SPECIAL NEWS!!!

Sherry Goldman won her first race ever at a West Orange, NJ 5K race on September 28, 1997 in a time of 20:37. This is particularly gratifying as she had been out for over a year, and is just coming back. No further details available yet.

FRED LEBOW CROSS-COUNTRY 5K RACE, Van Cortlandt Park, New York City (September 28th, 1997)

WOMEN

MEN

PHILADELPHIA DISTANCE RUN, Philadelphia, PA (9/28/97)

WOMEN

MEN

TEAM STANDINGS:

WooWoo! Stacy Creamer has announced that the CPTC Coed Team in the Philadelphia Distance Run placed SECOND in the race. As far as Jud Santos can remember, this was the team's highest placing since the Open Men placed 4th in 1990 (Phil "1:15" Vasquez was there) and 4th again in '93 or '94. The CPTC Men's Open Team was 7th.

***COEDS***

CENTRAL PARK TRACK CLUB PLACED 2 WITH A SCORE OF 4:14:50

JUD SANTOS, 1:17:34
THOMAS PENNELL, 1:24:11
STACY CREAMER, 1:33:05

***OPEN MEN***

CENTRAL PARK TRACK CLUB PLACED 7 WITH A SCORE OF 3:44:38

ALAN RUBEN, 1:11:48
HANK BERKOWITZ , 1:16:02
PETER ALLEN, 1:16:48

How Alan's $$$ became $0: The prize structure is as follows: $1000 for 1st master, $200 for 2nd master, $0 for 3rd master, to the chagrin of Alan Ruben.

How to get a PR written for Michael Garland

Well, first of all, I got a case of shin splints leading up to the race. So on the preceding Thursday, George had me kick a soccer ball for a couple of reservoir loops. In the middle of the night before the race, I fell out of bed and banged my head against the night table. Then I got a 'charley horse'. During the race, I went out way too fast (29:35 at five miles). The rest was history.

Self-flagellation by Jud Santos

I was pleased with my performance at Philly. Unfortunately, I was hoping to run 1:16:59 or faster, which I calculated to be "only 5:54 pace." This was a big mistake, as I redid my calculations after the race to find out why I was so far off (1:17:34) --- I needed to run 5:52's, but I ran 5:55's instead. "Shoulda, coulda, woulda..."

Here are a couple of fuzzy screen captures from the Road Race of the Month on ESPN:
Photo 1: Here is Alan Ruben, trailing Lynn Nelson (eventual third place finisher), and Libbie Hickman (eventual second place finisher). These two women, who are good friends, charged up from 7th/8th place in the late stage of the race, with Libbie Hickman using her 5K speed (PR of 15:11 at 1997 World Championship in Athens) to outsprint her friend Lynn and our friend Alan.
Photo 2: Here is another shot of Alan Ruben trailing Lynn Nelson. Being the British gent, he did not barge his way to the front of the camera. Still, we were able to catch all 5 seconds of him on this show.

MEN'S HEALTH/POLO SPORT RACE TO DELIVER 4 MILER, Central Park, New York (9/28/97)

This was a fun run at which we espied the following people: Luca Trovato, David Rotman, Roland Soong, José Rodriguez, Doug Kabbash, Bola Awofeso, Frank Schneiger ... Since this is a fun run, there were no official recorded times. The runners themselves all professed that they did not look at the clock when they finished, so we will never know.

One of the aforementioned runners wore a bright neon-orange cap during the race, which could be clearly seen from afar. When he charged out quickly at the start, his teammates held back and waited for the inevitable collapse for which he is so famous for. Unfortunately for them, he kept going and going and going this time, and his disconcerted teammates could not help but see that orange dot always ahead of them. There is now a petition to get him to wear less conspicuous colors next time to protect the public interest.

SEATTLE MARATHON, Seattle, WA (9/27/97)

YANKEE TRADER BIATHLON, Port Jefferson, NY (9/27/97)

Stephanie Gould, 31st overall (run 45:04 26th overall, transition 0:41 24th overall, bike 1:37:10.4 31st overall)

THE DONALD J. TRUMP FIFTH AVENUE MILE, New York City (9/27/97)

PHOTO ALBUM

People's Race

We saw quite a few Central Park Track Club runners in this race, including: Luca Trovato (4:54), Jeff Kisseloff (4:57), Alan Bautista (4:59:79), Fasil Yilma (5:00, debut PR --- terrific for someone who had never run anything shorter than a half marathon when he joined the club!), Joey Gonzalez (5:10), Tyronne Culpepper (5:15), Michele Tagliati (5:21), Anthony Baker, ...

