happy 2014 winter solstice :D

happy winter solstice!

winter officially arrived tonight at 6:03 pm (eastern time) - the shortest day, longest night of the year.  the best part of the solstice is that the days start getting longer again (until summer, when the process reverses itself)!  since winter arrived early this year, the cold weather isn't much of a surprise.  both of my runs this weekend were sub-freezing - with the temperature unpleasantly stuck at 30 degrees each morning.  it's hard to believe we have another couple of months of frigid temperatures looming ahead.  still, on a positive note, each day brings with it a little more daylight :D

auction of "joan anderson" letter canceled as result of claims by kerouac and cassady estates

in a predictable turn of events, following the assertion of claims by the estates of jack kerouac and neal cassady over ownership of the letter and contents thereof, respectively, the auction of the "joan anderson" letter scheduled for december 17 has been canceled (or indefinitely postponed).  shortly after news that the letter was miraculously found - and would be auctioned off - the kerouac estate claimed ownership of the letter and sought "an agreeable split of the proceeds."  with no agreement reached (estimates of the letter's value ranged from $300-500,000), the auction house, "profiles in history," canceled the auction and announced that it would institute legal proceedings to judicially resolve the various ownership claims to the letter.

stay tuned as the saga of the "joan anderson" letter continues to unfold.

2014 ted corbitt 15k: race photos & results

 

when nyrr races start up at 102nd street i typically get off the metro north at 125th and take the local down to 103rd street.  this morning there was a huge crowd of runners walking over from the train station to the park for the ted corbitt 15k.  i thought there would be a record turnout (at least 5000 or so) for the race but was surprised to see that just under 4500 runners finished!

be that as it may, i had a great run - finishing in 1:12:21 - a solid 6+ minutes faster than the pete mcardle 15k last month (even if that was a xc course).  given my low mileage over the last couple of months, this was a pretty solid run. if it wasn't for one 8 minute mile (the 2nd climb up cat hill), would easily have come in under 1:12 :D

but the best part of the morning was the post-race brunch at the rambling house with my fellow taconic road runners!  nothing beats rehydration with friends.  in a funny brunch twist, after the pete mcardle 15k, i was invited over the van cortlandt park track club's post race brunch.  maybe a new post-15k trend?!

here are the race results from nyrr

 

 

 

 

here are the rest of my photos, up on facebook.

2014 ted corbitt 15k packet pick-up

headed over to the nyrr this afternoon, to pick up my bib and shirt for the ted corbitt 15k. seemed like a long time since i was there (early october) since this will be my nyrr 3rd race since the staten island half (nycm and pete mcardle 15k).  one thing i noticed at the shirt distribution was the option for a large (clear) bag instead of the typical, less than large size, bag.  that will be very helpful since it will need to hold my jacket - in addition to the dry clothes that i usually take to baggage check.

this will be my 12th nyrr race of 2014 - 11 of which counted toward the 9+1 for the 2015 nycm.  it's also the last club points race of the year.  as such, my taconic rr club members and i will probably head over to the rambling house for brunch - and rehydration :D

as always, if you're at this one - say hello!

2014 taconic road runners xc relay: race photos & results

it was chilly, but the sun was out this morning for the cross country relays!  after all the rain and grey skies of the last couple of days, it was great running weather - and resulted in a great turnout.  the temperature was more season appropriate than the mini-heat wave we had for the 2013 edition.

for the second year in a row the two relays went off at the same time (in contrast to holding the 3 person xc relays on saturday and the couples relay on sunday - with the club's holiday party on saturday night).  while i prefer the old couples relay course - this variation is also fun.
 
as for the relay, emmy and i teamed up again and we took 3rd place overall this year!  that was fun - but the pancake breakfast was pretty good too.  i actually skipped the pancakes and opted for just bacon and beer - a new breakfast of champions :O

here are the relay results from taconic road runners.

 

 

 

the rest of my pictures are up on facebook.

estates of jack kerouac and neal cassady assert claims to "joan anderson" letter

it didn't take long - less than a week actually - since the discovery of the long considered lost "joan anderson" letter was found, before the estates of jack kerouac and neal cassady asserted claims to it.  the sfgate reported on thursday that representatives from the respective estates have made demands for a portion of the proceeds from the upcoming action of the letter.  in particular, if a settlement isn't reached, the Kerouac estate may seek to have the auction - currently scheduled for december 17 - put on hold.  the estate is actually asking for the return of the letter.

as a general rule, with respect to letters, courts have held that the actual document - the letter itself - is the property of the recipient.  the contents, on the other hand - the intellectual property rights to the material - remain the property of the sender.  whether the passage of time may effect that initial determination would ultimately be decided by the courts.

whether the contents of the letter can be published is a separate inquiry from the initial question of ownership.  the estate of neal cassady would generally have to consent to the publication of the letter.  whether the passage of time altered that result, once again would be a question for the courts.  a portion of the letter was originally published in cassady's book "the first third."

stay tuned for more news on the fate of the "joan anderson" letter!

december 2014 race schedule

hard to believe december has arrived and another race year comes to a close!  this month race scheduled is populated with familiar races.  it kicks off with the jingle bell jog - a hilly 3 miler - in greenwich this weekend.  then it's a series of tough choices given all the great races out there.

the following weekend is the ted corbitt 15k - which, in the past, often conflicted with the norfolk pub 10 miler.  this year it's the same weekend as the roxbury marathon.  a tough choice, but will probably run the 15k in central park.

next up is the norfolk pub 10 miler.  it's one of my all-time favorite events - and this year it's on the same weekend as the bus fat ass trail mix-up 50k in queens.  in the old days i wouldn't have any problems doing these two events back to back :D  but now i may opt for the holiday run for toys 5k in fairfield the next morning.

on the final weekend of the year, may try to get in one last race - 1st night Danbury 5k.  or, may go for something new (for me) - the Nyack snowflake 5k.

here's how it looks so far:

12/7 - jingle bell jog, 3m
12/13 - ted corbitt 15k
12/20 - norfolk pub 10 miler
12/21 - holiday run for toys 5k
12/28 - nyack snowflake 5k

as always, if you're at any of these races - say hello!