MIDLAND RUN IS ONLY A MEMORY

Ah, the month of May. The first Saturday in May is the Kentucky Derby. The second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day. The third Sunday in May is the Mid . . . . . . Whoa! For the first time in memory, unless your race memory goes back more than 28 years there will be no Midland Run on any Sunday in May.

On Saturday [yesterday the 13th] a group of runners gathered at the Far Hills railroad station to run a memorial to the Midland Run that would have been held from the Moorland Farms across the street from the station next Sunday. In years past, on the weekend prior to the Midland Run, the railroad station was a hub of activity as runners got in a practice run on the course. Yesterday’s run was all about fond memories.

Eva Fisher of Boonton has been running the Midland since the late 1980’s and feels the loss of a great event.

“It’s a shame,” she said. “This is the only race of it’s kind in New Jersey, where all the teams would get together; have a race, and then party.”

“There is nothing like it,” said Fisher. “It’s a venue that can’t be imitated. It’s a beautiful course, for one thing. It can’t be repeated. You would bring your families. You can relax and celebrate running. Celebrate racing.”

Sherrie Felton of Bedminster has run five Midland 15K’s. During the run she was very comfortable and quipped that she wished she had “felt this good when I was running the race”. While Felton is a 5K runner and considers the 15K a stretch for her, she noted that many people would focus their spring training on the Midland Run.

“It was really important to a lot of people in the running community,” said Felton. “Hopefully, something will come along that will replace it.”

Peter Onufryk of Flanders has run around ten Midlands and has been in better shape.

“My peak was probably around 2001,” he explained. “I got married and have two kids. I was just lucky to finish today.”

“I think it’s a real loss,” said Onufryk. “It was one of the major club events during the year. Everybody would come out. The picnic afterwards was great.”

“ I ran it when I was younger and I didn’t have a family and now I have a family and my kids are old enough to really appreciate it,” he said. “I think that there may be other runs but in terms of a family event and great fun afterwards I don’t think it will never be replaced.”

Gene Gugliotta of North Plainfield, the president of the Raritan Valley Road Runners, the club that organized the memorial run, had a uniquely nostalgic run. He ran with Lesley Wassef, a recent arrival from Melbourne, Australia.

“I was describing what the race felt like at different points and the different strategies,” he said. “How people would not calculate for those hills and how a lot of people who only had a 10K experience would start dropping there.”

“ Sometimes along the lake (mile five and six) people would lose concentration just because it was so pretty,” said Gugliotta. “So if you concentrated on the race you could pass people there. Of course after getting over the second hill how great it felt going downhill on Route 202 to the finish line. I was giving her the flavor of the race.”

Jeff Wells another Flanders resident came to the memorial run not for nostalgia sake but precisely because he has no memories of the race.

“I have never run the Midland Run as a matter of fact. I have always wanted to do it but it has never fitted into my schedule,” said Wells. “I heard that this [the memorial run] was happening. I hated to see the run go, but I was able to come down and see the course. It is beautiful.”

“I had a feeling of sadness that the race was no longer in existence,” said Rosanne Lemongello of Basking Ridge who ran her first Midland Run in 1997. “It was a nice time, a fun time. It got a lot of people out. People who were not hard core runners would come out just to support the school and enjoy the day.”

People who would like to continue to contribute to the Midland School for developmentally disabled children may send their donations to the Midland Foundation, P O Box 5026, North Branch NJ 08876

GILDA’S RUN

A new 15K is making no claims to replace the Midland Run 15K but has taken the slot that the famous race’s departure has opened up. Gilda’s Run is taking place in Saddle River County Park in Paramus next Sunday, May 21st, and cannot feature the technical course that was the Midland Run’s most compelling feature. The Gilda’s Run course is described as being mostly flat with some rolling hills so should be fast.

The race is one of the few 500 point Category Three events in the New Balance Grand Prix series. The start time is 9:00 a.m. More information can be found at www.oymp.net.

Published in the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, May 14, 2006

Copyright Madeline Bost, 2006