Category: Monthly Recap

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July 2019 Recap

W1D1

This past month we’ve seen many runs labeled “W1D1” on Strava and Garmin, signifying the start of marathon training (Week 1, Day 1). There are many marathons this upcoming fall but the W1D1 is specific to the marathon in our very own city, the TCS NYC Marathon! Of course, there are many more fall marathons which we are training for and we are excited to see the training for all of them.

What does this mean for QDR? Besides our upcoming races, our group runs, whether easy, track, or long runs, will help anyone training for a fall marathon. Hope you can join!

Bayside 5K

Even with the heatwave, we went ahead with the Bayside 5K, and quickly learned that runners are a resilient bunch as we beat the heat! An unexpected surprise, the race was broadcasted via Bayside LIVE TV. From the Bib-Pickup at Bell Home and Hardware, to the Post Race Party at Supper Room Queens, we couldn’t be any happier with our 1st go at Bayside. 

At the start.
Photo courtesy of Horse and Duck Studio

Special thanks to our Queens Distance Events Team! It’s no secret that we’ve earned a reputation for moving forward with Race Events in the face of unfavorable weather. Our Mission would remain an impossible dream were it not for our enthusiastic beauties in vests that connect the Running Community to Queens without fail. #qdrdoesntcancel

We’d also like to thank the good folks at the Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps, who patiently and diligently scouted the course throughout the morning, informing us of any potential heat-related incidents.

  • Photos courtesy of Horse and Duck Studio

Make sure join us on August 3rd for the Corona Mile and August 17 for the Rockaway 5K and 10K! Sign up on EliteFeats!

Races

PACERUNS hosted a very fun Wakanda 5K in Prospect Park. We also had teammates race at NYRR’s Retro 4-Miler, Brooklyn R-U-N 5K, and, of course, Team Champs! That Club Points race will have a longer recap soon!

The TCS NYC Marathon Training Series 10M was unfortunately canceled due to dangerous temperatures. That is a reminder to listen to your body and to stay hydrated at all times. For some quick tips in running in the heat: drink as much as you need to, try to run very early in the morning or late in the evening, slow down so you don’t overheat, and listen to your body.

Destination Runs

We’ve had three destination runs this month! To Governors Island, Port Washington, and Van Cortlandt.

Make sure to follow us on Strava and Instagram to find out about our next long distance Destination Runs. The very next one will go north to Connecticut on August 18!

Teammates Outside of NYC

Laura and Joseph got married in Greece!

We’ve also seen teammates in Las Vegas and Nick in St. Louis. If you don’t already know him, Nick is a member who joined us right before he left NYC. Since then, he’s been repping Queens on his runs across the country. He even helped create a spreadsheet for members that lists races in NYC and across the country. It’s been great for meeting with teammates at races in other cities.

Even if there are no races, teammates still meet! Christine recently left to California (read her “NYRR A Quarter Mile” post here) but has been meeting with teammates who have gone to California, like Jona and Nick Deuz!

  • Christine and Jona FaceTiming Kevin!
  • Christine and Nick!

Keep an eye out on our site’s calendar as well as on Strava for more group runs and training sessions. Make sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and news!

Queens Distance

Here’s a list of events this past July 2019 (pictures courtesy of various team members):
1- QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park

QDR Monday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park

3 – QDR Queensborough Community College Wednesday PM Track Session
4 – NYCRUNS Firecracker 5K and 10K
QDR Annual Fourth of July Picnic
Stranger Things Season 3 came out and Kevin would not stop talking about it
5 – QDR Friday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park
QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria
6 – Wakanda Forever 5K
    Finger Lakes 50 Miler
    Destination Run #3 – A Day at Governors Island
7 – QDR Group Long Run: Forest Park Perimeter Loops

8 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
    QDR Monday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park
10 – QDR Queensborough Community College Wednesday PM Track Session

12 – QDR Friday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park
    QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria
    NBR Track Meet
    QDR Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run

13 – NYRR Retro 4-Miler
14 – Boilermaker 15K
    QDR Destination Run #4 – Northern Blvd Express to Port Washington
15 – NYRR Brooklyn R-U-N 5K

    QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
    QDR Monday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park
17 – QDR Queensborough Community College Wednesday PM Track Session

18 – QDR Thursday AM Long Island City Group Run
19 – QDR Friday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park
    QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria

