Catching Up with USATF Masters Athletes Participation in Other [non-USATF] Visible Road Races [Jan-July 2015]

August 02 2015. If you've been wondering how some of your favorite USATF Masters athletes have been doing outside of USATF in other visible races in the first 7 months of 2015, here's some updates. I am picking out results based on name recognition; my apologies, in advance, to any Masters runners I miss or important races I fail to list. This is not any kind of official list, it is just mine. My use of the term, 'USATF Masters athlete' is loose; it just means I recognized their name (or thought I did) from one of the many USATF Masters results lists I look at. Races like the Bay to Breakers are omitted because I found no USATF Masters Athletes listed among the top age group finishers.
[Times are net if not otherwise specified. If I found age in the results or knew it already, then Age Grading uses the 2015 Tables from the WMA calculator maintained by Alan Jones for Howard Grubb at http://www.howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics/wmalookup15.html]

Here they are chronologically:

Houston Half Marathon. Jan. 17 2015. Colleen DeReuck (Boulder CO) was the first masters woman, and 3rd overall to finish, clocking 1:17:56 [AG 95.15%], not bad for age 50!
Jason Butler (Oklahoma City OK), who took 2nd in the M40 division of the USATF 15K Championship at the Tulsa Run last October, took 2nd in this iconic half marathon that starts off the year.His time was 1:13:12 [AG 83.22%].

Darren and Colleen DeReuck [Facebook Profile Picture]

Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon. Feb 1 2015. Brian Pilcher (Ross CA) took 1st in the M55 group (and 2nd Masters overall) in 1:14:50. Sharon Lemberger took 1st in the W40 group, and 2nd overall Master's Woman in 1:23:18. Jaymee Marty was 1st in W45 and first overall Master's woman in 1:23:03. Honor Fetherston took the W60 crown in 1:35:13.

Brian Pilcher--One of his other pleasures when not blasting on the roads or trails [Facebook}

Gasparilla Distance Classic. Tampa FL. Half Marathon. Feb. 22 2015.  Jen Rhines (Boston MA) took 1st among all women Masters runners in a time of 1:12:35 [AG 92.93%]. Terri Rejimbal (Tampa FL) took 1st in the W45 group in 1:24:30 [AG 83.86%].
Eric Stuber (Lansing MI) took first in M50 in a (net) time of 1:17:34 [AG 84.72%]. 

Gate River Run [Jacksonville FL]. March 14 2015. Jen Rhines (Boston MA), 40, took overall Women's Masters honors (and 6th overall) in 51:36 [AG 92.06%] in this venerable 15K run. Despite being in rehab for a gamey hamstring, Paul Carlin (Indianapolis), 69 nonetheless took 5th in M65 on gun time in 1:10:48 [net time 1:10:40=AG 77.44%].

Jen Rhines, leading two of her Team USA teammates at the 2015World Cross Country Championships in China [Picture by Michael Scott, posted on Facebook]

United Airlines NYC Half Marathon. Mar. 15 2015. Kathy Martin (Northport NY), 63, won the W60 prize in a time of 1:30:36 [AG 96.88%]. Sharon Vos (Old Greenwich CT) took 2nd in 1:31:29 (92.04%).

Kathy Martin, crossing the finish line at the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon [posted on Facebook]

Carlsbad 5000. Greg Mitchell (McMinnville OR) was the first Masters runner in, clocking 14:58 [AG 92.25%], followed by John Gardiner  (Rancho San Margarita CA) who took 2nd in 15:22 [AG 90.49%]. Gardiner's teammate, Christian Cushing-Murray (Santa Ana CA) finished 4th in 15:37 [AG 92.35%]. Rob Arsenault (Riverside CA) took 8th in 16:12 [AG 90.37%]. On the women's side it was Julie Ertel (Irvine CA) taking 2nd in  17:52 [AG 85.92%], Tania Fischer (Santa Monics CA)in 18:06 [AG 90.31%] leading in Celestine Arambulo (San Diego CA)18:09 [AG 86.57%] and Grace Padilla (Los Angeles CA)18:15 [AG 84.73%]. Christine Kennedy (Los Gatos CA) took 10th and only missed breaking Kathy Martin's W60 5K record by 5 seconds, clocking a 19:10 [AG 96.72%].

Greg Mitchell, winning the 2015 Carlsbad 5000 Masters Race. [Photo from: http://timesofsandiego.com/sports/2015/03/29/carlsbad-5000-dibaba-barely-misses-world-record-in-local-debut/]

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Washington D.C. [Rerouted short course because of incident on course before race=9.39 miles=15K, not 10 miles] Jen Rhines (Boston MA) was 16th overall and 8th overall American woman, 1st Masters overall and 1st in W40 in 53:04 [AG 89.52%] Joan Samuelson (Freeport ME) took home the W55 trophy in 58:50  [AG 96.85%]. Sharon Vos (Old Greenwich CT) took W60 honors in 1:03:55 [AG 92.78%]. Ken Youngers (Tucker GA) won the M55 group in 55:02 [AG 89.39%]. Phillippe Rolly (McLean VA) claimed first in M40 in 49:36 [AG 86.47%].


Boston Marathon. April 20 2015. Nuta Olaru (Longmont CO) won the W40 group in 2:48:28 [AG 85.46%]. Bean K. Wrenn (Boulder CO) took 5th in the same group in 2:50:32 [AG 82.42%]. Joan Samuelson (Freeport ME) took 1st place int he W55 group in 2:54:03 [AG 96.94%]. Sharon Vos (Old Greenwich CT) won the W60 group in 3:12:51 [AG 91.24%].
Ulrich Steidl (Seattle WA) finished 3rd in the M40 group in 2:25:58 [AG 88.61%]. Ricardo Maldonado (Scottsdale AZ) won the M50 group in 2:41:10 [AG 85.87%]. John Ouweleen (Sebastian FL) finished 3rd in M70 in 3:36:17 [AG 80.77%].

Joan Benoit Samuelson (3rd from right) in a picture posted with the heading, "Maine ladies bound for Boston" [Facebook:www.facebook.com/JoanBenoitSamuelson2?fref=ts]

Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Philadelphia. May 1 2015. Abby Dean (Philadelphia PA) took 2nd in the W40 division in 1:03:00 [AG 82.82%]. Doreen McCoubrie (West Chester PA) took 1st in the W50 division in a nifty 1:03:29 [AG 91.69% ]. Julie Hankin (Malvern PA) took 2nd in the same division in 1:08:58 [AG 81.38%]. Coreen Steinbach (Pompey NY) raced across the line in 1:13:33 [AG 91.63%] to claim a well-earned 1st in the W60 division.

Doreen McCoubrie, 2nd from left, at the Awards ceremony for the 2015 Broad Street Run [Facebook posting]

Kenneth Barbee (Philadelphia PA) took 1st in the M50 division in a handsome 56:37 [AG 87.73%]. 

Gary Romesser with his First Place Senior Grandmaster prize at the Firecracker 5K near Marco Island FL [Facebook posting]

One America 500 Festival  Mini (Half) Marathon. Indianapolis. Gary Romesser (Bradenton FL) the Masters Hall of Fame runner, is back from his Achilles injury.  He took the top prize in the M60 age group and clocked a 1:25:21 [AG 86.90%]. Tom Dever (Terre Haute IN) clocked a fine 1:18:55 [AG 87.89%] to claim 1st in the M55 division and Lucie Mays Sulewski (Westfield IN) took 2nd in the W40 age group in 1:23:15 [AG 83.50%].

Marin Memorial Day 10K. Kentfield CA. May 25 2015. Jan Frisby (Grand Junction CO), always a threat for Age Group Runner of the Year when fit, showed he is definitely fit in his 71st year. He broke the national M70 record for 10K with his 40:14 [AG 90.9%]. Len Goldman (Oakland CA) took 2nd in the division in 42:16 [AG 85.52%]. Jaime Heilpern (San Francisco CA) claimed first in the M45 division in  32:42 [AG 88.16%]. Brian Pilcher (Ross CA), the 2013 Runner of the Year, took first in the M55 division in 34:14 [AG 94.08%]. After an injury slowed him down a couple of years ago, Tom Bernhard is back with a vengeance, winning the very competitive M60 group in 37:14 [AG 90.59%]. Kirk Larson (Atlanta GA), ran his usual fine race but his 39:27 [AG 85.5%] could only count for 5th place in the M60 field.
Sharon Lemberger (Menlo Park CA) took 2nd in the W40 division in 36:57 [AG 85.05%]. JoAnne Rowland (Concord CA) clocked 48:24 [AG 88.71%] to take the W65 division.  

