Rain, rain, go away. Well, it's not.
Tropical Storm Nicole has the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in her crosshairs. We're gonna get wet. A lot of wet.
What does this mean for Friday's Paul Short Run at Lehigh?
We're gonna get wet. A lot of wet.
According to the Paul Short Web site: We will be running rain or shine. We're not seeing any threat of thunderstorms.
Take it from me, the Weather Geek: It probably won't be terrible. If the meet were today? THAT would be terrible. Friday shouldn't be as bad. Wet, but not nearly as wet as today. I think.
For one, Lehigh is south of here, and the storm is coming from the south, so it should clear out sooner down there than up here. For another, the Lehigh course is mostly grass. It will be wet, but it won't be the S--t Show that Franklin Park was for Regionals last year. It may be a bit breezy as the cooler weather filters in behind the storm -- but that's a good thing, as it could help to dry things up a bit.
According to Accuweather's hourly forecast, it could still be raining during the morning races, which we are in. However, it probably won't be the monsoon-like moisture we are getting right now, as I look out the window. And, it will not be cold: probably low to mid 60s.
Bottom line: It could be worse.
Put it this way, too: Those fancy new Nike jackets we got will come in handy.
And one last note to competing athletes: WEAR SPIKES.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
... here we come
As a follow up to the previous post: We dodged a bullet with the weather today.
As I was pulling the vans around the circle for the short trip up to Hyde Park for our workouts, someone informed me that there was a "tornado watch" in effect for Dutchess County until 6 p.m. Tornado watch! That's a bit more severe than thunderstorms.
Well, I'm happy to report that we got neither thunderstorms nor tornadoes, and we were able to complete the workouts with no weather-related issues.
For you weather geeks like me out there: Check out the forecast for Thursday, when we are supposed to be getting flooding rains. Lovely.
As I was pulling the vans around the circle for the short trip up to Hyde Park for our workouts, someone informed me that there was a "tornado watch" in effect for Dutchess County until 6 p.m. Tornado watch! That's a bit more severe than thunderstorms.
Well, I'm happy to report that we got neither thunderstorms nor tornadoes, and we were able to complete the workouts with no weather-related issues.
For you weather geeks like me out there: Check out the forecast for Thursday, when we are supposed to be getting flooding rains. Lovely.
Weather or not ...
JV, one of my 5:45 a.m. jogging buddies, called me last night. That, in and of itself, was unusual. Generally, he will shoot me a quick text to confirm our run the next morning. When I saw that he was CALLING, I figured something was up.
He wanted to know if we were running together on Tuesday morning. We always run together on Tuesday morning. What was the deal? RAIN. The forecast called for heavy rain, he said. My immediate reaction was ... SO?
JV is relatively new to this deal, so I explained to him OUR deal. The forecast called for heavy rain ... but also very warm temperatures. We would run. There were no safety issues -- lightning, ice, etc. Just wetness. And not even cold wetness. He hesitated. I made some wiseguy comment to the effect of, "what, are you gonna melt or something?" And that was that. We met at Eric's house as usual; yes, we got soaked. But it was warm. We ran. Slowly, as always. That's what we do. Rain or shine.
Again, my personal morning run rule is something like this: We jog in any conditions, with the following exceptions:
--Dangerous lightning (rare in the early morning)
--Icy or snowy roads (common in the dead of winter, before dawn)
--Really cold rain (45 degrees or less), because that is really annoying and uncomfortable. Especially in the dark.
Which leads me to this afternoon's practice.
The plan is for us to go to Farm Lane (men) and Cator Loop (women) and do some tempo pushes and then some faster, shorter turnover pushes. Rain -- heavy or not -- will not alter this plan. HOWEVER ... forecasted thunderstorms MAY alter this plan. Lightning and thunder while we run on an old woods road and tree-covered pathways may not be a good idea.
We'll have to make it a game time decision, be safe and hope for the best.
He wanted to know if we were running together on Tuesday morning. We always run together on Tuesday morning. What was the deal? RAIN. The forecast called for heavy rain, he said. My immediate reaction was ... SO?
JV is relatively new to this deal, so I explained to him OUR deal. The forecast called for heavy rain ... but also very warm temperatures. We would run. There were no safety issues -- lightning, ice, etc. Just wetness. And not even cold wetness. He hesitated. I made some wiseguy comment to the effect of, "what, are you gonna melt or something?" And that was that. We met at Eric's house as usual; yes, we got soaked. But it was warm. We ran. Slowly, as always. That's what we do. Rain or shine.
Again, my personal morning run rule is something like this: We jog in any conditions, with the following exceptions:
--Dangerous lightning (rare in the early morning)
--Icy or snowy roads (common in the dead of winter, before dawn)
--Really cold rain (45 degrees or less), because that is really annoying and uncomfortable. Especially in the dark.
Which leads me to this afternoon's practice.
The plan is for us to go to Farm Lane (men) and Cator Loop (women) and do some tempo pushes and then some faster, shorter turnover pushes. Rain -- heavy or not -- will not alter this plan. HOWEVER ... forecasted thunderstorms MAY alter this plan. Lightning and thunder while we run on an old woods road and tree-covered pathways may not be a good idea.
We'll have to make it a game time decision, be safe and hope for the best.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Walsh sizzles at Cow Harbor
Congrats to Marist Running alum and Wantagh's own Matt Walsh, who had an amazingly excellent performance at the Great Cow Harbor 10-kilometer road race on Saturday.
Walsh, who trained much of the summer with current team member Quimes DelaCruz (another Wantagh guy), finished 15th overall in a stacked, elite-level field in an official time of 33:12.4.
According to Walsh's text on Saturday morning, his opening 5km split was 16:45, which means our guy ran a ridiculously fast negative-split effort. Nicely done, Walsh!
While on the subject of Wantagh Running, Marist (and Wantagh) Running Alum Sean Prinz (now located in the DC area) checked in with a few excellent 5k results of his own. On 9/11, Prinz ran a memorial 5K in Arlington, Va., placing second in 16:27. Just a few days ago, Prinz emailed with another 5K result -- 15:43, which included a blazing 4:47 opening mile.
Several Marist Running alums will be hitting the roads in marathon races over the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
Walsh, who trained much of the summer with current team member Quimes DelaCruz (another Wantagh guy), finished 15th overall in a stacked, elite-level field in an official time of 33:12.4.
According to Walsh's text on Saturday morning, his opening 5km split was 16:45, which means our guy ran a ridiculously fast negative-split effort. Nicely done, Walsh!
While on the subject of Wantagh Running, Marist (and Wantagh) Running Alum Sean Prinz (now located in the DC area) checked in with a few excellent 5k results of his own. On 9/11, Prinz ran a memorial 5K in Arlington, Va., placing second in 16:27. Just a few days ago, Prinz emailed with another 5K result -- 15:43, which included a blazing 4:47 opening mile.
Several Marist Running alums will be hitting the roads in marathon races over the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Fairfield Invy: Men's results/comments
Men’s team standings:
1-Fairfield 32
2-Sacred Heart 45
3-Fordham 77
4-Manhattan 90
5-Marist 125
6-John Carroll 161
7-New Haven 197
8-Bridgeport 258
Marist individual results and quick coach Pete commentary
8,000 meters
17-Kevin O’Sullivan 27:53.26. Solid effort. Could have been better but strong debut at 8km.
23-Ryan Brown 28:19.12. Very solid effort and key scoring spot for us. Look to PR big-time at Paul Short.
27-Isaiah Miller 28:35.11. Excellent 8km debut and best effort to date. You will only continue to improve. A lot.
28-Brian Townsend 28:46.13. Not as bad as it seems, but definitely not great. As I told you afterwards: It didn’t suck. I think that sums it up. Next few weeks should be much better.
30-Ryan Scrudato 28:52.63. A bit too amped up for this. You can hold pace a lot longer.
31-Patrick Deedy 28:56.91. Strong effort for first 8km xc race.
35-Doug Ainscow 29:09.93. Ditto.
37-Danny Mendoza 29:15.61. Ditto.
39-Will Schanz 29:18.02. Ditto (although it’s not your first 8km race)
41-Billy Hild 29:20.39. Ditto. All of you guys ran decent all things considered.
42-Andrew James 29:23.36. Nerves, crappy terrain and crappy weather contributed to this time, which should improve markedly next time.
48-Nick Salek 29:35.85. Can be a lot better, especially considering your Bowdoin opener.
56-Luke Shane 30:19.06. A sub-30:00 equivalent effort, but too many factors worked against your achieving your goal.
63-Michael Keegan 30:39.54. Didn’t talk to you about it, but I’m guessing breathing was a big issue.
68-Mike Clausen 31:17.01. Nothing good to say about this, other than there is another race soon.
88-Brendan Green 33:53.73. Ditto.
DNF-Ryan Fitzsimons (heat)
DNF-Matt Panebianco (heat!)
DNF-Chris Reynolds (injury)
DNS-Kyle Havard (injury)
DNS-Ben Windisch (missed the bus)
Overall commentary: We wanted to make a statement that Marist Distance is a strong and deep program. While we did not fully succeed in that goal today, if you take a somewhat objective look at it, it wasn’t a terrible day for us. I find myself constantly thinking about today and the same weird phrases pop into my head: “It didn’t suck.” “It doesn’t suck.” I really think that sums it up in so many cases. Could have been better, could have been A LOT better, but not terrible.
Consider: Four (and maybe five!) potential scorers today did not start or did not finish. Reynolds and Panebianco certainly projected as varsity today, but we’ll never know. Same with Windisch, who will never make the mistake again. Fitz WAS varsity before his untimely demise. And Kyle Havard, despite recurring lower-leg muscle issues, is strong and solid when healthy.
And remember: That’s BEFORE factoring in our projected top 12 to 14 runners on the team, who did not race this week.
So yeah. It didn’t suck. But it’s still not great.
Long day. Time for bed.
1-Fairfield 32
2-Sacred Heart 45
3-Fordham 77
4-Manhattan 90
5-Marist 125
6-John Carroll 161
7-New Haven 197
8-Bridgeport 258
Marist individual results and quick coach Pete commentary
8,000 meters
17-Kevin O’Sullivan 27:53.26. Solid effort. Could have been better but strong debut at 8km.
23-Ryan Brown 28:19.12. Very solid effort and key scoring spot for us. Look to PR big-time at Paul Short.
27-Isaiah Miller 28:35.11. Excellent 8km debut and best effort to date. You will only continue to improve. A lot.
28-Brian Townsend 28:46.13. Not as bad as it seems, but definitely not great. As I told you afterwards: It didn’t suck. I think that sums it up. Next few weeks should be much better.
30-Ryan Scrudato 28:52.63. A bit too amped up for this. You can hold pace a lot longer.
31-Patrick Deedy 28:56.91. Strong effort for first 8km xc race.
35-Doug Ainscow 29:09.93. Ditto.
37-Danny Mendoza 29:15.61. Ditto.
39-Will Schanz 29:18.02. Ditto (although it’s not your first 8km race)
41-Billy Hild 29:20.39. Ditto. All of you guys ran decent all things considered.
42-Andrew James 29:23.36. Nerves, crappy terrain and crappy weather contributed to this time, which should improve markedly next time.
48-Nick Salek 29:35.85. Can be a lot better, especially considering your Bowdoin opener.
56-Luke Shane 30:19.06. A sub-30:00 equivalent effort, but too many factors worked against your achieving your goal.
63-Michael Keegan 30:39.54. Didn’t talk to you about it, but I’m guessing breathing was a big issue.
68-Mike Clausen 31:17.01. Nothing good to say about this, other than there is another race soon.
88-Brendan Green 33:53.73. Ditto.
DNF-Ryan Fitzsimons (heat)
DNF-Matt Panebianco (heat!)
DNF-Chris Reynolds (injury)
DNS-Kyle Havard (injury)
DNS-Ben Windisch (missed the bus)
Overall commentary: We wanted to make a statement that Marist Distance is a strong and deep program. While we did not fully succeed in that goal today, if you take a somewhat objective look at it, it wasn’t a terrible day for us. I find myself constantly thinking about today and the same weird phrases pop into my head: “It didn’t suck.” “It doesn’t suck.” I really think that sums it up in so many cases. Could have been better, could have been A LOT better, but not terrible.
Consider: Four (and maybe five!) potential scorers today did not start or did not finish. Reynolds and Panebianco certainly projected as varsity today, but we’ll never know. Same with Windisch, who will never make the mistake again. Fitz WAS varsity before his untimely demise. And Kyle Havard, despite recurring lower-leg muscle issues, is strong and solid when healthy.
And remember: That’s BEFORE factoring in our projected top 12 to 14 runners on the team, who did not race this week.
So yeah. It didn’t suck. But it’s still not great.
Long day. Time for bed.
Fairfield Invy: Women's results/comments
Women’s team standings:
1-Sacred Heart 29
2-Marist 41
3-Fairfield 89
4-Manhattan 102
5-John Carroll 134
6-Fordham 169
7-New Haven 185
8-Bridgeport 240
Marist individual results
5,000 meters
2-Kiersten Anderson 19:04.22
3-Briana Crowe 19:30.87
7-Katie Messina 19:47.37
11-Erin O’Reilly 20:02.95
18-Jillian Corley 20:19.99
19-Julie Hudak 20:20.72
20-Kathryn Sheehan 20:21.59
21-Kara Lightowler 20:23.27
27-Kelley Gould 20:42.68
35-Allyson O’Brien 21:11.04
37-Dayna McLaughlin 21:13.79
38-Elizabeth O’Brien 21:20.80
51-Laura Lindsley 21:44.52
53-Rebecca Denise 21:48.90
59-Kim Bartlett 22:05.72
67-Colleen Smith 22:28.46
96-Erin Quadros 25:52.02
Comments: We were up there in a great battle for first with Sacred Heart until the last half-mile or so. It was an exciting race and fun to watch and cheer as hard as I could. Overall, this was another solid effort for a team that is working very hard in practice every day.
I will leave the individual analysis to Chuck. Here are some other random thoughts from me:
1-Bree ran really great! I was very pumped to see this!
