The Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club is happy to invite you to the 38th annual Kris Kringle 5-Mile Run on Sunday, December 29th!
Looking to squeeze one last fun event in over the Christmas break? This race is always a family favorite, with proceeds benefiting the Berks County Cross Country Coaches Association. So grab your friends & family and close out 2024 with us!
Course: The course features a mix of road and easy trail sections through Blue Marsh and the Union Canal Trail.We’ll be running counter-clockwise this year. Strollers and walkers are welcome. Dogs are not permitted at this event.
Registration Fees: ALL registration fees are RACE ONLY
$25 per runner through December 3, 2024
$30 per runner from December 4 to December 15, 2024 at midnight
Day-of registration: $30 (hoodies will not be available for purchase)
ONLINE REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE ON DECEMBER 15th at 11:59PM EST
Option to add a hoodie for an additional cost during checkout.
Hoodies:
This year’s hoodie will be Dark Heathered Green, as voted on by you! You can get a sneak peek when you go through the registration process.
Hoodies are not included with the race registration cost but can be added to your order during the checkout process for $18 until December 3, 2024
Deadline to order: December 3, 2024
Must be picked up at the race; no holds. No additional hoodies will be sold at the event.
Race Day Info:
Registration: 8:30 AM | Race Start: 10:00 AM
Same-day registration will be available at $30 per runner (no hoodie option)
Leave your doggy pals at home, please. No dogs permitted at this event.
Awards:
Overall: Top 2 male and female (not eligible for age group awards)
Age Groups: Top 3 male and female in 5-year brackets from U14 to 69, plus a 70+ category
Top High School Teams: Teams in Open (all male or mixed) or Female (girls only) divisions. XC scoring used (lowest point total wins).This will be the last year for the team competition due to low participation.
**NEW THIS YEAR!**: Awards for the oldest male and female finisher
Weather: In case of inclement weather on race day, updates will be sent to the email address used for registration.
Keep up with the latest updates and race fun by joining our Facebook Group: Kris Kringle 5 Mile Run
Our mid-week group runs have at least two different distance options (3-4 miles and 5-6 miles) with an appointed leader for each route. Each run will have its own Facebook “event,” and the routes will be posted a couple days before the run. After each run, those who can will stick around for food, drink, and good conversation, either at a nearby restaurant or a club member’s residence. Come for the run; stay (if you can) for the fellowship. (If you don’t have time to stick around, no worries–just come run with us!)
September 4: Blue Marsh Ski Loop (Old Church Rd trailhead) — Post-run to follow at Blue Marsh Italian Restaurant
September 11 — Angora Fruit Farm (502 Angora Rd, Reading) — Post-run to follow at Knight’s Pub (Stokesay)
September 18: Blair Hogg’s residence (13 Kenny Dr, Mohnton) — Post-run to follow at same location
So, I ran a super cool race in Europe back in June.
The TLDR version is that I rain the Grainau Trail Race, which is part of the Salomon Zugspitz Ultratrail – Germany’s largest trail running event. This distance is just under 10 miles with about 2,500 ft elevation. If you get the chance, definitely check it out!
If you’ve got a bit more time, let me take you on a little adventure!
Earlier this year, I found out I’d be jetting off to Germany for work in June. Naturally, I thought, “Why not turn this work trip into an epic personal getaway?” So, I went into full “travel-planner mode.” The big questions were: Where to go? Why? And for how long?
My solution, of course, was to start Googling! I started searching for concerts and trail races in Europe. While the concert scene didn’t have anything that piqued my interest, the trail races were overflowing. After sifting through a ton of great options in a ton of cool places, I stumbled upon something truly exciting: the Salomon Zugspitz Ultratrail.
