Report from Greg Cass of the Open:
The 2017 NYRR Club Points Series continued on Sunday, April 9 with the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K (or, The-Race-Formerly-Known-As-The-Scotland-Run-10K). Early spring racing conditions can be a bit of a wildcard, but something lined up perfectly to give racers ideal conditions – sunny, mid-40’s, no wind. In a field filled with both world class professionals and the best the area’s clubs have to offer, the Open Men showed well, finishing 5th (4th among NYRR clubs) to continue on a solid stretch of racing to start the year.
Matt Lawder lead the way with an impressive 32:30. Matt admitted that his training had lapsed since the NYC Half, but the fitness he built for that race 3 weeks ago carried him to a 27th place overall finish. Not far behind Matt was Phil Falk in 32:54, dipping under 33 minutes for the second time in 2017. Ryan Fitzsimons was next for the Orange, clocking a 33:27 after blowing by Greg Cass in the last 400 meters. Greg was next in 33:33 with Jeff Ares rounding out the scoring 5 at 33:56. The Open Men showed off impressive depth with Matt the only repeat from the Washington Heights 5K scoring team.
The competition has reorganized for 2017, so the challenge of holding the 3rd place position (or better) will be even tougher in the races ahead. Hopefully that added layer of motivation and excitement will get the whole team fired up for the rest of the season. Next on the Club Points schedule is the Brooklyn Half Marathon before the Series shifts to the summer and some shorter races.
The Open Men’s 2017 successes started well before the recent 10K. In March, many took to Central Park and the streets of Manhattan to face off with the NYC Half. Matts led the team, with Matt Rand clocking a beastly 1:07:11 (2nd fastest CPTC all-time) and Matt Lawder coming in at 1:09:18 (12th fastest all-time). PRs rolled in behind them – Taylor Burmeister (1:12:41), Nobu Takeda (1:13:03), Erik Antokal (1:13:15, 60s PR), Jeff Sarkisian (1:13:56), Felipe Nazar Pagani (1:21:22). And there were probably more (apologies for leaving any out!). Hard work over the winter paid off big time in one of the premier half marathons in the world – good day to be wearing / cheering for the Orange!
And even before the half, CPTC was doing work on one of the coldest racing days we’ve seen in years and certainly the coldest NYRR Club Points race in the last 6+ years. The 2017 Series kicked off at the Washington Heights [Festive Descriptive Words] 5K. In one of the strongest showings by the Open Men in years, CPTC grabbed second place, placing 3 individuals in the top 10 and 4 in the top 12. Matt Rand again lead the Orange with a 4th place finish in 15:22, good enough for 6th on the all-time CPTC road 5K list. Michael Franklin, in his CPTC debut, was not far behind in 6th at 15:26, now tied for 8th on the CPTC all-time list with the notorious Carl Dambkowski, now of the west coast national powerhouse Carl Dambkowski Track Club (“CDTC”). Eddie Mulder came through next in 10th at 15:43, with Matt Lawder following closely in 12th at 15:47. Kerwin Vega rounded out the team with a 15:57 (14th place). While remarkable that CPTC placed 5 under 16, even more impressive is that we placed another 8 under 17 (Connor Rose 16:07, Matt Lacey 16:10, Ryan Fitzsimons 16:23, Nobu Takeda 16:28, Phil Falk 16:40, Erik Antokal 16:48, Peter Brady 16:51, and Phil Lang 16:57). Other PRs to note – Iber Gonzalez (17:35) and Felipe Nazar Pagani (18:05 – 2 in 2 weeks…not bad!).
And winners deserve some shout-outs too. Eddie Mulder took the NYRR Central Park Spring Classic 10K in an event record 32:27 (props to Phil Falk for his 4th place finish too!). Iber Gonzalez won the Cherry Blossom 5K in Washington D.C. (with twin brother Offir in 4th). And Matt Lawder took 2nd and Kerwin Vega 3rd in the Al Gordon Brooklyn 4M in February.
Lots of updates, lots of fast times. Well done crew. Good luck to Boston racers. Lots for all of us to build on for the rest of 2017.
Greg Cass
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Report from David Greenberg of the 40+:
The CPTC 40+ men made another improvement at Healthy Kidney – cutting their team time by 72 seconds over last year at Scotland. But, again, it wasn’t enough to move up the podium as we recorded another third place finish. So we remain in third in the points standings, and will look to defend our 2016 win in Brooklyn.
To date, the 2017 pattern is the same as the 2016 pattern – that year we had to drop our first two results and build from there. We have one major advantage this year over last – the Fifth Avenue Mile is back on the calendar. We usually do well there. If we can again win Brooklyn, somehow win team champs, and again sweep the SI half, NYCM and Corbitt, we’re right there.
