Paul Short Run: Women's results! (with historical perspective)

Thanks to Coach Chuck Williams for providing further historical perspective on the women's team results from today (which are listed again below). A few additional nuggets: 

1. Maria Smith setting the school record of 21:12 (5:41 pace) for 6km XC -- in her first-ever 6km XC race!

2. Five-runner 6km average of 21:38 (5:48 pace), a school record.

3. Most women under 22 minutes for 6km (five)

4. Most women under 23 minutes for 6km (13 ... the 10 runners in the Gold race, and first three runners in the Open division)

Women’s Gold race results, 6,000-meter course

95. Maria Smith 21:12 *school record, previous record, 21:26 by Kristen Traub, 2015

145. Gianna Tedeschi 21:37

161. Alexandra Bartolotta 21:43

171. Hayley Collins 21:48

173. Shea Bohan 21:48

200. Denise Grohn 22:03

210. Jordan Casey 22:08

220. Emily Burns 22:14

240. Mara Schiffhauer 22:21

282. Alyssa Lafave 22:46

Women’s open results, 6,000-meter course

56. Boushra Belkhir 22:51

57. Christine Gambell 22:51

61. Maddie Tooker 22:56

95. Jenna Robinson 23:20

120. Kerry Gaye 23:42

133. Roxy Novo 24:06

147. Mariah Christian 24:24

166. Hannah Albert 24:45

174. Lauren Harris 24:59

182. Jess Howe 25:07

204. Talia Cutrone 25:50

213. Katie Miale 26:10

222. Ashley Wallace 26:43

231. Shannon Gildea 27:08

Paul Short Run: Women's results

Here are today's women's results. Our ladies represented our program with great pride and effort in a national-caliber field in the Gold race, led by a school-record 6km time by freshman Maria Smith in her first try at that distance -- wow! Look at some of these teams in this race. We held our own. We very much look forward to what lies ahead in October and November for this special group of endurance athletes.

Paul Short Run

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA

Friday, September 29, 2017

Women’s Gold race results, team standings

1-Utah State 72, 2-Villanova 115, 3-Georgia 121, 4. Queen’s University 226, 5. Princeton 232, 6. Cornell 246, 7. Duke 285, 8. Arizona 313, 9. Penn 320, 10. Adams State 331, 11. Georgia Teach 374, 12. Mississippi State 391, 13. Johns Hopkins 409, 14. Wake Forest 411, 15. Richmond 448, 16. Connecticut 458, 17. Lehigh 563, 18. Iona 569, 19. Buffalo 589, 20. Maryland 612, 21. Army West Point 657, 22. Stony Brook 681, 23. Tennessee 693, 24. Marist 703, 25. Albany 709, 26. Navy 722, 27. Elon 746, 28. American 765, 29. East Carolina 768, 30. Holy Cross 771, 31. Fordham 800, 32. Williams 802, 33. Manhattan 816, 34. Quinnipiac 817, 35. Middlebury 877, 36. La Salle 916, 37. Rutgers 918, 38. Mount Olive 926, 39. Delaware 1039, 40. Ithaca 1072, 41. St. Lawrence 1085, 42. Towson 1140

Women’s Gold race results, 6,000-meter course

95. Maria Smith 21:12 *school record, previous record, 21:26 by Kristen Traub, 2015

145. Gianna Tedeschi 21:37

161. Alexandra Bartolotta 21:43

171. Hayley Collins 21:48

173. Shea Bohan 21:48

200. Denise Grohn 22:03

210. Jordan Casey 22:08

220. Emily Burns 22:14

240. Mara Schiffhauer 22:21

282. Alyssa Lafave 22:46

Women’s open results, 6,000-meter course

56. Boushra Belkhir 22:51

57. Christine Gambell 22:51

61. Maddie Tooker 22:56

95. Jenna Robinson 23:20

120. Kerry Gaye 23:42

133. Roxy Novo 24:06

147. Mariah Christian 24:24

166. Hannah Albert 24:45

174. Lauren Harris 24:59

182. Jess Howe 25:07

204. Talia Cutrone 25:50

213. Katie Miale 26:10

222. Ashley Wallace 26:43

231. Shannon Gildea 27:08

264 finishers

Paul Short Run: Men's results

Here are today's results for the men. In the Brown Division, the results were separated D1/non-D1 with no merged results available. There were a lot of strong non-D1 teams racing in the Brown Division. Our men fell a little short of expectations on this day, but there were still some solid individual performances.

Paul Short Run

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA

Friday, September 29, 2017

Men’s Brown race results, team standings

1-Buffalo 59, 2. George Washington 77, 3. Siena 79, 4. Marist 93, 5. St. Joseph’s PA 144, 6. Mount St. Mary’s 191, 7. Columbia 211, 8. Holy Cross 263, 9. Rider 280, 10. Lafayette 312, 11. VCU 316, 12. Elon 325, 13. Colgate 367, 14. Bryant 381, 15. Hofstra 388, 16. Hartford 394, 17. Loyola MD 437, 18. Fairfield 449, 19. Niagara 549, 20. St. Francis NY 563

Men’s Brown race results, 8,000-meter course

6. Dietrich Mosel 24:55

18. Alexander Hogue 25:27

24. Palmer Weimann 25:36

25. Steven Rizzo 25:37

29. Chris Rivas 25:46

41. James Moehringer 26:01

42. Riley Hughes 26:02

45. James Draney 26:05

64. Graham Strzelecki 26:26
76. Joseph Miller 26:37

152 finishers

Men’s open results, 8,000-meter course

46. Zachary Ropes 25:40

60. Spencer Johnson (unattached) 25:49

90. Will Esposito 26:13

106. Elias Platanias 26:22

110. Eamonn Beers 26:25

118. James Pratt 26:33

133. Mark Cappuccitti 26:38

138. Conor Stack 26:43

163. Connor Levins 27:09

167. Connor Fitzpatrick 27:10

174. Brian Henderson 27:17

186. Drew Burns (unattached) 27:26

201. Will Duggan 27:37

208. Matthew Ronan 27:50

225. Sami Ellougani 28:11

245. Matthew Hawker (unattached) 28:30

295. Connor St. Germain 29:57

336 finishers

Paul Short Run: En route

On our way down to Bethlehem last night, we made a stop in northern New Jersey for dinner. The plazas where we stopped were within walking distance of the assisted living facility where my mother lives -- I was aware of the many restaurant choices there, so it worked out well. I took the short walk and surprised her with a short visit -- this "mom selfie" is proof. Always worth the trip. As we get ready to go this morning, it's finally feeling like autumn with cooler temperatures. Once again, here is today's race schedule, with races in which we have athletes in bold:

ü 9:30 a.m., Open Men’s Race

ü  10:15 a.m., Open Women’s race

ü  11 a.m., Gold Men’s Race

ü  11:45 a.m., Gold Women’s Race

ü  12:15 p.m., Brown Men’s Race

Alumni racing update: Tunnels to Towers

Listen. I’m always proud of our Marist Running Alums when they represent themselves as Forever Foxes in road races (see previous post). But on Sunday at the Tunnels to Towers 5K, honoring the FDNY Fallen Heroes from 9/11, Kyle Hannafin was fortunate enough to WIN the race. Rather than my continuing to gush about how proud I am of Kyle, and all that his victory means to him and his family, I asked him to provide a race report via email:

“Yesterday’s race was truly special for my family and I. The race was taken out hard by the eventual fourth and fifth place finishers, but my heart was beating out of my chest with adrenaline running through the Battery Tunnel. I was able to settle into a rhythm and on the shoulders of both guys for the first two miles until we exited the tunnel. When you exit the tunnel, you are greeted by hundreds of people, music, and 343 FDNY firefighters who are each holding a banner with a photo and name of every FDNY member who died on 9/11 so naturally I took off and let me adrenaline get the best of me. However, nobody followed and I ran the last 1.3 miles guided along by my Uncle Tom’s spirit and strength. As usual, Marty was there at the first major turn of the race, cheering me on and pointing me in the right direction. While they call the race a 5k, the distance is really about 3.35 so I’m pretty pumped with 17:08 considering I’m training for the NYC Marathon.’’

Thanks, Kyle. His uncle Tom was one of the 343 FDNY heroes on 9/11, so obviously there was and is a lot of emotion there. As you can see, Kyle honored his uncle with his race shirt.

Kyle referred to Most Loyal Alum Marty McGowan, who was with his son Matt directing the runners at the corner of West and Liberty streets. “You know that I have a big mouth and a loud voice, so this was an easy assignment for me to do,’’ Marty wrote in an email. “We were able to see all the athletes come up West Street and then direct them to turn at Liberty toward the Hudson to go around Battery Park City. Wonderful, emotional day!”

Alumni race update: Bronx 10-miler

Marist Running was well represented at yesterday’s steamy Bronx 10-miler, with three men among the top finishers in the race.

--Girma Segni, one of the greatest runners in school history, is on the comeback trail back to elite status and it showed with his sixth-place finish in 51:52 (5:12 pace). A post-race text to Girma revealed that he has been training hard for fall marathons (yes, plural … stay tuned for updates!).

--Ryan Fitzsimons, who races (and races extremely well!) for Central Park Track Club, was 15^th overall in 54:21 (5:27 pace). Later, I noticed on Facebook the following post from Fitz: “Pretty #blessed / #stoked to announce that I have been officially accepted into the Sub Elite category for the 2017 NYC Marathon. Six more weeks until the gun goes off and I put all of this hard work to the test but to be recognized prior to race day as someone legit who will run fast is v exciting/gratifying. So to my NYC family, consider this your call to action. Come November 5th I need you all to be out on course helping me get after it cuz this time I'm gonna put on a show .” (Did those emojis come out on the blog?)

--Finally, our good friend and loyal Marist Running Alum Luke Shane ran with metronome-like consistency for a strong time of 57:18 (5:44 pace). Check THIS out: His 5-mile split was 28:39, which means his second 5-mile split was … 28:39. That’s crazy!

Nicely done to one and all. 

Friends of Jaclyn walk

Thanks to team members Joe Miller, James Draney, James Moehringer, Graham Strzelecki and Will Duggan for participating in today’s Friends of Jaclyn walk on the Walkway Over the Hudson. Nicely done, men!

What’s next: Paul Short Run at Lehigh

Our next meet is on Friday at Lehigh University for the Paul Short Run, a huge XC extravaganza featuring hundreds of high school and college teams. Here is the race schedule, with the events in which Marist athletes will race in boldface.

ü  9:30 a.m., Open Men’s Race

ü  10:15 a.m., Open Women’s race

ü  11 a.m., Gold Men’s Race

ü  11:45 a.m., Gold Women’s Race

ü  12:15 p.m., Brown Men’s Race

For those traveling to the meet, you’ll want to go to the Goodman Campus of Lehigh University. Check out paulshortxcrun.com for further details. 

Men’s team ranked 14th in Northeast

In case you missed it? A few days ago, the USTFCCCA regional rankings came out and the men’s cross country team was listed as 14^th in the rankings (top-15 teams in each region of the country are ranked in the poll). This is a great honor for our men, but ultimately the only ranking that truly matters is the one at the end of the regional meet, this year in Buffalo, in November. We must continue to do work and be better.

Indian summer?

According to Wikipedia, “Indian summer” is defined thusly: “The US National Weather Service defines this as weather conditions that are sunny and clear with above normal temperatures, occurring late-September to mid-November. It is usually described as occurring after a killing frost.” Based on that rather broad definition, the period of extended warm and sunny weather we have been experiencing probably does not qualify, since we have not yet had a killing frost. This seems to be a pattern during cooler and damper summers, as we had this year: Following the cool and damp weather, the hottest summer weather actually occurs in September.

While I’m rarely one to complain about the heat, since I’m always feeling chilled, this type of scorching weather in late September is ill timed from a cross country training perspective. Long distance runners and heat are not a great combination. Hydration is key, people. We have a few more days of searing temperatures, and then it appears cooler early autumn weather will finally arrive – hopefully in time for the Paul Short Run at Lehigh on Friday.