All Star Mile

1 --- Peter Gambaccini, Diversion Magazine, 5:01.62

Women's Master Mile, 40-49

7 --- Mary Rosado, 47, 6:11.96

Women's Master Mile, 50-59

1 --- Sylvie Kimche, 50, 5:38.90 (race record)

Men's Master Mile, 40-49

10 --- Tom Hartshorne, 43, 4:33.22
14 --- Alan Ruben, 40, 4:35.38
22 --- Rob Jackson, 47, 4:54.11

Men's Master Mile, 50-59

5 --- Sid Howard, 58, 4:59.01
8 --- Frank Handelman, 53, 5:04.93

George Sheehan Memorial Mile 60-69

3 --- Clifford Pauling, 63, 5:41.85
11 --- Joseph Simonte, 69 , 6:56.39

P.S. Jack Brennan was also observed sprinting up and down Fifth Avenue multiple times by himself. What is going on here?

STATEN ISLAND HALF MARATHON, Staten Island, New York (9/21/97)

WOMEN, 2nd place overall

War stories:

• On the jog back to the ferry, Stacy Creamer tripped and got a nasty gash on her thigh. The cause was fatigue, not due to the race itself, but to the extended bout of disco dancing after the race.

• Sarah Gross had a cold during the week, took lots of decongestants and was therefore properly dehydrated for the race. On the ferry trip back with Stacy Creamer and Victor Osayi, she got some coffee and then said to Victor, "Can you hold this coffee for me? I think I am going to faint" and promptly did so. In her own idiosyncratic words, she was "perspiring profusely like a frightened character in a Warner Brothers cartoon." So, the moral of the lesson is "THOU SHALT HYDRATE!"

• This time, Terri Sonenclar did not trip (like she did at the Phelps Hospital 5K in 1995) nor faint (like she did at the Manhattan Half Marathon in 1997). At least, not that we know of. By now, she has completed enough Grand Prix races to qualify for that coveted commemorative patch. Please do not ask her if it was worth the effort!

MEN

What is going on here? Alan Ruben and Peter Allen running near 6:00 minute/mile pace within seconds of each other? Did they miss the ferry? Did they not bring the money to pay for the (free ) ferry ride? Were they too busy exchanging notes about bringing up baby? Guys, this is a scoring race!!!
Postscript: Alan wants to blame it on the incorrect ferry departure times published by the NYRRC. By his computation, after extrapolating from his time for the first 11.5 miles, he would have ran a time of 1:13:07.

5K FIGHT AGAINST PROSTATE CANCER, Central Park, New York (9/21/97)

This 5K charity fun run found the following non-fit (that is, for a half marathon) runners: Luca Trovato, Joey Gonzalez, Roland Soong and Cliff Pauling (in his first road race in two years). Respecting their privacy, we will not publish their race times. "My lips are sealed," said our very hypocritical webmaster.

TEATOWN 5K TRAIL RUN, Yorktown Heights, New York (9/20/97)

Rich Joseph, 3rd overall, 18:11
Tim Robinson, 5th overall, 19:02
Jack Brennan, 9th overall, 20:08

HARRY MURPHY CROSS COUNTRY 5K, Van Cortlandt Park, New York (9/14/97)

Men's team finished first, according to Jud Santos' calculations.

Postscript: After the above sentence was published, Jud wrote in: You don't have to indicate that the XC team results were "my calculations". Well, we felt that the sentence is very important, because it demonstrates that Jud has at least two things that are currently in short supply on this club:

1. the ability to count and add, since many people frequently fail to sprint for the prescribed number of lamp posts; and
2. lots of time to kill

RACE FOR THE CURE, Central Park, New York (9/14/97)

H.A.N.D.S. 5K Run, North Arlington, NJ (9/13/97)

What Rob Jackson did during the summer

• 6/14/97 - MAC Championships (St. John's University)
  800m, 2:07.5, 1st male 45-49
  400m, 54.4, 1st male 45-49

• 7/05/97 - East Coast Invitational (Roy Wilkins Park, Queens)
  400m, 54.7, 1st male 45-49

• 7/12/97 - USATF Eastern Regional Championships
  800m 2:05.25 1st male 45-49 (fastest U.S. time this year)
  400m, 55.1, 1st male 45-49

• 7/26/97 - Lamasil Reservoir 5K Run (road race, Central Park)
  2nd male 45-49, 18:32 (very hilly course; fifth scorer for CPTC team)

