A new cycling challenge

Bill Simpson.

Bill Simpson has a message for all those planning to ride the Hills of Attrition cycling route at this year’s Miles for Matheny fundraiser and community event. Enjoy an “easy ride” this year, because next year, the course will be longer and harder.

Simpson, a Gladstone resident who has been designing this route for several years, reasons that, “We already have a 50-mile route. Next year the Hills of Attrition is going to be 66 miles. It will continue further west, and there will be no rest stops.”

Simpson has cycled all over the country and the world, including such places as California, Colorado, Ireland and Switzerland. “In this part of New Jersey,” he says, “the hills are small but challenging. This is great, great cycling country.”

Simpson has lived in Gladstone since June 2004 and, before that, lived in Pottersville. He remembers that in the early days of Miles for Matheny the Bedminster Flyers, a local riding group that he belongs to, was asked to design all the cycling routes, and he was specifically tagged for the Hills of Attrition. Asked if he has any advice for those tackling the Hills of Attrition, he says: “Most guys who ride it know what they’re up against. But remember, if you go up, you also get to go down.”

Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in the community. Activities include five different Cycling Routes, a 5K Race, a Kids Fun Run and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 participants in wheelchairs, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town. Peapack-Gladstone Bank is the Cycling sponsor, and its Whitehouse Station branch will be used as a rest stop.

For more information about Miles for Matheny, or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Cyclists line up in 2009, the last year Miles for Matheny was held in downtown Peapack.

Otis Livingston.

Otis Livingston, weekday sports anchor for WCBS-TV, will emcee the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk at the 15th annual Miles for Matheny event to be held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. A multi-Emmy Award winner, Livingston lives in New Jersey with his wife and five children.

WCBS-TV, along with its sister station, WCBS Newsradio 880, will again be a broadcast media sponsor of Miles for Matheny, which will be returning to downtown Peapack after two years at Natirar Park.

All funds raised at Miles for Matheny will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care for Matheny inpatients and for people with disabilities in the community.

For more information, or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Wheelchair Walk participants in 2011.

R.P.C. Inc., petroleum wholesaler distributor in Randolph, NJ, that supplies six BP service stations in northwest Morris and Warren counties, will be a Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk sponsor at the 15th annual Miles for Matheny. The sponsorship was made possible by a BP Fueling Communities grant. R.P.C., which nominated Matheny to be its grant recipient, supplies BP service stations in Randolph, Boonton, Hackettstown, Parsippany and Rockaway.

In the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk at Miles for Matheny, more than 100 children and adults in wheelchairs, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around downtown Peapack. There is also a 5K Race, five different Cycling routes and a Kids Fun Run. All funds raised help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community.

Miles for Matheny is being held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in Peapack. For more information or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908 234-0011, ext. 260.

Kids Fun Run at Miles for Matheny in 2011.

Grab your kids’ sneakers and sign them up for the Kids Fun Run at Miles for Matheny. The Kids Fun Run enables children ages 10 and under to join together in friendship and fun while being introduced to “running for a cause.”

This event is designed especially for young children. It’s a short sprint that gives everyone a chance to be a winner in a very non-competitive atmosphere. Every runner receives a medal after crossing the finish line. The races start at 11:30 a.m., and are broken into four categories: ages 3-4, 50 yards; 5-6, 75 yards; 7-8, 100 yards; and 9-10, 150 yards. 

The 15th annual Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22, in downtown Peapack, NJ. All funds raised help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and people with disabilities in the community.

The Morristown, NJ.-based law firm Porzio Bromberg & Newman, which also has offices in Princeton, New York City and Westborough, MA, has been sponsoring the Kids Fun Run since its inception several years ago.

In addition to the Kids Fun Run, there is a 5K Race, five different Cycling routes, and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk. For more information and to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Adult patient Jessica Evans enjoying the Wheelchair Walk.

The late Lu Huggins was the inspiration and one of the founders of Miles for Matheny, the annual fundraiser and community event, which will be held Sunday, April 22, in downtown Peapack, NJ. Huggins, a former Matheny trustee, was determined to lead a normal life despite being in wheelchair. She also always wanted to make sure Matheny students and patients had a chance to experience “what life was like in the real world.”

At the 15th annual Miles for Matheny, more than 100 children and adults in wheelchairs, with walking partners, will travel 1.5 miles through town. Our students and patients look forward to this walk each year. Come walk with us, cheer us from the sidelines and form a team to raise funds to support this event.

All money raised at Miles for Matheny supports the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to our inpatients and to children and adults with disabilities in the community. In addition to the Wheelchair Walk, there is a 5K race, five Cycling routes and a Kids Fun Run. Everything will take place downtown in Liberty Park, accompanied by a Breakfast of Champions, courtesy of The Friends of Matheny and refreshments throughout the day.

For more information, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

The Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk returns to downtown Peapack this year.

You want to raise money to support Miles for Matheny, but you don’t know how. The first step is to log onto www.milesformatheny.org. Then register for the event you select. You can either join an existing team, create a new team or register as an individual.

