Marathon Bonanza!

The year is winding down, but Striders have been hot during this Fall's marathon racing season.  There were many PRs, with the women's open marathon record falling TWICE in just two weeks.

Adam Wytko opened things up in September with a solid 2:53:54 to win the Bagel to Beer Marathon in Columbia.

Linda-Lou O'Connor ran the Wineglass Marathon for 3rd Master in 3:22:51, and toed the line again less than a month later to run the NYC Marathon in 3:33:32.

Noel McCracken also ran the Wineglass Marathon, notching a 3:14:49, good for 17th.

Ed Wilson (3:18:26), Tunde Morakinyo (3:24:44 as a pacer!), Alex Wang (3:12:01, also a pacer) knocked out respectable performances in Baltimore.

Beth Hannon knocked out a solid PR at Marine Corps, running 3:10:44.

A contingent of Striders were also at the Philadelphia Marathon two weeks ago, with Craig Lebro leading the way with a huge PR (2:36:51).  Kevin Ford was next in 2:44:32 (also a PR), while Alex Wang slashed about 5 minutes off of her PR by running 2:45:25.  Alex's time was good for a women's RTR.  Ed Wilson also set a RTR for the Grand Master category, destroying his Baltimore time and running under 3 hours (2:59:32).

The performance of the hour has to be Julia Roman-Duval's Olympic Trials Qualifying marathon performance at the California International Marathon.  She ran even splits for a 2:40:36, which makes her the newest racing team record-holder.  Great job Julia!

Congratulations to everyone who were able to see their hard training to completion this Fall.  Keep up the great work!

Playing Catch-Up, Fall Edition

Apologies for not posting in a while!  The Striders Racing team has been busy since April, knocking out impressive performances and achieving PRs left and right.  Here's a quick review of some of the team's PRs from the past few months:

Tori Bedard (Marathon)
Mark Eagles (Mile, 5k, 8k, 15k, Half Marathon)
Kevin Ford (10k, 26.2k)
Nick Grossi (8k)
Beth Hannon (Marathon)
Tammy Liu Hermstein (10 Miles)
Tiffany Hevner (Half Marathon)
Craig Lebro (10k, 10 Miles)
Noel McCracken (Marathon)
Julia Roman-Duval (8k, 10k, 15k, Half Marathon, 26.2k)
Brian Shadrick (1500m, Mile, 10k)
Eric Shuler (Half Marathon)
Alex Wang (10k, 10 Miles, 26.2k, Marathon)


Congratulations are due for Julia Roman-Duval (8k, 10k, Half Marathon, 26.2k) and Alex Wang (10 Miles), who also set Racing Team Records with their performances.

Fall marathon season is upon us.  Several members have already opened up with some great performances at Marine Corps (Beth Hannon), Baltimore (Ed Wilson, Tunde Marakinyo, Alex Wang) and NYC (Linda Lou O'Connor).  Keep up the great work!

For those who have yet to run their final big race of the year, good luck!

Fast Times in DC

Several of our members turned out for the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run.  We are truly fortunate to have an event nearby that draws immense local, national, and international talent for us to compete against.  An incident on the course before the start of the race caused the course to be shortened to 9.39 miles, but the Striders came through with some huge performances despite the last minute change.  Many members almost certainly would have run PRs had the course been regulation length.

The Women's Team Came in 3rd

The Men's Team came in 2nd

We also fielded a mixed Master's Team which took 5th (but sadly with no picture).

Great job to everyone who ran!  Here are the overall performances from the day at CB:

 

Carlos Renjifo	49:01	26th
Andrew Madison	49:27	28th
Kevin Ford	51:35	45th
Jason Tripp	54:50	86th
Akintunde Morakinyo	1:01:21	287th
Mick Slonaker	1:02:23	353rd
Julia Roman-Duval	54:52	18th
Tori Berard	1:00:51	66th
Jess Ivy	1:01:06	73rd
Tiffany Hevner	1:01:54	82nd
Beth Hannon	1:02:22	93rd
Tasha Hogan	1:04:18	147th
Linda Lou O'Connor	1:05:36	174th
Tammy Liu Hermstein	1:08:44	276th
Dorothy Beckett	1:09:20	297th

March Performances

March proved to be a month of many excellent running performances for the racing team.  Notably, a new Racing Team record set for the 5k (Julia - 17:12), and several of our runners set big PRs (Julia, Jess, Tammy, and Mark).  Keep up the good work everyone!

