The following club members were recognized for their achievements over the past year.
MEMBER OF THE YEAR DEAN COFFIN
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD JOSH LOREN
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMNET AWARD CAROLE FEOLE
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMNET AWARD ANDY JAKUBOWITCH
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMNET AWARD KELLY HOROWITZ
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR RICH SZYMANSKI
2009 MEMBER OF THE YEAR
DEAN COFFIN
Dean has been chosen as member of the year for 2009. Dean has been a huge asset to the club in recent years and 2009 was the most involved yet. He joined the board in 2008 and is currently still on board as the secretary.
Some of Dean’s duties that he took on 2009 included:
He served as secretary on board of PCVRC. He was part of the staffing of a water station at Delcastle as part of a club initiative. He was the USATF coordinator for the Grand Prix series, (shared with Rich Symanski) helping to insure that PCVRC fielded a full team for each event. He organized some group runs over the summer at Brandywine Creek State Park and P.M.A. as well as a group run along Boat House Row in Philadelphia. We gained membership because of these group runs.
Some of Dean’s running highlights included his 1st marathon, completing the Conestoga Trail Run, 1 st year of running in access of 1000 miles, a PR of 1:31.13 in the Philadelphia Half, as well as PR’s in 10K (42:16) and 15K at the DDC in 63:33.
Dean is a well deserving winner of this award and we hope he continues to serve the board as he is a huge part of the success of the PCVRC!
2009 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
JOSH LOREN
What you definitely know about Josh is that he is a committed and talented runner. What you may not know about Josh is that at first he preferred wheels over his legs to get around. Born in Redondo Beach, California, he spent the beginning of his youth motocross racing with his Dad in the Baja sands. It wasn’t until he moved to Erie, PA when after some convincing by a friend, he ran his first 5K at age 12. And when he finished 24 minutes later, a new interest was sparked. Soon after that, Josh joined his schools cross country team and realized his full potential throughout the area meets, where many of his racing records still stand unbroken. After declining admittance invitations to several collages for his athleticism, he decided to run with the Track & Field team for Penn State while studying Landscape Architecture. The immediate increase in training mileage and intensity caused Josh to gain 3 stress fractures in both femurs, a pair of crutches, and sympathy from campus girls. Finishing out college, his running career was less successful than he expected but nevertheless, very fulfilling.
Fulfilling? Here is a list of his 2009 achievements:
Ugly Mudder 2nd place Boston Marathon in 2:49 Tyler Arboretum 3rd place Wissahikon 10K 4th place Double Trouble 15K 4th Radnor Steeplechase 5K 1st Place Rhode Island Half Marathon 4:40 finishing with a 1:24 half marathon Preque Isle Duathlon (Erie, PA) 2 nd place Delaware Diamondman Half Marathon 7th Place Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon 1st place
These days, Josh stays committed to running but now incorporates it into more multi-sport races such as duathlons and triathlons. With these races, he can get back to his old biking roots while feeding his running monster. But overall, he enjoys the challenge of endurance races, which now includes half- ironman distances, and next year he hopes to compete in his first Ironmen. Looking forward to more successes in 2010 Josh plans on the Catalina Marathon, trying to win after championships, and the White Lake Half Marathon.
From wheels to heels…From an “OK” 5K to a “Sure I can” Ironman…I present to you our fellow runner, friend and recipient of an outstanding achievement award, Josh Loren.
2009 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMNET AWARD
CAROLE FEOLE
What would be a more fitting way of introducing Carole’s award that talking about me own running? Bear with me. There’s a point to this story. In 1994, after two years of being a fitness jogger, I caught the racing bug. Shortly after turning 50, I entered a race, won second place, and was soon running a race every weekend. These wre the heady days when I would run a PR almost ever time I raced
So it was that three days after having set a PR time in the MS 5K on Thanksgiving, I was exciting about the flat course for the Chili’s 5K off of Route 7. After the race started and I settle into my pace, I found myself running several paces back from a young woman. At some point near the halfway turn-arond, I caught and passed her. But by two miles she came back to pass me. I thought I might have enough of a push at the end to pass her again, but she had more of a kick and beat me. I set a new PR that day from 35 seconds running a 21:33, but the young woman had run a 21:29
By now you have guessed that the young woman was Carole Feole. But here is the point. Almost 15 years later, while my best 5K efforts are almost three and a half minutes slower, Carole ran a 5K only nine seconds off what she did that day in November of 1994. I can only assume that it is her intense desire to excel and perform at her best that has kept her running so well. I understand from others that although the highlights list below are impressive to me, Carole was disappoined in some of them.
Here are her highlights from 2009: She was an important participant in several Road events and one Off-Road event for the club in the MA-USATF series.
