Greetings, runners! FLRC’s summer racing season is well underway, with the Twilight 5K, Tortoise & Hare trail race, Finger Lakes 50s, and our June and July outdoor track meets in the books. Plus, FLRC Challenge runners have logged over 10,000 miles so far. You can look forward to more trail and track fun this summer, plus group runs in between races.

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UPCOMING RACES & EVENTS

July 30th: Forest Frolic returns to Virgil’s Kennedy State Forest

Race directors Pete Dady and Mike Stone are hard at work getting everything ready for Forest Frolic on July 30th. Whether this is your first or fifteenth time on the trails in Kennedy State Forest, it’s a great opportunity to enjoy either a 7K or 15K distance. We’ll have post-race refreshments and professional photos of runners and volunteers frolicking in the forest, so sign up today! Forest Frolic is part of the FLRC Trail Circuit—check your results on the leaderboard.

August 11th: Join us for a post-race pizza party at Forge the Gorgeous

Less than two weeks after Forest Frolic, you can hit the trails again in Moravia’s Forge the Gorgeous! Race director Alan Lockett has a slightly different course this year to accommodate trail changes at the top of Fillmore Glen State Park, but the distances are increasing only a little, to 4 miles for the short course and a bit under 8 miles for those who finish the first loop and then head back up the gorge. Whichever you choose, stick around for the post-race pizza party. Register for the race and reserve your slices soon!

August 16th: FLRC’s third track meet of the summer at Lansing High School

Looking for a race that doesn’t involve hilly trails? Come run FLRC’s August outdoor track meet at Lansing High School. All ages (seriously!) and abilities (really!) are welcome in the club’s low-key track meets. When you’re not running, you can enjoy watching some of the area’s best runners compete against one another, with VP of Track Adam Engst announcing every race live. Join the fun! 

August 25th: Enjoy FLRC’s Annual Picnic and FLRC Challenge Award Ceremony

It’s all about friends, free food, and festivities at FLRC’s Annual Picnic at the North Shelter in Treman State Park. Chow down on catering provided by Fitnell Farms and cheer along as we run down everyone’s accomplishments in the FLRC Challenge and hand out medals to those who completed all ten courses. The picnic is free, but please RSVP by August 10th so we can estimate the right amount of food to order.

August 27th: Get your head start in the Monster Marathon and Half Marathon

It’s a little further out, but given the distance, we wanted you to get the Monster Marathon and Half Marathon onto your calendar for August 27th. To switch things up in these trail races, race director Dave Kania takes an unusual approach: age- and sex-based early starts. Men under age 38 start with the race clock, but women and older men head off earlier, with the individual handicaps determined by the World Masters Athletics Age-Graded Tables. The win could come down to a kick to the finish between a 65-year-old grandmother (101-minute head start) and her 40-year-old son (4-minute head start.) The 13.1-mile out-and-back course uses some of the same trails as the FLRC Challenge Lick Brook & Treman FLT course, so it’s a great way to test your summer fitness.

Pencil other FLRC races onto your fall running calendar

September may be back-to-school time for lots of folks, but for those who aren’t on a scholastic team, FLRC has plenty more racing opportunities. Enjoy the Ithaca 5&10 on September 11th and Danby Down & Dirty a week earlier than usual on September 24th. And the FLRC (women) and High Noon (men) teams will be competing in five races around New York in the annual PGXC Upstate Cross Country Series—join us!

RACE RESULTS

There’s still time to complete the FLRC Challenge!

It’s not too late to join over 160 local runners in the 2022 FLRC Challenge, which encourages you to run or hike ten scenic courses around the area as many times as you like, competing for time, age grade, distance, and number of efforts, plus our new-in-2022 community star posts that have been eliciting amusing stories, lovely photos, and even rap poetry (plus limericks). Forty-nine runners have already qualified for their finisher’s medal, we’re well on our way toward 11,000 miles as a group, and Pete Kresock just claimed a custom FLRC Challenge course sign to commemorate having completed the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge (all ten courses in 24 hours!). You can sign up anytime before the FLRC Challenge ends on August 14th, and the award ceremony will take place at FLRC’s annual picnic on August 25th.

Twilight 5K results and photos

Kudos to Twilight 5K race director Mickie Sanders-Jauquet, who hosted 364 runners—including numerous FLRC-sponsored Girls on the Run groups—on June 8th at a new course around the Allan H. Treman State Marine Park and Cass Park. Newcomer Giovanni Grano set the new course record with a blazing 16:06, followed by Alexander Simpson in 17:40. The women’s race was a tie, with Melissa Weiner and Erin Goodrich finishing together in 22:41. Check out the wonderful photos from the race by Steve Gallow and Susan Nye-Bleiler.

Tortoise & Hare results and photos

In a feat of organizational prowess, Mickie Sanders-Jauquet turned around and directed the Tortoise & Hare trail race at Buttermilk Falls State Park just 10 days after Twilight. The volunteers may have been shivering, but Dan Timmerman and Chelsea Benson heated things up with some seriously fast times. Dan won in 46:03 and Chelsea took first for the women and second overall in 51:32, almost a minute ahead of third place. Thanks to photographer Jamie Love for great photos! 

June and July track meet results and photos

With five events each, there are too many winners in FLRC’s track meets to call out, so check out the June and July results for full details. The meets have been particularly family-friendly and relaxed this year, with kids as young as 2 learning the lanes, and adults in their 70s beating their goals. Jamie Love also took a bunch of excellent photos at the June meet.

Finger Lakes 50s results and photos

Finger Lakes 50s is by far the club’s most intensive trail race, with 25K, 50K, and 50-mile distances out in Hector National Forest. New race directors Vinny Cappadora and Nichole Cappadora put on a great event that attracted numerous ultrarunners from New York City and beyond. In the 25K, Cory Helder of New York won in 1:53:13, with Scotie Jacobs our first local finisher in third in 2:09:49. On the women’s side, Jessica Chichester of New York set a new course record in 2:11:28 (by 2:22), with Amelia Kaufman the first Ithaca runner in fourth in 2:21:51. In the 50K, Ian Ridgway of Holden, MA won handily in 4:28:34, with Peter Diebold the first Ithaca finisher in fifth in 5:56:12. Molly McGuckin of Ithaca was the first women’s finisher (and seventh overall) in 6:07:15. And in the 50-mile, Brendan Connell of Black Hawk, CO outkicked Reagan McCoy of Lock Haven, PA by less than 4 minutes to win in 6:33:50—Brendan broke the previous course record by nearly 13 minutes. Top local finishers were Jamal Diboun (8:06:48) and Aaron King (8:08:02). Maura Tyrell of Buffalo won for the women in 8:39:57—ninth overall—there were no local women in the 50-mile. And yes, Jamie Love was onsite again to take lots of photos of runners, volunteers, and spectators.

FLRC RUNNER NEWS

Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon and Cayuga Trails 50s results

They aren’t FLRC races, but race director Ian Golden is also a major force in the local running community and an FLRC board member, so his races draw lots of people from Ithaca and beyond—too many to call out individually, so check the Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon results and the 50K and 50-mile results from Cayuga Trails 50s.

