BEST WISHES FOR A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL EVENT... ... to all athletes racing this weekend including our Chicago Marathoners as they bring their best to the Midwest! Our weekend of racing began early as our Gators team began the Zwift Team Time Trial race season with an excellent Thursday night performance that included Chris Reiter, Deb Rocco, Don Schlichtmann, and Don Mack! We're looking for more of you to join in on the Thursday 6:30pm fun; if you're interested in learning more, contact David Stone for details. And that brings us to the rest of the weekend where we have a fantastic five on their way to Chicago for Sunday's marathon and two will also be doubling up with a Saturday 5k! We also have runners heading to the Jersey Shore and the Nation's Capital! Before we get into more details about our athletes in action, a few notes and reminders: • 2024-25 Club Officers Election: We are accepting nominations for our expanded board of five positions including President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Youth Program Director. Terms will run from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2025. Nominations will be accepted through next Tuesday, October 10 (note that this is earlier than previously announced). If you would like to nominate yourself or another Gator for a board position, please contact Kerri Brannen via email at kcrowne@yahoo.com. Shortly after the close of the nomination period, our nominees will be announced along with details about how and when you can vote. • Free Race Entries! We are in the process of distributing our final three comp entries provided by our outstanding event sponsors. Right now we have an open raffle for an entry to the Sunday, October 22 Bethlehem Running Festival half marathon presented by club sponsor the RUNegades! You may remember the Runner's World Half Marathon that ended in 2019... This is the reincarnation of the weekend festival that includes 5K and 10K races on Saturday followed by the Sunday half marathon. It's a fantastic and challenging course. You have until TOMORROW/Saturday to put your name in the hat via a comment on Rachel Truckley's post that can be found here... https://www.facebook.com/groups/msgators/posts/2351913168326775/ And then right on the heels of that raffle, we will offer not one, but two entries to the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon (good for half marathon or full marathon) thanks to our sponsor Rehoboth Beach Running Store's Mary Beth Evans who also happens to be the race director. If you've not been to Rehoboth Beach for marathon weekend, you should consider it... It's risen to the point where it should be called "Gatorstock" as we take over the town starting on Friday evening with dinner and continuing through Saturday's race, post-race party, dinner, and the Santa Bar Craw. We finally wrap things up on Sunday morning with the Tail Gator Party at the Purple Parrot followed by our final official club event of the year, the RefrigaGator Swim, a brief dip in the Atlantic Ocean. Don't miss it! • Gator Fitness Challenge and Gators Hoagiefest Club: This fall we have two options currently taking place for you to consider to help you stay fit for the most challenging part of the year. Both began this past Monday, October 2! This includes the Gator Fitness Challenge that involves weekly Swim/Bike/Run and Strength/Core/Flexibility challenges as well as a fun Plank Challenge; for more details and to register go to... https://www.facebook.com/.../msgators/posts/2340092159508876 And we've restarted our "Gators Clubs" with the October 1 through December 31 "Gators Hoagiefest Club" where you can earn badges for participating in club workouts, participating in an event, or posting to the club Facebook group; more details coming over the weekend! • End of Year Festivities: Mark your calendars! Dates are set for for our end of year party and for our Annual Member Meeting / Awards & Recognition Night. The party will take place Friday, December 8, 6pm-11pm; more details coming soon! And the Annual Member Meeting / Awards & Recognition Night at the Spring Valley YMCA followed by the Meeting After the Meeting at the Railroad Street Bar & Grille are set for Tuesday, December 19, starting at 7pm. Weekend Workouts: This weekend we have three workout options including a swim and two sponsor-led group runs. • Saturday 10/7, 8:30am, Keystone Running Store, 200 E. High St, Pottstown: Group run... https://www.facebook.com/groups/479291044416772 • Sunday 10/8, 8:00am, Steel City Coffeehouse & Brewery (203 Bridge St, Phoenixville): RUNegades group run • Sunday 10/8, 11:15am-12:15pm, Spring Valley YMCA indoor lap pool: Uncoached group swim workout Weekend Events: Here is our weekend race roster. As always, if your name is missing from our best wishes list, PLEEEASE post a comment so that we can send Good Gator Vibes your way! Saturday, October 7: • Abbott Chicago 5K (Chicago): A nice shakeout run before the big event. We have two of our marathoners participating including Joe DeNicola and Susan Flavin! The course travels through the heart of downtown Chicago passing many iconic landmarks along the route. Go Joe and Susan! • SPONSOR EVENT: Kinetic Multisports' Pleasants Landing Triathlon (Lake Anna, VA): Triathlons in the Mid-Atlantic aren't done quite yet! This event, which includes sprint and Olympic distance triathlons and aquabikes, also features a relay option and a club discount is available! Sunday, October 8: • Chicago Marathon (Chicago): This year's participation in one of the World Marathon Majors features our largest field of Gators ever with five participants! Included are Angela Epelbaum (who will be running her FIRST MARATHON!), Joe DeNicola and Susan Flavin (who will NOT be running their first marathon; for Susan this is World Major #5 of 6!), Beth Wysoczanski (welcome back to marathons, Beth!), and the Spring Valley YMCA's Executive Leader Katie Koch (who will be running her 2nd marathon with the first being last November's Philadelphia Marathon). Go Angela, Joe, Susan, Katie, and Beth! • LBI Commemorative 18 Mile Run (Long Beach Township, NJ): Holly Beauchamp makes her return to this race that she's completed a handful of times in the past. It's the 51st anniversary edition on a flat, fast course. Go Holly! • Army Ten-Miler (Washington, DC): The 39th edition of this race will take runners past all of the famous Washington landmarks including the Pentagon, the Jefferson Memorial, and the entire stretch of the mall! And Gator Lindsay Inger will get to see it all! Go Lindsay! Have fun, Gator Done, then drink a beer! 💚BK🍺