Jan Frisby, chugging to a new M70 American Masters 10K Record at the Marin Memorial Day 10K race on May 21 2015.[photo posted to Facebook by Len Goldman from https://tamalparunners.shutterfly.com/pictures/1621#1658]

BAA 5K. April 18 2015. Boston MA. Mimi Fallon (Walpole MA) was the first Masters runner in overall and finished first in the W45 age group in a sparkling 18:25 [AG 88.75%]. Chris Magill (Cumberland RI) took 1st in the M40 division in 16:20 [AG 85.13%]. Gordon MacFarland (Arlington MA) claimed first in the M65 group in a time of 19:36 [AG 86.45%]

Grandma's Marathon. June 20 2015. Duluth MN. Alan Evans (Beaver Dams NY) took 3rd in the M50 division in 2:51:58 [AG 81.19%]. Abby Dean (Philadelphia PA) finished 5th in the W40 group in 2:57:24 [AG 80.44%]. Andriette Wickstrom (Storm Lake IA) took 1st place in the W60 group in 3:27:39 [AG 84.74%].

Gerry Bjorkland Half Marathon. June 20 2015. Duluth MN. Phillippe Rolly (McLean VA) won the M40 division in 1:11:14 [AG 85.52%].

Phillippe Rolly [Facebook Profile picture:www.facebook.com/philippe.rolly?fref=ts]

Peachtree 10K. Atlanta GA. July 4 2015.  Kevin Castille (Lafayette LA) was the first Masters runner to finish in a  time of 30:37 [AG 92.66%], also winning the M40 age group. Ken Youngers [Tucker GA] took 1st in M55 in a  time of 36:18 [AG 88.73%]. Jerry Learned (Gainesville GA) took 1st in M65 in a time of 43:46 [AG 77.07%]. David Turner (Clarkesville GA) took honors in the M75 competition in 57:54 [AG 66.95%].

Kevin Castille, far right, running for Masters Championships and Records [photo: Runner's World--http://www.runnersworld.com/masters/kevin-castille-the-unlikely-making-of-americas-top-masters-runner?nopaging=1]

Boilermaker 15K. Utica NY. July 12 2015. Melissa Senall (Fairport NY) took 1st in the W40 division in 1:02:21 [AG 77.86%]. Audra Naujokas-Knapp (Rochester NY) took 3rd in the W45 group in 1:08:31 [AG 72.11%]. Mike Nier (Rochester NY) claimed first place in the M50 group in 55:50 [AG 82.07%]. Reno Stirrat (Rockaway NJ) won an M60 battle with Mark Rybynski (Manlius NY), taking the race in 58:52 [AG 85.94%] to 59:21 [AG 84.44%].

Reno Stirrat, right, in a Summer Cross Country race. August 2015. [Facebook posting:www.facebook.com/reno.stirrat?fref=ts]

Beach to Beacon 10K. Cape Elizabeth ME. August 1 2015. In this classic 10K race honoring Joan Benoit Samuelson, Sharon Vos (Old Greenwich CT) brought home first place in the W60 category in 42:39 [AG 91.18%]. Jan Holmquist (Burlington MA) took first in the W70 group in 47:13 [AG 96.68%]. (I guess it would be asking too much for Holmquist to break her own national record every time she runs 10K!). Sheri Piers (Falmouth ME) was the first Masters runner in with a time of 35:40 [AG 90.16%]. The first 'Senior' finisher [age 50+] on the women's side was Mimi Fallon (Walpole MA) in 38:30.1 [AG 89.03%].

Who's missing for part or all of the first 7 months of 2015? 

Lloyd Hansen. M65. Lloyd was the M65 Runner of the Year in 2014 and also took the 2014 Individual Grand Prix for the group. He took on all comers, winning every USATF race he competed in. Now in the third year of the age group, Lloyd faced a new challenger this year in Ignacio Jimenez. Lloyd finished 2nd to Jimenez who took the M65 crown at the USA XC Championships in Boulder CO by racing past Lloyd toward the end of the race. In the 8K championship at Brea the order of finish was repeated but Jimenez had a wider margin of victory this time. Lloyd was honored by the Road Runners Club of America as their Male Masters Runner of the Year in April in Des Moines Iowa (as part of the Drake Relays events). He took the opportunity to jump into their Half Marathon but was unlucky and developed a stress fracture. Lloyd was finally able to resume training in June but his best race so far is a 19:57 at the Draper Days 5K. Looks like he is getting much of his fitness back. We wish Lloyd all the best and anticipate his presence at the top of the podium in several races this fall. By the way, Lloyd has also been very active working behind the scenes to improve the USATF Masters LDR infrastructure, serving on the Athlete's Advisory Committee, and since January on the MLDR Executive Committee. Thanks, Lloyd!


Sabra Harvey. W65. In her first year in the age group in 2014, Harvey set a new 10K age group record at Dedham and, I thought, a new 5K record at Syracuse (not currently listed on the USATF records site however). Surprisingly then, I find no race results for her in the first 5 months of 2015.
I presume she was injured. Some evidence for that is her first race result of the year, a 21:21 result in a local 5K race. That was apparently 1:24 slower than her time the previous year. Harvey is entered in the USATF 1 Mile Championship in Flint Michigan on August 21st. Let's hope that is a signal that she is all the way back to the top of her racing fitness.


Christine (Chris) Kennedy. W60. Now in her first year in the W60 group, Chris is eager to leave her mark on the record books. Her main goal is to become the first woman 60 years of age or older to break 3 hours in the Marathon. She will attempt that at the Chicago Marathon on October 11th. She has already broken the W60 records for 8K at Brea CA in 31:27 and for the 10K in Dedham (James Joyce Ramble) in 39:24. The 5K mark just escaped her 19:10 attempt at the Carlsbad 5000. She found time to win her group in one of Bob Anderson's Double Road Races in her home state of California in early May but no races since. Presumably she is deep into her serious training for the Marathon now.

Brian Pilcher (L) and Chris Kennedy (C), top age grading performances at the 2015 USATF 8K Masters Championships in Brea CA on Feb 22 2015. [photo: Thuc Tran]

Katherine (Kathy) Martin. W60. Overall Runner of the Year in 2013 and Age Group Runner of theYear more times than I can keep count of, Kathy is regularly atop the standings when not injured. Now 63, she took the prize at the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon on March 15th in 1:30:36 and came back two weeks later to take the ASPIRE 10K in 41:08. She was clearly on her game at that point. Two weeks later she tuned up for the USATF 10K Championship by winning a local 4 mile run in 25:44. It looked like she was ready to roll but did not appear for the USATF 10K championship in Dedham MA on the 26th of April. That's likely a sign she is injured. And, indeed, I can find no other races for her until late June. On June 28th she took her age group in a local 5 mile run in 33:10. Let's hope that's a sign that she will be ready for the fall season.

Tom McCormack, M60. A member of the famed Irish Brigade at East Tennessee State in the early 1970's, Tom burst onto the national masters road racing scene in late 2013 with wins at the 5K XC Championship in New Jersey and then at the.US National 12K road race in Alexandria VA. In 2014 he won everything in sight and broke a 5K record at Syracuse that had stood for 28 years. Surprised at the finish line at the 8K Championship in Brea CA, we knew Tom would be looking for revenge later in the year.  But he has had to put those plans on hold as he has dealt with injury. In late March  a Tom McCormack was able to win a local10K race in East Tennessee. I presumed that was our man and it looked like he might have fought off the injury. But there have been no race results since that time so I fear he is still in rehab mode. Let's hope he is back on the roads racing in the fall season.

