Famous people, famous sayings

This page is intended to immortalize the words of Central Park Track Club people. As is customary for this web site, everything is supported by factual details (dates, places, witnesses, photographs, audio-visual clips, etc.). This page will grow over time, but obviously that will depend on your contribution of new stories.


#1300.  WHO:  Tony Ruiz
WHEN: June 5th, 2001
WHAT HE SAID:  "For today's workout, I need everybody to come in closer.  As you can hear, my voice is quite hoarse right now.  I was over at Yankee Stadium rooting for the Yankees against Pedro Martinez ..."


#1299.  WHO:  Noah Perlis
WHEN:  June 5th, 2001
WHAT HE SAID:  "I think it would be good to have some of the old club newspapers placed online for people to read."

WHAT Roland Soong SAID:  "I think it would be really bad because people will know for sure how slow I ran ..." 


#1298.  WHO:  Roland Soong
SUBJECT: 2001 Carey Wall Street Rat Race notes on this website

Toby Tanser, 13:38, 1st overall
Stacy Creamer, 16:21, 1st overall

  • Toby's note: "The first ever time in my life that I get to wear a business suit, and it pours - that is a sign from the gods."  Why the desperate need to wear a business suit?  Toby had finished first last year in an orange prisoner's overalls, but the judges found that neither appropriate nor humorous and disqualified him.  However, history will always remember that Toby finished first but no one will remember who was declared the winner.
  • Our technical note:  Stacy was actually third female overall, but the first two were pronounced by the judges as not having proper business attire.  History tells us that no one will ever remember who they were.

QUESTION:  Who is writing these histories that give patently unfair treatment?  
WHAT HE WROTE:  "History tells us that histories are written by those who are in power to suit their purposes and agendas.  In this case, the history according to the Central Park Track Club website obviously puts priority on our teammates.  Besides, we really have no idea who those unnamed others were."


#1297.  WHO:  Graeme Reid
SUBJECT:  His 73rd place overall finish at the 80,000+ strong 2001 Bay to Breakers 12K 
WHAT HE SAID: "... but I did beat all the naked men!"


#1296.  WHO:  Audrey Kingsley
WHEN:  May 10, 2001
WHAT SHE SAID:  "Yesterday was my business school graduation ceremony.  I was looking around for a Central Park Track Club photographer, but I didn't spot anyone."
COMMENT:  Was that relief? or disappointment?

POSTSCRIPT (May 22, 2001):  Lesson #1 for Central Park Track Club members: "Just because you think that you don't see a Central Park Track Club photographer around does not mean you are safe ..."


Audrey Kingsley, MBA, NYU Class of 2001


#1295.  WHO:  Kevin Arlyck
WHEN:  May 22, 2001
SUBJECT: Terrorist threat
WHAT HE WROTE: "I am shocked and appalled.  It is now 11:30 on Monday night, and you are still missing a race result from this weekend. Unforgivable!  I give you 24 hours, or I go public with this piece of shameful news."


#1294.  WHO:  Brian Barry
WHEN:  May 22nd, 2001
WHAT HE SAID:  "For the past two years, there has been just one single quote of me."
COMMENT:  This makes two.


#1293.  WHO: John Scherrer / Roland Soong / Kevin Arlyck
SUBJECT:  Public information services
WHEN:  Days before the You Gotta Have Park 5M race in Brooklyn's Prospect Park on May 19, 2001

WHAT John Scherrer WROTE TO Roland Soong: "Which subway do I take to the start of Saturday's race?  You Gotta Know This Park.  I don't.  Perhaps you should post this info as a public service announcement for the Manhattanites.  There are a lot of trains that stop near the park and one should know the most convenient one."

WHAT Roland Soong WROTE TO Kevin Arlyck (Brooklyn resident): "Please read John's note.  If you can't tell me, I'll have to make it up."

WHAT Kevin Arlyck WROTE BACK: "When was the last time a Brooklynite asked for directions to a race in Central Park (or anywhere, for that matter)?

Take the D to Prospect Park, walk south on Ocean Avenue (along the park) until you reach the Lincoln Road entrance to the park. The start is right there. Since the local streets are neither numbered nor arranged in a neat grid, I suggest that the directionally challenged glance at the station's neighborhood map before attempting to navigate this backwater.

For a reasonable fee, Brooklyn-based club members will be happy to meet the truly clueless at the subway station and provide a personal escort to the start.  Group rates and foreign-language tours available."


#1292.  WHO:  Roland Soong
WHEN:  May 9, 2001
WHAT HE WROTE:  "After the last track workout, Margaret Angell said that she had never seen me in a race and then Kiet Vo said that he had never seen me run a workout for that matter.  Well, well, well, now that really stings!  But notwithstanding their comments, I am currently training hard for the Ironman competition.  I don't mean the triathlon version.  My Ironman is about the number of hours that I can keep on working before having to sleep.  I would like to believe that I am the team leader in this category, but I am sure that there are many others who are also crypto-Ironpeople in secret training.  If so, please contact me and we can exchange stories and statistics.  This is an exclusive sub-section of the club with certain minimum qualification standards, so only serious practitioners need apply.  

P.S.  One of my recent highlights was that I got so tired at the office that I decided that I absolutely must duck under my desk and take a quick nap.  Unfortunately, I was never able to fall asleep because there was a constant stream of people coming into my area, failing to spot me under the desk and exclaiming aloud, 'Oh, my God!  Where did he go?  What are we going to do?'  It was pure entertainment, although I would have preferred to catch some sleep instead ..."

FROM John Scherrer: "Just curious: what's your PR for most consecutives hours without any sleep whatsover?  I doubt I meet your minimum requirements.  My PR is a pedestrian 58 hours."
REPLY FROM Roland Soong: "Not bad at all.  I have this feeling that you will make it yet.  Of course, the measure is not just a quantitative one.  For example, Ross Galitsky was known to have completed the Odyssey Triple Ironman Triathlon in a time of 42 hours 27 minutes; even though he did not sleep for was only 49 hours straight on that occasion, the fact that he swam 7.8 miles, biked 336 miles and ran 78.6 miles during that time certainly means a lot.  Dr. Randy Ehrlich was known to have done through a 24 hour tour of duty, including a nine hour operation, before heading somewhere to run a half Ironman triathlon.  And then, as you well know, the biggest stress must surely be working for David Pullman ..."

COMMENT BY Ross Galitsky:  "Trust me, you are not the only one who has slept under the desk.  The difference is that when I do it, people come in, fail to see me and say, 'Good!  He's not here!'"

PARODY BY Stuart Calderwood: "By the way, yesterday I was about to take a nap under my desk when a bunch of people stuck their heads through the door and said "Have you seen Roland Soong?" I shook my head and said, "Try the UCLA women's track team--check by the hammer-throw ring." They rushed away saying 'Oh, my God!  What are we going to do? Someone call for e-tickets!'"  (technical notes:  Cari Soong is an All-American in the hammer throw for UCLA).

FROM Johannes Brahms: Wiegenlied

Guten Abend, gute Nacht!
Mit Rosen bedacht,
Mit Näglein besteckt
Schlupf' unter die Deck'.

Morgen früh, wenn Gott will,
Wirst du wieder geweckt.
Morgen früh, wenn Gott will,
Wirst du wieder geweckt.  

Guten Abend, gute Nacht,
Von Englein bewacht,
Die zeigen im Traum,
Dir Christkindleins Baum.

Schlaf nun selig und süß,
Schau im Traum's Paradies,
Schlaf nun selig und süß,
Schau im Traum's Paradies.

FROM Richard Strauss: "Me too.  Wiegenlied."


#1291.  WHO:  John Scherrer
WHEN:  May 8, 2001 track workout
WHAT HE SAID: "Here is a quote for you --- I'm out of shape."


#1290.  WHO:  Graeme Reid
WHEN:  May 7, 2001, one day after the Our House 5 Mile
WHAT HE WROTE: "I am very impressed you managed to track down my race on Sunday as they spelt my name incorrectly  (note: as Graeme Redi) on the results page. Next time I am going to have to change my name completely!"

COMMENT:  Actually, it would harder if Graeme spells his name correctly since there are many, many listings for Graeme Reids, including the Iona College distance runner Graeme Reid.  At present, the only way to tell those two apart is from their running times, but given the progress that our Graeme Reid has been making, it may be impossible to tell them apart soon.  When that time comes, we will be redi ...

POSTSCRIPT (from Roland Soong):  If you are impressed by the fact that I caught Graeme Redi as Graeme Reid, try this result from the Governor's Bay Bridge 10K in Maryland on May 6th, 2001.  Yes, the name field was left blank in the official results.  So who do you think this is?

Place Name Time
124   41:57

#1289. THE COMPETITION:  
WHEN:  April 26, 2001
WHAT WAS WRITTEN: "In this latest 'trivia' quiz, we want you to send in a list of the CPTC people who appear in this photo.  Please write in for the top row from left to right the names of the CPTC people in those photos, and then repeat for the bottom row.  The winner will be the first person who gets all the names right in order.  How hard can that be?  So you better hurry up!  The grand prize will be a copy of Toby Tanser's TRAIN HARD, WIN EASY (2nd EDITION), and if we run fast enough, we may even catch him to get the author's autograph."

RESULT:  This competition is over and the winner is ... Stacy Creamer! There were several other submissions but they all got it wrong.  Stacy submitted three entries until she got it right (and we never even gave her any feedback).  What happened here?  You can list the obvious names and then you must sit back and think, "It can't be that easy, can it?  This does not fit the quizmaster's mode of operation.  So where is the trap?"  Here are Stacy's three entries:

  • (3:35pm)  Here are the people, top to bottom, left to right: Stacy Creamer, Alan Ruben, Shula Sarner, Craig Chilton, Kim Mannen, Harry Morales, Shelley Farmer, James Siegel, Richie Borrero,Stuart Calderwood, Sandra Scibelli, Peter Allen, Eve Kaplan, Isaya Okwiya, Margaret Angell & Alayne Adams, Graeme Reid, Arthur Cook, Isaya Okwiya, Tom Phillips, Josh Feldman
  • (4:46pm)  Further to my answer to the trivia quiz, I just noticed that Isaya Okwiya is in the upper left corner of the last photo (lower row, far right) that features Tom Phillips.
  • (4:52pm)  Further, further to my answer to the trivia quiz, I do believe that in addition to Isaya Okwiya and Tom Phillips in that lower right photo, Josh Feldman also appears!

