From Phil Falk of the Open:

CPTC men raced well on Sunday at the NYRR Retro 4-Miler. The race was retro, so we dug up the shortest shorts we had and were met with near-perfect late-spring weather. Our top five all sneaked in under 21 minutes, in a strong showing:

Matt Lacey 20:26 – He’ll be moving out of NYC later this summer, so going out on a high note!

Phil Falk 20:33 – seven second PR, from 2011.

Kyle Marks 20:40 – just biding his time…

Austin Taylor 20:47 – first road race for CPTC – welcome on board!

Stan Berkow 20:57 – not bad for no recent workouts!

 

Reading about the actual retro days is a bit more sobering! I mean, this isn’t the stone age, but it may well have been. Hal Higdon reminisces:

It was difficult for those of who ran long-distance in the 1960s…. Our motto could have been “Mad dogs and marathoners go out in the midday sun.”

A page from my 1963 running diary is particularly frightening. It was June 30. The [25-km] race started at 1:30 in the afternoon. It was 94°F ; the humidity was high, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There was no drinking on the course past 10 miles.

For lunch, I had more orange juice, bread, milk, and a 6-ounce steak!

So yeah, if you wanted to recreate the good ol’ days, I’d stop drinking the day before (that is, hydrating; keep on drinking) and fire up the grill. Also: this line from the race preview caught my eye:

In the spirit of historical races, the course won’t feature clocks at each mile, however staff will call out splits, just like back in the day! 

Just to be clear,  our official times were taken using the Obelisk on East Drive. Put that one in the books!

 

From David Greenberg of the 40+:

Sometimes it all comes together and individuals and teams do things that no one would have sanely predicted. The 40+ had an extraordinary day at the retro four miler. But more on the individuals later.

The big news is that the 40+ won its first race of the year, putting the team ahead of Warren Street by a lean: 49 to 48. But if each team subtracts its two worst results as we must do in the end, Warren Street stays in the lead 30-27. Warren Street has won two races versus our one – that keeps them in the points adjusted lead.

Our scorers were the mighty Dan Gercke, Cary “any race, any time” Segall and the resurgent Jim McQuade.

Take a look at this top 3 in the 45-49:

Matthew Chaston: 20:46/90.60%

Paul Thompson: 20:55/91.40%

Daniel Gercke 21:33/87.98%

I looked it up – that is higher quality than the 5000 at the  most recent USATF Masters Outdoor Nationals. New York running is astonishingly strong.

But the big story is the sheer number of fantastic races. Of our 15 racers, ten hit some manner of PR. A full seven hit the 79% mark vs. four at Brooklyn.

In fact, so many PRs were set on the day, I have to resort to lists to make sure all are mentioned.

 

ALL TIME PRS FOR FOUR MILES (IN THE NYRR DATABASE)

Daniel Gercke 21:33/87.98% #10 all-time CPTC 40+ for the distance

Cary Segall 22:11/81.01%

Brad Kelley 22:38/84.48%

Daniel Gercke:

I took off hard from the start after nemesis Paul Thompson of Warren Street, fighting to keep him in the crosshairs. This worked great for about .3 miles, before he vanished in the distance. Still, that’s .3 miles more of Paul than I usually see. This was a hard-fought race on a beautiful day. I came out with a 44-second PR, and our 9 seconds over WS prove that every orange (or blue, or black) singlet matters. 

Brad Kelley:

Looking at the results I am truly amazed at the quality of the 45-49 group out there…it was great to mix it up and to record what is age adjusted sub 20:00….boy do I hate mile 3.  Congratulations to all us masters who refuse to throw in the towel.

 

ALL TIME PR AG % (ANY DISTANCE OVER ONE MILE IN THE NYRR DATABASE)

Cary Segall

Brad Kelley

David Greenberg 23:06/81.45%

Nick Garramone 25:35/72.41%

Jerome Pinard 27:34/64.68%

David Greenberg:

This race was a pleasant surprise. After a couple weeks of poor workouts while struggling to recover from Brooklyn, I didn’t expect a good race. But I just got out there, started chasing people and it turned out to be an AG PR. 

 

MASTERS PR AT FOUR MILES (TIME)

John Milone 23:30/77.05%

Oscar Sloterbeck 30:16/58.93%

 

MASTERS PR AT FOUR MILES (AG%)

Daniel Ifcher  23:34/79.82%

Tim Stockert 23:49/79.62%

 

BEST AG% SINCE TURNING 40, ANY DISTANCE OVER ONE MILE

Gerd Zeibig 24:08/73.89%

Oscar Sloterbeck

 

COMEBACKS AND DEBUTS

Jim McQuade returned to form with his 22:18/83.08%

David Dorsey made his 2015 debut

 

TOP 10s AGE GROUP

Daniel Gercke 3rd 45-49 (but would have won both the 35-39 and the 40-44

Jim McQuade 4th 45-49

Cary Segall 5th 40-44

Brad Kelley 5th 45-49

David Greenberg 7th 45-49

Daniel Ifcher 10th 45-49

We filled out five of the top ten of the 45-49. If we stay healthy we will have a hella good 50+ team in a couple of years.

