NORTH MERRICK RUNNERS
Facebook Recap on 03/20/2025
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This is NMR, so why wouldn't we engage with another wacky challenge? Courtesy of Emily RK Chester she has brought us the Pink Duck Extravaganza. Or whatever it may be called. For all of you that have been "ducked" then "ducked" someone else and enjoyed it, the fun is about to finish at the stroke of midnight tonight. Three pink duckies are in circulation. Stay tuned to see who becomes their final owners.
On Sunday the NYC Half Marathon had a really large contingent of NMR runners as usual. It was a warm, humid, and foggy morning which made for odd conditions all day. In a new NYRR twist, the course took us across the Brooklyn Bridge. Even as we ran through a thicket of fog I felt this was so much better than the Manhattan Bridge. I hope they keep this route for next year. On a personal note, I had another great run from the starting gun to the finish line with Robert Louis by my side. No proposal on bended knee this time because we had newcomer Drew McLaughlin running with us the entire race too. It really made the half marathon much easier to handle while running with terrific company.
A lot of runners had to overcome a lot of challenges this time around. Seemed like a bunch of people were managing injury issues, difficult long run training due to our terrible winter weather, and others battling some personal issues. Everyone conquered the course and should be proud of their accomplishment. Even James Kay who really suffered terribly without his cell phone.
Special congratulations to Dafna Stempel and Alice Taormina and Lee Michele All of them set their PR for the half marathon. Amazing job!
Congratulations to all the NMR runners. I know there's people I'm forgetting so let me know and you'll be added to the list.
Neal Botkounov - Marc Turner - Robert Louis- Drew McLaughlin - James Kay - Pat Ti - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Jackie Sobota - Lisa Carlin Brunengraber - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Louise Gonzalez Senato - Adrienne Markowski - Sue Moller - Tania Sophia - Columbia Ciccimarro - Jennifer Beitchman - Susan Werner - Kristen Snipp - Daniella Leifer - Joe Vaskas - Kristen Kelly - Chad Grieco - Rose Efstathiou
Thanks to Sami Saad and Donnie for cheering us on at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.
Kudos to Matt Adler for grabbing a post race table at Legends Bar so we could fill our bellies with tasty eats and well earned drinks. We needed the space since both levels were completely packed with soccer fans by early morning.
Our most traveled runner was on the road once again. Lori Innamorata enjoyed beautiful trip to Bermuda and ran a series of weekend races. The Bermuda Triple Challenge began with an evening 5K. Then a 15K obstacle course run with newfound teammates. Not sure about the final event but what a unique experience.
From last weekend, Scott Hall raced the Four Leaf Clover 5K in Bethpage. And his son did the kids run. I didn't forget about you buddy. Fun time family event!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 03/05/2025
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Would you believe that Amy Blanton Friel and Lauren Marvello Friel flew all the way to the other side of the globe, across 14 time zones, just to have a crummy burger and fries from Hooters? What a journey. Throw in a marathon in Tokyo and now that's an adventure. Congratulations to both of them for taking NMR to Japan and completing another World Marathon. Amazing once in a lifetime experience!
Congratulations to Dafna Stempel for running the Washington Heights 5K. Great job out there!
We have the NYC Half Marathon coming up next Sunday. Roll call, comment below if you are running.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 02/25/2025
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Guess what? Three days in a row above the freezing mark for the first time in over a month. What a nice week for a change. Certainly takes the edge off some of those longer training runs. As we are about to send Amy Blanton Friel and Lauren Marvello Friel across the Pacific Ocean to run the Tokyo Marathon this weekend. Best of luck and enjoy the experience.
And thanks to Seth Tabor we were able to have a silly running destination to take pictures in front of his curbside couch before special pick up eventually hauled it away. Just enough motivation on some these brutal frozen winter days.
Running the Al Gordon 4 Miler around Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Robert Louis ran a speedy 4 miles during the race and bookended with a 4 mile warmup plus another 8 miles afterwards. Turned a 4 mile race into a 16 mile outing. Gotta keep that marathon training plan activated. Joining him for her own half marathon distance training was Jan Kotowski-Chang. Great work you two!
The Gasparilla Distance Classic was held in Tampa, FL this past weekend. I'll need some clarification about how this all works, but I see that it's a full throttle series of back to back races. There's a 15K, and a 5K, and a Half Marathon, and a 5 Miler all done in that order.
Congratulations to Sue Moller and Matt Adler for completing all four races! Sounds insane and not surprising at all that Sue and Matt would conquer this challenge.
Our resident traveling runner took on another road trip of races of her own. Lori Innamorata found herself in Sin City to run the Las Vegas Rock n Roll run series. She began with 5K on Saturday night followed up by the next morning do to the Half Marathon. They shut down the Vegas strip to host the races which is really awesome. How about a group NMR Vegas roadtrip for next year?
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 02/05/2025
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Be careful of short runs, long runs, hot runs, cold runs. This is not a tagline for marketing a digestive supplement pill. Rather, everyone should be cognizant of staying well hydrated regardless of the weather and how far they run. Our friend David Basile literally ran himself dry over the weekend which required a trip to the hospital to revitalize his body with IV fluids. No one has ever gone to these lengths just to get a shout out in the weekly recap. In all seriousness, glad he's now fine and hope everyone remains conscientious about proper fueling.
The Winter Series 5K at Jones Beach was on Sunday.
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning 1st place in her age group. First medal of 2025!
Congratulations to Laura Capo for winning 2nd place in her age group. Awesome!
Congratulations to Tara Hofmayer for running in her first race in a very long time. Nice to be accompanied by her daughter too.
Congratulations to Jan Kotowski-Chang for winning 3rd place in her age group. Also turning a 5k race into a 12 mile run by starting at Cedar Creek Park and then returning back with her medal. That's amazing! And kudos to Jeffrey Odin for his own 10 mile run down to Jones Beach and back with Jan. Also capturing the pre-race photos.
Big Game weekend - Chiefs or Eagles?
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 01/29/2025
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Frigid!!! It's the only word to describe the past week since it's the coldest stretch of days we've had around here in years. Not to mention all the icy streets which have just finally mostly melted. It's been a bit treacherous out there. Got to give credit to Amy Blanton Friel and Lauren Marvello Friel and Yuri Yanpolski for continuing their long run training in these conditions. Notching runs of 16 and 18 miles at a time on these kinds of days shows real dedication. We also had some of our early morning crew running up to the Merrick train platform to sing Happy Birthday to Joe DiVico on his way to work. On a 9 degree dark o'clock morning, we're all a bit frozen in the brain. Wish the good vibes were enough to propel his beloved Bills into the Super Bowl.
Now on to the races.
The Fred Lebow Half Marathon was held in NYC as a race around Central Park.
Robert Louis and Drew McLaughlin ran in tandem and finished together in lockstep at the same time. This seems very familiar . . .
Also completing the race was Pat Ti - excellent job!
The Long Island Icebreaker races were also this past weekend.
Congratulations to Ken Junior for completing the full Marathon! Another great race.
Congratulations to Susan Werner for completing the half marathon! Chalking up one more.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 01/21/2025
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Just when you thought it couldn't be any colder . . .
Harsh week of frigid temperatures is an understatement, for those brave souls running outside.
At least the BluePoint 10 Miler this past weekend was balmy in comparison. The ever popular race had probably it's warmest morning in years. Makes it much easier to handle even without the motivation of all the beer you can drink at the end.
A lot of NMR representation this year. Let me know if I missed anyone.
Neal Botkounov - Joe DiVico - Jeffrey Odin - Melissa Odin Horowitz - Amy Blanton Friel - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Keith Dipolito - Erin Lentini - Lisa Carlin Brunengraber - Christy Roman - Aubrey Riccardi Wickersham - Dan Iel - Samantha Joltin - Tania Sophia - Drew McLaughlin - Anthony Ricci - Jonah Rangel - Joe Vaskas
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning 3rd in his age group. Also setting his PR too. Kicking off the year with a medal!
Congratulations to Jan Kotowski-Chang for setting a PR for herself. Way to go Jan!
Susan Werner ran in the Dallas Half Marathon. Chalk up another state and another Half for Susan. Nice job.
Lori Innamorata ran in the Key West Half Marathon. What a great and quirky place for a race. Can't wait to hear all about this one.
Just dropping this here. Conner Mantz set an American record for completing a Half Marathon. Clocked in at 59:17
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 01/14/2025
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2025 has begun and it's been a couple of weeks of biting cold and ridiculous wind to commence the new year. Kudos to all the outdoor runners brave enough to handle these rough days.
What's your favorite running related accomplishment or story from this past year? And what are you looking forward to this year?
Coming off the sidelines, your favorite running podcast returned from hiatus. Listen to our latest end of the year jam session.
https://open.spotify.com/show/2H6dEYUVqBrtPS092kY2bI...
Jeffrey Odin has been doing a great job maintaining the website. He recently made it easier to view photos in the gallery. You can spend hours rummaging through thousands of pics.
https://www.northmerrickrunners.com/home
Kim Scharoff ran in her latest Disney race weekend. She accomplished the trio of a 5K, 10k, and Half Marathon which I believe is called the Goofy. She can verify that. Amazing job Kim!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 12/30/2024
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As we celebrate another revolution around the sun, it's nice to reflect on all that we have accomplished. There were so many races from 5K's to Marathons to Triathlons spanning the year 2024. Our NMR group had an ever growing presence running in local races and events throughout the region. We don't let the confines of Long Island geography stop us one bit as NMR hit the road for plenty of races out of state and even overseas. There have been plenty of PR's achieved along the way and a whole lot of medals captured by so many us. It wasn't only about racing as runners are out on the streets regularly whether it's a casual couple of miles or long training runs. Hot or cold, rain or shine, everyone runs.
To cap off another eventful year, I like to reflect on my own personal favorite moment or milestone. This year I had two of them.
My daily running streak reached 1,000 on August 21st. A milestone I could not have achieved without the countless partner runs, group runs, dark o'clock morning adventures, and motivation to move from all of you. I'm still going strong as I can now tally the streak in years.
The hands down most amazing accomplishment of the year for me was running the NYC Marathon. It was really an incredible experience that truly lived up to all the stories and hype I've heard over the years. Not to get all Zen, but I can see how so many people find it to be transcendent and life changing. I'm still riding the wave of excitement just thinking about it and ready to tackle another one.
Now let's hear about all of the favorite running related moments of YOUR year. Share your story in the comments.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 12/19/2024
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This past weekend was our annual NMR Half Merrython track tour of Merrick/Bellmore. It was a frigid morning, but we had a really good turnout for the Half Merrython runners despite the freezing cold. By the time we hit our stride and the sun was overhead it warmed us up, at least a bit. It's too early in the season to be this cold but it never slows us down. It was nice to see so many people from other run groups joining us and especially the younger runners.
Finishing up at MAMS on the track, we welcomed everyone else who arrived for the 5K and all the kids running around. Thanks to Christian Forie and Bridget Forie and Christopher Jacobi and Jodi Jacobi for coordinating everything as always. Also thanks to everyone for their generous toy donations collected for charity.
Next up - Anyone who needs to do a Bourbon and Brews shot run for their BINGO board. There's a group meeting up at 4pm tomorrow at Bourbon and Brews.
Come for the run, come for a shot, or just come and hang out for a drink to kick off the weekend.
Congratulations to Susan Keogh for winning 1st place in her age group at the Ho Ho Ho 5K in Bethpage. Way to go!
Congratulations to Laura Capo for winning 1st place in her age group and 3rd overall female at the NSRF Santa 5K. Awesome!
Congratulations to Drew McLaughlin for winning 3rd place in his age group. Great job!
Congratulations to Adrienne Markowski for winning 3rd place in her age group at the NSRF Catch the Sleigh 5K. Way to go!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 12/09/2024
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We are a few weeks into NMR Bingo and it's been a really cold start to the holiday season. All the pole dancers, wagon wheelers, decoration stalkers, track runners, are earning your Bingo squares. Especially the early morning dark o'clock runners. Keep up the fun times. There will be a group doing a Bourbon and Brews shot run probably the weekend of the 20th if anyone is interested in joining (running optional).
This was a huge weekend for races local and out of town so buckle up, here we go.
First up was the Ted Corbett 15K in New York City. This race is named in memory of one of the founders of NYRR.
Congratulations to Jeffrey Odin and Beata Kopec for completing the course on a windy cold day in Manhattan.
Kudos to the all-star cheering squad of Jen Brenner Rowell and Kristen Snipp and Columbia Ciccimarro who were volunteering as well. This also completed Columbia Ciccimarro's 9+1 so she is now officially going to be doing the NYC Marathon next year!
At the same time in Delaware, Kim Scharoff was running in the Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon. This was her 100th career half marathon. What an amazing accomplishment! Way to go Kim!
In Seaford, the annual Hot Chocolate 5K is always a large community event that brings out almost 700 people for the race. Post race they raffle off a lot of gift baskets, gift certificates, etc. during the medal awards. And it's inside the high school auditorium which is real nice and warm.
We had a lot of NMR runners as usual.
David Basile (earning all his bagels) Sue Moller - Matt Adler - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Joe DiVico - Kristen Kelly (brave enough to start at the very front with the speedsters)
Special Congratulations to Eric Frischberg for winning 1st place in his age group and finishing 5th overall. He also set his 5K PR, broke past 19 minutes for a super fast finishing time of 18:45. Incredible job!
Congratulations to Yuri Yanpolski for winning 2nd place in his age group. Awesome!
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning first overall female. Another trophy achieved!
Congratulations to Amy Blanton Friel for winning first place in her age group. Also setting a PR for the 5K on her home turf. An amazing day!
Congratulations to Marc Turner for winning 1st place in his age group.
