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FLRC Newsletter - January 2005 |
| News and Upcoming Events | |
As we go to press, we don't know exact starting times. But the 38th annual Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile—and women's 25th anniversary edition—will be held on Saturday, Jan 22 at Cornell's Barton Hall. There will be several heats for men and women, plus the much-anticipated elite invitational men's and women's races.
Check my Ithaca Journal running column on Jan 21 for the elite biographies.
If you're not running, please come to support those who are.
Phyllis Radke and I are co-chairing a special women's 25th anniversary gathering. All women masters milers entered in the race are invited to participate in this onsite postrace celebration.
Race director Joe Reynolds has lined up Red Newt Cellars (winery) in Hector to sponsor our snowshoe race this season. There will not be a postrace party held there, but we will have on-site chili as usual, and Red Newt will provide wine for prizes.
Redfeather Snowshoes will provide loaners on a first-come basis. Hikers and racers are urged to come early to practice on the snowshoes. Of course, if you own your own, bring 'em.
The FL Snowshoe 7.6-miler is the first race on the FL Trailrunners Circuit, and it's an Empire State Winter Games 5K qualifier. [See calendar for additional snowshoe races in NY and New England.]
Pray for snow—remember it's often snowing on the Hector Backbone when the sun is shining elsewhere—and heed the following advice stockpiled from years of personal experience, and from our lucky friends in the WMAC, which hosts about 12 snowshoe races in New England and Saratoga Springs:
Forthe first time in umpteen years, Dave Jones was not the top stonehead. He was bested by both Jim Chely and Tim Ingall, who ran 10 and 9 trail races, respectively. However, Dave was the only person to run all 11 races, as he has done for so many consecutive years. Audrey Balander, in fifth place overall, was top woman. See the web pages for the full listing of Stoneheads and Pebbleheads.
For Stonehead rankings, all races count, points calculated as follows: winning time/runner's time ´ 100; all points then summed. The 11 races were:
In the 2004 Finger Lakes Trailrunners Circuit, here are the 100 top Pebbleheads (only the best three races count). Tim Ingall heads the list, as he has so many times before. It is interesting to note that he also would have been the top Stonehead this year, except that he did not run the race he directs, Forge the Gorgeous 7 Miler. Tim is apparently slowing down though, he only won one race this year, thus does not have the perfect 300 points that he had last year. In second place was Tom Meyer, moving up from sixth place last year. First woman Pebblehead was Audrey Balander (also top woman Stonehead this year), just squeaking by Gillian Sharp by 0.04 point!
I would like to start by saying that I run for fun. I look forward to the 11 (now 12 with the addition of Tanglewood June 19, 2005) trail runs each year. My only goal is to improve on my previous time for each run. Whatever happens after that is beyond my control. Now that I am the director of Tanglewood, I have an appreciation for the directors and volunteers who help pull off the 11 other runs. It is so nice to just show up, run, and hang out when its over.
With 2005 just around the corner, my only concern is that I have a good turnout for Tanglewood. We might even have shirts this year as a result of Redhook Beer becoming more involved.
Thanks to FLRC for those 12 weekends of fun each year!
USATF has awarded the Armory in New York City the 2007 National Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships. They will be in Idaho in 2005 and back to Boston in 2006.
Alan Jones of the Triple Cities Runners Club was chosen the USATF Otto Essig Award recipient for meritorious service to masters long-distance running. Otto Essig, who died in 1991, was a benefactor and participant in masters running. Alan, who discovered he won by seeing it on the USATF website, believes he was selected for upgrading the age-graded tables. Jones is a pioneer and has contributed many outstanding gifts to the U.S. running community. The Jones' Wheel, which we all use to measure courses, is an Alan Jones contribution as well.
Nikki Kimball received the USATF Ruth Anderson Ultra Distance Running Athlete of the Year honors. Kimball won the Finger Lakes Trail 50 miler outright a few years back and remembers us all when she sees us out and about. This season, Kimball won the women's title at the Western States 100, and the White River 50 miler in Washington State. She also won the Mt. Masochist 50 miler, and represented the USA on the World Cup 100K team, which won the Montrail Ultra Cup. Kimball has moved to Montana from her Adirondack residence.
Hartshorne Masters Mile elite runners Tom Dalton and Kathy Martin were named USATF Masters XC runners of the year. Martin also won F50 masters long-distance runner and track & field runner of the year.
