How We Do

Fortunately I got to the bulk of the results over the weekend because most of the races were on Saturday, but there were a few on Sunday so here we go:

Father's Day 8k (Bullseye Running)

Less than 24 hours after winning the Baltimore 10 Miler, Dave Berdan was back at it, this time finishing 3rd in 25:49. His first two races of the year and he puts them back to back - beast! Tristram Thomas took 4th in 26:42. Tristram, in case you didn't know, is leaving us soon to head to the riva bello of Italy. I Google-translated that, it means beautiful shore. I didn't know how to pluralize it, and I also don't know if he'll be near the beach. But anyway, TT is at least making sure he backfills his position, so he's been actively seeking replacements. After the race he chatted with runner-up, Kent Pecora, who is moving here later this summer and we hope to see him come out. This comes just a week or two after TT met Charles Larsen, who is back in the area, and won the GBMC Father's Day 5k. Nobody can replace Tristram, but hopefully these two guys can take up some of his speed.

Georgetown Running Company Father's Day 8k

Our friends down the highway once again hosted their annual Father's Day twilight event on the towpath, and had over 200 people finish so I'd say that's a success. Dustin Meeker and Ed Aramayo went 4th and 5th in 26:47/26:52 or something.

Purple Drink Athlete of the Week

There were a number of impressive performances this weekend, with atypically nice weather yielding faster-than-normal results at Baltimore Ten Miler, and our PDAW this week comes from that group. Terry Decker, who celebrated his 30th birthday just days prior, ran another ten mile PR and continues to go faster and faster as he prepares for the marathon this fall. Cause that's just how we do.

Oh, and who noticed MAGGIE VESSEY responding to my tweet, thanking me for "thinking of her"? #MaggieVesseyIsHot #TeamMaggie

Flexin'

Nate Brigham DEFINITELY knows how to post videos to Facebook.

Nate went Rajon Rondo on the Vermont City Marathon, running a spectacular 2:31:48 to finish 6th in the event on Sunday morning. The morning after Nate's Celtics won their game 7 matchup against the Who Cares, Nate went out and made magic happen. Earlier in the week, with forecasted temperatures expected to be a little warmer than ideal, Nate said his plan was to go out "chill" and just eat the dead alive on the back half. One of Nate's goals this year was to get his swagger back, and sho nuff, he definitely did that. YA HEARD.

Note: eating the dead, or Reverse Zombieism, is not endorsed by TWSS or its affiliates.

Nate's time ranks him 6th on our all-time list now, and is hands-down the performance to beat for Performance of the Year in December. Way to go Nate, and as if there were any question, you earned this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

Also up at VCM, Jake Marren, who hasn't run a marathon in a few years, ran a spectacular 2:49:11 for 26th.

MCVETs almost 5k and almost 10k were the weekend's big races. Brian BG Godsey snatched up his first W in Baltimore in a while, running 15:42, ahead of Tristram Thomas in 15:57. Then it was all ladies, as Chrissie Ramsey finished 1st, and 4th overall, in 17:14. Liz Laseter and Carly Page rounded out the podium, and then it was Sara Breedlove, Denise Knickman, and Amy Horst. Great time for Carly, easily a PR, and Sara B likely as well.

In the 10k, Tristram was back, and this time he wasn't taking 2nd as an answer. Andrew Jaffe tried to rub elbows with TT for a bit, but Tristram proved too strong, and cruised to the win in 33:43, ahead of Beef in 34:45. Marc Malott was 4th in 35:48. Then it was Meg McNew with an awesome win in 38:04 - even if it was short, still a big time PR for Meg, who races Grandma's Marathon in a few weeks. Megan DiGregorio gritted out a tough race on post-marathon fitness, finishing 2nd in 39:55. Big D took 3rd in 41:47. PJ Anderer ran a solid PR of 43:23 for 25th, noting that last year, Fat PJ ran 10 minutes slower. Kevin Frick finished at 44:18 after running the 5k with his son.

Elsewhere in America on this Memorial Day weekend:

Ben and Kendra Ingram ran Bolder Boulder 10k. Ben was 72nd in 35:12, Kendra ran 1:05:05. Not bad for a race with 50,000 people!

Dave Berardi was 10th (18:04) and Alyssa Doyle 7th (20:34) at the Remembrance Run 5k in Columbia.

Matt Augustin posted a 21:51 5k at Jeremy's Run 5k in Olney - good to see him back in the results! One of our O.G.s.

Turn Up the Music

It was a pretty quiet weekend of racing, and with the weather shifting from 85 and downright summery on Friday to more typical March-like conditions on Saturday, I don't blame people for hitting snooze.

But the results we had were strong, as Meg DiGregorio continued her winning ways, scooping up some dough at the Northfield Elementary School 5k (18:21).  Sara Breedlove took 3rd, and some cash, for her effort (20:38).  At Susquehanna State Park, Meg McNew finished 3rd at the HAT Run 50k - her first attempt at the beyond-marathon distance.  Her time of 4:58:06 was just a few minutes behind race winner Kristen Van Eron.  In New Jersey, Tim Burns raced the 1500m at the Stockton Invite.  Apparently it only rained during his race, too.  He ran 4:17.64, which is a good start to the outdoor season.  Saturday was also the 12 Hour race out at Moab, where Collin Anderson ran 59.07 miles.  Collin is fastidiously preparing for Old Dominion 100 in June.

Sunday was also pretty chill, with our former flame, Liz Laseter, taking 4th at the Scope it Out 5k (18:59) and Sara Spears running with a friend (28:06).  Out in Frederick, Mike Mashner ran the inaugural Mission 10 Miler as part of his long run, negative splitting his way to a 1:01:33 for 7th place.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week was awarded to Meg McNew.

Bring some warm clothes to the track tonight!

