Annual Pike Creek Summer BBQ
2012-07-21 Saturday, July 21 3pm

Location: White Clay Creek Park – Carpenter Pavilion

It’s that time of year again for summer fun and the annual pcvrc summer picnic. As always the club will provide the beer, hotdogs and hamburgers. All we ask of you is to bring your favorite side dish or dessert to share.

With the different location and larger space the club would like to invite you to bring your softball gloves, frisbees or kickball to participate in some friendly club competition.

We hope to see new members. Bring the family!
RSVP or if you have any questions about this event please contact me at
Contact: Rachel Bleacher – Events Coordinator

Double Trouble Trail 15K
On Sunday some of our club members participated in the next event of the Off-Road MA-USATF series. Official age-graded results aren’t available yet. Here are the times of members I found (thanks John Schultz for calling most of them into the NJ) and apologies if I missed anything. Officials results will be posted next week. See Lisa Jalot’s account of the event following the results.

1:05:51 Enos Benbow
1:16:04 Tom Steemkamer
1:24:30 Lisa Jalot
1:25:24 Dirk Sweigart
1:31:17 Rich Szymanski
1:35:33 Sheri Herrmann
1:43:18 Lorri Fencer
2:23:23 John Schultz

Double Trouble Recap – by Lisa Jalot

The 5th race of the USAT&F Off Road Series took place on Sunday, July 8 at French Creek State Park in Morgantown, PA. The Double Trouble is a 15 and 30K race in which participants can choose, either before or during the race, to do one or two loops on the rocky, rooty terrain of the park. In typical Ron Horn (Pretzel City Sports) fashion, we began the race following a brief organized heckling between the 15 and 30K groups where each group had to “repeat after me” (Ron) and just as a thunder and lightening storm hit the park.

I was told by a few running friends that the course was tougher than the Ugly Mudder, outside of Reading, but I beg to differ. It was fairly comparable however I didn’t feel there were places during the course steep enough to justify walking (even though I did) and that required literally climbing rocks, etc. like the Ugly Mudder course. All in all, the course was very technical and challenging and we were fortunate that none of the Pike Creek racers ended up with bumps, bruises and/or stitches, as in past years. Although very muggy, the hot weather did break a bit and we ran in low 80 degrees, in almost complete shade, as opposed to the 100+ degree weather experienced the day before. I’m sure being 50 minutes North of Wilmington helped matters also.

All participants received a tech shirt and glass complete with the Double Trouble logo. The after party was better than most and included hot dogs, bagels, make your own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, candy, cookies, bananas, oranges, water and Gatoraid, plus live acoustical guitar entertainment. I would have enjoyed a free cold beer afterwards but, those of you who know me, know I always bring my own so I was all set.

The state park had an impressive pool accessible for a small (?) fee of $8 pp. Since my husband Fred brought our four kids, we hit the pool afterwards and I was amazed how just splashing around with the kids helped ease my very sore muscles. Inside the pool grounds, we set up our chairs and small cooler on the grass, next to the last 1/8 mile of the course so we were able to cheer for most runners completing the 30K. Of course, most did not include Pike Creek’s own Enos Benbow who finished his second lap before most finished their first, winning 1st place for the 30K. All in all, it was a great race, well organized and one that I would recommend to others for the future, provided they are prepared for one of the tougher trail races.
Lisa Jalot

Race Results:
From Rich Szymanski:

Results from Bricks Multi-Sport Triathlon. Tricia and I were separated by only 30 seconds, and Mike and I by 28 seconds in overall time. A closer battle occurred between Tricia and Mike, with only two seconds separating their overall time. It was a good day for PCVRC members!!

Duathlon:
Tom Jermyn (1:12:34) third overall
Karin Pszcola (1:40:09) 2nd in age group

Triathlon:
Rich Szymanski (1:17:08) 3rd in age group
Mike Reph (1:17:36)
Tricia Szymanski (1:17:38) 2nd in age group
Kelly Reph (1:24:29) 2nd in age group

Firecracker 5K:
18:18 Matt Cutrona, 1st Master

Mimi’s Run 5K:
19:36 Sarah Rusk, 2nd Overall Female

An abbreviated Bulletin for a week with July 4 in the middle. Happy Holidays!
From Tom Steemkamer():

The USATF off – road series continues on Sunday, July 8th at 9AM with the Double Trouble 15k. Held at French Creek State Park in Pennsylvania the Double Trouble provides a scenic, shaded course over moderate (depends on your perspective) terrain. The start/finish area is adjacent to Hopewell Lake and the park’s swimming pool.

