The Pace Setter August 2009 - Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club

Kopac's KornerA Course is ,a Course, of Course, of CourseThe MHRRC Miles of Hope Breast CancerFoundation 5K has had many different locationssince its inception. The inaugural site wasat the Millbrook (NY) Training Center. A coupleof years later we changed the site to Crush Fitnessin LaGrange, NY, with a course on Dr.Fink Road and on the Arlington High Schoolgrounds. This year we moved the course to TymorPark in the town of Unionvale in LaGrangeville,NY.Why have we changed the site so manytimes? Is the race part of the witness protectionprogram? Are we playing hide-and-seek withpast entrants? Are we testing to see if runnersread the flyer? No, we have to keep movingbecause the race keeps growing larger. Racedirector Lori Decker has a compulsive desireto increase the number of entrants and thus theamount of money raised for the Miles of HopeFoundation.I, on the other hand, have a slightly differentcriterion for a successful race: No Runner GetsHit by a Car. To me, that is more important thanthe number of runners, money raised, smoothregistration or flawless race results. After all, noone can die due to a finish line mistake (unlessthe Niagara Falls Marathon accidentally sets upthe finish line chute to end in the Falls themselves- which would make it a biathlon). Mycriterion has been forged from years of workingtraffic control and encountering the driverswho lurk out there. Since last year's course wasvery safe, I looked askance when Lori askedLarry Knapp and me to map a new course ata new site.MHRRC running coach Steve Perks suggestedthe old Tymor Twosome race course.As I reconnoitered that course, I observedthat the posted 55 MPH speed limit was notthe maximum speed limit, but the minimumspeed limit. Cars drove past me so fast, I gotWind burn. When I came upon a blind curveon Clove Valley Road, two words came to mymind: "Road kill."I next checked out Duncan Road, a quietcountry road adjacent to Tymor Park. Quiet,that is, unless there are soccer games at thenearby soccer fields; then the road turns intoa bumper-to-bumper log jam of soccer vans.What were the odds that there would be soccergames the day of our race? If we held the raceon Duncan Road, the odds would be 1 tol.Even if there would be no soccer games, thefurther I traveled on Duncan Road, the morethe road turned into suburbia. I felt a Spiderman-liketingling sensation as I sensed the hungrycars lying in wait inside the garages,readyto pounce from their lairs as the runners camestreaming by.I was running (literally) out of roads, when Inoticed a trail at the back of the park grounds."Trail" - that meant no traffic - and I salivated. Iby Bob Kopacran the trail and discovered that the trail meanderedthrough a thick forest and then down toFurnace Pond before ending at the dead end ofLime Mill Road - shades of Henry David Thoreau!At the other end of Lime Mill Road was aT intersection with Dorn Road, a quiet countryroad. From there we could go to FurnaceRoad, another quiet country road which wentpast the ruins ofa 19th century furnace. Scenic!Historic! I was in race-course heaven.Now that I had done the preliminary legwork(literally), Larry Knapp, his daughterClaire, Pete Ludlow, my spouse Lynne, and Imet to check out the proposed course. SinceClaire was much younger and faster, she ranahead, with me alongside on a mountain bike.Larry, Pete and Lynne joined us on DuncanRoad via a different route and told us of anothertrail in the woods that went alongside brightblue stones (1), over a foot bridge and past a waterfall.And, no cars!Larry and I proudly unveiled the proposedcourse to Lori. She acquired the Look - the onerace directors get when they do not want to upsettheir volunteers, but Lori was concemed thatthe entrance to the spectacularly scenic trail was2 feet wide with a large rock in the middle; Ithought runners would appreciate the challengeof an obstacle course. Where I saw blue stonesLori saw a steep rocky hill where runners couldtwist their ankles. She never saw the waterfallbecause she was looking at her feet while running.It was scenery versus practicality.Practicality won out. Lori was right, ofcourse; that is why she is race director. I almostrecommended giving runners a choice ofwhichway to go (extra distance and extra credit if theydo the difficult section), but quickly gave up thatbizarre thought. Larry and I changed the courseto bypass the blue stones and the waterfall.On the club web site I advertised the raceas being partly on a "wide trail." Trailrunningclub members who knew the course said itwas not a trail at all, but a dirt road. However,since there were some hills, I did not want firsttimerunners to think it would be a stroll downa country road. Although the road has someprotruding stones in spots, I resisted the urge tocall It a Rocky Road because we were serving adifferent type of ice cream at the finish line.Did the number of race finishers decreasethis year because runners could not findthe course or because runners get lost in thewoods, ala the Blair Witch Project? No, therewere approximately 300 finishers, a large increaseover last year. The race raised $20,500,and no runners got hit by cars, meeting bothLori's and my criteria for a successful race. Andyes, the race will be held at Tymor Park againnext year on Saturday, May 8, 2010, the daybefore Mother's Day (appropriate for a breastcancer awareness race). 02009ELECTIONNOTICEWith the submissionof additional slates ofcandidates, this year'selection ballot will beMAILED, rather thanpublished in The PaceSetter.Please watch your mailboxesfor your ballot andbe sure to vote.In order to vote, youmust be a member ingood standing and yourballot must be postmarkedno later thanSeptember 30, 2009.Results of the electionwill be announced at theOctober Club meetingonOctober 14, 2009.The Pace Setter - 29