Tom McCray ran the Blaze of Glory 5k and finished with a time of 21:45.
First race of the year, so my only goal was to work on pacing and avoid running the first half too fast. The race plan worked well – I was able to run negative splits & improved my time for this course by 1 minute.
Becky Venter ran the Coatesville Classic, Auckland and finished with a time of 17:08, which was a PR!
I wanted to have a bit of fun this weekend and ran the Coatesville Classic 4km downhill dash, which was a friendly local event hosted on closed country roads. It’s the first time I’ve entered a race less than 10kms long, so I was a little unsure of strategy and just put my foot down and went for it. I placed 4th, although in my defence, only one adult woman beat me … first and second place went to a couple of little tackers who didn’t look a day over 15! Oh to be young again 🙂
Diana Cano ran the Rock n’ Roll Mexico City Half Marathon and finished this distance in the time of 2:19:33.
The course of this race was soooo tough, the altitude of Mexico City is so high above 2,300 above sea level and make it so hard to run at a great altitude but also the course was very hilly. Also is a night race and if you are not get used to run in the night is a little bit complicated. I ran this race last year but I did not had a great time, I did 2 hours and 43 minutes, so this time I had a better much better time!! 24 minutes less than last year. I could have made a better time because I felt ever than ever, however I´m training to run the Vancouver Marathon this year in May so this tune up race was part of my training so I decided just to run at easy pace no need to rush or going faster due to the difficulty level. I´m so happy because I crushed my previous time!
Morgan Daulton ran the The Perfect 10 Miler and finished in a time of 1:30:39.
This was a tune up race for my Marathon coming up in April. I did not PR as I was specifically trying to run at my marathon race pace the entire time. I did – 9:03 pace, but it was a struggle at the end. It makes me think that I should slow the pace down for the marathon.
Vanessa Jewell ran the SPAHP 5K with a finishing time of 26:22.
This was my first race in almost two years (due to hip surgery and pregnancy). Only 12 weeks post partum and I’m am super thrilled about my time! I believe it was one of my top 5 fastest 5Ks that I’ve run……ever! Woohoo!
Jeff Horton ran the Dash Down Greenville 5K and finished this race event in the time of 20:15.
Had a good race in windy conditions. Almost had negative splits, but 2nd half of the course has two hills, one short and quite steep and the other not so steep but nearly 1/2 mile long, and then that final headwind. Nevertheless, mile splits varied by only 5 seconds, so that’s even enough. In the homestretch one wind gust hit me hard enough to knock me off my stride, but I still finished strong over the last 300, no one close in front of me or anyone coming up on me from behind, so didn’t have to dig down really hard. Happy with my seasonal best time of 20:15, a few seconds faster than last year under tougher conditions this year, and won my M55-59 age group. So far this spring I’m 3-0 in my age group, with two races left (fingers crossed).
MJ Llamas ran the Shamrock Half Marathon and finished in 2:12:24. This was a new personal record by 17 minutes.
This is my 3rd Shamrock Half Marathon — always love this event. Fast/flat course, local, popular, well organized and brings in a lot of runners from everywhere. Conditions at start line were horrendous — 40 degrees, winds steady at 20mph with gusts to 30 and steady rain. I had an overall great training cycle but there was no way I could have prepared for these conditions. I told myself it is what is it, I am already out here and will do the best I can. Rain stopped at around Mile 5, but the wind wouldn’t let up. From Miles 8-11, it was pure headwinds. I was already under the weather with a head cold going into this race and after 12.5 miles of crazy weather conditions, I was ready to get this over with. My time finish of 2:12 was a 17 minute PR from previous Shamrock Halfs (which had way better conditions). But today I have RC training to back me up. Though I am older, I am also racing smarter and definitely faster. I am also making better decisions on the course. So all in all, even with the tough conditions, it was still a great day on the race course!
Calum MLellan ran the Kiebinger Osterlauf 10k and finished this race in the time of 42:59, which was a PR by 0:59.
This was my first 10k race in almost a year. I was aiming to run sub 43 minutes and just made it! I felt like I ran really well: started out slowly and it only started getting really hard after 8km and my 5k splits were 21:40, 21:19. The last km was by far the fastest at 4:05. Overall I’m quite pleased with myself for showing restraint early on – it really did pay off.
Heather Scullen ran the Auburn Finish On The 50 Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:48:24.
This was a good race for me. The weather was good. Sunny and a bit warm. The course was hilly–more than I expected. My garmin said almost 500 elevation gain!! So it was hard to keep my pace even. It seemed like we were either going up or coming down. Feeling much stronger than a year ago thanks to my great coaching!!!
