Tom Alexander ran the Orange Marathon and finished with a time of 2:55:39. This was a massive personal record by 32 minutes!
I allowed five months between this race and my previous marathon. My last one was ~750m elevation, while this one was ~300m, so the beat in my PR is slightly exaggerated. Still, my overall goal was to break 3hrs, and I felt so fresh 10kms in that I knew it was all a matter of execution ..
The training was fantastic, a big speed focus for a couple months, adding in quite intense strength training, and stretching out the kms in the main marathon block. So happy with the result! I remember in Jan 2018 I ran a total of 105kms and came up limp with an Achilles injury. I ran over 400kms in Jan 2019 without missing a day of training 🙂
George Christie ran the atTack Addiction 5k and finished this distance in the time of 27:57.2.
The race has a good cause for raising money and awareness for drug addiction. It had 751 runners the first time in 2014 and now up to 2,444. Ran 45 sec. faster than last year.
Alexandre Fagundes ran a Tune up Workout 10k with a finishing time of 00:43:43. This was a personal record by 00:01:40.
I ran in the Echo Park around a super flat lake, low temperature, 12 to 15oC, felt very nice. Since I was on fresh legs, decided to give it a try and break my 10k PR on this one.
Ran 2k warmup and pushed 320W for 10k. The minute I started I new I would be able to do it! Felt super strong, and the pace was easy to reach and keep, even pushing harder (plan was 4:30/km, but was doing 4:27). I did 4k, then more 4k than pushed more 2k very fast even sprinted in the last 400meters!
End up doing the 10k in 43:43 broke my 10k by 1:40! And, suprise! Also break my 5k by 3 seconds! Now that was a confidence boost!
Amanda Cirillo ran the Mt Holly 5k, finishing this distance in the time of 21:37.
Had the stomach flu all week, so I was surprised I was able to pull out a decent time. Also was the overall female winner! The course is uphill for the first 1.25mi and the rest is downhill/flat. It was my second year doing this race, so I definitely benefited from my past experience. Last year it was during a hurricane and it made that hill seem a LOT harder, so this year I was over-prepared and pleasantly surprised at how much easier it seemed.
Marius Enescu ran the 5000m Track Race and finished in a time of 19:58, which was a PR!
This was a 5000m time trial ran in a group of 6 on a track. I started off first. I was planning to use manual lap after the first 200m, then each track lap and so I did. When I hit the first 200m in 45 secs it was clear I going too fast. Tried to relax and slowed down a bit, but the next 400m were still ran well below the 96-97 desired lap time. It didn’t feel too tough yet, but I was just starting and as my one and only goal was to break 20, I was not prepared to risk anything. So I slowed down for the next lap, hitting it in 101 secs.
Uneventful 2000m followed. I pretty much hit all laps in 97 sec. As I was approaching the last 3 laps, I knew I would have to start pushing it if I were to breakthrough. At that point I was exactly on pace for the sub 20, but extra effort was needed. So, I pushed the gas. 94-95 for the next 2 laps and by the time I hit 4600m I saw I had only 90 sec left, even after 2 faster laps.
I panicked for a moment, started maybe doubting my “safe zone” approach. I let go of my fears and I went at it. I was still running controlled, but faster and faster. As I crossed the finish line and stopped the timer, I saw it: 19:58.5 – a full second and half to spare. I ran my first sub 20 and I did on my own terms. It didn’t crush me, I was not hanging for dear life, I owned it, from start to finish. I will cherish these feelings forever.
Grateful for the RC program, coaches and community that got me here. Everything else that will come after this is already bonus for me.
Ann Kask ran the Cedar 12K and finished this race in the time of 1:27:34.
Hip bothering me made this race a challenge. I was 8 minutes slower than last time I did this race.
Andy McComb ran the Lindos to Lindos 10k with a finishing time of 49:47, which was a PR by 2 minutes!
This was a very difficult course with 3 significant hills and a point to point with net uphill. Had a 10k PB end of January and didn’t think I could run this course at anywhere near the same pace.
Michelle Karwejna ran the Tokyo Marathon and finished with a time of 4:59:47. This was a new personal record by 13 minutes!
