Masters Runners Race the 2018 USATF Cross Country Championships

February 2 2018. The 2018 Masters Grand Prix kicks off 2018 with the USATF Cross Country Championships on Saturday, February 3^rd at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. The site of the 2016 Club Cross Country Championships, many Masters Runners look forward to the return to a fabulous destination course for Cross Country with its groomed trails and big screens showing spectators the race as it unfolds on the course. Vying for over $7000 of Championship Prize Money and the bragging rights that go with the victories, Masters Runners joined their Junior and Open compatriots in contests at the overall, age grading, age division and team levels. The Masters Women run over a 6K course at 9 a.m. with the Men following on an 8K layout at 9:45 a.m. The weather forecast appears propitious with mostly sunny skies, temperatures at just over 40 degrees for the women and mid 40’s for the men. Winds of 8-9 mph will make those temps feel a little colder but those are great conditions for a February Cross Country Championship.

OVERALL RACE

Men.   Kevin Castille, the 2017 Masters Road Runner of the Year and Overall Masters Champion at the 2016 Club Cross Country Championship on this same course, returns to the scene of his 10K triumph to try his luck on their 8K layout. Castille not only won every Champinship he entered last year by a wide margin, he established new American records at distances from the 1 Mile to the 15K. If he is close to his usual fitness, it will be the same stor here. He is the prohibitive favorite. He will not go unchallenged. David Angell, winner of the 2017 Masters Grand Prix for Men 40-44 will try out the Tallahassee course for the first time. Last year he went to the Championships at Bend Oregon and finished just off the podium. He has a good chance to rectify that omission this year. Winner of the 8K and 10K Masters Championships last spring in 25:24 and 32:37 and a podium finisher at almost every road championship, Angell would normally be in the hunt for a win. With Castile in the field, that will be very tough and Angell will have to keep an eye on several challengers who hope to place themselves on and him off the podium.  Jonathan Frieder had a terrific 2017 but could not quite match Angell. A minute behind Angell at the 10K Championship he finished only 12 seconds back of Angell at the 5K Championships in October. If he can put it all together, he is a threat. Greg Putnam has had a slight edge over Frieder on the last two Club XC Championships but Frieder had his measure on the roads in the fall. It will be fascinating to see who comes out on top this time. Sam Teigen finished just outside the top 10 Masters Runners at the California International Marathon in 2:31:35 and has a 26:24 8K to his credit. How will he fare on the cross country turf? The original posting left Sean Wade out of the discussion, an egregious error that I can blame on time constraints, but is pretty much inexcusable. Wade ran a 15:22 5K a couple of weeks ago; a little over a year ago he ran the Aramco Half Marathon in 1:12:21. Those marks both compare favorably with Angell's and suggest quite a dogfight for 2nd place. Because this is a short XC race, I will give more weight to the 5K results and put Wade ahead of Angell but it should be a great race to watch!

Kevin Castille     Sean Wade     David Angell

Kevin Castille leads the Masters men off from the start at the 2016 Club XC Championships at Apalachee regional park in Tallahassee Florida

Women. Sonja Friend-Uhl, the Women’s 2016 Club Cross Country Masters Champion, should also be considered the favorite. Coming off cooking a 1:22:46 at the Naples Half Marathon and setting a new Women’s 45-49 American Record with a 4:59.9 Indoor Mile, she is clearly fit and focused. In 2017 Friend-Uhl concentrated mostly on the track; her only appearance at a National Championship was at the Club XC Championships in Lexington where she finished an uncharacteristic third. In 2016 she finished a single second behind Marisa Sutera Strange’s winning 10K Championship time of 36:48. But in the fall she took not only the Club XC Championship but also the 5K road and the 5km Masters XC National Championships. Marisa Sutera Strange, who took Friend-Uhl’s measure in the 2016 10K Championship, will attempt to match that feat. But Friend-Uhl has the edge in Cross Country as Strange finished 4^th behind friend-Uhl at 2016 Club XC and was a half minute behind her at this past December’s Club XC in Lexington KY. Strange will be joined in the hunt by Maggie Shearer and Jennifer Bayliss, dropping down from their California International Marathon finishes in 8^th and 12^th respectively in the Masters competition. Shearer’s 36:39 in the fast Dana’s Point 10K suggests she may have the speed and stamina to stay with Friend-Uhl and Strange. also has the fastest 10K time of the 3 in the last couple of years at. Bayliss’s best road times for 5K and 10K at low 18’s and low 38’s are a bit off what the other three have attained but she will not be far off the pace and if anyone falters she too has a shot at the podium.

Sonja Friend-Uhl     Maggie Shearer     Marisa Sutera Strange

Sonja friend-Uhl claims the Masters win at the 2016 Club XC Championships in Tallahassee

AGE GRADING

 Women. Top contenders for the age-grading crown, signifying the best relative performance across all age groups includes 2017 Masters Athlete of the Year, Sabra Harvey. She took the Age Grading crown in each of the 5 Championships she entered on her way to a perfect 500 score to win the 2017 Individual Masters Grand Prix. She typically scored in the upper 90’s or lower 100’s, almost unheard of. There is no reason to expect anything different this year. Other contenders for the Age-Grading podium include Susan ‘Lynn’ Cooke, Doreen McCoubrie, and Marisa Sutera Strange.  Strange was on the Age-grading podium at 6 National Championships last year and had four second place finishes; hitting over 93% at the 5K and 8K. In races where they overlapped, the order was Harvey, Strange, McCoubrie and Cooke in that order. Of course 2018 is a new year so who knows?!

