6 March 2020: As a precaution to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Cornell University is postponing or canceling non-essential events of more than 100 people. The FLRC board is discussing how this will affect the next indoor track meet (March 29th) and the Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon (April 5th) while we wait to hear additional details from our contacts at Cornell. In the meantime, we have paused registration for those events. As we learn more, we’ll update this post and share updates in the FLRC Announcements forum.
FLRC Footnotes for March 2020
Greetings, runners! Lots has been happening with FLRC over the last month, with an indoor track meet, numerous group runs and workouts, and a highly enjoyable party to watch the Olympic Trials Marathon (alas, we didn’t catch sight of the Ithaca women). There’s plenty coming up too, between our Annual Meeting, the last winter track meet of the year, the Skunk Cabbage Classic, and many more opportunities to run together.
Read on for club news, details of our recent and upcoming races, and how to join FLRC group runs and workouts.
CLUB NEWS
Last Chance! FLRC Annual Meeting Scheduled for March 8th from 3–5 PM
Please RSVP for FLRC’s Annual Meeting, where Chelsea Benson, Bailey Drewes, and Ellie Pell will be sharing stories from the Olympic Marathon Trials, showing pictures, and answering questions. At this free event, we’ll also be revealing our Volunteer of the Year, announcing new Lifetime Members, presenting the 2019 Trail Circuit Stonehead, Pebblehead, and Boulderhead awards, and enjoying the entries in our traditional dessert competition (nom nom!). And, of course, if you’d like to get more involved with FLRC, perhaps through races, other events, communications, or more, this is a great opportunity to learn more and talk to board members.
Coming Soon: FLRC Discussion Forum Transition
You’ve been seeing more links to FLRC’s new online discussion forum at forum.fingerlakesrunners.org 2—it’s where to go to learn what’s new, find out about group runs, and chew the fat with fellow runners. Over the next few weeks, we plan to migrate FLRC mailing list subscribers to the forum, so stay tuned for more information.
FLRC Adopts Trail Sisters Race Recommendations
At its February meeting, FLRC’s board voted unanimously to adopt the recommendations from the Trail Sisters group whenever possible. As such, FLRC commits to providing women with equal podium spots and awards (we’ve always done this), women-specific swag and apparel (if available for the item in question), equal opportunity/space on the starting lines of our races, and menstrual products at aid stations for races of half-marathon length or longer. Questions and comments welcome in our General forum.
FLRC MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Ithaca Women Compete in the Olympic Marathon Trials
Huge congratulations to the Ithaca-area women who competed on the national stage in the Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday, February 29th. Bailey Drewes led the trio with a strong 2:42:11 on a hilly, windy course, good for 66th place. Ellie Pell was next, finishing in 121st place in 2:44:59, and Chelsea Benson came through in 2:47:05 and 163rd place. See the writeup (and contribute your own thoughts or congratulations!) on the FLRC forum 1, and we’ll hear more about their experiences at FLRC’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, March 8th.
Local Runners Compete in Snowshoe National and World Championships
The increasing popularity of FLRC’s Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race is evidence of the strength of the sport locally. Two of Loomis’s race directors, Eric Sambolec and David Kania, competed in the US Snowshoe Nationals at over 10,000 feet in Leadville, Colorado. Racing junkie Jim Miner traveled all the way to Myoko, Japan, to compete in the Snowshoe World Championships and brought home a silver medal in the 70+ age group (62nd overall). Also in that race was ex-Ithacan Cole Crosby, who took 17th overall and 6th in the 30-39 age group. Congrats to all, and if you’re intrigued by snowshoe running or racing, ask in our General forum.
RACE RESULTS AND UPCOMING RACES
FLRC February Indoor Track Meet Recap
Although overall attendance at FLRC’s February indoor track meet was down a bit due to intersecting with both Cornell’s winter break and the public schools’ winter break, interest in the 5000m set a new record, with 71 finishers across three sections. James Felice (15:58) and Bella Burda (16:50) ended up taking the honors. The 800m crowns were claimed by Jason Matthewson (2:02) and Claire Mason of Corning-Painted Post West (2:24). In the 60m, Nicholas Abdo ran 6.84 seconds for first place, and then followed it up with a second win in the 400m in 51.44 seconds. Team SOAR’s Makenna Keough ran 8.41 to win the women’s 60m, and Charlotte Nevins of Corning-Painted Post West laid down a 58.91 to win the 400m. See the forum for full results 1 and a more detailed writeup.
FLRC March Indoor Track Meet on March 29th
Our final indoor track meet of the winter season is coming up at the end of the month. Events will include the 3000m, 60m, 400m, 1 mile, and 4-by-200m relay. Runners of all ages are welcome, and we particularly encourage families to bring kids—it’s a great environment for kids to get started with running, especially during the cold, wet, winter months. Learn more and (please!) pre-register.
Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon on April 5th
Don’t miss our marquee race of the spring—the Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon. This year marks the 39th consecutive running of one of Ithaca’s oldest and largest road races, with your choice between USATF-certified 10K and half-marathon distances. Join the throng of other runners along Ellis Hollow’s scenic countryside as the skunk cabbages start to emerge in early spring. Register today!
