From Phil Falk of the Open:
GUTS FOR GUSTS
CPTC Men battled the conditions on Sunday, facing down brutal headwinds for 26.2. I knew I was in trouble when a weather alert (usually reserved for flashfloods and storms!) popped up on my phone with a wind advisory. A great sense of foreboding crept over the field during morning preparations. Carefully created racing plans were hastily redrawn. The Manhattan skyline looked vanishingly far and small, and the next three hours impossibly distant. The course heads north for the first 20 miles, give or take, directly into twenty-mile-an-hour winds, with powerful gusts and swirls. Nick Thompson elegantly captures the feeling: “Crossing the Verrazano Bridge, the runners looked like moths in front of a long fan, swaying back and forth. Everyone tried to run in little packs, and inside every little pack, each person tried to stay behind someone else.”
“To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.”
Perhaps the German writer Goethe was referring to marathon when he wrote this line, perhaps he was not. I am not a historian. But as each of us planned our races over the last several weeks, we pored over tactics, fueling, training, sharpening, sleep, injury, apparel… you name it. That’s the thinking – the easy part. Racing, no matter what the plan, is considerably more difficult! That’s the act, and there’s no way around it when the gun goes off. (When people say, “the marathon is all mental!” I respond, “well, it’s also pretty physical.”) But to race in accordance with your planning – that may well be the hardest thing in the world! As it was on Sunday, with modified plans, and grueling acts.
Yet CPTC persevered. The team overall had 84 runners, and 25 in the Open Men’s division. Our top five ran solid races, and the team placed a very respectable third.
| Place | Name | Time |
| 54 | Jeff Ares | 2:33:29 |
| 55 | Greg Cass | 2:33:41 |
| 59 | Phil Falk | 2:34:53 |
| 137 | Francois Lhuissier | 2:42:33 |
| 166 | Nick Thompson | 2:45:36 |
I asked our marathoners to share some of their race reflections, so rather than blather on myself, here are some of their thoughts:
Jeff Ares
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Jeff Ares: “My mantra of the day was ‘don’t fight the wind.’ Anytime it would blow hard or we’d get a stretch that was windy I tried to stay tucked in unless I was leading and in those instances I would pull back a bit and try and not waste energy maintaining pace into the wind. The hope was that 5th ave would have a tailwind but that never happened, as we rounded the right onto 5th from the park the wind hit you in the face again. However, picking off stragglers and the Wall of Orange were motivation to keep fighting, push hard up the hill, through the park, up CPS and ultimately into the finish.”
Greg Cass: “The day was all about running smart, battling, and persevering. I don’t love to run with packs, but I did my best to stay with random groups where possible. I often found myself leading the group up and over hills and bridges (sounds like a pack running rookie mistake, but oh well). By about Mile 21, my focus shifted from attacking the final stretch to just finishing. The wind was certainly tough physically, but I think the mental toll is huge as well. Marathons require a lot of in-race thought and adjustments, but I found that most of my in-race thinking was focused on dealing with constantly shifting winds.”
Phil Lang managed a 5 minute PR. Congrats! “The conditions were terrible! Somehow there managed to be a headwind both going up First Ave and down Fifth Ave – go figure. Fortunately I was able to stick with Tim Rossi and Jake Chanin for the majority of the race – having people to pace with made the wind much more bearable. The pacing was tricky because NYRR removed the mile markers along part of the first 10 miles, but fortunately the crowd was awesome and I got a 5 minute PR.”
Ken Tso: “I ran the first half with Dylan Coia and Seth Bender as we took turns in drafting off from each other. Overall, it was great day to race and persevere in these conditions; builds character! But truly a heartfelt thank you to the team for being out there and spectating from all the boros.”
