Tag: Community

  • Runners for Boston

    R4B_0028

    Gallagher Fitness Resources presents “Runners for Boston” a unified walk/run by Salem Area citizens to show our support and solidarity with the victims and families of the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy April 15, 2013.


    Date:
    Monday, April 22 6:30 p.m. We will observe a Moment of Silence before beginning.


    Where:
    Salem Riverfront Park – Rotary Club Pavilion


    Cost:
     FREE event – donations encouraged to One Fund Boston (see below)


    Distance:
    As short or long as you wish to walk or run


    Route:
    Please stay on the pathways within Riverfront Park, the Union Street RR Bridge, and Wallace Marine Park. Please do not run or walk on the streets in the parks.


    Details:
    This is not an organized, registered run, it’s more of an impromptu meeting to show support for those impacted by the Boston Marathon tragedy.  No money will be exchanged on site.

    T-Shirts: Please wear blue and yellow (Boston Marathon official colors) or any Boston Marathon apparel, anything that says Boston or a race t-shirt from a local event.

    Running Specialty Stores of the Independent Running Retailers Association (IRRA) across the USA are concurrently hosting “Runners for Boston.” While we are walking and running in Salem, tens of thousands of people will be participating simultaneously nationwide.

    Donations

    This is an opportunity to stand with the national running community and let the people of Boston know that we love their marathon as much as they do, that it’s much more than just a race, and that Boston is much more than just a city.

    Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino have announced the formation of The One Fund Boston, Inc. to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

    Find out more here.

    To donate click here.

    To send a check by mail:

    One Fund Boston, Inc.

    800 Boylston Street #990009

    Boston, MA 02199

    Send inquiries to: info@onefundboston.org

    Thank you for participating in “Runners for Boston” with Gallagher Fitness Resources, your Running Specialty Store for the Salem area.

  • Reflections on 2013 Boston Marathon

    Reflections on 2013 Boston Marathon

    Boston Marathon 2011

    “Hey, ya look like a runnah.  Ya here ta do Bahstun?”  Imagine being greeted with that line by a cab driver on Friday as you arrive at Logan Airport.  The race is Monday – Patriot’s Day, three days away – and it’s apparent the city has already accepted you with open arms.  Everywhere you look are signs, banners, and billboards welcoming you to the Boston Marathon.  The first, the oldest, the most famous.  You and 27,000 others from all over the world earned your way here by meeting a qualifying time or by raising a target goal for a charity. You belong here and Boston is already celebrating your achievement.

    For one hundred and seventeen years Bostonians have cheered their local citizens and guests from every corner of the world to that finish line on Boylston St.  The spectators spread out over 26.2 miles have exceeded a half million people in recent years.  They shout and applaud as if you were a superstar for the Celtics, Bruins, Patriots or Red Sox.  Crazy thing is that you are as average and normal as those people screaming your name.  Like them, you have a job, a family, and responsibilities.  What links you is a shared passion – the passion to run in this race.

    I have been a runner for over 40 years.  I have coached runners and walkers for 30 of those years and have been blessed to own a running store in Salem for the last fifteen plus years.  I have personally run the Boston Marathon three times and plan to run it again.  Today, I’m still working my way through the tragedy we all witnessed on Monday.

    On April 15, 2013 the finish line on Boylston Street was senselessly splattered with the blood of innocent spectators.  Within a few terrifying moments, those spectators in Boston were taken from a world of Boston Marathon Day magic to an agonizing reality of a world tainted by evil and infected with fear.

    It is true.  We runners and walkers shut down parks, cause traffic to be re-routed and create inconveniences for those not directly involved.  However, the trade-off is typically a city-wide happening that celebrates health, hard work, and personal achievement.  In cities and towns worldwide, road races offer participants and fans a unique opportunity to use the roads for a different purpose – to raise money for charities and to challenge ourselves to be better.  The intention is to provide for the good of many while offering our hometowns a free spectator event.  I pray to God that has not changed – not now, not ever.

