When 2012 began, 56-year-old Art Palmer was just one of the members of the famously strong CPTC 50-59. But by December he had become extraordinary: he had run the very best age graded masters performance of 2012 among all CPTC masters men in NYRR races over one mile.
I had been watching Art’s progression over 2011 and 2012, but after he ran, in a two-week span, 2:52:20 at the Philadelphia Marathon (85.5%) and then 29:19 for five miles in Central Park (87.5%), I decided to give Art a call to get some biography and tips to pass on to the rest of the team.
Art had some wheels as a young man, running sub 4:40 for the mile for his Cleveland high school. At Haverford College he did not compete in track or cross country, but was on the wrestling team.
From college through his 40s, Art never stopped running, but did not feel the need to compete. He would churn out 20 or 30 miles per week, going on feel more than any exercise schedule. In the meantime he and his wife Patricia had three children and Art built a career at Columbia as professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics.
A pattern in Art’s biography is that he hangs out with the right people. In this case, his wife joined the NYRR, ran the NYC Marathon in 1999, and asked Art if he would like to compete again. “No thanks,” he said, “I ran enough races in high school,” and went on with more easy loops around Central Park.
The example of his wife was a good one, but it took a few more years for the competitive fires to be stoked. Around 2007, at the age of 51, Art began to run more regularly and with more of a plan. A friend suggested he use a heart rate monitor as a guide, an investment that Art says got him out the door more. But his goal was not racing – that would wait. “I was just thinking about living longer,” he laughs.
That changed in 2010 when he woke up on January 1 with an intriguing New Year’s resolution: to run 1500 miles that year. He recorded every mile, and those miles began to build. By late summer it was clear that 1500 would be too low a target. When two friends – another example of hanging out with the right people – independently suggested Art join them to run the 2010 Hartford Marathon, the old fire caught for good. “Each one twisted one arm,” said Art, and up Hwy 95 they went. Art ran 3:05 and the question was raised – could he break 3:00?
So in 2011, 12 years after his wife made the suggestion, Art joined the NYRR. Yes, she did tell him “I told you so.”
Perhaps because his family and friends had been giving him good advice so far, he asked another friend, Rob Gill, about the Central Park Track Club and whether it would be a good place for him. Art attended a few workouts, and so enjoyed the comradeship (and let’s hope the color orange) that he applied for membership. At the time he put as his goals to run a sub 3 hour marathon, a sub 1:25 half marathon and a 38 minute 10k. He probably should have aimed higher.
Results came quickly – just a few months after joining, he had raised his age graded scores from the mid-70s to 82.9%. Art thinks the most important change was doing track intervals on Tuesday with Tony’s crew. He had been doing occasional tempos on his own, but being in a good group on the track running fast got his wheels rolling again.
He moved through 2012 making gradual improvements, while moving toward the front of the pack. He won his age group at the 2012 Joe K 10k and in March, ran the NYC Half in 1:24:52 (82.4%), good for second place to hall of famer Alan Ruben. That was a lead up to his second marathon, in Cleveland in May. He didn’t get the sub 3 on an 85 degree day, but he missed by fewer than three minutes. The drive toward sub 3 continued.
Through the summer of 2012 some quality workouts led him to believe that a 2 handle was indeed possible. He signed up for the NYC Marathon and thought that might be the place and time. The catastrophe put paid to that, but he took Hwy 95 south this time, to Philadelphia, and lined up.
The weather was perfect, and he took it out a little faster than planned. He bases his effort on heart rate, and while his pulse was just where he wanted it – between 145 and 150 – his pace was ahead of schedule. Deciding to listen to his heart rather than his head, he carried on ahead of pace and came through half at 1:26:36. This was new territory, but he forged on down the banks of the sacred Schuylkill, actually speeding up, at least until mile 24, when he slowed a little. But crossing the tape at 2:52:20, he had run a Rubenesque negative split of around a minute. He won the 55-59 by 1:17, and was pleased that our own Yasuhiro Makoshi had won the 60-64 age group also.
Art took a week off and since the soreness had disappeared after just a few days, decided to heed Coach Tony’s call for a good turnout at the Join the Voices race in CP, the last club points race of the year. The Friday before the race, Art happened to meet Alan Ruben while running in CP, who reassured Art that a quick recovery was possible from a well-paced marathon.
I don’t think either man would have predicted that Art would turn in the best male master’s performance of the year (87.5%), just two weeks after a marathon (actually tied with Alan), but sometimes this sport is a mystery.
