Wednesday workout, October 1

Duly inspired by Brian "Baruch" Young, I wish a happy and healthy 5775 to all. Shana Tovah!

RACES

We had some excellent performances from the men on Saturday at Clarendon Day, led by Kevin's dominating victory in the 10k in a solo 30:37.  Kevin's win was even more impressive given the fact that he was still feeling the affects of winning a hilly 10k in Baltimore 6 days earlier, so Kevin wins the coveted shtarka of the week award.  Also in the 10k we had strong performances from Matt Rand, who ran 32:11, and Sean O'Leary, in 32:45.  In the 5k, Mike celebrated the new year with a solid 14:52, and he undoubtedly would have run faster if he hadn't had that last piece of kishka at Rosh Hashanna dinner the night before.  Bless him, that boychick can eat!  Dave Wertz ran an excellent 15:19, a road PR, followed by James in a very solid 15:30.  The two most noteworthy performances in the 5k, however, came from two of our track specialists, Tom and Shaun, who ran 15:31 and 16:49, respectively.  Three weeks ago, Tom's PR was 16:14, and in two races he has improved by a remarkable 43 seconds.  Shaun is still in the early stages of his comeback from serious injuries he incurred in a car accident in 2012, and this performance was a big step in the right direction.  In non-Clarendon news, we had an excellent performance from Sebi, another athlete on the comeback trail, who won the Freedom 5k in 16:40.  Sebi's recovery from hip surgery is coming along well, and he's looking to be back to full strength in 2015.  Abi gezunt, Sebi!

We also had strong performances this weekend from Susan and Sarah.  Susan ran a very controlled 18:27 at Clarendon Day, and Sarah won the West Chester Stomps Cancer 5k in 18:45.  Susan is in excellent early season shape, and we're going to see more strong results from her this fall.  Sarah is well on her way to returning to full fitness, and she will continue to improve every week.  

Ed. Note: Self-deprecating update from Coach Jerry, also this link may be helpful for my fellow goy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Yiddish_origin

I've earned the dreaded schmendrick of the week award by omitting Maura's 36:47 at the Pittsburgh Great Race 10k.  Maura has run some solid early season performances, and we're going to see some PRs from her later this season, starting at Army.

ADMINISTRATIVE

Much to the disappointment of my Yiddisha mama, I'm not a doctor, but my lack of medical training notwithstanding, I strongly recommend that you all get flu shots in the near future.  A flu shot now could go a long way towards keeping you healthy this winter, thereby eliminating unwanted breaks in your training.  I know that a nice matzo ball soup can work wonders when you're under the weather, but let's try to eliminate the need for resorting to such drastic measures by not getting sick in the first place. 

WORKOUT

We're at BCC this week for our normal 7:15 start, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.

I'll send the women's workout separately.

See you Wednesday at BCC.

Jerry

McNab nabs First Place at Clarendon Day 10K

Three GRC runners broke into the top ten yesterday afternoon at the Clarendon Day 10K.

10k
1.  Kevin McNab (30:37)
4.  Matt Rand (32:11)
8.  Sean O'Leary (32:45)

On this Rosh Hashanah weekend, David Wertz, who nearly missed a PR, and Lashaun Smith, who ran his best race since a serious car accident, started the new year off right and made formidable cases for Coach Jerry's highly coveted "GRC Mazel Tov of the Week." Notably, Tom Kelly schlepped home a 45-second PR, which also put him in the running. 

5k
2.  Michael Franklin (14:52)
6.  Dave Wertz (15:19)
6.  Susan Hendrick (18:27)
7.  James Frick (15:30)
8.  Tom Kelley (15:31)
10.  The Fridge (16:04)
19.  Lashaun Smith (16:49)

Cheers to Pacers Events for putting on this race, which all agree was truly a mitzvah.

