Kory Wnuk ran the 14th Annual Janell LaCombe 5K in Fordoche, LA finishing this race in the time of 22:40 which a PR of 48 seconds.
I warmed up for this race by running 1-1.5 miles slow; followed by some easy strides. For some reason I just wasn’t feeling it. Everything felt a tad more difficult than I thought it should. Fast forward to the race. There was good news and bad news. The bad news was that while I believed I was sticking to plan, my first mile was faster than I wanted to be. My GPS indicated that I ran the first mile in 6:46, but a course worked called out my split as 6:06. At the pace I was running, I still felt comfortable with very controlled breathing. In that back off the course, I missed my turn and had to double back. It was at this point that the heat (direct sunlight) was beginning to take its toll. I should note that until this point there was a substantial amount of shade, which really helped. Also, this caused me to move from the number 1 overall position to number 2. Last year, during this race, I had no final kick. This time it was different and I crossed the finish line at a pace of 5:50 min/mile. I finished #2 overall and #1 in my age group. Since having taken up running again last year, this race was 48 seconds better than my time last year. Additionally, this finishing time was 25 seconds faster than my best ever time that was done in 1996. If I would not have missed that one turn, I know I could have easily completed this race at least 20 seconds faster than I did.
Emily Pilotte ran the Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth, ME finishing in the time of 47:42.
This was a race I’ve been wanting to do for a while and now we’re hoping to make it a tradition. Not even close to a PR, but given the temps were much warmer than I knew I could handle, I ran completely on effort. All I paid attention to was how I was feeling and running the tangents (oh and getting to the next shady area!). The end of the race is quite challenging with hills and I was very relieved to be finished. Went straight down to the ocean for a dip, which was a treat. Overall it’s a great race in a beautiful area. I’d definitely recommend it!
Sandis Kižla ran the Cēsis Eco Trail which is 16.3k trail race in Cēsis, Latvia finishing in the time of 1:01:09 which is a PR.
My first trail race this year, overall good performance. Before race aimed for top 3 in my age group, which is 20 to 30 group. Start was fast (1st km in 3:07). I think adrenaline helped me to run this fast, because didn’t feel very hard running. 😉 Despite my fast 1st km I was 5th overall and 4th in age group after 1st km. Of course next km’s wasn’t so fast. Those athletes who was in front of me was running faster pace than I was capable to run, so all race stayed in fast but comfortable pace to me. From behind no one was challenging, so almost all race was running alone. Only at last 3k, when ran out of woods and saw that I can see a runner in front of me, got some more motivation to run faster. At that time felt some energy in the tank. Was chasing him to the finish line and margin was decreasing. But despite my effort finished 30s behind him. So Overall 5th and in age group 20 to 30 4th place. Didn’t complete my goal, but gave everything I got, so no disappointment. Need to mention that felt stronger than ever. For that thanks to RunnersConnect, smart training is paying off.
Jo Dalby ran the Brisbane Running Festival 10K in Brisbane, Australia coming across the finish line in the time of 1:03:19.
This is the only race during the year to allow you to run across the Story Bridge, one of the oldest bridges to cross the Brisbane River. I love this run because when you are arriving, the city lights are lighting the river and when you run you get to enjoy the cliffs of Kangaroo Point, the riverside paths along Southbank Parklands and the beautiful Botanical Gardens. Only 2 weeks training with RC but feeling good and motivated to improve times injury free!
Brad Dalby ran the Brisbane Running Festival 10K in Brisbane, Australia finishing this race in the time of 52:47 which is a PR of 1 minute and 13 seconds.
A few more hills than the course that i recorded the earlier PB so pretty happy with outcome today. Weather was very cool but good to run in. Looking forward to improving times overall. Cheers from down under
Becky Venter ran the Taupo marathon 10K in Taupo, New Zealand finishing this race in the time of 47:27 which is a 6 second PR.
I decided to use this tune-up race primarily to work on my psychology, as I found myself questioning my mental toughness after the last tune-up race 8 weeks ago. While I did PR at that race as well, I wondered afterwards whether I’d given it my absolute all and best possible effort. So to be more ‘in the moment’ and aware of my fellow competitors around me. Not having headphones also meant that the Runkeeper woman wasn’t telling me when I hit my kilometre marks and what my average pace was … I ran this one by effort alone. Finally, I had some positive mantra’s that I would repeat to myself when the going got tough. For instance, I live in a hilly area (very close to where Arthur Lydiard sent his runners) and as such, most of my training runs include hill work. So whenever an uphill appeared during the race, I said to myself “oh yeah, I’m a Westie and I DO HILLS!” I also used counting footf alls as a pattern interrupt when my mind wanted to focus on how hard it all was. I’d count to 90, then allow my thoughts to refocus on what was happening around me. The result? While I only beat my previous PR by 6 seconds, I’m really happy with my performance! The previous 10km race was completely flat, while this course was undulating. There was also some contention that the previous race was 200m shorter than it should have been, which perhaps gave me a slightly false time. I absolutely LOVED being more present during the race and I can proudly say that I gave this race my full effort! I even managed to duel with another (younger) female runner for the whole 10kms and we ended up in a sprint finish, which was just fantastic fun! We both ended up crossing the line at the same time, after which she gasped “man, you run fast!!” I took that as a huge compliment, which I attribute to the awesome training, podcasts, resources and comraderie from RC! I’ll definitely be racing by effort and without music from now on 🙂
Tony Malinauskas competed in the Mudathlon in Cincinnati, OH finishing this event in the time of 40:51 which is a race PR of 16 seconds.
