Drenched But Undaunted--Recap of the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championship-Part I

Sunday May 7 2017. The Masters Half Marathon Championship took place under the auspices of the Orange County Marathon/Half Marathon [OCHM]. It is a gorgeous setting for a point-to-point HM, with terrific views of the sea, seaside villages and yachts and then a run up through gorgeous plantings along the rim of the Upper Newport Bay Estuary Reserve. It was scheduled to begin at 6:15 AM to avoid any possibilities of the day getting too hot. There is a net elevation drop but the first half drops to the lowest point on the course and the second half of the race sees a significant rise with two challenging hills. So it is not as fast a course as one might think at first glance.

No one expected the weather to be much of a factor. Forecasts a week before the event indicated 50 degrees and overcast at race time, with a chance of showers the day before. But even when the forecast changed to chance of showers on the day, it was unclear if it would finish before the race started or not. And they were forecasting .01 inch per hour which would be more of a mist or light drizzle with little impact. Imagine our surprise when at about 5:55 am the rain started to come down lightly and then heavier and heavier and pretty soon it was a downpour. Anyone out trying to do their warmup and/or just find the gear check, like me, got totally soaked. I was luckily staying near the starting line so I could rush back into the Headquarters Hotel, change running shoes and socks quickly and head back out. Everything else was soaked but at least I had dry socks--for about 17 seconds!.

A Few Minutes Before Race Time at the USATF Masters HM Championship hosted by the OC HM

A few runners who were in the hotel near the finishing area took shuttles which either got lost or delayed. As far as I know, though, all runners made it to the starting line. I got there with at least 35 seconds to spare so no worries. As we were standing there waiting for the horn to sound the rain did start to lighten up. Irony of ironies, the weather we had during the race was actually pretty close to what was forecast. If the runners had not started out totally drenched, it would have been just fine. The wind was reported as being 9-10 mph but it did not seem that strong, perhaps because much of the course is somewhat sheltered from the wind.  And it was still a great day; the times were perhaps a little slower than many of us hoped, but that happens. The competition was still fantastic!

A Hundred Meters into the Race-David Angell (white cap-left foreground) and John Gardiner (green singlet with blue) start side by side on their trek. The 3 entrants from the Bowerman Track Club, including Orin Schumacher (no cap), are just behind to their left. Jose Merino (blue singlet) is off to their left. In the spirit of 'Where's Waldo?', see if you can find your reporter in the gray cap and white Ann Arbor singlet, about 30 meters back from Gardiner.

Overall Masters Championship. The primary contenders who entered the Men's Championship included  John Gardiner who finished 2nd last year in 1:09:57 and David Angell who finished right behind John Gardiner at the 5K and 15K Championships last year but won both the 8K and 10K Championships this spring. He also ran a 1:09:37 HM earlier in the year. But would the after effects of the 10K Championship that Angell won 7 days earlier slow him down at all this week? Greg Mitchell, who took the measure of Gardiner at the Club Cross Country Championships last December, had to withdraw due to an injury. A newcomer, Jose Merino, ran a 1:12:31 Half Marathon earlier this spring in a race where he was not pushed. So he also figured to factor in the race. Even though Mitchell could not make it, three other members of his Bowerman Track Club team were present. One of those, Orin Schumacher, could well factor into the race for the podium. His 1:11:40 in the Corvallis HM in early April showed he has the endurance needed.

When the horn sounded, Gardiner and Angell moved to the front side-by-side, with Merino off to their left and Schumacher just behind with his teammates.By the time the runners had descended to the village of Corona Del Mar, overlooking the Harbor, and passed the 5K mark, Gardiner had the lead with a 16:45 time, with Merino right on his shoulder and Angell just a stride and a half back; Schumacher was biding his time 14 seconds back from Angell. The next 5K included a long gradual downhill to the lowest point on the course, with no significant uphills, Gardiner made a significant move in that stretch, covering the 2nd 5K in 16:27 and opening up a gap of 41 seconds to Angell. Merino struggled with the faster pace but was still only 7 seconds back from Angell. Schumacher was now 35 seconds back; if the gap he faced grew much larger on the next uphill portion he would probably be out of the podium race. The portion between 10K and 10 Miles had the longest hill in the race and it showed in the times as Gardiner slowed his 5K pace to 16:49 but extended his lead to 1:15, as the others struggled more. Merino found the uphill more to his liking than Angell did, maintaining a 17:11 5K pace to Angell's 17:18, as he closed the gap and became the aggressor, with Angell hanging on a couple of seconds back at ten miles. Schumacher kept pace with Merino and that meant he narrowed the gap to Angell by about 8 seconds.That stretch had the last significant climb although there were still a few minor ups and downs. Merino was barreling home now but found the race was not long enough to close the significant gap Gardiner had established. Gardiner brought it home in 1:10:48 to take the Gold Medal.

Cal Coast's John Gardiner captures the Overall Masters Win at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Merino's charge over the last 5K lowered the final gap to less than a minute as he claimed the Silver Medal.

Jose Merino claims 2nd place Overall in the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Angell definitely struggled over the last 5K, in part perhaps due to trying two challenging races only 7 days apart. It took him 17:12 to cover the last 5K; Schumacher was chasing hard, and seeing Angell come back to him. Schumacher covered the last 5K in 16:48.

David Angell captures the Overall Masters Bronze Medal at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

But Angell had just enough left  to keep it going and just enough grit to claim the Bronze Medal with Schumacher only ten seconds back and closing!

Top Four Overall Men-[L to R: Orin Schumacher, David Angell, Jose Merino, and John Gardiner] -Competition Over-Let the Camaraderie Begin at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

John Gardiner 1:10:48     Jose Merino 1:11:44     David Angell 1:12:18

Primary contenders in the Women's Overall race included: Amy Halseth, Donna Mills-Honarvar, and Ingrid Walters. Keri Olson and Tania Fischer were potential threats if any of the others faltered. Halseth ran a 1:23:12 in her hometown race, the San Diego HM earlier in the year. Walters was the closest to a defending champion as she finished 5th last year at the Championship in 1:24:33. Mills-Honarvar's best time was a recent 1:24:59 HM but she has also fared well in shorter races, with a recent 17:40 to her credit. If she could stay close to the leaders, she might do some damage over the final 5K. Olson had a 1:26:01 HM and a 58:40 15K to her credit. Fischer has shown herself to be a tough Cross Country runner over past years but I was worried that she had no long distance race results. She showed that I need not have fretted. Halseth was leaving nothing to chance, covering the first 5K in 19:10 and opening up a lead of 50 seconds back to Mills-Honarvar and well over a minute to Olson and Fischer. Unfortunately Walters's chip was only recording intermittently so the only split reported is at 10K. Luckily , for the report, I learned after the race that Cal Coast's John Holcomb had been running fairly close to Walters over the course of the race so I will fill in with his splits. If that's accurate, Walters was about 20 seconds back from Halseth in second place. Halseth hit the 10K mark in 38:51 with a 50 second lead on  her closest pursuer, Walters, whose chip registered 39:41. Mills-Honarvar was  24 seconds back in third. Olson and Fischer, along with Fischer's teammate, Kathleen Cushing-Murray formed a chase pack 90 seconds back from Mills-Honarvar. Halseth was the only one of the leaders who could maintain a sub-20 5K pace on the third 3.8 mile stretch from 10K to 10 Miles. But Mills-Honarvar was cruising at a pretty good clip and only lost 9 seconds to Halseth while cutting Walters's lead to 20 seconds or perhaps a bit less. Halseth covered the last 5K at a 19:49 clip to claim the Gold Medal by almost a minute and a half.

