Message from the President

CARLA MIRAGLIOTTA

I'm excited to address you as your newest elected President of The NY Flyers! First, I want to thank you for your support and votes -- even though I know choices were limited (to just me, haha!😉). I am honored to serve as president of this special club!

As we embark on this journey together, I believe it's essential to articulate our shared goals.  I welcome everyone’s thoughts and ideas, so please know that I’m just an email away!  Our club stands on the pillars of community, camaraderie, and a passion for running. It's our collective mission to not only sustain but also enhance these values as we move forward. 

The 2024 Executive Board: 

President Carla Miragliotta

Vice President Kristin Siegle

Treasurer Neil Tipograph

Secretary Chris Long

Member-At-Large Lis Shlanksy 

Together, we have many goals, but here are our top three goals for 2024: 

I. EXPAND MEMBERSHIP 

One of our objectives is to continue expanding our membership to runners of all ages.  We would like to attract younger runners while we continue to include runners of all abilities.  One thing that makes the NY Flyers so wonderful is the club is warm and welcoming to all!  We are indeed the city’s friendliest running club!  But truth be told, we need to bring in some younger generations so we can sustain our club for many decades to come. 

The EB conducted some informal research and learned that many NYC running clubs use Heylo as their preferred platform to advertise and manage their events. Heylo is a community management platform, available as an app and through the Heylo website.

   

In an effort to stay with the times, we currently are exploring use of the NY Flyers Heylo Account to gradually start promoting various group runs and events.  Check out Heylo HERE.   

By showcasing our activities to non-Flyers, we aim to attract new members who share our love for running and community. Meanwhile, Flyers can continue to view upcoming runs and events by looking at the Flyers website, and members also have access to our Flyers Facebook and Flyers Instagram account.

II. INCREASE MEMBER ENGAGEMENT

Our club isn't just about running; it's about developing meaningful connections. That's why we're committed to engaging our members in shaping the future of our club. We encourage all Flyers to participate in conversations about group runs and events, ensuring that everyone's ideas and perspectives are heard and valued. For example, in April’s newsletter, and moving forward there is a form that people can use to provide details of a run they may want to bring to the group. 

We will continue to ask for member support in planning and staffing the Flyers many group runs and special events, and the goal is to delegate and share responsibility with our many very active club members. When we have events, we will post a sign-up sheet for people to join in planning and volunteering at runs and events. We hope that this will increase the amount of members involved in planning events as we move forward. For example, for the upcoming Three Bridges Run, we hope to have a meeting with the pacers -- and we also have two people in mind to run that meeting (you know who you are 😊). Hopefully this delegation will allow for members' ideas to be heard and to continue to keep such a large club organized. 

While we are always excited to hear new voices, we are continuing on with traditions. The DEBs’ Bookclub spearheaded by Deb Saat and Debi Unger  📚 📕 continues to thrive including by Zooming-in authors from all over the country when they can’t come in person. 

OLYMPIAN & AUTHOR BILL RODGERS ON ZOOM AT THE
JANUARY 2024 FLYERS BOOK CLUB

Some members requested to bring back the The Palisades Run -- an extremely popular NY Flyers run for three decades that had been put on hold due to damage along the route caused by Hurricane Ida. And on March 24th, about a dozen Flyers braved the hills on the Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge thanks to the planning efforts of Kristel McKanna and Guy Simoneau.

We are fortunate to have Bradford Goz as an active member of the club who continues to guide historical runs -- in February he led the Freedom Run on Feb 21st that explored the African American experience in New York and beyond. In March, Brad provided the Monumental Women Run in celebrating Women's History Month and showcasing the eight monuments to extraordinary women in NYC.

Back in January, Jeanhie Hahn scheduled a donut run to Peter Pan Donuts in Brooklyn 🍩. The weather didn’t cooperate but the good news about New York City is that there are donut places everywhere, so the group rerouted and the run still went on as scheduled. 😋

RUNNING FOR DONUTS!  🍩

We're also grateful for Franceso Presutti, Lisa Konorty and John Whitfield. They decided to bring back and co-lead the weekly Wednesday Hump Day 🐪 morning run at 6:14am. The run meets at Engineer’s Gate on 90th and Fifth and is another option for the club's early morning runners. 

These and many other events and group runs have been a mainstay of the Flyers and we are lucky to have members who are willing to continue with these traditions. I look forward to the many adventures that await us throughout 2024.

