Thursday, July 29, 2010

Silks and Satins 5K

Sorry, everyone. I forgot to update with some race news from last Saturday's Silks and Satins 5K in Saratoga Springs. It was a really hot and humid morning. But Marist Running and Friends were represented quite well up there.

-- Recent graduate David Raucci (YAY! DAVID GOT THROUGH!!!) won the race in 15:00, obviously showing that he has been able to resume great training after a tough and extremely busy final semester of college.

-- Matt Flint got third overall in 15:22. Flint and Vess and Sam have been training hard all summer here in Poughkeepsie.

-- Adam Vess got seventh overall in 15:43, after a harrowing week of travel in Oklahoma, Memphis and various airports along the way.

-- Sam McMullen got ninth overall in 15:53, perhaps the most exciting development of the day as Sam continues with a great summer.

Lastly, although he has no official ties to Marist, our good buddy Mike Slinskey won the masters race, placing 14th overall in 16:29.

Nicely done, one and all.

A Boss book

Adversity can be your greatest teacher, success your shortest lesson.”

What great thinker said this? Plato, Socrates, DesCartes? Emerson or Thoreau? This quote kind of reminds me of a few lines from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” that went like this:

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same


But it wasn’t Kipling. It wasn’t Hemingway. It wasn’t even Mark Twain.

You know who it was? You’ll be surprised to find out that this original quote can be attributed to none other than … George Steinbrenner, recently deceased king of the New York Yankees’ empire.

I just finished reading Bill Madden’s excellent book on Steinbrenner called “The Last Lion of Baseball.” The book was meticulously researched and so well-written that it was a can’t-put-down page-turner – rare for a historical, non-fiction book. It helps immensely that Madden lived through all of the Steinbrenner era and was closely associated with a lot of it.

Like Madden, many of my heroes growing up were not necessarily the players who played the game but rather the men who covered the games. So it was really cool to see many references to Moss Klein, Dick Young, Phil Pepe and other sportswriters that I grew up reading in the Newark Star-Ledger and New York Daily News.

Steinbrenner was many things. The book points out his tyrannical rule over the Yankees – he fired two front-office people on separate occasions, with their primary sin being that IT RAINED AT YANKEE STADIUM. He could be emotionally irrational. That’s an understatement. He was very much into military history and a military approach to a sport in which that approach very often backfires.

Make no mistake that this was a very smart man. He bought the Yankees for an original outlay in the low six figures. At the time of his death, the Yankees and their network were worth in the billions (not millions, billions). A pretty good return on his original investment in 1973.

I was surprised that Madden only made glancing references to all the good work and behind-the-scenes community service stuff Steinbrenner did in his life. This book focuses almost exclusively on baseball.

Anyway, I liked the Big Stein quote and felt like sharing it. And I really liked the book; if you are a baseball fan and a Yankee fan, it is a must-read. Even if you are not, it is a fascinating case study of an extremely successful but somewhat flawed leader of a powerful empire called the New York Yankees.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Something to be proud of ...

Check out the following press release that was posted at www.GoRedFoxes.com.

We are all very proud of this, and as a team (men's and women's, track and cross country) we should be pumped about this since we really pad the statistics with our excellent student-athletes in all three (six, really) seasons.

To one and all: NICELY DONE!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: July 27, 2010
Contact: Mike Ferraro, Marist Sports Information (845-575-3321)

For Ninth Straight Year, Marist Leads MAAC In Academic Honor Roll
Selections
Red Foxes Have 167 Student-Athletes Honored

EDISON, N.J. – With a total of 167 student-athletes honored, Marist has
led the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in selections to the
conference’s Academic Honor Roll for the ninth straight season, which was
released by the MAAC on Tuesday.

The Red Foxes placed 51 more student-athletes on the Honor Roll than any
other school in the conference. Iona had 116 honorees, followed by
Fairfield with 100, Loyola with 99, Niagara with 97, Manhattan with 93,
Canisius with 92, Rider and Siena at 81 and Saint Peter’s with 57.

“I’m extremely proud of our student-athletes and coaches, who clearly
understand what’s necessary to be competitive on the field, as evidenced
through our Commissioner’s Cup,” Marist Director of Athletics Tim Murray
said. “The number of selections to the MAAC Academic Honor Roll validates
how competitive our student-athletes are in the classroom.”

A student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 grade-point average on a 4.0
scale to be eligible for the MAAC Academic Honor Roll while being in at
least his or her second year of athletic eligibility. Both full-time and
associate members of the conference are eligible to place students on the
Honor Roll in all 24 sports sponsored by the conference. In all, 1,054
student-athletes in 22 schools were named to the Honor Roll.

