Becky Venter ran the Queenstown International Marathon 10k and finished with a time of 46:37, which was a 50 seconds PR!
A year ago I ran my first ever half marathon distance in this same race. The scenery and running trails in the Queenstown district are just so stunning that I had to come back this year with my best friend to do it all again! I’m pleased to say that I PR’d at all four races I entered and have improved my 10km race time by 2:30! While I didn’t quite reach my ultimate goal time of 45 minutes in this race, 95% of the course was on hard-packed gravel, so I’m guessing it probably ran a little slower than a road race.
My strategy for the race was to not start out too fast, then once I’d settled into a good steady rhythm, to find someone to latch on to and just not let go! Well, it must have been my day, as within 500 metres of the start I found a guy running at the perfect pace for me! So I pulled alongside him and we ran side-by-side for the next 9km’s completely in-sync. Over the last 500m he did drop the pedal more than me and ended up crossing the line about 10 seconds ahead, but I still gave it everything I had and was very happy with my race!
I was even more super stoked when I discovered that I had won my age group and was the 9th fastest woman on the course. The icing on the cake was being called up onto stage during prize giving to be presented with a $50 voucher for my efforts! Naturally, this went straight towards a new running top 🙂
Wendy Macias Hall ran the Shiner Beer Run half marathon and finished this race event in the time of 2:24:49.
6 first miles of hills, 45 mi wind in front of us while going through the hills. 1 mile of loose gravel with golf size rocks. My longest run was 6 miles; IT band on right knee killed my pace by mile 11, when l had to stop abd stretch few times, and take walk breaks every 1/2 mile until the end. 2 days later only left quads are significantly sorer than left. I finished with plenty of energy and stayed at the after party util 8pm.
Karen Wilson ran the Rock n Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:56:45.
Running down Las Vegas Blvd. with all the lights was such an awesome experience! There were several runners dressed as Elvis which was cool. And the best was when I was approaching the finish line, the Mirage volcano was erupting–what a way to finish!!
Karin Wallace ran the Philadelphia Marathon and finished in a time of 4:08:04.
I had a lot of expectations for this race, which I didn’t quite achieve. That’s OK, I will learn from it. For one thing I hadn’t run a marathon since October last year, which isn’t a really long time, but I also didn’t run any tuneup races, and I let nerves get the better of me. To add to that, I’ve been telling myself for the last 2 years that race time didn’t matter, because when my BQ time went down this year (I turned 40), I could run Philly and try to make it. No pressure, right? So I will try not to do that to myself again.
The race itself is great. It is late fall obviously, so the weather is nice and cool. There are a lot of spectators to support you, but also some nice quiet stretches where you are running along the river. Finally, they hand out hot chicken broth at the end of the race. Genious, when you are shivering in the cold and just finished a really long run, there is nothing better.
Brian Putnam ran the Route 66 Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:53:15. This was a personal record by 0:06:30.
It was the first half marathon that I’ve been able to run without bonking. My energy stayed with me throughout the race and I was able to finish with some left in the tank. Sadly, I missed the road signs and took a wrong turn. The full marathoners split off and I ran their direction. So, my official race results show that I finished somewhere around 2:10:00, but I know that’s incorrect. Once I discovered my mistake, it was too late to go back and salvage my time so I just kept running an additional 1/2 mile through the half marathon finish point and stopped my watch at 13.11 miles before walking back to the split point, finding my wife miraculously running by there just at that moment, and finishing the half marathon with her.
Kirsten Reynolds ran the Philadelphia Marathon and finished with a time of 4:58:37. This was a massive PR by 49 minutes!
This race was special because I was able to finish with a great time on a sprained foot!
Grant Hughes ran the USA Half Marathon Invitational and finished the distance in the time of 1:32:17.
This was the inaugural running of this race, which had a two tiered qualifying standard. That being said, it was a nice course to run and offered some good challenges. I took the first few miles easyish and the long grind of a big hill between miles 1 and 2 wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. The size of the rolling hills after that were unexpected, however. The final peak came at about 5 miles, with a sign across the road, conveniently saying “Hillcrest”. By this time I was kind of into a groove but found it hard to keep a pace. Then the big downhill…. It was steep and long. I went as fast as I could while still maintaining control. The next few miles had several underpasses, overpasses and bridges with climbs that were unexpected as well. In the second half everyone was pretty spread out, so I spent a lot of time in no-man’s land, working on reeling the next person in. I gave it all I had for the last mile (which seemed like an eternity). In the end, I finished 14 of 160 in my age group.
Tim Buckingham ran the Run for Runaways 5K and finished with a time of 21:49.
