Marathon / Half / Team results & recap
Another memorable Delaware Marathon Running Festival took place this past Sunday. As usual, numerous members of Pike Creek Valley Running Club were involved as runners or volunteers. Of course, first to be recognized are those who put this race together, That includes club members Wayne Kursh, Race Director, Barbara Brown Kursh, Emergency Director, and Joel Schiller, current club treasurer, Operations Director.

The noteworthy achievement of the day was the fact that Michael Wardian, who had won the event years ago and had set the state marathon record, came back to break his record by a minute and a half in a time of 2:26:22. It should also be mentioned that Doug White, who was a past president of PCVRC and who certified the course, fell off his bike while leading Wardian through the streets and broke his arm.

Below are the results for various club members. Apologies if I missed anyone.

Marathon
3:29:38 Chris James
4:21:52 David McCorquodale 3rd 65-69
6:25:12 John Schultz

Half-Marathon
1:30:28 Wes Stafford 2nd 45-49
1:31:59 Dirk Sweigart 1st 50-59
1:37:15 Theresa Kauffman 1st 45-49
1:43:50 Carole Feole 1st 50-54
1:50:30 Frank Cebula
1:50:37 Rich Szymanski
1:56:43 Elena Kupchik
2:12:15 Linda Lavelle
2:19:30 Lori Culnane
2:19:31 Trish Szymanski

Four Person Relay Team participants:
Josh Loren, on the New Balance Racing Team, which had the fastest relay time of 2:25:20.
Shannon and Ryan German,
Kelly and Jack Horowitz, Will Farquhar, Tara Huang,
Bill Myers,
Gelsomina Paolini, Rachel Bleacher, Sharon Miner,
Dan Weintraub, John Culnane, Maggie Favata

Thanks to all race volunteers
Club members who volunteered included people who loaded the water bottles, manned the number pick-up tables, and course marshals:
They were: Ray Christensen, Dean Coffin, Lori Culnane, Jim Durkin, Mary Fisher-Shute, April and Bruce Hubbard, Margie Hughes, Carolyn and Dave McCorquodale, Vince McIntosh, Bob Taggart, Steve Thorpe, and Misty White.

Also thanks to others who helped stuff and distribute race packets on Friday and Saturday.

PCVRC Newark Reservoir 5K fun run recap
Last Friday Pike Creek Valley Running Club tried something new to great success! The club had a 5K fun run at the Newark Reservoir Park. Everyone enjoyed the experience and the board will attempt to have more group runs like this. Twenty-four people participated and about twenty went to Timothy’s Restaurant, right across White Clay Creek from the reservoir. So one way or the other everyone had a “great time”.

PCVRC Newark Reservoir 5K official order of finish:
1. Epi Camacho 18:48 (Male Masters winner)
2. David James 19:31
3. Karl Kalbacher 19:56
4. Patrick Brogan 20:23 (Male Open winner)
5. Dirk Sweigart 20:44
6. Kelly Horowitz 20:49 (Female Open winner)
7. Dan Simmons 21:56
8. Dean Coffin 22:08
9. Tony Chelpaty 22:18
10. Theresa Kauffman 22:25 (Female Masters winner)
11. Chris Leiningei 22:33
12. Rich Szymanski 24:46
13. Jack Horowitz 24:47
14. Margie Hughes 25:24
15. Joel Schiller 26:12
16. Paul Amer 26:42
17. Tara Huang 28:10
18. Dan Feldstein 28:24
19. Trish Szymanski 30:05
20. Maggie Favata 30:05
21. Dave McCorquodale 34:39
22. Carolyn McCorquodale 34:39
23: Sue Simmons 37:35
24. Bob Taggart

From President Ray: I just want to add another thanks to Nikki, Zach and Rudy” for organizing it and that others will be announced soon.
View 5K photos

DE Marathon: Contact Ray ASAP for preferred parking
You must contact Ray at by Friday morning to take advantage:
Club Treasurer Joel Schiller has arranged for PCVRC members to have parking reserved for them at the Delaware Marathon. The parking area will be located in the WPA surface parking lot behind the AMTRAK Station and ING DIRECT Pennsylvania Building at the end of S. French Street. Access to the parking lot is off MLK Boulevard at S. French Street and right under the railroad overpass.

