The annual DCRRC Age handicapped 4 Miler was held on July 4 at Carderock. It's a rather unique race where your starting time is determined by your age. It's based on an index established by UST&F. Women over 80 start first while men 25 and under start last. In theory, if everyone ran exactly to their handicap, everyone would finish at the same time. This race gives you a chance to see where you stack up fitness-wise to your fellow runners after discounting age. I started about 16 minutes after the first runner took off. I think the young women get a bit of a break here as they got to start before me but thats the way it is.
The race was along the C&O Canal towpath. We ran north for about 1/2 mile, turned around, ran past the start for another 1 1/2 miles, and then turned around again so we could finish where we started. Most of the younger men passed me close to the 1/2 mile mark. At the turn around I had only a couple of guys behind me. They passed me soon after the turnaround but I passed a younger woman. We traded leads over the next two miles as she ran consistently while I took my usual walk breaks. We caught up to Ric Francke shortly before the 2nd turnaround. He is a fellow older guy that is pretty big so I share a certain empathy for him. However, he is both older(61) and bigger than me so I like to think I should always be able to beat him.
The woman, who I later learned was Deena Johnson(28), passed me for the final time right before that last turnaround and I told her I thought she had me. She shouted encouragement back and said if she could do it, I could do it since she was just coming back from knee surgery. I told her I was also coming back from recent surgery, though it was "only" shoulder surgery. I also mentioned my still healing broken foot. I didn't mention my ongoing bout with bronchitis...who would believe any one could be so unlucky?!
I struggled over that last 2 miles. I really need to work on both my speed and endurance. I limped in with a time of 51:15...a pace of nearly 13 minutes per mile. But, I felt better afterwards as everyone won a prize. I got a new DC Road Runner shoe bag. Always handy to have.
Notable finishers were:
Alan Pemberton (winner)
Kendra Liebert (female winner)
Karsten Brown (12 overall)
Jim Moreland (14th overall)
Kirk Gordon ( 28th overall)
Christina Caravoulias( 120th)
Sharyn Gordon (121st)
I came in at 127th out of 128, beating Ric by about 3 minutes.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
You're killing me Femi!
Once again, my so called "friend" Femi talked me into another race I wasn't planning on. This one was the Ashburn Twilight Festival 4 Miler held on the evening of June 28. Dori was in Pittsburgh and I didn't have anything else going on so I figured "why not". As you'll see, I should have said "Why?"
I should have known it wasn't going to go well. First, it took forever to get to the race site. It is well past Dulles. I think the GPS said it was about 35 miles from my house. Second, it was steamy hot. I mean 92 in the shade and very humid. I was soaked just standing in line to enter the race and to get my shirt (the shirt was nice by the way).
I saw Femi before the start and he said he was going to run with a triathalon friend and expected to take it easy. This was his first non-5K race so he didn't know what to expect.
The course was a 2 loop course. The first 1/2 mile of each loop was downhill but the rest was either flat or a very modest uphill. So I cant fault the elevation of the course. The problem was the lack of shade. As mentioned before, it was sunny and humid and the concrete and asphalt was just reflecting the heat back up at us. I was really suffering as I completed the first loop. I got down to the bottom of the hill and decided enough was enough. My heart felt "funny", which for me means I thought I may have had an irregular heartbeat. It had been a few years since I had last been hospitalized with this problem and I had been pretty good about taking my medicine. Nonetheless, I was concerned. I decided to walk my way in. Even then, I was passed by other walkers and I felt tired walking up the modest hills. I couldn't have been happier to finish a race. I would say this was my 2nd worst race behind only the Sea Isle 10 miler last year, where I think I probably did come pretty close to heat exhaustion.
I heard a lot of runners dropped out after the first loop. Looking at the results, it looks like about 70 people did the smart thing and walked off the course. I was stubborn and stayed out, mostly because I was behind my required pace to get to 50 races for the year and didn't want to lose 1 that I was already in. I ended up finishing in 470th out of 481 males that finished the whole race and out of 551 total male competitors. (Note: 413 women finished the 4 miles and 477 finished at least 2 miles. I beat 95 women. This was clearly a tough race for most). My official chip time was 55:44. Yes, that's right...its worse than many of my 5 miles times. Not good at all. I'm hoping that it makes me stronger for the long haul though.
Notable finishers were:
Steve Crane 19:46 Male winner (Wow!!)
Samia Akbar 22:27 Female Winner
Emily Gousen 23:59 3rd woman (I've run in a fe races with her. Fast)
Jim Moreland 27:54 (He's running well-he won his age group)
Bill Stahr 28:33
Jay Wind 28:42
Karen Young 30:26 3rd in her age group...good work
Jon Palks 32:40
Michael "Femi" Adeniji 32:53
John Winkert 40:47
Barry Goldmeier 44:17 (joggler)
Bob Gurtler 44:18
I should have known it wasn't going to go well. First, it took forever to get to the race site. It is well past Dulles. I think the GPS said it was about 35 miles from my house. Second, it was steamy hot. I mean 92 in the shade and very humid. I was soaked just standing in line to enter the race and to get my shirt (the shirt was nice by the way).
I saw Femi before the start and he said he was going to run with a triathalon friend and expected to take it easy. This was his first non-5K race so he didn't know what to expect.
The course was a 2 loop course. The first 1/2 mile of each loop was downhill but the rest was either flat or a very modest uphill. So I cant fault the elevation of the course. The problem was the lack of shade. As mentioned before, it was sunny and humid and the concrete and asphalt was just reflecting the heat back up at us. I was really suffering as I completed the first loop. I got down to the bottom of the hill and decided enough was enough. My heart felt "funny", which for me means I thought I may have had an irregular heartbeat. It had been a few years since I had last been hospitalized with this problem and I had been pretty good about taking my medicine. Nonetheless, I was concerned. I decided to walk my way in. Even then, I was passed by other walkers and I felt tired walking up the modest hills. I couldn't have been happier to finish a race. I would say this was my 2nd worst race behind only the Sea Isle 10 miler last year, where I think I probably did come pretty close to heat exhaustion.
