Week of April 27, 2004 - May 3, 2004

It's a Boy!
May 3, 2004

We're proud to welcome the newest member of the Central Park Tykes Club. (Or the Central Park Tots Club; we haven't decided which name we prefer yet.) Lucas Andrea Modica was born last Tuesday at 11:01 am. Dad Chele Modica writes about his 7-lb. son: "The nights have been longer and the miles harder to come by, but he's priceless."

Bannister
May 3, 2004

Everybody's getting into the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister running the first sub-4:00 mile. We were going to hunt down all the articles we could, but LetsRun.com saved us a lot of the trouble. It's a really big deal over in England, so the BBC, the Guardian, the Independent and the Sunday Herald, all interviewed Sir Roger. On our own side of the pond, USA Today offers some nice coverage, including an audio interview with Bannister, while a dozen other sources run a story from the AP. (It seems likely that Bannister has spent the last month doing nothing but but telling reporters that his grandson believes Sir Roger was the first person to run a mile in under four seconds.) Meanwhile, Down Under, the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald give a little bit of attention to John Landy, who failed to break the barrier before Bannister, but then broke Bannister's record six weeks later. No newspaper seems to have interviewed Wes Santee. And, for those not planning to be at the Armory on Thursday, ESPN Classic will be running "The Barrier Breakers," a special on Bannister, Landy and Santee, starting at 8:00 pm.

Photos
May 3, 2004

Bruce Hyde hangs out at the Penn Relays before the start of the 5000m (photo 1, photo 2), and then runs the race (photo) in these photos at LetsRun.com. Visible in all three photos is runner no. 46, a.k.a race winner Alan Webb. Thanks to Craig Chilton for spotting the photos. Plus, photos from the Brooklyn Half-Marathon are now posted.

Updating This Site Makes Us Feel Like Sisyphus, Too
May 3, 2004

Still not reading John Scherrer's new blog, Exit, Pursued By a Bear? (Note the restored comma!) Then you're missing entries like this one:

A dear friend e-mailed me today and included the following short bit:

"I've never once in my life run too much; my running is purely practical. Just the other night I ran home from Penn Station at 2 AM; I'd just gotten off a bus from the Newark Airport after a flight from Florida, where I'd run a race the day before and 15.5 miles altogether. The morning of the flight, I'd run 6 miles with my friend who lives down there, but when I got off the bus in Manhattan, I realized that it was silly to take a train only 3 1/2 miles when I'd been so good about packing light. And the fact that it was raining so hard and that I'd be running through Midtown didn't make this run 'too much' -- I saw some unpredictable permutations of the human condition in the run's first mile, and after that, Central Park was very pleasantly quiet, but for the hiss of the rain, at that hour."

This is a man that needs a blog. I would join Sisyphus in Hades and gladly push my boulder up the slope if only, each time it rolled back down, I were given a new blog post ("NBP"? We need more internet acronyms, right?) from this author.

Since we strongly suspect that author is already contributing to this site, we're not all that keen to see him restrict his best material to his own blog.

Apartment for Rent
May 2, 2004

Kevan and Anna Huston are moving to the Bronx, which means their apartment near Central Park is available. "Near" in this case means precisely 37.8 meters from the Bridle Path. The 1-bedroom rent-stablised aparment is at 6 West 90th Street, and is available now. The monthly rent will probably be in the mid-teens (exact rent to be determined after vacancy appreciation). If you're interested, contact Kevan at 212.821.5103 (work), 718.884.0338 (home) or khuston1@yahoo.com.

Around the World Update # 19 - Northern India
May 2, 2004

Dear all,

After a 30-hour train journey, long but comfortable (given the country), we finally arrived in the State of Madya Pradesh, in the Northern half of India.

Orccha
Orccha is a village still living like in the Middle Age, with more cows in the streets than you can imagine, a very relaxed pace, and friendly people. Temples, castles, fortresses are in every direction you look at. It is a place where you can meet in the streets descendants of the fierce rajputs, known to have been fantastic soldiers against the Muslims invaders, wearing colorful turbans, long dresses and big moustache. This destination, relatively unknown to most tourists, will certainly become more famous with time. Also, this was the first place we visited in the North, and it was like changing country: the people's complexion is clearer (Dravidians, the inhabitants of the South, are very black, but contrary to Africans, their faces have Caucasian patterns), food is different, and the Muslim influence can be felt more here than in the South (especially in the architecture).

Khajuraho
This place is worldwide famous for the quality of its temples, built between the 10th and 12th century. The first time we visited them, we were so impressed by the carvings that we did not pay attention to the architecture, however also fantastic. The temples were built in a relatively reduced area (nowhere near as widespread as Angkor or Bagan), which allows to embrace all the finest temples in the same panorama. Breathtaking, especially during the sound and light show. However, nothing beats THE carvings in themselves, representing gods, celestial nymphs and couples in all kind of postures... The details of the statues (they even sculpted the eyes), the curves that make them look alive, the stories they tell, everything contributes to place them among the wonders of human heritage, and one of the wonders of our trip.

Varanasi (Benares)
Benares is problably the holiest city for Hinduism as it lies on the Ganga, the holy river coming from God Shiva's hair. Therefore, religion and daily life there are strongly intertwined, especially on the ghats, the steps on the bank of the Ganga. Some people go to as many as 5 ghats a day to wash, pray, chant and worship. Sunrise time is dedicated to abblutions and prayers. Then it's time to do the laundry -also in the river- and to let saris and lungys dry up on the ghats' steps as the sun heats up the air. Late afternoons are special moments too. People reach again the holy water, this time to perform the puja, a worshipping celebration including chants and prayers, accompanied by the priests and their purifying incense. To foreigners' eyes, the most spectacular part of the puja is when hundreds of devotees put little cups holding burning candles onto the Ganga, and as night falls, the holy river becomes illuminated by these ephemerous bright dots, taken away by the currents and the wind. Also occuring on the river are cremations. Dying in Benares is very "well considered" for Hindus as it may end the cycle of reincarnations – as body ashes are spread on the Ganga. Therefore, two of the 100 main ghats are notorious for their cremation activities that are held 24h a day. Families pay significant amounts of money to allow bodies of their loved ones to be burned on the holy river's ghat. All these rituals make of Benares a very spiritual place, even for non-Hindus.

We are now in Kathmandu, Nepal, about to go for a long trekking tomorrow. Do not expect news from us during the next 3 weeks.

Cheers,

— Anne Lavadon & Olivier Baillet

Over Racing, Over Posting
May 2, 2004

We're starting to wish we'd never asked about over racing. Not because we don't enjoy hearing your stories, but because we're getting a little worried about the sanity of our members. We already reported that Jonathan Cane did three races on the morning of September 22, 2002, but we just learned that Marty Levine participated in two of those races: the New York City Biathlon and the Fred Lebow XC 5K. And if you think running two or three races in a row sounds foolish, just consider the bizarre accomplish of Tim Decker (NYF). Last year he ran 8 miles of the New York City Marathon, hopped in a car and drove up to Westchester where he won the Terry Ryan Memorial Run 10K in a time of 38:05, drove back to the 8-mile mark in Brooklyn, and finished the marathon for an official time of 8:27:32. Readers of Runner's World may recall seeing a photo of Tim in the March issue, surrounded by his 66 pairs of running shoes.

