Austin's Carmen Ayala-Troncoso sets two American Masters records

Thanks to a heads-up note from Ken Stone with Masterstrack.com, Austin native Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, who won the women's Masters at the Carlsbad 5000 in California, with Houstonian Sean Wade back in April, set two American records for F45 women last weekend at the 25th annual Haywarc Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

Ayala-Troncoso, 47, set records in the 1,500 meters (4:46:00) and 3,000 meters (10:06.44).

Checking out Ken's blog, which is linked above (and is excellent reading), I found out a number of interesting items that he has reported:

+ Former Chicago Bears WR Willie Gault last weekend in Indianapolis ran a world record M45 best in the 100 meters in 10.72 seconds. It shattered the former American and world record of 10.96 seconds. Age-graded, it would be equivalent to an open performance of 9.884 seconds.

+ Former Kenyan distance great Henry Rono is training in the U.S. hoping to break the masters mile record for M55 as he makes the age group jump next spring.

+ Olympic legend Carl Lewis and 1968 Olympic 400 meters champ and former world record holder Lee Evans may be planning on making Masters comebacks. Lewis turns 45 tomorrow and Evans turns 60 next year.

Great stuff, Ken!

Houston Gets USA Half Marathon Championships!

In my new role as the VP of Communications for HARRA, I had a phone interview with Steve Karpas of the Chevron Houston Marathon this morning regarding a couple of articles that we're working on for the September edition of Footprints in Inside Texas Running.

However, he was particularly excited about an announcement made by USA Track and Field in Indianapolis yesterday.

"We're very proud that we will be hosting both the men's and the women's USA Half Marathon championships in 2007 and 2008," Karpas said.

The last two years, Houston has been the host to the men's USA Half Marathon championship that was won by Dan Browne and Brian Sell, respectively, in 2005 and 2006. Sell, of course, finished 4th at the Boston Marathon this past April - passing El Paso-born Alan Culpepper down the stretch - with a PR of 2:10:55.

Karpas also pointed out that in addition to hosting two (2) national championships that "we think that runners will want to be a part of the marathon's 35th anniversary race."

The complete press release from the USA Track and Field's web site can be found here.

HMSA Newsletter First Out of The Chute For July

If you're looking to get ahead on your fourth of July weekend reading, the "HMSA News" - the publication of the Houston Masters Sports Association (produced by Houston's first couple of road running, Tom and Mary Anne McBrayer) - is ready for the month of July.

It can be accessed here!

An interesting race report on a June 3rd 5K in North Shore by Paul Cooley, a profile of one of their members, Lisa Salinas, a report on the recent HARRA summer banquet in Tom McBrayer's "Out and Back" section -and- a report that the 25K will once again award windshirts to all finishers!

7 Hills vs. HRB Challenge Scoring Set for 8/12 RTW Showdown

As you've read before here, the Houston Running Bloggers will engage the Seven Hills Running Club of Huntsville to a challenge during the August 12th Run The Woodlands 5K.

Seven Hills Running Club president Ken Johnson has agreed to the following proposal that I made to ensure that we recognize speed, participation and a great time!

1.) We will utilize simple cross country scoring for the equal number of runners in both clubs. This means that if HRB shows up with 20 runners and 7HRC shows up with 25, the top 20 from both teams will score and will have a point value assigned from 1 to 40. The fastest runner between both teams will be scored with a 1 and so on until the slowest, who would be assigned a score of 40.

2.) Before the race starts, as we'll know which club has more runners, there will be a number drawn from between 2 and 4 (2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 or 4) at the start of the race and that will be the factor which we multiply against the number of runners that one club has more than the other. If a '3' is drawn and 7HRC has five (5) more runners than HRB, then HRB will have a 15-point penalty assessed to them.

The fewer runners that both teams have -or- if one team has significantly more participants than the other, the difference will have a greater impact.

The club that has fewer runners is already going to be under enough pressure because the other team has "extra chances" in the form of runners to score higher in the top 20 (40). But then to know that they have to then move up an average of a spot or two per person will push everyone to finish as fast as they can and to try to pass up another person.

The factor of at least 2 is so that the slowest runner on the team which has more runners isn't made to feel left out. They know that their participation may be the additional nail on the head of the other club if their fellow club members aren't fast enough that day.

Again, we're emphasizing speed, participation and a great time - plus this is a resulting method that can't be done quickly and easily on-site.

The losers will pay for the winners ice cream - which we'll have on-site that morning!

Texas' Classic Races

What would you consider to be Texas' classic road races?

The Capital 10K in Austin?
The ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run?
The Polish Pickle Run in Bremond?

Drop a note in the comments and give me your best 5 or 10!

Not As Free

I'm not always certain what each of you come here for. Regardless, I have a confession to make.

There are going to be situations - because of my willingness to become part of the HARRA Board as the Vice President of Communications and the editor of Footprints within Inside Texas Running - that I may not be able to be as opinionated as I may have chosen to be in the past.

There may also be some details that - as a journalist - I may not be as free to discuss or disclose because there will be some that will take a statement that I make here and attempt to represent that it is the view of HARRA.

This has already happened where I made a comment in my July Runner Triathlete News column regarding the HARRA Fall Series before I knew for sure that I would be assuming the role that I have within HARRA. (I fully disclosed the comment last week to Anna Sumrall Helm and the timing behnid it. Basically, it is to challenge HARRA to find a way to make completing the HARRA Fall Series more mainstream.)

The biggest thing I see that I will need to do is to exercise even more caution and judgment on things that I comment here on this blog so that they are not misconstrued as official HARRA positions.

Toronto Waterfront Marathon Course Improvements

Why a Toronto press release on a Houston-based blog site?

Because the Toronto Waterfront Marathon is organized by our good friend, Alan Brookes, who spoke at the Houston Running Bloggers 1st annual Marathon Pasta Party in January.

More Historic Downtown, Less Leslie St. Spit
Important course improvements for Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2006

TORONTO -- Organizers are delighted to report that approval has been received for some minor, yet highly significant course adjustments for this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, to be run on the flat, fast, lakeshore course on Sunday, September 24th.

Now, there will be more of the scenic, Historic Downtown, St.Lawrence Market neighbourhood for the first few kilometers, and only half the previous distance on the Leslie St. Spit [Tommy Thompson Park] in the second-half of the marathon.

New for 2006, the marathon [42km] and half marathon [21km] will start together at 7am, at the usual location, Metro Hall, at Wellington & Simcoe Streets. This is expected to put close to 10,000 runners on the Start Line, and instantly elevate the sense of occasion and ‘Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon experience’ to that of other, top flight international, mass marathons.

“This year, marathoners and half-marathoners from 30+ countries, every Canadian province and more than 40 American states will line up together. It will be a tremendous atmosphere,” says Race Director, Alan Brookes. This is a strategy that has been highly-successful in other major events like the Houston and Miami Marathons.

From Simcoe Street, the runners will now go due east on Wellington and Front, past the historic Flatiron Building and the St.Lawrence Market all the way to Parliament, south on Parliament, then right onto Lakeshore Boulevard and all the way west to the turn-around at Windermere.

This will add 3 more, totally-flat kilometres to the previous marathon course; 3km that will be subtracted from the Leslie St. Spit section of the old route.

“This is of huge significance,” said Brookes.

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon has more than doubled in size over the past 2 years, largely because of its super-flat course that has been popular amongst all levels of runners, from seasoned veterans looking for a PR or a Boston-qualifying time, to first-timers searching for the line of least resistance to the Finish. The 2:11:57 winning time last year made it the 6th fastest marathon in North America.

“The Spit was the only controversial part of our course,” said Brookes. “Just like Haines Point at Marine Corps, it is scenic parkland right along the water—some people loved the scenery, others found it a bit lonely. Now, marathoners will only go out 2.5 kilometres onto the Spit, rather than the 4km they’ve run previously. We think this will be a perfect solution,” says Brookes. “It retains some of the scenery, but not too much!”

Of further significance, with the marathon and half now running together, all the kilometre markers in the fist half of the new course will now be identical. Previously, the two events ran on slightly different courses, which meant that the 5km mark in the marathon was close to 8km in the half. Feedback indicated that there was some confusion among participants.

“This makes it very clear and easy”, said Brookes. “We have also invested a significant amount of money in state-of-the art new kilometre signs. They’re 5m high, and we’ll have them at every kilometre mark, on both sides of the road.”

Also new this year, there will be markers on both sides of the road at the 1 mile, 5, 10, 15 20 and 25 mile points, for the benefit of the rapidly growing numbers on American and British runners.

