MacLennan the Voice of Giralda Farms races for 22 years

As runners begin to arrive at the Giralda Farms Corporate complex to register or pick up race packets next Sunday in Madison, they will hear a familiar voice at the microphone. Al MacLennan has been the voice of the Giralda Farms races for the past twenty-two years.

MacLennan, who lives in Morristown hasn’t missed a race in all those years.

“I’ve never had laryngitis or a cold,” said MacLennan. “I might have felt bad sometimes, but it is always an absolutely wonderful day.”

MacLennan may not be a professional public speaker but can easily tick off the times he has been handed the mike. Being vice president of the local Jaycees is one of them and he has also been the announcer at the old Run for the Roses 10K that used to be held in Denville in June. One year he helped out at the Hounds and Harriers run at Loantaka Park.

MacLennan came to his announcing job via his membership in the Rose City Runners club, which he joined back in 1980. The Madison based club has been the host of the Giralda Farms 10K since it’s inception. It now includes a 5K along with the longer race that goes around the corporate complex that is off Route 24.

MacLennan, who was raised in New York City, discovered he was a runner somewhat by chance, entering a one mile race off of no training whatsoever.

“I had my first race at the Chatham Fishawack one mile in 1978,” remembers MacLennan. “I did it as a lark and I came in first in my age group. Someone said, ‘Gosh, you ought to do something with that running’.”

“I think I came in fourth or fifth overall,” he said. “Years later my now 30 year old son Jamie has won it a couple of times.”

MacLennan’s favorite distance is five miles for a good reason. “I’m a bigger guy so I find if it gets too long then my weight goes against me,” he said. “I like passing younger people in the fourth or fifth mile, and if it’s too short I can’t do that.”

Although he has recently been hiking a lot, when MacLennan turned sixty this year he entered the Lawyers for Kids 5K in Morris Township where he picked up third place in his new age division.

“I’ve toyed around with getting back into racing,” said MacLennan. “You’ve got to run more and I’m hiking and running and you need to run to be able to run better.”

He has never raced in the Giralda Farms 10K because he is on the mike all day. But that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t run the course. The Rose City Runners, who are putting on the race, traverse the course as a group early in the morning on race day.

“We check out the course to see if anything is in the way, anything unusual,” he said. “So I actually do get to run it that day, but unofficially.”

“Everybody likes working it because it’s such a give-back to running,” said MacLennan. “It’s great to see maybe a thousand runners. Everybody is so happy because the race is so well done and we get so many compliments. Everything to the shirts to the way it’s organized, to the food.”

“People tell us, ‘You really know what you’re doing.’ We get compliments from people who have done the New York Road Runners races.”

“It’s not that easy,” he said. “It’s a lot of work behind that. I’m proud of everybody.”

Giralda Farms 10K is the USATF-NJ Masters Championship

Numbers should be high for the 10K. The Giralda Farms race has always drawn large numbers of people but this year it is hosting the USATF-NJ Masters Championship and runners from well outside the area will be racing for individual honors and for teams in many cases.

After two cross country championships, the teams are back on the roads for this 10K with two clubs in a virtual tie for first place for overall club points. For the first time in the Liberty Waterfront Club Grand Prix history a club other than the Raritan Valley Road Runners, which has been the perennial winning club, has the lead. But the new leader, the Morris County Striders has only one point over their rival - 430 to 429. Expect both clubs to field their strongest teams as well as all the B and C teams that they can muster.

Race day registration and packet pickup begins at 9:30 a.m. with both the 5K and 10K starting simultaneously at noon. Due to traffic controls runners should plan to arrive before 11:15 a.m. to ensure access to parking on-site.

For more information go to www.concentrick.net/~rc02 or www.active.com.

Best Wishes to all New York City Marathoners

Good thoughts go out to all New York City Marathoners this morning and to all who have or are going to be running in fall marathons. It is an awesome accomplishment, whatever your pace may be.

Originally Published on Sunday, November 6, 2005 in the DAILY RECORD of Morris County

Copyright MADELINE BOST, 2005