St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t just a great weekend for drinking beer, it was also a huge weekend of racing around the world. The RunnersConnect team didn’t let hangovers or green-colored drinks get in the way of huge PR’s though. In fact, this was another banner weekend with 10 PRs at distances ranging from 3k to the marathon. Check out the awesome performances this weekend:
Richard Harris took to the streets at the Wrightsville marathon and walked away with a 6-minute PR, running 2:44:33. Richard also finished third overall and just missed second place by 5 seconds. This was Richard’s second marathon and huge improvement, both in the ability to handle training and during the race itself.
Jeremy Gaudette debuted at the LA Honda Marathon and finished in 4:10:33, an awesome performance for someone who just started running 8 months ago. Jeremy started his running career in June of 2011 with a 3 mile run. Since then, he’s logged numerous 30-40 mile weeks and crossed the finish line smiling and anxious for the next marathon – I think he’s caught the marathon bug!
Rob Sklenar also competed at the LA Honda Marathon and finished in 3:52:47, a 4-minute PR. The day wasn’t kind to Rob, with a bathroom stop and resulting cramp hampering his first 13 miles, but he fought through and finished up strong. Running a PR when the race doesn’t go perfect is a difficult thing to do, but it’s yet another testament to Rob’s tenacity and perseverance.
Dropping down in distance, Bill Washer took to the streets of New York and recorded a new half marathon PR at 1:14:12. The New York City course is one of the most difficult half marathon courses, so a PR is a big accomplishment and a great sign as he prepares for Boston this year. Watch out heartbreak hill!
Brent Frissora ventured up to the half marathon for the first time in 2012 and he was met with instant success on Sunday morning in the New York City Half Marathon. He stuck to the race plan and was conservative in the early stages but progressed through the race and finished strong. Despite some complications getting to the start he kept a cool head and stayed confident. Brent’s time of 1:15:13 was a Personal Best by more than 80 seconds!
RunnersConnect saw more success at the NYC Half on Sunday when Eva Wang also ran a great new PR. Eva was patient for the first ten miles and handled the hills well while staying very near her goal pace. She unleashed a monsterous kick over the last 3.1 miles and finished in 1:35:51, two minuts faster than her old PR! Eva covered the last 3.1 miles in 22:05, which is a fantastic 5k, even if it’s not preceeded by 10 miles!
Mark Buscle also tackled a difficult half marathon course, and some hot temperatures, to record a 10-minute PR with a time of 1:55:44. Not only was this race a 10-minute PR, but it was the first time Mark felt like he “really raced” and wasn’t just struggling to survive the last few miles. That change in mentality from just surviving to training and racing is one of the greatest transformations a runner can make – congrats Mark!
Angela Reid broke the 2-hour half marathon barrier for the first time with her 1:58:21 finish, which was also a 6-minute PR. Angela ran this PR despite being sick the last few weeks and only running three times (proving your fitness doesn’t deteriorate with a little time off). This was a huge goal for Angela and the new PR is a great reward for all the hard work she has put in the last few months.
Getting even shorter, Dannis Hughbanks continued his impressive Boston training segment with his fastest 10k in 7 years – proving that age doesn’t have to mean you get slower. Dannis also improved from 11th to 3rd in his age group from the same race last year. Now, that’s a great sign of improvement.
Philip Sheridan celebrated his homeland’s most famous holiday in style (Philip lives in Ireland) with an 18-second PR at 5 miles. Philip’s official time was 28:35 and is his third consecutive PR this spring.
Brian Schmidt had a great weekend of racing at the USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships in Bloomington, Indiana. After a successful marathon in December he has targeted a few track races and the transition to speed work has been seamless. This weekend he ran a new LIFETIME BEST for 3000 meters. His time of 9:30.01 took him to a third place finish in his age group. On Saturday he came back with a very strong showing in the mile and his time of 4:48.57 finished 7th, only three seconds away from another PR. Considering that Brian was a part of the very successful Kickapoo High School track teams in Springfield, MO, it’s really impressive that at the age of 42 he is running his fastest track races. Well done!
This sets a new record for the number of PRs set in one weekend, wow. I guess the RunnersConnect team figured out to find that pot of gold!