2-Erin made a wrong turn and that messed things up for her. Too bad.
3-Kelley G. bounced back after last week’s disappointment with a strong effort.
4-All others felt the effects of the heat to varying degrees (pun intended).
5-We were in the hunt for the win, despite missing a key varsity runner in Addie and with Kathryn still feeling the effects of lower leg stiffness that most certainly will improve with time and treatment.
6-The course was deceptively tough.
7-I told Katie after her race that it “didn’t suck.” I would say that’s an accurate assessment of the day. Not terrible, could have been better. That’s about right for September 25.
1-Sacred Heart 29
2-Marist 41
3-Fairfield 89
4-Manhattan 102
5-John Carroll 134
6-Fordham 169
7-New Haven 185
8-Bridgeport 240
Marist individual results
5,000 meters
2-Kiersten Anderson 19:04.22
3-Briana Crowe 19:30.87
7-Katie Messina 19:47.37
11-Erin O’Reilly 20:02.95
18-Jillian Corley 20:19.99
19-Julie Hudak 20:20.72
20-Kathryn Sheehan 20:21.59
21-Kara Lightowler 20:23.27
27-Kelley Gould 20:42.68
35-Allyson O’Brien 21:11.04
37-Dayna McLaughlin 21:13.79
38-Elizabeth O’Brien 21:20.80
51-Laura Lindsley 21:44.52
53-Rebecca Denise 21:48.90
59-Kim Bartlett 22:05.72
67-Colleen Smith 22:28.46
96-Erin Quadros 25:52.02
Comments: We were up there in a great battle for first with Sacred Heart until the last half-mile or so. It was an exciting race and fun to watch and cheer as hard as I could. Overall, this was another solid effort for a team that is working very hard in practice every day.
I will leave the individual analysis to Chuck. Here are some other random thoughts from me:
1-Bree ran really great! I was very pumped to see this!
2-Erin made a wrong turn and that messed things up for her. Too bad.
3-Kelley G. bounced back after last week’s disappointment with a strong effort.
4-All others felt the effects of the heat to varying degrees (pun intended).
5-We were in the hunt for the win, despite missing a key varsity runner in Addie and with Kathryn still feeling the effects of lower leg stiffness that most certainly will improve with time and treatment.
6-The course was deceptively tough.
7-I told Katie after her race that it “didn’t suck.” I would say that’s an accurate assessment of the day. Not terrible, could have been better. That’s about right for September 25.
Eat at Nino's Place
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times: Heat kills. Whenever anyone asks me what weather is the worst for runners in races, I give two answers: 1. Extreme heat and humidity; 2. Cold rain. The second is really uncomfortable (especially for a coach) but almost never life-threatening. Heat? Heat kills. That’s what I say all the time.
Today, I’m sure glad this phrase was not literal.
We were at the Fairfield Invitational for the first time since 1997. Back in the day – when I was in college in the 1980s, and then when I started coaching in 1991 -- Fairfield was usually the season-opening meet. This means, I’ve seen this story before. Blazing sun. No shade. Fairfield. Today was not a season-opener. It’s the last full weekend in September. It’s not supposed to be like this, really. Factor in an 11:45 a.m. start, humidity and freakish wind, and what you get is the recipe for a train wreck.
Anyway, in the men’s race, we had three DNFs today. One of them ended with a trip to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, CT.
Junior Ryan Fitzsimons was running a really strong race. I was not surprised; Fitz had a solid summer, and his training since preseason has been strong, hard and consistent. His workouts have gotten better and better. He was ready. When I saw him at Mile 3, he looked great and he was passing people. He was definitely going to be a varsity scoring team member for us today.
When I saw him with about a half-mile to go, he wasn’t doing as well, but I didn’t think much of it. He had lost a few spots, but still looked to be doing OK all things considered. As I was tending to overheated runners after the finish, some excitable Fairfield girl reported that a Marist runner had collapsed in the woods. I sprinted in and found Fitz sprawled on the ground near the aforementioned 3-mile mark. Heat. The trainers packed him in ice, had him drink water and Gatorade.
He was conscious, sweating but quite disoriented. A trip to the ER was recommended by the medical personnel. On the ambulance ride to St. Vincent’s, Fitz wasn’t alone. Sure, I was there riding shotgun up front as I marveled how big Bridgeport actually is (I had never been to Connecticut’s biggest city). But there was also a less delirious but still heat-damaged runner from Fordham sharing space in the back of the ambulance. When we got the hospital, we also learned that a Sacred Heart runner was there as well. At one point, I turned around and asked how Fitz was doing. The EMT said still not great.
The good news: After two bags of IV fluid, Fitz bounced back quickly. Crisis averted. He was discharged with cheery instructions from the ER nurse: Drink Gatorade like it’s your job. He did, and he is fine now. He was even talking about how much he’s looking forward to running Paul Short on Friday. We’ll see about that, mister. One day at a time this week.
As we waited outside the ER for teammate Kara Lightowler to come fetch us and return us to the team bus and barbecue at Kim Bartlett’s house in Fairfield, something surreal happened. Some random fat kid walked by and silently handed me a refrigerator magnet and calendar that was an advertisement for Nino’s Place, a pizzeria and deli in Bridgeport. It’s a somewhat unusual place to be looking for business, but I guess folks like us hanging out near an ER are a captive, if somewhat dazed and distracted, audience. Why I kept the magnet and put it in my backpack is beyond me. But I did.
Eat at Nino’s Place. After today’s race, we’re just glad that remains an option for Fitz, the next time he happens to be in Bridgeport.
Today, I’m sure glad this phrase was not literal.
We were at the Fairfield Invitational for the first time since 1997. Back in the day – when I was in college in the 1980s, and then when I started coaching in 1991 -- Fairfield was usually the season-opening meet. This means, I’ve seen this story before. Blazing sun. No shade. Fairfield. Today was not a season-opener. It’s the last full weekend in September. It’s not supposed to be like this, really. Factor in an 11:45 a.m. start, humidity and freakish wind, and what you get is the recipe for a train wreck.
Anyway, in the men’s race, we had three DNFs today. One of them ended with a trip to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, CT.
Junior Ryan Fitzsimons was running a really strong race. I was not surprised; Fitz had a solid summer, and his training since preseason has been strong, hard and consistent. His workouts have gotten better and better. He was ready. When I saw him at Mile 3, he looked great and he was passing people. He was definitely going to be a varsity scoring team member for us today.
When I saw him with about a half-mile to go, he wasn’t doing as well, but I didn’t think much of it. He had lost a few spots, but still looked to be doing OK all things considered. As I was tending to overheated runners after the finish, some excitable Fairfield girl reported that a Marist runner had collapsed in the woods. I sprinted in and found Fitz sprawled on the ground near the aforementioned 3-mile mark. Heat. The trainers packed him in ice, had him drink water and Gatorade.
He was conscious, sweating but quite disoriented. A trip to the ER was recommended by the medical personnel. On the ambulance ride to St. Vincent’s, Fitz wasn’t alone. Sure, I was there riding shotgun up front as I marveled how big Bridgeport actually is (I had never been to Connecticut’s biggest city). But there was also a less delirious but still heat-damaged runner from Fordham sharing space in the back of the ambulance. When we got the hospital, we also learned that a Sacred Heart runner was there as well. At one point, I turned around and asked how Fitz was doing. The EMT said still not great.
The good news: After two bags of IV fluid, Fitz bounced back quickly. Crisis averted. He was discharged with cheery instructions from the ER nurse: Drink Gatorade like it’s your job. He did, and he is fine now. He was even talking about how much he’s looking forward to running Paul Short on Friday. We’ll see about that, mister. One day at a time this week.
As we waited outside the ER for teammate Kara Lightowler to come fetch us and return us to the team bus and barbecue at Kim Bartlett’s house in Fairfield, something surreal happened. Some random fat kid walked by and silently handed me a refrigerator magnet and calendar that was an advertisement for Nino’s Place, a pizzeria and deli in Bridgeport. It’s a somewhat unusual place to be looking for business, but I guess folks like us hanging out near an ER are a captive, if somewhat dazed and distracted, audience. Why I kept the magnet and put it in my backpack is beyond me. But I did.
Eat at Nino’s Place. After today’s race, we’re just glad that remains an option for Fitz, the next time he happens to be in Bridgeport.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Runner's World article
I have been meaning to post this for a while: In the October issue of Runner's World, starting on Page 102, there is an excellent article entitled "Where the Sidewalk Ends, A city runner heads to the woods in search of a new route to happiness" by Josh Dean, about trail running.
The author discusses running in the Shawangunks (The Gunks) quite a bit. We LOVE The Gunks! Wish we could get there more frequently, but preseason runs at Minnewaska are always a highlight.
Anyway, in the article, the author references two Marist Running alums -- Justin Harris and Geoff Decker. Here is a brief excerpt from the bottom of Page 103:
"My trail-running adventure began to resemble a game of telephone. (Geoff) Decker contacted Justin Harris, an old buddy who ran cross-country with him at Marist College. Harris was now living in New Paltz, a quaint hippie town about an hour north of New York City."
Good stuff! There is excellent information, writing and photos in this article. Check it out.
The author discusses running in the Shawangunks (The Gunks) quite a bit. We LOVE The Gunks! Wish we could get there more frequently, but preseason runs at Minnewaska are always a highlight.
Anyway, in the article, the author references two Marist Running alums -- Justin Harris and Geoff Decker. Here is a brief excerpt from the bottom of Page 103:
"My trail-running adventure began to resemble a game of telephone. (Geoff) Decker contacted Justin Harris, an old buddy who ran cross-country with him at Marist College. Harris was now living in New Paltz, a quaint hippie town about an hour north of New York City."
Good stuff! There is excellent information, writing and photos in this article. Check it out.
New race in Carmel
Along with sending me cool photos from the meet, Kathy Gould (Kelley's mom) asked me to plug a new race that the Carmel Running Club is putting on in October.
The inaugural 5K in Support of Jimmy B & LIFSHD will be held on Oct. 10 (10.10.10!) at Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park in Carmel. It is a cross-country style race, with "some uneven grounds with some rocky terrain," according to the application. There is also a walk and a kids' fun run. It will be chip-timed and it extremely well organized by the Carmel Running Club. Sounds great!
The proceeds of the race will benefit a good friend of the Goulds' 19-year-old son, who is battling a genetic form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD. Jimmy B's parents are both Marist alums, as are the Goulds!
While our athletes cannot compete in this race as per NCAA rules, it is my hope that many of us will get out to Carmel to support this effort. I will not be there as I have already signed up for a marathon in Albany on 10.10.10 (the goal, of course, being to try and run 10:10 pace on 10.10.10), but it is my hope that this blog post will help the race cause -- even if just a little bit.
You can register for the event online at getmeregistered.com. If you want a copy of the race application, you can email me at runhed246@hotmail.com and I'll forward it to you.
The inaugural 5K in Support of Jimmy B & LIFSHD will be held on Oct. 10 (10.10.10!) at Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park in Carmel. It is a cross-country style race, with "some uneven grounds with some rocky terrain," according to the application. There is also a walk and a kids' fun run. It will be chip-timed and it extremely well organized by the Carmel Running Club. Sounds great!
The proceeds of the race will benefit a good friend of the Goulds' 19-year-old son, who is battling a genetic form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD. Jimmy B's parents are both Marist alums, as are the Goulds!
While our athletes cannot compete in this race as per NCAA rules, it is my hope that many of us will get out to Carmel to support this effort. I will not be there as I have already signed up for a marathon in Albany on 10.10.10 (the goal, of course, being to try and run 10:10 pace on 10.10.10), but it is my hope that this blog post will help the race cause -- even if just a little bit.
You can register for the event online at getmeregistered.com. If you want a copy of the race application, you can email me at runhed246@hotmail.com and I'll forward it to you.
Photos from VCP last week
Thanks to Mrs. Gould (women) and Mr. Duggan (men) for providing me with the above images from Saturday's meet at Van Cortlandt Park.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Fairfield Invitational information
Here is a quick "fact sheet" for Saturday's meet, for those interested in attending, or just for those who are interested ...
Fairfield Invitational
Official name: The 34th annual Victor F. Leeber, S.J., Cross Country Invitational
Where: Fairfield University campus
Race times:
Women’s 5K, 11 a.m.
Men’s 8K, 11:45 a.m.
Race course: Entirely on the Fairfield campus. Three-quarters of the course is off-road (grass). Flats (not spikes) are recommended
Who is racing for the men:
Freshmen (12): Doug Ainscow, Mike Clausen, Pat Deedy, Billy Hild, Andrew James, Danny Mendoza, Isaiah Miller, Kevin O’Sullivan, Chris Reynolds, Nick Salek, Ryan Scrudato, Ben Windisch
Sophomores (4): Brendan Green, Mike Keegan, Matt Panebianco, Will Schanz
Juniors (4-5): Ryan Brown, Ryan Fitzsimons, Kyle Havard (questionable, due to injury), Luke Shane, Brian Townsend
Comment on men's team we are fielding: No seniors! A lot of freshmen! This team represents our present and our future. Should be fun.
Who is racing for the women: The majority of the team. The only ladies not racing are those that have some injury issues. It may not be our full varsity squad, but it will be close.
Of note: Back in the 1990s, we attended the Fairfield Invy on a yearly basis. This is our first return to the Fairfield campus and the Fairfield meet for more than 10 years. I believe the last time we raced at Fairfield was 1997. Phil, if you could verify this, that would be great.
Hope to see some of you there...
Fairfield Invitational
Official name: The 34th annual Victor F. Leeber, S.J., Cross Country Invitational
Where: Fairfield University campus
Race times:
Women’s 5K, 11 a.m.
Men’s 8K, 11:45 a.m.
