The Man on the Street November 30, 1999 Volume
8?
As always an unbiased, serious report on happenings on the Staten
Island Running Scene
-by John Kane
I apologize that this article has become monthly. It will stay that
way for a while until there is more to write about and I have a little more
free time.
The
StreetCorner
In this edition, we welcome a familiar face to many in the Staten
Island Running Community. He is The President of the Staten Island Athletic
Club and assistant coach of Moore Catholic High School, Mr. Bob Orazem. I
asked Bob the following questions recently:
How would you assess the current running scene on Staten Island?
I can describe it in one word STAGNANT. From among the ruins and slow times, we await the next Art Hall, Mike Sayers, Frank McConville and to a lesser extent Mike Crowe. They were runners who through hard work and dedication motivated droves of people to train not just run,why anyone can run.
The High School scene is very alive and well balanced, more than ever before. Road race wise races come and go but there is always a lot of races to go to in the region. You might just have to get up earlier to travel. I believe that in 15 years there will be about 6-8 races on Staten Island a year excluding "Fun Runs". Things are slowly returning to the way they were. Everything works in a circle.(Harry Chapin)
What would you consider your greatest accomplishment thus far as president of SIAC?
In my four years as president I have mostly followed the program set up by Jeff Benjamin. We have been putting on 3 races a year and in 2000 we will add 1 or 2 more. The Fun Runs continue to be popular and stable after 24 years and the dinner is also popular. The Millennium Challenge will be remembered many years from now as a unique type of event. This is a tuff question I guess just being able to coordinate and continue our programs is an accomplishment. Of course with the other club officers I have a lot of help.
How has the SI Runner Website improved the availability of information to runners on Staten Island?
The web site-which is the brain child of Rich Re, has streamlined the way information is given out to the runners. As time goes on it will completely change our way of gathering and giving information. No longer should people complain about mis-information in the Advance. We have the opportunity to do a better job if we want. Complete results are available the day of a race instead of partial results the next day. Rich has given anyone who wants to the opportunity to write and voice their opinion. Of course it is a lot of work but hopefully it is paying off.
I think the SIAC Millennium Challenge has been a huge success. It is evident by the great turnout at fun-runs. Since 2001 could also be considered the start of the new millennium, any plans in the works to have it again next year? I wish I had known about it earlier, but I was away at school, now I'm stuck in 46th place because I didn't run a race until July.
This will be the first and last year long series until year 3000. In the future we might score a series of Fun Runs during non peak time in the local schedule and offer prizes to encourage participation. We have had almost 500 people enter the series and the women's competition will come down to the last few weeks between Kari Proffitt and Mary Curran.The series finale on January 1st. will be a great day and party. We have rented a hall for pre and post race shelter and are providing free baby sitting service.The 11 A.M. start should give everyone a little break from the night before.The SIAC will spent over $2,000 on the series for the prizes to the top 25 and the trip to Boston to the winners. This is the SIAC's gift to the running community.
How should SIAC go about gaining the membership of young runners in the community?
To attract ACTIVE young runners we need to set up a program like Vinny Giles and There To Care. Practices 2-3X's a week and taking kids to race is what you need to get a good youth program. Did I mention that Vinny and myself are both out of the Susan Wagner track program of the 70's and early 80's?
In retrospect, what should SIAC have done to keep the current college runners who left during 1998 (and subsequently formed Team High Rock)….what does SIAC need to do to win the Triple Crown in 2000?
Young runners forming a running club is a positive in my book. Anytime
you lose a member it is a negative to our organization. I have never given
a runner a hard time about joining another club. I am a pro running person
not just a pro SIAC person. I have also welcomed many people into our folds
from other clubs. SIAC has over 325 members so I think we do a good job
satisfying our membership. Of course we can always do better.
The people who left almost never attended a meeting and hardly ever raced
with a club singlet. If they wanted more from our club they never vocalized
it to me. I think they are better off in High Rock and I wish them well.
The SIAC has to encourage young competitive runners to join and race and
there are not too many of those animals around anymore. We will be there
in 2000.
How is your coaching and mentoring of young runners at Moore Catholic going and can you give us a preview of their upcoming indoor season?
Moore Catholic is a great program and I am learning a lot from head coach Tom Kelly. One day I plan on coaching a high school team but for now my family comes first. I graduate this month from East Stroudsburg University after 23 years, and parents complain about their kids taking 5 years. I will have a public school file number soon so when the time comes I will be ready. I predict the indoor Island Champs for boys will be Farrell and girls Tottenville.
In looking at your own running performances, do you
have any goals set for upcoming races?
Do you see yourself running 5-10 years from now?
I will be running 30 years from now. I know that for sure. I have been running for 27 years and I love to run more every day. The bad thing is I have a 75 mile a week head with a 35-40 mile a week body. I have had achilles surgery on both legs and if I do too much I have problems. My ultimate goal is to run an ultra marathon. The bad thing about me is I will never run a P.R. again so I have to focus on other things like the fitness benefits.
