NEWARK DISTANCE CLASSIC 20K FIRST ON THE LINE-UP On Sunday, March 9th distance loving runners will descend on the Rutgers Athletic Center in Newark for the Newark Distance Classic 20K. After a year when no race took place the Classic is back and once again is the 20K championship for all divisions. If you like hills, the 20K course is made for you, thanks to the never ending climb into and then back out of Branch Brook Park. If you like winding roads where you can cut tangents to run the legal shortest distance, this course is for you, thanks to the graceful park roads. If you like early starts, well, this one is really for you. That is because Daylight Savings Time now begins early, on Saturday night March 8th This means that the race start at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning will feel like 8:30 a.m., because just the day before it was in fact 8:30 a.m. |
CHANGES MADE TO THE GRAND PRIX - MORE INCLUSIVE
At the February 19th USATF-NJ Long Distance Running Committee meeting changes were made to the grand prix series that most runners should welcome. In 2008 the top three age division finishers in the New Balance Grand Prix will be removed from the two subset grand prix. This means that those who are frequent racers and who are also fast enough to win in all three of the grand prix, will now only score in the overall grand prix.
More good news for runners who like to specialize in the Mini One, and Mini Two grand prix is a relaxation of the requirements for end of the year inclusion. Previously the requirement was that a runner must complete nine races in the Mini One series, which is basically all short distance races, and seven races in the Mini Two series. In 2008 only seven of the maximum nine races need be completed for inclusion in Mini One and only five of the seven maximum races are needed to complete the Mini Two.
TEAMS WILL CONTINUE TO COUNT BEST EIGHT OUT OF NINE RACES.
A proposed change to the team grand prix failed to attract sufficient support amongst the committee members. Currently each team is credited with their best eight races out of the possible nine races in the championship series. This allows a team to drop a low race score, or to miss a race entirely and not be penalized. The defeated change would have included all of the nine championship races in the series.
JERSEY SHORE RELAY A FUN DAY AT THE BEACH
On Saturday April 19th, a field of over 300 runners will start the first leg of the Jersey Shore Relay at Seaside Heights and head up the shore to Asbury Park. Each team will consist of five runners each taking one leg of various distances. Three legs are over six miles but less than seven and the shortest leg is just a bit longer than 3 miles.
In 2000, the first year of the relay, just over 80 teams finished the race. In 2007 well over 300 teams finished. All proceeds from the relay go to the Special Olympics. For more information go to www.jerseyshorerelay.org
RIVER TO SEA IS SURE TO CLOSE EARLY
River to Sea Relay is much further off, but it is not too early to be planning for this 92 mile relay. In 2007 the maximum team number was reached well before the stated deadline and nearly a dozen teams were shut out. The registration deadline keeps moving up and this year it is June 23rd . The relay itself takes place on Saturday, August 2nd from Milford with its finish at the beach in Manasquan.
SPRING LAKE IS CLOSED
The Spring Lake Five Mile on May 24th closed on February 14th after reaching its maximum of 9,500 runners.
Originally published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, March 3, 2008
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2008