TECHNICAL NOTE:  Why do we offer such a competition?  To encourage you to identify teammates who may not run with your group.  As Stacy Creamer pointed out at first: "I thought that Arthur Cooke covered in winter gear would give people some trouble."  All these photos are taken from photos that have appeared previously on this website, so anyone can locate the individuals if they really wanted to.  Erik Goetze wrote in (outside of the competition): "I like it for trying to learn more and more members' names, and matching names with faces."


#1288.  WHO:  Stacy Creamer
WHEN:  The day after the Chase Corporate Challenge, May 1st, 2001
WHAT SHE WROTE:  Last night on the starting line of the Corporate Challenge, a guy turned to me and said, "Do you work at Mount Sinai?" "No," I replied, "and I'm not Kim Griffin, but aren't you lovely for thinking I might be!"  "Oh," he said, "that was my next question."


#1287.  WHO:  Alan Ruben
SUBJECT:  How Peter Allen was robbed at the 2001 Boston Marathon
EVIDENCE:  Finish line photo
WHAT HE WROTE: "Here is a picture I found of Peter Allen finishing the 2001 Boston Marathon.

It is an interesting demonstration of a deficiency of the much heralded chip-technology.  From the picture you can see that Peter's chest is about to cross the line before the other person's, therefore he should have placed ahead of him in the final results.  However, the other person was listed ahead of him, presumably because his chip happened to be placed on the foot which can be seen to be over the line in this photo.

Normally a place here or there is of no great importance, but here Peter Allen was placed 101st male and therefore just failed to achieve immortality by being listed in the New York Times Boston Marathon results on their sports pages."

COMMENT from Frank Handelman: "I agree with Alan Ruben that Peter Allen should have gotten the 100th place, but I want to emphasize the actual running going on in the photo.  Peter is running strongly and flat out through the finish line, competing to the end. The other guy is timing himself, and losing speed as he does so. The message to all who read this - DO NOT TIME YOURSELF AT THE FINISH OF A RACE. THAT IS WHY THEY HAVE OFFICIALS.  ALL YOU DO IS LOSE TIME.  DO YOU WANT TO BREAK THREE HOURS OR RUN 3:00:01 BECAUSE YOU STOPPED YOUR OWN WATCH? THIS IS A RACE NOT A WORKOUT."


#1286.  WHO:  Noah Perlis
WHAT HE WROTE:  "OK, you have me stumped.  Your update on the home page says 4/30 last night and this morning, but going to the famous sayings page does not reveal anything dated after 4/27 and I am unable to find the addition buried somewhere in the mass of text.

Soooo..... Gungha Din (a reference to the "better man than I..."), what is the new item buried?
Or is this merely another cheap torture device you are famous for worldwide?
Or were you typing in your sleep?  Are you getting any sleep these days?"

COMMENT:  The silence is deafening as the Sphinx does not reply ...


#1285.  WHO:  Craig Chilton
WHEN:  April 30, 2001
WHAT HE WROTE: "The following was just reported in Runner's World: 'At the Greater Buffalo Track Club Half-Marathon on April 21, Canadian Ed Whitlock ran 1:22:23 to set a pending world age group (70-74) record. The Milton, Ontario resident finished 14th overall out of 285 finishers.  According to VO2 max equivalency tables, his time equates to a 2:52 marathon.'  There's no question our efforts to recruit more Canadians should be increased!"


#1284.  WHO:  Josh Friedman
SUBJECT:  Ramon Bermo winning the 2001 Bronx Biathlon
WHAT HE WROTE: "On the Thursday before the race, Ramon said, 'Yeah, maybe I'll make it into the top 10 if I'm lucky.' Well, he won the whole thing by a lot.  Now I am begining to understand the problem with triathletes."

COMMENT: "Welcome - we're glad that you're here!  You sought us out for a reason - don't deny it ...  What you have to do is stand up, look everyone in the eye, and say: 'My name is _____ and I am a triathlete!'  Now, doesn't that help?  It's important to admit that things are out of control, before you can accept the support that you desperately need  ..."


#1283.  WHO:  Tony Ruiz
SUBJECT:  Ramon Bermo winning the 2001 Bronx Biathlon
WHAT HE SAID:  "Ramon's winning time was 1:18:43.  Now, I have no idea whether this is good or not, but I do know that he won it.  All I know about a biathlon is that you run a bit and then you get on the bike for a bit.  Oh, then you run a bit again.  Ah, yes, running is good ..."


#1282.  WHO:  Frank Handelman
WHEN:  Friday, April 27, 2001, the Penn Relays weekend
SUBJECT:  Fond memories
WHAT HE WROTE: "Just to prove I'm not always working and like to waste time in the best CPTC tradition, I note I am visitor no. 157,000 to the website, my first such milestone, and it occurs on the 35th anniversary of the 1966 Penn Relays, where I ran a soggy and unhappy 1:57.0 (would I make this up?) 880 yards (no meters back then) in the college 2-mile relay for U. of Pittsburgh, on the last year of the dirt (that is, mud) track. The next year we arrived to find heaven on earth, the first all-weather track I ever saw, Tartan by 3M, still much better than most the tracks they build now. My 880 time in 1967, anchoring the sprint medley? Let's not go there, except to note the final was 9:00 am Saturday morning, after a night in which our team did not know we had made the final after Friday's qualifying rounds, and found out when we got back to our hotel about 7:00 am . . ."


#1281. WHO:  Tony Ruiz
SUBJECT:  Tom Phillips, the last man to show up at the April 26, 2001 road workout right before the group set out
WHAT HE SAID:  "You guys might have thought that you can take it easy tonight.  But now that Tom is here, you will now all have to work hard."


#1280.  WHO:  Paul Stuart-Smith
SUBJECT:  2001 London Marathon
WHAT HE WROTE:  "You were probably trying to avoid embarrassing me by not publishing the fact, but I did do the London marathon yesterday, though only just!  Check running number 29474......I was 6153rd with a time of 3:45:47.  I had been 1:24:02 at half way but had to walk 7 of the last 11 miles ... all for charity of course!

I ran for The Attlee Foundation (named after the former British Prime Minister) to raise money to help set up much needed recreational facilities for the children of Spitalfields, one of the more deprived parts of the East End of London.  I chose The Attlee Foundation because it is involved in similar work to The New York Road Runners Foundation with which I was involved before I left New York.

Any contributions you can raise will be greatly appreciated and should be sent to me at Thorney Court, Palace Gate, London, W85NJ.  Sterling checks should be made out to The Attlee Foundation, but I think US dollar checks had better be made out to me, if that is acceptable, since I doubt the Foundation can accept dollars readily."

COMMENT:  For several months leading up to the marathon, Paul had been suffering from Achilles tendonitis.  This marathon run was obviously an act of love.

POSTSCRIPT:  The above picture would appear a few days later on our photo page, causing Paul to write: "So my marathon time wasn't so slow because I had to walk, it was because I got lost.....how else could I have been approaching the Houses of  Parliament from that direction?"


#1279a.  WHO:  Steve Eick
SUBJECT:  The reason why his clock time was 18 seconds more than his chip time at the 2001 Nike Run For The Parks 4 Miler
WHAT HE WROTE: "I arrived at the starting line too late and got stuck several rows behind my grandmother."

#1279b.  WHO:  Steve Eick
SUBJECT:  On not wearing an orange singlet, and thereby missing any photo opportunity at the 2001 Nike Run For The Parks 4 Miler
WHAT HE WROTE:  "Some people are orange on the inside."


#1278.  WHO:  Sandra Scibelli
SUBJECT:  Her photos taken at the 2001 Boston Marathon
WHAT SHE SAID:  "Some people have personal trainers, some people have personal masseurs, but I have my personal photographer at the finish line."


#1277.  WHO: Amaro Almeida Neto
WHEN:  April 20, 2001
WHAT HE WROTE:  "I am a 50 years-old runner from São Paulo, Brazil, and I visited your website for the first time today.  The Central Park photos ("in the still of winter" and "around the reservoir") are just amazing.  Our 'Central Park' in São Paulo is called 'Ibirapuera' - it means 'nice quiet, peaceful place' in ancient Brazilian Indian language.  It has an area half as large as the NYC Central Park but it is very beautiful as well.  By the way, you have very beautiful orange team singlets.  Could I purchase one?"


#1276.  WHO:  Bola Awofeso
WHEN: April 22nd, 2001
WHERE:  Nike Run For the Park 4 Miler, Central Park
IN RESPONSE TO: Numerous complaints that he just stood there and smiled when male team runners ran by without using the camera that he held in his hands
WHAT HE SAID: "Where was the guy who holds the keys to the stationary cabinet?  How can I take photos without any blank diskettes?  I've only got three diskettes left.  I gotta save some shots for our women!"

COMMENT:  The Central Park Track Club is an unequal photo opportunity club.  Within this club, the coverage is spotty and uneven.  Outside of this club, the coverage is non-existent (except for Herbie Medina).

COMMENT:  After processing those three diskettes, it was noticed that the following picture of himself appeared, thereby displacing one of our hardworking male runners.  Is that acceptable behavior?  Well, in certain quarters, the letters CPTC stands for the Central Park Triathlon Club, wherein our triathletes live by the credo, "It's all about ME!"


Herbie Medina

#1275.  WHO:  Noah Perlis
SUBJECT:  The photo of Herbie Medina (Millrose) on our home page during the week of April 12th-April 19th
WHAT HE WROTE:"

1. How much are you charging Herb Medina for the prime portrait, and is that the going rate for the spot for the week?
2. How much is Chase paying for the prime banner spot over Herbie's head?
3. How much do you charge to substitute another banner in place of Herbie, and how much to make it an active link? Flashing?  Let me know. All creative marketing ideas are free for you to use (or not) with or without attribution."

