Team RunnersConnect blasts through the last weekend of February with 7PRs, a half marathon debut and age group awards.

Mike Braun ran the Napa Valley Marathon in Napa, CA coming across the finish line with a time of 3:28:23 which was a PR of 10 minutes and 15 seconds.

MikeBruanThe RC coaching team took me from injury to a 10+ minute PR in a few short months. Thanks Jamie, Sarah, and Danny! While I fell short of my BQ goal, I am very proud of this race. I am fitter and faster than ever; and I learned a lot during the training blocks and during the race. I feel confident that I can get faster and attain my BQ in the future. For now, I am going to savor this run, chill and run some shorter races.

Lisa Thomas ran the Ortega River Run 5 miler in Jacksonville, FL coming across the finish line in the time of 35:18.

LisaTThis tune-up race was truly special because I met a goal. The last time I raced this race was in 2013 and my time was, believe it or not, 35:18. I am definitely a stronger runner because I’m 2 years older but running every day. This shows that I have regained my fitness that I lost back in July 2013. That’s when I tripped on my shoelace and landed hard on the concrete on my kneecap and broke it in 2 places. Ever since then my goal has been to run a race in which I either equal or beat my pre-injury time. I truly believe it is because of my training with Runners Connect and doing all of the “little things” besides running that has helped me achieve this goal. Of course there is much more work to do but I am very thankful and appreciative to Jeff, Jamie, Danny & Sara for all of their coaching and to you my RunningConnect training partners for your support and cheers!!

Tang Trang ran the Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington finishing this race distance in the time of 1:38:13 which is a PR by 8 minutes.

I have not race for last 4 months and wanted to assess my fitness level. I knew that the training and support from RC members, my fitness level has improved but not sure by how much. This race helped me to reposition myself and I feel very happy about the results. About the race. It was actually hard, not much downhill, but a small but lengthy uphills even when looping back. Mentally draining. I read the recommended race strategy, yet could not execute it properly. I went faster in my first 6k 4:30m/k, then slower to 4:38 most of the time, then last few kms were mostly in the 4:50s. I sprinted in the last 200m, and very happy with it as I passed 2-3 runners I think.  Thanks to RC members to all support, and looking forward to next race!

Siobhan Donegan ran the Hooters Half Marathon in Fort Myers, FL finishing this event in the time of 1:40:27 which is a PR by 6 seconds and placing 2nd in her Age Group.

SiobhanThis race challenged me because it was already 71 degrees and humid at the 7 am start and I knew I just was not accustomed to warm weather running…particularly in recent history! I decided to stay with the 1:40 pace team and see how I felt as the miles stacked up. I ran the first half in 49:56 so felt like I was on track. The course was mostly flat but there was a one-mile bridge at mile 7 that was an uphill and in the HOT sun. The end of the bridge was also the course turn-around so we actually all ran over it twice. Not at all fun but I managed to stay on pace and get through those challenging two miles. I stuck to the pacer guy closely until mile 12, and then decided I should at least try to pass him. I picked up the pace a little at the end and tried to run as hard as I could, given the conditions. My time of 1:40:27 was a PR but just a difficult run overall for me as I never felt comfortable. Although I usually avoid pacer gro ups, I think this time it worked out well. I found myself “slipping” in pace often due to the heat, but I always picked it up to catch up to the pacer guy. I was 2nd in my age group and 10th woman overall. Glad I found this race and very happy I showed up!

Elida Grimaldi ran the Cowtown Half Marathon in Fort Worth, TX finishing in race in the time of 1:51:20 which was a PR of 15 minutes.

Initially it was supposed to be a full marathon however it was cancelled due to weather, I was able to run the half and it was so much fun.

Patrick Flynn ran the Cowtown Half Marathon in Fort Worth, TX finishing this distance in the time of 2:32:40.

PatrickFRan this race with my daughter. We’ve planned to run a half for more than 5 years and just never got it done. She had the flu Thurs, Fri and Sat yet toughed it out to finish the Half. I was so proud of her and was thrilled just to pace and encourage her to finish. Might be my slowest half marathon ever but not sure I’ve ever enjoyed one as much.

Mike Sheridan ran the Vitality Bath Half Marathon in City of Bath, Somerset, UK finishing in the time of 1:25:47 which is a PR by 1 minutes and 53 seconds.

