THE INSIDE LOOP; JULY 2009 II

THE INSIDE LOOP
JULY 2009 II
Tom Byrnes and Friends

Bobby Fisher will be the first to admit that a Century that starts in the wet isn’t by any means the most inviting way to initiate a 100 mile bike ride but to his credit, Bobby decided to baptize his new Trek on the North Fork Century on June 16 in the rain and drizzle anyway. And besides, he had gotten up in the middle of the nite to subway into Manhattan, load up his bike and board the bus to the start in Greenport on Long Island’s North Fork. before it had started to pour. Bobby seems to have the schedule for these epic bike events down to a science so if you’re game and looking for a long ride, Bobby is the man.

Thanks to Kevin Miller the coordinator of the UFT Team in this year’s Corporate Challenge,June 10-11 in Central Park for passing along the news that PPTC’s Helen Dole was on the UFT’s first place women’s team with her time of 22:59. Kevin knows full well that it’s Prospect Park that puts the juice in Helen’s legs and not the chalk dust underneath her fingernails, way to rock and roll Helen Dole!

Jason Horowitz mentions that a few PPTCers have started going out roughly once a month after the Wednesday evening runs . These are open to anyone from PPTC who wants to join and, in particular, he wanted to make sure that those who are running Summer Speed 5K’s know about this. The venue is Bar Sepia ,Underhill Ave.off Eastern Parkway from 8:15pm until .......A point to note: the barkeep will not pawn your Summer Speed race medal for beers!

With the ‘’old pool"at the 9^th street Y reopened on June 22^nd , time will tell if all those who had migrated to the pool at the Dodge Y in downtown Brooklyn and elsewhere will return to cross train and swim in the 9^th street Y’s waters. Construction on this Y’s ‘’new pool" facility is slated to start this Fall but lets hope for the best. "Old Pool, New Pool," hey, the water’s much warmer indoors in these parts much of the year than it is out in the bays and oceans unless you’re using a wetsuit.

Many thanks to Ron Rice for passing along the front cover and inside page two story of the Brooklyn Spectator’s June 20-26th edition featuring the May 31^st First Annual Keep Bravo Running 5k along the Shore Road promenade which PPTC’s Diana Ortiz and friends chairpersoned. .Nice to see Diana’s smiling face on the front page and James McFarland off to a great start on page two.Over the last 35 years the Bravo volunteer Ambulance Corps has helped thousands of people in need and this was a fine way to give back PPTC has called on Bravo to help at events and they responded graciously. " 35 more!" for Bravo and friends.

On Sunday June 28^th Booby Fisher arose before dawn to catch the ride to start the Long Island Harbor Ride In Brentwood Long Island. Bobby’s 78 mile trek left him less than chipper since Bobby and fellow riders ‘explored’ hills that many bikers did not know existed out east.

Judging from the flow of comments on the pptc-open-forum@googlegroups.com about the Philly Half, seems to me that race could be another ye another PPTC road trip this fall.. With Ted Baumgartner, Mark Crowther, Tyrone Sklaren, Ami Hassler and Mike Ring chiming in with their perspectives on this event, PPTC could be good to go.

Thanks to Doug Olney for passing along some perspectives on June 28th’s PPTC Picnic/Relay.

This was PPTC’s biggest turnout in several years - 11 teams in total and 1 race walking team. As often is the case, we had a warm day, but it wasn't super hot out. The random draw resulted in relatively evenly-matched teams, so there was no clear favorite before we started. We had several good performances, especially from the women. Helen Dole broke Regina Cahill's course record, but then her record was broken by Sarah Scott. Helen ran the first leg, and Sarah was doing the anchor leg for different teams. For Maggie's Deschamps the relay was just a warmup for her next day’s Cosme race. Ted Baumgartner was consulting with anyone interested in his running the Tokyo Marathon. " After you pass the third sushi shop after mile 24, if you have anything left, make your move." Sabrina Ring was our youngest finisher, and Al Goldstein was our oldest. The picnic went fine too. We chowed down through 3 6-foot heroes, and there was plenty of other homemade goodies available. Amy Duquette performed a tap dance, Gil Torres and Zoe Prawda both did juggling acts. Charlene Kohler-Britton brought her guitar and sang an original song about running and the team, and she had a sing-along for kids as well. There was another young girl who I don't know her name performed a violin solo. ( next year, those ‘’hello my name is...." tags ) It was an eclectic selection of entertainment..
As a reminder, the Relay is a qualifying race for the PPTC Run Brooklyn 6-race incentive. Make sure that you enter your time in the Members Race History on the PPTC website.

PPTC has teams entered in the Reach the Beach Relay to be held on Sept. 18-19 in New Hampshire. The course starts at Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains in the northern part of the state and travels 200 miles through N.H. to the finish at Hampton Beach on the coast. The teams are asking the PPTC treasury to support the cost of van rentals (2 per team), that they will be using to travel to and from the race and as they move through the race itself from relay point to relay point. The Reach the Beach website is www.rtbrelay.com
Check it out, inspiring pics!

