11/1/2009 Tim Lankford (Denver, CO) New York City Marathon (NY) 2:40:13

11/1/2009 Lin Gentling (Rochester, MN) Rails to Trails Half Marathon (MN) 1:52:07

11/1/2009 Michael Chinn (Las Vegas, NV) 5K (UT) 6^th, 19:36

11/7/2009 Chris Miller (Alexandria, VA) Mountain Masochist 50 Mile (VA) 8:57:50

11/7/2009 Devon Crosby-Helms (San Francisco, CA) Lithia Loop Trail Marathon (OR) 3^rd, 3:16:20 (USATF National Trail Marathon Championship

11/7/2009 Aaron Saft (Asheville, NC) Lithia Loop Trail Marathon (OR) 3^rd, 2:48:42 (USATF National Trail Marathon Championship)

11/7/2009 Lynn Saari (Rochester, MN) Ozark Trail 100 Mile (MO) 6^th female, 30:47:51

11/8/2009 Marvin Seibert (Colorado Springs, CO) Canya Canyon 6K (CO) 1:01:30

11/21/2009 Devon Crosby-Helms (San Francisco, CA) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 1^st Female Overall, 6:29:21 (Course Record)

11/21/2009 David James (Bridgeport, CT) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 14^th, 6:36:00

11/21/2009 Monica Ochs (Anacortes, WA) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 4^th Female Overall, 7:28:09

11/21/2009 Riva Johnson (Carlisle, PA) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 6^th Female Overall, 7:38:24

11/21/2009 Matt Chaffin (Manlius, NY) JFK50 Mile (MD) 7:53:27

11/21/2009 Mia Eriksson (Bethesda, MD) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 15^th Female Overall, 8:13:00 (PR by 41 min)

11/21/2009 Ed Gargiulo (Greenwich, CT) JFK50 Mile (MD) 9:03:39 (PR by 1 hour 17 min)

11/21/2009 Tonya Stotler (Leesburg, PA) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 9:41:04 (PR by 18 min)

11/21/2009 Helene Strutko (Harvey’s Lake, PA) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 10:28:19

11/21/2009 Nick Whited (Raven, VA) JFK50 Mile (MD) 10:32:24

11/21/2009 Dawn Crawford (Bel Air, MD) JFK50 Mile (MD) 10:32:55 (First 50 Mile Ever)

11/21/2009 Clayton Carlson (Graysonville, MD) JFK50 Mile (MD) 11:24:03 (First Ultra-marathon Ever) (Trained in Iraq on military base until mid-October)

11/21/2009 Jenn Ashley (Hull, MA) JFK 50 Mile (MD) 13:33:45 (First Ultra-marathon Ever)

11/21/2009 Michael Chinn (Las Vegas, NV) 5K (NV) 19:48

10/4/2009 Sean Coughlin (Ridgefield, CT) Ridgefield Half Marathon (CT) 2:08:20 (14 min PR)

10/10/2009 Nick Whited (Raven, VA) New River Trail 50K (VA) 3rd, 3:38:39

10/10/2009 Tonya Stotler (Leesburg, VA) Baltimore Marathon (MD) 3:53:49

10/10/2009 Nick Bias (Madison, WV) Chicago Marathon (IL) 3:04:13

10/10/2009 Dawn Malone (Solon, OH) Chicago Marathon (IL) 3:24:50

9/12/2009 Lynn Saari (Rochester, MN) Superior 100 Mile (MN) 39:05

9/19/2009 Mia Kingston (Bethesda, MD) 12 Hour Adventure Race (VA) 1^st, 58.5 mile

9/19/2009 Ed Gargiulo (Greenwich, CT) The North Face 50 Mile (DC) 10:17:52

9/19/2009 Nick Whited (Raven, VA) Odyssey Trail Running Rampage Marathon (VA) 2^nd, 4:00:39

9/26/2009 Stacey Vidt (Blacksburg, VA) Virginia 10 Mile (VA) 88^th overall, 1:10:28 (3^rd in 25-29 age group)

9/26/2009 Devon Crosby-Helms (Seattle, WA) Vermont 50 Mile (VT) 1st, 8:06 (Qualify for 2010 WS 100)

10/3/2009 Marvin Seibert (Colorado Springs, CO) X Terra Trail Run Half Marathon (CO) 3:31:55

10/3/2009 Nick Whited (Raven, VA) Beckley Half Marathon (WV) 2^nd, 1:23:02

10/4/2009 Matthew Chaffin (Manlius, NY) North Coast 24 Hour (OH) 7^th, 133.94120 miles

