Director of one running club's most beloved event speaks


Piscataway, NJ - Ray Petit is the founder and director of Raritan Valley Road Runners' Towpath 'Train' ing Run.

In this impromptu video shot two weeks ahead of this year's 21st event on Saturday, June 1, he touches on why he conducts his non-competitive group run each year along with the Middlesex County-based running club known as RVRR.

“I think they love the fact that it’s not a race, that you can pick your pace and just stay with it,” said Petit. “And they’ll have a pacer … so the pacer really does all the work. All you have to do is stay with that person. They love that everyone finishes together.” 

He said he was “very comfortable with 300” runners or walkers out on the trail, but doesn’t want the event “to get too, too big,” noting that he doesn’t want anyone’s “experience” to become “dilute(d).” 

At times he worries volunteers out on the trail could wind up being short of so-called Train Run “fueling” supplies at the aide “stations” along the way.

“(But) 300 is a number that we can support,” he added.

The 2018 run raised $3,375 for Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey marking a new fundraising record compared to previous years.

The interview was recorded on May 18, 2019 during the club's regular Saturday morning group run/meet up in Johnson Park. While it's a bit long, be patient or skip ahead -- Petit speaks from the heart. 

Good luck on Saturday June 1, National Trails Day -- enjoy the 2019 'Train' ing Run and Delaware & Raritan Canal Towpath!


Reports from past years are here and here.

-Dave Schatz

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