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by Mandi Susman

Maryann Khinda and I had done a few

training runs together over last summer since we were both training for a fall marathon. Actually, I was training for the Wineglass Marathon on October 6. Maryann had 3 marathons on the calendar for the fall, Wineglass being just one of them. Before race day, Maryann and I had decided that we would run together. We had similar finish goals and paces so we were excited to start our journey together. The weather was clear but a bit warm for a marathon. We started the day with our usual positive, upbeat attitude. This would be my second marathon, after my first effort didn't go quite as I had hoped. This was to be my redemption after training harder and longer, making me feel very prepared.

After catching the bus (barely) from the finish to the start, Maryann and I had time to chat on the ride from Corning, N.Y. to Bath. We met some nice fellow runners and started to get excited for the race. When we arrived at the start, I really started to get butterflies. We immediately headed for the port-a-potty line but were met by fellow teammates and running legend Bart Yasso. After a great picture and nice conversation with our new friend, we spent the rest of our pre-race time (including the national anthem) waiting on line. We just made it to the starting line (continued page 3)

Van Cortlandt Track Club newsletterA Sparkling Proposal at Wineglass

Dominic Lombardo waited patiently at the finish line of the Wineglass Marathon to propose to Maryann Khinda

by Dominic Lombardo

The Wineglass Marathon (and Half) was

held October 6th in Corning, NY. Maryann and I decided to make it a vacation, so we were the first VCTCers to arrive and last to leave. The races in the heart of Finger Lakes are flat, fast and scenic - starting in Bath and finishing on Corning's historic Market Street. For years I envied those runners whose t-shirts emblazed the infamous silhouetted Wineglass. Runners also receive a mini-champagne bottle, which would come in handy later! L a s t O c t o b e r marked just the fourth vintage o f t he Ha l f Mara thon - something very do-able for me. Several of us decided to race it including Melissa Weiner, who traveled from Ithaca and Bobby Asher who was the first New Yorker to finish the "full wineglass". He won some “coaster-thingy”, continuing on the alcohol-theme. I had been pondering proposing to Maryann, but the time and circumstances never lined-up. There was the top of the mountain proposal (ran into cold-thinning air), a romantic ride around Lake Tahoe that turned testy, hot-air ballooning (too windy to take off)..well you get the idea. Even a planned road-trip to Corning was rapidly fading

Dominic greets Maryann at the finish line

(continued page 2)

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Dominic continued after I inflamed my knee doing the Zombie-infested Run for your Lives race in June. I always dreamed of proposing at a race..."Hmm, that makes sense", I thought. "Heck, we both love running." I thought, nay, those things are always so cheesy, especially if it was at a big race like NYC. So the race-proposal was CLEARLY out of the picture! But as my knee slowly recovered so did my spirits. By October, I was prepared to finish the Wineglass Half, while Maryann would run the whole Kahuna. The race started at the same time with the exception that Maryann's Marathon started 13.1 miles further out. Race-morning we had just caught the yellow school-bus shuttling runners from Market Street down to the green fields of the starting lines in what seemed like an un-Godly hour. I hadn't done a long race in four years. As the gun shot I took off with our teammates including Reggie Cedeno, Erica Hubbard and Melissa, but let them go early as I had planned negatives. As the miles grew so did the proposal-seed I had planted back at the start. After stopping three times to stretch, I began feeling better by the time I saw Coach Ken Rolston cheering me around mile 12. Everything starting feeling just right... As a reward for breaking my 2 hour goal, the "gavone" in me scarfed-down three dripping slices

of pizza, creating an "Archie-Bunker" effect on my shirt. Since Maryann was aiming for a sub-4, I figured I'd go back to the hotel, clean-up and get ready for some kneeling. After returning to the finish area, I had to muscle my way to the finish-line which was visible yet difficult to enter. So I contacted Joe, the race announcer, who relayed my crazy idea to the race director. In what turned-out to be one of many magical moments, the race director (Sheila) recognized me from the prior night when Ken, Carolyn Hehir, Maryann and myself chatted with her and Bart Yasso (of Runner's World). Sheila promptly called me over to the Finish Line and prepared the local paparazzi. All I had to do was wait. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Every few minutes, Joe pointed a mic towards me asking where Maryann was on the course, what she was wearing, her bib-number, etc. I then called Ken, asking him if he spotted Maryann so that I could relay her number and ETA to the panting crowd. When Joe stopped speaking, the crowd turned its attention towards me. Several wanted to see the engagement ring. However, the only sparkling thing I had was that free bottle of champagne waiting at the hotel room. I started growing anxious. . ."Where were my teammates? I wish Ken were here." The four-hour mark came and went, but Maryann was nowhere to

