Ottawa Race Weekend

Need an incentive to get through the long winters in the North Country? Here’s a Goal:

Check out the May 29-30, 2010 Ottawa Marathon Weekend:

Saturday, May 29:-2K (3000 limit); 5K (8500 limit); or 10K (9500 limit)
Sunday, May 30 @ 7AM-Marathon (4,500 limit)
Sunday, May 30 @ 9AM-Half Marathon with 10,500 of your closest friends!!

Step 1: Pick a race and sign up now:  http://www.runottawa.ca/index.php/en/registration-information
Sign up early. Last year they reached their limits & sold out most races: http://www.eventsonline.ca/events/ncm/

Step 2: Find some running partners willing to train and monitor progress through the winter months. They don’t have to be at the same level; but they should have a runner’s mentality-crazy but sane!!

Step 3: Stay committed by being creative with your runs. Winter doesn’t have to be all bad:
http://mysite.verizon.net/elizabeth.luscombe/cleets.html

Step 4: Set a goal for the race that’s realistic for you. The Boston & NYC qualifying times are listed on a previous post below.

There’s also a kid’s marathon (limit 2000) if you want to make it a family affair.

Boston Qualifying Times

For comparison, here are the Boston Marathon Qualifying times:

AGE GROUP	MEN	WOMEN
18-34	3hrs 10min	3hrs 40min
35-39	3hrs 15min	3hrs 45min
40-44	3hrs 20min	3hrs 50min
45-49	3hrs 30min	4hrs 00min
50-54	3hrs 35min	4hrs 05min
55-59	3hrs 45min	4hrs 15min
60-64	4hrs 00min	4hrs 30min
65-69	4hrs 15min	4hrs 45min
70-74	4hrs 30min	5hrs 00min
75-79	4hrs 45min	5hrs 15min
80 and over	5hrs 00min	5hrs 30min

NYC Marathon Qualifying

Most everyone is aware of the lottery required to get into the New York City Marathon, but you may be interested to learn that you can also get in by running a qualifying time. The standard is more difficult than Boston’s, but it is more concrete than the 1 in 4 chance of winning the lottery. Also, unlike Boston,  you can do it by running a half marathon.

You must have met the appropriate time between January 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010 to be included in the 2010 Marathon. Your age is determined on the day of the qualifying race, and the race has to be able to be certified online. Fewer than 1000 participants qualify in this manner. Official Qualifying Times are:

	Open (Age 18-39)**		Masters (Age 40+)**
	Marathon	Half-Marathon	Marathon	Half-Marathon
Men	2:55:00	1:23:00	3:10:00	1:30:00
Women	3:23:00	1:37:00	3:38:00	1:44:00
	Veterans (Age 50+)**		Veterans (Age 60+)**
	Marathon	Half-Marathon	Marathon	Half-Marathon
Men	3:30:00	1:40:00	3:45:00	1:48:00
Women	3:52:00	1:50:00	4:13:00	2:00:30
	Veterans (Age 70+)**
	Marathon	Half-Marathon
Men	4:00:00	1:55:00
Women	4:35:00	2:11:00

Trail Run

Start of the 2009 NLTC Trail Run

If you would like to see more race pictures you can go to Northern Lights Facebook page!!

Running in Montreal

There’s a new concept that’s spreading around the world-’running tourists’. Several companies have set up industries where local runners introduce visitors and tourists to their respective cities by joining them on running excursions. I found such a group in Montreal (Running Touurist.com).

They have regular tours in Old Montreal on Saturdays, and start at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sundays. Their normal routes are 5K, but special group tours of any size, length, or pace on any other day can be arranged by contacting them. The cost is $30/year for a weekend membership. They also offer a season membership for $60 or $10 for a single night to include Tuesday or Wednesday evenings.  Individual runs match you with an experienced runner of your own ability. The cost is $50 for a single; $25 each for 2-3 people; & $20 each for 4 or more. A newsletter is available if anyone is interested.

It’s a neat way to visit a city and learn about local history, culture, and be introduced to a new running experience. Let us know if you’ve tried it here or in any other city or check out their website for more information and testimonials. This could be another road trip from Plattsburgh!

Club Organization for 2009

Matt Mederios is the new President of the NLTC for 2009. He’s in the beginning stages of designing the club with his own ideas and can be reached at (518) 293-8540 or via email by clicking on his name above.

Matt is a seasoned runner from Saranac High School and Plattsburgh State and brings a strong track background and volunteer ethic from summer clinics, work-outs, and fun-runs he’s helped organize. He’s open to any and all ideas and hopes to evolve the club to best serve the area.

The next scheduled Club meeting is April 21st, 5:30PM at the Rec Center on the Air Base Oval. Designation of officers, Club Membership fees for 2010, and agenda for the upcoming season will be discussed.  The meeting will last no more than an hour.

To date, the club has developed a core of six running events that have been well accepted within the community.

