CROSS COUNTRY AT HOLMDEL NEXT SUNDAYHolmdel Park is the setting for the first of two cross country championships being hosted by USATF-NJ in October. Deer Path Park in Readington is back on the card after an absence of one year. Both parks have fabulous cross country courses, but that fact is only acknowledged by those who love cross country racing. Holmdel's course is considered the epitome of courses, with its long uphill start, its roller coaster path, relative flatness at the top before the deep drop into the bowl, followed by the gut wrenching climb back out, flatness again at the top before the tricky drop back through the woods to the grassy field for the finish. You 're breathless just reviewing the run. |
The Deerpath course has no bowl but it does have hills, which are frequent enough and similar enough that runners lose count. For the record there are three - no make that four, well actually if you count the long climbs there are five, or is that six. Well, you see what I mean. I suppose a savvy race director would tell his prospective customers that the course is rolling. Yeah, right. It rolls - and it roils.
But if you love cross country the hills are what it's all about. Those hills are fun when you hit the top and are rewarded with a good fast downhill.
The Holmdel race is next Sunday, October 7th. Two races are held. The women's 5K is at 10:30 a.m. and the men's is at 11:30 a.m. USATF-NJ members receive discount both when pre-registering and on race day. Non Members are welcome but they pay a higher fee.
October 28th is the date of the Deer Path Park 8K. The schedule is the same as for the 5K. Registration for both the Holmdel Park and Deer Path Park races begins at 9:30 a.m.
As the races are part of the New Balance Grand Prix series, and as it is a fact that many people do not want to run cross country, there is an enticement that is sometimes overlooked. The floor for points in the grand prix scoring is 300, up from 200 in a road race championship.
For the clubs there is another enticement. Two points are added to each scoring teams points in the team grand prix. Clubs that shy away from cross country will miss the opportunity to maximize their points.
M50 GRAND PRIX BUSTED OPEN BY DE ROBERTS
By the time Charlie Slaughter of Parsippany, Will DeRoberts of Boonton and Bill Trengove of Wharton were warming up last Sunday for the Liberty Half Marathon, they were all aware their grand prix contest had made it into this column.
Slaughter was leading the M50 division with DeRoberts and Trengove hot on his heels. In that column I postulated that if each man scored 730 points that DeRoberts would cruise ahead of Slaughter with Trengove also moving up.
The contest would be who would gain the most points when the race was actually run and conjecture cast aside. DeRoberts emerged victorious in the battle for points. He finished 44th out of 592 men in 1:24:57. Trengove was 65th in 1:28:38 and Slaughter was 66th in 1:28:41. Using the calculator that is available on the New Jersey USATF website, DeRoberts will be given 756 points to add to his 4,722 for a total of 5,478.
Trengove will add 735 to his 4,715 for his total of 5,450. Slaughter will drop a race, his 436 points for the Indian Trails 15K last spring, and add 734 points for the half marathon for a total of 5,387.
DeRoberts could be unbeatable now although Trengove only has to gain 28 points to close the gap. Slaughter may not be able to overcome the 63 points that separate him from Trengove but there is still plenty of racing yet to be done this fall.
The Newark Distance Classic 20K, which moved to the fall this year, the LBI 18 Miler, and the Great Swamp Devil offer another chance or chances to improve or fill in a Category Three race, as well as the USATF-NJ 15K in December.
Category One races are easy to find, and there are still some Category Two races in the lineup; the Paramus 10K and the East Brunswick 10K on October 21st, and the Giralda Farms 10K in Madison on November 11th. The Ashenfelter 8K is the last road championship in Category Two. Be sure to check calendar listings as some races that had been grand prix races may have dropped out in the current year.
Originally published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, September 30, 2007
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2007
