Valentino gets 13th at USA Juniors

Mark Valentino ran 9:50.62 and got 13th place out of 21 runners at Sunday's race on a very hot, humid and sunny afternoon at Indiana University. Tino was not thrilled with the time and the effort, but he gave it his all in the tough conditions.

Here are his splits from the race (note: the steeple water jump was on the outside, meaning the splits are "long" but "equal" ... if that makes any sense)

79.0, 2:39.4 (80.4), 4:00.1 (81.7), 5:24.2 (84.1), 6:50.8 (86.6), 8:16.9 (86.1), 9:50.62

Did Mark go out a little too hard? It's possible ... but I cannot fault his effort or racing on this day. It was a great effort and a great experience for him, and we are proud of it.

Photos above taken by Coach Pete with Tino's iPhone: Top, early in the race, Mark strides out on the back stretch; bottom, Mark poses post-race next to USATF sign.