August 28, 2024 FLINT MI The 47th running of the HAP CareSource Crim 10 Miler hosted the 2024 USATF Masters 10 Mile Championships on Saturday, August 24th. USATF is the national governing body for long distance running in the USA. They host Open Championships and Masters Championships. This race in Flint is the only one in America this year that will crown national Masters 10 Mile [road] champions. An athlete may finish as first Masters athlete overall or in their division at prestigious 10 Mile road races like the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in DC, the Blue Cross Broad Street Run in Philly or the Sactown 10 in Sacramento. Those athletes are age division champions in that race. Even if a race, like the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, is the USATF National Open Championship, that does not confer national championship status on anyone who is not entered in the USATF National Open Championship. This year you had to come to Flint MI if you wanted to be a Masters or Age Division National Champion at the Ten Mile distance.
After an unusually warm, humid summer over much of the East and Midwest, the Masters athletes dodged the weather bullet on Saturday. Temperatures were in the upper 50’s at race time and the dewpoint well under 60. The course is still hilly and challenging. You gain 90' in the first mile although it does not seem that steep, and then from Mile 4.8 there is a 100' climb that takes you to Mile 5.5. But in between those two are small, rollers. After the 5.5-mile point, there is an overall fall to the finish of 70'. But it is not nice and smooth. It is rolling and relentless. There are more and more uphill segments in that overall downhill stretch than the unwary runner might expect. Like the Marathon, this is a course that will find a weakness that a runner has and amplify it.
But it would also be wrong to say you cannot run a good time here. There are many long stretches with no turns; that helps! Many of the Masters athletes in these championships were well-prepared, kept their feet under them and their aspirations high. Some races were close and others not. No American Records were set but there were a number of top performances, with age grading performance level percentage PLP above 90. Nora Cary 69 Shore AC NJ is just one example; she even broke the 100% barrier! It is tough to set an American Record for a 5-year age division when you are already in your final year. If Cary can run anywhere near that fast next year, when she is 70, she would have the American W70 Record with minutes to spare!
MASTERS OVERALL NATIONAL 10 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOMEN This was bound to be a great championship race. The top three seemed very closely matched. Hidi Gaff 43 Three Rivers Racing IN was fresh off a Masters win in May at the nationally prominent Amway River Bank Run 25K (which also serves as the USATF Open Championships). Her sub-1:40 there meant she had maintained a sub-4 minutes per km pace for the entire 15.5 miles! Her pace per mile was under 6:40. Natasha Yaremczuk 44 Unattached FL had taken the Masters win at the December 2022 Mt Dora Half Marathon in 1:25:54 and, this spring, had clocked 1:00:22 at the Space Coast Classic 15K in finishing 2nd Overall; her pace was under 6:30 per mile. As neither were highly competitive races, it suggested she might have had more in the tank. Jacqueline Cooke 46 Impala Racing CA finished 5th overall last year at the Masters Ten Mile Championships in Sacramento CA in 1:03:25. She improved on that effort this past month when she claimed the Masters win, in 1:23:57, at the San Francisco Marathon (2nd Half) Half Marathon. That matches nicely with Yaremczuk's Mt Dora HM.
Gaff and Yaremczuk were running side by side in the early going as they sped under the halfway banner in 31:25. Cooke started more cautiously and was 15 seconds back at the halfway point, running with Melissa Kessler 40 Unattached MI, an assistant coach at Ferris State. Up that steep hill and then up and down the many rolling hills that follow, went Gaff and Yaremczuk, still locked tight on one another. They crossed the 10 Km timing mat in 39:08! Cooke was now 19 seconds back, with Kessler another four behind her. Those rolling hills continued. Eventually Gaff was able to break free, taking a well-earned win in 1:02:32!
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| Hidi Gaff crosses the Finish Line first to claim the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
That is sub 6:15 pace! Cooke's early caution almost paid off. She cut all but four seconds out of Yaremczuk's lead in the last 4 miles. Yaremczuk toughed it out to claim silver while Cooke earned the bronze medal! Kessler was a half-minute back in fourth. Gaff claimed the bronze medal at the Masters 1 Mile Championships last June; this was her first Overall win on the Masters national circuit of championships!
Hidi Gaff 1:02:32 Natasha Yaremczuk 1:02:52 Jacqueline Cooke 1:02:56
MEN This was Joel Conn's 40 Unattached MI championship to lose. A Michigan resident and a regular at Crim, Conn finished 6th overall last year in 51:45. This March he ran a strong 15K at the Gate River Run, finishing within shouting distance of some of the Open Elite Runners, as he clocked 48:56. Conn started out at 5:14 pace and cranked it down from there until they hit the major climb at the halfway point. David Angell 47 Roanoke Valley Elite VA, Matt Yacoub 50 Cal Coast Track Club MI, and John Yoder 40 Unattached CO decided, early on, they better let him go and worry about their own races. Angell had a bronze medal from the 2023 Masters 10 Km Championships in 33:15 and ran a nifty 1:12:27 half marathon at Richmond VA in November. But neither of those suggested a 5:15 pace or better would be wise. Yacoub and Yoder, both 1:15 to 1:16 half marathoners were worried about the 5:30 pace that Angell would be comfortable with.
