27th Loop in Two Weeks!

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Leatherman’s Loop News, Volume 27, Issue 1: Two Weeks Until 27th LoopKeep Calm and Run Thru the Mud

(Note: this went out as an email to all registered runners for the 2013 Loop. If you did not receive it via email and you are registered, you may want to check your spam folder and set up leathermansloop@gmail.com on your address book/white list.) Note: Registration is CLOSED for the 2013 Loop. 

To: All Who are Registered for the 2013 Leatherman’s Loop:

Buds are popping… peepers are peeping… streams are flowing… That means spring is here once again… Time for the 27th running of the Leatherman’s Loop Trail Race on April 21, 2013!

Race organizers Mike Paletta, Tony & Judy Godino, Rob Cummings and the dedicated Leatherman’s Loop volunteers have been working hard to set up this year’s event. All we need is YOU!

Car ride into the RezBelow are some important instructions regarding the Loop.  Registration is packed full. We will need your help to ensure that loop day goes smoothly.

Here are some tips that you can incorporate into your plan for the morning and the day:

1.) ARRIVE EARLY! Please plan to arrive at the park before 8:20.  Car pool if you can. Traffic will back up considerably at the park entrance as race time approaches.  Please be patient.  The regular $10 parking fee is incorporated as part of the loop entry fee so entry will go more quickly.  It is always wise to arrive earlier than you think you need to in order to make sure you are all set by race start time (9am).  This is especially true if it is your first time running the Loop.

2.) DRIVE SLOWLY and CAREFULLY in the Park! Watch the volunteers who are directing the parking. PARK TIGHT! Plan ahead – Car Pool if you can!. For a helpful overview of the race location (parking, start, bib pickup), check the logistics page on the website here.

Aerial photo of Leatherman's Loop parking, bib pickup, start, and finish areas with key areas marked.

Aerial photo of Leatherman’s Loop parking, bib pickup, start, and finish areas with key areas marked.

3.) BRING A FULL CHANGE OF CLOTHING! You will get wet and you will get muddy. Where and how you change is up to you. Towels are a must. A clean, dry set of shoes is a requirement. There has never been a runner who emerged dry and clean from the woods after a Loop. Plan accordingly!

4.) LISTEN ATTENTIVELY TO PRE-LOOP ANNOUNCEMENTS! We only get to see most of you all once a year and need a few minutes before the start. Race Director Mike Paletta will have important information about the course and safety.  You will be instructed about the hazards related to the stream crossings and current water and course conditions. Hidden boulders and slippery ledges lurk under the surface of the water. Slow down and DON’T DIVE into the water under any circumstances.

5.) LISTEN FOR THE START! Following the instructions, Danny Martin will give a brief poem/blessing to set the tone. Then the race bell will start the runners.

6.) IF YOU SEE MUD, RUN THROUGH IT! Especially at the entrance to the woods immediately after the start.  If you stop—or simply hesitate—the people behind you may crash into you… trust us.  There’s no avoiding the mud so simply embrace it, get dirty, and get going.

Mud Flats7.) WATCH FOR THE LEATHERMAN! Remember that this event celebrates the life of the Leatherman. Learn his story and by all means make some noise if he is out and about on Sunday.

8.) STAY ON COURSE IF YOU CAN’T CONTINUE! There will be a number of “sweeps” running the course following the slower runners. If for any reason you can’t continue, wait for them to get to you to assess your needs. The park is over 4,300 acres so don’t leave the course unless you know exactly where you are going.

9.) ALL DOGS MUST BE LEASHED! If the dogs are running in the Loop they MUST START NEAR THE BACK with their humans! If you are running with your dog, please hold back at the start and to be certain that your dog or its leash does not interfere with or impede any of the other runners. The county park law requires dogs be leashed at all times while in the park for the safety of the dogs, other park patrons, and other dogs visiting.

10.) THERE IS NO SAME DAY REGISTRATION! We simply do not have room for any more registrations (Except for the last two spots – see PS below for details!).  Please understand the position we are put in when we have to refuse someone entry.  If someone you know is interested in next year’s loop, there is a form at the website to submit name and email address. If you are signed up for this year’s Loop you are already on this email list.

