women

Alexandra Bernardi, Veronica Jackson, Grace White

Photo: NYRR

From Jacy Kruzel and Veronica Jackson of the Open:

Saturday may have been cold & rainy but that did not stop CPTC Open Women Team from running PR after PR AND taking home the win!  This means we are 2 for 2 on scoring races!

The ladies were led by Andrea Bradshaw’s fourth place overall finish of 36:09, which was a big 25 second PR! She worked together with fellow CPTC teammate Phil Lang, to keep her running strong to the finish.  Fresh off her stellar Olympic Trials debut,  Alex Bernardi’s 36:29 was good enough for fifth overall and a 35 second PR as well.  Veronica Jackson following closely behind with yet again another PR in 36:51, excited to go under 37 for the first time!  Our fourth scorer, Christina Argueta, had a fast finish, crossing the line in 37:06.  Rounding out the scoring spots with a significant 1:10 PR was Grace White in 37:24!

Elleree Erdos kept the PR streak alive while running a speedy 38:20.  Isabelle Fiduccia, 44:03, may not have PRed but she was very excited with the time given that she has been focusing on longer distances!

We look forward to more PRs at the next scoring race, Brooklyn Half Marathon! Happy Training!!!

 

From Ani Go of the 40+:

Ladies of the Orange!

As in Scotland, it was in Central Park, the Sheep Meadow at the start, Harlem Meer, and the road the entire battle–damp, gray, and…rain.  When was the last time we had a Scotland 10k that wasn’t damp?

However, the tears from heaven were tears of joy as the Masters 40+ Ladies took to the big loop, bravehearting Harlem Hills and taking the Gold for the Orange and for Scotland!

Our Gold team was Colleen, Judy S, and Elizabeth K!

Colleen had a fantastic race, her 39:34 grabbed the 2nd place age group win AND a PR for the course and distance!

The Lady Colleen says: “I was feeling pretty good going into the race and my goal was to just finish under 40:00. The first few miles were fine but I started to feel it when we got to the east side. I tried to keep my body relaxed and just keep pace. Mile 5 was the WORST (because I was starting to really feel it!! and the BEST because I heard CPTC cheering – and Coach TONY yelling to keep it up and it’s hard to ignore that BOOMING yet MOTIVATING voice! so I tried to do just that 🙂 As soon as I got to Mile 6, I knew this could be a PR so focused on keeping my pace right to the finish! I was consistent but no real kick. I plan to work on my kick this season. Regardless, I am very happy with my 39:34 finish. A 13 second 10K PR and 46 second course PR!  I also want to acknowledge my teammate, Judy S. whose beloved dog Heidi passed away very recently. Obviously, Judy is bereft and it’s a heartbreaking experience. Judy still showed up and ran so well that she scored for both the 40+ and 50+ team – which brought the 40+ team to 1st place and the 50+ team to 2nd place. There is no other team on the planet that has such dedicated, driven teammates and it doesn’t go unnoticed, this was a great team effort to kick off the spring season!!! GO ORANGE!”

It’s a lovefest!

Judy had a lot on her plate going into this race–pets aren’t just animals, they are part of the family.  They offer unconditional love, and in turn, we love them with all our hearts.  Judy took time to come to the start line and for 43:13, offered her time, heart, and soul to the team and this race.  We have her account on the 50+ team’s report, and you may feel like you’re reading double, but its worth it to have Judy’s words and presence with us.

Judy: “Well, I had a heavy heart going into this race with my dear pup’s passing…Easter Sunday.  However—this team is a major reason I run, not only to compete and get fast, but to lift my spirits!  Honestly, I thought the weather was almost ideal DURING the race—but the temp did drop quickly during the cool down!  I went into the race as a tempo to build up my stamina, and I achieved just that!  Happy with my 2nd place age group.  But, the MAJOR icing on the cake is our 40s team WON, 50s team 2nd place!  Whoot!!  So proud to be on this team!!”

Elizabeth, our third scorer, once again lifts us to the podium with her 43:40, and is solidly in the top 10 of her age group.  This rising star is just getting better and brighter!

We had great representation for the race–to flesh out our numbers we had Teiko S. come out for The Orange and for Scotland, and so did your little Captain (me)!

Congrats to our all our Masters Women and Men’s teams, and Women and Men’s Open teams for their podium finishes!  ORANGE RULES!

GO ORANGE!!!

NEXT SCORING RACES:  BROOKLYN HALF MAY 21st–the race is sold out but if you really want in, let me know…

 

RETRO 4-MILER ON JUNE 5th–SIGN UP NOW! NYRR Retro 4-Miler

 

From Sylvie Kimche of the 50+ and 60+:

As I was running Sunday morning (04/03) in quite cold weather and extremely strong winds, i was thinking how lucky we had been that the Scotland 10K took place the day before on a mild, calm morning with a little rain to cool us off….