Please note that our vendors and our Medical and Emergency teams will also
be using this lot. Please also note that once the runners begin returning
to the Riverfront, MLK Blvd will experience significant traffic delays and
temporary closures. This is expected to begin at 7:45am and last all
morning. Once that happens, you’ll need to reach the lot via Rte 13 North
to N. Walnut Street to W. 2nd Street to S. French Street.

To exit the lot, you’ll be able to use S. French to exit onto MLK and onto
N. Walnut Street. Remember, the runners are coming down King Street, so
you’ll be delayed if you wish to go left on 2nd or 4th Street.

Again, contact Ray to receive the window shield that must be printed and
placed on your dash board. In the event you are stopped by the police or a
parking attendant on the way into your designated parking area, you should
display parking pass and this email as an indication that you are authorized to park in this lot.

DE Marathon volunteers & course marshals needed
Please help us keep the runners safe as a Course Marshal along Bancroft
Pkwy. It’s loads of fun! Contact Ray at or 302-633-1482 for
that or any of the following:
Fri 5/14 4-7pm At Tubman We set up an assembly line to stuff the 2000 runner bags. Flexible times.
Sat 5/15 9 -11 At Tubman PRE-Packet Pickup – Pull packets/shirts, etc for large groups
Sat 5/15 11-2 At Tubman First shift registration/packet p/u – Arrive 15 min early for instruction
Sat 5/15 2- 5 At Tubman Second shift registration/packet p/u – Arrive 15 min early

Sun 5/16 5-7am At Tubman Early Race Day Packet Pickup We want to open by 5:15am
Sun 5/16 730-1030 and/or 1000-1230 Course Marshals (Bancroft Pkwy area)

Weekly Group runs
New runners and walkers are always welcome at our 6pm Wednesday and Thursday
group runs at Delcastle. Old runners are not turned away either! We meet before and after running, so encourage friends to come out.

Broad Street Run 10 Miler results & Recap
The Broad Street Ten Miler was held in Philadelphia on Sunday and it was the third race in the MA-USATF Grand Prix Series. With over 26,000 finishers, it was the largest Broad Street Run ever. With temperatures on the starting line of 74 degrees, there was also many entrants who did not finish. So all PCVRC participants are to be congratulated for finishing.

Below are the age grades and times for PCVRC member, who participated in the Broad Street Run as MAUSATF participants. Apologies for missing Austin Gee and Michael Peyton (listed below) and Lenora Wagner (1:42:29) in yesterday’s report of club members’ times.

As a team, PCVRC scored 377 plus points and remains in fifth place in the series. South Jersey Athletic club moved up to second place while Athena Track Club did not have a team score for this race and dropped from first to below seven other teams.

Individually Deborah Compton is fifth in the overall women’s standings and Dan simmons is eleventh in the overall men’s standings.

Time – Age Grade – Name
55:25 81.534 Mark Vilardo
1:13:38 76.098 Dan Simmons
1:26:52 74.862 Deborah Compton
1:18:27 72.636 Carole Feole
1:01:11 72.542 Austin Gee
1:15:23 72.120 Theresa Kauffman
1:10:10 71.829 Dirk Sweigart
1:09:34 71.586 Lynn Knothe
1:12:37 70.576 Lee Kauffman
1:12:52 66.826 Dean Coffin
1:09:53 63.654 Ryan German
1:26:00 62.578 Connie Montana
1:22:18 61.158 Claire Neilan
1:48:19 53.716 Jerry Herman
1:51:12 51.829 Ralph McKinney
1:37:33 48.329 Michael Peyton

