President’s Message
We had a spirited board meeting this past week, as we reviewed calendar year 2016 and set the stage for a productive 2017. The meeting began with an introduction of two guests from Victory Running, a local grass roots running company looking to get into apparel sales and event management. Speaking of apparel; we are planning to refresh the club’s supply of apparel and will be ordering new USATF racing singlets. Check out Victory Running at https://www.facebook.com/victoryrunningco.
We are going to overhaul the annual banquet this year and replace the sit down dinner with a more upscale casual event. We are currently looking at late February or early March for a date and are investigating several local venues. It is our hope for the club to pay for all or most of the expense. Look for an invitation and more information in our next news letter. What we need you to do now: is to renew your dues (if you haven’t done so already) and send us your recommendations for the following club awards: Runner of the Year; Member of the Year; Rookie of the Year; Volunteer of the Year; Outstanding Achievement; Hall of Fame; or Other. We will be having a special meeting in the next several weeks to discuss the recommendations, so let any board member know if you want to be part of the discussion.
We have set October 8 as the date for the 2017 Delaware Distance Classic and April 12 as the date for the Boston Sendoff. Our inaugural Valentines weekend pub crawl/fun run will be February 18. We will be sending an e-vite.
Stay healthy; stay warm; and stay happy this winter!
Joel
Membership
We currently stand at 177 family memberships with 224 members! Please welcome our newest club members: John Costello, William Human, and Jared Schierbaum.
Membership is only $25 and is good for your entire family. PCVRC membership is also tax deductible.
Any member who races for PCVRC in 4 or more USATF races a calendar year, and is a member of USATF, will receive complimentary PCVRC membership for the following calendar year. We will notify these members in January. New members who join on or after June 1st but before October 1st will pay a reduced rate of $15 to cover membership for the remainder of the current calendar year, then are subject to same renewal policy as current members stated above. Anyone who joins on or after October 1st would pay $25 that would cover them for remainder of current calendar year plus the entire following calendar year.
To renew your dues: www.pcvrc.com/join.php. or send a $25 check or money order (payable to PCVRC) to: PCVRC, PO Box 3259, Wilmington, DE 19804
Treasurer’s Report
Lenora reports that the club ended 2016 with total cash of $27,445, with $15,184 of this in the DDC account, as compared to year-end 2016, where we ended with $29,833 in cash, $19,327 of this in the DDC account. The club has made charitable donations on behalf of the families of John Drozd, Becky Yencharis, John Schultz and Doug White.
Delaware Distance Classic 15K & 5K
The 35th annual DDC 15K is pleased to have been named part of the 2017 Mid-Atlantic USATF road racing series. The race date has been set as Sunday, October 8 in Delaware City. We are looking for one or two more people to join the DDC race committee.
Couch 2 5K
Our Spring Couch to 5K program will begin Tuesday, March 28! This ten-week program will end Tues., May 30 and will culminate with the UD Alumni 5K on Sun., Jun 4. The workouts are on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm at the Newark Reservoir and individualized programs are available for beginning runners, joggers, run walkers, and walkers. Please share this announcement at your place of business and among your friends or ask if you could display a poster at work. To learn more, please ask to join our C210Kers Facebook group or email Amy Temple at
USATF Update
PCVRC had a great 2016 season in the Mid Atlantic USATF race series. While PCVRC didn’t finish 1st, as in the previous 2 years, we held our own and finished a close 3rd in the Grand Prix series, missing second place by only 7 points! Thank you for your participation and support in the past year. Below is the listing for the 2017 MA-USATF road racing season. You’ll notice the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon and Radnor 5 mile races are not included in this year’s competition but we have 2 new events and the first of those is approaching in February. The Ambler 5 miler is our first event and online registration is now open for this race.
The most important items to note are:
- Renew your PCVRC and USATF membership for 2017 (contact Tom if there are concerns)
- Participation is the key to our success. Even if you are building for another major event, I strongly encourage you to incorporate some of these races as part of your training.
- The Broad St. Run is once again part of the circuit. USATF members are guaranteed entry provided they have a current USATF membership at the time they enter the lottery. All entrants must apply through the lottery unless you happen to meet the elite standards. The lottery opens on February 1st.
Below is the schedule for the 2017 Grand Prix Series. The total number of races and the scoring remains the same as last year. Note that there are 6 Mid-Atlantic Championship events indicated by **.
Feb 18 – Frostbite 5 Miler , Ambler, PA (new addition)
March 18 – Haddonfield Adrenaline Run 5K, Haddonfield, NJ **
April 23 – Valley Forge Revolutionary Run 5 Mile
May 7 – Broad Street Run 10 Miles
June 3 – Scott Coffee Run 8K **
Sep 30 – Hands-on House 1/2 Marathon, Lancaster, PA ** (new addition)
Oct 8 – Delaware Distance Classic, 15K, Delaware City, DE **
Nov 5 – Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge, 10K, Camden, NJ **
Nov 18 – Philadelphia Half Marathon (7:30 a.m.)
Nov 18 – Rothman 8K (10:45 a.m.)
Nov 19 – Philadelphia Marathon **
Social Activities
Looking ahead, our first club event will be a pub crawl and fun run on Saturday, Feb 18. Then, we will have our annual awards banquet either in late Feb or early March (details to come), followed by the Boston Sendoff on Wednesday, April 12. We are finalizing the details for the Valentine’s pub crawl on 2/18 in Newark. We’re looking to finish at Timothy’s with food or snacks at the end. There will be an evite forthcoming. The Boston sendoff will again be at Catherine Rooney’s in Wilmington. As for the banquet, we are looking to do an upscale happy hour at Iron Hill on the Riverfront or Pizza by Elizabeth’s with the club covering most, if not all, of the costs. We’ll do awards and announce the 2017 club officers at the event. We also have 3 potential pub fun runs that need to be scheduled and the pool party fun run in the late Summer. More to come!
Race Results
Any recent PBs or finishes you’re proud of? Please share!
If you’d like your race results (or those of a fellow club member who you are proud of) included in the next eBulletin, please send them to Blythe at . We can only print what you send us, so please share your achievements!
Other News
Ray Christensen is working on updates to the PCVRC and DDC website and is asking for past DDC photos, or for that matter, other photos that could be used to refresh our website. Please send them to
On a related note, the grand opening of the trails along the C&D Canal was announced at a press conference in Delaware City on Fri., Jan 13, making the Mike Castle Trail (which we all know from the DDC race route) part of 14.3 miles of continuous trails. PCVRC was recognized at this event by DNREC Secretary David Small as one of the community stakeholders in the trail. US Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons were in attendance along with Gov. Markell and former Gov. and Congressman Mike Castle.
2016 PCVRC Board
Club Officers are:
Joel Schiller, President
Dirk Sweigart, VP
Jerry Herman, Secretary
Lenora Wagner, Treasurer
Other Voting Members are:
Tom Steenkamer – USA TF
Jim Steele – DDC Race Director
Christina Xia – Membership
Ray Christensen – Emeritus/At Large
Kim Riccio – Social Chair
Links for Club Members
PCVRC Events Calendar: www.pcvrc.com/pcvrc-events-calendar/
PCVRC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/289855916248/