Freehold Area Running Club Winter Series 5K - 27:25

Every year I try to give myself a running goal, which helps me stay on track with the exercise. This year's goal is to run at least one race per month with someone who I haven't run with in the past. This could be somewhat of a challenge to encourage friends, family or new acquaintances to join me. Some folks get intimidated running with experienced runners for fear of holding them back or they feel they will run so slow they will com in last. I always say that the folks that come in last are the people who are still home on the couch.

Last week I was suppose to run the Stay Strong Brandon 5K with Sean Brady but he felt the snow was going to be a problem for him. I thought that was a smart move because it wasn't the best footing and if you are not used to it, you might take a spill. Sean has a goal of running a 5K a month for 2012 and if was to get hurt on the first race, it would have set him back. Sean called me up after the Stay Strong race and said I needed to find him a race the last week of January so he could keep his resolution.

I was planning on running the FARC winter series 5K on the 29th with a few other guys so it was perfect plus it was only $5. They run a good series and each race participant gets rewarded with a hot cup of chicken soup.

I met Mike W and the Senator there and introduced them to Sean. My plan was to run the race with Sean knowing we would be doing 10-12 minute miles. We got off to a good start and was running at a 12 minute clip when Sean needed to walk a bit right around the 1st mile. I walked with him for a bit then told him I would take off and then come back and finish the last 3/4 of mile pacing him.

Of course I had my camera with me and got some good shots of the Senator, Mike, Sean and Nova. In fact when I veered of the course just a bit to take a picture of Nova, a girl I was running near, thought I was going to cut the course. How dare she? I took a picture of her said I would blog about her which I am now doing.

The girl who thought I was going to cut course

I finished in 27:25 and Sean finished in 36:25. He said he felt great and this was just the start for him. After some soup and bagels, we hung around to watch Ken, Nova and Mike pick up their age group awards.

Nova Roman

The Senator pushing the pace

Mike W picks up his first place age group award

Sean already has his sights set on February.

January 22 - Princeton Hash - set by Uncle Fester

I have only done a few Hashes in my running life but I have to say, Sunday's course set by Uncle Fester (Mark Strawn) was the best so far, at least for a novice. Why was it the best? It was long, somewhat challenging, some good trails, nothing real dangerous and it provided a good workout.

Along for the ride was HeyYoPaulie, EuroTrash, Runner girl and his dog Peanut, Brian, Steve & Horshak. The first

part of the hash took us through RU parking lots, bu

ildings, athletic fields, the Stadium, the golf course and mostly on asphalt. We also ran around the Cornelius Low House which is where we saw the BN (Beer Near) marking. We enjoyed a nice miller and continued on

the second part of journey.

The second half of the hash took us near the Johnson Park zoo, the horse track and into the woods. It was actually starting to get dark while in the woods and near the end of the hash it made me think of Bear Grylls and what I would need to survive if we got lost and couldn't see the markings. We got a bit off trail and

needed to really work to find the way back to the start. After about 15 minutes of searching for the right way, we saw an open gate which led us right back to the beginning. Total hash time was about 2 hours and we covered 7.3 miles.

We finished up by the house

where we started which is owned by the state. I think they bought it since it is right on route 18 and is now used for state work on the Route 18 Project. Looked kind of creepy. We had our apres hash there which included some more beer, chips and ribs I made for the finish.

The ribs didn't travel well in the cold but were appreciated by all. We were met there by Hosbewet (Mark's wife Ro) where she was happy not to be out in the cold.

Brian 

Most of the guys went back to Mark's house to watch the Giant game, while I hurried back home to make dinner for the family. I would have stayed but I had made fresh gnocchi and needed to prepare. I will make arrangements to stay the next hash I do.

If you have never hashed, you need to give it a try. It's completely different than a normal run and gives you a good workout while also

Post Hash food and refreshments

enjoying different terrains.

January 21 - Stay Strong Brandon 5K - 21:23

This will be my first post in quite a while. I had knee surgery on September 19th and was running very little before that. I guess I was "lack of running depressed" and didn't feeling like blogging about my inactivity. I had a torn meniscus which Dr Jolly of Princeton Orthopedic took care
of, and had me back on the roads in 6 weeks. I will post more on the procedure in a separate blog but I want to get back to blogging about my races.