Thanks to Maggie Deschamps for passing along the Congrats to all PPTCers who raced the Cosme 5k on June 28^th! PPTC had a great turnout with many awards won! We placed 1st overall Women's team composed of Helen Dole( 2nd overall, 1st place age) in 20:31, Maggie Deschamps(6th overall, 2nd place age) in 21:06, and Corre Kombol(7th overall, 2nd place age) in 21:20. In addition we had Rebecca Rosenberg-Beran and Danielle Hansen also placing in their age group. Several other PPTC runners raced well in impressive times within a strongly competitive field.Hey, an out and back on the boardwalk at Coney Island and for a change we had a beautiful warm sunny day!


Let’s congratulate Emily Sanderson for a very showing at the 2009 Fairfield Half. Although the day was hot and humid, and the course was a hilly one, she finished second in her age group! SPF 30 on the Rocks for Emily!

Tyrone Sklaren ran the NYRR Hope and Possibility 5 miler Sunday June 25^th and found himself lingering at the finish line as many of the Achilles runners were finishing. He stayed for about an hour, cheering and encouraging these runners - "...blind runners with guides, singles amputees, double amputees, and one quadruple amputee struggling to push himself to the finish on his wheelchair with what was left of his arms; there were kids- one beautiful little girl-maybe seven years old-finishing by herself on a running prosthetic; there was a little boy who looked about 5 years old also with a prosthetic, running with a very tall older man also with a prosthetic; many people who looked ‘ok’ I later learned had serious illnesses. Quite a few of the amputees were Iraqi war veterans-big strong young guys missing a leg or two-there was one guy on crutches with one single prosthetic for his lower half." And there was Tricia Miley, the "Cental Park jogger", running them in, encouraging them, and joking with them. "I felt there was no place else I'd rather be."

For Rich Weaver this was also a very moving race that brought tears of happiness to his eyes. A very life affirming race if ever there was one. Rich had lost his scoring chip during the race and as he was walking back against the tide of a runners, one of them approached him chip in hand .

With these thoughts in mind, let us remember to count our blessings, all our blessings, today as you read this and every day.

Hope & Possibility 5M List by Team: PPTC Distance: 5.0 Miles, 8.0 Kilometers Date/Time: June 28, 2009, 8:30 am Location: Central Park, NYC Weath

Hope & Possibility 5M List by Team: PPTC Distance: 5.0 Miles, 8.0 Kilometers Date/Time: June 28, 2009, 8:30 am Location: Central Park, NYC Weather: 71 degrees, 71% humidity. 4 matches found. Click any blue heading to sort the list. AG = Age Graded.

Last Name

First Name

Sex/ Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall Place

Gender Place

Age Place

Finish Time

Pace/ Mile

AG Time

AG Gender Place

AG %

GONZALEZ

ARTHUR J

M62

837

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

406

308

10

39:53

7:58

31:30

72

67.6 %

SKLAREN

TYRONE

M62

2085

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

441

335

11

40:20

8:04

31:52

79

66.9 %

DE LEON

YVETTE

F40

507

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1083

433

34

47:52

9:34

46:12

406

52.3 %

WEAVER

RICHARD

M69

2330

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1978

943

14

1:07:19

13:27

49:49

795

42.8 %

Here are the results of today's PPTC Relay.

Here are the results of today's PPTC Relay.

Excellent times were run by all. Congratulations to Helen Dole and
Sarah Scott, who both broke the previous woman's course record held by
Regina Cahill. Unfortunately for Helen, she also set a record for
shortest-lived record!

BTW, the Relay is a qualifying race for the PPTC Run Brooklyn 6-race
incentive. Make sure that you enter your time in the Members Race
History.

OVERALL RESULTS

Team Name Gender Cumulative Time Lap Time Pace

V Al Prawda M 12:56.0 12:56.0 07:26.0
Frank DeLeo M 25:33.0 12:37.0 07:15.1
Gary Wang M 36:13.0 10:40.0 06:07.8
36:13.0

S Brad Skillman M 11:14.0 11:14.0 06:27.4
Maggie Deschamps F 23:00.0 11:46.0 06:45.7
Bruce Duquette M 37:25.0 14:25.0 08:17.1
37:25.0

R Tony Watson M 10:29.0 10:29.0 06:01.5 Fastest Male Time
Traci Lester F 26:46.0 16:17.0 09:21.5
Sarah Scott F 37:36.0 10:50.0 06:13.6 Fastest Female Time
37:36.0 New Course Record!

U Doug Olney M 12:09.0 12:09.0 06:59.0
Regina Cahill F 24:21.0 12:12.0 07:00.7
Lennie Nemerovsky M 38:14.0 13:53.0 07:58.7
38:14.0

X Helen Dole F 10:58.0 10:58.0 06:18.2 Course record for 20 min.!
Claire Dougherty F 26:26.0 15:28.0 08:53.3
Rebecca Rosenberg-Baran F 38:19.0 11:53.0 06:49.8
38:19.0

Y Dan Dougherty M 11:41.0 11:41.0 06:42.9
Patricia Perlo F 28:04.0 16:23.0 09:24.9
Ryan Wood M 39:02.0 10:58.0 06:18.2
39:02.0

Q Amy Duquette F 13:27.0 13:27.0 07:43.8
Charlene Kohler-Britton F 29:45.0 16:18.0 09:22.1
Ted Baumgartner M 41:48.0 12:03.0 06:55.5
41:48.0