I heard a lot of runners dropped out after the first loop. Looking at the results, it looks like about 70 people did the smart thing and walked off the course. I was stubborn and stayed out, mostly because I was behind my required pace to get to 50 races for the year and didn't want to lose 1 that I was already in. I ended up finishing in 470th out of 481 males that finished the whole race and out of 551 total male competitors. (Note: 413 women finished the 4 miles and 477 finished at least 2 miles. I beat 95 women. This was clearly a tough race for most). My official chip time was 55:44. Yes, that's right...its worse than many of my 5 miles times. Not good at all. I'm hoping that it makes me stronger for the long haul though.
Notable finishers were:
Steve Crane 19:46 Male winner (Wow!!)
Samia Akbar 22:27 Female Winner
Emily Gousen 23:59 3rd woman (I've run in a fe races with her. Fast)
Jim Moreland 27:54 (He's running well-he won his age group)
Bill Stahr 28:33
Jay Wind 28:42
Karen Young 30:26 3rd in her age group...good work
Jon Palks 32:40
Michael "Femi" Adeniji 32:53
John Winkert 40:47
Barry Goldmeier 44:17 (joggler)
Bob Gurtler 44:18
Lucky 21 - Not!
The first Run for the Rainforest 5K was held on the morning of June 21 in Ballston. My friend at work, Femi, kind of talked me into running this one. I decided the day before the race to run it after looking at the course map. It looked like it ran on some of the trails that I have run on in the past, particularly Bluemont, so I thought I would give it a shot.
I got to the race site quite a bit earlier than usual since the web site said parking would be difficult. I signed up and went back to the car to stay cool. It was a very clear, sunny day and I wanted to put off getting overheated for as long as possible. I worked on a Sudoku puzzle while I passed time in my air conditioned car.
It was an odd race start. First, most of us went to the wrong starting point. Someone came and got us about 10 minutes before the start and we walked a few hundred yards to the correct starting line.
It was a big field...too big really to start on a bike path that could handle at most 3 people shoulder to shoulder. It looked like there would be quite a few walkers so I decided to hang out in the back so I wouldn't get boxed in or trampled at the start.
We only stayed on the path for less than 1/4 mile before we had to cross a major intersection. I was like "Hey, I know where I am. I've been to that McDonalds". A cop held traffic for us...I'm sure the drivers weren't happy to see us. Fortunately, since we had just started the field was still pretty tightly bunched so they didnt have to wait long.
We then entered a part of Bluemont park I hadn't visited before. It was a shaded path with homes beside the path. It was a little bit downhill so I was having a decent time.
After about a mile we got to the bottom of the hill and took a right onto a path that I have run many times. We ran by the caboose and the tennis courts and there was no shade at all. Man was it hot! I was gratefull to see the water table ahead. As I gulped down 2 cups of water I checked my watch and was disappointed with what I saw. I knew I wasn't running particularly fast and I also knew that we had to pay for that downhill we had just run. I decided that I wouldn't be setting any PR's today so I took it easy from that point on.
Interestingly, my wife arrived at Bluemont probably just a minute or two after I passed with her running partner. When I got home after the race she said that she saw a race at Bluemont and was surprised that I didn't run in that race. I told her I was at that race! Clearly we need to communicate a little better. :)
I'm glad I decided to not push too hard. The hills we encountered were even tougher than I remembered from my one time running on this part of the trail (North side of 66 back towards Ballston). I alternated running with walking and tried to catch a couple of people in front of me but it remained pretty much status quo for the last mile. It wasn't too bad when we had shade but it was pretty uncomfortable without it.
I finished with a time of 38:29(official time 39:04)...pretty darn miserable even for me. I came in 337th out of 383 finishers...like I said, there were a lot of walkers.
I saw Femi after I finished and he convinced me to stick around for the prizes. I really wanted the wine tasting but I was still happy to win a gift certificate for $20 off of personalized training with Mike Hamberger, who came in 5th in the race. I doubt I will use it but its always nice to win.
Notable finishers for this race were:
Robbie Wade 15:42 male winner
Kristen Henehan 17:23 female winner
(obviously, they didn't have any trouble with the heat or hills!)
Jay Jacob Wind 21:25
Michael (Femi) Adeniji 21:58 (still yet to beat Jay)
I got to the race site quite a bit earlier than usual since the web site said parking would be difficult. I signed up and went back to the car to stay cool. It was a very clear, sunny day and I wanted to put off getting overheated for as long as possible. I worked on a Sudoku puzzle while I passed time in my air conditioned car.
It was an odd race start. First, most of us went to the wrong starting point. Someone came and got us about 10 minutes before the start and we walked a few hundred yards to the correct starting line.
It was a big field...too big really to start on a bike path that could handle at most 3 people shoulder to shoulder. It looked like there would be quite a few walkers so I decided to hang out in the back so I wouldn't get boxed in or trampled at the start.
We only stayed on the path for less than 1/4 mile before we had to cross a major intersection. I was like "Hey, I know where I am. I've been to that McDonalds". A cop held traffic for us...I'm sure the drivers weren't happy to see us. Fortunately, since we had just started the field was still pretty tightly bunched so they didnt have to wait long.
We then entered a part of Bluemont park I hadn't visited before. It was a shaded path with homes beside the path. It was a little bit downhill so I was having a decent time.
After about a mile we got to the bottom of the hill and took a right onto a path that I have run many times. We ran by the caboose and the tennis courts and there was no shade at all. Man was it hot! I was gratefull to see the water table ahead. As I gulped down 2 cups of water I checked my watch and was disappointed with what I saw. I knew I wasn't running particularly fast and I also knew that we had to pay for that downhill we had just run. I decided that I wouldn't be setting any PR's today so I took it easy from that point on.
Interestingly, my wife arrived at Bluemont probably just a minute or two after I passed with her running partner. When I got home after the race she said that she saw a race at Bluemont and was surprised that I didn't run in that race. I told her I was at that race! Clearly we need to communicate a little better. :)
I'm glad I decided to not push too hard. The hills we encountered were even tougher than I remembered from my one time running on this part of the trail (North side of 66 back towards Ballston). I alternated running with walking and tried to catch a couple of people in front of me but it remained pretty much status quo for the last mile. It wasn't too bad when we had shade but it was pretty uncomfortable without it.
I finished with a time of 38:29(official time 39:04)...pretty darn miserable even for me. I came in 337th out of 383 finishers...like I said, there were a lot of walkers.
I saw Femi after I finished and he convinced me to stick around for the prizes. I really wanted the wine tasting but I was still happy to win a gift certificate for $20 off of personalized training with Mike Hamberger, who came in 5th in the race. I doubt I will use it but its always nice to win.
