New Year's Offerings

A longer January/February calendar will come later, but for those of you fretting about what to do in and around New Year's Eve/Day, fret no more. And of course, the great thing about it is that you don't have to leave Brooklyn, unless you choose to do so.

For example, the annual New Year's Eve Fun Run, sponsored by Brooklyn Road Runners and Slope Sports, kicks off at 11:15 p.m. There's a new start this year (9th Street, inside the park), and here's a description of the course:

"Start at 9th Street, down around the Lake, turn Left on Center Drive. At the end of Center Drive, turn right back onto West Drive to the Finish line at 9th Street. Runners, please make note of your times at the end of the race. There will be an unofficial timing and this is an unscored Fun Run."

As for the swag:

• A free pair of running shoes (value up to $100) from Slope Sports for Top Male & Top Female finisher!
• Running gloves for the first 250 participants
• Hot chocolate from Cousin John's Bakery
  

Not bad. $20 before race day (register on Active.com), $25 day of (with discounts for BRRC members - so check out their Web site if you're interested in joining).

For those of you who are ringing in the New Year in Manhattan, the always popular Midnight Run in Central Park takes place at midnight. No, you can't get the first of your 9 qualifying races for the NYC Marathon in 2011, but you can have a blast at this 4 mile fun run (course here). And did I mention the costume contest and dancing.

(P.S. A little side note. The Philadelphia Marathon this year had bandits handing out beer ... hint, hint).

OK, so you've survived the evening. The Prospect Park Track Club, however, is getting an early start for the new year with its club race, Harry's Handicap. Basically a loop of the park, the unique twist is that your starting time is based on the best estimate for a 5K time - so, for example, a 30 minute 5K runner would start 10 minutes ahead of a 20 minute 5K runner. The goal is to get all the runners to come in at the same time. It's a club event, but guests are always welcome (and you can even consider signing up for the club.) Race time at 9:30 a.m. A history is here.

*** UPDATE. Harry's Handicap has been moved to 9:30 a.m. (tho some runners may start as late as 10:01 a.m.) ****

Skiing the Brooklyn Bridge

Did you run the Brooklyn Bridge during this weekend's snowfall? Check this out from a guy who skied parts of the bridge.

Roads are plowed, mostly, and Prospect Park is passable. Brooklyn Heights promenade not so much (unless you have some kind of shoe grips or mini-crampons). Would imagine it'll be icy in the morning, so tread carefully (and avoid the trucks that spray salt at you.)

NYRR Holiday 4M Results

are posted here. 3,759 finishers, according to the Web site. Interestingly enough, 54 percent of the finishers were women (usually you see an even split, or more men). Here's the course map.

Leatherman's Loop Registration Jan. 1

at 12:01 a.m., meaning that if you're out celebrating the beginning of 2010, better figure out a way to register soon. Last year's registration closed within 16 hours.

(http://www.leathermansloop.org). The race is scheduled for April 25.

NYRR Volunteer Stuff

The NYRR has posted volunteer requirements to accomplish the "9+1" requirement to gain guaranteed entry to the New York Marathon in 2011.

First off: If you're hoping to use a January race to fulfill your 2010 NYC Marathon volunteer requirement, you're out of luck. From the Web site:

"Volunteering at 2010 races satisfies the volunteering requirement for the 2011 marathon only—not the 2010 marathon."

(I don't know at this point if you can still volunteer for the two remaining races on the 2009 NYRR calendar, though you can still run them. The 4M race in Brooklyn tomorrow remains open for runners; the 15K in Central Park is filling up.)

But there's an out, of course:

- You can meet your 9+1 Program volunteering requirement by sending a substitute volunteer. This person simply indicates at the race that he/she is volunteering on your behalf.

(I thought about making fun of this, and cracking a bunch of jokes. But the fact is: That's wrong. I realize there are legitimate reasons that someone isn't able to volunteer at a local race. But if you're running 9 NYRR races to qualify - and then convince/pay/con someone else to volunteer for you? You can't come into NYC for a 10th race? Get over it. Give back to the running community and volunteer. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. I'd rather see the NYRR add a provision allowing for people to volunteer in local races (Brooklyn perhaps).) I welcome comments on this, as always.

Don't dawdle when you're deciding on a race. Again, according to the Web site:

Volunteers MUST register early in 2010 to ensure a volunteer spot at a 2010 race. When a race has reached its volunteer capacity, the race will be removed as a volunteer registration choice on the Web site.

(Right now, all the races posted on the NYRR Web site for January and February seem to be open).

Again, super-important: If you want to do this program, you must be a member of NYRR. And that means a) signing up before Jan. 31, 2010, and b) maintaining your membership through November 2011 for the race.

Armory Opening Soon?

With all the delays in the past, it'd be a welcome sight to have a place to run some indoor track workouts this winter ... (in the late winter, that is, if the timeframe spelled out here is of any indication). The cost may be $40 a month for access, though I'm sure there will be different rates for different groups.

Running Links

Some links of interest:

Turkey Trot Participation Surged in 2009 (and this is only the 10 biggest races). Thanks, we saw it here in Brooklyn.

Jogger Banned From Portsmouth, NH. It's almost, but not quite, being banned from Manhattan.

Bill Rodgers Training Log From 1975. My plan is to duplicate it ... at least until the evening of Jan. 1. Note his first week is 147 miles, which I'd be psyched with for the month.

Becoming Your Own Massage Therapist. Graduate from the stick, and go for the foam roller.

PPTC Turkey Trot Photos

Here's a link to some photos shot at the Turkey Trot. It's Prospect Park Track Club-focused, but there's plenty of shots out there of "regular" runners to give you a flavor of what happened, both in the actual running of the race, as well as the behind-the-scenes stuff.

http://www.pmvhphoto.com/PPTCTTgallery/

Wednesday 10-miler

Had some extra time today, so ran a bit longer than I normally would in mid-week (though if the marathon training kicks into gear, suspect that will change).

Anyway, wanted to do 10 miles, starting from Brooklyn Heights - there are a variety of options, but I realized I hadn't been over the Williamsburg Bridge in a bit, so figured I'd do a loop - over the Brooklyn Bridge, down to the river, then back over Williamsburg and back along Kent and Flushing (detouring a bit through Dumbo)

One of the benefits to this run is a working bathroom just north of the Williamsburg Bridge (the water fountain is turned off, but the sink is still running) that's generally been clean the few times I've had to use it.