Monday, February 27, 2017

GRC takes home overall team title at RRCA Club Challenge 10 miler

Men's Results:
1. Kieran O'Connor 52:37.12
2. Jerry Greenlaw 53:10.19
4. Phil Royer 53:31.11
5. David McKay 53:39.25
11. Evan Jurkovich 54:24.23
13. Lucas Meyer 54:34.59
15. Paul Balmer 55:02.24
18. Dickson Mercer 55:26.87
20. Patrick Kuhlmann 56:02.14
25. Zak Miller 56:55.13
30. Matt Hassett 57:55.73
62. Chris Bain 1:01:17.73

Women's Results:
3. Kerry Allen 1:02:00.27
5. Maura Linde 1:02:15.85
12. Maura Carroll 1:04:14.82
14. Hannah Rowe 1:05:04.90
19. Julie Tarallo 1:06:22.50
20. Keely Eckberg 1:06:33.91
23. Greta Stults 1:07:44.70
32. Laura O'Hara 1:10:12.34



Friday, February 24, 2017

FLASH: Luff bids GRC adieu, becomes Ex-Pat


Earlier today, in a somber ceremony witnessed by one, or perhaps as many as two people lurking on the interwebs, Sam Luff’s name was officially moved to the “Ex Pat” list on Georgetown Running Club’s website.

"I just dragged his name over, and that was that,” sighed Men’s Team Director Sean O’Leary, who also doubles as the team’s website guru. “There really wasn’t much more to it than that.”

Tonight, after spending nearly six and a half years on GRC’s roster, Luff, and his overloaded Toyota Matrix, will head west and begin the long journey to San Francisco.

“Sam and I started at GRC on the same day, and since then the team has expanded in ways neither of us could have imagined,” noted GRC Coach Jerry Alexander. “The team would be nowhere near where it is today if not for his prowess as a runner and administrator.”

While donning the GRC singlet, Luff recorded personal bests of 14:15, 29:37, 50:45 and 1:07:08, marks which any working runner would be proud to hang his hat on. At the time, his 10k performance was a club record and, more often than not, Luff was the team’s top finisher on the track, road and course.   

“For sure, Sam was our standard bearer as an athlete for at least two years,” underscored Alexander.

In 2014, after an uncontentious election, Luff became President of the GRC, and served in that role for three years. During his tenure, Luff helped ink a sponsorship deal with New Balance and local running giant PACERS.

Following a series of on-and-off again injuries, and subsequent recoveries, Luff made his 26.2-mile debut at Grandma’s Marathon last June, running an impressive 2:28:03 in less-then-ideal racing conditions – arguably his best race in two years. It’s unclear whether he’s run a step since then, but that doesn’t really matter.

“I'm sure going to miss him,” noted Alexander.

We all will.

Of course, he’ll always have a (running) home if he ever returns to the Washington, D.C. area.

Good luck, Sam!

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Baby Young comes blowing down the road

Call her the draft, but don't call her Betty, Libby, or any other nickname for Elizabeth, the name that Harriet Ann Young's mother and aunt share.

The stork has once again turned back around and dive-bombed the GRC Tuesday afternoon at Georgetown University Hospital, dropping Harriet off where mother Liz and father Brian can see the Duke Ellington Track from the window. She is 5 pounds, 13 ounces and 18.25 inches, and from preliminary photographs her head is much more proportional than her father's.

Early favorites for her first words are: "jabrone," "no-no" and "Jake Klim is running the Marine Corps Marathon."

Time will tell if Harriet will start off with the middle distances like her mother, Liz, or take a detour through collegiate rugby, like Brian, before dedicating herself to the hard training.

Breezy is now free to run the RRCA Club Challenge, as is Murph, who has pledged to run the race if Breezy was a father before practice on Wednesday.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

FLASH: Women's 3k record falls at Princeton!

The GRC women's 3k record was broken by not one, but TWO GRC athletes on Sunday 2/19 at the indoor Princeton Invitational! Steph and Maura L both went under the old record of 9:41.49, set by Frances Koons in 2015, and finished 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Well done, ladies!