The Senator, Me & Renee

The Stay Strong Brandon 5K was put together by Chris Paskoc of the Monmouth Junction Fire

Department in an effort to raise money for Brandon Dominguez, a 9 year old South Brunswick student who is battling brain cancer.

Chris called me knowing that I am the race director of the Run with the Vikings 5K and wanted information on organizing a race. This was in mid December and he wanted to put the race on in January, in a mere 7 weeks. He needed to design a course which would run by Brandon's house, get some sponsors, round up volunteers and promote the event in less than 45 days. Not ideal, but doable.

Chris was able to get this all done, but then ran into one problem, it snowed the morning of the race. He didn't cancel and although it probably held down the number of runners and walkers, the race was a huge success. He had 55 finishers and raised close to $3,000.

I was able to get a few runners to show up and we all had a blast. I love running in the snow, but probably wouldn't have made this race if it was a few towns away. The toughest part of the race was actually driving to the start. The roads were not plowed and very slick. It took place at Veterans Park which is about 1 mile from my house. The course started and finished in the park and passed by Brandon's house. In fact Brandon was in a van at the corner of his house and everyone yelled Stay Strong Brandon. It was very moving and hopefully it brought a smile to his face.

I ran with John Liptak, as well as Rich Britton and finished in 21:23. The Senator (Ken V) was there, but he was a good 30 seconds ahead of us. I started slowly and as I got loose picked it up a bit. I think the course was short because my times have been a lot slower since the operation. I ran the PCRC last week in 23:48 on a hilly course. There were no mile markers and the race was not officially timed so it was tough to figure the pace, not to mention the slow track due to ice and snow.

My prayers have been with young Brandon since hearing about his cancer. I know the day brought a smile to his face and hope to his family.

Stay Strong Brandon

Dale Hoth - First Place 55-59 Three Rivers Run - Ellijay, GA

When I blog, I am usually talking about races that I've run. Today, I want to write about one of my long time running friends, my brother-in-law, Dale. He is married to my wife's sister and we have been running when we together since we met over 26 years ago. We ran the Pittsburgh marathon together in 1992 and have run races in Florida, Pennsylvania, Central Park, New Orleans, New Jersey and Washington, DC. He was been there for me when I did Bob's 40@40 and ran a bunch of races during my recent 50@50.

His real sporting passion is hockey and still laces up the skates at 55. His running always takes a backseat to his ice time, but still manages to run good times. He doesn't train as much for running, but always competes for top three in his age group, but had never placed.

Two years ago he was ecstatic when the Bob's 50@50 team took first place in the Master's category at the Jersey Shore Relay Marathon. It was his first running award of any kind and we repeated in 2010 much to his delight.

When he lived in Pittsburgh, he had a picture on his wall of himself and a few friends from a race in Florida. To me the picture was very inspirational because you could see that they worked hard at the race, but also enjoyed the company of his friends. I have been taking group running photos ever since.



His recent move to the hills of Georgia had me searching for races to run with him when we visit in the near future. His wife Jo sent me a text late Saturday morning that he had run his first race in Ellijay and he came in first place in his age group. I know he had to be so excited to get the first individual age group win and to run a solid 24:04. Congrats Dale and I hope we can both place in a race when I get come out and visit.

Dale Hoth - First Place 55-59 Three Rivers Run - Ellijay, GA

When I blog, I am usually talking about races that I've run. Today, I want to write about one of my long time running friends, my brother-in-law, Dale. He is married to my wife's sister and we have been running when we together since we met over 26 years ago. We ran the Pittsburgh marathon together in 1992 and have run races in Florida, Pennsylvania, Central Park, New Orleans, New Jersey and Washington, DC. He was been there for me when I did Bob's 40@40 and ran a bunch of races during my recent 50@50.

His real sporting passion is hockey and still laces up the skates at 55. His running always takes a backseat to his ice time, but still manages to run good times. He doesn't train as much for running, but always competes for top three in his age group, but had never placed.

Two years ago he was ecstatic when the Bob's 50@50 team took first place in the Master's category at the Jersey Shore Relay Marathon. It was his first running award of any kind and we repeated in 2010 much to his delight.

When he lived in Pittsburgh, he had a picture on his wall of himself and a few friends from a race in Florida. To me the picture was very inspirational because you could see that they worked hard at the race, but also enjoyed the company of his friends. I have been taking group running photos ever since.