Can't Get Enough

In what was likely the last weekend of indoor racing for our guys, Greg Jubb and Louis Foudos were like Maverick and Goose, because they felt the need.  THE NEED FOR SPEED.  Greg won the 800m at the Princeton Invite after leading from the gun.  His time (1:53.23) was a 3.3 second improvement from just a few weeks ago at Maryland, and was a full 4 seconds clear of 2nd place.  Meanwhile, Louis' 2:02.76 was a 4 second indoor PR, and within a second of his all-time best.  Appropriately, Greg earned this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, and Louis earned the NOS Award.

Out in Ohio, Dustin Meeker was hoping to improve upon last year's 15:45 at the Kent State Tune Up Meet.  But, he found out the hard way that a lot of running at 5:20 pace is good for marathon training, but not great when one needs to run 5 minute pace for 3.1 grueling miles around an oval inside.  Still, Dusty crossed the line with a 16:11.26, and on heavy legs, I'm sure he'll "dust" himself off and get back for this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, according to C-Rad, there's some kind of big race.  Maybe you've heard of it.  It's called Club Challenge, and it's only the most important race in the world.  Psyche.  That honor belongs to the RM Classic.  Psyche again!  That would actually be the Arjun Majumdar Birthday Mile.  I sent an email to those of you who are registered for the event with some information pertaining to logistics, so please read it all the way through.  In an effort to not share our secrets with the world, the blog will be void of Club Challenge related material until after the race.  I also noticed that I made a few errors when I split everyone up for our squad scrimmage, so I have made the appropriate adjustments and will let everyone know their revised teams.

Today is Fat Tuesday, so in honor of the day, we will be rolling dice at the track tonight to determine our workout.  Unfortunately, I'm quite under the weather and will not be running, but I should be able to make it up there.

Spend It

We recapped most of the track results, and by now everyone should know that Ed Aramayo was our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, but there were a few road race results from the weekend that I wanted to point out:

At the BRRC Valentine's Day 10k, in peaceful, snow-kissed Loch Raven, Meg DiGregorio won the women's race and was 3rd overall in the great time of 39:49.  Terry Decker finished just behind her in 40:53, and then it was Denise Knickman, 43 years young, finishing at 43:43.  Christine Trzcinski rounded out the top 3 women in 45:52.

Sunday was the Love the Run You're With 5k, where Tom and Patty Stott raced to great finishes.  Tom was 12th in 18:09, while Patty crossed in 24:15. 

Today's website for you to peruse is Bring Back The Mile.  These guys were on The Runaround last night and have been gaining traction recently with their campaign to make the Mile a relevant race again, replacing the so-called "metric mile" equivalent that has invaded our sport like cane toads.  Take a look at it when you get a chance, and support the Mile!

ALSO: Sorting through the Club Challenge roster and there are some people I do not know.  It's the last three guys' names, and the person who named themselves "Hard Wood."  This may be considered funny for other races, but in a race where we are paying your entry, it is not that cool.  It reflects poorly on our group, and provides more fodder for the other clubs, many of which already have negative opinions of us.  So, if you are one of those guys, please email me at runbaltimore@gmail.com.  Thank you!

Can't Nobody Do It Better

All this indoor track reminds me of 2008!  Sadly, it was a return to the PG Sportsplex for Ed Aramayo, Chris Snyder, and Arjun Majumdar, on Saturday, to waste their day watching little kids run 400m races for 3 hours.  Yes, 3 hours of quarter miles.  Ed set the tempo in the mile, before stepping aside to allow the other two to go through.  Chris took the W in 4:36, Arjun was 2nd in a season best 4:40, and Ed rounded out the top 3 in 4:42.  Later, in the 800, Arjun took the job of pacesetter for Ed, bringing him through the 400 in under 60 seconds.  Ed ran even splits of 29.x, 30.x, 30.x and 30.x, but finished just outside of 2:00.

Saturday morning was the Du Charme Invitational at Dickinson, where the competition was about as stiff as a good Frosh/Soph meet in NJ circa 1996.  Becky Parks was doing her coaching duties when she decided to run the 5000m, an event nobody on her team was entered in.  Becky ran amazingly even splits of 6:16, 6:16, 6:18, and cruised into 3rd place at 19:37.70.

Saturday's road event was the re-re-rescheduled Lewis Memorial 10 Mile prediction run out in Frederick, where PJ Anderer ran 1:15:47 to finish 16th.

On Sunday, sneaky Meg McNew cherrypicked a nice little victory at the Nobles Mill 5 Miler, a RASAC event in Harford County.  Her time is solid though, 36:25, so she should be pleased.  She's also running a ghastly amount of miles lately.

The Howard County Striders held their annual Penguin Pace 5k on Sunday in chilly conditions.  The route is expectedly hilly, but that didn't stop a sell-out number of runners from competing.  Joel Gladfelter found himself in 2nd place to the multiple-race-per-weekend Karsten Brown.  Joel ran 18:13, it left him feeling kind of "meh."  In the women's race, Christa Wagner took 5th in 20:43, faster than she ran at Baltimore 5k in the fall, and seems to be fired up now for Club Challenge.  I can't wait!

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Arjun for his terrific mile race and rabbiting duties, while Ed earned the NOS Button Award for punching it at the right time.

Tonight we'll be at the track, and it's another beaut of a day.  I have a suggested main workout of a fartlek run, starting at 1 minute, building up to 5, coming back down, in one minute increments.  The total of tempo running will be 24 minutes, with a minute recovery in between each effort.  Alex will be doing 400 on/400 off, Tristram is doing 10-8-6-6-4-4 or something like that.  Dusty is doing his workout tomorrow, as are Ed and Arjun.

Project 2012

By now you have probably read the email, but as we are now a month out from Club Challenge, we have unveiled a new mission: Project 2012.

