Welcome to my blog! I report on Masters Elite LDR. In addition to this current story previewing an upcoming race, you can find previews and recaps of all USATF Masters LDR and Cross-Country Championships since Fall 2014. I also report on Masters Athletes in major Marathons including Olympic Trials. I cover distance events at some USATF Masters Indoor and Outdoor Championships. I reported on the one World Cross Country Championship that included Masters competition, Australia 2022. I regularly cover the Non-Stadia Road Race Events at World Masters Athletics Championships. I cover other road races from time to time. See the sidebar for easy navigation through the archives. [If you are using a mobile phone, please scroll to the bottom and choose 'View web version' to access the sidebar.] While there, please note the coffee cup logo. That provides a way for you to express your appreciation for the work that goes into these articles. Shout out here to recent supporters, Lorilynn B, John H, Bryan H, Brendan, cush, and Jan F. May you have good speed in 2026!
January 9, 2026.
First, here is a link to a preview, provided by Michael Scott via Facebook, of the special features of the WA XC version of the course at Tallahasee:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16rRoa5jE9/.
Mike, as most of you know, has been providing excellent action shots of cross country (and road racing) athletes at all levels, including Masters, for years. If Michael is shooting at an event, I know I have no worries about getting great shots of the athletes! Thank you, Mike!
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Before moving ahead to Age Division races, I need to add a name to the preview of the Overall M40+ race. I accidentally made an error in my spreadsheet and did not pick his name out when doing my first preview. I also have a Scratch/DNS update for overall M60+.
OVERALL M40+ The name is Andrew Carlson Unaffiliated. It was a name I was not familiar with, and nothing turned up on Athlinks. When I searched, I discovered a possible match. The TFXC Coach of Bradley University in Peoria IL has that name. If it is the same Andrew Carlson, he was a three time All American at the University of Minnesota about twenty years ago. He had a best in the 5000M of 13:44.64. He finished 6th in the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials with a marathon debut of 2:11:24. Is it the same Andrew Carlson and, if so, what is his current fitness? It adds another interesting wrinkle to the M40+ race on Sunday!
M60+ I learned from one of his teammates that Nat Larson needs more work before an injured calf is ready for racing. He will not be on the starting line this coming Sunday. That alters my projected order of finish to Van Danacker-Grandfield-Smith, with Crowley and/or Zamek possibly breaking into that top three.
AGE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN W40 See the preview of the Overall race posted on January 7, 2026 for a detailed review of the main contenders for this division. It seems likely to come down to a battle between Carrie Dimoff Bowerman Track Club [TC]; Renee Metivier Team Red Lizard; and Katie Sherron Gulf Winds TC. Others who will threaten to break up that top three include: Karen Bertasso Fleet Feet Upstate Racing, NY; Alison Crocker Red Lizard; Carre Joyce Heineck Red Lizard; Jennifer Keenan Checkers AC, NY; and Jessica Minty Battle Road TC, MA.
My preview suggested a likely finishing order of Metivier-Dimoff-Sherron. Of course, that is based on the last few times they have met. It will be decided on the course on Sunday. And one of the other contenders may have a break-out race where they land on the podium.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Carrie Dimoff Renee Metivier Katie Sherron
W45 The Overall preview on the 7th mentioned four athletes from W45 who might contend for the overall win: Jill Braley Atlanta TC, GA; Dana Hayden Unaffiliated, VA; Jessica Hruska Crown Running, IA; and Maggie Shearer Cal Coast TC, So Cal. Please consult that preview for the rationale. In the end, I did not think any of the four likely to push onto the podium so did not do a projected finishing order among the four. Unlike in W40, these runners have not all met on the turf recently. But both Hruska and Shearer did meet at Tacoma last year, albeit in different divisions. Shearer finished 14th overall and Hruska 21st; Shearer enjoyed a 21 second edge. Braley and Hruska met at Tallahassee in 2023; Braley came in a half minute ahead of Hruska. Hayden is the wild card; she had not competed in a national Masters cross country championship before this November. She picked up the overall bronze medal, and finished 1st in W45 at the Masters 5 Km Championships at Golden Gate Park. Two others stand out as having a shot at the podium. If I have found the correct Emily Boles Unaffiliated, resident in North Carolina, she ran a nifty 18:5K and 25:56 in a 4-Miler this fall. Jessica Bozek Battle Road TC finished third in this division at the 2025 Masters 10 Km championships in Dedham Ma at the end of April; her time was 43:23. She also finished 2nd this fall at the Boston Mayor's Cup 5K XC race in 21:20. If I guess that being closer to home provides an advantage, perhaps in more folks making the trip to cheer you on, I give Braley the edge over Shearer. Although, to be fair, Shearer came in 45 seconds ahead of Braley at Tallahassee in 2021. But that was four years ago. Hayden has a faster 2025 5K time than Hruska. Both have run well in recent national XC championships but against largely different competitors. I will go with Braley-Shearer-Hayden and let Hruska, or someone else, prove that wrong!
