NEGATIVE SPLIT BAIN - 2:37:30!!

BAIN (at 0636hrs): "stong (tail)winds and good temp"

BAIN RUNS 2:37:30 AFTER SPLITTING 1:21 AT WELLSLEY...

KOONCE RUNS 2:53!

FLASH: former GRCer Caroline White runs 2:37!!

BREAKING NEWS: JARRIN boards 6:00am flight from Boston back to Washington DC...

UPDATE: JARRINS welcome beautiful, 7lb, 3 oz girl into the world at 12:33pm, just 4 mins before Bain crossed the finish line.

DEVELOPING...

UPDATE: WEEKEND RESULTS

FINAL....

ROCKVILLE, Md -- The Georgetown Running Company had a fantastic showing this morning at the highly competitive Pike's Peek 10k on Rockville Pike. A strong tail wind and near-perfect racing conditions made this year's race the fastest in recent memory. The course record was smashed when Chapel Hill area Kenyan Julius Kogo ran 28:06.

"Twinbrook" Joey Wiegner teared through mile 1 in 4:38 and never looked back. Although attempting to run 30:30, Wiegner, who hit 5k in 15:11, still set a personal best with a time of 30:40. The Beastman, Dirk de Heer (31:01), wasn't far behind his teammate after hitting the halfway mark in 15:16. Dave Burnham, who is getting faster by the week, was just a few seconds back in 31:13.

Dickson Mercer broke through a series of frustrating weeks and notched personal best of 31:38. The Chicken Tender Runner bested his pre-race goal of 32:20 running alongside Dave Wertz. Patrick Murphy also had his best race in awhile after recording a time of 32:26. Frank bests his 10k my one minute.

Masters runner Jordan Snyder dipped under the 34:00 mark with a 33:52. He finished 4th in 40+.

Michelle Miller led the women with a time of 35:40.Susan Hendrick was next up at 37:07, just a ahead of teammate Beth Young in 37:30. Emily Dusen has returned from maternity leave and mustered up 6:09s for a 38:11.

MORE: Wilson Komen, now running for Reebok, ran 30:18 just ahead of marathon man Michale Wardian (who PR'd today by 15+ seconds). Benedict Sloane ran an extremely impressive 31:24 - perhaps the race of his life.

OFFICIAL MEN:
WIGGY - 30:40 PR!
DIRK - 31:01
BURNHAM - 31:13
DICKSON - 31:38 PR!
WERTZ - 32:03 PR!
TENDER - 32:16 PR!
MURPHY - 32:26
JORDAN - 33:52
FUNG - 36:52

OFFICIAL WOMEN:
MILLER - 35:30
HENDRICK - 37:07
YOUNG - 37:30
DUSEN - 38:11


BOSTON, Mass ---

Ban runs 16:00 at B.A.A. 5k in nasty conditions.

"Perfect" conditions, including a 20mph tailwind, predicted for Boston tomorrow.

Time trial

Guys I missed my race after it took nearly four and a half hours to drive to VCU, and I really need to get in a full 800 before I show up for my bigger race in two weeks. Can someone do part of a time trial with me? Ideally someone would take me out in 56/57 seconds for 400 meters, and if anyone wanted to jump in the second lap I'd appreciate that too, but the second lap isn't responsible for hitting a specific time, more just to keep me competitive.

If anyone is willing/able to do this, please let me know

Cherry Blossom 2011 Trailer

Trailer for the forthcoming documentary of this year's epic race.

"For optimal viewing, watch the the video on the Vimeo site, in HD"

-Towpath

FLASH: Hanson runs 3:56

LEWISBURG, PA - This evening, "track specialist" Ryan Hanson will attempt to break the GRC record in the 1500m run at the Bison Outdoor Classic.

The current record, 3:54.35, held by one Joey Wiegner, was set at the Sam Howell Invite in April, 2007. Hanson is in quick company: UMBCer Snyder ran 4:08 indoors last month.

UPDATE: Hanson runs 3:56..."not happy" with race, but ran well tactically after a 61-second 3rd lap.

