Team RunnersConnect has great weekend as team members record 14 Personal Bests

Ramona Dragnea ran the New York City Marathon and finished with a time of 4:47:19.

It was not a PR as I was experiencing some health issues, but despite that, it was a very beautiful race overall and a great experience — New York knows how to put up an awesome race! Thank you to all Runners Connect coaches for the support and guidance and amazing community of runners for the support and virtual camaraderie.

Jim Paterson ran the Boo Run 5k and finished in a time of 24:09, which was a 41 seconds PR!

Stuck with my plan of running between 7:30 and 8:00 each mile. Started off a little fast but was able to maintain a reasonable pace throughout the race. Did manage a surge on the last 0.1 mile which was extremely satisfying.

Diane Souza ran the Black goose marathon and finished in 5:16:44. This was a personal record by 5 minutes!

This was a training run with a group of friends we did 1 minute run & 30 second walk intervals, which improved my time by 5 minutes! I felt great but at mile 22 started to get tight in hamstrings and glutes, today was a rest day for me then I will be in recovery rest of week. Today I feel great just a little stiff did foam rolling and lite stretching.

Michelle Hall ran the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon and finished the distance in the time of 1:45:27. 

Originally, it was going to be an opportunity to beat my current HM PR of 1:40:08, but training this fall was difficult with my work/travel schedule. So, my goal was to run the race at my goal pace for my marathon in January or faster. The course was pretty flat, weather was a bit warm for me (60 degrees). Overall a well run race. I succeeded in hitting my marathon goal pace and I am thankful. I have a long way to go before I can hold that pace for 26.2, but luckily I have two months. Onward with my training!

Adam Weiss ran the Hamilton Road 2 Hope Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:33:10. This was a massive PR by 12:00 minutes!

Big PR for me even though I came a little short of my goal of breaking 1:30:00. My race started well enough but there was a strong headwind for the first 5 km. I didn’t adjust my effort accordingly and I think that’s what cost me later in the race. I was on pace through 14 km, but shortly after, I knew going sub-1:30 was out the door. My legs were spent, I was ready for a nap, and just had to hang on to the end! I’m still really pleased with the result and this will fuel the fire to bring 90 minutes for the next one!

Geoffrey Crockett ran the NYC Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 3:38:02. 

Running Boston and New York in the same year is pretty amazing. NYC is like no other race, from taking the subway to the ferry to the bus to the start, to running with 50,000 people, to the incredible crowds cheering. It was an amazing day.

Helen Barnes ran the New York Marathon and finished in a time of 4.24.29. 

First marathon complete and what a place to do it in. The crowds were truly amazing and whilst I did not come close to my predicted time due to hip issues from mile 18 onwards I still feel so proud to have finished. I can’t thank the RC coaches enough as I would never have achieved this without them and the fact that I am in pretty good shape today (Monday) is a testament to the great training.

Jaron Brown ran the New York City Marathon, completing this distance in the time of 4:10:12. 

At the beginning of the training cycle for this race, I was diagnosed with a torn labrum in my right hip as well as early osteoarthritis. I had to adjust my training to include only easy runs, had to slow my pace by 1 minute per mile to avoid pain, and had to reduce the number of weekly workouts from 4 to 5 to allow adequate recovery of my hip.

Needless to say, I figured the marathon was going to test my resolve and that a PR was highly unlikely. I was right. I pushed to hard in the beginning out of pride. I paid for it a bit over half way through. Despite the difficulties I experienced in the race, it was a memorable experience for positive reasons: the energy in the atmosphere was unparalleled – like nothing I’ve every experienced in such a long race; and my wife gave me unbelievable support by showing up at 4 different spots in the city during the race to cheer me on. I would certainly do it again.

Tara Carney ran the Race 13.1 5K and finished with a time of 23:44. 

The temperature was perfect: cloudy, low-50s. I ran what my body had — not pushing, not sandbagging. My friend told me I was the twelfth overall runner. By the last mile, I was smiling ear-to-ear, feeling alive and happy. With about 1200m to go, I picked up the pace until I dry-heaved and gagged at the finish. My kilometer splits were these: 4:45, 4:46, 4;45, 4:44, 4:28. Very steady performance! My overall time was more than 2:30 slower than my PR, and 3-min off my goal time. I ran for social reasons only, and I loved it. Plus, the time was good for first-place-age group.

