USATF 10K Masters Championship--Records Watch—Will Age Division American Records fall at Dedham?

April 22 2018. The USATF 10K Masters Championship hosted by the James Joyce Ramble is only a week away. Let the Record Watch begin! No one would call the road course in Dedham flat and fast. Yet a number of 10K records have been set here. That is due partly to the highly competitive fields that are attracted and part to Race Know-how. For a record to be ratified, the Race has to file paperwork verifying that all ‘i’’s were dotted and ‘t’s crossed. Many Athletes have lowered American Records only to find that their times could never be validated. The officials at the 10K Championship have made sure that all necessary paperwork is filed if a record is lowered.

The weather looks to be cooperative with the Racetime forecast for upper 50's, and mostly sunny; if the wind stays down in the single digits, it will be close to perfect. So which Age Division Records are at risk of falling on Race Day, the 29^th of April?

Women 85-89 There is no current validated American Record for this age group. There is a pending mark of 1:35:59 run on December 2016 by Mary Grosse at the Savannah Bridge Run. That course is clearly record eligible; it is an out and back that finishes within a few blocks of the start, so it meets separation and elevation requirements. It is also USATF certified for the period November 2015 to November 2025. But the record is listed as pending, not ratified; that probably means the paperwork has not been filed. It is possible that it could yet be filed, but it is rare for records to be ratified after more than a year has passed. Anny Stockman set the 5K American Record for the Age Group at Syracuse last October with a 39:41. That one is ratified! Her 5K time suggests she should have a good shot at beating Grosse’s time. She will try for an American Record on the 29^th. If she beats the 1:35:59 time then she will get the record, no doubt. If not, her time will be listed as a pending record until Grosse’s time is either validated or validation is abandoned as hopeless. There is apparently no rule on how long USATF can wait for validation. Perhaps there should be a ‘sunset rule’ or statute of limitations on how long to wait for validation? Regardless, let’s all cheer for Anny Stockman as she tries to bring another road race distance into her basket of records.

Anny Stockman, stylish in black, heads toward the finish line and an American 5K Record at the USATF 5K Championship hosted by the Syracuse Festival of Races [Photo by Amir Findling--https://flic.kr/ps/ic2Cq]

Women 70-74 Although Jan Holmquist, the current record-holder, is in the field as usual, she does not appear to have the same fitness she had when she set the American Record of 45:22 three years ago on this course. There is little doubt that she will win the division, but a record is a stretch too far this year. On the other hand, Holmquist should have a shot at the ‘World’s Best’ single age record for 73-year-old women currently held by England’s Louise Gilchrist at 48:07. [http://www.arrs.net/SA_R10K.htm]

Jan Holmquist taking her usual Age Division Championship at the 2017 USATF 10K Championship, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble 

Women 65-69 Last year Sabra Harvey bettered the posted American Record on this course with a 42:04 only to find that Kathryn Martin had run a 41:57 10K three weeks earlier. Martin is very savvy about records and typically plans where she will race to be sure the course is certified, record eligible and that the race is very likely to file the necessary paperwork. That is what happened last year; Martin’s time was validated and is the current American Record. Harvey could have taken a shot at it this year but, with the World Masters Athletics Championships coming up in Malaga, Spain in September, Harvey is focusing on the track, where she is the defending age division World Champion in the 800 and 1500 meters. What about Martin? Three weeks ago, she ran the Aspire 10K again and finished almost as strong as last year, recording a 42:22. This is not a race that Martin runs very often, although she did run here in 2014. We will have to wait and see.

Men 55-59 The 5K and 8K American records were broken by Nat Larson last year. He ran 15:54 in the CVS Pharmacy/Downtown 5K in Providence in September and then set the 8K record of 26:19 at the Rothman Institute 8K, one of the Philly Marathon Weekend events. Does he have a shot at the 10K record in Dedham? Never say never with Larson, but it looks like it will take a terrific day for him to do it. The current record is Jim O’Neill’s 32:27, set in the 1993 edition of the Blade Run in Toledo OH. Larson ran 33:30 here in Dedham last year, and 33:51 the year before. Of course, he did run the Virginia Beach 8K 13 seconds faster this year than last. But asking him to beat those times by more than a minute would be asking a lot!

Nat Larson leading his Greater Springfield teammate, Kent Lemme to the finish line at the 2017 USATF 10K Championship, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble 

Men 60-64 [Update 4/24/18-Pilcher will not run the 10K Championships due to "...the usual issues."]As far as Road Racing goes, 2017 was not a good year for Brian Pilcher as he had an injury-shutdown that kept him off the roads from mid-March through the rest of the year. But 2016 was prime! Not only was Pilcher aiming at the Marathon record for the 60-64 division, he ran the 5K as a ‘shake-out’ the week before the Chicago Marathon. Some shake-out! He broke the 5K record, running 16:38. The next week he bettered the Half Marathon [1:16:54], 25K [1:31:41]and 30K [1:50:53] records on the way to an exact match of the Marathon record [2:42:44]. Unfortunately, all those times are listed as pending, as the paperwork has not been submitted to USATF. As far as the 10K record goes in Dedham, it may just be too early on Pilcher’s comeback trail.  The same Jim O’Neill who holds the 55-59 record Larson is shooting for, holds the 60-64 record of 34:27. Is that within Pilcher’s reach? He ran 28:40 in the 8K Championship in mid-March, 26 seconds slower than in 2017. Pilcher also took on Carlsbad this year, running 17:34. Pilcher ran 35:00 at Dedham in 2016, shortly after running 17:04 at Carlsbad. Pilcher will be the favorite to take the division, but probably not with a record time. No one should ever bet against Pilcher but it is definitely a long shot for this coming weekend.

