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2019 Recap

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2019 Raven Rocks Run start

On Sunday morning November 10, 2019, nearly 250 runners ran the fifth annual Raven Rocks 10k Trail Run at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

The weather was a bit cold at the start, with temperatures in the high 30’s. However, the sun was out and the crowd was feeling the warmth.

Runners who had done Raven Rocks before knew they would soon be warmed up by their race effort, especially the early climb. Finishing runners were welcomed back at the tent with hot coffee, hot chocolate, bagels, bananas, and s’mores over a hot fire.

Overall men’s winner Justin Lubeley at around the 4 mile mark climbing up the fire tower hill.

Justin Lubeley of Darien, CT came in first in the men’s division with a time of 46:21. Justin came in 2nd in the 2018 Raven Rocks Run and improved his time by around 1:40. Chris Sina-Jessiman (46:48) of Brooklyn was second after coming in 3rd in 2018. and Christopher Irwin (47:20) of Cortlandt Manor was third.

Overall women’s winner Lindsey Felling just before crossing the finish line at Raven Rocks 2019.

Lindsey Felling of Larchmont repeated as first overall in the women’s division with a time of 51:36. Christina Thomson (55:50) of New Canaan was second and Phillippa Keast (56:06) of Tuckahoe came in third.

Youngest male runner Kase Atkinson keeping warm before the start.

Kase Atkinson of Cross River was the youngest male runner at 9 years old.

Youngest female runner Rita Haitoff – for the second year in a row!

Rita Haitoff of Katonah was the youngest female runner at 10 years old, finishing in 1:37:07 lopping nearly 8 minutes off her time from last year. 1:44:57.

Ed Moore (1:14:37) of Cos Cob was the oldest finisher on the day at 69 years young.

A trio of ladies including Heidi Johnston, Trish Gallagher, and Amy Marrazzo tied for the most experienced female runner recognition. Heidi won the F50 age category too!

Some other notable top local finishers include the Randolph twins, Helena and Julia (1:10:27 and 1:22:25) of Mt. Kisco who took first and third in the 14-18 year old age group. Bill Bradsell (52:27) of Bedford beat Todd Henrich (52:57) of South Salem in the men’s 50-59 category and kept his 3 year Raven Rocks M50 win streak intact.

Three pie winners after the finish.

Prizes for the overall winners and age group winners are a range of tart-style pies from local farmer’s market favorite Dutch Desserts (Key information: Dutch Desserts is a vendor at the Pleasantville farmer’s market on Saturdays!)

Lee Willett picking up his Bib #1 for the 2019 race.

The race was started this year by South Salem resident and Sunday Runs Chief navigator Lee Willett who was awarded Bib #1 for his tireless work on behalf of the area trail running community.

The 2019 edition of the Cobweb Crew™ – making courses safe and correct for 3 years running!

Lee also checked the course with the rest of the Cobweb Crew early race morning to make sure the pink course markings were still up and leading the runners to the right places. Many of these cobweb crew runners also ran the race – making their day a 20k!

Coming off of the covered bridge at mile 0.3 on the course.

The course – which is run entirely on the trails of the reservation — starts in the large meadow about a quarter-mile into the park. It follows trails up through the covered bridge to the Michigan Road campground where it delves deep into the 4,300 acres of the park. The halfway point is the east-facing Raven Rocks overlook, where the race got its name.

Runners descend again before climbing back up to the highest point in the park, the location of the former (and future!) fire tower.

Chris Cassone put the Rock in the Raven at the 2019 race!

Awaiting runners at the top of the climb was our very own Raven Rocker Chris Cassone jamming on the six-string. We hope it made your climb more enjoyable. Chris had a blast! You can view yourself and other runners on GoPro video with Chris’ soundtrack in the background.

Runners then head back down on the blue trail to the sledding spot on Pell Hill. The final half-mile is along the Cross River back to the Meadow finish line.

Many runners have called it one of hardest 10k races out there because of the hilly terrain and the narrow trails. The course has over 1,000 feet of elevation gain and features a cliffside run, miles of single-track trails, a rock scramble, plus beautiful meadow runs.

Raven Rocks is part of a series of local trail races called the Trail Mix Series.

Some of the other races in the series are the Leatherman’s Loop (Cross River), Run The Farm (Katonah), the Sarah Bishop Bushwhack (North Salem), Where the Pavement Ends (Ridgefield), A Mild Sprain (Yonkers), and Paine to Pain (New Rochelle). The Trail Mix Series website has more information: trailmixseries.org.

In addition to running a race, runners were also able to join the Friends of Trailside when they signed up.

Fifty-seven runners to date joined as members raising over $4,100.00 for the Museum in the form of memberships. The most popular membership level runners picked to join at was the $100 Wood Turtle level, which comes with a parking pass for entry into the park for all of 2020.

