From Greg Cass of the Open:
Before the rain of Saturday afternoon, the high winds of Sunday, and the threat of snow on Monday and Tuesday, the weather smiled on road racers on Saturday morning and provided some prime racing conditions for the typically fast Scotland Run, the unofficial start of spring for the NYC racing scene. As a whole, CPTC built on a long winter of preparation filled with fast times on the track and on the streets of Manhattan to put up some impressive performances. The Men’s Open team put together a strong showing, taking third on a fast day.
The scoring team was lead by Greg Cass, who continued his string of PRs leading up to Boston with a 32:21. Following closely behind were two others who used strong performances at the NYC Half to help clock sub-33 times at Scotland. Jesse Mang came in at 32:48, scoring for the Orange for the second time in as many tries. Ryan Scrudato was a few seconds back at 32:56, earning his strongest age-graded performance since joining CPTC about a year ago. Martin Huber and Taylor Burmeister pushed each other to the finish to round out the scoring, coming in at 33:56 and 34:00, respectively.
Race of the day goes to Iber Gonzalez Vidals. Iber wasn’t planning on racing, but Coach Devon provided some gentle nudging in the days leading up to Saturday and Iber jumped in. Even without huge expectations, Iber managed to post a 12-second 10K PR (16-second course PR).
All across the club, the hard work that you see at workouts, on weekends and in between, from both athletes and our coaches, is paying off. Congratulations to Iber and the rest of CPTC for great results across the board. As always, the support throughout the park was incredible. Next up for the road racers will be the Brooklyn Half in May – looking forward to more fast times!
From David Greenberg of the 40+:
I see the NYRR competitive season as a stool with three legs: team results, participation and individual improvement.
Scotland was not kind to us on the result side – we were third again, same as at Washington Heights, leaving us in third place for the year – but the other legs of the stool were extraordinary.
Participation was outstanding – we had 17 finishers vs. just 11 last year – that’s better than free haggis in January. Total club participation was also excellent: 85 this year vs. 74 last year. I don’t know about you, but everywhere I was on the course there was someone in orange to run with.
At the pointy end, our scorers were:
David Greenberg: 36:26/81.11%/4th AG
Tim Stockert: 36:36/81.43%/5th AG
Coleman Cowan: 36:56/78.07%/7th AG
Note that all three of the scorers are in the 45-49 – we need some young legs! Also note the pack – all three in within 30 seconds.
To win honors for Race of the Day an athlete generally has to set a lifetime best in absolute terms for the distance and the highest age graded score he has ever recorded. I had worried that since NYRR started using tougher 2015 tables no one would meet that second standard. Not so. Three of us hit it: Tim Stockert, Jesus Ansede Ferreiro and Nick Garramone.
Tim ran the fastest 10k he’s ever run (in the NYRR database) by almost a minute, and had his highest AG score by 0.68%.
Tim:
I was super-thrilled with my run on Saturday. All of the long distances that (Nick Garramone) and I have clocking for our 50-miler this Saturday has really been paying off. I felt strong going into the race and knew, after my run at the NYC Half (1:20:00), that this could be a good race.
I was a bit more reserved at the start this year as I’ve burned myself in previous years at this race and haven’t had the energy in the end. This year it worked. It also really helped to see a lot of orange out there on Saturday. David Greenberg was my rabbit and helped pace me all the way to the finish line. Boy is that guy blazing fast!! This happens to be a masters PR for the 10K distance and certainly my fastest 10K in Central Park. The last time I ran a 10K this fast was almost 17 years ago at the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta. I’m very happy that I could help score for the team for the first time in my two years with CPTC and hope to continue running strong the rest of this year.
Jesus Ansede Ferreiro (37:05/76.53%/13th AG) also hit the double – fastest 10k in the NYRR database and best ever AG score. Just two years ago Jesus was running races in the mid 60% range.
Jesus:
I did a PR on road 10K (my PR in 10K is in track, back in 2008 in Madrid) and also in terms of AG.
I am happy, though I ran the last mile with a tight calf and could not increase the pace at the end… I wish I could have beaten 37:00, but it will be the next time (37:05 is nice). I did what I could and was happy at the end with the road 10K PR.
After a bad NYC-HM a couple of weeks ago (too close to my marathons in LA and Barcelona), this performance gives me confidence that I can still improve.
And it was great having David Greenberg, Tim Stockert, Coleman Cowan and David Alm ahead as a reference. Too strong for me, but I tried to keep up with them and that was crucial for me to achieve this PR. Special thanks to the four.
The final R.O.D. honoree, Nick Garramone (39:39/73.31%/19th AG), might have had the most impressive day of all. His PR was by around 1:40, and cleared his previous best AG score by 0.9%.
Nick:
It’s been a great year and, surprisingly, it’s showing up in the race results. The NYC half at 1:28:42 was the fastest in over 17 years and Scotland, at 39:39 was also the fastest in over 17 years and the second fastest ever. For Scotland, I felt strong the entire time and focused on passing people on the hills and then recovering, ever so slightly, after cresting the hill. My kick started in the last half mile when Ken Tso came up behind me and motivated me to stick with him.