Neal Sussman
Photo: Nigel Francis
Neal Sussman, also a PR! “Despite the terrible running conditions, there is something about the NYC Marathon that negates every unexpected challenge. Having to manually fight the wind from stealing my bib on the Verrazano was not how I imagined starting the Marathon, but I was able to rebound thanks to the energy from the crowds at the early stages in Brooklyn. I didn’t look back and took this obstacle literally head-on. What started as a foreboding day turned into nothing less than a triumph for me and a 4 Minute and 10 second PR (2:54:11). A giant thanks to my teammates along the journey for inspiring me and cheering everyone of us on. A little wind stands no chance against that force.”
Derek Hanson
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Derek Hanson, who raced a PR in Chicago just three weeks ago: “What a race! First, I would like to say that this is my first NYC Marathon and despite the wind leaving little opportunity for a good time there was something very special about wearing a CPTC singlet through the 5 boroughs! On every mile of the course that I passed people cheered for Central Park. Even better was having many team mates on the sidelines in orange across the city yelling encouragement for a nice boost.”
Stefan Maucher hardly flinched at the headwind, and got his own PR of 2:55:16: “For me it was helpful to realize that the conditions were difficult for everyone, and that it was just about accepting the facts and adjusting for / embracing the wind. So, maybe for me, the wind was a good thing: I relaxed and didn’t expect too much, and didn’t try too hard on the first half (unlike last year).”
Francois Lhuissier and Phil Falk
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Phil Falk: “I think I saved this race from the brink of disaster early on. After hitting my 5k split about a minute ahead of plan (bad!), I throttled the pace, and saw a steady stream of blue bibs (i.e. pros, of sorts) pass. I let ‘em go. In one case, an energetic guy slapped his thigh and pointed down, signaling “here, stay with me!” He swerved over to the side of the road to give out high fives and lifted his arms to pump up the crowd. We ran together for a minute. “What are you trying to run?” he asked comfortably. “Thirty-five,” I panted. “Oh, maybe you shouldn’t stick with me.” Agreed, I thought, and dropped back again. When I passed him two hours later, he was jogging painfully up 5th Ave near 100th st. Such is the distance.”
Congratulations again, to all our competitors! Go Orange!
From David Greenberg of the 40+
As you all know by now, conditions were not good for fast marathon running, so we don’t have many PRs and spectacular improvements at which to marvel – the marathon is a different animal than most races in that sometimes conditions simply cannot be overcome by fitness or mental strength.
Jacob Cooper, Jim McQuade and Brad Weiss
Photo: Sue Pearsall
That said, we should admire the co-races of the day even more – first, in his marathon masters debut, Brad Weiss ran a remarkable 2:49:45, with a negative split, and some serious speeding over the last 2 miles, breaking 2:50 yet again, and Mel Stafford gutted out a lifetime PR. Here’s Brad:
I’ve done 30 marathons now at this point (12 NYC) and have never experienced anything like that before. We nearly got blown over on the Verrazano and at one point on the bridge I was thinking to myself if this is how it’s going to be for the remainder of the day- I don’t know what we’re going to do. I also remember thinking to myself-“I sure wish I would have eaten 3 or 4 cheeseburgers last night to help weigh me down a bit so I don’t get blown onto the other side of the bridge where cars were running alongside of us.”
Ran with Jim and Sean Fortune for the 1st 20 miles or so into the Bronx with each of us taking turns at the front. Slowly working our way from 1 pack to the next when the appropriate moved was called for. Sometimes we would just have to sit tight and wait out the significant gusts. It was a real team effort as we battled together and helped to keep each other in check as assumingly we all went through some good and some bad patches along the way to that point-just like in most marathons that I’ve experienced.
As Jim and I pulled off the Madison Ave Bridge battling the last major headwind-I slowly started to feel pretty good as my pace picked up and Jim mentioned that I had made a surge without 100% even realizing. Before I knew it I was cruising down 5th Ave alone picking off 1 runner after another. Most likely picking off about 75-100 runners in the last 10k or so. Last 2 miles of the race were by far my fastest closing with a 5:59 and a 5:55 on Miles 25 and 26 (with no other previous mile under 6:10 or so) to sneak under 2:50 and run my 4th marathon negative split in a row dating back to last year’s Chicago Marathon.
Looking forward to the next marathon and another memorable experience working with my teammates.
