Holiday Party Scheduled:
Club Social Director Rachel Bleacher has secured the upstairs room at Timothy’s, 100 Creek View Rd. off Paper Mill Rd. in Newark for the club’s Holiday Party. It will be on Wednesday, December 7 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. This is always a good time to renew your dues for 2012. Invite prospective club members to come as well. There will be a donation box towards food in case they are not prepared to join at that time. Your input will be appreciated on potential award winners for 2011 and club events in 2012.

Last MAUSATF Event
The last event in the MA-USATF Off-Road Series is the Delaware Open XC Championship at Brandywine Creek State Park on Saturday, November 26. Always lots of great random prizes at this event.

Philadelphia Weekend
It was a busy weekend in Philadelphia for Pike Creek Valley Running Club members with many participating in either the Rothman 8K, the Philadelphia Half-Marathon, or the Philadelphia Marathon. All three events combined to make up the final event of the MA-USATF Grand Prix series, so people were running for themselves and for the club. Immediately below are the individual times. The USATF age grades are not yet available. I’ve taken the liberty of noting some finishing positions in the age groups of the 8K even if they are below first through third, because the competition was tough (even world-class) and the most of age-groups were large (40 to 140).

While some people observed that the weather was “perfect”, others felt that, with the conditions of temperatures rising into the 60s and bright sun early on, it was a bit on the warm side for running long distances. (See comment in personal story below.) It is known that at least 10 people had to go to the hospital for emergency treatment. Two people died: a 40 year-old man just a quarter mile from the marathon finish and a 21 year-old U. of Penn student who had just finished the half-marathon. Philly.com stated: “Although both men appeared to have died of heart attacks, according to a police spokeswoman. A Temple University cardiologist said that was unlikely, particularly with a 21-year-old victim. Alfred Bove, who has run marathons, said runners should be checked for undetected heart problems, which can worsen as blood-sugar, potassium, and sodium levels drop during a race.”

On a brighter note, John Schultz completed his 50th marathon on Sunday (after having run the Turkey Trot 10K the day before. Speaking of 50, a number of club members gathered Thursday at Cafe Napoli for a pre-race carbo-loading, which was topped with cake to celebrate President Ray Christensen’s 50th birthday. Ray celebrated by easily besting the Boston qualifying time for his new age group.

Use this link to Don Ropp’s photos taken at Philadelphia Marathon &Half: See Photos Here

Race Results:
Rothman 8K
25:29 Dan Suhar, 6th 25-29
25:57 Mike DiGennaro, 5th 30-34
28:14 Greg Cauller, 3rd 50-54
29:16 Matt Cutrona, 4th 40-44
33:07 Lynn Knothe, 5th 30-34
34:16 Dirk Sweigart, 12th 50-54
36:52 Carole Feole, 4th 50-54
44:27 Jerry Herman, 4th 65-69
1:19:47 Don Monagle, 5th 70+

Philadelphia Half-Marathon
1:41:53 Chris James (switched to half from full – wasn’t feeling well)
1:42:59 Claire Neilan
1:43:57 David Baca
2:10:25 Denise Boyle
2:18:34 Leonora Wagner
2:18:34 Gelsomina Paolini

Philadelphia Marathon
2:44:08 Andy Jakubowitch, BQ
3:11:08 Michael Brown, BQ
3:21:26 Ray Christensen, BQ
3:24:30 Adam Schilling
4:46:21 Lori Culnane
4:59:26 Beth DeProphetis
6:26:45 John Schultz
Of 120+ Delaweareans, PCVRC members had 4 of the top 12 times

Other Race Results:

Bucks County Marathon
4:29:44 Dave McCorquodale
5:28:12 Steve Thorpe

Bucks County Marathon
I have fond memories of the Philadelphia Marathon. It was my first marathon (1995) and my first BQ (1996). Between 1995 and 2006 I ran it nine times. But over the years as participation increased, parking became a real hassle. One year I got a ticket parking where I supposedly allowed to park and had to write to the Philadelphia Parking Authority to get it removed. But in 2006 when the half-marathon was added and everyone ran together, I had had it. It seemed like too many people starting together, vying for the same running lanes. There were only 8,100 finishers in 2006. I can’t imagine what its like with 20,000 finishers – as there was last Sunday. I’ve already moved on. I did Rehoboth until it moved into December. Caught the North Central Trail for a second time last year. So I was ready for something new.