Diane Souza ran the New Bedford Half Marathon and finished in a time of 2:36:55.
No PR struggled through the whole race after the first 3 miles I knew it wasn’t going to be good but I finished and am looking forward to moving on. I chalk this up as a training run!!!
Christophe Cadiou ran the Shamrock Marathon, finishing this distance in the time of 3:04:52.
Very happy about this race. Met all my goals – top 50 overall, 2nd in my age group, and sub 3.05 finish.
Considering the conditions (20+mph wind), I could not have hoped for a better outcome. I had decided to tag along with the 3.05 pacing group because I did not want to find myself alone with the head wind on miles 6-16 and 19-22. I know we often have bad stories about pacing groups and pacers, but today the 3.05 pacers did a wonderful job, my hat off to them – they used the first 5 miles (tail wind) to create a little cushion for the long headwind section to come. They held a pretty steady 7.00-7.05 pace afterwards and got us to the finish in good shape. In the process, they also did most of the work against the wind – I got plenty of air still, but not nearly as much as if I had been on my own.
I also tried a new nutrition strategy for this race, and it seemed to pay off as I did not bonk nor felt tired at any point. I filled a 20-ounce sports bottle with 3 scoops of carbo pro (75g) and took 3 gels with me (75g), totally the 150g of carbs or so needed for the entire race. It worked, and I did not have to mess around at the water stations with trying to gulp 6-8 ounces of gatorade. So, all in all a good race despite the less than ideal conditions.
Leslie May ran the Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon and finished with a time of 4:09:53.
My time for this race in 2015 (my 2nd marathon) was 4:16:22 (9:47 pace), so even though I didn’t achieve my goal of breaking four hours, this year’s time of 4:09:53 (9:32 pace) was a significant improvement. I hope this doesn’t sound like rationalization or an excuse but the WIND was well over 25 mph with gusts so strong that trash boxes were flying all over the venue. My first two laps (of four) were sub 1 hour, but I slowed for the 3rd and the 4th was excruciating. I was well hydrated and fueled throughout … even with all this my 4th lap of 1:09:43 was “only” 1:28 behind last year’s. I just have to take it. Going to focus on leg strength, more strength work, and losing a few pounds. I was SECOND in my age group.
Dave Rosenbaum ran the NYC Half Marathon and finished in a time of 2:03:19, which was a 21 seconds PR!
PR by 21 seconds. For the season, I reduced my half-marathon PR by three minutes, 22 seconds.
Running through Times Square was a lot of fun, but the rest of this race is nice, too. I’d been looking forward to running the NYC Half for a long time, and it lived up to expectations. I’ve never run in such cold weather! This was a nice way to end a distance season that consisted of one marathon PR and two half-marathon PRs.
Kory Wnuk ran Anna’s Grace Quarter Marathon with a finishing time of 50:52. This was a PR by 46 seconds!
The race was actually categorized as a quarter marathon, which I would have expected to be 6.55 miles, but my GPS read 6.62 miles. There were not a lot of turns in the course, but I thought that I did well hitting the tangents.
The weather was nice for this race, albeit a little on the cool side starting off. However, the wind was kicking and I definitely felt it during the second half of this out and back race. An extra effort was required to maintain pace into the wind. There were certainly times I felt like my pace was closer to “easy” than it was to race pace just because I felt as if I were running so slowly. My strategy was to watch my rate of respiration. If it got too high, I simply backed off it a notch. This allowed me to run an even paced race and ultimately pass those runners who started much too fast for their current fitness level. I did have some kick at the end of the race and crossed the finish line at a pace of 5:35 min/mile.
Overall I finished this race 6th and 1st in my age group. For the age group win I did get a sweet ice chest and gift cards to Fleet Feet and The Backpacker. 😀
Earline Gilley ran the St.Paddy’s 10k and finished this distance in the time of 57:36.
I was worried the night before the race that a small injury I’ve been dealing with for the past 3 weeks would cause me to go slower than I wanted. But I had no troubles other than mild burning in the shins for a few minutes. The official results state I finished 57:36 for a pace of 9:17. My Garmin says 57:41 for a pace of 9:25. My watch also says I ran 6.12 miles instead of 6.2, hence the slower pace. I could possibly have shaved off a tiny bit of distance as there were bunches of sharp turns on the course, and I always seek the shortest path. Either way, I placed 4th in my age group!! I was shocked to see that. I just wanted to jump up and down and tell the world. But I didn’t. The 3rd place finisher was at 55:00, so catching up to her would’ve been a daunting task. Something to work towards though.
Anthony Boyadjis ran the Miles for Music 20k and finished this race event in the time of 1:41:48.