As a result, Conn hit the halfway point in 26:14. Angell was a good minute back in 'No Man's Land', with Yacoub and Yoder running in tandem another minute back. John Fernandez 55 Lake Erie Lightning OH and Michael Mallon 58 Boulder Road Runners IA were in 5th and 6th at 29:49. They were ready to move up if any of the leaders had misjudged pace and overcooked the early miles. In fact, nothing bad happened to the leaders. Everyone judged their pace well and kept it together the whole way. Conn hammered the first 10K in 32:51 and Angell hit the split at 34:07, within a minute of his bronze medal 10K time in April 2023. Conn went on to victory in 52:49!
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| Joel Conn takes the win at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Angell finished second, two minutes and 20 seconds back. Yacoub worked his way to an 8 second lead over Yoder by the 10 K mark. Both ran tough over the final four miles, with Yacoub claiming bronze at 57:03; Yoder finished 12 seconds later. He was followed by Fernandez, 5th at 58:35, almost a minute ahead of Mallon in 6th. Conn had the Overall win, Angell his second national Overall podium of the year, and Yacoub had his first national Overall podium as a Master athlete! Conn enjoyed his first Masters National Overall Championship on the roads!
Joel Conn 52:49 David Angell 55:09 Matt Yacoub 57:03
MASTERS NATIONAL 10 MILE AGE GRADING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The age grading score, the Performance Level Percentage PLP, identifies the runners, across all age divisions, who had the best performance relative to the best times in the world. It compares each runner's time with the projected fastest time for a person of their single-year age, based on global data. How can it be that Cary attained a PLP of over 100% and did not break the American Record? Such records are not kept by single years, like 67 or 69, they are only maintained for 5-year age groups. Cary ran as fast as possible for a 69-year-old woman but there are, apparently, very fast 65-year-olds who can run faster. In fact, it was a Masters Hall of Famer, Kathryn Martin, who set that record, in 2017, when she was 65. Nora Cary, 69, as noted above, topped the charts; her net time of 1:11:00 earned a 100.26 PLP.
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| Nofra Cary motoring to her top Age Grade score of 100.26% at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Suzanne La Burt, 61, claimed silver from a sterling 1:05:23 at 97.27, while Lisa Veneziano, 59, raced to a 1:04:21 and the bronze age grading medal at 96.27. Stella Gibbs, 65, Victoria Crisp, 72, and Kari Chandler, 71, finished in 4th through 6th, all earning PLP's above 90.00%.
The top Age Grade for the Men’s race was 92.83% by Rick Becker, 69, who sped to a 1:03:15. Becker's last age grading win on the roads was in 2022 when he edged Nat Larson for the win by 0.04 percentage points!
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| Rick Becker cruises to the top Men's age grade score at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Becker was followed this year by Steve Schmidt, 63, whose 1:01:49 enabled him to just edge Ken Youngers, 68, for the silver medal, by 0.06% points! Schmidt's time earned an 89.49 PLP; Youngers enjoyed a PLP of 89.43 from his 1:04:59 clocking. Jeff Bennet, 61, and Michael Mallon, 58, finished just off the podium with PLP's of 88.74 and 88.61 respectively.
An additional thirteen women and 24 men scored PLP's of 80% and above, earning Elite Performance medals.
AGE DIVISION NATIONAL 10 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN 40-44 Conn and Yoder, finishing 1st and 4th overall, went 1-2 in this division.
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| John Yoder on his way to 4th Overall and 2nd in M40 at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Roger Davenport 44 Unattached OH could not keep pace with the leaders but ran a solid race to finish third.
Joel Conn 52:49 John Yoder 57:16 Roger Davenport 1:05:22
45-49 Angell, finishing 2nd overall, took this division title with almost six minutes to spare.
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| David Angell on his way to the Overall Silver medal at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Timothy Carney 46 Unattached OH and Kevin Egan 48 Unattached OH dueled for the silver and bronze medals. Carney, as befits the younger of the two, took it out a bit harder, hitting the halfway point in 30:09, with Egan 16 seconds back. As they navigated the next 1.2 miles with the steep hill at the beginning and smaller rolling hills after1, Egan began to close on Carney. He was just 4 seconds back when Carney passed the 10 Km timing mat at 37:48. The catch was likely made shortly after; Egan pulled away to claim the silver medal with just under half a minute to spare.
David Angell 55:08 Kevin Egan 1:01:05 Timothy Carney 1:01:32
50-54 Yacoub, in finishing 3rd overall, took this age division crown with ease, finishing well over three minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.