General results:
55:25 Mark Vilardo 4th in 35-39 age group (out of 1,737).
1:01:31 Greg Cauller 4th in 50-54 AG (of 804)
1:09:34 Lynn Knothe
1:09:53 Ryan German
1:10:10 Dirk Sweigart
1:12:37 Lee Kauffman
1:12:52 Dean Coffin
1:13:38 Dan Simmons 5th in AG (of 208)
1:15:23 Theresa Kauffman
1:17:13 Shannon German
1:18:27 Carole Feole
1:22:18 Claire Neilan
1:25:23 Hillary Suwyn
1:26:00 Connie Montana
1:26:52 Deborah Compton 2nd AG (of 71)
1:35:37 Elena Kupchik
1:48:19 Jerry Herman
1:51:12 Ralph McKinney
2:17:13 Scott Christensen

Many Marathons!
This past weekend, there were a total of 26 marathons in the United States, including six in the three states surrounding Delaware. Considering the heat and humidity, the accounts of people who posted on Marathonguide.com, and the times of a few people I recognized, I;m glad I didn’t do any of them. Here’s hoping the Delaware Marathon weekend will spare the participants, including me.

Jerry’s Broad Street Run Recap
Below is the account of ex-Pres. and current Secretary of PCVRC Jerry Herman on the Broad Street Ten Miler. Jerry is recuperating from his experiencer for a few week in Washington State:

Thought I’d share my tale of Broad Street Sunday.
Dean tried to set up a car pool. I felt they were leaving just too late for me. I would rather be there way too early than have any stress about being late. I choose to go on my own at about 0500.

As I usually do I had all my race day stuff laid out Sat. afternoon. All I had to do Sunday morning was have my coffee, visit the bathroom, get dressed and hit the road.

Up early, started the coffee, had a snack and took care of business. Clipped my cell phone to the gym bag I was taking to the race. Trying to get out the door the phone fell on the floor. I was sure I picked it up and took it with me. So I get to my preferred parking place and I can’t find my phone. So I’m thinking it’s lost somewhere in the car (truck) and I just can’t find it in the dark, or maybe I didn’t pick it up. I had to get to the train so I forgot about it and left. I took my spare car key that I carry in a velcro pocket around my ankle and set off for the train.

First time I ever got to sit on the train. Leaving early was paying off. I got to Central High, no lines at the porta-johns and I took advantage of it.

I wandered around chatting with other runners and even saw and talked to some other PCVRC folks. It was great fun. Time came to suit up for the race. Get the sweats off and put on the race shoes and club singlet. I happened to find a place to sit next to a couple from the morning train ride. While talking to them I put on one shoe and my key pocket when I noticed that I still had on my sweat pants. Off came the shoe, the pocket and sweat pants and then back on went the shoe. (notice I didn’t mention the key pocket?) and I warmed up a little, like it wasn’t warm enough already, and got in to my corral.

The race started and off we went. I started to fail about five miles in. Too hot. I got a bit dizzy and didn’t feel all that good. So I walked a while and then ran again. I did that for the rest of the race. I really wanted to break 100 minutes, but came up about eight minutes over my goal. All things considered I think I wasn’t too upset. I worked my way through the crowd and found Dan Simmons where I have found other PCVRC members in the past. We chatted for a while and I left to get my clothes from the gear bus. Made my way back to near the awards stage. No Dan but Ralph was there. We talked a while when he told me that there were no age group awards and no random door prizes. Bummer. So I said I guess I’ll hit the road. That’s when I noticed that I didn’t have my key pocket on my ankle. I couldn’t figure out how I lost it. I remembered having to take off my shoe to get off my sweat pants. I thought maybe it had come off inside the pant leg. Nope, no key. Ralph offered me a ride and we walked to his car.

We got to his car and the battery was dead. I found jumper cables with the forth person I asked. It was funny; she said I think I have some but I don’t know what to do with them. I told her not to worry, if she had them I knew what to do with them. We got Ralph’s car started and off we went. I suggested that we go up Pattison to beat some of the I-95 traffic. Bad move, it was bumper to bumper all the way to the bridge. Then it was clear sailing.

