Team RunnersConnect racing strong in the heat bringing in 2PRs and several age group awards

Peter Mann ran the Henley to Henley 30k, finishing this distance in the time of 2:43:43.

Learnt a lot from this race. During the 10 days prior I had been away on an overseas surfing trip (great fun, minimal running though). Added to this I have been a little unwell with ‘Bali Belly’ which meant I was able to eat very little in the 3-4 days prior to the race. Therefore I adjusted my paces to what I felt would be appropriate for the race (30-45secs slower per km).

To make my run a little more interesting I somehow managed to leave my Garmin in my toiletries bag in our hotel. To overcome this I wrote down my split times on a piece of paper and thought I would be able to use the Runkeeper app to give me time and distance updates through my headphones. Not ideal but a good solution I thought.

During the race the audio alerts were not working for some reason, plus the rain made my split time piece of paper all soggy and unreadable!! So I just decided to run by feel. I was already running a little slower due to the Bali belly anyway so I made sure the first half (15km) was nice and easy then I decided to crank it up a little on the way home. The weather was challenging, very cold, wet and windy. However the run itself was very nice.

Overall I am very happy. Considering all circumstances, both under and out of my control, I was stoked to come home strong. Plus I learnt plenty about myself. 1) how to run a race a little more by feel. 2) the importance of being properly prepared for a race, both with your gear, and your general health. 3) My race nutrition. Looking forward to my next tune up in a few weeks time. Happy running!!

Peg Hoffman ran the Tri Lakes Triathlon and finished with a time of 2:54:38.

Had a lot of fun completing this Olympic Triathlon as a tune-up race. It was my first tri in almost a year. I was so focused on my end of May marathon that I did not really start training for the swim and bike until July. I did not break any records but I felt strong throughout the race, especially on the run, and truly enjoyed every moment. I love doing triathlons casually in the summer and recommend it to runners looking to add some cross training or wanting to try something new!

Cheryl Red ran the Wharf to Wharf race with a finishing time of 1:05:26.

It was the first time in this race, running along the beautiful coastline between Santa Cruz and Capitola, CA. It was 6 miles, and it was my first race after taking a month off of running with Achilles issues. It felt great to get back into the swing of things, and now I feel ready to take on a half marathon in Big Sur in November!

Christian Messerschmidt ran the Tread Brightly half marathon and finished with a time of 2:27.

Trail race double Friday night, Saturday morning, hunched over with cramps in race 2….

Christian Messerschmidt ran the Tread Nightly Trail and finished in a time of 2:03.

Tony Pallotta ran the Rosaryville trail run 10k, finishing this distance in the time of 00:57:45.

Still in my rookie year, overall my 3rd time racing. Although my training went well and hit all the paces on my training schedule, the course conditions and 90 degree heat index left me a 12 minutes short of my goal time. Plus it was my first trail race and I had no idea what to expect. The venue offered race distances from 10k to 50k and the trail was a single runner wide path with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns with lots of roots. I made a mistake of watching my gps instead of going by feel. After 1 mile my pace showed 8:00/mile and I thought I was running to slow. So, I upper the pace but around mile 3 there was a .25 mile climb and I was very hot and breathing hard at the end that hill. I learned a lot though and it was fun. It takes a lot more mental energy to run a trail race having to concentrate on every step and not being able to go too fast on the down hills because of footing issues. Good news was even though I was shocked at my slow time I placed 6th overall out of 44 10k runners and second in my age group of 50-59. I did have stamina and strength to finish strong finish strong thanks to a great training schedule and great coaches and running community!

Calum McLellan ran the Hornissenlauf 10k race and finished with a time of 46:50.

With around 150-200m elevation change, this was a tough race! The first half was mostly downhill and the last 3-4k almost all uphill. I paced myself well and nobody passed me in the last 5km (I overtook about 10 people). Although I seem to be getting better at racing by feel, I can’t help thinking that I may have gone out a bit slow after all my recent half marathons. I felt really good right through to the 9km mark and it only started getting hard in the last km.

I came in 28th out of about 150 and 4th in my age group – just missed out on my first ever top 3 finish! Next time 🙂

Thanasis Kypraios ran the Zagori Marathon and finished in a time of 7:32.

45 km’s of trail running, on one of the most beautiful and wild sceneries of northern Greece. At 06.30 am the race begins. The course follows the trail paths through arch stone bridges, plane trees and rivers. The first 17km’s are very easy, almost flat, on soft ground. The weather is still cold, we run and have a fantastic time, chatting and laughing. I try to stay consistent with the nutrition plan, I take water, saltsticks and gels, knowing that the easy part is not gonna last much…

At the 17th km there is a small water station and then, begins the steep uphill. I try to keep a steady pace (not walking – I run slowly with small and brief steps). After some time, I have to walk, but we manage to form a small group that climbs the uphill at a steady, pleasant pace. At the 21st km we arrive at a village where there is a big station: watermelon, chips, potatoes, raisins, water, cola, isotonic, but most important, cheering! We leave the station knowing that there are still 9 km’s of constant uphill. These 9 km’s are very hard. We begin to see the big shelter that is waiting for us at the peak of the mountain.

