Record Times Rise This Fall for Racing Team

It's been an active Fall for members of the Howard County Striders Racing Team, with strong placements and multiple awards in races of all distances!

It was an eventful and record-breaking marathon season for many, with the following results:

• Julia Roman-Duval and Caroline Bauer had stand-out performances at the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13th, where Julia met the standard to qualify for Olympic Trials A and Caroline for Olympic Trials B. Julia PR'd and came in 19th overall with a time of 2:35:41, while Caroline came in 55th with a time of 2:44:03. 
• At the Richmond Marathon November 16th, Hannah Cocchiaro qualified for the Olympic Trials and came in 3rd place overall female with a PR of 2:40:08. 
• Eric Schuler came in 13th overall and 3rd in his age group at 2:48:00 at the Wineglass Marathon.
• Andrew Madison came in 3rd in the Baltimore Marathon with a time of 2:41:05.
• Amanda Beal headed to scenic Newport, R.I. for the Newport Marathon, placing 3rd overall female with a time of 3:19:43.
• Jason Tripp and Akintunde Morakinyo braved the downpour followed by heat at the New York City Marathon, posting 2:49:29 and 3:09:47 respectively.
• In between many impressive performances this season, Faye Weaver served her fellow runners by pacing two marathons: the 4:30 Baltimore Marathon group and the 3:55 Wineglass Marathon group.

At the DCRRC National Capital 20-miler, Kevin Ford placed 3rd overall with a time of 2:05:09.

In Half Marathon news:

• At the Baltimore Half Marathon, Adam Sachs came in 5th overall, 2nd in his age group and PR'd with 1:15:33 and Ed Wilson came in first in the 55-59 age group with a time of 1:27:49.
• Jason Tripp came in 10th overall and was 3rd male master at the Wineglass Half Marathon with a time of 1:17:50.
• Three Striders racers set PRs in the Richmond Half Marathon: Kevin Ford at 1:12:58; Julia Roman-Duval at 1:14:58 who came in 3rd overall female: and Faye Weaver at 1:34:18, who came in 3rd in the 45-49 age group.
• Faye Weaver was also first female master in the Bachman Valley Half Marathon at 1:47:20.

Mid-Distances:

At the Army 10-Miler, Jason Liu PR'd with a time of 1:01:16, followed by James Blackwood, 1:03:30; Tunde Morakinyo, 1:04:28; Ed Wilson, 1:05:48; and Dave Berardi, 1:07:51. Among women racing team members, Hannah Cocchiaro came in 2nd overall and PR'd at 56:38, followed by Louise Valentine at 1:09:18 and Deb Taylor at 1:16:28.

On Oct. 5, Lindsey Pickett sped to a PR and a first place finish among all women in the Great Allegheny 15K at 1:01:27, and Rachel Collins was not far behind at 1:05:56, with a 3rd place overall finish, PR and award for 1st place female master.

At area 10Ks:

• Callie Betman clocked 42:36 to take first place overall female in the Race for our Kids 10K.
• In the Marine Corps 10K, Jason Liu came in 8th overall and first in the 45-49 age group with a time of 27:54.
• At the Veteran's Day 10K in Washington, D.C., Amanda Beal was 8th overall, 2nd in among 30-39 females, and earned a PR with a time of 39:39, while Rachel Collins was first female master with a time of 44:29. 
• At the Zaching Against Cancer 10K, Jason Tripp came in 3rd overall with a time of 36:40 (just behind his son Will at 2nd with 34:34); Ed Wilson came in 4th overall and 1st in 50-59 with a time of 39:51; Tammy Liu came in 5th overall and was first in the 50-59 age group with a time of 47:36, while Debbie Cohen came in 3rd in the 60-69 age group at 55:55.
• Adam Sachs came in 2nd overall at the Annapolis 10K with a time of 34:54.
• At our own Run Through the Grapevine 10K, Eric Schuler conquered the hilly cross-country course, coming in first place at a time of 38:35, while James Blackwood was third in his age group at 47:49. Kevin Ford came in first in the 5K leg of the relay at 17:51.
• Deb Taylor came in first in the 50-59 age group and was 5th woman overall at the Turkey Chase 10K with a time of 45:12.

At local 7 and 8Ks: Kevin Ford placed 6th in the Kensington 8K, with a time of 27:35. At the Savage 7K on Oct. 6, Adam Sachs came in first place overall at 21:23; Tammy Liu came in 2nd among all females at 29:02; and Debbie Cohen came in 15th and was 1st 60-69 female at 36:01.

