Wednesday workout, November 11

RACES

It was another big weekend for GRC, with numerous excellent performances. The Veterans Day 10k was a triumphant return to competition for Frances Koons, whose track season was cut short by a serious injury. With only a few weeks of running under her belt, and not much in the way of quality work, Frances ran the outstanding time of 34:12, which is a new GRC Club record. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Frances just might have a knack for this whole running thing. Not to be lost in the hoopla over Frances's return is the excellent GRC debut of Stephanie Bryan, who placed second in 35:04, which was a huge PR, and puts her 4th on the GRC all-time list. Steph is going to be a major contributor to our track group, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she can in 2016. Also at Vets Day, Hannah was fifth in 37:06, Frances L was sixth in 37:16, and Maura was seventh in 37:22. Nice work, ladies!

The men were in action at Vets Day as well, and Mike lead from the gun and got the win in a very strong 31:08. Mike is rounding into shape at the right time, so keep an eye on that young fella. Phil was third in a solid 31:32, followed by Balmer in fifth in 32:07, Sam in seventh in 32:15, Tom in ninth in 32:41, Zak in tenth in 32:42, and Wertz in eleventh in 32:43. I was extremely pleased with Zak's performance, which was not only a huge PR, but most likely the best race of his life. In non-Vets Day results, Matt Rand ran 31:15 for the win at the Rockville Centre 10k in New York, which is a 29 second road PR. To say Matt ran alone from the gun is an understatement--second place was over 3:30 behind him--making his run that much more impressive. Jerry Outlaw followed up his big PR in Philly last week with a controlled 1:11:53 at the Battlefield Half in Winchester, where he placed fifth in a competitive field.

We also had a wonderful example of community outreach this weekend, when Big City guided visually impaired athlete Matthew Rodjom to the win at the Race to End Women's Cancer 5k in 17:30. GRC has made a commitment to guide elite visually impaired athletes, and it's a service I'm very proud to see us continue to provide. Thanks to Chuck for upholding this wonderful tradition.

Finally, Brian Young scored a huge victory last week in a different venue, winning a conviction in an extremely complicated, high-profile, and important trial involving manipulation of the Libor interest rate. Many of us felt that Breezy was making a mistake when he put his lucrative and secure career as a professional runner on hold to follow his dream of being a DOJ lawyer, but it's now clear that his risky decision has paid off. Breezy is giving a new meaning to the term send 'em, as he is sending seemingly untouchable white collar crooks to the joint. Mazel tov on a job well done! http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/business/dealbook/two-former-traders-found-guilty-in-libor-manipulation-case.html?_r=1

WORKOUT

We'll be at BCC for our normal 7:15 start, so meet for the warmup at 6:30. Fall sports are concluded, so we will have smooth sailing on Wednesday nights at BCC for the rest of the year.

I'll send the women's workout separately.

See you Wednesday at BCC.

Jerry