It's no secret: I love spectating races.
Don't get me wrong, I love racing, too. But there are some weekends where the racing action is so intense, so exciting, that they have the ability to light a fire under everyone. When one person does well, it's cool. When dozens of people do well, it's a movement.
And that's precisely what this past weekend is. While I wouldn't rank it ahead of weekends like Boston, Baltimore, Rockville or Club Challenge, the Shamrock 5k is in the upper echelon of event weekends. This year we had people scattered all over, from the land of the pilgrims to the shores of Virginia.
Saturday was the race formerly known as the National Marathon and Half Marathon. The event organizer, who shall remain nameless, is fortunate that this race was established before they inherited it. The half is a fun race; you take a nice little trip throughout DC while experiencing a challenging hill in the middle. Then you get to take in one of my absolute favorite views: running head-on towards the Capitol. Max Hacker ran an incredible race, setting a personal best of 1:13:44. I'd say he's squarely on track for a grand performance at Boston. Chrissie Ramsey was in 2nd place at mile 11 before she came roaring back to win the race for the 2nd time in 3 years. Her time of 1:19:27 was a little slower than her time last year (1:18:45ish) which got her 3rd. A win is a win! Megan DiGregorio ran 1:23:26, which was about 23 seconds faster than she ran there last year. There were also big performances from Alley Firey, whose 1:48 was faster than she ended the 2013 season, and Stephanie Granlund, who ran an 11 minute PR and nearly broke 2 hours (2:00:14).
The marathon was highlighted by Curt Forst's 2:53:40. Ryan Dietrich finished at 3:06:43, and Dave Ploskonka guided his 3:10 group into a 3:09:44 finish. Dave Alianiello ran 3:48, and the milestone of the day went to Pete Mulligan, who ran his 50th marathon!
Sunday morning was a big one for Cory Donovan. He'd been targeting the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon since shortly after Chicago last fall. We all know Cory is a pretty enthusiastic guy to say the least, and his excitement was boundless throughout this miserable winter as he churned out week after week at 80+ mpw, recording a high week of over 90 miles. He was fit and ready to take on the race. He came through the half in 1:31, and ran well through 22, when the winds picked up and impeded his progress. He held onto finish at 3:11 and a two minute PR.
A couple of the guys headed up to Massachusetts for the New Bedford Half Marathon. To quote the locals, this is one wicked pissa of a race. Nate Brigham had an off day, running 1:13:30, but that was only good enough for 67th! And it's not like it's a cake course on a perfect day. No, it's hilly, and it was cold and windy. Nick Klastava has been In the Zone after kicking his season off with that GW 10k. He ran a 1:17:45 for a PR himself, and finished right with former Falls Road employee and now MA resident, Rory Jenkins.
And then it was time for the fastest 5k around, the Shamrock 5k. The race keeps getting bigger and bigger and the field gets clownier and clownier. But hey, it's still better than a Color Run, am I right? With a couple of the favorites out of commissions, due either to illness/injury or failure to register, it was anyone's race...or so we thought. From the gun Erik Anderson had the lead, and built it up to a comfortable margin as he cruised to the win in 14:46. But, giving chase behind was Dustin Meeker, who ran an incredible 15:05. This knocked out his old personal best of 15:17 set at last year's BAA 5k. 2nd place earned him some ducats and provided some confidence that his training is working!
Ed Aramayo was next up in 15:49 (6th) and Dan Miranda was 7th in 16:04. That's a 9 second PR for him, and it came on the heels of a 20 mile run the day prior. Jason Farber came in at 16:40, and I was really glad to see Arjun Majumdar have a strong run at 16:55. Kris Simms, another year older now, ran 17:04, and big Tom Stack finished at 17:25. Joel Brusewitz crossed the line about 10 pounds heavier than normal but managed a respectable 18:04 (hey, he and his wife just had a kid, I'd say it's okay). Jon Miller came through at 18:17 and Tom Stott, who hasn't raced in a year and a half after breaking the same bone in his foot twice last year, put forth a great effort to get under 19 minutes.
