Tag: 2017

Start Line Announcements 2017

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Today was pretty chilly at the start so our pre-race announcements were shortened considerably. As promised, here are the prepared remarks in full:

“Thank you for coming to the 3rd annual Raven Rocks Run! Before we get going onto the course, I have a few items to cover briefly. [race results here]

Happy Birthday to 3 runners: Kevin Lewis, Timothy Dixon, and Christine Ippolito!

40 of you joined Friends of Trailside Museum as members for calendar year 2018 – over $2,600.00 raised for the Museum.

You can sign up as Friends of Trailside members through Dec 31st at the race website’s Trailside Museum membership link.

I wanted to mention a new trail race – Next Saturday Nov 18, Conquer the Forest 5 miler at Clearpool in Carmel, NY. Clearpool is part of Green Chimneys. Green Chimneys is recognized as a worldwide leader in animal-assisted therapy and educational activities for children with special needs. The course is hilly and challenging – a true trail run. I am registered and will be there next week. Hope to see some of you there!

If you have layers on now and you get to the campground (about 1 mile in) and you want to leave your outer layer, we will have volunteers collecting them and returning them to the finish area for you to pick up at the end of your race.

The course carries hazards. The leaves can be slick in spots. We did some course “grooming” over the past few weeks, but leaves and hazards are a natural part of the trail. Take care and take those rocky downhills slowly. The uphills you can go fast on.

Course markings are pink flags, pink ribbon, and yellow caution tape to keep you going on the right trail. The course was pre-run by Joe, Lee, Peeter, and Jeff. I am quite sure they scared the bear away that was seen checking the course yesterday near the fire tower.

Sweeps will be following along behind the runners. If you can’t continue, stay on the course and the sweeps will catch up to you and send for help if you need it. They have cell phones, sweep maps, and LVAC contact info.

After runners finish we will have awards near the tent. Please stick around – you may go home with a prize!

Thank yous at start:

  • Ciorsdan — thank you for helping with the whole event. She had BIB #1 last year and is always #1 in my heart. I love you!
  • Shout out to Tony and Judy Godino – I feel like I have attended graduate school at the Godino Institute for Trail Race Studies. Still working on my thesis topic. Possibly a comparison of high and low course markings and runner attention.
  • Lee Willett – Leads the Sunday Run group of Leatherman Harriers on weekly runs, night runs, snow runs, make your own course runs, all over westchester, and occasionally farther afield. If you have a trail running group, get in touch — we could be convinced to make a field trip to your favorite spot or race! Sundayruns.org
  • Trail Mix race directors: Tony, Lee, Barry, Mark, David, Brant, Geoff. (Almost all races in series represented here?) Fourth year of the Series. Each year it keeps getting better. After today over 100 Runners are in line for the well deserved automatic selection in the Loop Lottery 2018! if you don’t know what the Trail Mix Series is, check out trailmixseries.org and take a trail mix card from the registration table. If you don’t know what the Leatherman’s Loop is, ask the person next to you!
  • Shout out to Charlie Vaccaro who is the only runner to finish all Trail Mix races to date (19! over 4 years – this will be #20). Eric Foxhall and Jerre Skeats have done 17 & 16 each!
  • Sunday Runners, many are volunteers here. Thanks for keeping the trails well traveled!
  • Parks department – Jeff, Chase, Mike, and the rest of the crew who are so supportive of what we do.
  • Tom Cohn – past president of the Friends of Trailside and THE driving force behind the newly energized “bring back the fire tower” effort. Big supporter of this race and runners.
  • Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation – Thanks for your support of the Museum and Park!
  • Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps (LVAC) – Volunteers all of them. What a great group of community members. They will take care of you if you should need it. Hopefully you meet them after you have crossed the finish line and are having a bagel & coffee.
  • Race volunteers – BLACK t-shirts – thanks to them we get to have a race!

Introduce My parents: John and Pat Cummings, our official starters for today’s race:
-Bib #1 for each!
-They came to my little league games and come to my kids games. They still love coming to see all of their 7 kids and 14 grandkids compete & perform. Don’t forget your thank you pie!

OK, now for the start!” (hand mic to Dad).

2017 Results Posted

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We have posted the 2017 results here: https://ravenrocksrun.org/results/2017-results/.