And here’s Mel, who PRd at 2:56:25:
Flapping bibs on the Verrazano; padding feet on 59th; infinity on 5th; running towards the light in Central Park; darkness and headwinds on Central Park South; stumbling across the line; relief; a familiar face; an unnecessarily long walk for a cape. Thank you one and all for the incredible support.
Mel Stafford
Photo: Nigel Francis
Along with Brad making his masters debut in the marathon, Douglas Tsao used his triathlon strength to score for the team for the first time with his 2:53:50:
Wow, that was a tough day. I raced Ironman Mt. Tremblant in August, so I was looking forward to running a marathon without swimming and biking first. Thought I was in shape for a 2:45 but I decided to pace a 2:49 given the conditions. I was on track until mile 18 when the course opened up past 96th St and the wind seemed to go from “tough” to “brutal.” I could see my pace slipping on my GPS. I managed to hold it together a bit through the Bronx but the proverbial wheels came off at mile 23 or so. There was a time when I was worried that I might run slower than my 3:09 run split from Ironman Tremblant, but I somehow managed to keep it together enough to get the 2:53. The course really humbled me today but really happy to score for the team today. Haven’t done that many open running races this year, but look forward to racing more next year and nailing that mid-2:40s. Getting older doesn’t have to mean getting slower!
In fact, all three of our scorers were making their masters debut at New York – Jacob Cooper ran 2:53:21 for his first scoring race for CPTC since he turned 40.
Coleman Cowan came within 20 seconds of a course record with his 2:58:54.
The Alan Ruben Negative Split Marathon Wall of Honor:
I believe only three of us earned places on the wall – Brad of course, and also Daniel Ifcher (3:03:05) and Nick Garramone (3:18:47).
Here’s Daniel:
I’m sure we were all stalking the weather and adjusting race plans, as I was doing too… I woke up early to walk my dog and when I got outside, I knew it would be a tough day. We all know what that wind was, incredible!
My plan was to go out conservative and finish strong. I felt good and strong through half way – about 1:33, and just kept it easy, even through the Queensboro, and into The Bronx…. when I felt good and moved up. It’s a great feeling to have strength in the latter stages of the race – thanks coaches and team mates for the great long training and progressive runs. They really helped out here – physically and mentally!
Total time 3:03:05, so 2nd half in 1:30. Not my fastest, but good despite tough conditions as we all know. And thanks for all the Orange Cheers throughout!
And here’s Nick:
My favorite thing to do is negative split (even if it’s by 19 seconds). The NYC marathon negative split was due to three factors. First, I always go into a marathon with a really good idea of where I should finish (plus where I want to finish). I knew that I was in 3:20 shape (I would have loved to do 3:15). Second, I start out slightly more than the 3:20 pace for the first 13 (my goal was to hit between 7:40- 7:45 for the first 13). Finally, if I did right, I notch it up slightly starting at mile 15 and take it in to the end. For NYC, the back end of the course plays to my strength as I like hills. In fact, I did a 7:04 mile from 25 to 26.
This was my 51st marathon, so I’m getting good at knowing what the finish will be when I stand at the starting line (good or bad).
Nick Garramone
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Here is the list of finishers:
In alpha order:
Jesus Ansede Ferreiro: 3:13
Frank Ayala: 3:51
Jim Charlton: 3:06
Jacob Cooper: 2:53
Terry Corcoran: 3:29
Coleman Cowan: 2:58
Anthony DeMaio: 3:18
Nick Garramone: 3:18
Ed Hernandez: 3:28
Daniel Ifcher: 3:03
Brenn Jones: 3:08
Jim McQuade: 2:54
Kimihiko Oishi: 3:18
Frederick Paredes: 6:42
Wolfram Schenker: 3:03
Cary Segall: 3:00 (training run)
Daniel Shepler: 4:02
Oscar Sloterbeck: 3:47
Mel Stafford: 2:56
Tim Stockert: 3:07
Douglas Tsao: 2:53
Brad Weiss: 2:49
Gerd Zeibig: 2:56
As for the points championship, the score after the marathon and with one race remaining should be:
CPTC: 148
West Side: 122
And with two races subtracted:
CPTC: 126
West Side: 104
I continue to believe we have locked up the championship.
