Run on the wild side

RUNNING COLUMN for the DAILY RECORD

on Sunday, August 20, 2017

RUN ON THE WILD SIDE

They say you can't go home again, but I sometimes think it is not true.   I grew up on an island in Washington state and when I return, as I do every year, I feel like I am home again.  In my youth I was not a runner.  Occasionally I would slip off the back of my horse and run along side  her on the hidden logging road in the woods not far from my home.   

Every year I make sure to run on that old logging road at least once, in memory of Candy, the lovely palomino who loved to race, to swim in a farm pond, and to patiently trot along side me when I got the urge to run.

The trail has changed since Candy and I were the rare riders of the trail.  The old road has been partially paved to accommodate the scattered homes in the woods now.  The pavement ends at a sharp 180 degree turn where a sign warns ominously, "No Turnaround Beyond this Point."   

What is a fun old road to run or ride on is a "no-go"  for cars, with serious potholes and extreme dips and climbs.  On that stretch it is easy to get lost in the stillness of the woods and to feel blissfully alone.   I came out of my reverie when I remembered that the cougar that had been feeding on the livestock on the small farms on the island, and not the numerous deer also inhabiting it, could actually be lurking in those very woods.  

When I emerged from the woods and back onto the paved road that would lead me home, it was with a little sigh of relief that I had not met up with the animal, also known as mountain lion, or catamount.  I learned later that the cougar had killed two donkeys in the same area as my run that day. 

 A trap was set and the animal was lured with one of the donkey carcasses and it was killed, deemed too much of a danger for the island livestock.  I can breathe easy when I next go on that run although sad that the cougar had not stayed with a deer menu and kept away from sheep, goats and donkeys.

Natirar Park in Somerset has never reported sightings of cougars, mountain lions, or catamounts.  More likely it will see  runners racing on the cross country course that winds around and through the park.  On Sunday, August 27th, the runners will be onUSATF teams  in the state 5K cross  country championship. 

 The Natirar course features an easy flat run interspersed with two extreme hills that some love and others hate.  Young runners charge up those hills and fly down like a herd of deer running from, well, cougars, I suppose.  The race will start at a cool 8:45 a.m.

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Madeline Bost
madelinebost@verizon.net

Midland Avenue Mile next Sunday

MIDLAND AVENUE MILE NEXT SUNDAY

The introduction of the Midland Avenue Mile race in 2016 was not exactly

auspicious.  In fact, it was pretty dreary, as in misty, moisty rain dreary.  Not that

running a mile in the rain on a Sunday evening in summer is all bad. Consider the

cooling off factor.  On the other hand, run in the rain, but celebrate in the sun can't

always be achieved.

In 2016 the Midland Avenue Mile in Montclair was the first year being the USATF

New Jersey state mile championship.  This year, the race was again selected for

hosting the mile championship for all divisions.  It will take place next Sunday,

August 20th.

Of course you can't put an entire field of runners on the line for a mile race.  it will

be much too crowded.   The schedule calls for several heats, starting with a family

division at 5:00 p.m. before the first masters heat at 5:30 p.m.  Men 60 and up will

be first, followed by Women 60 and up.  Then Men 50 to 59, on down to the open

categories.  Looking at the Practice Hard website, it looks like the open division will

be combined men and women and using seed times to create three different heats.

In 2016 Atilla Sabahoglu of Manville was the fastest man with a time of 4:39.32.    

the fastest woman was Roberta Groner of Randolph in 5:05.04.  Despite road

runners apprehension at racing a mile, the race had a good masters turnout in 2016.

Team captains are hoping to coax even more of their team members to turn out.

Those who raced in 2016 found out that running a mile fast did not hurt them and

was actually fun.  They should be back.

The rain in 2016 put a damper on the really fun part of a mile race; the post race

beer and food.  It will be back this year and hopefully not the rain.

Race registration and packet pick-up can be done on Friday and Saturday at Fleet

Feet Sports in Montclair, and on Sunday prior to the race.