Sabra Harvey     Marisa Sutera Strange     Doreen McCoubrie

Sabra Harvey finishes the 2016 Club XC Championship where she took the Age-Grading Prize

Men. Kevin Castille is the favorite; he took the age-grading crown at each of the three national championships he entered.  He will be challenged by Nat Larson, who had the top age-grading score at the 2017 Club Cross Country Championships. Larson finished only one percentage point behind Castille at the 1 Mile Championships but was closer to three percentage points behind at the 5K and 15K Championships. Castille’s Age-Grade scores in the 1 Mile, 5K and 15K national championships were 92.67, 98.12, and 94.30. Other contenders include Rick Becker, Christian Cushing-Murray, Kent Lemme, and Mike McManus. Perhaps the best guide there is the recent Club XC Championships where all four of those competed, albeit with Becker in the 60+ 8K and the rest in the 10K. Larson topped the list at 91.65, followed by McManus at 88.49, Lemme at 88.37, Becker at 87.69, and Cushing-Murray at 85.88. Becker and Cushing-Murray both lost the first half of the 2017 season and so might, arguably, still be on the upswing in race fitness. They both ran Club XC in San Francisco in 2015, scoring 90.77 and 87.71. It seems Becker might be able to challenge McManus and Lemme but Castille and Larson should remain up top. Here, too, the egregious error on Sean Wade makes a big difference. Wade's 15:22 5K on January 13th, 3 weeks before his 52nd birthday, age graded above 96%. That makes him a potential threat even to Castille and likely means he is the favorite for 2nd place.

Kevin Castille     Sean Wade     Nat Larson   

 

Nat Larson [white singlet] contesting the Men's 50+ race at the 2016 Club XC Champinships at Tallahassee with Cal Coast's Pete Magill [blue] and three of the Atlanta Track Club team. Larson beat Magill by 8 seconds but finished 2nd to him in age-grading by 0.4% points.

AGE DIVISIONS

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Men 40-44. This is often a repeat of the Overall Men’s preview except that Kevin Castille, Greg Putnam, and Jonathan Frieder are all in the 45-49 division. That means I am picking David Angell to win the division and Sam Teigen to take second.  Third place looks like a tussle between Atlanta’s Mark Castleberry who has some low to mid-17 5K’s on the books and Garden State teammates, Thomas Knowles, who clocked a 16:42 in the 5K Championship at Syracuse and Chuck Schneekloth who has a 27:58 in the Ashenfelter 8K.

David Angell     Sam Teigen     Thomas Knowles

Women 40-44. Again here, Sonja Friend-Uhl,  Marisa Sutera Strange, and Jennifer Bayliss are in other age divisions so my overall race prediction suggests that Maggies Shearer should win the division. It appears that Carla McAlister and Kimberly Mueller are pretty evenly matched in the competition for the two remaining podium positions.  McAlister has a division 6^th and 9^th in the 2014 and 2015 Cross Country Championships in Boulder and a 1:23:46 Half Marathon on the fast RnR San Diego course. Mueller had a 1:25:43 in the same race. McAlister appears to have a bit of an edge.

Maggie Shearer     Carla McAlister     Kimberly Mueller

Men 45-49. Based on the Overall Men’s preview, this division must go to Kevin Castille by a very wide margin, with a fierce battle between Greg Putnam and Jonathan Frieder for the two remaining podium positions. If he runs as well as he ran in Tallahassee in 2016, Brent Fields could well figure into the race for the podium as well. Jonathan’s twin brother, Elliott, has been regaining his fitness over the last year or so and has been narrowing the gap between them. But at the last race Eliott was still 45 seconds back.

Kevin Castille     Greg Putnam     Jonathan Frieder

Women 45-49. I have Sonja friend-Uhl followed by Jennifer Bayliss in the division. But Nancy Thomas and Abby Dean could upset the apple cart. Thomas finished 6^th overall on tis course for the 2016 Club XC Championships. She was further back at Lexington, but it may be that the course at Tallahassee fits her running style better. Dean had some great divisional placing in the 10K Road championships in Dedham in 2014 and 2015, finishing 2^nd and 4^th in 37:50 and 38:38 but her times have slowed recently. Should she return to  her form of a couple of years ago, things could get interesting.

Sonja Friend-Uhl     Jennifer Bayliss      Nancy Thomas

Men 50-54. Sean Wade should have a solid win in this age division. Who takes the second and third place on the podium should come down to a battle between Mike McManus and Kent Lemme, with Christian Cushing-Murray right there pushing the pace in case either of those two falter. Lemme had the edge over McManus in both the 8K Road Championship in March and at the 10K XC course at Lexington in December. The margin was only 4 seconds at the 8K but it was 15 seconds at Club XC. Mark Hixon and Eric Stabb, two strong runners, will not be far off but it would be an upset for either to make the podium.  

Sean Wade     Kent Lemme     Mike McManus    

Women 50-54. Marisa Sutera Strange should take the division crown with minutes to spare.  Based on their performances in the past two Club XC events in Tallahassee and Lexington, Michelle Allen looks like a solid bet for 2^nd, with Carol Bischoff securely in for the 3^rd spot on the podium.

Marisa Sutera Strange     Michelle Allen     Carol Bischoff

Men 55-59. Nat Larson took the division crown at Club XC in Lexington by almost two minutes. The race here is 2K shorter so it will probably be closer but not much closer. Jeffery Dundas took 5^th in the division in the 1 Mile and has a New Year’s day 18:25 5K on the books this year so he has his fitness. Couple that with some low to mid 37 10K’s and he looks like a good bet for the podium.  Central park TC’s Ronald Romano appears to be a little off that paace but his 1:01:41 15K and his 1:28:17 in the UA NYC Half Marathon suggest he is perhaps the favorite for the final podium position. Kevin Paulk and Timothy Riccardi could also be in the hunt for a division podium spot.

Women 55-59. Trish Butler, Lynn Cooke, and Doreen McCoubrie should take the top 3 spots in the division. McCoubrie beat Cooke in their only meeting at the 8K at VIrginia Beach by over a minute. Butler, new to the division and on the comeback trail in the autumn, was strong enough to edge Cooke by a minute in the 5K. If Butler has regained her full fitness  she will give McCoubrie a terrific fight. Suzanne Cordes and Mary Swan could factor into the podium hunt if any of the top 3 are off their game.

Doreen McCoubrie     Trish Butler     Lynn Cooke

Men 60-64. Rick Becker and Ken Youngers had largely achieved their comebacks from surgery by the time Club XC rolled around and, as a result, took 2-3 behind Joe Sheeran who is not entered here. Becker took Youngers by 6 seconds at Lexington but they had two minutes on Michael Anderson and Brian Cummins, who are likely to be their closest pursuers in Tallahassee. Not far behind them were teammates, Reno Stirrat and Kevin Dollard, who will try to break into the top bunch of finishers.

