Age Division Contests [40-44 through 55-59] at the USATF Masters 5K Championships in Syracuse-Competition Like Crazy!

October 9 2017. Over 280 runners entered the USATF Masters 5K Championships hosted by the Syracuse Festival of Races. Uncooperative hamstrings, ill-timed stress fractures, illnesses, and family responsibilities kept a few folks away but those who turned up were determined to compete for their teams and/or for individual glory and, of course, to make their rivals sweat! In many cases the divisions went 20 deep and were of high quality--just see how close some of the races were!

The men went off at 8:50 am; the women's race started an hour later. As noted in earlier posts, the weather was nearly ideal, very little wind and upper 40 degree temperatures with mostly cloudy skies.

Note: Splits were in terms of net (chip) time while places were based on gun time.

AGE DIVISIONS

40-44. David Angell, 2nd in this division last year and 3rd overall, was favored to win. He won the overall Masters Championships in the 8K and 10K earlier this year. Christopher Shaw, Jr. who took 6th here last year and Jake Stookey, who took 4th overall in the 8K championship at Virginia Beach, were also expected to contend. Paul Jones was also thought to have a shot at the podium.  Once Ethan Nedeau entered, he was moved ahead of Stookey on the list of likely podium contenders. He ran a 16:22 in the CVS Downtown 5K a couple of weeks before Syracuse and had also finished 4th overall at the 2015 10K Masters Championship. I underestimated the super middle distance runner, Mark Williams, thinking he did not have a shot at the podium.

Stookey most likely sustained some kind of injury prior to the race as he took it easy, running 21:27 with even splits. Presumably his score was potentially critical for the Willow Street AC 40+. As expected, Angell had no trouble gapping the field, hitting the halfway mark with an 18 second lead on Shaw., Jones, Nedeau and Williams, in that order. Shaw gained three seconds back on Angell over the last 2.5K; that was not enough to put much of a dent in Angell's lead but it did serve to pull him well ahead of the other pursuers.

David Angell (white singlet, in foreground) building his lead as he battles the Open Runners at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Angell had 16 seconds on Shaw, but Shaw had over 20 seconds on the third place finisher. Jones was not able to sustain his early pace and slipped back as Nedeau surged past him to claim 3rd in 16:16. Jones was 8 seconds back with Williams finishing 5th in a speedy 16:33.

David Angell 15:37          Christopher Shaw, Jr. 15:53          Ethan Nedeau 16:16

The Women's portion of this division was as discussed in the reprise of the Overall Competition posted on October 7th, except that Cassandra Henkiel is in the 45-49 division and Marisa Sutera Strange is in the 50-54 division. Sascha Scott took it out hard, building up a gap of 5 seconds on Christy Peterson by the halfway mark, and then holding on for dear life over the last kilometer as Peterson cut inexorably into her lead. In the end, the race course ended just before Peterson could close the last few yards, with Scott taking the division (and Overall) crown by a single second!

Sascha Scott breaks the finishing tape as she wins the USATF Masters 5K Championship, Overall and for Women 40-44, at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Peterson's duel with Scott pulled her well clear of the rest of the field. Renee Tolan, who had such great recent success with Road Miles in Pittsburgh and at the USATF Masters Championship in Flint Michigan, had tried to maintain contact early on but by the halfway point had fallen 7 seconds back. At that point she had 8 seconds on Larsen, but found her pace flagging. But Larsen, too, had found the early pace a bit challenging and, try as she might, could close in on, but could not catch Tolan, who clinched 3rd in 18:18 with Larsen only a second back. So two races within this race were settled by a single second, the race for gold and the race for bronze-some competition!

Sascha Scott 17:50          Christy Peterson 17:51          Renee Tolan 18:18

45-49. In the Women's race I had Sonja Friend-Uhl running away with the division, not realizing she had organized her fall schedule of racing differently than the past couple of years. With that correction, I felt Cassandra Henkiel of Team Rogue in Austin TX, had the times to turn her age division bronze from last year into 2017 gold. Brenda Hodge's sub 41 10K in September made her the favorite for 2nd. I gave Hodge the edge over late entrant Dianne Deoliveira, who had recent 5K's in the mid-19:30's. Annabelle Broadbent could contest for the podium if any of those above faltered. Henkiel and Hodge quickly sorted themselves into the top and 2nd spots, separated by a 15 second gap when they hit the halfway mark, with Henkiel at 8:59. But Hodge had also separated herself from the rest of the field, leaving Deoliveira in 3rd another 15 seconds back.  All three of those runners broadened the gaps over the second half of the race, with Henkiel claiming the victory in 18:09, with Hodge in 2nd 47 seconds back, and Deoliveira in 3rd, 27 seconds ahead of Kristin White, with Tara Smith 8 seconds back just off the podium.

