Don’t Be Afraid to RUN!

Dalton Kuhar’s (Fuqua School, Farmville, VA) favorite race is 3200 meters indoors.  But, it’s best that she doesn’t run that event every week in preparation for big championship meets when winning that event will be the goal.  So, in many early season meets Dalton runs the 1000 and/or the 1600 meter run as preparation and to build speed.  Even though she hasn’t run the shorter races that many times, at the Fork Union Military Academy Mini-Invitational on January 10, she proved that she’s not afraid of those shorter events.  In a field of 10 teams, Dalton finished 2^nd in the 1600 in an indoor PR of 5:47.59 and came back just an hour later and finished 4^th in the 1000 in another PR of 3:27.87.  In both races she went out conservatively and found herself mid-pack.  At about half way in each race, she began to make a move and pass competitors.  On the final lap of each race, Dalton charged past no fewer than three other competitors and toward the front.  Every race Dalton gains confidence and approaches them more aggressively.  She’s been training hard and when she puts it all together it is gonna be fun.

Nice Start to the Year   

Anne Lundblad (Swannanoa, NC) started 2009 the way she has started many years now—with a race win.  This time it was in the mountains of Western North Carolina on January 3 at the Tsali Frosty Footfest Trail 25K.  After a conservative, but strong start, Anne found herself behind a much more anxious runner early in the race and thought momentarily that she’d come up against someone tougher that day.  But about an hour into the race, Anne got a quick, far-off glance at the early leader which re-established her faith in her plan to run strong and steady throughout.  Anne concentrated on catching the women’s leader and overtook her on the hilly, single track trail course that was extremely slick because of several days of rain before the race.   Anne ended up with a 2 ½ minute victory and a course record of 1:57:05 for the first-year race.

Not the Toughest Thing He’s Ever Done

Chris Miller (Alexandria, VA) headed to Central Virginia on December 13 with a daunting task ahead.  Not only was he nervous about the upcoming Hellgate 100K in Natural Bridge, VA—his longest race so far, but he had been seeded at #56, which he wasn’t happy with.  So he was out to perform well, but also make a point to those who didn’t give him the credit he thought he deserved.  Throughout the freezing cold night (the race begins at midnight) and treacherous terrain, Chris stuck to his race plan which was to not go out too aggressively and to maintain his intake of fluid and fuel.  While being passed early by many anxious athletes, Chris kept stayed focused and remained steady.  At one point a large group went by on a downhill section, using the ease of the gradient to pull themselves along, but beating their legs up at the same time.  Again, Chris maintained his cool, dead set on finishing steady and strong.  At the next aid station, Chris passed the entire group back and never saw them again.

Chris ended up finishing 6^th overall in 13:19:51.  So he finished just a little bit better (50 POSITIONS) than his seed.

Chris apparently rarely backs away from a challenge.  As a veteran of the U.S. Special Forces, he’d come face to face with tough going before.  So, Hellgate 100K wasn’t the toughest thing Chris has ever done, but he said it was close…

She’s Multi-Talented

Just four weeks after placing 10^th at the IAU 100Km World Cup, Devon Crosby-Helms (Seattle, WA) was back at it again, this time pounding the pavement in Sacramento, CA in the California International Marathon.  Devon ran a 2:49:52 for 11^th place female and 6^th American female overall.  Her time was a new PR, which is incredible having just raced 4 weeks previous.  The range of events Devon excels at is amazing, having dominated the Vermont 100 Mile this past summer to nearly achieving an Olympic Marathon Trials standard in the marathon. 

She Didn’t Want Her Season to End

After winning the state championship in cross country, Dalton Kuhar (Fuqua School, Farmville, VA) wanted another chance to show her fitness before she called an end to her season.  So, on Thanksgiving Day (November 27) she took one more chance to mix it up at the 27^th Annual Fleet Feet Sports Cleveland Turkey Trot in Cleveland, Ohio.  The distance of 5 miles was a bit longer than her typical races, but Dalton wasn’t worried as she attacked the course and her competitors young and old alike (but mostly older).  Dalton finished in 34:38 to place 5^th in the 15-19 age category and 182^nd overall. 

Dalton said she felt strong all the way to the finish and couldn’t wait to get to race again soon.

It wasn’t unusual to see a temperature in front of the bank in downtown Boonesboro, MD of “19” on a late November morning.  It also wasn’t unusual to see teeth chattering, arms shaking, hands rubbing together, and little puffs of steam from the mouths of runners walking to the starting line for the 44^th annual JFK 50 Mile.  What was unusual was that the temperature barely went above freezing at all that day and that the wind maintained a near constant 20-30 miles per hour.