3/1/2015	St. Patrick's Day 5k	Linda Lou O'Connor	20:42	16th	2nd (F45-49)
3/1/2015	St. Patrick's Day 10k	Julia Roman-Duval	35:41	2nd
		Linda Lou O'Connor	43:01	20th	1st (F45-49)
3/1/2015	St. Patrick's Day Double (5k + 10k)	Linda Lou O'Connor	1:03:43	4th	1st (F45-49)
3/1/2015	Tim Kennard 10-miler	Tori Berard	1:02:24	1st
3/1/2015	Reston 10-miler	Tiffany Hevner	1:06:55	5th	1st (F30-34)
3/1/2015	Napa Valley Marathon	Tammy Liu Hermstein	3:30:15	52nd	PR, 5th (F45-49)
3/7/2015	USATF Eastern Region Indoor Masters Championships (1 mile)	Brian Shadrick	4:58	3rd	1st (M40-44)
3/15/2015	Kelly Shamrock 5k	Andrew Madison	15:17	1st
		Carlos Renjifo	15:30	4th	1st (M30-39)
		Craig Lebro	17:04	15th	5th (M20-29)
		Jason Tripp	17:23	25th	1st Master
		Nick Grossi	17:53	29th	12th (M30-39)
		Brian Shadrick	18:25	39th	1st (M40-44)
		Chris Chattin	18:47	47th	3rd (M50-54)
		Tunde Morakinyo	19:43	76th	5th (M50-54)
		Mick Slonaker	19:53	80th	1st (M65-69)
		John Chall	19:55	82nd	1st (M55-59)
		Julia Roman-Duval	17:12	1st	PR, RTR
		Tori Berard	18:23	4th	1st (F20-29)
		Tiffany Hevner	19:32	8th	2nd (F30-39)
		Noel McCracken	19:41	10th	PR, 4th (F30-39)
		Beth Hannon	19:42	11th	PR, 5th (F30-39)
		Joelle Chall	21:21	25th	10th (F30-39)
		Tammy Liu Hermstein	21:28		1st Master
3/15/2015	NYC Half Marathon	Dorothy Beckett	1:40:31	517th	7th (F55-59)
3/21/2015	Whitehall 15k	Linda-Lou O'Connor	1:03:56	3rd	1st Master, PR
3/21/2015	Tri-Mania 1 miler (track)	Jess Ivy	5:21	1st	PR
3/28/2015	UMBC Big Dawg Invite 5k (track)	Andrew Madison	15:46	1st
3/28/2015	Monument Avenue 10k	Tiffany Hevner	39:41	25th	4th (F30-34)
3/29/2015	B&A Half Marathon	Noel McCracken	1:30:58	4th	1st (F30-34)
		Linda-Lou O'Connor	1:32:42	6th	1st (F45-49)
		Tammy Liu Hermstein	1:38:47	18th	2nd (F45-49), PR
3/29/2015	B&A Marathon	Beth Hannon	3:16:42	5th	1st (F30-34)
3/29/2015	Dundalk Challenge 5k	Mark Eagles	17:03	2nd	PR

F-F-February W-w-wrap-Up-p-p

We've finally made it to March!  This warmer weather couldn't come a moment too soon.  Hats off to our runners who braved record-breaking cold temperatures and snowy/icy conditions (or terminally boring treadmills) this winter to keep their spring racing goals alive.

The RRCA Ten Mile Challenge was postponed due to weather conditions and may (or may not) be rescheduled in the coming months.  But don't let that get you down, there are still some awesome races (and nicer racing conditions) coming soon.  The Boston Marathon is just around the corner and Clyde's 10k, the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Race and many more are coming up even sooner.

Some Striders did manage to get a race (or three) in last month.  Here's the rundown:

Nick Grossi and John Chall entered the Penguin Pace 5k, running 18:43 for 4th and 20:19 for 9th overall, respectively.

One week later Nick entered another 5k and bettered his previous time, running 18:01 for 22nd place at the Love the Run You're With 5k.  He was joined by Linda Lou O'Connor who ran 20:40 for 14th (she also won her age group!).

Less than a week after that, the flurry of 5k performances continued, with Linda Lou and Mark Eagles running 20:51 for 4th and 17:53 for 6th, respectively.

Kevin Ford made a trip out to Pasadena, CA to visit family and ran the Race on the Base 10k in 34:01 (a PR), coming in 1st.  On the same day, Mark Eagles ran the Sykesville Shiver Shuffle 5k in 18:33 for 3rd while Carlos Renjifo destroyed the Color Your Heart 5k, running 16:01 for 1st by a sizable margin.

