,
so I took up something else. (See My Home Page,
or if you'd like to see something you've never even heard of, check
This out.)
Will it ever end? Not in my lifetime!
he annual election of the New York Flyers was recently held and the newly elected Executive Board was announced at the annual meeting held on January 14th. Those elected are Glen Wiener, President; Brian Hsia, Vice President; Richard Garland, Secretary; Brian Mayor, Treasurer and Emily Snyder, Member-at-Large. The board members have contributed the information below so that you might get to know them not just as Flyers or as Runners, but as the fun, active and interesting people that they are.
was an average student but excelled at track and loved the quarter-mile. Maybe it symbolized my life, that no matter how hard I tried or how fast I traveled, I always seemed to end up right back at the exact spot I started. The distance was the perfect blend of speed and guts. Saturday Night Fever ruled the day and running was just becoming popular, fueled by the achievements of Steve Prefontaine and Frank Shorter. It was also back in the days when Asics were known as Tigers and Nike just introduced its second shoe known as the Waffle Racer. (Who knew then that I should have bought their stock rather than their shoe?)
continued racing through my first year at SUNY Binghamton, when I decided I needed a new outlet, Rock n Roll. No I didn’t sing or play the guitar, but I produced concerts. As my college’s concert promoter, I produced such acts as The Ramones, Hall and Oates, James Taylor, Squeeze, Talking Heads, Joan Jett, to name a few. Following college, I enrolled and graduated from St. John’s Law School.
fter law school, I packed my bags and moved to Manhattan, where I’ve lived ever since. Sadly, I have never lived outside New York State. Maybe that’s what motivates me to travel extensively. I have trekked the Himalayas, hiked the Inca Trail, walked the ruins of Petra, kayaked in the Czech Republic, skied the Rockies, explored the Amazon and been on safari in Africa. In the not so distant future, I would like to climb Kilimanjaro and travel around Patagonia. If I had to describe myself, I would say I am inquisitive, adventurous and I love to learn. I own a motorcycle which I never use and have taken flying lessons. I stopped my lessons immediately after another person named Glen Wiener died in a plane crash while taking lessons in Connecticut on the same day I was taking flying lessons on Long Island. In 2005, based on the recommendation of a good friend, I joined the Flyers. A few years ago, I became a USATF and RRCA certified coach and now coach the NYRR charity team, Team for Kids. A lawyer by trade, I earn my living as an insurance arbitrator for New York State.
ike a true quarter-miler, I always seem to end up where I started; After all my journeys, I’m back living in NYC, running again, and enjoying it all.
Play along!
Your Guesses:
|
[Occupation]? [Activity] ? [Noun] ? [Age] ? [Activity] ? [Activity] ? |
[Number] ? [Adjective] ? [Town] ? [Sport] ? [Father] ? [Mother] ? [Sibling] ? |
[Shelter] ? [Park] ? [Number] ? [Adjective] ? |
[Noun] ? [Activity] ? [Adjective] ? [Verb] ? [Activity from before] ? [Verb] ? |
rian is an [Occupation], who enjoys [activity] everyday at a regular 9-6 hour workplace. This [Noun] is [Age] but really feels young each and every day, because life is too short, so live life to the fullest. Other than being a full-time runner, he enjoys [Activity], cooking and [Activity].
rian has a family of [Number]. Born and raised in a [Adjective] town called [Town], he grew up playing [Sport] when he was a kid. Brian’s family includes his father [Father], mother [Mother] and his sister [Sibling].
o where is he now? Brian lives in an [Shelter] in Manhattan, which is easily close to [Park], where he does his workouts daily. He has [Number] roommates living in his large palace, which really feels like an [Adjective] youth hostel.
hen did [Noun] start [Activity]? That’s the [Adjective] question.
Brian [Verb] [Activity from before] before he actually started
[Activity]. This boy was out doing laps round the house, putting one foot in front of the other…ok…maybe not, but who
knows, it could have happened!