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| Matt Yacoub racing toward his Bronze medal overall at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Frederick Dolan 51 Atlanta Track Club GA ran his own race. A minute and a half behind Yacoub at the halfway mark, he was about the same amount ahead of his rivals for the 50-54 podium, Todd Germana 50 Unattached OH and Jason Newport 53 Unattached OH. Yacoub pulled away from Dolan, but Dolan also grew his gap back to his rivals. By the 10 Km split it was up to almost two minutes. Dolan claimed the silver medal with 2 and a half minutes to spare. In the race for third place, Germana got off to the faster start, enjoying a ten second lead when he hit the halfway mark at 31:31. But Newport was not going away; he cut Germana's lead in half over the next 1.2 miles. Newport passed him in the final 4 miles, building a cushion of 20 seconds along the way.
Matt Yacoub 57:03 Frederick Dolan 1:00:46 Jason Newport 1:03:15
55-59 Fernandez, who finished 5th overall, and Mallon, who finished 6th, went 1-2 in this division.
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| John Fernandez strides toward his top five overall finish and the M55 win at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Neither Scott Ursum 56 CHT Elite MI nor Brad Wotring 57 Unattached OH were able to stay close to Mallon but they battled for the final podium spot. Wotring had the early lead, crossing the halfway mat at 30:03, a good 1:19 ahead of Ursum. The early pace must have taken some toll on Wotring; Ursum used the relentless hills to cut sixteen seconds out of Wotring's lead in the next 1.2 miles. Ursum was able to complete t1he catch and create a 24-second gap by the finish line. Wotring hung tough, though and kept Scott Siriano two minutes back in 5th. Fernandez is two for two in 2024. He won this age division at the Masters 5 Km Championships. Fernandez demonstrated that he could run very well at longer distances too. And hills are no problem whether they are 'Atlanta Flat' hills, which he conquered for the 5 Km, or 'just plain hills' in Flint.
John Fernandez 58:35 Michael Mallon 59:33 Scott Ursum 1:02:03
60-64 Steve Schmidt 63 Ann Arbor Track Club MI has been among the top M60 runners since he first ran on the circuit, taking 2nd at 2022 Club Cross in San Francisco, behind Nat Larson, but ahead of M60 aces, Rick Lee and John Van Danacker. He cemented that status with a 2nd place finish at the 2023 Masters Half Marathon Championships. Some niggling injuries slowed Schmidt down earlier this spring, but he appears to be back to full health. This would be Jeff Bennett's 61 Unattached IL first venture onto the national Masters circuit. He fired a warning shot in January, taking 1st Senior prize money from the Naples Daily News HM in Florida, coming in ten seconds ahead of Rick Lee in 1:20:35. Henry Notaro 62 Shore AC NJ is primarily a Marathoner, but he has been running strong at shorter distances for his team since Lee recruited him in 2022. One of his best was his 44:02 second place finish at the 12 Km Masters Championships in Highlands NJ last September.
Bennett eased through the first mile with its 45' of elevation gain. But once they crested that first hill, he cranked it into a faster gear at sub-6:00 per mile pace. By the end of the next four miles, his ability to keep his pace right under 6/mile had paid dividends. His 30:29 at the halfway mark gave Bennett a 56 second gap on Notaro & Schmidt, who were running in tandem, in 2nd and 3rd. David Black 61 Atlanta Track Club was 24 seconds behind them in 4th, well over a minute ahead of Mike Mertens 60 GVH NY and Larry Sak 64 Ann Arbor TC MI, in 5th and 6th. Bennett continued to apply pressure over that next hilly 1.2 miles, upping his lead over his nearest rival to over a minute. Schmidt, meanwhile, had been able to put a 20-second gap on Notaro. Everyone was hanging tough though. Notaro had also upped his lead on Black, who was further ahead of Mertens and Sak now. The last four miles saw more of the same as Bennett claimed his first M60 win at a National Championship in 1:01:09!
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| Jeff Bennett follows M45's Matt Egan on his way to the M60 win at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Schmidt had been able to close ever so slightly on Bennett, finishing just 40 seconds back. A minute and a half later, Notaro claimed the final spot on the podium. Black was 45 seconds behind Notaro in 4th, followed by Mertens and Sak in 5th and 6th. When the gold and silver medalists got talking after the race, Bennett and Schmidt realized they had grown up in the same small, central Illinois town--another 'small world' story!