Cassandra Henkiel claims the Women's 45-49 National 5K Championship at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Cassandra Henkiel 18:09          Brenda Hodge 18:56          Dianne Deoliveira 19:22

As expected, Kevin Castille ran away with this division at the same time he was dominating the overall field in the Men's race. He won the division by 1:20. Based on his performances in the Masters 10K championship in Dedham and the Utica Boilermaker 15K this summer, I had projected Derrick Jones for a strong 2nd place finish.. But I had not reckoned with the speed and determination of Jonathan Frieder and Greg Putnam. I belatedly added Frieder to the list of possibles and a threat to Putnam but seeing Jones throwing surge after surge at David Angell at Dedham had made me a believer. I argued that Jones would beat them both. And I had ignored Jonathan Frieder's brother, Elliott.who was a late registrant. He finished only a second behind his brother last year here, and had run two strong 10 milers in the spring. But then he ran nor made her the favorite for 2nd. I thought perhaps thing for a couple of months, a 17+ 5K on the 4th of July, nothing else in the summer until a 2:53 Marathon in late August. Had he not followed that with a 16:36 5K in mid-Summer, I would have worried about a niggling injury.

As noted, Castille won in 14:29. How did the first half go for the rest of the  division field? Jonathan Frieder threw down a sub-8 1st half by 9 seconds, with Putnam nine seconds back, and Jones and brother E. Frieder stride for stride in 8:02.  Had I been at the halfway mat, I probably would have said, watch out guys, Jones will have a terrific 2nd half today. But I would have been wrong. J. Frieder was a beast, tossing in another sub-8 minute 2.5K to claim 2nd in the division in 15:49. Putnam could not threaten him as much as he tried to close down., Putnam had more than enough for everyone else, claiming third in 16:03. And not only was E. Frieder able to stay with Jones, he kicked away for a 2 second edge at the tape to get the 4th place in the division.

Kevin Castille building his lead on the way to victory, both overall Masters, and for Men 45-49 at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Kevin Castille 14:29          Jonathan Frieder 15:49          Greg Putnam 16:03

50-54. Once Carl Combs entered, I made him a slight favorite over Kristian Blaich. Combs trailed Blaich by 6 seconds last year but this year had no posted race results after the end of April. Combs, by contrast, had a few 5K's over the spring and summer in the low 16 minute range. I figured that even if Blaich was not nursing an injury he was not race tested and Combs was. In my final preview I made Kent Lemme the favorite to close out the podium. He finished a half minute behind Blaich at the Masters 10K championship at the end of April but, like Combs, had some early summer 5K's in the low 16's. I did not pick him ahead of Blaich but thought it might be close.I had Brian Crowley, Michael Kent, Mike Nier, and John Stadtlander battling it out for a chance at the podium should any of the other three falter. At least in this case, it looks like race-tested is better than race-rested. Combs Kent and Lemme hit the halfway mark in 7:59 with Blaich 7 seconds back. At least Blaich had 6 seconds on his closest pursuer,Crowley. Combs had just a little more in the tank for the second half of the race, crossing the finish line with a 4 second margin of victory! 

Carl Combs [orange singlet] captures the Men's 50-54 National 5K Championship at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Kent had perhaps extended himself a bit too much in trying to stick with Combs and Lemme, as Blaich was able to pass him and open up a gap of ten seconds by the end of the race. Crowley finished another 9 seconds back.

Carl Combs 15:52          Kent Lemme 15:56         Kristian Blaich 16:06

It was tough to pick the Women's race because the usual favorite, Marisa Sutera Strange might have been nursing a hamstring injury, which kept her out of the Road Mile Championships at the end of August. Would she just be a little slower or would she be taking it relatively easy, by her standards, to avoid aggravating an injury? Based on that uncertainty I made Katherine Wolski the favorite based on her 18:30's 5K's this summer. I figured Laurel Park might be next with her recent 5K's in the mid 19 minute range, followed by Lori Kingsley with a 19:22 5K and a 40:50 10K to her credit. I gave Trish Butler who finished 2nd in the division last year just an outside chance at the podium because this was her first race of the year after an injury sustained in late 2016. Strange ended the suspense when the gun went off; she was indeed not up to her usual level as she lagged back from the overall race leaders, but not that far back. She would not compete for a top spot in the race overall but she was still the tops in this division. She hit the halfway mark in 18:25 with a 6 second bulge on Wolski. Wolski had7 seconds on Kingsley and Butler was another 9 seconds back. Nothing changed much in the 2nd half except the gaps kept widening. Strange defended her 2016 title with an 18:25 clocking. 

Marisa Sutera Strange displays her fierce determination to reach the finish line first at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races -She is the Women's 50-54 National 5K Champions

Wolski nailed second place 14 seconds back. Kingsley claimed the last podium spot twenty seconds later. Despite the lack of race fitness, and tis being her final race in 50-54 division, Butler made a very credible showing, finishing only 16 seconds off the podium. That is not what she is used to, so watch out for her at the Masters 5km XC where she may well be the 55-59 division favorite.

Marisa Sutera Strange 18:25          Katherine Wolski 18:39          Lori Kingsley 18:59 

55-59. In my preview I picked Doreen McCoubrie to win. She has been running very well this year with Age Division 1st place finishes at the 8K and the Half Marathon. Unfortunately for that pick, McCoubrie was not able to compete due to family responsibilities. In my updated preview, I had Lorraine Jasper, Hall-of-Famer Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, and Mary Swan in that order. Jasper has been running very strong this summer, winning her age group at the USATF Masters Road Mile Championship and also running well on the track. Ayala-Troncoso had finished 2nd last year to Swan and Jasper seemed to be running better this year than Swan. On the other hand, had I looked at 10K times, Ayala-Troncoso had faster 10K times this past summer than Jasper had for her last 10K, which was the National 10K Masters Championship at the end of April. Swan was the defending age division champion and had run well in the spring, although not quite as well over the summer.I identified other potential podium players as Eileen Brennan-Erler, Laura Bruess, Susan 'Lynn'  Cooke, and Beth Stalker. I should have given more weight to Ayala-Troncoso's demonstrated 10K endurance and, perhaps, the fierce competitiveness needed to generate the kinds of performances to get elected to the Masters LDR Hall of Fame.

