With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, we’re now just five weeks to Paine to Pain. It’s update time! Please. Read. To. The. End!
1. There will be no in-person registration: Online only!! This worked really well last year as we avoided the chaos and congestion that our volunteers previously dealt with at bib pick-up. Keep It Simple works, so it’s now permanent.
Tell your procrastinating friends not to delay. Register here.
And if you’re thinking Hakuna Matata, and you have no worries about this, we hope you enjoy spectating.
2. Vaccination: Due to the high rates of vaccination (especially among runners), the substantial decrease in severe illness, and that the event is outdoors, we are suspending the vaccination requirement. Let’s all hope that no funky new variants come down the pike.
3. The Paine to Pain Preview is Sunday, September 25th at 8 am. Come join NewRo Runners for a course check. You don’t have to be signed up for the race to participate. There are no fees. Do a short version or the full monty. The run is self-supported, and running guides will lead various pace groups. In order to accommodate shorter runs, the race will not start at the P2P start line. Details are here.
4. Free photos! You read that right, we’ll once again have professional photographers on the course and then and we’ll give you those hi-res digital photos for nothin’. Nada. Zero. Zip. Zilch. More free!!! Woo hoo!!! We’ll try to catch you covered in mud if we’re lucky enough to get rain.
5. We are again planning 5 waves. Why? We want you to run your best race, and not get stuck in traffic on single-track. While overall 1-2-3 is based on gun-time off the first musket shot, everything else is chip-time. No need to crowd!
6. Ultra Runners – Interested in running 26.2 on race day? If you’d like to do a “warm up lap” before the race, shoot us an email. (The warm-up lap is not a race, not timed, unsupported and will still be dark when you first set off. These are features, not bugs. The bugs are on the trail.)
7. Volunteer Sign-up is well underway! As every runner knows, races don’t happen without volunteers. Period. If you aren’t running, we need you! (Online sign-up at this link)
Also, we welcome back Westchester Road Runner of White Plains, sponsoring this race for the 14th consecutive year! Bib pick-up will start there Friday before the race, from 5-8, and we’ll have some P2P merch for sale.
And if your injuries on race day are more hard core than muscle fatigue – and let’s hope that isn’t the case – Empress EMS will be out there on the course again at the three aid stations and Montefiore New Rochelle will be waiting for you with open arms at the finish line medical tent!
We’re lining up food and other sponsors as we type!! We’re excited!! And when I say “we” I mean me! But I hope it’s you too!
Race day is my favorite day! That’s why I use so many exclamation marks!!!
— OK, my favorite day after my anniversary. And wife and kids’ birthdays. I’m required by law to say this. Hi honey! Did you get to the bottom of this long email I just sent to several thousand of my nearest and dearest?
Eric Turkewitz
Founder, Race Director, Grand Poobah
(Mrs. Poobah threatened divorce over use of Race Overlord or Darth Turkey.)
Paine to Pain Trail 1/2 Marathon
Westchester County, NY
PaineToPain.com
Real job (Where I put on my lawyer face):
The Turkewitz Law Firm
228 East 45th Street – Suite 1110
New York, NY 10017