Ellie Pell finishes high in the standings at the Western States 100

Very much worth calling out, however, is the performance of Ellie Pell, who finished 39th overall and 14th for women at the venerable Western States Endurance Run. Ellie, who also competed in the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2020, finished this 100-mile race in 21:37:12—an amazing accomplishment. 

CLUB NEWS

Group runs switch back to 1st & 3rd Saturdays and some Sundays

Whether you’re training for summer races, looking for FLRC Challenge company, or entirely new to running, FLRC group runs offer low-key companionship. We have several options in the coming months:

• Saturday mornings: Heather Cobb manages our Saturday morning group runs, with various courses around the area. In August, these group runs will return to their previous 1st and 3rd Saturday schedule.
• Sunday mornings: FLRC Challenge director Adam Engst is coordinating occasional Sunday group runs on Challenge courses; check the forum for details.
• Tuesday evenings: A week or two after the Challenge finishes up, Adam Engst plans to restart Tuesday night MITHACAL MILERS workouts in the Cornell Botanic Gardens. Look for details on the forum.
• Thursday evenings: Mickie Sanders-Jauquet will be bringing her Thursday night Dash and Dine runs back in September.

Check the Group Runs & Workouts forum for details on these and other group runs, and remember to sign the 2022 waiver the first time you attend an FLRC group run.

Import or print your FLRC calendars today

When are your favorite FLRC races and other events taking place this year? Don’t guess—our dates do move around sometimes. You can view the FLRC race calendar in three ways, so pick whichever works best for you.

• Subscribe to our Google Calendar so race dates, group runs, and other FLRC events (like the Annual Picnic) flow into your computer and phone calendar. Download and import this ICS file for most calendar apps; subscribe to fingerlakesrunners@gmail.com if you use Google Calendar.
• Check the home page calendar on the FLRC website, which lists all FLRC events alongside other races in the area. Anyone can submit a local race to our home page calendar.
• Download a PDF of our attractive print calendar, suitable for posting on a refrigerator or bulletin board near you! Speaking of which, could you do us a favor? If you know of any bulletin boards in the buildings or businesses you frequent, could you print a copy out and post it?

FLRC Forum FAQ #9: When is it appropriate to start a new topic rather than replying to an old one?

The simple way to decide if you should start a new topic instead of replying to an existing topic is to look at the title of the topic. Does what you want to say relate directly to that title? If so, it’s fine to reply. If not, please start a new topic. If you ever find yourself typing the words, “I know this is off-topic, but…,” that’s an indication that you need to start a new topic.

For those who interact with the forum primarily via email, please don’t reply randomly to the first post (or summary) you find in your inbox. You’ll confuse readers (and likely won’t get a useful reply) if you ask an off-topic question in a topic about something entirely different.

One final piece of advice. If you want to communicate directly with someone who has posted in the forum, but you don’t want your message to be public for everyone else to read, click their name in a post, and in the bio that appears, click the blue Message button.

That creates a new message that looks similar to a forum reply but is addressed directly to the user in question. It even fills in the title appropriately and includes a link to the referenced post.

That’s it for now, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at group runs in August, along with our Forest Frolic, Forge the Gorgeous, track, and Monster Marathon races!

—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track

The Finger Lakes Runners Club has awarded $1000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors Marissa Wiemann of Southern Cayuga Central School District and Matthew Gensel of Corning-Painted Post High School. FLRC scholarships are awarded based on applicants’ academics, extracurricular activities, and demonstrated passion for running.

Marissa Wiemann of Southern Cayuga Central School District has been running cross country since 7th grade. She grew from being a “run when the crowds can see me and walk the rest of the time” runner to receiving the Most Improved award. Marissa knew she wasn’t the best runner so instead worked hard at being the “best teammate.” She wrote about the challenges of working as a team through the pandemic and the struggles of finding the necessary fifth teammate during her senior year. Nevertheless, she came away from the experience with pride in and admiration for the accomplishments of her teammates, along with numerous lessons from running, her teammates, and her coaches. She learned that:

• The most rewarding things often come from the hardest work
• Rest is as important as work
• It is incredibly hard to laugh and run at the same time
• You are really only ever competing against who you were yesterday
• Every day is a chance to improve
• Pain is only temporary
• Good-fitting shoes definitely lessen that pain
• Extra socks are never a bad idea

Marissa’s letters of recommendation describe a levelheaded young woman with drive and determination who is also thoughtful, considerate, selfless, and kind. Beyond running, she serves as president of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, is involved with the arts, and participates in multiple clubs. Marissa will be attending Hunter College in the fall.

James M. (Matthew) Gensel of Corning-Painted Post High School started running at age nine with Team PREFO, running in numerous FLRC track meets. Matthew built on those early years of running to compete in several cross country and track state championships, with a personal record in the mile of 4:35. He writes, “running has helped my studies by building my mental endurance. Mental stamina, much like physical stamina, needs to be built and maintained. In this sense, my schoolwork and practice play off of each other, making me better at both.”

Matthew’s cross country and track and field coach describes him as being “intelligent, studious, motivated, and talented.” He is academically honest, pursues his studies with genuine interest, and treats fellow students with respect and kindness. He is a member of the National Honor Society, participates in band, and as a frequent volunteer, recognizes the value of community service. Matthew will be attending the University at Buffalo, where he plans to study bioinformatics.

Greetings, runners! FLRC’s spring racing season has kicked in with the Women’s Distance Festival and Thom B. Trail Runs, and 150 local runners have logged nearly 5,000 miles in the FLRC Challenge so far. We also have a full slate of races coming up, with the Twilight 5K on June 8th, Tortoise & Hare on June 18th, and our first outdoor track meet on June 28th. And don’t miss our group runs in between!

UPCOMING RACES

Twilight 5K coming up on June 8th at new Allan H. Treman Marina location

Come enjoy an evening 5K on the scenic shore of Cayuga Lake at race director Mickie Sanders-Jauquet’s Twilight 5K race on June 8th. Twilight also benefits local chapters of the national Girls on the Run empowerment program. This year brings a new course on the mostly paved trails around Cass Park and the Treman Marina. Whether you run or walk, you’ll finish well before dark because it’s one of the longest days of the year. With a flat, fast course, relatively few road crossings, and chip timing, it’s a perfect first 5K for all ages and abilities. Plan to stick around for the party atmosphere and pizza for all afterward! (We still need volunteers—please check out the volunteer sheet or email volunteer coordinator Liz Hartman to sign up or learn more.)

Tortoise & Hare returns to Buttermilk Falls State Park on June 18th

Our closest trail race to Ithaca, Mickie Sanders-Jauquet’s Tortoise & Hare is a great introduction to both trail running and local trails, while Buttermilk Falls provides a spectacular scenic backdrop. Start with a flat loop around a meadow, then exercise your uphill legs in the early miles; toward the end you’ll test your mettle on a speedy downhill to the finish. The course runs 6.7 miles up, around, and down Buttermilk Falls State Park. Registration is now open for this June 18th race, and be sure to thank Mickie for devoting her June to directing two races. We also encourage you to carpool to make the race more inclusive for those without cars, help fight climate change, and save on the parking fees—sign up to drive or ride.

