Weekend Recap

It was quite a busy weekend on the racing front on what I'm calling the official closing of the spring racing season.

On Saturday, Robyn Humphrey started the team off with an easy victory at the AFCEA 5k, finishing 4th overall and the first female by 30 seconds in 19:35. In Columbia, Bullseye Running put on the First Annual Thunder Hill 5k. Adam Wytko took 1st in 16:32 while Phil Lang decided to run his race, finishing 3rd in 17:35. Pretty amazing considering he was up late showing off on the dance floor at Izzy and Kathleen's wedding! Finally, our crazy ultra duo of Keith Levasseur and Caroline Bauer ventured down to Lynchburg, VA to run the Promise Land 50k++. From what I was told, the course is 34 miles and the conditions were brutal. Rain, sleet, wind....just awful! Keith managed 13th on men's side in 5:11:42 while Caroline pushed through for 37th in the women's race.

Sunday featured one of the biggest and fastest local races of the spring....Pike's Peek 10k. Conditions were near perfect and the times were crazy fast. This race gives money to the top 10 overall, as well as top 3 per age group. The top 8 men broke 29 minutes!!! Carlos Renjifo closed out his amazing spring season with another PR, finishing 19th in 31:47. He has been battling a sore ankle over the past few weeks which flared up after the 5k point, in which he completed in 15:35ish! Time to rest up bro! Craig Lebro ran well, finishing 39th in what I believe is a PR of 34:50. On the ladies side, Janeth Scott kept up her tear on the newly-entered grandmaster division, running a 41:55 for 45th. Might need to exchange her navy blue singlet for a royal blue! Fellow GM Dorothy Beckett ran 43:55 for 56th.

We have another busy weekend of racing coming up. I will be on-site in Pittsburgh as Kent and Jason will attack 26.2. I know Keith is running the MD Half on Sunday. Broad Street is also this weekend.

For those who care, our Tuesday night group run is finally (and thankfully) switching from HCC to the trails at Patapsco (Landing Road entrance) at 6pm. Feel free to join us whenever you can.

Oh yeah...ONE MORE THING!  If you will be around this Sunday 5/6, please consider helping out at the Junior Striders home meet at OMHS.  The meet starts at 12:30pm.  Phil and Vicki could use as many people as they can get.  If interested, send Phil an email at coachlang@hotmail.com.

Is it July already?!?!...Clyde's and Boston recap

This weekend was one of the busiest racing weekends of the year for us. On Sunday, we had a solid showing at the 34th Annual Clyde's 10k. The weather was quite nice, with the exception of the humidity. Carlos Renijifo, going for the first three-peat in Clyde's history, had a hard fought battle with Kyle Stanton and Falls Roads' Dustin Meeker. As the trio passed me near Mile 3, they were making it look easy. Kyle put in a push after hte 108 hill and Carlos didn't have enough in the tank to go with him. The chase pack was quite a sight to watch as well. Kent Werner, Seth Geoghegan, Kevin Ford, Peter Keating, and Craig Lebro were running together as they proceeded up Columbia Road to 108. Kent ended up edging out Seth by 16 seconds for a 4th place finish! However, Seth logged another PR. This makes a 5k, 10 mile, and 10k PR so far in 2012 for him! Also of note was the long awaited return of Steve Olenick to the racing scene. For those who don't know, Steve battled a mysterious knee injury after PRing in the 2010 Baltimore Marathon and was forced out of action for well over a year. Two surgeries later, he's back at it and I expect him to be in the racing team by the Fall!

In the women's race, Unsong Ostrowski ran away from the field early and won easily in 38:49. Allegedly, she doesn't enjoy racing because she gets nervous. Well, that's about to change as we are starting a non-stop stalking campaign to get her on the team. Kelly Westlake ran a great race for 2nd place in 39:48. Former rockstar, Pam Markley, who currently resides in Vicenza, Italy, made a stop in her old stomping grounds to edge out Robyn Humphrey for 3rd place. Pat Wilkerson cleaned house in the grandmaster division with a 41:26 and Janeth Scott, recently turned 50, broke 44 minutes (43:51) for 21st.