The Japanese crowd support was amazing even though the weather was horrible! The crowds really carried me through the streets of Tokyo!
Riona Courtney ran the Kinsale 10 mile and completed this distance in the time of 1:33.
Local race, great support and beautiful course by the sea. I also sponsored a Mile in my business so that felt good..
David Garner ran the Local 5k and finished in a time of 19:57.
Fair effort for a 5k with hills in the middle, which prevented a negative split.
Jana Marusakova ran the New Plymouth Marathon and finished with a time of 3:13:30. This was a PR by 3 minutes!
OK, so this is one big fat personal best but it comes with an asterisk as it is a point to point, net downhill course. That’s why I downgraded it to a tune up race. But anyway, this keen bean has scored an age group win and 5h place in the female field overall (yay!)
The challenge on the course was definitely pacing. Although it definitely was not a good idea to start the marathon with paces at around 4min/km (especially when your target race pace is 4.37), I also did not want to get too far away from the lead pack as I figured I had a chance of a top 10 finish. The first 5km were downhill but later there were undulations and strong head winds to battle with. I definitely paid for the early pace when at around 30km my quads and hips started to seize up and I struggled to keep moving at 5min/km. This race made me aware how much more work is needed for a 3.15 finish on a regular flat circuit course.
Aside from that this was a big day for me and I feel proud of the achievement. I have to remind myself that since my last marathon in October I haven’t done any marathon-specific training and I pulled this off on just 1 long run of 28 km. Maybe the 4min kilometres were due to all the speedwork that has been on my schedule recently.
Thank you, coaches. I look forward to working with you towards achieving a 3.15 finish in 3 months time!
Trey Brush ran the Road to the Gold 12k and finished this race event in the time of 54:54, which was a PR!
Given what the last 2 months have been with injury and the lack of running today was a complete mystery. I expected very little and was surprised at where I landed. Excited about this year as I dial in the fitness about what I can do. It was also very special lining up and seeing some of the worlds best runners today. It was truly an honor to see Amy Cragg, Jared Ward, Dathan Ritzenheim and so many others. It is what makes this sport so unique and special. No other sport do you get to share the road with the best and everybody has a goal and can be successful in their own way.
Maurenia Lynds ran the Hypothermic Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:47:43.
Great, well organized race. Start and finish is from The Marches Golf course club house… The race takes place on a flat country road that is closed to traffic. For the Half, we had to do 4 loops and a little extra for the 21.1. Also, it has the BEST medal…a Yeti on a spinner medal!!! How cool is that!!!
Andra Ghent ran the Freeze for Food 10K, finishing this distance in the time of 58:20.
Within a mile of starting, I realized I didn’t have it in me to race, even though a nemesis showed up to the race. So just ran a nice loop around the Arboretum on a mild winter day. There was a decent amount of ice and snow on the loop. Although this was at “easy” pace, it didn’t feel easy. Maybe I lost some fitness from taking two weeks off running after the marathon. Since I wasn’t racing, I was able to chat with some older guys (60s and 70s) who, between them, had done something like 1500 races including 100+ marathons.
Andrea Hudson Baldwin ran the Trinity River Levee Half Marathon in 1:50:59, which was a PR by 21 seconds!
It was supposed to be a little bit of gravel, but they should have advertised this as trail half with a little asphalt. So did not expect any PR and was surprised by my time. The gravel slowed everybody down considerably, but I am pleased with my paces and I don’t think I ran too aggressively. Had a good time seeing lots of friends afterwards.
John Dillon ran the TASM Runway Run 5k and finished this distance in the time of 29:14. This was a personal record by 2:52.
Just a fun run!
Deana Fraser ran the Copthorne Rotorua Trail Run 10k and finished in a time of 1:08:48.
Run through scenic trails and gravel forest roads to mix it up a bit rather than just running on the road. Elevation gain 187 m. Race didn’t start until 11 am and it was hot. Course was harder than I expected. I got a wasp sting in my inner thigh early in the race and it bloody hurt! Soldiered on to finish the race. It was tough but no issues with Achilles or calves.
Fred Parnell ran the The Woodlands Marathon and finished with a time of 3:59:34. This was a PR by 5 minutes!
