John Ranger ran the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany coming across the finish line with a time 3:28:51 which was a PR by 26 minutes and 31 seconds.
My second marathon and first major. Went in with a plan to run a BQ of 3:25 or even slightly faster. Unfortunately I was unseeded and started very near the back of the last block of runners. I had to spend a lot of energy with a lot of zig-zagging to try and get past people. This through my timing off and meant I went through the half in 1:45:00 instead of the 1:43:00 that I’d planned. Nevertheless, looking on the bright side, I knew there was a strong chance I would negative split which would give me a sub-3:30. I fought on through the crowds running strongly until about 39km. I felt like I was slowing considerably but my GPS started playing up and had no idea what pace I was maintaining. I just had to dig deep. My final time 3:28:51, a 1:08 negative split and a PR by 26:31. I may have missed the BQ but given the struggles I was ecstatic.
Mike Sheridan ran the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany finishing the distance in the time of 2:59:14 which was a PR of 13 minutes and 40 seconds.
World Marathon Major series event First time sub 3 hours in my 5th marathon; 2nd place in V65 category and my time would also have given me 3rd place in the V60 and 13th in the V55 categories. Halfway in 1:31:45 and ran a negative split by 4:16 mins for a closing half of 1:27:29. Pace in final mile was 6:19 min/m I used every one of the techniques introduced to me by Coach Sarah in the race: including surges to get back on pace, long tempo run from halfway and of course, a fast finish. Thank you to the whole RC community and Coach Sarah Crouch in particular for making me believe it was possible and giving me a plan to improve from 3:21:xx Boston, April 2012 to 2:59:14 Berlin, September 2014.
Amy Feit ran the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany finishing the distance in the time of 3:16:33 which was a PR of 15 minutes and 27 seconds.
Couldn’t have asked for a better race! A year and a half of hard work finally coming together on race day. My first negative split marathon – second half was 11 seconds faster than the first. It was very cool to run through Berlin – my family watched (and took pictures for me) the world record being set. I was lucky to see them cheering me into the finish line as well. So glad they were able to experience this one with me. What a great day! My many, many thanks to Coach Jay! There is no way 18 months ago I would’ve even believed running this well would be possible! Couldn’t have done it without his guidance!
Sasha Sellers ran the House our Heroes 5K in San Antonio, Texas finishing this race in the time of 32 minutes which was a PR by 45 seconds.
Today was awesome! I felt great!
Blake Chiado ran the Fox Valley Marathon in St. Charles, Illinois, finishing this race distance in the time of 3:18:29 which was a PR by 22 minutes and 53 seconds.
Running this race was more of a bittersweet… I ran with a much younger, stronger, faster and even more experienced man than I. Our goal was for both of us to qualify for Boston. We paced out our run for a finishing time of slightly under 3:15:00. The weather at the start of the race was ideal with the temps in the low 50’s. We were able to stay on or slightly ahead of our prescribed pace without any problems until the turn or around mile 15 (this marathon was a “there and back” race with both halves being separated mainly by a river). As we made the turn so did the conditions and the race within us began. We started to run mostly uphill with some very steep inclines. The path in which we were running on also became quite a bit more slippery due to the rain and leaves which fell from the night before. The winds started to pick up and I saw and felt the agony in my running mate start to settle in. This was something new to me and I wasn’t use to seeing. I still felt strong and confident and where he used to push me I realized I was now starting to push him. As we approached mile 22 our race went onto an open road straight uphill into a 20 mph wind. We naturally slowed and even stopped several times before the finish. With the reality of our goal today beginning to look out of reach this became the point when I could tell my training was superior and I began to really trust it. Not only was I feeling strong with my fitness level being where it was but I also had the utmost confidence knowing that I could do this. However, needless to say we fell short of our 3:15:00 goal. I finished 3:18:29 and although this race wasn’t good enough for him to qualify. I was able to set a new PR by 22 minutes 53 seconds and as if that wasn’t enough……..Because I’m older (this might be the only time when you would like to be older) it also gave me a 2016 Boston Qualifier!!! Boston 2016 here I come!!! Thanks Team RC I couldn’t have done it without you!!!
Martin Marker ran the Lap The Lakes 5K in Santee, California coming across the finish line with a time of 17:58 which was a PR and 2nd place overall
I actually got to race! I was trailing this high school XC kid most the race. He was slowly pulling away for like the first half. I just tried to hold my pace and keep him in my site and the second half i started to reel him back in. As we closed in on the last quarter mile we both started to pick it up. The local high school cheerleaders were yelling “hes catching you!” hahaha he kept looking back but i couldnt catch him. He ended up getting me by 10sec. He got 1st i got 2nd. I was dying the last half to quarter mile. Thats as fast as I could go. The race ended up being 3.03 miles on my watch and my time 17:58 so not sure how much of a PR it woulda been if it was a full 5k. Maybe like 10 sec.
Hannah Spanner ran the Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham coming across the finish line with a time of 1 hour and 42 minutes.
