Sunday is Mother’s Day and we hope you have a volksmarch in mind for Mom. After treating her to breakfast in bed (and cleaning up afterward) load Mom and the rest of the family into the car and head out for a walk. You can spend quality time together, get some exercise and see a bit of Europe that you might otherwise miss. After the walk, you can enjoy some traditional German bratwurst or other food that is regularly served at these popular events. There is a “Plan B” for those of you who are not very handy in the kitchen. Offer to treat Mom to breakfast at the start hall. You can’t go wrong with a piece of Küchen or other delicious pastry. Plus, it is really easy to clean up afterward. We will spend part of Mother’s Day weekend in Ramstein for the Ramstein Roadrunners’ spring walk. This is always a popular event because of the excellent organization of the walk, the nice trails and the fabulous prizes. You can expect a party atmosphere at the start hall with food, drink and music. The president of the Roadrunners, Brad Crandall, sent us the following message about this year’s walk:“The Ramstein Roadrunners, one of the oldest and largest U.S. volksmarch clubs in Germany, will hold its 35th annual May Walk, or Maiwanderung, May 7-8, at the Mehrzweckhalle in Miesenbach. The street address to plug into your GPS is Am Kiefernkopf 20, 66877 Ramstein-Miesenbach.
“This year we are offering four trails: five, 10, 15 and 20 kilometers. The two shorter trails are stroller friendly. Additionally, help celebrate World Walking Day and receive a special DVV stamp in your books and a certificate for participation.
“This year’s A-medal will be an 0.25-liter drinking glass engraved with the Roadrunner logo. Supplies are limited, so get there early. We also will offer Edelweiss scarves in blue, maroon or beige as a B-medal. We invite you come out and support the Roadrunners and enjoy the sport of volksmarching.”For more information, call Brad Crandall at 06374-801179 or by email at ramsteinroadrunners@yahoo.com.
Check out the club’s website at www.ava.org/clubs/ramsteinroadrunners for more information about the club and its upcoming activities.”
Start times both Saturday and Sunday are between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. for the five kilometers, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the 10k walk; 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the 15k route and 7 a.m. to noon for 20 kilometers. The hall will close at 5 p.m. both days.
If you have volunteered to work at this walk, we tip our hats to you. It takes a lot of time and energy to host a volksmarch and the Ramstein Roadrunners family always does an outstanding job. Even if you can’t work as a volunteer, anyone attending the walk can do a little extra something to guarantee its success. If you can, bake some cookies, brownies, or anything to donate to the club so there will be plenty of goodies to sell to walkers. If you can’t make homemade treats, please stop at the commissary or bakery of your choice and pick up something to donate. The eyes of the people working at the food sales will light up when they see the donations and the walkers’ eyes will light up when they eat them. We thank you in advance for your willingness to help with an edible contribution.
• If you live farther east, perhaps the walk in Bamberg is better for your Mother’s Day activities. This walk starts between 7 a.m. and noon both Saturday and Sunday at the Graf Stauffenberg Schule at Kloster-Langheim-Strasse 11. The trail distances are six and 10 kilometers. The prizes they are offering are B-medals. • Yet another option are the events in the town of Limburg an der Lahn, Germany, where there will be an IVV triathlon this weekend. You can walk six, 11 or 20 kilometers, bike 25 kilometers, and then swim either 300 or 500 meters and receive a commemorative triathlon certificate. • If a triathlon is a bit much, you can do any of the separate events for the regular volksmarch price of 1.50 euros for IVV credit only, or 3.80 euros for IVV credit and the prize. The prize is a choice of B-medals. Organizers will not have bikes for rent, so you will have to provide your own. There will be a shuttle bus from the Markthalle (start hall) to the swim event at the pool in Offheim.• Sunday’s walk in Bitzfeld is a Stammtisch event for the Stuttgart German American Wandering Club.• From down in Italy, Clark Soeldner reminds us that there are only two more weeks until the walk in Aviano, hosted by another group of Roadrunners … the Aviano Road Runners. He also says the walk in Paladina is on a 10-kilometer permanent trail. You can walk multiple times between the opening time of 7:30 a.m. and closing time at 1:30 p.m. • The fliers have been flying in, thanks to: William Castro and Maureen McHugh-Castro; Cath and Rob Floyd; Bob Gambert; Richard and Donna Glenn; John and Evelyn Golembe; Wayne Henry; John, Mary and Tess Laub; Tim and Luchi Lynch; John and Patty Marsh; “Pat” and Cheryl Patterson; Rick and Wanda Sciascia; and Nancy Shawley.E-mail volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09752.
