40-44 In the preview I picked Club NW's Janet McDevitt to repeat as Age Division winner, despite the difficulties that presents in the last year of an age division. Two comparative newcomers, Margaret Brennan, 40, and Brennan Liming, 41, of the Bull City Track Club, were also identified as contenders, along with Julie Mercado, a strong regional runner who has tested herself at USATF Masters Track Championships but never at XC or on the road. That may change in the future. Looking back to the 2016 Masters Outdoor TF Championships in Michigan, her 1500 Meter victory in 4:56, coming in 6 seconds ahead of Melissa Gacek, who finished 2nd this year in the Masters Road Mile and 15K Championships, suggests Mercado has potential to make herself known on the roads as well. Liming wasted no time in going to the front, along with 45-49 co-favorite, Kris Paaso. Brennan settled in a few strides back, with McDevitt behind her, running with her old 45-49 rival, Sonja Friend-Uhl. Mercado came next with Kelly Couch tucked in behind, staying close. Based on her road times, I had not thought Couch would be in the top group but she was proving me wrong.
As they headed into the 2nd loop it was still Liming in first but with Brennan right there behind her. It was more than a few strides back to McDevitt who was in danger of losing contact, followed by Couch and then Mercado. In the 2nd half of the last loop, Brennan was able to pull away from Liming. Brennan covered the 1st loop in 11:08 and the second in 11:09 for an incredibly even pacing effort.
Margaret Brennan finishes off a challenging XC race taking first in the 40-44 division at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Margaret Brennan 22:17 Brennan Liming 22:28 Kelly Couch 22:33
With the first 4 runners in the Men’s 40-59 race overall coming from this age division and 5 of the first seven, it unfolded just like the overall race described in the earlier recap posted on December 13th. The lead pack consisting of David Angell, West Valley Track Club's Neville Davey, John Howell of the Bowerman Track Club, Jorge Maravilla, Davey's teammate, and Howell's teammate, Greg Mitchell hung tight together for the first two loops, except for a brief surge by Davey, Howell and Maravilla that gave them some separation. But that was short-lived as the others closed up to reform the lead pack. No major changes happened until the Davey made his move on the last loop. Howell and Maravilla could not stay with Davey but opened up a gap on the others.
Neville Davey takes the overall and 40-44 title at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Neville Davey 32:43 John Howell 33:02 Jorge Maravilla 33:07
45-49 This division recap is mostly a replay of the battle between Strava’s Kris Paaso and Atlanta’s Sonja Friend-Uhl for the overall win. Both Paaso and Friend-Uhl ran beautifully paced races; Paaso just had too much for Friend-Uhl on this course on this day. Paaso had a 6 second edge at the end of the first loop and grew that to 19 seconds once she surged with a kilometer to go.
Kris Paaso takes the Overall and 45-49 win at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Friend-Uhl ran 11:12 for her first loop, and 11:11 for her second as she left all other rivals behind. The battle for the final podium spot was between Team Rogue’s Cassandra Henkiel, and Rachel Hopkins, of Sirius Athletics. Hopkins got through the opening 300 meters downhill faster, settling in behind Mercado; Henkiel was a few strides back, running with her 55-59 teammate, Carmen Ayala-Troncoso. By the back of the first 3K loop, Hopkins had about 25 yards on Henkiel but with no other age division rivals between them. Henkiel gradually pulled her back over the final kilometer of the first loop, heading into the 2nd loop with a 1 second advantage. Hopkins fought to stay close over the first part of the loop but Henkiel eventually proved too strong, pulling away to claim the final spot on the podium by 14 seconds.
Kris Paaso 22:04 Sonja Friend-Uhl 22:23 Cassandra Henkiel 23:09
Cal Coast's John Gardiner, who finished 3rd overall last year, entered as the favorite, followed by Jef Scott who finished 12th overall last year. Others mentioned as contenders included: the Bowerman Track Club's Matthew Farley, Atlanta's Brent Fields, Jonathan Frieder, Derrick Jones, of the Central Mass Striders, West Valley's Charles Mullane, Greg Putnam, Jones's teammate, and Mark Yuen, Mullane's teammate. As it turned out, the doubts about Farley due to a lack of races this fall was borne out by him not running after all. But similar doubts about Yuen were not ratified as Yuen ran for West Valley. Although I was aware of Philippe Rolly and Jason Ryf, I mistakenly thought there would be too many runners ahead of them. By the 2k mark, Gardiner was running in the lead pack along with Scott, tucked in behind Gardiner. Then there was a gap back to the next pack which included Ryf and Rolly. By the end of the first loop, Gardiner and Scott were still part of the overall lead pack; 50 meters back was Rolly with a slight lead on Ryf who had a slight lead on Jones.