In any case, Ayala-Troncoso tore away from the starting line as if she had something to prove, and had a 15 second lead by the halfway point. A pack of 5 rivals crossed the halfway mat, hoping against hope that Ayala-Troncoso would pay the price for a 9:34 first 2.5K. Bruess, Jasper and Stalker, Cooke and Brennan-Erler passed the halfway point within 6 seconds of each other. Their hopes were realized as Ayala-Troncos ran the second half in 10:13, 39 seconds slower than her first half. But their hopes to catch her were dashed, as none of them could manage to close any ground on the leader. Brennan-Erler did the best, and she merely matched Ayala-Troncoso's 2nd half time. Ayala-Troncoso stormed across the finish line in 19:47, eleven seconds faster than in 2016 and over 20 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

Carmen Ayala-Troncoso crosses the finish line with no rivals for the Women's 55-59 crown within 20 seconds of her at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

We hear a lot about negative splits being the way to go, but the positive split strategy worked for the Champ this time! By clocking a 10:13 second half, Brennan-Erler was able to move from sixth up even with Jasper and then past her, taking 2nd by 2 seconds. Jasper clocked 20:11 for 3rd with Stalker, Bruess, and Cooke finishing in 4th through 6th with only 11 seconds separating them. I had this pegged as one of the most competitive divisions and it certainly turned out that way with 2nd through 6th separated by only 14 seconds!

Carmen Ayala-Troncoso 19:47          Eileen Brennan-Erler 20:09          Lorraine Jasper 20:11

Nat Larson, who broke the American 5K Record two weeks before this race, was the heavy favorite and he did not disappoint. He ran faster by a second than the posted 16:07 American Record co-held by Vic Heckler and Brian Pilcher. Among the rest, I had forecast a tough race between many strong runners. In the end I made Casey Carlstrom and Daniel King, two runners who prefer the trails and cross country turf to the roads, the 2nd and 3rd favorites. After that I noted that last year only 3 seconds separated Fred Zalokar, Gary Droze, Matt Ebiner, and Jeff Haertel. And I suggested Jonathan Kline had an outside shot at the podium because he was close to Droze at the 10K Championships and turned in a 17:33 5K over the summer. The front end of this division was not as close as I had thought it would be but the middle was very tough. That Larson took first by 48 seconds was not a big surprise.

Nat Larson, 55 (white singlet, number starting with 45), running with Kristian Blaich, 51,(red singlet), Michael Kent, 52 (#548), Christopher Shaw, 42 (#635) and an open athlete, building a lead on his 55-59 peers at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

But I was surprised that Ebiner moved out from the crowd. Twenty seconds behind Larson at the turn, Ebiner was 4 seconds ahead of his two closest pursuers, King and Monks. Then it was 6 seconds back to Kline, with Leaman and Haertel 8 seconds further back and then Carlstrom biding his time 4 seconds behind them. Carlstrom was the only one who would run a negative split and it allowed him to move up from his 8th position at the turn. Ebiner did not come close to a negative split but he maintained his pace well enough that he claimed second place with 25 seconds to spare. Monks lost time to Ebiner but had just enough in the tank to hold off a fast closing Carlstrom by 2 seconds. King had a slow enough 2nd half that I worry some niggling injury may have cropped up during the race, as he faded from a tight 4th to 7th. Leaman closed to within two seconds of Kline, who finished in 17:23, but could not catch him. King was 9 seconds back with Haertel another 12 seconds back. Was this race competitive? 3rd through 7th was separated by only 12 seconds and the competition did not stop there. Just 8 seconds separated Haertel, Steven Blostein, John Cico, Droze, and Zalokar, who took 8th through 12th!

Nat Larson 16:06          Matt Ebiner 16:54          Steve Monks 17:19

Terrific competition was the rule at these championships! The runners will remember and ell stories of the last 5k championship at Syracuse. But make no mistake, the chance to compete with fields liek this will bring these athletes out again in a different place. Tomorrow is another day, and if the last may not rise all the way to first, there is plenty of opportunity to improve your position, sometimes all the way to first on the right day.

More age division recap to come and teams too!

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Photo Credits
Finish Line photos by Bob Brock Images--:bobbrockimages.com or
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65126171@N02/
Race Course photos by Amir Findling--https://www.flickr.com/photos/19453214@N00/page1

Competition Galore at Masters 5K Championships-Overall and Age-Grading

October 8 2017. A perfect running day waltzed into the Finger Lakes district of New York for Dave Oja's final Syracuse Festival of Races outing on October 1st. A record number of Masters Athletes, 282, had registered for the USATF 5K Masters Championships. But only a handful of those had realistic hopes of competing for Age-Grading and Overall Championships. Prize money for Age-Grading, symbolic of excellence across all age groups, goes 5 deep; prize money for the Overall Masters Championship goes three deep. Medals go 3-deep for both. Who would compete for those spots?


