Tri This on for Size: YMCA Runners Tackle St. Anthony's; Everyone Else Reports to Corporate (5k)

As if running isn't enough, several of our more talented (and athletically ADD) YMCA Runners competed in the St. Anthony's Triathlon this past weekend. For the uninitiated, or merely unimpressed, the Olympic distance requires a 1.2 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. "Vomit/Hurl" and "Pass Out/EMS" are optional categories. There was also the possibility of being @#$%!! slapped by Obama's former pastor, which was a last minute add on by the event management team.

We expected our runners to impress, and impress they did. Mike Easterling finished in the top quarter of the "Elite Amateur" division (is that like blondish brown hair?). Easterling’s elite time bested several of the professionals, and Carey Rothschild brought home a first place age group win. Rob Hambrecht and Erwin (EJ) Wunderlich are due for a rematch after they finished 5 seconds apart--their times put them in the top 5% of their age group and overall. Also noteworthy is the performance put in by Jeff Tecau, who we are convinced is the subject of some mad genius science experiment. Tecau, fresh off his 3:00:08 Boston Marathon, ran the Corporate 5k on Thursday in 18:33 before competing in St. Anthony's where he finished in the top quarter of his age group and in the top 15% overall. Here are the complete results (overall time / swim / bike / run):

Mike Easterling 2:02:13 / 20:57 / 1:00:04 / 38:47 (6:15 pace)
Carey Rothschild 2:25:28 / 25:31 / 1:11:24 / 45:08 (7:16 pace) (1st Age Group!)
Jamie Doyle 2:18:11 / 24:50 / 1:06:22 / 40:49 (6:35 pace)
Rob Hambrecht 2:14:33 / 24:59 / 1:03:50 / 41:48 (6:44 pace)
Erwin Wunderlich 2:14:38 / 24:20 / 1:03:00 43:42 (7:02 pace)
Judy Nealon 2:55:29 / 34:02 / 1:20:15 / 55:37 (8:57 pace)
Jeff Tecau 2:28:37 / 29:07 / 1:12:01 / 40:34 (6:32 pace)
Kevin Radbill 2:31:59 / 26:52 / 1:17:14 / 43:35 (7:01 pace)
Mark Russell 3:31:01 / 47:09 / 1:23:54 / 1:10:30 (11:21 pace)

Complete Results:

http://www.altavistasports.com/results/2008results/stanthonystriathlon042708.htmlww.altavistasports.com/results/2008results/stanthonystriathlon042708.html



IOA CORPORATE 5K (Thursday, April 24)


A fair number of YMCA Runners were cajoled and coerced into joining their co-workers in the IOA Corporate 5k last Thursday. The race began and ended at the Citrus Bowl and featured a fast course that wound through the verdant neighborhoods nearby. The hot sun and Wrestlemania-size crowd did not deter our runners from achieving some impressive times. This race is an unchipped "fun run", so we have to rely on word of mouth for individual results. Here is what we have so far:

Sean McCormack 17:45
Craig Dobson 17:48 (Just Back from AZ IronMan)
Katy Radkewich 18:06 (Overall Female Winner!)
Tony Stafford 18:28 (Evil Twin of Jeff Tecau, Ran Boston Monday)
Jeff Tecau* 18:33 (Certifiable)

Hector Clemente (20:51)

*This was one of the three "Tecau Challenge Series" events this week, which began with the Boston Marathon and ended with the St. Anthony's Triathlon (see previous story).

YMCA Runners Complete Final Hillbilly Series Race

RUN IN THE GARDEN 5k (April 19, 2008)

YMCA Runner and George Strait Aficionado Teresa Calio led a group of runners in the last of the acclaimed "Hillybilly Racing Series" last Saturday, April 19. The Tri N Run-sponsored event began and ended in Winter Garden's quaint downtown, the kind of place that inspires metro-sexual urbanites to quit their real jobs and open hip coffee houses and art galleries.

Despite being mercilessly heckled by rednecks-in-training Adam Gifford and Tracy Cook, our YMCA Runners scored some impressive hardware. Calio won 1st overall female and Kurt Brewer and Steve Key took 3rd and 4th place overall. Here are the net times for our Hillbilly athletes:

Teresa Calio: 20:12 Overall Female Winner
Steve Key: 18:45 Male Masters Winner, 4th Overall
Kurt Brewer: 18:37 3rd Overall
Hector Clemente: 21:41 (1st Age Group)

Nancy Kitch: 28:09 PR, 3rd Age Group (New to the YMCA & Running Club!)
Terry Kitch: 27:42 2nd Age Group (New to the YMCA & Running Club!)

