adidas Run for the Parks Results and Photos

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Run for the Parks on Sunday. Especially for those of you who were racing for the first time in Central Park! We hope you all had a great time out there and will continue to run with us throughout the spring and summer!

Here are our official team results...and some photos. (For some reason Tony and Aoife's naes aren't coming up in the results listings. But we know you each did awesome!)

Joe Franza 24:55
Lew Santoni 26:36
Dennis Bleasdell: 30:06
Betty Eng: 31:05
Erin Thompson: 32:23 Katherine Lee: 38:22 Sarah Flynn: 41:55**
Mark Flynn: 41:55
Aoife GleesonTony Estrella

**Running for two :-)

Urban Run Leap Year Mile Photos

The top three men (from L-R): Chris (1st), Christopher (2nd), and Warren (3rd)

The women (from L-R): Laurel (1st), Amy (2nd), Margot (3rd), and Michelle (4th)

The field, post-race

From left to right: Runners James, Erin, Sebastian, Gustaf, and Joe get ready for Heat 1.

LEAP YEAR MILE RESULTS!

Congratulations to everyone who came out and tore up the track at Chelsea Piers Sports Center last Friday for our first-ever adidas Urban Run Leap Year Mile! With it being Leap Year and all, we threw in a little extra distance (hey, you’re only going to do it every four years, right?) and still saw some great times from both regular Urban Runners and newcomers. Here are the results:

URBAN RUN LEAP YEAR MILE*, PRESENTED BY CHELSEA PIERS SPORTS CENTER
February 29, 2008
*Race distance approximately 1.1 miles
MEN
1. Chris Ellis-Ferrara 5:13
2. Christopher Stewart 5:31
3. Warren Eng 6:05 (top Masters)
4. Brent Gaylord 6:14
5. Lindsay Watt 6:18
6. James Brown 6:29
7. Eric Cheung 6:31
8. Sebastian 6:31.5
9. Gustaf 7:26
10. Joe Kogan 9:37

WOMEN
1. Laurel Wassner 6:04
2. Amy Laub 6:47
3. Margot Sheehan 7:06 (top Masters)
4. Michelle Krupna 8:08

BRING A BUDDY, GET A PRIZE

Celebrate Valentine’s Day a little early with our Sweetheart Run on Tuesday, February 12. Every runner who brings a friend will automatically receive a fabulous adidas prize. We’ll also have some Heart’s Day treats for you to snack on (after the run, of course!). Sweet!

Chelsea Piers Open House

Lead Runners Sarah and Joe greeted potential new Urban Runners at the Chelsea Pier's Open House on January 21. adidas Brand Coaches were also on hand to conduct the footscan, which analyzes how your foot moves and exactly where you need support when running.

Happy Holidays, Runners!

adidas Urban Run would like to extend very warm holiday wishes to each and every one of you! May the days ahead be merry and bright, and may all your runs feel fast and light!

Please note that we'll be taking a brief break for the holidays, and there will be no runs on 12/23, 12/25, 12/29, or 1/1/08. We'll resume with in the new year on Sunday, January 6, 2008.

See you then!

Shop and save on adidas gear!

If you saved all of your holiday shopping until the last minute, don't fret. Just head over to Soho and hit up the adidas Sports Performance Store (610 Broadway, at Houston Street) for its End of Season Sale. Snap up bargains on all of the gear that you--or your loved ones--could ever hope for, discounted up to 30%!

NYRR Holiday 4 Miler

Here is a post-race photo flashing the team's Adidas Urban Run tees. Congrats to Eric, Michael, Dario, Lewis, and Derek on their fantastic results and braving the cold!

Here is my 'Joe anecdote' for the day titled...
"How to know if you are actually racing" by Joe Franza

This past Saturday, while lead runner Sarah and the team took their positions at the starting line for the NYRR Holiday 4-miler... my watch decided to malfunction. Being under the impression that I spared 15 minutes to the start of the race, I decided to finish my stretches, make sure my shoe laces were tight, while watching people line up at the '11 minute mile' section. The 11 & 12 mile group had began to move slightly, so I started jogging closer to the starting line to take my spot. I must have missed the starting line in the midst the crowd, because I continued jogging leisurely down to 98th street.. at which point I asked a runner next to me "Has the race started?" and she responded "yeah, baby, you're racing." I thought to myself "no wonder the starting line seemed so awfully far..."

Team adidas Urban Run!