Race course: Entirely on the Fairfield campus. Three-quarters of the course is off-road (grass). Flats (not spikes) are recommended
Who is racing for the men:
Freshmen (12): Doug Ainscow, Mike Clausen, Pat Deedy, Billy Hild, Andrew James, Danny Mendoza, Isaiah Miller, Kevin O’Sullivan, Chris Reynolds, Nick Salek, Ryan Scrudato, Ben Windisch
Sophomores (4): Brendan Green, Mike Keegan, Matt Panebianco, Will Schanz
Juniors (4-5): Ryan Brown, Ryan Fitzsimons, Kyle Havard (questionable, due to injury), Luke Shane, Brian Townsend
Comment on men's team we are fielding: No seniors! A lot of freshmen! This team represents our present and our future. Should be fun.
Who is racing for the women: The majority of the team. The only ladies not racing are those that have some injury issues. It may not be our full varsity squad, but it will be close.
Of note: Back in the 1990s, we attended the Fairfield Invy on a yearly basis. This is our first return to the Fairfield campus and the Fairfield meet for more than 10 years. I believe the last time we raced at Fairfield was 1997. Phil, if you could verify this, that would be great.
Hope to see some of you there...
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
No whining about meal money
Received a nice alumni donation and note today from our old pal Pat Casey, one of the original St. Anthony's Friars in the Modern Era (post-1991) team. Pat was a hard-working and hard-running varsity runner here and has remained a loyal alum, more than 10 years after his graduation.
Here's the short note he attached with his donation:
"If you still get K&D subs for the team, please put my donation towards extra mayo for everyone. There was nothing like biting into a K&D sub with extra mayo after a long day at the track. Your blog is at the top of my favorites list. I enjoy watching the program evolve and love watching the records fall. Say hello to Coach Chuck and the Friars for me."
Will do, Pat. Thanks for the note and the donation!
Just so current team members know: Back in the day (the 1990s), to save money what we used to do was NOT give out meal money to the team. Rather, I would go shopping the night before with about $100 total for both teams -- loading up on bagels, bananas, Gatorade and water. Then, we would get boxes of subs and chips from the aforementioned K&D Deli (the official sandwich supplier of Marist Athletics). And that would be it! No meal money. No nothing, other than what we provided.
Generally, the pattern with meal money goes something like this: The first time freshmen get it, they are like, "Wow, how cool is THIS?" Then, they get used to getting it. And maybe one trip we get a little less, and they hear the upperclassmen harrumphing about the lack of meal money, and they cop that attitude too.
And so, ladies and gentlemen of the 2010 team, I ask you to recall this post and please remember what your forerunners got (or didn't get), when you complain about the relative lack of meal money. It's literally better than nothing, which is what Pat Casey and his loyal 'mates received, back in the day.
Here's the short note he attached with his donation:
"If you still get K&D subs for the team, please put my donation towards extra mayo for everyone. There was nothing like biting into a K&D sub with extra mayo after a long day at the track. Your blog is at the top of my favorites list. I enjoy watching the program evolve and love watching the records fall. Say hello to Coach Chuck and the Friars for me."
Will do, Pat. Thanks for the note and the donation!
Just so current team members know: Back in the day (the 1990s), to save money what we used to do was NOT give out meal money to the team. Rather, I would go shopping the night before with about $100 total for both teams -- loading up on bagels, bananas, Gatorade and water. Then, we would get boxes of subs and chips from the aforementioned K&D Deli (the official sandwich supplier of Marist Athletics). And that would be it! No meal money. No nothing, other than what we provided.
Generally, the pattern with meal money goes something like this: The first time freshmen get it, they are like, "Wow, how cool is THIS?" Then, they get used to getting it. And maybe one trip we get a little less, and they hear the upperclassmen harrumphing about the lack of meal money, and they cop that attitude too.
And so, ladies and gentlemen of the 2010 team, I ask you to recall this post and please remember what your forerunners got (or didn't get), when you complain about the relative lack of meal money. It's literally better than nothing, which is what Pat Casey and his loyal 'mates received, back in the day.
We should all drive like Ryan Brown
This time of year, we as a program are caravaning to off-campus practice sites on a nearly daily basis. We can only fit about 9-10 folks in the vans, which means we rely on team members to drive.
We are VERY APPRECIATIVE of our team members who make the effort to drive. I am thankful for it every day.
I'm even more thankful when I see junior team member Ryan Brown putt-putting down Route 9 in his ancient Toyota -- driving the SPEED LIMIT, of all things. That's right. Brownie drives the SPEED LIMIT. Which, by all accounts, makes him a dreadfully slow driver.
You know what else he is? A SAFE DRIVER.
As a coach, there is nothing better than that.
So there I was, heading down to Bowdoin last Friday in the van, trying in vain to keep the country or rock station on while Panebianco or somebody kept changing it to the crappy "hit" music stations. I noticed someone up ahead driving slowly. My immediate reaction: "Who is that up there driving like me?"
It was Brownie!
Oh yeah, the guys said, Brown's got a well-earned reputation for driving the speed limit or slower. Which makes him a heroic, safe driver, in my book.
I have been driving for close to 30 years with nary a speeding ticket on my record (knock on wood). I have a well-earned reputation as a slow and safe driver (blog follower Bob out West always found this highly annoying on the rare occasions that we should drive together and I was behind the wheel). Well, I have met my match. Brownie is just as safe -- and maybe even slower! Remember: That's a good thing!
Keep putt-putting along, my friend. Your coach appreciates it, and your teammates that arrive safely at their destinations should appreciate it as well.
We are VERY APPRECIATIVE of our team members who make the effort to drive. I am thankful for it every day.
I'm even more thankful when I see junior team member Ryan Brown putt-putting down Route 9 in his ancient Toyota -- driving the SPEED LIMIT, of all things. That's right. Brownie drives the SPEED LIMIT. Which, by all accounts, makes him a dreadfully slow driver.
You know what else he is? A SAFE DRIVER.
As a coach, there is nothing better than that.
So there I was, heading down to Bowdoin last Friday in the van, trying in vain to keep the country or rock station on while Panebianco or somebody kept changing it to the crappy "hit" music stations. I noticed someone up ahead driving slowly. My immediate reaction: "Who is that up there driving like me?"
It was Brownie!
Oh yeah, the guys said, Brown's got a well-earned reputation for driving the speed limit or slower. Which makes him a heroic, safe driver, in my book.
I have been driving for close to 30 years with nary a speeding ticket on my record (knock on wood). I have a well-earned reputation as a slow and safe driver (blog follower Bob out West always found this highly annoying on the rare occasions that we should drive together and I was behind the wheel). Well, I have met my match. Brownie is just as safe -- and maybe even slower! Remember: That's a good thing!
Keep putt-putting along, my friend. Your coach appreciates it, and your teammates that arrive safely at their destinations should appreciate it as well.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Dutchess County Classic
Sunday was the Dutchess County Classic road race -- the signature event of my home club, the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club. The race drew a record crowd of more than 1,400 entrants on a perfect morning.
There were several blog-related notables in attendance:
-- Chris Gould, Marist alum and dad of sophomore Kelley Gould, got fifth in his age group in the half marathon in 1:32:30. From what we heard, he had a severe asthma attack toward the finish that was scary for all involved. We're glad he got through it OK, and still ran a tremendous time. Nicely done, Mr. Gould!
--Louis Caporale, Marist running alum from 1999 and the alum who holds the distinction for having been the first to donate to the Marist Running Alumni Fund this summer/fall, ran a very respectable 1:38:14 in the half marathon. Nicely done, Louis!
--Steve Perks, longtime John Jay High School and MHRRC coach (not to mention a good friend of mine and our program), completed the half marathon in 1:53:02, getting fourth in his age group. Steve and Marlene live in North Carolina now, but they are up in the area frequently visiting family and running races. I wasn't at the race, but just looking at the results, it appears Steve ran with/finished with one of his former JJHS stalwarts Eric Schwark of Hyde Park -- who happened to be Kelley Gould's coach at Carmel High School. And while we're talking about former JJHS stalwarts, the men's 5K winner (Dan Jordy) was another Perks' product. It all connects!
--Chris LaTuso, the son-in-law of women's coach emeritus Phil Kelly, ran a very solid 1:43:53 in the half marathon.
--Krys Wasielewski, my good buddy and Junk Yard Dog teammate from Dover Plains, was fifth in his age group in 1:41:56 -- a day before turning 57. Happy Birthday today, Krys! His/our JYD teammates, Mike (Big Dog) Murphy won the 60-64 AG in 1:41:36 and Barry Schnoor (Hilltopper Half winner) ran 1:42:12. Woof, woof, men!
--Lastly, my 5:45 a.m. training partner Tony Ferreri ran 1:25:05 and won the 45-49 AG. Why Fast Tony bothers to run with a slug like me, who probably couldn't come within a half hour of him on race-day, is one of life's greatest mysteries.
After running many, many Classic marathons through the years, I passed on this year's race in favor of visiting my family in New Jersey and celebrating my mother's 78th birthday.
Blog on, brothers and sisters ...
There were several blog-related notables in attendance:
-- Chris Gould, Marist alum and dad of sophomore Kelley Gould, got fifth in his age group in the half marathon in 1:32:30. From what we heard, he had a severe asthma attack toward the finish that was scary for all involved. We're glad he got through it OK, and still ran a tremendous time. Nicely done, Mr. Gould!
--Louis Caporale, Marist running alum from 1999 and the alum who holds the distinction for having been the first to donate to the Marist Running Alumni Fund this summer/fall, ran a very respectable 1:38:14 in the half marathon. Nicely done, Louis!
--Steve Perks, longtime John Jay High School and MHRRC coach (not to mention a good friend of mine and our program), completed the half marathon in 1:53:02, getting fourth in his age group. Steve and Marlene live in North Carolina now, but they are up in the area frequently visiting family and running races. I wasn't at the race, but just looking at the results, it appears Steve ran with/finished with one of his former JJHS stalwarts Eric Schwark of Hyde Park -- who happened to be Kelley Gould's coach at Carmel High School. And while we're talking about former JJHS stalwarts, the men's 5K winner (Dan Jordy) was another Perks' product. It all connects!
--Chris LaTuso, the son-in-law of women's coach emeritus Phil Kelly, ran a very solid 1:43:53 in the half marathon.
--Krys Wasielewski, my good buddy and Junk Yard Dog teammate from Dover Plains, was fifth in his age group in 1:41:56 -- a day before turning 57. Happy Birthday today, Krys! His/our JYD teammates, Mike (Big Dog) Murphy won the 60-64 AG in 1:41:36 and Barry Schnoor (Hilltopper Half winner) ran 1:42:12. Woof, woof, men!
--Lastly, my 5:45 a.m. training partner Tony Ferreri ran 1:25:05 and won the 45-49 AG. Why Fast Tony bothers to run with a slug like me, who probably couldn't come within a half hour of him on race-day, is one of life's greatest mysteries.
After running many, many Classic marathons through the years, I passed on this year's race in favor of visiting my family in New Jersey and celebrating my mother's 78th birthday.
Blog on, brothers and sisters ...
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Iona MOC men's meet analysis
This post-race analysis will not be as numbers-oriented as the women's analysis. This is because, the last time we ran this meet, it was on a vastly different course -- the traditional VCP course with a slightly different starting loop. And last year, the VCP course was radically different as well.
I would like to publicly commend the Iona College Cross Country staff for an excellent, well-run meet. They put together a great course considering the relative disarray of the park. The 5-mile course seemed true and accurate -- still a little harder than the "original" in that the hills were so condensed, but not too slow or too fast. Just right for an early-season meet. Nicely done.
Now, those that encountered me after the meet found me to be in a less-than-pleasant mood. Yes, I know we were not running several potential varsity runners. Yes, I know we have been working as hard as any Marist xc team in any time in recent memory. Yes, I know how you race on Sept. 18 has little or no bearing on the meets that matter in October and November.
But, the competitive part of me just flat out does not like finishing 15th out of 19 teams. No matter the circumstances. Ever. It just isn't fun, enjoyable or representative of what we are about.
OK. Having said that, and having looked at the numbers, what they reveal are that many guys ran decent, OK for being flat or actually somewhat well. A few guys just flat out had bad days. Put that all together, and you get what you get.
Here is a quick breakdown of each runner's race, in my opinion.
Ken Walshak 26:25.28: Fantastic debut over 5 miles and solid lead runner on this day. Can be better but for now we'll take it.
Tom Lipari 26:37.20: Not indicative of your fitness level, but you have never trained this hard. Solid effort.
Nick Webster 26:47.22: Ditto Tommy. Just a little flatter. You have confidence that October will be MUCH better. I share that confidence.
Pat Duggan 26:57.98: Above average effort on flat legs. I like the direction you are going.
Zak Smetana 27:08.38: Major bounce-back effort, and great building block for rest of season.
Nick Hughes 27:12.90: Not great at all. You thought you went out too fast. That's probably true. Honest freshman mistake. Let this be your one clunker effort at this distance.
Billy Posch 27:26.92: Terrible considering your superior fitness level. Think less, race more. You will do MUCH better with that strategy.
Joel Moss 27:37.75: Solid effort by you! While I believe you can go faster, this was good stuff.
Mike Nicoletti 27:38.04: So-so, but not terrible after a week of being sick.
Tim Keegan 28:37.57: The equivalent of a DNF. I believe your issues were a one-shot deal, but we will have to monitor it and try some things out.
Wild numbers coincidence: Walshak texted me a few minutes ago that today's top-5 finishers were almost exactly 10 seconds apart from man-to-man. Pretty interesting. My theory going in was that we as a team would work together in packs. It didn't quite work out that way visually. But in the end, it sort of did.
Lastly, for those keeping score at home: Fall Ball game was a crisply played 4-3 loss for the Hyde Park boys. Strong defense and pitching on both sides. An over-the-fence HR in the fourth was the deciding run. Good stuff. And not too cold for this wimpy old man.
Thanks for reading, and see you all soon.
I would like to publicly commend the Iona College Cross Country staff for an excellent, well-run meet. They put together a great course considering the relative disarray of the park. The 5-mile course seemed true and accurate -- still a little harder than the "original" in that the hills were so condensed, but not too slow or too fast. Just right for an early-season meet. Nicely done.