Jeff Bennett 1:01:09 Steve Schmidt 1:01:49 Henry Notaro 1:03:21
65-69 Rick Becker 69 Atlanta Track Club WA is a national cross country Masters champion many times over. He has also been selected as USATF's Masters Harrier of the Year three times. He has ventured onto the national road circuit less often over the years but has found similar success. The best insight into how he might do here was probably his 2022 outing at the 12 Km championships in Highlands NJ on an unseasonably warm day on the jersey Shore. Despite the conditions, Becker ran 46:34, winning his age division with room to spare and taking the top prize in age grading, just ahead of Nat Larson. Becker's teammate, Ken Youngers 68 Atlanta TC GA, has been almost as successful on the roads. His efforts have been a little more variable in recent years but when Youngers is 'on', watch out! In 2022 he cracked 38 minutes to take the top M65 prize at the Masters 10 Km championships. Two years later, the time was more modest, 40:34, but he still finished 2nd in M65. Those two were expected to be at the head of the pack, but John Blaser 67 Boulder Road Runners IA, Tim Conheady 67 Greater Philadelphia Track Club IL, and Kevin Dollard 68 Shore AC NY would give it all they had. Becker and Youngers ran together for the first mile. But after they crested the first hill at the 1 Mile mark, Becker started to apply a little more pressure. Youngers responded but after a bit had to let Becker go and find his own pace. By the end of the 2nd mile, Becker was 4 seconds ahead; he added another 8 seconds to his lead in the next mile. Becker passed under the halfway banner a half minute ahead of Youngers. Youngers felt no pressure from any other rivals. Conheady was the better part of a minute behind in 3rd, followed a minute and a half later by Blaser, and another 51 seconds back, Dollard. Those gaps all kept increasing, modestly, over the next hilly 1.2 miles. Nothing changed for the top three the rest of the way. Becker took the win with 1:44 to spare. Youngers, in turn, had grown the gap from him to Conheady to over three minutes by the time he crossed the finish line in 2nd.
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| Ken Youngers high stepping it to 2nd place in M65 and the bronze Overall age grading medal at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Conheady prevented all but a minor incursion from Blaser, taking third by 1:46. Quite a few athletes found the first 10 Km took more out of them than they thought and were not quite ready for the relentless appearance of uphill stretches in what was, overall, an elevation drop, over the last 4 miles. Dollard had been over 57 seconds behind Blaser at the 10 Km mark. But he could see Blaser ahead and, as the hills kept coming, was cutting seconds out of his lead. By the time the finish line was in sight, Dollard had almost made the catch; he did not quite get there. Blaser was tough all the way to the finish. They had the same 1:10:19 time, but the Officials awarded 4th to Blaser and 5th to Dollard. What a finish!
Rick Becker 1:03:16 Ken Youngers 1:05:00 Timothy Conheady 1:08:33
70-74 This division is, arguably, the deepest and most competitive division at the present time. Weeks before any other division, there were already a dozen entries in M70. Perusing the list and their recent accomplishments it seemed a case could be made that the top 7 runners were Joe Reda & Reno Stirrat; Doug Chesnut & Denny Kurtis; Doug Bell & Rick Boyle; and Don Morrison, more or less in that order. I had the right seven, but the wrong order at least on this day on this course. From a quick scan of Kurtis's Athlinks account the only mention of Crim I can find is when, in his late 30's, Kurtis was among the top 40 finishers in 52:18. But he ran it on Saturday as if he knew it well. When he ran under the halfway banner at 5 Miles in 35:33, he was a good half minute ahead of his closest pursuer. And that pursuer, perhaps surprisingly, was Boyle. Reda had slipped 17 seconds back. But he still had a six second gap on the foursome of Stirrat-Bell-Chesnut-Morrison running in a pack. Unlike some of the other divisions, there was no real change in relative order over that tough, hilly 1.2-mile stretch. The order held as did the relative gaps. The biggest change came over the last four miles where Bell found he could move up and pass Boyle, even though Boyle was running well. Kurtis had over a minute gap on Bell at 10K and Bell cut that in half and a little more. But Bell never got really close to Kurtis, who had the win with 28 seconds to spare. It was a great win for Kurtis and a terrific closing stretch for Bell!
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| Denny Kurtis keeps it going all the way to the finish line and the M70 win at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Bell must have caught and passed Boyle within sight of the finish line. Bell had the silver medal with just three seconds to spare! Boye was not giving anything away, either. He had increased the gap back to Reda and Stirrat to 26 seconds. Stirrat cut Reda's lead to just three seconds by the finish line as they claimed 4th and 5th, just off the podium. A minute and a half later, Chesnut and Morrison finished 6th and 7th.