be found. First I was sad for Maryann, but this soon turned into deep-worrying as I saw several runners collapsing at the Finish. "Something's wrong." I frantically called Ken a second time (or third?) asking if he saw Maryann. He said "Maryann needs her asthma pump." The rest of what was said is a blur.As this was happening there were severa l fa lse s ight ings as Announcer Joe thought he saw Maryann. But those were just mirages, as the temperature and humidity were soaring.Then when I was about to lose it, Ken (wear ing b lue - j eans ) magically appeared in the distance escorting Maryann. Another teammate Lyndsey Dore ran with Maryann to the finish line. As I saw Maryann struggling into the finish, tears rolling down her eyes, I felt sad and guilty that I wasn't on the course supporting her. But I had good reason! I didn't have a ring, but the award was such a glass masterpiece. I knelt down placing the sparkling award around Maryann's neck, then popped the question. This proposal was a first for Corning, and hopefully, my last.Epilogue: As many know, I'm a private person, but this moment wound up on Twitter, Facebook and local TV. The next day town-folks congratulated us as we strode down Market Street. Oh well, sometimes it's better going with the flow...#___________________________

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Mandi continued before the gun went off, taking away some of the jitters since I didn't have time to think too much about the race at the starting line. The gun went off and my second marathon was underway. Unlike my marathon the previous year, I had a relaxed, casual attitude for this race. Maryann and I ensured we were maintaining a conversational pace by talking most of the first half of the race. Unlike my other training partners, Maryann and I hadn't done too many training runs together so we had lots to discuss. I’m sure we annoyed many runners around us with our blabbing, but it was part of the strategy to keep our pace reasonable at the start so we could attempt negative splits. In addition to gabbing we took the time to check out the beautiful scenery and wave to the hundreds of spectators lining the course. This marathon is a big deal in this area and lots of regular folks come out to cheer along the 26.2 mile point-to-point race. Now, I wasn’t going to bring it up, but eventually Maryann broached the topic of her boyfriend and club member, Dom Lombardo. I had known Dom for many years as part of the club and always enjoyed running with him. When it came out at least year’s Award’s Dinner that they had been dating, I was just as surprised as many of the other team members. They had managed to keep it quiet until they

were ready to share it with the team and since things were starting to get serious, the “outing” wasn’t unwelcome (hopefully). M a r y a n n s t a r t e d t h e conversation talking about their housing dilemma. They both had their own places, one in the suburbs and one in the city. Both locations have positives and negatives but at some point they would have to get rid of one and either make the leap to city living or deal with commuting from the suburbs. She wasn’t necessarily looking for answers, just sharing the pros and cons and filling the time. Then she mentioned the fact that Dom didn’t really want to move in together until they were married, but they weren’t yet engaged. I certainly never would have brought up marriage but she went there first. I don’t remember the exact words but her sentiment was very sweet. She told me she was very content and really didn’t have any complaints about her life, but at the same time she knew that Dom had been trying to plan something special for some time. But things kept getting in the way. After she shared this with me, I didn’t know exactly what to say, but I said what came from my heart. “Maryann, I’ve known Dom for some time and I know he’s a good guy. He will do the right thing, just be patient…” At this point we had made it to about the halfway point. The conversation had distracted me

from the pain in my left foot that I had been experiencing since about mile 3, but now it was starting to get annoying. At first, I thought the pain would go away as I warmed up, but it was pretty constant throughout the entire race. I was t ry ing hard no t to compensate because I knew something on my right side would start to go. Sure enough, around mile 15 my right IT band started hurting. Maryann was hurting, too. I don’t remember exactly what body part was holding her back, but our pace slowed dramatically and we began walking at each water stop. So much for negative splits… The temperatures kept rising. Maryann had decided to race in her VCTC racing bra that Dom had given her and that was certainly a good move given the temps were well into the 70s and up to 80 by the time we finished.Dom was also racing that day, as were many of our teammates, some doing the full marathon like Maryann and I, and some, like Dom, running the half marathon which started at the same time as the full. This meant that Maryann and I knew that a huge crowd of our teammates would be waiting for us that the finish line so we had to press on, regardless of the pain.By mile 20, I was in tears. The pain in both my foot and my IT Band were so intense I really didn’t think I was going to finish. At about mile 21 I told Maryann that I had to (continued page 4)

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Van Cortlandt Track Club2014 Board of Directors

President: Bette Clark Vice President: Dave KingSecretary: Dick Conley Treasurer: Hiroshi Kitada, Ass’t: Jill Staats

