Exceeding Your Limits

by Josh MerlisJosh pays homage to his wife's skill and determination that have driven her to break records and to seek more. "On Sunday, September 20, 2020, Michelle Merlis completed the Devil’s Path trail in the Catskill Mountains in 5:29:34. It was the …
by Josh Merlis On Sunday https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/november/exceeding-your-limits

Trick? Or Treat? at the Hairy Gorilla

by Laura ClarkLaura talks about her experience running the Hairy Gorilla. "With temperatures in the low twenties and two inches of snow on the ground, Thacher Park resembled Jack Skellington’s Halloween Town in Tim Burton’s film, The Nightmare Before Chri…
miler that RD Josh Merlis produces https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/november/trick-or-treat-hairy-gorilla

The Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon and Squirrelly Six Mile: Racing in a Pandemic

by Josh MerlisWho better to write about these races than their creator, Josh Merlis? He mentions the difficulties in putting together any race in a pandemic and then goes on to detail the planning and execution of these two races that always delight parti…
by Josh Merlis Over the past few months… Josh Merlis Archive The Upstate Classic https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/november/hairy-gorilla-half-marathon-and-squirrelly-six-mile-racing-pandemic

The Upstate Classic: 5K, 13.1M, & 26.2M

by Josh MerlisThe Upstate Classic, scheduled for November 15, will be staged where the Druther's Helderberg to Hudson race was but with different routes. The emphasis on safety, competition and fun will still be the same. For full arti…
check out UpstateClassic.com by Josh Merlis 5K https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/october/upstate-classic-5k-131m-262m

Toeing the Line at Thacher Park

by Jenna Robinson”Do you remember what it is like to toe the line? To look down and see all of the worn sneakers pressed up to the freshly painted start line, ready to spring forward at the sound of the gun?" For full article, click he…
thanks to Josh Merlis and the many dedicated volunteers at the Tha https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/september/toeing-line-thacher-park

Meet Our Runners

This month's column has a new question added that was contributed by Connie Smith: What was the strangest thing you saw on the side of the road while running? The answers may surprise you as will the responses of Josh Merlis, Dallas DeVries. Shelby Sayre,…
Josh and Michelle Josh Merlis Why do you run https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/september/meet-our-runners

Froggy Five Miler: Fractured Fairy Tales Part II

by Laura ClarkLaura loves trail races especially when they have story book characters leading runners on a merry pace over treacherous terrain and are lovingly organized by Josh Merlis. Her favorite part was "the Magical Mystery Tour through the swamp and…
Name Age Sex City State Time Josh Merlis37MAlbanyNY0 https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/september/froggy-five-miler-fractured-fairy-tales-part-ii

Capital District Challenge – Series Recap

by Josh MerlisThe Capital District Challenge, presented by ARE Event Productions, was all about motivating entrants to log miles by running or walking – and to enjoy it too! In 5 weeks, starting on July 5, over 50,000 miles were collectively logged by 506…
by Josh Merlis Sunday… Josh Merlis Series Stats Parti https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/july/capital-district-challenge-series-recap

Runners’ Thoughts on Dodge the Deer 2020: The First Actual Race in Months!

Runners Bob Irwin, Beth Irwin, Michael DiNicola, David Roy, Frank Woods and Shannon O’Meara, Stephen Hallgren, Anthony Pasqualino, Gideon OyiboSmith, Michelle Davis, and Nathan Laing share their thoughts about the race with us. The end of the article has …
Special thanks to Josh Merlis the crowds to push and cheer for you. Then Josh Merlis announced that he was still holding the Dodg https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/july/runners-thoughts-dodge-deer-2020-first-actual-race-months

Blasts From the Past

Last month the end of the Throwback Photos column had three unidentified pictures. This month their identities are revealed, along with a lot of Memory Lane photos. Enjoy seeing Josh Merlis, Maureen and Kristen Mellan in earlier times. F…
Josh Merlis Chris Chromczak and I at one of our bagel https://www.hmrrc.com/members/pacesetter/2020/june/blasts-past

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