Once again, this old guy went out too fast and suffered the consequences for the last 2 miles of the race. On the bright side… I was 5th overall and the first “old guy” across the line. I have redemption on my mind on Thanksgiving Day as I am running another 5K in Knoxville, Tennessee with my family. 🙂
Heather Joe ran the Magic City Half Marathon and finished in a time of 2:02:04.
Windy, windy, windy. I felt a little worn today but I still felt I ran strong. This was a PR yet not. My half last month was 1:58 but come to find out a few days later the course was .46 miles too short so it would have probably been a PR at 2:04. I wanted to sub 2 today but I was just not there, a hill toward the end took me down a notch. I ran 10 seconds faster/mile this time compared to my half last month so I see a big improvement. This was my third of three half marathons in 3 months to complete the triple crown challenge with my track club. Thank you coaches I really am growing so fast this year as a runner. This was a course PR of 10 minutes as well!
Becky Purdy ran the Philadelphia Half Marathon and finished in 1:49:42.
My best race in quite some time and the most fun I’ve had in a race in a few years! Followed my race plan, heeded my mantras (“Patience” in the first 3 miles, “Relax” in next 9 miles, “Pass” in last mile), and pushed away self-doubts when they inevitably arose at a few spots during the race. It helped a lot, especially from 3 miles to 10 miles, to look for people or groups of people who were running about the pace I wanted to go. I think it helped me to settle and not feel I had to push so hard to maintain pace. Although this is a relatively flat course, I made sure I maintained effort (not pace) on the uphills while reminding myself that I would recover, and I took advantage of the downhills to relax and, without increasing effort, make up for the slower pace on the uphills.
MJ Llamas ran the Harbor Lights Half Marathon and finished with a time of 2:09:38, which was a PR by 1 min 3 secs.
Wow! What a race. Nasty cold rain and gusty winds, high waters around the local neighborhoods, tapped dance through uneven and wet cobblestones and a pit stop at Mile 6. All that and I was still able to pull out a 1min 3sec PR!! As I raced through the course and braved the conditions, I started to worry that I was not physically up to the challenge to finish this. Between Miles 8-12 was just downpour. The temps also dropped from mid-50’s to around low 40’s.
Yet with all the obstacles ahead of me, I was able to tap into my RC-trained mental fitness and stay focused on my pace and breathing. Training with Runners Connect has really elevated my running skills. From a 2:45 half marathon 18 months ago to 2:09 today (and 3 full marathons in between). No way I could have done it all injury free without RC. Happy Thanksgiving RC Coaches, I am grateful for everything you’ve done to help my running life!
Angel Chavez ran Berkeley Half Marathon with a finishing time of 2:08:40, which was a PR by 56 seconds!
I had some little setbacks along the way during this race but these just tell me that I really can do even better if I figure out solutions to these little things. The pacer really helped me this race, I never used one before for fear that it might hold me back if I were capable of more but I picked a pacer that was a time just out of reach for me and stuck to him like my life depended on it… Until that dreaded rumbling tummy can’t wait anymore bathroom stop at the beginning of mile 12. After that my pace slowed but luckily that was only 2 more miles so it only set me about 4 minutes behind goal. It may only be a minute PR but ‘lol take it!
Chet Kupchella ran the Philadelphia Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:25:59. This was a huge personal record by 17:07.
Even with all my days off and worrying over my ankle these past 3-4 weeks, I nailed it! All the hard work in the months before still paid off. A 6:33/mi pace landed me 179th overall and 28th in my division. And I certainly made race strategy mistakes (this is only my 2nd half marathon) so I’m pretty sure I can still cut off a good chunk of time!
Miles 3-9 flew by. There was a killer hill around mile 10 but I adjusted my pace and rolled with it. Training really paid off in the last 3 miles: 6:28, 6:25, 6:26, and a strong finish. I felt the gas running out, but thanks to all that speed work I recognized the feeling and pushed through. And every last drop came out when two people tried to pass me at the finish line – wasn’t about to let that happen!
This is huge for my racing confidence. In the past 3 years I’ve run two full marathons and one half but haven’t been happy with the results. My last HM was less of a race and more just for fun, hence the 17 minute PR. Now I’m looking forward to the next round of training and feel a BQ performance is within reach.
David Hendrix ran the Route 66 Marathon and finished in a time of 3:44:02, which was a PR by 2:52.
This was my second full marathon. Much different experience than the first, where I felt like I ran a strong race but got dizzy at the end and was dazed and confused for the last 3.5 and had to walk a fair amount of it in order to stay upright.
Wasn’t sure what to expect going into this race. The course was VERY hilly. Felt pretty good on the front half, but my legs were gone by mile 16. At that point, I told myself if I could just hang on at easy pace for the last 10, I could still PR. Mentally, this was MUCH more challenging that my first marathon. I had started running with a random stranger named Brian around mile 10. We stayed together through 15 and then traded leads back and forth for the rest of the race.