Prado RC's Amy Halseth Captures the Overall Masters Gold Medal at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Mills-Honarvar almost matched her with a 19:53 that allowed her to catch and pass Walters for the Silver Medal.

Donna Mills-Honarvar, running for A Snail's Pace, beams as she brings it home for the Overall Masters Silver Medal in the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Olson was also cracking now, hitting 19:55 over the final stretch. But Walters had too much of a lead and had too much staying power as she crossed the finish line with a two minute lead and the Bronze Medal in her grasp.

After Claiming 3rd Place Overall, Ingrid Walters, of the Jane's Elite,  is all smiles at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Olson was next in 4th with Fischer only a half minute back-pretty impressive long distance running for a short road and cross country specialist.

Amy Halseth 1:23:05     Donna Mills-Honarvar 1:24:32     Ingrid Walters 1:24:57

Age-Grading Championship. The athletes who finished 3rd, 4th and 5th among the women last year were back to contend for the Age-Grading crown: Honor Fetherston, Kelle Taylor, and Kathleen Cushing-Murray. Challengers included Doreen McCoubrie who took 3rd place in age-grading at Virginia Beach, as well as Tania Fischer and Jeanette Groesz who claimed the 3rd and 4th place age-grading places at the USA Cross Country Championships in Bend OR in February. Groesz, 67, ran even stronger here than at Bend, with a 1:45:03 that age-grades at 88.58%.

Jeanettte Groesz, 67, of Portland's Team Red Lizard captured the Women's Age-Grading Crown at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

McCoubrie, 55, only three weeks away from her excellent Boston Marathon race, found she had enough left to move up one slot from Virginia Beach and claim the 2nd spot. Her 1:29:33 scored an 88.07%. Fetherston, 62, matched her third place finish from last year with a 1:38:59 and 87.45%. 

Honor Fetherston [right] captures 3rd place in the Age-Grading contest for the second straight year at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Cushing-Murray took 4th at 86.60% with Halseth, 47, the Overall Winner, in 5th at 86.29%. Fischer finished less than 0.4% back from Halseth in 6th.

Jeanette Groesz 88.58%     Doreen McCoubrie 88.07%     Honor Fetherston 87.45%

The main contenders among the men included those who finished 3rd, 4th, and 6th in Age-Grading last year, Fred Zalokar, Kevin Broady, and John Gardiner. Mike McManus, whom I had thought of as primarily a short-distance road and cross country runner, was also entered. He finished 4th in Age Grading at the 8K in Virginia Beach among a very competitive group. Would he be able to move up in distance and maintain that edge? I was skeptical, but clearly I underestimated McManus; he is a complete distance runner who can navigate the roads and the cross country paths at distances from 5K to a Half Marathon. He not only held his edge, he took the Age-Grading crown; at 51 his 1:14:03 scored an 88.75%. 

Hoka NJNY TC's Mike McManus drives to a 1:14:03 and the top Age-Grading Score at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

After McManus it was 2 of the three favorites from last year. Broady, 55, clocked 1:17:19 for 88.12% and 2nd place; Gardiner's 1:10:48 for a 44 year old, age-graded to 87.54% and 3rd place.  

Kevin Broady, 55, running for A Snail's Pace Running Club, captured the Silver Age-Grading medal at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Greg Wilson, 64, ran 1:26:09 for 86.11% and John Holcomb, 62, hit the finish line in 1:24:53 for 85.68%. 

Greg Wilson captures 4th place in the Age-Grading contest at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Zalokar, on an off day, was just out of the top 5 at 85.49% with Orin Schumacher .01% back in 7th.

Mike McManus 88.75%     Kevin Broady 88.12%     John Gardiner 87.54%

Age-Division Championships  

Men 40-44. A recap of this division would be a rehash of the coverage of the Overall Championships as all of the key contenders came from that division.

David Angell captures the Bronze Medal overall and for the Men's 40-44 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

John Gardiner 1:10:48     Jose Merino 1:11:44     David Angell 1:12:18

Women 40-44.  Amy Halseth and Ingrid Walters are in the Women's 45-49 group so the battle in the Overall Championship between Donna Mills-Honarvar and Keri Olson carries over to this division with Mills-Honarvar taking 1st. Erika Aklufi gave Olson quite a run for her money over the first half of the course but then ran out of steam just when Olson was kicking up her pace. Aklufi hit the 10K mark in 40:42, 53 seconds ahead of Olson. But the third, uphill portion of the course slowed Aklufi more than Olson as the latter narrowed the gap to 27 seconds. As noted in the earlier coverage, once the hills were conquered, Olson was able to run her fastest 5K split of the race with a 19:55. 

Keri Olson claims the Silver medal in the Women's 40-44 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

At the same time, Aklufi had her slowest 5K split. That was enough to flip their positions, with Olson getting the Age Division Silver and Aklufi settling for the Bronze Medal.

Donna Mills-Honarvar 1:24:32     Keri Olson 1:26:58     Erika Aklufi 1:27:26 

Men 45-49. The top returning runners from last year were Tony Torres who finished 2nd and M.J. Stanley who came home 5th. They would be tested by Steven Frisone and Stephen Johnson. Frisone, like several others in this race, does not run outside of his sweet spot of 5K to 10K very often but he has plenty of speed at those distances, a bit ahead of Torres; a Half Marathon does not seem too much of a stretch in distance. Johnson ran 16:14 at Carlsbad last year and had a couple of 1:16+ HM's in 2015. By the time they were down in Corona Del Mar, Torres hit the 5K mark in 17:51 and had created a ten second gap back to a chase group of Johnson, Frisone, Mark Steyvers and Gregory Keyes. It is  guesswork on Steyvers; his chip was not registering at the timing mats so there were no splits for him. Between the 5K and the 10K Johnson caught and passed Torres, creating an 8 second gap when they crossed the timing mat. Frisone was biding his time another 6 seconds back from Torres.Like many other runners, Torres and Keyes found their pace slowing over the steepest portion of the course form 10K to 10 Miles. But Frisone threw in a sharp acceleration which carried him up even and then past Johnson despite no slowing on Johnson's part. Twelve seconds back at 10K, Frisone was 20 seconds ahead at 10 Miles. Torres kept on gamely but found himself now over half a minute back. There was no stopping Frisone once he topped the last climb as he covered the last 5K in 17:28, pulling away to win the division by nearly a minute in 1:15:31. 

Cal Coast's Gregory Keyes celebrates his final year in the 45-49 division with a fine 5th place finish in the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Torres recovered somewhat over the last 5K but could only knock a few seconds off of Johnson's lead. Steyvers was about a minute back, with Keyes a half minute behind him in 5th and Stanley 10 seconds back from Keyes..

Steven Frisone 1:15:31     Stephen Johnson 1:16:29     Tony Torres 1:16:57  

Women 45-49.  Only three of the 5 athletes entered made it to the race. The contest between the two leaders, Amy Halseth and Ingrid Walters was chronicled in the Overall Race section. Diana Keyes joined them and took home the Bronze Medal.

