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Tag Archives: New York Rogue Runners

The 2014 New York City Hot Dog Challenge

Posted on February 21, 2014 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 4 Comments

How do you celebrate your birthday? I like to have a bunch of my crazy friends run 3 miles while eating hot dogs.

I started my day with an 18 mile run withe the team (Gotham City Runners). It was cold, but manageable. We had a pretty good turn out, most of whom were just in for a 10-12 mile jaunt. I needed to get some more miles in due to my upcoming early spring marathon.

Coming up the west side and entering the Park, snow started to fall. It was actually quite beautiful and I happen to love running while it’s snowing out as long as I’m not trudging through 2 feet of the stuff. Guess who we passed a few times? Ryan Hall.

I finished my 18 miles then booked it over to the apartment to get cleaned up for the New York Hot Dog Challenge.

Abbe went to do recon on the hot dog carts as we were worried the snow was going to deter a few from coming out. She called me later on as I was enroute, and just like snails after a rain storm, all the hot dog carts had come out to play! Game on.

We had a small turnout this year based on weather, but there was still $360 bucks to be won.

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I explained the rules to a few newcomers and then the ‘start dog’ was saluted and they began eating.

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First done and off running was Neal! Kevin, Juan and Matt6 followed shortly after. Cat, the only female competitor to show, had all the time in the world so she relished the moment. Ha, get it.

As I chased after the leaders ( I was to be lead ref) I realized that running 18 miles then chasing seasoned runners and Ironmen at breakneck pace was maybe a bad idea.

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AT cart 2, on 59th and 5th Avenue it was anyone’s game. Juan finished slightly ahead and took off to cart 3, a block away. I was with him. As soon as he got his dog KB and Matt6 sprinted up, ordering their dogs. Juan seemed to know that this was his moment to make a move and he did.

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He finished as they were maybe half way through and took off at a sub 6 pace down 5th. It looked like something out of a crime movie with the 2 of us running after each other, especially since I was wearing jeans and a black jacket.

At cart 4 Elizabeth caught up to us. She then sped ahead to the next area, ‘Dead Man’s Corner’ notorious for stopping competitors. As Juan and I followed I saw no sign of the others.

While at cart 5 and 6, it was amazing to watch Juan in action. He wasn’t talking and very focused. He also had a very interesting technique, which I will not share as that would be giving away trade secrets.

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Once again, as we took off I saw no sign of any competitors.

Down at 6th Avenue and 46th Street he was about to enter ‘The Gauntlet.’ It was a straight shot to the finish from 6th Ave to 8th Ave that included 4 hot dogs, no easy feat.

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When we hit 7th Ave (cart 8) Abbe caught up and so did Matt6! I got really excited at the thought of a photo finish, a first in New York Hot Dog Challenge races.

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Juan wasn’t having it though and he set off to cart 9 with a fury. All the competitors were slowing down now.

Just as Juan was finishing dog 9 Matt6 came running up. It was going to depend on that 10th dog for sure. We took off to the final cart.

Once again, as Juan was finishing Matt6 arrived and began to eat.

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Juan finished and we blasted down 46th Street towards Rudy’s.

As we arrived Juan high-fived the pig and felt the sting of Hot Dog Challenger glory. Matt6 came up around 2 minutes behind taking second place. Both had course PR’s with Juan’s breaking the course record by 3 minutes! KB came up shortly after noting that he had DNFd at dog 5.

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We hung out for awhile outside, then poured into Rudy’s to celebrate and await Neal and Cat.

Neal, with his blue wig and Hawaiian shirt popped in about ten minutes or so after we had been in the bar. We were now following Cat’s progress and she had just finished the 10th dog and was on the homestretch. We went out to power arch her, but she came in and said in dismay, “I puked!” She still gets an A in my book, but rules are rules and she did not qualify for the female finisher prize, meaning Juan took home all $360!

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Juan, being the good sportsman he is, did give Cat an undisclosed amount of the prize money.

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We all stayed at Rudy’s until 5PM celebrating as the snow came down.

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Thanks for everyone who came out to compete AND our volunteer refs AND all of our sponsors, especially Gotham City Runners! This is no easy race.

 

 

 

 

New York Hot Dog Challenge New York Rogue Runners

The Dizzy Bat Race

Posted on July 24, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of running whilst being blasted out of your mind dizzy.

Thursday night after work we headed off to Central Park, the East Meadow to be specific, for the 2nd Annual New York Rogue Runners ‘Dizzy Bat Race’ hosted by Claire. Although the race was covered in Timeout NY and Blood, Sweat and Cheers we knew that the hellish weather might deter people.

We set up the bases and Claire had me do a test run. I spun face down head on the bat 10 times (which in and of itself was a challenge) then took off running. Instead of heading toward 1st base, like any normal American would know to to, I veered off to 3rd base before collapsing into the field. Quite a daunting task rewarded with loud bursts of laughter. This was going to be fun.

Once we had a decent crowd Claire announced the rules. Plain and simple, the clock starts, spin around the bat 10 times, run the bases making sure to tag up at each one. The winner would get a $50 gift certificate to Stub Hub and a check for $9.50, the price of a beer at Yankee Stadium.