ANSWER:  Herbie paid the standard rate of $75 per thousand impressions for this website.  We can charge this premium price because our audience is the only set of people that you would need to impress ...  Please contact us if you too are interested.  The price is not negotiable.


#1274.  WHO:  Roland Soong / Ross Galitsky
WHEN:  April 19th, 2001 road workout
SUBJECT:  The 15th Annual Mount Penn Mudfest 15K Trail Run

TRANSCRIPT OF AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION (subtitle: "PULLING TEETH IS MUCH EASIER")

Roland: "Hi, Ross!  Tell me what's going on?"
Ross: "Nothing is going on."
Roland: "What happened last weekend?"
Ross: "Nothing happened last weekend."
Roland: "Come on ... come on ..."
Ross: "It was just triathlon training for me.  I ran some, I biked some, I swam some on Saturday.  Then I watched Aubin race in the park on Sunday."
Roland: "And what about other people?"
Ross: "Nothing was happening.  Scott was moving some stuff over the weekend."
Roland: "And anyone else?"
Ross: "Ramon drove the NYU runners to a little race in Pennsylvania."
Roland: "And what happened there?"
Ross: "It was a nice, friendly little race.  Everyone who went there won something.  There were lots of food and beer afterwards."
Roland: "And what exactly happened with Ramon?"
Ross: "He won the race."
Roland: "And ... ?"
Ross: "His prize was a piggy bank filled with coins."
Roland: "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?  What does it take you three minutes to get to the point?"
Ross: "Well, you know.  It wasn't obvious what you were asking about ..."
Roland: "Unfortunately, I am inclined to believe that you knew exactly what I wanted to know ..."

(Aside:  When Stuart Calderwood reads to this point, he will exclaim, "Wait a minute!  I am sure that I've heard this conversation some time ago."  So he has (Famous Saying #477), and he will again and again ...)


#1273.  WHO:  Audrey Kingsley
WHEN:  April 17th, 2001 track workout, five days before the 2001 London Marathon
WHERE:  East River Park
WHAT SHE SAID:  "I'm soooooo tired!  I'm not going to do any running, so I'll be a timer tonight."

COMMENT:  Lest you think that timing is a picnic in the park (as this photo may suggest), we enclose a video clip of her calling out the splits and then disappeared quickly from the screen as she raced across the field through the mobs of soccer players and rugby players to catch her runners on the other side.


#1272. WHO:  James Siegel
BACKGROUND:  The integrity of this website is maintained by our vigilant users who are ready to point out errata
WHEN:  April 17th, 2001
SUBJECT:  Boston Marathon results

Name Overall Division 5K 10K 15K 20K Half 25K 30K 35K 40K Official Chip Pace
James Siegel 663 494 19:19 40:00 1:00:25 1:20:50 1:25:16 1:41:37 2:02:54 2:24:47 2:47:21 2:57:40 2:57:36 6:57

WHAT HE WROTE:  "Greetings, there is an error somewhere on the recent race results postings!  I wonder if you can find it?"

COMMENT #1:  Don't you love these extraordinarily helpful people?

COMMENT #2:  Other than errata, we also regard it as our duty to point out extraordinary facts.  Here are the 'error-free' results for Shula Sarner:

Shula Sarner 68 55 24:59 47:20 1:09:07 1:31:02 1:35:38 1:52:32 2:14:19 2:36:11 2:57:02 3:05:51 3:02:32 7:06

Here is a comparative analysis: from 35K to 40K, James took 22:34 and Shula took 20:51; from 40K to 42.2K, James took 10:19 and Shula took 8:49.  Ouch, James!  If this were a 45K race ...


#1271.  WHO:  David Pullman / Noah Perlis
WHEN: Thursday April 12, 7:45PM while Noah was waiting to be picked up for a ride home
WHERE:  Armory entrance when Noah had finished the early workout David was arriving for the 8PM workout (on time no less).  Upon seeing David getting out of a taxi to arrive for his workout and reflecting back to the same scenario the prior week (when David showed up at 8:15) ...
WHAT WAS SAID: 
NOAH: : Did you have a bad week? I noticed that last week you arrived with a car service, but tonight you came in a taxi.
DAVID: No, my car service did not show up on time so I took a taxi.

(Noah in his mind: Should I have realized the stock market was up this week?)
(David - probably in his mind: Doesn't he know the stock market was up this week?).


#1270.  WHO:  Margaret Angell
SUBJECT:  The photo collage on top of the Photo Gallery page of this website, 2000-2001
WHAT SHE SAID:  "There is this terrible photo of me with my mouth open, dying at the end of a race."

COMMENT:  We thought that we should preserve this photo for her, now that it has been retired from its former position.


#1269a.  WHO: Toby Tanser
BACKGROUND: In Famous Saying #784, there was a discussion about the Moses Tanui's 22km hill workout.  That is of course enough to make everyone go out and try it for themselves.  Unfortunately, there are not many 22km hills inside Central Park.  What to do?
WHAT HE WROTE:  "Someone following a Kenyan plan in the West may run into problems finding a 22km uphill course, though an adaptation could to go and run on a treadmill with a gradient setting.  A strong mind will open such doors of thought."  (Train Harder, Win Easy: The Kenyan Way, p. 249).
WHAT Moses Tanui SAID:  "Yes, it is hard, but very good training; after running here you fear no hill!"

#1269b.  WHO:  Alayne Adams
SUBJECT:  How she prepared to run in the 1996 Mount Washington Road Race, a 7.6 mile uphill run.
WHAT SHE SAID:  "On a treadmill."
COMMENT:  Alayne Adams finished third overall in the race (see result), ahead of some well-known names such as Lori Jorgenson, Donna Smyers and Tim Evans.


#1268.  WHO:  Shula Sarner
WHEN: Early April 2001
WHAT SHE WROTE: "I'm running the Boston marathon this year, not London as it said on our website (note: competition doesn't seem to be as stiff there with Margaret Angell and Audrey Kingsley in London :-))  At my mother's request, I do plan on London next year so my folks can finally see me run."
COMMENT:  What do you mean when you say that your folks have not seen you run?  How about this famous video of you with a mean kick at the finish line at the 2000 New York City Marathon?  When asked why she sprinted so hard, she said, "I was in a hurry to get to a bathroom!"


#1267.  WHO:  Roland Soong / Ramon Bermo
WHEN:  Weekend of April 1st, 2001
SUBJECT:  A funny thing happened on the way to the New York City Marathon
WHAT Ramon Bermo SAID(March 29th): "I'm going to run a race this weekend.  I'm not going to tell you what it is.  See if you can find it."
WHAT Ramon Bermo WROTE (April 2nd): "So I see that you haven't found two member's results from this weekend races eh??  If you promise to be nice to me, I may tell you ... "
WHAT Roland Soong WROTE (April 2nd): "No, I can't find it, so you win this time.  In fact, I will even forgive you for clicking on the home page 500 times on Sunday to become visitor # 150,000 !!!"
WHAT Ramon Bermo WROTE (April 3rd): "I didn't click 500 on Sunday......... I wasn't even here... Ok... I'll be nice to you, I give you the results, I know you can't get then at least for now because they had technical errors with the computer and it'll take a little while.  I did a 1:15:40 for 4th place overall, not bad for my first race in 6 months and only 5 weeks of training after my injury.  Ross, we believe, did about 1:26:??, he had problems with his watch and was not sure of his time. He still considers himself a non-runner.  It was a nice little race, about 450 people, good/real food afterwards, pasta, meatballs, fruits, even hot showers..."
WHAT Roland Soong WROTE (April 3rd):  "Forget it!  I found it on my own.  It was the Oleksak Spring Lumber Half Marathon on April 1st in Westfield, Massachusetts.  Ramon Bermo, 1:15:40 (5:47 min/mile), 4th overall; Ross Galitsky, 1:27:42 (6:41 min/mile), 36th overall.  I owe you nothing!  You owe me everything instead!"
WHAT Ramon Bermo SAID (April 5th): "I guessed they must have fixed their computer technical problems.  I was actually planning to run about 1:18 at 6:00 minute/mile pace.  After seven miles, I felt good and I ran 5:30 min/mile the rest of the way.  The sub-1:16 time means that I will qualify automatically for the New York City Marathon, when I expect to run with the Spanish national flag again.  Last year, I ran 2:59 with the flag.  Since that was my first time, it was a course record for me.  This year, I'll improve on that time simply by cutting down the number of times that I stop to hug and kiss people ..."

SUGGESTION FROM Audrey Kingsley: "Or....he can always just carry a smaller flag! ;-)"


#1266.  WHO:  Roland Soong
SUBJECT:  Unresolved matters
WHEN:  March 24, 2001 after the Powerbar 20 Miler
WHAT HE WROTE:  "On this day, Toby Tanser brought a copy of the new edition of his book, Train Harder, Win Easy: The Kenyan Way.  I immediately looked for the name of Henry Rono and read that section.  I must say that I was quite disappointed at not finding what I dearly wanted to know.  If you recall (and  you will no doubt recall!), in the first Toby Tanser Quiz on this website, the bonus question was: "What was the combination of Henry Rono's briefcase that would always accompany him throughout his record breaking years of 1978-1981?"  Since that quiz competition never got down to a tie-breaker, the answer was never supplied.  Now I hate unresolved matters, so I was hoping to find the answer in this book.  Alas, that was not to be."

POST-SCRIPT:  When Toby was apprised of our disappointment, he actually told us the answer: "000-000."  The detailed explanation is as follows: "Steve Ovett had always wanted to know what was inside Henry's briefcase.  He, rightly, suspected money but often wondered about this case that would never leave Rono's side.  One day Steve was sitting next to Rono on a flight when the Nandi runner fell asleep. Steve carefully slipped the briefcase from Rono's lap onto his own. Guessing (where Roland did not) Henry's train of logic, Steve selected 000-000, he put his thumbs to the button and click the case opened.  At the noise, Henry stirred and grabbed the case.  Rono was not angry at Steve, he merely wanted to know how Steve had 'cracked' the combo.  Coming from the Rift Valley, he did not know about different settings and presumed himself to just have scored that lucky number(-less) combination."  Thank you, Toby, now we can concentrate on tackling another unresolved matter:  the dog at the 1999 Vermont Marathon Relay (see photo #99).  Can anyone tell us what that was all about?  This situation is getting to be very unfunny ...