• 9/7/97 - Liberty Waterfront 5K (road race, Jersey City)
  7th overall, 1st master, 18:50 (ran with the leaders for 2 miles, reached in 11:20; last mile was real slow @ 6:47 up a steep hill)

NEWS TIMES CONNECTICUT CLASSIC 10K, Danbury CT (9/7/97)

Hank Berkowitz, 26th overall place, 34:53

SOS (Survival of the Shawangunks), Ulster Country, New York (9/7/97)

Julie Denney, 1st overall female, 5:03:30
Aubin Sullivan, 3rd overall female, 5:25:03

Scott Willet, 2nd overall, 4:18:25
Ross Galitsky, 10th overall, 2nd age group, 4:46:10
Thomas Pennell, 11th overall, 4:47:24
Randy Ehrlich, DNF (a doctor exercising sensible judgment)

PHOTO This is a nice picture of Aubin Sullivan (3rd overall female), Scott Willett (2nd overall male) and Julie Denney (1st overall female). Do they look happy, or what? And how can they look so happy after a 5-hour endurance race?

NEW YORK CITY MARATHON TUNE-UP 30K, Central Park, New York City (9/7/97)

WOMEN

MEN

* Not listed as Central Park Track Club.

• The men would have finished third if our fourth finisher had been scored.
• The women would have finished third too if our third finisher had been scored.

5K LABOR DAY RUN, South Plainfield, New Jersey (9/1/97)

GREAT BONAC FOOTRACE RACE, 10K, East Hampton, Long Island, New York (9/1/97)

John Kenney,3rd overall, 34:42
Charles Henry Stark, 37:02
Harriet Oster, 1st age group, 50:35

This year, they brought in a computer to score this race. Having finished only about a minute behind the overall winner, John Kenney should have collected at least an age-group trophy. But a computer snafu caused him to get ... NOTHING, leaving our hero muttering about the injustice of it all. His evil 'little' friend Charlie Stark, aiming no more than going under 6 minute/mile, was quite content, though.

LABOR DAY 5 MILE RUN, City of Long Beach, New York (9/1/97)

The City of Long Beach and holidays are good for Rachel, as she also won the Long Beach 5K on Memorial Day this year.

HENRY ISOLA 4 MILE CROSS COUNTRY RACE, Van Cortlandt Park, New York (8/31/97)

WOMAN

MEN

Jud Santos files the following report from Nashville:

"Congratulations [ to Rachel] on another cup of blood! I am writing you from Nashville, TN; I'm here for work this week. I just got here this afternoon. What a place! My hotel (Opryland) has 2883 rooms! (http://www.country.com/usa/hotel/hotel-f.html) They are really taking care of me here: Everything paid for (well OK, "only" 3 meals a day), etc. I like this...

Cross-country was good. 23:35 for 4 miles (though 2 years ago I ran 22:49) with 2 passes up that half-mile monster, Cemetery Hill. I think the Central Park Track Club was the only club that had a team: me (Jud Santos), then Anthony Watson, Salih Talib, Jeff Kisseloff (unless he dropped out?), Edwin Fajardo, Jonathan Federman, Joe Simonte. Sylvie Kimché won her age group and I think was 4th (or 5th) overall."

Jeff Kisseloff responds: "First, the New York Road Runners Club says that I didn't register as a CPTC member, costing us some team points. Now Jud says I dropped out of the cross country race. Next, they'll be saying that I didn't help Lady Di. Anyway, tell Jud I was there huffing and puffing at the end in 26:45. I admit it was slow, but I did finish." Let the truth be known!

(note: the webmaster does not vouch for the accuracy of these reports, which contain finishers not listed in the official records as well as inaccurate times.)

Jud Santos (9/8/97) added: "I have determined that only CPTC and Millrose had teams at the Isola 4M XC race. CPTC beat Millrose 176-194. In addition, Salih was definitely there. I don't know why he is not listed. Maybe he dropped out? But I'm almost sure I saw him finish! Did he not register at all? Was the $3.00 entry fee too steep? Were the awards (medals) too small? Hmmm..."

TRY THE DU - DO THE TRI, Cherry Hill, New Jersey (8/30/97)

Randall Ehrlich, 14th overall, 4th age group, 1:09:53

ELLEN'S RUN, 5K, East Hampton, Long Island, NY (8/24/97)

John Kenney, 2nd overall, 16:12
Diana Fitzpatrick-Nelson, 1st female, 8th overall, 17:48 ($500 DKNY certificate!)
Harriet Oster, 2nd female 50-54, time??

