Raritan Valley Road Runners Online Newsletter

June 2000
Volume 8 Issue 4

Another Mile in the President’s Loafers

Trink Poynter

Ain't really no loafin'.  May was a very busy month for our club, especially if you were on one of our racing teams!

On May 13 we had a Midland Run warm up and brunch.  Ray Petit organized a run that met at the Far Hills Train Station, and traced the midland course.  This was followed by a wonderful brunch at Dana Gross' home.  We thank both for sponsoring this event!

This was followed by the Midland Run itself on May 21.  I have gone to many Midland Runs, from as far back as 1980, and I have never seen so much rain or mud as there was that day.  Our club was asked to do the timing and monitor the clocks, but because a last minute emergency called away the Army Reserves, our duties were changed, and we became course marshals instead.

This is a very important fund raising event for our club, so extra thanks go to Sam Bianca, who coordinated the timing, and placed club volunteers in their positions on a revised course on short notice.  Jim Gilligan and he actually did the nerve-wracking race timing, which always goes off at a wild gallop.  The following club members were course marshals, which required being there by 7 am (a sacrifice in itself!): Clyde Dolan, Carol Freeman, Lori Horvath, Luke Huggins, Re Kiser, Ed Levy, Jorge Rivera and George Squires.  Many, many thanks for their hard work!

There is talk, at this writing, of a fun run, followed by a concert, at the Bird Sanctuary in Basking Ridge on Friday, May 26.  These are the kind of spontaneous events that you need to come out to our Wednesday runs to find out about.  The more the merrier!

Speaking of the more the merrier, every Saturday morning a hardy group of runners meets for a towpath run at 8 a.m.  For those who have not been to the towpath recently, it has been beautifully redone, and is the perfect out and back course for runners of all abilities.  The group meets at Grove 5.

June brings a towpath run of a greater magnitude.   On June 3, our club will hold its second grand "Train"ing Run, as runners of varying sanity will attempt to complete its 34.1 mile length, with others jumping in a different "stations" along the way.   Afterwards, there will be a great party at Johnson Park.  This event has been organized by our Towpath Chieftain, Ray Petit. Dana Gross is designing flyers and award certificates, and volunteers like Dave Hoch are planning water stops.  Many thanks, Ray, Dana, Dave and crew!

Also in June, we will hold our annual Summer Series Races, organized by Doug Brown and Janice Reid, to whom we are grateful.  This is a 5K race, followed by food and drink at Donaldson Park.   This will coincide with our Summer Youth Series, for which we have Mary Chervenak and her sidekick, Iron Pete Priolo, to thank.   The dates for these events are June 13th and 27th, and July 18th and August 1st.

Also on June 21, we will have our quarterly General Membership Meeting, which will feature as speakers, club members Laurie Parton and Guy Gordon.   Their running prowess is well known, and we are looking forward to their presentation.  Pizza and soda will be served (free), with the meeting beginning at 8 p.m., so please plan to attend.

There has been a change to our weekly track workouts. Please note that track workouts will now be meeting on Thursdays at 5:30 at the Highland Park High School, and are open to anyone who wishes to improve his or her running.

Happy Running!

You can go now!

Big Sur Marathon

By Ken Mangin

On April 30, I had the pleasure of running the Big Sur Marathon in California.  The use of the word 'pleasure' may seem a little strange given the difficulty of the course and the fact that I did not do as well as I had anticipated, but it really was a great experience.

Big Sur is a point to point Marathon from Big Sur to Carmel.   The entire course is run on California Route 1 which is one of the most scenic roads in the world.  The course featured stretches through a Redwood forest, steep hills, and views of the surf crashing against the rocky shore.  A number of Marathons emphasize the beauty of the course but usually, once the race starts the runners barely notice the surroundings.  In this race, you have no choice but to occasionally look around in awe.

Since the race is point to point, the day started dark and early at 3:45 am with a bus ride to the start.  I was on one of the first buses and arrived a little before 5:00.  My main objective for the next two hours was to try to stay warm in the 35 degree environment.   At least I was dressed for the weather - a number of novice racers were shivering in their singlets and shorts.  A feature of the wait was a beautiful crescent moon rising over a nearby ridge.  Wandering around talking to other runners helped pass the time until about 6:45 when I took off my sweats and headed for the starting line.

At 7:00, the 'Singing Sheriff' belted out a rousing Star Spangled Banner and the race was underway.  The first few miles were run through the forest.  I was trying to loosen up from the cold and work my way through the pack of about 3,000 runners.  Once out of the forest, the sun was shining brightly and I realized that the day that had started out too cold was about to get uncomfortably warm.

The first five miles are relatively flat followed by 5 miles of modest hills.  At ten miles, the hill leading to Hurricane Point loomed ahead.  This hill is two miles long with the top being 520 feet higher than the bottom.  Rational runners were taking walking breaks so that they had something left for the last 14 miles.  I, not being very rational, ran the whole thing.  The view from the top was stunning and I was phsyched after beating the challenge but my moment of glory did not last very long.

