Runnin' Til We Outta Time

This past weekend was pretty stacked with 5k and 10k events. On Saturday down in Clarendon, Mike Mashner laced 'em up for the running equivalent of a double-header as he finished 20th in the 5k in 17:58, and then 41:48 in the 10k. Mike, much like a number of others last week, came down with something and was not on good legs. But Patty Stott was on top form as she ran a PR for the 10k distance, finishing in 53:00. Nice Patty!

At the Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial 5k, a race in honor of the late Loyola Women's Lacrosse coach, Amy Horst finished 5th in 20:15. Up in Havre de Grace, Meg McNew was in 3rd place overall in the Celebration Run 5k before the two guys ahead of her made wrong turns. By the time they corrected themselves, they were mid-pack, so Meg just ran back and scooped up her dad, and they ran it in together!

Another race marred in controversy was the Jessica Meredith Jacobson Memorial 5k in Towson. It must be a conspiracy of officiating, because Steve Febish said at one point the cop didn't know which way to go, so he told them to STOP dead in their tracks while he radioed to figure out which way they were supposed to turn. Steve finished 3rd though, and Patrick O'Rourke was 5th.

Sunday came and it was time for Suzanne Hurst to show off her summer training - in the pool - as she competed in the Swim Across America 1 mile event. She swam 33:02 and finished 33rd, which is pretty amazing! She must have rubbed elbows with Michael Phelps up at Meadowbrook this summer...

Spider Sillery took part in the Duathlon World Championships in Nancy, France, where he said he had two good runs but didn't perform so well on the bike. But nevertheless, really cool to get to compete in a World Championship event.

I would be remiss not to point out Aaron Tripp, who rode in the Charm City Cyclocross race(s) on Sat/Sun - his first ever CX racing!

Sunday's big event was the Race for Our Kids 10k. This challenging race in Mt. Washington usually draws a competitive crowd, lured in by the crisp crinkling of cash. Dave Berdan was our top finisher, running injured, and finishing in 5th in 32:58. He was thinking that kind of time could put him in the money; unfortunately he was not correct. Kent Pecora was next up, running 33:25 and finishing 6th. Alex Battaglino wasn't far back at 33:51 for 7th, and Dan Miranda had the race of the day - and a big redemption race following his performance at PDR last week - running a PR 34:07 and finishing 8th.

The ladies' race featured 3 Olympic Trials Marathoners, including race winner Samia Akbar and NJ-native, Amanda Marino, finishing 1-2 ahead of our own Chrissie Ramsey, 3rd in 37:21. Megan DiGregorio had a huge race, smashing her PR and finishing 4th, 90 seconds better than what she did last year, crossing the line in 37:58. It's unfortunate, because that time would have easily won the last two years (when Diane and Meg McNew were the respective winners, ahead of Meg D). But the time matters, so great job Meg. Karen Menge is running out of time before she turns 50, and keeps getting those races in. She finished 15th in 47:34. Angela Vavasori, realtor, is used to the triathlon circuit, but wants to work on her running, ran 48:23 for 16th.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Dan Miranda - great work buddy!

And as I mentioned in the email, I am proud to congratulate our two newest PhD's: Kipchirchir Bitok and Carly Page. We are a group of overachieving, intelligent, amazing people, and these two newest Docs on the Block have more than put in their time and earned their stripes. It's a culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and focus, and we wish you the best wherever your journeys take you!