Today was a beautiful day. As I write this it is sunny, an incredible 50 degrees, and people are out running in shorts! Days are clearly getting longer and Spring is officially just a few weeks away on March 19th. We just finished the final Freezeroo White House Race last weekend in Webster, and a good time was had by all the many runners who completed the 4.4 miles on another beautiful western New York day. Freezeroo overall and age group awards were handed out across the age spectrum, and lots of pizza and good conversation were enjoyed. It was a great way to finish another great Freezeroo race series.
But now with the Freezeroo series behind us, it is time to think of the spring. I think we are all looking forward to the coming warm weather and the promise of clear dry pavement. Its time therefore to set your “running sights” on the 2020 season. The best way of course to celebrate spring is to “throw your hat” into the GRTC sponsored Rochester Runner of the Year series for 2020. The RROY series is just about to “boot up” again and will offer a wide selection of races of all distances throughout 2020. The first RROY race will be the annual Running of the Green on Saturday 3/14/20. This race is sponsored by the YMCA of Greater Rochester and is directed by Jonathan Griffiths of the Rochester Running Company. This classic race is THE perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in running style. If history is a predictor, this can be either a winter or a spring race. In either case its always a great way to kick off the running season. Sign up now as below through runsignup, and don’t miss out on the fun.
And if your New Year’s resolutions are still in force and you’ve got your sights set on becoming a better and faster runner this year, it’s also time right now to sign up for the annual GRTC Spring Running Clinic. The clinic this year will be at the East Rochester High School track, starting on Wednesday night 4/29/20. Taking place over 7 consecutive Wednesday evenings, this yearly program remains one of the area “gems” and one of the best values of GRTC membership. Under the coaching of Mike Reif and Carolyn Smith-Hanna, this program is great fun, great learning and a great way to improve your running skills and performance. For those of you who have done this before I don’t have to tell you what a great program this is. If you have not participated before don’t miss out this year on this great opportunity. The clinic is for all ages, paces and distances and is a great way to improve your running and make new friends in the running community. It’s “final exam” is running the McMullan Mile RROY race on Friday night 6/12/20 under the lights at St. John Fisher College (your entry is included in clinic registration). The cost of the whole program is $45 for GRTC members and $65 for nonmembers (but which includes $20 for one year of GRTC membership). Overall the cost works out to only $6.50 for each training session AND includes entry in the McMullen Mile. WHO COULD PASS UP THIS DEAL?? Sign up today at the runsignup link below and don’t miss out on this great program.
I admit that I still expect “old man winter” to hit us with a few more blasts this season but I still think we are on the way to spring. So, get out and enjoy what a great 4 season climate and running community we have here in Rochester. See you at the Running of the Green on 3/14/20, at the GRTC track clinic 4/29/20 and out on the road. And don’t forget to renew your GRTC membership for 2020. A $20 membership goes a long way in supporting running in the Rochester community. You’ll be glad you did.
Doug Jones
President GRTC
RUNNING OF THE GREEN
https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/RunninoftheGreenpresentedbytheYMCA?remMeAttempt=
GRTC SPRING RUNNING CLINIC
https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/GreaterRochesterTrackClubSpringClinicsandTrackWorkouts
GRTC MEMBERSHIP
https://runsignup.com/Club/NY/Rochester/GreaterRochesterTrackClub