Report from Greg Cass and Phil Falk of the Open:
The NYC Marathon is always one of the best days of the year in the city, and 2016 didn’t disappoint. As the calendar turned to November, we mostly managed to leave the hot weather in the summer and the painfully cold rain and wind in October / Staten Island. This year’s marathon saw comfortable temperatures and a cool fall breeze – perfect spectating weather but perhaps just a little short of ideal for the runners. CPTC showed well – persevering on the course and cheering from the sideline. In the end, the Open Men fought off strong challenges from Dashing Whippets, Queens Distance Runners, and North Brooklyn Runners to secure third place in the team competition.
Leading the way for the Orange in his first NYC Marathon in a CPTC singlet was Matt Lawder, whose 2:30:39 secured a top-20 place among American Men. Trevor Middleton came in next at 2:32:37, joining Matt in the top-50 overall (out of 51,000+, but who’s counting…). Rounding out the scoring team was Philip Lang with a 2:45:47, a 4-minute PR (!).
From Matt:
“Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the race. I would’ve liked to have been a bit quicker time wise. But considering the windy conditions and the fact that no real packs formed up I think I made some good decisions to stay engaged in the race and ensure a good finishing place. I’m pretty happy to finish 40th male and 20th American. My main goals going were sub 2:30 and top 50. I’d have loved to have been able to be around PR pace but with the way the race played out. I don’t think that was really in the cards.
…
The wind really started to take effect on the bridge and 1st. I was moving well up first ave but was all alone and fighting the wind at points. I had picked it up and was back on 5:30-5:35. I started to feel on the edge around 19 but was hanging in there. My pace started to slow at 20-21 but still hitting 5:45. Finally we turned back south. My pace sagged a little as I battled to hang in there. I ran two 5:50’s but was staying in the race and caught two more guys. Then I hit the 5th ave hill back into the park. That one ended me. I just didn’t have the drive up the hill and ran 6:30. I brought it back once I got to the reservoir and ran a 5:55 but struggled in the last mile with another one over six I believe. The last 5k definitely cost me with the hills. I was able to maintain (relatively) pace on the flats but couldn’t handle the tough hills late.”
Trevor’s training continues – despite a strong showing in NYC that was a minute faster than 2015, he has his sights set on the California International Marathon in early December. Trevor was back on the roads training shortly after the 2:32 – good luck in CA!
From Philip:
“Sunday was a tricky race. No matter how much I mentally prepare, the hills in New York always seem to surprise me. I started off with a great pack of guys and felt great through all of Brooklyn and Queens. I was aiming for a 2:45 and crossed the half right around 1:22. Ultimately, I came in at 2:45:47, so I was thrilled, especially given the difficulty of the last two miles.
…
I had trouble finding other people to run with – I think I formed about 4 different informal 2:45 pace groups in the first 10 miles before finally giving up on finding other people who were up for running consistently at my pace. The crowd coming off the Queensboro was amazing as always, and just enough to energize me for the headwind up 1st Avenue. This was the first year I tried bananas during the race – I took two halves at miles 19 and 23 and I think they helped. I remember running past an ad for “the wall” at Mile 20 and wondering why they would call that out, as if to remind runners that they were supposed to be starting dying in the Bronx. Thanks, NYRR. I maintained a consistent pace through 23, and was fortunate to have the wall of orange cheering me on as I powered up the 5th Avenue hill. Once I got to the park, I had a singular focus on getting down to 59th Street and across the finish line. The last mile was a blur – quite literally – because it became hard to see and my calf muscles were starting to spasm, but I pushed through the last few meters to the finish line to make sure I had a 2:45 on the clock. I was so excited when I crossed. The race conditions were nearly perfect and I had a PR by 4 minutes.”
Great performances weren’t limited to the scoring team. Seth Bender capped off an impressive fall cycle with a 1:11 PR:
“One of my biggest takeaways from this year’s race was a new realization that rest/recovery/time off may not be as detrimental as I once thought. After the Staten Island half (I think due to the horrid conditions there), I couldn’t run for two weeks (arguably the most important two training weeks of the marathon cycle). I ended up be able to run again two weeks before the race, did my best to kick the rust off, and ended up setting a pretty big PR (1:11). In the future, I think ill be less reluctant to take a day or two off during the training cycle, especially after seeing that a full two weeks off in the run up to the race was not detrimental to my time. I actually think this is a perspective Tony has been preaching for a while, and I’m now ready to incorporate it.”
