December 30, 2024 Event Date and Place-December 14, 2024 Chambers Creek Regional Park, Tacoma WA -- Recap, Part II-Age Grading and Age Divisions -- Recap No. 1 on Teams and Overall Championships was posted on Dec 28. I use the same first paragraph here to describe the setting for those who are only reading this recap. The 25 mph winds, gusting up to 50 mph, were whipping up the whitecaps on Puget Sound, visible behind the Start Line. It helped a bit that the course is mostly laid out east and west and the wind was out of the south. But that did mean lots of cross wind, and a high wind is never a runner's friend! Cloudy, with occasional light rain, the upper 40's temperatures were warm enough that most athletes ran in shorts and singlets, possibly with arm sleeves or a long-sleeve t-shirt underneath. Some muddy spots on the course got muddier, and more slippery as the morning wore on. These were classic Cross Country conditions, the kind that remind athletes they can do hard things! A common comment was something like, "Man that was miserable! Such fun! Loved being out there with the other guys!" All agreed that the Chambers Creek course, itself, was a fine course and that the host organization, Club Northwest, had organized a terrific competition that would be remembered for years as one of the classic tests of the Masters Cross Country runner.
The Women's race went off first at 9:30AM over 6Km, followed by the Men's 60+ race over 8 Km at 10:15 and then the Men's 40+ race over 10Km at 11:15. The course was laid out with a 3K loop and a 2K loop. The Women traversed the 3 Km loop twice. The 60+ Men did the same but added a final 2 Km loop. The 40+ Men added two circuits of the 2 Km loop, instead of just one.
OVERALL AGE GRADING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Note: =Age Grading scores an athlete on a percentage scale in terms of how fast their time is compared to the fastest possible time so far by an athlete of the same age and gender, based on international data. It is emblematic of the fastest time run, adjusted for age, across all age divisions. Because there are three different races, each with somewhat different conditions, especially with regard to the footing, it makes sense to give out age grading awards separately for ech race.
MEN'S 40+ RACE In 2022 in San Francisco, the top 5 age graded runners were, in order, Peter Hammer, Jaime Heilpern, David White, Ivan Lieben, Joshua McAdams. Only one of those five made the top five at Tallahassee last year. They were: Frank Zoldak, Jaime Heilpern, Malcolm Richards, Chris Grauch, Jesse Davis. Last year, Zoldak electrified the cross country world with his 11th finish out of the 55-59 division, winning the age grading by three full percentage points. This year the winning margin was 0.6 percentage points. Though not as spectacular as last year, Zoldak's top 60 finish overall was pretty darn good for a 58-year-old. In fact, Zoldak's 37:07 for an 85.86 Performance Level Percentage PLP topped the age grading again. That makes it two age grading wins in a row for Zoldak at Club Cross.
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| Frank Zoldak #1089 On His Way to the Top M40+ Age Graded Run- In the Early Going, with 40+ runners, Travis Boyd, Patrick Reaves, Jake Stout, and Jake Stout - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Rusty Snow Santa Barbara, finished in the top 40 overall, but Snow was 'only' 55. His 36.24 earned him second place. Gregory Mitchell Bowerman cracked the top thirty at age 51; his 35:56 merited an 83.32 PLP.
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| Greg Mitchell red/black singlet, finishing third in M40+ Age Grading--Gets out early with 40+ runners, Jesse Lang, Eric Blake, Brendan Prindiville and Ben Mangrum - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
He edged Jaime Heilpern HOKA Aggie for third by 0.17 percentage points. Heilpern's 4th place finish was his fifth consecutive top 5 finish in age grading, dating back to 2018 Club Cross in Spokane. Emmet Hogan Northwest was fifth, just three hundredths of a percentage point behind Heilpern. McDonagh and Davis who finished 2nd and 3rd overall, finished 6th and 7th in age grading.
Frank Zoldak 58 37:07 85.86 Rusty Snow 55 36:24 85.21 Gregory Mitchell 51 35:56
WOMEN'S RACE Jeanette Groesz Red Lizard , who finished 2nd in San Francisco and fifth in Tallahassee last year, moved up to the top spot. Her 31:13 time at age 75, was good for 147th place out of 212 overall in the Women's race. She beat 65 women; only 8 of them were her age or older! Her PLP was 87.72.
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| Jeanette Groesz, 75 #1650, -On her way to the top Age Graded Run in the Women's Race- Negotiating a slippery turn in the company of 40+ runners, Kendra Price and Jinghua Liu Tervalon - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Suzanne La Burt Shore was a percentage point behind. Her 26:05 at age 61 landed her just outside the top 50 overall. Her previous best finish at Club Cross has been her fourth-place finish in both 2021 and 2023 in Tallahassee. The next two places went to others from the same age division. Mary Cass Liberty ran 26:27 at age 63, earning an 86.02 PLP. Cass has been moving up each year. In 2022, she finished 5th; in 2023 4th and this year, third!
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| Suzanne La Burt white singlet - On Her Way to the Silver Age Grading Medal in the Women's Race - with Patricia Bellan, Deanna O'Neil, Liisa Knoblich, and Jessica Gordon - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Patricia Bellan's HOKA Aggie 83.91 netted her the 4th place finish. Bellan finished 10th in 2022 and 7th last year in Tallahassee. This matches her 4th place age grading finish in 2018 in Spokane. St. Jean, 6th overall, finished 5th in age grading. She was followed by Lisa Knoblich Northwest and Deanna O'Neil Bowerman finished 6th and 7th.
Jeanette Groesz 75 31:13 87.72 Suzanne La Burt 61 26:05 86.65 Mary Cass 63 26:27 86.02
MEN'S 60+ RACE Steve Schmidt Ann Arbor not only won the 60+ race, he also took top age grading honors. His 31:21, over 8 km of turf, at age 64, earned a PLP of 85.38. Schmidt finished 2nd in age grading in 2022, and 4th last year at Tallahassee. It is his first age grading win at a national Masters championship.
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| Steve Schmidt not only won the Men's 60+ Race, He Also Earned the Top Age Grade - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Dan King Athletics Boulder, one year older, ran a half minute slower and merited an 84.74 PLP for second place. The third spot on the age grading podium went to Rick Becker Atlanta, 70. His 33:48 rang up an 83.93 PLP. Becker rarely misses the age grading podium and has many wins to his credit.