Dennis Kurtis 1:11:39 Doug Bell 1:12:07 Rick Boyle 1:12:10
75-79 This division had just two entrants, teammates, Terry McCluskey 75 Ann Arbor Track Club OH and your author, Paul Carlin 78 Ann Arbor TC MI. As noted in my preview, I have never beaten McCluskey when he and I were both healthy and competing all out. Despite being teammates, I did not have a good fix on how much McCluskey had been training and whether he would choose to run with his longtime racing pal, Doug Goodhue. Given that uncertainty and going strictly on recent performances it seemed I should pick Carlin-McCluskey as the order, despite the history. My training had gone reasonably well. Logistical problems the last couple of days before the race and on race day threw me off a bit. But there is no doubt that McCluskey ran better than I did and would have come in first on the best of days. McCluskey started out running with Goodhue but after a few miles McCluskey started to move up and had me in his sights at the four-mile mark. He was coming up from behind to run alongside when he saw me do something I had never done before in a race, from the Road Mile to the Matrathon, veer off for a pit stop at the tail end of the Aid Station. McCluskey passed me at that point and I was not aware of it. A good half mile up the road was the halfway point. McCluskey passed it at 42:22 with a 38-second gap. The gaps grew from there. In the last three miles I did something else I had never done before in a race, switch from a run to a walk for a minute at a time. I did that four times before finishing up. About the only thing I am happy with about my race is that, despite thinking about it, I did not quit. The irony is that because of the unlucky conflict with WMA in Sweden, which thinned the 75-79 field, I obtained a silver medal for my efforts, my first since I claimed the M70 silver, in the usual full field, at the 2019 Masters 15 Km Championships in Tulsa.
McCluskey was the winner with 5 minutes to spare.
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| Terry McCluskey strides toward his M75 win at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Had McCluskey been pressed by anyone, I am sure he could easily have run a couple of minutes faster. He earned the gold medal! His last age division win was when he claimed the M70 win at the 2019 USATF Masters Club Cross Country Championships at Lehigh U in Bethlehem PA.
Terry McCluskey 1:23:14 Paul Carlin 1:28:18
80-84 In my preview I focused on Doug Goodhue 83 Ann Arbor TC MI, for obvious reasons. But I looked forward to a tight race between Goodhue and his two challengers, Don Owens 80 Unattached FL and Harold Rosen 81 Unattached MD. I did not realize that Goodhue was really just running to finish his 34th Crim 10 Miler. Goodhue was not ready to compete for a national championship; he was running to finish. There should still have been a healthy battle between Owens and Rosen. Owens clocked 1:29:44 at the 2022 edition of the Crim and ran 1:59:00 at the Naples Daily News HM in January. He seemed poised for a sub-1:30 effort. Rosen won the 5 Km Masters national championships this year. His 1:30:19 at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler this spring suggested he, too, was ready to run around or under 1:30. Unfortunately, Rosen was unable to be present; I am not sure of the reason. Goodhue ran to finish and Owens ran his heart out. Owens cut well over a minute off his 2022 Crim time! It was a tour de force and gave Owens the victory with a large cushion.
Don Owens 1:28:21 Doug Goodhue 1:48:28
WOMEN 40-44 Gaff, Yaremczuk, and Kessler finished 1-2-4 overall
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| Natasha Yaremczuk races to the Silver medal Overall and in the W40 division at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
and went 1-2-3 in the 40-44 division.
Hidi Gaff 1:02:31 Natasha Yaremczuk 1:02:52 Melissa Kessler 1:03:27
45-49 Cooke, who finished 3rd Overall, takes this division crown with four minutes to spare.
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| Jacqueline Cooke strides her way to the Bronze medal Overall and the Gold medal in W45 at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Carla Snell 46 Ann Arbor TC MI appeared to come in with a stronger set of recent performances. She finished 4th Overall and 1st Masters woman last year in 1:04:19. Her 1:29:51 at the UA NYC Half Marathon this spring tempered the suggestion that she was likely to run under 1:05 again. Even so, it appeared that Snell had an edge over Christina Rooney 48 Unattached FL. Rooney's most recent long race was a 1:09:13 at the Wellington 10 Miler last November in Florida. Snell, not surprisingly, started out strong, clicking off the first 5 miles in 33:35, not as fast as last year but with a good shot at a 1:07. She had a 22 second lead on Rooney. Rooney was well prepared for hills. Her pace slowed less over the next hilly 1.22 mile section than Snell's did, and the gap fell to 13 seconds. Rooney weas able to recover better after that section. Despite the continued short uphill segments, Rooney was able to drop her pace per mile by 7 seconds for that final 3.78 miles. As a result, Rooney was able to catch Snell and put a 25 second buffer between her and Snell by the time she was crossing the finish line in 2nd place. It was a 2-minute improvement for Rooney over her Wellington 10 Miler last November. Snell had no answer for Rooney over those final miles but she finished minutes ahead of the rest of the division.