In large part, I would say that Tim and my long runs in preparation for our 50-miler this weekend as well as strength training have been strong contributors. A good night’s rest also helps 😉
Scorer Coleman Cowan had his best 10k ever (NYRR database) in 18 attempts over 11 years.
Scorer David Greenberg set a masters PR for 10k after around 12 attempts.
David:
I had a very good race – After some success in the hills at Coogan’s I was actually looking forward to the North Hills. For the first time I was able – thanks to the hill work I have been doing – to pass more people than passed me. The chase down the East Side was full of CPTCers which was very nice. The only missing piece of the puzzle was the last mile – I maintained speed but couldn’t pick it up.
The PR list continues:
Wolfram Schlenker (38:38/73.47%/27th AG) had a lifetime best at 10K after eight tries.
Landry Da Teresa (39:53/69.49%/40th AG) also hit a lifetime PR.
And it goes on. Really – who wouldn’t do this race?
Larry Go (42:55/67.74%/46th AG) continued his PR streak – he hit his third consecutive all-time PR. By a minute. He narrowly missed an unprecedented second straight race of the day honor since he has had a better AG score.
David Dorsey continues his strong comeback – in his 2016 debut he hit his fastest 10K since 2010.
David:
I had a pretty good day just coming under 40min which I haven’t in a few years so I’m happy with that. The combination of light rain, Tony yelling at us and seeing so much orange out there was all the motivation I needed.
I still have more work to do for Club Champs in a few months. July will be here before we know it. 25 miles a week just doesn’t cut it. The tempo run for me is my meat and potatoes which will increase later this month from 5-6 to 7-8 miles(6:40) avg.
Two debuts this week: Daniel Doebele ran his first 10k in over 37 races and a big welcome to Alexander Hickox, who ran his first CPTC race.
New Feature: Recognition to those who run the most scoring races. So far we have ten people who have run both Washington Heights and Scotland. You may want to note that many of these guys are setting PRs. You can’t PR unless you race:
Tim Stockert
Wolfram Schlenker
John Milone
David Greenberg
Larry Go
Nick Garramone
Coleman Cowan
Shane Campbell
Michael Caggia
David Alm
And our 2016 scorers:
David Greenberg – 2
Coleman Cowan
Brad Kelley
Eric Lattin
Tim Stockert
So there you have it – Scotland again did its highland magic. So many PRs, so many good races. Go to your calendar now and put a note in for February 20, 2017: Sign up for Scotland!
From Chris Donnelly of the 50+:
CPTC’s 50+ men posted a strong second place finish at the NYRR Scotland Run 10K under “sunny” Scottish skies in Central Park. Drizzle (and eventual steady rain) aside, it turned out to be a beautiful morning for racing. This time around we traded places with Dashing Whippets, the runners-up to CPTC in Washington Heights a few weeks ago. Looks like we could be in for a dog fight (pardon the pun) this year.
Stephen Menlove, who’s been a fixture of our scoring team since joining CPTC last year, led the Scotland effort, clocking 38:54, just shy of breaking the 80% barrier in the recently revised age-graded tables. Steve’s run was good for seventh place among 50-54 men. Chris Donnelly was next at 40:05, good for eleventh place in the 50-54 bracket, while the indefatigable Alan Ruben cruised to seventh place among 55-59 men with his 40:25, also breaking above the 80% AG mark. By the way, Alan was coming off a strong 1:26:46 performance as CPTC’s top 50+ finisher in last month’s New York Half Marathon.
Chris: “This is one of my favorite races. The full loop course, the bag pipes, the atmosphere, everything is great. And all of our teammates lining the course in all the right places, cheering us, just amps up the morning. I was looking for a steady effort and quick first mile after losing steam in the Half. That miserable fourth mile in the Harlem Hills aside, this race went as planned until I hit that last uphill near Tavern on the Green. The finishing gear just wasn’t there and the final 0.2 miles went by in slow motion as I tried to latch onto David Dorsey as he rolled by just before the end.”
Steve: “Overall, I was pretty happy with my race. I made an effort to ease into the first mile and keep calm, (which tends to be an issue for me). I faded a bit, but not too bad.
It was great to see so many CPTC geezers out there! “
Steve has a point: CPTC’s 50+ men were out in force, a dozen strong, with old and new faces, a club points debut, a 50+ debut, and even a couple of PRs in the mix. Consider the next trio of CPTC finishers:
Ron Romano, running in his club points debut for CPTC, finished with a solid 42:16, good for 12th place in the 55-59 category and fourth among CPTC 50+ finishers.