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Jill Braley Dana Hayden Maggie Shearer
W50 Four names jump out at me from the entry list: Hortencia Aliaga Garden State TC; Abby Dean Greater Philadelphia TC; Sara Girotto Unaffiliated; and Carla McAlister Cal Coast TC. Aliaga has been tearing up the roads since turning 50. She finished third this year at the Masters 10 Km Championships in 40:26. Her recent national cross country outings have also been successful. At 2023 Club Cross in Tallahassee, Aliaga clocked 24:06 to take second in this division. At the 8 Km XC at the WMA Indoor Championships this March in Gainesville FL, Aliaga won the silver medal in 34:36. Dean had some good, injury-free years a few years back. Dean won the 2022 Masters 10 Km Championships in 38:02. Recent years have been more up and down with various challenges. She finished third at those championships in 2024. Earlier in 2025, Dean earned the silver medal in the 10K Road Race at the WMA Indoor Championships in 39:55. This year, Dean was fourth, finishing a good half minute behind Aliaga. She ran a 20:14 5K in December of this year. On the turf, Dean finished third in the division in both 2023 and 2024. But none of these other competitors were entered. Girotto, apart from the aftermath of a knee injury due to a fall at the crowded start of the 2023 Masters 5 Km Championships, Girotto has been close to the top of her division. In 2022, she won the W45 division at the Masters 5 Km Championships in 19:03. Her first national XC race came at altitude in Boulder CO. She finished 3rd W45 at those championships despite ascending from sea level. The year after her fall, she returned to Atlanta, finishing third in W45 in 18:49. She has not competed nationally since then, preferring to focus on doing well in local races and high-profile east coast races like the CUCB Cherry Blossom Ten Mile, the Boston & NYC Marathons and such. She is on her game. This November, she clocked 39:20 at the Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10K. McAlister comes from the west Coast to challenge those three. This summer, McAlister matched Girotto with a 39:14 10K at the Freedom Run at the Ranch. last December in Tacoma, McAlister has, in a sense, been moving up in Cross Country. At 2023 Clubs in Tallahassee, McAlister finished 5th, a minute and a half behind Aliaga. At Tacoma a year later she finished 3rd W50 at Clubs. This year at Cross Nationals in Portland, McAlister mounted the podium to accept the W50 gold medal. As it turned out, though, none of these other three competed at those last two championships. Aliaga has finished ahead of both McAlister and Dean on the turf in recent years. I should give Aliaga the edge over Dean based on recent results. It is a harder call with Dean and Girotto. Girotto seems faster based on her 39:20 in November. But a December 5K in Delaware might not have had the most favorable conditions. Still, let us give the edge to Girotto. In comparing McAlister t Girotto, their fitness seems similar. I give the edge to McAlister for more XC outings. That leaves me with a suggested likely order of Aliaga-McAlister-Girotto-Dean. As always, there is lots of uncertainty. McAlister's teammate, formerly from the east coast, Christy Peterson Cal Coast TC deserves a mention. A Masters challenger for the overall podium in her early 40's, Peterson took a few years off from competing nationally. At the 2024 Masters Road Mile championships in Danville CA, over a technical course, Peterson finished 7th, at age 49, in 50-54. Had she been competing in 50-54, that would have placed her in third. Her fitness appears to be good based on Strava postings. But it is hard to find any recent race results. She could be a factor in the race for the podium.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Hortencia Aliaga Sara Girotto Carla McAlister
