Report from Phil Falk of the Open:
We boarded the ferry at Bowling Green before the sun rose, swaddled in raincoats and garbage bags. As Manhattan receded into the distance, no Statue of Liberty was visible through the thick mist. At the Staten Island Yankees Ballpark, runners lined-up under awnings, sheltering from the elements, loath to take off those warm-ups. But we finally got out those singlets and corralled into the starting area, ready to tackle the S.I. Half Marathon.
The rain turned into a light drizzle for most of the race, thankfully, but the puddles stuck around. While you could mostly dance around them for the first 10k, and maybe aim for the shallow pools along the beachhead, the last couple miles had some serious standing water: those feet were getting wet. And the Northerly wind kept blowing. For a (mostly) out-and-back course, it was out our backs for most of the way out, but produced some vicious gusts on the second half. So we climbed the hill to Fort Wadsworth, under the Verrazano Bridge, with a gnarly headwind and wet shoes. From my standpoint, I focused on working in groups to fight the wind (I’m a shameless drafter!). After sticking with someone for a half mile or so, I could usually move up to the next person – although this left plenty of time exposed to the wind.
Trevor Middleton
Photo: David Greenberg
But CPTC had some good performances. We were led by Ryan Scrudato in 1:12:23. He said “I wanted to be competitive and tried to execute a quick pace early on, but I couldn’t hold it once the wind kicked in on the way back. It wasn’t a PR but definitely the best effort I’ve had at a half considering the elements.” He was followed by Trevor Middleton in 1:14:11 and Calvin Tan in 1:14:47. The scoring team was rounded out by Phil Falk in 1:15:21 and Greg Cass in 1:15:30. Arnaud Enjalbert (1:16:17), followed shortly, and noted “I agree it wasn’t the best day but overall I felt strong throughout. I knew what to expect for the wind on the way back though because I scouted the course the day before. I was pretty happy with my race, it is still a 1.5-minute PR and a good milestone towards NYC marathon which is the real target!” Eric Lattin (1:17:38), and Cary Segall(1:18:42) also had good races. A shout-out goes to John Paulett, who ran long NYRR races the last three weeks, and PR-ed at Grete’s the previous week and again here in 1:23 flat.
In any event, it’s a good set-up effort for the many people looking ahead to the Marathon. May this be the bad-weather race we get out of the way!
Report from David Greenberg of the 40+:
I have rarely been as proud of being a runner as on Sunday at St George. It was cold. It was raining. To get to the start most had to wake up at least at 5:00 AM and take a long train ride to a boat and then walk and wait. Everyone was there for self- improvement, fun and teamwork. No one had to be there. But 11,000 people finished the race, and another 1,000 finished the 5k. We see 12,000 as sort of whatever, but anywhere else in the country a race that size is a miracle. We are lucky to share the NYC running scene.
The conditions did not allow for PRs. In fact, none of us set an absolute PR. That may never have happened before in a points race. The day was about personal effort, getting a tough job done and running with thousands of like-minded individuals. A race to file away in your back pocket.
That said, we won the bloody thing. It was our second win of the year, and kept us in mathematical contention for the championship. Since we also won another long race – the Brooklyn Half – I think that bodes well for our chances in the marathon.
Unofficial points standings after SI:
Urban: 140
CPTC: 122
West Side: 104
With two races subtracted, unofficially:
Urban: 120
CPTC: 102
West Side: 86
To be sure, for us to win the championship Urban would have to decline to compete in the final two races, but this is why we run the races.
Our scorers were:
Eric Lattin 1:17:38/79.78%/5th 40-44
Cary Segall 1:18:42/77.42%/9th 40-44
Mohammed Lahseni 1:19:09/80.23%/1st 45-49
Top 10s:
1st: Mohammed Lahseni
5th: Eric Lattin
7th: Coleman Cowan
9th: Cary Segall
Eric Lattin
Photo: David Greenberg
Eric Lattin has now scored four times this year, third most of anyone. As many of you know, Eric lives in the Nevada desert and trains in decidedly non-Northeast weather conditions. We’ve treated him to both tropical steamy and North Atlantic gales.
