THE HELLGATE ROAD RUNNERS

New Website

2009-10-31T08:33:00.005-05:00

ATTENTION HELLGATE:

Please note that our website address has recently changed. The new web address is:

www.hrronline.org

You can also find us on Facebook.

Hell’s Angel

2009-05-21T21:25:00.006-05:00

Jared Mestre shouts over the chatter and laughter of a sportswear-clad crowd, “Group one – time to go!” signaling the fastest runners to line up for the first of twelve 400-meter sprints. He resets his stopwatch and clears his throat. At his cue, the athletes bolt. Mestre’s eyes follow the pack as they round the first bend and gazelle down the strait. He takes everything in - registering individuals’ speed and form, who looks strong, and who looks out-of-sorts. When the leader reaches the midway point, he beckons the second set to the inner lane. He is quietly thrilled at tonight’s sizable turnout, which necessitated splitting the crew into three–divided roughly by ability– rather than the usual two.

Jared is the president and coach of Hellgate Road Runners, an Astoria, Queens-based running club. He is a fixture at every workout and race, watching from sidelines, camera around neck and stopwatch in hand. He is easily recognizable from a distance, walking with a sturdy camel gait and towing a ubiquitous cooler of water bottles. He is built like a tank, thick and broad like the football player he once was. He keeps his gray-streaked, Elvis-styled hair hidden under a signature blue and white Hellgate cap. His wide face and powerful physique belie a teddy bear warmth and approachability.

Jared and his team train in the shadow of what is now the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. Moses’ immense steel structure interrupts an otherwise postcard setting for the club meets. The track is part of North West Queens’ solitary green oasis, Astoria Park, with the dark East River and twinkling lights of Yorkville and East Harlem visible to the west. Hellgate gathers here every Wednesday for speed practice, as well as Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays for hill work, tempo and longer runs.

During winter months, Hellgaters are often alone, but it is an unseasonably mild April evening, and the track and its central grass oval are teeming. A five-aside soccer team play unpredictably, overweight walkers clog the periphery, kamikaze teens career around on bikes and scooters, and toddlers frogger across lanes, oblivious. In warmer months, Hellgate is accustomed to sharing the area, but they commandeer the inner track, slicing like a comet through debris.

Hellgate is one of 189 metropolitan-area running clubs listed in the New York Road Runners directory. Clubs vary widely in structure, philosophy and membership profile. Many of the Manhattan based clubs require a certain competitive standard, such as the Olympian-producing New York Athletic Club or Warren Street. Others are predicated on the commonality of its members, such as Front Runners for the gay and lesbian community, or Los Compadres for Mexican ex-pats.

All clubs are invaluable to the communities they serve - promoting health and fitness, supporting individuals in their athletic goals, raising money for charities, and providing a social meeting place for a diverse group of people.

Jared founded Hellgate Road Runners with his wife Luann (the club vice president) in 1995 for “average runners.” He recalls, “I wanted a club where everyone was welcome, where everyone would be treated the same.” Prior to that, both had been members of Astoria Park Running Club. Jared and some others had become disillusioned with the values of APRC, and wanted out. Its president had decided to limit membership to fast runners, excluding middle and back-of-the-packers. This elitism was enough to persuade Jared to break away. “It got to the point where APRC was heading in a different direction. It had a different philosophy from what many of us wanted. I thought to myself, I don’t want to be part of this, and other people backed me up.”

One of those people was Olga Flores, an early defector to Hellgate, “He is very fair to everybody, whether you are a 5 or a 12 minute-miler. He’ll work with you. He realizes that everybody is different, that everyone’s needs are individual, depending on schedule or goals.”

Although “it took a lot of doing,” Jared spent months building HRR from scratch. With a personal $550 jar of quarters, and $4,000 worth of donations coaxed from two local restaurant owners, the club’s first bank account was opened. Mary Bogle (a long-standing Hellgate member and spokesperson) and her husband Richard helped provide legal support in turning the club into a non-profit, tax exempt organization. Jared was determined to keep the club’s management legitimate and transparent. He describes his keen sense of duty and accountability, “My name is on the club papers, and my social security number is on the bank paperwork. I have to live up to that responsibility. I can’t let people down.”

One of the newly conceived club’s first orders of business was name selection. Initially, Luann and Jared were opposed to “Hellgate” (a corrupted version of the Dutch name Hellegat given to the narrow strait which separates Astoria from Randall’s Island, now spanned by the eponymous Hellgate Bridge). They felt that it had “devilish” connotations, or was too reminiscent of the (then recent) Californian ‘Heaven’s Gate’ suicide cult. But it won the popular vote, and ‘Hellgate’ remains one of the more unusual running club names to this day.

The club started out with just five members: Jared, Luann, Richie LaMothe, and two others who were sufficiently bold to jump ship. Jared recalls, “ln the early years it could be quite depressing. We’d go down to the track on a Wednesday, and nobody would be there. Sometimes it was Luann doing the speed workout alone.”

But word spread slowly, and the organization grew steadily in size to the 160 it is today.

When he talks one-on-one (which is most of the time, since he shies away from public speaking), Jared leans close with a smirk and lowers his voice, as if he’s sharing a funny secret. His stories usually are amusing, and almost always involve him waxing lyrical about one of the hundreds of runners known to him, within Hellgate and beyond.

Mestre is prominent and respected in the broader New York running scene. Leo Nicholas, the president of College Point Track Club in Queens and race director of the Queens Half Marathon for 25 years has known Jared for decades, “He is a wonderful organizer and friend. All you need do is call him and ask for help and he’ll be there…with a P.A. system, as a volunteer – anything. His word is golden. He is one guy I would like to have in a fox hole with me.”

Jared was born into poverty in Puerto Rico in 1953. At the age of three, his mother immigrated to the US where she had secured a factory job, leaving Jared and his siblings with their father. Later, his father joined her, and the children remained in their grandmother’s care. When he turned five, his parents were in a position to reunite with the children, so they all left to start a new life in New York. “I remember it very well, coming through the airport that first time. There were all these fluorescent lights – and I wasn’t even used to electricity. There was only one house in the village I came from that had electricity. It was a different world.”

They settled in the Bedford Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn which Jared describes as “not the best.” But he loved the diversity, and learned a lot, “I saw everybody…white, black, hispanic, you name it.”

Jared adopted sports as an alternative to the more deleterious neighborhood options. He took up football and handball and played seriously for 11 years. He competed all over Brooklyn, breaking his knee and his ankle in the process.

He started running later in his teens when his brother-in-law registered him without his knowledge, for a race in Central Park. Although Jared “thought he was going to die” during that first event, he was hooked. As he was apt to do when something captured his imagination, Jared researched the sport zealously. Through books and magazines, he taught himself the latest theories, on form, training schedules, gear, hydration, nutrition and racing strategy. He marvels at how so much of the thinking of that day has changed completely now, almost 40 years later.

At his athletic peak, Mestre ran 60 miles a week, and completed four marathons. His best time was 3:17 in Yonkers, NY. Around the time Hellgate formed, catastrophe struck. On a run up Steinway in the snow, he slid across a sheet of ice over a metal plate. His right leg flailed underneath him, and ripped his groin. It took years to heal, forcing him out of the sport.

In the fourteen years since the accident, in addition to his full time job as a distributor at Sony Pictures, Jared has donated thousands of hours to the club, coordinating the four-times-weekly workouts, and acting as administrator, coach, mentor, official photographer, and race director. For years, Jared has organized Hellgate’s trademark 5K race, an annual members’ awards dinner dance, and a post-NYC marathon celebratory party. His only recompense is the friendships made, and the satisfaction gained from watching Hellgaters improve. “I enjoy seeing people get better. I can usually start to see it three or four months after somebody joins and they themselves will comment. I feel really good when I see people progress.” Olga concurs, “He is a people person, and this is rewarding to him. He takes pride in helping people.”

Josh Morphew, HRR’s secretary, has given Jared’s motivation considerable thought, “I don’t know why, but Jared and Luann never had kids. I think this club is their baby. They put all their time and energy into it.” Jared acknowledges that he feeds off the social aspect of the role. “Hellgate feels like part of me – Adrian, Tony, Richie, Martha, Olga…Mary and her kids. I know them all so well.”

Jared’s style of coaching is not for everyone. He prefers to wait until approached rather than give unsolicited advice. Like an attentive grandfather who does not want to appear interfering, he is always there, omniscient and shrewd, but passive. Morphew says, “Jared’s defining characteristic is his humility. You don’t see that in a lot of people. He created a club truly for the runners – it’s not about him.”

