Easton, front and CENTER

 

Someone texted me this really neat photo from Wednesday's Faculty and Staff Convocation at the McCann Center. As President Kevin Weinman was speaking, behind him was a Marist collage which included our captain, our (400-meter) school record holder, our MARSHAL, Easton Eberwein. We are blessed to have Easton back for another (academic) year of (athletic) eligibility. Neat, on all levels. 

Heart of the sunrise

 

Talk about dedication! Coach Chuck got up Very Early to benefit some members of the women's XC team, took them over to Vassar Farm for a predawn run to beat the (oppressive) heat later. And! He snapped this lovely sunrise picture. Highly neat.

Boston reunion

 

Class of 2012 classmates and good, dear friends Brian Townsend (left) and Luke Shane met up in Boston, where Brian was in town for work and where Luke now lives. Via group text, they reminsced about their Mills Hills cross country workouts and heaven knows so much more. We miss these guys a lot and we are incredulous in the realization that their final cross country season (2011) was 13 years ago! How can that BE! I had to zoom in very closely to see a few slivers of gray hair on Luke's head; no such close examination is needed here at Blog Central, there's plenty of gray to go around! Thanks for the photos, the impromptu group text and for your insistence on my posting it here on this (fancy) blog = glad to oblige!

Big team = big goals

 

In a continuing effort to transition old traditions into new (and better) traditions! We replaced our annual summer team BBQ (which was very cross-country centric) with a full-team (track AND XC) food and fun fest down by the river on Sunday afternoon, on the eve of the Fall 2024 Semester of classes. Although a few of our athletes were missing from this picture, this is the majority of our 100-plus roster of athletes. All event groups are represented here. We're not just XC and mid/distance runners anymore, and we will continue to expand into a more complete track team. It's a really exciting time for our program and today was a good start (for that). Neat.

Blast from the past

 

Last Saturday, as I was wandering around the McCann Center in between preseason XC practices, I happened upon Brian Ordway, who was on the first team that I coached back in 1991, and who was visiting campus with his young and very energtic son. He was one of the original four who showed up at the first organizational meeting for the track team in March of 1991. He went down to the boathouse and reminded me that's where his first practice was -- I vaguely remember a hill workout of some sort. Remember, back when I started in the spring of 1991, I had no coaching experience and it could be argued that I had no idea what I was doing. Some would posit, as I enter my 34th year, that nothing much has changed in that regard! Brian is in his early 50s and his Marist days are well in the past. His elderly parents, who accompanied Brian to campus, were stunned that I was "still here after all this time." Indeed!

Meet info

 Next Saturday, the 2024-2025 cross country/track season(s) kicks off with the Marist Season Opener XC meet at Vassar Farm. The (visiting) teams expected to attend = UAlbany, UConn, Fairfield, Iona, Siena. Men's 6km race is at 9a. Women's 5km race is at 9:45a. Senior Day ceremonies will follow. 

In other news! There seems to be growing interest in the de facto track/XC alumni reunion here, centered around the Dutchess County Classic. For those still interested in that, and seeking the Marist Alumni Racing Team discount code, email me at Peter.Colaizzo@marist.edu or text/call me at 845 309 3640 and I'll get the "secret codes" sent your way. Neat. 

Raising the curtain (on another season)

 "Are you excited for preseason, Coach!" I've been getting some version of this question for the past several days. Because I'm a grumpy old coach, I usually grouse: "No. Not really." Another version of the question: "Are you ready for your team to return, Coach?" My grouse remains the same. "No. Not really." It's been this way for many years now. If "no, not really" is my growling answer in a month or two months from now, I know that'll not be a good sign. But usually, that dread of the summer's end fades within minutes or hours of yet another preseason and beginning of another (academic) year of cross country and track. That'll likely be the case again, at the start of year 34 of this journey.

We have a big roster, as usual, and a young roster, which is not always the case. We are very top-heavy with first-year and sophomore athletes, especially on the men's side but really on both teams. The construction of our new track facility during this academic year will only add to the excitement. For the majority of this year's team, they'll be on a home track for some or most of their collegiate careers.

And so, we begin again. As we do every year. At this stage, there are far fewer tomorrows than there were yesterdays, so we might as well cherish every moment of it. OK. 

Forever (and Future) Foxes

 

Thanks to Rolek (Class of 2008) for sharing these incredibly awesome photos of circa-2007/2008 era Marist Running Red Foxes, with their growing brood of Future Foxes. It's an annual gathering and I'm so glad he/they remember their old coach by sending me this (neat) picture.