Eric:
Just wanted to get out of there with a decent time and no injury. Tough course even without the weather.
Cary Segall’s race was a return to the top of the sheets after some time away. In 2015 Cary was one of our main scorers but has had some hiccups in his training, so it is particularly good to see him back and running well. This was his first NYRR race since TCs.
Cary:
I was pleased with the result and felt comfortable throughout but knew after 6 miles that it was going to be tough going with the head wind on the turnaround and the rain was not going to let up. It was tricky out there dodging the puddles and my shoes were quite water logged. I was able to work well with Eric Lattin and he was generally on my heels through mile 9 and then he went with a good group and I just lost touch with them. Congrats to Eric on a very nice race! I look forward to working together in NYC in 4 weeks. I settled into a nice pace in the second half and just wanted to keep it consistent and come away from the day unscathed as it’s really about November 6. I did enjoy the course and would like to give it another shot with better conditions.
Congrats to the 40+ team for coming out in these less than ideal conditions to get a big win.
Mohammed Lahseni has been a constant force for the Orange, scoring for the third time this year. While he has run much faster in the past than he did at Staten Island, Mohammed had an extraordinary accomplishment Sunday: winning the 45-49 age group in a points race. That is an extremely rare and praiseworthy accomplishment.
Mohammed:
My race was good over all, I started fast in the first half, and I slowed in the second half of the race, I was aiming for a faster time, but I am happy I scored for my team, looking forward for the coming races.
Jeff Garnett
Photo: David Greenberg
Race of the day honors go to Jeff Garnett, for setting some manner of PR. Not in absolute terms, but his 1:24:38/72.58%/20th 40-44 set a number of marks. It was his best AG score and his best AG place in 18 attempts at the half marathon. Jeff has had some injuries that have held back his training, so running well regardless promises an even better future.
Jeff:
I am disappointed because I was feeling an absolute best was possible leading up to and during the race. Then I hit the last 5 miles. After working hard up the hill on mile 9 and getting ready to pick up the pace on the final 5k I struggled in the wind, running even the downhill sections slower than what I needed. It was an interminable finish and though I pushed hard I came in not only well short of my NYRR absolute best but 5 seconds slower than BK this spring. I guess since I turned a year older in August it boosted my age graded score.
Feeling like I’m starting to put my knee pain behind me and hope to resume normal mileage soon. It is motivating me that I’m running some decent times with only 2 runs this summer over 10 miles and lower weekly volume. Looking for a fast 5m marathon kickoff in 3 weeks and the 15k in December.
Nigel Francis continued his hot streak, running his fastest half marathon AG score since 2011 and best absolute HM since 2012. 1:27:36/73.74%/21st 45-49.
Nigel:
I am very happy with my result. It’s great to be racing again on a more consistent basis. Although I ran the first 10K a little too aggressively, it felt great and was worth it! It was awesome running with Alysia and Colleen for the first 7 miles. I’m definitely looking forward to the marathon on November 6th! Congrats to all my teammates for braving the cold, rain and the crazy head wind!!!
Herve Megras has now run five races since September 3. Usually that means an athlete is feeling good – let’s hope for fast times in the future.
A big orange welcome back to Ed Hernandez for running his first points race in a year.
Several of us used the race as a prep race for NYCM, probably making it just part of a long run Sunday.
Daniel Ifcher
Photo: David Greenberg
Daniel Ifcher:
So, it’s been 4 straight weekends of NYRR races/runs, starting in the steamy, hot summer with the 18 miler and transitioning all the way to cold, rainy, blustery fall at Staten Island (and the in between had nearly perfect weather). It’s always fun to run this race as a prep for NYC in the borough where the start is. I ran with Tim, intending to run a nice, hard tempo, which is what we did in just under 1:27. Great to see everyone out there, happy for the down hill end which is always fun, and glad to hear that the 40+ men took 1st in this one – Go Orange!
Away from the points race, our teammates were quite active.
Past scorer Nick Thompson ran the Rock ‘n Roll Brooklyn Half and came away with a masters PR and #9 all-time CPTC with his 1:15:01.
