The Inside Loop: March 2013
Tom Byrnes and friends
Thanks to Nicole Importico for her shout-out and congrats to Susie Teal for her 3rd place in age group and 6th overall for women in the Empire State Building Run-Up in February.
Mike Ring shares the news that Gretchen Hause becomes PPTC's 500th Member. Mike wasn’t too clear how many of these 500 members are our ''Invisible Friends" whom not too many of us actually get to see, hear, and most of all, run with.
Lynda Mules speaks for PPTC with her congrats to Karen Ziga for her 6th place overall female finish in late January's Manhattan Half! Congrats also to Meaghan Horner who ran a PR despite the cold and hills.
PPTC 's volunteers were there trackside at February's Millrose games at the 168th Street Armory with USADA and their drug testing efforts to cheer on PPTC's Women. Special thanks to PPTC members Janice Fuld, Paula Van De Nes, and Selina Rutovitz as well as to PPTC friends Mike Potter, and Sid and Asteria Howard.
73 PPTC shirts finished the NYRR Al Gordon Classic 4-miler fending off a light sleet to take care of business on PPTC's home turf.
February's Cherry Tree 10 Miler, the race for the Hardcore, was a chilling thriller for all those who made it to the inside loop course. Whether runners joined their family and friends and formed three runner relay teams or chose to run the 10 miles solo, this was the day for the hardcore!
While the hardcore runners made their marks on the roadway at the Cherry Tree, PPTC's annual awards party saw PPTC's hardcore partiers sampling the fare and sharing the love for this year's prestigious event. Nearly one hundred PPTC members and friends convened at Monte’s in Gowanus on February 22 for the annual “celebration dinner”. Delicious buffet food and generous pours were in abundance, as were good cheer and camaraderie.
According to Mike Ring, it might be more precise to consider Prospect Park's inside loop roadway as 3.33 instead of the 3.35 distance that had been noted by many of us in the past. All those .02 miles that I've been using to total my mileage over the years must add up to some kind of an ultra distance. I'd actually spend some time trying to figure out how many miles this might add up but I’m doing my taxes and I don’t need to do the extra math.
When Dominique Gagne gives you a heads up, don't always take it literally! She learned a valuable lesson while running in Prospect Park recently. She ran past a huge flock of Canada Geese who were attempting to cross the park drive. They suddenly got spooked and took flight, directly over her head. She looked up and noticed that about ten of them were pooping in mid-air. For Dominique it was like being in a bad war movie, except with birds instead of bombers. Dominique was not hit, fortunately although this appears to have been quite a close call. Up close and personal with geese ''on the shit ''. Consider yourselves warned.
PPTC had a good showing at this year's Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K. 40 members braved the hour-long trip and chilly conditions to complete the first NYRR Club Points Race of the year. Good running PPTC!!
Keith Williams went to Addis Ababa in early January and although he was still in a funk after the Brooklyn Marathon he was determined to get in a few runs there. Pen in hand he wrote an essay after returning home. Check it out!
Let's continue to keep Paul Soskind in PPTC's thoughts and prayers. Those last miles, the final steps of any race can certainly be very tough.
Daylight Saving Time is coming up on March 10th. Is this the one where if you see your shadow when you get out to run, it means…
See you on the roads!