GRAND PRIX WRAPS UP, ANOTHER BEGINS
Now here’s a riddle for you. What race, being held this year on December 30th, will have been in the New Balance Grand Prix all of its five years, and yet was not in the 2006 grand prix?
Give up? Ramona’s Run in Perth Amboy. Yep. This year Ramona’s Run will be in the 2007 grand prix and in fact is being marketed as the first grand prix race of 2007. The reason has to do with administration of the grand prix. Once today’s ten miler is done, the grand prix series is over for 2006 and the results can be tabulated and verified. Winners will be notified so that they can plan to attend the USATF New Jersey awards banquet on January 20th.
While Perth Amboy is a distance to travel for Morris area runners, when you are the only game in “town” you have a more irresistible draw than in May or June when runners can choose from more than a dozen races within easy reach. But Ramona’s has more than exclusivity to offer. It is a seldom raced four miles and it starts at near sundown on a Saturday night. The four o’clock start time allows for a post race buffet and party, with a DJ and music and prize drawings, all indoors of course. More information is at www.OYMP.net.
Having that niche works for Ramona’s Run and the Beach Blast 5K at Swartswood State Park in Sussex County has a niche that works for them. The entry fee for the race is only ten dollars, but even that is waived for runners who get into the summer-at-the-beach theme, and dress as swimmers and race in their bathing suits. You would expect that not many would take up the challenge but about twenty runners out of the 125 finishers did just that in 2005, according to race director Guy Gordon of Newton.
Gordon explains that the weather was in the 60’s that day, making the swim suit a more agreeable attire than might be expected at a winter race. Only seven were willing to bare their skin for the free entry in 2004 when the temperature was more like 20 degrees.
Gordon reports that the 2005 women’s division winner was this fall’s high school freshman cross country standout, Diane D’Achille of Denville who finished in 19:19. The Beach Blast is scheduled for Saturday, December 16th at 1:00 p.m. More information can be found at http://eteamz.active.com/bearsrunningclub.
TEN MILER TODAY HAS TIGHTER RACE THAN WAS REPORTED
As you read this the runners will be assembling for the USATF-New Jersey ten mile championship in West Windsor in their final efforts to increase their long distance running grand prix scores. On the women’s side the contest is tighter than I lead you to believe in last week’s column.
Jeanne Pare of Mendham was at risk of being passed by Beth Moras of Ridgewood, who is in second place. Moras has a low score in one of her Category Three races and if she races well today, she could increase her points by enough to pass Pare, if Pare were to sit at home. Alert friends contacted me, and Pare, and she is at the race this morning to protect her lead in the series.
One thing is certain. There will be a much larger field than in 2005 when snow and ice marred the running route and chilled the runners and volunteers. Pre-race entries were over 175, only couple of dozen less than the number of finishers in 2005. Not only will the relatively mild weather predicted for today encourage post entries, but the race now accepts non-members of USATF, whose entry fee is just slightly more than for members.
Originally p ublished by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, December 10, 2006.
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2006