Tom McCormack, in red, blasting to the front of the pack at the start. At the USA Masters 5 km Cross Country Championships at Carmel IN on Nov 8 2014 [photo: Facebook]

Peter Mullin. M60, joining M65 later this year. Mullin has been one of the top Masters runners over the last several years. He had an excellent first half of the 2014 season, winning the Chevron Houston Half Marathon to start the year off with a 1:21:05. He then took the USATF Half Marathon Championship in Melbourne FL with a 1:21:55 [those 2 bridges can slow one down!]. He also captured the crown at the USATF 8K championship at Brea and then the Crescent City 10K in 37:21. He ran almost as fast at the USATF 10K at Dedham but ran into the buzzsaw in the person of Tom McCormack so had to settle for 2nd place. He apparently sustained an injury in the Falmouth 7 Mile run as his time was way off his usual standard. By November, Mullin was able to run a sub-19 minute 5K but was still not up to the sub-18's he was running earlier in the year. And 2015 started off slowly for Mullin as well as he slowly regained form. He ran over 90 seconds slower than he did in 2014 at the Brea 8K. Although he did run in a couple of local races in March and April in Texas, there have been no results posted since then. Mullin was able to compete in the USATF Masters Outdoor TF Championships in Florida. He finished 2nd in the M60 1500 in 5:18.95 and first in the M60 5000 meter run in 19:34. His results there suggest he is still not quite back to full fitness.

Gary Romesser. M60, joining M65 later this fall. Gary sustained an Achilles Injury that kept him out of racing for the 2014 year. But he is already in the Masters Hall of Fame and is one of the few runners who has been able to manage injuries well enough to run at a national level for his entire career. As an Open Athlete he won the Indianapolis Mini Marathon (1/2 Marathon) 4 times (and added one more after he joined the Master's ranks). Early in 2015 there were the first signs that he had licked the Achilles problem and was back on track as he ran some sub-20 minute 5K's in local races in Florida. A longtime resident of Indiana, Gary relocated to Florida in the autumn of 2014. By May 2 2015, he was ready to return home to compete in what must be one of his favorite races, the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon.  Like most of us older athletes, Gary has good days and bad days, but this signaled his age group competitors that on his good days he will be a force to be reckoned with. Gary is running for the New Balance Sarasota team now and recently took home the Senior Grandmaster first place prize for the team at the Firecracker 5K on the 4th of July.

Paul Carlin (yours truly) M69, joining M70 in late October. I had a great first half of 2014. I won the M65 USATF Half Marathon Championship at Melbourne FL in 1:29:29, took 2nd to the indomitable Lloyd Hansen at the Brea 8K Championship in 32:11, and 2nd to the illustrious Bill Dixon at the USATF 10K championship in 39:53 (my first world class age-graded performance--by the 2010 tables in force at the time). I also had some other fine races, taking the M65 1st place at the Fifth Third River Bank Run (25K) in 1:46:27, qualified for the Boston Marathon with a 3:18:37 at the Charlevoix Marathon in June. Three weeks before, I ran one of Bob Anderson's Double Road races [10K--forced break--5K]. I ran okay but did not handle the break well, so I was not fully warmed up at the start of the 5K and felt very awkward. I gradually loosened up though and ran okay. I was surprised that I had not run as fast as I had in the 15K at Tulsa the previous year. But I was told that was not unusual. I then made the mistake of running one of my long runs (20 miles plus) the very next day, a Sunday, and found it pretty taxing. But 3 weeks later I ran a pretty good marathon. I was aiming for a faster time but for a first time marathoner, I had to be pleased. More surprising to me, it did not seem to take me too long to recover. Three weeks after the marathon I was able to run 19:42 in a local 5K race. But that was a false signal. Later in July I started to notice a slight deterioration in my training runs and when I was training on some dirt roads in Maine, encountered a slow day or two. Despite that, I was able to take my age group at Joan Benoit Samuelson's Beach to Beacon 10K in 40:39. The drive home from Maine left me quite stiff and my workouts that week were not very good. On Tuesday I felt some pain in the upper hamstring/attachment area and slowed my 220 and 440 intervals substantially. I toed the starting line at a local 5 mile race on August 9th with some trepidation. As it turned out, though, I was able to race just fine, clocking 32:24. The day after, Sunday I ran a good, easy 7 mile run at about 8.5 minutes per mile, fairly normal. Monday I ran a good, fast set of 440 intervals with no hint of trouble. But on Tuesday, I could not run below 9 minutes a mile for a 4 + mile workout without substantial pain in the high hamstring area. That was the beginning of a frustrating 11 month period. After taking some time off of running without the usual quick recovery, I saw a Sports Doc in early October (after being unable to run in the USATF 5K Championships in Syracuse) and commenced Physical Therapy (PT). It was successful and by early November, I was back at about 90% of my normal fitness. I ran as part of a team in the USATF 5K XC Championships, held in Carmel IN. I was lucky enough to finish 2nd to Lloyd Hansen again and, more satisfying, was the all important 5th runner for my winning team. I really enjoyed running with a great bunch of guys. And I almost made it through the whole race with no mishaps. Unfortunately, with about 100 yards to the finish line, I almost fell, caught myself and felt a shooting pain in the attachment area of my hamstring. I finished the race on adrenaline but unwisely waited around on a chilly, blustery day for the entire set of ceremonies. That set me way back. And that has been the story ever since. On two occasions I got back to somewhere in the 85-90% range and in both cases suffered a setback a day or two after a really good workout. By early June I was able to run a 5.5 mile workout including a 6:45 mile, a 3:19 half mile, and a 92.5 quarter mile. The next day I was barely able to finish a 6 mile run at a 9 minute per mile pace. On the 2nd of July I started PT again. I had to bypass the Beach 2 Beacon 10K in Maine on August 1st; I would hate to run a very slow time with an elite Masters number. I hope to get up and past the 90% fitness barrier this time with the help of PT but only time will tell if I can. Best effort so far has been the 8:11 per mile pace in a 5 mile race I managed today (August 8 2015). So there is still plenty of work to do.

Continued Rehab of a High Hamstring Injury--Summer Update & a Race Recap [Carmel 5K for Haiti]

August 03 2015.
[If you are just interested in the Race Recap, skip below to the line that reads, Race Recap. Carmel 5K for Haiti. Geezer Division.]

Despite having a major setback ten days prior to the Boston Marathon, I was able to run it and finish. As noted in the story posted at the time, it was a grueling ordeal but I was glad I had run it. I ran the entire race, finished it and, as far as I could tell, did no additional damage to my injury. I took the rest of the week off but by the following Saturday hit the exercise bike and did a few strengthening and stability exercises. The next day I thought I might jog a couple of miles but gave up after 1 mile--too much pain! For the next week it was training in the gym or the occasional swim.

I was finally able to resume reasonable training runs on the towpath on April 30th. The towpath has quarter-mile markers over much of its distance and is essentially a mixed gravel/dirt path along a canal.

On Thursday, April 30th I was able to run about 3 miles, with the last 2 miles in about 18:15 [9:07.5 pace per mile].

Friday, May 1st--stability, strengthening and flexibility exercises at gym and at home.

Saturday, May 2nd --4.5 miles overall 9:12 pace but included 2 quarter miles on way out in 2:10 each [8:40 pace] and the last mile was 8:59.

Things continued well for the next several weeks, alternating training runs with gym days or rest. By May 8th, I could run the last mile in 7:53. By the 13th I was able to throw in a 7:36 mile. On May 21st I ran on a paved rail trail, the Monon, north of 96th Street. The 6.5 mile run included an intense middle with a 1:41 quarter, followed by 2 minutes active recovery, folowed by an 89.1; then a 3:15 half mile; then a 3:09 half mile; then an 87.6 quarter and an 85.3 quarter mile. I did extensive stretching before the first quarter mile and then between the two half miles  and then before each of the last two quarter miles.

On Tuesday, June 2nd I planned a ladder run on the towpath--5.5 miles and it included  a 1:42 quarter; 3:19 half mile; 6:45 mile; 92.5 quarter mile..plus a gym workout later in the day. Mission accomplished and all felt great at the end of the day.

