Freezeroo Race Hosts

Mendon 7.5 Mi. New Years Day Race Host – GRTC

GRTC is hosting the 7.5 mile New Year’s Day Freezeroo race which takes place at Mendon Ponds Park. The certified course is a demanding test of a runner’s fortitude but it is also a great way to start the New Year. It is typically the most well attended Freezeroo by far–a testimonial to the fortitude of the runners in our great community! Registration & the post race party will, once again, be held in the Stewart Lodge which is located just south of the beach parking lot on Douglas Road. There you will be treated to a roaring fire, and food & beverages await you after the race. There will be lots of support for you during the race including road marshals at every turn, split timers at every odd mile and a water/Gatorade stop at the halfway point. GRTC would like to thank our many food sponsors and volunteers for helping to make the New Year’s Resolution race a success year after year. On behalf of the GRTC, we look forward to seeing many of you on January 1st!

Don Curran Memorial 5K Hosts – The Gold Rush Runners

Gold Rush hosted its first run on January 27, 2001. Before this time many of the Irondequoit runners were running with Greece’s Bagel Bunch, another informal running group of the Greater Rochester Track Club. It was at Gold’s Gym, hence the name “Gold Rush”, where the idea to form a running group in Irondequoit first began. Greg Brooks, longtime runner and Gold Rusher was bringing the marathon back to the Rochester area and a few people from Gold’s, wanted to train for the 2001 Ontario Shore Marathon. They approached Gold’s Gym member Chris Boshnack about forming a running group in the Irondequoit area. Chris approached Don Curran, after a brief discussion they decided, with the hills and trails the area had to offer, it was a great place for running.

Don coordinated all of the routes that the group would run and a variety of others, Don included, would water the course as to ensure hydration and an excuse to stop and take a breather. Running the hills and trails in the Irondequoit area; alongside Lakeshore is beautiful, yet also brutally cold during the winter months when the wind whips off the lake’s surface.

As the leader of the running group, Don would send a variety of emails over the course of the week leading up to Saturday’s run. He was faithful at keeping all informed about proper training and nutrition so that personal fitness goals could be realized.

A large number of runners have run marathons and competed in triathlons, thanks to Don. The past few marathons he was there on his bike capturing the moments on videotape for all to enjoy. In the time the group has been running in Irondequoit, Don ran one marathon. He was thrilled! He began to recover from a hernia operation, a procedure that was done this past summer, so that he could begin training with everyone for the 2005 Rochester International Marathon.

Many, especially those who ran with Don every Saturday, miss him.

Chris Boshnack

The Powder Mills Park 10K-ish Hosts – The Oven Door Runners

The Oven Door Runners Freezeroo starts and ends in the backyard of the Oven Door Runners, Powder Mills Park. It also has many of the characteristics of a typical ODR Run: it is hilly, it is challenging, and it is longer than advertised! At 6.385 miles (certified by Kevin Lucas for USA Track & Field), it is the longest, and maybe the hardest, 10-K you will ever run. (The 10-K is also certified, so you can get your time-I can almost guarantee it won’t be a PR!). The Oven Door Runners is the oldest informal running group in Rochester. We started in the summer of 1979, and just celebrated our 25th anniversary. Come and join us! We meet at 6:30 (yes, AM!) every Saturday morning, starting in Bushnell’s Basin (near Pontillo’s Pizza) (7:00 AM in December and January). The routes vary every week, but often include the beautiful trails in the Perinton area. We rarely run less than 8 miles or more than 22, and you can run whatever you need-there are usually between 30 and 50 people there every week, so you can always find someone to run with! We are a group that runs seriously, but with humor; competitively, but with consideration for everyone.

The Greece 8 Miler Hosts – The Bagel Bunch

The Bagel Bunch has the distinction of hosting the longest race in the Freezeroo Series, an 8 mile course that starts and finishes at the Greece DPW on Long Pond Road, just north of Latta Road. The route makes a loop around Buck Pond while running adjacent to Lake Ontario along Edgemere Drive. It can be a brutal run when coupled with strong westerly winds and sub zero wind chills.

Our informal running group was established in January, 1996, on an unseasonably warm winter morning – I believe it was 50°F that day. I knew the group was (or should be?) committed when they showed up the following Saturday on a more typical winter morning – 10°F, snow and a negative wind chill! We usually offer three routes – short (5-6 miles), medium (8-10 miles) and long (up to 20 miles if we’re training for a marathon). We provide maps of the courses to insure no one gets lost and usually offer a water stop or two. We generally have 15-20 runners in attendance and meet at the Bruegger’s at Latta & Long Pond Roads, Saturdays at 7 AM.

Bob Dyjak
aka Cap’n Bagel
Runr4Jesus@Yahoo.com