Jacqueline Cook 1:02:56 Christina Rooney 1:07:09 Carla Snell 1:07:33
50-54 This looked like a duel between Linda Spooner 50 Central Mass Striders MA and Amy Wing 54 Run GR MI for the gold. Spooner ran two 10-Milers and 1 Half Marathon over the past year that suggested she would be likely to run somewhere between 1:06:45 and 1:08 for a 10 Mile run. Wing ran 1:09:24 at the Crim last year. But in the fall she ran a sub-1:07 10 Miler and this spring ran a 1:27:39 Half marathon before clocking a nifty 1:44:27 25K at the Amway River Bank Run. All three suggested Wing could break 1:07 in a 10-Miler. A third athlete, who might have pushed them, was Jennifer Malavolta. In the end, she opted for the 2024 WMA Championships in Sweden where she helped Team USA earn W50 Team Gold in the Half Marathon road race. Spooner set the pace early and ran under the halfway banner at 5 miles in 33 minutes flat! Wing was 14 seconds back. Alexandra Marzulla 53 Shore Athletic Club NJ could not match the pace of the lead duo but followed in 3rd, with a comfortable 2-minute lead over her teammate, Alysia Puma 52 Shore AC NJ. Wing, familiar with the course, used the next hilly 1.2 miles stretch to close within three seconds of Spooner. Wing had too much in the tank over the next 3.8 miles. Spooner did her best to answer but Wing was able to pull away, winning by nearly a minute.
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| Amy Wing on her way to the W50 win at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Marzulla kept her pace going and claimed the bronze medal with a 5-minute cushion over Puma. This gold medal is a very nice complement to Wing's Amway RBR tour. It is nice to get rewarded for the hard work she must have put in this year. And Spooner went home with a silver medal performance at a national championship. Those are not easy to come by! Marzulla and Puma are consummate team members; they run for the team. This time, Marzulla was able to grab a little well deserved individual glory. Puma shared with Marzulla in the team honors.
Amy Wing 1:06:05 Linda Spooner 1:06:59 Alexandra Marzullla 1:12:07
55-59 Fiona Bayly and Lisa Veneziano are two of the finest long-distance runners in this division. They both hold American Records for W55, Bayly at 8 Km, Veneziano at 12 Km. They have not met frequently. In the one meeting I know about, Bayly prevailed. Both have been running at their usual high level at regional races. Bayly came within three seconds of her 8 Km AR this July. She enjoyed a division win at the UA NYC Half Marathon earlier in March. Veneziano has been competing mostly in Michigan, with a nifty 1:00:16 Overall 2nd place at a 15K and a 1:26:56 Overall win at a Half Marathon. Bayly ran on this course at least once before. Venziano has run it a few times. Veneziano had the early lead, passing the 5-mile timing mat at 32:05 with a 12-second lead. On most days, Bayly would have held that gap or reduced it, but not on Saturday. It was not Bayly's day. Veneziano cruised to the win, cutting six seconds off her 2023 division win at Crim.
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| Lisa Veneziano cruises to the W55 Win and the Bronze Overaall Age Grading medal at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Things did not go Bayly's way, but she hung tough and finished three minutes back in 2nd. Maureen Massell 51 Shore AC NJ was there for the team race. In this case, she earned an individual bronze medal too!
Lisa Veneziano 1:04:22 Fiona Bayly 1:07:27 Maureen Massell 1:23:53
60-64 Unlike some other divisions this one had a clear favorite, Suzanne La Burt 61 Shore AC NY. La Burt has been consistently winning her division at national championships since turning 60 last year. There are a couple of runners who have been able to press her, but not to beat her. But both of those runners were elsewhere this weekend. La Burt took the W60 Masters 10K title in March with a 40:58. In Mau she won her division at the Blue Cross Broad Street Run, a 10-mile straight shot (except for a detour around City Hall) in 1:07:30. It seemed a sure bet that she would break 1:10. The next best performances coming in belonged to Kris Huff 60 Atlanta Track Club GA. Her 3:19:52 Boston Marathon and her 1:37:45 half marathon at the Cleveland Celebration in May suggested Huff should be finishing in the vicinity of 1:13. Jodi Jensen's 61 GVH NY1:45:32 Half Marathon at the 2022 Masters Championships in Syracuse and her 46-minute 5th place effort at the 10 Km Masters Championships this spring can be projected to a 10 Mile effort between 1:16 and 1:20. All three ran way faster than expected but the order of finish held. La Burt hit the 5-mile mark in 32:49, with a lead of well over three minutes on Huff. Huff, in turn, enjoyed the better part of a minute lead on Jensen. All three leaned into their pace and had excellent runs. In the end, La Burt surpassed herself with a 1:05:24 that age graded above 97% and gave her the win with over six minutes to spare. Huff, in turn, finished over three minutes ahead of Jensen who ran well under her projected 1:16 to 1:20 time.
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| Kris Huff on her way to the W60 Silver medal at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Jensen finished 3 and a half minutes ahead of the 4th place finisher, Deborah Capko 61 Shore AC NJ.