In the 5 mile category, Eric Schuler took second in the Octoberfest 5 miler at 29:03 and Mark Landree was 4th overall and first male master at the Downs Park 5 miler at 27:48.

And in 5K news:

• At the Baltimore Running Festival 5K, Lindsay Pickett earned 6th overall female, first place 35-39, and PR'd at 19:26; Rachel Collins earned 2nd female master with a time of 20:52; Jason Liu earned 1st place 45-49 and PR'd at 17:27; and Brian Shadrick earned 2nd place in his age group at 17:52.
• Louise Valentine placed 4th overall and first in her age group at the Susquehanna River Running Festival 5K with a time of 20:28.
• Kevin Ford took 2nd in the APL 5K at 16:34.
• Debbie Cohen was the 6th overall female and 1st in the 60-69 age group at the Northfield Elementary School 5K with a time of 26:31 and also took 1st among 60 and over at the Holy Redeemer School Monster Dash 5K at 27:06.

HEADING TO BOSTON 2020:

Gaining entry into the Boston Marathon got five minutes minus another minute and 41 seconds harder than in the past several years, based on the new time tougher standard and extra cushion needed to qualify for 2020. Racing team members registered for the event, being held on April 20, 2020, include Jason Tripp, Tunde Moraykino, Deb Taylor, and Debbie Cohen (those are all I know about). Who else is going?


HAPPY WINTER WEATHER RUNNING TO ALL!!!!!

Kevin Ford at the National Capitol 20-miler.

Brian Shadrick at the Baltimore Running Festival 5K.

Rachel Collins and Lindsay Pickett at the Great Allegheny 15K.

Ed Wilson, Hannah Cochhiaro, Akintunde Morakinyo, Louise Valentine and friends at the Army 10-Miler.

Faye Weaver at the Richmond Half Marathon

Deb Taylor and friend at the Turkey Chase 10K.

Jason Tripp, his son Will, and Ed Wilson at the Zaching Against Cancer 10K.

Julia Roman-Duval at the Chicago Marathon

Striders Shine in Summer Races

One of the hottest and most humid summers on record was no match for Striders racing team members, who logged some epic race times, wins and PRs from late June through mid-September.

Since our last blog post, which chronicled races up to the Women's Distance Festival, Striders racers have represented at 20 races!! The first group included:

• John Chall took first M60-69 in the Miles that Matter Pikesville 5K on June 16th at 20:22 and came in first overall at the Hayden's Heros 5K on June 23rd at 20:32.
• Eric Schuler came in first overall in the Mongoos Scamper 10K on June 22nd at 36:56.
• Louise Valentine came in 12th overall in the Baltimore Women's Classic 5K at 21:08 on August 23rd.
• Jason Liu came in second overall, won first in the 40-49 age group and earned a PR for his 5:14 performance in the Coolest (not really) Mile on Main Street on June 30th.

Racing team members sizzled on the hyper-humid, hilly Arbutus Firecracker 10K on July 4th, garnering several awards including:

• Hannah Cocchiaro came in first among all women with a time of 37:47.
• Jason Tripp came in first in the 47-40 age group with a time of 36:43.
• Mark Landree came in second in the same age group wit a time of 37:29.
• James Blackwood snagged third in the 31-34 age group at 38:50.
• Dave Berardi captured 2nd in the 55-58 age group at 44:06.
• Adam Sachs came in 7th overall male at 35:27.
• Kevin Ford placed 10th overall male at 36:06.
• Caroline Bauer came in 4th overall female and first in the 35-38 age group with a time of 40:23.
• Debbie Cohen came in first in the 59-62 age group with a time of 59:03.

Our presence was also strong at the Annapolis 10-miler on August 25th, with much more favorable temps for the season. Julia Roman-Duval took first overall female with a time of 57:47, while Caroline Bauer earned 2nd place with a time of 1:01:37. Other A-10 highlights included:

• Andrew Madison, 5th place overall at 56:38.
• Adam Sachs, 6th place overall and 1st M20-24 at 57:27.
• Eric Schuler, 8th place overall and 2nd M25-29 at 57:33.
• Mark Buschman, 12th overall and 1st M35-39 at 58:07.
• Craig Lebro, 14th overall and 3rd M30-34 at 59:02.
• Jason Tripp, 19th overall and 2nd Master at 1:00:53.
• Akintunde Morakinyo, 66th overall and 1st M55-59 at 1:07:03.
• Also turning in strong performances were James Blackwood, 1:10:03 Faye Weaver, 1:16:18; Deb Taylor, 1:18:08; and Tammy Liu, 1:21:04.