Another important adjustment is the elimination of the “bottleneck” at “the eye”—the section of the course on Lakeshore Boulevard between the west end of the CNE at British Columbia Drive, and the Boulevard Club. For the past 6 years, runners heading westbound on the Lakeshore were diverted onto the eastbound lanes of Lakeshore Boulevard at this point, creating two-way traffic, with only one lane in each direction for the runners. Now, runners will go west in the full, three Westbound lanes all the way to Windermere, returning in the eastbound 2 lanes, providing lots of room to run.

Marathoners and half-marathoners will continue to run together until just east of the Princes Gates at the CNE [17.5 km], where they will be divided by inflatable archways. Marathoners will turn right, as in previous years, along the picturesque Queen’s Quay and the rest of the usual marathon route [minus the reduction on the Spit]; half marathoners will continue east on Lakeshore Boulevard, to Bay Street, then left on Bay, and left again onto Wellington and the Finish, as usual.

The west end of the course will remain open until 11 a.m., giving half-marathoners 4 hours to complete their run, and really opening up the event to power walkers for the first time; the east end will stay open until 2 p.m., preserving the 7 hour time limit for marathoners.

“We are so pleased that we’ve been able to make these changes for this Fall”, said Brookes. “This is something the runners have asked for, and we’ve been able to deliver. We think these tweaks make our good course great, and will help further sustain the great momentum Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon & Half has, as we grow more and more in international stature”.

Runners interested in trying out the exciting, improved course can register today for either the full or half marathon at http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/ [new course map also available].

Ten For Texas Logo Unveiled

I know it is not real big; however, it is what is on the website of Luke's Locker. The store is reviving this longtime favorite of an event in conjunction with the Community Associations of The Woodlands.

I e-mailed Mike Lucas on Tuesday to see if they are planning on using the last course that Tom McBrayer certified back in 1997 (which can be found on the USATF website). Mike's response was, "We will be using a different course. Rick Hughes, who was part of the original team that was involved with those times, has been meeting with us. It is not like we wouldn't like to use the old courses; (however,) we can't with the new dynamics of The Woodlands."

"Honest, we won them for our wives!"

Tom Hippe and Gary Van Kuiken at Saturday's Run The Woodlands 5K #156. They were the winners in the post-race drawing of goodies held by Luke's Locker - The Woodlands. Bret Ramsey and Tricia Driver were the overall and female winners.
Photo by Brad Schreiber

Berry Dairy Days 10K Race Report

I drove about 45 minutes south of the U.S.-Canada border on Saturday morning to Burlington, Washington for the Berry Dairy Days 10K, which was being put on by the town's Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with the Skagit Runners.

It was a $10 entry fee. (If you wanted the race T-shirt, it was an additional $10. However, you weren't obligated to it and we all know with me doing 172 races since January 2003, that I have had enough race t-shirts.) I was going to register early, but active.com was adding a $3 processing fee. I decided that I would just wait until race day and eat up some of the cash I had with me on the trip.

I got across the border without any problems heading south, made my way down I-5 to town and found where the race was going to start at. When I filled out the entry blank, of course, I got the question, "You're really from Texas?" One woman at the registration table said that she had family in San Antonio, but didn't know where Houston was. I politely explained. :)

I milled around for up to an hour when the race was to start at 9 a.m. I was going to wear my Brooks Beast, but I had brought along my Asics Fortitude and put them on. I've been running well in them and I seem to have a pretty steady pace with them. (Don't ask me why. Just sort of how I feel with them on.) I warmed up and felt pretty good even though I had walked more on Friday then I normally do. Other than the normal almost 2.5 miles to and from work, I walked three (3) at lunch and added some to pick my packet up for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon on Sunday.

It was still fairly cool, but I sensed that it might warm up a little bit. There were lots of runners also doing the 2-mile run. (In fact, there were 172 finishers in the 2-mile run and 96 in the 10K.) I put myself back to where I thought I need to be. It didn't take but a second or two to cross the start line, which was accompanied by the ringing of a loud bell. (Think the Liberty Bell and you'll be right on!)

The race was straight down the middle of Fairhaven Road, which ran right through town. When we finished coming back into town (as it was an out-and-back), there would be lots more people waiting for the start of the parade that was to be held in conjunction with the 69th annual Berry Dairy Days.

Before I get to the splits, I, unfortunately, think that the course was short. I have an e-mail into the Parks and Recreation Department as well as the Skagit Runners. I looked on the USATF website and the course isn't certified (and it wasn't advertised as such).

Mile 1 -- 9:06.96
I looked at my watch and thought that it seemed fast, because I didn't feel that I was working at a close to sub 9-minute per pace. Even though I was hydrated coming down, I passed the water stop at mile 1 because it was past the turnaround for the 2-milers.

Mile 2 -- 9:58.91 (19:05.87)
When I crossed this spot in the road, I thought to myself that the slip shouldn't have been that much because I really didn't feel myself slowing down that much. I felt that my pace was fairly consistent. It was in this mile that an older gentleman came up along side of me, said "Hello!", commented on how nice it was and I thought was going to talk a lot. I was like Lisa said once in her blog, "I'll talk later. I'm trying to breathe." I hated to be rude, but I sped up to discourage the continuation of it.

Mile 3 -- 9:42.69 (28:47.56)
Right before I got to the mile 3 marker, two women came up along side of me (after I had passed a few runners) and one remarked that I had a nice pace. I thought that they didn't know half of the story! I was looking forward to the turnaround and the water stop. I'm doing the math here and I'm thinking 28:47 plus almost another minute and that I'm slow at the turnaround on my 5K time.

Turnaround -- 44.00 (29:31.56)
But when I get to the turnaround, I'm surprised that it is 29:31. I thought for a 5K, "OK, that's not too bad." Going out we had the sun in our face, but the wind at our backs. I had to hit the water stop shortly after to make sure I had enough left.

Mile 4 -- 9:14.22 (38:45.78)
When I went through the 4 mile marker on the way out, I (thinking it was a pure out and back, being equidistant) calculated that it was 20:50 for the first 2.2 miles. Therefore, I needed to be back at mile 4 by 39:10 to have a shot at breaking an hour. I felt like I picked the pace up a little bit, but the mile shows a total time of 9:58.22. Still I felt like I had a shot.

Mile 5 -- 10:06.41 (48:52.19)
I felt like I was keeping the pace up fairly solid, but when I got to the 5-mile marker, which was just before the water stop (I think), it was clear from the time that I had slowed and put the sub 1-hour in jeopardy.

Mile 5.2 -- 2:10.86 (51:03.05) - 1 mile marker from the start
This was just beyond the water stop, but I don't think that it was also a mile from the finish. So this distance, if accurate, would indicate that I was at a 10:54 pace (which might be right because I took on water and walked a little).

Mile 5.7 -- 4:42.35 (55:45.40) - 1/2 mile marker from the start
I knew that there was a half mile marker in the road from going out so I thought I would hit it and see how I was hanging in there. This would indicate, if measured correctly, that I was now running at a 9:24 pace. I was trying to push it so it is very plausible.

Mile 6 -- 3:05.87 (58:51.27)
But when I passed the mile 6 marker, this would indicate that I had slowed back down to a 10:20 pace for three tenths of a mile and a total mile time of 9:59.08 - which is realistic if mile 5 was accurate at 10:06.

Mile .2 -- 56.28 (59:47.55) -- I don't think so. Maybe for a .1 of a mile.
Also I was doing the math of a 9-minute mile over two-tenths of a mile in my head. I'm telling myself 58:51 and 1:48 is going to be an hour and some change. I was rationalizing this as an improvement from three weeks before when I ran a 1:00:17 on a downhill course in cooler temps. But to cover two-tenths of a mile in 56.28 seconds? I don't think so. I saw an older runner who was warming up before the race that I recognized to be someone who knew what they were doing. I asked him his thoughts and he said that his last split was 41 seconds for the "last .2".

It's disappointing to walk away from a very well-run, well-managed event with good people, a nice community and a great atmosphere (including free strawberry shortcake at the finish) and feel that you were jobbed out of knowing how well you really had done.

Otherwise, I had a great time and this was a fun event that I'd do again!

Here's the note that I received on Monday morning from Steve with the Skagit Runners via e-mail:

I asked Keefer Whan about the course on Saturday morning because I thought the course was long 2 years ago. He insisted that the course was the correct distance and that somebody put the turnaround cone in the wrong spot 2 years ago. I also noticed 2 years ago that the last "0.2" was very short, but I didn't see a 6 mile marker this year, so Ididn't get a split there. However, the last 1.2 miles was suspiciously fast for me. I am inclined to believe that the course is close to 6.2 miles, but since he just drives the course before the race and drops the mile markers (probably according to his odometer) that the milemarkers are off a little bit (it's unusual that they would be long unless he is using the wrong tire size on his car).