Project 2012 represents the goal for our team, which is to put at least 20 men under 60 minutes, and 12 women under 70 minutes.  The team we have assembled appears to be the most talented we've ever fielded, and perhaps one of the strongest in Club Challenge history.  However, the nature of Club Challenge is to never assume, and results are never given, but rather earned, on the streets of Columbia.

Looking back in the record books, you will see that only once in the history of Falls Road Running competing in the event has it put all of its male scoring members under an hour (2010).  It is no coincidence that the team placed first among the male teams.  The Howard County Striders are more than prepared to protect their turf, and I expect they will have a formidable team ready to go on February 26th. 

For the women, I erroneously stated the only 4 count - instead, 6 women comprise a scoring team.  This makes our task no easier, as there is less margin for error.  One "off" day can mean the race, especially when the teams of Westminster RRC, Montgomery County, and the Striders, will all be gunning for us.  Our women have a target on their back, and it will take a number of PR performances to capture the title again.

It is no secret that this race is very important to our group, and that our goal each year is to win it.  And each year, the race gets faster and deeper.  It is the most competitive race of its distance, pound for pound, in the area.  By now, most of us have raced it at least once, but there will be a number of CC virgins competing this year.  The important thing to remember is that every runner counts.  In this cross-country style scored event, low score wins.  Every runner you can push back from an opposing team is less points in their pocket, even if you're not one of the scorers for our team. 

Our team is about as full as its going to get, I don't see too many names missing from the list, and based on who we have, the goal of Project 2012 appears to be something we can achieve, but far from easy.  We will need some women to step up big, as well as some men who have not historically run fast there. 

For those of you who feel that you are "too slow" and that you will hurt the team, that is absolutely FALSE!  You cannot hurt the team, believe me, I do the hypothetical scoring scenarios for this race well in advance.  It is, however, a great team event and a chance for you to bond with your other teammates over the challenging hills of the Columbia neighborhoods.  Besides, you never know what you're capable of until you get out there and do it. 

PROJECT 2012!

And now, a quick review of the races from over the weekend.  Chris Snyder and Tim Burns each doubled in the Mile/800m at the Bucknell Bison Open Meet.  Chris ran 4:29.96 and 2:01.28, while Tim ran 4:39.04 and 2:06.81.  At the Hagerstown Community College Invite, Alex Battaglino, fresh off a birthday, ran a 4:35.88 mile to finish 3rd.  And while we took a year off from the craziness of the Miami Marathon weekend, Emily Boss ran a 1:48:56 in the half.  We hope you enjoyed the trip, Emily!

While these performances were all perfectly fine, I had to stray from the beaten path a bit for this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.  The lowly Towson Tigers Men's Basketball team had lost 41 straight games - an NCAA D-I record - that is, until Saturday.  They were victorious by I think one basket, and snapped their supreme losing skid.  All it takes is one, fellas.  Great job, Towson, you are our PDAW for this week!

Get Faded

There was more fading going on at Saturday's Terrapin Invitational at the PG Sports and Learning Complex than Kid and Play's haircuts...

The morning's first event was the 5000m, which saw Tristram Thomas take a brief stab at the lead, bringing the field through 1600m in 4:49, before slowing down to hit 3200 at 10:00, and ultimately finish 10th at 15:53.16. 

The mile was up around noon, and Arjun Majumdar, racing in his first indoor race since March 2008, ran a fairly even split 4:46.28.  In the next heat, Ed Aramayo was in a battle for position from the gun.  He came through the half (809m) in 2:11.5, which had him in a good spot to challenge his 4:23 from last year's Terrapin Invite.  Unfortunately, a brief mental lapse around the 3/4 mark saw his split slip a little, and he finished up at 4:28.62 for 12th.  Chris Snyder, who ran a 4:40 1600 just two weeks ago at the PG Meet, apparently gets into shape real quick, as he finished 3rd in 4:21.76.

Later in the day, after I left, Greg Jubb took 3rd in the 800 with a 1:56.50, and Louis Foudos ran 2:06.50 for 35th. In the 3000m, Liz Laseter finished 4th in 10:34.31. 

Somewhere on the ultra circuit, Dave Ploskonka finished 2nd at the winter edition of the Beast of Burden 100 miler.  In the summer version of 2010, Dave won and ran a PR of 16h19m.  This weekend, with a snow covered path, he ran 17h20m.  The winner was an astounding 14h56m or something insane. 

Out in sunny Carlsbad, California, Andy Gell ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon (a race we've been talking about going out to!) in 1:33:09 to finish 198th.

With a great race on Saturday, this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week honor is going to Chris Snyder.  20 seconds in two weeks?  One way to assure yourself a PDAW is to set the bar low and then rise above it!

We had an awesome showing yesterday on the Club Challenge course - 22 people did some kind of workout, which was run in 26 degree temps.  Very chilly in the hills of Columbia. 

We're on the track tomorrow at 6:30 (warmup) and there will inevitably be a zillion different workouts so you can figure out what you want to do tomorrow.  I know Dustin is doing 40 minute tempo starting at 5:40/mi and working down to 5:20/mi.  He plans on arriving at 6:15 to do a 30 minute warmup and then starting his workout around 6:50pm.  So if you usually work out with Dustin, plan accordingly.  I am going to start getting back into running again, so I'll be starting with something light, perhaps 2-3 miles of 200 on/200 off a la Brennan's "workout" last week.

Seriously, are they Black Simon and Garfunkel?

A Place Called Kokomo

In the Florida Keys, Arjun Majumdar ran the Miami-Key West Ragnar Relay with some friends.  While we were here, suffering through spring-like temperatures, Arjun got to run 3 legs of varying distances, at high rates of speed, with friends, surrounded by quietly beautiful scenery. 

This weekend also kicked off the indoor season for those athletes not averse to running fast around a small oval.  Ed Aramayo traveled up to NYC's Armory for the Metro Coaches Invitational.  Ed raced the 1000m, running 2:34.61 and finishing 3rd in his heat (10th overall).  He therefore established a Team record for the distance.  Later in the meet, he was tapped to run a leg of the 4x800m relay for Central Park Track Club, where he split 2:02.  In the same meet, Alan Webb made his return to racing, finishing 2nd in the 800m.