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| Dan King Earned the Silver Age Gradinng Medal in the Men's 60+ Race - Getting Out Early with GVH Runners, Joe Mora, Alan Evans, and Mike Nier - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Nat Larson Greater Springfield finished second overall, ten seconds behind Schmidt, earning an 83.34 PLP for fourth. Larson finished 3rd in 2022 and won it all in 2023. Gary Ostwald Boulder, 78, moved up from 10th last year to 5th this year. He was just three hundredths of a percentage point behind Larson. Ken Youngers Atlanta, 8th last year, moved up to 6th this year, and was followed by the 2022 winner, Jacob Nur SRA, in 7th.
Steve Schmidt 64 31:21 85.38 Dan King 65 31:53 84.74 Rick Becker 70 33:48 83.93
AGE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOMEN'S RACE
40-44 Dimoff Bowerman, Kadavy HOKA Aggie and Keenan Checkers captured the overall podium.
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| Carrie Dimoff closing in on her Overall Win and 40-44 Division Championship in the Women's Race - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
The overall winning trio capture the 40-44 division podium at the same time. Lenge Warren and Crocker finished 4th and 5th.
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| From Left: Jennifer Keenan, Chelsea Lenge Warren, and Jenny Kadavy ultimately finished 3rd, 4th and 2nd in W40, respectively - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
The discussion of the Women's Race in the Overall Championships section posted on December 28, applies equally to this age division. See that analysis.
Carrie Dimoff 22:40 Jenny Kadavy 23:10 Jennifer Keenan 23:25
45-49 Gretchen Hurlbutt Boisie Betties, Meriah Earle San Diego TC, and Maggie Shearer Cal Coast, highlighted in the Overall section as well, finished 4th, 9th and 11th overall. They go 1-2-3 in this division.
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| Gretchen Hurlbutt and Maggie Shearer eventually finished 1st &3rd in W45. They are leading a group including Andrea Garvue, Jennifer Lutz, Jennifer St. Jean. Alison Crocker, Ashley Carroll, and Jessica Hruska - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Vivian Hyman Jane's finished 14 seconds behind Shearer to capture 4th. Six seconds later, Eva Lozano San Diego crossed the finish line to claim 5th.
Gretchen Hurlbutt 23:35 Meriah Earle 23:51 Maggie Shearer 24:11
50-54 Jennifer St. Jean Central Park finished 6th overall and claimed this division title at the same time. She was a half-minute ahead of all division rivals by the end of the first 3K loop and increased the lead by another minute on the second and final 3K loop.
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| Jennifer St. Jean claimed 6th Overall and won the 50-54 Division in the Women's Race - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Behind her, Holly McIlvaine Northwest and Carla McAlister Cal Coast were locked in a contest for 2nd. By the 3K mark, McIlvaine, at 12:09, was 20 meters ahead of McAlister, nice, but not enough for the lead to be secure.
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| Holly McIlvaine and Carla McAlister finished 2-3 in W50. They are running here with Cambria Wu, Crystal Query, and Eva Lozano - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Sixty meters back, there was a similar battle for third, between Allison Nuxoll Boise, leading at 12:33, and Gwen Lapham Northwest. Rebekah Kennedy Central Park was 30 meters behind Lapham but was still within striking distance. McIlvaine had the better last loop, claiming the silver medal in 25:08, well over 50 meters ahead of McAlister. Although she lost ground to McIlvaine, McAlister ran a strong last lap, finishing third with a 27-second cushion. Nuxoll pulled away from Lapham on the final loop. Kennedy closed well, leaving them in 4th, 25:54, fifth, 26:02, and sixth, 26:08.
Jennifer St. Jean 23:41 Holly McIlvaine 25:08 Carla McAlister 25:27
55-59 Amy Halseth Prado, who won the 55-59 division at the San Diego-Imperial Association Cross Country Championships ran away from the field. She enjoyed a 60-meter lead at the end of the first 3K loop. Karolyn Bowley B.A.A. finished 2nd in the 50-54 division at San Francisco and won the 50-54 division in Tallahassee last year. Just a month before this race, she finished 7th in the Masters race, and 1st 55-59, at the New England Cross Country Championships. Bowley should have been ready to contend for the win. Bowley must have been off her best. Bowley was well back from Halseth by the end of the first loop, and had Jennifer Harvey Central Park, just a few strides back, to worry about. Bowley typically has good speed to go with her endurance, but Harvey is the holder of the 55-59 American Record in the Road Mile at 5:25. One would not want Harvey close with a hundred meters to go! As if that were not enough to worry about, Amy McMahon Checkers was just 15 meters behind Harvey. McMahon had finished 3rd in 50-54 in the Masters 5 Km XC Championships in Boston in 2021. Halseth had no trouble finishing things off, taking the division win in 25:37, with a cushion of over a hundred meters.
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| From Left: Jennifer Harvey, who finished 2nd in 55-59, is running here with athletes from other divisions: Patricia Bellan, who finished 2nd in 60-64, Deanna O'Neil, Suzanne La Burt, who won the 60-64 division, Lisa Knoblich and Jessica Gordon - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
In the end, Harvey was able to outkick Bowley, claiming the 55-59 silver medal, with Bowley just a single second back. That final sprint did not get Bowley into 2nd place, but it did get her on the podium!
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| Karolyn Bowley finished 3rd in 55-59. Here she runs with athletes from other divisions, Marisa Asplund, Alice Fraser, Amanda Watters, and Alanna Bernacchi - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
The fourth-place finisher, McMahon stopped the clock at 26:35. Margi Bell Prado was almost a minute behind McMahon in fifth!
Amy Halseth 25:37 Jennifer Harvey 26:06 Karolyn Bowley 26:07
60-64 Suzanne La Burt Shore has owned this division since turning 60 a little over a year ago. Mary Cass Liberty AC has pressed her at many races but has not beaten her. Patricia Bellan HOKA Aggie finished 3rd behind La Burt and Cass at Tallahassee last year. Deanna O'Neil Bowerman has run a couple of 5K's under 20 minutes. How would that translate to a 6K XC race? Lisa Knoblich Northwest won the 60-64 division at the Pacific Northwest Regional XC Championships. La Burt, who took the silver medal in age grading, wasted no time. She attached the course. Bellan and O'Neil tried to stay with her, but had to let her go. By the end of the first loop, La Burt had a good 30-meter lead on the duo, who were running in tandem. Cass was 60 meters behind them, perhaps just biding her time. La Burt was almost 200 meters ahead when she took the win in 26:05. Cass closed strong, passing eight athletes on the final loop.