Jef Scott wins the 45-49 division at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Jef Scott 33:14 John Gardiner 33:22 Philippe Rolly 33:49
50-54 As I noted in the preview, Athena’s Marisa Sutera Strange is the defending age division champion, and age division winner this year at the Road Mile, the 5K, 8K and 10K national championships. She was the prohibitive favorite. The only runner in the division who had beaten her all year was Tania Fischer, of the Janes Elite Racing, at Bend. But that was an unusually difficult course due to the melting snow making the course a slippery mess. Nonetheless, Strange would, no doubt, be looking for her revenge in this first meeting since that race. Fischer’s teammate, Kirsten Leetch, made the podium at Bend behind Fischer and Strange, so could factor in here as well. Liisa Miller, of the Santa Cruz Track Club, who finished 2nd last year, was likely to factor into the podium race as well. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to Aeron Arlin Genet but I could find no races for her in 2017 and only one in 2016, an Open XC race in California. Had I had time to look more carefully at that race, I would have found she had only finished a minute behind Nancy Thomas, who had finished 2nd in the 45-49 division at the 2016 Club XC Championships. The gun went off, Genet sprinted across the field and down the hill, finding herself in the division lead, running just behind the overall leaders. Fischer came next, followed by her teammate, Leetch. . As the race unfolded, Strange started out with her usual steady pace, which often leaves her making up ground during the race. By the time they reached the 2k mark, Genet still had the lead but now it was Leetch in 2nd, about a dozen yards back, with Fischer next and then Strange,with ten yards or so between each of them. Miller was another 25 yards back from Strange. Strange continued to pour it on over the last kilometer of the first loop, crossing the timing mats and heading into the 2nd loop with a 2 second margin on Genet. Leetch was 6 seconds back from Genet and 10 seconds ahead of Fischer. It did not look like this would be Miller’s day as she was still 30 yards back from Fischer. Strange gradually pulled away from Genet, matching her first 11:36 loop with a second one for even pacing and the win.
Genet showed a lot of grit in keeping the gap from growing more. Strange took the division victory with a 9 second margin as Genet’s 6 second margin over Leetch at the end of the first loop grew to 21 by the end of the race. Leetch had no problem closing out the podium however as neither Fischer nor Miller were able to mount a serious threat over the last 3 kilometers.
Marisa Sutera Strange 23:12 Aeron Arlin Genet 23:21 Kirsten Leetch 23:42
My preview indicated that this divisional field was loaded. Some had done well at National Championship races this year like Atlanta's Kristian Blaich, who won the Age Division at the 8K and 10K and Greater Springfield's Kent Lemme who won the division at the 15K championship; both also had other podium finishes. Others likethe BAA's Peter Hammer, Club NW's Carl Combs, and Mike McManus, running for the HOKA Aggie Running Club. have been known primarily for their performances at Cross Country Championships with only the occasional foray onto the roads. Hammer took the division and almost the overall win at the 10K Championship in 2016 and Combs claimed the division title at the 5K in Syracuse this year. McManus, to his credit, won the Half Marathon divisional championship this year. Cal Coast's Christian Cushing-Murray was aging up from 45-49 but had only been out of rehab and recovery for a few months. And then there was the great Marathon and Half Marathon champion, Tracy Lokken, of Playmakers Elite/New Balance, who had been away from championships for a couple of years, rounding out a very tough field. I gave the nod to Hammer, Combs and Blaich in that order, but was well aware how likely I was to be wrong on one count or another. By the end of the first loop, Hammer had already separated himself from the divisional field as he was in the main chase pack. Lemme was a few seconds back, and then a 10 second gap back to the 2nd chase pack which included Combs and McManus. Cushing-Murray and Blaich were already over 100 meters back and unlikely to factor into the race for the podium. By the end of the 2nd loop, it was still Hammer with a small lead on Lemme, about 5 seconds, and now it was 17 seconds back to Combs and McManus. Hammer kept it up all the way, accelerating over the last 3K loop to finish in 33:37, over half a minute ahead of his closest divisional pursuer.