Z Corre Kombol F 11:34.0 11:34.0 06:38.9
Michael Rieman M 25:42.0 14:08.0 08:07.4
Zoe Prawda F 42:18.0 16:36.0 09:32.4
42:18.0

T Marianne Prawda F 18:44.0 18:44.0 10:46.0
Josh Pesin M 30:47.0 12:03.0 06:55.5
Coco D'Artigues F 42:19.0 11:32.0 06:37.7
42:19.0

W Michael Ring M 16:22.0 16:22.0 09:24.4
Brandon Cammack M 27:47.0 11:25.0 06:33.7
Sabrina Ring F 44:48.0 17:01.0 09:46.8
44:48.0

P Sandra Ferrari F 15:38.0 15:38.0 08:59.1
Jason Horowitz M 29:38.0 14:00.0 08:02.8
Veronica Antoine F 45:43.0 16:05.0 09:14.6
45:43.0

Speed Walking Division
A Tom Meany M 21:02.0 21:02.0 12:05.3
Lila Rieman F 26:30.0 26:30.0 15:13.8
Al Goldstein M 32:59.0 32:59.0 18:57.4


ORDER OF FINISH BY LAP

Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3

1 R 10:29.0 S 23:00.0 V 36:13.0
2 X 10:58.0 U 24:21.0 S 37:25.0
3 S 11:14.0 V 25:33.0 R 37:36.0
4 Z 11:34.0 Z 25:42.0 U 38:14.0
5 Y 11:41.0 X 26:26.0 X 38:19.0
6 U 12:09.0 R 26:46.0 Y 39:02.0
7 V 12:56.0 W 27:47.0 Q 41:48.0
8 Q 13:27.0 Y 28:04.0 Z 42:18.0
9 P 15:38.0 P 29:38.0 T 42:19.0
10 W 16:22.0 Q 29:45.0 W 44:48.0
11 T 18:44.0 T 30:47.0 P 45:43.0


FINISHERS IN TIME ORDER

Male
Name Lap Time Pace
1 Tony Watson 10:29.0 06:01.5
2 Gary Wang 10:40.0 06:07.8
3 Ryan Wood 10:58.0 06:18.2
4 Brad Skillman 11:14.0 06:27.4
5 Brandon Cammack 11:25.0 06:33.7
6 Dan Dougherty 11:41.0 06:42.9
7 Ted Baumgartner 12:03.0 06:55.5
7 Josh Pesin 12:03.0 06:55.5
9 Doug Olney 12:09.0 06:59.0
10 Frank DeLeo 12:37.0 07:15.1
11 Al Prawda 12:56.0 07:26.0
12 Lennie Nemerovsky 13:53.0 07:58.7
13 Jason Horowitz 14:00.0 08:02.8
14 Michael Rieman 14:08.0 08:07.4
15 Bruce Duquette 14:25.0 08:17.1
16 Michael Ring 16:22.0 09:24.4


Female
Name Lap Time Pace
1 Sarah Scott 10:50.0 06:13.6
2 Helen Dole 10:58.0 06:18.2
3 Coco D'Artigues 11:32.0 06:37.7
4 Corre Kombol 11:34.0 06:38.9
5 Maggie Deschamps 11:46.0 06:45.7
6 Rebecca Rosenberg-Baran 11:53.0 06:49.8
7 Regina Cahill 12:12.0 07:00.7
8 Amy Duquette 13:27.0 07:43.8
9 Claire Dougherty 15:28.0 08:53.3
10 Sandra Ferrari 15:38.0 08:59.1
11 Veronica Antoine 16:05.0 09:14.6
12 Traci Lester 16:17.0 09:21.5
13 Charlene Kohler-Britton 16:18.0 09:22.1
14 Patricia Perlo 16:23.0 09:24.9
15 Zoe Prawda 16:36.0 09:32.4
16 Sabrina Ring 17:01.0 09:46.8
17 Marianne Prawda 18:44.0 10:46.0

Gay Pride Run List by Team: PPTC

Gay Pride Run
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 5.0 Miles, 8.0 Kilometers
Date/Time: June 27, 2009, 9:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 69 deg., 84% hum.

9 matches found.

Click any blue heading to sort the list. AG = Age Graded.

Last Name

First Name

Sex/ Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall Place

Gender Place

Age Place

Finish Time

Pace/ Mile

AG Time

AG Gender Place

AG %

MCELREATH

TIMOTHY

M40

293

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

207

182

15

33:46

6:45

31:54

170

66.8 %

GONZALEZ

ARTHUR J

M62

2608

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

960

784

10

40:03

8:00

31:38

151

67.4 %

REYNAR

JEFF

M39

370

PPTC

NEW YORK

NY

1005

813

170

40:25

8:05

38:28

836

55.4 %

HOGAN

MEGAN

F28

3188

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1506

395

138

43:15

8:39

43:15

508

55.9 %

MENDOZA

BRIAN

M37

4304

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1884

1290

266

45:24

9:04

43:51

1379

48.6 %

COLOMBO

RENEE

F43

3088

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2391

888

86

48:22

9:40

45:38

737

53.0 %

CROWLEY

MARY

F50

3643

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2511

968

29

49:12

9:50

43:02

486

56.2 %

SOSKIND

PAUL

M65

5406

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2598

1574

13

49:48

9:57

38:18

819

55.6 %

NILES

IRVA

F41

5611

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3024

1309

134

53:28

10:41

51:15

1264

47.2 %

Father's Day 5M List by Team: PPTC

Father's Day 5M
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 5.0 Miles, 8.0 Kilometers
Date/Time: June 21, 2009, 8:30 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 63 Degrees, 97% Humidity, Wind 3mph, Mist

14 matches found.

