"need for speed relay" stopped in progress because of extreme heat!!

was i in westchester or chicago?? all of a sudden it was "deja vu all over again!" i stood there at exchange point 8 with my daughter, katie, and listened incredulously as race officials suddenly announced the need for speed relay was cancelled! within minutes emmy finished the 7th leg and, instead of handing over the baton to me, turned it in to the scorekeepers. it was brutally hot - 92 degrees when i left my house and ran the 9/10th's of a mile to village hall, the exchange site. but was that reason enough to cancel the race?

i was speechless, angry, frustrated, disappointed - pick your own adjective. the situation was worsened by the less than truthful explanations initially proffered. the cancellation was blamed on the threat of thunderstorms, and lightning in particular, we were told! later, the official explanation was found in a press release:

"Due to the heat, the race was terminated early at the recommendation of local health authorities, but numerous teams were already in the final stretch of the 9-leg, 50-mile course, and many racers successfully crossed the finish line. . . ."

the difference between my chicago marathon experience and this one: i had just finished the marathon when it was cancelled - i hadn't even begun my leg of the relay when this event was stopped cold (excuse the pun).


emmy, heading into the exchange.

running conditions were horrendous. our team, "trying to catch the wind," was about an hour behind our projected schedule.


emmy and katie

after the cancellation katie and i ran home together. pat drove emmy back to her car in white plains. we had thought about heading down to new roc city for the post-relay party, but upon reflection, i really didn't have much to celebrate.


exchange site - just before the relay was stopped

apologies in advance for the downbeat tone of this post. in retrospect, the only thing worth cheering about is the money raised to help children of domestic violence. the good work those contributions can accomplish, in and of itself made it all worthwhile!

for more upbeat coverage:
check out emmy's brief race report and photos.
check out anthony's race report and photos.
check out nyflygirl's race report and photos (with links to some of her teammates' race reports as well).

here are the official results (including breakdown by individual legs).

sue's new york mini 10k race report: guest post

i am very happy to post my friend sue's new york mini 10k race report! not only do we occasionally run the same races, but our kids attend the same middle school - and sometimes they even run the same local races! sue is a member of moving comfort. even with tough weather conditions saturday, she finished 2nd in her age group!
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I am now all fully recouped from yesterday's sweatfest of a mini marathon. I have missed only a few minis in the past 15 years and the weather does tend to be hot, but this one topped them all. For me a 10K is a long race and I don't usually do back to back weekends, unlike my impressive ultra friends! However, this mini was my 4th race in a series, beginning with the Healthy Kidney 10K, the Martha's Vineyard 5K, the Japan Day 4 miler and finally the hot, humid mini. I knew I was in for it when I got in the car in Scarsdale at 7:20, felt the humidity and headed south!

One of the best things about the mini is the local elite teams get to line up in back of the professional women so we saw the best of the bunch. It is very hard not to go out too fast as the first mile is on Central Park West and you are tempted to fly out fast although the elite women rapidly fade from sight. My first mile was around 6:37, far off my projected 7 to 7:10 pace if the heat didn't get too bad, 7:20s at best if it got unbearable. By mile 2 I had picked up some seconds and by the 5K mark was closer to target pace, thanks to the great hills. My ultra friend Emmy had commented on the air quality and difficulty breathing which I would say was the major issue in that heat- the air got oppressive after mile 3.

I found the second half a challenge and noticed superior runners stopping or dropping back and knew the heat was intense. I know the website says 70s for the heat and humidity but I am sure that by mile 2 it was in the 80s for both. I did get something of a second wind in the last mile but was an exhausted, drenched soul by the time I heard Frank cheering and crossed the mat in 43:45 at a 7:05 pace.

The award ceremony was great. Mary W. called up the top 10 and also introduced Kathryn Martin who at 56, despite being too sick to speak into the mike, ran a 40 minute pace! I was thrilled to place 2nd 50s behind the speedy Sharon Vos and learned my team placed 2nd masters and 1st Vets. So the heat fest was worth it and I walked home with my signature NYRRC plexiglas trophy. (Still, exercise wise, swimming was probably the better option this weekend!)

end of week training update

a quick summary of my last three training runs for the week.

the "need for speed relay" was cancelled this afternoon, literally as emmy was about to hand off the baton to me at the exchange point! but more on the relay later. i ran 3 more 6 milers on friday, saturday, and sunday. the weekend runs were in 90+ degree temperatures and high humidity - each was a struggle to finish! i also ran the 9/10ths of a mile to the exchange point and then ran home (with katie), after the race was cancelled. that's 19.8 miles for the 3 days, and 31.8 for the 7 day week. i may put in a few more miles tonight.

here are the splits for the 6 miler this morning - the highlight of which included seeing all the "need for speed" course markers posted on the roads!

