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.
Come join us for this flat and fast mid-summer race on the scenic Gring’s Mill canal path!
The start/finish location will be at the Berks County Heritage Center, located at 1102 Red Bridge Road, off of Route 183.
This event features both 5K and 10K race options, plus a kids’ run for those bringing the whole family.
Bib pickup opens at 7:30 a.m.
5k/10k starts at 9:00 a.m.
Kids’ Run starts at approximately 10:15 a.m.
Online registration is open–click the button below!
Not interested in racing, but want to help out? Email race director Jason Karpinski (gringsmilldirector@pagodapacers.com) and let him know!
Mark your calendar: Sunday, November 3, 2024—we will run and celebrate the 30th annual Oley Valley Country Classic 10-Miler and 5k. This will be a special, one-of-a-kind event!
This year, the race will start and end at Oley Valley High School. Pre/post-race activities and registration will be indoors. There will be plenty of off-street parking for this year’s RRCA Eastern Regional Championship race. Despite the new starting location, the course will be almost entirely identical to the previous year’s course.
This course is awesome: slightly rolling hills over rural roads along Oley’s beautiful landscape. The changing leaves and cool temps this time of year add to the scenic nature of the Fall Classic.
Munchiez Food Truck will be on site serving breakfast plus their regular menu! We will also serve some post-race fare—carbs and fruit!
Register by October 21 to guarantee your long sleeve shirt, and join us at this great event! The shirt will incorporate past logos as well as a unique one for our 30th running of the OVCC!
Follow us on Facebook (oleyvalleycountryclassic) for updates and more race details.
Links to our race application and online registration will soon be available on our website: https://www.pagodapacers.com/Races-Results/Races/Oley-Valley-Country-Classic.aspx
A new special event this year will be the running of the 1st annual Croc-O-Mile! Who is the fastest human in Crocs? Lets find out…it’s all for fun and for charity anyway, so enjoy running the Croc-O-Mile on the high school track for only $5. We will run this event throughout the morning, so you will have ample chance to run our primary events (10M/5K) and still squeeze in a Croc-O-Mile!
More details to come on this, but count on it being fun! People may travel from all over the world for the first Croc-O-Mile!
Questions? Email the RD—oleyvalleycountryclassic@gmail.com
Looking forward to an exciting morning for everyone to run their hearts out!
Come out for the only trail race with an age graded start (that we know of) on the east coast. Top age group performers have a legitimate shot at the overall title. Even if you aren’t out to win, the race is run on challenging yet very runnable trails in beautiful Nolde Forest with virtually no bottle necks. Challenge your families and coworkers to come out and compete on a “level” playing field.
Hey young speedsters: Here’s a chance to show off a little by passing the whole pack!
What’s an age-graded start? Those who have more than a few gray hairs or have yet to hit puberty will get a head start based on age and gender. Typically, the oldest female wave starts first. Then the next wave will start, based on 5-year age groups, working toward the 20-30 year-old (faster?) folks. Wave starts will bounce back and forth between sexes, as the handicap derived from the World Masters Association dictates. The actual handicap for each division is posted at http://www.PagodaPacers.com
The first 10 overall finishers get Nolde Forest Pottery plates; Fleet Feet gift cards go to the top three finishers. Top age group bling will also be awarded.
We are also offering cool swag (see below) to those who register early (while supplies last).
Registration: $35 with swag or $30 without. Race caps at 200. Race-day registration available unless participant cap is reached.
Part of all race proceeds will be donated to the Friends of Nolde for park projects and improvements.
The 27th running of the Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon and Dirty Pony 5k took place on May 26th without any major problems. The weather did get a little hot as the temperatures peaked in the high 80s, but nothing a few mud pits couldn’t fix for the runners. Even with the heat, every runner that made it to the start line also made it to the finish: 130 for the Charlie Horse and 39 for the Dirty Pony, respectively.
