The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

running

Still Running after all those Years

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Jen Cheever, Ben Cheever, and John Cheever running the Pocantico Half Marathon.

This was 1980 if you can believe that time goes back that far. No email. Manhattan was the center of the world, and this temperate zone still had an annual event called winter. The gusts that came off the Hudson were so nasty that you could buy a coat called the Riverside Drive.

I had just spent a heavenly night not sleeping in bed with the woman who – against terrible odds – would become the love of my life. Snow was whipping outside her casement window. I woke first and by the time she had reached consciousness, I was tying my New Balance shoes.

Propped prettily against the headboard she was holding a quilt across her front in that endearing way some women will do, even though you’ve touched what’s commonly concealed.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked. “Was it okay? Didn’t you like what we did? Come back to bed.”

“I liked it very much,” I said. “Much much better than okay. But here’s the deal; I loved what we did.”

“But I can always run.”

The marriage lasted 40 years. We have two splendid sons older now than I was on that morning. All our parents died. I gave the eulogy for her beloved father.

Strides (Rodale 2007) was my last book. I rewrote the ending so that a history of running was also a love letter.

Ben Cheever and his son, Andrew, at the Bronx Zoo 5K

I guess she had as much trouble remembering 1980 as you do, because we are now divorced.

I may be taller at 76 than I was at 32, although it could just be the Hokas, which are the equivalent of two-inch heels.

I go out with the Rivertown Runners. A Todd Ruppel brainchild, we start at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday from the parking lot at the Sleepy Hollow High School. I once wrote an article about that parking lot for Runner’s World. Maybe I’m having a good day, or maybe my younger companions are slowing up so we can talk, but often one of them will complain about a colleague who refuses to retire. “Even though she’s seventy.”

“Seventy-six,” is what I say. “Seventy-six and passing on the right.”

Running, we all know, is good for mood. It’s good for the heart and for the brain. But yes, I’ve gotten slower. I was delighted to win my age category in this Halloween’s Sleepy Hollow 10k running 9.16-minute miles. But then I’m the same guy who ran 7:10’s in Iraq and came in first over fifty.

I came in 47th out of 760.

It’s crucial here to make one point: Unlike our beloved nation, running is a meritocracy. What you want – what you need – is to leave it all on the road. The word “personal” is more important than the word “best.” If you’re eighty or you ate too much and you run 15-minute miles, then 15-minute miles are still your Personal Best.

Because he was gorgeous and because he died young, the Oregon’s Steve Prefontaine is the Christ figure of American running. Prefontaine said that he wasn’t a fast runner, but a man who could tolerate more pain on the track than any other man alive.

You may not be built for speed, but all of us are built for pain. The trick is in knowing that Pain is a message sent out long in advance. You run through pain. Be careful. Stretch and take that week off. Do remember that your body is a liar.

I don’t want to live forever. Amby Burfoot who won the Boston Marathon in 1968 is still running. If Prefontaine was Christ, then Amby Burfoot is our slender Buddha. He coined a phrase that bitten runners oft repeat. “I don’t run to add years to my life. I run to add life to my years.”

Time to mention running’s ugly sister. Cross training can be fun, but often cross training is running’s ugly sister.

Swimming laps is great for my running. Swimming laps is hell for me.

I gasp and splash. I fight the water until what seems like an hour has passed. Hanging on the edge of the pool I look at my Garmin. Time spent swimming: Three minutes and 16 seconds.

The Elliptical, the ski and rowing machines are easier to take.

Bicycling is another way to cross train. Bicycling doesn’t just seem deadly, though. Bicycling is deadly.

I’ve swum (ugh). I’ve ridden a bicycle (Eek!). I’ve struggled with machines. My friend John Nonna (also 76) has a similar basement. On weekends we go out together for a run.

A dozen doctors told me not to run. I have been diagnosed with a bad back and – much more frightening – a bad heart.

But still I run.

My son, John, and Jen, his precious wife, ran the Pocantico half marathon with me last (this) year.

Forty-five years later and reeling from a broken heart there’s just one truth of which I’m certain. I was right back then. I was right to go out running before climbing back into that lovely bed.

