Our beloved Safety Squire, and Leader of Run Leaders, Liz has put out the new Group Run Schedule. Bring out those long sleeves and buffs but keep those runners on for this cooler weather that’s perfect for what we love to do!

1. AWESOME JOB to everyone who raced this weekend.

Summer season is behind us. Look your best in CHRC’s top quality and unique gear in our upcoming fall races.

The items in our Shoppe are voted on by our Royal Council, designed exclusively by one of our members; the items for print are tested FOR running BY runners and lovingly printed by hand and a little elbow grease by Good Toy Print Shop.

The Shoppe takes pre-orders and hand-delivers your gear to you at the end of the month at one of our social events. Your investment includes a small contribution to CHRC which comes back to you in the form of our special events (such as our famous holiday party). You will walk away with a beautiful one-of-a-kind item you can proudly wear on your runs all year.

SPECIAL in 2016: Commemorating the first year in which we have a full CHRC women’s and CHRC men’s team running in the New York Marathon, this Limited Edition CHRC NYC Marathon items are available for racers and supporters alike!
       

PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!

Shoppe Closes on September 10th at Midnight. LATE ORDERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

Thank you to Zhanna & Kaitlyn for their personal accounts and Tony for his great photos!

Tony– You may not see this professional photographer at many of our regular runs or NYRR races, but you can bet he’s a tough runner (usually on trails) and athlete (completing several triathlons this summer!) Find him at our next Royal Court or in the great outdoors!

Kaitlyn – Our outdoor lover who partnered with Sunny in leading this troupe and planned our club’s very first Camping trip! Learn more about Kaitlyn and what makes her such a special part of CHRC on our ABOUT page.

We left Crown Heights around 9am and got to the campsite around noon.

First we set up the tents and I laid out a sandwich buffet with vegan and gluten free options.

We went on several short hikes near the campground and saw some great views of the Hudson Valley. Later we started a fire and just as we started to cook dinner the rain started so we huddled around the picnic table under my canopy and ate dinner. It rained all night but it had stopped by the time we woke up.  

We had a breakfast burrito buffet before heading to Kaaterskill Falls for a short but difficult hike which ended at a huge, beautiful waterfall and swimming hole. We hung out there for a bit before hiking back out. 

Zhanna – aka “Z” is a life enthusiast known among us in CHRC as committing all the way in her life experiences. She recently traveled home to Kazakhstan and completed a 30day Vlog which can be viewed here! 

Going camping is fun, but going camping with CHRC is awesome!

I had a blast and would do it again in a heart beat. Sunny did a great job organizing everything and had tons of extra camping gear, so I had a peace of mind. He also had all kinds of camping gadgets, and honestly camping with Sunny means knowing that all your needs will be covered:)

Kaitlin amazed me with her vegan cooking skills! Usually I get is a salad in most places, but she went all in. Can I marry her? Just kidding:)

Despite the rain we had a great time having deep personal conversions with Broke and Kristen in a car while listening to the rain outside. Akil was fully uniformed as a ranger, so we looked like we knew what the hell we were doing.

And yes, we had a professional photographer with us at all time. Tony, who took all these beautiful photos. Of course the view was amazing and the air was fresh, but what made this trip awesome is the people.

**Look out for announcements to join CHRC Fall Camping trip in a couple months!**

HAPPY FOURTH! July it is. There’s a whole new line-up of events this month for all members. Whether your a newbie or an old friend, a runner recovering from injuries or a runner in training, we hope you find something that’s comfortable and just right for you in our list of upcoming events.

SUMMER RUN SCHEDULE:

Your run leaders are bringing a new schedule for the SUMMER. If there’s a run cancellation you will know by 5pm the night before – check our Facebook Group Page or the schedule HERE if you’re not sure.

Sunday Trails @ 11am, Grand Army Plaza (Joey/Josh)
Monday Newbie Run @ 6:30am, Franklin/EPW (Liz)
Monday Night Bike Rides @ 7:30pm, Grand Army Plaza (Tim)
Tuesday Stamina Runs @ 7:45pm, location varies, For July only! (Kay)
Thursday Run & Some @ 6:30am, Nostrand/Fulton (Kristen)
Saturday Long One @ 8:00am, location varies (Spencer/Nate/Kay/guests)

Any questions about the schedule? Want to lead a run? LIZ is your go-to Super Run Leader! Find her on Mondays (and most other runs of the week)

JULY EVENTS & RACES:

Wednesday 7/13:  Monthly Royal Court. Come meet your fellow runners and hang out without all the sweat at our monthly Meet’n Greet. This month with our friends at Nostrand Avenue Pub! Pick up your GEAR as well.