All-comers outdoor track meets move to Ithaca High School on June 28th

Track is back! This summer we’ll be hosting our June, July, and August meets on Ithaca High School’s newly renovated track. On the evening of June 28th, join us and race director Adam Engst for a family-friendly all-comers meet with four events: the 100m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m—registration will open soon. All ages (seriously!) and abilities (really!) are welcome in these low-key meets, and when you’re not running, you can enjoy watching some of the area’s fastest runners test their speed on the oval. Join the fun, and for those running the FLRC Challenge, you can submit your 1600m time for the Sweet 1600 course.

Pencil other FLRC races onto your summer running calendar

While you’re planning your summer vacation and other activities, remember that FLRC has a full slate of trail, road, and track races coming up. July brings the Finger Lakes 50s (sold out, but we need volunteers for this nationally recognized race) on July 2nd, the Fillmore 5K on July 16th, another all-comers track meet on July 19th, and the Forest Frolic trail race on July 30th. In August, enjoy the Forge the Gorgeous trail race on the evening of Thursday, August 11th, our final all-comers track meet of the summer on August 16th, and the Monster Marathon and Half Marathon—on trails at Treman State Park—on August 27th. As summer fades into fall, enjoy the Ithaca 5&10 on September 11th and Danby Down & Dirty a week earlier than usual on September 24th.

RACE RESULTS

FLRC Challenge and Ultra Challenge completions flowing in

Nearly 150 local runners have already signed up for the 2022 FLRC Challenge, which encourages you to run or hike ten scenic courses around the area as many times as you like, competing for time, age grade, distance, and number of efforts, plus our new-in-2022 community star posts that have been eliciting amusing stories, lovely photos, and even rap poetry (plus limericks). Thirteen runners have already claimed their finisher’s medal, and of them, Paul Maza, Jami Landry, and Damian Clemons will also be receiving a custom FLRC Challenge course sign to commemorate having completed the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge (all ten courses in 24 hours!). You can sign up anytime before the FLRC Challenge ends on August 14th, and the award ceremony will take place at FLRC’s annual picnic on August 25th.

Women’s Distance Festival 5K brings 83 runners to Dryden Lake Park

Kudos to race directors Chris Irving and Lorrie Tily for making the 2022 Women’s Distance Festival 5K a success. The race took place on Mother’s Day, bringing together 83 women and girls to run or walk a 5K on the scenic Jim Schug Trail in Dryden. The overall win went to 56-year-old Caitlin Loehr, who ran a speedy 21:24 to outpace the field. Second-place finisher Julie Barclay came through in 22:06 to win the master’s (40+) award, and Michelle Dardia ran 27:45 to claim the veteran’s (60+) award. WDF truly is a race for all ages, with 5-year-old Olivia Bordoni and 75-year-old Katherine Merriman bracketing the range. Congrats to all the finishers! Full results are available, and don’t miss photographer Jamie Love’s wonderful race photos of runners, volunteers, and their families enjoying the event in the spring sunshine.

120 runners enjoy Hammond Hill trails during the Thom B. Trail Runs

Thanks to the efforts of race directors Joel Cisne and Gary McCheyne, 120 runners enjoyed three distances in the Thom B. Trail Runs. In the single-loop 8.5-mile race, Kris Norberg led the men in 1:03:29, and Helen Wang was the first woman in 1:08:11, both winning by about 2 minutes. In the two-loop 17-mile race, James King ran away from the men’s field, posting a 2:21:15 to win by over 16 minutes, while Tara Travis snuck past Molly McGuckin by 40 seconds to win in 2:46:01. The triple-loop-plus marathon race saw Carson Albanese win handily in 3:47:30, and second place overall went to the first woman, Amelia Kaufman, who outkicked Aaron King by 2 seconds to finish in 4:11:02. Check out photographer Steve Gallow’s fabulous race photos throughout the morning! Full results are available, and remember, Thom B. was the second race in the 2022 FLRC Trail Circuit, so you can check the standings on our new Trail Circuit leaderboard. Special thanks to Dave Kania, who bailed out the race with gear transport assistance after our U-Haul van reservation fell through at the last minute. Finally, please support the FLRC-supported Friends of Hammond Hill, who are raising funds for trail repair at Hammond Hill!

FLRC RUNNER NEWS

Local runners place well in USATF National Masters 1-Mile Championship

Congratulations to local runners Scott Weeks, Sandy Gregorich, Casey Carlstrom, and Jim Miner, who raced in the USATF National Masters 1-Mile Championship at the Rochester Mile on May 21st. Scott ran 4:45 to take 5th overall and 1st for the men’s 50–54 age group, Sandy’s 6:45 was good for 6th in the women’s 55–59 age group, Casey took 12th in the men’s 60–64 age group with a 5:51, and Jim placed 19th in the 70–74 age group with an 8:05. Lots of other upstate New York running friends and frequent PGXC and Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile competitors participated as well, including High Noon XC team member Jordan Varano from Binghamton (5:01 at age 43), former Ithacan Spider Rossiter (6:50 at 70), and Syracuse’s Joe Mora, who won the men’s 60-64 age group with a 5:05.

Ithacans in the Brooklyn Half Marathon

Although perennial local favorite Chelsea Benson was waylaid by a case of COVID, a number of other local runners made the trip down to New York City for the massive Brooklyn Half Marathon. They were led by Nicholas Holowka, who ran 1:18:30 for 152nd place, and Courtney Martin in 1:22:25 for 320th place. Other finishers include Simon Moll, Andy Pearson, Scarlett Lee, Nitipat Klunbida, Daniel Pfeffer, and Devin Martin. Congratulations to all!

CLUB NEWS

FLRC bylaws revision passes unanimously

Thanks to the 69 FLRC members who participated in our recent bylaws vote. The vote was unanimous, so future actions of the club will be governed by the new bylaws. If you’re interested in becoming involved with club governance, remember that our board meetings are always open to the public; look for details in our Announcements forum.

Import or print your FLRC calendars today

When are your favorite FLRC races and other events taking place this year? Don’t guess—our dates do move around sometimes, like our Saturday group runs in June. You can view the FLRC race calendar in three ways, so pick whichever works best for you.

• Subscribe to our Google Calendar so race dates, group runs, and other FLRC events (like the Annual Picnic) flow into your computer and phone calendar. Download and import this ICS file for most calendar apps; subscribe to fingerlakesrunners@gmail.com if you use Google Calendar.
• Check the home page calendar on the FLRC website, which lists all FLRC events alongside other races in the area. Anyone can submit a local race to our home page calendar.
• Download a PDF of our attractive print calendar, suitable for posting on a refrigerator or bulletin board near you! Speaking of which, could you do us a favor? If you know of any bulletin boards in the buildings or businesses you frequent, could you print a copy out and post it?