Gettting back to our own runners, John Prather writes in from Arizona with his tale of over racing:

There is a stage race in Britain called the Tour of Tameside -- six races in seven days covering a total of 52.4 miles (2 marathons). None is easy. In and of itself, that's overracing (unless you're Eddy Hellebuyck, who, at 100 pounds soaking wet, actually gets stronger as it goes on). But I ran a ten-mile PR on day 1 (on an 11-mile course, from 8 to 10.5 being uphill), broke it on day 5 en route to a half-marathon PR, and then approached my 8-mile PR (which had been set on day 1) on the 7th and final day. But I was so much younger then.

And if any of our runners in the UK want to try this race out themselves, we found last year's application, which includes some contact info for the organizers. The races schedule last year was: 11 mile multi-terrain race, 6 mile hill race, 7 mile road race, rest day, hafl-marathon, 6 mile cross-country race and 9 mile canal race. Despite the terrain challenges, the winner finished in a total time of 4:26:53 (5:06/mile).

But it's not just CPTC runners who overrace. Stuart Calderwood shares the strange tale of Jay Helgerson:

Concerning "over-racing": The topper in this department is very likely a man named Jay Helgerson, who was briefly legendary. I can use that seeming oxymoron because although he was the topic du jour for any group of runners for a year or two in the 1980s, he's now next-to-unGooglable. All I can find are the unlinked reference in the Running Times Magazine archives to a story written about him in March of 1980 and — this one's priceless — a song written by Sri Chinmoy, suggested for use as a meditation chant: "Jay Helgerson, Jay Helgerson, Jay, Jay! A" [Ed. Note: We found a short poem by Chimnoy, as well, titled A Chat With Jay Helgerson.] He's the perfect figure of worship for Chinmoy, himself worshipped by ultrarunners and founder of such events as a marathon held weekly and consisting of one-mile laps in Flushing Meadows Park and occasionally around Randall's Island.

So, the burning question: what did Jay Helgerson do to get not only interviewed but nearly canonized? Since the Web is mostly silent on him, and since I'm not about to search my own hard-copy Running Times archives for the March 1980 issue — I hurt my back last time I messed with those boxes — I'll have to give you the account preserved in my memory:

Helgerson was an American who, although of merely above-average talent as a single-race marathoner (He might've given Margaret Angell's time a scare in those days), had found that his recovery skills were world-class. To put them to better use, he decided to race--brace yourself--the Rotterdam, London, and Boston marathons on three consecutive days. (I'm guessing that it was in 1979 or 1980, depending on whether Running Times was interviewing him before or after the fact.) His times — and I'm sure I'm within a minute or two, with the sub- and over-3:00 days definitely right — were 2:55 on Saturday, 3:02 on Sunday, and — defying comprehension — 2:56 on Monday at Boston on by far the toughest and most quadricep-damaging of the three courses.

I once read an account written by a guy who had decided to find out if people could really walk on hot coals. He wrote something that's stayed with me: that although in the abstract — when he heard some of the supposed explanations for the phenomenon — he could imagine it being possible, when he was actually standing barefoot in front of the pit of smoking, glowing red coals, all of what he'd heard and read simply became ridiculous: it was obvious that no one could walk on those things without suffering terrible damage, and he wasn't about to provide the physical evidence of that.

Similarly: I don't think anyone who hasn't had the experience — preferably the recent experience — of waking up on a Monday morning after a Sunday marathon and trying to go out for a run can have a grasp of what Helgerson did. Because I have a daily-running streak, I always run the next day--and I'm generally kept at about a 9- to 10-minute pace for my one-and-a-half-mile "run," feeling extremely uncomfortable; Tuesday's often even worse. That's the utterly dumbfounding element of the Helgerson story: the third race, which he ran faster than the second one — after he must have been trying to break 3:00 in London. I don't think that any world-class runner could necessarily do what he did; in fact, I'd bet against it.

Helgerson himself, in the long tradition of people whose own abilities can't seem as amazing to them as they do to the rest of us, said that the hardest part of what he'd done was the travel: he was in cars and airplanes almost the whole time between the races, and he hardly slept.

Isn't sleep when recovery takes place?

Three marathons in three days may not even be the craziest thing Helgerson did then. In 1979 he ran a marathon every week for an entire year. And where is he now? Well, over the last few years a now-48-year-old man named Jay Helgerson has been running some races in Portland, OR, including the Portland Marathon at least at least three times. Could this be the same man, now older and wiser and limiting himself to one marathon a year?

Guess the Fake Headline
May 1, 2004

Two of these headlines are real. One is fake. Can you guess which it is?

1. DEA Agent Shoots Self During Gun Safety Class for Orlando Kids
2. Iraqis Arming Selves for Independence
3. Patriot Act Suppresses News Of Challenge to Patriot Act

If you said B, then you're right — and probably a regular reader of The Onion, where the story ran. Headline A came from The Palm Beach Post (link via Radosh.net) and Headline C is from the Washington Post (link via the always hillarious Wonkette). The funniest line doesn't come from the Onion story, but from a witness to the self-shooting incident, who noted that "the point of gun safety hit home. Unfortunately, the agent had to get shot." He's back at work now, but hopefully not doing any more classroom visits.

Poem in Your Pocket Day
April 30, 2004

Today is the second annual Poem in Your Pocket Day. Among other promotions, MOMA is offering free admission to anyone who brings a poem with them. Last year we posted A Drink With Something In It, Ogden Nash's paean to cocktails. This year we're going with Rudyard Kipling's If (which makes the PIYP list of suggested poems), since we already put part of it up here two weeks ago. Also, it mentions running.

If
by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And – which is more – you'll be a Man, my son!

In other poetry news, Reverend Run (a.k.a. Joseph Simmons) failed in his bid to be named Queens' third poet laureate, partly due to the fact that he no longer lives in Queens. The title was instead bestowed upon Ishle Yi Park, who appears to actually be a professional poet. (You can see some of her work at www.ishle.com.) The job comes with no salary and no official duties, and we're not sure why Queens (or any other borough, city or state) needs a poet laureate. But any woman who writes poetry about video games (To Nintendo) deserves some kind of honor, so it might as well be this.

Sports Museum
April 29, 2004

The National Sports Museum is coming to 26 Broadway sometime next year. The museum will focus on all sports, and will include exhibits from various other sports museums and Halls of Fame across the country, a theater and, in certain areas "subtle but distinct scents, such as chlorine in the swimming area and popcorn, cut grass or cotton candy in the baseball area."

