Tune This!

That's right Hellgaters, the annual NYRR 18 mile, ING NYC Marathon Torture... oops! I mean, Tune-Up race got underway at 7am on Sunday, September 28, 2008. It proved to be another battle of human versus humidity in what has been a long and soggy marathon training season. Despite the desperate atmospheric conditions, our own Hellgaters pushed themselves to the limit and hopefully recognized the extra fitness they gained by finishing during an unforgiving huricane season.

Seventeen (plus Diego who is missing from the Hellgate results page) of our team completed 3 whole loops of Central Park. This is some feat! Please note racers surged up and down Harlem Hill 3 times, rolled over the West Side's Larry, Moe, and Curly 3 times, and last but not least clawed up the infamous Cat Hill 3 times. All finishes were battles hard won and well deserved. And once again teammates posted some amazing times that earned them age place awards!

1. Phenominal Phil - 8th overall and 3rd place age group
2. Kwick Kaufmann (a.k.a. Ben) - 21st overall and 3rd place age group
3. The Andrei Express - 27th overall and 6th place age group
4. Jim-Running-Away-Ryan - 9th place age group
5. Swift Soula - 8th place age group

Check out all the AMAZING results at the NYRR website!

Conquer Yonkers!

The rally cry for the weekend was "Conquer Yonkers!" And Hans and Aurelio did just that! Hans, known to many in the club as the perpetual runner, defeats marathon and ultramarathon distances around the world. For some reason he seems to return to the Yonkers Marathon nearly every year. Maybe it's the pull of the race track or the challenge in the hills, but no matter what keeps him running Yonkers, he always posts an amazing, awe-inspiring time!

Aurelio is also known throughout the club as a tough competitor who not only pushes himself, but gently (and sometimes not so gently) pushes the rest of along no matter what our goals or times. We also know that Aurelio has been in the hunt for the elusive sub-3 hour marathon! We all had faith that the day would come when he would acheive his goal. Yonkers proved to be his marathon!

Congratulations to Hans and Aurelio for placing 6th and 7th overall at the 2008 Yonkers Marathon! Hans also placed 1st in his age group with a time of 2:51:11. Aurelio placed 2nd in his age group with a time he has waited for of 2:55:27! Check out all the marathon results!

We also have to mention the Yonkers Half Marathon as well! Ximena and Fernando ran strong into 1:41 and 1:43 times in the half. Great work! (A link to the half results will be posted as soon as they are found - the flrrt.com website is not giving up any Yonkers results right now.)

Kings of Queens

Hellgate sure knows how to tell everyone who's boss in the home borough! Our own Phenomenal Phil coasted in at College Point this weekend to become the 30th Annual Queens Half Marathon Overall Winner! His amazing 1:13:26 was over 2 minutes ahead of the 2nd place runner! Congratulations, Phil! Well done!

We also have some other winners on the team! Ben posted a solid 2nd place age group award with an incredible time of 1:19:34 followed by Andrei who steamrolled into a 6th place age group award at 1:22:13! Then with the help of Diego and Fernando the men's team placed 3rd overall! In total 12 men participated Sunday and ran strong!

On the ladies' side, Yvonne ran/swam through the 87% humidity to cross as the first female Hellgater in her comeback half marathon race! This new mama is gunning for the Philadelphia marathon, and it appears her training is on target! Following Yvonne was Diana, Chiemi, LuAnn, Rafaella, and Jaime who all overcame the miserable weather for the Ladies' team! Well run gals!

And on a bittersweet note, Diana ran her until-she-returns-race with Hellgate, and despite fighting an illness, she ran in a commendable and memorable race. Good luck with your travels, Diana! Hellgate can't wait to have you back in another year or 2!! We'll miss you!

For all results please see the NYRR website and check out the cool video which follows the winner in his Hellgate singlet, Phil, throughout the race (in addition to a few quick peaks of other Hellgaters). See if you can find all the Hellgaters in the NYRR photos too!

Great job everyone!

CLUB POINTS @ FITNESS GAMES!

With school back in session, it's time Hellgate teaches the other clubs a lesson or two! More club points are up for grabs at the

Fitness, Mind, Body, Spirit Games on

Saturday, September 6, 2008!