Brian Pilcher strides to the finish line at the 2016 USATF 10K Championship, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble 

Men 65-69 Like Pilcher, Tom Bernhard had a great 2016, including an American 5K Record set at Syracuse with a 17:31. Bernhard mentioned that he had done a poor job of pacing in that race and so looked forward to 2017 as a year to lower the record further. Unfortunately, the ‘Running Gods’ did not cooperate. Between off season knee surgery which, though successful, required some time off training, and an early trip to Japan, which likewise delayed training, Bernhard never really got up to speed in 2017. He ran fine times and won 5 national championships but was never a threat to take down any of the records, not even his own 5K.  Clive Davies ran a 37:04 10K in 1983 and that has stood ever since. I can only find one recent time for Bernhard on the Dedham course and that was in 2017 when he ran 38:17. Bernhard did run a 37:18 10K at the Marin Memorial Day [MMD] 10K in 2016. But that is generally considered one of the faster courses and, as noted, that was his prime year, and just before he turned 65.

Tom Bernhard, running on air (maybe that's his secret?!) into the finish line at the 2017 USATF 10K Championship, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble 

Men 70-74 Here’s one to cheer for on the Men’s side. There are two runners, potentially, who can chase the current record of 40:15, set by Jan Frisby just a couple of years ago on the MMD course. Gene Dykes is running better than ever and just turned 70. Two weeks before his 70^th birthday he ran a 30:54 8K at Virginia Beach. That is age-grade equivalent to a 39:00 10K for a 69-year-old. A few days after his 70^th birthday he cracked three hours at the Rotterdam Marathon, running 2:57:43 to break John Keston’s 3:00:58 set in 1996. And here is where the story gets a little more complicated. Dykes is running right now like Mike Wardian of 7MarathonsOn 7 Continents In 7 days fame. Wardian is known for running some ultras and often running marathons on back to back weekends. Wardian, 43 years old, typically runs them under 2:30. Eight days after running Rotterdam, Dykes ran in those terrible conditions in Boston, 20+ mph headwinds and pouring rain. He did not run as fast, clocking a 3:16:20. Considering those conditions, that was an incredible effort. He won the age group by 28 minutes. Better yet, he did not get hypothermia!

Normally one would assume he would be skipping Dedham due to heavy legs and needing recovery time. But as far as I know, Dykes is planning on driving up from Philly. He said he hates to miss a weekend of racing. Last year he ran the Moab 200 Endurance Run (238 Miles) on October 13, followed that with the End of the Road Marathon 2 weeks later, the Cooper Norcross 10K the following week and ran a 31:13 at the Rothman Institute 8K two weeks further on. He has already run a 50 mile and 100 mile trail run this year. The point is that the ordinary rules do not appear to prevent Dykes from running much more distance and more intensity than most distance runners. I would ordinarily have said he has no chance for the record with two marathons, one very fast and the second, an endurance test, in the last three weeks, but with Dykes it may be possible.

Gene Dykes heads to the finish line at the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon in under 3 hours, achieving the American Record for 70-74 and the single age World's Best for70 year olds, formerly held by the legendary, late Ed Whitlock [Photo Credit: www.runnersweb.nl/interessant/70-jarige-loopt-onder-de-3-uur.htm]

Who else? The other threat for the record has not signed up yet and does not run Dedham every year. Bill Dixon ran 40:09 last year in Dedham, a couple of weeks before his 70^th birthday. He had run 39:45 the year before but had skipped the race in 2015. In 2014 he ran 38:20. In the last couple of years he has run the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Road Race [10K] 17 and 52 seconds faster than he has run at Dedham. With a 41:00 in Holyoke this year, it suggests a 40:15 at Dedham will be a tough nut for Dixon to crack; his history suggests a time over 41 is more likely.  He has often teamed up with John Barbour running for Greater Lowell. But Barbour has still probably not recovered from the injury that prevented a good run in Lexington KY at Club XC. I do not know if Barbour’s likely absence makes it more or less likely that Dixon will run. It would certainly add to the excitement if he shows up and takes a flyer at the record!

Based on entries up through Saturday April 22, that would seem to be it for Age Division American record possibilities. Anny Stockman seems the most likely to succeed, with Gene Dykes not far behind; the others have their work cut out for them--But will we ever cheer if any of them get a record next Sunday!
Don't miss the excitement! You can still sign up online for the Championship at: https://www.usatf.org/Products---Services/Event-Registration-Form.aspx?e=113076

Next post will be the Preview of Overall, Age-Grading and Age Division contests.

