Crabowitz 5K (free) Fun Run this Thursday
Thurs June 17th 6:00 p.m. at 709 Haddon Road, Wilmington 19808
5K run followed by Crabs & Pizza! Please bring your alcoholic beverage of choice; We will provide soda and water.
RSVP: Please email ASAP if you have not yet. Let Rich know if you will run or can help on course:
Water Table at Delcastle
We’ve rescheduled to Wednesday 6/23. Come out anytime from 530-730pm to run and/or socialize. If you’d like, bring snacks to share with club members or passers-by. 6pm group run as usual!
Weekend results:
Matt Cutrona was second overall in the Arthur Turner 5K on Saturday in 17:51.
In the Outlet Liquors 5K Mark Vilardo was the overall winner in 16:10. Lynn Knothe was the female winner in 19:50.
Sex Change?
In the “it-must-be-true-because-it-says-so-on-Races2Run” category, Jack Horowitz has apparently figured out how to get as much press as wife Kelly. He is listed in the MPS Foundation 5K race results as the second overall FEMALE. Congratulations on the sex-change, Jack!
1/2 Sauer, 1/2 Kraut Marathon on a hot day!
In the 1/2 Sauer, 1/2 Kraut Marathon in Wyomissing, PA (outside of Reading), Mark Lozier ran 4:21:23 and this editor [Dave McCorquodale] ran 4:45:32, which was second 60-69. When it was mentioned to the director that Mark, at 58, would have placed second in a five year age-group, the director gave him an award anyway, which sort of looks like a cuckoo clock and works like a barometer to predict the weather. See story below.
Four weeks after the Delaware Marathon, I could not resist the lure of a race entitled the 1/2 Sauer, 1/2 Kraut Marathon (also a Half-marathon). With an entry fee of only $60, a tech shirt, a freshly cooked German meal after the run, a strudel stop and a beer stop, how could I resist a marathon that was only an hour and a half drive away? I was so enthusiastic about it that I talked Mark Lozier into joining me on the adventure as he gears up to re-qualify for Boston.
Anyone who can remember back just eight days ago might recall the short spate of crisp Canadian air we experienced, which made being outside a pleasure. But as the marathon weekend approached, the forecasts became hotter and more humid. We received two e-mails from the race directors, advising us to carry water in addition to the water stops which would be available every two miles. As I found out, this was really good advice.
On race morning, the temperature was about 72 at sunrise with a dew point of 70. But before the race was over for me, the temperature officially went to 88 with a dew point of 75, meaning extremely humid conditions. Several minutes before the start, as the sun peeked out from clouds, I was already breaking into a sweat just standing there.
Mark and I spotted Zeke Zucker, who appeared to be the person who would win my 60-69 age group, by the Vermont license plate on his car. He had run a 3:34 at the Marine Corps Marathon last fall, but as a dedicated ultra trail runner, was using this race as a training run for the Vermont 100 Miler. I also introduced Mark to Francesco Criniti, a marathoning maniac from Philadelphia, who averages about a marathon a week. He won the 65-69 age group at the Delaware Marathon with a 3:58, so I was figuring on maybe squeaking out a third place finish.
When the race started (about ten minutes late), we headed off through the Park (Gring’s Mill), across a bridge at the stream and turned to run along the stream. For the first eleven and a half miles, the marathoners were running with the half-marathoners. Everyone had the option to bail on the marathon and just run the half if they couldn’t finish. I had already gone into “long run at the beach” mode as I had done many such runs in the past in hot, humid weather at the New Jersey shore. Just get through the run and drink plenty of fluids. It wasn’t a day to race. Carrying a water bottle, I was determined to drink at every mile.
At the mile six water stop (which we had hit at mile four before the mile five turnaround), there was no water and only a little Gatorade for each runner. Turns out someone had stolen 40 gallons of water that had been dropped off for the stop. I just resorted to another drink from my bottle. By this time, Mark had pulled away from me. For a while, I was running to and talking with Francesco Criniti. I fully expected him to go past me, but he kept talking about the heat and how he planned to walk. Soon he fell back. Somewhere before the turnaround I had also seen Keith Straw, who had placed 3rd in the Delaware Marathon in the 55-59 AG with a 3:21:00. Many of you have probably seen Keith, running in a pink tutu. I yelled his name as he went by, more than a mile ahead of me at that point.
