It was a weekend packed with big races (the London Marathon, the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half, and the Jersey City Marathon and Half-Marathon, just to name a few). That – and the heavy rain💦 that lingered on after yesterday’s intense storms – did not stop the Flyers from showing up in large numbers in Central Park to run this morning’s 4M, a run that raised funds for MSK Kids, the pediatric program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.♥️
39 Flyers were among the 4,774 runners who finished the race. →(**NB: I have been told that 7 of the 39 Flyers that are included in the NYRR results have not renewed their memberships; please review your membership status or inform NYRR accordingly.) ←
By my count, 4 of our 39 finishers (yours truly included) ran the Boston Marathon🦄✨only 6 days ago. But hey, how could we miss the second club points race of the season?
And there we go, we are celebrating 5 awards today! Our team won two individual awards on the women’s side (Denise Iannizzotto and Deb Saat), and three teams awards (the Open Men B Team, the 60+ Men Team and the 60+ Women Team). Congrats to all the award winners!
And here are the numbers.
On the men's side:
🏆Zac Charlton led the team with 24:55 (pace 6:14).
The team’s runner-up, just 10 seconds behind Zac, was Abe Lee, who finished in 25:05 (pace 6:17, AGP 73.36%, 8th AG place).
This fast duo was followed by Francesco Presutti, who finished third for the team in 26:02 (pace 6:31, AGP 80.8%, 4th AG place).
Michael Alexander who ran in 26:18 (pace 6:35, AGP 70.54%) and
Deniz Saat, who did 26:41 (pace 6:41).
Thanks to the points earned by our fastest 5 runners, the Open Men B Team came 3rd and moved up from 8th to 5th place in the club standings.
I spoke to Deniz after the run. You may have noticed that Deniz consistently finishes among the team’s top runners. This morning he was having problems with his shoes due to the rain and because he did not tie them tight enough.
“My time was still pretty good,” he told me. “I prefer the rain! It feels primal. I haven't done a race in the rain in years, so I learned a lot for the next time. Wear wool socks and tie my shoes tighter!”
For those who do not know Deniz, he comes from a family of fast runners. Deniz, his sister Emel and his mother Deb (also mentioned in this report) won Flyers awards for 2022. I asked Deniz how it feels to be part of the "Saat team", which is a fast and growing team within the Flyers team, and who recently went on an expedition to Tokyo on the occasion of the big marathon. “The Saat team is great!” he replied. “I think everyone should join the Saat team.”
Deniz told me how he became a runner. As it turns out, he and his two sisters Emel and Peri were always doing sports when they were young.
“I started doing the 1-mile race when I was 13,” he told me, “and then ran in High School. I joined the track team because it got me out of gym class, but we put in a lot more work and hours than the regular gym classes. Long term it was the best decision because of the friends I made. My mom signed everyone up for the Flyers in 2018 and I have been enjoying our time with the team since. Everyone I meet on the team has been very nice and are always willing to help with events or offer something to eat after a race. A great group who are committed to their craft.”
🏆Denise Iannizzotto led the women’s team, and in the process she also won third place in her age group with a time of 29:31 (pace 7:23, AGP 81.97%). Denise was among the runners who ran Boston last Monday. For those who missed it, Denise’s astounding Boston result of 3:23:12 broke by more than 27 minutes the previous Flyers Hall of Fame record for her age group of 3:50:16, which was set by Judith Tripp 15 years ago, on April 21, 2008, also in Boston. On top of it, Denise’s time this year was a mere 20 seconds slower than her course record, which she set in 2016, 7 years ago! What a super star we have in our team!
Deb Saat, who is also recovering from the Boston Marathon, came second in the team and won an award too. Deb was second in her age group with her time of 34:52 (pace 8:43, AGP 73.99%).
Angela McCabe was third for the team with 35:29 (pace 8:53).
Lis Shlansky came fourth with 36:52 (pace 9:13) and
Parmila Philips was fifth with 38:40 (pace 9:40).
The Open Women A Team scored one point and is now tied for 8th in the club standings.
In addition to the Open B Men, two more teams won an award today:
The 60+ Men Team, including Francesco, John Whitfield (26:51, pace 6:43, AGP 79:04%, 8th AG), and Neil Tipograph (30:51, pace 7:43, AGP 71:36%, 8th AG), came second and is tied for first in the club standings.
The 60+ Women Team, including Denise, Deb and Lis, also came second and is third in the club standings.
Congrats to both teams!
Kudos also to the following teams:
The 50+ Women Team, including Denise, Deb and Angela, finished 6th (and is 7th in the club standings).
The 50+ Men Team, including Francesco, John Whitfield and John McCreesh (30:38, pace 7:40), came 8th and is 6th in the club standings.
The 40+ Men Team, including Abe, Francesco and Michael, came 8th and is 11th in the club standings.
The 40+ Women Team, including Denise, Deb and Angela scored one point and is tied for 10th in the club standings.
The 70+ Women Team, represented by Karen Kenney (1:05:02, pace 16:16), and the 70+ Men Team did not have a minimum of three runners and did not score points.
The 70+ Women Team is still 3rd in the club standings.
The team’s full results can be found here: https://results.nyrr.org/event/23RBCkids/teams/NYF
Finally, this race counts also for the 2023 Flyers awards🏆🏅. You will find attached the current member standings after today’s race. Please note that this point tracking spreadsheet is provisional and will be reviewed and possibly adjusted by the Awards Committee (including as regards the situation of those who have not yet renewed their memberships).
Well done, Flyers!
-Francesco P, NY Flyers Blog Race Reporter