Strong & Proud: The Incredible Briarcliff Manor Running Club

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Members of the Briarcliff Manor Running Club        Photo by Donna Mueller

Briarcliff Manor boasts a multitude of trails ideal for biking, hiking and running as well as a large population of residents who enjoy utilizing those trails. But sometimes people need a little motivation to get out there and run. That’s where the Briarcliff Manor Running Club (BMRC) comes in. Established in 2020, the club has become an incredible way for people to meet others, explore new trails and connect over a shared passion.

I recently spoke with Brian Harkins and Craig Motz, two of its coaches, about the club and some of its plans for the near future.

The BMRC was established in October 2020 when Harkins spoke with the Recreation Department about creating a running club for the community. “There’s so many trails, paths and resources, we thought it would be fun to open up a group to explore and take advantage of what’s right in our own backyard.” Along with Motz, two additional coaches, Maria Kucheryavaya and Davey Gibian jumped on board and the BMRC was born. “Craig had just moved to the area, as did Maria and Davey during the pandemic, and they were looking to connect with like-minded people with a passion for running and outdoor activities. We got together and started throwing ideas around of what the group would look like, and its grown from there.”

Grassroots Beginnings

What began with the initial sending of one community-wide email and having 10 runners show up the first day, has now turned into a list of 75 runners. It was an organic, grassroots process to building these relationships, including by word-of-mouth. Motz shares, “We send an email each week with a new running location. We want to keep it fresh. Doing the same loop over and over can be kind of mind-numbing and we want to keep doing new routes.”

The group has meet-ups twice per week–8:00 a.m. on Saturdays and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. They meet at various locations and average 3-6 mile runs. “We do everything from beginner to intermediate with options to shorten or lengthen your run as needed”, says Motz.

Both Harkins and Motz have some favorite trails in the area. “We take full advantage of the Rockefeller Preserve”, says Motz. “13 Bridges, Swan Lake, Buttermilk Hill–it’s beautiful.” The group also runs the North County Trail up to Millwood, Rockwood Hall, Old Croton Aqueduct and even the hilly roads throughout the village. All of the coaches live in the Briarcliff area and have found it to be a great place to set down roots. “The schools, parks and the outdoor activities attracted us”, says Motz, who lives in town with his wife and young son Miles. “The area has a lot to offer in terms of community and raising a family here–we’ve met some really great people and families through the running club.” Harkins, who’s lived in Briarcliff for seven years, wholeheartedly agrees.

Creating Connections

The creation of the BMRC has led to many new connections and opportunities for everyone involved. They’ve started participating in various races throughout the area including the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon, Sleepy Hollow10K and The Leatherman’s Loop in Cross River and have also collaborated with the Croton and Rivertown clubs. “There are lots of people training for the NYC Marathon, as well as other races in the area and we’re here to help everyone. We are trying to connect everyone as well as promote local races and create new ones”, says Motz.

Harkins is planning some upcoming informational sessions as well. “We’re thinking of putting together some sessions on nutrition, training habits, sleep and recovery. We’d like to have a physical therapist come to provide information on stretching and exercises.”
There’s also talk of working with the Village to hopefully establish a 5K race this fall.

Harkins continues, “The initial thought for the club was that there were so many resources and so many great people running on their own but I’d hear people say, I wish could run more but need motivation. Getting a group together helps people be more accountable–even for myself.” The BMRC has even created a Couch to 5K program for runners of all abilities. “People from all walks of life joined and they all developed friendships–I was very happy to see all the people come together”, said Harkins. “Some joined the club from never having run at all.”

The BMRC and its coaches are happy to introduce residents to one another and to different parts of the area, including its amazing trails. As Harkins says, “People who have lived here for so long will say they never knew some of these trails existed.” Creating connections and keeping things fresh are two of the things the Briarcliff Manor Running Club does best.

For more information please visit the BMRC social media channels.

