Roberta Groner leaves for New York AC

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, March 12, 2017

GRONER MOVES TO NEW YORK AC

Roberta Groner of Randolph began making waves after moving to the state from Pittsburg in  2014.  In 2015 she was always in the top three in races and in 2016 she was PR’ing and winning races.  Groner won the USATF grand prix in 2015 and in 2016 she did it with a perfect score.

While being a big fish in a small pond satisfies some people, for Groner, it had begun to chafe.  At the Ashenfelter 8K last November with no other women around she remembers that her drive in the last half mile was just a bit let down.  She said that she didn’t stop her drive but was at the point that she knew she wanted to see what she could do with competition.

The competition that she sought was not far away; just across the Hudson a mere hour’s drive or so from home.  At the New York Athletic Club, there is no required practice and you can run on your own, a definite plus for someone who lives all the way out in Randolph.  In addition to being pushed by other women of her ability, there were some financial considerations too.

 “I reach a certain tier level and I get some funding and races paid for, shoes, things like that.”

While she will be spending time in her car to get to New York races, her travel expenses will be reimbursed

“There will be women a lot faster than me,” said Groner.  “But it’s nice to have that push and to strive to see what I can do with faster women around me.  I’m looking for a new adventure.  I just turned 39 and I don’t know how many more years I have left to run at this level.”

“Why not try it for at least a year and if it doesn’t work out I always have my team to return to in New Jersey,” she said, referencing the New Jersey Racing Project.

It is unlikely that it won’t work out for her according to her coach Hector Matos of Rutherford.

Matos has been coaching Groner since late October and he has very high in praise for her.

“She’s got a lot of untapped talent.  Her training was very moderate considering she is training for the marathon,” said Matos.   “She is responding very well so far.  It is only a matter of time before she has a huge breakthrough in the marathon.”

Groner will race in the United Airlines Half Marathon next weekend.  How she does in that race will help in judging her fitness for running in the Boston Marathon in April.  Last September she finished the Newport Liberty Waterfront Half in 1:16:35.

“We’ve been training for Boston, but after the half marathon next week, we’ll make a final decision to go or not,” he said.   “She is in PR shape.  If she can improve on her PR then it is definitely worth a try.”

“Boston can be tricky, and sometimes Boston can be really hot,” he said.  “If that’s the case then we will probably scratch.”

More long range planning has Groner running in the California International Marathon in Sacramento in December.  If she hits an Olympic qualifying time in the race it will ensure eligibility for the USA Olympic trials marathon.

Groner said her goal is to reach the A Standard which is 2:37, not the B which is 2:45.  She won the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon last fall in 2:37:54.  The Boston course is harder but with the training she is doing – 80 to 85 miles a week no one would bet against it.  The Sacramento course should be a snap – no heart break hills.

“She’s amazing how she can handle it all so well,” said Matos.  “She works full time.  She’s training at a high level and she is a mother.  It’s impressive how she can handle all that together.”

“She is very focused, very disciplined, he said.  “It’s a pleasure to coach her.”

He points out that Groner knows the difference between marathon pace, half marathon pace, or 10K pace effort. 

“It’s a good skill to have.  I’m looking forward to working with her and see more improvement,” Matos said.  “I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.  As long as she stays healthy she is going to do very well.”

“As for her turning forty next year, she’s definitely ahead of other masters out there,” he said.  “By a long margin.”

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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.

Unforgettable

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, March 5, 2017

 

UNFORGETTABLE

There are races that stand out in your memory and many others that you can’t even recall.   Check your running log back a few years and you’ll scratch your head trying to remember some races

But those PR races.  Ah.  Yes, you remember them.   You also remember the disaster ones; cold, snow, rain, muddy cross country courses, or the ones you almost didn’t finish.

How about the one where you did not start?  I’ve got that one.

“Hey, why don’t we find a race to run while we’re out in Vegas,” I said to my race loving companion.   We were going to be in Vegas to visit my sister and her husband, but we like to take off and explore while out there.  Running in a race would be perfect, especially if it were a distance away so that we could continue to explore the great southwest.

The Lost Dutchman Mine Marathon in Apache Junction Arizona.  Perfect.  Not the marathon part.  No, they run a marathon, a half marathon, a 10K and an 8K trail race.  An 8K trail race was the perfect match for us.  What could go wrong?