M55 Five athlete's records stand out: Aeron Arlin Genet HOKA Aggies; Hilary Cairns Unaffiliated; Rachel Hopkins Sirius Athletics; Amy McMahon Checkers AC; and Wendy Terris Red Lizard. Genet has competed at Club Cross several times. She finished 2nd W50 at Lexington KY in 2017 and 5th in the same division two years later at Lehigh in Bethlehem PA. In 2022, she finished 2nd W55 at San Francisco in 25:10. In Tallahassee the following year, Genet finished 5th in 25:34. Hopkins finished third in W50 in 2022, running a good minute faster than Genet. Hopkins won W55 at Tallahassee in 2023 with a 24:41 effort. McMahon finished a minute behind Terris at Tallahassee Clubs in 2023, 8th in W55.But last year at Tacoma, the tables were reversed as McMahon finished 4th W55, a minute and a half ahead of Terris. Terris finished 6th in W50 at Tallahassee. She finished thirteen seconds after Genet. At Clubs in Tacoma last year, Terris finished 7th W55. But this year at Portland, in the absence of these rivals, Terris cracked a 27:28 to take the Cross Nationals W55 gold medal.
Cairns is a wild card. I find no recent XC evidence, but she is a W50 champion at HYROX [obstacle course runs] Boston and HYROX Washington DC this year. This fall she won a W55 championships at HYROX Atlanta. But she also demonstrates speed at 10 Mile road races. She won W50 at the 2024 Army Ten Miler in 1:08:49 and won the same division this year at the CU Cherry Blossom Ten Miler in 1:08:27. Perhaps she was attracted by the idea of competing on the same course as WA XC athletes with all the special barriers/obstacles? If so, that suggests she is likely to be a formidable competitor on Sunday.
It makes sense to guess that Hopkins should be favored over Genet. McMahon came in ahead of Terris last year at Tacoma so she should be favored on head-to-head, even though Terris got the gold at Portland. For those four, I go with a projected order of Hopkins-McMahon-Terris-Genet. What about Cairns? I will put her in for second on a hunch. That gives me a projected finishing order of Hopkins-Cairns-McMahon. We shall see on Sunday how that turns out!
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Hilary Cairns Rachel Hopkins Amy McMahon
W60 The top records coming in are owned by Mary Cass Liberty AC, Mimi Fallon Liberty AC, Suzanne La Burt Shore AC, and Pamela Ricker Shore AC. Two other names would have been on the list, Doreen McCoubrie, and Marisa Sutera Strange, but I was informed by their Club representative that they will not be on the starting line after all. Cass was pretty consistently at the top of this division until La Burt aged up in 2023. Since then, La Burt has dominated. Cass finished 25 seconds behind La Burt's winning 25:20 at Tallahassee in 2023. At Tacoma last year, La Burt again took top honors at 26:05, with Cass 52 seconds back in third. Cass is still very tough to beat. At 2024 Cross Nationals in Richmond VA, when La Burt did not compete, Cass took top honors in W60 at 25:37. In finishing 2nd to La Burt at the 2025 Masters 10 Km Championships this April, Cass was three minutes ahead of her closest division competitor otherwise. Fallon is a newcomer to this division. At the Masters 10 Km Championships, Fallon finished 4th in W55 with the same time as Cass! Later in the summer at the Bobby Doyle 5 Miler, with both competing in the USATF NE series, Cass had a 24 second edge on Fallon. Although it is hard to imagine Fallon would not do well on the turf, I find no recent XC results for her. La Burt, as noted, took first in W60at both Tallahassee and Tacoma. She also won Cross Nationals at Portland this December. She is definitely the favorite. Her running partner, Ricker, has proven an able #2 for Shore AC. Ricker finished third this year at the Masters 5 Km XC in San Francisco, in La Burt's absence. When la Burt returned to win at Portland, Ricker was 1:25 back in third place. Of course, Tacoma had a much deeper field. This will, apparently, be Ricker's first outing at Clubs, which tends to draw a deeper and more competitive Masters field than Cross Nationals do. Greter Philadelphia TC teammates, Lorraine Jasper and Mary Swan deserve mention. Jasper finished third W60 at Richmond VA in 2024, but nearly two minutes behind Cass. Her recent focus has been more on Track and trails. In 2022 at the Masters 5 Km XC, Swan went up to 'Mile High' Boulder and came back with a W60 silver medal. She has not repeated that success in recent years. No doubt W65, and higher finishing spots, is approaching for Swan. It appears that a projected finishing order of La Burt-Cass-Fallon is in order. it will be up to Ricker, Jasper or Swan to prove it wrong.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Mary Cass Mimi Fallon Suzanne La Burt
