Get Blown

Just recapping the weekend, finally...

Dave Ploskonka had an ambitious goal for the weekend.  The mission was to compete in the Old Dominion 100 Mile Run, which starts at 4 or 5 in the morning in Woodstock, VA on Saturday, finish the run, drive the three hours back to Bel Air, MD, and compete in the 8am Bel Air Town Run 5k on Sunday.  Was this even possible?  What would happen if it took Dave 24 hours to run this race?  How could a human being run 100 miles, then have to drive anywhere, at all, and then run again, at all, within a span of a few hours?

Well, he found a way.  All he had to do was run a 19:14:30 at Old Dominion - finishing 5th - and going considerably faster than he's done at OD before.  He finished up just before midnight, and then got in the car to drive up to Bel Air.  At the start of the 5k, he was nervous, because he "hadn't run since OD", and started out with a few painful steps en route to a 9 minute mile.  Then he loosened up, and ran an 8 minute mile.  With just a mile and some change remaining, Dave went into ultra OD overdrive, and finished up with a 25:17.  Pretty incredible, and that's why Dave was our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

But, that didn't mean everyone else in action over the weekend wasn't worthy of consideration, take a look:

Andrew Beef Jaffe ran his first ever "ultra" - the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k.  He was in the lead through 23 miles, by as much as 10 minutes, averaging around 7:35/mi.  Then he started to give back a little time, ultimately being passed and finishing in second.  He said his lack of trail running and lack of respect for the distance did him in, and next time he'll be prepared. Still, a 4:22:06 is only 3 minutes off the TWSS record for the distance!

Tom and Patty Stott did the inaugural Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon in Loudoun County, VA.  Tom went out just behind the lead pack - an aggressive strategy, one which unfortunately did not work out!  He hit the wall, finishing at 1:44:46.  Patty was just running with her friend, who was doing her first ever half.

In Michigan, at the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon, Lauren Boof Dennisuk ran a 1:36:37 for 23rd F.  She's been running amazingly well lately, despite the harrowing conclusion of her first year of Med School.  Hopefully she'll get to run even more this summer and maybe run a marathon in the fall!

The popular Rev 3 Triathlon series, now in its 2nd full year, all started in Quassy, CT, three years ago.  Mike Zero Mashner took on this challenging half iron and knocked it out of the park.  A 29:05 swim, one of the best of the day, set him up for a good bike ride and then one of the faster runs of the day (1:26:12).  His total time was 4:45:24, and he finished 32nd overall.  For the first tri of the year for Mike, that's pretty good!

And of course there was the Bel Air Town Run 5k, where Dave Berdan ran a 14:53 - 4 seconds faster than his best there - but finished 2nd behind The Moroccan.  Dave was pleased, at least, that Mouhcine is racing from the gun now.  Chris Benassi ran a 17:22 for 14th, and then it was the Ladies of Falls Road show, once again sweeping the podium.  Megan DiGregorio earned another victory (18:29) with Denise Knickman in 2nd (18:40) and Meg McNew in 3rd (19:04).