Lemme’s torrid pace over the first 7 kilometers took its toll as Combs was able to pull even and then pass Lemme on the final climb to the finish to claim 2nd by a mere 2 seconds. Lemme had 3rd with a 17 second margin back to McManus, followed by Cushing-Murray and Blaich. Lokken finished 9th—not bad for an early trial after recovering from surgery. But look out next year if Lokken makes it all the way back.
Peter Hammer 33:37 Carl Combs 34:15 Kent Lemme 34:17
55-59 I had identified New Balance Tampa’s Trish Butler as the favorite based on her 19:15 5K at Syracuse and thought this might be the follow on to her break-out win as a newcomer to the 55-59 division in Boston at the 5km XC. But first she would have to get past the veteran Hall of Famer, Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, of Team Rogue, who skipped this race last year but took the title in San Francisco in 2015. The Athena Track Club’s Lorraine Jasper, was also likely to be a factor with a strong fall season behind her. She took 3rd behind Ayala-Troncoso’s win, at Syracuse in the (road) 5K, and 2nd behind Butler at the 5 km XC in Boston. Joan Mabe of the Bull City Track Club aged up since last year when her time would have been fast enough to win 55-59. It rapidly became clear that this was not going to be Butler’s day. The gun went off and Butler scooted across the field and down the hill, but the first sign that this might not be Butler’s day was that just ahead of her by the foot of the downslope was Ayala-Troncoso, with Mabe tucked in behind her. Jasper was a few yards back. By the time they reached the 2 k mark, there was little doubt about how things were going as Ayala-Troncoso had stretched her lead to about two dozen yards on Mabe, with Butler perhaps another 40 yards further back, and then it was Jasper. By the end of the first 3K loop, Ayala-Troncoso sailed through with over 50 meters on Mabe, with Butler at least that far back, and Jasper now only a few strides back in 4th. Mabe hung tough over the second loop, running a second faster than Ayala-Troncoso. But that was not enough as Ayala-Troncoso enjoyed her second division victory at Club XC in the last 3 years.
Carmen Ayala-Troncoso [Left] matches strides with 40-44 division contender, Brooke Bray, 200 meters into the 2nd 3K loop at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Jasper threw in a 12:35 to follow her first loop of 12:34 for a very consistent pace and third place behind Mabe. Butler finished off her ‘tough day at the office’ 30 meters back in 4th. Butler is a competitor though, and will use this as motivation—watch out next year!
Carmen Ayala-Troncoso 24:35 Joan Mabe 24:49 Lorraine Jasper 25:09
Nat Larson, of the Greater Springfield Harriers and the 2017 Age Division Runner of the Year for both 50-54 and 55-59, was the odds on favorite to win his first age division Club XC Championship. I had Cal Coast’s Matt Ebiner favored for 2nd but he did not make it to the race after all. I picked his teammate, Ken Ernst, for 3rd, perhaps a bit of a stretch, based on his 4th place finish in 50-54 at Club XC in 2015. He did not race for a while after that and his best recent 5K was 17:09. Still that was nearly a minute faster than he had been running earlier in the year so might signal a strong upward trend. Playmaker Elite's Dave Bussard, Iain Mickle, Roger Sayre, Thoroughbred Racing's Rick Torres, Twin Cities Running Company's John Van Danacker, and Fred Zalokar all had some recent races to suggest they could make a run for the podium. For some reason I ignored Patrick Billig, Van Danacker's teammate, and Bowerman’s Mike Blackmore. Billig’s 1:24 Half Marathon threw me off; I should have paid more attention to his 58:27 in the Twin Cities 10 Miler. Blackmore has not been a strong Club XC performer in recent years but he improved from 4th at Bend in 2016 to 3rd in the division in 2017. Larson lost no time in racing to the front of the division, taking up his place in the second chase pack. By the end of the first loop, he had over 150 meters on the field. The rest of the field was tight though with only 19 seconds between 2nd and 6th: Van Danacker, Ernst, Blackmore, Sayre, and Billig in that order. It was more of the same on the 2nd loop as Larson stretched his lead to nearly 300 meters. Van Danacker had established a little separation from the others, enjoying 50 meters on the trio of Blackmore, Ernst and Sayre, with Billig now 40 meters further back. Larson roared across the finish line in 34:13, taking first by almost two minutes!