Hill country

It was the end of a grueling hill workout at Bowdoin Park – the brainchild of Coach Chuck Williams, one that I dubbed “hill smorgasbord,’’ touching on every tough hill on the Bowdoin course and beyond. It wasn’t a particularly long workout, but it was hard. Hills are hard. Perhaps you are aware of this. Hills build character. Hills are speedwork in disguise. Think of every coaching cliché about hills – they’re all true. Here in the Marist Running universe, we’ve never shied away from hills. We embrace hills. And, why NOT? It’s not like we have our own TRACK on which to spend time! Even Coach Horton with the sprinters during their early-season training right now … what are they doing? Hills. Character. Speedwork in disguise. All of that and more. I call the Farm Lane trail in Hyde Park, my personal favorite training venue (some of our runners don’t share this sentiment!), the “one stop shopping” for runners – uphills, downhills, turns, woods running with no traffic, soft surfaces – what’s not to like? As a coach, anyway.

But I digress (as usual). Back to the end of the hill workout I was starting to write about at the top: Last hill repeat, on the back hill. The athletes were tired but focused, energized and drained at the same time, all their senses keenly tuned to finishing this damn workout. Coach Chuck is clapping and screaming halfway up the hill. I’m at the base of the hill, nervously pacing, worried that someone else is going to trip and fall on a rock or a root. One of our veteran athletes, a tough runner, starts mumbling some names of opposing runners and opposing teams. Runners and colored jerseys that she wants to run down, on a hill like this, in a meet, sometime in the future. Names and teams. Runners and singlets other than the red-and-white Marist ones, which of course are the only ones that matter. Up the hill she powered, no doubt visualizing the names and teams, runners and singlets (non-Marist, of course!) that she will be hoping to run down in the near future. In my anxiety over falling athletes, on a humid late summer day, this scene was a thing of beauty.

Our sport, like so much in our society, can be governed by Big Data. We are bombarded with some much INFORMATION now, from a variety of sources – and most of the data is accessible on your wrist. It’s all good and as an old coach I would be a fool to dismiss this Big Data. But, as an old coach who has been through more cross country seasons than can be counted, this one runner reminded me – and reminds us all – that cross country running is very elemental in this regard: Beating people, with singlets other than Marist. Place matters, a lot. Times are important and can be useful guideposts. But the way they keep score is by place. So, when we are running up our endless hills here in the majestic mid-Hudson Valley, we would all do well to visualize passing people and beating other teams. Here in hill country, as fall and important XC meets beckon, that’s all matters.

Dutchess County Classic: Anatomy of a victory

Thanks to Spencer Johnson for sharing his race splits with me. This was a good win for Spencer, who took the Walkway Marathon title, which was also held in steamy conditions. He took a conservative approach early on and then settled into a hard but manageable pace. Here are his race splits:

Mile 1: 5:39

Mile 2: 6:01

Mile 3: 5:37

Mile 4: 5:37

Mile 5: 5:37

Mile 6: 5:34

Mile 7: 5:33

Mile 8: 5:33

Mile 9: 5:38

Mile 10: 5:44

Mile 11: 5:32

Mile 12: 5:21

Mile 13: 5:26

Dutchess County Classic: Photos

Very proud of Annie Gould's repeat title at the half marathon distance. Her time was slightly slower this year, but in much more adverse weather conditions. She ran strong and looked strong coming in to the finish here on Stringham Road in LaGrange. Very proud also that Marist Running swept the half-marathon titles as you can see at the awards ceremony.

Dutchess County Classic: Marist racing

Our program was well represented at the Dutchess County Classic on Sunday morning. The fog was thick – and thus, so was the humidity – for all three races. At least, there was no direct sunlight. But the effects of the humidity cannot be overstated. The air was thick. Remember: It’s still technically summer out there, and it’ll feel like it this week. Anyway, Marist Alumni swept the top three spots:

Current graduate student Spencer Johnson won the half marathon in 1:13:33.24; we look forward to Spencer racing indoor and outdoor track for us in 2018. Omar Perez placed second in 1:19:03.62; Omar is training hard for his first marathon, in NYC in November. Billy Posch was a strong third in 1:20:48.65.

For the women, Annie Gould repeated as half marathon champion, taking top honors this year in 1:34:08.50. Her sister, Kelley Posch (yes, note the new last name!) won her age group in 1:39:07.67. Annie and Kelley’s dad, Chris Gould, came out of road racing hibernation as though he never left, placing third in his age group in the 5km (22:58.29).

Also in the 5k: Mr. Bucket (“David Swift”) was eighth overall and second in his age group (18:09.68); Catherine Ferreri was second in her age group (22:41.41). Also in the half marathon: Ken Walshak began his road racing comeback with a 10^th-place run of 1:31:16.57, edging out my morning run czar Tony Ferreri (1:31:47.55, first in age group). 

Monmouth XC meet: Be Better

The last time we raced on the difficult Holmdel Park course was three years ago. In 2014, we ran the Monmouth Invitational in September and the MAAC Championships in October. So while this is a small sample size, it’s interesting to compare and crunch numbers. After all, that’s what we coaches do. If I recall, the conditions today were a bit more challenging than in 2014 – especially in the men’s race, when it got downright midsummer HOT at the end of the race. Such is XC racing in September. Here are the comparisons among the top-7 times, first in the men’s 5-mile race:

2014: 26:34, 26:45, 27:04, 27:20, 27:24, 27:26, 27:28

2017: 26:27, 26:51, 26:53, 26:57, 27:06, 27:14, 27:18

This year’s times were slightly better and the top-5 spread was closer. That 2014 team helped turn to the corner to more successful seasons that followed. We hope that the 2017 will continue to point that needle in the positive direction.

Here’s where it gets really good, though: For the women, the disparity is stark, and the numbers are even more eye-popping.