+++++++++
SECOND CALL FOR THE USATF CLUB XC CHAMPIONSHIP!
DECEMBER 13 IN BETHLEHEM, PA – THIS WILL BE A HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR AND OUR ONLY MAJOR ROAD TRIP!
This is a masters-only 10K cross country race on the classic Paul Short course – we have five people interested and we need a few more to fill out our team.
You must be a USATF member and prove your age to USATF before you can race. You can run as a non-citizen but I believe only citizens can score.
Please let me know ASAP if you are interested. Ride shares will be arranged.
Here are the results from two years ago – you can see that you don’t have to be elite to run the race – 40 minutes was roughly midpack:
http://www.usatf.org/Events—Calendar/2012/USATF-National-Club-Cross-Country-Championships/Results/Masters-Men.aspx
Here is race information for this year’s race:
http://www.usatf.org/Events—Calendar/2014/USATF-National-Club-Cross-Country-Championships/Entry.aspx
From Chris Donnelly of the 50+:
When it was over, Casey Yamazaki just shrugged and said, “that’s the marathon.” A few months of grueling training under your belt and the race still come down, often enough, to a roll of the weather dice.
Eight members of the CPCT’s 50+ men’s squad tested their strength against a wild, windy start in this year’s New York Marathon, and ongoing gusts that tore at runners all along the course. That first stretch, across the Verrazano, was unearthly, unless your patch of earth happens to sit in hurricane alley. Missing only the rain, it was otherwise probably a lot like being in a blender.
In the team competition, Alan Ruben led the 50+ men to a (preliminary) second place finish, behind West Side Runners, with Casey Yamazaki and an able assist from the 60+ men’s Yasuhiro Makoshi to round out the scoring team. This finish locks us into second place in the 2014 club points competition with one more race remaining, the Ted Corbitt 15K on Dec. 13.
If the weather wreaked havoc on many runners, this race nevertheless offered a number of stand-out performances.
Alan Ruben finished in 2:59:49, taking 7th place in the 55-59 age group. Alan reports:
I owe a huge thank-you to Chris Solarz who got me going again in the last couple of miles after I stopped and starting walking for the second time because of cramping in my hamstring. I was just able to keep the cramping at bay to finish 11 seconds under 3 hours to keep my NYC marathon sub 3-hour streak alive at 25. Prior to that I had felt pretty good and was surprised how good my splits were considering the wind. Overall a great day and congrats to everyone who ran and many thanks for all the orange support along the course.
Casey was next, his 3:07:21 bettering last year’s time by more than 11 minutes. Only racing conditions held Casey back from an even better performance after a strong training cycle. Yasuhiro was there for us again, running a 3:13:02, good for fifth place in the 60-64 age group, and setting a club record for age 62 in the process.
Casey Yamazaki
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Chris Donnelly (3:16:02) :
This race was even more of an adjustment than I envisioned, having not run a marathon in 2.5 years, and I didn’t dial back my expectations nearly enough to account for the awful conditions. Peeling off my nylon jacket after the first mile, I gave it a little toss to the side. It flew across six lanes of roadway and out into Lower New York Bay. Little by little, the stiff wind gusts chipped away at my race; even Fifth Avenue offered a puzzling cross-wind. Still, I motored along determined to be cheerful until the end arrived. Special thanks to Daniel Ifcher for encouragement as he rolled by on Bedford Avenue, and the cheering CPTC teammates who were everywhere along the course. As we trudged up toward the baggage trucks, Brooklyn Road Runners’ John Shostrom put it in perspective: to be healthy, to be out competing, to be part of this experience, that’s the gift.
Stanley Young finished a couple of minutes later at 3:20:44, to finish 51st in the 55-59 age group.
