Race Reports from the Men: Autism Speaks and Fifth Avenue Mile

From David Greenberg of the 40+:

Summer racing came to an end (let’s hope) on Saturday as the 40+ put 20 on the line, finishing second to Warren Street in the Autism Four Miler. Our turnout was 1/3 larger than last year’s, about as large an improvement as we have seen all year.

While a defeat is never welcome, we maintain our lead over Warren Street in the points: 108 to 93. But we do have to win races – if we drop the two races our lead evaporates to 84 to 81.

My favorite stat of the day: in the 45-49, nine of the top twelve were CPTCers (and we didn’t even have key 45-49 guy David Bosch on the day):

Gercke/2nd

McQuade/3rd

Kelley/4th

Lahseni/6th

Greenberg/7th

Ifcher/9th

Stafford/10th

Stockert/11th

Charlton/12th

Just wait til this group turns 50!

Our scorers were our core long distance crew of Daniel Gercke, Jim McQuade and Cary Segall, who have been the backbone of the scoring team all year.

Cary Segall, Dan Gercke and Jim McQuade

Photo: Jay Mojica

In fact, Daniel once again wins race of the day honors for his 22:17/85.09%, which is a lifetime four mile PR for races in the NYRR database. Daniel was second in the 45-49, behind the indomitable Paul Thompson.

Coleman Cowan shares the honor as he also set an all-time PR for four miles, at 24:07/76.22%)

Jim McQuade continued his steady improvement , hitting his best AG% of the year (22:27/82.52%) in the race despite, without doubt, the worst weather conditions so far. Jim also medaled, finishing third in the 45-49. Wish Jim luck as he trains for NYCM.

Cary Segall ran an all-time best AG score for four miles (22:35/79.0%) and his second best four miler in the NYRR database. Both Cary and Daniel are running the Philadelphia Marathon in November.

A few of us had markedly better races compared to last year, if not in time but in AG placement. Kimihiko Oishi was 18^th in the 45-49 this year, while last year he was 34^th.

Laurence Go

Photo: Nigel Francis

Likewise, Laurence Go improved 18 places over last year, while setting an all-time best AG % for four miles, and John Milone improved two spots to 17^th.

Wayne Merdis also improved by three places over last year.

Brad Kelley continued to make his mark in competition – in only his second race for the team this year he was #4 man on the day, running an excellent 23:15/81.55%.

Mohammed Lahseni was 6^th in the 45-49 with his 23:37/78.43%.

David Greenberg had his best hot weather race of the year and matched his 7^th place from last year.

As the fall often seems to be the beginning of a new season, we should mark some debuts:

James Charlton made his 2014 road debut, the first four miler of his NYRR career.

Mel Stafford

Photo: Nigel Francis

Middle distance specialist Sherman Lau hit the roads for his debut, and Mel Stafford started sharpening up for the NYC marathon with his 2014 road debut.

In the opposite of a debut, Tim Stockert continued his streak of running every points race this year.

Not a lot of PRs partly due to the weather, but also due to the fact so many of us ran extraordinarily well at Team Championships – many of us raised the bar so high at that race that even a solid effort didn’t quite measure up.

Race report for Fifth Avenue Mile:

Peter Brady

Photo: Jay Mojica

Is there any sporting event purer than the Fifth Avenue Mile? Stand racers behind a line, tell them to run straight and fast for a mile. No turns, no hurdles, no tangents to cut. First one wins.

Our middle distance specialists took their speed out for a trip down the avenue and won by seven seconds over resurgent 2013 points champions Urban Athletics. Main points rivals Warren Street were fifth.

We put 9 under 5:10, whereas last year only 6 hit that mark, and as has been true all year, we put more on the line this year than last.

By my calculation, here’s where we are with three races to go:

All races counted:

CPTC: 123

Warren Street: 99

West Side: 93

With two races dropped:

CPTC : 99

Warren Street: 89

West Side: 77

Given the strength of our marathon team, I think we can relax a little. Grete’s and the 15k will be a challenge at the pointy end, but we still haven’t used up any of our allowed two dropped races. It’s not over, but if we lose another one by two seconds, I won’t find myself spending time online comparing weights of racing shoes. True story.

Our scorers were:

Peter Brady: 4:28

Gerry O’Hara: 4:37

Sherman Lau: 4:38

Peter Brady finished second in the 40-44, behind the winner by less than a second in a blanket finish. It was his fastest Fifth Avenue Mile and his second silver in a row. He improved his standing as the third fastest masters road miler in CPTC history.