Overall, the time was slower than I was hoping, but there were a lot of positives:
1. No dizziness
2. Ran the whole thing
3. PR’d by almost 3 minutes
4. Mentally stayed in it
Minna Hayman ran the Malta International Challenge Marathon and finished the distance in the time of 3:46:30, which was a PR!
The race is unique in the sense that a full marathon distance is covered over three consecutive days in different locations on the Mediterranean island of Malta: Friday 11.2k, Saturday 6k and Sunday 25k. For me personally just taking part in itself was already a major accomplishment, having suffered endless injuries in the past. Thanks to RC program, strength work and expert coaching I managed the training without hiccups and finally line up each day at the start feeling like I could give it a fair go.
Each day had it’s own challenges; beastly hills that would stretch on endlessly and the accumulating tiredness until Sunday’s final effort of 25k which was to be the longest distance I’ve ever run so far. I followed the pacing suggested by Coaches Jamie and Sarah as well as I could and felt surprisingly strong the whole way. Naturally my legs grew tired towards the end, especially since the last 5k still contained two very demanding ascents from sea level to the bastions of Valletta, but I managed some kind of all out sprint to the finish line. It’s definitely a race to remember and happily my team placed 2nd in women’s team category.
My timings were: averall total finish time 3h46m30s
Friday 11.2k 58m40s
Saturday 6k 31m51s
Sunday 25k 2h16m00s
Art Mercurio ran the Philadelphia Marathon and finished with a time of 4:26:376.
This was not the race I was expecting. I kept it slow for the first six miles and then started picking up the pace. I was OK for another 6 miles but found it difficult to sustain that pace. I thought about doing the half but decided to push on. By miles 17-20, I gave serious thought to dropping out but pushed on to the finish. I now realize that my body was fighting a bug during the race, which probably explains why I felt lethargic. In hindsight, I should have cut the race short (but the finisher’s medal is so cool). As Michelangelo said, “I am still learning”, even after all of these years running. Congrats to other RC runners who ran Philly.
Leslie May ran the HMSA Classical 25K and finished in a time of 02:13:12.6, which was a PR!
This was my first 25K. One of the runners paced me out which helped a lot. The wind kicked up and slowed me down in the last 5K when I was supposed to speed up. Nevertheless my average pace per mile was 8:36, big improvement over my last half marathon at 8:52. 7th in my age group (50-54).
Mary Merkel ran the Wolf Hollow Half Marathon and finished with a time of 2:27:20.
I have had such a satisfying training cycle with RC and have learned a lot about what I am capable of. That alone was enough for me, regardless of the race results. And, to be honest, I am not so competitive about times and racing so it did not feel critical to race if I was hurt. However, Coach Jamie really encouraged me to rest and stretch as much as possible in the week prior and to give it a go — her exact words were that it would be “a trust fall on the starting line”. That is what it was. I was extremely cautious and once I got going, I felt that I could finish but I realized that I would not be able to shoot for the pace I needed to PR if I wanted to be safe in terms of the injury. So I just let that go and enjoyed pushing myself to what I could do. This race is on my home trails — it is where I learned to run outside with confidence, first with my beloved Golden retriever, and later, without her. It was a big deal for me to participate and finish despite the bad luck of an injury in the very end of this training cycle. Thanks so much to RC and to Coaches Sarah, Jamie and Danny for your help and support. I am so grateful for this amazing community!
David Sheehy ran the Annapolis Half Marathon and finished the race with a time of 01:40:00, which was a PR!
This was my first half marathon and second road race ever – first in September. I blew away my goal of doing 8 min/mile, running a 7:30. Ran very consistent pace. Decided to go out faster than originally planned as I realized that the hills were ~miles 6-10 and I was unlikely to pick up time then. I felt great almost the entire race (except for the hills near end) and was able to finish very strong. Really pleased with my training and preparation.
Jim Paterson ran the Myakka River State Park Half Marathon, finishing this distance in the time of 2:23:25.
Decided to run at 11:00 -11:30 pace. My initial goal was just to finish but as the race progressed, I adjusted my goal to finish under 2:30. I was pleased that I was still able to push the last 5k at a 10 minute pace. Training program definitely helped in understanding how to go with what your body is telling you and avoid injury. The slower start allowed me to finish strong. Despite not making my initial plan of 2 hours, I was pleased with my race. And the biggest part – had a bunch of fun with my training partners.
John Acord ran the Ras Tanura Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:46:12. This was a PR by 0:09:08.
I ran this same race last year and missed a sub 2 hour half marathon by seconds, and I really trained and worked out and took 14 minutes off this race. It also shows the good training program that RC has done for me and looking forward to continuing the training for Tokyo.