I got home and gathered my wash. Starting to put the sweats in the washing machine I felt something in the pocket. The missing key pocket had been found. I still didn’t know where my cell phone was. I was thinking I would have to call Verizon and cancel the service. But before I did that I called my cell phone. It wasn’t ringing in the house. So I called again and went out to the truck. I could hear it ringing but I couldn’t find it. It quit ringing so I went in the house and called it again. I went back to the truck and it was ringing but I still couldn’t find it. When I stood up after looking behind the seats I saw the phone on the dash close to the windshield. I just couldn’t see it while I was sitting in the truck.

So with a missing cell phone and car key, dead battery and a super hot day with a slow time I had an interesting Sunday. I can hardly wait till next year.

——————–
Jerry discusses Born To Run book:
Some of you may have already heard of the book Born To Run, written by Chris McDougall, a writer who has done articles for Men’s Health and Runners World among others. The book was recently lent to me by Mark Lozier and I found myself devouring it in less than two days. There is a local connection as the author quotes the director of the University of Delaware’s Running clinic several times.

The book focuses on the Tarahumara (the hu is pronounced oo) people of the Copper Canyon area of Mexico. They are a very reclusive group, who get everywhere by running and who enhanced they reputation as being indefatigable when members of the group won the Leadville 100 Miler several times. The author wanted to get to know them and learn how they run so well. The book climaxes with a race between some of the Tarahumara and a select group of “gringos”, including renowned ultra champion Scott Jurek.

But what really makes the book an important read for runners are the other ideas worked into the narrative. Primary is the concept that human beings were “born to run”. That is to say, through natural selection, our ancestors learned to survive through persistence hunting, tracking prey by chasing them for hours and hours. In order to do that the human body evolved from that of other simians, such as our close relative the chimpanzee, which does not and can not run, into a running being. First, by standing, our lungs can take in more oxygen than the knuckle walking chimp. Our bodies have features, which are unique to animals which run and which walking animals do not have. Three are: the Achilles heel, which is essentially a big spring; large gluteal muscles, which keep the upper torso upright when the person is running; and the Nucal tendon, running from the head to the back torso, which stabilizes the head when running.

Then there’s the most important adaptation of all, an adaptation unique to human beings, which no other animal has: We sweat! By sweating we can continue to keep our bodies temperatures under the point at which we would go into shock, even when the temperature is hotter than that point. So with all these adaptations, early humans could track prey for hours in the heat, basically jogging at a mid-pack marathoner’s pace, until the prey, which had to stop to pant in order to keep cool, overheated because the humans forced it to keep moving. Easy pickings and the race survived and prospered.

Another important topic for runners to consider is the concept of running shoes. The Tarahumara don’t use running shoes and basically can run on sandals made of strips of old tires. The author points out that many of the common running injuries did not become prevalent until AFTER the invention of “running shoes” by Oregon State track coach Bill Bowerman, which was the start of the Nike shoe company. Studies have shown that people who run in “cheap” running shoes (less the $40) have less injuries than those who run in the most expensive brands and styles. Why? The author believes that running shoes with their cushioning allowed people to develop the bad habit of running heel-to-toe. This is something a person who is barefoot will not do because it will hurt to land on one’s heels. The cushioning of running shoes masks this effect, but later on problems show up in the body, such as plantar fasciitis and runner’s knee. The author states that up to 80% of all runners are injured EACH YEAR! I don’t know if I agree, but perhaps the reverse is true: Those who are least likely to get injured and who seem to keep going all the time are those who are “running as if they are barefoot” and who haven’t adapted the bad habit of running heel-to-toe that cushioned shoes encourage.