We are currently planning a post-race picnic for the team. Please contact me if you are interested in participating or contributing to the pot-luck picnic.

Annual Pike Creek Summer BBQ
2012-07-21 Saturday, July 21 3pm
Location: White Clay Creek Park – Carpenter Pavilion

It’s that time of year again for summer fun and the annual pcvrc summer picnic. As always the club will provide the beer, hotdogs and hamburgers. All we ask of you is to bring your favorite side dish or dessert to share.

With the different location and larger space the club would like to invite you to bring your softball gloves, frisbees or kickball to participate in some friendly club competition.

We hope to see new members. Bring the family!

If you have any questions about this event please contact me at
Contact: Rachel Bleacher – Events Coordinator

Race Results:
Mom’s House 5K:
18:04 Creg Cauller, Overall Winner
20:45 Lynn Knothe, Overall Female Winner

Rusty Rudder 5K:
17:58 Greg Cauller, 2nd Overall & 1st Master

Policy on printing race results:
Mainly for newer members, I occasionally reiterate my policy for printing race results. Because there are so many short races these days, it would be quite a task to pick out all club runners and post their results. For local shorter events, I generally post the results of club members who finish near the top, but not of other members unless requested. In general, I try to post all club members results who run in USATF events and results of longer events (more than 10K). However, if you wish to have a result posted, please send me an e-mail with your results. A first race, a personal best, a new distance, the maintaining of a streak at a particular event – these are all important to you. So let us know. It goes without saying that you need to let me know about out of town events (other than fairly local ones).

From President Ray ()
Thanks to Supporters of B+ 5K
The club thanks all members who ran in, donated to, and volunteered at Monday’s B+ 5K at Salesianum in Wilmington. It is quickly becoming the largest 5K in the area and drew well over 1,000 participants despite being re-scheduled due to last week’s heat wave. Our club set up a table and the following members volunteered for set-up, registration or course marshal duties:
Rich Szymanski, Dan Weintraub, Pat Patnaude, Vince McIntosh, Jerry Herman, Bob Taggart & Jim Steele.

Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation will be primary recipient of donations from our Delaware Distance Classic 15K & 5K on October 7. Registration is open on our website. Please plan to run or volunteer!

Club Sponsors Needed
We’re seeking new sponsors for PCVRC/DDC to raise funds for new running programs and to support our charity partners! If you know of an organization that would like great benefits while contributing to healthy causes, see information at www.pcvrc.com/sponsor.php and contact Ray or Joel as soon as possible. Thanks to Harvest Market, Access Labor Service, and Party Pizza for being our first returning sponsors of the season.

Run Safely
With this weekend’s high temperatures, please be extra careful. Carry water if possible and run with partners. Fast or slow, long distance or short, run or walk, you’re always welcome at our group runs: Sunday 8am at Panera in Newark, or 6pm on Wed & Thurs at Delcastle. On Thursdays, we often hit dinner afterwards for some immediate recovery.
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Annual Pike Creek Summer BBQ
2012-07-21 Saturday, July 21 3pm

Location: White Clay Creek Park – Carpenter Pavilion

It’s that time of year again for summer fun and the annual pcvrc summer picnic. As always the club will provide the beer, hotdogs and hamburgers. All we ask of you is to bring your favorite side dish or dessert to share.

With the different location and larger space the club would like to invite you to bring your softball gloves, frisbees or kickball to participate in some friendly club competition.
We hope to see new members. Bring the family!

If you have any questions about this event please contact me at
Rachel Bleacher – Events Coordinator
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Volunteers Needed – From Tom Fort:
I am officiating at the Region 2 Junior Olympics at the University of Delaware track, Thursday, July 5 through Sunday, July 8. The meet day runs from 8:00 AM to about 4:00 PM each day.

We need volunteers to rake pits, escort runners from the clerking area to the event start, post results and do many other things which require no previous experience. It is a chance to see the Olympic athletes of the future.

