Fox Trot 5K: September 8

Before I leave for my annual Lake George vacation – which is usually Internet-free, but perhaps we will have WiFi this year? … considering the rustic nature of our cabins, don’t count it … -- I would like to extend a friendly reminder of the Marist Red Fox Trot 5K race on campus. It will be Saturday, September 8. Mark your calendars … I would like to have a strong Marist Alumni presence at the event.

Maynes at Mt. Washington

Thanks to Marist Running Alum Matt Maynes for sending along the following photos of him (and fellow Marist Running Alums Liza Grudzinski and Kirk Dornton) from the Mt. Washington Road Race. Here is his race report, sent via email ...

I thought the race went well.  I came into it in pretty good shape, was up in the 70s for mileage in April and May and a month early had won the Alumni Mile at a meet with a negative split 4:45 (2:29, 2:16) that felt very good.   I had done a lot of tempo runs at race pace on the treadmill with a 12% incline but nothing can really prepare you for this race besides doing it.

I went through the half around 39 minutes still feeling strong and in control but once we got above tree line I started to slow down.  Liza passed me somewhere during mile 6 looking really good.  I definitely slowed during the second half and was really feeling it but I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.  It was nothing like when I blew up in the marathon last October and I knew that I was still doing ok and it was the nature of the race to being going this slow.  My watch had 1:24:32 at the finish, it took me about 8 seconds to cross the line and there was no timing mat at the start so my official gun time was 1:24:40.  The Men's race was U.S. Nationals for Mountain Running so the race was pretty stacked up front so I'm very happy with top 100 and my result.

Having never done a race like this I wasn't really sure what to expect and how to pace myself.  I don't think I went out to fast, my breathing was under control the whole race and I felt like I needed to run strong over the first half while I could and because I knew that positive splitting was the nature of the race.  Overall it was a great experience and I will be entering the lottery next year and I'm hoping I can convince some other Marist Alumni Racing Team members so we can enter a team!

Walsh/Minnewaska Marathon statistics

Check out the following link to loads of statistics on Marist Running Alum Matt Walsh’s Marist to Minnewaska Marathon. It is very useful for those considering a similar journey in the future.

Journalism summit

The Poughkeepsie Journalism Summit, circa 2012, from left: Front row, Marist Sports Information Director Mike Ferraro, Your Favorite Blogger/Track Coach (note: an old journalism acquaintance said I looked "grandfatherly" in the picture ... nice), Poughkeepsie Journal Sports Editor Danny Pietrafesa; back row, Middletown Times Herald Record columnist/writer Ken McMillan, Marist Alum J.W. Stewart.

Last week, I got together with some old friends at the Palace Diner in Poughkeepsie for a long dinner. We were at the diner for more than three hours, catching up on old times.

This amounted to a “journalism summit,’’ with old pals from my many years of full-time work at Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper, the Poughkeepsie Journal. In attendance were:

--J.W. Stewart, a Marist alum and longtime anchor on ESPN. He got his start in the business at the Poughkeepsie Journal.

--Ken McMillan, now working for the neighboring Middletown Times-Herald Record. Known by many as McJournalism or “Dirt,’’ Ken is one of the finest sports journalists I know. I mean that sincerely. Working alongside of Ken, I learned a lot about being thorough and professional in the trade. More than 30 years after he started, Ken is still doing fine work over in Middletown.

--Dan Pietrafesa, or “Danny P” as we like to call him. Another great friend and a GOOD MAN, Danny continues to work at the Poughkeepsie Journal as Sports Editor (or whatever fancy title they give to that job these days …)

--Mike Ferraro, our fantastic Sports Information Director at Marist, who got his start typing in bowling scores for me more than a decade ago. Mike was an excellent journalist in the McMillan mode (again, I mean that in all sincerity). And, in the humble opinion of this old coach, Mike is as good as it gets in the sports information world. He gets the numbers aspect, he gets the people aspect, he gets the promotional aspect, and he has morphed extremely well in the modern world of Twitter, Facebook and countless other platforms about which I know little. Mikey constantly frets about whether he does a good job. I’m here to tell you that he does not do a good job. He does a GREAT job. There is no one better. OK. Wow. That was longer than anticipated.

Anyway, my previous life in full-time journalism was fun, memorable and ever-changing. It was filled with late nights and many unhealthy meals and gallons of Dr Pepper. I made many good friends along the way. It was great to catch up with them over food at the diner, where we spent many a late night after work eating food of questionable nutritional value.

Journalism gets a bad rap in many circles. I’m here to tell you that the profession is filled with many good, honorable, hard-working and extremely intelligent folks. I was privileged to work with a lot of them, many of whom remain good friends.

Interesting article on running form

Sorry for the lack of posts. It is vacation time here at Marist Running, so posts may be few and far between in the coming days and weeks. I will do my best to keep things interesting.

Check out the link to this article on the New York Times Well Blog (one of my must-read favorites) about running form. Good stuff.

Liza sizzles at Mt. Washington

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Liza Grudzinski for her outstanding, top-10 finish at the Mt. Washington Road Race in New Hampshire on Saturday. Liz placed ninth in the women’s field and completed the all-uphill course in 1:23:10. That’s an average of 10:57/mile in the 7.6-mile race from the base to the summit of Mt. Washington. Outstanding effort!

We spoke with Liza and Kirk on Sunday as they were driving back from New Hampshire. Liza seemed very pleased with the effort. She really started cranking as the grade got steeper and steeper. Awesome stuff.

Also of note: Marist Running alum Matt Maynes finished 96^th in the men’s race in 1:24:40 (11:09/mile). Not bad for a dude who specialized in the 800-meter race in college.

Summing up Junior Nationals

We liked Indiana so much, we stayed an extra few hours! Our flight home was canceled and we were put on another flight – three hours later. No worries. With newspapers, a book and WiFi at the airport, the time went by quickly.

It was a good trip and positive experience for Mark Valentino, who ran well in the steeple. Or, as one of his esteemed teammates wrote in a text post-race: “It’s tough to go out there out of season and pop a time in the heat. Mark had a great season.”

Amen to that. Here’s hoping for future trips to USA Juniors …