Now we’re really hitting our stride, @Challengers! We’re up to 128 of our friends and neighbors running, and we just set a weekly mileage record for the year, with over 750 miles this week. Let’s collect everything into a list this week:
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Get a shirt: Anyone who wants to guarantee a shirt style or size should register this weekend, since the shirt order goes in on Monday. (If you’re already registered and have changed your mind about wanting one, I think you can edit your registration.)
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Get a lawn sign: If you want an FLRC Challenge lawn sign—all the best lawns have them!—contact me to get one of the few that are left. Props to Matt Herbers for rescuing an abducted Challenge lawn sign from where it had been discarded on a downtown street. It’s once again available for adoption.
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Duck Trails reroute: The Duck Trails course requires a slight reroute near the start due to emerald ash borer mitigation closing a path. If you can’t run on the path further from the pond, take the one that’s closer to the water (in red).
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Fall Creek Trails closed Thursday: On May 28, the Forest Home Drive Bridge will be closed from 8 AM to 3 PM for inspection, so don’t run the Fall Creek Trails course that day. Join us at the Ithaca Festival parade that day!
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Tortoise & Hare shortened: Per a suggestion from Pete Kresock, I’ve tweaked the Tortoise & Hare course to start and finish at the far end of the parking lot so you don’t have to run through cars twice. I also redid the RunGo directions since I think the previous set was corrupt.
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Edit your Personal Challenge: Thanks to Steve Desmond, you can now edit your Personal Challenge in the leaderboard. Go to your Challenge Dashboard (click More Info on the banner on the homepage), and click Select a Different Challenge at the bottom. I’m now aiming to do the 23 courses that are 10K or shorter—8 done!
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Waterfront Trail group run Sunday: This weekend’s group run will be on the Waterfront Trail course at Stewart Park, with lots of snacks after. Join us Sunday at 9 AM!
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Record WDF and Thom B finishes: Remember, if you ran the Women’s Distance Festival 5K two weeks ago or the Thom B trail race last weekend, you can record those as Challenge completions. All 5Ks are recorded for Lakefront Loops, and Thom B has its own course from the 2021 Challenge. And yes, those who did the 17-mile or 26.2-mile races at Thom B can record multiple runs for covering the ground multiple times!
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Our first finisher! Although the Personal Challenge makes “finishing” a somewhat arbitrary concept, Matt Clark had signed up for the ten Classic Challenge courses, and he completed them on Tuesday. Congrats, Matt! The question is: will he adjust his Personal Challenge to include more courses?
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Overall Leaders: There aren’t many major changes in the primary competitions, although Caitlin Loehr has taken the lead in Most Points for women before jetting off to South Africa for a marathon. I also notice that the @Super-60s-70s are crushing the team competition this year, thanks to mega miles from Caitlin, Dennis Stadelman, Matt Clark, John Hummel, and now Steve Ryan!
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Great photos! Lots more excellent photos this week, including from Paula Klaben at the RBC Brooklyn Half, Gretchen Gilbert capturing what must have been goose day care, and Rachel Neugarten on Duck Trails.
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Stroller competition: In the informal stroller competition, Patrick Milano and Theo have finished five courses so far, but Mik Kern and Miles are now on the board with their first course. Both pictures are from the South Hill Rec Way, which has a convenient playground! Anyone else going to tackle the courses with a kid and a stroller?
Hope to see lots of people on Sunday for the Waterfront Trail group run, and in the meantime, keep covering the ground!