I thought, at that point, I had the thing licked and it was now just a question of tuning up. Hah!

On Wednesday, June 3rd, I made a mistake. I should have taken the day off. But I was overconfident and had remembered when I was training for the marathon that some of the plans suggested doing a fairly hard workout the day before a long run. [The idea was to run hard the day before so you would actually take it easy and run slow on your long run.] So I thought I could chance a long, easy run and planned to run around 8+miles easy. But after 4 miles, the old pain came back and my stride deteriorated. Did I stop right away? No--but I should have. I did cut the workout short, running only (Hah, again) 6.5 miles. It seems like I am on a razor's edge; any little mistake can sink me-there is no room for error.

The next day we were off on a 10-day road trip,,,which is never good for injuries so the timing couldn't have been worse. Needless to say, things did not improve much. For the next few weeks I was stuck at unsatisfactory workouts with too much pain (not only in workouts but in day-to-day activities). I could only run workouts at a 9 minute per mile pace or so. Sometimes for short bits I could get down to 8:50 or so but that was it--too much pain.

Eventually I decided to contact my Physical Therapist, Brad, whom I had worked with in 2014 when the injury first hit. I knew at that time, working with them, I was able to improve rapidly. So on July 2nd I had my first day of P.T. Since that time we have been working assiduously on the it band and the gluteus medius--a mixture of massage plus exercises. And I moved to a regime of no impact cross-training [stationary bike and elliptical]on alternate days and 1 day off per week. After taking a break to visit my son Matt in Colorado and doing light hiking in the mountains and on the flat, things were a little better. But progress has been very slow. I am still not back to where I was on the 2nd of June. I also do a set of stretching and stability exercises every evening and visit the gym after training runs for a little bit of stability and flexibility exercises using their equipment. So i am working pretty intensively. We have fine-tuned if it seemed like one of the exercises was not working that well, leaving me stiffer than is desirable.

Finally by Wednesday the 29th of July I was able to run a 3 mile workout in 25:30 (9:00 for the 1st mile, 8:30 for the 2nd mile, and 8:00 for the third mile). It was not pain-free but the pain was generally down in the 1-3 range. That's what we are aiming for in all workouts, keeping the pain at 3 or below.

Based on that workout,Brad and I decided it wouldn't be crazy to try running in a race as long as I was willing to run it with the same constraint of keeping the pain at 3 or below. So I entered a local race, the Carmel 5K for Haiti. We decided it would be good for my psyche as long as I didn't set myself back.

Race Recap. Carmel 5K for Haiti. Geezer Division. The 5K is a low profile local race; that's what I was looking for. Also it was for a good cause, as are most races. That's a plus, at least I would be contributing funds ot a good cause.

I did not know for sure that I would even be able to finish the race so the lower profile the better. I figured there was little chance I could break 25 minutes so figured I had no chance at any age group prize. I hadn't realized there were some other races around to draw off the stronger runners but that's what happened. It was advertised as shady and flat--Being flat is good for my hamstring, or rather hilly is challenging, and being shady is definitely a plus in August in Indiana. As it turned out though, race day morning was almost perfect, with temps in the mid-60's under clear skies. As I was walking to the registration tent, I looked over my shoulder and saw the pale, nearly full moon, outlined above a row of trees in the light blue sky of early morning-a perfect picture and a good omen, I hoped. By the time I returned with my iphone, the moon had set, so no pic. But I can call it up in my mind--a nice memory of the day.

Registration Tent and Finish Area at Carmel 5K for Haiti--Carmel IN August 1 2015 (with carnival rides in background) [Picture by The Running Professor, Paul Carlin]

 I did my dynamic stretches and then got my easy warmup jogging in. As I was jogging about the parking lot, one of my old running buddies, Danny, who is a few years younger, and not too far off my pace when we are both fit, hailed me. We talked about old times and I learned that he wasn't sure how he would do because he had strained a muscle trying to get his truck out of the mud a couple of days earlier. But I pretty much discounted that. Danny always has a story to tell about some ailment or disaster, but he's a tough runner; he almost always runs well. After a few minutes, he gave me a wave and took off up the road; I figured he was doing a quick loop but I didn't want to extend my warmup beyond what I had planned.

When I got back to the starting area I ran into two other old running buddies, Bill and Greg. Bill's 64 I think and Greg is 65 but they are not as strong runners as Danny. Still I had them figured for 23-25 minutes so there go the top 3 places in the 60-69 year age group. [Unlike some other races where 5 year groups are the norm, smaller races like Carmel often just do ten year age groups.] They were telling me that now one of them would miss out on the podium because of my being there; they figured even if I was injured that Danny and I would beat both of them so one or the other would have to settle for 4th-bummer. I told them they did not have to worry about me that I had probably no chance of breaking 25 and little chance of breaking 26 minutes. As it turned out, I was right and they were wrong, although not in exactly the way I thought.

Looking toward the Refreshment Table and Beyond it the Starting Line at Carmel 5K for Haiti--Carmel IN August 1 2015 [Picture by The Running Professor, Paul Carlin]

Eventually we lined up for the start and I saw Bill and Greg a couple of rows ahead of me. I stayed back because I figured I'd be pressed to keep up with them, especially at the start. I didn't see Danny but assumed he was starting up closer to the front, as I would had I been fit. The gun went off and I was jogging with the moms and the teens and the kids. I could see Bill's orange singlet up ahead, or so i thought, and decided I would try to keep him in sight for a while at least. After about three quarters of a mile or so I saw that singlet coming back towards me and I wondered if I had been mistaken, maybe that wasn't Bill. When I pulled up even with him there were a few people spread across the road between us and I did not get a good look at his face. When I went by the first mile in 8:31, I concluded I must have been mistaken; that must have been some other runner, and Bill and Greg must be up ahead yet.

I was keeping the pain down, but there was definite stiffness in the attachment area and I knew I couldn't do a full stride, so just keep going at that pace for the next mile I figured. When I passed the 2 mile marker in 17:02, I figured, dang that's a steady pace...a couple of minutes too slow per mile but a heck of a job staying on pace. I figured then, like my workout on the 29th, I'd be able to accelerate and run close to 8 minute per mile pace over the last 1.1 miles and then at least maybe break 26:00. But not so, when I tried to accelerate I ran into a very stiff hamstring attachment area. To keep the pain below 3 I had to settle for just a very slightly faster pace. At that point a mom and her young daughter, a pint-sized little girl who couldn't have been over 9 years old, pulled up even and then passed me. The mom was saying, "Are you doing okay sweetie?" And the kiddo was nodding yes--a future Molly Huddle (I hoped). Anyway I continued apace and finished without any great burst of speed. I figured Danny, Bill and Greg were far ahead. When I crossed the finish line, my watch said 26:17. At least I finished the race, my first since late April when I ran and finished the Boston Marathon.

I was a little disappointed as it was about the same speed that I had managed in my workout the Wednesday before the race; I had hoped to break 26 minutes at least. But one of the lessons I am learning with this prolonged injury period is to be grateful for any progress and running and finishing a 5K race is a mark of progress. And at least I ran the last 1.1 mile at 8:22 pace.

After getting a little liquid refreshment and a banana and a bagel, I found Greg and Bill and we traded stories, not much about the race except the Bill said he never did see Danny. But then Greg said Danny came zipping up from behind him in the last 100 yards, whooping, "Come on Greg-let's finish up with a bang!" So I figured my earlier surmise had been correct except that Danny must have really been hurting; ordinarily he would beat Greg by a few minutes. Still I figured the 60-69 podium was Bill, Danny, and Greg in that order.

Greg Hueber and Bill Kirsch -Two Great Guys--Waiting for the Race to Begin at Carmel 5K for Haiti--Carmel IN August 1 2015 [Picture by The Running Professor, Paul Carlin]

After hanging around for a while, the announcer apologized and said they would not be able to post results for a couple of hours and that he would mail out any awards. So I congratulated my buddies on a good race and headed toward my car. On the way I ran into Danny who said, "I miscalculated--thought the race was at 8:30 instead of 8--heard the gun go off and by the time I got back to the starting area I figured why even bother putting on my number, I just took off after the tail end of the pack. I don't care much with this race anyway--just a good workout." Danny's a hoot! A great guy, but there's almost always something. So then I figured the podium was maybe Bill, Greg, and Paul and wondered if they gave prizes to the top 3 or just the top one I figured with my luck, Bill would be the only one to get a prize. But I had no gripes. Overall it was a good experience. Great to run in a race again and good to finish.

