Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler

Whether you refer to it as Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, one thing's for sure:

It shouldn't be freaking 6 degrees on March 4th.

You know, it's funny what a young man recollects. I don't recall what I got for my first Christmas and I don't know when I went on my first outdoor picnic. I don't remember what the temperature was last year on Mardi Gras, but I remember it was February 12th, and there's no reasonable explanation that, on a date 3 weeks later, it had to be this cold.

In other news, it was Amy Horst's birthday, which apparently coincides with Mardi Gras every 11 years. That's pretty neat.

While Club Challenge already feels like it was a year ago, it was only last week. There were a handful of races this weekend, most notably the Tim Kennard River Run. This 10 miler somewhere out near Salisbury got the entire Peck family out racing. Graham has been on a tear recently, ripping this winter a new one. He loves winning, and he takes great joy in beating his friend in a one-up race. Graham and his friend Cam ran the first 4 miles before Graham's superior fitness took over. He began to separate himself, dropping 10+ seconds every 2 miles. He ran his last 2 miles in sub 5:10 pace, and crossed the finish line as the winner in a new PB of 52:47. For his effort, he earned the AutoZone In the Zone Award.

Megan DiGregorio had fun being the lone leader for the women, as she easily cruised to the win in a new personal best as well - 1:02:47. Denise Knickman finished 2nd in 1:07:30.

Kaylyn Peck completed the ladies' sweep, finishing 3rd. She ran with her dad Henry as the two crossed in 1:08:30. And Mrs. Peck crushed her Club Challenge time by 2 minutes, running 1:22.

Meanwhile, out in the desert, Collin Anderson ran the Phoenix Marathon. He was looking for redemption after last year, when supreme fitness was overshadowed by an ill-timed cold. He ran 2:50 last year, which was still pretty solid. This year he's had some terrific months of uninterrupted, uninjured training and that made a big difference. Despite some lousy conditions he made it to the race unscathed and finished 12th again, but this time in a huge new PB of 2:42:07!

This earned Collin the Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

Quiet intermission weekend ahead as we begin to enter "spring" race season (doesn't feel much like spring). March 15/16 weekend is big, and Cherry Blossom is right around the corner. And, for once, it appears as if the peak cherry blossoms may not occur until AFTER the race!

Let the good times roll, y'all.

Callin' Baton Rouge

As Brennan Feldhausen toed the start line for his 2nd marathon (or longer) distance race in the past three weeks, I couldn't help but think:

Man, it was so much warmer and nicer in Louisiana!

The Mid Maryland 50k was held this past Saturday at Howard County's Rockburn Branch Park. The race was made up of five 10k "loops" and I can say that race director Phil Lang used every inch of available space at this park to create this course. We arrived just after 7 in the morning and found Alyssa Godesky, who had come up from her new home in Charlottesville to test her legs with an early season race before IM Los Cabos next month.

It was cold, the grass was frozen, there was mud and ice in parts, the course was silly, and it was five loops - but that didn't put a damper on the fun! Brennan quickly found 2:22 marathoner Kyle Stanton and the pair ran side by side the entire run. And I mean the entire run. 3 hours, 44 minutes and some change later, the duo crossed the line simultaneously to tie for the win. Most impressively, their lap splits were 45 minutes almost on the nose for all five laps.

Alyssa's race was fairly similar, although she had no competitors near her. Melissa Majumdar joined her for the first lap, and then I ran some of the back half with her. The way she was attacking this race though, Ironman pros better watch out! Her laps were also extremely consistent, starting right around 50 minutes and finishing with a split just over 52 minutes by the end, for a 4:16:16. That's a 40 minute distance best from her Holiday Lake 2009 time, and an hour faster than her last 50k (Rosaryville, 2010).

Steve Wancowicz was also out there, finishing at 6h23m.

I'll tell you though, that was a tough little race. It would have been cool as a 10k cross country course, but to do it five times, it really beat you up! As I mentioned in the email, Alyssa earned this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, and rightfully so as a few hours after the race she was in the pool!

I also awarded KC Masterpiece Awards to Melissa and Terence for pacing and Christa for coming to spectate then leading a few girls on a second Club Challenge preview.

Brennan earned the first AutoZone In the Zone award as he rolled his 3rd race of 2014, and after watching the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix I decided to award the NOS Button award to Eric Sowinski, who anchored Team USA All-Stars to a new World Record in the 4x800m.

From the previous week, which I didn't write up on here, the PDAW went to Nate Brigham for his excellent 15:20 2nd place performance at the Pacers' First Down 5k in DC. As I mentioned, that's the fastest Nate's run with us, and it's one of the fastest early season performances we've ever seen. Great job Nate! Shout to Dustin Meeker (3rd, 15:40, while sick) and Melissa Tanner (2nd, 18:04) on terrific performances as well.

And of course last Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday, but it was also Graham's inaugural Tavern Run. We were blessed with good weather for it, and had a great turnout. Over a dozen people met at Mt. Washington Tavern, drinking and running their way back downtown with some incredible stops along the way at various Taverns.

T.K.O.

16. A number we associate with "candles" and "bars," but also with one word that could sum up the weekend of racing in Philadelphia:

SWEET

In March Madness, the Sweet 16 is the barometer, the measuring stick for success. To be among the final 16 teams playing at the end of the season means you've done something right: performed when it mattered, and executed a solid game plan.