#1265.  WHO:  Tony Ruiz
WHEN: April 5, 2001
SUBJECT:  Whether or not he would try carbo-loading
WHEN HE SAID: "If someone would give me a brand new knee so that I can try for the marathon again, I would definitely try carbo-loading before the race."


#1264.  WHO: Jonathan Cane
WHEN: April 1, 2001
SUBJECT:  "How I got to be the Central Park Track Club team leader in two races on the same weekend"
WHAT HE WROTE:  "On Saturday, I was the first Central Park Track Club finisher at the Police/Fire 5 Mile Run.  The only reason I was the first CPTC finisher was that I was the only CPTC finisher.  Jackie Cortes started the race, pushing her two-year old son Matthew, but abandoned the race when the rain and hail began.  Were it not for the weather, I most likely would have been the second CPTC finisher.

I even managed to pull off a double by being the only CPTC runner at the Backwards Mile - 10:12 - the next day.  If I continue to find obscure races, I should be able to avoid the embarrassment of having my teammates showered and on the their second cup of coffee when I finally cross the line."


#1263.  SUBJECT:  A little history lesson
WHEN:  The 10th Annual Central Park Track Club Indoor Championships, March 5, 1991

In 1982, an inter-team meet was established to coincide with the anniversary of team coaching by Tomi Gomory and George Wisniewski.  Throughout the decade, this annual meet became one of the highlights of our winter season.  The races gave Club members a chance to battle it out with their teammates and settle rivalries that developed during the indoor workouts.

Ten years of exciting qualify performances were highlighted by this year's.  Over 40 club members participated along with 20 or more supporters who helped out as timers, officials and cheerleaders.  It was a great show of Central Park Track Club team spirit.

Sid Howard 880 yard
Michael Trunkes, 2:01.35
Duane Green, 2:02.08
Graydon Pihlaja, 2:03.34
Mike Blake, 2:08.17
Sylvie Kimché, 2:34.71
The Cliff Pauling 60 Yard
Chris Neuhoff, 7.06
George Mirabal, 7.09
Bill Engeler, 7.16
Bob Burke, 7:49
Sylvie Kimché, 7.97
Robin Villa, 8.95
 
The Arnie Green 2 Mile
Paul Cruz, 10:16.42
Miguel Alvez, 11:38.71
Bob Laufer, 12:26.08
Eden Weiss, 12:37.26
Harry Nasse, 12:40.17
The Norman Goluskin 440 yard
Chris Neuhoff, 55.15
Matthew Beer, 56.36
George Mirabal, 57:59
Mike Blake, 57.97
Sylvie Kimché, 71.91
Robin Villa, 75.91
The Frank Handelman Mile
Mike Trunkes, 4:25.30
Paul Cruz, 4:46.72
John Kenney, 4:49.68
Herb Medina, 4:54.33
Tim Foxen, 4:58.91

#1262.  WHO:  Roland Soong
SUBJECT:  Ten reasons why the Central Park Track Club does not have an open bulletin board/email server
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#1261.  WHO:  Noel Comess
WHEN:  March 29, 2001 road workout in the rain
WHAT HE SAID:  "The rain of pain is mainly in the brain."


#1260.  WHO: Bola Awofeso
WHEN: March 29, 2001 road workout
IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION: "Where does that long pickup to the north side of the park end before heading back south?"
WHAT HE SAID:  "All I care about is that it will end near where I live."


#1259.  WHO:  Tyronne Culpepper
WHEN:  March 24, 2001
SUBJECT:  How to get a personal record
WHAT HE WROTE: "I set a personal record by about 15 minutes at this year's Powerbar 20 Miler.  This was the second 20 miler I ever did, but the first one in which I actually raced." 
COMMENT:  The recommended strategy is the following --- the first time you race at a certain distance, you go slow because you are getting a personal record as long as you finish.  By going slow, you virtually guarantee that you get a personal record the next time that you race this distance.  But what happens the next time ... ?


Audrey Kingsley

#1259.  WHO:  Audrey Kingsley
WHEN:  Week of March 24-30, 2001
SITUATION:  During this week, Audrey's photo appeared on the front page of this website
WHAT THE CAPTION SAID: "I've never been on the front page!"

COMMENT #1:  Never is a long time.  As it turns out, this website has an infinite memory.  So we went back to retrieve these pictures from the front page archives.  Do they ring a bell, Audrey?
COMMENT #2:  Given that she has appeared a total of 5 times so far, this is far more than random probability would yield (detailed calculation: this website has been in operation for less than 4 years (about 200 weeks), and 5 out of 200 = 1/40 whereas random probability would have said 1/250 members.  Of course, she earned those photo appearances by being our most frequent female racer.


#1258.  WHO: Noah Perlis
WHEN:  March 25, 2001
SUBJECT:  Race results for the National Masters Indoor Championships, as published on this website
WHAT HE WROTE: "Where are you getting the results from? The link to the race site does not have the results --- the site has not been updated since March 19?"
COMMENT #1:  This website is partially funded by the MARS project through their generous donation of manpower.  Conspiracy theorists would undoubtedly make the instant connection to the movie Capricorn One, in which a NASA space expedition to Mars was a hoax that was entirely filmed inside a studio (starring O.J. Simpson as an astronaut).  So, it is possible that our athletes were hanging out in a bar, drinking Guinness and calling in fake results ...


#1257.  WHO:  Stacy Creamer
SUBJECT:  Why she cheers for everybody (Central Park Track Club or not) during races
WHAT SHE SAID: "I remember a Snow Flake Four Miler in which I had not joined the club yet.  As always, the men started the race earlier and there was ample time for them to come back to cheer the women.  So there was orange colors everywhere.  As I came up Cat Hill, there was a Central Park Track Club woman behind me.  John Kenney was standing here and yelling these words at his teammate, 'Put the hook into her!  Put the hook into her!'  I can tell you that there really was a pain in my stomach, and that woman proceeded to demolish me!  One week later, I joined this team.  But from then on, I always made sure that I cheered everybody." 


#1256.  WHO:  Michael Sheren
WHEN:  March 18, 2001
WHAT HE WROTE: "Long time no see! I have been living in London (and still am) for the last four years and have not been running. However, in January, I bought two new pairs of running shoes and started to train again.  I am entered in the London marathon with the goal of finishing (my! have things (such as goals, finishing versus a sub-three-hour race) changed with age!).  I have re-joined the Central Park Track Club as an out-of-town member and will run under the CPTC orange in the marathon (pray for me!).  I hope all is well in NYC and next time I am in town, I will surely make the Thursday workout (just so that all those who remember me can have a good laugh)."

WHO: Roland Soong
WHAT HE WROTE: "I am one of those people who remembers Michael Sheren.  Once upon a time at a road workout, I remember trailing Michael Sheren and Diana Nelson.  Every time there was a pickup, they would drop me and I had to work extremely hard during the recovery portion to catch up.  This went on during every segment of that memorable (for me) workout.  This story tells you two things.  One, having teammates make one work harder.  Two, among other things that I have done for this club, I have been a human yo-yo toy."


#1255.  WHO:  Gordon Bakoulis
ARTICLE:  Powered by Java
WHERE:  New York Runner, March/April issue, 2001
WHAT SHE WROTE:  "There are, of course, runners out there who completely abstain from caffeine, or ingest it only rarely.  Alan Ruben, 43, a 2:29 masters marathoner (full disclosure: he's also my  husband), hasn't had a cup of coffee in more than 10 years and drinks tea only on occasion --- never before running.  "I grew up in England and drank a fair amount of tea, but then I got out of the habit," he says.  "To me it's just one more thing to become dependent upon.  I never feel the need for any kind of energy boost before a run, and wouldn't want to rely on a substance for extra energy or to fight fatigue.  What if I couldn't get it sometime?"  That's hardly likely in today's Starbucks-on-every-corner landscape, but point made."


#1254.  WHO: Tony Ruiz, Stuart Calderwood, and an ethereal guest
THE SITUATION: During Thursday night's workout (March 8th, 2001), Tony and Stuart were standing at East 97th Street and the Park Drive, the end-point of the second 1000-meter pickup, exhorting their teammates. As the B-group disappeared around the bend to the south, the coaches turned back to the north--and found the Webmaster standing next to them.

WHAT THEY SAID:
Tony: "Hey! What did you just run?"
Webmaster (with typical sinister laugh): "Nothing!"
Stuart: "How'd you get here, then--transporter beam?"

At that point the C-group arrived, and Tony and Stuart resumed their shouting and gesticulating. Tony, concentrating on Jerome O'Shaughnessy's picturebook running form, remembers hearing a sound something like a ghostly choir mixed with a metallic whistling behind him. When he turned again, the Webmaster had vanished.

FOLLOWUP STORY:
Stuart's submission was initially rejected with this note: "This story is so unfunny ... absolutely of no interest to anyone!"
WHAT Stuart Calderwood WROTE: "Is this a free press, or is it 1984 and we're 'currently at war with Oceania'?"
COMMENT:  Dear Reader, you can decide for yourself ...

WHAT Kevin Arlyck WROTE: "I can tell Stuart that the concerns he expressed are all too real.  The horror!"


#1253.  WHO: Roland Soong
SUBJECT:  2001 Brooklyn Half Marathon
SITUATION:  The Brooklyn Half Marathon took place on Saturday, March 10, 2001.  On the ensuing Monday, this website received over 500 visitors to the home page, making this the second busiest day in our history (just after the 2000 New York City Marathon).  In addition, we also had high traffic volume on that Saturday and Sunday.

COMMENTARY:  "Two weeks ago, we drew 375 visitors on the Monday after the Snowflake Four Miler, which is our traditional winter team race, followed by our team party and then the Club Night event that same night.  So how is it that the Brooklyn Half Marathon became an even bigger draw?

The main parameter is the size of our club, which is somewhere between 200 to 300 strong right now (note: only the membership secretary knows the exact number).  The Snowflake events are our internal matters, so that the traffic reflects our internal audience to a large degree.  For us to soar to 500 visitors means that there were a lot of outside visitors.  Why were they suddenly so interested?  Because a lot of people knew that our open men, open women and masters men teams won their divisions in Brooklyn, and they wanted to know what we have to say here.