Well, everything.   The national news was full of weather reports of rain in California, a dam that might spill its load, and a huge weather front that was going to dump more rain on the waterlogged state.  Where would that front go after it left California?   You got it – Arizona!

Heavy rains predicted for Apache Junction and surrounding areas.  Coming in on Saturday and rain all night and the next day.   Race day.  

On Saturday we drove over to the park to check out the race trail head.  A park ranger just happened to drive in at the same time we did.

“Oh, that trail will be a mess if that rain comes in.  The dirt just sticks to your shoe if it’s muddy,” he said, not reassuringly.

Over at the race expo we talked to the race organizers.   “If it looks dangerous we will move the trail race over to the 10K road course,” we were assured.

“Yes, but what if we don’t agree?  You say it’s OK and we say, no way.”

“You can enter the 10K on race day, if you don’t want to do the trail race.” She says.  

By Saturday afternoon the front with its abundant rain had arrived.  It was still light out when we drove down the road to a restaurant for a meal and a beer or two.  The dirt parking lot was gooey from the rain.  Just like the ranger said.  It stuck to your shoes.

Leaving the place we tried to take a slightly different route to miss some of the mud.  Only the marquee provided any light in the now pitch dark parking lot.  One step off the paved apron at the bottom of the steps and my pal jammed his unsuspecting foot in a foot deep puddle and prevented further damage by falling into the car parked in front of the puddle.

The rest of the evening was spent with his leg elevated and an ice pack on the wounded foot.

At dawn any racing was out of the question.  The cold relentless rain was no longer an issue.  Me?  I wasn’t going over there without him.

Oh, while we were non starters we did get our race experience.  As course marshals.  The hotel was at mile nine of the marathon.  We bundled up and donned our rain parkas and offered to help.  We weren’t really needed at the water stop so we wandered up to the turn before the water stop and warned the marathoners that the road ahead was underwater.  The warning was pointless as their shoes were already soaking wet after nine miles in the rain.  It made little difference to have to wade through the unavoidable water in the road.

Did we offer a cheery, “lookin’ good” to the runners?   No.  They looked miserable   Wet, cold and miserable.   Nothing was going make them feel dry and warm.   It’s one of those races they will never forget.  And neither will we.

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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.

Short winter break - Two weeks with no column

I will be taking a short winter break this month.  The February 12^th column is the last one until March 5^th.

How's that again? A fee to do it yourself?

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, February 12, 2017

HOW’S THAT AGAIN?  A FEE TO DO IT YOURSELF?

Something is askew these days when registering for a race. 

Without naming names or pointing a finger at any one race let’s see what is going on.

The stated fee to pre-register for the No Name 5K is $25.00 and $ 22.00 for NJ USATF members.  It is a very nice perk for members of the organization that has been negotiated by the New Jersey Long Distance Running Committee. 

Register on-line with a credit card and you’re in.   You go online and enter all of your particulars, giving your USATF number if you are a member, or without a number you just move on to next.

All’s well and good.  They have your name, address, age division and gender, birth date and now it is time to get out the credit card.

But wait a minute.  The actual fee is $ 28.25 or $ 25.25 thanks to the $ 3.25 fee that is tacked on when you register online.  Let’s see here.  You did all the data entry that is required to get yourself registered and you are slapped with a penalty fee for having done it.

A lot of irritated runners are signing up the old fashioned way.  Address an envelope, fill out the application, write a check and put a 49 cent Forever stamp on it and drop it in the mail.  You just saved yourself $ 2.76.

If there are two runners in a household, the saving is even better - $ 6.01.  Three runners it is $9.26.

Here’s the kicker.  The race organizers now have to pay someone to do the data entry for those applications.  You would have happily done it for them except for that penalty fee.  

O’REILLY WINS THE PRE-GAME FOUR MILE RACE

Karl O’Reilly of Morristown won the Pre Game four mile race on Super Bowl Sunday in 21:33.  Karen Auteri of Belvidere was the women’s winner.  She finished in 24:37. 

The weather was a little brisk on Sunday and that may have accounted for the low number of runners:  351 men and 409 women for a total of 760 finishers in staying with the pattern of women outnumbering me.  

LONG DISTANCE RUNNING COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE 23^RD

The Long Distance Running general membership meeting is coming up later this month, on the 23^rd.   This is the meeting where rule change proposals that were submitted way back in September are now voted on.   Only two proposals were submitted. 