There are those who favor the assertive schooling of, for instance, Bob Glover of Greater New York, but for many, Jared’s patient and understated environment is exactly what is needed to thrive.

Phil Sneller, the 2008 Queens Half Marathon champion, and 2012 Olympic trials hopeful resigned recently from Hellgate to join the New York Athletic Club. Less than a month later though, he was back. He found the demands of the elite club too restricting, and their methods too rigid. Jared is clearly moved when talking about it, “He asked if he could come back. I told him the door is always open.”

Hellgate holds annual elections for key positions, but no one else ever runs for President. Jared insists he would happily be ousted from his role. “I could concentrate on helping runners more with their running.”

On Saturday May 16th 2009, 28 Hellgaters are among the 7,623 local and world-class athletes who gather in Central Park for the Healthy Kidney 10K. New York Road Runners hosts over 30 races a year like this, and Jared attends the vast majority of them. Often there is just a handful of Hellgaters participating, sometimes dozens, but Jared is always there to offer encouragement.

At 9am the horn goes off, and the beep of thousands of electronic timer chips crossing the starting mats can be heard for the next 15 minutes. Observant HRR racers flash thumbs up and smiles to Jared who, as ever, is snapping shots as they pass, about a half mile down the course. On longer distances, such as half or full marathons, Jared moves himself to various points, enabling himself to shoot from different vantages, and cheer on his teammates at progressive stages throughout their race.

As the clock ticks on, Hellgaters cross the line, and join Jared near the final bend. They besiege their coach with race reports, solicit congratulations or commiserations, share goals, training schedules, and injury woes. Jared listens closely and offers subtle suggestions, while keeping an eye on the stragglers still jogging towards the finisher chute.

At 10:20, long after the starting horn sounded, and long after the bulk of racers have eaten their trophy bagel, Luann breaks out of the huddle to check with her husband, “is everyone in?” Jared responds quickly, “there’s still Ann to come.”

He leans over the railing, points his camera down the course, and waits.

by Yvonne Damm

Good Luck Spring Marathoners!

2009-04-11T10:03:00.006-05:00

After months of training in the bitter cold of winter the spring marathon season has finally arrived! And the Hellgate Road Runners will be out in force.

Good luck runners!

Boston Marathon
Andrei Volik

Country Music Nashville Marathon
Craig Geraghty
Kira Zevan
Levi Satcher
LuAnn Mestre
Suzanne Hughes
Tony Victorio

Long Island Marathon
Josh Morphew

More Marathon
'Cil Shaw Brewer

Awards Night Recipients

2009-02-23T17:10:00.010-05:00

On Saturday, February 21st the Hellgate Road Runners held their Annual Awards Dinner.

Congratulations to all the Award Recipients!

Extra Mile Award
Olga Potanas

Special Athletic Award
Jay Gottfried

Most Improved
Aurelio Dimas
Eddie Roberts

Outstanding Achievement
Benjamin Kaufmann
Ximena Ninahuanca

Phil Sneller

Runner of the Year
Jovana Granzan

Andrei Volik

Celebration

2009-01-06T22:46:00.005-05:00

The Eleventh Annual
Hellgate Awards Night
February 21st, 2009

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

Cocktails at 7:00pm. Dinner immediate following.

RSVP
Checks payable to:
Hellgate Road Runners Inc.
14-41 31st Drive
Astoria, NY 11102
$50/person

Tune This!

2008-09-30T11:36:00.017-05:00

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!

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

Check out all the AMAZING results at the NYRR website!

Conquer Yonkers!

2008-09-24T06:56:00.014-05:00

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

2008-09-15T11:57:00.028-05:00

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!

2008-09-04T13:31:00.008-05:00

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

2008-08-18T10:52:00.027-05:00

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!

2008-08-13T14:00:00.012-05:00

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

2008-08-01T13:32:00.021-05:00

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

2008-07-03T10:38:00.008-05:00

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

2008-06-21T12:40:00.005-05:00

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

2008-05-20T07:03:00.009-05:00

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

2008-03-08T08:21:00.001-05:00

Award Recipients

2008-03-06T17:06:00.013-05:00

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

2008-01-26T09:48:00.000-05:00

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."

Joe Kleinerman 10K

2007-12-12T06:34:00.000-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS HELLGATE!

On a chilly and cool morning the Hellgate Road Runners gathered in huge numbers for an awesome showing at the New York Road Runners final club points race of 2007 - The Joe Kleinerman 10K.

36 Hellgaters raced through the 6.2 mile course in Central Park while others shouted and cheered from the sidelines.

This powerful showing launched the Women's Team into 11th place in the Open Division! And according to the final statistics provided by NYRR the Hellgate Men's team surpassed the New York Fliers by two points to take 2nd Place in the Men's B Division. Well done everyone!

Here are the race results:

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
Phillip Sneller	36:25	5:52
Kevin Starkes	36:27	5:52
Andrei Volik	36:28	5:52
Mike Bishop	38:09	6:09
Aurelio Dimas	38:39	6:14
Jeff Leiter	39:03	6:17
Marc Shupp	40:26	6:31
Eddie Roberts	41:08	6:38
Josh Morphew	42:03	6:46
Kate Sunbury	42:39	6:52
Maritza Bishop	43:42	7:02
Eamonn Keane	44:01	7:05
Mike Morrissey	44:02	7:06
Timothy Cavaretta	44:10	7:07
Beverly Paulis	44:28	7:10
Suzanne Hughes	44:59	7:15
Don Guyton	45:00	7:15
Ximena Rosas	46:03	7:25
Cinthya Sandoval	47:18	7:37
Diana Pittet	47:27	7:39
Jovana Granzan	48:02	7:44
Adrian Longo	48:39	7:50
Demetrius Kalogeropoulos	48:56	7:53
Tony Victorio	49:41	8:00
Brion Cobb	50:31	8:08
LuAnn Mestre	51:23	8:17
Bethany Hetrick	52:44	8:30
Jay Gottfried	53:00	8:32
Nazly Jordan	54:34	8:48
Sally Mahon	55:22	8:55
Raul Araque	55:51	9:00
Martha Lamothe	58:44	9:28
Irene Gavras-Petrakis	59:19	9:34
Ljubomir Granzan	1:02:07	10:01
Molly Biechele	1:08:54	11:06
Kaitlin McGrath	1:08:54	11:06

December 2007 Club Meeting

2007-12-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

On December 5th, eighteen Hellgate Team Officials and Members met to discuss the state of the club, review club policy and vote on issues important to the club. What follows are the meeting minutes and resolutions.

Final Club Points Race of 2007

Reminder for all members who are in good health to signup for and run the final club points race of the year – The Joe Kleinerman 10K on Sunday, December 9th.

Membership and Finance

The financial state of the club is strong. However, due to increased operational costs the 2008 membership fees will be increased to $20.
Your membership fees go toward insurance for the club, corporate expenses to maintain non-profit / tax exempt status, membership in the Road Runners of America organization. Membership fees also help subsidize awards night and other club sponsored gatherings as well as the Hellgate Website and message board. The Hellgate Road Runners is an all volunteer club - no members or officers are paid.
The long term success of the club is dependent on membership. All current members are encouraged to actively recruit other runners, friends, family, and neighbors to join our group runs. The cost of membership is nominal and the benefits of running with Hellgate are immeasurable.
Though it goes without saying, all current members are encouraged to welcome new members graciously and wholeheartedly (not that you would do anything but!). Veteran runners are asked to offer assistance and guidance to new members when wanted. And you speedsters… slow down occasionally and run with a slower runner.
Also discussed was the possibility of a fundraiser to benefit the club. The fundraiser may include a summer picnic, a pot-luck dinner, a raffle, guest bartending night.
Additionally, the New York Road Runners occasionally offers cash incentives to local clubs who volunteer for important races. All Hellgate members are encouraged to volunteer when and where possible. Volunteer opportunities will be announced on the message board.
The Hellgate Road Runners is also seeking a corporate sponsor. There are several sponsorship opportunities available. If you or anyone you know may be in a position to sponsor Hellgate please see Jared Mestre.

Elections

Elections will be held in January. The 2008 Club President, Vice President, Secretary and Team Captains will be determined. More information on this will be announced shortly.

Website and Message Board

Members are reminded to log in when using the internet message board. Anonymous commenting in strongly discouraged. Please do not respond to obscene or offensive comments – they should be ignored entirely.
A new and improved website is being created and will be launched soon. The website address will not change.

Awards and Awards Night

Awards Night will be held on Saturday, February 16th, 2008. Additional details will be announced soon.
Awards will be given out to deserving members. To be eligible for an award you must have:

been a member for a minimum of one year.
You must be active in the club by attend workouts, races (in particular Club Points races) and attend club meetings.
You must have completed at least 10 New York Road Runner races.
Additionally, members are encouraged to inform the club when you compete in non-NYRR races (for example out of town road races, multi-sport activities) so that your accomplishments can be acknowledged and considered.