Staying Put, Pursued By a Proofreader
April 29, 2004

Copyeditor Extraordinaire Stuart Calderwood reminds us:

Yes, your slightest mistake gets mentioned ... by me, to save you from it. If you're going to stickle, you'd better spell "Pursued" right! You've got "Pusued" in your "correct" version (with comma). Quick!

Too late! John already caught it and posted this comment to his site:

"Pusued"? Dear Reader, we expect so much better from Roland.

And you might get much better from Roland over on his site, but here you're stuck with our typos.

Mile Race
April 29, 2004

Remember, next Thursday NYRR will have a special Thursday Night at the Races Commemorative Mile to mark the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister's historic first-ever sub-4:00 mile. The race is currently set to be run at the Armory, but we worry that it will be infernally hot in there, so we're hoping that NYRR will move it outdoors. If you don't trust them to realize the wisdom of this move on their own, you can email Ian Brooks at ianb@nyrrc.org and ask him to embrace the great outdoors. Also, read or listen to what Frank Deford thinks about Bannister: "In a way, Roger Bannister was the last hero in sport. All that have followed, however great, have only been celebrities, stars and superstars."

Some More Over Racing
April 29, 2004

Toby Tanser weighs in again:

I had the misfortune of lecturing a runner I coach not to do marathons in close proximately (6 weeks apart) when this issue came up. He looked at me, quoted the CPTC site, and told me to shut up!

Okay – two 5Ks within 30-40 minutess? We did two 10Ks within 30-40 minutes whilst running legs 2 & 4 at the Achilles Marathon, and that after running a race in Central Park the day before.

But three separate races in the weekend (surely a record to be trumped by another CPTC-er) was the Bronx 10K on Saturday, Men's Co-Ed 5K in Central Park on Sunday morning, and the Harbor Fitness 5K shortly afterward on the same morning – the hardest part being the travel, as the last race was in Brooklyn near the Verazzano Bridge. Which in turn was the same problem I faced when running, later that year, a race in Central Park, then getting up to VCP in the Bronx to do another in the same morning ... without my own transportation means.

However the best double for me in terms of quality was two half-marathons in 63 minutes in the Sunday-to-Sunday, and training a hard (!) 120-miles in the middle with a man who is today the co-record holder of the fastest marathon run by a European (2:06). I only add that bit as an answer to quip back if the aforementioned reader tells me to shut up again.

I think we're close to establishing a rule here: Racing too often is a bad idea, unless you are Alan Ruben or Toby Tanser.

New CPTC Jog Bra
April 28, 2004

Ladies, this summer stay cool and in-style with the new CPTC jog bra, creatively designed by our very own resident graphic designer, Bill Haskins! To get information on sizing and to place your order, please e-mail Sarah Gross at SGross@Marakon.com by Monday May 3rd.

Quasi-Over Racing
April 28, 2004

Tyronne Culpepper writes: "I witnessed a former CPTCer run two 5Ks within 30-45 mins of each other, both times were 17 minutes and change, and within a few seconds of each other." We'll just consider that to be a rather odd 10K.

Young Pioneers
April 28, 2004

Regarding the Pioneer Club Track Meet, Stuart Calderwood writes: "Zeb and I were double-victims at this meet: we went to the TRACK meet to run a TRACK 5000-meter race, but arrived to find a course map being handed out! The race did start on the track, but from there it headed off to the Van Cortlandt cross-country course's 'Freshman Loop.' As I ran with two other guys in the lead at about a mile, a marshal very confidently directed us off the course with a large arrow-sign. We improvised and ran about 3.3 miles, so our times aren't really the disgraces that they look like." Finishing 2nd and 4th can hardly be called disgraces, whatever the course turns out to be.

Tuesday Night Uptown Track Workout Report
April 28, 2004

Boy, the weather improves a bit, and runners come crawling out of the woodwork. Twenty-three of them, this time, including Glen Carnes, just back from his honeymoon and bearing the exciting news that his new bride has taken up running. Glen was so excited to be back that he tried to start the workout 20 minutes early. Jessica Reifer was back from California, where she may have run in some track races for which her times may have been reported correctly. She repeatedly challenged the validity of the Race Results page, but offered no actual corrections. Sue Pearsall jogged over from her apartment a stone's throw away. Otto Hoering jogged up from his apartment, roughly four stone's throws away. John Affleck took the subway, but he'll be able to jog when he moves into his new apartment, which is approximately one-and-a-half stone's throws from the track.

The workout was 3-4x1000m at 3k pace, followed by 1-2x300m at 800m-mile pace. Chris Price found a way to pace himself properly on the third interval: "I just follow Marvin Cabrerra for the first 600, since he's running the perfect splits for me, and then I speed up." Marvin responded by leaving Chris in the dust on the next interval. So much for that strategy, but in general everyone ran well for the 1000s. Alas, they lost all self-control on the last 300. Either that, or they actually can run the mile in 4:10, in which case we apologize. We also apologize to Coach Devon, who asked that we stop referring to her as The Dictator. (Speaking of dictators, today is Saddam Hussein's birthday.) This sounds suspiciously like an attempt to stifle the independent media, but, as she saw, the decision is out of our hands. She gives orders that must be followed, so the group insisted we continue to recognize her power over us. And, as the title of "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is already taken, we're stuck with The Dictator. Although a few variations were suggested, including Dictator Devon, abbreviated as D.D. or Dee Dee and Dictator D-Money, abbreviated as 2D$, D2$ or DD$, which makes us think of dentists.

But, you ask, wouldn't a true dictator supress such language and insist that we all address her as Your Majesty, President-for-Life, or The Infalliable One? In some cases, yes, but this is more like the system in Cuba or the Glasnost-era Soviet Union: we get to complain a certain amount as long as we never threaten the power of the boss. Those who try geneally learn their lesson quickly when they are forced to do extra intervals as punishment.

Lastly, on the long subway ride home Jess noticed our Mets shirt and Carlos Stafford's Yankee hat, and started bragging about how great the Dodgers are. Last night's results? Yankess win, Mets win, Dodgers lose.

Bike Month
April 28, 2004

Trade in your running shoes for some clipless pedals, because Bike Month is here. Officially it's the month of May, but it kicks off early with the NYC Bike Show (Thursday through Saturday), and gets going for real this Saturday, May 1, with the Blessing of the Bikes at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. See the full schedule for more details.

Best Female Athletes
April 28, 2004

ESPN's Page 2 want help narrowing down a list of the top 32 female athletes. Marion Jones is the only runner on the list and Barb Lindquist the only triathlete. There are also two pole valuters, one swimmer and a heptathlete, compared to six basketball players and two golfers (are they even athletes?). Are we the only one who thinks Paula Radcliffe and Lori Bowden should have made the list? Even with a flawed field, it's still worth voting, complaining to the editors, and then checking out something more important, like the page's new poker columnist.

