On Saturday, a few of us got the chance to preview the challenging terrain on which high-schooler Alan Webb set a 14:38 course record in 2000. The classic cross country route consisted of nearly a mile-long figure 8 on a rolling grass field before entering into the woods for 1.5 miles of twisting woodchip/rock/mud trails – studded with sharp turns, steep ascents, and breakneck downhills. After leaving the woods, the route paralleled a road for a few hundred meters. Unfortunately, the road was thoroughly coned off and we were warned to stay off it, dashing hopes of grabbing a few advantageous meters of asphalt before hitting the dirt again. In the final stretch, the course lead over a long grassy dam before spinning briefly around a stout tree and finishing on another rolling, grass straight.
With a variety of surfaces, abrupt twists and turns, and undulating hills, the course proved more difficult on warm, sunny race day than when previewed at half-speed the day before. The fact that Armando was quoted as telling Coach TR, who arrived too late to see the route, that the course was “easy, pretty flat” lead to some interesting post-race dialogue between the two. In the end, it was agreed that the Hagan-Stone course is comparable to the Van Cortland 5K loop.
In the Men’s 40+ race, Birger lead with a solid 16:14, good for second place overall just behind 46 year-old North Carolina age-group star John Hinton (16:04). Birger stepped up despite a nagging plantar injury, which had left his participation in the race doubtful. Armando blitzed in third (16:21) even while shouting encouragement at Birger to finish strong. Gladstone posted a solid 14th in 17:04, with Alex (17:50) in 24th, Neil (17:57) 26th, and Tony (18:28) 31st.
The final team score was extremely close, with first place Westchester Track Club one point ahead of the Asheville Track Club, and Nike CPTC only 4 points behind them. CPTC’s third place was good for the bronze and a $150 check, and it was satisfying to beat solid organizations such as the Atlanta Track Club and the Greater Philadelphia TC.
In the 60+ race, the indefatigable Sid Howard (21:55) came in an impressive 2nd in the 65-69 age group despite months of layoff due to injury. Hal (23:02) and Frank (23:02) worked together and also finished strongly in 4th and 5th.
A non-CPTC performance of note was by ace Kathryn Martin, who at age 57 ran an astounding 19:43, winning her age group by nearly 8 minutes. May we all run a 94% age graded performance someday!
All in all, it was a good day out, and a great initiation for our newly-minted masters. With the final races of the NYRR Club series coming up, the squad is fired-up and ready to take on West Side and Warren Street in our tight battle for 1st place in the 40+ division.