Here's a recap of the results:

Carlos Renjifo (2nd) 32:36
Kent Werner (4th) 34:22
Seth Geoghegan (5th) 34:38
Kevin Ford (6th) 34:46
Peter Keating (7th) 34:50
Craig Lebro (8th) 35:52
Steve Olenick (9th) 36:34
Jason Tripp (10th) 36:46
John Chall (31st) 39:19
Tunde Morakinyo (32nd) 39:21
Bobby Gessler (65th) 41:58

Unsong Ostrowski (1st) 38:49
Kelly Westlake (2nd) 39:48
Pam Markley (3rd) 40:08
Robyn Humphrey (4th) 40:10
Pat Wilkerson (7th) 41:23
Janeth Scott (21st) 43:51

Monday was the biggest racing day of the year (in my humble opinion)...the 116th Boston Marathon! What a difference a day makes. The morning low was in the low 60s and the humidity never dimished as the sun went down. To make matters worse, this race starts at 10am, meaning that even if you run a world record time, you'll have to do it during the hottest part of the day!

I received conflicting records about temperatures during the race. Conrad indicated that temperatures reached 90 degrees as he hit Mile 16. Caroline Bauer's recollection seemed a bit more realistic with mid 80s, but either way that's a good 30+ degrees warmer than anyone in their right mind would have wanted it! Conrad, who had been battling some injuries, which included taking a couple weeks off about a month or so ago, was shooting for a 2:44 and ran a fantastic race crossing the line in 2:50. Keith Levasseur ran solid race in 3:02. The fearless Phil Lang, running marathon #45, crushed Mother Nature and ran an amazing 3:10. Adam Wytko struggled with the heat, but was able to gut it out with a 3:29.

On the ladies side, we only had Caroline representing the team. She had been running her butt off this winter with 70-80 mile weeks, several MP runs, and two 50k's just for the hell of it. She was undoubtedly in 3:10 shape, but played it smart and didn't let her adrenaline get to her and just enjoyed the race (as much as one could) running a 3:31.

26.2 results:

Conrad Orloff (207th) 2:50:12
Shawn Young (537th) 3:00:56
Keith Levasseur (581st) 3:02:00
Phil Lang (993rd) 3:10:34
Adam Wytko (2640th) 3:29:48

Caroline Bauer (443rd) 3:31:22
Becky Ramsing (1776th) 3:53:06
Julie Thienel (1798th) 3:53:19
Lisa Fichman (2098th) 3:56:30
Janelle McIntyre (2186th) 3:57:36
Amanda Loudin (4252nd) 4:19:00

Incredible job by all, especially the Beantowners! Don't let this year deter you from doing this race again. When the weather is right, it's one of the best running experiences you can have!

Here's some pics from Clyde's:


Top 3 men (left to right): Kyle Stanton (1st), Dustin Meeker (3rd), Carlos Renjifo (2nd)



Jason x 4!



The guys model their prizes (mini collapsible chairs and beach mats). 
Kent, um... takes modeling to a whole new level.



Bobby, Pat, Tacy, and Robyn enjoying the postrace party

More pictures from Clyde's here
Clyde's video, courtesy of Carlos and Issel, located here

BOSTON LOOMS...

We had several awesome performances at Clyde's this morning! I will provide a recap once chip times and pictures are posted.

Meanwhile, our focus shifts to Boston where the 116th running of the Boston Marathon is scheduled to be a scorcher! Good luck to all of those running. Forget that PR and enjoy the experience and remember to stay hydrated...

Feet First Anniversary Run - This Saturday!

Feet First is celebrating their 33 year anniversary this coming Saturday, April 7th. If you are around this weekend, please consider stopping by at 7AM to take part in their 3 or 10 mile run, followed by refreshments.