What did they find?  The listing of our individual results, an even-bigger-than-normal collection of photos and some individual stories.  Beyond that, there is not much in the way of gloating.  Other teams may bemoan the fact that they did not have all their best runners in the race on this day.  We did not have all ours either, and not all of our runners had their best days.  The fact remains that we were the better team on this day.  But being a team with nearly thirty years of history, we have seen great years and we have seen lean years, and we know that there is no such thing as the number one team in the universe, now and forever.  

If we celebrate, it is for the joy of being able to run at this moment in time, with the additional joy of accomplishing our team and individual goals.  On this very day, a long-time Central Park Track Club member Jeff Kisseloff wrote us: "Following surgery on my leg, my illustriously mediocre running/racing career is no more. The doctor says if I try it again, I'll cripple myself.  Guess, I've been retired to stud or to be a fat guy in hush puppies, black socks and Bermuda shorts. The latter is more likely."  That is why we say that we celebrate for the joy of just being able to run.

We guess that this is not much of a victory speech.  But it is at moments like these that we appear a bit more human, and that is perhaps why people like the Central Park Track Club a bit more.  In the meantime, let us all savor this moment, in our own fashion."


#1252.  WHO:  David Monti
SUBJECT:  Beyond the Marathon
WHERE:  New York Running, March/April 2001
WHAT HE WROTE:  "Isn't 26.2 miles far enough?  Steve Eick, a 37-year-old hedge fund manager living in Manhattan, doesn't think so.  After running his second marathon in 2:56:16 at Boston in 1999, Eick felt just a little underwhelmed.  'I've always been intrigued by the ability to run long distances, but running the marathon, and not being destroyed by it, sparked my curiosity to run farther,' he explains.  So he began poking around the world of ultras.  'A 50K [31.05 miles] didn't seem like such a step up to me.  The 50-mile seemed like a real challenge.  Let's face it: Anybody can run a marathon.  To really challenge yourself for the distance you have to get well into the ultramarathon range.'  Eick entered the Long Island Endurance Run 50-Miler only two weeks after running Boston.  He placed third in 6:43:20, a pace of 8:04 per mile.  Not bad for a race more than eight times the 10K distance."


#1251. WHO:  Victor Osayi
SUBJECT:  How he was able to keep himself motivated during the 2001 Snowflake Four Miler
WHAT HE SAID: "I kept hearing people cheer, 'Go, Tyronne!'"

WHO:  Yves-Marc Courtines
WHAT HE WROTE: "That's exactly how I ended up joining the club about two years ago this past December.  I ran a race and kept hearing people cheer, 'Go Stacy!' including, if I recall correctly, Bola Awofeso (whom I didn't know at the time, of course).  I would add that, while that unannounced motivation got me in ahead of Stacy Creamer for that race, when I revealed myself to her in another 10-K in January 1999 via an exclamatory comment of 'bring me in (to the finish) witcha', she proceeded to toast me  (and recruited me post-race).  So, I gotta tell ya Victor, you probably should'na let Tyronne in on your little tactic."


#1250.  WHO: Roland Soong
SUBJECT:  Race strategy analysis
WHAT HE WROTE:  "We have always told our runners that they should give everything they've got in races.  Even if a person knows that he/she is not on the scoring team (e.g. you know that there are seven teammates ahead of you), you should still run as hard as you can.  This is because you may be able to pass someone on another team, who may be their last scorer.

However, I may have found an exception to the rule.  At the 2001 Al Gordon 15K, I saw Isaya Okwiya surged in the final 100m to pass teammate Tom Phillips (see photo).  The two finished 21st and 22nd overall in the race, and the transposition of their places had no impact on either our overall score or any other team's.  However, 30-year-old Isaya Okwiya is an open division runner, while 45-year-old Tom Phillips is a master runner.  The net effect of this sprint was that we lost one point in the masters team scoring which is based upon overall positions.  As  it turned out, we won both the open and master team titles in this race handily.  Still, we urge our younger members to bear this in mind and watch whom they pass at the end of future races."

Technical note #1:  The author of this note acknowledges that he is a member of the geriatric set ...
Technical note #2:  The author of this note points out that Tom Phillips does not need any concession from anyone anytime.  Just give him a few more weeks, and you will all be begging for mercy.

WHAT Isaya Okwiya WROTE BACK: "Wrong analysis!  

If you paid attention ( I don't blame you for not doing so ) to the race, the six of us ( Tom, Isaya, Josh Feldman, Stephen Marsalee (NYH ), Antonio Martinez (WSX) and another unknown runner ran in a pack from mile four and traded the lead several times up to the wire.  With less than 200m to go, it's an emergency when you have a Harrier on your heels and two West Side Runners within striking distance.  I don't care whether there's a CPTC runner in between, all I know is that there is danger and I'm going to kick with every ounce of energy left in my system. This was the case last Saturday, and if a similar scenario arises in the future, I shall do the same. 
 
In a race, especially a scoring race, no one should fool around in case of an emergency as you may not know what's lurking behind you, or whether your teammate has his/her chip on and/or put the team code on the application form.  In almost all cases, it's better for the team."

WHAT Rob Zand SAID: "Should there be a race at the end of which Alan Ruben is just in front of me, do you think I would let him cruise in?"

Richie Borrero

WHAT Sarah Gross SAID: "Everybody should run as hard as Richie Borrero at the finish."

WHAT Tyronne Culpepper WROTE: "I completely agree with Isaya, with my own Saturday race experience.  During the last 1.3 miles or so, I pushed hard to finish strongly, & I passed several other non CPTC club members (not that I was one of our scorers of course) as well as some CPTC members. At the 0.2 mile to go mark, a Harrier runner came out of nowhere and blew past me, then proceeded to cruise to the finish. Obviously I wasn't too happy about this, so I surged and passed him. So, he surged again & just finished ahead of me at the finish. So, this is also a word to CPTC cheerers near the finish: Let us know if someone's trying to close on us if you can.  He would have never finished ahead of me, had I been aware of this.  That's what scoring races are all about."


#1249.  WHO:  Erik Goetze
WHEN:  February 2001
WHAT HE SAID: "When we went up to the track meet in Boston, someone came over to me and said, 'You with the Central Park Track Club?  You guys have a great website!'"


#1248.  WHO:  Margaret Angell
WHEN:  Thursday Night at the Races, February 8, 2001
SITUATION:  After finishing the mile race, she was badgered by Sid Howard to run the 400m too
WHAT SHE SAID: "I am not running the quartermile because I don't want a DFL."

TECHNICAL NOTE:  Yes, she said DFL.  Not DNF, DNS or DQ.  If you don't know what a DFL is, you are lucky.  If you must know, you can ask her yourself.

WHAT Stuart Calderwood WROTE: "'DFL' stands for 'Dead Frustrating Last,' right?"
GRADE:  He gets an A for deliberately getting it wrong ...  


#1247.  WHO:  Toby Tanser
SUBJECT: New York, New York
WHEN:  The News Times (Danbury, CT), October 4, 1999
WHAT HE SAID: "It's the best place in the world. If you can't fit in here, then you might as well as become an alien."


#1246.  WHO:  Tony Ruiz
WHEN:  What he saw while jogging back out Central Park after the February 15th, 2001 road workout
WHAT HE SAID:  "I have seen people run, and I have seen people smoke weed.  But this is the first time that I have seen someone smoking weed while running."
CORROBORATING WITNESSES: Isaya Okwiya, Roland Soong, Rob Zand
COMMENT FROM Frank Handelman: "Coach Ruiz must not have been a child of the '60s."


#1245.  WHO:  James Siegel
WHEN:  February 13, 2001 workout when he was the timer
WHAT HE SAID:  "I was told that any monkey can do the timer's job."
HIS PROTEST NOTE UPON READING THE ABOVE: "I thought I had amended my initial observation on the basic mental capacity needed to be a timer. You need to be at least a 'semi-intelligent monkey'!"

HIS REPORT CARD:
(1) Did not know how to operate his watch initially
(2) Did not know how many 800m repeats were in the workout (six!)

BUILT-IN EXCUSE:  "My dog ate the report card!"  (see Photo)


#1244.  WHO: Carly Simon
WHAT SHE SANG:  

Anticipation, Anticipation 
Is making me late 
Is keeping me waiting

WHOM SHE MIGHT BE SINGING ABOUT: Stacy Creamer, Stuart Calderwood, Toby Tanser
WHEN:  February 10, 2001 after the Valentine's Day Twosome
WHAT THEY WERE SAYING: "Why are the race results and photos not posted on the website yet?"
REASON FOR THE DELAY:  Our website staff was sleeping on the job ...


#1243.  WHO:  David Pullman
WHEN:  February 13, 2001 workout (6x800m)
WHERE: The Armory track
WHAT HE SAID:  "I died horribly during the fifth 800m.  The blood doping is obviously not working.  I'll have to try something else."


#1242.  WHO:  Malcolm Gladwell
WHERE:   The Tipping Point : How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
SUBJECT: The number 150

Humans socialize in the largest groups of all primates because we are the only animals with brains large enough to handle the complexities of that social arrangement.  Dunbar has actually developed an equation, which works for most primates, in which he plugs in what he calls the neocortex ratio of a particular species --- the size of the neocortex ratio of a particular species --- the size of the neocortex relative to the size of the brain --- and the equation spits out the expected maximum group size of the animal.  If you plug in the neocortex ratio for Homo sapiens, you get a group estimate of 147.8 --- or roughly 150.  "The figure of 150 seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us.  Putting it another way, it's the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar."

Dunbar has combed through the anthropological literature and found that the number of 150 pops up again and again.  For example, he looks at 21 different hunter-gatherer societies for which we have solid historical evidence, from the Walbiri of Australia to the Tauade of New Guinea to the Ammassalik of Greenland to the Ona of Tierra del Fuego and found that the average number of people in their villages was 148.4 ...