GROUP RUNS
Sunday Skunkday Group Runs Going Strong
Are you training for Skunk? Or would you just like some company on your Sunday long run? Whatever pace you run, come join FLRC’s Sunday group run each week through Skunk, which takes place on Sunday, April 5th. All we ask is that you sign the FLRC Training Programs waiver if you haven’t already done so in 2020. We generally meet at Barton Hall at 8:30 AM, but check the Group Runs & Workouts 3 forum for weekly details.
MITHACAL MILERS Tuesday Night Workouts Continue through March
Want to train indoors? FLRC’s MITHACAL MILERS group meets every Tuesday night at 7 PM in Barton Hall. Workouts focus on the 1-mile race with the goal of helping runners improve their mile time throughout FLRC’s winter track season. Each week, your humble president will set a pace-based track workout (again, see the Group Runs & Workouts 3 forum), lead the group in dynamic warmups, and close with strength and mobility exercises. All ages and abilities are welcome, although adults should be running at least 15–20 miles per week to ensure that the workouts are appropriate. These workouts are part of the FLRC Family Running Program, so children 7–13 are welcome and will run custom workouts based around running games. FLRC membership is required. Learn more and be sure to sign the FLRC Training Programs waiver once for 2020.
Black Diamond 1st and 3rd Saturday Group Runs Changing to 8:30 AM
We’re tweaking the timing on our 1st and 3rd Saturday group runs on the Black Diamond Trail. A Doodle poll (you can still vote!) revealed that a majority would prefer to meet at 8:30 AM with the run starting at 8:45 AM, so we’re going to try that for the March 7th run. However, for fans of earlier and later times, we’re contemplating encouraging groups to meet an hour earlier and an hour later as well, such that starting and finishing groups can socialize briefly—discuss in the forum. These free runs start and finish at the base of the Black Diamond Trail behind the Ithaca Children’s Garden at Cass Park (121 Turtle Lane). We’ll run out on the wide, smooth Black Diamond Trail for roughly 30 minutes, and then turn around and run back. You’ll likely find someone at your pace, and everyone should finish at about the same time. Feel free to add in some walking, or to turn around before 30 minutes. Learn more and be sure to sign the FLRC Training Programs waiver once for 2020.
That’s a wrap for this month, and remember, it’s more fun to run together.
—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track
5000m proves insanely popular in FLRC’s February indoor track meet
Talk about unexpected! Normally, when we include a 5000m race in one of FLRC’s indoor track meets, it gets 15–20 brave souls who can count all 25 laps—we’ve never run more than one section. When I seeded the race on Saturday night, we had 86 entrants, forcing me to create three sections and figure out how we’d do a special box start to deal with the fact that one of the sections had 25 starters. Illness knocked the numbers down a bit, but we still ended up 71 finishers, well above all the other events. The numbers for the sprints were down a bit due to coinciding with the public school winter break, but still… Full results are now available.
So, about that 5000m. For the first two-thirds of the race, we had a tight four-man pack, with James Felice, Rich Heffron, Jack Gregorski, and Steve Esposito, trading the lead back and forth. Then Felice took control of the race and stretched out a several-second lead that he extended in the end for a masterful 15:58. Corning-Painted Post West’s Gregorski held off Esposito, 16:08 to 16:09, and Heffron wasn’t far behind in 16:11. The first woman was Cornell grad student Bella Burda, who tucked herself into the middle of the fastest section and laid down an impressive 16:50 for 11th overall. Second woman was another Cornell grad student, Jenny Berkowitz, who ran a smooth 18:40 in the second section. Also of note were the 29:29 and 29:57 racewalking times posted by Abby Perry and Angelea Collins, respectively, of Corning-Painted Post West.
Our next race was the 800m, and although James Felice tried to repeat, he wasn’t able to compete with Jason Matthewson, who won with a commanding 2:02, beating Steven Segal (2:03) and Ashton Bange (2:06) of Corning-Painted Post West, with Felice fourth in 2:09. Claire Mason of Corning-Painted Post West took the honors for the women with a 2:24, followed closely by Elizabeth Ostrander in 2:26.
The sprints were dominated by Nicholas Abdo, who bested Roosevelt Lee in the 60m, 6.84 seconds to Lee’s 6.96, with Silas Wagaman third in 7.02. For the women, Team SOAR’s Makenna Keough ran 8.41 seconds to beat the 8.85 posted by Lauren White of Chenango Forks.
Abdo had to work harder in the 400m, winning a judge’s decision over Kyle Zaidel of Corning-Painted Post West in 51.44 seconds to Zaidel’s 51.45. Zaidel’s teammate Otto Sutton finished third in 53.06. Equally impressive was the 58.91 run by Charlotte Nevins of Corning-Painted Post West, passing her teammate Jayla Skeete in the second lap—Skeete came through in 1:00.18.
Thanks to all the teams who came: the Auburn Pulsars, Chenango Forks, Corning Painted-Post West, Elmira, the Ithaca College crew team, the Ithaca College Running Club, SUNY Broome, the Syracuse University Running Club, Team SOAR, and Watkins Glen.