In birthdays, the Sweet 16 is a coming-of-age recognition, a graduation to adulthood. No training goes into turning 16 per se, but the resulting celebration rewards the trials of growing up.

The reason for all the symbolism is that in Sunday's Philadelphia Marathon, we had 16 runners from our group out there competing. 16 people who have committed every day of the past few months to this one day. Outside of Boston, there's never been a weekend with so many people in marathon action. With that lengthy intro out of the way, I bring you Philthy Rich Race Weekend Recap Part 2.

As training partners, and Dragons, Dustin Meeker and Nate Brigham are seemingly inseparable in training and racing. They're also great leaders among the group, and have done an amazing job in setting up the fall for many of the folks racing this weekend. This marathon wasn't Nate's first rodeo, but for Dustin, as long as he crossed the finish he'd establish a best time. His previous marathon ended in a DNF, and after a tough fall last year he ended up not racing a marathon. Fueled by confidence in his fitness, Dusty went out fast on Sunday, leading the Falls Road train through the streets of Philadelphia. Admittedly his last 4 miles were pretty rough, but he crossed the line in 2:33:27, good enough for 18th place overall. Nate ran a little more conservatively. He discovered early on that his legs weren't responding the way he wanted, and as a veteran marathoner and patient runner, he maintained an effort that would leave him with enough in the tank to power through the end. It worked out, and while it wasn't his best time, it was a little faster than he ran at Boston back in April. 2:34:34 for 27th was Nate's result.

Phil Turner has run a few marathons before also, running mid 2:40s, before breaking out with a 2:40 earlier this year. Phil's 1:13 win at the NCR Half suggested that he was capable of running well under 2:40, and on Sunday he went out and executed. His slowest mile was a 6:06 mile 8 (which is not an easy mile). Everything else he kept in a 7 second range between 5:55 and 6:02 or so. Impressive. He ended up at 34th at 2:36:35 - averaging under 6 minute pace for the race. He's already plotting for Boston in the spring. Steve Febish has spent most of the fall running with Dusty and Nate, and on Sunday committed to going big. Steve's previous marathon was Eugene last spring, where he ran a little over 2:50. After winning the Baltimore Half a few weeks ago, he believed he could run a low 2:30. He went out on the pace, and paid for it a little in the back half - but finished up in 2:37:06 for 39th. Our 5th guy under 2:40 was Erik Orberg. Erik has the least running "pedigree," having only picked up running in the past couple of years, but has exceptional talent and drive, and above all an extraordinary work ethic. His 2:49 at Boston earlier this year motivated him to set his sights much higher, and the training he's put in this fall has been unbelievable. On Sunday, he executed one of the best plans I've ever seen, even-splitting his way to a 2:39:25 for 53rd.

David Cobb took a big chunk out of his previous marathon best - 6.5 minutes, to be exact - as he ran 2:51:16. He's had a great fall since he met up with us in early September, and is looking forward to 2014. Curt Forst, who I missed out on course, ran 2:52:20, which I'm pretty sure is a best time for him. I haven't seen Britt Kern in at least a few months, but I spotted him as he crossed the line. He looked pretty cooked, but he managed another sub 3 hour finish (2:58:59). On chip time he finished ahead of Megan DiGregorio, but technically finished just behind her, as she crossed in 2:59:09. Meg was far from pleased with the result, but it's important to have a little perspective. If blowing up and having a bad day results in a sub 3 hour finish (3 for 4 now since May 2012, with the one outside of 3 hours being just over 3), it's really not that bad of a day.

Nicole Wilson improved her Baltimore time by a couple of minutes, running 3:12:11, and Jeremy Gworek, who has had a tough fall, came through at 3:17:23. In his first ever marathon, Jon Miller found out that going out fast has its consequences as he crossed in 3:22:29. Aaron Thomas ran 3:41:42, and I mistakenly called this Lillian Pinault's first marathon but she corrected me that it's actually her second (but first in 5 years). She had a rough go out there, but got through it in 3:49:49. Sneaky Pete Mulligan ran, I didn't know that he was planning on it, and actually did it for him rather than his usual pacing gig. He finished at 3:54:57. And I'm guessing Jan Cook, who ran 5:23:03, had more than a few Guinnesses out there.

16 people. 9 under 3 hours. 5 under 2:40. 1 marathon. Wow. In all my years of watching races, I don't know if I've ever seen a more comprehensive performance from one team. And honestly, what's most impressive isn't that you finished, or ran well, but that you had the courage to try in the first place. A lot of runners don't even get that far.

In addition to the marathon, there was also the half on Sunday. Conrad Laskowski, aka Conrad the Barbarian aka Conrad the Destroyer, went out and did what Conrad does: run fast. A 4:50 first mile was a little ambitious, and most people would pay the piper soon after. But Conrad's not just anybody, and if anyone can endure a fast first mile and have the strength to keep going, it's him. He ran a lot of the race by himself, but in the end managed to hold off another runner in an epic battle for the line. They were awarded the same time (1:07:58) but Conrad took 12th to the other guy's 13th. The time was an 80 second PR, and 6 minutes faster than he ran at PDR in September. It's puts him at #2 now on our Top Ten list!

It seems like just last week that Nick Klastava ran his marathon, but it was over 8 weeks ago! Plenty of time to recover and build back up for a second fall race. A smart choice was a half rather than another marathon. On Sunday he wasn't able to get the result he'd expected, but a 1:22:06 is far from a bad time. Plus, he had great perspective about the year as a whole, which has been incredible. He's taken his fitness to a level he's never seen before, and had fun while doing it.

