At a little after two pm on Saturday afternoon, August 21, 2004,the sky opened up in torrents of rain and heavy wind gusts just like the weather forecasters had been ominously predicting all week. The wind was so vicious that it picked up the volunteer tent and split it in two. But the weather soon improved, as the rain eventually stopped and the stifling humidity broke and the ninth annual Fanwood Contact We Care 5K
proceeded according to schedule.
“The bad weather actually happened at the best time ,” said race director Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions (OYMP). “We had already set up and covered everything and it was better that the thunder and lightning didn’t happen around race time as they had predicted.”
“We’re pleased with the turnout ,” said Jeff Stirrat, director of Contact We Care. “We had over three hundred applicants again and might have done even better if the weather forecast had been better.”
The overall winner was 27-year-old Tirhazovin Khalid of Parsippany,NJ in a time of 16:11 , breaking a two-year streak of Scotch Plains Fanwood High School runners. The previous two winners Bob Wallden and defending champion Zack McGuire chose not to run.
Walter Biner, a 2003 Scotch Plains Fanwood High School(SPFHS) graduate was the first Scotch Plains finished, third overall in 16:41 improving on his ninth place finish a year ago.
“I have been training hard this summer on hills in Watchung Reservation so I felt ready for this course,” said Biner who will be running cross-country at the University of Massachusetts this fall. Biner’s high school coach and current Raider Cross Country coach Jeff Koegel was proud of his former pupil.
“Walter came to me at the beginning of the summer looking for help with his training, so I shared my philosophy on college-level summer training with him. He really dedicated himself to logging the type of miles you need to succeed at the 8K distance,” said Koegel.
“A lot of the miles that he ran were not easy miles, either. It's very easy, living in Scotch Plains or Fanwood, to stick to the flatlands, but he has spent a lot of time running on the other side of Route 22 on the hills.”
Although she did not repeat as women’s champion, Raider senior Mary Shashaty improved her 2003 time by 33 seconds, running 19:47, 13 seconds behind the overall women’s winner Kim Keenan-Kirkpatrick of Pittstown, NJ . Shashaty needed medical assistance after the race because of breathing difficulties but was pleased with her race.
“I think I’m ready for a good season. I ran very well today,” said Shashaty.
“Although we didn't discuss any expectations before the race, my goal was for Mary to run under 20:00, which is a big barrier for high school girls. She had only done so once before, at last year's Watchung Conference meet ,” said Koegel.
“I think she could have run faster had she not been suffering from an exercise-induced asthma attack during the race. I truly believe that she could have run about 20 seconds faster if her respiration had remained normal throughout the race .”
The top Fanwood finisher was junior Josh Zinman who lopped 56 seconds off his 2003 time with an 18:06, good for sixth overall and propelling Zinman to the top of the SPFHS
team.
“I’m sure this was a big confidence boost for him going into the fall having run nearly a minute faster than last year. I think he still can improve on that quite a bit. You have to remember that this was his first race since May 22, “ said Koegel.
.”His training has picked up over the past few weeks and it is starting to show now. He still needs to work on his form a good bit.”
Raider sophomore Allie Hoynes-O’Connor was top Fanwood finisher with a time of 21:09 “ I know she was disappointed that she didn't break 21:00, but I think she will just use that as motivation. I am hoping that Allie will get herself down to the low-20:00's this fall, “ said Koegel.
The most improved Raider runner was sophomore Adam Biner,Walter’s younger brother, who improved from 21:04 last year to 18:54 this year, 13th overall. “He seems to be picking up his effort in training, and he's obviously way ahead of where he was at this point last year. The key now is to get him used to being a varsity runner and dealing with the psychological pressures that accompany that ,” said Koegel.
The top family performance was by the Bencivengo family of Fanwood, where the father 49 year old David was able to outrun his twin thirteen year olds, Greg and Lana in times of 19:46, 20:28 and 22:00 respectively.
In addition to the main event over one hundred children between the ages of two and eleven participated in races from 25 to 200 yards and six wheelchair racers competed in a one-mile race.