The author claims that the world’s best runners, as such elite Kenyans, run barefoot as children, even into their teens.. The foot will naturally learn to caress the ground and relax when stepping on irregularities in the surface. An unshod foot will land mid-foot, much lighter, as if running on hot coals, and such runners are much less prone to injury. The shoe companies have taken note, which is why they are starting to come out with minimalist shoes, such as the Nike Free. The author believes that the idea of discarding shoes when the cushioning starts to where out is ridiculous, because, he believes, that’s when the shoes actually become safer for the runner, as the feet start to be able to sense what the running surface is like and begin to adapt to it with each step.

This book certainly provides much food for thought and I highly recommend it. Runners who have dealt with their own injuries may be encouraged by the author’s own experience as he was a mess as a runner when the book begins, but, adapting some minimalist techniques, has remade himself into a much healthier and better runner by the book’s end. I don’t plan to run barefoot any time soon.

John Schultz ran the New Jersey Marathon on Sunday in 6:26:22 and was finish in the 75-79 age-group.

DE Marathon volunteers, FB Group, Club Event
Notes from Club President Ray Christensen:

PCVRC Facebook Group: http://tinyurl.com/pcvrc
If you haven’t yet, join our FB Group. Post your race results or photos
there. Post a photo of yourself so we know who you are!

Newark Reservoir 5K, Friday 5/7, 6:15pm start
All are invited to this free PCVRC event. If you’ll be there, email Nikki at
so we have an idea of numbers. The race will be “rain or
shine”. Water will be available. Social to follow across the stream at
Timothy’s. Bring family members & friends.

DE Marathon volunteers urgently needed:
Only a couple people so far-if you’re not running, please help us keep the
runners safe as a Course Marshal. It’s loads of fun! Contact Ray at
or 302-633-1482 for that or any of the following:

Tue 5/11 5:30 – 6:30 pm At 1-800 PACKRAT on Rte 896. Need ½ doz people to
help fill the water storage containers
Fri 5/14 4-7pm At Tubman We set up an assembly line to stuff the 2000 runner
bags. People arrive and leave when they need to.
Sat 5/15 9 -11 At Tubman PRE-Packet Pickup – Pull packets/shirts, etc for
large groups
Say 5/15 11-2 At Tubman First shift registration/packet pick up – Arrive 15
min early for instruction
Sat 5/15 2- 5 At Tubman Second shift registration/packet pick up – Arrive 15
min early for instruction
Sun 5/16 5-7am At Tubman Early Race Day Packet Pickup We want to open by 5:15am
Sun 5/16 730-1030 and/or 1000-1230 Course Marshals (Wawaset Park / Little Italy)

New runners and walkers are always welcome at our 6pm Wednesday group runs at Delcastle. Old runners are not turned away either!

Bob Taggart visits Turkey
A note from Bob Taggart, who recently spent three weeks in Turkey, instead of the planned two because of flight delays caused by the Iceland volcano: The Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon next year will be the week after the Adrenaline 5k (i.e. March 27) since Wayne changed the date. That ends the conflict of this past year having the races on the same weekend. It is also important that anyone entering Grand Prix races register with the name used when registering with MAUSATF. In my case, I need to use Robert, not Bob. In Herman’s case, Gerald and not Jerry, etc. This makes Ed Maher’s job much easier in matching the MAUSATF people with the Grand Prix in those races.

Broad Street 10 Miler Alert
This was sent by Ed Maher, Grand Prix series director:

As you’re likely aware, this Sunday’s Broad Street Run could have as many as 30,000 runners. While there will be 8 separate wave starts with a “gun time” for each wave, there can still be a considerable time gap from the wave’s gun until the last runner in the wave crosses the start line. In consideration of this, our WMA% scoring for Broad Street this year will be based on the runner’s chip time. Please spread the word about this change among your club memberships.

Broad Street Expo days & hours are:
Friday, April 30, 2010 – 11 AM – 6
PM and Saturday, May 1, 2010 – 9 AM – 5 PM

The Phillies have a 7:05pm game on Friday, a 3:10pm game on Saturday and (fortunately) an 8:05pm game on Sunday. The Friday & Saturday games will undoubtedly cause traffic issues toward the later hours of the Expo! Please plan accordingly. …the Flyers round 2 playoff schedule is still TBD.

