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.
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