Click any blue heading to sort the list. AG = Age Graded.

Last Name

First Name

Sex/ Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall Place

Gender Place

Age Place

Finish Time

Pace/ Mile

AG Time

AG Gender Place

AG %

TCHITCHUI

ETIENNE

M37

682

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

104

103

20

29:47

5:57

28:46

132

74.1 %

VAN HATTEM

PIETER

M35

703

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

766

716

147

36:52

7:22

36:05

999

59.1 %

OLNEY

DOUGLAS C

M50

528

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

769

719

30

36:53

7:22

32:15

434

66.1 %

SLOTWINER

DANIEL

M36

2657

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1228

1084

222

39:22

7:52

38:17

1359

55.7 %

GONZALEZ

ARTHUR J

M62

2260

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1587

1337

33

41:07

8:13

32:29

466

65.6 %

WILLIAMS

ERIC

M50

2752

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2065

1648

113

43:10

8:38

37:45

1269

56.5 %

PRAWDA

AL

M62

2563

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2245

1759

49

44:01

8:48

34:46

774

61.3 %

POPE

FRANCIS

M36

4549

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2268

1777

345

44:09

8:49

42:57

2051

49.6 %

RIEMAN

MICHAEL E

M66

3595

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2550

1947

16

45:19

9:03

34:31

734

61.7 %

WATERS

EMMA

F29

5746

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2739

696

204

46:10

9:14

46:10

832

52.4 %

PENDARVIS

MARK

M50

6545

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2905

2126

162

47:03

9:24

41:09

1811

51.8 %

DE LEON

YVETTE

F40

5164

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3139

899

84

48:26

9:41

46:45

886

51.7 %

UNDERWOOD

ROBERT

M36

4703

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3499

2400

451

50:33

10:06

49:10

2534

43.3 %

WEAVER

RICHARD

M69

7744

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4308

2721

50

1:02:24

12:28

46:11

2353

46.1 %

From The Archives Long Day’s Journey Into Night – Birth Of The Metro 100K

From The Archives
Long Day’s Journey Into Night – Birth Of The Metro 100K
Paul Soskind


In the late 1970’s, the ultramarathon scene was limited to the Met 50 miler: 10 loops of the upper five miles in Central Park, the Knickerbocker 60K: six plus full Central Park loops: the Fresh Pond 50M: 20 2.5M loops around a Boston reservoir; the Lake Waramaug 50M and 100KM events on a hilly 7.66M loop in northern Connecticut and the Mechanicsville 100K in Pennsylvania’s western hill country.

To create a venue for local ultra runners and national caliber athletes, Rich Inamorato, Lenny Nemerovsky and I explored several sites in the five boroughs. We settled on the lake loop (same as the first loop of the Turkey Trot) because it was relatively short (1.7467 miles), thus enabling us to monitor the progress of the runners and its accessibility to lockers and shower facilities at the Parade Grounds. By including the small traffic island near the Seeley Street playground, we had an ideal 1.75 mile loop.

The drawbacks, which we felt were outweighed by the advantages were: (1) the necessity of crossing the main road twice per loop, partially mitigated by running in a clockwise direction; (2) having the runners negotiate 35 plus loops around said circuit; (3) which precluded the necessity of ample volunteers for scoring and aid stations.

We decided on the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day for the event because of a post holiday drop in activity in the park, relatively mild weather with no expected temperature variation extremes and 10-plus hours of daylight. We used a rental van to carry the supplies to the start, set up two tables – one for scoring, the other for aid. Scoring was done on an elaborately crafted chart with help from PPTC founder Harry Murphy consisting of the names of the competitors arranged vertically and 35 diagonally slashed boxes arranged horizontally to record each runner’s time per lap and cumulative time. Backup charts, small enough to fit on clipboards were kept by other scorer recorders inside the van. While I had wanted to compete, that first year I worked the race.

At 7:00 a.m. sharp on a sunny but chilly 34 degree day, 31 runners set off on their long journey. They included Park Borner, then America’s “premier ultrarunner,” Don Jewel, Bill Lowder, Bob Van der Kieft, George Gardner and our own indominatable Johnny Kenul. By 11:00 a.m., the field was really strung out with the leaders between a 7:00 and 7:35 minute pace or 50K or more, while others had not reached the marathon mark. By then, the temperature had risen to the high 40’s and the sky was overcast. While some runners appeared strong and confident, others were in real trouble. We were charting lap times, looking for patterns of drastic slowdowns because we had informed the competitors that anyone in danger of not maintaining a pace to finish with the 10 hour time limit would either have to step it up or be waved off at this time, whether they completed the distance or not.