Broad Street gear check: the process is very different this year:
http://www.broadstreetrun.com/New_in_2010.htm

The LDR Committee will have a table at the Expo on both Friday & Saturday. We will be able to take new memberships and will display results of this year’s previous Grand Prix events.

Newark Reservoir 5K, Friday 5/7, 6:15pm start
All are invited to this free PCVRC event. If you’re
likely to run or would like to volunteer to help, email Nikki at
so we have an idea of numbers. The race will be “rain or shine”. If we have a few people who want to help, we could have water available on the course. If there is a big turnout, it would be nice to have some help with timing. Social to follow across the stream at Timothy’s.

DE Marathon volunteers needed:
Course Marshals for race day is biggest need. Please contact Ray at
if you’d like to help with any of the following:

Tue May 11 5:30 – 6:30 pm At 1-800 PACKRAT on Rte
896. Need ½ doz people to help fill the water storage containers
Fri May 14 4-7pm At Tubman We set up an assembly line
to stuff the 2000 runner bags. People arrive and leave when they need to.
Sat May 15 9 -11 At Tubman PRE-Packet Pickup – Pull packets/shirts, etc for large groups
Say May 15 11-2 At Tubman First shift
registration/packet pick up – Arrive 15 min early for instruction
Sat May 15 2- 5 At Tubman Second shift
registration/packet pick up – Arrive 15 min early for instruction
Sun May 16 5-7am At Tubman Early Race Day Packet Pickup We want to open by 5:15am
Sun May 16 730-1030 and/or 1000-1230 Course Marshals in Wawaset Park / Little Italy area

Triple Crown recap
On Saturday, Pike Creek Valley Running Club had a great turnout in the Triple Crown 10K at Carpenter State Park north of Newark with twelve runners scoring in the event. PCVRC scored the most points of the four clubs and is now solidly in second place by twenty points over the third place team. It also trails the first place team by about twenty points, but gained seven points in this competition. Apologies for the jumbled order of the results, but this is how they weren’t presented in the database. The grades in bold are the top five scores counted for the team score.

PLACE 10KTIME BIB FNAME LNAME G CITY ST AGE AGE%
99 1:01:16 340 Deborah Compton F Newark DE 61 64.907

76 0:57:08 351 Lorraine Fencer F Wilmington DE 49 59.393
106 1:02:48 416 Tara Huang F Wilmington DE 29 48.301
12 0:43:47 435 Epi Camacho M Wilmington DE 54 72.440
13 0:45:32 460 Ryan German M Newark DE 32 59.443
4 0:41:06 423 Tom Jermyn M Newark DE 47 72.911
2 0:36:34 463 Joshua Loren M Wilmington DE 29 73.473
14 0:45:39 404TC Mudhillon MuQaribu M Bear DE 30 58.963
24 0:47:10 427 Fred Shufflebarger M Unionville PA 61 71.413
38 0:50:39 391 Dan Simmons M Newark DE 62 67.094
70 0:56:23 433 Richard Szymanski M Wilmington DE 45 52.349 355.144

This writer had an up close chance to observe the action for I was going the reserve direction on the course while running the Triple Crown Marathon, which I completed in 5:53:40. I saw everyone twice since I was completing the first loop and then beginning the second as the 10K competitors went by. If you like fording streams and having to stop running in order to step over logs, this is the marathon for you!

Ronald McDonald 5K
Also on Saturday club member Mark Vilardo was the overall winner of the Ronald McDonald 5K, now held at the Wilmington Riverfront, with a time of 15:57.

Ocean City, MD. Half
Meanwhile, farther down the peninsula on Saturday, Jack and Kelly Horwitz ran the Ocean City, MD. Half-Marathon. Reports Jack: Kelly was 2nd female in 1:33:25 and I ran a respectable 1:42:16. The exciting news is that Kelly’s 20 year old neice ran a 1:38:16 in only her second half marathon. There may be some genetic link that could benefit PCVRC in the future!

