January may have seemed quiet, but quite a bit has been happening behind the scenes:

• We had a race! The Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race went off without a hitch.
• The FLRC Challenge has begun! Can you complete all ten courses in 2021?
• Various FLRC Board committees have been working on new club policies.
• Want to get more involved with FLRC? We need a new Volunteer Coordinator.
• A few FLRC members have been racing the snowshoe circuit.

On to the particulars!

36 masked runners descend on the Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race

Our last outdoor race of 2020 was the Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race, so it was particularly pleasing for it to be our first race back since the pandemic hit. Kudos to race directors Dave Kania and Eric Sambolec for putting on an event that felt normal while adhering to FLRC’s COVID-19 Race Safety Precautions. The conditions were ideal, with sun and temperatures in the 20s for 11 runners in the 5K and 25 in the 10K. In the 5K, newcomer Michela Meister finished first with a time of 37:28, beating Eileen Randall’s second-place finish in 41:10. In the 10K, Eric Sambolec continued his dominance, notching his sixth straight win with a time of 50:59, outpacing Kurt Huebner’s 52:07 by over a minute. On the women’s side, Amelia Kaufman took home first place for the third year in a row with a time of 1:05:13, coming in comfortably ahead of Jenny Selig’s 1:12:02 for second place. Who will step up next year to provide some competition for Eric and Amelia?

The FLRC Challenge has begun! Are you ready to challenge yourself?

Has it been hard to find a focus for your running this year? To help, we’ve launched the FLRC Challenge, a series of ten open-course races that you can run anytime you want, as many times as you want, throughout the rest of 2021. Half of the courses are road, half are trail, and they range in distance from 1 mile to the half marathon. Run, hike, or walk them all to win the coveted FLRC Challenge medal! All profits from the FLRC Challenge will support local running programs like Girls on the Run and the GIAC Navigators.

To increase the challenge, we have individual and team competitions for the speedy, the consistent, and the deliberate. Individuals will compete for over 200 prizes based on fastest times (overall and age group), best average times, and most efforts for each course. 10-year age group teams will go up against other generations for bragging rights based on age-graded times and most efforts. Be sure to check the dynamic FLRC Challenge leaderboard for changes in your individual and team standings after every run.

We’ve also created a special FLRC Challenge forum for chatting about courses, dissecting the standings, and friendly needling of other teams (will age and guile overcome youth and exuberance?). The first two courses (the East Hill Rec Way downhill mile and the Pseudo Skunk Cabbage half marathon) are open now, and we hope to open more soon, once the snow and ice melt. Over 75 people have registered already—we’d love to have you join us!

FLRC Board publishes Diversity Statement, First-Timers FAQs, and Privacy Notice

Over the past few months, several FLRC Board committees have been hard at work on infrastructural policies, and we have some public-facing documents we’d like to share, along with the COVID-19 Race Safety Precautions mentioned above. First, in response to the horrific killing of Black runner Ahmaud Arbery and the George Floyd protests, we formed a Diversity Committee, led by Jullien Flynn. To help share FLRC’s beliefs, values, and desire to increase inclusivity in the running community, that committee has developed a Diversity Statement. In addition, the committee created a set of First-Timers FAQs for Trail Races, Road Races, and Track Meets to help anyone who might feel intimidated or overwhelmed when attending an FLRC event for the first time. Second, the Governance Committee, headed by Charlie Trautmann, has published a necessarily comprehensive Privacy Notice about the data-related aspects of FLRCs operations. We won’t be offended if you don’t read all of it.

Wanted: Energetic volunteer coordinator

As you know, FLRC is an all-volunteer organization, and after the retirement of a long-time member, we’re looking for a new volunteer coordinator. This position spent last year in limbo along with our pandemic-hampered race schedule, so it’s ripe for reinvention in 2021. You’d be perfect for the role of volunteer coordinator if you’re outgoing, organized, and enthused about FLRC. Core tasks involve collaborating with race directors to line up volunteers, recruiting new volunteers, and helping to build ways to track volunteers and their efforts so we can acknowledge and reward them at the Annual Picnic. For those early in their careers (hint, hint), this position will be great for community networking, will enhance your resumé, and could be a source of recommendations. Contact Adam Engst if you’re interested.

FLRC members place well in upstate New York snowshoe races

They don’t just organize snowshoe races, they run them. Congrats to Super Frosty Loomis race directors Eric Sambolec and Dave Kania for numerous top finishes in the Stonewall Snowshoe Marathon series, and for their current 1-2 rankings in the North Country Snowshoe Series. Other FLRC members participating and placing well in these races include Sarah Ridenour and Jim Miner. Apologies if we overlooked anyone, and please point us to race results if you or other club members run one.

FLRC weekly workouts continue

As the weather conditions have degraded over the past months, we’ve been missing the warm, dry track in Barton Hall more than ever. But when the sky gives us snow, we recommend taking advantage of it by cross-country skiing or snowshoeing! Nonetheless, if you’re looking for some structure for your training, we continue to post our weekly workouts for middle (5K to 15K) and long (half marathon and marathon) distance runners on the FLRC Forum. If you run with a friend or find yourself in the presence of walkers or runners, please follow FLRC’s recommendations for safe running!

Until next time, stay fit and stay healthy, and we look forward to running together again!

—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track

The Finger Lakes Runners Club is proud to announce our annual scholarship program is open for 2021:

Program/Eligibility

• A minimum of two unrestricted $1,000 scholarships to be awarded to two deserving high school seniors who participated on their school’s cross country and/or track and field teams.
• Eligible students must reside in Tompkins or a surrounding county.
• FLRC membership is not required.

Process

• To apply, applicants must submit a letter describing their academic, extracurricular, and running achievements. Include any plans you may have for a running career beyond high school and the personal benefits you have gained by participating in the sport.
• Applicants should include 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.
• Mail application materials to:

  FLRC Scholarship Committee
  Attn: Lorrie Tily
  P.O. Box 185
  Locke, NY 13092

Identification of Recipient

• Scholarship applications must be received by the Scholarship Committee by May 1, 2021. Committee members to review submissions and identify recipients by May 15.
• Recipients may be asked to present their scholarship application materials to the FLRC Board.

You likely saw this coming, but the FLRC board and race directors regret to announce the cancellation of the in-person runnings of the Winter Chill 5K series, our indoor track meets, the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile, and the Skunk Cabbage Classic.

In large part, we made this decision due to the recent rise in COVID-19 infection rates in the community and the concern that holiday gatherings will cause infections to surge even higher. Plus, Cornell University’s Barton Hall indoor track is not available for large groups, particularly off-campus visitors. Please help us control infections in our community by staying home, celebrating the holidays virtually with loved ones, and masking up whenever you’re in public.

The FLRC board and race directors will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and discuss future races at our upcoming board meetings. At the moment, we’re still hoping to hold the Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race on February 6th and will make a final decision in mid-January.

As much as we hate canceling races, we’re excited about a major initiative we have planned for the local running community throughout 2021: the FLRC Challenge! Learn more about it here.

We encourage you to exercise regularly—the many benefits may include fun, stress relief, and boosting the immune system. Try to run in uncrowded areas, mask up when passing close to others, and [please follow our COVID-19 recommendations](https://fingerlakesrunners.org/covid-19/).

Stay fit, stay healthy, and we look forward to being able to run together again!