The following weekend, on August 31st at the Charles Street 12 miler, two of our runners earned PRs: Kevin Ford, who came in 3rd overall with a time of 1:07:40, and Louise Valentine, who came in 22nd at 1:27:44.

On the same day, Carlos Renjifo came in 2nd overall at the Ellicott City Labor Day 10K with a time of 34:39, joined by James Blackwood who came in 6th overall and first in his age group at 39:30, and Tammy Liu, who took 4th overall among women and first in her age group at 50:00.

The Parks Half Marathon also saw a lot of strong performances, wins and PRs by Strider racers, including:

• Julia Roman-Duval, 1st place overall female and a PR at 1:15:45.
• Selvi Rajagopal, 3rd place overall female and a PR at 1:20:45.
• Caroline Bauer, 6th overall female at 1:22:40.
• Amanda Beal, Lindsay Pickett, and Jason Liu also PR'd with times of 1:28:54, 1:35:41, and 1:23:40, respectively.

Other summer racing highlights included:

• Faye Weaver earned a PR of 27:50:41 (yes, that's 27 hours of running!) in the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run on July 20th.
• Jason Liu came in first, completing 41.12 miles at the Endless Summer 6-hour Run on July 27th and also took 6th the Maryland Heat Race 50K on August 17th at 5:46:16.
• Amanda Beal came in first at the Summer Sizzler 5K on August 4th with a time of 19:33.
• Kevin Ford took first at the Outrun Cancer 5K with a time of 17:17 on August 4th and came in 5th in the Dreaded Druid Hills 10K on August 17th with a time of 35:44.
• Conrad Orloff was the first male master at the Erie Marathon on Sept. 8th and 12th overall with a time of 2:46:59. Faye Weaver also served as a pacer for the 3:55 group.
• Brian Shadrick came in first in his age group and 6th overall at the Police Pace 5K on September 8th with a time of 18:38.
• Mark Landree came in 3rd overall and PR'd at the Donate Life 5K on September 14th with a time of 16:37.
• Louise Valentine PR'd at the Philadelphia Rock N Roll Half Marathon on September 15 with a time of 1:35:39.

All in all, Spectacular Summer, Folks!

 Kevin Ford at the Charles Street 12 Miler

Louise Valentine at the Charles Street 12 Miler

Deb Taylor and husband Danny Mooney at the Annapolis Ten Mile Run

 Faye Weaver at the Vermont 100 Endurance Race

 Jason Liu at the Endless Summer Six-Hour Run (photo by Youlin Qi)

Hannah Cocchiaro, James Blackwood, Mark Landree, Kevin Ford, Adam Sachs, Ryan Bull, Jason and William Tripp at the Arbutus Firecracker 10K 

Tammy Liu and Debbie Cohen at the Arbutus Firecracker 10K

Late Spring and Early Summer Racing Highlights

Striders racers have taken advantage of a cooler than usual late spring/early summer to wrack up strong performances and awards at several area races.

May highlights include:

• Mark Landree came in 2nd with a time of 1:02:32 at the Cherry Pit 10 Miler.
• At the Frederick Running Festival Half Marathon, Tunde Morakinyo took 1st place in the 55-59 age group at 1:26:54, while Jicheng Liu and Ed Wilson took 2nd in their age groups with times of 1:25:52 and 1:32:21.
• John Chall came in 2nd overall at the Shipley's Choice Technology Trot 5K at 20:17 and also came in 2nd overall at the Knights of Columbus 8K at 34:40.
• Faye Weaver won 1st place in the 40-49 age group at the Dirty German 50 Miler.
• Eric Schuler took 1st overall at the Spring Into Summer 5K with an awesome 16:54.

At the annual Spring Hops 5K cross-country/trail race, Eric Schuler took 2nd overall at 19:33; Jicheng Liu took 1st place in the 40-49 age group at 22:27; and Tammy Liu took 1st in the female 50-59 age group at 27:56.

Debbie Cohen took 2nd place in the 60-64 age group at the York, PA Marathon with a BQ time of 4:18:19 (fingers crossed!), and James Blackwood took 3rd overall at the 17th Highway One 5K at 18:40.

Early June highlight include:

• At the Baltimore 10-miler, Caroline Bauer came in 2nd overall female with a time of 1:02:24; Andrew Madison came in 2nd overall male with a time of 55:17; and Eric Schuler came in 4th and took first among 25-29 males at 55:33.
• Mark Landree was 1st place male master at the Bel Air Town Run 5K at 17:25.
• Tunde Morakinyo won 1st place in the 55-59 male at the San Diego Marathon with a tie of 3:02:43.
• Jicheng Liu came in first among 40-49 males at the Maryland Half Marathon at 1:25:13.
• John Chall came in first among 60-69 males at the Pikesville Miles that Matter 5K at 20:22.