So I guess the best answer that I can give is that the course is not certified and I don't know how the course was measured, but looking at the times of the people that I know, I think the course was pretty close to being right, but the mile markers were probably off (it appears that they were long by a little bit which added up at the end). We did talk about measuring the 5 mile marker from the finish with my wheel before the race, but Keefer said it wasn't necessary. I'm not sure what prompted the discussion as I had not arrived at the race yet.

This probably doesn't help much but it's the best I can do without measuring it myself. If I ran a PR on that course, I would probably count it.

Steve
Skagit Runners

Texans at Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon Today

It was an asbolutely gorgeous today to run in Vancouver with a course that for the most part was very scenic looking out into English Bay from the ground near the University of British Columbia as well as approaching Stanley Park.

There were a few other Texans than me - and some that performed way better than I did - that ran today in the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon. They are as follows:

111 17/2009 F 4/300 F3034 1:31:39 1:31:34 4:21 1410 Melissa Henderson, Houston, TX (ALRC)
1199 433/2009 F 90/355 F4044 1:59:50 1:59:50 5:41 522 Sue Chan, Houston, TX (HS)
2738 1459/2009 F 15/ 24 F6064 2:26:02 2:25:29 6:54 2328 Rae Mills, Sachse, TX
2838 1542/2009 F 109/130 F2024 2:28:06 2:23:58 6:50 159 Maggie Austin, Austin, TX
2975 1332/1415 M 216/227 M3539 2:32:16 2:29:02 7:04 3500 Jon Walk, Spring, TX (HRB)
3390 1980/2009 F 295/300 F3034 3:07:39 3:07:39 8:54 3623 Patrice Williams, Humble, TX

Not only was Melissa 17th among all women, but she was also the 2nd American female.

Melissa has been having a heck of a spring as she was the HARRA Runner of the Season for the spring edging out her Al Lawrence Running Club teammate Erin Foley.

I'll talk about how I ran later. Well, how about next year! But doesn't it bother you when you see somebody, especially thousands of miles away from home, you've seen before and you can't place them. That happened this morning.

As I was in, yes, one of the 15 or so "port-o-let" line (that is what they are called here), I saw this younger gal (that means mid 20's as I'm 39) off to the side starting to stretch. However, I couldn't figure out where I had seen her. I even walked up close in the starting queue to the runner to see if maybe something that she said triggered something.

To no avail, nothing registered. However, I remembered her bib number! So when I was looking at the results this evening, it lists the bib numbers. I saw the name, "Carolyn Harmatiuk" of Surrey, BC. I did a web search to see if she was at an event that I was at. Nothing pulled up in the search!

Then it hit me! I remembered. She rode the bus from the finish area to the start / staging area of the Sandcastle City Classic 10K in White Rock, BC just three weeks ago. On that day, she was less than 7 minutes faster than me. Today she kicked my butt ... running a 2:02:50!

Speaking of Phegley ....

As I read the excellent piece in yesterday's Houston Chronicle about Tom and Mary Anne McBrayer that Roberta MacInnis wrote, I noticed in the results of the Kiwanis Kids Triathlon #1 that a youngster with the last name of Phegley took first place in their age group.

Could it have been the daughter of ITR and RTN editor Lance Phegley?

"It’s generally a pretty safe assumption that anyone named Phegley is a relative of mine," said Phegley. "I haven’t met one yet that I wasn’t related to!"

8-year-old Lauren Phegley took fourth among all girls ages 7-9, 8th overall and 1st in the 8-year-old age bracket as she completed the 50-meter swim, 1-mile bike and 400-meter run in 9:14.

"She did it on a whim – it was her first triathlon. She had a very good time and will probably do some more of them later this summer," her father said. "She’s a swimmer and the next one or two of those races conflict with swim meets."

Next time you see Lance out behind the lens of his raceshots.net cameras (probably next at the Fired Up 5K), pass along your congratulations!

12th Texas Marathon Appears to be on the Map

On the forums at RunTex.com, James Shults of Mission, Texas posted the information below about a marathon in the Rio Grande Valley that will take place on Sunday, December 3rd.

I e-mailed Lance Phegley at Runner Triathlete News and he stated that they know Veronica Galligan, the race director, well and that they have talked to her about the event.

"I finally got a copy of the course map and I drove it this morning," Shults said. "There's almost no hills at all and those are very small (20 to 30 ft. elevation at the most).

"The race doesn't go anywhere close to the downtown of McAllen or Mission. It begins and ends at Dodge Arena which is south of McAllen. Most of the race actually takes place in Mission but it is all south of the main expressway.

"It will be a very nice run if you like scenic routes with lots of palm trees and a glimpse of the Rio Grande River(with Mexico on the other side).

"However if you need big crowds this is probably not your race. Most of the course is off the beaten path, literally. At times you might swear you were on a trail run. We will try to drum up as much support as we can but I wouldn't count on much."

The water stops are at the following miles: 2.4, 4.8, 7.8, 10.4, 12.4, 14.1, 16.8, 18.4, 21.2, 23.6.

IT’S A SOUTH TEXAS FIESTA! DEC. 2 - 3, 2006
Experience fitness, fun and lots of culture all in one place…South Texas’Fitness Fiesta! Participants from the Rio Grande Valley, Mexico, Texas and surrounding states can choose from 5 challenging courses.

26.2 MILE MARATHON
Start Time 7:00 a.m.

Let the South Texas tropical weather, landscape and wildlife surround you as you course through the 26.2 mile marathon. The course will take you thru the historic and metropolis cities of Hidalgo, McAllen and Mission. So come join the fiesta and celebrate not only health and fitness, but all that the Rio Grande Valley has to offer with an array of activities and local culture. Cash awards will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall finishers. Marathon finishers will also receive a medal and commemorative race shirt.

RELAY MARATHON
Start Time 7:00 a.m.

Five person teams can run or walk in this festive relay marathon. Teams will run the distance of 1st leg: 12.2K, 2nd leg: 10K, 3rd leg: 5K, 4th leg: 10K and 5th leg: 5K. Corporations, organizations, family and friends can compete in 5 categories for awards in each division. Every team member will receive a free race t-shirt. Form your team now!

WINTER TEXAN MARATHON
Start Time 8:30 a.m.

The Winter Texan Marathon has been modified for the senior citizens 55 and above. Participants will complete 25.2 of the 26.2 miles prior to race day. Individuals will have 5 weeks to complete the 25.2 miles on their own by either jogging, walking or cycling. On December 3, 2006, all participants will finish that marathon distance as they jog or walk the last mile of the actual course and cross the official Fitness Fiesta Marathon finish line.

2-MILE KIDS’ RACE
Start Time 9:00 a.m.

A fun-filled race from start to finish for young runners and walkers in grades K thru 6th. All participants will receive a free race t-shirt, goody bag and medal. Awards will be given to the top 3 boys and girls in each age group.

5K FITNESS FIESTA RUN/WALK
Start Time 1:00 p.m.

All fitness levels have a chance to participate with this 5K run or walk course. Everyone will receive a free race t-shirt and awards will be given to the overall male and female finishers in the run division.

FREE HEALTH & FITNESS EXPO
Open to the public!

It’s a real fiesta with over 30 exhibits that will feature the latest in runningshoes, sports apparel, health and nutrition products. Whether someone is a fitness fanatic, casual runner, or anything in between, this expo offers achance for everyone to be part of the event.

THE FINISHER’S FIESTA!
The Fitness Fiesta Marathon will finish with a bang at the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. A party featuring a FREE Live Concert, food, fun and the awards ceremony will begin at 12:00 noon. Family and friends are also welcomed to join the finishers for this grand celebration.

FEES: EARLY (by 11/3/06) LATE
26.2 Mile Marathon $ 60.00 US ______ $ 70.00 US_____
Relay Marathon: Fee per team member $ 40.00 US ______ $ 50.00 US_____
5K Fitness Fiesta Run/Walk $ 15.00 US ______ $ 17.00 US_____
Winter Texan Marathon $ 17.00 US ______ $ 25.00 US_____
2 Mile Kids’ Race: Grades K thru 6th $ 5.00 US ______ $ 8.00 US___

Go North This Weekend!

Not here to British Columbia, of course! But to either The Woodlands or to Bremond!

If you can go all the way to Bremond (in central Texas - north of Bryan and south of Waco and east of Highway 6), I'd recommend that you take in the famous Polish Pickle Run 5K. Just find the Post Office and that's where the race starts!

