Running Through New Hampshire By: Amy Duquette

Running Through New Hampshire By: Amy Duquette

The little state of New Hampshire is filled with rolling green hills and miles of beautiful countryside. General Stores still sell penny candy, ski resorts are plentiful, and the natives are welcoming. On Friday, September 18th, this picturesque New England state was invaded by hundreds of cargo vans filled with over four hundred teams of runners all set on completing the longest distance running relay race in the US: The 200 Mile Reach The Beach adventure relay.
Our team, No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn, packed up our vans with headlamps, reflective vests, homemade goodies, water, goo, ibuprofen, massage sticks, several changes of running clothes, sleeping bags and pillows along with plenty of adrenaline and headed into the fray. We left Brooklyn on Thursday evening as prepared as humanly possible. Corre Kombol organized our all-women team, which included seven PPTC’ers- Rebecca Rosenberg-Beran, Katie Muladore, Ami Hassler, Sarah Scott, Marianne Herbst, myself and four special non-PPTC’ers, Jesi Crosier from Seattle, Chris Varley from Albany and Katy May and Alex Laurits from New York. Our 12th runner, Megan Kinninger was unfortunately derailed with a softball injury the week prior. The rules stated we could not change our established line-up, leaving the first three runners covering four legs each instead of the originally planned three. The other eight runners would each have three legs to run. After all was said and done though, this last minute change in mileage did not appear to affect Ami, Chris or Rebecca in the slightest. Actually, they looked as strong on their last leg as they did on the first. The legs varied in distance from 1.9 to 9.3 miles. Some were flat and some with steep inclines. Some were run in pitch-black cold night and some in the hot sun. There were plenty of empty backcountry road and highways to be conquered. On the (very long) van ride up we looked over the binder that Corre put together. It included everything we needed to know about the adventure before us, including the staggered start times for all four hundred teams. The first team would head out at 7:30 am and the final team would not be sent out until around 4 pm. The times were based on each team’s overall projected pace per mile. We were the last all-female team to start, which meant we were seeded as the fastest team in that category. It added pressure, but also excitement and, honestly, it felt a bit unreal to me that we could actually ‘win’ this.

Ami, first in our line-up, crossed the start line at 1:40 pm on Friday into a chilly downpour of rain. Thirty five hand-offs later, after passing over two hundred miles of trees, lakes, homes, highway, and woods, we reached the beach in a time of 26:38:57. We were the first all-women’s team to finish! The ladies from one of our vans escorted Chris, our last runner, triumphantly to the finish line while Van Two was still looking for parking and missed the big finish. Each of us was awarded a coupon to pick out our choice of New Balance sneakers. Our pace per mile was 7:42 for all 207 miles. Each runner gave her full effort throughout the race, no matter how little sleep she had gotten. Most of us felt as if we had one awesome leg and one less-than awesome leg. But, considering the running talent that surrounded me on this team “less-than” is a relative term. Some of our runners had impressive negative splits, running their second and third faster than their first. All of our transitions were smooth and well planned out, which was crucial. Lots of time went into planning the logistics of handing-off between eleven runners in two separate vans over this great distance. There were many runners from other teams waiting to hand-off to a teammate who had not yet made it to that point. It turned out that I did not need to worry about the pressure of our seeding at all. The excitement itself provided enough intensity to fuel the running. It was an incredible experience and personally, the best run in my entire running career was the one I did for my first leg of this relay. Those 7.5 miles started for me after 9 pm and I felt like I was flying through the night for the hour; it almost seemed effortless. Yes, there was risk of taking a wrong turn at night and getting lost, even though the whole course was very well marked. Running in the pitch-black night with only a headlamp leading your way could lead to confusion, but it also added to the exhilaration.