The student-athletes placed on the MAAC Academic Honor Roll cover 22 of
Marist’s 23 Division I sports. The lone exception is football, in which
the Red Foxes compete in the Pioneer Football League (PFL). Marist had 29
student-athletes named to the PFL Academic Honor Roll, which has a minimum
grade-point average requirement of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale and no restrictions
in terms of academic year.

Listed below is each school’s number of selections to the MAAC Academic
Honor Roll:
Marist, 167
Iona, 116
Fairfield, 100
Loyola, 99
Niagara, 97
Manhattan, 93
Canisius, 92
Rider, 81
Siena, 81
Saint Peter’s, 57

Monday, July 26, 2010

Hair today, gone tomorrow ...



It started back in early May, when my jogging partner Eric and I were complaining about our extra poundage around the midsection. He came up with idea of a "biggest loser" contest for the summer. Whoever lost the contest (did not lose the most weight) would shave his head on or around Labor Day.

I've been pretty diligent, eliminating Dr Pepper and doing my "water walking" as a way to peel back the layers. However, the plan changed midstream. Eric texted me while I was on vacation about a great fundraiser that he wanted to take part in -- Shave for a Cure -- to benefit the St. Jude Children's Hospital. The idea was you get pledges for St. Jude's and then go to Mahoney's on the Shave Night and get your head buzzed.

Eric really got into it at work, raising close to $1,000. I was a bit more bashful, but still raised a modest $150.48 from a few generous co-workers and friends that I dared to ask.

We both got buzzed at Mahoney's -- well, you know what I mean -- on Friday night, and we toasted our baldness over dinner there. It was a great fundraiser, garnering more than $25,000! Of course, we do run the risk of the hair not growing back too quickly ... or at all. In my case, I will have to make sure that my facial hair does not grow more quickly than my actual hair.

Lastly, for those team members yearning for a return of my mullet (side note: I'm already pushing it with the tube socks at home, I do want to stay happily married!), well, that will have to wait many, many months.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Recruiting materials

Recruiting from sport to sport is so radically different that it boggles the mind.

For some sports, the cycle starts extremely early -- checking out young players at club and AAU events when they are barely removed from middle school. For other sports, videos and DVDs of prospective student-athletes help to market them in an intensely competitive recruiting environment.

And then there is track/cross country.

The thought is fresh in my mind because a prospective student-athlete today sent me a very impressive DVD of himself and his excellent track performances to date. I was very appreciative to have received it.

But here's the thing: In our sport, performances are all that matters.

It kind of simplies things. If someone is fast or strong or can jump high or far, all that is needed is verification of performances -- and that's easy enough on the Internet.

All we need is a time or a mark that can be proved, and it validates whether a prospect is worthy of our attention. In a way, that's kind of refreshing.

Trend setter?

Remember my "Fool in the Pool" post from a while back? Well, I'm still at it in the pool -- doing my AquaJogging several days per week. Now, apparently, I have a bit of a cult following.

During the summer, I work in an academic program with a few student-athletes several mornings per week. They happened to see me doing my thing in the pool one afternoon and asked me about it in class the next morning.

When I told them what it was about, they were curious and decided to try it. And they got their coaches to try it to. All reported that it was "a lot harder than it looks" and they "could not believe" I did that for an entire 30 minutes without stopping.

All reported to enjoy it and found it therapeutic.

So, for as old and as fat and as slow as I have become ... at least I can still (sort of) impress someone out there.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

From one cloud to another ...




It’s a bit of old news, but worth catching up with here … Marist alum, good friend and blog follower from afar Bob Sweeney (he now lives out near Boulder in Louisville, Colo.) had his best race since moving out West at last month’s Mt. Evans Ascent in Idaho Springs, Colo.

According to the race Web site, it is billed as “America’s Highest Road Race.” And really … who is to argue this claim when you consider the fact that the race STARTS at the lung-searing elevation of 10,600 feet … and then proceeds to go up … up … up for the next 14.5 miles, finishing at 14,264 feet. Here’s how the race’s Web site describes it:

Although the air will be noticeably thin at the starting line, Echo Lake's 10,600 feet of elevation is just the beginning. The climb totals nearly 4,000 vertical feet - much of it above treeline - as you make your way 14.5 miles to the finish line located at the summit of one of the most recognizable peaks on Denver's mountain skyline - 14,264 foot Mt. Evans.