4 mile distance

Men's Race at 8:30am

Women's Race at 9:30am

Kids' Races at 10:45am

See the NYRR website for more info. Online registration is closed now, but sign up at the NYRR office Thursday or Friday or at the race on Saturday! (MAKE SURE YOU PUT DOWN THAT YOU RUN FOR HELLGATE ON THE FORM.)

Good luck runners! Let's score big!

Running Hot Again

Hellgate Road Runners left their marks on the pavement at the 2008 Club Team Championships! Congratulations to another fabulous year of team running. It was a bit warm and sunny, but that didn’t stop more than 36* racers from showing up to represent Hellgate!

Men’s Results

Women’s Results

The Men’s and Women’s teams both came in 15th amongst a tough and competitive field. The 40+ Men placed 12th, and the 40+ Women darted into 11th place. We fielded 50+ teams as well in both genders; the men scooped up 17th, while the women coasted into an amazing 8th place!

Thanks to the abundant HRR spectators that pushed everyone through that final turn! Check out the race videos and keep your eyes peeled for Andrei, Ben, & Jack, and Beverly and Meggie!

*The author knows of at least 3 individuals that ran for the team that NYRR has not accounted for in our results list. Therefore we have unofficially topped last year’s record number of participants! Great job HRR!

CLUB TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Come one, come all to the

Club Team Championship 5 Mile Race

this Saturday, August 16, 2008.

Men's start 8am and women's start at 9am!

This is the culminating event for all the local NYRR clubs to strut their stuff! Everyone is encouraged to run this race! It's a fun event as well as a challenging race. The men's team needs 10 runners to score and the women need 5. The more Hellgaters we have on the course the better! It's not just about trying to score for the team! Remember even if you don't score for Hellgate, you could displace another team's runner to help us! And more importantly it's about team work and team representation!

Here is where we stand so far this year:

Men's Team - 3rd place (B)

Women's - 10th place

Men's Team, 40+ - 15th place

Women's Team, 40+ - 11th place

Men's Team, 50+ - 14th place
Women's Team, 50+ - 9th place

Men's Team, 60+ - 17th place

We're all proud to be Hellgate, so let's show it by smashing last year's record participation of 37 members! It's only $7 to run this race and it starts and finishes on the 102nd transverse.

Ladies, come early to cheer on our guys.

And guys stick around and push the ladies on to strong finishes.

See you on Saturday!

My First Ironman

Contributed By Janine Leveque

As I sit here and rethink my entire experience, I can’t believe it’s a little over a week since the race. I remember wishing this day to end, and now it is over. I allowed the intimidation of the race called the IRONMAN take control of all my feelings. I trained with determination and wanted to be prepared to conquer. My vision of the day was LONG but it didn’t feel that way at all. I remember asking someone on the sideline, what time is it? It’s 6pm. I was shocked that I was doing this since 7am and it’s now 6pm. WOW!!!

So take a moment to relax and/or drink a nice cold beer as I try to keep my story entertaining for you.

At 3am, I arose from the bed. It was so easy to do because I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I ate my oatmeal and half a peanut butter sandwich. I tried to be extra quiet so I wouldn’t wake Joel but needless to say he too was up all night. After I ate, I went back to bed for another hour. The thoughts that were going through my mind were intense. My main concerns were to get through the swim in one piece, no flats on the bike, and be able to run not walk the marathon.

After my preparation, I found Alan waiting in his car outside my room at 5am. I was happy to see him and my attitude was calm and cool. He drove me to the start and I was ready to conquer the longest day of my life. I got body marked and the morning felt still and quiet. It was so surreal. I went to my bike and stood around just looking at everyone. It didn’t sink in yet that this was the day – The IRONMAN. I went to get my tires pumped and got myself ready for the swim start.

We all had to be out of the transition area by 6:30am. So we stood around waiting by the lake. It was 15 minutes left to the start as we entered the water. Joel insisted I start in the back of the pack. I did not hesitate. Then I lost site of Joel and Syed. There I was in the water by myself just waiting. The time seemed to pass rather quickly. Before you knew it, the announcer said a minute and 30 seconds to the start. Funny thing was I wasn’t scared or nervous one bit. BOOOM! There I was making my way through an aggressive crowd. It was challenging, but you know it wasn’t so bad. I felt relaxed and just focused on finishing the swim. I did get tackled and hit numerous times, but I just continued to swim forward. When I hit the first turn around, there was a big traffic jam. I had to stop swimming and yelled out “let’s go people!” Wow! How aggressive I was! I exited the water at 1h:12m. What a relief to see that time! I made my way to one of the volunteers to remove my wet suit which took him 30 seconds. That was so cool!!! (I think this option should be at all races.)

