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).
View this post on InstagramMeet 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
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!
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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!
View this post on InstagramThose 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
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!
#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.
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
View this post on InstagramThank you, team!!!! Today we ran and raised money for @thequeensmarathon. It was a treat to share the @milehighrunclub studio with my @queensdistance team mates. This community and this team makes running so special. 💛 • • #queensdistance #queensmarathon #qdr #weekendvibes #milehighrunclub #incoachwetrust #woodwayworkout #team #fam #friendship
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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March
1 – QDR Friday Evening Group Run – Forest Hills, Kessel Run
2 – Liberty Hospital Half Marathon, Kansas City, MO
3 – Tokyo Marathon
View this post on InstagramCongratulations to our Co-Founder Maria Wong @mwmaria on her 3:06:41 2019 Tokyo Marathon Finish Time, it is a Personal Record by 4 Minutes and 11 Seconds! MUCH more to come from Tokyo, we appreciate all the support we received from the NYC Running Community at large. Congratulations to all Finishers and we look forward to seeing our Teammates and Friends Race the Washington Heights 5K! #queensdistance #👑of🌎 #queenofqueens #thankyou! #tokyomarathon #personalrecord #marathon #marathonmedal
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)
View this post on InstagramA 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
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
View this post on InstagramI never knew a destination #marathon could be so much fun. Thanks to @jerkim83 @yipi.kaye @youngseok_ju @yeonjae_jwa @nycsang @kostacey @ostrich_run95 @src_newyork @koreatownrunclub for the fantastic weekend!🙏 📸 by @steadyarchives. . . . . . . @lamarathon @laroadrunners #lamarathon #marathon #running #run #runners #달리기 #마라톤 #la #losangeles #tracksmith #vaporfly #nikerunning
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