20 – TCS NYC Marathon Training 10M – Cancelled
    QDR Long Training Run – Loops of the Shovel
21 – QDR Bayside 5K
    NYC Triathlon – Cancelled
    Whiteface Sky Race
22 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
    QDR Monday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park
24 – QDR Queensborough Community College Wednesday PM Track Session
    QDR Wednesday Evening Tempo and Track Session: Forest Park

25 – QDR Thursday AM Long Island City Group Run
26 – QDR Friday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park

    QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria

27 – NYRR Team Championships (5M)


28 – IRONMAN Lake Placid

    Queens Pace 5K/10K

    IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio
    QDR Destination Run #5 – Van Cortlandt Park Ft. Coach Medina NYC
San Francisco Marathon
29 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
    QDR Monday Morning Miles: Flushing Meadow Park
31 – QDR Queensborough Community College Wednesday PM Track Session
    QDR Wednesday Evening Tempo and Track Session: Forest Park

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June 2019 Recap

June, when you start to get excited about marathon training but then remember how hot it is!

June is all about looking forward to Fall marathons, checking back on previous cycles, thinking about a training plan, and deciding that it may be a good idea to wake up very early in order to get a run in. It is also the month where we have the Queens 10K in our own backyard in Flushing Meadow Park!

We covered many track workouts and track races, a few more marathons, and the beginning to the QDR Destination Runs! Did you see the special guest in the banner image for this blog post? Michael Capiraso joined us on our QDR post-Queens 10K picnic and we’ll have a separate post on just the Queens 10K soon!

Lastly, we’d like to congratulate our teammates who got engaged this past month like Chelsea Mailler and Elaina Nellis, and those who got married like Margaret Conlon!

Races

There were plenty of races this past June, many in the rising humidity and temperature that comes with Summer. Still, we went out and followed through.

From short distances like the 5K all the way to the marathon, June had many races that most of us are using for training for other races in the Fall. Just one example is the Ironman 70.3 Eagleman where Cathy, Jessica, Vikram, and David all raced in Maryland. Whether it was their first half Ironman or a race for a later full Ironman, it was exciting to track these athletes cycling and running in Maryland (the swim was canceled).

June was also the start of the NYRR Tuesday Night Speed Series at Icahn Stadium. The first two in June were good gauges of fitness to see where we are, but many of us had PRs on the track!

Alison, Erin, and Meagan at Icahn Stadium

Other big races we all came out for were the Italy Run, NYRR New York Mini 10K, the Achilles Hope & Possibility 4M, the NYRR Queens 10K (of course!), and the Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run 5M! Even though we had the biggest scream station at the Queens 10K, we came out as a team to cheer on all the runners.

At the Achilles Hope & Possibility 4M

Destination Runs

“When is the next Destination Run?!” That’s what we hear all year round. We are happy to have hosted two runs this past June and excited about the next two we have this month of July.

Destination Run #1 – The Rockaways

Our first Destination Run started at the Queens Center Mall and went all the way to the Rockaways. This is always our first run to kick off the Summer Destination Runs and we enjoy meeting up at the beach for post-run fun. This year, we were fortunate to have Tony and Mario who set up a water station and drove our bags to the finish line. We really appreciate all that we offer one another for our training and many go above and beyond!

Post-run at the Rockaways

The second Destination Run is a runner’s favorite: the NYC bridge run. This year we cut out the last two bridges in the Bronx to favor a slightly short run given that we are still early in the marathon training cycle.

Destination Run #2 – Five Brides + Bridle Tempo

Once again, Mario proved to be the real MVP as he, Kevin, and Maria, drove with our bags and set up two water stations: one was midway on Kent Ave. in Brooklyn and the second at Engineer’s Gate in Central Park. This allowed runners, if they wanted to, to run more miles on the bridle as we wait for everyone to arrive.

Following the run we then went to Urban Athletics who warmly welcomed us with bagels, coffee, a nice discount on their products, and many prizes on raffles! Thanks a lot Urban Athletics and make sure to go to their store on 1291 Madison Ave!

Post- Destination Run #2

Keep an eye out on our site’s calendar as well as on Strava for more group runs and training sessions. Make sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and news!

