How lucky has the Bucks County Roadrunners Club’s Winter Series been with the weather this season?
Well, last Sunday the Polar Bear 8-Miler at Tyler State Park began, as usual, at 9 a.m.
By 11, the first significant storm was already turning the wooded, hilly terrain into a scene found in one of those quaint snow globes.
The Winter Series is already about half over and the weekly 250-300 runners have yet to experience any significant incidents with the white stuff.
In fact, BCRR really hasn’t run into too many weather-related concerns over the past few years, other than some course changes when rainy conditions caused Neshaminy Creek to rise above the main crossing in the park.
“The weather’s been great,” said John O’Brien, who directs the 11-race competition on Sundays. “There’s been no rain. There was a bit of snow for the second race but it wasn’t much. Just enough to make it a Winter Series race. It was nice to have snow out there.”
O’Brien did mention that some of the races have been held in exceptionally cold weather. That’s another hardship the club managed to avoid because this week’s frigid blast fell on Tuesday-Wednesday.
“The turnouts have been exceptional,” O’Brien said. “Our numbers are up. We made a slight change this year with registration where we’re letting younger kids register for free.”
That’s good thinking on the club’s part, with an eye to the future. There are quite a few “veteran” runners in the club and the series, so the organization wants to get more young athletes involved.
There appears to be an uptick in this demographic already. Runners age 14 and under can run as many of the races as they want for no charge.
“We’re not going to get a lot of kids to come out now because they’re not going to do the longer races,” O’Brien said. There are races all the way up to the half-marathon (13.1 miles).
“So the kids get to do the races they want to do (5K, etc.),” O’Brien said. “Get them involved for the future, hopefully, and get them competitive. It teaches them how to win because they want to win.”
So far, about 30 children have signed up, so that’s something that’s pretty good.
It also means parents who run the races can provide their kids with a healthy endeavor.
“That gives the kids something to do,” said O’Brien, who is now in his eighth year of directing the series. “Rather than parents arranging someone to watch them. Kids can run and then enjoy the post-race party at the pavilion, the social atmosphere going on.”
O’Brien said the recent boom in running has helped the weekly turnouts. More people seem to be health-conscious and running is one of the best ways to stay fit.
“If you look at the (Philadelphia) marathon this year, they added 2,000 spots and they sold out,” O’Brien pointed out. “Our Thanksgiving Day race (five-miler in and around Core Creek Park) sold out. That’s actually the first time we’ve ever shut down registration.
“So I think running is kind of enjoying another boom.”
The competition for top honors in both the men’s and women’s divisions has been fairly wide open.
“I’m guessing it’s probably going to come down to the last couple races,” O’Brien said. “It depends on who is the most consistent, particularly when we get into the races with the longer distances.”
As of mid-January, veteran runners Justyna Wilson and Morgan Leh (defending champion), along with Brittany Debord appear to be at the front of the women’s pack.
On the men’s side, Alex Izewski finished first in the two races he’s run. Robert Stianchi has been among the statistical leaders as has Aaron Skolnik.
Overall, it’s a great way to stay in shape during the offseason and also get ready for big spring-time races such as the Broad Street Run and even the Boston Marathon.
“During the winter, you have less sunlight so you get out less,” O’Brien said. “You kind of lose momentum. With the Winter Series, you’re kind of holding yourself accountable with other people.
“You find other groups of people so you can kind of push yourself each week as much as you want. So if you have a day when you’re just not feeling it, there are people around you who you feel you should be hanging with. So you push yourself a little more because there are people there. It makes it more fun, more of a challenge.”
Plus, as usual, there’s a great post-race spread at the pavilion. You can never get enough hot chocolate, pretzels or Dr. Johnny King-Marino’s famous oatmeal.
When spring arrives, you can thank the Winter Series for having you ready for the big events.
“After running those hills in Tyler and then you’re going to run a downhill course like Broad Street,” O’Brien said. “You’re way ahead of most people out there.”>Race calendarSunday
Well, last Sunday the Polar Bear 8-Miler at Tyler State Park began, as usual, at 9 a.m.