At the PG Complex on Sunday, Tristram Thomas (4:32), Tim Burns (4:38), and newcomer Chris Snyder (4:40) ran the 1600m.  Results may never show up for this one, as Potomac Valley Track Club no longer puts on these meets, but that was the report I received from TT.  And they channeled their inner Spider Sillery, arriving just 5 minutes before the gun.

Dave Ploskonka clearly feels no need to sit on his laurels, as he headed to Texas for the highly competitive Bandera 100k.  According to an ultra insider, Dave's 10h17m race and 11th place finish is "very, very good."  I'll take it!  Editor's note: I just found out that this event served as the 2012 USATF 100k Trail National Championship, so even cooler!

The BRRC was holding its Frozen Finger 5M on Saturday, but there were a few inconsistencies: 1) it wasn't 5 miles and 2) it was hardly frozen.  With morning temps in the 50s, and a course change to a more cross-country style loop course at the Park School, it wasn't quite the event some were expecting, but I did hear that Denise Knickman took the win.

In a land Down Under, Kevin Frick started his year off with the Sydney Resolution Run 11k, running 50:20 for 29th place. 

But the big result(s) of the weekend belonged to Pete Mulligan.  A few of Pete's long run friends were going to do two marathons this weekend.  The first was the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS, on Saturday.  Pete described the course as "Baltimore from 16-22, except starting at mile 2 and not ending until 24"- in other words, very hilly!  With temperatures well into the 70s, combined with the course profile, Pete's goal of getting under 4 was scaled back.  He finished just over 4:08, and after a short break, hopped in the car for the 3.5 hour drive to Mobile, Alabama, for Sunday's First Light Marathon.  While the course was pancake flat, with a marathon already in the legs, and the temperature hitting 76 degrees, Pete was not feeling it.  Physically, he said, he was alright, but mentally it was a long day for him, as he finished in 4:12:35 for 135th place.  But, for doing the double, Pete was rewarded with an EXTRA medal, and with his bib from Sunday's race, he earned a complimentary ticket to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, featuring Arkansas State and Northern Illinois. 

With 52.4 miles of racing, 3 medals, 2 t-shirts, and a Bowl game appearance, Pete has earned the first Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

This week is an exciting one as Chrissie Ramsey heads down to Houston for the 2012 US Olympic Trials Marathon.  And the Houston Texans head here, to Baltimore, in the NFL Playoffs.  I predict Houston is going to get blazed coming and going.  Go Chrissie!

TRACK WORKOUT UPDATE: While it looks like the popular vote is to do a workout Tuesday, Ed and Arjun are going to look to Wednesday as their preferred day at the track.  If you generally do your workouts with them, get in touch with Ed for details.

Party Like it's 2012

Remember that song that came out at the end of 2010?  Nikki Minaj was on it.  Did their label just not realize that 2012 was a year away?  Did not hear that song ONCE this year. 

Anyway, there was a lot of running going on as we left 2011 and said hello to 2012:

Brennan Feldhausen ran the Run into the New Year 5k in Milwaukee, with his sisters in tow.  He felt that the race distance was accurate, but the mile markers were not, as he hit 3 miles in 16:30, but didn't finish until 18:11.  That's an RM style last 0.1. 

In York, PA, Stacie Wentz, who seriously never races, ran the Double Deuce, a 2 mile run that starts at 11:45pm.  She didn't get to the finish by midnight, but her unofficial time of 16:24 would be a team 2 Mile record (road)!  But rules are rules and I need to see official times for it to be ratified.  Stacie technically was the first race finisher of 2012 that means. 

Collin Anderson did some 24 hour Run Through the Years in AZ, where he ran 100k and then called it a day.  Then he texted "I ran 63 miles yesterday and now I'm rdrukn."

Our 2nd Annual NYE Run had a terrific showing of something like 15 or 17 people, I couldn't believe it!  Meeting at 2pm from THE Washington Monument (yes, that's right, Baltimore had it first), we took a scenic trip along the Jones Falls, through Clipper Mill, up into Druid Hill Park and down through Hopkins. 

The next morning was a whole new year, which meant clean slate Top 10 lists.  Dan Miranda set a great early mark for the 5k, running 16:44 in a 3rd place effort at the Resolution Run 5k.  Jack Flowers was 5th in 17:25, and Joel Gladfelter rounded out the top 10 in 18:30.  On the ladies side, Christine Trzcinski took 3rd in 21:42, Emily Keyes ran 23:16, and Karen Menge, getting her 2012 goals cracking, 23:46.

At the BRRC Father Time Frolic 5 Miler (Prediction Run), Tristram Thomas unsuccessfully predicted that he would run 37:30.  He got to the line, knew he was quick, jogged around a little, but still finished in 35:39.  His miscue landed him in 41st place. 

I found a few other results from 1/1/12, including Luke Belford's 5th place finish at the RASAC New Year's Day 10k (37:53) and results from the Winfield Mile, where Ryan Stasiowski won in 4:47.10 and Louis Foudos won some oreos, running 5:14.80.

Meanwhile, our Sunday Long Run group consisted of myself, Dusty, Nate, Seth, and Conrad, who drove up from Bethesda following a late night 007-themed party.  Boss.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week was for the 6-day week ending 12/31, and I took into account the voting that took place in the TWSS Christmas picture contest.  It was a tie, 4 votes apiece, for Joel and Brennan, so the tiebreak went to Brennan for racing on Saturday.  It was Brennan's first PDAW of 2011, and our last.  This week will include races from 1/1. 