NEW ENGLAND TRIATHLON FESTIVAL, Swim 1.0 Mi./Cycle 22 Mi./Run 6 Mi., Sunapee Lake, New Hampshire (8/23/97)

Scott Willet, 9th overall male, 1st Male 35-39
Ross Galitsky, 83rd overall male, 15th Male 35-39
Thomas Pennell, 107th overall male, 31st Male 30-35

Stephanie Gould, 6th overall female, 3rd Female 30-34
Julie Denney, 25th overall female, 10th Female 30-34
Aubin Sullivan, 47th overall female, 13th Female 25-29

Note: On the basis of his performance, Scott Willett has qualified for the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in October. Now all he needs is a rich heiress to pay for his air fare/hotel.

USA TRIATHLON NATIONAL AGE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIP, Columbia, MD (8/17/97) (1.5K swim, Bike 41K, Run 10K)

Michael Trunkes, age 35, 83 overall, 19th age group, 2:07:59

CENTRAL PARK TRIATHLON, Central Park, New York City (8/17/97) (Quartermile swim (in Lasker pool), 12 mile bike ride, 5 mile run)

Ramon Bermo, 16th overall, 2nd age group
Stacy Creamer, 2nd overall
Roger Finney, 3rd age group

This was Ramon's first try at this race, and he enjoyed it thoroughly. He is inspired enough to start talking about going to the Ironman Triathlon. Well, that one is a bit longer, you know.

This is the only triathlon that Stacy does all year, and she has placed well over the last several years. But this year was special for her, because her mate Roger won hardware for the first time since Stacy has known him. Roger insists that there were only three people in his age group, but that is a lie! The fact that the plaque is still enshrined on their dining room table is a tell-tale sign that Roger is actually quite pleased with his accomplishment! And wait till he reads this page on the World Wide Web!

1997 POWER GEL USAT NATIONAL AGE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIP, Columbia, MD (Swim 1.5K - Bike 40K - Run 10K) August 17,1997

Stefani Jackenthal, 30th overall female, 13th female 30-34, 2:19:24
Stephanie Gould, 78th overall female, 24th female 30-34, 2:25:34

AMELIA'S COTTAGE 2 MILER, Amagansett, Long Island, NY (8/10/97)

John Kenney, 1st overall, 10:30
Diana Fitzpatrick-Nelson, 1st female, 4th overall, 11:11
Tim Fitzpatrick, 6th overall, 11:37
Harriet Oster, 1st female 50-59, 16:16

ROOSEVELT ISLAND 10K, NEW YORK CITY (8/10/97)

WOMEN, 3rd place Open team (note: the first place team APTC is a Division B team; this means that CPTC finished 2nd among Division A teams, and this moves them into 2nd place in the current team standings)

Once again, the women were led by Rachel Latessa. For once, the Irene Jackson/Sylvie Kimché running machine was not out there to continue the undefeated Women 50-54 string.

(P.S. Rachel also got mentioned in Eddie Coyle's Daily News column for finishing 4 seconds behind 40-year-old Kari Proffit. Hey, how about something positive, Eddie?)

*****

MEN (6th overall Open team; since three of the teams ahead of us are not in Division A, this means that we were the third place Open Division A team in this race and this leaves us in fourth place in the current team standings).

Hmmm, let us see now .... Alan Ruben led the team again (yawn) ... Casey Yamazaki beat Jud Santos again (yawn) ... Max Schindler and Joe Simonte finished 1-2 in Men 65-69 age group (wow!).

*****

TO: Tyronne Culpepper
FROM: All his friends

Yo, Tyronne, listen up, man! Please do us (including yourself) all a favor --- just stay in bed next weekend. You are overdoing this racing thing. Don't go and try a 30 mile training run, either. Okay?

*****

To all my Friends,

I will attempt to heed your advice, but I figure why go only 10 miles when you can go 30? Push the envelope!!! I think it's what all of us need to do. Pay no attention to your body, just do it!!!! See ya on the road!! I'm going for the gold!!!

Tyronne (SuperRunner) Culpepper

*****

Okay, Tyronne, we will reserve a bed for you at the Bellevue.

