The Runaround

This was a rather quiet weekend of racing...but it's the calm before the storm I suppose!

Saturday morning kicked off with the Bagel 2 Beer Marathon, a low-key race which starts at the Columbia Swim Center and takes runners through and around Columbia before finishing at Rams Head Tavern in Savage.  Adam Wytko claimed the win with a 2:58:16, while Jeremy Rea was only a few minutes behind; 3:01:09 for 2nd.  Solid long runs for those dudes!

Meanwhile, in Northern VA, our Finnish Striders participated in the Clarendon 10k/5k, rumored to be fast and competitive.  Sari Stenholm ran the 10k, crossing the finish line in 42:33 for 15th in the female race.  The 5k gun went off after the 10k finished so Pekka was able to race as well and pass their son off to the tired mommy.  His brief race report indicated a 2 mile split of 10:11, which resulted in him hitting the wall, as he finished in 16:41; good for 6th overall and 2nd in his AG.  It's great to have these two back for a couple more weeks!!!

Sunday was the busier day.  Kelly Westlake ran the Race For Our Kids 10k, a very competitive race in Baltimore, with a couple thousand $ in prize money.  She continued to impress, claiming the Master's title while also winning some c@$h, clocking a 38:44 on the hilly course.

In Carroll County, Caroline ran the Bachman Valley Half Marathon, a low-key, but well organized and challenging course put on by the WRRC.  She is training for the Chicago Marathon in a couple weeks and ran a 'marathon-ish' pace (her words, not mine) for 1:33:22, good for 2nd.

Last but certainly not least, our race horse was at it again.  Keith told me about this crazy 10 mile trail races while in Leadville, CO: The Conestoga Trail 10 Miler.  He indicated that nobody had ever broken 90 minutes, meaning it probably has parts that are not runable.  So what does he do?  Signs up for it of course.  I'm assuming the course record was broken this year, as he ran 1:34:57 which was good for only 14th.

The next month has lots of big time races: Baltimore, Chicago, Army 10, Marine Corps.  For the most part everyone seems healthy and very fit.  I know the Bobby Gessler group is knocking back some quality tempo runs and track work.  Can't wait to see what Fall brings!