It's been a standing joke that every year we have so many NMR runners but no one ever wins any raffles. Well not only did we have a lot of medal winners, but we FINALLY had raffle winners too. Emily RK Chester won a case of handwarmers which is very fitting for her. The very next raffle number was called and Yuri Yanpolski won a restaurant gift certificate. A few minutes later Amy Blanton Friel also won a restaurant gift certificate. I hope they let us come back next year.
Congratulations to Pat Ti for running a 5K in San Antonio, TX and then their Marathon the very next day. How many marathons is this over the past few months?
Finally, another festive 5K in Seaford. On Sunday the Jingle All The Way 5K had a lot of NMR representation.
Sara Rotjan and her daughter - Jennifer Beitchman and her daughter - Laura Grieco - Alison Herger - Melissa Odin Horowitz - Laura Marino
Congratulations to Jay Senzatimore (not on Facebook) for winning 1st place in his age group.
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning first place in his age group and finishing second overall. Also setting a course PR for himself along the way. Another amazing race!
Congratulations to Emily Ganz for winning 1st place in her age group. Way to go!
Congratulations to Jackie Sobota for winning 1st place in her age group. Great job!
Don't worry Jeffrey Odin I did not forget about you. The Kracken ran the Ted Corbett 15K through the cold windy streets of NYC and then had a back to back race at the Jingle All the Way 5K. Wearing shorts and a large smile during the whole weekend.
Also Beata Kopec for following Jeffrey's lead and running the same back to back races. Awesome job!
And Tara Hofmayer spent the weekend doing nothing at all.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 12/03/2024
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Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and filled themselves with too much food and glorious drinks. Our annual NMR Turkey Trot was looking real grim with heavy rains early in the morning. The group picture contracted quite a bit from last year, but we still had plenty of holiday spirit to carry us through the 5K route around Merrick. Everyone who ran really earned their holiday feast.
Rob's Run was on Sunday. It is always a fun 5K trail race at Stillwell Woods, with a lot of runners sporting costumes for their group themes.. This was probably the coldest Rob's Run I can recall, and that includes a few years ago when we ran in snow flurries.
Keith Dipolito summed it all up as NMR once again cleaned up on the medal stand.
This year’s 1st Place Open Team, Ru-Nang Clan consisting of Amy Blanton Friel Joe DiVico James Kay Emily RK Chester sporting their very comfy onesies and shades.
Marc Turner - 3rd in his age group
Emily RK Chester - 3rd place overall female
Yuri Yanpolski - 3rd in his age group
Joe DiVico - 3rd in his age group
Lauren Marvello Friel - 2nd in her age group
Also representing NMR - Lori Innamorata & Scott Hall & Amador Antonio & Jan Kotowski-Chang with the team that ran in sync and crossed the finish line arms linked together.
Joining Yuri Yanpolski were teammates Lauren Marvello Friel & Keith Dipolito & Laura Capo.
Sue Moller running solo while signing up the night beforehand (knowing it was going to be windy and freezing). Just shows you got to be a little bit crazy to be a runner.
Congratulations to Amador Antonio for running a NYC Turkey Trot Half Marathon in Queens on Saturday morning. Very impressive (read crazy) to do back to back races in frigid weather. Well done Amador!
Mega Holiday Bingo is in full throttle. Have fun filling up your boards.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 11/27/2024
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Thanksgiving is upon us. It's always a delightful time to enjoy our family and friends and have gratitude for the wonderful things in our lives. Eat well, drink well, enjoy the holiday weekend, and have a lot of ToFurkey.
This past weekend was the NYRR Race to Deliver 4 Miler
Congratulations to Dafna Stempel for running and it was also little Dylan's first official New York City race. He has his first real racing bib too. A fun family affair!
Congratulations to Robert Engstrom and Jackie Sobota for running in the Massapequa 5K Turkey Trot
Way to go!
A big congratulations to Pat Ti for completing the Philadelphia Marathon this past weekend. Only 3 weeks after the NYC Marathon which is incredible. Amazing job!
During the Summer Run Series, after each race there is a raffle to win a trip to their annual Fall getaway weekend. Well, that was this past weekend and we had 3 lucky NMR winners that went to Saratoga Springs with their spouses/significant others. Congrats to Emily RK Chester and Leslie Pepper Lido and Lee Michele looks like you all had a ton of fun.
I feel like I'm missing some races or people who ran them so post below if I did.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 11/20/2024
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Thanksgiving is approaching and our annual Turkey Trot is just around the corner. Which also means everyone's favorite Holiday Bingo is about to begin. Enjoy this unusual stretch of warmer weather while we still can.
This past weekend was the Long Beach Turkey Trot 10K
Congratulations to Matt Adler for winning 3rd place in his age group. Way to go!
Sue Moller and Lauren Juchem actually "ran into each other" during the end of the race and crossed the finish line together. How cool is that.
Also this weekend, the Brookhaven Trail Half Marathon was held. I'm not sure how difficult that was, but running a half marathon race on trails and in the woods has to be tricky at best.
Congratulations to NMR finishers.
Congratulations to Jane Vongvorachoti for placing as the first overall female runner in the Bethpage 5K Turkey Trot. Awesome job!
Also from a couple of weeks ago, the earliest 5K Turkey Trot of the season was at Eisenhower Park.
It was a family affair for many runners.
Scott Hall and his wife and son participated. Extra congratulations to Scott Hall for winning 3rd place in his age group.
Josh Mallalieu and his wife and kids participated. Extra congratulations to Josh Mallalieu for winning 1st place in his age group.
Sara Rotjan and her husband Andrew and their kids participated too.
Congratulations to Kim Scharoff for setting another recent PR for herself. Fantastic!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 11/14/2024
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New York City Marathon
It was truly an amazing time for the NYC marathon, great weather conditions with a chilly early morning at the corrals giving way to bright sunshine and favorable temperatures the rest of the day. Anyone who has run NYC already knows the incredible experience of thousands of people cheering, singing, motivating, shouting, and dancing nearly the entirety of the course. Nothing fully prepares you from crossing into Manhattan at 1st Avenue as you are bombarded with the "wall of sound" that is so deafening that it pumps you up with a runner's high unlike anything else. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
We had a smaller NMR crew this year compared with recent years, but we still have to give Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi a thank you shout out for coordinating the bus to Staten Island. Our driver was very nervous driving near the Verrazano Bridge. However, he was just as clueless enough to drop us off so close to the starting line that we were able to waltz right in with a group of Army ROTC cadets. It was a good way to begin the day.
This was my very first marathon ever and I have to thank Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi one more time for securing my bib which turned out to be way more involved than necessary. Their persistence paid off. To everyone who supported me, cheered for me, joined group training runs, advised me about fueling gels, salt tabs, and everything else, I am more grateful than you could ever know. During the race, Robert Louis and I started together and ran the entire 26.2 miles together. We even crossed the finish line in Central Park simultaneously. There's no way I could have ran this marathon as fast without Rob alongside me. Completed my debut NYC marathon clocking in at 3:31 and I loved every minute of the course. Proud to cross that finish line sporting the NMR logo across my chest!
Congratulations to Robert Louis my running mate, for conquering NYC a mere 3 weeks after an amazing performance in the Chicago Marathon. Fantastic race! I'm so glad to run and with you buddy, laughing our way through the sites and sounds of the boroughs and bridges. Side note: Rob had a special Door Dash order of a mini challah bread hand delivered to him while we were running through the last few miles of Brooklyn. Wild times.
Emily RK Chester started a few corrals behind us and we were certain she would catch up at some point along the way. Just didn't expect to see her racing on our heels shortly after we touched down from the Verrazano Bridge. Only at mile 3! She tried pulling us along with her but we weren't ready to go any faster than we already were.
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester on completing the NYC marathon in an extra super speedy time of 3:08. Coming only 3 weeks after a lightning fast Chicago marathon is quite impressive. An additional crazy milestone, she passed 2024 cumulative running miles for the year during the marathon. Another tremendous feat!
Congratulations to Sue Moller for completing the NYC marathon and the Suffolk County marathon and the Wineglass marathon. She is a Mighty Maniac Marathoner! Three marathons in 6 weeks is just ridiculous. Now that I've done NYC myself, I really can't believe she ran 3 marathons so close together. It's astonishing.
Congratulations to Keith Dipolito As a veteran marathoner of far off destinations, you might be surprised to learn this was his very first NYC experience. Great job getting NYC done Keith!
Congratulations to Jean Frohman for running her first ever marathon too. What a great accomplishment as she also has a very personal connection to the NYC marathon. Her grandmother used to watch over the Rudin Family plate with the New York Road Runners back in the early years of the race event. A very emotional full circle family moment.
Congratulations to Josh Mallalieu for completing his first NYC marathon. He started in a very late wave so he brought half his house with himself to the corral while dressed in 18 layers of clothing. Seriously though, great job out there running an awesome marathon.
Congratulations to Adrienne Markowski for running the marathon. This was especially amazing since she hadn't trained for it except when doing the Cow Harbor 10K in September. I'm not sure how she managed to power through, but remarkable finish to earn that medal.
Congratulations to Susan Werner the queen of half marathons. She was so nervous about actually finishing before the late night cutoff. So nervous that she also thought she would be ushered to run the sidewalks by the race clean up team. Her fears were unfounded thankfully. She finished her first ever marathon as a proud back of the pack runner without any issues whatsoever. Great job Sue!
Special thanks to all our NMR friends and family who came out to cheer us along the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan. It was a blast seeing the raucous crew of Sami Saad, Lisa Testaverde Rossi, Amy Blanton Friel, Lauren Marvello Friel, Laura Marino, Yuri Yanpolski, Tara Hofmayer, Alice Taormina at mile 8! Gave us a real early jolt of motivation. A few miles later we spotted Lori Innamorata and her husband Tim, with Amador Antonio and Jan Kotowski-Chang screaming for us. Congrats to Jan Kotowski-Chang for running the Abbot Dash to the Finish Line 5K the day before.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 11/02/2024
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Last weekend was the 5 Year anniversary of NMR celebration.
Since I was unable to make it, we have a guest update recap from Jeffrey Odin.
As local legend has it, 2 guys sitting around a solo stove decided to create a neighborhood running group. Could they have ever imagined that 5 years later that running group would have over 500 members from not only the neighborhood but from many surroundig towns. Over the years, NMR has participated as a group in all types of races, from 5k’s to marathons. Participated in charities, hosted unsanctioned races, organized group challenges, and celebrated engagements, marriages, and births. Last weekend almost 40 North Merrick Runners celebrated the NMR 5 year anniversary by running “the anniversary route” up Little Whaleneck Drive and across North Merrick to Park Ave and around. The celebration continued at Bourbon & Brews where anniversary T-shirts and anniversary pint glasses were available. Many thanks to those 2 local legends Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi for putting this whole thing together. We all celebrate with you!
Also last weekend, the Freaky Halloween 5K in Wantagh.
Scott Hall and his wife and son ran the course. A fun family affair.
Congratulations to Louise Gonzalez Senato for winning first place in her age group. Amazing job!
Fly With the Owls 5K in Lynbrook was another race last weekend.
Congratulations to Sue Moller for winning 3rd place in her age group. Great job!
Congratulations to Matt Adler for winning 1st place in his age group. Awesome job!
On Sunday Runday, a lot of NMR runners came out to Merrick Mountain sporting their pink gear to support breast cancer awareness. I'm sure most of us know someone who is currently battling breast cancer or has overcome it. To anyone affected in any capacity; Stay Strong.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 10/22/2024
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Summer weather has returned and I for one am happy to enjoy it while it lasts. There are plenty of Halloween decorations to gawk at reminding us of the actual season though. Colder mornings and cooler days are coming.
Suffolk County races were this past weekend.
Running as an official pacer for the Marathon was Sue Moller This was her second full marathon in 2 weeks after Wineglass as she's going for Marathon Maniac status with NYC approaching soon. Being a pacer isn't easy so way to go Sue. On top of that she was interviewed for TV coverage of the overall race events. Our latest NMR celebrity.
Congratulations to Jacqueline Caridad for completing the 10K. Great job!
Running the Suffolk Half Marathon. Congratulations to NMR runners.
Kim Scharoff extra congratulations for setting her most recent PR! This was also her 99th half marathon. Wow!
Kudos to the cheering squad of Michelle Lynch and Columbia Ciccimarro. Love the support.
Congratulations to Tania Sophia for running the Suffolk 10K. Great job!
Congratulations to Austin Rangel for winning second place in his age group at the Michael Sena 5k for Hope in Deer Park.
To the Yankees fans. Well done on reaching the World Series.
To my fellow Mets fans. Despite the final disappointment, it was an unexpected joy to watch them ride the magic wave throughout the playoffs.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 10/17/2024
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It was a Chicago takeover. North Merrick Runners traveled to the Chicago Marathon this weekend and vanquished the course in stunning fashion. The initial forecast was for the Windy City to live up to it's billing, but come race day morning the weather was much more serene with generally good conditions. Which turned out to suit our friends just fine since they all ran their races so well. Congratulations to Lisa Schwartz Capelonga and Yuri Yanpolski and Eileen Duggan and Susan Keogh and Julie Dipolito Heinlein and Andrea Carolina for their excellent marathon performances. Lori Innamorata had the most eventful experience as she began her week down in Miami for a work event. Living through a monster hurricane days before the race with the uncertainty that her flight to Chicago would even get off the ground. Alas, she was fortunate to escape Florida just in time to run a fantastic marathon.
We had a bunch of superstars making NMR proud. Robert Louis was burning rubber through the first half which helped him cruise to the finish line with an impressive time. Nearly breaking 3:30 for an amazing race! Lauren Marvello Friel and Amy Blanton Friel ran together once again as they motivated each other through the streets of Chicago. It was Lauren's birthday on race day which was a completely wonderful way to celebrate. Setting a marathon PR as a gift to herself! Amy Blanton Friel who's been having a marvelous stretch of great races just outdid herself with this one. Fueled by peak training and Lauren's encouragement to finish strong, she set a PR for herself. Also qualifying for the Boston Marathon too! Big time congratulations to Amy Blanton Friel!