Now, those that encountered me after the meet found me to be in a less-than-pleasant mood. Yes, I know we were not running several potential varsity runners. Yes, I know we have been working as hard as any Marist xc team in any time in recent memory. Yes, I know how you race on Sept. 18 has little or no bearing on the meets that matter in October and November.
But, the competitive part of me just flat out does not like finishing 15th out of 19 teams. No matter the circumstances. Ever. It just isn't fun, enjoyable or representative of what we are about.
OK. Having said that, and having looked at the numbers, what they reveal are that many guys ran decent, OK for being flat or actually somewhat well. A few guys just flat out had bad days. Put that all together, and you get what you get.
Here is a quick breakdown of each runner's race, in my opinion.
Ken Walshak 26:25.28: Fantastic debut over 5 miles and solid lead runner on this day. Can be better but for now we'll take it.
Tom Lipari 26:37.20: Not indicative of your fitness level, but you have never trained this hard. Solid effort.
Nick Webster 26:47.22: Ditto Tommy. Just a little flatter. You have confidence that October will be MUCH better. I share that confidence.
Pat Duggan 26:57.98: Above average effort on flat legs. I like the direction you are going.
Zak Smetana 27:08.38: Major bounce-back effort, and great building block for rest of season.
Nick Hughes 27:12.90: Not great at all. You thought you went out too fast. That's probably true. Honest freshman mistake. Let this be your one clunker effort at this distance.
Billy Posch 27:26.92: Terrible considering your superior fitness level. Think less, race more. You will do MUCH better with that strategy.
Joel Moss 27:37.75: Solid effort by you! While I believe you can go faster, this was good stuff.
Mike Nicoletti 27:38.04: So-so, but not terrible after a week of being sick.
Tim Keegan 28:37.57: The equivalent of a DNF. I believe your issues were a one-shot deal, but we will have to monitor it and try some things out.
Wild numbers coincidence: Walshak texted me a few minutes ago that today's top-5 finishers were almost exactly 10 seconds apart from man-to-man. Pretty interesting. My theory going in was that we as a team would work together in packs. It didn't quite work out that way visually. But in the end, it sort of did.
Lastly, for those keeping score at home: Fall Ball game was a crisply played 4-3 loss for the Hyde Park boys. Strong defense and pitching on both sides. An over-the-fence HR in the fourth was the deciding run. Good stuff. And not too cold for this wimpy old man.
Thanks for reading, and see you all soon.
Iona MOC women's meet analysis
Coach Chuck crunched some very interesting numbers from today's meet, in terms of the times our women's team ran. With a little history and perspective, you will see that:
--Today's meet went well, especially for early in the season.
--Our times (when converted) across the board were faster -- in some cases, by a LOT -- than in the recent past.
--We achieved this despite a heavy workload in terms of mileage and workouts.
--We achieved this despite a lot of illnesses spreading throughout the team in the past week (see post from earlier in the week).
Also note that three of our projected varsity runners -- Addie DiFrancesco, Kathryn Sheehan, Kiersten Anderson -- did not compete today. All are slated to toe the line next week at Fairfield next week and Paul Short the week after that.
Check out these numbers ...
Katie Messina: 23:25.93 (today's converted time); DNF (2009 MAAC)
Briana Crowe: 23:34.99 (today); 25:36.2 (2009 MAAC); 25:27.2 (2008 MOC)
Jillian Corley: 23:42.47 (today); 25:14.8 (2009 MAAC); 25:12.6 (2008 MOC)
Erin O'Reilly: 24:12.40 (today); 24:48.4 (2009 MAAC)
Kara Lightowler: 24:25.43 (today); 25:52.8 (2009 MAAC); 27:06.3 (2008 MOC)
Dayna McLaughlin: 24:27.14 (today); 26:32.2 (2009 MAAC); 24:34.1 (2008 MOC)
Julie Hudak: 24:38.06 (today); 25:02.3 (2009 MAAC); 24:37.7 (2008 MOC)
Allyson O'Brien: 24:51.28 (today); 26:47.9 (2009 MAAC); 26:40.8 (2008 MOC)
Kelley Hanifin: 24:58.30 (today); 25:42.3 (2009 MAAC); 25:56.6 (2008 MOC)
Kelley Gould: 25:03.68 (today); 27:48.6 (2009 MAAC)
Elizabeth O'Brien: 25:41.84 (today); 28:15.5 (2009 MAAC); 27:01.3 (2008 MOC)
Rebecca Denise: 25:54.23 (today); 27:00.1 (2009 MAAC)
Laura Lindsley: 26:25.21 (today); 26:05.2 (2009 MAAC)
In almost every case, you see improvement. In many of the cases, the improvement is startling and dramatic -- a tribute to the hard work of our ladies. Nicely done!
One more stunning statistic, courtesy of Chuck: At last year's MAAC meet, in which our women ran really well, Addie ran 22:51.8 and Kathryn ran 23;54.6.
What does this mean?: No fewer than three (3!) of our women from today ran faster than Kathryn's very respectable MAAC race from last October.
Good stuff indeed.
I will post a more theoretical men's team/race analysis later tonight -- after my son's Fall Ball Little League game under the lights at Spratt Park in Poughkeepsie! Now THAT should be fun times ...
--Today's meet went well, especially for early in the season.
--Our times (when converted) across the board were faster -- in some cases, by a LOT -- than in the recent past.
--We achieved this despite a heavy workload in terms of mileage and workouts.
--We achieved this despite a lot of illnesses spreading throughout the team in the past week (see post from earlier in the week).
Also note that three of our projected varsity runners -- Addie DiFrancesco, Kathryn Sheehan, Kiersten Anderson -- did not compete today. All are slated to toe the line next week at Fairfield next week and Paul Short the week after that.
Check out these numbers ...
Katie Messina: 23:25.93 (today's converted time); DNF (2009 MAAC)
Briana Crowe: 23:34.99 (today); 25:36.2 (2009 MAAC); 25:27.2 (2008 MOC)
Jillian Corley: 23:42.47 (today); 25:14.8 (2009 MAAC); 25:12.6 (2008 MOC)
Erin O'Reilly: 24:12.40 (today); 24:48.4 (2009 MAAC)
Kara Lightowler: 24:25.43 (today); 25:52.8 (2009 MAAC); 27:06.3 (2008 MOC)
Dayna McLaughlin: 24:27.14 (today); 26:32.2 (2009 MAAC); 24:34.1 (2008 MOC)
Julie Hudak: 24:38.06 (today); 25:02.3 (2009 MAAC); 24:37.7 (2008 MOC)
Allyson O'Brien: 24:51.28 (today); 26:47.9 (2009 MAAC); 26:40.8 (2008 MOC)
Kelley Hanifin: 24:58.30 (today); 25:42.3 (2009 MAAC); 25:56.6 (2008 MOC)
Kelley Gould: 25:03.68 (today); 27:48.6 (2009 MAAC)
Elizabeth O'Brien: 25:41.84 (today); 28:15.5 (2009 MAAC); 27:01.3 (2008 MOC)
Rebecca Denise: 25:54.23 (today); 27:00.1 (2009 MAAC)
Laura Lindsley: 26:25.21 (today); 26:05.2 (2009 MAAC)
In almost every case, you see improvement. In many of the cases, the improvement is startling and dramatic -- a tribute to the hard work of our ladies. Nicely done!
One more stunning statistic, courtesy of Chuck: At last year's MAAC meet, in which our women ran really well, Addie ran 22:51.8 and Kathryn ran 23;54.6.
What does this mean?: No fewer than three (3!) of our women from today ran faster than Kathryn's very respectable MAAC race from last October.
Good stuff indeed.
I will post a more theoretical men's team/race analysis later tonight -- after my son's Fall Ball Little League game under the lights at Spratt Park in Poughkeepsie! Now THAT should be fun times ...
Iona Meet of Champions results
Here are the results from today's Iona MOC at Van Cortlandt Park. A strong day for the women; a not-so-great day for the men, but with some positives along the way. More analysis after I sleep on it. A few notes off the top of my head:
--The women ran 6,100 meters. The women's team has been ravaged by illness this week, and I think Erin O'Reilly might have been affected the most today. Katie Messina had a strong day as lead runner.
--The men ran a 5-mile course that was tough in that the Back Hills and Cemetery were separated only by about 1000 meters. I think our guys could have been a little more aggressive in the early going, but otherwise I believe we are just a bit flat from the high volume of training we have been doing. Freshman Ken Walshak debuted nicely at the 5-mile distance and was our lead runner today.
Iona College Meet of Champions
Women’s team standings
1-Kentucky 62, 2-Brown 64, 3-LaSalle 65, 4-Penn 106, 5-Columbia 157, 6-Lehigh 176, 7-U Albany 177, 8-Iona 213, 9-Cincinnati 218, 10-Army 277, 11-Marist 383 and Shawnee State 383, 13-Harvard 384, 14-Youngstown State 398, 15-Fairfield 428, 16-Manhattan 436, 17-AIC 452, 18-Ramapo 558
Women’s individual results
6,100 meters
65-Katie Messina 23:50.93
76-Briana Crowe 23:59.99
82-Jillian Corley 24:07.47
104-Erin O’Reilly 24:37.40
109-Kara Lightowler 24:50.43
112-Dayna McLaughlin 24:52.14
119-Julie Hudak 25:03.06
126-Allyson O’Brien 25:16.28
130-Kelley Hanifin 25:23.30
134-Kelley Gould 25:28.68
141-Elizabeth O’Brien 26:06.84
143-Rebecca Denise 26:19.23
Men’s team standings
1-LaSalle 93, 2-Penn 108, 3-U Albany 140, 4-Brown 147, 5-Harvard 163, 6-Army 168, 7-Iona 186, 8-Columbia 199, 9-Shawnee State 209, 10-Kentucky 236, 11-Cincinnati 237, 12-Lehigh 257, 13-Fairfield 332, 14-AIC 356, 15-Marist 404, 16-Manhattan 429, 17-Conn College 494, 18-Youngstown State 536, 19-Ramapo 599
Men’s individual results
5 miles
62-Ken Walshak 26:25.28
74-Tom Lipari 26:37.20
91-Nick Webster 26:47.22
106-Pat Duggan 26:57.98
117-Zak Smetana 27:08.38
119-Nick Hughes 27:12.90
134-Billy Posch 27:26.92
144-Joel Moss 27:37.75
145-Mike Nicoletti 27:38.04
176-Tim Keegan 28:37.57
--The women ran 6,100 meters. The women's team has been ravaged by illness this week, and I think Erin O'Reilly might have been affected the most today. Katie Messina had a strong day as lead runner.
--The men ran a 5-mile course that was tough in that the Back Hills and Cemetery were separated only by about 1000 meters. I think our guys could have been a little more aggressive in the early going, but otherwise I believe we are just a bit flat from the high volume of training we have been doing. Freshman Ken Walshak debuted nicely at the 5-mile distance and was our lead runner today.
Iona College Meet of Champions
Women’s team standings
1-Kentucky 62, 2-Brown 64, 3-LaSalle 65, 4-Penn 106, 5-Columbia 157, 6-Lehigh 176, 7-U Albany 177, 8-Iona 213, 9-Cincinnati 218, 10-Army 277, 11-Marist 383 and Shawnee State 383, 13-Harvard 384, 14-Youngstown State 398, 15-Fairfield 428, 16-Manhattan 436, 17-AIC 452, 18-Ramapo 558
Women’s individual results
6,100 meters
65-Katie Messina 23:50.93
76-Briana Crowe 23:59.99
82-Jillian Corley 24:07.47
104-Erin O’Reilly 24:37.40
109-Kara Lightowler 24:50.43
112-Dayna McLaughlin 24:52.14
119-Julie Hudak 25:03.06
126-Allyson O’Brien 25:16.28
130-Kelley Hanifin 25:23.30
134-Kelley Gould 25:28.68
141-Elizabeth O’Brien 26:06.84
143-Rebecca Denise 26:19.23
Men’s team standings
1-LaSalle 93, 2-Penn 108, 3-U Albany 140, 4-Brown 147, 5-Harvard 163, 6-Army 168, 7-Iona 186, 8-Columbia 199, 9-Shawnee State 209, 10-Kentucky 236, 11-Cincinnati 237, 12-Lehigh 257, 13-Fairfield 332, 14-AIC 356, 15-Marist 404, 16-Manhattan 429, 17-Conn College 494, 18-Youngstown State 536, 19-Ramapo 599
Men’s individual results
5 miles
62-Ken Walshak 26:25.28
74-Tom Lipari 26:37.20
91-Nick Webster 26:47.22
106-Pat Duggan 26:57.98
117-Zak Smetana 27:08.38
119-Nick Hughes 27:12.90
134-Billy Posch 27:26.92
144-Joel Moss 27:37.75
145-Mike Nicoletti 27:38.04
176-Tim Keegan 28:37.57
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
This workout was SICK
You know, in the modern vernacular of college students, "sick" is a good thing. As in: "Yo, did you see that video on Flotrack last week; dat was SICK!"
Today, I will discuss the more traditional definition of sick. As in, "Boy, judging by the hacking coughs, sneezes and general malaise of the team, today's workout at Bowdoin Park was full of sick runners."
Well, you know, go ahead and take "sick" either way in that sentence.
Despite the general illnesses that are swirling around our entire program -- men and women -- today's workout at Bowdoin for the women's team went exceedingly well.
The ladies did 5x1k at the horseshoe grass loop by the finish. They did it well. The cool morning turned into a warm midday. Some IBM group was having a lunch picnic. It smelled really tempting. But alas, there was work to be done ...
The first few intervals went well. The fourth interval was tough; some ladies had breathing issues, some were just downright shot from being sick (as in, "unwell").
After an extra 30-second break heading into the final interval (aren't I so generous?), the ladies hammered home a great finishing interval. Nicely done! Great to see!
While everyone ran well, Kelley Gould continues to impress. Our favorite Carmel-ite was well ahead of pace, meaning she'll just have to race that much faster in future meets to catch up to her fancy new interval pace. I can tell you first-hand that Kelley worked hard this summer; she was around Poughkeepsie most of the time and we know she trained hard.