Our scorers at HK were
Jim McQuade: 35:48/81.88%/2nd 45-49
Sean Fortune: 36:23/77.99%/4th 40-44
Mohammed Lahseni: 36:35/80.12%/8th 45-49
Jim has been putting in big miles as he prepares for the New Jersey Marathon at the end of April. This was Jim’s first points race podium since 2014 and his best NYRR 10k since 2009.
Like Jim, Sean ran his best 10k in many years – in his case you have to look all the way back to 2009 for a faster time.
Sean, from his Strava feed:
11:10 @ the 2mile mark (5:35 avg.) not ready for that in a 10K in CP. But I’m happy I let my body race rather than being careful. That’s a good sign. Opening mile and 2 mile were my fastest splits so far this year in 5 races — 2 – 10ks, 2 – 4m’s, 1 – 5k. Maybe I’ll have a good race one of these days before it gets too hot.
Mohammed has raced seven times already this year, all right around the 80% mark. In the past when Mohammed raced a lot we get some great results – keep an eye on him.
Race of the day honors go to Larry Go, who set a lifetime PR at 10k (eight attempts) with his negative split 42:35/68.84%/43rd 45-49.
Larry:
Yes it was a lifetime 10K PR for me. Based on Coach T’s advice I focused on building my speed and targeted the track workouts on Tuesday as my primary workout for the week. Even though I have never ran a sub 42 minute 10K, I moved up to C group this winter starting in December for the track workouts. It was tough and left me a bit fatigued for the Thursday road workouts which were slower in comparison to the same workouts from last year. But I persevered and was encouraged by a strong road workout the week prior to the race. Very happy that I stayed the course.
Byron Johnson (46:47/61.63%/116th 45-49) also set a 10k PR for NYRR races, with three attempts to his name.
A big orange welcome mat to Jeff Dengate (37:24/74.13%/7th 40-44), who was fourth man on the team in his first 40+ race with us. He marked the occasion with his best AG score in a NYRR 10K.
Jeff:
My first masters race was slower than I’d hoped, but that’s what you get when you do stupid stuff race week. I had to test some track spikes at work, so wore some for a workout on Tuesday and wrecked my calves. They were still knotted pretty good today, but I survived. Lesson learned. Still a great day by the team out there, some fun racing with the CPTC again.
Nick Garramone (40:21/72.65%/28th 45-49) ran his best AG score since last April’s points race.
George Ross (44:37/65.70%/76th 45-49) ran his first NYRR race in two years – welcome back!
Zebulon Nelessen 47:40/59.07%/167th 40-44) set a masters 10k PR.
On deck, 39 year old Vincent Corso has been tearing it up, setting a big PR at HK:
Vincent:
I’m finally getting back into race shape as I ran a 35 second PR in this distance of 38:27. I was seconds behind you, thinks for pulling me to the finish line for a personal best today.
As always happy running ?
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Outside of the NYRRlandia, we have had some significant successes.
At the masters world champs in Daegu, South Korea, CPTCers brought home significant amounts of hardware.
Andrew Hogue had a wonderful meet, winning two medals including a gold:
Gold 4×200
Bronze Javelin
800m 5th
Peter Brady won a silver in the 800 and a bronze in the 1500.
Jonathan Simon won the NY Firefighter Are You Brave Enough obstacle race.
David Greenberg ran the Carlsbad 5000 in California, and his 17:43/82.6% was his best AG score ever for a road race. But it was only good for 11th in the 45-49. Tough field.
Wish good luck to our Boston Marathoners:
Shane Campbell
Matt DeAngelis
Jeff Garnett
Brian Halusan
Daniel Ifcher
And our London racer: 40+ rookie David Fanfan.
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Participation Statistics:
Sean Fortune leads the scoring tables, as the only person to score in both points races.
2017 scorers:
Sean Fortune: 2
Peter Brady
Brad Kelley
Jim McQuade
Mohammed Lahseni
We’re down to just nine people who have run both points races. Will one of these be the winner of the Ifcher Cup for the teammate who runs the most points races in 2017?
Sean Fortune
Jim McQuade
David Greenberg
Daniel Ifcher
John Milone
Coleman Cowan
Mohammed Lahseni
Larry Go
Michael Caggia
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Save the Dates:
We’re looking to hit the roads (in cars) this fall for two major races:
October 1 in Syracuse, NY: USATF Masters 5k Road Championships
October 15 in Boston, MA: USATF Masters 5k Cross Country Championships
A good time is guaranteed for all, and I’ll buy a beer for anyone who does both races. Two beers if you drive.
