Julio Castillo ran the 30 km sur les rives de Boucherville and finished with a time of 2:21:05. This was a personal record by 5 minutes!
I used this race as a training race. It is a flat course along the St Laurent river. Did the same race 3 years ago as well as a preparation for my marathon. Finished today 8 minutes faster! Plan was to go at easy pace for half the distance then push to Marathon effort for the next 10K and finish the last 5K at a faster pace if possible. Plan worked perfectly!
Tensai Asfaw ran the Track 5k – Bulle and finished this distance in the time of 15:08. This was a PR by 35 seconds!
My training mate and I came into this looking for a qualifer for the Swiss National Championships. The mark needed was sub 15:30. With a focus on marathon training, I wasn’t sure if I was ideally prepared for this race, but as I have run on the track in my youth it meant a lot to give it my best shot.
Weather was perfect – maybe a little on the warm side for some. I set a few objectives going in – start slow, ideally 3:05 for first km; have fun; make your last km your fastest. With 27 people on the start line on the track, it was very crowded. I went straight to the back, going through 200 m in nearly dead last place. My training buddy was a few spots ahead. At 800 m my training buddy and I were together, hitting it at 2:27 or so. We came through 1k exactly on pace – 3:05. Then little by little we worked together to chase down the next pack.
At 3k I was swinging out from 4th place into 3rd, and chasing the leaders. My pace was picking up, running about 3:00/km now. I was feeling strong and joyful. With about 4 laps to go, I caught the leaders, and I could feel them slowing up. I took the lead, pushing for 1.5 laps before he came up, followed closely by the second place. With a lap to go, a twing in my left hamstring gave me a warning. I backed off a little, finishing a respectable 3rd, and with a huge PB. The last km was 2:58 – I had just managed 3 back-to-back sub-5:00 miles – just two years ago getting under 5 for 1 mile took a 100% effort. My teammates was only 10 seconds back – we had both handily qualifed for the Swiss Champs race next summer, and couldn’t be happier about how the race unfolded, or how strong we both finished.
Darci LaFave ran the Ironman 70.3 Maine and finished this race in the time of 6:09:32.
This was my first triathlon with an ocean swim! It was a challenging swim because we were swimming into the sun, against the tide, and it was very windy and WAVY. It took me longer than I wanted, but I made it through. The bike course was really nice – lots of rolling hills and scenic. The run course was two loops with a couple of hills…one long and drawn out and the other shorter but steeper. I had a solid race overall and really enjoyed the area. Would definitely go back again!
Taman Treweek ran the Wonderfalls 25k and finished with a time of 3:27:22, which was a PR!
This was an absolutely amazing course. 1056m elevation. 6 river crossings. Fueled appropriately before during and after. I’m hoping to be in the top 70% which will give me a qualifier for another race in Jan. I’m pretty happy with the time.
Peter Fox ran the Around the Crown 10k with a finishing time of 0:55:33. This was a new personal record by 10:55.
I had high expectations for this one and smashed it! I haven’t done a lot of 10k and my PR was on a mountain course so I definitely expected to beat that but I really really wanted to break an hour. I’ve only broken 30 minutes for 5k twice so this is a big deal for me!
Relatively big race with 4,500 signed up. Start was good but the race rally kickoff in when we took over the local Ring road highway. I settled into a groove and was on schedule for the first three miles. Mile 4 was a pretty steep hill and I almost went too fast on the way up. I caught myself, recovered and felt good again on the way down the hill.
Mile 5 was amazing, I felt in a zone, just striding along, felt really strong. As I chugged up the hill I started breathing heavy and some doubt crept in. I looked at my watch and saw I had 14 minutes to beat my goal which made me feel better. I focused on form, settled into my stride and rode the eventual downhill and then got my Sprint on for the final .15 or so, reeling in a bunch of people!
I’m very happy with the result and super grateful for the coaching and support here. I really can’t believe how far I’ve come.
Yoi Ohsako ran the Rock & Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon and finished in a time of 1:37:04.
Temp: 76 F, Humidity: 83%. I was quite disappointed with the results. I knew that I was not in 3:15:00 marathon shape but I was hoping for a 1:35 and change finish to actually prove that I have improved even a little.
Other than that, it was a well run and fun event. Despite the heat, there was so much spirit and encouragement from the volunteers. I tried to at least finish under 1:37 but my hamstrings on the left side started feeling like it was mile 23 of a marathon so I was forced to hold back on pushing the pace on the last 1.1, which would have been the difference maker.
Simon Williamson ran the Cardiff 10k Road Race, finishing this distance in the time of 47:47.
First race back after calf injury in June, so slightly nervous. Plan was to start at 5 min/km pace, then ramp it up slowly. 1st km split 4:32 and felt ridiculously easy! Reined it in a bit and went through 5k in 23:40…pushed km 6/7 quite hard, then started suffering. Legs pretty wobbly when I crossed the line, but overall pleased to be out there wearing a number again.
Ian Spencer ran the Maidenhead Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:39:08. This was a personal record by 05:20.
