The Flyers are now 30...and we're looking great . . .

30th Anniversary Party
On this past Saturday night, 125 Flyers and friends of Flyers spent the evening celebrating that our wonderful running club has now been around 30 years. So many people were involved in organizing the event but the main person was Guy Simoneau seen here doing his Andy Williams impression. Thanks so much to Deb Saat for creating this video of the Flyers talking about becoming Flyers

Now for A Training Run
For those who were able to get up on Sunday morning early enough (yes, there was a reason why the party ended at 8pm) for a 7am race, the NYRR had their annual 18-miler training race, the TCS New York City Marathon training Series 18M Our amazing President Chris Brennan ran an amazingly fast race in 2:02:41 (6:48 pace) finishing in 4th for the 40-44 age group. Great job Chris! He was closely followed by Gregory Hawryluk in 2:05:22 (6:57 pace) and coming in 6th for the 30-34 pace.
In the Ladies race, Elena Riecke finished in 2:28:55 (8:16 pace) for a 9th place in the 20-24 range and she was followed by Amanda Schachter finishing in 2:29:09 (8:17 pace) for a 9th place win in the 45-49 range and Denise Iannizzotto finishing in 2:32:06 (8:27 pace) and getting a 3rd place win! Awesome ladies.

Taking it to the street
There was a most impressive Flyer turnout for the 2019 New Balance 5th Avenue Mile, and our top five for both the men and women showed us how to get it done. Mr. President placed first for the Flyer men in 5:16, followed by James Dunham in 5:25. Jakob Olesen placed third in 5:27, followed by Secretary David Ezra in 5:30 and John LeBreton in 5:32.

Heather Tolford captured first place for the Flyer women and second in the 60-64 age group in 6:10, scoring an absolutely phenomenol 94.08% on an age-graded basis, which means she's competitive at a national level. She was followed by Denise Iannizzotto, who placed second for the team and second in the 55-59 age group in 6:12. Stephanie Tang came back from upstate to capture third in 6:27, followed by Elizabeth Huggins in 6:33 and Manasi Agrawal in 6:39. Other age group honors went to Dave Kleckner (ninth in the men's 55-59 age group); John McCreesh (tenth in the men's 50-54 age group); David Dempsey (fifth in the men's 70-74 age group); Nina Parks-Taylor (ninth in the women's 60-64 age group); Laura Guerra (eighth in the women's 55-59 age group); Delton Mace (eighth in the men's 70-74 age group); Richard Garland (fourth in the men's 75-79 age group); and Kathleen Nitschelm (second in the women's 75-79 age group).

Meanwhile, Joanna Rees Gunderson went out on Sunday for the T.E.A.L 5K Run for Ovarian Cancer, capturing seventh in the women's 50-59 age group in 27:43 (8:56 pace).

Bye now
I'm heading out to Oregon for vacation next week, so this space remains in the capable hands of Richard B. Have a great couple of weeks, and see you on the flip side.

Crossings
There were no NYRR or NYCRUNS races this week, but last week's Henry Isola Cross Country 4-Miler results came up. Raymond Birge represented for the Flyers, finishing the rugged course in 43:15 (10:49 pace).

A body at rest sits on its butt
That's all I have for this holiday week. Enjoy the last breath of summer while it lasts; I plan to.

Over the bridges and through the streets
This was the first weekend with that autumnal feel in the air. While I'm not ready for it and want it to go away, conditions couldn't have been more perfect for Three Bridges #1, a twenty-mile jaunt through Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan in preparation for upcoming fall marathons. Nearly 200 runners and pacers strong and with lots of volunteer support for check-in, check-out, and hydration, today's event was an epic success. If you don't believe me, go see the posts and photos in the club Facebook group. Congratulations to everyone who went the distance or even some part of it, and thanks and appreciation to the extensive volunteer crew of pacers and fluid slingers.

Persistence
Some Flyers were feeling more like a 5K this weekend, and the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K didn't disappoint. The Flyer women finished in eighth place, led by the running phenonmenon Heather Tolford, who placed first for the team, came in as second Flyer overall, and won the 60-64 age group in 21:03 (6:47 pace). Fellow Senior Veteran Nina Parks-Taylor placed second for the team and third in the 60-64 age group in 24:54 (8:01 pace), followed by Jeanhie Hahn, who captured seventh in the 50-54 age group in 25:28 (8:12 pace). Stephanie Pianka placed fourth for the team and thirteenth for the 50-54 year old women in 26:34 (8:33 pace), and Luiza Silva finished fifth for the team and twenty-fifth in the 45-49 age group in 26:51 (8:39 pace).