Throughout the race there was a lot of running and a lot of waiting. In the twenty six and a half hours the team members not running tried to eat, nap, and freshen up, sans running water, all in the vans. It felt a bit like summer camp and bit like the twilight zone. At one point, our team was in a middle school at midnight somewhere in the middle of New Hampshire. The kids and parents stayed up through the night to give us pasta. At another point it was 3 am and we were in a college that left its doors (but not bathrooms) open. The dark halls were filled with hundreds and hundreds of runners lined up next to each other on the floor in sleeping bags. I think it was in North Conway, NH when Marianne bought a sandwich at a deli and the lady wrote “thank you!” on the bag and closed it with a sticker when I thought, “I should move here.”

After celebrating with the other teams, we all piled in the vans and made our way back to the Best Western in Seabrook, NH where we all crashed pretty hard. We all think it was a blast, a truly memorable experience, made all the more special by all of the physical work and preparation that all went to the good of the team. And there is already talk of returning next year to defend our title.

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH? Christine Boutross

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?

Christine Boutross

The question pops up every day! Whether it's for you or your loved ones, we just have to figure this one out, don't we? Those mornings when we are trying to get out the door on time and finding our papers and books and planners and matching shoes and socks, food sometimes gets left to the last minute! A key to creating new habits is to set yourself up for success. Here are some tips to help you on your way.

Plan. . .Plan. . . Plan
Your food and nutrition are too important to let them be an afterthought. Take some time on a day off and think about all of your meals for the week and make yourself a menu.
Then, do your grocery shopping so you know you have everything you need for the week. Every evening, prepare as much of tomorrow’s lunch as you can in advance, so that in the morning you have as little work as possible.

Invest in a thermos. A thermos is the right hand to a good lunch packer. Boil some water in the morning and pour it into the thermos to pre-heat it for around 10 minutes. While that is warming up, pick out some leftovers from dinner earlier in the week that will fit in your thermos, and warm them up. Then dump out the water out of your thermos and put in last night’s soup or stew, and ta-dah! - hot lunch!

On a hot day, pack your thermos with ice for 10 minutes and then fill it with yogurt and fresh fruit, and there you have it, summer paradise!

Make things like big salads in advance, and keep them fresh in a salad spinner in your fridge. You’re going to be much more likely to eat salad with lunch if it’s already made and sitting there smiling and waving at you in the morning while you figure out your lunch!

Keeping a supply of cooked whole grains, beans, and greens can make for quick and easy assembly of a lunch. Splash on a little olive oil and vinegar, or liquid amino acids such as Bragg's and you have a simple, fast, protein packed lunch. You can get a stackable bento box and make a pretty assembly of food that will have everyone at the office wishing you would pack their lunch for them in the morning, too.

Grete's Great Gallop List by Team: PPTC

Grete's Great Gallop
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: Oct. 3, 2009, 9:00am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 67 degrees, 93% humidity, overcast.

