Boston Marathon – Monday April 19:
Former four-time winner of the Boston Marathon, Robert Cheruiyot could not compete this year because of injuries. So who won? Robert Cheruiyot! Well, a different one, from the same region of Kenya, but not related. This Robert Cheriuyot is only 21 years old, but he smashed the course record, by over a minute to finish in 2:05:52. In a decisive move he pulled away from last year’s winner, Deriba Merga in the Newton Hills after the two had broken away from the rest of the elite men. Americans Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighin were fourth and fifth overall. Top Delawarean was Steve Sinko in 2:28:25, 56th overall.
The women’s elite race was the unusual move to the leader breaking from the group in Wellesley, several miles before the hills of Newton where moves are traditionally made. At one point Teyba Erkesso built a 2:15 lead, but it dwindled toward the end as Tatyana Pushkarena closed on her in the last few miles. In the end Erkesso held on to win by three seconds, in 2:26:11. No elite American women entered the field this year and the first American woman was Paige Higgins, who ran 2:36:00.
Here are the times of the participating PCVRC members:
Wes Stafford – 3:15:22
Mike Brown – 3:18:17
Lee Kauffman – 3:22:07
Theresa Kauffman – 3:31:50
Chris James – 3:35:41
Paul Schweitzer – 3:45:19
Paul Nemeth – 3:57:44
Margie Hughes – 3:59:27
Mark Lozier – 4:17:34
Barbara Chelpaty – 4:33:33
Race for Wishes 5K, Think First 5K
Club members Greg Cauller (17:46) and Lynn Knothe (20:09) were the male and female winners of the Race for Wishes 5K.
Club member Epi Camacho was second overall at the Think First 5K in 18:34.
Valley Forge Revolutionary Five Mile Run
Pike Creek Valley Running Club had a group of nine participants in the Valley Forge Revolutionary Five Miler on Sunday. This was a good turnout for Boston Marathon weekend and the club had a good score of 388.757. The club moved up from seventh to fifth in the overall club standings after three events(with the first two combined for one score). However, it is becoming clear that the competition this year is much deeper with twelve teams competing. Since the lowest score is dropped from the final total, even the teams which have missed a race are still in it. In the second chart below, note that the top six teams are all within 15 points of each other.
Here’s a closer look at these teams:
* South Jersey Athletic Club has won the team competition for a number of consecutive years. Several of their top runners were in Boston in past weekend. They will probably score better in coming races.
* Runaway Success, the current leader in competition, was second last year. It is led by Doreen McCoubrie, who won the Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon last year, and Scott Lebo. Both appear to be national class runners.
* Downingtown Running Club, which was fourth last year, is led by another national class runner, Matthew Sandercock and 23 year-old Samantha Howard.
* Bryn Mawr Running Club and Moorestown District Running Project are clubs which are built around running stores. Traditionally this type of club has young fast runners who only show up for a few fast races – the Adrenaline 5K, the Broad Street Ten Miler and the Philadelphia Marathon races. However, according to Robin Jefferis, Long Distance Running Coordinator for MA-USATF, while the young fast runners may only show up occasionally, the clubs intend to field teams for the entire series. This means they won’t run away with the competition, but they’ll be in the mix.
* Greater Phila TC, Rosemont, and Pineland Striders most likely will field teams through the entire competition.
* TNT Racing Int’l Track Club, a new team, was led last weekend by former PCVRC member Kareem Lanier and is composed mostly of people from the Lincoln University area.
* The most intriguing new team is Athena Track Club, which blew away the competition at Valley Forge and is currently in second place. This club was established in 2006, locally based in Southeastern PA, as a national club for masters women and has competed in numerous track and field events. Now, it appears to be attempting to field a team for the Grand Prix series with a very small group of runners. Through three races, the club has only had seven participants: Lorraine Jasper and Julie Hankin, two women who have been on the area running scene for many years, Linka Hawke, another masters runner about equal in ability to those women, the husband and wife duo of Greg Watson, a former professional biathlete and Cecily Tynan, 22 year-old Molly Pritz, who appears extremely talented, and 80 year-old Patrick Nutt from Kennett Square, who is well-known to older area runners. Can this small group continue to field teams through the entire series? Time will tell.
The bottom line is that the MA-USATF Grand Prix series will be the most competitive it’s ever been. The key of PCVRC will be an it’s been in the past – consistency. If the club can continue to field competitive teams through the entire series, it stands a chance of attaining one of the higher club positions when it’s over.
Name – – – – – – Time Age Grade
LOREN JOSHUA WILMINGTON DE 8 26 53 79.417
CAMACHO EPI WILMINGTON DE 46 31 45 79.370
SHUFFLEBARGER FRED UNIONVILLE PA 85 33 54 78.958
COMPTON DEBORAH NEWARK DE 374 41 39 76.150
SIMMONS DANIEL NEWARK DE 140 36 4 74.861
COFFIN DEAN WILMINGTON DE 106 34 47 67.944
DURKIN JAMES ARDMORE PA 662 46 13 64.695
NEILAN CLAIRE NEWARK DE 291 40 5 61.164
SZYMANSKI RICHARD WILMINGTON DE 457 43 3 54.472
CLUB ADR – ROD COMP VFR
Runaway Success 405.322 398.249 803.571
Athena T C 392.656 410.775 803.431
Downingtown RC 404.856 395.931 800.787
Bryn Mawr RC 419.265 377.645 796.910
Pike Creek Vly. RC 402.743 388.757 791.500
South Jersey AC 409.269 379.509 788.778
Greater Phil TC 403.435 372.739 776.174
Rosemont 370.853 368.869 739.722
Moorestown DRP 416.334 321.521 737.855
Pineland Striders 370.855 343.415 714.270
TNT Racing Int’l Track Club
Breakneck T C
The next event in the Off-Road Series is the Triple Crown 10K this Saturday at Carpenter State Park on 896 above Newark. In addition to being part of the series, the event is directed by club member John Mackenzie and benefits area homeless shelters. For more information, go to: http://www.traildawgs.org/