Some of our superstar ladies, Alley Firey and Grace Rochfort, both ran great races just a few weeks after running their first marathon at Baltimore. Alley went 1:49:14 and Grace narrowly missed breaking 2 hours, finishing at 2:00:11.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the terrific races at the "Who Knew Philly Had an 8k, Because Certainly None of Us Did" 8k on Saturday. Tim Burns and Andy Sovonick duked it out on the course, with both fellows running personal bests en route to 36th and 37th places, respectively. Tim ran 26:37 to Andy's 26:41.

As I mentioned in the email, it's not often that I award dual Purple Drink Athlete of the Week awards, but this week was too epic not to. 21 people ran a marathon, another 10 ran halves, and there were so many unreal races that I had to do it. So congrats to Carly and Erik, you guys definitely earned it!

We gave a KC Masterpiece Award to Christa for her efforts this weekend. A big half marathon PR followed by actively spectating the Richmond Marathon, then driving straight to Philly and watching everyone run on Sunday. Wow.

Conrad earned our NOS Button Award, and Sara D took home the AutoZone In the Zone award.

AND of course I can NOT forget the tremendous effort by the support crew: Molly and Dan at Richmond on Saturday, and then Cory, Christa, Meg M, Melissa T, PJ, Dave P, Joel, Sara B, Andy, Amy, and probably a few others I'm forgetting at Philly on Sunday. YOU guys are the difference makers! When the race gets tough, it's seeing those familiar faces, getting shouts of encouragement, or a reminder to stay relaxed, that can help getting to the end!

Drippin' With Swag

It was a fantastic weekend of racing with some amazing performances from around the world on Sunday.

In beautiful Los Cabos, Mexico, Alyssa Godesky once again punched her ticket to the Ironman World Championship in Kona this October. After a couple of 2nd place age group performances the past couple of seasons, she finally got an age group win - and it was big. Her time of 10:53:30 was nearly an hour ahead of her nearest competitor. Splits: 1:07:46 swim, 5:43 bike, and a 3:55:05 marathon in the heat (90 degrees). And she was nipping at the heels of some of the female pros!

Closer to home, PJ Anderer ran the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington. Last week he demolished the Shamrock 5k (after dropping his keys in the first mile and going back to retrieve them, no less), so he was feeling confident heading into this one that he could break 1:30. And break it he did - 1:27:31! PJ is having an excellent 2013 so far. Keep it up!

Down in Sarasota, the Spring Training home of the Orioles, Lillian Pinault ran 1:38:12 at the Sarasota Half. There's no money and it's not very competitive, but Lillian said it's a beautiful course and gave the race high marks.

We had Dr. Rodney Taylor up at the NYC Half Marathon, running 1:29:55, and in Connecticut, Allison Letourneau ran - and won - the Max's O'Hartford 5k in 18:21.

At Virginia Beach's Shamrock Marathon, Dave Berdan finished 4th in 2:23:21. Not surprising, wind was a factor, and he commended the winner's remarkable 2:17 effort. Dave said that one minute he was running his pace just fine, and the next he turned into the wind and poof, 20 seconds slower. A tough day, but another great race under his belt.

So many awesome results, but our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Joel Gladfelter for his 3 minute PR in the half on Saturday. 

We did have an AutoZone In the Zone award this week, which went to Nate Brigham. Nate has been battling some hampering issues for the past month which have limited his hard training, and to an extent his swag. But his race Saturday validated his fitness, and with just a month to go til the big day, should have him feeling good.

And we also had a KC Masterpiece Award for coming through in the clutch - and that went to Justin Gerbereux for his amazing efforts on Saturday.

Daylight

Sunday, as per custom for the Shamrock 5k in Baltimore, turned out to be great weather for racing. And as we've endured a colder-than-usual winter, the warmer temperatures were welcomed with open arms.

With 5000 registered participants (3700 finishers), that meant a sea of hi-vis green long sleeve t-shirts weaving their way around the harbor. Up front, it was the Joe Wiggy Wiegner show. Joe, who runs for GRC and is coming off a racing hiatus, had a small gap at the mile, which turned into a big lead by the time he turned onto Pratt Street. Mark Buschman of Howard County fought valiantly to a 2nd place finish, and then a few recognizable names including Under Armour's John Ealy, GRCers Matt Hassett and Karl Dusen, and former Falls Road employee and now Massachusetts resident Rory Jenkins (16:31). Jesse Jaeger finished in 8th at 15:53, and then it was a little ways to 10th, where Dan Miranda landed, at 16:21. Patrick O'Rourke just missed out on breaking 17 (17:01), and chubby Joel Brusewitz used his plentiful glycogen stores to propel him to a pretty remarkable 17:09. Joel Gladfelter's previous personal best was 17:13 from a race I measured and timed at Druid Hill a few seasons ago - so needless to say it was probably questionable - but on this day he eked out a 1 second PR, 17:12. Tim Burns was supposed to be the mayor of Track Town this winter, but a class and work kept him away. So while his 17:13 isn't that great for him, it's a solid start.

