Greater Rochester Running Club President’s Letter
May 1, 2024
Dear Members and GRRC Followers:
I hope all is going well for you on this typical Rochesterian May Day. This letter recaps April club activity and highlights upcoming GRRC-related races, events, and volunteer opportunities. Don’t forget: RROY races are discounted for GRRC members and members need six to be a Frequent Participant!
April Recap
We kicked off three things in April!
- Our spring track clinic at Nazareth started and is still open for registration, which includes entry into McMullen Mile, a Rochester Runner of the Year race. The clinic is a great value even if you miss the first one or two workouts. Sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/GreaterRochesterTrackClubSpringClinicsandTrackWorkouts. (The summer clinic at Roberts Wesleyan is July 22 to September 9 and has a separate registration.)
- We formally invited all GRRC members to register for the MILEStone Patch Challenge via RunSignUp. Logging all your in-person race miles online allows you to set goals, see your progress, and check up on your competition, all without needing Excel or some other software program. It also makes compiling all the data much easier for the club! Get all the details and sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/GreaterRochesterRunningClubMILEStonePatchChallenge.
Current Top Three: Jennifer Toti: 380.18, Jamie Howard: 132.35, and Bill Murphy: 101
Number “On the Board” (submitted one or more races): 24
Other Notable Numbers: Those within 10 miles of a bronze patch: 3; at bronze (50-99 miles): 1; at silver (100-199 miles): 2; at gold (200-299 miles): 0; at platinum (300 and more miles): 1
Don’t forget to log your in-person race miles this month so you can get on the board or move up the rankings. Put the name of your race in the log comments and have fun!
- We launched the Boilermaker Bus registration. Wilt Alston is the Bus Captain and Jim Moragne is his helpful behind-the-scenes partner in preparedness. Note: This is transportation for the 15K only. Race registration is separate and taking this will NOT get you to the 5K. Sign up for the bus at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/EastRochester/GRTCBoilermakerBusTrip.
Coming Events (May to June)
May
5/11 – Mind the Ducks, directed by Gil Robbs, is a GRRC ultramarathon experience in Webster. Whether you get a few laps of slightly more than a mile done or aim for a true ultramarathon (anything more than 26.2 miles), it’s a well-supported race where you can set up a personal aid station, enjoy the plentiful options at the race aid station, and take in the sights of fellow racers doing their best for up to twelve hours. See complete details at https://mtd12hour.com/.
5/19 – Lilac 10K, directed by Allie Thut and Mike Samarji, in Rochester is the next RROY race. While the Lilac Festival offers a 5K as well, it is not part of RROY. However, the two are scheduled with enough time between them that ambitious racers have done the pair in the past. There’s even a 1-mile event, Dunkin’ Dash, after those. Register at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/LilacRun.
5/25 – Sunset House 5K in Irondequoit (https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Irondequoit/SunsetHouse5KRunandWalk), directed by Patti Carter-Morrison, returned to RROY this year. Similarly, it offers a walk, which is not part of RROY.
June
6/7 – Charlie McMullen Memorial Mile (AKA McMullen Mile), directed by Carol Reif, is a one-mile track race at St John Fisher College. It’s both the culminating race included in your registration fee for our Spring Track Clinic, and a RROY race. Organized by heats, it’s a different experience from a road race. You do not need track shoes or track experience for this race! See more at http://www.gvh.net/charlie-mcmullen-memorial-miles-2/.
6/16 – June Jaunt is the kickoff race for the West of the River Series, directed by Vickey Beaver (yes, that’s me), and a RROY race. The 5K in Hilton is fairly (not completely) flat and offers a sundae bar at the end, including yummies for those who don’t eat dairy. See complete details at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/WestoftheRiverSeries.
Volunteerism
RROY Races – Check with races directly; they nearly all need help! https://rochesterrunneroftheyear.org
Lilac – GRRC is again hosting the May 19th Lilac 10K water stop at Highland and Hemingway. If you are interested in volunteering for that, contact me directly at president@grtconline.org. We need two more volunteers. The race still needs a lot of road marshals and you can sign up for that through their volunteer sign-up link: https://runsignup.com/Race/Volunteer/NY/Rochester/LilacRun.
GRRC – We are an all-volunteer organization. Members are encouraged to consider helping on short-term and long-term activities. How can you help? We need people to help with or do the following:
- Treasurer in Training (requires board membership, succeeds Jim Moragne)
- Equipment Manager (succeeds Jim Moragne)
- Freezeroo Helpers
- Marketing
- Website
- Social Media
- Special Events (Banquet, Picnic, etc.)
- Outreach
Thank you for being a member or being interested enough to follow us in email and social media. Members can renew before their membership lapses and followers can become members by registering at https://runsignup.com/Club/NY/Rochester/GreaterRochesterTrackClub. Lots of reasons to become a member, here’s one: strengthening our community.
See you out there!
Vickey Beaver