Bjorg Klem ran the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler and finished with a time of 1:28:50.
This was a tune-up for the Brooklyn Half marathon in 7 weeks. This was also my first time in DC and was excited about running among the cherry blossoms and seeing some national monuments. Entered the race as a team with two fairly new running friends so first time running a race out of town together and it was really nice to get to know them better. The conditions Saturday night and into Sunday were rough – 20-30 mph wind coming in from the west made it feel like we were running in well below freezing weather. I started off running with the 9 min pace group keeping a good, consistent pace. Positive: we were chatting about our favorite races suggesting the pace wasn’t too taxing. Negative: the first few miles were really crowded so we were weaving a lot and with the lack of mile markers, it was hard to know exactly how far we had run (my garmin showed 5 miles in 44:38 while the official split was 45:20). At mile 7 and feeling good, I thanked the pacer and took off to try to push the pace a little in the last few miles. For most of this last stretch we were running into headwind and without a tall, big guy to run behind I had no choice but to run into the wind. While I didn’t get my PR with the extra 0.15 miles run, I was only about 30 seconds away and despite spring allergies and 3 hour of sleep the night before. What I am proudest of is that I was able to speed up with the last 3 miles at 8:33, 8:23 and 8:43, so a solid negative split. Also the first big race were I have made it into the top 30% of all finishers. Bring on Brooklyn!
Deej Ferguson ran the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon and finished in a time of 2:10:43.
This half advertises as “The Prettiest Half in America” and I see why; 13.1 miles around the thoroughbred farms of Lexington, KY made for the most beautiful route I’ve ever run in my short running career. I was fortunate enough to be invited to do a trial run of the course a few weeks prior so I was prepped w/ my strategy for handling the hills that this course is made of… you barely get your breath back from climbing before you’re climbing again and this is the case throughout the entire race; My half PR, set on a flat course, is just over 2:00 so considering the hills & my recent “come-back” I was thinking anything less than 2:20 would sure be nice. I started confident, THANKS TO RC, I knew I was trained, just had to be smart & run wisely. At mile 4, I remember thinking, “just enjoy the beauty of God’s handiwork in front of you”.. then at 7 I recall feeling very strong and at 9, I had to smile as I passed the 2:15 pacers, realizing I was going to do better than I thought. As I crossed 10 my body was feeling the hills I had endured & rather than focusing on 5K, I set my sights on simply reaching 11. 12 was the next goal, then as I set my sights on 13 my mind tried to convince me to walk. Nothing wrong with that strategy but I don’t train to walk & I set a goal to not do so… I’ve shared w/ friends that I’m most proud of the fact I fought those mental demons and won… I ran every step of it and as I entered the final path leading in to the back of Keeneland Race Course, I scolded the severe toe cramp that came on and envisioned my Grandsons at the finish line screaming, “run Mammaw run”.. and run I did.. Never have I had a finish line I wanted to cross any more desperately and never have I experienced any more gratification in doing so!! THANKS JEFF & THE RC TEAM!! Y’all rock & I’m IN for life!! 10th of 113 Division finish – top 25% all females 🙂
Josh Sisemore ran the Bentonville Half Marathon and finished the distance in the time of 3:07:28, which was a PR!
This was my first half marathon. It was fun and rewarding to finish.
Karen Scobie ran the Prague Half Marathon and finished with a time of 2:10:05, which was a PR by 45 seconds.
Met up with my dear friend and fellow RC’er Monica for this ‘run-cation’.
This was going to be my ‘A’ race this training cycle, but I decided in Feb to change that to a FM in May and keep this a high priority tune-up. Yesterday, while walking around, we realized the cobblestones were going to be a bugger. I realized early that a sub-2 wasn’t going to happen. I tossed my hope of a PR when we couldn’t catch up with the 2:10 pace group until km 11 and could barely stay ahead of them, despite what my watch was telling me – I figured my watch was off. At km 19 Derek fell back further and told me to keep going. I struggled to stay with the 2:10 group, but at km 20 when my watch said I was doing a 5:30 pace, and I was still fighting to stay ahead of the group, I decided that if I wasn’t going to PR, then I would rather wait for Derek and we would run in together. I stopped and waited for him, and watched the pace group move out of sight.
