Thirty-six teams at Fitzgerald's Lager Run

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 2, 2017

THIRTY-SIX TEAMS AT FITZGERALD’S LAGER RUN

Whew!   Championships all done for the spring season.  The Fitzgerald’s Lager Run 5K this past Sunday drew a full field of young men to compete for the open men’s championship, along with a full field of others who are enthusiastic fans of the race that takes place in Glen Ridge each year.  There will not be another championship until August with the Midland Mile and the first of the USATF cross country races.

Joshua Izewski of Doylestown, PA won the race in an impressive 14:27, with Eric Chirchir of Irvington second in 14:40, and Aaron Leskow of Morristown third in 15:05.

Leskow was on the winning Garden State Track Club C team.  The club put five teams in the top five spots with three other teams also in the mix.  The abilities of the top tier men on the teams is so well balanced that it is not always the A team that places first.  At the race on Sunday the C team was first, the B team second and the A team third.

Justin Scheid of Succasunna placed fifth overall in 15:17 to lead in his Shore Athletic Club team to eighth place.

Thirty-six teams competed, but that number is misleading, as many of the teams were made up of masters men.  As there was no masters team competition the older men were free to run in the open division, and they did.

Roberta Groner of Randolph won the women’s race in a personal best time of 16:24. Nora Cary, 62, of Morristown was the top masters woman with her 21:34 hitting 88.03%.  Brian Crowley, 52, of Hillsborough was the top masters man going up to 90.88% with his 16:28 finishing time.  Gary Leaman, 58, of Hardwick was next with his 17:38 at 89.00% PLP.

RACE FOR RECOVERY ON THE FOURTH

If you like to race on the Fourth of July but hate the travel to Fourth of July races like the Cranford Firecracker we now have a fun race in Morris County.

The Race for Recovery 5K is being held on the high school cross country course in Central Park in Morris Plains.  The race is a USATF cross country grand prix race.  Except for the Morris Country Striders 5 K race series in Boonton there has not been any other local cross-country races in the series that is close to home. 

The course is a mix of hills as well as flat sections on well groomed trails.  It is not only used by the local high schools but also by the younger set.  The youth Lakeland League uses the course and it was the New Jersey Junior Olympic site in 2015 and 2016.  Roadies should be able to handle it

The race is being put on by the Market Street Mission in Morristown that helps people who are struggling with addiction.   Stay for a picnic for the participants with hot dogs and hamburgers included on the menu.  It is suggested that you bring a lawn chair or a blanket.  Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. with the race start at 9:00 a.m.  The pre-entry deadline has passed. The day of race entry fee is $35.00. 

MORRIS COUNTY SERIES RACE THIS THURSDAY

While a morning race on the Fourth of July is great, an evening race on the Fourth is not.  The Morris County Striders moved their 5K race for this one week to Thursday, July 6^th.  Registration begins at 6:00 p.m. with the race start at 7:00 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