The ladies race was one for the ages. A year ago it was Melissa Majumdar taking the win in a new PR of 17:40, ahead of Meg D at 17:48. This year Meg wanted to regain her title, but she had her work cut out for her. With 1200m to go it was a pack of 4 women and looked like it could come down to a kick. Meg mitigated that circumstance and took the win in a new PR of 17:34 (the day after her 1:23 half!) and Melissa Tanner ran the fastest 5k for her in a few years, taking 2nd in 17:42. Amy Horst (running as Christa Wagner) hasn't been running a ton lately, so her 19:01 was somewhat of a surprise - but an awesome one! And Sara Damiano's 20:29 was a minute PR.
Incredible performances make me excited to get out and race. I will continue to patiently bide my time until my season kicks off, and in the meantime I'll just watch all of you!
We awarded this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week to Dusty. Then it got cold, and snowed again.
Showing posts with label shamrock 5k. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shamrock 5k. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
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!
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!
Monday, March 12, 2012
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.
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!
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.
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| 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!
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| (L to R): RM, Dusty, Pat, Steve, Dan |
Monday, March 5, 2012
Shamrock 5k Pickup
I'm sure all of you have seen the communication from the people that put on the Shamrock 5k informing you that there will be NO race day packet pickup. Instead you must plan to pick up your packet from one of their five locations. They mentioned which days each location will host a pickup, but presumably the most convenient for the majority of us is Friday's pickup at their new spot in McHenry Row.
If you are unable to pick up your own packet, you can have someone else pick it up for you by providing a letter indicating that person is picking it up.
GRC folks who are racing: I will be picking up Klim's and Andy's stuff, so if you all just send me an email (rmcgrath732@gmail.com) stating that I, Ryan McGrath, will be picking your stuff up (and include your name), I will get it to you on race day.
Lazy Baltimore folks: Since the new location is more convenient, I will pick yours up if you absolutely need it, but it will be up to you from there to arrange to get it from me. You can also get it from their Timonium location on Saturday.
The race is at 1:15pm on Sunday. Remember, clocks go forward this weekend.
If you are unable to pick up your own packet, you can have someone else pick it up for you by providing a letter indicating that person is picking it up.
GRC folks who are racing: I will be picking up Klim's and Andy's stuff, so if you all just send me an email (rmcgrath732@gmail.com) stating that I, Ryan McGrath, will be picking your stuff up (and include your name), I will get it to you on race day.
Lazy Baltimore folks: Since the new location is more convenient, I will pick yours up if you absolutely need it, but it will be up to you from there to arrange to get it from me. You can also get it from their Timonium location on Saturday.
The race is at 1:15pm on Sunday. Remember, clocks go forward this weekend.
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Final Countdown
To 21224's new Chipotle!
Following tomorrow night's track session, Pat and I will be bailing on the abhorrently crowded Charles Village Chipotle (CVC) and will be instead heading down our way to the new Canton Can Company Chipotle (hereafter referred to as C4). Speaking of tomorrow's track workout, in honor of the "Strides of March", the workout is going to be 15x200, so really just 200 on, 200 off type thing. It will be a low key workout for those who raced this past weekend, and for those just getting back onto the track.
Yesterday was a tremendous day of racing. Yet again we had some amazing individual performances, including what I believe to be SIX 5k PRs set at Shamrock, out of 18 runners. More impressively, we had 9 in the top 21 of the race (3902 finishers) and each of those 9 was under 17 minutes. Dustin Meeker paved the way, finishing in a new PR (by 12 seconds) of 15:33, and, more importantly, earned the ignominious distinction of being first-man-out-of-the-money in 4th place. Ed Aramayo had high hopes going into this race, looking to not only rock his PR (15:36) but possibly compete for the win. With an abundance of extremely talented GRC guys in the field, it was by no means an easy task, but after a solid indoor season he felt confident. After a hot first mile (something in the 4:35 range) a gap grew and Ed came across the line in 5th, in 15:40. A great time for most, but left Ed feeling a little disappointed.