After Tim, our next runner was women's race winner Melissa Majumdar. It was another incredible performance for Melissa, who has been devastating 2013 so far. She's 3 for 3 in wins (Resolution Run, Club Challenge, and now Shamrock) and her time of 17:40 was a massive PR (14 seconds). Not only that, but the last time she ran this race, in 2008, she ran 18:58. So yeah, I'd say she's doing pretty well this year. Melissa finished 8 seconds ahead of last year's winner, Megan DiGregorio, and it was Liz Laseter who finished 3rd for the second straight year, although this time she nearly broke 18 minutes, landing on 18:00.

Somewhere in between all these fast ladies came Nick Klastava (17:52) who was listed originally as a female, and then incognito Brennan Feldhausen, who had run 16 miles leading up to the start. The biggest mover was PJ Anderer, who broke 18 minutes for the first time ever. His 17:58 was also 1:47 faster than he ran last year. Absolutely insane.

Tom Stack came in right on 18:00, and then Jon Miller blazed the last couple hundred meters to finish in a majorly improved 18:17. Right behind him was 6th place F, Meg McNew, who ran 18:23. Carly Page, who had run her long run the previous day, gave it a go and ran 19:10. This would have been a great race for Carly not long ago, but now she's running it basically as a tempo run. That's improvement! Cory Donovan (19:21), David Lee (19:32), and Pete Mulligan (21:35) were all there, and Angela Vavasori came across at 22:58. Finally, it was pregnant Patty Stott finishing at 26:35.

There were a few other races over the weekend, including the Tim Kennard River Run 10 Miler, where Graham Peck and Denise Knickman took the wins. Graham blitzed his friend after negative splitting the race (53:38) and Denise ran a terrific 1:07:46.

Out at the San Diego Half Marathon, Diane Heiser finished 3rd in 1:23:07. She's now run within 10 seconds of the same time in each of her 4 half marathons. Consistency is not a bad thing!

And of course Terry Decker was 14th at the Backyard Burn 10 Miler in VA.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, a very tough choice this week, went to PJ Anderer. That big of an improvement was just too significant to ignore. But it was Melissa Majumdar winning the AutoZone In the Zone Award, for her awesome streak that she has going!

Rack City

It was a day of amazing performances, with no fewer than 13 personal best times recorded on the streets of Baltimore.  Shortly before the St. Patrick's Parade took over the streets, the Falls Road Racing Team paraded around the Harbor, occupying 3 of the top 4 spots on the men's side, and 15 in the top 50 overall.  Green-clad revelers lined the streets, while green-clad runners lined up behind the "elite" field.  After the Whitney Houston version National Anthem, racers took off sprinting down Charles Street.  From my vantage point, I could see there was a formidable pack up front as they approached the 2 mile mark, with Carlos Renjifo, Conrad Laskowski, Dustin Meeker, Tristram Thomas, and Jake Klim all in close proximity.  As the fatigue built, it was Carlos who had the legs to take the win from Conrad, 15:04 to 15:09.  For Carlos, a great win.  Two weeks ago he was overwhelmed by the FRR contingent at Club Challenge, and raced hard to break things up.  Yesterday, he got his moment.  For Conrad, a terrific PR just a week out from his Shamrock Marathon.  Conrad has been on point this season.  The time makes him the 4th fastest in our history, and I think we might see a sub 15 this year from him.

Dusty ran an 11 second PR, but once again finished 4th as Tristram was able to overtake him in the closing meters, 15:18 to 15:22.  For Tristram, a 16 second PR.  The great Red Fox turned up next at 5th, running 15:28.  Dan Miranda and Brennan Feldhausen exchanged leads with one another, but Dan's foot speed was just a little bit better than Brennan's, as Dan finished in 16:12 and Brennan came across at 16:15.  For Dan, a 10 second PR, and for Brennan, a 20 second PR.  Great for both guys, neither of whom is training for this event right now!  Andy Sovonick, untimed because he was unsuccessful in attaching his chip properly, finished at 16:24, but has bigger fish to fry this year in the form of Eagleman. 

At 16:40, Kris Simms crossed the line.  Our very own Benjamin Button, Kris lowered his PR by a couple ticks and will be 40 next month.  Who runs faster at 40 than they ever have before?  That guy.  Mike Mashner came through in 16:49, a small improvement from last year, and Steve Febish, in his Shamrock debut, stopped the clock at 16:51.  Pat McLoughlin was running with those guys for a while, but faded in the last mile, finishing at 17:12.  Still, Pat gets less sleep and runs fewer miles than anyone here right now, so that's a good result. 

The next finisher for us was also the women's winner: Meg DiGregorio.  Meg D came into the race with a 17:53 PR, but has been crushing workouts lately, and if she didn't go under 18, I wasn't going to let her come back to track.  Meg ran a solid pace throughout, and said at the end that she felt strong.  She ran a huge new PR, 17:35, and earned a great win.  Andy Thivierge was right behind her, in 17:43.  Big Terry Decker broke 18 for the first time - a terrific accomplishment for him!  And hot on his heels was Lady #2, Meg McNew.  A day shy of her [redacted] birthday, Meg took her PR from 18:45 to 18:01 in one fell swoop.  Truly an awesome race for the Megs. 

Meg McNew, just before her 2nd place effort

Liz Laseter (now GRC) rounded out the podium, finishing in 18:23.  Melissa Tanner, a former winner of this event, is finding her legs again, running an 18:45, and Becky Parks finally cracked that 19 minute barrier, running 18:55, for 7th.  Great job ladies!