The easy one is to allow three 700 point races to count in the Mini Three grand prix.  Currently only two 700 point races could be counted out of the maximum five races.  This will encourage more runners to compete in this grand prix mini division in which the shortest distance is now 12K.

The proposed change with more of a challenge is to apply a formula to each race’s winning time to determine the point value for that race in the grand prix.   This is one that will meet opposition for a variety of reasons.  While the intention is to level the playing field the opposing view is that a grand prix by its very existence has many variables.  Using a mathematical formula based on the world’s best time for a race distance to alter the race’s outcome is going to be confusing and unappealing to most.

One can view the agenda for the meeting and the proposed rules changes at www.usatfnj.org on the LDR page. 

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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.

Morris runners run track

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, February 5, 2017

MORRIS AREA RUNNERS RUN TRACK

Problems with finding a perfect date at a New Jersey indoor track and field facility have always plagued the New Jersey USATF association.  Indoor facilities are limited and usually fully booked for high school and college meets.  Having a championship on the last Sunday in January is far from ideal.  A championship, by its very nature should take place at the end of a season, not close to the beginning.

The track and field committee had to accept that which was available for the New Jersey meet and so it was held this past Sunday at the Bennett facility in Toms River.  Several Morris area road runners made the drive down to compete.

The roadies limited themselves to 800 meters or longer with most tackling only one event.  The exception was Gary Leaman, 57, of Hardwick who raced both the 1,500 meters and the 3,000 meters.  The athlete from Hardwick finished first in his division in the 1,500 in 4:53.97 and 10:07.67 in the 3,000.

Peter Kashulines, 53, of Mountain Lakes opted for the 800 meters which he won in his division in 2:13.52.  Robert Skorupski of Rockaway finished first in the M40 division in the 800 meters in 2:18.16.  Susan Stirrat of Rockaway was first W60 in the 1500 meters in 6:57.55.

Gary Rosenberg of Morristown was first M40 in the 3,000 with a time of 10:17.37.  Randy Miller of Montville was second to Leaman in the M55 in the 3,000 meters with a time of 12:05.06.

TWO CHARITY RUNS NEXT WEEKEND

Road runners have two opportunities to run next weekend.  Both races are 5K’s and both are more about fundraising than racing.  The Cupids Chase on Saturday in Morristown is one of several of that name that raises funds for Community Options, inc. an organization that provides assistance to people with disabilities. 

The race uses a certified course that mimics part of the Verizon Corporate Classic, the race that is run each July in Morristown.  Trophies will be given to the top three men and women, and unspecified awards in the usual age divisions up to 70 and older.

On Sunday, the 12^th is another opportunity to run with a group and to raise money for a Morristown family whose daughter Hedda is dealing with an aggressive form of cancer.  Hedda was diagnosed two years ago with medulloblastoma, a tumor of the brain.  She underwent 55 weeks of chemotherapy and this past November was pronounced free of the disease. 

Hedda and her family that includes brother William, sister Elva, and parents Camilla and Per Sivertsson celebrated with a skiing trip in Colorado.  The family was devastated upon their return to learn that the cancer had reappeared.  Hedda, now 14, spent six weeks, including Christmas and New Years in hospital for more treatments.

That’s when neighbor Melissa Pappolla decided to organize a run to raise funds to help the family.  Although insurance is paying most of the medical bills, other costs are involved whenever someone is seriously ill.  In addition the family is originally from Sweden and has no relatives in this country to lean on.  They would like to be able to send for family members to come to visit.

Pappolla’s daughter Grace and the Sivertsson’s daughter Elva are enrolled in Girl’s on the Run and it was a natural for Pappolla to ask for help from the organization.  She is one of the leaders of the local troop.

They choose Central Park Greystone and runners and walkers can choose to do the one and a half mile course at the park, or go for the 5 kilometer course.  This is a no frills event with no t-shirt and no official timing, although a clock will be at the finish line so that participants can see their finish time.  There is no set entry fee and the suggested donation is ten dollars to participate.

The event will start at 3:00 p.m. 

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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.

People love to read about other runners; why they run, what caused them to become runners, or they may have a great story like the one that you read recently about Gary Rosenberg.

You may have a story to tell, or you know someone who has an interesting story. 

Please send me your story tips.  They need to involve Morris area people to be considered for a story in the Daily Record.

You can reach me at madelinebost@verizon.net

or at 973-584-9302