The True Answers:
|
[Occupation] – Architect [Activity] – Drafting [Noun] – guy [Age] – 28 [Activity] – coaching [Activity] – blogging |
[Number] – 4 [Adjective] – Suburban [Town] – Somers [Sport] – Soccer [Father] – Ching Chi [Mother] – Tan-Mi [Sibling] – Michelle |
[Shelter] – Apartment [Park] – Central Park [Number] – 7 [Adjective] – International |
[Noun] – he (Brian) [Activity] – running [Adjective] – old [Verb] – started [Activity from before] – running [Activity] – walking |
Enough of that! Who am I? I've lived for many years in Stuyvesant Town and my normal running takes me down along the East River. I also love Central Park, not just for running, but appreciating the special gem in the center of this busy city that it is. You will often find me bird watching or just walking there. Lately, I've taken up cross country racing and I make a point - as often as once a week - of running outside of Manhattan for my training and just-for-fun runs (usually in the Bronx). When I'm not running, I'm an avid hiker and have lately taken up the hobby of Benchmark Hunting. What's that? Email me and I'll tell you.
worked for years at Columbia University, and then for more years on Wall Street. I quit all that in 2001. (I actually retired. Most of my
associates who left were laid off!) And I've been having fun ever since. I hiked a good half of the Appalachian Trail in 2002, 2003 and 2004, but
that got boring, so I started climbing mountains, but I climbed all of them in the northeast ,
so I took up something else. (See My Home Page,
or if you'd like to see something you've never even heard of, check
This out.)
Will it ever end? Not in my lifetime!
eing surrounded by much faster runners had its advantages: I had to work very hard to keep up. By 1989 I was still slower than most of my teammates but had worked my way into the top half of the field in races, and set some PRs which I have never beaten. I was starting to get very injury-prone, though. When I moved away to Edinburgh the following year, I more or less retired. I ran on my own now and then when guilt got the better of me, and ran a very scenic half marathon in the Scottish Highlands. One of my bosses heard about that and recruited me to run for the club where his wife coached. I worked my way back to fitness, and after a couple more setbacks discovered the cause of my recurring shin splints. Once I was able to train for a sustained period without injury I set a couple more PRs.
n 1999, I moved to New York. I was in pretty good shape and full of enthusiasm for my first run in Central Park – a place which has legendary status in the UK running community. I hadn’t taken into account the weather, though. After growing up in the north of England, and later living in Scotland, I had probably never had to run in temperatures above the high 70s, if that. New York in June 1999 was in the middle of a heat wave, and after trying to run in the mid-90s with 90% humidity (in the evenings!) a couple of times, with no friends to pull me along, I drifted away from running again. Again it was a work colleague who got me back into it. Ron Matossian suggested I join the Flyers, and here I am!
haven’t set any PRs since I joined, and my performances have been up and down, but I probably enjoyed my running more than at any other time. I certainly enjoyed the team spirit more than at my previous clubs. I can look back on many highlights, including meeting my wife, Jenny, at Speedwork, many long-standing friends, and taking part in a couple of great team events at the Hood To Coast Relay. I had another few slow years before I came back to New York in 2008, and had a long, slow recovery to the end of last year when I ran a couple of respectable times. Having said that, when I returned in September to the scene of my first ever race (see first paragraph) I was hardly faster, at 74:52! (I did manage 64:53 in 1985, though.) Now that I am living and training in the hills of Riverdale I hope to run well in 2010, and maybe even target my half marathon PR by the end of the year. That is a very long shot, though…
ff the roads and trails, I was honored to be elected Treasurer of the Flyers this winter, and I look forward to serving as a board member and managing the club’s finances for the next year. I also look forward to seeing all of you in the parks and elsewhere.
ast forward to 2004. My sister finished Cincinnati's Flying Pig marathon in a very good time. I watched the race on a perfect overcast 50 degree day, and was inspired. I had taken a break from running and was trying to find my way back to it. At the time, I really didn't think I'd ever run a marathon. I moved to New York a year later and watched the NYC Marathon as a volunteer. I remember standing in Central Park, overcome with emotion, hoping that I could some day run the race. I began to run. In February, I realized that there was no way I'd be able to train alone. I'm a social runner and have always loved the team aspect of running. I owe my start in the Flyers to Nick Jesdanun and the New Flyer Run in June of 2006. What was a missed encounter, later remedied, became the start to the best running decision I could have made. Our conversation on that run made me join this fantastic club, and we’ve been friends ever since.
ran Chicago that year and it marked a milestone. It was a cold race, a windy day, but I had a profound experience. The Flyers helped me train. What a wealth of knowledge this team has! My years as a Flyer have given me great friends, a reminder to keep running, support while injured, and advice about life. I look forward to the year ahead and all that we can accomplish.