At this time, Queen’s song, “Another One Bites the Dust” seemed appropriate for those who succumbed to the time and distance on their feet. To their credit, that initial year we had about a 30% dropout rate and more than 20 runners completed the distance with four slightly over the limit.

We celebrated their achievement with an awards buffet at the now-defunct Scarela’s Italian Restaurant on Church Avenue where the winner, Park Barner, and the others received the accolades due them. Our great initial success enabled us to restage this event the following year and for 10 more years to come. The second year we had a momentous event with a stellar field. For those of you considering a go at this distance, here are the finishing times and pace per mile of the top 10 in year two:
Alan Kirek – 6:37:54 (6:16/mile)
George Gardiner – 7:37:20 (7:21/mile)
Hal Stern – 7:54:42 (7:36/mile)
Bob Van der Kleft – 7:57 (7:39/mile)
Gunther Erich (50+ years old) – 8:11:46 (7:55/mile)
Park Barner (defending champ) – 8:14:37 (7:57/mile)
Paul Soskind – 8:22:59 (8:08/mile)
John McQueen – 8:25:56 (8:08/mile)
Ray Krolewicz – 8:42:41 (8:21/mile)
Dave Obelkevich – 8:43)05 (8:22/mile)

In this event, Alan Kirek set an American and North American record for the distance while, for the first time in ultrarunning history, 13 participants broke the nin hour barrier for the 62.14 mile distance. This still remains a high water mark in ultrarunning annals while 23 of the 33 starters completed the event within the time limit.

Meet The Members: Chi Iregbulem

Meet The Members: Chi Iregbulem
By: Amy Duquette



“I heart New York!” PPTC member Chi Iregbulem says while smiling and making the shape of a heart with her hands. Chi has been a New Yorker for 32 years. She was born and spent her first three years in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but the rest of her life has been in Queens, Long Island and Brooklyn. However, she began to experience and embrace it in a new way three years ago after becoming a New York City runner. While running through Prospect Park she connects with it and sees parts that she has never seen. Running through the streets of Brooklyn allows her to see the city “…in a way that you can only do while running. All the nuances…the little shops…over the bridges, you can’t see the city like that from a car.” She also feels the connection to the runners of this city, a very specific community that she is glad to be a part of.

Specifically, she values her membership in the Prospect Park Track club. “Everybody is welcoming and supportive. It’s what kept me going.” Chi stresses, “I am not a fast runner, but (in PPTC) I’ve never felt bad for that, or less than anyone else.” Quite contrary, she’s felt appreciated.

Chi’s parents came from Nigeria and had Chi and her two younger brothers in the US. She attended the United Nations International School (UNIS) and then catholic high school on Long Island. It was in high school when she first began running, joining the cross country and track teams. Chi stated that she “enjoyed running,” but despite the three mile races she participated in at Van Cortlandt and Sunken Meadows parks, she was “…always a better sprinter.”

While attending Syracuse University for her undergraduate degree in TV, Film and radio production and then Baruch College for her MBA, she stopped running. She remained “balanced”, as she puts it, with dance and yoga classes. Receiving some harsh comments about her size from family members while at a wedding in May 2006; she was rightfully hurt, but then used it as motivation. Shortly after, a googled search for “track clubs” led her to PPTC. She started her engagement in the club and running with the Tuesday night Speed Series trainings. “I remember the first night I came. I was dressed totally wrong for running. And although I thought it would come right back to me, no way!” Chi found the trail run that Coach Tony had the group do almost impossible; after all it was 15 years since she had run.

She did not give up on that day, or any day since. “No matter if I’m limping across the finish, I’m going to finish every race I start.” Chi raced the PPTC Turkey Trot that year, her first since high school. She noticed her progress in the short amount of time since she came back to running and welcomed that familiar ‘runner’s high’. She has run the Turkey Trot, among other races, every year since.

Every member of our club has individual goals and reasons why they started and why they continue it. Chi says, “I’m not a hardcore runner, but I get what they and every runner experiences. Racing gives me that adrenaline rush…I get that sense of accomplishment every race I do.” What Chi lacks in speed she makes up for in heart. She is a huge cheerleader of PPTC and runners in general. She volunteers in the club and her dedication can be counted on. And she is the spectator who will yell out the name of each individual runner who puts his/her name in their bib as she watches the entire NYC marathon run by.

Speaking of the marathon, Chi is flirting with the idea of giving it a go in 2010. “It’s one of my bucket list things to do. You have to do it if you run in New York City.” She’s completed six of the nine required qualifying races to date. “There is rarely a time when I don’t finish what I started.”

Chi’s non-running interests include spinning, roller skating and dancing. She’s studied hip hop and modern dance and spent several years with Harambee Dance Company, a contemporary West African dance troupe that performed in various places, including Ghana. Currently, Chi and her fiancé are planning a wedding. Finding that she was not interested in the traditional parts of a wedding, they are working out a way to make the event their own. They both spend some of their time in NYC and some in Baltimore where her fiancé’s job is based. Being a New Yorker through and through, she does not want to leave this city completely and is also finding the means to live a dual-city life.

Balance is a theme that keeps returning to Chi. She takes care of herself emotionally and coming back to running has allowed her to take care of herself physically. This balance may be the reason for the positive energy that she emits and can be felt by those around her.