Help Feed the Leatherman11.) BRING FOOD DONATIONS! Don’t forget donations for the Help Feed the Leatherman Food Drive. Bring your non-perishable donations to the Loop and we will have a drop off point near the registration trailer. Your generosity will benefit the Community Center of Northern Westchester.  Thanks to Sam Ceisler for taking on the responsibility for this 5th year of the food drive. We will send more information about this community effort in a separate email.

12.) RESULTS: Printed lists of finishers with time and place will be available soon after the finish at the bib pickup area and shortly after that on the Loop website. Check it out at http://www.leathermansloop.org/results.

13.) THANK A VOLUNTEER! A tremendous amount of volunteer effort goes into making the Loop a special event each year. T-shirt designers, registration volunteers, pie buyers, course setters, trail wardens, box lifters, water servers, food preparers, coffee brewers, parking coordinators, photographers, videographers, and the clean-up crew—not to mention the Pound Ridge and Lewisboro Police officers and the fantastic and dedicated members of the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps!

This event is truly a group effort and tribute to the spirit of the community. We are grateful that we have such a wonderful group of Loop enthusiasts and are thankful that we have the thousands of acres of parkland at the Rez to enjoy!

Remember, leave only (muddy) footprints, take only pictures…

Expect more news as the event nears…. See you in 2 weeks!

Good luck and have fun,

- Mike, Tony, Judy, Rob and the rest of the Leatherman Harriers

PS: Reminder! The Bedford Historical Society’s tribute to Loop Founder Tony Godino is set for Friday, April 19th at 7pm. The final two spots in the Leatherman’s Loop will be auctioned off that evening to the highest bidder. Proceeds will go to support the Historical Society and the Trailside Museum. If you can’t make it to the event but are interested in the spots, contact us for details on how to place a sealed bid.

PPS: Some useful links:
• Map and Directions to the Reservation
• A runners overview of the Leatherman’s Loop trail
• Follow the Loop on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/leathermansloop
• Searchable list of registered runners
• 26 Years of Results
• 2012 edition of the Founder’s Newsletter
• Run on the trails on Sundays

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

Carpool to the Loop

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If you are registered for the Loop (April 21st, 2013), look to get into or create a carpool!

Carpooling to the Loop is a time honored tradition and helps everyone out in many ways:

  • Less gas burned = save money.
  • Fewer cars on the road = eases bottlenecks coming into the park.
  • Fewer cars in the parking lot = easier and quicker parking on race day.
  • Less money spent on parking = more money to donate to charity.
Did you know the $10 per car park entry fee has been included with the race registration fee since 2008? To ease entry, a park employee keeps a count of cars and the Loop organizers write the park a check afterwards based on the number of cars entering.

If you are signed up solo and don’t know of anyone to carpool with, leave a comment below or on Facebook. Last year we got a few people together just through comments on this website. And make a new friend in the bargain! Just make sure you bring a plastic bag, a change of clothes & shoes, and towel so you don’t mess up your friend’s car.

If you are coming from NYC on the train (Metro-North Harlem line – Katonah Station is best option) you can either take a cab from the station or leave a comment below looking for a ride or cab share. [Katonah Taxi 914-232-5772]

The New York Trail and Ultrarunning Meetup group got a bunch of folks together for last year’s Loop. Join up there and post a note asking about a ride.

5th Annual “Help Feed The Leatherman” Food Drive

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The volunteer food drive “Help Feed The Leatherman” collected 1,144 pounds of food donations for the Community Center of Northern Westchester food pantry in at the Loop in 2012. This brings the four year total of food donations to over 2,500 pounds with the totals growing each year.

This year the food drive organizer, David Ceisler, is unable to make it to the Loop. But his son Sam Ceisler, a student at John Jay High School and helper these past 4 years is taking on this year’s food drive. Sam (pictured below from the first year of the food drive) will be set up near the showmobile on the morning of the Loop. Please remember to bring some food donations! List of needed items is below.image

Why a food drive? The Old Leatherman came to the same places on such a regular schedule that people “could set their clocks by his arrival.” In each community he passed, the Leatherman had identified a home or two where he knew friendly people would provide food whenever he appeared. Some residents would set plates of food out for him when he was expected, and the Leatherman would come by and clean the plate. We are asking our runners to “put the plate of food out” for the Leatherman.