3 X 10 IN EARLY APRIL—MASTERS RUNNERS IN DC, LOUISVILLE & SACRAMENTO

April 15 2018. The first weekend in April finds athletes running 10 Milers from coast to coast and in the middle. The Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run (CB10) in Washington D.C., the Papa John’s 10 Miler (PJ10) in Louisville KY, and the Sactown 10 Miler (ST10) in Sacramento CA all take place on this weekend and attract thousands of runners in total.  The PJ10 was first up on Saturday, April 7th, with the CB10 and the S10 taking place the following day. Now in its 45^th year, the Cherry Blossom run is the granddaddy. Founded to provide a good race for Elite Runners prepping for the Boston Marathon, it now attracts Elite Runners who race it for the Prize Money, which comes from a variety of sources ranging from USATF Road Rating Circuit to RRCA as well as both Professional and American [only] Prize Money. It is also a large mass participation race, by far the largest of the three. This year the CB10 had over 16,000 finishers. The PJ10, now in its 18^th running, had just under 3000, probably fewer than normal because of the discouraging weather conditions; the ST10, in its 8^th year, had under a thousand although they, like the CB10 do aim to attract at least a handful of elite athletes and also attracted regional elite runners this year as the Pacific Association’s (USATF) 10 Mile Championship.

All three are potentially record eligible as they finish and start at the same elevation and the furthest distance between the start and finish in any of the races is less than a mile. The CB10 and the S10 are both advertised as flat and fast; the PJ10 is more challenging. Miles 1-3 and 6.5 to 9.5 are flat and fast. But there are both rolling and substantial hills in the 3-6.5 mile portion that winds through the scenic Iroquois Park, and there is an overpass to surmount with about 800 meters to go. Perhaps because records are unlikely on such a course, the PJ10 does not advertise its course as USATF certified while the other two do.

This year the weather gods did not smile on either the CB10 or the PJ10 although the DC race had marginally better weather. Sacramento enjoyed a very good weather day, clear with temperatures in the 50’s during the race, and mostly calm. The CB10 went off under partly cloudy skies, with temps in the mid-thirties but substantial winds of 10-14 mph, and only got to the upper thirties or low 40’s depending on which wave the runner was in and how fast they ran. Louisville enjoyed, and I use the term loosely, 30 degree temps and light snow, with 8-10 mph winds at the beginning of the race and two hours later the conditions were just the same; there was no warming. Luckily the roads had been warm the afternoon before so the only slippery conditions were encountered on that last overpass. So how did the Masters LDR athletes do?

CHERRY BLOSSOM 10 MILE RUN

The Masters race on the women’s side was decided early on. Perry Shoemaker, 46, the 2017 Masters 8K and 2013-2015 Masters 12K National Overall Champion, led the way. Going out in a 5:48 per mile pace, Shoemaker hit the 5 mile mark in 28:58 [gun] with a minute and a half lead on Jennifer Maranzano. But Maranzano had just as big a lead on her closest pursuer, Mimi Fallon, 52. Another half minute went by before Tucson Arizona’s Tia Accetta, 42, crossed the 5 mile mat, followed 43 seconds later by Erin Chamberlin, Lisa Reichman, Suzanne Himes, and Andrea Freeman. Shoemaker and Maranzano kept the pressure on the whole way with Shoemaker taking first in 58:56, a minute and 43 seconds ahead of Maranzano. Accetta closed gradually on Fallon and had pulled even when they crossed the 9 mile marker. From there Accetta was able to pull away to claim 3^rd by 17 seconds. Fallon was followed two minutes later by Himes and Freeman.

Perry Shoemaker 58:56     Jennifer Maranzano 1:00:39     Tia Accetta 1:04:54

[Note: Underlining name signifies Age Division winner.]

The Men’s race also included former Masters National Overall Champions, Mike Wardian, 43,in the 2014 12K Event and Bryan Glass, 44, in the 2013 15K Event in Tulsa. Wardian, last year’s 7 Marathons-7 Continents-7 Days Winner, went off at 5:20 pace keeping tight with Brock Butler, 40, and David Wertz.

Mike Wardian [front left] just past the 1 Mile Marker

Butler was able to surge before the 5 Mile mark to establish a 6 second gap as he crossed the mat in 26:34. Wardian and Wertz had nearly a minute on Aaron Church and Glass who were taking a more measured approach. Butler made the early break pay off as he grew his final margin to the better part of a minute. Wardian was able to pull away from Wertz in the 6^th mile as he enjoyed a 14 second gap by the 10K mark which grew to 22 seconds by the finish. Glass was able to pass and pull away from Church between miles 6 and 9 and gain some ground on Wertz. But Wertz held tough and nailed the third podium spot with over half a minute to spare. Church came in 5^th, less than half a minute back from Glass.

Brock Butler 53:07     Mike Wardian 53:54     David Wertz 54:16

[Note: Times above are gun time; times below are chip time.]

In terms of outstanding performances by age group, the 5 top runners in the Men’s Race overall came out of the 40-44 group and all had National Class [80%+] or International Class [85%+], age grades, with Wardian heading the list at 86.2% followed by Butler at 85.6, Glass at 85.4 and Wertz at 85.0. Church was not far behind at 83.3%. Shoemaker not only topped 80%, she was one of three runners to turn in a World Class time, above 90%. Her 91.3% was nearly matched by Jennifer Teppo, 59, of Vancouver WA, whose 1:09:16 merited a 90.8%, and was topped by Joan Samuelson’s 93.8%, for her 1:07:56 at age 60. Interestingly, there had been speculation that she might be shooting for Kathy Martin’s American Record of 1:05:27 but, according to usatf.tv commentators, Samuelson had nixed that ahead of time due to some issues with her knee during the run-up to the CB 10. Among the top finishers, Fallon’s time at age 52 earned an 88.3% while Maranzano’s was 87.6., both International Class, and Himes 81.2.

