I know we’ve been a little absent the last few weeks with providing weekly updates and congratulations to the RunnersConnect team members that have raced and recorded PRs this summer. With races a bit more spread out and the coaching team working on the new website, it was difficult to put together all the recent results.
However, we’re back in action now and will be updating everyone on a weekly basis again, especially now that Fall marathon season is about to get into full swing. I’ll recap the last few weeks of racing here to get caught up. If I didn’t mention you and you raced, please shoot me an email at jeff@runnersconnect.net and I will be sure to include you in next week’s update.
John Pereira raced a tune-up 10k in preparation for the Toronto Marathon and recorded a remarkable 1:50 PR! His official time was 37:00 minutes exactly, which netted him 3rd overall. Even better, John ran a spectacular second half with 5k splits at 19:11 and the second 17:49. John’s previous best 10k was 38:50. To say John is on track to blow away the 3-hour barrier at Toronto would be an understatement.
Monica Ross is training hard as an invited runner to the 2012 Masters Marathon Championships at the Twin Cities Marathon and preparations are far ahead of schedule. Monica’s 10k PR was set when she I was 29 years old at 36:50 and a few weeks ago she ran 36:53 on a pretty hill course. Even better, Monica did not taper at all for the race and kept her training on target for the marathon. Monica is clearly in great shape and gunning for a top finish at the Masters Championships.
Laurette Balinksy capped off her speed development segment this summer with a huge 5k PR of 20:07. The time as a 23 second improvement and netted her second overall female. Laurette wasn’t thrilled about working on her speed this summer, but it clearly paid off and set her up great for a big marathon training segment this Fall.
After a difficult 5k opener, Hannah Jennings rebounded to record a huge 5k PR of 19:57 last weekend. It was her first time under the 20-minute mark, which has been a huge mental barrier. With her new found confidence and comfort with her training paces, Hannah’s marathon training is right on track.
Despite a tough summer of training in the Arizona heat, Ric Spargo traveled to the cool Oregon weather to record a new Half Marathon PR of 1:56:59. The time was a 5-minute PR (Ric has taken nearly 9 minutes off his PR in the last 5 months) and his first time under the 2-hour barrier.
Serjo Martinez completed the Chicago Half Marathon in a time 1:30:40. He finished 25th in the 20 – 24 year old male division and 314th out of the 12,105 competitors. After battling injury early in the spring he took an aggressive approach to training leading up to the half marathon and had a great run as a result. Serjo now will turn his focus to the Oktoberfest 5k on October 13th and the Halloween Hustle 5k on October 27th to complete his racing season.
JoAnn Martin ran her first ever 5k race last weekend and totally rocked it. Despite only beginning to seriously train a few months ago (her first 3 mile run occurred July 15th), Joann’s training times have come down considerably. Her official time was 25:33 and I have no doubts she’ll be averaging under 8 minutes per mile by the end of the fall season.
Mark Eichenlaub finished 2nd overall in a time of 1:26:02 at the AshleyCan Half Marathon on Sunday. The hilly and challenging course in Bourbonnais, Illinois was Marks first half marathon. He is happy with the result especially considering he had not run since Tuesday due to an illness earlier in the week. Mark is turning his focus to 5K training as he prepares to run a series of 5k’s this fall.
Joanie Whitener competed in the Fairhaven Waterfront 15k held in Bellingham, Washington. Although her time of 1:34:11 didn’t meet her goal it was still a good starting point for her racing season. Joanie will participate in the Bellingham Traverse, a multi-sport event, this weekend as she will complete the running portion for her team.
I know I probably missed a few results, so please send them my way. Congrats to everyone who recorded huge PRs the last few weeks and let’s keep the momentum going as the big fall half and full marathons approach.
