Strange Clouds

Last week was one of the busiest of the spring racing weekends, with big events scattered all around the Mid-Atlantic. We were well-represented at them, and had some strong results:

Frederick Half Marathon: Nate Brigham was on the hunt in Frederick, looking for a solid showing ahead of Vermont City Marathon at the end of the month. He finished 3rd, running 1:12:23 - by no means a slouch effort - but was a little disappointed that it wasn't a little faster. Others were real pumped with their races, because they hit major league PRs. Terry Decker ran a 5 minute best en route to a 1:23:50, and Jon Miller was about 2 minutes faster than his at 1:30:22. PJ Anderer recorded a PR with his 1:35:34. On the pacer side, Dan Miranda and Brian Benda rolled the 1:40 group to success, Ed Jablonski guided the 1:45 group, Marci Benda the 1:55 folks, and Sara Damiano the 2:00 group.

On Saturday, Dan Miranda went out to Frederick early to run the 5k, where he finished 2nd. Earlier that day, he ran the Fiesta 5k downtown, also finishing 2nd. That's a lot of racing Dan! Sara Breedlove finished 2nd in the Frederick 5k, breaking 20 minutes (19:58 - 40 second season best!).

Broad Street Run: The Broad Street 10 Miler is the fastest 10 miler in America, and with 41,000 finishers this year, one of the biggest events in America, too. A true participation race if there ever was one. But, because it is point-to-point and is net downhill, and commands a fast field, it's also a great place to run some fast times. Even though the winning time was pretty slow, Vince Collins didn't care, he rolled to a 53:55 and 39th place. Mike Mashner loves Philly, and 10 milers, and has run well at this race before. This year was no different as he stormed down Broad St to a 57:35 - a near 30 second PR. Tim Parker also loves this race, and it was good to see him on the proper side of 60 minutes. Tim ran 59:44, which is a great step in the right direction. And Christa Wagner held it down for the ladies, running a 1:09:07. Tonya McCarter ran a great race, running 1:47:21.

New Jersey Marathon: Now, I know the people that put on this race, and it's right in my neck of the woods. Historically not a very competitive event, but for some reason they elected to have an "elite" start 1 minute ahead of the rest of the field. Megan DiGregorio, in her first marathon with a bib number, decided to start in the field, not resting her expectations on running under 3 hours. She then decided to get after it, rolling up the two girls who started in the elite section, and putting some time into them as she won in 2:59:48. What a great debut - breaking 3 hours AND getting the win! Emily Boss ran the marathon as well, running a 22 minute PR and qualifying for Boston (3:39:43). In the half, Conrad Laskowski ran with Amy "Flash" Flashenberg as she broke 2 hours, and Meghan McGrath ran a 1:53:30.

Elsewhere...

In Pittsburgh, Dustin Meeker had decided to transition from the marathon to the half, citing tired legs after a full season of training and racing. He ended up 16th in 1:13:16, off his PR, but a good result. At the Maryland Half Marathon in Fulton, David Lee ran a 1:31:41 and Lee DiPietro ran 1:32:47, finishing 4th. Down in Alabama, Lisa Ievers was the 2nd female finisher at the Race for Kids 50k, in 4:54:xx. Meg McNew did the Visitation Cub Chase 5k in DC or something, but since Active.com doesn't work, we may never see the results.

The final event of the weekend was the REV3 Knoxville Triathlon, featuring an Olympic distance race and a Half Iron. Alyssa Godesky used a monster swim (5 minute PR at just over 30 minutes, very good) and a strong bike to set her up for a 3rd place finish in 5:06:21, just a minute off of her best time, which is from the very flat and fast Eagleman course. This Knoxville course was...hard. It was a great result for Alyssa, and since we were in Cheese Territory, Ed Aramayo and his parents came to spectate, which was awesome. They earned the KC Masterpiece Award for their effort.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Meg D, who really earned it!