The highly touted field included some previous year’s top finishers and some new comers with credentials good enough to cause them to become considered possible winners.  And, also wanting to be part of the oldest and most prestigious ultramarathon in the United States, a number of first timers toed the line hoping that their preparation was adequate and that this first experience would end up a happy one.

In particular in the field that day were the following:

Returnees:

827^th Leo Lightner (Rocky River, OH) who set a new 80+ age group record of 12:55:48

188^th Rick Moyer (Reading, PA who ran 9:10:17

And first timers:

90^th Brian Coughlin (Riverside, CT) who ran 8:37:25

142^nd Mia Kingston (Bethesda, MD) who ran 8:54:12

268^th Luis Stoute (Panama City, Panama) who ran 9:37:24

345^th Helene Strutko (Harvey’s Lake, PA) who ran 10:01:43

It was a phenomenal effort on the behalf of all competitors on a day that conditions were so tough that it would have been much easier to drop out and go sit somewhere warm than to continue toward the finish line.  All competitors are to be congratulated.

She Kept the Faith

Dalton Kuhar (Scottsville, VA) has traveled a tough road in the past year.  After making a commitment to herself to train hard and to be the best runner she could be, she suffered a number of setbacks, none of which came as fault of her own.  Despite missing a number of scheduled races and having weather, sickness, a vehicle accident, and a number of other factors that prevented her from competing, she continued to train consistently and relentlessly.  At points she felt that she was not progressing, but she never backed down.  It all came out in the wash last Saturday, November 8 at the VISL State Championships held at Woodberry Forrest High School where Dalton was crowned state champion.  Dalton lead early in the race, with the field giving chase, but at one point she was sent off course and upon realizing she’d been steered wrong, had to backtrack and then work her way back into the lead.  At the end of the race, a competitor attempted to pass Dalton, but she fought back, refusing to give up her spot as leader.  She sprinted to the finish, in first place, claiming her first state championship.

She Brought Her “A” Game to Italy

On a day when the easy thing to do was fold up or back off, Devon Crosby-Helms (Seattle, WA) came to compete.  While many athletes went out quite fast over the beginning kilometers of the IAU 100Km World Cup in Tarquinia, Italy, Devon went out with a plan.  As the race developed, a number of the early leading competitors fell by the wayside, either consequences of the fast early pace or the tough course conditions.  At just over half way through the race, the countries vying for the team title also began to take shape.  Early on it appeared that Russia was dominant, with Italy, France, Japan, and the United States also appearing to pack the top positions with full team contingents.  As the race farther progressed, the Russian women solidified their dominance with top positions while members of the Italian and French teams faded and dropped out of the race, leaving the battle for silver and bronze medal positions for the Japanese and Americans.  With two Americans (Kami Semick and Meghan Arbogast) also having exceptional races, Devon found herself in a tangle of Japanese athletes, with the final position for the American women’s team dependent on her holding on for a strong finish.  After the 3^rd of 4 14 kilometer laps, Devon was told that the US women were in position for the silver medal IF she could hold her position and even pick up a position or two on the Japanese.  In the final lap and final 7 kilometer stretch to the finish, despite being tired and beat up from over 40 miles of hard running on asphalt, Devon moved from 12^th position to a 10^th place overall finish in 8:01:50, a PR by nearly 6 minutes.  The strong showing by the three American women was enough to put the silver team medal away by a large margin over the Japanese.

Congratulations to Devon (10^th place), Meghan Arbogast (6^th) and Kami Semick (2^nd) on proudly representing the United States with a silver medal.  Also, Mike Wardian placed 9^th in the men’s race for a very strong showing.  Great work.

He Didn’t Need To Stray Too Far

Without the prospect of having to travel too far, Steve Crowder (Fincastle, VA) basically drove to the end of his street to run the Bank of Fincastle 10K on Saturday.   Over a deceptively tough course through the hills of the town of Fincastle in Southwest Virginia, Steve ran a solid 38:05 (quite respectable on that course) for 2^nd place overall.  He was bested only by his training partner, who will no doubt let him hear about it till their next meeting.

You Might Be In Trouble If…

When Mia Kingston (Bethesda, MD) neared the starting line for the Potomac Heritage Trail 50K in Washington, DC, a man was handing out literature.  No, not political information (or mis-information), but course maps.  Mia should have known what she was up against right then.  Well, the maps apparently didn’t help much, as Mia and about a dozen other runners became lost and added on nearly 6 miles.  For part of the 6:55:00 “run” Mia splashed through creeks, climbed over boulders and logs, and explored some places that would make Lewis and Clark nervous.  It was all good fun and served as a good workout for Mia in preparation for the upcoming JFK 50 Mile in November.