2014 Executive CommitteeSocial Cmte: Maryann Khinda Clothing: Rachel Isaac, David IsaacFinance: Hiroshi Kitada Volunteer Coordinator: Hiroshi KitadaUEC Co-Directors: Hiroshi Kitada, Maureen Burke Summer Series Co-Directors: James Moloney, Riverdale Ramble Co-Directors: Bette Clark, Dave King Bobby AsherB’Ramble Co-Directors: Bette Clark, Dave King Social Media: Mandi SusmanPublicity and Marketing: Liam Moroney Website: Maryann Khinda, Kevin Shelton-Smith,Communications Cmte: Hiroshi Kitada Rachel Kimber, Beni Veraz, Leo Vando, Andrea Newsletter: Dave King Rafael

Athletic Director: Ken Rolston Ass’t: Glen Shane

stop and stretch. I moved to the side of the street where there was some grass and attempted to stretch out my IT Band. During that useless activity, a medic from the medical tent across the street (which I hadn’t even seen in my delirium) came up to me and asked if I wanted some icy-hot spray. I hobbled across the street, letting Maryann know what I was doing. I got my legs sprayed up, but not my foot since I figured taking my shoes off might mean the end of my race. Something happened to me at that point. The pain in my right leg went away instantly and my brain realized that at least some of the pain I was experiencing was mental. I had trained for months through the heat of the summer, running hundreds of miles on just about every surface imaginable. I was going to finish

this race and I was going to do it running. I set a pace I thought I would be able to maintain for the final 4 miles and took off. Maryann didn’t get the same boost I did at the medical tent. We started off together but I eventually lost her around mile 24 or so. I didn’t want to leave her behind, but at the same time I had a strong feeling that if I didn’t maintain the pace I had set, I wouldn’t finish at all. I didn’t stop at the remaining water stops (I did take water, just didn’t stop like we had been doing for several miles) and saw Coach Ken Rolston around mile 25. He took one look at me and said, “I know. You’re almost there.” That gave me a boost because I knew I wou ld see my teammates and family soon. I was hopeful that someone would be there to run-me-in the last mile, but we had taken so long to

finish, everyone was changed and waiting for us just a few blocks from the finish line.And what a finish line! Corning is such a nice town and everyone was out cheering, even in the heat, after being out there for hours and hours. I got such a boost from seeing my boys and Walter, the team and all the strangers yelling that I managed a “kick” to the finish line (probably around a 9:45 minute mile, which felt like a sub-6 for me at that moment). I made it through the pain, fought it off and crossed the finish line running. My time was even slower than my first marathon, but it was a learning experience. The fact that I had finished despite my pain made me feel very strong. If I had known at mile 13 what was going to happen at mile 26.2, I wonder if I would have done anything (continued page 5)

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differently. But my comment to Maryann will always stand out in my mind: “just be patient.” Little did I know she was only going to have to be patient for another 2 hours (give or take…). I was stumbling around the finishers’ area, grabbing food and looking for my family and friends. After I got what I wanted to eat, I started heading back toward the finish line to meet Maryann who, I knew, would be finishing any minute. I saw the team and my boys across the barriers on the far side of the finish line and was heading there to meet them when I heard a familiar voice come over the loud speaker. I d i d n ’ t h e a r t h e e n t i r e announcement but will always remember Dom’s words:“Maryann, will you run the rest of your life with me?” I hadn’t made it back to the finish line to see him down on his knee to pop the question, but I was there as the camera crews were heading over to interview the happy couple. I knew the state Maryann was in because I was there, too, but I just couldn’t imagine getting engaged after going through what we did that day. It clearly was the toughest race of my life and I know Maryann was in serious pain as well, but somehow that all went away instantly. Making my way to where Dom and Maryann were standing, pushing my way past

people saying, “those are my teammates who jus t got engaged,” I grabbed Maryann and started squealing with her and then with Dom. I know they were both very happy, but I was happy too, because this race became much more than just a marathon for all of us. My journey with Maryann was finished, but her journey with Dominic was just beginning. #__________________________

For the past year I have been using the term “team” when addressing the members of VCTC as a group. I could have used other terms such as, “members,” “runners” or just plain “everyone.” But that would have seemed, at least to me, canned to say the least. As I look at what VCTC has accomplished this past year in placing in age-group award success, the spirit shown at the club points races and the passion for competition and working together to achieve the highest level of success, VCTC has become a very special team. But we already knew all that right? I may have even written something like this article once before. Why am writing it again?