David Greenberg
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Report from Chris Donnelly of the 50+:
Last weekend’s Healthy Kidney 10K beckoned with beautiful, warmer weather and heated competition. After the traditional season opener 5K in Washington Heights, the competitive fervor usually ramps up as we face down the the Spring 10K. This year marked a move of this race to fill the space that in recent years had been taken by the Scotland Run. To start this race with a strenuous gallop up Cat Hill was the first signal that things were going to be different this year.
CPTC’s men wrested a commanding second place podium finish on that beautiful morning, posting a collective time that occasionally would have been good enough to win. However, this year the UA squad ran what is, as far as i can tell, the the fastest team effort ever posted in a 10K in the decade that NYRR has been scoring the club points on time. Against that competition we have much to be proud of. And let’s acknowledge UA’s Paul Thompson for his incredible 32 minute run. We can all be excited that a 50-plus athlete continues to perform at this level.
Anyway, the scoring went like this:
UA 1:48:51
CPTC 1:56:38
WSX 2:02:30
The CPTC scoring squad was a mix of new and old faces. Tim Stockert, who aged into the 50+ squad a few months ago led the effort with a fast 37:43, followed by David Dorsey in his 50+ debut at 38:22, and 50+ stalwart Casey Yamazaki at 40:33. Tim and David took third and fourth place, respectively, in the 50-54 age group, while Casey, at 40:33, was 15th among men 50-54, and bettered his time from the NYRR Spring Classic 10K a couple of weeks earlier.
Tim tells us:
Overall, I was really happy with my race and was happy to help the team score a 2nd place finish! It’s funny to think that even though I’ve run the CP loop hundreds if not thousands of times, those West side hills always kick my butt, especially when they fall toward the end of a race. I also need to give a shout-out to all of the CPTC racers out there including all of the cheers from Tony, Audrey and others. As I was waning toward the end, they truly gave me an extra boost!
Chris Donnelly was next for the team, running 41:51, good for 7th place in the 55-59 age group. He says:
What a great morning to be out there in the park. I ran a pretty steady race throughout, so I’m happy with that, but when Tony showed up near the 5 mile mark and yelled at me to find those gears, I couldn’t quite remember where I left them. Maybe I’ll find them a bit later in the spring season? But without Tony and the rest of the cheer squad it might have been a different day for me, so thanks everyone.
Bob Markinson followed, at..well, let’s let Bob tell it:
It was great to see everyone. Congrats to all who finished. I ran a PR (46:25) dropping 27 seconds from my previous 10k PR (Scotland 2016).
Finally, Oscar Garcia was out there for the 50+ team, running 47:38, taking 30th place among the 222 finishers in the men 55-59 category.
So great finishes for all of our runners and a solid second place finish for the team for the second race in a row, along with podium finishes for nearly all the CPTC teams made it a memorable day. Can’t wait for the next one, that half marathon in Brooklyn. And speaking of half marathons….
Didn’t it feel like deja du all over again when we were were standing in the corrals waiting for the horn to blow on Healthy Kidney, because so many of us had been in that same spot a few weeks earlier on a chilly morning awaiting the start of the NYC Half. Now it’s not a points race and there’s no team scoring beyond the Open category but so many of us love this race.
Brad Kelley was out there, continuing to put his stamp on the 50-54 age group, running 1:17:19 in his age group win. Congrats, Brad!
Brad’s already at #2 on CPTC’s all-time best list for 50+ half marathons, and this run would otherwise vault him onto that list. However teammate Tim Stockert’s New York Half vaults him onto the list in eight place!
Tim Stockert took 3rd place in the 50-54 age group, with his 1:21:05 run. Tim on the NYC Half:
The NYC Half was a fun day and, as always, a lot of my motivation during the race came from seeing all of my fellow teammates out there on and along the course. The half distance is a sweet distance for me. I really like falling into a rhythm and holding a steady pace so once I got out of the park, it was easy to do on the long flat stretches through Midtown and along the West Side Highway. And though my time was a bit slower than last year, it was still one of my faster half marathons in the past few years. Much of that success is attributed to my husband, Nick, who does virtually every run with me and keeps me honest, and Justin Cawley, my trainer (and a fellow CPTC member) who has helped me stay injury-free and get super strong through a lot of weight training!