Bringing us to Emily RK Chester. When tracking her on the app, I noticed her pace for the initial 5K. It was so fast I was hoping she didn't burn out. But Emily kept that steady speed the entire marathon and set her PR. Her final time was an incredible 3:03! You read that correctly, a mere 3 minutes from breaking a 3 hour marathon! What more can be said, Emily RK Chester was an amazing superstar!
Great job to all our Chicago runners and to Keith Dipolito for joining them this weekend for cheering squad support.
The Staten Island Half Marathon was also this weekend. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day for the half.
Congratulations to Kristen Snipp and Jen Brenner Rowell for running a great race. The dynamic duo repping NMR again!
Congratulations to Pat Ti for also running a great race.
Congratulations to Laura Marino for running in the Army 10 Miler in Washington D.C.
Congratulations to Richard Brodsky and his wife Jodi for running in the Mohawk Hudson Marathon. Well done!
That was a lot of long distance races for a single weekend.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 10/08/2024
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It's ironic that we had a picture perfect weekend from start to finish, but quiet as far as not many local races. Why couldn't it have been just as hot and sunny last week for the Ironman, Sound to Sea, and Tunnel to Towers? Figures.
Wineglass weekend up in Corning, NY looked fantastic. They have a full slate of races each day and lucked out with wonderful early Fall weather.
Congratulations to Sue Moller for setting her PR in the marathon. That's amazing! Can she follow this up for her next two upcoming marathons? Going for an ambitious marathon tripleheader.
Congratulations to Matt Adler for running the marathon as well. Great job!
Congratulations to Susan Werner for running the 5K and then the Half marathon back to back. Big weekend!
The Massapequa Park Mile race was also this weekend.
Congratulations to Laura Capo for winning 3rd place in her age group. Even better, she ran with her daughter who also placed 3rd in her age group. Awesome tandem!
The inaugural Give Life 5K at Eisenhower Park was this weekend
Congratulations to Timothy Droge for winning first place in his age group!
This weekend brings us to the Chicago Marathon. We have a rather large contingent of NMR friends running this year. Including Lauren Marvello Friel who's birthday just so happens to be on marathon Sunday. Best way to celebrate!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 10/01/2024
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Sound to Sea!!!
We actually pulled it off. NMR teams and Ragnar teams made the 50 mile journey beginning in Oyster Bay weaving through Nassau County (slight sliver of Suffolk) all the way down to Jones Beach. It was a great day of teamwork and comradery. Anyone who has run the Ocean to Sound in the past knows how much fun this is and also how tricky some of the route segments are. Got to hand it to you guys, Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi, you totally made the dream happen. Everything really came together for such an overwhelming type of race. Awesome swag bags, shirts, tattoos for the runners, pregame bagels, post game hero spread, and cold drinks and much more. Thank you guys once again for an incredibly successful off the grid Sound to Sea race. Real guerilla style!
Let's grow for next year. We all have lots of ideas.
As for the race itself, there's too much to fully recap here but Jeffrey Odin posted a link to a ton of pictures and videos. So check them out and enjoy the amusement. We were very fortunate that it was just overcast most of the day until the final leg when it began to rain entering our finish line party at the beach. Cold wind and some rain never stops us from enjoying the festivities.
Some highlights.
Team - Local Legends won first place with some blistering NMR speed demons tearing up each leg. We did have an advantage being veteran medal winners of past Ocean to Sound races. It's all about fantastic teamwork!
Team - Legs of the Hidden Temple 2 won the most spirited award. I mean they rented a sprinter van for crying out loud. Hand decorated it too. This is a Ragnar team that knows how to get it done. How could they not win the spirit award.
The other really big event over the weekend was the Ironman 70.3 at Jones Beach. Yet again it was rainy, windy, cloudy, and cooler all day. Which really sucked considering we had such a glorious hot and dry stretch for the past 2 full weeks. I feel so terrible for the athletes that had to compete in such crappy conditions for the second year in a row.
Congrats to these NMR Ironmen and Ironwomen who completed the full course.
Dotty Mazza
Chris Caruso who's still recuperating from leg injuries and still gutted it out to finish. Amazing job!
Relay teammates Lori Innamorata and Lauren Marvello Friel and Emily RK Chester
Alice Taormina running the half marathon relay
Jack Scotti running the half marathon relay
Also the Jersey City Half Marathon was held on Saturday.
Congrats to NMR runners Keith Dipolito and Eileen Duggan and Susan Werner Great work out there!
The Tunnel to Towers 5K in NYC always brings thousands of people to support the important work of the charity foundation in memory of Stephen Siller. It's a race I've long wanted to do but I wish they had it on any other weekend that doesn't coincide with all the other events. Running this year in the pouring rain, we had NMR racers clearing the elements.
Jen Brenner Rowell and John Robert
Kristen Snipp and her husband John
Lastly, I would like to spotlight a few superstars that participated in both the Ironman or Jersey Half Marathon and then Sound to Sea on back to back days. Even in perfect conditions it would be impressive but it was especially remarkable considering the whole weekend flipped to crappy weather.
Kudos to Emily RK Chester and Alice Taormina for running the half marathon Ironman relay and then speed running their Legs 5 & 6 of the Sound to Sea. And to Keith Dipolito for running the Jersey half marathon and then the hilly, weaving, confusing Leg 4 of Sound to Sea.
Kudos to Lauren Marvello Friel for swimming the choppy waters of the Ironman relay and cooking through her Leg 7 of Sound to Sea.
Finally, the top superstar of all - Amy Blanton Friel I know she's not pleased that I'm throwing the spotlight on her, but she completed the full Ironman. Spending all day at the beach through the terrible elements and then another full day of racing fun. She was the captain of our squad too. That's a lot of racing and time commitment! She couldn't catch a break as the rain began just as she started her final Leg 8 of Sound to Sea. We couldn't be happier to run her through the finish line as a team.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 09/24/2024
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What an action-packed weekend of races.
The amazing Cow Harbor 10K race was the premier event with a huge NMR crew. I think this was our largest turnout. Perfect warm and sunny end of summer weather the entire weekend. No major superstorms this year. The crowd along the course was fantastic as always with people lining the streets to cheer on the runners. It's such a great race that we even get to run with elite professionals and Olympic level runners. Or at least we saw them sprint off the starting line as they finished in half the time as the rest of us.
Here's the Cow Harbor NMR crew
Christopher Jacobi - Joe DiVico - James Kay - Aubrey Riccardi Wickersham - Jay Senzatimore - Jennifer Beitchman - Neal Botkounov and his daughter Mila who ran her first 10K - Amazing job Mila!
Laura Capo - Lauren Marvello Friel - Alice Taormina - Keith Dipolito - Lisa Carlin Brunengraber - Lisa Testaverde Rossi - Julie Be - Jeffrey Odin - Scott Hall - Lori Innamorata - Josh Fleischmann - Jean Frohman - Kristen Snipp - Jen Brenner Rowell with their husbands cheering them on John Robert - Dan Iel - Lauren Bashian - Lauren Juchem - Marc Turner
It was Amador Antonio's birthday on Saturday. What better way to celebrate than having a huge NMR rendition of Happy Birthday and some cake (courtesy of Lori Innamorata) right before racing.
Special congrtulations to Emily RK Chester - Amy Blanton Friel - Yuri Yanpolski for setting 10K PR's which is really incredible given the difficulty of the Cow Harbor course.
Let me know if I forgot anyone else who ran or who also got a PR.
Bronx 10 Miler
Another large NMR turnout for this race.
Sharon Ann - Catharina Kleuskens - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Julie Dipolito Heinlein - Robert Louis - Kristen Kelly - Rose Efsthatiou - Andrea Carolina - Karina Madigan - David Basile - Matt Ray - Jaime Ray - Paujav Otacorr - Adrienne Markowski - Susan Keogh
Special kudos to Matt Adler and Sue Moller. They ran the Cow Harbor on Saturday and then both of them ran the Bronx 10 Miler the next morning. That's a tough two race tandem. Amazing job!
Special thanks to Jan Kotowski-Chang for cheering everyone at Cow Harbor and taking videos at the finish line. And performing a double shot of cheerleading at the Bronx 10 Miler too. Love the support and spirit!
Also running in back to back races, Julie Be ran the Mets 7 Lie 7K at Citi Field. Great job.
The inaugural Wantagh 9/11 Memorial 5K race was this weekend. Congrats to Kim Scharoff for running.
What's next?
Antother packed weekend coming up. Ironman 70.3 at Jones Beach and the first NMR Sound to Sea!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 09/10/2024
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Summer Bingo may have concluded, but you can still feel free to run around town in your bathing suit, with a partner, wearing NMR gear, on a trail, stalking homes at midnight or sunrise or sunset. Keep on having fun.
I was certain that Lisa Schwartz Capelonga would be the first one to fill their Bingo board. Alas, it was Lee Michele who beat her to the punch and was the first to complete hers. Nicely done under the radar Lisa.
Congrats to James Kay and Joe DiVico and Lauren Marvello Friel for achieving their full boards too. Did anyone else manage to complete all the challenges? As for me, I came up a dollar short and missed by a single square.
The Bird in Hand races were in Pennsylvania this weekend. It's a back to back 5K and then Half Marathon.
Congratulations to Amador Antonio for running both races. Way to go!
Congratulations to Chris Andrew for placing 1st in his age group in the 5K and placing 3rd in his age group for the Half Marathon. Awesome double medal weekend!
NYRR had their Fifth Avenue Mile race in New York City
Sprinting down Manhattan for NMR - Emily RK Chester - Eric Frischberg - Anthony Ricci - Beata Kopec - Julie Be
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 08/27/2024
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Summer Bingo! We are in the final stretch of days to complete all the challenges. So run at sunrise, run at sunset, run in your bathing suit, run with friends, run run run.
James Kay keeps on crushing it while racking up nearly a full board. He's got the most spirited runs and fully dove into the deep end of all the squares. He is totally vested. Still in competition for most creative Board along with Joe DiVico and his NMR All Stars.
Our reigning Queen of Bingo Lisa Schwartz Capelonga has been going toe to toe with Jimmy and I think she's going to have the first full Board of us all.
My favorite stalking square definitely goes to Lauren Marvello Friel and Amy Blanton Friel. On a 16 mile run (which is impressive on its own) they hit an NMR house for each mile. 16 houses, 16 pictures, 16 hot and sweaty miles. Smiling all the way.
I want to send out one more thanks to everyone who woke up early to run the track to celebrate my 1,000 Day running streak. And thanks to everyone who's inspired me and ran with me over the days and years to help me accomplish this milestone.
Also want to recognize Pat Ti because she just reached a large running streak milestone of her own. She crossed 600 Days this past week. I certainly know what it takes to realize that daily persistence. Congratulations it's amazing! One day we'll have to meet up and share our versions of a daily streaking roller coaster.
Congratulations to Susan Werner for running in her latest half marathon. This time it was an evening run in the mountains of West Virginia. Looked like a real cool event.
Enjoy a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 08/20/2024
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Run the Boards in Long Beach was another NMR success. Thanks as always to Christian Forie and Bridget Forie and Christopher Jacobi and Jodi Jacobi for putting together a great race and of course the post run festivities. We had a large turnout for the race with sunny skies and good vibes. This was probably the best weather for Run the Boards since we didn't have to run the second half into beachfront headwinds. Once we touched the famous blue wall turnaround it was a relief to have an easier path to where we began. Despite best efforts by Lori Innamorata, Amador Antonio, and Scott Hall to divert runners into their group run bubble, only Vincent Feola took the bait. He got a tad lost and twisted around but managed to find his way back to the finish line.
Sharing drinks and laughs at the bar once we all finished is what solidifies our NMR community. We can run for fun, or run for competitiveness, but we all enjoy hanging out together and that's what makes nights like this so special.
If the lovefest wasn't fully complete, we had our own Tara Hofmayer's birthday to celebrate too. What better way to celebrate by running across Long Beach and then having everyone in the bar sing while you blow out your candles. Happy Birthday!
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for finishing first overall female and Lauren Marvello Friel for third overall female.
The top three men's finishers were not NMR guys, but they sure were blazing fast.
A lot of BINGO runners out there having fun sloshing through rainstorms or creatively stalking various NMR homes. Now we have our first midnight runners as Lauren Marvello Friel and Lee Michele took to the streets of Merrick at 12AM. And they somehow convinced their daughters to join them which is equally impressive.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 08/14/2024
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After last week's intense rainstorms it's a welcome return to the summer heat and sunshine. Much much better. I see Lisa Schwartz Capelonga and James Kay crushing it for Bingo. Knocking down challenges every day. Our All Stars so far. Also nice to see David Basile back in action. The weather is looking fantastic for Run the Boards in Long Beach. Hope to see everyone's happy smiles tomorrow night.
Our friends from the Ragnar Run club completed a trail run relay in the West Virginia Appalachians this past weekend. Right from the start their tents were flooded from the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby and began their first morning dealing with all their gear soaked. Of course the team persevered and battled through the elements while tackling the challenge of wild course conditions. It will be a Ragnar that they will remember forever. Congratulations to Daniella Leifer - Jonah Rangel - Tania Sophia - Samantha Joltin - Joelle Wille - Jess Jordan - and whoever else I am missing
Paris Olympics have concluded and the track and field events were awesome. A lot of thrilling sprints and hurdles for both women and men's races. That photo finish by the width of a hair for Noah Lyles 100 meter victory was legendary. Even the women's marathon had some entanglements down the stretch of a real close finish line. Sifan Hassan not only won marathon gold with her record time, but she medaled in the 5,000m and 10,000m as well. Only the second person to accomplish this crazy feat in the same Olympic games. I had Olympic fever throughout the entire games from except for the terrible Break Dancing. Was that a joke on all of us to watch two people engage in a stupid dance off? And they "earned" medals for that? At least baseball returns to Los Angeles in 2028
Keep on enjoying the Bingo challenges and summer running.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 08/08/2024
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Fan favorite summer BINGO is back in action. Have fun with all the challenges as you try to fill up as many squares on the board this month. And let's see how artistic you can get marking up your Bingo board. Check out James Kay and Joe DiVico for creative inspiration.