W65 Patrice Combs Atlanta TC is the strong favorite. After taking some time away from the national circuit, she has returned to the top ranks of this division nationally. In 2023 at Tallahassee, Combs finished behind Nora Cary, now moved on to 70-74, but edged her track star teammate, Lesley Hinz, for second by a single second. Their teammate, Mireille Silva actually came in a half minute ahead of them both at Tallahassee. Combs may be one of those runners who are more suited to the roads than the turf. But she is faster than her competition on the roads; she should take the win on Sunday. In 2024, she ran 22:01 to 23:04 for Kitty Musante Shore AC and 23:15 for Hinz. She won the Masters 10 Km and the Masters 5 Km Championships this year. Hinz did not compete in either so that is not decisive for Combs. But Silva was four minutes back at the 10K and a good minute back at the 5K championship. None of these four competed at Tacoma last year. But Donna Grocki Shore AC finished fourth there. That gives her some claim for the podium here; Clubs tends to be a deep field, bringing out a lot of fast regional runners who do not necessarily compete nationally. Let me opt for Combs-Grocki-Hinz for a likely order of finish. But Musante or Silva or even Julie Menoskey Liberty AC, who finished a half minute in front of Silva at the 10K championships this year, could upset that suggested order.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Patrice Combs Donna Grocki Lesley Hinz
W70 Nora Cary, the 2024 USATF Masters Athlete of the Year, and holder of W70 American Records from the 5Km to the Half Marathon, is the strong favorite. Cary does not get to compete as often as she would like in Cross Country. But she won the W65 division at 2023 Clubs in Tallahassee and at 2024 Cross Nationals in Richmond VA. Suzanne Ray Red Lizard who competes most often at Ultra Trail or Mountain runs, returned to national competition last year after some challenges. In 2022 at Clubs in San Francisco, she finished third in W65 in 32:13. She jogged around the Masters Road Mile Championship course in Indianapolis in June 2024 to help her team. At Tacoma, she stepped up again, finishing 6th in 36:29. My guess is that Ray is healthier and fitter now, but it is hard to judge fitness for a 6K XC race from events like the Javelina Jundred over 120 miles or the Cocodona Trail Run over 250 miles. Her main competition comes from Susan Stirrat who finished a good minute behind her in San Francisco but ran twenty seconds faster than Ray in Tacoma. Cynthia Lucking Atlanta finished twenty seconds ahead of Stirrat at Tacoma. Less than a month ago, Lucking ran in the Masters Half Marathon Championships under a strict run/walk regime from her Physical therapist as she was recovering from a stress fracture. It is not clear exactly how much that will affect her on Sunday. it seems fair to guess that even if she is allowed to run without walking, her race fitness might have faded a bit. Based on those considerations, I suggest that Cary-Ray-Stirrat is a reasonable suggestion for a finishing order. If Lucking is fully recovered, she might well work her way onto the podium.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Nora Cary Suzanne Ray Sussan Stirrat