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| Mary Cass dark blue singlet, rear of front group finished third in 60-64 with a strong last loop that carried her past all of these in front of her: Rhea Goerge, Samantha Forde, Eva Bertalan, Sharon O'Grady, Margi Bell, and Xiong Zhu - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
She got close, but could not quite catch Bellan, who rallied to hold her off. Bellan enjoyed the second-place finish, a single second ahead of Cass! O'Neil was just five seconds back in 4th! Knoblich finished 5th in 27:07, five seconds behind O'Neil.
Suzanne La Burt 26:05 Patricia Bellan 26:56 Mary Cass 26:57.
65-69 The top contenders included: Donna Grocki Shore, Trisha Kluge Ideal Performance Athletics, Betsy Miller Red Lizard, Kathi Sleavin Northwest, and Sarah Tabbutt Impala. Grocki has no recent Cross Country results that I can find. But she claimed the bronze medal at the Masters 12 Km Championships in 55:14; that is age grade equivalent to a 45:31 10K. Kluge finished 15th in the 60-64 division two years ago in San Francisco. More recently she won the 65-69 division at the OTC Butte to Butte 10K in 46:23. Miller won her division in May of '23 at the PDX triathlon. She ran the 5K portion of that in 25:14, after a half-mile swim and an 11-mile bike ride. More recently, Miller finished first of two in the 65-69 division at this October's Stumptown Cross in Portland OR. Sleavin finished 6th in 60-64 at the San Francisco Club Cross two years ago and followed that with a 5th place finish in Tallahassee last year. She also has a 1:38:50 half marathon t her credit this year. Tabbutt finished 16th in 60-64 at San Francisco, two minutes behind Sleavin. In fall of 2023, Tabbutt ran a 1:45:58 half marathon at the Clarksburg Country Run. Kluge must have had an off day in San Francisco two years ago. This year, on the first 3 Km loop, Kluge forged a lead of more than a hundred meters. Sleavin, who finished 2 minutes ahead of Kluge on that day, could not stay with her. Tabbutt, who finished behind Kluge two years ago, was also faring better today; she was about 45 meters astern of Sleavin, but a good 80 meters ahead of Grocki. Grocki had a similar gap on Miller at the 3K mark. Kluge kept cruising; she finished first with a cushion of nearly three hundred meters.
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Trisha Kluge #1374 won the 65-69 Division. She is running with athletes from other divisions Jessica Zdeb #1655 and Mary Swan, Jennifer Brennan, and Hiroko Guarneri 3 in a row behind Kluge - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Sleavin held strong, but so did Tabbutt. Sleavin claimed the silver medal at 30:37.
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| Kathi Sleavin #1202 finished 2nd in the 65-69 Division-running with Robin Driver #1609 and teammates, Heather Slee and Michele Neal - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Tabbutt was 17 seconds back in 3rd. Grocki cut 8 seconds out of Tabbutt's lead on the final 3K loop but that still left her in 4th. Miller finished a little over a minute later in fifth place.
Trisha Kluge 29:02 Kathi Sleavin 30:37 Sarah Tabbutt 14:59
70-74 Ernestina Martin San Diego was the strong favorite for the win. Martin took the bronze medal in 29:16 at San Francisco two years ago; no one else in the field who ran at San Francisco cracked 30 minutes. In April she took the 70-74 division win at the Carlsbad 5000 with a 23:41. This September, she won the division at the Ursula Rains Balboa Boogie 5K Cross Country event hosted by her club. Two months later she took the 70-74 win at the San Diego-Imperial Association Championships over 4.1K. Donna Chan Impala, Cynthia Lucking Atlanta, Sharon Moore GVH, and Deborah Shea San Diego would likely battle for the remaining podium spots. Chan finished 6th in 70-74 at San Francisco with a 33:11. This spring, she clocked a 24:55 5K in winning the 70-74 division at the Impala Stampede. Since returning to action at the 2023 Club Cross Championships in Tallahassee, Lucking has run well. She claimed the 70-74 silver medal there in 35:31 over 6 Km. Lucking followed that, a month later, with a solo win in Richmond in 34:50 over the same distance. A month after that, she finished 2nd in the Masters 5 km road championships in Atlanta with a 26:51. Lucking was still rolling this November; she went up in altitude to Boulder Co for the Masters 5 Km XC Championships and came back with the Silver medal in 32:15. Moore returned to national masters competition this year. In 2021 at Club Cross in Tallahassee, Moore won the 65-69 division in 31:42. This March, Moore clocked 43:31 to finish 2nd in 65-69 at the YMCA 'Runnin' of the Green' 5 Miler in Rochester. At the USATF Masters Ten Mile championships in Flint MI, Moore captured the bronze medal with a 1:28:06 effort. Shea finished 13th in San Francisco with a 33:24. This October Shea clocked a 1:57:46 half marathon at the Portland marathon. Moore tried her best to stay with Martin but lost a half minute to her in the first 3K. But Moore's efforts paid off; she was well ahead of the others. Chan was more worried about staying ahead of Lucking, 15 seconds back, than she was thinking about catching Moore. And Shea still had a real shot at a run for the podium. She was just ten seconds behind Lucking. Martin stretched her lead over the final loop, winning in 32:26.
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| Ernestina Martin #1526 won the 70-74 Division-She is running with runners from other divisions here: from left: Sandra Gregorich, Jill Hendrickson, Kay Pinkstaff orange singlet, unidentifiable runner no bib# visible - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Moore finished 49 seconds later but had kicked her spread over Chan up to nearly two minutes.
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| Sharon Moore Center #1302 finished 2nd in the 70-74 division. She is shown here with two runners from other divisions- From Left: Betsy Miller and Kendra Hershey - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Chan doubled her lead over Lucking on the final loop, taking third with 34 seconds to spare. Lucking finished 4th, with Shea 24 seconds back in 5th.