2014: 18:38, 18:50, 19:06, 19:28, 19:54, 20:10, 20:18

2017: 18:43, 18:43, 18:47, 18:55, 18:59, 19:18, 19:25

The 1-5 spread in 2014 was 1 minute, 16 seconds (1:16). Today it was a minuscule 16 seconds (0:16) – or, a full minute (1:00) better and tighter than the 2014 that was pretty darned good. Dig deeper into the numbers and you will find this remarkable, incredible statistic (courtesy of Coach Chuck). In 2014, our fifth runner was a tough freshman named Jenna Robinson. She ran 19:54.8, and she was our fifth and final runner to break 20 minutes (20:00) on the course back on September 20, 2014. Today, senior captain Jenna Robinson (yes, that same, tough runner who has forged a marvelous career for us, in all three seasons) ran a PR on the course, 19:47.65 in what we would consider slightly more difficult weather conditions. Here’s the kicker: Jenna was our 12^th runner today, and we had 12 runners dip under the 20-minute mark on the challenging Holmdel 5km.

Above, you'll see our top finishers who earned top finisher shirts from Monmouth. Back here at Marist, the back of our practice shirts say “Be Better.” It’s gratifying to see that our women and men are taking that slogan onto the course. It was a “Great Day to be a Red Fox” for sure, but it’s also September 16, and we know we have a lot more to accomplish in the next two months. 

Monmouth XC meet: Post-race pool party at the Hendersons

Many thanks for the Hendersons (Brian Henderson's family) for hosting an awesome BBQ/pool party at their house, which is about 15 minutes from Holmdel. The blazing hot afternoon made ideal conditions for a pool party -- although this old coach was none too pleased at the raucous game of "pool basketball" by the maturity challenged men (featuring a Prominent Alum as well!). Also thanks to Dave B, our JTR bus driver who patiently allowed our team to take part in this post-race fun.

Monmouth XC meet: Women's results

Henry Mercer Monmouth Invitational

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Holmdel Park, Holmdel, NJ

Women’s team standings

1-Marist 34, 2-Quinnipiac 44, 3-Manhattan 71, 4-Siena 118, 5-Monmouth 125, 6-Towson 140, 7-Lafayette 206, 8-Army West Point 255

Women’s individual results, 5km course

4-Gianna Tedeschi 18:43.55

5-Alexandra Bartolotta 18:43.98

6-Maria Smith 18:47.06

9-Shea Bohan 18:55.74

10-Hayley Collins 18:59.15

17-Emily Burns 19:18.06

19-Alyssa Lafave 19:25.01

20-Jordan Casey 19:30.76

23-Christine Gambell 19:33.53

27-Denise Grohn 19:38.31

31-Mariah Christian 19:44.51

32-Jenna Robinson 19:47.65

37-Maddie Tooker 20:02.36

69-Lauren Harris 21:21.65

75-Jess Howe 21:45.43

82-Hannah Albert 22:17.92

87-Katie Miale 23:49.60

88-Shannon Gildea 23:54.66

Monmouth XC Meet: Men's results

Henry Mercer Monmouth Invitational

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Holmdel Park, Holmdel, NJ

Men’s team standings

1-Marist 45, 2-Manhattan 55, 3-Monmouth 71, 4-Siena 73, 5-Quinnipiac 118, 6-Lafayette 191, 7-Army West Point 201

Men’s individual results, 5-mile course

2-Dietrich Mosel 26:27.20

8-Christopher Rivas 26:51.73

10-Steven Rizzo 26:53.11

11-Palmer Weimann 26:57.30

14-Alexander Hogue 27:06.40

17-Riley Hughes 27:14.15

18-James Draney 27:18.52

26-Graham Strzelecki 27:38.03

32-Joe Miller 27:51.27

34-James Moehringer 27:54.54

37-James Pratt 28:07.78

38-Eamonn Beers 28:08.64

43-Elias Platanias 28:14.46

45-Will Esposito 28:26.36

48-Conor Stack 28:36.30

50-Connor Levins 28:45.72

51-Mark Cappuccitti 28:45.99

53-Connor Fitzpatrick 28:58.89

58-Dan Hillman 29:26.33

59-Will Duggan 29:26.54

66-Brian Henderson 29:42.89

Monmouth XC Meet: Great day to be a Red Fox

On a warm, sultry and humid day at Holmdel Park, our women's and men's XC teams swept the team titles at the Monmouth Invitational. Our women packed five runners into the top 10, with a mind-numbing spread of 16 seconds (!!!!) and edged out MAAC rival Quinnipiac by 10 points. The men edged MAAC rival Manhattan, also by 10 points, on the strength of a runner-up finish by Dietrich Mosel and five runners in the top 14 of the race. The goal for today was to get our eyes and feet on the MAAC Championship course and put in a good effort. For a hot, late-summer day ... we checked those boxes, and then some. Results to follow ...

Monmouth XC meet: Post-race feed at Hendersons

Thanks in advance to the family of junior Brian Henderson, who will be hosting a post-race picnic/gathering on Saturday after the Monmouth meet at Holmdel. Brian asked me to share the following information to any friends or family members interested in attending and/or contributing to the food spread. Their address is:

Henderson
11 Whirlaway Drive
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724

Brian's mom, Patty Henderson, can be reached via cell/text at 732 841 0958. Thank you to the Hendersons!

Directions to Holmdel Park

From the Monmouth University athletics Web site:

DIRECTIONS TO HOLMDEL PARK

Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 114. After the exit, go west on to Red Hill Road (Southbound, turn right onto Red Hill Rd; northbound, turn left onto Red Hill Rd.). Follow the brown signs to Holmdel County Park and Historic Longstreet County Farm. At the second light, take a downhill right on to Everett Road (which changes to Crawford’s Corner). Go left after passing Lucent Technologies on to Roberts Road and then right just before the park on to Longstreet Road. Turn left into Holmdel Park and follow signs to the lower or middle parking lot. The starting line and team check-in will be near the shelter in the lower parking lot.

What's next: Monmouth XC meet

Our full squad returns to action on Saturday at the 23rd annual Henry Mercer Monmouth XC Invitational at Holmdel Park in Holmdel, NJ -- site of the MAAC Championships later this fall. Women's 5k race is at 9:45 a.m.; men's 5-mile race is at 10:30 a.m. We look forward to seeing as many friends and family there as our athletes can get their feet on the course in advance of the championships.