Lisa Schwartz Capelonga already has the first BINGO row. Nicely done.
The F45/Ragnar crew needs to step it up. Looks like Jonah Rangel is the only one representing.
The final Summer Series race was at Jones Beach Monday night for a 5 Mile run.
Capping off the summer series for NMR
Keith Dipolito - Sue Moller - Sharon Ann - Kristen Kelly - Lauren Marvello Friel - Amy Blanton Friel - Lauren Juchem - James Kay - Lee Michele - Dan Iel - Alice Taormina - let me know if I missed anyone
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning first place in her age group. Adding to her collection of medals captured for the season. Awesome job!
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning third place in his age group. Also adding to his collection of medals for the season. Awesome job too!
Congrats to Drew McLaughlin for completing 9+1 to qualify for next year's 2025 NYC Marathon.
Next week we have Run the Boards in Long Beach which is always a great night, especially hanging out afterwards.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 07/23/2024
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It has been a very wild turn of events in the world beyond running this past week.
But I am going to keep this recap nice and brief.
Summer Run Series continued yesterday. Hempstead Lake State Park 5K
NMR Runners
James Kay - Alice Taormina - Jack Scotti - Josh Fleischmann - Jackie Sobota - Sharon Ann - Kristen Kelly - Julie Be - Jess Jordan - Leslie Pepper Lido - Amy Blanton Friel - Beata Kopec - Tania Sophia - Lauren Juchem - Dan Iel - Sue Moller - Lori Innamorata - Susan Werner
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning first place in her age group. Finally got that #1 medal!
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning second place in his age group.
Great job to all as always.
Run As You Are everyone.
Facebook Recap on 07/16/2024
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These summer days are all about heat and humidity. Lately, it's either running through an open air oven or dodging rainstorms. It beats bundling up and running during 25 degree winter mornings if you ask me. Stay hydrated out there.
Summer Run Series continues last night with the 1 Mile sand run at Robert Moses State Park
It may sound easy just to run a mile but it's a lot tougher than you would realize, especially if the sand is soft. Could be unforgiving on the ankles.
Good job to all these NMR sand runners
James Kay - Lauren Marvello Friel - Lee Michele - Tania Sophia - Austin Rangel - Sharon Ann - Sue Moller - Josh Fleischmann
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning 2nd in her age group
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning 2nd in his age group
Congratulations to Jaime Ray for winning 3rd place in her age group at the Waterfront Warriors 5K in Long Beach
Congratulations to Lauren Juchem for winning 1st place in her age group at the LIRRC 5K at Eisenhower Park
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook Recap on 07/09/2024
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So who has capture the flag withdrawal symptoms? Fret not, there's always more NMR challenges on the horizon.
Fourth of July annual Bellmore Striders Independence Day 4 Mile Run always brings out a large crowd. It's such a great way to kick off the holiday. This year we were fortunate that the cloud cover provided one of the best running conditions for this race in many years. We had a ton of people running so if I miss anyone just let me know.
James Kay - Amy Blanton Friel - Jeffrey Odin - Melissa Odin Horowitz - Matt Ray - Dan Iel - Joe DiVico - Yuri Yanpolski - Keith Dipolito - Robert Louis - Julie Be - Louise Gonzalez Senato - Leslie Pepper Lido - Tina Theresa - Jennifer Beitchman and daughter Zoe - Lauren Juchem - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Lisa Testaverde Rossi - Steven Mastromarino - Rose Efstathiou - Adrienne Markowski - Laura Marino - Tania Sophia - Drew McLaughlin - Jonah Rangel - Joelle Wille - Salvatore Birardi - Timothy Droge - Laura Sullivan - Rivkah Halpern - Susan Werner - Scott Hall
Sami Saad who lugged her wonderful dog Donnie in a stroller through the 4 miles of heat and humidity. Poop stops, water breaks, and doggy distractions and they still managed to cross the finish line a few seconds before the oldest runner who is 97 years old.
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning first place in her age group
Congratulations to Susan Keogh for winning first place in her age group
Congratulations to Dotty Mazza for winning first place in her age group
Congratulations to Alice Taormina for winning third place in her age group
Congratulations to Robert Berghorn Jr for winning third place in his age group
Also on July 4th there was the Independence 8K race in Swarthmore, PA
Running in tandem was Sue Moller and Matt Adler. Extra congratulations to Matt for winning second place in his age group
Summer Run Series at Caumsett Park was shortened to a 1 Mile race due to high heat and humidity.
NMR runners who made the trip last night to run a sprint.
Amy Blanton Friel - James Kay - Josh Fleischmann - Kristen Kelly - Sharon Ann - Lauren Juchem - Susan Werner - Sue Moller - Keith Dipolito
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning second place in his age group with a speedy mile and PR! Amazing sprint
Last but not least, we have a couple of real scofflaws in our midst. If you spot Lori Innamorata and Amador Antonio dodging traffic and running through red lights steer clear unless you want to be associated with their lawless behavior. Jaywalking is no joke.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 07/02/2024
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The annual David Lerner Police Appreciation 5K Run was held on Thursday night at Eisenhower Park.
NMR well represented by - Keith Dipolito and Jeffrey Odin and Sue Moller and Lori Innamorata and Amador Antonio and Laura Marino and Eric Bernstein and Julie Be
NMR also cleaned up with a lot of hardware
Congratulations to Eric Frischberg for winning 3rd place in his age group. Extra congratulations for setting another 5k PR! He's having and amazing speedy stretch of races lately.
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning 2nd place in his age group with another fast race. Finished just seconds behind Eric.
Congratulations to Sloan Yoselowitz for winning 2nd in his age group. Awesome!
Congratulations to Jackie Sobota for winning 2nd in her age group. Way to go!
Congratulations to Robert Berghorn Jr for winning 3rd in his age group. Great job!
Congratulations to Dotty Mazza for winning 3rd place in her age group
Susan Werner ran in another road trip Half Marathon which is now #117 This time it was in Missoula, MO and you can check out her post where she talks about it.
Congratulations to Marc Turner for winning 1st place in his age group for the Tyree Curry Memorial 5K in Hempstead
What do we do, now that all the flags have been captured?
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 06/27/2024
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Congratulations to Adrienne Markowski for winning 3rd place in her age group at the Massapequa Firecracker 5K
The inaugural Rainbow Pride Run 5K at Eisenhower Park was this weekend. It was such a humid and sizzling morning that we were drenched and dripping before the race horn blared. I swear that Lori Innamorata and Alice Taormina drank 3 water bottles each at the end of the race.
Showing their Pride colors during the race. Eric Frischberg and Lisa Testaverde Rossi and Alice Taormina and Lori Innamorata and Leslie Pepper Lido and Marc Turner
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning first overall female! Another impressive race.
Congratulations to Marc Struck for winning second overall male and also the second overall finisher of the race! He's now a little bit less mysterious as we finally got to chitchat. And he made it into his first group NMR photo which is the real prize.
Summer Series Run week #3 was the Belmont Lake 5K
Running for NMR (let me know if I missed anyone)
Keith Dipolito - Amy Blanton Friel - Sue Moller - James Kay - Kristen Kelly - Sharon Ann - Susan Werner - Jack Scotti - Sloan Yoselowitz - Jackie Sobota - Leslie Pepper Lido congrats on her 5K PR!
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning 2nd place in her age group. Really incredible two day turnaround from the Pride Run and still running a super speedy race time.
Congratulations to Ken Junior who I presume placed in the top 3 of his age group.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 06/18/2024
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The annual NYRR Queens 10K was on Saturday. It's a crowded race with a lot of tight streets on the course and parking is a nightmare. For the life of me I can't understand why this race is so popular every year. We had a lot of NMR runners taking on this challenge.
Emily RK Chester - Jeffrey Odin - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Robert Louis - Jackie Sobota - Rose Efstathiou - Jen Brenner Rowell - Columbia Ciccimarro - Julie Be - Catharina Kleuskens - Kristen Kelly - David Basile - Adrienne Markowski - Sharon Ann
Congratulations to Kristen Snipp for ringing the bell completing her 9+1! Awesome job and it's not even the end of June yet.
Second Summer Series run was the Sunken Meadow 5K yesterday.
Running for NMR
Lauren Juchem - Sharon Ann - Sue Moller - Kristen Kelly - Lauren Marvello Friel and her daughter - Amy Blanton Friel - Keith Dipolito - James Kay
Josh Fleischmann - great job for setting a 5K PR!
Leslie Pepper Lido - great job for also setting a 5K PR!
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning second place in her age group. Back to back races with a blistering time in the 19:30's! Those new shoes really have you flying.
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning third place in his age group. He had his own lightning fast race at 19:29. Simply amazing speed!
Congratulations to Alice Taormina for winning third place in her age group. Great job!
Let me know if I missed anyone's race participation.
Run As You Are everyone.
Facebook RecAP on 06/11/2024
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The Mastercard Mini 10K took place on Saturday in Manhattan.
We had some wonderful women of NMR running this race. Jan Kotowski-Chang leading the charge while Columbia Ciccimarro and Kristen Snipp both garnered PR's for their 10K runs. Amazing job especially hitting those PR's!
Amador Antonio ran in yet another half marathon. This time it was the BQBE Half over the weekend. Dude is racking up miles upon miles. Incredible!
Summer Run Series kicked off last night with a 5 Mile race at Heckscher State Park
NMR Runners (let me know if I missed anyone)
Keith Dipolito - Leslie Pepper Lido - Lauren Marvello Friel - Lauren Juchem - Amy Blanton Friel - Lee Michele - Kristen Kelly - Sharon Ann - Josh Fleischmann - Jackie Sobota - Sue Moller
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning second in her age group. But most impressive is that she ran for a 19:30 5K time during the race for her PR. Totally amazing! If this race was another mile in distance, she could have broken past a 40 minute 10K. It's going to happen.
Congratulations to Alice Taormina for winning 3rd place in her age group. Awesome job!
Congratulations to Ken Junior for winning 3rd place in his age group. Awesome job to you too!
Proper congratulations to Sue Moller for last weekend. She jumped off the end of a ferry into the waters of New Jersey to start the Escape the Cape Olympic Triathlon. Very cool race.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 06/04/2024
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Chapter 1
Robbie's 5K Run on Sunday is always such a fantastic community event to support the Forever 9 Foundation. The roots of the foundation are born out of tragedy, but the festive nature of whole morning becomes a great tribute to the Levine family and legacy of their son. We had an amazing day for an amazing set of races. Thanks as always to the Forie's and Jacobi's for setting up the NMR tent and gathering bibs and shirts for many of our runners.
Here's the round up of NMR runners and if I forget anyone please message me or let us know in the comments. We might have had our largest participation this year and even got a special mention from Jill Levine during the awards ceremony. NMR recognition!
Congratulations to all our great runners
Steven Mastromarino with his best showing
Jeffrey Odin with his 5K race day PR, yeah buddy!
Scott Hall - Sloan Yoselowitz - Christy Roman - Jason Faver - Erin Faver - Salvatore Birardi - Amador Antonio - Jodi Jacobi - Christian Forie still battling through injury - Jean Frohman - Jan Kotowski-Chang
Dynamic Duo Kristen Snipp & Jen Brenner Rowell
Eleanor Meyers - Lisa Carlin Brunengraber - Kristen Kelly - Jaime Ray - Adrienne Markowski - Leslie Pepper Lido - Kim Scharoff - John Robert - Jennifer Beitchman - Bridget Forie - David Basile - Louise Gonzalez Senato - Lauren Juchem - Rose Efstathiou - Samantha Joltin - Daniella Leifer - Tina Theresa
NMR totally cleaned up with awards and plaques. Congratulations to our winners!
Marc Struck - the mysterious speedster was second overall and also first in his age group. Clocking in at an incredible time of 17:13 which is essentially a 5:30 pace for 3.1 miles. He's on a whole next level!
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning top overall female! Is this a better win than a 3 foot chocolate bunny?
Congratulations to Eric Frischberg for winning first place in his age group. Another speedy race breaking the 20 minute mark. Awesome job!
Congratulations to Christopher Jacobi for winning first place in his age group. Coming up big time with a lightning race day pace!
Congratulations to Lauren Marvello Friel for winning first place in her age group. Sharing the podium with Lee Michele who had third place. Great job ladies!
NMR had an amazing clean sweep of the female 44-49 age group
Congratulations to this super trio!
Jackie Sobota for first place
Amy Blanton Friel for second place
Alice Taormina for third place
Congratulations to Lori Innamorata for winning third place in her age group
Congratulations to Lisa Testaverde Rossi for winning first place in her age group. Sharing the podium with Diane Bownes who placed second
Congratulations to Lisa Schwartz Capelonga for winning second place in her age group
Congratulations to Marc Turner for winning first place in my age group. Happy to share the podium with Jay Senzatimore (not on Facebook) who was running right behind me in second place
Congratulations to Chris Caruso for winning third place in his age group. He went home and didn't even realize he placed. Nice surprise.
Special kudos to Dafna Stempel for stroller running with Dylan. But doing this less than 2 weeks since giving birth to NMR future star baby Oren. Incredible!
