Points and Pints...

Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks Run 5K was a great time all around this Sunday. A record field of over 5,600 runners made their way up to Washington Heights on this beautiful, warm, sunny day, and it seemed like a record number were at Coogan's restaurant for the after-party as well!

I am perfectly aware of how difficult this race is, and yet I'm still always surprised at just how brutal the course is. Hilly just doesn't describe it -- it is very well likel the most difficult race course in Manhattan. This is the little 5K that could, and does, to you agan and again.

But the party at Coogan's makes it worth it, coming equipped with a free Irish music, free Irish breakfast, and free Irish beer. A good time for all Guinness and shepherd's pie lovers.

The race is a points race, and Flyers were out in force to defend their points. Of course, so were all the other teams, too, but we're optimistic that our team will do us proud in the standings. Thanks to everyone that came out to represent the club. You can check out our top finishers in the scroll box on the home page. Full results are here.

Personally, this was my first foray back into racing after many months off, and I'm questioning whether I could have chosen a more difficult on to start with. I was spent at the mile 2 marker, and still had that one last hill on Ft. Washington to finish me off. Still, it was great to be back racing with my fellow teammates. Back at the restaurant, Sarah D. and myself parked ourselves on some seats (prime real estate in the crowded establishment) and many other Flyers came and went -- among them: Steve K., Brett S., Kathy K., and Kevin M.
Good times, and good Guinness, all around!  -Eric S.

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Club Night!

The New York Road Runners (NYRR) held its annual Club Night on Thursday night, honoring all of the 242 local clubs in the New York City area.  Many local clubs do not offer an awards gala like the Flyers do every year, so for them this was their time to celebrate.  The festivities were held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square for the second year in a row, providing a setting for a presentation of slide show photos and video reviews of the decade.

The NYRR honored some of the top scored teams and the greatest running athletes around the NYC area in each age category for team points races. Congratulations to the New York Flyer Veteran team, who took home the 3rd place or "bronze" in the 60+ division.  These ladies deserve a very special shout out for their effort through the past running season and in achieving this goal.  These ladies came behind only two powerhouse teams: Central Park and Greater New York, although word has it that they will overcome them in the 2010 season.

For all Team Award Winners:

http://www.nyrr.org/races/2010/clubnight/teamwinners.asp

For all Runner of the Year Nominees:

http://www.nyrr.org/races/2010/clubnight/nominees.asp

For a recap of the night:

http://www.nyrr.org/resources/photos/2010/club_night/winners/gallery.asp

The night was very awe-inspiring. All of these amazing athletes, young and elder, came together from different clubs to battle it out for the age group awards with their amazing times.  As each age group continued into the 50’s, 60’s 70’s and 80’s…it brings great hope to see these people stay so active through the years.  Probably most impressive was the amount of energy these winners projected at all their different ages.
Race after race, we mix within a wide range of runners from different teams, countries and cultures.  Even while we participate in healthy competition with each other, we foster long-lasting friendships with our fellow runners.  Although we all share one common goal with one another to run for each other’s respected club team and leave it all out on the race course, we also are out to just have fun.

Best quote of the night:

"Run happy and run with all your heart" - Gordon Bakoulis, NYRR Runner of the Decade winner.

Check out pictures from this year’s Club Night

http://nyrr.org/resources/photos/2010/club_night/event/gallery.asp#13

http://nyrr.org/resources/photos/2010/club_night/event/gallery.asp#15

Our own Lara K. lives it up 

with the rest of the NYRR Clubs

-Brian H.

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"She’s SKIING!": A Runner Relishes Winter's Last Hurrah

“Look, Mom, she’s SKIING!”  That’s what the little girl said about me, which would be exciting enough since typically when skis are strapped to my feet I’m not upright long enough to actually be skiing.  But it was especially impressive a few days ago because I was not in Vancouver, or even Vermont or New Hampshire; I was in mid-town Manhattan, headed towards the running path on the East River.


It was almost seven years to the day that I had last used the cross-country skis that compete with my running shoes for space in the closet; that was in Manhattan also, after a late-season storm similar to the one that dumped over a foot of snow over the city this past Friday.  I’d been sliding my way through Central Park then, and was interviewed by a NY Times reporter who quoted me in her story the next day. 


The skiing was harder this time around; the 12 hours of hours of rain and slushiness that had accumulated before the fluffy white stuff had moved in made for a very uneven ride once my skis sunk past the surface.  Not to say that a smoothly-groomed trail would have helped me any – there was no smooth shushing going on and most certainly none of that graceful gliding seen recently at the Olympics.  In fact, as you can see by the photo, I wore my bright red NY Flyers jacket to make sure I’d be found in case I got stuck in a snowdrift.


I was getting a great workout, though – you can burn almost as many calories cross-country skiing as you can running, and without the impact.  Until you fall down, that is.  (Yes, some people fall down cross-country skiing.)  I could certainly feel a great stretch in my hamstrings and my arms.  In fact, my hands are still sore as I type this, from the death grip I had on my poles (to keep from falling down.) 
And then I hit it – cross-country skiing nirvana, or as close as you can get in Manhattan: a ¼-mile stretch of virgin snow carved through by the treads of a very big truck.  So big, in fact that the track left by each tire was almost exactly the width of my skis.  In another words – a packed trail!  It didn’t last long – to the credit of the city sanitation crews, by early afternoon, the East River running path was almost clean enough to run on.  (Indeed a handful of intrepid runners were seen hurdling snow drifts and picking their way around ice patches.)  I ended up spending almost as much time walking between snow-covered areas as I did actually skiing.  So I did what most runners do when they can’t find a place to work out – I headed to the local track, in this case at 10^th Street.  Certainly they weren’t going to plow THAT.  Turns out fourteen inches of virgin snow is nice, but impossible to cross-country ski through.  Made falling down softer, though . . .

It was on my way home from the track, skis hoisted over my shoulder, that I saw the young man with a camera bag coming towards me, notepad in hand.  I laughed as he approached; he was a free-lance photographer for the New York Times.  Turns out he’d spotted me because my bright red NY Flyers jacket contrasted so nicely against the snowdrifts . . .   - Uli H.

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Why do I run?

Why do I run?

So many people have asked me that over the years, that I finally came up with my pat answer: “So I can eat ice cream every day”

I don’t necessarily eat ice cream every day, nor do I run everyday, but you get the general idea. I really should say that I run for sanity. I think I may eat ice cream for sanity too.

Running has been a part of my life since I was in high school, I played field hockey, lacrosse and ran winter track (hurdles if you can believe that a 5’4” person can actually clear them – I could even 3 step them by the time I was a senior!) . I then played field hockey and lacrosse all through college. Now, I just run.

When I became a stay-at-home suburban mom (so not what I had planned in my life when I was 25!) running became more important. It was a way out of the house. It was 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 3 hours of me time. Even those runs that I used a baby jogger and had my daughter with me, it was still me time. It’s a little difficult for a 15 month old to have a conversation with mom in the first place, it’s even harder when mom is behind you pushing a jogger and trying her darndest to breathe.   Let me tell you, the year that I ran with the jogger I think I built my speed through it . You try doing 10 minute miles on hills pushing 40 pounds.  I don’t run with it any longer, my daughter weighs 40 pounds and she’s not so quiet any longer.

Running is my sanity check, it’s my stress reliever, it’s my me time. Over time, I’ll be delving into different aspects of running, training, cross training, balancing family, career, volunteerism, etc. It applies to all of us – parents or not. Single or married. There’s a balance in our lives and running is a part of that scale.  I look forward to your comments and thoughts  -The Gabster

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