Ernestina Martin 32:26 Sharon Moore 33:15 Donna Chan 35:14
75-79 Jeanette Groesz Red Lizard claimed the gold medal in the 70-74 division in San Francisco and then, again, at Tallahassee last year. In Tacoma, Groesz earned the top age grading score on the day. She won this division by 4 minutes! Groesz ran the first 3K loop in the company of many other runners, but they were all from younger age divisions. And that was true at the finish as well; Groesz won 75-79 in 31:13. She was sandwiched between a 41- and a 44-year old.
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| Jeanette Groesz won the 75-79 Division - shown here leading Donna Grocki who finished 4th in the 65-69 Division - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
The other four ran more or less by themselves as well, at least as far as the division rivalries are concerned. Jo Anne Rowland Impala was two minutes behind Groesz at the halfway mark and two minutes ahead of her closest division rival. Irene Herman Impala crossed the 3K mark next in 19:51, over 80 meters ahead of her closest division competitor. Kathleen Allen Atlanta, in turn, was a hundred meters ahead of Nelda Williams Impala. Those gaps all grew larger over the second loop. Rowland claimed second with almost two minutes of cushion.
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| Jo Anne Rowland #1392 finished 2nd in the 75-79 Division-Shown here running with athletes from other divisions- Drusilla Pratt-Otto, followed by Cindy Lucking - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Herman enjoyed the bronze medal with a gap of almost two minutes back to Allen, who clocked 42:09. Williams finished fifth in 44 minutes flat.
Jeanette Groesz 31:13 Jo Anne Rowland 35:34 Irene Herman 40:21
80-84 Meg Ludlum Northwest showed up, ready to compete. No one else did. Ludlum claimed the gold medal by winning in 1:03:27.
Meg Ludlun 1:03:27
85-89 Joyce Hodges-Hite Atlanta also ran with no opposition. Hodges-Hite won the 85-89 division in 1:12:46.
Joyce Hodges-Hite 1:12:46
MEN'S 60+ RACE
60-64 Steve Schmidt Ann Arbor, Nat Larson Greater Springfield, and Paul Smith Bowerman went 1-2-3 in the Overall Competiton for M60+; at the same time, they collected the first three spots in this division.
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| Steve Schmidt left Leads Nat Larson as, midrace, they push to overtake Paul Smith. Schnidt and Larson went 1-2 in 60-64 - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Douglas Baldwin Twin Cities and Alan Evans GVH finished 4th and 5th Overall and enjoy 4th and 5th in this division as well. See the discussion in the Overall section posted on December 28th.
65-69 Dan King Athletics Boulder just set the American 65-69 Record for the 1500 Meters and 1 Mile Run on the Outdoor Track. King, of course, still holds the 60-64 Mile Record on the Outdoor Track. He finished 6th overall and 2nd in age grading. King's 31:53 allowed him to win this division by a minute and a half.
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| Dan King purple singlet, knit hat won the 65-69 Division-Shown here mixing it up with the top 60-64 Division Runners - From Left: Mark Zamek, Thomas Tayeri, Nat Larson, Steve Schmidt, Joe Mora, Alan Evans and Mike Nier behind Evans, obscured - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Ken Youngers Atlanta, Kevin Haas TC Running, and Jacob Nur SRA were part of a larger 60+ chase group for the first 3K loop. At the end of that loop, they were a half minute behind King, running in tandem, all three crossing the 3 Km mat within a second of 12:10. On the second loop, Youngers was able to stay in contact with the 60-64 group they had been running. Haas and Nur had to let Youngers go. At the end of the second 3 Km loop, Youngers was at 24:47; there was now a good 40 meters between Youngers and Haas. Nur was another six seconds back in 4th. Haas was able to take 4 seconds out of Youngers' lead on the final 2 Km loop but it was not enough. Youngers cashed in his 33:32 for the silver medal, just 8 seconds ahead of Haas.
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| Ken Youngers left #1041 finished 2nd in 65-69-Here he is mixing it up with runners from 60-64-From Left: Brian Sterling, David White-Espin, and Michael Chasse - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Nur finished 4th in 33:57. Nur had finished 3rd overall in the 60+ race at San Francisco, behind Schmidt but ahead of King. He has not been consistently at the top of his form this year. Ron Hyde Phoenix Free Soles finished 5th at 34:26.
Dan King 31:53 Ken Youngers 33:32 Kevin Haas 33:40
70-74 Rick Becker Atlanta has won many aa Age Division Championship on the cross country turf and has enjoyed overall age grading wins as well. He has been selected Masters Harrier of the Year three times. This year he had to settle for third place in age grading behind two outstanding runners. One might think he would have had an easy time winning the age di vision this year. But one of his competitors for the win was John Barbour Greater Lowell. They have met many times over the years. In fact, if yoou look back to 2004 Club Cross inPortland OR, you will find becker winning M50, with Barbour fourth! Becker has said that Barbour 'brings out the best in me,' a nice tribute to a rival. In San Francisco in 2015, when they were both 61, Barbour stayed with Becker for the first 7 kilometers. It was only in the final kilometer that Becker was able to pull away to win by 6 seconds. The pair met in San Francisco again in the 2022 Club Cross Championships; that day belonged to Barbour. Barbour, as it turned out, was not ready for that kind of effort this year, but he had plenty in the tank to compete with everyone else. Barbour ran 42:22 at the Lone Gull 10K in September and won his division at the New England Cross Country Championships in November. James Linn Shore has had an excellent year. He won the 70-74 division at the Masters 5 Km road championship in Atlanta with a 19:43. A runner accepted a USADA sanction for doping at that championship. Linn had finished ahead of every runner other than that fellow in Richmond at the 2024 USATF Cross Country Championships. Linn also won the Masters 12 Km Championships in September, In early November, Linn went up to Boulder and came back with a division win. Jack Pottle Boulder Road Runners , like Linn, ran a sub-20 minute 5K this year. At the Masters 5 Km XC championships in Boulder, Pottle finished 7th in 65-69. But his time was a good minute faster than Linn's winning time. James Robinson GVH would have come into these championships unheralded, had he not finished almost two minutes ahead of two very strong cross country runners, Jim Foster and Ted Larison, at the USATF Niagara Championships.
