Wednesday workout, October 1

Duly inspired by Brian "Baruch" Young, I wish a happy and healthy 5775 to all. Shana Tovah!

RACES

We had some excellent performances from the men on Saturday at Clarendon Day, led by Kevin's dominating victory in the 10k in a solo 30:37.  Kevin's win was even more impressive given the fact that he was still feeling the affects of winning a hilly 10k in Baltimore 6 days earlier, so Kevin wins the coveted shtarka of the week award.  Also in the 10k we had strong performances from Matt Rand, who ran 32:11, and Sean O'Leary, in 32:45.  In the 5k, Mike celebrated the new year with a solid 14:52, and he undoubtedly would have run faster if he hadn't had that last piece of kishka at Rosh Hashanna dinner the night before.  Bless him, that boychick can eat!  Dave Wertz ran an excellent 15:19, a road PR, followed by James in a very solid 15:30.  The two most noteworthy performances in the 5k, however, came from two of our track specialists, Tom and Shaun, who ran 15:31 and 16:49, respectively.  Three weeks ago, Tom's PR was 16:14, and in two races he has improved by a remarkable 43 seconds.  Shaun is still in the early stages of his comeback from serious injuries he incurred in a car accident in 2012, and this performance was a big step in the right direction.  In non-Clarendon news, we had an excellent performance from Sebi, another athlete on the comeback trail, who won the Freedom 5k in 16:40.  Sebi's recovery from hip surgery is coming along well, and he's looking to be back to full strength in 2015.  Abi gezunt, Sebi!

We also had strong performances this weekend from Susan and Sarah.  Susan ran a very controlled 18:27 at Clarendon Day, and Sarah won the West Chester Stomps Cancer 5k in 18:45.  Susan is in excellent early season shape, and we're going to see more strong results from her this fall.  Sarah is well on her way to returning to full fitness, and she will continue to improve every week.  

Ed. Note: Self-deprecating update from Coach Jerry, also this link may be helpful for my fellow goy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Yiddish_origin

I've earned the dreaded schmendrick of the week award by omitting Maura's 36:47 at the Pittsburgh Great Race 10k.  Maura has run some solid early season performances, and we're going to see some PRs from her later this season, starting at Army.

ADMINISTRATIVE

Much to the disappointment of my Yiddisha mama, I'm not a doctor, but my lack of medical training notwithstanding, I strongly recommend that you all get flu shots in the near future.  A flu shot now could go a long way towards keeping you healthy this winter, thereby eliminating unwanted breaks in your training.  I know that a nice matzo ball soup can work wonders when you're under the weather, but let's try to eliminate the need for resorting to such drastic measures by not getting sick in the first place. 

WORKOUT

We're at BCC this week for our normal 7:15 start, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.

I'll send the women's workout separately.

See you Wednesday at BCC.

Jerry

McNab nabs First Place at Clarendon Day 10K

Three GRC runners broke into the top ten yesterday afternoon at the Clarendon Day 10K.

10k
1.  Kevin McNab (30:37)
4.  Matt Rand (32:11)
8.  Sean O'Leary (32:45)

On this Rosh Hashanah weekend, David Wertz, who nearly missed a PR, and Lashaun Smith, who ran his best race since a serious car accident, started the new year off right and made formidable cases for Coach Jerry's highly coveted "GRC Mazel Tov of the Week." Notably, Tom Kelly schlepped home a 45-second PR, which also put him in the running. 

5k
2.  Michael Franklin (14:52)
6.  Dave Wertz (15:19)
6.  Susan Hendrick (18:27)
7.  James Frick (15:30)
8.  Tom Kelley (15:31)
10.  The Fridge (16:04)
19.  Lashaun Smith (16:49)

Cheers to Pacers Events for putting on this race, which all agree was truly a mitzvah.

Wednesday workout, September 24

RACES

If any further proof were needed, we received confirmation yesterday that long races and high humidity are a bad combination.  Our crew at the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon encountered very difficult conditions, and unfortunately the times reflect those conditions.  But the day was not a total loss, as Amy made her official GRC debut in a very respectable 1:21:49.  Amy is a superstar in the making--she was a soccer player at UVA who had no background in running, and essentially untrained she ran 59:36 at the GW Parkway 10 mile in April.  With a few months of consistent training under her belt, there's no telling what Amy will be able to achieve, so keep an eye on that young lady going forward.  We also had a solid performance from Pat Kuhlmann, who was second master in 1:12:18.  The rest of our crew, Sean Barrett, Outlaw, Charlie, and Teal, were all hampered mightily by the heat, but their fitness will show down the road. 