Finally, Striders Women Racers took home a bounty of awards at our club-hosted Women's Distance Festival 5K June 6, including:

• Lindsay Pickett took 2nd overall at 20:30:31 and Louise Valentine took 3rd place overall at 21:00. The1st place overall winner was 16-year-old Strider-racer-in-training Michelle Weaver, Faye Weaver's daughter.
• Faye Weaver won Masters Female with a time of 21:53:02, while Tammy Liu won Grandmaster Female at 22:23:81.
• Noel McCracken won 3rd place among 30-39 females at 22:10:1
• Debbie Cohen took 1st among 60-69 females at 26:40:37.
• In the mother-daughter team category, Faye and Michelle Weaver's Team were the fastest pair with a combined time of 42:11.

Other Striders non-racing team members also won a host of awards, and special thanks are due to the first-time co-race-directors of this event, the dynamic duo of Samantha Scherr Kieley and Emily Fleming Howe!!

Tammy Liu with family and friends at the Spring Hops 5K

Lindsay Pickett, Michelle and Faye Weaver and Debbie Cohen at the Womens Distance Festival 5K

Team Springs Into Strong Performances

Spring weather in Howard County has been anything but consistent, but our racing team has consistently racked up wins and solid performances in races big and small, near and far.

At the tail end of winter on March 17, Kevin Ford finished second in the 30-34 age group at the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, N.C., with a time of 2:54:11. Julia Roman-Duval sprang into first of all female runners at the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington, DE, with a time of 1:17:54. Adam Sachs came in first of all male runners at the local Kenya Connect 5K on March 30 with a time of 16:27. And in the B&A Half Marathon on March 31, Faye Weaver scored an age group win among 45-49 year old women with a time of 1:38:04, while Rachel Collins earned second place in the 35-39 category at 1:38:30.

A strong contingent of racing team members sped through the blooming buds of the nation's capitol at the annual Cherry Blossom 10-miler on April 7. Julia Roman-Duval captured first place in the 35-39 age group with a time of 56:30, while Jason Tripp snagged first in the 45-49 age group with a time of 28:37.

Other notable performances among the women included Hannah Cocchiaro with a time of 58:41, Callie Betman with a time of 1:05:21, and Lindsay Pickett with a time of 1:08:50. Among the men, Mark Buschman ran a 54:09; Kevin Ford, 58:39; James Blackwood, 1:00.01; Jicheng Liu, 1:04:27; and John Chall, 1:18:24.

Mark Landree took first place overall at the Springburst 10K on April 13th with a time of 37:05, while John Chall (42:47) and Debbie Cohen (54:03) won first place in the men's and women's 60-69 age group at the Clyde's 10K April 14th.

Battling weather conditions that ranged from cold to rainy, windy, and hot, Striders racers stayed BostonStrong at the 123rd Boston Marathon on April 15.

Highlights Include:

• Craig Lebro 2:35:36
• Eric Schuler 2:47:48
• Adam Sachs 2:49:07
• Jason Tripp 2:49:51
• Conrad Orloff 2:52:15
• Ed Wilson 3:20:13
• Fay Weaver 3:35:16
• Julia Skinner 3:49:56
• Deb Taylor 3:54:42
• Stephanie Caporaletti 3:55:02

Racing team members also took the Pike's Peek 10K by storm on April 28, snagging several awards including: second overall female for Hannah Cocchiaro with a time of 35:46; second place age group and a PR for Amanda Beal at 39:56; second place age group for Tammy Liu with a time of 46:58; first place in the 45-49 age group and a PR for Mark Landree at 35:27; second place age group in the 55-59 category for Tunde Morakinyo at 37:20; and second in the 60-64 category for John Chall with a time of 41:37. Congrats also to Lindsay Pickett at 40:49; Rachel Collins at 43:48; Kevin Ford at 35:25; James Blackwood at 35:36; and Ed Montgomery at 43:34.

Also on April 28, Julia Roman-Duval proved her mettle across the Pond, coming in 23rd overall and 3rd among all non-elite females in the London Marathon with a time of 2:37:15!!!!!

And Faye Weaver bounced back from Boston to the iconic Big Sur Marathon (Boston to Big Sur) with a time of 3:38:20.