1997 USATF National Masters Outdoor Championship, San Jose City College, San Jose, California (8/7/97-8/10/97)

200 Meters (Men 35-39)

• Ray Blackwell, 5th overall, 23.35

400 Meters (Men 35-39)

• Sal Allah, 1st overall, 49.67 seconds
• Ray Blackwell, 2nd overall, 49.68 seconds

400 Meters (Men 45-49)

• Ed Gonera, 2nd overall, 52.10

800 Meters (Men 35-39)

• Sal Allah, 1st overall, 1:58.00
• Anselm LeBourne, 2nd overall, 1:58.62
• Tony Ruiz, 4th overall, 2:01.61

1500 Meters (Men 35-39)

• Tony Ruiz, 3rd overall, 4 minutes 10.78 seconds

***** Notes from the battlefield *****

• In the 400m race, Sal and Ray were actually behind, but through an act of willpower on the part of spectator Tony Ruiz (or so he says), the leader wilted and our guys outleaned him, with the top three finishers begin separated by only 0.03 seconds. Never underestimate the contribution of one's teammates, nor the effectiveness of psychic power!
• In the 1500m race, Tony Ruiz was actually leading with 20 meters to go but was outkicked by two guys. Maybe his teammates did not will hard enough! Actually, Tony said that he was very happy with his performance given that he had done only one serious track workout to prepare for this meet, to the obvious disgust of Frank Schiro.
• The race times were disappointing as everyone had been running a lot faster, but were actually quite good considering the presence of strong winds throughout this meet.

LITE BEER SUMMER SERIES 5K, Belmont Lake State Park - Long Island, NY (8/4/97)

ALLENTOWN TRIATHLON, Allentown, PA (8/3/97)

Stephanie Gould, 96th place, 4:49:44 (1.2 mile swim 31:32, 56 mile bike 2:43:34, 12 mile run 1:34:38)

THURSDAY'S CHILD RUN/WALK, Amagansett, Long Island, NY (8/3/97)

Bonny Rozzo finished fourth female overall with a time of 18:56 in this 5K race, which is an AIDS benefit event. She wore her CPTC uniform for the race, which gave her the chance to meet for the first time two CPTC greats also at the race: 1990 CPTC MVP Woman Diana Nelson-Fitzpatrick and 1986 CPTC MVP Vet Woman Harriet Oster.

GREAT HUDSON RIVER SWIM, 1 mile ocean swim, New York City, NY (8/3/97)

MANHATTAN (née Hispanic) HALF MARATHON, Central Park, New York City, 13.1 miles (8/3/97)

This was a typical August day in New York City --- hot and humid, leading to many stories of courage and stupidity. Our teams did not place, but we are just as happy that nobody was in serious trouble. Having non-racing teammates around also helped those in trouble (see stories below).

WOMEN

• If you told Terri Sonenclar that she led the women's team in this race, she probably would not know it. She was completely exhausted at the finish, and had trouble breathing. Teammate Bola Awofeso picked her up and carried her to the stretcher for ice and water. Her first mistake was to follow an unnamed teammate (who would DNF later) out too quickly. After that, the only thing that made her finish the race was the lure of the commemorative patch given to people who complete at least four races in the NYRRC Half Marathon Grand Prix Series.
• Other runners ran conservatively and sensibly, including newcomer Audrey Kingsley and veteran Irene Jackson (Hey, yet another age-group victory for Irene!)

MEN

• This race carried cash prizes! By finishing first Male Master, Alan Ruben took home US$150 (pre-tax, social security number required for receipt) to buy diapers for his newborn son Joey. Was it worth the effort, Alan? "NO!" he said, with emphasis.
• Jeff Kisseloff was entering unknown territory with this race, as he had not done anything over 8 miles in the last 3 years. He was therefore delighted with his time, even though he was not sure how he did it.
• Given the conditions, most of the people ran sensibly and conservatively. Thus, we see Victor Osayi coming in under 1:30 as planned and Sam Li coming in under 7:00 min/mile pace as planned.
• More interesting are the runners not listed above. Bola Awofeso started the race, and quickly decided that the conditions were too brutal to do anything serious. Roland Soong DNF'd as usual --- he entered this race precisely because it was easy to do that on this course --- and was joined by that other DNF specialist, Karel Matousek.
• But the most glorious blow-up belonged to Tyronne Culpepper. To accomplish this, he had to do just about everything wrong. He had been bothered by a mysterious virus for a couple of weeks. He had not eaten before the race and was low on energy. He started out like a rocket and so paid dearly for it. According to him, the experience was like driving a car with the gas tank going empty, watching the speedometer drop from 55mph to 0mph and then ... nothing. Teammates who passed him were awestruck. "Did you see Tyronne? He was turning red!" Non-racing teammate Aubin Sullivan tried to revive him by deluging him with multiple cups of water at a water station. As you know Tyronne, the man kept his smile on throughout the whole ordeal. This one goes down the history book along with Sherry Goldman's famous 5K blowup two years ago ("When you hear the name Sherry Goldman, what comes to mind immediately?").