Thankfully along came the Bucks County Marathon the same morning as Philly with a cap of 500. It got about 350 registered and slightly less than 300 finishers. The course is out from Yardley, PA, along the Delaware River Towpath into and through New Hope, before returning to Yardley. It advertised that we had no hassle with the parking and, indeed, the Yardley Train Station lots easily accommodated all the runners’ cars. The start and finish were right there, so no one was more than a hundred yards from their car.

Another convenient feature for someone who had to travel 72 miles to get there was the 9 A.M. start. It made it possible to not have to get up in the wee morning hours. Leaving home just before 7 A.M., we rolled along I-95 past Penn’s Landing and saw hundreds of the Philly runners going past.

In contrast to the mass start at Philly, the towpath is so narrow that the race organizers had wave starts of only 25 runners each every thirty seconds. We were seeded by predicted finish time and I started in the ninth wave. We zigzagged through the streets of Yardley and were on the trail within a third of a mile. The strategy worked as people were well spread out, yet not out of sight. It always helps to feel that you are chasing someone.

The surface of the trail was of two varieties: The first roughly nine miles (and last nine) was composed of fairly fine reddish gravel. This felt comfortable in the beginning. As we neared Yardley, the gravel became small stone and in thin shoes I was feeling a lot of the stones crunching my metatarsals and my pace slowed. The only “hills” were a dozen steps in New Hope and a few large culverts for drainage from the canal if it overfilled. But my lack of training (I only do marathons – I don’t train properly for them) meant that my legs tired. By the time I got back to the finer gravel I wasn’t lifting my legs enough and was scuffling along the surface. That wouldn’t happen on a smoother road surface.

The course also featured some humorous signs, referenced to the Philly, New York and Boston Marathons. One sign simply said “Mule” with an arrow <----. On the other side of the canal, at the bottom of an expensive property was an actual statue of a mule. At mile three, "Almost there!" At mile nine a sign said, "If you were at Philly, you'd be running up a hill right now". At mile 17 the sign said "Welcome to Newton, Home of Heartbreak Hill". Somewhere on the course, a sign had "Oh, no! Not the 59th Street Bridge!". Strangest one was "What happened here?", which was up in the New Hope area. Turns out it was the exact spot where Jessica Savitch, a well-known local news broadcaster, was murdered in 1983. Anyone who ran Sunday knows that it was inordinately warm for the latter half of November. I brought both a long and a short sleeved shirt. Eventually I choose to wear the short, but probably could have worn a singlet. However, unlike Philly, even though we were starting two hours later, we were in a rural wooded setting. It was still fairly cool at the start and the first ten miles were good because there were trees (no leaves) to help break up the effect of the sun. However, nearing New Hope, I felt more exposed to the sun and it was warm. However, by the last third of the race the sky began to cloud up and that kept things manageable. (After the race I wrote to the director suggesting possibly an 8 a.m. start to avoid as much warmth on an unusual day such as this one was.) The water stops were sufficient for a cool day, but just a bit sparse for the warmth. However, I made sure to take water and Gatorade at each stop and was sufficiently hydrated. One mistake I made was not timing my fuel intake right before I reached the hydration points. I got away with it until mile 21 when I had used up my bottles of goo and was down to a couple PowerGels. I took some of one and it was really thick. After a couple swallows, I felt myself unable to hold it down and it and the drink I had a mile before came back up. No more PowerGels for me. This was marathon #5 in my run-walk experiment. The results were not positive for me. I think I could just run a tad slower and do just as well. I still end up feeling tired legs at about the same point in the race as I always do. Of the five marathons I’ve done this year where I didn’t have some major problem(there were three like that), two were without planned walking and three were with walking breaks. Although this last one was the best time by a couple dozen seconds, those five times are all within a minute 49 seconds of each other.

Recommendation: If you crave the crowds and noise, this is not the marathon for you. If you’d like a quiet run along a towpath, with the canal on one side and, at times, the Delaware River on the other, this is the one. One disappointment for a Delaware runner. There was a postrace party at a place somewhere in Bucks County called “The Pourhouse”. Sounds good for a beer lover. But it is 18 miles away from Yardley. Meanwhile, I-95 is a couple miles outside of Yardley, which makes rolling back to Delaware very easy. Carolyn (who did a ten mile training run on the towpath) and I found the Yardley Inn for our own re-fueling. It’s right on the Delaware River, but it’s a tad pricey.

b>Holiday Party Scheduled
Club Social Director Rachel Bleacher has secured the upstairs room at Timothy’s, 100 Creek View Rd. off Paper Mill Rd. in Newark for the club’s Holiday Party. It will be on Wednesday, December 7 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. This is always a good time to renew your dues for 2012. Invite prospective club members to come as well. There will be a donation box towards food in case they are not prepared to join at that time.
Your input will be appreciated on potential award winners for 2011 and club events in 2012.

