Have you paid your 2004 club dues yet?

At press time, the club has 88 memberships current in dues for 2004. With family memberships, this includes a total of 111 members!

The big news is that we keep getting bigger and better. I spoke with Ed recently and our membership is now at 111. That is exciting! The club is healthy and growing. And we are not resting on our laurels. We had great results at Bancroft and Broad Street. Not only are we leading in the USATF Mid-Atlantic Grand Prix series but many of our members are in the top ten in the individual rankings. We should be really proud of our achievements. We also had a hardy group of men and women that raced in the heat in the Boston marathon. We all met for a pre-race pasta party at Vinny T's and there was lots of talk about the heat the next day. And as predicted the temperature was in the mid 80's at noon when the gun went off. We all pretty much took our time out there and only one runner Joe Clark ran into some trouble and ended up being treated for heat stroke. It was a lesson for me as I had never run a marathon in the heat. Now I know just how tough it is to run that far when it's that hot out. But many of us bounced back and ran well at Broad street which is a testament to the character of many of our runners. If you've never run Boston and think you may be able to qualify I encourage you to try it. With the support and camaraderie of the SJAC it's an unbelievable experience. At the last meeting Jim Flanagan came up with a great idea for marching in the 4th of July parade in Haddonfield. I won't let the cat out of the bag and spill the beans. Please stay tuned for more info and where and when we are going to meet to prepare for our participation. It promises to be a blast. And finally don't forget to come out and support the SJAC No Frills summer series at Cooper River Park. Since this has been Ed Epenshade's main project the last few years why don't you come out and show Ed how much he means to us and help make this race series one of the best ever. Our first race on June 8th was a resounding success! Why don't you come out early and lend a hand. The next race is on June 22nd. Thanks for making this year such a success and keep up the good work! Our next meeting will be after the race on June 8th at Connie Mac's. See you on the roads,

Brandon Hamilton, SJAC President.

M-USATF Grand Prix & Club Challenge

After four races in the 2004 series, SJAC is the leading club with a lead of 45 points over last year's runner up, Pike Creek Valley RC of Delaware. Current standings are as follows:

SJAC went to Boston!

On April 19th thirteen SJAC members toed the line for the start of the 108th Boston Marathon.

SJAC did Broad Street!

Fifty-four SJAC members ran the 25th Anniversary Broad Street Run on May 2nd. This represented approximately 50% of the club membership! Results are posted on the message board on the SJAC website.

When I got to my car at the end of the race to go home I discovered my drivers license was missing. I figured that it must have fallen out of my belt pack in the finish line area. Too tired, I just went home. The next day I went to get a new license the at DMV (that's a separate story in itself!!). Anyway, two days later, I receive a letter with no return address postmarked "Southeastern PA" Here it was from a fellow runner who found my license between miles 4 and 5. He (or she) was kind enough to take the time to mail it back to me!!! This experience reminded me of that special bond we have with each other as runners . One of the many reasons why I continue to pound the roads each morning before I go to work!!!

Donna Ruberti finishing Broad Street....without her driver's license

SJAC members Sharon Crow and Chris Gervasi headed west for the June 6th Suzuki Rock & Roll Marathon in San Diego.

Sharon finished this, her first marathon in 3:10 while Chris ran 3:46.

Congratulations Sharon & Chris!

Sharon Crow & Chris Gervasi are pictured below finishing up the Broad Street 10 Miler one month before the Rock & Roll Marathon.

Broad Street - Bellevue Prize Package

Oh yeah.....if any of you were still on the PSNY Parade Grounds towards the end of the Broad Street awards ceremony when Jim Marino called the bib number of the grand prize winner of the Bellevue Prize Package (celebrating its 100th anniversary), that bib number belongs to our own BJ Weis. I guess he'll have to share the prizes with Heather!

Triathlon stuff

On May 23rd "Titanium" Nick Pomponio completed the opening 1.2 mile swim leg of the Florida Half Ironman Triathlon at Disney World....... and then promptly dropped out. This would be quite uncharacteristic for Nick except for the fact that he hadn't been able to bike or run for a couple of months after breaking his femur and having it surgically repaired and held together with a titanium rod (hence the new nickname). Photographic evidence of Nick entering the swim to bike transition is provided below.

If Nick didn't drop out at this point, use of a crutch in the transition area probably would have disqualified him anyway :-)