1 Behre, Chris St. Francis 3:51.34
2 Hahn, Ben Edinboro 3:52.56
3 Anderson, Scott Edinboro 3:53.12
4 Fischer, Luke St. Joseph's 3:53.22
5 Christmas, Michael UMBC 3:53.37
6 Snyder, Chris UMBC 3:53.51
7 Caroleo, Mark Unattached 3:53.93
8 Zondlo, Nathan Lock Haven 3:53.94
9 Keebler, Michael Boston Colle 3:55.49
10 Connell, Brendan Binghamton 3:55.96
11 Hanson, Ryan Georgetown R 3:56.96
12 Shrawder, Adam Duquesne 3:57.55
13 Bice, Eric Cornell 4:03.30

MORE...

SATURDAY: BIG CITY (Chuck) to make season debut in 800m at VCU

SUNDAY IN ROCKVILLE: GRCers are set to race Pike's Peek, arguably the fastest 10k from Richmond to Baltimore...and maybe beyond. Wiegner, Murphy, Sovonick and Michelle Miller look to PR on the roads. Dusens, Burnham, Dickson, Daly and Jordan are also donning the Store singlet. Beth Young will also be racing.

UPDATE: Team will meet at 6:40 at the overpass on Redland Rd, behind the start line. And even though we don't appear on the entry list on the Pike's Peek website, we are on the master entry list at packet pickup today (10-4 @ White Flint Mall, AKA Wiggy's Place).

SUNDAY IN BOSTON: Ban to race B.A.A. 5k, hopes to run a time that would place him inthe top half of the women's 5k at Mt. SAC... and to not be outkicked by Charlotte Koonce

MONDAY IN HOPKINTON: Chris Bain will run his 13th consecutive Boston. His PR of 2:31 is from 2008. Scott Koonce and Bobby JARRIN are looking to run circa 2:50. Mom Ban will take her first crack at the race.

DEVELOPING...

Race For Hope - DC

Team,

Please consider running this race on May 1. If not as a race, than as a workout. Rob Magin was a role model for me. He ran for my alma mater, UMBC, and graduated about 10 years before I did. When I moved to the DC area some 10 years ago, Rob was one of the first runners I met and I spent a great deal of time chasing him around Bethesda-Chevy Chase in my years prior to joining up with GRC. I also used his times, at places like Cherry Blossom and Pikes Peek, as benchmarks since we both left college with similar attributes. Unfortunately Rob passed away last May due to a Anaplastic Astrocytoma (essentially a brain tumor) leaving a wife and three children under the age of 10. I will be running. It'll be my first race back and the first race I've run since turning 30...coincidentally, it will be on my 31st birthday. Friends, please join me.

Rob Magin's Runners Written by Mary Beth Magin, age 10: Join our team and run the Race for Hope! As you can see, our team Rob Magin's Runners has already raised a lot of money, and you can help by donating, too, and joining the team. We would love to have more team members--fast or slow runners, or walkers--it doesn't matter. No matter if you run, walk, or jog, just get out there and have fun knowing that you are donating to a cancer society. When you join the team you can set your own goal of how much money you want to raise. Even if you only raise $40, you can still feel like you are helping someone. If you know someone with cancer, when you run the Race for Hope, you can feel that you are helping them by donating. By raising all this money, we can all help find a cure for brain tumors and cancer. We formed this team because my Dad had a brain tumor, and we know what it is like to have a family member with a brain tumor or cancer. So we want to help by raising more and more money, and you can help us too by joining Rob Magin's Runners! I hope you join us soon.

http://www.braintumorcommunity.org/site/TR/Events/RFH-DC?team_id=45574&pg=team&fr_id=1651

Embarrassing/goofy photo day

Wednesday 4/13 Workout

From Coach Jerry:

We're at BCC again this week (and next week) and we'll roll at the normal time, 7:15. In anticipation of Pikes Peak, (the men) will do 8 x 800 with a 400 jog. The A group will go 2 @ 2:20, 2 @ 2:18, 2 @ 2:16, 2 @ 2:14. The B group will go 2 @ 2:32, 2 @ 2:28, 2 @ 2:24, 2 @ 2:20. The women will get a separate email with their workout.

LAWYERS HAVE A HEART

Does anyone want to run this race on Saturday June 11th? Its a 10k down in Gtown. Great flat course. Please let me know and we can get a team in. Max.Lockwood@gmail.com

Hanson, Ban, and Cotterell represent GRC in trio of races

Hanson battles to 6th in the 3K at UMD Invite, finishing in 8:33.7. From Coach Jerry: "He ran a great race tactically... unafraid to go for the win against the Pacers A team. It was a gutsy race."