People come the center every day in need of help. The Center’s mission is to improve the well-being of our neighbors. That is what many people years ago did for the Leatherman.

Help Feed The LeathermanThe Center is in need of

  • Canned fruit and vegetables
  • Dried and canned beans 
  • Hot and cold cereal 
  • Tuna and canned meat 
  • Cans of soup, beef stew and chili 
  • Pasta, rice and spaghetti sauce
  • Peanut butter and jelly
  • Fruit juice 
  • Baby food and diapers 
  • Dry or shelf-stable milk

This is not a requirement. Please help if you can. Thanks to David for conceiving this idea and thanks to Sam for gathering and getting the donations to the Community Center after the Loop.

To help you remember the donations: Put the cans or other items in your running shoes the night before (or on the drivers seat of your car!).

The Leatherman depended on the charity and kindness of strangers and neighbors. Let us extend the wonderful goodness and spirit of our loop, as we gather food for our neighbors.  THANKS for your generosity!

Westmoreland Sanctuary Orienteering Event

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splash_logoOrienteering is back at Westmoreland Sanctuary!

Details from their website:

FAMILY ORIENTEERING
April 6, 2013 – 10am to 3pm

Co-sponsored by Hudson Valley Orienteering

Get ready for a day of fun, adventure, and exploration! Orienteering is a sport that uses map and compass to navigate your way as fast as you can through a woodland course of checkpoints. There will be three course levels from easy to challenging. If you are an orienteering beginner, there will be hands-on instruction given by West Point Cadets and Hudson Valley Orienteering experts. They will be available before you start out on the course! Check-in/Registration is from 10am to Noon. Courses will be open for navigation from 10am until 3pm, but course entrance will close at 1pm.

Registration and other info is available at the Westmoreland website.

Upload Photos of Your Running Group Here

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upload your photos

click to upload your photos

We love looking at photos of the Loop. We love to take photos at the Loop. We love getting your photos of the Loop!

We are sure you love seeing your photos on the web, facebook, twitter, flickr,  this website, etc.

Help us share the great looking photos and great looking runners that you (or your family members) capture.

To make this easier we have set up a quick web upload that you can drag and drop your photos onto. It can be anything Loop related: training, running, group shot, photo of your dirty socks, etc.

Click the image to the right or click this link to get started: http://www.smugmug.com/photos/guest/3V5qJk/27loops and start uploading!

Setting this up early in case you want to upload photos from before 2013.

See you on the trails!

The Next Six Sundays…

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Leatherman Harriers: Trail Running Group of Northern WestchesterMany of you know about our Sunday trail running group. We meet every Sunday at 8am, usually at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation (aka The Rez) but sometimes we go farther afield… Join up with us for a group run on the trails!

The next six Sundays leading up to the Loop we have some plans:

3/17 – Meet at Leonard Park in Mt Kisco at the Pagoda. We’ll run a course that takes us through 4 parks in a greenbelt journey.

3/24 – Mudders and Grunters in Yorktown Heights, NY. Westchester’s oldest trail race has plenty of mud and lots of grunting — plus a water crossing at the 4.5 mile mark of the 5 mile trail run. Lots of fun!

3/31 – Easter Sunday! Maybe go on the green and yellow trails at the Rez? course TBD!

4/7 – Some Harriers will be running the Bimbler’s Bash trail race up in Guilford CT while others will be doing a course check of the Loop.

4/14 – Final group run course check before the Loop.

4/21 – 27th Running of the Leatherman’s Loop!

(4/28 … and beyond – back to the trails to get ready for your next trail race!)

A Tribute to Tony Godino

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tony-tribute-collage

You are cordially invited to

A Tribute to Tony Godino  •  Friday, April 19th, 2013  •  7PM

Historical Hall  •  Bedford, NY

The Bedford Historical Society celebrates Tony Godino, Local Historian. Known by many as a Founder of the Legendary Leatherman’s Loop 10k Trail Race at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation and the Run The Farm 5 Mile Trail Race at Muscoot Farm. He has also contributed mightily to our understanding of local history in Bedford and surrounding communities with his lifelong good works and historic restorations.

bhs-logo

Join us for an evening of wine, beer, comfort food, speakers, a preview of the Leatherman’s Loop documentary, photos, The Leatherman Bluegrass Band, a fiddler, and plenty of good company!

