The Cool Kids

Celtic Solstice is Baltimore's premier winter event. Some may say it's the year's best race, in large part due to the party under the tent. In its 15th edition, Jim and the gang went bananas on the race premiums - insane Brooks jackets.

Of course it's also a very competitive race, which there aren't many of this time of year. Our own stock of runners was a bit depleted; a bunch of the guys were up in Bethlehem racing the USATF Club XC Nationals that day, and a few of our other fasties were laying low following their marathons last weekend. With past winners Brian Godsey and Dave Berdan nowhere in sight, the door was open for Carlos Renjifo of Howard County Striders to take his first win in 7 tries. He not only one, he decimated the field with a 90 second margin of victory.

Our first runner was Nick Gehlsen, who finished 3rd in 27:24. Then I saw that his chip time was just a second or two behind 2nd place and I thought START ON THE LINE!! After Nick it was the ageless wonder, Elijah Kosgei, in 4th at 28:24. I haven't seen Elijah in probably a couple of years. Dude's got a metric ton of children and is taking classes again I think, so it was nice to see him back out there. He hates the cold but got it done, and I was glad to see him racing as his actual age (46) instead of his usual "I'm 40 every year." PJ Martinez ran a fine 29:02, Jeremy Gworek got into sneaky shape (29:14) and Terence Baptiste surprised us with a 29:43.

Coming in a little over 30 minutes, showing some excellent December fitness, were Mike Zero (30:16) and old man Steve Levin (30:25). Tom Stott had one of his best Celtics, running 30:51. Brennan Feldhausen just missed breaking 31 minutes (31:03, although I doubt he cared too much) and Bobby Van Allen continued his trail to former glory, running 31:21. Cory Donovan finished at a solid 31:32 and PJ Anderer came in at 31:45.

Then it was time for some fast ladies to finish! Carly Page and Suzanne Andrews ran most of the race within a few seconds of one another, and while Suzanne got her on gun time, Carly had the faster chip - 32:09 to 32:12. Great race for both! For Carly, nearly a minute faster than her spring 8k, and Suzanne just always surprises me with how fast she is when I think she's not running. Little Justine DiGregorio finished 10th in 33:09, and Eileen Fleck, who I missed out there, was 15th in a really strong 34:20. Sara Damiano came in at 34:53, Meg McNew strolled across at 35:56, and Patty Stott finished a strong fall campaign, running 40:17.

The morning was a little brisk, but not anything we're not accustomed to on Celtic Saturday. Brennan got to "take the walk" at the beginning of the race, wearing a Bart Starr Green Bay Packers' jersey (courtesy of Jim). The tradition is that bagpipers and Irish wolfhounds lead out the couple of folks who have done this race every year, and with Brennan leaving Baltimore, Jim asked him to be an honorary leader of the procession. Very cool.

Many thanks to Jim, Karen, Pete, Meg D, Dan, Amy, all the Falls Road staff, and especially all of you who came out and volunteered. This race is no small undertaking, and it requires a lot of help. I know they all appreciate your efforts, so thanks!

Celtic Solstice 2012

Celtic Solstice, the 5 mile race that Jim Adams started in 2000 with just over 100 people, has grown into one of the area's largest annual events. This year 4,000 people registered (with about 3,000 officially recorded as crossing the line) and it seemed as though everyone in attendance had a great time. For many of us, this race represents our last competition for the calendar year. Some use it to close out their season while others use it as a gauge of their fitness going into the new year. Whatever your reason for running, it's a truly fun event.

Since 2005 there have only been two male winners of the race - Brian Godsey and Dave Berdan. With both of these guys out this year, it opened the door for a new champion. Perhaps after all the runner-up finishes, our friend Carlos Renjifo of Howard County Striders would be crowned the winner. Well as Outkast reminds us, you can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather. In this case the "weather" was Hagerstown native and University of Oklahoma standout, Tony Clement. Tony blitzed the course, running 25:22, and putting some daylight between him and Carlos. Carlos finished 2nd in a PR of 25:35.