Queens Distance

Here’s a list of events this past June, 2019 (pictures courtesy of various team members):
1 – LIC Waterfront 5K
B.U.S “Sorry ass trail mix up” 30k

2 – Italy Run (5M)

Destination Run #1 – The Rockaways
3 – Monday Morning Miles: FMP
QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park

5 – NYRR 1 for You 1 for Youth 5K
7 – Friday Morning Miles Group Run: FMP
QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria
QDR Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run
8 – NYRR New York Mini 10K

Jogging for Joe 5K Fun Run
9 – Ironman 70.3 Eagleman

Kids of Queens

10 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
Monday Morning Miles: FMP
11 – NYRR Tuesday Night Speed Series #1

12 – QDR Wednesday PM Track Session: Queensborough Community College

14 – Friday Morning Miles Group Run: FMP
QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria
QDR Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run
15 – NYRR Queens 10K
17 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
19 – QDR Wednesday PM Track Session: Queensborough Community College

20 – Friday Morning Miles Group Run: FMP
QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria
QDR Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run
21 – Grandma’s Marathon

22 – Vegan Power 50k
QDR Destination Run #2- Five Bridges+Bridle Tempo 
23- Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon

NYRR Achilles Hope and Possibility (4M/1M)

B.A.A. 10K
Katie’s Run 5k

24- Monday Morning Miles
QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
25 – NYRR Tuesday Night Speed Series #2
26 – QDR Wednesday PM Track Session: Queensborough Community College
27 – Police Chase 5k

28 – Friday Morning Miles Group Run: FMP

QDR Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria
QDR Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run
29 – Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run (5M)

Front Runners Chicago Proud to Run 5K/10K
Chicago 10K

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May 2019 Recap

After a very busy April filled with many marathons and PRs, May brought us warmer weather, rainy days, a club points race, and a reset to many of our training cycles. Many of us will now start focusing on training for shorter distances in the summer to build up for the fall marathons. Training for many marathons starts soon and we’re excited to be a part of it! Make sure to follow us for NYRR Queens 10K meet up details soon!

Queens Botanical Garden Daffodil Dash 4K

The first weekend in May brought us a race collaboration with the Queens Botanical Garden. The Inaugural Daffodil Dash 4K was a successful race on a beautiful morning. We hope to partner with more institutions and park departments to put on races and volunteer opportunities.

Long Island Half and Marathon

Later in the day after the Daffodil Dash 4K, many members went to New Jersey for the also inaugural NYRR NJ Fiesta 5K. Many took that day to rest as the next day, May 5th, held the Long Island Half and Marathon and the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia. Thanks to Julie Tran, we have another race guide for the Broad Street Run! And big congrats to Lori Brown who won the Long Island Half!

NYRR Popular Brooklyn Half

The third NYRR Club Points race of the year was the Popular Brooklyn Half and we are still celebrating that race. For many of us it was a great culmination of weeks of winter training. Check out the recap to the Brooklyn Half!

Bolder Boulder 10K

For yet another year, QDR has gone as team to Colorado during Memorial Day Weekend for the Bolder Boulder 10K! It was an exciting break to run at high altitude and go hiking together. Next year will have more climbing up mountains and running together in Colorado. Huge props to Vikram Singh for leading the team up Mount Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado!

Training and Group Runs

Not only do we now have more group runs and training sessions, we will now begin our series of Destination Runs. The first one up is on June 2nd which starts at the Queens Center Mall and heads to The Rockaways! Everyone is welcomed to join us as we have different paces we split up into so we can do our best to run together. These runs will get longer and harder but they build up for fall marathons.

Keep an eye out on our site’s calendar as well as on Strava for more group runs and training sessions. Make sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and news! We can’t wait for the NYRR Queens 10K this month so look out for details on the race and meetup location for QDR!