Jon Miller, running mostly for fun, finished at 19:35, but it was PJ Anderer who stole the show, running 19:45.  It was his first time under 20 since he was 20, which is awesome.  Aaron Tripp also cracked 20, running 19:48.  Kelly Meier ran a big PR of 20:41, and Patty Stott, running the race "without life inside of her" this year, ran a PR by a minute, 22:35. 

It was an awesome display of greatness, so congratulations to all of you.  And big thanks to the many, many supporters we had out there on the course: Nate, Pete, Ed (forgot he wasn't racing), BG, Prada, Alyssa, Christa, Chrissie, Amy, Arjun, Melissa, Dave P, Tim Parker, Tim Burns, Joel, Alex, Diane, Donna, Vivian, Haleigh, and the moms of Tom and Becky!

The other BIG race of the weekend was Joel Gladfelter's enormous, 90 second PR at the half marathon.  He ran the Chambersburg Half in 1:22:10, finishing 11th.  Terrific job.  And props to Christa, who supported Chambersburg on Saturday, then was back out there on Sunday for the rest of us!

It was a very tough week to decide the Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.  So many PRs, so many terrific races, but to honor one who has worked tremendously hard over the past few months, it is going to PJ Anderer.  Way to go buddy, keep it up!

Meg McNew hit her NOS Button at the right time, and is being honored as such (happy birthday, BTW), and Meg D is In the Zone right now.  You two are running great!

(L to R): RM, Dusty, Pat, Steve, Dan

Young, Wild, and Free

Last week was a fun week: we held the first ever, and as far as we know, ONLY Leap Day 4k on the PLANET; we saw some amazing personal bests; we experienced a lot of rain, thunder, and lightning. 

At the RunningSkirts.com Albany (GA) Marathon, formerly the SNICKERS MARATHON Energy Bar Marathon, athletes were treated to tornado sirens blaring, instructing them to seek indoor shelter immediately.  And, like true runners, these warnings went unheeded, as Lisa Ievers cruised to an 8 minute PR and a 5th place finish (3:09:20).  Pete Mulligan was back to pacing duties, but instead of the 4:30 group, he now commands the 4:25 Boston group.  They ran through driving rain, thunder, and lightning (much like our Leap Day race), but Pete still brought them in on time.  Pete even wore a skirt to pay homage to the new race sponsor.

At the Columbia Last Chance Meet (seriously, is indoor OVER yet??) at the Armory, Greg Jubb was putting it all on the line.  His gaze fixated on breaking 4 by 2013, he showed he's better than ever, running an indoor PR of 4:06.96 to finish 18th.  Brian Leiter ran 4:07.17.  These times should strike fear in the heart of the Westminster Main Street Mile record...

It may not be quite an "ultra" but Dave Ploskonka loves his Seneca Greenway 50k.  This year, thanks to a lot of rain, the conditions were quite muddy, but Dave persevered, finishing 2nd.  Meg Harnett, a newcomer to the long distance game, also finished 2nd.

Sunday was Fantastic Lady Day as our ladies went out and smashed stereotypes.  Carly Page proved in her 2nd place at the B&A Trail Half that you CAN run fast in a skirt (interesting she and Pete had the same wardrobe).  Carly ran a great race, running 1:26:45, negative splitting and exacting revenge on her legs for a disappointing performance last week.  Alyssa Godesky showed that girls CAN behave like boys, as she hurled the second her feet crossed the line.  But, with a 6 minute PR (1:30:24) and 6th place finish, I'd say it was worth it.  Still, very gross.  And Nina "Van Winkle" Hartman illustrated that girls CAN oversleep and not show up to races, just like the guys!  Don't worry Nina, we've all done it!

Out on the Eastern Shore, Denise Knickman once again ran the Tim Kennard 10 Mile River Run, running one second faster than she did last weekend at Club Challenge.  Ms. Consistent.  The stars of the show were the Peck siblings, as Graham Peck ran an incredible 53:xx to win, and Kaylyn got the win easily ahead of Big D. 

Shouts to the posse of folks that showed up to the B&A Trail race to support: Joel, Christa, Dave, Becky, Meg H!

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Carly Page, this very good result hopefully erases the frustration from Club Challenge. 

And our AutoZone In the Zone Award goes to Greg Jubb, who has been on a roll recently, running a 1:53 800 and <4:07 mile indoors.  Outdoor tracks beware!  Greg's also been killing it as co-host of the Runaround on ESPN radio, the ONLY radio show dedicated to our sport.  It's on Mondays from 5-6pm, and if you can't make it to a radio, you can listen online here: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/station/espn-1300/

Some important notes:

1. See Justin's post below concerning helping out at a race in April.  It's on a Friday night at Lake Montebello.  If you can help, please let me know.

2. Outdoor season is just around the corner which means if you are planning on racing, start contacting the Meet Directors!  There are a few open race opportunities, including our own Forget Towson Invite (Saturday, 3/17), and a bunch of others in the spring before we get to the summer season. 

3. Track tonight - The longer race crew will be doing 6x1600, the shorter race crew will be doing 5x(800-400) I think. 

Now Make That ... Hammertime

Kris Simms vividly recalls what it was like to be a member of the entourage of once-upon-a-time rapper, M.C. Hammer: "It was like we were living a dream, every day.  You know the music videos you see today, with the rappers rappin' about blunts and bras, menage-a-trois, sex in expensive cars?  Well, it was exactly like that, except in real life."  Sadly, the million-dollars-a-day spending could only last so long.  When the money ran out, so did Kris.  He spent the next few years bouncing around the entertainment industry, finding moderate success as a professional wrestler, and being tossed an occasional role in a Disney movie.  There was also good money in stunt appearances, as The Kris eerily resembles the President.  He has been approached by one filmmaker, whose name rhymes with Skyler Berry, to re-make the Kevin Kline classic, "Dave."  Except this would be called "Barry and Madea Go To Washington."