From President Ray:
Philadelphia Marathon Expo & Bibs
PCVRC leads off the Philadelphia Marathon Health & Fitness Expo Seminar Series with a Friday 1pm presentation of ‘Better Results by Joining a Running Club’. Call Ray (302-633-1482) if you’d like to participate by answering questions or if you’d like to carpool or have your race bib picked up for the 8K, Half or Full. Also contact me if you’d like to carpool on Sunday.

USATF Discount Plan – Join Our Team!
For the past 2 years, the club has given all of our USATF Series money awards directly to participants in the form of FREE club dues for the following year. We will likely win a smaller amount this year (due to increased competition), but the board has decided that all club USATF members who’ve represented us in at least 4 road and/or trail series events will receive free club membership for 2012. A list of eligible members will be printed in next eBulletin. This will remain a year-to-year decision.

As a further bonus, anyone on that list who has not yet received a club singlet will get one at no cost. They will be distributed at the Holiday Party. Those not eligible for a free singlet can purchase one at a discount price of just $10. So consider joining USATF ($29) for 2012 and run some interesting races with our team. Carpool with us!

Club Shirts at Holiday Party
For those who have never received a PCVRC tech shirt, please pick yours up at Timothy’s on 12/7 when you renew membership. New Balance has donated an additional 24 shirts, so most sizes are available.

Club Jackets
Orders will be taken at the Holiday Party for our $70 club jacket with your choice of PCVRC logo or DDC 15k logo. Come to check out the nice embroidery. See photos at our Facebook page: www.tinyurl.com/pcvrc Invite local friends to join our Facebook Group, even if not yet a club member. Post photos of interesting races you run!

Successful Surgery
Our USATF Team Coordinator Rich Szymanski had surgery on Wednesday to remove cancer in his kidney.
Tricia says: “Surgery was a success and they were able to keep 80% of his kidney. He’s doing great and we can officially say he’s cancer free. We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Thanks for everyone’s continued prayers!”

From Ed Maher of MA-USATF:
During the Philadelphia Marathon Expo this Friday & Saturday there will be fourteen seminars on various running topics. Mid-Atlantic clubs and individual members have become involved with this and are leading several of the seminars! A schedule should be available on the Marathon web site soon but I’ve attached one with this email so you’ll have advance info on the topics & times.

Holiday Party Scheduled:
Club Social Director Rachel Bleacher has secured the upstairs room at Timothy’s, 100 Creek View Rd. off Paper Mill Rd. in Newark for the club’s Holiday Party. It will be on Wednesday, December 7 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. This is always a good time to renew your dues for 2012. Invite prospective club members to come as well. There will be a donation box towards food in case they are not prepared to join at that time.

Your input will be appreciated on potential award winners for 2011 and club events in 2012.

From President Ray:

Run the Bridge 10K recap
Sunday’s 10K on the Ben Franklin Bridge brought out over 3000 finishers,
including a great group of at least 13 club members. Weather was
spectacular for crossing from Camden to Philly and back, past the Battleship
New Jersey and finishing inside a minor league baseball stadium. Josh
Loren, Austin Gee & Jay Coughener all finished in the top 20 overall and we
grabbed four age group awards. We also grabbed bags of “Brunch”. If you’re
not a USATF member, consider joining for next year to carpool with friends
to fun races outside Wilmington!

Philly Marathon, Half, 8K, Expo
Contact Ray if interested in carpooling to Expo for bib p/u on Friday, Nov. 18, at
noon. While there, you’re encouraged to participate in my 1pm presentation
of “how running with partners or a club improves performance”. I’m sure that we’ve got people interested in driving together for Saturday’s 8K and for Sunday’s races.