There's even a Clydesdale and Athena divisions, but typically Ken Yanowski - the race director - takes the Clydesdale (over 190 lbs.) division. (He has at least the last four years.) My good friend, Melissa Broussard, took the Filly Division on the ladies side last year; however, she'll be unable to have a chance to repeat as she is in Minnesota. My fellow club members from the Seven Hills Running Club regularly make the trip as well as plenty of Houstonians.

If you are pinched for time and gas, there's always Run The Woodlands 5K #156 on Saturday morning at 8 a.m.

If you're there, and you know her of course, give my daughter, Waverly, a hug for me since I won't be able to until I get home next Friday.

4th of July Racing

While I'm very, very tempted to head to Houston to do one of the local fourth of July events, I'm probably going to once again head north to Centerville and participate in Stu's Country Mile.

This is one of these races that you almost have to know somebody to know about it.

I know Ken Johnson, president of the Seven Hills Running Club, in Huntsville. That's how I first found out about it.

Ken warned me that it was a really a "5K and then some." I wouldn't know anything about whether or not my time was where I could gauge that, but a good friend of mine from The Woodlands (now relocated in Jacksonville, Florida), Tom McDonough, was sure of that assessment.

I e-mailed Ken the other day because the city of Centerville's web site said that it started at 7 a.m.; however, the pictures on the page with the other activities going on in downtown that day were from 2000. Ken said that he'd call the race director, Joe Langley.

Ken talked to Joe and confirmed that race time was still 8 a.m. (If you get there early enough, you get your pic of laminated bib numbers.)

"He said that they will have an improved T-shirt and better refreshments," said Johnson. "Darn, it may end up looking like a normal race. They have also moved the start/finish a short block east and around the corner."

The folks in Centerville are great people. It is as "hometown" as you can get and afterwards, the Seven Hills Running Club swamps one of the local eating establishments for breakfast!

Outside Chance for Alaska

Until I had some fits with my IT band, my plan was to get in a position to run full marathons this month in Washington and Oregon. However, that went awry.

I readjusted my thoughts and was going to wait until late in the fall to run any more marathons. Probably in November and December when the temperatures would be more conducive for me.

There is an outside chance that I may be looking at marathon #10 and one of the two hardest states (in the quest for 50 states) for state #7 in the Frank Maier Marathon in Juneau, Alaska on Sunday, August 5th.

I had planned to take two weeks of vacation - the weeks of July 24th and July 31st - since I missed out on taking Waverly out on the road for Spring Break like we normally do. (I have to be nice here.) Some slippage in timelines are forcing me to give up the week of July 24th, but I'm trying to hold fast to the weeks of July 31st and August 7th. Especially since Waverly goes back to the school the following week.

I can get reward travel, using about two-thirds of my miles on Continental, but it is just making sure that I can get away. Hotel, car and sightseeing would be the biggest expenses otherwise.

I'll keep you posted. If so, it looks like that I'll be having to get in long runs past a half marathon in the month of July. Maybe I'll get the bulk of them in up here (in Vancouver).

Westfield HS Jr. Nichole Jones misses out on China

Spring Westfield HS junior Nichole Jones was one spot away Wednesday in Indianapolis from going to the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China in the 5,000 meters.

Jones finished a distant third in 18:13.85 behind Georgetown University freshman Natasha LaBeaud who blazed a trail to victory in 17 minutes 12.63 seconds, 24.8 seconds ahead of runner-up Spring Valley High School senior Kate Niehaus' 17:37.43.

The 2006 Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships are being held through Sunday at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis.

On Thursday, Jones was 5th in the junior 3,000 meters posting a time of 10:06.34. The winner was the freshman sensation from California Jordan Hasay, who won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship this past December, as she won with a mark of 9:50.66.

8.6 Miles Thursday Morning in Vancouver

I've been nursing a cold for the last couple of days, but it hasn't stopped me from running. That task was self-inflicted. I've just been feeling lethargic. However .... I was out the door this morning just after 5:30 a.m. and logged approximately 8.6 miles (8.58) on this route in 1:31:28 for a pace of 10:40 / mile.

The city - and the park - is still fairly quiet before 6 a.m. As I made my way clockwise around Stanley Park, there were more people that were coming the other way and crossing my path. Some running. Others walking. However, everyone seemed to enjoy a morning where the sun was out, the skies were pretty clear and it was in the mid-50's with a little bit of a breeze.

My goal this morning was just to maintain a nice, comfortable steady pace. I did. Although there was a point just past mile 5 where I quickened the pace a little bit, but not enough to cause me to slow down and walk. There were a couple of young ladies who had passed me roller blading. While I was smart enough to know that I would have had to have been the second coming of Sean Wade to catch them, I did improve my focus for the next half mile or so (until they went around the lighthouse near mile 6).

Nonetheless, if I expect to improve from two weeks ago, I'm going to have to push that pace on Sunday in the Scotiabank Vancouver International Half Marathon. (Yes, in case you are wondering, I did think about inquiring about pacing services for Sunday!)

A 10:40/mile pace equates to a 2:19:45, which is about what I did at the North Olympic Discovery Marathon two weeks ago. Let's face it, I'm better than that. (I hope I don't eat those words Sunday, but I know that I ran 2:12 in Austin on a tough course back in late January and then a 2:09:58 in Oregon in March.) Because of the route that I ran this morning, I know that when I come off the Burrard Bridge I'll have about 2 miles to run on Beach Avenue into Stanley Park. According to the elevation profile, it will be a nice gentle downhill from the Bridge (however, to me it is basically flat.)

Throughout this morning's run, I thought about something fellow HRBer Dave Smart shared with me via e-mail about his son, Benjamin, who is getting ready to enter the 7th grade and compete on the junior high cross country team. He said that Benjamin's coach, Juris Green isn't promoting run/walk (like Galloway does). Dave said Coach Green's instructions this summer to the incoming runners was this: "Simply run 2 miles every other day up to 4 times per week. The goal being not to walk!! We want all of our guys able to run the workouts. Walking only conditions the mind to stop when things get tough."

In other news, I have joined fellow Houston Running Bloggers James and Jaclyn Dykas in their "no soft drink" efforts. I have gone three (3) whole days without any soft drinks - Mountain Dews or even diet drinks - and have replaced them with water or Gatorade. I've been needing to do this for awhile and it isn't as bad as it seems.

13 Texans Ready for Western States 100

The "Boston" of the 100-Mile world, the Western States 100, which goes from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California, is set for this weekend, Saturday-Sunday, June 24-25, 2006.

Thirteen (13) Texans will test themselves against the elements! They are as follows:

Botto, Robert I., M, 57, Baytown (Terlingua Track Club)
Collazos, German, M, 48, Houston (Houston Masters)
Emerson, David B., M, 47, Coppell
Freeman, Jay, M, 59, Farmers Branch
Harrison, Davey, M, 54, San Antonio
Hendricks, Marla K., F, 51, Waco
Meyer, Drew, M, 59, Fort Worth
Opalko, John, M, 44, The Woodlands
Rieger, Keith, M, 38, Lubbock
Ryan, Doug, M, 49, Grapevine
Sexton, Deborah, F, 48, Richardson
Shuler, Sarah, F, 27, Austin
Terranova, Meredith, F, 31, Austin
Wrinkle, E. Allen, M, 41, Magnolia

Only three (3) of this weekend's Texans have registered a Western States 100 finish. Collazos and Freeman have both finished three (3) times. Collazos has a three-year streak going while Freeman finished in 2000, 2002 and 2005. Rieger finished the event in 2004.

Source (on # of finishes): http://www.realendurance.com/WS100byNames.html

HARRA Banquet Saturday Night

It's official! Three members of the Houston Running Bloggers -- yours truly, Erin Foley and Sarah Graybeal -- assumed positions on HARRA's 2006-2007 Board of Directors Saturday night at the 2006 Summer Banquet which was held at St. Arnold's Brewery.

Erin takes over the duties of Membership Director from Bill Crich while Sarah replaces Geoff Guenther as the HARRA webmaster and I'll take over VP of Communications and Footprints editor duties from Doug Spence.