Weekend 7/16-7/17: CHRC Goes Camping! Our first ever club overnight camping and hiking trip. This adventurous group will be heading up to Devil’s Tombstone State Campground. Get a taste of the outdoors this summer.

Saturday 7/16: Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run To Breathe 4M. NYRR Race. Get another one for your 9+1!

Sunday 7/17: NYC Marathon Meeting #2. Running the NYC Marathon this fall? Or perhaps another fall marathon? Come and find out who else is in the same boat and what you should be thinking about at 16weeks out from race day. This is meeting #2. If you missed meeting #1, you can still come out!

Saturday 7/23: TCS New York City Marathon Long Training Run #1. Join pacers on a long training run in Central Park.

Saturday 7/30: NYRR Team Championship Races for Women (at 8:30am) and Men (at 9:30am) PLUS post-race CHRC Social. This is going to be the party of the summer you’re not going to want to miss! If you haven’t signed up to race, there’s still some limited spots. Wear your Crown Banners and let’s have some fun!

Summer Gear Sale is nearly over!

You have 24hours left to get your order in!!

Head over to the Gear Shoppe now before it’s too late!

Thank you Stephanie and Good Toy Print Lab for their amazing designs and print work!

Written by Kristen:

Girls on the Run has been a very important part of my life for many years. I was so happy to have my wonderful CHRC friends come out to volunteer on June 5 at an event that means so much to me. The girls had spent 12 weeks working with their coaches not only on training for the 5k, but also talking about issues like healthy relationships, nutrition, goal setting, body image, and a whole host of other topics. The day of the 5k was a culmination of all of their hard work.

When I returned to New York I wanted to bring all of my experience working at Girls on the Run-Chicago and with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon to do anything I could to help the New York City council of Girls on the Run. I already knew that Allison, the Executive Director of GOTR-NYC (and fellow CHRC club member!) was a fantastic woman and had become a good friend, so this was a no-brainer.

Other CHRC volunteers can tell you about setting up flags for each of the schools that were represented that day, handing out medals to girls as they crossed the finish line (how can you not shed a tear watching this?), biking the course to make sure it is clear before the start (love you hubby!), and how their hands got sore from giving high fives to girls and their running buddies. Truly, there is no other event like this and I would encourage anyone to come out to experience the next 5k (in December, date and location to be announced soon).

My background in race operations and emergency management means I often work on the invisible aspects of event planning, and that’s where I’ve focused much of my time with GOTR-NYC.

Here are just a few things that Allison and GOTR staff and I focused on in the weeks and days before the event:

• Are the instructions for the many volunteers written as clearly as they can be?
• What is the evacuation plan for Roosevelt Island in case of emergency?
• What’s the best way to set up the barricades at the start line to ensure a clear flow of runners?
• Who is buying the airhorn for the start? (Me, from Amazon, $10.51)
• The forecast is calling for REALLY heavy rain and lightning, when/how do we decide to cancel if necessary?

Here are a few situations discussed/handled the morning of the event:

– The ambulance team is late, find out where they are. Turns out they had gone to Randall’s Island instead of Roosevelt Island. But they got to Roosevelt before the runners started!

 – Wow, we got the extra fancy port-o- potties delivered because the company had already sent out all of their standard ones to other locations. Hope people don’t get too used to this!

 – The bike marshal has reported that there’s some glass on the course at Mile 2 that has to be cleaned up before the start.

– A neighbor is complaining that the music is too loud. (Party. Pooper.)

Super sexy, right? But I love it. And no matter what volunteer job you might get at this event, you will know that you are helping young girls to have a life experience that teaches them that they are strong and capable.

I’ll end with what is often written on the back of the medals that girls receive at the finish “I have the power to believe in myself. To stand up for who I am. To say “yes” to a challenge. To cheer on new friends. TO GROW UP STRONG.”

Cue Kristen crying…

To be a part of the CHRC Community Engagement Committee, contact Aliza by emailing runningroyalty01@gmail.com

The Gear Shoppe is now Open! Pre-order your singlets and t-shirts TODAY!