The Flyer men placed fifteenth in their division, led by James Dunham, who also placed thirteenth in the 45-49 age group in 19:44 (6:21 pace). Vincenzo Pascale captured second for the team and fifth in the 55-59 age group in 21:05 (6:47 pace), follwed by Ernesto Giraldo in 21:26 (6:54 pace). Jakob Oleson came in fourth for the team in 21:33 (6:57 pace), and Thomas Daniels came in fifth for the Flyers and nineteenth in the 55-59 age group in 23:04 (7:26 pace). Other age group honors went to Timothy Hadel (sixth in the men's 60-64 age group); Bradford Goz (third in the men's 65-69 age group; Delton Mace (third in the men's 70-74 age group); and Feliz Alicea (fifth in the men's 70-74 age group).

Where were you thirty years ago?
I was an incoming college junior, both packing up to spend a semester living with a host family in Japan, and helping my parents finish selling the house and pack up for their big move to a retirement community. (We sort of skipped a generation in my family.) While all that was happening, a running club in New York City was born. Please join us on September 14 to celebrate the club's 30th anniversary in style at Rosie's in midtown. It'll be a great late afternoon and early evening of looking back on our history, while we continue evolving and growing for the future.

How about all the other fun stuff?
Upcoming events are always in the Event Calendar, in the Announcements below, and you can always find our public group on Facebook or visit us on Instagram.

Cheaper by the dozen
Following the second Saturday of the fantastic Summer Streets program, Sunday was a gorgeous day for the TCS New York City Marathon Training Series 12-Miler. Gregory Hawryluk placed first for the Flyer men and seventeenth in the 30-34 age group in 1:23:33 (6:58 pace), followed by rising star Deniz Saat, who captured second place for the team and fifteenth in the 25-29 age group in 1:25:37 (7:09 pace). Gary Kane represented for the Flyer Master men, placing third for the team and twenty-first in the 45-49 age group in 1:30:58 (7:35 pace). Dave Richter did his thing for the Flyer Veteran men, taking fourth for the Flyers and twenty-sixth in the 50-54 age group in 1:33:48 (7:49 pace). John LeBreton also stood up for the Master division, finishing fifth for the team in 1:35:40 (7:59 pace).

In the women's race, Melida Barbosa and Arlyn Apollo placed first and second for the team in 1:43:48 (8:39 pace) and 1:46:26 (8:53 pace). Deborah McDuffie-Saat came in third for the team and third in the 60-64 age group in 1:47:26 (8:58 pace). Julie Connolly placed fourth for the team in 1:47:32 (8:58 pace), and Jamie Kelleher captured fifth for the Flyers in 1:48:39 (9:04 pace). Our superb Senior Veterans also received a plethora of age group honors. In addition to Deborah, Delton Mace (third in the men's 70-74 age group); Sally Longford (tenth in the women's 60-64 age group); Marian Sagona (eighth in the women's 65-69 age group); and Mindi Adler (second in the women's 70-74 age group) also earned honors for the day.

Governance
A few hardy Flyers skipped Summer Streets in favor of a trip by ferry for the NYCRUNS Governor's Island 5K and 10K. Ken Auslander placed sixth in the men's 50-59 age group in the 10K, completing the course in 50:57 (8:12 pace). Peter Connors finished ninth in the men's 60-69 age group in the 10K in 1:11:58 (11:35 pace). Richard Garland placed second for the 70+ men in the 5K in 32:54 (10:37 pace).

Long and strong
Whether you're doing a fall marathon or just looking to build on your baseline, we have lots of long training runs coming up. Check the Announcements below for the latest and greatest on what's coming up and when. Don't forget about the food, friends and fun headed our way at our milestone 30th Anniversary Party. It's a chance to get together and celebrate the life and times of a club that just gets better and better.