Most impressive, perhaps, was the 18 person showing at the first track workout of the new year (it was 18, not 17, Tristram was right).  With temperatures barely clipping 23 degrees, and a wind chill far, far below that, I was impressed by the showing.  Truly, Winter Track Warriors. 

Tristram and Tim Burns are looking to head down to PG on Sunday for a track meet.  The BRRC Frozen Finger 5M is on Saturday.  Sunday Long Run will be in effect, and I hear a group of girls will be going this week so there will be lots of people to run with!

Your Mom Reads the Blog

And I'm not even kidding. 

What a GREAT showing of Winter Track Warriors last night, although, with mild weather conditions, it really wasn't too bad.  Too people, Cheese and RM, even went shirtless.  Many, many wet butts though.

This little post will contain a few tidbits of information.  First and foremost, by virtue of racing on Christmas Day, notching a win, and setting a Course Record at the Biggest Christmas Day 5k in the US, Ed Aramayo was our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.  Ed won the Joyful 5k (untimed) in Minnesota in 16:30.  The race could potentially be the only race run on Christmas Day anywhere.  I guess you could say Ed was really "Joyful and Triumphant" - get it?  That's a little O Come All Ye Faithful humor for you.

But the fun part of the day was watching the tweets come in with the hashtag #TWSSChristmas.  It was a great way to keep us all connected over the weekend and see where everyone was, and what they were doing.  As mentioned in the email, THIS week's PDAW is going to be awarded to the popular vote winner for the photo submission contest.  The voting will be open until Saturday, and it will be the last PDAW of 2011.  January 1 races will count towards the first full week of 2012. 

Of course, I have received no votes yet, so I may have to take my 4 or 5 favorites and put them in a poll and see if that works better for voting.  Otherwise I'll just have to do it myself.  Sigh.

There will be a New Year's Day "Hangover" Run, this Sunday starting from Gilman.  We have tentatively awarded a start time of 11am, so unless there is a compelling reason to adjust that time, we will stick to it with probably a 90 minute run (with optional 2 hour as Dusty/myself are going 2).  This will enable anyone who watches NFL to get back in time for games.  Apres run we will likely patronize a food establishment of some kind. 

We haven't finalized plans for NYE Run, but will likely start in the more downishtown vicinity, afternoon, maybe an hour run or so.  Chill.

Here is the link to the TWSS Christmas Photo Album, cast your votes!

TWSS Christmas 2011

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

Awards Night Recap

While Awards Night was the highlight of the weekend (and, the year, in my opinion), we did have some race performances that I should have highlighted:

Dave Ploskonka got his revenge on the Hellgate 100k, a race he withdrew from in 2009.  The conditions were favorable, but this is a tough race.  The race starts at 12:01am, which means the first 7 hours are run in complete darkness.  The roads were tough enough to drive through the night, I couldn't imagine having run the trails.  Dave moved up steadily through the field during the race, ultimately finishing 11th overall and 9th male in 13:11:16.  Alyssa Godesky, meanwhile, was racing on the heels of an extremely successful, and long, triathlon season.  Unsure of both her ultra fitness, and her trail running skills, she was not sure what to expect.  After a pre-race dinner of Wendy's, her stomach was unsettled throughout the first half, and while she didn't look bad, she was uncomfortable.  At the mile 42 point, Carly Page joined her for the remainder of the run, and the two laid waste to the competitors in close proximity.  From the last aid station (7 miles to go) they passed 4 or 5 runners, including the woman who was in 4th, and put serious time into them.  Alyssa's second straight fast finish earned her the "Coffee is for Closers" Award on Sunday night.  It also landed her in 4th in 14:32:40.

In other trail racing news, Lisa Ievers tackled her a) first ever trail race and b) first run over a marathon in the Tashka 50k, somewhere in Georgia or Alabama or something.  She took a few spills, and absorbed a pretty banged up ankle, but walked away with the W in 5:08:30, well ahead of the next female finisher.  Not a bad first attempt!

Out in Washington State, US Club XC Nationals were going on, with men racing 10k and women racing 6k.  Cool to see some names of old mixing it up again, along with some newer faces of the sport (including local, Matt Centrowitz, 4th in the men's race).  GRC sent a team and had some solid performances.  Former Baltimore resident, and dentist, Kyle Smits, ran 35:46 for 299th.  Yikes.  That would be a top 10 time in a lot of races around here!  Julia Webb, expectant mother, ran 21:53 in her race. 

The Annapolis Striders put on their Anniversary Run 15k, which PJ Anderer (this year's Ke$ha Award winner) finished 42nd in.  And down in DC, Alex Waldt and Baltimore turncoat, Liz Laseter, placed 15th and 6th in their genders, respectively, in 28:25 and 31:01. 

That led to this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week: Dave Ploskonka, and the NOS Button award went to Alyssa.  Carly took home a very well-deserved KC Masterpiece Award.

Then it was onto the 5th Annual Awards Night.  Major thanks to Jim, Karen and Pete for obviously all they already do, but particularly for them bringing alligator bits and turducken.  It was a great feast!  The attendance was great, and I was pretty proud of myself for being marginally better organized for this year.  Here's a rundown of a few of our marquee awards:

MVP (M): Dustin Meeker
MVP (F): Denise Knickman

Most Improved (M): Pete Mulligan
Most Improved (F): Alyssa Godesky

Comeback of the Year (M): Kris Simms
Comeback of the Year (F): Chrissie Ramsey

Breakthrough Performer (M): Pat McLoughlin
Breakthrough Performer (F): Diane Heiser

Performance of the Year (M): Joel Gladfelter's 2:51:21 Miami Marathon (17 minute PR)
Performance of the Year (F): Chrissie Ramsey's 1:14:57 Philly Half (1:33 PR, qualifies for Olympic Trials)

And of course, we can't forget about the Brita Grothe Best Ass Award, which went to New Becky Parks, who also won some other awards, like the Ed Aramayo First Loser Award, and a few other awards involving whining.