Andy Kiss also ran Rock ‘n Roll Brooklyn and also ran very well:
Andy:
After running 1:57:xx in a test race at the Brooklyn Half in May after knee surgery in January, I had a pretty good training cycle and ran 1:49:29 at the Rock ‘n Roll Brooklyn Half yesterday. Still a ways off my PR pace of 2013, but happy that I’m moving in the right direction.
We sent one of our best up to Boston and the BAA Half, and he came back with the cash.
Matt De Angelis:
I had a pretty tough day at BAA Half – similar conditions I think to SI – rain and wind was relentless all race, very slippery. I ran 1:17:29 which was well off my PR and what I was hoping to run but took home $100 in prize money as 3rd overall Master. I’ll take the positive away from it and move on.
David Alm, Sunday ran 36:36 at the Bed Stuy 10k, the fastest he’s run that distance in two years.
Larry Go ran a 56 second PR at Van Cortlandt. 56 seconds! If you run well at VCP you can run well anywhere. I’d expect good times to come from Larry very soon.
Rich Nelson had a rough but hard fought day in Chicago; 2:51:08.
Jesus Ansede Fereiro also ran well at Chicago: 2:59:27. Jesus is attempting the Chicago-NYC double – send messages of peace to his hamstrings.
Participation Statistics:
Points Races:
This got a whole lot more interesting over the weekend. A five- way tie with seven points races each:
David Alm
Jeff Garnett
Daniel Ifcher
Mohammed Lahseni
Tim Stockert
Scorers:
5: Matt DeAngelis
5: Brad Kelley
4: Eric Lattin
3: Mohammed Lahseni
2: David Greenberg
2: Cary Segall
2: Peter Brady
1: Eduardo Riberiro Ferreiro
1: Tim Stockert
1: Coleman Cowan
1: Josh Rayman
1: Nick Thompson
1: Dan Gay
Two more races: the marathon and the 15k. Winning the last three races of the year would be just the way to send off the year.
David Greenberg
Report from Chris Donnelly of the 50+:
My wallet’s still not dry: 50+ men’s SI race report
What to make of Sunday’s 13.1 mile slog through Staten Island? Only that CPTC’s 50+ men knuckled down and persevered, coming away from a maelstrom of rain, flood and winds with a fourth place finish following late revisions in our feverishly contested 50-59 NYRR points competition.
Say what you will about the occasional tedium that comes of endless racing in Central Park; at least it’s easy to get to. On its best day Staten Island is a logistical gauntlet of subway/ferry timing or detours around the race route in the hunt for scarce parking on some far afield side street. Sunday found many runners decked out in ponchos or plastic bags, or hopping on one foot while carefully slipping on racing shoes. Trudging across the baseball stadium’s soggy infield to baggage meant soaking feet even before the gun went off. No matter, a race is a race and we were here to compete.
Alan Ruben
Photo: David Greenberg
The CPTC scoring team rolled up an aggregate time of 4:36:04:
Alan Ruben 1:30:15
Chris Donnelly 1:32:47
Art Palmer 1:33:02
Of special note, Art scored in his final race as a member of the 55-59 age group, placing seventh behind Alan’s fifth place finish.
Art Palmer
Photo: David Greenberg
Times were slow across the board as the weather worsened. For a brief few miles it was easy to believe that a bit of rain would be a pleasant addition as the race meandered south, but as the route moved closer to the shoreline – particularly in the back half of the race – the downpour intensified, the wind stiffened, and zig-zagging around increasingly deep puddles of water no longer made any sense.
Despite those unappealing conditions, the team again fielded a satisfying roster of competitors, much as we did two weeks earlier at the Bronx 10 miler.
Long-time CPTC veteran James Siegel was back in action for the Orange for the first time in two years. Recently aged into the 50+ category, James crossed the line at 1:34:42.
Ron Romano
Photo: David Greenberg
Casey Yamazki was next, at 1:35:16, while Ron Romano finished at 1:39:12. Michael Siegell finished on Ron’s heels, at 1:39:17, and Fred Peredes closed it out for CPTC at 2:03:52.
