Team RunnersConnects brings in 6 Monster PRs as well as strong race in distances from the 5K to the 50K.

Adam Weiss ran Sulphur Springs 10k Trail Race in Ancaster, Ontario finishing this race event in the time of 40:27 which is a PR of 6 minutes.

AWeissThis race was a huge 10k PR for me! The weather was perfect; the trails were in perfect condition; and the training paid off. Thanks to all of the RC coaches and team members for your knowledge and support!

Stacy Thomas ran the Brat Fest Bun Run 10K in Madison, WI coming across the finish line with a time of 44:42 which is a PR by 5 minutes.

I thought this race was going to go really bad because I spent the night before at my sister’s and then race morning I realized forgot to pack my Garmin. So the entire race I didn’t know what pace I was running (since I didn’t have my Garmin). It was the 1st race I run without my Garmin since I got it a year and a half ago! I ended up running a PR by over 5 minutes!

Debra Hexsel ran her first 5K at the University City Memorial Day Run 5K in University City (St. Louis), Mo coming across the finish line with a time of 22:45 which gave her a 1st in Age group and 2nd Overall awards.

D HexelOkay, stepping outside of my comfort zone. Never done this before. Would I try a 5K again, yes. Don’t think I’m ready for a 10K just yet. But this was kind of fun in a very painful way.
Had a few issues from 2 am until when I woke up but apparently it didn’t cause a problem.
Race starts as a long uphill … I heard them announce the time at one mile and I was shocked — out too fast. The guy said 7:14 when I went past, but my watch splits don’t say that–they say a bit slower which was still fast for me. Mr. Garmin does show I did a negative split which I am shocked because you have a long difficult uphill in the last mile but that is where I picked off the girl who was in second. I heard them say 2nd woman and I thought that should be me so off I went to get it. I don’t remember some of the run and I do remember the parts I wanted to quit and didn’t think I could give more. So my goal was to grind up the hill round the corner and finish hard. There was one more guy I could pick off and I took care of him and thought CHICKED … So I was 1st in age 55-59 women 2nd over all women (winner was a 17 year old).

Tang Trang ran the Ottawa Marathon in Ottawa, Canada finishing this race in the time of 4:20:39 which is a PR by 39 minutes.

That was my 2nd Marathon. I was hesitating a lot as I was just back 1 week back from a 6 weeks injury treatment during which I had to completely stop. Despite all recommendations and common sense, I listened to my heart more than my brain (I know not the first time): it was my main race and I just wanted to do it. It turned out to be quite positive. I enjoyed the beautiful course, the weather and most importantly the cheerful people around me. Although far from my goal, I finished the full marathon in 4:20:39 which is 39min better than my first marathon and it looks like my injury is not reviving. The experience and the support I found here has been invaluable. I am looking forward to continuing my journey!

Siobhan Donegan ran the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont finishing this race in the time of 3:29:11 which is a PR of 1 minutes and 16 seconds.

This race was special because I always thought running this distance at this pace was completely out of the realm of possibility for me. It has only been through the RC training plan and the support of the coaches and the RC community that I started to think maybe I could actually do this. For me, that made all of the difference. I was happy that I found a way to push through those really difficult last 6-7 miles. I was pretty worn down at that point but knew I still had it in me to stay on pace. I drew upon all remaining mental/physical resources to cross the finish line. It felt incredible as I got closer and closer to the finish I could hear the crowd roaring…first very softly and then getting louder and louder. Just hearing that helped to propel my legs to keep going and get to the finish line! Definitely a day I will never forget.

Lori Lundberg ran the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont finishing this race distance in the time of 3:55.

LoriLThis was my 1st marathon in 20+ years. Since I decided to do another marathon, my goal has been a BQ. I was coming off a bad Achilles injury so part of the battle was staying injury free and making it to the starting line. RC had me predicted at 3:57:43 based on training, so I knew I would be close but I would need to find something extra. I had a little flare up of an Achilles injury in the last week, so I did very little running leading up to the race, which while frustrating, may have been a blessing in disguise. I was blessed with almost perfect running conditions-by the time it started getting warm I was in the shade of the bike path. I started out very conservatively, I was feeling good and knew it could be a good day. Once I got to the top of the big hill at mile 15 I knew the worst was over. At mile 20 I knew that I was easily under 4 hours and close to the BQ time, but I would have to fight for it. And I did! Last 10K almost 2 minute s faster than my first, and negative split the last half (1:30). Ended up with my BQ time exactly on the nose. Just getting through the training was huge for me. I can honestly say I enjoyed the journey and the BQ time was icing on the cake! Thanks coach Jamie and RC!