Our first finisher was Dustin Meeker, who in 3rd place also recorded a new distance PR for himself of 25:50. Steve Febish continues to roll as he ran 26:03 to finish 5th. His previous best at the distance came a few weeks ago at Downs Park where he ran 26:28. Familiar faces Jack Flowers (27:16) and Andy Sovonick (27:22) finished inside the top 10, while Dan Miranda crossed the line in 27:41 for 11th. Andrew Smith was 13th in 27:50 and Arjun Majumdar ran a great race, getting oh-so-close to a sub 28 minute clocking. He finished right on 28:00, but it was still a PR (by :05 over his Thanksgiving Day race). Also coming up big was Andy Thivierge, who just a few weeks ago broke 30 minutes for the first time. This time he went for broke, slicing another 1:11 out of his best as he ran 28:45. Joel Gladfelter narrowly missed breaking 30 minutes (30:07) but considering his fitness right now, I'd say that's a win!

Then some of the ladies came through. Melissa Tanner was gaining ground on race winner Sherry Stick but ran out of real estate. She finished 2nd in 30:15, and Meg McNew finished 4th in 31:40. For both of these women, the times were 3:20 faster than their 2011 times at the race. PJ Anderer ran a great race, finishing in 32:08, and Dr. Rodney Taylor was right behind him in 32:18. We saw Suzanne Hurst out there (32:41) as she heftily beat her husband to the line, and Lillian Pinault ran a stellar race, finishing in 34:20. Denise Knickman was just behind in 34:39 and Sara Breedlove came through at 34:48. Sara Damiano ran a massive PR at 35:36 and Jackie Truncellito-Range was just out for a jog with some friends as she cruised home in 35:53. It was great to see Allison Gerbereux out there, minus Justin and the kids, as she ran 42:35, and Molly Eagen represented, running 46:31.

It was brought to my attention that I missed one amazing result in the email edition - Patty Stott ran 41:14, which was a huge PR! I credit it to her running so fast and looking so un-tired after the race that I didn't realize she had run.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went, for the first time this year, to Lillian Pinault!

Click here if you're looking for results

And of course the race could not happen without the efforts of all the support it receives. Major thanks to Jim, Karen, Pete, Meg D, Eric, Dan, Monica, Stacie, Ingrid - all the folks from Falls Road Running who work tirelessly to make this the year's best event. And of course all of you who got up early to volunteer or cheer, it makes a difference!

All We Do is Light it Up

We were all there, or hopefully all read this morning's email, so rather than go through every single result from Celtic Solstice, I'll focus on the highlights:

Dave Berdan won his 5th Celtic Solstice, but it wasn't easy.  Coming off the best fall racing season of his career, "The Teacher from Garrison Forest" was set to defend his title, but not if the rest of the deep field had their way.  From the gun, HCS' Carlos Renjifo charged to the front of the race, and, joined by our own Tristram Thomas, the pair forged a small gap on Berdan.  Dave admitted after the race that he was hurting, and contemplated just letting it go.  But this is Celtic Solstice.  This is Dave's race.  You knew he wasn't going to race for 2nd or 3rd, he was going to go for the win.  Coming off the Mansion Loop and into the Conservatory turnaround, Dave moved past Tristram and sat just a few strides back of Carlos.  The race was now on, as Dave surged by Carlos to assume the lead, and he wasn't going to give it up.  They hit the Reservoir Loop and Dave's confidence built with each stride, but neither Carlos, nor Tristram, was done just yet.  With a quarter mile to go, runners turn down Wyman Park Drive towards the finish, and anything can happen on this downhill dash to the line.  But Dave made sure he was going to keep his crown as he set a new Course Record (because it was a new, harder course) in 25:47, with Tristram moving past Carlos to finish 2nd in 26:00.

Dustin Meeker, third a year ago in 26:13, finished 4th this year in 26:14.  Nate Brigham made his return to competitive racing, finishing 5th in 26:23.  Running a big PR, with some encouragement from Conrad Laskowski, Dan Miranda finished in 9th at 27:01.  Another one making moves was Seth Tibbitts, who received some pacing help from Alex Battaglino, as they finished at 27:22.  That's over a minute faster than last year for Seth, so I expect some big things from him at CC this year!  Rounding his fine 2011 out with another great Celtic Solstice performance was Tom Stott, who ran 29:16.