Hellgate Gear

Members are reminded that Hellgate gear is available for purchase.

Singles cost $30.
Jackets cost $55.
Members are encouraged to wear Hellgate gear at races and workouts to help promote the club.

Final Club Points Race Of 2007

2007-12-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Attention Hellgaters...

Don't forget to register for the Joe Kleinerman 10k. This is the final Club Points Race of the year and will be held in Central Park on Sunday, December 9. Online registration ends soon so click over to NYRR soon.

The Hellgate Women's team is currently in 14th place in the Open Division. A strong showing from the Ladies of Hellgate could propel the team forward into the top 10!

Currently the Hellgate Men's team is in 3rd place with 90 points -- within striking distance of the number 2 spot held by our New York Flyer friends. However the The Hoboken Harriers (currently in 4th place) are trying to close the gap.

Don't wait - Register for the Joe K 10k now and we'll see you at the finish line!

Running Scared

2007-10-31T11:34:00.000-05:00

Muwahahahahahahahahhaaaaa!

Ghastly turnout this weekend. Congrats to all the creepy Poland Spring runners! Best costume award goes to the tres amigos. Check out the ghoulish results on the NYRR site!

It's a Family Affair!

2007-10-15T12:16:00.000-05:00

Alan, Ben and Eliza Wagman all completed the Cider Mill 5K in Tolland, CT on September 29. On a beautiful early fall morning, the three of them toed the line near the front of the pack. Alan and Ben went out in 8 minutes flat for the first mile, a fairly hilly start. Ben then started to labor and fell back a bit. Dad kept encouraging him to stay close. As we passed mile 2 in about 16:10, Ben kept pushing himself. Ben's competitive fire began to come out when he spied another young runner who he decided he wanted to catch. At 2.5 miles, Ben started to make his move but Dad told him to wait. Ben bided his time and passed the other runner as we approached the 3 mile mark. Ben finished strong, edging his proud father by 1 second in 25 minutes flat. Alan finished in 25:01. Ben was 15th out of 41 11-14 year olds.

While Ben and Alan were running together, Eliza took the challenge on by herself. Hoping to break 30 minutes in her first race ever, she struggled mightily but persevered and eventually crossed the line in 32:02, finishing 8th out of 18 10 and under females. Overall, this was a great race on a fairly easy course. Good local crowds cheered all of the runners on. Definitely a race we will run again!

-Contributed by Alan Wagman, Proud Papa

Congratulations Wagman clan! What a fantastic race!

Great Galloping Hellgaters!

2007-10-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

Sixteen days into fall and the temperature at dawn on October 6 was near 70 degrees with 90% humidity... This was not great running weather for Grete's Great Gallop.

However the weather was not going to stop us from running in this club points race (or participating in the 1.7 mile Noway Run)! Hellgate fielded a men's and a women's team who placed 13th and 22nd, respectively in the Half. Leading the team was Phil with an amazing 20th place finish screaming across the line at 1:16:40, a 5:51 pace!

Andrei and Diego also finished strong at 6:44 and 6:46 pace respectively. Captain Suzanne placed 4th in her age group again! Unbelievable! Alan showed up after doing 10 miles to finish at a 8 minute mile pace AND he got to Hi-Five Grete the Great herself after the first loop! And double congratulations to Jon D. for not only getting hitched in August to the lovely (and recovering) Shayna, but he also completed his first ever half marathon! Fantastic effort, Jon! We hope to keep seeing you out for those 13.1's!

Now the Norway Run took place prior to the Half and we had our very own Canadian, Andrew, running a stellar 1.7 miles. We also had one of Hellgate's newest members, Beth, going neck and neck to the finish line with some other women. Great work!

The children's races also proved no match for Soula's daughter who took 3rd place in her age group for the half mile run! When interviewed about her fantastic performance, she admitted to enjoying the race tremendously! Like mother, like daughter!

For all the race results please go the NYRR web site!

***OTHER NEWS***

Stay tuned for an interview with Levi on his scorching Chi-town marathon experience!

The HG Blog is happy to announce (for those that might have missed it on the message board) that Josh and Salena welcomed their son, Jackson, into the world last Wednesday, October 3rd. I'm sure we'll see Josh behind a jogging stroller soon! Congratulations!

Turned Up at the Tune Up!

2007-10-04T16:00:00.001-05:00

What a fantastic day for an 18 mile run! Sunday, September 30, 2007, was the last of the longest runs for many a marathoner-in-training on the Hellgate squad. There was a fantastic cheering crew for us! We had Lauren on the lonely West Side and Jared, Janine, and Andrew on the East Side. Andrei unfortunately is nursing a sprained ankle so also stuck around to support us on to the finish!

There were of course some standouts in this race! We are happy to report that Soula completed her longest race ever and came screeching to a halt across the finish line at a 9:00 minute pace (1:42:14). Congratulations Soula, and we can’t wait to cheer for you in NYC next month! Meanwhile Ben finished at a blistering 6:29 pace (1:56:48) to come in 11th in his age group and 23rd overall! Amazing!

Also those royals from the Queens Half ruled again! Mary turned out an amazing race finishing 2nd (2:14:07) in her age group while Suzanne placed 4th (2:18:36)! They are unstoppable! Eamonn also displayed just how strong he is with a 2:14:15 finish. Mary managed to nip him in the last mile, but Eamonn threatened revenge in the Staten Island Half in 2 weeks! (Place all bets with me!)

Check out the results on the NYRR site! And check out those smiling faces below! Another weekend race with amazing photos by Jared!

A Royal Race

2007-09-27T11:34:00.000-05:00

A sunny Sunday morning in September felt like a perfect day for the annual Queens Half Marathon. Busses arrived from Manhattan carrying hopefuls; carloads of "locals" jammed College Point Avenue hunting for rockstar parking near the start. The Hellgate team was in good spirits. Everyone exuded relaxation. This was our Boro.

When the gun went off at 7 a.m., we had overheard everyone talking about the new course. In years passed this race was a 2 loop route, but this year NYRR developed 1 long path with tons of turns and bends throught the streets of College Point, Malba, and Whitestone, Queens. This did not daunt the Hellgate squad.

Aurelio lead the team with a fantastic finishing of 1:22:58 (a week after putting up a 1:21:53 at Yonkers). We can also welcome back Andrei to a more regular NY running scene (he and Heather have moved back to Astoria). Big congraulations are in order for Mary (1:35:14) and Suzanne (1:37:00) who reigned their age groups by placing 2nd and 3rd. Please note that this was a personal record for Suzanne by over a minute! Ken pulled a Mike M. by showing up after the mats were pulled; that didn't slow him down! He whizzed by this blogger at about mile 11 - he caught a good portion of the race field! Jenn and Jamie ran a part of the race together epitomizing team work!

Everyone did spectacular and please find all the results on the NYRR website. Congratulations to all!

Bonkers for Yonkers!

2007-09-23T12:21:00.000-05:00

Alright, alright, alright! Let's get this blog back on track - or the road!

September 16th brought the annual Yonkers Marathon and Half Marathon. Two Hellgaters laced up their running shoes and tore up the challenging and hilly (didn't I say challenging already?) course! Congratulations are in order for Aurelio and Ximena for yet another fan-tabulous performance from this dynamic duo! Aurelio coasted in at 1:21:53 easily capturing 21st place overall and 3rd in his age group! Ximena proved what a Queens girl can do to those Yonkers' hills finishing at 1:40:13 earning her a 60th spot overall and 2nd in her age group!

Also a side note: Ximena has been sneaking around Long Island and New Jersey all summer long with her sister, Kattia, running local races with much success! Keep up the good work ladies! And keep us posted with your most recent races!

Club Team Championships

2007-08-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

Saturday August 18th, what a perfect morning for the Club Team Champs, it was positively chilly when the majority of Hellgaters arrived bright and early in Central Park.

The girls race started an hour after the men’s start but the Hellgate women were out in force to cheer on the guys! And yes, the guys stuck around after their race to cheer on the girls. Special thanks to injured Hellgaters Janine, Bex and Matt for your unwavering support and enthusiastic encouragement!

This was Hellgates biggest turnout for a race, which thrilled coach Jared and along with Jared the team captains want to thank the 37 members, comprising of 20 men and 17 women who gave it their all on the 5 mile course for Team Hellgate! Check the NYRR website for both the men’s and women’s results.

