10/28/09 (thanks to Kate Reese for putting together these results!)
Mayor's Cup
Joe Dare battled muddy conditions and stiff competition to finish 32nd (25:48) in the prestigious Mayor's Cup XC race at Boston's Franklin Park Fellow LaSalle alum and Puma athlete Sean Quigley would go on to win the race in an exciting sprint finish.
Chicago Marathon
Ted Callinan capitalized on cool weather, cloudy skies and a fast course to run 2:24:58 at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Callinan’s time was only a few minutes off of his 2:21:22 personal best.
Topsfield Cross Country Festival
On Sunday, October 4th the PRTC women took second place at the Topsfield Cross Country Festival in Topsfield, MA. The festival, hosted by the Greater Boston Track Club and Puma, drew clubs from New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Long-time PRTC member Claire Duncan continued her recent stretch of racing success with a second-place finish behind Riadha's Kristin Anderson. Duncan completed the challenging 5K course in a time of 18:17, fully 40 seconds ahead of the third place finisher and 30 seconds faster than the previous year’s winning time. PRTC’s second runner, Kate Reese, finished fifth overall in 18:55, while PRTC newcomers Erin Fisher, Heidi Bretscher and Erinn Kimm finished 11th, 14th, and 16th, respectively.
Philadelphia Distance Run
On September 20th, 2009 Philadelphia hosted the 32nd annual ING Distance Run, and PRTC had an extremely strong showing in both individual and team scoring. Tom Haxton (1:07:58) and Ted Callinan (1:07:40) finished 19th and 22nd overall, while the men’s team (comprised of Pat Ward, Mike Daigeaun, and Fran Coyne) finished 1st in the Club Open division. Ward (1:09:41), Daigeaun (1:12:30) and Coyne (1:17:09) finished 29th, 63rd and 126th, respectively.
Claire Duncan was the first female Philadelphia finisher, completing the course in 1:17:58. Duncan finished only a minute ahead of PRTC newcomer Emily McGregor, whose 1:18:41 was good enough for a 15th place finish in the women’s division. In team scoring the PRTC women placed second, as Erin Fisher, Laura Onderko and Heidi Bretscher all posted strong finishing times (1:23:06, 1:24:47 and 1:25:32).
The Belmar Five
On Saturday, July 11th three PRTC runners competed in The Belmar Five. Ryan Fennelly finished third overall in a time of 24:57, while Patrick Ward placed 9th overall with a time of 26:21. Laura Onderko continued a strong season of racing, as her 29:01 ensured a second place finish in the women’s division.
Media 5 Mile Run
On June 19th Ryan Fennelly, Laura Onderko and Fran Coyne participated in the 30th Media 5 Mile Run. Ryan Fennelly finished second overall with a time of 25:47, while Fran Coyne finished 24th with a time of 29:10. Laura Onderko was the sole representative from the PRTC women’s team, finishing first among women with a time of 30:10.
Broad Street
PRTC had a strong showing from both the men’s and women’s teams at the 30th Annual Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Ted Callinan was the first PRTC male to cross the line, finishing 12th overall in a time of 51:05. Callinan edged teammate Tom Haxton, whose time of 51:11 secured 13th place. Joe Dare faded to 17th after running an aggressive first few miles; Dare was followed by Ross Martinson, whose 52:07 signaled his continued recovery from a recent injury.
On the women’s side, Laura Onderko finished 8th overall with a time of 1:00:02. She was followed by longtime PRTC standout runner Abby Dean; Dean finished 18th overall in 1:02:23. Recent Elizabethtown graduate Erin Fisher also finished in the top 25, completing the ten-mile course in 1:03:29.
5th Annual Teal Ribbon 5K Race Against Time
PRTC runners Ryan Fennelly, Tom Haxton, Laura Onderko, Abby Dean and Kate Reese all competed in the 5th Annual Teal Ribbon 5K held on May 23rd. The race, which started and finished at the Carousel House in Fairmount Park, boasted a fast and scenic course. Fennelly and Haxton took first and second, finishing in 15:22 and 15:28, respectively. Onderko, Dean and Reese swept the first three places in the women’s division, running 17:54, 18:23 and 18:28.
Boston Marathon
Four PRTC members competed in the 113th Boston Marathon held on April 20, 2009. Laura Onderko and Kate Bowser each ran 2:58:46 to finish 57th and 58th; remarkably, the two did not race together and discovered their identical finishing times only after completing the race. On the men’s side, Ross Martinson finished with a solid time of 2:30:23, while Fran Coyne ran a tough race and ultimately completed the challenging course in 2:55:29.
February 21st, 2009
MATT BYRNE RETURNS TO SNOWY VAIL, CO FOR SECOND PLACE AT THE VAC VAIL MOUNTAIN WINTER UPHILL. IN LATE NEWS, JOE DARE TOOK 61ST IN THE USATF CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS FEBRUARY 7TH.
Choosing Yak Trax for extra traction, Byrne took 2nd to fellow US Mountain Team member Ricky Gates. The race, straight up a ski slope in Vail, CO, was designed to be tough, not fast. Matt cover the 2 mile plus course in 34:00, while Gates would go on to set a new course record. Matt, competing for the first time in a snow race (and at altitude), put in a tremendous effort, and learned what footwear works best on slippery slopes!
Joe Dare took on another tough course and even tougher competition at this years USATF Cross Country National Championships. Out hard on the tough Maryland course, Joe stayed close to the numerous Olympians and NCAA champions that competed in the race. 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi would go on to be the eventual winner (while Ardmore, PA resident and Vilanova grad Bobby Curtis finished 3rd). For Joe the race would prove a great learning experience, showing he could mix it up with just about anyone.
February 14 th, 2009
RYAN FENNELLY QUALIFIES FOR USATF INDOORS WITH CLUB RECORD 7:59.64! LAURA ONDERKO, KATE REESE, KATE BOWSER, PILAR BARTLET, TOM HAXTON, AND ROSS MARTINSON DOUBLE UP AT FEEL THE LOVE 5K.
Fresh off his 4:06 mile PR, Ryan Fennelly made his way up to Boston for the Valentine's Day invite at the Armoury in Boston. With an eye toward qualifing for USATF indoor nationals, Ryan kept close to the pacer through the mile, before settling on phenom Martin Fagan's shoulder. Coming through in blistering times left Ryan unfazed and looking for the win. With 300m to go, Ryan was sitting pretty in 2nd place and working hard for a fast finish. His 7:59:.64 would qualify him for USATF Indoor nationals, while taking 14 seconds off the existing club 3k record!
While PRTC stalwart Ryan Fennelly was preparing for his blistering 3K in Boston, a small contingent of club runners and their spouses enjoyed beautiful weather and a fast course at the 3rd annual Feel the Love 5K.
Ross Martinson and Tom Haxton battled it out for the overall win, with Haxton edging his lanky rival for the victory; the two were so close that final results list each at 15:04. On the women’s side, PRTC newcomers Laura Onderko and Kate Reese posted strong finishes in 17:35 and 17:46, respectively. Kate Bowser also ran well, setting a new PR of 18:23 after taking the pace early with eventual winner Liz Haglund.
In the “Lovers” category of team scoring, Ross and Kerry Martinson were unable to catch the devastating duo of JB and Liz Haglund, who set a new course record with their combined time of 32:53. Yet the Martinsons combined time of 35:41 was enough for second and a decisive victory over 4th place finishers Tom and Clarisse Haxton (combined score 36:11).
PRTC swept both the “Mixed” and “Same Sex” categories of team scoring. Kate Bowser and Rob Schiff ran a combined time of 34:16, while Laura Onderko and Kate Reese posted a combined time of 35:21, fully six minutes ahead of their closest competitors.
January 25th, 2009
In 2003 the then Philadelphia Track Club took on hometown rivals the Bryn Mawr Running Company in an epic race known as the Battle Royale. The race of the years has become a tradition for both clubs to return to old school cross country racing. This year's version at Belmont Plateau may have been the smallest, but it still lived up to it's reputation. Race organizers decided to lengthen this year's race to 5 miles, two outer loops, one inner loop, and two more outer loops, while the women ran the traditional 5k course.
Despite freezing temperatures (28 degrees at race time) the race drew a fair number of runners and even a few hearty spectators looking for a good show. In battle for first place in the men's race they were not disappointed.
Ryan Fennelly and Karl Savage of the Jenkintown Running Company (and Ryan's roommate) quickly broke away from the field after their first trip up Flag Pole hill. Tom Haxton and new teammates Malcolm Richards and Joe Dare took chores up front of the chase pack. By the time Ryan and Karl entered the woods they had a clear lead over the rest of the field.
Just before exiting the woods Karl put a surge on Ryan hoping to break him on the third charge up Flagpole hill. Exiting the woods in third was Darryl Brown of the Chester County Running Company followed by Malcolm and Tom. Karl still had the lead headed up Flagpole for the last time, but by now Ryan had closed the gap. On the downhill after Ryan started making his drive to the finish. Karl, a former World XC team member mind you, was sure to stick right on Ryan. However, using the strength he showed in his 4:06 mile the week before Ryan held Karl off for the impressive win by a mere two seconds.
Chester County Running Co.’s Darryl Brown closed well while Malcolm and Tom rounded out the top five. In the end once again PRTC claimed the team title with a cumulative time of 1:16:50 for it's top 3 (this year's race was scored on the cumulative time of the top 3 men and top 2 women from each team)
The women's race proved to be a run away for Liz Haglund of the Bryn Mawr Running Company. Prepping for next weekend's US XC Championships in Maryland Liz set a torrent pace from the start to finish in 18:14. The PRTC ladies though matched the men by winning the team title in 38:29. Using a crop of new comers Laura Onderko, Kate Reese, and Kate Bowser proved that the PRTC ladies continue to expand and show dedication.
Special thanks has to be paid to this year's volunteers; Ross Martinson for course set-up, Ted and Matty for giving out split times, Chester County Running Store for doing the timing, and Bob Schwelm for helping keep the tradition alive with his work and enthusiasm.
11-12 October 2008
IN HOMETOWN OF SCRANTON, MATT BYRNE TAKES 4TH IN COMPETITIVE STEAMTOWN MARATHON; ABBY DEAN CONTINUES A STRONG RACING SEASON WITH 5TH PLACE IN A HILLY BALTIMORE HALF MARATHON
5 September-4 October 2008
TOP PHILADELPHIA FINISHERS AT PDR; BYRNE REPRESENTS US IN WORLD MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPS; FAST TIMES ON THE STREETS OF DOWNINGTOWN; CLAIRE DUNCAN RETURNS TO XC ROOTS AT PAUL SHORT INVITE; FENN AND KATE-B JUST MISS CRYSTAL BOWLS IN NOTRE DAME 5K; AGE GROUP CHAMPS AT THE PARKWAY RUN; KATE-R TAKES TITLE IN HAVERFORD ALUMNI RACE; HAXTON MAKES QUICK RECOVERY TO PLACE 3RD AT THE HAND'S ON HALF MARATHON
September was a busy month for PRTC, with races as far as Switzerland and as close as Philadelphia.
Byrne and Dean take top Philadelphian honors at the Philadelphia Distance Run. As always, a world class field came in to compete in the nation's premier half marathon. On the women's side, Abby Dean (11th), Claire Duncan (13th), Meredith Lambert (19th), Shannon Klick (31st), and Kate Bowser(40th) battled with former teammate turned rival Veena Reddy (10th). All turned in outstanding,PR or near PR performances, with Abby, Claire and Meredith all posting top-ten PRTC performances.
For the men, Ross Martinson (15th), Matt Byrne, (20th), Tom Haxton (23rd), Ted Callinan (29th), and Fran Coyne all took advantage of the clear skies and fast course, dealing with their own former teammates Dan McGrath and Wylie Belasik, who turned in great races. Matt and Abby would both claim the top Philadelphia honors (and the $1k that goes with it), while Ross and Claire would join them among the top 5 Americans.
17-24 August, 2008
TWIN VICTORIES IN STONE HARBOR FOR PAT WARD AND ABBY DEAN; ABBY DEAN STALKS TIMBERMAN WITH INCREDIBLE HALF MARATHON
Abby Dean and Pat Ward played beach patrol with wins at the Lions Club Stone Harbor 10k. A weekend down the shore means rest and relaxation for some, but for avid racers in late August it means the Stone Harbor 10k and 5k. A warm morning and full sunshine kept beach goers happy but meant difficult conditions for racers. Patwould find himself battling the 5k winner early on, coming through around 16:20. Competition would fade in the second half, as Pat increased his lead to come through unofficially in 33:30 to win by over a minute. Pat looks forward to testing his fitness at the Battle Royale in early September.
On the women's side Abby would lead the women's field from the start, finding some competition among many of the men in the field. Despite having competed in a half ironman just a week before, the Stone Harbor race would be just what she needed to spring back into the running scene. Abby won handily, in an unofficial time of 37:30.
In spite of hydration and nutrition snafu's, Abby Dean completes her tri season with a fast showing at the Timberman Triathlon. Rough water made the swim perilous, but even lacking as much pool time as previous years, Abby managed to come out of the water faster than ever. The bike was a beautiful course with rolling hills and temperatures in the 70's. Abby again beat her previous best, but lost her water bottle early on in the race. Hydration and nutrition are a huge component of longer triathlons and loosing this edge is never ideal. Abby would push on with the race she was given, and continue to hammer on the bike. Despite being hampered by the lost bottle, Abby found she could still move fast on the 2 loop run course. Legs on fire and temperatures rising. she continued to pass people and go on to a stellar finish. Her run would be the 12th fastest of the day (that includes all male finishers) and 2nd fastest female to pro triathlete Chrissie Wellington, who just won the Kona Tri. Abby finished 2nd in her age group, 7th amateur overall, and earned a berth in the 1/2 ironman world championships this November in Florida.
31 JULY, 2008
MATT BYRNE NAMED TO 2008 US MOUNTAIN RUNNING TEAM!
One of PRTC's earliest members, Matt Byrne, has qualified for the US Mountain Running Team. Matt will compete with the team at the World Mountain Running Trophy Championships September 14th in Sierre Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Although an official press release has not yet been issued, Matt was offered the spot earlier this week.
Matt earned his spot with great performances at both the Mt. Washington Road Race and the Berry Picker Trail Run in Vail, CO. A newcomer to the sport of Mountain/Trail running, Byrne has made the transition from the roads look easy. At Mt Washington he finished in 6th place, gaining valuable insight into uphill running. That insight would prove invaluable at the Berry Picker Race, where pacing and mental toughness would place him in 2nd, and secure his spot on the team.
20 JULY 2008
New York, NY; Vail, CO
MATT BYRNE MAKES SERIOUS BID FOR US MOUNTAIN RUNNING TEAM AT BERRY PICKER TRAIL RACE; ABBY DEAN CONTINUES TO IMPRESS ON THE TRI SCENE
2-Time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Matt Byrne has set his sights on making the U.S. Mountain Running Team. The team of 6 will compete at the prestigious World Mountain Running Trophy Championships this September in Switzerland. The team is selected from two races, the MT Washington Road Race and the Berry Picker Trail Race.
At Mt. Washington Matt finished an impressive 6th place in his first ever mountain race, narrowly missing an automatic bid for the US Mountain Team. Making the team would require him to race at his peak potential in the Vail, CO Berry Picker race.
The 4.3 mile Berry Picker would prove to be a different animal from Mt Washington, as Matt would call the course "...the most technically challenging course I've ever seen." The racers went out hard over the first section, a rolling 1.3 miles stretch that would be the easy part of the course. Matt stayed conservative, going into the first steep stretch in 6th place.
The next 3 miles would climb over 2000 feet, giving the race an overall grade of 12%! To make it tougher the course consisted of rugged single track with occasional stretches of double wide gravel trails. It would be over this grueling course that Matt began to advance.
All five competitors ahead of Matt knew they would need a good showing to make the U.S. Team. Only the winners spot was assured, the remaining spot would go to committee based on performances at both Mt. Washington and the Berry Picker. Matt pushed hard as soon as the real climbing began, quickly moving into 3rd place. Coming through 2 miles found Matt moving into 2nd place and looking ahead to Simon Gutierrez. Gutierrez, who has qualified for 7 straight Mountain teams, and is 2 time defending World Masters Mountain Running champion, showed his experience with the mountains and slowly pulled away.
Resisting challenges from fellow east coaster Shiloh Mielke, Matt continued on to place 2nd overall. Anyone who has run with Matt knows he has always been tough on hills, but now he has proved it nationally. Matt's 2nd place finish makes him a strong candidate for a spot on the US Mountain Running team whose roster should be announced soon. We'll keep you posted!
Abby Dean Continues to dominate the headlines with her 13th place finish in the Elite Division of the New York City Triathlon. Thousands fought the heat and humidity in what has become one of the premier triathlon events in the country. Last weeks strong showing by Abby would continue with this weeks NYC Tri. Olympic distance means a longer swim, longer bike, and a 10k run. The 1500 meter swim in the Hudson is one of the fastest, and Abby cruised through in 20:32. The 40k bike continued up the Henry Hudson Highway out of Manhattan and through the Bronx, giving riders a hilly tour of the city.
The run would continue on the northern loop of Central Park, and here is where the heat took it's toll on most of the athletes. Abby would add another strong finish to her resume, with one of the fastest runs of the day (37:42).
15 June, 2008
Philadelphia, PA
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TEAM SHINE AT FATHER'S DAY 5K
On Father's Day, three members of the men's team took part in a charity race that was founded to help "eradicate prostate cancer as a life and quality-of-life threatening disease by helping to advance awareness and research." The race had big sponsors from the Philadelphia area, such as 6ABC. And the race helped raise $93,896 on the day!
Held on Martin Luther King Boulevard at the foot of the Schuylkill River, Ryan, Tim, and Ross used the opportunity to also keep their legs sharp. At the gun, Ryan took the first 800m out quickly. Ross and the eventual winner (an unkown Kenyan - name is not listed in the results) caught up with Fenn after the first half mile. The trio came through the mile in 4:41. Then at the 1.5 mile turnaround, the Kenyan made a big surge. Ryan and Ross were not able to stay even with the leader. The two ran together, each surging briefly to try to help each other recapture the lead. The two passed two miles in 9:35. Fenn pulled away from Ross with about 700m to go and ran 14:55. Ryan described it as a "decent effort for a hot and humid morning." On losing his battle with Fenn in the latter stages of the race, Ross (15:04) reflected that he did not have "a good finish, but since I've been feeling like crap, I guess it was okay. Good atmosphere at the race though."
Meanwhile, Tim found himself behind that trio, yet ahead of the rest of the field. Tim labored from start to finish on his own, but he was fine with that. "I wanted a faster time," Tim (15:56) said afterwards. "But it was hot and humid, and I ran the whole thing alone. But this sets me up to race again this Friday [at the Media 5 Miler].
IN THE WOMEN'S RACE, the overall win was captured by another woman. But the dash for the cash was won by a young and spry Kate Taylor (nee Fonshell). Now 38 years young, Kate showed the talent that made her a U.S. National 10,000m champion in the 1990's. Kate was clocked in 17:34. But Kate was closely followed by no less than three PRTC women! Claire finished a mere six seconds astride of Kate, running 17:40 (a road PR for Claire). Abby showed no ill-effects from her high Spring mileage, running 17:52. New team member Kate Reese rounded out the team results, running 18:39 for fifth place.
1 June, 2008
Sellersville, PA
JOE DARE GRABS THE WIN IN HIS FIRST RACE FOR PRTC
Meet Joe Dare. Joe is a recent graduate of La Salle University. While a student at La Salle, Joe ran some impressive times, including a 14:14 5k and a 29:25. Joe hopes to parley those track times into the speed and efficiency needed to eventually run close to 29 minutes for 10 and qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. You can read all of Joe's stats on the PRTC Bios page.
On Sunday, Joe ran his first race for PRTC. This race was a low-key Summer 5k on the roads. Joe picked up the win and some cash for his efforts. "It was a nice day and a nice course," Joe remarked with optimism. Joe plans on continuing a string of Summer races. He will take to the roads again the weekend of June 21 - 22.
31 May, 2008
Lancaster and Forty Fort, PA; Reston, VA
NESBITT AND BYRNE WIN FIVE MILERS ON THE ROAD; BORGHUIS FINISHES FOURTH IN FOUR MILER
On Saturday morning, Drew Nesbitt, Matt Byrne, and Bart Borghuis all took to the roads in races. Drew was racing the Red Rose Run in Lancaster, Matt was running the Old Fort Five Miler in Forty Fort, and Bart was running the We Got Your Back 4 Miler.
In Lancaster, Drew found hot and humid skies. Drew recalled that "At the start, I noticed most of the usual top-notch competition was missing from the start line. So I took the race out hard - 4:50. 4:53, and 5:15. I was alone with only two miles and some hills to go. I cruised home with some 5:30's and really enjoyed winning one of the biggest races in Lancaster County." Our man was the clear winner by 40 seconds. Drew is taking his fitness to the big stage in a few weeks, competing in the Utica Boilermaker in upstate New York.
In Forty Fort, Matt was not able to employ the same "run away early" strategy, as the eventual second place finisher Chris Wadas ran stride for stride with Matt for the first three miles. "I could still hear his footsteps right behind me," Matt said. "I just wanted to keep up an under-5:10 (per mile) pace. But at around mile four, Chris dropped off the pace a bit. And I was able to hold him off for the win. But Chris didn't fall apart. He stayed close the entire way. He ran a very good race."
In Reston, Bart took part in a big race with a $1000 total prize purse. Such money attracted some fast runners, including some local Africans and top D.C. area Americans. Bart recounted that the field "went out hard, and I just went with it."
The course was run on a hard-top bike trail, but there were some long and shorter up and downs. Bart's recollection of the hard start were accurate, as he split 4:41 and 4:38 for his first two miles! "I think the hard start and some uphills on the way back cost time, but [I] finished in 19:55 for 4th. [I'm] pretty happy. It felt good to average under 5 minute pace. [It was] also, cool to be in an environment where, in these races, the leaders are not too fast that I can't give it a shot, and try to hang with them." Bart's time was good enough to tie him for #8 on the PRTC All-Time list!
To read more about the exploits of our guys on this weekend, click on the links below. These links will also be archived on our PRTC in Print page.
Nesbitt Wins a Muggy Run
Byrne Has Emotion Packed Win
Upcoming:
Since it is a quiet time of year for the team, there are some unusual races coming up for our athletes. Ross is scheduled to pace Bryn Mawr Running Coompany owner Bob Schwelm in a track two mile race to help qualify Bob for the master's two mile race to be held during the Olympic Track Trials in Eugene. Ted is competing in the Philly Tri relay race along with his brothers-in-law. Ted will be covering the 10k running leg of this relay. And in the last weekend in June, Ted and Tim are 'supposed' to run a road 10k in Clare, Ireland while on a trip for a family reunion. But the first night of celebrations is the night before this 10k, so all plans are tentative.
25 May, 2008
Philadelphia, PA
FENN WINS TEAL RIBBON 5k; REESE FINISHES SECOND IN WOMEN'S RACE
For such a small race, the men's field at the Teal Ribbon 5k had two very capable runners on hand. The top two men both ran their collegiate days at La Salle University. PRTC member Ryan Fennelly just graduated from the Jesuit school a few years ago, while Joe Dare just graduated a few weeks ago. Both have stellar 5k PR's, so this was going to be a good one.
