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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New Flyer Profile – Conversations with Carla

Carla M

 “You talk when you run?!” People always ask me after I tell them I run with a group of people for hours at a time. They are usually sorry they asked. That question requires me to explain my evolution as a runner, which obviously takes no shorter than 30 minutes if they are brave and ask clarifying questions in between. 

I was a horrible runner when I was a kid, or at least that is how I saw myself. Running was something I did in college as a form of exercise and I dreaded every minute of it. I ran the Steamtown Marathon in 2009. I trained alone with the encouragement of my family and friends. Then I took a decade off….. until 2019. That is when I learned about group running and the conversational pace. The rest is history. 

Team for Kids (me far left 😊)

I joined Team for Kids in June of 2019, the week that I knew I needed to start training if I wanted to run the NYC Marathon. I went to the first practice on Saturday dressed in all black with my earbuds securely in my ears. I walked into the Run Center and was engulfed in a sea of neon green with smiling people chatting around me and talking to me as if they knew me. Out went my ear buds and I am a talker so happily obliged in all conversation. 

NYC MARATHON EXPO 2019

When the run started I put my earbuds back in because how could I run without music? People started talking to me again so I took one earbud out and made sure they were on the side of my empty ear. Many weeks and hours later I was in neon green, running with a hydration belt and left my earbuds at home. I could tell you what people had for breakfast, what they did for work and what books people were reading. I took a photo to memorialize every run. I now was running at a conversational pace and haven’t looked back since. 

Conversational Pace is now something my friends and family joke about. I have taught some of them the beauty of it; many of my friends jumped in and ran with me during the 2020 Virtual NYC Marathon. They wouldn’t have been able to do that if they didn’t take my advice and learn of the beauty of conversational pace. 

Realizing how much I enjoyed group running led me to seek out another group to run with and keep me motivated on the cold dark winter nights. TFK Coach Dave K also ran with the Flyers so I wasn’t going to be totally alone and Kristen S – the Flyers other newest member – also said she would take the plunge and go to the Thursday run. 

First Flyers Run

I was nervous the first night. On my way to Columbus Circle, I was on the phone with my friend telling her about this new group and how I was nervous. She told me to text her when it was over to let her know how it was. When I got to Columbus Circle I learned they were trying out this new acronym – TNF for Thursday Night Fun. Everyone greeted me with a smile, there were announcements, introductions, a wonderful 5-mile lap and then an offer to go get a burger afterwards. Running, conversation and now FOOD! I am sold. On the way home, I texted my friend and said “I loved it!”

Thursday Night Fun!

The Flyers Thursday 6:30pm Group Run is now a fixture of my weekly routine. I tell stories about what my week has been like at school, we talk about Netflix’s latest shows and what races we are running next. I also joined Flyers Speed Pass on Tuesdays after rave reviews from the Thursday runners. I have met even more people and I now see myself as becoming a stronger runner in the process. 

Team for Kids and the Flyers have taught me that I am strong enough to run marathons, I can run up Cat Hill six times and I won’t collapse, and most importantly you can have fun while running!

-Carla M.

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