-by Suzanne Hughes

Photos by Jared Mestre

NYC Half Marathon

2007-08-05T15:15:00.000-05:00

The Hellgate Road Runners took the Nike New York City Half Marathon by storm!

With 8 team members posting tremendous running achievements and a whooping 14 volunteering along the course Hellgate truly runs this race!

Congratulations to:

Benjamin Kaufmann with a finish time of 1:16:33
Phillip Sneller with a finish time of 1:18:54
Brian Danielian with a finish time of 1:36:30
Kenneth Dowd with a finish time of 1:37:58
Jay Gottfried with a finish time of 1:53:14
Angela Taylor with a finish time of 2:00:03
Francis Muldoon with a finish time of 2:13:43
Jennifer Rozmus with a finish time of 2:40:07

Special thanks to the following individuals for making the 4:30AM call time to volunteer!

Alan Wagman
Barry Horowitz
Bex Parson
Eamonn Keane
Elizabeth Campos
Jaime Sperling
Janine Leveque
Jessica Moeller
Josh Morphew
Jovana Granzan
LuAnn Mestre
Sally Mahon
Suzanne Hughes
Tony Victorio

Kudos also to Beverly and Kevin for being Nike pace leaders!

Great work Hellgate!

RUN... Swim and Bike Too!

2007-07-27T08:54:00.000-05:00

Hellgate sure “TRI’d” hard last weekend in 4 multi-sport event and one classic Race for Central Park 4 miler. As usual there were stellar performances had by all Hellgate participants. First off on Saturday, July 21, NYRR held its annual Run for Central Park. Following not too far behind the 2nd place finisher and adopted Hellgater, Mustafa, were Nick, Bex, Ljubomir, Jovana, Amye, and Andrew. See the NYRR site for their impressive race results!

Now for the multi-sport events on Sunday, July 22nd! First off was Chip’s FIRST triathlon! The newlywed crossed rivers to West Windsor, NJ, to compete in the NJS Sprint Triathlon. The 500m swim, 13.5 mile bike with tricky turn arounds and hills, and the 5k run couldn’t wear Chip out! He finished in a remarkable 1:17:36; his splits were 9:59, T1 4:38, 40:38, T2 2:34, and 20:00! Chip said that he learned a lot that will help him improve his transition times as well as working out details like catching your breath on the bike. He also said “coming out of the water was the most surreal, exciting experience; one of the highlights of the day for me.” He also had an edge in the 5k being a runner first, passing “a ton of people” to help him finish 27th over all! Not too shabby, Chip!

Next on the lineup for Sunday was the Long Beach Biathlon! Mary went back to try and hold her title as No. 1 female finisher. This year it was not to be however. Not that Hellgaters like excuses, but an 18 mile run the day before might have tuckered her out a bit. Mary still managed to navigate this 5k run followed by a ¼ ocean swim in 3rd place overall and 1st in her age group! Levi also participated and put in a valiant effort as usual! A bit of drifting kept him from catching our fearless captain, Suzanne, however!

Suzanne woke up early that day with intentions of cheering Mary and Levi in Long Beach, but somehow her bathing suit and sneakers followed her to Long Beach! Suzanne did her first biathlon on a whim – breast stroking her way to a 5th place in her age group!

The popular NYC Triathlon was also held this beautiful Sunday morning! Raul made his way through the Olympic length course with his usual smiles and ease that we all strive to imitate! He finished with a fantastic 2:53:34! Way to go! One of the many Hellgate couples competed too and proved their mettle yet again. Patricia and Brian put down great times for the 1.5k swim (in the Hudson River), 40k mile bike (up the West Side Highway, and 10k run (through Central Park). Patricia finished in 2:50:00 flat. The Hellgate Blog thinks there is a story behind Brian’s 2 hour penalty! Fantastic showing guys! Check out www.nyctri.com for more info and registration for 2008 opens on Nov. 1st!

And FINALLY, but most definitely NOT least: The Lake Placid Ironman! Competitors have to sign up a year in advance and spend those 12 months training! They complete 2.4 miles of open water swim, 112 miles of biking in the Adirondacks, and finally a 26.2 miles run, (yes, a full marathon). One of Hellgate’s own signed up, trained up, showed up, and raced 140.6 miles. Congratulations to Joel Rosenstraus, Ironman. He staved off injuries and doctor’s warnings to muster the guts and muscle to cross that finish line in 13:19:12. Check out his splits on the Ironman webpage. Congratulations Joel! Rest up!

-by Jessica Moeller

New Singlets

2007-07-24T12:03:00.000-05:00

The new, approved and officially sanctioned Hellgate Road Runners team singlets are now in!

The singlets were printed by our friends at Urban Athletics and are made of a high-quality technical fabric. Urban Athletics is also extending a 15% discount on all items in the store to Hellgate Road Runner members from 6pm - 8pm TONIGHT! (Tuesday 7/24/2007)

LuAnn will be at Urban Athletics tonight and the singlets can be purchased directly from LuAnn for $30. Stay cool, show your team pride and best of all - don't chafe!

Urban Athletics has two locations but the discount only applies at their Madison Avenue location. The address is:

1291 Madison Avenue
@ 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128
Phone: 212/828-1906

Run To Home Plate

2007-07-18T06:33:00.000-05:00

Attention Hellgate Road Runners!

According to the website of the New York Road Runners the Mets Run to Home Plate has been postponed until further notice.

What follows is the message from the message from the NYRR website:

NYRR/NY Mets Run to Home Plate Postponed; Updates to Follow. NYRR regrets to announce that due to unforeseen conflicts with other city events, the NYRR/NY Mets Run to Home Plate will not take place on Sunday, July 22. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this unexpected change. The race will be moved to a later date (TBD). Entries may be automatically transferred to the new date; or, NYRR will be happy to transfer any entry to the Run for Central Park 4M on Saturday, July 21, or to issue a coupon good for any future (weekly) race upon request. Please contact Janet Cupo at jcupo@nyrr.org.

The status of Club Points races is being resolved; watch this page for updates soon. When the race date and Club Points race determinations are made, an e-mail will be sent to all registered NYRR/NY Mets Run to Home Plate entrants. Team runners should wait until a determination is made tomorrow, July 18, before contacting us as to their decision.

Hellgate Takes the Tin: 70.3 Miles Later

2007-07-11T05:45:00.000-05:00

Five Hellgaters crossed the finish line of the 2007 Tupper Lake Tinman Triathlon which consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, & 13.1 mile run.

Eamonn and Josh made the 6 hour drive up through the Adirondacks to compete in their first Tinman, while Janine, Joel, and Raul (and his friend Nicholas, honorary Hellgater) returned to remind Tupper Lake just what these Queens residents could do! Standing on the side lines for moral support were Salena, Nazly, and Jessica.

Eamonn is known for his determination and dig deep strength as well for his enjoyment of beer, but did his stamina and grit get him through the 70.3 miles of his first Tinman Tri?

"Having arrived the day before the event to pick up our numbers, Josh and I stared at the swim course and noticed that we couldn't see the turnaround point. This made me a little bit nervous, and I was wondering what the hell I had signed up for.

The morning of the race, the strategy was simply not to drown, and then take the race from there. So after 50 minutes of splashing and a lot of drinking of lake water, the first event was complete. The bike course was described as “rolling hills”; this was a bit of an understatement since we were in the Adirondack Mountains!!! Over 3 hours later, at a reasonable pace of 18 mph, the bike course was complete. The run was a challenging course and having spent 4 hours already at the swim and bike, a PR was not going to be in the cards! But I was able to maintain an even pace of 9 minutes per mile (with frequent breaks at each water station). At 1 hour and 57 minutes and some seconds, the Tinman was complete.

Overall the experience, although very challenging, was a good one. Special thanks have to go out to our teammates and our supporters for the cheering through a very tough day." – Eamonn

Now, just why would someone take on a Tinman having NEVER competed triathlon before?

"With 4 marathons under my belt I really wanted a big athletic challenge before our first baby is born this autumn -- and Tinman was just that!

All through my training I was pretty intimidated by the prospect of racing 70.3 miles. When I first saw the swim course my fears were absolutely confirmed.

Having the support, training companionship and advise of the other Hellgater's was invaluable. Tinman was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of my life." – Josh

Please check out Josh’s blog for his more in depth race report! So, the first timers came in at 6:04 and 5:45; not too shabby! Could the course get the better of the Tupper Lake veterans? Could they get to the course? Janine’s race report sums it up nicely!

"The ride up Tupper Lake was a crawl, and 8 hours later it was a total nightmare. Joel was doing 80mph in a 40mph zone. We barely made it to the carboload dinner and picking up our race packets. After I got my blood circulating in my legs after the drive, we relaxed to eat dinner. After chilling for a bit at the expo, it was about 9pm. We decided it's time to check into the motel. Back in the car for a 20 minute drive!