 

Need I write another word? Do I have to write another word???

 

Congratulations to Daniel Ifcher and his wife Whitney Ifcher for the birth of their first, Tate Aiden Ifcher.

Really in unchartered territory here…  by the time people read this, I hope to be a dad!  We are planned to go into hospital this afternoon for ‘the show’…  (Tate was born June 8 – ed.) Maybe it’s becoming a dad, of the race being ‘old school’ that gave me inspiration – I wore my cotton CPTC t-shirt from 1987.  Felt like old times…  I hope the t-shirt makes it through the wash.  Oh, the race – I ran 23:34, which is 4 secs slower than my Master’s PR and signif faster than my plan.  I just got out there in 6:07 and carried each mile a bit faster – as always, thanks team for the great training, which helps me to have such races.  Btw, do the uniforms come in baby sizes????

Off the roads, Peter Brady ran a 3000 in 9:03.44, #2 all time for CPTC 40+.

When you see Nigel Francis say hello – he had a frightening hypothermia episode during a triathlon and had a short hospital stay after being pulled from the water.

Ron Brooks finished seventh in the Quest for the Crest 50k in the Carolinas – 12,000 feet up, 12,000 feet down.

From Chris Donnelly of the 50+

CPTC’s 50+ men fielded a tiny team for last week’s NYRR Retro 4 miler and we eked out a top 10 finish with a bit of help from the 60+ team.  Our scorers, Chris Donnelly, 60+ captain Hank Schiffman, and Eiji Ebihara ran for a collective 1:18:05, good for ninth place and all three placed within the top 10 in their respective age groups on what turned out to be a beautiful morning for running.

Chris Donnelly’s 24:58 was good for ninth place in the 50-54 age bracket.  At 6:15 (79.08% AG), this was his best pace in a NYRR race in three years. Hank Schiffman gave us a much needed boost with his 65-69 age group leading run, clocking in at 25:56, for an incredible 84.5% AG.  Eiji Ebihara closed out the scoring effort with his 27:11 (73.85% AG), good for tenth place in the 55-59 age bracket.  An extraordinarily consistent performer, Eiji has finished in the top 10 in three of his five NYRR races so far in 2015.

Bruce Racond finished in 27:48. Bruce has been improving steadily over the last couple of years, and at 70.45%, this race was Bruce’s best age graded performance in a NYRR race since Grete’s Great Gallop in 2012. Moreover, his 6:57 pace was his fastest in more than a decade. Congrats, Bruce!

Bob Markinson, who’s been with us for about a year, turned in another steady performance. Bob finished at 29:19 (67.36% AG) in his sixth appearance in a NYRR race this year.

Elsewhere, Budd Heyman nabbed first  place in open Clydesdale division at the Kenny Dolan 5k in Prospect Park  on June 7. Bud has won in this category three years running, and reports a commanding margin of 2:01 over the second place finisher. Great going, Bud. And turning back the page a week to the oppressively humid and sunny conditions of May 30’s Healthy Kidney 10K race, we had Chris Donnelly (41:51, 75.15% AG) and Stephen Menlove  (42:31, 73.99% AG) placing sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 50-54 age group.

From Hank Schiffman of the 60+

On a remarkable race in a remarkable racing season, our 60+ men took 3rd place. CPTC was only 38 seconds behind 2nd place Brooklyn RR, with both teams minus a super star from the starting line. West Side Runners, unhampered by injuries in their first rank, took a solid 1st place with their trump card Jaime Palacios running 23:51/ 87.85%. Brooklyn, Taconic and CPTC, all hobbled by either injury or scheduling conflicts, battled it out for table scraps. Even Steven Calidonna’s 24:35/ 85.22% could not lift Taconic RR further than 4th place. This played out in the 5k + 0.9 mile race on the roads of Central Park in conditions that might be well described by the phrase, now that’s what I’m talking about!

 Unofficial standings put:

Brooklyn RR in 1st with 57,

CPTC in 2nd with 38,

WSX in 3rd with 35,

Taconic RR in 4th with 28,

and Withold’s in 5th with 24.

However if their 2 lowest scores were subtracted:

Brooklyn would still be 1st with 30,

WSX moves up to 2nd with 25,

CPTC would drop to 3rd with 22,

Witold’s in 4th with 17,

and Taconic 5th with 14.

 Eleven of our 60+ men and Barbara Byrne were fortunate to embrace this event and cross its finish line. Our 60+ contingent ranged from youngins Doug Labar, Gary Gosselin and Stuart Alexander, who toed the line with ne plus ultra wizard George Hirsch. Barbara took top team AG % with 88.15% in 29:27. She was our 4th 60+ runner (combined genders) and the #1 AG % woman in the race; take your hats off!