Bill Leppert ran the Haunted Half Marathon and finished the race distance in the time of 1:34:40. 

Tracy Hixon ran the Race of the dead 5K and finished with a time of 00:22:57. 

Day of the Dead theme race, lots of costumes, run in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood. The weather was not great, cold, rainy a bit windy, but that did not deter the festivities much. I did not get a proper warm up or cool down in to avoid getting too wet and cold before and after run, my goal was to run around 23, and went just under. I also wanted to win an Age group award as they were handpainted skulls.. I placed 1st in AG by 3 seconds.. never give up until you cross the finish line! Was good with that! My RunnersConnect interval workouts are improving my leg turnover!

Debra Hexsel ran the St. Louis Track Club Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:45:03. This was a PR by 6 minutes. 

For ME this was a VERY hilly race. You can see here: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/944626908. I was nauseated about 1/4 mile in and my legs felt bad and I wanted to quit. It wasn’t until about 5 miles in that my gut settled down and I figured I’d keep going. That said, there was at least, and Sarah don’t kill me, two minutes, maybe more of walking. Then there was the idiot course marshall on the back side who said to us as we started to climb get ready for the hill from hell — it wasn’t too bad but at one point it had this big grade to it. For all my bitching it really was a good day and thanks go to RC, Sarah, and all of you for your support and guidance. So it was an “almost” 6 min PR and it was an AG win. Small race: 669 people. So I was 116/669 — 23/321 F and 1/16 AG. Saw David after the race and met his mom so that was pretty cool. Got a finishers medal and AG medal — love the AG medal.

Bjorg Klem ran the TCS NYC Marathon, finishing in the time of  4:17:30. 

As a NYC local I am so lucky to be in a position to do this race every year. I was hoping on a good day that I would be able to run a 4:10-4:15 but ended 90 seconds slower than my 4:16 PR from last year, but inside my B goal of 4:20. I ended up running with the 4:15 pace group, hoping at some point I would be able to take off but it never happened so I stuck with them from mile 3 to mile 23 when a toe blister and a cramp in the thigh stopped me for a couple of mins (also happened to coincide with where my parents and boyfriend were cheering). Finally I am very happy to report that I didn’t really have any hip issues at all during the race and as of Monday morning, still not feeling any pain in the hip.

This was my third marathon of 2015 so looking forward to finishing up with an adventure half marathon and letting the body heal before focusing on the next challenge. Thank you RC coaches, particularly Coach Jamie, you have made me a better and faster runner since I joined RC 6 months ago, and thank you to everyone in the RC community, you continue to inspire and motivate me.

Susanne Mei ran the New York Marathon and finished with a time of 04:17:00. 

Amazing experience at the NYC Marathon yesterday. The crowds were just as incredible as I’ve always heard they were. Seeing friends and family along the way made it super special and I made sure to stop and dance with atleast a few of the bands that were all along the route. I ran this race with a focus on having a great time and enjoying myself. I definitely did that so it was big success for me. And the best part is it was my last race to qualify for the marathon through the 9+1 program so I get to do it all again next year!

Denise Munson ran the Hamilton Road2Hope Half Marathon and finished in a time of 2:03:25. 

I had never run a half over 2:00 hours before other than when I paced someone during a race and when I ran The Goofy Challenge in Disney (half on Sat, full on Sunday). That is when I joined RC looking to get a proper training program to get me through a fall ½ marathon.

Fast forward through the summer; interruption with training due to summer vacation. Modifications were made to the training schedule as a result but the speed/tempo workouts felt aggressive and out of reach for my current level of fitness. I wasn’t meeting the paces causing frustration and discouragement on my part. Additional modifications were made – these seemed more realistic. The workouts were still very challenging (hard) but I was feeling some sense of accomplishment. My projected goal time for the fall ½ was always under 2:00.

