1 Great Turnout at Recent Club Races! - Mid-Hudson Road Runners

Members MusingsA Road Race in a Shoe BoxBy Steve PerksNo, not the race itself, the stuff needed to put on therace. A recent entry on my favorite running blog(Younger Legs for Older Runners) prompted lots ofcomments from its readers about the ―good old daysof running‖. The days before almost all races were forsome cause and the entry fee for a 5K got to be $20or more. The days when the starter yelled go, hungthe stop watch on the nearest tree and the first finishergrabbed the watch and timed the rest of therunners as they came across the finish line.Those days are long gone, but you can still find inexpensiveraces if you look around. Our ―Winter Run‖ isfree to club members, both the Shawangunk andKingston summer cross country series are very cheapand there are a few other inexpensive races to befound if you search for them.For us old school folks there are really very few requirementsfor making a race a great event.1. Start on time.2. If it’s on the roads, good traffic control.3. Accurate course marking and measurement. (Notso easy if it’s a cross country course)4. Accurate times for all the runners.That’s all it takes to make a great race. Everythingelse is just frills! People might complain if they don’tlike the t-shirt design, but they will be back the nextyear. If the course is not accurate or there are not accurateresults, there is a good chance many seasonedrunners will not return.What has all this got to do with ―A Road Race in aShoe Box‖? One of the founding members of theMHRRC, Joe Maggi, directed many, many races overthe years. He started the Twilight Track Series and theWinter Run. He kept the Turkey Trot going for manyyears, even to the point that the 25K was a majorchampionship race with many runners coming upfrom NYC for the event.Many of Joe’s races were low key, inexpensive events.He would show up, pull a box out his van with thewatches and other equipment he needed, point outthe start and finish line and away we went. Some ofhis races were almost like what you would have as akid when you would say to your friend, ―I’ll race youto the tree and back.‖ The original Winter Run washeld at Baird Park. It started at the flag pole in frontof the club house/restaurant, ran out to the end ofthe Park Road and back – 2.85 miles. We used to sayJoe drove around with a road race in a shoe box in theback of his van. Ah, the ―good old days‖.Perks’ Posse Makes a Major DiscoveryBy Polly SparlingEditor’s note: this article is taken from the blogs atthe bottom of the home page on the MHRRC website.These blogs are about a group of middle-agedwomen attempting to run a Fall marathon, somefor the first time. We hope all the members ofPerks’ Posse will write some blogs as they continuetheir search for a marathon finish, so checkthem out.News flash: New evidence was uncovered yesterdaythat proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Goddoes exist.A brand-new, large, relatively clean and wellmaintainedport-a-potty has appeared along the NewPaltz Rail Trail, just north of the Wallkill Bridge in NewPaltz. The turquoise and white cube – which magicallypopped up in the last two weeks – was found by agroup of female runners known locally as ―Perks'sPosse,‖ who welcomed its arrival with tears of joy.This, along with the recent discovery of a likeness ofJesus found in a bag of Cheetos (http://www.manolith.com/2009/05/18/cheesus-jesuslikeness-found-in-cheetos-bag/)seems to confirm thatthe Almighty is, indeed, in our midst. Hallelujah!Women runners, especially those of a ―certainage‖ (basically, anyone over 17), are subject to a hostof indignities in pursuit of the sport. Ironically, itstarts before we even head out the door. Donningform-fitting shorts and singlets made of flimsy nylon– or, even worse, spandex -- is not a process that inspiresconfidence and power in most women. (Giventhe choice, I’d guess that the majority of us wouldrather go hide in a closet than appear in public inthese duds, but there is no choice, so we soldier on.)(Continued on page 7)6Visit us on the web at: www.mhrrc.org