Ron: “Perfect weather for racing, was feeling great and things started off well. Exiting the hills, I really tightened up in my glutes, hips and piriformis which really caused me to slow in second 5K, slower than any of my 5K [splits] in the NYC Half.” Ron made his team debut a couple weeks earlier in the half, and had this to say: “After 10 years away from racing, I jumped in a few fall races with good results and decided to join CPTC! Been loving Tony’s Tuesday/Thursday workouts and getting to know everyone. This was my first chance to wear the CPTC singlet which was exciting! Despite the wind and cold, the CPTC crowd support was awesome and I enjoyed a big cheer from Tony & crew on the West Side Highway. “
Our old friend and teammate Andre Lejeune recently aged up, and was running his 50+ debut. “50-55 just seems weird, “ Andre noted in a Facebook post the night before. His 42:23 was good for a top 20 age group finish out of 330 men in the 50-54 bracket. Looks like the new age group is going to be just fine, Andre.
Meanwhile, Mikal Scott ventured back onto the roads of Central Park to try out racing longer distances again following last year’s health issues. Mikal had no problem running fast, hitting 43:12, keeping below 7:00 pace, and building on his strong outing in Washington Heights.
Next up was Toshiki Ikehata, at 43:14, followed by Joe Bachana, at 45:27. Dennis O’Donnell was next at 45:56.
Joe tells us: “Great race for me. Started out slow in that C corral, first three miles were brutal but I was able to pick up steam for the second-half of the race and a 10k PR.”
Our final trio finished mere footfalls apart. Bob Markinson crossed the line at 46.52, while Bruce Racond finished at 46:56, and Oscar Garcia came through at 46:58. For Bob the teamwork was particularly noteworthy: “Raced a 10k PR at 46:52 versus 47:44 last year. Ran with Sue [Pearsall] the first half, ran with Oscar a bit in the second and managed a decent kick at the end. It’s great to hear the shout outs from the crowd–Tony, in particular.”
With our tour of Scotland in the books, we’ll turn our gaze to an equally hip destination, Coney Island, via the Brooklyn Half Marathon. In this, our next points race, we’ll hopefully build on our efforts in March’s blustery New York Half. We had five 50+ finishers in that race. In addition to Alan, finishers were Chris Donnelly (1:30:13), Ron Romano (1:30:34), Eiji Ebihara (1:38:42), and Oscar Garcia (1:46:49).
From Hank Schiffman of the 60+:
Our 60+ men took 3rd place in the 2016 Scotland Run 10k, just shy of 2 minutes for 2nd place and over 2 minutes ahead of 4th.
Gary Gosselin, our 1st finisher took 3rd in men 60-64. 42:48/ 77.36%. He intended to go out at a 7 minute pace and then see what would happen after the hills. That sort of fell apart immediately as Judy Stobbe, Hank Schiffman (me) 42:54, and he started together and ran as one. After the hills, he and Judy motored ahead. When the dust had settled the finish line, the order was Gary, who has been putting in the mileage and is running faster, Hank, who has been putting on road mileage, but nowhere near Gary’s number, and having a good 800 meter kick from doing Tuesday’s workouts, although solo, and Judy, who is a track star, literally, but does not have road mileage.
Phil Vasquez, faithful team point runner, was our 3rd scorer at 50:43.
1st back up, Stuart Alexander, 55:10, our “young guy” at 60, ran in his kilt, which must have weight a few pounds more at the finish line than the start due to absorbing rain.
Dave Delano, our 2nd back up, completed the effort at 60:07, just shy of advancing into the 70-74 age group and being their “young guy.”
Yasuhiro Makoshi was out there advancing forward in the first mile as seen in the NYRR webpage photo with Gary, Hank, Mikal and Larry. But Yasuhiro is not fully recovered and was only using it for training.
Well, how did our runners compare to last year’s race?
2015 2016
Hank 42:18 42:54 82.55% down to 80.93%
Phil 51:11 50:43 66.4% up to 66.51%
Stuart 50:02 55:10 66.15% down to 59.46% (oh, the onus of racing with a kilt in the rain)
Gary:
It is a growth process that I am fortunate to have at this stage in life.
Thanks for the tips and support along the way.
I hope you are recovering well.
I am looking forward to representing the 60+ crew in Boston.
Stuart:
The Scotland Run was my first race since I survived a sub-massive pulmonary embolism in October. Despite perfect Scottish racing conditions (loved the rain), I finished a full five minutes slower than last year. With an AG% of 59.46 it was by far my worst result ever. But I am not complaining, I am happy just to be alive!
Thus after 2 team point races Brooklyn RR is 1st with 30 points, we are 2nd with 20, and Taconic RR is tied with Witold for 3rd with 18.
The Brooklyn Half is the next team pointer, with Hank, Rick and Phil registered and Gary on the bubble.
The Retro 4 miler on June 5th is the next team point race for which registration is not closed. It is perhaps the fastest team point course in the schedule. Go for it.
The 5k Race For Spinal Victory, Kevin McGuire as co race director is a team spirit event this coming Sunday at 9am in Wantagh: contact Kevin.