Suzanne La Burt 1:05:24 Kris Huff 1:11:55 Jodie Jensen
70-74 Even a stellar long-distance runner like Stella Gibbs 65 Impala Racing CA had no answer for Nora Cary 69 Shore AC NJ in this race. Cary covered the first five miles at 7:12 pace, leaving Gibbs 45 seconds behind. Gibbs was happy enough, no doubt, with her 7:21 pace but could probably only marvel at the 'F65' bib disappearing in the distance. Every mile saw an increase in Cary's lead as she poured it on, winding up with a 7:06 pace overall! As noted, at age 69, her net time graded at over 100%--astounding on a course like the Crim! Gibbs did herself proud, claiming the silver medal as she finished off the race at an overall pace of 7:22 per mile!
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| Stella Gibbs races to her W65 Silver medal at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Debbie Braithwaite 65 Shore AC NJ was happy to contribute to the team effort and wind up with a bronze individual medal as well. Braithwaite was able to cross the finish line in third, two minutes ahead of Lisa Vaughn 65 Unattached IA.
Nora Cary 1:11:01 Stella Gibbs 1:13:45 Debbie Braithwaite 1:24:25
70-74 Kari Chandler 71 Unattached MI appeared to be a strong favorite. Her 1:17:42 in the LMCU 10 Miler last year was reinforced by a 1:45:48 at the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon this year. Both are consistent with a sub-1:20 10 Miler on a comparable course. The recent performances of Victoria Crisp and Sharon Moore were very strong but not at that level. Crisp's 1:59:45 at the Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon this February suggested something closer to a 1:30 effort for a 10 Mile run. Moore's 43:31 at the YMCA 5-Miler this spring suggested something similar, although projecting from a 5-mile race is a little more questionable than projecting from a closer distance. As it turned out, Crisp's half marathon was either an easy effort or her fitness improved substantially in the last six months. Chandler was probably not aware of the fact that Crisp was running much closer to 8 minute a mile pace than 9 minute a mile pace. Chandler had a comfortable 57 second lead over Crisp at the halfway point, which she increased to 1:05 by the 10 Km split. Chandler ran a fine race. The LMCU Bridge run is not flat, with over 250' of elevation gain but it is not as hilly as the Crim. Chandler's times at these two races are quite comparable. She crossed the finish line in first with a minute cushion. That gave Chandler the gold medal at a national championship, her second in two tries this year--5 Km first and now the Ten mile, showing good range.
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| Kari Chandler on her way to a 2nd straight W70 national championship at the 2024 USATF Masters Ten Mile Overall Championship, hosted by the HAP CareSource Crim Ten Miler Photo courtesy of HAP CareSource Crim Festival of Races |
Crisp ran way faster than her February half marathon time suggested. She must have been pleased with her race. Moore also ran well; her 1:28:06 on this course suggests her fitness has improved a lot since her 5-miler 5 months ago.
Kari Chandler 1:20:55 Victoria Crisp 1:21:55 Sharon Moore5 1:28:06
75-79 Jo Anne Rowland had this division to herself. Last year, at the championships in Sacramento, she had a challenger to defeat, winning in 1:26:50. Considering that this course is much more challenging than that one, her winning time of 1:29:43 is probably comparable, in terms of effort, to her winning time last year. Rowland was in 70-74 in 2022. This win gives her two national 10-mile championships in a row; she will be going for the three-peat next year!
Jo Anne Rowland 1:29:43
National Women’s Champions were crowned in 40-44 Gaff
45-49 Cooke 50-54 Wing 1:06:05 55-59 Veneziano 1:04:22 60-64
La Burt 1:05:24 65-69 Cary 1:11:01 70-74 Kari Chandler 1:20:55
75-79 Jo Anne Rowland 1:29:43 80-84.
TEAMS The score equals the cumulative time of the first three finishing athletes per team. Teams prefer to run at least four so there is an 'insurance' scorer in case of any slippage from sign up to race end. In practice, many run with three. When a championship is reasonably close to a club's home base, having two insurance runners is not unusual. This championship was unusual in that no clubs were able to enter complete teams for either M40+ or W40+, and only one team for M50+ and one for W50+. This was partly due to the conflict with the final weekend of WMA and partly, perhaps, to the longer distance.
W50+ The Shore Athletic Club Ali Marzulla, Alysia Puma, Maureen Massell had no worries, apart from being sure to finish. With just three athletes on the team, everyone had to complete the race for the team to score any points. Marzulla finished at 1:12:07. Five minutes later, she knew they had two of the three finishers they needed when Puma crossed the finish line. After another six minutes, all worries were off the table. Massell closed the scoring at 1:23:53.