Lucky 7
On Sunday, The Flyers were out running the NYRR Manhattan 7 Mile. Being a club of Fast Women, the Flyer Ladies came in 3rd place!
Leading for the Flyer Women are Michelle Yuen and Denise Iannizzotto finishing right at 55:21 and 55:24. Denise scored a 2nd place win.
Sebastian Lieng was the clear winner for the Flyer Men finishing in 51:32 (7:21 pace) followed by many fast Flyer Men: Babak Ghatan, Jakob Olesen, and Howard Choi. Great job guys.

Champs and chomps
A classic Flyer tradition continued once again on Saturday: The club turned out for the Club Team Championships, followed by our annual picnic and team photo. This points race counts for double in the intra-club competition within NYRR, and instead of the top 5 and 3 runners for each team scoring points in the Open and 40+ divisions, the top 10 and 5 scored this time. It's going to be a long writeup as a result, so settle in; we're going to be here for a while.

The indomitable Heather Tolford banged out a quadruple score, and we believe that Flyer Hall of Fame archivist Papa Bear says it best:

When all is said and done, Heather Tolford was by far and away the most outstanding runner today. At 60 years old, she was the first Flyer woman, and was the first Flyer in team finishers in all age groups from 60, 50, 40 and open. With a 35:13 she also broke her own Flyer Hall of Fame record set last year.

That's right: Heather placed first for the fifteenth place Flyer Open Women, the fifth place Flyer 40+ Women, the fifth place Flyer 50+ Women, and the first place Flyer 60+ Women, also winning her age group and scoring 88.69% on an age-graded basis, which classifies her performance as nationally competitive. She finished the course in 35:13 (7:03 pace). Elena Riecke placed second for the team and seventeenth in the 20-24 age group in 35:25 (7:05) pace, followed by triple scorer Denise Iannizzotto, who placed third for the Flyer Open Women and second for both the 40+ and 50+ divisions and fourth in the 55-59 age group in 35:39 (7:08 pace).

Member at Large Betty Yung placed fifth for the team in 35:41 (7:09 pace), followed by Marcy Withington, who captured sixth in the Open Division and third for the 40+ Flyer women and seventh in the 45-49 age group in 35:41 (7:09 pace). Michelle Yuen placed seventh for the team, followed by Kristel McKanna and Arlyn Apollo, who placed eighth and ninth for the Flyer Open Women and fourth and fifth for the Flyer 40+ Women, as well as fifteenth and seventeenth in the 45-49 age group in 38:15 (7:39 pace) and 38:48 (7:46 pace). Jillian Hobson finished in tenth place for the Flyer Open Women in 39:07 (7:50 pace).

Hiromi Nobota placed third for the 50+ Women in 39:29 (7:54 pace). Nina Parks-Taylor and Andrea Kent placed second and third for the Flyer 60+ Women and sixth and eighth in the 60-64 age group in 40:48 (8:10 pace) and 42:03 (8:25 pace).

The Flyer Men also delivered many distinguished performances. Mr. President double scored with first place finishes for the twenty-second place Flyer Open Men and the eleventh place Flyer 40+ Men as well as finishing twentieth in the 40-44 age group in 30:52 (6:11 pace). Jeffrey Tente came in second in 31:32 (6:19 pace), followed by the double scoring James Dunham in 31:34 (6:19 pace), which gave him third place for the Flyer Open Men and second for the Flyer 40+ Men as well as twentieth in the 45-49 age group. Tim Decker triple scored, capturing third for the Flyer Open Men, third for the Flyer 40+ Men, and first for the tenth place Flyer 50+ Men, as well as fourteenth in the 50-54 age group, in 32:14 (6:27 pace). John LeBreton came in fourth for the Flyer Open Men and fourth for the Flyer 40+ Men in 34:04 (6:49 pace), followed by Deniz Saat in 34:09 (6:50 pace).

Secretary David Ezra placed sixth for the Flyer Open Men and fifth for the 40+ Men in 34:13 (6:51 pace), and Jose Perez Nessi placed seventh for the Flyer Open Men in 34:55 (6:59 pace). Leonardo Souza and Dave Richter captured eighth and ninth for the Flyer Open Men in 34:59 (7:00 pace) and 35:18 (7:04 pace), and Vincenzo Pascale placed tenth for the Flyer Open Men, second for the Flyer 50+ Men, and thirteenth in the 55-59 age group in 35:23 (7:05 pace).