Christopher Sussman ran the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont coming across the finish line in the time of 3:10:27.

Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed a little bit by this race. I had an amazing first half and felt well within myself. I felt like I went out smart pacing wise and simply felt pretty darn great. This course included a tough hill at mile 15 and I felt solid and this had a been a little bit of a mental barrier going into the race. With a PR of 3:08, getting close to the 3:00 mark like my RunnersConnect 2:59 prediction would have been spectacular. I though I could at least match my PR, but it just wasn’t my day. I suffered a pretty tough cramp around mile 18, have found in the past that I can run through most cramps, but this one was sharper than what I have experienced in the past. Fuel wise, I thought I was pretty smart. My heel (an injury in the past year) felt great, although very sore post-race which is to be expected.

Ramona Dragnea ran the Mountains2Beach Marathon in Ojai to Ventura, CA finishing this race in the time of 4:21:10 which was a PR by 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

RamonaDThis race was 4 weeks after Big Sur Marathon and I signed up for it at the beginning of the training cycle, when I was fresh and full of energy and thought I could push mountains by running 2 marathons in one month.  Yesterday’s race was I think the hardest marathon I ran, even though it’s a fast and has some downhill areas.  I had stomach issues from the beginning and took less gels on the course too, and past mile 17 the race started being quite hard for me. I still managed to finish with a PR which I am very happy about. I am totally positive I could have not done it without the support and training with RunnersConnect!

Rick Lopez ran the Mountains2Beach Marathon in Ojai to Ventura, CA coming across the finish line with a time 3:45:48.

RicardoHi all! After my Berlin flameout last September I was looking for redemption here at M2B. I went into the race not really knowing what to expect, or really, what to shoot for as my goal. I missed so many peak week(s) miles because of illness that I really hadn’t run any further than 25K since April 12th. That is not the key to a PR. But the race predictor stayed the same throughout, targeting 3:33. I conservatively ran for 3:35 instead, hoping to stay on the low side of 3:40. Maybe 3:38. In hindsight I should have been pacing closer to 3:40 all along, I think. Well, by Mile 17 it was starting to show that I just didn’t have the endurance, but I thought I could still PR, which is 3:41. Sadly, nausea, fatigue, the warming temps and headwinds, and just flat-out being undertrained, all took their toll. I ended up run/walking 2 miles from 23 to 25-ish in order to keep the nausea down, and then did my best to finish fast. I sti ll feel pretty good, though and also feel much better after Berlin. If I drop a little bit more weight and stay healthy at the right times, I should keep progressing! This will still be my go-to race, though. It’s local, it’s downhill for a portion, and it’s an overall pretty darned nice course. Seeing the clouds hugging the mountains off in the distance at about mile 3, and then getting to see them all over again as we looped down to begin the descent towards Ventura was just gorgeous.

Thanasis Kypraios ran the GoteborgsVarvet half marathon in Goteborg finishing this race in the time of 1:35:15.

thanasisFirst race away from Greece! This itself makes it special! Fantastic city with lots of parks to run. I made a few pre race mistakes, but racing hard was not my main purpose. My purpose was to travel, meet friends and have fun! The race was supposed to have 60.000 participants, but only 45.000 raced. Huge numbers both, in any way! I started at the last block, 25th, 3 hours after the start of the elite. This made the race harder, because of the slower runners/walkers in front of me. Still, I managed to find my pace, but I had trouble keeping it after 14 kms as more and more people were tired and stopped in front of me…!!! I drank no water at all, since the water stations were too crowded and there were lakes of water and paper cups everywhere…! I finished totally fresh and we went for burgers and beers afterwards! In conclusion, there was a great experience! Looking forward to my next travel to race (please make it be Florence marathon, please!!!).