Clapp your hands!

 

Thanks to (from left) Dennis Love, Joe Logan, Alex Ushchak and Ian Wiesinger for coming out to Clapp Park in Pittsfield to support me in the annual Sweltering Summer 8-hour ultramarathon. I was able to cover 111 laps of the 0.3553-mile dirt track, much of which was a muddy mess for the first half of the day due to flooding rains on Friday night. Neat. 

Hayley wins Kelley/Ocean Beach half marathon!

 

Congrats to Hayley Collins (pictured here with me on Saturday at Ocean Beach in New London, CT) for winning the Kelley/Ocean Beach Half Marathon. The race was held on a brutally humid and sunny morning. Hayley said she went into "survival mode" early but she still easily outdistanced the field, winning in 1:23:45. 

For those interested, I wrote a post on my Substack about my participation in the race to support Marist alum and Sacred Heart track coach Christian Morrison, who completed the race for a remarkable 49th year in a row! You can read that here for free (and please consider subscribing to it?). Thank you.

Save money! Run the Dutchess County Classic!

 Hopefully, that title got your attention?

We (and when I say "we" I really mean "me"?) are planning for (hoping for?) a relatively big Track/XC alumni weekend on the weekend of the Dutchess County Classic, which is on Sunday, September 15. On that day, the Classic will feature a half marathon and 10km (the full marathon was discontinued). There is also a 5km on Saturday afternoon. Most alums who have come back for the Classic have opted for the Sunday races -- half marathon or 10km. Here's the incentive: Because I asked my friends at the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club, they have agreed to give me a DISCOUNT CODE exclusively for Marist alums. The MHRRC folks told me (urged me!) not to openly publicize the codes (good advice, because I'm an idiot and I was planning on including them in THIS POST ... which, last time I checked, is still on the World Wide Web and thus accessible to anyone who might stumble upon it!). 

So anyway? If you are interested in or planning on racing the Dutchess County Classic, please text me at 845 309 3640 and I will send you the code(s). The codes are race-specific so let me know which race you plan on entering in. If you have already entered in the Classic? Sorry, I don't think we can retroactively get you a discount. However! You can (and should!) most definitely take part in what I hope will be a big, fun and active weekend. Here's what I have planned: 

--Friday night, September 13: Any alums that are in town, we can try to plan an informal gathering at a Place That Serves Adult Beverages. Hey. I don't go out anymore, so I don't even have any (good) suggestions! Heck, I don't even have to be INVITED. Hopefully, you all can organize something?

--Saturday morning, September 14: Come and cheer on the 2024 version of your Running Red Foxes! We will be taking part in the Jasper XC Invitational (aka, the pre-MAAC meet). It will be at Twin Ponds on the Farm in Montgomery, NY -- a mere 43-minute drive from Poughkeepsie! I don't have the specific race details, but races are late morning. More on that later. Our current team would LOVE your support. 

--Saturday afternoon, September 14: We're planning on having a big team BBQ on campus -- and you're invited! This will be a great way to meet the entire team and our ever-expanding coaching staff. (and yes, maybe I'll be hitting you up for donations to the new track project). More details to follow, but it'll likely be late afternoon on South Field (the grass field next to McCann, which will eventually be the site of our throwing events!). 

--Sunday morning, September 15: The Dutchess County Classic! Go out and run with your favorite alums, or make new (alumni) friends! I hope you can MAKE it!

I know this post has a goofy tone (even though I turn 60 in a few weeks, my "maturity level" remains a contentious subject as well as a "work in progress") but I really would love to see a lot of alums come back for this -- the XC meet + the Classic. Even if you don't run/race, come back anyway!

Again, if you want to enter the Classic at a discount, text me at 845 309 3640 and I'll send you the code. And please! Do NOT share the code with anyone else. The MHRRC was nice enough to do this for us and I don't want abuse the privilege and cost them any potential profits from the race.

More details to follow ...

Our staff is GROWING! (highly neat)

 

We are very excited to announce the addition of Alisha Samuel to our growing track staff. See this link for more details. Alisha and her husband Sam will be moving from Minnesota to Poughkeepsie in the coming week and she'll be on campus in time for preseason. Although her primary role will be with the track team, she will definitely be part of our entire XC/track family and we're thrilled that she decided to join us. Neat!