We arrived at Long Lake Motel. I went to the front desk to get the key. Joel said you go check out the room and I'll start unloading the car. Well, I came back to Joel and found Jessica, Eamonn, Josh, and Salena along side him. I was fit to be tide with the room accommodations and made it known in front of everyone. I stormed to the front desk; there were no other rooms, so we had no choice but to stay in this shack. My night's sleep was a horror, but thank God for Jared's philopshy (get a good night’s sleep 2 nights before a race because the night before you will not sleep). He was right, and the night was LONG!!

At the sound of the alarm, we got ready, and we were on our way to Tupper Lake. The morning had a nice chill which felt great. My thought was "Yes! I won't be running in 90 degrees this year!" We arrived and went to get body marked and our chips put on. We went back to the car to get our bikes, and then we headed to the transition area. I had a great spot, and poor Joel was in the old man's land. I met my neighbors, Coleen and Tish. They were very chatty which was fine since it relaxed me. They asked me "what is my time today?" I told them "I'm going to enjoy the race, and I want to feel good." (My inner soul had one set time and that was a 6:30, but no pressure.)

I was waiting in my corral with Raul to start the swim. I did feel butterflies but felt pretty relaxed for the most part. We were next to enter the lake, and as I turned the corner, there's Nazly. It was so amazing to see her, then I saw Jessica and Salena further down. I felt great and no sign of anxiety. The horn went off and there I went... I started nice and slow and then hammered away. My poor shoulders did NOT like it very much, but I told them I have a race to do. The navigation going out was great, and I hit every buoy, but when we turned around the sun was glaring. It was very hard to navigate, but I said all I have to do is follow the people in front (hoping they were going the right way). I saw the end and said "Yeah! Finally." I exited out of the lake and made my way to my bike.

I zipped out of my wetsuit and made my way to start my bike. The thought entered "Oh boy, I'll be out here for 3:30 hours or so. I better make the best of it! Visualize that I am on a nice long bike ride with my friends!" I made sure I fueled every hour by eating a cliff bar (thanks, Bex!). Some of these hills were never-ending, but I thought positive all the way through. I approached the end of my bike ride and saw Jessica on her bike cheering and then saw Nazly at the transitiion area. As I got off the saddle I couldn't believe the pain; it's indescribable, but she said "Hey! You are a runner; this is where you got it, girl!" Thanks, Nazly; I'm glad you had faith in me, but the thought of running 13.1 miles did not register well yet.

So I start the run and to my surprise I felt decent but did experience a nagging numbness in my foot. At the first mile I had to stop because the pain in my foot was unbearable. I stopped several other times to loosen my laces and massage my foot to get circulation flowing. I finally decided that I have to put the numbness on a back burner and run this race, so that is what I did. I was passing everyone a long the way. It's like they were running in place! There was not one person that passed me. The mile markers were few and far between. I hit mile 2, then 5, and at one point I had to ask what mile mark I was at. Then I saw mile 6; the next mile marker was 8 then mile marker 9, but after 9 I never saw another mile marker! Then to see Jess directing us, I was very surprised to see her. I asked one volunteer what mile again, and she said I'm finishing mile 11. That mile 11 felt long then at the next water station I asked what mile only to hear that I have one more mile left! Not that I would have been able to gauge my pace after biking 56 miles, but the unknown helped me mentally.

I looked at my watch to see the time and that I had one more mile left, I cranked it up a bit. Realization was beginning to set in. I was so excited to see by my watch that I was going to finish around 6:20! And that I did (exactly 6:20:34)!

As I approached the finish line, I hear the cheers from Joel and my teammates. It was such a great feeling and what a sigh of relief. I made my way to Joel & my teammates, and we all were hugging each other. I kept on screaming “I shaved off 40 minutes from last year!” YES! YES! YES! I still can't believe it!" – Janine

Joel finished up with an amazing time of 5:35:53 and Raul rounded out the Hellgate finishers with a solid time of 7:07:13! (By the way Raul looked so refreshed after the race! It goes to show what great shape he’s in!) for more see the Tinman results:

Now, will the fabulous 5 return next year and with more recruits?

July 4th

2007-07-04T09:11:00.001-05:00

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

Hellgate Dominates at Need For Speed

2007-06-10T12:17:00.000-05:00

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

20 Questions with Alan Wagman

2007-06-02T13:28:00.000-05:00

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.

Triple Events Score BIG for Hellgate

2007-05-20T11:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, proved big for the Hellgate squad.

Event 1: Healthy Kidney 10k

First off was the Healthy Kidney 10k on Saturday in Central Park! We had a great representation of the team's speed for this club points race without a few of our ringers! Several members found the day a challenge, but others flew! Janine suspected a distance pr while Nick and Bex ran their first club points race with pride! Ezra flashed his smile and speed while he's not whizzing around writing about cool places.

Jeff pulled a Mike Morrisey/Tony move by crossing over the start mats as the officials were picking them; he had a great run despite not being captured by the chips. Find out who else ran great and for all race results here.

Event 2: Queens Biathlon

Sunday at 8 am sharp, the annual Queens Biathlon was off in Alley Pond Park with the first of two 3 mile runs. Everyone made it back to the transition area with lightening speed to head out for the grueling 18 mile bike followed by, yes, another 3 mile run! Hellgate tore up the Bi with 13 participating.

Age group awards go to Mike Bishop, 3rd place, Joel 2nd place, and Alan, 3rd place. On the ladies' side Mary and Janine placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in their age group. It was a good day for all, some did their first biathlons (see Josh's blog for his unbelievable race story), others were testing the waters in preparation for future summer bis and triathlons! Click here for the full race results!

Event 3: Forest Park 4 Miler

While the Biathletes were happily exhausted, the annual Forest Park 4 miler began. This race has an amazing track finish which has proven advantageous for the Hellgate Team in the past. Will the new track bring another successful year? Of course! It was a beautiful morning deeper in Queens with Jared, LuAnn, and new poppa, Matt, cheering on the sidelines as Nick finish 13th and 3rd in his age group followed by Jeff in 20th place. Then Suzanne coasted in to finish 2nd overall for the women (1st in her age group) closely followed by Bex in 3rd place overall (1st in her age group too!). Don, Beverly, and Mike Morrisey finished within 7 seconds of each other! Nine teammates in total completed the grueling 4 miles with ease - Results. Great job!

-by Jessica Moeller

Photos by Jared Mestre

Mothers Day 10 Miler

2007-05-17T06:15:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to all the Hellgate women (and men!) for competing in the NYJL Mothers Day 10 and 4 Miler!

Women's results can be found here.
Men's results can be found here.

all photos by Jared Mestre:

Thomas G. Labrecque Classic

2007-04-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

Run as One!

Team Hellgate ran as one heck of a team in Sunday's Run as One Thomas G. Labrecque Classic 4 miler in Central Park and as always there are great stories to tell!

Eamonn and Suzanne encouraged each other along the course to finish with personal bests right behind Alan coming off his remarkable Boston feat! Jovana and Lubia (Juan's wife) also left their old times behind them.

We have to welcome Mary, Beverly, and Jeff back to the club points racing circuit; it was as if they never left. Jeff also ran a spectacular race last week at the Adidas Run for the Parks!

Aurelio lead the men's team to a 17th place finish, while the women's team placed 10th! Hellgaters over 40 finished in 14th for the men and 8th for the women; in addition the ladies posted an all 50's team in 6th place! Congratulations! For complete Hellgate race results click here.

Please check out one of our fearless captains interviewed before the race on the NYRR site.

While we were all grimacing in pain over those West Side Hills Matthew and his lovely wife Ashley welcomed their son, Aidan Reagan Wizeman, into the world! Congrats Matt and Ashley! We can't wait to see your little one in his first Hellgate Singlet pair of running shoes!

-by Jessica Moeller

Boston Marathon

2007-04-20T09:56:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Alan, Brian, Matt and Patricia on running the Boston Marathon in extremely challenging weather conditions!

Your amazing determination and mental toughness prevailed during one of the most significant nor'easter storms in recent history.

Way to represent the Hellgate Road Runners!

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
Matthew Wizeman	3:29:15	7:59
Alan Wagman	3:48:05	8:42
Brian Danielian	4:01:09	9:12
Patricia Alcivar	4:22:51	10:02

If you have photos of the Boston Marathon you'd like to share please email them.

Brooklyn Half Marathon

2007-04-14T11:31:00.000-05:00

The 6:15am call time for the Brooklyn Half Marathon meant alarms rang out earlier than usual for many of the Hellgate Road Runners today.