The two covered the first mile in 4:44. Then the course had some curves, which apparently confused Fennelly. He soon put himself back on track and made up the difference between he and Dare. Fennelly then pushed ahead and won the race in 15:05. Joe Dare, who was convinced to join PRTC after discussing his running prospects with Fennelly after the race, finished second.
In the women's race, recent addition to the club Kate Reese followed up her stellar Spring marathon with a second place finish here in 18:24.
The club again welcomes not only Kate Reese, but brand new member Joe Dare as well. Look for more information about PRTC's new athletes in the coming weeks.
24 May, 2008
Spring Lake, NJ
NESBITT AND CALLINAN TAKE ON BIGGEST FIVE MILER IN THE U.S.
Drew Nesbitt and Tim Callinan hit the shore on Memorial Day weekend. But these two people didn't have sandcastles on their minds. They had racing. And the Spring Lake Five Miler on the central Jersey shore provides the biggest five mile road race in the U.S. It annually draws uppers of 10,000 participants! And the large size does not negate the quality field that can be found up front.
"The race went great for me; I was really happy with the result. I ran with the top two for most of the race (5 flat pace for 3 miles, 4th in 5:10). But in the fifth mile, I think my inexperience in road racing caught up with me, as I started my kick too early, passed the second place runner, and then faded to fifth."
"I hope to put together a solid Summer. Sorry I don't have much more to add, but hopefully I will have a great result this weekend running in my hometown."
Tim is continuing to find his way back to form after a long layoff. With an extremely modest goal of simply breaking 27 minutes (Tim has only done about three workouts so far), Tim bettered that post by 51 seconds! Tim gave a balanced account of his run, stating that his "splits were 5:10, 5:13, 5:07, 5:20, 5:13. I was just trying to run even the whole way, but my fourth mile was a little slow."
ONE MONTH EARLIER, ON APRIL 26th, ROSS MARTINSON won the Teal Ribbon Ovarian Cancer 5k. Mrs. Martinson (Kerry "I PR'd by several minutes at Broad Street") finished second in the women's race in 20:58!
1 May, 2008, Weissensee, Germany; 10 May, 2008, Arlington, VA ; 18 May, 2008, Washington, D.C.
CATCHING UP WITH BART BORGHUIS
For almost two months now, Bart has been living in northern Virginia. But his running heart belongs to Philadelphia. This is where he discovered just how much he loves this sport, and this is where he developed his skills. So we felt it was time to check up on our teammate and see how he is managing his hectic new schedule working at Janelia Farm.
At the beginning of May, Bart traveled to Europe for a short vacation with his new bride and his parents. While in Germany, Bart kept seeing fliers for an upcoming race. So Bart decided to test his strength across the ocean and lined up for the First of May, Weissensee Lauf 6k. Actually, Bart said that the race was somewhere around 6.3k, but that the race organizers didn't seem concerned with certainty about this point, the course was indisputable: one loop around the lake.
At first, he said there was a small group of guys, and that a few looked quick. Bart recalled that "One looked a little heavy, but he wound up being the biggest challenge." The man in question was a mountain runner - with strength to match. Thus, Bart's advantage would be the fact that he is lighter and quicker. Bart won the race and ran the second fastest time in 33 years!
Bart was invited to a celebration afterwards in the town's Schutzenhalle (hall with armor - think of Beowulf). Between the unusual race distance and the reception hall, this was definitely different from races that one would find in the U.S. The prizes wound up being different too, as Bart received a cup and a watch made by a local manufacturer. Victory certainly is sweet.
The very next weekend, Bart was back at it. This time, Bart ran "The Battle of the Boulevard", a 10k in Arlington, Virginia, one of Washington DC's many suburbs. The course started at the Pacers store (a running store in the D.C. area with a racing team), took the runners down to the Pentagon, and then back uphill to the start.
"I knew two of the guys from the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, where finished just seconds apart," Bart explained. Taking the lead in a six man pack, Bart hit the first downshill mile in 4:53. His second mile was a 4:57. Then the runners hit the flats and the pace stayed steady. Bart slowed down some but kept close to the pack. As the runners made their way back on the loop, Bart found himself running stride for stride with frequent racer and Olympic Trials qualifier Michael Wardian. Bart eventually passed Wardian as well as Pacers' Burt Rodriguez, keeping his eyes on the lead runner, Steve Crane.
Bart recounted that with two miles to go, he knew "first place was out of reach. But I kept pushing to the line to stay in front of the other Pacers athletes. It felt great to beat them on their own turf." Bart scored a 10k road PR of 32:16 for second place.
The third and final race of Bart's little circuit, the Capitol Hill Classic 10k was supposed to be on a fast course. But Bart said it was neither flat nor fast "at all." The day was overcast and humid. But the course record holder (Berhanu Zeleeke) was present, so fast times seemed possible.
There were four runners in the lead pack at the beginning, including Bart, as well as Robert Wade and Zeleeke. The latter two runners pushed hard away from the four-man pack. Bart knew that they were running a pace which, on this day, was too quick for him. "I tried to run my own race and PR." Bart didn't wind up setting a new PR from the one he set the previous week, but he said it was "fun to race in downtown Washington D.C., around Capitol Hill and all the buildings. I am trying to use these race to get sharper. I like this distance."
11 April, 2008
Atlantic City, NJ; Philadelphia, PA
PRTC RUNNERS PACE 5k ROAD RACES IN THE CITY AND THE DOWN THE SHORE
As a precursor to the Summer, members of the team traveled to the South Jersey shore on this mother's day weekend. Four of our runners put their feet on the boardwalk for a 5k in Atlantic City. Looking to make her second return to racing in 2008 (Renee Gunning first attempted racing at the Adrenaline 5k, but re-injured herself in the process), Renee showed that the rest and recovery was worthwhile. Renee outlasted friend and former collegiate roommate Sheila Klick for the overall win. Gina Lucrezi was back in town to race for the first time since taking her post at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She finished just outside the top three.
In the men's race, Ryan could not match Renee's performance, having to contend with Kiwi Adrian Blincoe (contending for his second straight Olympic Games appearance in the 1500). Ryan did hit 15 minutes on the nose, though, and picked up second place. Like Renee, her fiancee Bryan Skelly has also been working himself back in to race shape. Just getting on the line is going to help these two move in the right direction. But Bryan knows the work he still has ahead of him, as he missed the winner's circle as well, finishing fourth.
MEANWHILE, CLAIRE KEPT HER RACING CLOSER TO HOME, capturing the overall title at the Philadelphia edition of the Race for the Cure. Claire crossed the line with 17:47 on the clock.
4 May, 2008
Philadelphia, PA
PRTC HAS STRONG SHOWING AT PARADE DOWN BROAD STREET
For the first time in three years, the men's team did not win the team title at the Broad Street 10 Miler. Still, there were good performances turned in by the men and women alike. Add to that a marathon win by a new member of PRTC, and the club seemed to keep its winning ways going.
The weather conditions for Broad Street were certainly favorable, if not optimal. The sky was overcast and it was slightly cool. However, during the race, some runners reported that it was slightly humid, and that the two miles surrounding city hall were somewhat windy.
The race was out fast. Ross said he came through the mile much faster than he planned to (4:45), but he felt comfortable doing it. Tom was als out fast, covering the first mile in 4:53. Both runners wanted to run more even splits, so both of them slowed up their pace. Ross slowed his mile pace back to a 5:04 for the second mile, while Tom ran mile #2 in around 5:00. "I never felt particularly comfortable, though," Tom explained. "I ran with some people in the first half, but it was pretty spread out, mostly due to Ross's strong running in 5th place and those of us behind him not being able to keep up." Ross also noted the difficulty of running alone. ""I thought I was regrouping well late in the race, and I thought I might get the guy in front of me (eventual fourth place finisher Matt Pelletier). But I never caught him," Ross conceded.
Ross covered mile #3 in 4:51 and continued to push towards a sub 50 minute race. Tom was making a valiant effort to achieve his pre-race goal of a 50 minute race, passing the halfway point at 25:01. "But then I started to slow down. I went with Grant Scott and another guy who caught me for a mile or two toward the end. But I started feeling really tired in the ninth mile, lost them, and only ran 5:12 for that mile. I felt a bit better in the last mile." Ross captured fifth place in 49:33, while Tom finished just outside the top ten with a 50:38.
Pat Ward also felt the pressure of going solo after five miles. "After I lost the pack I was with around the 5 mile mark, I started to struggle as I ran by myself into a bit of a headwind. Still, I still ran a P.R. by 42 seconds." Pat smashed his time from last year, which was on a much faster day overall. And if there had been clocks at 8K and 10K, I would have set road P.R.'s for those distances as well!" But Pat wasn't the only member of the men's team to score a PR, as Spencer showed great form, running a personal best 53:24.
IN THE WOMEN'S RACE, ABBY DEAN and SHANNON KLICK ran outstanding races. For Abby, it was a show of resiliency, bouncing back from her phenomenal run at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. "I did not know what to expect since I had literally only done four very short, easy runs since the [Olympic] Trials. I was in 3rd place from the very beginning. I very quickly realized that I was definitely not recovered from the marathon or from being sick. Every mile got slower 'til I was able to hold a 6 min pace for the last 5 miles. I kept thinking a female was bound to pass me, but i never heard the crowd cheer for another woman. At no point did i ever feel good... it was by far the hardest race I have ever done! The race winnings [3rd overall, and 1st Philadelphian] made it all worth it," Abby exclaimed. For Shannon, it was yet more proof that her bast races may come in the longer distances, as she set a ten mile PR. The girls ran 58:38 and 1:01.37 respectively.
BUT ABBY AND SHANNON WEREN'T THE ONLY WOMEN TO RACE THIS WEEKEND, as new PRTC member Kate Bowser captured the victory at the New Jersey Marathon in Long Branch, running 3:04.51. Not only did this give Kate an overall win, but a fine display of marathon potential.
Even when the team doesn't have everyone racing on all cylinders, there is still plenty of depth to post solid performances. We're lucky to have such dedicated athletes.
24 April, 2008
Philadelphia, PA
FENNELLY AND HAXTON HIT ALL-TIME LISTS AT PENN RELAYS
This week, Ryan Fennelly and Tom Haxton raced on the very track that the club does its workouts on. However, Franklin Field has thousands more spectators on hand in the last full weekend in April every year than are sitting watching our guys and girls run repeats.
In the men's 5000m, a pack of approximately six runners broke away from the rest of the field early. Ryan was a part of that breakaway group. Ryan passed the mile around 4:29. He kept an even tempo, never falling off the pace, yet never looking to steer the pack. In the second mile, two Kenyans started to push the issue, looking to disintegrate what little comraderie existed amongst the group. With this, the four or so other runners all had open space to run in a line. Ryan passed 3200m in 9:00. He was definitely on his way to a fast time. Though his pace lagged slightly in the third mile, Ryan was able to use his speed over the last 300m to capture the 3rd best time ever by a member of the club! Ryan's 14:16.57 garnered him 7th place in the Olympic Development field.
After Ryan's race, it was Tom's turn. Tom went out a bit aggressively with a good pack of runners. He covered the first 3rd of the race in 9:30 and hit 5000m in about 14:55. These splits were presenting Tom with the possibility of setting a PR. Unfortunately, Tom did have trouble in the second half of the race. "I ran okay when I could latch onto another runner, but several times during the second half, I fell off the back and then my pace lagged while I was running alone," Tom explained. Despite this trouble, Tom was able to run his best race of the season thus far, stopping the clock at 30:21.12.
Both performances garnered spots on the men's all-time 5000m and 10,000m lists.
18-20 April, 2008
Princeton, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA
DEAN AND LAMBERT POST STRONG PERFORMANCES AT OLYMPIC TRIALS
SUNSHINE, COOL TEMPERATURES, AND A SLIGHT WIND GREETED THE RUNNERS as they embarked on the race that would determine the women's marathon team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The Boston crowd was stunned, as Magdalena Lewy-Boulet capitalized on her peak fitness and made an early break from the field. Knowing full well that the selection process really only had two spots available (as Deena Kastor was considered a guarantee - barring an unusual disaster), Lewy-Boulet pushed the pace early and inspired all the athletes to "jump in at the deep end of the pool." Noting the weather, Meredith Lambert said "The race conditions were ideal - not too warm or windy - and the course was fast and flat."
With all of these conditions in place, big performances, and big PR's to match didn't seem out of the question. It can be dangerous to be out so hard so early (Our eyes out on the course, Jacob Fry, stated at the halfway point that there were many runners who might be in over their heads). But the cool temperatures helped assure that the runners wouldn't overheat. And when the goin got tough for the runners, they simply looked to the crowd! Again, Meredith noted the favorable conditions: "The crowd support was incredible, which actually made me enjoy running on a loop course like that. The course layout was also great because I could see the race unfolding among the leaders as they passed me in the other direction. And with Philly TC emblazoned across the front of my jersey, I heard a lot of 'Go, Philly!' which was very encouraging." Abby Dean agreed with these sentiments: "The crowds were amazing. I heard so many people screaming my name. And when I wasn't hearing my name, I was hearing 'Go Philly!' And just when I thought the crowds could not get any louder, I came through the first loop, which goes by the finish line, and the crowds were even louder! The energy was unbelievable!"
As for OUR athletes, they met those ideal conditions with tough racing. Abby recalled that when the gun went off, "Deena set a slow pace to start. The group finally broke up at the first water bottle station right before mile three. I knew I wanted to be in the top 25, so I tried to put myself in that place from the start. The pace felt comfortable (except for the stitch that persisted the entire race), and I was in a good position."
Abby also provided insight in to the middle miles of this historic race. She recalled that "around mile 14 or 15, the stitch [see previous paragraph] grew larger and a lot worse, and this really slowed me down. I lost the few women I was running with at that time. I struggled from that point on, except for a few points where I tried to focus on picking off as many women as I could. But as I was doing that, other women were doing the same and passing me."
Both girls came up with big performances. Meredith came close to a PR, and Abby set a GIGANTIC PR, eclipsing her old PR of 2:45.21 by 3:56! Abby came up with the highest Olympic Trials finish ever by a PRTC athlete, finishing 29th overall in a stunning 2:41.25! This run is also the second fastest marathon performance every by a PRTC athlete from the women's team, second only to Michelle Lilienthal's golden standard of 2:35.51. Meredith followed Abby through the chute with the #7 performance on the all-time list, running 2:48.21.
Both girls were also proud of their performances. Meredith said that "Overall, I was pleased with the race. While not a PR, I met my alternative goal of running under 2:50." Abby's enthusiasm could be felt through her words. "Coming through the finish line was an incredible experience, and I was ecstatic to see that I had knocked off close to four minutes from my previous marathon PR! I really had a great time running this race! Although I am not fond of turns around cones, I really loved everything else about the course! it was a flat and fast course, and doing loops really helped break up the race, and allowed for the biggest crowd support I have ever seen."
The Women's Olympic Marathon Trials also had two former team athletes - Michelle Lilienthal and Veena Reddy. While the last year has been tough for Michelle (she has struggled with injuries and now unfortunately is probably going to wind up married to Jacob Frey), she fought tough in this race. Michelle scraped and pushed for a credible 2:48.46. The people of PRTC, more than many others, know how hard Michelle works and what a difficult year it has been for her. We know the incredible talent she possesses. And we know this was a performance to be proud of. Like Lewy-Boulet, Veena Reddy seemed to time her peak perfectly as well, posting a scintillating 2:38.08.
Great job by all the girls!
EARLIER IN THE WEEKEND, PAT WARD opted for spikes over flats, looking to run a fast 5k at the second Princeton meet. And it seemed like a fast 5k would come. Pat recalled that "the front of the pack maintained a pretty consistent 71-72 second pace, and at least 25 of us all went through 2 miles in 9:36, right on pace for running 15 flat. It was a beautiful night for running, and I was feeling fairly smooth." Unfortunately, this cadence did not continue. "Right after two miles, though, the pack broke up, and I quickly found myself unravelling, running two 74's, then two 76's. I'm happy with the hard effort I put in, and I really raced all the way to the line, so I have no doubts now about my fitness level. Unfortunately, I was hoping a 100% effort would yield a bit more than 15:14.40, so I again left Princeton on a Friday night fairly disappointed."
Ever the optimist, Pat gleaned what he could from his performance and sets his sights on Broad Street, hoping his improved turnover will help him barrel through center city on his way to the Naval Yard. "These last two races have made it clear to me that, with the recent schedule I've had at school, I've been erring on the side of overtraining the last few months. I don't think I've dug myself too deep of a hole, though, and I'm confident that with a modest tapering of the mileage, I'll be ready to roll at Broad Street in two weeks."
RYAN FENNELLY LOOKED TO KEEP HIS TURNOVER READY FOR PENN by stretching out the legs at a local 5k road race that honors Earth Day (Tuesday, 22 April). Ryan cruised through the course, picking up the victory. But Ryan was joined on this morning by a teammate who has not raced in many months. Citing good health, Tim Callinan looked to start knocking of the racing rust by running the Clean Air 5k. Tim still has quite a way to go to 100% fitness, but his effort was good enough on this day to land him in the winner's circle.
15 April 2008
Philadelphia, PA
Q & A With Olympic Trials Qualifiers Meredith Lambert and Abby Dean
This coming Sunday (April 20th), Meredith Lambert and Abby Dean will have their games faces on. At 8AM that morning, the gun goes off the 2008 U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials. Meredith and Abby will get to mix it up with the very best distance runners the nation has to offer. So let's find out what steps took them to this moment, and what hopes and dreams Meredith and Abby hold in their hearts.
PRTC: Tell us about the steps that took you to a Olympic Trials qualifier.
ML: In the fall of 2006, I ran my first half marathon at the Philadelphia Distance Run. Immediately after finishing, I told myself it would be a long while before I ran a full marathon. After PDR, I spent the rest of my fall training for the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November. At that race, I saw a huge improvement in my time and was amazed at how comfortable I felt. At that point, the idea of running a marathon began percolating in my head. I took a break from workouts for a couple months, and by February 2007, I was itching to start racing again. As I deliberated over whether to do some longer track races or another half marathon that Spring, I figured, "Why not run the full marathon and see if I can get the Olympic Trials qualifying time?" So I signed up for the inaugural Eugene Marathon in April. I decided on Eugene because the course promised to be fast and flat, and I liked the idea of running in a smaller race. Of course, I also just wanted an excuse to visit Eugene. Leading up to the marathon, I ran two workouts a week, combining tempo workouts and long runs, and my peak mileage reached about 90. A month before the race, I ran the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon as a tune-up, and was able to PR there, which was a huge boost to my confidence going into Eugene. Finally, a week before the marathon, I made a concerted effort to taper my mileage, which seemed like the hardest part of all my training. On race day, I went out with the pack running at 6:20 pace. That pace felt comfortable, so at about mile 5 or 6, I broke away with the second-place finisher and her training partner and ran with them through about mile 20. With 10k to go, I felt confident that I could win the race, so I surged ahead and didn't look back (I was really pining for the first-place prize of free Subway for a year!). When I crossed the line in 2:44:39, I was so elated to see that I had fulfilled my goal of qualifying for the Trials.
AD: I think I may have taken as many steps to get to an Olympic Trials qualifier as I have literally taken in running a marathon! My first attempt to run an Olympic Trials qualifier time was back in 2002 in hopes to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Trials. This was when the qualifying time was a 2:48, and my coach and I felt I was in shape to run a 2:48, so I signed up for the Las Vegas Marathon. I did not run a smart race, and finished in 2:50. I attempted to make the qualifying time in a few more marathons, but really struggled with some hip problems, and just was not able to run well. At the end of 2003, after several doctors’ visits, and lots of physical therapy, it became apparent that surgery was my only option of fixing the problem I was experiencing with my hips. Over the course of the next two years, I ended up having a total of three hip surgeries. After the 3rd surgery, I was told that I probably would not be able to run again, and if I did, definitely not marathons. Determined to stay active, I bought a bike and started cycling and swimming. I was not going to give up on running, though, so in the fall of 2005, I made my attempts at running again and started training for triathlons and some running races. After doing triathlons and road races for a little more than a year with little to no problems with my hips, I decided to give the marathon a shot. I signed up for the 2007 Grandmas Marathon, and despite the fact that I was also training for triathlons at the time, I wanted to see if I could make the Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:47. The weather was a little hot, and I was not in the best marathon shape at that point. I ended up running a 2:54, 7 minutes slower than the qualifying time of 2:47. But now my desire to make a qualify time was stronger than ever! I signed up for the 2007 [LaSalle Bank] Chicago Marathon, knowing that it was a fast course with typically cool weather. Unfortunately, Chicago hit a record high with heat that day, and again, I missed the qualifying time. My coaches then suggested I run the Philadelphia Marathon. I thought they were crazy to think I could possibly run another marathon in 6 weeks! I had also planned on doing Half Ironman (70.3) Championships that I had qualified for, but this was a week before the Philadelphia Marathon. Knowing that it would be impossible to do both events, I canceled my travel plans to Clearwater, FL for the 70.3 Championships and signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon. I ended up having a great race in Philadelphia, running almost 2 minutes under the Olympic Trials qualifying time! I am very thankful that I listened to my coaches!
[Editor's Note: Teammates Ted Callinan and Matt Byrne ran the exact same two races as Dean in the Fall of 2003 to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trials]
PRTC: What was you build-up to the Trials like?
ML: My build-up this year was very similar to what I did last year. I tried not to make many changes to my training program since it worked so well for me before. Again this fall, I raced PDR and the Philly Half, but I hadn't been following any structured training program to prepare for them. At the end of January, I gradually started increasing the length of my long runs and integrating tempo workouts into my routine. I raced the Virginia Beach Shamrock Sportsfest Half Marathon about a month ago with slightly disappointing results, but I'm optimistic that I was just having a bad day then and that my training has otherwise gone according to plan.
AD: I first had a little bit of down time (about two weeks) after the Philadelphia Marathon. I then focused on building my mileage back up. Once I had built my mileage back up, I did a few weeks of shorter track stuff, followed by a lot of tempo pace and marathon pace workouts. I tried to focus more on quality workouts than quantity. I think my maximum mileage was 85 miles, with most weeks in the 60’s and 70’s.
PRTC: Were there key tune-up races or workouts in particular that you focused on?
ML: The Shamrock Half [Marathon] was a key tune-up race that I focused on. I also ran a couple longer runs at marathon-pace, which have restored my confidence going into the race.
AD: I picked the Caesar Rodney ½ Marathon and the DC National ½ Marathon as my key tune-up races. For workouts, I particularly focused on tempo and marathon pace runs.
PRTC: What about the Olympic Trials themselves? Has the preparation with host committee been exciting? What has it entailed?
ML: Most of the preparation with the host committee has been via Email and the Internet. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as "exciting," but the committee seems to be well organized, and I'm confident that the race should go smoothly under its direction.
AD: The preparation with the host committee has been exciting. One of the first things you had to do was wait for you name to appear on the USATF site’s list of women that have qualified. Once your name appeared, you could “enter “ the Olympic Trials race. I don’t think qualifying really sunk in until I saw my name on that list! One not so exciting aspect of dealing with the host committee was finding out that I needed to have a WADA Therapeutic Exemption form filled out for medications I take for my asthma. After qualifying, I was made aware of the fact that my medications for my asthma were on the WADA Banned Substance List. This required medical records and documentation from my doctor. In addition, I had to have pulmonary function tests performed to prove that I did indeed have asthma and needed the medications that have been prescribed to me. I just got my clearance letter from WADA in the mail a few weeks ago!
PRTC: What are your goals for the Olympic Trials?
ML: My goals are to enjoy the race, practice pack running, run under 2:45, and finish in the top half of the race.