Age group 1st, Delaware Half-Marathon, 1:45:02
AG 1st, Old New Castle Five Miler, 35:53
AG 2nd, Uglu Mudder race, 1:13:27
AG 2nd, Radnor Run 5 Miler, 38:00
AG 1st, Ocean Drive 10 Miler, 1:16:49
AG 1st, Ocean City, NJ Police Chase 5K, 21:38 AG 4th out of 126, Philadelphia Marathon, 3:49:27, Boston Qualifier
Carole congratulations on receiving an Outstanding Achievemnet Award
2009 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMNET AWARD
ANDY JAKUBOWITCH
Andrew Jakubowitch, 31, of Newark Delaware is a Certified Project Manager for URS Corporation. A graduate of Penn State and the University of Delaware with degrees in environmental engineering and civil engineering. Andy began running at age 6 and has never stopped since. Holding a marathon PR of 2:43.51 at the 2008 Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon, Andy considers his proudest (running) achievement to be qualifying for the Duathlon Long Course World Championships in 2007.
Andy’s 2009 Highlights include a repeat performance at the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon – 1st Place Overall – 2:45:15; first place overall in the Riverwinds Duathlon; completion of the Eagleman Half Ironman – 1.2 swim; 56 bike, 13.1 run in 4:34:08; and the New Jersey Devilman – 0.9 swim; 40.3 bike; 8.8 run in 3:12:08; and being the first Delaware finisher in the 2009 Boston Marathon – 316th Overall in 2:46:18.
We are proud to call Andy a member in good standing of the Pike Creek Valley Running Club, congratulations Andy on receiving an Outstanding Achievement Award
2009 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMNET AWARD
KELLY HOROWITZ
Kelly Horowitz, 35, is a graduate of the University of Delaware and currently a third-grade teacher at Linden Hill Elementary Achool in Pike Creek. She now resides in Landenberg, PA with her husband Jack Horowitz. M.D. This is the third time Kelly has been a recipient of the Outstanding Running Achievemnet Award, a testament to her talent, durability and consistency as a runner. She can frequently be seen at the Delcastle Recreation Center logging in her miles and willing to run with anyone who happens to be training while also enjoying the social aspects of the sport.
She continued to impress the running community with her performances in 2009. Kelly’s first race was the Icicle Ten Miler in January, running 1:09. Then it was the Snowball 5 Miler in March where she ran a 33:45, being the overall female winner. She ran the Ceasar Rodnet Half-Marathon a week later in 1:33:39 and placed second in her age group. This was merely a tune up for her next attempt at the 13.1 mile distance. On April 18, Kelly was the overall female winner in the Ocean City Half Marathon in 1 hour, 30 minutes. In May, Kelly participated in the Delaware Marathon Relay and was scheduled to run one leg but a team member called her that morning with an illness and was unable to run so she ran an extra leg of the race. She ran the extra leg for a plastic surgeon so you’ll have to check with her on what he promised in return for her efforts. She ran the Greene Turtle 5K in 20:04, again being the overall female winner. She was also the first overall female in the Blue Rocks 5K in August, clocking a 19:56.
In September, Kelly ran one of her favorite races, th Bottle & Cork Ten Miler, placing second in her age group in 1 hour, 7 minutes. Kelly and Jack return to Woodbridge, CT (Jack’s hometown) every year to run the annual 5K there and Kelly was overall female in 19:50. That race has become an important tradition for tham as they ran that race on thier Wedding Day on October 20, 2007. In November, Kelly returned to the beach and was first overall female in the Rehoboth Beach Marathon, running a time of 3 hours, 3 minutes.
Kelly is also coaching a ten-week program of Girls on the Run at Lindin Hill. The girls are not only physiaclly training but Kelly also provides lessons that help them establish a positive self-image as well as other tips on living a healthy, active lifestyle. Kelly is also a member of the New Balance Delaware Racing Team and participates in group runs with other members. She proudly wears New Balance shoes and attire in various races.
Congratulations to Kelly Horowitz for this well-deserved Outstanding Running Achievement Award.
2009 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
RICH SZYMANSKI
Rich Szymanski has been running since 2003 completing a total of 14 marathons to date including 2 international marathons. While running continues to be a key constant in Rich’s life, his focus has shifted somewhat to the running of others! His running in 2009 was not up to his past performances because of some injuries. In 2009 he suffered from a shoulder separation and had wrist surgery. He jokes that besides those injuries, not because of them, he still can’t qualify for Boston.
Instead of looking at his watch for his time during his runs, Rich is busy looking for potential people he can recruit to run for PCVRC/USATF! Rich would show up at USTAF races, not necessarily to participate, but to scope out local talent. His tenacity and persistence have paid off for the club. Rich recruited many men and woman to help PCRVC become a strong competitor in the USTAF series, where participation, as well as talent, is key. For this effort, Rich Szymanski has been awarded Volunteer of the Year. Thanks Rich!