I had never been in a race with pacers before, but thought that they ran true, not ‘no slower than’. So, ended up with a 45 second PR for all of the effort I’ve been putting in…ah well, next time. I was happy to cross the line holding hands with my husband, my rock for all of these races.
Julia Labovsky ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miles and finished in 1:19:40. This was a personal record by 3 minutes!
There was quite a bit of fervor about the high winds predicted for this year’s Cherry Blossom 10-mile race. The lack of signage at the start made things a bit chaotic, and I doubt that many were in the correct corral, because I was trapped behind runners for at least the first three miles. Clearly, the high wind warnings had not discouraged many from participating, because the course was really crowded. The winds pushed me forward at some points, and pushed me back at others, but the most memorable part of the race was a woman holding a sign that read, “Run Like the Wind!” While it was really ironic, I realized that I could be just as strong as that wind. The last two miles were head on to it, and it shows in my splits, so I was really surprised to find that I PR’d at 1:19:40.
Sharon Mosley ran the Scotland Run (10K) and finished this race event in the time of 1:01:20.
I was trying to either set a 10K pr (57 min), beat my last 10K time from January (63 min), or beat the last time I ran this specific race in 2013 (67 min). This was a very crowded race, but overall I enjoyed the light rain and the rolling hills, and I managed to get close to under an hour. In general, I am happy with my time and happy with how my RC training is going so far. Less than 50 days now until my Half.
Cody Rickert ran the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k with a finishing time of 41:36. This was a massive PR by 13 minutes 40 seconds.
This race last year kicked off my running journey so coming back this year to see how much I had improved was special. I’ve worked really hard and thanks to the runnerconnect community & coaching I was able to drop my time 13min40sec from last year on the tough bridge run course.
To make things even better, my wife also ran which was her first ever 10k. I was able to find her on the course after my race and ran the last 3 miles with her which was really special for me. Maybe with a little luck, I can drop another 13min by next year’s race. Wishful thinking 🙂
Anne-Lise Vivier ran the Scotland Run 10k and finished this race in the time of 54:50. This was a PR by 1:25.
My first race in the rain. It wasn’t too bad. I spent a bit of energy at the beginning trying to pass people, and in retrospect, I think I was a bit too conservative at the beginning of the race (the hills were in the first part of the race). Still, I PRed on the distance by quite a bit, so I will call it a good race. 🙂
Trieu Nguyen ran the United Airlines NYC half marathon and finished in a time of 2:02:16. This was a personal record by 3 minutes.
This race was really a good gauge for the training plan that I did since I had a benchmark to compare to another race. I beat my previous PR by over 3 minutes. This race is 2 weeks before my target race which is the Around the Bay 30K race.
Personally, I think without the training plan, I would have gotten a PR in this race but definitely not by over 3 minutes, maybe by a few seconds. The biggest impact of the training schedule was that I did not feel tired at all after the race! My cardio and endurance was a huge improvement thanks to the Runners Connect coaches!
Trieu Nguyen ran the Around the Bay 30K and finished this distance in the time of 3:16:08, which was a PR!
This was my first attempt at 30K race. I have done several half marathons. While the race did not go exactly as I planned, I was happy to be able to finish it. I had to tend with tightness in my left quad with 7k left which derailed my race. Since this is the first time doing this race, I guess it is a new PR.
Meldina Salmon ran the Hot Chocolate 15k and finished with a time of 1:29:01.
The night before I had 10 eleven year old boys spending the night to celebrate my twin’s birthday. So not much sleeping occurred! I felt good, which was a plus. And my final miles were the fastest miles, so I did not die towards the end. I feel like I need to work on my diaphragm breathing–that shallow breathing may be holding me back.
Zachary De Pian ran the Alexander the Great Marathon and finished in 4.02.49. This was a new personal record by 17 minutes!
This was my first Marathon with a RC running schedule and third marathon race in the past two and a half years since I started running. The program was great: Variety in runs, mileage that met my schedule and capabilities, progressive difficulty that allowed for gradual improvement.