Any volunteers, please let me know days and times that you are available.
Thanks
Tom fort – – 302-234-7803
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Race Results:
Kid Shelleen’s 5K:
17:59 Greg Cauller, Overall Winner & 1st Master
19:57 Lynn Knothe, Female Winner
20:48 Lisa Jalot, 1st Female Master

From President Ray:
Note: The B+ Race has been moved to next Monday evening because of the expected hot conditions on this evening.
B+ Fighting Childhood Cancer 5k: Run or Volunteer

The 6th Annual B+ Fighting Childhood Cancer 5k Run/Walk is Monday, June 25st at Salesianum School starting at 6:45pm. As a partner of the B+ Foundation, PCVRC will help to fight childhood cancer because 46 kids are told they have cancer every school day. Join our team today by running, walking or donating to our Team Goal. Help us raise money for kids fighting cancer! Click the link below and then click “Join a Team”. Select “Pike Creek Valley Running Club” and then you’ll be prompted to register. If you have any questions please contact team captain Jim Steele at 530-7274.
https://www.elleevance.com/5K2012/SelectATeam.aspx?TeamSelected=NBI57687740

Or if you can volunteer, please contact Ray () soon. PCVRC will have a table set up to recruit members and in exchange hope that a few members can help on race day (registration, course marshal, etc). More info at http://www.BePositive.org

I’ll arrive early, since I also have to set up our table/banner.
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Ray reports that the Crabowitz feast was an overwhelming success, with 110 people attending at various times. Rich and Tricia have now gotten kind neighbors to loan the use of their driveway for tables. $1,700 was raised, which will be contributed to the B+ foundation in the name of PCVRC’s team.
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The Canton Marathon
Having taken the plunge into being a 50 states marathoner, I chose Ohio as the first state away from the East Coast in which to run a marathon. A first time event was planned in Canton, Ohio, with a tie-in to the Football Hall of Fame. Most conveniently for me, it was four weeks after my previous one, allowing me to maintain my senior citizen training philosophy that my last marathon was my final long run for my next marathon. OK, I did work in a 14 miler two weeks out. Another good aspect was that there was also a half-marathon which Carolyn could do. We signed up several months ago and it seems no sooner did we do it than Carolyn developed sore knees which hadn’t gone away. But Carolyn was non-plussed, simply maintaining that she’d run some and walk some.

Canton is about a seven hour drive with stops, out I-76 and then 15 miles south on I-77. As we drove into Canton, we passed under the Hall of Fame bridge over the turnpike. I knew that the next day I’d be running over that bridge. After finding our motel and checking in, we went downtown to the Civic Center for the expo. For a first time event, the expo was nicely done and fairly large with a number of vendors and samples to see. We got our numbers and tech shirts. All of the shirts had a football motif, with a number 12 on the front. In smaller lettering above was 26.2 marathon. I’d rather have had the 26.2 be the large number. My shirt is a nice steel gray. Carolyn’s half marathon shirt was pink. I don’t know what the guy’s got in the half. After the expo, we found a nice restaurant in downtown for dinner and avoided the Carrabba’s pasta dinner(I had pasta anyway). Then it was back to the motel, prepare our stuff for the next morning and try to get to sleep at 8:30. The races were to start at 6:00 A.M. and we had to shuttle over to the Hall of Fame from parking at Fairgrounds about 3/4 of a mile away. We figured up at 3:00 A.M., down the road to Denny’s for some breakfast, back to the room for final preparation and off to the event. Everyone else in Denny’s appeared to have been up from Saturday night activities.

We arrived at the Hall of Fame at 5:00 A.M. in 65 degree weather, dressed to run. It was a bit cool in a singlet, but I figured the cooler I got, the better because I would surely warm up rather quickly. At one point we were sitting on a curb when the guy next to us, obviously not a runner, lit up a big stinky cigar. We had to move. Eventually about ten before six we exchanged a kiss, I went to line up with the pace group that I thought would be my pace, and Carolyn moved towards the back. Six came and went and we were still standing there. Then a few minutes later the entire group started moving forward. I had no idea is the race had started or not. We went under I-77 and emerged on a nice flat section along a creek, obviously a city park, and slowly walked forward for a quarter mile. We were approaching someone talking on a microphone and I realized this is where the race would start. Lot of trees around and having taken plenty of fluids and the race not getting off on time, I availed myself of the cover of the trees for one more pit stop. Lots of others guys were doing the same thing. The paper the next day said that a traffic problem had delayed the start.