Wednesday workout, September 24

RACES

If any further proof were needed, we received confirmation yesterday that long races and high humidity are a bad combination.  Our crew at the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon encountered very difficult conditions, and unfortunately the times reflect those conditions.  But the day was not a total loss, as Amy made her official GRC debut in a very respectable 1:21:49.  Amy is a superstar in the making--she was a soccer player at UVA who had no background in running, and essentially untrained she ran 59:36 at the GW Parkway 10 mile in April.  With a few months of consistent training under her belt, there's no telling what Amy will be able to achieve, so keep an eye on that young lady going forward.  We also had a solid performance from Pat Kuhlmann, who was second master in 1:12:18.  The rest of our crew, Sean Barrett, Outlaw, Charlie, and Teal, were all hampered mightily by the heat, but their fitness will show down the road. 

Closer to home, Kevin defended his title at the Race for Our Kids 10k in Baltimore, in a very controlled 31:27.  Kevin will be back in action on Saturday at Clarendon Day 10k, where he'll be looking to continue his winning ways.

WORKOUT

We're back at BCC this week for our normal 7:15 start, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.  The school may be closed, so it might be necessary to find bathrooms elsewhere.

I'll send the women's workout separately.

I'll see you at BCC on Wednesday night.

Jerry

Big City, Big Plans

Chuck "Big City" Kacsur is beginning his tenure on the alumni board of directors at his alma mater, California State University of Pennsylvania.

Big City, seen here lounging, will be a great addition to the board, bringing his metropolitan ways to an ambitious little branch of the Pennsylvania State System for Higher Education, without disrupting the rural character of the campus, tucked away in Washington County on the Monongahela River.

Wednesday workout, September 17--ON THE MALL

RACES

We had a big weekend of racing, highlighted by the Navy 5 miler and half marathon, and there were many outstanding performances.  The undisputed race of the day, however, was Kristin's 1:20:40 in the half, which was a humongous 6 minute PR.  This was a major breakthrough for Kristin, and while it was not unexpected given that she ran superb workouts all summer, it's one thing to run well in practice, and quite another to run well in races, and Kristin delivered when it counted.  Kristin executed her race plan perfectly, which was to stay comfortable through 10 miles, and she would have run much, much faster if she had opened it up earlier.  We're going to see many, many more major breakthroughs from Kristin in the weeks and months ahead.

There were other notable performances at Navy, including but not limited to (as we lawyers are so fond of saying) the following:

Sara's GRC debut in the 5 mile.  Sara had a fantastic senior year at Dickinson, where she was a D-III All-American in cross country and outdoors, placing 4th in the 10,000 at Nationals, and ran PRs of 4:33 for 1500, 16:53 for 5,000, and 35:40 for 10,000.  Sara is going to have a shot at rewriting the GRC record book on the track this spring, so keep an eye on that young lady.

Maura's meet record in the 5 mile of 30:03.  Maura missed the start of the race last year, but she was on the line when the gun went off this time around, and ran a strong race considering that she was solo from the mile mark.

Paul Balmer's half PR of 1:10:59.  Despite running the second half of the race totally solo, Paul PR'ed by a minute, which was a very encouraging sign as he prepares to make his marathon debut in Portland on October 5. 

Kerry's very controlled 1:21:20 in the half.  Kerry is just starting her training cycle for the California International Marathon in December, and she showed that she is ready to get down to business as she prepares for a major PR in Sacramento.

Emily's excellent half debut of 1:24:46.  Emily has almost no experience with longer distances on the roads, and her goal was to break 1:30, so we can call that mission accomplished.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of recent graduates.  Sean O"Leary ran a very solid 25:49, followed by Stewart in 25:56, James in 26:27, and Kyle in 26:38.  Sean and Stewart rebounded nicely from less than stellar 5ks in early September, and they will continue to improve as the season goes on.  James had not run a race that long in almost two years, and we will see continued progress from him on the roads as he builds his strength for track season.  Kyle's training has been limited by a minor injury the last two weeks, but we'll be seeing much more from him this fall, and beyond.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of grizzled veterans.  Jerry Outlaw sharpened up for the Philly half in 25:42, followed by Dickson in 25:51, Dave O in 27:18, and Patrick in 27:21.  This was Dickson's best performance in recent memory, and his focus on shorter races this fall is starting to pay off. 

