December 6 2017. Nearly 550 Master
athletes are entered in the National Club Cross Country Championships in
Lexington KY. This piece previews the Men’s
60 and Up Race which is over an 8 km Course and goes off on Saturday,
December 9 at 9 AM. Bill Quinlisk, longtime USATF XC and Road Race
referee, described the course as: "...a 100% Kentucky blue grass
loop course with a crushed stone short bridge crossing on men’s courses
only. There are rolling hills with an uphill stretch to the finish of all
races. It is definitely a spikes course!" Current forecasts for 9 AM
are for cloudy, 26 degree temperatures and 9-10 mph wind, with a 22% chance of
snow showers.
60-64 Typically what is
predicted overall for the 8K race is also the main prediction for this group. John Barbour was runner up to Rick Becker in San Francisco two years
ago and to Brian Pilcher last year.
It would be nice to say the field is wide open for Barbour this year, but no
such luck. Even without Pilcher, the field is packed. Becker returns after a
year off last year for foot surgery. He has had several strong runs over the
last two months and is all the way back. More importantly, Becker’s teammate
from Club NW, Joe Sheeran, has aged
up from 55-59. Two years ago when Becker took the 60-64 title in 28:58 over 8K,
Sheeran was taking 2nd in 55-59 with a 35:35 over a 10K course. That
35:35 is age-grade equivalent to a 28:17 8K. Becker figures that the three of
them, Barbour, Becker and Sheeran will form a lead pack along with anyone who
can stay with them. My guess is that Ken
Youngers may stick quite a while with them unless he tries for a different
strategy. Youngers could not stick with Barbour all the way to the finish at
the 5km Masters XC in Boston but there may have been an element of home course
advantage.
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| John Barbour (L), Tom Ryan (C), and Ken Youngers (R) form the lead pack mid-race at the 2017 5km Masters XC Championship at Franklin Park in Boston |
Most likely at some point Sheeran will be able to throw in a surge
that none of the group can handle. Then it will be a replay of the San
Francisco duel between Becker and Barbour, except for 2nd and 3rd
this time. Youngers is my favorite for 4th. But there are a half
dozen others who will challenge Youngers for the podium. Those include Barbour’s
teammate, Matthew Curran, who has an
18:54 5K to his credit along with a 39:09 at the Lone Gull 10K, and Thomas Cushman, of the HOKA Aggies, who
has an 18:48 5k along with some low 19 minute ones. Michael LeBold, of San Diego, has a recent 18:56 to pair with his
18:42 effort at Carlsbad in the spring. Reno
Stirrat appears to be nearly all the way back from a period marked by
injury and health issues. He clocked an 18:59 at Syracuse in the 5K National
Championships. Two years ago he finished 4th in ths division at Club
XC; that is probably a stretch too far but there is no doubt Stirrat will give
it everything he has!
 |
| Joe Sheeran (#1950) attacks a hill on the 2015 Club XC course in Golden Gate Park, chasing Jeff Ambos and David Olds (exiting picture to the left) |
Mark Rybinski,
who edged Stirrat for 3rd in 2015 and claimed 4th last
year, has missed most of the year and is probably not far enough back on his
recovery to contend, but it would be great to see him out on the course
competing for GVH. Brian Cummins and
Kevin Dollard, who clocked identical
19:12 5K’s at the 5K Championships at Syracuse, will also have a chance for the
podium.
Joe
Sheeran Rick Becker John Barbour
65-69 With Doug Bell, Tom Bernhard, and Peter Mullin giving this cross country
race a miss, it looks like Syracuse’s James
Foster and Atlanta’s Kirk Larson
will renew the rivalry they enjoyed at Dave Oja’s last hurrah in Syracuse. But
this time it will be for the gold medal. Two months ago Foster had a two second
lead at the hal;fway mark and stretched it to 8 seconds by the time they
reached the finish line. At Tallahassee last year, it was the same story where
Foster got out just a bit faster and then gradually stretched the lead.
Tallahassee is a beautiful, groomed course and Syracuse I, of course, on roads.