Although we were hoping the rain would let up as the morning wore on, it only became more ridiculous. Particularly during the back half of the race it helped to be running in a pack that could cut the wind’s frontal assault.
Rushing back into the ballfield to cross the finish line we first had to navigate the quagmire that was the warning track. The ground oozed unsteadily under pounding feet, bringing to mind, if only for a moment, every movie scene you’ve ever watched of bumbling drivers attempting to push their automobiles out of a rut on muddy rural roads, and slipping to fall face first into reddish clay. But Staten Island, harsh though it was, was never as bad as all that. A quick sprint across the waterlogged outfield and we were free!
All of this leaves CPTCs 50+ men in a dead heat for first place in the NYRR club points competition. Adjusting for two dropped races, we’re clinging to a tie with Dashing Whippets, a strong squad that’s been on a hot streak all year long, at 104 points apiece Urban Athletics, which got a late start but has in recent months been dominating the roads, is a mere 10 points back. And it could all change in the remaining two points races, the N.Y. Marathon and December’s 15K. Strap in, it’s gonna be one helluva finish!
Finally congrats to all the teams that ran so well in these challenging conditions, particularly our 40+ men and 40+ women, both of which brought home the gold. Go Orange!
Report from Hank Schiffman of the 60+:
If aging is death by a thousand cuts, stepping out into the dark and rain to get the subway to the ferry for the 2016 Staten Island Half felt a bit like a swan dive into the potato masher. Yet with all the negativity of race conditions, there was evidence that some runners met the challenge and came out better for it. The race report below shows that our 2 runners who did both this race and the Brooklyn Half stood up to conditions well. Yes, the number of higher end AG% were down in the 60+ cohort, but there were other factors at work other than race conditions. Those who ran both races went in both directions in this race. The fact that some of the fastest runners in the 60 – 64 group who ran Brooklyn did not run Staten Island. One BRR scorer ran better in Staten Island, another had a bad day, and the third did not run. Yes, a number of runners did better in these conditions.
Out and back races feature an opportunity to see just how far the race leaders are ahead. The time lapsed from the last runner who passed by me at their re-entry point from the “boardwalk” till when I arrived at the same point was at mile 5.5 for me while the lead runners were at mile 6.5. The turnaround at the Brooklyn Half where the turnaround was at mile 1.5 . If you were in a faster corral the lead runners might have only been a quarter mile up on you. The dose of reality came in how long it took to run that mile loop back to where you saw the faster runners in Staten Island. Another mile and a half later the course began its ascent to Fort Wadsworth. Hills such as these have a way of shaking out sore quads. Tired legs are never fooled by a decent grade of duration. The smart money says that those you pass going up will not be pass you later.
The turn off Bay Street to the coastal road was a wind tunnel. Had we been sailing we would have put 2 reefs in the main. Smooth seas on the ferry out were now galloping white caps driven by winds pouring out of the northeast; tres dramatique as runners were closing in on the finish and déjà vu for some of us who had run this race in similar conditions over 10 years ago. These industrial streets were pretty chewed up just like I remembered them. Do they just pave them that way in Staten Island?
Zig-zagging towards St George, the course took its final left as it rose over the train tracks as the course re-entered Bay Street for the slow climb to the terrace. Then it was downhill to the quick right onto the Stadium access ramp. 120 degrees to the left and a sea of muddy grass to the finish line. Short of those cramping up, everyone has to love these down hill finishes. Bravo NYRR race course detail geeks. Had it been dry the run down the first base line would have been the cherry on the pie.
A highlight of the race course revised since the last time I had run it was passing in front of the actual Fort Wadsworth facing the Narrows. After the final ascent, it was quiet and unexpected.
Many thanks to Larry Go, John Milone and David Greenberg for standing in the rain and giving support.