Group runs switch to 2nd & 4th Saturdays in June and July, some Sundays, and some Thursdays

Whether you’re training for summer races, looking for FLRC Challenge company, or entirely new to running, FLRC group runs offer low-key companionship. We have several options in the coming months:

• Saturday mornings: Heather Cobb manages our Saturday morning group runs, with various courses around the area. In June and July, to fit her schedule and avoid races, the Saturday group runs are switching to the 2nd and 4th Saturdays.
• Sunday mornings: FLRC Challenge director Adam Engst is coordinating occasional Sunday group runs on FLRC Challenge courses; check the forum for details.
• Thursday evenings: Mickie Sanders-Jauquet coordinates all-comers group runs on one Thursday night each month, followed by drinks and dinner afterward.

Check the Group Runs & Workouts forum for details on these and other group runs, and remember to sign the 2022 waiver the first time you attend an FLRC group run.

FLRC Forum FAQ #8: How do I reply to a post or start a new topic?

Everyone is welcome to post, either as a reply to an existing post or by starting a new topic. How you do that varies:

• Reply via the Web: Under every post is a gray Reply button. Click it to reply directly to that post (which has the side effect of notifying the person you’re replying to). If you want to reply to the topic in general, click the big blue Reply button below all the posts.
  
• Start a new topic via the Web: To start a new topic, first navigate to the forum in which you want your post to appear, which is most easily done by clicking its colored box in a topic list. Then click the New Topic button in the upper right. (You can also click the New Topic button on the main page, but then you’ll have to choose a category before you can type your message.) Make sure to give your message a descriptive title!
  
• Reply via email: If you want to reply to a post you received in email, you can do that just as you would any other email message. The system will try to strip out extraneous text—like the original message and your email signature—since such things clutter the conversation. Remember that email replies will go to the forum for everyone to see, not just to the poster!
• Start a new topic via email: To do this, you need to find the submission address. It’s listed in the first pinned post at the top of each forum. For instance, to start a new topic in the General forum, address your email to general@forum.fingerlakesrunners.org. Make sure to give your message a descriptive Subject line.

We ask that you keep posts relevant to running and the local running community and that you be kind, considerate, and supportive of your fellow runners here. For more information, see the Forum Guidelines.

Note that the Discourse system has some safeguards to protect against spammers, so it might complain at you or send your post to our moderators if it’s too short, has too many links, was typed suspiciously quickly, or in some other way resembles the tricks used by spammers. Any errors should be explained, and if your post was held for the moderators, they’ll usually get to it within a day.

That’s it for now, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at group runs in June, along with our Twilight, Tortoise, and track races!

—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track

Greetings, runners! The FLRC Challenge is underway, and you can meet up with fellow runners at the Women’s Distance Festival 5K on May 8th, the Thom B. Trail Runs on May 22nd, and at a variety of group runs.

UPCOMING RACES

FLRC Challenge underway, but it’s never too late to sign up

Over 100 local runners have already signed up for the 2022 FLRC Challenge, which encourages you to run or hike ten scenic courses around the area as many times as you like, competing for time, age grade, distance, and number of efforts, plus our new-in-2022 community stars. Complete all ten courses for a coveted FLRC Challenge medal, like our first finisher, Rebecca Lambert! For the ultimate test of your running prowess, do it all in 24 hours for the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge. You can sign up anytime before the FLRC Challenge ends on August 14th, but register before May 1st if you want a unique “Cover the Ground” T-shirt with a fully sublimated design. Our award ceremony will take place at FLRC’s annual picnic on August 25th.

Women’s Distance Festival 5K goes off on May 8th at Dryden Lake Park

Held in honor of race founder and FLRC legend Diane Sherrer, the Women’s Distance Festival 5K will once again take place on Mother’s Day—that’s Sunday, May 8th—at 10 AM at Dryden Lake Park. Race directors Lorrie Tily and Chris Irving always put on a good race, and the course is a flat out-and-back on the Jim Schug Trail. As always, the race is open to women of all ages—men are welcome to volunteer or cheer. Register soon!

Thom B. Trail Runs return to Hammond Hill on May 22nd

The second race in the FLRC Trail Circuit is coming up later in the month, with the Thom B. Trail Runs scheduled for Sunday, May 22nd, at Hammond Hill State Forest. Race directors Joel Cisne and Gary McCheyne will once again host the race by the “Hammond Hill-ton” warming hut, courtesy of Ann and Charlie Leonard. You can choose from one, two, or three loops: 8.5 miles, 17 miles, or a full 26.2-mile trail marathon. Sign up soon, and after the race, check your standings on our new Trail Circuit leaderboard. Also, the FLRC-supported Friends of Hammond Hill are raising funds for trail repair—if you like running, snowshoeing, and skiing on those trails, we encourage you to donate.

Pencil other FLRC races onto your summer running calendar

While you’re planning your summer vacation and other activities, remember that FLRC has a full slate of trail, road, and track races coming up. In June, we have the Twilight 5K on June 8th, the Tortoise & Hare trail race on June 18th, and our all-comers track meet on June 28th. July brings the Finger Lakes 50s (sold out, but we need volunteers for this nationally recognized race) on July 2nd, the Fillmore 5K on July 16th, another all-comers track meet on July 19th, and the Forest Frolic trail race on July 30th. In August, enjoy the Forge the Gorgeous trail race on August 11th, our final all-comers track meet of the summer on August 16th, and the Monster Marathon and Half Marathon—on trails at Treman State Park—on August 27th.

RACE RESULTS

Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon sees fast times in cool weather

Thanks to race directors Vinny and Nichole Cappadora for bringing the Skunk Cabbage Classic back after a two-year pandemic hiatus! Nearly 500 runners enjoyed a break in the weather on an otherwise cold and rainy day to post some excellent results. In the 10K, Jared Burick of Fayetteville won handily in 33:35, outpacing Christopher Halsey (36:13) and Patrick Milano (36:17) of Ithaca. On the women’s side, 43-year-old Erika Zazzara of Manlius took the win in 42:23, followed closely by Hayley Martin of Aurora in 42:33 and Liz Bordoni of Ithaca in 43:16. In the half marathon, Henry Williams of Ithaca broke the tape in 1:10:49, ahead of John Salva of Conklin (1:14:27) and Adam Berkowitz of Ithaca (1:16:05). Former Cornell runner Isabella Dobson of Ithaca dominated the women’s race in 1:29:44, with Helen Wang of Ithaca in second (1:33:31) and 51-year-old Heather May of Geneva in third (1:35:56). Congratulations to all our finishers, and full results are available for the 10K and the half marathon.