Target was a sub-4 finish time having a PB at 4.20 from last November. The race went as planned until mile 23 (37K) but at that point I ran out of energy so I had to slow-down to regain my composure. I was able to fast-finish the last 1.5 mile (2Ks) and finished at 4.02.49, a PB by 17 minutes. Overall I am very happy and I look forward to my next race. Many thanks to all coaches and RunnersConnect.
Heather Joe ran the Altis Half at Tanglefoot Trail Half Marathon with a finishing time of 2:13:49.
Would have been faster but I stopped to help a runner sitting on the side of the path get some help toward the end. Weather was perfect. 11 min shy of a PR but I really wanted to just enjoy this and relax. Still managed to be first in my age group ha-ha but no awards given in this one. Met some great people and just had fun. Starting trail racing next week.
Paul Schnell ran the Reading Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:58:03.
Good to get a sub 2:00 in preparation for London marathon in 3 weeks.
Thanasis Kypraios ran the Schinias Duathlon and finished this race event in the time of 1:22:59.
First time in a duathlon race. The race was held near the city of Marathon, in a place called Schinias, at the Olympic venue of rowing. There is an artificial lake and it is surrounded by asphalt, where running and bike races are held. It is totally flat, but there is strong wind (halfway head and halfway tail). I loved that place from the moment I stepped my foot on it!
We began the race with a 5K run (first half headwind, second half tailwind). I can’t say I gave my 100%, and I finished 16th out of 100!
Then, the transition to 20K bike. I was completely inexperienced, it took me almost one minute without having to do much, I only put on my helmet and a windstopper jacket. The bike section was a complete nightmare… EVERYONE passed me!!! I was last! I could see some guys that we finished the running part together, finishing their 20K ride, while I had another 5K of bike to do! But I didn’t care at all, it was a completely new experience to me and I enjoyed it a lot!
Once again to the transition zone, and back to 2.5K running. I tried to gain some positions back during running and I managed to finish 70th out of 100. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience. I definitely want to try it again, this time with a more suitable bike for road racing.
Phil Copestake ran the Paris Marathon and finished in a time of 4:00:34. This was a massive personal record by 47 mins.
Attempted Paris two years ago and had to stop running at mile 20, then walked and sporadically jogged towards an unsatisfying 4:47 finish. This time I did it: ran the full distance despite, in the second half, temperatures that reached close to 20 degrees centigrade (for comparison I was training in nothing more than 10C). The training has been brilliant – being a stone lighter helped too! – and at each point in the race when the going got tough I knew I felt better and considerably fitter than I had at the same point two years ago. I’m so pleased to have run the whole distance, especially during a brutal second half during which I wanted nothing more than to stop. Now I have gotten this out of my system I’m looking forward to going back to running races that I actually enjoy! Thanks to the RC team for an excellent training programme, underpinned by super sound principles, and great support along the way.
Tom McCray ran the BCRR Break-Fast 5K, finishing this distance in the time of 21:38.
2nd race in the spring 5k season and final tune-up before next week’s Half. It was cold and windy, but I was still able to improve my best time for this course by one minute and earned 3rd place in my age group.
Laurie Householder ran the Publix Savannah Half Marathon & 5k and finished in 21:44, which was a 23 seconds PR!
I have spent the last 3 years training for marathons, neglecting shorter distances (other than the half) entirely. Since I just ran a marathon a month ago, I went into this race seeing it as a “baseline” for my 5k fitness and hoping it would be something I could build upon in the next several months. Lo and behold, I was surprised to finish #5th female overall out of 718 women in the 5k and was the winner of the Masters Division as well as my age group. First time actually winning money in a race! Sweet! But holy moly, 5k’s are so hard! I never knew I could breathe that hard for so long! Now I remember why I like long distance running so much!
Angel C ran the Springtime Tallahassee 10k and finished this race in the time of 1:20:17.
Great local race. Really enjoy this distance the most. Ran it with a few friends which is always nice. I proved from last 10k by about a minute, not huge but at least I didn’t get worse 🙂
Anna Squcciarini ran the Back on your Feet Half Marathon and finished with a time of 51:30, which was a PR!
