FLRC FOOTNOTES FOR MARCH 2021
As the weather finally warms up, an ever-increasing amount is going on:
- Interested in an elite ultrarunner’s stories? Come listen to Katie Arnold on March 25th.
- The FLRC Challenge is in full swing! Can you complete all ten courses in 2021?
- FLRC offers a free year of club membership for those hurt by the pandemic.
- Like running at Hammond Hill? Support the Friends of Hammond Hill fundraiser!
- Want to get more involved with FLRC? We need a new Volunteer Coordinator.
- Know a high school runner who should apply for the FLRC Scholarship?
- We anticipate most races happening this year, but we’ve canceled the Twilight 5K.
On to the particulars!
FLRC Presents: Conversations with ultrarunner Katie Arnold on 3/25 at 8 PM
In our ongoing FLRC Presents series, ultrarunner and Leadville 100 Champion Katie Arnold will discuss her new memoir Running Home and answer your questions about competing, raising adventurous children, and more! Tune in online on March 25th at 8 PM at either the Trails Collective’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Katie is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine, where she worked on staff for 12 years. Her Raising Rippers column about bringing up adventurous, outdoor children appears monthly on Outside Online. She has written for The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Sunset, Runner’s World, ESPN: The Magazine, Elle, and many others, and her narrative nonfiction has been recognized by Best American Sportswriting. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband and two daughters.
Local runners flock to the FLRC Challenge
Over 115 local runners have already signed up for the FLRC Challenge, our series of ten open-course races that you can run anytime you want, as many times as you want, throughout the rest of 2021. Half the courses are road, half are trail, and they range from 1 mile to the half marathon. Run, hike, or walk them all to win the coveted FLRC Challenge medal! All profits from the FLRC Challenge will support local running programs like Girls on the Run and the GIAC Navigators. Six courses are open now—the East Hill Rec Way downhill mile, the Cornell Botanic Gardens, the Waterfront Trail 5K, the South Hill Rec Way, the Black Diamond Trail, and the Pseudo Skunk Cabbage half marathon—and more will be opening soon.
The FLRC Challenge leaderboard has become a daily must-check for many of us, as we see how each day’s results change the standings and statistics. Will Rich Heffron or Jullien Flynn lay down a new fastest time on one of the courses? Did Pete Kresock really run the Pseudo Skunk Cabbage half marathon twice in one day? Will anyone be able to compete with Bill Watson’s blistering 4:58 average time on the East Hill Rec Way downhill mile? How many couples are running the courses together?
The team competition is heating up as well, though we anticipate lots of shifts. Right now, the tiny but talented Terrific 20s team has just pulled ahead of the massive Thundering 30s team in the first two places, with the well-rounded Fabulous 50s sitting patiently in third, followed by the Fantastic 40s and Super 60s. We anticipate those teams moving up as more of the people who are registered start running more regularly (and if not enough 70+ folks join Deb Bliss and Joe Reynolds on the Splendid 70s team, we’ll merge it down into the Super 60s).
Will you play with us today? Keep an eye on the FLRC Challenge forum for group runs on the various FLRC Challenge courses.
FLRC offers free year of club membership to those hurt by the pandemic
To support local runners who have suffered from reduced income, lost jobs, and other financial repercussions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FLRC would like to offer a free year of club membership to anyone who could use a little extra help, no questions asked. When you join FLRC or renew an FLRC membership—individual ($20) or family ($35)—at any time in the next year, use coupon code 2021FORFREE to waive the fees (online signups only, please). Along with a sense of belonging to the running community, FLRC membership brings with it discounts on the FLRC Challenge and most of our races, free entry to our track meets and Winter Chill 5K Series, and participation in workout groups and the FLRC Family Running Program.
Please support the Friends of Hammond Hill in their trail repair fundraiser!
FLRC is happy to support the Friends of Hammond Hill in their efforts to raise money to repair damaged trails at Hammond Hill State Forest. We rely on those trails for our Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race, the Thom B. Trail Runs, and one of the FLRC Challenge courses. Plus, for many of us, they’re a year-round destination for running, skiing, and snowshoeing. Can you kick in a few bucks for gravel and trail fabric and to pay a trail professional to do the necessary mechanical work? Thanks to the Friends of Hammond Hill for all they do to keep the trails runnable and Ithaca’s GiveGab for their financial and technical support in this fundraiser.
Wanted: Energetic volunteer coordinator
As you know, FLRC is an all-volunteer organization, and after the retirement of a long-time member, we’re looking for a new volunteer coordinator. This position spent last year in limbo along with our pandemic-hampered race schedule, so it’s ripe for reinvention in 2021. You’d be perfect for the role of volunteer coordinator if you’re outgoing, organized, and enthused about FLRC. Core tasks involve collaborating with race directors to line up volunteers, recruiting new volunteers, and helping to build ways to track volunteers and their efforts so we can acknowledge and reward them at the Annual Picnic. For those early in their careers (hint, hint), this position will be great for community networking, will enhance your resumé, and could be a source of recommendations. Contact Adam Engst if you’re interested.
FLRC accepting $1000 scholarship applications through May 1st
FLRC’s Scholarship Committee is once again accepting applications from high school seniors who have participated in their school’s cross country or track & field teams for a pair of $1000 unrestricted scholarships. FLRC membership is not required, but applicants must reside in Tompkins County or a surrounding county. Application letters, with letters of recommendation from a teacher and a coach, are due May 1st. For details, see the full announcement.
Twilight 5K Canceled for 2021
After the success of our Super Frosty Loomis snowshoe race, the increase in vaccinations, and the generally improving situation with regard to COVID-19 infections locally, we’ve decided that we will try to hold most of our races in 2021 in accordance with our COVID-19 Race Safety Precautions. That’s a plan, not a promise, and we’ll either open registration for a given race at least one month before the race date if it’s happening or announce a cancellation if need be. Unfortunately, the FLRC board has decided to cancel the Twilight 5K due to the significant logistics and volunteer needs of a downtown race. Sorry!
FLRC weekly workouts continue apace
As the weather improves, workouts become more appealing for helping us get back in shape and do something more than the same old runs we always do. So if you’re looking for some structure for your training, check out our weekly workouts for middle (5K to 15K) and long (half marathon and marathon) distance runners on the FLRC Forum, with a focus on FLRC Challenge courses so you can double-dip on your goals. If you run with a friend or find yourself in the presence of walkers or runners, please follow FLRC’s recommendations for safe running!
Until next time, stay fit, stay healthy, and we look forward to running with you again!
—Adam Engst, FLRC President and VP of Track