XC Season is Here-Preview of the 2017 USATF National 5 km Masters Cross Country Champiionships--Overall and Age-Grading

October 13 2017. Cross Country season has rolled around again as sure as the Maple trees are turning color. Over 350 speedy runners from all over the USA are converging on Franklin Park in Boston for the 5 km national cross country championships. Franklin Park has been home to cross country championships for decades. In the ancient days (1960's) when I was a high school XC kid in Massachusetts, the State Championships were held there, and when I was a cross country runner for Tufts, so were many of our meets and, of course, the Greater Boston Collegiate XC Championship. The course is not the same. When asked to describe it, my old Tufts pal, Steve Viegas, wrote the following: "The course was created for the World Cross-Country Championships in 1992.  It is a mixture of rolling grass fields, woody trails and a big hill (Bear Cage Hill).  I haven’t run it since the masters nationals were last run there. It is very challenging." So runners be warned, although by the time you read this, many of you will have already jogged the course. And, of course, the huge contingent from New England will already be familiar with it. Steve, by the way, is tapering for his Marathon on the 22nd so is not running.

Although Sunday is forecast to be cloudy with temps in the low 60's, there are some showers in the forecast for Saturday and even occasional showers overnight. But by race time the skies should be cloudy. The forecast is for small amounts, perhaps no more than a tenth of an inch overall. Still, forecasts are sometimes off and runners are advised to look to the turf conditions. Winds are moderate early but could kick up. They are forecast to be blowing at 12 mph by the time of the Men's 60+ race at 10:30 am and should intensify a little for the Men's 40-59 race at 11:15 am and the Women's race at high noon. It is not really proper conditions for a New England cross country meet; you need all 3, windy, wet, and cold for that! But at least the runners will have 1 of the 3 to curse as they head past the 1 mile mark and start thinking about Bear Cage Hill!

By the way, the Technical Instructions indicate: "There will be a Technical Meeting scheduled for Saturday, October 14, 2017 Hilton Boston/Dedham – Headquarters Hotel, 25 Allied Dr., Dedham, MA 02026 at 6:30 p.m. Athletes, Coaches, Officials and Team Managers are welcome to attend. Punch and Pie." They do not say if you have to be willing to get punched before you get your slice of pie! [😉].

This preview will be somewhat free-flowing and will rely more on memory that research; I have been caught short by having only two weeks between Championships. I do not have time to research results for entrants whose names I do not recognize. And no doubt, a few of those will turn out to be very strong runners who will have an impact.

The field sprints off at the start of the Men's 10K race at the 2016 USATF National Club XC Championships [Kevin Castille out of picture ahead of the field]

Overall Race. There is no overall race; there are two races on the Men's side and one Women's race. Hence there are neither prizes nor awards for an overall winner. Nonetheless, the starter shoots the gun, runners take off, everyone runs as fast as they can and, in the end. someone crosses the line first, second, and third. Who are we likely to see?
Men 60+. John Barbour must be the favorite. He battled Rick Becker all the way to the finish at Club XC 2015 and last year he battled all the way to the line with Brian Pilcher. He wa soutkicked both those times but it appears that neither of his rivals will be in the field on Sunday. Pilcher is dealing with a hamstring and Becker is far away in Washington tending to Cross Country duties. So Barbour it is. Can anyone run with him? None of the guys who were close at Tallahassee will be challenging him. The Boulder Road runners are not here, so no Dan Spale, Kye Hubbart, nor Greg Bell . Mark Rybinski and Gary Radford, GVH teammates are entered but Rybinski has been rehabbing all year and Radford has been dinged up since the summer. Both were entered in the 5K at Syracuse but neither ran,--not a good sign. It looks like it will be up to Ken Youngers to give battle. Off for the first part of the year after surgery, Youngers is most of the way back to form. At Bethlehem in 2014 he finished 4th in the 55-59 division behind Joe Sheeran, Mark Reeder and Michael Smith. And now three years later he is in the 60+ division. He ran 17:48 to finish 3rd in the packed field at the 5K road championships in Syracuse on the 1st of this month. Tom Ryan finished just 16 seconds back in 4th at Syracuse. Who is the better XC runner; it is not always the one who is faster on the roads. Bear Cage Hill may be a separator. Reno Stirrat has been up there in the past but he has been just a little off this year after dealing with various issues in late 2016. He was 6th at Syracuse in 18:59 so will need a good day on Sunday to be in contention. [That's the way it looks from memory (mostly)-If I have a chance for some broader research, I may add another contender.]

