THANKSGIVING BRINGS OUT THE RUNNERS
If there is a runner in the family, Thanksgiving morning will be a little different than at most homes. Mom will have either spent Wednesday doing a lot of her holiday food preparations, or she has accepted an invitation to spend the holiday with another family. Instead of standing in the kitchen, she will be tying on her racing shoes at one of the several races around the state.
If she is a member of a running club team or interested in her points in the USATF-NJ grand prix she will head to Glen Ridge for the Ashenfelter 8K Open Men and Women's Championship. Prize money is awarded to the top five men and women members of USATF-NJ, but it's the age group winners that have something to shoot for; New Balance cool max running shirts to the top three in each division. A quick check of the race website, www.ashenfelterclassic.com reveals "late breaking news" that New Balance shoes will also be awarded to the top three division winners.
The pioneer of Thanksgiving Day races in New Jersey is the Flemington Turkey Trot and it still draws the largest field of runners. Last year 1,605 finished with one of New Jersey's favorite daughters, Anne Marie Lauck taking the women's race in 17:56.
For running families, the Dick Meighan memorial 5K in Upper Saddle River is probably the place to go. The age groups for the kids have been narrowed to only two year age group in keeping with USATF standards, beginning with ten and under and then 11 and 12 year olds, on up until 19 to 24, and then the age divisions fall into five year groups. More information is at www.dickmeighan5krun.org.
Thanksgiving races extend a bit farther than just the holiday. The Colonial Park Turkey Trot was held yesterday in Franklin Township with just under 300 finishers. The
Westfield 5 Miler in Tameques Park, is next Saturday, November 25th and bears attention for the runners competing in the USATF New Balance Grand Prix, as it is the last non-championship 500 point Category Two race in the series. In 2005 it attracted nearly 700 runners and is sure to do the same this year. Information can be found at www.practicehard.com.
REYNOLDS SHINES AT GIRALDA FARMS
Ben Reynolds, 42, of Chatham with just one week of rest after his New York City Marathon toed the starting line in Madison this past Sunday at the Giralda Farms 10K USATF-NJ Masters Championship. Reynolds separated himself early from the rest of the field and ran solo over the challenging course to win by over one minute in 33:06. Finishing second was another masters Drew Davis of East Stroudsburg who finished in 34:10.
Reynolds also claimed the highest score in the age grading with an 87.1%. Davis age graded second with 85.7% and Roger Price, 57, of Piscataway with his finishing time of 38:39 age grading at 84.2%.
On the women's side, Victoria Ganushina of Brooklyn, won the women's race in 37:27. Beth Moras, 47, of Ridgewood, placed second in 40:26, which age graded at 82.7%. Anna Thornhill, 66, of New York City, hit the highest in age grading at 90.6% for her 47:49 finishing time. Imme Dyson, 69, of Princeton was second at 83.2% for her 54:36.
LOCAL TEAMS HAD MIXED SUCCESS
The Sneaker Factory won the W50 division, took second in the W40 and third in the M40 team division.
The Morris County Striders had only one win to brag about. Their W70 team won their division and helped their W60 team by placing third on the B team while their A team took second. The Striders made up for speed with numbers with their W40 squad taking third and fourth, and their W50 teams taking second and fifth.
The Strider men placed fourth in the M60, and second in M50. Their M40 squad took third and seventh. Depth won over speed, with the faster Sneaker Factory teams garnering 22 points toward the overall club grand prix, while the prolific Morris County teams racked up forty points.
This Thursday's 8K Ashenfelter will favor the Sneaker Factory as the Striders do best at masters competitions while the Sneaker Factory can put together fast open teams.
Not lost on anybody is that the "valley girls and boys" as one wag from the Striders club has dubbed the Raritan Valley Road Runners, has a lock on first place.
Originally p ublished in the DAILY RECORD of Morris County New Jersey on November 19, 2006
Copyright, MADELINE BOST, 2006