TEAM BLOKE 5K DREW NEAR TWO-HUNDRED

The Team Bloke 5K in Mendham last week drew nearly two hundred runners who

likely knew or knew of Doug Clark, the international level triathlete who lost his

battle with a brain tumor last year.  The race raises funds that are used to support

familes that are dealing with cancer.

The race was won by Lucas Peterson of Waterford MI in 16:34, followed closely

by Morristown's Karl O'Reilly in 16:36.  Karen Auteri of Belvidere was the women's

winner in 18:55.

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Dover Renaissance 5K turns twenty-five this month

Published by the Daily Record
of Morris County, New Jersey
Sunday, August 6, 2017


DOVER RENAISSANCE 5K TURNS TWENTY-FIVE THIS MONTH

It was in 1992 when brothers David and Daniel Cruz of Dover ran the first Dover Renaissance 5K with the respective times of 15:59 and 16:05.

Much has happened since then in this historical town that sits on part of the Rockaway River.   As the Dover Renaissance 5K has its Silver Anniversary Run, it is somewhat bittersweet, as one of the founding members of Dover Renaissance, Mrs. Ellen Forbes, passed away earlier this year.

It was Ellen Forbes,  along with three of her neighbors, that founded Dover Renaissance in 1985 when Downtown Dover was not in a good place, with empty storefronts and a sad look.  One of her goals was to help preserve and restore the historic downtown, as well as to beautify the old homes of Dover.

When the runners take off on Saturday, August 12th, they will run down a vibrant Blackwell St., much improved and beautified since that first race.   They will start by the Story Poles and landscaped Triangle Park, both Dover Renaissance  projects.  They will pass the Verdin Town Street Clock, one of Ellen Forbes's proudest achievements.

The 5K race achieved one of Ellen Forbes' goals - to bring people to Dover to experience the vibe a historic town can emit.  The initial’s E F are proudly displayed on the back of this year’s running shirt as a tribute to her legacy.

In 25 years a  lot does happen.  Forbes is gone now, and when was the last time the talented Cruz brothers raced in the Dover race?  A very long time since these young men were part of the the New Jersey running scene.  In 2016 the race was won in 17:43 by David Lerman of Hopatcong.  The first woman was Gradie Carrol of Morris Plains in 21:29.  No, not earth shaking times, but a great testament to the local flavor ot the race.  Less than a hundred runners competed, but most were loyalists who had run in many of those 25 races, and had seen the transformation of Dover thanks to Ellen Forbes.

It appears that the race has finally found a permanent date, after moving to May in 2016, for a one-time tribute to Armed Forces Day.

MORRIS COUNTY STRIDERS CROSS COUNTRY SERIES RACE

Jaren Cooper of Mountain Lakes lead a pack of teen runners to finish first at the Morris County Striders Cross Country final 5K this past Tuesday.  Cooper finished in 16:21
Finishing in 11th place was Reno Stirrat of Rockaway who finished in 19:40 followed closely by his running buddy Robert Skorupski also of Rockaway, who finished in 19:41.

 Sarah Dalfol of Sparta won the women's race in 22:12.


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Sabatino takes a spill in biggest triathlon in the state

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 30, 2017

SABATINO TAKES A SPILL IN BIGGEST TRIATHLON IN THE STATE

“I was hoping to defend my title,” said John “Chachi” Sabatino, of Morris Plains.  Sabatino had won the M50 age division in the New Jersey Triathlon Championship in 2016, finishing with a time of 2:04:53 for the Olympic distance triathlon

On Saturday, instead of another title Sabatino was in the road bed trying to shake off a sudden spill. 

A lifeguard in his youth Sabatino counts on a good swim leg before hopping on the bike.  He came out of the water in fourth place in his heat.  Things were looking good.

When a kid on a bike decided to dash across the road in front of him he clearly underestimated the speed of the racers.  Sabatino estimates he was traveling at 22 miles per hour.  There was no way he was going to miss the kid.  Over the handlebars he went.  Miraculously he did not hit his head but there was plenty of unseen damage and plenty of damage to the bike.

In a Facebook post Sabatino states that, “Of course I hopped back on my bike to finish.”

