A top-10 at Ironman Lake Placid

A hearty and huge congrats and NICELY DONE to Marist Running Alum Chris “Chomps” McCloskey for his incredible Ironman Lake Placid finish on Sunday. We were tracking his progress all day and it just kept getting better and better. Chris placed ninth overall (9^th!!!!) and fifth in his age division with a time of 9:56:00. He texted me after the race to say the last half of his marathon was brutal due to the heat and humidity. But he got it done. For those keeping score at home, here are his monstrous splits:

2.4 mile swim: 1:04:11, 1:39 per 100 meters

112 mile bike: 5:16:09, 21.26 mph

26.2 mile run: 3:27:53, 7:53 per mile

Transitions:

Swim to bike: 4:53

Bike to run: 2:54

Although it has been pointed out before, it is worth mentioning again here: Chomps was a record-setting middle distance runner during his years at Marist (and also at John Jay High School, where he ran for our good pal, coach Steve Perks). And during his time at Marist, he never really took a liking to distance running during cross country season (side note: I am being very kind here; he hated it!). So to see him develop into an incredible endurance animal is incredibly rewarding. It used to be surprising, but it is not anymore, as he has clearly established himself in this area. Good stuff.

Deedy on top of the world!

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Deedy (Pat Deedy) for his successful hike on the John Muir Trail in California, culminating with reaching the summit of Mount Whitney in California -- for those keeping score at home, Whitney's summit is at 14,505 feet (4,421 meters), and is the highest point in the lower 48 states. Notice in the photo, which I poached from Facebook, that Deedy is proudly displaying his old-school Marist singlet. And for those alert followers out there, you'll notice that Deedy is wearing his Marist track winter hat under all those layers. Speaking of poaching ... here is Deedy's FB post on his accomplishment: Over 200 hundred miles (16 days; 180 miles on the JMT) later with 50 lbs. on my back and I've reached the highest point in the original 48 states. Mt. Whitney at 14,505 ft...some of the most beautiful and breath taking miles I've ever completed. Still doing them post-Marist! Thanks Nick Briggs and Sue Ellen Briggs for inviting me on this incredible journey

Home at last

Thoughts on the team BBQ on Saturday: Always great to see everyone in the middle of the summer. The family atmosphere of the program lends itself to heartfelt hugs and reunions, even in our Social Media Age where teammates and close friends can stay connected on a minute-by-minute basis, 24-7. However, I guess there is no replacing good old-fashioned face-to-face contact. We would have loved to see more of our track brothers and sisters, but alas schedules did not permit it to occur this time around. There was a smattering of recent alums, and as always we welcome them all. Special thanks to Mr. Edsall for working up a serious sweat and manning the grill so our athletes and families could enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken.

After the team departed, the tables and chairs were broken down, and all the leftover food was packed away, there were just a few of us lazily hanging out by the river on a pleasant summer evening. The clouds rolled in, a welcome relief from the stinging summer sun, and no one was in any rush to leave. In particular, a handful of recent alums were wistful in their longing for this old school home. Indeed, after a few years away from the shores of the Hudson, they felt they were, in the words of the classic SteelyDan song, “Home at Last.” Sometimes it takes the lens of a few years’ away to realize how special it is to be a member of a close-knit collegiate team, and to long for those days of yore. Hopefully, our current athletes can realize this, and cherish every moment of their relatively short time together – like a midsummer afternoon in the sun with some food and drink and a lazy river in the background. 

Deja vu all over again

In the "some things never change" department ... here is a wonderful photo taken by our friend Bob Kopac from Friday night's Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club track series out at Arlington High School. Coach and athlete, through the decades. Pictured is Mr. Bucket ("David Swift") racing the 1,600 meters (As he often reminds us: "I'm a miler, you know") at the track series, with his old coach in the tube socks yelling out splits. Just like it was 1993 or something. The only difference! We are both much older, slower and grayer. But! I'm still coaching (so is he!) and he's still racing reasonably well -- in this race, he outkicked a hotshot Mid-Hudson Athletic League runner who is about one-third his age. Seems like yesterday that Swifty was our lead runner for the Running Red Foxes at the NEC meet down at Clove Lakes State Park when some unnamed alum (we'll call him MARTY) handed him an Adult Beverage at the finish line (unbeknownst to me, until later). Ah. Those were the days. Nowadays? Mr. B is prepping for some masters nationals races. A lot older, a little heavier, but still chasin' it after all these years ...

Red Fox Trot 5K will not be held

Several folks in the Marist Running world have asked what the date of the Red Fox Trot 5K will be. Well. Here’s the thing! The Red Fox Trot 5K will not be held this year. Several members of the race committee – including the race director -- decided not to return to the committee, and at this late date there was not enough time to hustle together a new organizing committee for the race. So, there will not be a Fox Trot. We are extremely appreciative to the Red Fox Club for formulating the race idea and for hosting this race for the past several years. It has been a great tradition. As stated last month, we are hopeful to really boost attendance and participation in the new Walkway races in June, which start and finish down at the Marist Riverfront. Perhaps that will be our new racing tradition down at the river. Again, thanks to the Red Fox Club for all they do for our program and all of athletics.   

Team BBQ set for next Saturday

Our annual summer team BBQ will be Saturday, July 25, along the Marist Riverfront at the historic Cornell Boathouse. We’ll get things started around 4 p.m., due to a huge Dragon Boat event being held down at the river the same day. If interested, get down there early and check out the Dragon Boats – it’s a pretty cool scene. Hope to see you at the BBQ.