Athletes assembled, the team bus made it's way to the famed Coney Island Boardwalk for the start of this 13.1 mile jaunt through Brooklyn, New York. Arriving with high spirits and time to spare the runners, stretched, discussed strategy and pace, visited the oh so essential Porta-Johns, warmed up and soaked up the early morning sunshine. Before long the time for talking was over and the the time for running was at hand.

Temporarily returning to New York from their year long Southern sojourn were Andrei and Heather. Eddie also burned up Ocean Parkway keeping tabs on the fastest newlyweds in the tristate area - Michael and Maritza. Tim Vavaretta also dropped the hammer and turned in a solid race.

Other notable finishers were Suzanne who's finish time was exactly the same for the Brooklyn Half Marathon as it was for the More Half Marathon and Angi who pummeled her personal record for the half marathon by 2 minutes.

Congratulations to all the Hellgate runners!

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
Andrei Volik	1:21:06	6:11
Michael Bishop	1:23:29	6:22
Eddie Roberts	1:29:21	6:49
Maritza Bishop	1:31:22	6:58
Timothy Cavaretta	1:32:36	7:04
Joshua Morphew	1:38:14	7:29
Eamonn Keane	1:39:26	7:35
Suzanne Hughes	1:39:35	7:36
Ximena Rosas	1:40:53	7:42
David Ellis	1:40:55	7:42
Diana Pittet	1:43:26	7:53
Fernando Rivera	1:46:08	8:06
Elizabeth Campos	1:46:58	8:09
Jessica Moeller	1:49:52	8:23
Jovana Granzan	1:53:48	8:41
Jay Gottfried	1:54:09	8:42
Levi Satcher	1:59:09	9:05
Demetrius Kalogeropoulos	1:59:19	9:06
Soultana Kollaros	2:02:05	9:19
Angi Taylor	2:06:17	9:38

Scotland Run

2007-04-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

The annual Scotland 10k Run took place this Sunday. It was a fitting damp and chilly morning as the large field lined up at the start! Again a large cheering squad was present at the finish waiting for the Hellgate team to push them those last 0.2 miles!

With 24 members completing the 10k course, not one of them wore a kilt (for shame!). However the skirts sure did well! Congratulations to the Hellgate women’s team for placing 2nd! Welcome back to British and guest Hellgaters, Natasha and David, who were able to post stong runs for us. We’re glad to have you run with us on your holiday! And congratulations to Jenn’s sister, Carrie, who ran her fist 10k race; she’s well on her way to her first half marathon!

Honorary Hellgater, Mustafa, placed 3rd overall; he has to let others win the NYRR races sometimes (he won the Colon Cancer 15k in March).

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
AURELIO DIMAS	40:13:00	6:29
EDDIE ROBERTS	40:24:00	6:30
MARITZA BISHOP	41:54:00	6:45
TIMOTHY CAVARETTA	43:23:00	6:59
EAMONN KEANE	44:10:00	7:07
NATASHA MCKENNA	44:26:00	7:10
XIMENA ROSAS	46:11:00	7:26
DIANA PITTET	47:03:00	7:35
MARY BOGLE	47:15:00	7:37
DAVID PEARCEY	47:34:00	7:40
FERNANDO RIVERA	47:41:00	7:41
ELIZABETH CAMPES	48:20:00	7:47
LJUBOMIR GRANZAN	51:13:00	8:15
JOVANA GRANZAN	51:14:00	8:15
ANTONIO VICTORIO	51:15:00	8:15
MARTHA LAMOTHE	54:20:00	8:45
ANDREW NESS	55:53:00	9:00
LAURA CHAVOEN	56:27:00	9:06
CHRISTOPHER SOLTYS	57:20:00	9:14
OLGA POTANAS	58:35:00	9:26
JENNIFER ROZMUS	1:06:19	10:41
CARRIE ROZMUS	1:06:19	10:41
JAIME SPERLING	1:06:26	10:42
ANGELO MARZAN JR.	1:41:13	16:19

More Half Marathon

2007-03-28T21:40:00.000-05:00

More-tastic!

Through all the girlish chit chat and nervous laughter of 4,788 women from all over the country and world, the Hellgate women prepared to tackle their home turf in the 4th Annual More Marathon & Half Marathon. It was evident many in the field were blissfully unaware of the challenge that lay before them: not one, but two full loops of the undulating Central Park.

It was to be a morning of personal bests, firsts, and struggles. And there was a huge Hellgate cheering squad present to help the girls push up that west side and finish strong! Eamonn, Alan, Janine, & Tony ran against the race cheering us around the course. Of course we also had Coach Jared, Richie, Tony (Suzanne’s), Juan, Kevin, Levi, and Yvonne with baby, Mom, & Step-Dad!

Juan and Kevin can be proud of their wife and mom, Lubia, who completed her first ever half marathon! She did spectacular! Suzanne started off Hellgate with her own personal course record, while Cassie and Jessica worked together to both finish with PR’s. Martha made it down from The Bronx to remind us that Van Cortlandt Park readies you for those hills. Irene had a great showing as well! Nazly and Olga worked together as well, but Nazly pulled ahead when Olga needed to battle through the course and her asthma. Kudos to Olga for staying tough, listening to her body, and adjusting!

-By Jessica Moeller

More Half Marathon Results

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
Suzanne Hughes	1:39:37	7:36
Cassie Wangsness	1:49:20*
Jessica Moeller	1:49:38	8:22
Martha LaMothe	2:04:37	9:30
Irene Gavras-Petrakis	2:06:40	9:40
Nazly Jordan	2:14:09	10:14
Olga Potanas	2:16:59	10:22

*Because of a technical difficulty Cassie was unable to retrieve her bib number,
but ran despite the little snafu. She posted an amazing time!

Colon Cancer Challenge

2007-03-12T09:38:00.000-05:00

Spring has sprung almost as quickly as the Hellgate Road Runners crossed the finish line of the New York Road Runners Colon Cancer Challenge this Sunday!

Perfect weather made for fabulous conditions, personal records and a couple of age group awards in the 4-mile and 15k race.

Congratulations!

15K Results

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
KEVIN STARKES	58:00:00	6:14
MIKE BISHOP	58:10:00	6:15
JOSH MORPHEW	1:02:30	6:43
EDDIE ROBERTS	1:02:32	6:43
MARITZA BISHOP	1:06:17	7:07
SUZANNE HUGHES	1:09:19	7:27
DIANA PITTET	1:13:44	7:55
JAY GOTTFRIED	1:21:57	8:48
CASSIE WANGSNESS	1:22:11	8:50
OLGA POTANAS	1:39:28	10:41

4 Miler Results

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
SOULTANA KOLLAROS	34:22:00	8:35
NAZLY JORDAN	36:24:00	9:06
IRENE GAVRAS-PETRAKIS	36:27:00	9:06
JENNIFER ROZMUS	38:30:00	9:37
CHRIS SOLTYS	46:55:00	11:43

20 Questions with Janine Leveque

2007-03-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

Q: What is your name?
A: Janine Mary Leveque

Q: What do you do for a living?
A: Administrative Assistant for an investment banking firm. I'd rather being training or training people then sitting behind a desk in a corporate environment.

Q: When did you start running?
A: I ran Track & Field from age 9 to 15. Then decided to run a corporate challenge 3 1/2 mile race in Central Park in 1996. I seriously started running in 2001. My first official long distance race was the Long Island Half Marathon.

Q: Why did you start running?
A: I absolutely love it and how it makes me feel. Plus it helped in the losing weight factor too.

Q: When did you join the Hellgate Road Runners?
A: Summer of 2004.

Q: Do you like to run in the morning or evening?
A: Well I workout mornings doing biking and lifting. I keep my running for the evenings. Doesn't matter which order but I need to put in 2 workouts a day to feel satisfied.

Q: In a typical week how many miles do you run?
A: Well right now zero since I'm injured. On my normal running schedule 25 to 30 miles - give or take.

Q: You are a multisport athlete. How did you become interested in triathlons?
A: July 4, 2000 at a Club Getaway mini triathlon - which is where I met Joel. I had not swam in 20 years or so. Joel was trying to get me to like him (LOL) so he helped me train in 2 days for this mini triathlon. I placed 2nd on the women's team and Joel placed 1st (of course) in the men's team. I liked it a lot and decided in August 2000 (a month later) to do Tobay as my 2nd race ever in multisport. The rest is history....

Q: What is your favorite event: Swimming, biking or running?
A: I find swimming puts me in a nice zone and it feels peaceful. Biking let's just say I'm trying to get better. Running is my main root where I say let's get this party started now!