Small hills, one loop course, enjoyed it. Finally got a sub 4! Barely! But I got it!
Mark Gilbert ran the Snickers Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 3:49:26. This was a personal record by 10 minutes!
My wife, who first got me into running, was able to finish her 7th 1/2 marathon. It was a good day for both of us!
Brian Sweeney ran the Bushy Park 10k, finishing this distance in the time of 0:40:20. This was a PR by 1:30.
This 10k race wasn’t quite what I had expected so I treated it more as a tune-up race. In addition to high winds and rain today, long stretches of the couse were run on grass which turned muddy in the wet. The course also showed up as a bit shorter than 10km according to my Garmin so I had to run beyond the finish line to register 10k on my GPS. I therefore have a range of finishing times to choose from – the official time will probably be a little below 40 mins and my Garmin time of 40:08. In any case all would count as a PB as my previous PB was around 41:40.
I came home in 4th overall today. I was happy with the consistency of my splits and my overall time given that it wasn’t a flat-out effort. I will look to run a 10k on the road next month to serve as my goal race.
Greg Van Nest ran the NYRR Washingon Heights 5K and finished in a time of 23:19. This was a new personal record by 1:11.
I just ran by feel. It was crowded, as is usual for NYRR, but they staggered the start, so it wasn’t too bad. Mile one I settled into a fairly quick pace. Doing some calculations now, I think I ran mile one in about 7:35. Mile two started getting a bit hard, with some hills. I ran that mile in about 7:40.
I pushed as hard as I dared for the remainder of the race, especially on the last downhill. I was passing many people, which felt great, and finished without much left in the tank. I think I ran the last 1.11 at about a 7:18 pace.
Overall I’m very happy with the race. I was hoping to beat a 7:34 pace to make it into the next NYRR race corral, and I met that goal. It’s nice to have tangible evidence of my improvement. I started running less than five years ago, and have worked my way up through from corral L all the way to D.
Johnathon Huffman ran the Hot Chocolate Seattle 15k and finished this distance in the time of 1:08:54, which was a PR!
Chilly and hilly race. I have always gone out too conservative and decided to go out faster than my “A” goal despite the hills and see how long I could hang on. Beat my “A” goal for the first time ever and did that by over a minute and 6 seconds a mile?. Can’t believe progress after a year and a half with RC! Thank you coaches! PR for 15k as I haven’t run one before but also had a PR on 10k at that point in the race at 46:30 (previous was 48:08). I learned a lot with this one about starting strong and pushing hard. I was tired after the first mile but kept going and each hill I fought to keep running hard instead of taking easy. It worked. Tired but crossed the finish line.
Sascha Fennel ran the Semi de Cannes : 5km and finished this race in the time of 21:54.
Just two weeks after my first ever 5k race I have been able to do another race with this distance. And I can honestly say, I love this distance. You have to push yourself to your limits but after the race you are not exhausted like after longer races. I have seen the opportunity to run a PR beating the 21:51 which I have run during my 10k PR race in January. And I definitely want to run faster than two weeks ago (22:36).
My game plan was easy enough. Establish myself at the pace of 4:21 and hold it until the final sprint. Km 1 My watch shows 4:15. Probably the fast start as there are lots of young runners around me. Until the end I must have passed like 20 or 30. Km 2 4:23. Still fine. Km 3 4:22. I like it. 4:20 average. But now the fatigue starts to settle in. And there is a little uphill section. 4:26. Meaning that I should get a PR if I hold my pace and manage well my final sprint.
For once I have not studied the final 400m as I usually do and I realize this when suddenly we make a turn and the finish line is very close, maybe 100m away. The official watch reads 21:54 when I come through. Bummer. Only later I see that Strava has me down for 21:49 and a PR. Whatever it is, I am very, very happy with this race and the result.
Daryll Naidu ran the Chilly Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:37:24. This was a personal record by 6 minutes!
I wasn’t planning on doing a 1/2 marathon tune up race. Decided a month ago to evaluate my fitness level. Just so happy with where I’m at.
Luis Boesch ran a Half Marathon race and finished with a time of 1:41:32, which was a PR by 2:24.