Picture this: Nearly 4,000 runners from 67 countries and 46 exhibitors coming together for an event featuring six distance options, a professional livestream, and a vibrant festival atmosphere spread over three exciting days. Here’s the lineup:
Grainau Trail: 9.94 miles | 2,493 ft elevation | Saturday 12 PM
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Trail: 18.02 miles | 4,725 ft elevation | Friday 10 AM
Mittenwald Trail: 27.34 miles | 6,102 ft elevation | Saturday 7 AM
Leutasch Trail: 42.28 miles | 9,409 ft elevation | Saturday 9 AM
Ehrwald Trail: 53.43 miles | 13,349 ft elevation | Friday 11 PM
Ultratrail: 65.90 miles | 16,663 ft elevation | Friday 10:15 PM
It’s a trail runner’s dream, amiright?! And the timing was perfect! Still feeling a bit bruised from an Oil Creek DNF last fall and a not-so-stellar first half of 2024 with minimal running, I wasn’t exactly oozing confidence. I decided to play it safe and signed up for the beginner-friendly Grainau Trail. With that commitment in place, I built the rest of my trip.
I finalized my itinerary, and it was pretty awesome: a couple of days in Belgium with co-workers, followed by a few days in Germany for work and the race, and then a 7 a.m. flight to Poland for some solo exploration before heading home.
But, plot twist! If you follow me on Strava, you know my plans hit a snag. Two days before my departure, our work trip was canceled. Cue the panic and scramble! Now, what’s a runner to do when their well-laid plans go awry? Adapt, keep moving, and make it work to get the finish. And that’s what I did.
Within hours, I rebooked my flight, this time flying into Poland with absolutely no plan other than meeting up with a co-worker on Sunday and making it to Germany by Friday, the night before the race. As per usual, I found myself thinking: “It’ll all work out,” a phrase my brother (PPAC President Steve Vida) often says as a sincere reassurance. However, sometimes it is accompanied by a knowing laugh, which suggests a hidden subtext: things might not actually work out, but roll with it anyway, hold on tight, and hope for the best. This was one of those times. Sure, this motto might bite me in the ass someday, but for now, it’s still going strong because everything really did work out!
After road-tripping through Poland, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany, we arrived in Farchant, a small village in Bavaria, late Friday afternoon. We checked into the hotel and took the short train ride to the race expo in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. I grabbed my bib, checked out the vendors, got my first official pre-race photo, and soaked up the energy and excitement of the event. Since some of the races had already started, the town was lively and buzzing, especially near the finish line. It was time to find some food and get back to the hotel to get everything situated.
Race day:
With a later start time, I avoided the dreaded early morning wake up and rush to the start line. Instead, I relaxed on the balcony taking in the amazing (and slightly intimidating) mountain view before grabbing breakfast and catching the train into town. Once there, I walked a short distance to Olympia-Kunsteisstadion, a skating stadium built for the 1936 Winter Olympics, to board the shuttle bus to Grainau, where my race began.
At noon sharp, the race started – German punctuality at its finest! For the first few minutes, my mind was filled with all the typical thoughts. For me, these are: “Why am I doing this? I don’t belong here,” “Am I going to make the cutoff?” and “What if I don’t finish?” But soon, these thoughts faded as I settled into race mode. They were instead replaced with the sound of spectators lining the streets to cheer on runners as we winded through the town and into the trails. The cheering was replaced by the sound of roaring cowbells–on actual cows–as we ran through the herd. This happened randomly throughout the race, and it was fun to see and hear them as they roamed alongside (and sometimes on) the trail.
“Keep moooving, Michelle!”
The scenery was breathtaking and the views of the towns from atop the mountain were stunning. The climbs, though challenging, didn’t feel as difficult as I anticipated.
I reached the highest point of elevation right around the 5-mile mark – greeted by cows again 😊. Before I knew it, I was at the aid station with only 3 miles of mostly descent left until the finish. After a quick Coke and a smile, I continued. The overcast skies hinted at rain, which also pushed me to wrap this up.
After descending the mountain, the race finished with a brief jaunt through the town, leading into the home stretch and across the finish line. As I finished, I heard the announcer say, “Michelle Henry of the United States and a Pagoda Pacers Athlete” – the highlight of my day!