Age-Grading. So far this year USATF Masters LDR has contested the 1 Mile, 8K, 10K and Half Marathon Championships on the road and the USATF XC Championship. The following individuals attained the Age-Grading podium in those events:
Men: Tom Bernhard, Kristian Blaich, Kevin Broady, Kevin Castille, Nat Larson (3), Dave Bussard, John Gardiner, Pete Magill, Mike McManus, Brian Pilcher, Jacques Sallberg, Joe Sheeran
Women:  Susan 'Lynn' Cooke, Honor Fetherston, Tania Fischer, Jeanette Groesz, Sabra Harvey (2), Susan Hay, Jan Holmquist, Doreen McCoubrie (2), Jeannie Rice, Edie Stevenson(2), Marisa Sutera Strange (2).  

Those entered in the 5K from that list, who were fit and present for the race, included Bernhard, 66; Blaich, 51; Castille, 45; and Larson, 55 for the Men's Race and Cooke, 58; Harvey, 68; Holmquist,73; Stevenson, 68; and Strange, 54. Five of the six who comprise the podiums would come from this list. Others who might contend include: Carl Combs,52, who finished 5th in Age-Grading at this race last year; Roy Englert, 95, who would be aiming for an American Record and World's Best 5K time for the 95-99 age group; and Nora Cary, 62, and Trish Butler, 54, who finished 6th and 8th in Age-Grading last year.

In the event, it was hardly a contest on the Men's side as the Lafayette, Louisiana speedster, Castille added another top-3 age-grade finish to his total, with a sterling  98.12% off his 14:29. Three percentage points back at 95.25 was the pride of the Bay State, Larson, notching his 4th age-grading podium finish this year off of his 16:06. Larson edged our new nonagenarian record holder, Englert, by .13 percentage points, who got his record with a 40:40 chip time, but whose 40:52 gun time (used for age grading in this event by USATF Rules) landed him 3rd in age-grading. Rounding out the men's age-grading prize winners were Combs and Bernhard at 94.41 and 93.58. Kent Lemme, Larson's teammate finished 6th with Blaich in 7th at 92.59 and 92.33.

Kevin Castille 98.12%          Nat Larson 95.25%          Roy Englert 95.12%

It was a little closer in the Women's age-grading. At distances up through 10K, Harvey is almost unstoppable, recording her 3rd win of the series with a 99.07% off of a 20:44. Holmquist was less than a point back in notching her 2nd top-3 finish with 98.13 from her 22:27, with Stevenson 3 points back at 95.24 off of a 21:34. Sutera Strange and Cary also went home with some prize money, finishing with 93.8% off of 18:25 and 92.46% off of 20:33. Just missing was Hall of Famer, Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, 58, the only other woman in the race to crack 90% at 91.47% from a 19:47.

Sabra Harvey 99.07%          Jan Holmquist 98.13%          Edie Stevenson 95.24%

Overall Championship. Except for the Road Mile event, this race is the shortest on the road portion of our circuit and draws some of the speediest track and road runners across the country. Last year Janet McDevitt came from Club Northwest in the state of Washington to contest the event against the Atlanta Track Club's Sonja Friend-Uhl of Florida and local runner, Sascha Scott. Last year it was McDevitt, Scott, and Friend-Uhl in that order. McDevitt could not make it this year and Friend-Uhl was too busy with her Cross Country charges, her other enterprises, and family.

Scott was determined to move up a notch and was fully prepared to run as fast or faster this year. She ran the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge 3.5 miles in 20:31, almost a minute faster this year than last and finished the Musselman Half Iron Triathlon with her fastest time in the last three years, breaking 1:20:00. But there are no 'gimmies' in this competitive Masters circuit. Christy Peterson, who finished 9th last year, over half a minute behind Scott, had been burning up the roads the last 5 months, gaining the Masters podium in prestigious events from the Blue Cross Broad Street Run (10 Miles in 1:03:40) to the Bjorklund Half Marathon (1:24:21) at Grandma's in June, Peachtree (37:28) and Falmouth, and then dropping down to the NY Fifth Avenue Mile (5:04) . With a season like that, we knew that Peterson would not just be a bystander. Renee Tolan skipped the race last year after finishing 3rd in 2015 in 18:03. She brought with her a sterling record at Road Miles over the last two months. She took first Masters at the Liberty Mile at Pittsburgh (5:25) and then won the USATF Road Mile Championship at the challenging course at the Crim Festival of Races' Michigan Mile in late August in 5:29. Cassandra Henkiel of Team Rogue, from Austin Texas, finished just ahead of Peterson last year and just behind Tolan the year before.Perhaps third time would be the charm. Marisa Sutera Strange, who finished 4th last year in 17:54, was coming in with uncertain fitness; she had withdrawn from the USATF Road Mile Championship in Flint due to a hamstring issue. Earlier in the year, Strange was close to the top of her game, finishing on the podium in both the 8K and 10K Masters National Championships. Coming off a hamstring rehab is not the ideal preparation for a Championship; it would take a terrific recovery for her to make the podium in this race. Suzanne Larsen, of Patient Endurance out of Michigan, is a newly minted Masters Runner, aging up in September. She had run a fast 17:45 5K in April but her efforts over the summer were generally in the 18:04 to 18:27 range. She finished 8th overall in the Clawson Firecracker Mile in 5:29. Larsen certainly has speed enough to make it interesting.