Anyway, sick and all, it was a great workout in the park. Dare I say it? OK. I will. It was a SICK workout.
Oh and by the way: I am still blaming Posch for all this illness. He started it. How? By cranking the AC in his house, which made everyone there sick, and then made everyone in Gartland sick, and then made all the freshmen sick.
That's probably nowhere near the truth, but it's the story we're sticking to.
And lastly: Before Posch gets mad at me, it should be noted that he and Britt have been great about extending the deep-water running hours in the evening for team members (mostly Will). And he's in awesome shape.
But still, it's his fault.
OK, I'm talking in circles now. As usual.
See you all soon.
Today, I will discuss the more traditional definition of sick. As in, "Boy, judging by the hacking coughs, sneezes and general malaise of the team, today's workout at Bowdoin Park was full of sick runners."
Well, you know, go ahead and take "sick" either way in that sentence.
Despite the general illnesses that are swirling around our entire program -- men and women -- today's workout at Bowdoin for the women's team went exceedingly well.
The ladies did 5x1k at the horseshoe grass loop by the finish. They did it well. The cool morning turned into a warm midday. Some IBM group was having a lunch picnic. It smelled really tempting. But alas, there was work to be done ...
The first few intervals went well. The fourth interval was tough; some ladies had breathing issues, some were just downright shot from being sick (as in, "unwell").
After an extra 30-second break heading into the final interval (aren't I so generous?), the ladies hammered home a great finishing interval. Nicely done! Great to see!
While everyone ran well, Kelley Gould continues to impress. Our favorite Carmel-ite was well ahead of pace, meaning she'll just have to race that much faster in future meets to catch up to her fancy new interval pace. I can tell you first-hand that Kelley worked hard this summer; she was around Poughkeepsie most of the time and we know she trained hard.
Anyway, sick and all, it was a great workout in the park. Dare I say it? OK. I will. It was a SICK workout.
Oh and by the way: I am still blaming Posch for all this illness. He started it. How? By cranking the AC in his house, which made everyone there sick, and then made everyone in Gartland sick, and then made all the freshmen sick.
That's probably nowhere near the truth, but it's the story we're sticking to.
And lastly: Before Posch gets mad at me, it should be noted that he and Britt have been great about extending the deep-water running hours in the evening for team members (mostly Will). And he's in awesome shape.
But still, it's his fault.
OK, I'm talking in circles now. As usual.
See you all soon.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Then and now
When Phil and I started coaching together for our first full year in the fall of 1991, our cross country schedule that season kicked off with meets on six consecutive Saturdays. Six consecutive Saturdays! Heck, it might have even been seven weeks in a row, but I’m too lazy to look it up.
Anyway: Imagine that? By today’s modern coaching parameters, this sort of over-racing is nothing short of blasphemy.
Again, my memory might be a little fuzzy, but I recall that we worked pretty hard during the week, too. Generally, there would be a cruise interval or tempo type workout on Monday or Tuesday, mile repeats at Vanderbilt trail (or other interval-type efforts) on Wednesday, and racing on Saturday. That’s a mighty heavy workload for a relatively young and inexperienced team, right? In retrospect, the answer is probably yes.
Here’s the thing: I know it’s almost 20 years since that fall, but as I recall no one’s legs fell off. Our injury rate wasn’t terrible. And both men’s and women’s teams ran pretty well out at the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships at Robert Morris near Pittsburgh at the end of October.
This long-ago schedule (which, in reality, does not seem that long ago to me; but that’s part of aging, I guess) comes to mind now, as the 2010 XC season embarks on a busy and ambitious racing slate over the next month and a half.
We have six meets over the next five weekends (on Oct. 16, the team splits to two meets on the same day); basically, we are racing the next five weekends and six of the next seven, counting MAACs. This busy schedule was the byproduct of our large roster; it will enable our men and women to get racing opportunities by splitting the squad or running partial squads (which still amounts to a full team by most standards) on most weeks.
On the men’s side, no one will race more than three times over the next five-week period, some will race less than that and no athlete will race on three consecutive weekends. On the women’s side, some ladies will race more, but most will race about three and maybe four of these events. Chuck believes that some women’s cross country runners benefit from more racing; I tend to agree. The men, with the longer racing distance, need to be a bit more cautious.
But again: In 1991, our men raced 8km every weekend, with little issue.
Back in the 1970s, during Coach Rich Stevens’ heyday, the men’s team (there was no women’s squad back then) raced upwards of 20 times (!) in a season. This included mid-week dual or tri meets and always had weekend invitationals. They did hard interval workouts, lots and lots of 400s on the Poughkeepsie High School track, the famous “skull and crossbones” hills, and long runs. Stevens’ 1970s-era teams were fantastic. Blog follower, loyal program supporter and former Marist XC captain from that era Marty McGowan can attest to all of this and more.
Let’s do a similar analysis of marathon training, OK? When I first started running marathons back in the early 1980s, standard operating procedure was to complete your last 20-mile training run on the Sunday before your goal race. That’s right: A long run of 20 miles just seven days before your goal race. That’s the way it was done. Modern marathon training programs and endurance sports coaches would scoff at such nonsense; most current training paradigms call for the last long run three or four weeks out, followed by a gradual and sometimes dramatic taper leading up to the Big Day.
Runners ran fast marathons on that old-school training; cross country runners from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s that raced a lot, often raced well. Does that mean the Old School was the right way to do it? Are the scientific approaches and cautious racing philosophy of the New School the wrong way to do it? The answers are “No and No.” The answers are “Yes and Yes.” The answers are “Yes and No.” The answers are “No and Yes.”
My point: Things worked in the past that might not work now; things work now that just wouldn’t have been possible in the past. You live, coach and run in the moment. You learn from the past, you learn from the present, put it all together and hope for the best.
And so, for the next few weeks, we race. As a program, we race a lot. That might make us somewhat unusual for 2010, but we are also adjusting to 2010 thinking while racing a 1991-type schedule. We hope for the best, and we do our best, and see how it all turns out.
Anyway: Imagine that? By today’s modern coaching parameters, this sort of over-racing is nothing short of blasphemy.
Again, my memory might be a little fuzzy, but I recall that we worked pretty hard during the week, too. Generally, there would be a cruise interval or tempo type workout on Monday or Tuesday, mile repeats at Vanderbilt trail (or other interval-type efforts) on Wednesday, and racing on Saturday. That’s a mighty heavy workload for a relatively young and inexperienced team, right? In retrospect, the answer is probably yes.
Here’s the thing: I know it’s almost 20 years since that fall, but as I recall no one’s legs fell off. Our injury rate wasn’t terrible. And both men’s and women’s teams ran pretty well out at the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships at Robert Morris near Pittsburgh at the end of October.
This long-ago schedule (which, in reality, does not seem that long ago to me; but that’s part of aging, I guess) comes to mind now, as the 2010 XC season embarks on a busy and ambitious racing slate over the next month and a half.
We have six meets over the next five weekends (on Oct. 16, the team splits to two meets on the same day); basically, we are racing the next five weekends and six of the next seven, counting MAACs. This busy schedule was the byproduct of our large roster; it will enable our men and women to get racing opportunities by splitting the squad or running partial squads (which still amounts to a full team by most standards) on most weeks.
On the men’s side, no one will race more than three times over the next five-week period, some will race less than that and no athlete will race on three consecutive weekends. On the women’s side, some ladies will race more, but most will race about three and maybe four of these events. Chuck believes that some women’s cross country runners benefit from more racing; I tend to agree. The men, with the longer racing distance, need to be a bit more cautious.
But again: In 1991, our men raced 8km every weekend, with little issue.
Back in the 1970s, during Coach Rich Stevens’ heyday, the men’s team (there was no women’s squad back then) raced upwards of 20 times (!) in a season. This included mid-week dual or tri meets and always had weekend invitationals. They did hard interval workouts, lots and lots of 400s on the Poughkeepsie High School track, the famous “skull and crossbones” hills, and long runs. Stevens’ 1970s-era teams were fantastic. Blog follower, loyal program supporter and former Marist XC captain from that era Marty McGowan can attest to all of this and more.
Let’s do a similar analysis of marathon training, OK? When I first started running marathons back in the early 1980s, standard operating procedure was to complete your last 20-mile training run on the Sunday before your goal race. That’s right: A long run of 20 miles just seven days before your goal race. That’s the way it was done. Modern marathon training programs and endurance sports coaches would scoff at such nonsense; most current training paradigms call for the last long run three or four weeks out, followed by a gradual and sometimes dramatic taper leading up to the Big Day.
Runners ran fast marathons on that old-school training; cross country runners from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s that raced a lot, often raced well. Does that mean the Old School was the right way to do it? Are the scientific approaches and cautious racing philosophy of the New School the wrong way to do it? The answers are “No and No.” The answers are “Yes and Yes.” The answers are “Yes and No.” The answers are “No and Yes.”
My point: Things worked in the past that might not work now; things work now that just wouldn’t have been possible in the past. You live, coach and run in the moment. You learn from the past, you learn from the present, put it all together and hope for the best.
And so, for the next few weeks, we race. As a program, we race a lot. That might make us somewhat unusual for 2010, but we are also adjusting to 2010 thinking while racing a 1991-type schedule. We hope for the best, and we do our best, and see how it all turns out.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Link to Raucci article
Good morning. Here is a link to today's article about David Raucci's victory Sunday at the Rochester Marathon (2:29:40 net time, according to the official results).
Apparently, David was cruising along toward the end, chatting up his bike pacer and half-marathon runners. No walls in sight. That's great!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Big wins for Raucci, Harris
So there I was, a Cheerleading Dad at my daughter's first Pop Warner cheerleading/football game on an overcast and somewhat chilly Sunday afternoon. While there, listening to cheers, watching little boys play football and chasing around my disinterested younger son (not necessarily in that order!), my cell phone brought me two bits of exciting alumni racing news within minutes:
1. David Raucci (Class of 2010) won the Rochester Marathon in 2:29:42, an excellent debut over 26.2 miles! David won the race by more than 5 minutes and ran close to 10 minutes faster than last year's time. See photo above. Mr. Raucci reported that David had some cramping issues but that he felt "fresh" at the finish line. Pretty good for a first marathon, I'd say.
2. Justin Harris (Class of 2007) won the Survival of the Shawangunks Triathlon over in the New Paltz area in 4 hours, 26 minutes (still awaiting exact race results details), in a close race down the stretch with Marist professor and friend of the track program, Dr. Keith Strudler. Schab texted me, and an exhausted and relieved Jut called, with the great news. It's been a great year for Jut, who earlier in the summer earned his professional ranking as a triathlete.
More details (and maybe story links) as they become available.
For now, uh, THREE CHEERS to David and Justin!
Red Fox Trot in pictures
Saturday's race made for some great pictures: The combination of perfect weather, a perfect venue and excellent photographers made for several hundred awesome photos from the race.
Here is a link for a Smilebox that my wife Heidi made.
And here is a link of nearly 500 photos taken by Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club photographer Bob Kopac, who posts his Shutterfly galleries at the MHRRC site.
Enjoy them all.
Here is a link for a Smilebox that my wife Heidi made.
And here is a link of nearly 500 photos taken by Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club photographer Bob Kopac, who posts his Shutterfly galleries at the MHRRC site.
Enjoy them all.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Red Fox Trot: Alumni and Friends
Pre-race, setting up the course with Cuesta, I was a bit nervous. So when Rolek and Shelley jogged by on their warmup, and Rolek joked that "the course seemed long" (or something to that effect), I got quite defensive.
I have been wheeling and re-wheeling this course for weeks and weeks. I got it within 14 meters, then 12 meters, adjusting, tweaking, re-adjusting, dealing with construction, road changes, sidewalks vs. road, etc. I was pleased the course was tough but accurate.
The results proved that the course was tough but accurate.
All of which makes Mike Rolek's winning time of 15:17.33 (hey, the Mid-Hudson Road Runners is nothing if not PRECISE by getting it down to the hundreths!) that much more impressive. Regular blog followers recall from earlier this week that Rolek ran a hard 20km at New Haven on Labor Day. Blasting through this course in near-PR form is impressive indeed!
Other highlights, in no particular order:
--We know the Marist Alumni Racing Team is big and loyal and usually fast. One MART member who ran great and who breaks the usual MART mold has to be Mike Cocca (Class of 2009). Mike was an excellent sprinter for our team. He moved up to the 5km distance in great form, placing 26th in 20:17.96. Nicely done, Coke!!!
--Conor Shelley (hopefully Class of 2011) got second overall in 16:08.22, and finally got his wish to cross a finish line with the Marist Band playing. And he thrilled my youngest son James, who loves his big goofy, friend and favorite punching bag. Conor continues to train hard in preparation for what will be great track seasons in the winter and spring.
--Joe Tarantello (Class of 2008) got out quickly and hung tough for a fifth-place time of 16:55.69. Like Rolek, Joey Tat was coming off the 20km in New Haven.
--Mike Schab (Class of 2006) was seventh overall in 17:44.41. I haven't seen Schabby in a while, and it was great to see him. He was sporting a longish haircut and remains fit as ever (not to mention popular as ever with the current team).
--Charlie Williams (Class of 2004) was eighth overall (17:52.87) and looking as fit as ever. He even motivated Kirk to do some running around the course to cheer him on. Great to see them both.
--Greg Salamone (Class of 2001) was sporting the old-school black singlet, as well a few extra pounds gained since his record-setting days on the team. Despite this, Reese (now 31!) was 13th overall in 18:49.60). I introduced Greg to current team members, pointing out that his former school-record times in the steeplechase and 10km are faster than most of their PRs. It was great to see Greg alive and well; he has a penchant for taking "vacations" in dangerous, war-torn countries, for "fun" I guess. At the end of the morning, Greg got an age-group award and his girlfriend won the Red Fox Club's 50-50 raffle! Nicely done on both counts.
--Matt Maynes (Class of 2008) was 14th overall in 19:02.96. Maynes reported that he won some small 5km in New Hampshire recently, so it's great to see he is still running strong.