A lot of kids also ran in the 5K and 1 Mile races too. So be a proud parent and shout out your kid's accomplishment in the comments.
What an awesome morning for NMR and the Merrick running community.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 05/28/2024
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Always grateful for our fallen military men and women as we honor them on Memorial Day.
The Blue Angels and the rest of the air show planes were racing through the sky since Friday morning. Those of you on the southern shore with great views were able to capture awesome pictures. The rest of us felt as if those planes were directly over our homes even though they were out of sight.
We were fortunate to have such beautiful summer-like weather for most of the past 5 days until the washout yesterday afternoon. The parade still marched up Merrick Avenue.
Congratulations to Kim Scharoff for completing another half marathon. This time she travelled way upstate New York to run in the Buffalo Half. Amazing!
Our next road warrior is Lori Innamorata She couldn't simply enjoy the holiday weekend on the beach in Delaware. Not with the Justin's Beach House 5K happening down the boardwalk. Congratulations to Lori for claiming 3rd place in her age group!
The Long Beach 10 Miler was this past weekend. Repping NMR for this race along the beach were Louise Gonzalez Senato and Laura Sullivan and Sloan Yoselowitz Great job runners!
We finally welcome the latest addition to the next generation of NMR. The hype machine of the Roberts' baby journey had paparazzi working overtime covering Dafna Stempel's pregnancy races on Long Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and more. I think we all expected her to run 10 miles to the hospital with a medal waiting for her at intake. All kidding aside, congratulations to proud parents Dafna Stempel and Robert Louis on the birth of Dylan's baby brother.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 05/21/2024
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The Brooklyn Half Marathon brought out a large NMR contingent as usual this weekend. Thankfully the weather was excellent all weekend, no rainstorms nor 2 foot deep puddles like last year. Wonderful race conditions.
Congratulations to all our awesome finishers.
Amador Antonio - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Maureen King - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Catharina Kleuskens - Christy Roman - Lee Michele - Adrienne Markowski - Elvis Santana - Kelly Dulka - Ryan Sirignano - Chad Grieco - Melissa Odin Horowitz
Kristen Snipp and Jen Brenner Rowell checking off yet another half marathon together. What an amazing series of races these past few months.
Congratulations to Jeffrey Odin for battling through lingering injuries and setting a PR! It's those magical shoes for sure.
Congratulations to Alice Taormina for her half marathon PR. That's 2 for 2 PR's in a row from NYC to Brooklyn. Awesome!
Robert Louis is just running as many races as he can before his legs stage a revolution. Capping off an impressive stretch over these last two months including the NYC Half, Boston Marathon, Long Island Marathon, and a couple of 5K's sprinkled in the mix. Dafna Stempel has been cheering at every turn. She's had her own impressive total 500 miles of running while ready to give birth to baby #2 real soon. Nothing stopping the Roberts' . . . except diaper duty.
Congratulations to Lori Innamorata for running in the Rhode Island Half Marathon. Gutting it out through lingering pain issues warrior style. Apparently this is an inaugural race so that's pretty cool.
Congratulations to Susan Keogh for winning 1st place in her age group at the SHEF in Motion 5K in Huntington. Great job!
Enjoy a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 05/14/2024
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Hope all the moms and grandmoms of NMR had a wonderful Mother's Day.
It's been a week of wacky weather. Turn on the AC in the house one day, pump up the heat a few days later. Dodging rainstorms during runs and races. But the flowers are blooming and the sun is shining. That's merely a backdrop for a vigorous birthday competition underway in Seaford between Amy Blanton Friel and Chris Caruso. Although they share their special together and happen to be neighbors around the block, nothing is sacred when it comes to Local Legend status on the Nimrod segment. Amy had it captured (even though there are warning signs with her picture adorning poles around the avenue). But Chris has regained the upper hand through a ridiculous straight line 10k run back and forth on Nimrod Street. What comes next?
Central Islip Fire Department 5K was this past weekend.
Congratulations to Lori Innamorata for winning 2nd place in her age group. Nice Mother's Day gift to yourself.
Major Congratulations to Ken Junior for 3rd male overall in the whole race. Not only did he set a 5k PR but did so in blistering fashion, breaking 19 minutes clocking in at 18:40 Simply insane!
Mother's Day Duathlon was in Great River on Sunday
Tara Hofmayer kicked off Mother's Day with her squad of Steve Hofmayer and daughters cheering her on. Awesome!
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning 2nd place in her age group. Another Mother's Day gift for herself.
The YMCA 5K was in Glen Cove this weekend.
Julie Be and her daughter ran together. Very cool.
Matt Ray completed his 40 5K's by his birthday goal. Impressive accomplishment. But he wasn't done, for an encore he ran in the Sri Chinmoy 5K in Queens with his wife Jaimie. And his son did the kids fun run too. What a fantastic way to celebrate turning 40.
Finally, if you haven't seen Jeffrey Odin's video post of our latest Merrick Morning running adventure, check it out.
Run As You Are Everyone
Facebook RecAP on 05/07/2024
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It was the big Long Island marathon weekend of races and festivities. Surprisingly, we didn't have a lot of NMR runners participating considering this is a local showcase event. But our friends sure made their mark throughout the various race day distances.
Amador Antonio pulled off a most impressive hat trick. He completed the trifecta of running the 5K, and the 10K, and the Half marathon all three days in a row. Now that alone is a remarkable feat all by itself. Amador garnered a PR for himself in all three races each day. Totally insane to pull that off. Amador the All Star!
Also on a PR streak of her own, Kim Scharoff ripped off another PR for both her 5K and 10K performances. Two days in a row and two more PR's is awesome. Great job again!
Congratulations to Louise Gonzalez Senato for winning 3rd place in her age group in the Half Marathon
Congratulations to Vincent Feola for setting a PR for his Half Marathon run
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning 1st place in her age group for the 5K and 2nd overall female
Congratulations to Matt Adler for running the Full Marathon. That's 4 marathons in less than 7 months. WOW
Congratulations to Sue Moller for running as a pacer for the Half marathon. Well done handling that role.
Big Congratulations to Robert Louis for setting his PR in the Full Marathon clocking in at less than 3:30 Amazing race! This was even more special since he just came off a rough and tumble Boston Marathon finish 3 weeks ago. Redemption completed!
Also part of the weekend events. Alice Taormina and her husband and daughter did the Friends of Karen 5K Walk. It's always great when the family participates.
The NYRR Mindful 5K was in NYC on Saturday.
Jen Brenner Rowell and Kristen Snipp running the race together seems to be a weekly pattern these days. Excellent job ladies!
Also running were Kristen Kelly and Dafna Stempel who can finally take a breather before welcoming baby #2. Check out her Facebook post with great race day pictures and commentary.
Congratulations to Columbia Ciccimarro for netting another PR in the 5K. Great job racking up more records for herself!
Susan Werner ran the Revel White Mountains Half Marathon. I've lost track, but she's past 100 races and this one sounds like her most favorite of all.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 04/30/2024
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It seems that half of NMR took advantage of this school break period to head off on vacation. We have seen people charting their courses all over the world lately. It's always so cool to see beaches, exotic locales, and city sightseeing pictures from all those runs. Welcome home and now back to reality.
Kim Scharoff just ran her 96th half marathon. Tackling the Jim Thorpe Half in Pennsylvania and capturing her PR for the second time in less than a month. Keep it up Kim!
Amy Blanton Friel put together the superstar performance of the week. Crushing the London Marathon wasn't enough so she ran the Aspire 10K in Plainview 6 days later. Earning a spot on the top the medal podium with a 1st place finish in her age group. Simply amazing! Nothing is slowing her down these days.
The Real Simple Women's Half Marathon was a NYRR event this weekend in Manhattan.
Coming off a fantastic NYC Half just a month ago, Kristen Snipp and Jen Brenner Rowell ran together once again. Extra congratulations to Jen Brenner Rowell for securing herself another PR too for the second time. Excellent!
Also running were Deborah Mackler Gordon and AH Berkowitz
The Run for the Wild 5K took place at the Bronx Zoo
Neal Botkounov ran with his daughter Mila. What a fun experience racing around lions and tigers and bears . . . oh my. Looks like Mila had an awesome time. Daddy daughter running together such a beautiful thing.
NYC Runs Brooklyn Half Marathon and we had one person from NMR running. Congrats to Rivkah Halpern for completing the Brooklyn half.
For a truly messy experience you could have ventured out to the trails at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Westchester County. The annual Leatherman's Loop 10K takes on multiple water crossings through forest land and swampy dirty paths. Vincent Feola looks like he spent as much time flopping around the water as he did navigating the trail course. I bet he loved every minute of it though. Ultimate warrior of the weekend goes to Sami Saad who turned Leatherman's into her own mud and blood loop. Coated in muck with blood dripped knees trickling down her legs, Sami was still all thumbs up and smiles. I would expect nothing less.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 04/23/2024
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Kicking off Earth Day, we had some of our dark o'clock crew picking up garbage up and down Merrick Avenue. More bending and scooping than running, but we filled and refilled our bags with trash multiple times. Kudos to Tara Hofmayer for capturing our undertaking with a great video. Also, surviving the morning without contracting hepatitis - James Kay - Emily RK Chester - Marc Turner - Eric Frischberg - Jan Kotowski-Chang
Matt Ray did his own Earth Day clean up run hauling in a large garbage bag of trash too. Well done.
Thirsty Thursday was a colder than normal evening for mid April so we had a tight group running around town. James Kay - Marc Turner - Jean Frohman - Jay Senzatimore and a couple of F45 friends enjoyed some post run spirited conversations over spirits at Bourbon & Brews. Shout out to Neal Botkounov making a long awaited appearance.
Our London Quartet flew to England, toured the sights, snapped great pictures, indulged in some lovely British lagers (just assuming). Then proceeded to crush the 2024 London Marathon bestowing glory upon NMR across the pond.
Our superstars
Yuri Yanpolski accomplishing a new PR for himself. He was cruising from the start and kept his pace steady all the way to the finish. Awesome race Yuri!
Keith Dipolito another marathon PR for himself too. He was having so much fun running the London course he ran all the way into his top performance. Great job!
Amy Blanton Friel killing it with her second fastest marathon time. Notching another international race towards the coveted 6 world marathons. What's next?
Lori Innamorata she was oh so close to deferring due to injury. We all know there's not much to keep this warrior on the sidelines. Way to go Lori for sailing through the marathon!
Congratulations to Scott Hall for getting 1st place in his age group at the Earth Day 5K at Eisenhower Park. Tough run on a rainy race day morning.
Congratulations to Matt Ray for getting 3rd place in his age group at the Greenport Run for the Petals 5K. Making it even better, his wife Jaime Ray ran her first 5K in many years. Awesome job to both of you!
The RBC Race for the Kids 4 Miler was held in NYC. We had a nice contingent of NMR ladies running this on Sunday. Great work at the race.
Columbia Ciccimarro - Kristen Snipp - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Sharon Ann - Kristen Kelly
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 04/17/2024
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It was a wild week dominated by a theme of endurance and fortitude punctuated by a little dose of absurdity. Or rather, a large amount of on brand NMR insanity that I'll get to at the end. There were a fair number of long distance races all happening this past weekend touching off in various cities near and far. If I miss anyone who participated just message me or leave a comment.
THE Boston Marathon, which is perhaps the most exclusive to enter and competitive of all the world majors just concluded on a warmer than normal Patriot's Day. You may not think that an extra 15 degrees and beautiful sunshine would have such an effect, but it can really slow down runners during a marathon. Despite the heat impact, our NMR runners handled it with great stride as we would expect. Great job to Robert Louis for his first Boston Marathon finish. All those long run training days paid off on race day. I don't know how you manage to get it all done with a toddler at home and second baby due in a few weeks.
Adrienne Markowski notching another marathon on her way towards capturing all 6 of the BIG ones. Awesome job!
This brings us to Emily RK Chester who battled through a tough second half to crush it on her way to a fantastic marathon clocking in at 3 1/2 hours. Simply incredible! Her second time running THE Boston certainly helped and was much better than last year's rain soaked race. Maybe take a few days to slow it down a bit?
The Jersey City Half Marathon was also this weekend. Running in yet another Half, we had Amador Antonio on the road. Well done out there.
At Cedar Creek Park, the Spring Duathlon got the bike riders and runners mashed up together. Chris Caruso, his wife Anna and daughter Ava were all over the course. Once again, it's so awesome to have your family involved. Makes for special moments.
Congratulations to Sue Moller for getting second place in the Athena group. Awesome!
Now for the most grueling event of the weekend. The Shore 2 Shore trail run. It's a tough course that begins at Sunken Meadow Park and takes runners along the Greenbelt Trail down to Heckscher Park. It's a long day traversing wooded trails winding throughout Suffolk County and even passing through some graffiti emblazoned tunnels and tight spaces.
The warriors who completed the 25K distance are:
The Ultimate Warrior of them all is Ken Junior. If you can believe it, Ken finished the most amazing undertaking of the Shore 2 Shore 2 Shore and even more. He logged a whopping 100K distance! Yes you are reading that correctly. That's 2 1/2 full marathons of trail running, hiking, jogging, immersed in nature the entire day. Ken has posted a YouTube video of his journey which is totally amazing to watch. What a most incredible feat of endurance and determination.
Finally, the wackiness of NMR was in full form Sunday morning. Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi finally took their obsessions with ice baths to an equally lunatic-inclined group of us. When offered the idea of testing out the first group session of dunking in an ice bath none of us flinched for a second. Just bring a bag of ice they said. We'll have bagels for you they said. Y'all can do a mile run and some exercises first they said. What in the world is wrong with us?