Both races had near photo finishes. Cody Harris was able to secure first place male and Lindsey Gruber first place female in the Dirty Pony 5k. Brian Wiest crossed the finish line a mere second before runner-up Brandon Fogarty to take first place male in the Charlie Horse. Megan Kane took first place female and Jody Zegestowsky followed behind a few minutes later.
The course changed slightly this year to bring the Charlie Horse distance closer to a true half marathon. Participants enjoyed the new addition, but, as tradition, everyone is just waiting for the last section. (Or they’re so excited for it, they jump straight to it and run the Dirty Pony.) Judging by the smiles and mud (so much mud!) plastered on the finishers’ faces, Charlie didn’t disappoint.
On behalf of my co-race directors, Shaun and Libby, I’d like to thank everyone who came out to support the race and Special Olympics of Berks County. Whether you ran, cheered, or volunteered, we really could not have done it without the help of our Pacer community.
See you on the trails 🤙🏻
Kelly
PS: Anyone who completed the Charlie Horse Half is officially one third of the way through the Triple Trail Challenge! It’s not too late to sign up for Run for the Ages (June 30) and Blues Cruise (October 6).
Mark your calendars: Sunday, May 26th is this year’s date for the Charlie Horse Trail Half Marathon and the Dirty Pony 5k at Sleepy Hollow Athletic Club in Mohnton, PA.
The last day to pre-register online is 5/23. Day-of registration will be available starting at 7:30 AM. If you haven’t run the race in a while, please note that we are making some course changes that have added a bit more trail in beautiful Brecknock Twp.
And if you aren’t feeling up to running the races, we are always looking for volunteers. Please sign up for volunteering by clicking the “Volunteer tab” at the race page on Ultrasignup.com.
And new for this year, the Charlie Horse Trail Half Marathon is the first race in the new Triple Trail Challenge 50.3. Complete the Charlie Horse Trail Half Marathon, the Run For the Ages Trail Chase 10k, and the Blues Cruise 50k to qualify for extra goodies and bragging rights! Runners completing these three races will get some sweet running swag at the Blues Cruise finish line. No special registration required–just sign up for all three races.
This initiative is a new way for club members to help with our races. It doesn’t require the commitment of being a Race Director, but it is more involved than typical race-day volunteering.
The club is looking for people to assist the existing race directors. Participants will get a look at the details of how a race is managed, and the Race Directors can possibly offload some of their tasks. (It’s essentially an internship–unpaid, but potentially fun and eye-opening.)
This program is something new for the club, and we haven’t defined exactly what shape this will take. We would like to start by identifying interested people. We will follow that with discussions to match the interns’ availability with the Race Directors’ needs. We don’t expect the interns to initially be tied to one race.
If you would consider participating, please send an email to president@pagodapacers.com.
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 10th.
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 11th!
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 10th. 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 4th 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:
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 2nd room. If you have not previously registered for the 2023-2024 series, registration is at a different table, also in the 2nd 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
The Pagoda Pacers 2024 Run For The Ages 10k Trail Chase will be held on June 30, 2024 at Nolde Forest.
This is one of the few races on the east coast that feature an age-graded start. What’s an age graded start, you ask? It’s simple: Age groups are started based upon anticipated race times determined by World Masters Athletics, thus giving the opportunity for runners competitive in their age groups a chance to win it all! Older female runners start first, followed by men and younger age groups based on a time handicap determined by the WMA.
The race features the natural beauty of Nolde Forest, and is a trail race – the course varies from gravel roads to technical trails complete with roots and rocks to keep you on your toes. And plenty of hills to challenge your stamina and fitness!
The top 10 finishers will receive custom award plates from Nolde Forest Pottery, while each age group will have individual awards. And, as you are starting with your age group, you will know throughout the race where you stand!
For further details and updates, visit the race page on the Pagoda Pacers website and follow the race page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RunForTheAges. We hope to see you on June 30th!
Blair and Donna
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