Despite his best efforts, Blackmore was not able to get any closer to Van Danacker who took 2nd by 14 seconds. Blackmore took 3rd with Ernst 7 seconds back in 4th, followed by Sayre and Billig.
Nat Larson 34:13 John Van Danacker 36:02 Mike Blackmore 36:16
60-64 I tabbed Impala Racing's Jill Miller-Robinett as the favorite but after her, mentioned a number of possibilities. In the end I chose Atlanta's Mary Richards and Liberty AC's Alda Cossi as 2nd and 3rd favorites ahead of GVH's Cheryl Guth, Joanna Harper, of Team Red Lizard, Greater Boston's Claire McManus, Guth's teammate, Sharon Moore, and Atlanta's Margaret Taylor, and Cynthia Williams. When the gun fired, Miller-Robinett made her way towards the front of the division pack, but found herself initially trailing Cossi, who was first down the slope to the soccer loop, followed by Moore, Patricia Ford, and Harper. Then it was a few strides back to Miller-Robinett, with McManus and Richards following in that order. By the time they reached the 2k mark of the 1st loop, Moore had the lead, to my surprise, followed closely by Ford and then Harper, with a gap back to Cossi and Miller-Robinett, now side by side. Ford caught me totally by surprise. I had been unable to locate a strong performance coming into the race but clearly this XC course was to her liking. Twenty-five yards further back was McManus, with another 25 or so back to Richards. This was not going to be her day, apparently. Harper surged over the next kilometer, striding by the mat at the end of the first loop in 14:04. Twenty-five meters back was a trio of runners as Miller-Robinett and Ford had closed the gap to Moore. McManus was now a good 40 meters back., and then Cossi. The second loop had the fireworks as Miller-Robinett was now into her stride and gaining on Harper. After a 14:12 opening loop, she had a 14:15 loop for 28:27 and an 11 second margin of victory.
Harper held onto second by just 2 seconds over a fast-closing Ford. Five seconds later it was McManus with a strong late surge that brought her home with a negative split, in 4th. Moore, Richards, and Cossi followed in 5th, 6th, and 7th.
Jill Miller-Robinett 28:27 Joanna Harper 28:38 Patricia Ford 28:40
With the top 10 overall in the Men’s 60+ 8K race all coming from the 60-64 group, the recap published earlier for that race holds for this one. Just to reprise, Club Northwest’s Joe Sheeran went out right from the start to establish a gap by the time they hit the soccer loop for the first time. The anticipated duel between him and Greater Lowell’s John Barbour never materialized as Barbour’s Achilles acted up and forced him from the race. Atlanta’s Ken Youngers and Barbour’s teammate, Matthew Curran, gave chase so the gap would not grow too large to overcome. Sheeran’s teammate, Rick Becker, joined initially by Atlanta’s Mike Anderson and Shore’s Reno Stirrat, took a slightly more measured approach. By the end of the first 4K loop there was little doubt about who would win; Sheeran had over 150 meters on the field. Youngers was looking good with 40 meters over Curran with Becker now just a few strides back. Sheeran never faltered as he finished off the 2nd loop to take the win in 29:29.
Joe Sheeran powers through the end of the first 4K loop on his way to a huge victory in the 60-64 division at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
It was over a minute before the next runner came in. Becker had saved enough for a good closing kilometer which carried him past Youngers into 2nd, with Youngers 6 seconds back in 3rd, vowing to get in more weekly mileage next year. Curran followed in 4th with Anderson 5th.
