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The Road Ahead
November 23rd
| Just the highlights! It's Thanksgiving. You're busy shopping, stuffing, baking. Here's everything you need to know for the next few weeks. Scroll down for the details. Today is the last day to register for the Turkey Trot, in-person only, at Bridges in the Palisades Mall. No Bridge Run tonight, but it will be back on Wednesday 30th. The Alumni Alumni XC Run Run is on Saturday morning at Bear Mountain. Our Holiday Party is coming up fast, on Saturday 10th December at Paramount Country Club. The Snowflake 5K rounds out the Holiday Season on Saturday 31st December in Upper Nyack. We pick up again with the Club Annual meeting on Monday January 23rd to begin our 40th Year! |
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Today (Wednesday) is the last day to register for the 5-Mile Turkey Trot for the Marisa Fun. You have to do it in person, at BRIDGES in the Palisades Mall, between 12:00 and 8:00. Cash or checks only. If you are already registered, we encourage you to pick up your shirt and race-number on Wednesday and avoid the crush on race-day morning. It takes a while to get 2,500 people into Rockland Lake, so if you are running or spectating, get there even earlier than you think is plenty of time! | |
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Saturday after Thanksgiving is the 3-mile Cross Country Alumni Run at Bear Mountain. This is a low key affair - just show up to register at the picnic tables near the Carousel and kick in a few bucks towards the insurance. Save time by downloading the registration form in advance. The race starts at 12:00.
Anyone of post-high school age can take part, so this is a great opportunity for college kids home for the holidays to represent their school.
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Rockland Road Runners last race of the year is the Snowflake 5K, held in Upper Nyack to benefit Nyack Community Ambulance. This is a family-friendly affair, although competitive runners may find one last chance for a 2022 PR. There's a free kid's run before the race, and hot chocolate afterwards. | |
You'll find a lot of your RRR friends at the Orangetown Santa Claus 5K held at Veteran's Memorial Park on Sunday December 11th at 10:30. It's another fun family event and a great way to clear the head the day after our Holiday Party. Orangetown Supervisor, Teresa Kenny, is a long-time friend of Rockland Road Runners, and a great supporter of our races. Let's return the favor. | |
Holiday Party, December 10th
The RRR Annual Holiday party is back this year, and filling up fast! This year's festivities at Paramount Country Club feature an all-you-can-eat dinner bugger, open bar, DJ and dancing and raffler prizes, including a 50050 raffle. It's a steal, at $40 for Club Members ($30 Seniors) and $70 for non-member until the week before the event.
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There was a great energy at the November 7th Club Meeting, the day after the NYC Marathon. Sam Schultz spoke a movingly about their experience as a non-binary runner now that many races (including ours) have added that gender category. Former Club President, Mike Greco, gave a rousing account of his 37 years in law enforcement and his love/hate relationship with the marathon.
And then the marathon stories. So many stories. One of those stories was Reggie Peralta's suspenseful tale of his BQ at the Baltimore Marathon. You can read the full account on our blog.
This club welcomes everyone, and we welcome you to attend our next meeting, in January, when we'll be presenting the 2022 RRR Club Awards
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We had a large contingent of runners in the TCS New York City Marathon this year. The bus was packed. Congratulations to all the finishers (too many to list here) on an unseasonably hot and humid day that made for punishing race conditions. We had a lot of fun cheering you on in da Bronx.
The Philadelphia Marathon saw the other end of the weather spectrum with a cold and windy day.
RRR's "Girl Gang" were hot. Veronica Konstandakis in 3:25:36 and Kim Chalfin in 3:27:22. Despite the tough conditions, there were PR's: Omri Green (3:44:26), Steve Hirsch (4:28:43, a massive 36-minute improvement) and Will Couture (4:51:28, reaching his sub 5-hour goal in his third marathon). Also under 5 hours, our perennial pacer, JC Santa Teresa with a spot-on 4:59:19. Eszter Friedman (4:17:52) ran back-to back NYC and Philly Marathons. Marathon Mike popped up again (that guy is everywhere) with a 4:33:42 and 8th in his age-group. Vicky Tiburzi Bowman completed both the 8K on Saturday and the Marathon (5:27:40), running for cancer research and finally cashing a check that was written in 2019.
The Coutures traded running and cheering duties with Erin Couture crossing the Half Marathon finish line on Saturday, tantalizingly close to an NYC qualifying time with a 1:35:35. In her comeback Half after covid, our star Special Olympics athlete, Katy Sanchez (3:05:12), also scored a photo with running royalty Bart Yasso and Bill Rodgers
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Giving Back
The South Nyack Race made a contribution to two Nyack-area food kitchens, Soup Angels and Sunday Supper, just in time for the holidays. Volunteers Cookie, Ellen, Karin, Tom, Peter, Scott and Kathy took a break from their food preparation duties to receive the checks fro Rockland Road Runners co-race-directors, Tony Berman and Bill Carpenter this week.
Thank you to everyone who supports our races and allows us to fulfill an important part of our mission, raising funds for Rockland-area charities.
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It's Been 40-Years Running !
Rockland Road Runners was founded in 1983, which means next year will be our 40th Anniversary.
Please contact the RRR Board if you would like to be part of a planning committee to celebrate this milestone. We'll be looking to update our banners and signs, plan an outdoor event and communicate the highlights of the club's history.
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Weekly Bridge Runs continue every Wednesday evening from 30 November to the end of the year. And our next Monthly Run is December 11th at Rockland Lake.
If you want to see a compelling finish to a cross-country race, check out the video of Katelyn Tuohy's duel with Parker Valby for the NCAA 2022 Cross Country Championships. It's a master class in tactical pacing. Katelyn, who now runs for NC State is a Rockland County native and a standout runner at North Rockland High School.
And, in an abuse of editorial discretion, we note that RRR President, Bill Carpenter's campaign to find a 5K with the least competitive field finally paid of with a trip across the river to the inaugural Agrawal Foundation 5K in Ardsley, coming away with first place in his age group. Seriously, this is a fun race to look out for next year, especially if you like hills [Ed: I don't].
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