FLRC RUNNER NEWS

Chelsea Benson and former Ithacans place high at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Several familiar names competed in the prestigious Cherry Blossom 10 Miler race in Washington, D.C. on April 3rd, with local standout and 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Chelsea Benson running 58:10 (that’s 5:49 pace!) to place third in her 35–39 age group. Former Ithacan and fellow Trials qualifier Julianne Quinn was just a few steps behind in 58:20, good for 14th in the 30–34 age group. Together, Chelsea and Julie finished 29th and 30th overall for women. Also, Xavier Salvador, a former Cornell undergrad and 2019 winner of the 50K at the Finger Lakes 50s, ran 53:34 for 75th place overall.

Kudos to local runners finishing the Boston Marathon

Congrats to everyone from the area who completed the Boston Marathon, including Carson Albanese (2:46:02), Yamasaki Tetsuya (3:03:45), Sarah Dellett (3:11:55), Joey Randall (3:13:48), Amelia Kaufman (3:14:49), Kelly Brozowski (3:26:49), Marilyn Vaccaro (3:40:27), Jon Hart (4:13:30), Yrjo Grohn (4:20:26), Kate Rosa (4:24:58), along with former FLRC and High Noon runners Roger Sayre (3:00:18) and Jeff Dubois (3:24:35). Extra kudos to Kayla Slater, who ran as a support runner in the Para Athletics Division for Susan Craig of Alaska. Susan, a runner with Parkinson’s and Neurofibromatosis Type 1, wanted to beat her PR, and with Kayla’s support, she took over a minute off her time to finish in 4:13:13. Apologies if you slipped through our searches for local town and city names. 

CLUB NEWS

Import or print your FLRC calendars today

When are your favorite FLRC races and other events taking place this year? Don’t guess—our dates do move around sometimes (we just moved Monster up by a week to get a permit). You can view the FLRC race calendar in three ways, so pick whichever works best for you.

• Subscribe to our Google Calendar so race dates, group runs, and other FLRC events (like the Annual Picnic) flow into your computer and phone calendar. Download and import this ICS file for most calendar apps; subscribe to fingerlakesrunners@gmail.com if you use Google Calendar.
• Check the home page calendar on the FLRC website, which lists all FLRC events alongside other races in the area. Anyone can submit a local race to our home page calendar.
• Download a PDF of our attractive print calendar, suitable for posting on a refrigerator or bulletin board near you! Speaking of which, could you do us a favor? If you know of any bulletin boards in the buildings or businesses you frequent, could you print a copy out and post it?

Group runs on 1st & 3rd Saturdays, some Sundays, and some Thursdays

Whether you’re training for Thom B, looking for FLRC Challenge company, or entirely new to running, FLRC group runs offer low-key companionship. We have several options in the coming months:

• Saturday mornings: Heather Cobb manages our first- and third-Saturday morning group runs, with various courses around the area.
• Sunday mornings: FLRC Challenge director Adam Engst is coordinating occasional Sunday group runs on FLRC Challenge courses; check the forum for details.
• Thursday evenings: Mickie Sanders-Jauquet coordinates all-comers group runs on one Thursday night each month, followed by drinks and dinner afterward. Others have picked up the baton to fill in other Thursday nights throughout the month.

Check the Group Runs & Workouts forum for details on these and other group runs, and remember to sign the 2022 waiver the first time you attend an FLRC group run.

FLRC Forum FAQ #7: How do I search for an old post?

To search on the forum, click the magnifying glass icon in the upper right of the page, and then enter your search terms in the box that appears. The Discourse system primarily looks for your search terms in topics and their posts, but it can also find users and categories. If you have trouble finding the post you want, use the Advanced Search page. There you can limit your search by user, category, tag, date, and other criteria.

That’s it for now, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at group runs in May, along with our WDF and Thom B. races!

—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track

Greetings, runners! Signs of spring keep appearing, and it won’t be long before the skunk cabbages turn up their thermostats. In honor of their impressive thermal efforts, our next race is the long-awaited return of the Skunk Cabbage Classic on April 3rd!

UPCOMING RACES

Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon returns on April 3rd!

The Skunk Cabbage Classic is back, and hundreds of runners have already signed up for the 40th running of Ithaca’s best-known spring race. Register today! The 10K and half marathon courses remain the same, but we have a new staging area under the overhang of the Schoellkopf Stadium Crescent. Besides being outside (but under cover if there’s weather) to reduce COVID-19 concerns, the Schoellkopf Crescent has lots of parking right in front of the stadium and in the Cornell parking garage. Race directors Vinny and Nichole Cappadora have been hard at work with the myriad details necessary to put on such a major race, and if you’re not running, they need your help—please add yourself to our Volunteer Sheet or contact them at skunk@fingerlakesrunners.org for more information.

FLRC Challenge to run from April 16th through August 14 in 2022

We have good news for those who enjoyed last year’s unique FLRC Challenge or missed out due to injuries. Race director Adam Engst has been hard at work developing new courses, new and even more inclusive competitions, and new swag for 2022. To keep things focused, the 2022 FLRC Challenge will take place over four months, from April 16th through August 14, and we’ll hold a proper award ceremony at the FLRC Annual Picnic on August 25th. Look for the main announcement very soon!

May Races: Women’s Distance Festival (May 8) and Thom B. Trail Runs (May 22)

Registration is open for our next two races: the Women’s Distance Festival 5K and the Thom B. Trail Runs. On Sunday, May 8th—and yes, that’s Mother’s Day—race directors Lorrie Tily and Chris Irving will be putting on the Women’s Distance Festival 5K on the Jim Schug Trail, starting and ending at Dryden Lake Park. Then on Sunday, May 22nd, race directors Joel Cisne and Gary McCheyne have the Thom B. Trail Runs on the trails at Hammond Hill State Forest. Choose from 8.5 miles, 17 miles, or a full 26.2-mile trail marathon.

Finger Lakes 50s 50-mile distance still has a few slots open

Although the 25K and 50K distances in our Finger Lakes 50s trail ultra have waitlists, a few more spots are still left in the 50-mile distance. The race takes place on Saturday, July 2nd, leaving you a few months to get your mileage up to where you can tackle a 50 miler.

FLRC RUNNER NEWS

Dave Kania, Sarah Ridenour place at USSSA Snowshoe Nationals

Congrats to FLRC’s Dave Kania and Sarah Ridenour, who recently competed in the USSSA 10K Snowshoe Nationals in Cable, Wisconsin. Dave finished 11th for men and was the 5th masters runner, earning a place on the US Masters National Snowshoe team should he want to compete at the World Snowshoe Championships in September in Argentina. Sarah finished 18th for women. Former FLRC member Cole Crosby was 2nd overall in the race.

Lots of local runners compete in the Syracuse Half Marathon

The recent Syracuse Half Marathon hosted nearly 2000 runners on March 20th, with many local runners and FLRC members participating. There are too many familiar names to call out without missing far more, so if you want to see how your friends fared, search the results for local town and city names like Dryden, Groton, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield, and Trumansburg.

Former Cornell and Ithaca runner places 11th in the New York City Half Marathon

As long as we’re looking further afield, kudos to Ben de Haan, who recently finished 11th in the New York City Half Marathon, running an astonishing 1:02:24 (4:46 pace) alongside some of the best distance runners in the world. Ben ran for Cornell from 2012 through 2016 and continued his training and racing in Ithaca for several years—including some runs with the local High Noon Athletic Club—before moving to the Netherlands to run for the Dutch national team.

