Catching up

Well, I've been slacking the past few weeks so here it goes:

Nick clocked a 37:04 at the Lawyers Have Heart 10k in DC back on June 8th for 27th.  Sunday, June 9th was Damien's 5k.  It was a hot day so no course records were taken down.  Chris ran 17:21 for 5th and 1st Master honors.  John was 19:09, only good for 3rd in this competitive AG.  In the ladies race, Jess WON in 18:36.  Robyn, reportedly battling a slight hangover, ran 20:06 for 3rd and top Master.  Dorothy was 7th in 21:40.  Here's a few action shots courtesy of Mick:

Chris checking his watch

Jess was able to crack a smile while destroying the field

Post-wine night Robyn

Dorothy nearing the finish line

 Also that day, Maurice took top honors at the Running with the Devils 5k in 18:30.  NICE!

Saturday the 15th meant the Baltimore 10 Miler.  Jason kept his race streak alive on the brutally humid morning, running 63:08 for 15th and 2nd in his AG.  Tunde, acting as a 70:00 pacer, was near spot on in his duties, clocking 70:04.

Sunday was Father's Day and the humidity was front and center once again.  At the Bullseye Running Father's Day 10k, Steve ran a PR of 35:13 for 2nd.  Peter and Chris had a good battle for most of the race, but Peter pulled away over the last 1.5 miles, crossing the finish line in 35:57 for 4th, top Master, and winning the Father/Son team competition with his son, Joseph, while Chris ran 36:43.  Phil, with the help of the volunteers, was able to run his race.  He ran the entire race alone, and I mean alone.  He managed a solid performance of 37:53.  Mick took his AG in 41:25, despite acknowledging pre-race he was using the race as an 'easy' tempo.  Bobby wasn't far behind in 41:55.  He won the Father/Daughter competition with Katie. 

Meanwhile, down in Annapolis, Weems and John ran the Dawson's Father's Day 10k hosted by the Annapolis Striders.  Weems edged John out again, 38:33 and 39:00, respectively.

Keith ran the San Francisco Marathon and added another sub-3:00 performance to his resume, finishing 36th in 2:54:25.  Maurice ran the BRRC Lake Montebello 5k and finished 2nd in 17:37.

Yesterday, Dorothy was our sole participant in the very competitive Baltimore Women's Classic.  She won her AG and crossed the line 25th in 20:20.

Don't forget about the Women's Distance Festival this Sunday.  If you are a guy, please consider helping out.

A Great Weekend for Strider Women (and Keith as well!)

After a brutal week of temperatures in the high 90s, a slightly cooler weekend (particularly on Sunday) made for some great running.

To kick things off, Keith Levasseur took part in his first ever 100k, the Mason-Dixon Longest Day 100k Challenge, in Susquahanna State Park. The gun went off at 5AM to let runners take advantage of the 15+ hours of daylight. Keith had hopes of breaking the course record of 11 hours and change, setting a PR at the distance, and getting the HCS team record as well. Almost 50 miles into the race, it looked like he would get his way, as he was well ahead of pace. But unbeknownst to him, the last 12 miles of the course would have him essentially "rock climbing" up a side of a hill, just to come back down and repeat. The course record slipped away from him this time, but he still took the team record and set a PR in the process with a time of 13:06. Two out of three isn't shabby. He has already vowed to return next year to take another crack at the record.

A few hours later, Donna Wecker and Caroline Bauer took on the challenge extended by the "Dreaded Druid Hills" of Baltimore.  Donna continued to impress, not only finishing as the first grand master, but also taking the award for top female overall with a time of 43:47!  Caroline was not far back. taking third in a time of 44:27.

Sunday proved to be another showcase of Strider female talent, with the grandmaster women in particular putting on a "master class" for their competition.  In her debut as a part of the elite women, Samantha Matthews finished in 19:37, good for 12th place.  Samantha was followed by the ageless Pat Wilkerson, who continues to run blazing fast times year over year.  Her 20:04 got her 15th overall and first grandmaster.  After Pat was Janeth Scott, who just squeaked under 21 minutes (20:55) and took 1st in the 50-54 age group.  Janeth was followed by Dorothy Beckett, whose 21:38 was good for 2nd in the 50-54 group.  Finally, Tacy Powers rounded out the list of superb times by crossing the line in 22:23 (5th in 40-45).

Congrats to all!  This coming weekend looks to be very hot and humid, so be careful if you are racing!

Tacy and Pat, after the race.

Pat and Tacy with a fellow runner (left).  I am told she is 76 years young!

Striders Women Shine on a Sunny Day in Baltimore

On an almost perfect summer morning, three Strider women -- Kara, Pat, and Dorothy -- toed the line at this year's edition of the Baltimore Women's Classic.

The women asserted themselves early, with Kara jumping to the front of the race with eventual winner Darcy McDonald, and Pat and Dorothy not far behind. As they entered the neighborhoods of Federal Hill, the packs began to spread out, but the women continued to look strong.

With less than a mile to go, all three ladies were well within the top 40 and still looking solid. Kara had lost a few places in the miles between, but was still fighting a tough battle for fourth. Pat and Dorothy, only 15 and ~20 spots back, respectively, were also still mixing it up in small packs of their own.

At the finish line, all three Strider women were still pushing for higher places. Kara finished in fourth (18:33), just able to hold off some very strong last-minute charges by Arlington's Lindsey Larose and Falls Road's Diane Heiser (The margin between 4th and 6th was less than a second!). Not far behind, Pat and Dorothy had finishing kicks of their own, which helped them reach 20th (20:30) and 25th (21:29) place finishes.

After the race, the ladies had a lot of positive things to say about the race ("great organization", "great cause"). But across the board the one complaint was that this year's course had way too many turns, which probably made the times a bit slower.

Results are posted here (Link) and pictures are posted here (Link).