While it’s always a toss up whether April showers will bring May flowers, I do know for sure that April races bring new PRs and great races to members of the RunnersConnect team. Once again, the RunnersConnect team had a strong showing at races across the country and around the globe.

Leading the weekend was Ric Spargo, who raced the Pat’s run 4.2 miler to honor fallen veteran Pat Tillman. Although just a few weeks away from his goal marathon, Ric used the race as a final tune-up and he didn’t disappoint. Ric’s time of 37:12 was close to 10 minutes faster than his time last year. More importantly, he felt strong and it clearly indicates he’s in great shape for the upcoming marathon.

Up next was Debbie Basham, who recorded a new PR of 1:43:10 at the IronGirl Half Marathon in Florida. Debbie battled ferocious winds that almost knocked her sideways at points and fought back against a year of previous racing demons to run her best race of the new training segment. This was a huge step forward for Debbie and shows great things are in store for her at the Grandmas Marathon in June.

Jeff Burrows battled a tough course and lonely competition to come within 9 seconds of his 10k PR set in 2008. Jeff’s official time as 36::55 and was a big step in the right direction and 50-second improvement from his 10k race 5 weeks ago. Things are looking up for Jeff this Spring and Summer.

Brian Schmidt also faced the difficult task of racing alone during his 5k this weekend. Running alone from virtually start to finish, Brian ran 16:35 for 5k, finishing 4th overall and second Masters, beating fifth place by more than 40 seconds.

Also running a great solo 5k was Kristin Fiumefreddo in Minnesota. Unfortunately for Kristin, the race wasn’t certified and she ended up running 3.4 miles. The bonus is she now has a 3.4 mile PR to chase after for any future long 5ks. On a serious note, Kristin’s pace was right on target and this was a great rust buster for her upcoming slew of races.

Norman Speicher dusted off the races shoes and ran the GW Parkway 10-miler in Washington, DC. Facing stiff competition and tough conditions, Norman ran a comfortable 1:07:29 for 60th place overall. This was Norman’s tune-up and final hard effort before racing the Pittsburgh marathon.

Rounding out the weekend was Paul Carolan, who raced the London Marathon and walked away a new PR of 3:07:55. While Paul was shooting for sub 3:05, running a PR in the marathon is nothing to be disappointed about and should always be cause for celebration.

Great job to everyone who competed this weekend. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend and let’s continue to rack up the PRs for this month!