It was a great night overall with Jeff Galloway as the featured speaker and HRBers were out in full force! Actually, it was the first time since the Houston Marathon and the Pasta Party that all of our officers were at the same function! Besides Waverly and myself, the following were also in attendance:

+ Vice president Edwin Quarles and his wife, Donna
+ Secretary Cassie Cowan and her fiance, Manny Mondragon
+ Treasurer Sarah Graybeal and her boyfriend, Jose Ruiz
+ Joe Carey and his wife, Gerlinde
+ Erin Foley and her husband, Matt, and their two kids ... Megan and Heather (I was listening and you could never forget them because of their beautiful white blonde hair ... some of which I actually had once!)
+ Bill Cox and his wife, Erin, and their daughter, Alison

Tom Stilwell passed the president's baton to Anna Sumrall Helm and the '06-'07 HARRA Board was announced as follows:

President - Anna Sumrall Helm
VP Clubs - Roger Boak
VP Road Race Management - Stephen Mayor
VP Communications & Editor of Footprints - Jon Walk
Secretary - Annie Hadow
Treasurer - Audrey Christiansen
Membership - Erin Foley
Webmaster - Sarah Graybeal
At Large - Cheryl Esposito
At Large - Jo Ann Luco
At Large - Sarah Troscher
At Large - Bob Linza
At Large - Bruce Mansur

I have to say that I'm very flattered to have the chance to serve in this capacity. Doug is a very good friend of mine and has been a great help in providing information in transition. I only hope that I can do as good of a job as Doug has done when he took over the role approximately a year and a half ago. He was voted on the Board and did so in support of former HARRA president Steve Shepard, who briefly served as editor while the position went vacant after becoming president. Footprints was officially resurrected as part of Inside Texas Running (ITR) in early 2004 during the presidency of John Phillips.

I get the opportunity to work with friends and fellow runners to put the best foot forward as it relates to Houston's road racing scene - including Lee Sheffer and Lance Phegley at ITR/RTN.

Two other HRBers, Edwin Quarles and Jessica Alexander, also members of Brazosport Area Road Runners Association (BARRA) and the Houston Striders), will be writing stories on a regular basis - or as time permits - for Footprints and I contacted HARRA Medical Director Dr. Bob Hoekman about making a regular contribution as well.

Doug shared with me a PDF draft of the July/August edition this evening (it looks awesome!)and there's already a game plan in place for the September edition.

I'm very excited about what lies ahead!

General Update / Carrabba's Half Marathon Race Report

So where have I been?

Well, I was in Atlanta, Georgia (actually Alpharetta) from Tuesday through Friday, San Antonio on Saturday morning, home Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening and I flew back to Vancouver, British Columbia very early this morning.

So how much did I run last week after the back-to-back 12K and half marathon in Tacoma and Port Angeles, Washington, respectively?

Unfortunately, nothing. I went to the gym Friday evening after I flew back in from Atlanta and got 5.13 miles in an hour on the elliptical machine (level 16) and another 40 minutes on the stationery bike. I did so to sort of kick-start the system.

Then I did something that I shouldn't have, but I did it anyways. Good reasoning never stopped me from doing anything.

I drove to San Antonio - getting up at 3 a.m. to leave 45 minutes later - to run in the Carrabba's Classic Half Marathon at McAllister Park. This is an event that I've participated in the last two years that is put on by the San Antonio Roadrunners.

I originally had put this event on the calendar to have a warm weather distance event to test myself with. However when I arrived at the race site, I actually waited until 7:30 a.m. (before an 8:00 a.m. start time) to register as the park area - which is close to the San Antonio airport - had been deluged by rain.

The blessing in disguise is that while the temperature was 78 degrees it actually felt cooler with the recent rains.

The course is one that I was very familiar with. In fact, painstakingingly familiar with. And it is a 4-loop course! Each loop is approximately 2.97 miles while the first loop has an additional mile tacked on before the start of the loop while the last loop has approximately two or three tenths of a mile at the very end of the loop (to the finish line). One published description had the first loop as 3.8 miles and the following three legs each being 3.1 miles, but this just couldn't be.

In 2004, I covered the course in 2:31:13 and finished 89 out of 92 runners. Last year in my first attempt at the distance on the other side of a left achilles problem, I slogged it out in 2:43:45.72 and was 152nd of 161 runners. (These finishes didn't even begin to count all of the relay teams that ran the 4-leg race.) Both days the temperature was broiling.

My goal was to try to run as even a pace as I possibly could even though 1.) I knew that the course was probably going to be saturated in water and 2.) the fact that I was a little tired.

Both predictions came to fruition early on.

As we passed the first mile marker on the actual loop (which was a little more than 2 miles in), I had already dodged a couple of large bodies of water over the asphalt trail and could already tell that my legs were shot from the workout the night before. From that point on, my goal was to try and make it respectable.

What was respectable? As close to 2:24 -- 11 minutes per mile -- as possible. I even thought about applying the 5-minute run/1-minute walk strategy that HARRA Summer Banquet speaker Jeff Galloway advocates doing. At least it would give me something to possibly talk to him about later that night.

However, I'm too stubborn to that by choice. I simply ran as much as I could and readjusted in the water stops (and where necessary).

While I was there, I saw Alex Zuniga and Clint Sherrouse of the Conroe Elite team. (They were part of the King Tornados team that finished fourth at Beach to Bay last month in Corpus Christi.) On the course, while I was on my third leg and he was finishing the fourth leg of his relay team, Tom Sherwood offered his well wishes.

I hit every water stop, ran most of mile 10 and some of mile 11 in a total downpour and just tried to stay consistent. In the end, I finished in 2:25:45.11 while finishing 131st of 146 runners. Two positives (albeit slight): I set a course PR and I put more runners between me and last place than I had in each of the last two years. (At this pace, I'll have an outside shot of winning it some time when I turn 60.)

I didn't even focus on recording mile splits as I felt that it might discourage me even more. I simply stayed with recording the times for each of the various loops. They were as follows:

Loop 1 (3.88 miles) -- 40:47.21 (10:31/pace)
Loop 2 (3.01 miles) -- 33:42.03 (11:12/pace)
Loop 3 (3.01 miles) -- 33:40.29 (11:11/pace)
Loop 4 (3.20 miles) -- 37:35.58 (11:45/pace)

If I could have held the pace in the middle two loops, I would have easily been under 2:24 and closer to 2:20. (A far cry it seems from the 2:09:58 that I ran in Oregon in March.)

In 2005, the results were as follows:

Loop 1 (3.88 miles) -- 40:26.93
Loop 2 (3.01 miles) -- 36:36.45
Loop 3 (3.01 miles) -- 39:04.06
Loop 4 (3.20 miles) -- 47:49.56

Onward and upward, I guess. Lesson learned, but fun had nonetheless.

Galloway to speak at 6/17 HARRA Summer Banquet!

The HARRA Board is announcing that the organization has secured the St. Arnold Brewery as the location for its Summer Banquet. The banquet will be held at the brewery on Saturday June 17, 2006 from 6:00 p.m. till 9:00 p.m. Admission includes a full Mexican buffet and all the beverages that St. Arnold's serves (alcoholic and non-alcoholic -- i.e. root beer).

Sign up on-line now at https://my.eztoregister.com/events/HARRA-Summer-Banquet/.

The cost is $15 adults / $12 for children (12 and under) in advance (so we can provide a headcount to St. Arnold's and the caterer) and $20 adults /$15 for children on the day of the banquet.

Following up last year's attendance of Bart Yasso of Runner's World, the Board has arranged for Jeff Galloway to come speak about the history of the modern era of running. Jeff Galloway trained with and competed against many running legends including Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar and was also present at the ill-fated 1972 Munich Olympics. (Note: This will not be a promo for his popular running programs).

The Board has announced that it is attempting to put together a PowerPoint presentation of all of the greatest running moments (as well as bloopers) from the 2005-2006 season. (Hmmm ... I think that I'll save my JoePa picture!)

Sunday -- Briefly Again!

It is almost 8 p.m. Pacific time and I'm headed in for a shower, a drive to the airport and a 11:30 p.m. red-eye flight home via Continental.

I was up at 3:45 a.m., out of the hotel by 5 a.m. and in Port Angeles, Washington for this morning's North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon. (I know everyone is thinking, "He's insane." Yes, a 12K yesterday and a half today.)

The best news to report, though, is that the IT band issue seems to be better now; however, I'm noticing a lot of tightness in my rear end. (Yes, some think of me as a pain there, but "Oh well!")

Have to wait for the official results to come out, but I believe that I clocked a 2:19:03.23!

Which for coming back from an injury, a tough 12K yesterday and a somewhat challenging 4-plus miles from between mile 3.5 and almost 8, I'm rather pleased with it. I'll post the splits and report that the half marathon mile markers were off. (A completely flat course and I probably could have been closer to 2:15, which isn't bad.)

The absolute best story of the day happened at one hour before the 9 a.m. start. I'm standing in the middle of a grass field at where the half marathoners are gathered (both the half and full marathoners were running a point-to-point race into Port Angeles) and somebody says, "Oh my goodness, Jon Walk, you're the last person I expected to see here!"

It was Becky Spaulding, who was in my Fall 2004 Power In Motion session, is a member of the Bayou City Road Runners and will be volunteering with us on the HARRA Just For Kids Fun Run in November.