Joe Sheeran 29:29 Rick Becker 30:32 Ken Youngers 30:38
65-69 The 15K Championship in Tulsa saw a tremendous gathering of top runners in this age division. Sabra Harvey, 2017 Masters Athlete of the Year, Jeanette Groesz, Suzanne Ray, Jeanniie Rice, and Edie Stevenson met to contest the event. On the roads on that day the honors went to Harvey, with Stevenson second, followed by Ray, Rice, and Groesz. Still, Cross Country is a different discipline over a different surface and, in this case, a little over half the distance. Harvey, the defending champion, was the prohibitive favorite, no doubt. Ray and Groesz were picked for the next two spots. Certainly Harvey moved smartly to the front of the division in the opening race across the field and down to the soccer field loop. Seemingly accepting the inevitable, Ray and Groesz, Team Red Lizard teammates, were running together about 20 meters behind Harvey, but comfortably ahead of Impala’s Jo Anne Rowland, running easily, with a big smile on her face, in 4th. By the 2 kilometer mark. Harvey had stretched her lead and Ray was now setting the pace, a few yards ahead of Groesz. By the time they finished the first loop, Harvey had well over a hundred meters on the chase pack of the Red Lizard two—still only 3 seconds apart.
Sabra Harvey [foreground] striding ahead of two runners a dozen years younger, adds to her gap over her 65-69 rivals on the way to the division victory at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Harvey added another 49 seconds to her lead over the 2nd loop while Ray eventually kicked away from Groesz to take 2nd by 40 meters. Two minutes later Rowland, who was focused on the W60+ team battle with the Atlanta Track Club, crossed the line, with her Impala teammate Donna Chan 14 seconds further back. It was, as anticipated, an easy win for Harvey.
Sabra Harvey 26:15 Suzanne Ray 27:46 Jeanette Groesz 27:58
I had James Foster, of the Syracuse Track Club, as the favorite, with Atlanta teammates Kirk Larson and Jerry Learned in 2nd and 3rd. But Foster’s teammate, Theodore Larison was not far back from Learned at the 5K Championships in Syracuse and Boulder’s Richard Katz finished just a half minute back from Learned last year in Tallahassee. Foster went right to work at the front of the group and coming out of the first soccer field loop just before the 1 Mile mark, Foster had about 20 meters on Larson who had a good 40 meters on Larison and Learned who were together, about 10 meters ahead of Katz. By the end of the first loop, Foster had over 100 meters on Larson but Larson enjoyed an even bigger gap back to the three chasers, Katz, Larison, and Learned. It was more of the same on the 2nd 4K loop as Foster extended his lead to win in 33:21 with over a minute margin of victory.
Larson in turn nailed 2nd with over a minute back to the closest finisher. Katz was able to pull away and establish a 15 second gap over Larison as Katz took 3rd and Larison 4th. Learned finished in 5th just 6 seconds back.
James Foster 33:21 Kirk Larson 34:34 Richard Katz 35:53
70-74 Dianne Anderson, of the Impala Racing team is the defending champion and entered the race as the favorite. Ann Hirn and Margaret Champion were expected to battle for second; based on comparing 5K times, it looked like Hirn had a slight edge. By the time they entered the soccer loop, Anderson had 20 meters on Hirn, with Champion next. By the time they hit the 2K mark, Anderson had doubled her lead over Hirn and now Champion was about 30 yards back from Hirn. By the time they crossed the mat at the end of the first loop, at 3K. Anderson had almost a 150 meter lead over Hirn. Champion was now about 40 meters back. Anderson added to the gap over the 2nd loop, winning in the end by over 5 minutes.
Dianne Anderson [blue singlet] sets the early pace for her 70-74 rival;s on her way to the 70-74 victory at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Even though Hirn ran a negative split, Champion had been holding more in reserve as she ran 46 seconds faster on the 2nd loop, passing Hirn and taking 2nd with 23 seconds to spare.
