Dover 5K coming up on the 11th

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 29, 2018

DOVER 5K COMING UP ON THE 11TH

Summer racing is still going on.  The Dover Renaissance 5K will be held on Saturday, August 11^th at 9:00 a.m.   An application can be downloaded from the CompuScore website and runners can register on-line up to August 9^th. 

Over the years the Dover race has had to make adjustments to their course that starts and ends on Blackwell Street.  This year the course will be the original that was run in 1993 – the first year for the race. 

There were 225 finishers that year and a look back on the archives of the race and it is interesting to note that Keith Couglan won the race that first year, yet his name has not been seen in race results in a long time.  He won the inaugural race in 15:26.

 Jennifer Buccino was the women’s winner in 19:57.  Buccino traded in her racing flats for ridding boots several years back.

Who is still racing might be more interesting.  Still active names that jump out are Gary Rosenberg then a 22-year-old who finished in seventh place in 16:36, followed by Angelo Harasts, 20, in 16:52.  Bruce Langenkamp, who now competes in the M65 division finished that year in tenth place in 17:13.  So many names are familiar but no longer active in the sport.  Twenty-five years is a long time to be active in the sport.  Kudos to that trio for still running, still racing.

MORRIS COUNTRY STRIDERS CROSS COUNTRY IS THIS TUESDAY

The last race of the four race series of cross country summer series races is this Tuesday at Johanson Field in Boonton.  The weather has not been kind to the series with each race questionable until just before the start at 7:00 p.m.  Oppressive heat and the possibility of lightning and summer downpours have kept the participation at under 100 runners.  Those who have attended each race are now in contention for places in the series that counts the best three out of four races.

WESTFIELD HOT

Local runners hit the top three at the Westfield 5K on Wednesday night.  Kyle Brackman of Madison won the race in 15:34. Seamus Higgins of Randolph finished in second place in 16:37.  The women’s side was won by Caryn Gehrke of Maplewood in 19:42.  Julie Beatty of Chatham was third in 20:05, and also topped the women’s masters list.  Gary Rosenberg of Morristown was the second masters runner to finish.  His time was 17:51.

The numbers were down for the race.  With 1,661 finishers compared to the 2,258 in the 2017 race.  Extreme heat and humidity likely played a roll in keeping some runners home in their air conditioning.

GRONER LOWERS TRACK RECORD

Randolph’s Roberta Groner placed second in the Friday Night Lights Distance Festival open 10,000 meters race in Cambridge MA on July 20^th and in the process lowered the W40 to 44 American record to 33:57.08.  The previous record was set by New Jersey runner Madelyn Noe-Schlentz in 2002 of 34:58.54

MOSTLY MASTERS RUNNERS IN THE TOP THEN NBGP

John Hogan, 53, of Washington Township has the lead in the New Balance Grand Prix with Charlie Slaughter, 63, of Parsippany in second.  Most of the top men are over age forty, but Aaron Leskow, 27, of Morristown, but still listed with his previous address in Toms River is now in seventh place.  He is missing two races and once his card is filled he will be in contention for first place in the series.  Trailing Leskow is previous grand prix winner Michael Dixon of Highland Park.

On the women’s side, Stacey Slaughter, 26, of Parsippany is in sixth place.  Aya Leitz of Jersey City leads that division, with Hortencia Aliaga, 46, of Garfield in second.  When Aliaga adds one more race she will move into first.

##

.

Race Results can often be found at www.compuscore.com or at www.bestrace.com

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

Engaged pair win Verizon Corporate Challenge

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 22, 2018

ENGAGED PAIR WIN VERIZON CORPORATE CHALLENGE 5K

The male and female winners of the Verizon Corporate Challenge 5K in Morristown on Thursday night had more in common than just being their gender winners.   Liam Boylan-Pett and Ashley Higginson of Mendham are engaged to be married in September.

Boylan-Pett finished the race in 16:46 and Higginson in 17:51, in seventh place overall.

Higginson, who has competed on the national and world level in the Steeplechase was in the large lead pack as they left the starting line at the Morristown High School.  A few minutes into the race she dropped back.

“I gave up on those guys when I realized it was not happening,” said Higginson, who was making her third start at the event.  She won the race in 2017 and in 2014.  Her time at the 2017 race, that was an out-and-back course down Route 202 was faster at 17:12.

Boylan-Pett was no stranger to the race, having placed third in 2017 with a time only two seconds different; 16:44.  In fact, that was his last race he said.  Working at Columbia University in New York City prevents him from doing more than minimal running said the former semi-professional runner, who is a sub four-minute miler. 