I turned the "Leave No Blogger Behind!" into a "Leave No PIMster Behind!" and was rewarded with watching her set an approximately 5-minute PR on a tough course.

As I said, the mile markers were off (as one could attest that I'm not going to pull a 9:31 minute mile in mile 13 of a half):

Mile 1/2 -- 19:33.06
Mile 3 -- 10:31.75
Mile 4 -- 10:44.25
Mile 5 -- 11:02.28
Mile 6 -- 10:41.97 (1:03:48.81 - I did my best to keep that from bothering me.)
Mile 7 -- 11:37.06
Mile 8 -- 10:36.56
Mile 9 -- 9:56.41 (I think this was short and mile 10 was long)
Mile 10 -- 10:44.28
Mile 11 -- 11:13.72
Mile 12 -- 11:32.40
Mile 13 -- 9:31.52
Last .1 -- 1:17.97

Final -- 2:19:03.23

I'll comment more on Monday (yes, it was my 12th state to run a half marathon in!) and have the Run The Woodlands 5K #155 results online!

Saturday - Briefly!

First of all, please check out our new Houston Running Bloggers splash page! Many thanks to Edwin Quarles' wife, Donna, and Sarah Graybeal's creative brilliance!

Congratulations are also in order to our own Jessica Alexander, who not only finished the 3rd leg in the 5-race HEB Texas 10K Challenge by running in the Dublin Dr. Pepper 10K today but also took third in her 21-25 age group with a time of 51:15.0.

I ran in the Sound to Narrows 12K in Tacoma, Washington. I covered the hilly 7.46-mile course in 1:18:00.96 - about three minutes off of my goal; however, even the top runners indicated that this 12K is much, much harder than the insanely popular Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane that was held last month.

Here are comments from the Tacoma News Tribune's Saturday, June 10th preview story:

New Balance, one of the race’s sponsors, is bringing in one of its elite runners. Matt Downin, a 29-year-old resident of Westwood, N.J., was a two-time Big Ten cross country champion at Wisconsin and finished 16th in the New York City Marathon last year.
However, Tollefson, a world-class runner in his own right, has home advantage on what many consider one of the country’s most challenging 12K courses.
“People used to look at the Sound to Narrows result and think we were all slow runners out here,” said Sam Ring, winner of the first race in 1973 and an every-year participant. “Then they come here and run it and realize how tough it is.”
Downin is familiar with the course’s reputation.
“I’m looking at the elevation chart and I see a lot of ups and downs,” Downin said. “It looks like a difficult course.”
Last month in Spokane, Downin ran a flatter 12K, Bloomsday, in 35 minutes, 52 seconds and finished 10th. Tollefson didn’t run Bloomsday last month, but finished 21st in 2005 with a time of 38:08.

(For comparison's sake, Sean Wade ran 37:45 at Bloomsday to win the Master's division.)

The elevation chart? Check it out here! The Blue Bell Fun Run 10K course is a walk in the park compared to this and is tougher than the Austin American-Statesman Capitol 10K course in Austin.

Here my splits (not pretty, but compare them to the elevation chart):

Mile 1 -- 8:51.49
Mile 2 -- 9:51.31 (some uphill)
Mile 3 -- 10:57.84 (mostly uphill about the last 3/4 of the mile)
Mile 4 -- 10:05.66 (was still under 10 min/mile)
Mile 5 -- 11:05.37 (slipped to a 10:12/pace here)
Mile 6/7 -- 22:17.56 (10:24/pace at about 6; some uphill, big downhill, big uphill then a turn and back the same way I did the 8.51 in)
Last .46 -- 4:51.73

I'm off to Port Angeles, Washington early in the morning to run in the North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon. It will be my 12th state to run a half marathon after today it became the 19th state that I ran an event in.

Thursday Night 1-Hour Treadmill Run

We're in the middle of what is called a "prototype build" at work. It is where we build our respective part of the information system so we can then perform unit (mine is the general ledger) and integration testing to make sure all of the things that we've planned for will work appropriately when we go live.

That has made every day this week a long work day (basically 9 am to 9 pm) and I didn't get out the door once back at the apartment each night, Monday thru Wednesday. I've gotten in 10 miles worth of walking since Monday, but it isn't the same thing as running.

I actually took my running gear to work today so that I could run home after work - which is about 6-7 miles. It is 3.75 miles from the office to the south side of Lions Gate Bridge and then I'm really not sure how far it is from there to the apartment. However, rain foiled that attempt and after a certain time, I couldn't get into the workout room in the building where our office is. So I headed back across the inlet on the Seabus in my running gear and after I got home, I contemplated going out to run in the rain but I decided otherwise.

So it was downstairs in the workout room and running on the old Precor treadmill. I did 10 minutes easy at 4.6 mph, another 10 at 4.9 mph and ten (10) more at 5.2 mph. Then I bumped it up .1 mph every minute so that the 39th minute was at 6.2 mph -- call it a bit of mini-speedwork -- and closed it out with 20 minutes at 5.2 mph.

A good 1-hour run while watching the Dukes of Hazzard on CMT. Yee-haw!

Houston Running Bloggers to manage Just For Kids Fun Run

I'm pleased to officially announce that the Houston Running Bloggers have agreed to be the managing club of HARRA's Just For Kids Fun Run that will be held on the South Picnic Loop of Memorial Park on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 10 a.m.

The club officially received its letter this week from the Mayor's Office of Special Events reserving the Park for the event, which is just as popular with parents and relatives and adults to volunteer for as it is the kids to participate in.

There will be non-competitive races of four (4) different distances:

+ 25-meter Toddler Trot (10:00 a.m., up to 4 years)
+ 400-meter (440 yards) Fun Run (10:15 a.m., open to all children 12 & under)
+ 1-kilometer (5/8 mile) Fun Run (10:45 a.m., open to all children 12 & under)
+ 2-kilometer (1 1/4-mile) Fun Run (11:00 a.m., 9-12 years of age)

Owner Jerry Fuqua of RunSport will once again provide leadership for the Just for Kids In-Training Program that will consist of three (3), forty-five minute training sessions teaching children running fundamentals leading up to the Just for Kids Fun Run.

The In-Training Program, open to children ages 5 to 12, will be at two locations - Memorial Park (November 14, 16, and 21) and Rice University (November 13, 15, and 20).

The event website can be found at http://www.justforkidsfunrun.com/ and further details will be coming shortly.

Sponsors and volunteers are both needed and actively being pursued.

Chuck Engle Update

The last time we checked in with Chuck Engle, he was living in Mississippi. Since February, he's picked up a few more wins - he's up to 12 now! - and has relocated to Columbus, Ohio.

However, he is still running competitive marathons every single weekend! Here's the scorecard so far: 22 marathons -- 12 wins, 6 second-place and 3 third-place finishers.

The outliers? A fourth place finish at the New Jersey Marathon in Long Branch on April 30th, which was just 13 days after he ran Boston (in 2:48:16).

Fastest marathon: 2:31:34, Sarasota (Fla.) Marathon, 2:31:34 (2nd)
Fastest win: 2:34:22, Delaware Marathon, 2:34:22
Slowest win: 2:46:00, Katrina Relief Marathon, Clinton, MS
Slowest marathon: 2:53:21, Cherry Blossom Marathon, Macon, GA (2nd)
Sources: chuckengle.com, marathonguide.com

Last weekend, he was third in the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, Indiana (which I can't imagine why Erin and Joe haven't run that one yet). Maybe we can all do it next year!

He's run marathons in 15 states so far this year and has the Lake Placid Marathon and the Mayor's Marathon in Alaska coming up the next two weekends.

June 7th Miscellaneous News / Items / Information

Personal
1.) Renewed my HARRA membership for 2006-2007 and added Waverly to it. (Renew here.)
2.) Made reservations for Saturday, June 17th's HARRA Summer Banquet at St. Arnold's Brewery from 6 until 9 p.m. (Register here.)
3.) Turned in my July "Talking The Talk" column to Runner Triathlete News this week on "Series and Challenges". I have no idea what Lance will title the column. (It seems on the website that the June issue is out and that has a 5-state recap on the "Best of Boston".)
4.) I may participate in a very large "Sound to Narrows" 12K in Tacoma, Washington on Saturday.

Club News
1.) The Houston Masters Sports Association website refresh continues - a team picture from "Beach to Bay" that includes ALRC/HRBer Erin Foley is on the newsletter page - and their June newsletter, "HMSA News", is posted online here.
2.) The Houston Striders have posted their June edition of "Stridelines" here.
3.) RRCA's second edition of "Footprints" (June) is now online here. BARC/HRBer Joe Carey and Striders/HRBer Jessica Alexander are in pictures that are on page 2 of the publication.

