8 personal bests highlight the July 4th weekend!

The Fourth of July week and weekend never disappoint when it comes to fast 5k’s and 10k’s for runners to test their speed, especially before they begin logging mega miles for fall marathons. In typical RunnersConnect fashion, we blew the doors off 5k races around the country, recording a total of 8 PR’s. Here are the details:

At the Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR Brian Schmidt kept his hot streak alive when he made the most of his trip and raced in the All-Comers Mile Race in Historic Hayward Field. He ran 4:49.1 for the full mile, placing him 12th in his race of 42 competitors. That’s within 4 seconds of his lifetime best so to run that well in such a big field was a great competitive experience. Also, in another heat his middle school son Patrick ran right at his lifetime best of 5:25 for the mile. What a father-son team!

Caroll Beck won her age group at the Coronado Independence day 15k in 1:25:21 in her first race with runnersconnect. This was a big time improvement over last year but more importantly the age group win was over a rival, who just entered the age group, who had been beating her earlier in the year.

Brent Frissora took another great step in his running career by setting a TWO MINUTE 10k PR at the NYRR Queens 10k! Brent finished 4th out of over 5,400 finishers and is having an amazing 2012 so far.

Also at the Queens 10k Eva Wang battled the heat with a great effort that placed her in the top 60 out of over 2400 women who competed. This is her fifth successful race in as many weeks – wow!

Cak Grant ran in the Flagpole Hill 8k on July 4th. He came very close to hitting his goal of breaking 30 min by running 30:11. It was a warm and humid day in Dallas so the result was great! As we’re starting to wrap up his speed sessions this type of performance will benefit him greatly as he transitions to marathon training and a goal of breaking 3 hours.

Hannah Jennings raced her first 5k in almost a year and walked off the course with a new PR of 20:22. The temperatures for this race in Florida were through the rough and the rust on the racing legs were evident; however, Hannah still managed to pull things together by starting conservative and working through a tough third mile.

Laurette Balinsky joined Hannah in the hot, Track Shack 5k and netted herself a 14-second PR at 20:30. While Laurette definitely prefers racing and training for the longer distances, this 5k tune-up certainly proves the training is working and she’s in for her best marathon yet this Fall!

John Peiria recorded a new 5k PR of 17:44 on a day that saw the temps rise to 104 degrees. John went out a little too quick, but his extensive pace work and race awareness allowed him to reel things in quickly and get back on track. John benefited from a fellow competitor going toe-to-toe the last 1.5 miles and allowed him to close the last 200 meters 2:43-2:55 per kilometer pace. After a rough start to the training segment after Boston, this was a big lift to the spirits for John. John placed placed 12th overall and 1st in his AG.

Sarah Stevenson completed the Yorktown Independence Day 8K in a time of 39:58. The time placed her 1st in the female 30 – 34 age group. Overall Sarah was happy with the results of her first 8K as she entered the race with a goal of breaking 40 minutes. After the race she was able to identify a couple of key areas in the race where she could make adjustments and is looking forward to the next time she races to make those adjustments.

Claudia McFadden was scheduled to run a July 4th 5k, but a late night at work and hectic holiday forced her to run the race on her own. Not to be denied all her hard work and training, Claudia blasted the 5k course by herself to record a new 20-second PR at 25:28. Talk about guts and determination! We are excited to see what Claudia can do with more training and some competitors to push her along 🙂

Ben Schippers anchored Team Schippers to victory at the Mighty North Fork Sprint Triathlon in Southold, NY on Sunday.  The run portion of the event was an unconventional distance of 3.6 but Ben handled the heat and course well to average 5:36 per mile.  His time of 20:17 was the fastest running leg of the relay race by nearly three minutes.  He and his brother, Jonathan, won the event by nearly 10 minutes!

Wrapping things up was Billy Shea who raced in honor of his friend Robert at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro (home of the New England Patriots). The race ran along and inside the stadium, which was a unique experience but also very hilly and riddled with turns. Billy held on strong and finished 108th out of 4,400 runners. Nice effort, Billy!

Great running by everyone this weekend. Keep up the hard work in the heat and you’ll be racing with a rocket strapped to your back this Fall!

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