AD: My goals are to finish in the top 25 and set a Marathon PR. In order to try and finish in the top 25, I think I will need to try and race the marathon rather than stick to a goal pace. This could be a little risky, but I think it will be well worth the risk!
PRTC: On an ideal day, around what place and time would you hope is possible?
ML: Ideally, I would like to PR, so I would be pleased with any time under 2:44:39.
AD: On a perfect day, I think I can place in the top 25 and break 2:40.
PRTC: Anything else you want to add?
ML: I'm really excited to be a part of this experience, and I am so glad I made the decision to enter the race. I hope this will be the first of several Olympic Trials for me. Thanks to all the guys who helped out with those Sunday pace runs - if I make the Olympic team, I promise to give you all a shout-out at the press conference!
9 March, 2008
Wilminton, DE
PRTC RUNNERS ROLL ON HILLY HALF MARATHON COURSE
Abby Dean posted her second fastest half marathon ever at this year's edition of the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon. When one considers that this course is rolling, and that Abby is still flat from taking on high volume in preparation for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, things look promising for April! By running 1:20.46, Abby provided a new #7 time on PRTC's half marathon all-time list, right behind her own 1:19.07 from PDR this past Fall! Admittedly, Abby said that she was passed b eventual winner Kathleen Jobes and runner-up Heidi Woflsberger, in the first mile of the race. But Abby ran the course, fighting a headwind, to come up with a brilliant race!
On the men's side, Wylie Belasik and Fran Coyne made a return to racing, both capturing finishing places among the top 20overall! Adrenaline, and its exciting team scoring competition, are less than a week away!
29 February, 2008
New York City, NY
AT FASTRACK, FENNELLY RUNS ... WELL ... FAST
On this leap day, Ryan Fennelly leaped over rankings 7 through 10 on the the club's all-time list for 3k by running a speedy 8:20.79! This was only Ryan's second race of the Winter, but he showed remarkable sharpness. Ryan keyed in on this race for the last several weeks, taking advantage of a fast track and an annually quality field at a semi low-key meet.
NYU hosts FasTrack every year and has provided athletes with an opportunity to capitalize on race fitness at a relatively small meet on one of the better indoor tracks on the East Coast. This year, NYU was trying to help its own cause, employing a pacesetter to help one of its runners (and the eventual winner of the race), Hany Abdallah, break its existing team record of 8:20.52.
The pacesetter did his job, toeing the field through a 4:25 opening mile. At that point, Fennelly took up the pacing duties, helping to assure fast times. Fenn stayed at the front of the pack with 400m to go, as each runner beared down, looking to make a bid for the win. Fenn said the pack became jumbled for a second, before Abdallah shot forward, along with Fenn and two other runners. The results tell the story. The race was won by open runner Chris Heibell in 8:18.97. But Hany broke his school record, running 8:19.65. And Fenn ran his way in to the top three, beating 4th place finisher Brad Dobson by 2/10ths of a second! Now that's racing!
22 February, 2008
Haverford, PA
DREW LIGHTS IT UP ON AND OFF THE TRACK
Yes, we know what you're thinking. "The headline is a little presumptious, isn't it?" Well it's not when you understand the meaning behind it. True, Drew was the first of our four athletes across the line in the 3000m at the Keogh Invitational, but Drew was also metaphorically "on fire" because of his dryer! "Post race, we went home, and I was doing our laundry and caught the dryer on fire!" Drew explained. "After the fire department came and put the dryer out, all we lost were some of her clothes and my PRTC jersey! ... Anyway, we are fine, and my landlord wasn't too upset, so hopefully all is well."
As for the race itself, Drew said he was "definitely pleased with my run and was really excited to run with the guys in a race." The 3000m found no less than four PRTC runners on the starting line. The heat was comprised of exclusively post-collegiate athletes, so it provided an easy visual in terms of matching up three of the top clubs in the area. At the gun, Haddonfield Running Company's Greg Bielecki took the lead. The rest of the field fell in to a line. Between 600m and 800m, our very own Ross Martinson went to the front, looking to help Greg out and make sure the race times were fast.
But there was even more shuffling of places going on behind Greg and Ross. PRTC's Tom Haxton and Drew Nesbitt seemed to be running two on two with Bryn Mawr's Grant Scott and Zach Vaslow Meanwhile, Pat Ward was pacing himself with other Bryn Mawr runners Sean Cavanaugh and Tom Parlapiano, as well as Haddonfield's Dave Welsh.
As the runners entered the last 800m of the race, the athletes upped the tempo, and Greg Bielecki made a bid to close out the race. With two laps to go, the runners were in full flight. Bielecki was in the lead with Ross still holding the number two spot. The final lap held great drama, as the runners tore down the backstretch - looking to scramble the finishing order. By this point, Bielecki was a sure win, closing out the race with a 61 second last lap. In the last 100m, all four runners in the Tom Haxton/Drew Nesbitt group charged just slightly ahead of Ross. Then it was a parade to the finish, with the race proving to have much depth.
Ross and Tom both seemed pleased, as this was only Tom's second indoor race of the year, and the first indoor race in a long tim for Ross! Not short on races this year, Pat was looking to better his PR of 8:36. Thus he was slightly disappointed, but was sure he had done some things right. " We came through the mile in the exact same pace I was running when I ran my PR," Pat noted. "I just wasn't able to close as fast tonight." PRTC was supposed to have even a fifth runner in the race, but Ted Callinan had to pull out about ten minutes before the race when he surprisingly pulled his left calf.
All in all, our PRTC guys ran well. And the team surely showed its depth. It's funny. Just when you think you haven't heard anything about this team in a while, they step to the line and show you what they've got.
9 February, 2008
Bryn Mawr, PA
ROSS MARTINSON BREAKS CLUB RECORD FOR ROAD 5K
PRTC broke out the road flats for the first time this year at cross-town rival Bryn Mawr's Feel the Love 5k. And in the process, Ross ran an incredible 14:36 and broke PRTC's club record for a road 5k (old record = 14:39 by Mike Hatch at Adrenaline Run in 2006)! Ross was able to capitalize on fitness, a relatively fast course, and great weather(with cool temperatures and virtually no wind).
Ross ran the right portion of the course (the side that seemed to be favored by the majority of the top runners in the race). At the start, Ross broke away from a talented pack that included teammates Tom Haxton and Pat Ward, as well as Bryn Mawr runners Grant Scott and Bernie Mueller and Haddonfield's Dave Welsh. Ross passed the mile mark at 4:40 and kept pressing.
By the end, Ross was well clear of the field and anjoying a new club record. Teammate Pat Ward rounded out the winner's circle, producing his fastest ever road 5k by far and continuing to show great fitness. "I'm happy with my race," Pat said afterwards. "I know I'm capable of setting several PR's this Spring." Tom Haxton made showed that he is beginning to shake his brief illness, clocking 15:24 on the day. Finally, Ted Callinan ran his first race since early November, winning the "left loop" of the course, but securing only 7th place overall.
To add more joy to the Martinson household, Ross's wife Kerry PR'd by approximately 50 seconds, running 20:54! This time placed her just 9 seconds asteer of another PRTC spouse (and former PRTC member herself) Clarrise Haxton, who ran 20:45.
In terms of the varied categories that this unusual race offers, here is the breakdown for the team:
Lovers Team Results:
Ross and Kerry = 2nd Place
Tom and Clarisse = 4th Place
Same Sex Team Results:
Ted and Pat = 1st Place
Feel the Love 5k 2008
Ross Martinson, 1st Place, 14:36
Pat Ward, 3rd Place, 15:12
Tom Haxton, 5th Place, 15:24
Edward Callinan, 7th Place, 15:29
3
February, 2008
Boston, MA
BORGHUIS WINS ROAD 10K IN BOSTON
In New England visiting the new in-laws, Bart found a road
10k in Boston on this particular weekend. The race had about 500
people, and featured both a 5k and a 10k. The 10k course was just two
loops of the 5k course. Bart thought the race was quote "fun" and ran
hard to win in a time of 31:18. Bart's new bride, Veena, won the
women's race in 34:52.
There were a few guys in the pack at first, but a mile in, I pulled
away and then kept building distance," Bart recounted. "Through
the halfway point, my lead was about 30 seconds. Then I pushed more and
the guy [in second place] faded to finish in 33:22."
The race, sponsored by Legal Seafoods, was thought to be measured
accurately by USATF; however, runners using GPS to mapped the course
and found it to be 5.97 miles, one quarter mile short. Still, a person
has to run
the race that is presented to him. Bart, ran the race, and Bart won.
2 February,
2008
Haverford,PA
FENN, HAXTON, WARD SHAKE OFF RUST WITH FIRST TRACK
RACE OF 2008
PRTC enjoyed watching several of its runners in action on an indoor
track close to
home. Ryan, Tom, and Pat all decided to start their 2008 racing off
with a small indoor meet at Haverford.
In the mile, Ryan showed a good return to form, and showed his
mid-distance speed. He
narrowly missed the win, finishing just astride of new American citizen
(and U.S.
Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier) Macharia Yout. Pat doubled back and
continued to sharpen his speed by running the 800m.
Finally, Tom and Ryan also doubled back in the 3000m. The 3000 had a
deep field. Evidence of that can be
seen by Ryan's 8:41 first effort of the year on a flat track only
claiming a 5th place finish. "I'm happy with my mile," Ryan said later,
"but I feel like I never really put myself in that 3k. I led for a good
part of the race, but I wasn't there late." Tom was hampered by
illness, but since has reported that he is feeling better and will be
ready to go at the Feel the Love 5k.
2
February, 2008
East Strousburg, PA
DREW NESBITT PULLS OFF IMPRESSIVE DOUBLE AT FIRST INDOOR MEET
Drew Nesbitt was able to exorcise the demons of his last race
at club cross country nationals by coming up with a big double on very
familiar territory. Drew took part in the Deschriver Invitational at
his alma mater, East Strousburg Univeristy. His old coaches were surely
impressed, as Drew won the alumni mile in a time that bested the open
field. Drew then paced an old teammate through the first 600 of a 1000m
race, peeling off the track at 1:27. Finally, Drew ended the day with
an effort in the 3000m. Drew was not able to pull off a victory in both
of his races, but he came damn close, finishing second in a time of
8:52. Drew was okay with the runner-up position in the 3000, as he said
he "was happy with the solid effort on the day."
26
January, 2008
King of Prussia, PA
DEAN AND CALLINAN NAMED MID-ATLANTIC USATF LDR ATHLETES OF 2007
PRTC was fortunate to have runners claim the USATF
Mid-Atlantic
long distance runner titles for 2007 in both the men's and women's
category.
Abby
Dean won the title after
a spectacular 2007. Abby ran a
gutsy
race at Grandma's Marathon in June. Abby was not able to secure a
qualifying time for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials at this race
only
because of the sweltering heat. Weather once again
plagued Abby and the
rest of the marathon field at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in
October. With time running out, Abby toed the marathon
line for the
third time in six months at the Philadelphia Marathon in November. This
unbelieveable determination paid off. Abby battled fatigue and raw,
overcast conditions on that day to not only PR, but qualify for the
Olympic Trials! She truly deserved this award!
Ted
Callinan won the title by
showing ability at different
distances. Early in 2007, Ted won a four mile road race in Mount Holly
in record time (19:22). He scored points in the USATF Mid-Atlantic
grand prix by placing 5th at Bancroft (the 5k championships) and 7th at
the Blue Cross Broad Street Run (the 10 mile championships). Ted ran
his second Olympic Marathon Trials in November, but was unable to
finish due to two stress fractures.
30
December, 2007
Londonderry, NH
PAT WARD SPICES UP WINTER BREAK WITH A 4TH AT MILLENIUM MILE
On
his way to Manchester Airport for his flight back to Philadelphia on
Sunday, Pat stopped in nearby North Londonderry, NH to run the
Millenium Mile. Pat was glad he decided to do so - scoring a huge PR
and finishing 4th in this annual favorite of serious runners! "The last
time I ran a race this short was nearly four years ago, so I was pretty
surprised with how well this went, especially since I didn't cut back
my mileage at all for the race, and I haven't done any workouts
approaching mile pace," Pat surmised after the race.
Pat started rather conservatively, going through the 1/4 mile mark in
approximately 9th place. After that, he used his strength to just
gradually pick people off. With a 1/4 mile to go, Pat found himself in
4th place and still feeling good, so he made his push to pass the 3rd
place runner (the last money spot). It wasn't to be, as the runner in
third position held Pat off and stopped the clock at 4:07. Pat hit the
tape seconds later at 4:10. Yes, this is a road course, and a net
downhill at that. But Pat's time was far faster than any 1500 or mile
race he has ever run before that it is safe to say this is still a
legitimate improvement at the distance for the young PRTC'er. As Pat
noted, "Despite the course being significantly aided, I'll take a 15
second P.R. in the mile any day!"
8
December,
2007
West Chester, OH
PRTC FOURSOME TAKES ON CLUB CROSS NATIONALS - GIRLS FINISH IN HIGH IN
THE RACE
Claire
posted the third fastest 6k of all time for the women's team,
and Gina cracked the top 50 in the race to post a solid finish as well!
That's some damn fine running by our girls! The weather at Voice of
America Park in West Chester, Ohio was formidable for all the athletes.
There were frigid temperatues and hardened grass, which can certainly
do a number on a runner's calves. Not only that, but the fields for
nationals this year were exceptionally large, boasting 32 teams and 235
runners. Yet Claire ran another great race, finishing 37th overall in
the national championships and ran 21:48 (this performance only trails
the races at last year's edition of the same race run by Gina and
Claire herself!)! Gina's performance will be placed just behind
Claire's run from this day in the top ten!
The men's race had an even large contingent - with 50 teams and an
astounding 422 runners! In addition, the senior men's race is always
the last one of the day, which means the ground has been thoroughly
chewed up by the four races that were held before this one. Pat Ward
continued his big leaps in racing on this day, clocking 35:09 over the
uneven ground. Meanwhile, Drew Nesbitt laced up his PRTC spikes for the
first time! Admittedly, the race did not go well for Drew on this day,
but Drew seems to embody the PRTC spirit, which means he will be back
to fight another day.
2
December,
2007
West Chester, PA
MARTINSON TAKES ON THE ROLLING HILLS OF WEST CHESTER
Brian's Run in West Chester, PA has been around for many years. And the
race brings out the best of everything. The race is for a good cause
(Brian's Run began in 1978 as a one-time fund raising event to
benefit Brian Bratcher, a West Chester Henderson High School football
player who sustained a life-challenging spinal cord injury at the age
of 15 during a scrimmage.). The race course is challenging (Check out
the elevation of the course - with its many rolling hills.). And the
race field is top notch (It is filled with many foreigners and elite
Americans hoping to dip their hands in to the ten places deep money
pot!).
On this day, Ross placed himself high on the pecking order, finishing
7th place and earning $125 in the process! Ross was surrounded by
foreign runners, making himself only the second American to cross the
finish line.
18
November, 2007
Philadelphia, PA
DEAN QUALIFIES FOR OLYMPIC TRIALS; NESBITT AND LAMBERT PERFORM
GREAT IN FIRST EFFORT FOR PRTC
Abby did it. She stuck with it. Her previous two efforts to qualify for
the Olympic Marathon Trials in April were thwarted by unfavorable
weather conditions. And Sunday at the Philadelphia Marathon wasn't
exactly perfect weather either. But just as Abby had fought back to
line up for her third marathon in the last six months, Abby fought hard
when the gun took off to help make her dream come true.
AT THE START OF THE PHILADELPHIA MARATHON, the runners
were trying to keep warm from low temperatures, a slight wind, and a
bit of drizzle. For Abby, this was her third marathon since June; for
Claire, this was her first marathon ever! And with American women
looking to punch their tickets to the Olympic Marathon Trials to be
held this Spring, the women's field was guaranteed to be deep and fast.
Prior to the race, Abby fleshed out her plans. "My plan was to go out
at 6:20 pace or slightly under and just try to hold it. That morning, I
talked with one of my coaches, and since it was windy, my strategy was
a little different. I would try to not completely rely on mile splits,
but rather pay attention to effort. So when the wind was behind me, my
splits were much faster. I also knew from previous marathons how much
the hills slowed me down. My goal was to try to hit the hills at a
harder effort, knowing that after each one, there was a downhill [on
which] I could recover.
Abby was with a pack of women for the first few miles, but she felt
like their pace was a little too fast for her, so she pulled back. Her
move wound up being a "good thing, because I ended up passing one of
them around mile 9 or 10 and one them around mile 15. By mile 14, my
hamstrings started to cramp up from the cold. I just hoped they would
cooperate for the rest of the run.
Trying to run intelligently, Claire passed the Art Museum area
protected by a small pack of male runners. Claire hit the half-way mark
almost exactly on pace. The clock read 1:23:31 as Claire passed, which
was a bit quicker than she had planned. Claire was staying tucked in,
hoping to use the line of runners as a buffer against any wind that the
runners might face on Kelly Drive. MEANWHILE, IN THE MEN'S RACE,
Tom and Bart were looking to exact some revenge from unfavorable
weather conditions in their previous marathon outings as well. Tom had
enjoyed a speedy recover from the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and had
put in plenty of hard work in the subsequent six weeks. Bart decided to
use the second half of the Fall as an experiment to see if
under-training might help him find a second peak for the season come
race day. As the men's race unfolded, the splits did not suggest a
record day. Running the race that was in front of him, however, Tom
placed himself high on the pecking order in the early miles. Tom was
running in small lead pack, accompanied only by the eventual winner and
runner-up of the race. At eight miles, Tom lost contact with the duo
and ran most of the next 17 miles alone in third.
AS OUR PRTC GUYS AND GIRLD PROCEEDED ON TO KELLY DRIVE, THE
WAIT WAS OFFICIALLY ON.
AS THE FINISHERS STARTED TO CLIMB THEIR WAY FROM LLOYD HALL
BACK UP TO THE ART MUSEUM, the PRTC faithful were looking for
their teammates. As Tom approached the base of the Art Museum with
approximately 750 meters to go, he was joined by Jean-Nicolas Duval and
Chris Nirschel. The two had worked together to reel Tom in. But Tom was
not about to fall from third place down to fifth. He explained that "I
couldn’t match (former steeplechaser) Jean-Nicolas’s furious kick,
but I was able to pull away from Chris for the bragging rights of first
Philadelphian." Bart also hung tough to help bolster a body of marathon
work that will help pay dividends 'down the road.' After our men
crossed the line, our women weren't too far behind.
One woman passed Abby on heading East on Kelly Drive, but Abby ended up
passing two women not too long after that, so she didn't lose her place
for long. Abby recalled that when she reached mile 20, she knew she
felt pretty good and was certain that she could make her goal of 2:47.
"But you never can be sure at mile 20, so I kept trying to maintain my
efforts... When I got back on the Drive, my calves had also started to
cramp up. I knew if I could just get through it, I would make my time.
At that point, I started doing the calculations in my head to see what
pace I could slow down to and still make it. One of my coaches who was
out on the Drive started yelling to me that I could catch some of the
girls ahead and that there were three women chasing me. That changed my
focus, and so for the last four miles or so, I concentrated on trying
to get the women I could see ahead of me. It paid off. I ended up
passing another woman in the last mile!"
Realizing a goal that she has worked very hard towards, ABBY HIT
THE TAPE IN 2:45.21! THE TIME GAVE ABBY A NEW PR AND A QUALIFIER FOR
THE 2008 U.S. OLYMPIC MARATHON TRIALS TO BE HELD IN BOSTON THIS COMING
APRIL! Claire provided a marathon PR sweep for the women's team,
finishing the race in 3:06.41! Analyzing her race, Claire stated that
she made it to 17 still fairly close to pace and then swiftly
unraveled. "But I'm glad I finished, [and I'm] happy with the effort
and excited for the next phase of my marathon training."
IN THE DAY'S TWO OTHER RACES, PRTC ENJOYED GREAT PERFORMANCES
FROM TWO NEWCOMERS! In the half marathon, former Princeton Tiger
Meredith Lambert showed off her long-distance prowess by finishing
second overall in the women's race. Another relative newcomer to the
club, Wylie Belasik finished seventeenth in the men's race. Citing law
school and a buy schedule, Meredith feels she has been short on
training this Fall, making her performance all the more impressive.
DREW NESBITT STUNNED THE TEAM, finishing fourth overall in
the annually competitive Rothman Institute 8k. The Rothman Institute 8k
has been a long partner to the full marathon and enjoyed deep fields.
Drew had never raced 8k on the roads and took a decisive chop off his
8k PR (25:33) on the day! Drew ran a very impressive 24:40, suggesting
that he can translate his 1500m skills in to mid-distance success. The
start of the 8k found the men's field running extremely conservatively,
passing the mile in 5:00. But Drew, along with Pat Ward, made sure they
kept with the leaders to separate themselves from the masses on Kelly
Drive. Pat continued his full racing Fall by running a PR 25:24!
Overall, PRTC placed many runners in each race and provided great
performances and PRs to boot! It was a great way to represent the team
and running in our hometown.
4
November, 2007
Camden, NJ
DEAN PREPARES FOR PHILADELPHIA MARATHON WITH BEN FRANKLIN BRIDGE
CHALLENGE 10K
On November 18th, Abby Dean will look to right the wrongs that occured
at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in October. On that day in
Chicago, Abby did everything right, but the weather for the athletes
was completely wrong. At start time, the weather was hot and humid. And
the temperature climbed through the race to boot! Despite all that,
Abby finished with a fine 2:56. Unfortunately, 2:56 doesn't get you in
to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials to be held in Boston this coming
April. Abby has proven many times before that she is capable, and her
effort in Chicago tells her she can do it again.
So Abby set her sights on the Philadelphia Marathon to be run on
November 18th. As such, Abby scheduled one last tune-up race. The Ben
Franklin Bridge Run 10k would suit her needs perfectly. The race always
has a highly competitive field and is run on a very challenging course.
The race starts at the foot of the Ben Franklin Bridge in Camden. The
runners climb over the bridge to the Philadelphia side, immediately
turn and climb back over the bridge, before running the last several
miles through Camden and finishing at Campell's Field - home of the
Camden Riversharks!
On this day, Abby found herself finishing 8th overall, but was pleased
with the effort, as all the runners in front of her were international
runners with mid-distance savvy. She was able to get her tune-up in.
The key now is simply to focus on the streets of Philadelphia. For
Abby, the streets of Philadelphia on November 18th could help pave the
way to the streets of Boston in April.
3
November, 2007
New York City, NY
BYRNE AND CALLINAN COMPETE AT OLYMPIC TRIALS; WARD RACES BAD BOY XC
On Saturday morning, two members of PRTC were able to take place in the
fastest and deepest Olympic Marathon Trials ever. Stong winds were
gusting down the streets of Manhattan on this Fall morning, as
Hurricane Noel had taken an unexpected turn back toward the U.S.
coastline. The temperature was nice and cool as the buses made their
way to the starting line at Rockefeller Plaza.
This race was not your typical, quiet road race. Evidence of that could
be seen a full hour before the start. As Ted went out on the streets to
warm up, he saw a group of men running around with their shirts off -
each one covered with a letter spray-painted on to his chest. The
letters spelled out "Brian Sell" - the eventual third place finisher
and member of the 2008 Olympic Marathon Team. Viewed nationally on the
Today show, the opening miles were conservative, as the runners made
their way through the city - running right through Times Square. This
start was somewhat surprising, although understandable, as each and
every runner knew that the rolling hills in Central Park awaited
The field filtered in to the park with fans awaiting. People were
cheering and holding signs everywhere. There were very few spots of the
five mile loop (the first of the five loops was four miles) that did
not have people lining it. With each lap the runners covered of the
criterium course, the crowds at the grandstands grew bigger.
