Saturday, September 24, 2011

RUN, RUN, RUN IN OCTOBER

Written by Madeline Bost
Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, September 24, 2011
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2011    

Morris area runners need not travel far to find a race in October.  Between established races and new ones there are plenty of races right here in northwest New Jersey.

Stirling has a 5K on Saturday, October 1st.  The FORCE Tiger Tracks 5K will start at 8:30 a.m. from Central School on Central Avenue.  The race is a New Balance Grand Prix (NBGP) event. 

On the same day the Run for Life 5K at the Mack-Cali Business Campus in Parsippany will start at 9:30 a.m.  The race features five year age divisions and is a NBGP event.  The course is described as a flat, fast, out and back.


In Mendham on Saturday the Mendham Harvest Hustle 5K will start from Mendham Borough Park at Mountain and Park Avenues at 9:00 a.m.  The course that winds through the borough streets has a short out and back section in the last half mile that will give runners a chance to see who is ahead and who is chasing them.  Age divisions for awards are five year and the race is a NBGP event.


On Sunday, October 2nd the Wrobo Run 5K at the Jefferson Municipal Building will go off at 9:00 a.m.

Also on Sunday the 2nd, the Keeping Babies Safe 5K Run and one mile walk will be held at Harry Dunham Park in Basking Ridge.  Registration opens at 8:00 a.m.  with the one mile walk starting at 9:30 and the 5K 30 minutes later at 10:00 a.m.    It is a NBGP event with five year age groups.

A race of a different kind is on Saturday, October 8th, at Loantaka Park in Morristown at 10:00 a.m.  All runners are teamed up with their dog for the Hounds and Harriers three mile run.  There is no race day registration and there is a limit of 150 dog and person teams.  The race usually closes before race day so it is advised that runners register now.


The Mack-Cali Business Campus in Parsippany is the site of the Morris County Heart Walk and 5K run to raise awareness of heart health.  The run begins at 9:15 a.m.  The race features computer chip timing and unconventional age divisions for awards that end at fifty and over.


The debut of the Shades of Death Half Marathon and Relay is on Sunday, October 9th beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Allamuchy school.  It is a NBGP event with 5 year age divisions.  The course is a six mile double loop on country roads and described as both beautiful and flat and fast.  Relay team members will run one loop.

Back in Allamuchy on the following Saturday, October 15th, is the Harvest Festival five mile race from the General Store on Old Hackettstown Road.  It has a 10:00 a.m. start and is a Category Two NBGP event with ten year age divisions.

On that same Saturday is the brand new Run N’ Rock 5K at Roxbury High School off Hillside Avenue in Roxbury.  The race will start at 9:00 a.m.  It is not a NBGP event and features ten year age divisions that end at 60+.  The loop course will utilize a section of the Horseshoe Lake park with the finish on the high school track.

On Sunday, October 16th, the Liberty Corner 4 Miler will start from Harry Dunham Park at 9:30 a.m.  It is a NBGP event with five year age divisions.

The inaugural Pequannock Half Marathon, Relay and 5K is taking place on Saturday, October 22nd.  Both races start at 8:15 a.m. at Greenview Park off Hill view Road near the Lincoln Park airport.  Both the 5K and the half marathon are NBGP events.


A 5K cross country race at Horseshoe Lake Park off Eyland Avenue in Succasunna will be held on Sunday, October 23rd.  Anna’s Run and Walk to stop domestic violence will start at 9:00 a.m.  The race is not a NBGP event.

Also on Sunday, October 23, the Colonial Challenge 5K will take place from Ginty Field in Morris Township at 10:00 a.m.  The race features five year age divisions all the way to 80 plus and is a NBGP event.

On that same Sunday, October 23rd, is the St. Patrick’s Community 5K in Chatham with a 10:30 a.m. start.  Awards are for first in ten year age divisions ending at 70 plus.  It is a NBGP event.

The Great Swamp Devil 5K and 15K is on Sunday, October 30th in Basking Ridge.  The 5K starts at 10:00 a.m. with the 15K going off at 11:00 a.m.  Both races are NBGP events with five year age divisions.

Also on Sunday, October 30, is the Safe Dating 5K at the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station.  It features a 12 noon start and is a NBGP event.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

LOCAL WOMEN AND TEAMS DO WELL AT 5K CHAMPIONSHIP

Written by Madeline Bost
Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, September 11, 2011
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2011

Jimmy D 5K opened the USATF New Jersey championship fall season on Sunday, September 4th in New Brunswick.  Jennifer Malvolta, 40, of Reeders PA finished in 18:21, defeating all women in the field of over eight hundred runners for the title of fastest masters woman in the championship for that division.

Two local women from Morristown were the top age graded masters women.  Nora Cary, 56, hit 86.92% with her 20:49 finishing time and Jane Parks, 58, was scored at 84.03% for her time of 22:08.

The Sneaker Factory was the most successful of the local women’s teams competing.  The club’s W50 team placed second in their division and third in the W40 division.  The Morris County Striders took fourth in the W50, second in W60 and had the sole team competing in the W70 division.  The Rose City Runners placed sixth in both the W40 and W50 division.

NEW BALANCE GRAND PRIX

Currently on the men’s side of the year long New Balance Grand Prix series, the top ten is dominated by masters runners and many are from the Morris area.  John Hogan, M45 division, of Washington Township is leading the series with all nine possible races on his score card.  Franz Mitterer, M60 division, of Morristown is in third, also with all nine races.