Despite setting a personal course record (4:28/89.46%), Peter felt the race was tactical rather than fast.

The bottom line is I’m very happy we won as a team and many of my teammates had outstanding races. Personally I’m pretty disappointed I didn’t win but it’s never easy. There is always a lot of competition in the 40-49 age group and nobody is going to just hand me the victory. You have to earn it and Boyd Carrington was the better racer on Saturday.

Gerry O’Hara ran an extraordinary race, winning the 50-54 by four seconds and setting an AG score of 92.02%, the second highest of all men on the day from any team. Converted to time, his mile time was 4:02. His time slots to #2 all time for CPTC 50+ masters in the road mile.

Sherman Lau scored for the team for the first time on Saturday, hitting a huge course record of 4:38/86.28%. That AG percent is almost 3 percentage points higher than his previous best in the NYRR database.

For race of the day honors – I have to split it five ways because so many set lifetime course records. I’m sure many of these guys have run faster on the track, but still impressive to set lifetime CRs in your 40s:

Lifetime Course Records

Peter Brady: 4:28

Coleman Cowan: 5:04

Daniel Gercke: 4:45

Andy Kiss: 5:43

Jim McQuade: 4:49

Coleman came within a whisker of breaking 80% as he runs up through the 70s:

Saturday was a perfect day for running — cool and a quick course — but I’m still learning that even the short races require some strategy. I ran a course and all-time AG PR at the 5th Ave. Mile (5:04/79.89%), yet after sucking a lot of wind in the final 400 m, I still looked back at seconds lost in the middle half when I wasn’t sure whether my legs would carry me to 60th St. I’ll spend 12 months looking for another five seconds to see if I can break 5:00.

Dan Gercke

Photo: Jay Mojica

Daniel was second in the 44-49:

My quarter mile splits tell the tale – :70, :70, :70, :76. High-volume marathon training isn’t the best way to get a true miler’s stamina, but I still PR’d. The wall of orange both on and off the course helped me push through the weeds of that tough last quarter.

Andy Kiss

Photo: Jay Mojica

Andy’s 72.51% was a breakthrough – his best AG score for any race in the NYRR DB:

After skipping last year’s race while in marathon training, I ran 5:43 for a 3 second PR over my race in 2012. Also, it was a 72.51 AG%, my best ever in any NYRR race and probably best ever period. I used an 8 week training plan to prepare specifically for this race and I executed Devon’s suggested race strategy well.

Jim McQuade had only run the 5^th Avenue mile once before, but made up for lack of experience with audacity, as he set a course record by 8 seconds.

Like Jim, Brad Kelly had only run the race once before: in 1988 (4:24). He returned to the race with a solid 4:48.

Another comeback story is CPTC vet David Dorsey, who has had some injuries to overcome but still rallied with a 5:05 and his first 80% score since 2008. Michael Siegell ran an AG best for the race, 75.79%.

Finally, Brenn Jones ran 4:50, coming within a second of his lifetime course record but setting an AG best for the race (81.38%).

Away from scoring races, XC season started with a bang as Neil Fitzgerald won the 45-49 at the Henry Isola 4 miler and Coleman Cowan and En Cho went 2-3 in the 40-44.

Far, far away from scoring races, Alex Tilmant completed the Ultra Race of Champions in Copper Colorado, which bills itself as the world championship of ultras. It takes place at between 10,000 and 12,400 feet elevation and has over 10,000 feet of elevation gain. Admitted Alex after prodding:

“The elevation did hit me pretty hard”

From Chris Donnelly of the 50+

CPTC’s 50+ men posted some of the fiercest age group performances the team has ever seen amid perfect running conditions at the Fifth Avenue Mile, easily outpacing the competition. The rain held off, and some racers reported a light tailwind.

Gerry O’Hara and Kevin Forde

Photo: Ben Ko

Gerry O’Hara won the 50-59 heat outright with a 4:37 (92.02% AG), besting Greater Philadelphia Track Club’s Kevin Forde – a frequent age group winner on Fifth Avenue – by four seconds. Gerry’s run is the second best time ever registered among CPTC’s 50+ men. Only Alston Brown’s 4.33 from back in 2001 was faster. Gerry noted after the race that he was content to let Kevin take it out hard and do the early work before he made his decisive move somewhere near the 200 to go mark. You can read about the race from Kevin Forde’s point of view here:

http://kevinrunningfree.blogspot.com

John de Csepel

Photo: Jay Mojica

John de Csepel, who recently aged into the 50+ squad, took 14th in the 50-54 age group, running 5:07 (83.16%). John’s performance is the 10th best on the CPTC all-time list for 50-59. John has scored for the team in both races he’s run since turning 50 a couple of months ago.