The next 3 miles were mostly downhill and I pushed the pace trying to make up for the time lost on the hills.  Despite several more hills over the next several miles, I cruised along fairly strongly until mile 21 when my legs informed me that they had had enough.  I fought the desire to walk for another mile until my legs locked up.  I jogged and walked for a couple of miles until I had to just walk when faced with yet another steep hill.  By now, the temperature was well over 70 and there was no shade.  Sometime before mile 25, my leg cramps eased enough for me to run to the finish.  My final time was 4:04 which is hard for me to take given that I was on 3:35 pace after 21 miles.  The time itself is not very impressive, but it did put me in the top third of all finishers.

Despite my problems during the last few miles, I really enjoyed this race and would do it again.  For now though, I am looking forward to a fall Marathon on a flat course.

 

I would like to thank Ken for submitting this article for all of us to enjoy.  Perhaps this will inspire others to prepare for and complete a marathon. - newsletter ed.

Lets Go – Girls Night Out

Pati Rosen

Our First RVRR Ladies night out actually occurred with a gret group of women.  Needless to say, we had a lot of fun, being who we are.  It was great to connect with our soul sisters on another level.  First, we had to wear something other than tights and jog bras!  All kidding aside, it was nice to bond with good friends, relax over a delicious meal and talk.  The group did get a little rowdy, but what else would you expect?  After we discovered that we have similar tastes in color, our group took several pictures, one with the “blues” and one with the “blacks”. Yes, we were silly and we will most definitely do this again!

Thanks for all of you who could make it and for those who could not; another night will be planned. It was great to be with you!

NEW Track Workout Time

 

Beginning Memorial Day Weekend and continuing through Labor Day week, track workouts will be switched to Thursdays because of conflicts with other Tuesday events, RVRR summer Series, 4th of July, etc.  Warm-up at the Highland Park High School track will still be at 5:30 P.M. with the workout starting by 6:00.  If you have any questions, please call the hotline.

Summer Series Reminder

Janice Ried

Doug Brown

The 17th annual RVRR Summer Series of cross country races is set to begin at 7:00 PM June 13, with other races scheduled for June 27, July 18 and August 1. The Kids Series is at 6:00 PM on the same evenings. Volunteers are needed as usual to assist with registration, course management, food, and results. See Doug or Janice when you arrive at the race for your assigment!

For those who haven't been around the last 17 years, the 5K series starts in Donaldson Park on the LEFT (south) end of the park. Volunteers and runners usually start arriving at 5:30 PM. The Kids series starts in/near Grove 1 on the RIGHT (north) end of the park. There is time for kids to run at 6:00 and their parents to make it over to the 5K at 7:00, so plan on bringing the family.

Due to the success of last year's inaugural "5K Time Trial" prediction run, we will again have a pre-series race on June 6. The rules are the same as last year. You must be a paid club member to run. You must predict your finish time before the race begins. There will be no clocks or watches allowed during the race. Prizes will be awarded to the runners who come closest to their predicted time. See the flyer in the newsletter for more information.

See you in the Park!

Welcome New Members

Anne Hegeman              Metuchen

Bogdan Anghez     East Brunswick

Guy Gordon                     Newton

Laurie Parton                   Newton

Liza Martuscelli             Princeton

Mari Krum             Highland Park

Max Dion               Highland Park

Philip McGoff    North Brunswick

Rob Green                        Edison

Sherrie Felton              Bedminster

Happy Birthday

June 2000

Anne Dahl                                  6/2

Charles Krowicki                         6/2

Peter Onufryk                             6/2

Amanda Sanzone                         6/5

Jim Derrickson                            6/6

Spook Handy                               6/6

Kathy O'Sullivan                          6/8

Meggan Page                              6/10

Michael Czech                            6/10

Suri Granek                                 6/13

Charles Levitsky                          6/13

Jill Knorr                                     6/16

Patricia O'Hanlon                        6/16

Daniel Bubb                                6/17

Patrick Kelly                               6/19

Mark Zenobia                              6/19

Michael Friedman                        6/21

Danny Diaz                                 6/22

Gene Gugliotta                             6/23

Peter Priolo                                 6/23

Raymond Paul                             6/26

Gary Rosenberg                        6/28

RVRR Clothing for SALE!

Just in time for the racing season.

RVRR singlets-Coolmax White Mesh

Male: M, L, XL

Female: M, L, XL

 

Cost per item is $17.  Mail check and ‘Ship to’ address to RVRR, PO Box 1197, Edison, NJ 08818-1197.  Singlet will be mailed to you via first-class mail.  High-split running shorts are also available at a clearance price of $5 per item.  Clothing is also available at Wednesday night runs.  See Ray Petit or Dana Gross.

Click for Race Results!

On Your Mark…

Carl Rocker

An interview with myself.

(Actually this is simply to use this remaining space)

Q.-How did you get started in triathlon?

A.-Well, I was always a runner, and I guess that I was looking for something different.  One day at college, I saw a notice about an upcoming triathlon and decided to see what this was all about.

Q.-What is your least favorite discipline?

A.-SWIMMING!!  I hate swimming, probably because I am not very good at it no matter how hard I work at it.

Q.-What is an Ironman triathlon?

A.-An ‘Ironman’ distance triathlon is an event that has set distances for each discipline.  The distances are 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run.

Phew!