When the gun sounded, Scott moved off, feeling she had the conditioning to run a 5:40 pace. Her goal was to run with race leaders, whether Masters or Open. As a result she opened up a lead over the other contenders.  But Peterson would not let her build up her lead. Tolan was trying to close on Peterson but her best efforts left her a few yards back throughout the first half of the race.

Sascha Scott (blue singlet) tracks the Open leader, while Christy Peterson tracks her a few yards back. Renee Tolan is just coming round the bend, 3rd in the Masters 5K Championship Race [Photo Credit: Amir Findling--https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq]

Scott hit the halfway mark in 8:44, consistent with her plans; Peterson was 5 seconds back, well within striking distance. Tolan was finding the pace a bit much and had fallen 7 seconds back from Peterson. Henkiel had moved up steadily after the first mile and was now only 3 seconds back from Tolan. Larsen and Strange were next in line, 5 and 9 seconds respectively back from Henkiel.

Cassandra Henkiel (#522) trying to close the gap to the leaders, with Brenda Hodge (knee socks) and Marisa Sutera Strange (behind Hodge to Hodge's left) challenging as well [Photo Credit: Amir Findling--https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq]

It appeared that Strange had lost some fitness to the hamstring issue; she had covered the first half of the race nearly 20 seconds faster in 2016. After the race, Scott noted that the pace had been a little too fast, that she was hanging on for the last mile and "the wheels started to come off" with about 500 meters to go. Scott could hear Peterson closing and coming on strong. Somehow Scott hung on and, in the end, had the victory in 17:50 by a single second.

Sascha Scott [L]wins the USATF 2017 National Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races just ahead of Christy Peterson [R]

 Wow, what a race!

Once Henkiel passed Tolin shortly after the halfway mark, she was able to impose a gap as Tolan was clearly having an off day. Henkiel brought it home strong, finishing in 3rd in 18:09. 

Cassandra Henkiel finishes 3rd in the USATF 2017 National Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Eight seconds back, Tolan was finishing off a gutsy performance, holding off the fast closing Larsen, to claim 4th by a single second--some competition! Strange was 7 seconds back in 7th.

Sascha Scott 17:50          Christy Peterson 17:51          Cassandra Henkiel 18:09

Kevin Castille was the odds-on favorite in the men's race. The defending champion, he won here with a 14:46 and almost a half minute margin. He appears to be running even stronger this year as he has put his injury problems behind him. Earlier this year he took Masters titles at prestigious races such as the Bjorklund Half Marathon at Grandma's and the New Balance Falmouth Run. In the second half of the year he set a new American 15K record for Men 45-49 at the Utica Boilermaker in 46:10 and a new 10 Mile Record in the same division at the Crim Festival of Races in 49:03. Both records had been held by the legendary Bill Rodgers for over 20 years. And he has shown speed too, winning the National Masters Road Championship at the Crim Festival in 4:24 and running a sub-30 minute 10K at the Great Cow Harbor Run. Last year John Gardiner and David Angell battled stride for stride until Gardiner was able to pull away in th elast kilometer and claim 2nd in 15:12, seven seconds ahead of Angell. But this year, Gardiner is not entered. That would seem to give Angell the edge for the silver medal. Who would be the main contenders for the Bronze medal? Initially I thought it would be Christopher Shaw, Jr.  and Kristian Blaich, who finished 6th and 7th last year. And, to be frank, did not even give a shout out to Jonathan Frieder who finished 17th last year in 16:05 and 13th in our 10K Championships at the end of April. But when I was checking the CVS Downtown 5K results to verify Nat Larson's American Record, it was clear that Frieder's training had enabled him to turn a corner. I should also have looked back to the 2015 Masters National 12K Championship in Alexandria VA, where Frieder finished 4th overall. I viewed Greg Putnam, who finished 9th last year and 6th at the 10K Championships as having an outside shot at the podium. Frieder beat Putnam in that race by 16 seconds! And then Carl Combs was a late entry who finished 9th last year. A consistently strong runner, Combs had a podium shot as well.

The Men's race for 1st place turned out to be as close to a 'gimmie' as it gets. Kevin Castille was heavily favored to win and left no doubt as he went out strong. He passed the halfway mark in 7:11 and had 29 seconds on David Angell. 

Kevin Castille beginning to open up what would eventually be an insurmountable lead. David Angell (white singlet, yellow shoes) is 2nd Masters with Jonathan Frieder (in sunglasses the runner in green) in 3rd at the USATF 2017 National Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races [Photo Credit: Amir Findling--https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq]

Last year Angell battled John Gardiner for the 5K title but this year the Cal Coast guys stayed on the West Coast. As a result, the men's race for the podium quickly settled out, barring a surprise in the second half of the race. Castille would clearly be the winner; Angell would claim 2nd. He had 11 seconds on his closest pursuer at the halfway point, Jonathan Frieder. The 1-2 spots were claimed with room to spare, Castille claiming the win in a Men's 45-49 record-busting 14:29, and Angell claiming 2nd in 15:37.

But the battle for Bronze was where the competition was--who would claim the last spot on the podium? Frieder was going for broke. Running a gutsy, breakout race, Frieder hit the halfway point in 7:51, seven seconds ahead of a chase pack consisting of Kristian Blaich, Carl Combs, Michael Kent, Nat Larson, Kent Lemme, Greg Putnam, and Christopher Shaw, Jr.  