Amy Halseth 1:23:05     Ingrid Walters 1:24:57     Diana Keyes 2:10:47

Men 50-54. It was East vs. West as the Hoka NJNYTC's Mike McManus made the trip across the country to try his hand [should that be foot in this case?😉] at the Half Marathon. No doubt he has run this far in the past but I could not find any results for a race longer than a 10K in the past 5 years. McManus is a 'beast' at the shorter distances, especially on the XC paths but the lack of recent experience at longer distances put just a bit of doubt into my mind. I should not have listened to the doubts. He was taking on very accomplished runners like Kevin Zimmer and Jeff Creighton of San Diego's Prado Running Team and Matthew Underwood of Cal Coast. It is harder to piece the story of this division together as  none of Underwood's splits were reported and for Zimmer only the 10 Mile split, and for Creighton and McManus only the 10K and 10 Mile. Still it seems reasonable to project that McManus set the pace for the Division right from the start. He hit the 10K mark in 35:13, over 3 minutes ahead of Creighton. By the 10 Mile mark that had grown to well over 5 minutes. We get the first split for Zimmer at 10 Miles; he was closer but still nearly 4 minutes back. McManus hit the finish line and it was well over 6 minutes before Underwood came across in 2nd place. Zimmer was only 27 seconds behind Underwood at the end so that race within a race must have been pretty heated at some point before Underwood pulled away. 

Cal Coast's Matthew Underwood just starting to enjoy his Silver Medal in the Men's 50-54 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Creighton narrowed the gap between him and Zimmer to a minute and 5 seconds  by the end, but Zimmer held onto the Bronze Medal. 

Prado RC's Kevin Zimmer in a pensive moment after capturing the Men's 50-54 Bronze medal at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

This is the 2nd National Masters Championship Road Race for McManus this year. In the past he has only joined us for the Cross Country Championships; perhaps this year he is going for the Individual Grand Prix title. Up until this race I would have said Kristian Blaich and/or Kent Lemme was the division favorite, as Nat Larson is aging up to 55-59. If McManus has decided to challenge for the M50 Individual GP title, we should see some great races between Blaich, Lemme and McManus this fall. Both Blaich and Lemme took his  measure in the 8K at Virginia Beach, but McManus has been a terror in Cross Country and will especially look for revenge in Boston MA and Lexington KY.

Mike McManus 1:14:03     Matthew Underwood 1:20:50     Kevin Zimmer 1:21:18

Women 50-54. Last year Kathleen Cushing-Murray and Kelle Taylor, of the Jane's Elite, went 1 and 3, sandwiching Cal Coast's Mary Lynch  in 2nd between them. It was a very tight race with only 53 seconds between 1st and third. All three are back and joined by Tania Fischer. If you read the Overall Race synopsis, you know that Fischer and Cushing-Murray were in the mix for the win. In the process they finished 1-2 in the division, with Cushing-Murray only 25 seconds back from Fischer. 

Tania Fischer [right] Celebrates her big day--5th Overall, 6th in Age-Grading and 1st in Women 50-54--with her Jane's Elite teammate, Erika Aklufi

Lynch and Taylor could not keep pace this year but had a good tussle for the Bronze Medal. 

Kathleen Cushing-Murray[left] about to celebrate with her Jane's Elite teammates. She took 7th Overall, 4th in age-Grading and finished 2nd in Women's 50-54--at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

Taylor crossed the 5K mat in 21:31, with a 37 second lead on Lynch, and maintained that gap throughout the next 5K. Climbing back up from the seaside, Lynch started to make inroads, cutting the gap to 17 seconds by the 10 Mile mark. After that it was all Lynch as she passed Taylor and opened up a half minute gap of her own by the finish line.

Tania Fischer 1:27:25     Kathleen Cushing-Murray 1:27:50     Mary Lynch 1:32:46

Men 55-59. Fred Zalokar, of Major Marathon fame, is the Defending Champion but Kevin Broady, who won the M50-54 division last year in a faster time, aged up to the 55-59 division and became the favorite. James Zoldy, who finished 5th in the M50 division last year also aged up but he ran a couple of minutes slower than Zalokar in 2016 so something would have to change for Zoldy to move up from 3rd place. As expected, Broady took it out hard, with Zalokar going with him and Zoldy starting more moderately. Still, by the 5K mat, Broady had 6 seconds on Zalokar, as he hit it in 18:19, with Zoldy nearly a minute back. After that first 5K it was pretty much more of the same as Broady's gap back to Zalokar grew steadily and the gap between 2nd and 3rd place also grew. Broady hit the 10K in 36:33 with 1:11 on Zalokar and 2:20 to Zoldy. Broady's 5K pace slowed only from 18:16.5 to 18:21 on the uphill portion from 10K to 10 Miles, allowing him to stretch the gap, 2:37 to Zalokar and 4:00 to Zoldy at the 10 Mile mark. Broady brought it home in 1:17:22 to take the Gold Medal; it was a fine example of superb pacing as he varied only from 18:14 to 18:21 5K pace for each of the four portions of the race. Zalokar had, no doubt, hoped to stay close to Broady for more of the race but it was not his day as he lagged over the middle parts of the race. 

Fred Zalokar [Center] after taking 6th in Age-Grading and 2nd in the Men's 55-59 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

He recovered nicely, however, covering the final 5K  in 18:47 to finish 3 minutes after Broady but two minutes ahead of Zoldy.

Kevin Broady 1:17:22     Fred Zalokar 1:20:27     James Zoldy 1:22:37

Women 55-59. Janet Smith and Teresa Quan, Impala teammates who finished 2nd and 3rd last year, were back but not the defending Champion, Mary Sweeney. They would have to fend off three swift athletes from the Athena Track Club if they were to grace the podium again. Athena was led by Doreen McCoubrie, who captured the division at the 8K in Virginia Beach, and ran 3:13:56 at the Boston Marathon 3 weeks ago to take 2nd place in her division. The only question was whether three weeks was enough recovery time. On the basis of a 1:04:52 time in a 15K earlier this year, Mary Swan was favored to be the second Athena across the line; that 15K time is age-grade equivalent to a 1:32:06. Their teammate Margaret Sloan does not have any recent results over 10K that I could find, but her 43:38 at the masters 10K Championships on April 30 is age-grading equivalent to 1:34:26. Even if one allows some slippage for the longer distance, Sloan should still be able to come in well under 1:40 and it seemed unlikely that Smith and Quan would hit that standard. 

The Athena TC's Doreen McCoubrie enjoyed the race so much she apparently did not want to stop-2nd place in the Age-Grading competition and winner of the women's 55-59 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championships

The race unfolded pretty much as expected with McCoubrie setting the pace, crossing the 5K timing mat in 21:27 with almost a half minute lead on Swan, who had, in turn, 18 seconds on Sloan. Diana Theron of the Cal Coast TC was the closest other runner, already two and a half minutes back. McCoubrie kept the hammer down, adding nearly a minute to her lead by the 10K mark. And Swan did the same to her teammate, Sloan. But something happened between 10K and 10 Miles that threw Swan for a loop; her pace slowed radically. Sloan only slowed by a couple of seconds per mile, and that was enough to narrow the gap with her teammate to a mere 5 seconds. Whatever had Swan in the 'hurt locker' from 10K to the 10 Mile mark, cleared up. She found her stride and  her pace again, making her last 5K the fastest of her race at 21:21. McCoubrie, even though her pace did not slacken much over the third portion of the race, was also able to kick it into high gear, covering the final 5K in 20:29! Sloan accelerated modestly for the last portion, bringing the race home in under 1:40, giving her the Bronze medal by 7 minutes over Theron.

Doreen McCoubrie 1:29:37     Mary Swan 1:36:17     Margaret Sloan 1:38:37

That winds up the first part of the recap of the USATF Half Marathon Championships--Overall, Age-Grading, and Age Divisions 40-44 through 55-59. Next up will be the Age Division contests for 60-64 through 80-85, the Team Championships, Elite Performance Medals and my Overall and Age-Grading 'Grand Prix' tabulations.

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Photos courtesy of the OC Marathon. Photos by Paksit Photos. 