As always, the meet couldn’t have happened without FLRC’s highly capable and amiable volunteer team. Past FLRC president Lorrie Tily served as head timer, with and even further-back-in-history past president Tom Rishel swapping between a whistle (for little kids) and starting pistol to get each race off the line. Jullien Flynn worked her usual magic with the seeding and results with help from Bob Talda. Tonya Engst and Jesse Koennecke handled registration and bib pickup with aplomb. Bill Watson juggled over 150 runners while organizing and lining up each race. Adam Pacheck recorded finisher bibs and managed the finish line with help from Henry Deitcher, who also served as lap counter. Aaron Proujansky did backup timing and made sure everyone broke in after staggered starts. Mickie Sanders-Jauquet (another past president—these track meets are catnip!) managed clothing sales. Ved Gund joined Bob, Adam, Aaron, Jesse, Lorrie, and Tonya in timing the races run in lanes. And thanks to everyone for the help setting up and breaking down!
We have one more track meet coming up on March 29th, and if you want to run some workouts to tune up for it, join our MITHACAL MILERS workouts.
Exciting Races and Solid Performances at the Hartshorne Masters Mile
After last year’s snowpocalypse, we were worried that the weather might once again hurt attendance at the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile, and indeed, a few runners reported slow driving conditions through snow and slush on their way in. But despite it Ithacating outside all day, forcing everyone to warm up indoors, Barton Hall was warm and dry and light, and the race went off without a hitch.
That’s due in large part to the machine that Charlie Fay and Tom Hartshorne have built, and that I’ve maintained and enhanced as race director. Jim Miner and Bill Watson showed up early to help Charlie and me set up, and Jim and John Whitman continued on to manage the registration table, at least until Jim needed to run his race (with spikes, not barefoot!). After being snowbound last year, Joe Simpson returned as clerk of course, and Dan Hurley once again started all the races flawlessly. Megan Powers put in time ahead of the race—coupled with fancy Excel work during—to produce a saddle-stitched results booklet that proved wildly popular with the runners and for which I’m still getting requests. Joel Cisne helped runners take photos in front of our snazzy new photo backdrop, Bruce Roebal ran the lap counter, Truck Rossiter called splits, and Mickie Sanders-Jauquet and Kathleen Gibson held the finish tape for the elite sections. Bert Bland, Sean Nicholson, Aaron Proujansky, Rick Cleary, and Bill Watson helped Tom keep the track clear of wayward collegiate runners. And of course, Steve Gallow took great pictures and Jorge Cuevas produced fabulous videos of each race.
The races themselves were once again huge fun to watch, and I tremendously enjoyed being able to cheer for the runners—at least when I wasn’t off being interviewed for the Spectrum TV News. The FLRC site now has sortable results, and Leone Timing (who do an amazing job) has full results with lap splits.
Combined Women & Men: Our leadoff race showcased our oldest runners, 95-year-old Dixon Hemphill and 85-year-old Edna Hyer (running her 23rd Hartshorne!), along with 75-year-old Joe Reynolds, 73-year-old Harland Bigelow, and 73-year-old Sandy Balling. But it also served as a local return to racing for 52-year-old Oliver Habicht, who has spent the last 18 months fighting pancreatic cancer through chemotherapy, radiation, and major surgery. In the end, Habicht trailed Reynolds for seven laps before opening up a 22-second lead for the win. With luck, next year he’ll be closer to his 6:09 from 2017.
Women Section 1: In this tight race, Kim Jackson led for the first few laps, Colleen Magnussen took over briefly in the middle of the race, and then Jackson retook the lead and kicked it in for the win in 6:52 to Magnussen’s 6:56. Tonya Engst held on for a solid third in 7:01.
Men Section 3: After Jack Salisbury led for the first three laps, 63-year-old Gary Radford ran away from the field to win in 5:57, beating Don Hughes in 6:11 and Salisbury in 6:21. Radford’s performance may have been impressive, but nothing in comparison to his 6000-mile solo bike ride from Key West to Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Circle between June 1st and August 5th, 2019.
Men Section 2: This race saw the most impressive kick of the day, with Tristan Lambert sitting in third as Peter Frazier led for seven laps. Then Lambert went from 42- and 43-second laps to a final 31.94, the fastest lap of the day for any runner, and won the race in 5:29, 7 seconds ahead of Frazier, who just managed to hold off Robert Mozo at the tape.
Men Section 1: Steve Folsom led a tight pack through 5 laps before Mike Bronson took over for a commanding victory in 5:12, with Brian Lee throwing down a 35-second final lap to nip Folsom at the tape by a second, 5:15 to 5:16. Close behind in fourth was Ryan Niclasen in 5:21, and Walter Silbert outleaned Scott Armstrong by .06 seconds for fifth in 5:23.