Will the slightly more challenging nature of the course at Lexington make the
difference that will allow Larson to make a serious challenge to Foster’s
recent dominance? We shall see. It does
not appear that anyone else can really stay with those two. Larson’s teammate, Jerry Learned, may well be the best of
the rest. After finishing 8th in the division last year, Learned has
come on strong this year, achieving consistent mid-80’s age grades for the
first time in a few years. His 20:10 5K at Syracuse to take 6th in
the age group was the culmination of several consecutive excellent outings. If
we use 5K times as a gauge, the race for the final podium spot may also be a
race between Atlanta and Syracuse. Theodore
Larison was only 18 seconds and two places back from learned at Syracuse.
 |
| Kirk Larson surges down the hill to head into the next loop at the Tallahassee Florida XC course--2016 National Club XC Championships |
Boulder’s Richard Katz, who finished
a half minute back from Learned when they met at the 5km Masters XC
Championship in Tallahassee last year, cannot be ignored. Ann Arbor’s Eduardo Matsuo, who has just aged up to
the 65-69 group, prefers races in the 15k through Marathon distance but is
learning how to run the shorter distances. He came in almost a minute ahead of
Learned in the 15K and that endurance will help on the XC paths, but Learned
should still have the edge at the 8K. Cal Coast stalwart, ‘Coach’ Bill Sumner, could play a role as well. Although he was
well back at the 15K, he has set out a few pretty fast 5K’s this year in the
low to mid-21 minute range and also has a 28:15 4 miler. If he can hang tough
on the XC course, he could factor into the podium race.
James
Foster Kirk Larson Jerry Learned
70-74 Donald Porteous and Len Goldman finished 2nd and
3rd behind Ron Wells last
year. Although the details are not clear, Wells suffered a freak accident upon
returning from Switzerland; apparently another passenger plowed into him from
behind with their luggage. He had apparently been thinking of coming anyway so
I hope that means the injury is rather temporary. In the end, Wells decided to
skip the race. That leaves it open for me to make Porteous and Goldman the
favorites. At the Pacific Association XC Championships 3 weeks ago, a 6 mile
race, they came in 1-2 at 44:23 and 44:40, with their teammate, Gene French, about 4 minutes back. But
there will be plenty of competition. Dave
Glass was not at Tallahassee last year and he has taken 3 straight national
championships this fall, the 5K, the 5k XC, and the 15K at 20:56, 21:53, and
1:06:15. In the 5k XC race, the defeated French by about 1.5 minutes,
suggesting his times are roughly comparable to those of Porteous and Goldman. Tony Gingello was ahead of Glass at the
5K until the final 200 meters and, although a bit further back at Boston,
finished 2nd. Earlier in the year, Gingello took the 70-74 title at
the 10K national championship at Dedham. I will add myself, Paul Carlin to the group of contenders,
but I will have to prove I belong. Third at Syracuse, tracking Glass, I was not
able to go with him when he moved to close the gap to Gingello. Earlier in the
year, Gingello passed me in the final 300 meters at Dedham to take the gold
medal. And in the 15K, I was never in contention as Glass took off at the gun
and was never headed, neither by me nor Bill Dunn nor Robert Hendrick, who took
2nd and 3rd just ahead of me.
 |
| Donald Porteous (right) leading GVH teammates, Doc Rappole (#1562) and Jim May mid-race at the 2016 National Club XC Championships in Tallahassee FL |
Teammates Craig Andersen and David Longmuir of the Pacific Northwest’s Eastside Runners, also
seem well placed to challenge for the podium. In a recent 5K race, Longmuir had
the edge, 20:36 to 21:37. But in a 5km XC race, it was Andersen with the edge,
21:44 to 21:58. Even without Ron Wells, the competition is likely to lead to a
fast race.
Donald
Porteous Len Goldman Dave Glass
75-79 David Turner finished 2nd to John Elliott last year. As Elliott is not entered, that makes Turner the
closest to being a defending champion. But Turner will face a quartet of newly
minted 75 year olds since last year: Ed
Bligh, James Callaway, Denny LeBlanc, and Charlie Patterson. To retain his title he will also have to fend
off Edward Smith, a tough runner who
did not enter Club XC last year. Smith
took 13th in 70-74 in 2016 with a time of 23:51. Smith did not run
that championship this year but took 2nd to Doug Goodhue in 7:03 at
the 1 Mile Championships in Flint. That suggests something like a low 24 minute
capability for a fast 5K course. Turner ran a 25:39 in September.
 |
| John Elliott on his way to a 75-79 Championship at the 2016 National Club XC Championship |
Callaway has
several 5Ks in the 24:06 to 25:31 range and a 32:51 4 Miler; LeBlanc has
several 5K’s in the 24:40 to 25:29 range, along with a 44:14 5 miler and a
56:03 10K. Callaway came in a minute ahead of LeBlanc last year at Club XC in
Tallahassee.
James
Callaway Edward Smith Denny LeBlanc
80-84 This one is the
easy preview. With one entrant, I can safely predict that if Jim Askew makes it to the finish line,
he will add this gold medal to his collection. It would be his 4th
in a row at our national championships. He took the 1 Mile, the 5K, and the 5K
XC Championships prior to competing at Lexington.
Jim
Askew
And
that is it for the veterans—next on to the under 60’s men, all 297 of them! If
there is time after that, a very quick look at teams!
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