Posted on: Friday, March 11, 2005
RECREATION
All-women's club keeps retired teacher in running
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By Oscar A. Hernandez
Special to The Advertiser
Despite being retired since 1989, Mollie Chang, 72, of Honolulu, is keeping busy.
Oscar A. Hernandez • Special to The Advertiser Chang says she's always been fit, but found greater challenges during her track workouts with Faerber's group.
"(I) really liked the track speed workouts ... That's when Wednesdays became part of my weekly training schedule," said Chang, referring to the club's track sessions held at the University of Hawai'i. The group is named after Johnny Faerber, a former UH track and field coach.
"I have used my speed workouts to train for road races of various distances, from 5-kilometers to marathon," Chang said.
Chang has run in 27 Honolulu Marathons, from 1976 to 2004. Chang also has run in the Chicago and New York City marathons; and twice participated in the Boston Marathon, where in 200, she won her age division.
Beverlee Hart, a former college track athlete, was seeking a group to help her improve in her distance running.
"I found myself entering distance races, but I wasn't getting any faster," said Hart, who moved to Honolulu from South Dakota.
Six years ago, friends introduced her to Faerber's Flyers.
Hart, 43, discovered that, "the missing ingredients to (her) workouts (were) intervals and speedwork."
With years of track experience, Hart said she was surprised "at how much a person will achieve by training with an organized group."
She also discovered that along with improved running times, the camaraderie found in Faerber's Flyers was a positive reward. "I enjoy Faerber's Flyers because it is a well organized, fun group of women, with a very dedicated coaching staff," she said.
Reach Oscar Hernandez at oscar_photography@yahoo.com.
Chang, a former Spanish teacher at Farrington High School, has been taking her strides as a founding member of Faerber's Flyers, an all-women's running club, since 1980.
Mollie Chang, Faerber's Flyers club president Caroline Beach-Ojerio and Beverlee Hart do high-knee strides at the University of Hawai'i. The Flyers' all-women's running club started in 1980.
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| FLYING HIGH
WHAT: Faerber's Flyers — an all-women's running club founded in 1980, with the direction of former University of Hawai'i women's cross country coach, Johnny Faerber. The club is divided into groups based on each person's experience and skill, meeting once a week for supervised track workouts with dedicated volunteer coaches. CLUB MISSION: Encouraging and improving women's running in Hawai'i. WHEN: 5:15 p.m. every Wednesday, rain or shine. Regular season runs from September to May, with summer fun in-between. WHERE: University of Hawai'i track WHY: Join us to improve your running times or endurance or just to stay fit while having fun and meeting new people. COST: Come to three free workouts. If you wish to join, dues are $50 per year (includes race entry fee for the Women's 10K). INFORMATION: Contact club president, Caroline Beach-Ojerio, at Caroline@crch.hawaii.edu, or visit the club Web site at www.hawaii.edu/run. Training clubs: Finding one that fits your needs The new year is well past us now, and perhaps you, like many others, are still seeking to fulfill your New Year's resolution by lifting yourself off a couch that has molded to the shape of your body. Perhaps you considered joining a gym, but don't want to be pressured to sign on a dotted line that will ensnare you like a cell phone plan. But you lack one important factor that prevents you from lacing up your fitness shoes: motivation. In the past weeks, we introduced you to a few training clubs/groups that will cost you less than a gym membership, and the only contract you have to deal with is your own will to succeed.
THE SERIES Jan. 14—Try Fitness? Jan. 21—Team Jet Hawai'i Feb. 4—Jonathan Lyau's Personal Best Training Feb. 11—Brian Clarke's School of Running Feb. 25—Team in Training March 4—Honolulu Marathon Clinic |