--How about my boss, Athletic Director Tim Murray! After just three weeks of running training and a spur-of-the-moment race-day signup, Tim blasted the hard course in 19:55.23, got 21st overall and third in his age group. The Boss Man's got some wheels on him, and he was sporting the fancy long-sleeve DriFit too. Great to see.
--Congrats to team parents Kim Sack (Zak Smetana's mom) and Kevin Keegan (Tim and Mike Keegan's dad) for their strong finishes. Kim cracked the top 100 with her strong time of 25:13.33, and just missed an age-group award by 2 seconds. Kevin ran a respectable 29:05.53.
--It was great to see so many friends and acquaintances from the MHRRC participate. I will detail their efforts in my Poughkeepsie Journal running column next week.
Lastly, a shout-out to the much-maligned Alex Cuesta. Cuesta did a great job helping me set up the course. While our golf cart that was supposed to be the lead vehicle died an untimely death right after the starting horn, we recovered quickly with the backup Gator and got to lead the race after all. Some may blame Cuesta for the malfunctioned machine; I choose to look on the bright side and focus on the great help he was all morning, starting at 6:30 a.m.
If I forgot anyone, please call me out on it.
In all, a fun and memorable day, and hopefully the start of a tradition of Red Fox Trots in the future.
I have been wheeling and re-wheeling this course for weeks and weeks. I got it within 14 meters, then 12 meters, adjusting, tweaking, re-adjusting, dealing with construction, road changes, sidewalks vs. road, etc. I was pleased the course was tough but accurate.
The results proved that the course was tough but accurate.
All of which makes Mike Rolek's winning time of 15:17.33 (hey, the Mid-Hudson Road Runners is nothing if not PRECISE by getting it down to the hundreths!) that much more impressive. Regular blog followers recall from earlier this week that Rolek ran a hard 20km at New Haven on Labor Day. Blasting through this course in near-PR form is impressive indeed!
Other highlights, in no particular order:
--We know the Marist Alumni Racing Team is big and loyal and usually fast. One MART member who ran great and who breaks the usual MART mold has to be Mike Cocca (Class of 2009). Mike was an excellent sprinter for our team. He moved up to the 5km distance in great form, placing 26th in 20:17.96. Nicely done, Coke!!!
--Conor Shelley (hopefully Class of 2011) got second overall in 16:08.22, and finally got his wish to cross a finish line with the Marist Band playing. And he thrilled my youngest son James, who loves his big goofy, friend and favorite punching bag. Conor continues to train hard in preparation for what will be great track seasons in the winter and spring.
--Joe Tarantello (Class of 2008) got out quickly and hung tough for a fifth-place time of 16:55.69. Like Rolek, Joey Tat was coming off the 20km in New Haven.
--Mike Schab (Class of 2006) was seventh overall in 17:44.41. I haven't seen Schabby in a while, and it was great to see him. He was sporting a longish haircut and remains fit as ever (not to mention popular as ever with the current team).
--Charlie Williams (Class of 2004) was eighth overall (17:52.87) and looking as fit as ever. He even motivated Kirk to do some running around the course to cheer him on. Great to see them both.
--Greg Salamone (Class of 2001) was sporting the old-school black singlet, as well a few extra pounds gained since his record-setting days on the team. Despite this, Reese (now 31!) was 13th overall in 18:49.60). I introduced Greg to current team members, pointing out that his former school-record times in the steeplechase and 10km are faster than most of their PRs. It was great to see Greg alive and well; he has a penchant for taking "vacations" in dangerous, war-torn countries, for "fun" I guess. At the end of the morning, Greg got an age-group award and his girlfriend won the Red Fox Club's 50-50 raffle! Nicely done on both counts.
--Matt Maynes (Class of 2008) was 14th overall in 19:02.96. Maynes reported that he won some small 5km in New Hampshire recently, so it's great to see he is still running strong.
--How about my boss, Athletic Director Tim Murray! After just three weeks of running training and a spur-of-the-moment race-day signup, Tim blasted the hard course in 19:55.23, got 21st overall and third in his age group. The Boss Man's got some wheels on him, and he was sporting the fancy long-sleeve DriFit too. Great to see.
--Congrats to team parents Kim Sack (Zak Smetana's mom) and Kevin Keegan (Tim and Mike Keegan's dad) for their strong finishes. Kim cracked the top 100 with her strong time of 25:13.33, and just missed an age-group award by 2 seconds. Kevin ran a respectable 29:05.53.
--It was great to see so many friends and acquaintances from the MHRRC participate. I will detail their efforts in my Poughkeepsie Journal running column next week.
Lastly, a shout-out to the much-maligned Alex Cuesta. Cuesta did a great job helping me set up the course. While our golf cart that was supposed to be the lead vehicle died an untimely death right after the starting horn, we recovered quickly with the backup Gator and got to lead the race after all. Some may blame Cuesta for the malfunctioned machine; I choose to look on the bright side and focus on the great help he was all morning, starting at 6:30 a.m.
If I forgot anyone, please call me out on it.
In all, a fun and memorable day, and hopefully the start of a tradition of Red Fox Trots in the future.
Red Fox Trot: Thank you
To the Running Red Foxes:
THANK YOU for being great ambassadors for our program and our school by lining the course in your fancy red DriFit shirts this morning for the race. Trust me when I say the runners were thrilled and pumped at your support.
There were many local runners who commented to me how much they loved the support. I am a loyal member of the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club, and it was important to me personally that our program represented with class and enthusiasm. As usual, you did not disappoint.
Thanks to all.
Also, thanks to Phil for coming out and working the finish line with his old pals from the MHRRC. I know that made nervous race officials happy to have an experienced trigger finger on the stopwatch.
Results are posted at www.mhrrc.org. More Marist Running results and commentary to come.
THANK YOU for being great ambassadors for our program and our school by lining the course in your fancy red DriFit shirts this morning for the race. Trust me when I say the runners were thrilled and pumped at your support.
There were many local runners who commented to me how much they loved the support. I am a loyal member of the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club, and it was important to me personally that our program represented with class and enthusiasm. As usual, you did not disappoint.
Thanks to all.
Also, thanks to Phil for coming out and working the finish line with his old pals from the MHRRC. I know that made nervous race officials happy to have an experienced trigger finger on the stopwatch.
Results are posted at www.mhrrc.org. More Marist Running results and commentary to come.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Community service opportunities
Hello all (men's and women's team members):
I received the following e-mail below from Matt Francis, who is our Academic Fellow in the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center. He's a good man and an excellent advocate and supporter of our program (not to mention a star lax player here before his graduation earlier this year!).
Anyway, I am part of the Enhancement Center team, and they are great folks who really do a lot for Marist athletes. Part of what they do is to get Marist student-athletes involved in community service. As a result, here are some community service related items that Matt brought to my attention. If anyone is interested, let me know and we'll get going on it.
Thank you in advance for strongly considering it.
From Matt:
Through our Champs/Life Skills program we want to increase our student-athletes' involvement in community service throughout the area. I have listed below some upcoming dates and events in which we would love to see some of the team participate if possible. Even if you can't fulfill all of the needs in terms of numbers for a particular event, any help makes a difference! Please let me know if any dates are workable!
September 17: ARC Picnic 11am-1:30pm - Picnic for adults with disabilities, need 15-20 student-athletes to go, serve food, interact, possibly participate in some games, and help out.
September 25: Day of Service 10am-3pm -Various locations throughout community. Please contact me if you have any athletes interested or you can directly contact Patricia Houmiel, Assistant Director of Housing and Residential Life, at
patricia.houmiel@marist.edu or Bro. Michael Flanigan in Campus Ministry at michael.flanigan@marist.edu.
October 1: Annual Petwalk Paws in the Park Event 12 noon-4pm - Need 6 - 12 Student-Athletes to help set up large tents, tables, and chairs for the event.
I received the following e-mail below from Matt Francis, who is our Academic Fellow in the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center. He's a good man and an excellent advocate and supporter of our program (not to mention a star lax player here before his graduation earlier this year!).
Anyway, I am part of the Enhancement Center team, and they are great folks who really do a lot for Marist athletes. Part of what they do is to get Marist student-athletes involved in community service. As a result, here are some community service related items that Matt brought to my attention. If anyone is interested, let me know and we'll get going on it.
Thank you in advance for strongly considering it.
From Matt:
Through our Champs/Life Skills program we want to increase our student-athletes' involvement in community service throughout the area. I have listed below some upcoming dates and events in which we would love to see some of the team participate if possible. Even if you can't fulfill all of the needs in terms of numbers for a particular event, any help makes a difference! Please let me know if any dates are workable!
September 17: ARC Picnic 11am-1:30pm - Picnic for adults with disabilities, need 15-20 student-athletes to go, serve food, interact, possibly participate in some games, and help out.
September 25: Day of Service 10am-3pm -Various locations throughout community. Please contact me if you have any athletes interested or you can directly contact Patricia Houmiel, Assistant Director of Housing and Residential Life, at
patricia.houmiel@marist.edu or Bro. Michael Flanigan in Campus Ministry at michael.flanigan@marist.edu.
October 1: Annual Petwalk Paws in the Park Event 12 noon-4pm - Need 6 - 12 Student-Athletes to help set up large tents, tables, and chairs for the event.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Running Red Foxes, circa 1972
Marty McGowan sent along this photo from 1972, when he believes it is the first time the phrase "Running Red Foxes" appeared on a Marist XC uniform. Here is what Marty wrote to me today:
"We've been cleaning around the house and I found this old picture in the attic, and thought you guys would get a kick out of it: 1972 was the first X-C season that Rich Stevens coached. I'm not sure, but I think it's the first time "Running Red Foxes" appeared on the uniforms. I know some of the X-C articles are still on The Circle archives. Anyway, from the top it's: Mike Duffy, Jay Doyle, Tony Wilger, Bob Nelson, Dan Flynn, the manager. Bottom row Mark Herterella, Bob Salomone, me, and Jim McCasland. Bob Salomone and I were co-captains again that year."
Once again, thanks to Billy for the download assistance.
Better fox cookie pictures
Here is Web's picture (again) and one sent by Nicole DelaCruz (Quimes' mom).
Thanks to freshman and blog follower Billy Hild for helping me navigate through the Mozilla download jungle to get these photos to download better. I'm still confused, but as Billy said: "It's Windows. What do you expect?"
Fair enough.
It happens
Classmates (2008) Mike Rolek and Joe Tarantello competed in the New Haven Road Race (20km) on Monday.
Rolek is training for the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton in a few weeks and is in great shape. He ran 1:06:49, placing 24th overall and averaging 5:23 per mile for 12.4 miles. His first 10km split was 32:31. His second 10km was much slower, mostly due to stomach issues that had him sprinting for the woods instead of the finish line. That diversion and time off the course cost him, in his estimation, about 1 to 1.5 minutes. Our guy thinks the culprit may have been too much great Olive Garden food the night before, too much pre-race coffee the morning of the race, or some combination thereof.
IT happens.
Joey Tat was just cruising through the race and finished 94th in 1:15:59 (35:42 first 10km, 6:08 overall pace). He is planning on running the Hartford Half in a few weeks.
Looking forward to seeing many Running Alums at the Fox Trot on Saturday.
Rolek is training for the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton in a few weeks and is in great shape. He ran 1:06:49, placing 24th overall and averaging 5:23 per mile for 12.4 miles. His first 10km split was 32:31. His second 10km was much slower, mostly due to stomach issues that had him sprinting for the woods instead of the finish line. That diversion and time off the course cost him, in his estimation, about 1 to 1.5 minutes. Our guy thinks the culprit may have been too much great Olive Garden food the night before, too much pre-race coffee the morning of the race, or some combination thereof.
IT happens.
Joey Tat was just cruising through the race and finished 94th in 1:15:59 (35:42 first 10km, 6:08 overall pace). He is planning on running the Hartford Half in a few weeks.
Looking forward to seeing many Running Alums at the Fox Trot on Saturday.
Hot hills better this week
Yesterday's Bowdoin Park workout went MUCH BETTER than the previous Tuesday workout, when we are dropping like flies in the heat.
While it was still hot yesterday -- mid-80s, humid -- there was a slight breeze and everyone got through the workout with little difficulty. I get nervous with this workout because the "back hill" gets washed out and the footing is not great. We will have to monitor this in coming weeks.
We'll have a few recovery days here before a high-volume tempo type workout on Friday. Tentative plans are for the men to head over to Vassar Farm for 2x4km tempo, while the women will trek over to the New Paltz Rail Trail for some flat intervals.
While it was still hot yesterday -- mid-80s, humid -- there was a slight breeze and everyone got through the workout with little difficulty. I get nervous with this workout because the "back hill" gets washed out and the footing is not great. We will have to monitor this in coming weeks.
We'll have a few recovery days here before a high-volume tempo type workout on Friday. Tentative plans are for the men to head over to Vassar Farm for 2x4km tempo, while the women will trek over to the New Paltz Rail Trail for some flat intervals.
The Fox cookie
Thanks to Nick Webster for emailing me the picture of the Famous Fox Cookie (above) from Saturday's Senior Day at Bowdoin Park.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Bowdoin in pictures
Above on this post, and here at THIS LINK (I hope it works) are some photos of Saturday's meet taken by my wife Heidi. Among her many talents, she is an excellent photographer and loves taking pictures with her new Canon camera.
THIS LINK is to a Smilebox she created. She also picked out the soundtrack, some old-school Dire Straits. Nicely done all around!
Note to team: This will be a HARD WEEK of training. Be prepared for tough workouts on Tuesday and Friday, with lots of easy recovery mileage in between.
See you soon.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Home meet results analysis
One of the great things about a home cross country meet is the short commute home. Instead of a lot of time in a bus, followed by wrapping things up at the McCann Center, followed by a short trip home, you get just the short trip home. Pretty neat.
Today’s meet was excellent on a lot of levels.