Kristian Blaich [L, red singlet] and Nat Larson [to Blaich's immediate left] in the chase pack at the USATF 2017 National Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races [Photo Credit: Amir Findling--https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq]

 Eventually Combs and Shaw left the rest of the chase pack behind and started to see if they could reel Frieder in. They were gaining but Frieder held tough, eventually claiming the Bronze Medal by 2 seconds over a hard-closing Combs, with Shaw just a second back. Then it was Kent Lemme, a 5 second gap and then Putnam, Blaich, Larson, Ethan Nedeau, and Kent.

Kevin Castille 14:29          David Angell 15:37          Jonathan Frieder 15:49

Kevin Castille wins the 2017 USATF National Masters 5K Championship at the USATF 2017 National Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

David Angell earns the Silver Medal at the 2017 USATF National Masters 5K Championship at the USATF 2017 National Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Jonathan Frieder claims third ahead of Carl Combs (Orange singlet) at the USATF 2017 National Masters 5K Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races

It was a great day for racing, some dominant performances, terrifically close races and real gutsy efforts.

Photo Credit for all finish line photos-Bob Brock Images-http://bobbrockimages.com/

Photo Credit for all race course photos--Amir Findling--https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq

Records and Near Records at the USATF Masters 5K Championships in Syracuse NY

October 5 2017. There are almost always National records set when Dave Oja's Syracuse Festival of Races (SFoR) hosts the National Masters 5K Championships. Sunday, October 1st was no exception. It was a perfect day for fast running, cloudy to partly cloudy,  with temperatures hovering from around 50 for the Men's race at 8:50 a.m. and only a few degrees warmer for the Women's race at 9:50 a.m. The winds were very light, ranging from 0-2 mph. In my preview I listed the following individuals as having a strong chance for a record:

Men 45-49  Kevin Castille  LIKELY   Posted US record: 14:45 Dennis Simonaitis 2010

Men 55-59  Nat Larson LIKELY    Posted US record: 16:07 Vic Heckler 1997 Brian Pilcher 2013

Men 95-99  Roy Englert  LIKELY   Posted US record: 48:55 Marion McAnelly 1995

Women 85-89  Anny Stockman LIKELY   Posted US record: 43:00 Ruth Rothfarb 1989

I also listed Tom Bernhard as unlikely to lower the Men's 65-69 record he set last year of 17:31. He got off to a slow start with his training this year due to a knee (meniscus) issue which was solved with surgery and international travel shortly thereafter.

I indicated that a record from Sabra Harvey for Women 65-69 was possible. Harvey has had several record runs in the last year or so but this would be tough; a subb-20 minute effort would be needed. That was not necessarily out of reach but then Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and Harvey's training in the run up to the race was interrupted, to say the least. I guess the headline would be: HARVEY SLOWS HARVEY! Luckily she is well but there is a lot of cleanup to take care of and lots of time devoted to insurance adjusters. She would need to beat Kathy Martin's 19:57, set on this course last year.

Jan Holmquist is the current holder of the American 5K record for Women 70-74 at 22:14, set on this course in 2015. Unfortunately a good chunk of 2016 was lost to injury and although she has made terrific strides this year, and especially over the summer, I thought it a stretch too far for her to lower her own record and listed it as unlikely.

Neither the possible nor the two unlikely records happened, although the athletes ran tremendous races, won their age groups and had age grading scores at or near the top of the field. Tom Bernhard clocked 17:55, Sabra Harvey finished in 20:44, and Jan Holmquist registered a 22:27. They all overcame some setbacks to get there and no one will bet against them lowering those marks next year.

Kevin Castille. 45. In July, Castille lowered the American Men's 45-49 15K record from 48:00 to 46:11 at the Utica Boilermaker-wow! And the old record was held by a pretty fair runner in his day, Bill Rodgers, who set it on the same course 22 years earlier. In late August Castille knocked off another Rodgers record at the Crim 10 Miler in Flint MI. He lowered it from 52:22 to 49:03. Presumably it is only a matter of time before Castille drops the hammer on Rodgers's American record in the Half Marathon. This is, arguably, Castille's finest event, ad probably his favorite. In the meantime, what about the 5K record? Castille knew what he had to do and left no doubt. He crossed the 2.5K mat in 7:11, giving himself about 11 seconds to play with. As it turned out he ran the second half at better than record pace too. He clocked 7:18 for the second half, winding up with a new American record time of 14:29!  At the same time, Castille will also top Ken Stone's list of World Best Performances [http://www.arrs.net/Veterans/VR4_R5K.htm], beating Wilson Waigwa's former #1 time by 2 seconds. Waigwa, from Kenya, set the record in October 1994 in Providence RI. Castille is having an amazing year!

New American Men's 45-49 5K Record--Kevin Castille, Lafayette, Louisiana  14:29.