W75 Jeanette Groesz Red Lizard is as big a favorite in this division as Cary is in W70. She won the W70 division at Club Cross San Francisco in 2022 and repeated that win in Tallahassee the following year. She did not compete at Tacoma last year but competed in Portland at Cross Nationals this year, winning by over four minutes in 33:13. Her teammate, Sharon Gerl, continues to focus n triathlons. But she has occasionally raced on the roads and turf. At Tallahassee Clubs in 2023, Gerl finished 2nd in W75, just three minutes slower than Groesz who was running in W70 that year. In 2024, Gerl ran a 5K in 26:06. and a 10K in 56:51. That appears to be a good bit faster than Barbara Sauer Checkers AC, who finished 2nd W75 at the 2023 Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in 1:00:13. Sauer won the 2024 Masters W75 5 Km crown in Atlanta in 32:05. Irene Herman Impala Racing has also cracked the 30 minute 5K barrier this year, running 29:51 at the Pride Run and 29:32 at the Impala Stampede 5K. In 2022 at the Masters 10 Mile championships in Sacramento, Gerl was about ten minutes faster than Herman. That suggests Groesz-Gerl-Herman as a reasonable projection. Cande Olsen Red Lizard was three minutes behind Gerl at 2023 Clubs in Tallahassee. She ran a 5K in 27:51 that year. Olsen has focused on the triathlon recently. In the 2024 World Triathlon Championships, Olsen's closing 5K run was in 31:11. That is slower than Herman was running but, of course, Olsen was presumably pacing herself over a three-discipline event. Olsen could certainly break onto the podium to give Red Lizard a sweep of W75.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Sharon Gerl Jeanette Groesz Irene Herman
W80 No entries
W85 Joyce Hodges-Hite is running unopposed.
Projected Podium
Joyce Hodges-Hite
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MEN M60 See the preview posted on January 7th for details. The beginning of this article indicates a change based on a withdrawal from the competition that I learned about on January 8th. As a result the suggested order of finish becomes: John Van Danacker Twin Cities RC - Scott Grandfield Greater Springfield Harriers -Paul Smith Bowerman TC, with Brian Crowley Freedom - GR Project and/or Mark Zamek Twin Cities RC possibly breaking into that top three.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Scott Grandfield Paul Smith John Van Danacker
M65 The big news for this division is that Dan King Athletics Boulder, who isa regular atop the podium at national XC events, is not at his best. King won by well over a minute at Tacoma last year! Last month at Portland, despite missing 8 weeks of training due to a PHT [Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy] injury, King was able to finish second to a strong run by Kevin Ostenberg. Since then, King suffered a deep heel bruise from a fall unrelated to running. Despite some added concerns at the moment, King expects to be on the starting line on Sunday, He gives himself a 50-50 chance of finishing. Knowing King's ability to rehab and his talent on the turf, I would not rule him out of landing n the podium. But a win would be a stretch.
If not King, then who? Doug Keller, Kevin Ostenberg, Roger Sayre, David Westenberg, and Ken Youngers are all strong candidates for the podium. In King's absence at Cross Nationals in Portland last month, the finishing order was Youngers-Keller-Westenberg. Youngers beat Keller by a single second. Westenberg was nine seconds back. Ostenberg did not compete in Portland but has had a strong year. In addition to the win at Golden Gate Park in early November, Ostenberg claimed the M65 title at the Fifth Avenue Mile 2025 in 5:11. At Tallahassee in 2023, it was Youngers coming in 32:43, Followed by Westenberg 12 seconds later. Two TCRC Teammates, Daniel Johnson and Keller finished at 33:20 and 33:41. Johnson has not been as active as Keller on the national circuit this year. Keller is turning in slightly faster times on the roads from 5K to HM. This will be Sayre's first national competition since relocating from Colorado to the Twin Cities area. His 1:24:38 at the City oof Lakes HM this year lines up well with Keller's run over the same course in 2023, clocking 1:24:29. In 2022, Sayre and Keller met in Golden Gate Park for Club Cross. On different teams then, Sayre edged Keller by 14 seconds.