Recap of 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championships-Spirited Competition, Fast Times, 1 US Record

Sunday, April 30th was close to perfect for racing in Dedham MA. It was a little sunnier and windier than ideal but those are quibbles. Temperatures were in the mid-50’s, a good day for racing made great by the individual performances. Martin Hanley, Race Director for the James Joyce Ramble, aided by Steve Vaitones, USATF-NE, did a great job of assembling a sterling Championship field. The Championship recorded 232 finishers, a 10K record, with 99 of them, another record, turning in a National Class performance or better, and earning elite performance medals.

US Record The most impressive performance was that of Sabra Harvey, who broke World Masters Track records at Perth last year, taking gold in the 800 and 1500 meter runs. The current holder of the 42:37 10K record for Women 65-69, the 68 year old Harvey is running so well she was able to lower that record, set here at Dedham two years ago, by over half a minute. Her new record of 42:04 is especially remarkable because the course here is definitely not flat and fast; it is best described as rolling hills rather than hilly, but there are real hills.

Age Grading Championship Not only did Harvey break the American record, her performance age-graded at 103.56%. Anything over 100 exceeds the existing standard for World’s Best performance. The remainder of the Age_grading podium consisted of Jan Holmquist,72, who ran 48:01 for a 96.59%, 

Jan Holmquist, looking fresh as she crosses the finish line with a 96,6% Age grade Score for 2nd place at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

and Edie Stevenson, 67,who turned in a 44:20 time for 96.56%. I am not sure when Stevenson last ran without turning in a World Class performance of 90% or better but last year she broke 90% in every Championship she entered and so far this year too. 
 

Edie Stevenson running strong to the finish to take 3rd place in Age-Grading at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Age-grading prize money went five-deep. Marisa Sutera Strange, 53, ran 37:55 for a 93.73%, and Laura Bruess, 56, who ran 40:51 for 90.33%. Strange is just as consistent as Stevenson and Bruess has now turned in outstanding performances in both Virginia Beach and Dedham.

Sabra Harvey 103.56%     Jan Holmquist 96.59%     Edie Stevenson 96.56%

Nat Larson, 54, with 33:30 for a 92.80%, Kristian Blaich, 50, 32:58 for 91.13%, and Derrick Staley, 58, a 35:51 for 89.84%, comprised the Age-Grading podium for the men. Larson is always a safe bet in Age-Grading, as is Blaich when he is healthy. 

Nat Larson crosses the finish line just before teammate, Kent Lemme, nailing 1st and 5th place in the Age-Grading competition at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Nat Larson crosses the Finish Line just before teammate, Kent Lemme-1st and 5th in Age-Grading at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship
Staley does not travel far afield for Championships but he has always put up strong numbers here in Dedham and in Syracuse when he makes it. The other two prize winners were: Tom Bernhard, 65, who ran 38:17 for 89.80%, and Kent Lemme, 50, who ran 33:32 for 89.59%. Bernhard is still on the comeback trail; he normally scores well over 90%. 

Tom Bernhard, from the East Bay of San Francisco, strides to the finish line and his 4th place Age-Grading Prize at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

For Lemme, this is his second consecutive World Class performance, at the 8K in Virginia Beach and here at the 10K.

Nat Larson 92.80%     Kristian Blaich 91.13%     Derrick Staley 89.84%

Overall Race Championship The early stages of the Men’s overall race was marked by a battle royal between David Angell and Derrick Jones. Angell would gradually create a small gap 

David Angell (L) leading Derrick Jones early in the race at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

and then Jones would attack, perhaps surging up a hill to take the lead. But then Angell would gradually reinsert himself at the front and the process would repeat itself. After the 5 mile mark, Jones had little left, as Angell pulled away for a dominating win in 32:37.The chase pack of  Ryan McCalmon of the B.A.A., Kristian Blaich, the 2015 winner, and Frankie Adkins, of the Asheville (NC) Running Collective stayed strong and close. When their duel heated up over the final 500 meters, they found their speed carrying them up and past Jones, who had little left after giving everything for the win. In the shake-out over the last 200 meters, it was McCalmon taking 2^nd in 32:55 with Blaich claiming the third spot on the podium in 32:58, followed by Adkins in 33:01, and Jones in 33:04. 

Ryan McCalmon (foreground) and Kristian Blaich digging for the finish and 2nd and 3rd place overall at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Just off the pace were: Greg Putnam in 33:12, Ryan Carrara in 33:23, Aaron Totten-Lancaster, of the colorful sunglasses, only 1 second back in 33:24, followed by Christopher Magill and Harry Stants, rounding out the top ten in 33:26 and 33:28. Also winning at the Masters 8K Championship at Virginia Beach in mid-March, Angell notched his 2^nd Masters Road Racing Championship in a row. Only 5 seconds separated 6th from 10th-talk about a wild sprint to the finish-Wow!

David Angell  32:37       Ryan McCalmon 32:55       Kristian Blaich 32:58

On the women’s side, local newcomer, Ginger Reiner, of Running Lincoln MA, running for Craft Concept, was able to gradually pull away from Holly Ortlund to take the Overall win by 18 seconds in 37:11. 

Ginger Reiner closes in on the finishing line and the Overall Win at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Ortlund, who finished 5^th at the 5K championships last year, finished strong, avoiding any possible late surge by defending Champion, Marisa Sutra Strange. Ortlund seems to be running better than ever.

Holly Ortlund finishes off strongly to ensure her Second Place finish at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Strange won last year in 36:48. Unable to match that on Sunday, she was nonetheless able to win a tight duel with Cassandra Henkiel for the final spot on the podium, 37:55 to 37:58. After Henkiel's 37:58, it was a half minute back to Christin Doneski in 38:32 to round out the top 5. Sixth through tenth included: Heather Webster 38:34, Mary Zengo  and Mimi Fallon, both at 39:10, Mary Pardi 39:32, and Diana Bowser only 5 seconds back in 39:37. Only a minute and five seconds between 5th and 10th so there must have been quite a tussle over the final mile with some moving up and others gamely holding on-great racing!

Ginger Reiner 37:11     Holly Ortlund 37:29     Marisa Sutera Strange 37:55

Top Contenders in the Men's Race Break from the Starting Line at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship-L to R-Greg Putnam (#193), Ryan Carrara (#43), Kent Lemme (#136), Jake Stookey (#228), Christopher Magill (#146), Ryan McCalmon (#154), Kristian Blaich (red singlet on far right), and Frankie Adkins (#10)

AGE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS

Women 40-44 Local runner, Ginger Reiner, from Lincoln MA and Craft Concept Racing battled the Atlanta Track Club’s Holly Ortlund over the first portion of the course but Reiner gradually pulled away to win in 37:11. Ortlund took 2^nd in 37:29, with a comfortable lead. Heather Webster  of the Genesee Valley Harriers battled Reiner's teammate, Diana Bowser, for third, claiming the Bronze medal by 3 seconds in in 38:34.

Ginger Reiner 37:11     Holly Ortlund 37:29     Heather Webster 38:34

Men 40-44 This division went the way of the Overall Race, with David Angell winning in 32:37, followed by Ryan McCalmon in 32:55, and Frankie Adkins in 33:01. Ryan Carrara and Aaron Totten-Lancaster raced across the line in 4^th and 5^th only 1 second apart in 33:23 and 33:24! And they needed every second because Christopher Magill and Harry Stants, both of the BAA, were 3 and 4 seconds back, respectively. No coasting into the finish in that race!

David Angell 32:37     Ryan McCalmon 32:55     Frankie Adkins 33:01

Women 45-49 Cassandra Henkiel just missed the podium for the Overall Race but she still went home to Austin Texas a National Champion; she claimed the gold medal for this division in 37:58. Next across the line was Christin Doneski of the local Whirlaway Racing Team in 38:32, followed exactly one minute later by ‘Down-Easter’ Mary Pardi who also cracked 40 minutes.Forty seconds later, Leslie Charles claimed 4th with Tracey Vanatta another 50 seconds back in 5th.