Doug Bell, Mark Rchtman, and Mark Rybinski competing at the 2016 USATF National Club XC Championships

John Barbour          Ken Youngers          Tom Ryan

Men 40-59.  Let me pull out the following names from recent history: (40-44) David Angell, Alan Black, Mike Galoob, Ryan McCalmon, Ethan Nedeau; (45-49) Jonathan Frieder, Derrick Jones, Greg Putnam; (50-54) Andy Gardiner, Peter Hammer, Kent Lemme; (55-59) Nat Larson. These names jump out at me from the list as individuals who have had remarkable performances over the last few years. The top 3 finishers should come from this list.Angell has been tearing up the roads this year; he has national (overall) championships at 8K and 10K and has been on the podium at every road championship this year. He cannot run with Kevin Castille and John Gardiner has his number so far but no one else. Cross Country may be another matter; it is hard to tell. Angell did not compete at Club XC last December but he was at bend oR for the USATF (Individual) XC Championships. He finished 4th behind Jacques Salberg, John Howell, and J. Gardiner. That's a tough crew and it is hard to draw too many conclusions from that as the course is odd; you are running up, down, or across a hillside for 80% of the course, and this year's race was plagued by slippery conditions due to snow melt. Suffice to say that Angell can run a tough XC course and still do well. Black has been tough on XC courses. Black finished 3rd overall, behind Gregory Mitchell and Alan Jackson in 2014 when Club XC was at Bethlehem PA. From his recent results I would guess his fitness is not quite where it was in late 2014. But he will be a tough customer no doubt. Galoob finished 7th at Club XC last year, using a kiler last 200 meters to separate himself from a pack of a dozen runners who all finished within a few seconds. He will need that kick again, no doubt. He has good fitness; he ran 15:58 at the CVS Downtown 5K a month ago, beating Jonathan Frieder by 10 seconds and losing only to Nat Larson, who was in a zone, and ran 15:54. Larson is a strong XC runner but it would be asking a lot for him to keep up with Galoob's pack on Sunday. At Club XC last December, Larson hung with that group for the first 2 kilometers but started to lose contact in the 3rd kilometer. At the CVS Downtown, Ethan Nedeau and Greg Putnam were 4th and 5th Masters. Frieder beat both Nedeau and Putnam at the 5K Championships in Syracuse, running 15:49, and Putnam reversed the order with Nedeau, coming in 13 seconds ahead in 16:03. That race within a race can clearly go either way on Sunday. Ryan McCalmon and Peter Hammer were part of the pack that Galoob was able to kick away from, with McCalmon finishing 5 seconds back and Hammer 6. No doubt both will be in the hunt on Sunday. McCalmon finished 2nd to David Angell at the national 10K Championships in Dedham and Hammer finished 2nd to Mark Andrews at the same course in 2016, 8 seconds faster than McCalmon's time. McCalmon took first Masters prize at the Beach 2 Beacon 10K in the summer so he is on his game. Hammer took first Masters at the Lone Gull 10K last month, beating Greg Putnam in the process. So Hammer appears primed for a good effort.

The Main Chase Pack heads into the final stretch of the course at the 2016 USATF National Club XC Championships

Andy Gardiner finished 4th in that race behind Hammer and Greg Putnam. A. Gardiner finished 2nd to Galoob at the recent Greater Boston TC XC 5K event, finishing 15 seconds back but 50 seconds ahead of Mark Reeder. Kent lemme always seems to be up near the top; he beat Larson by ten seconds at Syracuse on the 1st of oOctober after losing to him by a few seconds at the 10K in Dedham in April. Lemme came in 26 seconds behind Larson at Club XC last December but came in ahead of Greg Putnam and Jonathan Frieder. Derrick Jones is the only one I have not mentioned yet. He is a bit of a puzzle. Jones finished 5th at the 10K Championships in Dedham this year but only after throwing surge after surge at the leader, Angell, in an effort to win the race. By the last kilometer he was spent and three runners sped past. But although he has run well since then, he has not hit that level again. In the national 5K Championship at Syracuse, he finished behind Frieder and Putnam.