Antonio Massa, M45 division, of Budd Lake, is in fourth.  Mark Washbourne, M50 division, of Mendham is fifth.  Beau Atwater, also of the M50 division is in sixth place and Michael Hespos, M45 division of Wharton is in eighth.

Michael Dixon of Fanwood, last year’s winner is hanging in 13th place while missing two Category Two races to complete his score.  Dixon won the series in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

On the women’s side the local women are not dominating like the Morris area men, and only one Morris woman is in the top ten.  Diane Ross, W40 division, of Flanders, is in eighth place.  Ross won the series on the women’s side in 2007.  Open runner Tara Zimliki of Branchburg is currently the top woman overall. 

TEAM GRAND PRIX IS POSTED
The team grand prix is now posted including last week’s masters women’s 5K scores.  The clubs are running for second with Raritan Valley well in the lead.  The Sneaker Factory has a one point lead over the Clifton Road Runners for second place.  The North Jersey Masters are in fourth place with the Morris County Striders in fifth and the Rose City Runners in sixth.

The Liberty Waterfront Half Marathon in two weeks will give all the clubs an opportunity to rake in points as it is the championship for all divisions.

LOCALS EARN MEDALS AT NATIONAL MASTERS 15K

Two New Jersey masters teams ran in the Fleet Feet Run into Buffalo 15K, the national masters championship on Labor Day and came home with medals for their efforts.

Roger Price, 62, of Randolph placed third in his division with his time of 1:01:36, leading in his Raritan Valley Road Runners M60 team to second place.  Carl Weaver, 62, of Morris Plains was second man on the team with a time of 1:07:59, just one second ahead of third man on the team, Doug Brown of East Brunswick.  Brown, 66, placed third in the M65 division.  Rounding out the team was Michael Carr, 64, of Somerset.

The Clifton Road Runners M70 team was a shoe in to win their division with Hilary Peterlin, 70, of Oak Ridge first in the division in 1:11.04 and James Leitz, 72, of Bayonne second in 1:12:43.  Also on the winning team were Matt Lalumia and Al Swan of Clifton and Joe Saley of Teaneck.

Next up for masters nationally is the Syracuse Festival of Races 5K on October 2nd.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

RACING SEASON BEGINS

Written By Madeline Bost
Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, September 4, 2011
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2011

The fall racing season begins this weekend as does the fall USATF New Jersey championship series.  The first in that series is the Jimmy D 5K in New Brunswick, which is the USATF masters women championship.  The race is staged from Memorial Stadium between 9th and 12th Streets on Joyce Kilmer Avenue.  The start time is 9:00 a.m.



This is a fun race that is a Plain Jane out-and-back down Joyce Kilmer.  But Plain Jane pulls a trick on the unwary runner.  Adrenaline fuels a fast start that is aided by a slight downhill that is not felt until the turn-around.  Then you’ll notice that you have not just been feeling good, but have been running downhill for a mile and a half.  Now you must make the return to the stadium on tiring legs.  It’s a hard course to combat.



Once back at the stadium runners are rewarded with a picnic lunch washed down with a runner’s favorite beverage – cold beer from the tap.  As a championship the race is a 700 point New Balance Grand Prix event.



LOCAL RACES FOR MORRIS RUNNERS



Races have always come and gone but it seems like a number of smaller races have either disappeared or are not printing applications or getting listed in race calendars.  Still there are a number of local races in September to consider.



This Thursday, September 8th, the Share the Care 5K will go off at 6:30 p.m. in Morris Plains.  The location is at Trinity Lutheran Church at 131 Mountain Way.  The race is a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity and it appears that only the top overall Male and Female runners will take home an award.



Next Sunday, September 11, is the Netcong Day 5K starting at 10:00 a.m. from the Netcong Borough Hall on Maple Avenue.  Trophies will go to the top men and women and medals to the top three finishers in five year age groups to 70 and over.  This is a NBGP 500 points event.



On the following Sunday, September 18th is the Cheshire Homes 5K in Florham Park.  Registration opens at 8:00 a.m. at the Madison High School with race start at 9:00 a.m.  The race is a point-to-point from the high school to Cheshire Home’s residence in Florham Park.   Awards are generous, starting with top three overall and to top three in each five year age group.  The most senior runners will love that the last age group is 80 and over.  The race is a New Balance 500 point grand prix event.



A race that was moved to September from June due to high temperatures, is the YMCA Flag Day 5K on Saturday, September 24th at 140 Mt. Airy Road in Basking Ridge.  It features a 3:00 in the afternoon starting time.  It is a 500 New Balance Grand Prix event.



Not much information was available for the September 25th , Miles for Mike 5K, at Greenview Park in Pequannock.  The race starts at  8:30 a.m., and awards are in ten year age divisions ending at 70 and over, with three youth divisions.  It does not appear to be a New Balance Grand Prix event.



On Sunday, September  25th  the  Miles for Melanoma 5K will start at 9:00 a.m. from, I am guessing, Ginty Field,  in Morris Township.  This is another race with limited information.  Assume that it is not in the grand prix series.



Most experienced runners know that if a race is not in the USATF New Jersey race calendar it is not sanctioned, and if it is not sanctioned there is no chance that it is a New Balance Grand Prix event.  However some sanctioned races are also not in the grand prix so runners need to look for that information.  Sanctioning also does not imply certified, but grand prix races must be certified.  Confusing?  Check out the rules at www.usatfnj.org, and go to the LDR (Long Distance Running) page for more information.