On the women's side, the race was all but determined as soon as Chrissie Ramsey made known she was running.  This Olympic Trials Qualifier, and perennial contender for the Brita Grothe Best Ass Award, set not only the Course Record, but the Team 5 Mile Record, as she cruised to the win in 28:27.  Second place went to Julia Webb, who as we all know is pregnant, showed that even soon-to-be-moms can still compete, as she ran a stellar 29:35.  In non-Chrissie years, that kind of time is good enough to win.  Denise Knickman was 6th, and first master, in 32:35, and one of the best performances of the day came from 8th place Christa Wagner, who ran 33:05.  This is equivalent to her 2011 best 5k pace, for another two miles, on a very difficult course.  Great job CW!  Jackie Truncellito, Madeline "Tink" Dulac, and Melissa Tanner all finished within a few seconds of one another around 33:30, and then an off-season Meg McNew ran 35:03.  Lillian Pinault had a great race as she ran a 35:42, which was 50 seconds faster than her best 5 mile time for the year.  Another super performance came from Patty Sweeney-Stott, who learned on Saturday that in order to run fast, you should feel uncomfortable.  She ran a 42:46, which is a big, BIG PR, for the woman who gave birth 6 weeks ago.

But as I mentioned in the email, the performance of the day, and the foregone conclusion for Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, went to Justin Gerbereux.  Big Pappa has not raced in 2.5 years (Rockville 09 was his last).  Fighting the back injury that nearly crippled him, and subsequent spine surgery, it was amazing and awesome to see him on the course on Saturday.  And, flanked by two great members of Falls Road Brown, Kris Simms and Terence M. Baptiste, Justin ran a 32:11.  That is insane.  For their efforts, Kris and T, who coincidentally also like BBQ sauce, earned this week's KC Masterpiece Award.  Christa Wagner earned a very well-deserved NOS Button Award.

It was the 12th year for Celtic Solstice, a race that Jim started with just over 100 people.  It has now grown to 35 times that size, with over 3500 registered for Saturday's race.  Most people do it for the premium.  Some like the course.  Some don't have anything else going on.  Whatever the reason, big shoutout to Jim, Karen, Pete, Dan, all the Falls Road staffers, and anyone else who lent a hand in the past week (or couple of weeks) to put this event on.  Now we just have to talk Jim out of trying to grow the race.  It's too big! (that's what I hope she said?)

This week we have our HEADLAMP night tonight at FHR, and tomorrow there will be people going to the track for various workouts.  Since this weekend is Christmas, after all, I don't necessarily expect anyone to be running around here, but if you DO stay in town, or are local, and want to get a run going, feel free to post on the blog.  We will be back in action over New Year's weekend with some runs. 

And a special tribute, to our GRC compatriot, and my friend, Jake "Red Fox" Klim, who announced over the weekend that he will be stepping down from his role as de facto captain of GRC's team... Jake was one of the first people I met when I arrived in 2005, in the faux parking lot at Patapsco following a run.  Jake, by his own admission, was a run-of-the-mill athlete in college, who took his passion and commitment to an incredible level, putting himself in the mix with athletes of "higher pedigree."  He has led by example, and with enthusiasm for the sport, and is largely responsible for the creation and cultivation of this amazing Georgetown Running team.  No leadership effort of a group is truly individual, and I'm sure Jake would be quick to credit some of the other folks who have played a part in developing and organizing the group, but he has always served as the point man for competitive DC running.  He knows everyone, is everywhere, and does it because he loves to run.  Jake will continue to train and race with the team, so it's not like we won't get to see him (or continue to read his fox-fetish of a blog), but I just wanted to take a minute to recognize this great asset of Mid-Atlantice running.  First Regis, now Klim...

And, in case you haven't read their 2011 Review blog, it's a good one!  Complete with pictures, a few jabs at Baltimore, some spelling errors...but I digress.  It is actually a good little read.  Even if they did all of a sudden start having awards night too...haha

12th Annual Celtic Solstice

Carlos Renjifo pushes the pace early, but Dave Berdan retains his crown.  Dave and Brian Godsey are the only two to have won this event since 2005.  Brian finished inside the top 10.  Tristram Thomas, who went out with Carlos, yo-yo'd in the top 3 before making a final surger past Carlos to finish 2nd.

In the women's race, Chrissie Ramsey blazed to a 28:30ish and the win ahead of Julia Webb (and a half).  Sherry Stick looked to be third.

Many terrific performances today, tons of PRs on what is a seriously difficult course now with the Mansion Loop in there.  We saw our brother, Terence M. Baptiste, come home and help bring Justin Gerbereux across the line in 32 minutes - his first race in 2.5 years!

RESULTS ARE IN. I have posted our relevant results on the right hand side.  Since this was a new course, it was automatic course records for Berdan and Chrissie, but for Chrissie, it was also a new TEAM record. 

