2003 Contact We Care Review

Add hair styling to Zack Mcguire’s talents. Figuring he would need every advantage possible to try and improve on his second place finish at last years’ Fanwood Contact We Care 5K, Mcguire cut off nearly all of his hair Saturday afternoon only hours before the race. The new look paid immediate dividends as the Scotch Plains senior won the eighth annual race in 15:56.

“My hair had gotten too long.” said Mcguire. “It made me feel lighter. I had been running with extra weight all summer”.

Mcguire was satisfied to let 22-year-old Jeffrey Bingham of Madison, a recent college graduate set the pace for two miles.
Mcguire’s first mile was a comfortable 5:05,seven seconds behind the leader and his two mile split was 10:20 As the runners turned from Helen Street onto Coriell Avenue, Mcguire made his move drawing even with Bingham as the runners turned onto Martine.

“I knew there was nobody in back of me, so I figured why not go for it”, said Mcguire. “Even if I crashed and burned the last half mile I would still finish second”.

But there would be no repeat second as Mcguire used his superior finishing speed to win by four seconds in a time three seconds slower than his coach Jeff Koegel had run to finish third in 1997. Mcguire’s last mile was his fastest, 4:58.

“I am not surprised that he broke 16”, said Koegel of his star runner. “I am very proud of his continual improvement. He has worked very hard this summer”.

It was an all winning day for Koegel’s Scotch Plains Cross Country teams as his top girl runner, junior Mary Shashaty made her road running debut a memorable one by taking the women’s division in 20:20.

“We set a modest goal for her, to break 21 “, said Koegel. “She blew away her personal best by 34 seconds”.

“I tried to run an even race”, said Shashaty. “I just listened to what Coach Koegel told me to do”.

Scotch Plains runners past and present were ubiquitous in the top echelon with 2002 graduate Michael Dixon, finishing
sixth in 16:55. Dixon ran a 1:57 half mile this past spring for Ramapo College. Walter Biner, a 2003 graduate was ninth out of 309 finishers in 17:25.

Koegel, running the race for the first time since 1997 ran a subdued 20:20 finishing just behind Shashaty, but good enough to win his age group. “I felt good out there”, said Koegel. “I know I can go a lot faster”.

Although youth dominated the race, there were some impressive performances by area masters’ runners. Susan Graff, completed a sweep of the three area summer races by finishing first among female Fanwood runners and was second overall master in a time of 22:32.

Don Hessemer of Fanwood, was not a prize winner but he completed his eighth consecutive Fanwood 5k while doing what he usually does on race day, running 10 miles in the morning. “I’m training for a marathon,” said Hessemer, “so it’s important to get the long run in but I try and always run this race”.

It is said that for every finisher in a race there is an individual story. The second place masters’ finisher, 58 year old Douglas Brown of East Brunswick had no intention of running the race but he was working in the area on Saturday delivering local yellow pages and saw the large race sign on Martine Avenue between South and LaGrande .

“I always carry race stuff in the van with me, so I figured why not”, said Brown. “It was a very well done small town race”, said Brown.

The race was once again flawlessly directed by Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions (OYMP), ably assisted by dozens of energetic Contact We Care and local volunteers.

Summer Training 2003

Tuesday night, August 5 was not much different from many of the other dreary
evenings that marked the late July, early August period in the northeast this
summer. Around 6 pm the sky opened up in a tropical deluge that dropped several inches of rain in a half an hour, much faster than any storm drains could absorb it resulting in Westfield Road flooding as bad as any time since Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999. In brief it was not the type of night that lent itself to outdoor activity of any kind.

But if failed to stop a determined group of boys and girls’ runners from the Scotch Plains cross country team who waded through knee deep water to get their nightly summer workout in. Since starting practice July 1, the team has run together every weeknight. There have been some closer calls than this night with thunderstorms delaying things, but each time the team waited them
out in the shelter of the clubhouse at the high school track and eventually ran.

“The kids are dedicated and determined,” said Coach Jeff Koegel in an
understatement. Of course it helped that Koegel was out there sloshing around
with them. Koegel’s dedication to his kids as well as his running knowledge has
resulted in the Scotch Plains cross country program becoming one of the
county’s best.

In seven years Koegel’s teams have compiled a sterling 50-6 dual meet record
with 1 conference title and six seconds as well as a multitude of close
finishes at the county and state sectional meets.

“We would obviously never endanger anyone by having them run in a thunderstorm.“ said Koegel. “Rain is a different story. Cross country meets do not get rained out so it helps to have them used to running in inclement conditions.”

The dedication paid off on August 16 at the Fanwood Contact We Care 5k race when Raider runners,Zack Mcguire and Mary Shashaty swept the men’s and women’s divisions respectively.

