Published by the DAILY
RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, January 4,
2015
It’s that time of year
It’s that time of year – no it’s not about Christmas. It’s the time of year when runners move from
one club to another. It’s the perfect
time to make a switch. There is a 90 day
wait period from the time a runner raced for the old team to when he or she can run for the new
team. In New Jersey the last state race was the
Ashenfelter 8 kilometer race on Thanksgiving Day. There was also the national race in nearby
Lehigh University in Pennsylvania on December 13. If a runner last raced for a club on
Thanksgiving Day he can race for a new club after Wednesday, February 25,
2015. If he raced at the national club
cross country race at Lehigh he would be able to race for his new club after
Friday, March 13th 2015.
Since there will be no long distance championships in New
Jersey until Sunday March 22 when the Miles for Music 20K is run there is no
problem to switch now. There is the New
Jersey Track and Field championship on Sunday, January 11th so a “switcher”
would have to run as an unattached athlete in the meet and he or she would not
able to bring points to the new club.
Since so few LDR runners also run track it is probably a moot point.
Switching is getting a lot of attention in this area because
the entire membership of the Sneaker Factory Running Club is making their
decisions on what club they want to run for in 2015. In December the members received an email
from their team captain John Sabatino that the Sneaker Factory store chain
would no longer be involved with the club.
The two Morris County area teams that will benefit the most
from the dissolution of the Sneaker Factory will probably be the Rose City
Runners, and the Garmin Racing team.
Many Sneaker Factory members have been dual members of Rose City and now
it is an easy move to become official with the Madison based club. Some Sneaker Factory runners had switched to
Garmin in the last two years so it is natural that others will follow.
Other clubs that have been mentioned are the Do Run Runners,
the Garden State Track Club and the Morris County Striders.
In a reversal of sorts, the original Geezers club that is
made up of mostly Randolph residents are doing an about face in 2015. In 2013 the Geezers, who have M50 and M60
teams had merged with the Garmin club where they were able to add points to the
overall Garmin club scores.
But it was an uneven fit and not all of the members were
happy to have lost their identity. Last
year their M60 team moved back to the Geezers and now the move is
complete. They are all back in their home camp once
again.
Calling all Track and Field Athletes
Flip the calendar and check out the 2015 track and field
schedule and you are in for a shock. The
New Jersey Track and Field Championship
meet is next Sunday, January 11th. What! How did that happen?
In the best of all worlds the meet would take place in
February or even early March but the date is chosen by default. Take it or leave it. There are few indoor facilities that will
have room on their schedule for the association meet as there is so much
competition from high school events.
Because of this, the meet has moved around like a gypsy
caravan – Pennsylvania, Jersey City, Pennsylvania, FDU in Bergen County. A well appreciated locale was the facility in
Monmouth University where the meet was held in 2013. In 2014 it was back again at the John Bennett
indoor facility in Toms River, and that is where it is being held this year.
The first track event is at noon. There is no day of meet entry; all athletes must
pre-enter and the deadline is tomorrow, Monday, January 5th.,
although it may be extended due to the short notice. Best
to not wait. Fire up the computer and
get yourself entered and tell your track and field friends.
##
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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