Rick Becker     Ken Youngers     Michael Anderson

Women 60-64. Most of the competitors at Tallahassee were also in Lexington for the Club XC Championships. Based on that race it looks like Patricia Ford and Sharon Moore could go 1-2. But there is one newcomer who is likely to upset that outcome. Catharine Utzschneider competes mostly in aquathons but she ran the Marine Corps 5K in Massachusetts in 22:04. That should mean she has the speed to take the crown in the division. We shall see. Cynthia Williams could make the podium if any of those are off their best. And, by the same token, Sharon Ames, Cheryl Guth, and Susan Stirrat will not be much off the pace either.

Catharine Utzschneider     Patricia Ford     Sharon Moore

Men 65-69. Doug Bell should be at the top of the division. The only guys who beat him last year are not coming to Tallahasee. Kirk Larson has been running well lately and should be in the hunt for 2^nd along with Chuck Smead, who ran in the 15K this past October. Smead came in a few seconds ahead of Peter Mullin, one of the two guys who beat Bell in 2017. But a few years back when this Championship was run in Boulder Colorado, Bell was a minute and a half faster than Smead. It should be a fun race. I am guessing Bell can still beat Smead on a cross country course over 8K but we shall see. Larson was less than two minutes back from Bell on this course in 2016, but Larson was probably running better at the end of 2016 than 2017. If Lloyd Hansen has the fitness he had in 2015 when he was the Men’s 65-69 Runner of the Year, he would be right in with Bell and Smead but at Tulsa he was 3 minutes back. So we will have to wait and see; it could be a tough fight between Larson and Hansen for the final podium spot.

Doug Bell     Chuck Smead     Kirk Larson

Women 65-69. This division belongs to Sabra Harvey, the 2017 USATF Masters Athlete of the Year. Terry Foody, of the Bluegrass Runners will also contest the division and will be happy to take second to Harvey.

Sabra Harvey    Terry Foody

Men 70-74. Based on the way runners were running at the end of 2017 Dave Glass, Tony Gingello, and Gene French should have the edge over Paul Carlin [that’s me!]and Jim May who both ran strong earlier in the year. May won the 8K in 35:01 and then suffered a XC injury. He struggled with injuries, off and on, the rest of the year. I took 2^nd to May and then Gingello in the 10K, won the Half Marathon and finished 3^rd at Syracuse but then the wheels started to come off late in the year as my recalcitrant left hamstring started to reduce training efficiency. The hamstring is responding to dry needling and other Physical Therapy ‘magic’ but is a ‘work in progress.’ At Lexington, Glass came in almost a minute ahead of Gingello who had a minute on French. May’s teammate, Keith Yeates, was the next runner to finish so he could factor in on Saturday.

Dave Glass     Tony Gingello     Gene French

Women 70-74. Uncontested at the end of online registration.

Men 75-79. New to the 75 and up division, Robert Hendrick should waltz home with the Division Championship. Third in the 70-74 division at the 15K Championship in 1:10:02, he ran almost 3 minutes faster earlier in the year at the Gate River Run. He ran a 3:30 Marathon around Thanksgiving but over two months in between should have gotten that post-Marathon sluggishness out of his legs. David Turner took Charlie Patteson’s measure by a few seconds at Lexington so I have to give him the edge for now. Ron Mastin returns to the fray after missing all of 2017. At Boulder in 2015 Mastin was a few minutes ahead of Turner. We will see on Saturday where he is now, but he could definitely play a role.

Robert Hendrick     David Turner     Charlie Patterson

Women 75-79. As of the close of registration, Madeline Bost was the sole entrant and will win the Championship unless a rival shows up to register onsite.

Men 80-84. Jim Askew must also suffer with the lack of competition as he will take the division. 80-84 Runner of the Year last year, whether opposed or not, he took first in all of his Championship races save one.

Jim Askew

Women 80-84. Eve Pell will contest this division but no one else.

Eve Pell

Men 85-89. Unless someone else registers at packet pickup, Al Ray, the only registrant, will win the Division and also take home the honor of being the oldest finisher on the day.

Al Ray

TEAMS

Tune in later for possible updates—Here's what I have now is:

Women 40 and up. Impala Racing wins uncontested.

Women 50 and up. The Athena Track Club and the New Balance Tampa Masters team went 1-2 in the 2017 Masters Grand Prix Club competition for, and NBT will be trying to knock off the top dogs this Saturday to get a step up on the 2018 competition.

Athena       New Balance Tampa

Women 60 and up. The three teams entered finished in order at the Club XC Championships: Atlanta Track Club, Syracuse Track Club, and  Genesee Valley Harriers but ti was close. Looks like another barn burner.

Atlanta     Syracuse     GVH

Men 40 and up. With the Frieder twins up front and Knowles and Schneekloth solid in the middle, it looks like Garden state has just a little more strength than Atlanta for this race but it may be closer than it looks. [Aside—Garden State definitely wins for longest name!]

Garden State Track Club New Balance      Atlanta Track Club

Men 50 and up. The Greater Springfield Harriers, 2017 Club Grand Prix Champions, should start off 2018 with a victory. That is despite Atlanta, Cal Coast and GVH bringing strong teams. At Lexington, it was Cal Coast, GVH and atlanta chasing Greater Springfield in that order and I will pick it the same here.

Greater Springfield Harriers     Cal Coast Track Club     GVH

Men 60 and up. The tightest team contest for the Men is probably in the 60+ division where the 2017 Grand Prix winner in the division, the Boulder Road Runners tries to hold off the improved Atlanta Track Club which finished 3^rd but defeated the 2^nd place club, Shore AC at the Club Cross Country Championships this past December.

Boulder Road Runners     Atlanta Track Club     Shore AC

Men 70 and up. Atlanta is stronger with Dave Glass up front and Ron mastin returning but GVH appears to strong in the middle with Tony Gingello not far off of Glass, Jim May and Keith Yeates always tough. It looks like Coach Sumner may have to do a little more recruiting to move his Cal Coast team up higher on the podium than third in future races.

GVH     Atlanta Track Club ‘A’     Cal Coast Track Club

Masters Athletes Raced the 2017 Fall Marathon Majors and CIM

January 20 2018. If a true Long Distance Runner is defined, ultimately, by their marathons, then we should take a look at the performances of American Masters athletes in the two World Marathon majors this past fall, Chicago and New York.As a special bonus, I will also review Masters racing at the California International Marathon which was the 2017 USATF Open Marathon Championship.

BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON

There were plenty of headline grabbers in Chicago with the NOP athletes, Galen Rupp, with his first Marathon major win and Jordan Hasay, with her breakout podium-finish in a marathon. But plenty of Masters Athletes toed the line looking for PR’s and iconic awards. In Chicago on October 8^th, they joined more than 40,000 other runners on a partly cloudy morning with moderate winds. Temperatures at 7:30 were in the mid-50’s but older elite  Masters runners who were still running in late morning may have found the upper 60’s temperatures a bit less to their liking.

MEN

Sam Krieg, of Pocatello Idaho, ran away with the overall Masters race, gaining almost two minutes on the field in the first 5K, hitting the Half Marathon in 1:11:38 and bringing it home in 2:26:40, nearly 13 minutes ahead of the second finisher from the US. Philippe Rolly, of McLean Virginia, fit neatly into the slot between Krieg and the rest of the field. Rolly hit the 5K in 18:26, with 20 seconds on his rivals; he upped the gap to nearly three minutes as he crossed the half marathon mat in 1:16:13. By the end he had a 2:34:29 Marathon and a 2^nd place Masters finish. Two Chicago runners, Jeff Hojnacki and Anand Parekh, presumably old rivals well acquainted with one another, vied for the third US spot. They hit each mat within two seconds of one another, 18:49-50 at the 5K, 1:19:01-2 at the Half Marathon and 2:29:10 at the 40K mark. In the final 2 kilometers, perhaps the final 100 meters, Parekh edged ahead to take the third spot by one second in 2:37:17.

Sam Krieg 2:26:40   Philippe Roly 2:34:29   Anand Parekh 2:37:17

Sam Krieg competing at the Boston Marathon [Photo Credit:https://idahostatejournal.com/members/pocatello-runner-finishes-th-in-boston-marathon/article_a8743c27-4923-5d3a-a48b-fba71b41da59.html]

Top Level  National Class performances [age grade scores at or above 85%] were turned in by: Sam Krieg, 41, Philippe Rolly, 45, Jeffrey Young, 58, Dave Walters, 63,  John Valles, 70, and Dmytro Lebediev, 76.

Anchorage Alaska Runner, Jeff Young, preps for the 2015 NYC Marathon [Photo from: http://alaskasportshall.org/2015/11/young-finishes-second-in-age-group-at-new-york-city-marathon/]

Age Divisions

Top 3 Americans*—Outstanding performances for Age in larger print (National Class minimum of 80% age grade or better).

40-44: Sam Krieg 41 Pocatello ID 2:26:40 [Age Grade 86.80%]; Jeff Hojnacki 43 Chicago IL 2:37:18 [82.22%]; Jason Holroyd 41 St. Louis MO 2:39:57 [79.59]

45-49: Philippe Rolly 45 McLean VA 2:34:29 [85.12]; Anand Parekh 45 Chicago IL 2:37:17 [83.61]; Matt Fitzgerald 46 2:39:30 [83.12]

50-54: Billy Mertens 50 Louisville CO 2:41:31 [84.94]; John Collet 50 Verona IL 2:42:49 [84.27]; Philip Regnier 51 Boulder CO 2:46:49 [82.97]

55-59: Jeffrey Young 58 Anchorage AK 2:49:34 [86.95]; Alexander McPherson 56 South Bend IN 2:53:16 [83.53]; Tim Dwyer 57 Rochester NY 3:04:55 [78.99]

60-64: Dave Walters 62 Lisle IL 2:53:27 [88.30]; Michael Brosilow 60 Chicago IL 2:59:25 [83.74]; Hernando Morales 60 St. Charles IL 3:03:14 [82.00]

65-69: James Tierney 67 Franksville WI  3:31:08 [76.23]; Bernard McGourty 65 Westmont IL 3:40:00 [71.70]; Kenneth McClelland 67 Rockford IL 3:42:08 [72.46]

70-74: John Valles 70 Chicago IL 3:14:24 [85.41]; Augusto Lastimosa  70 Fort Worth TX 4:10:26 [66.30]; Mark Clarke 70 Joliet IL 4:10:30 [66.28]

75-79: Dmytro Lebediev 76 Jamaica NY 3:31:07 [85.48]; Hans Henseler 78 Decatur IL 5:01:02 [62.27]; John Abramic 79 Midlothian IL 6:10:33 [51.67]

80+:  Jack Yoo 83 Chicago IL 4:31:59 [77.92]; Julian Gordon 81 Lake Bluff IL 5:48:20 [57.62]; Sylvan Praturian 82 Berwyn IL 5:54:54 [58.05]

John Koomjohn, 85, of Oswego IL was the oldest finisher, in 7:34:19.

^*Residence is listed as within the United States; no information on citizenship is indicated.

WOMEN

Dot McMahan, one of the top Open performers who just turned 40 this year, ran away with the overall Masters race by the end. In the early going Jenelle Deatherage was able to stay close. McMahan hit the 5K in 18:37 and Deatherage was only 13 seconds back. She was still within a minute when McMahan hit the Half Marathon mark in 1:19:00, but fell away steadily after that. McMahan ran a negative split, covering the second half of the race in 1:18:08 while Deatherage ran her second half nine minutes slower than her first half. Angela Moll started out at a more moderate pace, running 19:25 for the first 5K , and did not hit the halfway mark until 1:22:42, nearly three minutes behind Deatherage. But, like McMahan, Moll had held more in reserve than Deatherage. It appears that Deatherage hit the proverbial ‘wall’ between 30K and 35K when her 5K time ballooned from around 20 minutes or below to nearly 21 minutes and then it took her over 24 minutes to get from 35K to 40K; that must have been a tough time. She did tough it out, but Moll went from nearly 3 minutes behind to just a few seconds by the 40K mark and surged past in the last kilometer to take 2^nd in 2:48:59, five seconds ahead of Deatherage. Maggie Shearer kept within 20 seconds of Moll through the first half of the race and then drew even closer as she was only 6 seconds back at the 30K mark. But that was the high point as she was not able to match Moll’s pace over the last 12K and wound up 2 minutes back from Deatherage as the 4^th American.