13 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 %

SANDERSON

EMILY

F43

315

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

234

22

5

1:31:34

6:59

1:25:29

27

77.0 %

MAZZUCHIN

DANIEL

M33

245

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

281

254

97

1:33:04

7:06

1:32:55

381

63.7 %

MCELREATH

TIMOTHY

M40

1250

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

347

305

39

1:35:08

7:15

1:31:19

322

64.8 %

VAN HATTEM

PIETER

M35

1504

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1079

818

349

1:48:05

8:15

1:47:16

1053

55.2 %

BRACAMONTE

JESUS

M24

1045

PPTC

JACKSON HEIGHTS

NY

1613

1142

253

1:54:20

8:43

1:54:20

1419

51.7 %

KENNEY

JULIET

F43

5167

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1968

631

68

1:58:17

9:01

1:50:26

466

59.6 %

TREADWAY

ROBERT

M41

7442

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2170

1442

219

2:00:24

9:11

1:54:40

1430

51.6 %

MCSHERRY

MARK

M46

2245

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2639

1647

188

2:06:16

9:38

1:55:29

1461

51.2 %

JNO BAPTISTE

MARVLYN

F45

3606

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2763

1069

45

2:07:39

9:44

1:56:34

730

56.4 %

KILLEEN

MARY ANNE P

F53

6178

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2948

1184

34

2:10:17

9:56

1:47:37

364

61.1 %

NICKLES

JOHN

M38

5266

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3243

1870

772

2:14:30

10:16

2:11:08

1971

45.1 %

ANTOINE

VERONICA

F53

9037

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3446

1498

49

2:18:01

10:32

1:54:00

617

57.7 %

SOSKIND

PAUL

M66

10018

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3749

2063

13

2:24:23

11:01

1:50:15

1208

53.7 %

Cont. Airlines Fifth Ave. Mile List by Team: PPTC

Check out this video for the fantastic finish by our own Tony Watson

Cont. Airlines Fifth Ave. Mile
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 1.0 Miles, 1.6 Kilometers
Date/Time: Sept. 26, 2009, 9:00 am
Location: Fifth Avenue, NYC
Weather: 62 degrees, 56% humidity.

17 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

4040

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

42

42

5

04:44

4:44

04:34

65

81.1 %

OBRIEN

CHRISTOPHER

M40

3121

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

181

180

20

05:11

5:11

04:53

179

75.7 %

PHIPPS

TROY

M34

3275

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

185

184

40

05:11

5:11

05:06

285

72.7 %

WATSON

ANTHONY

M51

4276

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

204

202

7

05:14

5:14

04:32

59

81.6 %

HERBST

MARIANNE

F27

1809

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

839

66

20

05:56

5:56

05:56

132

70.6 %

SLOTWINER

DANIEL

M36

3853

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1075

968

157

06:08

6:08

05:58

1123

62.1 %

BRACAMONTE

JESUS

M24

491

PPTC

JACKSON HEIGHTS

NY

1178

1046

59

06:13

6:13

06:13

1377

59.6 %

KOMBOL

CORRE

F30

5192

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1274

151

28

06:18

6:18

06:17

227

66.6 %

HOROWITZ

JASON

M45

1886

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1425

1233

90

06:26

6:26

05:51

989

63.3 %

POPE

FRANCIS

M36

5431

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1542

1314

233

06:31

6:31

06:20

1472

58.5 %

NICKLES

JOHN

M38

3042

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1921

1543

284

06:49

6:49

06:32

1643

56.7 %

BUTLER

GENERAL

M30

589

PPTC

2022

1597

369

06:55

6:55

06:53

1833

53.7 %

DE VRIES

TINEKE

F41

4560

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2514

691

44

07:23

7:23

06:55

575

60.5 %

PENDARVIS

MARK

M51

3238

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2534

1831

75

07:24

7:24

06:25

1550

57.7 %

BUTLER

SHONTAY

F29

592

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2961

1001

327

07:56

7:56

07:55

1155

52.8 %

KOHLER-BRITTON

CHARLENE

F58

2242

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3266

1228

13

08:27

8:27

06:23

260

65.6 %

IREGBULEM

CHI

F36

4634

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3501

1418

191

09:13

9:13

09:00

1472

46.5 %

ING NYC Marathon Tune-Up List by Team: PPTC

ING NYC Marathon Tune-Up
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 18.0 Miles, 28.9 Kilometers
Date/Time: Sept. 27, 2009, 7:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 61 deg., 100% hum., Rain