Then there is the example of the religious group known as the Hutterites, who for hundreds of years have lived in self-sufficient agricultural colonies in Europe and, since the early twentieth century, in North America.  The Hutterites (who came out of the same tradition as the Amish and the Mennonites) have a strict policy that every time a colony approaches 150, they split it in two and start a new one.  "Keeping things under 150 just seems to be the best and most efficient way to manage a group of people," Bill Gross, one of the leaders of a Hutterite colony outside Seattle told me.  "When things get larger than that, people become strangers to one another."  The Hutterites, obviously, didn't get this idea from contemporary evolutionary psychology.  They've been following the 150 rule for centuries.  At 150, the Hutterites believe, something happens --- something indefinable but very real --- that somehow changes the nature of community overnight.  "In smaller groups people are a lot closer.  They're knit together, which is very important if you want to be effective and successful at community life," Gross said.  "If you get too large, you don't have enough work in common, and then you start to become strangers and that close-knit fellowship starts to get lost."  Gross spoke from experience.  He had been in Hutterite colonies that had come near to that magic number and seen firsthand how things had changed.  "What happens when you get that big is that the group starts, just on its own, to form a sort of clan."  He made a gesture with his hands, as if to demonstrate division.  "You get two or three groups within the larger group.  That is something you really try to prevent, and when it happens it is a good time to branch out."

COMMENT:  This theory is presumably premised upon a human community whose members interact primarily through face-to-face contact.  But what happens in the Internet age, when community members can stay informed and interact in cyberspace?  The answer will be provided in the ongoing experiment known as the Central Park Track Club ...


#1241.  WHO:  Alan Ruben
SUBJECT:  His personal webpage (with orange color background, of course)
SITUATION:  In response to the question, "Did you build your own page to become a legend in your own time?"
WHAT HE SAID: "I'm just trying to become a legend during my lunch time."
WHAT ELSE HE SAID:  "By the way, I took some photos from the Central Park Track Club website."

WARNING: PLEASE READ OUR COPYRIGHT NOTICES:  All materials published on this website are the exclusive property of the World Wide Web community.  As such, all writings, photographs and artwork may be copied, reproduced, animated, enhanced, caricaturized and/or otherwise mutilated without the explicit consent of the owners.  Any attempt to contravene or violate these property rights will be prosecuted to the full extent of the copyright laws in the State of New York and the United States of America.

P.S.  There could be no better reason for us to take those photos ...


Toby Tanser #1240.  WHO:  Stacy Creamer

WHOM:  Toby Tanser  

SUBJECT: 2001 Lucky Seven Mile Reversible

WHAT SHE SAID:  "I understand that Toby broke the course record, and therefore won $100 from the New York Road Runners Club.  But even more astonishing was that he was able to speak a full sentence to us when he ran by."

ACCOMPANYING EVIDENCE:  Photos of Toby Tanser, and also of the astonished Stacy Creamer and Stuart Calderwood


#1239.  WHO:  Audrey Kingsley
SUBJECT:  Her class report on 2000 New York City Marathon
WHERE:  Issue #7 (2000-2001) Opportunity (NYU Stern School of Business publication)
WHAT SHE WROTE:  "This was my 6th New York City marathon. I run for the Central Park Track Club and our women's team won 2nd place for the marathon. That was pretty awesome. I will say that I thought the crowds this year were bigger (spectators). They seemed to stretch further up 1st avenue than normal. And it was WINDY!!!"


#1238.  WHO:  Media Research Center CyberAlert (12/15/2000)
SUBJECT: "
Rather stone cold wrong"
WHAT THEY WROTE:
  Dan Rather wrapped up the 9pm half hour CBS News special dedicated to Gore's concession speech on Wednesday night by ruminating about how a statue in Central Park features the quote, "United we stand, divided we fall." In fact, it does not, as a couple of CyberAlert readers alerted me. The statue of Daniel Webster actually showcases a quote from Daniel Webster.

As recounted in the December 14 CyberAlert, Wednesday night Rather delivered this odd sign-off:

"John Dickerson in 1776 wrote: 'Then join hand in hand brave Americans all. By uniting we stand, dividing we fall.' And 'United We Stand, Divided We Fall' is carved in stone on a statue of Daniel Webster not far from this building in New York's Central Park. With that in mind, after a long and bitter campaign for the presidency that lasted five weeks past election day, Vice President Al Gore has just officially ended his campaign for this year and asked the American people to unite behind the new President, George Bush."

 I then asked: "Is there really a statute in Central Park of Daniel Webster with those words?"

It turns out I was prescient about Rather's Barbra Streisand potential.

There is a statue of Webster, but not with that quote "carved in stone." CyberAlert reader Dennis Bray e-mailed me with a link to a Central Park Track Club Web page which carries a photo of the statue. The statue actually has this quote displayed at its base: "Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable."

To see the color photo of the statue, go to: http://www.centralparktc.org/dwstatue.htm"

COMMENT:  Yes, we always knew that we were authoritative, but we never knew about what until we read this.


#1237.  WHO:  David Pullman
WHEN:  February 6, 2001
SUBJECT:  Lost & found articles at the Armory
WHAT HE SAID:  "A couple of weeks ago, I left my shoes and shorts at the Armory after a workout.  When I went back to inquire, they brought me to the lost & found room.  They will only keep articles for the current year, so there won't be any fossil objects when you ran here as a teenager.  There were only about 10 pairs of shoes, but there must have been over one hundred pairs of shorts of all sizes, shapes, styles and colors.  Oh, by the way, I did not find my stuff."

COMMENT:  This has been a public service announcement on your favorite website.


#1236.  WHO:  Tony Ruiz
WHEN:  February 6, 2001
IN RESPONSE TO THIS MESSAGE FROM Steve ("The Black Prince of the Shawangunks") Schallenkamp: "Hi, I've been coaching the last three years and I have found it hard to maintain motivation for my own training.  However, after reading that Tony Ruiz is becoming a master, I think I have just become motivated."
WHAT HE SAID:  "I welcome the chance to kick Steve's butt again!"


#1235.  WHO:  Rob Zand
WHEN:  February 5, 2001
SITUATION:  In response to Charles Allard Jr.'s koan, "If one enters a race but runs it only as a training run, is it a race?"

WHAT HE WROTE: "An excellent question!  It ranks right up there with:

  • Is oral sex really sex? (no)
  • Is it smoking if you don't inhale? (yes, and stupid too)
  • If a tree falls in the woods ... (yes)

Of course, to answer enigmas like this, one must apply the standard of the reasonable man. Within this standard are many subtle nuances that must be considered carefully.  For example, it is not a race if you publicly declare it not a race prior to the running and execute a predefined plan.  However, it is definitely a race if after a bad race, one attempts to mask the performance by calling it a tempo run.  Furthermore, it is a race if you drop out because you are having a bad day, but not if you become physically incapacitated or are designated as a rabbit.  It is also a race if you fall down during the event and complete the race. 

Perhaps confusing to non-runners is the fact that one can publicly declare a race as 'not a race', but afterwards, declare it a race if the result is arrived at unexpectedly.  For instance, a rabbit may decide that he/she feels particularly good on a certain day and proceed to win the race.  This is definitely a race. This rule also applies if in the course of a training run, the individual sets a personal record or otherwise has a significant accomplishment.  In contrast, if one tells friends that 'I'm going to see my ex tonight but we are not having sex,' then becomes intoxicated or otherwise impaired and proceeds to have sex.  It is still sex, even if you regret it in the morning."

COMMENT:  We will sign off with another non-puzzle: did Rob Zand vote for Bill Clinton?  (someone else adds, "And why hasn't Rob moved to Canada yet now that George W. has been inaugurated?")


#1234.  WHO:  Olivier Baillet
SUBJECT:  His photo at the Chicken Soup Loop 10K, 2001
WHAT HE SAID:  "That was a nice picture of me running on top of the ice floes in the Central Park Reservoir.  But it would be even better if you can have a picture of me swimming in that ice."
COMMENT:  Okay, just give us any picture of you swimming.  There is nothing that Adobe Photoshop cannot do ...


#1233.  WHO:  Alan Ruben
WHEN:  February 1, 2001
BACKGROUND:  Our 100,000th visitor came on August 13, 2000 but the person did not file a claim immediately
WHAT HE WROTE:  "I am submitting the following to arrest my declining google rating on this website."

ATTACHMENT: 

COMMENT:  This was worth two google points (on this page and the web log page).  (Technical explanation:  The google rating is the number of pages that you get when you type your name into the google.com search box on our home page for the Central Park Track Club website.    At this time, Alan Ruben was ranked #3 on our club.  To maintain his relative position, he must do what everyone else does; to improve his position, he needs extra (and exclusive) efforts such as this one.)

ADDENDUM: #2-ranked Audrey Kingsley said, "I have a major coup in the making.  When the time comes, they're going to have to give me my own home page on the website!"  As John Scherrer might say, "Show me, I'm from Missouri."  (Technical note:  This addendum falls into the category of 'gratuitous mentions' that the subjects have either earned or deserved.)

ERRATUM:  According to John Scherrer, "For the record, I'm not from Missouri.  I'm from a suburb of St. Louis, but it's in Illinois."


#1232.  WHO:  Noel Comess
WHEN:  February 1, 2001
WHAT HE SAID:  "I'll admit that I finally got a chance to go through the Central Park Track Club website recently.  I will say that the content seems to have an element of timelessness, in that I can read stuff from years ago and they are still meaningful."

COMMENT:  Of course, that is the essence of this website --- we are in the business of building evergreen content.  For example, if our workout descriptions consisted solely of "March 30, 1999:  1 mile, 800m recovery, 1 mile, 600m recovery, 1 mile, 400m recovery, 800m," it would not mean a lot two years hence.  Instead, we urge you to review the actual report for that date (and all previous workout reports, for that matter) and smile at the personalities on our team ...


#1231.  WHO:  Jerome O'Shaughnessy
TO WHOM:  James Siegel
SUBJECT:  Millrose Games, 2001
WHAT HE SAID: "If I see you come down from your $15 section to the front row to watch the races, I am going to call security!"
ACTUAL OUTCOME AS REPORTED BY James Siegel: "I bought him a beer and he kept his mouth shut."