The rest of the GRC track corps competed very well, turning in six top-5 finishes.

Women's 1000

5. Alex Morris 2:59.33

Women's mile

3. Frances Loeb 5:02.75 (#3 all-time!)
5. Liz Tawa 5:07.43

Women's 3k

1. Steph Reich 9:36.03 NEW GRC RECORD (and 13 second PR!)
2. Maura Linde 9:37.82 (#2 all-time!)

Men's mile

7. Tom Kelly 4:31.38
8. Joe LoRusso 4:33.64

Men's 3k

2. Stewart Reich 8:34.27 (PR!)
3. Michael Palmisano 8:35.30
4. Kyle Wagener 8:48.12 (PR!)


In addition to reading up on your favorite GRC'ers here on the blog, don't forget to also follow along on Instagram @grc_running. We have a rotating lineup of team members posting great content this season so you won't miss a moment of the action!

Monday, February 13, 2017

FLASH: LITTLE SUBURB JOINS GROWING GRC CHILD CORPS

Chuck "Big City" Kacsur, our 800 meter runner, fan favorite at Outlaw's school's career day, and  in-house branding department, now gets to fully enjoy the fruits of all of the Father's Day 8k design work he has done for the last seven years. He and his law-talking wife Kate are proud parents of Colleen Abigail, who was born Feb. 7 at 21 inches and 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

On a personal note, it is very cool to see the young Cal U intern who showed up to Pittsburgh Pharaoh Hounds workouts in 2008 grow into a just-as-skinny father eight-and-a-half years later.


Sunday, February 12, 2017

Women's DMR Cruises to a First Place Finish at Millrose Games

It was an exciting weekend for Pacers//GRC-New Balance! The women's DMR continues to shine. They returned home triumphantly from New York City, after placing first at the Millrose Games - "the world's longest running and most prestigious indoor track and field competition" - with a time of 11:44. This time crushes the former GRC club record (set a few weeks ago at the Terrapin Invitational) of 12:22. We expect to continue to see great accomplishments out of these women in the weeks to come.

Alex hands off to Jesse in the lead
Alyson McGonigle led off with a time of 3:37.06, neck and neck with Central Park Track Club when she handed off the baton. Alex Morris took the lead after about 175m into her leg, handing off to Jesse Carlin in 58.8. The women led the race the rest of the way, with Jesse (2:13.87) and Steph Reich (4:54.27) running unchallenged. According to Coach Jerry, "Everyone ran great, and it was a total team effort."

Steph breaks the tape for the women's DMR
Meanwhile at the Boston University Valentine Invitational, Elena Barham ran a 3k PR of 9:45.9 - placing her 2nd on the GRC all-time list; followed by teammates Frances Loeb (10:10), Elyssa Gensib (10:23), and Liz Tawa (10:23).

Not to be outdone by the ladies, the GRC men also ran excellent performances this weekend. Kieran O'Connor placed first in the Pacers Love the Run You're With 5k with a time of 15:14, and Jerry Greenlaw brought home a win in the Run Your Heart Out 5k in 15:38.

Love the Run You're With Results:

Coach Jerry with the winning DMR


1. Kieran O'Connor 15:14
2. Graham Tribble 15:49
4. Zak Miller 16:55

Run Your Heart Out 5k Results:
1. Jerry "Outlaw" Greenlaw 15:38

Hilton Head Island Marathon Results:
Emily Potter (GRC expat) 3:17.04





















Thursday, February 9, 2017

DEVELOPING...


Wiggy has (Facebook) officially accepted the invite to the Father's Day 8k, instilling hope among the millennials that he and Witty will just go away.

This comes weeks after Wiggy outwardly expressed his plans to throw down on Witty's home turf.  After setting up a poll on GRC's Father's Day 8k 2017 Facebook page, Witty looks to be out for blood or at least Wiggy's boy band frosted tips.