Marc Mizrahi’s scored a hat trick with his 5:14 run. This is not only the first time that Marc has scored for the team, but it’s also a PR, and with an AG of 81.93%, this is the first time Marc has cracked the 80% barrier.

The scoring trio gave the CPTC men a comfortable margin (14:58 vs 15:37) over second place Westchester Track Club despite sub 5:00 runs by WTC’s Connor O’Driscoll and Jay Duggan. The win also helped us claw back seven points on 2014 division powerhouse Taconic.

Not only did we win battles up front, but our team showed impressive depth.

Tom Fitzpatrick was back in action, also running a 5:14 (81.82%), besting last year’s time by three seconds and taking 17th place in the 50-54 division.

Casey Yamazaki has been killing it all year, and on Saturday he ripped a 5:18, good for 21st place and an 80.93% AG. Casey managed to finish four seconds ahead of daughter Erika, who won her age group.

Yes, that was Steve Eick, running a 5:19 (80.02%) in his first NY Road Runners race since 2011. Welcome back Steve, and congrats on this first recorded 80%+ performance in your long string of NYRR races.

Chris Donnelly, who is training for the long road races, was next with a 5:33 (77.68%).

Stanley Young, a recent addition who joined us from TLR, ran a 5:48 (78.31% AG), good for 16th place among men 55-59 in his debut Fifth Avenue Mile.

Eiji Ebihara clocked in at 5:52 (74.88% AG) in what looks to be his best ever age-graded percentage in an NYRR race.

Art Palmer, still coping with his arrhythmia issue, battled his way to a 6:04 (74.25% AG).

Budd Heyman ran a 6:09, five seconds faster than last year . At 72.47%. This was Budd’s best age graded performance since 2010.

Stuart Alexander was next, with a 6:26. Stuart notes: “It was a week of highs and lows. I was very discouraged by my 63% age graded result (my worst ever) in the Autism four-miler and elated by my 71.24% result in the Fifth Avenue Mile – my first time back in the 70% since I came back to racing two years ago.”

Which brings us to the Autism Speaks 4 miler, where Taconic edged out the CPTC +50 men by a mere 16 seconds amid some of the worst racing conditions in recent memory. It was a real sufferfest thanks to the oppressive humidity, heat and haze, making for some slow times all around.

Gerry O’Hara, in his first NYRR race since turning 50, took first place in the 50-54 age group. Gerry’s 22:48 (84.51 AG) ranks as the fifth best time in the 4 miler ever recorded among the team’s 50-59 men.

Alan Ruben

Photo: Nigel Francis

Alan Ruben was next to cross the line at 24:33 (83.19% AG), taking third place in the 55-59 age group behind Taconic’s Greg Diamond and Steve Calidonna.

Chris Donnelly followed to close out the scoring effort with a 26:15 (74.60% AG), talking 12th in the 50-54 age group.

Mikal Scott rolled across the line next at 27:01 (73.71% AG). Mikal would rebound a few weeks later, putting his stamp on the Henry Isola XC 4 miler (more on that race below).

Eiji Ebihara was hot on Mikal’s heels at 27.07 (73.44%). This may be his first race in a CPTC singlet, but Ebihara’s NYRR racing career stretches all the way back to 2001.

Art Palmer was just a couple of seconds back at 27:09 (75.19%).

Tom Raymond

Photo: Nigel Francis

Tom Raymond continues to ease back into competitive running. In his second race back on the NYRR roads this year, Tom ran 28:26 (70.61% AG).

Budd Heyman arrived next, running 29.21 (69.01% AG), and Stuart Alexander closed it out with his 32:59. To his earlier comments, Stuart adds, “Clearly I do not perform well in hot, humid weather.”

Well, the good news is that the Autumn weather is upon us. With these races behind us, just three club points races remain, and they are the domain of the long roads crew. The NY Marathon crew is long settled, but we’re still seeking racers for Grete’s Great Gallop (13.1 miles at 9 am on Sunday, Oct. 5) and the Ted Corbitt 15K (8:30 am on Saturday, Dec. 13). Please drop me a line if you’re planning to run these races.