Women Elite 2: In this race, early favorite Kristin White hung on rabbit Jenny Berkowitz through 800m before surrendering the lead to Lynn Gottfried. Gottfried cruised in comfortably for the win in 5:59, followed by Julie Barclay in 6:12. Mary Swan kicked hard in the last straightaway to outpace Brenda Osovski by a quarter of a second in 6:13. White finished fifth in 6:27, followed by Betsy Stewart in 6:31, Sandy Gregorich in 6:31, and 68-year-old Coreen Steinbach in 6:53.
Men Elite 2: 62-year-old David Westenberg tucked in behind rabbit Mik Kern to lead this race through seven laps but couldn’t hold off 54-year-old Dale Flanders and 53-year-old John McMahon in the end, finishing third in 5:15 to Flanders’s well-kicked 5:13 and McMahon’s 5:14. Just barely back in fourth was 60-year-old Casey Carlstrom in 5:16. Francis Burdett completed the field in 5:30.
Women Elite 1: After rabbit Bella Burda led a tight four-woman pack through 800m with former All-American Alisa Harvey in the lead, Dianne DeOliviera took over, followed by former Olympian Michelle Rohl. DeOliviera extended her lead through the rest of the race, winning in 5:30, ahead of Rohl’s 5:34 and Harvey’s 5:38, with Amy Fakterowitz in fourth in 5:44, Lorraine Jasper fifth in 5:46, and Joan Totaro sixth in 5:56. 61-year-old Lynn Cooke took seventh in 5:57, but that was good for an astonishing 97.15% age-grading, the best by far for the day from any runner. Filling out the field were Wakenda Tyler in eighth in 6:07 and 60-year-old-Julie Hayden in ninth in 6:16.
Men Elite 1: In our final race of the day, the win was never in question, with 2017 winner Peter Brady shadowing rabbit Adam Pacheck through 1200m before running it in for a commanding victory in 4:36. 2018’s second-place finisher, Dave Welsh, was recovering from the flu but still managed a 4:45 for second place, followed by 55-year-old Kenneth Barbee in 4:51 (his 91.06% age-grading was tops for the men). Then it got tight, with Jordan Varano pulling out an impressive kick and a lean at the line to nip Ryan Mitchell by .04 seconds in 4:52. Next in was Jay Hubisz in 4:54, followed by fellow High Nooner Brian Lazzaro in 4:55, and GVH’s Mike Nier in 4:56. Rounding out the field, Tim Van Orden came through in 5:01, Scott Grandfield in 5:05, and Joe Mora in 5:11.
Finally, I’d like to thank the sponsors who make Hartshorne possible. It takes a lot of money to put on a national-level meet like this, with rabbits, a professional announcer, video of all the races, a post-race banquet, and cash prizes to attract some of the top talent in the US and Canada. The race’s 2020 sponsors include Cayuga Medical Center, Bangs Ambulance, Joe Daley, the Hartshorne Family, Sean Nicholson, Ken Zeserson, Bill Quinlisk, and Felder Track & Field. The masters running community is tremendously appreciative of their support. Just because we’re not so young anymore doesn’t mean we don’t take our racing seriously!
See you next year!
FLRC Footnotes for February 2020
Greetings, runners! I’m Adam Engst, and I have the honor of serving as the president of FLRC this year. Many of you probably know me from my work directing track meets, timing races, captaining the High Noon cross country team, and organizing MITHACAL MILERS workouts and pancake breakfast runs.
In these hopefully regular Footnotes, I’m hoping to provide a look at some of the things that FLRC does behind the scenes, shine a spotlight on the work that your fellow club members do in putting on FLRC’s many races, call out the top performers in those races, and share details of FLRC group runs and other events. Thanks to Pete Kresock and others on FLRC’s Communication Team for development and editing help on this month’s Footnotes.
We have big plans for 2020, and we’d love to have your help in making them a reality—see our Volunteer Opportunities page. You can always reach me at ace@tidbits.com.
Read on for club news, details of our recent and upcoming races, and how to join FLRC group runs and workouts.
Club News
FLRC Elects New Board and Officers for 2020
Many people may not realize how much work goes into FLRC behind the scenes. Sure, you probably know that race directors and volunteers make our races possible, but even further in the background is FLRC’s Board of Directors. This year, FLRC members elected a new slate of officers and members-at-large, and you can now learn more about who these shadowy figures are on our Board of Directors page. Our board meetings on the second Wednesday of the month are open to the public; contact me or any board member for time and location details.
FLRC Testing New Discussion Forum—Check It Out!
You may have noticed that we’re testing a new Web- and email-based discussion system, with a General forum and a Group Runs & Workouts forum to start (along with a bunch of private forums for board business and committees). Take a look and join the discussions! As traffic increases, we’re considering additional forums for topics like training questions and injury advice. You can browse and read online at any time, but to get or post messages via email, or to respond to a poll, you’ll need an account. The system is easy to use and will even walk you through an online tutorial, but I’ve also written some instructions that explain more and offer additional configuration advice. If you have questions about how to use the site, there’s a Site Feedback forum.
