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!
For the loyal blog followers, you have probably been asking yourself if this blog even still exists. Well, I'm here to tell you that it does and it will be operating in full force from here on out! I've got a lot of catching up to do since 2013 arrived, so here goes nothing....
The first performance of the year will undoubtedly be one of the craziest ones ever! Keith flew to Hawaii, not to enjoy the beaches, sun, or coconuts, but to run one of the most challenging races the planet has to offer....HURT 100. After experiencing Leadville with him last summer, I thought for sure he wouldn't be dumb enough to do another one of these, but I was wrong. I don't believe anyone had ever cracked the 24 hour barrier before this year. Our boy persevered, saw the sun rise twice, crossing the finish line in 32:37:00!!
Keith needs to see a psychiatrist...
Jessica kicked off the New Year running her longest race ever...the High Cloud Snapple Half. Of course she PR'd, but cracked 90 minutes in her debut...1:29:43 in snowy conditions. Meanwhile, in Lexington, KY, Conrad repped it hard at the USATF XC National Championship. On a tough 12k course, he finished 89th in 43:20 and was the first Master in the open men's race.
Superbowl Sunday meant is was Penguin Pace day. We had a small group run it this year. I wonder why...oh yes, the course is hilly, it's usually cold as shit, and the competition is PATHETIC. Weems was the lone wolf on the men's side, running 19:58 for 7th. The ladies cleaned house. Tiffany won in 20:06, with Robyn not far behind in 3rd (20:54) after a rough night with a bottle of wine so I've heard....
Saturday February 9th was filled with ultras. Keith partook in the Holiday Lake 50k, finishing 5th in 4:02:10. Meanwhile, in Rockburn Park, Adam ran the Mid-Maryland 50k, coming in 3rd in 4:09:10 with sloppy trail conditions on the 5-loop course.
And now to the Main Event, a week ago was everyone's favorite race...Club Challenge. Though the course is awful, I gotta tell you the weather was unbeatable for this time of the year. Temperature was in the mid 30s and the winds were light (except along Freetown Road). I had a good feeling about our team this year, with most everyone healthy and running well. The gun went off and we shot down Hickory Ridge like bats outta hell. The lead pack went through Mile 1 in +/- 4:45. We had a couple PRs (that I am aware of)....Kevin (57:28) and Steve (57:36). The men's and women's teams won but we were edged 559-557 by Falls Road in the coed competition (with the large, but ugly trophy). That has to be the closest margin of victory in race history! After the race, people were complaining about the scoring. The fact is Howard County has hundreds of runners and many of non-scoring males displaced many of our women scorers which costs us. However, many of the top Falls Road ladies were down in New Orleans kicking it at the Rock 'N Roll New Orleans half. Had they been in Columbia on Sunday, we still would have lost and the scoring wouldn't have been as close. Congrats to our I-95 rivals! We'll get 'em next year. Here's a summary of the Striders results:
Mark Buschman 54:14 4th Andrew Madison 55:36 8th Kevin Ford 57:28 14th Steve Olenick 57:36 15th Kent Werner 57:59 17th Seth Geoghegan 59:04 21st Jason Tripp 59:38 26th Craig Lebro 59:48 29th Keith Levasseur 59:59 31st Maurice Pointer 1:05:08 85th Weems McFadden 1:05:39 95th Phil Lang 1:06:11 105th Tunde Morakinyo 1:07:42 127th Mick Slonaker 1:08:15 136th
Shout out Brian Harvey and Kyle Stanton for being in town and helping us out. Brian, last year's New England Runner of the Year, set a course record in 51:00 while Kyle, closing out a 140 mile week, came in 2nd in 52:25. Also, congrats to Jessica for running an amazing race and qualifying for the elite team! She's going to be a force to be reckoned with this Spring and into the Fall...WATCH OUT LADIES!!!
Here's some photos (thanks Denise) and a video (courtesy of Carlos) put together of the finish...
Brian running alone crushing the course record
Yours truly
Madison had a rough 2nd half, but he's tough as nails
Steve....pronator?
Seth regretting he didn't wear a singlet
Jason wasn't the first master in this one...guess they finally drug tested him...
Keith ran 6:00 pace to the 'T' today
Kelly is pretty fast...don't you think?
Is that a smile Jess?
Robyn in professional running attire
I know Mick has been dreaming about running this course again since he's been back in the States
Tiffany kicking it in
Dorothy in beast mode!
AWESOME JOB EVERYONE!!! It will only get warmer and we'll be kicking some ass come April!!!
A few short hours ago, Britt Lang, daughter of the infamous Phil and Vicki Lang, became the 2A Maryland Cross Country Champion killing the competition with a 19:21 on the tough Hereford course, beating 2nd place by nearly 30 seconds! She led the OM Scorpions to a 2nd place finish on the girl's side...