10/4/2009 Eric Bindner (Littleton, CO) North Coast 24 Hour (OH) 13^th, 121.85355 miles

10/4/2009 David James (Somers ,NY) North Coast 24 Hour (OH) 15^th,  119.79975 miles

10/4/2009 Leo Lightner (Rocky River, OH) 57^th, 82.7242 miles (NEW AMERICAN 80+ Age group record)

10/4/2009 Lin Gentling (Rochester, MN) Twin Cities Marathon (MN) 4:02:22

10/4/2009 Helene Strutko (Harvey’s Lake, PA) Wineglass Marathon (NY) 3:48:57

10/4/2009 Riva Johnson (Carlisle, PA) Blues Cruise 50K (PA) 10^th female overall, 3^rd master, 4:31

10/4/2009 Dawn Crawford (Bel Air, MD) Army 10 Mile (VA) 1:19:41 (52 second PR)

10/4/2009 Chris Miller (Alexandria, VA), Grindstone 100 Mile (VA) 7^th, 23:28:12 (1^st 100 Mile ever)

Nick Bias (Madison, WV) Charleston Distance Run 15 Mile (WV), 18th, 1:34:16 (46 sec PR)

Nick Whited (Raven, VA) Charleston Distance Run 15 Mile (WV), 20th, 1:35:23 (approx 3 min PR)

Michael Chinn (Las Vegas, NV) Million to One 5K (NV), 7th, 19:32

Miriam Smith (Atlanta, GA) Ombergsloppet 15K (Sweden), 1st, 1:17:30

Tonya Stotler (Leesburg, VA) Rock and Roll Half Marathon (VA), 213 of 6714 females, 1:44:01

Helene Strutko (Harvey’s Lake, PA) Monster Marathon (NY), 2nd, 4:38

I’m afraid I don’t like Twitter so much, so I’m going to post my results here again. -HCN

7/18/2009 Michael Chinn (Las Vegas, NV) Notch Run 4 Mile (NV), 5^th , 31:57

7/25/2009 Lynn Saari (Rochester, MN) Voyageur 50 Mile (MN), 19^th, 11:52:42

7/26/2009 Gina Lucrezi (Colorado Springs, CO) Cheyenne Canyon Trail Run (CO), 6^th, 41:10

7/26/2009 Aaron Saft (Asheville, NC) Cheyenne Canyon Trail Run (CO), 9^th, 51:34

7/26/2009 Tonya Stotler (Leesburg, VA) Riley’s Rumble Half Marathon (MD), 3^rd, 1:48:42

8/1/2009 Ed Gargiulo (Greenwich, CT) Run for Run 10K (NY), 74^th, 52:27

8/1/2009  John Dever (Annandale, VA) Friends of the W&OD Trail 10K (VA), 218^th, 1:05:18 (5 min PR)

8/1/2009 Dawn Malone (Solon, OH) Burning River 100 Mile (OH), 4^th, 23:10:32

8/1/2009 Matt Chaffin (Manlius, NY) Burning River 100 Mile (OH), 13^th, 21:51:44

8/8/2009 Josh Brimhall (Henderson, NV) Headlands 50 Mile (CA), 1^st, 7:03:34

8/8/2008 Tonya Stotler (Leesburg, VA) Dahlgren Trail 50K (VA), 13^th, 5:28:34

8/8/2009 John Dever (Annandale, VA) Leesburg 20K (VA), 298^th , 2:21:49 ( 9 ½ minute PR)

8/22/2009 Anne Lundblad (Swannanoa, NC) Springmaid Mountain 10K (NC), 1^st, 49:31

8/22/2009 Brian Coughlin (Riverside, CT) Lean Horse 100 Mile (SD), 6^th, 20:08:19 (First 100 miler ever)

8/22/2009 Monica Ochs (Anacortes, WA) Where’s Waldo 100K (OR), 7^th, 12:26:55

8/22/2009 Eric Bindner (Littleton, CO) Lean Horse 100 Mile (SD), 5^th, 19:26:30

8/22/2009 Matt Chaffin (Manlius, NY) Great Lakes Endurance Run 100K (NY), 1^st, 10:00:40

8/23/2009 John Dever (Annandale, VA) Hartwood 10 Mile (VA), 234^th, 1:45:59 (Near 15 min PR)

