CLUB AND TEAM GRAND PRIX IS FINAL FOR 2012

Written by Madeline Bost

Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, December 30, 2012

Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2012

The Club and Team Grand Prix is over for 2012 and the final tally has been published.  Things are looking a lot different this year.  Until now the front runners were always predictable.

The Raritan Valley Road Runners were always first.  Next you could expect the Sneaker Factory in second place and the Morris County Striders in third.  Some years the second and third place clubs traded places.

Well look at what has happened!   Yes, the Raritan Valley club is still in first, but the rest of the line-up has changed.  Now the Clifton Road Runners Club has taken second and not that far behind first either.  Raritan Valley finished with 424 points but the Clifton runners are only 31 points back with 393 points.

The Shore Athletic Club that hardly competed in the first years of the series finished in third place just 29 points back with 364.  The Garden State Track Club, with mostly open runners, but plenty of them, finished fourth with 293 points. 

The Sneaker Factory Running Club finished in fifth place with 278 points.  Sixth place was taken by the Do Run Running Club, the North Jersey Masters finished in seventh place.  The Morris area Garmin Runners finished in 8^th place and the Morris County Striders placed ninth.  The rest of the line-up was; Central Jersey Road Runners Club 10^th, Rose City Runners Club 11^th, Fleet Feet Essex 12^th and the Randolph based Original Geezers thirteenth, and last.

TEAMS

The Garden State Track Club created their own contest in the open men division, finishing their A team in first, their B in third, their C in sixth and their D in 8^th.  Raritan Valley’s team took second and the Sneaker Factory was fourth.

The Sneaker Factory took first in the M40 division but it was their women’s team that pushed the numbers up.  They placed first in the W50, second in W40, and fourth in the open women’s division.

The Do Run Running Club that runs from Randolph’s Freedom Park each week placed third in the W40 division, fourth in the M50, and fifth in M40 and M60, and fifth in the open women’s division.  The Garmin runners dominated the W40 division and placed third in the open women’s division. 

The Morris County Striders had a rough year but they placed fourth in the M60 division and fifth in the W50.  In the W60 division they were third and they had it all to themselves in the W70 and W80 divisions.  The Rose City Runners Club placed third in the W60 division.

Many things account for the shift in the clubs.  Runners have moved from one club to another and new clubs have been formed.  Those changes have weakened some clubs and strengthened others.  A member of one club must delay switching from one club to another for ninety days after competing for a club.  So this winter period from the last championship, the ten miler that was held on December 9^th, to the first of the 2013 season, the 20K Miles for Music on March 10^th easily satisfies the ninety day rule. 

NEW YEARS DAY RACES START THE NEW SEASON

For runners who just can’t get enough racing, New Year’s Day offers the opportunity to start 2013 with a 5K or even a five miler.  Fair Lawn, Westfield, Hamilton and Hillsborough are four races that are sanctioned and on the USATF New Jersey calendar.

Membership in USATF begins anew in 2013 so runners who want all of their races in the new year to count in the New Balance Grand Prix need to make sure that they have renewed.  It is easily done on-line, or the old fashioned way via mail.  Information is available at usatfnj.org.

LOCAL RUNNERS TAKE THEIR SHARE OF HONORS IN GRAND PRIX

 Written by Madeline Bost

Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, December 23, 2012

Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2012

New Jersey runners that have competed in the USATF New Balance Grand Prix series have been finding a letter of congratulations in the mail along with an invitation to attend the Awards Banquet on January 19th at the Pines Manor in Edison.

Paul DeNunzio of Ironia can be excused for being surprised at his first place finish in the 34 and under age division in the New Balance Grand Prix.  This is but the second year that DeNunzio has competed in the series.

On the other side of the spectrum is Gary Rosenberg of Morristown who has been competing in the series since young adulthood.  Now in the M40 division Rosenberg has placed first in that division.  Scott Isgett of Rockaway placed third.

