Team RunnersConnects beats the cold front that blasted its way into the season with 6PRs and many solid race efforts from the 5K to the marathon.

Sascha Fennel ran the New York City Marathon in NY, NY coming across the finish line with a time of 4:01:04.

SaschaFThe New York City Marathon is probably the most special one there is. It is my third participation. The other two have been ages ago in 1995 and 1996.  My time goal was to beat my PR from 1996 of 3:53:56. I came close but at the end I missed it by 7:08 minutes. Could I have done it today ? I do not see how. I could have done a bit better if I had taken toilet paper with me. Not having it I had to do a 3 minute pit stop after 10km. Other than that my race plan basically worked. Slow start as planned. No exaggeration in the first half. Too slow between mile 18 and 22 when I had a true crisis and my fight was to stay in the race. So I was not there yet. But I will be. I will do a PR in 2015, no matter where. And whenever I am back for the NYCM I will do a PB there.  Big thanks to my coach Jamie for her advice and support and to everyone who supported me in the RC forum with very encouraging and personal messages. More than a training site RC is a fantastic running community.

Sean Nyan ran his first marathon at the New York City Marathon in NY, NY finishing his race in the time of 3:27:17.

SeanNI finished my NYC Marathon in 3:27:17! I’m so happy with the result, and there’s no way I could have gotten this far without your training plan. When I started running again a few years ago, I was plagued with shin splints and other minor injuries; I couldn’t run more than 4 miles at a time without getting sidelined So, to be able to complete a marathon under my goal pace is extremely rewarding. Thanks so much for all your help!

Adam Weiss raced the Hamilton Road 2 Hope 5k in finishing this race in the time of 20:33 which is a PR by 3 minutes.

AWeissThis race was a huge PR for me and I couldn’t be happier! I really had my doubts going in to this race about whether or not I could hold the pace needed to hit my goal of 21:00, but I guess I proved myself wrong! The weather forecast for race time degraded as the week went on and, unfortunately, the weather folks were right. During the race, it snowed for the first time this year, and winds were about 30-40 km/h coming off the lake. Somehow, it didn’t seem to matter! Warm up went well and the plan was to go out in 4:15/km for the 1st km, drop to 4:12 for the next 3, and go all out for the last. About 500 m in, I realized I was going 3:45/km so I had to slow way down to go through in 4:15. I did the smart thing, slowed down, and through km 1 in 4:15 and was feeling good. I still felt good through the next 2 km and went through in 4:10 and 4:09/km. The 4th km was where I definitely started to feel some strain yet I still managed to speed and run a 4:05 km. By this point in the race, I knew all I had to do was hold my pace and I’d get across the line under my goal. I gave everything I had over the last km and managed to close in 3:54! I crossed the line in 20:33 and crushed my previous PR by 3:00! Thanks to all the RC coaches and community that helped make this happen. Can’t wait to break 20:00!

Kyle Bowman raced the Indianapolis Monumental half marathon in Indianapolis, In finishing this race distance in the time of 1:13.17 which was a seasons best.

KyleThe wind chill it was 20 F and 15mph winds. Sunny. Got stuck by myself for the first 4 miles while running into the wind.  I am sure the wind affected my running as a noticed some sections that were more rough than others.  The wind was coming from the north and the course went in a northerly direction for the first 8 miles and then southerly for the rest-so we did get the wind at our back for the latter miles. I was able to latch onto a pack of runners who caught me around 4 and ran with them until I got dropped which was around mile 9. Running with this really helped as they were able to help cut the wind.

Theresa Brennan ran the Indianapolis Monumental half marathon in Indianapolis, In coming the finish line with a time of 2:06:34 which was a PR by 8 minutes.

TheresaThe weather was terrible at the start of this race. Cold, bitterly cold, windy – I couldn’t feel my toes until about mile 5. I ran this without watch or music – I just wanted to relax and have fun. I pucked a pace that felt comfortable and just tried to warn up. At the halfway mark I realized I was on track for 2:10 and that made me feel pretty good so I picked up the pace. At the 10 mile mark I realized I could be sub 2:10 and at that point I wanted to finish strong. I focused on following some people at my pace and picking others off. It worked! I had a huge personal best interns of time but I also really enjoyed this race!