Wedding season

In between the two ballgames in three days, we had a wonderful wedding to attend, as Marist Running Alum Colleen Ryan got married last Friday night in the Marist Chapel – the same venue where Heidi and I got married 20 years ago. Here is a group picture of the Marist Running contingent at the wedding reception at Locust Grove, as well as Coll with her old coach. We wish Colleen and Nick a lifetime of happiness.

Put it in the books! 2 ballgames in 3 days

Due to the generosity of friends, my son James and I were able to go to two Major League baseball games in three days last week. Last Thursday afternoon, we went to Yankee Stadium to see the Bombers beat the Athletics. On Saturday afternoon, we went to Citi Field to watch the Mets slug their

way past the Diamondbacks. James has become a bit more of a Mets’ fan than Yankees, but he likes both teams. His favorite player is Lucas Duda, and he was thrilled to see Duda go deep on Saturday. Equally thrilling was a chance meeting with the radio voice of the Mets, Howie Rose (pictured above with us). Howie is a true pro -- whether it is calling hockey games on TV, baseball games on the radio, or even taking calls on WFAN back in the day – and he was very gracious with us. As Howie would say: “Put it in the books!” Two fun games on warm summer days.

4th of July: Congrats to Kell and Bill

A wonderful day for Marist Running at the 26th annual Firecracker 5-mile race in Wall Township, New Jersey, on the 4th of July! The results were great but were secondary to the post-race fireworks, when Billy Posch proposed to Kelley Gould at the finish line. She said yes and we are THRILLED for the happy couple and their impending nuptials. As far as the race goes, Ken Walshak won it, Billy was second on the men's side; in the women's race, Katie Messina won it and Annie Gould was third. But again, the headline of the day (literally: check this link!) was Kelley and Billy. NICELY DONE!

4th of July: A fast-moving flag

My son Joey is 15 and turning 16 soon. He’s at the age where questionable decisions and debatable judgment are the norm. And so it is with a smile that I report that he used unusual and questionable judgment by racing a 4-miler in Saratoga Springs on the 4^th of July wearing a full-body stars and stripes morphsuit. It’s full body, as in, covering his head and face. His vision was impaired to the point of barely seeing in front of him. Fortunately, it was not too hot and humid, but he admitted to being less than comfortable in that not-very-breathable suit. When I saw him with about 50 meters to go and implored him to start kicking, he said, “oh, where’s the finish line?” Uh. Yeah. But again, I type this with a smile. If these are among the worst head-scratching choices of my soon-to-be 16-year-old, we’re doing OK at this point. For those keeping score at home, Flag Boy cracked the top 100 (99^th out of 3,205 finishers and 27^th of 217 in the 15-19 division) and ran 24:31, an average of about 6:08 per mile. Not bad for a moving flag.

Emptying the inbox: Joe T in Argentina

Emptying the inbox, part 2: Marist Running Alum Joe Tarantello checked off another continent on his round-the-world marathon quest by completing the La Bandera Marathon in Argentina. Here is Joe T’s email: Buenos Tardes from Rosario, Argentina. Just thought I would let you know that I completed the La Bandera Marathon this morning. I am still pursuing my crazy goal of a marathon on every continent; continent #4 is complete. I was extremely nervous and scared coming into this. I’ve been battling ongoing issues with my leg and have been unable to exceed an hour of running since my last marathon in November. Best case scenario I was thinking 3:30 and worst case just finishing under the 6-hour deadline. I exceeded expectations and ran 3:28:40 and didn’t have to walk. My legs are done but I’m glad I was able to get through. I had to cancel this trip in 2012 due to injury. You would love the climate here. It’s the start of winter, at race time it was in the 70s and humid. People are wearing full length spandex pants and long sleeve shirts. We’ve seen people walking around with scarves, fur coats, etc. Apparently, winter here is nothing like winter at home. Anyway, just want to let you know I sported the MART gear and finished another marathon and continent. Hope all is well!

Emptying the inbox: Marist alums at Mt Washington

Emptying the inbox, part 1: I got this email and photo from Tom Lipari almost a month ago and I’m finally getting around to posting it. Pretty cool that: a. these guys have remained so close (a bunch of them got together over the recent holiday weekend for some revelry); b. they have remained fit enough to scale Mount Washington. Anyway! Here’s Tommy’s email:

This past weekend a couple of Marist Track alum made the climb to the peak of Mt.Washington in New Hampshire which is the highest peak in the northeast (6,288 ft!). It is also known to be

the most windy place on the planet with recorded wind gusts of up to 254 mph! Overall, up and down it took about 7.5 hours. (We are still in shape!) We were able to see some amazing scenery along the way as the weather was perfectly clear. (Although it was 35 degrees at top). Needless to say I am still sore 4 days later but it was well worth the trip! Next stop, Everest!

Pictured are Tom Lipari, Kyle Havard, Tom Devaney, Ryan Brown.

Happy New Year, July style

Sorry for the long gap in posts. There are several posts in the hopper that we'll get going with soon. Still digging out from the mound of emails in my inbox. Even with a smartphone, where I can check the emails, they still pile up while on vacation. That's because I tend not to reply or send emails from my phone. Change comes slowly to this old guy. I've said it before, but this time of year has the feel of New Year's in the three-season world of our program. The outdoor track season concluded with the championships, culminating in USATF Juniors. Now, our full focus is on the fall XC season and the beginning of preseason training for XC (in August) and track (in mid-September). Both are still a fair amount of time in the future, but it will be here before we all know it.

Also! "Summer" in my world tends to be split in two parts: The first phase after our athletes leave campus for home (but my own kids are still in school); the second phase (now), where our athletes are still away but my own kids are out of school. This second phase has an odd busyness to it, with no rhyme or reason to each day and each week. So if there are some gaps in posts, that is why; I literally don't know whether I'm coming or going at times.