The Runaround

This was a rather quiet weekend of racing...but it's the calm before the storm I suppose!

Saturday morning kicked off with the Bagel 2 Beer Marathon, a low-key race which starts at the Columbia Swim Center and takes runners through and around Columbia before finishing at Rams Head Tavern in Savage.  Adam Wytko claimed the win with a 2:58:16, while Jeremy Rea was only a few minutes behind; 3:01:09 for 2nd.  Solid long runs for those dudes!

Meanwhile, in Northern VA, our Finnish Striders participated in the Clarendon 10k/5k, rumored to be fast and competitive.  Sari Stenholm ran the 10k, crossing the finish line in 42:33 for 15th in the female race.  The 5k gun went off after the 10k finished so Pekka was able to race as well and pass their son off to the tired mommy.  His brief race report indicated a 2 mile split of 10:11, which resulted in him hitting the wall, as he finished in 16:41; good for 6th overall and 2nd in his AG.  It's great to have these two back for a couple more weeks!!!

Sunday was the busier day.  Kelly Westlake ran the Race For Our Kids 10k, a very competitive race in Baltimore, with a couple thousand $ in prize money.  She continued to impress, claiming the Master's title while also winning some c@$h, clocking a 38:44 on the hilly course.

In Carroll County, Caroline ran the Bachman Valley Half Marathon, a low-key, but well organized and challenging course put on by the WRRC.  She is training for the Chicago Marathon in a couple weeks and ran a 'marathon-ish' pace (her words, not mine) for 1:33:22, good for 2nd.

Last but certainly not least, our race horse was at it again.  Keith told me about this crazy 10 mile trail races while in Leadville, CO: The Conestoga Trail 10 Miler.  He indicated that nobody had ever broken 90 minutes, meaning it probably has parts that are not runable.  So what does he do?  Signs up for it of course.  I'm assuming the course record was broken this year, as he ran 1:34:57 which was good for only 14th.

The next month has lots of big time races: Baltimore, Chicago, Army 10, Marine Corps.  For the most part everyone seems healthy and very fit.  I know the Bobby Gessler group is knocking back some quality tempo runs and track work.  Can't wait to see what Fall brings!

Where did summer go...???

Father's Day weekend was unseasonably cool by mid-June standards.  Guess what that meant?  PERFECT running conditions!



Start of the B-10

The weekend kicked off with the Baltimore 10 Miler.  Keith Levasseur took top team honors, crossing the tape in 58:48 for 11th overall.  Not far behind was the new Master, Jason Tripp, who paced the 40+ers, posting a 59:03 for 12th place.  On the ladies side, Caroline Bauer kept up her kick-ass 2012 campaign finishing 9th with a 1:08:03.  Solid times on a slow course!

On Sunday, runners gathered at the Gateway Overlook Shopping Center to take part in the 2nd Annual Father's Day 8k put on by Bullseye Running.  There were not as many runners as I had anticipated (only about 120), but the times were blazing due to the prize money ($200, $100, $50).  Falls Road's Dave Berdan (3rd, 25:49) and Tristram Thomas (4th, 26:42) ran well on the tougher than advertised course.  Peter Keating led the way for the Strider men, finishing 5th in 28:04.  He and his son, Joseph (15th, 31:12) took the Father/Son crown.  Andrew Madison, who had to stop in the middle of the race due to stomach issues, still cracked the 30 minute mark, finishing 6th in 29:04.  Other notable performances on the men's side included: Dave Berardi (7th, 29:12) and Chris Chattin (8th, 29:50).

Janeth Scott cruised to an easy Master's win on the women's side, with a time 34:02, good for 4th.

Donna Wecker continued her comeback taking part in the Mount Hebron 10k Trail Challenge, winning the race in 48:13.  She loves running the trails, since Patapsco is literally across the street...

Finally on Sunday, Keith Levasseur and John Chall took part in the Dawson's Father's Day 10k hosted by the Annapolis Striders.  Keith ran a PR of 35:39, finishing 2nd to Karsten.  John took the GM title, crossing the line in 38:38 for 12th.

Also, we welcomed Samantha Matthews to the team late last week.  Samantha is a recent graduate of Bloomsburg University and is a former product of the Junior Striders.  She boast PRs of 18:03 for the 5k, 39:25 for the 10k.  Looking forward to having her help the ladies team come late summer and into the fall!!!

An Endless weekend of first place finishes...

While it was a rather light weekend on the racing front, those who did venture out in the heat to tackle the competition produced well....

While many of us were running the bagel run, Keith Levasseur headed down to Annapolis to compete in the Endless Summer 6 Hour Run.  The race started at 8am and forced runners to push through the heat and humidity.  The goal of this race is to run the 3.4 mile loop as many times are you can in the 6 hour timeframe and the person with the most distance at the end wins.  Well, Keith did just that, logging 45.1 miles and setting a new course record!!!

Sunday morning, Donna Wecker returned to the race scene after a long layoff due to multiple injuries at the BRRC Patapsco Trail Run.  The exact course distance is unknown, but it's approximately 8 miles.  She won the women's race in 1:04:20.  She is looking forward to making a noisy return here soon... Peter Keating took part in the relay at the Columbia Triathlon on Sunday.  He told me that their swimmer ended up choking big time in the water and put them pretty far back at T1.  He ran hard (as the norm) and finished the 10k run in 36:36, good for an 8th place team finish. 

Finally, John Chall took top honors at the Benfield Elementary School 5k in Severna Park, crossing the finish line in 19:02.

FLASH: After months of heckling, we finally got Unsong Ostrowski to cave and join the racing team!!!  She is going to kick some @$$ this Fall!  She already has 1st place finishes at Clyde's and the MD Half.  I GUARANTEE she'll tack on a few more before 2013 gets here...Welcome Unsong!!!

No Trails Tomorrow

With all the rain we have had in the past few days, it is very likely that the trails are in bad shape. Since I'm sure nobody wants to risk getting hurt less than 3 weeks out from their fall marathons/half marathons, we will not be meeting at the trails this week. Track workout, however, is still on for Thursday.

Track Workout/Trail Swap

We have made the decision to swap the track and trail workouts at the last minute. We will be meeting at the Oakland Mills HS at 5:30PM for a track workout today (Wednesday) and at the Patapsco trails tomorrow (Thursday) at 6PM.

Trail Race

Sun, May 29, 8:30am – 10:30am

Where: Patapsco State Park

Description: Fellow trail runners, the next stop on the 'off-road madness' that is the BRRC Billy Goat trail race series is on Sunday, May 29th at 8:30am at Patapsco State Park. The course will be a challenging 5 to 6 mile course and you will get your feet wet. Race day registration starts at 7:45. Race starts near the park and ride by I-195 and Rolling Road. Specific directions are below. Park for the start at the Park and Ride off of Rolling Road. Specific directions are below. Fee: $2 for BRRC and Howard County Strider members/$6 non-members Race Director: Steve Weber (scweber1@comcast.net)

Wednesday Night Runs: Move from HCC to Patapsco!!!

As I woke up this morning to 75 degree weather and headed out for an easy run in the sun, I realized that summer is nearing and HCC is getting BORING!

As such, I am making the executive decision to switch the locations of our group runs from HCC to Patapsco starting THIS WEEK!!! Mt. Nasty awaits us!

Let's plan on meeting there for an easy run this Wednesday evening at 6pm! Here's where to meet:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=218008953147699862975.0004a05f5303b935057e8&ll=39.211964,-76.879063&spn=0.006866,0.016469&t=h&z=17