Everything was captured on the latest edition of everyone's favorite podcast Run As You Are. The commentary from Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi is hysterical and you just have to listen to feel the experience. Hearing Emily RK Chester's reaction is priceless as well as laughing at my own struggles in the frigid water. Thank you (or curses to you) Christian and Bridget Forie for hosting us for your entertainment purposes.
Participants of complete absurdity:
James Kay - Amy Blanton Friel - Tara Hofmayer - Keith Dipolito - Emily RK Chester - Marc Turner - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Jeffrey Odin
Emily drove up to Boston right after this to get ready for the marathon.
With the upcoming London Marathon this weekend, we send safe travel wishes to Yuri Yanpolski and Amy Blanton Friel and Lori Innamorata and Keith Dipolito. Have a wonderful time in London and enjoy a great race.
Run As You Are Everyone
Facebook RecAP on 04/09/2024
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Most extreme event of the week - THE ECLIPSE. Wait a moment, the most extreme event was THE EARTHQUAKE. Wait a moment, the most extreme event was THE FLOODING RAINSTORMS. It has been a climatologist's full on dream scenario. Yet we continue to run through all these insane meteorological elements with gusto. If anyone was in the middle of a run during the quake or the after shock please share because I'm interested to know what that felt like.
The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler was in Washington D.C. this weekend.
We had a bunch of NMR runners joying the beautiful blooming trees for this race.
Sami Saad
Laura Marino
Jackie Sobota
Beata Kopec
Another Half Marathon for Susan Werner This time it was the Lincoln Presidential Half in Springfield, IL. Amazing yet again!
Capturing all the awards this weekend on and off the course, Kim Scharoff First of all, she ran her 95th half marathon completing the Run A Palooza Half in Asbury Park, NJ. What a great name for a race. Plus she set a PR for herself which was a long time in the making. Fantastic job Kim!
On top of all that, she was quoted in Newsday in the real estate section Buying In: Merrick profile. Another NMR celebrity in our midst.
A new episode of the Run As You Are podcast just dropped.
The MTA had the nerve to ask NYRR to squeeze more money from runners for the NYC Marathon to help cover lost toll revenues. This made national news. What complete nonsense. Thankfully our governor shot that down right away.
Whew, what a wild week.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 04/02/2024
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Where oh where to begin?
Let's start with a challenge that was still floating in the wind. Saturday morning at MAMS was the setting and there were 4 brave souls, some may call them lunatics, who embarked on a journey to complete a single mile around the track. No ordinary mile, but THE IMPOSSIBLE MILE. Consisting of one full lap of burpees, followed by one lap of lunges, followed by one lap of bear crawls, and completed with a final lap of running/jogging or collapsing. You may be saying to yourself, I can do burpees and I can do lunges. You may think this is doable and how difficult could it really be? Let me just tell you how intense and insane this really was. It took us over an hour complete and each lap was more and more painful. By the time we hit the bear crawls it was as if time was going in reverse and the end of the track was never going to arrive.
Our four heroes who conquered The Impossible Mile
James Kay
Marc Turner
Eric Frischberg
Jack Scotti
Thank you to our cheering squad, motivators, and hecklers Emily RK Chester - Joe DiVico - Tara Hofmayer - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Keith Dipolito. We couldn't have done it without you. Thanks to Jan and Tara for the videos and livestreaming our foolishness. Special kudos to Jack Scotti for zooming through and lapping the rest of us to finish first. He is certainly built for this challenge. Kudos to James Kay for organizing and doing some lunges with his daughter Abby on his shoulders. Not sure if I can really thank Jimmy since my butt is still sore and my quads are barking at me too.
The LIRR Ducks Bunny 5K at Eisenhower Park was supposed to be a simple race considering it was Easter morning. The weather was sunny and mild putting everyone into high spirits for the holiday weekend. Well this is NMR and we know how to take it up a few notches. It was a fantastic event and turned out to be a momentous morning.
We gathered a lot of hardware.
Congratulations to Eric Frischberg for winning 1st in his age group and breaking a 20 minute 5K. It's even more impressive given the morning after our Impossible Mile.
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for 1st overall female! Winning a trophy and oversize chocolate bunny that her daughter Lily no doubt is still enjoying.
Congratulations to Robert Louis for 3rd in his age group and also just missing out on breaking 20 minutes by fractions of a second. He's been on fire lately!
Congratulations to Melissa Odin Horowitz for 2nd in her age group
Congratulations to Marc Turner for 1st in his age group. It's with personal joy to give a special congratulations to Jeffrey Odin for sharing our medal podium with a 3rd place finish in our age group. Awesome job buddy!
Kim Scharoff ran a great race with her fastest East Meadow 5K
The real winners were Jane Vongvorachoti and Dafna Stempel who are both about to give birth next month while still completing a 5K race. Just amazing for both of you incredible women!
The biggest story of the weekend was News 12 interviewing Emily RK Chester and her daughter Lily right after crossing the finish line. How cool was that! Click the link in the comments below to see the video. Representing on camera to shout out holiday cheer from NMR were celebrity runners Jeffrey Odin and Marc Turner and Melissa Odin Horowitz and Emily RK Chester and Eric Frischberg. We'll be signing autographs on the corner of Merrick Avenue and Smith Street this Friday afternoon.
The Kings Park 15K was on Saturday. It's a challenging and very very hilly race. This course is no joke.
Congratulations to Lauren Juchem for winning 1st in the Athena division
Congratulations to Sue Moller for winning 2nd in the Athena divisioin
Great job ladies!
Running the 5k Bunny Hop in Bethpage on Saturday was Scott Hall and his wife Allison. A fun trail run and they crossed the finish line together hand in hand.
Run As You Are everyone
Long Island Road Runners Club holds annual Easter Bunny 5K race (news12.com)
Facebook RecAP on 03/26/2024
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The afterglow of the NYC Half Marathon continued throughout the week. After recovering from sore muscles and various aches, NMR runners were back at it and hitting the streets as usual. Culminating in an extra special Thirsty Thursday night local run at Bourbon and Brews. Whether you ran that evening or simply arrived to share drinks (best part of course) it was a super fun evening. A lot of proud NMR runners wearing their well earned finisher medals while enjoying swapping stories of a fantastic day in New York City.
We also had a chance to celebrate birthdays for a couple of our favorite ladies. Embarrassing them by singing happy birthday to Lori Innamorata at our Wednesday morning track and embarrassing Jodi Jacobi by singing at the bar on Thursday night. You know you both secretly loved it.
The only crew to actually do Merrick Mondays, faithfully got their last Monday in the books. Nicely done James Kay and Amy Blanton Friel and Emily RK Chester and Tara Hofmayer and Alice Taormina
Anyone interested in tackling the Impossible Mile? We are planning on getting a group together this Saturday morning at 8am at MAMS.
Congratulations to Susan Werner for running the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon. She did back to back half marathon weekends and ran this one in heavy rain and crappy conditions. Powering through with grit and determination!
Congratulations to the winners of the Brooklyn Half Marathon raffle. Getting the 2 bibs are Jeffrey Odin and Lisa Carlin Brunengraber
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 03/19/2024
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What an absolutely amazing weekend. Who decided to close down 42nd Street in Manhattan on St. Paddy's Day so 30,000 people could run across town into Central Park? Turned out to be a pretty darned good idea. Fantastic weather conditions for the NYC Half Marathon and the city vibe was totally electric.
A big thank you to the Forie's and Jacobi's for coordinating the early morning bus to take us to the starting line in Brooklyn. Thank you to Yuri Yanpolski and also Laura Grieco's husband for volunteering at the race. And a big thank you to everyone's family and friends cheering and encouraging our runners along the streets of the city.
On to the good stuff.
First of all, I would like to give a huge congratulations to Susan Keogh for finishing first in her age group in the NYC Half. She is so humble and hadn't said a word about her achievement after the race. So proud that she was able to accomplish such an incredible feat on such a big stage.
Another huge congratulations to Dafna Stempel for running while nearly 30 weeks pregnant. She managed to sneak into Wave 1 with us so she could hang out and start with hubby Robert Louis. (don't snitch and tell NYRR) Not only did she hit her goal time for the race, but Dafna was smiling all day long.
There were way too many people who ran to list them all and I don't want to leave anyone out. There were plenty of runners who hit PR's so I would like to highlight those who achieved a milestone for their half marathon.
NMR 2024 PR crew
Amador Antonio
Jen Brenner Rowell
Kristen Snipp
Robert Louis
Alice Taormina
Columbia Ciccimarro
Jan Kotowski-Chang
Marc Turner (also my redemption run)
Not a PR but congratulations to Bridget Forie and Laura Capo for running their first official half marathon.
If anyone else had a PR or milestone, message me or comment down below.
Running the Washington DC Half Marathon on Saturday, we had Keith Dipolito and Lori Innamorata and Susan Werner leading the way for NMR. Great job everyone.
Running in the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach was Laura Sullivan sporting her NMR shamrock shirt. Way to go Laura.
What a fabulous weekend all around.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 03/13/2024
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We didn't float away after a week of flooding rains. Although it might have felt that way. The timing for Lori Innamorata's inaugural 5K Charity Run was just perfect, sandwiched in between rain storms this past Saturday morning. It was a great turnout for a fun event to raise money for charity to support Whizz Kidz. Honestly an amazing testament to the NMR and also Landshark Endurance community.
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester and Eric Frischberg for winning a uniquely designed "Lori Medal" for being the first overall male and female runners. Even though Lori learned her distance measuring skills from the JFK Runway crew, all of us still figured out how to get ourselves to 3.1 miles around the Hempstead Lake path. After the race there were lots of laughs and good cheer with generous donations of gift baskets raffled off. It was a marvelous morning.
The nightcap brought about yet more partying. John Robert and Kristen Snipp's husband John were rockin' it as guest bartenders at Paddy Power. John and John were having way too much fun behind the bar. A lot of people from NMR made appearances to help them raise money for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. A capstone to a fantastic day!
When most of us left the bar it was pouring so hard I was totally soaked just dashing to my car in the lot. The storm brought down a power line which started a fire right outside the parking lot and the police had the only exit blocked off. This night was truly electric. (cue the dad joke)
To all of us running the NYC Half Marathon, we have a few more days to get psyched for a great run through Brooklyn and Manhattan. It will be especially festive this year happening on St. Patrick's Day which is kind of wild race planning by NYRR. All your training, long runs, and preparations are done and it's time to coast until race day. YOU ARE READY!!!
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 03/05/2024
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Lot's of buzz around town lately. The first F45 - NMR class mashup went down this weekend. It was a packed house of amazing exercise and sweaty passion. I think half of those attending are still recovering from the intensity. Another new NMR adventure collaboration in the books.
Eager beavers James Kay Emily RK Chester Lisa Testaverde Rossi Tara Hofmayer Amy Blanton Friel wasted no time starting Merrick Mondays off with an impressive dark o'clock workout yesterday. Love the video.
Congratulations to Laura Marino for tackling the King of the Hill race at Sunken Meadow Park. She conquered 14 miles on a heavily rainy day. Great job Laura!
The craziest race title goes to the NYRR Washington Heights Salsa Blues and Shamrocks 5K (which keeps up with the mashup theme of the week)
Repping NMR we had Jan Kotowski-Chang and Lisa Schwartz Capelonga and Laura Sullivan
Congratulations to Robert Louis for setting his 5k PR at a blistering speed!
Congratulations to Timothy Droge's son for running in the Tokyo Marathon
We have a double opportunity up ahead this Saturday to have fun and support charitable causes at the same time. Start your morning off with an exciting run at Lori Innamorata's 5K. Guaranteed to be as much fun as Lori's enthusiastic energy. Then top it off by hanging out in the evening at Paddy Power in Merrick; where John Robert and also Kristen Snipp's husband will be guest bartenders. Proceeds of the night will be going towards Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
I guess the only thing left to do is attempt the Impossible Mile.
Run As You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 02/28/2024
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We are closing out February with plenty of cold days, frigid mornings, real deal snowfall, and even some surprising warm temps thrown in the mix. A lot of NMR people scattering the globe on vacation lately and running in some fun and exotic locations. It appears that NMR stickers have been found adorning various locales and new places have been tagged too. Kerri Oborski Maxwell has taken this to a whole other level with an NMR shirt affixed to a tiki hut in St. Lucia. Very cool.
We are less than 3 weeks from the NYC Half Marathon. Long run training has been in full effect for many of us. Keep going for those extended distances when you can, and you'll notice how well you'll feel when it's race day. I see Jen Brenner Rowell set herself a 10 mile PR during one of her long runs. Nicely done.
The Al Gordon 4 Miler was this past Saturday in Brooklyn. Normally I would just say congrats to Robert Louis for completing the race. But he actually ran the darn course 4 times. Yes that's right 4 times. He had a plan to get himself 16 or 18 miles that day was not going to be denied. Is this dedication or lunacy? For those of us who know Rob well, it's still a valid question.
Until next week . . . Run As You are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 02/14/2024
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A very Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovebirds out there.
Nothing like getting off to an early start for a neighborhood morning dark o'clock run over some icy terrain. Just to flash some heart signs for the pics. We received our first real snow storm/snow day just in time to make it look like winter in New York. Kudos to all you brave souls who ran the streets yesterday.
It's been an active week with the annual Polar Bear Plunge in Long Beach on the afternoon of the Super Bowl. Those frigid waters dovetail nicely with Christopher Jacobi and Christian Forie obsession with ice baths. Now I see why they are so hyped to coordinate this every year. Looks like a frosty fun time and the weather was actually mild enough to deal with a February ocean plunge.
Also congrats to Tara Hofmayer and Jan Kotowski-Chang for their Super Bowl box victories! First half of the big game was a snoozefest but that amazing second half action more than compensated. An overtime thriller to keep the party going.
Kicking off Super Bowl Sunday with a game day race, Lisa Schwartz Capelonga and Eileen Duggan ran the NYRR Manhattan Gridiron 4 Miler. Great job Lisa and Eileen!