Dennis Moore ran the Arrowhead 5K in Kansas City coming across the finish line with a time of 21:53 which is a PR of 21:56 which is PR bu 2 minutes 11 seconds.

Dennis Moore*FIST-BUMP* Not sure where this came from, but a PR of 2:11 mins for the 5K! There must be something to this training… Running around and through the stadium was fun, even the spiral access ramps all the way up then all the way down. Some KC Chiefs players were giving out water at the top, and cheerleaders were at the finish. Pretty cool!

Glenn Goodwin ran the Oak Bay 1/2Marathon in Oak Bay B.C. finishing in the time of 2:03:20.

GlennGI had a tough race ,it was a tougher course than I expected ,I still have the effects of a cold that is hanging on plus I didn’t prepare properly and I payed big time for that mistake.

 

Anup Sharma ran the Oak Bay Half Marathon in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada finishing in the time of 1:58:49.

AnupI was doing really good until last 3 KMs, the same problem that happened with me in my full marathon 3 weeks back, my left calf was cramping and although I was not paralysed, I ran under fear and slowed down a lot at times just walking. I was not expecting a PR on this one, because I just ran a Full 3 weeks back, other than that the race was very scenic very enjoyable. Just wondering will this bring down my predicted marathon time which I am training for..

Denise Munson ran the The Toronto Women’s Half Marathon in Toronto, Ontario Canada finishing in the race event in the time of 2:13:07.

DeniseMFirst half marathon I have raced in 2 years. No where near a personal best – actually a personal worst but an extremely satisfying experience. Let me explain.  I ran Boston 2013 and the bombs went off as I crossed the finish line. I had just passed my family cheering me on right in the same vicinity. I did not know if they were safe or not; it took a couple of hours before we connected and found each other. The whole experience, coupled with chronic hamstring and glute injuries that I’d been dealing with left me with no desire to run anymore. I had to stop running to allow my hamstring injury to heal but once I could get back to running, I had lost the desire mentally. I couldn’t do it.  Over the winter I admitted I was ready to try to get back at it but I needed a goal. So about 12 weeks ago I signed up for The Toronto Women’s Half Marathon and came up with a haphazard training plan to get me through. It took longer to adapt to the distance than I thought it would so I modified my expectations and went into today’s race with what I considered a realistic goal; sub 2:15 or 6:20 per km overall pace. I am pleased with the result. And better yet, I believe I have overcome some mental demons and hurdles. I still have no desire to run a marathon but I’m looking forward to continuing to build on the half marathon with my RC training plan.

Tony Malinauskas competed in the Mud, Guts, and Glory Obstacle Course Race in Cincinnati, OH completing this event in the time of 2:08:09 and 4th in age division.

Finished 4th in my age division, which qualifies me for the Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) World Championship in the Fall. I believe the benefits of my training are accumulating well — compared to last year’s event, I’ve cut the time differential between me and 1st place in my division by a little over half!

Michelle Hall ran the Jemez Mountain Trail Run 50K in Los Alamos NM finishing this race distance in the time of 11:23:38.

MichelleHallThis race was special because it was a training run for a Rim2Rim2Rim run in the Grand Canyon in October. I ran it in my home town with two great friends who live at sea level. It took almost 3 times as long as it took me to run Boston. We started at 7250′ feet and ran through the mountains to 10,400′ before running back down the mountain. And most importantly, we finished without tripping, falling puking, or getting delirious from altitude sickness and dehydration. It was awesome! The 50 miler which covers this same course is rated in the top 20 ultra 50 milers in the country. The organization does not rank 50K races by difficulty. It is a great race and I recommend it to all who are adventurous. The winner of the 50K was a woman in my town who ran it in 6:01.

 Ted Lord ran the Salomon Trail Running Festival at Pineland Farms 10K in New Gloucester, Maine finishing this race event in the time of 37:05 which is a 27 second PR.

This my second 10K race, my first 10K trail race. It was at a really fun trail running festival: no big crowds, lots of people that just enjoy running and are willing to travel and sleep in a field to do it.

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