Friends
1.) Congratulations to Run The Woodlands regular Debbie Tripp of The Woodlands, 50, who finished her first marathon ever on Sunday at the San Diego Rock 'N Roll Marathon in a time of 5:53:58. Look out Houston!

Recent Out-of-town Results
1.) Houston's Francisco Garza (TOR), 41, was 20th overall in last weekend's Steamboat Marathon in Colorado. He finished in 3:28:20. The Woodlands' Tony Allison, 50, was 42nd among the men in 3:45:12.
2.) Austin's Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, 47, and Chris Kimbrough, 36, finished in 19th and 20th place at Saturday's 28th annual Freihofer's Run For Women 5K in Albany, NY. The duo finished in near-identical times of 17:10.3 and 17:10.9, respectively. It was a star-studded field that included winner Benita Johnson (15:26.9), 3rd place finisher Lornah Kiplagat (15:26.2), Poland's Dorotha Gruca (15:51.1), Boston's Nicole Aish (16:11.5) and Morocco's Asmae Leghzaoui (16:15.6). The Austin duo teamed up with fellow Austinite Cindy Salazar to finish third in the open club competition as they ran under the name, "Rogue Running."
3.) The fastest Texas finisher at Sunday's Rock 'N Roll Marathon in San Diego was HARRA member William Henderson (BCRR) from Bellaire. Henderson, 43, covered the course in 2:57:12.
4.) Running a respectable 3:26:53 at the Rock 'N Roll Marathon was 1997's Class 4A cross country champion from Houston's C.E. King, 26-year-old Brandon Beasley. Just two years ago at the hp Houston Marathon, Beasley ran a 2:44:36 to finish 28th overall and qualify for Boston (which he ran in 3:14:29). In March, Beasley was the 9th place finisher at the Bearathon Half Marathon in Waco.
5.) 501 Texas runners finished the Rock 'N Roll Marathon. 16 of them qualified for Boston, including 12 women! The lead women's finisher from Texas was 46-year-old Plano resident Malgorzata Mirkowicz, who posted a time of 3:19:07. Angleton's Lenord Burns, 59, was the oldest of the Texans who recorded a Boston qualifying time of 3:25:16.
6.) Finishing 4th overall at the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon in Deadwood, South Dakota was HARRA member Martin Guthrie, 39, won logged a BQ time of 3:11:27.

National Notes
1.) Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes, 43, ran the Rock 'N Roll Marathon in 3:17:56, qualifying him for Boston -- but he did so after running 60 miles from his childhood home in San Clemente to the race's start.

Sandcastle City Classic 10K Race Report

Oddly enough, it is only the second time that I've ever done a 5K one day followed by a 10K the following day. However, it was the 23rd time that this "race warhorse" - as I was affectionately referred to (and it was better than saying "clydesdale" too) - has done races on back-to-back days.

The Sandcastle City Classic 10K was held in White Rock, British Columbia, which is just north of the U.S.-Canadian border. It was the 9th race of the Timex BC Racing Series and hosted by the local Semiahmoo Sunrunners running club.

I got to the apartment last night at 1 a.m. Pacific time and didn't get to sleep until about 3 a.m. However, I was up, showered, shaved and out the door by 6:30 a.m. for the 40-minute or so drive to White Rock. It was cool (12 or 13 degrees Celsius) and enough for me to wear my long sleeved Penn State racing shirt; however, an hour and a half before the start of the race it was raining rather steady and it made me wish that I had brought my hat and NYC Marathon racing jacket from the apartment.

The course was a point-to-point and we were ferried out to a local elementary school, which served as the starting point staging area. (This little school, Crescent Park Elementary School, takes its sports seriously as they school running records posted. Some of them still stood from 1977 and 1978!)

I had no idea what the course was like prior to except what I saw on the drive out. One good thing -- the last kilometer was going to be flying downhill; however, that meant there had to be some uphills on the course. I didn't take the time to ask any further. I figured that I'd try to take as much advantage of the downhills as I could and muster through the uphills.

My pre-race goal was to run as aggressively as I could without reaggravating the IT band on my right side and try to break an hour (my last 10K was 1:01 and change during Brenham's Blue Bell Fun Run). I basically, minus a handful of seconds, succeeded!

With my goal being an hour and there being 10 splits, it meant that I needed to do 6-minute kilometers or better. As I got started running, I realized that a 5:48/per would yield a 58-minute 10K and a 5:54/per would produce a 59-minute.

The splits looked like this (6.98-second difference between when the gun went off and when I crossed.):

Kilometer 1 -- 6:04.03
Kilometer 2 -- 5:39.43
Kilometer 3 -- 5:41.87
Kilometer 4 -- 5:51.93
Kilometer 5 -- 5:55.02 (29:19.26 - 6.98 = 29:12.28)
Kilometer 6 -- 6:44.21
Kilometer 7 -- 6:40.12
Kilometer 8 -- 6:20.43
Kilometer 9 -- 6:22.47 (55:26.49)
Kilometer 10 -- 4:49.69 (7:46/mile!)

Final -- 1:00:16.18 - 6.98 = 1:00:09.20

I knew that I didn't want to go out too fast (as I always do), but an uphill in the first kilometer helped keep that basically at an even pace. The next four (4) kilometers, which included getting water past the 4-kilometer mark, were slightly downhill, but you could see that I was starting to tire a little bit. I felt pretty good about turning in a 29:19 5K, but with the uphills in front of me I didn't know whether I'd have enough to get through whatever hills were there and break an hour.

I knew I had given away the 1-hour mark in the 6th kilometer, but I didn't realize that the inclines were going to continue all the way through midway of the 9th kilometer. I thought that I might be able to turn in a sub 6-minute kilometer in kilometer 9, but it wasn't to be.

I looked at my watch as I passed the 9-kilometer mark and saw that I needed a 4:34 to break an hour! Wow! Instead of telling myself there was no way that I could do it, which I've resigned myself to do in the past, I tried to give it all that I could. I ran a last kilometer of 4:49 that equates to a 7:46 mile - but it was a controlled downhill. I say controlled in that it wasn't too steep to really tear up the quads.

So there you have it! (The club that put it on really designed a nice course, had two water stops, controlled traffic well, had excellent post-race food and it was a chip timed race. Not bad for $24 Canadian although with that amount there was no T-shirt.)

When the official results are posted online, I'll update this report!

Update: Ugh! I moved the chip from my ankle, like the triathletes, to my shoe and oddly enough, it didn't pick it up. I think that I was between these people:

207 83/117 F 14/23 F3539 59:53 9:39 1285 Anne Hales Vancouver, BC
208 84/117 F 3/5 F5559 1:00:17 9:43 1119 Edna Matthew Surrey, BC
209 125/142 M 7/9 M--20 1:00:17 9:43 1329 Spencer McHaffie Surrey, BC

The reason I say this is because I passed a woman with a youngster that had developed a side stitch and they had to slow down and walk.

In fact, what I think really happened is that myself and another female runner both didn't register. There was a woman who finished about 7 or 8 seconds ahead of us (that I was hoping to catch but couldn't) and I think that is "Anne Hales". It is odd that they would have missed two, but we crossed at the same time.

Update2: No, I'm not only "Johnny Run" but now I'm known as Spencer McHaffie too! Lorraine Davidson with Champion Chip Canada indicated that they gave me the chip for #1329. My gun time was indeed 1:00:17 and it appears that I finally beat a Wade -- Steven Wade of Langley, BC who finished in 1:03:18.

Heights Fun Run 5K Race Report

If you came to this event - the Heights Fun Run 5K - expecting a published official time, I hope you either finished in the top three (3) of your age group or brought your watch! That might be the only negative. For me, it isn't an issue as I always track my time.

Speaking of times, my "chip time" was 30:02.34 and "gun time" was 30:28.49. Normally, I'd be beating myself up over this, but I'm OK with it (for the moment) and realize that it isn't where I want to be at the end of the summer. It is acceptable, however, after dealing with my IT band issue and working to overcome my mileage and consistency issues.

Last year at this time, I was bouncing back from an achilles problem in my left leg that barely left me able to complete a 5K for a number of weeks. I went from doing a 29:43 in the Tie One On For Charity 5K on Thursday and a 29:32 at Run The Woodlands 5K two (2) days later to a string of 8 consecutive summer 5Ks of 30 minutes or better.