The first loop saw Becker pull away to a lead of over 80 meters on the division field. He was followed by Barbour, a good 50 meters ahead of Linn. Pottle was only 20 meters behind Linn, with Robinson another 30 meters back. They were all running well, still in the podium fight. The second 3K loop saw one new development. Becker was pushing relentlessly up front; he now had 200 meters on Barbour. Barbour had also lengthened his lead over the rest. Linn now saw a couple of hundred meters between Barbour and him. But Pottle had gradually reduced the gap up to Linn to a few strides. Robinson had lost a little ground to Pottle but was closer to Linn now, about 40 meters behind the pair. There would be a battle for the bronze medal, even as it seemed gold and silver were all but set. Becker kept the hammer down all the way, winning in 33:48.
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| Rick Becker won the 70-74 Division-Leading three 60-64 division runners- from left: Rich Power, Eric Gustavsen, and Ron Hyde - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Barbour, despite his strong efforts was a good 350 meters back. But he, in turn, had stretched his lead to over 300 meters.
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| John Barbour Center, #1334 finished 2nd in 70-74. He leads Jim Linn white singlet, behind Barbour to his right with runners from other divisions, Mike Filipow green singlet and Doug Fulton #1256 - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
As suspected, there was a 3-way battle for the bronze. Linn was strong all the way to the end, holding off a strong closing charge by Robinson that brought him up to Linn and Pottle. Linn had enough in the tank to answer Robinson's surge, gaining the bronze medal with 4 seconds to spare. Pottle was fifth in 37:03.
Rick Becker 33:48 John Barbour 35:23 James Linn 36:42
75-79 Two years ago in San Francisco it was a big surprise to see Gary Ostwald Boulder Road Runners hang in there for the entire race and sprint past the leader for the win. To be sure, he had been on the podium at Cross Nationals in San Diego earlier that year and had finished 2nd at the Masters 5 Km XC in Boulder, where he trains. But no one, except possibly Ostwald himself, expected to see him win that race. But we have gotten used to it. Ostwald has been a regular atop the 75-79 podium since then, on both the turf and the roads. The athlete he beat in San Francisco, Ronald Wells Jamul Toads, had ruled the roost before that, winning the division title at Tallahassee in 2021 by a half minute and cruising to victory at Cross Nationals the following month with a margin of a minute and a half. At Tallahassee in 2023 it was Ostwald and Wells 1-2 again, but it was not close. Ostwald grinded it out for a winning margin of well over a minute. In Richmond that next January, Gene Dykes was on his game and came in ahead of Ostwald but no one else finished within a minute of Ostwald. Dykes was otherwise engaged and didnot enter at Tacoma. David Dunbar Jamul Toads has been a very solid runner. He finished 8th in the 70-74 division in both 2022 and 2023. His time in 2022 was a good 40 seconds faster than Ostwald's winning M75 time. But a year later at Tallahassee, Ostwald was over a minute faster than Dunbar. Rick Katz Boulder has also been a fixture at USATF Masters national championships. At that 2004 Portland Club Cross, I referenced earlier, from 20 years ago, Katz finished 5th in 55-59. Katz, like all long-term runners, deals with injuries from time to time. I do not know if that is the reason, but Katz was not at Club Cross in 2022, after finishing 6th at Tallahassee in 2021, a few seconds behind Learned. Last year in Tallahassee, Katz finished 3rd in Tallahassee and followed that with a third-place finish at Richmond. Jerry Learned Atlanta is usually in the top five at national competitions, often on the podium. That is a little less true at Club Cross which is the deepest field each year. In San Francisco in 2022, he was competing as a 74-year-old, finishing in 17th place in 70-74. The next year at Tallahassee, competing in 75-79, Learned finished 4th, finishing 18 seconds behind Katz. He repeated that 4th place finish in Richmond a month later at Cross Nationals but was a minute and a half behind Katz.
By the end of the first 3K loop, it was clear that Ostwald was on his way to another good day. Dunbar, despite his best efforts, was a good 40 meters behind Ostwald in 2nd place. There was nearly a hundred meters between Dunbar and Wells, running in third. It was looking like the pendulum was swinging back from Katz to Learned. In fourth place, 40 meters behind Wells, Learned had a 60-meter lead on Katz. The 2nd 3K loop was more of the same. All of the gaps grew. The gap from Ostwald in 1st to Dunbar in second grew to over a hundred meters. Wells was now over 200 meters behind Dunbar; Learned only lost a dozen meters to Wells but grew his lead over Katz by 90 meters. The third loop, 2K long, saw Ostwald maintain his gap on Dunbar, winning the division title in 38:27.
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| Gary Ostwald far right #1085 won the 75-79 division-shown here running with 70-74 runners - From Left: Reno Stirrat, Douglas Chesnut, and Rick Pfeiffer - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Wells won the bronze medal at 40:42. Learned slipped further back on the final loop. Katz took 27 seconds out of Learned's lead but was still over 80 meters behind. Learned was fourth in 41:52, with Katz fifth at 42:23
Gary Ostwald 38:27 David Dunbar 39:11 Ronald Wells 40:42
80-84 Len Goldman Tamalpa often competes at Club Cross, finishing in the top ten almost always and usually in the top 5. He finished 4th in 70-74 at Lexington KY in 2017 and 5th the following year in Spokane. After skipping 2019 and 2021, Goldman finished 6th in 75-79 at San Francisco. This year he clocked a 23:01 5K at the Impala Stampede and finished 4th at the Masters1 Mile Championships in Danville CA. Jan Frisby Boulder finished fifth in 75-79 at Cross Nationals in Richmond VA this January. After turning 80, Frisby secured the 80-84 win at the Masters 10 Km championships in April and the 1 Mile Championships in May. After some minor injury problems in the middle of the year, he bounced back to take the 80-84 win at Boulder. Fred Martin Tamalpa finished just a single second behind Frisby in Danville to take 2nd in the 80-84 division. In 2022, Martin finished 12th at Clubs in San Francisco, 6 minutes behind Goldman. Martin clocked a 25:56 5K at the Impala Stampede that following summer. Nine years ago at the 2015 Club Cross Championships in San Francisco, Przemek Nowicki Shore finished 3rd in 70-74, behind Goldman, who won that year, and ahead of Martin. Nowicki was not competitive at Club Cross again until 2021 when he finished 8th, 30 seconds behind Frisby. Nowicki has been battling various injuries and health issues over the last few years. He has apparently turned the corner. He recently ran a 53:59 10K at the Giralda Farms 10K. Nowicki is a tough competitor if healthy and capable of closing fast. Goldman got off to a good start. Despite the wind and the raw conditions, he covered the first 3K loop in 16:42. His teammate, Martin, was second, but a good 60 meters was between them, Nowicki was third but faced a similar deficit up to Martin. Frisby sometimes starts slow and picks up speed once he is past the initial stage. But the first loop suggested that something was ot right and this might be an off day. He was 150 meters back from Nowicki. Goldman ran into no trouble on the second loop. He extended his lead over Martin to well over 200 meters. But Nowicki had a better loop than Martin. Nowicki passed him. Martin rallied and fell in behind, abut 25 meters back. Nowicki reported after the race that his muscles were cold at the start but as they warmed up, he felt better and better. Frisby was grinding it out on a tough day, falling back. Goldman stayed strong, winning the division title at 47:32.