7:48
7:42 15:30
7:38 23:08
7:50 30:58
8:30 39:26
8:33 47:59

7:59 pace

i didn't record the time for each 9/10th to and from village hall (the exchange place).



the highlight of yesterday's 6 miler was the canadian geese, which had wandered from the library's reflecting pond onto the road.

8:02
7:52 15:54
7:36 23:30
7:37 31:07
8:11 39:18
7:56 47:14

7:52 pace



friday's 6 miler (and thursday's as well) was amazing because of the dozens of chipmucks which swarmed onto the sidewalk along the post road. normally i see a handful (3-4) during an entire run. for some unexplained reason, they were out in force these 2 days.

8:08
7:46 15:54
7:32 23:26
7:31 30:57
8:04 39:01
7:27 46:28

7:45 pace

nyrr new york mini 10k: deena kastor photos

nyrr new york mini 10k photos and results

hilda and madi


hilda crossing the finish


deena getting draped in the flag


magdalena and blake


hilda draped in flag


sue, cptc


sue, moving comfort


emmy, trrc


cooling down


debbie, kate, cathy and emmy, trrc


emmy and bea


barbara and lee, trrc


sue and emmy (moving comfort/trrc)


emmy and joan (trrc/moving comfort)

official results at nyrr.

nyrr new york mini 10k

today's womens new york mini 10k, was a reunion of sorts: deena kastor, magdalena levy-boulet, and blake russell, fresh from their first, second, and third place finishes, respectively, at the olympic trials in boston this april, toed the line at the start on central park west this morning.

in hot, humid conditions which may mirror what they will find in bejing this summer, deena finished third in 33:14, magdalena fourth in 33:39, and blake took sixth in 33:40.

hilda kibet of the netherlands won in 32:43 (which, according to the ny times, was the slowest winning time in 10 years), six seconds ahead of madai perez of mexico, who finished in 32:49.

here are the results of the top ten finishers:

1 Hilda Kibet, 32:43
2 Madai Perez, 32:49
3 Deena Kastor, 33:14
4 Magdalena Lewy Boulet, 33:29
5 Everlyne Lagat, 33:38
6 Blake Russell, 33:40
7 Aziza Aliyu, 33:56
8 Alina Alekseyeva, 34:05
9 Buzunesh Deba, 35:23
10 Salome Kosgei, 35:35

on the club front, friends from the taconic road runners, central park track club, moving comfort, and westchester track club put in great runs in some tough weather (hot and humid) conditions.

stay tuned for some race reports and photos!
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new york road runners' coverage (including video and photos).
new york times coverage of the race.

check out emmy's race report.
check out runs like a girl's race report.
check out nyflygirl's race report.
check out runner26's race report.

"like a rolling stone: the strange life of a tribute band" book review

i followed up ten-cent plague with "like a rolling stone: the strange life of a tribute band," by steven kurutz. what better transition from the history of comic books than over to rock music? kurutz spent a year on and off the road with a pair of tribute bands covering the rolling stone's music. "sticky fingers," and its front man, glen carroll and its guitarist, the "keithiest keith" get the lion's share of attention in the book. but the "blushing brides," the other stone's tribute band, and its front man, maurice raymond, provide an interesting counterpoint in style and operation.

blushing brides actually has a sub-title to its name: "the most dangerous tribute to the music of the rolling stones." while that may be true, it's carroll's arrest kurutz documented after a sticky fingers' gig at a college frat house in virginia! yet despite apparent differences between the bands, the day to day existence of these rock bands and their members is remarkably similar. getting gigs, and getting the band (however constituted at the moment) to those shows is a big part of this world. in kurutz, tribute bands have a sympathetic reporter who opened the door to this tough lifestyle, and painted a portrait in colors other than black.

for anyone interested in rock music and its lifestyle - i don't see the cross over appeal for jazz and classical music fans - kurutz objectively presents the gritty ups and downs of hard-working and touring bands. while it often seemed the down and out dominated to road these band travelled, living the lifestyle of a faux rock star did have enough ups, including occasional world travel and, yes, even fan adulation, to make it worthwhile! and, even more remarkable, there are those once in a million moments where a tribute band member is invited to move up to the "real" band - like a minor leaguer going to the big show, or the movie "rock star!"

while the book is devoted to the stones, kurutz does reel off a list of tribute bands devoted to the beat of other rock super groups. he even devoted half a chapter to dark star orchestra, the definitive grateful dead tribute band - and probably the most successful tribute band out there today! as a lifelong dead head, it was easily my favorite part of the book - haha! one can't help but come away from the book, regardless of the tribute band, with a sense kurutz took these guys seriously as musicians and professionals. it takes a lot to get out of a garage or basement, not just once or twice - but on a regular basis - and consistently perform in front of paying crowds at showtime.

kudos to those musicians who can do it for a living! kudos to kurutz for sharing it with us!

check out kurutz' blog.
check out this interview with kurutz on wnyc.