Bonus time …

Maybe it’s a generational thing. I was 37 when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred. It touched us all greatly and 16 years later, I cannot shake the memories of that time. It’s embedded in our consciousness, permanently. As we got through our day on Monday, it surprised me how little 9/11 is discussed in academic settings. This semester, I happen to teach a class (Public Presentations) on Monday and Thursday mornings at 8, and I devoted Monday’s class to a discussion of 9/11. Most of the students told me that, other than a cursory moment of silence, the anniversary was never really a topic in school growing up. I find that odd. Regarding my previous post, JFK’s assassination was often cited as a seminal moment in our modern history, and was a frequent topic in social studies through my school years. It surprises me that 9/11 is not as much of a front-and-center topic in school. Maybe I’m mistaken on this, but in my small sample size of Marist students/millennials to whom I spoke, they said it was not a focus growing up.

Anyway, while 9/11 is still on my mind, I wanted to share a Facebook post that my early-morning jogging buddy Schneider put up last week on the occasion of his 47^th birthday:

Well today is my 47th birthday and I have to say I have mixed emotions. I can't believe I'm the age that my father was when he passed away. He seemed so old to me when I was 18. I couldn't imagine not being here with my family. I feel like this is all bonus time now for me. I'm so thankful that I'm losing my hair and going gray. I'm so thankful that I have my health and a loving family. Life is going by so quickly now and I really want to enjoy the journey. I miss you Dad and I hope you’re proud of me and what I have become.

While this is a touching post for sure, the words that struck a chord with me were “bonus time.” What a wonderful perspective to have, even at the relatively young middle-age of 47 – that from here until God calls him, it’s all bonus time. Would that we all live our lives that way. I think of the FDNY firefighters and other heroes of 9/11, and the innocent victims of that day, and how their families probably yearn for some “bonus time,” 16 years later. So as we muddle through our days and whine about this and that (I’m as guilty as the next person, trust me), remember that it doesn’t matter your age or your stage in life. It’s all bonus time.

9/11 ... through the lens of 16 years

As each passing year goes by, the anniversary of 9/11 becomes more distant and more detached for the younger generation. I liken the kids these days to what it was like for me, growing up and hearing about the JFK assassination, which occurred nine months before I was born. It was a historical event, still fresh in our nation’s consciousness but something I couldn’t directly relate to. My kids, and most students at Marist, fit into this category, re 9/11. And so today, in an effort to better explain the meaning of 9/11 and to give a different perspective, I turn to our resident Marist Running Alum street philosopher Marty McGowan, in an email he wrote to me last week in hopes that I would share it:

The first two weekends in September will always be reflective for me 'till I die, and I'm OK with it. I'm just glad I'm alive. One wrong turn that morning (and I've thought about this a lot over the years) and a few pieces of Building 1 would have landed on my head. God was with me. He gave me something to do in helping out a few co-workers and making sure they were OK. I didn't have time to think about myself, and I'm grateful to Him for the opportunity to help out, even in the small way that I did. And, I thank God that I was able to make it home to Annie and Matt later on that afternoon. We had our Eve of Remembrance Mass on Wednesday night. We did it early in the week this year so we wouldn't interfere with any of the parish Masses on Staten Island this weekend. As usual, we read the names of the almost 300 Staten Islanders who died that day. We read the names after the Profession of Faith, as part of the Offertory prayer. About 10 people read the names, about 30 names each. Since 2002, we've asked the Catholic high schools on the Island to send a student or two to read the names, and this year was no exception. What was different this year is that a few of the kids weren't born before 9/11/01! Time does go on. The thought came to me Wednesday night that my friends who died were probably as old as the parents of the kids now reading the names, i.e. people in their mid to late 40s. I mentioned that to a few of the kids as a way of putting the evening into perspective. Kind of like me going to a WWII memorial with my parents when I was their age. Imagine your parents or an older brother/sister going to work and not coming home. Ouch! Anyway, if you're going to talk about 9/11 to the team, or in class during the next few days this might be one way of trying to relate the day to the next generation. A lot of people like us died that day. I noticed that Marist will be remembering 9/11 at Mass on Monday. I'll be there in spirit, believe me.

Well put, Marty, and thank you. We will never, ever forget. We cannot and we will not. 

Stony Brook XC meet: Men's results

We had an excellent day at Stony Brook -- another nice weather day, sunny, breezy and cool. Great to see our old friends the Townsends and Mike Nehr, who was nice enough to spend part of his morning with us along with his young son Matthew, who was celebrating his 3rd birthday! It was also great to see my son Joey, who biked over to the XC course from his dorm room after a 10-mile morning run with his club running buddies. As far as the meet goes, 7 of our 9 finishers were freshmen running their first 8km (well, not quite, as you'll SEE) race. As Hogue noted, everyone had a strong finish, which was great. Results include the finish time for the truncated 7,816-meter course, the pace per mile and the converted 8km time. A fine debut for the seven freshmen, and a solid run for Hogue and Eamonn. As some of the freshmen might say ... "Dude. It was LIT."

Stony Brook Wolfie Invitational

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Stony Brook University XC Course

Men’s team results

1-Stony Brook 15, 2. Marist 70, 3. Seton Hall 74, 4. Monroe 106, 5. Fairfield 126

Men’s individual results, 7,816-meter course (with pace per mile and 8km conversion time)

9. Alex Hogue 25:17.38, 5:12.5, 25:53

14. James Draney 25:33.29, 5:15.5, 26:08

15. James Moehringer 25:38.60, 5:17, 26:14

17. Graham Strzelecki 25:42.54, 5:17.5, 26:18

22. Eamonn Beers 26:06.52, 5:22.5, 26:43

25. James Pratt 26:16.94, 5:24.5, 26:53

27. Connor Fitzpatrick 26:33.54, 5:28, 27:10

36. Matt Ronan 27:27.05, 5:39, 28:05

39. Connor St. Germain 27:54.84, 5:45, 28:34

46 finishers

Stony Brook XC meet: How to get there

Following is travel information to our meet at Stony Brook for friends and family planning on attending. Follow these directions. If you follow the GPS, you’re more likely to get to my son’s dorm on the Stony Brook campus than to the cross country course.