With a front derailleur bent and broken and the chain severally bent Sabatino was able to force it to work, but with scraping sounds as the front derailleur switched on its own from the big to small ring.

Once his bike was racked Sabatino was off on the run portion of the race, only to realize that it wasn’t just the bike that was damaged.  Instead of the seven minute per mile pace he expected, he was running at 8:20 pace.   He finished the race in 2:42:29 – 38 minutes off his 2016 time.

“After the race, I went to medical and was cleared to go,” he wrote in his post.  Later he went to the hospital in Morristown where he was diagnosed with a cracked rib and sporting a sizable area of road rash on his shoulder.  Just go home and rest.

That didn’t happen.  Later that night Sabatino’s wife Sara, found him passed out on the bathroom floor.  She called for an ambulance and Sabatino spent the next three days in the hospital.  Not one rib, but four ribs were cracked.  He had what was rated as a Grade 1 liver bruise as well as contusions on the lung.  He was cleared to go home Wednesday when his liver bloodwork came back clear.

He’s on the mend now but with those cracked ribs he isn’t sneezing or laughing.  The doctors say it will take six to eight weeks to recover. 

That will put him into mid-September before he is able to train or compete.  This hasn’t been his year.  A pulled hamstring in March set him back and now it’s a question of whether he will be able to gather the points he would need to make it into the top three in his age division in the New Jersey grand prix, a spot where he usually finishes.  At mid-season Sabatino is missing four races and two of those are in the Category Three division.  Yes, it could have been worse but hard not to wish that kid had stayed home last Saturday.

Other local runners who also do triathlons did well in the race.  Liam Gallagher of Morristown finished fourth in the Elite Men division and second in the New Jersey Elite Men. 

  Rich Burke of Morristown was the second M50 New Jersey finisher. Taryn Ferrara of Morristown was first in the W25 division and  Olivia Christmann of Mendham won the W20 division.

Susan Olesky of Mendham was first in the W60 New Jersey division with Susan Jankowitz of Sparta in second place.

Cande Olsen of Chatham won the W65 division with Mary Hager of Randolph second. Over a thousand athletes competed in the race, the largest in the state.

TEAM BLOKE 5K FOR BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS IS THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 5^TH IN MENDHAM.

Doug Clarke of Mendham, an outstanding runner and triathlete lost his battle with brain cancer but the race in his honor goes on to raise funds to help those afflicted with this deadly form of cancer.

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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

Remembering back in the day

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 21, 2017

REMEMBERING BACK IN THE DAY

My decision to add the DVR element to my cable service was one of the best I’ve ever made.  I can record a televised marathon and watch it the next day, or I can delay watching the coverage by an hour or more, and then catch up by fast forwarding through the commercials.

During the summer season with the Diamond League  track and field series in Europe where the elite athletes compete I am in heaven, watching at my leisure, backing up to do my own “instant replay”.  I came across a column I wrote more than twenty years ago and now, watching female athletes compete, it hit me again, what a change has occurred in my lifetime.

Wilma Rudolph, the Olympic triple gold medalist had died, and I wrote of the difference between Rudolph’s experience and my own.  I grew up in Washington state on an island in Puget Sound that was, and still is, isolated yet near the bustling cities of Seattle and Tacoma.  We lived on a small berry farm surrounded by giant Douglas firs – a perfect environment for the tomboy that I was.

When I wasn’t doing chores, I was free to run and explore and play.  My dad was an amateur athlete – a good boxer, diver and gymnast.  My sister and I were willing students and he taught us how to box and do basic gymnastics.  At school, I looked forward to playground where tag was a staple game and where we sometimes held impromptu races.

In a game of tag I could never be caught.  In a race, no girl could beat me and there were two boys who could only sometimes outrun me.  On field days, I would win all my events.  It was my favorite day of the school year.  I was in heaven.  Then I moved up to high school and everything changed.  Girls were no longer encouraged to participate in sports.  Indeed, I learned that running and jumping would somehow injure me.

My grade school running rivals became stars of the football and basketball teams where their leg speed was put to good use.  Me, well, eventually I learned how to twirl a baton and became a majorette.