    In my book, innate human joy and the unconquerable feeling of personal achievement trumps anything an evil mind can ever hope to defeat.  My wife, Susan, and I have witnessed that countless times as we have cheered runners, walkers, friends and family members to their own personal goals.  Accepting a challenge, whatever it may be, and continuing forward to a finish line, wherever it is, defines us as human beings.  We cannot let fear and terror take that sense of accomplishment from our hearts and souls.

    On Monday, three people were killed and many still cling to the hope that their lives will somehow be normal again.  Boston showed the world how to respond immediately to an unthinkable act of violence.  I believe Boston will also show us how strong and resilient we all should be when faced with tragedy.

    Put on your shoes, Salem.  Let’s join up with walkers and runners in Boston and worldwide and send a clear message that you can’t take away our streets or our dreams.

  • GFR Donates $2000 to Friends of Two Bridges

    F2B Hazel
    John & Susan with Hazel Patton, Friends of Two Bridges

    For Immediate Release – 2/3/12

    Gallagher Fitness Resources Supports Friends of Two Bridges

    Gallagher Fitness Resources, Salem’s running and walking shoe store since 1997, has donated $2000 to the Friends of Two Bridges. Hazel Patton, F2B President, accepted the check on Thursday, Feb 2, 2012.

    The Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge will span the Willamette Slough from the south end of Riverfront Park to Minto Island, connecting users to existing trail systems and downtown Salem via a multi-use path. Together, with the conversion of the historic Union Street Railroad Bridge into a bicycle and pedestrian facility, these two bridges will link more than 1,300 acres of popular downtown parks and about 26 miles of trails.

    At the 1/9/12 F2B meeting, Linda Norris, City Manager, addressed the need for more private funding and suggested F2B have a campaign identified and kicked off by this fall. John and Susan don’t want to wait any longer. The Bridge has been part of the Salem Planning process for over 30 years, a long-held community priority.

    In 1984 the City acquired the first easement on the Island to serve as the landing point for the bridge and the link to the Minto path system.

    It was in the first Park Master Plan, over 20 years ago.

    It was in the first Salem Transportation Plan, over 20 years ago.

    At least 3 citizen groups have been formed to implement the Bridge to Minto plan. John and Susan served on the second, starting in 2004. Friends of Two Bridges, the 3rd group, was formed in early 2007.

    It is in both the Downtown and the South Riverfront Urban Renewal Plans.

    The 2006 Urban Land Institute study on redevelopment of the Boise site recommended that the bridge remain an important part of the plan.

    In 2006 we had the opportunity to build the bridge, partly with donated materials, for a total cost of under $2 million dollars. At that time $1.6 in funding was available.

    The Development Standards for the former Boise Cascade site anticipate the Bridge link to Minto.

    It is in the Salem 2020 Plan.

    It has been one of the adopted City Council Goals since 2005.

    It received a 91% approval rating from the 2009 community forums (only 3% were opposed).

    Tens of Thousands of public dollars have been spent studying this bridge for 30 years.

    Two complete engineering studies for the bridge have been presented to City Council in the last 6 years.

    Gallagher Fitness Resources is planning a series of events along with F2B, Gallagher Fitness On Your Feet Fridays, to increase awareness of the Minto Bridge and help raise funds to get it done. Events will be held the 2nd Friday of the month from May through October.

    Friends of Two Bridges is a grassroots citizen group focused on the design, construction and opening of the Union Street Railroad and Minto Island bridges, and connecting pathways to bicyclists and pedestrians. A variety of interests are represented in this group, including the recreational community, historic preservationists, area children’s advocates, downtown merchants, property owners and statewide cycling interests. F2B meets monthly. For more information, contact Hazel Patten, 503-581-4939 or ptn1363@msn.com.

    More information from the City of Salem is available at this site: http://www.cityofsalem.net/Departments/UrbanDevelopment/DepartmentProjects/Pages/MintoIslandBridge.aspx

     

    Click here for Bridge Design Concept