Alan shouted my name as I was making my way down the swim chute. I was so happy to see him, and I felt GREAT!! Of course I didn’t like the down pour of rain which made me visualize the bike segment. It’s not going to be fun in the rain!! Well, as my friend Suzy says, at the end of the day my health and well-being are more important than a race.

I finally make my way to claim my bike bag and headed to the women’s changing tent. It was dark and muddy. I finally finished getting dressed and the volunteer took my bag to put back on the hook for me. (I liked that option too.) As I exited the tent and ran to my bike, a volunteer shouted # 2381. The next thing my bike was handed to me. It can’t get any better than this! I exited the transition area; I hopped on my bike and start pedaling on this steep downhill. It was very scary. I decided to get off my bike to pass this steep hill because there was a sharp turn ahead. It was not fun and everyone around me felt the same way. One person shouted it’s a day of survival.

I finally get myself back on the bike and prayed that I would survive. I started getting into a groove and said to myself “just take it easy and be conservative.” The hills were massive and long, and the downs were very SCARY!!! I would hit my breaks and literally hear my tires screech. OH MY GOD!! What am I doing?!?!?! I was getting a chill and my teeth were chattering. This is great. I’m freaking cold and wet, and now I have to pee. I remember a friend’s advice: he told us the night before, if you have to pee, do it on the bike. To me this was not an option that I was considering. Well, my bladder was ready to explode. The next thing I knew I was peeing. I can’t believe I am peeing on my bike, but you know at that time it was such a relief it didn’t really matter. The funny thing was it became a habit, and it was a newfound talent I manage to adapt to for the entire bike segment.

As I made my way back to town and completed loop 1, I saw Alan shouting on the sideline. It was great seeing him and I was off for loop 2. My 2nd loop felt a lot tougher. I said to someone “I don’t remember this massive hill.” She agreed. The final 12 miles were the longest. When I finally finished my 2nd loop and conquered the last massive hill in town, the crowd was cheering and saying you got this. I felt very emotional, and I was also relieved that I was completing my weakest segment. I finished and felt good other than my quads were shouting out at me in pain.

I entered the transition area and a volunteer took my bike. (These volunteers are so AWESOME!!) I was off to get my run bag and then to the dark women’s changing tent. I happened to find a seat right by the entrance, which helped on the visibility. A volunteer approached me and said, “If you going to remove any clothes please do sit farther from the entrance.” I said, “Sure I understand.” In all honesty, I could give a hoot if someone saw me bare. I think everyone is focused on the race rather than seeing my bare behind.

Now, I love to run, but man! It’s a whole different concept when you have biked 112 miles. It finally stopped raining at some point. I was experiencing huge stomach pains, and it was such a relief to see a port-a-john up ahead. Let’s just say I made it in time. Another huge stomach pain came on 10 minutes later, and yet again, I made it to the port-a-john. I think throughout the entire run, I must have stopped 10 times, at each port-a-john! It was very annoying, and every time I stopped, my legs cramped. There were no thoughts of having a gel! So I survived with cola, one chocolate chip cookie, chicken broth, and Gatorade. If I didn’t have such horrible stomach problems, I probably could have shaved off 40 minutes from my run. On the 2nd loop, I also felt huge pain in my quads; so much that it penetrated all the way down my legs. Every step I took was agony. I saw someone I knew on the course. I can’t remember his exact words because I was just going through the motions. I think he said, “Is this supposed to be fun?” Well, I sure didn’t find it fun.

The final loop of the run was all pure mental toughness. I remember someone saying to me “Enjoy your moment.” Well that was 10 miles away from the finish, but it got me all teary eyed. I couldn’t wait for that moment. My vision was as I enter the oval, I will have chills from the crowd, a huge smile, and my hands up in the air as I hear those words from the announcer “Janine Leveque you are an Ironman!” This vision was embedded in my brain. I even told Joel a week before the race that I am going to enjoy that moment.

I saw Alan 4 times, and I was looking forward to seeing him each time. It was my only way of surviving; knowing I get some reassurance from Alan. He saw I was experiencing a lot of pain and shouted, “If you have to; WALK.” I did take his advice, but at one point I said, “You have got to run the rest of the way.” I did, and it was extremely painful. I finally saw mile 20 and was so relieved. I had a 10K left before I would be known as an IRONMAN. I think my mental toughness kicked in again as my body became numb to the pain.