Local Runners to Compete in the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta
Three Ithaca-area women have qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials by running a sub-2:45 marathon on a certified course within the past three years. On Saturday, February 29th, Chelsea Benson, Bailey Drewes, and Ellie Pell will line up to compete against America’s top marathoners. In addition, keep an eye out for Julianne Quinn, who was a fixture on the Ithaca running scene for a number of years until recently moving to Virginia. In the Trials race, the top three men and women will make the US national team to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. You can catch the race on live TV on NBC, from 12–3 PM or rewatch the race online after its conclusion. While you’re watching the finish line, look for FLRC friend Pat Leone because his Leone Timing company will be there to ensure accurate times and quick results.
FLRC Annual Meeting Scheduled for March 8th from 3–5 PM at Agava
Save the date for FLRC’s Annual Meeting, where Chelsea, Bailey, and Ellie will be sharing stories from the Olympic Marathon Trials, showing pictures, and answering questions. At this free event, we’ll also be revealing our Volunteer of the Year, announcing new Lifetime Members, presenting the 2019 Trail Circuit Stonehead, Pebblehead, and Boulderhead awards, and enjoying the entries in our traditional dessert competition (nom nom!). And, of course, if you’d like to get more involved with FLRC, perhaps through races, other events, communications, or more, this is a great opportunity to learn more and talk to board members.
RACES
The start of the year is FLRC’s busiest time, with seven events in five weeks: four Winter Chill 5Ks, an indoor track meet, the venerable Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile, and the scrappy Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race. Phew!
Winter Chill Series Sets Record Attendance, Boosts Club Membership
Thanks to race director Sarah Drumheller for putting on a successful Winter Chill series at Cass Park in January! The four Winter Chill races are free to FLRC members as a way of encouraging local runners to join the club, and thanks to her work with Winter Chill, we’re now at 651 members, up from 610 last year. We posted a record 388 entries across all four races, and a record 29 runners completed all four races, with Brennan Brockway and Caitlin Loehr setting the fastest average times among that dedicated group. You can see results for WC#1, WC#2, WC#3, and WC#4, plus the series standings and a collection of photos.
FLRC January Indoor Track Meet
Despite unseasonably warm weather in the 60s, FLRC opened the 2020 indoor track season with a fun, relaxing meet in Cornell’s Barton Hall. Along with some fast times and exciting races, we had numerous heats of kids, with 23-month-old Jude Heffron taking the prize for youngest runner after he completed the 60m dash. His father, Rich Heffron (who won both the mile and the 3000), says Jude is now training hard with a goal of breaking 30 seconds at the February 23rd meet. Full results are available, and we’ve also published an album of photos.
Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile Makes the TV News
Now in its 53rd year, the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile once again attracted some of the top masters runners in the country, thanks to the efforts of Adam Engst (your humble president), Charlie Fay, and Tom Hartshorne. Special thanks to Megan Powers for creating a professional results booklet that garnered numerous compliments from runners.
The winning times were a 4:36.65 from 48-year-old Peter Brady of Scarsdale, NY and a 5:30.08 from 49-year-old Dianne DeOliveira of Brick, NJ. In terms of age-grading (a technique that levels the field among athletes of different ages—anything above 90% is world-class), 61-year-old Susan Lynn Cooke of Odessa, FL, took the overall honors and was top woman, with a stunning 97.15%. For the men, 55-year-old Kenneth Barbee of Philadelphia netted the top prize with a 91.06%. Our oldest competitors were the 95-year-old Dixon Hemphill of Fairfax Station, VA (25:02) and the 85-year-old Edna Hyer of Fairport, NY (13:43). Check out the complete results, Steve Gallow’s fabulous photos, race reports from runners, and the TV news coverage of the event.
Super Frosty Loomis Enjoys Perfect Weather and Posts Record Numbers
Now in its sixth year, the Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race has become a fixture among Northeast snowshoe races, thanks to the hard work of race directors Boris Dzikovski, Dave Kania, and Eric Sambolec. This year’s race went off earlier today without a hitch, with race director Eric Sambolec winning the 10K but recusing himself from the eclectic awards because he was pretty sure he’d failed the drug test (kidding!). Amelia Kaufman was the top woman in the 10K. In the 5K, Colin Ridgley won the race, but finished just a half-second ahead of top woman Avery Voehl. Results are now available, and photos from the race will be coming soon.
Sign Up for FLRC’s February 23rd Indoor Track Meet
Whether you want to go long (5000m) or short (60m), there’s an event for you at FLRC’s indoor track meet on February 23 in Barton Hall. Runners of all ages are welcome, and we particularly encourage families to bring kids—it’s a great environment for kids to get started with running, especially during the cold, wet, winter months. Learn more and (please!) pre-register.
Group Runs and Workouts
Sunday Skunkday Group Runs Start in February
Are you training for the Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K or half marathon? Or would you just like some company on your Sunday long run? FLRC is organizing a simple Sunday group run each week through Skunk, which takes place on Sunday, April 5th. All we ask is that you sign the FLRC Training Programs waiver if you haven’t already done so in 2020. For the first Sunday Skunkday run, we’re meeting at Barton Hall at 8:30 AM on February 2nd. Check the Group Runs & Workouts forum for subsequent run details; things may change.