Cassandra Henkiel 37:58     Christin Doneski 38:32     Mary Pardi 39:32

Men 45-49 Derrick Jones could not match Angell in the Overall Race. Jones gave everything for the Overall win but though he was unsuccesful, he at least went home knowing he had defeated several very fine runners to take the age division win. Greg Putnam and Jonathan Frieder both cracked 34 minutes and Putnam was closing fast on Jones at the end. Jones took first in 33:05, with Putnam 2^nd in 33:13, and Frieder 3^rd in 33:35. Putnam ran 5 seconds faster a year ago but that got him not only the age group 2^nd place that he repeated this year, but 3^rd place overall; the field this year was very strong. Whirlaway’s Joe Navas ran 34:09 to finish 4^th with Atlanta TC’s Brent Fields 21 seconds back in 5^th.

Derrick Jones 33:05     Greg Putnam 33:13     Jonathan Frieder 33:35

Women 50-54 As in past years, Marisa Sutera Strange took this age group title without being pressed. Although off her usual standard, her 37:55 was still well over a minute ahead of her closest pursuers. But Mary Zengo and Mimi Fallon were focused on their own duel, so close that, at the end, they recorded the same 39:10 time, with Zengo awarded the 2^nd place finish and Fallon 3^rd. Lots of drama on East Street as those two approached the finish line! They had 48 seconds over the 4th place finisher, Holly Madden of Whirlaway.

Marisa Sutera Strange 37:55     Mary Zengo 39:10     Mimi Fallon 39:10

Men 50-54 Kristian Blaich’s 3^rd place overall translated into an age division win.  But with competitors like Nat Larson and Kent Lemme in the field, it is never easy. At the 8K in Virginia Beach, Lemme took 2^nd age division to Larson’s 3^rd.  Larson turned the tables on his teammate, Lemme, by running a 33:30 for 2^nd as Lemme settled for 3^rd two seconds back. Gregory Picklesimer, from the Somerville Road Runners, a local club, clocked a 34:17 for 4h place.

Kristian Blaich 32:58     Nat Larson 33:30     Kent Lemme 33:32

Women 55-59 Laura Bruess of Athletics Boulder returned to the Rocky Mountains with the age division gold medal that had eluded her at the 8K Championship in Virginia Beach. Her 40:51 gave her a comfortable lead heading into the finish line.  Lyn Malloy and Lorraine Jasper had quite the battle for 2^nd with Malloy pulling away to claim 2^nd in 42:29 with Jasper ten seconds back in 3^rd. Margaret Sloan ran 43:38 to finish 4^th with Lesley Hinz only 3 seconds back. That must have been quite a sprint to the finish line!

Laura Bruess 40:51     Lyn Malloy 42:29     Lorraine Jasper 42:39

Men 55-59 Derrick Staley from New York’s Willow Street Athletic Club, regularly graces the podium at these Championships. This year he took it one step further and took the gold medal in 35:51.  John Sullivan took 2^nd in 36:54, with last year’s age group winner, Mark Reeder, in 3^rd 9 seconds back. The last two years, Reeder and Brian Pilcher have battled for 10K supremacy, with Reeder winning last year in 34:56. But not this year; Pilcher is injured, enjoying an Elliptigo tour in Europe, and Reeder is off his usual form.

Derrick Staley 35:51     John Sullivan 36:54     Mark Reeder 37:03

Derek Staley sprints to the finish line and his National Championship Win for Men 55-59 at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Women 60-64 The Atlanta Track Club had the podium  in this division all to themselves. Margaret Taylor took the win in 48:00, with Cynthia Williams 2^nd in 48:24, and Mary Richards 3^rd in 48:31. Do not think they had it easy, though, Liberty AC’s Alda Cossi was only 4 seconds back from Richards in 4^th. There could be no letting up until past the finish line, that is for sure.

Margaret Taylor 48:00     Cynthia Williams 48:24     Mary Richards 48:31

The victorious Atllanta Track Club Women's 60+ team at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship -L to R-Margaret Taylor, Cindy Lucking, Cynthia Williams, Mary Richards

Men 60-64 John Barbour of the Greater Lowell Road Runners, who finished second to Rick Becker last year in 38:06, moved a litttle faster this year to take first in 37:43. He needed that speed as Dan Spale and Kyle Hubbart, of the Boulder Road Runners, were close behind. Spale was 2^nd in 37:56, with Hubbart only six seconds back in third place. GVH’s Gary Radford was 40 seconds back in 4^th, followed by Reno Stirrat in 5^th.

John Barbour 37:43     Dan Spale 37:56     Kyle Hubbart 38:02

Second to Rick Becker in 2016, John Barbour storms to victory in the Men's 60-64 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Women 65-69 This is a division like no other. Edie Stevenson is a top age grader and an amazing runner. Ordinarily she would dominate her age group. But there are two other women in the age group who are world class. Kathy Martin decided to run the MOVE Half Marathon for women in New York on the same day and ran faster than the current American record. Had she run in Dedham she would have beaten Stevenson but she still might not have won. Sabra Harvey has defeated her on the track and at Club XC this past year. And Harvey was entered and took down her own American record as noted earlier in this story. So despite age-grading well over 90% again, Stevenson could only take 2^nd in the Age Group. Harvey won it in 42:05. Two minutes later Stevenson came across the line in 2^nd with a time of 44:28. It would be over 4 minutes before the next competitor would come across the line. Karen Durante took 3^rd in 48:37. Cindy Ingalls was 4 minutes back in 4th.

Sabra Harvey 42:05     Edie Stevenson 44:28     Karen Durante 48:37

Men 65-69 William Dixon won this division regularly until 3 new guys joined the group this past year. Dixon joins the 70-74 group this year but there is no way he was going to give anyone a free pass. He made sure they earned it, clocking a 40:11 which age-graded to 88.99%. And earn it they did. Tom Bernhard, still getting back up to speed after knee surgery in December had plenty in the tank and enjoyed a wider margin of victory than last month in Virginia Beach. His 38:17 gave him well over a minute margin over Peter Mullin, who took 2^nd as at Virginia Beach, in 39:37, with Doug Bell 19 seconds back in third, but that gave the Boulder Road Runners M60+ team three runners under 40 minutes. A half minute behind Dixon, Kirk Larson took 5th. Had you looked up a minute and 20 seconds later you would have seen Larson's Atlanta teammate, Jerry Learned, and John Hirschberger hurtling toward the line at full tilt. In the end Learned prevailed by 2 seconds!

Tom Bernhard 38:17     Peter Mullin 39:37     Doug Bell 39:56

Peter Mullin (L) and Tom Bernhard (R), the Silver and Gold Medalists respectively in the Men's 65-69 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Women 70-74 Perennial age division winner, Jan Holmquist, improved on her 2016 performance, hitting the finish line in 48:01. Although nowhere near her record pace of 45:22 when she set the American record on this course two years ago, the time was nearly a minute faster than last year’s time. Linda Zavalick took 2^nd in 1:06:01.