As I approach the final 2 miles of the run and climbed up that final mountain, Alan said “Janine you got 3 more miles” and asked if I want him to run with me. Now I was in my own world, but I managed to know where I was. I corrected Alan and said “I have 2 miles, and sorry Alan, I don’t want you to run with me.” First, the last thing I needed was an extra mile, and second, I couldn’t torture anyone with what I was feeling. I managed to continue to hold on and saw a friend by the special needs bags. He was so excited to see me and started running alongside me. I begged “Please don’t run with me.” Whether he was going to or not, I needed to be alone. I needed to be focused, and I was in so much pain. I had one mile left.

The crowd shouted “You are almost there!” Okay, a half a mile left to the finish is a legitimate time to say you are almost there, but not when they yelled that 10 miles ago. I remember saying to a spectator “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Anyway, there I was approaching the finishers’ oval and trying to remember that THIS IS MY MOMENT. I made the turn and heard my name. But it was Joel and Syed cheering me on. I glanced in their direction and waved to them. (If you ask Joel or Syed, they said my wave looked like "please don’t bother me now" gesture. It really wasn’t! I guess I had no strength in my wrist so it kind of flopped around.) I continued to the finish only to miss the crowd cheering and the announcer declaring

JANINE LEVEQUE YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

I crossed the finish line like a zombie. I was so delirious and wiped out with fatigue. I did manage to see the time on the clock and was so thrilled to see 14h:31m. The volunteer person came to me, and I almost fell to the floor. He walked me around. Joel and Syed found me. Joel smiled and said to me “You are an IRONMAN.” I smiled back, and I felt like I was drunk. I was taken to the medical tent with chills, fatigue, and exhaustion. Joel, Syed, Alan, and Harold were all with me in the medical tent as I was being nursed back to health. What a great staff of people in the medical tent!

The final hours of my IRONMAN day were spent trying to feel better about missing out on not seeing the final finishers. I really wanted to see that, but I hope next year I will feel a whole lot better. It was the most amazing day even with all my pain and suffering. It’s an experience that I will remember for a lifetime. I want to thank all my friends for their support and for giving me all the strength I needed to tackle the most challenging day of my life.

A special thank you goes out to Suzy for joining me on my long runs. She is such an amazing friend for tackling those miles with me. Another special thank you for my friend Alan who drove up to Lake Placid to cheer me on and to give me all the encouragement I needed. What a guy!! My friend, Matt W., thanks for pulling me through in the water, and telling me that I could do this. His words of wisdom gave me strength. Mi flaca, Olga, she made certain that I ate everyday, and I got my rest. She kept me in line; your caring heart and friendship mean so much to me. Lots of hugs to you guys!! Also, a HUGE thanks goes to my friend Lon. I thought of you a lot on that course. I think you were more excited than I was. I want to thank you for your support, and all your positive vibes that I could do this. It helped me tremendously. You are truly an amazing person and a great friend!

To my beloved Joel, he is one amazing athlete. His time was 11h:10m. To be quite honest, without him, I would never have attempted triathlons, let alone the IRONMAN!!! I am so proud of him. He may be tough with me, but he is even tougher with himself. It all pays off with his determination.

Not a Care in the World at the 2008 Tupper Lake Tinman

The drive, as always, was brutal. The night before the race was endless because of the preparation. It didn't help to have a group of people throwing off massive fireworks right by the room. I was going to go out, ask them to keep it down and stop the fireworks, but I looked at my watch as it struck 10 p.m. What a ‘B’ I would be to ruin their fun time for my beauty rest for a race I don't care about. So I just tolerated the loud volume despite feeling like I was in a war zone for 30 minutes. The morning was the typical: stretch, eat, and check my bike; and then we were at the race site within 20 minutes. I felt strange; I don’t know whether I was feeling sick from a cold brewing or uneasy knowing this is all training for something bigger. I unpacked in the transition area and got everything together with ease. No tension or nervousness was left in my pit of my stomach. However, Joel was as tense as always. I started 2 waves before him.

