The New Castle 10k/5k is one of the most anticipated events in town each year thanks in large part to the hard work of the town’s Recreation & Parks Department. Many families have more than one member participating, too. Runners/walkers were blessed this year to wake up to clear skies, the sun poking through and mild temperatures before embarking on a five or ten mile course. For a full list of the race winners this year, please visit: http://georesults.racemine.com/Town-of-New-Castle/events/2016/New-Castle-10K5K/results
running
Meet the New York Runner of the Year: Armonk’s Danny Tateo
By Miriam Longobardi
To be an elite, award-winning runner, one may think it takes years of training and dedication from a young age. Not so for Armonk’s Danny Tateo, winner of New York Road Runner Club’s Runner of the Year.
As a teen, running was never his interest. Instead, Tateo participated in team sports such as baseball and football, mainly out of a search for admiration more than any great love for either sport. He described troubles at home which left him searching for something to boost his self-esteem.
Tateo left college to start his own business and soon after married his childhood sweetheart, Elena. “I knew she always liked me for me,” he said. He attributes the success of their marriage to mutual deep respect and admiration as well as commitment to putting their relationship first. The couple has two children, a daughter, Reese, 13, and son, Morgan, nine.
In his thirties, Tateo began to understand the concept of low self-esteem and recognized his habit of working to convince people that he was smart and successful. Still, he began seriously building up his muscles and admits much of his identity and what he valued about himself was associated with appearance.
At age 46, Tateo began incorporating running into his workouts, but strictly for aerobic benefit to his heart and lungs. He ran three times weekly for 30 minutes, careful not to lose too much muscle mass. “Finally one day I just kept going,” he said. Deciding it was time to grow up and stop trying to make people like him, he continued to run regularly and quickly dropped 35 pounds. “People thought I was sick or something,” he said, though he had stopped caring what others thought. He entered a 5k race in Armonk and finished in 20 minutes. Shortly after, he ran a 10k in Central Park and finished third. “I started thinking, ‘Hey, I’m pretty good at this,’” Tateo said.
Not one to do anything halfway, he began immersing himself in learning about running. He read books about how to train, the physiology behind running and which muscles to build and strengthen to help run faster and more efficiently. “Learn, read, improve,” he said. In his research, he looked up the best runner in New York City at the time and learned it was Paul Thompson. Thompson was ranked nationally and had won Runner of the Year seven years straight. Tateo called and asked to train with him. Thompson agreed and they began meeting regularly in Central Park and nearby Rockefeller Preserve.
“It was a rude awakening!” Tateo exclaimed. “Long runs were hard for me.” Tateo’s average mileage was about 25 miles per week, while Thompson ran about 70 miles per week. “He really showed me the ropes,” he said of Thompson. Within a couple of years of training with Thompson, Tateo had built up his own personal endurance to between 87 and 93 miles per week and continued training. Five years after his first run, he looked up the finishing times of other Runner of the Year winners in various races, and the idea of achieving that goal for himself grew. Tateo researched the criteria.
In order to be considered for nomination of Runner of the Year, one has to run six races of varying distances within the year. Tateo placed first in one, fourth in another, and second in the other four races. To his delight, the New York Road Runner Board nominated Tateo, along with four others in his age group after considering distances, times and best finishers in all qualifying races.
On February 26, Tateo, with his family, joined hundreds of nominees from many running clubs at the Hard Rock Café for a dinner and award ceremony. “It was like the Oscars,” Tateo said. “They call your category and show all five nominees on the big screen. When they announced my name, my family and I went nuts!” A long night of celebrating followed.
The only downside for Tateo was that for more than four years he felt his family paid a heavy price for the training required to achieve his goal. “My family is everything to me. Without them I am nothing, and I plan to show them that through actions, not words.” Thompson asked Tateo to join the U.S. Track and Field team, which competes around the country. “I told him I can’t. My family needs me and they are the only people I will work for, and I will never regret that decision.”
He shared advice he gives to his daughter about goal-setting. “Focus on finding your strength, and formulate a dream, something you think is possible. Put your head down and go. One day you will look up and say ‘I did it!’”
Miriam Longobardi is a freelance writer, fourth grade teacher and single mother of two daughters living in Westchester. A breast cancer survivor, she volunteers for the American Cancer Society, has completed four marathons and travels the world. Follow her on Twitter @writerMimiLong.
When the Race is Run for LOVE
By Deborah Raider Notis
Photos by Pinsky Studio
Armonk was treated to a perfect, warm and sunny day on September 20th. Many residents celebrated the last day of summer at Armonk’s Chamber of Commerce sponsored Fall Festival. The town was bustling, with people laughing at the competitive pie eaters and humming along with the band on the Wampus Park gazebo. Children played on inflatables, competed in bean bag toss games, and ran the 100 Yard Donut Dash and Macintosh Mile. Highlighting the morning’s events was Jamie’s 5K Run for Love, a race in memory of Jamie Love and benefitting the Friends of the North Castle Library.
