We have made it through the oppressive heat and humidity. The club has been busy hosting social events and members have been all over competing in races across the region and in some cases, the country! We welcome you to take advantage of the all the club benefits and activities and hope to see you soon. Check out our website and Facebook page to see what’s happening. PCVRC is a social club and very supportive of all our member’s running goals. Most importantly, we have a great time running and welcome runners and walkers of all backgrounds regardless of race, nationality, religion, sexual preference and of all levels of ability from beginner joggers to the highly competitive road racer to marathoners.
Membership benefits
Only $25 per year ($15 for the remainder of 2021) for the entire family includes free T-shirt for new members, race discounts, discounted Delaware State Park Pass, weekly group runs, track workouts with Coach Fischer, fun runs, Club social events including Holiday Party, Spring Social, Delaware Distance Classic (our signature event), 20% discount at New Balance Stores in Brandywine and Christiana, 10% discount at Delaware Running Company, 20% discount at Tifosi Optics on all orders over $30, eligible to participate as a member of our team in USATF events and more!
Did you get your green PCVRC cotton shirt?
If you joined or renewed for 2021 and did not yet get your shirt, click HERE to pick up at Ray’s house or at an upcoming group run or social.
Discount$ for Club Members!
Noxgear – 35% off with code PCVRC: www.noxgear.com
Tifosi – 20% off $30 or more with code PIKECREEKVALLEY: www.tifosi.com
Picky Bars – www.pickybars.com PCVRC-TRIDAWGS-2021 30% one purchase or first month of Picky Club
Road ID – roadID.com 20% off through June with code JX0QT0JVKXRD:
Spotlight on the PCVRC Racing Team – We invite you to join the fun and competition!
What is USATF (usatf.org)? USATF stands for USA Track & Field. It is the governing body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking in the United States, USATF provides critical leadership roles and functions in the sport including hosting Olympic Trial events, national track and field championships, multiple national road race championships, multiple Master’s road race championships, mountain/ultra/trail championships, and grassroots events at the Junior Olympic level. In addition to providing championship running events, USATF also establishes the rules for the sport, sanctions events, and certifies courses for record purposes.
On the local level, PCVRC is a part of the Mid-Atlantic USATF (mausatf.com). Each year our club participates in a road race series and a trail race series, competing against several other local running clubs. Each of these races is scored using an age-graded score to try to rank performances accounting for age and gender. A complete scoring team has five members, one of whom must be a female. By participating in these series, our club can win some money for the club. In addition to the club competition, there is also an individual portion of each series. Awards are given at the end of each season to the overall top 10 in the road series, and top 3 in age groups in both the road and trail series. A full listing of events, and current team and individual standings, can be found at: https://www.mausatf.com/long-distance/grand-prix/ for the road series
https://www.mausatf.com/long-distance/off-road-running-series/ for the trail series.
Our racing teams needs you! Any club member that joins USATF can participate and represent the club. The cost to join USATF is $40, which members enjoy discounted entry to series races, plus, members of the club who are members of USATF and compete in 4 races, of either series, receive a complimentary club membership for the following year! These races are also another venue for socialization as club members often meet up for lunch or tailgating afterwards. In fact, some club members who belong to USATF have even combined going to a National Championship event into vacations! Please contact Lynn Knothe () or Tom Steenkamer for more information.
The next event in the road Grand Prix is the Main Line Run in Wayne, PA on 9/12/21. More information can be found at https://main1inerun.org/. The remaining events for the road series are the Philadelphia Distance Run on 9/19/21, the Broad Street 10 mile Run on October 10, the Delaware Distance Classic 15K on 10/24/21, the Cooper Norcross Ben Franklin Bridge run on 11/7/21, and any event during the Philadelphia Marathon weekend. The remaining events in the trail series are the Camp Innabah 5 mile run on 10/2/21, the Evansburg 10 mile run on 10/17/21, Tyler Arboretum 10k on 10/30/21, and the Delaware Open Cross Country Championship on 11/27/21.