Vans/Cars can take  Northern State Parkway(Bus cannot) to 347, follow 347 east, turn left on Stony Brook Road, go approximately 2 miles, take a left on to Development Drive. (Stony Brook University Research and Development park). Follow road for 3/4 of a mile, course and parking will be on your left.  

​From Ferry: Take 25A West (Approximately 7 miles), take left on Stony Brook Road,  after 1/2 mile ​take a Right on to Development Drive.   (Stony Brook University Research and Development park). Follow road for 3/4 of a mile.,course and parking will be on your left.

What's next: Stony Brook

We are bringing a small contingent (about 10) of men's XC runners to Stony Brook for the Wolfie Invitational. The women are taking the week off. Most of the men are freshmen and sophomores. This gives the young runners a chance to tackle the 8km XC distance for the first time and/or get a few more reps at that longer distance. It will be old-school, back to the future as we travel by van as opposed to a big bus for this meet. Men's race is at 11:15 a.m. We'll probably arrive at around 9:30 a.m. Hope to see you there.

Home meet: One more photo

OK, one more photo from Saturday, this one courtesy of Eamonn Beers' mom ... a great shot! You can see senior Dietrich Mosel kicking his way to the first-place finish. You can also see loyal alums cheering him to the finish, from left: Charlie Ropes, Omar Perez (with his phone) and Billy Posch. Good stuff.

Coaching staff: Past, present, future

Today, Labor Day, we continued a relatively new tradition of having a complete team meeting -- all cross country and track athletes, men and women, distance, sprints and everything in between -- getting together for a few minutes to get to know each other and to hand out team gear for those who had not yet received it. Because XC and track are kind of separated during the fall -- XC runners are in season and practicing off campus almost every day of the week -- this is a good opportunity to get everyone together so that teammates can at least start putting names to faces. I also made Rizz take this photo of the ever growing track/XC coaching staff, a fact that means a lot to me. When Phil and I started this version of the track/xc family back in 1991, it was just the two of us as co-coaches, no assistants, nothing. Now, we can almost fill a minivan. Although Cuesta is no longer on our official staff, he is still very much part of our family and it was important for the current team to meet him as he will occasionally show up at meets and motivate and inspire in his unique way. Past, present, future, all represented here, from left: Coach Chuck, who has been with us as an athlete and coach for more than 20 years, almost the entirety of my 27 years; Cuesta; Coach Erica; Terry Horton, second longest in tenure at a decade, and our newest addition, volunteer graduate assistant coach Nicki Nesi (oh yeah, the idiot in the tube socks between Terry and Nicki is me). Good stuff.

Middle distance collage: Getting bigger

Thanks to senior Sami "Lou" Ellougani for sharing this unique collage of the "middle-distance team" now and then. OK, admittedly this didn't translate well from his iPhone to this fancy blog, but you get the idea ... the middle distance team is GROWING, and we are certainly pumped about that. The truncated bottom photo constitutes the current iteration of the MD squad. Neat!

A Charming race report ...

Thanks to Marist Running Alum Lizzy Peper for sharing this photo and her and her dad, as well as this text, after what sounds like a really cool 12-mile race in Baltimore. What a unique race distance as well:

Hi, Pete! Happy Labor Day! Just wanted to send this picture your way - my Dad and me after finishing the Charles Street 12 on Saturday. The 12 mile race is put on by Charm City Run, the running store I work for, and has about 3,000 runners. The route starts in Baltimore County around where I went to high school and ends in downtown Baltimore where I now live. This year's finish was at Under Armour's headquarters, making it even more special for my Dad who has worked there for 15+ years. Saturday was also my Dad's 84th day of running and his streak is still going strong! I couldn't be more proud of him. It's always great to share a starting line with him and lots of familiar Baltimore faces.

Home meet: Senior Day photo

Sorry. Please allow me one more photo from this weekend, poached from GoredFoxes.com ... the complete group shot of the track/cross country seniors, along with their family and friends, and the entire coaching staff. This photo is a keeper, for sure. But, no need to get sentimental. We've got another eight months with this special group of seniors.

Rainy day thoughts

It was back to work this morning for the team's long run -- with the remnants of the storm named Harvey dumping some decent rain on the area. Glad we missed this drenching by a day -- would have put a literal damper on the home meet at the Farm yesterday. Everyone got their work and their miles in today. A note to our athletes, who have soaking wet running sneakers that need to be dried out before their next run: In the past, the best way I've dried out wet sneakers is by stuffing them with crumpled up newspapers. Of course ... to this generation of athletes, "newspapers" -- you know, the actual Print Product -- may seem as foreign to them as rotary dial phones (heck, to ANY land line phone!). So I guess the next best idea would be balled up paper towels? I found newspapers always worked best.

In other news! One of our highest mileage runners, sophomore Christopher Rivas, for some odd reason HATES running in the rain. When I say HATES running in the rain ... I mean it. Rivas did NOT run outside today. Rather, he did a mind-numbing 14 miles on the treadmill, which he had to reset after an hour. You can see the proof on his watch. Fortunately, this rainy weather is short lived -- tomorrow is supposed to be very nice.

Alumni racing report: Kyle Hannafin taking SI by storm

Thanks to Marist Running Alum Kyle Hannafin for the following race report and photo. Kyle is doing great, tearing up the roads on his Staten Island home, with loyal Marist Running Alum Marty McGowan there to cheer him on every step of the way, especially at Saturday's Celic Run on SI. Here's Kyle's report via email:

"Yesterday was the culmination of Staten Island's Triple Crown summer racing series. The Celic Run is the oldest annual road race on Staten Island and it is the final leg of the TC series. Going into the race I was 2nd overall in the TC standings and came out finishing 2nd with 17 points throughout the three races. I am pumped to say that I PR'd in each race and finished yesterday 3rd overall in 22:19 for 4 miles. Next up on the calendar is the Tunnel to Towers 5k, which is a race dear to my heart because my Uncle Tom died in the line of duty on 9/11. Looking forward to seeing you and the team on the 16th at Holmdel!" 