The 5K race began in 2008; Jane Ellen Gertz and Grace Mui of the Byram Hills PTSA made it part of their larger Halloween Fun event, and proceeds benefitted the PTSA. Soon after, the race became part of Armonk’s Cider and Donut Festival. Sean Ryan, then President of the Friends of the North Castle Library, a retired IBMer, and the track and cross country coach at Briarcliff High School, took over coordinating the event with proceeds donated to the Friends of the North Castle Library.
Friends of the North Castle Library supports programming at the North Castle Library, including events not supported by tax dollars. Ryan says he became involved to “bring a fun community events to our town where we could focus all residents on the good works we were doing and planned to do at our library.” In 2011, the race was part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Armonk Outdoor Art Show. Then, in 2013 the race was named for Byram Hills High School graduate Jamie Love.
Jamie was an Armonk resident, and a University of Vermont student studying mechanical engineering. While growing up in Armonk, he was actively involved in children’s programs at the North Castle Library. He worked at Hickory and Tweed Ski and Bicycle Shop, and he ran for the BHHS cross country team. In 2013, his Junior year, he passed away in his sleep from an undetected heart ailment.
The BHHS cross country team was always a huge part of the annual 5K race, whether it supported the PTSA or Friends of the North Castle Library. Jamie ran in the earliest races before attending UVM; his strong relationship and history with the BHHS team and the race made this a perfect way to memorialize him and honor his memory.
“We are incredibly honored that people continue to love Jamie and come out to support him even three years later,” Jamie’s mother, Michelle Love, says of this Chamber of Commerce sponsored event. Love is particularly appreciative of the Ryan family’s continued support for the event. “They do all the heavy lifting.”
Love describes her son as a young man who truly appreciated his friends, his family and his life. For friends who cannot make it to Armonk, her family tries to send out custom tee shirts. “That way, whenever friends and family cannot make it to the race, they can still celebrate Jamie, whether they are running, biking, hiking, eating or simply laughing together. This year, one friend even hosted a pulled pork dinner to honor Jamie,” mentions Love. The image on these shirts, designed by Jamie’s sister and Sean Ryan’s daughter, is a silhouette of Jamie Love and teammates from from BHHS. All of these boys went to State finals for cross country during high school.
Re-naming the race in Jamie’s honor sparked an added energy. This year, 286 runners finished Jamie’s Race for Love. Jamie’s UVM teammate, Aaron Szotka, came in first in the Men’s Division at 18:17, and Sydney Durand won the Women’s Division at 20:05. Maurie Clark and Eddie Paniccia came in second and third in the Men’s Division at 18:36 and 19:04 respectively. And Shannon Duffy, with a time of 21:39, and Isabella Vesco, with a time of 22:42, finished second and third in the Women’s Division.
The race also united the North Castle community with Jamie’s UVM teammates and friends, many of whom have run the race since Jamie’s death. “Having the race named after Jamie is another chance to celebrate Jamie and what an amazing friend he was. We preserve his memory by wearing JBLOVE rubberized bracelets everyday. I never take the bracelet off,” says Tucker Nixon, Jamie’s good friend and UVM classmate.
Armonk resident Charlotte Wittels, a friend of Jamie’s sister Noelle, brought the Byram Hills tennis team with her to run the 5k. “This incident was very close to home, and I’m glad I was able to support Noelle and her family by bringing the tennis team to the event,” states Wittels.
“The race serves as a great memorial for Jamie as well as a great reunion for all of us,” notes Philip Vernimb, who credits Jamie with his decision to attend UVM. “Jamie was what brought us together in the first place. When we were still running for UVM, every race was dedicated to Jamie. Personally, he is in my thoughts every day.”
Ultimately, Love feels that friends and family should honor her son by “laughing and living their lives to the fullest.” Jamie’s UVM friends fondly recall that Jamie always had a smile on his face. On a beautiful day like September 20th, with people enjoying the beautiful weather, listening to music, visiting with friends and community members, running races and shopping local, Jamie most definitely would have been smiling.
Deborah Raider Notis is a writer and co-owner of gamechanger, LLC, a free referral service connecting Westchester families to highly qualified, competitively priced instructors. She lives in Pleasantville with her husband, four boys and their dog Oscar.