Sometimes inspiring and impressive performances aren’t limited to the course. Shout out to Jesus Ansede Ferreiro – when a teammate needed help at the finish, Jesus went above and beyond to support him through the finish and as he received attention from medical staff after. Well done Jesus – embodies the team spirit of CPTC!
Because my recap is so late, I can and should highlight some of the amazing performances since the marathon as well.
Going back a bit, the fall season got off to a fast start with some speedy times in Chicago. Our top-3 finishers all placed in the top-100 of the race and all ran PRs (…I believe…). Matt Rand lead the way with an impressive 2:26:30, top-50 finish. Not far behind Matt was former college teammate Kyle Marks at 2:29:25. Jeff Ares was next at 2:31:53. The 3 impressive PRs helped set the stage for the NYC Marathon and the fall racing that followed.
I don’t typically cover cross country, but the NYRR Fred Lebow Cross Country Championships deserve a mention. In a race filled with CPTC success, the Open Men were one of the headlines. Caleb Edmonds outkicked and out-leaned the competition to place first overall, securing the victory by less than a second. A pack of Open Men were hot on his heels enroute to the team victory as well, with the scoring crew composed of Matt Rand at 16:24 (nice work recovering from Chicago), Taylor Burmeister at 17:11, Phil Falk at 17:23, and Herb Plummer at 17:41.
Herb Plummer deserves his own paragraph – Herb lowered his Van Cortlandt PR by 6 seconds in a Championship race, and before that accomplishment could even sink in, he was back out 4 days later on Thanksgiving Day, securing a 45-second PR with a 27:25 in the Ashenfelter 8K. Great work Herb!
And to finish, in other Turkey Trot news, Jeff Sarkisian recovered from the NYC Marathon quickly to secure a new 5K PR in Pittsburgh, somewhere between 16:33 and 16:49, but easily besting his previous PR of 16:58. Victor Palumbo threw down a huge PR and a huge time with his 14:56 in the New Rochelle 5K, taking the top spot, picking up some Thanksgiving cash, and moving into #2 on the CPTC all-time Roads list. Iber Gonzalez finished second overall in the 2.8-mile Somerville race, coming in at 15:49. And Eddie Mulder came in at a swift 25:13 in a 5-mile race in Alexandra, a 12-second PR and a good sign that another breakthrough is on its way for Eddie this year.
Impressive performances all fall. Looking forward to what all you guys can accomplish this winter and spring. Although our third place NYRR spot may be locked up, I hope to see some of you out there for the season-ending 15K. Great work to all – keep being fast.
Report from David Greenberg of the40+:
The CPTC M 40-49 won its second race in a row, taking the NYCM championship by two minutes over the Dashing Whippets. Championship points leaders Urban Athletics finished 8th.
While that tightens up the points race, it won’t be enough to put us back in the hunt. We have a good shot at scoring the most points for the year, but if we delete our worst two races as we must, they win handily.
Congratulations to Urban Athletics.
Unofficial Standings after NYCM
Urban Athletics: 141
CPTC: 137
West Side: 112
With two races deleted:
Urban: 132
CPTC: 117
West Side: 96
We had some very strong individual races at the marathon. We won the race despite a glitch at NYRR that kept our #1 guy from counting for us. Eduardo Ribeiro Ferreira led us all home with a 2:43:59 but wasn’t registered as a CPTCer so he did not count for the team competition.
Our official scorers were:
Nicholas Thompson: 2:46:43
Cary Segall: 2:46:51
Eric Lattin: 2:48:06
Eduardo Ribeiro Ferreira
Photo: Andy Kiss
Eduardo:
I always try to set up a strategy prior to the race. My goal was to beat my PR of 2:40 back in 2011, so based on that, I had a strategy which was to run the first three miles at 6:20, then 4 to 15 miles at 6:10 min mile, 16 to 20 m at 6:05, then the rest just below 6:10 m/m to beat my PR. I followed this plan for the first three miles only, then I ran based on how my body felt.
I was cruising well until about mile 17, when from that point on, I felt I could no longer hold on to my goal pace. So at that point my strategy became to keep focus and stay strong not letting my goal pace go away too much. Overall I am very happy with my performance, especially after running Chicago a month prior which I ran 2:45:50.