Eiji Ebihara ran 3:25:57 in his first New York outing as a member of the team. This was his best result in New York by more than well over 3 minutes, eclipsing four prior outings.
Noel Labat-Comess was on the course for his third NY marathon, running 3:30:00.
Oscar Garcia was next, at 4:33:58
Dennis O’Donnell writes of his 4:34:15:
My injury notwithstanding, I decided last week to run…The hamstring (that went haywire the week after Sydney in September) was a factor, but it was the absolute lack of training over the last month (due to rehabbing the hamstring) and the headwind that killed me. I was spent by Mile 19 and had to walk/run it home from there. I can only hope for better things in Boston in April.
There are many miles to go until Patriots Day for Dennis and Alan and anyone else looking to take on Boston. Sunday’s cruel winds will give way, inevitably, to frosty temperatures, and hard Thursday workouts in the park’s wintry solitude before we turn to a new blank page where these efforts will forge the story of 2015.
Club points 2015 returns on Sunday March 1 with the Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5k. Registration is already open.
From Hank Schiffman of the 60+:
You want to be part of something monumental, to toss your hat into the ring among major players, commit to the big time: run for President of the United States? No, you say to yourself, “I’ll run the NYC Marathon!” Be careful of what you wish for, a marathon is a lot like the movie Bedazzled; you get your wish, but how it unfolds is another thing.
After rearranging your life for 3 months, floating a magic number in your head that only you and the cognoscenti would appreciate, you approach the mound and pitch the ball over the plate. There is no warm up and you get just one throw. All your careful preparation should give you control. It could be a strike, blown past the batter. However, just one glitch in ball handling or strategy and it’s a wild pitch, or a meatball served to the goddess of cosmic irony. Yes, there are pitchers who can play the corners of the strike zone, as Alan Ruben’s 2:59:49. But there will be no relievers to save the game for you in a marathon. And you’ll have lots of time to consider your failure in the last 10k, the longest one you have ever run, the shamble of shame. It dawns on you why 5k’s are so popular.
Our 60+ Men finished 3rd at 10:39:39, with Brooklyn RR at 10:06:41 and GNY 10:22:35. Brooklyn is marching on to 1st place for the year; we have earned 2nd.
However, Yasuhiro Makoshi’s time of 3:13:03 was the fastest runner among all NYRR men 60+ team racers. In the spirit of redemption over injuries, he bested next fastest, Brooklyn RR’s John Shostrom by over 3 and a half minutes and set a new CPTC single-age record for age 62. Yasuhiro placed 5th in age group 60-64 out of 1048 and was the 1489th male finisher. His stellar performance in adverse conditions confirms that he is the alpha male of NYRR Men 60+. He was also the 3rd scorer for our 50+ men too; well done!
Yasuhiro: “Of course, I am sore, too! But I enjoyed the 26.2 mile journey for my 29th goal which I couldn’t do last year. And although I cannot participate on Tue & Thurs workouts due to my work, I am always proud of wearing the CPTC singlet to run the race with my teammates!”
Yasuhiro Makoshi
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Our 2nd finisher was me, Hank Schiffman, in 3:41:18, 13th age group out of 415 men 65-69, the 5863rd male finisher. (Hank set a new CPTC single-age record for age 65 -ed) Racing marathons well for me is sort of like trying to finesse an inside card to make a royal flush. I believe the word is rare. Formulas that work for others do not seem to apply to me. I felt my right quad tighten in Queens and began the process of dialing it back. The final 10k was like going 45 mph on an interstate. I never cramped or stopped, I just shuffled on. A shiny bullet that went into the chamber in Staten Island I was a mangled mass of lead come Central Park. A friendly face greeted me at the achievement medal station, Captain David Greenberg. He was clean and wearing mufti, he had not run. Thank you all for your support. And a special thank you to Alex Bruskin, ever faithful lonely sentry in the furtherest corner of the empire in the gratuitous quadrangle in the Bronx.
Hank Schiffman
Photo: Nigel Francis
Allan Dias, our 3rd scorer was a rookie, running 3:45:18, 6724th male finisher, and setting a new CPTC single-age record for age 63. He is a rookie no more.
