The Twilight Zone

This past weekend featured the premier local race of the summer...ROCKVILLE TWILIGHTER 8k

This is easily one of the most competitive local races which includes many local elites, college runners, and several African-born speedsters.  The pre-race warmup revealed cooler temperatures then normal due to a light drizzle and overcast but after we completed two miles on the course, it was apparent that the humidity was going to be a factor.

The race start got delayed about 10 minutes due to the police having trouble clearing the roads of traffic.  In the men's race, team captain, Carlos Renjifo, led the way per the usual crossing the line in 19th place in 25:57.  Mark Buschman and Andrew Madison followed in 26:40 and 27:00, respectively.  Jason Tripp kept his age group winning streak alive barely losing to the first Master, but winning the 40-44 age group with a time of 28:20.  He also earned a spot on the elite squad with this awesome performance!

Samantha Matthews led the way for the ladies, finishing in 22nd in 31:57.  Vicki Lang continued her comeback coming in 3rd in the Master's division, running 34:31.

A summary of the results:

Carlos Renjifo 25:57 19th
Mark Buschman 26:40 29th PR
Andrew Madison 27:00 42nd
Kevin Ford 28:00 56th PR
Craig Lebro 28:14 59th
Jason Tripp 28:20 62nd (1st, M40-44)
Dave Berardi 29:13 80th (3rd, M50-54)
Phil Lang 30:11 104th
Tunde Morakinyo 31:01 127th 
Chris Chattin 31:24 136th
John Chall 31:56 145th (2nd, M55-59)

Samantha Matthews 31:57 22nd 
Vicki Lang 34:31 34th (3rd Master)
Janeth Scott 35:55 43rd (2nd, F50-54)

Nice hair Craig!

Dave running with the young guns as always.  I used to be that guy
who would have to outrun him at the end of the race.

Vicki battling the humidity...

Meanwhile, out west in Garrett County, Bobby Gessler took part in the Salem Challenge 5k.  He indicated that the course was long (3.4 miles) and quite hilly.  However, he ran 22:04, good for 10th overall and first Master.

Sunday morning included the Rosaryville Trail Runs in Upper Marlboro.  Keith Levasseur, training for the Leadville 100 in a few weeks, placed 2nd in the 50k, crossing the line in 3:56:27, winning the 30-39 age group.

With her fantastic performance, Vicki Lang joined the team!  WAY TO GO VICKI!!!

Running Times + Carlos

The Finnish division of the Howard County Striders has shared a few cool articles with us:

The official finishing video from the race can be found on the Running Maryland website! You can see Carlos Renjifo around 1:45, and hear his girlfriend cheering in the background. :oD


Carlos also appeared in an article from Running Times. We couldn't find the online link, but our fantastic Finnish friends sent us a foto of the page:

[Thanks, Pekka! :oD]

HC Striders are hotter than sparkling vampires -- Recounting the Rockville Twilighter

Folks running the Rockville Twilighter sped by yesterday, under clear skies and cooling breezes.

The Howard County Striders men raced splendidly, with Weems McFadden running 30:58 and John Chall running 31:45. Weems sported the HCS singlet, John had a nifty headband, and they were the 5th and 6th Masters, respectively.

Special congratulations to Carlos Renjifo, who achieved 14th place out of over 1100 runners, and fifth in his age group. He also ran a PR of 25:50 (Great job!). The results can be found here: http://mcrrc.org/racing/2011/Twilighter-Men-8K.html

Videos can be found, as always, on the Howard County Striders' YouTube Channel.

** update on 2011-07-21 **
The official finishing video from the race can be found on the Running Maryland website! You can see Carlos around 1:45, and hear his girlfriend cheering in the background. :oD (Thanks to Pekka for the link! ^_^)

On a bonus note, here's a conversation that we overheard between a little girl and her dad:

Girl: Daddy, Daddy, guess what?
Dad: What?
Girl: (pointing to Carlos): Daddy, did you know that that guy has abs?
Dad: Dear, you would have to be blind to not see the six-pack on that guy.

We did not see any vampires at the TWILIGHT-er, but we do encourage everyone to see the new Harry Potter movie. :oD

hehe ^_~ This post was brought to you by one of the unofficial reporters for the Howard County Striders Racing Team. Have a great week, everyone! ^_^