The splits were as follows: 9:19.89, 9:46.68, 10:01.37 and 54.40 = 30:02.34

I didn't feel though as if I got off too fast in the first mile although I spent the first three-tenths of a mile dodging people and running up in the median. I started close to fellow blogger Bob Entwhistle (who PR'd today!) and Chris Murphy, a friend of mine from the Striders who was running her first race since the Freescale Austin Marathon.

I held my pace (which included getting water at the first water stop even though I felt I was well hydrated against the humidity of the morning) from the 1st mile marker to the turnaround point, which was .55 miles that I hit in 5:12.88 (9:29/pace).

However, it was the next .45 mile and mile 3 that got the better of me on this day.

The .45 miles to the mile 2 marker was a 10:08/pace (4:33.80) while mile 3 was 10:01.37. I was just trying to run comfortably and at an even pace to try and be able to save a little for the end. The 54.40 seconds in the last tenth of a mile indicates a 9:00/pace, which I need to be getting this consistently into where this calculates to an 8:45/8:50.

Bottom line is that it was a little bit better than what I thought it was going to be after Thursday's run here in the subdivision.

The HRB Report -- (This will basically augment Lance Collins' race report as far as people, places and things are concerned. Kudos to Lance for posting an 18:29 which continues his downward time trend after recovering from an earlier hip problem.)

Erin Foley, who I met in person for the first time today, ran really, really well and cranked out a 19-something (like Lance I didn't remember the exact time) -- and she was concerned about racing four (4) straight weekends. Pfft! I'm teasing obviously as Erin is as humble about her running in person as she is in her blog! [However, I am on the look out for a Penn State visor for Erin and Joe Carey after the Nittany Lions win this fall over the Fighting Irish.]

Our good friend Bob Entwhistle pointed out and introduced me to our newest Houston Running Blogger, Christy Gonzales, before the start of the race. It was also a pleasure to meet Christy and visit with her before and after the race. I asked her how she did and she responded, "Not a PR!, but better than last week at the Astros 5K".

And after seeing Lance and Erin when I got there this morning, it was a delight to see Vic Kaiser back out at a race. If my recollection serves me right, it is the first race that I've seen Vic at since he was pulling AED/CPR duty at the Houstonian Lite 30K.

Vic is just now getting back to running after being sidelined for quite some time with an ankle injury. I certainly hope races and Vic being at them - and yes, running them! - are more frequent occurrences in the weeks and months to come. If you can't walk away from talking with Vic without a smile on your face, you either haven't made the effort or you completely missed the essence of his great personality and friendship.

Elsewhere -- When I go to a race anymore, the question is usually, "Who didn't I see?" All that means is that I'm truly blessed to have a great number of my friends being runners!

Lance mentioned that one of his training partners of the "Greatwood Running Team" (my name, not something that they've given to themselves), Brian King, had a really nice day on the course as he posted an 18:22 and picked off a runner in the last tenth of a mile. (Both Brian and Lance finished third in their respective age group.) I held back from the Tie One On For Charity 5K race report that the third member of their training trio, Steve Schroeder, suffered a stress fracture and is still waiting for another 2-3 weeks before he begins running again. He was out in support today.

One guy who is just a great guy and really treats my daughter extremely well every time he has seen her since the Rockets Run 5K is Jake Tonge (BCRR) - and today was no different. It means a lot to me to people who take the time to respect and treat my daughter well. Granted, she's a good kid, but I feel honored as a parent when other folks treat her as they do me.

As Lance mentioned, John Yoder really had a nice day by running a 16:40 (Dave Wittman won it with a time of 16:11) and finishing third. Just before the mile 2 marker, John was running fourth. His sister, Pony Petersen, both Striders, ran as well.

Lisa Tilton-McCarthy and Heide Mairs won the overall women's and Masters for the women. I didn't catch the name of the Masters winner for the men.

I had the opportunity to visit with Tim and Karen Bowler, Joan O'Connor, my editor at Runner Triathlete News, Lance Phegley (and I met his wife Sherry) and I remember telling Leno Rios of the Tornados on the course "Thanks!" for sending the Beach to Bay Relay photos to send in with the HARRA Footprints article that will appear in Inside Texas Running in July/August.

I also saw, but didn't get a chance to say "Hello!" to, Ted Traynor (Striders) and Bonnie Jo Barron (Bayou City Road Runners).

Next up? The Sandcastle City Classic 10K in Surrey, British Columbia -- tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. Central time (9 a.m. Pacific)!

A First-Time Pacer's Astros 5K Race Report

Keeping this blog rolling with content sometimes is a challenge; however, one person that puts out more information than me is Bill Dwyer. Once he starts his own blog for the groups that he's involved with -- Team In Training The Woodlands and Luke's Locker - The Woodlands Beat programs, I'm going to lose some things to share with you. I get at least three e-mails a week containing the details of the week's training programs and/or tidbits of data. (And Bill, I'm not complaining!)

When I first read it I found it to be quite interesting so I thought that I would share with you the race report of professional triathlete Kim Hager -- one of Bill's fellow coaches with Luke's Locker - The Woodlands Beat programs -- from the Astros Race For The Pennant 5K. It is a little different than what you might expect to hear from the words "professional triathlete" and why I thought it would be a good read. Enjoy!

"Congratulations to all of those who participated in the Astros’ 5K race last weekend. All of you have ‘met your destination’ and our (first) 16 week journey is coming to an end. Of course, you know, that with every ‘ending’ there is a new beginning (hint: “Ten for Texas”)!

"Last week was the second time I raced the Astros’ 5K and both times have been a wonderful experience. The first time I raced I was fortunate to win the overall female title. Such ‘titles’ do not come often, so if I do win a race, it is something I cherish. In addition, I recently was told that I hold the PR for the course…another reason the race has special meaning for me.

"However, my second running of the Astros’ 5K fell under a different purpose. This time I was running the race with all of you, our awesome Beat team. As coach, one of my ‘jobs’ is to help motivate you to do the best that you can do. I arrived a little late for our group warm-up but thankfully I was able to locate our group at the start line. I know some of you were trying to avoid me!

"Alas, I found one of you and just before the start of the race I was given my mission, “pace me to a sub 30 minute 5k.” What I failed to mention was that I had actually never paced somebody in a race before. Luckily I did not have much time to dwell on this as the race was about to begin, but that did not stop me from wondering, “what if I start her out too fast, what if I start her out too slow, what if I talk too much.” And, on top of that, I had to do a quick calculation in my head to figure out the per mile pace.

"The gun goes off and we eventually move towards the start line and our chip hits the mat and the clock begins for us. My Beat partner does not say much as we meander our way through the crowds. She moves real steady and I was quite impressed with her bold moves as she continued to move through all the other runners. Our first mile went by and we were on pace…running just under 9:30 for our first split. As we passed the stadium and continued on our way, I knew some ‘little hills’ were ahead of us (another thing I failed to mention pre-race). I continued to encourage my racing partner to keep strong on the incline and use gravity and work on turnover during the decline. We approached the second mile in 18:30. Wow! We picked things up some, and we were ahead of our goal. She was looking so focused and now the race was more than half over.

"We came upon another Beat runner and we used each other to push ourselves towards the finish line. Then, the words were uttered, “I need to slow down.” I thought to myself, “NO…you are so close…you have less than 1 mile to go.” I know the mind can play funny tricks on us during a race or hard training day. Often the mind ‘gives up’ before the body. However, I knew my running partner was capable of making her goal and I continued to encourage her to ‘push’ on and I told her that she would have to ‘fight’ for it!

"With a half mile to go, the stadium seemed so close that there was a false sense that the end appeared closer than it truly was! My Beat partner pushed through her ‘rough spot’ and we turned the final corner. I looked at my watch and knew she would be well under 30 minutes. I was so excited for her and told her that the ‘pain’ would go away five seconds after she finished (ok, so it might take a little longer than 5 seconds). Finish fast and finish strong…and that is exactly what she did!

"Furthermore, she not only broke the 30 minute mark for the 5K race, she broke the 29 minute mark and finished in an official chip time of 28:56. Congratulations…I know you could have done it without me, but thank you for sharing this fun experience with me!

"So, what did I learn from this adventure? What a joy it is to experience another person’s success with them! Oh, and maybe I do need to work a little on my pacing (although I knew what my running partner was capable of doing).

"What I hope each of you take from your experience(s) with the Beat program over the past 16 weeks is that first and foremost, running and walking can be enjoyable. In addition, racing does not need to be intimidating. Set goals. Race hard. Most likely in every race you will hit a ‘rough’ spot…if you are lucky you only hit it once! Same goes for life. Push through that rough spot. The joy of achieving your goal is worth every bit of sweat. Be consistent with training, treat your body well, and finally, enjoy those recovery days!"

Happy Training,

Kim