Both of our guys did not have the day they envisioned however. Matty
fought cramps from the third mile to the finish. The cramps were not
constant, Matt explained, as "they would get better, then worse, then
better, then worse. I could never stand up and run pain free for more
than two to three minutes." Matt is not sure why this problem arose,
but thinks perhaps it is due to overhydration. This is understandable
on a day when every runner wants to run well so badly that his or her
preparations can border on overkill.
Preparations is exactly what hindered Ted on this day as well. Ted
started the race further back than Matty, but was looking to run
conservatively and perhaps move up as the race went on. "With the
Summer and Fall I had, I knew I was short on health and fitness. I
hoped that with a conservative start, my strength would show itself and
I could pull through as the race went on. Ironically, I have been
improving in health steadily the last three weeks; I simply ran out of
time to prepare."
UPTOWN, PAT WARD LINED UP FOR A RACE THAT ALSO FEATURED MANY
HILLS, but these hills would be found on the grass. Pat said that
was caught up in some traffic off the starting line, but that he threw
in some surges upon entering the woods and up Freshman Hill. This put
Pat in good position entering the back hills. "In retrospect, I was
probably a bit too aggressive," Pat noted afterwards. "I somehow went
through two miles faster than I had at Franklin Park six days before,
which led me to start feeling pretty ragged over the latter part of the
back hills loop." Pat lost places in the back hills loop, but was able
to recover and take back some of those places leading up to the bridge.
From there, Pat fought hard and maintained his position until the
finish.
"I think this was a better performance than my race at Mayor's Cup. And
since it came after several not restful hours on my feet that morning
in Central Park, I can't complain. I'm glad I decided to race, but I'm
looking forward to pacing myself a bit more evenly at Rothman, and then
gearing up for a strong race at Club Nationals!"
28
October, 2007
Boston, MA
WARD KEEPS GETTING FASTER - COMPETES AT B.A.A. MAYOR'S CUP
Using frequent racing as a way to prepare for USATF Fall Cross Country
Championships, Pat Ward raced yet again this weekend. This time, Pat
was back on 'home turf' in a way, racing in New England. And as can
often be found in New England, there was energy and excitement
surrounding the annual B.A.A. Mayor's Cup. Pat provided us with a full
acount of the race. And since he was there, we'll let him tell the
story:
The course was a bit soft from some rain in the preceding
days, and there were some strong wind gusts, but the tempeature was
perfect and it was a sunny day. I have seen some faster days at the
Franklin Park, but I've also seen days that were much slower. I would
say it was an average, fair day for judging times.
I found the opening pace pretty quick for me, but I got out decently
well (4:54, putting me around 80th). I then focused on moving up
through the pack over the 2nd mile. After 5K, I pretty much defended my
position through to the finish.
I'm happy with the race at this point. I went through 5K almost as fast
as I raced the Parkway Run 5K a month ago. I seem to be improving with
every race, and if can keep this up, I'll be hitting my collegiate
P.R.'s soon enough. I'm excited about th rest of the season, especially
Club Nationals!
--> be sure to
check out this interview with Abby D. and Tom H. on the press page!
<--
Saturday's
Olympic Trials Marathon is perhaps the most important race in
American Distance running history. After spending years trying to get
itself out of the doldrums of world distance running, USATF, USOC, and
the NYRR are about to stage one of the most hyped races in memory. With
an incredible grassroots push from websites such as Flotrack.com,
Chasingglory.com, and phillytc.com the OT marathon has become the point
mark where US distance running no longer talks about how we are coming
back as a distance power, but shows that we are a distance power! The
Philadelphia Runner Track Club is excited to be a part of the statement
with two of its runners toeing the line in front of St. Patrick's
Cathedral on Saturday morning.
Both Matt Byrne and Ted Callinan will be lining up for their second OT.
This second go around was just as tough as the first. Ted, Matty, and
several other PRTC runners lined up at the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon
looking to get a qualifier from day one of the qualifying window. They,
along with pretty much everyone else, were befallen by an untypical
humid day for Minnesota. It was okay though, there were to still be
other chances.
In January of 2006 though Matt broke his tail bone. He struggled and
fought his way back to form setting his sights on the 2006 Steamtown
Marathon to take a second shot at qualifying. A former winner of the
race, and a hometown native, Matt had intimate knowledge of the course.
He used it to his advantage and not only qualified for the Trials but
also won the race! His 2:21:50 was almost a challenge to the rest of
the team to join him in NY for the trials.
Three week's after Matty's romp through coal country Ted lined up at a
very chilly Chicago Marathon (remember I said 2006, not 2007). Wanting
to exact revenge for missing the trials by 2 seconds at the 2003
Chicago Marathon, Ted worked hard every step of the race to ensure he
would qualify. He would need to as he only had 4 seconds left on the
clock when he crossed the finish line. Watching the finish line on the
internet, fellow qualifier Mike McKeeman said he "you are allowed to
qualify for the Trials without giving yourself and the rest of us a
heart attack the final 200m as the clock ticks toward 2:22."
Mike joins several other local runners lining up for the trials this
weekend. Jacob Frey, a frequent member of PRTC workouts will be lining
up for his first trials. Bobby Cannon, a recent Haverford College grad,
will join a long line of Tom Donnelly coached athletes that have lined
up for an Olympic Trials race. New citizen Macharia Yuot will be
returning to NY for the third time this year to race.
PRTC and Puma are excited and proud to have Ted and Matt representing
at such an amazing event. We wish them, and all the local qualifiers,
the best of luck on Saturday!!
NYRR.org
ChasingGlory.com
USATF OlympicTrials-Marathon-Men 2007
27
October, 2007
Philadelphia, PA
FENNELLY AND BORGHUIS GO 2 - 3 At BOBTOBERFEST FIVE MILER
Ryan continued his mid-distance racing, and Bart made a return to
action after Steamtown at the Bobtoberfest Five Miler. The race started
at Blue Bell Park above Forbidden Drive. The first half mile went
downhill through Rittenhouse Town. The morning of the race, there was
significant rain, to the point that it called the race in to question.
But eventually the sun came out, and the rain drained away from the
main trails. Bart opened up with a 5:12 first mile. He said that he
felt good early in the race - especially considering it was his first
race since the Steamtown Marathon.
Villanova alumnus Tom Parlapiano and Fennelly were locking horns at the
front of the race. Two miles in to Forbidden Drive, the course took a
180. At this point, Bart passed two runners and moved in to 3rd place.
Bart was able to maintain his position, but was not able to make up
more ground on the two leaders. In the late stages of the race, the
course climbed back uphill. This, coupled with the fact that this was
Bart's first post-marathon effort, made his legs start to feel heavy.
The order stayed the same until the finish line. Parlapiano 1st. But
our guys put up solid performances, finishing 2nd and 3rd.
After the race, all the participants celebrated Halloween and the month
of October with Bobtoberfest! Yes, you guessed it. The race was named
after none other than Bob Shwelm! The winners received carved pumpkins,
and in Octoberfest fashion, there were plenty of hot dogs and
sauerkraut after the race!
13
October, 2007
Gloucester, NJ
Ward Recovers from Inuries - Returns to Racing
Showing the return to form that provided him with a PR at the Jefferson
Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run, Pat Ward lined up for a 5k that
boasts deep prize money and a talented field. Ted joined him, looking
to sharpen his turnover after injuries had delayed his focus on
speedwork throughout the Fall.
This impressive 5k, called the Heroes to Hero 5k. It honors the lives
of the firemen from Mt. Ephraim and Gloucester City, who died in
responding to a fire alarm on the 4th of July several years ago. The
course follows the route the firemen took the day of the fire and
passes the homes of the men involved in the tragedy. In trying to
maneuver their way from Mt. Ephraim to Gloucester quickly and avoid
main roads, the firemen took smaller, side roads. Thus, the course the
runners take in this race is extremely twisty, with plenty of 90 degree
turns.
Though windy, the weather was still favorable - sunny and a bit cool.
At the gun, the runners charged ahead. It seemed to be one of those
races where people went hard in to the wind at the beginning and then
were penned in to their position, thanks to the constant turns and
pushing winds.
"I am happy with this race," Pat said afterwards. "I am looking to get
my turnover going, and hopefully this will set me up to run well at
Mayor's Cup." Pat will be racing the B.A.A. Mayor's Cup at venerable
Franklin Park on Sunday, 28 October.
7
October
Chicago, IL; Scranton, PA
PRTC MARATHONERS SURVIVE SAUNA-LIKE CONDITIONS
Many people know about the conditions by now. The heat and humidity
took its toll on the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. The conditions were
so bad that race organizers actually canceled the race after four
hours! The following is an official press release from race officials:
Due to the rising heat index and higher than expected temperatures,
LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski
and Medical Director Dr. George Chiampas, in cooperation with city
officials, have implemented a contingency plan, as a precautionary
measure, to effectively close the Marathon course at the halfway point.
Runners who have not reached the halfway point by approximately 12:00
p.m. will be diverted back to Grant Park via Halsted and Jackson...
Participants are asked to take advantage of medical personnel, cooling
buses, runner drop out buses, water, Gatorade and other means of
support en route back to Grant Park.
Amazingly, our runners posted great performances considering the
conditions. Abby was 15th overall and the 7th American in the field!
Tom finished 30th! Ross finished 45th! These finishes are in a field of
45,000! And our athletes posted these performances on a day when many
people couldn't even keep their feet going! It was brutal. Tom
recounted that he "forgot to Vaseline my nipples and decided I needed
to get that jersey off my skin around 18 miles in. Around the same
time, I ran by a bank sign that read 86 degrees! Actually, Tom and Ross
stuck together through the half-way point, as they were a few ticks
over 1:11. This pace puts them outside of qualifying, but not with a
strong second half. Of course, that would be a strong second half on a
day where conditions were much more favorable. "At least I know that
there was nothing I could have done to run 2:21 here today," Tom
considered. "We had a nice group there going for it."
Abby looked to defy the odds as well. She kept on pace for a qualifier
for a long time. Eventually though, the heat was just too much. Before
the race, Abby said she truly felt she was "in 2:45 shape. Of course,
that did not leave me much room to adjust my pace for the heat. I read
that the temperature was 88 degrees by 10 AM. Anyway, I really
struggled to get into a rhythm from the start, and I never felt good at
any point. By mile 13, I was slowing down and was not sure if I could
get the pace back. By mile 18, I knew there was no way I was going to
make the time."
MEANWHILE, BART HAD COOLER CONDITIONS, but not by much. Months before,
Bart decided to take his shot at a Fall marathon closer to home, opting
for the promising Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA. Despite its small
size and lack of a deep field, Steamtown has been beneficial to many a
runner (not excluding past champion and PRTC member Matt Byrne).
Steamtown annually offers cool conditions, as the race takes place
north of the Poconos. It also provides a quick course ... as long as
the runners remember to not let themselves go too much in the first ten
miles (which is literally a net downhill).
Bart has made great leaps in his training and fitness, capped off with
a stint in Mammoth Lakes, California. This day could definitely have
seen Bart post a PR worth a couple of minutes. But Bart was going to
feel the sapping effects of humidity as well. Bart said he felt decent
at the start, but his splits were not coming to him as he would like.
He started the race in the mid to high 5:30s, but quickly began a
concerted effort to bring his splits down. Bart found himself passing
and then being passed by other members of the lead pack.
Before reaching mile 20, Bart knew that a goal time of approximately
2:25 was not in the cards. The weather conditions just wouldn't allow.
Still, Bart gamely fought on, looking to crack 2:30. "But my legs felt
drained," Bart explained. Add the weather conditions to the distance,
and that feeling is certainly understandable. Still, by the end of the
race, Bart managed to finish in the top ten and post a career PR!
ON A DAY WHEN HEAT AND HUMIDITY BLANKETED MOST OF THE COUNTRY and
severely affected two of the biggest races in the country (there was
one death each reported at both the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and
Army 10 Miler), PRTC and Puma want to express how proud they are of
their athletes. These athletes' times and their finishes are both
testaments to their character.
The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 2007
Men's Team
Tom Haxton, 30th Place, 2:34.38
Ross Martinson, 45th Place, 2:38.43
Women's Team
Abby Dean, 15th Place (7th American), 2:56.24
Steamtown Marathon 2007
Bart Borghuis, 10th Place, 2:32.04 *PR*
6
October, 2007
Lititz, PA
LUCREZI RIPS ROAD 5k
Gina has definitely returned to form, posting a smoking fast time at a
small, low-key race called Hartz Fall Blast 5k. Gina took first place
in the race with a time of 16:21. But as a true PRTC runner and person
of character, Gina confessed that the course felt short to her. She
"felt like it was a little short. We (Gina and her friend Drew) mapped
it out with gps, and got 3.03-4 miles. So for a true 5k, I was probably
closer to 16:40 or so." Still, this is a big PR for Gina, as even the
converted time would eclipse some 17 seconds from her previous best!
Gina recounted her victory, recalling that she "ran it solo after the
first mile. I just kept thinking 'Run hard, run harder.'. But I didn't
really feel like I was going that quickly. Despite how big of a
performance Gina posted, she said that she still has "some bigger
plans."
Hartz Fall Blast 5k 2007
Gina Lucrezi, 1st Place, 16:21 *PR*
29
September, 2007
Philadelphia, PA
PRTC RUNNERS TREK DOWN BEN FRANKLIN PARKWAY
Abby and Tom were using the Parkway Run as a last tune-up before their
Fall marathons. Meanwhile, Ryan and Pat Ward were looking to sharpen
their mid-distance skills. On a beautiful early Fall morning, PRTC put
four athletes in the Parkway Run.
Showing good fitness for Chicago, Abby placed 2nd female overall. She
trailed only Olympian Carmen Duma-Hussar. More impressive than her
actual race, perhaps, is what Abby did in addition to it. "Although the
5k was disappointing, I did have to do three more miles at marathon
pace immediately afterwards and they felt very easy, so hopefully that
is a good sign for the marathon."
The men were met with a quality field. Still suffering nagging
tightness in one hamstring, Ryan was able to place 4th in 15:23.
Meanwhile, Tom and Pat ran close to each other placing two more PRTC
runners in the top ten.
The Parkway Run 2007
Men's Team
Ryan Fennelly, 4th Place, 15:23
Pat Ward, 7th Place, 16:04
Tom Haxton, 10th Place, 16:09
Women's Team
Abby Dean, 2nd Place, 17:52
16
September, 2007
Philadelphia, PA; Providence, RI
PR'S A PLENTY AT PDR; GINA RACES US 5k CHAMPS
The starting gun on this Sunday morning sent the runners off into a
cool, crisp, and clear September day in Philadelphia. The temperature
intimated that fast times were definitely possible on this day.
Strangely, the lead runners maintained a pedestrian pace through the
first two miles. "It was weird," Brian Skelly said. "For the first two
miles, I was right there with the international guys." Before long,
though, the racing began in earnest.
A slight wind accompanied the runners through center city and the first
portion of Martin Luther King Drive. On the women's team, Claire and
Abby placed themselves high in the pecking order during the race.
Moreover, all three members of the women's team were on PR pace on this
day. On the men's team, Brian and Tom placed themselves high in the
pecking order as well.
As Brian made his way towards the Art Museum, it seemed certain that he
would better his half marathon PR. He did just that. Though Tom
certainly ran much faster than his recorded time at the Caesar Rodney
Half Marathon last year, today was officially a PR as well. Finally,
there was Pat Ward, who was determined to live up to his prediction
last Thursday of a PR. When Tony Reavis of Elite Racing asked Pat what
his half marathon PR was, he said "1:13 - UNTIL SUNDAY!" He was right.
So if you're keeping count, that's a sweep, ON BOTH SIDES! Each member
of the women's team AND each member of the men's team PR'D at the 30th
anniversary of the Jefferson Hospital Distance Run. If running is
supposed to be about always pushing yourselves to improve, then the
example demonstrated by our teams on this day is certainly noteworthy.
THE STARTING GUN WAS ALSO FIRED IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND,
where Gina took on the top mid-distance women in the U.S. at the road
5k champs. Still under-raced, Gina posted a solid performance, running
17:26.
Philadelpha,
PA
8 September, 2007
SKELLY AND PRTC WIN EDITION 4 OF BATTLE ROYALE
The sunny, hot, and dry weekends continue in the Philadelphia area. And
though it's not fun to race in the heat, a small but talented field of
men laced up their racing spikes at venerable Blemont Plateau to 'heat
up' Battle Royale. The race included the usual suspects, including
PRTC, BMRC, Breakneck TC, Philadelphia Athletic, Philadelphia Masters,
and several open runners.
Though most people in this field are probably pointing towards longer
distances this Fall, a shorter, harder effort can provide great benefit
for the racers, as it helps them to focus on form and efficiency - not
to mention good ol' fashioned fast racing!
From the gun, Brian Skelly seemed determined to keep his winning streak
going. He did just that. Brian Skelly led from start to finish. But
Brian's race was still exciting, as his control was impressive. More
importantly, places 2 through 10 changed places several times.
The field completed the 'Flagpole Hill loop,' completing a little over
a mile before heading toward Parachute Hill. At this stage, PRTC had
several runners in Skelly's jetstream, including Fennelly, Haxton, and
Ross. But BMRC was looking to keep it close, as veteran Tom Parlapiano
was keeping close contact with this group. Tom would soon be joined by
teammates Zack Vaslow, Shawn Cavanaugh, Bernie Mueller, and Ryan Walsh.
After coming back out to the park area, the runners would make one more
complete circuit. After running Parachute Hill a second time, the
runners would emerge from the woods, kicking towards a finish chute
approximately 200 meters straight ahead. On the second loop, several
runners negotiated their way up the pecking order, including
Breakneck's John Garton, as well as master's runners Chuck Shields and
Bob Rimkis.
As the runners started to file in, it became clear that our guys worked
hard, as the order of runners 2 through 4 shuffled order. Fennelly
showed his mid-distance prowess, holding off a charging Tom Haxton, who
was only two seconds in arrears.
Bryn Mawr showed tremendous depth by filling places five through seven
and nine through ten. Fortunately, it wasn't enough, as Pat Ward came
through and made the day for PRTC! Making his way through some nagging
injuries, Pat put his fitness on the line and gutted out a great
performance, finishing 11th overall in 22:53!
And so there it was, PRTC went up won the day. It was a great race,
completing with Bob holding the trophy to show the runners as they made
their way up Flagpole Hill the second time. With music and Bob Kennedy
signing autographs for the youth races, the race had a festive
atmosphere.
PRTC wants to thank all the people who made this race possible for the
fourth time. WE TRULY APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT! The people include:
BMRC Proprietor Bob Shwelm (How can you not love that guy?) Puma
Running Rep. Bryan Poerner (He keeps PRTC in their shoes) PRTC runner
Tim Callinan for coordinating with Bob and Bryan Jason Yaffe for
recording the Battle Royale IV results
But even more than these people, we simply want to truly thank ALL the
people who came out to race and watch, as well as the other employees
of BMRC who helped out. With input from different parties, this race is
really not a race that belongs to PRTC or BMRC. It belongs to the
people who come out for the race each and every year. Make sure you all
have a great Fall cheer each other on!
Full Battle Royale IV Results
Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia, PA
Open Race (4 miles)
1.Bryan Skelly PRTC 21:13
2.Ryan Fennelly PRTC 21:36
3.Tom Haxton PRTC 21:38
4.Ross Martinson PRTC 21:43
5.Zack Vaslow BMRC 21:51
6.Tom Parllapiano BMRC 21:54
7.Shawn Cavanaugh BMRC 22:09
8.John Garton BTC 22:23
9.Bernie Muller BMRC 22:31
10.Ryan Walsh BMRC 22:35
11.Pat Ward PRTC 22:53
12.Matt Vavala PAC 23:29
13.Chuck Shields PAC 23:33
14.Joe Canney BTC 23:37
15.Jason Bull BMRC 23:49
16.Steve Metraux PAC 24:19
17.Bill Rimkis PAC 24:24
18.Jeff Hayes PAC 24:45
19.Kevin Forde PAC 24:56
20.Larry Rechtin 26:40
21.Neill Clark PAC 26:47
22.Kevin Saint Clair 30:48
23.Steve Clark 31:08
24.James Howe 31:30
25.Jim O’Neil 32:05
Avalon,
NJ; New Haven, CT
2 & 3 September, 2007
SHANNON WINS TIM KERR 7 MILER; TIM RUNS IN U.S. 20K CHAMPS
Though September 3rd was "Labor Day," in which people are not supposed
to work, Tim was working hard. He was working hard through the streets
of New Haven, Connecticut that is. New Haven is annual host to the U.S.
20k road championships. This year, it was also host to plenty of
sunshine and high temperatures. That's good if you're on the beach, not
quite so goos if you're practically racing a half marathon on the roads.
Tim came through in fine fashion however. Tim improved on his finish
here from 2005 by a whopping 2:30! Posting 1:07.38 in 2005, Tim
returned this year to finish in 1:05.03! "I felt like I ran smart," Tim
noted. This assesment plays out when one observes the 10k splits in the
race results. While Tim ran steady, there were runners who went out
well ahead of him, only accede ground to Tim in the late stages of the
race.
The beginning of the race has a slight upward grade and makes several
turns in the early miles - before looping the course down toward the
waterfront. Just when a runner can lose focus in the middle miles of a
race (in this case miles six and seven), the field finds itself out in
the open with no shade. Taking into consideration the weather
conditions mentioned previously, that was going to put the pressure on
the elite field to keep their 'cool.' And that's just what Tim did.
"Actually, I felt good down by the waterfront. I am happy. That time
converts to a nice PR for me at half marathon." Setting a nice PR at
the longer distances bodes well for Tim as he prepares to lace up his
shoes at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.
Closer to home, Shannon paced the women's field at the Tim Kerr 7 Miler
the day before Tim's race. Shannon has been training for the half
marathon since late June. Before then, she only ran ten miles a few
times. She decided that she wanted to set a goal and have something to
work towards. Because she tends to compete better in longer races,
Shannon's coach and brother Brian, suggested racing PDR.
Tim Kerr was Shannon's first attempt at a race over 10k. "I think I ran
pretty conservatively and have more to give. I am feeling good for PDR.
The race went out, and I went through the first mile in the 6:20's,
just trying to stay relaxed, which probably helped."
Race conditions included sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s
and low 80s. The race starts out one block in from te beach in Avalon.
The runners make their way on to Dune Drive and race toward Stone
Harbor, before turning around and heading back to the race staging
area. Shannon explained that it was "actually hard to focus because a
lot of us had trouble finding mile markers. I didn’t even see it
after 2 until 5 again. My pace was 6:31 (45:37). I’m hoping I can get
that faster next time. It would be nice to stay relatively close to
that come PDR. I have been getting my miles up a tad, hoping it helps."
Tim Kerr 7 Mile Island Run 2007 Shannon Klick, 1st Place, 45:37
Stratton Faxon New Haven 20k 2007 Tim Callinan, 24th Place, 65:03
Stone
Harbor, NJ
26 August, 2007
RACING COUPLE COMPLETES SUMMER WITH ANOTHER DOUBLE VICTORY
Yet again, Brian Skelly and Renee Gunning romped through a Summer road
race en route to victory. This time, the couple raced down at the
Jersey shore in the Stone Harbor Lion's Club 10k. Brian ran with
teammate Ted Callinan for approximately two miles before pushing ahead
on his own. Brian and Ted were chasing one runner that was running the
5k (run concurrently with the 10 over the same loop). Despite the sun,
heat, and humidity, Brian maintained the lead he built up between miles
2 and 4 to score an individual victory. Ted gave the men's outing a 1-2
finish.