Mike Galoob          David Angell          Ryan McCalmon

Women. I recognize these names as being prominent overall in recent National Championships,   Janet McDevitt, Ginger Reiner, Marisa Sutera Strange, and Renee Tolan. Of these, McDevitt has the most impressive resume for Cross Country. She has finished just behind Sonja Friend-Uhl at the 2014, 2015, and 2016 National Club Cross Country Championships in Bethlehem, San Francisco, and Tallahassee, finishing 3rd overall, followed by two 2nd place finishes. She has not raced a lot but has a 47 minute 12K from the spring and a low 18's 5K in the summer. McDevitt is the favorite to win. Strange was within two seconds of McDevitt at the 8K National Championship in Virginia Beach. But Strange is just a tick off her normal fitness. A hamstring issue slowed her down at the end of the summer and she wisely skipped the Road Mile Championship at Flint Michigan. She came back to finish 6th at the 5K Championshps but ran almost 30 seonds slower than her 2016 time. And when she ran that faster time, McDevitt still came in 20 seconds ahead of her at Club Cross at the end of the season.. So even if Strange's comeback continues on schedule, it will be tough for her to stay with McDevitt.  

Sonja Friend-Uhl (L) and Janet McDevitt (R) going 1-2 at the 2016 USATF National Club XC Championships

Renee Tolan came in 7 seconds ahead of Strange in Syracuse and is coming off impressive Road Mile wins at the Pittsburgh Liberty Mile and the Masters National Championship at the Crim's Michigan Mile in Flint. She also clocked 1:06:51 in one of her less favorite distances, the Crim 10 miler. It does show that she has endurance as well as speed though. And before that she ran a credible 38:50 at the Beach 2 Beacon 10K. Tolan mostly sticks to the roads. The one exception was the National Masters 5K XC Championship at Saratoga Springs two years ago. At that race, McDevitt, Tolan, and Strange went head to head, with McDevitt carving out a 3 second win over Tolan, with Strange another 7 seconds back. So far I have McDevitt, Tolan, Strange in that order. 

Chase Pack at the 2016 USATF National Club XC Championships--Marisa Sutera Strange (#1002), with Heather Webster, Liisa Miller, and Kathleen Cushing-Murray

What about Reiner? I only know her performances from her win in 37:09 at the 10K Masters national championships at Dedham. At the New England XC Championships last year she would have taken 2nd masters behind Kara Haas except that she was 39 at the time. She had a better result at the Mayor's Cup where she was the first woman over the age of 37 to finish. What those two races say is that sh is no stranger to XC. Her recent road efforts show she is primed for a good run. She has recent Masters wins, clocking 17:56 at the CVS Downtown 5K and 37:44 at the Lone Gull 10K. That seems strong enough to make her a co-favorite with McDevitt. Reiner also has 'home course' advantage. But McDevitt has the national XC experience; it should be a great matchup. 

If any of those falter, the runners I can identify with the most chance to move up are Trish Butler, Alice Kassens, and Wakenda Tyler. Most likely they will be on the outside looking in at podium time. But they are all strong runners who have been on many a podium. Butler is celebrating a new age group, 55-59, with this championship. She missed much of the year with injury and is just rounding back into shape. Last year Butler took 11th at Syracuse in 19:02, with Tyler a few places back at 19:32. This year they finished dead even on times, 19:15, with Tyler getting the nod at the line.  

Kassens took 3rd overall at the National Road Mile Championships but fell back a bit at Syracuse, finishing in 10th with a 19:10. This Championship was held in Tallahassee last year and Kassens took 5th, finishing 5 seconds behind Butler and 42 behind strange. On the same course for Club XC Championships, Kassens ran similarly finishing 9 seconds behind Butler, 36 seconds behind Strange, and a minute back from McDevitt. If I mention Tyler, I should also mention Kathleen Hayden who is in this race and finished  one second ahead of her at Club XC. 

Late news flash! My earlier preview missed Kara Parker, from Minnesota, who will also contend for the overall victory. She came in just ahead of Melissa Gacek in the Masters portion of the Medtronic TC 10 Mile run this year and has a sub-19 minute 5K to her credit as well. I stick with my prediction for top 3 but no doubt Parker will be in the hunt for a podium finish.

Janet McDevitt          Ginger Reiner          Renee Tolan


AGE-GRADING. Less visually interesting as the final details are only known fo rsure when the computer spits out the calculations, age-grading is the best tool we currently have for comparing performances of runenrs across the ages. It is the technical substitute for 'Wow, look how fast that old-timer ran!" Who are the favorites. Again I am relying on name recognition to pull out the favorites. I only identify the podium but the prizes go 5 deep so those mentioned below who are not among the favorites for the podium are still favorites to take an extra check home with them. [Or as Steve Vvaitones will no doubt say, "The check will be in the mail."