As Westenberg was still on his way back from some challenges earlier this year, my guess is that, even with just 5 weeks between the events, that Westenberg will be slightly stronger than in Portland. Those five, King, and possibly Johnson, are likely to be a tightly packed group, at least for the first two 2km circuits. The fireworks might start then or not until later. This will be an interesting one to watch! They are really too well matched to make a call. For the sake of suggesting a possible finishing order, I will keep King out of it and use the finishing order in Portland as a base but move Ostenberg up: Ostenberg-Youngers-Keller.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Doug Keller Kevin Ostenberg Ken Youngers
M70 Let me start by saying that Rick Becker is not entered. After winning the Masters 5 Km Championships in Atlanta and the Masters 5 Km XC Championships in San Francisco, it seemed that everything was rosy. But Becker felt there were some things he needed to take care of; a short break in racing was required.
There are a lot of other names to mention here: John Barbour Greater Lowell RR is probably the runner to beat. A decade ago, he was pushing Rick Becker all the way to the final stretch at Golden Gate Park only to finish second. It was a replay next year, except with Brian Pilcher. At Lehigh in 2019, Barbour took the 65-69 win. Not every year has been a podium year, but many have. Last year, Tacoma M70 belonged to Rick Becker, but Barbour finished second, a good minute ahead of the bronze medalist, Jim Linn Shore AC. At that contest, Linn and his M65 teammate, Kevin Dollard finished with the same time. This year Dollard is in M70, running alongside Linn on the M70+ team. Harold Leddy Shore AC has stepped up to be a tight third runner behind Dollard and Linn. At Atlanta they finished 2-3-4 in the M70, 5K, within five seconds of each other. It was a similar story at 2025 Cross Nationals in Portland in December when they finished 1-2-4. That time Dollard and Leddy finished within three seconds of one another, with Linn a little further back. Jack Pottle Boulder Road Runners finished third, a half minute behind Dollard. Thomas Cushman HOKA Aggies won the M70 division at 2023 Clubs in Tallahassee. Last year at Tacoma it was another story; Cushman finished a half minute behind Pottle in sixth. Scott Lucking Atlanta has done well on the roads this year but he has not had a breakout cross country race. At Richmond in 2024, Lucking finished 10th in M65. Last year at Tacoma, he was far back. Perhaps this will be his championship to move up! James Robinson Genesee Valley Harriers deserves a mention. At Tacoma last year, he finished just four seconds behind Dollard, ahead of Pottle and Cushman. With a focus on Triathlon and Ultra trails, Robinson is not seen much on the circuit. But he is clearly a threat for the podium. The podium should come from this bunch. I like Barbour for the win. After that, it is hard to go against Dollard and Leddy who have done so well this fall. That gives me: Barbour-Dollard-Leddy.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
John Barbour Kevin Dollard Harold Leddy
M75 The results that jump out belong to Doug Bell Boulder Road Runners, Don Morrison Greateorrison took top honors in M75 r Philadelphia TC, Gary Ostwald Boulder Road Runners, and Ron Wells Jamul Toads. Last year at Tacoma, the podium was Ostwald, followed by David Dunbar [not entered here], and Wells. At 2022 Clubs in San Francisco, Ostwald shocked many when he caught Wells at the finish line, edging him for the M75 win! Ostwald and Wells went 1-2 again the next year at Clubs in =Tallahassee but that time there was a good minute between them. Jerry Learned Atlanta finished a minute behind Wells in fourth. None of the top 3 from Portland Cross Nationals last month are entered here. Learned finished fourth and Bell was fifth. At the Masters 5 Km XC at San Francisco in early November, Ostwald took top honors. Learned finished a minute back, in second. At 2024 Cross Nationals in Richmond, Bell finished a minute ahead of Ostwald and 4 minutes ahead of Learned. The wild card in there is Morrison, who turned 75 in early 2025. He lost the first part of the season to a XC skiing accident and then later in the spring ran into a tick that thought it was fun t spread Lyme disease. Morrison came back though. In Atlanta, Morrison took top M75 honors with Learned second, a minute back. Morrison has not competed regularly in cross country. In 2023 at Cross Nationals in Richmond, Bell finished well ahead of Morrison. But the following year, over the same course, the tables were reversed. Morrison finished in third, a half minute ahead of Bell.