Imagine my surprise when I fired up the computer a few hours later and checked out the 60-69 age group and there was my name next to #1, with Bill 2nd and some other guy 3rd. I lucked into a top age group finish! I could hardly believe that Bill and Greg let me get away with that one. And I thanked my luck that Danny miscalculated as he would surely have skunked me by a wide margin! That reminded me that I am a pretty lucky son of a gun.

So onward and upward. The Personal Best 5.0 Miler is next weekend in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis--Will I run it? Maybe--We'll see how the workouts and PT sessions go.

Lagat--Breaks Master's World Record and Becomes first Masters Athlete (40 years +) to break the 4-minute mile

July 25 2015. London, England, United Kingdom. At the Diamond League London track meet today, Bernard Lagat, America's most recent contribution to elite Masters Athletics, broke the Masters (M40+) mile record in 3:57.91, lowering the mark established by Vyacheslav Shivunin in 2010 by almost 4 seconds. And being the first Masters athlete 40 years of age and over to break the 4-minute mile outdoors is certainly an accomplishment to be celebrated.* Roger Bannister was the first person to break the 4-minute mile in 1954. Now, just over 60 years later, a 40 year old Masters athlete has finally matched the feat. Adding to the accomplishment was that it followed by less than 24 hours his excellent near record-breaking run in the 3000 meters. In fact, Lagat's request to be included in the field of the Emsley Carr Mile was not finally approved until the morning before the race. I bet DL London is happy with that decision! It seems fitting that the first Masters athlete [M40+] to break the 4-minute mile outdoors should do it on the same island as Bannister accomplished the initial feat for Open athletes.

Less than 24 hours before, Lagat also smashed the Masters 3000 meter record he set in May in Eugene by nearly 20 seconds. Unfortunately, in between, someone named Bernard Lagat had already lowered it to 7:42.75 in Luzern, Switzerland. That is only 13 seconds off his M35 record! This guy is still flying!

Lagat's 2010 Victory Over Mo Farah in 2010 Diamond League London 3000 Meters [photo from: http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Bernard+Lagat/IAAF+Diamond+League+London/X6zY8PaUAMA]

Which is the greater accomplishment? Britain and the USA revere the mile and the mile record is probably more memorable to us; the rest of the world may well be more impressed by the 3000 meter record.

Lagat now has his name on the World Masters Record list for both 35 and 40 for the mile, the 3000 meters, and the 5000 meters. What's up next? Lagat says he is back to training and will not race again until September, that he has his eyes on either the Fifth Avenue Mile on September 13th or another event on the same day. Would that be the IAAF World Challenge Meet in Rieti, Italy? That meet must have fond memories for Lagat as that was the site of his M35 record-setting 3000 meter race. Perhaps Lagat would like to place his name on another world record? If everything with the pacesetters and the other competitors rolls in his favor, he may be able to lower his 1500 meter record that he set on June 7th in Birmingham. At that meet, he lowered Anthony Whiteman's M40+ 1500 meter record of 3:42.02 to 3:41.87. I know it is probably a task too far but maybe if he can keep the fitness he has right now, or even improve, perhaps he could crack the 3:40 barrier?

Or could he move up in distance to the 10,000 meter? We need not wonder because, as of now, there is no 10,000 meter event at Rieti; Lagat will have to take up that challenge another day. He already holds the Masters road record for the distance, having smashed the record of Haile Gebresellassie in the Great Manchester Run in May with a time of 27:48.12. That time suggests he could easily take down the track record, currently held by Martti Vainio of Finland at 28:30.88. It should just be a question of time. I can hardly wait.
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* In road racing Masters careers are not considered to start until age 40; Athletics has considered Masters careers to start at age 35. Athletics wants to have one age for all, and sprinters certainly cannot compete with the world's best once they reach age 35. That is clearly not true for the longer track events like 5000 and 10,000 meters where 35 year old runners like Gebresellassie in his day, and Lagat more recently, commanded the wary respect of the best Open athletes when stepping to the starting line of any track event from 1500 meters to 10,000 meters.

Who's in for Flint? A Focus on Men's Teams

July 22 2015. We are now less than a month away from the USATF Masters 1 Mile Road championships as part of the HealthPlus CRIM Festival of Races in Flint, Michigan. On Friday evening, August 21st, Masters runners from across the country will try their feet on the roads of Flint to see who is the fastest of them all.

We are sandwiched between the Professional Runners (Women 7 pm; Men 7:07 pm) and the High School Challenge and Young Runners Mile (7:45 pm), with the Michigan Mile, open to all, finishing things off at 8 pm. Many runners will enjoy the challenge of running a fleet mile on Friday, getting a few quick hours of shut-eye and then bouncing off to the starting line of the famous CRIM 10 Mile Run Saturday morning at 8 am. For those who are not quite that ambitious, or would like to sleep a little later, there is an 8K and a 5K race later in the morning.

Masters Women start at 7:20 pm and Masters Men at 7:30 pm. And who will tow the line?  Last year, with the exception of the Atlanta Track Club, all of the teams entered came from the Midwest and Middle Atlantic. This year we will have Men's teams from Coast to Coast and from the Mountain West. Most runners and teams have not entered yet but the Cal Coast Track Club is sending a 40+ team so we know there will be some west coast speed. So far we know John Gardiner is coming from Cal Coast but are not sure who will join him. Christian 'Cush' Cushing-Murray showed us at San Diego that he has Half Marathon chops. I hope he will be coming to show us that he still has a miler's legs under him. Whoever comes, Cal Coast will be a force to reckon with.

John Gardiner, 3rd from the right, is already entered. Quite likely he will be joined by two or three others who are in this photo, from the far left, Rob Arsenault, Jerome Vermeulen, Jonathan May, Gardiner, 'Cush' Cushing-Murray, and David Olds [photo from facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/calcoasttrackclub/]

 From the other end of the country comes the formidable Greater Boston Track Club, which is sending both a 40+ and a 50+ club. Christian Blondin, who ran a 4:13 in a very fast Manchester (NH) Road Mile earlier this year and a 4:06 1500 meter run at the USATF Masters Indoor Championships, is the one runner identified so far for Greater Boston's 40+ team.

Chris Blondin after his 4:06 1500 meter run at 2015 USATF Indoor TF Championships [photo from Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Greater-Boston-Track-Club/134570589897210?fref=ts]

Who else will be coming? It could be a classic east/west battle for the crown. But there are no doubt, teams from the Midwest and Middle Atlantic areas who will contend. I expect Patient Endurance Racing from Michigan to defend their crown

Patient Endurance Racing after the 2014 USATF 5K XC Championships in Carmel IN. [photo from Facebook:/www.facebook.com/search/str/Patient%20Endurance%20Racing/keywords_top]

and the Genesee Valley Harriers, who took 2nd last year will, no doubt, be looking to shake things up as well.

Genesee Valley Harriers picture from December 2012 [photo from Facebook: www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.376466109101828.89406.118932744855167&type=3]

In the 50+ division we already have the Greater Boston Track Club entered, as noted, with Bill Newsham identified for the club.The Ann Arbor Track Club did not compete in the 50+ division last year but will this year. Hugh Kuchta, who took 2nd in the M55 division here in 5:44 last year, is their lone runner identified so far.

I presume that the Playmakers Elite/New Balance team will be back in action. Last year they had the luxury of splitting their top 6 runners into 2 teams that were quite closely matched, finishing within 10 seconds of each other.