I have been attending Tony’s workouts , and whenever possible adding on core/ strength training, swimming once a week, some weight lifting focusing more on lower body, yoga, and a few spinning classes.
A big thanks to Tony who helped me out particularly when deciding whether or not I should run the Chicago Marathon – after my last long run two weeks prior to Chicago, I had signs of plantar fasciitis. Doctor confirmed to me it was plantar but after checking with my physiotherapy, I was told it was tendonitis. I lost one week of tapering properly but was back running on Sunday, a week prior to Chicago.
I did 5x1m with 1 min rest, then followed Tony’s advice of descending miles Mon thru Sat., and ran Chicago on Sun Oct. 9th. For New York I did reverse tapering, took Mon, Tue off after Chicago, cross trained Wed taking a spinning class, Thu Oct 13th deep water running and abs, Friday off, then back running 12k Sat, and cross trained Sun 10/16th. The three weeks prior to NYC Marathon, I did the Tue and Thu Tony’s workout, Sun ran 20 miles. Two weeks prior Tue and Thu Tony’s workout followed by his tapering advice.
Also a big thanks to my teammates for their support along the course. That helped me a lot to run strong and finish at a great time.
Nick Thompson
Photo: Andy Kiss
Nick Thompson set a masters CR by three seconds:
Nick:
Man that course is unforgiving. But it’s awesome we won.
Cary Segall
Cary Segall also set a CR with his 2:46:51
Cary:
Coming into the race I felt good about my training especially with my speed work and tempos. Due to my son’s weekend hockey schedule I was short on quality long runs with marathon pace miles so thought this would hurt me in the second half. Additionally, I wasn’t going in with a real good feel of the appropriate pacing as my best judge was the Staten Island Half four weeks ago in very tough conditions where I ran 6:00 pace. The weather was decent compared to recent years although I knew the open sky with sun and swirling wind would take its toll. Before the start I figured it would be wise to dial it back a little especially with the NYC course being tougher in the second half. I revised my plan and decided to go out in the first half at 1:21-1:22. My first goal was sub 2:45 and possibly a 2:43.
At the start I planned to stick with Nick Thompson and Eric Lattin as we connected the week before the marathon and similar pace plans. After the first few miles when the terrain stabilized I felt that 6:10-6:15 pace seemed right under the circumstances and based upon the way I felt on the day. At mile 3, Nick and Eric pulled away and I just stayed within myself and what felt like the right pace. I would say that I generally kept it steady through the half and hit mile 13 at 1:21:30.
When I started to ascend the 59th Street bridge I could feel that I wasn’t going to be able to keep the pace to match the last 10 with the first 16 miles. I came up to Eric at mile 15 and hoped that we would be able to work together but he suggested that I keep going at my pace. When I hit 1st Avenue I would say I had some good and bad patches until I went over the Willis Avenue Bridge. At mile 20, I could sense that the last 10k was going to be a struggle and just hoped to not completely fall apart as a 2:45 finish was still possible. Unfortunately, my pace slowed to 6:30-6:30 for the last 5 miles as my legs just could not turnover but I knew that I would be able to hold on and not completely lose it. Over the last few miles I could see Nick come into focus and thought maybe I could catch him and push each other to the finish but it was not meant to be and he finished about 10 seconds in front.
Overall, the day was great and the CPTC fan support was amazing. I feel like there were teammates out at every mile and it always provides a big boost to keep you going. There were many good stories out there and some impressive PR’s in less than ideal conditions. Most importantly, the 40+ pulled out a nice win in probably the second biggest scoring race of the year behind club champs.
I would like to give a special shout out to Alan Ruben who finished in an amazing 3:12 for his 29th NYCM! Just amazing!
Congrats to everyone and enjoy the recovery!
Race of the Day honors go to Doug Tsao and Nick Garramone. Doug added even more shine to his running resume with his lifetime PR of 2:48:16
Doug:
Tough day out there. I thought I had a 2:46 in me but the wind was tough out there. Managed to keep it together though and finished strong so nabbed another PR with a 2:48. Not bad for someone on the wrong side of 40.
Nick did not set a lifetime PR, but did set a course record by 10 minutes despite running the race eight times, dating back to 1995.
This is definitely a NYC PR. My real PR is 2:53 (1997), though this was the fastest in nearly 8 years (3:05 Boston in 2009).