Here's a shot of Eric, Lew, and I just before the start of the NYRR Holiday 4-Miler on Saturday morning. As you can tell, we were freezing! But once we stood among the 5,000 other runners at the starting line, we started to warm up. The cold effected us all--I never really thawed out and was moving rather slowly--but, by the end of the race, we were nice and toasty!

Here are the results:

TEAM adidas URBAN RUN
NYRR 4-MILER
DECEMBER 15, 2007, CENTRAL PARK, NYC
29 Degrees

Dario Banalotti (25:55)
Joe Franza (26:01)
Eric Cheung (26:46)
Michael Klochkov (27:04)--sixth in his age group!
Lewis Santoni (27:43)
Sarah Wassner Flynn (28:56)
Derek Seto (31:49)

A full team picture coming soon!

~Sarah

Running to Win!

On Sunday's run, we selected three lucky adidas Urban Runners to win free entry into the NYRR Holiday 4-Miler on December 15. Lewis Santoni, Michael Klochkov, and Eric Cheung will all toe the line at next week's race sporting their team Urban Run t-shirts. Let's hope their luck from yesterday carries them through to a PR next week!

Want to join us at the race? Simply register and let us know when you do. We'll get you a t-shirt and give you the scoop on when and where to meet at Central Park.

Urban Runners Running Fast

A couple of our own Urban Runners have fared very well at recent races: Marc Vromen had a fantastic finish at the Las Vegas Half-Marathon over the weekend. And last month, Dave Goldberger demolished his prior PR in the marathon by seven minutes with a sizzling 3:20 finish in last month's Philly marathon.

A big congratulations to both!

Have you run a remarkable race recently? Let us know!

Pace Projection Race #2: Sunday!

Don't forget: Our next pace projection is in just two days! Before we leave for the run, we’ll ask you to gauge how long it will take you to complete our regular 4- or 8-mile routes. Leaving your watches behind, you’ll then shoot to stick to your designated pace throughout the run. At the end of the run, we’ll see how close you get to your projected time. The top five runners who most closely match their predetermined pace will win a fabulous adidas prize. Last time, Urban Runner Dario Banalotti was just 42 seconds off his predicted time. Think you can do better? Join us on Sunday!

Raffle Redux

Boosted by (relatively) mild weather and the collective need to burn off all of that Thanksgiving grub, we had an excellent turnout on Tuesday's run. But we got so caught up with chatting and taking part in the adidas FootScan that we completely lost track of time. Since most of you had left before we realized we hadn't drawn a name for the monthly shoe raffle, we're going to pick a winner next Tuesday, 12/4, instead.

So for those of you who still want a shot of winning a brand new, top-of-the-line pair of adidas running shoes, come out to next Tuesday's (12/4) adidas Urban Run. We promise we won't forget this time!

Trotting Before the Turkey

Every Thanksgiving for the past five years or so, I've made a point to run a turkey Trot prior to the big feast. Not only is it a great way to build up a huge appetite for T-Day (usually that's not a problem for me, but I have to go to two--that's right, two--meals in one day, so I need any help I can get!), but it's also a fun opportunity to get in a rare mid-week race. Usually, I'll do a 10K on a rather tough course, but this year I opted for a more manageable 5K in Northern Virginia. About 3500 runners toed the line on the balmy, bright morning, and I found a spot in the front of the pack just before the gun went off. My plan was of course to finish in a respectable time, but also to see if I could run evenly (I have a tendency to go out too fast in races). After a few near-trips over some high school kids running zig zag in front of me, I settled into my groove and darted toward the first mile. We crossed that mark in 6:20, and immediately I put on the breaks. Too fast. Even though I felt great, I wanted to focus on keeping a strong pace throughout. So I backed off into about 6:40 pace, which I managed to hold onto all the way through the slightly uphill finish. My final time was 20:41: Not my best, but faster than what I've run lately. And even better? I felt like I could run another 5K at the end, making me think I can hold 6:40 pace for a 10K with a bit more training.

So, did any of you get to trotting on Thanksgiving? If so, tell us about your race experience!

Hope to see you at the adidas Urban Run this week!
~Sarah

Wanna Race?

After all of those long, easy runs up and down the West Side Highway, you're probably ready for a little speed. So test out your fast-twitch muscles at the NYRR Holiday 4-Miler on December 15. I'm organizing a group of Urban Runners to join me in this fun, festive and--most importantly, short--race. Sign up here, then let me know you've done so at the next Urban Run. I'll give you an adidas Urban Run t-shirt (so you can show off your team pride during the race!), and more details on meeting up at Central Park before and after the race. (Pssst...reindeer ears not required, but if you have 'em, wear 'em!).

~Sarah