The Playmakers Elite 50+ Team at the Club XC Championships where they took 3rd place and sewed up the Club Grand Prix win for 2014 (Eric Stuber is holding the plaque, with J.D. Pepper, Daniel Dixon, and Ruben Henderson to the right of the picture, his left)--[photo from Facebook: www.facebook.com/search/str/Playmakers Elite%2FNew Balance/keywords_top]

Team B (Eric Stuber, Daniel Dixon, and J.D. Pepper) ranged from 5:01 to 5:09 while Team A (Ron Zywicki, Tim Lambrecht, and Ruben Henderson) ranged from 5:07 to 5:11. This year they may have to strategize a bit more with the added competition. Although with such closely matched runners, fitness on the day will mean more than any general seeding.

In the 60+ division there are teams entered from Michigan, Colorado and Northern California. Ann Arbor TC is sending an A and a B team. The indomitable Wally Hayes, bouncing back from getting a stent for his heart in early April, is competing for the A team but their other road warriors are not yet identified. I presume that John, the 'Iron Man', Tarkowski will be there for Ann Arbor but there are some imponderables. Doug Goodhue was injured at Club Cross last year, causing some nagging knee pain which forced him out of the USATF 8K Championship at brea CA. He has since run some good 10K's. Will he be fully fit? Will he run for the 60+ team or will Ann Arbor also enter a 70+ team?

Ann Arbor TC does it all from racing to race organization--from left to right at the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run-Doug Goodhue (the Silver Bullet), Wally Hayes, and Mitch Garner (also President of the RRCA)--[photo on Facebook: /www.facebook.com/aatrackclub?fref=ts]

And what about Lloyd Hansen? Hansen suffered a stress fracture in a Half Marathon race in Des Moines in April. He has since been able to resume training but it is not clear that he will be fully recovered, and even if so, will he want to travel all the way from Salt Lake City for a 1 mile run? The Ann Arbor B team has only Dave Minier identified so far.

Dave and Barb Minier after Dave took top Grand Master honors at the T-Rex 10 Miler on July 4 2015 [photo on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aatrackclub?fref=ts]

 The Boulder Running Company is sending a juggernaut of a team. Of the three runners identified so far, one, Doug Bell, is a Masters Hall of Famer and another, Jan Frisby, is a multiple Runner of the Year and recent record smasher. Bell anchors the team; I don't know when he last ran a race as short as a mile but he did run a 2 mile at Longmont CO last November in 11:37. Frisby, the long strider from Grand Junction, is stepping down in age division to shore up the BRC 60+ team. Even though Jan is shattering M70 records, he is likely to be a depth runner on this team.  

Jan Frisby, chugging to a new M70 American Masters 10K Record at the Marin Memorial Day 10K race on May 21 2015.[photo posted to Facebook by Len Goldman from https://tamalparunners.shutterfly.com/pictures/1621#1658]

John Victoria rounds out their entrants, at least based on entries so far.Victoria ran an 18:58 5K in the St. Patrick's Day run in his hometown of Colorado Springs. Devin Croft is entered as an individual but I would expect him to be part of the team too.

Devin Croft [photo from Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1344357670]

 The Excelsior Running Club from Northern California has also entered a team. One runner has been identifed; if the others are anywhere near his class, the other teams will definitely need to take notice. Tom Bernhard, who ran a 17:40 5K on the 4th of July and a 37:14 10K on Memorial Day, will, no
doubt, be up toward the front in this division.

Tom Bernhard, crossing the finish line at the Morgan Hill 5K in 17:40 on the 4th of July [photo from Facebook: www.facebook.com/tlbernhard?fref=ts]

 The focus of this article is on teams and there are, as yet, no women's teams entered. I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention that Sabra Harvey of Texas is entered as an individual. Harvey set the W65 10K record of 42:37 at Dedham MA in April 2014

Recap of USATF Half Marathon Championship at the Rock N Roll San Diego Half Marathon

June 13 2015.  The skies were gray and temperatures in the mid 60's for the 2015 USATF Masters Half Marathon championships in San Diego on May 31 2015. The race was contested as a portion of the Suja Rock N Roll San Diego Half Marathon. The sky may have been overcast but the performances were anything but gray. The headliners lived up to their billing and there were a number of other remarkable performances and races as well. 

[Note: The Race opted to use gun times for the determination of the USATF Masters Championships. In most cases the gun time was 4-6 seconds slower than the net time but in a few cases, the difference was much more substantial. Gun time is reported below except for those cases. Then  I will list the gun time followed by the net time in brackets.]

Meb Keflezighi (in red) heads to the front at the start of the 2015 USATF Half Marathon Championships [photo from: http://running.competitor.com/2015/05/photos/masters-shine-in-the-suja-rock-n-roll-san-diego-marathon_129194]

San Diego's favorite son, Meb Keflezighi, very nearly took the Open title, just losing out in the final sprint, and what a time--1:02:29! This half marathon does not qualify for a record as it drops too much over the last 5K. But officials had timing mats and cameras out at the 15K and 10 mile marks in case any records were set. With an overall 2nd place finish, it is not surprising that Meb came through with new American Masters Records for the 15K and the 10 mile run. His splits were 44:23 at the 15K and 47:39 at the 10 mile mark. 

Meb Keflezighi kissing his wife at the end of the USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships where he set Masters records for the 15K and 10 Mile Run on the way to his Masters Victory. [Photo: Tom Bernhard]

Both wipe out the existing American records of the remarkable distance runner, Kevin Castille [Lafayette LA]. Meb lowered the 15K mark by over half a minute and the 10 mile mark by more than a minute. Castille was also in this Masters race and finished 2nd, about two minutes back of Keflezighi in 1:04:50. Former Team USA Cross Country runner, Clint Wells [Boulder CO], was the third masters runner in with a time of 1:07:14. The great masters runner from the Cal Coast Track Club, John Gardiner [Rancho Santa Margarita CA], finished just off the USATF Masters podium in 4th with a 1:10:09. 

[Note: In the Rock n Roll Master's contest, Keflezighi did not count in the overall Masters race because he finished on the overall/Open podium. So in that contest, it is Castille, Wells, and Gardiner listed as 1st through 3rd for the Masters competition.]

On the women's side it was all Jen Rhines [Boston MA] who was aiming for victory not records. And she got what she aimed at with a very strong win. She finished 8th overall in 1:16:36 and was the first Masters woman finisher by nearly five minutes.

Jen Rhines, after her victory at the USATF Masters Half Marathon Championship at the Suja Rock N Roll Half Marathon, with her long-time Manager, Ray Flynn

 [photo from: http://tonireavis.com/2015/05/31/meb-gets-nipped-at-the-line-but-collects-two-american-records-at-rock-n-roll/]

Celestine Arambulo [San Diego CA] came out of the F45 group to claim second place with a sterling 1:21:27. Maureen Wrenn [Boulder CO], the great Masters runner for the Boulder Mountain warriors was the third Masters finisher in 1:21:55. Wrenn held the lead for 2nd place at the 5K by 4 seconds but Arambulo surged and reversed that to lead Wrenn by 8 seconds at the 10K, and built her lead steadily from there for the 2nd place finish.
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Video. For a video taken at the finish line by Tom Bernhard, USATF Masters Long Distance Running Committee, please see:
http://youtu.be/EkIZqsQuhMY


Official Results.
http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2015/USATF-Masters-Half-Marathon-Championships/Results.aspx
 
There were top performances in many of the age group contests as well.

MEN

40-44. Meb made it clear right from the first 5K that he had his mind on an overall victory and nothing less. And although that eluded him at the very end of the overall contest, it did not prevent him from claiming the 2015 Masters Championship for the USATF Half Marathon. Castille was not going to let him have it easy though as he clipped through the first 5K in 15:28. But Castille found himself 43 seconds behind despite that burst of 5K speed. That did establish Castille as the top Masters runner to beat behind Keflezighi though. Wells crossed the 5K timing mat in 16:03, 35 seconds back from Castille. And Gardiner was 47 seconds further back. So unless someone had a killer kick it looked like the die was cast. And indeed that was the case as these four runners all maintained a pretty steady pace. Keflezighi gradually built his lead to 2:19, running the last 5K in 14:46; Meb maintained a 4:46 pace per mile for the entire race. Castille brught home his last 5K in 15:07 to conclude with an average pace of 4:57 per mile. That's some running--hard to believe it was the 2nd place effort! Wells ran strong but could not match the blistering sub-5 minute pace set by Keflezighi and Castille, coming home 2 and a half minutes after Castille off of a 5:08 pace per mile.