Top American Open Runners [including Emma Bates [72] Bethany Sachtleben [48] and Samantha Bluske [32] with Cherry Blossoms in background.

Other top performances were turned in by:

Kelly Brown 54 1:08:26 [86.1%] Anne Treadwell 50 1:09:10 [81.1] /Nina Caron 58 1:09:23.0 [89.4] Martha Merz 55 1:12:22.0 [82.5] /Amy Subar 62 1:16:23.0 [85.8] Sidney Letendre 63 1:18:07.0 [85.1] Jeanne Lapierre 61 1:18:17.0  [82.5] Catherine Baker 61 1:20:40.0 [80.1] /Geri Clifford 65 1:20:20.0 [85.1] Linda Jennings 65 1:21:55.0 [83.5] Dee Boeck  68 1:24:35.0 [84.5] Sue Humphries 68 1:25:26.0 [83.7] Diane Kukich 66 1:25:43.0 [81.0] / Nancy Avitabile 70 1:31:17.0 [80.8]

In addition to those underlined above, the following also won their Age Division:

Rosemary Schwartzbard 76 1:57:38.0

The oldest podium finisher was:

Heide Moebius 79 1:58:19.0

Top age-graded performances by Masters Men included:

Jason Tripp 45 58:21.0 [80.9] Noah Zaring 46 58:30.0 [81.4] Mick Brown 45 58:48.0 [80.3] Shane Streufert 46 59:03.0 [80.6] /Frank Perna 54 1:01:40.0 [82.7] Mario Zuniga 53 1:01:50.0 [81.8] Akintunde Morakinyo 54 1:03:24.0 [80.4] Thomas Jensen 54 1:03:28.0 [80.4] /Mark Neff 56 59:52.0 [86.7] Jim Zoldy 55 1:01:43.0 [83.4] David Haaga 56 1:03:26.0 [81.9] Stephen Crelli 58 1:03:47.0 [82.9] Steve Koch 57 1:05:26.0 [80.1]/ Stephen Chantry 63 1:04:51.0 [85.5] Marvin Pace 64 1:05:11.0 [85.9] David Andrews 61 1:06:55.0 [81.3] Bill Raabe 63 1:08:02.0 [81.5] Bob Deak 63 1:08:48.0 [80.6] /Alan Pemberton 65 1:09:41.0 [81.1] Terry McCluskey 69 1:11:06.0 [82.8] / Jim Noone 73 1:13:51.0 [83.6]

In addition to those underlined above, the following also won their Age Division:

Bill Sollers 78 1:39:20.0 /Carl Vansant 80 1:48:54.0

The oldest podium finisher was:

George Yannakakis 86 1:51:06.0

[Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Photo Credits--All from the Facebook post of 'Coach Kiprunning.'

PAPA JOHN’S 10 MILE RUN

The terrain alone would make the times on this course much slower; the weather did not help any.

The Horn sounds to send the runners on their way! [Photo courtesy of WHAS11 Louisville KY]

Carrie Jewkes, 44, was looking for a much better result than in 2017 when she barely cracked the top 10 Masters. But she would have to get by Kyran Hoff, 45. Who finished 4^th last year, almost three minutes ahead of Jewkes. Those two went right to the front, but Jewkes had more staying power. She hit the 5 mile mark, in the midst off the hilly portion of the course, in 35:01 (gun), with a minute and a half edge on Hoff. It was another 17 seconds back to 57 year old Lynn Riedling, returning to the PJ10 for the first time since 2015. She gave away 8 seconds at the start to her two younger competitors so she had not lost much ground. It was another 40 seconds back to Rebecca Kleihegge, 41, who had a 7 second gap on Rachel Parella, 55. Jewkes added slightly to her margin, hitting the tape in 1:10:45 with a minute and 40 second edge on Hoff. A minute later Riedling came across the line in 3^rd. Kleighegge had not gained on her over the final 5 miles, finishing in 4^th, a minute back, with a 15 second margin on Parella.

Carrie Jewkes 1:10:45     Kyran Hoff 1:12:25     Lynn Riedling 1:13:28

Start of Papa John's 10 Miler- April 7 2018 [Photo Credit-FB post by 'The running turtle'

Bart Borghuis, 42, was looking for a repeat Masters win but had Jason Land, 40, to get past. Land, running in the Open category in 2017 had finished almost a minute ahead in 2017. And 47 year old Will Rivera, who finished only 4 seconds backfrom Borghuis in 2016, would also contend. It was Land and Rivera who went out hardest, but Land gradually pulled away. By the time they hit the 5 mile mat in the midst of the hills in Iroquois Park, Land had a half minute edge. It was a minute back to their main competitors, Bart Borghuis, 42, Rick Torres, 55, and Andy Meirose, 40, who crossed in that order, separated by only 15 seconds. Land and Rivera kept the pressure on all the way to the finish; Land could not pull away from Rivera but neither could Rivera close on Land. Land had a 40 second victory in the end, and Rivera was in second, with a 40 second margin on Borghuis who, to his credit, did gain slightly on Rivera over the final 5 miles. Meirose finished in 4^th twenty seconds back with Torres in 5^th.