CLUB NEWS

FLRC Trail Circuit gets its own dynamic leaderboard

With inspiration from the popular FLRC Challenge leaderboard, coordination by FLRC VP of Trails Pete Kresock, and coding by club member Steve Desmond, FLRC is pleased to announce that we’ve launched the dynamic FLRC Trail Circuit leaderboard! The leaderboard will track results, statistics, and rankings from all nine of our Trail Circuit races. After each race, see how you measure up against the competition in the speed-based Pebblehead and Stonehead rankings and the mileage-based Boulderhead rankings. Anyone who runs at least one Trail Circuit race will appear on the leaderboard, and it will bring together your performances in all our 2022 races, starting with Super Frosty Loomis, whose results are up now. Series winners will take home some hardware at year’s end. To get a sense of what the leaderboard will look like later in the year, check out the 2021 Rankings in our archive.

Import or print your FLRC calendars today

When are your favorite FLRC races and other events taking place this year? Don’t guess—our dates do move around sometimes (we’ve already had to reschedule our June outdoor track meet to get a track). You can view the FLRC race calendar in three ways, so pick whichever works best for you.

• Subscribe to our Google Calendar so race dates, group runs, and other FLRC events (like the Annual Picnic) flow into your computer and phone calendar. Download and import this ICS file for most calendar apps; subscribe to fingerlakesrunners@gmail.com if you use Google Calendar.
• Check the home page calendar on the FLRC website, which lists all FLRC events alongside other races in the area. Anyone can submit a local race to our home page calendar.
• Download a PDF of our attractive print calendar, suitable for posting on a refrigerator or bulletin board near you! Speaking of which, could you do us a favor? If you know of any bulletin boards in the buildings or businesses you frequent, could you print a copy out and post it?

Group runs on 1st & 3rd Saturdays and some Thursdays

Whether you’re training for Thom B, looking for long-run company, or entirely new to running, FLRC group runs offer low-key companionship. We have several options in the coming month, with more coming soon:

• Saturday mornings: Heather Cobb manages our first- and third-Saturday morning group runs, with various courses around the area.
• Thursday evenings: Mickie Sanders-Jauquet coordinates all-comers group runs on one Thursday night each month, followed by drinks and dinner afterward. Others have picked up the baton to fill in other Thursday nights throughout the month.

Check the Group Runs & Workouts forum for details on these and other group runs, and remember to sign the 2022 waiver the first time you attend an FLRC group run.

FLRC scholarship application deadline approaching on April 8th

If you know a deserving high school senior who runs track or cross country for a school in Tompkins or a surrounding county, alert them to the FLRC Scholarship Program, which will be awarding two $1000 unrestricted scholarships in 2022. FLRC membership is not required, but applicants must submit a letter describing their academic, extracurricular, and running achievements. They should include any plans for a running career beyond high school and the personal benefits gained by participating in the sport. Applicants must also provide two letters of recommendation, one from a teacher and one from a coach. Please do not send complete transcripts or additional material for consideration as these will not be reviewed. Materials should be set to FLRC Scholarship Committee, Attn: Lorrie Tily, P.O. Box 185, Locke, NY 13092.

FLRC Forum FAQ #6: How do I get less email from the FLRC forum?

If you’re not a fan of email, you might find yourself receiving more messages than you’d like. You have complete control over how much email you receive, but keep in mind that if you disable all email, you will likely miss important announcements if you don’t visit the forum’s Web site regularly or use one of the apps.

First, if you turned on Mailing List Mode in your Emails preferences, turn it off. Then, set forums/categories for which you want to receive email to Watching or Watching First Post.

Second, refer back to the previous FAQ for a description of the Watching and Watching First Post notification levels. For any category or tag that’s sending you email, remove its name from the Watched or Watching First Post list.

Third, in your Emails preferences, note that you can adjust the frequency of the Activity Summary that alerts you to popular topics and replies. By default, it’s set to Daily, but you can instead choose Weekly, Every Month, or Every Six Months.

That’s it for now, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at Skunk Cabbage in April!

—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track

Greetings, runners! We’re deep into the cold and snow, with the Winter Chill 5K series and Super Frosty Loomis in the books and indoor track canceled for pandemic reasons. Our next race is the long-awaited return of the Skunk Cabbage Classic on April 3rd! Read on for details and other club news, such as the results from our 2022 FLRC Runner Survey.

RACE RESULTS

Winter Chill 5Ks battle tough weather conditions; Moseley and Codd win the series

Kudos to race director Sarah Drumheller for orchestrating the successful return of the Winter Chill 5K series despite icy, snowy, and downright frigid conditions that forced multiple course changes. The first race even had to be turned into five cross-country-style loops of a 1K field due to thick ice. Results from WC#1, WC#2, WC#3, and WC#4 are all online, and congratulations to our series winners, 47-year-old Roger Moseley and 23-year-old Sarah Codd, who posted the fastest average times across all four races. Be sure to check out the photos from all four races, including professional shots of nearly everyone at the orange-themed WC#3 by Steve Gallow!

Super Frosty Loomis continues its streak with wins from Esposito, Langerfeld, Watson, and Loehr

The only FLRC race that has escaped pandemic-related cancellation is our Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race. Race directors Dave Kania and Eric Sambolec—with a guest appearance by race director emeritus Boris Dzikovski—coordinated another successful running on the snowy trails of Hammond Hill. 32-year-old Steve Esposito of Binghamton won the 10K for the men in 51:33, with 35-year-old Donna Langerfeld of Port Byron taking the women’s crown in 1:04:04. The 5K went to a pair of Ithaca runners, with 33-year-old Bill Watson winning in 33:10 and 56-year-old Caitlin Loehr placing first for the women and third overall with a time for 35:01. With 47 total runners, attendance was just off the all-time high of 49, and this was the first year where the 5K (26 runners) was larger than the 10K (21 runners), likely due to more people trying snowshoeing for the first time. Thanks to everyone who carpooled—limited parking is the main reason we have to cap registration for this race. Don’t miss the great snowshoeing photos!

UPCOMING RACES

Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon returns on April 3rd!

Skunk is back! Our apologies for the delay in opening, but working with Cornell on an event that could attract as many as 1,000 runners is challenging in this day and age. Race directors Vinny and Nichole Cappadora are pleased to announce that the Skunk Cabbage Classic will return on April 3rd, and registration is now open! The 10K and half marathon courses remain the same, but we have a new staging area under the overhang of the Schoellkopf Stadium Crescent. Besides being outside (but under cover if there’s weather) to reduce COVID-19 concerns, the Schoellkopf Crescent has the advantage of more bathrooms than Barton Hall, plus lots of parking right in front of the stadium and in the Cornell parking garage. Learn more on the FLRC website and register by March 18th to get a personalized bib number with your first name on it! And if you can’t run for some reason, we could use your help volunteering. Add yourself to our Volunteer Sheet or contact the race directors at skunk@fingerlakesrunners.org for more information.

