Local Running: The 2024 Runners Edge Fun Run

I took my first trip to runners edge back in 2015, when I was training for my first half marathon.  I remember being intimidated at the thought of going, so my dad went with me, and we both left with a new pair of sneakers after the kind staff helped us get fitted and select a new pair that would work for each of us.

Ever since then I head to runners edge any time a new model of a shoe I love come out, just to make sure that I’m buying the right shoe for my fit (usually a pair of Brooks ghosts, but I still tend to go there to try them on and make sure!). The employees are always kind and patient as I try on and trot about in several pairs of shoes, before selecting the pair that will come home with me.  

They often host runs in conjunction with running brands, that will end with a coffee or beer on Main Street in farmingdale. I don’t get to these events as often as I would like, but it’s always nice to meet other local runners when I do make it!  

Last week I got a notification of Strava that they had added a new event – their annual fun run. The post promised raffles, snacks, giveaways, and a 3-6 mile running course, so I messaged some friends and made plans to head there on a Sunday morning. I was pleasantly surprised when my brother Tommy agreed to join us too! 

The forecast called for a sunny but chilly morning, with temps in the 20s. I decided to go with a layered outfit – a pair of brooks momentum thermal tights on the bottom, with top layers consisting of a brooks distance short sleeve 3.0, notch thermal long sleeve (with the perfect watch window), and a neon canopy jacket over it all. To go with the neon jacket, I chose my hot pink Ghost max sneakers.  

On Sunday morning I made the rounds, picking up Mike, Sophie and Tommy, and then driving us all to farmingdale. We even managed to snag a parking spot behind runners edge, rather than having to head to the parking lot across the street.

When we got to runners edge the store was already crowded. We checked out the vendor tables in the back of the store, and I got a chance to chat with Luke, the local Brooks Guru. Runners edge had a table of freebies, and I was lucky enough to find a pair of biking shorts in my husband’s size, which he was very excited about when I broke them out at home.

We dropped our goodies in the car, right as a runners edge team member climbed a ladder, and shouted over the crowd to explain the run course. There was a 3 mile option and a 5 mile option, and while the roads were open to traffic, there were barricades blocking several roads for us, and local police on the course to help direct traffic. They took a group photo, and then shouted a countdown to get us all going!

Tommy, Sophie and I opted for the 3 mile course, as Tommy revealed he had recently been doing a couch to 5k program, but hadn’t yet run the final 5k – so this was the perfect opportunity to get his miles in! Mike headed out with another friend with the intent of doing the 5 mile course.  

I was very glad with the layers that I selected as we started moving, and thankful that I had gloves – my hands were chilly even with them! We crossed the railroad tracks behind runners edge and headed towards bethpage state park, keeping a steady state as we trudged up a mild but steady uphill.

At the 1.5 mile mark we crossed the street and started heading back, a dirt road an option on that side of the street, which was nicer to run on than the road had been. I did wind up pulling off my canopy jacket, and tucking it into the internal pocket that it has, which converts it to a little backpack. 

Slowly but surely we made our way back to runners edge, but we had the bad luck of a a train coming just as we approached the train tracks, so we ran parallel to the tracks as we waited for the barricades to raise again, hitting the 5k mark just before the crossover opened again.

We crossed the street and walked the short distance left back to the store. When we got there they had bagels and coffee, and were handing out raffle tickets.

We hung around chatting as we waited for the rest of the runners to return to the store, and listened intently as they called off the raffle winners – they had so many prizes that it took a full 15 minutes to get through them all! Mike won a mystery bag, which contained a hat and some gels.

We headed home once the raffles were done, and all in all it was a fun event. It was nice of runners edge to host this for the community, with no cost to participate, plus some great giveaways! I’m looking forward to participating in more of their events in the future.

Race Recap: Nassau County Police Department Memorial 5k

This is the second time I was participating in the NCPD Memorial 5K, as excited to get out for a good cause. The race fundraisers for the families of the fallen officers from the Nassau County Police Department. Coming from a family of cops, I think that the families of fallen officers should always receive support from the community.