When the two men hit the turnaround to run the 5k loop in reverse, they
could see Renee, who was literally only a place behind in the race
overall! Renee captured the 5k title easily, using the race as
speedwork for her upcoming race at the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia
Distance Run. Conversely, Gina Lucrezi used the 10k to work on her
strength to prepare for her upcoming race at the CVS Downtown 5k in
Providence, Rhode Island. This race serves as the USATF 5k road race
championships. Gina scored a convincing victory as well.
As for the rest of the team, the short-term goal is the fourth edition
of the Battle Royale, which will be held on Saturday, 8 September at
Belmont Plateau. This race will mark the true beginning of the Fall
racing.
28
July,
2007
Philadelphia, PA
PRTC SWEEPS TOP THREE SPOTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN AT SUMMER RUN IN
THE GREEN
It won't be long before our guys and girls are hitting the big Fall
racing season. But for now, they are enjoying some low-key, yet
competitive races to keep their spikes sharp.
Just as challenging as the field for the Run for the Hill of It race
may be the terrain. The race takes place in Valley Green, which is a
common training locale for our runners. The 'Green' is a wide dirt
trail that undulates from Lincoln Drive out to the horse stables in
Chestnut Hill. There are no major hills on this trail, but the rolling
hills make it hard to run fast and maintain a solid rhythm.
But today some PRTC athletes showed just how well they know this trail.
The team swept the podium positions for both the guys and girls! In the
men's race, Matt, Tom, and Ryan were accompanied for the first by a
high school phenom who clocked 8:50 for two miles last Spring. As the
race wore on, though, our guys showed their endurance. In the last
stages of the race, Matt was able to provide a bit of daylight between
he and Tom. Matt was pleased with the win and nearly broke fellow
teammate Brian Skelly's course record of 25:12! Tom continued to show
excellent fitness this Summer in finishing second. Fenn was able to
shake off his disappointment from Club Nationals to take third overall
in a solid 25:34. And though Pat has kept his mileage high this Summer,
he showed enough speed to stop the clock at 26:48.
The women's race brought some other encouraging highlights, as Megan
continued her return to fitness, finishing second overall! Megan
trailed only race winner and fellow teammate Claire, who posted a
finishing time on this tough course that is good enough for #6 on the
club's all-time list! Shannon Klick rounded out the women's sweep by
running 32:12. Great work by all our runners!
14
July, 2007
Gettysburg, PA
LUCREZI RETURNS TO RACING WITH A WIN!!!
Gina Lucrezi decided to test the racing waters quietly at a road 5k in
Gettysburg, PA. But Gina had serious competition in the form of Heidi
Wolfsberger and Phebe Ko. Add to that rolling hills the entire way, and
Gina certainly bit off a lot for her first race.
But Gina pulled through for an encouraging win. Entering the late
stages of the race, Gina was in third. And as the top three girls
entered the last half mile of the race, Gina and Heidi Wolfsberger were
both trailing Ko. Coming around the last turn before the final stretch,
Gina pre-empted Wolfsberger's move, passed her, and kept charging until
she put Ko in her rearview mirror as well. Yes, Gina bit off a lot for
her first race, but apparently it was not more than she could chew.
13
-
15 July, 2007
Randall's Island, NY; Belmar, NJ
HAXTON TURNS IN FAST TIME AT BELMAR; FENN AND COLLINS RUN CLUB
TRACK CHAMPS
Racing for the team this past weekend began on Friday evening at the
Randall's Island track in New York. Fennelly was toeing the line for
his first 1500m in quite a while. Fenn was throwing himself in to the
deep end of the pool, racing the 1500m at the USATF Club Outdoor Track
Championships. Fenn slipped at the start and found himself back around
12th place. The pace was apparently tame, as the runners
seemed content to make it a sit-and-kick race with 300m to
go. As the runners entered the last lap, Fenn did try to work his
way out of the box and advanced several places. Fenn wanted more, but
placed 9th overall. On Saturday afternoon at the track championships,
Matt Collins raced the 400m hurdles. Unlike the 1500m, the times
for this event were very fast. Like Fenn, Matt wanted more out of his
race. Matt ran a solid effort, posting his third fastest time
since joining the club!
A FEW HOURS BEFORE MATT COLLINS RACED, Tom and Bart laced
up their shoes for the Belmar 5 Miler. Tom and Bart were just south
down the coastline from Matt Collins, but found fast runners a-plenty
at their race as well. A large contingent of Ethiopians that train in
West Chester County, New York certainly raised the level of this year's
race in Belmar. While in Summer training, Tom was able to run an
outstanding time of 24:43 - a time that would have won the race in
previous years! Tom went out hard, passing the first mile mark with the
leaders in a swift 4:40. When the pace further increased after two
miles, he knew he should simply run his own race. Still feeling
somewhat fatigued from the Utica Boilermaker 15k, Bart was not
unsatisfied with his finishing time of 25:35. More Summer racing to
come!
4
& 8 July, 2007
Pitman, NJ; Atlanta, GA; Utica, NY
BIG RACES A PLENTY ON THE LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND
Brian Skelly started the holiday racing for PRTC, returning close to
home for the annual Pitman Freedom 4 Mile Road Race. Brian has won
there many times over the last several years, and this year was no
exception. What might be the exception is Brian's time. Brian avenged
his second place finish from 2006 with a vengeance, running 20:30.
While this time won't rewrite the record books, Brian's effort on a
humid day over a hilly course is definitely worth recognition.
BRIAN'S FIANCEE, RENEE GUNNING, was racing slightly
further from center city Philadelphia. Renee took part in one of the
nation's biggest 10k road races - the Atlanta Journal-Consitution
Peachtree Road Race. Like many other races PRTC runners take part in,
this race is big. The overall size of the race is big, and the names at
the front are big too. You know you're in a big race when you have an
escort following you as you make your way through the race (Renee
reported that she had as much after the race). Just like Brian, Renee
ran an extremely strong race. She broke her own club record by six
seconds, recording a shade over 34 minutes for 10k! Renee missed
setting a PR for herself by two seconds. Renee finished tenth pace
in a truly international field.
SPEAKING OF INTERNATIONAL RACES, Bart Borguis and Michelle
Lilienthal also took part in a very big race on this long Summer
weekend. Rather than dealing with heat and humidity of Atlanta though,
these two were dealing with the challenging hills of upstate New York.
Bart and Michelle ran in the Utica Boilermaker 15k.
Alhough Michelle did not break her own club record of 52:37, she
was the 13th overall/fourth American in 53:34. This was good dry-run
for Michelle, as she will be running a marathon very soon.
Unfortunately, Michelle will not be able to wear her PRTC/PUMA uniform
for this marathon, but we'll give her a pass, as Michelle will be
wearing a USA VEST IN THE PAN-AMERICAN GAMES!
Meanwhile, Bart's effort places fifth on the men's all-time list. Bart
ran a very solid 49:16, eclipsing his own PR for the distance by one
minue and six seconds (Bart ran 50:20 at the Zevenheuvelenloop
in The Netherlands last year). Friends and training partners of
PRTC also took part in this big race. Saucony runner Jacob Frey placed
14th overall and second American, running 46:31. Speaking of fiancees,
Veena Reddy (engaged to Bart Borghuis) finished 15th overall and the
next American after Michelle, running 54:36.
15,
16 & 17 June, 2007
Duluth, MN; Philadelphia and Media, PA
PRTC SUMMER RACING IN FULL SWING - OVER TEN MEMBERS RACE
IN THREE RACES OVER ONE WEEKEND!
The racing weekend began on an overcast, cool evening and ended on a
hot humid morning. On Friday night, three members of the team lined up
for the annual Media 5 Miler. Although the race is held in a pictureque
town that also serves as the county seat, the runners had hills galore
with which to contend.
The prize money at Media hs been increased slightly in the last few
years, enticing more quality runners to pen this race in to their
calendars. Bryan Skelly led the way for the team on this evening,
finishing less than a half minute behind former world class
steeplechaser Elarbi Khattabi. Fighting the second finishing spot for
PRTC, Bart tracked down Tim as the duo sped toward the finish line in
the downtown area. Tim was just a few ticks behind, providing the team
with a good one-two punch. Bart and Tim finished 5th and 6th
respectively.
Many months (and one baby) later, Megan Gallagher tested the waters by
tackling this undulating course. Her performance was positive, as she
finished 11th overall in 33:08.
ON SATURDAY MORNING, Steve Gourley and Abby Dean did not
have the same cool temperatures. Even more daunting, these
two athletes were racing over five times longer than their teammates
did the night before. The conditions hampered the entire field. And
despite the fact that Steve had a good Spring, the conditions made his
attempt at an OT qualifier in his inaugural attempt seemingly
impossible. Still Steve perservered. Afterward, he reflected on his
race:
"I ran alright through the half and up to about 16 or 17. I started to
decline considerably after that and really tanked the last 10k.
Primarily, I don't think I kept up my mileage enough the last 6 or 7
weeks before the race. I also got very dehydrated and cramped up pretty
bad around 21. My legs started to get pretty wobbly and the finish
couldn't come soon enough. I greatly underestimated how much water
I should have taken in the night before and during the early stages of
the race. It's definitely a different animal that may take a few
tries to get it right. I'm pretty sore now, but hopefully I'll be able
to get out for some easy runs later in the week."
Abby did not run the exact time she was looking for either, but managed
to keep her 'cool' on a humid day and turn in a rather impressive
performance, all things considering.
FINALLY, A SLEW OF MALE PRTC RUNNERS and female
member Renee Gunning took part in the Run 4 Your Life 5k on a hot and
steamy Sunday morning. This race helps raise funds for research in to
prostate cancer. The race was out-and-back, using the typical course
used on MLK Drive.
Despite its small size, the race had a solid field, particulary on the
men's side. Several runners jockeyed for the lead until the turnaround.
Then Ryan Fennelly put more pace in to the race, utilizing his
speed on the way back to the Art Museum. Tom Haxton broke out of a
slump to givie Fenn the closest run for his money. In the end, though,
Fenn had his second road 5k title in the month of June. Two other team
members who had raced in Denver with Fennelly - Matt Byrne and Brian
Skelly - also placed high in the race.
8
June, 2007
Bryn Mawr, PA
FENNELLY PACES FIELD AT SHUT UP AND RUN
After a one year hiatus, the Bryn Mawr Running Company brought
back its Main Line event - Shut Up and Run 5k and road mile. Though the
race is the brainchild of store proprietor Bob Schwelm, he was not able
to witness the start this year, as his wife Meranda went into labor a
short time before the gun and delivered Bob's first child - Ruby!
When the gun DID go off, PRTC runners put themselves into high
positions in the race. The course is definitely challenging, as it head
East towards Haverford, takes a hairpin turn and redirects West towards
Villanova. Then when the runners find themselves at the lowest point on
Lancaster Avenue down near the McDonald's, they must make yet another
hairpin turn and clim back to the store.
At the finish, PRTC runners captured both the men's and women's overall
win. Renee added to her string of road victories, while Ryan Fennelly
punctuated a long return to form by besting the field on this hot and
humid evening. Tim also displayed a return to form following his
appendectomy, as his finish rounded out the winner's circle on the
men's side. And Dave Hobbs showed that he is a quick student of the
sport, as he finished a solid 13th overall.
Next year, we're sure Bob will be the official starter again ... maybe
with baby Ruby in his other arm!
2 June,
2007
Albany, NY
GUNNING 2ND AMERICAN AT FREIHOFER'S
Ludmila Petrova, Nicole Aish, Caroline Bierbaum. These are some of the
big names that Renee Gunning took down at Freihofer's 5k. This race
always has a truly international field. And Renee held her own,
finishing 12th overall and becoming the second American in the 2007
edition of this race. Renee finished the race in a tight pack of four
runners that occupied only fifteen seconds of the clock between them.
This is another fine performance from a true talent on our deep women's
field.
20
May, 2007
Denver, CO
MEN'S TEAM PLACES FIFTH AT RELAY NATIONAL CHAMPSIONSHIPS
For the first time ever, the men's team participate in the USATF
National Club Relay Marathon Championships. And right off the bat, the
team finished "in the money," so to speak. The men's team finished
fifth overall and earned $1,000!
The race was definitely going to be a challenge for our club that is
located basically at sea level (literally just over an hour from the
Atlantic Ocean), as the race was staged in the thin air of Denver. Add
national powerhouse clubs like Hanson's/Brooks, Wisconsin Runner, and
Boulder Running Company/Adidas - and the guys had their work but out
for them. The relay featured two 5k legs, two 10k legs, and one 12k
leg. Bryan Skelly kicked things off for the club, running the first of
the two 10k legs. According to the guys, they all seemed to run
relatively similar legs in terms of effort. "No one seemed to run an
unbelieveable leg," Matt Byrne said afterwards, "but we all ran solid
legs." The guys held fourth place at one point in the relay, but
finally finished in fifth.
This makes the second weekend in a row in which the team competed in a
national championship. We're very proud to say that the club places our
runners in the national championships and most competitive races we can
find. This not only helps our individual runners reach their full
potential, but says a great deal about the club as a whole as well.
12
&
14 May, 2007
Grand Rapids, MI; Swarthmore, PA
LILIENTHAL 3RD IN NATIONAL 25k CHAMPIONSHIPS
Once again, the range of the club is shown on this weekend, as one
athlete races a quarter of a mile, while the other raced over 15 miles!
Matt Collins kept up his usual blitz of races, running the Swarthmore
Last Chance meet which replaced the Tuppeny Twilight meet for this
Spring. Unfortunately, Matt did not improve upon his time from his
previous effort at the Broadmead Invitational, but it was Matt's second
fastest 400m hurdles of the Spring! Matt placed second overall in a
time of 54:33.
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Michelle tested her fitness at the 25k
national championships. Michelle is definitely short on races, but her
only other serious effort since her late Winter/early Spring foot
injury proved very promising (Michelle ran the Adrenaline 5k on the
roads within seconds of her lifetime PR). And it seems clear by now
that when Michelle runs in a national championship, she comes up big.
This day would be no different.
Michelle finished fourth overall and third in the U.S. championships!
As usual, this was quite an impressive effort, as the only people to
beat Michelle to the line were Russian Titiana Chulakh, two-time U.S.
10k champion Katie McGregor, and former NCAA 10,000m champion on the
track Alicia Cragg. While earning a nice payday, Michelle also posted a
new 25k club record of 1:29.53!
1,
6
May, 2007
Princeton, NJ; Philadelphia, PA
MEN'S TEAM DEFENDS TITLE AT BROAD STREET; WOMEN PUT THREE IN
TOP SIX
This is it. This is what the team has always been about. As incredible
as Renee's top three finish, the team is just as proud of Pat Ward's
stellar first attempt at ten miles, running a little over 52 minutes!
The women's team has established themselves as one of the top clubs
anywhere, placing three girls in the top ten of this race that boasted
17,000+ runners. But our men's team is strong too, and surely showed
its depth on Sunday. Not running nearly all of the men on the roster,
PRTC still had nine make runners in the field. And for the second
straight year, the men's team won the team title. What's more
impressive, the three scorers on this year's team are three COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT runners than the scorers the team relied on last year. Now
that's depth.
The day was sure to provide fast times, as there was a wind coming out
of the North (the course runs north to south). And though the skies
were sunny, the temperature was not too hot. At the gun, the front of
the race instantly split in to little groups. There was a lead group of
three, a pair of runners not far behind, and then a thin straight line
of runners back to the first main pack. The first half of the course
(the runners hit 5 miles shortly before City Hall) is faster, and the
splits were coming quickly.
At four miles, Ross and Ted met up and ran together the rest of the
way. Meanwhile, Renee was putting herself in some elite company, and
second place didn't seem out of question. By the mid-point of the race,
it was clear Abby and Claire were going to continue their Spring PR
streaks. The key to the Broad Street Run is buckling down from the
Avenue of the Arts to Broad and Oregon. Once the stadiums are in sight,
the runners know it won't be long until the finish, so their spirits
are revived.
As the early finishers sped towards the finish in the revitalized Naval
Yard, the hard work, and early, hilly, cold, long Sunday runs that the
team did during the Winter were surely going to pay off. Of the twelve
total runners that PRTC placed on the line Sunday, no less than nine
ran PR's. As you know the men's team won the team title and the women
surely would have as well (the girls were simply placed together too
late to score as a team). Renee made a big splash at the longer
distances and received some noteriety from the press. Claire scored yet
another PR in 2007. And Steve and Abby showed their fitness as they
prepare for Grandma's Marathon in June. It's hard not to love this
race. We couldn't be happier with the way our guys and girls ran. We
hope you had a good race too!
DURING THE WEEK heading in to Broad Street, a lone PRTC runner placed
his spikes on the track. Matt Collins lined up against only one other
competitor at Princeton's Broadmead Invitational. That might not sound
impressive, but this small meet is always comprised of solid open
runners, and collegiate athletes who either just missed IC4A's or NCAA
Regionals AND athletes that DID qualify for these races and want to
race a low key meet simply as a tune-up.
Matt said he is still not satisfied with the way he is running between
the hurdles, yet he was happy with his effort on this night, as he ran
his fastest time of the Spring so far. Matt ran 54:19 and hopes to run
back in to the 53s at Swarthmore's upcoming meet. Looking ahead, Matt
believes that these last two years of racing might provide him with the
strength he needs to break his collegiate PR of 52.1. This is a mere
1.1 seconds from the USATF qualifying standard! We hope he does it!
21,22
April 2007
Chester, PA; Philadelphia, PA
ABBY WINS PENN RELAYS 20K; BART WINS ROAD 5K; COLLINS FINISHES
2ND AT WIDENER INVITE
Though PRTC calls Franklin Field its home track, Abby Dean started the
team's Penn Relays 2007 racing on the road. Abby lined up Sunday
morning for the official start of the Penn Relays week - the Penn
Distance Classic 20k. The weather was fantastic, with clear skies and
cool temperatures. The welcome conditions were a big help, considering
Abby almost didn't make it to the starting line. Nursing a sore hip,
Abby still felt strong enough to have a go at the race.
In her big PR effort, Abby took the lead of the women's race from the
gun. This meant that Abby had to run many miles alone. "I ended
up passing one guy, and no one passed me," Abby clarified. "If you
look at the results, the next person to come in was almost
two minutes after me."
"I have to say that I am extremely happy with my performance, and
even more happy that I could keep a steady pace and not slow down
at the
end. Better yet, I felt great doing it! Winning a
Penn Relays watch was nice also!
BART RACED SATURDAY MORNING, albeit at a significantly shorter
distance. Bart blistered the Run for Clean Air 5k in an 18 second PR!
This time was only three seconds astride of Mike Hatch's road 5k club
record. There were 1,000 people that took part in this 5k, which found
weather conditions similar to the Penn Relays Distance Classic. Bart
made his intentions in the race clear, as he split 4:38 for the first
mile. He then passed two miles in 9:17. "I was amazed to see that
I was keeping the pace. Then it got a little harder toward the end. I
just ran back as hard as i could. I was completely surprised at
how this went."
Afterward, Bart credited his decision to run less mileage and get rest
as the keys to his big race. He also thought his pre-race evening meal
of a loaf of wheat bread and a cup of honey may have played a
significant part in his effort.
WHILE BART WAS ON THE ROADS on Saturday morning, Matt Collins and Ted
Callinan were on the track a few miles south. Knocking his time down
almost two seconds from his first two races of the year, Matt finished
2nd in the 400m hurdles in a time of 54:91. Matt hopes to break his own
club record of 53:86 at the Penn Relays on Saturday morning. Ted
doubled in the 1500 and 800m, running 3:58.94 and 2:02.51 respectively.
16
April, 2007
Patriot's Day; Boston, MA
On race morning, dark clouds hung accross the landscape and the
temperature hovered around 50 degrees. There was significant wind.
Surprisingly, these conditions were better than what the runners were
expecting to find on the morning of the 111th running of the Boston
Marathon.
With a Nor'Easter making its way up the East Coast, the prediction into
race weekend held that Monday morning would find an average temperature
of 38 in Beantown. The rain was supposed to be coming down in stinging
cold sheets while super strong winds were supposed to be knocking over
everything that wasn't bolted down. The weather was also the SECOND big
change people were anticipating for this year's race. In the recent
past, New Englanders enjoyed their culmination to Patriot's weekend by
heading to center city Boston for lunch. Where else could you eat
lunch, watch some of the best distance runners pour their hearts out on
your streets, and then head in to Fenway to watch the Sox hit 'em over
the Geen Monster? This finely timed extravaganza had the B.A.A. Boston
Marathon starting at noon for many years. In the recent past,
spectators would actually be languishing from temperatures too high and
sunshine too brilliant, as names like Uta Pippig and Cosmas Ndeti left
their mark hub of New England. But Boston's addition to the marathon
world majors dictated that the race start earlier, thus the runners
took to the streets this year at 10 AM.
The weather gods seemed to smile on the race organizers, and the start
went off without a hitch. The pace was conservative through the entire
first half of the race, as considerable winds hampered the athletes'
progress. But many stated that it was not as bad as it appeared. From
the television coverage on OLN, it looked like the sky was as a dark as
night. And as the runners moved past the 16 mile mark, the conditions
DID INDEED worsen. The temperature dropped precipitously. There was
constant rain, but by no means was it a deluge of water. But as the
temperature dropped, the winds also increased - and right into the
runners faces too!
When all was said and done, our three PRTC boys ran bravely and made
the team proud, posting fantastic efforts! To put an exclamation point
on the effort, Ross actually PR'd in these conditions! As a guage,
though Boston is not the fastest course in the world, it normally takes
a sub 2:10 effort to win the race. This year's winner (who will almost
assuredly capture the first ever marathon majors crown and pocket an
extra $500,000) ran 2:14. When on considers that, our boys' times of
2:23.51, 2:25.48, and 2:32.47 are nothing short of amazing!
For a more detailed account of what happened with our guys
specifically, we decided it would be best to hear it straight from
their mouths:
**************
Ross
The weather wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, light rains,
and for the first couple miles, not that much wind. We had a good group
going early on with Tom and Sinko from Delaware. We grouped up with
Matt, B.A.A. runner Terry Shea, an Irish guy, and a Marine. The wind
had picked up by ten miles or so, and we were trying to rotate the
lead, but nobody really wanted to push it. I was feeling okay, but a
little tired until we got to Wellesley. I don't think cheering usually
makes a difference, but I felt way better after hearing that roar. It
really got everyone smiling, if a little deafening in the right ear.
The half split was 71:01, just a few seconds slower than I wanted but
okay.
Around 16, the Irish guy had gotten a few steps on us, and when I took
my turn leading, I suddenly was alone. I spent the next few miles
trying to catch that guy and stay even through the hills. Surprisingly,
I felt okay after the hills, although they slowed me a bit, as they
combined with the steady light wind and occasional gusts. At 20 miles,
I really thought I still had a shot to qualify - the best I've felt at
that point in a marathon! But the wind picked up (or felt like it did),
and after Heartbreak Hill (which is no Heart's Lane, thankfully) I
pushed out a few more good miles. But the wind was relentless. I
focused on catching people - some of the girls were really hard to reel
in [editor's note: the elite women start BEFORE the men for equalizer
bonus purposes], but with 2 miles to go, I knew the time had slipped
away again. But all in all, it was the best marathon experience I've
had! Boston and the B.A.A. put on a great race.