Antonio Massa of Budd Lake placed second in the M45 division with John Sabatino of Morris Plains taking third.

Beau Atwater of Bernardsville finished out of the money in the M50 division, losing third place by just three points.  That’s a tough spot to be in, but he got a fine consolation prize – first in his division in the Mini One grand prix that features the short races like 5K’s and four milers.  Better yet, Atwater was first overall in the cross country series.

Charlie Slaughter of Parsippany placed second in the M55 division with Will DeRoberts of Boonton getting third.  Bill Bosmann of Rockaway took first in the M60 division and Roger Price of Randolph was third.  Price also placed first in the cross country series in his division.

Connie Augustine of Mendham placed second in the W40 division, with Joanna Stevens of Basking Ridge in third.  Just seven points back, in fourth place was Polly Harrison also of Basking Ridge.

Stacey Graham of Morris Plains placed third in the W45 division.  Jane Parks of Morristown entered the W60 division this year and had no problem winning that division handily.

Shirley Pettijohn of Chatham placed second in the W75 division.  Diane Stone of Bernardsville, Melva Murray of Bedminster, and Patricia Tummey of Randolph finished in that order in the W80 division.

Elena Rozhko of Morristown easily won the Mini One series, having perfect scores in eight of the required nine races.  Other local women include; Karyn Layton of Rockaway, first in W40, Heather Lukeman, third in W45, Dede Paul, of Madison, first in W50, Cande Olsen of Chatham, second in W60 and Lorrie Brnic of Towaco, first in W70.

In the Mini Two series, Lorraine McPhillips of Basking Ridge placed third in the W55, and Betty Langenkamp of Wharton placed third in the W60 division.

Chuck Paul of Madison was first in the M55 division of the Mini One.  Henry Pontious of Parsippany was second in M75 and Arch Seamans of Rockaway was second in M80.  Youssef Rochdi of Parsippany was first in the 34 and under division.

 Pete Tummey of Rockaway was third in the M45 division of the Mini Two, and Mark Washburne of Mendham, third in M55.

In the Cross Country series Charles Castiglioni of Lake Hopatcong was third in the M50 division, as was Lisa Davenport, also of Lake Hopatcong, in the W50 division.  Mark Washburne was third in the M55 and Carl Weaver of Morris Plains was third in the M60.  Betty Langenkamp was third in the W60 division.

USATF-NJ CHAMPIONSHIP RACES ARE POSTED FOR 2013

Written by Madeline Bost

Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, December 16, 2012

Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2012

The season for racers is pretty much over for 2012.  How well a runner or a team did is now history.  Checking out the New Jersey USATF website can inspire the runners to say, better luck next year if 2012 didn’t go as planned.  The Championship races for 2013 have been posted and it looks like a great schedule.

It is not easy to satisfy everyone, but this one looks like it can draw few complaints; at least as pertains to the recovery gaps between races for each division.   Returning once again as the first race on the schedule is the Miles for Music 20K for all of the divisions.  It takes place at Johnson Park in Piscataway on March 10^th.

There will be a good gap before the next race, the April 7^th Indian Trails 15K in Middletown for open men and women.  I don’t know if Indian Trails ever bids for the masters championship but I would guess that if they did it would be turned down.  It is truly a challenging course and some of the senior masters would not be able to handle it.

They can manage the Clinton Country Run 15K on April 27^th.  While not exactly flat the rural course has long grades and never lung busters like the Indian Trails race.  It’s the championship for both masters men and women.

Open men and women have the next race and it is a good long gap from the Indian Trails race, Saturday May 11^th.  That’s when the Newport 10,000 in Jersey City takes place.  So far everything looks like the same schedule as 2012, but here is where a change takes place.  The Run for Rachel 5K in Livingston on May 19^th will not be the open women’s championship, but the masters women’s race.  So although that is only a week’s difference from the open women’s 10K, it is not a race that they need to run.