Women. Jan Holmquist and Marisa Sutera Strange are often on the Age-Grading podium. Holmquist was 2nd, Marisa Sutera Strange 4th, Trish Butler 8th and Susa 'Lynn' Cooke 11th, with Jo Anne Rowland 12th at Syracuse this year. At Club XC last year Strange was 3rd, Butler 4th, and Cooke 6th.

Jan Holmquist          Marisa Sutera Strange          Trish Butler

Men. At Club XC last year, for Men 40-59, Nat Larson finished 2nd (91.21), Peter Hammer 4th (89.77), Kent Lemme 13th (87.04). John Barbour topped the list for the 60 and ups at 89.38. No one else who is entered this year from that group scored above 85. At the national masters 5K Champs earlier in the month it was Larson 2nd and Lemme 6th, with Jonathan Frieder in 13th, and Ken Youngers (60 and up) in 15th. At the 10K Championships in Dedham, Larson took 1st and Lemme 5th, with John Barbour (60 and up) 6th, and Greg Putnam 8th among the men. Mike Nier is a tough XC runner and is never too far from the top of age-grading. Brent Fields got 9th age-grading at the Masters 5km XC Championships last year in Tallahassee. Tom Ryan and Reno Stirrat can also produce a high quality age-grade score on a good day.

Nat Larson          Peter Hammer          John Barbour

That is it for the early look. My apologies to the any contenders that I have missed. I will try to get age divisons up before the end of the day but it may not happen. Life goes on apace.

The Club XC photos are, of course, from Michael Scott.

Age Division Contests [60 and up] at the USATF Masters 5K Championships in Syracuse-Competition Still Like Crazy After All These Years!!

October 12 2017. It is time to cover the Seniors and the Vets, as we are sometimes called in the road racing world. If you think races become less competitive with age, give that some more thought after this recap. And by the way, several of the more competitive racers were not able to make it. Libby James, who set a new American record in the 80-84 division last year did not make the trip from Fort Collins, Colorado this year. But we got Jan Holmquist back from injury this year in exchange, to take on the fastest 70-74 year olds. On the Men's side we were missing Brian Pilcher who broke the American 60-64 record last year. He hoped to start his comeback tour with Dave Oja's last race but the hamstring would not cooperate. Peter Mullin who has been on the 65-69 podium in every race he has competed in this year, came to the race but felt a slight twinge in the hamstring while warming up and decided it was the better strategy to refrain and race again another day. I hope to see him, and a few others, in Tulsa for the 15K!

[Note: Split times are on the chip; final times are on the gun.]

60-64. Brian Pilcher let me know a couple of weeks before the race that he was entered but would only be in shape to run around 17:20. He ran 16:38 last year. He was a favorite for the podium. With him out, the rest of the field still had plenty of competition to worry about. I had Tom Dever based on his recent win at the Masters Road Mile Championship. In 2015 he competed in 3 championship events, running 28:44 in the 8K at Brea, 1:17:07 in the HM at San Diego, and 43:38 in the 12K at Alexandria. I understand he had some surgery scheduled. Then he was away from the circuit until Flint this year. At age 60 Dever would be ready to roar! Ken Youngers was another runner who had been away from the circuit, taking car of overdue or at least postponed surgery. Like Dever he returned ot action at Flint and ran just a little slower than Dever. When I saw that Youngers had run a 17:07 5K a week after Flint, I almost reversed the order, thinking that perhaps Youngers had better prep for a 5K than Dever. Others I identified as having a shot included the 2nd and 3rd finishers from last year, Tom Ryan and Kyle Hubbart, who finished within a few seconds of one another. Hubbart has better race times this year than Ryan so I thought he had the better chance of breaking onto the podium.I mentioned Charlie Andrews as having an outside shot on the podium based on his 17:31 here last year when he was 59. I should have given that time more weight than I did.

Had Pilcher shown up ready to run a 17:20, he might well have found himself running stride for stride over the first half of the race with Dever and Andrews. They opened up a 7 second gap on Youngers thanks to a 8:35 halfway mark, on pace for a 17:10 5K. Ryan, consistent with my doubts, was 5 seconds off the pace, but to my surprise Hubbart was 20 seconds behind Ryan, concentrating on running his own race. Past podium finisher, Reno Stirrat, was running with Hubbart through the turn. Hubbart was the only one of the leaders who ran close to an even pace. Dever, Andrews and Youngers all ran from 21 to 34 seconds slower over the final 2.5K. But the only thing that changed about the order was that Andrews surged around and away from Dever on the way to an 8 second victory. 