Your Health

Your Health

Christine Boutross

Did you wake up one morning recently with an urge to clean your home and throw out the candy wrappers from under the bed? Perhaps you've been craving water or fruit, or even felt like going to the gym for the first time in months. If you did, you're not alone. Each spring we instinctually feel the need to clean both our home and body. And if you spent the last few months with a bottle of wine watching reruns of Sex and the City, a cleanse may bring you out of hibernation.

We take in harmful substances daily, ranging from pollution and food additives to excess alcohol and junk food, not to mention toxic people. In excess, this contributes to poor health, stress, and a weak immune system. A spring cleanse is an opportunity for your body to rebuild. Some people choose cleansing kits or plans, like the Master Cleanse or similar programs. I actually recommend a less drastic approach, since our body is sensitive and may not react well to sudden changes. Try out the following tips, for the next 5 - 7 days and see how much better you feel.

Drink More Water
Filtered, distilled or spring water helps hydrate and clean the body. Adding fresh lemon juice is a plus. Have a minimum of 6 cups per day, starting with one in the morning on an empty stomach.

Eat Greens
Green leafy vegetables like field greens, arugula, kale, broccoli raab, and collards are rich in vitamins and cleanse the blood. They also contain fiber which binds toxins so they're more easily excreted. Eat them several times a day, if possible. You could even go to the juice bar for a green drink, 1 -2 times per day.

Reduce Unhealthy Foods
Sugar, white bread, cookies, candy, chips, soda, caffeine, packaged food, alcohol - they all decrease your energy, and keep your body full of extra junk. Try to cut back on these as much as you can, and give your digestive system a break. You'll be amazed how much more clearly you think when your body has the right fuel. You'd not put diesel fuel into an unleaded car, so why put the wrong fuel in your body?

Try Skin Cleansing
Buy a loofa or body scrub. This helps the skin eliminate waste and encourages blood flow. You could also visit a Turkish spa and have your favorite cabana boy scrub your body for you. Try this once per day

Christine Boutross is Personal Trainer and a Holistic Health Counselor. She is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Please visit Christine’s website:www.journeytohealthwellness.com

Food Focus: Brown Rice

Brown rice, with its sweet nutty flavor, provides four times the amount of insoluble fiber found in white rice, because it is a whole grain that has not been stripped of its natural bran covering. It contains an impressive number of vitamins and minerals such as concentrated B vitamins (which help nervous systems and mental depression), niacin, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, and even some vitamin E. This whole grain also contains a small amount of high-quality protein in the form of the amino acid lysine, which helps boost the body’s ability to fight viruses, especially those that cause cold sores.

In each grain of brown rice exists a matrix of whole, unrefined energy and nutrition. It is a complex carbohydrate and therefore burns slowly in the body, providing a steady stream of long lasting energy while increasing the brain’s levels of serotonin, the chemical responsible for the feeling of well-being. Those who consistently eat brown rice report steady energy and an overall feeling of calm and balance in their daily lives.

For brown rice and whole grains in general, the majority of digestion occurs in the mouth through chewing and exposure to saliva. For optimal nutrition and assimilation, it is vital to chew your rice well and with awareness. A great meditation is to find a calm place, without distractions, to sit down for your meal. Make it a habit to chew each bite 20 times or more. See how this simple practice can help your digestion and overall focus for the rest of your day.

Recipe of the Month: Brown Basmati Pilaf

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup brown basmati rice

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

1/2 cup of walnut pieces

1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley

pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Rinse rice in fine mesh strainer until water runs clear.

2. Boil the water and add rice and salt, cover and reduce heat.

3. After 15 minutes add cranberries and walnuts to top, do not stir.

4. Cook 15-25 minutes more, until all the liquid is absorbed.

5. Remove from heat, add parsley and fluff with fork, cover and let set for 3-5 minutes and serve.

THE INSIDE LOOP

THE INSIDE LOOP

Tom Byrnes and Friends


You might’ve heard about it or perhaps read about it in the local community newspapers. A group of local Windsor Terrace teens on their way to or from a get together, a clear Friday night, June 5^th, PPSW, coming up on the Vanderbilt Street playground, on the outside sidewalk, a sudden loud noise, wood crashing, a tree falls, hitting some, crunching others, some are injured and one needs his head stapled and a stay in the hospital for further tests to determine if there was any other physical damage.

Cars not watching out, bikes in the wrong lane, broken pavement, dogs off the leash, , bad- guy- wanna- bees, and now last but certainly not the least, falling trees added to the list of what can do you in if you’re not heads up out there.

Pay attention to who and what’s going on around you. Better to listen to the sound of your footsteps hitting the road than to be absorbed in your iPod tunes and miss what could very well change your life for a while.

In direct competition with the NYRR’s Mini 10k in Central Park on Sunday June 7^th, the 20^th annual Kenny Dolan 5k in Prospect Park saw runners who preferred to stay local for a great race come out in force. PPTC was there behind the scene at the post registration table, on the starting line, at the finish line area, at the post- race BBQ, and on the victory stand as well. The post- race party that can’t be beat found PPTCers chillin’ to the beat of the "Come Hell or High Water" rock and roll band, talking running and training, races and paces, and not counting the hotdogs, hamburgers, or Buds we put away. And, hey, don’t include your trips to and from the beer tent in your weekly mileage totals! Check out the race results on our website, you’ll be PPTC proud you did!