Q: What is your least favorite workout?
A: If I have to choose one, I would have to say the speed workout. It's a love/hate relationship.

Q: Why?
A: You really have to challenge yourself. I don't like to hold myself back - which I'm known for. I put too much pressure on myself. I guess you have to so you see improvement. I have such determination to succeed. It's one workout that puts everything together plus I'm not getting younger so I have to work even harder...

Q: What is the longest bike ride you've ever done? How far did you go and how long did it take?
A: 85 miles - 8 1/5 hours (getting lost). We started 7:00am and finished at 4:30pm.

I did a Century bike tour last summer with Joel & Tony. Tony and I stayed together (thank god). It was a beautiful morning and very scenic. Everything is going great with following the directions until Tony said "I think we did this loop." I looked up and said "yeah we did". With confusion, I said "how did we get lost?"

Tony was baffled as much as I was. We called the bike club from the sheet they gave us and asked how we can get back on track. They suggested to do the loop again. Tony said "screw that." I agreed with a little more to the tongue (LOL). So needless to say, we came across this nice lady who helped us with directions. We said thank you and continued on our way. Then we were really even further lost the 2nd time when we came upon the same lady. Now how ironic is that?

We finally decided to follow her in hopes that we would find our way back somehow. In the meantime, my cell phone continuously rings with Joel calling and other friends calling "Where the hell are you?" Well if we knew, we wouldn't be lost.

We FINALLY found our way and met up with the people who were waiting for us. Joel was long gone. At that point I had on my odometer at 70+ miles and we weren't nearly done...ugh!!!!. The plan was to do the 70 mile route but with getting lost it added mileage. As we finally approached the parking lot and there were only a few cars remaining. The lot was packed at 7am. I got off the bike with agony, grabbed my free ice cream cone coupon and made my way to the Mister Softee truck for my favorite treat - a vanilla ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles. My reward after a long and tiresome day. It doesn't get better than that!!!

Q: How bad were you hurting? Did you workout the next day?
A: My legs were sore as anything so I decided to swim 2 miles. That's what great about cross training!!

Q: On the morning before a big race what do you usually eat?
A: Either oatmeal with slice banana and soy milk or Kashi whole grain cereal with wheat germ and soy milk. I may drink a small glass of orange juice to down my vitamins and supplements.

Q: Do you have any habits or rituals you do before working out?
A: I devote 20 minutes to stretching. Also I spend some time visualizing my race strategy and keep a positive approach. Then I set in the my competitive drive.

Q: Do you have a sports hero or idol? Who is it?
A: Team Hoyt. I have tears when I think of their passion and a father who would do anything for his son. That's what it's all about - - DETERMINATION. My idol (don't laugh) is Madonna. In 1992 I was at her concert and was in awe with her physique. I wanted arms like her... well I think I accomplished that (LOL).

Q: After a workout, what do you do with your sweaty running gear?
A: After my workout, I run the shower and dump my running gear on the bottom. They get a washing while I do. I rinse them out and line dry in the bathroom.

Q: What race or races are you looking forward to this year?
A: "Looking forward to" may not be the phrase to use but I need to do NYC Marathon since last year was not a great experience. Also Tupper Lake, I want to not walk during my run to see how much time I can shave off. The past 2 years were the same finish times.

Q: What dream race or races would you like to do in your lifetime?
A: I would love to do a Ironman but I need to mentally prepare myself for that. I'm happy doing any type of race because it means I'm out there doing what I love. Most importantly it means I'm not injured (LOL).

Q: Describe your favorite, or most memorable, running experience.
A: The whole experience of the Chicago Marathon. Not only was it a PR for me but to run side by side with Suzanne and Yvonne was something I could never imagine. It's one thing to train and put all those miles in together but on race day you are basically on your own. Well I thought wrong and we ran together until mile 20.

It helped tremendously on any struggles and negativity. I didn't think of those thoughts because I had such a huge distraction and we worked together as a team!!! It was truly amazing and by far the most memorable marathon. I believe any marathon experience I encounter could never compare.

Also I couldn't ask for a better weekend as far as going to the expo, dinner with the whole gang the night before and sharing the post marathon experience together. Well our flight home was not pleasurable but you can't have everything. Running from one gate to another gate to missing the flight really was painful after completing my best marathon ever.

800 Meters

2007-03-04T08:55:00.000-05:00

Focusing his energy on shorter distance sprints, Chip Scarinzi has been bringing the Hellgate heat to the Armory!

In the final Thursday Night At The Races hosted by the New York Road Runners, Chip posted a blazing-fast time of 2:27 for the 800 meter.

To close out the season with an exclamation point, Chip returned to the Armory for the final meet of the season yesterday. Chip turned in a 2:28 and a pair of melted shoes!

Great work Chip - way to represent!

Al Gordon Snowflake 4 Miler

2007-02-25T08:32:00.000-05:00

Even the snowflakes shied away from the brutal weather for the race Saturday awaiting warmer temps, but not the hardy Hellgate Team! The sun was shining and the legs were shivering, as the men and women arrived early or stayed late to cheer each other on in the 2 single sex races.

The Men’s team finished 13th overall and the women’s 9th! The Over-40 crowd teamed up to slide in 14th place for the women and 17th place for the men. And our fabulous 50+ women’s lineup finished in 10th place!

Don’t Call It a Comeback!
This race was a milestone for a few of our Hellgaters; making extraordinary returns to the NYRR racing circuit were Soula, Eddie, Andrew, and Hot Mama Kate. It’s great to have you all back on the roads and posting unseasonably HOT times!

-by Jessica Moeller

NAME	Finish Time	Pace/Mile
MICHAEL BISHOP	23:20	5:50
PHILLIP SNELLER	23:48	5:57
JOSHUA MORPHEW	25:23	6:20
EDDIE ROBERTS	26:13	6:33
MARITZA BISHOP	26:56	6:44
ALAN WAGMAN	27:56	6:59
SUZANNE HUGHES	28:26	7:06
KATE SUNBURY	29:05	7:16
EAMONN KEANE	29:23	7:20
XIMENA ROSAS	29:23	7:20
DIANA PITTET	29:39	7:24
DON GUYTON	30:27	7:36
MICHAEL MORRISSEY	30:31	7:37
DEMETRIUS KALOGEROPOULOS	30:45	7:41
JESSICA MOELLER	31:44	7:56
JAY GOTTFRIED	31:50	7:57
LUANN MESTRE	33:08	8:17
ANDREW NESS	33:53	8:28
OLGA POTANAS	35:36	8:54
SOULTANA KOLLAROS	36:04	9:01
ANGI TAYLOR	38:12	9:33
TERESA HASING	55:45	13:56

photos by Jared Mestre

Special Olympics

2007-02-24T13:00:00.000-05:00

A thunderous round of applause is due to Ben Wagman (Alan's son) for participating in the Penguin Plunge on January 27th.

The Penguin Plunge is an annual fundraising event benefiting the Special Olympics Connecticut. Participants run, jump or dive into near frozen water wearing only a swimsuit and a bow tie! This year, special equipment had to be brought in to break through the ice to allow participants to careen into the 36 degree water.

At last count, Ben had raised well over $500 in cold, hard cash for the Special Olympics Connecticut and in support of his brother, Evan, who has Down Syndrome. Last year Evan participated in track and field events at both the regional and state level in the State Summer Games.

Bravo boys!

20 Questions with Suzanne Hughes

2007-02-21T14:16:00.000-05:00

Q: What is your name?
A: Suzanne Hughes.

Q: When did you start running?
A: About 6 years ago.

Q: Why did you start running?
A: I'd always threatened to run a marathon before I turned 40, I managed to run Long Island 10 days after my 40th birthday.

Q: When did you join the Hellgate Road Runners?
A: September 2003, after meeting LuAnn and Jared running on Roosevelt Island on a rainy Sunday morning.

Q: In a typical week, how many miles do you run?
A: Around 25 miles.

Q: What brand of running shoes do you wear?
A: New Balance.

Q: How many pair do you currently own?
A: I own 7 pairs.

Q:What is your favorite workout (e.g. Hills, Track, Long, Sofa)?
A: I enjoyed the easy Hazen run on a Thursday night, but I don't run very often on a Thursday any more.

Q: Why?
A: Maybe that's why I enjoy it!!!

Q: What is your least favorite workout?
A: That would have to be track, although I know that's what's made me a better runner.

Q: Why?
A: I like to talk and that's not easy when you're racing around the track.

Q: Do you like to run in the morning or evening?
A: Any time with company.

Q: Aside from running, what other physical activities do you engage in?
A: I go to the gym and do cross and strength training.