This was a relay with my good friend and great running buddy. We split a half marathon. I went in thinking this would be a 10k, it turned out to be almost 7miles. I felt the workouts of the past few weeks after 2 miles. I was hoping to do a little better, my overall pace was 7:38 I think. Overall, still good but I definitely did not feel as strong as I was hoping. I must say the weather sucked, it was raining and it was so muddy (was a gravel trail). Overall, it was a fun race with my friend, we closed on 1:35:36 and we took overall team (small race). Good times, tired legs!!
+ I also ran the 2 final miles of the Egg Hill run with Josh on Sunday. He did most of the work, but those 2 fast miles (6:58 pace I think) were not easy the day after the relay!
Josh Wede ran the Run Around Egg Hill 10 Miles and finished this distance in the time of 1:07:17. This was a PR by 3.5 minutes.
Great run today! Freezing cold but a lot of fun. We ran this as a relay (with my wife – Anna Squicciarini) and we knocked over 3:30 off our time from last year and ended up as the first overall team (it’s a small race). Nailed all of our splits. Super happy with the results!
Kathy Balme ran the Around the Bay Hamilton 30k and finished with a time of 2:49:14.
I was using this race to guage my fitness level at this point; I’ve had sort of a hard time with training this season. I wasn’t looking for a PB (and didn’t get one), but I did make my goal of 2:50 or less. So I am quite happy with my results today. AND, my sister also ran this race and finished with an awesome time of 2:08! We’re both going to run in the same 1/2 marathon in 4 weeks, and then the same marathon in 8 weeks. My result today has given me a bit more confidence about those next 2 races, so I’m looking forward to them.
April Palmer ran the Racin for the seed 5k and completed this distance in the time of 27:22.
This was the first leg of a duathon the other two legs were a 14 mile bike and a one mile run. My 5K was a little slow because the course was long, I held back a little to save energy for the bike, and I got confused as to which way to turn and stopped near the very end for a few seconds.
Craig Mcadams ran the Cooper River Bridge Run 5k and finished in a time of 57:01. This was a new personal record by 5 minutes!
Big PR. Felt like I could easily go 6 more! Just barely 2 weeks into a formal training plan.
Susan Linz ran Cooper River Bridge Race 10k in Mt Pleasant to Charleston, SC.
Family gathering race (my son-in-law was 5th in Masters)… for me, the pace was as good as a 10K race last fall that was on flat course. My goal was to run a controlled race … I still need to learn about the “reel them in” part … and finishing strong. I also need to learn about what to do at the very crowded parts. Must be my pace is quite popular. 🙂 While not my best time, I think the result does show improvement, so pretty happy about that.
Roxane Allen ran the Around the Bay 30k in 2:57:20, which was a PR by 9 minutes.
It is the oldest race in North America (older than Boston). It is a tough course, but the great crowds always put a smile on my face. Love the distance. Glad to PR after issues with my R calf that have impacted my training. As well, the weather was bitter cold with high winds.
Heather Scullen ran the Unity 5K and finished the distance in the time of 24:39.
This wasn’t a PR, but I combined a run which I hadn’t done before. I ran 6 prior to the race and then raced the 5K. I did come in first female which was fun! The field was really small and I by no means was super fast if that tells you anything 😉 Overall…fun!!
Robert Bauman ran the San Francisco Rock n Roll Half Marathon with a finishing time of 2:59:36.
Was a tune up race for my marathon next month. Tested my marathon pace to see where I was fitness wise and it went very well despite the major hill I had to negotiate.
Grant Hughes ran the MEC 10K and finished the race with a time of 39:00, which was a PR by 47 seconds.
This was a great race in challenging conditions. Temperature was 19F with a windchill of 6F in 19mph winds. I went out hard with one group of guys but they started to fade before we reached the first mile. I stayed within 100 metres of the next couple of guys until I passed them just after mile 5. One of the guys that I passed in the last mile put on an amazing kick in the last couple of hundred metres and passed me to finish four seconds ahead of me, while I finished four seconds ahead of the other guy. Overall, I finished fourth but first in my age group. Turns out I ran an 8 sec negative split, too. Couldn’t be happier with this tune-up on the road to Boston!
