We had a very strong field at the 6th points race of the year, the Bronx 10 Mile. And despite going in with a huge lead over our competition, DWRT and NBR, we still gave it our all. That’s what makes CPTC so formidable, our ability to dig deep no matter the circumstances, and we never rest on our laurels.
Race day was a little warmer than any of us might have liked, starting in the low 70s at 8:00 a.m. and creeping up. This led to some tough later miles along the Grand Concourse, but many of our top guys were unfazed (more on that below).
Osvaldo Martinez led the M40 team with a very solid 58:57, followed by Jay Sullivan in 59:10 and Brad Kelley in 60:15. What those numbers don’t show, however, is the pack of guys following right behind them: Thierry Soudee (60:18), Eduardo Ribeiro Ferreira (60:31), Arjay Jensen (60:52), and Daniel Ifcher (61:04). I was the next master from our team, having averaged 6:05 pace for the first half before fading pretty bad in the second. I took a lot of comfort in seeing that pack of guys pass me as I struggled through the later miles, though, because I knew our depth would mean a top-3 placement, if not a win. I might’ve felt like garbage physically, but team pride got me through.
We took 2nd, just behind WSX, which hasn’t been among our top competition for 2019 so nothing to worry about. Perhaps they will be in 2020, though, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Jay said this was his last big run of his Chicago Marathon training cycle, and intended to go out conservatively and pick it up in the second half. The first few miles were tough, he said, with the potholes and headwind, and he had just run a 10-mile shakeout the day before, so he wasn’t exactly feeling fresh.
“Going out through mile 4 we finally made the turn and the combination of downhill and tailwind got the legs moving,” he said, allowing him to run his first sub-6:00 mile of the race — his goal being a sub-60 finish. At mile 6 he was still 25 seconds over his target, but just kept running by effort and managed to glide through mile 8 in precisely 48 minutes. “At that point I realized I had gotten the time back and was somehow back on pace to break 60 minutes if I focused and pushed hard,” he said.
At about this same time he caught up to the top CPTC women’s finisher, Jenny Donnelly, “who seemed to be working hard,” he added. “I knew she was in that top 10 female range so we worked together for about 1.5 miles. Hoping to keep her going strong took my mind off the race for me, which was a good thing.”
With just 800 meters to go, Jay said he was able to really floor it and clocked his last mile at 5:29. “Looking back I probably could have done a better job pacing the first half versus the second half but perhaps not,” he said. “Going out in 6:05 average and 5:45 back was a big gap but glad I was able to finish strong.”
Our standing for the year remains solidly 1st Place, with 99 points. Our closest rivals are well behind, with DWRT holding 70 points and NBR 57, but with three races yet to go, that can always change. Let’s show our strength again next Sunday in Staten Island!
And for Jay and anyone else racing Chicago, GOOD LUCK!