--The women raced exceedingly well. Despite the fact that we were not racing some of our top athletes, due to a variety of reasons, we still dominated the meet. This was somewhat surprising, in a positive way. Fairfield, under our good pal coach John Sagnelli, is much improved on the both the men’s and women’s sides. And the Stags will only get better under Sags (yes, a planned pun!). Our girls really stepped up and did a great job.
--Interestingly, some women who ran really well and competed excellently ran a bit slower or not too much faster than in the past. We attribute this to two factors: 1. Chuck has been training them harder than ever; 2. The oppressive heat of the past few weeks (not to mention the whole summer) has taken its toll. Actually, 1 and 2 combine to make for a bit of sluggishness, which is not all that bad on September 4.
--On the men’s side, with the size of our team of course we had some injury and illness issues to deal with. Overall, it was a strong day with some solid to eye-popping (Luke!) PRs. Like the ladies, the guys are working extremely hard and literally running ragged. Again, this is fine for September 4.
--As so often happened to Phil and I through the years, the men’s and women’s end results were remarkably, eerily really, symmetrical. Women: Marist 16, Fairfield 46; men: Marist 16, Fairfield 48. Women’s race: Marist 1 through 4; Fairfield 5; Marist 6-7; Men’s race: Marist 1 through 4; Fairfield 5; Marist 6-7. Both races: Marist had 7 of the top 10, Fairfield the other 3 spots. You can’t make this stuff up!
OK then. Here are the results again, with notations of previous performances on the course. For the freshmen, I was too lazy to look up their high school PRs at Bowdoin, which wouldn’t be relevant since those PRs were probably set in colder weather toward the end of their seasons when they were trying to peak, as opposed to an early-season summer time-trial meet, which is what today was.
Women’s results/history
Kiersten Anderson 19:13 *meet record (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Katie Messina 20:27 (2009 time: 20:04)
Briana Crowe 20:35 (2009: Did Not Race; 2008 time: 21:38)
Julie Hudak 20:58 (2009 time: 20:26; 2008 time: 21:39)
Erin O’Reilly 21:01 (2009 time: 21:45)
Dayna McLaughlin 21:08 (2009 time: 21:53; 2008 time: 21:44)
Kara Lightowler 21:16 (2009 time: 21:19; 2008: DNR)
Jillian Corley 21:27 (2009 time: 21:23; 2008 time: 22:59)
Tara Nuccitelli 21:31 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Kelley Hanifin 22:03 (2009: DNR; 2008 time: 22:12)
Kelley Gould 22:05 (2009 time: 23:08)
Allyson O’Brien 22:11 (2009 time: 22:05; 2008 time: 23:33)
Rebecca Denise 22:15 (2009 time: 22:58)
Miy Mahran 22:21 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Laura Lindsley 22:42 (2009: DNR)
Kim Bartlett 22:56 (2009 and 2008: DNR)
Elizabeth O’Brien 22:56 (2009 time: 23:53; 2008: DNR)
Colleen Smith 23:09 (2009 time: 22:41)
Natalie Rowland 23:18 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Rachel Lichtenwalner 23:25 (2009 time: 24:12)
Ashley Jensen 24:33 (2009 time: 21:21)
Men’s results/history
Adam Vess 15:59 *meet record (2009: 16:12; 2008: DNR)
Matt Flint 15:59 *meet record (2009: 16:17; 2008: 16:49)
Arquimedes DelaCruz 16:28 (2009: 16:49)
Ken Walshak 16:39 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Nick Hughes 16:41 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Tom Lipari 16:42 (2009: 17:06; 2008: 17:09)
Nick Webster 16:48 (2009: 16:41; 2008: 16:50)
Sam McMullen 16:51 (2009: 16:56; 2008: 17:33)
Patrick Duggan 16:55 (2009: 17:18; 2008: 17:55)
Ben Windisch 16:58 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Billy Posch 16:59 (2009: 17:07)
Kevin O’Sullivan 17:01 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Joel Moss 17:11 (2009: 17:30)
Mike Nicoletti 17:12 (2009: 17:31)
Matt Panebianco 17:17 (2009: 17:37)
Chris Reynolds 17:21 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Ryan Brown 17:30 (2009: 17:56; 2008: 18:30)
Nick Salek 17:34 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Brian Townsend 17:35 (2009: DNR; 2008: 16:56)
Kyle Havard 17:39 (2009: DNF; 2008: 18:40)
Ryan Fitzsimons 17:48 (2009: 17:52)
Zak Smetana 17:49 (2009: 16:50; 2008: 17:36)
Billy Hild 18:03 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Doug Ainscow 18:06 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Isaiah Miller 18:18 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Mike Keegan 18:27 (2009: 17:50)
Luke Shane 18:30 (2009: 20:01)
Will Schanz 18:37 (2009: DNR)
Brendan Green 19:26 (2009: 19:28)
Today’s meet was excellent on a lot of levels.
--The women raced exceedingly well. Despite the fact that we were not racing some of our top athletes, due to a variety of reasons, we still dominated the meet. This was somewhat surprising, in a positive way. Fairfield, under our good pal coach John Sagnelli, is much improved on the both the men’s and women’s sides. And the Stags will only get better under Sags (yes, a planned pun!). Our girls really stepped up and did a great job.
--Interestingly, some women who ran really well and competed excellently ran a bit slower or not too much faster than in the past. We attribute this to two factors: 1. Chuck has been training them harder than ever; 2. The oppressive heat of the past few weeks (not to mention the whole summer) has taken its toll. Actually, 1 and 2 combine to make for a bit of sluggishness, which is not all that bad on September 4.
--On the men’s side, with the size of our team of course we had some injury and illness issues to deal with. Overall, it was a strong day with some solid to eye-popping (Luke!) PRs. Like the ladies, the guys are working extremely hard and literally running ragged. Again, this is fine for September 4.
--As so often happened to Phil and I through the years, the men’s and women’s end results were remarkably, eerily really, symmetrical. Women: Marist 16, Fairfield 46; men: Marist 16, Fairfield 48. Women’s race: Marist 1 through 4; Fairfield 5; Marist 6-7; Men’s race: Marist 1 through 4; Fairfield 5; Marist 6-7. Both races: Marist had 7 of the top 10, Fairfield the other 3 spots. You can’t make this stuff up!
OK then. Here are the results again, with notations of previous performances on the course. For the freshmen, I was too lazy to look up their high school PRs at Bowdoin, which wouldn’t be relevant since those PRs were probably set in colder weather toward the end of their seasons when they were trying to peak, as opposed to an early-season summer time-trial meet, which is what today was.
Women’s results/history
Kiersten Anderson 19:13 *meet record (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Katie Messina 20:27 (2009 time: 20:04)
Briana Crowe 20:35 (2009: Did Not Race; 2008 time: 21:38)
Julie Hudak 20:58 (2009 time: 20:26; 2008 time: 21:39)
Erin O’Reilly 21:01 (2009 time: 21:45)
Dayna McLaughlin 21:08 (2009 time: 21:53; 2008 time: 21:44)
Kara Lightowler 21:16 (2009 time: 21:19; 2008: DNR)
Jillian Corley 21:27 (2009 time: 21:23; 2008 time: 22:59)
Tara Nuccitelli 21:31 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Kelley Hanifin 22:03 (2009: DNR; 2008 time: 22:12)
Kelley Gould 22:05 (2009 time: 23:08)
Allyson O’Brien 22:11 (2009 time: 22:05; 2008 time: 23:33)
Rebecca Denise 22:15 (2009 time: 22:58)
Miy Mahran 22:21 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Laura Lindsley 22:42 (2009: DNR)
Kim Bartlett 22:56 (2009 and 2008: DNR)
Elizabeth O’Brien 22:56 (2009 time: 23:53; 2008: DNR)
Colleen Smith 23:09 (2009 time: 22:41)
Natalie Rowland 23:18 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Rachel Lichtenwalner 23:25 (2009 time: 24:12)
Ashley Jensen 24:33 (2009 time: 21:21)
Men’s results/history
Adam Vess 15:59 *meet record (2009: 16:12; 2008: DNR)
Matt Flint 15:59 *meet record (2009: 16:17; 2008: 16:49)
Arquimedes DelaCruz 16:28 (2009: 16:49)
Ken Walshak 16:39 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Nick Hughes 16:41 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Tom Lipari 16:42 (2009: 17:06; 2008: 17:09)
Nick Webster 16:48 (2009: 16:41; 2008: 16:50)
Sam McMullen 16:51 (2009: 16:56; 2008: 17:33)
Patrick Duggan 16:55 (2009: 17:18; 2008: 17:55)
Ben Windisch 16:58 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Billy Posch 16:59 (2009: 17:07)
Kevin O’Sullivan 17:01 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Joel Moss 17:11 (2009: 17:30)
Mike Nicoletti 17:12 (2009: 17:31)
Matt Panebianco 17:17 (2009: 17:37)
Chris Reynolds 17:21 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Ryan Brown 17:30 (2009: 17:56; 2008: 18:30)
Nick Salek 17:34 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Brian Townsend 17:35 (2009: DNR; 2008: 16:56)
Kyle Havard 17:39 (2009: DNF; 2008: 18:40)
Ryan Fitzsimons 17:48 (2009: 17:52)
Zak Smetana 17:49 (2009: 16:50; 2008: 17:36)
Billy Hild 18:03 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Doug Ainscow 18:06 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Isaiah Miller 18:18 (freshman, first collegiate time at Bowdoin)
Mike Keegan 18:27 (2009: 17:50)
Luke Shane 18:30 (2009: 20:01)
Will Schanz 18:37 (2009: DNR)
Brendan Green 19:26 (2009: 19:28)
Home meet results at Bowdoin Park
Today's meet went really well. The weather broke perfectly -- still a bit too warm for most people's liking, but certainly much MUCH better than it has been all week. All summer, really.
I will break down the meet and the numbers at some point later in the weekend. Most ran really well. I thought the Fairfield teams were very impressive and much improved on both sides of the ledger.
Also, the Senior Day ceremonies after the meet were nicely done by the athletic department administration. I hope everyone involved was pleased with that. Note to Zak's mom: I apologize if I embarrassed you, but those Fox Cookies were really awesome! Hope to get a picture of it for a future post.
In all, a great day to showcase our program in front of family, friends, athletic and other administrators, alums, and all other friends of the program.
Marist College Cross Country Invitational (third annual)
Course: Traditional 5K at Bowdoin Park
Women’s team standings:
1-Marist 16
2-Fairfield 46
3-Siena 94
4-St. Peter’s 97
Individual results:
1-Kiersten Anderson (Marist) 19:13 *meet record
2-Katie Messina (Marist) 20:27
3-Briana Crowe (Marist) 20:35
4-Julie Hudak (Marist) 20:58
5-Kristen Golen (Fairfield) 21:01
6-Erin O’Reilly (Marist) 21:01
7-Dayna McLaughlin (Marist) 21:08
8-Megan Sullivan (Fairfield) 21:11
9-Kara Lightowler (Marist) 21:16
10-Caroline Riley (Fairfield) 21:17
11-Jillian Corley (Marist) 21:27
12-Tara Nuccitelli (Marist) 21:31
13-Lauren Tehan (Fairfield) 21:44
14-Lauren Londregan (Fairfield) 21:46
15-Kelly Watson (St. Peter’s) 21:47
16-Lia Gizzarelli (Siena) 21:48
17-Molly Leidig (Fairfield) 21:58
18-Kelley Hanifin (Marist) 22:03
19-Kelley Gould (Marist) 22:05
20-Nicole Livesey (Fairfield 22:06
21-Christina DelSanto (Siena) 22:09
22-Samantha Goodnow (Fairfield) 22:11
23-Allyson O’Brien (Marist) 22:11
24-Shona Potrzuski (St. Peter’s) 22:12
25-Rebecca Denise (Marist) 22:15
26-Danica Ceballos (Fairfield) 22:15
27-Emily Davis (Fairfield) 22:16
28-Miy Mahran (unattached) 22:21
29-Julianna Bassett (Fairfield) 22:24
30-Tellisia Williams (St. Peter’s) 22:32
31-Hillary Maxson (Fairfield) 22:34
32-Meghan Yi (Siena) 22:36
33-Laura Lindsley (Marist) 22:42
34-Kim Bartlett (Marist) 22:56
35-Elizabeth O’Brien (Marist) 22:56
36-Colleen Smith (Marist) 23:09
37-Natalie Rowland (Marist) 23:18
38-Christina Bak (Siena) 23:22
39-Rachel Lichtenwalner (Marist) 23:25
40-Bre Zych (Siena) 23:38
41-Natalia Carvalho (St. Peter’s) 23:44
42-Mindy Wang (St. Peter’s) 23:48
43-Kerry Ann Binns (St. Peter’s) 24:11
44-Jessica Morelli (Siena) 24:15
45-Ashley Jensen (Marist) 24:33
46-Melody Lopez-Bernstein (St. Peter’s) 25:07
47-Jaleesa Dunlap (St. Peter’s) 25:12
48-Casey Morelli (Siena) 25:28
49-Lauren Peloso (Siena) 26:23
50-Kristyn Reisert (Siena) 27:34
51-Greggria Sylvester (St. Peter’s) 30:04
Men’s team standings:
1-Marist 16
2-Fairfield 48
3-Siena 94
4-St. Peter’s 102
Individual results:
1-Adam Vess (Marist) 15:59 *meet record
2-Matt Flint (Marist) 15:59 *meet record
3-Arquimedes DelaCruz (Marist) 16:28
4-Ken Walshak (Marist) 16:39
5-Howard Rosas (Fairfield) 16:40
6-Nick Hughes (Marist) 16:41
7-Tom Lipari (Marist) 16:42
8-Nick Webster (Marist) 16:48
9-Matthew Brunelle (Fairfield) 16:49
10-Kyle Short (Fairfield) 16:51
11-Sam McMullen (Marist) 16:51
12-Benjamin Heslin (Fairfield) 16:54
13-Patrick Duggan (Marist) 16:55
14-Ben Windisch (Marist) 16:58
15-Billy Posch (Marist) 16:59
16-Albert Mendes (St. Peter’s) 17:00
17-Kevin O’Sullivan (Marist) 17:01
18-Brian Cleary (Fairfield) 17:03
19-Jon Lobo (Fairfield) 17:04
20-Joel Moss (Marist) 17:11
21-Mike Nicoletti (Marist) 17:12
22-Matt Panebianco (Marist) 17:17
23-Chris Reynolds (Marist) 17:21
24-Gregory Chase (Fairfield) 17:27
25-Ryan Brown (Marist) 17:30
26-Vincent Ferrer (Fairfield) 17:32
27-Ian Donnelly (Siena) 17:33
28-Nick Salek (unattached) 17:34
29-Brian Townsend (Marist) 17:35
30-Zachary Albert (Fairfield) 17:37
31-Kyle Havard (Marist) 17:39
32-Mike Bravo (St. Peter’s) 17:40
33-John Farley (Siena) 17:44
34-Ryan Fitzsimons (Marist) 17:48
35-Zak Smetana (Marist) 17:49
36-David Ellsworth (Siena) 18:00
37-Billy Hild (Marist) 18:03
38-Doug Ainscow (Marist) 18:06
39-Davin Piispanen (Siena) 18:09
40-Isaiah Miller (Marist) 18:18
41-Mike Keegan (Marist) 18:27
42-Luke Shane (Marist) 18:30
43-Dylan Fisher (Fairfield) 18:30
44-Will Schanz (Marist) 18:37
45-Brendan Green (Marist) 19:26
46-Paul Cherian (Fairfield) 19:33
47-Philip Hartshorn (Siena) 20:02
48-Jonathan Duncan (Siena) 20:35
49-Sylvester Inda (St. Peter’s) 21:17
50-Andrew Thompson (St. Peter’s) 21:47
51-John Daley (Siena) 21:56
52-Daniel Brown (St. Peter’s) 24:24
53-Mike Gatto (St. Peter’s) 25:52
I will break down the meet and the numbers at some point later in the weekend. Most ran really well. I thought the Fairfield teams were very impressive and much improved on both sides of the ledger.