The latest episode of our Run As You Are podcast dropped. Everyone's favorite assassin, Jay Senzatimore has made his long awaited debut. Episodes are coming fast and furious lately. So now you've got to catch up with James Kay's adventures, Tara Hofmayer's memory lane time traveling back to the care free 90's. Enjoy the podcast fun while you run.
We have some exciting new St. Patty's NMR shirts and hoodies on the online store Pace.bigcartel.com
Run As you Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 02/06/2024
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What's that big bright object up in the sky illuminating our surroundings? After 2 straight weeks of dreary midwinter weather, the SUN has finally returned and it makes such a positive difference. Everything is better with sunshine.
This weekend was a wonderful opportunity for people to re-emerge and jump into some group runs. It was nice to have John Watson back in action as his injured knee heals up.
A bit of controversy during the Long Beach Snowflake 4 Miler. Due to icy conditions on the boardwalk, the organizers rerouted the race and shortened it nearly in half. But never told anyone before or during the race. Not cool. However, that did not stop Matt Adler from winning first in his age group. Congrats Matt! And it didn't prevent our fantastic NMR runners from doing their thing. Emily RK Chester and Lori Innamorata and Dotty Mazza and Susan Keogh
Controversy #2 for the weekend during the NYRR Manhattan 10K
Husband and wife super running couple Robert Louis and Dafna Stempel totally rocked the course. A huge congrats to Robert Louis for hitting his PR for the 10K at a pace under 7 minutes per mile. A huge congrats to Dafna Stempel for conquering it while more than halfway through her pregnancy. So which member of their household claims the most glory?
Congrats to Catharina Kleuskens for running the Fred Lebow Half Marathon 2 weekends ago.
Listen to the one and only Tara Hofmayer on the latest Run As You Are podcast. Today happens to be a significant day as her mother Sally has her final cancer radiation treatment. It's great to ring that bell.
Run as You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 01/23/2024
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It's been nothing but a long stretch of frigid days and brutally cold early mornings. But that doesn't stop NMR from running! Kudos to anyone who braves these harsh winter elements; all bundled up to tackle outdoor running conditions. We finally received our first winter storm since last year and there's still ice and snow covering the tracks at our local schools so be careful out there. Even the Merrick Mountain at Levy Preserve remains off limits despite some of our NMR scofflaws attempting to climb to the top.
Our latest Thirsty Thursday night run from Bourbon and Brews rumbled through Merrick with a spirited crew. With the theme of the week being super cold it was even more motivation to return back to the bar for drinks and a much needed warm up. Thomas Guarino was sporting a bright orange vest that could have illuminated most of Merrick Avenue. Another fun night as always.
Traveling southbound to run in the Charleston, SC Half Marathon where Amy Blanton Friel and Keith Dipolito and Susan Werner had to deal with early morning start time temps below freezing. Not nearly what they expected when they signed up for this. Great job repping NMR in the Palmetto state.
Listen to James Kay on the Run As You Are podcast
Check out the Whats App postings for our regular weekend group runs and random weekday runs too
Jeffrey Odin keeps our website updated with pictures and upcoming events https://www.northmerrickrunners.com
Run as You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 01/15/2024
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It's been a wild week of intense weather around here as we experienced 3 distinct heavy rainstorms along with high whipping winds. Causing all sorts of messy roads and playing havoc with running routines. Our early morning dark o'clock crew shifted our weekly Mepham track from Wednesday to Tuesday and I felt like the rest of week was totally off kilter. Even had Joe DiVico running to the train with us for a surprise birthday send off for Christopher Jacobi on the Merrick platform.
Hope everyone's home survived these storms without any flooding or tree damage.
The big event though was the Blue Point 10 mile Run to the Brewery. It is arguably the most popular winter race on Long Island. This sells out so fast that registration opens up only for two separate occasions as they max out the entrants completely. I suppose the motivation to run 10 miles on the south shore of Long Island on a frigid morning in mid January can only be inspired by all you can drink beer under a large heated tent. This year was the most fortunate weather anyone could ask for, as the rain stopped and bestowed a 50+ degree morning by race time. Great job to all our NMR beer runners.
Roll call
Jeffrey Odin - Christopher Jacobi - Jodi Jacobi - Christian Forie - Bridget Forie- Emily RK Chester - Robert Louis - Lauren Marvello Friel - Amy Blanton Friel - Jay Senzatimore - Keith Dipolito - Aubrey Riccardi Wickersham - Erin O'Toole Lentini - Christy Roman - Lisa Carlin Brunengraber - Lee Michele - Jack Scotti - Kelly Dulka - Chris Oetting - Dan Iel plus Lori Innamorata volunteering
The latest Run As You Are podcast dropped this week. After many months of contract negotiation terms, the guys were finally able to nail down the featured guest. James Kay has finally made his long awaited appearance. Check it out, you'll love it.
Run as You Are Everyone
Facebook RecAP on 01/09/2024
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Let's hear about your favorite running related moments or activities from this past year. Best races, PR's, most enjoyable Bingo squares, fun runs, or significant achievements.
The latest Disney World racing weekend in Orlando has just completed.
Congratulations to Amador Antonio for running the full marathon. Battling the rain during the middle stretch must have been tough, but rolling through the Disney park makes the whole experience so much fun.
Kim Scharoff was back at it too. She ran a tripleheader doing the 5K then the 10K and finally the half marathon. Another incredible Disney running performance!
Our favorite running podcast begins a new season. Check out the latest Run As You Are episode and you'll hear Christian Forie's audition to be the frontman of a new Pearl Jam cover band.
Run as You Are everyone.
Facebook RecAP on 01/02/2024
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As we roll out the red carpet for 2024, I thought about doing a year-end recap of races, events, and NMR mayhem. Then I thought about how overwhelming that would be. Plus I wouldn't want to overlook anyone or forget anything significant from this past year. Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi did a wonderful 2023 wrap up video as always. So check that out.
As we reflect on this past year, if anyone would like to share their most memorable running related story or accomplishment please comment down below. It can be anything from your favorite race or a personal record or having a great time at an NMR event like the Turkey Trot or running while on an exotic vacation.
I'll share mine.
It was a year filled with all sorts of races, dark o'clock mornings, medal podiums and tons of group runs. But turning 50 years old a few weeks ago really made for an incredible culmination of daily accomplishments. The calendar played out perfectly as I was able to run the Jingle All the Way 5K on my actual birthday. Celebrating while running with my fellow NMR friends was awesome, and I was also fortunate to enter my new age bracket with a first place medal! Later in the day I received the honor of a NYC Marathon bib from Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi. So now they've got me looking ahead towards a real memorable event. A milestone birthday with all the best elements of running and NMR intertwined together.
Honorable mention goes to the Ironman 70.3 at Jones Beach. I ran the half marathon leg of our relay team. After getting the hand off from Jan Kotowski-Chang as she completed her 56 mile bike ride, I took off like a gazelle in a rainstorm. It was arguably the worst conditions you could imagine with heavy rains all day and winds so fierce that water was blowing in every direction. I changed my clothing at least 3 times before even starting my run and was still completely soaked by the time I began. Sure it would have been fantastic to have a normal end of summer hot and sunny race on the boardwalk. However, I will never forget my first Ironman experience sprinting through the flooding tropical storm.
Facebook RecAP on 12/26/2023
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Holiday BINGO has been kicking into high gear this past week. A whole lot of streakers still running every day while also doing it in pajamas or caroling or defiling lamp posts and more. We are down to the homestretch for the end of the BINGO challenges so let's finish up 2023 with an end of the year Bang!
Our second Thirsty Thursday night Bourbon and Brews run became our Holiday Lights run. Another great turnout and a most festive evening of running and celebrating at the bar with friends. Keith Dipolito created a running route weaving through North Merrick that was so simple to follow that most of us veered off into all different directions. At one point our little crew turned a corner and found Columbia Ciccimarro running towards us all by herself. And then we caught up to another group of people who were only moments earlier just behind us. Such an easy route to follow. Hey, we still love you Keith Dipolito.
Everyone always finds their way back to the bar for drinks which is the best part anyway. We missed you guys Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi
I think John Robert set a 5K PR during the Lights run. Nicely done.
A really big time Congratulations once again to Amy Blanton Friel for receiving the award from GLIRC for being the year-long Series Race Champ in her age group. A well deserved honor for an amazing person!
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's as we gear up for new adventures in 2024!
Run as You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 12/18/2023
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It's always great to spread holiday cheer through Merrick and Bellmore by taking provocative pics with the decorated poles on Merrick Avenue and gawking at the famous Heide House. The joys of NMR Holiday Bingo. We're seeing a lot of pajama runs, ugly sweaters, and 8 milers for 8 crazy nights of Hannukah. Not too many bakers so far except for Keith Dipolito and James Kay who made a killer vegan cookie delivery. Ask him for the recipe.
The first group to do a shot mile run was Tara Hofmayer Jan Kotowski-Chang Keith Dipolito - and Steve Hofmayer too? I totally would have put my money on Jen Brenner Rowell Columbia Ciccimarro Kristen Snipp for the shot run. Maybe they forgot that they did that in a hazy memory of Vegas.
Who's still got their daily run streak alive?
The Ho Ho Ho 5K was in Bethpage over the weekend in memory of Terry Bisogno
A large NMR crew
Scott Hall congrats on setting a 5K PR!
Keith Dipolito - Jeffrey Odin - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Amy Blanton Friel and Finnigan - Lori Innamorata - Tara Hofmayer and Mack - Timothy Droge - Laura Grieco - Laura Marino - Ken Junior - Jackie Sobota - Dan Iel
Let me know if I forgot anyone
Running in the LIRRC Santa 5K at Eisenhower Park
Repping NMR
Jen Brenner Rowell
John Robert
Kristen Snipp
Columbia Ciccimarro
Check out the website https://www.northmerrickrunners.com
Run as You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 12/13/2023
I am still feeling the love radiating from all corners of NMR. Kicking off my birthday weekend with a surprise celebration on my lawn at dark o'clock from some of my most favorite people. Rolling through the weekend where I ran a race for the very first time on my actual birthday. Culminating in an even bigger surprise from Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi with a NYC 2024 Marathon bib. Can never say it enough, but our NMR community is simply the best there is. You all know how to make a guy turning 50 feel extra special. Thank you everyone!
Now the import stuff.
Our annual Half Merrython was great and the weather really made it the easiest one yet. Wonderful sunshine to keep us in the holiday spirit while we ran all over the tracks of Merrick/Bellmore. Great job Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi for coordinating. The Reindeer Ramble 5K afterwards was probably even more spirited with a big turnout and lots of kids. Thank you Bridget Forie and Jodi Jacobi for coordinating.
Lots of races to cover from the weekend too.
The Frosty 5K in New York City was momentous for a couple of our NMR runners.
Both David Basile and Dafna Stempel qualified for the 2024 NYC Marathon with their 9+1 run in this 5K. Congratulations to both of you. So awesome!
Running in the Arthritis Jingle Ball 5K was Matt Ray who finished first in his age group. Way to go Matt!
Lori Innamorata is never leaving Florida. We've lost her to the sunshine state. She ran in a 5K Wine Race in Clearwater. It was on my birthday, so it was a tribute to me. Am I right?
Susan Werner was at it once again. Another half marathon in the books for her. This time in Alabama. Incredible every time she posts about her adventures.
The feature race of the weekend was the Jingle All the Way 5K at Cedar Creek Park. Always a festive race and great vibes throughout the morning.
I have to brag for a moment. Congratulating myself for running this on my actual birthday and also winning first in my age group (5th overall)
Congratulations to Louise Gonzalez Senato for first in her age group
Congratulations to Christian Forie for third in his age group (your welcome for moving into the next bracket for you)
A lot of NMR representation enjoying the race. Jan Kotowski-Chang - Michelle Lynch - Kristin Lesko Lynch - Kerri Oborski Maxwell - Beata Kopec - Jeffrey Odin and his visiting sister - Robert Engstrom and his daughter Zoe who ran a speedy race - Tara Hofmayer - Steve Hofmayer (day before his birthday) and the whole Hofmayer family - Chris Caruso's whole family - Jd Ontheisland congratulations on your 5K PR
Special thanks to Amy Blanton Friel and Keith Dipolito for spectating, cheering, and taking action photos.
Even though he isn't on Facebook I have to mention the return to race action of Jay Senzatimore. After hip surgery this summer, he has gone through his rehab and back to running. He still finished at a fast pace which is really incredible.
Jen Brenner Rowell and Columbia Ciccimarro spent the weekend in Vegas to usher in Kristen Snipp’s birthday with a bang. They all managed to shake off hangovers and run The Strip everyday. Very impressive ladies.
Jeffrey Odin updates our website so check it out. https://www.northmerrickrunners.com
Run as You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 12/4/2023
Recap Time - It's a long one.
Holiday Bingo Extravaganza is in full effect. It's always great to see everyone in the spirit of the season and the whacky running challenges. The Merrick Avenue pole picture of Tara Hofmayer -Emily RK Chester and Amy Blanton Friel is a leading candidate for a future Women of NMR Calendar. An instant classic is the Keith Dipolito - James Kay amazing pole picture. Definitely a highlight for the Men of NMR Calendar.
I love the creativity of turning a partner rope run into a full fledged 8 person reindeer ramble. Santa has a new crew this year Jen Brenner Rowell - Columbia Ciccimarro - Kristen Snipp - Michelle Lynch - Kristin Lesko Lynch - Kerri Oborski Maxwell - Elisa B Ready - Nicole Vita Maresca
Who's still got their holiday daily run streak going? Shout out yourself in the comments.
We have a celebrity in our midst. Robert Louis with a great photo in Newsday showcasing his curling skills.