Kris' true passion, however, lies in the sport of footracing, and this past weekend, he tested himeslf by running the SunTrust Richmond Marathon.  The last time Kris laced his sneaks up to run 26.2 was in the fall of 2008, when he ran the Marine Corps Marathon on a warm October morning, to the tune of a 3:02, which, at the time, was a PR.  While on a ski trip that next January, in the middle of preparing for Boston, he had to have an emergency appendectomy, and poof, there went Boston.  And for the next few years, the marathon just hasn't been a priority for Kris.  Until NOW.

We knew he was in good shape, but the marathon is a crazy event.  I followed his splits: 40:19 at 10k.  1:24:55 at the half.  2:09:40 at 20 miles.  He was running an amazing race, but could he hold it over the last 10k?  Cramping set in.  The Kris stopped and worked it out.  He fought on.  In the end, the cramping would cost him time, but it wouldn't stop him from running a huge new PR - 2:53:40 - as he finished in 39th place.  Truly amazing stuff!

Also in the race, Dave Ploskonka ran 3:46:17.  At first, I saw his fast half split and thought maybe he was pacing a group and then decided to drop off, but apparently he ran the entire marathon course before the actual marathon, in reverse, for 52.4 miles (minimum) on the day. 

Some of the other Saturday results included Tim Parker's 1:20:00/36th place finish in the half marathon at Richmond.  Tim always runs well at Richmond, so it was no surprise to see him redeem his lackluster Baltimore performance.  Julia Webb finished 4th among women in her 2nd fastest time ever, 1:20:17.  I believe she negative split the race.  Also on Saturday, in Georgia, Lisa Ievers ran a PR at the Soldier Half Marathon, finishing 3rd in 1:27:59.  It was 4.5 minutes faster than her time there last year, and a really impressive result!  At the Rosaryville 50k, Bob Harvey came twice...across the finish line (no inuendo there).  I don't know why they have him listed twice, but he finished 9th in 4:26:34. 

Sunday's big event was the Veteran's Day 10k down on Hains Point.  As you can see it was largely the GRC Show, with their runners putting on a little How-To Clinic in West Potomac Park, but I was more than pleasantly surprised to see how well Tristram Thomas ran.  Tristram is in great shape, as he prepares for this weekend's half in Annapolis, but to finish 5th in 31:50 was really great to see.  It moved him to 8th on our all-time list, bumping off Ben Ingram.  Ben traded leads with Alex Waldt in the last two miles of the race, before Alex managed to find that little bit extra in his legs at the end.  They finished 21st and 20th, respectively, in 34:08 and 34:05.  Liz Laseter, who was traded to GRC for perhaps a runner to be named later, if anyone ever moves from DC to Baltimore, ran a solid 39:27 in finishing 20th.  David Lee, ahead of the Las Vegas Marathon, got under 40 (39:32) and Jon Miller ran a de factor PR (40:26).  PJ Anderer...ran. 

At the Metric Marathon in Columbia, Meg McNew ran with Kelly Meier, in Kelly's first run over 15 miles.  She nailed it, as the pair crossed the line together in 2:12:28 (13th and 14th).  Sara Damiano was 22nd in 2:14:46.  In the 5k, Eileen Fleck did battle with New Becky Parks, as the duo went 1-2.  Eileen took the W in 19:12 to Becky's new PR of 19:14.  Great work ladies!

As mentioned in the email, it was a tough week for Purple Drink Athlete of the Week considerations, but in the end, it favored the huge marathon PR of Kris Simms, so congratulations buddy!

And there was an AutoZone In the Zone award winner this week - Tristram Thomas.  He has been flying sky high lately and we hope to watch that continue this weekend!

Tomorrow will be the last official night of TNT.  Gilman, 6:30pm, the usual.  The guys doing Annapolis have their workout, and if anybody shows up who is running Philly this weekend you will be doing very light stuff.  I myself will probably go out for the NP-Charles-ColdSpring-Roland loop run and then do some easy stuff on the track.  Winter track will start up after the break - I think I am going to mandate a week off from track for EVERYONE next week so you can chill out in advance of Thanksgiving.

Still to come this week on the blog, a preview of this weekend's racing action and instructions on how to follow it all!

Putting On For Our City

Full disclosure: Since no fewer than 50 of us competed in some way at the Baltimore Running Festival this weekend, not everyone's story will be highlighted in this recap.  You can see everyone's results on the side.

The 5k

Tristram Thomas won the 5k in 15:34, which was a 17 second improvement from his time last year, and a 17 second season best.  It also moved him from 9th to 5th in our Top Ten All Time list.  TT was disappointed the time wasn't faster, but put some of that on the lack of competition in the field.  In the women's race, Melissa Tanner was 2nd in 19:20, with New Becky Parks just behind in 3rd (19:29).  For NBP it was a season best.  She said she was going to try her best not to get drunk on Friday night, which could explain the performance.  But after the race, and Saturday night, and most of Sunday, she made up for all that she couldn't drink on Friday.  Erik Westlund had a cortisone shot prior to the race, which made his foot feel better, but also inhibited him from running too fast.  Christa Wagner ran 20:48, which was almost a minute improvement from her time last year, and I'm pretty sure a PR.  It also placed her 9th. 