Dot McMahan 2:37:08   Angela Moll 2:48:59   Jenelle Detherage 2:49:04

Dot McMahan competing inthe Chicago Marathon [Photo Credit: http://cdnnym.nyrr.org/about-the-race/2016-tcs-new-york-city-marathon-stories/dot-mcmahan]

http://cdnnym.nyrr.org/about-the-race/2016-tcs-new-york-city-marathon-stories/dot-mcmahan

Top Level  National Class performances were turned in by: Dot McMahan, 40, Corina Canitz, 50, Tina Dowling, 51, and Stacy Nigrelli, 63.

Corina Canitz competing at the 2016 Boston Marathon [Photo Credit: Matthew Muise-https://muisephoto.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/boston-marathon-2016/]

Age Divisions

Top 3 Americans*—Outstanding performances for Age in larger print (National Class minimum of 80% age grade or better).

40-44: Dot McMahan 40 Rochester Hills MI 2:37:08 [Age Grade 88.85%]; Angela Moll 40 San Diego CA 2:48:59 [82.62%]; Jenelle Deatherage 40 Dunlap IL 2:49:04 [82.58]

45-49: Colleen McGurk 46 New York NY 3:00:18 [81.43]; Richi Kroupa 45 Huntington Beach CA 3:03:46 [79.09]; Dana Rothschild 45 Chicago IL 3:13:57 [74.93]

50-54: Corina Canitz 50 Brookfield WI 2:59:33 [85.74]; Tina Dowling 51 Bolton MA 3:00:25 [86.41]; Jill Kingsbury 52 Kansas City MO 3:09:29 [83.33]

55-59: Sue George 55 Harvard MA 3:28:26 [78.79]; Lauri Wilson 55 Charlottesville VA 3:29:39 [78.33]; Ellen Gerth 55 Lutz FL 3:31:28 [77.66]

60-64: Stacy Nigrelli 63 Pittsburgh PA 3:33:32 [86.09]; Dolores Doman 60 Dix Hills NY 3:48:06 [77.14]; Deborah Lazaroff 61 Jackson MI 3:48:19 [78.19]

65-69: Laurie Dohrn 65 Ringwood IL 4:04:54 [77.38]; Donna Pierson 66 Tucson AZ 4:13:55 [75.80]; Kate Stewart 67 Berkeley CA 4:24:00 [74.06]

70-74: Nancy Rollins 70 Evanston IL 4:01:35 [84.98]; Mary Campbell 72 Ann Arbor MI 5:07:56 [68.97]; Judy Gunn 70 Springfield IL 5:40:47 [60.24]

75-79: Hansi Rigney 75 Carmel CA 4:45:28 [78.51]; Mary Dunbar 75 Cleveland Heights OH 6:21:57 [58.68]; Connie Ratzel 77 Chicago IL 6:32:28 [59.59]—Ratzel was eldest US competitor to finish.

Connie Ratzel, 77, of Chicago IL was the oldest finisher, in 6:32:28

TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

The big noise in New York this fall was Shalane Flanagan’s redemptive win, defeating Kenya’s Mary Keitany by just over a minute. But as with Chicago there were plenty of Masters story lines as well on Sunday, November 5th. Overcast skies with mid to upper 50’s temperatures and winds 4-9 mph greeted the competitors, pretty good weather for a Marathon!

WOMEN

North Carolina’s Laurie Knowles was the class of the Masters field, clocking 19:14 for the first 5K and leaving all her rivals over a minute back. Her 1:17:58 split at the halfway point gave her ten minutes on the field, and she brought it home as first Masters in 2:40:09 with almost twenty minutes on the field. But there was quite a tussle for 2^nd as left than a half minute separated the two chief contenders, Tammy Richards and Brenda Hodge, at the finish line. Richards covered the first 5K in 20:27 with Hodge a half minute back. The gap grew to a minute when Richards covered the 15K in 1:01:38. That was the high point for Richards as Hodge began to slowly reel her in. Richards had a 1:27:31 Half Marathon split with Hodge now only 44 seconds back. By 30K the gap was down to 4 seconds; Hodge passed Richards and had a 28 second gap of her own by the 35K marker, which she crossed in 2:27:32. But Richards fought back and with only two kilometers to go, Hodge’s lead was back down to a single second. Whether Hodge was aware of Richards breathing down her neck or not, Hodge was able to find the reserves for a snappy finish, kicking in for a 2:59:23 finish and a 23 second gap on Richards.

Laurie Knowles 2:40:09   Brenda Hodge 2:59:23   Tammy Richards 2:59:46

Laurie Knowles running at the 2017 NYC Marathon [Photo Credit: Facebook post by Knowles]

A World Class performance [Age grade score at or above 90%] was turned in by Joan Gerold, 68. Top Level  National Class performances [Age grade score at or above 85%, but below 90] were turned in by: Laurie Knowles, 40, and Sharlet Gilbert, 66.

Sharlet Gilbert training in San Francisco for the 2013 Point Coyote 10K [Photo Credit-Cindy Chew-from: https://archives.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/passion-for-running-hit-sharlet-gilbert-at-an-early-age/Content?oid=2195185]

Age Divisions

Top 3 Americans*—Outstanding performances for Age in larger print (National Class minimum of 80% age grade or better).

40-44 Laurie Knowles 40 Charlotte NC 2:40:09 [Age Grade 87.18%]; Tammy Richards 43 Williamsville VT 2:59:46 [79.39]; Bean Wrenn 44 Boulder CO 3:09:16 [76.07]

45-49 Brenda Hodge 46 York PA 2:59:23 [81.85%]; Joanne Sacket 49 Des Moines IA 3:19:27 [78.11]; Samantha Forde 45 Santa Cruz CA 3:16:29 [73.97]

50-54 Holly Madden 51 Cohasset MA 3:13:32 [80.55]; Hope Bain 51 Colorado Springs CO 3:20:25 [77.79]; Kimberly Thomas 51 Santa Cruz CA 3:22:23 [77.03]

55-59 Denise Iannizzotto 55 Lake Katrine NY 3:22:45 [80.99]; Julie Luft 55 Athens GA 3:29:08 [78.52]; Patrice Kentner 56 Pelham NY 3:30:50 [78.94]