“Zack has worked very hard all summer and deserves his success”, said Koegel.
“I am way ahead of where I was a year ago”, said Mcguire,second in the county cross country championships last fall.
“I have trained harder and without as much strain”.

The workouts have evolved over time from their original format. “The kids didn’t think three nights were enough so it eventually grew to every night”, said Koegel.

The runners generally split up into several groups with the fastest boys in one and Koegel joins the girls for their run. Koegel, an elite runner before incurring serious leg injuries, prefers to run with the girls and won his age group at the Fanwood 5k.

It should be noted that the workouts are purely optional but there is a very high level of attendance. A coach is allowed to supervise his athletes all summer as long as the practice isn’t mandatory.
Even when the runners go on vacation, they have Koegel give them training
plan for their time away.

Even with McGuire, a five-year veteran of the workouts,graduating next spring,Koegel expects the workouts to continue for the foreseeable future.
. “The kids have had a taste of success and want to keep this going”, said Koegel.

2003 Contact We Care Preview

When Jeff Koegel first experienced the Contact We Care Fanwood 5k race in 1997
it was as an elite runner hoping to finish first, a goal he fell just short of,
finishing third in 15:53. When the Scotch Plains Fanwood boys and girls cross
country coach toes the line this Saturday night for the eighth annual race it
will be for the first time in six years and with much more modest ambitions.

“I’m just going to be a pacesetter for one of my (cross country team) girls “,
said Koegel, who in a few weeks will begin his seventh season as boys coach and
his second as girls’ coach. Koegel’s masterful rebuilding of the Raiders’ cross
country programs parallels his own recovery from numerous leg surgeries and
helps shape his own perspective towards running the race and his philosophy of
coaching.

“Several doctors told me I would never run again so I just want to show
everyone I can still do it. I also want to help the kids that I work with
understand what the sport is about”, added Koegel whose most serious surgery
was an entire reconstruction of his right leg which left in on crutches for two
months during 2000.

Koegel will have particular interest in the front of the pack where one of his
Raider runners has a good chance of winning the race for a second straight
year. Senior Zack Mcguire , second a year ago to former Raider star Bob Walden
figures to set the pace especially since Walden, an outstanding collegiate
runner at Columbia will miss the race.
Walden ran 16:10 and Mcguire 16:20 and both would have an excellent chance of
improving on Koegel’s time according to the coach. “They have been pushing each
other this summer” said Koegel..

Also expected to contend is senior Brian Kopnicki 13th a year ago and expected
to be the number two runner on this falls’ Raider team.

As tempting as it is for his runners to enter and excel during the busy summer
road racing season, Koegel has strongly discouraged it using his own
experiences which he believes led to his physical ailments.”My college coach
over raced me “ recalled Koegel.

“I did fine in cross country when we only had to race once a week but in track
the dual meets during the week killed me”, said Koegel a 5000 and 10,000 meter
star at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. While he learned to race with
minor aches and pains throughout college, Koegel never had any major problems
until April 2000, when during a routine track workout he tore his hamstring.
After going through physical therapy for a month without any significant
improvement,Koegel decided to see a specialist who diagnosed eight or nine
things wrong with his leg.

The first surgery was in June 2000. “He went through my knee like Grant went
through Richmond” , recalled Koegel. “It was a very depressing time for
me,thinking I might never be able to run again”. Koegel .

If past races are any indication, Koegel will be joined by over 300 runners
Saturday night. Under the direction of Mark Zenobia of On Your Mark Productions
(OYMP) and with the help of Frank Gousman and the dedicated volunteers from
Contact We Care the race has become a staple of the late summer running
schedule Debuting in 1996 with 288 runners, the race has drawn between 300 and
400 the past six years.

The festivities start at 5 pm with a kids sprint for ages 2-11. The races
increase in distance for each age group The main event goes off at 5:45 pm. The
men’s record was 15:25 by Amilcar Duarte in 1998 and the women’s by Jodie
Dariano , a 17:53 in 1998.

The course starts on Martine Ave and crosses LaGrande and South Avenues before
turning right on North Avenue. The one mile mark is passed as the runners make
a hairpin left onto Midway. The runners go left on Martine and right on south
before crossing the railroad tracks over Sheelen’s Crossing. After going left
on South they run a short distances on 2nd before going right on
LaGrande,passing the finish line and the two mile mark. They then head left on
Helen Street before making another left onto Coriell and another left on
Martine before turning left one more time back onto La Grande where the finish
line sits in front of the park.

“It is a fair,challenging course with four good upgrades”, said Koegel. After
the race will an invitational wheelchair race at 6:30.

The proceeds from the race benefit Contact We Care a 24 by 7 telephone
hotline serving residents of Union, Essex, Middlesex and Somerset Counties. It
trains and supervises volunteers who listen, understand and assist callers to
work through their problems. The hotline number, 908-232-2880, receives over
1,000 calls per month.