Notable finishers for this race were:
Robbie Wade 15:42 male winner
Kristen Henehan 17:23 female winner
(obviously, they didn't have any trouble with the heat or hills!)
Jay Jacob Wind 21:25
Michael (Femi) Adeniji 21:58 (still yet to beat Jay)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tidal Basin 3k, June 2008 version
It was a lovely day in DC on June 18 and a big field showed up for this month's version on the Tidal Basin 3K. 77 runners completed the race. I think the Park Service starts getting antsy when we get over 35 or 40 people so I hope they didn't see us today.
I had a chance to speak with Charlie Mercer before the raceI was shocked to learn that he had been in a bicycle accident and that he had his foot run over by a car just a few weeks before this race. He showed me the dried blood that was still on his running shoe. He said he was still banged up and he assured me that Ted Poulos didn't need to worry about him this day. We also talked about the newest addition to his family. Congrats Charlie! I've seen you with your daughter and I can tell that you are a great Dad.
The race started a bit late (as usual) as Jay spoke about this race marking the anniversary of Juneteenth. When we took off I setlled into a comfortable pace towards the back of the pack but in front of a few runners. I was passed by a dad with his young daughter at around 3/4 of a mile while I took a brief walk break. Two young women weren't too far in front of me at this point but I was never able to catch up to them.
Now Joe Broderick was another story. I had the lead on him but he nearly caught me during my first walk break. Joe is 70 years old and I can remember running close to him when I first started competing in these races in 2002. He used to beat when I first started competing but then I improved and was consistently beating him in nearly all races. This year has been a different story. With all of my struggles, Joe is a definite threat to beat me in any race we compete in.
I kept an eye on Joe for the remainder of the race. I would look backwards every 2 minutes or so just to see where he was. I had about a 30 second lead on him as we crossed the bridge and began our final leg on Ohio Drive. I tried to stretch out that lead a little as I knew I had to take 1 more walk break before the final sprint. He nearly caught me during this break but I was able to suck it up and sprint to the finish in a time of 20:14 (official time 20:18), which was nearly 4 minutes faster than last month. Joe finished in a very respectable 20:33. We congratulated each other while filling out our finisher cards and I thanked him for pushing me along. He said I did the same for him.
I came in 73rd out of 77 today. My short term goal is to get back to 18 minutes. That would enable me to pass the father daughter duo, as well as the 2 young women. Maybe next time?
I had a chance to speak with Charlie Mercer before the raceI was shocked to learn that he had been in a bicycle accident and that he had his foot run over by a car just a few weeks before this race. He showed me the dried blood that was still on his running shoe. He said he was still banged up and he assured me that Ted Poulos didn't need to worry about him this day. We also talked about the newest addition to his family. Congrats Charlie! I've seen you with your daughter and I can tell that you are a great Dad.
The race started a bit late (as usual) as Jay spoke about this race marking the anniversary of Juneteenth. When we took off I setlled into a comfortable pace towards the back of the pack but in front of a few runners. I was passed by a dad with his young daughter at around 3/4 of a mile while I took a brief walk break. Two young women weren't too far in front of me at this point but I was never able to catch up to them.
Now Joe Broderick was another story. I had the lead on him but he nearly caught me during my first walk break. Joe is 70 years old and I can remember running close to him when I first started competing in these races in 2002. He used to beat when I first started competing but then I improved and was consistently beating him in nearly all races. This year has been a different story. With all of my struggles, Joe is a definite threat to beat me in any race we compete in.
I kept an eye on Joe for the remainder of the race. I would look backwards every 2 minutes or so just to see where he was. I had about a 30 second lead on him as we crossed the bridge and began our final leg on Ohio Drive. I tried to stretch out that lead a little as I knew I had to take 1 more walk break before the final sprint. He nearly caught me during this break but I was able to suck it up and sprint to the finish in a time of 20:14 (official time 20:18), which was nearly 4 minutes faster than last month. Joe finished in a very respectable 20:33. We congratulated each other while filling out our finisher cards and I thanked him for pushing me along. He said I did the same for him.
I came in 73rd out of 77 today. My short term goal is to get back to 18 minutes. That would enable me to pass the father daughter duo, as well as the 2 young women. Maybe next time?
Running after women
Well that title is sure to grab your attention (particularly my wife)! Actually, this refers to the annual DCRRC Run After the Women 5K, held this year on June 16. As most of you know, the DC area is a great running community. One sign of this is the large number of races dedicated to women only. It's a way for top women to show their stuff without having to dodge the men and it also gives beggining women runners a chance to run a 5K in a very supportive environment. My wife Dori ran her first 5K last year at one of these events in Annapolis. Some of the events have races for the men after the leading women have finished. Such was the case this evening in Bluemont.
There was a rather intense thunderstorm that passed through the area just an hour or two before the race. The creek besides the trail was swollen to the brink and the field we had to cross to get from the parking lot to the start was a swamp. Power was out for a large portion of Arlington and many traffic lights were out but we runners perservered.
20 women completed this years version of the Women's Distance Festival. They are listed below:
1 Rebecca Nathan F 42 Arlington VA 19:23 1 F 1
2 Kristin Dahling F 32 Arlington VA 21:12 2 F 2
3 Carolyne Davidson F 30 Alexandria VA 21:19 3 F 3
4 Alison Stone F 27 Arlington VA 21:53 4 F20-29 1
5 Tatyana Steis F 33 Arlington VA 22:01 5 F30-39 1
6 Karen Young F 39 Beallsville MD 22:07 6 F30-39 2
7 Leslie Stanfield F 58 Reston VA 24:35 7 F50-59 1
8 Susan Aaronson F 54 Arlington VA 24:35 8 F50-59 2
9 Jennifer Westfall-McGrail F 52 Arlington VA 24:48 9 F50-59 3
10 Lisa Schaefer F 37 Vienna VA 25:02 10 F30-39 3
11 Saleema Ross F 54 Ft Washington MD 25:02 11
12 Marla Schnall F 43 Falls Church VA 25:58 12 F40-49 1 13 Rita Cronley F 54 Arlington VA 27:27 13
14 Roxanne Hatcher F 49 Pasadena MD 28:15 14 F40-49 2 15 Ieva O'Rourke F 47 McLean VA 28:46 15 F40-49 3
16 Sharyn D. Gordon F 50 Mitchellville MD 31:40 16
17 Kathleen Hanson F 54 Annapolis MD 32:36 17
18 Blair Jones F 64 Washington DC 33:41 18 F60-69 1
19 Yvonne Aasen F 76 Severna Park MD 35:51 19 F70-79 1 20 Iolanthe Good F 18 Falls Church VA 41:37 20 F19&under 1
After about a 20 minute pause, the men were off. I quickly moved to the back of the field but didn't feel too bad. I shouted encouragement to Sharyn Gordon as we passed one another. Sharyn and I have frequently run close to one another towards the back of the pack. She has my number so far this year; though I hope to improve to the point where I can beat her before the year is up.
