Luray Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday, August 16, veteran NORSA members Matt W., Russ M., Jon S., and Leo W. joined newly minted NORSA members Brian B. and Mike L. to compete in the Luray Sprint Triathlon in Luray, VA. This was a challenging race consisting of a 750 meter swim in Arrowhead Lake, a 16 mile bike through the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley, and a 5K run.

Shotgun Fun at Bull Run + Crabs at Quarterdeck

Today, NORSA members visited the Bull Run Shooting Center in Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville, VA. Four new shooters including NORSA members Justin Kahrl, Megan Sands, and Nora Hoffman, and NORSA initiate, Eddie Diaz, enrolled and fulfilled the required new shooters' course at the Park. The course, which typically lasts a couple of hours, covers not only everything from safety and firearm functionality but also how to shoot clays well and even includes some time on the range. After the lecture portion of the class concluded, the NVRPA shooting instructor took the four students to the skeet range to get a little hands on experience with the shotguns.

While the new shooters were in class, returning NORSA Shooting Sports Team veterans Matt White and Tom S joined up with darkhorse ringer Fred Kukelhaus to shoot some rounds of trap together. It was a beautiful for a shootout, with just a few clouds and plenty of sunshine. Fred took the first round in a blowout with a 50% accuracy rating hitting 12 of 25 clays, but really only out of 24 due to a gun jam. Tom took round two with 16 out of 25 after switching back to his old gun that he had to share with Matt since his new Mossberg 500 malfunctioned and needs tools to get fixed. Watch a short clip of Fred taking the final shot of the day below:

Altogether, great fun was had by all, but the fun was by no means over yet ... as the class let out and the trap shooters wrapped up, there was not enough time for an all-comers' shoot because Fred had reserved a table at the Quarterdeck for the whole gang. Forty-two fresh Maryland blue crabs were steamed with copious quantities of Old Bay seasoning and brought to the hungry shooters, along with some frosty pitchers of beer. Not a single crab was left uneaten and everyone needed a good, long shower afterward - a huge success by crab feast standards!

NORSA has not been back to the Bull Run Shooting Center since April of 2008, so stay on top of the NORSA Upcoming Events section as a new trip will be posted soon for late August or sometime in September because there's no reason something as fun as clay-shooting should only be done once a year!

Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest 8K Recap

On Saturday, July 18th, 2009, many NORSA members ran in the 24th annual Rockville Twilight Runfest in Maryland. Returning NORSA members Matt White, Russ, Leo , Nora, and Tom S joined new and aspiring members Laura, Laurel, Jared, Mike, and Vic. This race brings Laura on board as a full-fledged NORSA member, too. The Twilighter, a race sponsored by the Rockville Rotary Club, has been a race in which NORSA has had solid representation for several years now, and this year was clearly no exception.











Race-day conditions were fair, with the heat dying off a little as the night approached. The official start time was 8:46 PM, and night was creeping in swiftly as the runners left the start line. The course winds through downtown Rockville, its surrounding neighborhoods and schools, and Montgomery College's campus before popping the runners out on to Rockville's main drag of 355. After crossing the finish and removing their timing chips, all runners were invited to head over to the Michelob Ultra beer tent and enjoy four frosty beverages.

Results are available here: http://mcrrc.org/racing/2009/09twilighter.htm