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Mark Grandonico, living large.
May 14, 2008As if training for Ironman Lake Placid were not enough, Maine Track Club President Mark Grandonico is also taking on a big new job as the Eastern Region Director of the Road Runners Club of America.
In addition to his new responsibilities, Grandonico, who has incorporated two different marathons into his training schedule, slow-ran Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon two weeks ago, plans to slow-run the Fargo Marathon in North Dakota next week.
John Rolfe, who writes about running for the Portland Press Herald, suggests the “good energy” and dedication that Grandonico brings to the training table will be a great asset in his new position with the RRCA.
For his part, Grandonico is enthusiastic about the work that RRCA does to help promising young runners. "One of the best things about the RRCA is the Roads Scholar program for up-and-coming runners after college," Grandonico told Rolfe. U.S. Olympian Deena Drossin, a former waitress, was one of the beneficiaries. So were elite Maine marathoners Susannah Beck and Julia Kirtland, who both received Roads Scholar stipends in the program's first year, 1996.
The RRCA chief purpose is to promote running in the United States.