Queens Distance

Here’s a list of events this past May, 2019 (pictures courtesy of various team members):
1 – QDR Wednesday Morning Track Session: Juniper Park Track
3 – Friday Morning Miles at FMP
QDR Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run

4 – Queens Botanical Garden Daffodil Dash 4K
QDR Team Brunch at Austin Ale House
NYRR NJ Fiesta 5K
5 – Long Island Half & Marathon
Broad Street Run in Philadelphia
QDR Group Long Run: Forest Park Perimeter Loops
Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
BMO Vancouver Marathon/Half/8K/Relay
6 – Monday Morning Miles at FMP

QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park

Monday evenings at Central Park with Caroline

8 – QDR Wednesday AM Tempo Session – The Shovel at FMP
QDR Wednesday PM Track Session – Queensborough Community College
9 – Sac’s Place Astoria Social 10K – Run First, Feast Later!
10 – Friday Morning Miles at FMP
Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria

Gabriel and Smitty

Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run
11 – QDR Group Run: Last 10 Mile Preview of the Popular Brooklyn Half
Sri Chinmoy 5K, Half-Marathon & Relay
Damon Runyon 5K At Yankee Stadium
12 – NYRR Japan Run 4M
13 – Monday Morning Miles at FMP

14 – QDR Tuesday PM Track Session – Queensborough Community College

18 – NYRR Popular Brooklyn Half
19 – 15K Run to the Port Jeff Brewing Company
NYCRUNS Summer Loving 5K & 10K Governors Island
20 – Monday Morning Miles at FMP
QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park
22 – QDR Wednesday PM Track Session – Queensborough Community College
23 – 100th NYRR Open Run at Flushing Meadow Park

Daniel and Elsie

24 – Friday Morning Miles
Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria

Friday Morning in Astoria

Friday Evening Forest Hills: The Kessel Run
25 – Mount Elbert Hike
26 – Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon (Ontario, Canada)
L’Chaim 5K RUN/WALK

27 – Bolder Boulder 10K
Monday Afternoon Miles

Corey, Chinedu, Jin, and Harry

29 – QDR Wednesday PM Track Session – Queensborough Community College
30 – OSR Midnight Half

Jeff Muñoz and Daniel Rivera at the OSR Midnight Half

New NYRR Queens 10K route came out!
31 – Friday Morning Miles
Friday Morning Group Run: FunFridayRun Astoria

Friday Morning Miles at FMP at 5:30AM!
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April 2019 Recap

We cannot put into words the excitement we went through this past month. The anticipation for April put us on edge. When we finally reach our own individual event, we made the most of it by giving it everything we had. And we witnessed that from our teammates! From D.C., to Boston, to our very own backyard at Flushing Meadow Park, we witnessed grit and perseverance that kept us motivated and looking forward to what the rest of 2019 has for us. Let’s take look and make sure to take a look at the list of events at the end of the post!

Race Guides

Starting with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile and 5K Run, we created race guides meant to aggregate important race logistics, course strategy, and city attractions for our teammates. Since then, we have created more guides for the Boston Marathon, the Queens Marathon, and the Broad Street 10 Miler.

Although we will have more guides for local NYRR races, our hope is to have guides for races outside of NYC as well. What makes these guides standout is that they are written by our teammates who have previous experience with the race or knowledge of the city (which can be a new city to explore for many!).

Check out our race guides!

Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile & 5K Run-Walk

Just from the first weekend in April, Queens Distance raced all over. Teammates represented in Illinois, Missouri, D.C., and, of course, in local NYC races. Co-founder Edwin wrote about his experience at the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler and we hope you enjoy his training and mentality going into the race that earned him a 57:27 PR time. 

Boston Marathon

No time to rest! The following weekend was yet another big weekend with races that ranged from the 5K distance to 50 miles. I’m sure by know you may have guessed who ran that 50 miler at Lake Sonoma! Read more about his race on his personal site.

 

This weekend also saw one teammate run abroad in Serbia! For a list of races during that weekend and a recap of the Boston Marathon, check out our blog post on the 123rd Boston Marathon. It truly was a moment many of us won’t forget. Big thanks to Albert Tan of Horse and Duck Photo for going all the way to Boston to take amazing pictures of our teammates!

4th Annual Queens Marathon: RRCA New York State Marathon Championships

What an absolutely amazing day! We took over Flushing Meadows Park for a day full of volunteers and marathoners racing loops for different goals. We’ll have a separate race recap post for this race because we need to cover so many details that went into making the Queens Marathon a success for another year.