Q: Do you have a sports hero or idol?
A: Yes.

Q: Who is it?
A: Paula Radcliffe, Deena Kastor and Catherine Ndereba to name but a few.

Q: Favorite course: Out-And-Back, Loop, or Point-To-Point?
A: My favorite marathon was Chicago and I guess that could be classed as an out and back or is it a loop?

Q: After a workout, what do you do with your sweaty running gear?
A: Let it marinate in the laundry basket for a few days before washing it.

Q: What race or races are you looking forward to this year?
A: All the NYRR club points races, I'm excited to see how the club does, and also the Las Vegas marathon.

Q: What race or races would you like to do sometime in the future?
A: I've done 3 of the 5 major marathons, so one day I'd like to do London and Berlin.

Q: Describe your favorite (or most memorable) running experience.
A: Chicago is my favorite running experience and will always be most memorable because I ran practically the whole way side by side with two of my favorite running buddies and we chatted non-stop.

Cherry Tree 10 Miler

2007-02-18T19:31:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the Hellgate runners who competed in the 12th Annual Cherry Tree 10 Miler hosted by our friends at the Prospect Park Track Club.

While the official results are not yet in, a special note of praise goes out to LuAnn Mestre and Suzanne Hughes for their Age Group Awards! Well done ladies!

UPDATE (2/19/2007) Results have been posted here.

Awards Night Montage Part II

2007-02-14T06:10:00.000-05:00

Part II of the Hellgate Awards Night Video. All photographs were taken by Jared Mestre. The music is from the "Chariots of Fire" soundtrack by Vangelis.

Awards Night Video Part I

2007-02-13T22:30:00.000-05:00

Part I of the Hellgate Awards Night Video. All photographs were taken by Jared Mestre. The music is "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei from the Kill Bill soundtrack.

Race Updates

2007-02-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

Bravo to all the "slightly mad" Hellgaters who made it out to the Bronx Half Marathon on Sunday. Easier said than done after a night of celebrating at the Annual Awards Night party! Congratulations to the following runners on their terrific times!

Andrei Volik	1:25:12
Suzanne Hughes	1:40:35
Alan Wagman	1:46:55
Fernando Rivera	1:52:02
Tony Victorio	1:52:43
Jay Gottfried	1:56:27
Meredith O'Neil	2:23:16

Congratulations are also in order for Fernando Rivera for completing the Empire State Run Up. 86 floors straight up to the Observation Deck of the tallest building in New York City in a time of 17:49. Thats over 1,500 steps!

Hellgate is showing their love for teammate Chip Scarinzi who ran the Valentine's Day 5K in Prospect Park. Chip certainly broke some hearts with a blazing fast 3rd place overall finish in a time of 19:52! Way to go Chip!

Awards Night 2007

2007-02-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

On February 10th the Hellgate Road Runners held their Annual Awards Night Dinner/Dance. The following runners were recognized for their exemplary achievements in 2006. Congratulations!

Andrei Volik	Runner of the Year - Male
Maritza Bishop	Runner of the Year - Female
Michael Bishop	Outstanding Achievement
Aurelio Dimas	Outstanding Achievement
Ximena Rosas	Outstanding Achievement
LuAnn Mestre	Outstanding Achievement
Josh Morphew	Most Improved - Male
Jessica Moeller	Most Improved - Female
Matthew Wiseman	Most Improved - Male
Diana Pittet	Most Improved - Female
Levi Satcher	Special Athletic Achievement
Eamonn Keane	Special Athletic Achievement
Mary Bogle	Special Athletic Achievement
Janine Leveque	Special Athletic Achievement
Kate Sunbury Shupp	Sportmanship Award

To view a larger version click on the photograph.

Gridiron Classic

2007-02-06T12:52:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to all the Hellgate Road Runners who braved the waved starts and super cold temperatures at the New York Road Runners Gridiron Classic on Superbowl Sunday!

Here are the results!

NAME	FINISH TIME	PACE
ANGELO MARZAN JR	51:17:00	12:49
ANTONIO VICTORIO	32:18:00	8:04
CHRIS SOLTYS	32:18:00	8:04
DEMETRIUS KALOGEROPOULOS	32:04:00	8:01
FERNANDO RIVERA	32:29:00	8:07
JAY GOTTFRIED	33:17:00	8:19
JENNIFER ROZMUS	38:40:00	9:40
JOSH MORPHEW	28:46:00	7:11
LUANN MESTRE	30:46:00	7:41
OLGA POTANAS	37:13:00	9:18
SUZANNE HUGHES	29:17:00	7:19
XIMENA ROSAS	29:19:00	7:19

PS - Awards Night is this Saturday. RSVP Today!

ING MIAMI HALF MARATHON

2007-02-02T13:48:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to all who ran the ING Miami Half Marathon!

Way to represent Hellgate!

Brian Danielian 1:45:13
Patricia Alcivar 1:48:23
Antonio Victorio 1:54:05
Adrian Longo 1:59:59
Raul Araque 2:00:17
Sally Mahon 2:04:19
Meredith O’Neil 2:10:19
LuAnn Mestre 2:13:49
Levi Satcher 2:19:05
Nazly Jordan 2:19:24
Olga Potanas 2:23:20

Awards Night!

2007-01-31T07:25:00.000-05:00

Don't forget that Saturday, February 10th is Awards Night!

The evening begins at 7:00pm with cocktails and will be held at:

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

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

See you there!

Manhattan Half Marathon 2007

2007-01-21T16:50:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, January 21st members of the Hellgate Road Runners ran the Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park. It was just 21 degrees at the start. Brrrrr...!

January 2007 Club Meeting

2007-01-20T16:49:00.000-05:00

Hellgate Road Runners
Team Meeting Minutes

At 5:00PM on January 20th, 2007 the Hellgate Road Runners Club commenced a Team Meeting at the home of Jared and LuAnn Mestre, the sitting Club President and Vice President, respectively. What follows are the meeting minutes.

In Attendance were:

Yvonne Damm, Suzanne Hughes, Beverly Paulis, Tony Victorio, Josh Morphew, Mary Bogle, Andrei Volik, Adrian Longo, Jared Mestre, LuAnn Mestre, Jessica Moeller, Eamonn Keane, Levi Satcher, Alan Wagman, Jeff Leiter and Ximena Rosas.

First Order of business – Elections:

Jared Mestre will continue to serve as Club President
LuAnn Mestre will continue to serve as Club Vice President & Treasurer
Josh Morphew will serve as Secretary

Second Order of business – Women’s Team Captain:

Regrettably, after successfully serving as 2006 Women’s Team Captain Ximena Rosas will step down due to competing interests and a shortage of time.

Janine Leveque and Suzannne Hughes were nominated and appointed to serve as co-Women’s Team Captains

Third Order of business – Men’s Team Captain:

Tony Victorio will continue to serve as Men’s Team Captain

Fourth Order of business – Races:

Saturday, February 24th – Al Gordon Snowflake 4M (Club Points Race)
Sunday, April 29th – Thomas G. Labrecque 4M (Club Points Race)

Non-NYRR Races of interest:

Ocean to Sound Relay (Team TBD)
Need For Speed Relay (Team TBD)
Long Beach 10M
Cherry Tree 10K (DON’T BE LATE AGAIN!)
Long Island Marathon
Flying Pig Marathon (Cincinnati) Andre
Boston Marathon (Alan, others?)
Las Vegas Marathon (Suzanne, Others?)
Chicago Marathon (Levi, Others?)
Leatherman’s Loop

Triathlon’s of interest:

Tupper Lake
Tobay

Fifth Order of business – Membership Fee’s:

Due to increased costs of insurance it was determined that Membership Fee’s would increase to $20 or $25 in 2008. 2007’s Membership Fee’s will continue to be $10.

Sixth Order of business – Uniforms:

The inventory of Women’s uniforms has been exhausted. A group of Club members will visit Urban Athletics to choose a new singlet style manufacturer. Comfortable technical material is of utmost importance

To reduce the costs of production Men’s Uniforms will also be updated

It was proposed that a “competition” be held to design a Hellgate Logo. The winning design would be incorporated into the new uniforms.

It was proposed that the uniforms have some “Identifier” on the back. Suggestions:

“What the Hell?”
“Go To Hellgate”
“HRR”

The following items are also available for purchase:

Hellgate Hats (Blue with white lettering, white with blue lettering)
Men’s Singlets
Club Jackets
For pricing see Luann

Seventh Order of business – Team Meeting Schedule:

It was determined that Club Meetings should commence on a Quarterly basis.
The next meeting will take place in late March or early April.

Meeting Adjourned – 6:45pm