Jan Holmquist 48:01     Linda Zavalick 1:06:01
 

Men 70-74  A quarter mile into the race I (Paul Carlin) noticed Jim May pass me on my left and settle in a few strides ahead. May had won the 8K Championship 6 weeks earlier with a 13 second edge, and I was thinking, "Oh no, here we go again!" And I hoped the other main contenders, Marc Bloom, Jan Frisby, and Richard Kutzner, were out of sight behind me, not ahead. In the second half mile I noticed another M70 runner in what looked like GVH gear but I could not figure out who he was. I learned later that it was a new teammate of May's named Tony Gingello. A quarter mile later I had passed them both and hoped that was the last I would see of either of them. If so I would have successfully defended my 10K Championship from last year when I ran 42:19. I learned later that Gingello had been gradually closing the gap I had created. I saw him with about 200 meters to go when he raced by in full stride. I picked up my pace and for a brief moment saw that I was closing the gap but then Gingello seemed to get a second (or third?) wind, and pulled away for a 5 second win. 

Tony Gingello sprinting to the finish line and the Men's 70-74 National Championship at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Gingello won in 44:55; I got another silver medal to go with the 8K medal from March. May was not able to keep pace in this highly competitive group as he had an Achilles issue due to a Cross Country skiing mishap in late March. Richard Kutzner passed May shortly after I did and was able to come home in 3^rd in 45:56. Marc Bloom and Jan Frisby followed in 46:15 and 46:32 to take 4^th and 5^th.

Tony Gingello 44:55     Paul Carlin 45:00     Richard Kutzner 45:56

 

Women 75-79 Kathleen Scotti, the oldest women’s competitor at the Championship, took this category unopposed in 1:25:33.

Kathleen Scotti 1:25:33

Men 75-79 John Noyes, of Kennebunk Maine gradually pulled away from Hal Bennett to take the honors in this division with a time of 47:55. Bennett took second in 48:28, followed by Denny LeBlanc in 3^rd in 52:45. Three minutes later Robet Sullivan of Brookline, MA. came across in 4th. The term, 'Boston Irish' still has some credence as he  was one of four Sullivan's to finish this Championship 10K.

John Noyes 47:55     Hal Bennett 48:28     Denny LeBlanc 52:45

Men 80-84 William Riley of the New England 65+ Runners Club and Harry Carter, of the B.A.A., have apparently locked horns many times over the years and Sunday was no exception. Both 80, they finished only 14 seconds apart with Riley taking the honors and the Championship this time in 53:04, and Carter taking the Silver Medal in 53:18. Lawrence Cole took the honors as the oldest competitor of the day at 83 and ran 1:13:30 to earn the Bronze medal.

William Riley 53:04     Harry Carter 53:18     Lawrence Cole 1:13:30

TEAMS

Note: In USATF Road Races, each team may have up to 5 runners but the fastest 3 runners for each team have their times added up, with the lower total team time winning.

Women 40 and Up The main contenders were the Atlanta Track Club, the Dirigo RC from Maine, the Genesee Valley Harriers from upstate NY, and the local Whirlaway Racing team. Holly Ortlund came in a minute ahead of the field, giving Atlanta the early lead. Whirlaway's Christin Doneski came in next but only 2 seconds ahead of GVH's Heather Webster. A minute later Dirigo's first runner, Mary Pardi, came in. Sixteen seconds later, the first of the 2nd team runners crossed the line, Atlanta's Kathy Wiegand, giving Atlanta a solid lead. GVH's Wakenda Tyler came in just 12 seconds ahead of Whirlaway's Holly Madden, but that was enough to put GVH ahead by ten seconds in what looked like the race for 2nd place. 

Wakenda Tyler, a key runner in GVH's Team Gold Medal in the Women's 40+ Division at the 2017 USATF Masters Championship

Dirigo's Kelly Brown, ran well but could not move Dirigo up. GVH's Tracey Vannatta, was the fastest of the #3 runners; her 44:04 was fast enough to get past Atlanta in the final tally, the team winning by just 19 seconds. 

First Place Winners in the Women's 40+ Team Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

Atlanta took 2nd and Dirigo's 3rd runner, Denise Curry, enabled Dirigo to race past Whirlaway for the bronze medal.

Dirigo RC's Women's 40+ Team with their Thiird Place Plaque at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship 

72-year old, Jan Holmquist, brought it home for Whirlaway's W40+ team. but could not get them onto the podium. Other teams competing included: Western Mass Distance Project, Greater Lowell Road Runners, and Tri-Valley Front Runners.

1^st G.V.H. (H. Webster, W. Tyler, T. Vannatta) 2:03:24 2^nd Atlanta Track Club (H. Ortlund, K. Wiegand, S. Whitis) 2:03:43 3^rd Dirigo R.C. (M. Pardi, K. Brown, D. Curry) 2:05:51

Men 40 and Up The Atlanta Track Club came with their best team in years and the B.A.A. countered in turn. Ryan McCalmon gave the BAA the early lead by coming in 3 seconds ahead of Atlanta's Kristian Blake. Fifteen seconds later Greg Putnam gave the Central Mass Striders the early claim on the Bronze medal. With 46 seconds on Willow Street AC's Jake Stookey and another ten on Whirlaway's Joe Navas, it was looking good for the final podium spot. The BAA and atlanta had the first two team spots nailed, but who would take the crown. 

Aaron Totten-Lancaster trying to stretch his lead over his BAA rivals-Every second counts! He helped the Atlanta Track Club to 2nd place in the Men's 40+ Team Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

When Atlanta's Aaron Totten-Lancaster came in 3 seconds ahead of the BAA's Christopher Magill, the two teams were technically tied but Magill's teammate, Harry Stants, was headed for the finish line stride for stride and crossed just 1 second after Magill. 

Christopher Magill  (R) and Harry Stants (L) bringing it home for the BAA Men's 40+ Team, Winners of the Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship 

With only 33 seconds between their first and 3rd runners, the BAA had a tight, swift pack, just what is needed to claim the Gold medal. Atlanta's Brent Fields ran great, cutting almost two minutes off his 2016 time. But with that kind of opposition, winning the Silver medal was quite an accomplishment!

In the battle for the final podium spot, Whirlaway's 2nd runner, Dave DeChellis, closed things up quite a bit on CMS's Joshua Perks, leaving only an 8 second lead. Willow Street was now all but out of it, over a minute back. The next runner across the line was Whirlaway's Brad Klinedinst, 8 seconds ahead of CMS's  David Principe. So it was a team time tie. (Try that for an elocution exercise!) But USATF rules provide a tie-breaker. The rule used to be to compare 1st runner to 1st runner, 2nd to 2nd and 3rd to 3rd, and give the win to the team with the most 'wins' in the comparison. But the current rule is simple and, in this case, awards the victory to the same team. Just look at the time of the last scoring runner, 3rd in this case, and give the win to the team with the faster time for that runner. Whirlaway makes the podium with Central Mass Striders in 4th. A great race for Gold and an even tighter race for the Bronze; that's icing on the cake.

1^st B.A.A. (R. McCalmon, C. Magill, H. Stants, M. Herman, R. Davenport) 1:39:50 2^nd Atlanta Track Club (K. Blaich, A. Totten-Lancaster, B. Fields, B. Slavens) 1:40:52 3^rd Whirlaway Racing (J. Navas, D. DeChellis, B. Klinedinst) 1:44:37

Women 50 and Up The Athena Track Club left nothing to chance. Marisa Sutera Strange gave her teammates nearly 4 minutes to work with but her two reliable colleagues, Lorraine Jasper and Julie Pangburn each added more than a minute to the final margin of victory. 

Runners on the Winning Women's 50+ Team, the Athena Track Club: (L to R) Julie Pangburn, Lorraine Jasper and Marisa Sutera Strange

GVH and the New Balance Tampa Racing Team battled for Silver. Michelle 'Shelly' Allen ran a terrific 1st road 10K but it was not enough for the lead as Kathleen Hayden gave GVH a 23 second lead. 