Training has been geared for three months for the mile. This was a 6 minute improvement over last year on pure strength. Thanks Coach Crouch! The course had you running for the same 3 mile stretch straight into the wind, and it was cold at 34 degrees, but a really solid run, 15th in age group and my 50s team won.
Marcos Albuquerque ran the Corrida das Pontes do Recife 2016 (10k) and finished in 0:47:15.
The race is called “Race of Recife Bridges”. Is my first race after a year. In the last two months I’m training well. I did not know what to expect of these 10k. I thought I could do something around 50 minutes. In the first kilometers I felt I could do. The memory of running 10k returned. This race has many turns and the ups and downs of seven bridges (light ascents). My finishing time was 0:47:15. My best time in this race is 0:44:50. My personal record in 10k is 0:42:35. Splits: 4:36 / 4:39 / 4:45 / 4:48 / 4:46 / 4:53 / 4:47 / 4:48 / 4:50 / 4:15. I am very happy with this result. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1092171413
John Chalikias ran the 5K of Athens Half Marathon and finished this distance in the time of 20:32, which was a PR!
Ran it as a tune-up race preparing for my goal race (10k on April 17th). Finish time was 20:32 and it could be a PR due my last 5k was 19:27 but actually it was about 4.6 Km. Also given that: 1) I wasn’t in the best shape due been sick last week and couldn’t eat or drink properly, 2) due that course was hilly and the weather hot, and 3) I was in the middle of 10k training with no special tapering for 5K these are reasons to believe that it was a PR.
Race was started at 11:45am with sunshine so it was really warm, and the course was hilly. Tried to keep in mind the RC suggested race plan. Maybe i ran the second km bit faster than I should have, and it was made really difficult to keep the pace last 800m as it was hilly. Finished 31th and 3rd on my age group , so I am happy and looking forward for my goal race !
James Dunnigan ran the Modo 8KM and finished with a time of 36:19.
I felt I ran great because I had biked 100km, ran 10 km, and swam 2 km the day before and as I warmed up my legs felt like a bag of hammers. Finished just shy of my goal pace 4:30. So all was good.
Thanasis Kypraios ran the Athens Half Marathon, finishing this distance in the time of 1:36:52.
This race is a real celebration! Fifth consecutive participation in 5 years, every time it’s getting better and better. The organisation is fantastic, at the same time the Greek HM championship takes place with all the elite Greek athletes and behind them, a huge amount of 5000 people awaits to run in our beautiful city. The route is hilly and difficult but it goes through very important and beautiful city sights.
This race is never in my top priorities to race it. It is not suitable to PR and it is always between other races I want to PR in. But I always participate. This year, I was placed in the second block and I was only 3 meters away from the elite Greek champions. I also thought that it’s been a long time since I ran fast in a race, so, I decided to run it hard, no matter what… The final result was 1:36:52, which is 5 minutes worse than my flat HM PR, but 5 minutes better in this route.
I definitely recommend this race as a weekend excursion to Athens for every RC member who wants to have great time in a beautiful and historic city and run a hard and demanding race!
Renee Dagenais ran a 8k race in Charlotte, NC and finished with a time of 57:24, which was a PR!
I’ve never an 8k before.
Alex Tran ran the St. Patty’s Day Kegs & Eggs 5K and finished the distance in the time of 23:12.
At first glance, shaving 41 seconds off my last race (six months ago) seems pretty paltry. But this race was a huge win for me. My first tune-up race of the year was less about time and more about discipline. In the past, I never ran consistently for more than a two month stretch and no more than 10 miles/week. I’m now averaging ~18 miles/week and have been running consistently since October (more so since joining RC). I would have never said I was a “runner” before. Now I am more confident saying “I’m a runner” because I’ve been disciplined with it. You are what you do consistently, right? 😉
Also up until this point, my race strategy has been the opposite of negative splits; start strong, finish weak. So my main goal for this race, which I did successfully, was being disciplined with pacing.
Mile 1: 7:54 (uphill)
Mile 2: 7:36 (downhill)
Mile 3: 7:10
Average: 7:29The cherry on top of this race was I hit my target pace of 7:30. But ssssh, don’t tell Coach Michael. He suggested I target 7:40 (when I initially asked about 7:00). I really wanted to ignore that advice, but compromised with 7:30. 😉
Overall, really pumped about how my first race of the year went. Still feel like I had a lot left in the tank and looking forward to closing in on my 19 minute 5K goal over the next six months. Thanks RC for the coaching, articles, and community!
Susan Linz ran the Run for the House 10k and finished in a time of 58:45. This was a personal record by 3 minutes.
Karen Hulbert ran the Cary March Madness Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:55:43. This was a PR by 1 minute, 47 seconds.
