Report from Jacy Kruzel and Veronica Jackson of the Open:
Congratulations to all of our Queens 10k runners!
The Central Park Track Club Open Women’s team came in a strong second place at this year’s Queens 10k. A warm and curvy course made everyone work for it, but our summer training is clearly paying off. Finishing only 40 seconds off first place and almost 3 minutes ahead of third, this result puts us in a great position heading into our next team points race: the Team Championships on July 28th. Make sure to mark your calendars, as the Team Championships is scored TEN deep, and we have a title to defend! Every second will count.
The Open Women’s team was led by Veronica Jackson in 5th place, with a 55 second PR of 35:56. Andrea Bradshaw crossed the line as our second finisher in 37:14, and noted that she felt lucky to work with CPTC teammate Fred through most of the it, trading off pulling each other through tough patches. Despite a couple of rough moments, Andrea felt much more comfortable physically, and engaged mentally, than the previous team scoring race. That’s the kind of progress we like to see!
Alysia Dusseau followed quickly behind Andrea in 37:36, missing her PR by a mere 2 seconds. Alysia could have done without all the turns on the course, but she appreciated the shade and still had fun seeing people out there. Paige Yellen came across the line next, continuing to make her imprint on the team and reminding us all how lucky we are to have her out there in orange and blue. Paige scored as both an Open runner and our first Masters runner, notching a 38:32 for a 23 second PR. Jacy Kruzel came through in 39:40 to round out this impressive crew and get her summer season under way!
We can’t wait to see everyone at the Team Championships. Stay cool out there.
~Veronica and Jacy
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Report from Ani Go & Colleen McGurk of the 40+:
CPTC Master 40+ once again came out in full force to secure second place finish. The pollen won the race for me but it gave me a chance to cheer on the team and watch them grind it out in very humid conditions. I am so proud of everyone that raced! Our scoring team consisted of Paige, Amy and Ani. DREAM TEAM!!!
Paige Yellen was the first scorer with a finish time of 38:32. Along with an amazing finish time, Paige PR’d and placed 9th on the Master’s top ten 10k list. Paige is truly on fire and continues to just get faster and faster every race. Here is what Paige had to say about Queens:
This was my first Queens 10K. Despite not feeling so energetic, I managed a PR. I worked with other runners and that was helpful given the heat. Overall, it was a good race and it’s always great to trade race stories with my teammates afterwards.
Our next scorer was Amy K with a solid 43:31. Amy is always positive and such an amazing team player. I was cheering on at Mile 5 as Amy came through – Wow did she look focused and strong. Amy shared:
The best thing to come out of the day was that despite adversity on a lot of different levels, we still managed to come in 2nd. I certainly went out too fast for the conditions and it really turned into just not being my day. A shout out to my CPTC running buddy in the 60+ crowd, Art Palmer, who always manages to finish either right behind, or lately right in front of me. He and I always help each other out so much. Whenever I see him in a race, no matter how terrible I feel, I perk up. He and I finished within 3 seconds of each other in Queens. Coach Tony helped me to not completely throw in the towel down the finishing stretch too, so much thanks for that TR. Way to go Paige and Ani – rock star performances to help lead us!!
Our final scorer was Captain Ani who secured our 2nd place finish with a strong 44:39! I also saw Ani on the course and she looked FIERCE at Mile 5. Ani had this to say:
What a nice change of pace to have a race in my backyard! It was already about 70 degrees at such an early start to a 10k road race, and the shaded start helped stave off a little of the heat. The course was favorable, despite the many crazy turns, and even then the turns were relatively wide. There was one major hill that domed over the highway, and the downhill rewarded us with a view of the Unisphere. My race strategy was to keep an even and relatively relaxed pace in the first 5k then see how much gas I had left for the second half. It worked, I had a tiny negative split at the end, which made it a successful race in my book. And as Captain, it’s my last scoring race in the 40+ masters and I managed to score, which put a nice cherry on the top.
We placed 2nd in the 40+ masters and I was pleased as heck to contribute! We’ve been consistently in the top 3 in all of the points races thus far, ladies, let’s keep the momentum!!! ???
It was great to see Theresa Caffrey out there! I spoke to Resie after the race and she shared that she was coming back from an injury, feeling strong and trying out new distances. We are so proud of you, Resie! Keep it up!
Another solid Master runner that is making a comeback is Susan Doyle-Lindrud! Susan is a huge team player and has been injured and on the sidelines motivating and cheering us on for many races. It was so great to see her back on the roads and racing again. Welcome back, Susan!!! Here is what Susan shared about her first race back:
I have spent the last 2.5 years injured more than I am not injured, but was excited to be able to run the Queens 10km pain free! I really like this course with the Unisphere, the Queens museum and tennis center. It is a pretty amazing location! The best part was that this was the first time that I have run a club points race with my husband on the same team! Next up Club Team Championships!
Ladies, if you haven’t registered for the team champs, please do so ASAP. Strength in numbers and remember it’s double points! The race is scheduled for July 28th and the women’s start time is 7 am when it will hopefully be a bit cooler! Register here: https://www.nyrr.org/races-and-events/2018/nyrr-team-championships-5m.
We are currently in 2nd place overall but by only ONE point (UA: 48 points/ CPTC: 47 points.
Let’s keep showing up strong and determined – WE GOT THIS!
Godspeed,
Colleen and Ani
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Report from Sylvie Kimche of the 60+:
Mini 10K Sat June 9
We had 3 runners in the Mini 10K:
Barbara Byrne was 1st in the W65-69 age group in 49:40 a 85.19% AG performance
Judith Tripp was 1st in the W70-74 age group in 1:02:33
And Caryl Baron ran/walked with a cast on her left hand (broke her pinky in Provence during a rafting trip in the gorges of the Verdon river). She finished just behind Nina Kuscsik in 1:29:20….
A shout-out to all three!
Queens 10K Sat June 16:
Our lone runner was Deborah Barchat 8th in the W65-69 age group in 1:02:52 (she’s at the top of the that age group). Can’t wait for her to turn 70 in Sept!
On another news , bumped into Sherrel Harmon in the park on Tues morning. She’s slowly recovering from her really bad quad injury last fall and is planning to get back into racing for the Fifth Avenue mile.
Can’t wait for her to be completely healed and get back to racing!
Congrats to all our CPTC racers!
Sylvie
PS If you’re wondering about me, i hope to get out of my slump and get back in racing shape for the Team Ch’ps (no injury but being “homeless” & “living out of a suitcase” since mid Jan due to extensive remodeling in my apt not going smoothly has been taking its toll… I hope to be able to move back in my apt by end July….)