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| Len Goldman #1626 won the 80-84 Division-Shown here with runners from younger divisions- From Left: Ronald Souza #1505, Michael Mester #1007, and Glen Stewart #1340 - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Nowicki had the best of it on the last 2K loop. He grew the gap back to Martin and closed to within 50 meters of the winner.
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| Przemek Nowicki started conservatively; as he warmed up, his pace quickened; he moved up 5 places on the second loop to take the silver medal in 80=84 - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Martin was third in 36:08, with Frisby fourth at 50:58. John Philllips San Diego Striders, who had run the Carlsbad 5000 in 26:05in April, had a miserable day, but salvaged it with his fifth-place finish in 56:22.
Len Goldman 47:32 Przemek Nowicki 47:53 Fred Martin 48:35
85-89 David Turner Atlanta keeps on rolling. He finished 3rd in 75-79at Cross Nationals in Tallahassee in 2018, and was fourth in 80-84 at 2021 Club Cross on that same course. He finished 3rd, at 28:54, in 80-84 at the Masters 5 Km road championships in Atlanta. But he aged up to this division and was stronger than his only opponent in Tacoma. Richard Zerbe Northwest ran 38:45 at his most recent 5K earlier in the year. But it was a hard day for Zerbe. Turner enjoyed a lead of over 6 minutes after the first loop. Turner did not let up and Zerbe kept plugging.
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| David Turner led from wire to wire to win the 85-89 Division with Patrick Taylor and Patrick Dwyer in the background - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. - Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
At the end of the 8K race, Turner had the 85-89 win with a cushion of sixteen minutes. Zerbe earned the silver medal at 1:13:20.
David Turner 57:01 Fred Zerbe 1:13:20
MEN'S 40+ RACE
40-44 Joseph Gray, Neil McDonagh, and Jesse Davis went 1-2-3 Overall in this race. At the same time, they pick up the medals for this division. Brian Flynn and Kevin Hansen finished 4th and 5th.
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| Joseph Gray claims the Win Overall and in the Men's 40-44 Division - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. - Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
See the Overall recap posted on December 28th for the analysis, which applies equally to this division contest.
45-49 Roosevelt Cook Cal Coast is moving up from the 40-44 division, where he enjoyed one top 5 and one top 10 Overall finish at Club Cross. Cook was sixth overall at Club Cross last year in Tallahassee. Cook won the Masters race at Carlsbad this year in 15:15. He clocked 31:37 at the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K last month. Neville Davey West Valley finished 3rd overall at the 2015 Club Cross Championships in San Francisco, 4th a year later in Tallahassee, and won the Overall Championship at 2017 Club Cross in Lexington KY. On the track, he won the Masters 1 Mile Exhibition at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene OR. In 2018, Davet set the Masters 1 Mile Record of 4:22 at the Mile of Truth in Danville. As of today, it still stands. We learned earlier this year that the Danville course is not designed for easy records, so that makes Davey's time even more impressive. Last year in Tallahassee, Davey finished 10th overall and won the 45-49 division. Anthony Gallo Team Run Flagstaff finished 5th overall at the Masters 5 Km XC Championships in Boulder in 2022. In a much more competitive field at Clubs in San Francisco that year, Gallo finished 8th Overall. Gallo finished 8th in M40 at the Masters 5 Km XC in Boulder last month. Peter Gilmore West Valley finished 2nd Overall in Clubs at Lehigh in 2019 and again in Tallahassee in 2021. He debuted in the 45-49 division in San Francisco in 2022 with an 11th Overall and a win in 45-49. He ran a 2:31:53 Marathon in Napa Valley in March and ran a 15:39 5K at the Impala Stampede in June. Ben Mangrum Tacoma City first ran Club Cross as a Masters athlete at Spokane in 2018, finishing 30th Overall. The field was deeper and stronger at San Francisco in 2022, and the course, the Golden Gate Polo Grounds track, unique for a Cross Country race; he finished 49th overall. Mangrum ran 2:31:44 at the Tacoma City Marathon last year and took 8th overall, in 42:23, at the Sound to Narrows 12K in Tacoma. Trevor Pettingill Unattached/UT first tested the national Masters Championship waters at Boca Raton last year, finishing 4th overall and 2nd in 45-49. Amidst better competition at Clubs in Tallahassee a couple of months later, Pettingill still enjoyed a Top 30 finish overall and 9th in this division. Brendan Prindiville Boston Hares finished 30th overall at Tallahassee Clubs in 2021. More recently, Prindiville finished 9th overall and 5th in 45-49 at the Masters 10 Km Championships in April at 33:45. He tested the turf in November at the New England Cross Country Championships, finishing 5th in the Masters race. Cook took it out hardest from the gun, but Gilmore kept his 'M45' bib in sight and closed with him over the first loop. By the end of that first loop, Gilmore had established himself at the front of the 45-49 division in 10:05. He had 20 meters on Cook , in 2nd, followed by Davey, with Pettingill by his side, the same distance back from Cook.
