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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!
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!
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!
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!
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
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
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!).
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.
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.
A post shared by 🐴🦆🏃🏻♂️🏃🏻♀️ (@horseandducksports) on
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):
Only a few days left until the 4th annual 2019 Queens Marathon, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) New York State Marathon Championship! This past weekend before the Queens Marathon was an exciting prelude to what is to come. Yes! We are talking about the Boston Marathon! Queens Distance went to mile 20 of the Boston Marathon to cheer on all the runners and especially our 13 beloved teammates.
The 123rd Boston Marathon was the last race of a long weekend held on Monday, April 15th Patriot’s Day. Before we go any further, we’d like to congratulate all our other teammates who also raced this past weekend.
Saturday, April 13th
B.A.A 5K, Boston
NYCRuns Queens Half & 5K
Helderberg to Hudson Half Marathon
Lake Sanoma 50 Miler, California
Sunday, April 14th
SHAPE Women’s Half Marathon
Paris Marathon, France
JFK Runway 5K
Spartan Race, Citi Field
Atlantic City Half Marathon, New Jersey
Belgrade Half Marathon, Serbia
Brookhaven 15K
Riverside Dash 15K, Sandford, Florida
Boston Marathon
Just a few years ago in 2016, Maria Wong and a handful of teammates ran the Boston Marathon. Edwin and Kevin went that weekend and biked from the halfway point until the finish line, cheering wherever possible. This year, 13 Queens Distance teammates trained through another frigid winter for this prestigious race. This is by far, the most stacked field Queens Distance has ever presented for the Boston Marathon.
This is the second of the World Marathon Majors races held each year and this race is very special place in the running community. This is a tough race to qualify for as many of us who try to “BQ” know. It is a goal many marathon runners seek and that many do not get. But that, in itself, is what makes chasing this unicorn special. Having this goal in mind, working towards it, perhaps failing, and eventually earning it makes toeing the starting line of the Boston Marathon a great achievement.
This marathon starts in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, an otherwise quiet New England town that becomes the epicenter for corralling thousands of remarkable runners all the way to the finish line in Boston. Just like last year, Queens Distance went to Newton and to the infamous Heartbreak Hill to cheer on runners as they prepare to tackle the last 10k of the race. Special thanks to Albert Tan of Horse and Duck Photo who came for the day to take amazing shots.
It goes without saying but the weather is part of the race. Last year, runners ran through heavy rain and cold weather. This year, it was pouring in the early morning and around the start time the sun came out, and with that the humidity steadily increased. Still, the runners prevailed.
Here are the 13 Boston Marathoners who represented Queens Distance!
Women’s Team
Jona Molla
Caroline Nester
Irena Ocasio
Rinchen Pelden
Kaitlyn Richert
Deki Yangzom
Men’s Team
Anibal Chehayeb
Jeremiah Estes
Derek Hanson
Winston Mei
Eric Morris
Danny Rivera
Pablo Yax
Welcome to another edition of Ed’s Calm Corner! This post will be a post-race edition instead of the usual pre-race posts.
Queens Distance just had another amazing weekend with teammates participating in many races in and outside of NYC. Races included the St. Louis Marathon, the President Lincoln’s Half, Rockaway Spring Half, the Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 4 Miler, and others. I, for one, participated in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile race in Washington D.C. along with Vikram Singh, Cathy Huang, Valerie Lores, Abilene De Jesus, Cannigia Laluw, Jessica Peralta, and Diana Wong. Jose Donado, who is coming back from injury, raced and WON the 5K event in D.C.!
At the expo the day before the race, we met with Deena Kastor, American record holder in the marathon, who signed my bib and Diana’s copy of her book, Let Your Mind Run. It’s a personal favorite running book and one that helped me realize that everyone has untapped potential to achieve more than they think is possible. We’ve seen this recently. Many teammates are about to run a marathon very soon (Boston, New Jersey, Queens!) and their training has been excellent. Kevin and I keep an eye out on everyone and it’s exciting to see all the progress and achievements being accomplished.