I am readdressing this subject of team development because of the fact that VCTC has gone from a 175-member social running club in 2011, to over 400 members today. This growth is a monumental signal that we as members must be aware of our organization’s core values and how they translate into motivation for the team and how we can motivate the rest of our community through it. Standing on stage of the Hard Rock Café last March with my teammates, having won the Men’s Open “B” team award for NYRR’s club series, I was faced with a delicate mission; to keep my club’s tradition of making all runners feel un-intimidated, while motivating my teammates to perform at the highest level possible in the Men’s Open “A” racing category amongst the likes of Olympic caliber runners. The Shortstop Coffee Shop breakfasts with VCTC refuel in other ways than just calories. The tradition, the planning of the next race… the non-running conversations all form the backbone of the team. But key words in these last two sentences are “planning the next race.” Lets face it; we are not in the club to simply talk about running. There is an intrinsic desire to run that led us to join (continued page 6)

Team VCTCby Bobby Asher

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the club. Sooner or later the net feeling of being a “team” will be based on the type of motivation that the VCTC gives off.

The team that has developed over the course of 2013 is one that I will absolutely not take full credit for, nor should I. VCTC this year served as, not only a support group for new marathoners, veteran ultra runners and track racers, but as a melting pot of motivation. Whether it was Gary Spalter out on the course of a race lending his support in all weather, to Andrea Rafael posting her ambitious weekly mileage on Facebook, every day the team was inspired to k e e p t r a i n i n g a n d s t a y confident. Then we had the faster runners. Our legs move faster, o u r m u s c l e s a r e m o r e metabolically savvy than some, but in the words of Alberto Salazar, the great 2:08 marathoner, “On the starting line, we are all cowards.” But knowing that we had the crew with coaches Ken and Glen, a dancing banana (a.k.a. Laura R o d r i g u e z ) a n d e x p e r t photographer Rick Bloomer at mile 21 of the 2014 New York City Marathon was what kept some of us in the race that day. Some of the cheer section on Marathon day was, in fact, made up of some of the strongest runners who, while

plagued by injury, still came to cheer. We all felt a part of a team that day. So in conclusion of this article I would like make sure tha t everyone in VCTC realizes that as a club, as a team and as a presence in the Bronx we can use our strength of 400 to make everyone aware of what running can do. We’ll start by running in VCTC gear whenever we leave the house for a run. Then we’ll keep “GO VCTC” loud and clear at races in Central Park and our own Van Cortlandt Park by cheering when we are not racing. When we host the U r b a n E n v i r o n m e n t a l Challenge 10k in April and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Relay in July, we need everyone who can volunteer to do so, all who can run to join in and all who feel they can’t….to try.

This club is awesome, this team is awesome and we are here to help each other be the best we can be and spread the vibe! GO VCTC! #_________________________

Open Men A - VCTC was 9th out of 97 total Open teams, A and B.

1) West Side- 1442) NYAC- 1293) CPTC - 984) Urban Athletics- 92

5) North Brooklyn- 596) Warren St- 467) NY Harriers- 388) Dashing Whippets- 379) VCTC- 3410) Front Runners- 17

Open Women A- VCTC was 8th out of 87 total Open teams A and B.

1) NYAC- 1472) CPTC- 1223) North Brooklyn- 974) Urban Athletics- 945) West Side- 586) Athena- 407) Dashing Whippets- 388) VCTC- 369) NY Harriers- 3110) Greater NY- 26

40 + Men’s- VCTC was 6th out of 77 teams

1) Urban Athletics- 1412) CPTC- 1143) West Side- 1144) Greater NY- 785) Warren St- 656) VCTC- 547) North Brooklyn- 388) NYAC- 349) Front Runners- 2310) NY Flyers- 21

40 + Women’s- VCTC was 13th of 57 teams.

1) Urban Athletics- 1472) Athena- 1273) Greater NY- 714) Taconic- 705) CPTC- 686) NY Flyers- 667) NY Harriers- 388) Front Runners- 359) Prospect Park- 2810) Henwood- 24

NYRR Club Points

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11) West Side- 2212) Millrose- 1813) VCTC- 1614) Agony-16

Men’s 50 + was an agonizing 4th out of 45 teams, 2 points off the podium. Another reason NY Marathon should not be a points race !

1) CPTC- 1502) West Side- 1033) Brooklyn RRC- 754) VCTC- 735) NY Flyers- 736) Front Runners- 577) Greater NY- 528) Witold- 459) Urban Athletics- 4210) Taconic- 41

Women’s 50 + was 6th out of 28 teams.

1) Taconic- 1322) Athena- 1273) Greater NY- 1064) NY Flyers- 935) CPTC- 646) VCTC- 497) Millrose- 38

Men’s 60 + was 4th out of 15 teams.

