Tag: Races

The 34th Shiver by the River is complete!!!! We had 469 individual runners, with 202 runners completing the series. In looking at all of the months, our fastest runners for the series were Samuel Good (16:35 5k, Feb race); Ty Diaz-Cruz (19:49 5k, Feb race); Jonathan Thrush (33:42 10k, Dec race); Amy Stoltzfus (38:35 10k, March race). This year we ran the course in the opposite direction (as a result of survey requests), and it was well received. We plan to switch the direction each year, so next year, we will run in the original direction. We thank every runner and volunteer who joined us!

In March we had 252 5k runners and 77 10k runners.  Congratulations to the top M/F 5k runners: Aiden Konetsky (17:08) and Ty Diaz-Cruz (20:02); and the top 10k M/F runners: James Weaver (35:02) and Jen Esposito (42:56).  

Results of each race, plus the series results, can be found on pagodapacers.com. Awards which were not picked up at the banquet are at Fleet Feet (705 Penn Ave, West Reading), and they can be picked up any time during normal business hours, until April 10^th.   

As always, THANK YOU to all the Pacers who participated either by running, volunteering, or both! We sincerely appreciate all of our volunteers, whether you helped us at one race or every race; whether you have helped us for years, or this was the first time you volunteered for Shiver. Everyone was so willing to do whatever was needed to make this series another success! I don’t want to mention specific names for fear of forgetting someone, but volunteers, you know who you are and runners, you know who they are – you see so many of the same volunteers parking cars, at the water stop, at the same registration table, at the same intersection, or inside the farmhouse supplying soup and pretzels. THANK YOU!!!!!!!  

Thank you to Andrea Thrush who created and hid small rocks along the course, each with a Shiver by the River design. 

The awards ceremony was again held at the Temple Fire Company, in Muhlenberg Township.  THANK YOU to the following folks for the donation of door prizes:  

Joanne Patti 

Ron Horn & Pretzel City Sports 

Fleet Feet 

Victor Emmanuel 

Larry Drogo

Joy & Space (Yuriko Beaman)

Alecia Bradley

Janine Biedler

Giant Food Markets 

Sloan Manheim Pharmacy

Chic Fil’a

Kenzie Pantoja

Tiffany Pantoja

Georgine McCool

THANK YOU to our sponsor:  

Dieffenbach’s

Please contact Sue Jackson at shiverdirector@pagodapacers.com if any door prize donors were missed.

If anyone has any comments, concerns, or questions concerning the series, please feel to contact one of the race directors. We do value your input, and we do read the surveys, making modifications when possible.   

Once again, thanks for all of the Pacer support, both runners and volunteers!!!!!!!!!   We hope to see all of you next year.

Sue, Georgine & Tiffany  

Thank you to the 163 5k runners, 76 10k runners, and the many volunteers who helped us have another successful Shiver by the River on February 11^th!  

Congratulations to the top M/F 5k runners, Samuel Good (16:35) and Ty Diaz-Cruz (19:49); and the top 10k M/F runners, Jordan Slifka (36:38) and Jen Esposito (41:58).  Thank you to runners and volunteers who continue to support us!

Shiver #4 will be held March 10^th.   Take note – this is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time!  

As always, we need more volunteers for this race. Specifically, we need 3 or 4 people willing to take results off of the board, so that the race directors can calculate results as soon as possible. We also need the usual help with parking, registration, on the road, at the finish line, cleaning up, at the water stop, and serving soup at the farmhouse. Anyone helping with registration should arrive at Jim Dietrich Park between 8:15 – 8:30; anyone helping during the race should arrive by 9:30; either way, look for Georgine, who can give you an assignment. Or reach out to any of the race directors prior to the race. 

However, for as much as we need volunteers, we would really like to see more PACERS run the race!  

The awards ceremony will be held immediately after the race at the Temple Fire Company, 4963 Kutztown Rd, which is about 3 miles from Jim Dietrich Park. This is the same location as the last couple of years. We are looking for more door prizes. If anyone can donate personally, or secure a door prize, please bring it to the 4^th race.  Donations can be given directly to any of the race directors or dropped off at the front table where we are selling old swag, etc. It would be appreciated if you could let us know in advance if you will be able to donate. To be eligible to win a door prize, simply complete the survey at the awards banquet. A cold buffet, including a hot vegetarian item, will be served starting around 11:00, followed by door prizes and then the awards.  Due to the costs associated with the party, we will follow the guidelines we established a few years ago.   

The party is FREE to everyone who has either:

1. Finished 3 or more races in this year’s series – please bring your race number from the 4^th race to the party, it will be your ticket for free entry.  (There will be a sticker on your bib, indicating your eligibility.)  
2. Assisted with any of the races.
3. Paid for the series.  

We will be charging all others (including Pacers who do not fall into one of the above categories), a $13 fee to help cover some of our costs.

Remember, to help us maintain accurate results, DO NOT COMPLETE ANOTHER REGISTRATION FORM if you already ran this year. If you paid for the series, registration is in the front room of the house.  If you are paying race by race, we have a number for you at the ‘single race registration’ table in the 2^nd room.  If you have not previously registered for the 2023-2024 series, registration is at a different table, also in the 2^nd room.  

Thanks for all the support we have received! We hope to see many of you at the Shiver, either running or volunteering!!!!!