While Higginson dropped back from the lead pack, it remained a unit of six runners for most of the race.  On Washington Street, a half mile from the finish, Boylan-Pett tested the others and broke away for the lead.

“It was an interesting decision to make that move, but it worked out,” he said.  “It definitely hurt going up that hill.” 

The next two men, Ben Edwards and Patrick Mullins, both of Morristown, made a break of their own and finished in a dead heat at 16:49.

“I think they put on a last-minute sprint at the end,” said Boylan-Pett.  “Fortunately, I had gotten away from them.”

The 2015 winner, Diana D’Achilles of Denville placed second to Higginson in 19:51, with Katherine Nokia of Brooklyn NY third in 20:01.

Both D’Achilles and Higginson agreed that the course from Headquarters Plaza was tougher than the one that started and finished at the high school.

“The race from Headquarters Plaza was really hilly,” said Higginson.  “Definitely more challenging.”

“All the turns were challenging,” she said.  “You don’t know what’s around the bend.”

In all, the course featured eighteen bends and corners, some at sharp angles, proving a challenge to even the lead police vehicle.  Spectators and course marshals from the Morris County Striders running club, and the Lakeland League Youth track and field and cross-country volunteers lined the course.     

Only the top three runners win awards at the race, which is geared toward corporate teams.  Eighty-three complete women’s teams were recorded and eighty-five men’s teams among the 3,313 runners.  On the men’s side it was Deloitte, Verizon and Stryker in that order.  On the women’s side it was Verizon, Nokia and L’Oréal.

SCHIED WINS MORRIS COUNTY STRIDERS SUMMER SERIES 5K

Justin Scheid of Succasunna won the Morris County Striders summer series race #3 on Tuesday, July 17^th in Boonton.  Scheid finished in 15:27 to lower the previous course record of 15:34 set in 2014 by Dan DeBlock.  On the women’s side, Emma Cary of Morristown, daughter of masters phenom Nora Cary, won the race in 19:51.  Mom placed fourth overall in 23:00.

The last race in the series will be on Tuesday, July 31^st.

##

Race Results can often be found at www.compuscore.com or at www.bestrace.com

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

If it's July, then it must be Verizon Classic time

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 15, 2018

IF IT’S JULY, THEN IT MUST BE VERIZON CLASSIC TIME

Is it the biggest race in the state wondered Robert Barwick when we talked on Friday.  Barwick works with Dan Brannen on the Verizon Corporate Classic 5K and other events in the state and outside the state as well.

Well, the Spring Lake Five miles must take the prize for the most participants, but for the northern New Jersey title I have to guess that the Verizon Corporate Classic 5K must attract the largest fields.  It routinely signs up over four thousand runners, although in 2017 the numbers were down, probably due to a last-minute course change.

Barwick said that they are expecting close to 5,000 runners to run an out-and-back loop from Morristown High School next Thursday, July 19^th.  The final number won’t be known until this Wednesday when the individual registration closes.  On Friday all of the corporate teams had to be registered which is where the bulk of the field is found.

Barwick praised organizer Dan Brannen for his decision to allow non-team members to run as individuals.   That is not allowed in most corporate races like the Verizon race.

In 2014 Tradelle Ward, running for Stryker Orthopaedics won the race in 15:55 and elite steeplechase runner Ashley Higginson, running for Riker Danzig placed ninth overall in 17:10.  Higginson is becoming a regular now as she won the women’s race in seventh place overall in 2017 in 17:12.  Kyle Price running unattached won the race in 16:25.  Higginson will be back this year and is now the team captain for Riker Danzig.

The race in 2017 used a totally different course thanks to construction issues in Morristown that forced the organizers to route the race down Route 202 and back. 

Bad luck with the weather has created problems with the race.  As recently as 2013 the race was converted into a non-competitive run when the temperatures soared to near 100 degrees, forcing the organizers to shorten the course in the interest of safety for the runners.

In 2016 the race was cancelled late in the afternoon on race day when a terrific storm literally blew through the area, downing trees on the course.  A make-up fun run was held a few weeks later, but not as a race.

That 2016 course, from Morristown High School, would have been the first time for that location had it not been for the storm.  It is now being used for the first time on Thursday.

All activities will be taking place from the parking lot at the high school.  Runners will recognize many of the streets being used, although they may be running in a different direction then on the old course from the Headquarters Plaza on Speedwell Avenue.  A pleasant factor in the change is the elimination of a hill in the last half mile and an actual downhill to the finish.

Free parking is still being made available by the Headquarters Plaza up to a generous 10:30 p.m.  This will allow runners to hit local restaurants after they have finished their race and not have to worry about parking.

