Author: pagodapacers

Next Membership Meeting: 6/11/26

by pagodapacers

Tobias Frogg Berks
2613 Hampden Blvd, Reading, PA 19604
Food at 6:30 PM | Meeting at 7:00 PM

NOTE: This meeting will take place in the upstairs loft area!

Come early, grab a drink, stay after—it’s easy to chat, catch up, and socialize as a club before and after business. And if you need to skidaddle right after the meeting, that’s OK too.

Please remember to RSVP no later than Sunday, June 7!

Here’s your June RSVP link: https://forms.gle/EKmSaf1njUN6e5vB6

Minutes from the Monthly Meeting (May 14, 2026)

by pagodapacers

Pagoda Pacer A.C. Monthly Membership Meeting

Thursday, May 14th, 2026

Tobias Frogg:  2613 Hampden Blvd.  Reading (upstairs in loft)

Michelle Henry presided

Jennifer Pierdomenico recorded minutes

27 members in attendance

CALL TO ORDER at 7:00 pm

Minutes from the March meeting were accepted as posted.

REPORTS

Treasurer Report (Shaun Luther)

  • Balance is $87,288 which is ~102% of target
  • All Kris Kringle expenses are now in.
  • Scholarship awards will be going out.
  • Charlie Horse shirts/swag expenses are coming in.
  • All income/expenses for South Mountain Throw Down are also in,

Kris Kringle (Lisa Domeshek)

  • After expenses are paid, $7802 will be split between the club and XC coaches’ association.
  • There were 502 preregs, and 26 day-of, but only 225 finishers due to rescheduled date.  Many coupons were given out to runners who couldn’t make the rescheduled date for next year’s race.
  • Next year will be the 40th anniversary and looking to do something special to celebrate.

South Mountain ThrowDown Lite (Brandon Beane)

  • 37 runners and runner feedback was very positive
  • Next year will possibly include 2 events (10/12hr and 24hr) and plan for 150ish runners.
  • Have permission to camp out for next year’s event which is needed for 24hr option.

Charlie Horse (Shaun Luther)

  • Registration numbers are similar to this time last year.
  • Trail maintenance this Sunday (3Hrs planned)
  • Still needing volunteers, particularly at road crossings.

Run for the Ages (Blair Hogg)

  • June 28th and registration is open for runners & volunteers.
  • Current registration is at 42 runners.
  • Course setup is June 27th from 4-6PM (tying ribbons to trees)

Trail Maintenance (Cody Harris)

  • Will be every 3rd Sunday beginning in June along Blue Marsh trail.  Details to follow.

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

An Equipment Borrowing Agreement is available and is now required to fill out if members want to borrow club equipment.  See Michelle for form.

Meetings will continue to be upstairs in the loft area through the summer.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

GOTR at Penn State Berks this weekend and they are planning for nearly 1100 runners.

Blues Cruise training runs (will all be Facebook events)

  • 7/11 Justa Road Fat-Ass
  • 8/15 Skinners Loop and optional ski loop
  • 9/12 Backside of lake (Stilling Basin to Church Rd)

Can the calendar link be added back to the Pacer web page?

MEETING ADJOURNED at 7:27 pm

Weekend 10-Miler: Hamburg Reservoir on 6/27/26

by pagodapacers

A group long run, starting at the Hamburg Reservoir, will take place on Saturday, June 27, 2026.

Join us at 8:30 a.m. for a long 10-mile run (actually 11 miles–we’re throwing in an extra one this time), featuring a challenging mix of rocky, mountain trails in northern Berks County. This run will be led by Steve Vida.

Specific route options (including something shorter than 11 miles) will be posted to the Facebook Event closer to the day of the run.

There will likely be a group heading out to lunch afterwards at Copperz Brewing, as well, if you have the time!

Hope you can join us!

Next Away Game: Shartlesville Gamelands on 6/14/26

by pagodapacers

This month’s Away Game will take us to northern Berks County: we’ll be meeting at the Shartlesville Gamelands Parking Lot (at the end of Northkill Rd) at 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 14.