By 11, the first significant storm was already turning the wooded, hilly terrain into a scene found in one of those quaint snow globes.
The Winter Series is already about half over and the weekly 250-300 runners have yet to experience any significant incidents with the white stuff.
In fact, BCRR really hasn’t run into too many weather-related concerns over the past few years, other than some course changes when rainy conditions caused Neshaminy Creek to rise above the main crossing in the park.
“The weather’s been great,” said John O’Brien, who directs the 11-race competition on Sundays. “There’s been no rain. There was a bit of snow for the second race but it wasn’t much. Just enough to make it a Winter Series race. It was nice to have snow out there.”
O’Brien did mention that some of the races have been held in exceptionally cold weather. That’s another hardship the club managed to avoid because this week’s frigid blast fell on Tuesday-Wednesday.
“The turnouts have been exceptional,” O’Brien said. “Our numbers are up. We made a slight change this year with registration where we’re letting younger kids register for free.”
That’s good thinking on the club’s part, with an eye to the future. There are quite a few “veteran” runners in the club and the series, so the organization wants to get more young athletes involved.
There appears to be an uptick in this demographic already. Runners age 14 and under can run as many of the races as they want for no charge.
“We’re not going to get a lot of kids to come out now because they’re not going to do the longer races,” O’Brien said. There are races all the way up to the half-marathon (13.1 miles).
“So the kids get to do the races they want to do (5K, etc.),” O’Brien said. “Get them involved for the future, hopefully, and get them competitive. It teaches them how to win because they want to win.”
So far, about 30 children have signed up, so that’s something that’s pretty good.
It also means parents who run the races can provide their kids with a healthy endeavor.
“That gives the kids something to do,” said O’Brien, who is now in his eighth year of directing the series. “Rather than parents arranging someone to watch them. Kids can run and then enjoy the post-race party at the pavilion, the social atmosphere going on.”
O’Brien said the recent boom in running has helped the weekly turnouts. More people seem to be health-conscious and running is one of the best ways to stay fit.
“If you look at the (Philadelphia) marathon this year, they added 2,000 spots and they sold out,” O’Brien pointed out. “Our Thanksgiving Day race (five-miler in and around Core Creek Park) sold out. That’s actually the first time we’ve ever shut down registration.
“So I think running is kind of enjoying another boom.”
The competition for top honors in both the men’s and women’s divisions has been fairly wide open.
“I’m guessing it’s probably going to come down to the last couple races,” O’Brien said. “It depends on who is the most consistent, particularly when we get into the races with the longer distances.”
As of mid-January, veteran runners Justyna Wilson and Morgan Leh (defending champion), along with Brittany Debord appear to be at the front of the women’s pack.
On the men’s side, Alex Izewski finished first in the two races he’s run. Robert Stianchi has been among the statistical leaders as has Aaron Skolnik.
Overall, it’s a great way to stay in shape during the offseason and also get ready for big spring-time races such as the Broad Street Run and even the Boston Marathon.
“During the winter, you have less sunlight so you get out less,” O’Brien said. “You kind of lose momentum. With the Winter Series, you’re kind of holding yourself accountable with other people.
“You find other groups of people so you can kind of push yourself each week as much as you want. So if you have a day when you’re just not feeling it, there are people around you who you feel you should be hanging with. So you push yourself a little more because there are people there. It makes it more fun, more of a challenge.”
Plus, as usual, there’s a great post-race spread at the pavilion. You can never get enough hot chocolate, pretzels or Dr. Johnny King-Marino’s famous oatmeal.
When spring arrives, you can thank the Winter Series for having you ready for the big events.
“After running those hills in Tyler and then you’re going to run a downhill course like Broad Street,” O’Brien said. “You’re way ahead of most people out there.”>Race calendarSunday
Bucks County Roadrunners Club Winter Series Honest Abe 4.6-Miler, 9 a.m., Tyler State Park, Newtown-Richboro. Contact www.bcrrclub.com