This is the 3rd year in a row that I’ve won my age division in this race. This is by far the shortest race I run each year, so I ran in two additional heats afterwards so I don’t get lazy.
John Ranger ran the Perth Half Marathon in Perth, Australia finishing this race in the time of 1:34:10 which is a PR by 2 minutes and 48 seconds.
After a day of torrential rain and cyclonic winds the weather gods smiled today and put on a perfect day for racing, 5C (41F) , clear skies & minimal wind. I had targeted this as my tune-up, 9 weeks out from Chicago, as it is a flat, fast course that I set my half PR (1:36:58) on exactly 1 year ago. My training in the leadup has been awesome hitting most interval paces and equalling my 5k PR only a few weeks ago. I was extremely confident going in and set myself a target of 1:35:00. As per usual I got a little sucked in at the start and found myself going out too fast. I slowed down and aimed to keep most splits at the 4:30/km or just a little quicker. I was able to maintain this reasonably well even running through a side-stitch at around the 8-11k mark. The course is out and back with the return leg into a slight (but now noticeable breeze). I tried tucking in behind other runners where possible but spent a lot of the second half running alone. I still tried to maintain the 4:30 pace but found it much tougher going. There was no negative split but nevertheless I managed to hang on and crossed the line in a time of 1:34:09.96 This was 113th place (out of 764), 100th male (/415) and 10th for my age bracket (/50). More importantly this was a PR by 2:48 and interestingly the first 10k I ran in 43:41 was also a PR (by 1:12). This has given me a huge boost as I go into the last few months of marathon-specific workouts and ultimately for Chicago in October.
Sean Regan ran the Gopher To Badger Half Marathon in Minnesota coming across the finish line in the time of 1:31:15 which is a PR of 1 minute and 27 seconds.
Gopher To Badger half marathon was a bit of a roller coaster ride this year! It was my 2nd year in a row, finishing last year in a time of 1:32:41. I went in with a primary goal time of under 1:30 – consistent with my current fitness level, and secondary goal was to simply PR. Well, I hit the secondary goal only, but will gladly accept it after the way things went during the race. I started faster than my race plan by about 10-15 sec/mile. Decided to try a pace group…seemed like a good idea at the time. Turned out it wasn’t. At least not this time. Humidity was high and my body was letting me know I needed to slow down after the first 3 miles. So I did. And then my left leg fatigue issue came back into play for the first time sinceMay 31st (Minneapolis Marathon). It stuck around until about mile 6 then it was gone again as usual. So the best thing about this race for me was that I kept going despite the frustration I felt b y having to slow my pace down after the fast start. I overcame the negative voices in my head that were trying to lure me into throwing in the towel. I kept pushing through the left leg flopping. And as it turned out I actually had a strong finish putting in my fastest mile (6:20) in mile 13. Didn’t get under 1:30, but placed 6th in my age cat & 41 out of 879 in a time of 1:31:15. 1 min 26 sec faster than last year.
Al Zapatero ran the Infused Fitness 5K in Fountain Hills, CA finishing this race in the time of 19:38 which is a PR of 3 minutes.
The big PR and the fact that I was shooting for 20:59 minute finish time. I really haven’t done any speed workouts leading up to this race, mostly just easy pace long miles with strides. really excited about 6:18 min/mi pace.
John Gardener ran the Poppit Sands Race 3 5K in Poppit Sands, Wales, UK finishing this race in the time of 22:58.
Not a PB, but my best time for this course in my present age range, plus I beat a rival who had beaten me in the first 2 races this year. Course was Multi terrain consisting of road, sand dune, streams with stepping stones and sand.
Mark Quebedeaux complete in his first triathlon at the Splash Roll & Run in Dunham Springs, Louisiana completing it in the time of 1:05.45.
This was my first triathlon. I have done many duathlons but never have done the swim. This was a fun race. Felt really good the entire time.
Ron Darin ran the Cool Summer 5k in Florida finishing this race event in the time of 21:09 which placed him 1st in his Age Group.
Last US run this year. Finished 9th overall and 1st in age group. Hot and humid with limited sleep the night before meant no PR. Struggled at the finish but proud I hung in there.
Kel Walker ran the City2Surf 14km in Sydney, Australia coming across the finish line in the time of 1:21:39.
It is considered the largest fun run in the World with in excess of 80,000 participants all running/walking the 14k distance from the Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach. At the 7km mark there is a rise of approximately 80m within 1500m distance called Heartbreak Hill. Throughout the course there is music played and a lot of people dress up. I love the atmosphere for the event and the challenge of running from the CBD to beautiful Bondi Beach. My personal best is 1:18:55 completed in 2009.
Matthew Stewart ran the City2Surf 14Km in Sydney, NSW finishing this race distance in the time of 53:54 which is a 2 minute and 39 seconds for this distance.
Great conditions- sunny, cool and a gentle breeze, but an unfortunate start corral position meant I had a far amount of human traffic to negotiate in the first 2 km from the start ( a bit of a FUBAR with missing the gear drop closing 55 minutes before race start – an unfortunate legacy of the Boston bombings- everything has to be passed by the bomb squad and sniffer dogs) Felt strong up Heartbreak hill and then punched it for the section to the turn towards Bondi and the downhill to the finish. I finished 360th out of 65,480 finishers and managed to pass about 300 people along the way. Will have to see if I can plead with the organizers for a preferred start group next year and see if I can crack 52 minutes.
