Club News: 4

Brooklyn Half Information

It’s May.  And May means…Brooklyn Half Marathon!  With the new gigantic entry field, this race is going to be a ZOO.  It’s already a zoo in that you have to go to somewhere in Brooklyn to pick up the bibs/race goodies.

Number Pickup & Registration

Your race-weekend experience will start at the Brooklyn Half Pre-Party presented by New Balance at the Old Tobacco Warehouse (26 New Dock Street in Brooklyn) in Dumbo. You’ll pick up your race materials, including your bib, B-Tag, and the official bag that you can use to check your race-day clothing. Get your amazing New Balance technical shirt (available in an array of colors) in that area as well, and then explore everything that Brooklyn has to offer! Check out the food, groove to live music, and hang out with friends in the grotto.

·      Wednesday, May 15, 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m.

·      Thursday, May 16, 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m.

·      Friday, May 17, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

1)      We’re not too sure about hanging with friends in the “grotto”.  The only one that we’re familiar with is in Playboy Mansion and we really don’t want to catch any…ahem…weird diseases.

2)      Getting to Old Tobacco Warehouse seems to be a bit of a PIA.  http://goo.gl/maps/YyXHd  This area can be confusing if you haven’t done many bridge-to-bridge runs. 

3)      If you are thinking about running here, it would be a better idea to brave the confusing traffic up ramp in Chinatown and use the Manhattan Bridge than Brooklyn Bridge.  Brooklyn Bridge can be a bit of a mess with bunch of tourist and angry cyclists. 

Lehigh Valley Marathon

A number of you have signed up for the Lehigh Valley Marathon.  It’s apparently the 4^th highest percentage of Boston Qualifiers so every single Agonite should be lined up in Hopkinton in 11 months!!  This being a net downhill course, it should be super easy race for everybody.  We will be the first NYRR registered team to have 100% Boston Marathon participation rate.  We’re counting on you, guys!  If you are an Agonite and have not yet qualified for Boston, get online right now, and register for this race!  It’s El Capitan’s orders.

The course, while not as crazy as Boston, resembles it, with a sharp drop at start and a slight bumps at mile 20 to finish.  The downhill run from mile 15 to 20 will be interesting, and probably the X-factor of this race.  Save here, so you’ll have legs left to go up the hill in the last bit, beyond the wall…better start training your quads!  This should be a fun course and a Xena favorite.  Early September weather should still be plenty warm just the way she likes it. 

Boston Strong

It’s been a whirlwind of a week.  Just last week several of our Agonites were pounding Route 135 and Cleveland Circle and Beacon Streets. 

Then an event that would forever change the race happened. 

Two individuals out of stupidity, cowardice and ignorance bombed the finish line area at the Boston Marathon. 

The act of running is one thing where a person can feel true freedom.  Freedom from daily stress, chores, pain, responsibilities.  When you run, it’s just you, air and the road.  You only worry about yourself and nothing else.  You are freed from everything else that hold you down.  Unfortunately, this will change.  Every race you will now be reminded of the terror attacks.  You will be forced to go through scrutiny of the police/security teams.  Even while you run, you will be forever concerned about "that guy" with a suspicious bag along the course.  We will forced to be vigilant of spectators and items as we run.

Words cannot express the anger of millions of runners.  We will never be the same.

Yet.  We still can run.  We still have both of our legs.  We are still healthy.  There are over 100 individuals who were hurt by the attacks last week.  Out of which 14 people will now have prosthetics.  They will have to learn to walk all over again and run all over again.  It’s a long road to recovery for many. 

One individual, Jeff Bauman, whose horrific injury became one of the iconic images of the incident is without health insurance.  He lost both of his legs.  Yet, when he woke up from his medically induced coma, he was the first person to identify one of the attackers.  His identification led the authorities to the now famous mug shots and images of the two casually walking along the finish area.  We pray that Jeff will be able to run again…

If you are looking for a place to donate, this post has several links to different charities that’s been set up on behalf of the victims. 