60-64 Gloria Huberman 60 Fair Lawn NJ 3:43:24 [78.76]; Dolores Doman 60 Dix Hills NY 3:44:05 [78.52]; Marcia Brown 60 Brooklyn NY 3:44:28 [78.39]

65-69 Joan Gerold 68 Stony Brook NY 3:38:14 [91.03]; Sharlet Gilbert 66 El Sobrante CA 3:41:08 [87.04]; Shuko Yamane 65 Honolulu HI 3:57:12 [79.89]

70-74 Liz Burger 70 Long Beach CA 4:39:19 [73.50]; Kathrine Switzer 70 New Paltz NY 4:48:21 [71.20]; Lou Norton 71 Richmond VA 5:15:26 [66.19]

75-79 Yue Qin Fu 76 New York NY 5:24:01 [70.60]; Patty Lee Parmalee 77 Wallkill NY 5:58:03 [65.32]; Sharon Kerson 75 Culver City CA 8:14:06 [45.36]

80-89 Ginette Bedard 84 Howard Beach NY 6:12:53 [78.00]; Phyllis Roth 80 Riverdale NY 6:30:37 [64.77]

 Ginette Bedard, 84, of Oswego IL was the oldest finisher, in 6:12:53

MEN

The Overall Masters race for the Men was fought out in the midst of the Open contest as two of the most decorated Masters Runners of the past twenty years,  Abdi Abdirahman and Meb Keflezighi, contested for the Open and Masters titles at the same time. They ran together for the first 10K hitting the split in 31:56. They were still in the lead pack at the Half Marathon split, hitting it in 1:06:14 and 1:06:16. The same was true at 30K but that was when Abdi stayed with the leaders and Meb started to fall back; Abdi’s 35K split was 1:49:37, with Meb 20 seconds back. Abdi continued to pull away over the final 7 kilometers, crossing the finish line in 2:12:48 while Meb arrived at 2:15:29 in 2^nd. Needless to say they both had over 20 minutes over the first ‘every day’ runner to finish.  

Michael Arnstein and Knox Robinson battled for the honor of being the first Masters finisher who was not already a global celebrity. Robinson hit the first 5K split in 18:20 with a half minute lead on Arnstein. From there to the halfway point, Robinson added steadily to his lead as he crossed the halfway mat in 1:16:46 with nearly three minutes on his rival. Arnstein took 8 seconds back in the next 3K but then Robinson righted the ship and the gap held steady for the next 10K. But then Arnstein started to make real inroads, dropping the gap to a minute and a half by the 40K mark. By then it was too late; Arnstein continued to cut into the lead but Robinson held on to claim the third spot in 2:36:46 with a 55 second gap to Arnstein.

Abdi Abdirahman 2:12:48  Meb Keflezighi 2:15:29  Knox Robinson 2:36:46

Abdi Abdirahman finishing 3rd Overall and first American at the 2016 NYC Marathon at age 39 [Photo from: http://www.runblogrun.com/2016/11/six-lessons-we-learned-from-tcs-nyc-marathon.html]

World class performances were turned in by Abdi Abdirahman, 40, and Meb Keflezighi, 42. A Top Level National Class performances was turned in by: Dave Walters, 62.

Dave Walters winning his age division at the 2015 Chicago Marathon [Photo Credit: Marathon Foto]

Age Divisions

Top 3 Americans*—Outstanding performances for Age in larger print (National Class minimum of 80% age grade or better).

40-44 Abdi Abdirahman 40 Tucson AZ 2:12:48 [95.21%]; Meb Keflezighi 42 San Diego CA 2:15:29 [94.69]; Knox Robinson 42 Beacon NY 2:36:46 [81.83]

45-49 Art Gunther 46 Nyack NY 2:41:18 [82.20]; Topher Gaylord 48 Baltimore MD 2:45:33 [81.46]; Chris Dawes 46 New York NY 2:46:46 [79.50]

50-54 Tim Meigs 51 Raleigh NC 2:43:52 [84.46]; Brad Kelley 51 Jackson Heights NY 2:48:59 [81.90]; Blais Brochard 51 New York NY 2:50:26 [81.20]

55-59 Vic Horne 55 Redmond WA 2:55:42 [81.64]; Paul Stoodley 57 Columbus OH 3:00:04 [81.12]; Phil Dillenburg 59 Flagstaff AZ 3:05:41 [80.15]

60-64 Dave Walters 62 Lisle IL 2:51:39 [89.22]; Joe Standerfer 61 Winston Salem NC 3:04:33 [82.19]; Michael Brosilow 60 Chicago IL 3:09:38 [79.23]

65-69 James Tierney 67 Franksville WI 3:32:24 [75.78]; Bob Welby 65 Northumberland PA 3:35:17 [73.28]; Carl Randall 66 Ocean Isle Beach NC 3:35:49 [73.82]

70-74 Pedro Galva 73 Chicago IL 3:44:31 [76.70]; Ron Fleming 70 Granger WA 3:56:08 [70.31]; Richard Vila 71 Block island RI 3:57:33 [70.67]

75-79 Kenneth Neil 75 Seattle WA 4:25:38 [66.80]; H Krishnaswamy 75 Chandler AZ 4:33:55 [64.78]; Peter Teachout 77 Norwich VT 4:48:00 [63.83]

80-89 Chuck Van Duzee 80 Bradenton FL 6:13:58 [52.38]; Paul Shanahan 80 Cheshire CT 6:28:33 [50.41]; Danil Farkash 81 Forest Hills NY 7:41:22 [43.50]

Danil Farkash, 81, of Forest Hills NY was the oldest finisher, in 7:41:22

CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON

Although not as storied as the Chicago and NYC Marathons, the California International Marathon had the distinction this year of being the USATF Open Marathon Championship. As there was no Masters Championship in 2017, that distinction may have attracted the attention of some of our swifter Masters Marathoners. In 2018 they, and other Masters Runners, will have the opportunity to race for a National Marathon Championship at the Snohomish River Run a few miles north of Seattle, on October 14^th.