Oh, we girls could pay volleyball, tennis, baseball and basketball in our physical education classes and intramural sports.  That was because they weren’t considered too vigorous and didn’t involve serious running.

Girls’ basketball allowed only three steps with the ball.  No running and dribbling down the court.  You must pass almost as soon as you receive the ball.  I would look with envy as the boys played their basketball and puzzle with resentment at the restrictions placed on me because of my gender.

On my own time, when no one was looking, I did run.  I ran on the logging trails near my home with my horse.  There I was safe from prying eyes that might find me foolish or unfeminine.

Then when I probably first became aware of the Olympics, I heard and read of this Wilma Rudolph – an American girl who was competing with other women in track running events.  It blew my mind.  How did it happen?  Who let her and the others run?

Obviously, they had been encouraged to do so by adults who were coaching and training them.  But why had my school and all the others that I knew, never allowed girls to run or compete in serious sports?

While Rudolph was blazing down the track, except for those occasional runs with my horse, I long abandoned my tomboy ways.  If I was not quite a demur young miss, I was certainly not an athlete.  That didn’t come for twenty more years.  My first competition was in 1982 when I was now a master.

Which brings me back to those Diamond League meets.  Friday night, New Jersey’s Ajee Wilson set an American record in the 800 meters, while finishing in third place in 1:55.61, Caster Semenya was first in 1:55.27, with Francine Niyonsaba second in 1:55.47.  What a thrilling race to watch as the three women battled three across down the home stretch.

We can look forward for more meets this summer and this tomboy can enjoy and remember back in the day when girls weren’t allowed to run.

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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

Verizon Corporate Classic went off without rain or lightning

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 16, 2017

  

VERIZON CORPORATE CLASSIC WENT OFF WITHOUT RAIN OR LIGHTNING

Would they have to cancel the Verizon Corporate Classic 5K again in 2017?  Heat was building on Thursday morning with dreadful thunder and lightning storms predicted.  But in Morristown the heat began to drop and a mild rain was all that fell as race time at 7:30 p.m. approached.

Not that is wasn’t uncomfortable.  The humidity was heavy as the nearly three thousand runners began the race down Maple Avenue and then down Route 202, Mt. Kemble Avenue.  Out in front a lead pack formed with close to ten runners a half mile into the race.  Down they sped to the turnaround just north of Harter Road, and back up on the same road that they had gone down. 

The lead pack had spread out after mile two with only a few left in the fight.  In the end Kyle Price of North Brunswick managed to make it to the finish line first, with Joe Mummert of Mahwah running for Merrill Lynch next and Liam Boylan-Pett of Clinton in third.  Their chip times were 16:25, 16:31 and 16:44 respectively.

Not far behind those lead men was Ashley Higgonson of Morristown.  She finished in seventh place overall in17:12.   Higgonson, running for Riker Danzig then and now won the 2014 race in the nearly identical time of 17:10.

The second place woman was Diana D’Achille of Denville, running for Verizon who finished in 18:33. D’Achille won the 2015 race in 18:17. Karen Auteri of Belvidere, running for Quintilesims finished third in 18:38.  Auteri finished second woman overall in 2014.

While the speedier runners were challenging themselves in the humidity on the deceptive course that drops down on the way out on Route 202 with the subsequent climb back to the finish on Maple Avenue with a short serious climb on Market Street, other participants were happily walking the length of the race.

  When Price was finishing five hundred participants had not yet hit the one mile marker.  One hundred sixty-two participants finished in over an hour - averaging each mile in slower than 19 minute per mile pace.

This is not to be scoffed at as the race invites people to come out and work toward fitness and health and if that means a 20 minute pace so be it.  The participants were out there and who knows, an elite runner may be hiding undiscovered in their ranks needing just this one event to inspire them to future fitness.  It happens.

MORRIS COUNTY STRIDERS CROSS COUNTRY 5K THIS TUESDAY

Looking for another race this summer?  Look no further. 