1) CPTC- 1472) Taconic- 1223) West Side-814) VCTC- 665) Witold- 626) Front Runners- 507) Greater NY- 468) Brooklyn- 419) Rockland- 4110) NY Flyers- 31

Women’s 60 + was 5th out of 13 teams.

1) CPTC- 150

2) Millrose- 1183) Mercury- 1064) NY Flyers- 625) VCTC- 536) Taconic- 46

__________________________

by Ken Rolston

Hill Training; We continue, w e a t h e r n o t n e c e s s a r i l y permitting, to gather together on Tuesday nights for some spirited hill work to sharpen us up for both the Coogan’s 5K in early March AND for the Thursday Night track races at The Armory. We usually begin with a 2 mile loop through Riverdale and finish with a series of heart-stressing uphill repeats varying from 100-240-530 meters. Thanks to Dave King for measuring! We a l so wan t t o bu i l d some confidence in handling downhill running, so we will work those in along with the uphills. Armory Races; There are 2 more nights of racing, Tuesday Feb 4th and Thursday Feb 27. The last session features one of my favorite events, the 10 person 10,000m relay.Each person runs 5 x 200, with an extended period of rest, that is the t ime i t t akes your 9 teammates to run their leg. It’s chaotic and totally fun. Hope we can get a full team there! NYRR points results: We had another great year with the Club

points series. We have one of the most balanced teams in NYRR, placing 9th in Open Men, 8th in Open Women, 6th in 40 + Men, 13th in 40 + Women, 4th in Men’s 50 +, 6th in women’s 50 +, 4th in Men’s 60 + and 5th in Women’s 60 +. Congratulations to Kyle Hall, Kevin Shelton-Smith and Jill Staats on their NYRR nominations for age group awards !

Upcoming Races:1/26 Sun- 8 AM- Fred Lebow ½ marathon, Central Park2/1 Sat- 9 AM- Hot Chocolate 5k, 10K Riverside Park2/2 Sun- 10 AM- Freezer 5K, Taconic Park2/2 Sun- 9 AM- Gridiron 4m, Central Park2/4 Tu- 7 PM- Tuesday Night at the Races, The Armory2/5 Wed- 8 PM- Empire State Building Run-Up2/16 Sun- 10 AM- Freezer 5m, Taconic Park2/22 Sat- 8 Am- Al Gordon 4m, Prospect Park2/23 Sun- 8 AM- Central Park Marathon, Central Park2/27 Thu- 7 PM- Thursday Night at the Races- 10 person relay !3/2 Sun- 9 AM- Washington Heights 5 K, aka Coogan’s *3/9 Sun 9 AM- Celebrate Life ½ marathon, Rock Hill, NY3/16 Sun 7:30 AM- NYC ½ marathon3/16 Sun 10 AM- St. Patrick’s Day Races, 2m/10K, Taconic Park

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Coaches’ Corner

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My primary running goal for 2013 was “run for fun”. In 2012 I ran my first marathon and I took the training very seriously, rarely deviating from my plan. As a result, I sat out various events that seemed like fun because they didn’t fit my schedule exactly or I was worried they would compromise my training. So in 2013, I really wanted to jump in and participate in any race or activity that seemed like fun, without comparing it against a plan. In a happy coincidence, 2013 was also my first full year with VCTC, which provided so many opportunities for running fun! I experienced several other “firsts” this year. My first cross-country race. My first running injury. My first multi-sport event (albeit as a relay due to the injury). My first DNS-did not start(also due to the injury). My first races at several distances: 1 mile, 2 mile, 5 mile. My first time completing two races in less than a week, and then two in one day. My first Lloyd’s carrot cake! I ran around the Fieldston hills in freezing rain. I ran around the cross country course in torrential downpour (multiple times!). I ran around the flats watching the sun set. I ran around the track watching the moon rise. I ran around the back hills in moonlight. I ran all over VCP in blazing heat, smothering humidity, chilling wind and even a few nice days, all alongside my crazy awesome teammates. And I had a blast. I’ve made so many friends and had so much fun running this year. It has been a wild success in that regard! And 2013 brought some numerical accomplishments too. I set new PRs in the 10k and in my third 5-miler of the year, as well as a new AG% PB. I tied my 5k PR and my best NYRR bib pace. I won my AG twice (2-miler and5k). And I placed for VCTC in a NYRR race once (5-miler)! I

completed 22 races totaling 98.5 miles in distances ranging from 1 mile to 13.1 miles -- more races and more race mileage than ever before, despite not doing a marathon this year. Although I am proud of them, my race stats do not adequately capture what a great running year

this has been for me, thanks in large part to all the wonderful people who make up VCTC. Go purple. _________________________________

2013: My Running Year in Review

by Monica Harrington