Records Broken for Trio of Events at Chamber’s 2017 Cider and Donut Festival

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‘Twas a fun and mega successful day at Wampus Brook Park bringing together 350 walkers/runners for Jamie’s 5K Run and a record-breaking crowd on September 17, according to Stacy Wilder of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce. Some 1600 donuts were sold “with plenty of apple cider to wash them down with,” she added as families turned up with good cheer to enjoy old fashioned fun at the Chamber-spon-sored Cider and Donut Festival which included the Jamie’s 5K Run for Love, and the Byram Hills Preschool Association’s carnival rides and activities too. All the activities took place at beautiful Wam-pus Brook Park. An array of merchant sponsors made the day possible. Visit armonkchamberofcommerce.com for more info.

From the start of the races ‘till the very last one, supportive cheers and waving banners encouraged the runners braving warm, humid temps. At the race, the male winner was: Kevin Harvey from Fairfield, CT, with a time of 16 minutes. The women’s overall winner was Sydney Durand from Brighton, Massachusetts, with a time of 19 minutes and 26 seconds. – Grace

PHOTOS BY GRACE BENNETT

Beascake Donuts…of course!

Up Close & Personal with Democratic Nominee for County Executive George Latimer

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It has been 13 years since State Senator George Latimer left county government to serve in Albany. Latimer spent 13 years on the county’s Board of Legislators before his 2004 election to the New York State Assembly, including two terms as board chairman. Now the Democratic nominee for Westchester county executive, Latimer calls a return to White Plains, and to a leadership position, a “natural fit.”

“It is the opportunity of an executive job not just to, as legislators do, advocate for ideas and sponsor ideas,” Latimer tells the Inside Press. “But to actually administer a government and to try to shape it in a direction that you think is positive.”

Latimer, a Mount Vernon native who has lived in Rye for 30 years, worked as a marketing executive for companies including subsidiaries of Nestle and ITT before entering politics. He was elected to the Rye City Council in 1987, then to the Board of Legislators in 1991. After four terms in the Assembly, he was elected to the Senate in 2012.

Latimer announced his candidacy for county executive in April, winning the backing of the Democratic committee and in September, defeating county legislator Ken Jenkins in the party’s primary. Now, he looks to unseat County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican who has convincingly won two elections in a Democrat-heavy county. While Astorino has highlighted his administration’s record of keeping the tax rate down, Latimer believes the incumbent’s overall fiscal record is flawed.

“What I am going to promise to do is to get an honest set of eyes to look at our fiscal situation,” Latimer says. He plans to ask the state comptroller to do a full audit of the county, he elaborates, and will then create a blue-ribbon commission comprising members of the business community, academia and others to chart a responsible path forward.

“If you think that we can run the county forever and never raise a tax because politically people don’t like taxes,” Latimer says, “then you are going to have to make some decisions about cutting everything and having no services.”

While the tax levy has held steady–even dropping slightly during Astorino’s term–Latimer claims the headline numbers do not paint a full picture. For example, the county has been too reliant on borrowing for recurring expenses, Latimer says, and may now be overestimating projected sales tax revenue in order to avoid a budget gap. Naturally, Astorino disagrees. “I think George has been in Albany so long he now has Albany math,” Astorino quips. (For a deeper look at Astorino’s policies and platforms, see the accompanying article about Astorino: https://www.theinsidepress.com/spotlight-on-republican-incumbent-rob-astorinos-final-bid-for-county-executive/)

Favors Consolidating Services

Latimer says he will look to generate alternative revenue sources or to save money by consolidating services before raising property taxes.

He does not promise to keep taxes flat, saying that he will need to see the 2018 budget and get a deeper look into the county’s finances, but notes that he has no intention of breaking the tax cap. “If we can deliver another 0 [percent increase] that would be good, but I don’t marry myself to any commitment until I know the specifics,” he says.

Similarly, Latimer acknowledges that bringing back every position cut by Astorino is unrealistic.

“On merit, you probably need to restore a ton of it. But the money isn’t going to be there,” he says. His priorities, he adds, are to strengthen the Department of Public Works, police services and the planning department. “Some of the downsizing that [Astorino] has done is probably sensible,” Latimer admits. “The question when you [make cuts] across the board is, are you throwing out the bathwater and the baby?”

