Team RunnersConnect rings in the New Year with some fast and fun runs bringing in 3PRs and several first runs at new race distances.

Siobhan Donegan raced the First Run 5K in Burlington, Vermont coming across the finish line in the time of 22:04 which is a PR of 14 seconds.

SiobhanI don’t really like running 5Ks but know they are a great way to test one’s fitness and gauge the results of recent training efforts. Given that, I made myself show up for the 5K right here in town, a mile from my house! I ran over to the start very slowly, trying to acclimate to the cold temperatures and bitter wind. I was pretty well-layered though, so figured I’d be fine. Finally as all 755 of us lined up at the start I figured it was now or never! I came in 7th in my age group and 82nd overall, which was fine for me. It’s a fun run but those ultra-competitive folks do come out for this every year! The 22:04 was a PR though, which was great. So (of course!) one of my goals for 2015 is to run a sub-22 minute 5K. I’ll be scanning the local 5Ks very soon to choose which one will best suit my goal. Flat and FAST would fit the bill nicely…but those are hard to come by in Vermont.

Carol Grisso raced the Fort Steilacoom Running Club 5K in Steilacoom, WA finishing this race in the time of 26:06 which placed her first in her Age Group.

Carol GrissoComing back from Sacral Fx so felt good to be back. Still not 100% but looking forward to a great 2015 season! I was “out of my comfort zone” most of the race but had a very good 26.04 finish, my HR monitor is “dead”, so didn’t have any feedback on that and have not yet purchased a watch with pace info, so I was “flying by the seat of my pants”!!!!

 

Tony Malinauskas ran the Pancakes and Resolutions Run 10K in Miamisburg, OH finishing this even in the time of 53:15.

My first New Year’s Day race. Got a nice sense of accomplishment running on a chilly morning on the first of the new year, though I was 1.5 minutes off my 10K PR and came in 5/9 in my age group. This race had a fun post-party — it was a pancake breakfest for runners. Yum.

Jeff Wiedre ran the New Years Double Marathon in Allen, Texas finishing this race distance in the time of 6:31:57.

JWiedreIt was cold and windy and I didn’t feel right from the start. I had no energy and had blisters less than half way in. It was a loop course, 4 laps for the marathon and all concrete.

 

Diana Convey ran the New Year’s Day 5K in Phoenix, Arizona coming across the finish line with a time of 24:47 and closing with a strong last mile of 7:37.

DianeCLocal New Year’s Day 5K race to check my fitness and see how the training is going. Cold for us here at 35 degrees; felt great, comfortable start with fast finish.

 

David Giljohann ran the Disney World Marathon in Orlando, FL finishing in the time of 3:06:30.

First race where I felt good throughout. Not enough fuel left in the tank for the end though..

Ray Vecchiarelli ran the Disney World Marathon in Orlando, FL coming across the finish line with a time of 3:41:59 which was PR by 12 minutes and 25 seconds.

After going into MCM back in Oct with no real plan and having it blow up on me, I tried to follow the RC workouts as closely as possible. Going into this race, I wanted to race it conservatively, but still push some. I decided to target 3:40 to 3:45 with the goal of keeping consistent paces mile by mile. I was able to keep the 8:22 pace with no mile aside from the first deviating more than 3-4 secs. When I got to mile 20, expected to hit the wall at least some, but it never came. Even today, I don’t feel beat up and feel overall healthy aside from slight stiffness. Maybe, I didn”t push hard enough and held back too much? I definitely credit the Runners Connect workouts and training to the big PR and will continue with the training in hopes for future PRs. Disney course was great, I would recommend it. It’s easy to break up into manageable 4-6 mile chunks.

Heather Joe ran the Red Shoe Run 10 miler in Birmingham, AL finishing this race distance  in the time of 1:41:09.

hJoeRed shoe run 10 miler. First race in 1.5 years because of injury. Very cold and hip was hurting bad from Monday. First 3 and last 3 miles VERY hilly for me. Last 3 my hip really started hurting and those hills brought me to my knees. My plan of a cut down kinda went out the window and I just hung in there the best I could. Took advantage of the flat miles.I was very disappointed in my time but my hip held me back big time.  In the end I placed better than I expected. 9th in my age group! I have never run a 10 mile race before my shortest race has been half marathons prior to today so I guess this is a PR.  The best part of this race was that I am able to race again!!!!!! I had forgotten how much fun racing is. I now have some hope and excitement about the future! My hip is easing and I will be ready to conquer the next challenge. Thank you RC!!!

Eran Geyari ran his first marathon at the Tiberias Marathon in Tiberias, Israel finishing this race in the time of 3:51:20.

Eran1st Marathon. Wanted sub 4:00. Great Training plan here in RC ,personal coaching by Danny fisher brought me to run 3:51:20.And If it wasn’t for digesting issues, I would have done 3:49 Which is way above my expectation. Didn’t hit the wall or even close to that, kept good form and steady pace around 38 kilometers ,having some digesting problems at last 3ks. overall, great experience with taste for more..

Michael Hancock ran the Ooredoo Doha Half Marathon in Doha, Qatar finishing this race event in the time of 1:57 which was a PR by 13 minutes.

The full marathon was actually my goal, but some injuries laid me low about seven weeks out, and prior to the event I probably was only able to run about 40 or 50k total. So all-in-all, I was pleased to finish a half with all spare parts still working, a PR and a smile. The event was in jeopardy due to an unexpected sand storm the night before which could easily have lasted a few days. The wind died down, however, and the conditions for the event were about as good as it gets: about 14c at the gun and around 19c at the end, for a beautiful run along Doha Bay. Second tier teams from Ethiopia and Kenya came over to scoop the prize money, and were an inspiration to all.

Ramona Dragnea raced the Hot Chocolate 15K in San Francisco, CA finishing in the time of 1:24:53 which was her first time running this distance.

RamonaDThis was the first time I ran this distance, so in a way it was a PR. I was a bit tired the week leading to this race and did not feel the best during the race, but I did enjoy the run even at a lower pace. The course was downhill first followed by a flat middle and an uphill last, so no negative splits here (I don’t think anyone negative split-ed on this course). Great weather, a lot of happy runners with sweet treats stations, plus my family also ran the race, which made it a fun family event.

Christopher Jones ran the Princess to Princess 7 miler in Bermuda finishing this race distance in the time of 53:26.

This is always the first race of the year and a popular race locally.

Tony Malinauskas ran the Topo Trail Series – Race 3 10 mile race in Amelia, OH finishing in the time of 1:42:52.

This was my first trail race that wasn’t an obstacle race. There were only 40 runners, but they were evidently hard core because I placed lower than usual (21st out of 30 males — results were not provided by age group), and this was the coldest race the organizers had ever hosted. (9F with windchill of -3F. That may be a spring day to some of our RC friends in northern climes, but for southern Ohio, it is early Ice Age.)

 

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