Bob blitzed the race, completing the course in 1:52:58 – a 7:48 pace – and good for second overall. A young hotshot nearly 20 years his junior drilled the course in 1:41:21 (7:00 pace!).

Bob’s in great shape as he continues consistent training for ultra challenges in the future. For those that do not know Bob or know OF Bob (I have spoken about him frequently to the current team, none of whom has met him), he was and is a talented, tough and very fast marathon and ultra-marathon runner. I could continue to brag about his amazing endurance performances here, but that would probably annoy him, so I won’t.

Jut Harris: Triathlon professional

Congrats are in order for Marist alum and steeplechase school-record holder Justin Harris, who had a breakthrough personal performance at the NYC Triathlon Sunday. Jut earned his professional ranking in triathlons with his third-place finish in the elite amateur division.

Look, this triathlon stuff is really complicated. Just searching for Jut’s results last night was like a Where’s Waldo project. So many different categories and affiliations! Well, now it will be easy to search for Jut’s results. He’s a PRO!

Words on a blog cannot express my pride in this accomplishment. So rather than gush about it, I’ll just give you some numbers:

Jut was third out of 68 in his division in a time of 1:54:28. The race consisted of a 1,500-meter swim, a 40km (about 25-mile) bike and a 10km run. On the bike, Jut finished in a little over an hour and averaged 24.2 mph. On the run, Jut got a 33:56 split (5:28 pace). Great stuff!

Down Under Joe




Joe Tarantello (Class of 2008, loyal blog follower and great friend of the program) quite possibly set the unofficial record for racing in a Marist Alumni Racing Team singlet the furthest distance from Poughkeepsie.

On July 4, Joey Tat ran the Gold Coast Airport Marathon in Australia. That’s right. Down Under. Coming off his great effort in Boston and after a busy spring track season of coaching in Connecticut, Joe was looking at this more as a destination marathon/long run.

He did great nonetheless, placing 117th out of 4,527 finishers and seventh in the 18-24 age group in 2:55:36. Nicely done, Joe!

Check out the artsy photo of the singlet, along with a smiling post-race Running Red Fox.

Marist at the Boilermaker

OK! As promised, here is the first of a few race reports …

At the 15-kilometer Boilermaker in Utica earlier this month, several current and former Marist runners and family members did a nice job in the 9.3-mile summer classic.

This is a race I’ve never done, but from what I have heard, it features, in no particular order: 1. A hilly course; 2. A huge and competitive field, with a lot of cheering spectators; 3. Such a big crowd at the start that warming up properly is virtually impossible; 4. A pretty good post-race celebration that includes, for those of age, beer.

Current team members:

Brittany Burns, who just graduated with the highest of academic honors (rules do not permit me from posting her GPA, but it is quite stellar!) but will be returning for a fifth year of track eligibility (yippee!!), did an amazing job. (Sorry, that was a run-on sentence, huh?) She placed seventh in her age division and ran 1:00:05. Nicely done, Britt!!!!

Joel Moss, entering his sophomore year, improved by more than six minutes over his 2009 time with his 100th place finish in 53:31. He got 10th place in the 15-19 division. Nice job by Joel, who also did a great job of showing up at Saturday’s BBQ with a camouflage “Kum & Go” hat – a fond remembrance of our recent trip to Des Moines. Nicely done, Joel!!!

Alumni and family:

Marist alums Steve Hicks and his wife Christine Hicks had strong races at the Boilermaker. Steve was 57th overall and 18th in the 25-29 in 51:19. Christine was 29th in the 25-29 in 1:06:01.

Marist alum Lisa D’Aniello was 33rd in the 20-24 in 1:07:39, as she continues her excellent progress in preparation for the NYC Marathon this fall.

Steve’s parents and younger brother, who live up the road in nearby Red Hook, also participated in the Boilermaker. Sharon Hicks was 44th in the 55-59 (1:29:21); Bill Hicks was 120th in the 55-59 (1:18:50). Ryan Hicks, now 14! (man, I remember when he was younger than my kids!!!), was 18th in the 14-under (1:20:56).

Nicely done by one and all, young and older …

Monday, July 19, 2010

A few updates ...

Sorry for the lack of posts. The end of last week and into the weekend were busy, away-from-computer times for me. I noticed a few comments on the previous picture post. Allow me to answer those questions and expound upon a few other things ...

1. Web, Bekele is a common Ethiopian name. We did not have any world record holders on campus. At least to my knowledge.
2. Peter, Girma's brother graduated from law school in Minnesota the previous week and decided to bring/wear his cap and gown. Pretty neat.
3. Steve, tube socks rule! You watch, they will come back into vogue. You know, I was at a local race last year and a runner came up to me and said, "Oh Pete, are those compression socks?" I think she was disappointed when I told her they were K-Mart vintage tube socks. Now, if only they still made them with the stripes ...