There has been no stopping Ostwald over the last year or two. There is no reason to expect it this weekend. He is the favorite, even though he in his last months in the age division. After that it is trickier. Morrison is running well now so unless something odd happens, I pick him for second. Wells has been so dominant at times, it is impossible not to pick him for the podium. So there we are: Ostwald-Morrison-Wells.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Don Morrison Gary Ostwald Ron Wells
M80 Gary Patton, the renowned Masters Track athlete, tests the Masters LDR circuit when he enters a new age bracket. In 2016 he tested it all the way to the M70 Masters Grand Prix title. Because of Covid, he had to wait until 2022 and finished second behind a strong effort by Dave Glass. Now he is 80. I am guessing he will seek to enter enough Masters LDR championships, preferably at under 10K, to take the M80 title. We shall see. In any case, Patton is probably a co- favorite for this race. Patton generally does better on the roads than on the turf. But he won M70 Cross Nationals at bend OR in 2016. He finished 4th at Tallahassee Clubs in 2021 and 4th at 2022 Cross Nationals in San Diego. The only folks who beat him at those championships are not entered in this division this year. Wells and Ostwald are closing things out in their 75-79 division. Suffice to say that Patton won his usual Masters Indoor and Outdoor championships in the 1500 Meters this year, 6:05.59 for the M75 Indoor Championship.
Jeffrey Dumas Boulder Road Runners is the co-favorite with Patton. Dumas won the M80 division at Cross nationals in Portland last month. He finished a minute ahead of his teammate, Wiliam Repphun, and three minutes ahead of Przemyslaw 'Przemek' Nowicki Shore AC, who claimed third. Nowicki's new teammate this year, Jack Frame, has run just a little faster than Nowicki this year, finishing 18 seconds ahead at the 10Km, 0.5 seconds ahead at the Road Mile, and 1.5 minutes at the 5 Km Championships. Will Frame be able to carry that faster speed onto the turf. We shall find out on Sunday. Dumas and Repphun have not run quite as fast a 5K as Patton, but their 5Ks have been at altitude. I opt for Dumas-Patton- Repphun. But it will be interesting to see if Frame and/or Nowicki can break into the top three.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Jeffrey Dumas Gary Patton William Repphun
M85 Roland Cormier Shore AC and David Turner Atlanta should compete for the win while Adrian Craven Atlanta picks up the bronze medal. Cormier won three national championships this year but was not able to beat Turner. Turner won this division in Tacoma last year, running 57:02. Turner and Cormier finished 1-2 at the Masters 5 km Championships in Atlanta this past October. Most likely it will be the same on Sunday. Turner-Cormier-Craven.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Roland Cormier Adrian Craven David Turner
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MEN M40 The Preview posted on January 7th provides details. For the overall win I went with a possible order of Phillip Reid-Jesse Davis-Brian Flynn. Plenty of strong runners in this field could upset that projection.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Jesse Davis Brian Flynn Phillip Reid
M45 Eric Blake Tracksmith Boston Hares and Roosevelt Cook Cal Coast TC stand out in this division. Blake finished 3rd overall at 2021 Clubs here in Tallahassee; his 33:15 left him 20 seconds ahead of Cook who finished 4th. Blake finished 5th overall at the 2024 Masters 10 Km Championships with a 32:50. In 2022 at San Francisco, Blake finished 14th overall in 30:35, three seconds behind Cook who finished 12th. Blake finished 10th in M45 at Tacoma last year in 36:57, a good minute behind Cook's 3rd place in M45. He will surely be looking for a better race this year. Edward Baker Tracksmith Boston Hares, Jamey Gifford West Valley TC, Konrad Knutsen West Valley TC, Brendan Prindiville Tracksmith Boston Hares, and Alexander Taylor Tracksmith Boston Hares should also contend for the podium. In 2023 at Tallahassee, Baker finished 