Ban runs 15:48 for the 5K at GMU. Went out too fast, and finished six seconds slower than in Richmond two weeks ago.

Mike beats the heat in the St Louis Marathon, finishing 8th in 2:48:44.

Sunday Fun day

UPDATE:  Two Sunday run options:

8am:  Meet at Old Angler's Inn for a long tempo workout with Jerry and Dusen.

9am:  Meet at The Line for a regular long run through RCP.

Chuck to run two laps

I wanted to formally post my race schedule to see if anyone is interested in racing at the same meets. Everyone has been tremendously helpful in keeping me focused and motivated, and despite a lot of missed mileage I feel like I re-gained enough fitness to run 1:55 this season.

My race schedule and goals
April 16 - VCU break 2:00
April 30 - Shippensburg 1:55
May 6 - UMD Twilight 1:55, 52.0 open 400m double

Saturday Runs

There are a few options for running with the team this Saturday:

1. Georgetown Store, 9am: 8-10 mile maintenance run.
2. BCCHS, 9am: Workout with Coach Jerry.  Meet to warm up at 9, and be ready to start the workout by 9:45. Update:  There will be two workouts: a 4-5 mile tempo and 800m repeats.
3. George Mason Spring Invitational: Update: Schedule of Events... the good events start after 6pm.  You bet your ass Sam will absolutely (not) be racing.

GW PARKWAY RACE

If anyone still has some energy in their legs and wants to compete this weekend at the GW Parkways 10 miler, please let me know today. We have one Ethiopian Athlete running but can do with another runner or two. GW Parkway is a great and scenic course and Pacers does a fantastic job of organizing this one way course from Mt Vernon to Alexandria. Max.Lockwood@gmail.com

No Rest for the Weary

WEDNESDAY WORKOUT

From Coach Jerry:

"It was a great day for GRC on Sunday. Like a kid on Christmas morning who gets 20 new toys all at once, it's impossible for me to fully appreciate each of the excellent performances that I saw yesterday, so please forgive any omissions in my analysis. Starting with the women, we had 3 huge PRs. Michelle looked spectacular out there--a top 10 finish at Cherry Blossom is truly a monumental accomplishment! And Lindsey and Beth also ran extremely well and there's every reason to expect further breakthroughs this spring. For the men, there were so many great performances it's hard to know where to start. Karl is clearly back in shape, and based on what he did yesterday and the rapid improvement he's making, I am very optimistic about his chances to qualify for the trials at Grandmas. Sam and Jerry both had big breakthroughs yesterday that bode well for great seasons. Sam is looking at track PRs in the 5k and 10k, and Jerry is going to ready to do something special at the USATF 25k champs. Wiggy did not have his best day, but considering the problems he's had the last few weeks, it was an excellent performance, with much faster times to come soon. Dirk said to me after the race that he felt pretty good about his race considering he's only running 25 miles a week. For most runners, 51:40 is a career performance, so I'm inclined to agree that it was pretty darn impressive based on what Dirk has been doing. Matias and Andy also ran extremely well for guys who have not focused their training on running. Perhaps everyone should spend their time on the bike and in the pool--it sure seems like it's working for those guys! I was very excited about Dave Burnham's race--Dave is working his way back to race fitness, and his progress in the last few months has been fantastic. I'm also extremely excited about Paul's run--for a guy who has not done any quality work, and who until a few weeks ago he had not run on dry land for a couple of months, it was an amazing performance. I was also very pleased with Dave Wertz's run. A year ago Dave would have been thrilled to run 5 miles at that pace. And finally I was quite impressed with Jordan's performance. Considering that a few weeks ago he was ready to get surgery for a nagging injury, that was an outstanding run. Well done to all!

We're back at BCC this week (and for the next 2 weeks after this). We can roll at 7:15 as normal. Note that there is a track meet in the afternoon, so it's possible that we may have to delay the start a bit until the track is clear, but I expect we'll be fine to start on time. As for the workout, we'll do a 6-5-4-3-2-1 ladder, fairly relaxed, as everyone needs to go a little light to recover from the race. The A group will shoot for 75s on the 6, 74s on the 5, 73s on the 4, 72s on the 3, 70s on the 2, and 68 on the 1. The B group will shoot for 79s on the 6, 78s on the 5, 77s on the 4, 76s on the 3, 74s on the 2, and 72 on the 1.

