Mary Shepherd ran the Pat’s Run (4.2 miles) and finished with a time of 45:37.
So much better than last year’s race. It was the same course, but because I had a poor time last year I started in a later corral this year. As previously, I could ride the light rail from about a mile from my home to the race–no parking nightmares with 30,000 people (many walkers). I crossed the start line about 7:47 (race started at 7:05) and ran using my 50/20 intervals the entire way. The first mile was pretty fast for me, but the course there is pretty flat. This is a fairly hilly route with about half of mile 2 and part of mile 3 uphill, then a nice downhill and a few shorter uphills, but I felt strong the entire way and probably could have pushed more, but I really felt in the groove in the last 2 miles and had a very strong sprint (dodging people) to the finish line. This year’s time was about 2 and a half minutes faster than last year, and I felt so much better this year when it was over. One thing I did different that I’ve been contemplating doing was I put my EFS Pro drink in my hydration pack and started drinking that before the race started (instead of a set of chews beforehand). I don’t know that it made a difference, but it definitely did not cause any problems and it was good fuel during the race. At the water stations I dumped water on my head (it was quite warm). Anyway, very happy with this race.
Joe Allen ran the Run for Home 10k, finishing this distance in the time of 56:21.
Run this race every year in the nice little Ohio town of New Philadelphia to help kick off the running season. The course is pretty flat (just on hill about 1/2 mile in) and wanders through the neighborhood. It was 50 degrees at starting time and hard to figure out what to wear but I started at a good pace and picked up speed as we went along. Finished 39th out of 92 and as the second oldest runner, was happy with that.
I’ve run this race many times but for whatever reasons, felt relaxed and was getting faster as we hit the 5 Mile mark. Perhaps it was my new shoes but this was one of those races which makes you glad to be a runner.
Travis Dowell ran the Deja Vu 10k and completed this race event in the time of 1:03:59.
DejaVu 10K at Mountain Edge Park in Las Vegas. The 6.2 miles had 403 feet of elevation gain, or about 65 feet per mile. This race had two 2.2 mile loops and then at the end of the second loop we had to do a U turn and run back 0.9 miles and then U turn back to the finish line to reach 6.2 miles. I felt fairly strong, but the loop did elevate going away from the start to the east and south it had very strong 20 mph headwinds in that section of the track. As we headed west and north back to the start line, we had tailwinds and the elevation was diminishing, so I could go faster on that part. On mile three the wind was very strong, maybe above 30 mph and I slowed down a bit, but recovered and had an average pace of 10:24, which is slightly slower than some other 10Ks I’ve done, but understandable due to the elevation and strong headwinds. There are no official results available and they only gave out awards to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place male and females.
Kenji Heilman ran the Milwaukee Marathon with a finishing time of 2:59:42.
After missing with a 3:01 in 2023, a 3:02 in ‘24 and a 3:03 last year, it felt so good to finally get the sub3 this year, my first since 2016. I came through the half at 1:29:20, so I only slowed about a minute in the second half. I’ll take it!
At 54 this was my 2nd fastest time ever in my 49th marathon. I want to thank Coach Andie for all the guidance over the last 4 years. It took a while but we finally did it! I didn’t fade in the last 5K! It was an ideal weather day and a pretty fast course. Grateful for the opportunity and a healthy build!
Becky Purdy ran the Cheshire Half Marathon and finished this race in the time of 1:58:35.
I was happy with this race under the circumstances but had hoped to feel stronger in the final miles so that I could push more. A confluence of work and home demands prevented me from getting much sleep on Friday (3.5 hours) and Saturday (5 hours) nights. I tried to be really patient for the first half, but my pace still was a bit too fast, under 9:00/mile, for the first 8 miles. The hill at 10 miles didn’t kill me, but I felt like I had nothing in the tank after that, just trying to stay focused and get to the finish line without faltering.
Christina Kach ran the Marblehead Half Marathon and completed this distance in the time of 1:56:03. This was a PR by 90 seconds!
This was probably, at least that I can remember, the hardest half marathon course I’ve gotten a PR at BUT also ran SO strong. I hit mile marker 6 at 53:xx and mile marker 10 at 1:29:xx (which was a 10 mile PR) so I think I negative split. Coming across the finish at 1:56:03. I went out faster than I wanted, but it didn’t at all feel like it. I actually thought since the cell service was so weak I couldn’t stream music that maybe my gps was wrong b/c I was easily breathing in and out through my nose. (when I switch to mouth I know I’m pushing). I ended up just being like…well, let’s ride the wave, see what happens. I held good until after mile marker 9, sure enough mile 10 was rough and there was a lot of self doubt. 11 went ok. That freaking uphill at 12. I think I hit 12 at like 1:45, catching my breath and pushing that final .70 was brutal. But sometimes when you know that PR is dangling right there….The last .1 after mile marker 13 was lined with cheering spectators and that was a great boost. Surprised myself today. Really strong effort on a tough course.
Caroline Mihalski ran the Spring Chance BQ.2 Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 4:09:13.
This race is my favorite one. Beautiful area, super easy logistics of parking in a parking lot close by, and walking a short distance to the start, and it is just really handy that it is a loop in a beautiful area that you run 8 times.
It makes sense that my body could only hold the 8:23 pace until just past the half-marathon spot. While I trained in mileage for this marathon, I wasn’t able to get in much of my speedwork. Many times, I had to switch my speed work to easy miles, and I also did lots of running on the treadmill because it was winter.
The challenge for me is that when I get in all of the speedwork, I normally have pain that gets worse and interferes with my arthritis in my foot. However, I think I need to get to work with another training cycle and have speedwork that I can hit or doesn’t feel defeating or not possible for me. This is my own fault as it was the goal I set for myself. Now, I know I need to adjust that goal and go with a slower pace for what my goal is. While it was a tough day, I am proud of myself for the following reasons:
-I had symptoms of heat exhaustion and I slowed it down to stay safe so I didn’t end up in the medical tent
-I stayed out on the race course. There was a moment when I considered throwing in the towel when I knew I couldn’t keep the pace and I am proud of myself for staying out there and finishing it.