Jason Land 59:07     Will Rivera 59:47     Bart Borghuis 1:01:34

[Note: Times above are gun time; times below are chip time.]

Image courtesy of Papa John's 10 Miler website at: www.papajohns10miler.com]

Only a handful of individuals were able to run National Class times on this tough course. Lynn Riedling, 57, clocked 1:13:18 for 3^rd place Masters but also nailed a 83.6% age grade. Rachel Parella,55, who took 2^nd in Riedling’s age division, ran 1:14:22 for a 80.3. Will Rivera, who finished 2nd among the Masters Men at the age of 47 earned an 80.3% and was topped by 55 year old Rick Torres, whose 1:02:48 netted him an 81.9 age grade.

In addition to those underlined above, the following also won their Age Division:

Andrea Gorce 54 1:15:06 /Suzanne Duvall 60 1:27:04 /Patricia Breehl 66 1:40:13 /Donna Robinson 70 1:43:06

Since this race tops the Age Divisions at 70+, I recognize the oldest finisher as:

MaryElizabeth Cutsinger 77 2:14:28

In addition to those underlined above, the following also won their Age Division:

Lowery Stallings 53 1:04:07 /Chuck Crowley 60 1:10:52 /David Sledge 67 1:19:29 /Paul Carlin 72 1:22:04

The oldest finisher was:

Glenn Leach 76 1:39:32

SACTOWN 10 MILE RUN

Given the course and the weather there should have been some fast times in Sacramento and there were. The course is USATF certified and is a Pacific Association Grand Prix race and has fewer than a thousand runners. No mention is made of gun vs. chip time so I assume the times posted are gun times.

New Masters Runner, Ramona Sanchez, 40, had 4 seasoned competitors to worry about. Jennifer Bayliss, 47, was looking to build on her win at the USAF XC Championships in Tallahassee FL in early February, and improve on her 3^rd place Masters finish last year. Molly Friel, dangerous at 50, cracked 2:44 and finished 4^th Masters in the December 2017 California International Marathon [CIM]. Jenny Hitchings, 54, finished 4^th Masters last year in the ST10 and would try to move up this year. Sanchez sped off and eventually pulled away from those three, hitting the 5 mile mat at the end of the first loop in 29:38 with a minute margin on Friel and another half minute on Bayliss. Hitchings played it a bit more conservatively but was still less than a minute back from Bayliss. The end of the 1^st loop told the story that would remain at the end of the 2^nd one. Sanchez came roaring home, just missing her personal goal of cracking an hour by a mere 8 seconds! A couple of minutes later, Friel brought it home for 2^nd place, followed less than a minute later by Bayliss who held off a fast closing Hitchings, only 12 seconds further back.

Ramona Sanchez 1:00:08     Molly Friel 1:02:06     Jennifer Bayliss 1:03:01

Chris Knorzer brought home the Masters win last year, finishing 18 seconds ahead of Jason Lee, also in the field this year. Others who would be expected to figure into the race included Gary Gellin who cracked a sub-34 minute 10K at the 2017 Marin Memorial Day race, Mark Hostetter who ran the Clarksburg Country Half Marathon in 1:17:20, Paul Smith, who ran 2:38:47 in the CIM last December and 56:06 in the Norcal John Frank Memorial 10 Miler in March, and Ben Turman who ran 1:16:18 in the Berkeley Half Marathon last November. Gellin went out hard and established a gap on the field. When they hit the 5 mile mark it was Gellin with a 12 second lead on a 3-runner chase pack of Knorzer. Smith and Turman, with Lee another 18 seconds back. Smith and Turner caught and then passed Gellin on the 2^nd loop; those two battled for 1^st the rest of the way with Smith winning out in the end by 7 seconds. Although Knorzer pushed hard, he could never close the gap to Gellin. In the end Gellin took 3^rd with a 9 second gap back to Knorzer who had 40 seconds on Hostetter in 5th.

Paul Smith 56:47     Ben Turman 56:54     Gary Gellin 57:17

Even though it had the fewest entries of the three 10 Milers, between the fast course, the favorable weather, and the turnout of strong runners, the ST10 had a number of noteworthy performances.

Among the overall leaders, Friel and Hitchings both turned in World Class performances with Friel netting a 90.4% and Hitchings racking up a 93.2—Yeehah! Bayliss at 86.01 had an international class time while Sanchez had 84.9. Joanie Siegler, 60, also turned in a World Class run with a 1:10:21 for a 90.6 age grade.

Runners headed for the finish line at the State Capitol in 2017 

Other top performances were turned in by:

Midori Sperandeo 51 1:06:48 [88.2] /Pam Runquist 54 1:07:25 [87.4] /Janet Smith 57 1:13:33 [83.3] /Jill Miller-Robinett 63 1:18:43 [84.4] /Sharlet Gilbert 67 1:21:27 [86.45] /Jo Ann Hall 76 1:36:06 [84.7]

In addition to those underlined above, the following also won their Age Division: Dilyn Radakovitz 71 1:51:29

There was a tie for oldest podium finisher: Hall (see above) and Carolyn Slavich 76 1:49:23

The 2^nd through 4^th Masters Runners overall had International Class times: Ben Turman 85.1, Gary Gellin 85.2, and Chris Knorzer 85.0. Mark Hostetter earned an 81.2 age grade.