Thanks runners for making this a special day and thanks to the volunteers for pitching in and making it happen.

We are putting together a recap of the day and getting photos organized and uploaded. Our photographers are the best and they do a great job!

Thanks Diane, Ciorsdan, Carol, Tom, John, Carl, and Alan for taking photos, — plus thanks to all of the runners who submit photos and share them online.

Also I wanted to give a shout out to the trail race I mentioned at the race start today – This coming Saturday November 18 – “Conquer the Forest” is a 5 mile trail race put on by the folks at Green Chimneys at their Clearpool camp facility in Carmel, NY. It is a great race for a great cause! Hope to see you on the trails!

Raven Rocks 2017 Set For Tomorrow!

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The Raven Rocks Run is set to go tomorrow at 9am. See our Logistics Note for advice on getting to the park and getting oriented once you arrive.

Race organizers are at the park today doing the final prep work and fine tuning the course for our Sunday morning start.

There is Last Minute Online Registration available if you are deciding late to run – sign up now and make tomorrow morning easier for yourselves and us! 😉

Note if you are running tomorrow and want to have an extra layer for the start but then want to peel it off (after that first big hill!), we will have volunteers at Michigan Road (1 mile into the course) who can collect your outer layers and will return them to the finish line area under the tent for you to pick up after you finish.

See you on the trails!

2017 Logistics Note

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To: Everyone who is registered for the 2017 Raven Rocks Run:

Thanks for signing up to run the third annual Raven Rocks Run at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation on November 12th, 2017. Race director Rob Cummings, his lovely wife Ciorsdan along with many dedicated volunteers have been working hard to set up this year’s event.

Registration link is here if you have any more folks to sign up: https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/CrossRiver/RavenRocksRun

Not sure if you registered or want to check if a friend is registered? Click here:
https://runsignup.com/Race/RegistrationLookup/?raceId=25402

Here are some tips that will help you on race morning:

Traffic backing up at the entrance near race time - arrive early to avoid the crush.

Traffic backing up at the entrance near race time – arrive early to avoid a jam.

1.) ARRIVE EARLY! The race is set to start at 9am. Please plan to arrive at the park by 8:15am — or even earlier if you can swing it. The regular $10 parking fee is already incorporated as part of the Raven Rocks entry fee so there is no need to stop and pay at the entry booth. Park employees will direct you on parking as you arrive.

If the main meadow lot should fill up, we may need to use our backup lot near the entrance to the park. This would mean about 1/4 mile walk for runners arriving late. Another good reason to be early!

2.) DRIVE SLOWLY in the Park! Pay close attention to the staff and volunteers who are directing the parking. Car pool if you can – this helps the environment – and it makes the race more fun! For a helpful overview of the race location (parking, start, bib pickup), check the logistics page of the website here.

3.) LISTEN ATTENTIVELY TO PRE-RACE ANNOUNCEMENTS! Your Race Director will have important information about the course and safety. You will be instructed about potential hazards on the course and current course conditions.

4.) LISTEN FOR THE START! Following the instructions, we will have two special guests as our official starters. Then we will start the runners.

WPR_RavenRocksRun_10k-adjusted-map5.) STAY ON COURSE IF YOU CAN’T CONTINUE! There will be a number of “sweeps” running the course following the slower runners. If for any reason you can’t continue, wait for them to get to you to assess your needs. The park is over 4,300 acres so don’t leave the course unless you know exactly where you are going.

6.) ALL DOGS MUST BE LEASHED! If the dogs are running Raven Rocks they MUST START NEAR THE BACK with their humans and wait til the start line clears! If you are running with your dog, you must hold back at the start and be certain that your dog or its leash does not interfere with or impede any of the other runners. The county park law requires dogs be leashed at all times while in the park. This is for the safety of your dogs, other park patrons, and other dogs visiting.

raven_rocks_logo-with-text-below-200w7.) SAME DAY REGISTRATION – We will likely have same day registration available from 7:15-8:45am. Earlier is better. Online registration is even better! 😉 Cash or check only on race day please. Day of race registration is $45.

8.) RESULTS: Printed lists of finishers with time and place will be available soon after the finish at the registration area and by later in the afternoon on the Raven Rocks Run website. Check it out at https://ravenrocksrun.org/results.