“It was a great day ,” said Stirrat.
“We can hardly wait for the tenth annual race next year”.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Thursday, August 19, 2004
2004 Contact We Care Preview
The naysayers said that a Saturday evening race at the height of the summer vacation
would never work but the Fanwood Contact We Care 5K have been proving its doubters wrong for eight successful years.
and by late Saturday night there will be a ninth piece of evidence that a well run summer race that pleases its entrants will always draw a loyal following.
If past races are any indication, the race should draw over 300 runners to the 5K events
Saturday night. Under the direction of Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions
(OYMP) and with the help of Frank Gousman and the dedicated volunteers from
Contact We Care the race has become a staple of the late summer running
schedule Debuting in 1996 with 288 runners, the race has drawn between 300 and
400 the past eight years.
“ It’s a solid, local family event...with a tough but fair course. It has good amenities and an eight year history ,”
said Zenobia.
Scotch Plains Raider distance runners both past and present have dominated the 5K the past two years.
Last year 2004 graduate Zack McGuire won the men’s race in 15:56 and senior Mary Shashaty captured the women’s
race in her first road race. The previous year 2002 graduate Bob Wallden out ran McGuire to win by
ten seconds. According to coach Jeff Koegel, who finished third here in 1997, the Raiders will be hard pressed to make this a three-peat.
“The only way it would be three in a row is if one of my alumni wins it, but I don't know if you're planning on counting
on that. No one currently on the team is going to win it- I'm more than a bit disappointed in most of their fitness levels right now, “ said Koegel.
Leading contenders among recent Scotch Plains alumni are Walter Biner and Michael Dixon who have had some strong performances in summer races. McGuire is not expected to enter this year and last years’ top runner Brian Kopnicki
will be preparing for an important time trial at his new school, the College of New Jersey.
Koegel’s women runners led by Shashaty have a better chance of winning the race for a second straight
year. “That's a possibility, but that all depends on who shows up, which you can never
determine in a road race the way you can in a conference or county XC race.
You never know if some area college girl will show up and use this race as a
tune-up before she goes back to school for training camp, or if one of the top
state-level runners will jump in,” said Koegel.
“I have no concern over her winning the race or not, just as I didn't last year
with her or with Zack. It was nice that she won the race, but neither of us
even spoke or thought of it before the race. The sole purpose of us coming and
running this race is to see what kind of fitness level we have at that point and
to see where we need to go with our training from there,” added Koegel.
Another rising Raider women’s star, sophomore Allie Hoynes-O’Connor should finish among the top women.
O’Connor missed last year’s race but was the top freshman distance runner last year and looks forward to running
the race.
“I live right along the course and have been watching this race from in front of my house for several years ,”
said Hoynes-O’Connor.
Fanwood resident Don Hessemer will be running the race for the ninth straight years. “I try to never miss this race,” said Hessemer. “It’s really great that a town like Fanwood can have such a good race.”
The festivities start at 5 pm with a kids sprint for ages 2-11. The races
increase in distance for each age group The main event goes off at 5:45 pm. The
men’s record was 15:25 by Amilcar Duarte in 1998 and the women’s by Jodie
Dariano , a 17:53 in 1998.
The course starts on Martine Ave and crosses LaGrande and South Avenues before
turning right on North Avenue. The one-mile mark is passed as the runners make
a hairpin left onto Midway. The runners go left on Martine and right on south
before crossing the railroad tracks over Sheelen’s Crossing. After going left
on South they run a short distances on 2nd before going right on
LaGrande,passing the finish line and the two-mile mark. They then head left on
Helen Street before making another left onto Coriell and another left on
Martine before turning left one more time back onto La Grande where the finish
line sits in front of the park.
“It is a fair,challenging course with four good upgrades”, said Koegel. After
the race will an invitational wheelchair race at 6:30.