Thank you Bobby, I appreciate your time in answering these questions. Don't forget it's 11AM on January 1st NO EXCUSES!!!!! BE THERE!!! There won't be another one until the year 3000 (and Scott Lamorte will probably still win).
50th Lou Marli run attracts many
Staten Island, NY - November 25- Well it was close for a while but in the end the traditional turkey race went to former New Dorp HS star Ecliff Telford. Telford adds this race to his collection of other victories this year including the inaugural High Rock race. After the first lap, Telford and Notre Dame star Ryan Maxwell tassled for the lead in what has been dubbed in previous columns the "World Series" of running on Staten Island. Kari Profitt led the women in 17:57. Full results are available on the website. Well perhaps if this were a world series, Telford was clearly the Yankees in the latter part of the race with Maxwell being Atlanta. However, in an exclusive post-race interview with The Man on the Street, Maxwell claims that a local Staten Island bar "put a little extra in the ONE drink he had that night (we all know Maxwell is not a heavy drinker). "Races like the Marli tend for me to over carbo load. I will have to adjust this in the future." I think we can forgive him after some of the performances he put together this year. Let's not forget, he's attending Notre Dame Graduate School, not your easiest of academia to say the least, ran some outstanding performances recently including a sub-25:00 at Van Cortlandt Park. Perhaps the Lou Marli run wasn't as important to him as other races right now. In an exclusive finding, contrary to what the Advance reported, Ryan Maxwell is eligible to run indoor and outdoor track this season at Notre Dame. So, wish him well on a great season. You can follow his progress and get his analysis exclusively through this column.
RACE REVIEW (Edited for length - the column was
getting too big)
Sunday, October 24th - GUY MOLINARI SEMPER FI RUN
5 miles South Beach, Staten Island
PUBLICITY: 2 SNEAKERS
A lot of people did not know this race was happening. This is not
all the fault of the race committee. The race was not announced at Fun Runs
etc. (including my race). No flyers were given out at any of the summer series
or Triple Crown runs. Political? No , there's no politics in Staten Island
running, what a stupid thing for me to say.
PRE-RACE REGISTRATION: 4 SNEAKERS
Great job here!!!! To have a (good)pasta dinner, hats, and nice long
sleeve shirts with plenty of people to help register.
RACE COURSE: 3 ½ SNEAKERS
5 milers always get extra credit because they are harder to find.
This is personal because I'm a fan of flat, fast courses. The start is nice
and wide and since the whole race is pretty much on Father Capodanno Blvd.,
it's a great spectator course. Perhaps since the race is right on the water,
they may want to consider holding it 2-3 weeks earlier. It would make a big
difference temperature-wise.
POST RACE REFRESHMENTS: 2 ½
SNEAKERS
Nothing special. some fruit and water. There was some scattered other
food items but they quickly ran out.
COMPETITION/ATTENDANCE: 2 SNEAKERS
OVERALL RATING : 3 SNEAKERS
SUGGESTIONS:
The race was just as successful as a 10k. It would be nice for this
race to move back to a 10k format just because they are so hard to find.
Also, it's a great idea to have a walk the day of the race so walkers can
not only do their thing but watch their fellow runners run the race. However,
both start at the same time. Perhaps starting the 1-mile walk 30 minutes
before the start of the run will not only allow walkers to see the race,
but will allow runners to cheer on the walkers during their stretching or
warming up. Overall, not bad. I would actually like to see Guy Molinari there
sometime, though considering it is his race.
Rating
Explanation:
4 Sneakers: EXCELLENT
3 Sneakers: REALLY GOOD
2 Sneakers: GOOD
1 Sneaker: FAIR
0 Sneakers: CANT RUN A RACE WITHOUT SNEAKERS
Notes/Happenings in
November:
Congratulations to Manhattan College Distance Coach Scott Catone for a great
job in his first season, including a big victory in the IC4A University
Race.
WAGNER FINISHES SEASON IN BOSTON
Franklin Park, MA - November 7th -
The Wagner College Men's Cross Country Team finished in 28th place
at Franklin Park in the NCAA Division I Regionals. They were led by a great
performance by Matt Rosselli on his first year running cross country for
them. He completed the course in 32:56 - the fastest 10k race in school history.
Behind Matt was team captain Chris Fekete, Tom Hopkins, Mike Poole and Doug
Auer. After the race, Doug told The Man on the Street, " We had some great
pr's today .. Chris, Tom , Matt, and Mike ran well. It was a team effort."
All 5 are Team High Rock Members. Wagner is now looking to a successful run
in the 1999-2000 season - which includes a Florida trip during Spring Break
and many tough meets. I will keep you posted on the men and women's teams
progress during the year in this column.
Next column:
In our next column we will be discussing the local road racing scene with
NYRROA Chairman Mr. Glenn Ribotsky.
We will also display the results of our survey
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO MOTIVATE YOU BEFORE A
RACE?
Responses to
THRKANE@AOL.COM
Best wishes for you and your families for a happy, healthy holiday season…and remember yes you can eat a lot during the holidays because if you run in this cold than you deserve it.