The swim started, and I was swimming with ease. I did get tackled, yanked, and the best part: a foot in my goggles! It was with such force that my goggles were sucked in my eye. Then I got pissed and started swimming a little faster to get away from these people! I drank a gallon of water but couldn't seem to get passed these people swimming in circles. As I exited the water, I WALKED, not ran, to my bike. You can see my T1 time is 6:46 minutes. What was I doing? Having a cup of coffee? Oh yes, it's a training day.

I looked at my watch and said I better move my butt... So off I go on the lovely bike ride. It was the first time on my zip wheels. I am still as slow as anything. Zip or no zip, race bike or no race bike - biking is not my thing. But I felt really comfortable, and I kept the pace all in my zone 2. I entered the transition and again WALKED to my spot. My T2 was 5:54 minutes. I was having another cup of coffee.

I started the run very easy and effortlessly. Last year at this particular race, the run was where my foot started giving me problems. So as I pounded the pavement and felt no pain, I was so relieved. I passed so many people, and you hear them say "Go get them". In the second half of the run, I stepped it up to zone 3. I probably could have done that from the start, but I was sticking to my plan. I kept on saying "It's a training day". I did pass this girl, and she was not happy I guess. She tried so hard to pass me because I heard her hard breathing and steps on my tail. I held on and finally couldn't hear her breathing any more. She was no where to be found when I made a turn to see who was behind me. At this point my hamstrings and buttocks were screaming with pain, but I held on to the finish!

The thought passed continuously in my crazy brain that I'm doing this again in 3 weeks x2. How will I survive?!?! As I sprinted toward the finish line, I passed this guy named Joe, and he pleaded "Don't do this to me". I said "You got that right - Let's go"! Well, he got me. We high fived, and he thanked me for pushing him. Joel greeted me at the finish. I was delirious and drained. I guess being sick didn't help much. I told poor Alan, who will be at Lake Placid Ironman cheering me on and will devote hours to wait for me, that when I cross the finish line we are going to party and drink. But after Tupper all I wanted was my bed. Alan, I will do all I can to have that beer with you after Lake Placid. I promise!!!

The Saga continues at Lake Placid…

Contributed by TinWoman, HRR CO-Captain, Janine Leveque

Hellgate on Facebook

A social networking group for the Hellgate Road Runners has been established Facebook. Please join us by clicking here.

To learn more about social networking and Facebook you may click here.

Recapturing Glory at the 2008 Need for Speed Relay

The Hellgate squad is back to defend their title as champions of the Need for Speed Relay this year on June 8, 2008. Amazingly enough the same members are all fit to run again and this time we are asking for your help in two possible ways.

The relay is 53 miles long with the start at Bear Mountain and the conclusion in New Rochelle. The course is a mix of distance, road, and trail. Our co-ed relay team would love to invite everyone to come out and cheer us along the way or on to the finish. Last year our determined anchor leg, Kevin Starkes, overcame a ~3 minute deficit to pass 2 all male teams for an exciting and close victory!

The second way you can aid the team is by helping us raise funds for children who experience domestic violence. This year our team has put more emphasis on helping this worthy cause. We had the privilege last year to hear from a number of children who have benefitted from the programs this organization runs. This is a special group. Please follow the link below for more information and if you are able to donate to help us surpass our fundraising goal:

PLEASE DONATE

Thank you all for your support and we hope to see some of you on June 8th!

Awards Night 2008 Montage

Award Recipients

Congratulations to the following individuals on their remarkable achievements!

Phil Sneller - Male Runner of the Year
Suzanne Hughes - Female Runner of the Year

Antonio Victorio - Male Outstanding Achievement
Alan Wagman - Male Outstanding Achievement
Soula Kollaros - Female Outstanding Achievement

Ken Dowd - Most Improved Male

Jovana Granzan - Most Improved Female
Martha LaMothe - Most Improved Female

Josh Morphew - Male Special Athletic Award
Mary Bogle - Female Special Athletic Award

Bravo runners! We're all very proud of you!

Awards Night is Almost Here

Awards Night 2008 is right around the corner. Don't miss out on all the food, drink, dancing and the Awards Presentation!

The Ninth Annual Hellgate Awards Night will once again be held at:

Riccardo's
21-01 24th Avenue
Astoria, NY 11102
map

If you haven't already, please RSVP by mail (or contact LuAnn) no later than February 1st.

Tickets are $50.00 and checks should be made payable to: "Hellgate Road Runners Inc."