Jon Riecke placed third for the Flyer 50+ Men and sixteenth in the 55-59 age group in 35:43 (7:09 pace). Guy Simoneau led the 60+ Flyer Men to a third place team finish in 37:49 (7:34 pace), also capturing fourteenth in the 60-64 age group, followed by Steve Kasarsky in 40:56 (8:12 pace and eighth in the 65-69 age group) and Ricky Lam in 41:48 (8:22 pace andtenth in the 65-69 age group).

I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted now.

I scream, you scream, and there's also ice cream in here somewhere
As long as this disgusting weather lasts, we should be rewarded for putting the work in. On Saturday, August 03, we're taking advantage of City Streets and running for the good stuff.

Sit and schvitz
Everything local was cancelled this weekend due to dangerously high temperatures. Hats off to anyone who got a couple of workouts in, whether it was indoors on a treadmill, in the park at 5 am, or by any other means. It's all supposed to break on Monday, and that can't come soon enough.

Woof
The dog days of summer are here, my friends. It was a nasty shock to arrive back in the sauna after nine days of family, fun, and a coat almost every day in Denmark. For reasons that are entirely inscrutable to me, the hot weather seems to make some of our standout runners just go faster. The Flyer women captured third place in the Retro 4-Miler on Saturday, and Marcy Withington set the pace with a first place team finish and a fifth place finish in the 45-49 age group in 28:12 (7:03 pace). Denise Iannizzotto placed second for the team and won the women's 55-59 age group, racking up an age-graded percent finish of 80.72%, which classifies her performance as national-level caliber. She did all this in a mere 28:34 (7:09 pace). Michelle Yuen placed third for the team and seventeenth in the 30-34 age group in 30:14 (7:34 pace), followed by Yumi Morishige in 31:27 (7:52 pace and fifth in the 50-54 age group) and Mary Beth Ezra in 31:27 (7:52 pace and tenth in the 45-49 age group).

In the men's race, Mr. President ran a standout race, with a first place team finish and third in the 40-44 age goup in 24:30 (6:08 pace). Secretary David Ezra placed second for the team and twentieth in the 40-44 age group in 27:00 (6:45 pace). Tomohiro Inoue came in close behind, capturing thid for the team and twenty-second in the 40-44 age group in 27:05 (6:47 pace). Jose Perez Nessi placed fourth for the team and twenty-third in the 40-44 age group (I'm seeing a lot of depth of club talent in this age group, folks) in 27:17 (6:50 pace), followed by Jon Riecke in 28:26 (7:03 pace and fifth in the 55-59 age group).

I hear there's some screwy stuff with a few people assigned to the wrong gender in the race results again, but the gender-bending hasn't impacted our club scoring this time.

Stay safe out there, people
This heat is really no joke. RRCA has some helpful tips for beating, or at least tolerating, the heat. I don't tolerate heat that well and got very dizzy during both my Saturday and Sunday runs. When that happens, I find that increasing my salt intake for the duration of the stinky weather is really helpful, but I also have to pare my time and distance goals way back. I know I'll be complaining about the cold in December, so am trying to appreciate the sunshine while it's here.

Independence Day Running
While there were no NYRR races this holiday weekend, but NYC Runs and other organizations had races and Flyers were out running:
AVL Independence Day 5k
Glen Rock Tribute 5-K
NYCRuns Firecracker 5-K
NYCRuns Firecracker 10-K

Pride-ful Flyers
This past Saturday at the Front Runners NY LGBT Pride Run, the Flyer Senior Veteran Women Came in 1st Place. Awesome job ladies. You are always doing so well. Heather Tolford, awesome 2nd place win being the fastest Flyer lady finishing in 35:29. Marcy Withington, awesome 5th place win finishing in 35:55. Great mention to Elaine Rosen, Suzanne Turner and so many more. You bring pride to the Flyers

It was great to see James Dunham out there running a very fast 32:35 followed by other speedy Flyers Jeffrey Tente in 33:01 and Tim Decker in 35:55 and David Ezra in 36:07. Great job guys.

Ever hopeful
The official start of summer began this weekend with the Achilles Hope and Possibility 5-Miler. On this sunny Sunday morning, Gregory Hawryluk and Tomohiro Inoue led the men's team around Central Park, placing first and second for the Flyers in 26:10 (6:33 pace) and 26:50 (6:43 pace). Sebastien Lieng came in third for the team and twenty-fourth in the 45-49 age group in 27:32 (6:53 pace), followed by Vincenzo Pascale, sixth in the 55-59 age group, in 27:58 (7:00 pace) and Michel Werthenschlag in 28:50 (7:13 pace).