Very much enjoyed this race, temps not too cold with the sun shining. Very hilly course but used that to my advantage on the downhills and kept a steady pace going up. I couldn’t rely on my Garmin for pace since there were so many uphills and downhills so I just went by feel and tried to keep the same effort going up and down. Gave it my all the last .10 mile pushing it to a 7:13 pace. Set a new PR by 1 minute, 47 seconds and came in 2nd in my age group.
Verna Brock ran the Modesto Marathon/Half/5K (Half Marathon) and finished with a time of 1:57:14.
My first race with RC: a tune up half in Modesto, CA. I was a bit antsy about this, because my RC marathon training is so different from how I’ve gone about it in the past, and I really didn’t know how to handle this tune up race or even what I was capable of. Coach Sarah recommended that I run the first 8-10 miles of this at MP and then try cutting down.
The first mile was pretty congested, and when I got to the Mile 1 marker I saw the 2:00 pacer pretty far ahead of me. But I told myself not to chase her; I needed to stick with the plan. So I tried keeping it at a 9:00ish pace. I told myself I had to stick with the plan for at least 8 miles, and after that I could see how I felt and decide when to pick it up. 8 miles passed… then 9… at 10 miles I passed the 2:00 pacer, but I felt scared to pick up my pace. By mile 11 I realized it was now or never, so I finally picked it up. I passed a lot of people, which was fun, and I had plenty of energy left. I was able to sprint to the finish line once I saw it.
Overall, I think I’m satisfied with this race. I feel like I executed it fairly well on plan, keeping it reined in, although I should have started cutting down earlier. I’m trying to not focus on the fact that it’s one of my slowest halfs ever. Coach Michael warned me that a tune up half might be “underwhelming” and I’m so glad he said that; that’s exactly how I felt! I ran a 1:53 half just last October coming off an injury and only training 3x/week for only two months. But I’m working specifically towards a full here on RC, and I understand that the training is different. I just hope I’m on track for a 4 hour marathon, at least. A sub 3:55 BQ in December feels farther away than I originally thought.
Anna Shariat ran the Shamrock Half Marathon in 1:39:35, which was a PR by 1:30.
This was my tune up race before Boston. I was feeling pretty good up until the day before the race. Once I saw the weather, I started feeling uncertain. Real feel of 35, rain and 20mi an hour winds. I knew these would be tough conditions for me. I have been working with Coach Danny for quite some time now and once he told me he believed that I was in good shape to go for that sub 1:40, I decided there was nothing I could do about the conditions and just not to think too much and just run. I ended up using many mantras to get through the race, focused on one mile at a time and it all worked!
I have been working on a sub 1:40 for about a year now, so I am beyond thrilled, especially with the conditions that I was able to do it!
Sarah Skinner ran the Run for the kids 15k and finished in a time of 1:37:02, which was a PR!
I have never run splits under 6:00 min per km before and in this race I had several. I think the speed training really paid off.
Matt Donkin ran the Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:48:54. This was a personal record by 00:7:25.
My first actual race since joining RC so great to see the progress. Had a cold for last 2 weeks and just shaking it off but wanted to target 1:50:00. Felt good throughout, despite a couple of times when felt a stitch coming on. Had to up the pace in the last 3 km to make sure I beat my target. Absolutely smashed my PR by over 7 minutes so really chuffed. Gave me a lot of confidence ahead of London Marathon in 5 weeks time.
Patrick Flynn ran the Rock n Roll Dallas Half Marathon and finished this race in the time of 2:02:23.
Great course with lots of support on course. Beautiful day though the wind was moving pretty good on the exposed portions. I was very consistent mile-to-mile with 3 miles that were about 30secs/mile slower (hills) that kept me from breaking 2 hours.
Katherine Leff ran the Jerusalem Marathon and finished this distance in the time of 4:58:58, which was a PR!
This race was my first ever full marathon! Making this race my first marathon PR. I went into the race with a minor cold, which I believe did slow me down by a few minutes. Although despite this annoying setback I managed to make my goal of a sub-5 hour marathon, by a minute. The Jerusalem marathon is one of the hardest urban marathons in the world because of all of the hills, but since it’s my hometown I thought it the most fitting place to do my first marathon.
Karin Wallace ran the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon and finished with a time of 4:15:58.
This race was difficult because there were 20 mile/hour winds for a good amount of it. Some areas were shielded from the worst of it, but others were right out there with no protection and I felt like I might as well have been standing still! Overall this is one of my worst times for a marathon, but I think I got the fueling almost right this time, so that was good! It is a pretty small race so while not a lot of crowd support, it had a nice feel overall.