Sue, Georgine & Tiffany

Shiver #3 is February 11^th.   If you have never run this race, or if you haven’t run it for a few years, come out and join us! Reconnect with runners you haven’t seen in ages!  The race is at Jim Dietrich Park, in Muhlenberg Twp. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m., and both races start at 10:00 a.m.  

The January 5k had 163 finishers, while 74 runners completed the 10K.  1^st male and female finishers in the 5k were Aiden Konetsky (17:10) and Ty Diaz-Cruz (20:26); with Andrew Brown (37:01) and Mikaela Smith (43:24) finishing as top male/female runners in the 10K.  As always, we thank the volunteers and the runners who came out to support us!!!

Because the rental agreement for the farmhouse requires us to leave the building by noon, we ask that runners who complete their first loop in over 40 minutes NOT go out for the 2^nd loop.

Looking ahead, our 4^th and final race in the series will be held on March 10^th. The awards banquet will be at the Temple Fire Company immediately following the race.  It is free to all runners who completed 3 or more races, and free for volunteers. (There is a minimal charge for everyone else.) We are always looking for door-prizes to be given at the awards ceremony. If you own a business, or know someone who owns a business, or you would like to donate something yourself, we would be very grateful for merchandise, gift certificates, gift baskets, or any small item that a runner would appreciate. Door prizes can be brought to either of the next 2 races or the February Pacer meeting. We plan to send thank you notes to all of our donors, so if you donate or secure an item for us, we would appreciate knowing exactly what was donated and contact information for the donor.

We hope to see more Pacers at the remaining Shiver races. If you choose not to run the race, please consider volunteering. We need volunteers before the race, for parking and registration; during the race – on the road, at the finish line and in the farmhouse; and after the race – for cleanup.  If you can help prior to the race, please plan to arrive between 8:00 – 8:15. If you can help with the race itself, please arrive no later than 9:30. Look for Georgine in the farmhouse. Thank you in advance for your support!

Hope to see you there!!!

Sue Jackson, Georgine McCool, Tiffany Pantoja

The first Shiver of the ’23-’24 series is in the books! Fortunately, temps were in the 40s, so when the sky opened, just as the race was starting, it was rain instead of snow. As always, we thank the volunteers and the runners who came out to support us!!! The volunteers and runners are who make this race a success!!! 125 runners completed the 5K, with 64 completing the 10K. Results are posted on both our website and the Pretzel City Sports website.  1^st male and female in the 5k were Aiden Konetsky (17:12) and Lissa Kutz (21:23). In the 10k, our 1^st male and female finishers were Jonathan Thrush (33:42) and Jen Esposito (42:38).

Now we are ready to move onto race #2 on Sunday, Jan 14^th.   We need RUNNERS!!!!  We need VOLUNTEERS!!!!!  

If you have never run this race or maybe you haven’t run it for a few years, come out and join us and maybe reconnect with runners you haven’t seen in ages! The race is at Jim Dietrich Park, in Muhlenberg Twp. Registration opens at 8:30; both races start at 10:00. This year we are running in the opposite direction, and we received very positive feedback about the change. Come and check it out!

Another change this year is that we have re-opened online registration on Pretzel City Sports, so you can still preregister for the series, and not have to stand in line on race day. This also guarantees you the ’23-’24 swag.  

Please remember to only complete the registration form ONCE during the series.  As we have done in the past, we will have 3 separate areas for registration. I know you have all heard this before, but trust me, we will still have runners (including Pacers) who will complete a form for each race. We calculate the series results by bib# so each runner will have the same bib# each month. Obviously if a runner completes more than 1 application, he/she will have more than 1 bib#. 

1. Pre-Registration is in the front room, for those runners who have paid for the entire series. 
2. For those runners who are paying for each race, individually, and who ran in December, registration is in the 2^nd room, at the table marked  “Post Registration Single Race Entry.” We have a number with a label with your name. No need to complete a new registration form. If you do, there is the potential of being recognized as a different runner when it comes time to calculate the series results. If any information needs to be changed, just let them know when you get your number; no need to complete a registration form with the changed information.
3. For those runners who have not registered for the 2023-2024 Shiver, registration is in the 2^nd room at the table marked “Post Registration.”  When completing the registration form, if you have paid for the series, please circle YES; otherwise, we will expect you to pay again at the remaining races.  

A few other notes:  

1. On the registration form, we ask for your email address, so that you will be included in any future emails we send regarding the remaining races for this series and for future series. We ask for your mailing address so that applications for future races can be mailed to you. It is certainly your choice as to whether you provide us with either or both of these, but it does help with keeping our runners in the loop.
2. Because of the rental agreement we have for the farmhouse, requiring us to leave the farmhouse by noon, we ask that runners who complete their first loop in over 40 minutes NOT go out for the 2^nd loop.  

If you choose not to run the race, please consider volunteering. We need volunteers before the race, for parking and registration; during the race – on the road, at the finish line, and in the farmhouse; and after the race – for clean-up. If you can help prior to the race, please plan to arrive between 8:00 – 8:15. If you can help with the race itself, please arrive no later than 9:30. Look for one of the race directors somewhere around the farmhouse. Thank you in advance for your support!

Hope to see you there!!!

Sue Jackson, Georgine McCool, Tiffany Pantoja