The Half Marathon

A group of 8 blitzed from the gun, clipping the first mile in under 5:30.  Brennan Feldhausen made sure to dial back his effort, and it paid off for him as he began to reel everyone back in at Lake Montebello.  With sustained winds of 20mph, including a headwind for the final 5-6 miles, most recorded their slowest mile on the flat mile around the Lake.  Brennan finished 5th in 1:17:16, which while off his goal, didn't leave him feeling too concerned.  Tim Parker was coming off a fine finish at the Delaware Distance Classic 15k, and was looking to improve on last year's 1:22 low that he ran.  Unfortunately it wasn't his day, as he finished up at 1:26:31.  Another who had trouble finding his legs was Joel Gladfelter, who was hoping to go under his 1:23 time from a few weeks ago.  Joel finished up at 1:31:02, but as bad days happen, you just put it behind you and move on.  David Lee, better known for his monster skills on the bike, and Sam Wollner, the swimmer, both found their running legs as they finished in 1:31:14 and 1:32:51, respectively.  Jon Miller (1:38:42) and PJ Anderer (1:40:56) each ran fine races, and Colin Brooks had a good race, running 2:07:03.  I will keep telling this story for a while, but Colin thought that the mile markers indicated what mile you were STARTING.  In other words, he thought the race starts at Mile 1 (instead of 0) and that at mile 10 he still had 4 miles to go.  So he had a little too much left in the tank!

For the ladies, Jackie Truncellito ran a great race, improving by 1:40 on her 2010 time in her 3rd place effort (1:28:46).  Kelly Meier also ran a great race for herself, finishing in 1:39:15.

The Marathon

The laurels and praises for Dave Berdan's 2:21:19, 10th place effort, could not be higher or more plentiful, so we don't need to recap his performance.  I am confident that, at any race besides Baltimore, his effort would have resulted in a sub 2:19 time, and if he gives it a go again this fall, may the wind be at his back!

But there were others running this race, some for the first time, and some as their first marathon.  Conrad Laskowski shot out like a bullet, running most of the race by himself, and splitting 1:15:30 at the half.  He paid for it in the back half, as almost everyone does, but still finished up at 2:44:00, good enough for 27th.  Andrew Beef Jaffe always makes me scratch my head, as he muscles and bulls his way to great times.  He finished up at 2:49:01.  Pat McLoughlin, due to the forces of nature, decided to make Baltimore his first marathon.  Perhaps not ideal from a "fast race" perspective, it did allow him to train on the course and avoid traveling.  It also meant he was going to have support the entire way.  He didn't disappoint.  Running 1:23 at the half, he managed to hold himself together for a 1:27 back half and finish at 2:50:43 for 36th place.  A fantastic debut for Pat!

For the women, Denise Knickman finished 13th and was top master, claiming $1000 for her 3:09:45 effort.  Perhaps the surprise of the day was Meg McNew's 3:10:38, which, all things considered, is probably equivalent to her 3:06:43 from two weeks ago at Wineglass.  This is an incredible confirmation of her fitness, but now hopefully she'll take at least more than a couple of weeks off from serious running!

The Relay

We didn't have the numbers, or desire, to put together open men and open women teams, so it was just one co-ed team with Arjun (who hadn't really run in two weeks), Ed (who had just run his marathon 6 days earlier), Amy, and Meg D.  They won handily over Team Jaskot (2nd place co-ed) and finished 4th overall in the relay division at 2:42:12.  Apparently Meg D (4th leg) was enjoying the water stations. 

Andy Olson, and Nina Hartman, separately ran as individuals on the same team (inside joke) and established a team PR for themselves. Dave Berardi was on the 3rd place team, comprised of HCS masters. 

The Purple Drink Athlete of the Week

With many worthy performances on the docket, the PDAW showed its bias towards those competing in their first marathon, and with a 2:50 debut, it's one of the best debut marathons we've seen in our years here.  "Congrads" Pat!

But we weren't quite done with racing just yet!

Sunday was the Columbus Marathon and Half.  Although many were looking to run OTQ times, it appears as if, between both races, just a handful of women were able to do it - the half winner and a couple in the marathon.  The male marathon winner was 45ish seconds off and the half winner was even less than that.  Dustin Meeker wasn't interested in qualifying for the Trials, he just wanted to run a fast time.  He has been incredibly diligent in his preparations over the past few months, and he unleashed the fury on Sunday, covering the 13.1 mile course in 1:10:34 and finishing 13th out of nearly 10,000 runners.  For Dusty, it was a PR of 1:06, which is pretty insane.  It also helped him leapfrog Ben by 2 seconds to put him in 4th in our Top Ten All Time (in fairness, Ben has run 1:09 but it was before he met us so we don't count it. It also was before the internet, so there is no published record of it). 

Meanwhile, up in Detroit, Lauren Boof Dennisuk ran the Detroit Free Press Marathon, finishing 41st in 3:21:37.

Elsewhere in Michigan, Ryan Schmidt ran on a relay race at the Grand Rapids Marathon with his wife, his brother, sister, and sister-in-law.  They were out to have some fun, and for Sara, it was the first race I can remember her doing in a long time! 

This week we will honor Dusty with the NOS Award, for pushing his NOS button at just the right time.  He split 10k at 33:05 and zoomed past 4 people from 10k to the finish.