Run for over 30 years, the CIM course is point-to-point, running downhill overall from Folsom Dam to the State Capitol in Sacramento. With a drop of over 100 meters, the course is not record eligible but it should be a good course for PR’S. On December 3, 2017 at 7 am, a strong collection of elite Masters Marathoners lined up behind the Men’s Professional Elite field. The temperature was 40 degrees, the skies overcast and the winds calm, auspicious conditions. The temperatures rose as the morning moved along and the marathoners dropped down toward sea level. But the main change was that the skies became clear; the temps only rose to the mid to upper 50’s, and the winds remained calm.

Masters Men

The field included Tom Clarke, who finished 3^rd overall and 1^st Masters at the Newport (OR) Marathon; Emisael Favela, who finished as 4^th Masters at the 2017 Chicago Marathon; 2014 Seattle Marathon winner, Shaun Frandsen;  two-time [2012, 2016] Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, Eric Loeffler; Sam Teigen, 7^th Masters finisher this year UA NYC HM and 19^th at the Boston Marathon;  Olivier Vrambout, who finished 2^nd Masters in the 2017 Twin Cities Marathon and 3^rd at Grandma’s Marathon; Michael Wardian, winner of the Abbot World Majors 2017 Seven Marathons on 7 Continents in 7 Days Challenge, and 2^nd place finisher at the 2014 USATF Masters Marathon Championship; and Olympic Trials steeplechaser and 2015 National Masters Marathon champion, Clint Wells.

Loeffler left no doubt of his intent, covering the first 10K in 32:31. The only runner to stay oithin a minute of Loeffler was Vrambout, with Wells a full minute back, Frandsen a minute and a half, Wardian 2 minutes, Clarke two and a half, and Teigen and Favela over three minutes behind.  By the Half Marathon split, Wells had passed Vrambout but was now a full 2 minutes behind Loeffler, who strode across the mat in 1:08:31. Vrambout, Frandsen, Wardian, Clarke,Teigen and Favela followed. Running the second half in 1:09:03, Loeffler decimated the field, running 2:17:34, to win by almost 4 minutes. Wells could not close at all on Loeffler but he put plenty of distance between him and the rest of the field as his 2:21:27 was good enough for 2^nd place with a margin of 7 minutes. Vrambout still had 26 seconds on Frandsen at the 20 mile mark but Frandsen was able to close faster, claiming the final Masters podium spot in 2:28:47, just 17 seconds ahead of Vrambout. Thirty-eight seconds later Clarke claimed 5^th while Favela ran a strongly negative split race to take 6^th in 2:30:08, with Teigen in 7^th.

Eric Loeffler 2:17:34  Clint Wells 2:21:27   Shaun Frandsen 2:28:47

Eric Loeffler competing at the 2015 Aramco Houston Half Marathon where he was the 2nd finisher in the 35-39 age division[Photo from: http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/2015/01/going-the-distance/]

[Photo from: http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/2015/01/going-the-distance/]

World Class performances [age-grade 90% and above] were turned in by Eric Loeffler, 40, Clint Wells, 42, Ken Pliska, 52, and Iain Mickle, 56.

Iain Mickle training in Sacramento for the 2017 San Francisco Marathon [Photo from: http://projects.sfchronicle.com/2017/sf-marathon/training/]

Top Level  National Class performances [age-grade 85%  but less than 90] were turned in by: Olivier Vrambout, 43, Sam Teigen, 43, Tom Clarke, 46, Chris Knorzer, 48, Edward Randolph, 48, Martin Rindahl, 54, Robert Economy, 53, Timothy DeGrado, 57, Jacob Nur, 62, and Joseph Burgasser, 79.

Age Divisions

Top 3 Americans*—Outstanding performances for Age in larger print (National Class minimum of 80% age grade or better).

40-44: Eric Loeffler 40 Minneapolis MN 2:17:34 [Age Grade 91.91%]; Clint Wells 42 Boulder CO 2:21:27 [90.69%]; Shaun Frandsen 40 Kirkland WA 2:28:47 [84.98]

45-49: Tom Clarke 46 Phoenix AZ  2:29:42 [88.57]; Chris Knorzer 48 Rocklin CA 2:38:04 [85.31]; Edward Randolph 48 San Francisco CA 2:38:28 [85.10]

50-54: Ken Pliska 52 Golden CO 2:34:36 [90.31]; Martin Rindahl 54 Fresno CA 2:40:05 [88.79]; Robert Economy 53 Victoria MN 2:42:39 [86.61]

55-59: Iain Mickle 56 Sacramento CA 2:39:52 [90.53]; Timothy DeGrado 57 Rochester MN 2:51:05 [85.38]; Alan Whalen 55 Eugene OR 2:52:05 [83.35]

60-64: Jacob Nur 62 Elk Grove CA 2:54:10 [87.93]; Brian Nelson 60 Bakersfield CA 3:01:20 [82.86]; Doug Steedman 62 San Francisco CA 3:02:41 [83.83]

65-69: John Hirschberger 65 San Francisco CA 3:21:12 [78.40]; Dave Miller 67 Ahwahnee CA 3:21:59 [79.68]; James Morris 68 Albany CA 3:40:45 [73.67]

70-74: Ted Stevens 72 Citrus Heights CA 4:10:59 [67.7] Jimmy McCullough 73 Mount Shasta CA 4:16:08 [67.23] Nal Lokeshwar 70 San Jose CA 4:19:51[63.9]

75-79: Joseph Burgasser 79 Saint Petersburg FL 3:59:04 [80.08] Ruben Anton 75 Los Angeles CA 4:17:58 [68.79] Howard Ferris 75 Davis CA 4:22:01 [67.72]

80-84: Manuel Loverde 82 Sacramento CA 6:01:59 [56.91] Larry Lieb 84 Carmichael CA 6:32:18 [55.67] Anthony Caviglia 80 Castro Valley CA 6:45:00 [48.36]

As suspected, the sharks were in the water; a strong turnout resulted in national class performances by the entire podium in every age division for both Women and Men from 40-44 through 60-64.