III. MAINTAIN FINANCIAL STABILITY

Financial stability is another cornerstone of our club's success. We will diligently review our expenses and resource allocation to ensure that our funds are used effectively. By identifying cost-effective solutions and exploring alternative products, we aim to maintain a healthy financial balance while maximizing the value we provide to our members.  Stay tuned for updates as they arise!

I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the Flyers Executive Board and Advisory Board members. Their guidance and support have been invaluable. 

I encourage all Flyers to join us at upcoming runs and social events. Please introduce yourself if we haven't met yet! It's our members - our warm, friendly, and inclusive environment that makes our club truly special. Thank you for entrusting me with the privilege of serving as your president.

Go Flyers!

Warm regards,

Carla Miragliotta

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Finding My Legs Again in Tokyo

MARY BETH EZRA

On Sunday March 3, I joyfully ran-walked the Tokyo Marathon, earning my fifth star 🌟 in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series. I’m not typically a run-walker, so let me explain how I got there.

In April of last year, I completed California’s Big Sur Marathon. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the course, it’s very hilly 🌄 with almost 2,200 feet of elevation gain and over 2,500 feet of descent along the beautiful Central Coast. Miles 10-12 are particularly beastly, featuring a 500+ foot ascent to Hurricane Point. In preparation for this iconic race I spent a lot of time training on hills, including nearly 20 ascents of Harlem Hill in a week, 11 of them on a single long run. Little did I know I was overworking my body and would pay for it dearly after the race.😓

My husband David Ezra and I ran Big Sur together, and we had a lovely experience taking in the scenery along the Pacific Coast while being challenged by the topography. We enjoyed a few days afterwards on the Monterey Peninsula and tasting wines 🍷🍷🍇 in Paso Robles, recovering from the marathon.

Back in New York a week later, I took my first running steps and immediately felt pain in my left hamstring that grew worse as I continued. The same thing happened on a subsequent run the next day, so I stopped and made an appointment with my physical therapist that turned into three months of treatment. When I resumed running, the pain discouragingly returned. It was time to figure out what was happening inside my body. 

An MRI revealed two high partial tears of my left hamstring tendons along with moderate tendinosis. Plans to attempt to train for the Amsterdam Marathon in October were abandoned, and after some rest and time moping around feeling sorry for myself it was time to find a new PT who could nurse me back to health. Adding to the pressure were the Tokyo and London marathons looming in Spring 2024, for which David and I had each secured charity bibs and which would mark the end of our World Marathon Majors six-star journey.

Friend and fellow Flyer Shitij Arora recommended Josh Grahlman at Clutch PT, with whom I got to work on a careful program for recovery. I committed to daily strength training and performed all of the exercises he gave me, of which there were many.💪 At the same time, I began communicating with Flyers Coach Amy Sitar. Both were a little unsure of my ambitions to run Tokyo in just a few months but we set our sights on it.

After two months with Josh and as the December holidays passed, he gave me permission to start working with Amy. With only about eight weeks to get ready for the race she devised a training plan, which she and I evaluated from week to week, to get me to the starting line in Japan. The secret sauce would be run-walking, which I’d had no experience with before, along with runs only every other day to lessen the impact on my hamstring and continue to give it time to heal. We would rely on my decade of experience running marathons to make up for the short and light training cycle.

The plan worked, amazingly. My body held up. I packed my bag for Tokyo cautiously excited, and off David and I went on a journey halfway across the world. Four days later on a cool and sunny morning, having (mostly) adjusted to the fourteen-hour time difference, I stood in the corral with a big grin on my face. It was showtime.

Never was I so appreciative for the opportunity to run a race. As I crossed the starting line, I found a run-walk rhythm. I took in all of the sights and sounds, looking at the inspiring people around me, from my fellow amateurs to Eliud Kipchoge and all of the other elite runners as they passed by across the road during an out-and-back section of the course. As I grew tired and began to fade, I kept smiling and thinking about how lucky I was to be racing again.😊

When I finally crossed the finish line, I jumped for joy and began to cry. I had feared maybe my marathoning days were behind me. But no, with the help of Josh and Amy, it was possible once again. After receiving my medal, I found David and we slowly walked back to the hotel together, ready to rest and enjoy a beautiful visit in Tokyo and Kyoto. And to think about London, up next.

-Mary Beth Ezra

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