All the News That's Fit to Complain About
April 28, 2004

The Times is still one of the best sources for foreign news, but it's increasingly clueless when it comes to culture. Today they discovered that South Park is funny (or possibly even just learned about its existance for the first time), glorified Red Lobster (the fact that the editor of Seventeen magazine likes it doesn't change the fact that the food there stinks), and actually printed this sentence: "Wolfgang's [Steakhouse] also offers some un-Luger-like amenities that seem plenty appealing to Manhattanites: you don't have to drive to get there, and you don't have to pay someone to watch your car while you eat." We're assuming that's a reference to valet parking, not to paying protection money to some local teens to keep them from stealing your hubcaps. But who drives to Peter Luger's? It's one subway stop into Brooklyn, and a quick cab ride over the Williamsburg Bridge for those who don't like public transportation. Besides, doesn't the Times know that all the cool kids are moving to Williambsurg, not away from it? A Peter Luger knock-off on Park Avenue isn't nearly as newsworthy as a Jean Georges Vongerichten restaurant on Roebling Street would be.

Enter, Pursuing a Bear
April 28, 2004

CPTC member John Scherrer joins the blogosphere with Exit Pursued By Bear. John explains the title this way:

"Exit Pursued by Bear" is a reference to a stage direction in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. Besides "Enter Pirates" in Pericles, it's one of Shakespeare's most famous stage directions. ... As for the reference, I've always dreamed of acting in a Shakespeare play, and I suppose I could play the bear in The Winter's Tale.

It's also one of the few Shakespearean stage directions that's not just "Enter," "Exit" or "Die," and it can be found in Act III, scene iii, line 63. It should be noted that there is no bear mentioned in the scene before that line. (A few years ago we made up some personal "business" cards in which we claimed to be an employee of "Pursued By a Bear Enterprises," so even though we've never managed to get through the whole play we did become familiar with this part.) It should also be noted that the correct stage direction is "Exit, Pursued by a Bear." We're willing to accept that a different edition may drop the indefinite article "a" before the word bear, but that comma is very important (remember, we're a stickler when it comes to punctuation). Welcome to the internet, where your slightest mistake gets mentioned all over the world!

Over Racing Update 2
April 27, 2004

The man who started it all, Alan Ruben, admits that this isn't his first time doubling up on marathons:

In 1988 I ran Dublin on a Monday in 2:59 (PR) and then New York the following Sunday in 3:01. However, in order to maximize performance I would recommend a longer break of, say, five weeks. In 1989 I ran Berlin in 2:39 (PR) and five weeks later I ran New York in 2:36 (PR); and in 1995 I ran 2:31 in Twin Cities and five weeks later I ran New York in 2:33. Under no circumstances attempt marathons two weeks apart when it is 83 degrees for the second one.

Baseball Steroids
April 27, 2004

Baseball has a new drug testing program. Sort of. MLB, the players union and the International Baseball Federation agreed to a drug testing policy that matches that of the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Olympics, but the new tests will only apply to the hypothetical World Cup of baseball. Players who choose to participate in the World Cup will be subject to random and repeated testing, with any positive test resulting in immediate expulsion from the competition. Players who are doping can just make up some excuse for not participating in the World Cup and not have to worry about testing. (It already looks like George Steinbrenner won't let any of the Yankees risk being injured by playing in a World Cup.) Jayson Stark notes on ESPN.com that a few details still need to be worked out, like "Where they'll play. And when they'll play. And who will televise it. And which countries will be in -- or out. And what the format will be. And who would be eligible to play for which countries. And, oh-by-the-way, even what the name of it will be." But assuming that all gets worked out in time to kick off the tournament next March, we might actually see some real testing, and that might make it easier to get a real steroid policy in place in the next collective bargaining agreement.

Poll Positions
April 27, 2004

About two months ago a poll showed that a majority of voters supported a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage but also thought that gay marriage wasn't an important enough issue to merit tinkering with the Constitution. At the time we figured they must have been confused by the wording of the questions, but maybe the American people are simply showing an ability to hold two opinions that contradict each other. Support for the latter idea can be found in Clyde Haberman's column in today's Times:

The latest New York Times Poll shows that, compared with about a year ago, more New Yorkers approve of the job [Mayor Bloomberg] is doing. He got a thumbs-up from 38 percent in the survey, not a fantastic number but better than his dismal 24 percent approval rating last June.

Yet only 27 percent said Mr. Bloomberg deserved re-election. Let's see. If we have this right, 11 percent – 38 minus 27 – like the way he is handling himself but want him out.

What is one to make of that? Is it a way of sending City Hall an amazingly subtle message? Or could it be that some people can't begin to figure out what they want, for all the standard political blather about the collective wisdom of the voters?

We're going to go with "some people can't begin to figure out what they want," which might be an improvement over the days when H. L. Mencken suggested that "the people know what they want and they deserve to get it good and hard." These numbers will probably reverse themselves by the time the election comes around, and more people will vote for Mayor Mike that actually approve of his work. But that will mostly be based on the collection of lightweights who are planning to run against him.

Week of April 20, 2004 - April 26, 2004

Over Racing Update
April 26, 2004

We should have known that Toby Tanser would have a double marathon story to share. "First marathon in Istanbul (Euroasia Marathon) on Sunday. Flew back home to Sweden by way of visiting a friend in Finland, where I entered a marathon on the following Sunday. That's two in a Sunday-Sunday range. Times: 2:31 and 2:30, winning the latter race." We're not sure what year this was and the only results we could find for Toby in the Istanbul Marathon are 2:35:11 in 1995 and 2:22:38 in 1994. Meanwhile, a member who shall remain anonymous writes: "Last year I ran the Dublin marathon on Monday, October 27th, and the New York City Marathon six days later (the latter using a friend's number - best not to tell the authorities). Neither was close to 3:00, and the last few miles of NYC were definitely a struggle. But my knees and I lived to tell the tale." Remember that the Central Park Track Club does not condone such breaking of the rules, but in this case we feel that the guilty runner already paid for his transgression with the leg pain he endured.

Help Wanted
April 26, 2004

Shane Clarke writes: "Rocco's 22nd Street is currently hiring for all front of house positions. We are extrememly busy and need good people ASAP!" If you have restaurant experience and are looking for a job, email Shane at shane@roccosrestaurant.com.

Hot Runnings
April 26, 2004

Wonder just how unpleasant it was in Boston last week? Stuart Alexander recommends this article on Cool Runnings, which he describes as "a pretty accurate account of this year's Boston Marathon." Of course, heat is a little easier to manage in a shorter race. Witness Stuart Calderwood's sixth place finish in the Seven Mile Bridge Run, where the temperature was 83° with 90% humidity. That's a heat index of 94.7°. But, he was in the Florida Keys, so we don't feel too badly for him.

Best Times
April 26, 2004

Yes, another one. Clinton Bell, fourth place in the 800m. Yes, this entry is in English. Right now only Kate Irvin's record times get the foreign language treatment. Some language other than Latin, obviously.