After you register, you will have a home page on the Miles for Matheny website. This is a centralized location for you to view and edit your personal fundraising goal, track individual and team fundraising progress, view web traffic and email statistics.

If this sounds complicated, go to the milesformatheny.org homepage and look on the left for the Need help with your page? Click here for information message, and we will walk you through the process. If you’re still confused, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260, or email pcats@matheny.org for additional help.

All funds raised at Miles for Matheny help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and people with disabilities in the community. So, whether you’re running, cycling, walking or just cheering, join us on Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ.

Cyclists will have new routes this year.

The five cycling routes at the 15th annual Miles for Matheny will have a new look. After three years with the same routes, Lee Brush, a resident of Annandale and former president of the Bedminster Flyers cycling club, felt it was time for a change. The 12-mile route is now 10 miles, the 23-mile route is now 25 miles and the 32-mile ride is now 35 miles. The 50 miles and Hills of Attrition rides will remain the same.

The 10-mile distance is the “family friendly” route. In the past, it hadn’t been so friendly because there were some difficult hills and the route crossed a highway.

All cycling rides will use the Whitehouse Station branch of our cycling sponsor, Peapack-Gladstone Bank, as a rest stop, reducing our rest stop locations from four to one. This will make delivery and pickup of supplies easier and should be more interesting for the riders and volunteers at the stop.

Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. The 50-mile and Hills of Attrition rides take off at 10 a.m.; 25 and 35-mile rides start at 10:45 a.m.; and the 10-mile ride leaves at 11:45 a.m.

Miles for Matheny also includes a Kids Fun Run at 11:30 a.m.; a 5K race at 12:15 p.m.; and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk at 1 p.m. All funds raised help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to children and adults with disabilities in the community.

For more information, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

A happy crew at the end of the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in 2011.

We are looking for volunteers to help make the 15th Miles for Matheny fundraiser and community event the best ever. We need people to assist with set up, registration, tee shirt distribution, rest stops and lots more!

Face painters, strolling musicians and magicians and wheelchair pushers are also needed. Opportunities for groups and individuals are available. Be a part of a great day!

Want details? Ready to sign up now? Contact Gail Cunningham at 908-234-0011, ext. 282 or email volunteers@matheny.org.

Are you looking for a country run where city life seems far away? If so, look no further than the Miles for Matheny 5K Run. Hundreds of athletes will join us on Sunday, April 22, for a day of running as well as biking, walking, food and fun.

Miles for Matheny is a fundraiser and community event that also includes several Cycling routes, a Kids Fun Run and our signature event, the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk. The 5K run starts at 12:15 p.m. at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. The course is USATF-certified, traffic-free and multi-surface on a road and hard packed gravel. There will be mile clocks and a water stop. Results will be posted on www.compuscore.com.

Age groups are 5 years to 85+. Last year, 380 runners participated in the 5K. The winners were:

• Male: 17-year-old Matthew Goroff of Brookline, MA, brother of Matheny student Louise Goroff, with a time of 18:15.11

• Female: 28-year-old Jane Albright of Basking Ridge, NJ, with a time of 20:59.23.

Please join us for breakfast and our post-race lunch. When you finish the 5K, there will still be time to walk over to see the end of the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk and cheer for the Matheny students and patients as they cross the finish line.

All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in the community.

Above, the start of the 5K in 2011.

Congratulations to the top fundraisers at Miles for Matheny in 2011:

• The Desatnick Family (Bryan’s Team) of Basking Ridge, NJ
• The Goroff-Friedlander Family (Team L’Equipe Louise) of Brookline, MA (pictured above)
• The Harter Family (Jack’s Team) of Madison, NJ
• Andrew Lash (Team Andy “Flash” Lash) of Franklin Township, NJ
• The May Family (Team Mason) of Bridgewater, NJ
• Sarah Malzberg (Sarah’s Mitzvah) of Pottersville, NJ (pictured below)
• Beth Misener of Succasunna, NJ
• The Schapiro Family (Team Schapiro) of Basking Ridge, NJ
• Stephanie Young of Bridgewater, NJ

We are so pleased that Miles for Matheny will be returning to Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ, on Sunday, April 22, 2012. This fun-packed day includes bicycling routes through rural Somerset Hills, a Kids Fun Run, a 5K race and our signature event, the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk.

The 5K and Wheelchair Walk will begin at 12:15 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, so that road closures will not disrupt services at the local houses of worship and will enable community members to join the festivities.

The full schedule of events and registration information will be available soon.

Above, participants in the 2009 Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk on Main Street in Peapack.

We recently posted about our winning the Hospital Planning and Marketing Society of New Jersey’s Percy Award for Best Small Hospital Public Relations/Media Placement. Shown here, Sandy Josephson, director of marketing and public relations for Matheny, left, accepts the award at HPMSNJ’s annual meeting from Patricia Haines, HPMSNJ president and senior planning analyst at AtlantiCare, and outgoing president Norman Tessell, director of business development, imaging systems, at Atlantis Worldwide.

Matheny has won this award for three consecutive years. This year’s award was for Matheny’s partnership with WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880 to support the annual fundraiser and community event, Miles for Matheny.