cape teams have come to terms with MLB with their logos and names, but must pay a royalty fee on all merchandise sold. That’s right folks, MLB squeezing dollars from an all volunteer organizations! I doubt this is a surprise to anyone, but certainly a good example of what is wrong with professional sports and how the Cape league provides a solid alternative.

Limited edition “lost” Chatham A’s logo, circa mid-90s.

At this point, you may be asking what’s with all the history and background? Because I used a lost Chatham A’s logo for one of the boards. So perhaps the boards will subtly point out or lead to a conversation of the ridiculous MLB trademark issue while providing a fun outdoor activity. Now that I think about it, because of the trademark issue, individual Cape Cod team cornhole boards are probably not likely.

The lost Chatham logo chosen was actually a special edition logo that featured a circus-elephant holding a baseball bat, with the original “A’s” logo on a banner resting on its back. I have no idea who came up with the concept, or what it has to do with Chatham, but solving the mystery is on my summer to do list. Someone at Veteran’s Field knows the answer. The practical challenge of painting this logo on one of the two boards was that there was no clear copy of the image on the internet. I only had my cherished cap (signed by unknown players under the brim). I finally stumbled upon a blurry green version of the logo online. But that was it.

Frenemy Matt enlarged the blurry green logo by using a projector to then trace the image onto the primed board. The same process was used for the painting of the second board, the current logo. The time-lapse series of photos shows below how long and who helped make these boards. I thank Ellen, Matt and Tom for their proficiency with power tools, projectors and paintbrushes. I remain beyond happy with the finished product. The cornhole boards are now ready for prime time at Veteran’s Field for the 2018 season – and will make their game day debut on Saturday, June 16.

Following a final coat of sealer, I posted a picture of the final product on Twitter and tagged many associated with the team – Chatham Anglers media, broadcasters Cooper Boardman and Josh Schaefer and beat writer Peter Warren inviting them for a pre-game toss. While I watch most games from our spot along the bank behind center field in camping chairs, I am open to re-locating to the dugout level with the boards to make it part of the fan activities. Maybe start a fun competition in between innings for a chance to win that MLB licensed team apparrel!

The vintage and current A’s logo cornhole boards. See you in Center field.

Leaving Cape Cod in a Better Place Than You Found It

Leaving Cape Cod in a Better Place Than You Found It

Picking up on one reason I started writing – “I remain inspired by people who not only care deeply about their communities, but take action and give back, so that everyone benefits,” – to highlight people giving back with the hope others will follow. In the spirit of Sydney Sheldon, these people are “trying to leave the Earth in a better place than when they arrived.”

First off, thank you to the Cape Cod Chronicle and Cape Cod Times for choosing to cover this kind of work. The missions of nonprofit organizations – their work enhancing our shared quality of life – brings people together for a common purpose that benefits everyone in the long run. Whether donations of time, money, in-kind gifts, or connections, regular people’s actions have the ability to make a difference. Remember that. It’s hard not to feel good knowing many businesses, residents and visitors are working to improve our community.

CARE for the Cape and Islands – Volunteering on Vacation

Rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty is a great way to give back. Recently, a team of 50 volunteers from CARE for the Cape and Islands spent the day ‘sprucing-up’ the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center (CMMC). Volunteers cleared trails, weeded gardens, removed debris along the grounds as well as painted and cleaned the interior, the half-day of service helping ready the CMMC for another season. For similar clean-up days, CARE choses locations that both visitors and residents can experience, cultivating awareness of natural resources and local history that creates a connection and deeper appreciation of the land and environment.

CARE is designed to empower residents and visitors to take joint ownership in preserving the beauty, ecology and culture of the Cape and Islands. Now in it’s fifth year, the focus on sustainable travel connects the Cape’s fragile ecosystem with its significant place in American history. Both are reasons people visit and chose to stay on Cape Cod, and connecting the two provides a more enriching, if not rewarding, experience.