Other top performances included:

John Hill 50 59:21 [83.0] /Cliff Lentz 53 59:45 [84.6] /Ernie Felix 52 1:01:24 [81.6] /Mark Murray 55 1:01:53 [83.1] /Antonio Arreola 58 1:03:24 [83.4] /Jacob Nur 62 1:01:26 [89.37] /Brian Davis 62 1:05:55 [83.3] /Terry Baucom 61 1:06:03 [82.3] /John Hirschberger 66 1:11:05 [80.3]

In addition to those underlined above, the following also won their Age Division:

Gene French 71 1:22:26 /Robert Ward 76 1:56:54

The oldest podium finisher was: Robert Ward (see above).
[Both photos for Sactown 10 from the Sactown 10 Miler website at:https://runsra.org/sactown-run/]

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Three classic early spring 10 milers are now in the books. Masters Runners in DC and Louisville will be hoping for better weather next year, and those in Sacramento will happily take a repeat of 2018 weather. There were great races and terrific examples of endurance and persistence in each race.

My 2018 Papa Johns 10 Miler in the Books--Recap and Impressions

April 7 2018.
Pre-Race. The weather was as forecasted, 30 degrees and snow showers, but somehow when you emerge from your lodging in the dim light of 6:15 am and see your car covered with an inch of snow, it hits home--Yikes!--One more day of clearing snow off the windshield--and then running a 10 Mile Race--hmmm. It's a good thing I was prepared. I had even stopped at a Salvation Army store the day before and picked up a cheap but warm hooded sweat shirt to wear for the lead-up to the race. I can keep my warmth until a minute to go when I can discard it to the side; Race staff will typically pick those up and donate to a local homeless shelter so it works well all round. I had also decided to wear racing mitts after going bare-knuckled in my previous 3 freezing runs over the last 5 months. I'd had enough of hands feeling like 'meat hooks' at the end of the race.

The race starts near Papa John's Cardinal Football stadium at the University of Louisville and finishes right outside the stadium.

A Shot of the Papa John's 10 Miler Finish Line area--Finishing Chute is in Middle background of Picture right up next to the Stadium with Runners Finishing from the right of Photo [Photo courtesy of Papa John's 10 Miler Web Site-2017 Photos]

That makes for easy and plentiful parking about a half mile from the start. Warm-up went well and I stepped to the line feeling confident; the weather was not great but it could be worse. It did not appear the roads would be slick and the snow showers and cloud cover meant hydration was not much of an issue. At that point a friendly local runner in the 65-69 division engaged me in conversation. When he learned my age he generously told me who my main local competition would be. But as I am from Indianapolis, I do not know the locals. I thanked him nonetheless. Amazing how friendly and helpful runners are to each other! Time to line up for the start--But I made a 'rookie mistake', forgetting to get my watch set for the start, and then the horn went off and it was too late.

2018 Start--I am in the 2nd row in the yellow knit hat just to right of center [Photo courtesy of WHAS11 Louisville KY]

My Race. I don't actually run by the watch much but I typically use it to check pace from time to time. In this case I had heard they would have digital clocks at each mile so I was not worried. My plan was to go out at a comfortable pace and hope that would turn out to be somewhere between 7:30 to7:45 per mile. You can imagine how pleased I was when I passed the 2 mile clock and it read 15:02. But then when I passed the 3 mile timer in 22:14, some doubts crept in. I was pretty sure I had not sped up from mile 2 to mile 3 so that meant one of the two was not at the true mile marker. I hoped the 22:14 was correct; two fellows near me had said we went through the one mile mark (which I had missed) in 7:08 or so. A reasonable slowing after that could easily lead to a 22:14 at the 3 mile. [Hindsight makes me think the 2 mile clock was more likely the correct one though, and it fits better with the mile markers on the official course map. And perhaps the two runners with the 7:08  had started a good 15 -20 seconds behind me and were working their way up towards the front?]

The first 3 miles are relatively flat and then we are at the Iroqouis Park entry and get a quick little step up into the park. After a bit of flat followed by a gradual slight uphill we hit the first real hill and it is here I start to feel my lack of long distance pace conditioning. Around a couple of bends and there is the 4 mile clock which reads 35:30--What?! Now I am convinced that at least this clock is in the wrong spot, a fear confirmed when the clock at 5 miles reads 40:57. There is no way I am throwing in a 5:27 mile in the middle of a 10 Mile race even if there was a pretty generous downhill in that portion; there was also a modest uphill! So now I start to doubt all of the clocks. And, of course hope that this clock at 5 miles that shows me now over 8 minutes per mile pace is not accurate---or I will have to finish pretty strong! Of course I know that the last 3.5 miles is almost all flat or slightly downhill until a final overpass with about a half mile to go so a strong finish is not out of the question. To be frank, the clocks I saw at 6 and 7 miles and the finish line did tell a consistent story with mile 5 at least. Shortly after we passed mile 5 we had a downhill and then the last long, winding uphill.

One of the Hills we ran up in Iroquois Park--Beautiful, even without the Fall Foliage pictured here [Photo Credit: Flickr?Dana McMahan]

Once we crested that it would be all down or flat until the final overpass, a comforting thought. Unfortunately the clock at 6 miles, after we had begun the descent out of the park showed that last uphill had me losing more time to the 8 minute pace I desperately wanted to beat. Oh well--I would just have to hope I could finish strong. 