Charlie Andrews captures the Men's 60-64 title at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Youngers cut 5 seconds out of Devers lead but that was not enough to catch him. Ryan finished in 4th, 16 seconds behind Youngers.  Hubbart's steady pace took 7 seconds out of Ryn's lead but Hubbart had to settle for 5th. Stirrat, who has struggled with injury and health issues over the last year, was not able to hang with Hubbart, but finished strong for his Shore AC team nonetheless.

Charlie Andrews 17:37          Tom Dever 17:45          Ken Youngers 17:48

I had Nora Cary and Patrice Combs battling for the win, with Cary having a slight edge. Last year Cary ran 6 seconds faster  than Combs who was still in the 55-59 division. Based on their performances earlier this year at Virginia Beach in the 8K and in a number of championships over the last couple of years, I had the Impalas, Mo Bartley and Jill Miller-Robinett, pushing each other for the bronze medal. Combs,'s Atlanta teammates, Margaret Taylor and Cynthia Williams, could also factor in, but would need something special to break onto the podium.Cary and combs moved out smartly when the gun went off and found themselves running stride for stride as they put over a half minute worth of distance between themselves and the 2 Impalas. Bartley and Miller-Robinett had over a half minute on the rest of the field and, in particular, Williams and Taylor, who were being challenged by Coloradan Tracey Bernett. Cary had 2 seconds on Combs at the turn, and that's the way it stayed until Cary was able to pull away and take first by six seconds over Combs. It was a hard-fought battle and in one of life's ironies, the gap between them at the finish was the same as in 2016, to the second! 

Nora Cary speeds to the Finish Line and the Gold Medal in the Women's 60-64 division at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Bartley had 13 seconds on her teammate at the halfway mark and stretched it to 16 by the finish line. Miler-Robinett had 4th with almost a minute advantage over Bernett, with Williams and Taylor following in 6th and 7th.

Nora Cary 20:33          Patrice Combs 20:39          Mo Bartley 21:42 

65-69. When there are two record setters in the field, like Sabra Harvey and Edie Stevenson, it does limit the podium aspirations of the rest of the field. Harvey broke the American 5K record for the age Division at this race in 2015 and earlier this year ran faster than the American Record for the 10K at Dedham. At least Stevenson's record efforts have mostly been at longer races like the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Still that does not mean she is slow at 5k, not by any means. Coreen Steinbach, Nonie Hudnall and Jo Anne Rowland finished within 27 seconds of each other in  3rd through 5th. Steinbach had comparable times this summer so she was the favorite for the bronze medal. Hudnall's times this summer appeared slower than last year and Rowland missed considerable action in the spring to lower back issues. Cindy Ingalls missed most of 2016 but seemed to be making progress in the spring. But with no races in the summer, it was hard to project her as a podium contender yet.^.

With little competition from her peers, Harvey went out fast with runners anywhere from 10 to 40 years younger, crossing the halfway mat in 10:19. Twenty seconds later Stevenson came speeding by, with her closest pursuer, Coreen Steinbach, half a minute back. Unlike last year Steinbach had nearly half a minute on Rowland. Hudnall was another 13 seconds back, with Ingalls trailing her. And that is the  order they finished in. Harvey and Stevenson ran their usual well-paced races, finishing in first and second in 20:44 and 21:34 respectively. 

Sabra Harvey [#468] glides to the finish line, the victor in Women's 65-69 division in 20:44 at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

A minute and a half later, Steinbach had defended her 2016 bronze medal. Rowland had taken four seconds out of Steinbach's lead but could not get as close as last year, finishing almost half a minute back. Hudnall and Ingalls took 5th and 6th.

Sabra Harvey 20:44          Edie Stevenson 21:34          Coreen Steinbach 23:07

In previewing the Men's race, I referenced the fact that the finishing order at Championships this year has tended to be: Tom Bernhard, Peter Mullin, Doug Bell, and Kirk Larson, and there appeared to be no reason to expect otherwise. Although I did allow for the possibility that Chuck Smead, the Cross Country ace who runs with the Boulder Road Runners, could make the podium. (I learned later that Smead could not make the race after all) .But Mullin ran into trouble with a hamstring twinge and he decided to be sensible and not run. That opened things up a bit. Local runner, James Foster, had a 3:39 Marathon and a 1:12:35 10 Miler; neither inspired confidence that he could crack 20 in a 5K. But the marathon was Boston, which was hot, with slow times this year, and the 10 Miler was subtitled the 'Mountain Goat' 10 Miler. Maybe he had a chance after all? Another dark horse was Bob Giambalvo who had finished only 4 seconds behind Larson in 2016 but ran a 29:55 4 miler in March and had no results since. That sounded like an injury problem.