Eventually the wheelchair participants were off and several minutes later the runners followed. The tree lined flat first half mile allowed everyone to spread out quickly. Little did I know that would be the last flat stretch I’d run until the last few yards in the football stadium next to the Hall of Fame. Moving through the streets of Canton, I warmed quickly. The sun was shining early and it felt a little steamy. Every time I crested a hill, there was another hill waiting ahead. I was either going up or going down. At six miles, the half-marathoners turned left to complete their shorter loop. Marathoners went straight and suddenly it was a lot lonelier. One thing this event had in spades was hydration stops, about 28 in all, more than one per mile. With the difficulty of the course, if the day had turned out as predicted a few days before in the upper 80s, all those stops would have been necessary.

But about the time we marathoners went on our own, the weather changed. It got cloudy and breezy. Overheating wasn’t going to be a problem. In fact about 17 miles in, it showered for about ten minutes and cooled me right down. The temp stayed below 72 the rest of the way. Oh, but the hills were taking their toll. I went through the first half in a little over ten minute pace. But with each successive hill, I felt less energy to take it on. I kept recalculating what time I thought I’d finish in. My heart sink at mile 22 when the 10:30 pacer went by with one female runner left in tow. I couldn’t keep up. Then there were hills where I had to walk and I wasn’t the only one. The downhills were rough also as my knees were protesting. After a long hill in the beginning of mile 25, there’s a good half mile downhill. But I was barely jogging, trying to keep my right hamstring from spazzing out completely.

Somewhere around 20 miles, we ran past on long line of cars at a complete standstill. I still remember the first year of the Baltimore Marathon when major four-lane roads were stopped. Horns were honking and people were cussing. Baltimore changed the route. I think Canton needs to do the same to avoid angering the populace. I say this because of the comments of one particular female driver. As we were running by these stopped vehicles, she yelled out “Thanks for running!” But as I started thinking that was really nice, she added …and f…ing up the traffic all over town!” Of course, she should have been directing her frustration at those who laid out the course, not the runners. But knowing she’d be there was another 20 to 30 minutes, I understood.

Finishing up on the football field, I received my finisher medal, shaped like a football and weighing about eight ounces. It was impossible to walk while wearing it as it would bump my chest with every step.

The after-race part was where this event needs improvement. The food was the typical fare for a 5K, but nothing substantial. The organizers had announced that no awards, other than the winners, would be given out at the event. They would be mailed. Fair enough, although it seemed like they had the time to least announce age-group people. But to make matters worse, no results were posted or viewable on a screen. When I asked, I was told to go online. Very disappointing. I got my bag, changed and we went over to the after-race “party”. It was at the far end of the Hall of Fame parking lot, in the opposite direction from where we had to go to catch our shuttle bus. The “party” consisted of a band playing music, a tent off to one side where we could use tickets off our bib for two Michaelob Ultras, and vendors selling food on the other side of the field. Well, I’ve expressed my sentiment before that lite beer ain’t beer. Even if some like it, there should be regular beer for others. And Yuengling has a plant in Ohio. What a missed opportunity! No one seemed to be buying food. Who had money? Everyone’s cash was back in their cars. We took about one sip of the “beer” and then left for the trek back to the shuttle.

All in all the town really seemed to get behind these events. About 5,000 signed up for the full, half, ten K, or relay teams and about 4,200 were finishers or team members. There were 2,000 volunteers and they were great! The next day, the local paper, The Repository, published all the results plus six pages of stories. Carolyn and I both found out we had placed third in our age-groups. Lots of inspiration about people who had lost weight or gotten in shape with the goal of finishing one of the events. Also lot of reassurance seeing the comments by some of the top finishers about the difficulty of the hills. I am not the only person to have said that this was the hilliest road marathon course I’ve ever run. -dave mcc

Race Results:

5K the Westside Way:
17:59 Greg Cauller, Overall Winner
19:59 Lynn Knothe, Female Winner