Also, the Senior Day ceremonies after the meet were nicely done by the athletic department administration. I hope everyone involved was pleased with that. Note to Zak's mom: I apologize if I embarrassed you, but those Fox Cookies were really awesome! Hope to get a picture of it for a future post.
In all, a great day to showcase our program in front of family, friends, athletic and other administrators, alums, and all other friends of the program.
Marist College Cross Country Invitational (third annual)
Course: Traditional 5K at Bowdoin Park
Women’s team standings:
1-Marist 16
2-Fairfield 46
3-Siena 94
4-St. Peter’s 97
Individual results:
1-Kiersten Anderson (Marist) 19:13 *meet record
2-Katie Messina (Marist) 20:27
3-Briana Crowe (Marist) 20:35
4-Julie Hudak (Marist) 20:58
5-Kristen Golen (Fairfield) 21:01
6-Erin O’Reilly (Marist) 21:01
7-Dayna McLaughlin (Marist) 21:08
8-Megan Sullivan (Fairfield) 21:11
9-Kara Lightowler (Marist) 21:16
10-Caroline Riley (Fairfield) 21:17
11-Jillian Corley (Marist) 21:27
12-Tara Nuccitelli (Marist) 21:31
13-Lauren Tehan (Fairfield) 21:44
14-Lauren Londregan (Fairfield) 21:46
15-Kelly Watson (St. Peter’s) 21:47
16-Lia Gizzarelli (Siena) 21:48
17-Molly Leidig (Fairfield) 21:58
18-Kelley Hanifin (Marist) 22:03
19-Kelley Gould (Marist) 22:05
20-Nicole Livesey (Fairfield 22:06
21-Christina DelSanto (Siena) 22:09
22-Samantha Goodnow (Fairfield) 22:11
23-Allyson O’Brien (Marist) 22:11
24-Shona Potrzuski (St. Peter’s) 22:12
25-Rebecca Denise (Marist) 22:15
26-Danica Ceballos (Fairfield) 22:15
27-Emily Davis (Fairfield) 22:16
28-Miy Mahran (unattached) 22:21
29-Julianna Bassett (Fairfield) 22:24
30-Tellisia Williams (St. Peter’s) 22:32
31-Hillary Maxson (Fairfield) 22:34
32-Meghan Yi (Siena) 22:36
33-Laura Lindsley (Marist) 22:42
34-Kim Bartlett (Marist) 22:56
35-Elizabeth O’Brien (Marist) 22:56
36-Colleen Smith (Marist) 23:09
37-Natalie Rowland (Marist) 23:18
38-Christina Bak (Siena) 23:22
39-Rachel Lichtenwalner (Marist) 23:25
40-Bre Zych (Siena) 23:38
41-Natalia Carvalho (St. Peter’s) 23:44
42-Mindy Wang (St. Peter’s) 23:48
43-Kerry Ann Binns (St. Peter’s) 24:11
44-Jessica Morelli (Siena) 24:15
45-Ashley Jensen (Marist) 24:33
46-Melody Lopez-Bernstein (St. Peter’s) 25:07
47-Jaleesa Dunlap (St. Peter’s) 25:12
48-Casey Morelli (Siena) 25:28
49-Lauren Peloso (Siena) 26:23
50-Kristyn Reisert (Siena) 27:34
51-Greggria Sylvester (St. Peter’s) 30:04
Men’s team standings:
1-Marist 16
2-Fairfield 48
3-Siena 94
4-St. Peter’s 102
Individual results:
1-Adam Vess (Marist) 15:59 *meet record
2-Matt Flint (Marist) 15:59 *meet record
3-Arquimedes DelaCruz (Marist) 16:28
4-Ken Walshak (Marist) 16:39
5-Howard Rosas (Fairfield) 16:40
6-Nick Hughes (Marist) 16:41
7-Tom Lipari (Marist) 16:42
8-Nick Webster (Marist) 16:48
9-Matthew Brunelle (Fairfield) 16:49
10-Kyle Short (Fairfield) 16:51
11-Sam McMullen (Marist) 16:51
12-Benjamin Heslin (Fairfield) 16:54
13-Patrick Duggan (Marist) 16:55
14-Ben Windisch (Marist) 16:58
15-Billy Posch (Marist) 16:59
16-Albert Mendes (St. Peter’s) 17:00
17-Kevin O’Sullivan (Marist) 17:01
18-Brian Cleary (Fairfield) 17:03
19-Jon Lobo (Fairfield) 17:04
20-Joel Moss (Marist) 17:11
21-Mike Nicoletti (Marist) 17:12
22-Matt Panebianco (Marist) 17:17
23-Chris Reynolds (Marist) 17:21
24-Gregory Chase (Fairfield) 17:27
25-Ryan Brown (Marist) 17:30
26-Vincent Ferrer (Fairfield) 17:32
27-Ian Donnelly (Siena) 17:33
28-Nick Salek (unattached) 17:34
29-Brian Townsend (Marist) 17:35
30-Zachary Albert (Fairfield) 17:37
31-Kyle Havard (Marist) 17:39
32-Mike Bravo (St. Peter’s) 17:40
33-John Farley (Siena) 17:44
34-Ryan Fitzsimons (Marist) 17:48
35-Zak Smetana (Marist) 17:49
36-David Ellsworth (Siena) 18:00
37-Billy Hild (Marist) 18:03
38-Doug Ainscow (Marist) 18:06
39-Davin Piispanen (Siena) 18:09
40-Isaiah Miller (Marist) 18:18
41-Mike Keegan (Marist) 18:27
42-Luke Shane (Marist) 18:30
43-Dylan Fisher (Fairfield) 18:30
44-Will Schanz (Marist) 18:37
45-Brendan Green (Marist) 19:26
46-Paul Cherian (Fairfield) 19:33
47-Philip Hartshorn (Siena) 20:02
48-Jonathan Duncan (Siena) 20:35
49-Sylvester Inda (St. Peter’s) 21:17
50-Andrew Thompson (St. Peter’s) 21:47
51-John Daley (Siena) 21:56
52-Daniel Brown (St. Peter’s) 24:24
53-Mike Gatto (St. Peter’s) 25:52
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Thoughts on Earl
Just got done watching The Weather Channel for about an hour. This hurricane will "pack a wallop" for Long Island, Cape Cod and the Islands. Wow! Let's just hope it does not stray too far inland -- say to the Town of Poughkeepsie hamlet of New Hamburg, around the vicinity of one BOWDOIN PARK.
I cannot thank Coach Terry Horton enough for his amazing and continued dedication to the Bowdoin course. He was out there again today, sweating under the hot sun, burning through cans of paint and flagging the course in all areas except by the playground -- where children not unlike my youngest son James would gladly yank those suckers out of the ground just for the fun of it.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: Terry should be on the County of Dutchess payroll, for all the work he does on that course.
Oh, and not to mention that he is scoring the race, putting together the race packets, and securing officials for the finish line. Other than running the course himself -- which a few years ago he could have done quite well, thank you -- there's pretty much nothing he's not doing with regards to our fancy home meet on Saturday.
So for Terry's sake, for our sake, and for the sake of our visiting teams, I have a personal message to Hurricane Earl: Stay out at sea. Please.
I cannot thank Coach Terry Horton enough for his amazing and continued dedication to the Bowdoin course. He was out there again today, sweating under the hot sun, burning through cans of paint and flagging the course in all areas except by the playground -- where children not unlike my youngest son James would gladly yank those suckers out of the ground just for the fun of it.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: Terry should be on the County of Dutchess payroll, for all the work he does on that course.
Oh, and not to mention that he is scoring the race, putting together the race packets, and securing officials for the finish line. Other than running the course himself -- which a few years ago he could have done quite well, thank you -- there's pretty much nothing he's not doing with regards to our fancy home meet on Saturday.
So for Terry's sake, for our sake, and for the sake of our visiting teams, I have a personal message to Hurricane Earl: Stay out at sea. Please.
Madison blues
Maynes and Geist both wondered in comments a few posts ago why the MAACs and Regionals are in Madison, CT. Here's why:
No one from the MAAC or from the Northeast Region wanted to put in a bid to host said championships at Van Cortlandt Park -- in part due to all the construction going on at Vanny.
The MAAC meet went open for bid. We were considering a bid at Bowdoin -- imagine an 8km on those hills? (Side note: Coach Horton put on such a race a few years ago while coaching at DCC!). (Side note 2: Phil and I put together an insanely hard 5-mile course for the NEC meet at Bowdoin in 1994; we were forever vilified by some old NEC coaches for such an evil course!)
Once it became clear that Hammonassett was getting regionals (Yale/Fairfield co-hosting), we decided not to bid against Fairfield (MAAC host) since it would benefit us all to get on the regionals course two weeks prior. Plus, why trash our legs on a brutal Bowdoin course two weeks from regionals?
There's more to it, but that's the relatively short answer anyway.
We are still going to Vanny for MOC, Mets and ICs. From what I understand, the "old" course will be mostly utilized again. We will see.
My feelings? Just go with the flow. If our teams are ready to run well, they will run well no matter the venue. You guys know I love Vanny, love the history, the lists ... but times change. Hopefully, the "old" Vanny will be back in business soon. And we can resume with the VCP lists and history.
FYI, for you music lovers out there, the title of this post is a great tune by George Thorogood.
No one from the MAAC or from the Northeast Region wanted to put in a bid to host said championships at Van Cortlandt Park -- in part due to all the construction going on at Vanny.
The MAAC meet went open for bid. We were considering a bid at Bowdoin -- imagine an 8km on those hills? (Side note: Coach Horton put on such a race a few years ago while coaching at DCC!). (Side note 2: Phil and I put together an insanely hard 5-mile course for the NEC meet at Bowdoin in 1994; we were forever vilified by some old NEC coaches for such an evil course!)
Once it became clear that Hammonassett was getting regionals (Yale/Fairfield co-hosting), we decided not to bid against Fairfield (MAAC host) since it would benefit us all to get on the regionals course two weeks prior. Plus, why trash our legs on a brutal Bowdoin course two weeks from regionals?
There's more to it, but that's the relatively short answer anyway.
We are still going to Vanny for MOC, Mets and ICs. From what I understand, the "old" course will be mostly utilized again. We will see.
My feelings? Just go with the flow. If our teams are ready to run well, they will run well no matter the venue. You guys know I love Vanny, love the history, the lists ... but times change. Hopefully, the "old" Vanny will be back in business soon. And we can resume with the VCP lists and history.
FYI, for you music lovers out there, the title of this post is a great tune by George Thorogood.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Like flies
Wow, was it HOT HOT HOT yesterday at Bowdoin Park, or what? Our first 2 p.m. practice workout was a dangerous sizzler.
The men did hill repeats. The women did a few less hill repeats followed by 1k repeats. The heat took its toll. We brought three huge water coolers and went through them all.
And still ... the men were dropping like flies on the hills. The women were suffering too down on the horseshoe 1k loop.
Toughness is toughness, but you don't bull your way through heat-related symptoms -- unless you have a death wish. And so we modified the workout for some. Everyone suffered to some extent.
For an old coach like me, who is always complaining of the cold, it was unusual to be complaining of the heat. Heat kills.
Relief is on the way. Hopefully, Hurricane Earl will bring cooler weather but not hurricane intensity to our meet and all the work Coach Horton has already put in on the Bowdoin course.
Stay tuned, and stay hydrated.
The men did hill repeats. The women did a few less hill repeats followed by 1k repeats. The heat took its toll. We brought three huge water coolers and went through them all.
And still ... the men were dropping like flies on the hills. The women were suffering too down on the horseshoe 1k loop.
Toughness is toughness, but you don't bull your way through heat-related symptoms -- unless you have a death wish. And so we modified the workout for some. Everyone suffered to some extent.
For an old coach like me, who is always complaining of the cold, it was unusual to be complaining of the heat. Heat kills.
Relief is on the way. Hopefully, Hurricane Earl will bring cooler weather but not hurricane intensity to our meet and all the work Coach Horton has already put in on the Bowdoin course.
Stay tuned, and stay hydrated.
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