45-49.  This age group totally baffled me. In part that was because Chris Knorzer, the favorite on paper, was a scratch from the race. And the other runners I picked as contenders were not up to the splendid pacing offered by the podium group. Christian Cushing-Murray [Santa Ana CA] amazed me and perhaps everyone else. Who would have thought this great 5K to 10K specialist would have the staying power to run the half marathon he did. In the Tour de France cycling race, they typically honor one of the cyclists with the title, "The Most Aggressive Rider of the Day", which designates the driver who attacked the course most consistently on a given day. If we had that in Masters Road Running, I would award that to Cushing-Murray for this day. He went out in 17:12 to establish a 40 second lead over his closest competitor, teammate Jerome Vermeulen [Simi Valley CA]. He then threw down a 16:50 for the second 5K-amazing! And although he finally eased up to a 17:31 in the third 5K, he was still building his lead-which was over 2 minutes at that point, and the lead remained above 2 minutes at the ten mile mark. The final 5K was the challenge as C-M's earlier killer pace finally took its toll. Vermeulen no doubt saw Cushing-Murray coming back to him and must have wondered if there was enough race course left to catch him. In the end Cushing-Murray gritted out a tremendous win; even though he lost a minute of his lead, he still was able to claim the victory in 1:13:55 to Vermeulen's sterling 2nd place effort of 1:14:53. Vermeulen ran a very steady pace for the first 15K (17:53, 17:49, 17:59) and then came in with a 17:14 final 5K--not enough to catch the leader but enough to guarantee him a strong 2nd place finish. Paul Kramer [Phoenix CA], meanwhile, was the best of the rest with a 1:18:01 performance, a sub-6 minute per mile pace for the race.

50-54. This group featured a rematch between Spyros Barres [Mystic CT] and Ricardo Maldonado [Scottsdale AZ] who battled for 1^st and second in the age group competition at the USATF Marathon Championship last year in the Twin Cities.  Barres is the defending champion and Maldonado has already run two marathons this year and a couple of half marathons. According to conventional wisdom to marathons in a single year is about the limit and usually that would be a spring marathon and a fall marathon rather than two in the spring. In any case, whether there was any fatigue for Maldonado or not, Barres went out strong in 17:53 and was never really headed. The second 5K really settled the race as Barres built his lead to 41 seconds. Maldonado's long distance strength showed itself over the last 7 miles as he cut into Barres lead, dropping it to 24 seconds at 15K and only 11 seconds at the 10 mile mark. But that was the end of the charge as Barres had saved enough for a strong 17:05 last 5K. Barres took the title in 1:14:55 with Maldonado 37 seconds back in 1:15:32. There was, at the same time, a terrific battle for the final podium spot between Jeff Creighton [Encenitas CA] and Kevin Zimmer [Del Mar CA]. Creighton went out strong in 18:10, 17:58, 18:30 to build a 38 second lead over Zimmer in 54:38 to 55:16. Zimmer then threw in a cracking sub-18 final 5K that was almost enough to catch Creighton. But Creighton was up to the task holding Zimmer off by 4 seconds at the finish, 1:17:12 to 1:17:16.

55-59. The Men’s 55-59 group also provided two exciting contests. Masters Runner of the Year in 2013, Brian Pilcher [Ross CA] took the group out in 17:36-Wow! Fred Zalokar [Reno NV], age 55,  was laying 11 seconds off the pace and wondering, no doubt how that 58 year old up ahead was doing it. Pilcher continued to build his lead over the second 5K with 17:50 that gave him a 27 second lead over Zalokar. Zalokar realized  he had to start reeling Pilcher in to have a chance. By the 15K mark, the lead was down to 19 seconds as Pilcher came past the 15K line in 53:41. By the ten mile mark, Zalokar had cut it down to 12 seconds. Over the final 5K, Zalokar unleashed a 17:29 that Pilcher could not match. In the end the victory went to Zalokar in 1:15:32 to Pilcher's 1:15:57. The race for the third podium spot was even tighter as the 58 year old veteran from the midwest, Thomas Dever [Terre Haute IN] challenged hometown favorite Adam Weiner [San Diego CA]. They were locked at the 5K with Dever a step or two ahead (18:10 to 18:12), and at the 10K (36:11 to 36:12). They were racing side by side at the 15K (54:41) and at the 10 mile marker (58:47). As is usually the case, the younger legs were fresher as the 55 year old Weiner was able to bring home a sub-18 last 5K to dash Dever's hopes. But hat's off to both runners for a terrific show. Weiner takes 3rd in 1:16:44 while Dever gets 4th in 1:17:12.

60-64. Charles Locke [Magalia CA] took the M60 crown in 1:34:22 [1:34:15], followed by Steven Segien [Collieville TX] in 1:35:06 [1:33:22], and Stan Ideker [San Diego CA] 1:37:13 [1:35:22]. Apparently Segien and Ideker did not realize that, as contenders for the age group championship, they should have lined up to start closer to the front of the race. Although Segien ran a minute faster, the rules of the race say that the championship is based on gun time, not net time. Locke crossed the finish line 1:34:22 after the gun sounded and Segien crossed 44 seconds later, probably unaware that he had the fastest net time in the group.

65-69. As with the group above, the winner did not have the fastest net time. Doug Wood [Sylvan Beach NY] started toward the front of the pack, a few rows behind the frontrunners; this is the norm for contenders in the M65 race. Local runner, Hank Sullivan San Diego CA], lined up quite a bit further back so it was over a minute and a half after the gun went off before he crossed the starting line. Perhaps Sullivan did not expect to be contending for a top spot. But, as with the 60-64 group above, a number of the usual contenders were not entered for a variety of reasons.Wood led the 65-69 group for the early portions of the race. Although Sullivan was probably unaware of Wood's position until late in the race, he made steady progress, gaining 13 seconds in the first 5K, 23 seconds in the third 5K, and by the 15K mark, had gained 34 seconds on Wood. In the next 0.7 miles he gained another ten seconds so that at the ten mile mark, he was only about a minute back and starting to close swiftly. It would be interesting to know at what point Sullivan was aware of Wood wearing the M65 on his back up ahead--2 miles to go? 1 mile to go? In any case, Sullivan had his sights on Wood and was drawing ever closer as they were approaching the finish line. It appears that Sullivan pulled even with Wood before he realized he was about to be overtaken and reached down to find another gear. The final results show a mere second in gun time between them. Wood held Sullivan off with a gun time of 1:34:26 to Sullivan's 1:34:27.[1:32:43].

70-74. Jan Frisby took his fourth Masters national championship in as many races this year, adding the Half Marathon crown to the 8K and 10K road championships, and the 8k USA Cross Country Championship. Frisby decided to take on the Half Marathon race even though it did not fit well into his personal plans. As a result, he had not prepped as he usually would for a lengthy race. Nonetheless he ran a very respectable time, 1:35:41.

75-79. Richard Williams took the 75-79 title in 2:13:02 [2:11:19].

80-84. Richard Burch [San Diego CA], age 80, was the oldest runner in the Championship and took the gold medal in the 80-84 group in 2:30:42 [2:28:54].

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WOMEN

40-44. Jen Rhines, no doubt, had her sights mainly on open prize money but was happy, I am sure, to also take home the Masters crowns for overall and women's 40-44 age group in 1:16:36.  Although several minutes behind Rhines, Maureen Wrenn came in nearly two minutes ahead of her closest pursuers, Sharon Lemberger [Menlo Park CA] and Carla McAlister [San Clemente CA]. Wrenn showed that she has the staying power for longer races like the half marathon. Lemberger and McAlister had quite a see-saw battle for the finbal podium spot. Lemberger covered the first 5K in 19:56 and followed that with a 19:44 to race past the 10K marker in 39:40, with a 13 second lead over McAlister. But then McAlister made her move, running the third 5K in 19:54 to pass the 15K marker three seconds ahead of Lemberger in 59:49. It looked like there would be no stopping McAlister as she raced past the 10 mile mark in 1:04:09 with a 12 second margin over Lemberger. But Lemberger had saved the best for last. Even though McAlister had enough in the tank for a 19:37 final 5K, she could not hold off Lemberger who cranked out a 19:16 over the final 5K to claim the third spot in the podium by 8 seconds, 1:23:42 to McAlister's 1:23:50.

