2014 was another great year! Things have been moving forward and we’ve been meeting our goals. We’ve seen the club take on new life, we’ve met so many great new members, and we have had such amazing support from runners and volunteers. Just for a quick review, some of the things on my list of accomplishments from 2014 are:
- Record numbers at WDF & Fortune races
- We took home the trophy at the Inter-Club Challenge!
- Set up and manned a RRR aid station at the North Face Challenge
- Scholarship fund: $4,000 awarded to Rockland High School Runners. Adam Klein (Clarkstown South) and Cecile Garfunkel (Nyack) were our top male and female students
- Website continues to be a great resource for members and local runners.
- Social engagement via Facebook and Twitter at an all time high.
- First “official” RRR Beer run
- Hook Half Marathon finisher medals
- RRR mentioned in Runner’s World
The total amount raised for charities in 2014 was $99,700: $64,500 Turkey Trot, $11,000 Hook Half, $9,500 South Nyack, $8,000 Women’s Distance Festival, and $6,700 Bill Fortune. That’s not including the amounts the sponsors gave directly to the charities through our races, which typically exceeds $50,000.
Race participation in 2014 (Registered / Finished):
Hook Half-Marathon & 5k: (625 / 530)
Bill Fortune 10k & 5k: (415 / 312) *race record
Women’s Distance Festival: (592 / 531) *race record
South Nyack 10-Miler: (475 / 417)
5-Mile Turkey Trot: (3,220 / 2,568)
Total Active Members for 2014: 402
Last night we presented our annual club member awards for 2014. Congratulations to all of the winners, these folks deserve all of the recognition they can get!
2014 Award Recipients:
- Don Cordisco Award: Bill Carpenter
- George Wodicka Inspiration Award: Wojtek “VT” Cieszkowski
- Runner of the Year (Female): Ayako Yamazaki
- Runner of the Year (Male): Bruce Yang
- Volunteer(s) of the Year Award: Jamie Mitrani & Cliff Fromm
Our 2015 Race Calendar is set and we can’t wait for spring to come so we can get racing! Registration is open for the Hook Half-Marathon, Bill Fortune, and Women’s Distance Festival!
2015 Race Calendar:
Hook Half-Marathon & 5k: Sunday April 19
Bill Fortune 10k & 5k: Saturday May 9
Women’s Distance Festival: Saturday July 11
South Nyack 10 Miler: Sunday September 13
5-Mile Turkey Trot: Thursday November 26
At last night’s meeting I announced our first two big initiatives for 2015:
- New Membership System. We’ll be working this month to setup a new membership system using RunSignUp. This will give us some really great new features including a member portal (to track your information, race results, registrations, etc.) and date to date membership (membership will no long be calendar year. If you join on May 1, your membership will expire on May 1.)
- Rockland County Grand Prix. The Rockland County Grand Prix will aim to recognize and reward the top runners in the county based on varied distances and terrains. Cash prizes and awards will be awarded at the end of the year. Official rules, leaderboard, and awards will be posted shortly!
I’m looking forward to another great year with everyone in 2015! On behalf of the Rockland Road Runners Board, I’d like to say thank you for all of the support from everyone!
We can’t do what we do without you.