Once again, we eat at the shelter and we are relieved that the big uphill is over. But, in trail running, the downhill part is sometimes harder than the uphill… We have to go down the mountain through stone rock paths, and the quads feel like jelly. Apart from these thoughts that I make, my body feels ok. Neither hard breathing, nor energy depletion. The rock downhill is finally over and now I am running through the village’s central square and next to the local taverns where people are cheering me up. I wave to them, thanking them for their huge support. One last downhill where I can’t slow down, I am sprinting, and one final turn before the finish line. That’s it!

I take my medal, water and cola and I find a shade to sit down. Exhausted. But happy! And already thinking about what the next big challenge is gonna be…

Victoria Boland ran the Race for a Reason 5k and finished this distance in the time of 26:12, which was a PR!

Was a HOT day even early in the AM (85 F). Ate an english muffin and almost one whole hard boiled egg before the race, ran HARD, and I’m not really sure what my pace should’ve been, perhaps I overdid it? I ran by feel mostly. Warmed up as per the guidelines for a 5K. Towards the end I was able to pass the person in front of me by imagining me being pulled to her by a rope. The visualization helped! Finished way ahead of her… Had a banana and a few bites of bagel after the race, felt good. I won 2nd place for my age group, so that was cool.

Stacy Thomas ran the Insane Inflatable 5K race in Madison, WI.

It was a great fun race with 11 inflatable obstacles over the 5K course. My sister (who used to be a much better runner than I am) also did it; and I beat her.

Rooney Kelly ran the Harrington Passage 10km and finished the race event in the time of 59:36.

This 10km race was very enjoyable. I ran along the ocean for much of it and it was beautiful. I felt good and had a lot left and wish l had of pushed myself more but was too engrossed by the scenery .

Alex Viderman ran the Arizona Sunrise Series – Rio Vista Park 5k and finished in 00:20:19.

This was my first race under RC training. I placed 6th out of 249 and 1st in age group 35-39! It was my second fastest 5k time. It was around 95 degrees that morning. I’ve never raced in those temps before so I am calling it my heat-adjusted PR. A month ago, before I joined RC, I ran my worst 5k ever, and this is the strongest I’ve ever felt in a 5k! I was a bit nervous after last month’s performance, especially with higher temps, but the RC recommended changes in my training really paid off! Thank you!

Maya Ostrander ran the Napa to Sonoma (Destination races) Half Marathon and finished in a time of 2:30:28. This was a personal record by 16 minutes!

My goal for my first race (last year) was to simply finish; this time I wanted to beat my own time. I was surrounded by 3,500 other runners, but it really was just me, against myself.

The day of the race was off to a very rough start, as my plan to arrive to the start line 1 hour before start time quickly crumbled to pieces. I arrived 6 minutes before the gun went off, frazzled, sleep deprived, and panicking for the lack of warm-up/stretch time. I decided to go all the way to the back of the line to buy myself some time. Once I crossed the start line, it took a lot of effort not to take off fast.

At mile 3 I had to stop to use the restroom. It took me almost 4-5 miles to calm down and settle into a nice pace. I was determined to sticking by my negative-split race plan and that helped me focus. I eventually started passing my friends (we ran as a team), which felt pretty good because it signaled that my plan was working. I am not a very fast runner, but I am proud to say that I didn’t take walk breaks! I wanted to hit the 2:30 mark and not a minute later. LASER FOCUS. I used the ‘reeling people in’ visualization technique and it really helped.

Then there it was, the finish line…. I ran that last .1 mile as fast as I could; I was so excited, but so fatigued… Then I saw my husband and my daughter; I picked her up and ran to cross the finish line. I am so proud of myself… I still can’t believe that just a year ago I couldn’t run more than 3 minutes nonstop; now I can run more than 13 miles!! When I ask my daughter “why does mamma run?”, she says, “to be strong!”. She’s right 😀

Kari Ingebritsen ran the Torchlight 5K and finished with a time of 28:58.

This was a HOT Tune Up 5K race. It got to 99 degrees F and by the end of the evening it was still 88 degrees. Clearly I was not going to be running any PRs during this one, so I targeted about 30-40 seconds slower as a goal. I went out too fast and had to slow down. I finished about 1 minute slower than my PR, and given the extreme heat, I am fine with this. The race was at the beginning of the Torchlight Parade, so there were lots of people on the sides of the road cheering runners on. If not for the heat, this would have been one of my favorite race paths through the city.

Michelle Fox ran the King Salmon Marathon and finished with a time of 3:59:17.

I ran this marathon on my 30th birthday in Alaska, a place I’ve always dreamed of visiting. The weather that morning was absolutely perfect running weather – mid-50s, overcast, and drizzly.

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