As per the Brooklyn Half, Hank Schiffman (moi) was our 1st scorer and double dipped into our 50+ men as their 2nd scorer. It was a personal best, topping 83.5% at last year’s 5th Avenue Mile. 25:56 was good for 84.5% and 1st in age group, bested only CPTC men overall in this race by the mighty whale, Dan Gercke with his nose bleeding 87.98%.

Hank:

As a 65 year old runner scoring 2nd for our 50+ men, I feel like one of those garbage cans you see in the street over a pot hole. A pot hole that is the void left by Alan Ruben and Art Palmer as they are not yet off the bench and back in the line up”

 I’d like to thank my wife Georgia for the Venti Blonde, no room, the stick that drove this goat to the finish line. Also, Coach Tony Ruiz who draws up the game plan on how to get us all from A to B in training for our races. All we have to do is our homework, be careful not to over reach, be lucky, and make sure they don’t give you decaf. But the process is remarkable, the runners version of the John Houseman quote, “you come in here with a head full of mush, and you leave here a lawyer.”

 When I look in the mirror I have to think something is wrong with the math considering the results say I was 21st guy AG overall.

 

neuhoff retro

Chris Neuhoff

Photo: NYRR

Chris Neuhoff was back to his old 2nd scoring position with 27:33/78.85%. He wore a photo of himself in the 1974 NYC Marathon (pre-5 Boro) looking like someone who you would expect to be his son. He is nudging up to the magic 80%, an exclusive group who ponder the thought of 90%.

Chris ran the Healthy Kidney 10k a week earlier in 45:29 for 76.08%. It appears he put a bit more spin on the ball for the Retro 4 milers. Barbara ran this race in 50:08 for 81.66%.

Gary Gosselin completed our set of scorers, 28:11/74.35%. His Boston time this year of 3:50 on the nose qualified him for entry in 2016. Marathon pace training a 4 miler does not make. Yet volume in preparation for the marathon does tend to spread the wealth around.

As is his wont, Kevin McGuire was our first backup. His 29:42/72.45% placed him snapping at Barbara’s heels. Kevin is quite good a heel snapping.

Kevin:

Congratulations to you, Chris (what a picture from years back), Gary and of course Barbara with a stellar AG performance. Mens 60+ Only 38 seconds from the silver.

I stayed on my race plan today except for a some lost seconds on mile 3 which always seems to be waiting.

 The Volkswagen Camper by the bandshell brought back some memories of my college days in the late 60’s & early 70’s. Happy to still be here and running with a great group of teammates.

Fellow Staten Islander to Barbara, Bill Allert was our second backup in 29:55 and a tad under 72%.

National steeplechase champion and chronic injury-ridden Doug Labar cruised to the line in 30:23 at just under 69%.

Clawing his way back from bunionectomies, CPTC faithful Phil Vasquez refuses to give up dancing with the woman who brought him; running. He has thrown himself totally into the sport starting this winter with track, continuing with road races. Phil ran 31:18 for 68.1%. He has his eyes on Grete’s Half.

Chip Olsen is back to road racing after sitting on the bench waiting to get back into the game. Chip ran 32:21 for a hundredth beneath 69%.

Chip:

It was a great day to race.  

This was my first race since 2012.  I had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised.  However, it was a good reminder of just how hard racing is.  I have to thank Phil Vasquez for passing me in the last mile.  I’m not sure how I got ahead of him and can only conclude he must have been late to the race!  As usual I couldn’t catch him but he gave me someone to chase and that helped a lot.

Globe trotting Stuart Alexander found time between travels to run the Retro 4 miler in 23:23, good for 64.73%.

George Hirsch, whose effort in the Brooklyn Half graced us with an official score by being our third man, put in an effort just under 80% by running 34:26. And what does 79.75% give you in the 2015 Retro 4 miler in the 80+ age group? How about 2nd place? In the clash of the titans, the CEO vs the team name/organizer, the 2 outliers were both blessed and cursed to have been born in comparable ages and be competing in the same city. Could this be a case of a battle of the bands for who will be the house band; the Rolling Stones or the Beatles? Thus we will have to wait to see who will be knighted come Club Night.“If you really want to be retro, get rid of the socks.”

Which brings us to team faithful Dave Delano. In a series of unfortunate events (but not tragic) Dave was only too happy to settle for 56.79%, running in 39:41. Dave has a graceful perspective on these things. He also lives so near to the park so he can just go back home and go to back to bed.

Looming on our event horizon are two 5 milers with the team point value of three, then a summer break and on to the 5th Avenue mile after which event distances increase up to the marathon. We could use 3 finishers for the near capacity Bronx 10 miler on September 27th. The calendar cup runneth over with XC events on the uptick simultaneous to team point venues. Look at the upcoming races and your calendar. Consider races to run wearing the orange and blue. Many hands make light work.

 

Captain Hank