The Ridgewood Run 10K has been at various times a championship for one of the divisions and at times has not been in the line-up at all, but for 2013 it is the masters men’s championship.

Now if I were making an oral presentation this is where I would ask for the drum roll.  That’s because the next race is the President’s Cup Night Race on June 17^th and it will be the open men’s championship.  Let’s hear the cheers!

In 2012 the popular 5K in Millburn was just another 500 point Category One event.  The folks were not happy.

Wrapping up the spring season is the Lager Run 5K in Glen Ridge on June 23^rd and again it will be the masters men championship.

Since the masters women will have the Run for Rachel, the open women will have the Jimmy D 5K for their championship in New Brunswick on September 1^st.  The Liberty Waterfront half marathon in Jersey City will be on September 22^nd and it is for all divisions. 

The next road championship will be the Giralda Farms 10K and in 2013 it will be the masters women’s race.  Thanksgiving morning all divisions will race at the Ashenfelter 8K in Glen Ridge and that will wrap up the season.  Yes, or should I say No.  No Grand Finale Ten Miler in December.  The championship season will end with the 8K.  Did I hear more cheers? 

The schedule for the cross country races is still incomplete.   There is a good possibility that the 5 kilometer cross country championship will take place in August.   The 8 kilometer will likely take place in October.

What is known is that the national cross country masters championship 5 kilometer was awarded to New Jersey at the annual meeting in Daytona Beach earlier this month and it will be held on October 20^th at Deer Path Park in Readington.

NEW BALANCE GRAND PRIX HAS ONE RETURNING WINNER – CATHERINE SMITH.

MICHAEL ANIS COMES FROM BEHIND

Catherine Smith was a solid bet for winning the New Balance Grand Prix for another year.  Smith, of Wayne, missed a perfect score of 5,700 by two points.  Michael Anis of Highland Park was a come from behind winner on the men’s side. 

His was not a near perfect score, 5,653 but 21 points up from Gary Leaman of Hardwick, who had been at the top spot for several weeks.   Anis filled in his score card in November when he took 698 points at the Ashenfelter 8 kilometer and 499 points at the Westfield Turkey Trot.

FALES RECEIVES PRESIDENT’S AWARD, KEENAN-KIRKPATRICK ELECTED TO NATIONAL POSITION

Written by Madeline Bost

Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, December 9, 2012

Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2012

Morris County was well represented at the annual USATF national meeting in Daytona Beach this past week, with some delegates receiving special recognition.  The New Jersey association with over six thousand members was allowed seventeen delegates at the meeting.  Many associations could send only a handful of delegates.

The meeting took place from November 29^th to this past Sunday, December 2^nd.   Pam Fales of Boonton, the Managing Director of the New Jersey Association was in Daytona Beach even before the start for participation in special youth meetings.

 Fales is the east region representative of the associations committee; the masters track & field east region representative; is on the executive committee of masters long distance running. Most recently she has served on a task force for creating an on-line system for event sanctioning.

At the opening ceremony on Thursday evening Fales was seated with fellow New Jersey delegates as national President Stephanie Hightower announced her selections for the President’s Award.  The President’s Award is one of the most coveted as it recognizes the accomplishments of the awardees and more importantly, the contributions of the winners.  Many have been “in the trenches” for years before they receive the award, and of course, many never receive this highest of recognition.

Fales had been nominated by New Jersey president Ed Neighbour of Sparta, but even he did not know that Fales would be an award recipient.  Hightower had chosen to give the name of the person receiving the award before reciting his or her achievements.  So with no preamble, Fales was caught completely by surprise. 

After a shocked look around at her fellow New Jersey delegates, she quickly made her way to the stage to receive the award, along with a handshake from Hightower and then a pose for a photo.