Closer to home, Kevin defended his title at the Race for Our Kids 10k in Baltimore, in a very controlled 31:27.  Kevin will be back in action on Saturday at Clarendon Day 10k, where he'll be looking to continue his winning ways.

WORKOUT

We're back at BCC this week for our normal 7:15 start, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.  The school may be closed, so it might be necessary to find bathrooms elsewhere.

I'll send the women's workout separately.

I'll see you at BCC on Wednesday night.

Jerry

Big City, Big Plans

Chuck "Big City" Kacsur is beginning his tenure on the alumni board of directors at his alma mater, California State University of Pennsylvania.

Big City, seen here lounging, will be a great addition to the board, bringing his metropolitan ways to an ambitious little branch of the Pennsylvania State System for Higher Education, without disrupting the rural character of the campus, tucked away in Washington County on the Monongahela River.

Wednesday workout, September 17--ON THE MALL

RACES

We had a big weekend of racing, highlighted by the Navy 5 miler and half marathon, and there were many outstanding performances.  The undisputed race of the day, however, was Kristin's 1:20:40 in the half, which was a humongous 6 minute PR.  This was a major breakthrough for Kristin, and while it was not unexpected given that she ran superb workouts all summer, it's one thing to run well in practice, and quite another to run well in races, and Kristin delivered when it counted.  Kristin executed her race plan perfectly, which was to stay comfortable through 10 miles, and she would have run much, much faster if she had opened it up earlier.  We're going to see many, many more major breakthroughs from Kristin in the weeks and months ahead.

There were other notable performances at Navy, including but not limited to (as we lawyers are so fond of saying) the following:

Sara's GRC debut in the 5 mile.  Sara had a fantastic senior year at Dickinson, where she was a D-III All-American in cross country and outdoors, placing 4th in the 10,000 at Nationals, and ran PRs of 4:33 for 1500, 16:53 for 5,000, and 35:40 for 10,000.  Sara is going to have a shot at rewriting the GRC record book on the track this spring, so keep an eye on that young lady.

Maura's meet record in the 5 mile of 30:03.  Maura missed the start of the race last year, but she was on the line when the gun went off this time around, and ran a strong race considering that she was solo from the mile mark.

Paul Balmer's half PR of 1:10:59.  Despite running the second half of the race totally solo, Paul PR'ed by a minute, which was a very encouraging sign as he prepares to make his marathon debut in Portland on October 5. 

Kerry's very controlled 1:21:20 in the half.  Kerry is just starting her training cycle for the California International Marathon in December, and she showed that she is ready to get down to business as she prepares for a major PR in Sacramento.

Emily's excellent half debut of 1:24:46.  Emily has almost no experience with longer distances on the roads, and her goal was to break 1:30, so we can call that mission accomplished.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of recent graduates.  Sean O"Leary ran a very solid 25:49, followed by Stewart in 25:56, James in 26:27, and Kyle in 26:38.  Sean and Stewart rebounded nicely from less than stellar 5ks in early September, and they will continue to improve as the season goes on.  James had not run a race that long in almost two years, and we will see continued progress from him on the roads as he builds his strength for track season.  Kyle's training has been limited by a minor injury the last two weeks, but we'll be seeing much more from him this fall, and beyond.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of grizzled veterans.  Jerry Outlaw sharpened up for the Philly half in 25:42, followed by Dickson in 25:51, Dave O in 27:18, and Patrick in 27:21.  This was Dickson's best performance in recent memory, and his focus on shorter races this fall is starting to pay off. 

In non-Navy news, Dave Wertz successfully defended his title at the Navy Federal 5k, and Tom ran a 5k PR of 16:13, not only winning the Race for Schools, but also beating a world record holder in the half marathon in the process.  That 10 year-old thought he could use his strength to wear Tom down, but he didn't factor in Tom's superior finishing kick. 

WORKOUT

Due to another conflict at BCC, we're on the mall again this week.  The drill will be the same as last week--we'll meet at 6:15 on the 7th street side of the loop, and I'll be there to watch your stuff while you warm up.  We'll get rolling at 7:00.  If you need additional information on logistics, let me know.

I'll see you on the mall on Wednesday night.

Jerry

Maura, Wertz, & TK Break the Tape

"From the start, the Run for the Schools 5k was all Tom Kelly. He ran to win, and win he did," a giraffe reported after Kelly won the Falls Church event in 16:13.