Claire started off the madness and did pretty well. Juan was next and he spun the opposite way the rest of us were spinning so instead of him veering to 3rd base head went toward 1st! A great strategy!

Without getting into too much detail about the race I urge you to watch the awesome video Juan made with everyone’s runs in it. Thanks Juan!

Official Times:

Claire: 39:5
Juan: 44:4
Baker (me): 45:00
Neal: 1:02
Elizabeth: 2:10
Abbe: 1:00
Rachel: 1:04
Andrew: 37:2
Maura: 38 flat (her real time was far to great so our time keeper cut her a break)
Elyssa: 1:01

This was a really fun time. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.

After Claire presented newcomer Andrew with is prizes we all headed to the bar for the after party!

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Dizzy Bat New York Rogue Runners

4th Annual City Bakery Run

Posted on February 5, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Running Leave a comment

Do you like running? Do you also happen to like the most amazing hot chocolate ever created? Do you like arctic Winter weather? If you picked 2 out of 3 then the City Bakery Run is a must.

In true crazy runner spirit I planned on using the 5 mile City Bakery Run as the tail end of a longer run. My Marathon Sandwich starts in a few weeks and I would like to be a little bit ahead of the competition.
THE MARATHON SANDWICH:

February 24- Gasparilla Half Mary = BREAD
March 17 – NYC Half Mary = LETTUCE AND TOMATO
April 07 – ConneMarathon = FRESH TURKEY
April 20 – Blue Ridge Half Mary = PROVELONE CHEESE
May 05 – Long Branch Half Mary = BREAD

Guess what? It snowed the night before so it was awesome out.

My 7 miles pre-CBR went pretty smooth aside from rolling my ankle at mile 5 (I decided to try running on the pretty rocky trails) and almost took myself out for the season. I quickly jumped back onto solid pavement, the cold numbing my ankle. Did I mention it was cold? If a magic Genie had told me in 2008 that not only would I be running and doing triathlons, but that I would be running in 15 degree weather I’d have thought him ONE CRAZY GENIE! Genie you crazy, back in that bottle.

Where was I? Right, so I meet up with our gang promptly at 11AM. We had quite a group!

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Setting off for our 5 mile run I was not bone cold from hanging around sweaty waiting for people. Using my Bear Grylls instincts (as my fingers were on the edge of frostbite) I ran with my hands buried in my chest. It totally worked too.

I mostly ran with my friend Elizabeth chatting about running and life. It was a blast catching up. By the time we got close to City Bakery I was so hungry. Like, almost didn’t make it hungry which is ironic as I had been telling Eliz that I don’t need much nutrition during my races these days. Not today! All I could think about was bacon and eggs.

Our group of 4 (Me, Eliz, Joshie, and Robin) were first to arrive and we jumped in line, grabbing food and yes, the infamous hot chocolate. The rest of the group trickled in and we took over the upstairs of the establishment. It was really fantastic to see everyone AND get a serious workout in at the same time!

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Until next year…

 

City Bakery Run Hot Chocolate New York Rogue Runners

Baker’s Funtastic Four Miler

Posted on December 10, 2011 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 7 Comments

Abbe and I were chatting last night about her possible Jingle Bell Jog 3.7 mile race the next morning. She was excited to test her speed at a shorter distance race, but unexcited to travel to Brooklyn early in the morning to do so. I suggested that I time her as she run the 4 mile loop of Central Park.

Then was born… Baker’s Funtastic Four Miler. It’s part of New York Rogue Runners, a secret group of runners who create their own races. Unlike New York Road Runner races, these races have prizes! My race had a lovely bottle of cabernet sauvignon up for grabs.

RACE DAY

Abbe and I set out to the start (72nd Street and East Drive) to arrive by 10AM. It was a beautiful and brisk day.

Slowly our competitors showed up. This was kind of last minute so I didnt expect many. Abbe, Susan, Bojana, Elyssa, and Stephan donned their hand made bibs and prepared to start. I gave them race instructions in my best Peter Chacha impersonation.

Using my iPhone stop watch synced with my trusty Rolex I sent the runners off!

It’s weird not racing. I just kinda hung out and drank my coffee, watching other runners go by. Waiting…

First in was Susan!(soon after our friend Ali came to cheer. She was a little late but assured us she would race next time!)

A few minutes later Bojana!

Then, Abbe and Elyssa cruised in.

Finally, Stephan arrived!

Everyone had a good race aside from them all missing my secret aid station at Mile 2.We had a small awards ceremony where Susan won her bottle of wine and a hug.

Congrats to all the racers! Times posted below!
1: Susan 28:56
2: Bojana 31:57
3: Abbe 32:56
4: Elyssa 32:58
5: Stephan 39:50

 

 

 

4 Miler New York Rogue Runners
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  • RACE REPORT: 157 The Boston Marathon – 3:00:00
  • VIRTUAL RACE REPORT: 156 #TCSNYCMarathon – 3:13:44
  • VIRTUAL RACE REPORT: 155 NYC Duathlon – 2:06:13
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