There was an M45 chase pack 50 meters back, containing Mangrum and Prindiville, along with Eric Blake Boston Hares and David Simmons Northwest. Blake finished 3rd overall in Tallahassee in 2021 and 14th the following year in San Francisco. Simmons finished 24th overall at both Tallahassee Clubs, in 2021 and 2023. He clocked a 1:13:34 and a 1:12:48 half marathon this year. Gallo and Patrick Dill, who ran a 16:43 5K recently and finished ahead of Mangrum and Simmons at the Pacific Northwest XC Championships in November, were about 35 meters behind Simmons.
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| Roosevelt Cook #1160 with the early 45-49 lead on the eventual winner, Peter Gilmore #1744 with other runners - From Left: Adam Schroeder, John Poray, Kevin Pool, Nicholas Kipruto, and David Larpenteur - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. - Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
By the end of the 2nd 3K loop, Gilmore had a 50-meter lead, with Davey 2nd and Cook trailing him by a few strides in 3rd. Pettingill had not been able to move up with Davey; he was now 50 meters back in 4th, running without M45 company. Mangrum, Prindiville and Gallo were a small pack chasing Pettingill 35 meters back. Gilmore continued to push; his 50-meter lead ballooned to over a hundred. Davey now had 40 meters on Cook.
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| Neville Davey #1726 won the silver 45-49 medal. Here he tries to work his way through a tangle of runners including, from left: Patrick Reaves #1120, David Clark orange singlet, Fabian Daza #1293 - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. - Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Pettingill was only 25 meters back from Cook so there could still be some change in finishing order. Gallo was 20 meters back from Pettingill with Mangrum another 20 meters back. Prindiville was within a good stride or two of Mangrum. How much gas was left in the tank for the final two meters on a raw day with a muddy course? Gilmore added to his lead, raising it to close to 150 meters. His 35:19 gave Gilmore the 45-49 win; it was his 2nd 45-49 win in two tries. Cook battled to stay with Davey. In the end, despite the two being given the same time, Davey had a clear gap on Cook in finishing 2nd M45 behind Gilmore. Mangrum moved up nicely on the final loop, closing with Gallo and petting gill and then outsprinting them to the finish line. Mangrum had fourth in 36:03, followed by Pettingill and Gallo, 5th and 6th, at 36:04 and 36:05! That was Pettingill's best XC outing as a Masters athlete! Prindiville finished 7th in 36:31.
Peter Gilmore 35:19 Neville Davey 35:50 Roosevelt Cook 35:50
50-54 John Gardiner Cal Coast regularly finished top ten overall at Clubs throughout his early 40's and into the 45-49 division. His best finish was in 2016 at Tallahassee when he finished 3rd officially (2nd if an athlete who accepted a USADA sanction a couple of years later is not counted). Last year in Tallahassee, Gardiner finished 5th in M50. This year he finished 2nd in 50-54 at Carlsbad in 16:36 and clocked 16:25 at the Dinosaur Dash in November. Jaime Heilpern HOKA Aggie finished 2nd in 50-54 at Tallahassee in 2021, but followed that with M50 wins in San Francisco the next year and at Tallahassee Clubs in 2023. He finished 2nd in M50 at the Masters =1 Mile Championships in Danville in My and a month later won his division at the Impala Stampede 5K in 16:04. Julian Marsh West Valley finished 17th in 40-45 at Tallahassee Clubs in 2021; a year later, Marsh finished 11th in M45 in San Francisco. He clocked 16:29 at the Impala Stampede 5K and finished 5th in 50-54 at the Masters 1 Mile Championships. Gregory Mitchell Bowerman finished 2nd Overall in 2013 Club Cross at Bend, OR, and won the overall Championship the following year at Lehigh in Bethlehem PA. The next two years his official placement was 2nd. But that was behind a runner who later accepted a USADA sanction. If that sanctioned athlete is eliminated from consideration, Mitchell's record reads as a second place followed by three first places in his first four years participating in the Masters races at Club Cross, an impressive four years! More recently, Mitchell has been top 5 in M50 at the 2022 Club Cross in San Francisco and the next year at Tallahassee. Mitchell seems to have kicked it up lately. He finished 1st in M50, and 6th overall, at the Masters 5 Km XC Championships in Boulder and clocked 15:38 at the Boise ID Turkey Day 5K. Todd Rose West Valley, in his first three Club Cross championships as a 45-49 athlete, finished 5th at Spokane, 5th at Lehigh and 1st at Tallahassee in 2021. In his last year in the division, Rose finished 15th in the division. Rose's first year in M50 was last year at Tallahassee; he finished 3rd. This year, Rose finished 3rd in 50-54 at the Masters National 1 Mile road championship in Danville. Rose followed that with a 15:58 5K at the Impala Stampede in June. Mark Yuen West Valley finished 2nd in 45-49 at San Francisco Clubs in 2015. His other Club outings in that division resulted in 6th place finishes. Yuen was back at the top oof his game at Tallahassee Clubs in 2021; he won the 50-54 division with room to spare. The following two years saw him finish 4th and 7th in 50-54. Apart from a 1:40 pacing effort at the, apparently, short half of the San Francisco Marathon in July, no recent race results are evident. When the gun sounded, Mitchell wasted no time in moving out ahead of the M50 field. He was just outside the top 30 overall at the end of the first 3K loop. He had a good 50 meters on Gardiner, Heilpern, and Rose, running as a group in 2nd through 4th. Marsh and Yuen were running together about 50 meters behind that group in 6th and 7th. By the time the 2nd 3K loop was completed, Mitchell's lead had doubled to well over a hundred meters. Gardiner and Heilpern were running together still, separated by just two seconds, 2nd and 3rd at 21:43. Marsh and Yuen had moved up to run with Rose as a group in 4th through 6th, at 21:57. On the next to last loop, Mitchell boosted his lead over Gardiner to 150 meters. But Gardiner had now gapped Heilpern, who was 30 meters back in third. Marsh had left Rose and Yuen a couple of dozen meters behind and closed to within 9 seconds of Heilpern. Mitchell claimed the 50-54 win in 35:58, with almost a minute to spare.
