Valley Stream Running Club News
Box #212 Valley
Stream, New York 11582
Stanley Friedlander, President
Donna Hahl, Vice President
Carol Drucker, Treasurer
Joe Tito, Secretary
www.VSRunningClub.org
Vol. 27 No. 2 Spring 2007
Aphorisms from various
running thinkers:
· I’m
not going to run this again” – Grete Waitz, after winning her first NYC Marathon
·
‘Success is the combination of failures, mistakes, false starts,
confusion and determination to keep going anyway’ – Nick Gleason
·
‘You have to be going somewhere to have the energy you need to get
there’ – Dr. Oz
The Spiritual Spring
Who
would believe that we would be iced out
on the John
Corrigan 4x2 Mile Relay Race at Eisenhower Park! Many Valley Stream Club members and I were
there to wage war for our club and John on the 2 mile 4 member relay loop.
Fred, the clear thinking race director called off and rescheduled the event for
April 1st. Fred knows that
runners are crazy and would run on any surface and spring is much saver time to
enjoy the sport.
Speaking
of spring! Spring is the time for new growth and thumping the roads again. I
have observed that running has two dimensions; A Physical pursuit for a healthy
body and a Spiritual quest of the soul. I often think back to my long runs in Philadelphia
where I began my long distant running and my IBM
teaching career (I’m talking about 1984). I would leave my hotel early in the
morning and head for the Franklyn Museum,
via Ben
Franklin Pkwy. I
would run past Logan Circle, run up the stairs of the Franklin Museum and do my
Rocky the boxer thing of holding up my arms in joy (I was never alone). Then
run right to Grace
Kelly River Drive,
paralleling a park like river path. I would continue my pursuit to a bridge
that would cross the Schuylkill River
and return to the Museum via the West
River Drive.
It is an 8 mile loop. The early morning runs with the city sights and fellow
life travelers is a great thing to be part of.
I
would see a vendor selling bagels for 50 cents each at my hotel corner. He was
poorly dressed but we exchanges greetings. Later that week I would throw a
couple of quarters into his bucket but would not take a bagel. I did this for
the remainder of the week. A month later I returned to Philly and went back to
my old routine. This time on my way back I greeted my friend and said ‘You
probably want to know why I always put money in but never take a bagel, don’t
you?’ ‘No said the vendor. I just wanted to tell you that the bagels have gone
up to 60 cents.’
If
you have any articles, thoughts, or race results you wish to included in the
VSRC newsletter, please e-mail them to me.
… Joe Tito
Tip of the Month
The fitness equation is 30
minutes at a comfortable pace four times a week. Your body should be able to
tell you that "comfortable" pace. If in doubt use the "talk
test". Run at a speed at which you can carry on a conversation with a
companion.
What’s happening by Stan
The Corrigan Relay was
postponed to next Sunday April 1. Runners should come before 8:30 to register with us.
Please come to run or
cheer your club on. The club will pay the race fee for paid up members. If you haven’t paid yet
for 2007, Carol D. will be happy to take your money at the relay.
Report on the
postponement and last meeting: Donna and I inspected Eisenhower during the late afternoon on
Saturday March 17 and except for near the Aquacenter
there was snow and ice everywhere. I got in touch with Fred Hazlett
that night and he assured me that they will stage the relay starting from
parking lot one. I got there and it was filled with cars for a major meet at
the pool which would have made a race from there very difficult and also there
was some black ice on the paths. John’s family was represented by Sean, Kevin,
and Kevin’s daughter and son in law. Others present were Donna, Jon, Mike, Joe
and Carol T., Carol D., Gregg, Terry, Pam and Walter Lee, and me. The relay was
postponed and we adjourned to the meeting at the Empress diner. The meeting was
attended by most of the members mentioned above. Here are some of the issues we
discussed:
Club Races:
It is great for club spirit if we have races during the year where we
can either race or cheer the group on. We already have the club supporting the
Corrigan relay and the Ocean to Sound relay and we will continue this. We pay
the full fee at the Corrigan and roughly half the fee at O to S. One way to do
more is to have club races where we encourage members to come by giving a token
amount to those who compete. We decided
at the meeting to give $10 off the race fee for Inwood,
Long Island Half, Full, or 10k, Long Beach 10 miler, and
Ho Ho Run with a $30 maximum total payment to any
runner for 2007. The payment will only be for paid up members for 2007 and they
should wear club insignia if possible (some new members haven’t had a chance to
get any yet). I feel that it is important to go over the details of the
decision again at Sunday’s meeting as
last year some club races were poorly attended and more input could make the club races
more successful this
year than
last.
Club resources: I note that we can make these club
payments now since the club has a large surplus. The various race fees and gear
we will spend money on will lower this surplus so we will keep a careful eye on
expenditures and will cut back as necessary. Carol is working hard for us and
will keep an eye on the money and report regularly. By the way, she is doing a
fine job following very well in Lois’s footprints.
