Nancy Nutile-McMenemy

Episode 37 Vermont 50 Special

October 28th, 2014

Please join us TODAY September 20, to honor and remember Chad Denning with a trail race and picnic. All are invited to attend one or both of the events.

At 9:00 a.m. in Lebanon, N.H., the Lost a Lot Trail Race—which was created and organized by Chad—will proceed as planned. The seven-mile course is not easy, but it is fun. As anyone who knew Chad can tell you, he loved competition, but his primary goal was always to get as many people as possible outside just having a good time. In that tradition, all ages, abilities, and paces are encouraged to participate.

At about noon, following the race and awards, there will be a picnic at the Oak Hill recreation area in Hanover, N.H., about five miles from the finish of the race. We will have directions available at the race for anyone who needs them. We will also post additional details and directions here. At Oak Hill, there will be a family-friendly fun run (about 2.5 miles) and a community picnic. Please bring a picnic lunch for yourself and a dessert to share potluck style. Don’t worry if you can’t bake: peanut M&Ms (or “power pellets,” as Chad always called them) are perfectly acceptable. As we picnic, we will share memories of Chad and celebrate his remarkable life. All are welcome to attend the picnic (including leashed dogs) regardless of whether they participate in the race.

If you would like to make an online contribution to the Chad Denning Memorial Fund, a site is now available. We will also be collecting donations (checks and cash) at this weekend’s Lost-a-Lot race and the event at Oak Hill.

Lea at one of our Vermont 50 Races

By Peggy Shinn
Sept. 10, 2014,
11:04 a.m. (ET)

When Lea Davison crossed the finish line at the 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Norway on Saturday, she couldn’t believe that only two women had finished in front of her. With a bronze medal around her neck, Davison shared the podium with Catharine Pendrel from Canada and Irina Kalentieva from Russia.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in,” Davison said via Skype from Norway. “I look at the medal and I’m like, ‘Wait, is that mine?'”

It was the 2012 Olympian’s first world championship medal – and not an award that she expected. The 31-year-old Vermont mountain biker spent last winter rehabbing her right hip.

“I would have been happy to just simply be back training and racing my bike, but to have a dream season like this after having hip surgery in January and missing the first half of the season, I’m completely thrilled,” she said. “I am the happiest girl in Norway.”
READ MORE 

Please join us on Saturday, September 20, to honor and remember Chad Denning with a community race and picnic. All are invited to attend one or both of the events.

At 9:00 a.m. in Lebanon, N.H., the Lost a Lot Trail Race—which was created and organized by Chad—will proceed as planned. The seven-mile course is not easy, but it is fun. As anyone who knew Chad can tell you, he loved competition, but his primary goal was always to get as many people as possible outside just having a good time. In that tradition, all ages, abilities, and paces are encouraged to participate.

Around noon, following the race and awards, there will be a picnic at the Oak Hill recreation area in Hanover, N.H., about five miles from the finish of the race. We will have directions available at the race for anyone who needs them. We will also post additional details and directions on Team Amp’s Facebook page.

Please bring a picnic lunch for yourself and a dessert to share potluck style. Don’t worry if you can’t bake: peanut M&Ms (or “power pellets,” as Chad always called them) are perfectly acceptable. As we picnic, we will share memories of Chad and celebrate his remarkable life. All are welcome to attend the picnic regardless of whether they participate in the race.

We encourage you to share your favorite photos of Chad on the Team AMP Facebook page or to email them to [email protected] by Friday, September 19. We will print as many as possible and display them at the picnic. We also encourage you to write and print recollections of Chad. We will have an area available at the picnic to display those recollections.

Finally, a fund has been set up to collect donations to Chad’s family. Donations will be accepted at both the race and the picnic, or you can mail donations to:

The Chad Denning Family Fund
Ledyard Bank
67 Main Street
West Lebanon, NH 03784

Checks should be made payable to Becky Denning.

Chad Denning was truly an inspiration. We will never forget his kindness, his spirit, and his smile. We hope you will join us to celebrate his life. It was far too short, but it was so full of adventures of every kind.

Hope to see you all there!

Chad Denning, VT50 Race Committee Member died on Sept. 7, 2014.

It is with heavy hearts that we must tell you we have lost a dear member of our Vermont 50 Race Committee Family, Chad Denning. Chad was an integral part of our race, we’re not sure how we will fill his running shoes.

The Valley News printed a great story about him…
Well-Regarded Endurance Athlete Chad Denning Dies While Running Appalachian Trail 
By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling
Valley News Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
(Published in print: Tuesday, September 9, 2014)
(reprinted with permission)

New London — It shouldn’t happen to Superman.

That was one somber-faced reaction to the news that spread throughout the area’s running and recreational communities on Monday: Chad Denning, a beloved and seemingly invulnerable endurance athlete from New London, collapsed and died while hiking on the Appalachian Trail on Mt. Moosilauke in Benton, N.H., on Sunday afternoon.

P.J. Lovely, the director of the Newport Recreation Department, said that when he heard the Superman reference from an area race director, it seemed apt because, to many local athletes, the 39-year-old Denning seemed like a bona fide superhero. READ MORE

We will keep you posted about how the Upper Valley plans to honor this amazing athlete and friend.