8/23/2009 Devon Crosby-Helms (San Francisco, CA) (And partner Caitlin Smith) TransRockies Relay (CO) 18:13:35

8/29/2009 Anne Lundblad (Swannanoa, NC) Continental Divide Trail 10K (NC), 9^th, 56:03 (USATF NC)

8/29/2009 Aaron Saft (Asheville, NC) Continental Divide Trail 10K (NC),  3^rd, 43:10 (USATF NC)

8/29/2009 Gina Lucrezi (Colorado Springs, CO) Continental Divide Trail 10K (NC), 3^rd, 50:58 (USATF NC)

8/30/2009 Dawn Crawford (Bel Air, MD) Annapolis 10 Mile (MD), 743 of 5000+, 1:20:33 (11 sec PR)

http://twitter.com/howardnippert

I can update with results from computer or text message from phone as soon as I get them from my athletes.

Howard

He Still Squeaked Out a Win

Just outside Phoenix, AZ on February 14, Josh Brimhall (Henderson, NV) had two reasons to not feel so well.   The trouble was, one was not related to how hard he ran his race.  About a week before the Pemberton 50K, Josh got sick.  He’s a school teacher, and most likely after he gave his students homework, one of them returned the favor and gave him a cold.  But as defending race champion, Josh wanted to run despite his sickness.  As he cruised through the first of 15.6 mile loops in 1:40, he eventually began to pay for being sick as his energy stores ran lower than typical and his breathing was labored from the cold lodged in his head and chest.  Josh still maintained a strong pace despite his compromised state and held on for a narrow margin of victory of 16 minutes.  His time of 3:30:03 wasn’t a course record, but Josh estimated that had he not been sick, his fitness level was good enough to have run nearly 20 minutes faster.

Tough Guy to Please

The field at this year’s Holliday Lake 50K in Appomattox, VA on February 14 was unusually deep.  With a number of familiar faces and a host of new ones, the race did not disappoint as a highly competitive event.  In the mix this year was Chris Miller (Alexandria, VA).  As the course wound around the trails around the perimeter of Holliday Lake and the surrounding area, Chris went out on his goal pace early on and maintained it through a loop of the course.  The second loop of the course was a bit tougher to maintain the planned pace and Chris ended up finishing 16^th overall in 4:23:52.

Now Chris wasn’t satisfied and said as much following the race.  He was upset because he had been passed by some of the younger, perhaps spryer runners late in the race.  The thing he didn’t mention freely was that his time was a 25 minute PR on a course that is often rumored to be a bit long.

Some guys just aren’t satisfied—and that’s good!

Where Did Everyone Go?

As Eric Grossman (Emory, VA) headed out with the pack at the Strawberry Plains Half Marathon in Strawberry Plains, TN on February 14, he was quite comfortable to be just behind the lead pack of competitors.  However, when he got to the 5K mark, everyone in front of him and around him looped the cone and headed back to the finish line of the 10K.  Eric was the lone half marathoner in sight, being left to run the final 10 miles of the race alone.  Eric pushed the pace on the rolling terrain along the Holston River as the course dropped and rose along the valley.  Toward the end of the out-and-back course, Eric was passing a steady stream of competitors still on their way out who were cheering him on.  Being quite winded, Eric gave his best weak wave and smiled the best that he could as he gritted through late race pain.  Upon reaching the flat portion once again to the finish, Eric collected himself and stormed to the finish in 1:14:09 for the win out of over 600 competitors.

Boston—Here We Come!

On February 15, Luis Stoute (Panama City, Panama) headed to the starting line at the Sarasota Marathon in Sarasota, Florida with two things on his mind.  First, he was there with hopes of running a qualifying time for the 2010 Boston Marathon and second, he knew that his training preparation was ultimately geared for an upcoming 50 mile race.  He hoped that his prep for 50 miles had him ready  to accomplish one goal while gearing for another.  On a warm day by February standards of 70 degrees, Luis got in with the group with a pacer to take them through 3:30, and kept that group within sight while adjusting for his sub-3:35 goal.  At one point after turning and heading back up over a bridge at the 18 mile mark, Luis struggled, but maintained his pace.  With three miles to go, Luis checked his watch and calculated that he was under his goal pace, but he didn’t back off, but ran strong through the finish for a Boston Marathon qualifying time of 3:33:14, good for 34^th place overall and 3^rd in the 45-49 age group.  Three days after the race Luis begged to get training again but he was forced by his mean coach to take a few more days of rest…