Great job everybody!

January Wrap-Up

Striders Awards Ceremony:

Congratulations to all of our members who won awards at the Strider Banquet on January 10th, 2015.  A special shout out goes to Dorothy Becket and Carlos Renjifo.  Their years of hard work and contributions to the club have earned them each a spot in the Striders Hall of Fame!

Strider Races:

January this year was a fairly quiet month for the Striders Racing Team but there were still some notable performances:

On New Year's Day Brian Shadrick lit up the Winfield Mile in Sykesville, setting a Masters course record and nabbing 4th place in a competitive race.  Brian also got 4th place at the Freeze Your Buns 5k, running a solid 18:18.

Chris Chattin and John Chall turned out for the Burleigh Manor 5k, running 19:17 for 8th place and 20:21 for 14th place, repectively.  Great job guys!

To finish off the month, Tiffany Hevner cracked 90 minutes for the half in the High Cloud Snapple Half Marathon in Potomac, MD.  She ran 1:29:41 for second place!

February is now upon us and the end of winter is sorta almost maybe in sight!  There are only three weeks left until the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge.  Good luck with your training, and stay warm if you can!

Striders in the Rankings!

Last year was a great year for the Striders Racing Team, with several of our members being recognized in Racepacket's regional runner rankings.

Here are the Striders who snagged some of the top spots in their respective divisions:

Women:

Open
7 - Julia Roman-Duval
14 - Tori Berard
27 - Jess Ivy
46 - Kelly Westlake

Age 40-44
4 - Kelly Westlake

Age 45-49
4 - Robyn Humphrey
8 - Linda Lou O'Connor

Age 50-54
3 - Robyn Humphrey
7 - Janeth Scott

Age 55-59
4 - Dorothy Beckett

Men:

Open
27 - Carlos Renjifo

35-39
11 - Steve Olenick

40-44
5 - Conrad Orloff
14 - Jason Tripp

45- 49
3 - Pete Keating
18 - Phil Lang

50-54
3 - Dave Berardi
18 - Tunde Morakinyo

55-59
7 - John Chall
8 - Bobby Gessler

60-64
1 - Mick Slonaker
4 - Bob Burns

HCS Racing Team Blog is Back!

Thanks for your patience!  As an apology for not posting in a while, please accept this gif of a penguin fetching a newspaper:

2015 promises to be a big year for the Striders!  Everyone's favorite race (The RRCA 10 Mile Challenge) is only seven weeks away and should be a good opportunity to see the benefits from this winter's training.  Good luck to everyone this week, we're going to have a few chilly days out there!

Wrapping up December of 2014:

Jason Tripp participated in the Jingle Bell Walk/Run 5k and walked or ran his way to the W in 18:50 which is either impressive or very impressive depending on his choice.

Mick Slonaker, Jess Ivy, and Tiffany Hevner represented the Striders at the Reston Run for Santa 5k.  Mick (20:22) and Tiffany (19:23) ran well, winning their respective age groups.  Jess kicked butt and snagged 3rd place overall in the female division.

A large contingent of Striders turned out for the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler in Baltimore.  There were a handful of PRs set in addition to many impressive overall and age-group performances.  Julia set a racing team record for the 5 mile distance (with a victory to boot).  Carlos also took first place and was finally able to grab his first win on the course after many valiant attempts.  Great job everyone who ran!

Carlos Renjifo	25:59	1st
Andrew Madison	27:24	3rd
Jason Tripp	29:48	13th	2nd (M40-44)
Ed Wilson	31:12	31st	3rd (M50-54)
John Chall	32:47	61st	2nd (M55-59)
Julia Roman-Duval	28:50	1st	PR, RTR
Tori Berard	30:08	3rd	PR
Dorothy Beckett	36:57		1st (F55-59)

Peter Keating and  Conrad Orloff  made the trek up to the Lehigh Valley to run at XC Club Nationals.  They performed very well, with Conrad running 34:19 for 42nd and Peter running 35:02 for 69th on the grassy 10k course.

Mark Eagles wrapped up our year with a trio of performances at the Anniversary 15k (57:55 for 9th), the Rudolph Run 6k (21:24 for 6th), and the Seneca Slopes 9k Trail Race (39:22 for 7th).  Great job Mark!

Thanks for a wonderful 2014.  We hope 2015 will be even better!