Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris
County, New Jersey
On Sunday, March 16, 2014
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2014
SOME RUNNERS GOT INNOVATIVE
THIS WINTER
Running may be a lonely
activity but many runners are eager to share their horror stories of this
winter that we can hope is now past. On
the other hand sometimes it is all in your perspective. For Carol Chen of Wharton who said that she hails
from the coldest region in China, frigid temperatures were not a big deal.
She donned an extra layer of
clothing on her torso and double layers of gloves along with a hat and she was
ready to go. She said her main issue was icy road conditions, especially when she
ran after work in the dark.
“At least I could spot icy
spots on roads during daytime,” said Chen who will be running in her first
marathon this weekend. The alternative
was runs on the treadmill, which she classifies as “Dreadful!”
All the runners said that the
icy roads were their biggest concerns, especially if they had tried to run
after sundown. Runners like Wendy Locke
of Boonton who normally have access to off road trails that do not get cleared
of snow had to find an alternative.
Locke said that she prefers
to run outdoors despite the cold, since she works in an office all day. She avoids using a treadmill.
“For safety I’m sticking to
quiet residential back roads where traffic is at a minimum,” said Locke, “And
keeping a wary eye out for potholes and icy patches.”
“It has been very tough
training for Boston this winter,” said Cande Olson of Chatham. “I have kept up with my training plans by
moving my long runs to days I could run outside and running the rest inside.”
Olson can handle temperatures
down to 10 degrees, but she too is very wary of ice. Her alternative is to run on the
treadmill. She said that the longest
treadmill run was seven miles but she also ran indoors sans the treadmill.
“I also moved the furniture
around in my finished basement so I could do short runs (2-3 miles) inside
without a treadmill,” said Olson. “Ten second laps around the furniture. I estimated 66 laps to the mile!”
On Thursday of last week she
wrote, “Today I ran 20 miles outside! It was luxurious!”
Olson is not the only runner
to get innovative this past winter. Pete
Lee of Randolph who is the team captain of the Geezer squad within the Garmin
racing team said that his team has been trying to prepare for the Miles for
Music 20K that is next weekend.
Like Locke he and his team
have been shut out of the trails they normally run. “We miss running Madeline’s trails in Roxbury
(the West Morris Greenway in Randolph and Roxbury) and the Columbia trail,”
said Lee. “Our normal weekend routine
when we are not racing is to run one day on the asphalt and one day on the
trails or a track to save our aging joints.”
When he can’t run on trails
or roads Lee runs in his covered, well lit and mostly ice free parking garage. He says he is not a treadmill guy. Like Olson he isn’t above turning his house
into an indoor track.
“When no one else is home I
have even resorted to running back and forth [in the house] when the
temperature dips below twenty.”
What
has impressed me was the dedication of the runners who responded. Many of them were training for early spring
marathons and managed to get the mileage they needed. Perhaps the people who I know are the true
hard core runners. Two who I contacted
admitted that the winter had been too much for them or were limited by their
lack of access to safe running locations.
Both of these were eager to get restarted when spring arrives. Perhaps it has.
MILES
FOR MUSIC 20 K THIS SUNDAY
Championship
racing begins next Sunday in Johnson Park in Piscataway with the Miles for Music
20K. All divisions will be on the line
hoping for a good start to the team racing and New Balance Grand Prix
season. The race will start at 9:00 a.m.
and later a mile and 5K will start at 12:30 p.m. More information can be found through a link
on the USATF New Jersey LDR race calendar or at www.milesformusic.org.
##
A calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com for running and tri and
biathlon events.
Contact Madeline Bost at madelinebost@verizon.net.
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