In the women's race, Amanda Schachter placed first for the Flyers and first in the 45-49 age group in 29:12 (7:18 pace). Caroline Kuras and Michelle Yuen captured second and third for the team in 29:54 (7:29 pace and fourteenth in the 25-29 age group) and 30:31 (7:38 pace). Jeanhie Hahn picked up a fourth place team finish and third in the 50-54 age group in 31:30 (7:53 pace), and Melinda Feinberg placed fifth in 33:37 (8:25 pace). Steve Kasarsky also earned age group honors, placing third in the men's 65-69 age group.

Kings and Queens
It was a pretty spectacular Saturday for the Queens 10K, and the Flyers rose to the occasion for this points race with fully loaded teams in all scoring divisions. The Flyer Open Women captured eighteenth in their division. Amy Knepper started the party off with a double score, placing first for the Flyer Open Women and first for the sixth place Flyer 40+ Women in 45:18 (7:18 pace). Denise Iannizzotto followed up with a triple score, placing second for the Flyer Open and 40+ Women and first for the third place Flyer 50+ Women, also capturing fourth place in the 55-59 age group in 45:33 (7:20 pace). Jillian Hobson zoomed through the course in 47:13 (7:36 pace), placing third for the Flyer Open Women. Kristel McKanna double scored for the Open and Master Flyer teams, taking fourth for the Flyer Open Women and third for the Flyer Master Women in 48:13 (7:46 pace and seventeenth in the 45-49 age group), and Mary Beth Ezra took fifth place for the Flyer Open Women and twenty-first in the 45-49 age group in 28:37 (7:50 pace).

This is where things get weird. Guy Simoneau is listed in the results as a woman when we know he's a dude, and this error is screwing up the remaining Flyer women's results. Guy is listed as second in the women's 60-64 age group, and his time is counted as a double-scoring second place finish in for the Flyer 50+ Women and first for the Flyer 60+ Women. Since NYRR will correct these results at some point, I'm skipping over Guy to report where the Flyer 50+ and 60+ team scores actually landed.

With all that said, once the results are fixed, we'll see that Nina Parks-Taylor and Vice President Elaine Rosen double scored, kicking it in for second and third for the Flyer 50+ Women and first for the currently first place Flyer 60+ Women in 50:46 (8:11 pace and seventh in the 60-64 age group) and 52:56 (8:31 pace and eleventh in the 60-64 age group). Deborah McDuffie-Saat placed third for the Flyer 60+ Women and fifteenth in the 60-64 age group in 55:26 (8:26 pace).

In the men's race, Mr. President led the 25th place Flyer Open Men and fifteenth place Flyer 40+ Men with a double score, also coming in eighteenth in the 40-44 age group, in 38:39 (6:14 pace). Jeffrey Tente placed second for the Flyer Open Men in 39:28 (6:22 pace), followed by the triple scoring thunder Tim Decker, who placed third for the Flyer Open Men, second for the Flyer 40+ Men, and first for the eighth place Flyer 50+ Men in 41:09 (6:38 pace and fifteenth in the 50-54 age group). Michael Alexander double scored with a fourth place Flyer Open Men's finish and third for the Flyer 40+ Men in 42:08 (6:47 pace), and Deniz Saat placed fifth for the Flyer Open Men in 43:02 (6:56 pace). Vincenzo Pascale cruised in with a second place finish for the Flyer 50+ Men and fourteenth in the 55-59 age group in 43:49 (7:03 pace), and Jon Riecke took third in 45:21 (7:18 pace).

Here's where things get weird again. Remember how Guy Simoneau picked up first place for the Flyer 60+ Women through a gender bending mistake in the results? He should have been listed in second place for the Flyer 60+ Men. The Flyer 60+ Men are currently listed in fourth place in their division, and once the results are corrected, they'll show that Andreas Werder placed first for the team and seventeenth in the 60-64 age group in 46:58 (7:34 pace), followed by Guy in 47:29 (7:39 pace), which will probably also result in an age group award, but we don't know exactly what at this point. Third place went to Bradford Goz in 48:29 (7:49 pace and fourth in the 65-69 age group).

This was confusing, yo.