MITHACAL MILERS Tuesday Night Workouts Continue in Barton
Want to train indoors? FLRC’s MITHACAL MILERS group meets every Tuesday night at 7 PM in Barton Hall. Workouts focus on the 1-mile race with the goal of helping runners improve their mile time throughout FLRC’s winter track season. Each week, your humble president will set a pace-based track workout (see the Group Runs & Workouts forum), lead the group in dynamic warmups, and close with strength and mobility exercises. All ages and abilities are welcome, although adults should be running at least 15–20 miles per week to ensure that the workouts are appropriate. These workouts are part of the FLRC Family Running Program, so children 7–13 are welcome and will run custom workouts based around running games. FLRC membership is required. Learn more and be sure to sign the FLRC Training Programs waiver once for 2020.
Black Diamond 1st and 3rd Saturday Group Runs Continue Apace
Thanks to Heather Cobb taking over as group run coordinator from Shelly Marino, our 1st and 3rd Saturday morning group runs continue on the Black Diamond trail. These free runs start and finish at the base of the Black Diamond Trail behind the Ithaca Children’s Garden at Cass Park (121 Turtle Lane, Ithaca, NY 14850). Registration, warmup, and mingling start at 7:30 AM, and the run begins at 7:45 AM. We’ll run out on the wide, smooth Black Diamond Trail for 30 minutes, and then turn around and run back. You’ll likely find someone at your pace, and everyone should finish at about the same time. Feel free to add in some walking, or to turn around before 30 minutes. Learn more and be sure to sign the FLRC Training Programs waiver once for 2020.
Until next month, happy running!
—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track
FLRC Kicks Off the 2020 Indoor Track Season
Despite unseasonably warm weather in the 60s, FLRC opened the 2020 track season with a fun, relaxing meet in Cornell’s Barton Hall. Along with some fast times and exciting races, we had numerous heats of kids, with Jude Heffron taking the prize for youngest runner at 23 months old. Full results are now available, and we’ve also published an album of photos.
Jude’s father Rich Heffron showed off for his son by outrunning James Felice in the 3000m to win in 9:17 over Felice’s 9:20. On the women’s side, Jenny Berkowitz ran a controlled race to win in 10:47, with Liz Hartman in second in 12:11.
Moving on to the 60m, we had 10 heats, culminating with 17-year-old Silas Wagaman’s 7.14 that just edged out 18-year-old Lance Jensen from the Candor CSD Club Runners by 0.02 seconds. Two other Candor high school runners were fourth and fifth, but third place was claimed by 38-year-old David Birk.
In our marquee event of the mile, 76 runners toed the line across six heats, but in the end, it was a repeat of the 3000m, with Rich Heffron running a 4:39 to outpace James Felice’s 4:42. The women’s race was won by 54-year-old former Olympian Michelle Rohl in 5:38 — look for her to place well at the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile in a few weeks. Despite her win, Rohl wasn’t far ahead of 14-year-old Alia Spaker, whose 5:43 placed her second.
Candor’s Lance Jensen turned the tables on Silas Wagaman in the 200m, clocking at 23.59 to Wagaman’s 24.71. David Birk might have been more than twice their age, but he still turned in an impressive 25.97 to take third. And in the High Noon grudge match, Brian Lazzaro outleaned Josh Brockner by 0.02 seconds, 28.00 to 28.02. The top woman was 13-year-old Makenna Keough of the SOAR Running Club, who ran a 31.66 to beat the 33.32 laid down by Olivia Herrick of the Elmira Express.
The 4x200m relay provided lots of excitement and when the dust settled, Lance Jensen had anchored the Candor team to the win in 1:51, but barely edging out a hard-charging Auburn Pulsars team that finished in 1:53 and the University of Buffalo XC and Track Club in 1:54.
As always, the meet couldn’t have happened without FLRC’s highly capable and amiable volunteer team. Ved Gund returned to Ithaca from a several-year stint in Oregon to serve as head timer, with Tom Rishel swapping between a whistle (for little kids) and starting pistol to get each race off the line. Jullien Flynn hobbled in from foot surgery three days ago to manage the seeding and results. Tonya Engst and Jesse Koennecke handled registration and bib pickup with aplomb, after which Jesse assisted Bill Watson in calling and lining up heats. Adam Pacheck drove in from Philadelphia from an abortive flight to record finisher bibs and manage the finish line. Aaron Proujansky did backup timing and lap counting. Dave Kania filled in for Jullien at times on the computer, helped with setup, timed sprints, and assisted wherever he could be helpful. Carl Franck also provided essential setup and timing help, and lots of people helped break down the meet.
The FLRC Book Lending Library
The next best thing to running is reading about running, right?
The FLRC Lending Library is a collection of books covering our sport, from the mile to ultramarathons and everything in between. Genres include everything from training guides to memoirs and biographies, fiction, philosophy, and many more.
Best of all, our library is open to anyone. FLRC membership is not required and there are no fees. The collection is located at Natural Health Family Chiropractic—103 Sharlene Drive, Ithaca. No appointment is required; you can stop in during the office’s normal business hours to sign out books of your choosing.