20 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
AHLERS	JOERN	M42	1003	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	441	394	79	2:23:00	7:56
HERBST	MARIANNE	F27	2280	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	685	107	29	2:29:24	8:18
VAN HATTEM	PIETER	M35	886	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	931	749	175	2:35:02	8:36
BRACAMONTE	JESUS	M24	800	PPTC	JACKSON HEIGHTS	NY	935	753	23	2:35:12	8:37
DOLE	HELEN	F27	148	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	961	192	56	2:35:38	8:38
MCPHEE-DJAN	DOROTHY	F29	3815	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	1362	348	109	2:43:33	9:05
GONZALEZ	ARTHUR J	M62	2246	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	1757	1235	21	2:50:47	9:29
HOLDEN	TODD	M40	1291	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	1889	1293	249	2:53:22	9:37
MCSHERRY	MARK	M46	1444	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	2028	1360	161	2:55:28	9:44
BEZUIDENHOUT	ROSEMARY	F37	6720	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	2085	698	130	2:56:50	9:49
KILLEEN	MARY ANNE P	F53	4796	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	2203	760	14	2:58:49	9:56
EGAN	PATRICK	M40	5781	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	2640	1631	305	3:09:09	10:30
WATERS	EMMA	F29	5685	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	2706	1044	296	3:11:08	10:37
NICKLES	JOHN	M38	3465	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	3045	1796	396	3:22:20	11:14
UNDERWOOD	ROBERT	M37	4653	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	3240	1868	408	3:31:09	11:43
DE LEON	YVETTE	F41	6149	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	3260	1385	182	3:32:39	11:48
LESTER	TRACI	F43	6360	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	3328	1427	188	3:37:15	12:04
DEANE	JACKIE	F49	7728	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	3344	1440	107	3:38:44	12:09
NILES	IRVA	F41	7934	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	3415	1492	196	3:44:30	12:28
KOFFLER	AARON	M59	7319	PPTC	BROOKLYN	NY	3485	1952	86	3:55:02	13:03

NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix: Queens List by Team: PPTC

Also see a Race Report by ChickenUnderwear!

NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix: Queens
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: Sept. 20, 2009, 7:00 am
Location: College Point, Queens, NYC
Weather: 65 degrees, 49% 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

Pace/ Mile

AG Time

AG Gender Place

AG %

ABRAMS

WILLIAM

M52

11

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

65

65

3

1:25:00

6:29

1:13:53

12

80.1 %

CROWTHER

MARK

M38

156

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

75

74

19

1:25:44

6:32

1:23:35

110

70.8 %

SINGER

JEB

M28

673

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

105

103

18

1:27:04

6:38

1:27:04

189

68.0 %

MAZZUCHIN

DANIEL

M33

473

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

158

152

36

1:29:08

6:48

1:28:59

263

66.5 %

BAUMGARTNER

EDMUND

M43

1042

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

606

552

82

1:39:51

7:37

1:33:35

443

63.2 %

BRACAMONTE

JESUS

M23

79

PPTC

JACKSON HEIGHTS

NY

735

655

43

1:41:45

7:46

1:41:45

961

58.1 %

JANGER

TED

M47

3877

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

955

837

61

1:44:29

7:58

1:34:46

498

62.4 %

SKLAREN

TYRONE

M62

2661

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1143

977

7

1:46:37

8:08

1:24:38

127

69.9 %

BLADES

FREIDA

F50

5072

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3109

992

13

2:06:09

9:37

1:48:20

298

60.7 %

MENDOZA

BRIAN

M37

5486

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3328

2215

471

2:08:37

9:49

2:06:18

2354

46.8 %

RING

MICHAEL I

M46

4588

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3382

2240

208

2:09:16

9:52

1:58:13

2020

50.0 %

CANALE

ELIZABETH

F59

5124

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3452

1180

11

2:09:54

9:54

1:38:48

92

66.6 %

TREADWAY

ROBERT

M41

5713

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3746

2396

337

2:13:16

10:10

2:06:55

2375

46.6 %

WILLIAMS

ERIC

M50

3761

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3907

2451

139

2:15:50

10:22

2:00:07

2122

49.2 %

UNDERWOOD

ROBERT

M37

4724

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4512

2678

535

2:27:48

11:16

2:25:08

2731

40.8 %

NILES

IRVA

F41

7850

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4707

1969

151

2:34:57

11:49

2:27:24

1909

44.6 %

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH? by Christine Boutross

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?

Christine Boutross

The question pops up every day! Whether it's for you or your loved ones, we just have to figure this one out, don't we? Those mornings when we are trying to get out the door on time and finding our papers and books and planners and matching shoes and socks, food sometimes gets left to the last minute! A key to creating new habits is to set yourself up for success. Here are some tips to help you on your way.