Maura, meanwhile, won the Navy 5 Miler in an event-record time of 30:03, while Wertz defended his title at the Navy Federal 5k.

The race of the day at Navy 5 Miler and Navy Air Force Half, however, said Coach Jerry, was Kristin's 1:20:40 in the half -- a humongous six-minute PR.  

More from coach:

This was a major breakthrough for Kristin, and while it was not unexpected given that she ran superb workouts all summer, it's one thing to run well in practice, and quite another to run well in races, and Kristin delivered when it counted.  Kristin executed her race plan perfectly, which was to stay comfortable through 10 miles, and she would have run much, much faster if she had opened it up earlier.  We're going to see many, many more major breakthroughs from Kristin in the weeks and months ahead.

There were other notable performances at Navy: Namely, Maura's meet record in the 5 mile of 30:03.  Maura missed the start of the race last year, but she was on the line when the gun went off this time around, and ran a strong race considering that she was solo from the mile mark.

Sara's GRC debut in the 5 mile.  Sara had a fantastic senior year at Dickinson, where she was a D-III All-American in cross country and outdoors, placing 4th in the 10,000 at Nationals, and ran PRs of 4:33 for 1500, 16:53 for 5,000, and 35:40 for 10,000.  Sara is going to have a shot at rewriting the GRC record book on the track this spring, so keep an eye on that young lady.

Paul Balmer's half PR of 1:10:59.  Despite running the second half of the race totally solo, Paul PR'ed by a minute, which was a very encouraging sign as he prepares to make his marathon debut in Portland on October 5.  

Kerry's very controlled 1:21:20 in the half.  Kerry is just starting her training cycle for the California International Marathon in December, and she showed that she is ready to get down to business as she prepares for a major PR in Sacramento.

Emily's excellent half debut of 1:24:46.  Emily has almost no experience with longer distances on the roads, and her goal was to break 1:30, so we can call that mission accomplished.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of recent graduates.  Sean O'Leary (Blur) ran a very solid 25:49, followed by Stewart (Stu) in 25:56, James in 26:27, and Kyle in 26:38.  Blur and Stu rebounded nicely from less than stellar 5ks in early September, and they will continue to improve as the season goes on.  James had not run a race that long in almost two years, and we will see continued progress from him on the roads as he builds his strength for track season.  Kyle's training has been limited by a minor injury the last two weeks, but we'll be seeing much more from him this fall, and beyond.

Strong races in the 5 mile from our contingent of grizzled veterans.  Jerry Outlaw sharpened up for the Philly half in 25:42, followed by Dickson in 25:51, Dave O in 27:18, and Patrick in 27:21.  This was Dickson's best performance in recent memory, and his focus on shorter races this fall is starting to pay off. 

Awww - thanks, coach.

Kristin, center, on the way to a breakthrough performance. Cheryl Young took this photograph and many more. 

Mercer Takes Fourth in Press Club 5k

Breuters Wire Services -- Washington, D.C.

Dickson Mercer, Justin Snair and Patrick Kuhlman overcame persistent anti-GRC bias in the Mainstream Media today by finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth at the National Press Club 5k.  Their times were 15:20, 15:36; and 15:39, respectively. Emily Dufton, wife of Dickson and owner of Bruno, was second in her age group. Anonymous, unconfirmed and unattributed sources report the course was a touch short. Others contend that these reports are fabrications designed to feed our "if it bleeds it leads" 24-hour cable news cycle. We report, you decide.

Riley's at 8

Sam, Dix and I are going to do 12-13 tomorrow starting at 8 from Riley's Lock

Wednesday workout, August 27

RACES

While the location and distance for Run Geek Run may have changed, the results were the same, as it was once again GRC domination.  Kristin won the women’s race by over 3 minutes, in a PR of 17:58.  Kristin has been a revelation this summer, and we are going to see many more PRs from her this fall, and beyond.  On the men’s side, Stewart made a victorious GRC debut, winning by over 30 seconds in 16:16.  Don’t let the relatively slow time fool you—Stewart is a talented runner with A team potential, and we’ll be hearing a lot more from him in the future. 

WORKOUT

We’re set for 7:15 at BCC, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.

Jerry

Sunday Long Run

Sam, Luke and Jake are meeting at Greenbelt Park tomorrow at 9am. Distance will vary between 13 and 18 miles It's all on natural terrain and most of it (all of it?) is in the shade.

You can follow the directions below to get there. I haven't been in over a year and sometimes there is a gate blocking access to the parking lot. If there is, simply park across the street at Parkdale High School.

