33 years and counting.....

Opening day at the JCC Snowball yesterday and I was at the Wilmington Hospital getting ready to bust out with my new right hip. The surgery went really well and I am now home and can't wait to start rehab at Elite PT on Wednesday. They say second time around is much easier. I hope so. As I sat in my room and looked at the clock hit 11 am I was only thinking about my crew at the Snowball 5 miler. I only wished I could have been there. Sunday also marked my 33rd year of being in business for myself. I can't even begin to count the number of races I have staged in all those years. My running days are now over. I have to throw in the towel. I hope to start walking some of the 5k's down the road. I am so impressed with the number of runners who come out week in and week out to partake in our events. It is you who help raise funds for so many charities and I do know they are thank full. I hope to be at the Kelly's Logan House 5k on Sunday. I will be the one with the cane.

Opening day

Finally....March is here and so are the road races. Starting Sunday with the JCC Snowball 5 miler now in its 27th year. This is the only 5 mile race we time and manage. The JCC is a wonderful place to stage this race. Inside registration, plenty of parking, showers and lockers (bring lock). We use to stage this event in February but if it snowed prior to race day the residential roads were never plowed and it made for slippery conditions. One year the USATF Grand Prix Series used the 5miler as part of their series but the roads were ice covered and I had to postpone the event. Some runners went out and tried to run the route but they too gave up due to the ice. The following week one of my favorite races takes place at the Logan House. The 11th John D. Kelly Logan House 5k for National Parkinson Fdn. With a noon start this race is a local favorite too. The Kelly Family are on hand to greet all the runners and walkers. Like Michael Kelly says at the start each year, "have fun and see you back at the Logan House so we can trash the place." The following week in the Grand Daddy of them all....the 47th Citizen's Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon at Rodney Square. Delaware's oldest road race continues to draw a crowd. We are lucky to have such great sponsors for this event. Citizen's Bank, Delaware Running Co., PSCI, Blue Cross Blue Shield,
New Castle Associates in Podiatry are just a few. I look forward to seeing everyone at the races.

Plan "B"

Many of you have heard that the Myrtle Beach Marathon was cancelled the night before race day due to the fact that an upcoming snow storm was heading to the Myrtle Beach area. Approximately 5,000 runners were in town for the marathon and half marathon. City officials made the call the night before to cancel. The next morning the snow storm was actually a slush storm and the runners were to say the least a bit disturbed. As a race director you always try to have a contingency plan or Plan B. Our Caesar Rodney committee has been discussing the issue of what would happen IF a snow storm hit the day before the half marathon. Could we move it a week later? Delay the start till noon? Cancel the event? Just things we have to deal with. And things we actually are working on. I remember when i organized the very first Delaware Marathon back in 1978 called the Delaware Minuteman Marathon. This 26.2 mile event was held in Delaware City and was staged on the first Sunday in March. I remember that a couple days prior to race day we did get a huge snow storm. Lucky for us the Delaware National Guard was our sponsor. They were able to plow the entire 13.1 mile route so we could hold this event. It is always difficult to make these decisions to cancel but the number one goal is the safety of the runners. I will be watching the weather channel in the weeks to come.

Triple Crown

When i use to run it was always fun to have a goal in mind to keep me motivated. May it be a marathon finish or a 5k to try and set a PR it was always a priority of mine. Have a goal. The Triple Crown of Half Marathons is something I put together to give folks a goal. Finish the March 21st Citizen's Bank Caesar Rodney, the April 11th LDAF Race for Autism, and the May 16th Delaware Half Marathon and you will receive a tech shirt for achieving your goal. So far we have 12 folks who have signed up to run all three events. If you would like to give the Triple Crown a shot please email me so I can track your progress. Hopefully the snow will melt soon and you will be able to get in some miles outside. Remember....all you have to do is set your goal to finish all three half marathons. Good luck.

Boston Bus

I was chatting with Doug White today.....he is concerned that the DE Sports Club sponsored bus to the Boston Marathon may not fill up this year. Why? Seems that many who qualified did not sign up in time to get into this years race. Yep....the Boston Marathon sold out so early it caught many by surprise. Those planning to take the bus to Boston will not be going. What a shame. Folks work so hard to qualify and then get shut out. Maybe the Boston Marathon takes too many charity runners. If I am not mistaken anyone can run the Boston Marathon IF they are willing to raise x amount of money for the Jimmy Fund. Here is the note from Doug:

The early closure of registration for the 2010 Boston Marathon caught many people by surprise. Because so many of you didn't get into Boston, seats are available on the bus. For those of you who did, if you have friends or family who would like to go on the trip, let me know as there is room for them.
Thanks,
Doug White (302-234-0918 h)

Sprint tri at St. Andrews

This Father's Day I will stage the 23rd Sprint Tri at St. Andrews School. For those of you who join us every year you will notice a change in set up this year. My staff of 22 years gave me notice after last years event that they were burned out. I got to tell you.....these guys were so much fun to work with and the stories we can tell would make you shake your head. We raised money that stayed in the Middletown area and we will continue to do this again next year. St. Andrews School has been wonderful to us. The venue is absolutely beautiful. The distance of 1/4 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and 3 mile XC run is doable by everyone. A great event for the first time tri-athlete. I decided that I wanted to continue to hold this race and I got permission from St. Andrews School to do so. I contacted Neil Semmel from Pirana Sports. I have known Neil for years and he has done my tri in the past. I asked if he would be interested in setting up our course and transition area and if he would chip time our event. We agreed on the terms and the Sprint Tri continues. As of today (2-11) we have 120 registered. We will accept 250 which gives this event a nice small town feel. It is so neat to see so many familiar faces year after year. I look forward to working with Neil and his staff and hope you will join us on June 20th.

Caesar Rodney update

I received the latest update of participants for our 47th Citizen's Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon / 5k. Where are all the paper entry forms? Take a look at paper vs online:
5k online 61 paper 6
Half online 863 paper 193
both 5k and half online 4 paper 2
total online 928
total paper 201
total entries as of Feb. 5th 1129
You do have a choice here. Paper saves you a few bucks but looking at these stats it seems that folks would rather pay the extra fee for the convenience of online registration. But you do have a choice . I can't wait to see how many day of race registrations we have when entry fees are at its highest. We are on record pace to have our largest turnout ever for Caesar Rodney. Let's hope the snow has melted by March 21st!