The RunnersConnect team has already seen three monster weekends of personal records in March and this week was no different. All together, we had four new PR’s and 6 great races. Here are the details:
Ric Spargo travelled to Tuscon to tackle the hilly Arizona distance classic half marathon. Ric started the day with a 2:17:52 PR from this January, but proceeded to rewrite the record books with an 11-minute PR at 2:06:38. Ric is in the middle of marathon training and it’s obvious the miles are paying off.
Mike Bosch competed at the prestigious Around the Bay 30k (a race that is two years older than the Boston Marathon) and came away just 10 seconds shy of his PR with a time of 1:55:52. Mike was also 50th overall and earned the coveted gold medal for his sub 1-hour finish.
John Pereira also ran the Around the Bay 30km and notched a huge 9-minute PR, finishing in 2:01:21. John ran a very strong and intelligent race, continuing his streak of smart racing and good course management. The ultimate goal is sub 3 hours at Boston and this was a definite sign he is ready.
Debbie Basham conquered the racing demons this weekend and cemented her comeback from a difficult achilles injury with a 2 minute PR at 10km. Debbie’s official time was 46:56, but the real story is that she did a 6-mile warm-up to simulate a long run as her focus is the Grandmas Marathon in June. I think it’s safe to say Deb is back on track and hungry for more training!
Mark Eichenlaub won the hilly Ta-Ta Trot 5k. His 18:48 finishing time was a small PR, but it was 55 seconds faster than last year and a full 2:24 in front of second place! Mark is the first outright race winner we’ve had in 2012 and he continues his tremendous progress under Coach Nate.
Finally, Alayne Benassi returned to racing after a 7-year hiatus, mostly due to injury. Alayne finished her 5k in 22-minutes to dust off some serious racing cobwebs. While Alayne and her coach both know there is much more in the tank, this is the first time Alayne has been healthy in years and it’s a great start to the Spring.
Fantastic running by everyone this weekend. We have another big weekend on tap next week to continue the hot streak of personal bests this month. Keep training hard and kicking butt everyone!