As you can see from the results below, many of the usual suspects showed up for the men's event. Karsten Brown assumed his usual position in front of the field for a smaller event. He had a big lead when he passed me on the return leg and it looks like he widened the lead even further over the last mile.
You can also see from the results that this was a very competitive field. You were in the bottom 5 with me if you didnt break 23 minutes. I came in last (again) but I was less than a minute behind the runner in front of me (Bob Thurston) so I didn't feel bad about holding people up like I do at some races. Though the official time was 34:35, I show my "chip" time as 34:29. Not great by any means but one of my better races for this year. Maybe things are looking up.
1 Karsten Brown M 34 Front Royal VA 16:22 1 M 1
2 Robert C. Wolfe M 36 Washington DC 17:15 2 M 2
3 Ted Poulos M 46 McLean VA 17:37 3 M 3
4 Scott Ruplinger M 26 Brooklyn NY 17:56 4 M20-29 1
5 Ben Zeiss M 16 Washington DC 18:04 5 M19&under 1 6 Thomas Gouard M 26 Arlington VA 18:05 6 M20-29 2 7 Devin Kelly M 17 Washington DC 18:29 7 M19&under 2 8 Adam Stolzberg M 32 Arlington VA 18:29 8 M30-39 1 9 R B Brill M 30 Falls Church VA 18:32 9 M30-39 2
10 Matthew Chesnes M 29 Arlington VA 18:47 10 M20-29 3 11 Michael Collins M 26 Arlington VA 18:57 11
12 Brian McGrail M 15 Arlington VA 19:05 12 M19&under 3
13 Ken Riggsbee M 43 Alexandria VA 19:06 13 M40-49 1 14 Will Meyerson M 17 Washington DC 19:16 14
15 Tom Stone M 42 Falls Church VA 19:24 15 M40-49 2 16 Bill Stahr M 47 The Plains VA 20:01 16 M40-49 3
17 Ken Krehbiel M 54 Washington DC 20:03 17 M50-59 1 18 Brian Danza M 27 Arlington VA 20:09 18
19 Timothy Steis M 16 Arlington VA 20:25 19
20 Joe Emerson M 42 Alexandria VA 20:27 20
21 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 20:35 21 M50-59 2 22 Timothy Good M 48 Burke VA 20:38 22
23 Pat Rodjom M 23 Arlington VA 20:53 23
24 Liam McLaughlin M 17 20:55 24
25 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 21:02 25 M50-59 3 26 Ed Grant M 51 Arlington VA 21:06 26
27 Robert P. Trost M 62 Falls Church VA 21:38 27 M60-69 1 28 James Scarborough M 50 McLean VA 21:45 28
29 Eamonn McEvilly M 65 Springfield VA 22:06 29 M60-69 2
30 Greg Chaconas M 62 Washington DC 22:37 30 M60-69 3
31 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 22:47 31
32 Pat Brown M 63 Reston VA 24:14 32
33 Larry Dickerson M 76 Burke VA 27:32 33 M70-79 1 34 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 29:08 1 F 1
35 Bob Thurston M 64 Washington DC 33:39 34
36 Tim Ramsey M 49 Alexandria VA 34:35 35
There was a rather intense thunderstorm that passed through the area just an hour or two before the race. The creek besides the trail was swollen to the brink and the field we had to cross to get from the parking lot to the start was a swamp. Power was out for a large portion of Arlington and many traffic lights were out but we runners perservered.
20 women completed this years version of the Women's Distance Festival. They are listed below:
1 Rebecca Nathan F 42 Arlington VA 19:23 1 F 1
2 Kristin Dahling F 32 Arlington VA 21:12 2 F 2
3 Carolyne Davidson F 30 Alexandria VA 21:19 3 F 3
4 Alison Stone F 27 Arlington VA 21:53 4 F20-29 1
5 Tatyana Steis F 33 Arlington VA 22:01 5 F30-39 1
6 Karen Young F 39 Beallsville MD 22:07 6 F30-39 2
7 Leslie Stanfield F 58 Reston VA 24:35 7 F50-59 1
8 Susan Aaronson F 54 Arlington VA 24:35 8 F50-59 2
9 Jennifer Westfall-McGrail F 52 Arlington VA 24:48 9 F50-59 3
10 Lisa Schaefer F 37 Vienna VA 25:02 10 F30-39 3
11 Saleema Ross F 54 Ft Washington MD 25:02 11
12 Marla Schnall F 43 Falls Church VA 25:58 12 F40-49 1 13 Rita Cronley F 54 Arlington VA 27:27 13
14 Roxanne Hatcher F 49 Pasadena MD 28:15 14 F40-49 2 15 Ieva O'Rourke F 47 McLean VA 28:46 15 F40-49 3
16 Sharyn D. Gordon F 50 Mitchellville MD 31:40 16
17 Kathleen Hanson F 54 Annapolis MD 32:36 17
18 Blair Jones F 64 Washington DC 33:41 18 F60-69 1
19 Yvonne Aasen F 76 Severna Park MD 35:51 19 F70-79 1 20 Iolanthe Good F 18 Falls Church VA 41:37 20 F19&under 1
After about a 20 minute pause, the men were off. I quickly moved to the back of the field but didn't feel too bad. I shouted encouragement to Sharyn Gordon as we passed one another. Sharyn and I have frequently run close to one another towards the back of the pack. She has my number so far this year; though I hope to improve to the point where I can beat her before the year is up.
As you can see from the results below, many of the usual suspects showed up for the men's event. Karsten Brown assumed his usual position in front of the field for a smaller event. He had a big lead when he passed me on the return leg and it looks like he widened the lead even further over the last mile.