Last year Bernhard had gone out way too fast and nearly sabotaged his record attempt, running 17:31 when he felt he was in shape to run well under 17:30. This year his fitness would not allow him to try for a sub-17:30; Bernhard's early pace was sensible as he hit the halfway mark in 8:48. Despite his best efforts to stay with Bernhard, Bell found himself 12 seconds back at the turn. But that gave him over a 30 second gap back to the closest pursuers, Larson and Foster, locked in stride, only 1 second apart. Giambalvo was 20 seconds back, but that was pretty good considering where he was in March. Bernhard and Bell cruised in taking first and second in 17:57 and 18:49. 

Tom Bernhard gave it his all, cracking 18:00 to take the Men's 65-69 division at the 2017 USATF 5K Masters Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Bernhard defended his 2016 championship and took his 4th Age Division gold medal in 4 tries this year; Bell had a silver medal to add to his 3 bronzes this year. Both are having great years.  Foster channeled his inner 'mountain goat' over the second half, found another gear and pulled away from Larson to take the bronze medal by 8 seconds. Giambalvo came in 20 seconds later, happy to break 20 minutes again.


70-74. Gary Patton, who won last year, was not entered. Dave Glass, who finished 2nd in 20:16, a half minute ahead of Jim May, was installed as the favorite. He was coming back from injury at Dedham in April but had run times this summer that suggested he was fully healed. I had only finished 5th last year, but was only a few weeks out of physical therapy. This year I [Paul Carlin] had been on the podium in every championship I entered, from the 1 Mile to the Half Marathon. But Tony Gingello had only entered one of those races, the 10K at Dedham, and he beat me. His times this summer suggested he was maybe slightly off his fitness, but it is hard to tell; Championship races often bring out the best in runners. I put Gingello down for 2nd but knew he would give Glass a real battle. I hoped I would too. May sustained a cross country skiing injury in late March but ran the 10K at Dedham anyway for his team, but he suffered. I reckoned that he had not fully recovered so put him below me on the prediction list. What about Harold Nolan, who beat me in the Road Mile championship a month earlier? Nolan is known primarily as a middle distance specialist but he did run a 5K in the summer about a minute and a half faster than last year so I thought he had a chance at running 21 flat. If so, he would be a formidable opponent. In the end, I relied on his reputation and put him in with May. I thought Jan Frisby might have finally gotten motivated and might have shown up fit enough to give us all a lesson. Unfortunately for him, a kidney stone popped into his life 6 days before the race. He did show up with the intent of jogging at leas if things were okay but after this warmup he realized that would not make sense. There's always next year, and in 2019 he'll enter a new age group--watch out 75 year old's, guess who's coming!. I did not think Peter Davis nor Keith Yeates would be able to break 22 minutes based on this year's results, so I thought others would be more of a threat for the podium. I was wrong on two counts.


Gingello took it out fastest from the gun along with Nolan.  May and I came next, closely followed by Glass. By the kilometer mark, Gingello was 20 yards ahead of me, but I had passed Nolan; Glass was about to pass me. When they reached the halfway mat, it was Gingello at 10:16, Glass 3 seconds back and me, 1 second behind Glass. Nine seconds later Nolan sped by with Davis on his heels, followed by May 10 seconds later, and then Yeates. Nothing much changed from there to the 2 mile mark but at that point, Glass was able to find another gear, gradually leaving me behind and starting to close the gap to Gingello. I tried to move with Glass but was unable to. Glass caught Gingello after they turned back onto Colvin Street and outkicked him to the line to win in 20:56 with Gingello 6 seconds back and me another 11 seconds back.

Dave Glass takes the Gold Medal in the Men's 70-74 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

 Glass had successfully moved up from 2nd last year  to 1st this year; Gingello had a silver medal to go with his gold medal from the 10K, and I had my 5th consecuive podium finish in 2017. Thirty seconds later Davis came across the line in 21:42, just off the podium, proving my forecast wrong on the two counts; he broke 23 minutes, running faster tan I had thought, and he was the closest contender for the podium. Next in line was Yeates who passed May and gained a 3 second gap by the finish line. May was pretty much spent, but happy that he had contributed to a team victory. With only 17 seconds between first and third, this was one of the most competitive races of the day.