But then heading toward the 7 mile mark, I felt a pain I had been worrying about in the back of my mind. It was not the left hamstring issue I have been struggling with for the past couple of years; it was a sharp, shooting pain between the shin and the ankle on my right leg. I had had a few minor incidents previously. At the Orange County Half Marathon last May where I won the National 70-74 Championship, I was almost brought up short just 400 meters from the finish line with the same sharp pain. Then I altered my stride a bit and after about 50-60 meters, the pain went away and I finished fine. At the 15K National Championship in Tulsa last October I had a similar problem except it hit shortly after we passed the 10K mark and lasted longer, perhaps the better part of a mile. Again after altering my stride I was eventually able to run out of it; the problem weighed on my mind but did not prevent me from finishing well. It is a bit scary because it is a very sharp pain when you land on the right foot; it makes you want to stop immediately to avoid further injury. But of course I do not want to stop, so I try to find a gait that will let me continue. I tried that in this race but was, in general, less successful than in the recent past. It was off and on for at least two miles and I needed to try some pretty extreme inefficient strides to keep the pain away, but it would only last for a few hundred meters at most and then the pain would be back, sometimes very bad sometimes not so very bad. A couple of times I was within a stride of giving up and walking, but I always found a gait that would 'work' just before that. So it was a rather slow miles 8 and 9 with occasional spurts where I could increase my turnover without pain although, as noted, that never lasted more than a couple of hundred meters at a time, when the shooting pain came back. I tried to focus on getting the left leg to grab more territory and have a better turnover as I suspect this ankle/shin problem is partly due to asymmetry of stride acquired during the long months of the left hamstring issue. But I could not keep it up. At times I would run with a very slow and awkward stride to avoid the pain.

Eventually I got past mile 8 and then past mile 9 and then I could see the turn for the overpass--less than a mile to go! At that point I heard another set of words I would worry about for an overpass--Helpful spectators were calling out: "Watch out runners; there is ice on the overpass!" I figured at least the shin/ankle problem would go away running uphill, which it did and luckily the ice did not prove too problematic, although the surface was definitely slippery, and required a careful stride up over the top. I worried about the downside of the overpass but there was no ice on that side and I again tried picking up the pace on the down slope, although worried about my other problem. But that stayed in remission until I rounded the corner and was back on the flat. Then it flared up again briefly for about 20 meters but I was able to accelerate out of it and continue at a fairly good clip into the Finish Line--What a relief! My time was 1:22:04, not at all what I was hoping for. I had assumed I would run a 1:18 or better and had dreams of 1:16 or maybe even 1:15. And, to be frank, event though this leg problem definitely slowed me down it is hard to think it made much more than a couple of minutes difference.

When I checked at the timing table after the race, I learned that I was the first of 5 in the 70-74 division. Others would no doubt finish, but it would be unlikely that anyone starting far back would be in the top group. [That was confirmed later when I learned I was 1st of 19]

So I got the win and the $50 Papa John's gift certificate that goes to the Age Division winner--Hurrah--Time to smell the pizza!

Takeaways:
The Race: The Papa John's Pizza 10 Mile Run is a well organized race. The course is challenging but fair. If you are looking to run a record or a PR it is certainly not guaranteed by the course; you will have to earn it. It is essentially out and back so should be record eligible. But it is not usatf certified so if you want to set an American Record, it is best to pick another course. Several people announced on the PA System that this was the first Ten Miler with snow. So weather is typically warmer. The only problem I noticed was the inaccurate placing of perhaps two of the digital clocks. The 3 mile clock was probably a little too close, perhaps 100 to 150 meters, to the start and the 4 mile clock was definitely too far away, off by as much as a quarter mile. The rest told a consistent story.

Personal: It is a great privilege to be healthy and running road races at the age of 72. I am very grateful. Because I participate in National Championships, I also know how tough it is to be competitive at that level. If I am registering disappointment, it is in knowing how much farther I have to go to be competitive again and, to be frank, the worry about the shin/ankle problem.*  But a win is always great, especially so when one encounters issues during the race!

* A week after the race, my Physical Therapy guy tells me I am overworking my anterior tibialis on my right leg. He has prescribed some exercises which will reduce the likelihood of future occurrences. But it is partly related to the asymmetry between right and left legs which came in while rehabbing the left hamstring. Part of the correction is to focus more on symmetry in training and races and make sure that the left leg is doing its full share, especially on downhills. The good news is that it is not structural but muscular and hence subject to correction with a combination of massage, exercise, and running gait/posture/L-R symmetry.

'Running Prof' Heading to Papa John’s 10 Miler

April 3 2018. Last year in February I went on two trips south for 15K races to break up the winter training; this year I was in Physical Therapy where I was getting some dry needling and other treatment for a high hamstring injury that was cutting into my efficiency late in 2017. My PT guy, Brad, cut me loose in early March and said, “Go run hard and if anything acts up again, come on back and we’ll get you sorted.” So here I am after only 3 and a half weeks training, heading for Louisville and a 10 Mile Run on the7th of April.
[If you are coming back for an update, please scroll down to bottom; otherwise read on.]