Jeff and Karen have been very supportive of the Striders over the years and it would be awesome if we could show our support by attending this event.  Details are copied below.

Save the Date!!!

4th Annual Feet First Anniversay Run
10 mile and 3 mile runs
Saturday, April 7, 2012
7:00am
Rain or shine
"33 Years and Still Running"
Free Premiums for all finishers and refreshments will be served

Location: Feet First Sports, 6420 Freetown Road #130, Columbia, MD.

Cherry Blossom: Team Competition Results

The team competition results have been posted.  Men finish 1st and 5th. Masters take 3rd, 6th, and 9th!

Running Club Team Results Running Club, Open Male

1.  Howard County Striders Men

      51:43   55:11   56:36 (58:27) = 2:43:30

      Carlos Renjifo, Tom Williams, Kent Werner, Keith Levasseur

2.  Capital Area Runners – MRC

      53:44   57:33   58:59 (1:06:57) (1:07:39) = 2:50:16

      Rich Saunders, Romain Mareuil, Andrew Jacobson, Michael Miller, Daniel Vogel

3.  Washington Running Club + Dojo

      56:47   57:13   59:56 (1:02:57) (1:05:36) = 2:53:56

      Shawn Rumery, Geoff King, Kirk Masterson, Kit Wells, Andrew Killian

4.  DC Road Runners

      57:08   57:59 1:00:32 (1:01:28) (1:05:32) = 2:55:39

      Matt Deters, Benjamin Mitchell, Dylan Barlett, Joe Schoenbauer, Joseph Fisher

5.  Howard County Striders Men B

      56:01   59:06 1:00:59 (1:02:27) = 2:56:06

      Seth Geoghegan, Jason Tripp, Brian Fleming, James Blackwood

Running Club, Coed Masters Teams (Score Top 3, By Net Time)

1.  MCCRC Mixed Reality

      56:52   58:03 1:06:29 = 3:01:24

      Kevin Yates, David Haaga, Cindy Conant

2.  -PR-Masters X

      1:00:11 1:00:22 1:01:51 = 3:02:24

      Jim Nielsen, Peggy Yetman, Mark Malander

3.  Howard County Striders A

      57:07 1:03:08 1:04:40 = 3:04:55

      Peter Keating, John Chall, Robyn Humphrey

4.  DC Road Runners Masters

      59:23   59:51 1:15:29 = 3:14:43

      Kevin D'Amanda, Ian Clements, Janet Braunstein

5.  Atlanta Track Club

      57:48 1:04:34 1:13:18 = 3:15:40

      Ken Youngers, Nancy Stewart, Michele Keane

6.  Howard County Striders B

       1:06:01 1:07:38 1:07:49 = 3:21:28

      Bobby Gessler, Richard Chase, Pat Wilkerson

7.  -PR-Masters XX

       55:56 1:02:54 1:29:04 = 3:27:54

       John Zimmerman, Jim Bradford, Maria Nusbaum

8.  DC Front Runners Platinum

       1:08:06 1:09:01 1:17:19 = 3:34:26

       Seth Kalish, Allen Greenberg, Blake Rushin

9.  Howard County Striders C

       1:10:56 1:11:44 1:14:15 = 3:36:55

       Kenneth Sevik, Dorothy Beckett, Rebecca Ramsing

As the cherry blossoms fell off the trees, many Striders were in full bloom at the season's biggest race

I decided to join those racing with a 4:30am buzzing alarm. By 5:20am, I pulled up to the Broken Land Parkway Park 'N Ride and discovered several Striders were on the exact same schedule. The Metro ride was a piece of cake and the crisp, cool air shocked our systems as we crested the (broken) escalator. Sorry to digress; now to the real story:

The conditions were near ideal for this time of the year (unless you were spectating). I didn't hear anyone complain about the wind going around Hains Point. We had several amazing performances which including huge PRs by our team captain, Carlos Renjifo, who blasted across the finish line in 51:43 for 20th place and a 1:37 PR. He ran with the big dawgz and showed he deserves to be in the discussion with the area's elite. This is also a new team record! Seth Geoghegan, our newest (official) member battled through a toe blister (wore a new pair of shoes for race day...what an idiot) to run a 2:00 PR, 56:01 for 49th. Docta Kent wasn't far behind in 56:36. Peter Keating, reportedly only running 25 mile weeks, ran 57:07 for 72nd overall. Keith Levasseur, who I'm guessing ran a 20-30k warmup, had a solid Boston tune-up as he cracked the top 100 men for 96th place with a 58:27. The last of our sub-hour crew was the infamous Jason Tripp, who looked strong the last 150m, clocking a 59:06. Our only healthy grandmaster, John Chall, performed well with a 63:08.

Our ladies squad was quite (grand)masterful as well. I swear they get younger each day! Robyn Humphrey led the way averaging just under 6:30s, rolling through in 64:40 for 56th and 2nd in AG. Kelly Westlake was right on her heels, finishing 65th in 65:18. Ms. Constantcy, Pat Wilkerson rounded out the sub-70 crew with a 67:49, including 3rd in her age group. Janeth Scott ran even splits for a 70:26 followed by Dorothy Beckett in 71:44. Many of the Run 4 Chocolate ladies were also spotted on the course.

Courtesy of Robyn:
So Kelly and I are out together, too fast (Kelly's fault) but good thing as at 1.5 miles Joan Benoit Samuelson comes up on my right and I say "Kelly, an American treasure is to our right", Kelly looks to see and she is like OMG, where is Dave Tripp with his camera when you need him? Joan says "Thank you so much", so humble, lovely lady as she powers up and pulls away I say, "now I can die", which got a big smile! A great moment for Kelly and I!

Here's a formatted Striders breakdown:

Place / Name / 5 Mile / Gun Time / Net Time / Pace
20 Carlos Renjifo* 25:51 51:43 51:43 5:11
41 Tom Williams 27:04 55:12 55:11 5:32
49 Seth Geoghegan* 28:19 56:04 56:01 5:37
56 Kent Werner 28:11 56:38 56:36 5:40
75 Peter Keating 29:46 57:26 57:07 5:43
96 Keith Levasseur* 29:29 58:30 58:27 5:51
111 Jason Tripp 29:25 59:08 59:06 5:55
171 Brian Fleming 30:46 1:01:37 1:00:59 6:06
263 John Chall 31:01 1:03:14 1:03:08 6:19
307 Akintunde Morakinyo 32:05 1:04:05 1:04:01 6:25
429 Bobby Gessler 32:25 1:06:06 1:06:01 6:37

56 Robyn Humphrey 31:37 1:04:42 1:04:42 6:28
65 Kelly Westlake 31:58 1:05:20 1:05:18 6:32
117 Pat Wilkerson 33:14 1:07:51 1:07:49 6:47
160 Julie Thienel 34:18 1:09:35 1:09:31 6:58
183 Janeth Scott 34:48 1:10:55 1:10:26 7:03
230 Dorothy Beckett 35:26 1:12:06 1:11:44 7:11
253 Lisa Fichman 36:00 1:12:43 1:12:27 7:15
260 Janelle McIntyre 36:27 1:13:03 1:12:41 7:16
323 Tacy Powers 36:46 1:14:05 1:13:35 7:22
356 Rebecca Ramsing 36:54 1:14:31 1:14:15 7:26
416 Grace Tran 37:35 1:18:13 1:15:07 7:31
641 Hazel Chase 38:27 1:20:56 1:17:51 7:48

* denotes PR

Congrats all!!!

A few selected pictures (click the Picasa link on the right side of the blog for more):


The crew!



Carlos kicking some ass!



Seth with a HUGE PR!



Robyn leading the way for the ladies...

More Photos
Taken by GRC's Michelle Miller are here.

Videos
Finish Line videos on the Cherry Blossom Website
Compilation of Howard County Striders Finishes (Thanks to Issel Lim!)