RACES
There were many great results this weekend at various locations and distances, and the undisputed highlight was Frances's victory in the 5,000 meters at Penn Relays. Frances had not raced since indoors, and though she lacked race sharpness, she was confident in her closing speed. The slow early pace played right into Frances's hands, and with 600 to go she unleashed a devastating kick that left no doubt about the outcome. Frances is making her track 10,000 debut on Saturday at Stanford, and she's looking to run the same pace for 10,000 as she ran for 5,000 at Penn, where she set a club record of 16:27.8, in order to hit the USATF qualification standard of 32:58. After seeing how confidently Frances ran on Thursday, I wouldn't bet against her! The men were also in action at Penn, where Cabell ran a 6 second PR of 14:41 in the 5,000. Cabell had a bit of difficulty with jostling in the first couple of laps, but it was nothing like the trouble Matt Rand ran into in the 10,000. Within the first 100 meters, another athlete in the crowded field stepped on the back of Matt's shoe, forcing him to stop to remove and re-tie it, which essentially ended his race before it began, as he was over 10 seconds behind the field at the 400. Matt hung tough and finished in 31:20, good for 5th on the GRC all-time list, but he was fit to run much, much faster. Phil had better luck in the 10,000, running a solid 30:34, which puts him 4th on the GRC list. Dickson was the final member of our Penn crew, and though he was hoping to run faster, the experience of running against top-level competition on the track is going to make Dix a much better marathoner when he returns to his preferred distance this fall. From my perspective, having a GRC athlete win a Penn Relays title for the second consecutive year is a ringing endorsement of the direction the team is heading, and I'm already looking forward to making it three in a row in 2016!
The off-track action was highlighted by Kevin's hard-fought victory in the GW Parkway 10 mile, where he ran 50:28 in his debut at the distance, which puts him 4th on the GRC list. As Charlie's excellent article fully describes, Kevin knows how to win races, whatever the distance. That blurry figure lurking in the background of the photo is Charlie, who ran a solo 54:41 for third. On the women's side, Shauneen ran an excellent 60:10, which was her first PR at any distance since 2009. We're going to be seeing many more PRs from that young lady as the season progresses.
There were many great results this weekend at various locations and distances, and the undisputed highlight was Frances's victory in the 5,000 meters at Penn Relays. Frances had not raced since indoors, and though she lacked race sharpness, she was confident in her closing speed. The slow early pace played right into Frances's hands, and with 600 to go she unleashed a devastating kick that left no doubt about the outcome. Frances is making her track 10,000 debut on Saturday at Stanford, and she's looking to run the same pace for 10,000 as she ran for 5,000 at Penn, where she set a club record of 16:27.8, in order to hit the USATF qualification standard of 32:58. After seeing how confidently Frances ran on Thursday, I wouldn't bet against her! The men were also in action at Penn, where Cabell ran a 6 second PR of 14:41 in the 5,000. Cabell had a bit of difficulty with jostling in the first couple of laps, but it was nothing like the trouble Matt Rand ran into in the 10,000. Within the first 100 meters, another athlete in the crowded field stepped on the back of Matt's shoe, forcing him to stop to remove and re-tie it, which essentially ended his race before it began, as he was over 10 seconds behind the field at the 400. Matt hung tough and finished in 31:20, good for 5th on the GRC all-time list, but he was fit to run much, much faster. Phil had better luck in the 10,000, running a solid 30:34, which puts him 4th on the GRC list. Dickson was the final member of our Penn crew, and though he was hoping to run faster, the experience of running against top-level competition on the track is going to make Dix a much better marathoner when he returns to his preferred distance this fall. From my perspective, having a GRC athlete win a Penn Relays title for the second consecutive year is a ringing endorsement of the direction the team is heading, and I'm already looking forward to making it three in a row in 2016!
The off-track action was highlighted by Kevin's hard-fought victory in the GW Parkway 10 mile, where he ran 50:28 in his debut at the distance, which puts him 4th on the GRC list. As Charlie's excellent article fully describes, Kevin knows how to win races, whatever the distance. That blurry figure lurking in the background of the photo is Charlie, who ran a solo 54:41 for third. On the women's side, Shauneen ran an excellent 60:10, which was her first PR at any distance since 2009. We're going to be seeing many more PRs from that young lady as the season progresses.
http://www.runwashington.com/2015/04/27/gw2015/
The other major action of the weekend was at Pikes Peak, where we discovered, much to our collective dismay, that the course has been altered due to the demise of White Flint mall, and the changes were not for the better. Despite the lack of the sharp downhill at the end and the addition of a fairly steep uphill at the beginning, we had strong performances across the board, as Luke was third in 30:33, Jake was sixth in 31:51, Wertz was 8th in 32:01, Sean was 9th in 32:03, and Pat K ran a big PR of 32:34.
WORKOUT
We're set for a 7:15 start at BCC on Wednesday, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.
I'll sent the women's workout separately.
See you Wednesday at BCC.
Jerry
The other major action of the weekend was at Pikes Peak, where we discovered, much to our collective dismay, that the course has been altered due to the demise of White Flint mall, and the changes were not for the better. Despite the lack of the sharp downhill at the end and the addition of a fairly steep uphill at the beginning, we had strong performances across the board, as Luke was third in 30:33, Jake was sixth in 31:51, Wertz was 8th in 32:01, Sean was 9th in 32:03, and Pat K ran a big PR of 32:34.
WORKOUT
We're set for a 7:15 start at BCC on Wednesday, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.
I'll sent the women's workout separately.
See you Wednesday at BCC.
Jerry