You can also see from the results that this was a very competitive field. You were in the bottom 5 with me if you didnt break 23 minutes. I came in last (again) but I was less than a minute behind the runner in front of me (Bob Thurston) so I didn't feel bad about holding people up like I do at some races. Though the official time was 34:35, I show my "chip" time as 34:29. Not great by any means but one of my better races for this year. Maybe things are looking up.
1 Karsten Brown M 34 Front Royal VA 16:22 1 M 1
2 Robert C. Wolfe M 36 Washington DC 17:15 2 M 2
3 Ted Poulos M 46 McLean VA 17:37 3 M 3
4 Scott Ruplinger M 26 Brooklyn NY 17:56 4 M20-29 1
5 Ben Zeiss M 16 Washington DC 18:04 5 M19&under 1 6 Thomas Gouard M 26 Arlington VA 18:05 6 M20-29 2 7 Devin Kelly M 17 Washington DC 18:29 7 M19&under 2 8 Adam Stolzberg M 32 Arlington VA 18:29 8 M30-39 1 9 R B Brill M 30 Falls Church VA 18:32 9 M30-39 2
10 Matthew Chesnes M 29 Arlington VA 18:47 10 M20-29 3 11 Michael Collins M 26 Arlington VA 18:57 11
12 Brian McGrail M 15 Arlington VA 19:05 12 M19&under 3
13 Ken Riggsbee M 43 Alexandria VA 19:06 13 M40-49 1 14 Will Meyerson M 17 Washington DC 19:16 14
15 Tom Stone M 42 Falls Church VA 19:24 15 M40-49 2 16 Bill Stahr M 47 The Plains VA 20:01 16 M40-49 3
17 Ken Krehbiel M 54 Washington DC 20:03 17 M50-59 1 18 Brian Danza M 27 Arlington VA 20:09 18
19 Timothy Steis M 16 Arlington VA 20:25 19
20 Joe Emerson M 42 Alexandria VA 20:27 20
21 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 20:35 21 M50-59 2 22 Timothy Good M 48 Burke VA 20:38 22
23 Pat Rodjom M 23 Arlington VA 20:53 23
24 Liam McLaughlin M 17 20:55 24
25 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 21:02 25 M50-59 3 26 Ed Grant M 51 Arlington VA 21:06 26
27 Robert P. Trost M 62 Falls Church VA 21:38 27 M60-69 1 28 James Scarborough M 50 McLean VA 21:45 28
29 Eamonn McEvilly M 65 Springfield VA 22:06 29 M60-69 2
30 Greg Chaconas M 62 Washington DC 22:37 30 M60-69 3
31 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 22:47 31
32 Pat Brown M 63 Reston VA 24:14 32
33 Larry Dickerson M 76 Burke VA 27:32 33 M70-79 1 34 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 29:08 1 F 1
35 Bob Thurston M 64 Washington DC 33:39 34
36 Tim Ramsey M 49 Alexandria VA 34:35 35
Monday, July 7, 2008
A couple of horse races
One of my favorite events every Spring are the DCRRC Triple Crown Races. Its a low key event run at Ft. Hunt Park featuring 3 different races...one for each distance of the better known Triple Crown. The first race, the Kentucky Derby is 1.25 miles long. After a brief break, we move on to the Preakness at 1 3/16 miles. Then, after another short break, we run the Belmont at 1 1/2 miles. Many runners can run these races as if it were a speed workout. For me, these races a)allow me to run multiple races in a day and without having to drive to multiple locations and b) serve once again to show me how out of shape I've gotten.
The race director for this event is Jim Scarborough. This is the 4th year I have run these races and he has cocnsistently done a really nice job with it. This year he wrote to me about a month before the race and asked if I would be willing to volunteer and help sign people in the morning of the race. I immediately agreed as I was happy to help. I should have checked my schedule though as June 7 was also the day for the Armenian Festival in Alexandria. I'm a member of Alexandria's City Council sub-committee for the Armenian Sister city of Gyumri. This was our biggest day of the year as the festival serves as our big fundraiser for grants that we send to organizations in Gyumri. What was I thinking! It was going to be a long, hot day at the festival and I needed my rest. I probably shouldn't even run these races, much less get up early and help sign people in. Oh well, a committment is a committment so volunteer I did.
Other than getting to the park an hour sooner than I needed to, the assignment Jim gave me was easy. We only had a bit over a dozen show up for the race so it wasn't like I was overwhelmed at any point.
It was a hot, muggy morning with a haze hanging over the park. A heat advisory was in effect for the weekend and a warning had been issued about pollution as well. To make matters worse, a catering company was setting up for a later party in the same shelter we were in and they were getting half a dozen grills fired up. The smoke from the grills just hung in the air and the smell was a bit overwhelming. Peter Blank mentioned to me that he was having a lot of trouble with the smoke.
The start time of the race had been posted incorrectly on the DCRRC website so we started a little late for anyone that only checked that website. That was a problem for me as I needed to be at Market Square by 11 to help setup for the festival.
When we were finally called to the gates (starting line) for a post time of about 845. Ft Hunt Park is almost exactly 1 1/4 miles around so this race had a starting line very close to the finishing line. In subsequent races, we moved the starting line but kept the same finishing line (just like the horse races). Just before the start I told Christina Caravoulias that she would be beating me today. She disagreed but I was soon proven to be correct.
As usual, I started slow and then went slower. After about a 1/4 mile I heard footsteps approaching quickly from behind. It ended up being Shirley Sameshima, who had arrived late due to the erroneous time on the website. She said hi and moved by me quickly. It wasn't long ago when I was only a little slower than Shirley. Not anymore...she has gotten faster and I have gotten a lot slower. She finished over 2 1/2 minutes ahead of me and I had a head start!
Christina and I ran close together for most of the race. I managed to stay in front of her until about .9 miles into the race when I had to stop for a walk break (I know, its pathetic). I drafted behind her for the rest of the race but I just couldn't summon the energy to pass her. As promised, I came in last of 15 contestants. Here are the full results.