Shelly Allen sprints for the tape, helping her New Balance tampa team to 2nd place in the Women's 50+ Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship

NBT's Lesley Hinz was next across the line; her 28 second bulge over GVH's Carol Bischoff gave the lead back to NBT. NBT's Captain, Susan 'Lynn' Cooke is still adjusting to the transition from track athlete to road athlete and struggled a bit. Still she had plenty of grit and just enough gas in the tank to make it to the finish line ahead of GVH's Bonnie Lindblom. 

Runners for the New Balance Tampa Masters Racing Team-Second Place Winners in the Women's 50+ Team Division [L to R: Shelly Allen, Lynn Cooke, and Leslie Hinz)

That gave NBT 2nd and GVH 3rd. The Liberty AC was 6 minutes back in 4th, followed by the Western Mass Distance Project, the Tri-Valley Front Runners, and the Heartbreak Hill Striders.

1^st Athena (M. S. Strange, L. Jasper, J. Pangburn) 2:03:41 2^nd New Balance Tampa Racing (M. Allen, L. Hinz, L. Cooke) 2:10:15 3^rd GVH (K. Hayden, C. Bischoff, B. Lindblom) 2:12:40

Men 50 and Up The Greater Springfield Harriers had a similar experience in this age group, except they have two top runners to set the table. Nat Larson and Kent Lemme were the first two in, only two seconds apart. That only left them 47 seconds ahead of the first runner on the closer pursuer but by the time the 2nd runners came in, the two of them had staked the GSH to a lead of over 5 minutes. Alejandro Heuck outran all of the other number 3 runners to put the lid on it. GSH took the title by over 6 minutes. 

The Greater Springfield Harriers, Winners of the Men's 50+ Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championships (L to R-Francis Burdett, Alejandro Heuck, Kent Lemme, and Ronald Jacobs)

GVH, the HFC Striders, and the Somerville Road Runners contested the remaining spots on the podium. Greg Picklesimer got Somerville on the board first among these three with a 40 second margin over Jason Cakouros of the HFC Striders and over a minte on GVH's Mike Nier. GVH is known for packing it up though and with Nier's alter ego, Alan Evans, coming in just 10 seconds later, that flipped the tables. After John Sullivan and Rory Fagan came in for HFC and Somerville respectively, GVH had a 4 second lead on HFC and 1:20 on Somerville. Dale Flanders put the nail in the coffin by coming in more than 2 minutes ahead of the #3 runners for the other two teams.  

GVH's Men's 50+ Team, 2nd place in their Team Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship (L to R-Mike Nier, Theodor Schnaufer, John Van kerkhove, and Dale Flanders)

Chris Kelly came in well ahead of Somerville's Mike Quinn to finish off HFC's Bronze Medal effort. GVH's 'B' team, the BAA and the Greater Lowell Road Runners came in 5th, 6th and 7th.

1^st GSH (N. Larson, K. Lemme, A. Heuck, R. Jacobs) 1:43:28 2^nd GVH (M. Nier, A. Evans, D. Flanders, J. Van Kerkhove, T. Schnaufer) 1:49:05  3^rd HFC Striders (J. Cakouras, J. Sullivan, C. Kelly, P. Parks, C. Diehl) 1:51:32

Women 60 and Up The 3 top runners from the Atlanta Track Club, Margaret Taylor, Cynthia Williams, and Mary Richards went 1-2-3 to win the division by nearly 15 minutes.

The Genesee Valley Harriers took 2nd place in the Women's 60+ Team Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Champiionship (L to R-Cindy Ingalls, Sharon Moore, Jeanne Herrick)

GVH’s runners, Sharon Moore, Cindy Ingalls, and Jeanne Herrick, are on the comeback trail from a season beset by injuries, and this constitutes another step on that path.

1^st Atlanta Track Club (M. Taylor, C. Williams, M. Richards, C. Lucking) 2:24:55 2^nd GVH (S. Moore, C. Ingalls, J. Herrick) 2:39:22

Men 60 and Up It is tough to beat the Boulder Road Runners.  Their top runner, Dan Spale, finished only 13 seconds behind Greater Lowell's John Barbour, the top runner in the age group. Kyle Hubbart, Boulder's 2nd runner, came in 6 seconds later. At that point Boulder had nearly 2 minutes on Greater Lowell, despite a terrific run by Bill Dixon, in his last few months in the age division. Boulder's third runner, Doug Bell, gave them a third runner in under 40 minutes, something none of the other teams could match. That gave the Gold Medal to Boulder by 4 minutes. 

The Boulder Road Runners, winners of the Men's 60+ Team Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championships (L to R-Kyle Hubbart, Doug Bell, Dan Spale, and George Braun)

A strong performance by John Barbour, the first runner for the Greater Lowell Road Runners,  gave them a minute lead over GVH;  the 2^nd runner for GVH, Kevin Clinefelter, cut into the lead but could not eliminate it; Greater Lowell's Ken Goodin slammed the door by coming in 9 seconds ahead of GVH's Bill Beyerbach. Given the competition it was no small feat for GVH to claim the Bronze medals. 

The Genesee Valley Harriers, 3rd place winners in the Men's 60+ Team Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship (L to R-Mitch Moore, Bill Beyerbach, Gary Radford, Kevin Clinefelter, and Mike Reif)

They were able to edge a tough Shore AC team by a minute despite strong runs from Reno Stirrat, Kevin Dollard, and Patrick Gaughan. The Heartbreak Hill Striders finished third but were almost an hour behind Shore.

1^st BRR (D. Spale, K. Hubbart, D. Bell, D. Braun, J. Frisby) 1:55:54 2^nd GLRR (J. Barbour, W. Dixon, K. Goodin, S. Sartori, W. Mann) 1:59:54  3^rd GVH (G. Radford, K. Clinefelter, B. Beyerbach, M. Moore, M. Reif) 2:00:47

Men 70 and Up  GVH dominated this division. The only runner from another team who could stay with GVH's top 3 was Paul Carlin from the Ann Arbor TC. But he was the only runner on his team to come in under 55 minutes. GVH had three runners under 50 minutes, Tony Gingello, Liam Finnigan, and Jim May; they took the crown by more than ten minutes! 

Two-Thirds of GVH's Winning M70+ Team Along with their Fan Club (L to R- Tony Gingello, Jim May and fans)

Ann Arbor TC did not factor in the race for the remaining podium positions.  The New England 65+ Runners Club ‘A’ team brought three runners, Robert Knight, Clayton Zeke Zucker, and David Pember, across the finish line between 50:21 and 52:27; that was enough for 2^nd place. Their ‘B’ team brought three runners, Hal Bennett, Bill Riley, and Robert Sullivan,  across the line between 48:28 and 55:24, allowing them to take 3^rd place ahead of the Atlanta TC, the North Shore Striders and Ann Arbor.

The New England 65+ Runners Club took 2nd and third place in the Men's 70+ Team Division- This is the 'A' Team that took 2nd  (L to R- Joe Noonan, Dave Pember, Zeke Zucker, Bob Knight, and Richard Paulsen)

1^st GVH (T. Gingello, L. Finnigan, J. May) 2:21:30 2^nd NE65+ ’A’ (R. Knight, C.Z. Zucker, D. Pember, J. Noonan, R. Paulsen) 2:34:36  3^rd NE65+ ’B’  (H. Bennett, W. Riley, R. Sullivan, L. Cole) 2:37:26

The James Joyce Ramble 10K and the USATF-NE organization do a tremendous job of turning out so many New England teams; it generates a great competitive spirit and is the heart and soul of this 10K Masters Championship.

