MORRIS COUNTY STRIDERS GO WAY BACK On any Sunday morning, the cars begin to arrive in the vacant parking lot off Morris Avenue in Rockaway, just off Green Pond Road. Shedding their winter jackets for running jackets and most wearing tights to ward off the cold, the men and women of the Morris County Striders gather for their group run. At nine o’clock they head out for with faster runners taking the lead while slower ones drop in behind. When the running craze began back in the late 1970’s a group of runners would meet each weekend at the Randolph High School and go out for a run. From that nucleus the Morris County Striders running club was formed. Only the location of the group run has changed, from Randolph to Rockaway. In the winter the group starts at 9:00 a.m. and will continue to do so until the Sunday after Memorial weekend. “We start at 8:30 a.m. in the summer, and then go back to nine the Sunday after the New York City Marathon,” said Steve Austin of Long Valley, who is the contact person for all the club’s runs. |
A Wednesday evening run was initiated a few years ago and may attract even more members than on Sunday, especially when racing season starts. Originally held at Picatinny Arsenal, after 9/11 the club was forced to find another location for their mid week run, and for a time ran in Mountain Lakes along the Boulevard. Recently the arsenal was able to ease their security restrictions and the club came back. It is a favored location due to good lighting after dark and the almost total lack of traffic at the arsenal.
Runner who wish to run with the group at Picatinny do need to be added to the arsenals list of approved visitors, which can be done by contacting Austin at badknees@verizon.net. Austin is quick to invite non-members to run with the group.
“If someone is thinking of running with us, they do not have to join the club,” said Austin. “They can join at a later date if they want to. If somebody is just getting into running, we will match them up with someone who can run their pace, if possible.”
Austin remembers when he was first starting out running. He credits the club for teaching him how to run and race. But even more important he says are the friendships.
“It’s kind of my life now,” said Austin. “All my best friends are runners. This is where I met everybody.”
Club president, Pam Fales of Boonton credits the club with her transition back into running after a years layoff when she moved to New Jersey in 2000. After her self imposed layoff she was anxious to find running partners. The Striders were a perfect match.
“Because the club was there and met twice a week, I ran those times,” said Fales. “If I was in town I was at those runs because I wanted the company to get out there and run. Even if I was behind everybody, and I was for awhile, at least I was there and it got me running, and I needed that. That’s what the club is. They got me back into running.”
Successful clubs not only host group runs, but they also put on a formal race, or races. For the Striders that is their summer series that first began in 1996. They were held at Picatinny Arsenal and had begun to attract a large following of runners who enjoyed the vehicle-free road course, the low cost, no-frills aspect along with pizza and beer after the race, and what was turning out to be some pretty sharp competition.
9/11 changed all that. In 2002, the club did not put on the series as no home for it could be found. In 2003 the club found a temporary home at Sunrise Lake in Lewis Morris Park and in 2005 they moved to Johanson Field in Boonton Township and utilized a cross country course.
According to Ken Baker of Towaco, who along with his wife Nancy has been directing the series since 1999, the turnouts have picked up. Baker noted there is a high proportion of young runners, which was always a goal for the club.
“It’s always been a good way for young runners to get a chance to run,” said Baker. “Typically, over forty percent of the runners are under age twenty. That’s a much higher proportion than you would find at other races.”
A third element of a good running club is racing, and what better way than racing with teammates from your club. Men’s team captain, Charlie Castiglioni, 49, of Lake Hopatcong has been running and racing since his high school days.
“There’s a lot of times when individually you’re not going to place or win a medal or trophy,” said Castiglioni. “But if you are part of a team you’ll get some hardware because the team will place. A lot of times you can’t accomplish something significant individually, but you can do it as part of a team.”
“For me, I’m not going to set pr’s or anything,” he said. “But I like the idea that just by running on the team I can help the Striders do the best that we can do.”
The Striders have placed second in the USATF-NJ overall club grand prix for nearly all of the years in the competition, except for one glorious year in 2005 when they outscored their rivals, the Raritan Valley Road Runners. Who knows, maybe this year will be the one when they do it again.
Originally published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, February 3, 2008
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2008