You can still join the Friends of Trailside and Ward Pound Ridge for 2020 through the Raven Rocks race website which will be processing memberships through January! (click here!). Your membership $ goes directly to the Friends group and is a 501(c)3 non-profit.

A team of runners known as the Leatherman Harriers Sunday Runners are key volunteers at the race.

Many of these volunteers also meet up to run the trails in northern Westchester year-round. These volunteers set the course, staff the water station, handle registration, pre-run the course, sweep to make sure no injured runners are on the course, and clean up any traces after the run. We could not put on the event without them – THANK YOU!

In addition, The Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation led by Jeff Main at the park and helped by Mike, Chase, Kevin, Bobby and the rest of the crew are essential to the success of the race.

Last but certainly not least, the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps provided a standby team of volunteer EMS personnel and an ambulance just in case they are needed.

In addition the Pound Ridge Volunteer Fire Department had a rescue crew ready to go in case of any trail emergencies. Thankfully there were just minor bumps and bruises this year.

Proceeds go to Friends of Trailside, LVAC, and other local not-for-profits.

2019 Results Posted

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We have posted the 2019 results here: https://ravenrocksrun.org/results/2019-results/.

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

We are working on a recap of the day and have started to get photos and video organized and uploaded. Check back at this page later tonight for the recap link and refresh the 2019 photos link to see more as we upload.

Our photographers do a great job! Today Michelle, Chris, Ciorsdan, Carol, Lee, Sawyer, Gene, and Michael, took photos and video — plus thanks to all of the runners who submitted photos and share them online. (upload yours to this album!)

2018 Recap

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On Sunday morning November 11, 250 runners met up and competed in the fourth annual Raven Rocks 10k Trail Run at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

2018 Race results are here •  2018 Race photos are here.

The weather was chilly at the start, with temperatures at 32 degrees. However, the crowd was in a cheerful mood since the sun was shining and they would soon be warmed up by their race effort. At the finish, the temperature had risen to a much more hospitable 45 degrees. Runners were also welcomed back – after they caught their breath — with hot coffee, hot chocolate, bagels, bananas, and s’mores over a hot fire.

Rob Kehoe won the men’s 2018 race, repeating his 2016 performance.

Rob Kehoe, originally from Katonah and a John Jay graduate, came in first in the men’s division with a time of 46:52. Rob also won the race in 2016 and said he’d definitely be back for more. Justin Lubely (48:08) of Darien was second and Chris Sina-Jessiman (48:18) of Brooklyn was third.

Lindsey Felling won the 2018 race and also clinched her 2018 Trail Mix Series victory with the win.

Lindsay Felling of Larchmont finished first overall in the women’s division with a time of 52:12. Louise Mullan (53:18) of Hastings was second and Emily Bocklet (1:00:58) of Katonah came in third.

Youngest Runner Rita Haitoff runs with her mom Karen in the 2018 Raven Rocks 10k run.

Rita Haitoff of Katonah was the youngest runner at 9 years old, finishing in 1:44:57. James McGough (1:32:35) of Mahopac — and a regular runner at the Reservation — was the oldest finisher on the day at 72 years young. Some other notable top local finishers include Sydney Bieber (1:10:45) of Bedford who won the 14-18 year old age group as well as Bill Bradsell (53:41) and Gregory Fleming (53:49), both of Bedford, who finished eight seconds apart to take first and second in the men’s 50-59 category.

Official starter Tom Curley on the course in 2018.

Awards for the overall winners and age group winners are a range of pies from local farmer’s market favorite Dutch Desserts. In addition this year the first place age group winners got custom Raven Rocks ultimate frisbee discs. The race was started this year by South Salem resident Tom Curley who launched one of the Raven prize discs downfield in front of the starting line to kick off the race.

The course – which is run entirely on the trails of the reservation — starts in the large meadow about a quarter-mile into the park. It follows trails up over the covered bridge to the Michigan Road campground where it delves deep into the 4,300 acres of the park. The halfway point is the east-facing Raven Rocks overlook, where the race got its name. Runners descend again before climbing back up to the highest point in the park, the location of the former fire tower. Runners head back down on the blue trail to the sledding spot on Pell Hill. The final half-mile is along the Cross River back to the Meadow finish line.

Many runners have called it one of hardest 10k races out there because of the hilly terrain and the narrow trails — plus this year added some wet spots where prior years have been dry. The course has over 1,000 feet of elevation gain and features a cliffside run, miles of single-track trails, a rock scramble, and beautiful meadow runs.

Raven Rocks is part of a series of local trail races called the Trail Mix Series. Some of the other races in the series are the Leatherman’s Loop (Cross River), Run The Farm (Katonah), the Sarah Bishop Bushwhack (North Salem), Where the Pavement Ends (Ridgefield), A Mild Sprain (Yonkers), and Paine to Pain (New Rochelle). The Trail Mix Series website has more information: trailmixseries.org.