There were a whole bunch of races this weekend, so here we go.
Starting off with the Seaford Wellness 5K Hot Chocolate Run. We had a lot of NMR representation for this growing fan favorite race. Plus we cleaned up nicely on the medal podium for the second week in a row.
Congratulations to Eric Frischberg for winning first in his age group! Double congratulations for setting a PR and Triple congratulations for doing it with and incredible time of 19:36
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning first in her age group
Congratulations to Amy Blanton Friel for winning second in her age group
Congratulations to Lauren Marvello Friel for winning second in her age group. Also her son and daughter ran too with Kyla getting 4th in her age group.
Congratulations to Lisa Schwartz Capelonga for winning third in her age group
Congratulations to Marc Turner for winning second in his age group
Having great runs were David Basile - Yuri Yanpolski - Keith Dipolito - Beata Kopec - Chris Caruso running with his wife Anna and their son. Jan Kotowski-Chang with a 5k PR! Awesome
Dafna Stempel ran the Ted Corbett 15K in the city beating her goal. Great job!
The Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon
Kim Scharoff completing her 94th half marathon. Amazing.
Sue Moller still battling mono but tackling another long race
Congratulations to Matt Adler for completing the Rehoboth Beach Marathon. That's 2 marathons in less than a month. Incredible job!
Laura Marino ran the Tough Cookie 8K. This one lives up to the title as it's a difficult trail run in Sunken Meadow Park.
Running a Half Marathon in Durham, NC was Adrienne Markowski. Excellent job.
Lastly, the Run with Heart 5K in Miami
Lori Innamorata injured and at "work" all week on a cruise ship still managed to tackle this 5K race. Even walking most of it, she's still a warrior.
Run as You Are everyone.
Facebook RecAP on 11/28/2023
Recap Time
What's bigger news among the NMR community? Our huge turnout for the annual local Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot?
Or the awesome news that Dafna Stempel and Robert Louis are going to bring forth baby #2? Congratulations to the Robert's and the future addition to their wonderful family!
Yes, the NMR Turkey Trot was a great time as always and has grown every year. Nice to see a lot of new people out there joining us in getting some exercise before we all stuffed ourselves into holiday food comas later on. A lot more kids running this year, also a bunch of bike riders auditioning for Bike Life too. Festivities afterwards were just as good, especially Jan Kotowski-Chang with a fantastic sangria inspired drink station for the adults and liquor free for the kids.
Running in some alternative Turkey Trots.
We had Kim Scharoff doing the Massapequa 5K Trot
We had Sue Moller and Matt Adler doing the Lynbrook 5K Trot
Double congratulations to Steven Mastromarino for placing 2nd in his age group at the St. Brigid's 5K. And his daughter placing 3rd in her age group. So awesome when family runs together.
Rob's Run 5K at Stillwell Woods was incredible this year.
Race Awesome took over the production of this annual race. I think all participants would agree that they totally mastered the event. Everything from the course markings on the trails to the vegan chili being served afterwards was fantastic. Pumping "Kickstart My Heart" from Motley Crue at the men's starting line created an amazing vibe setting the tone for the whole day.
They created a new course deep into the woods turning this race into a real deal trail run with difficult ups and downs. A very challenging run.
We had a lower NMR turnout than in year's past but we sure cleaned up on the podium.
Congratulations to the Team - We Trail No One for snagging 1st place in the Open Male category. Teammate medal winners Eric Frischberg - Scott Hall - Christian Forie - Marc Turner
Congratulations to Marc Turner for also winning 1st in my age group
Congratulations to Eric Frischberg for also winning 1st in his age group (and 5th overall)
Team Ru Nang had a strong trio of Emily RK Chester Amy Blanton Friel and James Kay. Missing in Action Joe DiVico you'll be healed up and out there soon buddy.
Congratulations to Emily RK Chester for winning 1st in her age group
Congratulations to Amy Blanton Friel for winning 3rd in her age group
Team - We Woke up Like This - all of them dressed in the most comfortable cozy outfits. Lori Innamorata - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Sami Saad - Beata Kopec
Also running the trails were Laura Marino - Michele Greenfeld -
Gina Prinzevalli
Kim Scharoff was omnipresent as a volunteer. For a really cool touch, she and another volunteer held up a finisher ribbon for everyone to run through as they crossed the finish line.
As was said by many, this is not your grandma's GLIRC race anymore.
Run as You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 11/21/2023
Recap Time
Thanksgiving is upon us and Turkey Trots are happening all over Long Island. However, we begin the recap with our inaugural Thirsty Thursday night run. On a balmy evening we had a good turnout of people happily running the streets of Merrick. We were thrown a curveball as the MAMS gate to the track was closed, but James Kay took the lead and guided us for a 3 mile detour. No one got lost as the crew stayed together. What's better than running with your NMR friends? Hanging out drinking at Bourbon and Brews afterwards of course. It was a lot of fun as always and also really nice to see a bunch of new faces coming out to run and hang out. Jen Brenner Rowell, Marc Turner, and Jay Senzatimore were sporting the new NMR/Bourbon and Brews hoodies. We're available for future modeling gigs. I must say that this is one of the most comfortable and softest of all the NMR gear out there. Just sayin'
The Warrior Walk on Sunday for cancer looked like a complete success. They raised over $20,000 which is incredible. A lot of NMR people came out to walk in support of our friend Seth Tabor. And the amazing Neal Botkounov did one of his signature Strava writing runs in tribute.
Massapequa Park 5K Turkey Trot
NMR runners
Tara Hofmayer
Keith Dipolito
Robert Louis and Dafna Stempel - 2nd Place Stroller division also Dylan's first birthday
Richard Brodsky and Jodi Brodsky - congratulations to both of you winning 1st place in your age groups.
Cheering section of Yuri Yanpolski and Steve Hofmayer
The NYC Race to Deliver 4Mile run this weekend had David Basile looping around Central Park. Way to go!
Long Beach 10K Turkey Trot
We had a lot of medal winners at this race.
Congratulations go to:
Matt Adler - 1st place age group
Lori Innamorata - 2nd place age group
Michele Greenfeld - 1st place age group
Gina Prinzevalli - 2nd place age group
Robert Berghorn Jr setting a PR for the 10K
In Philadelphia this weekend Dan Iel ran the Half Marathon. He ran all over the city the following days while also doing a double state run across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. That's a comprehensive running road trip.
Running in the Philadelphia full Marathon was Pat Bickard. Congratulations on setting your PR. Very impressive just 2 weeks after the NYC Marathon.
Congratulations to Jane Vongvorachoti for 2nd place OVERALL in the Bethpage 5K Turkey Trot
Our family and friends may think we are all whacko for our constant running (probably justified). Here's a fun fact you can lay down as you're fighting over the sweet potatoes at your holiday gathering. Thanksgiving is the biggest running day of the year in America. Over 1 million people will be lacing up for a turkey trot across the country this Thursday.
Hope to see everyone at our annual NMR Trot this Thanksgiving morning.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and eat lots of ToFurky!
Facebook RecAP on 11/14/2023
Recap Time
Post NYC marathon week and a lot of NMR peeps have been laid-back with minimal runs compared to the usual buzz of activity. Y'all have earned an easy week (which is left to interpretation considering this group of motivated individuals). Recuperate your body people and heal up some of those nagging injuries. It's been fun watching you out there proudly showing off your shiny hardware. Those medals have some real heft to them.
Half Marathon Queen Susan Werner had a busy weekend. At this point what more can be said about her? She completed a back to back half marathon on both Saturday and Sunday which just leaves me speechless. Two halves on the same weekend! Is this insanity or amazing?
The Nassau County Turkey Trot 5K was in Eisenhower Park this weekend. NMR represented by:
Sue Moller
Aubrey Riccardi Wickersham
Kristen Snipp
Alison Elizabeth
Kim Scharoff
Columbia Ciccimarro congratulations for setting your 5k PR!
Running in the USATF Cross County 8K this weekend was Lauren Juchem. Pep talks helped power you through.
As many might be aware, Seth Tabor is battling cancer for the second time. There is a charity walk this Sunday morning at the Massapequa Preserve with proceeds going to Memorial Sloan Kettering. A bunch of people from NMR will be walking in support.
Here is the link for information and donation.
https://secure2.convio.net/mskcc/site/TR?px=5227312...
Savor all the good things happening in your life.
Run As you Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 11/07/2023
Recap Time
Lead Story - NYC Marathon sees record NMR Turnout
We had a huge number of runners completing the 52nd running of the NYC Marathon this year. Weather conditions were just about perfect for scaling the bridges and running through the various sections of the city. Supported by a lot of cheering family and friends throughout the course. I won't be able to do much justice by attempting to capture the awesomeness of the day's events so check out everyone's posts on here and Strava.
Runners can thank Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi for coordinating the bus into Staten Island for the starting line.
It takes a lot of training and dedication to ramp up your body to handle 26.2 miles of running. A bunch of people were dealing with injuries and powered through; like Christian Forie who's been battling plantar fasciitis for months and still set a personal record. Incredible! Everyone who ran this marathon is a huge inspiration and I am truly amazed by everyone's achievement.
Roll call of awesome NMR runners
Alice Taormina - Amador Antonio - Amy Blanton Friel - Andrea Yorek - Brad Carter - Christian Forie - Christopher Jacobi - Chris Oetting - Dafna Stempel - Elvis Santana - Jan Kotowski-Chang - Jeffrey Odin - Joe DiVico - Julie Dipolito Heinlein - Kerriann Pieper - Kristen Kelly - Lauren Marvello Friel - Laura Marino - Lisa Schwartz Capelonga - Lisa Testaverde Rossi - Lori Innamorata - Pat Bickard - Patricia Wygand - Richard Kopec - Beata Kopec - Sharon Ann -Tina Theresa - Vincent Feola - Emily RK Chester - Tracy Lynn Krauss - Jackie Sobota- Rose Efstathiou - Steve Hofmayer - Tara Hofmayer - Susan Keogh - Kyle Lennon - Pat Ti - Catharina Kleuskens
Let me know if I missed anyone.
Supporting our friends was the exuberant cheering squad of Jen Brenner Rowell - Kristen Snipp - Columbia Ciccimarro (they've already got me roped into something brewing for 2025)
In other races this weekend
Running the Marianne Volpe 5K for Luekemia & Lymphoma Society were husband and wife tandem Robert Engstrom and Jennifer Beitchman Nicely done.
The Disney running series seems to pop up when least expected. Kim Scharoff completed the Wine and Dine 10k in Orlando on Saturday. She followed that up with a back to back race on Sunday with the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. It's her 93rd half which is awesome!
Run as You Are everyone.
Facebook RecAP on 11/01/2023
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What a wild week of swings from rainy days to cool Fall sunny days to the most amazing return to Summer beach weather back to another rainy cooldown. Great running weather for all personal preferences.
The annual NMR anniversary 5K run around Merrick had an excellent turnout on a cool and rainy Sunday afternoon. It certainly didn't dampen anyone's spirits as many runners wore costumes and plenty of smiles. Looks like the after party at Bourbon and Brews had an even greater turnout. Who would have ever guessed that? It's a bummer that I had to miss out on the merriment. Thank you as always to the Jacobi’s and Forie’s for putting it all together. Check out all the fun posts and pics.
Congratulations to Eric Frischberg for coming in 2nd place overall at the Rhatigan's 5K Run in Floral Park. And a double congratulations for breaking a 20 minute 5K time! Speedy speedy dude.
Running at fast clip as well was Scott Hall who set a PR (as per Strava) at the John Thiessen Freaky 5K
Lori Innamorata and myself had welcomed new member Jane Vongvorachoti to NMR in our own special style with a local run around town. Little did we realize that she was going to run the Freaky 5K too.
Congratulations to Jane Vongvorachoti for 3 place overall female!
Susan Werner ran another half marathon. This time it was in Cape May.
I especially enjoyed Robert Louis and Dafna Stempel touring through our nations Capital with their picture show of historical sights. A cool vicarious running experience across Washington D.C.
Four more days until the NYC Marathon. Best of luck to all of you running the big race.
Christian Forie and Christopher Jacobi finally brought the NMR podcast back to the airwaves. What took so long dudes?
Run as You Are everyone
Facebook RecAP on 10/24/2023
Recap Time
It was a weekend of long distance races so here we go.
Running in the Suffolk County Full Marathon
Emily Ganz
Matt Adler - completing his 12th total marathon (all under 4 hours) Also in a bit of numerical symmetry, Matt was seen on News 12 footage of the marathon finishers. Excellent!
We had a lot of NMR runners in the Suffolk County Half Marathon
First time runners sporting their NMR spirited black and white nail polish were:
Columbia Ciccimarro
Bridget Forie
Jen Brenner Rowell
Michelle Lynch
Kristen Snipp
Veteran Pro's
Dafna Stempel
Robert Louis
Kim Scharoff
Louise Gonzalez Senato
Christy Roman
Lisa Carlin Brunengraber
Andrea Kantor
Katie Bell
Laura Sullivan
With Sue Moller as the cheering squad capturing a lot of great race photos
The NY Flyers Last 10 mile run in NYC
Running around Manhattan we had Lori Innamorata and Keith Dipolito
Susan Werner the half marathon master ran another one this weekend breaking past 100 overall. This go around it was a half marathon in Pennsylvania. Unreal!
Running the Elizabeth Ferris Memorial 5K was David Basile who captured first place in his age group. Awesome!
Kristen AH for coming in first in her age group.
Lastly, NMR had some solid representation at the Ironman 70.3 in Wilmington, NC
Kicking ass were:
Ken Junior
Laura Marino
Jackie Sobota
Richard Kopec
Beata Kopec
Don't forget, we have the 4 year NMR anniversary run this Sunday followed by the post game party time at Bourbon and Brews.
Run as You Are everyone