Rock of Ages

That seemed to be the theme of the weekend, with Dallas "Run the Rock" Marathon and Las Vegas "Is This Really A" Marathon, or is it a party?

In local racing, Dan Miranda and Eileen Fleck took respective wins at the Jingle Bell 5k in Ellicott City.  Dan ran 16:43, a good 40 seconds up on 2nd place, and Eileen ran 19:12.  That's Eileen's 3rd 5k victory in a month, and a good end to her all season.  For Dan, he it was also a nice little diversion from his last two weekends of racing long stuff.

At Brian's Run 5M, Chrissie Ramsey finished 4th in 28:51, which she said afterwards was the result of her racing stupidly.  Obviously not a bad time, but slower than the average pace of her half from two weeks ago.  Andy Thivierge, also two weeks off his own big race at Philly, slotted in at 37th in 31:14.

Then it was down to the National Harbor for the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k.  Yes, we heard this was an absolutely feces expo, but we'll dismiss that for the time and just mention Christa Wagner's awesome 15k race.  She finished 32nd in 1:03:03, which is under 6:50 pace, and a huge result for her.

In Palm Beach, Lee DiPietro returned to the site of some of her lifetimes palmares, as she finished 2nd at the Marathon of the Palms in 3:18:09.  Apparently it was a challenging day down there, with wind over 20mph and temps in the mid 70s. 

At Dallas White Rock Marathon, PJ Anderer rocked a 28 minute PR, running 3:35:38.  His plan was to go out with the 3:30 group, but that plan was scratched when there WAS no 3:30 group, just a 3:25.  He knew by going out with them it could be a suicide mission, but he threw caution to the wind (which there was a lot of in TX) and took off guns-a-blazing.  Threw the half in 1:41:30, he was well ahead of pace until 17, when the 3:25 group caught and passed him.  The last 5 miles were a grind, but he got it done, and was rewarded with a great new PR.

In nighttime action, David Lee took on the Las Vegas Marathon.  This year's race started at 4pm, with the half starting at 5:30pm, and the newly designed course kept runners closer to the action, rather than taking them out to the desert.  David started out hot, keeping the 3:10 goal in sight through the half, but around 20 he must have been feeling it, as his pace slowed.  He was able to pull it back though, and finish at 3:23:43, a 1 minute PR for him.

Great job everyone, nice to see marathon season was extended by a week.  And for our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week - PJ Anderer - it was a great end to a year he went into with no expectations!

Tomorrow some people will be hitting the track for various workouts.  We are relabeling TNT as "WTW" or Winter Track Warriors for the time being.  6:30pm still the meeting time.  Ed will be doing shorter stuff to get his turnover going ahead of his indoor race this weekend, while Tristram appears to be doing 1mi-3mi-1mi. 

AWARDS NIGHT is Sunday, 5pm, Falls Road Running Store.  If you haven't RSVP'd, please do so!

That Shhh Cray

With all those Turkey Type Runs, Trots, Gobblers, and Gallops, there was a lot of racing going on from California to the New York island.  Well, actually, more like Concord, NH, to Omaha, NE.  And down to Outer Banks, and out to Chicago, and Connecticut to Corning.

Here's the local stuff first.  The ringers came out of the woodwork for the Towson Turkey Trot, with some really quick times being put down.  Our very own Steve Levin, absent from racing for what seems like years now, ran 17:29 for 11th.  New Becky Parks, once again relegated to 4th, ran a 19:52.  At the Falls Road Gobble Cobble 7k...4 mile...6k, Denise Knickman retained her title, while Dave Ploskonka finished 14th, and Michael Rady finished 30th.  Christine Trzcsinki was 7th among women. 

In PA, it was a Stott-Simms reunion at the Tel Hai Turkey Bowl 5k.  Kris Simms, Tom Stott, Patty Sweeney-Stott, and it looks like even Haleigh Stott participated in the race.  Results should be posted sooner or later.  In Concord, NH, at the Galloping Gobbler 4 Mile, Nate Brigham took 3rd in 21:51.  Down in the Outer Banks, Terry Decker (8th or 9th, 19:23) and Molly Eagen (25:07) ran the Gobbler 5k.  Lisa Ievers once again ran the Pie and Glove 5k in Corning, NY, running 19:23. 

In his first race as an Omaha resident, Ben Ingram made it clear he's here to compete, winning the Joslyn Castle Turkey Trot 5k in 16:30.  As I have now been corrected by two huge nerds, I incorrectly referred to Warren Buffett as the Wizard of Omaha when he is really the Oracle of Omaha.  So guess what Ben, see if any of us pays attention to your results from now on, if you didn't like my creative nickname.

Now that he lives in Seattle, chances are low that we'll ever see Kyle Smits again, but I remembered that he usually does the Pequots 5 Miler in Connecticut, where his wife's family is from, and I guessed right.  He finished 7th in 27:23, and will be out at Club XC Nationals next weekend in Washington - so while none of us is running, GRC guys can look out for him!

At the Palatine Turkey Trot, Arjun Majumdar opted for the 2 mile race, and finished 7th in 10:50, thereby establishing a team 2 mile road record!  Melissa Majurridar ran the 5 miler, and finished 16th in 37:12.

The NCR Trail Marathon and Relay took place on Saturday, and Dan Miranda ran 3:01:56 for 16th.  A disappointing day for him, but at least took the sting out of the previous weekend's Philly attempt.  He's written his thoughts about it on his blog.  Kevin Frick ran 3:15:40 and Brian Benda finished at 3:36:53.  In the relay, Jackie Truncellito was on the winning co-ed team, and 2nd place team overall, in 3:01:58.  Emily Keyes was on the 6th place co-ed team in 3:31:18. 

The last result from the weekend was Kevin McGrath, running the Navesink Challenge 15k in 1:16:00, a full 4.5 minutes faster than he ran last year after getting back from Chile!

