Back on (the) Track

We are back on the track at HCC this coming Monday. We'll meet at 6PM next to the HCC Athletics building, do a 2 mile warmup and then head over to the track. The proposed workout is: 4x800, 4x400, 4x200 with 200m rest between intervals. See you then!

Wednesday Night Runs: Move from HCC to Patapsco!!!

As I woke up this morning to 75 degree weather and headed out for an easy run in the sun, I realized that summer is nearing and HCC is getting BORING!

As such, I am making the executive decision to switch the locations of our group runs from HCC to Patapsco starting THIS WEEK!!! Mt. Nasty awaits us!

Let's plan on meeting there for an easy run this Wednesday evening at 6pm! Here's where to meet:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=218008953147699862975.0004a05f5303b935057e8&ll=39.211964,-76.879063&spn=0.006866,0.016469&t=h&z=17

Feet First Anniversary Run -- Saturday (4/23)

Feet First, our co-sponsor since we began the racing team, is celebrating its 32nd year in business this coming weekend. If you are in town, please show your support by attending the anniversary run (3 miles or 10 miles: your choice), which begins at the store on Saturday at 7AM. Free shirts will be handed out to the first 200 runners and there will be discounts on shoes and clothing too. Bring your friends!


Nancy Burn's message is pasted below:

Striders,

One last reminder.....

On Saturday, April 23, Feet First will celebrate their 32nd anniversary with a 3 mile and 10 mile run, followed by a Strider Sale.

Both runs are free, and will begin at 7 a.m. from Feet First Sports. The first 200 runners will receive a special commemorative Brooks Podium Short Sleeve Tech-Tee. Sizes and availability are not guaranteed.

The 3 mile course can be viewed at:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/s/routes/view/group-run-map/maryland/columbia/29937422

The 10 mile course can be viewed at:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/6233751

After the runs, there will be complimentary drinks and light refreshments in the store.

There will also be a Striders only sale, both Friday, 4/22 and Saturday, 4/23. Howard County Striders will receive 25% off footwear (2 pair limit), and 25% off apparel (2 item limit). Sale items and special orders are not included, and this sale cannot be combined with any other coupon or discount.

Please bring your Strider ID tag in order to verify that you are a Howard County Strider.

We hope to see you at the sale, Friday, 4/22 and Saturday, 4/23, and at the run on Saturday, 4/23.

Nancy

Boston: Results

Pre-race excitement.

The results for the Boston Marathon are in...

Mark Buschman - 2:33:23 (PR)
Kara Waters - 2:52:05
Conrad Orloff - 2:56:05
Seth Geoghegan - 2:57:22
Jason Tripp - 2:59:29
Phil Lang - 3:00:47

Some quotes from Beantown:

- Conrad: "Never, ever run a marathon without actually training for it ... Now I know how those folks from the 1890s to the 1960s felt when they ran Boston"

- Kara: "Was an amazing experience...looked over my shoulder at mile 16 and Joan Benoit Samuelson was running on my shoulder. Of course I had to say something, 'Hi Joany, I'm from Maine and I went to your running camp was in 7th grade...' She was really sweet and responded with a smile and 'You are running so well. Go get it.' She and I hung side by side for about two miles. I think she was being kind and let me run next to her for a photo op at mile 17. At mile 18, she passed me and I think finished 38 seconds ahead of me. What an inspiration!"

- Phil: "I went for it, but even the wind at my back did not allow me to compete the way I'd like to in the second half. I did regroup and ran well the last mile and half and felt better about that. Number 44 is in the books, including my 16th Boston, and my love affair with Boston lives on!"

Great job to all of you!

Kara runs with Joan Benoit Samuelson

Strong Performances at Clydes' Despite Windy Conditions

Photo Credits: Denise Hyde. Collage: Carlos Renjifo.

