Celtic Solstice 5M Results

The racing team finished a great year of running with some awesome performances at the Celtic Solstice 5M.  The race, organized by Jim Adams of Falls Road Running, continues to grow each year, which means that the competition grows, too.  This year, over 3000 runners participated, making the field quite competitive.

On the men's side, Carlos Renjifo took an early gamble and jumped into the lead a little over a mile into the race.  For a few miles, it seemed that he might have enough fuel in the tank to fend off perennial champion Dave Berdan; however, at mile three, Berdan asserted himself, took the lead, and never looked back, going for a record fifth win at the race and setting a record on the newly redesigned 5.1 mile course (25:47). Carlos continued to push for the next two miles, and had a close call, tripping near the slippery lake and almost falling. In the last 250 meters of the race, he was caught by Falls Road's Tristram Thomas, and had to settle for third.  The margin for the top three was the closest in race history, with the group separated by a mere 16 seconds.

Next up -- and arguably the most impressive performer of the day -- was Kent Werner, who ran on his own for most of the race and still blazed to 26:35, good for 6th place.  Kent's performance follows on the heels of his outstanding time of 2:45 at the Richmond Marathon one month ago. Despite numerous interruptions to his training due to medical residency interviews, his gutsy race performances have earned him a spot back on the racing team after a three-year hiatus.

Mike Colaiacovo, in great form as usual, easily took first in the master's category (27:04) and finished 10th overall.  He was followed by the most recent addition to the racing team, Keith Levasseur, who scored a 14th place finish with a time of 27:26.  Rounding out the men's competition for the Striders, Brian Fleming finished in 28:43 (21st), Jason Tripp ran a solid 28:42 (22nd) and John Chall finished 31:06 (40th).

With distinctive pink flair, Caroline Bauer represented the Striders women with an excellent time of 32:16, good for 4th place overall.  Janeth Scott also had a very solid performance, finishing 16th with a time of 34:36 (1st in the 45-49 category).

Many thanks to Issel Anne Lim for taking some great photos, posted here: Link.  Full results are available here: Link.

Happy holidays, and see you all on the roads in 2012!

Mini Race Recap (In Pictures)

The bagpipes sounded, the swords descended ...

...And they're off!

Near the lake, Carlos tries to keep things close as Berdan jumps to the lead.

Kent ran mostly solo, but that didn't appear to slow him down.

The spread between 1st and 3rd was pretty small.

Kent hammers home with a 26:35!

Mike Colaiacovo easily takes 1st Master, with a huge grin on his face.

Keith Levasseur runs a great time (27:26).

Jason Tripp finishes strong, with Brian Fleming close behind. Jason claims that he's looking forward to beating up on the masters runners next year.

Post-race photos!  Smiles for everyone!

...More smiles (and pink socks)!