The Joy of Recreation and Parks
We are very proud of our Recreation and Parks Department in New Castle, where there is something for everyone. We have one of the finest art workshops in Westchester County, along with a wide range of children’s programs from infants to toddlers and pre-schoolers as well as a very successful dance program. Looking for camp? We offer Summer Camps for children ages 4 through 8th grade along with Specialty Camps such as Soccer, Lacrosse and Basketball. Annual events include the much loved Halloween Ragamuffin Parade, a free Fishing Derby and a very challenging 10K Road Race which traverses the hilly terrain of New Castle. In cooperation with the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce, we offer a series of summer concerts at Recreation Field. We have our fair share of youth sports here in town as well; youth athletic programs include Baseball/Softball,
Lacrosse, Soccer, Field Hockey,
Football, Wrestling and Basketball.
For more info, call 914-238-3909 or visit mynewcastle.org
Robert O. Snyder
Superintendent of Recreation & Parks
rsnyder@mynewcastle.org
Exploring our Grand Parks
One of New Castle’s greatest draws is its natural beauty with its very own network of parks and sanctuaries. For the outdoor enthusiast, the Town boasts an award winning park system, states Snyder. “We are proud of our 549 acres of parkland which comprises seven separate parks and two preserves.” Town parks and preserves include Amsterdam, Burden, Gedney, Glazier, Millwood Park, Recreation Field, Sunny Ridge, Warburg, and Whippoorwill, with facilities including hiking trails, ball fields, and playgrounds.
The Saw Mill River Audubon Society, with headquarters at 275 Millwood Road in Chappaqua, maintains eight local wildlife sanctuaries. Two in particular, Pruyn Sanctuary and Pinecliff Sanctuary, are ideal for a leisurely country walk. Trail maps are posted at each site and the trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk.
Pruyn Sanctuary (pronounced Prine), 92 acres off Route 133, has three miles of wide open walking and running trails. Public Parking is available at both entrances, the garden entrance at the Pruyn home (off Route 133, two miles east of Millwood or just before the train entrance at the end of Woodmill Road.
Following the Fern and Pruyn trails will take you on a dirt road with sections of boardwalk through a pond, arboretum, and a butterfly and hummingbird garden. There’s enough terrain change to make this an interesting walk requiring moderate endurance. If you prefer something less rigorous, try the Pinecliff Sanctuary at the end of Pinecliff Road in Chappaqua. This site offers a quarter mile of wheelchair accessible boardwalk, allowing everyone the chance to experience nature. Benches and interpretive signs dot the path taking you through a pond and red maple swamp, a especially rich habitat of local birds. Stroll through in ten minutes or repeat the loop, or try the additional half mile of upland trails which connect to the boardwalk.
New Castle also maintains several area parks ideal for walking and running include Gedney and Whippoorwill Parks. Gedney Park, the less remote of the two, has a year round comfort station, and a popular playground. Whippoorwill is populated with wildlife so be cautious.
And whether you are rollerblading or just looking for the perfect place to push a stroller, your best best is the 26-mile North Country Trailway maintained by the Westchester County Department of Parks. A popular section of the trail starts in Millwood. Public parking is just off Route 133, near Millwood Town Plaza. Take the well paved path north to the trailway bridge where you’ll be surrounded by natural beauty. Walkers, bikers, hikers and in line skaters are all welcome. Use caution where the road crosses public roads. For trail maps and parking information, visit westchestergov.com
MHA’s 5K Run/Walk & 1-Mile Kids’ Race: The Inside Press Rallies for Mental Health!
On Sunday, May 4th, you have the opportunity to join your neighbors and go the extra kilometer for mental health in our community. Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines are media sponsors and residents, Cathy Gursha, Judy Fuhrer, Sharon and Alan Pollack and Seven Bridges librarian, Karen Baker are all Race Ambassadors. Whether you run or walk or volunteer, your participation helps raise the money that makes mental health services more accessible to community members who need it most. With the data now showing that 1 in 5 live with a mental health condition, more effective help and better resources are essential.
The Mental Health Association of Westchester’s MHA on the move 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Kids’ Race is from 8am to noon at FDR State Park in Yorktown Heights, NY. Celebrating ten years, it’s an inspiring, fun, family-friendly community-wide event. Eight-time Emmy winner, WCBS’s Lou Young will kick off the event along with 10th Anniversary co-chairs Ann Mandel Laitman from Bedford, Amy Collins, of Somers and Randi Silverman, from Dobbs Ferry.
Children get their own fun warm-up and 1-Mile Kids’ Race (ages 4-12) plus ribbons for each runner and medals for the top three girls and boys. Everyone gets healthy food and a fun morning in the park. All participants receive a free t-shirt. Runners enjoy a race timed by the Taconic Road Runners with medals awarded in each age category as well as overall top male/female. Walkers get a 5K walk in the park. Parking is free. For more information and to register, visit www.mhawestchester.org
MHA is a community-based mental health agency that has been helping Westchester County residents for 68 years through direct services, professional and community education and advocacy. MHA supports 18,000 individuals annually through a comprehensive array of mental health services striving to help each individual to achieve their personal goals and to lead independent and healthy lives.