Tom
The race didn't go as I had hoped, but I was glad that I stayed healthy
in training, gave it a good try, and at least got to the damn finish
line. Ross and I linked up early on and stayed toward the back of a
pretty nice group of 10 or so guys for the first several miles. The
group slowly became smaller, mostly from guys dropping back, and Ross
spent some time at the front. The wind varied a lot. Sometimes it was
relatively calm, other times it was fairly strong in our faces or from
the right. But it was much better than what it might have been, given
the forecasts.
I didn't pay attention to how much of the race it rained, but it was
enough to stay wet the whole time. I never got too hot wearing a hat,
gloves, and long sleeves. Around 8 miles or so, our group, now smaller,
pulled up to Matt, who was running with 2 or 3 other guys. We came
through the half in 1:11:03. After that, the group broke up a bit more.
Ross got out in front, and I ran with Matt and maybe a couple other
guys. When we hit the hills just at 16 miles, I knew I would have to
run my own pace. The first 2 of the 4 hills went okay, but on the 3rd
hill, my legs began to shut down. I revised my goals several times,
finally settling on a goal of not stopping. I managed to achieve that
one, but I'm looking forward to running my next marathon better
prepared.
**************
Our runners received plenty of support in Boston. Among the spectators
were Bill Frawley, Kerry Martinson, Clarisse Haxton, Bart Borghuis, and
Summer O'Leary. Another area runner, Veena Reddy (Bart's fiancee) also
ran a tough race, gritting out a 2:48.18! This performance placed Veena
25th overall in the women's race, and 17th in the U.S. women's
championships. Great race to all four runners!
6
&
7 April, 2007
Princeton, NJ; Frazer, PA
STRONG PERFORMANCES AT PRINCETON TRACK MEET AND ON THE ROAD
On Good Friday, many athletes made their way to one of the nicest track
facilities in the tri-state area, Princeton University. Princeton's
indoor facility is a fine track, but is bested by its own outdoor
facility constructed just a few years ago. Princeton's outdoor track is
so good that the cold temperatures and strong winds did not seem to
hinder the runners on this Friday night as much as people would think.
The conditions certainly didn't hinder the efforts of Renee Gunning,
who ran at a metronomic pace, running even splits the whole way and
winning the women's 5000m in 16:27.86! Her time broke the women's club
record established by Gina Lucrezi at this same meet last year! Claire
Duncan ran her first race of the outdoor season and finished 14th
overall in a time of 17:24.18.
In the men's 10,000m, Pat Ward was returning to racing from an even
longer layoff, having not raced since the American Express Philadelphia
Marathon. "I knew it would be painful," Pat said afterwards, "but now I
know where I stand." Pat wanted to race the Princeton meet so that he
had a race in his legs before toeing the line at the Blue Cross Broad
Street Run. Pat was caught alone for many laps during this race, but he
gutted out a time of 32:31.01.
On Saturday morning, Bart had to deal with the same cold Spring
temperatures that his teammates contended with the night before. Bart
ran a 5k on the roads to shake off the heaviness incurred by racing the
big ten miler in D.C. He said it was a rolling course. Bart found some
stiff competition at this small road race, finishing 4th in a time
of 15:37. His time was "not as fast as I wanted, but as fast as i
could [run]." Based on the performance, Bart determined that he needed
to go "back to the track for more speed."
31
March; 1 April
Haddonfield, NJ; Washington, DC
MENS'S & WOMEN'S TEAMS SWEEP TITLES AT ADRENALINE; BART
RACES BIG TEN MILER IN DC
Due to
inclement weather, the Adrenaline 5k was delayed this year by two
weeks. But that didn't prevent a host of fast runners from taking to
the line on the revised date. The man to beat on this day was assuredly
going to be Kiwi Adrian Blincoe (New Balance). But with plenty of fast
runners from PRTC and host team Haddonfield Running Company, the top
places and team titles were still up in the air.
Though the morning started off sunny, the sky seemed to become gray and
the temperature dropped a while before the starting horn. As the men
ran up Kings Highway through the main thorofare of Haddonfield, the
pace lagged, as the pack was cagey and people were looking at each
other for a move. The first mile was covered in a pedestrian 4:52. This
did not bode well for fast times, as the second mile holds several
sharp turns and a short hill. Haverford grad Greg Bielecki was the
first to increase the tempo, looking to make the second half of the
race honest. But about a quarter mile later, Blincoe shot to the front
to put his stamp on the race. Now it seemed, the real race was on.
PRTC's guys and Haddonfield Running Co.'s (mostly Haverford alumni) men
were looking to sort out the top places.
Blincoe was pursued by Ted, Ross, and Fennelly, along
with Bobby Cannon, Greg Bielecki, and Grant Scott. As the
field climbed the hill late in mile 2, and the men made their way back
on to the main drag, the order was often being shuffled. Ross and Bobby
Cannon made a strong move with approximately 1000m to go, as Ted was
fighting to finish in the money with Fennelly, Scott, and Bielecki. In
the end, PRTC would put its four men among the top eight spots to lock
the team title.
"My legs felt like lead," Ross said afterwards. But this is not
surprising, as Ross is preparing for the B.A.A. Marathon to be run in
two week's time. And this performance showed that while his legs may
"feel" like lead, his speed is right where it needs to be. This was
also a nice return to racing for Fennelly, who hasn't raced since last
Spring.
Speaking of nice returns to form, Michelle showed unbelieveable
strength coming off her stress reaction, which found her wearing a boot
for the better part of a month. Michelle was diligent about cross
training in this time, particularly swimming. And the work paid off.
Michelle pulled off a strong win, missing her PR by a mere two seconds!
"I am happy. Since it was my first race, I didn't know whether to
expect to run 16 minutes or 19 minutes, so that was a good race,"
Michelle noted. And the PR's didn't stop there. Abby Dean was simply
the most recent testament to the benefits of team support and training,
as she scored a 10 second PR for 5k! That is a great sign for a girl
who has been running the longer races for a long time now! With such
strong performances by the girls individually, PRTC locked the women's
team title as well!
All in all, the Adrenaline 5k (now in its 10th year - the first eight
years were called the Bancroft 5k) was another great race, with fast
runners, and supportive crowd, scenic course, and great prizes! Thanks
to race director Dave Welsh for doing a fine job, despite the curveball
the weather threw on St. Patrick's Day.
For even more good news, the PRs were not just confined to Saturday
either, as Bart scored a solid time at the very big Credit Union Ten
Mile Road Race in Washington, D.C. In an extremely deep international
field, Bart finished 31st overall in a PR 52:24! On Sunday morning,
Bart found the same weather conditions the team found the day before.
It was cool and overcast, which made for excellent weather for a ten
miler. Bart explained his performance, stating that he thought he "ran
a smart race. After a conservative 5:07 first mile, I tried to keep a
steady pace. Many of my miles were in the low 5 - teens, except for one
mile, which had significant hill. I felt like I was fit enough to be
able to work hard. I would run up to guys, regroup my energy and catch
my breath, then push on."
Having endured minimal training during the late Winter, Bart's
performance showed that his overall ability is still improving by leaps
and bounds. Stay tuned, as we are finally ready for outdoor track! Pat
Ward will be running the 10,000m and Ted Callinan will be running the
5,000m at Princeton on Good Friday! We'll be sure to let you know how
they race!
18
&
24 March, 2007
New York City, NY; Washington, DC
PRTC RACES AT U.S. 8k CHAMPS; SKELLY PLACES SECOND IN NATIONAL
MARATHON
On Saturday, March 17th, New York City was supposed to play host to not
only the St. Patrick's Day parade, but the USATF 8k Championships as
well! This race was especially significant because the 8k loop that
would be used in Central Park would be the same one that will be used
in November for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Unfortunately, a late Winter blast of ice and snow delayed the race
until Sunday morning. Ted Callinan and Matt Byrne had made their way to
the hotel headquarters on the Upper East Side by Friday, so they were
anxious to start racing. By Sunday morning, the path in Central Park
was clear, although host New York Road Runners chose a smaller,
alternate loop to assure that the group could properly clear every step
of the course. The air was still very cold, but the sunshine made
people optimistic about this race which featured a national caliber
field.
At the start, the men's field was out quickly. Our guys put themselves
into the mix right away. The 1.7 mile loop had two distinct sections to
it, the first being very quick, and the second feeling significantly
slower. Ted and Matt ran in different points in the pack but found each
other racing close by one another late in the third and final loop. At
the finish, Matt edged Ted by two seconds, as both our guys put in a
strong showing at this deep race. Despite different race strategies,
the results were extremely similar.
"I just felt like I couldn't get going at the beginning," Matt noted
afterwards. But as is characteristic of this guy with a 'never-say-die'
attitude, Matt said that he felt like he "closed strong on the last
lap." Conversely, Ted attributed his troubles to the latter stages of
the race, paying for a quick start in the first mile. "I was out in
4:36, which I knew was just a little too fast on that day. But it's not
like you can turn around and run it again. You just have to go with
it," Callinan clarified. Still, our Irish boys ran solid efforts on St.
Patty's Day.
Meanwhile, Bryan Skelly laced up his flats for a significantly longer
race on Saturday, March 24th. Presumably, Bryan saw the chance to race
a small, quality marathon close by that would fall right between indoor
and outdoor track. This was certainly enticing to the assistant coach
of LaSalle University. Moreover, with Winter strength, Bryan could run
the race conservatively and assure a positive experience with the
marathon.
That's just what Bryan did. Bryan ran the National Marathon in
Washington, D.C. and finished 2nd overall! Bryan's placing earned him a
sub 2:30 clocking of 2:29.02. We're sure this will give Bryan the
confidence and strength to run a much faster marathon next time out.
11
March, 2007
Wilmington, DE
PRTC TRIO PLACES HIGH IN CAESAR RODNEY HALF MARATHON
This year, people changed their clocks three weeks early for the
ritual of "springing forward." Steve Gourley, Bart Borghuis, and Tom
Haxton "sprung forward" to start their Spring by racing the
scenic Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington, Delaware.
The course is a scenic one, with rolling hills that find the runners in
the midst of a two mile climb during the middle of the race, before
getting the hills back, as the runners descend gradually for almost
three full miles towards the finish line. At the start, Tom Haxton took
the lead. His 5 minute first mile was watched closely by the lead pack,
only five seconds in arrears. After several miles, Steve Gourley and
eventual race winner Christopher Nirschel ran away from the pack,
looking to close down the gap between them and Tom. Bart held back on
the intial move made by Steve and Christopher Nirschel, but
eventually picked up the pace with another member of that original
foursome.
In the ninth mile, Christopher Nirschel took the lead, followed closely
by Steve, as Tom had a bit of trouble with a side stitch. Steve kept
the race close all the way to the line, finishing second overall in
1:10.33! Bart provided the second PRTC runner in the top five, hitting
1:10.51. Tom finished seventh place in 1:15.40.
"The weather was terrific," Bart said afterwards. "It was a great
course, truly enjoyable."
On Saturday, 3 March, Ted Callinan ran the Shamrock 4 Mile Road Race as
a tuneup for the U.S. 8k Road Championships to be held in Central
Park on St. Patrick's Day. Ted set a new club record of 19:22,
eclipsing his old club record of 19:24 by two seconds.
17
February, 2007
Bryn Mawr, PA
FEBRUARY FEATURES FAST RACING AND GREAT TEAM SUPPORT!!!
Sorry for the long layoff on Web site news folks. The race results bar
on our home page is up to date, but we're sure you would like a little
more information on everything. And to provide you with all the
information we can, we want to first thank YOU for coming out to our
beef-n-beer on February 10th! The beef-n-beer was a huge success thanks
to you. The food was great, the prizes were plentiful, and the company
was top notch! We hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. And
thank you so much for your support. You should always remember that
when one of our runners performs well, or when the whole team runs
well, we owe a big portion of it to you.
Now
as
for the race reporting since the last time we posted, our runners have
kept busy. After our large contingent returned from Houston on the big
road racing weekend, some of the women's team started melting the
Winter snow on the track. In succession, Renee Gunning ripped off a
series of races, running one 3000m and two 5000m. Renee's first race,
the 3000m win at the Armory in NYC was clocked in a blistering 9:20.83.
Renee was able to beat her long time nemesis - Clara Peterson. Soon
after, Renee and Gina ran at the Boston Terrier Invitational - long a
steady stop for many high level runners during the Winter campaign.
Running her first race of the year, Gina clocked 10:05 in the 3000m,
while Renee posted a 16:17 5000m club record! Renee then ran her second
straight 5000m, although this she ran this one clear accross the
country in Washington state. Renee ran another superb effort and missed
her own club record by a little under one full second. Unbelieveable
stuff.
Finally,
the men's AND women's team competed together at the local, fun, yet
still high level "Fila the Love" Couples 5k in Bryn Mawr. The legendary
Bobby Shwelm outdid himself as usual, putting on a first rate race with
unusual categories and interesting prizes. Listed in different
catgeories, PRTC's men's team was represented by Matt Byrne (2nd place
over all in 15:09) and Bart Borghuis (3rd place overall in 15:48). The
PRTC women's team was represented by Renee Gunning (female winner in
16:31) who won out a spirited battle with teammate Michelle Lilienthal
(2nd place overall in 16:32). Claire Duncan had a fine run as well,
placing fourth overall in 17:36.
Well,
that's a bit about what the team has been doing. We will bring you more
up-to-the-minute coverage as the Winter season melts in to Spring.
There are some big things on tap soon, such as the men's team competing
at the USATF Men's 8k road championships in NYC on 17 March! We are
training hard and building our strength. We'll do our best to make the
city proud come Springtime. We wish you all the best with your training
and racing too. 'Til next time.
perhaps
you read it on the message board already: PRTC
got promoted! Big time congratulations to all.

13
&
14 January, 2007
Houston, TX; New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA
BIG RESULTS FOR PRTC ON THE ROADS, ON THE TRACK, AND AT THE
OFFICE
ON
THE
ROADS - Ross took part in Greg McMillan's Elite Development program to
help men and women qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
(www.youcanqualify.com ). On race day in Houston, the runners at the
Chevron Houston Marathon awoke to overcast skies and a decent
temperature - 55 (although the humidity was surprisingly high - 94% at
the gun, rising to 97% by 8AM). Ross was off to a speedy start, passing
the halfway mark under 70 minutes.
During the second half of the race, Ross kept his splits within
qualifying range through mile 18, although he recalls feeling that he
was close to on edge with regard to his splits. "I was soaked right
from the start," Ross recounted. "It wasn't hot, but it was humid. I
kept telling myself that I could still do it. When I hit mile 22, I
started running 5:30s, so I knew it wasn't going to happen." Still,
despite a tough last 10k, Ross was able to record a PR! Considering the
tough conditions for a marathon he found on the day, Ross ran a great
race. Afterwards, he put things in perspective, noting that he is
"inching ever closer to the time."
MEANWHILE, our athletes that were taking part in the Aramco Half
Marathon that morning, were facing extremely tough competition, as this
race was host to the 2007 U.S. Half Marathon Championships.
In
the
women's race, our very own Michelle Lilienthal followed up her 4th
place finish at the 2006 Marathon Championships with a 3rd place finish
at the 2007 Half Marathon Championships! Michelle vaulted herself on
the awards stand by running a super fast (and obviously club record)
1:12.46. Michelle said " I knew I was fit to run 5:40 pace, which would
put me at 1:14. I knew that won it last year. So I knew that if I ran
that, it would put me in the top three. But I didn't expect to finish
there!" Michelle's unbelieveable race should secue her spot on the
short list to make the U.S. for the upcoming World Marathon
Championships! That would make the second U.S.A. team a member of the
club has made!
In the men's race, Matt Byrne led the way for PRTC, averaging 5:02
miles for a half marathon, and establishing a new club record of
1:06.01. This time slashed the club record held by Bill Frawley by a
clear half minute. Ted never ran quote with Matt, but kept close
contact through almost eight miles. "I definitely ran poorly over the
last four miles," Ted said however. Like Ted, Tim also struggled late
in the race and was certainly looking for more on the day. Tim tried to
keep a positive outlook on the day, noting that "the race organization
was great!"
ON THE TRACK - Renee Gunning made a speedy return to racing after
taking some much needed rest during the month of December. But her
first race of the Winter had her looking like she didn't take a break
at all!
Renee
headed up the NJ Turnpike to take part in the Gotham Cup at the Armory.
The race looked promising, as the track at the Armory is fast, and
Renee would be racing her long-time rival Clara Peterson. This time,
Renee got the scalp. But Renee's performance held even more surprises.
Renee ran a ridiculously fast time for 3000m - 9:20.83! This time
qualifies Renee for the USATF Indoor Track National Championships to be
held in Boston! The club has been proud to send athletes to the Cross
Country National Championships, and PRTC has sent runners to every
distance road national championship except the 25k. But Renee's
qualfication fo Indoor Nationals secures the last piece of the puzzle -
the first PRTC athlete to qualify for a USATF Track National
Championships!
This is a great race for Renee and shows how hard she has worked. It is
also great for the team, as it shows how far the team has come.
Speaking
of how far the team has come....
IN
THE
OFFICE - The administrators of the team have worked hard, and that hard
work has truly paid off. Now a full six years in to the development of
the club, PRTC boasts Olympic Trials qualifiers, placers in national
championships, and selections on to U.S.A. teams. USATF has recognized
this hard work, accepting the team's application as a national Elite
Development Club. This title is a designation provided by USATF. Here
is a selection from the letter PRTC received from USATF:
"It is my pleasure to inform you that our Application Review
Subcommittee has approved Philadelphia Runner Track Club to receive
USATF Elite Development Club designation.
We congratulate the Philadelphia Runner Track Club for helping the
USATF Club Council to pursue its mission to enhance and expand
opportunities for USATF open level, club-based team competition in
track & field, cross country, long distance running, and race
walking.
We welcome the Philadelphia Runner Track Club to the USA Track &
Field Family of Elite Development Clubs !!"
We won't stop training and racing hard. Make sure you don't stop
either.
31
December, 2006
Ridge & Midvale, Philadelphia, PA
PRTC DOMINATES FIREPIG 5 MILER (SURE, IT WAS OUR OWN RACE,
BUT...)
What better way to send off 2006 and welcome in 2007 by ... running a
race on Kelly Drive? Yes, we didn't say runners were the brightest
people. Race directors Bart and Veena put together this first
edition of the New Year's race. The five mile course started at the 3.5
mile mark of the Schuylkill River (heading toward Boat House Row) and
turned around at the 1 mile mark.
The adrenaline ran high as thousands of spectators lined the course. At
the gun, a solid pack of four leaders emerged - Skelly, Bart, Matty,
and Ted. The first mile was covered in 5:03; however, Skelly almost
peeled off the course soon after that because he saw a $10 bill on the
grass next to the path. Bart was running on PR pace, even though he
claimed that someone held his shirt and pulled him backwards at the
gun. Bart is known to be a bit of a liar, so race director Veena
(a.k.a. Bart's fiancee) put no stock in to his story.
The lead pack picked up the pace, passing two miles in 10:02. Running
sub 5 pace was extremely impressive considering the super strong winds
and driving rain. At the turnaround, Matty and Ted looked to up the
tempo. Despite a deep women's field, Renee also hit the turnaround in
the lead. Of course, none of these interim updates could be related to
the people waiting back at the finish line, as Bill fell asleep next to
the turnaround cones. Thank goodness Abby woke Bill up to go home.
During the second half of the race, Spencer was also moving nicely,
despite the fact that he tried to sap Ted's energy on the long warm-up
run. In the end, Matty wound up winning the day. He pushed in front of
Ted at the three mile mark and held on for the win. "I don't want to
sound like a sore loser or anything, but I swear Matty didn't run all
the way down to the turnaround. This is b&*(*!" Ted was heard
saying after the race. Callinan plans to appeal to USATF Mid-Atlantic.
In the women's race, Renee scored her first bit of road race prize cash
in eons. "Actually," Renee stated afterwards, "I don't think I have
ever won money at a road race, so this is really special!"
The race organizers were extremely generous with their prizes, which
included money, champagne, and cookies in the shape of runners and the
number 5! A special kudos goes out to Celeste, the race guest from New
Hampshire! We hope you enjoyed yourself, Celeste.
16
December, 2006
New York City, NY
BART FINISHES OFF THE YEAR FOR PRTC WITH A WIN
Full of energy from his recent engagement to Veena Reddy, Bart capped
off the great progress he has made with his running in 2006 by
winning the NYRRC Hot Chocolate 10 Miler in Central Park. The
mid-December race drew 6,000 people! Bart lined up with several NYC
area elites, including athletes from Central Park TC. From the gun,
Bart was right up front. The ten miler was a two loop course,
including some Central Park hills of course. Ironically, the only
company Bart had at the one mile mark was a guy named Pat Hayburn
(brother of PRTC member John Hayburn). Bart and Pat were soon joined by
several other men looking to make their bids for the win. At three
miles, one of the men from the pack made a surge to splinter the group.
Bart went with him and passed him at four miles. From there, Bart
began to slowly pull away from the field altogether. Bart ran
the entire second lap of the race alone, with Pat Hayburn in
second place. Bart split 50:00 for 15k and stopped the clock at 53:29!
Considering this time of year is known for building strength, and
the fact that this course has some small hills, Bart's time is
impressive. "I was happy about [the race]," Bart remarked afterwards.
"I didn't taper [for the race], but just trained through it in a
serious training week."
9
December, 2006
San Francisco, CA
GIRLS RACE CROSS COUNTRY NATIONALS
For the second straight year, the women's team enjoyed group
representation at the Fall edition of the cross country national
championships. And they came up with some solid results. Gina and
Claire both placed well in to the top 50, with Gina finishing overall,
and Claire finishing 36th. Shannon experienced her first big
post-collegiate race and gained some open-ranks experience as well.
The PRTC girls were placed in an open box at the starting line, along
with Princeton's Cack Farrell, local runner Courtney, and one other
runner. Starting from a mixed group box and finding the course
narrowing almost instantly, the girls noted that it was tough to get
out to a good start. And it seemed that if you didn't get out, you were
stuck running in a line. Add what the girls described as "soft, gentle,
but muddy footing," and the start did not see the runners going at top
end. The rains from the night before eventually turned the course in to
what Gina described as a "mud bath."
Gina and Claire both were out to good starts and stated that the first
loop near the horse race track seemed to go by fast. After the track,
Gina kept "trying to pick people off." Then the runners found some
minor log jumps on the course. Finally, the girls had to climb a short,
yet steep hill and begin to kick, as there was approximately 800 to 1k
left in the race.
With a very deep field and over 240 women in their race, the PRTC girls
ran great! Shannon was especially glad to gain the experience so early
in her post-collegiate racing. She recounted that she "probably should
have run some more cross country this past Fall, as I did many more
road races. But cross country is so competitive, and I definitely
learned from my mistakes in the race." Nice work, ladies! Way to
represent on the West Coast!
2
December, 2006
West Chester, PA
GUNNING FINISHES IN THE TOP THREE AT VERY DEEP BRIAN'S RUN
Coming at the end of an incredible 2006, Renee returned from her
international racing trip to run a little closer to home. She capped
off a simply superb year by running the hilly road race Brian's Run.