Until that recap is published, we’d like to thank all our volunteers who came out, especially the bike pacers, the volunteer leaders who took the initiative to coordinate different sections of the park, and the logistics and operation team who made the event run smoothly.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The 4th Annual Queens Marathon was magical this morning thanks to all the volunteers who helped! From 6AM until 2PM, these fine folks motivated and helped runners achieve their best. We heard from multiple runners how motivating and high-spirited the volunteers were so a huge thanks to everyone who was out there in the Start, Closing, and All-Day shifts! • Big thanks to the bike pacers who kept runners on track! And Gabor for leading them! • Give it up to your volunteer leads! We had @tearlessretina leading the all the Fluid Stations, @jonarunsthecity leading the North section, @ashleyn1650 leading the East, @anngoldie leading the South, @jinx197 leading the West, and David leading the Core. • We also had @honus67 as the Main Announcer all day! And big thanks to all the work from @mwmaria, @algorhythm19, and Operations Manager and Assistant @notmichol and @vikmanjj ! • Much, much more to come! 💛 📷 @horseandducksports !! #queesmarathon #theworldiswaiting #flushingmeadowpark #bq #marathon #volunteers #dreamteam #teamwork

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London, Big Sur, & New Jersey Marathon

We completed April with even more marathons! Huge congrats to everyone who ran this past month. For the last week in April: Nicole ran the London Marathon and is closer to becoming a World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher; Christine and Nick ran the hilly Big Sur Marathon; and we had a small team right across the river at the New Jersey Half composed of Zein, David, and Ashley. We are very pleased with Ashley’s performance as she Qualified for Boston! The previous week she volunteered all day at the Queens Marathon as a Volunteer Lead. It goes to show that the work you put into the team also helps you reach your goals.

 

Horse and Duck Photo

The team composed of Albert Tan and Jose Donado have a new site with many gorgeous pictures of our teammates at many events. Check them out!

 

 

Group Runs

Keep an eye out on our site’s calendar as well as on Strava for more group runs and training sessions. Make sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and news!

Queens Distance

 

Here’s a list of events this past April, 2019 (pictures courtesy of various team members):

2 – QDR Tuesday Afternoon Group Run- Rockaway Brewery Social Run! Up Vernon Blvd and Back!

4 – QDR Thursday Track Session: Queensborough Community College

5 – Club Fair at NYRR Run Center

6 – President Lincoln’s Half (Springfield, IL)

 

    3rd Annual 5k at the Bay Fun Run (Guardians of Flushing Bay)

7- Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler & 5K Run-Walk

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Congratulations to our top male in the #CUCB2019 5K Run-Walk, Jose Donado of New York, NY! Donado finished with a time of 18:24. Photo credit: Bob Mallet

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Queens Marathon Long Training Run #12 Marathon Pace Effort – The Perimeter

https://www.strava.com/clubs/249991/group_events/481332?fbclid=IwAR2WcW_piekEy1nAehChPa8zZXZ1ZnKS-3VuHL2fE4CbAaT_HJ3TUCihI2E

Delmar Dash 5 Miler

St Louis Marathon weekend (10K)

Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 4 Mile

8- QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park – Send off for Caroline

10 –QDR Wednesday Morning Track Session: Juniper Park Track

11 – QDR Thursday Track Session: Queensborough Community College

12 – QDR Friday Night Run – Kessel Run

13 – B.A.A. 5k, Boston

    NYCRuns Queens Half

    Helderberg Half

    Lake Sonoma 50, California

    QDR Saturday Morning Group Run: Forest Park Extended Loop

14 – Marathon Training #13

    Rutgers Unite Half Marathon

    Shakeout Run for Boston Marathon

 

    Shape Women’s Half

    Paris Marathon

    JFK Runway 5K

    Atlantic City Half

    Belgrade Half, Serbia

    Spartan race

    Riverside Dash 15k

15- Boston Marathon

 

 
 
 
 
 
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@bostonmarathon this was my 7th marathon and first time running Boston. The goal was to finish the race no matter how hard or painful could be. I was lucky to have one of teammates @danny.ocean working together from 1-17miles. This race is totally different from my other races the crowd and the support from my team made me stronger and motivated me to keep running útil the finish. / Esta fue 7timo maratón y primera vez que corro Boston. Me sentí afortunado de haber corrido con uno de mis compañeros del equipo @danny.ocean lo cual estuvimos compartiendo la milla 1 asta 17. Está carrera fue totalmente diferente que las demás que había echo ya que con el apoyo de la gente y del apoyo de mi equipo me hizo fortalecer y también me motivó a terminar esta carrera. Pic #3/ @horseandducksports Representing 🇬🇹 #Guate #contodo #Pablo⚙️ #nike #redbull #neverstop #hardworking #withoutlimit #runner

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18 – Queens Marathon bib pickup at Urban Athletics

19 – Queens Marathon bib pickup Queens Theatre

    Queens Marathon Shakeout Run! Friday Evening: Open to the Public!