In addition to running a race, runners were also able to join the Friends of Trailside when they signed up. Forty-seven runners joined as members raising over $3,800.00 for the Museum. The most popular membership level runners picked to join at was the $100 Wood Turtle level, which comes with a parking pass for entry into the park for all of 2019. Membership information for joining the Friends of Trailside is here: friendsoftrailside.org.

A team of volunteers known as the Leatherman Harriers Sunday Runners help put on the race. Many of these volunteers also meet up to run the trails in northern Westchester year-round. These volunteers set the course, staff the water station, handle registration, pre-run the course, sweep to make sure no injured runners are on the course, and clean up any traces after the run.

In addition, The Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation led by Jeff Main at the park and helped by Mike, Chase, Kevin, and the rest of the crew are essential to the success of the race. Last but certainly not least, the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps provided a standby team of volunteer EMS personnel and an ambulance just in case they are needed. Thankfully there were just minor bumps and bruises this year. Proceeds from the race go to Friends of Trailside, LVAC, and other local not-for-profits.

2018 Results Posted

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We have posted the 2018 results here: https://ravenrocksrun.org/results/2018-results/.

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

We have put together a recap of the day and have photos organized and uploaded. Check back at this page later tonight. Our photographers are the best and they do a great job! Thanks Diane, Ciorsdan, Carol, Lee, and Sawyer for taking photos, — plus thanks to all of the runners who submit photos and share them online.

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!

2016 Results Posted

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We have posted the 2016 results here: https://ravenrocksrun.org/results/2016-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. We had a talented team of photographers out there!

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

2015 Recap

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DSC_8356Dear Runners,

Thanks for coming out for a run on the trails of Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

Tom Nohilly gets the runners ready to start.

Tom Nohilly gets the runners ready to start.

The inaugural Raven Rocks Run was a success by all accounts. Over 300 runners participated in the 10k race. Runners from 6 states were represented – The 4 states nearby (NY, CT, NJ, and MA) plus a runner from Florida and a runner from South Dakota.

If you have any race related feedback, please let us know using the contact form — or send us an email at ravenrocksrun@gmail.com. Feedback is like a gift — positive or negative it will be used to make the race a better experience in the future.

Thanks to John Baker, Jeff Main, Chase, and Sean — all from the Parks Department — for being there to help with everything we could ask for. The fire pit was the best idea!

Results

Complete race results are posted at https://ravenrocksrun.org/results

DSC_0721-2

Luis Francisco, overall mens winner. Photo: Deborah Burman

The overall men’s winner was Luis Francisco from Mahopac who finished in 45:31. The overall women’s winner was Tiffany Carson of New York City who finished in 57:24. With her win, Tiffany also secured her first place overall finish in the 2015 Trail Mix Trail Series (trailmixseries.org). The series combines results from six trail races in Westchester and Fairfield Counties during 2015.

Tiffany Carson, overall womens winner.

Tiffany Carson, overall womens winner. Photo: Keith Realander

Rounding out the top three men were two local high schoolers: John Jay’s Charlie Stewart (46:37) and Fox Lane’s Cole Rooney (47:09). For the women, Cross River’s Rachel Massa was second overall (1:01:29) and West Harrison’s Tracy Lawrence-Black (1:01:41) was right on her heels.

Other notable finishes: Tom Nohilly, coach of the NY State champion John Jay Girls Cross Country team finished 4th overall. Youngest runner Eamonn Sullivan (12 years old) finished in 11th place overall (52:03) just ahead of his dad, Gerry Sullivan (52:05) who is the Fordham Prep Cross Country coach. Gerry also secured his win in the men’s 2015 Trail Mix series. Tony Godino, founder of the famous Leatherman’s Loop trail race ran the tough course in 1:26:05 and walked away with an age group pie prize.

Volunteers

An event like this simply does not happen without the help of volunteers. I will put our volunteer page together soon but wanted to call out some people who were instrumental in getting this race off the ground and running smoothly on race day.

Volunteers Alan Wegener, Jill Mango, Judy Godino. Photo: Carol Gordon

Volunteers Alan Wegener, Jill Mango, Judy Godino. Photo: Carol Gordon

First — my wife, Ciorsdan. Thanks for your help and listening to me talk endlessly about the race these last few months. I promise to stop for a while. Tony Godino – without your help and guidance via working with you on Leatherman and Run The Farm over the last 8(!) years, I would not have been able to pull this together. Judy Godino – your calm centered demeanor helps everyone know all will be OK. Lee Willett – your leadership with the Sunday Runs group has been amazing and so appreciated. Joe Mokszycki pre-ran the course starting in the frosty grass before 7:00am on race morning to make sure everything was marked well and nothing was moved or blown away. Tom Cohn from the Friends of Trailside Museum board of directors has been incredibly supportive of the race and helped make it all happen with the county and museum.