Fales has been the managing director since July of 2003 and the organization has had a steady climb in services, revenues and increase in programs for New Jersey members.  Almost immediately after taking the job, Fales implemented streamlined procedures that resulted in a significant drop in expenses.  Thanks to Fales, the association has reached a comfortable bank balance, in keeping with not-for-profit organizations that strive to retain a comfortable cushion in the event of a decrease in revenue or an increase in expense.

The New Jersey association is often looked to for advice or as an example of a well run and balanced organization.  Obviously Fales is at the core of this attention and along with her service on the various national committees, it is one of the reasons for her receiving the President’s Award.

KEENAN-KIRKPATRICK REACHES HIGHEST POSITION AT WOMENS LDR

The name Kim Keenan is a familiar one to those who raced or followed road racing in the 90’s.  Keenan was winning local Morris County and state races.  She won the USATF New Jersey grand prix for several years.  She is an associate athletic director at Seton Hall University.  Keenan is married to Brian Kirkpatrick, another long distance runner and living in Hunterdon County.  Both continue to run for the Sneaker Factory when time and schedule permit.

 Keenan-Kirkpatrick has been active on New Jersey USATF committees and has been involved at the national level in women’s long distance running for over ten years.   In 1999 she was the team leader for the women’s Ekiden in Yokohama Japan and has since served on seven other team staffing spots, including acting as the assistant women’s coach for distance for the US Olympic team in Beijing China.   She was part of the 2008 Olympic Trials site selection committee.

Keenan-Kirkpatrick has been the women’s long distance running vice chair since 2002 and has been on the executive committee since 1999.  At the meeting in Daytona Beach she was elected to the position of chair of the committee.

THANKSGIVING DAY RACES ALL ATTRACT RECORD NUMBERS

Written by Madeline Bost

Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, November 25, 2012

Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2012

Well what would you expect with the weather sunny, bright and wind free?  Record numbers of runners for this year’s Thanksgiving Day races.  The Flemington Turkey Trot grew by another 29 runners to 4,203 to top the races.  The Dick Meighan Memorial in Saddle River increased by 143 to 2,257 and the Morris Township race grew by another 128 to finish with 2,257 runners.

At the Horace Ashenfelter 8 kilometer in Glen Ridge, the race drew 2,551 finishers, up by 67 runners.  It was won by John Thou of Patterson in 24:04.  The 8 kilometer was both the masters men and masters women USATF championship and the most outstanding performance was by William Zink of Wyckoff whose 28:15 at age 52 graded at 87.21%.  On the women’s side Jane Parks, 59, of Morristown finished in 35:25 for a score of 87.75%.

 The USATF teams turned out in what could be record numbers.  On the men’s side the M40 division had 15 teams with the Morris area Sneaker Factory taking the top spot.  The Do Run Runners, also a local club, took third.

In the M50 division the race was won by the Shore Athletic Club.  The Shore club also won the M60 division.  Eleven men’s teams entered the M50 division and the M60 division.

Running on home turf the North Jersey Masters club scored in several divisions as did the neighboring team, the Fleet Feet Essex club.  That club placed first in the W40 division, with the Morristown based Garmin team second and the Sneaker Factory third.  Eighteen teams competed in the W40 division and 14 in the W50.  Only three women are required in Masters team competition.

In the W50 division the Sneaker Factory team was first and the North Jersey Masters second with the Morris County Striders taking third.  The Madison based Rose City Runners were first in the W60 division while the Morris County Striders fielded a W70 team to take first once again in that division.

According to my unofficial calculations the always mighty Raritan Valley Road Runners brought in 17 more points to solidify their lead at 378 points and the Clifton Road Runners brought in 24 points to stay in second with 330 points.  Third and Fourth place changed with the Shore Athletic Club bringing in the highest number of points from the race at 32 to total 295 for the season.  The Garden State Athletic Club is in fifth with 293.

The next championship race and the final of the season is the Grand Finale Ten Miler on December 9th in Mercer County Park will be the championship for all divisions and give the younger teams a chance to bring in points for the final count.

