Monday, October 28, 2013

Murph Takes Fifth at MCM 10k

Making up for a sad performance by his alma mater against a team Who Shall Not Be Named, Murph donned his GRC blue and took to the streets of DC and Arligton to snag a top-five finish at Sunday's MCM 10k.

1
 
Thierry Roussel
Montlucon
M/44
32:20
32:20
5:12/mi
2
 
Stephn Gendron
Lowell MA
M/25
33:20
33:20
5:22/mi
3
 
Glenn Collins
Novi MI
M/28
34:08
34:08
5:29/mi
4
 
Liam O'Connor
Alexandria VA
M/19
34:12
34:13
5:30/mi
5
 
Patrick Murphy
Washington DC
M/29
34:29
34:30
5:33/mi

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Sunday MCM Watch Run

A group of us will be meeting at the Georgetown Store  (roughly mile 6) at 8:30 tomorrow to do a little run and cheer on friends of the team competing in tomorrow's Marine Corps Marathon. Come on down and join us!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

UPDATE: Meyer leads GRC in strong showing at Army Ten-Miler



WASHINGTON, D.C. - In his first major race in a GRC singlet, Luke Meyer led the men with a head-turning time of 50:23 this morning at the Army Ten-Miler. Meyer got out hard and by mile 2, he had tucked in behind the chase pack. 


"Luke showed why he is a national class athlete.  He'd be the first to admit that he's nowhere near fully fit, yet he ran an outstanding race today." said Coach Jerry Alexander. "With our other new stars joining Luke on the starting line, GRC is going to make a major splash at the USATF 12k and Clubs XC."


Sam Luff ran his best race of the fall with a time of 51:31. Luff passed through 5-miles in 25:27. 


"Sam ran very well, and is quickly regaining fitness.  He will be ready to go when the big races come around in the next few weeks," said Alexander.


Paul Balmer continued his string of strong performances and ducked in a few seconds under 52 minutes.


"Paul ran much of the race totally solo but still broke 52, which was his goal coming in," boasted Alexander "so that was mission accomplished, despite less than optimal racing conditions for him."

It was also a strong performance by our senior set, as Dave Wertz ran an outstanding race, and Dave O'Hara dipped under 55 minutes.  

Brian Young ran a very stellar 58:25.

Beth Young and Lindsay O'Brien led the women with sub-60 minute efforts. 


"Beth did not have her A game today, but she still ran a 15 second PR," noted Alexander. "She is fit to go through 10 miles at that pace in the Wilson Bridge Half, and we will see some massive performances from her this fall."

Lindsay has been battling injuries as of late and also looks forward to competing at Wilson Bridge.  
Julie Tarallo and Kerry Allen ran personal bests of 1:01:02 and 1:01:07, respectively.

"Julie ran a very nice PR, and though she would have liked to break 61, this was an excellent run from an athlete who is getting better every week," said Alexander. "Kerry also had a nice PR at a time when her confidence was a little shaky.  Now that Kerry is back on the right track, we're going to see some excellent performances from her this fall."
DEVELOPING...


RESULTS:

15. Luke Meyer - 50:23
24. Sam Luff - 51:31
29. Paul Balmer - 51:58
34. Dave Burnham - 52:47
37. Dave Wertz - 53:05
40. Matt Hassett - 53:10
43. Sean Barrett - 53:45
62. Dave O'Hara - 54:59
83. Chris Bain - 55:59
148. Brian Young - 58:21

12. Beth Young - 59:41 
14. Lindsay O'Brien - 59:46 
16. Julie Tarallo - 1:01:02
18. Kerry Allen - 1:01:07


Saturday, October 19, 2013

O'Connor, Carroll Win St. Rita 5k

Alexandria, VA -- Kieran O'Connor and Maura Carroll each won their respective divisions this morning at the St Rita 5k at Four Mile Run Park. O'Connor ran a personal best of 15:15 (unofficial). Kevin McNab placed second with a time of 15:35 while Jake Klim finished in 4th in 15:55. Carroll's time was 18:05. She was followed by Meghan Lockett, Avril Kaplan, Susan Hendrick and Heather Jelen.

DEVELOPING...

Friday, October 18, 2013

GRC to deploy team at the Army Ten-Miler


On Sunday, the Georgetown Running Club will send a squad of women and a platoon of men to do battle at the Army Ten-Miler in Arlington. All told, sixteen GRCers will race in one of Washington, D.C.'s finest fall events. 

"It's not an exaggeration to say that our crew for Army is as strong as any lineup for any race in GRC history," boasted Coach Jerry Alexander. 

