LIBERTY HALF MARATHON FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE FALL SEASONNext Sunday in Jersey City, the Newport Liberty Half Marathon will kick off the fall championship season. Astute readers may notice the slight variation on the name of the race, which is preceded by the title sponsor and now organizer of the event, Newport Town Square. The inaugural organizer, Liberty Health Systems dropped the event this year but it was picked up by Newport, which had been the primary sponsor for the past few years. It should be a seamless transition with Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions brought in to handle the central operations. The 2006 edition of the half marathon met with the most dreaded of all catastrophe for race organizers and runners alike - a course error. The lead runners followed two motorcycle cops who were responding to a traffic situation and were leaving the course, instead of staying with the designated lead bicycle. The error cut the course by close to a mile, rendering the race more a 20K (12.5 miles to be exact) than a half marathon (13.1 miles). It had been a perfect day for a PR, and there was no one happy about the snafu. |
If anything will go wrong next Sunday, I have to believe that it will not be a course error. You can bet that everything possible will be done to ensure that it will not happen again.
Teams from all the participating clubs will be at full strength for the race as two bonus points are added to all team scores. Raritan Valley Road Runners, which has lost the series only one time in the overall club grand prix is in the lead again this year. They are at 210 points to 143 for second place Morris County Striders. Morristown based Sneaker Factory is third with 107 points.
Sneaker Factory is in second in the Open men's division, first in the M40 division, first in Open women and third in W40. They lack older athletes although they could get into the fray in the W50 division.
Morris County is in third in the Open Men and M40. They hold a first in M50 where they have defeated Raritan Valley on each time they have met this year. Their M60 team is doing better this year than at any other time. With no races missed they are in third place.
The Striders are tied with Raritan Valley for second in the Open Women's category but are a poor fourth in the W40. They are tied for third with the Sneaker Factory in the W50 division but while Sneaker Factory ran in only two races so far where they took a first and a second, the stalwart Strider women have run in all four masters championships but never scored better than second in one, and were sixth in their poorest effort. The Striders W60 team has no first and are second by virtue of being the only team other than Raritan Valley in that division.
Scoring of the teams is somewhat variable. In divisions that have many competitors - Open men and women, and M40, first place gets 10 points on down to eighth place getting one. In the M50, M60, and W40 and W50 divisions, first gets 8 points and seventh gets one. The W60, W70, and M70 divisions only award five points for first, then three, then two. It seems to be a balanced distribution of points. Having B and C teams can help to amass more overall points, which is how the Morris County Striders were able to wrestle victory from Raritan Valley in 2005.
Some clubs that are seemingly not in it could be spoilers. Running Company has the talent to win the Open Men's division at any given championship any time they come out with a full team, but so far they have only competed in two races. Ditto for their M40 team. If they get to the start line for all of the fall championships they could move into the leads in those two divisions.
The Breakneck Track Club could push a team down in a single championship in the Open Men but are out of the money in the series. The same is true of the Shore Athletic Club in the M50 division where that team will likely win on their home turf at the Holmdel 5K on October 7th.
HOUNDS AND HARRIER'S
If you have been thinking about entering the Hounds and Harrier's run with your dog on Saturday, October 13th, you could get shut out if you do not do it now. Event organizer, Barbara Rushman reported last week that the race was getting close to being at the 150 limit.
Hounds and Harriers is a three mile run for human and canine teams that run on the park paths in Loantaka Park in Morris Township. The event has gain national attention and been written up in dog lovers magazines, and copied by others with Rushman's guidance and blessing.
Rushman will be a featured guest on Channel 12's Pet Stop next Saturday at 7:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and at 4:00 p.m. On Sunday the show will air at 5:30 a.m., 7:00 a.m. and at 4:00 p.m.
Originally published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, September 16, 2007
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2007