Kevin Castille Smashes the American Record at the USATF 5K Masters Championships, hosted by the Syracuse Festival of Races. October 1 2017 [Photo: Bob Brock Images -http://bobbrockimages.com/]

Nat Larson. 55 The thing that made this record attempt odd is that Larson could beat the posted American record and yet not wind up with a new American record at the end of the day. Larson smashed the posted record of 16:07 by 13 seconds at the CVS Downtown 5K in Providence RI on September 15th. So even if he beat the posted record, he might not lower his own, new record time. Dave Oja, Race Director at the SFoR, offered the observation that, on average, over a dozen years or so, elite runners like Larson, would typically run 8-10 seconds faster in Syracuse in years when they ran both events. Of course, on average, is not a guarantee just an indicator. Wat transpired> Larson knew he would likely need to hit the halfway mark in well under 8:00 to have a good shot at his new record. He was in a second chase pack overall that crossed the mat in 7:59. Unless he had been holding a lot in reserve, that probably did not bode well. In fact Larson was not able to overtake his own record, clocking 8:07 for the second half. That allowed him to break the posted American record, no mean accomplishment! Larson offered the view that in Providence it had been relatively easy to just tuck in with a couple of Open runners and not worry about much of anything. He was probably more relaxed there. The pressure of trying for a record and competing with 5-7 of the 50's guys in the Masters Championship may have made for less relaxed running and therefore somewhat slower running--although using the word, 'slow' anywhere near a 16:06 5K at age 55 is quite a misnomer. According to Ken Stone's website, the only man who has run a faster 5K is Martin Rees of Wales, who ran 15:31 and 15:38 in 2008.

New American Men's 55-59 5K Record--Nat Larson, Amherst, Massachusetts  15:54  
[set at the CVS Downtown 5K in Providence RI on September 17, 2017.\]

Nat Larson (L) races across the finish line just under the posted American Men's 55-59 Record for 5K at the USATF 5K Masters Championships, hosted by the Syracuse Festival of Races. October 1 2017 [Photo: Bob Brock Images -http://bobbrockimages.com/]

 Roy Englert. Given that Englert ran 43:34 in June when he was only 94, saying his breaking a 48:55 record is likely, seems an understatement. Still, at age 95, one never knows. It was reported that a few years ago he and three fellow nonagenarians on a relay team were going to try for a World Record. Meeting for the first time on the day before the race, Englert reportedly said, with a big smile, 'We've made it this far, now no one die between now and tomorrow!" They got the record the next day! Englert ran strong on Sunday, clocking well under the 24:00 he needed at the halfway split to feel confident of his record breaking chances. Crossing the mat in 20:04, he could just maintain his pace knowing he was running way faster than required for the record. Englert slowed very slightly over the second half but recorded a net (chip) time of 40:40, over 8 minutes under the posted American record of 48:55. Was it a World's Best also? That turns out to be a difficult question for two reasons; American Records allow chip times for Masters records, but the site that tracks World Bests by Masters athletes insists on gun time only! Englert's gun time was 40:52 so that is the candidate for a World's Best. Unfortunately the site only tracks records for the 90-94 group and below. [I have an email out to Ken Young.]

New American Men's 95-99 5K Record--Roy Englert, Springfield, Virginia  40:40

Roy Englert on his way to an American Record for Men 95-99 at the 4K mark of the USATF 5K Masters Championships, hosted by the Syracuse Festival of Races. October 1 2017 [Photo:Amir Findling--
https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq]

Anny Stockman. The current record listed is 43:00 by Ruth Rothfarb at the 1989 edition of the Freihofer’s 5K for Women. Earlier this year, in June, before her 85th birthday, Stockman ran 40:50 at Freihofer's. So Stockman had a margin of error of over 2 minutes. Stockman set a good pace right from the start, crossing the halfway mat in just under 20 minutes and saved enough that she ran a negative split, crossing the line with over 3 minutes to spare in 39:41!

New American Women's 85-89 5K Record--Anny Stockman, Rensselaer, New York  39:41

Anny  Stockman (#485) rounds the bend on her way to a new American 5K Record for Women 85-89 at the USATF 5K Masters Championships, hosted by the Syracuse Festival of Races. October 1 2017 [Photo:Amir Findling--
https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq]

 Congratulations to these outstanding runners as they write their names into the record books by training hard and performing on the race course!

 
 

Preview Updates for USATF Masters 5K Championship-Previews for Overall, Age-Grading and Age Divisions40-44 through 55-59

September 30 2017. Based on the latest information available to me, please consider the following adjustments to my earlier posted previews.

OVERALL MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men. Late entrant, Ethan Nedeau, ran 16:22 in the recent CVS Downtown 5K, and Jonathan Frieder, whom I may have under-rated earlier,  ran 16:08 in the same race. They will be right in with the group of Komocki, Putnam, and Stookey.

Women. There are no late entries likely to upset the earlier preview; it stands as written.

Sonja Friend-Uhl          Sascha Scott          Renee Tolan


AGE GRADING CHAMPIONSHIPS

 Women. The main adjustment to the age-Grading preview is to note that even if Jan Holmquist is slightly off her best, her 'slightly off her best' probably still age grades at 98% plus. She should certainly be listed as a contender. Holmquist finished 2nd at the 10K Championships, falling between Sabra Harvey and Edie Stevenson. There is no reason to expect any less from Holmquist at the 5K Championships. If so, that is likely to push Doreen McCoubrie off of the Age-Grading podium.

Sabra Harvey          Jan Holmquist          Edie Stevenson          

Men. Nat Larson and Carl Combs both entered after the original preview was posted. Both will play a role in the age grading race, as they did last year, finishing 3rd and 5th. I now put Larson 2nd and Blaich 3rd but Combs could also sneak in there.

Kevin Castille          Nat Larson          Kristian Blaich         

 
AGE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS 

 Women 40-44. There are no late entries likely to upset the earlier preview; it stands as written.