Elizabethtown Half Marathon & 5K

Saturday, March 21st is the date sent for the 29th Annual Run for Hope Half Marathon and 5K finishing in Elizabethtown. The Half Marathon starts at 9AM at the Elm Tree Inn in Keene (Jct. Rte. 9N and 73) with registration starting at 8:30AM. The 5K starts at 9:30AM at Elizabethwown-Lewis Central School in E’town with registration starting at 9AM.

Entry fees are $10 for students and $20 for adults which include a T-shirt. Checks made payable to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and race information is available from Mark Hummel at 873-9939 from 7-9PM.

The 5K is an out & back and the Half Marathon goes over Spruce Hill and down into E’town. There’s over 1000 feet of elevation during the race, so prepare to trash your quads and have a challenging 13.1 mile race. In the past, showers were available at the school and a lunch was included with the fee.

If anyone is interested in going down from Plattsburgh, call Willy at 563-4173 or respond to this blog at the bottom of the page. It’s helpful to have a car at the start and finish to facilitate travel.

Also, The 23rd Annual Shamrock Shuffle 5 Miler is scheduled for 11AM, Sunday, March 29th in Glens Falls. Pre-registration is $15 and race-day registration is $20 with T-shirts going to the first 400 registered. Information can be seen from the Glens Falls running link on the side of this page.

And don’t forget our own April Fool’s Leprechaun Leap, scheduled for Sunday, April 5th. This year it will be a 5K with a guess-your-own-time format that will be held on the Air Base Oval course starting at 10AM. Pre race applications can be printed from the home page on our website.

The 2008 SEASON

We’ve completed another successful season as the NLTC and organized 6 major events that met with varying degrees of enthusiasm. We’re at the next juncture in our development and still seeking input from our community of runners as how to proceed. One constant is our Sunday morning runs starting at Nichols Ave at about 9AM that travel 8-18 miles. All are welcomed to trudge through the winter months with us. Call Sherod at 563-6155 in advance for information.

The staple Turkey Trot in Peru will occur again on Thanksgiving morning and the 3rd annual Poker Run will be held at noon on Saturday, December 6th starting & finishing at Geoffrey’s pub. The February running of the Indoor 5K in Montreal has been canceled this year for unknown reasons. The Resolution Run is scheduled again on New Year’s Day at 10AM. Any other ideas can be posted below on this blog.

This brings us to the topic of next year’s direction. What does everyone want, what did everyone like/dislike???? Talk resurfaces about a half marathon, changing or discontinuing any or all of our existing races, dissolving the club, expanding the events, sponsors, charities, etc. etc. We’d like to hear from everyone on this or any other topic as we try to make the organization a part of the community and serve runners of all abilities without going into debt. Click on “Comments” below and leave your ideas or opinion.

2008 XC Run & BBQ

We’re planning our Second Annual Cross Country 5K and Picnic on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at Point Au Roche Park. It will be the same course as last year and the Picnic BBQ will follow with beer, burgers, dogs & utensils provided by the club. Anyone wishing to attend can get a $5.00 discount on entry fees by providing a dish to share with other participants. As before, signing up in advance will save you an additional $5.00 and make it easier for all of us to predict what to order. The costs will be the same if you’re a runner, walker, or picnicer so bring you’re off-road shoes and join the fun. Registration starts at 3PM, the race is at 4PM, and the picnic starts when you finish the course!

Members-$10 advanced ($5 with a dish to share) –OR– $15 ($10 with a dish) day of event..

Non members-$15 advanced ($10 with a dish to share) –OR–$20 ($15 with a dish) day of event..

If you’re planning on attending and/or bringing a dish please respond to this post with your donation so we don’t have too many salads (potato, tossed or macaroni), baked beans, deserts, chips, etc. Simply let us know what you’ll bring and how many will be attending. Hopefully the list will provide an idea of what others are planning and will help make this event a success.

You can see the course if you Click Here.

For a printable Registration Form Click Here.

Thanks in advance…….

The Summer of 2008

We’re still laying out plans for upcoming events for the summer of 2008. Strong talk emerged for revising the midnight run, possibly in May of next year and there is still rumbling of a Plattsburgh marathon or half-marathon. The running community in the North Country seems to be expanding and we’d like to create events so people won’t have to travel.

Planning a race and deciding what to order is a delicate juggling act and we’ve limited our orders for the next two events. Early registration not only insures you of a hat or shirt, but may also save you money over waiting until race day. It also gives race officials an idea of what to expect. In addition, becoming a club member will save $5 on most races and pay for itself if you are an active participant. You can find all the details by clicking on the ‘Membership’ button at the top of the website.

The Cross Country run & BBQ in August is still in the mix, but plans have yet to evolve. If anyone has ideas, either way, we’d like to hear from you. The Gordy run has moved to October this year, and we’ll still host the Terry Gordon run on Cumberland Head later that month. We’ll post any plans for group runs that emerge over the summer on our events calender. Hope everyone’s training is geared for one of our events, stay tuned and keep running.