This second weekend in June found PPTCers helping to make it happen all over the place, Wayne Bailey volunteering with T.A.’s Tour D’ Brooklyn bike event and Junior Passee hooking up with USADA with their drug testing in Central Park at the 10K.

The Al Goldstein-PPTC Summer Speed 5k’s should be another fixture to your running repertoire this summer. A grass roots road race with that down home feel, almost a loop of the park with the start north of the center loop transverse closer to the zoo and the finish across from the Lincoln Road vehicle entrance/exit on the inside loop, just north of the ice skate rink. Every other Wednesday evening this summer, usually rain or shine, registration at the Pavilion at 6:30pm and the start a little after 7pm as soon as the NYPD ensures that all the vehicles have left the course roadway. Come and get a benchmark you can use to judge your progress, or lack of it, for the 5k distance. Check the website or call the club phone 595-2049 to get the date of the next one. Bring your running relatives and friends .No tee shirts, no splits, a race for runners by those who have been there and done it themselves .It’s low key and lots of fun. It’ll be a well spent $5 for sure.

It’s June and the sun’s strength is the strongest at this time of the year! Be sun smart and do everything you can do to protect your exposed skin before a friend or doctor tells you had better see a dermatologist to get that funny piece of skin, freckle, or mole on your neck or shoulder or back or arm or hand or leg checked out.. Cover up during the hottest times of the day,10am-4pm, lather up with lotion with at least 30 Sun Protective Factor (SPF), and wear a hat and clothes that have indications on their labels that they’re made with material that will protect you from the sun’s damaging rays. Learn the warning signs of the different types of skin cancer, some more deadly than others. Don’t throw caution to the wind; your skin is an organ just like your liver and lungs. Be sun smart!

Upon learning about the tree crashing down and hitting the teens who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, I thought back to how many times over the years we might’ve passed the exact same spot while we were on the way to a loop or two or three of the outside of the park.

On a lighter note, back in the day, PPTC would gather to run on a Saturday morning and then get to the basement community room of Bobby Fisher’s apartment house on Vanderbilt Street just down the street from the accident site for fresh bagels and spreads, hot coffee and hot chocolate, giving rise to the name "bagel runs." PPTC has let these bagel runs go for a while but they were great fun and a chance to meet and greet fellow club members. The post workout Sunday brunch get-togethers Gil Torres was psyched about last year were also a great opportunity to open up and explore a ’social’ side of PPTC. After the first Summer Speed series 5K as Helen Dole was trying to keep up with me while we were biking together up the zoo hill, she mentioned PPTC’s getting together at a LNB (as in ‘local neighborhood bar’) for some post race liquid refreshments. Hey although the ad doesn’t say it exactly, "Got Ideas?" You might be surprised at how many PPTC traditions have been born out of home grown ideas, some planned and some really impromptu, to get members and friends together for good times to be shared by all. Not like the annual gala PPTC party in January but chillin’ with PPTC Let’s hear from you! Shout it out at the next PPTC monthly meeting, run it by one of the club officers or the Bored of Directors, get thee on the PPTC Yahoo group and put it into an email, call it into the PPTC club phone ,718 595 2049, talk it up at one of the PPTC weekly group runs, but whatever you do, don’t let great PPTC stuff linger in your imagination. Get your ideas out there! PPTC is your club, make it happen!

Late breaking rumor has it that the pool at the 9^th street YMCA could very well be up and running sometime this month. Prayers have been answered!

Run, bike and swim safely, be sun smart, and we’ll see you on the roads

NYRR Dash 10K List by Team: PPTC Distance: 6.2 Miles, 10.0 Kilometers Date/Time: June 13, 2009, 9:00 am Location: Central Park, NYC Weather: 72

NYRR Dash 10K List by Team: PPTC Distance: 6.2 Miles, 10.0 Kilometers Date/Time: June 13, 2009, 9:00 am Location: Central Park, NYC Weather: 72 Degrees, 61% Humidity, Overcast 8 matches found. Click any blue heading to sort the list. AG = Age Graded.

Last Name

First Name

Sex/ Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall Place

Gender Place

Age Place

Finish Time

Pace/ Mile

AG Time

AG Gender Place

AG %

TCHITCHUI

ETIENNE

M37

784

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

28

27

7

37:58

6:07

36:41

38

73.1 %

REYNAR

JEFF

M39

507

PPTC

NEW YORK

NY

666

597

132

47:12

7:36

44:56

623

59.7 %

GONZALEZ

ARTHUR J

M62

2219

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1240

1012

10

50:43

8:10

40:04

156

66.9 %

MENDOZA

BRIAN

M37

4401

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2905

1874

389

59:31

9:35

57:30

1962

46.6 %

DE LEON

YVETTE

F40

6137

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3534

1423

123

1:03:47

10:17

1:01:34

1371

49.2 %

FERRARI

NATACHA

F35

7834

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4430

2058

304

1:23:12

13:25

1:22:20

2080

36.8 %

TINOCO

MAJO

F33

7602

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4490

2102

520

1:31:15

14:43

1:30:49

2114

33.3 %

FERRARI

SANDRA

F35

3166

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4520

2126

312

1:41:49

16:25

1:40:46

2126

30.1 %

What you do not know baecause you are not me

To Race or To Finish
Michael Ring

Last Sunday I ran the Kenny Dolan Memorial 5K Run. I had a great time. Not the time on the clock, but I enjoyed myself. I mean I really enjoyed myself. I paced my 9 year old twins in a “grown up race”. I finished in about 35 minutes. For me that time means nothing, but seeing my kids smile when they got cheers from friends and strangers was priceless. Eight days earlier I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon. There I wanted to have a good time; I wanted to break two hours.