Plus, the last time I did this race it was a great time! It’s an easy and quick course through Eisenhower Park that is entirely flat, and they don’t even make you run over the grass which sometimes happens with races in that park. I had originally asked my cousin Ryan to run this race with me, but he was under the weather tonight. I texted Mike to see if he still had plans, for the last time we had discuss the race he was busy. But lucky for me – his other plans fell through and he was able to come run with me.

The race happened on a Monday night, so after work I headed home and change into the shirt that I wore for the New York City Marathon in 2017, which featured the NYPD running club. I swung by Mike’s house and picked him up, and we head to the park together. It’s a local race for us so it only took about 10 minutes to get there.

The parking lot closest to the race were already filled up, and I didn’t want to park on the grass this time around us so I opted for a slightly further out parking lot. We’re already going to be running a 5K, so with a little extra walking really matter. We got over to the race area just as people are starting to head to the start line, and fell into the massive group of people waiting to get going. Soon after there was announcement at the start was going to be delayed by 10 minutes. I looked around us and waited in the starting corral knowing that a lot of the tri team was going to be doing this race and spotted a few of the jerseys ahead of us. We weaved through the group of waiting runners and I spotted Tara. 

She asked me what my plan for this race was, and honestly I didn’t really have one. I just plan on sticking with Mike and letting whatever piece happened it just happened. But when she greeted me she had told me that she was hoping to see me, so I could pace her for this race. I asked her what time she wanted to run, and she said something in the eights. I knew that Mike had been able to hold pieces that fast as he had been coming with me lately to do a few miles during my tempo runs, so I figured we may as well go for it. 

The national anthem was saying, and the race finally begin just a few minutes delayed. At first it was very crowded, with over 700 runners doing this event and no real seeding system runners of all different paces were starting at the same time. Made for a congested start, but with a little bit of weaving we were able to break into a less congested area of the race. The 1st mile including out and back portion where we ran towards the aquatic center in the park, and then we ran back towards the start area and spotted other members of the Tri team among the spectators. A lot of people that I knew spectating the race, and it was exciting do you hear them shout out my name as I ran by. At one point we ran through so many people that I knew, that Mike joked he would pay someone a dollar just to cheer for him. My watch buzzed to indicate that we had ran a mile just as we passed the 1st mile marker, an 8:29 pace. Before starting we had said we would try to stay between 830 and 845, so I tried to slow the pace down a little bit going into mile two that way there wouldn’t be any burnouts. But so far Mike and Tara were both sticking with me and looking strong.

It was a nice night out despite being August in New York, and Even the humidity was tolerable. I was surprised with how little I was sweating, and overall just felt really good. The week before this race I had totaled 50 miles, so I really didn’t expect these pieces to be coming without a high level of effort even the humidity was tolerable. I was surprised with how little I was sweating, and how overall i felt really good. The week before this race I had totaled 50 miles, so I really didn’t expect these paces to be coming without a high level of effort. There was a water stop in the 2nd mile, but I didn’t manage to get over in time. Sorry Mike and Tarah, if you guys had really wanted water at that point. I figured it was only a 5K, so we would survive to the end even if it sucked a little bit. The true torture came when we ran by an ice cream truck shortly after, and I didn’t even have any change to get something. We finished mile 2 with an 8:40 pace, as we weaved through a more wooded area of the park. At this point I kept a little bit of a closer eye on the pace - I wanted to make sure that we all would be able to stay together to the finish line.

I tried to cheer on my fellow runners as Mike, Tara and I pushed to keep the pace. We looped through the back side of Eisenhower park, and were soon nearing the area that we started the race in, and closing in on our third mile. Mike fell behind a little bit during the last mile, so as we approached the finish line I told Tara to go on without me, and slowed a little so Mike and I could be reunited, and finish the race together. When he caught up to me he was practically sprinting, and I met his pace as we raced for the finish line together. - we finished the race in 26:38, a new PR for Mike!