In non-Navy news, Dave Wertz successfully defended his title at the Navy Federal 5k, and Tom ran a 5k PR of 16:13, not only winning the Race for Schools, but also beating a world record holder in the half marathon in the process.  That 10 year-old thought he could use his strength to wear Tom down, but he didn't factor in Tom's superior finishing kick. 

WORKOUT

Due to another conflict at BCC, we're on the mall again this week.  The drill will be the same as last week--we'll meet at 6:15 on the 7th street side of the loop, and I'll be there to watch your stuff while you warm up.  We'll get rolling at 7:00.  If you need additional information on logistics, let me know.

I'll see you on the mall on Wednesday night.

Jerry

Maura, Wertz, & TK Break the Tape

"From the start, the Run for the Schools 5k was all Tom Kelly. He ran to win, and win he did," a giraffe reported after Kelly won the Falls Church event in 16:13.

Maura, meanwhile, won the Navy 5 Miler in an event-record time of 30:03, while Wertz defended his title at the Navy Federal 5k.

The race of the day at Navy 5 Miler and Navy Air Force Half, however, said Coach Jerry, was Kristin's 1:20:40 in the half -- a humongous six-minute PR.  

More from coach:

This was a major breakthrough for Kristin, and while it was not unexpected given that she ran superb workouts all summer, it's one thing to run well in practice, and quite another to run well in races, and Kristin delivered when it counted.  Kristin executed her race plan perfectly, which was to stay comfortable through 10 miles, and she would have run much, much faster if she had opened it up earlier.  We're going to see many, many more major breakthroughs from Kristin in the weeks and months ahead.

There were other notable performances at Navy: Namely, Maura's meet record in the 5 mile of 30:03.  Maura missed the start of the race last year, but she was on the line when the gun went off this time around, and ran a strong race considering that she was solo from the mile mark.

Sara's GRC debut in the 5 mile.  Sara had a fantastic senior year at Dickinson, where she was a D-III All-American in cross country and outdoors, placing 4th in the 10,000 at Nationals, and ran PRs of 4:33 for 1500, 16:53 for 5,000, and 35:40 for 10,000.  Sara is going to have a shot at rewriting the GRC record book on the track this spring, so keep an eye on that young lady.

Paul Balmer's half PR of 1:10:59.  Despite running the second half of the race totally solo, Paul PR'ed by a minute, which was a very encouraging sign as he prepares to make his marathon debut in Portland on October 5.  

Kerry's very controlled 1:21:20 in the half.  Kerry is just starting her training cycle for the California International Marathon in December, and she showed that she is ready to get down to business as she prepares for a major PR in Sacramento.

Emily's excellent half debut of 1:24:46.  Emily has almost no experience with longer distances on the roads, and her goal was to break 1:30, so we can call that mission accomplished.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of recent graduates.  Sean O'Leary (Blur) ran a very solid 25:49, followed by Stewart (Stu) in 25:56, James in 26:27, and Kyle in 26:38.  Blur and Stu rebounded nicely from less than stellar 5ks in early September, and they will continue to improve as the season goes on.  James had not run a race that long in almost two years, and we will see continued progress from him on the roads as he builds his strength for track season.  Kyle's training has been limited by a minor injury the last two weeks, but we'll be seeing much more from him this fall, and beyond.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of grizzled veterans.  Jerry Outlaw sharpened up for the Philly half in 25:42, followed by Dickson in 25:51, Dave O in 27:18, and Patrick in 27:21.  This was Dickson's best performance in recent memory, and his focus on shorter races this fall is starting to pay off. 

Awww - thanks, coach.

Kristin, center, on the way to a breakthrough performance. Cheryl Young took this photograph and many more. 

Mercer Takes Fourth in Press Club 5k

Breuters Wire Services -- Washington, D.C.

Dickson Mercer, Justin Snair and Patrick Kuhlman overcame persistent anti-GRC bias in the Mainstream Media today by finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth at the National Press Club 5k.  Their times were 15:20, 15:36; and 15:39, respectively. Emily Dufton, wife of Dickson and owner of Bruno, was second in her age group. Anonymous, unconfirmed and unattributed sources report the course was a touch short. Others contend that these reports are fabrications designed to feed our "if it bleeds it leads" 24-hour cable news cycle. We report, you decide.