And they are off for the Papa John's 10 Mile Run! [Photo Credit-Papa John's 10 Miler]

I was able to run reasonably effectively in the USATF Masters 8K Championship in Virginia Beach on St. Patrick’s Day, the 17^th of March. I ran 36:35 (net), a little over a minute slower than last year when I took 2^nd in the Age Division, but not too bad everything considered. The competition was a little stiffer this year.  That time would have gotten me 6^th last year; this year it got me 8^th. But this year I had the satisfaction of being part of a team, the Ann Arbor 70 and up, with Doug Goodhue and David Cohen. We were able to wind up on the podium in the 70 and up division. So will I be ready for a 10 Miler? I have been able to do some decent interval workouts—8x400 meters in 93-97 seconds, for example, and I have done two long runs of 10+ miles. What I have not done is (race) pace work over 5-6 miles. So we will have to see how I last. I should at least break 1:20 but getting down to 1:15 or under may be too much of a challenge with the short prep time.

So why Papa John’s? Partly it is timing; it should help to set me up for a good 10K national Masters  championship race in late April and the Half Marathon Championship in early June.  But it is also a major regional race. Around since 2001, it is in its 18^th year. Plus Papa John’s was our ‘go to’ carry out meal when my kids wanted pizza in the 2000’s! And did I mention that Indy icon (and Denver, I know, and probably Tennessee too) Peyton Manning, has been associated with them? And it is only a two hour drive from Indy. Might I earn an Award too?

The Commemorative Finishers Medal! [Photo Credit-Papa John's 10 Miler]

They give Age Division awards in the form of Papa John’s Gift Certs…up to $50 for first, but dropping off to $25 and then $15. First place would be nice—maybe I could treat family and friends? What has been the recent experience? The race is enough of a regional attraction that it takes a sub-50 minute effort to win the Overall Men’s 1^st prize, but, unlike the Crim 10 miler in Michigan later in the summer, it does not typically take a sub-48 to win it. That goes for the Age Division contests as well, although, as always, it does depend on who happens to show up. I was able to run 1:11:35 at the Double Bridge 15K in Pensacola last February. If I could run that well again it would be age grade equivalent to a 1:17 to 1:18 depending on whether you build in the average year to year deterioration of about a minute suggested by age-grading tables. I like to think that defines the frontier but if you are operating within the frontier, when rehabbing injuries for example, one can approach or even better the previous year’s time.

That looks like it might stand up fairly well in the Papa John’s race. In 2017 the winning 70-74 time was 1:22+; the year before was 1:26+. So I am starting to smell the pizza! Of course that’s risky thinking—you never know when someone unexpectedly targets a given race! But what about the course? If it is a killer course, maybe that will slow me down some? They post a map and describe the course as: “The Papa John's 10 Miler is known for its fast, rolling course and the winding hill in Iroquois Park.” That all sounds good although I wonder a bit about that ‘winding hill.’ No elevation chart is supplied. For now I will take that as a positive overall, but I will try to drive that hill in the park the day before.

The other thing that could get in the way is the weather. The long-range forecast has varied from day to day.  Over the weekend, the advance forecast for Saturday, April 7^th at the start time of 8 am was for 43 degrees and rainy—not my favorite and that might affect the time, especially if the roads are at all slippery. But it should affect everyone, so chances for 1^st are not diminished. And there is always the chance that the weather moves through more slowly and we get the Friday forecast instead, of partly cloudy and 40 degrees. Looking for a good race!

Ha! By Monday the start time weather forecast had changed to 31 degrees and cloudy with no precipitation and wind under 10 mph, the best forecast yet. Unfortunately by today the temperature forecast was still down just below freezing but now they are saying snow showers again, like they did last week, and double digit winds—no fun! As always we will run with whatever we get, as long as it is not dangerous weather.

It is not looking like a great day for fast times, especially if the footing is at all questionable. To match the age grade I achieved at Virginia Beach with a 36:35 8K would take a 1:15:51 ten miler, just over 7:30 per mile pace. As noted above, the equivalent of my Double Bridge Run 15K 1:11:35 last year would be 1:17 to 1:18, depending on whether one adds the minute for being a year older. The equivalent of running a 1:10:36 15K as I did at Tulsa just after my 72^nd birthday would be about 1:16. 

My finish at the Tulsa Run-USATF 15K Masters Championship Run last October 2017 under similar conditions to the forecast for this Saturday in Louisville [Photo courtesy of the Tulsa Sports Commission]

It looks like going out at a 7:45 per mile pace for the first 5 miles should be reasonable and then see if I can pick it up over the last 5 miles. But will I be reasonable? We will find out!
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4/5/2018 9 pm update--Looks like we might luck out with the weather--latest forecast is for 32 degrees and 10 mph, but cloudy to partly cloudy during the race--That's better than snow or rain which has been plentiful recently and is in the forecast for the week after the race. Bundle up and try to tuck in with a small pack, when feasible, or at least share the load, on the last 4 miles heading into the wind and the finish line.

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Got my Elite Bib # today-- 

             YOUR PAPA JOHN'S 10-MILER BIB NUMBER IS:

                                                  50

USATF Masters LDR Statement on Masters 8K Championship Start

Mary Rosado, Chair of USATF Masters LDR, issued the following statement today [April 2 2018]:

" For those of you who reached out to me concerning the start of the 8k race,  I have spoken with the race management and we will work to insure that the masters have their own start and corral next year.   I have also reached out to the affected athletes and have assured them that we will assist them in any way possible."