Evansburg Ten Miler, Oct. 30 – Dirk Sweigart

Picture of some of the participants posted on PCVRC’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/289855916248/?ref=ts

The day dawned cold at Evansburg with that incredible four-inch October snow still lying on the ground. But as the sun began to turn the trails to ten miles of mud rivers and bogs, the hearty band of Pike Creek trail runners stomped around to keep warm and laughed at Ron Horn’s cynical humor. Yes, they had eliminated the worst water crossings, but no one had any doubt that they would be getting VERY wet and VERY muddy. Evansburg could have been a nice pleasant trail run…but not this day. No one would be here if it wasn’t for the USATF “off-road competition. And we of the PCVRC want some of that championship…

The hazards were many…shoe-sucking mud, slippery bridges, oh the usual trees and rocks, but now with ice and snow. Up and down hills, through fields, ya know. Spots where the best footing was running up a muddy rivulet. You can count the number of team members who didn’t fall at least once on one hand and have fingers left over.

Cooler heads prevailed at Radnor where they postponed (wimps!)…but Rich brought Epi and Carol F. to Evansburg instead! We also had “just-in-time” new member Carol Giampietro, welcome! Tom S (still recovering) encouraged the team at strategic points. Rounding out the team were Lisa, Sheri, Andrea, Fred, Bob K and Dirk. The team collected 5 medals including Lisa’s 2nd woman overall. Our third place seems safe, dare we hope to overtake the Greater Philly Track Club for second?

Results from the Evansburg Ten Miler:

1 15:06 SHUFFLEBARGER FRED UNIONVILLE PA M 63 – 75.29

1 14:40 CAMMACHO EPI WILMINGTON M 55 – 70.45
1 16:41 KLESZICS BOB HOCKESSIN DE M 54 – 68.00
1 27:21 GIAMPIETRO CAROL GARNET VALLEYPA F 53 – 66.89
1 28:50 FEOLE CAROLE WILMINGTON DE F 53 – 65.78
1 19:37 JALOT LISA WILMINGTON DE F 40 – 64.47
1 24:32 HERRMANN SHERI WILMINGTON DE F 42 – 61.52
1 23:31 SWEIGART DIRK WILMINGTON DE M 51 – 60.86
1 40:54 RUBINOFF ANDREA BEAR DE F 56 – 60.23

To answer Dirk’s question, the club appears to have a firm hold on third place in the Off-road Series. Barring any particular club having a problem and not being able to score in the last event, that is where PCVRC will end up. The last event is the Delaware Open XC Championship at Brandywine Creek State Park on November 26.

Grand Prix Series Results:
Due to the unusual weather a couple of weekends ago, the Radnor Run Five Miler was postponed until this past Sunday. Because the Bridge Run 10K was already scheduled for Sunday, MA-USATF decided to combine the results of both races into one club score and dropped the number of total events in which a club must score to six from seven.

Here are the combined results with “B” for the Bridge Run and “R” for the Radnor run. PCVRC currently holds sixth place among ten teams. Competition this year is at a higher level than I’ve ever seen. While our team scores are close to those of past years when our team finished higher, this year new teams have found some very high scoring runners increasing the difficulty of finishing higher for a small club such as ours. The final event of the series will be the combined competition of the Philadelphia Marathon, Half-Marathon and 8K on November 20.

R 29:24 84.297 Greg Cauller
B 35:48 83.054 Jay Coughenour
R 32:01 79.386 Epi Camacho
B 43:46 79.056 Dan Simmons
B 45.57 77.657 Carole Feole
B 34:57 77.206 Josh Loren
B 35:20 75.991 Austin Gee
B 42:27 73.852 Lisa Jalot
B 43:36 70.986 Dirk Sweigart
B 44:48 70.908 Sheri Herrmann
R 38:27 70.438 Theresa Kauffman
B 39:38 70.101 Chris James
B 49:39 69.218 Lorri Fencer
B 47:20 64.331 Ray Christensen
B 1:13:16 58.303 John Schultz
B 1:01:05 58.226 Jerry Herman
R 47:03 50.620 Rich Szymanski

New York City Marathon
2:39:18 Enos Benbow, BQ, 140th Overall
3:27:01 Lee Kauffman, BQ
4:37:27 Tony Chelpaty

Delaware Futures 5K
17:36 Greg Cauller, 3rd Overall, 1st Master

Turkey Round-Up 5K
17:42 Greg Cauller, 2nd Overall, 1st Master

Veterans Day 5K
17:53 Greg Cauller, Overall Winner

Note that Greg Cauller ran four races in two days (actually within the space of 28 hours), achieving a first, a second and a third overall and contributing the club’s highest age-grade score in the MA-USATF events.