Shore Athletic Club 3:52:32 1:17:31 average
W60+ This division was highly competitive as four top teams slugged it out! Shore AC Suzanne La Burt, Nora Cary, Deborah Capko, (Debbie Brathwaite, Susan Stirrat) could not be denied. With both La Burt and Cary leading the way, they had the top two team finishers. The top runners from Atlanta Kris Huff, Michele Keane, Robin Tanner and GVH Jodie Jensen, Colleen Newman, Sharon Moore crossed the finish line but then Deborah Capko finished it off for Shore with her 1:19:42. That gave Shore the win; no one could catch them now! They did not need the insurance provided by their 4th and 5th runners, Brathwaite and Stirrat. Atlanta's Huff gave them the early edge for the silver medals in their battle with GVH. Her 1:11:26 was 3:07 ahead of GVH's # 1, Jensen. GVH took back a little of that when Newman finished 2nd scoring runner at 1:27:12, 23 seconds ahead of Atlanta's Keane. When GVH's Moore came across the line less than a minute behind Newman, closing off their scoring with her 1:28:06, it was nail biting time for Atlanta. Their third scoring runner, Tanner, needed to finish in 1:30:50 or better. At 1:30:46, Tanner was crossing the finish line, giving the Atlanta Track Club the silver medals with four seconds to spare! Just 1.34 seconds per runner dividing the two teams-Wow, that was close! And the Impala Racing Team, finishing fourth, was just a minute behind GVH at 4:11:29.
Shore AC 3:36:07 1:12:02 Atlanta Track Club 4:10:17 1:23:26 Genesee Valley Harriers 4:10:21 1:23:27
M50+ Like Shore in W50+, the Genesee Valley Harriers Dale Flanders, Michael Mertens, Gene Jensen, (Mitch Moore) were the only M50+ team toeing the line at the start. The pressure for team performance was off. They had to finish, and they did, in style. Flanders and Mertens probably ran much of the race together; they finished just 9 seconds apart in 1:06:13 and 1:06:22. Jensen finished 12 minutes later, giving GVH a complete team finish, the gold medals and the 100 Grand Prix points! Moore finished 4 minutes later. Had any of the first three faltered, his role as an insurance runner would have been crucial.
Genesee Valley Harriers 3:31:06 1:10:22
M60+ The Ann Arbor Track Club Steve Schmidt, Larry Sak, Scott Fiske, (Ward Freeman, Michael Mester) grabbed the early lead when Schmidt crossed the line first in the team competition in 1:01:50. The Atlanta Track Club Rick Becker, David Black, Ken Youngers, (Michael Anderson, Ward Irvin) had their scoring kick-started at 1:03:16 by Becker. Four seconds later, Shore AC Henry Notaro, Kevin Dollard, Scott Linnell got on the board when Notaro finished in 1:03:20. After that, Atlanta ran the table. Black and Youngers came across the line before any others in the team competition, at 1:04:06 and 1:05:01. A minute after Youngers closed the deal for Atlanta's win, Saks kept Ann Arbor ahead of Shore at 1:06:27. A couple of minutes later, Fiske, their new recruit, gave Ann Arbor the silver medals with his 1:08:59. Dollard, at 1:10:20 and Linnell, at 1:26:28, made sure Shore got their bronze medals and their 80 points toward the Grand Prix.
Atlanta Track Club 3:12:23 1:04:08 Ann Arbor Track Club 3:17:16 1:05:44 Shore Athletic Club 3:40:10 1:13:23
M70+ Once again, the Ann Arbor Track Club Denny Kurtis, Eduardo Matsuo, Aaron Pratt (Terry McCluskey, Paul Carlin) got on the board first when Kurtis sped across the line in 1:11:40. But less than half a minute later, the Boulder Road Runners Doug Bell, Douglas Chesnut, George Braun countered with Bell's 1:12:07. Three seconds later, Shore AC Rick Boyle, Reno Stirrat, Ken Wilson had Boyle scoring to keep things tight! A half minute later, Shore moved into the lead when Stirrat finished at 1:12:39. Chesnut came across in 1:14:00 to keep Boulder within a couple of minutes. But when Braun finished at 1:17:23, Boulder's stock shot up! They had a complete team score. Shore would need their third runner to finish under 1:20. Ann Arbor's Matsuo and Pratt were within sight of Braun at the finish, but it wasn't quite enough. Their 1:18:00 and 1:18:07 left Ann Arbor 4 minutes back. They had to wait to see where Shore's third runner came in. Wilson had a solid run but not fast enough to stay under 1:20; he came across the line at 1:26:20. Boulder had the win and Ann Arbor could celebrate; they had the silver medals with three minutes to spare! Shore was happy to get the bronze; they knew it would be a long shot to get first or second; they were happy with bronze and the 80 points it gave them towards the Grand Prix.
Boulder Road Runners 3:43:30 1:14:30 Ann Arbor Track Club 3:47:47 1:15:56 Shore AC 3:51:09 1:17:03
The course was challenging but everyone met the challenge and overcame it! There were some terrific battles!
This event kicked off the second half of the 2024 Masters National Grand Prix! Top Masters athletes head next to Highlands NJ for the USATF Masters 12 Km Championships on September 15th. They are being hosted by USATF-NJ for the fourth time! Registration is here.
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