Home meet: Some random photos

 Thanks to all who emailed me photos from Saturday. Here's a sampling.

Home meet: Women's individual results, with past times

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve

Women’s results, 5km course, with past times on the course

2-Maria Smith (Marist) 18:15.4

4-Gianna Tedeschi (Marist) 18:25.8

5-Emily Burns (Marist) 18:27.1

2015: 18:35.8; 2016: 19:19.3

6-Shea Bohan (Marist) 18:29.7

2015: 20:01.9; 2016: 18:55.6

7-Ali Bartolotta (Marist) 18:35.5

2016: 19:28.1

8-Denise Grohn (Marist) 18:40.7

2016: 19:43.0

9-Hayley Collins (Marist) 18:54.1

10-Jordan Casey (Marist) 18:57.6

2015: 20:28.2; 2016: 19:49.4

11-Alyssa Lafave (Marist) 19:07.0

2016: 19:42.4

13-Jenna Robinson (Marist) 19:26.8

2014: 19:43.12; 2015: 19:34.8; 2016: 19:37.4

14-Christine Gambell (Marist) 19:27.0

2014: 22:06.39; 2015: 21:42.1; 2016: 19:48.4

15-Boushra Belkhir (Marist) 19:36.4

2016: 20:43.9

20-Debbie Boerke (Marist) 20:19.2

21-Roxy Novo (Marist) 20:22.1

2014: 20:18.29; 2015: 20:22.4; 2016: 19:39.2

25-Talia Cutrone (Marist) 21:08.0

26-Lauren Harris (Marist) 21:11.6

32-Katie Miale (Marist) 23:01.8

33-Shannon Gildea (Marist) 23:21.0

2014: 22:36.31; 2015: 22:02.7; 2016: 23:04.6

Home meet: Men's individual results, with past times

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve

Poughkeepsie, NY

Men’s results, 6km course (3.73 miles), with past times on the course

1-Dietrich Mosel (Marist) 18:51.5

2014: 20:27.62; 2015: 19:47.1; 2016: 19:05.6

3-Steven Rizzo (Marist) 19:18.9

2014: 19:42.72; 2015: 19:31.1; 2016: 19:35.2

4-Michael Kennedy (Marist) 19:22.7

2015: 20:23.3; 2016: 19:32.1

5-Christopher Rivas (Marist) 19:23.2

2016: 19:32.4

6-Palmer Weimann (Marist) 19:23.8

2015: 19:34.7; 2016: 20:04.7

7-Alex Hogue (Marist) 19:24.7

2016: 19:25.1

10-James Draney (Marist) 19:37.6

11-Riley Hughes (Marist) 19:39.3

2015: 19:33.2; 2016: 19:27.7

12-Joseph Miller (Marist) 19:40.1

2014: 20.27.16; 2015: 19:54.0; 2016: 19:53.8

13-Graham Strzelecki (Marist) 19:48.0

14-Steven Morrison (Marist) 19:56.4

2014: 19:20.11; 2015: 20:12.0; 2016: 19:31.0

15-James Moehringer (Marist) 19:58.6

16-Will Esposito (Marist) 19:59.3

2016: 21:13.7

17-Elias Platanias (Marist) 20:02.7

2016: 20:32.3

18-James Pratt (Marist) 20:04.1

19-Connor Levins (Marist) 20:12.9

2016: 20:36.4

20-Eamonn Beers (Marist) 20:15.9

2015: 21:19.6; 2016: 22:16.5

21-Conor Fitzpatrick (Marist) 20:16.3

22-Dan Hillman (Marist) 20:17.6

2016: 20:15.8

24-Conor Stack (Marist) 20:22.5

2016: 20:19.3

26-Mark Cappuccitti (Marist) 20:38.3

27-Matthew Ronan (Marist) 20:45.6

30-Brian Henderson (Marist) 20:57.6

2015: 20:42.9; 2016: 20:45.7

31-Connor St. Germain (Marist) 21:00.6

32-Drew Burns (Marist-unattached) 21:10.5

2015: 20:55.6; 2016: 20:34.4

33-Will Duggan (Marist) 21:11.7

2014: 21:46.8, 2015: 21:12.4; 2016: 20:47.5

35-Will O’Connell (Marist) 21:41.5

38-Nick Brady (Marist) 22:06.6

Home meet: Men's results

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve

Poughkeepsie, NY

Men’s results, Division 1

Team standings

1-Marist 19, 2. Iona 50, 3. Fairfield 68

Men’s individual results, 6km course (3.73 miles)

1-Dietrich Mosel (Marist) 18:51.5

2-Ehab El-Sandali (Iona) 18:52.7

3-Steven Rizzo (Marist) 19:18.9

4-Michael Kennedy (Marist) 19:22.7

5-Christopher Rivas (Marist) 19:23.2

6-Palmer Weimann (Marist) 19:23.8

7-Alex Hogue (Marist) 19:24.7

8-Christian Alberico (Iona) 19:27.8

9-Edward Hayfron (Iona) 19:35.3

10-James Draney (Marist) 19:37.6

11-Riley Hughes (Marist) 19:39.3

12-Joseph Miller (Marist) 19:40.1

13-Graham Strzelecki (Marist) 19:48.0

14-Steven Morrison (Marist) 19:56.4

15-James Moehringer (Marist) 19:58.6

16-Will Esposito (Marist) 19:59.3

17-Elias Platanias (Marist) 20:02.7

18-James Pratt (Marist) 20:04.1

19-Connor Levins (Marist) 20:12.9

20-Eamonn Beers (Marist) 20:15.9

21-Conor Fitzpatrick (Marist) 20:16.3

22-Dan Hillman (Marist) 20:17.6

23-Ben Breton (Fairfield) 20:21.6

24-Conor Stack (Marist) 20:22.5

25-Scott Daly (Fairfield) 20:36.2

26-Mark Cappuccitti (Marist) 20:38.3

27-Matthew Ronan (Marist) 20:45.6

28-Brian Warsh (Iona) 20:50.1

29-Connor Secora (Fairfield) 20:50.3

30-Brian Henderson (Marist) 20:57.6

31-Connor St. Germain (Marist) 21:00.6

32-Drew Burns (Marist-unattached) 21:10.5

33-Will Duggan (Marist) 21:11.7

34-Nick Rispoli (Fairfield) 21:17.3

35-Will O’Connell (Marist) 21:41.5

36-Mike Dzubia (Fairfield) 21:42.1

37-Timothy Salit (Fairfield) 21:55.8

38-Nick Brady (Marist) 22:06.6

39-Tim Susko (Iona) 22:38.0

40-Stephen Jastrzembski (Fairfield) 22:44.8

41-Dan Lehman (Fairfield) 24:27.2

Men’s results, Non-D1

Team standings

1-LIU Post 21, 2-Hunter 34, 3-Post University INC

Men’s individual results, 6km course (3.73 miles)