Masters Women

The field included several top flight Masters runners. Hilary Corno finished 9th among the elite women and was first Masters Woman at the 2016 CIM in 2:43:03. She also finished 3rd in her age group at Boston in April in 2:42:16. Jenelle Deatherage was 6th woman overall and first in the 35-39 division at the 2016 Twin Cities Marathon. In the BOA Chicago Marathon, as reported above, Deatherage was the 3rd Masters Woman across the finish line in 2:49:04. Molly Friel finished 2nd at the 2015 USATF Masters Marathon Championship at the Twin Cities Marathon in 2:54:42 before finishing 74th overall in the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon in 2:51:17, outrunning many of her younger rivals in those very hot conditions. Like a lot of other runners, Dawn Grunnagle had a tough day at the Olympic Trials Marathon but she did finish, albeit in a bit over 3 hours. After that she competed in the 2016 TCS NYC Marathon, finishing 2nd in the 35-39 age division in 2:49:37. Kate Landau finished 2nd in her age division at the Boston Marathon in April, running 2:40:02. Tanya Molleker is primarily a triathlete if I have identified the correct person; there is a puzzle about reported age though, as that triathlete is listed as age 37 in 2017 events and the runner in this event is listed as 42.

Landau went off with a purpose, hitting the 10K point in 36:36 with over half a minute on her closest pursuer, Grunnagle. Molleker was another 22 seconds back in 37:35 with Deatherage trailing her by 10 seconds, Corno  another 15 seconds back and then Friel in 38:41, biding her time. Between there and the half marathon, Grunnagle closed down on Landau as they went through the halfway mark in 1:18:29 and 1:18:30. Molleker was now a minute back, having passed Deatherage who was a minute and a half back at 1:20:00. Deatherage’s lead over Corno had stretched ever so slightly to 18 seconds, with Friel still being patient coming through in 1:21:54, a good 90 seconds after Corno. Grunnagle made a strong move between the halfway point and the 20 mile mark, dropping her pace from 5:59 per mile to 5:55 per mile, creating almost a 3 minute gap back to Landau who, in turn, had only a 23 second lead on Deatherage. Molleker was another 18 seconds back with only a 9 second lead on Corno.  Perhaps this would not be Friel’s day as she was now over 2 minutes back from Corno in 2:05:09. The final 10K saw Grunnagle pouring it on even more, dropping her pace now to 5:52 and finishing in 2:35:42 with a strongly negative split of 1:18:30/1:17:12. In the end she had almost a 7 minute margin on the 2^nd place finisher-Wow! Deatherage had made a huge effort between the Halfway mark and 20 miles to cut Landau’s lead to 23 seconds but she could only take another 4 seconds out of the gap over the last 10K as Landau rallied to keep her at bay 2:42:39 to 2:42:58. Friel, the seasoned veteran,  continued her steady pacing at just about 6:15 per mile, which was enough to carry her past Molleker by 52 seconds and within a minute of the 3^rd place finisher, Deatherage.  Corno had a tough final 10K, finishing three minutes further back. 

Dawn Grunnagle 2:35:42  Kate Landau 2:42:39  Jenelle Deatherage 2:42:58

Dawn Grunnagle competing in a race to prepare for the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon [Photo from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2016/02/10/former-east-star-grunnagle-has-olympic-hopes/80083340/]

World Class performances [age-grade 90% and above] were turned in by Molly Friel, 50, Susan Loken, 54, and Karen Kunz, 62.

Molly Friel competing at the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon [Photo from: http://www.oiselle.com/blog/photo-recap-fierce-flyers-olympic-marathon-trials?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=boost&utm_campaign=blog+fierce+flyer+OT+race+021316

Top Level  National Class performances [age-grade 85%  but less than 90] were turned in by: Dawn Grunnagle, 40, Kate Landau, 41, Jenelle Deatherage, 40, Tanya Molleker, 42, Amy Halseth, 48, Sheri Piers, 46, Jennifer Bayliss, 47, Kami Semick, 51, Janet Norem, 60, Sharlet Gilbert, 66, Liz Friedman, 69, and Hansi Rigney, 76.  

Age Divisions

Top 3 Americans*—Outstanding performances for Age in larger print (National Class minimum of 80% age grade or better).

40-44: Dawn Grunnagle 40 Dallas TX 2:35:42 [Age Grade 89.67%]; Kate Landau 41 Tacoma WA 2:42:39 [86.41%]; Jenelle Deatherage 40 Dunlap IL 2:42:58 [85.67]

45-49: Amy Halseth 48 Minneapolis MN 2:49:15 [88.74] Sheri Piers 46 Falmouth ME 2:52:23

50-54: Molly Friel 50 Fresno CA 2:43:57 [93.90] Susan Loken 54 Phoenix AZ 2:55:41 [92.25]; Kami Semick 51 Bend OR 2:58:53 [87.15]

 

55-59: Debbie Zakerski 55 Rancho Cordova CA 3:18:31 [82.72] Makie Ohler 55 Nevada City CA 3:20:01 [82.10]; Robyn Roybal 57 Rancho Cucamonga CA 3:22:40 [83.25]

60-64: Karen Kunz 62 Gold River CA 3:15:06 [92.84] Janet Norem 60 Grover Beach CA 3:21:16 [87.42] Carol Sexton 60 Woodinville WA 3:39:27 [80.18]

65-69: Sharlet Gilbert 66 El Sobrante CA 3:43:12 [86.23] Liz Friedman 69 Redding CA 4:06:08 [82.04] Christine Wellins 65 Sacramento CA 4:18:08 [73.41]

70-74: Barbara Brady 73 Livermore CA 4:40:27 [77.06] Anne Marie Gonsalves 70 San Leandro CA 5:01:41 [68.05] Dilyn Radakovitz 71 Loomis CA 5:40:18 [61.35]

75-79: Hansi Rigney 76 Carmel CA 4:21:06 [87.61] Sharon Hampton 75 Sutter Creek CA 4:49:13 [77.50] Carolyn Slavich 76 Sacramento CA 5:07:22 [74.42]

80-84: Elizabeth Buffum 80 Beaverton OR 6:43:42 [62.67]

The oldest finishers were:  Larry Lieb, 84, of Carmichael CA and Elizabeth Buffum, 80, of Beaverton OR.

 

And what will 2018 hold in store for distance runnerw? Boston, Chicago, and New York will still be the chief destinations for Masters Marathoners but in 2018, for the first time since 2015, there will be a USATF Masters Marathon Championship, on October 14 2018 at the Snohomish River Run Marathon in Snohomish WA, just north of Seattle.Be there if you want to be a National Masters Marathon Champion!