Runners tend to specialize, and for good reason. Ryan Hall rarely runs anything but a marathon, and when he does try something shorter, his effort seems half-hearted. You don’t see David Rudisha running the 1500, and relatively few of us get on the track at Icahn Stadium. The cause is probably part mental and part physical, but most of us have a small range of races we consider our own.
Then again, like our teammate John Milone, some belong to a cohort that searches out new races and often derives much of the value of running from the challenges of a new distance. What appeals to me about this is that the reward is not distilled from the highest age graded score, or by races won, but by the pure liquid of self-discovery.
I mentioned John Milone earlier, and I hope, soon after reading this, you seek him out and wish him a happy birthday. He turned 40 this summer and can now lend his speed to the M 40+. As John no doubt begins to score many times for the team, we should keep in mind that his extraordinary range may explain much of his success.
John’s foot racing journey started in the 1980s, when he was plucked out of a gym class by a wise high school track coach who saw John throwing up after running a 5:2x mile during a Presidential Physical Fitness test. John’s natural speed stood out like a dove among crows, as did his willingness to toss cookies in pursuit of speed. Logically, he was thrown into the 800. Starting his career late, in 11th grade, John ran 1:56 his rookie season.
We can jump forward to John’s 30s, with middle age just a storm somewhere off the coast, when our future teammate became an ironman. In a pattern soon to become familiar to you, he tried a triathlon in 2003, then a half ironman in 2004 and a full ironman in 2005.
While transition zones and aero bars were far from his half mile specialty in high school, I think we can draw a clear line between these implements of speed and endurance and his retching after his 11th grade physical fitness test. What makes an endurance athlete great is his willingness to seek out suffering, whether that is over 2 minutes or several hours.
John took his willingness to the next level, a 60k road race, that while he terms ‘slow,’ does seem to have put a cap on his early 30’s search for plus ultra. John decided to get fast. And, to our benefit, he also decided to get orange.
The ironman and 60k runs were great accomplishments, but he heard about Coach Tony’s emphasis on many different race lengths and was interested. By 2009, John had joined CPTC, done the training and went over to the other side: running the 800 and the mile at indoor masters nationals. Think about that for a second – in about a year, John had the bravery, talent and work ethic to turn himself from an ultra-marathoner to a half-miler, and with success – in 2009 he ran 2:07 for 800m.
Currently, John is focused on short roads and track, but he says he “isn’t sure where it is going to take me.” Like his high school track coach, we can all see that he is able to put his speed to the ground, as his best results seem to be in the middle distances. Besides the 2:07 half, he ran a blurring 4:44 at the Fifth Avenue Mile and has charged up and down the hills at Coogan’s in 17:16. Coogan’s has a special place in his heart – “It’s like a homecoming,” John says, which calls for some ‘splainin.
Because of his responsibilities as father to 11-year-old Ashley, informational technology manager at Bank of America (a self-described Linux geek) and off-island resident of Fort Lee, NJ, John’s training has taken on some unusual forms. Most days he straps on a backpack and runs across the GWB, down past the Coogan’s finish line, past Coach Devon’s house (sometimes waving as she and her baby take in the morning), to his office in midtown. Which explains why he feels Coogan’s is a homecoming race. “It is depressing to ride the bus,” John says, no doubt wishing he were running at that moment. “Running to work makes the world small and enjoyable. Maybe I will see Alan Ruben or Elgin Thompson the park and it makes my day.”
He currently nurtures his speed with Devon’s Tuesday group at Columbia, where he often runs with a very fast group: Giancarlos Zambrano, Cat Beck, Stephanie Herrick and Tom Fitzpatrick. If you ever wish to explain the appeal of club running, think about that – John, a 40-year-old mostly short roads guy, trains with a 27 year old woman with an OT B standard, a 50 year old national class miler, a 28-year-old national class long distance runner, and more….When CPTC works, it really works. Or, as John put it, “There is a lot of good pain in that group.”
Off the track and bridge, John puts in many miles on the trails along the Hudson. For this, he credits Coach Tony’s advice to get off the hard stuff. Most weeks he will do a long run, a tempo and often a long bicycle ride. Beside his own solid genetics, he credits getting off the roads for keeping him injury free for years.
Now, past his birthday, John is motivated to help the M 40+ team in road races. His main running goals are to score for the team and to set lifetime PRs at many distances. But never far from a conversation are new horizons. This summer he has competed at an Olympic distance triathlon relay leg on the bike, and plans to race some duathlons. “If I can contribute, why not keep racing,” says John. “I don’t see this ending any time soon.”
