It’s only been one month into 2019 and we are overwhelmed by all the amazing achievements thus far! We had many group runs, we raced near and far, we celebrated birthdays and PRs, we registered for big races, and we won the 2018 NYRR Team Spirit Award!
Group Runs
In total we’ve had 15 official group runs in January. The group runs covered different training sessions such as speed on tracks, long distance in parks, and fun runs throughout NYC. The speed sessions were held at East River Track, Forest Park Track, Juniper Park Track, and Queensborough Community College Track. Some of fun runs, including running from the Brooklyn Running Company headquarters up to the Williamsburg Bridge and back, a Star Wars-themed Kessel Run, and a long run from a Rockaway Brewing Company in LIC to their sister location in the Rockaways! To top it off, we’ve held long training sessions with a timing clock in Flushing Meadow Park as part of training for the Queens Marathon!
Co-Founders Week
January is an exciting month with so many member birthdays, but did you know that the birthdays for the three co-founders are all four days apart from each other? The stars aligned back in 1988 when Edwin (January 19), Kevin (January 23), and Maria (January 27), were born. Since QDR began, we’ve celebrated members’ birthdays and last year we listed all the birthdays at the beginning of each respective month. Look out for dates and wish one another a healthy year with more running and more PRs!
Races and PRs
Speaking of PRs, many of our members have PR-ed at multiple races in the past 31 days! Need us remind you – it’s only January! Just to list a few: Elsie Alonso PR-ed at the 5K in the Chevron Houston 5K, Daniel Rivera in the Half at the Chevron Houston Half (with a 1:15 time!), and Vikram Singh at the Marathon in the Chevron Houston Marathon! We had great showings at the NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10k and the Fred Lebow Half Marathon in which Marie placed first for females! There were also many races completed by members across the nation, such as in Houston (mentioned above), the Dopey Challenge completed by Laurentia Mei, the Disney Marathon by Abilene de Jesus, the Bermuda Triangle Challenge by Valerie Lores, the Miami Half by Chinedu Ogueri, and many more (see below for a more complete list).
TCS NYC Marathon and the Popular Brooklyn Half
Congrats to everyone who registered for either the TCS NYC Marathon, the Popular Brooklyn Half, or both! It seems like this year the Brooklyn Half registration period went very smoothly and we have a total of 124 members registered for the race so far! This does not include any members who can potentially register through charity or Team for Kids. The deadline for the TCS NYC Marathon is February 14, 2019. If you decide to not race it, you are always welcomed to join us at the cheer stations in Queens and Central Park South!
NYRR Club Night
We end January with the NYRR 40th Annual Club Night! It’s a night of celebration for all the collective and personal achievements we’ve accomplished in 2018. For the second consecutive year, Bryan Guzman was nominated for the Runner of the Year Age 15-19. Even though he did not win, his journey highlights how one of our QDR youth is on the right path towards a successful running life.
In previous years, Catherine Chua and Marie-Ange Brumelot were nominated for their respective age groups. We also won both Open Women B and Open Men B divisions and since then we’ve raced against other amazing teams in the A division.
At the culmination of the night, Queens Distance Runners was nominated for the first time for the coveted Team Spirit Award. When the announcers said our team name, we were in disbelief. We are honored to share the award with you all and a huge congrats to the Dashing Whippets and Streets 101 for also being nominated and for supporting the running community!
We leave you now with some words from the team captain, Kevin, regarding the win.
This one is for anyone that has ever put the time and energy into Queens Distance.
When I heard “And the Team Spirit Award goes to……..Queens Distance Runners”, my heart dropped and I very well may have shed some tears, because I couldn’t help but remember the tough moments since 2013.
All the times we patiently waited to give teammates and Friends of QDR their moment in a race, all the trust you put into us week in and week out. This isn’t easy, and in Queens, this has never been done.
We now have teammates that have moved on in life, their time with Queens Distance, a memory, this one is for you, our moment tonight is on the strength of your time and commitment to each other.
There are hundreds of teams on the NYRR list, and this award validates any and all gestures of Teamwork and Support we bring to the races.
On our QDR Club Night, we will proudly display this plaque, as it is yours and ours all the same.
Tonight, the NYRR Team Spirit Award comes HOME!
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!
Thank you all!
Queens Distance
Here’s a list of events this past January, 2019:
1 – QDR New Years Day Mile at Queensborough Community College Track
3 – Brooklyn Running Co. evening group run
5 – NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10K – 30 QDR finishers
6 – Queens Marathon group training #3 – FMP 8 mile time trial and post-training meal at Tony’s Beechhurst Deli
9 – QDR at East River Track AM
10 – QDR at Forest Park Track PM
QDR at NYRR Night at the Races at the Armory 1k, 600m, 3k
9-13 – Dopey Challenge – Laurentia Mei
12 – Disney Half – Michelle Sternecker
Disney 10K – Melinda Hood
Disney Marathon – Abilene de Jesus
13 – Queens Marathon group training #4 – FMP 4 x 2 mile repeats
14 – TCS NYC Marathon – registration opened
15 – Queens Botanical Garden Daffodil Dash 4k – registration opened
16 – QDR at East River Track AM
QDR at Forest Park Track PM
19 – Queens Marathon group training #5 – Forest Park 4×3 mile repeats
19-20 Chevron Houston 5k – Elsie Alonso
Chevron Houston Half – Daniel Rivera
Chevron Houston Marathon – Vikram Singh
18-20 Bermuda Triangle Challenge – Valerie Lores
19-27 Co-Founders Birthday Week
20 – NYRR Fred Lebow Half Marathon – 37 QDR finishers
Marie-Ange Brumelot was the first overall female!
View this post on InstagramWell that wasn’t pretty. I totally didn’t expect it to get so cold. Froze my butt off, literally, and my fingers were too frozen I couldn’t pull my shorts down. So there goes that. 😅 Thanks for all the cheers, I crossed the finish line thanks to you! #FredLebowHalf #QueensDistance #CoachMedinaNYC #NYRR #WinterRunning #MarathonTraining
21 – QDR Monday Evening at Central Park with Caroline Nestor
24 – QDR at NYRR Night at the Races at the Armory 800m, 5k
25 – QDR Kessel Run in Forest Hills
Information about the new NYC Half course came out.
26 – QDR Brewery Run from LIC to Rockaway
27 – Miami Half – Chinedu Ogueri
Icebreaker Half – Shahidah Nicole
28 – QDR Monday Evening at Central Park with Caroline Nestor
29 – QDR LIC beer run along Vernon Blvd
30 – QDR at East River Track AM
Registration for the Popular Brooklyn Half opened – 124 total QDR members have signed up!
31 – QDR at Juniper Park Track AM
NYRR Club Night