Runners move through their athletic careers in both shallow and steep parabolas. Some appear at their first chalked starting line virtually as quick as they will ever be. Most improve for the standard seven years and then start to fade. Others get fast and somehow manage to keep their speed for years. This small last group is made up of an admirable group of runners – having the courage and the heart to keep time at bay is like a badge that says “I love this sport and I’m a fighter.”
I want to single out Yumi Ogita for having that fire. She started running in the early 1990’s, joined CPTC in 1993, and ran some very fast times in her 30s, including a 2:50 marathon (missing the Olympic Trials standard by just 41 seconds), a 1:21 half marathon, 36:54 10k, and many 5ks at sub 6 minute pace. Then she ran a few more races at a similar pace, and a few more, until it is suddenly 2009 and she is still running at virtually the same speed as she was in 1995. How many of us can say that?
At Coogan’s, for example, Yumi ran 19:04, or 6:09 pace. Way back in the mid 1990s, she was running only a few ticks faster. (We know this because fellow ageless wonder Alan Ruben has a sort of ur-spreadsheet with every race we have ever run in an orange singlet. This is oddly humbling, and may be the basis of a future column) In age-graded terms, Coogans was not just a 12-month PR for Yumi, but it was her best ever race in CP: 85.5%.
To put that race into perspective, it was the best age-graded performance by a CPTC woman in a road race since the mighty Jill Vollweiler ran an 86.9% in October 2008. Only Jill, Rae Baymiller and Sylvie Kimche ran faster last year on the roads.
I called the quick Ms. Ogita to find out what led to her great race at Coogans. If there is an answer, it is the same one we learned from Frank Morton: talent + hard work + a healthy streak = speed. The major reason Yumi gave for her race was that she has been healthy for a long stretch, and was therefore able to link together a good stretch of workouts and races. With the help of her husband, coach and fellow CPTCer Casey Yamazaki, she fought off two stress fractures and ITB problems by setting up four rules:
1) Keep weekly mileage to between 35 and 45 miles
2) No runs more than 10 miles
3) No workouts soon after a race
4) Don’t do both a Tuesday and a Thursday workout in the same week
Yumi runs with the Thursday road crew, and leading up to Coogans knew from her workouts that she was in good condition. She aimed to run 6:11s, but showing that fire, she did better than she hoped for, running 6:09s.
Yumi won the Scarsdale 15k last weekend, and next up are 10ks in the park in May and June, with the tough goal of breaking 40 minutes. That would be a spectacular performance, and we’ll all be rooting her on.
Also fast at Coogan’s was George Bullis, who also ran an all-time age graded best: 76.0%. Jeannine Bardo also ran well, recording a 12 month age-graded PR of 73.9%.
At the Colon Cancer 15k, former president Alan Ruben uncorked one for the ages: an 87.7%, or 5:49 pace. That race should come with its own list of superlatives. It was nothing less than the 14th best age-graded result from a CPTC man at any distance between the mile and the marathon. It is the best since Alan himself ran an 88.7% in 2007 by getting through 10k in 34:51. We should recognize Alan’s amazing accomplishment.
Overshadowed by Alan at the 15k were great performances from Michael Rennock and George Hirsch. Michael ran 5:56 pace for his best age-graded result ever (84.7%), and George ran a 12-month PR of 81.6%. No women set age-graded PRs, but Judith Tripp and Alma Maria Liebrecht won their age groups.
A light turnout at the NYRR 8000 race was spearheaded by Eric Cheung’s all-time best of 72.1%, or 6:20 pace. Giovanni Caracci broke the 70% hurdle for the first time in a few years with a 71.1%.
At the Colon Cancer 4 miler, the highlight was new member Samuel Mann’s first age group win in a Central Park race, as he ran an impressive 78.1%. Toby Tanser and Mary Rosado also won their age groups, not uncommon occurrences for either athlete.