Monica Phillips ran the Sportisimo Prague 1/2 Marathon and finished with a time of 2:25:46. This was a personal record by 5:54.
I am very happy with this result because I had a tough 2 weeks leading up to the race. I did follow my training plan for the last 2 weeks as I travelled overseas for only 4 days and suffered terrible jet lag and subsequently I came down with a terrible chest cold. I was not holding out much hope for a big improvement from my last 1/2. I did however make a plan and I stuck to it which in the end allowed me to post a 5min 54sec improvement. This has given me much more confidence that I can achieve the time goal I have set for the run portion of my Ironman in June.
I learned a valuable lesson about fueling – my body can’t handle the sugary gels or drinks. I’m going to have to focus on finding fuel that is less cloyingly sweet in order for me to successfully finish my longer endurance races.
Cindy Feury ran the Hot Chocolate 15k and finished in a time of 2:01:47, which was a PR.
This was a PR because it was the first time I did a 15k race. 🙂 I was happy with my time. My splits were consistent and I improved over the practice long runs. Being new to RunnersConnect and my BIG goal of completing the NYC Marathon I am excited to begin my training in earnest now that this race is behind me!
Matt Donkin ran the Kingston Breakfast Run and finished this race event in the time of 2:23:41. This was a massive PR by 00:16:39.
Raced the Kingston Breakfast Run this morning – 16.2 miles in warmer weather than we’ve had of late. Was not feeling very confident this morning so really pleased with the result. Have been struggling with a sore knee due to a tight quad so was worried I would make it worse ahead of the London Marathon in 3 weeks. Ran it at as planned at sub 4hr marathon pace and my leg managed to hold out ok. I raced this race once before, in 2012, and beat that time by 17 minutes so that’s good progress!
Edward Sum ran the Around the Bay 30k Road Race, finishing this distance in the time of 2:13:17. This was a huge personal record by 11 minutes.
After ZAP camp last summer and having to take 3 weeks off to heal an injury, this was an important comeback race for me as it’s part of my quest for a PR in my upcoming marathon in a month. Coach Casey and Coach Jeff wanted me to use this race as a ‘race simulation’ to see where we’re at and even though the expectations were high, I thought I maintained composure and nailed most of the paces required. It was a cold and windy day, with a series of rolling hills after 20k. I was happy with my PR and the silver medal (all runners get a silver instead of a bronze if they get sub 2:15 in the race). Definitely another step in the right direction for my training! I look forward to see how I’ll do in my marathon in 4 weeks!
Carmen Lopez-Acevedo ran the Asics Half Marathon Madrid and finished in a time of 2:08:34. This was a new personal record by 10:10.
Wow what an experience, I can honestly say its the first race I completely enjoyed. I still cant believe Ive done my first HM in 2:08! In training my previous PR for tge distance was 2:18:44. I had only done 10km before and always went so hard right from the beginning that I ended with nausea and retching through the finish line. Today I followed @sarah crouch advice and went at marathon pace for the first 12km 6-6.15km/min, km 13 started a long stretch of downhill and I increased the pace but without pushing too hard. Luckily I left a bit of energy for the end as last 2km was steep uphill but I finished strong and smiling. My husband couldn’t believe how well I looked and after stretching we walked 4km home.
Dean Morley ran the Kingston 20m breakfast run and finished with a time of 2:15:11.
20m tune-up race. Placed first in age group (MV50) and 16th overall (out of 600). Also went from 28th overall at first split to 17 overall at last split before home and estimated VO2max was 53.9 ml/kg/min. Aim was to start first few miles around 7min/mile, then move up to target MP (6.45-6.50), with the last 3 run quicker (so the classic Runner’s Connect approach!).
In view of my long lay off, went into the run a bit unsure of current fitness and ability to see this one through, but really pleased that was able to keep the paces throughout and had a bit left in the legs/ engine for a quicker finish – so averaged 6.43 min/mile overall.
