Published by the DAILY
RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, November
16, 2014
Rochdi wins Giralda Farms 10K
Although it was a USATF NJ masters championship, thirty-one
year old Youssef Rochdi of Rockaway won the Giralda Farms 10K this past Sunday
in Madison with a time of 31:32. Rochdi
went into the lead from the start and the lead became a two minute chasm as
second place Kyle Price, 26, of Milltown finished in 32:33.
Two masters men did finish in the top ten and both from the
Morris area; Rich Burke, 47, of Morristown finished sixth in 33:37 and Elliott
Frieder, 44, of Montville finished next in 33:47. Elena Roshko, 41, of Morristown won the women’s
division in 37:36.
Only a handful of local clubs put teams in the winners
circle. The Sneaker Factory M40 team
took first place in their division with the Garmin Runners next with the Do Run
Runners in third. In the M50 division
the Do Run team took first place.
Cold weather a reminder of TCS New York City Marathon
This
week’s weather change coming two weeks after the TCS New York City Marathon that
featured wind and bone chilling cold may have brought back memories of that
challenging day.
For
Joe Sikora, of Succasunna, running his 25th New York marathon, the
long wait in the cold was the most challenging aspect this year.
“I believe that most
runners (myself included), were not fully prepared for the wind chill effect of
standing in an open field for hours beforehand,” he wrote in an email. “Mentally
and physically this was draining.”
Sikora said that he was
determined to go out slowly so as to give himself a chance to run negative
splits and enjoy the experience.
“I did go out slow but
even with that approach, I was drained by mile sixteen. The remainder of the race into very gusty
winds was a survival shuffle,” said Sikora who finished in an uncharacteristic 5:11:27,
about one hour slower than predicted.
For Fran Libasci of
Summit who finished in 5:12:38, the wind and wind gusts also drained her.
“By the time I reached
mile six I felt as though I had run the entire 26.2 miles because of the energy
expended running into the wind and trying (successfully) to stay upright and
not drift into others and not trip over my own feet,” she wrote.
“The cross winds (on the
lower level) were so strong that whenever I'd bring my left leg down it would
be blown to the right enough that I wound up stepping on myself and/or kicking
my right ankle.”
Libasci also reported
that on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn ordinary objects like cups or light
trash became projectiles as the winds swooped them up and swirled them around. Because of the wind some special effects were
missing.
“One of the fun parts of
the race for me has always been the jumbo sign just as you are exiting Brooklyn
(slow down, dangerous curve ahead) and a Jumbotron a block after you enter ‘da
Bronx with a view of all the runners,” said Libasci. “But due to the high winds neither of them was
in use this year. The banners of balloons at the starting line, mile markers
along the course and at the finish line were eliminated also, making those
milestones just a bit less festive.”
“With all this said, we
were lucky to have cool temps, deep blue skies and puffy white clouds. It was a
fabulous, incredible, and windy day,” she said. “There is nothing like New York City on
Marathon Sunday!”
Eugene
Napolitano of Morris Plains was running his twenty-first New York marathon. With the conditions as they were that day,
and he said that at times he was running with his hand on his bib for fear it
would be torn off, he said he had fun.
Since no one was going to be running a fast race and all chances of a
personal record were lost all the pressure was off.
“In some ways this was not as
disappointing as you may think,” said Napolitano who finished in 4:31:07. “It’s
like a free pass, so to speak. Yes, there were months of training and several
20-22 mile training runs, but when you wake up on a day like last Sunday and
you have to run a course like NYC, which is very tough, all of a sudden you
feel relief.”
“All bets are off,” he went on. “You just push to the finish line. I, for one, had a blast. Did I run a good time? Heck no. Did I have a good time? Without a
doubt.”
Like Napolitano, Jodi Lee Alper of
Basking Ridge who finished in 4:25:47, looked at the positive side of the race.
“Maybe I am the odd person out, but
I thought it was an amazing day. The crowds were out in force, notwithstanding
the weather, and the runners all seemed to be holding it together and moving
forward with grace.”
“Personally, having wind at my back
going down (actually up!) 5th Avenue and into the Park was a gift I
do not expect to experience in the near future, though I hope that I am wrong,”
she said. “So, all in all, the wind in
our faces, which became the wind at our backs, did not dampen the energy of our
beloved NYC marathon.”
##
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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