In November 2016, Astorino announced plans to enter into a public-private partnership for Westchester Airport. The deal would have seen Oaktree Capital Management pay the county $130 million upfront for a 40-year revenue-sharing lease. Though that plan was stopped by the legislature, the county is now considering several competing plans to privatize the airport, which is located partially in North Castle.

Latimer sees privatization of the airport as more or less a nonstarter. Giving up control of the airport not only cedes a source of revenue, Latimer explains, but gives the county less control over decisions with environmental and quality of life implications.

“I don’t want those decisions on that asset being made by a private sector entity unless there is a reason for it,” Latimer says. “And there is no reason for it except that [Astorino] wants to fill a budget gap.”

Optimism in the Last Stretch

This race, Astorino tells Inside Press, will be his last run for the office he has held since shocking Andrew Spano in 2009. This means, in all likelihood, it will be the party’s last chance to knock off the incumbent, perhaps before he takes another shot at the governor’s mansion.

Democrats were optimistic four years ago when Astorino saw a challenge from New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. Obama won the county by 25 points the previous year, and Bramson looked to keep Democratic voters engaged with a focus on national issues such as guns and abortion. Astorino, focusing on taxes, won with 56 percent of the vote.

Latimer points to a handful of differences between his race and Bramson’s. Bramson, as the mayor of a city, was less well-known than Latimer, who represents a third of the county in Albany. And he notes, around 45 minutes into an hour-long interview, that so far in the conversation he’s spoken only about local issues. But, he continues, “there is the Donald Trump factor.”

Trump received just 31 percent of the vote, five points worse than Mitt Romney’s 2012 showing, in the county. Latimer has looked to tie Astorino to the president–a picture of the two Republicans together features on at least one of Latimer’s campaign mailers, while Astorino’s veto of a bill limiting the county’s cooperation with immigration enforcement was dubbed “Trump-like.”

“Donald Trump, as every day passes by, is giving more people doubt into what it is that he is all about,” Latimer continues. “I don’t know about Wisconsin, but he is definitely less popular in Westchester than he was a year ago, and I don’t see Rob distancing himself at all from Trump.”

Latimer does not seem to be going all-in on the Trump card. His campaign has centered on challenging the incumbent’s fiscal record. But he also does not hesitate to oppose, for example, the county executive’s decision to bring gun shows back to the Westchester County Center.

Latimer recognizes the challenge in taking on Astorino, whom he calls “a very sharp guy” and “a great communicator.” He points out, though, that he has been in tough races before. His 2012 election over Bob Cohen for the Senate seat vacated by Suzi Oppenheimer came two years after Cohen nearly knocked off Oppenheimer, a 14-term incumbent.

His contest in November will be his toughest yet.

Spotlight on Republican Incumbent Rob Astorino’s Final Bid for County Executive

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In his third and final campaign for Westchester County Executive, Rob Astorino sat down with the Inside Press to explain how his administration has held firm on the conservative fiscal policies he brought to office eight years ago.

Every year since 2010, the two-term Republican has requested a county budget of around $1.8 billion, the same amount last requested by his Democratic predecessor Andrew Spano that also came with a 2.9 percent tax levy increase.

Astorino has instead reduced the tax levy by 2 percent. He’s also frozen the county property tax levy, something he’s quick to point out as a major accomplishment for his administration’s goal to “stop the tax madness.” All of this is so middle-class people have a “fighting chance” to live in Westchester and small businesses have a “chance to survive and thrive,” Astorino explained in our interview. He’s now betting his low-tax platform that won the 2009 election will translate into a positive message that says his administration can govern efficiently and effectively without big spending.

“We’ve just showed that you can do it better without having to be wasteful and having to go to the taxpayer every year saying we need more,” Astorino said in the interview.