Going into the fall, I was targeting a 3:20 (faster than last year). When Tim and I went to Germany for his 50th birthday party, I ended up doing a nearly 20-year PR in the Dresden Half of a 1:25. At that point, my running partner, and fellow CPTC-er, Irma Bribiesca, re-thought our approach and decided on a 3:10. By the time I got to the Queensboro Bridge, I was feeling amazing and decided to push it hard, clocking sub-7s on 1st Avenue. Going up 5th Avenue, as anticipated, was torture. I recovered along the flat in Central Park and then turned up the speed out of the park, up 59th and then all the way to the finish with the second half nearly 2 minutes faster than the first. I felt amazing at the end.
This caps off a great year of multi-year PRs in a number of distances. If I were to identify the reasons, I would list very long runs (28-milers followed by 10-17 milers the next day), Irma Bribiesca (my CPTC running twin), Justin Cawley (always increasing the rigor of my strength training) and, of course, Tim Stockert (my life-long running partner).
Brad Weiss ran a 2:53 for a masters course record – his best NYC marathon since 2010.
Daniel Ifcher
Daniel Ifcher set a course record with his 2:57:25:
I ran NYC in 2:57:25, and am very pleased with the result – it’s a NYC PR for me and 2nd fastest 40+ time. That said, the result came in the opposite half-split as I was planning, that said I’m really happy with the journey and the result. As I bet many of you know, I’m big proponent of the negative split marathon, so I set out to run 1:29 first half and faster for the second half.
Well, we all know about NYC and it’s a tough course and it is really tough to contain excitement. So, I got going with Tim and we had the plan to ease into the first 6 miles together. We got going a little faster than planned but we each felt good, and we were sticking with a group of team mates – Seth Bender, Michael Basen, Brad Weiss and one other who I don’t know. After 6 miles, Tim felt great and sped up – go Tim. He ended up w a 2:51 and 5th place 50-54!
I stayed with the group of 4 CPTC’ers through about 14 miles, when we somewhat broke up a little. Then I partnered with Michael where we basically worked together the rest of the race. One other aspect to my racing is that I love to run with others, gaining strength from the partnership. So let me say Thank You to my running buddies on the day!
I’m really happy with taking it out at a 1:27:45 first half and holding it together for the second half with a 2 minute positive split. I’ll take it! And thanks to all those who cheered and took pictures, there are some great ones. See you on the road again soon.
Course debuts were had by Herve Megras and a masters debut from Guillaume Bouvet.
Nigel Francis showed his range – from sub 18 5k to triathlon to the marathon. He set a PR on Sunday:
Nigel:
The last time I ran the NYC Marathon was back in 2010, so I was very happy to be out there racing again on Sunday. I ran 3:22:37 which was a lot slower than my target time but still a PR. I gave up a lot time in the last 5 miles of the marathon. That said, I had a great time out there. The crowds and the support from our team was overwhelming.
Rich Nelson did what I’m sure many of us have thought about – assisting an Achilles athlete:
I guided a visually impaired runner with Achilles for NYC marathon. My athlete Matt Turner (51) is an amazing inspiring guy and a great runner too. He was only able to train for 7 weeks. He really wanted to get a sub 3:30, but he threw off our pacing with a 1:20 bathroom break. We stayed on pace (8:00) but hit mile 24 behind pace by 1:20. We hammered for last 2 miles and then sprinted last 0.2 and got in at 3:29:50. He was thrilled with his new course record. We started at very back of wave 1 and passed more than 10k runners along the way. Was an amazing experience that I highly recommend.
Every year I give to the athletes who run negative splits the Alan Ruben trophy, named in honor of the best pacer in the business.
This year Nick Garramone and Brad Weiss are the winners. Nick ran roughly 1:34/1:33 and Brad roughly 1:27/1:25. NB: 40+ alumnus Tim Stockert also ran negative splits with his amazing 2:51 (1:26/1:25)
Speaking of alumni, 40-49 alumnus Brad Kelley was third in the 50-54 with his 2:50:55.
David Alm
At the Dash to the Finish 5k, David Alm ran a masters PR 17:09 and the first time he has been over 80% in a NYRR race (80.51%).
David:
(This race) was my fastest 5K in 4+ years — years of inexplicably frustrating performances, but also years that have taught me to appreciate the moments, and to keep at it regardless of any short-lived disappointment I might feel after a race.