Country Music Marathon results
And then, there’s the story of the Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon, which was also on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. Club VP Claire Neilan headed up our group for the Half while Club President Ray Christensen reports on the Full:

Tony Chelpaty & I left the room at 5:45 a,m., after watching weather forecasts
for the 10th time in 24 hours. It was warm and humid enough that no
throwaway was required. We walked up West End Ave towards bag check in the
park. Upon approaching the start area, the announcer said “The only change
is that start time has been moved up 15 minutes to 6:45.” Well that’s pretty
darn significant, so we quickened the pace to drop our bags and head for the
potty line, wondering when and how the time change was made public.

Although there was too much talking and not enough music, the announcer felt
no urgency to continue repeating the critical time change message, so
luckily Tony informed the other Rebels as they approached. No rain yet, so
we figured that things were looking up, even though the high was expected to
be 74. Of course, the 6:45 start found runners scrambling into position, with
lots of bewildered participants walking on sidewalks in the opposite
direction during the first several blocks after the gun went off. With
31,000 runners, the wave start helped us find a reasonable pace. But being
in corral 2 of 31 was a bigger help. Mostly downhill for the 2 miles to
downtown helped us relax. Tony and I would run mostly side by side for
almost 10 miles as he pulled me up many of the climbs. Bands rocked us and
high school & grade school cheerleaders pumped us up as advertised.

At 2 miles, we turned on 4th Ave to head back out on Demonbreun Street.
This first big loop included lots of gentle rolling and was highlighted by
the “Musica” statue of naked dancers and a couple ‘beer stops’.
Water/Cyclomax stops were large and well-staffed with spirited volunteers.
Even narrow, tree-lined streets were appropriately full of record studios as
we toured Music City. A slight breeze sometimes was a headwind, but felt
good in cooling us off. Several long stretches of runners coming the
opposite way were fun and back downtown we eventually arrived at the 11.5
mile split off of the half marathoners, which greatly diminished our
numbers. Tony’s pace slowed, so a gap was developing between us. I was
also de-motivated realizing that we still hadn’t reached the halfway point.

Two minutes ahead of our 3:30 time pace was reasonable, but with spaced out
runners, it was harder work. I settled in to a true 8:00/mile pace
(maintaining the 2 minute cushion) for a few miles, but although there were
less hills in the 2nd half, the sun sometimes peeked out to intensify the
heat. We silently ran on some wide industrial streets until enjoying a
scenic 2 mile stretch on a levee along the Cumberland River. A short but
steep downhill signaled our turn back to town to complete this second loop.
At mile 19, we re-joined the throng of half marathoners as they headed for
their finish, crossing the bridge towards the Titans football stadium. At
mile 20 there were plenty of finish area spectators, but then we were eerily
alone again for the final 10K.

I was struggling to try to maintain a sub-3:30 finish, but was losing
ground. Another stretch along the river and around a park helped make loop
3 more bearable. Just before mile 24, I was passed by the 3:30 pacer (whom
we had not found in the corral). That was disheartening, since I couldn’t
stay with him. To make matters worse, he was alone, having lost his entire
group. A lone runner carrying a pacer sign is depressing. Then we again
experienced the oncoming runners, as the clouds darkened and a few raindrops
fell. I hadn’t totally lost my stride, but didn’t have the legs to move
faster. Mile 25 was good to see, but just before the last water stop I was
surprised to see a steady stream of runners coming around a corner to join
us. I was afraid to ask what brought them there and even wondered if I had
made a wrong turn but I definitely had not run on this street before.
Besides, all of my concentration was focused on finishing.