Getting It Done

Marvin Seibert (Colorado Springs, CO) headed to Phoenix, AZ on February 15 hoping to improve on his best half marathon time from December’s race in Pueblo, CO.  Marvin’s training had gone well through the winter months.  His confidence was high.  His workouts had been building in distance, intensity, and he was excited about getting the chance to show off his new fitness level.  But, just 13 days before the event he got food poisoning which left him weak, dehydrated, and unable to run for several days.  Marvin’s hopes followed everything he ate for several days down the proverbial drain.  When he finally got the bug which had gutted him out of his system, he began a program of rehydrating himself and refueling himself aided by his wife’s outstanding cooking.   Marvin’s confidence was being tested.  As he scrambled to get his energy stores back up in time to save his race, he remained worried that the “bug” had sucked too much from him to replace in such a short time.  After continuing his precautions to replenish, Marvin headed to Phoenix anyway to take his chances, hoping that he’d built back up his energy stores.

At the beginning of the race, he was anxious, but controlled, just under the calculated pace he had set for himself.  As he progressed through the race, he continued to feel good and realized that along the way he had begun to put a bit of “buffer” time between his actual pace and his goal pace.  Later in the race, he was passing scores of people who hadn’t been so disciplined in their approach.  Marvin finished 279^th out of 415 competitors and beat over 100 people who were in younger age divisions as he posted a 20 MINUTE PR of 2:30:20.

If you’re gonna get a PR in a race, make it a 20 minute PR!

Good Test of Fitness—PASSED!

On February 7, Monica Ochs (Anacortes, WA) in Moran State Park on Orcas Island, WA wanted a test of her fitness to see how her winter training had gone.  The test was the Orcas 50K.  As 110 other competitors powered their way through the trails and up and down the hills, Monica felt the urge to pick up the pace and hammer it out.  However, she kept the plan for the day in perspective and maintained her relaxed but strong pace which brought her to a 4^th place finish among the women and 15^th overall in 5:47:54.  Monica walked away from the race knowing that her training had left her strong and right on schedule for her upcoming spring season.

A Man Who Can Follow Orders

On Sunday, January 25, Ed Gargiulo (Greenwich, CT) went to the starting line with 5000 of his closest friends in Central Park for the NYRR Half Marathon Grand Prix: Manhattan.   Although Ed’s shortest race to date has been a marathon, he mixed it up quite impressively through the paved path around New York City’s popular getaway.

After approaching the race figuring that an average pace of 8:00 per mile would put him right on pace in his training progression for his upcoming marathon, Ed went out at a 7:41, feeling very relaxed and in control.  But after several miles in the 14 degree temperatures, Ed started to “warm up” and his pace dropped to around 7:30 per mile.  He was forced by bypass aid stations as they only offered Gatorade popsicles, as the cups of fluid had frozen solid.  Feeling stronger the farther he went, Ed pushed the pace, continuing to feel good as he passed and estimated 2000 people who had gone out more aggressively and were fading.  Sensing the finish line, Ed picked it up one more time to run a final mile in 7:15, his fastest race mile ever to finish in 1:34:59 for 470^th place overall.  Ed is extremely excited with his current fitness level, especially given the tough conditions he’s been training through, exacerbated by his 5:00AM workout time each day.

When asked for a comment on his race, Ed said “Howard sent me an e-mail the day before that said ‘Run Hard’, so I did.”

Whatever Happens After the Race Happens…

Eric Grossman (Emory, VA) is no stranger to hilly races.  He’s known for his strong climbing ability and also an amazing ability to run downhill on extremely technical footing.  But Eric knows that although descending a mountain trail is much easier than climbing it, it beats your legs up badly and leaves you sore for a number of days afterward.  So, when Eric took off from the start of the first annual Swannanoa Splashdown 15K in Black Mountain, NC, on January 17, he knew what he was in for.  With 2000 feet of climb in 4.5 miles and temperatures in the low teens, the little bit of air that Eric could get burned his mouth, sinuses, numbed his chin, and covered his beard in frost.  It didn’t cool his competitiveness though.  As the early pace was set by another competitor, Eric stuck right behind him until the pace and climb proved too much for the early leader and Eric went by.  He then used his long legs and extraordinary downhill running ability to nearly sprint the 2000 feet back down the frozen trail to the win in a time of 1:04:00.  While the pride of winning a hard fought race in tough conditions lasts, so did the pain in Eric’s quads from the long downhill.  Eric said that four days after the race, his pant legs still hurt when they brushed his quads.