In April, we also welcomed Louise Valentine to the Development Team and Callie Betman to the Elite Team.

Congrats to everyone for a stellar Spring so far - we can't wait to see what May brings!

Striders Racing Team members at the Feet First 40th Anniversary Celebration

Team members represent at Pike's Peek 10K

Deb Taylor and husband Danny Mooney at the 123rd Boston Marathon

Howard County Striders Racing Team Members Excel in First Quarter Events

The Howard County Striders Racing Team has clocked some impressive performances so far this year! Tackling the notoriously roller-coaster steep hills in the cold, pouring rain, many racing team members had strong finishes in the RRCA Club Challenge 10 Miler. Held on February 24 at Howard County Community College, this annual race draws tough competitors from all the running clubs in the Maryland/DC area. There were a lot of no-shows due to the cold driving rain, so just showing up meant you had to be tough, which we were! The Howard County Striders Racing Team came in second of all clubs represented on both the women's and men's side.

Highlights included:

• Julia Roman-Duval took first among all women with a time of 58:59, while Hannah Cocchiaro took second at 1:00.54.
• Carlos Renjifo came in 11th among all men with a time of 54:40.15, and Andrew Madison took  13th with a time of 55:55.08.
• Erin Chamberlain was first female master with a time of 1:08:29.19.
• Jason Tripp was second male master with a time of 58:04.15
• Tammy Liu was 8th in the female grandmaster category with a time of 1:20:22.80.
• Ed Wilson was 4th male grandmaster with a time of 1:04:02.93.

Other team scorers not previously mentioned included, in the overall co-ed category:

Brent Frissora
Mark Buschman
Eric Schuler
Adam Sachs
Nathaniel Dordai
William Tripp
Craig Lebro
Zach Valentine
Tasha Hogan
Callie Betman
Amanda Beal
Faye Weaver

In the master category:

Lifeng Pu
Richard Reinhardt,
Faye Weaver

Yan Zhang
Huifei Chen
Quana Frost

And in the grandmaster category:

Ed Wilson

Stephen Bohse
Akintunde Morakinyo,
Dave Berardi

Tammy Liu

Linda Alms
Deborah Cohen
Pamela Yao

Louise Valentine also scored in the under 40 female category (all other under 40 males and females who scored in this category have already been noted in other categories).

In March, Striders racing team representation--and performance--was phenomenal at the Under Armour Kelly Shamrock 5k in Baltimore March 9th, with the following results:

• Hannah Cocchiaro took first among all women with a time of 17:16.
• Callie Betman came in first in the 25-29 age group and 5th overall female with a time of 18:47.
• Amanda Beal came in 3rd in the 35-39 age group and 10th overall female with a time of 19:17.
• Faye Weaver was first female master and 21st overall female with a time of 20:20.
• Julia Skinner came in 1st in the 40-44 age group and 28th overall female with a time of 21:02.
• Andrew Madison took 1st in the 30-34 age group and 6th overall male with a time of 15:51
• Kevin Ford was second in the 30-34 age group and 10th overall male with a time of 16:28.
• Jason Tripp was first male master and 11th overall with a time of 16:32.
• Akintunde Morakinyo took first in the 55-59 age group with a time of 18:23.
• Dave Berardi came in 3rd in the 55-59 age group with a time of 19:14.
• John Chall came in 1st in the 60-64 age group at 19:59.

Other outstanding performances included Rachel Collins, 20:14; Lindsay Pickett, 20:38; Eric Schuler, 15:58; Craig Lebro, 16:38; James Blackwood, 17:20; Jicheng Liu, 20:22; and Ed Montgomery, 20:55.

Other race highlights from January 1 to March 15 included:

• Erin Chamberlain ran 3:06 in the Tokyo Marathon.
• Julia Roman-Duval came in first woman overall in the D.C. Rock'n Roll Half Marathon with a time of 1:14:33.
• Kevin Ford came in 13th in the Hampton Half Marathon at 1:19:31.
• Rachel Collins came in second in the Towson Frostbite 5K at 21:54.
• Eric Schuler came in first in the Little Patuxent River Trail Half Marathon with a time of 1:24:34.
• Ed Montgomery took first place in the 50-59 age group in the Little Patuxent River Trail 10K at 54:30.
• At the Penguin Pace 5K, men's racing team members Adam Wyko, Mark Landree and Mark Eagles took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places with times of 18:07, 18:12; and 18:32, respectively.
• In the ultra category, Faye Weaver earned 3rd female master at the Mid-Maryland 50K with a time of 5:40:24.

Way to go Striders!!!!!