EMPIRE STATE GAMES, Albany, NY (8/1/97-8/2/97)

WESTCHESTER SUMMER TWILIGHT TRACK & FIELD SERIES, Depew Park, Peekskill, NY (7/29/97) (reported by Mike Garland)

On Tuesday (7/29), Rich Joseph ran the 800m in 1:59.9. This was the breakthrough that he was looking for, as he has been hovering right around 2:0? the last few months.

12th WORLD VETERANS' ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Durban, South Africa (contributed by: Rachel Latessa, Tony Ruiz, Jud Santos, Frank Schiro, Roland Soong)

• Ed Gonera won the Preliminary Heat of the Men 45-49 100m in 11.40; he won the Semi-Final in a time of 11.42; he won the Final in a time of 11.35. This makes Ed Gonera our second world champion, following Cliff Pauling who won the 800m title at the 1990 games in Finland.

• Ed Gonera finished 4th in the Preliminary Heat of the Men 45-49 200m in 23.56; he finished 4th in the Final in a time of 23.08.

• Alex Constantinou finished 17th in the Preliminary Heat of the Men 45-49 200m in 25.12.

• Jim Aneshansley finished 9th in the Preliminary Heat of the Men 60-64 800m in 2:32.9.

• Sid Howard finished 10th in the Preliminary Heat of the Men 55-59 800m (no time given); in the Semi-Final, he finished 4th in 2:13 to advance to the final. In the Final, he finished 4th in a time of 2:14.

• Sylvie Kimché finished 8th in the Preliminary Heat of the Women 50-54 800m (no time given) to advance. In the Final, she finished 5th in 2:40.59.

• Ed Gonera finished 2nd in the Preliminary Heat of the Men 45-49 400m in 54.03 to advance. In the Semi-Final, he finished first in a time of 51.55. In the Final, he finished 4th in a time of 52.63.

• Alex Constantinou finished 18th in the Preliminary Heat of the Men 45-49 400m in 55.92 to advance. In the Semi-Final, he finished 17th in a time of 56.25.

• Jim Aneshansley entered but did not finish the Men 60-64 1500m.

• Sylvie Kimché finished 6th in the Preliminary Heat of the Women 50-54 1500m in 5:29.8. In the Final, she finished 6th in a time of 5:25.6.

• Sid Howard finished 7th in the Semi-Final in a time of 4:40.4. He finished 5th in the Final of the Men 55-59 1500m in 4:35.2.

• Ed Gonera anchored the USA team to finish first in the Men 45-49 4x100m relay in a time of 45.14.

• Alex Constantinou and Ed Gonera ran on the USA team that finished 2nd in the Men 45-49 4x400m relay in a time of 3:33.5.

• A report on the team was filed by the Eddie Coyle in the Daily News on June 25, 1997. Eddie's clichés are reprinted here for your enlightenment. Support your hometown newspaper!.

LAMASIL RESERVOIR RUN, Central Park, New York, NY (7/26/97) (results compiled by RS)

Some special treats were provided for race participants. For one thing, the race course must have been designed to favor people who wear polka dot jerseys (and to the dismay of people who train primarily on indoor tracks) as this is the hilliest possible route in Central Park, guaranteed to be a PR race ... NOT! But before people could start running, they were forced to listen to the sponsor describe and lecture them about the smelly fungi, scaly calluses, broken toe tails and other ugly stuff on their feet. Then people saw ex-New York Giant linebacker Harry Carson kick a football into the air, which triggered a false start that was called back.

The Men's team, led by John ("Gazelle Boy") Kenney, was unaffected by all those distractions and finished handily in first place. Special commendations should go to our fifth scorer Rob Jackson, better known to us for his track sprinting.

MEN

WOMEN

(Note: One more body needed to make a team)

CORPORATE CHALLENGE RACE, 3.5 MILES, Central Park, NY (7/24/97) (reported by Tyronne Culpepper/Harry Morales/Jud Santos)

Bonny Rozzo won the Third Corporate Challenge Race in a time of 21:30. Unlike Alan Bautista when he won last time's "B" race with no witnesses to speak of, Bonny had many, many cheering witnesses (with umbrellas and raincoats) and was also interviewed by that esteemed New York Daily News reporter, Eddie Coyle.