Afterwards, I changed into fresh clothes and grabbed some post-race food and hit the road again – this time off to Prague! Perfect timing, as the sky opened up and it poured almost as soon as I closed my car door.
Final thoughts:
This race was top-notch with excellent communication and organization. I’d love to go back and tackle one of the longer distances.
Next year’s dates are June 12-14th and there’s already a big announcement for 2025: the debut of the ZUT100, the first major 100-mile trail running race around Germany’s highest mountain. Registration opens in November.
The official route for this run will be a 10k course featuring “Skinner’s Loop.” For those looking for something longer, you can run the course multiple times or add on the “Ski Loop,” which is 7 miles.
More information about the run can be found via Facebook.
Looking for a flat, fast, beautiful 5k or 10k race this weekend? Sign up NOW for the Gring’s Mill 5k / 10k at the Berks County Heritage Center on Sunday, August 4th, at 9 a.m.!
Can’t race? Would you prefer to volunteer? Please contact race director Jason Karpinski at gringsmilldirector@pagodapacers.com.
Alternatively, you can also help out by giving a “push” to an adaptive athlete as part of the RaceMates program. Interested? Contact Michael Whalen via the RaceMates FB page.
** Please let us know if you will attend, so we can plan for food.**
We submit a headcount on the Monday before the meeting. You can mark yourself “Going” to the FB event, comment on the event, or contact president@pagodapacers.com.
Treasurer Report (Shaun Luther) – Balance $88,922 (139% of Target).
Charlie Horse Race Report (Shaun Luther) – the race netted a total of $4,770, including $340 direct donations. The motion was passed to donate $2,555 to the Special Olympics.
Triple Trail Challenge (Shaun Luther) – Shaun will email the 45 runners, who completed the Charlie Horse and Race For the Ages, to encourage them to register for the Blues Cruise Race.
Race for the Ages (Blair Hogg) – the race had 180 participants and netted $4,074, including $224 donations. One vendor also donated their fee of $450. So, the Pacers will donate a total of $2,561 to Friends of Nolde Forest.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Future Berks Nature Presentation (Steve Vida) – Berks Nature is celebrating their 50th Anniversary, so they are trying to schedule 50 presentations about their organization. After a short discussion the motion was adopted to have Berks Nature give a 30-minute presentation at the September Monthly Membership Meeting.
If you’re a procrastinator, you’re not alone. There’s no need to feel ashamed.
But…there is a PRICE to be paid for all this procrastinating, IF you let it go to far.
The good news?
There’s still time to purchase your Wine & Cheese tickets at the discounted rate ($20 for members; $25 for guests) before those prices skyrocket (i.e. go up $5) on August 26th.
So many people told me that the Comrades Marathon in South Africa is their favorite race–that it is life-changing. I wanted to see why!
It was created in 1921 to honor fallen soldiers in WWI and is the world’s largest and oldest ultra. We spent a few days in Cape Town to get use to the time zone. There were great restaurants at the Waterfront. We took a bus tour to the Cape of Good Hope and to Boulders Beach to see the penguins.
Then we flew to Durban and met up with Marathon Tours. They made everything so easy! It was nice to meet runners from all over the world. Marathon Tours took us on a bus preview of the course on the day before the race, with Patrick Boyd, who I think has run it 14 times. He and Coach Markus gave excellent advice: be patient and slow early on; don’t trip on the reflective lane markers; and drink at each aid station. I felt anxious and out of my league, so one of the tour guides, Coach Markus, made me a pace chart, which freaked me out until I realized it was in kilometers.
I didn’t sleep well and felt terrible when I woke up. Garmin said my body battery was 5% charged. I didn’t know how I was going to run. There were 22,500 runners and only 200 portapotties at the start, so don’t show up with a full bladder. We had to be in our corral 15 minutes before the start, or we had to start after all the corrals. You have 12 hours to finish the race. The clock starts when the first runner crosses the start line, so if you start after everyone else, you can lose 20 minutes.