Greenbelt Park

Last Updated by Patrick on Feb 21, 2011

This is the entrance to Greenbelt Park, where we occasionally meet for Sunday long runs. The park offers a 6-mile all-trail loop that we repeat 2-3 times.

Greenbelt Park

 

 

Jake Klim

Wednesday workout, July 30

RACES

Congratulations to Kevin for winning the rarely awarded but highly coveted GRC Athlete of the Week. Kevin started his week with a 4:21.18 mile at the DCRRC Championships on Wednesday, which puts him 4th on the all-time GRC list, and he followed that with an excellent 14:55 at Crystal City Twilight on Saturday, which puts him 5th on the all-time list. That Kevin was not particularly pleased with either race shows that he has got a lot of room to improve this fall. Keep your eyes on that young fella as he continues his assault on the record books!

We had numerous strong performances from the very large crew that ran at Crystal City and while, in the interest of not boring all of you to tears I will not endeavor to list them all, a few are worthy of special attention. On the women’s side, I was extremely pleased with Kristin’s 18:01, which was a 23 second PR. Kristin’s training has been going incredibly well, and we are going to see many more PRs from her in the months ahead. Of the many highlights on the men’s side, I was very happy to see James make a successful return to racing after a lengthy absence due to injury. James has worked very hard to get back into shape, and now that’s he’s fully healthy he’s going to have a breakout year. We also had solid GRC debuts from Sean O’Leary and Kyle Cooke, both of whom were high school standouts who did not achieve their goals in college due to injury. They’ve both got unfinished business to attend to, and we’re going to see them make up for lost time in the months and years ahead.

WORKOUT

We should have beautiful weather on Wednesday night, which is both good and bad. It’s good because it will allow us to continue our transition to longer intervals. It’s bad, however, because the track will likely be even more crowded than it has been the last couple of weeks.

See you Wednesday at BCC.

Jerry

GRC Captures Second, Fourth in Crystal City

GRC teams finished second and fourth in the co-ed team competition in the Crystal City Twilight 5k last night. Compared to prior years, conditions were generally merciful. Pacers/New Balance team took top honors finishing in an aggregate time of 1:16:44, about two minutes faster than GRC's A squad. Cheers to Pacers Events for putting on a great race.

Women
3.  LDO 17:53
5.  Kristin Johnson 18:01
7.  Maura Carroll 18:42
9.  Tina Morrison 18:48
11.  Kerry Allen 18:53
12.  Teal Burrell 19:02

Men
5.  Kevin McNab 14:55
8.  Mike Franklin 15:15
9.  Sam Luff 15:16
11.  Sean Barrett 15:21
13.  Kieran O'Connor 15:25
21.  Paul Balmer 15:38
26. Sean O'Leary 15:54
28.  James Frick 15:56
29. Kyle Cooke 15:56
31.  Justin Snair 16:02
33.  Charlie Ban 16:04
36. Patrick Kuhlmann 16:11
51.  Tom Kelly 16:57
54.  David O'Hara 17:03
57.  Lavar Curley 17:16

Wednesday workout, July 16

RACES

Congratulations to GRC ex-pat David Roche for his 6th place finish at the USATF Mountain Running Championships, which earned him a spot on the US team at the World Mountain Running Championships, which will be contested on September 14 in Italy.  David's fiancé Megan also qualified for the worlds team, and as luck would have it they are getting married shortly before the race, so they will enjoy an all-expenses paid honeymoon to Tuscany. 

Speaking of superstar ex-pats, congratulations to Drea for winning the 10,000 meters at the USATF Clubs Track Championships in Tacoma, WA.  Drea's time of 37:07 was well off of her GRC club record of 35:46, but she reports that the conditions were not conducive to running fast, so she'll take the win, and turn her attention to preparing for a big marathon PR at Twin Cities. 

Closer to home, we welcomed the debut of new GRC superstar Phil Royer, who won the Montgomery County Midsummer Night's Mile in 4:20.  Phil is another in our long line of former Ivy League greats, and during his excellent career at Dartmouth he was a many-time Heps scorer, highlighted by his second place finish in the indoor 3000 his sophomore year.  After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, Phil is fully healthy, and we're going to see some great things from him in a GRC jersey in the months and years ahead.  The Midsummer Night's Mile also marked Sam's long-awaited return to competition, and he got his 2014 season off to a strong start with a 4:23.6.  Well done to all!
 
WORKOUT

We're set for our normal 7:15 start at BCC on Wednesday, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.


See you out there on Wednesday.