Culpa Machina
April 26, 2004

Or whatever the Latin should be for "It's the computer's fault." We did lots of updates for this site yesterday, only to find ourselves unable to upload to connect to the server in order to upload them. So you get them all today instead. Journal entries, race results, pictures. Plus a few new things, just because we love you all so much. Brooklyn Half-Marathon pictures will be up tomorrow, assuming we get home from the track workout at a reasonable hour.

Best Times
April 25, 2004

When we were entrusted with the care of this site, there were certain conditions attached. Among other things we had to promise that the journal will be full of original content. We try our best to live up to that promise, but every weekend we find ourselves writing the same journal entry: "Kate Irvin's latest race result puts her on the Best of Times list for ..." This week it was 10:11.38 in the 3K at the Yale Sprintime Invitational. That's good for 3rd place on the list, less than one second behind her partner-in-crime Andrea Haver. Congratulation, Kate. Next time we're reporting this a foreign language, so it will at least sound different.

Over Racing
April 25, 2004

In response to our search for double marathoners, our chief researcher writes: "In the days of Fritz Mueller, they all overraced. In the contemporary life of the CPTC website, my vote goes to Dan Sack in November-December 1999." While it would take far too much research to establish this as the definitive answer, it's hard to see how anybody could beat Dan's streak:

Nov. 7, NYC Marathon, 3:01:51 (6:57/mile)
Nov. 14, NYRRC XC Championships, 18:59
Nov. 21, Philadelphia Marathon, 3:18:44 (7:35/mile)
Nov. 27, Knickerbocker 60K, 5:13:52 (8:26/mile)
Nov. 28, Pete McArdle XC 15K, 1:07:21 (7:14/mile)
Dec. 4, Hot Chocolate 10-Miler, 1:03:50 (6:23/mile)
Dec. 12, Joe Kleinerman 10K, 37:17 (6:00/mile)
Dec. 19, Holiday 15K, 58:00 (6:14/mile)

His explanation for this spree? "I did them for the t-shirts." Meanwhile, James Siegel did the NYC/Philadelphia double that same year, but with less happy results:

After reading about Allen running Paris and Boston two weeks apart, I was reminded of my own youthful folly of running two marathons in 14 days. After finishing the NYC Marathon in a very disappointing 3:05 (leg cramps at 18 miles), I figured I may as well try to race the Philly Marathon two weeks later. What a mistake! My legs felt shot after 10k and I ended up in the dreaded medical tent after the "race." I'm always astounded to hear those stories about people who run "a marathon a week."

A marathon a week? Who would do such a thing? Well, Charles Allard, Jr. for one. He once ran three marathons in three weeks:

Actually, I ran three marathons in three weeks all in sub-three hours. Although not a CPTC member at the time I ran Boston (the 100th), London and Rotterdam in 1996. By far Boston was the easiest. I did not even want to run Rotterdamn, but my boss at the time was a keen runner and he scheduled a business trip for the following week in Holland. Plus Rotterdamn at the time was one of the few races to use the Championship Chip. Would I do it again? No. Would I reccomend it? No. But there you have it.

We can surmise, then, that joining CPTC helps cure people of their need to overrace. At least for the most part. We all remember how Jonathan Cane participated in three races — the New York City Biathlon, the Race to Deliver and the Fred Lebox XC 5K — on the morning of September 22, 2002. And Chris Solarz ran two races this weekend, but they totalled just 7.1 miles, so there's still hope for him.

Dig, If You Will, Some Pictures
April 25, 2004

We're still waiting for a few more photos from yesterday's Brooklyn Half Marathon, but we finally got the photos from the Boston Marathon, Niketown Run for the Parks and the Scotland Run posted. Anyone who can identify the last Niketown picture gets a cookie.

Race Winner
April 24, 2004

Another race with Chris Solarz, another CPTC victory. But this time the congratulations go to Jennifer Smiga, who won today's Earth Day 5K. Chris didn't do too badly, though: he finished third.

Double Marathon
April 24, 2004

A Concerned Citizen wrote us: "I noticed that Alan Ruben ran two marathons in two weeks [Paris and Boston]. Could this be a CPTC record? Perhaps for sub-3:00 marathons, at least?" As ridiculous as the idea of running two marathons in five months seems to us, we suspect this isn't the first time a CPTCer ran two in 15 days. We're looking into this, but if any of you know the answer, please share let us know.

Dating/Games
April 24, 2004

In an apparent effort to make people think that they're a minor league team, the San Francisco Giants held their first "Singles Night" last Tuesday. In one midgame promotion called "4 love or PlayStation" three men vied for a date with one woman. After Bachelor No. 2 won, he was given a choice of prizes: the all-expenses-paid or a PlayStation 2. He chose the game system (see pictures or check out The Southpaw's comments). Loser! What self-respecting sports fan doesn't already have a video game console? The men in the audience cheered after he made the choice, which explains why all of them still won't have dates when the Giants host their next singles night.

More on Carbs
April 24, 2004

Active.com has an article on why carbohydrates are important for marathoners and other endurance athletes. We're glad to see it, if a little disappointed that even athletes have to be reminded about the importance of a balanced diet.

Runners Needed for TV Commerical in Spain
April 23, 2004

From Coach Mindy:

I am working as a consultant on a project for a cell phone company that is based in Spain. They are casting runners, triathletes and sprinters for a TV commercial.

BODY-BEAUTIFUL RUNNERS NEEDED FOR A TV COMMERCIAL

Looking for runners, triathletes and sprinters for a TV commercial for a cell phone company that is based in Spain. The runners should have great bodies with defined muscles (not an ultra thin-type marathoner, more of a muscle-bound runner/triathlete/sprinter.)

Here are the details:

1. The casting call is this weekend Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 25 in Manhattan (times are flexible). You will be filmed for selection.
2. All ethnicities are desired.
3. Ages 20-40.
4. If you are selected, the job is in Barcelona, Spain from Thursday night, April 29 (on red-eye flight) to Monday, May 3, so your passport must be current.
5. The job pays $500+ per day for 5 days.
6. In addition, your flight and hotel will be paid.
7. You'll also get a per diem for food.

If interested, contact your CPTC teammate, Mindy Solkin (consultant on the project) at 212-362-3779. Must contact ASAP, preferably on Friday, as the casting call is this weekend.

Happy Bard's Day
April 23, 2004

A European friend once asked us if we'd read a lot of Shakespeare's plays and we responded, "No, only about six of them." There's no other writer out there whose ouevre is so great that we would consider reading only six works to be inadequate. We mention this because today is William Shakespeare's 440th birthday, and also the 388th anniversary of his death. Celebrate by reading the plays or watching movies that transpalnt the Bard's work to the present day. We like 10 Things I Hate About You and the Ian McKellan version of Richard III, but didn't care so much for the Leonardo DiCaprio-Claire Danes Romeo & Juliet and couldn't stand Ethan Hawke as Hamlet, prince of the Denmark Corporation in New York City.