What a difference the wind can make. While many individuals were reported to have run exceptionally fast times at the MCRRC Pikes Peek 10k due to strong tail winds, the situation at the Clyde's 10k was the exact opposite. Strong headwinds along the hilliest parts of the course, particularly the uphill sections to Governor Warfield Pkwy and up Columbia Road and 108, affected the times significantly. Despite the conditions, several individuals ran brilliant races, which resulted in several personal records being broken on the course.

Carlos Renjifo successfully defended his title, finishing with a time of 33:17 -- a minute ahead of his closest challenger, Karsten Brown. Peter Keating had a tremendous second half, resulting in a 34:46 finish; a 26 second PR and good for 3rd overall and 1st in the master's category. Robyn Humphrey exceeded her own expectations, knocking off 80 seconds from last year's time to finish as the first master in the female division (40:09).

But the best performance of the day goes to Donna Wecker, who delivered a two-minute personal best (42:50) on the anniversary of her first race ever (Clyde's in 2010). At the ripe age of 49, it looks like there's still lots of room for improvement!

Other racing team performances include: Joe Hanle (39:24, 1st M50-54), Pat Wilkerson (42:21, 1st F Master), and Dorothy Beckett (44:44, 1st F50-54).

Pictures taken by fellow Striders should be up soon here. In the meantime, enjoy the photos and videos, courtesy of the racing team's unofficial web guru/photographer/number-one-fan*!

*Don't worry Pekka: Your title for the official best fan ever is still intact =). Even this guy couldn't beat you (though it was a close call!).

Photo Credit: Denise Hyde.

Good Luck to Boston Runners!

The 115th running of the Boston Marathon is only two days away! The racing team will be well represented, with several current members and alumni toeing the line at Hopkington on Monday morning at 10AM.

Good luck to Mark, Kara, Phil, Conrad, and Jason. Run your hearts out!

Wednesday Track Workout

For those of you not running Boston this coming weekend, please join us for this week's workout at HCC, with the warmup beginning at 6PM.

The plan is to do a step-down ladder: 2400, 2000, 1600, 1200, 800, 400. Rest will be 400m between intervals. As for pace, you should shoot for something around 10m race pace for the first interval and then plan to run each successive interval one second faster per lap.

As an example, if your race pace for 10 miles is 5:40/mile, you would aim to run the following times per lap for each interval: 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80.

Supermilers

Another cool documentary. This one dates back to 1985 and chronicles the progression of the 1-mile world record, along with the athletes that set those standards. Click here to watch. Video shared by James D.

No HCC run for me tomorrow

I have a professional development seminar at APL and am not sure what time I'm getting out so I'm going to run in the morning.

Bagel Run?

I plan to go 16 on Saturday. Hopefully some of you marathon runners want to get one more long run in your legs before heading out to Boston next week.

Also, I added a new link to a map showing some of the places we meet.

Sebastian Coe

Here's a link to a pretty cool documentary about Sebastian Coe, arguably one of the best middle distance runners of all time. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP-zmivvoSc&feature=related

Thanks to James D. for sharing.

Wednesday Track Workout

We will be meeting at HCC at 6pm on Wednesday for a track workout. I will be taking it easy this week as I'm in marathon taper mode. My plan is 5xMile at Goal MP (5:40-5:45) with 30-60 second rest. However, rumor has it that others are planning on doing some faster stuff (perhaps as a Clyde's tune-up). So come on out and partake in the fun!

Racing Team Performs Well at CB 10 Miler

The Racing Team posted some stellar individual performances at the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, which translated to several solid team performances:

1st Place - Open Male Club Team
1st, 7th Place - Coed Masters Club Teams
4th Place - Elite Male Team

Women's Open team should finish in 2nd, once Kara's name is added to the list.

Official Results can be found here.

Also, be sure to check out your personalized running statistics, courtesy of RunPix, and the videos of the race, courtesy of Runnerspace.

Pictures and videos, taken by Issel Lim (thanks, Issel!), are posted on the HCS Picasa and YouTube Channels.