Saying goodbye after long run as columnist

After 13 years of sharing my insights, recapping and previewing races and highlighting the exploits of local runners, my connection to the community as the Freeman running columnist ends.

Today is the day that I officially cross the proverbial finish line.

After 13 years of sharing my insights, recapping and previewing races and highlighting the exploits of local runners, my connection to the community as the Freeman running columnist ends.

Over those 13 years, I have sought to bring information about all aspects of running to those willing to read the words adorning this space every Sunday.

I tried my best not to make it about me, but instead, serve as a conduit of running information to those seeking it.

I have met and made many friends and acquaintances, and even a few enemies, in those years.

My hope is that the great majority of those friendships continue and prosper.

In looking back, it’s unbelievable to see all of the running-related events and people associated with them that I have written about since 2004.

Those that really stick in my mind are all of the editions of two of this area’s biggest races, the Shamrock Run and the Kingston Classic.

What a job in that time by Bob Ryan, Bob Carey and the other members of the Ulster AOH in making the Shamrock Run an event that brings thousands of people to the sport.

And the rocky history of the Kingston Classic, including the different race directors, its one-year hiatus and its re-emergence and renaissance under the guidance of the Kiwanis Club of Kingston.

Also, how could I get through a summer without the Kingston and New Paltz cross country series?

In Kingston, it has been special to watch the series that Joe Keller created blossom even more under the direction of the Ulster CYO, while in New Paltz, that series just keeps on chugging with the undying support of the Shawangunk Runners Club.

Speaking of running clubs, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Onteora Runners Club, which has helped fill this space on too many times to count over the years.

It has always been a treat to follow the club’s Grand Prix Series and have a connection with the runners in those races picking up points.

I have always felt so much partnership from the club’s presidents, including Debbie Briggs, Karen Spinozzi, Lisa Glick and current president Deb Domack.

Additionally, I owe a big thank you to ORC membership director Doug Freese, who singlehandedly taught me how to get race results in a format I can use and assisted me in chasing down elusive results on many occasions.

I will miss my chats with the effervescent Steve Schallenkamp, the most fervent advocate for the sport of running that this area could ever have.

It has been a supreme pleasure to share the achievements, trials and tribulations of runners of all ages and abilities over the years.

Some of those that come quickly to mind are the septuagenarians Everett White, Bob Ricketson and Kathleen Balthazar; those zany ultra-runners Jamie Reichler and Sheryl Wheeler; the little Mayor of Red Hook, Roger Loughran; my two Moroccan running buddies, Bouazza Abidi and L’houssine Siba; the legendary Bernie Stahl, elite duathlete John McGovern and the best triathloncompeting veterinarian I know, Mike Halstead, and so many others.

I’ve also enjoyed speaking with the many race directors I’ve dealt with over the years, a list too long to mention everyone, but those that made an impression on me were people like Al Grigull, Dick Vincent, the aforementioned Bob Ryan/Bob Carey duo, Dan Bigelow, Fran Palmieri, Jack Ziwich, Carlos Perez, Greg Riley, and of course, Steve Schallenkamp.

Today will also officially end my run as a writer with the Freeman, first, as a freelancer in 1996, then as a staff writer in 1998 and back to freelance status again with this column in 2015.

This experience has been life-changing for me, getting the opportunity to meet so many different personalities and shine the light on the good, the bad and the ugly of sports.

I owe plenty of thanks to current Freeman sports editor Ron Rosner for his support, and the two previous editors, Paul Burton and Brian Hollander.

And no news room would be complete without great co-workers and I had the pleasure to work with a few like Dave Hines, Mike Stribl, Don Treat and Jesse Disbrow.

So as I embark on my life without writing about running, I want to provide a few tips to race directors and those associated about how to get your race calendar item and results published.

From this day forward, send all upcoming race information to the Freeman sports desk email, sports@ freemanonline.com.

That information will be inputted into the calendar for publication each Sunday.

As for race results, and you have to follow these rules, send those also to the Freeman sports desk email, but send them in a Word document ONLY in the following order: finishing position, runner’s first and last name and finishing time.

I wish you all much success in your daily running and racing and hope to see you from time to time on the road or trail.

Follow Eric Houghtaling on Twitter at http:// Twitter.com/RunErichRun