Following that group was young Alex Waldt, who took 14th in 16:36, and then the six-pack that included Pat McLoughlin (15th, 16:42), Seth Tibbitts (17th, 16:47), Tom Stott (18th, 16:48), Mike Mashner (19th, 16:51), Brennan Feldhausen (20th, 16:53) and Kris Simms (as Joel Gladfelter, 21st, 16:56). Let's see: 9 second PR for Pat, 28 second PR for Seth, 3 second PR for Tom, 26 second PR for Zero. Kris ran an inspiring race, as if the pyramids he once helped build were lifted from his shoulders. Decades of suffering led to this day of glory, where for those 3.1 miles, he was free. It was at Shamrock 2008 where Kris first broke the 17 minute barrier, and exactly one month to the day before he turns 39, once again willed his body to do the same.
In 29th place, Joel Hollywood Brusewitz ran a 17:32. I was impressed by this because I really didn't know if he had even been running. The next runner I know has not been running much, instead he's been struggling with a chronic foot injury for almost the entire last year - but Jake Marren still came out and put his best foot forward, running 18:05 for 37th. Almost right behind him was Diane Heiser, our speed demon with a lab coat, who recorded a great win over perennial powerhouse, and defending champ, Sherry Stick. Diane's time (18:13) was just off her PCPR (post-collegiate PR) and showed that she is working her way back into great form. Thomas Stewart was hoping for a better day than he had, but still managed to put down an 18:27, which is pretty excellent for a guy who just turned 50. Meg DiGregorio was just after him, in 18:34, and finished 3rd for women, earning herself some extra money to put towards a map of the city.
Some of the other notables were Tall Matt Augustin (19:09), David Lee (19:20), Mike Niebrzydowski (19:37) and Kelly Meier, who ran a PR of 21:27 (22nd F).
There were a few other highlights from the weekend, including Garrett Ash's 17th place (27:01) DC Shamrock 8k (great pic of him rocking the maroon FRRS singlet on the Washington Running Report); Alyssa Godesky broke into competitive short-distance duathloning, finishing 2nd in the St. Patrick's Duathlon (2.5mi run/14mi bike/2.5mi run); Matty Blaze and Tink (I realized I keep calling her Twink in the email, I think I'm thinking of Twink Caplan) each ran well at the NB Indoor National Championship, finishing 8th and 16th, respectively in their divisions of the Mile; and Julia Webb ran a 10:25.3 in a 2-person heat of the 3000m steeplechase in a meet in Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
It was a difficult decision for Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, as another 6 PRs, a 2nd place finish in the duathlon and some all-around great efforts were up for consideration, but, the PDAW and Charlie Sheen have one thing in common, "Winning," and therefore the honor goes to Diane Heiser.
Following tomorrow night's track session, Pat and I will be bailing on the abhorrently crowded Charles Village Chipotle (CVC) and will be instead heading down our way to the new Canton Can Company Chipotle (hereafter referred to as C4). Speaking of tomorrow's track workout, in honor of the "Strides of March", the workout is going to be 15x200, so really just 200 on, 200 off type thing. It will be a low key workout for those who raced this past weekend, and for those just getting back onto the track.
Yesterday was a tremendous day of racing. Yet again we had some amazing individual performances, including what I believe to be SIX 5k PRs set at Shamrock, out of 18 runners. More impressively, we had 9 in the top 21 of the race (3902 finishers) and each of those 9 was under 17 minutes. Dustin Meeker paved the way, finishing in a new PR (by 12 seconds) of 15:33, and, more importantly, earned the ignominious distinction of being first-man-out-of-the-money in 4th place. Ed Aramayo had high hopes going into this race, looking to not only rock his PR (15:36) but possibly compete for the win. With an abundance of extremely talented GRC guys in the field, it was by no means an easy task, but after a solid indoor season he felt confident. After a hot first mile (something in the 4:35 range) a gap grew and Ed came across the line in 5th, in 15:40. A great time for most, but left Ed feeling a little disappointed.
