Weekend Recap: Pacers races, a little bit of track

Pacers' event staff was busy working double duty this weekend, with both Crystal City Friday 5k #3 and the Parkway Classic on the docket. Charlie was also busy running double-duty, but that was by choice.

On Friday in Crystal City, young Lars seized the lead early and broke the tape in a road PR of 15:43, followed closely by Jake Roberts in 16:01. Down in Alexandria on Sunday, fresh off the momentum of a PR at Cherry Blossom, Keely took the win in 63:08. Keely was stoked to break the tape in the biggest win of her career, and equally stoked to get a free sticker and breakfast from District Taco after the race.

On the men's side, running retiree Kieran was second in the 10-mile in 52:11, and TK4 won the 5k in 16:12.

Crystal City 5k # 3
1. Lars 15:43
2. Jake 16:01
14. Fridge 17:03
17. Charlie 17:51

Parkway Classic 10-Mile
1. Keely 63:08

2. Kieran 52:11
6. Outlaw 54:50
10. Tyler 56:03
18. Charlie 59:27

Parkway Classic 5k
1. TK4 16:12

3. Rebekah 19:39

On Saturday at various venues, our speed-inclined trackies logged impressive performances on the oval. At Princeton, Alex won her heat in the 800m, Liz ran a solid tune-up in the 1500m, and Trettel put forth an encouraging performance after a few injury-laden weeks of training. Further to the south, Mark and Ryan #PanhandleCrew Speir competed well in the 5k at Widener and Georgia Tech respectively.

Princeton Invitational
800m
Alex Morris 2:13.86

1500m
Trettel 3:55.16
Liz 4:47.09

Miscellaneous Track 5k's
Mark 15:25
Ryan 14:57

Last, but certainly not least, Greta ran 3:18 at the Zurich Marathon. As is often the case, the time alone doesn't tell the story of Greta's performance. Coach Jerry recapped Greta's bumpy marathon buildup in his weekly recap:

"Working as a consular officer in Kabul probably isn't the worst possible job on the planet for marathon training--scientists at the research station on the South Pole and refugee resettlement officials in Myanmar likely have it slightly worse--but it's way up there on the list.  The air quality in Kabul is so bad that it's impossible to run outside most days, and even on those rare days when the air is borderline tolerable, the only place available to run is comparable to a prison yard.  And Kabul is located at over 6,000 feet of elevation, making workouts on the treadmill extremely difficult.  Add to that very long and stressful work days and sleepless nights due to occasional artillery fire into the compound, and it all adds up to Greta having to deal with an exceedingly difficult training environment.  Despite all of these impediments, Greta worked very, very hard to be ready to compete in Zurich, and I was extremely proud of her preparation.  While the race didn't go the way she hoped, she gave it her absolute best effort, and that's all I can ever ask for.  Greta's next assignment is in Bern, Switzerland, which is an excellent place to train, and I'm fully confident that she will run a well-deserved PR within the next year."