We came in 2nd place and 3 minuted behind Witold’s RR who took 1st. We were more than 11 minutes ahead of 3rd place Van Cortlandt TC. Taconic RR did not field 3 scorers and Brooklyn RR was missing their star runner while their second best had a bad day. In the scheme of the seasonal tally, we lost 3 points to Witold’s RR, with us still in 3rd, 86 to 81. With 2 races to go it is anybody’s guess who will take 3rd place for the season. Will we have 3 finishers for the Marathon? If so, how will they do? Could it all come down to Corbitt”s?
Hank Schiffman
Photo: David Greenberg
Hank Schiffman, 1:35:00 (1:35:50 2016 Brooklyn Half), 7:15 pace, 80.45%
Hank:
Everything clicked and I felt good with power right to the finish line. The rain and wind never evoked a negative thought. Some days the magic works, some days the magic doesn’t work. This day it worked. Only 3 men ran their age or faster at their 15k split. Any race you can do that is a fine day.
Gary Gosselin
Photo: David Greenberg
Gary Gosselin, 1:39:16, 7:35 pace, 73.27%. Gary is a rock. He does his homework and pulls the wagon. All signs point to a solid NYC Marathon. May the goddess of running take note.
Gary:
Nice work finishers.
Good steeplechase action today thanks to the puddles.
7:50 is my marathon pace prediction based on current fitness. Vdot 46. Have been training at 8:00 pace. Will start NYCM @ 8:30 and see how race unfolds. Goal is 3:45 this year. 10″ under BQ.
Kevin McGuire, 1:50:07, 8:24 pace, 67.36%. Kevin drove in from Wantagh for this wet shower when he could have had a hot one had he slept late. Kevin is more than a rock, he is a boulder.
Phil Vasquez, 1:50:14 (1:51:29 2016 Brooklyn Half), 8:25 pace, 67.29%. Well there you go. Phil’s incremental journey towards 7 seconds of being our 3rd scorer from having his feet reconstructed by Santa’s elves is nothing short of astonishing. He wisely dropped out of the Sutton 5k only to run 10 miles and 5k today.
Rick Shaver, 1:56:45, 8:55 pace, 63.53%. Our NYC Marathon streaker, Rick has been there and done that in the vein of competitive runner. For now it is all about moving up to #1.
Rick:
My long slow come back to the sport continues. I tried the ½ in Philly a few weeks ago (2:08) and then ran much better yesterday on SI. My knee is holding up especially if I run in a straight line but I still have a bit of difficulty negotiating turns.
I’m planning to run the marathon as you would imagine; but for Sandy this would be my 40th year. 39 does not sound monumental but still I thought I would ask if you think I might get a competitive start number based on longevity since I’m not getting to the 60+ cutoff time this year?
Harry Lichtenstein, 2:14:14.
Dave Delano, 2:42:56.
Dave:
We had wind gusts over 30 mph, rain, 50 degree temps and way too many hills. Did I mention wind gusts? We also had several ankle-deep water jumps, more hills, and more wind. Between miles 8-11, the wind blew all the cups off the water stop tables. It took me nearly three hours to finally stop shivering (thank god for Dunkin’ Donuts). Even the volunteer we asked to take a photo in the stadium was shaking. Finishing the race was a triumph…the weather, a challenge…warm fuzzy feelings about Staten Island…not so much.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, at the Chicago Marathon, Dennis O’Donnell ran a 3:42 marathon.
2016 Harry Murphy 5k XC
Cooler weather than 2 weeks ago at the Kurt Steiner 5k, under overcast skies, It was Ground Hog Day at Van Cortlandt Park for another XC 5k. A smaller CPTC field but many same faces, these were the XC addicts come for their fix. The grass was wet with a bit of mud in puddles. The question on everyone’s mind was whether they could better their time from 2 weeks earlier, running the same course under different conditions. The answer was yes.
Hank Schiffman, 21:53, 1st AG
K Steiner, 22:23
Dan Molloy, 24:18, 2nd AG
last year, 24:09
Phil Vasquez, 26:46, 3rd AG
K Steiner, 26:54
last year, 26:06
Hal Lieberman, 27:58, 2nd AG
last year, 27:56
Judith Tripp, 35:08, 1st AG
K Steiner, 31:40
last year, 33:55