10K the Westide Way:
35:42 Mike DiGennaro, Overall Winner
37:35 Matt Cutrona, 1st Master
40:38 Sarah Rusk, Female Winner

Parvin State Park Duathlon:
2 mile run, 12 mile bike, 5K run
1:04:22 Andy Jacubowitch, 1st 30-34
1:12:47 Dan Simmons, 1st 65-69
1:13:58 Tom Jermyn, 2rd 45-49
1:16:56 Andrea Ladany
1:18:10 Rich Szymanski
1:20:44 Tricia Szymanski
1:25:51 Kelly Reph-Jones, 3rd 35-39
2:09:37 John Schultz, 1st 70+

Sprint Triathlon at St. Andrew’s:
1/4 mile swim, 16 mile bike, three mile run
1:19:43 Chris James
1:24:04 Michael Reph

Canton Marathon:
4:44:14 Dave McCorquodale, 3rd 65-69

Canton Half-Marathon:
3:00:17 Carolyn McCorquodale, 3rd 65-69

From President Ray:
B+ Fighting Childhood Cancer 5k: Run or Volunteer
The 6th Annual B+ Fighting Childhood Cancer 5k Run/Walk is Thursday, June 21st at Salesianum School starting at 6:45pm. As a partner of the B+ Foundation, PCVRC will help to fight childhood cancer because 46 kids are told they have cancer every school day. Join our team today by running, walking or donating to our Team Goal. Help us raise money for kids fighting cancer! Click the link below and then you’ll be prompted to register. If you have any questions please contact team captain Jim Steele at 530-7274.
https://www.elleevance.com/5K2012/SelectATeam.aspx?TeamSelected=NBI57687740

Or if you can volunteer, please contact Ray () soon. PCVRC will have a table set up to recruit members and in exchange hope that a few members can help on race day (registration, course marshal, etc). More info at http://www.BePositive.org

We need to get our volunteer list in before Tuesday, so let me know.
Volunteer options are:
a. As early as 4pm: set up tables, chairs, etc
b. As early as 5pm: registration
c. 6pm: course marshal (gather at school flagpole)
d. After race: cleanup

I’ll arrive early, since I also have to set up our table/banner.
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Condolences
Pike Creek Valley Running Club expresses its condolences to club treasurer Dirk Sweigart on the passing away of his father, Melvin Sweigart, 90. A contribution from PCVRC has been been to the church Dirk’s father attended in his name.
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Last week, in the Off-road MA-USATF series, ten club members participated in the Wissachickon Trail Classic 10K. The club took third place in the competition and holds third place in the series. The next off-road event in serie is the Double Trouble 15K Trail Run on July 8 in French Creek State Park in Morgantown, PA.
41:26 65.12 Josh Loren
41:25 64.99 Enos Benbow
50:34 63.79 Epi Camacho
58:49 61.45 Carol Giampietro
45:00 60.36 Andy Jacubowitch
52:35 60.32 Bob Kleszics
57:57 54.80 Sheri Herrmann
68:38 54.80 Andrea Rubinoff
50:43 54/79 Chris James
57:08 53.73 Ray Christensen

5K/10K the Westside Way
I apologize for getting this out late, only two days before the event, Westside Family Healthcare’s “5K/10K the Westside Way”. Connie Montana wrote If anyone wants to volunteer, we’ve got the Best Post-Race Party in town and FREE BEER! I’ve got ten free race entries too; first-come; first served. Direct folks to me. Thanks so much! Cheers, Connie .
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Data 5K
Mark Deshon notes that on May 6 he ran the Data 5K and placed second in the 50+ category with a 19:29. Mark notes that at 55 (six days shy of 56), this time age-grades out to 78.87, his 13th best ever effort and his 6th best age-graded race. Says Mark, “Definitely an unusual blip on the screen in the grand scheme of things, meaning that I still may have a pulse at age 56!”
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Race Results:
St Anthony’s 5K:
18:16 Matt Cutrona, Overall Winner

Ivy Restaurant 5K:
17:17 Enos Benbow, Overall Winner
28:12 Greg Cauller, 2nd Overall & 1st Master
21:01 Lynn Knothe, 2nd Female Overall