A new year is here, and it's time to think about your involvement with FLRC team adventures. Our women (all ages) and the men's 70–79 and 80+ runners all compete for the Finger Lakes Runners Club. The open, masters, veteran, and senior (?) men run for High Noon. I can only speak for FLRC, so here is what we'd like you to do if interested this upcoming season.
First, you must join the Finger Lakes Runners Club and be an official member. That means signing up as an individual or as a family/team membership. Casey Carlstrom is our membership chair, and applications "should" be available at all our race sites.
Join USA Track & Field. Go to www.usatf.org, and click on the membership word. Then follow directions to join for the first time, or renew your yearly membership, which begins Jan 1, 2005. The fee is $20 for adults, and if you use membership perks you can earn that $20 back in other ways. Print the membership data/number you receive immediately online so you'll have it for your files until your membership card arrives by mail.
Very important step: The FLRC code number, which must be typed into the USATF membership form, is 063. You must declare the Finger Lakes Runners Club as your affiliation or you cannot compete for us on teams. And once you declare a team affiliation, you must stay with the team for a full year. Running unattached? You'll be alone.
Buy a FLRC shimmel or singlet. This used to be an option, but it appears that all club teammates competing at USATF events must display team colors. If you can't buy one right now, find someone from whom you can borrow the singlet. Sue Aigen is our clothing chair.
We have three or four categories of teams competing for FLRC: open (ages 39-under); masters (40–49), veterans (50–59), and seniors (60-up) when we are able to muster teams. The masters and vets are very active on the national competitive level, and we intend to participate as teams in races this coming year.
Not everything we do together requires USATF membership for participation. Here are some things coming up, with USATF yes/no requirements:
To join one of the FLRC teams, contact the following folks:
So far, the FLRC open women's teams have not competed at national championships. Someone needs to get on that!
Zsofia and I split duties, with Zsofia handling the cross-country and triathlons, and myself doing the nationals and track & field-related events. We both conspire to find new things for the vets to do, and we both will round up the 50+ posse to go to the Empire State & National Senior Games.
We often get requests from local organizations or runners to print their respective race applications in this newsletter. We used to do it a lot, mostly as favors, but with the skyrocketing cost of printing and mailing, we have had to revamp our generous policies. In fact, we revamped them almost a year ago.
I continue to get requests, however, and have turned many people down. The executive board has agreed that those requesting printing need to sing a bit for their supper.
Most running clubs charge for advertising space and race applications. We have never done that, but it's a common practice with other clubs, and it doesn't come cheap.
All FLRC-sponsored race apps are published at least once in this newsletter, with no strings attached.
Occasionally, we print an application from another regional running club as an equal exchange. We print one of their apps, and they print one of our apps. It's prearranged, either by newsletter editors/club presidents and/or race directors. No charge.
We will not print a race application from an outside source that conflicts in date with one of our own races. For example, if you are having a race that falls on the same day as, let's say, the Danby Down 'n' Dirty, we won't be publishing your application. Also, for example, I have refused to print the Thater 5K app because it falls on the same day as Pud's; although Pud's is not a FLRC race, it is a very well-attended and popular Ithaca-based race, and to conflict with their date would be a conflict of interest.
If you are a FLRC member who is directing another local race for a separate organization, we might print your application. But, to do so, you and your crew/family must put in a full day of volunteering at one of our sponsored races. That arrangement can be made with respective race directors, and they will let me know about the deal. Please plan ahead if you want to do this, so there will be time to both fulfill the volunteering requirement and make our newsletter publication deadline. For example, a group of IC and Cornell students volunteered at Skunk Cabbage, and we then printed their Make-A-Wish 5K entry form. The Ithaca Triathlon Club has provided cyclists as leaders/sweepers for some FLRC road races, and we're willing to publish their tri app.
Of course, you can always provide a link to your website or entry by sending it to our webmaster Tom Meyer, and he'll be able to post it online for free. And, as my role as Ithaca Journal or Star Gazette running columnist, I will always promote any and all races that provide me with the necessary information. That service has nothing to do with my alliance to this newsletter or FLRC.
I urge you to get your applications out—and early!—to all local races this season, and most FLRC race directors would be happy to let you set up a race information table at our events.
For more information on application publication, contact newsletter editors Diane Sherrer or Nancy Kleinrock.
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