Race day – I have been doing this long enough to know that I was not ready for a sub 2:00 ½ . I was anxious to test my training to see how far I had progressed from the spring. I need to have an attainable goal (the A in SMART) so decided that 2:07 was appropriate – this would be an improvement from the spring plus I would have to maintain an average pace of 6:00/km or under. I crossed the finish line in 2:03:25, knocking almost 10 minutes off the time from my spring half marathon!! I am thrilled with the result and have a renewed sense of confidence that I will break that 2:00 hour barrier again. Thanks for reading and thanks to all the coaches and runners in the community for your encouragement and support throughout this journey.

Anne-Lise Vivier ran the NYC Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 4:17:45, which was a PR!

What made this race special? I ran my very first marathon in the City I now call home and it was amazing! The crowds could not have been better, my friends came out to cheer me on, and the man of my life ran around the city to be my amazing support team!! am proud to call myself a marathoner this morning!

I knew from Mile 1 that I would not achieve my goal pace (my legs hurt from the first step and never really got better), but this was my first marathon and I am still proud I finished in what I consider a decent time. Thank you, thank you, Jamie (and other coaches) for getting me in a good enough shape that I could run the 2015 NYC marathon and for supporting me throughout my journey!

David Hendrix ran the St. Louis Half Marathon in 1:37:45. This was a personal record by 1:56. 

Fun race in St. Louis this weekend. Traveled with 5 friends, 3 of whom were doing their first half marathon. My parents and sister also ran the 5k. The weather was amazing, about 50 at race start and close to 60 by race end.

My finish time was a PR by about 2 minutes, though, which I was satisfied with, and the finish was really fun. Really kicked it after 13.0 and, with a strong downhill, finished the last 0.17 at a 5:26 pace. There was one guy in the finish chute that I felt I could catch right at the end, and I passed him with maybe 5 strides to go. He was totally surprised and tried to push back the last couple strides, but I held on and beat him by a stride. It was fun to hear the race announcer call out the ending and a good ending to an otherwise ‘blah’ race. Mostly this was another good learning experience about how I should plan travel races and how I react to distractions before a race.

Jenny Russ ran the Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in a time of 2:48:27, which was a PR!

This race was special because it was my first half marathon and my big test for going even longer distances. I felt really good during most of the race, so that I could run new PRs for 10 K (~1 h 16 min) and 10 miles (~2 h 5 min). Now I can prepare for my next goal race (50 K at the end of April 2016) and know that I can do this, as I learned during all the training that I actually feel better the longer I run. If you want to do a really flat and fast half marathon, I really can recommend this one.

Alison Scofield ran the SWOP Halloween 5K and finished with a time of 23:48, which was a personal record. 

Well my “easy” 5k turned into a first place finish in my age group, and I was the first female finisher! It was so cold that my feet were numb for most of the race, but I’m happy to report that the tendinitis in my right foot didn’t really make an appearance and felt pretty good the whole time!

The course started with a pretty steep uphill, then some rolling hills for the first mile followed by a nice downhill and then pancake flat for the last 2 miles. After running a marathon 2 weeks ago, I felt like a 5k was just a small blip and I knew I could tough out my pace for just a little bit longer. The field was a small one, which allowed my first place finish at 23:48 to be the female winner, but I’ll take it! I’m not truly considering this a PR though, since the course was a bit short at 3.02 miles. Still a great race and one that I am very proud of!

Hong Kwon ran the NYC Marathon and finished with a time of 3:19:31, which was a PR by 31 seconds!

NYC Marathon: Race Day!
First off – didn’t BQ but I did run a PR of 3:19:31 (PR by 31 seconds) on a fairly difficult course. Was able to bounce back from my unscheduled marathon disaster from 6 weeks ago.

Morning
Ran about 2.5 miles easy to warm up. Got into my start corral (Wave 1 Corral C) at around 8:45 – huge mass of people sitting on yoga mats. Ditched my water bottles and instead opted to carry 2 bananas onto the course, with a plan to eat them at 6 miles and 12 miles (and Gatorade every 3 miles)

Start – Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens
Race started fairly promptly around 9:50ish with a beautiful operatic rendition of the national anthem and the FYND water cannons. The first hill incline on the bridge felt just like the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philly which I’ve practiced on a few times. Nice downhill after the midpoint to make up for the slow start. Admittedly I got off to too fast of a start.

