Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Winter Wonders



The absence of ice and snow Dec.-early March denied Maryland a winter wonderland, but landed the Striders plenty of wins and outstanding performances. 

Olympic Feats of Strength 

First of all, winter caps off to Hannah Cocchiaro and Caroline Bauer, who earned the honor of competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta on February 29!!! Battling brutal hills and gale winds, Hannah placed 61st out of more than 400 women with a time of 2:42:02 and Caroline came in 210th at 2:49:20. Family, friends, and fellow Striders members were on hand to witness this historic event!

Julia Roman-Duval qualified for the trials as well, but held out in order to compete the same weekend in the Paris Half Marathon, aiming for a shot on the French national team. Unfortunately the event was cancelled only the day before due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. 

Marathon/Half Marathon Milestones 

Several Striders flocked to the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon on December 7th, with Kevin Ford taking first in M30-34 and 6th overall with a time of 2:41:30 and Mark Landree winning M50-54 and earning a PR and grand master racing team record at 2:51:52. Callie Betman came in 12th of all women and took 3rd in F25-29 at 3:14:37, while Faye Weaver came in 4th in F45-49 at 3:28:18.

On Feb. 9, Kevin Ford also competed in the Rock n Roll New Orleans Marathon, earning 2nd place in M30-34 and 4th place overall male with a time of 2:44:21. Adam Sachs earned a PR at the California International Marathon on with a time of 2:40:19.

Lindsay Pickett and Rachel Collins represented at the Houston 3M Half Marathon on Jan. 19, posting PR times of 1:31:39 and 1:35:16.


Ten-Mile Tributes 

At the DCRRC Al Lewis 10 Miler Jan. 11, the fiercely fast trio of Hannah Cocchiaro, Julia Roman-Duval and Caroline Baur cleaned up with a 1st-2nd-3rd place sweep among all women, with times of 56:21, 57:08 and 59:45, respectively. 

At our own RRCA Club 10-Mile Challenge on Feb. 23, both the men's and women's teams navigated the hill-crazy course under sunny skies (finally, after two years of cold downpours) with strong representation and standout performances. Special congrats to Selvi Rajagopal, who came in first overall on the women's side with a time of 1:00:34!

Results were as follows:

Carols Rejifo53:5519th
Kevin Ford 56:0537th
Adam Sachs (PR)56:1639th
Andrew Madison56:2341st
Eric Schuler56:3745th
Mark Buschman58:3566th
Jason Trip 58:4870th
Adam Wytko59:1875th
Mark Landree (grand master racing team record)1:00:2789th
James Blackwood (Course PR)1:00:5093rd
Ed Wilson1:05:19154th
Tunde Morakinyo1:07:21204th
Brian Shadrick (PR)1:09:42246th
Dave Berardi1:41:41321st
Selvi Rajagopal1:00:341st
Amanda Beal1:06:1817th
Callie Betman1:07:1921st
Lindsay Pickett1:09:2732nd
Louise Valentine1:12:1445th
Faye Weaver1:15:28
Julia Skinner1:16:13
Deb Taylor1:17:17
Carol Ernst1:17:44
Debbie Cohen1:31:21


The Trials of Trail Running 

Team members also made a strong showing at area trail races: Eric Schuler came in 1st overall at the Little Patuxent River 10K on Feb. 2. with a time of 40:07.  In the Little Patuxent River Run Half Marathon event, James Blackwood came in 1st in M30-39 at 1:29:53, and Deb Taylor placed first in F50-54 at 1:54:06. On the same day, Tammy Liu Hermstein took second in F50-55 at the Super Bowl Trail Race 8 Miler with a time of 1:21:20.

10K Kudos

Conrad Orloff competed in the USATF Club Cross Country National Championships, a 10K, with a time of 37:00, while Tammy Liu Hermstein finished off 2019 with a bang at the Running Out of Time 10K on December 31st, taking 2nd overall woman with a time of 47:48.

8K, 5K, and 5-Mile Fun

Debbie Cohen, our oldest and slowest runner (yeah, that's me) came in first overall woman at the PGRC Wright Stuff 8K on Dec. 7th with a time of 43:28. Seven Striders racers did Turkey Trot 5 Ks and 5-milers on Nov. 28th, with results as follows:

Laurel Turkey Trot 5KDeb Taylor 21:401st AG, 12th
Eric Schuler16:303rd
James Blackwood18:031st AG, 8th
John Chall20:031st AG, 18th
Boar's Head Turkey Trot 5KCaroline Bauer18:282nd
Pittsburgh Turkey Trot 5MRachel Collins33:051st female master, PR
Cleveland Turkey Trot 5MLouise Valentine34:326th


And of course, we had massive representation AND success at the Celtic Solstice Five Miler on Dec. 14th-see our super stats below!

Julia Roman-Duval27:271st, PR, racing team record
Hannah Cocchario28:072nd, PR
Caroline Bauer28:533rd, PR
Selvi Rajagopal29:024th, PR, 1st AG
Callie Betman31:448th, PR
Julia Skinner35:56
Deb Taylor36:301st GM Female
Eric Schuler26:233rd
Jason Tripp28:1314th, 1st AG
Jason Liu30:51
Ed Wilson31:0935th, 1st GM Male
John Chall32:3862nd, 1st AG


Great job, everyone! Let's stay strong and healthy through Spring with nothing more serious than a case of Corona (the beer, that is)!!!!!



Selvi Rajagopol, first place female at the RRCA Club Challenge 10 Miler. 



Racing team gents and friends at the RRCA Club Challenge 10 Miler - Kevin Ford, Nathan Dordei, Adam Sachs, Carlos Renjifo, Ed Wilson, Mark Buschman, Jason Tripp, and Eric Schuler.

Hannah Cocchiaro representing at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.

Hannah Cocchiaro and Caroline Bauer after their awesome performances in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.

Kevin Ford at the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon.

Lindsay Pickett and Rachel Collins at the Houston 3M Half Marathon.

James Blackwood at the RRCA Club Challenge 10 Miler

Debbie Cohen at the PGRC Wright Stuff 8k.

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