20 – NYRR Run As One 4 Mile

    Queens Marathon Bib pickup at Modells at Queens center Mall and at Sac’s Pizza, Astoria

Queens Marathon Shakeout Run: Saturday Morning! Open to the Public

21 – The 2019 Queens Marathon- RRCA New York State Marathon Championships

24 – Popular Brooklyn Half confirmations sent out

27 – AOC Fun Run Astoria

    Power of a Woman Triathlon

    Allstate Hot Chocolate Brooklyn 15K/5K

28 –  NYRR UAE Healthy Kidney 10K

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Away we go! 📸: @horseandducksports

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    London Marathon

    New Jersey Marathon

    Big Sur Marathon

    Alley Pond Striders 5m

    Saint Luke’s Half and 5K

29 – Monday Morning Miles

   QDR Monday Evening Group Run: Central Park

 

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February & March 2019 Recap

February was cold. March gave us the start of the Spring racing season. Reflecting back on the past two months has given us a lot to look forward to this year and beyond. These are some brief highlights of the past two months with Queens Distance.

Group Runs

We hosted 21 group runs and 15 training runs which included speed track sessions and long runs. We owe one track day in particular to Alison Brennan who, with the help of her mother, shoveled snow off lane one on the track at Juniper Park. What dedication to training! This allowed us to make the most of a track workout the following morning. Another big thanks to Mario, Vikram, Mikey, and Gabor for biking along during training runs and for giving us their cars to store our bags. Without the help of each other, we wouldn’t have great training runs!

Relaxed group runs include the weekly Monday evening runs with Caroline Nester around Central Park, Tuesday evenings with Brian Wysocki, and Friday evenings with Mike Bocchinfuso in Forest Hills, the Kessel Run. Make sure to follow us on Strava or our calendar for future group runs.

QDR Five Year Anniversary Club Night Gala

Another magnificent year has gone by and we’ve all seen improvements not just when it comes to running. We’ve seen personal growth in many areas and we’re proud of our teammates. The QDR Five Year Anniversary Club Night Club was a special night to commemorate all our achievements and highlight members of all abilities. It’s not just about getting faster, it’s about believing in yourself to challenge yourself to new distances and goals. At the end of everything, we become a better athlete and a better person.

We celebrated runners who in the past year have improved the most, have made leaders of themselves, and have shown great character in our team. Best of all, the nominees and winners were voted on by our own teammates!

And, of course, it wouldn’t have been a surprising night if it wasn’t for the team also showing their gratitude to the co-founders by coming on stage and handing them bouquets and special Co-Founder Appreciation awards! It was a very touching moment and one we won’t forget.

Pictures courtesy of Horse and Duck Photo

Tokyo Marathon & NYRR Washington Heights 5K

The first World Marathon Major is now complete! As we head into the second Major marathon, the Boston Marathon, we’d like to give huge congratulations to David Dominguez, Julie Tran, and Maria Wong who represented QDR in Japan! We got a great glimpse into the Tokyo Marathon thanks to team captain Kevin who kept us up-to-date with everything that Japan had to offer; from the city to race day live feed, we felt like we were right there supporting (and petting bunnies if you followed Kevin).

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Meet your QDR Tokyo Marathon Class of 2019! This will be the 1st Tokyo Marathon for each of them. Remember the names, because it’s SHOWTIME. Leading off, from Kew Gardens, frequent QDR Volunteer David Dominguez @duhminguez! Batting cleanup, one of our favorite #beyondtheborough members, from the Lower East Side, Julie Tran @eastvillageveg! Finally, standing in at 5 feet, 4 inches, hailing from Jackson Heights, your Co-Founder of the Queens Distance Runners, Maria Wong @mwmaria! We’d like to wish everyone running the 2019 Tokyo Marathon an incredible experience! See you on our stories 🤗 #queensdistance #queensnyc🌎 #itsinqueens #qdrteamtravels #tokyomarathon #maytheforcebewithusall #running #marathon

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Japan is a half-day ahead of us which meant that on the evening of March 2nd, we had the chance to follow the marathon as we prepared for the first club points race of the year the following day. We headed up to Washington Heights for the NYRR Washington Heights Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K. It was a warmer than usual morning and with everyone’s helped the Women’s Team came in 12th and the Men’s team came in 11th place! We really can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us regarding NYRR club point races!