#1230.  WHO:  Alayne Adams
WHEN:  February 1, 2001
BACKGROUND:  On this unseasonably warm night, many people came overdressed for the road workout.  Fortunately, one of their teammates volunteered to carry their extra clothing from point to point.
WHAT SHE SAID: "O, look!  It's The Beast Of Burden!  That was most wonderful of you to do that!"


#1228.  WHO: Noah Perlis
SUBJECT:  His 800m run in the Thursday Night at the Races,  January 25, 2001
WHAT HE WROTE:  "I was incorrectly listed in the results at 2:32 when I actually finished in 2:38.  The good part is that I may do the 2:32 next time because I sprinted hard in the final stretch after having gone out too conservatively.  Or else I may go out faster next time and crawl in like I did last year in the same 2:38 for my annual 'this is why I don't run anything over 400m' reminder race."


#1227.  WHAT: The historical record archive
QUESTION:  Which Central Park Track Club team member has run the most number of New York City Marathons
ANSWER:  "Michael Koenig ran 1973-1996 (24 in a row!), 1998-2000 with a best time of 2:28:20 in 1976, ran on the four loop course inside Central Park."

COMMENT:  Time is on Margaret Angell's side (all of 24 years old and already three New York City marathons under her belt) --- unless she comes to her senses.


#1226.  WHO:  Roland Soong
WHEN:  January 30, 2001
SITUATION: In response to Brian Farley's unanswered question, "When is your next race?" followed by this question, "Have you ever ran a race?"
WHAT HE SAID: "The number of people on this team who have never seen me run a race will soon become a majority."

WHAT Tyronne Culpepper SAID: "The last race that I saw him run was the 19?? Prostate Cancer 5K run, and that was a fun run.  Oh, by the way, it took me a long time to come up with that one."
QUESTION:  Why does Tyronne remember that?  The subject himself cannot remember that far back ...

WHAT Fritz Mueller SAID: "At your baby age, you could still start your New York City Marathon string now to catch Michael Koenig's 24 in a row ..."


Sid Howard

#1225.  WHO:  Sid Howard
WHEN:  January 23, 2001
SUBJECT:  What does one do when one is injured and cannot run?
WHAT HE SAID: "On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I will ride the bicycle to maintain my physical conditioning.  In the evening, I will go and cheer my teammates at the Armory."
COMMENT:  And sing the national anthem ... ?


#1224.  WHO:  Yves-Marc Courtines
WHEN:  January 24, 2001
BACKGROUND:  This website contains a broad number of areas, which not all of our users may cover.  Consequently, your worst nightmare is one in which there is something about you which you don't know about but all your teammates know.  What can you do?  You can go to the Google.com search box on our home page, type in your name and search within www.centralparktc.org.  You may find out a lot of surprising facts about yourself.  In this case, Yves-Marc typed in his name, and found himself cited on the Food Critics page, which is not something that is to his regular taste.  Going to that page, he found this paragraph: "Of course, London is more than just Ealing. But this is the section reserved for the Central Park Track Club food critics, and so we'll have to leave the other stories for another time and place. But there is a photo that should interest Yves-Marc Courtines."  Clicking on that link, he saw a photo of a London cab dressed as an advertising vehicle for DLJ Direct, the company of Yves-Marc.
WHAT HE WROTE:  "Very cute!"

COMMENT:  Dear reader, what about you?  You can try the same search (and often!).  And what is your google count?  Are you close to our three citation leaders (Stacy Creamer, Audrey Kingsley and Alan Ruben)?


#1223.  WHO:  John Scherrer
WHEN:  January 24, 2001
SUBJECT:  Tony Ruiz in training for his master debut
WHAT HE WROTE: "Tony is getting stronger!  I've heard all of the stories of his past exploits but we may see him somewhat fit this year. Boy, just what I need: another master runner on our team that can beat me.  Joining this club has sufficiently crushed my ego."


#1222.  WHO:  El Tiempo, leading newspaper in Bogotá, Colombia
WHEN:  November 1, 2000, three days before the 2000 New York City Marathon
SUBJECT:  Toby Tanser
WHAT WAS PUBLISHED: "Toby Tanser, atleta de 32 años de Islandia, fue nombrado ayer como el "atleta recuperado del año" por uno de los patrocinadores del Maratón. Tanser fue víctima de un ataque con machetes en diciembre del año pasado en el que estuvo a punto de morir.  Tras meses de recuperación en su país natal hizo un lento regreso al atletismo y ahora se prepara para la competencia del próximo domingo."


#1221.  WHO:  Stephen Marsalese, President of the New York Harriers
WHEN:  January 21, 2001
WHAT HE WROTE: "I just want to say that when I die, I want to come back as the Central Park Track Club website.  It's the GREATEST."

COMMENT:  According to the web activity log, this website got hit 1,325,095 times last year.  Now that could hurt quite a bit.  Are you sure that is what you really want?"


#1220.  WHO:  Karel Matousek in Prague, Czech Republic
WHEN:  January 21, 2001
SUBJECT:  Chicken Soup Loop 10K results
WHAT HE WROTE: "It is now 5:38PM Central European Time and I don't see today's results on the page.  Please explain or else tender immediate resignation."

REPLY: "Alright, I have had it!  I quit! You will get exactly what you wished for.  I am resigning right now, and Nathan will be taking over."

EXPLANATION:  For those of you who haven't been around long enough, this is the latest episode of the longstanding 'feud' among Karel Matousek, Nathan Klejman and Roland Soong.  This feud was precipitated when the three ran as a team at a 1-2-3 Mile Relay race in the early 1990's and got beat by the Central Park Track Club women's team.  (Note:  Roland said, "All I know is that when I handed off at the end of the 2 mile leg, we were ahead ... and you bet that I am still bitter." and also "I'm also bitter because all I heard the whole way was people rooting for Stacy Creamer right behind me.  People can be such sexist pigs!")


#1219.  SUBJECT:  Toby Tanser at the Chicken Soup Loop 10K, a race which was turned into a fun run due to snowy/icy conditions
WHEN:  January 21, 2001
WHAT Stéphane Bois SAID:  "Just looking at Toby Tanser makes me feel cold."
WHAT Mary Wittenberg SAID: "Just looking at Toby Tanser makes me feel cold."


#1218.  WHO:  Kevin Arlyck
BACKGROUND:  The January 11, 2001 road workout description began with these words: "Your regular reporter was AWOL from the workout today (thanks to a colleague who does not know when to stop talking ...).  So there is no workout description unless someone else volunteers.  BTW, we haven't seen any Kevin Arlyck write-ins yet since his return ... (hint, hint, hint)."
WHAT HE SAID:  "Since I was not there on that day, I could not contribute.  However, I will note that during my long absence, there have been plenty of people who have been writing interesting stuff."


#1217.  WHO:  Rob Zand
WHEN:  January 15th, 2001, whence this page had not been updated for one full week
WHAT HE ASKED: "How can nobody have said anything famous for over a week?"
WHAT HE GAVE AS AN ANSWER: "Perhaps after showing a profit you have lost the hunger?" (ref: Famous Saying #1215)

THE REAL ANSWER:  In the workout description of January 2, 2001, the following item appeared: "After listening to praises about his workout run today, Rob Zand said that the time for talking is over and it was going to be serious business this year."  The real talking is therefore being done by Toby Tanser --- 1st place Fred Lebow Classic (January 7, 2001) and 1st place Alumni 10K (January 14, 2001).


#1216.  WHO: Stefani Jackenthal
WHERE: Women's Sports Channel, August 2000
SUBJECT:  Why she travels all over the world to compete in adventure races such as : the Raid Gauloises in Ecuador; the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest in Xichang, China; and the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series in the United States.
WHAT SHE SAID: "Racing has been my passport to the world.  As a racer in a foreign land, I'm not a tourist but a welcome guest. I've run through Ecuadorian villages lined with locals, mountain-biked past ancient temples, and trekked alongside ox-pulled carts."


#1215. SUBJECT:  Year 2000 Fiscal Report, Central Park Track Club website

BACKGROUND:  This was the year when the Great Internet Bubble Burst, as many dot coms saw their stock prices tanked to tiny fractions of their all-time highs, their IPO hopes being dashed, their staff being trimmed and even getting their lights turned off.

EXPENSES:
Web hosting service:  12 months x $15 per month = $180 per year
Domain registration: $35 per year
Web staff payroll: $0
Photographers: $0
Free-lance writers/contributors/consultants: $0
Computer hardware/software: $0
Digital camera equipment: $0
Travel/entertainment: $0
Interest payments/mortgage: $0
TOTAL: $215

REVENUES:
Advertising/sponsorship: $0 (goodwill advertising only)
Amazon.com referral fees:
     Q1: $141.43 net income on sale of 159 items totaling $2,790.65
     Q2: $99.22 net income on sale of 80 items totaling $1,949.27
     Q3. $126.92 net income on sale of 124 items totaling  $2,457.49
     Q4. $141.99 net income on sale of 118 items totaling $2,816.48
TOTAL: $509.76 Amazon.com referral fees on the sale of 481 items totaling $10,013.69

PROFIT/LOSS:
TOTAL PROFIT = $509.76 - $215 = $294.76
PROFIT PERCENT = 294.76 / 509.76 = 58%

PROSPECTUS:  This makes the Central Park Track Club website one of the very few websites that turned a profit this year.


#1214.  WHO:  Audrey Kingsley
SUBJECT:  Holiday plans, Christmas-New Year 2000-2001
WHAT SHE SAID:  ""I am so glad that my finals are over because I will have a three-week-long intersession break to overtrain."


Frank Handelman #1213.  WHO: Frank Handelman
WHEN:  January 3, 2001

WHAT HE WROTE: "I am writing to wish a happy and healthy and fast new year to all on the CPTC. I'll be out for the winter, having finally decided to have surgery this Friday (out-patient to be sure) to remove a bunion from my left foot.  After waiting about three years for the right time, I finally realized there is no right time, so I'd better just do it.  

I've been following the middle-distance workouts on the web-site, and am sorry I'll miss what promises to be a tremendous indoor season for the team.  But truthfully, I've been out of sorts anyway since the end of last year's indoor season, and the break will do me good. After 40 years of racing, I know the time off will give me renewed energy to make the effort to get back into competitive form. With luck, I'll be able to race this outdoor season.  