Cross Country is another great way to experience the crisp Autumn running weather. At this weekend’s Isola 4 miler up at Vanny Coach Tony Ruiz had to leg it out ahead of Mikal Scott. They finished 1-2 in the 50-54 age group, at 27:09 and 27:18, respectively. CPTC’s John Affleck was also in the mix, at 28:08 to take fourth place in the age group.

There are no club points at stake, but it’s one heck of a fun way to spend your Sunday morning. The Kurt Steiner 5k cross country race is coming up on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 am at Vanny, and features the park’s famed back hills rather than the death march up the aptly named Cemetery Hill. As ever, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake looms across the street for your post-race treat.

Go Orange!

(and let me know what you’re up to cuz i’m nosey like that )

Chris D.

From Hank Schiffman of the 60+:

In conditions Coach Tony described as “one of the worse racing conditions we’ve had all year,” with its perennial top 2 scorers absent from the starting line, our 60+ men displaced its depth and finished 3rd: 1:27:16, behind Brooklyn RR: 1:20:35, and Taconic RR: 1:24:18.

Putting the conditions in perspective, the great Alan Ruben ran this race 44 seconds slower than last year. Yes, he is certainly a metric for CPTC.

Chris Neuhoff, ran a scant 28 seconds slower than last year, reaching the finish line in 27:26, 3rd in age group. He literally nipped at the heels of our perennial Taconic competition: Tim Delaney running a 6:50 pace, Joe Porcaro running a 6:51 pace, and Chris running a 6:52 pace. Conventional thinking would have this group home reading the paper in a rocking chair. The reality is that “ancient warriors” to borrow a term from Bob Glover, do battle and do it well. Chris can wield his broad sword with the best of them.

Gary Gosselin ran his first NYRR race under the colors of orange and blue. He was our 2nd scorer: 29:16, 9th in age group, 71.61%. Welcome aboard our pirate ship with the best looking crew in the NYRR.

And thus it was that Kevin McGuire was again our 3rd scorer in 30:34, 16th age group, 42 seconds slower than last year, 69.79%, a mere 0.21% below the 70% mark.

Finally, let us honor a man who has fallen on his sword for us, Dave Delano, one who should be on the DL list but insisted on catching us should we not field 3. In spite of injury he ran 39:24. No doubt he cornered the market for ice and Advil post race.

Chris:

Was it an episode of Survivor- 77 Degrees and 85% Humidity? There was an open bar at all the water stops and I never saw so many empty cups on the road for a 4 miler. Coach Tony and CPTC members were great with encouragement, as always, and it felt good for us to win the team Bronze.

On to The Museum Mile!

Gary: A great race experience despite the oppressive humidity and heat.

The welcome from the CPTC family was wonderful and easily trumped the adverse weather.

Heading up the hill into mile 4, I heard the shout, “Run Tall!”.

It was Coach Tony correcting my form. A much needed and appreciated boost for the stretch coach.

Kudos to all the runners who gritted it out, both rivals and team mates.

Chris‘ numbers speak for themselves, swift.

Kevin pitched in a solid run to get us to the podium.

Dave also raced the distance impressively and had us covered.

Kevin: I am glad we train with CPTC which certainly helped with the tough conditions during the Autism 4 miler. Tony was cheering us on as usual.

Ran a bit with Bud and Wayne during the race until they pulled away at mile 3. No words were exchanged but I think I may have grunted at Bud to let him know I was on his right.

Still a fun race and was very happy to hit the finish line.”

Dave: The weather conditions for the four-miler made it more like a half-marathon. Saw a 50-something competitor loaded onto a gurney around mile 3. NYRR had an open water hole at every mile, and I’ve never passed up a free drink in my life. And, since I was being cautious, I held a stately, but steady pace in case any of our younger, fleeter mates had to retire from the field.

As for the mile…I will be there for the pre-race reception.

Can I suggest that we try for a group photo in the 60+ corral beforehand? I think we are going to have a large turnout, and its always good to have a photo record before going into battle.

See you on Fifth Avenue!”

2014 Fifth Avenue Mile Men 60+ Race Report

“A man has got to know his limitations.” Thus, the 5th Avenue Mile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VrFV5r8cs0

If it doesn’t give you your maximum heart rate, you probably are not taking this event seriously. The mile is the stuff of legends. With no lap references of the track, the road mile has the potential to leave a runner hanging out to dry with plenty of time to contemplate the mistake. Cool, calm air preceding rain proved ideal for racing. CPTC 60+ men displayed ability and a willingness to get the job done.