ELITE PERFORMANCE MEDALS

Age-Grading is the statistically-based procedure developed by Alan Jones [http://www.runscore.com/Alan/AgeGrade.html] using the data base of Ken Jones on World Best Performances [http://www.arrs.net/] to provide a level playing field for awarding excellent running performance across all ages of Masters Runners. A World's Best is projected for each single year of age and commonly run distance (both road racing and track but the road racing procedure gets much more use). If the World's best for a given distance and age is 40 minutes and your time is 44 minutes, then your age grade is (roughly) (40/44)*100 or 90.91%. If your time is 48 minutes, your age grade is (40/48)*100 or 83,3%. [This is just an intuitive explanation. For technical details see Alan Jones's site.] This is the second year that USATF Masters LDR Committee is awarding Elite Perfomance medals to all athletes who achieve the standards: WORLD CLASS--90% and above (Gold); NATIONAL CLASS--85%-89.99% (Silver); and NATIONAL CLASS--80% - 84.99% (Bronze).

A record 99 runners ran National Class times and qualified for an Elite Performance Medal. They are listed below in order of Age-Grading percentage.

GOLD: Sabra Harvey, Edie Stevenson, Marisa Sutera Strange, Nat Larson, Kristian Blaich, Laura Bruess, Mary Swan

SILVER: Derrick Staley, Thomas Bernhard, Kent Lemme, John Barbour, William Dixon, Mimi Fallon, Mary Zengo, Greg Putnam, Lesley Hinz,Gregory Picklesimer, Peter Mullin,Cassandra Henkiel, Derrick Jones, Karen Durante, Doug Bell, Lyn Malloy, Christopher Lawrence, Jason Cakouros, Jonathan Frieder, Dan Spale, Reno Stirrat, Kyle Hubbart, Mark Reeder, Frankie Adkins, Kelly Brown, John Sullivan, Margaret Sloan,Alan Evans, Christopher Magill, Harry Stants, David Ott, Lorraine Jasper, Mike Nier, Lynn Cooke, Joe Navas, Holly Ortlund, Christin Doneski

BRONZE: David Angell, Ryan McCalmon,  Gary Radford, Holly Madden, James Zoldy,  Kirk Larson, Michelle Allen, David Principe, Ginger Reimer, Jerry Learned, Alejandro Heuck, Mary Pardi, Brad Oveturf,  Aaron Totten-Lancaster, Brent Fields, John Stadtlander, Kathleen  Hayden,  John Van Kerkhove, Ryan Carrara, Kevin Clinefelter, Amanda King, Heather Webster, Timothy Riccardi, Mary Richards, Jake Stookey, Cynthia Lucking, Margaret Taylor, Dale Flanders, Richard Kutzner, Brian Murray, Michael Gardella, Ronald Jacobbs, Kevin Dollard, Theodor Schnaufer, John Hirschberger, Julie Pangburn, Jennifer Hegarty, Paul Carlin, Alda Cossi, Matthew Herman, John Noyes, Bill Riley, Michael Stadolnik, Dave De Chellis, Jan Frisby, Brad Slavens, Carol Bischoff, Diana Bowser, Harry Carter, Tony Gingello, Jeff Conston, Cynthia Williams,Andy MacDonald, Patrick Gaughan, Rory Fagan


SPECIAL FEATURES

These are my unofficial tabulations for 'mythical' awards that are not currently offered by USATF--perhaps some day.



OVERALL WINNER GRAND PRIX (for the Masters Grand Prix Circuit)
Recall that those who finish in the top 5 overall positions in the race earn points--10-6-4-2-1. 

After the First Two Events of 2017, the USATF  XC Championship in Bend OR and the USATF 8K Championship in Virginia Beach, the standings were:

MEN
David Angell 12 Jacques Sallberg 10 John Howell 6 Phillippe Rolly 6 Kristian Blaich 4 John Gardiner 4 Jake Stookey 2 Kent Lemme 1 Gregory Mitchell 1


WOMEN
Melody Fairchild 10  Perry Shoemaker 10   Janet McDevitt 6 Grace Padilla 6 Marisa Sutera Strange 5 Tania Fischer 4  Doreen McCoubrie 2 Susan Hay 2,  Mary Swan 1

After the First Three Events of 2017, the USATF  XC Championship in Bend OR, the USATF 8K Championship in Virginia Beach, and the USATF 10K Championship, the standings for individual overall GP  are:

MEN
David Angell 22 Jacques Sallberg 10 Kristian Blaich 8 [John Howell 6 Ryan McCalmon 6, Phillippe Rolly 6]  John Gardiner 4 [Frankie Adkins 2 Jake Stookey 2] Derrick Jones 1 Kent Lemme 1 Gregory Mitchell 1


WOMEN
[Melody Fairchild 10 Ginger Reiner 10 Perry Shoemaker 10]  Marisa Sutera Strange 9 [Janet McDevitt 6 Holly Ortlund 6 Grace Padilla 6]  Tania Fischer 4 [Susan Hay 2 Cassandra Henkiel 2 Doreen McCoubrie 2] [Christin Doneski 1 Mary Swan 1]

AGE-GRADING Individual GRAND PRIX  
(for the Masters Grand Prix Circuit)

Recall that those who finish in the top 5 overall age-grading positions in the race earn points--10-6-4-2-1

 After the First Two Events of 2017, the USATF  XC Championship in Bend OR and the USATF 8K Championship in Virginia Beach, the standings were:

MEN. 
Brian Pilcher 10 Jacques Sallberg 10 Nat Larson 6  Joe Sheeran 6 Kristian Blaich 4 Pete Magill 4 Matthew Farley 2 Mike McManus 2 John Gardiner 1 Kent Lemme 1

WOMEN. Marisa Sutera Strange 12 Edie Stevenson 10  Tania Fischer 4 Doreen McCoubrie 4 Susan Cooke 2 Jeanette Groesz 2 Laura Bruess 1 Kirsten Leetch 1 

 After the First Three Events of 2017, the USATF  XC Championship in Bend OR, the USATF 8K Championship in Virginia Beach, and the USATF 10K Championship, the standings for Age Grading Individual GP are:

MEN. 
Nat Larson 16  [Kristian Blaich 10 Brian Pilcher 10 Jacques Sallberg 10] Joe Sheeran 6 [Pete Magill 4 Derrick Staley 4] [Tom Bernhard 2 Matthew Farley 2 Kent Lemme 2 Mike McManus 2] John Gardiner 1 

WOMEN. [Edie Stevenson 14 Marisa Sutera Strange 14] Sabra Harvey 10  [Jan Holmquist 4 Tania Fischer 4 Doreen McCoubrie 4] [Laura Bruess 2 Susan Cooke 2 Jeanette Groesz 2]  Kirsten Leetch 1
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Post-Race Pics:

Old Pals, Mike Anderson (R)  and John Barbour(L) from Barbours days in georgia before the move to New England,

Harry Carter and Bill Riley, longtime rivals now in the Men's 80-84 Division

Heather Webster with her award and her post-race sustenance, with Paul Carlin [left background] announcing, and right background, USATF LDR Division Chair, Mike Scott handing a medal to Mary Rosado, Masters LDR Chair, with Steve Vaitones in the cap, USATF-New England's Master of All Trades

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PHOTO CREDITS: Scott Mason's watermark appears in the lower right-hand corner of his photographs. To peruse more of his photographs from the 10K Championship, please direct your browsers to: http://www.scottmasonphoto.com/RUNNING-2017/James-Joyce-Ramble-2017-USATF-National-Masters-10k/

Credits with no watermark were posted by USATF-New England on their Facebook page.
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The next recap will be for the USATF Masters Half Marathon Championship.