Kara Schmidt ran the Indianapolis Monumental half marathon in Indianapolis, In finishing this race with a time of  4:27:45 which was PR of 1 hour and 38 minutes.

karasI did it!!! It was incredibly cold and windy and miserable at times. It snowed last night (nothing really stuck except to cars and one wooden bridge on the course), so it was a windchill in the upper teens/lower 20’s. It’s really hard to run on cold legs. I didn’t even feel like I warmed up until mile 23. But I managed to break my goal of 4:30 and set a huge PR (last marathon was in 2005 at Disney and I finished in 6:05). Very excited to be done!! Running into the wind for the first 14 miles really zapped me and my pacing was all over the place, but I’m happy with it overall and I know I gave it all I had today!

Jim Welland ran the Indianapolis Monumental half marathon in Indianapolis, IN finishing this race distance with a time of 4:06:23.

JimWent there Friday night for the packet pick up and expo. Watched my 92 year old friend give a presentation at the expo then went to dinner with him and his wife. The race was Saturday morning with a 32 degree starting temp. and, according to the news, a 17 deg. wind chill factor.
There were probably 30 people from my hometown running group present. Most ran the half marathon but about 10 of them ran the marathon. I ran the first 7 miles with one of them. Then we split up and I ran the remainder by myself. I ran the second half 1 second slower than the first half even though I had to slow down the last 4 miles due to fatigue. My time was slower than expected. My race strategy might have had something to do with it too. I run better when I run alone. I’ll give it another try in the next couple months. My 92 year old friend ran the half in 3:19, possibly an age related record!

Claire Landis ran her first marathon at the Indianapolis Monumental half marathon in Indianapolis, In finishing this race with a time of 4:23:23.

clairelandisBeing a competitive tennis player in my younger years, from the age of 6 until I was 18 years old, I was never much of a runner. Running always seemed to be a form of punishment and I hated it. That eventually changed when I was asked by one of my friends to run the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon in 2013. I ran the half marathon in good time (1:56:32) but had no idea what to expect when it came to the marathon! My goal time was to finish between 4:15 and 4:30. I had trained and prepared, but I don’t think anything can quite compare to running the actual race, especially running those last few miles with every ounce you have. I started out the race a little slower than what I wanted, averaging around10:17 min/mile but then ended up passing a bunch of people in the second half, averaging a 9:54 min/mile. I went from ranking 2758 in the first half of the race to 1766 in the second half. I felt so good in the second half, and passed s o many people…I was nervous that they knew something I did not know. Luckily, I never felt like I hit the wall. My quads just started to get extremely fatigued and I started to feel like I might throw up at the end but I never did. What made this race even more special was the fact that I was even able to run it in the first place. I had a back injury when I was 19 (I am 28 now) where my L1 vertebrae was fractured and I was told I could not run long distance or participate in any high impact activity. At my most recent checkup, though, that changed, and I was cleared by my doctor to do anything I wanted. So the day was a huge victory on all fronts. I feel so grateful to have had the experience and for all of the people that helped me get to race day. It was definitely a group effort. One of my good friends ran the race with me which was extremely helpful during the last few miles. So a huge thank you to everyone…this is just the beginning!

Anton Slesarev ran the Sochi half marathon in Sochi coming across the finish line with a time of 1:52:15 which was a PR of 30 seconds.

It was an amazing race which begins on Sochi F1 track, I had solid trainings and was ready to beat my previous record (which was very hot, I dont have proper trainings and run too fast at the beginning of the race and it was 2 years ago) thats why I am very disappointed by my time. I have the optimistic plan of 1:45, pessemistic 1:50, but I finished only 1:52. The first half was ok, I feel myself pretty good, so I hoped to run faster on the second half. But then my heart rate was higher and higher but a pace was slower every km. And I wasnt sure that if I push I could finish the race. I started push 6 km before the finish heart rate was 185(it was high for me), the only reason I didn’t give up that I saw a guy in jeans(!) in front of me, and actually I managed to overtake him at the finish line.