Following that group was young Alex Waldt, who took 14th in 16:36, and then the six-pack that included Pat McLoughlin (15th, 16:42), Seth Tibbitts (17th, 16:47), Tom Stott (18th, 16:48), Mike Mashner (19th, 16:51), Brennan Feldhausen (20th, 16:53) and Kris Simms (as Joel Gladfelter, 21st, 16:56). Let's see: 9 second PR for Pat, 28 second PR for Seth, 3 second PR for Tom, 26 second PR for Zero. Kris ran an inspiring race, as if the pyramids he once helped build were lifted from his shoulders. Decades of suffering led to this day of glory, where for those 3.1 miles, he was free. It was at Shamrock 2008 where Kris first broke the 17 minute barrier, and exactly one month to the day before he turns 39, once again willed his body to do the same.
In 29th place, Joel Hollywood Brusewitz ran a 17:32. I was impressed by this because I really didn't know if he had even been running. The next runner I know has not been running much, instead he's been struggling with a chronic foot injury for almost the entire last year - but Jake Marren still came out and put his best foot forward, running 18:05 for 37th. Almost right behind him was Diane Heiser, our speed demon with a lab coat, who recorded a great win over perennial powerhouse, and defending champ, Sherry Stick. Diane's time (18:13) was just off her PCPR (post-collegiate PR) and showed that she is working her way back into great form. Thomas Stewart was hoping for a better day than he had, but still managed to put down an 18:27, which is pretty excellent for a guy who just turned 50. Meg DiGregorio was just after him, in 18:34, and finished 3rd for women, earning herself some extra money to put towards a map of the city.
Some of the other notables were Tall Matt Augustin (19:09), David Lee (19:20), Mike Niebrzydowski (19:37) and Kelly Meier, who ran a PR of 21:27 (22nd F).
There were a few other highlights from the weekend, including Garrett Ash's 17th place (27:01) DC Shamrock 8k (great pic of him rocking the maroon FRRS singlet on the Washington Running Report); Alyssa Godesky broke into competitive short-distance duathloning, finishing 2nd in the St. Patrick's Duathlon (2.5mi run/14mi bike/2.5mi run); Matty Blaze and Tink (I realized I keep calling her Twink in the email, I think I'm thinking of Twink Caplan) each ran well at the NB Indoor National Championship, finishing 8th and 16th, respectively in their divisions of the Mile; and Julia Webb ran a 10:25.3 in a 2-person heat of the 3000m steeplechase in a meet in Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
It was a difficult decision for Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, as another 6 PRs, a 2nd place finish in the duathlon and some all-around great efforts were up for consideration, but, the PDAW and Charlie Sheen have one thing in common, "Winning," and therefore the honor goes to Diane Heiser.
Friday, March 11, 2011
This Place About to BLOW
Dirt and glitter cover the floor
We're pretty and sick
We're young and we're bored
Is everyone ready for the weekend? It's going to be sick. First, TERPS play Duke tonight at 7pm. Second, Pub Run is tomorrow. Third, Shamrock 5k is Sunday. So here's the weekend's lineup:
PUB RUN
Run starts at 8am from Slainte in Fells Point. I heard from a few people about helping, so sent an email out with assignments. If you find that you are able to help, please show up at Slainte between 7 and 7:15. We'll need help with registration and corraling people out on the course. Following the run, feel free to stick around and hang out for a bit at Slainte!
SHAMROCK 5K
Race starts at 1:15pm. Parking, for those who may be coming from areas where you have to drive, is probably best available on or near Guilford Ave, particularly under 83. Remember, if you're picking up your stuff on race day, you must pick it up by 11:30 from the Downtown Athletic Club. No exceptions are made after this time.
