by Elliott Denman — posted on 12/30/2013

Last Saturday was de-lightful and de-lovely at the Jersey Shore. Moderate mercury readings and plenty of sunshine.

Monday's forecast is for further moderation. Not too hot, not too cold.  And very dry.

But that didn't help the 250-or-so brave souls who turned out for the City of Asbury Park's 50th Polar Bear Races on the day between — Sunday.

It was goshawful on the Asbury Park beachfront - from clear and simply cold at 9 a.m. to soaking wet and windy at 10 a.m. when the 50th Polar Bear event kicked off, to downright, totally miserable and drenching when it was all over in early afternoon.

Anyone tuned in to the Giants-Redskins game could see what the weatherman was dishing out to New Jersey on Sunday. But whatever the NFLers had to deal with in East Rutherford was nothing compared to the far-worse conditions that the Polar Bear racers had to endure some 60 miles south.

Thus, history — which has a history of doing such things — again repeated.

First staged in 1964, and ever since on the last weekend of the year, the Asbury Park Polar Bear Races have dealt with an array of weather situations — everything from blizzards to driving rainstorms to temperatures just above zero and, yes, to temps well into the 60s over all those years.

But in true show-biz tradition, this 50th Polar Bear show rolled right on. There has never been a postponement or cancellation in Polar Bear history and there was never even a mention of such action once again.

The leaders — and all who followed them over the part-boardwalk, part-road course — proved themselves worthy successors to all their Polar Bear predecessors.

Carrying right on regardless were the champions, Andrew Brodeur of Bethesda, Md. (25:13.67) and Caitlin Dorgan of Red Bank (30:33.62) in the 5-mile run, and John Soucheck of Little Silver (1:36.29) and Maria Paul of Long Branch (1:58.07) in the always co-featured 10-mile racewalk.

They toughed it out in true Polar Bear tradition. "You guys were awesome," 5-mile run director Shannon Gillespie told the competitors at the post-race awards ceremony.  She was so right.

Brodeur, the former Brick Memorial High School and Duke University star now teaching school in Maryland, repeated his 2012 victory, when the course was shortened to 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy conditions. And it was a perfect warmup for the Shore AC member's next big start - he's headed to the High Mountain 10k in Mandeville, Jamaica, Jan. 26, as its defending champion.

"I'm sure the weather will be a little different down there than it was in Asbury Park," said Brodeur, 23, chilled but  smiling as he downed a cup of hot bean and bacon soup provided all the racers by McLoone's Asbury Grille.

Dorgan, 25, placed ninth over-all as she outran Amanda Tripoli of Englishtown (31:43.36) for the women's title.

One more time, loudest applause of the day was reserved for Harold Nolan of Middletown, "the original Polar Bear," as he finished 27th in 33:40.36. as an easy winner of the men's 60-69 division.

Nolan ran  his first Polar Bear race as a Middletown High School student in 1964 and has been here every year since — yes, 50 straight, sometimes coming back from Utah, Nebraska and New Hampshire to compete.

On Polar Bear Day 27 years ago, Mrs. Janet Nolan was giving birth to their son Chip.

But Chip — perhaps thinking of his father's dedication to the Polar Bear cause — delayed his arrival in the world to much later that day. Harry, his dad, got to run the race once again, streak still alive.

So as Dad was leading all his Masters Division colleagues in this one — there was Chip. obviously off the family's old block — placing 65th in 37:50.

A nine-time winner, and many times a medalist in USA and World Masters running, Harry Nolan is still at the top of his game at age 66.

"This actually was one of my best races in quite a while," said Nolan. "I'm over the injuries and running well again. Of course, you know I wouldn't miss this race no matter what.

"The weather? If you're a true Polar Bear, you learn to deal with whatever you get."

Nolan is also the Polar Bear Races' official historian. To mark the occasion, he published the booklet outlining the event's notable history.

Among the inclusions: 

(a) The story of wins by John McDonnell and Ron Daniel in 1964. McDonnell was the first Polar Bear run champion, before heading south and west and eventually to Fayetteville, Ark. where he became the winningest coach in NCAA track and cross country history as chief of all those superb Arkansas Razorback teams. Daniel continues to serve his sport and is now chairman of the USATF's National Racewalk Committee.

(b) The win by local lad Joe Lynch over Milt Mathews and Bill Reilly in 1965. Lynch went on to stardom at Georgetown and IC4A triumphs, and would run to the heights as a member of the Mihaly Igloi-coached Santa Clara Youth Village team.  Matthews would excel at Maryland and for Shore AC and rise to the vice presidency of The Hershey Corporation. And Reilly, the man they beat, and a Shore AC member, too, would make the 1968 Olympic team and run the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

(c) Wins by Milt Matthews and John Kelly in 1966. Two years later, Kelly would become Ireland's first Olympic racewalker, and would do such incredible things as walk through Death Valley in record time.

(d) The 1975 win by Marty Liquori, who outdueled Vince Cartier (long-time holder of the national scholastic indoor 1-mile record)… and Harry Nolan.

(e) And so on and so on and so.

It's quite an historical document and now Brodeur and Dorgan, Soucheck and Paul, will become a big part of next year's edition.

Oh, there's one more phase to the Polar Bear tradition.

The hardiest of the hardy Polar Bears took it another step — by taking a post-race dip in the frigid Atlantic Ocean.

Some call this the 10-meter freestyle.

But that's asking a lot.  Some cut it to the one-stroke freestyle.

"It's not as bad as it looked; it's just psychological," said Polar Bear Dave DeMonico of Ocean Township, who saw triple duty as the race's designated Santa Claus, star trumpeter, and leader of the runners' spirited pre-race singing of the National Anthem.

"This race is never easy," said Soucheck, a frequent Polar Bear racewalk winner over the years, and like DeMonico a Rutger grad.

"This year was one of the toughest," Soucheck conceded. "But it wouldn't be the Polar Bear if people weren't talking about the weather."

"Weather is weather to all runners; doesn't matter, they'll all come out regardless," philosophized Adam Schneider, the mayor of Long Branch and  a long-time in-shape public figure and supporter of the sport. He ran 170th in 47:42 and called it "better than I expected."

Two athletes couldn't get enough of the Polar Bear festivities — so they competed in both races. Bruce Logan of New York and Eliot Collins of Raritan did both the 10-miler and the 5-miler.

The 1974 Polar Bear run winner was Phil Hinck, who had a celebrated running career at Christian Bothers Academy and then collegiately at Aquinas and Toledo and now is one of the busiest men in the sport as director of the George Sheehan 5k, the Spring Lake 5 (mile) and the Belmar 5 (mile).

And Hinck was back on the boardwalk again Sunday, this time organizing the finish line along with his wife Penny, mom-in-law Marilyn Ryder, and other Jersey Shore Running club members.

The races were once again hosted by the Shannon Gillespie-led team of Shore AC volunteers and friends,  and staged in cooperation with City of Asbury Park officials and the support of local merchants. A post-race awards ceremony at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel gave competitors the chance to restore body heat, dry out and collect their commemorative Polar Bear trophies.

By Monday, for sure, they were telling warm-and-fuzzy stories of their Polar Bear adventures.