The tribute will be held the Friday before the Leatherman’s Loop race. As you know, spots in the Loop are have been sold out since January… BUT — The Leatherman Harriers are donating the FINAL TWO SPOTS for the Leatherman’s Loop 2013. The two spots will be auctioned off near the close of the evening to the highest bidder with proceeds going directly to the Trailside Museum and Bedford Historical Society. If you missed your chance at the lottery — or if you know someone who did — here’s a final chance at a spot in the Loop!

Tickets to the tribute are $100/person and can be purchased at the Bedford Historical Society’s website bedfordhistoricalsociety.org or by calling (914) 234-9751.

All Proceeds from the evening will be split between the Friends of the Trailside Museum and the Bedford Historical Society’s Education Fund. 

The Bedford Historical Society would like to thank the event sponsors and benefactors:
Tommie Copper 
CoreLab • Mianus River Gorge • The Ohnell Family
Friends of Westchester County Parks • Peter & Gretchen Menzies
Northern Westchester Hospital • Fifty Coins Restaurant
Friends of Muscoot Farm
Bill & Wendy Foulke • Threads & Treads
State Farm Katonah • Casper & Fischer, LLP 
Cross Sport Woman • The Leatherman Tool Company 
and The Leatherman Harriers

PS: If you are interested in becoming a Sponsor for this event, contact BHS at (914) 234-9751.

Download invitation here

A Note about The Trailside Museum

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Sunday Runners in front of the Trailside Museum before an early winter excursion on the trails of the Rez.

The Trailside Museum at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is a one-of-a-kind place in Westchester. The main museum building was built in 1937 and the addition was built in 1977. Last year the Museum celebrated its 75th anniversary and it is still going strong.

You can become a supporter of the Trailside Museum by joining the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. The Friends are a non-profit group that support programs and research at the Museum and provides volunteers for the Museum and maintenance programs at the park.

The Friends also run the small gift shop at the Museum which offers nature-related gifts and books, identification guides to plants and animals, maps, and more.

Different levels of membership are available from $25 through over $500. We have scanned in the membership form and posted it at our website. The form has the details and mailing address. Members receive the friends Newsletter and notice of programs at the park.

BONUS!: Members who sign up for the “Wood Turtle” membership level (or above) at $100 receive a pass for FREE car entry into the park for the entire year. Entry costs $10 per car so this can be a substantial savings over the course of the year.

The Leatherman’s Loop supports the Trailside Museum with donations of Loop proceeds each year. Many runners and friends have asked us how they can do more to support the park. Joining the Friends of Trailside is a fantastic way to show your support for the park. Join today!

Link: friends-of-trailside-winter-2013-newsletter-back

“A Mild Sprain” Trail Race Returns for Second Year

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A Mild SprainWe are pleased to pass on the announcement below from Dave and Brant who, in partnership with JDRF, put on “A Mild Sprain” last May. They are doing it again! Details below…

A Mild Sprain 2013    A 4.25 Mile Trail Race benefitting JDRF- May 19th 2013 at Sprain Ridge Park, Yonkers NY

Welcome back for our second annual running of “a mild sprain”, thanks to all of you who participated in last year’s inaugural event. We are so excited to be putting this on again. Registration is now open, please go to http://www.amildsprain.org

This year we are expecting an even  bigger turn out and are limiting the field to 400 runners. Entry is only $40* and we encourage all to sign up quickly. Those great race shirts and gift bags are only guaranteed to those that sign up by May 1st.

* This year we are encouraging all to use the Team JDRF website [link at race website] to raise additional money for this great cause. Have people sponsor you or your team to make a difference. No minimum amount is required.

Please spread the word and get a friend or two to join you this year when you test the trails again.

We can’t wait to see everybody!

David and Brant

Trail…Run It

A great park, great race, a worthy cause. Hope you can join in!