I had awarded the Purple Drink Athlete of the Week to Ben for winning his first race in his new city, as it's his 4th city in 4 years.  But now I'm regretting it.  PSYCHE.  Ben informed me, though, of some bad news: he and Kendra were going to come out for Celtic Solstice, but he's got to fly out here the weekend before that to take a final exam, and CS weekend flights were really expensive, so he will be unable to make it.  So if you're around on the 10th, try to check Ben out as he may briefly come up to Baltimore during the afternoon before heading to the airport Sunday morning.

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!

Sometimes I Get a Good Feeling

There were a good number of races this weekend, and we had some pretty awesome results, but I'll be completely honest: they are basically unimportant to me.  Psyche!  But seriously, the results from yesterday's New York City Marathon were beyond insane and captivated us yesterday.

First, on Saturday, Vince Collins and Dustin Meeker took the Downs Park 5 Miler by storm, finishing 1st and 2nd in 25:52 and 25:56, respectively.  Dustin was the two-time defending champion, and was looking to three-peat, and earn his third ham.  Vince must have been really hungry, as the pair ran together until a half mile to go, when Vince turned on the afterburners.  For Dusty, he would have to settle for a 15 second PR.  Andrew Jacobson finished 5th in 28:29.

New Becky Parks really likes small, probably inaccurate 5k races where she has a chance for the overall win.  This time she finished 3rd (1st F) in 20:05, at the Run for Red 5k in Sparks.

Up in NJ, at fabled Holmdel Park, Alyssa Godesky tore into the State Championship cross country course, running a new 5k PR of 21:00.  That was a minute beating of her previous 5k best, and this is far from a road, or fast course.  I would say it's at least a minute or more slower than what you'd run on the road.  This blazing fast run earned Alyssa this week's NOS Award. 

In Indianapolis, Michael Rady ran the Monumental Marathon, recording a 3:37:20, which was an 8 minute PR!

On Sunday, Greg Danger Jubb won the ClusterF Rockville 5k in 15:58, with Louis Foudos in 5th at 17:58.  In the 10k, Dan Miranda wasn't able to get the win, but managed to record a new personal best of 34:27 in his 3rd place effort.

At the Inland Trail Half Marathon in Ohio, Terence Baptiste got one of the best victories of his career, winning in 1:18:50.  The time wasn't far off his personal best, and I'm sure the win was a great reward.

Dave Ploskonka ran the Fire on the Mountain 50k, which had been postponed from last weekend due to inclement weather.  It sounds like the trails were in pretty bad shape, but Dave made it through, albeit way slower than he thought it would take.

Then it was all about NYC, and if you were following the Twitter feed, you'd know it was a busy day!  A lot of people to follow along the way, and it basically shut down my phone at one point!  I was disappointed I couldn't upload any pics, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.  Since I'd like to follow up on last week's great interviews with everyone, I will probably have something on the blog later this week as a little recap of everyone's race.  But for now, here's how it went:

Patrick O'Rourke finished up at 2:45:53.  Going into the race he was looking to run 2:40 or better, and based on his workouts and races, it seemed reasonable.  He hit the half in 1:20:06, but the miles started creeping up into the mid 6s, and it was just too much.  But the held on and that's a great finish.

Brennan Feldhausen is always able to keep things in perspective, and he'll bounce back from Sunday.  The plan was to come through the half in 1:20-1:21 (he was 1:20:23) and then pick it up from there.  He knew he was capable of averaging 6:00/mi, and he had done everything right.  But after 20, the onset of a migraine began to derail his race.  By 23, he was not looking good.  With a mile to go, it was taking every ounce of energy for him to run straight lines, his vision was gone.  But Brennan is a champion (much like the Green Bay Packers) and if a 2:47:21 is the worst day he's going to have, that's a pretty good bad day.

Diane Heiser ran the distance race of her life, and one of the best marathon performances we've ever seen.  After last year's Chicago Marathon, we weren't sure if we'd see Diane run a marathon again, so I was surprised to hear she had signed up for NYC this year.  Diane is one of the fastest runners around, but we had no idea what she was really capable of at the distance.  She blazed through the half in 1:25 and change, and we thought it was really fast.  Would she, could she hold up over the second half?  Answer: a resounding yes.  Diane finished 34th among all women, a remarkable accomplishment in a race this large, and was the 9th American woman to cross the line.  Her 2:53:46 is the 4th fastest time anyone from our group has ever run, behind Chrissie (2:44 and 2:52) and Mary Bertram (2:49).  It also puts her in a position to give serious thought to running another marathon or two in the next couple of years, perhaps in time for 2016...

Joel Gladfelter has had an up and down kind of year.  He ran a terrific 2:51 marathon in Miami back in January - at the time a 17 minute PR - but then spent the rest of the spring recovering from a foot injury.  He was locked into NYC, but wasn't able to start his training cycle when he was targeting.  He made adjustments, changed on the fly, and consulted with his trusted advisors on how to best prepare for the race.  He wanted to run faster than his Miami time, but could he?  Was it a reasonable goal?  In the weeks leading up to NYC, he scaled back his ambition and thought, let me just have a good race, and let the chips fall where they may.  This worked out in his favor, as he ran 1:26:40 through the half, and finished at 2:55:32.  He was pretty pumped.  This would previously have been a 13 minute PR.

Carly Page's expectations were high, and I think I can say for all of us that we expected her to be great yesterday.  Her previous marathon was an awesome debut - a 3:12 at Mohawk Hudson River Marathon last year.  She felt like she could be under 3:05, and maybe get close to 3 hours.  She went out smart, trying to run 7:00/mi, and was running great.  After the half, she felt good enough to push it, running some miles in the 6:40s.  But soon that great feeling seceded from her body, and she was working hard to maintain miles above 7.  She got herself across the line in 3:04:04, which means her half splits were 1:31:52-1:32:12, which is unbelievable. 