Lindsay O'Brien, the GRC 10-mile record holder, will lead the women's team, but Beth Young, who is running personal bests at every corner, won't be far behind. 

"Beth is in phenomenal shape, as she showed at the Philly Half, and she's rested and ready after a couple of weeks off courtesy of our track-loving Congress," Alexander said . "She and Lindsay are going to run aggressively, and Lindsay's team record of 57:47 could be at risk." 

Julie Tarallo, who ran 1:22 for the half marathon in Philadelphia last month, and Kerry Allen, who ran 1:24 in that same race, will also be toeing the line.

Twelve GRC men will race on Sunday, including Mike Franklin, Luke Meyer, Sam Luff, Dave Burnham, Sean Barrett, Brian "Breezy" Young, Patrick Murphy, Dave Wertz, Dave O'Hara, Lavar Curley, Paul Balmer and Matt "Fridge" Hassett. 

"Mike will be making his 10 mile debut, and based on his recent workouts, he could threaten the club record of 49:07, said Coach Alexander. "Luke is not going to threaten his PR of 48:26, as he is still working his way back into shape, but he is ready to make a strong showing." 

Luff and Barrett could threaten their personal bests while young guns Balmer and Hassett are both looking to break 52:00. 

Expect members from both the women and men's team to secure a spot in the "Top 5 All-Time" lists: 

1. Lindsay O’Brien - 57:47 - Broad Street Run 2013 
2. Drea Garvue - 58:50 - Army 10 Mile 2011 
3. Michelle Miller - 59:20 - Cherry Blossom 10 Mile 2011 
4. Anna Holt-Gosselin - 59:22 - Army 10 Mile 2011 
5. Beth Young - 59:45 - Cherry Blossom 10 Mile 2013 

1. Chris Raabe - 49:07 - GW Parkway 2009 
2. Karl Dusen - 50:06 - Cherry Blossom 2011 
3. Sam Luff - 50:45 - Cherry Blossom 2011 
4. Jerry Greenlaw - 50:55 Cherry Blossom 2011 
5. Jake Klim - 50:56 - Cherry Blossom 2010 

On Saturday, a small contingent of GRCers will race the St. Rita 5k in Arlington including Kevin McNab, Kieran O'Connor, Jake Klim, Maura Carroll, Heather Jelen, and Avril Kaplan.

A reminder - please remember to update your race plans in the team's race calendar HERE.

DEVELOPING...

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Saturday Shop Run 9 a.m.

Anyone up for a few easy pre-A10 miles from the Gtown store Saturday at 9?  Maybe we could also work in a couple of strides and perhaps even a few laughs too?  Comment or email if interested. 

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Dutch Paul runs a 2:22:17 in Marathon Debut



GRC friend and on/off again training partner raced this morning in Holland and placed 21st overall and was second among countrymen.

Closer to home, Matias won the PTOS Innovation 5k by more than 2:30 in 16:51 while pushing Leo in a stroller, and Susan won the abbreviated Boo! Run for Life 10k (it became a 5k) in 18:46.

Kristie and Elyse went 1-2 at the Nova 5k in Bluemont Park, running 18:53 and 19:42.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

The Line at 9


Luff, Dusen and Klim are meeting there and then. Klim is looking to run 15, Luff 10. We will start on the Western Ridge Trail and attempt to avoid the slop.

Comment if we should wait for you.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Ban is Repeat Winner at Great Allegany Run


In other weekend action, Charlie Ban was the repeat champion in the Great Alleghany Run in Cumberland, MD. He won the 15k in a time of 49:37, a 5:20/mile average.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Jurkovich - 2:30:42 @ US Marathon Champs!

FLASH RESULTS FROM MINNEAPOLIS:

Evan Jurkovich - 2:30:42 - PERSONAL BEST!
Chris Bain - 2:37:11
Dickson Mercer - 2:38:17

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Sunday @ Riley's

Sorry for the late notice, but Jake, Tex and I will be running at Riley's Lock tomorrow at 9AM. Comment if you want to show up.

GRC Expat Reaves is married

Reaves married longtime girlfriend Valerie in San Francisco

GRC Go 1-3 @ Mason, Balmer leads men @ Paul Short

GRC swept the Mason Invite with Mike Franklin, Sean Barrett and Luke Meyer going 1-2-3. Times were slow and the course was extremely difficult, perhaps "the most difficult college course I've ever seen," quipped Coach jerry Alexander, "but it was an excellent performance for Luke in his GRC debut, and Mike and is still undefeated in a GRC jersey." 

Mary Grace Pellegrini placed 11th. 