Here are a few more cool projects you can support with CARE (pun intended!):

Beach Trash to Treasure on Nantucket. Do to growth in amounts of trash
Beach and ocean trash ‘up-cycled’ into artwork for sale.

finding its way onto beaches and into the ocean, a Nantucket-based artist is turning trash into art while raising awareness on up-cycling (reuse in such a way that produces a higher quality of original material) and conservation. Why this is a problem? Plastic is finding its way into the human food chain through micro plastics found in the fish we eat. Everyone should think about that for more than a moment, and appreciate the implications of this reality. Because we can’t see this happening, it’s hard to know what to do about it, let alone think about it. To reduce our use of plastics, we just need to make small behavior changes. For example, choose stainless steel water bottles, use glassware for food storage, pressure your barista to use paper cups (many already do), bring reusable bags shopping (grocery, retail, etc), tell your waiter not to put a straw in your drink, find wood-handled toothbrushes (they exist!), or remember to pack silverware on picnics. We must remove plastic litter from the environment.
Provincetown Sidewalk Buttlers. Worthy goal, keeping cigarette butts off the street and out of the waste stream. Why this is a problem? During International Coastal Clean-Up Day, over 1.8 million cigarette butts were removed from beaches. So-called sidewalk “buttlers” have been installed in high traffic areas in downtown Provicetown to not just collect the butts, but to recycle and compost the materials.
Coloring Book for Kids from the Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance. Learning through coloring is a great way for children (and adults) to become stewards of the ocean. Get yours today!
For visitors, another way to make a difference on your next vacation is to choose your lodging based on their environmental commitment. Some B&Bs, hotels and motels donates a portion of room fees of guests who choose environmentally friendly options (classically, choosing not to have towels or sheets changed), sharing the commitment to conservation. It may take a little longer to book your next stay, but can make a difference.

Indeed, the Cape and Islands provide a character we must preserve. “And it takes change to stay the same.”

Cape Sea Grille Raises Money for Harwich Conservation Trust

The business community is an essential partner in keeping our community healthy, vibrant and welcoming to everyone. A few weeks ago, the Cape Sea Grille hosted the Annual Spring Wintetasting Dinner to benefit the land-saving work of the Harwich Conservation Trust. Land trusts seek to preserve land and open space that protects water resources, scenic views, wildlife habitat, and other natural features that define the environment. It’s hard to imagine the landscape of Cape Cod without the work of land trusts and other environmentally focused organizations. Like many nonprofit organizations, they need support.

While I did not attend the Winetasting Dinner, I learned that it sold out weeks prior to the event and may just quality for an evening not to be missed. While $125 per person may seem steep, the money raised supports a cause that is priceless – our natural resources. Not only are Cape Sea Grille owners Jen and Doug Ramler to be thanked, other local businesses supported the event with donations of food and wine. Extended thanks to Ed and Susan Ring or Ring Brothers Produce, Dave Carnes of Chatham Fish and Lobster, Matt O’Brien of William & CO., Matt Schultz of Classic Wines (Martignetti), Lynne Barnard of Horizon Beverage, Don Mitchell or Ideal Wines, Carol Bosch of MS Walker and Robert Roettig of Ruby Wines. I hope to see you next year.

Nauset Disposal Partnership with The Center for Coastal Studies to Support the Right Whale Emergency Initiative (the Center)

If you want to actually see whales on your next whale watch, please join the 1,000 Friends of Right Whales – right now (pun always intended). The Nauset Disposal and Center for Coastal Studies to Support the Right Whale Emergency Initiative intends to raise $100,000 to help support the Right Whale Emergency Initiative. The North Atlantic right whales are among the rarest of all marine animals, and the birth rate (5 in 2017) is falling well short of combatting the death rate (50 since 2010). With an estimated population of (only) 430 individual right whales, with less than 100 being breeding females, the population is indeed endangered. We have an obligation to take action and the ability to protect the species.

The initiative seeks to address the two drivers of right whale deaths, boat strikes and entanglement. Money collected will be used to locate and monitor right whales in Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, expand slow-down warnings for boaters in areas in which they are located and, knowing where they are, increase the probability of finding and freeing entangled whales. Last year, a marine debris removal project sent divers down into three local harbors to remove old lobster traps, fishing line, trash and other items harmful to marine life. Nauset Disposal provided the dumpsters to collect and remove the debris.

Even small donations make a difference. The is especially true in the case of the 1,000 Friends of Right Whales since Nauset Disposal will match the first 75 donations! Our collective action can help save the North Atlantic Right Whale.