From Club President Ray:
Best of DDC 2012
If you haven’t yet seen our many photos of last month’s Delaware Distance Classic, see http://www.pcvrc.com/ddc11.php for a slideshow, selected photos, and Dave McCorquodale’s event recap. The complete gallery includes over 300 photos.

PCVRC Singlets
We still have some club singlets. If you’re a USATF member and don’t yet have one, contact Ray to get yours FREE if you’ll have completed 4 series races this season. Any other club member may purchase the sharp $20+ singlet for just $10. Limited sizes so email or call soon!

Note that a few of the messages in this bulletin relate to the fact that the unusual weather this past weekend caused the postponement of the Radnor Run 5 Miler.

From Ed Maher of Mid-Atlantic USATF:
Due to conflicts with the Run The Bridge 10K and other previously scheduled commitments for LDR Committee members, we will not be able to have an LDR Committee representative at the Radnor Run, which will now be on Nov. 6. If you are aware of any runners who are not yet members of USATF Mid-Atlantic and interested in joining in time to be counted for Radnor as part of the Grand Prix, please advise them to sign up online now at: https://www.usatf.org/membership/application/

Please also be aware that the USATF $10 membership deal for the balance of 2011 has now expired. New members joining from Nov. 1 and forward do so at the regular rate with a membership expiration of 12/31/2012.

Due to the cancellation and rescheduling of the Radnor Run 5 Mile to now be held on the same date as the Run The Bridge 10K, the USATF Mid-Atlantic LDR Committee has made the following adjustments to Grand Prix and Club Challenge scoring.

Club Challenge: On Nov. 6, the best five WMA% scores for a club’s members at the Radnor Run and Run The Bridge will be counted for a single team score. As there is effectively one less scoring “event” in the competition, a club’s best six (instead of seven) events will be scored for the Club Challenge.

Grand Prix (individuals): As there is one less race opportunity, an athlete’s best five (instead of best 6) WMA% scores from Grand Prix races will be counted in the overall Grand Prix and Age Graded competition.

Finisher plaque and certificate eligibility: As the number of races an individual can participate in has been reduced from nine to eight, those who complete eight (instead of nine) Grand Prix events will receive a plaque mounted certificate. Certificates (not plaque mounted) will be provided to individuals who complete 7 of the Grand Prix races (no change). (Editor’s comment: Hmm…, in 2004 I had to run ten races and in 2006 eleven in order to get a plaque; this is getting too easy. 😉 )

From Rich Syzmanski:
For those who thought about running Radnor but could not because of previous plans. I have good news!!! Because the race was canceled on Sunday (Oct 30), you can run it this coming Sunday (Nov 6th ). Online registration is open until November 4th,or you can register on race day. – Rich

From Joel Schiller:
Joel Schiller has agreed to help Girls on the Run with their fall 5K on Saturday, November 12. If any club member would like to help him with race day registration/packet pickup, please email him at . Joel expects the hours to be 7:00 to 7:30 until 9:15 to 9:30 that morning and the activities to take place indoors at the shipyard shops. This is a fun, very well organized event, with lots of energy. So far, there are 475 girls registered for the 5K.

Andrea Ladany’s Budapest Marathon story, 10/2/2011:
You know it’s going to be tough when two days before a marathon you wonder if you should be doing the 30k option. One of my friends told me I should and then I’d be setting a Delaware record! Really- have you heard of any 30k races?

I hadn’t given myself a break from hard training for distance events since last summer, and it caught up to me. 2 weeks after Toughman 70.3 and one week before this marathon, I felt extreme pain in my hip during a 15 miler. The next day I couldn’t walk. No running at all and PT until we got on the plane.

I kept debating about starting at the marathon start or 8 miles in for the 30k. I had to decide on Saturday. Those of you who know me understand what I chose – and I am so glad I did! Can you imagine if I had felt good the whole 18 miles and would have been kicking myself for not going for the whole thing?

