Well, we only got four race results submitted to us this time. Although the quantity was down, the quality was not lacking in the slightest. There’s some good variety in this as well, since Monte ran a 5k, Bill a 15k, Nancy a 10k and finally a half marathon for Richard.
Monte VanDeusen originally wanted to race the 10k but opted instead to err on the safe side and entered into the 5k. That choice paid off for him as he ran his second fastest 5k time ever! To make things even better, his wife also ran her first 5k that very same day and Monte was able to run the last half mile with her. Monte ended up first in his age group and his wife was third in hers. Not too bad for a beginner, eh? Next time maybe they’ll stick around for the awards ceremony (they left early, not knowing of their placement).
Bill Rotella ran the Gate River Run in Florida, which also double as the US 15k Championships. Bill did not win the US Championship this year. Unlike Ben True, Bill can say that he knocked over three minutes off of his pace from last year. That is a crazy amount of time to knock off from one year to the next and a huge accomplishment. In fact, if the aid stations were a little more organized (no Gatorade?!), he most likely would’ve taken another big chunk off. Bill finished 137 out of 467 “old man” finishers, not too shabby. Bill also ran fast enough to start in Wave 1 in next year’s race (he was in Wave 2 out of 4 in this year’s).
Nancy Howard made big step forward today in her comeback from a calf and heel issue. Nancy placed first her my age group (50-54) in her 10K, and 41st out of 90 runners. What six month recovery? She felt no pain, and with that has renewed confidence for an upcoming half and the MCM in October. Coach Jay must be proud.
Richard Harris average 5:49’s for a half marathon and PR’d by 90 seconds along the way. Richard ran a controlled race and patiently worked his way to the front. Even though he finished in no-man’s land (1 minute ahead of 4th place, 1 minute behind 2nd place), he was on cruise control and felt strong the whole way.
Great job to all! Really love seeing the progress here. What’s also nice to see is that people are immediately thinking ahead to a future race and are excited to get back at it. The RunnersConnect team is always hungry!
