2002
by Mike Polansky,
President
Greater
The annual Long Island Endurance Runs
always seem to represent a defining moment for the Greater Long Island Club and
for so many of the folks who are part of the event.
For Race Director Nick Palazzo and
Assistant Race Directors Vincent Croce, Don Butchin
and Bob Sherman, this year’s event was clearly a triumph over adversity. The worst weather conditions possible – cold
driving rain and very high winds – greeted us at
It
was a defining moment for the four budding ultra superstars who out-endured
their more seasoned rivals to score as the top male and female finishers in the
50 K and the “50 miler”. 29 year old
Tracy Visconti who kept a steady pace throughout and
won the 50 Miler, and 32 year old Tim Henderson, who gritted out victory by
less than four minutes in the 50K, truly established themselves as among the toughest ultra
runners in the New York Metropolitan area. 27 year old
a cool down jog after finishing. 25 year old New Englander Jennifer Bateman
turned in a convincing
It was a defining
moment for Helma Clavin,
who proved once again that, at age 59, she needs to concede nothing to a very
tough 50 mile course. It was a defining
moment for David Redman, who showed the same cheery disposition and warm smile
at the finish as he had exhibited at the start -- toughness is David’s middle
name! By the same token, it was also a
defining moment for some folks who were having “bad days.” 2001 USATF 24 Hour Run champion Rudy Afanador just can’t handle cold weather as well as he does
hot weather, but he gritted his teeth, survived a couple of wrong turns along
with the weather, and turned in a very credible run despite just not feeling
anywhere near his best. The same is true
for Juan Oliveras and Carolyn von der
Heydt, both of whom have clearly had better days at
the 50 mile distance, and John Cantwell, previous winner of the 50K. But, like Rudy, Juan, Carolyn and John showed
the spunk and determination that is so
characteristic of these outstanding athletes, and all three battled to the
finish with smiles on their faces-- showing the strength of character that
truly defines an athlete.
It was a defining
moment for Jeanette Mitchell, who joined the ranks of GLIRC’s
“Long Feet Society” by successfully completing her first 50K, scoring with
tears of joy in her eyes as the third woman OA in the 50K and first GLIRC woman
to cross the finish line. It was a
defining moment for Audrey Gaccione, who completed
the 50K with seeming ease, and whose confidence in her status as an ultrarunner increases with every event she does, as she
looks forward to her first 50 miler in November. It was a defining moment of a different kind
for Pat Delaney, who went to the starting line with a painful hip injury that
caused her to “drop down” from 50 miles to 50K, but -- notwithstanding the pain
-- bulled her way through the course with the determination that is her
trademark. It was part of a yearlong
series of defining moments for Sam Soccoli, who
continues to defy Father Time and follow up his strong finish in the Umstead 100 miler in April with still another
ultra finish at the age of 70. It was
still another of a lifetime of defining
moments for Jim McDougall, who has been competing at every distance from 100
yards through 100 kilometers over the past thirty years, and never loses the
boyish enthusiasm for our sport that has characterized his entire running
career. It was a defining moment for
Sherry Bellovin, who proves to herself every time she
participate in an ultra that she most definitely has “the right stuff” of which
ultra runners are made. Unfortunately,
it was a defining moment of another sort for Khanh
Duong, whose justifiable pride in his brilliant 50K finish was somewhat
dampened by his discovery that his wallet and car key had fallen out of his
jacket somewhere on the course! (We
sincerely hope that everything worked out for Khanh,
and thank George Devoe for helping make Khanh’s difficult situation a bit easier by driving him
around the course in a vain attempt to find the wallet and car key, and
ultimately drove him home to get his spare car key!)
Finally, it was truly
a defining moment for all of those who worked so hard to overcome the adversity
of the day, and to provide this venue for the athletes – for our Race Director
Nick Palazzo, an outstanding ultramarthoner who knows
how to “give back” to the sport in the best possible way, for Vinny Croce, Don Butchin and Bob
Sherman, who once again put their entire hearts and souls into this event, as
they do time and again for so many, many other GLIRC events, and the title “assistant race director” truly doesn’t
convey all that they did on the day of the event and the days leading up to it,
for folks like Rich Innamorato, Rich Czarnowski, Howard Kestenbaum,
Bob Lasky, Carl Grossbard,
all of whom put in FULL days as volunteers, for ultra runners like Mel Cowgill and Ira Brotman, who
weren’t up to running on this particular day but chose to “give back” by being
course volunteers, and again to each and every one of our wonderful volunteers
– they endured the elements with smiles on their faces and a cheery word for
all the participants.
The tentative date for the 2003