PCVRC Racing Team Update
There are only a few USATF results to report for this edition of the newsletter since the road series takes a break for the summer. New member, Bill Rose, participated in the difficult Double Trouble 15K at French Creek State Park on August 15 and placed as the second USATF male in the 60+ category.
On August 16, Matthew Cutrona, Greg Cauller, Abby Dean, and Lynn Knothe all participated in the USATF Mountain Running Championship at the Mount Hood Ski Bowl. All of our members brought home national medals! Special congratulations are extended to Abby Dean for placing as the second master overall! Abby Dean, Allison Emmons, Lynn Knothe, Matthew Cutrona, Greg Cauller, Robert Mason, Bill Rose, and Dave Wiechecki ran at the Belmont Plateau Hall of Fame cross country 5k on 8/28/21. The women’s team placed second, the men’s team placed third. Extra special congratulations to Allison Emmons for winning the master’s division (and placing as second woman overall!).
Team members at Mount Hood Ski Bowl. || Abby Dean with her well-deserved “big check”
Delaware Distance Classic is October 24, 2021 – Register to race or volunteer
The DDC is now locked in as scheduled for October 24, 2021 so mark your calendars! Course will be at the Wilmington Riverfront again and will include both 15K and 5K distances. This is the club’s seminal event and we encourage all members to register to run or sign up to volunteer (help at a water stop, direct runners on the course or assist at the start/finish line). Please check the website for race updates, register to run or volunteer at https://ddc15k.org/
Social Activities
Summer Social at Grain H2O on Friday July 9
Excellent turnout for the summer social at Grain H2O. Club members enjoyed food and drink at this great location near the C&D Canal.
Summer picnic on August 15 at Bellevue State Park
Approximately 25 club members enjoyed a leisurely afternoon under the pavilion at Bellevue State Park. Special thanks to our events coordinator, Dirk Sweigart for arranging the food and drink for this fun and relaxing afternoon. Ther was also a variety of sides and desserts brought by members to round out the bounty.
Boston Sendoff scheduled October 6
PCVRC is hosting its annual Boston sendoff on Wednesday October 6 from 6:00-9:00pm. All are welcome whether you are running or not to socialize and wish our Boston qualifiers good luck in this iconic race. Appetizers will be provided along with a cash bar. Location to be determined in the near future so please check out the website for updates.
Check the website for updates on these and other upcoming events: PCVRC Events Calendar
Group Runs continue every Sunday & Thursday and track workouts every Tuesday
Socially distanced runs continue at their usual places and times and a great way to interact with your fellow runners while working out. Click here for details
Sundays 8:00am – meet in the parking lot behind the former Panera Bread on Main St., Newark (free parking); run in White Creek Park and back anywhere from 1-14 miles or more round trip. There are always folks hanging around afterwards to catch up over takeout coffee and breakfast.
Thursdays 6:00 pm – meet at start/finish of Delcastle Rec Area; Run 1 or more laps of the 1.75 mile loop
Tuesday evenings at 6:00 pm – track workouts with a Delaware Hall of Fame running coach, Jim Fischer, are at St. Marks High School.
Your PCVRC Board needs you!
Please consider joining the board to help our club become more beneficial and enjoyable to current and prospective members with group runs, socials and other activities. Board meetings are typically every other month. You’ll have plenty of support and get to help shape the club. For more details, click HERE.
Contact Us!
President: Wes Stafford
Vice President: Adam Shilling
Secretary: Alison McCann
Treasurer: Andrea Riley
Membership coordinator: Christina Xia
Events coordinator: Dirk Sweigart
USATF Team coordinator: Lynn Knothe
Sponsorship coordinator: Open
Webmaster: Ray Christensen
C25K coordinator: Lee Dresser
DDC Race Director: Alison McCann
Social Media: Alison McCann
Communications/marketing: Open