The race started at 5:30 a.m. with the South African national anthem, then Shosholoza (a song originally sung by gold and diamond miners), the theme from Chariots of Fire, a rooster crow, then the cannon. Unlike in the US, everyone sang, and in different parts! The energy was incredible!
The race direction alternates, going “up” (from Durban to Pietermaritzburg) one year, and “down” (the opposite) the next year. This was an “up” year, and, because of road construction, an unusually “short” distance at 85.914 km (53.4 miles). It was really crowded for the first several miles, and I focused on not tripping. The climbs weren’t bad, compared to Tuesday Hill Repeats. (Thank you, Jim Blandford)!
I had to use the portapotty 3 times. I waited in line the first 2 times, so I kept getting stuck behind the 11 hour bus (pace group), which was huge. It was so crowded! After a while, I managed to extract myself and get ahead of them, but then I got stuck behind another group, which was going slower than the 11 hour bus. The bus ran me over and I was trapped again. By the way, I am very grateful that I wore my hydration vest and carried toilet paper and hand sanitizer!
I was so happy to see my friend, Cathy Hopkins. This was her 11th Comrades!
There were lots of kids to high five. However, 2 children, maybe 3-4 years old, stepped onto the course. I couldn’t stop fast enough and tripped over the little boy, knocking him over. I felt so bad. I kept asking whether he was okay, but he just looked at me. He got up and left, so I think he was fine. Luckily, I landed on my sachet of water, busting it open, so I used it to clean my wounds. Water is given in sealed plastic bags, not cups. They were easy to carry and always cold.
The crowd support was amazing! People played music, sang, danced, cheered, and offered food. I ate bananas, oranges, salted potatoes, potato chips, cookies, energy bars, and a sandwich with something like marmite, although the woman offering it called it something else. (I was very grateful for this–and for the fig bar I carried–because the aid stations did NOT have a lot of food options.) The other runners were kind and friendly. It was very cool to be midpack and see the huge pack of people of all different ages, sizes, shapes, and nationalities moving towards the same goal.
I pulled out my phone and saw the app was predicting that I would finish in 11:03. I overheard someone say that if we finished under 11 hours, we would get a bronze medal. There was no way I could go any faster, and I still had to climb the last 2 hills (Little Pollys and Polly Shorts), so I gave up hope. (I am Gen X. It sounds like Pauly Shore to me, too). However, there was some gentle downhill. I looked at the tracker a little later, and my predicted finishing time was around 10:50. Then I started drinking Coke and running. I drank more Coke than I did in the past 20 years combined. The course kind of makes you run a negative split, but I’m so proud that my last mile was the fastest! I finished in 10:46:03, which I am really happy with, considering that I didn’t think I would finish before the 12 hour cut off.
The finish was as crowded as the Eagles Super Bowl parade. Marathon Tours arranged a hotel room for me to shower in before the long drive back to Durban. Use the bathroom before the drive back to the start! There is a lot of traffic.
The next day, we were invited to Bruce Fordyce‘s party. Bruce is a 9-time winner of Comrades. Even if you weren’t into running at all, you would love Bruce’s stories. They were inspiring and very funny. Gerda Steyn was there. She is a 3-time Comrades winner and such a sweetie. One of the runners in the tour group was Kieran Alger, from the YouTube channel, Manvmiles. His video explains things much better than I can.
We did the extension to Thanda Safari afterwards and it was wonderful! Thanda is owned by Christin and Dan Olofsson. They do a lot for conservation of endangered species and employ a lot of local Zulus. I highly recommend it.
Due to a number of conflicting running events on Labor Day weekend, we have decided to cancel the group run originally planned for August 31st at Jim Thorpe.
This run may be rescheduled for the Fall, so keep an eye out on the Newsletter and/or Facebook for further announcements.
Pagoda Pacers News 