The race again was in my head (getting late to inscription time or people are running a lot more in Costa Rica) anyway was a great day in the field getting a new PR by 2:24, tried the pacing splits as recommended and worked!!! Hydration and food was correct during the run, so very happy with a great result!
Mark Iamonaco ran the Napa Valley Half Marathon and finished this race in the time of 1:53:43. This was a new personal record by 1:40.
Love this race. Did a 3:20 marathon here 13 years ago and had a great time today!
Sara Bernat ran the Chilly Half Marathon and completed this race event in the time of 1:59:52, which was a PR by 2:30 minutes!
It was a beautiful winter day on the Lake Ontario shore. I followed the race plan as best I could, walking only once to drink some water and eat a gel. I was concerned before the race that I wouldn’t get to my goal of sub-2hours since I haven’t been thinking much about running a half marathon and have been training for a full marathon in May.
This was a great lesson in trusting the training I’ve been doing. Also to be consistent in training and the results will come. I really appreciate the training I’ve gotten from Runner’s connect. Since starting the program in June, I’ve exceeded expectations in the marathon in October and now the half!
Marie Ostby ran the Shamrock & Roll 5K and completed this distance in the time of 00:25:29.
A great tune-up race! My PR is 24:55 but that’s from 2016 and I was in peak marathon training shape and quite a bit lighter then, so I didn’t expect to get anywhere close to that.
The general RC racing tips for 5Ks (hold back in mile 1, find a pack in mile 2, start chasing people down and kick it in mile 3) actually helped me a lot and I was glad I looked at them right before the race! The biggest downhill on the course was the first 1/4 mile (which meant the biggest uphill was in the last 1/4 mile since it was an out & back, unfortunately…) so I thought I went out a bit too fast at an 8:21, but it felt like totally manageable tempo pace. The rest of the course was mostly flat and excellent weather. At mile 2 I pushed it into the next gear and hit a sudden fatigue point at 2.5 or so and momentarily worried I was going to blow up before the end, but managed to hang on and sprinted the last little stretch to pass one last woman I’d had in my sights for most of the race. Overall a great race, and it was a great confidence boost to end up with my second fastest 5K time ever. Now I feel like that PR might be within reach relatively soon!
Michal Kovac ran the Tokyo Marathon and finished with a time of 4:05.
This was a third WMM for me, 8th marathon overall and first I did some training for after Lausanne 2017. Heavily jet-lagged, I did not expected PR and it proved to be difficult to get one because the first half of the race was heavily congested. Another bad thing was that toilets were located hundreds of meters from the course and going to one cost me some 7-8 minutes and extra 700 meters. If not for this mistake, I would have finished close to my PB.
The last two months of training definitely paid off and from a perception point of view, this was one of the easiest marathons I have run so far.
Holly Douglas ran the Cedar 12k and finished this race event in the time of 1:06:01, which was a PR!
Beautiful weather, felt rested and well fuelled (oatmeal with blueberries and then a HoneyStinger pre-race). Legs felt good, some rolling hills but decided to see what my legs would do. At the finish I felt like I could’ve pushed a bit more, but hindsight is always 20/20 as they say! Snagged 8th in my AG too so that was nice!
Aukse Rudokaite ran the 305 Miami Beach Half Marathon and finished in 2:16.
I live in Miami Beach so, it is a home race.
Lisa Harris ran the Red Mountain 55K and completed this distance in the time of 8:20.
There was a 100% chance of rain, so I knew I was in for it. I was quite nervous about it actually, but it turned out okay and actually quite refreshing for the most part. My husband dropped me off at the start at 6:30.
The race consisted of 5 loops which were anywhere from 5 to 10 miles each. The loops were all single track going up and down ridges and ravines. It was challenging because I hadn’t really trained on such technical trails so I had to concentrate on every footfall. I have had 2 hard falls lately and I didn’t want to fall again! I am proud to say that I stayed on my feet.
The rain started about 2 hours in and I got pretty soaked, but the temperature was around 50 so if you were running, it wasn’t that cold. My poor husband on the bike got pretty wet and cold. It was great to have support and a cheerleader.