But there was one amusing part of that version of Hamlet: When Hamlet goes to visit bohemian artist Ophelia in her East Village tenament he walks through a dark, decrepid hallway, and then looks out upon the Key Food at Avenue A and 4th Street. A friend of ours lives in the only building that would offer the view Hamlet sees. It's a beautiful building with large apartments, and even when the movie came out our friend and her roommates were paying close to $3,000/month in rent. There are no starving artists anywhere in there. Of course there are sill some slums left in the East Village and Alphabet City, but they're all being rented to would-be-hipsters paying obscene rents just so they won't have to worry about finding a taxi as they stumble out of a bar every night.

For a more lighthearted observence of the Bard's birthday, check out a condensed version of Pericles, Prince of Tyre or see Romeo and Juliet portrayed by marshmellow peeps.

Boone Times
April 22, 2004

Noting that yesterday's article describes Pat Boone as being "clad in a yellow blazer, black slacks, a canary yellow tie and white leather shoes," Stuart Alexander asks, "If censorship was extended to dress code do you think the majority would allow Pat Boone to continue to dress like a chickadee?" That's so gratuitously nasty that we're almost embarassed to print it. But we're more embarassed that we didn't think of it ourself.

Cinco de Mayo Run
April 22, 2004

Anyone who tries to run in Central Park on Sunday, May 2 will find the roads clogged with 30,000 cyclists taking part in Bike New York. The solution? Come run in Prospect Park, at CAMNY's Cinco de Mayo 5K. The race starts at 10:00 am (registration is from 7:30-9:30) at the 15th Street Entrance to the park (F train to 15th Street). Lots of trophies, plus the top 3 men and women get gift certificates to Jack Rabbit Sports [link] in Park Slope. If that's not enough motivation, the first place woman (assuming she runs under 18:00) also gets an all-expenses-paid trip to the Guayanilla, Puerto Rico 10K. That's even better than the round trip Jet Blue ticket that Chris Solarz got for winning the JFK race last weekend. Plus there are children's races and a party after the race.

There's no online registration, but you can sign up at Jack Rabbit Sports in Park Slope, or contact the Club Atletico Mexicano de Nueva York at elcamny@aol.com or 718.871.1021. Registration is $12 before April 28 and $15 afterward.

Best Times
April 22, 2004

Now we can't even go one day without a new best time. New kid on the team Bruce Hyde grabs third on the 5K list with 14:44.45 at the Penn Relays. This knocks Stuart Calderwood out of the top ten, which is a little unfair as Stuart is the one who compiled all the lists.

Wednesday Night Uptown Track Workout Report
April 22, 2004

Baker Field was being used for a lacrosse game on Tuesday, so we had a special Wednesday workout, followed now by a special Wednesday workout report. The advantage of working out at the Columbia track is that there are no soccer players firing errant shots towards our heads. The disadvantage — aside from it being so far from civilization — is that there is nobody at all up there while we run. This can be good for the workout, but it makes the workout report that much harder to write. Would you rather hear that we ran 1200m, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m with 3:00 rest between each interval, or hear about a fight between soccer players, cyclists and a few escapees from a local mental institution? Not that we have any evidence of the latter occurring down at East River Park. But it certainly could have happened down there, and it couldn't have happened at Columbia, and there's nothing the 14 runners present for the workout cold have done to make things more interesting. Kate Irvin and Andrea Haver modeled the new track uniforms. The Dictator described her college track workouts, making us appreciate how un-sadistic she really is compared to other coaches. And Chris Price recommends The Perfect Mile, calling it "the Seabiscuit of running."

In Today's Papers
April 21, 2004

We read more than just the Times today, and we're sharing the best of what we came across. Some of it even relates to running or Central Park.

• Newsday reports that two Canadian tourists were arrested for swimming in the Central Park Reservoir on Monday. Annalise Spencer explained their actions: "There were no signs. We asked some locals [joggers] if it was OK to swim there. They said they'd never seen it done before but they thought it was all right." The four-foot tall fence didn't seem to make much of an impression. She and her friend spent the night and jail and got hit with $95 fines. The Post reports that cops cut the fence to get to the women. Couldn't they climb over it like the swimmers did?

• Kansas City, KN, resident John Sarver pleaded guilty to bank robbery on Monday. According to the AP, investigators searching his house in January found to-do lists with the reminder "rob bank." Like that proves anything. We've had "clean desk" and "feed the cats" on our to-do list for months now without doing anything about either one.

• Norris D. McWhirter, one of the founders of the Guinness World Records, died of a heart attack yesterday at age 78. His was also the official announcer when Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4:00 mile. The Times obituary writer gets a little carried away with words that sound alike: "Norris had found an avocation as well as a highly remunerative vocation. A typical vacation was ..." Please don't do that again.

• Also in the Times: The number one movie in Britain is "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed." We urge our British readers to stage a nationwide intervention to keep any more innocent moviegoers from suffering through this film. Not at all related, but New Jersey is engaging in some interesting urban planning. You might not care, but the subject has always interested us (urban planning, not New Jersey).

• Pat Boone gets all authoritarian in the Washington Times:

  "I don't think censorship is a bad word, but it has become a bad word because everybody associates it with some kind of restriction on liberty," said Mr. Boone.

  ...

  Mr. Boone said that if he were in charge of standards, there would be stringent controls on material.

  "It must be majority approved ... voluntary ... and self-imposed," he said, clad in a yellow blazer, black slacks, a canary yellow tie and white leather shoes. "Censorship is healthy for any society, and that goes for arts, entertainment, anything. Self-imposed means that the majority of people say that is what we want, and it can be changed if people's attitudes change, which is how a democratic society works."

  Actually, Pat, the reason we have that pesky First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.") is to protect speech that the majority might not like. A pure democracy might do only what the majority wants, but in a Constitutional system like the United States minority rights are protected. After all, the majority has been wrong on plenty of things in the past — they supported slavery, believed the Earth was flat, opposed women's equality and praised The Bridges of Madison County — and the only reason their attitudes eventually changed is that dissenters were allowed to speak up in support of unpopular ideas.

  Self-censorship is often a good thing (e.g., we were thinking of calling Boone a fascist in the first paragraph, but we decided that authoritarian was more polite), but government censorship is never healthy. The reason "everybody associates [censorship] with some kind of restriction on liberty" is because censorship is a restriction on liberty. Preventing some people from expressing themselves simply because the majority doesn't like what they have to say or how they say it is about as fundamental an infringement on ffreedom as you can find. Luckily there is a solution for people like Boone who don't like what they hear on the radio or see on TV; it's called the "off button."

Best Times
April 21, 2004

We thought a week might have gone by without a new Best Time, but then we actually looked at Sunday's race results (yes, even we don't read half this site) and discovered that Kate Irvin is now tied for 8th on the 4 mile list.

