City Coach | Coach Cane's Blog

Battle of Brooklyn Race Report

The second annual JackRabbit Battle of Brooklyn was held Sunday in Prospect Park. It was a fun and productive day all around, with strong performances from the City Coach team as well as our JackRabbit Beginner Running class and the Run for the Rabbit crew.

For the team, Bonnie Averbuch finished 2nd overall among the women, and Jean Cassandra was 9th. Chris Solarz was 4th in the men's field. 

The Run for the Rabbit runners each ran well as they continue to improve on their way to their goal race at the Hamptons Marathon next month. It continues to be exciting to see their progress.

The Beginner Running crew also perfomed admirably. A few of them did the full 10-miler, while most opted for the three person relay. Regardless, it's always rewarding to see folks enjoy their first race. 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I ran dressed as George Washington, complete with powdered wig and a musket. It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, what better way to commemorate the original Battle of Brooklyn? I learned a few things in the process. First, someone needs to make wigs of more breathable, wicking materials. I was sweating like a pedophile on a playground. Second, muskets are heavy and unbalanced. (Insert joke here.) Definitely not ideal for running ten miles. Third, you get lots of love if you overlook the first two items and run the whole damn thing with your wig and musket.  

For the record, the best comment of the day came from the race winner, Lauren Perkins, who shouted "that's the spirit" (get it?) as she lapped George. I also appreciated the guy who asked "do you have a license for that?" George responded "I'm the father of your country, I don't need a license for a gun", to which he responded "I was talking about the wig!"

The photo gallery (courtesy of our friends J. Geoff Badner and Brian Cristiano) is available for your viewing pleasure. Special thanks to Gail Myers for the musket, and Paul Leone for George's wig. 

I Love Our Team

This morning's Regis & Kelly High Heel-a-Thon perfectly exemplified why I love our talented and fun team.

It was Adele Laboz's birthday. She was joined at the race by more than a dozen friends - including City Coachers Iris Shalam, Michele Levy, Tami Morano and Sara Bibi - who came to celebrate her birthday and participate in the race. The ladies had fun, got on TV, and cheered like crazy for Shane, who successfully defended his title at the race.

The team had fun, supported each other, went fast, and made a few bucks. Not a bad morning. Congratulations all around.

Check out the photo gallery. 

Big Pimpin' in a Small Car

Today Bev and I took the Nike+ Human Race Global Car to the Staten Island Half and the Get to the Point 5k.  We managed to sign some people up for the race, talk to lots of runners, play with Tom's adorable son and meet Green Light's beautiful baby.  Plus we got to see how many people we could fit in the front of a Smart Car. 

Keep an eye out for the cars throughout the city at a variety of running events.  You can follow their whereabouts on twitter.  Check out all the photos here. 

Golden Girls Challenge/Vassar Tri Race Results

Forget all the other races this weekend.  Even if they were bigger, more competitive, and more prestigious.  Obviously all anyone cares about is the eagerly anticipated Golden Girls Challenge, which was contested at the Vassar Medical Center Duathlon.  City Coachers Shane Neil, Paul Santini, Danny Artiga, Helene Roth and I fought it out in a small field.  When the dust settled, all of us finished in the top 12 and all came home with hardware.  The order of finish was:

• Jonathan Cane - 5th place male, 1st place 40-49 AG
• Shane Neil - 8th place male, 3rd place 30-39 AG
• Danny Artiga - 9th place male, 2nd place 40-49 AG
• Paul Santini - 10th place male, 1st place 18-29 AG
• Helene Roth - 2nd place female

Photos are still being added to the gallery .

As for the wagering, I managed to come closest with my bet.  Rather than having my morals called into question, I will donate the entire sum collected to the National Brain Tumor Society in memory of Kathleen Lewis. 

After the race, the group made the all-important stop at IHOP where we scared the women and children by consuming mass quantities.  All in all it was a good time with good friends.  Congrats and thanks to all.

New York City Biathlon Race Report

Congratulations to Nicole Sin Quee on her 2nd place overall finish at the CP Bi this morning.  Despite a mechanical which cost her a few places on the way out of T1, NSQ passed all but the eventual winner, Lynn Frampton, of the British National team, who dominated from the gun. 

Tom Buffolano had a strong race, setting a PR on the course, and is right on schedule for the rest of his season.

