BEST WISHES FOR A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL EVENT... ... to all Gators ending or starting the year in an athletic fashion! In case you have not seen it, earlier this week Keith Ho himself posted a lengthy update on his personal Facebook account on his accident and where he is in the recovery process. Still a long way to go and many hurdles to overcome, but the Keith that we all know and love is there and continuing to do everything possible to improve as soon as possible. Way to go, Keith! 💚 Also, the Meal Train is still open for business! Current dates open for next week include Wednesday 1/4 and Friday 1/6. Plus all dates starting from Monday 1/9. Here's the link... https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/yq74z1 Regarding our weekend best wishes, as always, if you have ANY type of event and are not included in this post, please post a comment so that we can also send good Gator vibes your way. This weekend more than most I'm not certain I have everything recorded. Before we get into who is racing this weekend, a few important notes... • 2023 member registration is open! See the post under "Featured"/"Announcements" for all of the details. • Welcome to our new sponsor, Runegades! As mentioned during our December 20 Annual Member Meeting, we have added the Runegades to our list of amazing sponsors! This seemed like a natural fit since the Runegades have taken over event management for two events in which many of us have participated including the Creative Health Mile (formerly "Saucony Mile") and the Tuesday in the Park 5K series. Additionally, thanks to the Runegades there will again be an October half marathon (and 5K and 10K) event at the Steelstacks in Bethlehem (remember the Runner's World Half Marathon. Besides all of that, the Runegades offer many additional events plus, and this is really great, they offer weekly group runs that we will add to our weekly workout calendar (watch for an updated version coming soon)! They take place on Tuesday evenings (overlap with our weekly run workout), Friday early mornings, and Sunday mornings. More information on those coming soon! Plus there is a special 11am run this Sunday in Phoenixville for anyone that wants to get 2023 off to a "running" start! More details coming in a separate post and welcome to the Runegades Amon Gibson who has joined our Facebook group and will be our primary contact! • IRONMAN Tri Club 2022 performance: We learned that we finished in the top 10% of all IRONMAN Tri Clubs in our division this past year. Even more impressively, we were able to accomplish that with points from only about 2/3 of our athletes that raced in IRONMAN events. Some of our athletes are part of ambassadorships with companies or other associations and do not count towards our total. And others are not currently affiliated with our team. If you plan to compete in an IRONMAN branded event in 2023 or at any other point in the future, please access your account and indicate and go to "Club Membership" and select "SV Multisport Gators" so that your points will count towards our team's total (note that all finishers, regardless of time, receive points). Weekend Workouts: We have three workout options over the weekend including a special added opportunity to earn the Gators Pizza Club run workout Green Peppers Topping... • Saturday 12/31, 7:30am-9am: Zwift meetup. Participate in the final opportunity to earn the Gators Pizza Club "Hawaiian Topping". • Sunday 1/1, 11am, under Gay Street Bridge, Phoenixville: Runegades group run! Kristie Bruno will be there! Who will join her? As a way to kick off our relationship, if you participate and have not already earned your Gators Pizza Club Green Pepper Topping, we'll award one to all Gator participants in this run! • Sunday 1/1, 11:15am-12:15pm, Spring Valley YMCA indoor lap pool: Uncoached group swim workout. Participate in the final opportunity to earn the Gators Pizza Club "Hot Peppers Topping"! Weekend Events: Here's where our year ending and starting athletes are appearing; this weekend is the final opportunity to earn the Gators Pizza Club event participation Extra Cheese Topping!... Saturday, December 31: • Kris Kringle 5 Mile Run (Berks County Agricultural Center, Leesport, PA): 2022 event participant #574, Carla DelFico, will be running over the river and through the woods in this race that takes place near Blue Marsh Lake. Go Carla! Sunday, January 1: • Inaugural Polar Run (Pottstown, PA): Ending the year with a bang and starting 2023 with another, Carla DelFico will be running in this 5K taking place in conjunction with the original "RefrigaGator Swim". And for anyone looking for a slightly shorter event, there is also a 2.23 mi option. Go Carla! And, if you'd like to see some Gators in action at a past Pottstown Polar Bear Swim / RefrigaGator Swim (see photos 1 and 2)... https://www.dailylocal.com/2017/01/01/new-years-plunge-100-people-participate-in-9th-annual-pottstown-polar-bear-swim/ • Bubbly 10K (Royersford, PA): This SRT-based event that starts and ends at the Pink Moose includes a 10K run and the "Hangover 5K Classic". David Stone wants no part of that shorter option, and he will take on the 10K. Go David! Have fun, Gator Done, then drink a beer! 💚BK🍺 💙HOme and HOpeful💙