Plan. . .Plan. . . Plan
Your food and nutrition are too important to let them be an afterthought. Take some time on a day off and think about all of your meals for the week and make yourself a menu.
Then, do your grocery shopping so you know you have everything you need for the week. Every evening, prepare as much of tomorrow’s lunch as you can in advance, so that in the morning you have as little work as possible.

Invest in a thermos. A thermos is the right hand to a good lunch packer. Boil some water in the morning and pour it into the thermos to pre-heat it for around 10 minutes. While that is warming up, pick out some leftovers from dinner earlier in the week that will fit in your thermos, and warm them up. Then dump out the water out of your thermos and put in last night’s soup or stew, and ta-dah! - hot lunch!

On a hot day, pack your thermos with ice for 10 minutes and then fill it with yogurt and fresh fruit, and there you have it, summer paradise!

Make things like big salads in advance, and keep them fresh in a salad spinner in your fridge. You’re going to be much more likely to eat salad with lunch if it’s already made and sitting there smiling and waving at you in the morning while you figure out your lunch!

Keeping a supply of cooked whole grains, beans, and greens can make for quick and easy assembly of a lunch. Splash on a little olive oil and vinegar, or liquid amino acids such as Bragg's and you have a simple, fast, protein packed lunch. You can get a stackable bento box and make a pretty assembly of food that will have everyone at the office wishing you would pack their lunch for them in the morning, too.

Meet The Members: Michael Ring By: Amy Duquette

Meet The Members: Michael Ring
By: Amy Duquette

For a person who joined his high school track team as a way to get out of attending gym class, but later went on to run 15 consecutive NYC marathons, Michael Ring definitely was not a born-runner. However, he grew to love the sport. Brooklyn born and raised, Michael is now dedicated to running and to the Prospect Park Track Club as a board and committee member. His 15 marathons provide him automatic entry into the race every year, and “I plan on running it every year” he says. However, Michael had a rough start with marathoning, failing his first attempt as a teen, which led to a complete hiatus from running for ten years.

Michael considered himself a “…spaz in high school. I was not an athlete at all…no one in my family runs. But, if you got on a varsity team you could skip gym and get a 95 in the class. Track was the only sport that did not require a try-out.” That narrowed it down; he joined the Sheepshead Bay High track team. He never scored a point for the team, but “there is no bench warming in track and no matter when you finished the entire team is waiting and cheering for you, just like at the NYRR’s Team Championship race.” Somewhere in his sophomore or junior year his coach encouraged him to try a 5K race outside of high school competition. He finished this race in the middle of the pack rather than at the tail end where he came in among the very competitive high school competition. This new placement felt very satisfying.

High from his success and maybe biting off more than he could chew, at age 17 Michael attempted his first NYC marathon in 1979 “…without having heard of hydration or pacing. In Bed-Sty I got thirsty and drank water. Lots of water. Then I threw it all up in Queens.” While being taken care of by the medics, he passed out and remained laying on the cement for some time. This ‘DNF’ kept him away from running for the next decade. Currently, runners have to be over 18 to run the NYC marathon. “I like to think it was because of me” Michael jokes.
He went on to college and then graduate school at Stony Brook for his Master’s Degree in social work. While driving back home to NYC from school one November he got stuck in the marathon traffic. “I exploded with rage..hitting things and crying. It was a massive sense of incompletion and I decided that I needed to finish it.” He gave himself time to train, properly this time, for his next marathon. In 1993 he decided to “..run as long as I was conscious” and finished the task in 4:11. He has run every year since, as well as a few marathons outside of NYC. In 2000 he ran one on Randall’s Island consisting of 26 one mile loops. Only 9 competitors entered this race. Michael finished under 4 hours, a goal he had set for himself, finishing in 3:58. “I was not looking at the scenery, but just focusing on the race.” When asked how he got through 26 of the same loop, Michael attributed it to listening in on his wife’s birthing classes, which taught distinguishing between pain that is permanent versus pain that is not as a helpful factor. His twins Sabrina and Nicholas, were born that same year.