This is your last chance to purchase your racing gear before the summer of PRs is over. If you are a member who is planning on racing with #CHRC for the NYRR Team Championship 5mile race, we will expect you to be wearing your Crown Gear on Race Day! Don’t miss this chance to gear up and prepare to look sharp with the rest of the team!

EXCLUSIVE SUMMER OFFER ….

Remember, the Gear Shoppe will close at noon on July 1st, so don’t delay! Go to our Gear Shoppe and Order today!

All Gear Purchases including Print-your-own will be hand-delivered at the Royal Court in July.

On June 12, the Crown Heights Running Royalty took their first group adventure to Bear Mountain State Park. Led by Duchess Kaitlyn, this band of gentry sought a day in the lap of Nature while straying not too far from their noble lands.

From Brooklyn, some traveled by car and others by direct bus. They all met in the State Park with the intent to conquer new Heights, appreciate the arrival of warm weather, and take in a view of NYC from a distance. At the end of the day, the Royal Crew agreed that they had attained all that they set out to do; and it only required a short day trip, a packed lunch, some sturdy shoes and a bit of cash for post-hike beers and ice cream!

Kaitlyn promises to lead more adventure hikes by the season; however, you wont have to wait long before the next great adventure! Next month, on the weekend of July 16-17, Sunny, our Social Media Baron and Grand Keeper of Records, Louie will be taking CHRC out on an overnight camping trip! This time, there may even be a bit of trail running involved (^o^)

Sign up on the Royal Bulletin before they take off without you. No experience required. Please contact runningroyalty@gmail.com or talk to Sunny as soon as possible to ensure the best experience!

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This year, CHRC was represented by 42 finishers at this popular event. Despite the rain forecast, the weather held up like perfection and our members ran like Royalty all the way from our backyard to the beaches in the company of 26,000 incredible participants. It was the perfect capstone to the winter and spring training seasons.

Airbnb made it possible for 2 of our members to join in! Here are some thoughts and images from Marina and Peter who won the CHRC drawing for entry! Congratulations #CHRC #RunningRoyalty on an amazing run!

MARINA

I never thought I’d run a marathon. Even a half marathon. I didn’t even consider it when the Brooklyn Half Marathon went on sale. ‘That’s not for me.’ I mostly run with the club for the good company. And now, I guess, to be pushed beyond my perceived limitations. When the draw was posted on the CHRC page for a position in the race I was compelled to enter. Mostly because I needed a distraction (that would keep me out of trouble), but also because I wanted to be a part of the excitement that was brewing amongst everyone.

Fate determined that it shall be so! And, my training began the very next day. Three weeks. Three weeks to get in long-distance-running shape. Up to this point, I may have made it to the seven or eight-mile mark but I certainly didn’t enjoy it. So, the challenge: how do I run this thing and not hate it? My first training run was ten miles. I hated the last three. But I ran again the next day (trails!), and the day after that too. Oh, I was in pain. Emergency yoga was in order. I hadn’t cleared week one and I was already broken. But then I ran again and something started to change. The next long run we did was a bit easier, dare I say fun? My reward, a Nagle’s breakfast sandwich.

My confidence was growing. With CHRC support and the promise of brunch, I could do anything. The week of the race I was feeling pretty good. I found someone to run with, and the weather promised to be great. I was going to do this! Then, the nerves set in. When I picked up my bib I realized that I was in the second wave—alone. What? I didn’t train alone. I need a running buddy. Let’s face it, I was getting through the long distances by being distracted by the lot of you, talking about our lives, loves, and idiosyncrasies.

Race day. We’re up early. I’m mixed up with nerves, excitement, and impatience. Let’s run already! It took a while to get the second wave going. It was a moving wall of people. Probably, a good thing. It forced me to keep a relaxed pace for the first part of the run. Weaving through the crowds became a kind of game. I wasn’t wearing a watch so I had no idea at what pace I was going. After we left the park, I plugged into my Run 1 track on Spotify and pushed passed the crowds of people and up the ramp. Finally, space. I think I felt every moment of the last three miles, keeping my eye on the horizon, searching for the mile markers. I believed that I’d get a second (third) wind when I made it to the final mile. I didn’t. I was tired. I thought of stopping. I slowed down. It seemed to take so much energy to keep one foot in front of the other even in the last 200m. Then it was done. I love that giddy feeling when you finish a race. Where’s my brunch?