Every time I start a race I want to have a good time. Some times I want to have a good time by enjoying the sights, being with friends and family or knowing that finishing will qualify me for the next level of running. Recently, I have run a lot of races like that. Since my kids were born I have enjoyed pushing them and now racing with them. I had a good time. I even joined an internet group called JustFinish.

On June 2 the New York Times had a great article on not finishing. “First the Marathon Lottery, then the Pressure to Finish”, compared the elite runner who has a very specific goal to the recreational runner. The elite runners will get off the course if they are not going to meet their goal. Why risk injury if you are not going to be in the money…. Be in better shape for the next race. The recreational runners have more to lose by not finishing.

Recreational runners may push too hard to finish because of “external pressures,” according to Dr. Jeffrey L. Brown, a Harvard Medical School psychologist who evaluates participants in the Boston Marathon and other races. Such pressures include dedicating a race to a loved one, raising money for charity or battling a disease. “It can put real undue pressure on someone,” Brown said. And then there is the nature of the people who are drawn to marathoning. “Marathon runners tend to be a bit obsessive,” Brown said. As for dropping out, he said, “it is not something that is on the checklist.”

But this goal of just finishing did not allow me to have a “good time”. I ran some very conservative races. I needed to finish 9 races in a calendar year; I needed to finish 15 marathons. Racing became a chore, finishing became the goal. Well, that is behind me now. I have my lifetime guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon.

I don’t need to run 9 NYCRR races every year. I also don’t need to finish the NYC Marathon. I wanna have a good time. I wanna run the same kind of race that I did 10 years. I wanna run hard and have a negative split. I want to pay attention to mile markers and good form.

I have nothing to prove any more, I finished many marathons, now I am ready again to risk not finishing. I need a good time again. I don’t want to Just Finish.

NYRR NY Mini 10K

NYRR NY Mini 10K
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 6.2 Miles, 10.0 Kilometers
Date/Time: June 7, 2009, 9:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 69 deg., 63% humidity, clear.

16 matches found.

Click any blue heading to sort the list. AG = Age Graded.

Last Name

First Name

Sex/ Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall Place

Gender Place

Age Place

Finish Time

Split Time

Pace/ Mile

AG Time

AG Gender Place

AG %

SANDERSON

EMILY

F42

551

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

69

69

9

41:31

0:20:32

6:41

39:30

66

76.7 %

ROSENBERG-BERAN

REBECCA

F27

543

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

120

120

40

43:56

0:21:48

7:05

43:56

206

69.0 %

DUQUETTE

AMY

F30

190

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

737

737

162

52:23

0:25:40

8:26

52:22

1017

57.9 %

HOGAN

MEGAN

F28

2265

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1097

1097

298

54:56

0:27:55

8:51

54:56

1433

55.2 %

BLADES

FREIDA

F49

3056

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1223

1223

95

55:40

0:27:54

8:58

49:17

609

61.5 %

CLARKE

TJANYSA

F34

2100

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1348

1348

325

56:26

0:28:17

9:06

56:01

1639

54.1 %

CANALE

ELIZABETH

F58

2068

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1728

1728

26

58:35

0:28:36

9:26

46:08

320

65.7 %

FERRARI

SANDRA

F35

2166

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1763

1763

279

58:44

0:28:09

9:28

58:07

2023

52.1 %

RODRIGUEZ

ELBA

F55

2516

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2489

2489

44

1:02:53

0:30:21

10:08

51:34

911

58.8 %

ANTOINE

VERONICA

F53

4019

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2588

2588

92

1:03:29

0:30:34

10:14

53:27

1163

56.7 %

DE LEON

YVETTE

F40

4140

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2593

2593

276

1:03:33

0:30:12

10:15

1:01:20

2552

49.4 %

LESTER

TRACI

F43

4368

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3411

3411

372

1:09:49

0:33:16

11:15

1:05:53

3218

46.0 %

NILES

IRVA

F41

5473

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3806

3806

412

1:15:04

0:35:14

12:06

1:11:57

3807

42.1 %

DAZA

FRANCESCA

F65

7844

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3901

3901

29

1:16:58

0:37:39

12:24

54:44

1388

55.4 %

FERRARI

NATACHA

F35

6186

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4092

4092

666

1:23:37

0:40:57

13:29

1:22:45

4181

36.6 %

SPIEGEL

MOLLIE L

F66

7596

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4193

4193

35

1:29:48

0:44:32

14:29

1:02:53

2808

48.2 %