POST SHAMROCK
Obviously people hang out at the finish for a little while, which is always fun. But, for post-post race activities, Ed and I have conferred and will open our house for a fun afternoon on the rooftop deck. As much as I don't want to let anybody know where we live, I will do so in the name of fun. Plus, we live two blocks from the Square now, so it opens up that world of debauchery (and food). I will head home shortly after the race, so people are welcome to come over we'll say from 2:30pm. Our address is 925 S. Ellwood Ave. If you know where the Square is, it's real close. If you're not familiar, the best idea is probably to take Boston St and make a left turn onto Ellwood (near DuBurns Arena) and then park wherever you can find a spot on that street (it's a one-way street, headed north).
We're pretty and sick
We're young and we're bored
Is everyone ready for the weekend? It's going to be sick. First, TERPS play Duke tonight at 7pm. Second, Pub Run is tomorrow. Third, Shamrock 5k is Sunday. So here's the weekend's lineup:
PUB RUN
Run starts at 8am from Slainte in Fells Point. I heard from a few people about helping, so sent an email out with assignments. If you find that you are able to help, please show up at Slainte between 7 and 7:15. We'll need help with registration and corraling people out on the course. Following the run, feel free to stick around and hang out for a bit at Slainte!
SHAMROCK 5K
Race starts at 1:15pm. Parking, for those who may be coming from areas where you have to drive, is probably best available on or near Guilford Ave, particularly under 83. Remember, if you're picking up your stuff on race day, you must pick it up by 11:30 from the Downtown Athletic Club. No exceptions are made after this time.
POST SHAMROCK
Obviously people hang out at the finish for a little while, which is always fun. But, for post-post race activities, Ed and I have conferred and will open our house for a fun afternoon on the rooftop deck. As much as I don't want to let anybody know where we live, I will do so in the name of fun. Plus, we live two blocks from the Square now, so it opens up that world of debauchery (and food). I will head home shortly after the race, so people are welcome to come over we'll say from 2:30pm. Our address is 925 S. Ellwood Ave. If you know where the Square is, it's real close. If you're not familiar, the best idea is probably to take Boston St and make a left turn onto Ellwood (near DuBurns Arena) and then park wherever you can find a spot on that street (it's a one-way street, headed north).
Monday, December 27, 2010
Shamrock 5k EARLY REGISTRATION
Race Date: March 13, 2011
Fees: $30 Postmarked by December 31, 2010.
Active.com always whores us a charge I refuse to pay if I don't have to.
SO, I filled out the PRINTABLE form, hit print, wrote a check, and put a $0.44 cent stamp on it.
Enter the team name Falls Road
If you decide to run, I'd choose paying $30.44 with 2-minutes extra effort...
Or help the economy (and Active.com)
Entry Fees:
$30 through December 31
$35 January 1-15
$40 January 16-31
$45 after January 31
Jarf
Fees: $30 Postmarked by December 31, 2010.
Active.com always whores us a charge I refuse to pay if I don't have to.
SO, I filled out the PRINTABLE form, hit print, wrote a check, and put a $0.44 cent stamp on it.
Enter the team name Falls Road
If you decide to run, I'd choose paying $30.44 with 2-minutes extra effort...
Or help the economy (and Active.com)
Entry Fees:
$30 through December 31
$35 January 1-15
$40 January 16-31
$45 after January 31
Jarf
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
shamrock 5k
shamrock is 3/13/2011. registration is open, $30 until 12/31. remember that it'll fill up, so don't wait too long, or you might be lucky to get to overpay for this race.
http://www.active.com/running/baltimore-md/kelly-st-patricks-day-shamrock-5k-2011
http://www.active.com/running/baltimore-md/kelly-st-patricks-day-shamrock-5k-2011
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