Registration Opens for JRunners Catskills Run

Following the success of the last two year’s 200K relay races from Prospect Park to Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York, JRunners, an organization dedicated to increasing health awareness while benefitting the health of others, has announced that registration is open for this summer’s exhilarating mega race.

Last year’s race was an overwhelming success, with eighty participants ranging in age between 12 and 52, hailing from Flatbush, Borough Park, the Five Towns, Passaic, Monsey, upstate New York, Lakewood, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles and as far away as Israel, joining forces in ten man teams to raise money for a the Ohr Meir Foundation, a Brooklyn based not for profit organization that coordinates and sponsors medically supervised trips and events for children with cancer. Over $100,000 was raised by last year’s event which was described by Mordechai Bodek, a veteran of numerous marathons as “a race unlike any other”.

This year’s race promises to be bigger and better, with all proceeds going to benefit Kids of Courage, a volunteer based non-profit organization dedicate to improving the lives of children and young adults with serious medical diagnoses. “When you run and raise money for a great charity, everybody wins,” said Moishie Gamss, a volunteer Courager. “With over 40 K.O.C. events a year, every single donation helps in creating smiles on the faces of children who need it most. Every runner is a true champion.”

JRunners expects to field fifteen ten man teams in this year’s race and runners that sign up now during an exclusive pre-registration period will receive an early-bird sign-up T-shirt, a custom-designed limited edition top-notch dri-fit shirt. Veteran USA Track and Field race planner Steven Holmbraker, designer of the last two year’s JRunners 200K Relay course, is back with another beautifully designed route. Strategically placed exchange points along the way allow runners to take over for each other as each runner completes three approximately five mile long legs over the course of the race, with live music, food, gourmet meals for the runners and volunteers, and more at major exchange points along the way. There will once again be a cheering zone in the heart of Flatbush- the Glatt Mart Cheering Zone- where there will be food and live music, as runners come through a cheering crowd en route to the Catskills. Shachris and breakfast will take place early Thursday morning at Bubbas Bagels in Monsey, NY as Nachum Segal’s JM in the AM program broadcasts live from the race. A gala barbeque for the runners and their families in addition to an expanded carnival, concert and other surprises at the finish line will make this event truly unforgettable.

Aside from affording runners the opportunity to run a long distance relay race, an event which is normally held over the weekend and by definition not accessible to the Shomer Shabbat runner, the JRunners 200K Relay Race is a unique experience on so many different levels, pairing the thrill of competitive racing with the camaraderie of teamwork, while at the same time encouraging and promoting the benefits of a healthy and vigorous lifestyle. JRunners provides their participants with top of the line sports gear, caps, t-shirts, duffle bags, gourmet meals, trainers and support staff and a not-to-be believed night out on the town for the winning team. The race itself is truly the event of a lifetime as runners not only race for personal fitness, but to raise money for a worthy cause, while at the same time enjoying a bond that can only be forged by an experience of this type. The support and closeness fostered as the runners support each other is beyond description and the excitement and warmth are contagious, from the moment the race kicks off at Prospect Park until the race ends in the Catskills amid, literally, thousands of cheering fans.

Mordechai Ovitz, a veteran of the past two year’s Catskill relay race had difficulty describing the experience that is the JRunners 200K.

“How can you sum up twenty four hours of madness in just a few words? What I remember most about the race was the sheer energy – twenty four hours of non-stop motion, supporting your friends combined with the intensity of running your own legs. Running in the dark I saw the bouncing light of someone running in front of me and I knew I had to do whatever it took to pass that runner. We ran through the pitch dark, the pouring rain and scorching heat, all in a matter of hours. Overcoming all those challenges was simply incredible and I didn’t stop talking about last year’s race for two weeks straight.”

For more information on the 200K relay race or to sign up for the race, go to www.jrunners.org, email info@jrunners.org or call 646-368-7989.