My first race since October 2014, so I was uncertain as to how I would fare in the middle of a marathon training block. In addition, the weather was challenging as we had 16 mph headwinds for almost half of the race. Found I could hold an early pace that was almost 20 secs per mile faster than last year and kept at it. Then pushed for a hard finish and closed the final 3 miles in 6:11; 6:01; 6:04 and 6:02 min/m for the closing 0.3mile. Chip time 1:25:47 PR by 1min 53 secs which might have been a minute better if I had avoided a “pit stop”. Unofficially, 1st in age category and a new (age) club record. Thanks to RC and Coach Sarah in particular, for the inspiration and training plan.

Rooney Kelly ran the Half Chili Marathon in Burlington, Ontario finishing this race in the time of 2:09:54.

I ran the half this morning and did not meet my targeted time which is a disappointment. The first 16km went well and I actually was running ahead of my targeted time by a couple of minutes and was running with the 2 to 2:05 time group and felt good(some pain was always present in my right hamstring but nothing too bad). At the 16km mark my hamstring really started to hurt and I had to walk A LOT. I was even having to walk between the 20 and 21st km. someone running pass me at the 20km mark asked me what the heck I was doing walking. It couldn’t be helped. I lost 12 minutes to walking. I don’t want to use this as an excuse. I felt fatigue too and feel I am still not in proper condition. The good thing is I came in under 2:10 which was a surprise because of all the walking. I thought it was going to be around 2:20-2:30. There were a lot of older people running in the race and they were fast runners. It was enjoyable to see.

Dan Rose ran the Tokyo Marathon in the Tokyo, Japan finishing this race in the time of 4:42:20.

DanRose.Oh man, this hurt, and not just because of the physical pain. The two weeks leading into this race, ie the taper, were ridden with back and hip pain, and as a result I didn’t run for the whole two weeks. I saw physios, masseurs and Bowen therapists to get me to the line, and they succeeded. But..Unfortunately as I stepped over the half-way timing mat my left calf cramped up pretty good, and I spent the next 10km trying to shake it off – I might say I have NEVER had a cramp whilst running prior to this anywhere in my body. Obviously my hip and back issues were causing some gait alterations which were overloading it or something. Speaking of which, at about 34km, my hips and back started really tightening up, and were just excruciatingly painful, so for the next 7km I spent a lot of time walking, stretching, trotting, stopping, walking, stretching etc. I was quite downcast at this point, but I must say the spectators over there (of which there were close to 2 million!) are fantastic, and many of them had drinks, homemade sweets, cakes, candy etc for the competitors, and without them I don’t think I would have completed the run. I made a point of “running” the last kilometre, even though it hurt like hell and I probably looked like a zombie or mummy instead of an athlete. BUT, I finished, and that in itself was an achievement. Just disappointed that my body let me down at a really inopportune time before the race, and I didn’t get a good crack at it…

Shannon Lebeuf ran the DRRC 8K in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia finishing in the time of 35:34 which is a PR by 39 seconds.

ShannonLI was really please with my performance this race. There was a fair amount of downhill so I was on track for a really great time. Then I came around a corner and was nailed with a brutal headwind and blowing sand for the last 3K. Still managed a PR and first female overall.

Thanasis Kypraios ran the Attica a Fun & Run Grand Prix 10K in Piraeus coming across the finish line in the time of 43 minutes which was a PR by 40 seconds.

thanasisI was not expecting to achieve a personal record. Right now I am not in the best shape, because I have been preparing for my April’s half marathon. Also the route was rather tough because of the altimetric difference (139 meters of ascension). I was feeling good throughout the race and I think I can do it even better.

Angie Chirino ran her first marathon at the Miami Beach 13.1 in Miami, Fl finishing this race event in the time of 2:28:20.

It was my first half marathon and I came in under my goal time.

Sam Stow ran a local hometown 15K finishing in the time of 55:27 placing in 2nd overall in this race.

SamStowGood race, really enjoyed it. Legs felt great, nice and fresh and felt really comfortable at the start. Being a local race the competition wasn’t so tough and I went with the lead runners to try my luck. Held on pretty well but was red-lining a bit too early on and so with only me and one other guy at 9km he got away from me and my pace dropped. Not a well paced race but we were probably running about 5-10 secs/km faster than my planned pace so thought I’d try and hold it and see what happened. Held on for a comfortable 2nd place and ended up with an average pace of 3:42/km when my goal was 3:40/km, so was pretty happy with that even though my pace dropped by about 15-20 secs/km for the last 5-6km. Pretty excited for the upcoming races, definitely feeling much stronger after the last few weeks!

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