March indoor track meet canceled

Before the rise of Omicron, we thought we might be able to have some indoor track meets in 2022, but the combination of the concerns surrounding infection, COVID-19 requirements from institutions, and extremely tight venue schedules have thrown a wrench into our plans. To mix our sports metaphors, we’re punting on indoor track for this year and will be turning our attention to the outdoor season of track meets in June, July, and August. Stay tuned for details on those, and here’s hoping that indoor track can return to normal in 2023.

CLUB NEWS

FLRC runner survey results

With 111 respondents, we collected a lot of great data in our 2021 FLRC Runner Survey, and you can now read our write-up of the results that are of interest to the general public. The most popular race distance is 10K, the preferred post-race food is the banana, and amazingly, the most desirable bagel flavor is Everything. See the full report for more, complete with pretty pictures.

Get your FLRC calendars here!

When are your favorite FLRC races taking place this year? We now have our calendar set for 2022, although note that it’s not inconceivable that we would need to nudge a race date around for a permit. You can view the FLRC race calendar in three different ways, so pick whichever works the best for you.

• Subscribe to our Google Calendar so race dates and other FLRC events flow into your computer and phone calendar. Download and import this ICS file for most calendar apps; subscribe to fingerlakesrunners@gmail.com if you use Google Calendar.
• Check the home page calendar on the FLRC website, which lists all FLRC events alongside other races in the area. Anyone can submit a local race to our home page calendar.
• Download a PDF of our attractive print calendar, suitable for posting on a refrigerator or bulletin board near you! Speaking of which, could you do us a favor? If you know of any bulletin boards in the buildings or businesses you frequent, could you print a copy out and post it?

Saturday morning group runs resume; Thursday night group runs continue

Group runs have been on the upswing of late, with three options in the coming month:

• After taking January off for the Winter Chill 5K series, Heather Cobb has resumed our first- and third-Saturday morning group runs, with a variety of courses to match weather conditions.
• Mickie Sanders-Jauquet continues to coordinate all-comers group runs on one Thursday night each month, followed by drinks and dinner afterward. Others have picked up the baton to fill in other Thursday nights throughout the month.
• Throughout the month of March, Adam Engst is bringing back the Sunday Skunkday runs, meeting in front of Barton Hall each Sunday at 8:30 AM and running some or all of the Skunk Cabbage courses.

Check the Group Runs & Workouts forum for details on these and other group runs, and remember to sign the 2022 waiver the first time you attend an FLRC group run.

FLRC Forum FAQ #5: What are notifications, and can I get everything via email?

A lot happens on the FLRC Forum—it has grown into a vibrant community of local runners with over 400 posts and 30,000 page views every month! The Discourse software used by the forum has flexible notification options so everyone can set the level to which they want to be alerted. You don’t have to change the current defaults if you visit the forum website regularly or if you’re happy with how many emails you’re receiving, but if you feel like you’re missing posts, you might want to “watch” more categories. And if you pine for the old FLRC mailing list, you can simulate that with “mailing list mode,” discussed below.

First, for each forum/category, you can choose among five notification levels. To set a notification level, click the bell icon in the upper-right of any category list or at the bottom of any topic, and then click the desired notification level.

What are these?

• Watching: Select Watching for categories you want to follow closely. For each new post, you’ll get a blue dot notification bubble on your avatar in the upper-right corner and an email message. In topic lists, blue dots will indicate new posts.
• Tracking: With Tracking, your avatar gets a blue dot notification only if someone mentions your @name or replies to a post you’ve made. In topic lists, blue dots will indicate new posts. You won’t receive email notifications. By default, when you reply to a post, you’re automatically set to Tracking for that topic.
• Watching First Post: If you select Watching First Post, the system notifies you—both with a blue dot on your avatar and an email message—of new topics in the category, but not of new posts within a topic. Everyone is set to Watching First Post for the Announcements category and for the Important tag—it’s how FLRC board members and race directors can ensure that everyone receives email about certain topics.
• Normal: The default notification level is Normal, which is like Tracking in that you’re notified with a blue dot on your avatar if anyone mentions your @name or replies to one of your posts. Unlike Tracking, Normal doesn’t show blue dots for new posts in topic lists.
• Muted: It’s unlikely you’d need to use Muted unless you absolutely don’t want to be notified of any new topics or posts. It’s for forums with much higher traffic than ours.

Now you can see how you can get email for new posts. For each forum/category you want to follow via email, click the bell icon in the upper-right corner and choose Watching.

You can see all the categories you’re Watching in your account’s Notifications > Categories preferences. Click the X button next to any category name to remove it.

There is one other brute-force method of getting email for all new posts: mailing list mode. We don’t recommend it for most people because it will send you an email message for every post on the entire forum, which may be overwhelming. To turn it on, in your account’s Emails preferences, click Enable Mailing List Mode at the bottom.

That’s it for now, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at Skunk Cabbage in April!

—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track

Greetings, runners! We had no races in December, but in this issue, we’re looking back on what the club accomplished in 2021 and looking forward to the Winter Chill 5K Series the last four Sundays in January of 2022. 

CLUB NEWS

Board election and runner survey results

Thanks to the 111 people who responded to our board election and runner survey. The proposed board slate was elected with 102 votes for and 0 votes against, which means that Ian Golden, Tim Logue, and Becca Lovenheim are joining the existing directors of Adam Engst (President; VP of Track), Mickie Sanders Jauquet (VP of Roads), Pete Kresock (VP of Trails), Charlie Fay (Treasurer), and Bill Watson (Secretary), plus members-at-large Mike Allinger, Heather Cobb, Tonya Engst, Nancy Kleinrock, Steve Shaum, and Charlie Trautmann. Their efforts in helping to give FLRC direction and momentum are much appreciated!

The winners of our random drawing for free entry into all FLRC races (other than Finger Lakes 50s) for 2022 are Jamie Loehr, Patrick Milano, and Amy Sarno! We’ll have a more detailed report on the results of the rest of the survey soon.