Now, going into winter, Art is not taking it easy. He plans to run the Ted Corbitt 15k this month, and then start a buildup toward the NYC Half and his first Boston Marathon. He says it is too early to set goals, but it will be fun watching to see what he can do.
One of the reasons Art has improved steadily is that he has not been injured. While he credits his choice of parents for his health, we should acknowledge that he does some smart things. Not running big miles through his 20s-40s kept his legs fresh. He takes two days off each week for recovery. He runs moderate mileage – peaking in the 50s to maybe 60 miles per week in a marathon buildup. He does try to do both the Tuesday and Thursday CPTC workouts, however. He also does not treat each race as a 100% time trial effort. He picks and chooses his major efforts, which probably has kept him healthy physically and mentally.
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As the club’s Olympic summer recedes, this fall the outstanding performance was the men’s masters team at Van Cortlandt. The old start came back into use for the first time in years and as Neil Fitzgerald said, ‘The course seems to get longer every year.”
But that was ok for the men’s masters team as they swarmed the cow path and stampeded the back hills. The highlight was the Harry Murphy race on October 14. In the M 45-49 CPTCers went 1-4 and took six of the first seven spots. Armando Oliveira won the age group, followed by Glen Carnes, Mel Stafford, David Greenberg, John de Csepel and John Affleck. Tom Raymond won the 50-54 and Neil Fitzgerald medaled in the 40-44.
That wasn’t the only bg day in the Bx for CPTC – a week later John Milone came to play and romped home with gold in the 40-44. The M 45-49 was dominated again by Orangers, as Glen Carnes won and Mel Stafford, Armando Oliveira and John Affleck were again in the top 10. Hal Lieberman won the 65-69 and Bud Heyman walked off with a bronze. At the Championships the fire burned a little less orange, but still John Milone finished second and Armando medaled.
On the women’s side the orange was bright but not as deep: Judith Tripp won two races, and Mary Rosado, Sue Pearsall and Sylvie Kimche won one each.
Join the Voices was a call to action, and many CPTCers answered. On the men’s side many saved the best for last, as four teammates had their best races of the year: Kevin McGuire, Dan Molloy, Art Palmer and Mickey Hawtrey. Art’s time tied Alan Ruben for best age graded performance of the year among the men.
On the women’s side Yumi Ogita pulled off what probably no one else on the team could have done: she scored for three teams: the open, the 40+ and the 50+. A triple.
CPTC brought the good at the Race to Deliver on November 18, as five CPTCers set 52-week age-graded PRs. The leader of the pack was the great Yumi Ogita, who cleared the 90% barrier for the second time in CP with her 24:30 for four miles. Lynn Blackstone also had her best race of the year, as did Sam Mann, Frank Morton and Kevin McGuire.
A week before the dark day, the annual marathon kickoff actually happened, and four CPTCers won their age groups: David Greenberg, Yasuhiro Makoshi, Sylvie Kimche and Lynn Blackstone. Stephen Bernstein set a 52-week age graded PR.
Lynn Blackstone (19) and Oscar Garcia (16) lead the total race count.
Finally, three teammates finished the 60K – all respect to them and their shoes: John Jones, Chris Solarz and Harry Morales.
With the last points race of the year in the pixels, I want to acknowledge the CPTCers who scored the most points for their teams. These athletes put themselves out there even in races beyond their specialties, so we should give them special applause. My scoring system is not 100% accurate, and I apologize to anyone I missed:
Women’s Open:
Cat Beck
Jane Vongvorachoti
Lauren Carter
Men’s Open
Cap’n Matt Lacey
Phil Falk
P. Patrick Hynes
W 40+
Cap’n Ani Go
Jill Vollweiler
Terry Ballou
M 40+
Jesus Monteo de Castro
John Milone
Cap’n Jim McQuade
W 50+
Yumi Ogita
Margot Sheehan
Jane Kenney
M 50+
Alan Ruben
Chris Donnelly
Yasuhiro Makoshi
W 60+
Sylvie Kimche
Judith Tripp
Lynn Blackstone
M 60+
Cap’n Hank Schiffman
Alan Dias
Don Molloy/Chris Neuhoff
The highest scorers of all the masters competitors:
Yumi Ogita
Ani Go
Jill Vollweiler
Hank Schiffman
Alan Ruben
Chris Donnelly
Final team points standings:
1st: W 40+, M 50+
2nd: M 60+
3rd: M 40+
7th: W 60+
9th: W 50+
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