1 Michael Rooney M 22 Arlington VA 6:47 1
2 Dan Eddy M 56 Alexandria VA 7:36 2
3 James Engle M 47 Arlington VA 7:42 3
4 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 8:12 4
5 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 8:22 5
6 Peter Blank M 53 Annandale VA 8:36 6
7 James Scarborough M 50 McLean VA 8:39 7
8 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 9:24 8
9 John Haubert M 65 Alexandria VA 9:41 9
10 Janet Townshend F 44 Vienna VA 9:48 1
11 Shirley Sameshima F 41 McLean VA 9:56 2
12 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 10:59 3
13 Tami Graf F 71 Lusby MD 11:56 4
14 Christina Caravoulias F 53 Silver Spring MD 12:29 5
15 Tim Ramsey M 49 Alexandria VA 12:34 10
Now, the worst thing about being slow at this event is not the humiliation of coming in last. No, it's the short amount of time for recovery. Most people had at least 2 more minutes to recover and the leaders ahd 5 or 6. I only had time to walk back to the shelter, fill out my finisher card, and drink a cup of water before it was time to line up for the next race. Let's see a horse try to do that!
I knew with the heat and the delayed start I could only run 2 races. With the Preakness being the shortest race and also the next race the choice was easy. (BTW - It's amazing how much longer the Belmont is. That extra 1/4 mile is huge. No wonder we don't see horses winning all 3 races).
I really struggled with the Preakness as the time below shows. It took me over a minute longer than the Derby and it was a shorter race! The conditions were clearly difficult though, as I was not the only runner to slow down in the 2nd race.
I totally lost contact with Christina in this race. I may have been able to suck it up and get a bit closer but I didnt think I could ever catch her and I had to think about saving some strength for the festival. So it was a disappointing finish.
Preakness 1.1875m
1 Michael Rooney M 22 Arlington VA 6:31 1
2 Dan Eddy M 56 Alexandria VA 7:27 2
3 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 7:47 3
4 James Engle M 47 Arlington VA 7:53 4
5 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 8:02 5
6 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 8:17 6
7 David Hayes M 44 Alexandria VA 8:23 7
8 Peter Blank M 53 Annandale VA 8:54 8
9 Janet Townshend F 44 Vienna VA 9:12 1
10 Shirley Sameshima F 41 McLean VA 9:25 2
11 John Haubert M 65 Alexandria VA 9:32 9
12 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 10:17 3
13 Tami Graf F 71 Lusby MD 11:39 4
14 Christina Caravoulias F 53 Silver Spring MD 12:27 5
15 Tim Ramsey M 49 Alexandria VA 13:39 10
I said my goodbye's to Jim right after handing in my finisher card for the race. It looks like I missed a good Belmont though as evidenced by the results below.Shirley managed to beat Janet Townshend in this last race and Jay Wind continued to move up in the standings with each race.
Belmont Stakes 1.5m
1 Michael Rooney M 22 Arlington VA 8:03 1
2 Dan Eddy M 56 Alexandria VA 9:33 2
3 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 9:59 3
4 David Hayes M 44 Alexandria VA 10:49 4
5 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 11:10 5
6 James Engle M 47 Arlington VA 11:11 6
7 Peter Blank M 53 Annandale VA 11:31 7
8 Shirley Sameshima F 41 McLean VA 12:06 1
9 Janet Townshend F 44 Vienna VA 12:12 2
10 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 12:40 8
11 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 12:41 3
12 Tami Graf F 71 Lusby MD 15:35 4
13 Christina Caravoulias F 53 Silver Spring MD 17:51 5
As always, it was a fun event and I plan to be back next year...hopefully carrying less weight on a cooler day!
The race director for this event is Jim Scarborough. This is the 4th year I have run these races and he has cocnsistently done a really nice job with it. This year he wrote to me about a month before the race and asked if I would be willing to volunteer and help sign people in the morning of the race. I immediately agreed as I was happy to help. I should have checked my schedule though as June 7 was also the day for the Armenian Festival in Alexandria. I'm a member of Alexandria's City Council sub-committee for the Armenian Sister city of Gyumri. This was our biggest day of the year as the festival serves as our big fundraiser for grants that we send to organizations in Gyumri. What was I thinking! It was going to be a long, hot day at the festival and I needed my rest. I probably shouldn't even run these races, much less get up early and help sign people in. Oh well, a committment is a committment so volunteer I did.
Other than getting to the park an hour sooner than I needed to, the assignment Jim gave me was easy. We only had a bit over a dozen show up for the race so it wasn't like I was overwhelmed at any point.
It was a hot, muggy morning with a haze hanging over the park. A heat advisory was in effect for the weekend and a warning had been issued about pollution as well. To make matters worse, a catering company was setting up for a later party in the same shelter we were in and they were getting half a dozen grills fired up. The smoke from the grills just hung in the air and the smell was a bit overwhelming. Peter Blank mentioned to me that he was having a lot of trouble with the smoke.
The start time of the race had been posted incorrectly on the DCRRC website so we started a little late for anyone that only checked that website. That was a problem for me as I needed to be at Market Square by 11 to help setup for the festival.
When we were finally called to the gates (starting line) for a post time of about 845. Ft Hunt Park is almost exactly 1 1/4 miles around so this race had a starting line very close to the finishing line. In subsequent races, we moved the starting line but kept the same finishing line (just like the horse races). Just before the start I told Christina Caravoulias that she would be beating me today. She disagreed but I was soon proven to be correct.
As usual, I started slow and then went slower. After about a 1/4 mile I heard footsteps approaching quickly from behind. It ended up being Shirley Sameshima, who had arrived late due to the erroneous time on the website. She said hi and moved by me quickly. It wasn't long ago when I was only a little slower than Shirley. Not anymore...she has gotten faster and I have gotten a lot slower. She finished over 2 1/2 minutes ahead of me and I had a head start!
Christina and I ran close together for most of the race. I managed to stay in front of her until about .9 miles into the race when I had to stop for a walk break (I know, its pathetic). I drafted behind her for the rest of the race but I just couldn't summon the energy to pass her. As promised, I came in last of 15 contestants. Here are the full results.
1 Michael Rooney M 22 Arlington VA 6:47 1
2 Dan Eddy M 56 Alexandria VA 7:36 2
3 James Engle M 47 Arlington VA 7:42 3
4 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 8:12 4
5 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 8:22 5
6 Peter Blank M 53 Annandale VA 8:36 6
7 James Scarborough M 50 McLean VA 8:39 7
8 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 9:24 8
9 John Haubert M 65 Alexandria VA 9:41 9
10 Janet Townshend F 44 Vienna VA 9:48 1
11 Shirley Sameshima F 41 McLean VA 9:56 2
12 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 10:59 3
13 Tami Graf F 71 Lusby MD 11:56 4
14 Christina Caravoulias F 53 Silver Spring MD 12:29 5
15 Tim Ramsey M 49 Alexandria VA 12:34 10
Now, the worst thing about being slow at this event is not the humiliation of coming in last. No, it's the short amount of time for recovery. Most people had at least 2 more minutes to recover and the leaders ahd 5 or 6. I only had time to walk back to the shelter, fill out my finisher card, and drink a cup of water before it was time to line up for the next race. Let's see a horse try to do that!