With the arrival of twins came a lack of sleep. He began to believe, “sleep is irrelevant. When I heard that alarm clock I’d say ‘just shake it off and run’.” As a new father he let go of his training goals and ran as often and as much as possible, but never two days in a row. “I never got injured training like this.”

He sees reasons for staying active through running on a broad scale. His twins are now 9 years old and his intensions are to keep up with the children, whom he stays out of work to care for. They run together now and he’d like to continue this as they get older. His son came to him at age 6 asking to run and his daughter has already stated that she wants to run the marathon with him one day. “I have a lot to lose by not being a fit parent.”

Michael continues to be “marathon ready with about two weeks notice.” He sees the marathon as a bit scary, “it’s like rolling the dice. You don’t really know what will happen. And other people are counting on me and planning their day around me. It’s the only time I feel pressure.” However, he likes the marathon distance and appreciates that “it’s the only race where everyone gets an award for perseverance.” Michael persevered in an ultra-marathon in 1998 completing 31 miles, 19 loops of Prospect Park lake. “The faster guys hung out afterward waiting for us all to finish.” Being able to interact with the elites of the sport is something that Michael finds unique to running.

This social aspect of running is one of Michael’s favorite parts. It’s his feeling that the sport is getting better as it welcomes more interaction and less “sizing up the competition” at the start lines. “If I were single and 25 again I think this would be a great place to find a date. Look, we’re all in our underwear, well, close, so we get that part out of the way. And we know we both like something of deep value; running.”

Being a part of a local track club encourages the social aspect of the sport as well. He will not forgot the call from then PPTC president Bobby Fischer, whom he did not even know at the time, after his first race back in 1993. “I did a 10 mile race in Central Park and he called me just to ask how it was. My family did not even call me!”

Michael currently cares for his children full time after having worked as a Dean of Students for over 18 years, but he does not see that as a job he’d go back to. He’d like to be a NYC tour guide, perhaps even a running tour guide, and actually has his license to do so. Running fills up much of the extra time he’s gained. His future running goals include breaking a four hour marathon again after the age of 60. This time would qualify him for Boston. “I don’t know if I’d run it. That’s irrelevant, I might, but I just want to qualify.”

Along with his odd beginnings as a runner and his long time love affair with the sport, Michael’s family thinks he’s “crazy because I choose not to work. I think if there is a scale of normalcy, I’m right outside that edge. I do say whatever I’m thinking…Hey, I’m a New Yorka.”

PPTC NYC Marathon Activities

As a group we will be running the last 10 miles of the course. We will meet at under the 59th Street Bridge and be ready to run by 8 a.m. As usual this run will be supported by a rolling aid station (captained by our own Diana Ortiz!). There will be Gatorade, cold water and energy food waiting for us before we enter the Willis Ave Bridge (1st Ave and 125th St) and as we enter Central Park (at Engineers Gate). At the “finish line” (the Tavern on the Green parking lot) there will be more goodies waiting for us. This event is free and open to the public. We just ask that you let us know if you are goanna join us. We do need a second car to make this work for all our runners. Can we count on you?
The importance of this run cannot be stressed enough. Seven days later you will be running this same route after covering 16 miles. You will have the memory of how easy and fun it was with fresh feet and how close the finish line is. This is also a great run for someone who is not running the NYC Marathon: It is a way to “have a taste” of the Marathon.
On the Thursday before the Marathon, the Shamrock Athletic Club usually has a great marathon pasta party at Buckley’s Restaurant, located on Nostrand Ave. and Avenue S, at 7pm and invites PPTC members to join them. As of this writing, arrangements have not been finalized but mark your calendars! Oh, did I mention that this affair is free of charge (except for a gratuity for the wait staff), thanks to the generous hosts — the Buckley Family. We will keep you posted – on the Runner’s Forum and email blast.
We are also renting our own buses to the start. They will be leaving from Prospect Park West and 9th Street and will take you to Fort Wadsworth. The cost is $10 for members $15 for “friends.” All seats are prepaid and go quickly. Members can reserve seats immediately; non-member reservations will be taken starting October 1st. There are no walk-ons – reservations are required.
If you are taking the PPTC bus, you will need to be at 9th Street and Prospect Park West by 6:15 a.m. to be checked in.