Dave Glass 20:56          Tony Gingello 21:02          Paul Carlin 21:13

Dianne Anderson is the defending champion, but with the American record holder, Jan Holmquist entered, Anderson was happy to just focus on running her usual strong race to help the Impalas to a team medal. It was great to see a Champion like Holmquist running free and easy again. Fully recovered from injuries, her fitness is just a touch off what it was 2 years ago. Her winning time this year was 22:27. Her chip time, which is relevant for record attempts, was 22:26, only 12 seconds off her 70-74 Women's Only 5K American Record set two years ago here in the Festival of Races.

Jan Holmquist wins the Women's 70-74 Championship at the
2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Anderson collected her 2nd silver medal this year, to go with the two golds she has pocketed from Bend and Flint.

Jan Holmquist 22:27          Dianne Anderson 27:42

75-79. Madeline Bost, the champion from 2015 in 34:21, could not be present last year to defend her title. In her absence, Margie Stoll took the title in a fine time of 27:18. Stoll is not back and the rest of the  competitors had times more in line with Bost's from 2015. Fran Rowe took 2nd place in a photo finish with Estelle Hahn in 2016, both clocking 35:54, with Christa Maier over a minute behind them in 4th. Based on race times this summer, I opted for Rowe over Bost, with Hahn picked for 3rd. It seemed as if Maier's times were slower than those three. Bost and Maier were determined to prove me wrong.

And did they ever! At the halfway point it was Maier leading the pack in 17:22, with Bost right on her heels one second back. Rowe was a half minute back in 3rd; that is not too much of a gap too overcome, but would she? Hahn was 1:22 back from Rowe, seemingly too far back to make a run for the win. Bost would have none of it as she continued her steady pace and Maier found she could not stay with her. Bost pulled away to win in 34:57, well over a minute and a half ahead of Maier.

Madeline Bost wins the Women's 75-79 Championship at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Rowe never got untracked and finished 3rd, another minute back from Maier.

Madeline Bost 34:57          Christa Maier 36:36          Fran Rowe 37:47

 Based on his return from injury to run away with the division at the Road Mile Championship at the end of August, and run a 1:13:41 ten miler, I predicted Doug Goodhue would take this division with minutes to spare. I learned right before the race that Goodhe had tweaked his hamstring a week before during a training run but he hoped it would have no impact. Last year George Tooker took the title in 25:13 with Tony Fiori 2nd in 26:14. It seemed likely Goodhue would break 21:30 and might be a threat to break 21. In 2015, in an off year, Goodhue took the title in the 70-74 division in 20:07! Tooker ran 5K's this summer in the 25:17 to 26:31 range, with a 26:19 in the CVS Downtown 5K a few weeks before this race. It looked like he was ready to roll. Fiori ran 44:08 in the 8K in mid March which is age grade equivalent to a 26:56 so I figured Fiori was probably not ready to challenge Tooker. I could find no other results for Fiory on Athlinks. I ignored Charlie Patterson; I am used to thinking of him being in the 70-74 group and failed to notice that sometime over the summer he had aged up to the 75-79 division. That is important; Patterson ran 41:07 at the 8K in Virginia Beach and that is age-grade equivalent for a 74 year old of running a 25:06 5K. And I should also have noted that Patterson took the bronze medal in this division in the Road Mile at the end of August. Mea Culpa! I should have predicted that Patterson had a great shot at the podium.

I was right about Goodhue but not as right as I expected. Goodhue went out with the top 70-74 year old's, as expected, crossing the halfway mat in 10:34, with 1:45 on his closest pursuers, Patterson and Fiory in 12:19 and 12:21. Tooker was 13 seconds back and thinking about closing that gap down. Shortly after the halfway point, Goodhue's hamstring flared up! He probably should have stopped but knew our Ann Arbor 70+ team was counting on him to be a close second to me. So he took one for the team and gamely finished at 22:45, winning the division by over 2 and a half minutes, but guaranteeing that his racing season was over.

Doug Goodhue captures the Men's 75-79 title, on one good hamstring, at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Back to rehab. But Goodhue has a plan, and we will see him back at the front of the 75-79 division in 2018. What of the other three? Fiory had a little more in his tank than Patterson and pulled away to claim 2nd in 25:26, seven seconds ahead of patterson. Tooker had the fastest 2nd 5K of the three, but it was not quite enough to catch Patterson who was still 3 seconds ahead at the finish line. This was another highly competitive race from 2nd through 4th with only 10 seconds separating the three competitors-wow!

