Hot Weather Does Not Stop Solid Performances at Remembrance Run

The Racing team put some solid performances in at today's Remembrance Run, put on by the Columbia Rotary Club. Mark Buschman took top honors, just edging out Karsten Brown to finish first in 16:30. Pete Keating put in a valiant performance as well (17:21), but was 2 seconds shy of first place in the masters category, behind Striders veteran and consistently solid performer Doug Mock. Joe Hanle rounded off the men's contingent, finishing first in the 50-54 age group with a solid time of 19:16.

The race for top female was even more hotly contested than the men's race. Stefanie Commins, who is getting back into racing shape after taking time off to give birth to her second child, finished a close second to Falls Road's Diane Heiser, with a time of 19:05. The amount of time separating the two was less than 4 seconds. Robyn Humphrey took the top female master award with a time of 20:10, and Dorothy Beckett finished first in the 50-54 category with a time of 22:23.

Pictures of the race are available here and full results can be found on the Striders website.

Quotes from the field:

"Hot and Hilly....yet fun!!!!!...strangely..." (Spoken like a true runner)

Trail Race

Sun, May 29, 8:30am – 10:30am

Where: Patapsco State Park

Description: Fellow trail runners, the next stop on the 'off-road madness' that is the BRRC Billy Goat trail race series is on Sunday, May 29th at 8:30am at Patapsco State Park. The course will be a challenging 5 to 6 mile course and you will get your feet wet. Race day registration starts at 7:45. Race starts near the park and ride by I-195 and Rolling Road. Specific directions are below. Park for the start at the Park and Ride off of Rolling Road. Specific directions are below. Fee: $2 for BRRC and Howard County Strider members/$6 non-members Race Director: Steve Weber (scweber1@comcast.net)

"Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" Takes All-Fruit Honors

The first and second place teams + Luis from the 3rd place team

On a beautiful spring day, the team "Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" (Mark B, Andrew M, Carlos R) raced through the sidewalks of Oakland Mills to take first at this year's All-Fruit-Relay. Taking an early lead in front of the pre-race favorites and two-time champions "Team Dominate", the coconuts team never looked back. Carlos R had a good day, opting to run the first and third legs, while Mark and Andrew took the second and anchor legs, respectively. The final time was a course record (42:36), with rough splits of 10:18, 11:00, 10:34, and 10:44.

The other two teams, "Is it a Fruit or Not?" (Fruit = Tomato | Members = Brian F, Seth G, David G, Adam W) and "Oxidate" (Fruit = Date | Members = John C, Tasha H, Stefanie C, Greg H), placed 2nd and 5th with times of 46:19 and 49:47 .

Other notable team names this year included: "Delicious Green Banana" (Which was consumed as the anchor leg was approaching the finish line), "Kiwi Will Rock You", "Puff the Magic Dragonfruit", "Fruit Loops", "Dragonfruit Tails", and "Clockwork Orange".

Full results and pictures are posted here (Striders Website). Some more pictures are posted here (Picasa).

A fruitful time was had by all.

The "Coconuts" pose with their fruit.

All Fruit Relay?

Is anyone want to run the All-Fruit-Relay this year? The event, sponsored by the Striders, is a 4x2 mile relay race that takes place on the grounds around Oakland Mills Middle/High School on Sunday, May 22nd at 2PM. The twist is that each team must select their fruit of choice and come up with a cheeky team name. I think this would be a fun event for us to do as a team -- the more, the merrier! We can mix and match to make things as competitive as we like. I've even got a few names thought up already. How about "Great Fruit" (with a grapefruit as our baton) or "A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" (with two coconuts to keep us balanced).

Who's interested?

HOUSTON MARATHON/HALF MARATHON

All,

Not sure if anyone is interested but the Houston Marathon/Half Marathon is on Sunday, January 15, 2012. The U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials are being run the day before on the same course. I plan on signing up for the half marathon and flying in on Friday so I can watch the trials. Anyone else interested? Early registration opens on May 10th with the general lottery opening June 1st. I think we all have qualifying times to allow for the early registration!

http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/

Anyone up for an easy 16 on Friday afternoon?

I can't make bagel run due to my brother's graduation in Shippensburg, PA Saturday morning. Anyone want to join me for an easy 16 miles (or a part of it)? I'd be looking to head out between 5-6pm.

Broad Street Run: Results

Mike Colaiacovo and Weems McFadden represented the racing team at this year's Broad Street Run. Colaiacovo ran an excellent 55:32, good for 54th overall and 6th in his age group. Weems finished in 64:41 (15th, M50-54).

Congrats, gentlemen!