Pre-LI Marathon Pasta
Party and meeting:
Our annual pre-LI-Marathon dinner `will be on Friday May 4 at 7 pm at the Alpine Garden which is on the
corner of Franklin Ave. and Hempstead Turnpike right across from
Murph’s parking lot. You can park there and walk
across Franklin. The food is good and we can share the
bill. There will be no reservations taken. Show up and join in. The meeting
will be very brief. Thanks
to Donna for making the arrangements.
Future meetings will be in the park with date and time
to be determined.
Club gear: Carol Drucker has a friend in the shirt business
and she and Tony are now cooperating in getting us club shirts in a wicking
fabric at a good price. We thank them both.
Best of Health and Happiness to all:
Stan
Long Island Marathon and 10k
It is time to register for
the 2007 Long Island Full/Half Marathon and 10k race. The date is May 6th.
Check out their web site for course details ( www.thelimarathon.com ).
Dues
We decided at the fall
meeting that dues will be $15 for members which will include family. Out of towners will pay $10 which will include family. Please send
your dues to Carol Drucker.
Miami Half Marathon -
Donna
Lois,
Rochelle and I left JFK on Thursday, 1/25. Our plane had to be de-iced.
When we were getting ready to land in West
Palm Beach, the co-pilot announced
what the temperature was in West Palm and also let us know
that NY was going to be experiencing one of the coldest few days they've had in
a very long time. I guess we left town just at the right time.
Saturday
we went to the Expo and picked up our numbers, shirts, caps and chips. It
was a very big Expo. There was a lot to see. Thursday and Friday nights we
stayed at my brother's home. Saturday night we stayed in Miami
so that we didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to get to the race.
The race started at 6:10 am. On Sunday morning
my brother met us in the lobby of our hotel and we walked a few blocks to the
start of the race. At 5:30 am it was raining very
lightly. By 5:45 it was a downpour. The
rain was so bad that it was coming down sideways in sheets. Although we had
plastic garbage bags, we still were soaked and our shoes squished by 6:10. Luckily it stopped
raining before we reached the first mile. My brother did the half marathon and
stayed with me. I was a little disappointed that it took me longer than last
year. I have to keep telling myself that it was partially due to my soaked
shoes and socks. The truth is, I probably talked
more this year. We all enjoyed the race. The course was as beautiful and scenic
as I remembered it from last year.
Donna
Thank you Note from Liz and Tom Zullo
Thank you for coming to
Tom’s brother’s wake. It was so nice of so many club members.
Regards,
Tom and Liz.
To our Friend – Harry Feigenbaum (1/12/2007)
Running
with Harry – Joe Tito
Running is not just about
training, food, clothes, races and running shoes. Running to me has been a way
of life. It allows me to see and feel things even when my running has slowed
down. Harry has been a special person to me over the years. In Harry’s
remembrance, on January 28, 2007;
Rambo ‘The Running Dog’, Harry and I did the 3 mile loop around the Valley
Stream Lake Park
and we talked about life and the good times.
MY
FRIEND HARRY FEIGENBAUM – Bob Croon
I met Harry Feigenbaum in Hendrickson Park
in 1990. He was a very likeable guy and knowledgeable on many subjects. We
talked about running, movies and his beloved Giant football team. One thing you
learned quickly was that Harry was always right! If I didn't agree with him I
wouldn't say anything! Having an argument while running is no
fun. One day I was running with Harry and a guy we called crazy Tony.
Tony had his son taken away from him for abuse. He swears he did nothing wrong
and his son accidentally fell down the stairs. His son returned home and was
being home schooled. Harry was a retired teacher from Valley Stream Central.
Tony was telling Harry that being home schooled was better than regular school!
Harry was telling him he was crazy and told him all his son was missing by
being home schooled. Tony didn't want to hear it and I'm thinking someone is
going to throw a punch any second. I finally changed the subject just in the
nick of time.
Harry's
pace was a little slow for me but would be perfect for a Sunday morning after a
tough run the day before. I remember getting a blister from a new pair of shoes
one Sunday morning. Harry invited me over to his house where he would fix me
up. He got some stuff out of the refrigerator and put it on the blister and
patched me up. It worked really well; I think it was Nu
Skin. I got to meet his lovely wife Joyce that day! While running with Harry
every once in a while he would come out with a high pitched sound. It was funny
and he didn't do it on purpose, we called it a yip. I ran with Harry for many
years and we became good friends. We went to a couple of Giant games together
and Harry knew everyone that sat in his section. If he didn't know them they
weren't a regular. Harry moved to the city about 9 years ago and I didn't get
to see him much. We went into the city a couple of times to run with Harry and
had a lot of fun! The last 2 years Harry fought a battle with cancer that
weakened him and made running very difficult. I saw Harry last July and had a nice
visit with him and Joyce. He looked pretty good but was very weak. I said
goodbye to him and was thinking this could be the last time I ever see him. I
was hoping I was wrong but Harry was taken from us on January 13th. Someday I
hope to see Harry again and run above the clouds with him and hear that
delightful yip!