There were volunteers handing out cool towels and water bottles at the finish line, and those towels were amazing. We caught our breath, and then walked around the post-race area until we found the BBQ. They had catering from Texas roadhouse, and each runner was able to select two hot foods, a side, and a drink. I got a hot dog, a chicken slider, a oatmeal cookie, and a seltzer. They were also handing out draft beer to the runners, so Mike and I each got a pint, and I passed mine along to him once we found a seat to eat, since beer isn’t really my thing. The beer was unlimited for each runner, you just had to being back your cup to get more.

Mike and I enjoyed our tiny feast, watching other runners finish their race as the sun set in the park. Once we were finished eating we chatted with some of my friends from the tri team, as we waited for the raffles to be drawn - each runner had been given a raffle ticket, and there were additional tickets available for purchases, with some great prizes. We didn’t wind up winning anything though, and headed home after the numbers had been drawn.

Overall, I love this event, from the cause it supports, to the BBQ after the race, and the T-shirt that they give out, and I hope I will be able to run it for years to come.

Mardi Gras Run to the Great South Bay Brewery

Another week, another race recap, this time a local one: The Mardi Gras Run to the Great south bay brewery. This race is put on by the greater long island running club, and is marketed as a fast, flat race with an awesome after party.

Was the after party fun? Yes. Would I call the course flat? Not so much.

Mike, Sophie, Carson and I all decided to sign up for this race, and Emily agreed to come along to cheer us on, and drink my share of beer at the after party - a big perk of this race is that it includes a post race party that has plenty of beer to go around, all of which is brewed locally. Personally, I don’t like beer, but I do enjoy a good after party, and was happy to DD this one so that my friends could enjoy the party.

Emily, Sophie and I decided to pick up the race bibs the night before the race, so that we could sleep in a little later on race morning, and make sure we got our shirts in the sizes we wanted. We headed to the brewery in the afternoon to grab our bibs, and they were handing out a free drink ticket when you got your race supplies, so we stopped and had a drink as well. They had cider on tap that night in addition to all of their beers, so I was happy to get at least one drink out of this race! The bib pickup was located in a back room, which would serve as the VIP race area the following day, and the room was pretty empty when we got there. They allowed us to pick up Mike and Carson’s race supplies as well, which I always appreciate being allowed. As a bonus, there were GLIRC (Greater Long Island Running Club) calenders available, which list all of our local races, so I grabbed one of those to hang in my cube at work.

The brewery had a nice open room for its patrons, complete with ping pong, live music, and colorful artwork on the walls. We managed to find seating in what appeared to be old airline chairs, and enjoyed our drinks and chatted for awhile before heading home to prepare for the following day’s race. It turned out to be a good decision on our part to pick up the bibs early, as they ran out of shirts (and medals too!).

Come race morning I made the rounds to pick up my friends, other than Carson, who was meeting us at the Brewery, since she was coming in from Brooklyn. It was a quick ride over, and the race had people out directing traffic, so it was easy to find parking. We got there about 45 minutes before start time, and had no issue with parking.  

We got all of our race gear together, and headed into the brewery to wait until start time. It was a cold morning, so it was very nice to not have to wait outside. We walked out just before they sang the national anthem, and all crossed the start line together.  

The first mile of the race was crowded, so the four of us wound up weaving a little. We all run pretty close paces, and no one was looking to intensely race, so we figured we would stick together as much as possible. I was having a hard time getting into a groove, so I was glad to have company. 

The course was well manned, with volunteers stationed frequently to send runners in the right direction. Unfortunately there was some road kill in the middle of the course that we had to run by not once but twice, and I’m not really sure why an effort wasn’t made to remove it prior to race start.  

Around mile three we were all feeling the miles in our shins and quads, and while there weren’t any major climbs during the race, there were slight, consistent uphills that wore on our legs. I made a mental note to check the elevation profile on my garmin later that day.  