FLRC accomplishments for 2021

Most people probably think of FLRC as putting on races, and that’s true. Our normal race calendar includes 22 races, far more than most running clubs, and we were able to hold 13 races—including our full roster of trail races—with over 1000 participations in even this pandemic-hampered year (a normal year sees about 4000+ participations). But FLRC does a great deal more than organize races, thanks to an active board and energetic volunteers. Some of the things we accomplished in the past year-plus include:

• Donated, raised, or helped coordinate over $27,500 in charitable donations, including:
  • $13,513 for the Friends of Hammond Hill trail work (acted as fiscal sponsor)
  • $4,251 for Loaves & Fishes (through Turkey Trot donations)
  • $2,000 for Girls on the Run programs at BJM and Moravia Elementary Schools 
  • $2,000 for the Ithaca Youth Bureau track and cross country programs
  • $2,000 in scholarships for two graduating high school seniors
  • $1,200 for Wilderness Search and Rescue (for helping at our trail races)
  • $1,000 for the Finger Lakes Trail Conference (Finger Lakes Trail maintainers)
  • $965 for the Cornell Botanic Gardens (in relation to the FLRC Challenge)
  • $650 for the Four Town First Aid Squad (from the Fillmore 5K)
• Developed and coordinated the innovative FLRC Challenge. Some stats:
  • 193 signups, 164 of whom ran at least one course
  • 86 completions
  • 11 successful completions (of 13 attempts) of the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge
  • Over 4,550 runs logged
  • Over 21,700 miles run
  • 45 consecutive weekly recaps
• Made FLRC’s online presence more vibrant:
  • Grew the FLRC Forum to 880 members and over 20,000 monthly pageviews
  • Created a photo library with over 80 albums and 33,600 images
  • Designed and implemented an innovative leaderboard for the FLRC Challenge
  • Organized four virtual FLRC Presents talks in late 2020 and early 2021 with 80+ participations and over 200 subsequent views
• Formed a Diversity & Inclusion Committee that in 2020 and 2021:
  • Developed a Diversity & Inclusion Statement
  • Created first-timers’ documents to educate those new to roads, trails, and track
  • Encouraged runners with disabilities to ask for accommodations at races
  • Offered a free year of FLRC membership to anyone impacted financially by the pandemic
  • Established a policy of free race entry for those in financial need
  • Organized a Juneteenth group run in conjunction with the Southside Community Center
• Organized numerous in-person group runs, workouts, and team events:
  • Held 20 low-key group runs on FLRC Challenge courses with 237 participations
  • Coached 10 weeks of MITHACAL MILERS cross-country workouts with 113 participations
  • Created the late-2020 Happy Holidays Scavenger Hunt, which had 100 participations across 6 weeks, and generated oodles of amusing photos on the forum
  • Organized a mid-February snowshoe clinic to introduce runners to the sport
  • Shared food and convivial conversation with 83 attendees at FLRC’s Annual Picnic
  • Coordinated FLRC and High Noon teams in the five-race PGXC series, with 73 runners and 181 race participations for the season, with an end-of-season group run, and outdoor awards ceremony 
  • Hosted the fourth PGXC race at Taughannock State Park for nearly 300 runners
  • Staffed an aid station at the Virgil Crest Ultras
• Worked to enhance board procedures, policies, and governance
  • Rebuilt club membership from a 2021 low of 411 members to today’s 530
  • Created or updated the club’s Cash & Investment Policy, Conflict of Interest & Confidentiality Policy, Ethics Policy, Privacy Policy, Race & Membership Fee Policy, Records Management & Retention Policy, and Whistleblower Protection Policy 
  • Worked on a significant bylaws revision to meet nonprofit best practices and New York State legal requirements
  • Managed $100,000 in investments, establishing an investment policy designed to help fund FLRC’s philanthropic efforts from investment profits
  • Brought in three new board members to replace departing members and fill in gaps in the board’s skills, experiences, and demographics

Monthly Thursday night group runs continue

Mickie Sanders-Jauquet is continuing to coordinate all-comers group runs on one Thursday night each month, followed by drinks and dinner afterward. Check the Group Runs & Workouts forum for details on these and other group runs.

FAQ #4: How do I tell which topics have new posts?

When a topic contains a post that the system knows you haven’t seen yet, it bolds the title of the post. When you’ve read all the posts in a topic, its title becomes slightly grayed-out. When you’re looking at a list of topics, you’ll also see a Last Visit line underneath the topics that have been created since your last visit.

If your notification level is set to Watching or Tracking (more on those in FAQ #5), you’ll also see a blue dot after the titles of topics with new posts. If it’s a small blue dot, you haven’t seen any of the posts in the topic. If it’s a larger blue dot with a number inside, the number indicates how many posts are new since you last tuned in, so you can get a quick sense of whether it’s just one reply or an involved discussion. The forum knows what you’ve read and automatically scrolls so you see new posts in a topic.

UPCOMING RACES

Winter Chill 5K Series scheduled for January 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th

Get out your hats and mittens for the last four Sundays in January, when the Winter Chill 5K Series is scheduled to return, thanks to the efforts of race director Sarah Drumheller. These low-key 5Ks in Cass Park are free, but you must be an FLRC member to run, so make sure to join or renew online before the races (and don’t miss the chance to get a snazzy Winter Chill T-shirt). There won’t be any day-of-race joining, but membership is just $20 for an individual or $35 for a family for a year, with multi-year discounts if you don’t want to fuss with it annually. 

RACE RESULTS

2021 FLRC Trail Circuit Winners

We’ve crunched the numbers and calculated the winners for our annual Pebblehead, Stonehead, and Boulderhead winners. The FLRC Trail Circuit comprises all eight of FLRC’s trail races, plus Red Newt Racing’s Lucifer’s Crossing. 

The Pebblehead winners—calculated from each runner’s top three performances—are Ellie Pell and Adam Pacheck. In fact, Adam and Kristofor Norberg tied with a maximum score of 300 points, but Adam won the tiebreaker by amassing an average larger margin of victory. The women’s Stonehead winner—total points across all Trail Circuit races—is Sarah Ridenour, who earned the top spot again after winning it in 2019. Gerrit Van Loon takes the men’s Stonehead title after finishing seven of the nine Trail Circuit races. Gerrit’s seven runs also netted him the Boulderhead title with a total of 137.5 Trail Circuit miles completed out of a possible 150.36. The rules for each contest and further results can be found in our full write-up of the Trail Circuit.

E​​ighty-six runners completed the FLRC Challenge

The FLRC Challenge still has a few hours to go, and the completions kept coming all day, with 20 new completions since last month. Even more impressive, we’ve crossed the 4500-run mark and have cruised past 21,700 miles! Standings didn’t change much until the last day, when Margaret Frank roared into the lead for Most Points for women, taking over from Jullien Flynn. The Most Miles competition, where Pete Kresock and Karen Ingall were duking it out while Bob Walters dropped to third place after a trip to Hawaii for the Honolulu Marathon, ended in a sportsmanlike tie, with both Karen and Pete finishing with exactly 1345.3 miles. 

The team competition also heated up in the last few weeks, with the Fabulous 50s briefly taking the lead before the Thundering 30s put the hammer down. Amanda King, Aaron King, Pete Kresock, Liz Hartman, and others hit the trails to take over the Most Runs category on several contested courses, and Margaret Frank logged five super-fast efforts across the final five days of the year. It was great to see both teams rally to the cause.

Finally, kudos first to Heather Cobb, who completed the FLRC 100K Ultra Challenge for a second time, on this attempt making it under the 24-hour cutoff by the razor-thin margin of 6 minutes and 27 seconds. Be sure to read her write-up! And then, with a December 30th effort, Pete Kresock notched his second completion of the Ultra Challenge as well, finishing in 13:20:11 running time and 17:00:06 total elapsed time.

Looking forward to seeing you at FLRC events in 2022!

—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track