Hip started hurting- but not really bad until 20-ish miles. Other typical tired quad feelings then as well. At that point everything hurts anyway. Felt much better than I did at Shamrock in March. Although I was slower here. This one was “for fun” and I set out to run a comfortable pace and not look at my watch because it would be too much to calculate my pace with the km markings. Well, you know I did anyway! I was going along with a good clip at my “normal” marathon pace through the half and thought I might just break 4 hours and how cool would that be, given the circumstances. I had to stop myself. It was 80 degrees and brightly sunny. It was so hot I really wanted to make sure I drank enough water, so I started walking through all the stops. I kept walking longer than usual. I think I was feeling lazy and didn’t push it. I didn’t even care when the 4 hour pacers caught up and passed me. I wanted to finish and if this is what it took- so be it! Even after not running for 2 weeks I knew I had the endurance from all the training- especially with the tri 3 weeks before. I even thought to myself, “only 13 miles to go- this is the last leg of Toughman without the 3 hours of hard hilly biking and a swim beforehand!”

We ran past the most beautiful sights- castles, churches, the Parliament, along the Danube for most of it. There was music along the course too. Funny- between string orchestras playing Mozart, trumpets playing Bach, Katy Perry songs, Earth Wind and Fire, Wham, other disco, and Sweet Home Alabama (here??) It was so funny to me hearing the crowd cheering in Hungarian, as well as the conversations between the runners. I could understand all of it. It made it even more surreal that I was there, in a marathon, listening to this! And a recent discovery that I enjoyed was having Coke in the later miles! Saw my friend Kelly and my girls and my Hungarian family four times throughout! It was an adventure for everyone and they really enjoyed going from point to point to see me. I was so thankful and appreciative. It meant so much to me!

So I finished! 4:07 – and I am actually pleased with that! Seriously, it almost didn’t happen. It was a fabulous experience.

P.S. You know you’re in Europe when the finisher goody bag includes a half- liter can of beer!

Race Results:
Scott Mackler 5K
15:52 Dan Suher, Overall Winner

From Club President Ray:
Waffle Cone 10 Miler
Club member Ryan German did another commendable job with his 3rd annual 10 mile road/trail hybrid race. Spectacular weather helped bring out 350 participants. Over 30 PCVRC members ran, including 2nd place overall finisher Enos Benbow, who’s warming up for NYC Marathon. At least 5 other members volunteered.

Dry weather kept our shoes from getting muddy and the scenic course kept us from getting bored. As Ryan has hoped, numbers are increasing each year as word gets out about the great breakfast, beer, and delicious gelato cones after the race. And with the warm sunshine, standing in long lines to get them wasn’t a problem. Age group winners and runners-up score generous gift certificates to Caffe Gelato. Tech shirts for all. If you haven’t yet done this race, plan on it for next year!

Philadelphia Marathon Plans
If you’re running the Philly Full or Half, let me know at We’ll put the list in a coming eBulletin and maybe help make plans for carpools both to the Expo for packet pick-up and to race day to save on parking fees and alleviate traffic headaches. Include any non-PCVRC friends that may want to share rides.

Philly Marathon Expo Speakers?
Area running clubs have been invited to give presentations on a side stage during the Fri/Sat Expo. I proposed a topic of “Better Results by Joining a Running Club”. It would be a talk followed by Q&A of how running with partners or a club makes it easier and more fun to achieve running goals. Our slot is 30 minutes starting at noon on Sat 11/19. Let me know if you’d like to be part of it by saying a few words, explaining why you joined the club, or just being there for moral support.

2 USATF Series Races on Sunday
If you haven’t already, contact Rich to inform him if you can be a member of our team for Radnor road race or Evansburg trail race. Help us continue to field complete teams as the season winds down! If you’re not a USATF member this year, also on Sunday is a 10K and 5K E-Racing the Blues at the Riverfront. www.eracingtheblues.org The 10K is an RRCA Championship race.

From Treasurer Joel: DDC Report
At a Delaware Distance Classic wrap up meeting that was held at President Ray’s house on October 17, I presented the following financial recap of the 29th Annual Delaware Distance Classic 15K. The event attracted 375 registrants and had 348 official finishers, a 16% increase over the 299 official finishers in 2010. The race generated gross revenues of $14,720, a 94% increase over the $7,588 in revenues generated in 2010. The surge in revenue was caused by increasing registration fees by $5 and by attracting $4,000 in sponsorships (vs. $750 in 2010). The race committee did an excellent job of keeping expenses in check, resulting in a net revenue to the club of roughly $6,200 versus $1,275 in 2010 net revenue.