Dianne Anderson 35:55 Margaret Champion 41:12 Ann Hirn 41:35
In my preview for this division I picked the Tamalpa teammates, Don Porteous and Len Goldman, who finished 2nd and 3rd to Ron Wells at Club XC last year to go 1-2 this year. Wells was out due to a freak accident in an airline terminal that had nothing to do with running. Dave Glass, who won the last three national championship races, the 5K road at Syracuse, the 5km XC at Boston and the 15K road at Tulsa, was picked for third. I added myself, Paul Carlin, Tamalpa’s 3rd runner, Gene French, and GVH’s Tony Gingello as possible contenders, but only Gingello played a role in the hunt for the podium. Although I knew comparatively little about them, I noted that the Eastside Runners out of Seattle had two possible contenders in Craig Andersen and David Longmuir. When the gun sounded, Longmuir went out hard. By the time they were emerging from the 1st soccer field loop he had nearly 40 meters on Porteous who, in turn, had at least that much on Glass, with Goldman ten meters back, and Gingello tracking him 5 meters further back. By the end of the first 4K loop, Longmuir had over 50 meters on Porteous who had, in his turn, stretched his lead over the three chasers, Glass, Goldman and Gingello. The only thing that changed on the 2nd loop was the distance between the 5 rivals. Porteous ran a gutsy 2nd loop but could not get any closer; Longmuir won the division with almost 40 seconds to spare.
Glass followed in third another 49 seconds back, but kept Goldman and Gingello at bay as Goldman finished in 4th eighteen seconds back, with Gingello in 5th.
David Longmuir 34:56 Don Porteous 35:35 Dave Glass 36:24
75-79 Local runner, Mary Nagle, was unopposed but would have made any rival who showed up work for a win. She ran 37:12, coming in ahead of a few younger runners.
Tammy Nagle [#1025] heads out, along with teammate, Katie Yunker, onto the soccer fields in the first 3K loop on her way to the 75-79 division victory at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
Mary Nagle 37:12
Even though Atlanta's David Turner had finished 2nd to John Elliott at Club XC in this division in 2016, I thought a bunch of other runners had had stronger years and would overtake him. I picked James Callaway, of Florida Track Club-West, and Denny LeBlanc of Greater Lowell who had both aged up from 70-74 since last year for 1st and 3rd, and Edward Smith, a strong runner for Shore AC, to take 2nd. As it turned out, Smith did not make it to the race after all. But Turner’s teammate, Charlie Patterson, had also aged up from 70-74 and figured to make a run for the podium as well. By the time they hit the 1 mile mark, the contenders were pretty well spread out with Callaway taking a strong lead, followed by Turner, LeBlanc and Patterson separated by smaller gaps than the gap between Turner and Callaway. By the end fo the first 4K loop, Callaway had over 100 meters over Turner who was gamely clinging to a 12 second lead over LeBlanc who had only 4 seconds on Patterson. Callaway pulled away over the final loop to win by over a minute.
James Callaway sets the pace for the 75-79 division through the soccer fields of the first 4K loop on his way to the division victory at the 2017 USATF National Club XC Championship |
But the other three got closer as LeBlanc and Patterson both closed on Turner. Turner proved to be a tough competitor as he held them both off to take 2nd by 3 seconds over LeBlanc, with another 5 seconds back to Patterson. That was a tight finish to determine who made the podium!
James Callaway 42:26 David Turner 43:50 Denny LeBlanc 43:53
80-84 Tami Graf, who took the honors in this division in the road 5K National Championship at Syracuse, was unopposed here. With no rivals in sight, she took her time and enjoyed the 6K win in 51:24.
Tami Graf 51:24
Jim Askew, of the Atlanta Track Club, took this division unopposed, clocking 55:39 over the 8K course. This finished off a terrific string on wins at national Championships from August through October.
Jim Askew 55:39 .
Another great National Club Cross Country Championship is in the books. Masterson Station Park in Lexington KY always provides a challenging course. The frigid weather and stiff winds made it a little more so this year. As always though, the runners survived it and will run another day, whether they ran well or not so well. Those who ran well will remember and savor the memory; those who did not have their best day will remember and use it as motivation. Next year’s race is in Spokane Washington on December 8 2018. The next race this year is in Tallahassee Florida on February 3 2018, the USATF Cross Country Championships; there should be stellar fields for both. After that the 2018 road season begins with the USATF National 8K Championships in Virginia Beach Virginia on March 17 2018. Come celebrate St. Paddy’s day at a National Masters Championship with a wicked fast 8K course. Mark your calendars!