I'll see everyone at BCC on Wednesday."

GRC Wins CB Team Challenge

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

1. Georgetown Running Company

50:06 50:45 50:55 ( 51:34) ( 51:40) = 2:31:46
Karl Dusen, Sam Luff, Jerry Greenlaw, Joe Wiegner, Dirk De Heer

2. Pacers Racing Team

50:25 51:16 55:33 (1:03:43) = 2:37:14
Bert Rodriguez, Michael Wardian, Billy Askey, David Stroupe

3. PRR Male Elite

52:28 52:54 55:20 (1:01:49) = 2:40:42
Adam Condit, Christopher Sloane, Andrew Ciarfalia, Selemon Getachew

4. Howard County Striders Elite

53:23 54:35 54:48 ( 58:46) = 2:42:46
Carlos Renjifo, Andrew Madison, Mark Buschman, Randy McDermott

Some of the $1,000 will be used to fund these elite runners' travel to Grandma's Half Marathon in Duluth, MN this summer for their attempt to secure Olympic Trials qualifiers.

Cherry Pics

GREAT JOB GRC.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100729112063173519405/Apr32011?feat=directlink

From Jimmy Daly:

http://on.fb.me/dOIvcS

http://on.fb.me/htJRch

JARRIN

Victory

Editor's Note: I, Klim, followed a good deal of the race on a bike and below is my report...

The Georgetown Running Company Race Team had arguably its finest performance ever this morning at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in downtown Washington DC. With almost ideal racing conditions, the race team, led by Karl Dusen, left the starting line strong. Dusen hit mile 1 in a comfortable 4:56 just behind Americans Luke Meyer and Dave Nightingale and was followed closely by PACERS nemesis Bert Rodriguez and GRCers Jerry Greenlaw, Sam Luff and Joe Wiegner. Rodriguez and Dusen were running together just after mile two just at or under 5:00 minutes per mile. By mile 3, Greenlaw and omnipresent distance guru Mike Wardian led Luff in a chase pack after what appeared to be a struggling Dusen. Dirk de Heer and Dave Burnham were stride for stride some meters back. In the race for top American, Meyer, at mile 5, continued to lead Nightingale by a healthy margin. Meanwhile, Rodriguez seemed to surge after hitting the halfway mark and Dusen continued to struggle. Wiegner had fallen off the pace some and now ran stride for stride with de Heer. Burnham was just a few strides back. At mile 6, Greenlaw, with a determined look in his eye and his small frame leaning into a Hains Point wind, led Luff and Wardian. Luff looked comfortable and strong. It was clear he would soon make a push. Dusen still trailed Rodriguez, considerably, heading out towards the tip of Hains Point.

At mile 8.75, the tide turned. Through a tunnel of pink cherry blossoms in full bloom, Dusen emerged ahead of a "worked" Rodriguez. Bert's form had now deteriorated and Dusen looked like he does going into the last repetition of a Wednesday night workout – tough as nails and fired up. Luff by now was GRC's number two man heading into the last mile. Outlaw looked tired, but not beat. In five minutes, it wouldn’t matter anyway..they’d be finished.

ANALYSIS: Dusen, Luff and Outlaw all had very strong days...Wiegner labored some after battling illness and injury but still ran well and possibly PR'd...Dirk de Heer continues to amaze the running world by running great times while training for triathlons...Burnham ran his best race by far in a GRC singlet...Matias PRs huge(!)..Sovonick PRs huge...Guevara runs 54 and change after missing multiple weeks due to an injury...Jordan is only 3 seconds off time from last year after succumbing to hernia...Carlos Hunts debuts in GRC garb. Michelle Miller might be the top local woman...Lindsey Jerdonek runs an incredible 60:40 and PRs…