I knew with the heat and the delayed start I could only run 2 races. With the Preakness being the shortest race and also the next race the choice was easy. (BTW - It's amazing how much longer the Belmont is. That extra 1/4 mile is huge. No wonder we don't see horses winning all 3 races).
I really struggled with the Preakness as the time below shows. It took me over a minute longer than the Derby and it was a shorter race! The conditions were clearly difficult though, as I was not the only runner to slow down in the 2nd race.
I totally lost contact with Christina in this race. I may have been able to suck it up and get a bit closer but I didnt think I could ever catch her and I had to think about saving some strength for the festival. So it was a disappointing finish.
Preakness 1.1875m
1 Michael Rooney M 22 Arlington VA 6:31 1
2 Dan Eddy M 56 Alexandria VA 7:27 2
3 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 7:47 3
4 James Engle M 47 Arlington VA 7:53 4
5 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 8:02 5
6 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 8:17 6
7 David Hayes M 44 Alexandria VA 8:23 7
8 Peter Blank M 53 Annandale VA 8:54 8
9 Janet Townshend F 44 Vienna VA 9:12 1
10 Shirley Sameshima F 41 McLean VA 9:25 2
11 John Haubert M 65 Alexandria VA 9:32 9
12 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 10:17 3
13 Tami Graf F 71 Lusby MD 11:39 4
14 Christina Caravoulias F 53 Silver Spring MD 12:27 5
15 Tim Ramsey M 49 Alexandria VA 13:39 10
I said my goodbye's to Jim right after handing in my finisher card for the race. It looks like I missed a good Belmont though as evidenced by the results below.Shirley managed to beat Janet Townshend in this last race and Jay Wind continued to move up in the standings with each race.
Belmont Stakes 1.5m
1 Michael Rooney M 22 Arlington VA 8:03 1
2 Dan Eddy M 56 Alexandria VA 9:33 2
3 Jay Jacob Wind M 58 Arlington VA 9:59 3
4 David Hayes M 44 Alexandria VA 10:49 4
5 Keith R. Campbell M 48 Springfield VA 11:10 5
6 James Engle M 47 Arlington VA 11:11 6
7 Peter Blank M 53 Annandale VA 11:31 7
8 Shirley Sameshima F 41 McLean VA 12:06 1
9 Janet Townshend F 44 Vienna VA 12:12 2
10 Kirk Gordon M 52 Mitchellville MD 12:40 8
11 Bernadette Flynn F 50 Springfield VA 12:41 3
12 Tami Graf F 71 Lusby MD 15:35 4
13 Christina Caravoulias F 53 Silver Spring MD 17:51 5
As always, it was a fun event and I plan to be back next year...hopefully carrying less weight on a cooler day!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Return to the scene of the crime
The inaugural running of the Georgetown 8K was run on May 31. As you can guess from the name of the race, it started and finished in Georgetown. However, the race itself was run on the C&O Canal...yes the very same trail where I fell and broke my foot last October. My really, REALLY bad times can all be traced back to that race. So, I was already nervous about running on this path. But to make matters worse, we had a big thunderstorm come through just a couple of hours before the race, making the course just a wee bit slippery. It was also hot and humid so we didnt have the best race conditions.
What made the race worthwhile was a visit from two friends from DE, Lauren and Mike Digennaro. Lauren and Mike are 2 of the fastest runners in DE and Mike is a nationally ranked runner in the Steeplechase. They have both run 1 marathon each...and they both won them!
Not surprisingly, Mike was the first runner by me that I knew well. He was running in fourth, behind two local Kenyan standouts and also prolific marathoner Mike Wardian. Mike seemed very relaxed and he said hi as he ran by so I knew he wasn't pushing himself to the max.
Lauren was next up. I shouted out to her that she was the 9th woman. She was running in a group with 50+er Bill Stahr. A short while later Jon Palks came by and he gave me a little wave when I cheered him on.
Watching them go by took some of the pain off of my mind but after they passed I was left alone with my thoughts. I ran by where I fell in October just before the turnaround so I actually got to relive it twice! I tried to keep a woman who I later learned was Sara Howard. We kept taking walk breaks and passing one another as one ran while the other walked. She had a friend come back and run in with her over the last mile and that was enough encouragement for her to pass me once and for all. She finished in 1:03:42 (clock time) compared to my clock time of 1:04:40. I did do a little bit better against her if you look at chip times (1:03:06 vs my 1:03:55). Yes, that's right - my 8K time is now worse than some of my average 10K times. Gosh I'm having a bad year!
After the race I ran into Dane Rauschenberg after the race. I was surprised to see him since he moved to Utah not too long ago. He told me he had come in to help Jay Wind with the race. I was also disappointed to learn that his new job in Utah did not work out. It doesn't sound like he's in a rush to move back East though and he said he wants to move someplace new. In the meantime, he is doing motivational speeches around the country where he talks about his adventures from a couple of years ago when he ran a marathon every week for an entire year. Makes me tired just thinking about it!
While talking to Dane, a girl that I passed on my return leg walked in with help. She apparently suffered from heat exhaustion. I told you it was tough out there.
Here are the notable finishers of the race:
Abiyot Abebe (winner) 24:25
Michael Wardian (3rd) 24:48
Mike Digennaro (4th) 25:30
Hirut Mandefro (female winner) 27:46
Bill Stahr 33:06
Lauren Digennaro (8th female) 33:18
Betty Blank 34:45
Karen Young 37:22
Jon Palks 40:44
Barry Goldmeier (the joggler) 55:03
There were 356 finishers. I came in 352nd.
Finally, one of my physical therapists approached me immediately after the race. I was taking of my chip and feeling totally exhausted. I can't find her in the standings so I can't give her a shout out but she said she did OK. We had spoken before during my shoulder therapy about her running and that she lived in Georgetown. I shouldn't have bbeen surprised to see her.