As I complete this latest several year stretch of competition, I want to thank Brian and Tony and all my teammates for giving me the nerve and edge to keep at it, and especially my workout partners on the 800 and 400 meter teams.  Running for the club is the primary factor that has kept me hungry and interested and wanting to keep improving (a relative term, but I believe anyone can always be faster than the year before, no matter the age - maybe not faster than five years before, but definitely faster than last year). And thanks to my relay partners - the highlight of my outdoor season was winning the 4x400 at Eugene with Sid, Richard and Austin.  

Soft surfaces are the key to longevity, so try to stay off the pavement, and always remember, look to the future."


#1212.  WHO:  Isaya Okwiya / Noah Perlis
WHEN:  January 2, 2001 track workout
WHAT Isaya SAID:  " I like the look on your face. It tells me you've worked hard."
WHAT Noah SAID:  "Thanks, I practice the look."



Riverside Park, 12/30/2000 (credit: Caryn Cherlin)
#1211.  WHO:  Rob Zand
WHEN:  December 30th, 2000
WHAT HE WROTE:  "For those of you keeping track, add snow to the list of things I hate.  In fact, one of the few items I hate more are treadmills, and therefore I trudged my way up to Central Park today to get in a run despite the 50 feet of snowthat fell overnight and through the morning. Okay, officially it was something like a foot, but after it starts to stick, to hell with precision. I was particularly amused by the people in the park giving me funny looks, as if I were out of my mind.  I guess it didn't occur to them that they too were out in the cold, wet stuff, and unlike me, they were either sauntering through it, rolling in it, or throwing it at each other.  Who seems off now?"

COMMENT:  Do you really want us to answer that question, Rob?



Stuart Calderwood in the shadow 
of the statue of Jagiello of Poland

#1210.  WHO:  Wladyslaw Jagiello
WHEN:  On the last road workout of the year 2000, the finish of the Cat Hill sprint ended up right by the statue of Jagiello in Central Park.  This was the first time in recent memory that a workout had used this statue as a landmark.  On this cold night, coach Stuart Calderwood did not wish to inflict a cultural lecture on the runners.  So the enhanced version appears here instead.

The Statue:  Jagiello's statue was sculpted by Stanislaw Ostrowski and originally appeared at the Polish pavilion of the World's Fair in New York City as an icon polemic against the aggressors towards Poland.  It was moved to its present site in 1945.  This is a huge equestrian bronze showing a fiercely determined Jagiello at the moment of accepting battle with the Teutonic Order at Grunwald on July 15, 1410.  Admittedly, it is incongruous with the serene setting of Turtle Pond.

Artistic code for equestrian statuary

  1. ONE LEG RAISED: Rider was wounded in battle
  2. BOTH LEGS RAISED: Rider was killed in battle
  3. FOUR HOOVES ON GROUND: Rider "died in his four-poster"

The KingWladyslaw Jagiello (born circa 1351), Grand Duke of Lithuania, became king of Poland in 1386 until he died on June 1, 1434 in Grodek.  His reign was regarded as a revival of learning and literature in eastern Europe as it slowly emerged from the dark ages. Jagiello was the first Christian king of Poland and was the founder of the Jagiello dynasty..

His marriages

  1. Married on 18 February 1386 to Jadwiga of Anjou, Queen of Poland, daughter of Louis I, King of Hungary 1342-1382 & Poland 1370-1382 and Jelisaveta of Bosnia, born 1371 and died 17 June 1399.  This marriage united Poland and Lithuania, converting the latter to Christianity.  P.S.  On wedding day, the Queen released all the prisoners in Cracow.
  2.  Married on 29 January 1402 to Anna von Cilli, daughter of Wilhelm, Count von Cilli and Anna of Poland, born 1380 and died on 20 March 1416
  3. Married on 2 May 1417 to Elzbieta Pilecka, daughter of Otton, Woiwode of Sandomir, born 1372 and died 12 May 1420
  4. Married Sophie of Kiew, daughter of Iwan Borisowitch, Grand Duke of Kiew, birth and death dates unknown  
  5. Married on 7 February 1422 to Zofia (Sonka) Holszanska, daughter of Andrzej Iwanowitsch, Prince of Kiew and Alexandra Dimitrijewna Drutskoy, born 1405 and died on 21 September 1461.

Related Links: Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego (Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland)

Quiz:  Manhattan has eleven statues of men on horses...and one woman.  How many can you think of?

First quiz entry came from equestrian Stacy Creamer (famous for the amazing feat of taming a runaway riderless horse on the bridlepath): 

Okay, here's my entry for the statue quiz, but I come up with 2 women! 

  1. King Jagiello of Poland, east of Turtle Pond in Central Park
  2. George Washington, at Union Square
  3. The spirit of Peace, at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on United Nations ground
  4. General William Sherman, at the Grand Army Plaza at Central Park South and Fifth Avenue (accompanied by Nike on foot)
  5. José de San Martín, at the Avenue of the Americas entrance into Central Park
  6. Simón Bolivar the Liberator, at the Avenue of the Americas entrance into Central Park
  7. José Martí, at the Avenue of the Americas entrance into Central Park
  8. Theodore Roosevelt at the Museum of Natural History, at Central Park West and 81st Street
  9. Joan of Arc at Riverside Drive and 93rd Street
  10. Major General Franz Sigel, at Riverside Drive and West 106th Street
  11. El Cid at the Hispanic Society of America, Broadway and 155th Street

That's only eleven.  I know there is the Maine Monument (okay, they're seahorses, and there isn't really a "rider") and the Buffalo Hunt (more a frieze than a statue, on the Manhattan Bridge).

Hint #1:  There is some double dipping involved in that one of the locations has two statues (and we don't mean Nike) and only one of them is listed above
Hint #2:  Guess which national contingent on our team will be offended by the omission?  Will they step up and be counted?

Answer:  At the United Nations Plaza, there is a statue of St. George.  What will our Brits say!?

Stacy Creamer has posed this counter-quiz:  What generally beloved statue in Central Park was met with blistering criticism and charges of nepotism when it was unveiled in 1868?  Hint: To date, this statue has never been a landmark in a CPTC workout (note: the historian suggests that there was at least one workout which can be loosely interpreted as ending there (specifically, to stop at the sight of the statue)).

Answer:  The Angel of Waters at Bethesda Terrace was designed by Emma Stebbins, who happened to be the sister of the Parks Commissioner.


#1209.  WHO:  Brian Barry
SUBJECT:  Training intensity at the Armory workouts
WHAT HE SAID:  "It is alright to run until you drop.  After all, the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center is right across the street."


#1208.  WHO:  Isaya Okwiya
SUBJECT:  Training intensity at workouts
WHAT HE SAID:  "I always figured that if you don't feel completely dead at the end of the workout, then you might as well as not have done the workout."


#1207.  WHO:  Tony Ruiz
SUBJECT:  Taking time off
WHEN:  December 26th, 2000
WHAT HE SAID: "Periodically, people tell me, 'Tony, I took the last seven days off from running.'  That's okay to do, especially if you planned it that way.  What is not okay is when the reason that you took time off because you were too injured to run due to overtraining!"


#1206.  WHO:  Peter Allen
SUBJECT:  How he spent the couple of hours between the morning road race and the early afternoon club party
WHEN:  "I went to the museum, because I normally live in the cultural desert known as New Jersey."
COMMENT:  Next time when you hear a workout description about stopping at the Alexander Hamilton statue facing the Metropolitan Museum of Art, think about how lucky you are to live in this city ...


#1205.  WHO: Jerome O'Shaughnessy
WHEN:  December 21, 2000 road workout at which he came in shorts on a cold night
SUBJECT:  Dressing for the winter
WHAT HE SAID:  "You should always dress for thirty degrees above the actual temperature."
COMMENT:  Motion was seconded by Alan Ruben, also in shorts


#1204.  WHO: Toby Tanser
SUBJECT:  A funny thing happened on the way to Wall Street
WHEN:  Carey Wall Street Rat Race
WHAT HAPPENED: Toby Tanser was first across the finish line, but was not eligible for the awards which are given only to people judged to be wearing business attire.  Toby was wearing an orange jumpsuit from the Bergen County Jail and carrying a briefcase with the words "Inside Trader."  As the saying goes, the judges were not amused, and gave the trophy to someone else deemed to be properly attired for the occasion.
WHAT HE SAID: "I was running in the Wall St Rat Race run, in which each contestant must run in business attire. I ran in a Bergen County prison suit with a briefcase saying 'Insider trader" (ok, it was funny at the time).  So I was running past the city prison with two police motorcycles at my side and these two guys on the street thought I was running from the police and tried to wave me down some alleyway to slip away whilst shouting slanderous comments at the police ..."

#1203.  WHO:  John Scherrer
SUBJECT:  Criticism of the Central Park Track Club website content
WHAT HE SAID:  "There is not enough stuff about St. Louis."
RESPONSE:  Well, pardon us for our negligence, but here is lots of stuff about St. Louis


#1202.  WHO:  David Diviney
WHEN:  December 18, 2000
SUBJECT:  A previously unpublished race result
BACKGROUND:  Upon reading the website comment that Toby Tanser has 18 out of 41 individual total victories for the club, with still two weeks left in the year to breach the gap.
WHAT HE WROTE: "I was just looking through the club awards ceremony stuff.  Toby needs to win one more.  Proof below."
ATTACHMENT:  Rumble at the Ranch Duathlon, Yamhill, Oregon, October 15, 2000,
David Diviney, 1:39:32, 1st place overall.  That time translates to 19:54 minute per mile, which may seem slow but not if you consider the terrain (see the photo!  Good Lord!)


#1201.  WHO:  Tony Ruiz
SUBJECT:  Toby Tanser
BACKGROUND:  A month before the 2000 Annual Club Awards Party, he was handed a 130-page printout of the year's race results from which he had to select his winners.  This massive reading assignment would have been depressing, except ...
WHAT HE SAID:  "Well, when I have a runner like Toby Tanser, there is not much to think about who is going to be my most valuable runner of the year."


  Walrus Internet