Points races:
Daniel Ifcher and Tim Stockert are tied for the lead, with 8. Will only one of them do the 15k?
Points scorers
5: Brad Kelley
5: Eric Lattin
5: Matt DeAngelis
3: Mohammed Lahseni
3: Cary Segall
2: Peter Brady
2: Nick Thompson
2: David Greenberg
2: Eduardo Ribeiro Ferreira
1: Tim Stockert
1: Coleman Cowan
1: Josh Rayman
1: Dan Gay
Report from Chris Donnelly of the 50+:
Ok, perfection!
CPTC’s 50+ men delivered big on Sunday, taking advantage of near perfect running conditions to take first place in the team competition in the New York Marathon. Our scoring trio of Brad Kelley, Tim Stockert and the indefatigable Alan Ruben made their mark, outdistancing their competition by nearly 35 minutes. It was almost as thrilling to watch them as it probably would have been to complete this undeniably brutal, but always thrilling course.
Their performance, as well as those of our other runners, highlights the depth of our bench, with the newly 50 Brad and Tim joining 59 year old Alan, a veteran of 28 prior New York campaigns. Moreover, Brad and Tim’s runs vault them right onto CPTC’s New York Marathon top 10 list among 50+ men. Alan, of course, has long been on that list.
Brad Kelley on his 2:50:55 performance, which by the way, placed him on the 50-54 podium in third place:
“This was my 40th anniversary of running the marathon, which I completed as a 10 year old** in 1976 the first year it went five boroughs. Well funny, the more things change the more they stay the same. I recall my legs falling apart about 10 miles and a basic death march for 16 miles all those years ago. Difference was if you stopped back then you might get pulled into an abandoned building and beat up, now you just go to Starbucks.”
This time out, Brad recalls, “Well I don’t really know why but my thighs started locking at 8 miles and it was a death march for 16 miles. I have to tap myself on the back because I was borderline limping especially on downhills once I passed the half. I ran 1:22 high and 1:27 high I believe which is not how things should go. I suppose recent plantar fasciitis had me changing my stride and it just wrecked my thighs. Thank god for the medical tent at the finish where I spent about 45 minutes, they were so helpful. Big thanks to all the orange supporters on the course, I really wanted to quit after the half marathon but the support (or was it peer pressure?) prompted me to stick it out. Finally let me say running a marathon really puts the times run in their 50’s by Fritz Mueller and Alan Ruben into perspective. Those guys truly are living legends.”
Fritz (2:38:18) and Alan (2:44:03) are numbers one and two on CPTC 50+ NYCM leaderboard. Brad and Tim are now fifth and sixth on that list, respectively. Congrats, guys!
Tim Stockert, still fresh from celebrating his 50th, executed a flawless race through the five boroughs, negative splitting off his 1:26:26 13.1 mark to run 2:51: 21 in his 50+ CPTC team debut.
Tim: “I had the perfect day and the perfect race for this year’s NYC marathon. All year long, my husband (Nick Garramone) and I have been running well so going into the marathon, I had high expectations. Two weeks prior to the marathon, we ran a half marathon in Dresden, Germany to celebrate my 50th birthday. Happily, I ran a 1:20:15 and finished 1st in my NEW age group! So, I had hoped that this was a good sign leading up to the marathon.
On race day, fortunately, everything went as planned. I started the marathon with Daniel Ifcher who kept me in check and helped pace me through mile 6 (Thanks Daniel!). After 6, he knew I wanted to push a little harder and told me to go. I made it through the half-way mark as planned in 1:26:25 and from there tried to maintain a steady pace and keep myself psychologically strong. One of the best things about running the NYC marathon is seeing all of the orange and blue out on and along the course. Everyone really helped keep me motivated and strong through the end; however, if you asked me what it was that produced the final result, among many things, I would tell you the three most important: 1) The long runs. They were not necessarily fast but Nick and I did several runs that were over 26 followed by 10 or so miles the next day. (2) The strength training. We’ve been working out with Justin Cawley (also a CPTC member) for a number of years now and the training that we’ve been doing has made us really strong and kept us injury-free. (3) The motivation and encouragement from my running and life partner, Nick Garramone, who did every training run with me side-by-side.
