September 2024 President’s Letter

by | Oct 2, 2024 | Potluck, President's Message, RROY | 0 comments

September 2024 President’s Letter in PDF

Greater Rochester Running Club President’s Letter

September 26, 2024

Dear Members and GRRC Followers:

Happy Autumn!

When the weather gets iffy, remember there are lots of options to keep moving. Layers, even when the temps aren’t yet frigid, are a great way to combat the uncertain wind, rain, and temperature variations that can happen in just a few straight hours. And now on to what you’ll get out of the rest of this message! This letter recaps late August and September club activity, highlights upcoming GRRC-related races, events, and volunteer opportunities, and provides a couple of reminders.

Late August/September Club Recap

  • Gratefully, on behalf of the Board of Directors and with thanks to our Nominating Committee, I am delighted to welcome Alex Croll who has accepted an appointment to our final spot on the board, an unexpired term, which ends January 31, 2025. After that point, she’ll be eligible to run for a full, 3-year term, if she wishes.
  • The board also discussed or confirmed other administrative changes, including Tina Ruhland moving into the MILEStone Coordinator role, Rachel Della Pietra taking on some of the Membership Coordinator duties that Jim Moragne’s term ending will leave, and several keyholders to attempt a collaborative approach to our equipment management, also as a result of Jim’s pending completion of his term.

 

  • Oaktree, Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) Race 8 was a 5K this year, with a half marathon also that day. With 384 racers completing the dual-designation race (it was a 2024 USATF Club Grand Prix Series race, too), GRRC names were notable in that results list as well as in the non-RROY half marathon.

 

  • Heritage Hero 10K, a RROY Race 9, saw quite a number of GRRC members participate, despite the change in registration platform. The first two racers are familiar GRRC names and finished in under 41 minutes: Chad Byler (37:56) and Mike Nier (40:30). Although she’s not a member, it’s worth mentioning frequent RROY Racer Laura Galeazzo was third to finish (40:39). Although the 5K was not part of RROY, there were GRRC members spotted there, too! Oh, and we took a stab at having a GRRC fundraising team with a modest $100 goal. We raised $127.
  • The GRRC Summer Clinic Finale Race finished out the clinic on 9/9, and we’re already planning for 2025.

 

  • MILEStone Patch Challenge Recap: Wow! The lineup has moved all around. We’ve got 33 people on the board and another eight still contemplating inputting their data before the year ends.
    Top three are now: Jennifer Toti (1,266), Gary Thompson (831), and Theresa Puckett (413).
    On the Board, but No Patch, Yet: 10
    Bronze (50-99): 10
    Silver (100-199): 7
    Gold (200-299): 3
    Platinum (300 and More): 3

  • Freezeroo registration is OPEN! Why register now? One of the Freezeroo Race Series incentives is a drawing November 1st from the names of everyone registered for the Series by midnight, October 31, 2024. The winner will have their entire Series fee refunded.Plus, the first 200 registrants will receive the Freezeroo 2024-25 tote bag as our gift. https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/FreezerooSeriesIndividualRace

 

Coming Events (October and November)

October

10/12 – CanLake 50 Ultras and MiniCan 25Km, with multiple choices of distances from 25K to 50 miles, directed by Gil Robs. Lots of information at the race website, https://canlake50.com/. See “Volunteerism” below for volunteer needs.

10/13 –GRRC Fall Potluck! Those on the club mailing roster have the link in email. It is not searchable online to limit the likelihood of folks who have nothing to do with the club from showing up. The club is providing salad makings and asking members, prospective members, and their guests to use the link found in the registration page to sign up to bring food and beverages to round out the offerings. Space is limited, so please register by October 11 so we can best prepare.

10/19 – RROY Race #10 is Scare Brain Cancer Away, directed by Jonathan Griffiths. A perennial favorite with more details at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/EastRochester/ScareBrainCancerAway.

November

11/2 – RROY Race #11 is the East Avenue Grocery Run 10K, a new distance for RROY, directed by Ellen Rye. Known for a great post-race array of food options, this is a fundraiser for food providers in our area. Note: There is a 12 minute per mile pace requirement for the 10K and other race distances do not count for RROY standings.

11/28 – RROY Race #12 is Race with Grace 10K directed by Cathy Mucha. There is also a 5K, but that does not count for RROY standings. Proceeds after expenses support C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association.

Reminders

Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) Participation

Don’t forget: RROY races are discounted for GRRC members and members need six to be a Frequent Participant! See the full list at https://rochesterrunneroftheyear.org/.

MILEStone Patch Challenge

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! The sooner you sign up, the less backlog you’ll have. Sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Rochester/GreaterRochesterRunningClubMILEStonePatchChallenge.

Volunteerism

CanLake 50 Ultras and MiniCan 25Km

Volunteers are needed from 5:30 AM until about 8 PM on Saturday, October 12, 2024.

Check the Volunteer Corner page at https://canlake50.com for more specificR information. Email RD Gil Robs at CanLake50@gmail.com if you can volunteer and let him know from what time to what time you’d volunteer for the race. Volunteer for more than four hours at the race and receive a free transferrable annual Greater Rochester Running Club membership. 

RROY Races – Check with races directly; they nearly all need help! https://rochesterrunneroftheyear.org

GRRC – Want to be part of what keeps bringing people back to our events and attracting new members to our club? Let me know at president@grtconline.org. Expressing interest doesn’t oblige you, but it does give us a chance to share what’s involved. You do not have to be a board member to help with or do the following:

  • Freezeroo Helpers
  • Marketing
  • Website
  • Social Media
  • Special Events (Banquet, Picnic, etc.)
  • Outreach
  • Volunteer at Large

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: you can take advantage of all the discounts shown at the bottom of the club page, https://runsignup.com/Club/NY/Rochester/GreaterRochesterTrackClub. If you look now, you’ll see all of these!

Club Membership Discounts (Check the dates as the system doesn’t always capture them correctly when there are multiple dates involved.)

As a member of this club, you can get discounts for the following races:

 

See you out there!

Vickey Beaver                                     

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