PPTC Supports 2 Reach the Beach Teams

On September 18th and 19th, 14 PPTC members are spending a long weekend running the length of the state of New Hampshire. They are participants on two relay teams - one all women, the other coed - who are competing in the 11th annual Reach the Beach relay. The race starts on Friday in northern New Hampshire at Cannon Mountain, passes by (but fortunately does not climb) Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast, circles around Lake Winnipesaukee, one of the largest lakes in New England, and finally ends 210 miles and anywhere from 24 to 30 hours later at Hampton Beach, midway along New Hampshire's 18-mile (shortest in the U.S.) seacoast. About 400 teams with up to 12 runners each have entered the race.

During the relay, each runner will complete 3 separate legs that range from 3 to 9 miles in distance. Overall each person will cover a total of 14 to 22 miles during their runs. The terrain along the way varies significantly - often rolling hills and not a lot of flat until the last few miles. Everyone will have to endure at least one nighttime run, the luckiest having to complete their legs at 2, 3, 4 o'clock in the morning! They will get to spend lots of quality time with their teammates as they travel by van between the relay points.

The team captains, Corre Kombol and Staci Pearson, requested that PPTC help to defray some of the teams' travel costs, which includes van rental, gasoline and tolls, and food supplies. The PPTC Board has agreed to provide funding for their efforts. After the race is over, the club will reimburse $30 to each eligible PPTC member. To be eligible for the reimbursement, runners must be members since September 2008 or have represented the club in 3 races in 2009.

We wish them well in their efforts, and the teams have promised to provide a complete race report that will appear in a future newsletter.

THE INSIDE LOOP

THE INSIDE LOOP


TOM BYRNES and Friends

Coach Tony and Charlene pass along their congrats to all the PPTC members who ran and/or helped support the NYRRC Club Championship race Saturday August 8 in Central. Everyone ran their best and did the Club proud. The cheering section, refreshments and good companionship couldn't have been better! Tom Meany echoed similar sentiments the following morning, mentioning that even the kids that were supervised as their parents ran the 5 mile race seemed to enjoy the times.

What cell phones can do! Bobby Fisher checking in from Nova Scotia from the umteenth mile of his Nova Scotia bike tour Saturday August 8th.

Hey, did you know? Did you realize? We’re old and getting older! PPTC’s will be 40 !!! A new age group category! Imagine, the 40th anniversary of PPTC, 1970-2010. The anniversary committee already as been formed and the word at this point is that there’s always room for one more. Got PPTC memorabilia, artifacts, stories in your head, memories in your heart, pictures both of individuals and/or TEAM PPTC, when did you come on board, how long have you been running with PPTC, got any old Nike Waffle Trainers that were once ‘’the’‘ shoes to wear, old bibs from races ‘back in the day’...more to come about this at PPTC monthly meetings and in this newsletter.

Drug testing with USADA at the NYC Half, Wayne Bailey,Tom Byrnes, Natacha Ferrari and PPTC friends Randi Lass, Ric Pascarela, and Mike Potter.Up close and personal talking running, racing, and training with some of the country’s top athletes. Nice way to spend a Sunday morning in August. Interested in hooking up and volunteering with this, give Tom Byrnes a holler.

PPTC friend and former member Al Puma’s death in August brings PPTC sympathies and condolences to his family and friends.

On behalf of many PPTCers and friends, Jason Horowitz sums up the close of this summer’s Summer Speed Series 5K’s by thanking Michael Ring, the race director, the PPTC Board, many PPTC vols, as well as Al Goldstein himself,for continuing to make the summer speed series one of the most enjoyable experiences in competitive running
"The beautiful summer evenings, no hassle - showing up 15 minutes before the race,the comraderie among the runners after the race, supportive volunteers, 'This is what running should always be
about.' " Jason and the rest of us I'm sure are all looking forward to the continuation of this great PPTC tradition come next spring/
summer!