With deep prize money, this race always attracts a ton a top-flight
talent. That includes Renee. She battled over the hills of West Chester
and returned to the track at West Chester University with Kenyans
and Ethiopians that train in Pennsylvania and New York. But this hard
course, and its 400m circuit of the track for its finish, didn't deter
Renee, as she won a nice payday and scored a third place finsih
overall. Renee's speed and confidence have surely paid dividends for
her this year. We can only wonder what's in store for 2007!
19
&
23 November, 2006
Nijmegen, Holland; Chiba, Japan
PRTC
GOES GLOBAL!!!
PRTC has raced in Canada, the British Isles, Italy, Holland, and China.
Add Japan to that list. Bart started this round of international
racing, competing back at home in the Zevenheuvelenloop 15k.
This is an annual 15k race over 7 hills. The first five hills have
gradual, continuous climbs, while the remaining hills are shorter.
The last 5k of this arduous course thankfully becomes flat and
heads back toward the city of Nijmegen. This race is a big one,
boasting 30,000 participants! And the race organizers are
ambitious, having recruited the likes of Felix Limo (who on this course
set the current 15k world record with a time of 41:29) and Geb
(who ran 41:46 here in 2005). Paula Radcliffe was also scheduled
to compete here in 2005, but canceled at the last minute.
Coming of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, Bart felt that he prepared
as best he could, while he knew he would not be 100%. "I should
probably have run a few more longer hard tempos to get familiar with
the race intensity. But trying to steer clear of injury so soon after
the marathon, I kept mileage low and emphasized short-fast and speed
work."
Bart ran the first 5k in 17:10, feeling the effects of the first large
hill. But he increased his tempo from there, splitting 16:44 and 16:27
for the subsequent segments. "I treated it as 3 x 5k. In retrospect, i
think I should have run the race with a heart rate monitor because then
I could have seen that I was taking it too easy in the beginning. At
11k, I finally got into it and started to race. I passed many, but by
then it was too late really" he estimated his effort. But Bart showed
no ill effects from Chicago. He is healthy and training, so the Fall
was certainly a success!
AS FOR RENEE'S RACE, it was truly a big deal for Renee and PRTC, as it
is the first time an athlete from the team has competed for a national
squad. Renee's charge was the 10k leg of the relay at the Chiba
International Ekiden. Though the women's team did not finish as highly
as the men's team, they did place 10th overall. That's not considering
they are competing against the rest of the world! Renee has certainly
worked extremely hard this year, and her selection to a national squad
was the perfect way to cap off 2006. We're happy for you and proud of
you too, Renee!
22
November, 2006
Berwick, PA
BYRNE
FINISHES SECOND IN SECOND OLDEST AMERICAN ROAD RACE
To make sure he didn't put on any unwanted pounds late on Thanksgiving
Day, Matty put his shoes on for a nice hard effort at the Berwick Run
for the Diamonds. It is a truly unique race in many ways, as it boasts
an extremely challenging course, it is the second oldest road race in
the U.S., and the top seven finishers get diamond rings!
Matt worked hard, racing with Fred Joslyn (who recently ran 2:29 at the
LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon) and Princeton alumnus Tristan Colangelo.
Matty took a 100-meter lead over Joslyn near the 3-mile mark,
breaking away on the steep uphill portion of the race. But Joslyn made
his move over the next mile, catching Matty at the four mile
mark. From there, Joslyn held on for the win. And while second
place is not what Matty was looking for, the race showed he has
recovered well from Steamtown and is ready to race hard in 2007!
19
November, 2006
Philadelphia, PA
WOMEN'S TEAM HAS STRONG SHOWING AT ROTHMAN 8K; PAT WARD AND
SEANN MULCAHY DEBUT AT THE MARATHON
Just as the headline indicates, the women's team showed up ready to
race at Philly's late Fall road race weekend. Facing big names such as
Aziza Ayilu, Clara Peterson (nee Horowitz), and Marina Muncan, Michele
paced the girl's team by showing no ill-effects from the Twin Cities
Marathon and setting a club record for 8k! Claire continued to show
great fitness and scored a PR, along with a sixth place finish in a
highly competitive field. And speaking of showing no ill-effects after
taking on big races, Abby Dean ran her first official race for PRTC
just one week after competing in the Half Ironman World Championships!
Amazingly, Abby ran a PR for 8k by over 30 seconds! That's not a bad
way to introduce yourself to the team! Finally, Shannon Klick rounded
out the women's team, finishing just outside the top - running 30:51
for 11th overall. So in this race, the girls established a new club
record, set a bunch of PR's, and placed four runners in the top 11 at a
big, deep road race. Sounds like just another day at the office
for our girls. Ted competed in the men's 8k, running 24:48.
In the long version of the day's races, Pat Ward and Seann Mulcahy ran
their first marathon ever. Pat and Seann were fortunate to find almost
ideal conditions at the American Express Philadelphia Marathon. Pat
said he felt it was extremely tough late in the race - even to simply
keep his legs moving. But Pat and Seann both ran a great first effort
and learned a good deal about the marathon before the day was over.
Since most of the guys and girls on the team have run marathons before,
these two neophytes to the long race should be able to obtain some
great tips and advice, making their second effort even that much
better. On the day, both Emily and Tom had rough races in the
marathon. But Emily has won a marathon before, and we know she will
rebound with great races in the near future. The same is true for Tom.
Tom has run plenty of great races since joining the club and will
definitely turn his ship around. The team believes in both of these
athletes, and we can't wait to see what they run in the Spring!
But before the Spring comes, there is the very end of the Fall and the
whole Winter ahead. To end the Fall, we will give you a report on
Renee's race for Team USA at the International Chiba Ekiden in Chiba,
Japan, as well as the performances of Claire, Gina, and Shannon at Club
Cross Country Nationals in San Francisco, CA. Good training!
24
October, 2006
Philadelphia, PA
MILESTONE DAY FOR PRTC AS GUNNING IS FIRST TO MAKE USA TEAM!!!
What a Fall. Thanks in part to her solid performances at both the 5k
and 10k U.S. road championships recently, Renee Gunning was named to
the 2006 International Chiba Ekiden team representing the United
States! Ekidens (road relay races) are very big in Japan and have big
dollars to spend due its high participation by corporate teams. This
particular Ekiden is still a team race, but comprised of national teams
as opposed to corporate.
According to USATF guidlines, the women's team selection process takes
place in the following manner:
Women's at-large selections: Positions will be filled from a list of
best road 5 km - 15 km performances, as well as 5 km and 10 km track
performances (based on rank order) from June 1, 2006 to October 9, 2006.
The race takes place on 23 November in Chiba, Japan. This is an
absolutely great honor for both Renee and PRTC. While people all over
America will be sitting down to honor a tradition in the U.S.A.
(obviously our Thanksgiving weekend), Renee will be putting on her
U.S.A. singlet! We'll be sure to give you a complete account of Renee's
trip and race as soon as we can. Stay tuned, as more guys and girls
from the team will be racing this month. In particular, the team will
wrap up its Fall marathoning at home, with several of the guys racing
the American Express Philadelphia Marathon!
22
October, 2006
Chicago, IL; Boston, MA
MEN'S TEAM SENDS FIVE TO CHICAGO MARATHON; DUNCAN AND
LUCREZI RACE MAYOR'S CUP
The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon was the third marathon on the
schedule for our runners. With regards to Olympic Trials qualifying,
knowing that the team had gone two for two in the first two
marathons of the Fall gave the guys an optimistic feel going into the
race.
The course is flat and fast. The organization is first-rate, and the
crowd is spectacular at Chicago. Unfortunately, the weather was bit
away from optimal. Though forecasts several days out pegged October
22nd to be pretty good, the day before the race brought calls of rain,
snow, and wind.
When our guys woke up on Sunday morning, they were somewhat relieved to
find out that most of the rain had passed through during the night and
was already over the Great Lakes. All that remained were some
snowflakes ... and a 39 degree starting temperature ... and winds.
But our guys went into this race prepared and were determined to make a
go of it. At the gun, Bryan and Ted ran close to each other, as Hatch,
Tim, and Bart decided to work together. Here are the personal accounts
of what happened with some of our guys as the race unfolded.
Bart
I missed the first mile clock, came through two miles in
10:48 and thought that was a a bit too quick; 5:35's would have
been more suitable. Then i spotted Tim and Hatch just up ahead.
I connected with their little pack and cruised very
comfortable through the first 5 miles with splits that
encompassed two 5:27s, then ~5:34 splits. The wind slowed
down the next miles some, still I felt that the pace of the pack was a
bit too high. I didn't want to work yet - wanted to be somewhat
conservative through the half. Thus, these windy miles were a bit
slower - 5:38- 5:39.
With the wind mostly in the back, i increased my tempo again, low
5:30's, and came throught the half in 1:12:25. I was caught by
myself on the strong headwind stretch from mile 13 through mile 15. I
was afraid this would happen, but there was no one near. Mike and
Tim's pack was 100 yards ahead and I did not dare to up the pace
and catch them to tuck in yet. I ran as relaxed as I could.
All went well, and my splits stayed around 5:34-5:40 through mile
22.
I saw Bryan having some trouble at 17, and I advanced on Tim
during mile 19. At that point, I was still on course for a
~2:26. Then, i started to feel some fatigue and had to start working
some. Then I hit my first significantly slower mile (6:00). I kept
form a bit with a 6:31, but the last miles were trouble. I
could more or less keep running, but with about a mile to go, I
came to a grinding halt. It wasn't pain; the legs just felt totally
weak. I stopped for a few seconds, and managed another quarter
mile. I had phosphenes (silver/white sparkles) all over my visual field
and wondered if I could make it in running. With two more such
stops, I reached the top of the bridge, and then ran down the finish
straight as well as I could. My 2:33 was an 8 minute PR, but
obviously not what I thought I could do. What went
wrong? I have some ideas - cold, me vs. the wind, perhaps not
enough food on Friday and the night before the race ... Most of
all, I know I just have to put my shoes on and run some more.
Tim
“How come anytime I have met someone from Chicago they are so happy to
tell me how proud they are to be from Chicago, yet I have never met
them in Chicago?” I can’t answer that question for Jeb Bartlet, but I
now know why one would be proud to be from Chicago.
After a connector to Atlanta, we (my girlfriend Trish and I) made it
into Chicago at 1 in the afternoon on Friday, took the train to The
Loop and walked to our hotel on the Magnificent Mile. As she took a
nap, I went for a short run and quickly remembered that I had been
cramped in an airplane seat for several hours. That was easily the
worst I felt on a run in months, always exciting two days before a
race. OF course I knew why I felt like crap, so there was little need
to worry. During my brief 5 miles, I did see that Chicago was nice, and
was surprised how cool it is to be running through skyscrapers and then
suddenly end up on a giant lake.
On Saturday morning, we slept in a little before Ted and I went for an
easy run down to the start area and back to the hotel. Seeing
everything being put together, the sheer size of it all was starting to
get me excited for the race. Stretched (I wish hotel rooms were bigger
because it can be annoying stretching in a cramped room), showered, and
then walked over a few blocks to the Hilton to catch one of several
free shuttle buses that were looping around downtown Chicago to take
people to the expo to grab packets and bib numbers. I found this to be
both convenient and a really cool idea on the marathon’s part. I was
slowly falling in love with Chicago. Back to the hotel and grabbed
lunch at Potbelly’s; that was really good. We were forced to order take
out because no restaurants had reservations before 9.
On race morning, we warmed up from the hotel to the start area, and
went into the top 100 tent (another nice convenience), stretched and
headed to the start. From the gun, Hatch and I linked up and found
ourselves in a very nice little pack. A few quick early miles (despite
the cold, wind, and a few snow flurries) put us a little head of target
(2:25), but that was fine. The awesome crowds made the early parts of
the race go by quickly, and by the time we hit halfway (1:12:19), I was
completely in love with Chicago. Our nice pack hit 15 right on target
but was beginning to start feeling the race a little. Things were good
up until 18, but I started preparing myself mentally for the pain. I
grabbed two GU’s at the Power Gel station. By now, I had fallen off of
Hatch, but still had plenty of company. I knew I was falling of pace
badly, but I wanted to at least hang on for a su-2:30 finish.
When I got to 22 (and had to fight the packaging of my second GU to get
it open), I was pretty well licked. Even though I did have to stop and
walk a few times to try and get my legs going again, the last few miles
went by kind of quickly.
Obviously the race didn’t unfold the way I wanted, though it was the
first one I finished, so I still found the experience was awesome and
am already itching to race another one again. There is a lot of little
things that need to be addressed, but I hope I get to race again
soon, especially with my PRTC/Puma mates.
Hatch
I stepped to the line Sunday feeling rather ill-prepared. My training
had taken a hit thanks to the increased workload of med
school's second year. While the obvious practical applications of
cardiology, renal physiology, and pulmonology have peaked my interest
as a runner, trying to master it all in preparation for exams has
severely limited my mileage this Fall.
Owing to all the excitement of Chicago and the fantastic crowd support,
I was out way too fast through the mile mark and even the 2 mile,
coming through in 5:26, and just a shade under 10:50. Tim shouted a
word of warning, providing me with a quick reality check, and we both
agreed to calm the pace. We let a sizeable pack pull away, but it was
definitely the right move. I came through the 5K just under 17:00,
and subsequent 5K's went by in 17:15, 17:08, and 17:11. Then I slowed
down to a 17:28 from 20-25K, 17:38 to 30K. It was at this point
that things began to get ugly.
The pack I was with slowly began to dissociate and the cold began to
set in. But most importantly, I began to feel the effects of my lack of
mileage in preparation. I cruised through 20 at about 1:51:30, on
pace for a decent PR, but the last 10K was a miserable
experience. The seventh 5K crawled by in 18:24, and the eighth in
19:18 to bring me to 40K. By this point, I was taking down all the
Gatorade and energy gel I could get my hands on, hoping not to fall
victim to cramps like so many I had passed by in the closing
miles. My last 10K was quite disappointing, but I was pleased to
cross the line under 2:30:00. I believe the decals had been
removed from the pavement by the time I reached the line --- likely
helping me to avoid a spill of my own given the state of fatigue and
confusion I was experiencing.
All in all, I was neither thrilled nor terribly upset about the outcome
of the race. It was a great weekend in Chicago, and I was thrilled to
see Ted get his OT qualifier. Hopefully sometime in the near
future, I'll know the feeling of entering the homestretch as 2:21:XX
ticks by.
Ted
I have been looking forward to returning to Chicago ever since we raced
here in 2003. I think this particular city marathon is first rate. The
people who put this race on do a spectacular job. Race director Carey
Pinkowski could obviously not be a bigger supporter of American
distance running, the city is great, and the whole town is about the
marathon all weekend.
I knew I had done a lot of work to prepare for this race and that I
could possibly run a good time. But when we heard on Saturday about the
pending conditions for race day, I was nervous. In the end, I realized
that there was nothing we could do about the weather anyway, so there
was no point in wasting energy worrying about it.
It meant a lot to me to run this big marathon with my brother. We
started our warm-up from the hotel, since we were a little over a mile
from the start. Though the forecast on Saturday called for rain, snow,
cold temperatures, and wind - only the latter two met us on Sunday
morning. Apparently, the rain had blown through the city overnight and
was already over the Great Lakes. It was 39 degrees in the morning.
When Tim and I arrived at the Top 100 tent, Skelly said that someone
had come around telling the men and women in the tent that they would
be walked out to the starting line at 7:30 - as opposed to the 7:45
indicated previously. This was troublesome, as it was pretty cold out,
and we had to be mostly stripped down going to the line.
At the start, the race felt good. I made sure I checked the mile split
to get a feel for a comfortable, smart pace. Skelly and I were running
near each other from the beginning. At mile 4, I felt a slight twinge
in my right glut. This is the one damn thing that has hampered me ever
since I crossed the finish line in Birmingham in the beginning of 2004.
Usually, a hard pace puts my butt through great duress. I have
felt that my glut has improved drastically over the last year, and the
twinge usually goes away after a few miles ... if it hasn't already
done me in. I figured that the calm pace should help keep this problem
from putting the race out of reach. I was lucky to be right. At 8
miles, the twinge was gone.
I was excited that I was staying within the pack, the cool temperatures
were not too cold, and that we were running good splits. I reached 10
miles in 53:57, and I felt great! Having run 6 marathons before, I knew
not to take anything for granted. However, I was slowly starting to
believe that despite the winds, this could wind up being a good day. I
tried to take my fluids intelligently, making sure I took the Gatorade
Endurance more often that not early on. However, I have come to believe
that passing a table or two isn't bad either. I tried to mix bulking my
energy stores with listening to my body.
At the halfway mark, the group I was running with had split 1:10.15.
This small bit of cushion seemed ideal, but I heard that the winds were
generally coming from the north and heading south in the latter part of
the morning. If that was to be the case, I was sure that the winds
would be directly in our face as we made the long last charge out of
South Chicago back to Lakeshore Drive.
I reached 20 miles in 1:47.30, and things were going well. Not long
after that mile marker, however, my calves spasmed just a little bit. I
was also starting to feel a little tightness to either side of my
groin. The solid pack that I had been running with most of the morning
had dissapated, as some guys fell off, some tried to push ahead, and
each and every guy was having his own personal battle with the wind.
No matter what, I was determined to either make the time or run a good
bit over it. I don't think I could have taken another time just over
2:22. Fatigue had now set in by 23, and my splits were admittedly
starting to creep slightly upward. For some reason, I remember a bit of
Gatorade Endurance splashing out of my cup in the wind and hitting my
left eye. I ran for a quarter mile with only one eye open, trying to
dry my eyeball.
As I passed 25 miles, I knew it was going to be close. We had to make
the 90 degree right with about 800m to go, climb over the overpass
which takes you past the train lines, and then make the 90 degree left
down to the finish. I glanced at my watch a few times and pushed as
hard as I possibly could. The damn little hill was killing me, and I
thought it would again be the thing that does me in here in Chicago. I
was determined to have some sort of redemption for 2003. But to be
honest, when I made the left turn (the 26 mile marker signboard is
sitting right there on your right), I thought there was simply too much
real estate to cover. I was running in failure, but there was nothing
left to do but push my way to the mats. As I closed in on the finish
line, I noticed the two guys in front of me putting their arms up in
celebration. I looked up at the clock and realized that I was going to
run under 2:22 by the slimmest of margins.
I know I can run faster, and my race certainly wasn't pretty. But I am
glad that I kept my composure in the closing stages, especially
with the specter of 2003 looming large. Running in the big races for
the team always feels great. I am always proud of this team. I was
extremely proud of all the guys that were running for the team that day
in Chicago. I was thankful to have Michelle, Trish, Renee, and Mr.
Skelly on the course. I am 100% sure we will get a few more of the guys
qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials before all is said and done.
There are simply too many good, hard-working guys and girls on this
team. I can't wait to watch them make it.
MEANWHILE, Claire Duncan and Gina Lucrezi laced up their
cross country spikes in Boston for the B.A.A. Mayor's Cup. The Mayor's
Cup was the first race ever competed by the team - which means this
racing weekend marked PRTC's sixth birthday! Claire and Gina are
planning on racing at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in the
beginning of December, and this race serves as perhaps the best high
level post-collegiate race on the Eastern Seaboard prior to USATFs.
Claire and Gina ran great races, finishing just one second apart.
Claire's time on Franklin Park's course established a women's club
record on that course. There have been plenty of new marks established
on both the records page, as well as the all-time performance lists, so
be sure to check them out.
14
October, 2006
Mt. Ephraim, NJ
For the second straight year, PRTC's Jay Wassel decided to take part in
the Heroes to Hero 5k. This race is in memoriam of the fallen
firefighters from Mt. Ephraim and Gloucester who died several years ago
while saving people from a burning home in Gloucester. These men were
Tom Stewart III, Jim Sylvester, and John West Sr.
Jay Wassel used this race as rust-buster. He is planning on racing on
22 October at venerable Franklin Park in the Mayor's Cup. He will be
racing along with Pat Ward, Claire Duncan, and Gina Lucrezi. Jay had to
fight it out with a host of international Kenyans through the streets
of Mt. Ephraim and into downtown Gloucester. Jay held on for eighth
place, which kept him in the race for the overall cash prizes.
Upon hearing that she needs to stay race-sharp for Ekiden team
consideration, Renee decided to also take part in this high level local
race. Renee was also racing a few Kenyans, along with former collegiate
rival Clara Peterson (nee Horowitz). This is the second duel of the
year (they went head-to-head at the Belmar 5 - see past Web site news).
Renee ran a solid race, finishing 5th overall and clocking 16:42. This
time gives Renee another notch on the team's all-time performance
list. Great racing, Renee and Jay!
9
October, 2006
Boston, MA
Still early in the Fall, Renee ran her second road national
championships, taking part in the Tufts Health Plan 10k. This national
championships road race is unique, in that it is a women-only
event. The women take center stage at this race every year.
Renee has been gearing for this race, along with the
CVS Pharmacy/Downtown 5k she ran in Providence, RI a few
weeks ago. Renee kept her string of phenomenal performances in
tact, finishing in the top ten in her second straight national
championships! Renee finished the Boston course in 35:00. This
run was good for tenth place in a truly deep national
championships. Better still, this performance helps Renee join
Michelle in being considered for a national team. For Renee, the
consideration is whether or not she will occupy one of
the U.S. spots on the U.S. Ekiden Road Racing Team! The women's team
sure has come a long way in a short time!
8
October, 2006
Scranton, PA
BYRNE AND MARTINSON SCORE IN STEAMTOWN MARATHON
In
an
exciting race that saw an early leader come through the half in 1:07,
and blow up at mile 21, Matt Byrne took the win and showed that he is
back on track. Breaking the tape in 2:21:50, Matt qualified for the
Fall 2007 USA Olympic trials in New York. A Scranton native, Matt
received a warm applause and attracted much media attention - some
links are posted below. Ross Martinson placed third in 2:24:57, roughly
a minute faster than his previous performance on this course.
The Times-Tribune, 8 September, 2006
STEAMTOWN
MARATHON COVERAGE: BYRNE WINS FOR A SECOND TIME
The Times-Tribune, 9 September, 2006
STEAMTOWN
MARATHON COVERAGE: BYRNE BECOMES FIRST TWO TIME WINNER
2
October, 2006
Minneapolis, MN
LILLIENTHAL FINISHES FOURTH AT U.S. MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS!
Much to our chagrin, the PRTC is not able to put on its fourth edition
of the Battle Royale this October. Part of the reason is because a
majority of athletes on the team are busy preparing for Fall marathons.
The team is hoping to send as many guys and girls to the Olympic Trials
as possible. One such athlete is second year runner Michelle
Lillienthal. However, she already secured a qualifier with her big
performance at Boston back in October.
Michelle would usher in the first of four marathons to be contested by
our runners this Fall. And oh what a start she gave us! Michelle went
in to the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon (which was being used as the
U.S. Championships for the second straight year) in great shape. She
was definitely looking to crack 2:40. As for the conditions, she said
that "it was warm out by the finish, although the temperatures were
cool for most of the race. There was also a decent headwind."
Michelle ran patiently through the early miles, with her name not
appearing on the early leaderboards which are calculated via athlete
timing chips. But as the race progressed, so did Michelle's rhythm.
Passing many national class runners, Michelle made a charge at
finishing well under 2:40. What is truly impressive is that despite
Michelle's phenomenal performance, she believes she has more to do.
Michelle notes that her "last mile was a 5:33. I felt like I
left a little too much. So I know I can run faster."