The mud was not too bad. I also got to run in the clouds at the highest point in the course. However, at mile 30, the mud got fierce. There was no avoiding it and it was a slog to the finish. I felt pretty good the whole time. Super stoked that I finished without tripping!
Yoi Ohsako ran the Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5k and finished in a time of 21:28.
Although this race was not a PR by a long shot and was 31 seconds slower than when I did it in 2014, I thought it went ok considering the hamstring issue that I have been having. What made this race very challenging was that not only I had to be cautious with my hamstrings on a very anaerobic race distance but there were many long and steep hills. 200 feet of elevation for a 5k.
My splits were 6:50, 6:51, 6:55 for the 3 miles then I kicked it in with a 6:20 pace for the last 0.1. The first 2.7 miles went ok then I felt a little pull on my right hamstring but so I had to hold whatever pace I was going at instead of going hard but was still able to have a strong finish, going under a 7 min/mile pace.
Will Lamb ran the Edinburgh Marathon 10k, finishing this distance in the time of 39:24.
I got 4th place. Adding in the extra distance, I would have gotten 6th. My last 10k I got 10th, so – in a sense – this was an improvement. I also ran at a higher avr BP than last time, so I reckon I tried harder :-).
Jim Wilson ran the Tokyo Marathon with a finishing time of 3:27:00. This was a PR by 13 minutes 47 seconds!
It seemed to rain the whole time. Temp was 11c / 52F but it seemed colder. Initially I thought I was running way too fast because the garmin kept recording times near 4.50/k even though my effort seemed relatively easy (plan was an initial 5.00-5.03/k). Annoyingly it took me until nearly 20 km to realise that my garmin was way off (lesson learnt – do not rely too much on technology). I had actually run the 1st 20 km at a very consistent 5.00 /km. IE very near the pace to achieve the target of 3hr 30m 0s.
Weather was not good but I felt ok so I decided push harder. I ran the next 15 km at a very steady 4.44/km. I was starting to think that I could perhaps get a BQT. With 6km to go I started to feel discomfort in my groin. Discomfort turned to pain and my pace fell off and my last 2 km was at 5.10 /km. I needed medical attention immediately after the finish but the PB made it all worthwhile. Overall extremely happy:
Half way stage: 1hr. 45m 9s. (average pace 5.00/km)
2nd half: 1hr 41m 51s. (average pace 4.50/km)Thanks RC team. I could not have done it without you !
Jennifer Munkner ran the Livermore Valley 1/2 Marathon and finished with a time of 2:39:04.
This was the 2nd year in a row that I ran the Livermore 1/2 marathon. It was a tough course, but a good practice for the Napa 1/2 marathon in 3 weeks. I ran this like a training run, but I got to be honest, I’m glad that I wasn’t really racing it because my legs seemed heavy and I didnt feel like I had the speed.
Kathy Balme ran the Chilly Half Marathon and finished this race in the time of 1:57:48.
It’s been a year since I’ve run a half marathon, and I had no idea what shape I was in. On the bus to the race, our coach asked us to put down our time prediction, so I just used last year’s finishing time of 1:58:30 and hoped that I wasn’t overestimating myself. I wasn’t sure that I could even beat 2 hours this time, to be honest. It was a perfect running day: -3 Celsius, sunny, no wind. I started off conservatively, and picked up the pace every few kms, and pretty much came in where I wanted/hoped; just slightly faster than last year’s time. It’s far from a PB, but I’m happy with my time in this run. And to top it off, it was also my 56th birthday! Good way to celebrate!
David Bruce ran the Chilly Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:43:23. This was a personal record by 8 minutes!
During this run I could feel the results of my training. I ran the race with out any issue at a pace of 4:56/km. I am very pleased with my time and did the entire run without a walk or even a thought of walking. I used the run to better understand my fueling, hydration and salt intake. These have historically been my biggest challenge. I have been experimenting with running in a glycogen depleted state and know the feeling of when to fuel and how much to fuel. I really have an appreciation for what the coaching team at RC has been providing to me.
Megan Fitzpatrick ran the Napa Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:31:30. This was a new personal record by 3:30.
PR, NYC qualifier! I didn’t think I would ever break 1:50 a few years ago, but great training, pacing, and nutrition has made all the difference!