The route will be a mix of gravel roads and single-track trail, totaling about 10 miles. Shorter options will be possible.

Post-run lunch spot and exact route will be announced on the Facebook event, where you can also post other questions, carpooling requests, etc.

Hope you can join us!

Wednesday Night Runs (June ’26 Locations)

by pagodapacers

Our mid-week group runs have at least two different distance options (3-4 miles and 5-6 miles) with an appointed leader for at least one of the two routes. 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!)

  • June 3: This is GLOBAL RUNNING DAY, so instead of doing our own thing, we’re going to participate in Fleet Feet’s “Big Run 5k” at Brentwood Trailhead– check your email for a discount code!
  • June 10: Isaac’s Craft Kitchen & Brewery will serve as our meeting place for a road run and our post-run venue for food & drink. Run led by Peter Schlegel.
  • June 17: Danielle Smith’s residence (1011 Floret Ave, Muhlenberg)—post-run to follow at same location
  • June 24: Nolde Forest (Mansion lot)—post-run to follow at Flanagan’s Pub

All runs start at 6:15 p.m.

This is the end of the June ’26 Newsletter. Continue scrolling if you would like to view older content.

The 2026 Charlie Horse / Dirty Pony Trail Experience Is Just Weeks Away!

by pagodapacers

After such a long winter, we hope you’ve been enjoying getting out on the trails this spring as much as we have! We can’t believe it’s May already, and Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon (& Dirty Pony 5k) is right around the corner.

Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon is a great race if you’re new to trail running and want a challenge, a veteran trail runner looking to PR, or just love running trails but don’t quite love the ultra distances. 

If you’re not ready for a half marathon, Dirty Pony 5k is another option that gets you out on the trail and access to all the post-race fun.

Not wanting to run but want to get involved in other ways? We would love to have you as a volunteer. Registration for Charlie Horse 1/2, Dirty Pony 5k, and volunteering are all open and available on UltraSignup. Hope to see you on May 24! 

click to register

Happy running,

RDs Kelly & Shaun

Wellness Corner: Stress Management Using Data From Oura Ring

by pagodapacers

by Andrea Thrush

Part of the Pagoda Pacers’ mission states that the club will “educate the public on physical fitness and wellness.” According to the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), there are eight areas of wellness: social, physical, intellectual, occupational, financial, emotional, environmental, and spiritual (meaning purpose, peace, etc.). As such, I thought it might be nice to have a small article that relates to wellness included in the club’s newsletter that could be useful to many club members.

Stress falls under the emotional category. I started working at my current job over three years ago, and I am unable to wear my fitness watch due to regulations. I never liked wearing my Garmin while sleeping. For over a year, I have been meaning to purchase an Oura ring, and I finally bought one a little over two months ago. This ring measures sleep, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, body temperature, activity levels, and blood oxygen. After using it for awhile, it will tell you your chronotype. You can track your meals by typing or taking a picture of what you eat, and it will take into account timing of meals and such. Oura also syncs with Strava, Apple Health Kit, Google Health Connect, Headspace, myfitnesspal, Chronometer, and others.

I wore the ring for about a month to gather baseline data without changing any lifestyle habits, though I was not surprised by the results. Sleep was ok, and heart health is on point, but stress is at the high end. Part of this is the fact that I am on my feet all day at work, and it might be that the ring is reading a higher heart rate and not linking it to being active. Part of it is not giving myself enough time to relax and unwind after being active at work all day. It also showed that my stress levels were not recovering after my workouts.

The great thing about this ring is that you can tag various things that might affect your sleep and stress. There are premade tags, but you can create your own tags too. This allows you to see what affects your sleep and stress. For example, I spent almost an entire vacation day at home doing arts and crafts, and that significantly lowered my stress levels. Even one evening when doing about 40 minutes had positive effects on stress and sleep. The great thing is that with the ability to create your own tags, you can find what works for you. Being out in nature, mediation, breathing exercises, cuddling with your child or pet, journaling, and so much more.