United Airlines NYC Half

Wow, what can we say about the United Airlines NYC Half?! The course was slightly changed this year but we were all ready. The course now features five starting waves, more distance in Prospect Park, and a finish in Central Park that doesn’t pass through Cat Hill or the Three Sister hills on the west side. With that in mind, we came out big and had an amazing time.

One key highlight was that this race was Mario Silva’s first half marathon! As many of you can attest, running your first half is intimidating. But, when you have a team supporting you, that can help ease the nerves. As someone who graciously helps QDR out weekly, we were glad to be out there to support him and everyone else on the course.

 

Pictures courtesy of Pablo Yax in Times Square and teammates at the Scream Station

Big thanks to Pablo Yax who took pictures at Times Square, the volunteers at the last water station entering Central Park, and everyone who came to cheer at the Scream Station (including those who went after they finished their own race)!

QDR Races

In the past two months we hosted three races: For The Love of Queens 5K, Spring Forward 10 Miler and 5 Miler, and the 30K Marathon Tune-up. The For the Love of Queens 5K race featured (for the first time) a 10K relay where partners each ran 5K and the total time was added up. We had so much fun showing lots of love that day!

Spring Forward treated us with rainy and cold weather but all the runners persevered. Perhaps not the best indication of what the Spring weather has to offer us, but you make the best out of what you are given. Everyone who showed up definitely showed heart in those conditions. And the volunteers out there were amazing!

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Those Spring Forward Miles and Medals🏅 were 💯 earned! It’s that simple. Congratulations to each of our runners that came to Forest Park to brave the elements and the loss of 💤 ⏰! While the weather made for less than ideal racing conditions, once again, the Queens Distance Race Management Team and Volunteers put their bravest face on to shine through yet again. Together in the efforts, we thank @elitefeats, @sacsplace, @stgypro, @horseandduckphoto, and @fhvac Running a Spring Marathon? Register for our Spring Marathon 30K Tune-Up on March 24th at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the following event on our Calendar! #linkinbio📲💻 Here’s to a pleasant Spring! #queensdistance #queensnyc🌎 #itsinqueens #runners #queensrunning #elitefeats #forestpark #horseandduckphoto #racephotos

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Finally, we just recently held the QDR 30K Marathon Tune-up. As we progress further into Spring we see many runners peaking in their training for their marathon. This was a perfect opportunity for a marathon-pace effort run that also went on most of the Queens Marathon course. With pacers, Brooklyn Running Company, UCAN out on water stations, and a brisk morning, the 30K Tune-up met full expectations!

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#Repost @1runtoeat with @get_repost ・・・ These ladies were on 🔥🔥🔥this morning! Had so much pacing at the @queensdistance 30K Tune Up, and what a BEAUTIFUL day to be outside! #SPRINGATLAST 😍🌸🏃🏻‍♀️🌼🏃🏻‍♀️🌞

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Keep an eye out on our site’s calendar as well as on Strava for more group runs and training sessions. Make sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and news!

#QueensDistanceTravels

With all the talk about races in NYC, what about outside of NYC? The past two months had plenty of races in other cities that showed that we extend well beyond Queens, NYC. We saw members run in Zion, New Orleans, Phoenix, L.A., Washington D.C., Atlanta, and even in Kingston, Jamaica! For a full list of races outside of NYC where Queens Distance members ran in, check the list below.

 

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What an exciting weekend of QDR teammates racing in other cities and close to home. This past weekend we tracked @coachcorkyruns and @marathonernicole as they ran the Phoenix Marathon. There were also back-to-back days of racing in New Orleans from the 5K to the Marathon! @run.cyn.run earned 6th place female in the 10K, @nickddeuz PR-ed in the half, and @yovany87 earned 9th place overall in the marathon! Close to home, we had teammates run the Queens Cupid Chase 5K. Reminder: this upcoming weekend is our own 5K in Flushing Meadow Park! It’s great to see the organization of our fellow teammates as we race outside of home! It makes traveling and racing fun, and the support and friendly faces during races is welcomed. Congrats to everyone! #queensdistance #queensdistancetravels #rnrnola #pheonixmarathon #cupidchase5k #medalmonday #mondaymotivation #weekendrecap

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Keep an eye out on our site’s calendar as well as on Strava for more group runs and training sessions. Make sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and news!