My proudest accomplishments from Sunday are that this was my second fastest marathon ever (my fastest was in 2010 in NYC in 2:50:55, 26 seconds faster), I negative split the marathon (1:26/1:25), and I placed 5th in age group.
Thanks for welcoming me to the 50+ group! And congrats to everyone who ran on Sunday!”
It was up to Alan Ruben to seal the deal.
Alan: “Ran 3:12:56 – my second worst marathon ever but then again a 1 hour 15 minute year on year improvement. Was on hoped-for 3:10 pace until 20 miles when my legs started minor cramping. Pleased to keep it going without stopping.”
Our three scorers ran a collective time of 8:55:11, which would have been good for seventh place in the 40+ competition. Their nearest 50+ competition clocked in at 9:29:52.
As is always the case with CPTC, the excellent effort extended well past the scoring trio.
–Casey Yamazaki like Alan, was running his 29th New York Marathon, and he came across the line at 3:16:17, bettering last year’s time by more than six minutes.
–James Siegel, a long-time CPTC veteran who looks to be easing back into competition, most recently running the Staten Island Half, came through at 3:20:21, chopping more than an hour off last year’s time, his first NYCM outing in 15 years.
– Ron Romano, on the other hand, was doing the Hamlet thing just a few weeks before the race. When Ron came down off the fence, he was all in, running 3:32:50 in his first New York Marathon in a decade.
Ron: “It was awesome. The crowds were amazing, I was living their energy. Then First Avenue reminded me of my two torn hamstrings in June. But I wanted to get to the park and see the team. They carried me through to the finish!”
Toshiki Ikehata in his fourth consecutive New York, ran 3:37:55, right in the same range as his other races.
Finally, Fred Paredes was back in action running 5:31:57.
Meanwhile, some of our runners took part in the activities surrounding the marathon. Mikal Scott placed second in a field of 306 men aged 55-59 in Saturday’s Dash to the Finish 5k. Moreover, Mikal came away with a 20 second course PR, running 19:34 (79.66% AG). Tom Fitzpatrick took part too, running 20:27 (73.85% AG), good for fifth place in a field of 502 men aged 50-54. Budd Heyman, our perennial Clydesdale, dashed to a 22:45 (69.07% AG), to take 13th place in the 55-59 competition. Also, Kawarai Tsukasa represented us in the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 5 miler, nabbing fourth place among men 50-54 with his 31:20 run (76.83% AG).
Cheering on the team, there was just so much to love. The orange wall cheering not just our own runners but everyone in the endless stream rolling by. To see so many teammates run well — especially our first place 40+ men–was immensely inspiring. Can’t wait for next year.
Congrats to all!
**Parenthetically, Brad holds the CPTC New York Marathon records for ages 12 and 13, from back when they let kids enter the race. Our teammates Brenn Jones and Gregg Lemos-Stein a couple of weeks ago on their Cloud259.com chatted with Wesley Paul, who in 1977 zipped around the five boroughs in 3:00:39 at the tender age of eight, then went sub-3 the next year. Paul offers a childhood peek at the race and wise advice both for young runners generally and for adults looking to run their best at 26.2.. Give it a listen!
Report from Hank Schiffman of the 60+:
On a lovely day for cheering, only those who ran knew if was also a good day for racing 26.2 miles. Thus we look at our 60+ men and their struggle for that golden chalice, the 2016 NYC Marathon.
Well gosh darn it, we did just fine. Our men took 4th, with only one team, Witold’s Road Runners, standing in our path to the 2016 Club Night podium. GNY and WSX took 1st and 2nd but are out of contention in the team point standings. With Witold’s getting 10 points to our 8, they are 2 points to their better, but we were 5 points ahead in the tally. No one knows that who will stand taller after the dust settles come Ted Corbitt’s 15k. However, after subtracting each team’s 2 mulligans the current tea leaves show CPTC with 86 points to Witold’s 79. That could be a bitter cup of tea for Witold’s; we certainly hope so.
Yes, we could have beaten Witold’s for 3rd, but 59 years ago Alan Ruben refused to be born half a year earlier. Perhaps that’s the best case you can make for him being lazy. He ran 3:12:56, 77.14%, 33rd in his age group out of 2062 in that cohort.
Therefore, short of a catastrophe in Corbitt’s we are looking at 3rd place in the Times Square Hard Rock Cafe on that cold and dark night.