Her fourth place position was secured with a 2:35.41 marathon! This
time eclipsed her alreay-solid PR by five minutes! Michelle's placing
earned her a huge $9,000 payday and puts her on the short list for both
next year's World Half Marathon Championships in Osaka, Japan, as well
as in to consideration for the U.S. team that will compete at the next
Pan Am Games!
The team was absolutely psyched to hear of Michelle's performance. Now
we're hoping the rest of this Fall's marathons can produce some other
big results for the team as well.
30
September, 2006
Lancaster, PA
TOM & CLARISSE PACE LANCASTER HALF MARATHON
Clarisse and Tom drove out to Lancaster County Saturday morning to run
in the 3rd annual Hands-on House Half Marathon. Tom led the race
wire-to-wire, finishing well ahead of his nearest competitor in
1:09:43. Completing her longest run of the year, Clarisse finished 8th
in the women's division, erasing her old half marathon best with a time
of 1:32:59.
24
September, 2006
Philadelphia, PA
PRTC RUNNERS TAKE PART IN BENEFIT RACE
As stated on its Web site, the Parkway Run is "held annually to raise
much needed funds for helping to cure cancer in children." The race
receives great sponsorship from many of the biggest companies in center
city Philadelphia. Many people come out to support the cause. The guys
and girls at PRTC are no exception here.
Six PRTC members came to the Parkway Run to support the cause and
stretch out their racing legs. Ross used the race as a perfect short
distance tune-up to the Steamtown Marathon. Ross won the men's race
with teammate Rob Hewitt placing 7th overall.
In the women's race, Claire Duncan ran a solid race to finish second
only to Canadian Olympian Carmen Douma Hussar. Finishing in successive
even-numbered spots, Shannon Klick cracked 20:00 for fourth place,
Clarisse finished in the six spot, and Shannon took 10th place overall.
16
& 17 September, 2006
Northport, NY; Providence, RI; Philadelphia, PA
BYRNE BACK FROM INJURY - RACES AT COW HARBOR!
This mid-September weekend was a big one for PRTC. As has been the case
many times before, PRTC had runners competing in several races in one
weekend, spanning several states. On this weekend, the team covered a
portion of the Mid-Atlantic and had a representative in New England.
Matt Byrne began the weekend's action in New York. In January of this
year, Matt fractured his sacrum, making the possibility of training all
but void. In pain, yet determined, Matt tried to make a recovery from
the injury in late February and early March. But Byrne's eagerness also
seemed to be his undoing. He had not completely healed, and the little
running he had done acted as a set-back.
Fast forward to late Summer. By this point, Matt had taken a more
careful approach to his training, health, and overall fitness. He was
feeling less pain in his lower back, and Matt finally felt ready to put
himself in to team workouts. On a Tuesday morning in early August,
Matty jumped in an 8 x 1200m workout with Ted and Ross. He completed
the workout in great fashion. It was clear Matt was turning a corner. A
few weeks and workouts later, and Matt was ready to run a tune-up race
before the Steamtown Marathon.
Byrne chose the mid-size, yet extremely deep Cow Harbor 10k race as his
tune-up, as this race has been on his calendar annually. Matt felt good
about his racing on this day, and was on pace to somehow better his
performance from last year! Considering the trials and tribulations he
has been through this past year, that is quite remarkable. But Matt
conceded that he had trouble closing out the race in the last half
mile. "I was pushing hard at the end, but I didn't feel great" Matt
said afterwards. But more than a half year of injury later and short on
total workouts, Matt was able to finish Cow Harbor with an astonishing
performance, tying his time from last year down to the second! Great
job, Matt! Good to have you back!
GUNNING
FINISHES SEVENTH AT U.S. 5k CHAMPS!
On Sunday morning, Renee took her Summer racing sharpness up to Rhode
Island to compete in the U.S. Road 5k Championships. This championships
is held annually at the CVS/Pharmacy Downtown 5k in Providence. Renee
had been suffering from sickness all week and considered pulling out of
the race as close as that Thursday. Yet Renee knew she was fit, and so
she made the trip.
Renee proved that her road wins all Summer were no fluke. Renee
finished a stunning 7th place in the U.S. Championships in 16:32.
Renee was running in as high as fifth place late in to the race. And on
of the two women to pass Renee was Erin Donohue, who finished the
Summer with the second fastest mile by an American woman this year. So
needless to say, Renee was hanging with the big guns. Renee's
performance puts a stamp on this biggest year of development in the
women's team to date.
BORGHUIS
RUNS 4 MINUTE PR; DUNCAN AND WARD RUN STRONG HALF DEBUTS
Meanwhile, back in Philly, the men's team and the remainder of the
women's team that were racing on this weekend, awoke to somewhat and
humid conditions. Though there was cloud cover early, the clouds broke
about five minutes before the gun at the Jefferson Hospital
Philadelphia Distance Run.
As always, PDR boasted a large pack of talented American runners, as
well as a truly international field. And by the time the day was over,
Philadelphia spectators would see Abdi Abdirahman flirt with the
American half marathon record.
At the gun, Emily and Claire were joined by PRTC newcomer Abby Dean.
Abby brings significant credentials to the women's team - especially
with regard to the races between 10 miles and the marathon. The men's
team found themselves working together in two groups early in the race.
Skelly, Ross, and Ted ran through the early miles in the city together,
trying to hold five minute flat pace despite the warm temperatures.
As the race wound towards West River Drive, Tim, Tom, Hatch, and Bart
worked together as a strong nucleus, demonstrating the men's team true
depth. Skelly pushed ahead of Ross and Ted a little before the East
Falls Bridge, and would end the day as the men's team's first finisher.
This performance capped a strong Summer on the roads for Skelly.
Meanwhile, Emily kept running towards her performance that would garner
her position as the first local finisher for the second straight year.
And Claire, who afterwards said she might have been a little too
overzealous in the early miles, found her rhythm and was running a
spectacular race for her first attempt at the half marathon. Claire
usually focuses on mid-distance races, so her decision to utilize her
training strength in this race was a good one. Claire and Abby would
finish very close to one another in their first race together.
As the second men's pack ran down Kelly Drive, Bart pushed ahead,
setting PRs at several distances as he made his way toward the Art
Museum. As you read in the headline, Bart PR'd by an astounding
four minutes! His race was truly incredible. And by the time Hatch and
Tim crossed the line, the men's team had placed six men under 1:10 and
had secured the team title once again. Seann Mulcahy followed
The newcomer on the men's side - Pat Ward - ran a smart first
half marathon to finish in 1:13.01, followed by Seann Mulcahy in
1:14:56. A la Matt Byrne, teammate Spencer Shelly made a long awaited
return to racing as well.
9
September, 2006
Philadelphia, PA
BORGHUIS SHARPENS UP FOR PDR
Looking to sharpen up before the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia
Distance Run, Bart took part in the annual Paper Mill run, a small 5k
race on Forbidden drive. After injury precluded track racing in the
Spring, Bart is back and has been training intensively all Summer. Bart
took a vacation to Italy and was able to enjoy two weeks of solid
training in the rolling hills of Tuscany. He returned refreshed and
re-energized and proved it today, taking the top place in the Paper
Mill 5k. When the gun went off, Bart went out hard, and no-one followed
closely. Unfortunately, the turn around point on this out-and-back
course had not been marked and race-volunteers were still looking for
the right spot when Bart passed. Turning more than a quarter mile too
far, Bart ran hard to catch up, and finished 20 seconds behind the
leaders, in 4th place. Race officials offered a re-run, but realizing
that he had technically run a 6k, the winner and second place finisher
unamymously decided to grant Bart the win.
3
September, 2006
Avalon, NJ
ANOTHER STRONG PRTC PERFORMANCE DOWN THE SHORE
In perhaps the last PRTC performance at a shore destination until next
Spring, Ted Callinan took part in the Tim Kerr 7 Mile Island Run in
Avalon, NJ. Ted raced under sunny skies on this Labor Day
weekend morning. Though the field for this race was not extremely
deep, it did have South Jersey native Matt Marcini, a 2004 Olympic
Marathon Trials Qualifier. Like many of our PRTC
runners, Marcini is in heavy training for a Fall marathon.
Scheduled originally to run Chicago, an injury to Marcini in early
July has him looking to take part in our hometown marathon in late
November! Ted averaged 5:08 per mile and was able to win the race in
35:55
27
August, 2006
Stone Harbor, NJ
SKELLY AND GUNNING GO 2 - 3(OVERALL!) AT STONE HARBOR 10k
Yes, you read it right. This weekend brought an extremely impressive
race from Renee. She finished third. No, not in the women's race -
OVERALL! Joined by Claire Duncan and Rob Hewitt, Brian and
Renee concluded their full Summer racing schedule with
the Stone Harbor 10k. Brian outran all competitors except one
Kenyan. Brian has certainly strung together a fine schedule of races.
Renee continued her winning ways and increased her cash prize total for
the Summer. This race fitness will aid Renee when she takes to the line
at the U.S. road 5k championships in a few weeks. Having run fewer
races this Summer, Claire posted an impressive performance in the
10k and finished in the winner's circle. She captured third place in a
time of 37:20. Rob Hewitt opted for the shorter race, where he stopped
the clock in 17:10.
12 August, 2006
Sea Isle City, NJ
Four PRTC Men in Top Eleven
The team usually has only one or two athletes run the late Summer Sea
Isle City 10 Miler - a race assured to be a good gut check, with soft
sand and strong winds abound. This year, PRTC had its most members ever
toe the line, and the results of the gut check were positive. Perhaps
the biggest gut check was for Steve Gourley, running his first serious
race after a 15 month layoff. Steve noted afterwards that the race
"really hurt." Yet Steve perservered and finished 11th overall!
Steve's 11th place finish is even more impressive when it is noted that
this year was clearly the fastest and deepest edition of the ten miler
ever. From the gun, Briton Ben Noad (by way of Providence) shot to the
lead. Joined by a runner from Haverford, the two passed the mile mark
in the 4:50 range. Ted and Tom pursued behind in a shade under 5
minutes. On the Strathmere end of the race, the positions changed
several times. By the time the men found themselves back on the
promenade though, very fit John Garton of Breakneck TC had fallen off
the pace, and newly crowned A10 1500m record holder Mike Didio (by way
of St. Joes) and Yuot Macharia (multiple Division III champion, by way
of Widener) had placed themselves high up in the order.
The entire field fought the tough winds and soft sand all the way down
to the Avalon turnaround. Macharia made his push in front of Noad.
Didio ran in third. Tennessee Volunteer Chris Platt (by way of
Haddonfield H.S.) placed himself in the four spot. Ted and Tom held the
five and six positions at the Avalon turnaround. Tim followed closely
behind. Meanwhile, Steve and Shannon Klick were running solid races,
placing themselves high up in the pecking order.
By the time the race ended, the course record mark had fallen. And
there were multiple runners finishing quickly. One needs look no
further than Tom's sub 54 minute clocking on this tough course, which
still only secured a ninth place finish to understand this was a great
race to watch. PRTC placed all four of its men in the top eleven, and
Shannon Klick duplicated Tom's finish in the nine spot.
6
August
2006
Rehoboth, DE & Wakefield, RI
TWO FAST TIMES BY TWO PRTC GIRLS IN TWO STATES! PRTC TAKES PART IN
MEMORIAL RACES
PRTC was contacted by the race director of the Run for JJ 5k, as he was
looking to provide the deepest field possible. Though she is only in
base training, Iowa native Michelle Lilienthal decided she would see
the Deleware shore and get in a race as well. The prize money drew an
elite field. But that doesn't bother Michelle. She turned back the
spoiling efforts of Kenyan Naomi Wangui and scored a decisive 27 second
victory. Michelle is returning to base training. But you can be sure
that when she comes around to racing season, she will run even much
faster than her speedy 16:49 here today!
While
Michelle was busy racing south of Philadelphia on this weekend, a few
other PRTC teammates were racing north of town. Bryan Skelly and Renee
Gunning joined their LaSalle alumni for a memorial race in the name of
teammate Kerri Bessette - who passed away due
to meningitus. Renee said "It was a fun time. I
ended up breaking the old course record of 22:40 set by Jenna Darcy for
an extra prize bonus. I am just trying to gear up for the US 5k
Champs coming up on September 17th (CVS Downtown held in Providence,
RI)." Bryan finished seventh overall in a fast men's race which
saw the course record (held by Providence grad and Irish national
Vinnie Mulvey) fall. The men's winner last year was none other than
PRTC runner Ryan Fennelly.
29
July,
2006
West Ocean City, MD; Philadelphia, PA
PRTC RUNNERS TAKE FIRST PLACE IN TWO STATES
Racing for general fitness amongst the members of PRTC continues. In
the last full weekend of July, Tim Callinan was taking in the sights of
Ocean City, Maryland. But he combined that small vacation with a little
road racing. His first hard effort of the Summer, Tim took first place
in the Green Turtle West 5k.
Back in PA, five other members of the team took place in a race which
is a staple for many locals. The race is somewhat unique in that it is
run in the very place where the team practices very Sunday - Forbidden
Drive. The race starts out by the Chestnut Hill stables and runs East.
The course then turns back towards the end of Forbidden Drive. Ross
made it the third different male on the team to win a road race
outright this month, stopping the clock at 25:49. Bryan Skelly ran his
fifth race of the Summer, rounding out the winner's circle in third.
These two were joined by Bart, who posted a solid effort of 26:33, and
Seann, who ran 28:06.
Renee Gunning continued to augment her win total, garnering first place
with a 28:13. And Claire broke up her Summer training with a hard speed
workout. Claire's work paid off, as she was able to capture second
place in 29:58.
23
July,
2006
Avalon, NJ
Gunning and Skelly Keep the Summer Road Racing Going
The Web site racing news for July might as well be dubbed the 'Bryan
and Renee' show. Both having enjoyed excellent returns to fitness,
Bryan Skelly and Renee Gunning have used some Summer road races to
sharpen their speed. They started the month near
Bryan's hometown in the Pitman Freedom 4 Miler. The very next
weekend, they traveled to the Central Jersey shore, running the Belmar
5 Miler. This past weekend, Bryan and Renee finished out the month by
racing at the South Jersey shore.
The Avalon Run from the Sun takes place at the beautiful Avalon Yacht
Club. Though it was admittedly a small race, Bryan intentionally ran
himself hard in the first mile to practice continuous running after
hitting a small lactate threshold spike. Bryan was pleased with the
effort and a chance to turn the legs over. Renee was also happy to get
the chance to race. Both our runners captured the overall wins,
bettering their finishing places from Belmar.
And to show true girl power, Renee drove home while Bryan slept
the ride away.
8
July,
2006. Belmar, NJ
TWO PRTC RUNNERS FINISH IN THE 2 SPOT!
PRTC runner and Puma rep phenom Bryan Poerner solicited his teammates
to take a break from Summer training a few years ago and run a race in
early July on the central Jersey shore. Since then, the Belmar 5 Miler
has become, in one fashion or another, a staple on the PRTC Summer
schedule.
But the Belmar 5 Miler is no easy Summer shuffle. It is a vital part of
the USATF-NJ road race scene and a must-run for every Central and North
Jersey runner, as well as an attraction for many runners out of New
York City.
This year, the team sent along three men and one new member of the
girl's team - Renee Gunning! Renee is from the Philadelphia area and a
graduate of North Carolina State University. Renee works at
Philadelphia Runner and joined the team in June! You will be definitely
reading a lot more about Renee. Her bio will appear on the bio page
soon.
Though Renee now is competing in the open ranks, she found herself on
this day competing against an old collegiate rival - Clara Horowitz of
Duke University (which sits just miles away from NC State). Horowitz
ran this race off of fitness she is enjoying from her last season in
the NCAA - which ended just two weeks ago. She recently signed a
professional contract with New Balance. Despite this and the fact that
Renee is just getting in to shape, she was able to finish
second overall behind Horowitz. Renee's speedy time would have won 11
of the last 13 editions of this race!
On the men's side, Bryan Skelly ran his second road race of the week
(he finished second overall at the Pitman Freedom 4 Miler back near his
hometown of Washington Township, NJ) and finished second as well.
Though Bryan finished within seconds of winner Shadrack Too, Bryan said
Too seemed to have the energy at the end and just wanted to hold on for
the victory. But Bryan is in heavy Summer training, as he is looking
for a Fall marathon, so this performance was great. Ross and Bart
finished fourth and ninth respectively to place the three men we sent
to the race in the top ten! Nice work, team!
16
June,
2006
SUMMERTIME SAUNTER
Most athletes for PRTC are either on their break or in the early stages
of their training. Yet there's always room for a fun, local Summertime
road race. PRTC enjoyed representation from two guys and one new girl
to the team at the annual Media 5 Miler.
Held on a Friday evening, the Media 5 Miler is a rolling, two-lap
course. With many Widener roots, Mucharia Yuot (who completed an
unthinkable trifecta at the DIII National Championships) secured
the overall win, missing Mike McKeeman's 2005 time by just several
seconds. Yuot completed the course in 25:17. PRTC's Mike Hatch grabbed
second in 25:39. One week back in to training, Widener grad Tim
Callinan was the team's second finisher in 26:21.
In the women's race, Shannon Klick (whose brother also ran for Widener)
took the outright title. Shannon is currently joining PRTC and will
surely add depth to the already deep women's squad. Shannon's broke the
tape at 32:11. Great race, Shannon!
In a few weeks, some members of PRTC will take to the Summer roads at
Belmar 5 Miler. We'll be sure to give you the report!
Well, for the
first half of 2006, PRTC was not able to keep up with the Web site as
well as normally would be expected. But that's because the team was
busy tearing up the trails, road, and track! So to get you completely
up to date, we have compiled a quick recap of highlights through early
June. The recap is categorized by month and team (men vs. women). Here
we go:
January
Women's Team
The month of January found the women excelling on more than one
surface. Claire Duncan put together a nice double at the armory in New
York with times of 5:00.1 and 2:18.0.
Men's Team
Perhaps the fastest performance on the men's side for January came from
Ryan Fennelly, who ran a solid 8:59.1 for two miles at the small
Thursday night races in New York. Other strong performances came from
Garrett Ash, Brian Crispell, Tom Haxton, and Jay Wassell.
February
Women's Team
A new sticky on the Winter racing calendar for many athletes is the NYU
FasTrack Invitational and this was the third year that PRTC send
runners to this meet. Shannon Markley took advantage of the great
facility to run 11:07.32. In the same city, but on a different
surface, Gina Lucrezi finished a fantastic 20th place at the
Winter Cross Country National Championships. Gina finished in 13:23!
This marks the highest placing by a man or woman for PRTC in either the
Fall or Winter editions of the Cross Country National Championships!
Men's Team
On the men's side, Jay Wassell really found a breakthrough that lasted
throughout the Spring. Jay posted a club record 37:26 for 12k at the
Winter Cross Country National Championships. Garrett Ash and Brian
Crispell posted the only two cross country 4k performances ever for the
men's team. At NYU FasTrack, the men's team posted some fine
double finishes, with Ryan Fennelly and Jay Wassell running the 3000m
(8:16.78 and 8:20.31 respectively) and Mike Hatch and Tom Haxton
running the 5000m (14:31.60 and 14:34.03). Ted Callinan ran a
Winter Marathon, placing 2nd overall at the Bank of America Tampa Bay
Marathon in 2:27.01.
March
Women's Team
Both the men and women took to the road in early March to contest the
very competitive Bancroft 5k. The girls ran spectacular races,
finishing 2nd, 3rd, 19th, and 20th overall! Both Gina and Michelle
cracked 17 minutes for 5k on the road. That's nothing to sneeze at. In
preparation for her late Spring/early Summer marathon, Amanda Parrish
rolling Caesar Rodney Half Marathon. Amanda posted a promising twelfth
place finish, running 1:30.26.
Men's Team
The men took the team title at Bancroft, taking six of the top ten
finishes in the race! In a finish that surely pleased the crowds, our
guys blazed towards the finish on Kings Highway in Haddonfield, with
Mike Hatch leaning past Jay Wassell in the closing steps. Hatch's 14:39
road 5k broke Ted Callinan's 14:41 record. As an unsual addition to the
team, Matt Collins made his 400m hurdle debut, winning his first race
for the team in 55:00 at the Danny Curran Invitational in Chester, PA.
April
Women's Team
There were many great performances for the month of April, but Michelle
Lillianthal's Boston Marathon performance tops all. Michelle took
advantage of the cool and overcast conditions on her maiden voyage at
the distance to post a blistering 2:40.23! Michelle was the third
American in the field and 13th overall. Moreover she became the third
member and first female of the PRTC to qualify for the U.S. Olympic
Trials! The big performances didn't stop there: Claire Duncan and Gina
Lucrezi went 1-2 in the Olympic Development women's steeplechase at the
Penn Relays! Duncan, a Penn alumna, posted a club record 10:41.87 and
earned her first Penn Relays watch!
Men's Team
Garrett Ash came within seconds of setting a new 5000m PR at the
Widener Invitational. Garret finished this annual Penn Relays
tune-up in 15:08.14. Hoping a race at the same distance would
give him perfect preparation for May, Tim Callinan had an excellent
showing at the USATF 10 Mile Road Championships, finishing 22nd overall
at Papa John's on a hot and humid day. Matt Collins also came up with a
big race at the Penn Relays, finishing 6th overall in a quick 53:86.
Seann Mulcahy returned from injury in this month and scored a win in
the Penn Relays Distance Classic 5k.
May
Women's Team
The month of May began at the famed Blue Cross Broad Street Run on
May 7th. As a team, the ladies earned a third place finish! The
2006 Philadelphia Marathon Champion, Emily Kroshus, ran to a cruising
3rd place finish with a time of 54:48. Fellow teammates Clarisse Mesa
(47th 1:05.34), Shannon Markley (53rd 1:07.17), and Amanda Parrish
(57th 1:07.38) all ran relatively close; motivating each other to the
ten mile finish.
The following weekend brought nothing but blue ribbon perfection to
Emily Kroshus and Michelle Lilienthal. On May 13th Kroshus ran a
controlled-comfortable pace to win the Sally Mae Saturday in the Park
5k (17:55) in Atlantic City. Teammate and 2:40 marathoner Michelle
Lilienthal, also raced to a first place finish on May 14th. Lilienthal
took the lead from the gun, and finished in 16:52 at the Philadelphia
edition of the Komen Race for the Cure 5k. Clarisse Mesa
finished 6th at the Medved Lilac 10k on May 22nd with a time of 40:59.
Amanda Parrish competed at the Key Bank Vermont City Marathon on May
28th. This first time marathoner finished 30th in 3:25.24.
Men's Team
The men's team blistered the already fast course and won its second
road team title of the Spring at the Blue Cross Broad Street Run. The
men totally rewrote the all-time performance list with spectacular
races by Ross Martinson (48:58), Tom Haxton (49:09), and Tim Callinan
(49:48). Though there were others that PR'd for 10 miles at this race,
including Ted Callinan, Mike Hatch, Garrett Ash, and Seann
Mulcahy, Tim's race put a punctuation mark on the day, as he
PR'd by some two minutes!
June
Men's Team
Jay Wassell book-ended the month at two big open meets. Jay came up
with the number ten time on the all-time 10,000m list, running 30:25.91
at Hanson's Midwest Distance Solution. More importantly, Jay came up
with the number one time on the all-time 5000m list, running 14:14.30
at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, Tennessee!
It was a great first half of the year for PRTC, and while the team
keeps changing, the goal stays the same: to have as many people run as
fast as they possibly can. The team is about to set in to heavy Summer
training, and then the guys and girls will see what they can produce in
the Fall.
|