 In Lehigh, Paul Balmer led the GRC at the Paul Short Run.

 18 Paul Balmer 4:56 25:37 5:10 Grc
 34 Paul Guevara 4:56 25:58 5:14 Georgetown R C
 43 Samuel Luff 4:54 26:05 5:15 Georgetown R C
 68 Matt Hassett 4:57 26:27 5:20 Georgetown R C

Mercer, Jurkovich, Bain to Compete in USATF Marathon Championships

Two Wednesdays ago, Dickson Mercer, Evan Jurkovich, and Chris Bain started their fourth and final 1600m repeat with a sense of urgency. One lap in, it was clear that they were really going for it and by 800m Jerry was calling the splits in a tone that conveyed encouragement, not just information. It was the kind of interval that causes guys doing their cooldown to stop and cheer.  

Finishing a workout on a high note is never a bad thing, but this was not just any workout. That 1600 was the last interval of the last workout of Mercer, Jurkovich, and Bain’s 2013 fall marathon cycle. The easy, easy, medium, hard 4x1600m repeat workout has become a time honored final effort that many a GRC runner has used to cap off a marathon cycle. That final all out 1600 leaves marathoners with the confidence that weeks of high mileage have not dampened their speed and that the bumps and bruises sustained along the way are nothing the taper can’t fix.

Tomorrow morning, these three runners will compete in the 2013 USATF Marathon Championships at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. And if this training cycle is any indication, they are in for terrific races. Mercer ran 1:12 at RNR Philly last month and although the result was not what he was looking for, he was encouraged to be able to sustain a fast pace with relative ease on the first part of the course. And Jurkovich, who will be making his GRC debut tomorrow, ran 1:09:24 last month at the USATF Half Marathon Championships in Duluth.

None of the runners intend to change their gameplan because this race is a highly competitive championship event. Bain’s running style is the embodiment of self-control and self-awareness and you won’t see him getting pulled out faster than he is comfortable. And Jurkovich thinks that the championship environment will help him run a better race because he knows that “there will be good guys around regardless [of the pace]” and feels “more comfortable sticking to my game plan and being confident I’ll be able to run my race and have guys that are there to push me when I need it.”

Coach Jerry thinks that all three runners are in excellent form from weeks of the hard training and will run terrific races, if not PRs.  In 2010, Jurkovich ran 2:32:10 on this course and is looking to improve. Tomorrow will give Mercer the rare opportunity to run well on a relatively flat course. His PR of 2:29:06 has been on the books for a while, but that is due in large part to the fact that he is the sort of runner who thinks that the marathon is about the performance -- not just the number on the clock -- and as a result has competed on very challenging courses such as Frederick, Gettysburg (where he took first place), and Boston last spring. Bain is a tough and experienced marathoner and, if conditions are right, will be in a position to improve on his PR of 2:31:03.  Matt Lehner, of the Capitol Hill Distance Project, is running in the open wave of the marathon and is also looking to PR.

Go get ‘em, guys.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Difficult Run at 9:30am

UPDATE: I am meeting Karl tomorrow then/there.

See you then if you're interested...

GRC Harriers to Hit the Grass and Mud Tomorrow!



Coach Jerry Alexander monitors members of the Georgetown Running Club during a recent cross country practice

On Saturday, Sam Luff will lead a quartet of GRC harriers in the 40th Paul Short Run in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. The race is a tune-up - a chance to put on the spikes in real competition - before the team heads to Bend, Oregon later this year for the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships.

Joining Luff on the course will be the pistol-wielding, sombrero-donning "Texas" Paul Guevara, Matt "Fridge" Hassett and Paul Balmer. 

Lehigh is arguably one of the fastest, and most contested cross country courses in the land, so if the weather is good, and the competition ripe, expect to see fast times over the 8 kilometer course.

Also on Saturday, closer to home, Luke Meyer will make his long awaited debut at the Mason Invite. Meyer was a 2-time All American at Yale, in cross country and track, and ran the 3,000m steeplechase in the 2008 Olympic Trials and the marathon in the 2012 Olympic Trails, where he recorded a time of 2:20:21. In 2011, Meyer was the top American at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, with a time of 48:26.

"Luke is an athlete with truly superb credentials," said Coach Jerry Alexander. "His PRs are on a whole different level than any of our runners, and when he returns to full fitness, he will take the team to new heights.  We are extremely fortunate to have him on board."

Joining Meyer in the 8 kilometer race will be Mike Franklin, currently GRC's top runner and Sean Barrett.

Mary Grace Pelligrini will represent the women's team.

DEVELOPING...