Manhattan and the Bronx, and Manhattan again
This is where I started to really slow down and feel tired. I met someone at the SF Marathon a few months back and he said the rookie mistake is to take the exit off the bridge too quickly and to flame out – which I definitely did. Sure enough, it started getting steeper at 23 and I slowed down significantly. Once we pulled into Central Park, I was able to pick up the pace again with the downhill segments and a great cheering section, including my wife who was at mile 24. That gave me the boost I needed for the final kick.

The Finish
After finishing,the runners had to walk a good few miles to exit the park, pick up medals, heat blankets, recovery bags and the poncho option, and to finally meet up with friends and family.

Thanks to the coaches (especially Jamie) and the community for your support! Still chasing a BQ for 2017. But for now – time to chill.

John Gardener ran the Richard Burton 10k and finished this race event in the time of 44:27. 

Not a PB, but a SB. Good course mainly flat with one long incline. Lovely sunny day!

Jason Sonnek ran the Monster Dash Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:22:02. This was a PR by 4:07. 

I joined RC 4 months ago, and this was my goal race for the year. After 20 years of racing, my PR was 1:26:09, and I was looking for a sub-1:25. On race morning, my confidence was low: I’d missed 4 workouts in the last 2 weeks due to an inflamed toe joint, and the weather was cold and steadily raining for the entire pre-race and the race itself. Based on my training, I thought I could still break 1:25, so I did my best to run a pace that felt steady and comfortable. Well, coaches, you have outdone yourselves! Finish time: 1:22:02! 21st out of 4500 finishers. If that turns out to be my lifetime personal best at this distance, that’s fine by me. Thank you coaches and the RC community for pushing me to be better than I thought I could be!

Michael Lockman ran the Chupacabra Trail Race and finished with a time of 24:38. This was a personal record by 2:22. 

This was the completion of the Huaco Trail series which consisted of 4 trails in our area that my wife and I did. I set out to make this an easy run as I had 14 miles to run after the race, but after the first mile I decided to race it and I ended up 2nd in my age group. I ran my only other 5K in May since getting back to running after a 20 year absence and with the training this was a lot faster even with my not trying to race it to start.

Troy Hanson ran the Monster Dash Half Marathon and finished in a time of 1:47:17. 

Missed PR by 4 seconds (PR is 1:47:13), but ran entire race in a full costume wet from rain! Went out a little fast in first 5-6 miles and basically had to push last 7. But made it.

Adriana Pacheco ran the NYC Marathon and finished with a time of 4:12:40, which was a PR!

Matthew Stewart ran the ASB Auckland Marathon and finished in 2:50:31. This was a personal record by 8:37. 

A PB run, cheered on by an Olympic marathon medalist (Barry Magee, Bronze, Rome 1960) and top 50 finish. It was tough getting over the Auckland Harbour Bridge with a stiff headwind but once on the other side the wind dropped away and we hit the flat back half of the course. I really put the hammer down at 27km. That got me closer to my 2:50 goal but I paid the price with my legs starting to seize as I headed back to the finish line (second half of the course is an out and back). I was surprised to see I ran a negative split on the 2nd half even with a bit of a fade as my legs started to bind up at 37km with cramp threatening.

A 8:37 PB. Missed out on my time making the national rankings so it’ll be back to drawing board to maintain pace for the last 5kms in my next outing. All roads lead to Boston in April.

Kyle Bowman ran the Stone Steps 50K and finished the distance in the time of 4.33.25, which was a PR!

Simon Hodges ran New York City marathon with a finishing time of 2:58:17.

The course is so undulating, with huge long straights and just mentally very tough all the way and the last 3-4 miles are mostly uphill to the finish! I am mighty relieved to have come in under 3 hours and will probably chalk that up as my first and last NYC marathon! An amazing week we have had, but definitely made tougher by too much sight seeing and trying to cram a lot into the week!! We loved it, loved the high energy and the fabulous things to see everywhere.

Thanks to ALL the RC team but particularly Jamie who has held my hand throughout and taught me that I can still run quite fast on the day by running slow most of the time in training! A revelation for me!!!! What a great 3 months.

 

 

Want to See Just How Much We Can Help You?

Check out how our plans work and how we help runners like you stay healthy and take their training to new levels