80-84. Wade Stockman took the gold medal last year in 31:16 but was running slightly slower times this summer. In addition, Jim Askew had a win at the Road Mile Champioonship in Flint at the end of August and a 28:51 5K in the books in June. That was enough to make Askew the favorite. Based on reading the tea leaves of this year's performances I guessed that Steven Fuchs had a slight edge in fitness over Sam Graceffo but it would likely be close and depend n which of them has the better day.

Askew left nothing to doubt, hitting the halfway mark in 13:20, with a nearly insurmountable lead of over 3 minutes. Stockman was taking care of business, hitting the halfway point in 16:26 with a 21 second lead on Graceffo. Fuchs was 11 seconds back, hoping to get a little closer. But things stayed the same. Askew came across the finish line in first at 28:08 with well over 5 minutes to spare. Stockman ran a solid 2nd half to take 2nd by nearly a minute and Graceffo held Fuchs at bay, claiming the bronze medal by 25 seconds. 

Wade Stockman (cap) takes second in the Men's 80-84 Division at the 2017 USATF Masters 5K Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Second through 4th was not as close as it was in Men's 75-79 but it was close enough that if anyone faltered just a bit, they might well have lost their place on the podium.

Jim Askew 28:08          Wade Stockman 33:50          Sam Graceffo 34:43

Libby James took the gold medal in this division last year in 25:14 while establishing a new American Record of 25:11 (chip time). Tami Graf took 2nd in 35:02 with a 4 minute margin back to Edna Hyer who took 4th. The 3rd place finisher, Anny Stockman, moved up to the 85-89 division. There was nothing in the races of Graf and Hyer this year that suggested a reversal of fortune. Hyer was favored for gold, with Hyer taking the silver medal. And that's the way it turned out. Each ran her own race, minded the pace and enjoyed a good run. Graf took 1st in 37:09.

Tami Graf takes the Gold medal for Women 80-84 at the 2017 USATF 5K Masters Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Four minutes later Hyer crossed the finish line in 2nd place.

Tami Graf 37:09          Edna Hyer 41:22

85-89. As documented in an earlier post on records, Anny Stockman was the only entrant and was going for the American Record. She got the gold and the record, lowering the existing mark by over 3 minutes to 39:41 [chip].

Anny Stockman 39:42

David Rider beat two opponents to the line last year, taking gold in 35:32. It appeared he could easily run in the 36 to 37 range this year. He had no rivals until Sheldon Kall signed up towards the end of registration. Kall ran over ten minutes slower than Rider last year. Rider was faovred for gold with Kall taking the silver. No surprises here; Rider took 1st place in 36:44 with Kall over 12 minutes back in 2nd.

David Rider 35:32          Sheldon Kall 49:24

95-99. This was Roy Englert's show. He came to take down the American Record of 48:55. Crossing the halfway mat in 20:04, it was clear he would attain his goal. When he crossed the finish line with a chip time of 40:40 he had smashed, crushed, mangled and obliterated the previous record! His official winning gun time was 12 seconds slower.

Roy Englert 40:52

Like their younger Masters counterparts, there was competition on display, for the win, for the podium and even for bragging rights of 5th versus 6th! They did the Syracuse Festival of Races proud in the last show!

Some Race Course Shots from Amir Findling--'Where's Waldo?'

Jill Miller-Robinett(#581), with Kathleen Wheeler (#671) and Mary Monks (#584), Karen Carlton (#454), Colleen Magnussen (#573), Janet Smith (#641), Susan Welch (#669), Mary Buck (#442) and dozens of other Masters Runners vying for Age Division and Team Hoonors and Elite Performance Medals at the 2017 USATF 5K Masters Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races 

Venelin Tchamov (#659), Kevin Dollard (#486), George Braun (just visible over Dollard's left shoulder), Stephen Hranilovich (#529), Kirk Larson (red singlet on #911's elbow), Jerry Learned (#567) and a little further back, Tony Gingello (red singlet-left background), and John Van Kerkhove, competing for Age Division, Team and Elite performance Medals at the 2017 USATF 5K Masters Championships at the Syracuse Festival of Races

Photo Credits: All finish line photos are from Bob Brock Images, bobbrockimages.com...2017 Masters 5K photos at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/65126171@N02/

Race Course Photos are by Amir Findling--his Masters 5K photos can be viewed at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/19453214@N00/
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Note: For now that is it. A team recap, if any, will have to wait until after the Preview of the Masters 5km Cross Country Championships is completed. Two weeks between Championships is tough, especially when both have well over 250 entrants.