This race was special because it did NOT go to plan. I was supposed to be completing the Full Marathon but had to make a decision fairly early on to pull out of the full and finish with the Half Marathon runners. My heart rate would not settle and I think a combination of a virus and the steroids I had been put on affected me more than I realised and it was obvious that my body was not going to be good for the full. It is the first time that I have stepped back and had to reassess in such a dramatic way and although it was heartbreaking after 5 months of solid training I know I made the right decision. Making the decision to pull out was the hardest decision I have ever had to make – especially as at the time of the decision I was in second place, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold onto that and also would’ve caused a lot of damage so pulling back and enjoying the rest of the race was all I could do. My special moment was helping a fellow runner achieve his own time. After I had slowed down he pulled alongside me and told me he’d been trying to chase my pink top down the last few miles but couldn’t catch me until I had slowed down, he said it was his 46th birthday and would love to break 1.45 for the Half Marathon but he didn’t think he could. I looked at my watch and I told him to stick with me and I’d get him there in 1.43, he didn’t think he could do it but I pushed him through the last 3.5 miles and even got a sprint finish to get him across the line in 1hr 43 and 20 seconds. So despite all the bad I felt happy to have had a po sitive end even if it wasn’t mine. 🙂
Greg Myers completed in the U Can DU It Sprint Duathalon in Hamburg, PA which was a 2 mi run, 8 mi bike, 2 mi run completing this event in time of 1:19:06.
This was my first duathalon ever. I’ve never tried to do a combination of running and cycling before, and it was quite a challenge! This was the 4th in a 4-race series I’ve been competing in since the spring, and I ended up taking 2nd place in my age category, and 8th overall for all competitors that completed all 4 races.
Cynthia Morris ran the Cle Elum 50k in Cle Elum, Washington completing this race distance in the time of 6:56.
This was way harder than I had anticipated. The beginning was 3 long climbs with steep downhills between the first two. The first two were completely runnable but the last one was tippy toe steep. I had been battling a bug the week before and my carbo loading wasn’t what it should have been. The day before I felt pretty bad. Started the race ok, had my fueling plan all set. Made good time to the top. Once on top it dropped steeply off the other side. The trails were technical and rocky. This area is open to motor bikes so there were these multiple little rolling hills you had to go up and down that just took it out of my legs. By 20 miles I was getting pretty tired and my legs were heavy. Then we had a river crossing so my shoes felt like lead to add to the misery of my heavy legs. It rolled up and down from there to the finish. I did manage to stay with two young girls 30 yrs my junior for more than 3/4 of the race. The trail was not marked with mileage so by the end I had no idea how much further I had to go which was very discouraging. My stomach was really bothering me so my fueling was not going well. The best part of the race was coming down off the final trail onto the road with about 600 yards to go and having my granddaughter greet me with her big smile and a helping hand. She “paced” me to the finish! Total elevation climb was 7000 ft and it was a “long” 50k at 33 miles. Towards the end I was swearing I would never do it again. Now I am plotting my revenge comeback. I did get 6th in the women, first master and first in my age group.
Amy Thomas ran Pittsburgh Great Race 10K in Pittsburgh, PA finishing this distance race in the time of 53:50 which was a PR of 4 seconds.
I absolutely love this race – usually run it with at least one friend, and it is just always such a fun morning. Since I just ran a marathon 2 weeks ago, my plan for today was to just enjoy the run. I figured my time would probably be close to an hour or maybe even more. I’d recovered well from the marathon with no health problems so I felt good when the race started today. I started at a nice easy pace, and as the miles rolled by I just gradually picked up my pace. It never even really felt like I was running fast or pushing hard except maybe the very end. So I really was surprised to see my final time – faster than I thought it would be! 2 years ago was my previous best time of 53:54 and I was really pushing it that day. So to beat that time by 4 seconds and still really feel good and not exhausted was a lot of fun!
Andie Simpson ran the Mill Race half marathon in Columbus, Indiana finishing the race with a time of 3:26:43 which was a PR by 7 minutes and 36 seconds.
This was a tune-up race that I was planning to do more as a training run. I started having a lot of pain in my hip a week before the race so I didn’t have very high hopes of doing much more than walking it (I hadn’t been able to run on it all week). I decided I’d start out trying to run and see how far I got. Made it to mile 6 and then my hip couldn’t take it any longer so I had to start walking; however, rather than my usual stroll I made myself keep the pace up as much as possible. At mile 13 I started running again because I knew my parents were waiting at the finish line and I wasn’t about to let them see me just walk across it. Even with all of the walking, I was still able to get a nice PR and I’m in a really positive frame of mind for my upcoming goal race. Overall, I was really pleased with the race, not because of the PR but because the part that I ran was quite a bit faster than I’m normally a ble to do and, most importantly, this was the first race where I was 100% on my own without a buddy right there pushing me along.
Erin King ran the Chase the Coyote Trail Race 5.7KM in Orangeville, Ontario completing this race event in the time of 24 minutes which placed her 1st female overall.
This was my first true trail race. I didn’t wear a watch as pace wasn’t important to me, just effort. I thoroughly enjoyed this race — running over roots, over sand, up rocky hills, and under tree branches. Everyone was extremely friendly and supportive. I was the first female to cross the line. This was icing on the cake of a fantastic event.