But State Senator George Latimer, the Democratic challenger for county executive, said there’s more to Astorino’s tax relief record. “He is arguing that he has kept taxes at zero when in fact they levy is not the only thing the county does,” Latimer said.  (For a deeper look at Latimer’s policies and platforms, see the accompanying article about Latimer: https://www.theinsidepress.com/up-close-personal-with-democratic-nominee-for-county-executive-george-latimer/)

Sewer and refuse district taxes have ticked up during Astorino’s administration, Latimer notes, adding “all of a sudden it may not be that you actually paid less.”

Astorino counters that the county’s property tax levy has fallen from $560 million to $548 million under his watch. “Any increases in refuse or sewer district taxes Astorino continued, have paid for the expansion of necessary government services, like the launch of a household material recovery facility at Rye Playland.

The tax-friendly environment Astorino created helped insulate Westchester from New York’s first population decline in a decade, he said, with the county being one of the few to grow last year. It’s also helped 44,000 private-sector jobs in Westchester since he took office, Astorino said in the interview. “We’re inviting businesses to come in, which is making it attractive for people to come to Westchester to start a family, to start a career,” he explained.

Putting assets to work

Lower taxes means Astorino has had to manage the county in a way that finds new revenue and cuts inefficiencies.

He’s cut the government workforce by 16 percent, either through buyouts or “reorganization.” For example, Astorino said a contract he ended for the Planning Department to work on section 8 housing saved the county $1 million a year and put the workers under the state’s purview.

“You’ve got a smaller but more efficient county government,” Astorino told The Inside Press.

He has also hunted for new revenue streams, looking for county assets that can generate a profit with new development. For example, Westchester is allowing the construction of a “biotech village” on 60 acres of vacant land at the Westchester Medical Center campus that Astorino said will create high-tech jobs.

“You can’t sit idly by,” he said. “This is part of our philosophy: if we’re not going to ask taxpayers to pony up more, we still need new revenue to come in. So we’re going to use the assets that the county has and put them to work.”

This strategy led Astorino to announce in November 2016 plans to enter into a public-private partnership for Westchester Airport. Astorino wants to hand control of the airport to a private company for a $130 million upfront payment and a 40-year revenue-sharing lease.

Astorino is marketing the plan as a way to put the airport’s value to use without fully selling it to the private sector. “That’s how you pay for parks and police, daycare and all these other services that people want,” he explained during the interview.

The criticism his plan has faced, including from Latimer, is that the county will receive a one-off payment but lose out on revenue down the road, as well as losing control of airport management.

Another concern is that a private company will want to expand Westchester Airport for greater profit, disrupting the Armonk-North Castle area where it’s located. Astorino insists that no company can “build any major structure without county approval.”

“We want a better not bigger airport,” he said.

One question remaining

Astorino won’t say for certain he’s going to run again for New York Governor. In 2014, he tried to unseat Andrew Cuomo for the position and lost by 14 points. “My thoughts and everything is on election day to run for county executive,” he said. One caveat: “nobody should ever close the door on anything in their future.”

He is feeling confident about the election at hand as well. Throughout his two terms, Astorino has navigated the politics of a Democrat-leaning county. His conservative policies have been in action for seven years now and applied to a range of issues.

What seemed like the defining issue of his administration early on, the HUD housing lawsuit, is now fully in the rearview mirror. The disagreement was never about if Westchester should build more affordable housing, Astorino explained, adding the county has exceeded the federal requirement by building 900 units. “When it was evident that the central planners in Washington were going to try to dictate who lives where in this county and what gets built, that was all out of bounds. That’s what we fought on,” he added.

He said he’s not worried if Latimer tries to tie him to the social policies of President Donald Trump. In the election four years ago, he pointed out, Democrats tried to use Barack Obama’s popularity, winning Westchester by 25 points in 2012, by making the campaign about national issues.

Astorino said voters won’t fall for it this time either. “People are smart enough to realize that neither Obama in 2013 or Trump in 2017 are on the ballot,” he said.

The vision for Westchester Astorino’s bringing to his final campaign for county executive is an “extension” of what got him elected the first time. He said he is confident his version of “fiscal common sense” coupled with the experience of two terms in office will carry him over the finish line once again.

The only question remaining is if voters still want the same thing.