Why does Central Park Track Club consistently perform well? Training and support. This past Saturday 60 Central Park Track Club runners took off from the starting line of Grete’s Great Gallop. And less than 80 minutes later the first club members crossed the finish line, completing two loops in Central Park. Thom Little finishing 14th overall, was the first club member to finish for the men. We hope you got a chance to watch the race and cheer on your teammates. The weather was perfect for a half marathon and the runners certainly appreciated the support. Jill Vollweiler recalls, “The CPTC cheering section was immensely helpful, so was the pack of CPTC guys that were out there really working together. I really felt that the overall Central Park Track Club Support was what made the difference for me personally. Devon’s and Tony’s coaching abilities are unparalleled as they bring in so much experience and sound advice. I had a hip flexor thing act up again after my 20 miler the Sunday before the race; and, as a result, I tried to be somewhat conservative during the week. Devon kept stressing this point to me; and, I listened to her. During the race however I took a much different approach; mentally, I just said to myself go until it hurts and then keep going. I guess that kind of worked.” It certainly did work. Jill ran a phenomenal 1:18:57, dropping almost 4 minutes on her half-marathon time and tying Margaret Angell’s spot on the all-time list.

Dan Seidel not only showed up but also had a breakout performance, getting a personal best and breaking 1:13. We asked Dan if he stuck to his race plan, “The race yesterday went beyond my expectations. I adjusted my game plan slightly when I ended up going out slightly faster than I intended. Instead of slowing down I decided to stick with it and try to find a rhythm. This was where our team’s depth helps, since we had a lot of guys running together at different parts of the race, all of whom ran gutsy races. Thom Little ran phenomenally to lead us, as did Jake, Russ, and Geoff before an injury forced him to drop out.”

Knowing that the hills would be the toughest part of the course, Noah Lansner was there to cheer on his teammates, making an impact without even racing. Dan vaguely recalls, “I think I even heard Noah in the Harlem hills, but maybe I hallucinated that.” Thom definitely heard him, “an MVP goes to Noah who was in the oft neglected harlem hills.”

Both Jill and Thom will be racing in the upcoming NYC marathon for their next race. Dan’s next race is going to be the Kleinerman 10k in December.

Notable Results
Jill Vollweiller 2nd Women Overall
Men’s Team 2nd Overall
Women’s Team 2nd Overall
40+ Men’s Team 3rd Overall
40+ Women’s Team 1st Overall
50+ Men & Women’s Team 1st Overall

Individual Results can be found here