At the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile race, I was not the fastest runner on the field but I succeeded in overcoming self-doubt, earned a personal best, and gained so much from the experience. The training cycle leading up to the sub-58 minute race was tough, but it contained many miles filled with happiness. The following few tips are not for the physical part of training, but more the mental aspect of training which I hope can be useful for experienced runners and new runners attempting longer distances.
Queens Distance right before the start of the race!
Enjoy the training cycle
Many runners run for fun but many run with big goals in mind. These are goals that get us up early in the morning to run and make us plan our yearly calendar in 18-, 16-, or 12-week cycles. Many of these goals won’t be achieved for years, and that’s okay—big goals are meant to be broken down into smaller goals that we can reach one at a time.
With a goal comes the commitment to train and have a schedule, one that may not always seem flexible for anything life throws in your direction. One of the most important things I learned this past cycle was to enjoy all aspects of training and not be so strict about it. For me, this meant that taking a trip to Zion, Utah for a half marathon and not running for a week (but hiking instead) before another race was acceptable.
I was worried about losing fitness that week leading up to the Washington Heights 5K but it turned out well in the end. The hiking made up for the lack of mileage as cross-training. You don’t always need to run many miles; you can enjoy a trip and still make gains. Reflecting back, the Washington Heights 5K was a club points race and that added unneeded pressure.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
There were plenty of times in the past when I was hard on myself leading up to training sessions or long runs, meticulously planning what I wanted to do. This time, I was more relaxed and often decided on a workout right before it was executed. It’s not that I wasn’t serious about training, it’s just a more relaxed mentality.
Each training cycle is different and sometimes you can’t hit a pace in a workout that you were able to execute weeks or months before. Fitness is different each cycle and knowing you are feeling well can be better than hitting a pace in a workout. So when sessions don’t go well, let it go, the road will always be there.
Acknowledge that training runs won’t always go as expected
There was one key long run workout I did to prepare for the ten mile race (2x3k, 3x2k, 5x1k) which I did not complete. The first part of the workout went much better than I expected it to go. When starting the last part, unfortunately, I could not move my legs to the pace I wanted to hit. I called it a day but did not consider it a failure. I reminded myself how well the first part went and that was more than enough to cheer me up.
Completed workouts that go well feel great, but they are not always the key. One workout won’t define your training. Whether it’s a great workout or a bad one, when you toe the line to your race you are showing who you are based on multiple weeks of training. So, when you miss a workout or it doesn’t go well, that’s just another reason to make the next one better. I would not recommend trying to “make up for it” and doing it the next day but instead letting it go and keep with the training schedule.
For the past two races I had trouble making up race plans. Should I be conservative or more aggressive? Whether you make up a training plan for yourself or your coach gives you one, stick with it. The coach knows you well enough to know you can execute the plan. They believe in you, now it’s your turn to believe and achieve.
Signed copy of Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor
The later miles in a race will always be difficult. For a marathon it can be the last six miles, for a half the last three, for this ten miler it was the last two miles. Whether it was a good day or a bad day, my plan was to give everything I had for those last two miles and I stuck with it.
Don’t rely on the watch too much
Sticking with a plan means having a pace you want to hit. The best way to keep track of it is with a watch but sometimes it can backfire. I’ve had races where I wasn’t hitting the pace and I panicked. Any small amount of panic can cause bad results.
Sometimes, like at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile race, the watch will read faster splits. Perhaps you need to slow down to a pace you know you can more comfortably hit. But, if you are having a great day and the faster-than-expected splits are feeling good, then why not keep going? The watch can unconsciously set a limit on what you think you should run and not what you are capable of.
Remember why you run
The Cherry Blossom Ten Mile race was gorgeous. As you made turns you could see monuments in the distance and as you went on the straightaways there were cherry blossoms on each side of the road. During mile three or four of the race I reminded myself why I was running the race, who I was running for, and what I wanted to get out of it. You can be fueled with thoughts of “I need to get this time” or “I need to beat this person” but I don’t believe that will get you far. Whatever or whoever you think of, make sure it makes you smile. Just ask Eliud Kipchoge how much smiling helps him in a race.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Peralta
Failure happens to all of us. Bad failure is hard to deal with. Good failure motivates us to be better. Set the bad thoughts aside and put your heart out there. And remember, you have a whole team behind you!
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.
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).
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!
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!
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!
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.
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