Team RunCoach at the 2015 USATF Half Marathon Championships Sharon Lemberger (L), Samantha Forde (C), Ashley Grosse (R) [photo: https://www.facebook.com/runcoachFNF/photos/pcb.884268861640498/884268594973858/?type=1&theater]

45-49.  I had this race picked as a contest between Jaymee Marty [Sacramento CA], defending champion,Terri Rejimbal [Tampa FL] and a local favorite, Celestine Arambulo [San Diego CA] and that was exactly correct, but I had the order reversed. In the event, Arambulo and Rejimbal took off together to cross the 5K marker in 19:17 and 19:18 respectively, with Marty a bit further back in 20:08. From there Arambulo steadily built a lead over Rejimbal that grew to 14 seconds at the 10K, 34 seconds at the 15K, and a minute and 7 seconds at the close in 1:21:27. Although not able to stay with Arambulo, Rejimbal justified the cross country trip by running a fine half marathon, finishing a strong 2nd in 1:22:34. Marty took third in 1:23:55.

50-54. I referred to Kathleen Cushing-Murray, in my preview as 'something of a wild card' and how right I was. Just like her husband, Christian, in the M45 group, Cushing-Murray who is known as a strong 5K to 10K runner, showed she has the staying power to race well at this distance. Whether because she was worried about going out too fast or for some other reason, Cushing-Murray started many rows back and did not cross the starting line until more than a minute after the starting gun sounded. But she made up that deficit on her two competitors, Becky Burnett [Farmington UT] and Amy Rappaport [Califon NJ], in the first 5K. After that it was just a question of steadily extending her lead. She crossed the finish line in 1:31:37 [1:30:24], two and a half minutes ahead of Burnett. Burnett took second in 1:34:04, followed by Rappaport in 1:36:15.

Christian 'Cush'  and Kathleen Cushing-Murray--2015 National Half Marathon Champions-celebrating after the Awards Ceremony [photo:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=849992468414688&set=ms.c.eJyzMLG0tDQyMbMwMQQSFnoWIL6hqYWpgYWhiYkxAGhbBnc~-.bps.&type=1&theater

55-59. I viewed this as, potentially, a tight race between Nancy Hatfield (McCall ID) and Meredith Mills. Unfortunately Mills was a scratch so Hatfield had no close competitor. She took first in 1:41:46 [1:40.05]. Tina Breen [Spring Valley CA] took 2nd in 2:06:03 [2:04:15].

60-64. It looked like this should be a tight contest between Honor Fetherston [Los Gatos CA], Marina Jones and Janet Cain [Sonoma CA]. But Jones did not run and Cain was not at the top of her game. Fetherston ran a strong race to win by more than 20 minutes and add this first place medal to the medal she took at Brea in the 8K, finishing second behind the record setter, Chris Kennedy. Fetherston's time was 1:32:03, just about 7 minutes per mile-pretty fancy running for this group. Cain took 2nd in 1:55:04 [1:53:10]. Donna Chan [San Diego CA] took 3rd in 2:32:06 [2:30:24].

65-69.  This age group race unfolded just as expected. Jo Anne Rowland [Concord CA] took first place in 1:46:42 to add this gold medal to the one she took in Brea CA in the 8K. Sharon Chaix [San Diego CA] finished 2nd in 2:11:31 [2:09:43] and Jane Williams [Coronado CA] claimed the final podium position with a 2:19:53 [2:18:10].

70-74. Norma Thomas [Moreno Valley CA] did not disappoint as she took her 2nd national championship of the year in 2:01:33. Carol Turner [Newark CA] took 2nd in 2:32:29 [2:32:22].

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Age-Grading.  My top contenders for the ten age-gading awards were Keflezighi, Rhines, Castille, Pilcher, Maldonado, Weiner, Wells, Dever, Barres, Frisby with Marina Jones (scratch) and Fetherston as two others who might break into the top ten. Seven of my top 10 made the final list with one of my outside contenders making it. The bigger surprises were Zalokar and Sheeran although they could easily have been included on the list of potential contenders. The results were somewhat unusual in that two male runners in their early 40's took the top two spots and there was only one woman in the top ten age grading scorers. Typically one sees 1 or 2 women in the top 5. Also noteworthy is that the M55 age group had half of the top ten age-grading scorers.

Keflezighi M40  96.08%        Castille M40   94.73%     Pilcher M55  92.19%

Fetherston F60  91.47%      Dever M55  90.70%        Zalokar M55  90.18%

Wells M40  89.29%             Sheeran M55  88.97%     Weiner M55  88.77%

Barres M50   88.50%

Note: Age-grading is the statistical process that adjusts actual times to scores on a 100 % point scale in terms of the best times run by an athlete of that age and gender.

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TEAMS. Teams were included as part of the Half Marathon competition for the first time this year. As it was also a switch in venues from Florida to California, only a limited number of teams competed.
[Note: In road racing team scoring is based on the total time of the first three runners across the line for each team.]

W40+. The California running club, TeamRunCoach, successfully repelled their Utah competitors, Wasatch Athletics. Comprised of Sharon  Lemberger [Menlo Park], Samantha Forde [Santa Cruz] and Ashley Gross [Menlo Park], TeamRunCoach scored an easy victory with a combined time of 4:25:28 [average = 1:28:27]. The Wasatch Athletic team ran a fine race for 2nd place, finishing in 4:37:21 [average = 1:32:27].

W60+. The home grown Impala Racing team of JoAnne Rowland [Concord CA], Janet Cain [Sonoma CA], and Donna Chan [San Diego CA] took the title unopposed in a time of 6:13:52 [average = 2:04:37].
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M40+. The celebrated Cal Coast Track Club team from Southern California scored a dominant win in this competition. The team, consisting of John Gardiner [Rancho San Margarita CA], Cristian Cushing-Murray [Santa Ana CA], Jerome Vermeulen [Simi Valley CA], Rob Arsenault [Riverside CA], and Jonathan May [Costa Mesa CA], ran a combined 3:38:57 [average=1:12:59]--that's cookin! The two other teams in the race, the Prado Racing Team and the Phoenix Free Soles, had quite a battle for 2nd place. Stephen Johnson [San Diego CA] started it off for Prado with a 1:13:15. But then the Phoenix Free Soles countered with Ricardo Maldonado [Scottsdale AZ] in 1:15:32 and Brett Bernacchi [Phoenix AZ] in 1:16:32. When Prado's 2nd runner, Jeff Creighton [Encenitas CA] came in at 1:17:12, that gave the Prado team a total of 2:30:27 to Phoenix's 2:32:04. If Phoenix could get their 3rd runner in a minute and a half or so before Prado's 3rd runner, they could take the 2nd place medal away from them. But it was not to be, the 3rd runners for Prado and Phoenix came in within 13 seconds of each other. Prado's Jason Lewis [Carlsbad CA] brought it home in 1:19:13 while Phoenix's Jeff Turner [Phoenix AZ] finished the scoring with a 1:19:26. That left Prado Racing with a comfortable margin of over 4 minutes and the silver medal, in 3:49:40 [average = 1:16:33]. Phoenix happily took the bronze medal as a reward for their outstanding 3:53:59 [average = 1:18] performance.

Members of the victorious M40+ and M50+ Cal Coast teams (left to right-Rob Arsenault, Jerome Vermeulen, Jonathan May, John Gardiner,  Christian 'Cush' Cushing-Murray, David Olds)

M50+. The Cal Coast Track Club was unopposed as the team of David Olds [Los Angeles CA], Thomas Schumann [Santa Monica CA], and Carey Baca [Costa Mesa CA] brought the gold medal home with a fine time of 4:14:48 [average = 1:24:56].
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There were many fine performances. We look forward to an even better turnout next year and expect the enhanced competition to lead to more outstanding times and perhaps another 15K or 10 mile record or two.