According to Bonny, it was only drizzling at first, but after 1.5 miles into the race, the sky really fell. It was raining so hard and it was so windy that she wasn't aware that anyone was near her. Top runner Tina Ramos got to within 2 seconds of her by the finish line, but Bonny didn't even know that until Eddie Coyle told her!

The Central Park Track Club team was training along the race route. When they saw Bonny flew by, they started screaming for her. But she was so intensely focussed that she probably saw and heard nothing. That is the way to go!

Here is the story as published by Eddie Coyle on July 29, 1997, just so you can read more of his clichés. Sorry about the grainy scan --- it is the quality of the paper, okay? You may be puzzled by the fact that Mr. Coyle identified a certain Bonnie Russo as the winner. This is in fact our Bonny Rozzo. A 'correction' on August 1 identifies her properly as 'Bonny Rozzo, a lawyer with the firm of Gordon & Altman.'

It is ironic that this correction contains yet another error. The full name of Bonny's firm is Gordon Altman Butowsky Wietzen Shalov & Wein, which is too long to list. On the NYRRC results page, the name is truncated to Gordon Altman Butowsky. When Eddie asked Bonny the name of her firm, she said "Gordon Altman" to make it easier. The insertion of the "&" between Gordon and Altman is an error.

On August 17th, 1997, Mark McLaughlin wrote a paragraph about Bonny's win in his New York Post running column. Why print something about a race that took place more than three weeks ago? Well, in this competitive business, you take every opportunity to take a dig at others' errors. That is why it was spelled out that Bonny Rozzo (of Gordon Altman) --- not Bonnie Russo (of Gordon & Altman) --- won the race. Unless you know the background, the correction is incomprehensible. Another clue is that the male winner is not mentioned at all!

Also present at the Men's Race was Tyronne Culpepper, who filed this report: "After being pretty much out of it for a week, missing the Club Team Championship, with this mysterious virus, I felt well enough to do one for my company. I cruised to a 21:15 finish. Afterwards, the search for shelter was on!!!" We hope his company appreciates the effort!

PROSPECT PARK 5K SUMMER SERIES (7/23/97) (reported by Sam Li)

Tony Ruiz, 4th place overall with a time around 16:50, in the afterglow of being the captain of the winning softball team. This was a very satisfying race for Tony, who has been bothered by an assortment of minor problems recently.

LITE BEER SUMMER SERIES 5K, HEMPSTEAD LAKE, Long Island, NY (7/21/97) (result located by Jud Santos)

AIR FORCE SERGEANTS TRIATHLON, New Windsor, NY; Swim 800m, Bike 18.6 mile, Run 3.1 miles (7/20/97) (reported by Ross Galitsky)

Scott Willett, overall male winner, 1:17:34

Aubin Sullivan, overall female winner, 1:24:12

Ross Galitsky, third overall and 1st age group, 1:35:19

CENTRAL PARK TRACK CLUB ANNUAL SOFTBALL GAME (7/20/97) (based upon the observations of Roland Soong, more or less accurately, in a beer-soaked haze)

(Note: As you might have noticed, we frequently report results for bicycle and swim races. But this is the first time that we reported on a softball game. We promise that we will not make this a habit.)

By tradition, we hold a softball game each year after the club championship race. In the past, the game was an intra-team affair. This year, we were challenged by our in-town rival, the New York Flyers. To give us every possible advantage, our team manager Richard Kixmiller procured a playing field in a remote corner of Central Park. Since most of the Flyers could not find the place on time, we declared ourselves the technical winner by default.

Instead, a pickup game was organized with team captains Tony Ruiz and Bob Sonenclar (wait a minute! the man is not a member of any team! his sole qualifications are that he is the husband of CPTC'er Terri Sonenclar and the father of future (in about twenty years) CPTC great Russell) choosing players from the riffraff that bothered to show up. We knew the fix was on when Tony appointed his uncle Julio as the umpire. In fact, according to someone who actually followed the scoring, Tony's team won by a final score of 8-7. For the record, the winning pitcher was Harry Nasse ("What? He is still alive?" some unnamed person was heard to exclaim) and the losing pitcher was Karel Matousek. In spite of the fact that 15 runs were scored, it was not clear if anyone had any RBI's, since every run seemed to be scored on multiple fielding errors of all manners.

All in all, everybody (namely, Central Park Track Club members, New York Flyers, friends, mates, children, relatives, pets, photographers, etc) had a good time on a day with perfect weather.