And then there's ...

1. The team BBQ was a success Saturday down by the river. Of course, it would help if your old coach wasn't such an idiot. As the hungry masses were hovering over the grill, I was sweating and stressing out and wondering why the burgers were not cooking so fast. That would be because I had the burners set on very low instead of very high. Duh.
2. I have several race updates to post and will get to them as soon as I have time to organize the posts and my thoughts. To preview: Utica Boilermaker, Joey Tat's marathon in Australia (!) and Justin Harris' milestone effort in a triathlon.
3. My oldest son and I (along with his friend and his friend's dad) went to Yankee Stadium for the historic and emotional "Steinbrenner Game" on Friday night. Pure luck, as we had purchased the tickets weeks ago. It was my first time at the new ballpark and let me tell you, I was blown away by it all. Perhaps I will post on that if there is interest.

And lastly ...

A reminder to stay hydrated with water and sports drink during this unusually hot summer we are having. Run. Rehydrate. Rehydrate. Rehydrate. Run Some More. (Pre- and Post-Hydration is a good idea too ...)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Graduation photo ...



Above is a photo from Friday night at graduation back in May. It's pretty cool. For those keeping score at home, here is the left-to-right caption information, provided by the star of the show (Girma Segni):

Tesfaye Bekele (Friend), Dr. Dennis Murray, Girma Segni, Hanna Assefa (sister in law), Alemnesh Segni (sister), Birhanemeskel Abebe Segni (brother), Peter Colaizzo (coach and sock modelist), and Fikadu Lemma (friend)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Do good quietly

The death today of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has brought forth a torrent of responses, tributes and endless coverage on TV, radio, Internet and (tomorrow) the newspapers. I do not mean to add to the huge pile, but as most of you know I am a big Yankee fan, so allow me to chime in a few words here in both of my blogs.

Like most folks – famous and not-so-famous – Steinbrenner was a complex personality.

He was known for his bluster, for firing managers and other employees as frequently as we change the oil in our cars. He was also well-known for his irrational overspending on free agents, especially during the foolhardy decade of the 1980s, when the Yankees had high-priced players who often underperformed. He also did genuinely bad things that came with hugely negative consequences – he was banned from Major League Baseball twice!

On the flip side, many Yankee fans adored him. He cared deeply about winning above all else. There is no denying the success the franchise achieved during his watch. He deserves at least some of the credit for all the pennants and world titles began shortly after he took over the storied franchise back in 1973.

But here’s the thing that I want to focus on, something that few people knew about during his life and more folks may realize now that The Boss is gone: He was a quiet philanthropist. He donated to many causes. He helped many downtrodden people and organizations. He did this with absolutely no fanfare, and in fact shunned publicity for his good deeds. He might have been a General Patton-like bully on the outside, but on the inside there was a heart of gold.

This aspect of Steinbrenner intrigues me, in part because I do not know much about it. I’m hoping that Bill Madden’s book “The Last Lion of Baseball,” will shed some light on this subject. Madden, the longtime baseball writer for the New York Daily News, wrote the book, which was published earlier this year. I had requested it from the library about two months ago. This morning, I got the call that the book finally came in for me. A few minutes later, I learned of Steinbrenner’s death. Weird.

Anyway, one of the core values of the Marist Brothers is to “do good quietly.” This is something that I find deeply moving. The fact that Steinbrenner apparently embraced this edict, to me, is pretty cool.

Monday, July 12, 2010

BBQ RSVP

Reminder: Team barbecue at the Marist Riverfront. Saturday, beginning around 4 pm

If you plan on attending, please text or email me. We are trying to get a rough head count so we know how much food to purchase. We will probably be asking for a small donation ($5) per person to cover the costs of food, drink, snacks, etc.

Hope you can make it and see you soon.

Happy New Year

OK! We are back from nearly two weeks of Internet-free vacation at Lake George. My email inbox is down to 47 messages -- from a high of 362! If one of your emails is one that I have not replied to ... I'm getting there.

Anyway, I look at this time of year as the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. Summer training is now serious and important. Not that the end of May and June are NOT important. But now, we take it up another level as we get into specifics of preparing for the upcoming seasons. Note that I say seasons (plural) as your training now sets the table not only for cross country but also for track.

As I go through my emails, there are some interesting tidbits that I will be posting about. Be patient as I catch up and re-assimilate to normal life.