Another National Champion

In the majestic Appalachian Mountains in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, the Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile served as the USATF 50 Mile National Championship for the 4^th consecutive year.  The race started in the morning chill of mid-October in the pre-dawn hours and headed out for 50 miles of asphalt and primarily gravel access roads on Tussey Mountain.  A lead pack developed early, clicking off splits that only 3 of the athletes dared to attempt.  After 15 miles, Eric Grossman (Emory, VA) established himself as the lone man able to survive the hilly terrain and the stiff pace as he led the charge alone to the finish.  Eric won his first National Championship in 5:48:34.  His time bested the next competitor by 15 minutes and set a new overall course record by nearly 5 minutes, a new master’s course record by nearly 31 minutes, and a PR by nearly 18 minutes.

Eric finished 2^nd last year and wasn’t happy about it.  Guess he revenged his loss in spades.

Hot Run at Steamtown

On a perfect fall day in central PA, Helene Strutko (Harvey’s Lake, PA) ran the first 15 miles of the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton with a friend.  At that point, Helene felt so good and was enjoying the course and the beautiful day and the simple act of running so much that she left her friend behind and did what she called an “unbelievable push” to the end, passing scores of runners who had gone out faster.  While they slowed toward the finish, Helene increased her pace and ran strong all the way through.  She said she “could have run a five mile warm down” at the end.  Her time was 3:49:45.

You saved too much!

Way to Be Tough

Stacey Vidt (Blacksburg, VA) ran the Baltimore Marathon in Baltimore, MD on Saturday.  For 15 miles, she cruised along on PR pace when she developed stomach cramps which lasted for nearly 8 miles.  Despite the burning pain of the cramps in addition to the building pain from running long and hard, she hung in and finally shrugged off the cramps to finish with another 3 strong miles to finish in 3:04:29 as 10^th place female overall, just off her PR.

That Was Flat!

The New River Trail State Park in southwest Virginia runs 52 miles from Pulaski to Galax on the old train grade paralleling the New River.  It is amazingly flat with the only “hill” being a short stretch to cross a road every now and then.  This was the site for Saturday’s New River Trail 50K with start/finish in Galax, VA.  Nick Whited (Raven, VA) finished 4^th overall in 3:38:09.  Nick used the race as one of his long runs in preparation for the JFK 50 Mile which has hills early followed by a similar style long straight stretch before another rolling hilly section.  Combined with the brutally hilly area of southwest Virginia where Nick lives and normally trains, he should be well prepared for the upcoming race.

Happy Birthday Leo

Leo Lightner (Rocky River, OH) finished ahead of his goal of 6:00 for the Towpath Marathon in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park between Akron and Cleveland, OH in  5:17:52.  Leo was 2nd in the 70 and over division.  Had there been a division for his new age group (Leo turned 80 in late September) he’s have won by over an hour.

No Problem Here

Brian Coughlin (Riverside, CT) ran 3:52:42 at the ING Hartford Marathon in Hartford, CT.  Brian agreed to run the race to pace a friend and in doing so found the early pace quite comfortable and ran along urging and providing inspiration to his buddy.  Around the 20 mile mark, while much of the field started to falter, Brian actually threw in a few strides, while waiting as his buddy caught up.  At the finish, Brian was strong and fresh, feeling like he could have added on many more miles.  It turned out to be an excellent long preparation run for JFK 50 Mile.  I’ve got a feeling Brian’s marathon PR is in trouble next time…

They Didn’t Know What Hit Them

Mike Cox (Princeton, WV) has been busy over the past few months.  After his two marathon PR’s within 27 days of each other last fall (Chicago Marathon and U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon) he resumed his duties as head men’s and women’s cross country coach at Concord University, then got married in December, then coached his Concord University men’s and women’s track teams through their indoor and outdoor seasons while fitting in training between recruiting, traveling, team workouts, and spending time with his new bride.

Well, when summer started and Mike was able to concentrate on training again, he’s been able to get back at it.  Saturday October 4, Mike  headed down to the coalfields of Welch, WV for a 5K test of his fitness level.  His questions were answered quickly as he ran 15:14 over a hilly road course to win by over 4 ½ minutes.  You’ll be fit soon, Mike.

Now I Know Why I Do This

Lin Gentling (Rochester, MN) is excited again.  You can hear it in her voice.  You can tell in the words she writes.  It’s been a while since she’s been so excited about running.  After getting in a rut of similar repetitive runs with a purpose she had begun to question, Lin got a new training program.  She was hesitant at first because it was a new style of work she wasn’t familiar with.  But she embraced it and bought in completely and the farther she went into the training schedule, the more she realized why she was training again.  She realized she loved running still.

It paid off once again on Sunday’s Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis, MN, which served as the USATF Marathon National Championship.  In a cold, driving rain, Lin ran 5 minutes faster than her goal, running a 3:45:00 good for 2^nd in the Female 50-54 age group.