Tsukasa Kawarai was out there for us, taking 12th place in the 50-54 field with a 1:24:03 finish, while Ron Romano, who was teeing up a Boston Marathon, looked so strong out there. Ron tells us:
Very pleased with my 1:28:17 NYC Half (77.85AG% and 13th in the grey group. I ran 1:30:36 last year; guess the hill work and long runs for Boston paid off:) Goals for year, rock Boston, score for 50+Masters team and crack 80AG.” You’ll do it all, Ron!
Chris Donnelly ran 1:33:02 and says:
…that was a struggle. I need to spend time in the gym getting my legs strong again. It was a much better race until the pounding on the cement of the West Side Highway finally took me down in that last mile. Limping to the finish is no way to finish. But it was a great deal of fun for 12 miles or so.
Toshiki Ikehata was next, at 1:39:43, and Oscar Garcia was out there again, finishing at 1:49:48. Great job guys.
That’s all I got for now. The next couple of club points races, Brooklyn and Queens, are sell-outs. Let me know if you’re trying to get in, and especially, if you are signed up. And hey, the Bronx 10 miler is already open and so is that Staten Island Half. These are club points races too.
Go Orange!
Chris D
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Report from Hank Schiffman of the 60+:
Alan Ruben, in his premiere appearance as a 60+ runner for CPTC, led our 3 finishers along with veterans Hank Schiffman and Kevin McGuire to capture 3rd from Witold’s by less than a minute. Taconic beat Brooklyn for 1st in a pillow fight that was settled by all of 44 seconds. After this 2nd team pointer of the season, just as Brooklyn is tied with Taconic for 1st, we are tied with Witold’s for 3rd; there portends to be lots of feathers floating in the air as the season deepens.
Alan’s ascension to the 60-64 age group puts him in a tank with other sharks, each as big as the other; his 41:09 was only good for 4th place. Yet he was 59th age graded among men overall. His 26:53 at last week’s Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 4 miler was 1st in age group. He also bagged 1st in age group, running 1:30: 31 in the New York Half.
Hank’s 43:49 just cracked the 80% line but did not average out to under a 7 minute pace. As Gilbert and Sullivan said in The Gondoliers, “up goes the price of shoddy.” It was good for 2nd in 65-69. With just under half the number of finishers in 60-64, Hank and Alan’s positions were similar (4/2), merely 0.29% AG different.
Kevin’s 48:51 cracked the 70% AG barrier by 0.38%, landing him as 9th in his new men 65-69 age group; one more rung on the ladder away from open. He is preparing for the Mendocino Coast 50k.
Kevin:
A Spring day in the park. Racing conditions were perfect.
It was a bit congested for the first 1/2 mile but then got some running room. Age graded % are welcome as I move up in age groups.
Always great to see fellow teammates enjoying a good race.
Phil Vasquez, our first backup, 53: 49, would not have saved us from losing 3rd in this race, but would have prevented a free fall in the points race. Each team pointer is a different race on a number of levels: personal, team standings for the specific race, and overall standings for the season. We all bring something to the collective table.
Doug Labar was only too happy to transcend injury and race with the team, 58:06. This event had nothing to do with speed. He hasn’t races since last year’s 5th Avenue Mile.
Doug:
It is hard to overstate how great it was to be back racing on a glorious day like today in Central Park and be wearing the orange again. Nice seeing you, and congrats on your racing.
Finally, Bill Allert was taking tentative steps back from his injury, running 1:02:37.
Bill:
As for me, for the first time in months, I hope the word is ‘recovering’.
I had an MRI last week which shows “Left hamstring: tendonopathy with high grade partial tear measuring 4.1 cm …at point of attachment” Now the Right hamstring showed a low grade tear of 2.3 cm. The right side is a non-issue. The left side is the culprit.
But the good news is: I ran the first 5 miles at a 10:30 pace with friends, having no idea how much pain I’d be in. The answer was ‘not’ much’. So the last mile I picked up the pace to 8:30 to test it some more and am thrilled that I’m non worse for the wear. For the first time in months I felt like I was not dragging a ‘dead leg’. I’m hoping I can at least start to run in workouts for the first time in months. We’ll see…
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Other NYRR races.
Central Park Spring Classic 10K:
Rick Shaver, 56:04.
George Hirsch, 1:00:17, 1st age group.
NY Half Marathon:
Alan Ruben, 1:30:31, 1st age group.
Gary Gosselin, 1:42:24.
Bill Allert, 1:55:28.
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Up next. If the Washington Heights 5k was the hop, and the Healthy Kidney 10k is the skip, the jump is the Brooklyn Half on May 20th. It is a coin toss on which gradient is steeper; the distances or the weather. Time to ramp up the mileage while staying injury-free.
Hank Schiffman