The race committee has approved a $750 donation to the Mike Clark Legacy Foundation; a $250 donation to the DE Fund for Kids; and a $250 donation to a charity to be determined by Wilkinson Roofing & Siding, the event’s presenting sponsor. Co-race directors Ray Christensen and Jim Steele were presented with commemorative race bibs for a job well done.

Boston Bus
Some club members have received information from Doug White about the 2012 Delaware Sports Club Boston Marathon bus trip. If you would like that info, you may contact Doug at or reply to me. The info is too long to add to this bulletin.

From Tom Fort:
The Delaware Track and Field Hall of Fame will hold its annual banquet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22 at Cavaliers Country Club. This year the following will be honored: Sally Andersen, Chuck Durante, Ralph Heiss, Bill MacLachlan and Gil Mahla. To obtain a ticket reservation form, contact Tom at or reply to me.

Race Results:
Caffe Gelato Ten Miler
  56:12 Enos Benbow, 2nd Overall
1:00:53 Greg Cauller, 1st 50-54 (1st Master)
1:01:35 Jay Coughenour, 1st 45-49
1:01:53 Andy Jakubowitch, 3rd 30-34
1:06:56 Michael Brown, 2nd 50-54
1:09:16 Ryan German
1:11:21 Dirk Sweigart
1:11:31 Mchael Peyton, 2nd 40-44
1:12:00 Chris James
1:13:13 Dava Baca
1:13:29 Sheri Herrmann, 3rd 40-44
1:15:11 Dan Simmons, 1st 60-64
1:17:13 Ray Christensen
1:18:04 Theresa Cannon-Kauffman, 1st 45-49
1:24:49 Jim Steele
1:25:26 Jose Rodriguez
1:32:02 Andrea Rubinoff, 1st 55-59
1:32:44 Jack Horowitz
1:35:18 Bruce Hubbard, 1st 65-69
1:35:42, Bob Bennett, 2nd 65-69
1:37:03 Jordan Fridman
1:37:10 Shannon German
1:40:07 Lori Culnane
1:40:07 Claire Neilan
1:40:09 John Culnane
1:40:31 Tony Chelpaty
1:43:44 Leonora Wagner
1:55:48 Stacey Shiller
1:56:33 Misty White
1:56:37 Alan Fink
2:14:01 John Schultz, 2nd 70+

Queen of the Roses 5K
28:05 Dan Feldstein, 2nd 55-59

Delaware & Lehigh Heritage Marathon
4:45:31 Dave McCorquodale

Delaware & Lehigh Heritage Half Marathon
2:44:32 Carolyn McCorquodale, 3rd 60-69, PR

Short recap to the Delaware & Lehigh races: This was a new race venue, which started on a new rails-to-trail section along the Lehigh River from Northampton to Slatington, PA. We parked at Slatington and were bused to Northampton. Unfortunately one bus broke down and delayed the start for a half hour.

The new section of trail is beautiful, close to the raging Lehigh and mostly shaded with a smooth, fine gravel surface. After ten miles, the marathoners took a paved side trail for get in four miles before going back on the main trail. The three miles to the finish (for the half-marathoners) had apparently experienced some erosion from the heavy August rains and our feet scuffled from the unevenness of the surface. Carolyn did not like the finish of the half, which went up a hill, around a historic building and returned back to the finish line. This area had stone gravel, instead of the fine gravel on the earlier portions.

At mile 17 of the marathon, we veered off the trail along the river and basically had to walk up a steep, rocky gravel section to an upper trail. The upper trail had lots of small rocks imbedded in the dirt. That’s fine for a true trail marathon, but inappropriate for this race, which is basically a road marathon. After three miles there was a sharp paved descent, too steep for actually running, and then level running to the end.

Some pluses were the enthusiastic volunteers, lots of good food at the end, and the unique awards – a lacquered piece of slate with the award on it, ready for hanging (now you know how the town got it’s name).

Recommendation: The current venue is fine for a half marathon, but not for the full. I have suggested to the director that by having the events start and finish in Slatington, going southeast and returning northwest, they would avoid busing problems, use less police, have less water stops, and have a much faster marathon course. The marathon should start an hour before the half. The hotel where the packet pick-up was, which is about six miles from Slatington, is the closest place to stay.

Personally, I learned at valuable lesson: I should have carried some chewable Pepto-Bismol tablets, the lack of which added miles of discomfort and about 25 minutes to my finishing time (and incidentally denying me a slate plaque as I finished 1:30 in back of the third person in my age-group).