Weekend Race Picks

There are plenty of options in the Greater New York area (including Long Island, NJ and CT): Here are three to consider as we dodge Hurricane Earl:

*9/4: Celic 4-Mile Run, Cloves Lake Park, Staten Island
There are still race-day entries available

*9/5: World Trade Center Run to Remember (5K), Governor's Island
Flat, fast loop + around Governors Island - note the Brooklyn ferry doesn't start running until 11, which is somewhat aggravating, so you have to head into Manhattan to get there.

*9/6: New Haven Road Race (5K, 20K), New Haven, CT
A bit of a travel, though if you're up for an early, early morning drive, I bet you won't hit any traffic on 95 … (hah). Race starts at 8:15. It's also the 20K U.S. Championships

Upcoming Races

Next weekend (Dec. 5-6) has at least three local races to consider:

* The Bay Ridge Jingle Bell Run 2009 (or, the Valerie Piro Push to Walk 4 Mile Run) on Saturday, Dec. 5. The race is run in support of Valerie Piro, a Stuyvesant High School student who was hurt last year after the girls track team van flipped on the way to a track meet at Dartmouth College. The course is on the Shore Road Promenade.

* The Peter Rabbit 3-Mile Cross-Country Run in Prospect Park (also on Saturday)

* The Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis in Prospect Park on Sunday, Dec. 6. Among the amenities: jingle bells for your shoes. The run is 5K, the walk is 3K.

At this point, the NYRR race in Central Park, the Joe Kleinerman 10K, is sold out, so if you're looking to race and didn't sign up for that, there's plenty of options close to home.

Upcoming Races This Weekend

Enough with my Brooklyn Half obsession. It's over, done with for a year. I probably won't post about it again for at least another day ... but don't hold me to it.

Shockingly enough, there are *other* races to be run. I'm woefully behind on my race calendar, but at least let me offer up these four for the weekend:

June 6, Eugene McCarthy 5K, Marine Park

June 7, Kenny Dolan 5K, Prospect Park

June 7, Riverdale Ramble, 10K, Bronx

June 7, NYRR New York Mini 10K, Central Park

More to come.

USATF 5K Series in New York

Folks, USATF is starting a 5K points series here in New York (I'm going to rant in a bit about the lack of publicity, or maybe my ignorance, but not yet):

It's four races in New York at different settings: Icahn Stadium (2), Prospect Park and Van Cortlandt Park. The first one is on May 10, part of the New Balance NYC Qualifying Challenge, with other races to follow. The top 6 male and female finishers get medals and points, the top three in each category get cash prizes at the end.

Here are the dates:

May 10: Icahn Stadium - track
June 22: Icahn Stadium - track
June 30: Prospect Park - road
Sept. 28: Van Cortlandt Park -X/C

Just found out about it, so don't know if there are age categories (from the Web site, it doesn't look like it), and I'm curious about the Prospect Park date, which is a Monday, which if it's tied to PPTC, doesn't line up (their race is on Wednesday that week).

** Quick UPDATE: The New Balance Web site lists the Prospect Park race as *July 30* not June 30, which makes a lot more sense. So I'll try to get that clarified.

Upcoming Races

Here's a look at some races in and around the area. Some, like the New Jersey Marathon/Half, have already closed (so something to keep in mind for next year). Still don't have confirmation on the Cinco de May 5K, though I'm fairly sure it is being run on Sunday, May 4 (trying to get more details, so if anyone's got them, please let me know.). Recurring races were made in a previous post, so they aren't listed here.

May 3: Brooklyn Half Marathon (Very flat until the final loop of Prospect Park)

May 3: Long Island Festival of Races 5K

May 4: Long Island Marathon/Half

May 4: Cinco de Mayo 5K, Prospect Park (Still need confirmation!)

May 4: New Jersey Marathon/Half

May 10: Jersey City 10K (Very flat 10K, just across the river from Manhattan)
May 10: Long Island Greenbelt Run (A well-supported trail run, either 25K or 50K)

May 11: NYRR Mother’s Day 4M/10M (The 10M is women-only)

May 17: Healthy Kidney 10K (One of the few 10Ks in Central Park put on by NYRR - remember when the 10K distance used to the *the* race?)

May 18: NYPD Memorial 5K Run

May 18: Harbor Fitness 5K Run (Bay Ridge)

May 18: Forest Park 4 Mile Trail Run (Queens)

May 18: Gilda’s Run 15K

May 20: AHA Wall Street Run (This 5K race is for a great cause. That said, don't expect to run it for time - it's overcrowded, may have the course shortened for various security reasons, and last year featured a water stop in small side street, which created a massive bottleneck. On the flip side, you get a chance to trample the Wall Street folk who think it's a bright idea to walk in the middle of ongoing foot traffic).

June 1: Riverdale Ramble 10K (Pick a race in the Bronx ...)

June 1: Kenneth Dolan 5K (... or in Prospect Park)

There are likely more area races which I haven't come across - please append them to this list or send me an e-mail and I'll update and repost. Happy racing!

Manhattan Half

Online registration for the Manhattan Half closes tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11:59 p.m. Weather right now looks like it will be fairly decent for a late January race (possibly a light snow shower, but in the low 30s). On other thing of note: NYRR continues to "strongly" discourage the use of headphones during a race - so the group hasn't taken the step yet to ban headphones, which some other USATF-sanctioned races have done.

Full NYRR schedule on Web site

The full NYRR schedule is out, though if the group holds true to past years, some of the dates later in the year should definitely be thought of as tentative.

At first glance, the most interesting changes from last year: Queens Half is in August, and Staten Island Half is in September. The latter change pulls it away from right up against the NYRR marathon, where's it's been in previous years.

Brooklyn Half on April 26

The NYRR Web site has the Brooklyn Half on April 26, which as one of the posters noted, is on tail end of Passover. Given the course runs down Ocean Parkway, near a number of synagogues and temples if I'm not mistaken, the choice of the Saturday versus the Sunday (the 27th) is indeed odd. It's also possible NYRR didn't have a choice of days and it had to be a Saturday, given they need permitting from both the city as well as the parks folk to hold the race.

Brooklyn Half in late April?

Word is that this year's Brooklyn Half Marathon may take place in late April. Everything appears to be tentative at this point (hence, no posting on the NYRR Web site), so don't mark it in your calendar yet. The Club Council is meeting in the next several days, we understand, so some clarity may appear.

If it does take place then, it's both good and bad news for Brooklynites who are running Boston this year. It's not the same weekend (which has happened in the past), though it's still too close to this year's race to count on a great run.

Early NYRR schedule posted

Additional races have been posted on the NYRR Web site - and yes, the Bronx Half is again in the middle of winter.

Some key race dates:

1/12 (Saturday): Fred Lebow 5 Mile
1/27 (Sunday): Manhattan Half Marathon
2/10 (Sunday): Bronx Half Marathon
2/23 (Saturday): Al Gordon 4 Mile

Nothing yet in March - we'll see if we can find out when the Brooklyn Half is on the schedule.