1-Ryan Acey (Post) 20:18.0

2-Kyle Harris (Hunter) 21:53.1

3-Andrew Gleave (LIU Post) 21:59.8

4-Erick Rivera (LIU Post) 22:12.3

5-George Moukas (Post) 22:14.9

6-Lance Edwards (LIU Post) 22:23.8

7-Joseph Dorso (LIU Post) 22:33.3

8-Jeffry Guerrero (Hunter) 22:38.3

9-John Maher (LIU Post) 22:40.8

10-Cristhofer Castro (Hunter) 22:42.3

11-Stephen O’Shea (Hunter) 22:46.5

12-Griffin Kearney (Hunter) 23:05.2

13-Rauful Hossein (Hunter) 23:28.2

14-Justin Ortega (LIU Post) 24:18.8

15-Joseph Velez (LIU Post) 24:39.4

Home meet: Women's results

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve

Poughkeepsie, NY

Women’s results, Division 1

Team standings

1-Marist 24, 2-Iona 37, 3-Fairfield 85

Women’s individual results, 5km course

1-Dani Martino (Iona) 18:09.6

2-Maria Smith (Marist) 18:15.4

3-Kaitlyn Ohrtman (Iona) 18:23.4

4-Gianna Tedeschi (Marist) 18:25.8

5-Emily Burns (Marist) 18:27.1

6-Shea Bohan (Marist) 18:29.7

7-Ali Bartolotta (Marist) 18:35.5

8-Denise Grohn (Marist) 18:40.7

9-Hayley Collins (Marist) 18:54.1

10-Jordan Casey (Marist) 18:57.6

11-Alyssa Lafave (Marist) 19:07.0

12-Kara McKenna (Iona) 19:22.9

13-Jenna Robinson (Marist) 19:26.8

14-Christine Gambell (Marist) 19:27.0

15-Boushra Belkhir (Marist) 19:36.4

16-Hannah Molloy (Iona) 19:48.2

17-Helena Keenan (Iona) 19:48.2

18-Shannon O’Hehir (Iona) 19:58.5

19-Danika Jensen (Iona) 20:17.2

20-Debbie Boerke (Marist) 20:19.2

21-Roxy Novo (Marist) 20:22.1

22-Katie Kern (Fairfield) 20:42.2

23-Sami Carey (Fairfield) 20:42.4

24-Kelsi Farren (Fairfield) 20:58.0

25-Talia Cutrone (Marist) 21:08.0

26-Lauren Harris (Marist) 21:11.6

27-Anna Valentine (Fairfield) 21:19.1

28-Skylar Sweet (Iona) 21:24.9

29-Ashley Cambiasaca (Fairfield) 21:54.7

30-Devyn O’Brien (Fairfield) 22:19.9

31-Shannon Lavin (Fairfield) 22:32.2

32-Katie Miale (Marist) 23:01.8

33-Shannon Gildea (Marist) 23:21.0

34-Alexandra Naughton (Iona) 23:56.6

Women’s results, Non-D1

Team standings

1-Hunter 22, 2. LIU Post 35, 3. Post University INC

Women’s individual results, 5km course

1-Talya Williams (LIU Post) 18:12.1

2-Kendall Fitzgerald (Post) 19:36.9

3-Julia Leask (Hunter) 20:09.3

4-Vera Pertsovskaya (Hunter) 20:22.8

5-Emily Tavares (Hunter) 20:41.3

6-Nicolette (LIU Post) 20:58.8

7-Emily Guzzardi (Hunter) 21:03.9

8-Zoe Colasacco (Hunter) 21:13.0

9-Alexandria Okon (LIU Post) 21:22.4

10-Kaitie Schillaci (LIU Post) 21:22.9

11-Kristy Carlin (Hunter) 21:29.0

12-Bianca Rey (Hunter) 21:30.0

13-Cheryl Chan (Hunter) 22:22.3

14-Akia Callum (Post) 23:54.1

15-Paige Dundas (Post) 23:56.3

16-Jillian Ducham (Post) 24:14.9

17-Yvonne Chow (Hunter) 24:52.0

18-Kaitlyn Jones (LIU Post) 26:41.7

19-Tiffany Merlinsky (Hunter) 26:46.9

20-Giovanna Bernal (Hunter) 26:54.6

21-Nicole Constanzo (LIU Post) 27:11.3

Home meet, overview

Another great morning at Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, as we welcomed five visiting teams and countless family, friends and alums for our one home meet of the year. The weather was beyond perfect. When I woke up before dawn, the temperature was a brisk 43 degrees. Yow! You betcha my heated seat was on in the Subaru. The sun came out but then ducked behind the clouds during the races -- probably mid-50s and cloudy, does it get any better than that? Of course it doesn't ... especially on September 2.

Our men and women ran strong (as you'll see in the upcoming results posts) and our Senior Day ceremony seems to get better and better each and every year. So glad that our track seniors and families could make it. Many thanks to our friends at Vassar College -- especially head coach James McCowan, who prepared the courses so well -- and to Palmer Weimann's parents (Martha and Ted) for coordinating an excellent tailgate. Great start to our long, three-season journey. It good to feel good, and we do. But it's back to work tomorrow, as our season awaits us in the coming weeks and months.