Chris Jones ran the Healthy Choice 5k and finished with a time of 24:06.
It was the first race in 6 months and the first race since starting back into training after my injury. So very pleased to have done it and got a reasonable time.
Siobhan Donegan ran the 35th Annual Stowe 8 miler and finished in a time of 1:01:09.
The classic Vermont race that is usually marked by heat and humidity was held in rainy and cool conditions in 2016. I came back for the third year in a row to try to run it in under one hour. Not in the cards for me this year but all in all a good run nonetheless.
After a slowish start (no real warm-up pre-race due to the rain) I was at 30:20 at the halfway point, which I felt good about given the conditions. Mile 5 was rolling and 6-8 had some steeper (but not impossible) climbs. I tried to maintain the pace I needed but just couldn’t hold it for the entire second half. Despite that, I managed to finish strong. 1:01:09 final. I was pretty drenched at the finish…but happy to be there!
A very competitive race across all age groups, which I love. I came in 3rd in my AG behind some pretty speedy local talent! Looking forward to returning to Stowe in 2017.
Brian St.George ran the Red Ore Run 5k and finished this distance in the time of 16:58.
I put a lot of sweat and tears into getting this race going every year (around 500 participants) and have also toed the line and run it every year. I went into the race with the current course record of 17:03 that I set during my first summer training with RC. I really wanted to get that time down comfortably into the 16:xx’s this year. I haven’t had a lot of 5K specific training this year, but I’m stubborn enough to think I could do it anyway. Fortunately, I had two runners up with me in the lead to help push the pace and make it a race. One of them was the guy I beat two years ago when I ran 17:03. Today, he got the best of me and outkicked me in the last 1/4 mile and beat me by 5 seconds. I’m happy for the kid who won (21 yr old college student) and know I’ll remember the back and forth race we had more than anything else once some time has passed.
I finished with a course PR, but fell 10 seconds short of a 5k PR. To top off my day, this is the first time I’ve had all 3 of my kids run the 5K. I was super impressed with my 6 yr old son who ran his first 5k in 31:32. That kid shows some potential, but I was even more moved by my 8 yr old daughter who I found walking on the course at about 2.5 miles. Proud Dad day!
Charlotte Taylor ran the Maiden Castle Loop 10k, finishing this distance in the time of 56.08.
A 10.3 kilometre race around Maiden Castle Hill Fort, possibly the biggest Iron Age Hill Fort in England. Very challenging course due to the hills and running along the ramparts with the wind blowing a hooley!! Totally amazing evening race … loved it and will go back next year 🙂
Bonnie Galvin ran the Saratoga Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:46.
This was a tune-up race and apparently, I need a lot of tuning up! I finished 5 minutes off my PR. The course had some killer hills, but I think it was the humidity that did me in. The bottoms of my feet really started to burn around mile 8 due to old shoes and I earned a blister on the side / bottom of my left foot. But, other than the foot issues, overall I felt good.
Courteney Schinbeckler ran the Mountain Man Triathlon-Sprint Distance and finished this race event in the time of 37:25.
This was my first triathlon. Three months ago, I had not swam in years, let along being able to swim a half mile. I bought a bike just to be able to do this. I finished. I was close to the last one in, but I finished it!
Christian Willis ran the Bath Two Tunnels Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:33:50. This was a personal record by 3 minutes!
This was quite a small race with about 150 people doing the half marathon, they also had a 5K and 10K (most popular) on the same course. I had been training to achieve a 1:35 as I felt 3 years ago when I achieved my PB of 1:36 I gave everything and wondered if I could improve. I was in a good place when starting my training as I had done London Marathon in April and overall my training went well. The race was on tarmac on cycle paths and there were 2 tunnels one a mile long and the other 1/4 of a mile so overall 5 miles of the race was in tunnels and the coolness of the tunnels was very welcoming. The second lap of the course was good as there were quite a few 10K runners I started passing which encouraged me more. The last 3K I could tell there was a runner running at a similar pace to me not far behind. With 2K to go we were running together and we helped push each other to the end making sure I finished ahead :). I was stunned when I realized I had done a 1:33 and came 9th overall. I could not stop smiling. A 3 minute improvement that is massive and would never have believed I was capable of that.
John Ranger ran the Masters Athletics WA Club Half Marathon in 1:33:34, which was a PR by 36 seconds.
This was the culmination of a tough few months of training and racing for me. The course was 2 laps of 10.5km each. I started well and without pushing too hard settled into the race. Unfortunately at the pace I was running I was well off the front runners, but soon dropped the couple of runners sitting with me.
I went through the first lap in 46:10 but couldn’t quite maintain that pace for the second lap. The wind had picked up on this lap but I couldn’t use it as much when I had it and struggled a bit in the last few kilometers to the finish when it was in my face. Nevertheless, I was able to finish with a 36 second PR, capping off a great cycle for me. Since London on April 24 when I achieved a marathon PR, I have gone on to get PRs in the 5k, 10k and now the half marathon!
Time for a short rest before training begins for the World Masters Athletics Championships Marathon (in my hometown – https://www.perth2016.com/) in November.
Kory Wnuk ran the Coyote Chase Trail Run and finished in a time of 14:07, which was a PR!
It was another hot trail race filled with all sorts of sparkly, magical unicorn goodness. Unlike the previous two races of the three race series, this race was approximately 2 miles. As it was a bright sunny morning, I was wishing for more shade than I actually got. By the end of the race I was nearly overheating. I had a strong kick at the end, but it was not strong enough to reel-in the runner in front of me. I ended up 21st overall, 5th in my age group, and was the 18th male to finish. I believe there were nearly 250 people in this race. The big question is, would I do this series again? I would have to emphatically say “Yes!” It was really nice to get off the road for a bit. I can tell you that I did not realize how big a difference there is running on trails versus running on the road. Nothing like the muscular soreness of a good trail run.