The library originated as a collection by the late Diane Sherrer. Over the years, members of the community have donated their used books for others to enjoy, and the catalog has been growing steadily.
Library Catalog:
High Noon and FLRC Close Out a Successful 2019 PGXC Cross-Country Season
Sunday’s race at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua was the fifth and final race in the 2019 Pete Glavin Upstate New York Cross Country Series. Although High Noon missed winning the Masters race by a single point, and thus the season, we still had a highly successful meet.
Individual Results | Team Results | Series Results
Photo Gallery (all pictures taken by Adam Engst)
High Noon Men
The High Noon men’s Open team—fresh off a commanding victory at Taughannock the week before—was at full strength. However, they were up against the dominant Syracuse Track Club team that won three of the five series races. Despite strong races from Adam Pacheck (5th), Alex Drazic (7th), Sam Lagasse (8th), Adam Berkowitz (10th), and Mik Kern (19th), the team racked up 49 points to STC’s 25. Nevertheless, our Open team still managed to take second for the season, beating out Checkers by two points and GVH by three.
The heartbreaker came in the Masters race, where we again fielded one of our strongest teams ever but were up against a loaded GVH squad. Scott Weeks (1st), Eric Sambolec (6th), Ian Golden (8th), Jay Hubisz (10th), and Earl Steinbrecher (14th, running down from Vets) combined for 39 points, just one point behind GVH’s 38. Unfortunately, since High Noon and GVH went into the final race tied for overall season points, that one point meant that we took second for the season, but still finished well ahead of third place Checkers.
Fielding a full and strong Masters team—coupled with one of our runners turning 50 during the season—meant that we were finally able to field a strong Vets team as well. The High Noon Vets took second to GVH. Sean Nicholson (5th) led the team, followed by Alex Colvin (6th, and running with a cold), newly minted vet Joey Randall (8th), Jean-Luc Jannink (12th), and Tom Mullins (19th, running injured). We were a distant fourth for the season due to not fielding a team for most of the races.
Finally, the High Noon SuperVets team of Casey Carlstrom (1st), Charlie Fay (7th), and Carl Franck (19th), took third in the race, and due to the number of teams in the category, fifth for the season.
FLRC Women
There was no competing with Checkers for the women’s Open division this year—in this race, they took 1-2-3-5-6 for a total of 17 points. But FLRC once again fought off GVH to take second. FLRC was led by Jenny Berkowitz (7th), Amanda King (11th), Julie Barclay (12th, running down from Masters), Cat Massa (15th), and Julie Daum (16th). After a slow start in the first race, the FLRC women took second in every subsequent race, locking up second place for the season as well.
On the Masters side, FLRC took fourth, thanks to Julie Randall (13th), Ruth Sproul (14th, running down from Super Vets), and Kim Kelchner (15th). They were third overall for the season.
The FLRC Vets finally put it all together, winning their first race of the year and the coveted case of beer for our post-season party. Caitlin Loehr (2nd) led the team, followed by Brenda Osovski (4th) and Gill Haines-Sharp (5th). That win, coupled with a couple of second places in previous races, enabled the FLRC women to take second for the series behind Checkers.
Individual Series Places
These awards require some explanation. For each race, the top 15 finishers receive points on this schedule: 20-17-14-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-
M1-19
2: Aidan Lazzaro (48 points)
3: Oliver Lambert (46 points)
4: Alexander Drazic (40 points)
5: Kieran Stewart (39 points)
6: Jack Phelan (36 points)
7: Benjamin Lambert (33 points)
M20-39
4: Adam Pacheck (42 points)
8: Sam Lagasse (35 points)
10: Adam Berkowitz (31 points)
13: Mikhail Kern (17 points)
14: Rich Heffron (16 points)
M40-49
2: Scott Weeks (57 points)
3: Eric Sambolec (51 points)
5: Brian Lazzaro (36 points)
9: Jay Hubisz (25 points)
11: Ian Golden (18 points)
12: Joey Randall (16 points)
18: Steven Folsom (7 points)
M50-59
2: Alex Colvin (51 points)
9: Earl Steinbrecher (25 points)
11: Sean Nicholson (24 points)
18: Jean-Luc Jannink (10 points)
20: Thomas Mullins (6 points)
M60-69
6: Casey Carlstrom (40 points)
7: Charlie Fay (33 points)
F20-39
6: Jenny Berkowitz (38 points)
13: Amanda King (11 points)
F40-49
4: Julie Barclay (48 points)
15: Julie Randall (6 points)
16: Kim Kelchner (1 points)
F50-59
3: Caitlin Loehr (52 points)
4: Brenda Osovski (41 points)
7: Sandra Gregorich (37 points)
8: Gillian Haines-Sharp (27 points)
15: Tonya Engst (7 points)
F60-69
9: Ruth Sproul (23 points)
In case you missed it, here are the High Noon and FLRC recaps from the previous races in the 2019 series.