Tib Bits

I will post an Awards Night/weekend recap, but first I wanted to get a few things up here:
1) Cherry Blossom: did you get in?  If you didn't, let me know.  I can't promise I can get you in, but if I'm able to, I will let you know.

2) Celtic Solstice post race soiree?  Obviously we've got the actual post-race events to be at, including awards, whatever, but after that, we should get something going.  If anyone has a suggestion, please make it in the comments.  I open my house to gatherers, we could find a place to kick it and get lunch, whatever.  Most importantly, TERENCE is going to be in town, so we obviously have to celebrate.

3) Tuesday Night Track aka Winter Track Warriors is on tonight, same bat time, same bat channel.  400s is what seems to be the plan, Tristram's workout is 4x(4x400). 

Celtic Solstice

Damn, what a race!

Dave Berdan - 1st in 25:14, just off his course record here. Said he felt the most comfortable he's ever felt. Finished ahead of Carlos Renjifo.

Dusty - 3rd in 26:13, just off a PR, and he felt real good too.

BG - 4th in 26:36, just out of the money.

Seth - 28:34, insane 2nd half and we awarded him with the on-the-spot PDAW. 9th overall.

Arjun - apparently unleashed a 5:10 last mile to pass Pat and finished 11th in 28:54. Pat was right behind in 13th at 28:57, Old Kris was 14th in the almost-PDAW performance of 29:08. Barf ran insane, PR of 29:40 and 17th overall. Puked at the end. Berardi was 30:12, just ahead of me at 30:18. In the results they show the first place girl with the same exact chip and gun time as me, but placed one spot before me. Anyone who was there saw me beat her, so pictorial evidence gives me the win.

Diane was 3rd place girl after a guy apparently ran with a girl's bib and chip (cheaters!). Matt Castille ran okay at 30:56, earning the RMcG award for 30:56ness. Prada ran, Tall Matt ran, Greg Hanscom ran, Juhie and Christa ran together. DONNA GOODWIN did her first race EVER. Kendra ran. Ben ran. Tall Matt ran. Sara Spears ran. It appears as if Ben, Kendra and Donna did not wear their chips as they do not appear in race results.

Take a Dirty Picture

Oh....snap

Not a lot by way of racing this past weekend, Crossroads at 95 Challenge featured Megan DiGregorio taking 4th and Denise Knickman taking 6th; Scarecrow Classic 5k saw Louis Foudos take 2nd in 18:26.

On the Emerald Isle, Tom "Scott" Stott was racing his first ever marathon, the adidas Dublin Marathon (actually the marathon is sponsored by Lifestyle, not sure if that's the condom manufacturer or what). Based on the splits, it looked like a challenging run for Tommy Boy today, hitting the half in a reasonable 1:33:57, but that 2nd half humbles us all. Nevertheless, he finished up at 3:34:16. Been there. His wife Patty, however, killed it, running 4:16:03 - way faster than her goal of 4:30! Jan Cook, in his 2nd marathon in two weekends, ran 4:48, and I'm sure he drank mad Guinesses en route.

Claire Lears performed very well at the Pumpkinman Triathlon (half iron) in Vegas. She had one of her best swims ever, and followed the bike with a terrific run. Looks like the bike leg was mad hard.

Army Ten Miler was the big race of the weekend, and Ed Aramayo held it down. He's run a lot this year, and nailed some PRs along the way in the 5k and 8k. Recent workouts suggested he was in shape for a monster performance, and he didn't disappoint. With another year of tremendous weather (seriously, it was gorgeous down in DC), Ed ran a sensible first mile (5:19) and then came through 5 in 26:44. After another 5:19 mile 6, he said miles 7, 8 and 9 were tough. He held on though, and finished 42nd in 54:10, a mere 5 seconds slower than what Ben ran there last year. Joel Brusewitz completely surprised me with his 1:00:11. I feel like he's the type that could not run for a year and then drop a 58, but I also felt there was no way he would run under 1:02. Well, I was wrong. 5:35 first mile, settled in, ended up averaging 6:01. Great job Joel! Dave Ploskonka ran 1:08:28, not bad for not doing any speedwork! Final competitor was Sara J. Spears, who somehow ran a 1:22:29 PR. It was 5 minutes faster than she ran there last year and I think a 2 minute distance PR. Truly great work.

Since I'm an idiot, and haven't been checking my work lately, I realized I forgot to let you know who the Purple Drink Athlete of the Week is in the email. So in case you didn't guess, Cheese earned it this week.