Unofficial Results:
16. Karl Dusen 50:06
18. Sam Luff 50:45 PR!
19. Jerry Greenlaw 50:55 PR!
23. Joe Wiegner 51:34
24. Dirk DeHeer 51:40
25. Dave Burnham 51:46
38. Matias Palavecino 53:45 PR!
39. Paul Guevara 54:14
40. Andy Sovonick 54:22 PR!
53. Chris Bain 55:54
66. Carlos Hunt 57:39
81. Matt O'Brien 58:25
92. Jordan Snyder 58:54
120. Scott Koonce 59:51


7.Michelle Miller 59:20 PR!
14.Lindsey Jerdonek 60:48 PR!
21.Beth Young 62:21
120. Shannon O'Neill 71:43
333. Ruth Morgan 75:51


GRC associated
15. Dave Nightingale 48:39
33. Patrick Reaves 53:14
41. Dave Wertz 54:31
49. Billy Askey 55:33

SHOWTIME!

WEATHER REPORT: low 40s, sunny START: 7:40am UPDATE: DUSEN LEADS GRC THRU MILE 5 AROUND 25 MINS, OUTLAW, LUFF, WIGGY, BURNHAM/DIRK FOLLOW MILE 9: DUSEN EMERGES AHEAD OF BERT! LUFF, OUTLAW JUST BACK UNOFFICIAL: DUSEN 50:04 & 3rd AMERICAN, LUFF 50:45, OUTLAW 50:53, WIGGY 51:32, DIRK 51:39, BURNHAM 51:46, MATIAS 53:40, CHIX 54:22... MILLER 59:15, JERDONEK 60:40...

Cherry Blossom Weekend Logistics

The team gears up for its first major race of 2011 this weekend!  There are a lot of moving parts, so use this post to coordinate your schedule with everyone else.  Here are the plans:

Saturday:

9:00am:  Easy pre-race run from the Georgetown Store.  Be sure to stop by the store for this shake out run as we'll be distributing our NEW warm up long sleeve t-shirts!  If you still need a GRC singlet, this is the time to get one.  Make sure you see Jake for both.

10:30am-ish: Packet Pick Up.  Maybe after grabbing a bite to eat, some of us will carpool/metro over to the National Building Museum for packet pickup.  This tends to be very crowded, so the organizers have changed the set up slightly.  Make sure you have a copy of your confirmation email (including your number) either on paper or on your smartphone, otherwise you'll be stuck in packet-pickup-purgatory.  There will be NO number look-up boards.  If you can't make it on your own before 5:15pm on Saturday, there is limited packet pick up at the race Sunday morning, or you can write a note and give your confirmation email to someone else so they can pick up your number.


Race Day:

5:00am:  Metro Opens Doors.  Parking is going to be very limited downtown, so either plan to get a ride, metro, or bike to the race.  There will be a bike valet at the start area.  If you plan to metro to the race, service starts as early as 5am.  The nearest stop to the race start is the Smithsonian station on the Blue/Orange Lines.  If you don't want to transfer, Archives is the closest station on the Green/Yellow Lines and Metro Center is the closest on the Red Line. 

6:30am:  Warm-up.  Plan to gather at the meet-up location on the map below at 6:30 for an optional team warm-up. 

7:40am:  Race Start.  Good luck!  Run fast, and look good while doing it.  The full GRC press corps will be on hand to document the race, including a film crew at miles 0.5, 5, and 10 orchestrated by Towpath Productions, and several photographers throughout the course.  Contact Towpath directly if you would like to help.

8:29-8:45am:  GRC runners finish.  Group up at the finish.  DO NOT WANDER OFF.

8:50am:  GRC Team Photo.  We need a team photo that includes all of our new faces for our new website.  Keep your GRC singlet or warm-up on and meet at the same location as for the warm-up (see map below).   Besides racing fast, this is the only "mandatory" thing we need everyone to do.  The faster everyone cooperates, the sooner this will be over.

9:00am-10:30am Cool down/Interviews:  You're free to do whatever you need to do post-race... cool down, see loved ones, etc.  Try to generally stick around the meet-up location as Towpath Productions will be conducting interviews.

11:00am Post-race festivities:  Klim will be leading a contingent to Elephant and Castle at 12th and Pennsylvania Ave. for post-race lunch and drinks.


RACE DAY MAP:

Questions?

Any general  race-related questions can probably be answered in this information packet.  If you have any team-specific questions, share them in the comments.