Because of the quarter mile distance from the Headquarters Plaza and the start at the high school, runners have the option of picking up their race swag after the race and will not need to return to their cars with it prior to the start.  This has always been true said Barwick but now this could be more important for late arriving runners.  The race starts at 7:30 p.m.

Due to the size of the field all runners will be timed from when they cross the start line, using computer technology.  Only the top three men and top three women will have their actual “gun” time recorded.  There are no age division awards but all the runners time and place will be recorded by the timing company, BESTracingsystems.

##

Race Results can often be found at www.compuscore.com or at www.bestrace.com

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

Groner does it again, Scheid and Leskow in top three

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 8, 2018

GRONER DOES IT AGAIN; SCHEID AND LESKOW IN TOP THREE

There I was in an Air Canada jet with my family two Sundays ago, while all the New Jersey runners were gathering in Glen Ridge for one of the state’s most loved races.  We were on our way to Calgary, Canada with our final destination Banff, for an unforgettable week-long vacation.

Back in New Jersey the Fitzgerald’s Lager Run 5K lived up to its reputation despite oppressive heat and humidity.  Thirty-four men’s teams and twenty-three women’s teams finished the race with three other incomplete teams finishing but not getting scored.

Three local runners earned headlines with their performances.  Roberta Groner of Randolph won the women’s race with her 16:11, finishing 15th overall and earning the top masters age grade of 93.64% PLP. 

The race was won by Nicholas Filippazzo of Valley Stream  in 14:51, with second taken by Justin Scheid of Succasunna in 15:22 and third by Aaron Leskow of Morristown in 15:27.

Not to be overlooked is Nora Cary of Morristown who is 63 and finished in 21:21 for 90.06% PLP, second only to Groner.

Of course, as a championship the teams become the focal point and what is interesting is the new teams this season.  The Garden State Track Club was well represented and their A team took first in both the men and women’s division.  But the Shore Athletic Club’s women’s team placed second, with the Garden State B team in third, with the fledgling New Jersey Racing Project taking fourth.

On the men’s side Garden State’s B team took second but the Leonia Track Club was third, the Freedom Running Club fourth and the Garmin Runner fifth.  In sixth place was another new team, the Race Faster team that placed seventh.  Also competing were the long time local clubs like the Rose City Runners and the Morris County Striders although both of those teams featured  mostly masters age runners.  

SUNSET CLASSIC

Maybe the weather finally did in the runners or maybe it was just too close to the Sunday Lager race, but the Tom Fleming Sunset Classic on the 28^th had a light field and at a slower pace than the Sunday race.  Sean Prinz of Bloomfield was first in 27:26 with Hortencia Aliaga of Garfield the first woman in 31:45. The feature within the race was the USATF NJ coed teams.   Only two clubs fielded open teams with Fleet Feet Essex winning over the Raritan Valley Road Runners.

There was more enthusiasm for the masters division with the Fleet Feet Essex club winning that division, the Clifton Road Runners second and the North Jersey Masters taking third.  Also fielding teams were the New Jersey Racing Project, the Morris County Striders and the Central Jersey Road Runners.

MORRIS COUNTY STRIDERS 5K TOO HOT TO HANDLE

This past Tuesday was the hottest day of the week and that was a tough break for the second race in the Morris County Striders cross country series at Johanson Park in Boonton .  Runners may have stayed away because of the heat, or they were saving their legs for a Fourth of July run the next day.  Only sixty-one loyalists showed up, and the irony was that a weather pattern had just come through and cleared the heat and to some extent the humidity.  Conditions for a summer race were not bad at all.  Steve Manole of Great Meadows won the race in 18:32 and Christine Carney of Denville won the women’s side in 22:36.

MARKET STREET MISSION 5K

Two hundred and seventy-five runners turned out the next day for the Market Street Mission 5K cross country race in Central Park.  Colin Schweitzer of Lebanon finished first in 18:26 and Ariana Bauer of Morris Plains was first woman in 22:37.

BANFF ALTITUDE

Meanwhile, in Banff  the temperatures were cool but the altitude in the Canadian Rockies are not to be dismissed by us flatlanders.  Our hike from Lake Louise at 5,249 feet to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes at 7,005 was interrupted by catch-your-breath stops.  Even the two runs in Banff had to be done at a slow pace.  Now looking forward to more summer racing.

##

Race Results can often be found at www.compuscore.com or at www.bestrace.com

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

There was no running column this week -  Sunday, July 1. 2018

I was on a wonderful family vacation stay in Banff, Canada -  cool and beautiful in the Canadian Rockies.  

Look for a column on Sunday, July 8th.

                  Madeline