RARITAN VALLEY WINS GRAND PRIX, MORRIS CLUBS SECOND AND THIRD
The Raritan Valley Road Runners obviously did not care to place second, as they did in 2005, in the USATF-NJ Liberty Waterfront Club Grand Prix. They came back in 2006 to trounce the 2005 winners, the Morris County Striders, winning by a sizable margin, 500 points to 415. The Sneaker Factory, also based in Morris County, finished in third place with 260 points.
The team grand prix was begun in 1997 with the overall club category initiated in 2001. Raritan Valley has won the overall trophy each of those years except in 2005 when the Striders pulled off an upset.
Points are accumulated at each USATF-New Jersey championship road or cross country race. Each division has its own grand prix with the team's points thrown into the overall club total. Obviously the club with the greater number of teams will have a decided advantage.
Raritan Valley won in six team divisions; Open Men, Open Women, W40, M50, W50, W60, and tied for first in M60. Morris County had a win in the W70 division where they are the only competitor, and finished second in M50, W50 and W60.
The Sneaker Factory placed second to Raritan Valley in the Open Men division although they were tied for first on points but dropped to second based on the number of wins. Sneaker Factory also had seconds in Open Women and W40. Morris County's biggest strength is in fielding a wider range of teams and having large enough squads to field B teams in some divisions.
The Open Women's division was one of the tightest contests with the ten mile race earlier this month the deciding factor, raising the Sneaker Factory to second with the Striders dropping to third with a one point spread. The winning team, Raritan Valley was only two points up from the Sneaker Factory.
In the M40 contest, Raritan Valley took second over the Sneaker Factory by only one point. The Running Company was well ahead in first place, with a 17 point lead.
Another close contest was in the W60 division with the Raritan Valley holding their lead over Morris County by one point.
NEW YEAR'S DAY NO TIME TO SLEEP IN
Runners will be up, out, and running tomorrow morning. Most clubs hold New Year's Day runs, like the Rose City Runners and the Sneaker Factory club members who will be running in Mendham and the Morris County Striders who will have their get-together in Randolph.
For those who need competition to get them out the door, there are several races to choose from, although all are a bit of a drive from this area. In Westfield the Central Jersey Road Runners will be holding their 25th Hangover Run 5K at noon in Tamaques Park.
Another Hangover Run, but this one of five miles, takes place in Hamilton down in Mercer County, close to Trenton.
Also south of here is the Hillsborough Resolution 5K that will start at 11:00 a.m. All three races had over 350 runners in 2006 and the Westfield run had nearly 400 finishers. More information can be found at www.compuscore.com
Go east to Bergen County for the First Day 5K in Fairlawn's Memorial Park. Start time is 11:00 a.m. This is the smallest of all the races having only 183 finishers in 2006. For information on the First Day 5K go to www.bestrace.com
Race Results can be found at www.compuscore.com or at www.bestrace.com
A calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com for running as well as tri and biathlon events.
Originally published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, December 31, 2006
Copyright Madeline Bost, 2006