Con Kittos ran the Real Insurance 10km and finished this race in the time of 49:32. This was a new personal record by 1 minute.
I guess I should be pleased with a new personal record for the 10km, beat my previous best by 1 minute although I was training to do better than that. The entire run went to plan except for the 1st 3km which was slower than I had planned for. During the 1st km my watch said I was going too fast (4:30) so I slowed down to 5:00 (which was my plan for the 1st 3km). Although my watch said I was doing 5:00 in fact I wasn’t, I was doing more like 5:30 – 6:00. This means I lost a precious minutes.
Very disappointing that I relied on the watch rather than push for what felt like 5:00 in the 1st 3km. Darn, I really wanted to break 45mins. Next time I wont be paying so much attention to the watch.
Catherine Hayes ran the Clontarf Half Marathon with a finishing time of 01:56:49.
The course was very flat but running on sand (even though most of it was fairly hard) was not as easy as running on the road and the swirling wind from the sea was so strong for more than half of the distance that it made for a very difficult race and slower pace that hoped for by about 4 minutes (1:53:52 was my previous best last September). I was a bit annoyed with myself for not having looked into the race a bit more beforehand.
On a positive note my sister who usually only runs 10ks ran with me and some French visitors who were in Dublin staying with me for the weekend enjoyed the whole event.
Bruce Bergeson ran the Steel Day’s 5K & 10K (5k) and completed this distance in the time of 21:49.8.
This was my first race 5 years ago. My daughter had just started high school cross country that summer. Now, five years later, I’m first in my age group in the home town race. It has been a wonderful 5 years and here is to many more years to come.
Cynthia Morris ran the Mt. Hood 50 mile and finished with a time of 10:14:49. This was a massive personal record by 35 minutes!
This ended up being a lot harder than I remembered. Both my Achilles/heals hurt from the start but were manageable. I was all out of sorts the first 14 but at the turn around I got it together. I followed Coach Jamie’s race plan starting out in the back and walking the hills. I must admit I ran alot of the hills on the second 14 miles cuz they were not steep. I hit 28 miles in 5 hrs. The last 22 had most of the vertical with long steep climbs. My left IT band started hurting at mile 35. This made downhill running very painful. I kept thinking of Coach Sarah and her comment that we are in the “pain management” business. That is what I did. I would run until I couldn’t stand it and walk a ways. I guess I won my age group out of 11 (and oldest in my age group) 5/28 in the masters, 15/50 women, 66/150 overall!! I beat my time at 43 yrs old in 2002 by 35 mins. I wanted to break 10 hrs but I had to go off trail many times to go to the bathroom which took up a lot of time plus not being able to run that last downhill killed me. I am very happy!
Sanaa Cody ran the Texas Too Hot to Handle 15k, finishing this distance in the time of 1:23:44. This was a PR by 00:02:55.
This was my first race since I joined RC, it was a tune-up race for Chicago Marathon. I knew the terrain was hilly but of course it was even hillier than I remembered the area to be. Nonetheless, I had the confidence I could run it well based on my splits in training. I haven’t ran this race since 2013 and the course has changed since; it was harder this year and I still pulled off a PR in this distance by almost 3 minutes. Very happy with the results.
Patrick Douglass ran the The Boilermaker 15k and finished with a time of 1:14:03, which was a PR by 01:37.
My plan was to finish under 1:14:00 for this race and thanks to some great weather (not really hot) I was able to run below my planned pace and was feeling great. I finished at 1:14:03 but by my watch I ran 9.41 miles at 7:52 avg pace. I figure at 9.3 miles I was well under my goal time. This is my best time for this race and I bettered last years time by 1min, 37sec. This is always a fun race with lots of people and free Saranac beer at the post race party.
Ralph Caddell ran the Coyote Chase Trail Race and finished in a time of 15:44.
Picked up Kory Wnuk and drove to another Hot Trail Race. It was 87F at the start and very humid as usual in New Orleans. Glad it was only a little under 2 miles. I won my age group for the second race in a row. This was the last race of the 3 Race New Orleans Trail Series. I would have took first in age group in all three if not for a wrong turn and an extra couple miles on the first race. It was a fun series. Kory had another awesome race. Now back to the road to train for the early September Half Marathon.
Hein Mynhardt ran the EY Riverrun Classic Half Marathon and finished this distance in the time of 1:39:27.
A Small race along a river with lovely scenery. Day was Hot n humid with a late start to the run. 1st 8 k was a slog, just not wanting to do this but then things started to click and the farther, the better it got. Last 3 k’s was a blast, got me thumping tunes on and burned rubber with negative splits. All in all, a good run with more bling AND a good excuse for a cold beer.
Robert Christensen ran the Mayor’s Triathlon (Sprint) 5k and finished with a time of 30:37. This was a personal record by 2 minutes!
I signed up to do this same Sprint Triathlon in 2015 but cancelled because of a heart condition. With treatment, my heart has improved so much that my cardiologist has cleared me to run 10k’s and Sprint Triathlons (300M swim, 15 mile bike, 5k run) and this is the first Tri I’ve done since getting cleared…it went very well! Felt good the whole time and finished a respectable 9th out of 23 in my age group. My wife was also in the Tri and we’re finding we really like participating in events like this together. Set a 5k PR after doing a hard swim and bike ride…next goal is a sub 30 minute 5k!