Remembering
Harry – Jack Horwitz
I was Harry's running
partner for 2-3 years just before he moved from Valley
Stream to Manhattan.
We met at the pool entrance 3-4 times a week for our morning run. In the winter
Harry would wear (2) cotton turtlenecks and socks for gloves. After being
warmed up he would stow one of his turtlenecks in the hollow of a tree on the
main path near the northern end of the high school track. Though
on the main path of the high schoolers going to
class, it was never stolen. Harry was a big conversationalist. And would continually entertain me with stories.
His racing misadventures, such as the Brooklyn
half marathon story, Valley Stream HS days when he was a History teacher.
We swapped travel stories. We talked current events with historical
significance, also personal problems. Once a week we would do intervals. Harry
had the 1-1/2 mile Hendrickson park divided into (6) 1/4 mile segments. We
would alternate speed and slow jog. After a good run Harry would remark “a
quality workout". For a sluggish day he would say” less is more".
Harry seldom stopped talking, always with an interesting story or remark. He
made a great effort to help his developmentally slowed grandson. Harry was a
big football fan, had season tickets to the Giants in the meadowlands.
When Harry had a misstep and sprained an ankle he refused to run in the VS
state park. He preferred hard even pavement to softer uneven.
I ran in the State Park when Harry wasn't there. Harry was a
charmer. Jack
Harry
Feigenbaum, RIP (from two of his High School
students)
I've just received word
that my favorite social studies/history teacher from Valley Stream (NY) Central High
School,
where I graduated in 1974, has passed away in New
York City
after a long battle with cancer. Harry Feigenbaum
constantly displayed great intellectual vigor and creativity in the classroom.
He always encouraged and challenged students to look beyond the mind-numbing
historical benchmarks enumerated in the standard textbooks, and to seek the
complex truth of human experience which cannot be adequately summarized by
simplistic headlines. Harry exerted a profound influence upon me and on many
others as well. After his retirement from teaching, he and his wife Joyce
relocated from Valley Stream
to Manhattan.
In recent years, when I'd occasionally be giving a talk in New
York City,
I'd let him know and he'd come by to sit in the audience and keep me honest. I
loved him; and his memory and example will always burn bright within me. I
wanted to share the following from my blog. All best,
- Ed Renehan erenhan@yahoo.com (CHS,
'74)
Thank you informing me
about Harry's death. Your words were most eloquent and true. Harry was
everything a teacher should be. I was reflecting on how lucky we were to be at
Central in the 70's. There were so many dedicated and passionate teachers. I
wonder if it was just a sign of the times, or just a lucky coincidence.
Patricia
Lots of miles with Harry - Ted Orosz
I ran a lot of miles with
Harry, thousands of miles to be sure. He
always said that he was a better runner than I would be at his age. He was right of course, by the time I reached
50, I was practically a cripple, but he was still running up until the very
end. Running with Harry was never easy.
He had rules, and procedures, that were not open to discussion. He never left the safe confines of the park. One
ran clockwise in the State Park and in the Village Park
as well. He never ran on unpaved
surfaces. There were water fountains
from which he drank, and there were those from which he never drank. All runs had to be in multiples of 3 miles,
except for when 20 miles was to be covered.
But Harry was always interesting to talk to. Often 20-mile runs passed in the blink of an
eye when we got into a heated discussion about some topic. I learned an enormity from Harry, but he
always talked about how much he learned from me. Although Harry fancied himself
the intellectual, he was passionate—and usually downcast--about the Football
Giants. They were never as good as their
record, the Quarterback could not make the throws into the flat, the coach was
inflexible, and Lawrence Taylor was one spoon of Cocaine from ruin. Not to be harsh, but Harry found running with
some people intolerable. This one can only repeat banalities, “When the going
gets tough, the tough get going.” Does
he not have a thought in his head? This one will tell us about his latest
sexual misadventures. Or there was the
fellow who insisted that he was running six-minute miles because he did four
laps of the Central High
School
track in 6 minutes. (The track, alas, was only .21 of a mile) There was one fellow who always said hello
and Harry said, that guy was crazy and not to speak with him. I though this proclamation a bit harsh, the
guy always said hello. Well Harry was
right. This was the nutcase who chopped
up his father into little bits and then went to Dunkin Donuts, where he was
apprehended. Harry found it better to
run alone than to run with people he counted as fools. Which brings us, in a very a roundabout way,
to my point. In the spring of 1985,
while he was still teaching at Central, we were training for the full Long
Island Marathon. In those days, it was a
run from Eisenhower Park
to Jones Beach
and back. As our training progressed,
he began obsessing about one Charles LePalme. This apparently despicable representative of
the species was a colleague in the Social Studies Department at Central. LePalme, it seems,
ran for many years, but never raced.
