Corrinne Mills ran the Fox Valley Fall Final 20 (30k) and finished with a time of 3:36:57. This was a personal record by 2:27.
Hard to take the PR too seriously when this is more of a training run, but I had a really great day, and did run this more like a race than usual. I was feeling really great in spite of the humidity and had to hold myself back from running faster for most of the first 15 miles. One thing I did differently from previous races was take in more carbs early in the race, mostly by having gatorade as well as the gels instead of only late in the race. The new watch continues to make it easier to dial in the pace. And probably three days off exercise beforehand, even if it wasn’t the plan, made the mileage easier. Overall I’m really pleased, especially with the fast finish! And I didn’t feel as beat up as I have after some of the 18 milers.
Beth Montgomery ran the Berlin Marathon and finished this race in the time of 6:05:35.
It was so hot, especially when there was no shade to be found. I was frustrated by the narrowness of the course and how crowded that made the field. I felt like I wasn’t running my race to the best of my ability. My sore butt muscle was ok with some bio freeze applied throughout the race. My legs felt like they were buckling under me in the later miles. Overall it was a really tough day.
Joslyne Counselman ran the OCNJ Half Marathon with a finishing time of 2:06:18.
My husband paced me for this race so it was special that we got to run together even though I was not able to push myself as much in the second half of the race as I was hoping to. Usually he runs his own race and we don’t get to run together. The weather was pretty perfect although for the humidity. Nice wind and cloud coverage though.
Bob Ferguson ran the Philadelphia Distance Run Half Marathon and finished in a time of 1:58:23.
This was an odd race for me. The good news, I finished close to 30 seconds faster than the half I ran in March. But the bad news is my legs completely ran out of gas between 8 and 9 miles. It was all I could do to keep running. Never out of breath, just tired. I was aiming for a 1:53 so I may have gone out a little too fast, but I think my training this cycle was somewhat inconsistent and my work and schedule (including Travel) this past few weeks has been hectic and I think that fatigue just caught up with me. But I guess that a bad race that is faster than the last is a good sign and I can work in these other training and schedule issues before the next one!
Andrew Burke ran the Monarch Ultra 10k and finished this distance in the time of 39:53. This was a new personal record by 1:01.
I was a little surprised (but happy!) that I was able to break the 40-minute mark; in retrospect, it looks like the heat and hills of my previous races this summer concealed some of what I’m capable of on a fairly flat course under ideal weather. This was an improvement by one minute over my hilly 10k race in July, and it was also nearly 2 minutes quicker than my finishing time at this same event 2 years ago. I felt good physically, and I finished in 2nd place overall (out of 124).
Abigail Wegert ran the Garmin Race Series 10k and finished with a time of 46:49, which was a PR!
I felt stellar this entire race. My goal was to run it <8min/mile and I crushed that. I am coming back from a stress fracture (in May), and I've done 2 speed workouts since I re-started training. I think I may also have been building my mileage too quickly, because I've had some shin splints creeping in over the last week....so this last week, I've only run once. I've continued cross training, but I wasn't sure how things would feel at the race. It felt good to move my legs fast and I felt much better than I thought I would. No pain at all! I ran negative splits, which I was really happy about too! I train at altitude and ran the race at sea level, so I knew I'd be feeling pretty good, cardiovascularly, from that, but I didn't realize how good my legs would feel. I'm a happy camper and I'm excited about what's ahead!
Bob Ritchie ran the U.S. Air Force Half Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 2:04:13.
I’m retired from the U.S.Air Force and really enjoyed being back with 8500 runners at Wright Patterson AFB 🇺🇸 Super organized and Fun event! But … the course was very hilly and the temperature was around 75F so my finish time was slow .. In finished 4th M70-74 and had FUN 😊
Jeffery Larson ran the Pikes Peak Marathon + Ascent with a finishing time of 3:51:02 and 7:12:00.
A fun weekend running Pikes Peak twice. Arrived to Manitou Springs a couple days before the races and there wasn’t any real time to acclimate. The Ascent (half-marathon) was on Saturday. I felt in control for most of the race. Certainly, there was a lot of speed hiking. Once I got above the tree-line, I would get lightheaded if I attempted to jog around others on the trail. I stayed within myself and was able to to make a strong finish under 4 hrs.
The marathon was on Sunday and the first half (up to the summit) went better than the previous day. I was only about 7 min slower getting up to the summit. Learning from the previous day, I made a concerted effort to breath full, deep breaths on the way up. I never felt lightheaded like I had during the Ascent. I ran down from the summit to just below A-frame and my stomach started to get upset, stopping me from running. I walked nearly the rest of the downhill. By the last 1.5 miles, I was feeling better and able to run the remainder of the race to the finish.
On Monday, I decided to complete the Manitou Incline without stopping on the stairs. I kept a consistent pace and was able to achieve the goal. I also got to enjoy the downhill trail running that I didn’t get from the marathon. Over the three days, I accumulated nearly 18,000 ft of elevation gain.
