Episode 30: A Tale Of Two NYC Parks: Forest and Central
Listen to Episode 30
As we do these shows, we come back again and again to high-quality, small races in the area. Tonight we talked about a nice four-miler in Forest Park, Queens. Tavia (race report) and Brenn ran it. The bonus: Finding a nice oasis for trail running in Queens, and the prospect of using a nice new track. Sweet. [And more about the Forest Park Runners below.]
In the opposite corner, the Healthy-Kidney 10K. Steve reported on it briefly, but our discussion turned to the following photo, posted by NYRR:
Listen to the show. You’ll find out what we’re talking about.
And Joe mentioned a post he did: Why Would Anyone Run An NYRR Race?
Finally, Tavia mentioned a reference in New York Runner (NYRR’s magazine) about Grete Waitz and her running the Trevira Twosome. That was a 10-mile race in the early 80s in which men and women teamed up and the results were based on combined times. Joe did it several times. Tavia mentioned it as something that NYRR could do to make its races more attractive. A bit of fun on top of the race itself.
Some info from Bonnie of the Forest Park Running Club:
“We are a Queens-based running club together since 1980. We run on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in the morning at 8 am, year round, all weather. In spring, summer and early fall we also run Wednesday evenings at 6:45 pm. We always meet at the intersection of Forest Park drive and Woodhaven Boulevard.
“Our club consists of adult Runners and Walkers and we range in skills and pace. However, we all started out pretty simply, so don’t let that get in your way.
“Generally we use the asphalt and trails of the park and as our terrain is both flat and hilly, it is a good workout.
“Come on out and meet us. A year’s membership is only $20 for new members (includes team cap) $10 for regular renewals and $5 for seniors. It includes the monthly newsletters, bagel breakfasts, discounts on team apparel, etc.” Return
The New York Running Show 
I loved this episode. I loved learning about Forest Park, but I also loved the discussion about non-NYRR races. I moved here just a couple of years ago from a small city of about 250,000. There were not a lot of runners there. The local running club organized a race about once a month, mostly 5ks, that were generally attended by about 100 runners.
I was so excited to come here and finally run the NYRR races! Until I realized nearly every race was in Central Park–moving around the loop as though it’s a clock face. I was spoiled by my small town club, where every race took part in a different area of town.
I spent a year doing my 9+1 and that was pretty much it. I have maintained my membership, but I only ran the marathon in 2010 and one other race. This year I will run two, maybe three, NYRR races. I have intentionally sought opportunities to run races sponsored by other clubs and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed racing in other parts of this great city and meeting fellow racers outside the crowded corrals.
I want to give a special shout out to Steve Lastoe and his NYCRuns site and the people posting at the New York Runners Society FB group. Thank you for being vocal about other running opportunities!
Loved the episode. One suggestion…you might want to ask participants to mute when they are not talking. Sounded like someone was washing the dishes during a large part of the show… clanking dishes, running water, etc…. it was very noisy and distracting.