Guineys back racing again for NYAC elite team Running is fun again for ex-Midd South stars BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer Cate and Maggie Guiney are running again, this time on their own terms. Cate, now Cate Robbie (she's married to Jason Robbie), and her twin sister, competed on national stages in both high school and college. Cate was the New Jersey state cross country state champion at Middletown South and went on to dominate the 3,200 meters in track. She and Maggie were members of South's national championship Distance Medley Relay team. They went to Boston College together where both earned All-American recognition. But over time, running became less enjoyable and they drifted away from the sport. Now, they are back racing again and enjoying it more than ever as part of the New York Athletic Club's elite women's running team. NYAC team is challenging the dominance of the Nike Central Park Track Club in the New York Road Runners Club Championship, a year-long competition (most races are in Central Park, but there are races at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and on Staten Island). The NYAC team has only 12 members, but is stacked with former college stars, now mostly living and working in New York City. Maggie Guiney is one of those. For her, the NYAC allowed her to fill the void created when she was no longer running competitively. "I still wanted to run," she pointed out. "I was a little lost. I was so used to having a goal. "To have a team to run for helps a lot, it gives you a lot more motivation," she added. "I'm pretty competitive." Having competed for a nationally-ranked, high-pressured program like BC, both Maggie and Cate said that they needed some time away from the sport after college. Both said they were looking for a balance between work, running and life in general. Each took a break from the sport to see where running fit into their lives. Neither was surprised to discover that it was still very important to them, that they missed it and they were looking to get back into it. The NYAC team came around at the right time and enabled them to find the balance they were looking for. They could run competitively, but without the pressure of big-time college racing (practices are rather informal with teammates arranging workouts around their work schedules). They could run for the sheer joy and satisfaction of it again. The NYAC opportunity came through a mutual friend, Leslie Higgins, the leader of the NYAC team. Cate, who lives in Middletown with her husband Jason and their 1-year-old daughter Ellee, met Higgins through her husband (Jason ran for the University of Colorado, as did Higgins). Higgins told Cate about the NYAC team and soon, the sisters were on board as teammates once again. "I thought it was a good idea," recalled Maggie. For Cate, being a part of a team has given her running more purpose. She'll go into the city for a training run sometimes (although most of her training miles are down around Middletown) and the races. "I like the team aspect of running," she said. "It's helpful to have a team to run for. "We're all competitive when it comes to racing," she added. The NYAC team reminds Cate of her Middletown South days. Everyone gets along so well, she said. "It's fun and there's no pressure," she pointed out. "Running is a great part of my life, but it's not my entire life." The same can be said for Maggie and the other members of the elite women's team. They have rediscovered what it was about running that got them involved in it in the first place.