4th overall, coming in 17 seconds ahead of Cook. Gifford finished 8th in M45 at 2023 Clubs in Tallahassee at 36:21. He was 15th W45 at Tacoma last year but finished 3rd W45 this November at the Masters 5 Km Championships in San Francisco with a 16:35. Gifford's teammate, Knutsen, ran ten seconds faster at San Francisco, winning M45. At 2022 Clubs in San Francisco, Knutsen finished 7th M45 at 31:01. Although Prindiville has not raced in many national cross country championships, he did run at Tacoma, finishing 7th M45, 41 seconds behind Cook but 27 seconds ahead of Blake. Taylor finished 6th overall at 2021 Clubs in Tallahassee but has not competed nationally at Clubs since then. For general quality and consistency, I will go with Cook, and then Blake. Perhaps Baker can uncork a good one as he did on this course in 2023. That gives me Cook-Blake-Baker.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Edward Baker Eric Blake Roosevelt Cook
M50 This division should feature a nifty battle for the win between Neville Davey and Gregory Mitchell. Mitchell won overall XC championships in his 40's. Whenever he competed from 2013 through 2015, he was on the overall podium. Mitchell, aged 49 at the time, finished 5th M45 last year at Tacoma. But no one his age or older came in ahead of him. At Cross Nationals in Portland this ear he won M45 by a half minute over Julian Marsh West Valley TC. But Davey is very strong. Davey won the overall title at Clubs in Lexington KY in 2017. Mitchell was a half-minute back in 6th. Marsh was fourth M45 at Lehigh Club Cross in 2019, finishing ahead of Mitchell. Jonah Backstrom and/or John Gardiner could also factor into the race. Marsh finished 3rd at the 5 Km XC Championships in San Francisco, but was a half minute behind Davey.. Backstrom finished five seconds behind Gardiner finished in the top ten overall at clubs in each of his first six years. More recently, he finished 2nd in M50, a minute behind Mitchell at Tacoma last year. Even though they went 1-2 in M50, Davey, in M45, ran eight second faster than Mitchell. It should be a dandy race. I will go with a projected finishing order of Davey-Mitchell-Marsh, with Gardiner definitely pushing for the podium.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Neville Davey Julian Marsh Gregory Marsh
M55 From general knowledge, the top runners in this division include: Christian Cushing-Murray Cal Coast TC; Matthew Farley Bowerman TC; Tim Harte Greater Philadelphia TC; Jaime Heilpern HOKA Aggies, Emmet Hogan Club NW, Ivan Lieben West Valley; Gregory Putnam Central Mass Striders; and Frank Zoldak Boulder Road Runners. At Tallahassee Club Cross in 2021, the finishing order after Mark Yuen was: Heilpern-Lieben-Putnam-Hogan. I thought Zoldak would be the favorite, but it is more complicated. At Tallahassee in 2023, Zoldak not only won M55, but he also ran with the overall leaders for much of the race, eventually finishing 11th overall. He did not win at Tacoma, but the West Coast ace, Rusty Snow, who beat him, is not entered. But Hogan was only 12 seconds behind Zoldak. At Portland last month, Hogan won M55 with Lieben second, fourteen seconds back. Heilpern, 3rd in M50 at Portland, ran eight seconds faster than Zoldak. Heilpern also ran three seconds faster at Tallahassee in 2023. Cushing-Murray, Farley, Harte, and Putnam have all done well in the past. It will be tough to break into the top five. Putnam, also, is coming off a draining Masters half marathon championship a few weeks ago. Let me go with Heilpern-Zoldak-Hogan. But there are a ton of talented runners here.
Projected Podium in Alphabetical Order:
Jaime Heilpern Emmet Hogan Frank Zoldak
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That is it for the 2025/26 Club Cross previews! I cannot do a good job on previewing all the divisional team races, especially given uncertainty about how team declarations will work out on the 10th.
Sources: USATF Events website, my archives, Athlinks, Strava, Facebook, World Masters Athletics website.
Thanks to Mike Scott!
Thanks for the visit! Cheers to all!
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