We will return to our normal tongue and cheek post next week, but for this week, let’s be thankful that we can still run and pray that for those who cannot run, be a temporary set back.  Runners are a strong bunch.  Boston Strong.

Let's send lots of WOOHOOOSSSSS to our AGONITES running the Boston Marathon next Monday, April 15, 2013.

MIKI YAMADA, OUR CHIEF TWIT & BLOGGAH - BIB#  11513

MARIA (XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS) TANAKA - BIB#17157

KATHY (OUR JAPAHAIIAN P' RER) IWASAKI - BIB#14282

MANDEEP (THE MAHARAJAH) SOBTI - BIB#8502

THE AGONY TEAM WILL BE RUNNING WITH YOU IN SPIRIT!!!!!

Club News: 3

Are you guys enjoying this weather?  It’s finally warm!  Which is a good thing for Xena and not so good thing for LisaLisa.  Looks like LisaLisa got to enjoy last bit of the cold weather this past weekend and placed in her age group, along with Louise.  Congrats, ladies!

Since the Scotland 10K was a Club Points Race, a 11 people earned a raffle ticket toward the awesome gift raffle at the Holiday Party.  (All this warm weather is already making us wish it was the Holidays…)  Here’s the ticket tally so far.  Martin, Miller and “G-Man” Masi had earned tickets in a previous race.

Name	Raffle Ticket Count
Caine	1
Finn	1
Gormanly	1
Laytham	1
Liriano	1
Lubin	1
Martin	2
Masi	1
Miller	1
Montagna	1
Pathak	1
Silvestro	1
Tanaka	1
Grand Total	14

As of April 9, 2013

Just to go back and refresh your memory, Agony now has “Captain’s Raffle” going on.  Every Club Points race you enter, you earn a raffle ticket at our Holiday Party.  At party, we’ll draw one winner who will win a fabulous gift.  The gift, we’re told, will be worth at least 3-digits!  OMG!  So the more you race, the more changes you will have to win!

This weekend is the famous, notorious, Boston Marathon Weekend.  We hear the Maharaja has the honor of joining the fabled Red-Bib Crew.  We wish all Agonites running the race a fabulous race!!  Run smart, relax, and have fun on the course, everybody!

Good Deal Alert!

We like good deals.  We always do.

Believe it or not, for a limited time, NYRR has a GOOD DEAL. 

It works like this.  Volunteer as whatever you like and receive a special tech shirt, get free race entry, and get the usual perks of the “9+1 Program”.  They've got great positions available like:

Orange Cone Guardian - "DO NOT KICK MY CONES!!"  aka Keeper of the Road: "NO. If you cross now, you will be killed."

Corral Enforcer - "You have PINK bib, no you can't go in the RED corral even though it's same color family!"

Bag Bitch - "Want that bag? That'll be $20 please."

Water Bandit  - "hehehe, I bet they don't know I put vodka and poop pill in that cup..."

Bib God  - "I think I can find your bib for $10. And no, you can't have an extra shirt." 

Although your choice of free races are limited, some of these races are awesome races!

UAE Healthy Kidney 10K (5/11) – Tech shirt race!!  It’s in Central Park.  If you are super fast elite level runner, you might win tons of money.

New York Giants Run of Champions 5K (6/23) – If you like Giants, you get to run around in their stadium, which I think is in NJ.  Sorry, we’re a little dumb here when it comes to non-running sporting events…

Queens 10K (7/21) – HEY, it’s finally here.  Remember when we couldn’t find it on the schedule?  It’s part of the 5-Borough Series and it’s a shortest one.  You can get it in under an hour and you’ve only got 2 more races for a guaranteed entry for NYC Half 2014.

Percy Sutton Harlem 5K (8/24) – It’s Harlem, it’s 5K, it’s short, hot, and sweet(?).  I hear there would be post race celebrations at Xena’s new digs! (not really)

Normally, when you volunteer, you get a cheesy cotton shirt and a thank you.  This month, you get all sorts of goodies.  So if you got some time, stop by and volunteer.  The weather should be delightful this time of the year, and Central Park’s Cherry’s Blossoms do take your breath away!