Lana Britt ran the Dallas Running Club Half marathon in Dallas, TX finishing in the time of 1:57:50.

LanaBrittAlthough this race did not match my long time half marathon PR from March 2011, I am still proud of this race for several reasons. First, I consider this race to be my victory lap following training with Runners connect. I have been able to consistently train since joining in late March with no injuries and shaved off 6 minutes from my most recent half. I am not where I want to be yet, but I am headed in the right direction. Second, I was able to control my pace at the beginning, rather than shoot out too fast. I held this controlled pace the entire race, even though it really felt difficult toward the end. Third, I crossed the finish line knowing I had given everything I had. In the past, I would’ve been really dejected at not getting a pr, but I have learned to be satisfied with today’s result but still hungry for better. In March 2013, I was almost 10 minutes away from my half PR. Now, I am only about 3 minutes away. I am still a work in progress to be the best runner I can be. Thanks Coach Jamie!

Patrick Flynn ran the I Am Second 10K in Plano, TX in finishing in this race distance in the time of 53:02.

Felt great, nice cool day and flat course.

Robert Sklenar ran the Santa Clarita Half Marathon in Santa Clarita, CA finishing in the time of 1:39:51.

RobSkI wasn’t actually racing but rather pacing my hometown race as a tune-up/training run. I paced the 1:40 group in the half and came in spot on in 1:39:51. I love to pace but tend to pace the marathon and run easier paces so this was a really new experience. It’s always rewarding to pace but to do it in my hometown race with so many local friends and club mates made it a very special day.

 

Greg Myers raced the Oley Valley Country Classic 10 miler in Oley, PA finishing this race distance in the time of 1:33:07 which was a PR of 24 seconds.

GMyersThis is one of my favorite races every year. The weather is usually cool, the leaves on the trees are in full autumn color, and the course goes through some strikingly beautiful farm land. I was hoping for a bigger PR this year, but the strong winds really took a toll. I’m happy, however, at how strong I felt through this entire race. Despite the wind, I was able to beat last year’s time by 24 seconds, and maintain a very consistent pace through the whole race.

Tang Trang ran the Road2Hope 21.1K in Hamilton finishing this distance in the time of 1:46:20 which was a PR by 30 seconds.

Very nice feeling. But could not speed up after 15k.

Robert Frary ran the Dublin Marathon in Dublin, Ireland finishing this race distance in the time of 4:41:11.

 RfraryAn hour slower than my last November Marathon pace. But I ran it without any prep work. Longest run was 10 miles. No Speed work or tempo work since Boston in April. But I am working in Dublin, and had to give it a go. Got some good advice from Sara. I started slow, and remained slow for 24 miles (avg 10:50 pace) running between 9:00 and 9:30 pace, and walking 2 -3 times per mile. At mile I was feeling darn good for a marathon, so opened it up and ran them at an avg 8:00 pace, cutting almost 6 minutes off my expected finish time. No residual pain; not overly stiff, and able to run 8 Saturday including a couple Florida hills (Bridges). My experience with a couple poorly run marathons (total 22 – 4 really yucky because of bad race day strategy) helped me remember the pains and cramps and misery of going out too fast and not keeping to a plan. I had 3 marathons of which I was really proud: My first one (Disney); My first post Stage IV can cer treatment Marathon (Disney); and my BQ and PR at Richmond last November. This one is added to that list because I had no business running it. Yet it taught me running discipline, not ego, is key. I am very proud to have finished this one on such a strong note. Those last two miles were a total blast. And I had nothing left at the finish. Perfect. Thanks, RunnersConnect!

Stephen Lee ran his first half marathon at the Cohick Half Marathon in Springfield, MO completing this race distance in the time of 1:57:55.

StephenLeeGreat Race! Think I might have been able to do a little better. I ran pretty conservative until mile 7 then kicked it up to an 8min/mile pace. Still happy tho came in under 2:00:00. Everything feels pretty good except my butt, that is going to be sore

Want to See Just How Much We Can Help You?

Check out how our plans work and how we help runners like you stay healthy and take their training to new levels