There were two official water stops, and a third unofficial one, where someone was hanging out water bottles to runners as they went by. There was also a porter potty at about the half way point, but other than that there were no restrooms on the course.  

We had consistently been running between 10-10:30 miles, but when we hit mile 6 and only one mile remained ahead of us, Carson decided to pick up the pace, and being the competitive individual I am, I of course obliged. We raced back and forth over the last mile, but as we approached the finish line we were loosing Mike and Sophie, and I really wanted to finish with them, and we called it a truce so we could try to get a nice finishers photo.... a truce that did not last, when Carson saw the finish line and started sprinting. I had taken the whole race easy, so for me it wasn’t worth sprinting at the end, as I valued finishing with my friends above a quick 0.1 mile sprint. 

We crossed the finish line and were handed our medals- a luxury that not all finishers got that day, as the race actually ran out before everyone had completed the run. They assured runners that they would be mailing out medals to anyone that did not receive one, and cited high “day of” race registration as being the cause of the shortage.  

We headed over to the car to change out of our sweaty clothes and into our race shirts, and then went into the brewery to enjoy the after party. They had a huge space set up, with several types of beer and lots of food to go around. They had subs, muffins, bagels, packaged waffles, and popcorn, as well as water and sodas. It was a bit crouded to get to the food, but once we had our spoils we all enjoyed our meal, and my friends enjoyed their drinks.  

We stayed until the party ended, dancing to the live band and relaxing post race.  

All in all, it was a fun event, and I would recommend checking it out if you’re local to Long Island, or if you’re really into after parties that have all you can drink beer.  

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 11

I came into week 11 with one hell of a cold, making sure I stayed on top of my asthma meds, not wanting a repeat of last years marathon weekend debacle. Usually when I have a cold I manage some small amount of mileage, but that was not happening this time around.

I managed to get on the bike once early in the week, but the difficulty level of the ride told me that my body was not ready for running. So throughout the week the most I did was some resistance band exercises, and when Thursday rolled around I attempted a morning run with Kasey.

She dragged me out of bed even earlier than usual, as she needed to get to school early for her last finals of the semester. So by 6:05 I was headed out the door, and I quickly found Kasey outside.

The air was cold and my breathing was rough, and excuse my language, but way more phlegm was a part of this run than usual. We kept the pace as easy as possible, and I managed to get through 5 miles. Kasey ran the first two with me, and at mile three I stopped by my parents house to grab water. I tried to bail on the run at that point, but dad pushed me to finish the five miles that I intended to set out for, so I went back out and made my way back to the apartment.

I considered going out for more miles on Friday, but after not feeling great on Thursday’s run I decided to rest, and save my mileage for the days ahead.

My plan for the weekend was for 13 miles on Sunday, and 18 miles on Monday.

I met up with Mike and Carson on the bethpage trail on Sunday, and we headed north to get the hills out of the way in the first half of the run. Carson only planned to run 5-6 miles with us, so we figured that we could head out a few miles and then double back, before heading south for the second half of the run.

The miles slipped away as the three of us chatted, and I honestly felt better than I had all week getting those miles in. We shared gu, found a decorated tree in the woods, and Carson’s miles were over quickly. We took a quick pit stop in the parking lot to refill my water bottle before getting moving again. Once we were heading south, we needed to get to 3.7 miles before we could turn around and head back to the car, so we would have a total of 13 miles complete.

As our miles came to a close our legs got heavy through the last few miles, and we had to fight our way up the last little hill. But we had such an amazing last long run (for mike) before Disney. Plus, it was his longest run to date! After we finished our run we exchanged Christmas gifts, and I spent the rest of the day wrapping gifts and recovering.

The week started off difficult, but I was feeling so much better by the weekend, and I’m sincerely hoping that this cold has run its course, so I can get in all my remaining miles before the Goofy Challenge!