DOVER RENAISSANCE  NOW THIS SATURDAY

Talk about bad luck.  In 2010 the Dover Renaissance 5K could not take place due to road construction on the route.  In 2011 the Halloween snow storm kicked the Great Swamp Devil to the same weekend as the Dover race and people had to choose one over the other.

This year the race was scheduled for Saturday November 3rd and we all know what happened when Hurricane Sandy shut down a good part of New Jersey.  Bruised and battered the race is now on the schedule for this Saturday, December 1st.  It is one of the last remaining chances for runners to better their score in the New Balance Grand Prix.  Race registration and the start and finish are at the corner of Blackwell and Prospects Streets in front of the Casa Di Puerto Rico Club.

Runners are directed to park in the public lot on Prospect Street and not at the club lot or on Blackwell Street.  The race starts at 9:00 a.m.

TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE HISTORY NOW

Written by Madeline Bost

Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, November 18, 2012

Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2012

Folks in New Jersey have a new marker in their family calendar – before Sandy and after Sandy.  We’ve had two USATF New Jersey championships since Sandy.  Actually to be technical, Hurricane Sandy hit after the 8 kilometer cross country championship was held, but with no electricity this reporter has not been able to send a column to this esteemed newspaper until this week.

So like everyone, we are catching up.  The 8 km took place on Sunday, October 28th with warnings to not linger because the storm was on its way.  The traditional post race barbeque was cancelled although the runners were able to chow down on potato salad that had been purchased prior to the park closing warning.  It needed to be consumed, or thrown away.

One hundred and sixty six men ran in the race and 86 women, which could be a record for that event.  The now dominant Garden State Track club took first through fourth in the open men’s division.  It has been a long time, or never since the North Jersey Masters won the M40 division but they did so that day, knocking off the Shore Athletic Club that finished in second. The Sneaker Factory was third.

The best that a local team did in the M50 division was the Do Run Runners who finished in fifth place. The Shore AC took first in the M50 and the M60 division and the best local team for the M60 was the Randolph based Geezers.

The Morristown based Garmin Runners placed second in the open women’s division to the Garden State Track Club.  The Garmin women won the W40 division by two points over the Shore club, while the Sneaker Factory took third.

Last Sunday the Giralda Farms 10K was host to the masters men championship. Gary Rosenberg, team captain for the Garmin M40 team came away with a huge smile on his face after his team won that division.  It had been a long time coming with injuries plaguing the Morris County based team.  The Sneaker Factory team took second.

Another group of men with smiles on their faces was the Morris County Striders M50 team.  Although they placed third it was the highest score they had managed in some time.  The Do Run Runners took the third spot in the M60 division and second in the M70 division.

The club and team scores have been posted on the USATF website and they show the Raritan Valley Road Runners in their customary first position.  The Clifton Running Club is in second and trailing by just over fifty points.  That Garden State Track Club is not far behind the Clifton Club but they have only a thirty point lead over the Shore club.  That may sound like a good size lead, but the Ashenfelter race is for masters men and women and the Garden State team is made up of mostly open runners.  Their lead could disappear after the 8K.

The next and final Championship is the Grand Finale Ten Miler on December 9th.  All divisions are represented.  The Garden State club could come back to capture more points but so to can the masters clubs.  It could get very interesting.

Clearly it is Game On for the upcoming Ashenfelter 8 kilometer race on Thanksgiving morning.

THANKSGIVING MORNING THE BIGGEST TURNOUT OF THE YEAR

Ashenfelter may be the draw for USATF New Jersey masters runners and last year close to 2,500 runners turned out for the race.  But there are rival races throughout the state.  The biggest and oldest is the Flemington Turkey Trot.  Last year it finished over four thousand runners.

Olympian Julie Culley of Annandale won the women’s race in 15:06 to place seventh overall.  Since Culley ran a personal best in London last August of 15:05 at the Olympics in the 5,000 meter race, the stats for the 5K in Flemington last year would have you scratching your head.  But the course was cut short last year through a marshalling error.

