Let's talk track

Published in the Daily Record

on Sunday, January 13, 2019

LET'S TALK TRACK

While road runners are out training in the cold, snow and ice, another band of brothers are making their way indoors and running under cover.

Mark Williams of Columbia and Peter Kashulines of Mountain Lakes headed to Manhattan this past Thursday evening to race in the New York Road Runners, Thursday Night at the races at the New York Armory.  Williams, who moved into the 45 to 49 age division last year finished ninth overall in the 600 meter race in 1:28.55.  Kashulines, who is 55, finished in 1:33.84.

In the 1,000 meter race Williams finished in 2:39.64 and Kashulines in 2:51.08.  Two more Thursday Night at the Races are on the schedule, January 24 and February 28th.  It is likely that other area runners will join the duo.

In previous years, the New Jersey association of USATF had to search for an indoor facility in which to hold it's track and field championship meet.  They've been at the Jersey City armory, and the one at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, and across the river - make that the Delaware River, at East Stroudsberg and Lehigh University.  The bubble facility at Tom's River that is used for many high school meets has been a venue as has Monmouth University.  

The association is in general the last organization in line for use of a facility and often the meet was held very early in the season.  That has changed with the completion of the Ocean Breeze Indoor Facility on Staten Island.  What a beauty it is.  

New Jersey athletes used it for the first time in 2018 when Ocean Breeze hosted a dual championship meet between New York and New Jersey.  In 2018 all other athletes were excluded, which was a mistake.  Athletes from the Long Island association and MidAtlantic would have added to the events and made for a more interesting meet.  

That has been remedied for 2019.  The meet, which will be held on Sunday, February 10th, will again be a dual meet between the two associations, but athletes from other associations will be allowed to compete.  All registrations must be done on-line and no day of the meet registrations will be taken.

ROAD RACES 

Road runners can run in the Passaic County Technical Institute Winter Series in Wayne that kicks off this morning at 11:00 a.m. The series features four races with the fastest three race times  used to calculate the top people in the series.  The  other races will be on January 27th, and February 10th and 24th.   

In February, the Penguin Pace 5K on  February 2nd ,  will be staged from the  Packanack Lake Community Church in Wayne.  In 2019 the race attracted  302 finishers  with Rob Albano of Mahwah first in 15:56.  Kaitlyn Kiernan Bartolone of Hoboken  was the first woman to finish in 19:53.

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