The sore left Achilles that had hampered my training could be felt since
mile 8, but never really worsened and I didn’t encounter any other specific
aches or pains. Only hills and humidity to blame for a tough run. I was
moving at a faster pace than the main group, so passing runners was a
positive, but sharing my finish time with slower runners was a negative,
especially since I still didn’t know where and when they’d been diverted. I
enjoyed the home stretch as much as possible, with a half-hearted kick being
cheered by a good number of spectators and my 3:32:30 chip time didn’t
really make me unhappy.

Less than 2 minutes after finishing, rain started falling and lightning was
visible. Wind kicked up as I collected medal, blanket, water, bananas and
whatever I could fit in my Race-Ready shorts pouch. Of course, most of the
25,000 half marathoners had already finished so the finish area was mobbed.
It was also very chaotic, with few signs explaining where to go. By the
time I found bag check (at furthest point from the finish), I had declared
that organization was a mess. By now, it was pouring and people were
crowding under tents, stadium entrances and anyplace else for shelter.
Since I found myself near the beer tent, I grabbed one and squeezed in with
other storm victims. The rain would not stop, so I kept eating my
provisions and grabbed another beer. The wind and downpour only got worse,
so I finally did some stretching with one hand while holding the foil
blanket closed with the other, since it was windy, wet and cool. I spoke
with 2 different young guys who had completed their first marathon, one in
3:37 and one around 4 hours, who turned out to be one of the last to pass
before runners started getting diverted at mile 20.5 or so. They were
happy. I also spoke with 2 ladies who had been diverted while trying to
complete their first marathon. They were sad — as were many others.

Mainly due to the weather, the marathon portion of the race had become a
fiasco. I wondered how they’d figure finish times and even who had finished
the full, since there were no mats past the diversion point. I later found
out that Tony had created his own diversion course, finishing in the half
marathon chute. Dar had been part of the regular diverted group. Race
management would eventually go through results by hand to determine which
“category” each runner fell into (including the previously discussed
“marathoners being diverted to the half marathon finish”, essentially
running the half marathon. About 720 of us completed the full, another
1,000 diverted to 21 or so miles and maybe 2,000 being forced to run the
half. Don’t expect too many good reviews at MarathonGuide.com!

There was still one more “leg” to my adventure. Certainly the 10 half
marathoners in our group had headed to the hotel or downtown to seek proper
shelter in a bar. As the beer tent was being torn down, I started my wet 2
mile walk across the bridge through downtown towards the hotel. Several
other stragglers were also limping back across the bridge and I started
talking with another idiot who happened to be headed to a hotel even farther
up the street than ours. We joked with each other as a deluge of rain fell
on us and lightning sometimes lit up the sky. Every corner was like a river
crossing and soon many of the sidewalks were 2 inches deep with water. It
wasn’t the safest thing to be doing and I told him that his wife was gonna kill him.
Full story, with photos, of our weekend trip will be online at
http://www.RebelRunners.com by Saturday.

PCVRC Nashville runners (all are Half unless noted):
Ray Christensen (full) 3:32:30
Tony Chelpaty (self-diverted from full)
Claire Neilan 1:47:06
Gelsomina Paolini 2:09:43
Rachel Bleacher 2:14:51
Lori Culnane 2:14:52
Jordan Fridman 2:14:52

For the perspective of another person on Nashville, see the account from Dana Casanave, who is attempting to run 52 marathons in 52 weeks to raise money for aids orphans in South Africa. Being one of the people diverted from the marathon course, she went to a local gym and ran over five miles on a threadmill in order to complete 26.2 miles. http://www.52beginnings.com

Save the Children 5K
On Sunday, David James won the Matthew Bowers Save the Children 5K in Newark in 19:21.

Also participating in that race after months away with a mysterious debilitating problem was April Hubbard, who has finally recovered. After many inconclusive medical tests, she believes the problem may have been brought on by an auto-immune response to a series of bee and wasp stings. This writer happened to meet April out in White Clay Creek State Park on Friday while helping to set the trail for the Triple Crown races. She told me she feels like a real runner again because she fell on trail. Yeah, I’m a charter member of that club! Welcome back, April!

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/