The race started a little late since late registration had to be moved to the nearby running store because of the rain. That gave me a few minutes to talk to Mike and Lauren before the race. Lauren told me she had no goals for the race...she had cut back on her running.
When we finally started, I knew it would be a long day. I had no confidence after my last race and with the conditions I felt it best to just take it easy and survive the race. What I most enjoyed was cheering on my friends, which was easy to do since it was an out and back course.
What made the race worthwhile was a visit from two friends from DE, Lauren and Mike Digennaro. Lauren and Mike are 2 of the fastest runners in DE and Mike is a nationally ranked runner in the Steeplechase. They have both run 1 marathon each...and they both won them!
Not surprisingly, Mike was the first runner by me that I knew well. He was running in fourth, behind two local Kenyan standouts and also prolific marathoner Mike Wardian. Mike seemed very relaxed and he said hi as he ran by so I knew he wasn't pushing himself to the max.
Lauren was next up. I shouted out to her that she was the 9th woman. She was running in a group with 50+er Bill Stahr. A short while later Jon Palks came by and he gave me a little wave when I cheered him on.
Watching them go by took some of the pain off of my mind but after they passed I was left alone with my thoughts. I ran by where I fell in October just before the turnaround so I actually got to relive it twice! I tried to keep a woman who I later learned was Sara Howard. We kept taking walk breaks and passing one another as one ran while the other walked. She had a friend come back and run in with her over the last mile and that was enough encouragement for her to pass me once and for all. She finished in 1:03:42 (clock time) compared to my clock time of 1:04:40. I did do a little bit better against her if you look at chip times (1:03:06 vs my 1:03:55). Yes, that's right - my 8K time is now worse than some of my average 10K times. Gosh I'm having a bad year!
After the race I ran into Dane Rauschenberg after the race. I was surprised to see him since he moved to Utah not too long ago. He told me he had come in to help Jay Wind with the race. I was also disappointed to learn that his new job in Utah did not work out. It doesn't sound like he's in a rush to move back East though and he said he wants to move someplace new. In the meantime, he is doing motivational speeches around the country where he talks about his adventures from a couple of years ago when he ran a marathon every week for an entire year. Makes me tired just thinking about it!
While talking to Dane, a girl that I passed on my return leg walked in with help. She apparently suffered from heat exhaustion. I told you it was tough out there.
Here are the notable finishers of the race:
Abiyot Abebe (winner) 24:25
Michael Wardian (3rd) 24:48
Mike Digennaro (4th) 25:30
Hirut Mandefro (female winner) 27:46
Bill Stahr 33:06
Lauren Digennaro (8th female) 33:18
Betty Blank 34:45
Karen Young 37:22
Jon Palks 40:44
Barry Goldmeier (the joggler) 55:03
There were 356 finishers. I came in 352nd.
Finally, one of my physical therapists approached me immediately after the race. I was taking of my chip and feeling totally exhausted. I can't find her in the standings so I can't give her a shout out but she said she did OK. We had spoken before during my shoulder therapy about her running and that she lived in Georgetown. I shouldn't have bbeen surprised to see her.
The race started a little late since late registration had to be moved to the nearby running store because of the rain. That gave me a few minutes to talk to Mike and Lauren before the race. Lauren told me she had no goals for the race...she had cut back on her running.
When we finally started, I knew it would be a long day. I had no confidence after my last race and with the conditions I felt it best to just take it easy and survive the race. What I most enjoyed was cheering on my friends, which was easy to do since it was an out and back course.
I've got nuttin
On May 21 (yes, I'm a bit behind in my race blogs) I ran the DC Road Runners Monthly Tidal Basin 3K for about the 30th time. I didn't expect it to be my worst 3K ever before the start but it didn't take long for that to become apparent. I started with everyone else but after only about 100 yards (when we move from the street to the sidewalk) I was already exhausted. I had to slow down and walk. At that point Kirk Gordon, who is suffering from a groin pull, ran along side me and then quickly passed.
Anyway, back to me. I mixed running and walking almost equally in this race. After running for a minute or two I would feel winded and after about 1 mile I also started to get a stitch in my side. It was truly a struggle to finish. I usually beat a fellow frequent runner, Joe Broderick, but today he left me in the dust. I tried to keep him within reach but I gave up on that after about 1 1/4 miles. Joe, who is 70, finished in 20:22. I finished well behind him at 23:50. Certainly a race to forget.
Notable finishers included:
Ted Poulos (winner) 9:56
Emily Gousen (winner) 10:27 (you go girl!)
Jim Moreland 11:58
Jay Jacob Wind 12:56
Peter Blank 13:15
Dee Nelson 14:42
Shirley Sameshima 14:47 (that must have been an exciting finish)
Kirk Gordon 16:34
Ray Campbell 27:35 (hey, he's 76!)
It was a big turnout with 66 finishers. I, of course, came in 65th. My first goal is to get back to 18 minutes. That would move me ahead of 3 finishers. My next goal would be get back to my best times from just a couple of years ago of around 16 minutes. That would move me in front of 5 more finishers, which I think would be a respectable finish for me.
Finally, per a special request, (I'll let you guess from who)...
Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima.
Anyway, back to me. I mixed running and walking almost equally in this race. After running for a minute or two I would feel winded and after about 1 mile I also started to get a stitch in my side. It was truly a struggle to finish. I usually beat a fellow frequent runner, Joe Broderick, but today he left me in the dust. I tried to keep him within reach but I gave up on that after about 1 1/4 miles. Joe, who is 70, finished in 20:22. I finished well behind him at 23:50. Certainly a race to forget.
Notable finishers included:
Ted Poulos (winner) 9:56
Emily Gousen (winner) 10:27 (you go girl!)
Jim Moreland 11:58
Jay Jacob Wind 12:56
Peter Blank 13:15
Dee Nelson 14:42
Shirley Sameshima 14:47 (that must have been an exciting finish)
Kirk Gordon 16:34
Ray Campbell 27:35 (hey, he's 76!)
It was a big turnout with 66 finishers. I, of course, came in 65th. My first goal is to get back to 18 minutes. That would move me ahead of 3 finishers. My next goal would be get back to my best times from just a couple of years ago of around 16 minutes. That would move me in front of 5 more finishers, which I think would be a respectable finish for me.
Finally, per a special request, (I'll let you guess from who)...
Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima.
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