In contrast to the madness of Penn Relays on Friday and Saturday, distance night at Penn (Thursday night) is a tranquil affair. By 7 p.m. all of the high school relays teams have left and only College and Olympic Development Steeplechase, 5k, and 10k remain for the night. At this point, the infield opens up and the meet takes on a new face. But don’t let the calmer atmosphere fool you. Thursday night at Penn is just as fast as the rest of the relays, and with the perfect weather this year (50 degrees and almost no wind), distance night might have been the fastest time to run at Penn.
For CPTC, the night started with the Women’s 5k. Aileen Conlon and Kate Irvin were both in the race. After a pedestrian first lap, the race picked up. Aileen sat herself right at the back of the lead pack while Kate was number two in the chase pack. Both then proceeeded to put on an absolutely beautiful display of 5k pacing, running the next eight laps like metrenomes. It paid off big in the end as both PR’ed. Aileen ran 16:28.30, good enough for 4th place, a four-second PR, and a reduction in her club record. Kate ran 16:56.56, placed 13th, ran a huge 15-second PR, and moved up to number 3 on the the CPTC all-time list (and I’ve rarely seen anyone fight as hard at the end of a race!).
After the women’s 5k came the Olympic Development Men’s 5k, with JR and Atilla in the race. The first few laps of the men’s race were erratic. CPTC’s men came through in 73, 68, and 71 before settling into a pace for the coming laps. While toward the last fourth of the pack at the beginning of the race, both JR and Atilla showed their strength as they continued to pass others lap after lap. JR closed strong and finished in 24th place 14:48.83, a six-second PR in his first 5k of the year, and he moved up to 8th on the all-time list. And all this after telling me before the race that he didn’t even feel well (we’ll have to wait and see what is to come later in the season for him). Atilla, battling a cold for most of the week, finished a strong 14:58.12 in 35th place.
The last races of the night were the Women’s and Men’s 10ks. In the Women’s 10k, Felice Kelly was running her first track 10k. Anyone that tells you a track 10k is easy since it’s flat is lying. The mental battle of 25 laps on the track can be brutal. But Felice remained tough the entire race and cracked the 37-minute barrier in the process. Her final time of 36:58.29 was good enough for 5th in the Olympic Development Women’s race. In the Men’s 10k, Carl Dambkowski ran a strong first 17 laps and despite struggling home the last 8 laps, still ran a solid 31:06.52, good enough for 5th in the race.
Overall, distance night at Penn was hugely successful for CPTC, bringing home some nice PRs and mixing up the club all-time list in the process. With this just the beginning of the season for many, we can only hope the great races and fast times continue.