Sascha Scott          Renee Tolan          Christy Peterson

Men 40-44. Late entrant, Ethan Nedeau, ran 16:22 in the recent CVS Downtown 5K. That, plus his 4th place overall Masters finish at the 2015 10K Championship, seems sufficient for me to move him into the 3rd slot. Jake Stookey will have to beat Nedeau to make it onto the 40-44 podium.

David Angell         Christopher Shaw           Ethan Nedeau

Men 45-49.  Jonathan Frieder has the recent edge over Greg Putnam, having edged him by 16 seconds in the recent CVS Downtown 5K.  Frieder should have the confidence, but Putnam has the revenge factor and the push factor of being in the middle of a competitive national team race.Elliott Frieder also entered, making the brothers Frieder the favorites to take home Dave Oja's Brother's Prize for the fastest team of 2 brothers after a 2nd place finish last year. E. Frieder's fitness was off, as evidenced by his slower run this past May in the Broad street 10 Miler and in the Tribute 5K in July. However, he ripped off a 16:36 in a mid-September 5K.

Kevin Castille          Derrick Jones          Greg Putnam

Women 45-49.  The late entry of Dianne DeOliveira, coupled with Janet McDevitt not entering, comlpicates the podium preview. Had McDevitt entered, her prediction for 1st or 2nd would have moved folks down and I would have had Cassandra Henkiel in 3rd behind Mcdevitt and Sonja Friend-Uhl. The new situation means I need to choose between DeOliveira and Brenda Hodge. Hodge has been focusing more on longer events like the Boilermaker 15K where she ran 1:01:42 and a 3:00:16 Marathon at Grandma's. She ran 5K's in the spring that were both faster and slower than DeOliveira's recent 5K times of 19:38 to 19:39. Hodge also ran a 40:43 10K in September which is age-group equivalent to a 19:41. It is a close call but I will stick with Hodge for 3rd based on more extensive Masters LDR National Championship experience.

Sonja Friend-Uhl          Cassandra Henkiel          Brenda Hodge

Men 50-54. The late entry of Carl Combs makes this division a toss-up. Last year Blaich ran 6 seconds faster.  The one odd thing is that Blaich has not run a race that I can find results for since his sterling 32:58 performance at the 10K Championships at the end of April. That is 5 months without a race;  Blaich will be well rested, but not race-tested. Combs, on the other hand, has August 2017 5K results in the low 16 minute range and ran exactly the same time this year as last, 41:10 in the Lilac Bloomsday race in Spokane in May. Should that difference be enough to switch the runners? Perhaps not, but I will do so. I am not sure how I ignored Kent Lemme in my earlier preview. The staunch runner for the Greater Springfield Harrier clocked low 16's for some early summer 5K's after hitting 33:32 for the 10K Championships. I must have been hurrying too fast [cannot imagine why!😉]. I am afraid I need to pick Lemme to edge Brian Crowley off the podium.

Carl Combs          Kristian Blaich          Kent Lemme

Women 50-54. If Katherine Wolski is the same person as the 'Kathy Wolski' listed on Athlinks (as seems likely), she is a heck of a runner with 5K's this summer in the 18:35 to 18:48 range and other supporting results like an 8th place overall at the 2016 National Club XC Championships in Tallahassee. I would make her the favorite and push others down a rung.

Katherine Wolski          Laurel Park          Lori Kingsley 
         
Women 55-59. There are no late entries likely to upset the earlier preview; it stands as written. Now that I look back at the earlier preview, I wonder a bit about choosing Mary Swan for 3rd place over S. Lynn Cooke and Carmen Ayala-Troncoso. In that piece I note that Swan's times this summer seem to indicate a little less fitness than last year and that would be all it would take for either Ayala-Troncoso or Cooke to come in ahead of her. Ayala-Troncoso's 10K times this summer around 42:30 are age-grade equivalent to low 20's in a 5K. Swan has run her 5K's a bit slower than that. Given that Swan only beat Ayala-Troncoso by 5 seconds, it seems reasonable to reverse those two and make Swan beat Ayala-Troncoso on race day to prove me wrong. Cooke is also very competitive and will try to do the same.

Doreen McCoubrie          Lorraine Jasper          Carmen Ayala-Troncoso

Men 55-59. Nat Larson's anticipated entry came to pass and I make him the favorite, given his recent record-breaking run at the CVS Downtown 5K in Providence. That pushes everyone down a rung.

  
Nat Larson          Casey Carlstrom          Daniel King 

I will not have time to update any more previews. Luckily most of the late entries were in the divisions covered in this update. I did learn that in the Men's 70-74, Jan Frisby was brought up short by a kidney stone. He may skip the race or he may jog, but that is it. He will not, after all, be a threat for the podium. Estelle Hahn who is now entered in the Women's 75-79, came in over a minute ahead of Christa Maier last year. She has no recent results posted but it seems she would be likely to prevail again. So I put her now as predicted for third behind Fran Rowe and Madeline Bost.

Some changes were made to various teams but there is no time to update those previews. The final declaration of team members can be viewed by interested individuals at the Status of Entries page:
http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2017/USATF-Masters-5-km-Championships/Status-of-Entries.aspx 

First click on the category 'All Team Divisions' and then on either the 'Men' 'Women' or 'All' depending on your interest.

Good luck to all of the runners tomorrow--May we all be swifter than we can imagine!