The area's statistical guru when it comes to running, Fritz Van Leaven, has issued a report on the 2009 season, and a category jumps out — most successful debuts. Races come and go for a variety of reasons, but new events that demonstrate an ability to attract runners from the start have a chance to display some staying power.

At least, Kristin Leiby hopes so.

Leiby was the race director of "The Run for Row," which drew 328 finishers on Aug. 23.

That's the second-highest total of a new event this year. The leader was the Flight 3407 5K

Race/Walk, which obviously falls into a separate category because it was a huge community

event in Clarence.

"The Run for Row" started with a tragedy as well. Matthew Row, a test engineer, died in a

work-related accident at Cameron Compression Systems in November 2008. He was 39 and left

behind a wife and two young children.

"Matt was a runner, and [a race] was suggested by his wife," Leiby said. "He ran a marathon

with his dad a couple of months before the accident. Being in human resources, that's what we

do — we throw parties. We wanted to have one to benefit the trust fund for his children.

I was asked by my boss to do it, and I was excited."

Job No. 1 was picking a date, and a Sunday in August was found without any competition from

other races. Then it was time to go searching for corporate support. Leiby was thrilled by the

way potential sponsors stepped up to help.

"We are a pretty large company and a lot of vendors stepped up," she said. "We make

centrifugal air compressors. It's a global company, and we have locations all around the

world. We have a compressor down in Holiday Valley."

But that was merely one of the dozens of details that have to be checked off the list in

order for a race to be held.

"I had nightmares," Leiby said. "It was "Alice in Wonderland,' or close to it. I had

volunteers who had never run a race. A few had a good idea what to do, but 99 percent had

never been to a 5K. Every three weeks, we had a meeting to keep people interested."

The biggest problem in preparation? Finding enough safety pins.

"We went from store to store, buying out the shelves," she said. "We were going to Jo-Ann

Fabrics, seeing three boxes and buying them all."

Leiby learned plenty of lessons along the way, and finally was more or less ready when the

big day arrived. She spent most of the prerace period around the starting line, so she didn't

get a sense of the size of the event until after the running was done and the partying was

starting.

"The parking lot was full, the volunteers were in full force, and the party was

overwhelming," Leiby said. "It was very emotional. There were happy tears."

That made the 2009 race a tough act to follow, but she and her friends at Cameron plan to

try this August. They have been planning the 2010 race since June 2009.

"It's kind of scary. You ask, "Have you topped off?' " Leiby said. "But I'll do my hardest.

We made a lot of mistakes last time, so we'll definitely do better this year."

Farewell, Jack

Mike Beebe wrote a fine obituary for Jack Meegan, who passed away earlier this month. Based

on the amount of mail and phone calls I received, Jack was one of the most popular members of

the running community. Ann Soares sent a note on behalf of his friends at Delaware Park that

expressed everyone's feelings well:

"Not only was he an outstanding runner ... but he was an outstanding human being as well,"

Soares wrote. "He was always encouraging us regular runners to push ourselves and do our best.

He was a fixture for many years on the local racing circuit, winning most of the races that he

entered in his age group.

"Jack could have boasted about all of his running accomplishments but he never did. He was

humble and never bragged about himself. He just genuinely loved to run and he was a great

friend to so many of us in Delaware Park."

Race calendar

Penguin Run, 5K, 2425 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst, 11 a.m. Jan. 31, 549-6307.

Mr. Ed's Super Bowl Warm-Up, 5K, Middleport Fire Hall, 28 Main St., Middleport,

11:30 a.m. Feb. 7, (585) 798-3283.