After Harry stopped smoking and began running, he soon thereafter began
running marathons. So he, Harry, was
the marathon runner in Social Studies Department. In 1985, however, LePalme
decided to run Long Island
as well. Harry did not take it
well. LePalme
was encroaching on his turf. LePalme had no idea how to train, he was a fool, and he was
a boring teacher as well. In those days,
with Dennis Treubig the Physics teacher in charge, Central
had superb Cross-Country teams. Central
had State Championship teams. There
were Central Track and Cross-Country kids all along the course. We were getting updates at every water
stop. LePalme
is two minutes ahead we were told. “Ahead of us! That toad, he has no idea how train, his
demise is imminent!” But LePalme kept his lead.
At the 20-mile mark, Harry spied his nemesis ahead. There he is, we
must catch him. And we speeded up at 20
miles. And we did pass him while still
on the Wantagh
Parkway. We never looked back. Harry was smug in victory; he was willing to
concede that LePalme, for an idiot, actually had done
quite well for his first Marathon. He is not such a bad guy, you know. His class is not that boring. And just like that, running past the County
lock-up, LePalme passed us back. As we three entered the park for the final
mile, these two 50-somethings were running shoulder-to-shoulder and pushing,
and elbowing, and shoving, and snarling.
One would surge ahead and the other would respond, and so it went for
the next 7 minutes. They were 100 yards
from the finish when they joined hands and went under the clock together. (3:37 if you must know) This little race within a race attracted a
lot of attention. A features writer from
Newsday--the race sponsor in them days--came over and asked the two fellows
essentially, OK what was that about?
They both declined to respond, not to be demure, but because they were
gasping for oxygen. The writer pressed
on. OK, how much money was riding on
this? No money they said. OK then, what was it about? People don’t run that hard to get away from
Soviet tanks. Neither one admitted
anything and probably neither one knew why it mattered so much. And maybe that’s it. We don’t know why running matters, but it
does, and that’s why we do it and that’s why we are passionate about it.
Fun Runs, Speed Work, HILL WORK and Long Runs
·
Wednesday evenings. Group Runs / Walk at the Valley
Stream pool at 6:00 PM. Check with Donna, If new to club.
·
For Hill
Work in Alley Pond Park
on Sunday mornings we meet at 7:30
AM. At Alley Pond
we have a standard 8-mile loop and a lake loop which adds about 3 miles. For
those who go directly to Alley Pond Park,
parking is on Winchester Boulevard
just off of Union Turnpike.
·
For Long Runs we will meet on Saturday mornings, time of 7:30 AM at the bridge in the
park. Be on time though, because after
one loop in the park we sometimes go off to places hither and yon. Bring water
as we often leave the safe confines of the park.
Race Results
Miami Half Marathon
Donna 2:45, Rochelle 3:00, Lois 3:17
Lois did about 15 minutes better than last year.
Snowflake
4-miler (results are approximate)
Donna Hahl 45, Dorothy Russo 35, Debbie Whitton
46
Donna writes; Saturday, March 10th, I completed the Kings Park
15k. This year it began and ended at a different location, but it had all the
same hills.....just at different mile markers. I finished in 1:52. I was very happy to see
the finish line because those hills are quite steep. Each year I do it I
swear the hills get steeper than the year before.
More
Half Marathon in Central Park; Carol Drucker 2:20, Donna Hahl
2:45
Upcoming Races (Preliminary)
Sat, April St James
5M St.
James 9:30
Sat. April 1 ASPIRE 10k Plainview 9:00
Sun, May 6 LI Marathons
and 10k Eisenhower
Park 8:00
Sun, May 28 Long Beach
10M/5k Long Beach 8:00
Tue, July 4 Bellmore 4M Bellmore 8:30
Sat. July 8 Vytra Woman’s 5k Farmingdale
HS 9:00
Sun, Sept. 10 Ocean-To-Sound Start Jones
Beach 8:00
Sat, Sept 16 Cow Harbor Northport 8:30
Sat, Nov 4 Rockville Ctr. 10k Rockville Ctr. 10:00
Sun, Nov 19 Mineola Mustang 5k Mineola 10:00
Sun. Nov 26 Rob’s Run Syosset 9:15
Sat. Dec Snowball 5M Wantagh 8:00
Sat. Dec 16 Ho Ho Ho Run 5k Bethpage HS 9:00