Appreciate This!
April 21, 2004

Today is Administrative Professional's Day, formerly known as Secretary's Day (see The Onion's story, "Rumsfeld Looking Forward To Secretary's Day" for a good laugh). Our bosses bumped it up to Staff Appreciation Day, and showed their appreciation by giving all us underpaid employees a meidocre box of chocolates and then acting just as unreasonable and/or nasty as usual for the rest of the day. Thanks, but next time we'd prefer you show your appreciation with cash.

Photos! (Finally!)
April 20, 2004

Better late than never, here are photos from the Paris Marathon and the U.S. Olympic Trials. Thanks to Tony Ruiz, Kiefer Angell and Stuart Alexander for their camerawork. Next up are a couple pictures from the Scotland Run, the Niketown 4-Miler and maybe a few others.

Broad Street Run
April 20, 2004

The Broad Street 10 Miler is the early May focus race for the club — straight, flat, and fast. Any CPTC member planning on running (Sunday, May 2nd) should contact me right away at chillwizzard@mindspring.com. I am coordinating transportation and accomodations for the race, and will be finalizing plans later this week. I need to know what size vehicle to rent for transport (leaving Saturday afternoon and returning Sunday afternoon), and how many rooms to reserve at the Days Inn near the race finish.

Fence-sitters, take note: it is still possible to register for the race, as long as you are willing to pay the $5 late fee. You can register online through doitsports.com. See www.broadstreetrun.com for all the details.

— Kevin Arlyck

World's Best Athlete
April 20, 2004

It's easy to tell who the fastest runner is. Just pick a race and look up the record holder. But who's the best athlete? Is Tim Montgomery better than Sammy Korir? How about Haile Gebrselassie? Do any of them beat Michael Phelps or Ian Thorpe or Lance Armstrong? And that's before you get to the less easily quantifiable sports. How do you compare them to Shaq, Becks, Michael Vick, Ichiro, Roy Jones, Jr., etc.? Well, Men's Journal tried to rank them mathematically last summer (although we're not sure how one can rank hand-eye coordination on a scale of 1-10), and they put Michael Vick first, followed by Bode Miller, Ronaldo, Bob Burnquist (skateboarding), and Alexei Nemov (gymnastics). ESPN's Page 2 decided it would be more fun to let everyone vote, so they put the top 64 men in a bracket. They also have a couple of articles on the best athletes and the greatest athletics feats, with much more to come over the week. Next week voting starts on the best female athletes.

Job With Reebok
April 20, 2004

We received the following message today: "I was hoping that you can help me to find a casual to competitive runner looking for a full time position with Reebok. I have attached the job description and steps to be taken in applying for the job. If at all possible, please let this position be known about to members of your club." This is a retail job, and the full details are available in this Word file.

Week of April 13, 2004 - April 19, 2004

Female Runners Wanted for Ad
April 19, 2004

Want to be on TV without having to be on a reality show? Read on:

I am producing a commercial for the 2012 NYC Olympic Bid (we're working with the Mayor's Office and the 2012 Committee). We are looking for two female sprinters who would be interested in participating in a 30 second commercial that follows an "Olympic sprinter" (or someone who looks like she could be an Olympic sprinter) chasing a cab through New York. If you are interested, please contact Rob Meyer at rpm235@nyu.edu of 718-578-8425.

Take That, You Atkins Freaks!
April 19, 2004

The headline says it all: "Experts stress post-exercise eating; Carbohydrates crucial in muscle recovery." But read the article, too.

Around the World Update #18 - South India
April 19, 2004

Dear all,

After 2 weeks of well-deserved rest in France, we started the last part of our trip: the Indian subcontinent. We landed in Cochin, a small (by Indian standards) city on the Malabar Coast, in the Kerala State (South West India). Kerala being among the richest and most developped states of the country, we spent a pleasant first week traveling in quite decent conditions. We liked Cochin for its Portuguese flavor (it really felt like being back in Brazil !) and enjoyed the tropical landscape of the "Backwaters", an area where the limits between sea, lakes, swamps, rivers, coconut tree beaches and villages are hard to define. We were also charmed by the tea plantations in Kumily, where women in colorful saris pick up young bright green tea leaves (for 8 hours a day in the heat...). While Kerala is a place of natural wonders, Tamil Nadu, the State we have been visiting since, is reknown for its South Indian temples. Those of Madurai, Trichy and Thanjavur are huge city temples, where there seems to be no delimitation between street life and sacred areas. Our favorite place was Mamallapuram, a small town which wakes up with the noise of stone carvers, whose knowledge has been transmitted from generations to generations for centuries. Most boulders there are sculpted, either in the form of "Mandapams" (cave temples with sculpted pillars), bas-reliefs (the largest measuring 30x12 meters) or "Rathas" (temples sculpted in a single piece of stone). As the Rathas are located on a beach, they look like giant sand castles. However, what makes our trip in India so intense is not what we have been seeing, but what we have been experiencing.

We already went to India in 1992. That was our first trip together, and our first trip outside the Western World. At that time, meeting such a different universe was almost overwhelming. It took us 12 years to "get ready" to go back. Here we are again, and although we have been on the road observing different worlds for 9 months, being in India remains a striking experience. First, the conditions are more extreme that what we have had to overcome so far. The heat is so unbearable that we often have to stay in the shade - or in our room - during the hottest hours (even the temples are closed from 12 to 4PM). The noise, mainly due to traffic, is a nightmare (we have to use earplugs while traveling in buses). Talking of buses, public transport conditions are the worst we have ever had (with an average speed of 30 km/h on paved roads, with no stops, beating the so far champion Bolivia, with similar average speed, but on dust tracks, and including long, long stops). However, in our "cuisine" ranking, India brilliantly wins the Best Food Award, beating even Brazil (incredible but true !). We have been sampling all sorts of South Indian cuisine, always served on banana leaves, eating with the right hand like the locals.

Nevertheless, the hardest thing to cope with, beyond physical obstacles, is mutual incomprehension between us and the Indians. Although most speak English, they still speak a different language. While the Western way of thinking is almost exclusively based on logics, the Indian way is driven by religion, superstition and ancestral traditions, which is incomprehensible to us. We are learning, the hard way, not to lose patience, to accept things as they are, without questioning, as without calm and tolerance, one just gets crazy down here. Finding the right attitude is the challenge that we are facing now in order to fully appreciate our stay in India.

We are now in Madras, the largest city of South India, about to go North tomorrow.

Hope everybody is doing well,

— Anne Lavandon & Olivier Baillet

Cherry-Picking
April 19, 2004

We don't cherry-pick our races. We pick races that fit our schedule, that are geographically convienent or that just look like fun. If a number of these races happen to present easier opportunities for medals than the average NYRR race in Central Park, well, that's just a happy coincidence. So we ran the JFK Rotary Club 5K yesterday because it's easier for us to get to the airport than to Central Park and because it's a fun race where we get to run on the runways. The fact that we finished second last year, and knew that we could easily beat last year's winning time had nothing to do with it, although it certainly didn't discourage us from racing. But it also meant that we couldn't be too disappointed when we noticed a tougher crowd than last year milling about at the start. In the end, seven runners beat last year's winning time, and three of them were from CPTC, including Chris Solarz who picked up his fifth win of the year.