The England Masters vs Celtic nations half marathon was incorporated into this race and I was running for England in the M75 age category. What made the race special was that I won the M75 category! My target time when the schedule was set up was 01:38:00 so I am very pleased with the result and grateful to Runners Connect for their expertise. I might have runner quicker if I hadn’t had a very tiring two week walking holiday in the Austrian alps at a critical stage of the schedule. My average pace per km was 4:41, quickest 4:34, slowest 4:49 and the nice thing was that I ran strongly right to the finish and didn’t start to fade at mile 10.
Gustavo Quijano ran the 21k Guatemala and completed this distance in the time of 1:55.
Sub 2 hours half marathon milestone achieved! It’s been 2 years since I started training with Runners Connect. I couldn’t even run 8 km. And now, thanks to your coaching I reached the goal of running a half marathon under 2 hours. Thank you all for your help!
Steven Burns ran the Six O’ Ranch Trail Race and finished in a time of 2:02:26.
This was a challenging technical trail race. It rained the day before so the humidity was high. It was 75 with 100% humidity at the start. We started off on a two track road with a lot of people jostling for position. About 1.5 miles into the race we entered the trees and it became a single track. It was a lot of up and down and winding our way through. Lots of exposed roots and rocks. About 2.5 miles into the race, I tripped and fell. Luckily it was in a sandy section and I didn’t get hurt.
Came out of the trees and back onto a two track. Went around a small lake and then across open prairie until mile 8. Mile 8-10 were the big hills. I was able to pass several people on the hills, including all of the people that passed me earlier. There was a treacherous loop, where I had to be really careful because it was a steep descent with large limestone rocks everywhere. The final stretch was the only part of the race that was on a road, so I was able to put in a strong kick to the finish.
This race was 13.4 miles long, with 1174 feet elevation change. I finished 5th overall with a total time of 2:02:26. This isn’t a PR, but I don’t know how this would translate to a road race. I gave it all I could, and I had a lot of fun!
Mario Ortiz ran the 21K MUNI Half Marathon and completed this race event in the time of 1:42:10. This was a new personal record by 3 minutes!
New HM PR, the 6 minutes time improvement vs last year in the same course and racing at 5000 feet altitude; it feels this really makes a difference vs racing at sea level.
Eric Brown ran the Around The Crown 10k and finished this distance in the time of 0:48:22. This was a PR by 4 minutes!
Overall very impressive run and felt good starting the race. Mile 4 was climbing uphill, but I didn’t walk which I see improvement there, only thing I like to be able to attack them hills a little better. My personal best was 52mins but I finished in 48.22. I finally got that sub 50 10k. Next up Berlin Marathon where I’m pressing for 3:45 finish time. I continue to trust the process. Eat clean and train dirty for the next 28 days.
Marc Lutz ran the Virginia Beach Rock N Roll Half Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 2:03:42, which was a PR!
Awesome race ….. about 85% humidity….. but temps were decent at about 73. For the fist half I just felt ok at a decent pace and then at about 6mi I felt better and sped up a bit for a few miles …. felt a little bit of the heat coming on but stayed strong and the last almost 2 miles I was able to get my pace back up for a strong finish. I have never finished a race so strong and then recovered inside of a minute so that was pretty awesome …. I possible had some more in a few places looking back at it, but considering the way the humidity was and the amount of mileage that I had the previous week (absolutely no complaining I loved it) I am incredibly happy with this PR and now know more of the type of volume my body can handle …… so great success today!!!!
Trey Brush ran the Big Peach Sizzler 5k, finishing this distance in the time of 19:40.
I went into today really unsure of where my fitness truly was. I wanted to be close to the 20 minute mark. It was nice to come in south of 20 minutes. Going into marathon training it makes me feel good about my current fitness after a real struggle the first 6-7 months of the year.
The race went really well. I made a concentrated effort to ignore the watch this morning and run by feel. I got roasted off the start line but decided to stay patient and I would pass most all of them during the race. The course was very fair. Some rolling hills but a very good course for a 5k.
It was not a PR but it is my fastest 5k time since before my back surgery in 2016. My last 5k was back in the spring and I felt night and day different. I was almost 90 seconds faster and felt it today. So, extremely pleased with the result today.
My biggest lesson this year from the coaches and from last year has been staying patient and playing the long game. When I need to adjust paces for heat…adjust the pace. If I need to back off a run because it is not there and I need to be healthy…I have done it. Last year I think my focus tended to be on the workouts and not the big picture. This year has been more fun and I think I am growing more.
Jon Daniells ran the Labor Day Race 10k with a finishing time of 0:54:40.
I planned for 55 min and came in 20 sec better. Splits were all in low 8:50’s, except mile 5 at 9:02. Last 3 tenths about an 8min pace. Really tired but felt great to beat my target.
El Jones ran the Run the Loop Marathon and finished with a time of 3:37:39.
VERY happy with my time. Second best marathon to date. Beat my time on this course from 2 years ago by 8 minutes. Best part was how great I felt after- no leg cramps, no pain like I normally experience. My Garmin was evidently confused- it read 26.2 around the course 24.8 but they warned us of that before the start- the loop course reeks havoc on GPS. So grateful to all the coaches (especially Hayley!) for all the support, info and great advice! Thank you Runners Connect! ????