We will also honor the AutoZone In the Zone athlete, Dave Berdan, who seems to be firing on all cylinders following his great runs at PDR, Race for our Kids, and now Baltimore. 

I Believe I Can Fly

Under normal circumstances, comparing Pete Mulligan to Michael Jordan would be ludicrous, unless we were talking about the Michael Jordan that played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox.  But what Pete accomplished on Sunday was akin to all of MJ's career highlights, rolled into one.  Pete shaved 27 minutes off his previous personal best in the marathon, an astronomical improvement, and in the process, achieved the new (and more difficult) qualifying standard for the Boston Marathon.  Pete's time of 3:24:15 put him inside the 3:25 time limit for his age group, so, with some good fortune, Pete will be on the line in April 2013. 

Pete at the Hon Run 2007

That performance was enough to earn Pete the Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, but it wasn't without some stiff competition.

Pete raced at the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, NY, a race known for its fast times and propensity for bestowing Boston Qualifying times upon its competitors.  A point-to-point, downhill race, this year's edition took place in wet, chilly conditions that seemed to be too much for some, but just right for others.  And apparently, the "others" were everyone that we run with.  Meg McNew's previous marathon best was a 3:17.  She lopped off 11 minutes, running 3:06:43 and finishing 8th among women. 

In the inaugural half marathon, Carly Page showed her fitness by not just winning the race, but doing it in style, and running a 6 minute PR (1:25:48).  I mistakenly cited her position on the Top Ten All Time list, supplanting Meg McNew's best, but was corrected and I apologize to both of them for the error! 

Terry Decker also competed in the half, but was a little disappointed with his result - a 1:29.  He felt he was better than that effort, and I think so too, so I hope he can get on track for his upcoming marathon.  His fiance, Molly Eagen, ran her first marathon and went 4:23, which is a great debut time.

Also earning wins this weekend were Arjun Majumdar and New Becky Parks, in two lowkey, local 5k's.  Arjun ran the Marian House 5k on Saturday at Lake Montebello.  The awful idea of having a two loop course led to Arjun and his main competitor having to weave through walkers towards the end of the race while engaging in a sprint to the finish.  Mostly, our biggest question was who is this guy that is able to keep up with Arjun in the last 400m of a 5k?  Apparently his balls were exposed, too, which had to have been quite a sight.  In any event, it was hard to tell who was going to win but in the last few strides, Arjun got him, running a great 16:39 and earning his first W in a long, long time.  For NBP, who ran the not-accurately-timed-or-measured Sowebo Landmark 5k on Sunday, she of course won and was not pleased with the effort.  Or the shoddy organization.  But what did you expect, it's a race in Southwest Baltimore!

The Falls Road 15k was held on Sunday and thanks to everyone who helped out, even if some of you were "on the clock" for the store.  Alyssa Godesky finished 2nd among women behind soon-to-be-newcomer-to-the-group Kellen McGee.  Alyssa had to run before the race, and then was supposed to pick up the 2nd half of the race.  She tackled the hills of the course and ran a great time.  Just behind was PJ Anderer, and then Kelly Meier in 3rd.  In 6th was Sara Damiano, who joined us for track tonight.  Christine Trzcinski and Karen Menge rounded our our troupe of ladies who stormed the race. 

Lillian Pinault ran the Freedom's Run Half Marathon in 1:42:45, about 7 minutes faster than she was expecting, and Dan Miranda doubled in back-to-back half marathons, running a 1:18:43 in a 2nd place effort at a half marathon in New Hampshire on Saturday, before flying back Saturday night and running the half marathon leg of a half ironman on Sunday in Columbia (where he ran about 1:20).  Not a bad weekend!

Out in Oregon, Matty Blaze Jablonski was racing in his first ever big boy college race, the Bill Dellinger Invitational, an 8k cross country race at U of O.  Matt finished 41st in a stacked field (every race will be stacked for him from now on) in a great debut time of 24:45.  At another college xc race, the Paul Short Invite, on Friday, Tristram Thomas finished 122nd in 27:39.

Our final competitor this weekend was Ben Ingram, who was looking forward to competing in his first ever half ironman at the inaugural Poconos 70.3.  The only problem was the river they were using to stage the swim was surging, and at 14 feet, the park said the swim was a no-go.  So the race became a bike-run, with a 55 mile ride and 13.1 mile run, and competitors were to go off every couple of seconds.  Ben wrote up his race report on his blog, but basically in this type of race he is going to crush almost every time, and his result was a 3rd place AG finish, which earned him a spot to next year's IM 70.3 World Championship!  However, since he just registered for IM Wisconsin, which is the same day, he had to pass.  Must be nice to have that option! 

As mentioned in the email, in addition to our PDAW, we have two new awards that will be popping up from time to time:

The NOS Award goes to the athlete who punched it at just the right time, and this week it went to Arjun.

The AutoZone "In the Zone" Award goes to an athlete who seems to be hitting his or her stride, and this week it went to Carly Page.

Good turnout at the track tonight, it was obviously pitch black just after we started the workout, which is unfortunate but we'll just have to get used to it!  Also as I put in the email, the next few weeks we are going to start winding down.  For the most part, the few of you that have marathons this fall know what you're doing, and there are enough of you to keep working out together for a while.  For everyone else, I think you're mostly satisfied just getting in some quicker running, so the workouts will be fun.  Also, somehow Space Jam was already a label for me to use.