For those who do cherry-pick, we suggest the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K on April 24 or the Rikers Island 5K on May 1. We have no idea what the winning times will be in these races, but when we ran the Rikers Island race a couple of years ago it wasn't too hard to pick up a trophy.

Nostra Culpa
April 19, 2004

Everyone knows that this site is updated each and every day, except for the days when it's not. Two occassions make up for the majority of the latter days: (1) we go out of town; (2) it's Friday. On most Fridays — or at least on the good ones — we get home too late to even think about the website. Since we can't get online while at work, this menas the website stays unchanged those days. A comibnation of factors (race, errands, plans with friends, etc.) kept us out of the apartment all day yesterday, which means that weekend race results were not posted until this morning. We apologize for the delay. We can't guarantee that such lapses won't occur again in the future, especially when the weather is so nice, but we'll do our best to prevent them.

Hey, Hey, Paula
April 17, 2004

The Scotsman talks with Paula Radcliffe about the training regimen that has made her the world record holder (2:15:25) and favorite in pretty much any race she runs. The Guardian examines the other end of marathoning: the people who don't train; the people who run a marathon every weekend; and the people who run dressed like chickens.

Cooking Classes at SOY - Summer Schedule
April 15, 2004

From our favorite Japanese chef, Etzuko Kizawa:

More cooking classes! Seats are going fast, especially for Sushi classes. Please register early.

Basic Japanese Home Cooking - Saturday June 5
Soy Cooking for Clueless - Saturday June 19
Sushi Master - Saturday May 22 & July 10
**NEW** Cold Veggie Dishes of Summer - Saturday July 10

Classes are small, fun, and you'll leave stuffed too.

Details at www.soynyc.com/cookingclass.html.

Party Time!
April 15, 2004

It's not a party until CPTC shows up! The proof is in the two invitations we received today. First is a party tomorrow (Friday):

Hi, Central Park Track Club!

I just wanted to personally invite you to my fund raiser social for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It's for a great cause and if you attend you will be partying to the 80's, meeting other runners from teams like The Reservoir Dogs, Warren Street and the Harriers along with local triathletes, cyclists and other exciting singles! (You don't have to be single to come). Plus drinking and dancing till you drop! It's all at the "All Athletes Social and '80s Party."

Branch Bar & Night Club
226 East 54th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenue)
F, E Train to Lexington Avenue
6 Train to 51st. Street
Friday April 16th.
$20 with OPEN BAR from 8:30 - 10PM,
stay and party all night afterwards!For more information Please contact Gia at buu_99@yahoo.com or 718-661-2158

See the flier here.

Prefer to do your partying next weekend? Try this party after the Brooklyn Half:

The Mile Square Running Club is having another Spring Fling! This year we're helping to raise money for the Hoboken Shelter. Join us Saturday, April 24th at McMahon's Brownstone, 1034 Willow, Hoboken, NJ. $25 includes open bar from 8pm-11pm. There will also be great giveaways and raffles.

See the flier here.

One Singular Sensation
April 15, 2004

As if the failure of most writers to punctuate properly wasn't enough, today we were reminded that too many writers don't know the difference between singular and plural pronouns. Witness this New York City Department of Education advertisement aiming to recruit teachers. According to the Times, the ad features the following narration:

"Some of New York's most admired figures don't sell out concerts. They'll never be a running back for the Giants. And they probably won't go platinum. But to millions of kids, their teachers are still the biggest heroes in the world. Join New York's Brightest. Teach N.Y.C."

First of all, people don't "go platinum." A record is designated platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America when one million copies are sold. A gold record is one that has sold 500,000 copies; a multi-platinum record, two million or more. The correct sentence here is "And they probably won't see their records go platinum." But that's a minor error compared to the second sentence: "They'll never be a running back for the Giants." Of course they won't! Multiple people can't be one running back (although the Mets are trying their best to combine Karim Garcia, Shane Spencer and Eric Valent into one right fielder). The two choices here are "He'll never be a running back for the Giants" or "They'll never be running backs for the Giants." Which is good, because the Giants don't need 50,000 running backs, especially if they're able to trade up and draft Eli Manning.

The problem here is that English lacks a good gender-neutral third-person pronoun. We have he (and him and his) for a man and she (her, hers) for a woman, but nobody has ever shown much interest in using it to refer to a person. As a result we often use they, them and their as singular terms, despite the fact that such usage sounds ridiculous. Using he or his to apply to both genders sounds discriminatory ("Any child in America can group up to be whatever he wants to be") while using it sounds cold ("The baby lost its bottle"). Too bad. Use it or he or she. People have been trying to turn they into a singular pronoun since the 16th century and is still never sounds right. If a usage doesn't catch on in its first 500 years it never will.

The worst thing about this example is that the word they is clearly not being used as a singular. They takes the place of "some of New York's most admired figures," meaning all the teachers — or all the good ones — not just one person. This means that an entire advertising team is so used to hearing they used incorrectly that not one person noticed the mix of singluar and plural terms. We don't know how effective this ad will be in recruiting new teachers — the Times' ad critic noted that it "does not really make a practical pitch" — but it does a good job of showing why we need more teachers. Join New York's Brightest and teach the next generation of advertisers how to write propertly!

More Old Times
April 14, 2004

Inspired by Frank Handelman, Stuart Calderwood went through his old race results, and found a 9:42 2-miler from 1990, which works out to an 8:58.9 for the 3k, and moves him from ninth to fifth on the Best Times list. Keep those old results coming, guys. We will not rest until all the lists are accurate. And it seems we won't rest after that, since everyone insists on breaking the old times.

Tuesday Night Track Workouts Report
April 14, 2004

Forget all those workout reports that claimed to be about the last indoor track workout. Like the Who or Luisa Tetrazzini the middle distance group doesn't really mean it when they say "farewell." Yes, the rain drove us back indoors, into the infernally hot confines of the Armory. But the Armory did have three things going for it last night: (1) It was dry (except for a small leak in the room that created a sizeable puddle in the stands); (2) it was nearly empty (about 10 other runners were on the track); and (3) they let us run in lane one. Plus Leon Brown was back after his smash theatrical success in Lexington, KY, although he probably would have been at the workout wherever it was held.

There were 20 runners in total, for a nice ladder workout (600m, 800m, 1000m, 800m, 600m). Kate Irvin minimized her achievements in the 800m and 1500m, noting that she only made it onto the Best Times list; she didn't actually set a team record. (If ESPN can overhype Barry Bonds moving into third place on the all-time home run list so much that even some of their own commentators — Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on Pardon