November Recap

As November wines down so does the fall marathon season.  I would like to put the Speedster Spotlight on two of our athletes for the month of November.  Rich & Maggie Kanak participated in their first marathon on November 20^th and they both did not show signs of this being their first.  Rich ran an excellent time of 3:09:37 and Maggie ran a blazing 3:27:43.  They both qualified for Boston which is no easy accomplishment especially on your first try.  It took me 4 tries to qualify.  So tip your winter hats to Rich and Maggie when you see them at the Winter Series.

Winter Series begins this Sunday with the Covered Bridge 5k (not one of my favorites), but still a good race and there’s always hot chocolate afterwards.  Reminder that the week following is the Jingle Bell and in my opinion the best race of the series!  We will again have great pancakes after the race including some new types.  Also we will have some great give-a-ways including two free pairs or Brooks Running Sneakers!   I always ask you all to “Dig Deep” when you are racing, now I ask you to “Dig Deep” into your pockets and give to a great cause The Give a Christmas Fund.  All donations of $3 or more entitle you to a raffle ticket to win great prizes.  In addition to your donation all Speedsters wearing “Speedster Wear” will be given an additional raffle ticket. 

Good luck this weekend and all of your other races and training runs happening in December.  “Don’t forget to keep those toes and fingers warm, once they go numb so does your performance.”

Others that need to be mentioned for their performances in November:

Pete Lederer 2:56:33 in Philadelphia

John O’Brien 3:42:52 in Philadelphia

Tim Damiani 4:13:36 in Philadelphia

Mike Brown 3:24:42 in Philadelphia

Breandan Nemec  3:23:42 in Bucks County Marathon

Harris Brenner 10:20:40 Mountain Masochist 50 miler

Chris Mortensen 10:20:40 Mountain Masochist 50 miler

Gregg Holst 11:49:37 Mountain Masochist 50 miler

If you run a PR or complete something as exceptional as a marathon in the coming months, please contact me and I will give you a shout out in next month’s Monthly Recap.

Jingle Bell!

Hard to believe that we have less than a month till we will be running throughout Tyler State Park with bells a ring, jing, jingling.  That's right Sunday, December 11th is the Jingle Bell Race for Give-A-Christmas.  Last year we had 244 runners and raised over $600 for local families in need.  I would love to have both those numbers go up higher and if not both let's at least have that second and most important number get higher.  We will once again have a ton of Great Prizes and Pancakes!  Doing the race gets you Pancakes, but donating to our cause get's you prizes and a feeling of good will.  This year we're incorporating donation levels of Bronze, Silver, and Gold.  Bronze Level-is a $3 donation and is the minimal donation that get's you one chance. Silver Level-is a $5 donation that get's you three chances. Gold Level-is a $10 donation that get's you 10 chances.  Also if you wear your "Speedster Wear" you will be given an additional raffle ticket. All money collected goes to The Give-A-Christmas fund held by the Bucks County Courier Times.  Below is an explanation of how it works:

"How Give A Christmas works. Every single cent that is collected goes into the fund. The money is distributed primarily as $25 gift certificates that are redeemable at participating local supermarkets and other stores.

These merchants are participating in the program: Acme markets in Levittown and Morrisville; Kmart in Bensalem, Feasterville and Middletown; Pathmark in Falls; Redner's Market in Bensalem, Middletown, Quakertown and Warrington; Selecto market in Bristol Borough; and Super Fresh in Richboro.

School nurses in Lower Bucks County's public and parochial schools submit the names of potential recipients. Names also are received from other agencies that deal with kids and from neighbors, friends and needy families themselves.

To get involved

TO GET HELP:

Names, addresses and circumstances of those in need must be submitted in writing. Please include the names, ages and school districts of each child. Send to: Give A Christmas, P.O. Box 841, Levittown, PA 19058" (Bucks County Courier Times).

Please come out on Sunday, December 11th at 9AM at Tyler State Park (Boat House) and support a great cause.

Thanks,

Chris Thompson