 The Morris County Striders summer series 5K cross country race is this Tuesday, July 18th at Johnson Park

 in Boonton.  Each race is part of a series that scores the best three out of the four races in the series.  

Robert Skorupski, 44, of Rockaway is in contention on the men’s side with two teenagers, Tommy Carney, 

14, of Denville who finished ahead of Skorupski in the first race, as did Noah Schagelin, 16, of Rockaway.  

Skorupski came back in the second race to finish in second place to Carrington Retzios, 17, of Budd Lake

 who finished in 17:30.  While the two teens finished in third and fourth.

On the other side of the ledger, Kayla Schramm, 12, of Goshen NY won the first race in age division 

course record time of 19:35.  Astonishingly right behind her was Allison Lounsbury, 13,

 of Franklin Lakes in 19:44.  Christine Carny, 17, of Denville was third in 22:05.

Schramm returned in the second race to win in a slower paced 21:00.  Carney returned for the second 

race making those two the leaders in the series on the female side.   Any runner who has completed

 just one race can hop back into the series by competing at this Tuesdays race and the next one on

 August 1st.

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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

Verizon Corporate Classic Thursday changes course

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, July 9, 2017

VERIZON CORPORATE CLASSIC THURSDAY CHANGES COURSE

How does that old song go?  “There’s gonna be some changes made today.”

Well, maybe not today, but on Thursday there will be changes to the Verizon Classic 5K that could have some people unprepared.  Yes, last year the staging area was changed from the Headquarters Plaza to Morristown High School, and then, yes, a really nasty storm changed everything.  No race at all.  A make-up run was held a couple of weeks later.  

Well, here it is 2017 and the Verizon Classic is sporting a new venue and a new course.  Nothing like the course of 2016 and nothing like 2015.

Nope, runners will leave from the Verizon Building at 37 Maple Avenue and head down Mt. Kemble Avenue.  Yes, Route 202.  Down and back as in a true Out-and-Back course.  The turnaround will be just before Harter Road.

An out-and-back course with 400 people is pretty easily managed.  An out-and-back with 4,000 runners, which is possible on a good night for racing is not so easy.  In 2015 when the race was last conducted as a race, the winning time was 16:22.  When he was finishing the 3,491^st runner was passing mile marker One.  Get the picture?

The course marshals will be experienced runners from two running clubs whose job will be to keep those slower runners on their own side of the road, while making sure that the returning runners coming back to the finish have their side of the road free from – well – slow moving bodies.

The staging has all been figured out with traffic posts and tape delineating the course right down the middle of Route 202.  Those runners-turned-course marshals will be making sure that the returning runners have their space.

With a field that could be as large as 4,000 runners and walkers, the timing has to change.  The runners chip time will be their actual time when scoring the event.  This means that each runner is timed only when he or she crosses the computer timing mat at the official start point of the race, and when they have crossed the finish line.

This race does not score age divisions as the focus is on the many corporate teams that compete.  However, runners with no affiliation are also free to register and run, although there are no age division awards.

The race has a 7:30 p.m. start time. For more information check out www.verizoncorporateclassic.com.

ELLIE’S 5K RUN JULY 16 AT HORSESHOE LAKE IN SUCCASUNNA

Continuing to use old metaphors:  what we have here is a horse of a different color.  As in the Ellie’s 5K at Horseshoe Lake park in Succasunna.  The course has to be the most challenging that anyone has ever run, and yet it has no hills.

The park has a perimeter path of less than two full miles, so to run a 5K the race organizers have been creative to find a full 3.1-mile course.   It is all for a good cause.  The race benefits the Ellie Reynolds ALS Foundation.

RACE FOR RECOVERY

At the Race for Recovery 5K at Central Park on the July 4^th, 44-year-old Elena Rozhko of Morristown almost won the race outright.  She finished in 18:52 for third overall.  Youngster Patrick Mullen, 16, of Morristown won the race in 17:43, with Sean Thoulitus, 18, of Gillette second in 17:55.   An enthusiastic group of supporters of the Market Street Mission boosted the number of finishers to 240, many of them walking the 3.1-mile cross-country course.

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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