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| Gregory Mitchell #1119 won the 50-54 Division-Running with, from left, Eric Blake, David Simmons, Brendan Prindiville, Richard Bouckaert, and Chad Carver - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. - Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
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| John Gardiner #1165 Powers His Way Through a Muddy Turn-capturing the silver 45-49 medal-with Steven Thornock #1513, David Angell black headband, background, Anthony Gallo sunglasses, and teammate, Matt Yacoub - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. - Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
Greg Mitchell 35:58 John Gardiner 36:53 Jaime Heilpern 36:59
55-59 Rusty Snow Santa Barbara and Frank Zoldak Boulder would likely battle for the win. Snow has not competed at Club Cross as a Masters athlete before this year. He competed at Cross Nationals from 2013 in St. Louis through Boulder in 2014 and 2015 and into 2016 in Bend, OR. At those championships, he finished 3rd, 2nd, 6th and 5th, respectively. Snow did not compete at national Masters Championships from 2016 through 2023. This past January, Snow led his team into Richmond, VA for Cross Nationals; the team earned the silver medals. Snow collected a gold medal for his 55-59 win, at 27:29, with room to spare! A month later he demonstrated his endurance with a 1:12:05 half marathon at Ventura, CA. Zoldak was new to Masters national championships last year at Tallahassee. He amazed many by not only winning the M55 division but by running in the top ten overall for much of the race, falling back over the last two kilometers to finish 11th overall. At the Masters 5 Km XC+ Championships in Boulder CO this November, Zoldak won his division with over a minute and a half to spare.
Emmet Hogan Bowerman has been a very solid performer in his division. At the Lehigh Club Cross in 2019, Hogan was 5th in 50-54. He followed that with a 19th in the division in San Francisco three years later, and finished off the 50-54 division with a 10th place last year in Tallahassee. He celebrated moving up to a new age division with a division win at Carlsbad tis past April in 16:37 and a first at Lilac Bloomsday's 12K at 41:45. Ivan Lieben has been a steady presence near the top of his division at Club Cross, at least since 2013 when he finished 55th overall at Bend OR. At San Francisco in 2015 he was 9th in M45 and two years later at Lehigh he finished 20th in the division. In 2021 and 2022, at Tallahassee and San Francisco, Lieben finished 3rd and 2nd, respectively. In the process of regaining post-rehab fitness this year, Lieben ran 17:02 at the Impala Stampede. Two years earlier he had run 16:06. Michael Mallon debuted in Tallahassee as a Masters XC runner, finishing 13th in M55. This year he ran a 37:28 10K at the Illinois Marathon in April, and finished 6th in the division at the Masters Ten Mile Championships in August with a 59:33. A regular participant in loppet and birkebeiner Cross Country Skiing races, Brad Moening Twin Cities is also pretty fast on the roads. He clocked 16:34 to take the 50 and up title at the Brian Kraft 5K and 58:13 to win the 55-59 Ten Miler at the Twin Cities in Motion Marathon. Charles Mullane West Valley started his Masters Club Cross participation with a 74th place overall finish at bend in 2013. Five years later, he finished 23rd in 45-49 at Spokane Clubs. In 2021 at Tallahassee he finished 7th in M50, following that with a 6th place at San Francisco in 2022. Last year at Tallahassee he had a less enjoyable outing, finishing 26th in this division.
When the gun sounded, Zoldak went toward the front of the pack as he did last year. This year he did not make it up to the top ten. That would have been unlikely just from the greater depth at a Club Cross that draws over 750 athletes in total. Nonetheless, by the end of the first 3K loop, Zoldak, at 10:14, was in the top 30 overall and had 50 meters of apace between him and Snow, running in second. It was looking a lot like the 55-59 division last year. Snow was in 2nd place at 10:25. He had a commanding lead over the next two athletes, probably a hundred meters. Hogan and Moening were running side by side at 10:47. Lieben was 50 meters back in 5th, followed by his teammate, Mullane, a few strides back, and he by Mallon, another few strides to the rear. Whether Zoldak is slightly off his fitness from a year ago or it was a superior effort from Snow, the tables were reversed by the end of the 2nd 3K loop. Zoldak slowed his pace on the 2nd loop. Snow took full advantage, catching and passing Zoldak. Snow was at 21:24 with a 70-meter lead on Zoldak. Hogan had left Moening behind and now had cut the distance up to Zoldak from about 150 meters to a little over a hundred meters.
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| Emmet Hogan #1231 won the bronze 55-59 medal, running here in the company of Brad Moenning #1643, who finished 4th in the division, Richard Falcone #1581, Orin Schumacher #1121, and Bryce Lighthall #1733 - The Masters Races at 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tacoma WA. - Photo Credit: Michael Scott |
There was a gap of over 40 meters between Hogan in 3rd and Moening in 4th. But Moening was not being pressured by his competitors; his gap back to the others had grown to over 60 meters. Mullane was now leading that chasing trio, in 5th, 8 seconds ahead of Lieben in 6th, with Mallon a few strides back from Lieben in 7th. On the next to last loop, Snow added to his lead over Zoldak, now up to a good 130 meters. Zoldak was still running well; Hogan took just three seconds out of that lead; he was still a hundred meters back with just 2 kilometers to go. Moening was now 15 seconds behind Hogan, up from the ten second deficit at the 6 Km mark. Lieben and Mallon had not been able to stay with Moening; there was now a hundred-meter gap. Mallon, however, had crept closer to Lieben and was almost even with 2 kilometers to go. Snow poured it on over the last loop, winning the division crown, in 36:24, with 43 seconds to spare. Hogan took another 11 seconds out of Zoldak's lead but could not deny Zoldak the silver medal. Moening finished 4th at 38:01, 42 seconds behind Hogan. Mullane closed well to pull back to 5th place, within 4 seconds of Moening. Mallon moved ahead of Lieben as they closed out the race and held it all the way to the finish line. It was Mallon in 6th with Lieben 7th, just one second behind.
Rusty Snow 36:24 Frank Zoldak 37:07 Emmet Hogan 37:19
That concludes the recap of the Masters races at the 2024 USATF Club Cross Country National Championships. Athletes will be talking about the raw conditions and muddy stretches for years to come! In my first recap, I noted that no one went down, at least not of the usatf.tv video. Now that I have looked more closely at Mike Scott's photos, it is clear that some folks did go down on that muddy turn that featured in so many of his pictures. And there were a couple of other stretches evident on the video, that would certainly have been a challenge to negotiate without falling. Hats off to those that survived and those that thrived!
On to Lubbock TX and the 2025 USATF Cross Country National Championships on January 11th. Details are here.
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