Many of the Raven Rocks Run volunteers

Many of the Raven Rocks Run volunteers. Photo: Ciorsdan Conran

John Young, Mike Berardino, and Ruth Littman hiked up to the Fire Tower site and served everyone water. Andy Hafter personally sliced nearly every bagel and orange for the runners (with the help of my mom Pat Cummings!). Eleanor Hershey and Debbie Mullin made sure no runner was left behind acting as race sweeps. Brian Stempel, Jill Mango, Sam Mango, Kathy Lynch, Orion Cummings, Sawyer Cummings, Deb Buscema, Shirley Copeland, Alan Wegener, Jeff Thompson, Mark Vincent, Karen Haitoff, Chris Cassone, Mike Paletta, and Bill Bradsell all helped with registration, parking, course marshaling, and general on the spot assistance. Last but not least – David Vogel donated the finish line banner. If I am forgetting anyone please forgive me!

Special thanks to our official starter Tom Nohilly. You all heard his brief bio at the start. As great an athlete as he is, I think he has exceeded that as a trainer and coach. We wish the John Jay Girls Cross Country Team the best of luck as they compete in the U.S. Nationals in early December. I saw a bunch of the team members at Raven Rocks cheering the runners on — this was one day after they won the NY State Championships!

Friends of Trailside

Many runners joined as members of the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. You will be getting your membership information shortly from them. You can still join online – or fill out and send in the membership form here.

friends-of-trailside-and-ward-pound-ridge-reservation-logo-2The Friends of Trailside is a 501(c)3 organization and 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/

The Friends group is very interested in restoring the Cross River Mountain Fire Tower to the park. The Fire Tower stood from 1927 through the early 1980s when it was removed without county permission and dismantled. The Friends of Trailside want to correct this historic error and create a beacon that will draw visitors to the top of the park for incredible vistas of the surrounding countryside. If you are interested in this endeavor, Friends of Trailside board member Tom Cohn wants to hear from you and enlist your support.

LVAC

LVAC team at Raven Rocks Run

LVAC team at Raven Rocks Run

The Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps was out and ready to heal on Sunday. Thanks Lucian Lipinsky, Andrew Stagnari, Ann Hirsch, and the rest of the volunteers.

LVAC has been a steadying and very helpful presence at the Leatherman’s Loop for years. It was great to have them at Raven Rocks! We hope you met them after the race while fixing yourself a bagel and some coffee.

Photos

We have posted photos from our fantastic team of shutterbugs here: https://leathermansloop.smugmug.com/Raven-Rocks-Run/2015.

Thanks to Ciorsdan Conran, Carol Gordon, Deborah Burman, Keith Realander, Diane Bradsell, John Cummings (my dad!), and also thanks to a few of our runners who uploaded photos so far.

There’s plenty of room for more photos if you want to share yours at our runner upload gallery here: http://smu.gs/1HpXR41

Trail Mix

medallion-scan-mod-bw-300hThe Raven Rocks Run was the final event in the 2015 Trail Mix Trail Race series (http://trailmixseries.org). The series was in it’s second year in 2015 and grew from four races to six from 2014 to 2015.

We have published the final Trail Mix results for the series at the series website.

Congratulations to Tiffany Carson and Gerry Sullivan for taking the 2015 overall series. More details and age group winners can be found at the links above.

Thanks to the other race directors in the series for having a fun 2015 — we are looking forward to the 2016 Trail Mix Series — who knows what is in the cards!

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 encourage new trail runners to try out the trails.

leatherman-harriers-sunday-runs-logo-200wMany 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. This year will be the 5th year we have that group run. I am also thinking of a winter group run of the Raven Rocks Run course — somehow the name “Raven Lunatic” popped into my head. Date TBD after talking with Lee (aka the King of Clubs)!

Other upcoming events

If you are looking for a great 5k road race this coming Saturday, Deb Buscema, who was one of our volunteers on Sunday — is organizing the First Annual Lower Salem Turkey Trot 5k in South Salem, NY.

Registration link is here: http://fasttracktiming.com/races/11212015-lower-salem-turkey-trot/. The course is a local favorite, circling around beautiful Truesdale Lake. I am biased since it runs right by our house! The course heads in the opposite direction of the South Salem Memorial Day 5k which Deb also directs.

Lastly, the 30th anniversary of the Leatherman’s Loop 10k Trail Race is coming up in 2016. The Loop Lottery will take place in early January. Check the link for more information. Sign up to receive emails from the Loop and also follow the Leatherman on Facebook and other media to be reminded of when to sign up for the lottery.

In Closing

Thanks for coming — and reading until the end. It was supposed to be just a short summary! Hope to see you on the trails!

Rob Cummings
Raven Rocks Run Race Director

The View from The Rocks

The View from The Rocks