Ted Corbitt’s 15k has been, and portends to be, a venue of joy for the CPTC 60+ male brethren if for no other reason that we are the best looking team. Scratch a bit deeper and you will find record setting talent sitting on our bench. We are the stuff of legends. So gentlemen do register for this race, train and let us all do a victory lap and a half, once again capturing glory and bling for dear, old CPTC.
What do I see when I look at our race results? One thing stands out; a steep fall off between how shorter distances venues and this race in terms of pace. Runners who zoom in Tony’s Tuesday VO2 max track intervals run the marathon at a decidedly deliberate pace. This is not the land of the 5k; “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Chronic injuries come out in the wash. And when they do, it is a long 10k back from the Bronx.
The other thing is the matter of aging and speed:
There were only five 60+ men who ran sub 3:00.
Only thirty-six 60+ men ran sub 3:30.
No one 65+ ran a sub 3:00.
No one 70+ ran a sub 3:30.
How did our 4 guys do?
Gary Gosselin crossed the line in 3:42:17 (1:46:10 at the half) averaging 8:29, 68.9%%. He was 67th his age group of 1104 men.
Art Palmer was literally snapping at Gary’s heels: 3:42:22 (1:38:08 at the half) averaging 8:29 as well, 67.57%. Yes, Art was 68th in his age group of 1104 men.
Yasuhiro Makoshi hung in there to cross the line in 4:42:23 (2:10:23 at the half). Anyone who knows Yasuhiro understands he is injured. He is not the same super star who battles for 1st in age group. In perspective, when the NYC Marathon was canceled due to Sandy, he registered for the Philadelphia Marathon and won his age group. BTW, Art Palmer did the same and also won his age group.
Rick Shaver also took it on the chin in an effort to keep his streak alive running 5:26:57 (2:09:19 at the half). In his prime, Rick was a force to be reckoned with in this event. Yes, only one man has run more consecutive NYC Marathons than Rick.
BTW, Amy’s dad Joe Kvilhaug took 21st place in 65-69 with 3:42:24.
Alan Ruben’s best NYC Marathon was 1993 when he ran 2:32:17. This was his 30th NYC Marathon.
Gary ran only one other NYC Marathon, last year in 3:38:26.
Art’s best NYC Marathon was 2013 when he ran 3:27:14; this was his 3rd. His time at the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon was 2:52:20.
Rick’s best NYC Marathon was1986 when he ran 2:43:19; his steak is now 39th.
Yasuhiro’s best NYC Marathon was 2008 when he ran 2:27: 08; this was his 30th. His time at the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon was 3:05:57
These 5 guys have run a total of 104 NYC Marathons amongst themselves.
Art:
“My first half was right on my target pace, but then the hip got sore and I had to jog the second half. Still managed to BQ for 2018, which was main goal. Now I have to fix the hip!”
Rick:
“Knee pain was so sharp by the time I got into Manhattan yesterday I developed a “shuffle” going up First Avenue. That was the speed at which I could travel where the pain was manageable. I didn’t think I was walking but there were walkers traveling faster than me by the time I got into Central Park.
Passing Marcus Garvey Park approaching the 22-mile mark I remembered Coach Wiz standing there so many years ago encouraging me and also sympathizing that I was not on the sub 2:40 pace we had planned. Then, as if in a dream, I felt someone’s arm around me. Was Sid walking along side me (same pace as I was “running”) encouraging me and sympathizing all over again. “All you have to do is finish Rick. Does not matter the speed or your time. Just do what you need to do to finish.” The spring in my step only lasted till I turned the corner but it was one of the better moments of my day.”
Report on the 2016 Dash to the Finish 5k:
Not all were neither running the the marathon or sitting it out. The Dash to the Finish 5k was a venue unto itself. Phil and Fred showed our colors:
Phil Vasquez 25:54
Fred Trilli 36:04
Finally, this from Dennis O’Donnall:
“Why Pheidippides dropped dead after he finished his 26 miles.
I ran the Athens Marathon yesterday–the original Marathon to Athens course. Hardest race I have ever run, bar none. The 10-mile hill from Mile 11 to Mile 21, over a mountain from the coastal plain into Athens proper, all but killed me. Sore foot, bruised ribs, streaming cold, bad stomach, sunny with absolutely no shade and strong cross winds. The finish in the Olympic Stadium was great, but it was nothing short of a miracle that I managed to pull out a 3:51:30 time.”