We've got a lot of miscellaneous stuff this week, so read the bullet points:

1) TNT - tomorrow will be RELAY night at the track. It will also be our last "official" track practice for the season. I'll probably keep going for a few more weeks, but workouts will be unstructured.

2) Awards Night MMX - I'd like to start planning this. Tentatively, since Celtic Solstice takes place on Saturday December 18, I think that works out well to do awards following the run. Maybe not right after, but in the afternoon or something. Keep you posted.

3) Miami 2k11 - I also need to start planning, so if you're interested in going, please let me know sooner than later.

4) Celtic Solstice - race is filling up, if you intend on racing, sign up! Whether you plan on racing or not, this race always needs lots of volunteers, so let Jim know if you can help out.

5) Final order of business is Sunday Long Run, Halloween edition. I've received two emails back thus far so I'll make sure to post by Weds or Thurs the plans for the weekend.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

Ain't no race like a Falls Road race cause a Falls Road race don't STOP.

If Celtic Solstice were put on by Howard County, this race would have been canceled on Monday on the threat of snow. This time, however, Mother Nature made good on her promise and blanketed us with a whole bunch of the white stuff (no, not cocaine) overnight. With all the fresh powder it looked like we were in Vail, or, some White Trash version of it.

After fielding a plethora of texts and emails at 5 in the morning, I made my way down 95 through the tunnel to pick up Zero and Jen in Fed Hill. Roads at this point were not crowded, obviously, but also hadn't been plowed. We made our way north to pick up Chrissie, and headed down the backroad of Fallsway to get to the race. After a near-death incident involving a skidding car and two oncoming snow plans on a blind turn, we were back in business.

We parked, and met Ben and Kip and assumed our volunteer parking duties. With the winds whipping to 1000 (that's right, just 1000 - no need even for a unit of measurement), the snow was blinding. Most wondered if the race would even happen, or if anyone would even show. Well, a few hundred hearty souls braved the conditions to participate and we made the best of it.

The traditional procession to the start line commenced with the bagpipers and Celtic warriors leading the way, and the gun went off shortly after. Runners took to the somewhat steep incline of the first half mile rather tepidly, as in I was able to keep up with them (I ran up the first hill with the racers). I waited around mile 1.5 and watched as the leaders separated themselves. It looked miserable but most of the runners were making the best of it.

After the last of the runners had gone by, I jogged down to the finish, where I was able to watch a spiked-up Brian Godsey hold off an out-of-towner by a narrow margin. This is BG's 2nd win at Celtic Solstice. In 3rd came Cheese, back for the weekend (but coming back soon for "good"). Tom Stott had an amazing performance, taking 5th, outpacing Dave Berardi and Pat McLoughlin. There were a few other dudes who raced, including OJ, Brian Desmond and Barf (among others). For the ladaaays, Julia Rudd endured a miserable night just to make it to the start line. She was almost here last night when she realized she forgot her wallet. She drove back to Herndon and was not going to come back - but then, at a late hour, she decided what they hay, I'll come up anyway. So she made it up, wore a ridiculous outfit and easily outran any other female competitor. Other chicks running were Christine Trzcinski and Molly Hyde.

Following the completion of the race, the party was ON in the enormous tent. The tent was a perfect size for the number of people that were in attendance. The cookies were bountiful. The wassel and spiked hot chocolate were in full effect. Pete ran the show like a seasoned emcee, and the playlist was full of hot jams. In light of how this event could have turned out, the Falls Road staff put on a terrific race. I don't know if anyone else would have even attempted it.

Showdown at Druid Hill

The lineup is set, and I anticipate this is going to be a pretty sweet year for this event. It may not yield a super fast time, particularly if there is the predicted snow, but I'm pretty psyched for this weekend's Celtic Solstice race.

Check out the lineup of contenders:

Brian Godsey
Kyle Smits
Dave Berdan
Ed "Cheese" Aramayo
Dave Berardi
Paul Hannsen

For the ladies it's a little narrower, with Hopkins standout Laura Paulsen likely to take the W, but Kristen Till and Pam Maldeis are sure to make it a show. I've also asked a few other ladies if they'd like to run, we'll see if they show up! This just in: JULIA RUDD is coming up to run!

So whether you're running, volunteering or maybe just coming to watch, it should be a really cool race. I was up there today and it looks good, as long as there isn't an epic snowfall. Check back in Saturday afternoon for results!