Hank Schiffman and Sam Mann

Photo: Jay Mojica

All of our scorers were doctors, a dentist and 2 physicians: Hank Schiffman, Sam Mann and Doug Labar. Had Doug not turned 60 on this very day, it would have fallen on Kevin McGuire, who was all of 4 seconds behind Doug. Kevin almost missed the race as his wife was in hospital. But Barbara insisted that he run. Chris Neuhoff was 3 seconds behind Kevin; Chris would have carried us. We would even have had taken 2nd place had Doug, Kevin and Chris all pulled up; Gary Gosselin, running his 2nd race in orange and blue, was all of 3 seconds behind Chris.

Hank Schiffman – 05:47, 83.5% (6:00 last year)

Sam Mann – 05:49, 83.72% (6:04 last year)

Doug Labar – 6:10, 74.89%

Kevin McGuire – 6:14, 75.41%

Chris Neuhoff – 6:19, 75.03% (5:57 last year)

Gary Gosselin – 6:22, 72.61%

Dan Molloy – 6:33, 72.42% (6:13 last year)

Hal Lieberman – 6:55, 74.35% (6:54 last year)

Bob Haig – 7:49 62,.87%

Dave Delano – 7:59, 62.18% (7:41 last year)

Fred Trilli – 7:59, 62.14%

Sid Howard – 14.50, walking injured. The streak continues! (7:40 last year)

Noteworthy:

8 of our 12 finishers ran above 72%.

Sam had the highest AG % of our 60+ CPTC men.

Kevin topped 75%, a BP.

Half our finishers were recovering from injuries.

We took 2nd:

1st, Brooklyn RR: 16:58

2nd, CPTC: 17:46

3rd, Taconic RR: 18:06

Translating to the total so far:

CPTC: 115 points, but minus the required 2 races: 93

Brooklyn RR: 100 points, but minus the required 2 races: 100

Taconic RR: 94 points, minus the required 2 races: 78

Therefore we are 1st on paper, but 2nd after the 2 required mulligans. Both teams hope to field at least 3 starters for the marathon, diminishing the prospect of drawing out zero from them. There are but 3 NYRR team point races left for the season.

Kevin: “In 2005, the last time I ran the “Continental Airlines” 5th Ave mile my time was 5:56 @ 72.8%. So yes for an AG percentage this was a PR. Thanks God for AG formulas but I will take it.Pleasantly surprised.”

Dave: Well, while I was lacing my shoes this morning, my son wished me a good race and noted that after today, I only get one more chance to run the George Sheehan Mile. After I took my shoe back off to tally up the years, I realized he was right. 68 today, 69 next year, and the big 70 the year after that. Yikes. So, that is why Fred and I were standing at the back of the pack in the corral….didn’t want to get trampled by the horses at the front, and it turned out to be the right call. We agreed to work together from the start, and ran together the whole race. Fred wisely kept the pace down at the start, and we never lost touch. When one edged ahead, the other caught up, when one lagged a bit, the other stayed close. We cruised the downhill (holy &*^%, a 2:00 quarter!), never flagged on the uphill (the CPTC cheering section was HUGE)and never looked back. For the last 880, Fred let the horse out of the barn, and I hung on for dear life….and we crossed the line side-by-side at 7:59, a full 1:01 faster than our pre-race prediction and the fastest mile I have run since turning 65! Tonight, I raise my glass to Fred: a top-tier teammate and terrific friend, (the rest of you guys are pretty terrific, too).”

Fred: A great day for everybody I am happy for being part of this great 60 team. I hope I can keep this up. My knees felt great today and I had a great run partner.”

Doug Labar

Photo: Jay Mojica

Doug: Thanks to the all the 60+ team for making me feel so welcome on my very first eligible day. It is a hard club to get into, it took me 60 years. It was my first NYRRC race since the fateful 2011, and the first 5th Ave Mile since 2010. I felt like I was finally back where I think (hope !) I belong, in the race, and not on the sidewalk.”

Additional race results:

2014 Join the Voices 5M:

Chris Neuhoff – 34:10, 79.76% (highest for CPTC in race), 2nd in age group

2014 Percy Sutton 5k:

Chris Neuhoff – 21:01, 78.42% (2nd highest for CPTC in race), 1st age group

Harry Lichtenstein – 25:55, 65.56%

2014 Henry Isola 5M XC:

Hank Schiffman – 28:20

Kevin McGuire – 32:39

Fred Trilli -43:57

Dave Delano – missed race start due to MTA issues with #1 train!

Photo: Jay Mojica