Queens Distance

 

Here’s a list of events this past February and March, 2019 (pictures courtesy of various team members):

February

1 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

2 – QDR Saturday Morning Long Training Run – Forest Park

        QDR volunteering for the QueensWay cleanup

3 – NYRR Gridiron 4M

        TARCtic Frozen Yeti 15 Mile race

        QDR Queens Marathon Group Training #6 – FMP 10 Mile Time Trial

4 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

5 – QDR Tuesday Morning Group Run – Jackson Heights Hill Circuit

        QDR Tuesday Evening Group Run – Astoria and LIC

6 – QDR Wednesday Morning Track Session – Juniper Park Track

        QDR Wednesday Evening Group Run – Flushing

7 – QDR Thursday Tempo Run – Flushing Meadow Park

8 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

9 – Cupids’ Chase Queens

        QDR Saturday Morning Long Training Run – Forest Park

10 – Rock’n’Roll New Orleans Marathon, half, 10k, 5k

        QDR Queens Marathon Group Training #7 – Cross Borough Flushing Meadow Park – Alley Pond Park

11 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

13 – QDR Wednesday Morning Track Session – Juniper Park Track

15 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

        QDR Friday Morning Group Run – For the Love of Queens Shakeout

16 – QDR For The Love of Queens

17 – Mile High Run Class with Coach Elizabeth Corkum

        El Paso Marathon

        PPTC Cherry Tree 10 M

18 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

19 – QDR Tuesday Evening Group Run – Astoria and LIC

22 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

23 – Zion Half Marathon

        NYRR Al Gordon Brooklyn 4M

24 – Disney World Princess Half Marathon

        NYCRuns Central Park Half Marathon

        QDR NYC Half Last 11 Miles Preview Run

        QDR Queens Marathon Long Training Run #9 – 19 Miles, 16 in Queens, 3 in Manhattan – Urban Athletics

25 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

28 – NYRR Night at the Races 4

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We are smiling before cry from one mile.hard one ☝️

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March

1 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

2 – Liberty Hospital Half Marathon, Kansas City, MO

3 – Tokyo Marathon

        NYRR Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K

One City Marathon, Virginia

4 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

8 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

        QDR 5 Year Anniversary Club Night Gala

9 – Rock’n’Roll Washington D.C. Marathon, Half, 5K

        Mesa-Phoenix Marathon

10 – QDR Spring Forward 5M/10M

        NYCRuns Spring Fling 10K/5K

11 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

14 – QDR Thursday Track Session – Queensborough Community College

15 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

16 – QDR Group Training #10 – Shake Out Run for the UA NYC Half

        QDR 5K Time Trial

17 – United Airlines NYC Half

        Kingston City Marathon, Half, 10K, 5K (Jamaica)

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A dream come true! 🇯🇲🏅🇯🇲 #bucketlist #kingstoncityrun #jamaica Dedicating this race to the amazing Jamaican people in my life who have inspired me to be the person I am today: – My teammate when I first joined track (2007-2009) @cooljayknight who always believed in me and pushes me to want to be better. So proud of you! 🙏🏼💯 – The GOAT @usainbolt for being a true champion of the people. 🥇🥇🥇 – And my great friend and former co-worker Lisa for always treating me like a son and always having my back. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without you and it’s truly an honor to finally be in your beautiful country! 👏🏼🇯🇲❤️ #onelove

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        Publix Atlanta Marathon, Half, 5K

18 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

21 – QDR Thursday Track Session – Queensborough Community College

22 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

23 – Kings Park 15K

        Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon

24 – QDR 30K Marathon Tune-up

        L.A. Marathon

        Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle Chicago 8K

25 – QDR Monday Evening Group Run – Central Park

27 – QDR Wednesday Morning Track Session – Juniper Park Track

28 – QDR Thursday Track Session – Queensborough Community College

29 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run

30 – Footsteps for Progress 5K

        Two River Marathon and Half Marathon

31 – Love Run Philadelphia Half Marathon & 7K

        QDR Queens Marathon Long Training Run #11 – Queens Marathon Course Preview