Jerry





 

McNab edges Brodeur again, this time at Freedom Four

He ran 20:05

 

FLASH: Cecilia is on to next round at USATF Champs

FLASH: Cecilia gets an auto qualifier at USATF tonight in Sacramento placing 3rd in her heat with a personal best of 2:02.14. 

"This was a phenomenal performance in a season of phenomenal performances. Not only was it a PR of 1.7 seconds, the tactics were perfect," noted Coach Jerry Alexander. "Cecilia was in last at the 400, and closed faster than anyone in the race. To make her run all the more remarkable, Cecilia has been dealing with a hamstring strain that has prevented her from running for almost two weeks." 

DEVELOPING...

Who's your Grandma?

GRC athletes put in three big performances today at Grandma's Marathon and Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Minnesota native Evan Jurkovich notched a three-minute PR with a 2:27:37, good for 43rd place. Jurkovich closed well, moving from 69th place at the 10k to 55th at the Half. His splits were generally even and he held firm during the last 10k.

Luke Meyer hit 1:05:33 in the Half, which placed him tenth. Kieran O'Connor scored a one-second PR for 1:05:58, good for 14th place. These solid performances put the runners just a skip away from the Trials standard.

Ex-pat Benedict Sloane, who, rumor has it, is pulling for Portugal in the World Cup tomorrow, stayed relaxed for a 1:10 or so.

FLASH: GRC goes 1-4 at Lawyers Have Heart 5k

1

6421

Sean

Barrett

29

M

M2529

Arlington

VA

0:15:34

0:15:34

5:01

2

6662

Justin

Snair

31

M

M3039

Arlington

VA

0:15:45

0:15:45

5:05

GRC

3

6556

David

O'Hara

38

M

M3539

Alexandria

VA

0:16:25

0:16:25

5:17

4

6446

Lavar

Curley

33

M

M3034

Washington

DC

0:17:04

0:17:04

5:30

Cecilia's Huge Breakthrough, Wednesday Workout and GRC in the News

RACES

Congratulations to Cecilia for achieving the USATF A standard! On Saturday Cecilia won the 800 at the New Jersey International Track meet in 2:03.87, which qualifies her for the USATF championships in Sacramento at the end of June.  And to cap off her night, shortly after the race Cecilia was invited to run in the Diamond League meet in New York on Saturday. No, I'm not kidding--she's running well enough that she has the opportunity to race against a world class field.  The fact that she has gained that kind of visibility, while training alone and competing in an event in which she had minimal experience before this season, is truly amazing.  It's been a whole lot of fun for me to watch Cecilia's development this spring, and considering that she has improved her PR by a full second in the last 8 days, I can say with confidence that she will make some noise at nationals!

GRC IN THE NEWS

Check out this excellent piece on Ivy League alums running for GRC. 

http://www.activelifedc.com/running/once-rivals-now-teammates-ivy-league-grads-find-success-in-post-collegiate-running-club

WORKOUT

We'll be at BCC on Wednesday for our normal 7:15 start, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.

Jerry

Wednesday workout, May 14

RACES

We had some excellent performances on the track this weekend.  At Swarthmore last night, Hilary concluded her stellar GRC career with a strong race in the 1500.  Hilary's 2014 season was limited by injury, but she gave it everything she had in every race she ran in a GRC singlet, and as her club records in the 1500, 3000, and 5000 prove, she made an indelible impact in her two years with the team. Despite much warmer than desirable conditions for a 5000, Dave Wertz ran 15:11 for a 5 second PR, and Paul Balmer ran 15:13, with a monstrous close in the final 200, for a 9 second PR.  Considering that neither of them had raced on the track for a year, those were very impressive performances.  Speaking of impressive, Cecilia placed second in the 800 at the American Track League meet in Charlotesville on Friday night.  Competing against an invitation-only field, Cecilia showed her trademark closing speed, and while she was hoping to run faster than her 2:05.9, she has proven once again that she knows how to race, and she's ready to get the USATF A qualifier the next time out.

WORKOUT

We'll be at BCC tomorrow for the normal 7:15 start, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.  It's going to be a small crew, so if you plan to come out, let me know, and we'll get you a customized workout.

Jerry

Dave Wertz ran 15:11

at the Swarthmore Final Qualifier 5k. I think we're all safe taking the rest of the week off of trying, because nobody is going to top that! It was a five-second improvement for Dave.Two seconds behind him, Chili Balmer helped himself to a nine-second PR in 15:13.
Hilary capped off her GRC career with a 4:37 1500.