(Who were the photographers? The official self-appointed photographer and the self-appointed official photographer. Please note that they are two different people with different missions and functions.)

CLUB TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, 5 MILER, Central Park, NY (7/20/97) (results compiled by RS)

WOMEN

Open Women's Team: 5th place overall
Master Women's Team: 2nd place

The highest placing was achieved by the Masters Women's Team of Sarah Gross (PR by over 2 minute), Terri Sonenclar and Irene Jackson (also first Woman 50+).

MEN

Open Men's Team: 5th Place Overall
Masters Men's Team: 5th Place Overall
Senior Masters Men's Team: 11th Place Overall

In spite of the excitement of becoming a new father the day before and getting tripped at the start of this race, Alan Ruben still led the team. Also noteworthy is the appearance by Sheldon Karlin, former winner of New York City Marathon, as the fifth scoring Master runner.

But the true miracle is the double appearance of Michael Rosenthal in the NYRRC race result list (309th place AND 397th place!). That man is everywhere! And he even said that he wanted to run the 930am race (the Not the Club Team Championship race) as well.

Special commendations go to Josh Vendig, who was all over the course on his bike, cheering his teammates on.

Missing in action was Geoff Buchan, who used the fact that he was getting married to Dawn Sedgewick on the day before as an excuse. The nerve of him!

NOT THE CLUB TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, 5 MILER, Central Park, NY (7/20/97) (results compiled by RS)

LITE BEER SUMMER SERIES, ROBERT MOSES STATE PARK, One Mile, Long Island, NY (7/14/97)

BOILERMAKER 15K, Utica, NY (7/13/97) (results reported by Jud Santos)

HI-TEC RACING ADVENTURE SERIES # 1: July 13, 1997, Riverside Park, Hartford, CT

Randall Ehrlich and Katie Faunce on Team Flamino, 8th place

GREAT CATSKILLS HALF-IRONMAN TRIATHLON Kingston, Ulster County, NY (7/13/97) (results reported by Ross Galitsky)

A bunch of CPTC affiliates did this race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) under brutally hot conditions. The usual suspects were present: Aubin Sullivan, Julie Denney (5th woman overall), Ross Galitsky, Scott Willett and Thomas Pennell and the usual symptoms were reported: cramps, dehydration, gastro-intestinal discomfort ...

BRONX HALF MARATHON, Bronx, NY (7/13/97)

Women

Men

Note: Neither men nor wom(e)an teams placed, but we are pleasantly astonished by the appearance of Hugh Sweeny as a Central Park Track Club member!

1997 USATF Open East Region Track & Field Championships, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ - Sat 07/12/97

1500m, Anselm Labourne, 4:20.46

TAVERN ON THE GREEN BREAKFAST RUN Central Park, New York City (7/9/97) (information supplied by the early birds, Stacy Creamer and Sarah Gross)

The following people were spotted at 6am in the morning running various distances (2miles/4miles/6miles) for the privilege of eating an expensive breakfast.

Randall Ehrlich (2nd overall in the 6 mile race)
Audrey Kingsley
Luca Trovato

21st ANNUAL ADIRONACK DISTANCE RUN, (10 Miles) NEW YORK (7/6/97) (report from Bill Engeler)

Bill Engeler, 86th overall, 6th age group, in 1:08: 55

Bill would like all of you to know that he has not been sitting on his butt. On the July 4th long weekend, he ran this 10 miler from Lake George Village to Bolton Landing. Although the course was rather hilly, the weather was perfect, the scenery was bucolic and he had a great time.

GREAT AMERICAN WEEKEND 10K, GOSHEN, NY (7/5/97) (result forwarded by Jud Santos)

Rachel Latessa won this race in 38:41. This is the third win of this fabulous year for her!

21st ANNUAL BRIDGTON 4 ON THE 4TH ROAD RACE, Bridgton, ME (7/4/97)

CONCORD RECREATIONAL DEPARTMENT MINUTE MAN CLASSIC, 5 MILE RACE, Concord, Massachusetts (7/4/97)

THE FABULOUS FOURTH OF JULY 4K RUN, LONG BEACH, NY (7/4/97) (results compiled by RS)

Hmm, a 4K race? Let me guess. A personal best for Larry at the distance!?

Our original result page has grown so large that we are putting the Race Results during the Second Quarter of 1997 on a separate page. These lengthy pages are made possible by all the people participating in races AND, just as importantly, letting us know about how they did.