His recent move to the hills of Georgia had me searching for races to run with him when we visit in the near future. His wife Jo sent me a text late Saturday morning that he had run his first race in Ellijay and he came in first place in his age group. I know he had to be so excited to get the first individual age group win and to run a solid 24:04. Congrats Dale and I hope we can both place in a race when I get come out and visit.

Spring Lake 5 - 33:57

Runners - 8,163
Finish - 175th
Age Group - 13
Time - 33:57

To me, the summer running season doesn't begin until the Spring Lake 5 is run on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. This was my 15th Spring Lake 5 and thirteenth in a row. It is not the best race if you are looking to set a PB at the 5 mile distance because of the crowds, but arguably the most enjoyable one. They do a fantastic job accommodating close to 10,000 runners, hydrating and feeding them and then getting it all cleaned up before the beach crowd arrives. This was the 35th edition of the SL5 and the day was just about perfect, although a bit on the warm side. This is the largest race in New Jersey and they do it right. The give out great, well thought out t-shirts, a pint glass, a nice calendar and this year a hat and there is plenty of food and drink afterwards. This doesn't include the free burger lunch at Bar A.

I usually bump into many of my running friends and today was no exception. I have been meeting Jack Frost (1:15:34), Dennis Lake (39:35) as well as their friends for the last 10 years. Tony Merola (50:21), and David Conaghan (1:29:44) from my Wall Street days and of course the Senator (37:15), Mike W (37:10) and Brian Borden (40:11) were also in attendance. When the weather is like it was today, it makes for a nice event and a great post race party, although it was slightly chilly when I first got down there.

I drove down early this year and got a great parking spot, about 3 blocks from the start/finish. I even eyed a port-a-john at a nearby home construction site which is always empty. I got a pre-race massage and most certainly was getting a post race one also. I had the young lady work on my right leg which has been bothering me lately, in particular my knee.

If you want to run a decent time it is a must that you start at the front, not just near the front but in the front 10 rows. Once the gun goes off, it is a free for all. Me, Mike W and Brian Borden all started up front and got off to a good start. I wanted to run sub -7's with hopes on maybe running 6:40's but the fog had lifted and it was getting hot and humid quickly. I hit the first mile in 6:44 which was good since I breathing easy.

I missed the mile 2 marker but I felt I was on the same pace and mile 3 confirmed that still on the 6:45 pace. I was taking plenty of water and downed a GU at the mile 1 water stop. Mile 4 was my slowest, running a 7:07, and the heat was starting to get to me, plus we were doing lots of turns up and down the blocks of the town. I was at 27:10 after 4 miles and didn't want to let a sub 35 slip away so I picked up the pace a bit. The finish is along Ocean Avenue, but you don't get there until you have about 1/4 mile to go. I kept pushing until I got to the turn that puts me on Ocean Avenue. The final straight away to the finish seems a lot longer than a 1/4 mile so I try to keep my head down and not look at the finish line banner until I get close.

I finished strong in a chip time of 33:57 which was better than I thought but as always thought I could had gone faster.

Highland Park 5K

Runners - 330
Finish - 16th
Age Group - 2nd
Time - 20:41

Just 14 hours after my first outright race win, I lined up to run the 3rd annual Highland Park 5K. This was going to be my 9th race which I haven't run before. My goal was to run 12 new race this year so I am way ahead of that goal. This was also going to be my 4th 5K in 7 days so I wasn't sure how fast I wanted or could run.

I lined up near the front and planned to run easy for the first mile then take it from there. I felt surprising good, which I think was the adrenaline from the night before when I won the Hugs for Brady 5K. I hit the first mile in 6:45 which was slightly downhill. Since I run with the Raritan Valley members during their Wednesday night run, which takes place in Highland Park, I knew the course had to be somewhat hilly.

I hit the second mile at 13:30 so I was running well and had to push the hills to keep pace. I was still happy to be running that fast. My goal was to pick off a few runners that were in front of me, including a couple of little kids. The finish was at Highland Park High School and on the track. In the past I didn't care about track finishers, but lately I seem to like them. I seem to run faster around the track, thinking it is a track event and on the final turn. I finished in 20:41 which was a solid time considering, I ran a 20:35 the night before.