Helen Dole certainly had a lot to talk with her students about when they asked her to write that post vacation 500 words or less composition "‘What I Did on My Summer Vacation" on her first day back at work in her classroom . For the rest of us, it was more a matter of ''will she or wont she ?" Come back to the hood ,that is. A summer in Colorado is tough, hey, someone has to do it. Glad it could be PPTC's Helen Dole.

Hey all you speedoes and speedettes, do you swim? can you swim? Great cross training for runner’s tired and achey bodies and bones. Can you imagine swimming a 6.2 mile race ? Labor Day weekend Sunday September 6th Robert Matson spearheaded a group to hook up with USADA drug testng swimmers at an international 10k swimming competition out and back along the shore of Governor’s Island in lower NYC Harbor. Can't wait until Robert gets talks to talk about this one.

Thanks to Richard Weaver for passing along the news that former PPTC board member Susan Tomasi had surgery to her achilles tendon and had been in a cast for ten weeks just prior to having it removed at the end of August. She had to go to physical therapy and late August found her still unable to put any weight on her foot. We don't have any details of how the injury occurred but the
doctor thinks this merits Susan a better handicap at Harry’s Handicap on New Years day 2010 running. Heal well Susan.

Very early August 23rd, PPTCers Anne Perzeszty, Arthur Gonzalez and Doug Olney headed over to Flushing Meadows Park to compete in the first-ever NYRR Sprint Triathlon. It was worth the trip because all three placed in their age groups! Anne was 1st, Arthur finished 2nd, and Doug came in 3rd. Anne received an additional special recognition for being the oldest competitor. Next stop, Hawaii...........

Where did the summer heat go? Harry Murphy would always remind us that if you paid your dues running and training in July and August, come the cool autumn, you'd find yourself ready to rock and roll at those fall races.

See you out there PPTC!

Fitness Mind,Body,Spirit Games

Fitness Mind,Body,Spirit Games
List by Team: PPTC

Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: Sept.12 2009, 9:00/10:00
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 65 deg., 93% humidity, overcast.

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

600

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

135

114

23

23:57

5:59

23:08

156

72.8 %

GONZALEZ

ARTHUR J

M62

2226

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1547

1084

20

32:23

8:05

25:35

398

65.8 %

FERRARI

SANDRA

F35

3175

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1733

544

77

33:05

8:16

32:44

661

58.7 %

HOLDEN

TODD

M40

1266

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

1924

1277

159

33:46

8:26

31:54

1274

52.7 %

PENDARVIS

MARK

M51

4466

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2075

1350

81

34:20

8:35

29:47

964

56.5 %

WILLIAMS

ERIC

M50

2639

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2228

1417

89

34:54

8:43

30:31

1072

55.1 %

KILLEEN

MARY ANNE P

F53

4807

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2645

1070

35

36:32

9:08

30:45

377

62.5 %

DE LEON

YVETTE

F41

5135

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

2860

1222

93

37:21

9:20

35:48

1134

53.7 %

ANTOINE

VERONICA

F53

5018

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3144

1420

52

38:39

9:39

32:32

635

59.0 %

MENDOZA

BRIAN

M37

4414

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3205

1739

317

38:58

9:44

37:38

1790

44.7 %

SOSKIND

PAUL

M65

5558

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3373

1778

20

39:56

9:59

30:42

1103

54.8 %

ISRAEL

JAMES F

M64

6832

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3594

1825

43

41:22

10:20

32:06

1303

52.4 %

TINOCO

MAJO

F33

6775

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

3672

1834

436

41:54

10:28

41:42

1945

46.1 %

IREGBULEM

CHI

F36

7785

PPTC

BROOKLYN

NY

4085

2168

327

46:42

11:40

46:02

2229

41.7 %