Allan: “I started to realize the reality of my situation after the Pulaski. Though I’d been pulling at the reins from the Verrazzano, I came through 5K in 24:something. I still felt within myself not laboring so I kept a close tab on my efforts while enjoying the scenery. I hydrated regularly and gelled every 45 min. Reaching 10 miles in comfort, my first task completed, I steadied for the next and pushed the uphills and coasted the downs. My hips tend to get sore on the roads after 10 so that was manageable, but in the Bronx, I think, I could feel my knees getting sore from the pounding and worse, my calves knotting up seriously. I altered my stride a little and willed myself on. At the same time I was dealing with a stitch of some sort… Wow, by that time I entered the park, slowed to a 9: something pace and toughed it out one stride at a time to finish. I went to a medical tent and got my calves messaged and hobbled out of the park. All in all, I am completely satisfied with my effort and result. It was an amazing experience, but I took a beating and withstood all that New York handed me today.”
Allan Dias
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Finishing 4th for us was Toby (George) Nelson, our youngest runner at age 60, in 3:46:30, the 7022nd male finisher. His half time of 1:51:43 indicated he ran a sensible race.
Toby: “It’s been a few years since I last ran the race and I had forgotten why I love it and hate it. The seemingly non-stop inclines, unending packs of people to navigate around and a pre-dawn wake up call, more than offset by the views of the city and the amazing crowds. For some reason my times for this race always suck (I think its not being used to the sheer number of people racing) and had way too much gas left in the tank at the end. Maybe next year I can get my act together and be better mentally prepared.”
Perspective is what Rick Shaver, our 5th finisher brings to the table. In his youth he blazed, now he is maintaining his streak with only one person running this event one more time than he. He ran 4:04:53, 12,119th male finisher despite a torn meniscus.
Rick: “My knee warmed up at mile 16 or maybe it was just numb. Ran as planned to finish in around 4 hours. My fans at the race saw that runner tracker had me at 4:04 something and I have no reason to follow up on that. Beer+ice plus a nice dinner out and I’m packing to go to Pittsburgh tomorrow AM. Looking toward to my knee operation 12/1. Once that rehab is done I hope I can get back to some hard training. Look forward to hearing more about you and my other teammates.
Was indeed my 37th NYC.”
Rounding out our finishers was Gary Circosta, our oldest runner at 67. Gary ran 4:43:03, the 20,831st male finisher.
Gary: “ I finished. This has been a re-building year, and I look at today as a positive. Ran conservatively with no problems. Ran out of juice at 24 miles. Makes me hungry to race again soon.
I was impressed that I did not get blown off the Verrazano bridge. After that all went well. As you know, I had to deal with plantar fasciitis from Aug. 2013–May, 2014. Running over the Summer was good, but I had basically NO marathon build-up, s-o-o-o I ran out of gas at 24. I had a pleasant walk through Central Park to the finish, BUT, I am now ready to actually help the team next year!!!
Great job to ALL!!! Recover well.”
My deepest impression of the marathon was just after the start. Our Local Competitors wave ran under the bridge, on the western side. There was an unrelenting, almost deafening rattle of collective Tyvek bibs on runners singlets as the wind blew at a right angle to the bridge, only stopping as it became blocked when the road ducked below grade on the Brooklyn end.
The 2014 Staten Island Half Marathon: A juxtaposition of our fastest and our oldest competitors: Yasuhiro placed 1st in age group, 5th man overall age graded, 83.44%, in a time of 1:29:24, and George Hirsch ran a 78%, 35th man overall age graded, in 2:02:13, also 1st in age group. What a pair of bookends!
Our last team point race is the Ted Corbitt 15k on Saturday, December 13th at 8:30am. One week later, CPTC is hosting the Central Park Holiday Classic 10k: http://www.centralparkholidayclassic.com. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to the Fred Lebow 5k XC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park on Sunday, November 16th at 11:30am.
Photo: Nigel Francis