Sunday, June 10, 2007

Hellgate Dominates at Need For Speed

El Mustafa plus Bishop plus Bishop plus Moeller plus Volik plus Hughes plus Wizeman plus Paulis plus Starkes equals…victory.

“A great team effort”—that’s how team captain, Maritza Bishop puts it. She was of course describing the Hellgate victory at the competitive and rapidly growing Need for Speed Relay—a 50+ mile, 9 person relay, run from the Northern most section of Westchester all the way to the Long Island Sound in New Rochelle. The annual event is sponsored by Avon and endorsed by Joe Torre, the manager of the New York Yankees. The event raises thousands of dollars to help prevent domestic violence, but once the gun goes off, it is a race that is all about winning.

Commenting on the team’s dramatic come from behind win, the confident captain noted that, “in order to win an event like this you need a solid team 1 through 9. This year I wanted to win the whole event and not just co-ed. I knew it would be tough with so many all-male teams but I felt we could go the distance with the 9 talented runners on Team Hellgate. Naturally, there are stand-outs and to win you need the superstars, but to make it work you need solid runners who can give a solid performance. Going into it I knew we would be the team to beat but we just had to prove it. And we did.”

The race had a staggered start with six heats, so the more competitive teams started later than the lower seeded squads. Since Team Hellgate was in the fastest heat, they started as much as an hour and 15 minutes behind other teams. So in order to cross the line first, they had an enormous amount of ground to make up. But the combination of superstar and steady performances necessary to pull it off were plentiful and ultimately the team was able to make up the entire stagger.

The team proved to be steady because no Hellgate runner finished less than 24th in their segment out of the 130+ competitors in each stage and almost every Hellgater placed in the top ten percent of their respective heats. But perhaps more impressive were those standout moments. 1st leg winner El Mustafa, beat the next best runner in his segment by over 2 and ½ minutes—an astounding feat considering the depth of talent in that heat. 2nd stage standout, Mike Bishop, tackled one of the most challenging and competitive legs in the relay, a course lined with rocky trails and unmarked paths, and helped push the team closer to the front of the pack. The Hellgate ladies stayed competitive and kept the team in a secure position before Andrei Volik took the fifth leg, winning that leg overall and getting the team within real striking distance. It was at that point when Captain Maritza felt that victory was in sight. “We began the race 1 hour and 15 minutes behind the first wave, but by the time Matt (Wizeman) finished his leg we were in 1st place overall!” But perhaps the most exciting leg of the relay was the final stage, where Kevin Starkes, who began the leg over three minutes off the pace, managed to take both his heat and bring home the gold for team Hellgate.

Hellgate’s 12 second margin of victory was particularly sweet, since they were the only co-ed squad on the podium. Sweeter still was the fact that they were able to avenge the team that was the overall winner last year when Hellgate took first in the co-ed division but was third overall.

-by Maritza Bishop and Matthew Wizeman

Saturday, June 2, 2007

20 Questions with Alan Wagman

Q: What is your name?
A: Alan Wagman

Q: What do you do for a living?
A: Retail software training and support for Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Q: When did you start running?
A: 1993

Q: Why did you start running?
A: A co-worker who was a seasoned runner was putting together a team for a corporate challenge race and said I should do it. I did and have been running pretty much ever since.

Q: When did you join the Hellgate Road Runners?
A: October 2004

Q: Do you like to run in the morning or evening?
A: Evening but will do mornings to accommodate other evening activities.

Q: In a typical week how many miles do you run?
A: Currently about 30-35

Q: Do you crosstrain?
A: Generally not although I am attempting a biathlon.

Q: What is your favorite running shoe? How many pairs do you have?
A: I run in the Asics 2100 series (currently 2120) and Mizuno Wave Precision. I have more pairs lying around than I care to count!

Q: Have you ever had any running injuries?
A: Again more than I care to count. IT Band many times, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures (both shins at the same time), and the list goes on and on...

Q: How did you overcome the injury?
A: Cortisone is a beautiful thing!

Q: Do you subscribe to Runners World Magazine? If so, do you like it?
A: Yes I subscribe and I hate it. I bought the subscription from my nephew.

Q: Do you have any habits or rituals you do before working out?
A: None to speak of. At best I am an inconsistent stretcher!

Q: After a workout, what do you do with your sweaty running gear?
A: Hang it on a door knob in my apartment to dry and then wash it with my weekly laundry.

Q: What race or races are you looking forward to this year?
A: NYC Marathon and Fairfield, Queens, and Staten Island 1/2s.

Q: Do you have a sports hero or idol? Who is it?
A: The Spaceman, Bill Lee. For those who are not baseball fans, Bill Lee was a Red Sox pitcher in the 70's. He was a lefty (like me) who threw an amazing arcing curveball (the eephus) at a very slow rate of speed. He was a little off-kilter as well, hence the nickname. Warren Zevon also wrote a song about him.He was a favorite of mine growing up.

Q: What dream race or races would you like to do in your lifetime?
A: I would like to run a marathon somewhere in Europe, perhaps Ireland, Greece, or Germany.

Q: You recently ran the Boston Marathon. Please tell us about your experience.
A: I truly felt humbled by the distance for the first time in my career (8 marathons). I last ran Boston in 1998 and those 10 years really showed themselves this time around. I started strong and crashed early! I had a lot of fun but my time was far from what I hoped to run. Given the tough weather conditions and the difficult course, I shook off my disappointment quickly and I am glad I ran this race again. I grew up in the Boston area and love running that course.

Q: Describe your favorite, or most memorable, running experience.
A: Qualifying for Boston in 1997 is a favorite memory as are the many times I have run a race in Westchester called the Leatherman's Loop, a challenging 10K cross country run through the mud and rivers of Pound Ridge Reservation in Katonah.

Q: In 10 words or less, please tell us why you run.
A: I find great joy and energy in running.