From Peter Brady:
Andrew Hogue
Photo: Andy Kiss
CPTC-NB masters 40+ men’s team competed in the 4 x 400m relay at the Millrose Games on Saturday, February 20, 2016. The Millrose games are a staple of the US indoor track circuit (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/sports/five-years-in-millrose-games-have-found-their-footing-at-the-armory.html) and always attract great competition across all levels – youth, high school, collegiate, professional and masters. Our men’s 40 team, comprised of Andrew Hogue, Peter Brady, John Milone and Sherman Lau finished second in a time of 3:44.32. Perennial powerhouse Southwest Sprinters won the race by a sizeable margin, but CPTC was locked in an exciting battle for second place that wasn’t decided until the final meters when our anchor Sherman Lau passed the anchor from TNT International. The race video can be seen here: http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45365&mgroup_event_id=574&year=2016&do=videos&video_id=165183
Peter Brady
Photo: Andy Kiss
Unfortunately the video did not capture the close competition for second place, but it is definitely worth watching if only to hear Olympic Gold Medalist and decathlon legend Dan O’Brien give a shout out to our own Andrew Hogue for consistently beating him for the age group title in the annual Wall Street Decathlon. Andrew, who was the only real sprinter on a CPTC team otherwise comprised of middle distance runners impersonating sprinters for a day, led off with a solid 54.3 second split trailing only the Southwest Sprinters team. Peter Brady and John Milone both managed to maintain the second place position that Andrew established.
John Milone
Photo: Andy Kiss
John captured the thrill of being on a Millrose relay team nicely: ”Running Millrose is definitely one of my highlights all year. Anticipation, nervous tension and excitement are par for the course. Before you know it, there you are, a barreling speed demon on arrival, baton being thrust in your hand and then it’s time to “get it on!!” Oh yeah, the plan. Right or wrong, this time I had a plan. For me, that meant hauling it up to speed around the first turn and find a fast, but smooth rhythm for the rest of the first lap – Mission Accomplished, so far. Easier said than done is what was left on tap. Build through the next lap, focus, attack, keep good form. All felt good, until that last stretch, the leg turnover started to slow, choppiness and the rhythm was starting to go. Made it to the exchange zone, form held, integrity intact. Gave up time to a trailing runner or two, but left us in a competitive place. My split was solid and am able to see a path to faster times in the future. A second place finish for the efforts of a magnificent team and gutsy performances. Proud to represent.” John’s effort kept CPTC in second place, setting up a dramatic anchor leg that saw Sherman battle back and forth.
Sherman Lau
Photo: Andy Kiss
According to Sherman “[This was the] first time I anchored a 4×4 since high school, so I felt a little pressure. [I] made sure when I got the stick that I ran to make sure we would come in second, since Southwest Sprinters had a pretty commanding lead. Used a little tactics with 150m to go. I tired to pass him with a slight move to see what he had, but when he responded, I was content to wait until the final 50m and made sure I saved some for a final kick. It was a lot of fun and always a joy to run with my fellow Masters teammates.”
Thanks to all the CPTC-NB teammates who came and cheered us on. For those of you who are interested in squeezing in one more indoor track meets before the season ends, NYRR has its final “Night at the Races” meet on Friday, March 4th.
Andrew Hogue, Peter Brady, John Milone, Sherman Lau
Photo: Andy Kiss