Results are up, as are photos.

Help Greg Fight Cancer 5K Race Report

I still owe a few other race reports, but I'm letting this one jump to the head of the line.  Tonight Jack Rabbit presented the Help Greg Fight Cancer 5k in Prospect Park.  Nearly 1,000 runners showed up to support the cause.  It's a great testament to the running community in NYC that so many people rallied around one of our own.  And Jack Rabbit deserves a lot of credit for organizing the event, shutting all three of their stores for the evening, and putting on a great show.  Even Borough President Marty Markowitz was there.

To give you an idea of the folks who came out in support of the cause, in addition to the Jack Rabbit crew, we saw Gary Berard, Terry Moore, Geoff Badner, Nicole Sin Quee with current student Tolu Edionwe and former student Matt Broach, Jeannine Bardo, Sarah Wenk, Hanna Jones, Scott Towle, Sarah Harrison, Francis Laros, Regina Cahill, Shane Neil, Nannette Vieth, Tom Buffolano, Danny Artiga, Dan Gallagher (and his adorable son Ian), Paul Leone, India Branch, Bridget McKenna, Anne, Perzesty, Beth St. John, Jene Shaw, Miriam Weiskind, Sarah Conway, Helene Roth, Bridget McMahon, Jesse Lansner, our Jack Rabbit Beginner and marathon classes and many more.

For those of you looking for results, they are available from our friends at City Tri.  And for those of you who skipped ahead to see the pictures, here they are.

NSQ & Terry Victorious at NYRR Tri

Nicole Sin Quee and Terry Moore dominated the field at the inaugural NYRR Sprint Triathlon today.   The race featured a staggered start in a 50 meter pool, 10 miles around Flushing Meadow Park and a 5k though the park.  Nicole - doing her first tri in over two years won by 5-minutes (and was 5th overall including the boys), and Terry finished 2-minutes ahead of second place.  Rounding out the day nicely, our friends from Team Brickwell won the relay division, with Andrew Motola swimming and his son Gabe running. 

The event was very well organized and a variety of athletes - from first timers to hardcore types - showed up.  Plus, the best thing about winning an inaugural event is that NSQ and Terry are guaranteed to have the course records for at least a year.

Special thanks to Green Light - 9-months pregnant and all, as well as Bridget for coming out to support the team.   Congratulations NSQ & Terry.

Don't forget to check out the photo gallery.

Harlem 5k Race Report

Just back from the grueling two block walk from the Harlem 5k.  NSQ finished 5th overall and first in her AG. 

Also in attendance were Helene Roth (clearly training for the Golden Girls Challenge) as well as lots of Run NYC (Chioma, India, etc), Front Runners (Peter & Dan), CPTC and Jack Rabbit friends. 

Don't worry about the times - just look at the pictures.

Scott's Race Results

So we got brave today and took a field trip all the way to scenic Staten Island for the 11th Annual running of Scott's Race, in memory of Firefighter Scott LaPiedra.  In addition to our Staten Island crew - Lauri Young and Agnes Zbylut, we took along NSQ, Jeannine, Nate, and newcomer Lauren Dewey.  The course was a moderately hilly one around and through Clove Lakes Park. 

Nate was 8th overall and 1st in his AG, and NSQ 5th overall and 1st in her AG.  In addition, Lauren, Jeannine and Lauri won their AG's and Agnes was 3rd in her AG.  Plus the ladies won the team trophy, raking in additional trophies and mugs as prizes. 

Full results have been posted.  Photos are posted - with more coming.

Brooklyn Biathlon Results

As has become our tradition, the team opened the multisport season with today's Brooklyn Biathlon.  We had eight racers - Jeannine Bardo, Agnes Zbylut, Leanne Elisha, Nanette Veith, Lauri Young, Jon Miles, Tom Buffolano and Bobby Dweck.  Jeannine, Agnes and Leanne won their respective age groups, and Lauri was second in hers, with Jon and Nanette both 4th in their AG's.

The highlight of the day came when Agnes received her plaque, immediately hugged mom-to-be Johanna Bjorken and exclaimed "I'm so glad you're pregnant!"

Results will be posted ASAP.  Here are some photos to hold you over. 

By the way - is it just me or is there something similar about the photo of our lovely ladies and the photo of the Spinal Tap reunion?  Seems like there are too many hands.