Granted, you can often tell what works for you just by how you feel after certain activities. But there can be surprises. I thought that breathing exercises were helping me, but the data showed they were not. I have made a few changes over the last two weeks. I cut out harder workouts (for now). I want to try easier bike rides and see how my body’s stress levels respond to those, as opposed to runs. Arts and crafts have had a huge impact on lowering stress levels. Sitting in front of the TV “relaxing” does not. Journaling has also helped with stress levels. The experimenting is not over, by far! 

If you are looking for an alternative method to a smart watch for measuring and managing stress and sleep, an Oura ring may work for you.

Race Results (April ’26)

by pagodapacers

Want to see your race results in the newsletter?

Send them to newsletter editor Matt Brophy at Matthew.L.Brophy@gmail.com!

Coastal Delaware Running Festival: Marathon

3:38:23Nicholas DiMascio1st M 65-69

UltraTrax at Bear Creek Mountain

7:05:14Tanara Govern21 miles

Kris Kringle 5-Mile Run

52:04Michelle Foley
52:06Sandie Kincaid

Third Thirsty Thursday 5k

25:37Sandie Kincaid1st F 40-49
31:46Michelle Foley

Next Membership Meeting: 5/14/26

by pagodapacers

Tobias Frogg Berks
2613 Hampden Blvd, Reading, PA 19604
Food at 6:30 PM | Meeting at 7:00 PM

Come early, grab a drink, stay after—it’s easy to chat, catch up, and socialize as a club before and after business. And if you need to skidaddle right after the meeting, that’s OK too.

Please remember to RSVP no later than Sunday, May 10!

Here’s your May RSVP link: https://forms.gle/EKmSaf1njUN6e5vB6

Minutes from the Monthly Meeting (April 9, 2026)

by pagodapacers

Pagoda Pacer A.C. Monthly Membership Meeting

Thursday, April 9th, 2026

Tobias Frogg:  2613 Hampden Blvd.  Reading

Michelle Henry presided

Jennifer Pierdomenico recorded minutes

28 members in attendance

CALL TO ORDER at 7:00 pm

Minutes from the March meeting were accepted as posted.

REPORTS

Trail Committee (Michael Whalen)

  •  Cody will lead the team and Michael/Alan Cook will represent the club at the Blue Marsh Trail Blazers meetings
  • Lake reports 99% of trails have been checked and in good condition.
  • One Sunday per month the club will perform trail maintenance (tentative 4th Sunday of each month).
  • Long term project under study to move portion of trail that goes onto 183.
  • Blues Cruise donation targeted for new ski slope bridge & now scouting location for new bridge.
  • Rt 183 cleanup was discussed with possibility of club participating in an adopt a highway.

Motion:  “Club investigate the possibility & details of Adopt a Highway for a section of 183”

Motion approved.

Treasurer Report (Shaun Luther)

  • Balance is $82,950 which is ~97% of target
  • All Shiver expenses/income are in.
  • Horseshoe Trail Association dues renewed.

Scholarship Committee (Katie Beane)

  • Winners have been determined.  Congratulations to:
    • Kaitlyn Wagner; Oley Valley High School
    • Kyle Pedia; Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School
    • Hannah Hoch; Oley Valley High School
    • Danial Shank; Daniel Boone Area High School

Kris Kringle (Lisa Domeshek)

  • All set for race on Sunday 4/12.

Shiver (Sue Jackson)

  • Raised $2000 this year.
  • Rough year due to weather and one rescheduled race date.
  • Now going thru survey responses.
  • 2026/2027 dates are already reserved.

South Mountain ThrowDown Lite (Brandon Beane)

  • 16 people are currently signed up.

Charlie Horse (Shaun Luther)

  • Opening volunteer signup soon.
  • Special Olympics will heavily promote event as a Special Olympics fundraiser and may consider adding Special Olympics specific event in the future.

Run for the Ages (Blair Hogg)

  • June 28th and registration is open for runners & volunteers.

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MEETING ADJOURNED at 7:26 pm