At mile 11.5, where the half-marathoners turned around, I stopped at the water stop for my first bottle refill, which I would do two more times. During the second half of the race, I was walking all the water stops and taking both a cup of water and of Gatorade and making sure I drank all of both. In the twelfth and thirteenth miles, we ran on streets and over a bridge before getting on the Schuylkill River Trail. After a couple miles of shaded area, we started hitting open, sunny spots. I have rarely felt so warm. My hands, which some know I have trouble keeping warm in the winter, felt swollen and extremely hot. Occasionally, I felt a tingle in my scalp or a chill on my body. I knew they were signs of being close to overheating and knew not to push any harder than I was going which was averaging about a 11:30 pace during the second half.
As I approached mile 16, I saw a figure ahead, walking a wearing a pink tutu. It was Keith Straw, who was having a tough day. I tried to encourage him and I went on. After the turn around at eighteen miles, I saw Criniti who was about two miles behind me at that point. But he was smiling and taking walking breaks.
By mile 20 the sky had clouded up and gotten blustery. I welcomed it and commented to someone that I hoped it rained. By mile 22 it did just that – at first single heavy drops as I wound through a shaded part again. Since I was wearing sunglasses, it was feeling like sunset was near. As I approached the bridge crossing, the skies opened up for several minutes. It felt good, good enough that I could pick up the pace, because except for my hands still being hot, I felt cooler.
As I approached the bridge I saw a guy who looked like he might be in my age group. This was more incentive to pick it up. Coming of the bridge, the road was full of water. so it was obvious I couldn’t avoid the puddles and gave in to just running straight ahead. As I passed the guy, I commented that this (the flooded road) was different and didn’t let on that I figured I was racing him for an age place. (I was – he was third in the AG.)
As I got back on the trail for the last two miles, the sun came back out and it was steamy again. My pace correspondingly slowed. In a half mile, I hit the fluid station and chose the beer option. It was only a couple ounces, but it was cold and tasted great. After another mile and a half of slogging through the puddles, it was one last steep climb off the trail to the bridge and across to the finish line.
Mark was there with water. Then we went to gorge ourselves on food. Strudel and other German pastries before proceeding to the main course of brautwurst, sauerkraut and German potatoes. As I sat eating, my entire body was covered in beads of sweat. When I got up after eating, I heard water hitting something. I looked down to see a puddle of water in the plastic seat I had been sitting in and realized it had just been running down my torso and accumulating in the chair.
Later we talked to the director and told him what a great job he did. He told us that it may not be possible to have the marathon again and he might have to just have a half-marathon. The reason is the uncooperativeness of the park rangers. They would not allow the park to open before 8 A.M. and only allowed the race volunteers to have their cars in the park. Everyone else had to park across the street in the various lots of the Penn State Berks County Campus. Obviously, with the heat one could anticipate in mid-June, a 7 A.M. start would help. The rangers also were playing bureaucratic meanies, looking for people (unsuccessfully) who might be drinking beer after the race. Several of them were so heavy, they stayed in motorized jitneys and just rode around. Something tells me they resent runners. After collecting our awards, Mark and I made our way back to the campus parking lot where the rangers did not have authority if someone were drinking a beer.
I sure hope this marathon can happen again. It was a blast in spite of the heat. Even if it’s limited to the half-marathon, it is well worth the trip, but it’s sure to fill up fast as the limit is 750 runners.
BTW, this was my personal worst marathon time, but I’m not bothered It’s obvious the conditions slowed everyone. The male winner ran 2:46. After him, the next person ran 3:05. There were only seven people under 3:30. The female winner ran 3:46 and there were only 26 people under four hours. Zeke Zucker did win the 60-69 age group in 4:02, which is about 15% slower than he ran Marine Corps. So I figure my time on this course, which doesn’t have any serious hills, but does roll a bit, in good conditions would be under 4:15 (my BQ standard). Mark’s time would translate to about a 3:48 which would be only of few mintues off his BQ standard of 3:45. BTW, Keith Straw finished in 5:01:16, Criniti in 5:18:32; and Dana Casanave, the 26 year-old woman who is running a marathon every week in 2010 to raise money for south African aids orphans, ran 5:42:38.