The spring season is in full swing and hopefully you have been able to enjoy the warmer weather and longer days. With vaccinations more widely available and Covid cases starting to ease, smaller races are being held successfully. We are anticipating some modifications and/or restrictions through 2021, particularly for the traditionally “big” races, but there should be opportunities for those who are flexible.
The club is planning running and social activities with the focus on outdoor gatherings, which affords the opportunity to host larger groups in a safe manner. 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.
Run for the Buds | I Love Mom 5K
PCVRC members representing at the “Run for the Buds” run on March 21 (top) and the “I Love Mom 5K” race this past weekend (lower).
Membership Benefits
Only $25 per year 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 $30, eligible to participate as a member of our team in USATF events and more!
Discount$ 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:
William Lee Kauffman
Lee Kauffman., Jr, 63, died unexpectedly on April 25, 2021. Lee is in the PCVRC Hall of Fame, ran 34 consecutive Boston Marathons and coached runners for several years at Padua Academy. Lee will be greatly missed by family and a wealth of friends and colleagues in the running community. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, or to a charity of your choice. Link to obituary.
Lee (Top panel, bottom right; Bottom panel, upper right) was a long-time member of PCVRC and organized the annual bus trip to the Boston Marathon.
Annual Meeting Highlights
This year’s annual meeting was held virtually on March 25. Club president, Wes Stafford provided an update on the state of the club, happenings from 2020 and early 2021 as well as upcoming activities for 2021. Officer positions for the coming year were also selected as follows: President (Wes Stafford), Vice President (Adam Shilling), Secretary (Alison McCann) and Treasurer (Andrea Riley).
Social Activities
Spring social at Dew Point Brewery – RESCHEDULED to May 21. Join your fellow club members for a great Friday evening enjoying food, drink, music and friends at Dew Point Brewery starting at 6pm.
Walk 4 Paws 5K run & walk on May 23 – Hit the pavement for a 5K at Glasgow Park or West Goshen Park in West Chester to benefit the many animals coming through the doors daily seeking hope and love. They adopted out over 16000 animals last year, and with support at this event, are sure to surpass that number in 2021. PCVRC members are being offered a discount on registration until May 21 using the promo code: PCRunWFP21. Link to register
Summer picnic scheduled for August 15 at Bellevue State Park – The Club has reserved a pavilion at Bellevue State Park for Sunday August 15 and will provide food and drink for this fun and social event. More details to follow later in the spring.
Check the website for updates on these and other popup 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, will be at McKean High School for the next couple weeks and then move to St. Marks High School.
For Your Information
For those interested in what “qualifying” for the Boston Marathon and actually being eligible to run it and why it was particularly difficult for the 2022 race, check out the articles HERE and HERE. For anyone running locally (or being outside for that matter) the next several weeks, get ready for Brood X HERE.
C25K Program in full swing for the spring
Lee and Michelle Dresser have been hosting the spring Couch to 5K program at Paper Mill Park on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm as of April 14. Even if you missed the first couple of sessions, it’s not too late to start! The approximately 8-10-week program is free and culminates with a goal 5K race in June or July. Please bring a mask to wear before and after running and walking and stay 6 feet away from anyone not in your immediate family at all times. Please check the website for more details HERE.
USATF Race Series for 2021 is Underway
The Road and Off-Road club competitions are back with most events being conducted due to their smaller field size, while larger races hopefully rescheduled to the fall.
The team participated in the hilly and muddy Looney Leprechaun 10k at Tyler State park on March 13, placing second among USATF teams! Special congratulations go out to Will Steele, Amy Dischler, Greg Cauller, Andrea Rubinoff and Betty Olmstead for placing in their respective age groups. The next race in the off-road series is the Coventry Woods 10k on May 16. Some of our USATF racers enjoyed a well-deserved post-race refuel (below). Additional race information can be found HERE.
The road series will be kicking off with races on back-to-back weekends starting with the Memorial Main Street Mile in Yardley, PA on May 31. More information is available HERE. This is a new race in the series and a chance to see how fast you can go! The following weekend is the Moorestown 8k in Moorestown, NJ. More information is HERE.
Please note that due to Covid restrictions there is no race day registration for races. Races may limit the field size based on local restrictions.
Grand Prix Road schedule – http://mausatf.com/grandprix-events/
Off Road schedule – https://mausatf.com/off-road-events/
Delaware Distance Classic is Back for 2021!
The DDC is tentatively scheduled for October 17, 2021 so mark your calendars! Course will likely be at the Riverfront again. Please check the website for more information and race updates at https://ddc15k.org/
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
Spring is quickly approaching and the days are finally getting longer and warmer. For those who braved the snow and ice or looking forward to exercising outdoors again, the clear roads and bright sun are a welcome sight. Also, with vaccinations on the horizon, there is hope for more races and social activities as the year progresses. 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.
Besides the physical benefits, running and walking continues to provide relief to some of the mental and emotional stress that these turbulent times can evoke. We are 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.
Unfortunately, our social calendar has been a wasteland of missed events, but PCVRC is assessing the feasibility of an outdoor social event in late summer/early fall for our club members to interact and have fun. 
Currently there are no definitive plans for the remainder of the 2020 season.