9.) THANK A VOLUNTEER! A tremendous amount of volunteer effort goes into making Raven Rocks a special event. T-shirt designers, registration volunteers, carpool helpers, pie buyers, course setters, trail wardens, box lifters, water servers, bagel cutters, coffee brewers, parking coordinators, photographers, videographers, course sweeps, and the clean-up crew—not to mention the Pound Ridge, Lewisboro, and Westchester County Police officers and the dedicated members of the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps!

We are grateful that we have such a wonderful group of trail running enthusiasts (YOU!) to share this run with. We are also thankful that we have the thousands of acres of parkland at the Rez to enjoy!

Many runners have become members of the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation group during registration – We thank you for joining! Volunteers from the Friends group will be there race morning to help cheer on runners, support the race, and have information about joining the Friends of Trailside Museum group.

Remember, leave only footprints, take only pictures, and please send us your photos via upload!

Expect more news shared on Facebook, Twitter, and our website as the event nears…. See you in 10 days!

Good luck and have fun,

….Rob, Ciorsdan, and the rest of the Raven Rocks Run Volunteers!

PS: Some useful links…

• Map and Directions to the Reservation
• Map of the Raven Rocks Run course
• Follow Raven Rocks on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ravenrocksrun
• Searchable list of registered runners
• Run on the trails on Sundays all year round!

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Raven Rocks Run is the last race in a series of trail races called The Trail Mix. Check this year’s standings in the series here.

Next year’s Trail Mix races will include:

In addition, we support and attend many other local trail (and a few road) races, including but not limited to:

(Note: this went out as an email to all registered runners for the 2017 Raven Rocks Run. If you did not receive it via email and you are registered, you may want to check your spam folder and set up ravenrocksrun@gmail.com on your address book/white list.)

Raven Rocks Run – 2017 Signup Info

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WPR_RavenRocksRun_10k-adjusted-mapA reminder that the 2017 Raven Rocks Run registration is open. Date of the race is Sunday, November 12, 2017. Start time is 9am.

Direct Registration link here >>

Results from last year’s race are posted at https://ravenrocksrun.org/results

Friends of Trailside

Last year many runners who signed up for the Raven Rocks Run joined online at the same time as members of the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation when they registered for the race. The memberships will be for the calendar year 2018 so new and returning members get a full year of benefits.

friends-of-trailside-and-ward-pound-ridge-reservation-logo-2The Friends of Trailside is a 501(c)3 organization is dedicated to promoting a better appreciation and understanding of the natural world and the relationship between people and the land. Through its support of the Trailside Nature Museum, operated by the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation of the County of Westchester, the Friends provide financial and volunteer aid for exhibits, school, and education programs. For more information on the Friends group — including how to join — click here: http://friendsoftrailside.org/

Caps

We got requests for Raven Rocks hats last year — and this year we are offering them for sale when you register! They are embroidered cotton baseball caps. We placed an order for a limited number of these caps — so order yours ASAP to guarantee availability.

Photos

We have photos from 2016 by our fantastic team of shutterbugs here: https://leathermansloop.smugmug.com/Raven-Rocks-Run/2016.

Trail Mix Series

The 2017 Trail Mix Series results to date are posted here: http://trailmixseries.org/trail-mix-standings/.

We completed the first two races in the 2017 Trail Mix Series — the Leatherman’s Loop and A Mild Sprain — in the spring. Two more Trail Mix races are in September: Pavement Ends 9/17 and Sarah Bishop 9/24. October we feature Run The Farm on 10/22.

Sunday Run group

We have a dedicated group of trail runners who meet every Sunday morning at 8am (http://sundayruns.org) to run trails in and around northern Westchester and occasionally beyond. All year round — all paces — all welcome! We never leave anyone behind and we encourage new trail runners to try out the trails.

Many of our regular sunday runners are race directors and volunteers for the Trail Mix and many other local races. It is a very fun and welcoming group. Our group runs include course checks for many local races including the “Looper Bowl” running of the Leatherman’s Loop course on Super Bowl Sunday (photos). We also held a winter group run of the Raven Rocks Run course called the “Raven Lunatic” — photos from that run are here.

We hope you can join us for the 2017 Raven Rocks Run!

Rob Cummings
Raven Rocks Run Race Director