Not ending any time soon is also this column, so sit back and look for the bolds. I’ve been on hiatus for a while and have a green light to use up some large amount of CPTC pixels.
Starting most recently with the Percy Sutton 5k, I’ll highlight the many 52 week PRs. I would think that a race held at a dew point of 69 would be a slogfest, but no chance. No fewer than seven CPTCers set 52-week age-graded PRs: Margot Sheehan, Dan Molloy, Chris Neuhoff, Frank Morton, Andy ‘Golden Glove’ Kiss and Stephen Bernstein. Age group winners were Sid Howard, Sylvie Kimche and Lynn Blackstone. A big CPTC welcome to Allan Dias, who led the 60+ in his orange debut. Due to the rich and complex scoring system, team age group classifications are still unofficial, so we’ll wait until after the 5th Avenue Mile for team results.
At Team Champs, we should salute those who did not sag in the sog – David Dorsey and Andy Kiss set 52-week age-graded PRs.
Back to July 21, we should salute Dennis O’Donnell for his age group win in the 55-59.
On Bastille Day, four CPTCers set PRs in the CPCRCP (look it up) – Yumi Ogita, Ani Go, Triathlon division captain Dan Molloy, and Chip Olsen.
Yasuhiro Makoshi won the 55-59 at the Queens 10k, and Lynn Blackstone won another one at the Achilles run on June 24. Portugal Day was a good day for the orange, as five set PRs: John Affleck, Michael Hawtrey, Jesus Mateo de Castro, Harry Lichtenstein and Fred Trilli. Jesus’ 83.62% was the team’s fourth best male master performance of 2012. Yumi Ogita and Judith Tripp won their divisions at the Mini – always an honor. Finally, all the way back to June 3, Josh Rayman had a wonderful day – running at 5:22 pace for 4 miles, setting a 52-week age-graded PR, being fastest CPTCer on the day regardless of age, and setting the third best men’s master’s score of the year: 85.0%.
Moving out of Central Park, much has been accomplished. Marie-Louise Michelsohn set a world record in the W 70 Steeple with her 10: 20.43 win at Masters Nationals. The legendary Sid Howard won the M70 800 and placed second in the steeple.
Our own great Lisa Daley won the masters 400 at the Olympic trials, but not without drama. I’ll let her tell the story:
“The masters exhibition race was a great experience. The selection was based on the top eight times submitted. I have had very little training this season, because of personal choices. However, I committed myself and my coach in April to do this. Being on Hayward field felt like I was having on out of body experience, I couldn’t believe that I was actually there about to run on the same track that Pre ran on!
I ran the race as my coach told me to which was to “run my own race.” When I got on the home stretch, I was in an unfamiliar position as a masters 400m sprinter, I was behind! I visualized my coach and the 40 Vietnam veterans and well-wishers who contributed to my fundraising efforts to get to Eugene, and that gave me the push to drive home for the win. For me it’s a sweet victory because it’s been a rough year emotionally and physically. I want to give special thanks to a few CPTC people who have been encouraging-Maureen Zivic, Heather Miller, Deanna Clark, Andrew Hogue, Joy Romulus and Lesleigh Hogg.”
At the NYC Triathlon, Stacy Creamer won the 50+, and the relay team of Diana Gill, Yumi Ogita and John Milone took the gold.
At the Summer Biathlon National Championships in Lake Tahoe, David Greenberg finished 3rd in the 40+ and 6th overall. I would be very happy to introduce CPTCers to the sport, which is an adaption of the Olympic sport of cross country skiing and marksmanship. And is an excellent double-take inducer on the Upper West Side.
In the race to live/live to race competition, the leaders are Chris Donnelly and Lynn Blackstone, with 17 races each over the past 52 weeks. The top age group performers in NYRR road races over the past year are Rae Baemiller (99.6%) and Alan Ruben (87.0%).
Finally, since not all is running, congratulate Peter Allen for his sculpture and for his recognition in the Star Ledger:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/art_of_steel_nj_sculptor_uses.html
Standings after Club Champs:
1st Place: W 40+
2nd Place: M 50+, M 60+
3rd Place: M 40+
7th Place: W 60+
8th Place: W 50+
dgreenb300 at aol.com
Photo: Sue Pearsall