In the heart of Morris County is one of the newer Thanksgiving races; the Turkey Trot 5K that takes place in Morris Township at the Ginty Field location.  Last year the race drew over two thousand competitors.

If race days dawns as pleasantly as the long range weather forecast are predicting, all of the races could have record turnouts.

POINTS WILL CHANGE IN NEW BALANCE GRAND PRIX WITH NOVEMBER RACES

Written by Madeline Bost

Originally Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, November 4, 2012

Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2012

The fall racing season is in its final stage with November and December races offering the last chance to improve on USATF New jersey New Balance Grand Prix scores.  A look at the current standings makes for interesting reading and analysis.

Gary Leaman of Hardwick has the lead on the men’s side.  Leaman, who runs for the Sneaker Factory team has had an outstanding year, but at age 53, it is unlikely that he will stay on top as the season concludes and younger, faster men come in.

All non championship grand prix races give 500 points to the first place man or woman, with the points descending from there.  Championship races start at 700 points, which is a wonderful way to maximize points.  But each distance category allows for only two championship scores.

Leaman has all his nine races and scores 5,632 points.  At this point in the season there is always someone lurking below who is missing a race or more.  Michael Loenser of Piscataway is one such “lurker”.  He is in 17th place with 5,101 points and missing one race and only needs to score 532 points to beat Leaman.

Further down the list is Youssef Rochdi of Parsippany.  His score is 4,683 points and with two races missing there is no doubt that he could capture 950 points to go ahead of Leaman as well.

Can a runner who is missing three catch up?  Tim Morgan of South Plainfield has 3,968 points and is lurking in 75th place. He needs one championship and one non championship in the Category Two, and one non championship race in Category Three in order to pick up 1,665 or more points to topple Leaman.  He can find that at the Great Swamp Devil 15K taking place today, or wait until the Ten Mile Season Finale in December.  The next weekend he can run the Giralda Farms 10K, or go to the Ashenfelter 8K on Thanksgiving.  He would still need a non Championship Category Two and the Westfield five mile Turkey Trot on the Saturday after Thanksgiving is back in the grand prix.

On the women’s side there is not as much drama.  Kavitha Manley of Piscataway is in the lead with 5,677 points but that spot is in jeopardy with Catherine Smith of Wayne needing just one race to take over the lead.  Smith won the overall grand prix in 2011 and there is no reason to expect otherwise of her.  She has perfect scores in six races and two 698 point races.

Cheyenne Ogletree of Garfield has been winning races this year but she would need over one thousand points to take the lead.  She would need to score 500 points in a non championship Category One and a Category Three.  Her weakest scores are her Category Two races where she has 697, 683, and 496.  She would need to improve on at least two of them.  Like Morgan, she could find the races but would have to win them all to beat Smith with her near perfect scores.

[Editor's Note: Cheyenne now has a 700 point Cat 2, and Catherine Smith has a 500 pt Cat III.  She could win with just four points under a perfect score.  But the women's race could be very close!]

ING New York City Marathon

Many New Jersey runners will be on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on Staten Island next Sunday for the ING New York City Marathon.  Each runner paid $255.00 for the privilege or $216.00 if they were a member of the New York Road Runners club.  It raises the question of whether racing, or at least racing in a high profile race, is becoming a sport for only the wealthy.  Certainly costs have gone up to host a huge event like the one in New York but can costs have gone up to that degree?

A recent article in the New York Times pointed out that the fee is “more than the $100.00 more than the fee for any of the four other major world marathons and nearly five times the cost of the London Marathon alone.”

I wonder how many runners have opted to not run in the New York race because of the high fee.  I do not run marathons so I cannot be objective on this but I would like to hear from those who do.

[Editor's Note: Of course the NYC Marathon was subsequently canceled due to Hurricane Sandy.]