Suzanne Hurst wasn't sure what to expect.  Her training left her feeling like maybe a 3:15, 3:20 was the best she could do, but her racer's instinct and competitiveness told her to go for it.  She ran about 10 or 11 miles with Carly, before sliding of pace a little.  After a 1:33 half, she was going to have to get tough to hold on, and ultimately made it home in 3:13:17.  I think this is a great result for Suzanne.  She ran 3:10 at Boston this year, and this time back that result up well.

Spence Green was running on what I presume was a targeted pace, coming through the half in just over 1:25.  Spence is no stranger to low to mid 2:50 marathons, and we didn't think that pace was going to cause a problem, but apparently Sunday was not his day.  Having been there, I know what that feels like.  His last few miles were a death march, and I'm sure he was quite happy to be finished when he crossed the line.

Nina Hartman ran 3:18:13, which is not what she was hoping to run.  It looked like she was setting herself up for a 3:10 race, which is within her realm of abilities, but the back half was definitely tough.  I haven't caught up with Nina yet, but for now, she has earned herself a little bit of time off.  The good news: it's still 4 minutes faster than she ran at Cleveland Marathon earlier this year!

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week could be no other than Diane, whose remarkable time will surely stand as one of the best performances of 2011.  And like I said in the email, when you have the advisement of Chrissie, herself a great performer at NYC, we shouldn't have expected anything less!  Great work Diane, and all NYC runners!

A big extra special shout to all of our great spectators, who took trains, buses, and cars to get up to watch; who crashed on floors, couches, and aerobeds; who stayed in...Newark.  Here is a list of those who were out there supporting: Amy Horst, Christa Wagner, Andy Olson, Conrad Laskowski, Jen Koshy, Sara Spears (omitted in the email - oops!), Ed Aramayo, Arjun Majumdar, Melissa Majumdar, Erin Feldhausen, Ruth Swedler, Meg McNew, Alyssa Godesky, and Ben Ingram!

36th Marine Corps Marathon

As the email I just sent detailed, our very own Emily Hurley ran one of the best races in our brief history, as she powered her way to a 10th place finish at yesterday's Marine Corps Marathon.  Her time of 2:56:53 is beyond impressive, and bettered her 3:01:43 from the Boston Marathon earlier this year. 

Emily was running inspired.  On each of her shoulders she paid tribute to two of the people who she was running to honor.  On one, her grandmother, who served in World War II as a Marine; the other, a high school friend who was killed in action earlier this year.  At mile 18, after being fairly quiet for a few miles, she let us know what the words were all about, and at that moment I knew she was going to have a strong finish.

1:27 at the half, she was clicking off 6:40-6:45 per mile all the way to mile 20, when the pace crept up towards 7:00.  And that's where the race gets really tough.  The final 10k are a grind, not so much in physical difficulty but mentally.  After crossing that terrible bridge into Virginia, you go out and back for a little while before the 2 mile shot into the finish along the highway, and, in the truest form of cruelty, a 200m straight shot uphill to the finish.

But Emily got it done, and we couldn't be more proud!  10th place at a race this big is a huge accomplishment.  To run a near 5 minute PR is even more impressive.  That now puts her 6th on our Top Ten Individual Marathon performance list for women.

This earned her the Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, no question!

A very special shout out to one of GRC's finest, Andy Chicken Tender Sovonick.  CTR was going to run with me for my long run, and ended up running 17 miles as we ran alongside Emily from Georgetown on.  Andy obviously had never met Emily, and what was even greater was when I dropped, at mile 20, he was going to just cross the bridge and call it a day - but instead he ran with Emily through mile 26.  A great display of sportsmanship earned him our KC Masterpiece Award for coming through in the clutch (easily). 

Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs

I don't know how Brennan Feldhausen even found this event (Oktober Lauf Fest Half Marathon), but it gave out pretty much the sickest swag of all time.  Not only was his finisher "medal" some kind of wood-whittled whistle, but his award for winning the event is this:

Pretty freaking sweet.

Races were limited this weekend, it seems as if nobody wants to put on races other than marathons in the fall.  The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Hunt Valley was the day's big event, not only by size (reports of 32,000 were scaled back to 23,000) but also by virtue of being televised.  So, at 8 o'clock in the morning, I was able to watch Dave Berdan get the victory (15:29ish) with a quickly-getting-into-shape Greg Jubb in 2nd about 20 seconds back.  Also on TV I spotted Jake Marren, who is just happy to be running again (he ran 18:10), and Lillian Pinault, who finished with a PCPR of 20:35.  Kelly Ort also ran, finishing 3rd in her age group.  Of course, results will likely never get posted, because this race is not about results.

Just down the road about 2 miles, at Oregon Ridge Park, the Dustin Bauer Memorial "Run for Life" 5k took place.  I thought the times seemed slow, and then was informed that it is a cross country run, up and down the hills of OR on the grass.  The times then made sense.  Rory Jenkins, former FRRS employee/lived in Alaska for a while, got the win in 17:30.  Jon Miller finished 13th in 20:03 (I inadvertently credited him with the time of 12th place previously) and PJ Anderer ran 22:28 for 32nd, which he was pleased with the day after a 14 mile run.

Saturday was the Princeton Running Club Invitational (8k XC), where Alex Waldt the young helped his Maryland team to a 2nd place finish, as he finished 3rd in a time of 27:20.  Great work dude!

This led to our decision for Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, and as he has been super impressive of late, not even just running fast or getting wins, but his on-air presence when being interviewed ALL THE TIME, this week's honor goes to Dave "the teacher from Garrison Forest" Berdan.

In other news, Meg McNew, with her NFL pick of the week Cleveland Browns, improved her record to 2-2.  This week, she's upping the ante.  Not only has she provided us with her pick (Kansas City Chiefs) but she has provided a line (-10).  They play the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night.

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.