Given that the greater Ithaca area doesn’t begin to compare in population size to the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, we competed well above our expected per-capita, and everyone should be proud of the teams’ accomplishments. And as much as it was great to see so many of our runners and teams picking up prizes at the awards banquet, the main thing is that we fielded what has to be our largest set of teams ever and had a ton of fun for the season. That’s what cross country is all about—everyone plays, everyone counts, and everyone socializes before and after.
We hope you’ll join us next year for the 2020 season!
FLRC Family Running Program For Kids and Tots
As part of the FLRC Family Running Program, our Kids & Tots running group will continue through the winter all the way through our final Indoor Track Meet on March 29. Led by Nichole Cappadora, this running group is for children age seven and under. It’s a great way to introduce kids to the sport in a fun and low-key manner, without the pressure of competition.
To participate, be sure to fill out Nichole’s questionnaire with your family’s info to provide us with a little information about your kids.
Practices will be at 3:00 PM on Sundays and last about 30-40 minutes. The plan is to have two Sundays a month inside Barton Hall throughout the winter. When spring comes, we’ll add more weekends outside, weather permitting.
The group will meet on the following Sundays:
- November 10 *
- November 24 *
- December 15
- December 29
- January 5
- January 12 — Indoor track meet
- January 19
- February 2
- February 9 (or 16. May have to wait till we get closer to solidify date.)
- February 23 — Indoor track meet
- March 8
- March 29 — Indoor track meet
* Outside, if weather allows.
We look forward to helping your kids get active and learn the basics of running! For more information, please contact group leader Nichole Cappadora at nichole@happilyrunning.com.
High Noon Wins Open and Masters in PGXC #4 at Taughannock
For the first time in many years, the High Noon men’s Open team captured the overall team title in Sunday’s fourth Pete Glavin Upstate New York Cross Country race at our home course at Taughannock Falls State Park. Not to be outdone, the High Noon Masters team also held off a strong GVH team to win its second race of the season.
Full individual and team results are available, as are the photos from the race. Be sure to check them all out—there are some great shots, including Adam Pacheck’s huge smile in first place, Columbia Warren’s mid-race impression of The Fonz, Alex Colvin demonstrating proper running form after the race, and oodles of High Nooners modeling their snazzy new jerseys in the Taughannock scenery.
The High Noon Open team fielded its strongest group of the year and tallied an impressive 19 points, handily beating the Syracuse Track Club’s 52 points. Adam Pacheck won the 6K race overall in 19:32, followed by Sam Lagasse in second in 19:42, Alex Drazic in third in 19:47, Adam Berkowitz in sixth in 20:06, and Rich Heffron in seventh in 20:11. Matt Wilber filled out the team with a thirteenth place finish in 20:17 after pushing through hamstring pain. A 45-second spread from one to six is an
impressive pack! Beyond those six runners, we had enough people to field an Open B Team, which took fifth overall.
The High Noon Masters team had a tougher race but ran strong and won with 30 points to GVH’s 36. Scott Weeks led the team with a first place Masters finish, followed by Eric Sambolec in fifth, Brian Lazzaro in seventh, Ian Golden in eighth, and Earl Steinbrecher in ninth. Alex Colvin (11th) and Joey Randall (15th) filled out the team.
The High Noon Vets team took fourth but the race was closer than it sounds. GVH took the win with 41 points, Syracuse Track Club was second with 51, Checkers placed third with 57, and High Noon finished fourth with 69. A coaching error on my part resulted in the High Noon Super Vets team taking seventh, since we went into the day with nine runners across two teams but lost four before the race and I only heard from three, so I didn’t adjust the team composition properly. Even still, the best we would have placed would have been third.
Individually, High Noon brought home a good amount of age-group chocolate. In 20-39, after Adam Pacheck’s win (for wine), Sam Lagasse took chocolate for first in the age group. In 40-49, Scott Weeks won, as did Casey Carlstrom in 60-69.
The FLRC women’s Open team—with strong finishes by Jenny Berkowitz, Amelia Kaufman, Amanda King, Julie Barclay, and Liz Hartman—took second, edging out GVH 67 points to 73. The FLRC ladies finished well behind the dominant Checkers team that notched up only 20 points. In a heartbreaker, Checkers also snuck by FLRC’s Vets team, 12 points to 14. Caitlin Loehr led our Vets, followed by Brenda Osovski, Gill Haines-Sharp, Sandy Gregorich, and Lorrie Tily. FLRC’s Masters team took fourth and the Super Vets team took third.
Individually for the FLRC women, Julie Barclay took third in the 40-49 age group, and Caitlin Loehr was third in the 50-59 age group.
Once again, FLRC’s 19-and-under team won its division, with Tito Maresca taking first (and 17th overall in the race), followed by Nick Marnell, Aidan Lazzaro, Oliver Lambert, Kieran Stewart, and Ben Lambert.
In the U19 age group, Alex Drazic took home chocolate for the win, with Tito Maresca in second.
Our final race is a hilly 8K next Sunday, November 3, at the Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua. We’ll see how how the High Noon and FLRC teams can finish out the season and compete for the PGXC cup.
