CPTC Open Women had quite the fall of racing that we wanted to share some thoughts our teammates had on their stellar performances. We would love it if everyone would share their thoughts on their races, PRs certainly not required! Hope to see everyone out for the last scoring race of the year on Saturday and at the holiday party in January!
Percy Sutton:
Our CPTC Open Women’s Team placed second in the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K! In a sneak peak of fall racing weather, we were just 20 seconds off of first place, and showed that the summer training was paying off. Our team was led by Rolanda Bell, who has continued her strong summer of racing by running a blazing 17:11 for second place. Veronica Jackson came through next in 17:37, which was good enough for fourth place and a shiny new PR. Just like at the Team Championships, we had another close pack of CPTC women working together through crucial scoring spots, with four teammates finishing within ten seconds of each other. Jacy Kruzel lead the pack in 18:27, followed by Jordan Snyder in 18:31, Alysia Dusseau in 18:33, and Colleen McGurk in 18:37.
Ambreleah Dusseau went into the race hoping to break that elusive 20 minute barrier, and she more than smashed it, taking 31 seconds off her PR in route to 19:34!
5th Ave Mile
CPTC Open Women’s Team took first place at the famed New Balance 5th Avenue Mile. We were once again led by Rolanda Bell in 4:50, and had new CPTC-er Kira Garry close behind in a blazing 4:41. This was Kira’s second-ever road mile, and she enjoyed donning the orange and blue for the first time to represent the team.
Brianna Hickey, Alaine Tate, and Jennifer St Jean followed closely behind in 5:00, 5:05 and 5:08 respectively. Brianna’s 5th Ave experience was also a great one, and she can’t wait to get back out there in years to come. We also had incredible performances and PRs from many other athletes, include Jena Tiernan, who got a 4 second PR after working with Cynthia and Ambreleah.
Bronx 10 Miler
We managed a strong second place for the Bronx 10 Miler, with many of our runners using the hot and humid race to tune up for the Chicago Marathon and the NYC Marathon. We were led by Kate Pallardy, Veronica Jackson, Jordan Snyder, Alysia Dusseau and Colleen McGurk. Colleen had an almost 2 minute PR and had a blast running down the Gran Concourse. She especially loved seeing all the orange out there, battling together through the tough conditions! Alex Bernardi and Dani Sturtz also worked together, and credited their teamwork with getting through the most humid miles of the race. Alex noted that we should give major kudos to NYRR for the ice cold towels at the finish – possibly her favorite part of the entire morning!
Staten Island
The Open Women came in second again at the Staten Island Half Marathon, led by Ivette Mejia who came in second overall in a speedy 1:17:47, and Kate Pallardy in third in a 1:19:39. Kate was followed by Manon Blackman, Alysia Dusseau, and Amy Kvilhaug. Manon contributed to the team immediately in her debut race as a CPTC-er, and had fun running the beginning of the race with Alysia. After a brief wipeout in the torrential rain at the turn-around, Manon kicked into high gear for a 4.5 minute PR! Alysia enjoyed running under the Verrazano Bridge leading into the marathon, but it definitely made for a tough finish with all the hills at the end. Amy went into the race heavy into marathon training and with tired legs, but knew she was needed to score, and toughed it out for the team. That’s an MVP effort in our book!
NYC Marathon
In the marque race of the year, the CPTC Open Women’s Team took third place overall, with three sub-3 hour performances leading the crew. Kate Pallardy ran a gutsy 2:44:48, securing her spot at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials for the second time! Next up was Jordan Snyder, making her NYC Marathon debut in 2:56:57, with some incredibly consistent pacing. And rounding out the scoring team was Alysia Dusseau, who was happy to finally brake 3 hours in NYC with 48 second PR in 2:49:01. The runners loved the CPTC wall of orange per usual, and noted that it did not disappoint this year!
Veronica Jackson & Jaccy Kruzel