| | BearsRunningClub's Journals Recent Comments Fun running events are coming to Sussex County this summer!
August 6 - 10 are the dates for the 8th Annual X-Treme Youth Running Camp. Open to high school and middle school kids, the camp is held from 9 to noon at Swartswood State Park (Route 619, Newton, NJ)
Thursday, August 9th, 7 pm
8th Annual Christmas in August 5-K
Also held at Swartswood State Park, this race is a "tradition" for many. "Summer Santa" and his elves greet the runners for this fast 5-K with a great holiday theme wrapped around it!
Saturday, August 25th
Running 9 to 5 Relay
Gather five friends and spend the day at Lodestar Park (Route 94 in Fredon, NJ). Runner one runs a mile loop then it's runner two's turn and so on until all five have run then back to number one! High School and Open Male, Female and Co-Ed team divisions.
Call 973-383-7933 for info or applications or send e-mail to LaurieGordonRun@aol.com Annual race reunites long-time friends
By Laurie Gordon
Each year, on the first Saturday in June, two area men -- one from West Milford and the other from Oak Ridge -- make a traditional pilgrimage. Their destination it the annual Healthy Heart Stillwater Stampede 5-K race held just outside of Newton at Swartswood State Park.
For West Milford’s Ken Freedman, the trip is about running in the race. “Knowing I’m going to do it every year keeps me motivated to stay in shape,” the father of two very athletic daughters said. For Jim Valentine, of Oak Ridge, it’s about proudly representing America’s heroes. The Vietnam Veteran is the race’s official flag bearer each year, waving it above the starting line as the National Anthem plays. And for both men, going to the race is about friendships. “Two of our long-time buddies come in from the Philadelphia area to help out the race. It’s a real team effort,” Valentine said.
All of the men met through the Stampede’s race director, Guy Gordon. Gordon met Larry Gochman when the two were classmates at Temple University in the late 70s. Gochman has been at most of the 12 runnings of the Stampede and now holds the title of Director of Volunteers. He arrives in the area on Friday night to help with last minute details and accompanies Gordon to the park on race day at 3 am to help set up. Five years ago, Grant Brewer, a friend of Gochman’s through the two men’s love of The Eagles, started tagging along and now Brewer also has the race on his annual calendar. Like Gochman, he arises at 3 to help put out cones, mark the course and set up registration, food and t-shirts.
Gordon met Freedman when both were working at the Morris County Youth Detention Center in 1980, then Valentine and Gordon met through their jobs at the Morris County Division of Youth and Family Services in 1985. Over the years, Freedman, Valentine and Gochman have all become good friends through Gordon and the annual Stampede.
“I wouldn’t miss the race for the world,” Gochman said. “It’s a lot of fun, it’s a great cause, and I take my title very seriously.” Gochman can be found rallying his cast of volunteers from early in the morning until every award is handed out, every last morsel of the race’s trademark post-race baked goods is eaten and everything is cleaned up and put away for next year.
The Healthy Heart Stillwater Stampede benefits Newton Memorial Hospital’s heart center and a vital youth running program that instills the many benefits of the sport in area elementary and middle school kids. This year, the race will be held on Saturday, June 2nd. The marquis event is the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) race, which participants can either walk or run. Following the 5-K, there is a Mile Fun Run then the “Tiny Trot” for kids five and under. The 5-K starts at 9 am at Swartswood State Park (on Route 619 in Newton) and the other events follow. As an added treat, participants will be serenaded by live music sung by Jack Tannehill before the race, as they finish and afterward.
“It’s great to see the pouring of support not just from the immediate community but from people from all over,” Freedman said. From the runners to all of the sponsors, it’s become a tradition for many.
Later in the afternoon on Stampede Saturday, when another Stampede is over and everything is tucked away, Valentine will be found flipping burgers on Gordon’s deck. Gochman will be standing next to him, sipping a cold beer, joined by Freedman, Brewer, Gordon and a gathering of race volunteers. The banter amongst the five friends is always lively, laughter abounds and so does a lot of reminiscing.
As traditional as the race had become to so many runners, to these men, it’s even more than a tradition. Though each of them have taken different paths in life, the first Saturday in June always leads them in the same direction: to Swartswod State Park.