The proceeds from the race benefit Contact We Care a 24 by 7 telephone
hotline serving residents of Union, Essex, Middlesex and Somerset Counties. It
trains and supervises volunteers who listen, understand and assist callers to
work through their problems. The hotline number, 908-232-2880, receives over
1,000 calls per month.
would never work but the Fanwood Contact We Care 5K have been proving its doubters wrong for eight successful years.
and by late Saturday night there will be a ninth piece of evidence that a well run summer race that pleases its entrants will always draw a loyal following.
If past races are any indication, the race should draw over 300 runners to the 5K events
Saturday night. Under the direction of Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions
(OYMP) and with the help of Frank Gousman and the dedicated volunteers from
Contact We Care the race has become a staple of the late summer running
schedule Debuting in 1996 with 288 runners, the race has drawn between 300 and
400 the past eight years.
“ It’s a solid, local family event...with a tough but fair course. It has good amenities and an eight year history ,”
said Zenobia.
Scotch Plains Raider distance runners both past and present have dominated the 5K the past two years.
Last year 2004 graduate Zack McGuire won the men’s race in 15:56 and senior Mary Shashaty captured the women’s
race in her first road race. The previous year 2002 graduate Bob Wallden out ran McGuire to win by
ten seconds. According to coach Jeff Koegel, who finished third here in 1997, the Raiders will be hard pressed to make this a three-peat.
“The only way it would be three in a row is if one of my alumni wins it, but I don't know if you're planning on counting
on that. No one currently on the team is going to win it- I'm more than a bit disappointed in most of their fitness levels right now, “ said Koegel.
Leading contenders among recent Scotch Plains alumni are Walter Biner and Michael Dixon who have had some strong performances in summer races. McGuire is not expected to enter this year and last years’ top runner Brian Kopnicki
will be preparing for an important time trial at his new school, the College of New Jersey.
Koegel’s women runners led by Shashaty have a better chance of winning the race for a second straight
year. “That's a possibility, but that all depends on who shows up, which you can never
determine in a road race the way you can in a conference or county XC race.
You never know if some area college girl will show up and use this race as a
tune-up before she goes back to school for training camp, or if one of the top
state-level runners will jump in,” said Koegel.
“I have no concern over her winning the race or not, just as I didn't last year
with her or with Zack. It was nice that she won the race, but neither of us
even spoke or thought of it before the race. The sole purpose of us coming and
running this race is to see what kind of fitness level we have at that point and
to see where we need to go with our training from there,” added Koegel.
Another rising Raider women’s star, sophomore Allie Hoynes-O’Connor should finish among the top women.
O’Connor missed last year’s race but was the top freshman distance runner last year and looks forward to running
the race.
“I live right along the course and have been watching this race from in front of my house for several years ,”
said Hoynes-O’Connor.
Fanwood resident Don Hessemer will be running the race for the ninth straight years. “I try to never miss this race,” said Hessemer. “It’s really great that a town like Fanwood can have such a good race.”
The festivities start at 5 pm with a kids sprint for ages 2-11. The races
increase in distance for each age group The main event goes off at 5:45 pm. The
men’s record was 15:25 by Amilcar Duarte in 1998 and the women’s by Jodie
Dariano , a 17:53 in 1998.
The course starts on Martine Ave and crosses LaGrande and South Avenues before
turning right on North Avenue. The one-mile mark is passed as the runners make
a hairpin left onto Midway. The runners go left on Martine and right on south
before crossing the railroad tracks over Sheelen’s Crossing. After going left
on South they run a short distances on 2nd before going right on
LaGrande,passing the finish line and the two-mile mark. They then head left on
Helen Street before making another left onto Coriell and another left on
Martine before turning left one more time back onto La Grande where the finish
line sits in front of the park.
“It is a fair,challenging course with four good upgrades”, said Koegel. After
the race will an invitational wheelchair race at 6:30.
The proceeds from the race benefit Contact We Care a 24 by 7 telephone
hotline serving residents of Union, Essex, Middlesex and Somerset Counties. It
trains and supervises volunteers who listen, understand and assist callers to
work through their problems. The hotline number, 908-232-2880, receives over
1,000 calls per month.
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