Both the W60+ and W50+  took 2nd place in what is shaping to be a very tight team competition in 2016

The W60+ comprised of Lynn, Barbara B & Sylvie took 2nd to Van Cortland TC (reverse order from the Washington Heights 5K in early March).
It should still be noted though that the average age of our CPTC scorers was 69+ yrs VS 61+yrs for VCTC. And – as you should know by now that i’m fixated on numbers (especially the AG%) – i must point out that even though our total time was quite a bit slower than VCTC (2:50:06 vs their 2:39:54), our AG% average was higher than theirs (80.5% vs 74.7%). There….!!! ?

Lynn was our 3rd scorer (*). She was 1st in her W75-79 age group (as she had been at Washington Heights 5k), in 1:11:39 (and was delighted to score for the team
In her own words(before the race):
Lynn Blackstone is in and will run to her training that is totally inadequate!” (Sylvie’s comments: Well, Lynn must be doing something right as her AG% was 3% higher on Sat in a race twice the length of the Washington Hts 5k! Just wait till her training is adequate!!! ?)
In her own words(after the race):

“Wow!! Barbara, Although I’m delighted that you’re with CPTC, I thought my being a team scorer for 2016 would not happen! And although it may not happen again, I’ll enjoy and appreciate the bragging rights, this time.

Overall congratulations to all of the great CPTC women runners!!”

(*) Note: Our new member Barbara Fratta would have been our 3rd scorer but she was not yet eligible to score for the team. However, the NYRR computer did not seem to know that and listed Barbara F as our 3rd scorer. We are waiting for the composition of the team to be corrected and reflect Lynn as our 3rd scorer. It does not change our 2nd place team.

Barbara was 2nd for the team and 2nd in her W60-64 age group, in 49:16, an 83.43% AG%.

In her own words:
“Hmm, comments about the race….weather was ideal for me because I don’t enjoy the heat, yet this was warm enough to wear shorts and singlet without being uncomfortable.  The drizzle during the race was also welcome.  Did negative splits as was the goal;  by no means was it easy but managed to keep it together and not give way to negative voices telling me to slow down (*).  I’m quite satisfied with the time knowing I’m not at a good level of fitness, but it does leave me wanting to improve.  So I guess that’s a good thing.  Thank you Tony and the cheering contingent at mile 5 – you do an amazing job of seeing us in the crowd”
(*) Note: Barbara ran an impressive 22″ negative splits on a course where the 4th mile is all uphill….Carol Baron’s comments to me after the race (she was cheering with Tony at the 5 mile mark) “I think Barb was creeping up on you in the last mile”. And creeping up, she was….
Sylvie, your team captain, was 1st for the team and 1st in her W65-69 age group in 49:11, a 89.98 AG%

In her own words
“This is the 2nd year in a row that i did the double Spring Classic 10K and Scotland 10k the next week. Last year i did very well in the Spring Classic but was quite tired for the Scotland 10K. So learning from experience, I rested all week to recuperate from the Spring Classic 10k and had a very good race (40″ faster than last week & 33” faster than last year…), but got really cold after the finish under the driving rain and rushed back home. Was knackered as Judith would say…

Thanks to Tony and the cheering squad for your help in reminding us to finish with dignity!  ?”

Barbara F ran 1:02:37 and, as mentioned above, could not yet score for the team.

In her own words
“Even though I love running in the rain, today was not my best. My daughter, Mallory, a former member of CPTC, returned to LA after a 3 week work stay. She got into her Uber, and I headed to the start with a heavy heart and broken hand. Ok…no more excuses….”

Not to worry, Barbara, you’ll be all healed and ready to score for the team at the Brooklyn Half!

The W50+ team of Judy S, Sue P and Wanda W took 2nd place to Taconic RRC

Judy S led the team and was 2nd in her W50-54 age group in 43:13

In her own words

“Well, I had a heavy heart going into this race with my dear pup’s passing last Easter Sunday.  However—this team is a major reason I run, not only to compete and get fast, but to lift my spirits!

Honestly, I thought the weather was almost ideal DURING the race—but the temp did drop quickly during the cool down!  I went into the race as a tempo to build up my stamina, and I achieved just that!  Happy with my 2nd place age group.  But, the MAJOR icing on the cake is our 40s team WON (*), 50s team 2nd place!  Whoot!!  So proud to be on this team!!”

(*) Judy is too modest to mention that she helped the W40+ team to their 1st place, placing 2nd for the team. Judy is now officially known as the “double dipper”

Sue was the 2nd scorer in 46:36 and 9th in the very competitive W50-54 age group.

No comments from her on her race but i can tell you that she too was freezing after the race…

Wanda completed the team in 47:39, 11th in the same age group.

In her own words
“Congrats to all the amazing ladies! Stacy, I was under a lot of pressure without you here today. :0) It was not the same without you but we managed to place 2nd! Happy to have super women Judy and Sue! I felt so alive standing next to all my teammates! And thanks so much for Tony cheering and screaming! Your voice was ringing in my head all the way! I finished with dignity!”

So another day of great racing (the Open Women and W40+ took first place and all the men’s teams podiumed).

Again thanks to Tony and the hardy souls of the cheering squad!

On to the Brooklyn Half on May 21. For the first time in years our W60+ will have a team (Barbara B with new members Barbara F and Rebecca G). Good luck to them and good luck to all our teams! ☺

GO ORANGE!