Laurie Gordon is the Stampede’s Assistant Race Directors. She is a writer and US Olympic Marathon Trials runner who lives in Stillwater, New Jersey. Newton High School running superstar to return home for Stampede
By Laurie Gordon
This Saturday, June 2nd, The 12th Annual Healthy Heart Stillwater Stampede 5-K will be held at 9 a.m. at Swartswood State Park in Newton. Not only does the race benefit two worthy causes: The Charles L. Tice Heart Center at Newton Memorial Hospital and the county-wide Bears Youth Running Program, but it also annually brings one of Newton High School’s running legends back home. Ray Biersbach wouldn’t miss the race for anything…even his own engagement party.
The party date was changed, and the soon-to-be Kat Biersbach is very understanding, so Biersbach, the course record holder and last year’s Stampede Champion, will again toe the line on Saturday.
Straus Newspapers caught up with Biersbach, and here’s what he had to say about Saturday’s event:
STRAUS NEWSPAPERS: “What are you currently doing now, career-wise, and how do you fit your training into it?”
BIERSBACH: “Currently I am working as an exercise physiologist at Columbia Presbyterian in New York. It might sound like a job where you work with a bunch of trained athletes but that is not the case. VO2 Max testing is one criteria for getting on the heart transplant list so we work with a lot of heart failure patients. I've been doing this for about a year while I've been applying to medical schools and next August I will be headed to Stony Brook out in Long Island. Primarily I train in the evenings after work. My club, the Manhattan Track Club, meets every night in central park so I try to run with them as often as possible. Working and training is always a struggle but I've found that if you make running a priority there is always a way to balance the two.”
STRAUS NEWSPAPERS: “How many miles a week are you now running and do you have any short term and long term goals?”
BIERSBACH: “I was running about 60-70 miles a week heading into the Boston Marathon but I've been taking it easy since then only running about 40 a week. I didn't have much planned for 2007 besides Boston but now that it is over I think I am going to try and run a fast half marathon this August and then do the NYC Marathon in November. I've been living in New York for 10 years now and I would love to run 2:30 on that course.”
STRAUS NEWSPAPERS: “How does it feel returning to your hometown and running a local race?”
BIERSBACH: “I love running this race. I usually only run 7-8 races a year but I try to always get back home for the Stampeed. I always have fun when I run this race, the course is beautiful, the atmosphere is relaxed and I get to see a lot of old friends. This year my high school teammate Leigh Parciak will also be running. I think it might be the first time we've run in the same race since 1996.”
STRAUS NEWSPAPERS: “What are some of your running highlights and do you believe that the best is yet to come?”
BIERSBACH: “It is hard to sum up 15 or 16 years of running in a few lines but I have a few races I am most proud of throughout my career. From high school I would say winning 2 SCIL cross country titles and Newton winning the team titles. In college running a 14:03 5k PR at the Penn Relays and running the mile at Milrose games were pretty memorable experiences. After college, running a PR of 4:03 in the Open Mile at Penn Relays in front of the full stadium is something I will never forget. I think there are still a lot of fun experiences left in my running career and maybe some PR's in the marathon and half marathon but I don't think I could get anywhere close to the times I ran in college for the 5k and Mile. I just don't have the time or the injury resistance I used to be able to train at that level.”
STRAUS NEWSPAPERS: “Will you run forever?”
BIERSBACH: “I've certainly thought about hanging up my sneakers on several occasions. Usually I consider quiting because of injuries or because other priorities pop up my life but I've found that I just can't stop. I'm addicted. I will probably run forever.”
STRAUS NEWSPAPERS: “Any words of advise you can give to up coming SCIL runners, about summer training and the fact that this should be treated as a year round sport?”
BIERSBACH: “There is no doubt that if you really want to succeed in running it has to be a year round commitment. Summer should be a time to recharge, especially for young runners who run a lot of races during the school year. Summer running should be mostly easy mileage to build the strength and injury resistance for the long cross country and track seasons. I would also reccommend that young runners concentrate on having fun. If you aren't having fun and making friends in this sport then in my experience you aren't going to stick with it for very long. “ | | |
Add to friends 
My friend