Is Wiggy just a pup with all bark and no bite? The countdown has begun: 129 days

https://www.facebook.com/events/247647912352453/permalink/247665945683983/

GiddyupTM



FLASH: Susan hits the big time



Alongside the other noteworthy events taking place during the weekend of January 20 in the Baltimore-Washington area, GRC great Susan Hendrick was inducted into the hall of fame of Maryland’s Patuxent High School.


As this was Patuxent’s inaugural hall of fame class, athletes from the school’s full 20-year history were considered. There were eight individual athletes, one team, one administrator, and one coach selected. Besides our fair Susan, other inductees included two NFL players and a professional baseball player, which is impressive company.



Susan captivated her audience at the ceremony with a speech thanking her coaches and mentors for the honor and made sure to rub it in the face of her husband Nathan, who also was a track and field star at Patuxent, but only has one state title to his name, compared to Susan’s three.



Said Susan, “Nathan and I both really owe a lot to our track coaches and the athletic department there for setting us up for success.”

Susan’s high school accolades across cross country, indoor track, and track include three state and 29 conference and regional titles. Her accomplishments not only attracted the attention of Nathan, but also that of Columbia University’s track program.

During her time at Columbia, Susan was a middle distance and relay star, setting three school records and becoming a two-time Heps champion and many-time All-Ivy and Academic All-Ivy performer. After graduation, she headed down to DC to complete her fifth year of eligibility at Georgetown while pursuing a master’s degree. She continued competitive running during her second year at Georgetown, supported by NYAC, and set PRs at 800m, 1500m, 5000m, and the mile, including running 4:17 in the 1500m, while balancing volunteer coaching on the side.


Susan was one of the first female athletes that fellow Columbia alum Jerry Alexander picked for his motley band of runners that eventually grew into the GRC team that we know and love today. She had a large role in the dramatic growth of the women's team after she joined the group in April 2011, recruiting several future GRC stars to the fold. A devotee of the classic Wednesday night workouts in Bethesda, Susan spent a few years focusing on longer distances, setting PRs at 8k, 10k, and 10 miles, when she suddenly remembered that she likes track better, settled for nothing longer than a 5k, and proceeded to snatch up the GRC records in the 800 and road mile.


Other GRC achievements include sharing some laughs with teammates while running a ten miler,


participating in Clubs a shockingly large number of times,

 

 and fulfilling the challenging position of Father’s Day 8k Cupcake Czar with gusto.



When a job opportunity presented itself in spring 2016, Susan decided to tackle a new challenge and left the DC area to head back up to New York City. She currently works in communications and public policy for Uber and lives in Hoboken, NJ with her husband Nathan and photogenic beagle Delta.



Outside of running, Susan enjoys celebrating Halloween, organizing going away parties for herself, and wearing more layers of workout clothing than is appropriate for the temperature.

Congratulations, Susan – both Maryland high school track and the GRC would not be where they are today without you!

 

Sunday, February 5, 2017

First down? More like first place!

Pacers//GRC-New Balance brought home two first place finishes on this Super Bowl weekend, along with several other impressive performances. Graham Tribble opened up the weekend in VA with a win at Potomac River Running's For the Love of It 10k in 32:58. Back in DC, Kyle "Spanky" Wagener brought home the Lombardi trophy at the Pacers First Down 5k with a time of 15:19. For the women, Maura Linde came in second place with a PR of 16:45. Thanks to Pacers for hosting another excellent race!

Greta, Kerry, & Maura L. 
Potomac River Running For the Love of It 10k
1. Graham Tribble – 32:58

Pacers First Down 5k
Women’s results:
2. Maura Linde – 16:45 (PR & 2nd all-time GRC)
3. Kerry Allen – 18:02
9. Greta Stults – 19:54
13. Laura O'Hara & Greta O'Hara 21:08

Men’s results:
1. Kyle Wagener – 15:19 (road PR)
2. Michael Palmisano – 15:22
5. Jerry Greenlaw – 15:39
7. Paul Balmer – 15:49
8. Charlie Ban – 15:53
10. Dickson Mercer – 16:04
14. Dave O’Hara – 16:47