YMCARunners Get Spacey; Traver Takes the Lakes

Space Coast Walk of Fame 8k (April 12, 2008)

The Space Coast Runners hosted their last event of the running season at the Space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville. The waterfront race began in full view of the NASA shuttle housing, which Kurt Brewer mistook for high rise condo's, and followed two loops along the Indian River (no Indians or casino's were spotted).

This race was one of the more entertaining events of the Hillybilly circuit, as evidenced by a blue grass band composed of bona fide rednecks (see photo above). Runners were also treated to highballs and shots of Canadian Mist along the course by tipsy NASA retirees. YMCA Runners Teresa Calio and Kurt Brewer turned down the hard liquor, but in doing so, were awarded license plate-inspired hardware. We don't call this the Hillbilly Series for nothing! Calio won 2nd Female Overall with a time of 32:46, and Kurt Brewer took 2nd in his age group (8th overall) with a time of 30:28 (PR splits).

Windermere Run Among the Lakes 5k / Lake Nona YMCA 5k

At the time of this posting, the results for the Run Among the lakes race are about as easy to find as a doublewide trailer in Isleworth. That said, our sources tell us that Dan Traver, YMCA Running Club founder and Coach Emeritus, won this little race along the lush landscape of Windermere. We also congratulate Aleks Markovic, who finished 9th overall in the Windermere race.

"Boss" Mark Russell is on the mend as evidenced by his 2nd Age Group finish in the Lake Nona YMCA 5k. Mr. Russell's accomplishments are the untold story this running season, as he has completed somewhere between 12 and 15 half marathons. Now THAT is something you can take to the bank.

YMCARUNNERS BATTLE BOSTON

Boston: Tea parties, baked beans, lawyer shows, baseball. For this writer, Boston was always that mythical childhood place that my family visited in the summer to walk the harbor and tour the New England Aquarium. Boston inspires a similar sense of wonderment for the running elite, when the best marathoners in the world gather for a little springtime run through the suburbs.

The Boston Marathon is the Holy Grail of running, the running equivalent of the Masters. The athletes who compete in this race obtain their admission the hard way: they earn it. Many of the storied races (New York comes to mind) are like elite New England prep schools: there are always those who are there on scholarship. But Boston Marathon participation is based solely on merit, and the athletes who race down the fabled course from Hopkinton to Copley Square are in the best of company: no scholarships available.

The Downtown YMCARunners fielded an exceptional team that brought their "A" game to Beantown. We congratulate our teammates on their incredible achievements. Here are their results:

David Dix 3:06:00
Alan Lawson 3:40:45
Jeff Tecau 3:00:08
Melissa Hummel 3:35:10
Tony Stafford 3:00:55
Donnie McCammon 2:53:21
Dean Ray 3:32:39
Greg Brown 3:19:18
Tim Perry 3:30:28

SHOCK & AWE AT AZ IRONMAN: Kathy Gagnier Stuns the Field; Mike Masur Breaks 12 (And a Few Hearts)

Uber Athletes Kathy Gagnier, Mike Masur, Julie Scott and Craig Dobson competed with other Orlando area YMCA members at the 2008 Arizona Ironman this past weekend (Arizona is the place where they make that great ice tea). Mike "6% Body Fat" Masur led the club with an impressive sub 12 finish, but it was first time IronLady Kathy Gagnier who stomped the competition in her field to place first in her age division and score an invitation to the IronMan World Championship in Kona, HAWAII. Congratulations to our incredible IronPeople.

Here are their impressive results:

Kathy Gagnier: 12:13:02 (1st Age Group) Swim 1:11 / Bike 6:19 / Run 4:31

Craig Dobson: 12:18:45 Swim 1:07 / Bike 6:17 / Run 4:34

Julie Scott: 15:52:45 Swim 1:26 / Bike 7:53 / Run 6:16

Mike Masur: 11:54:32 Swim 1:07 / Bike 6:15 / Run 4:13

PAT MARSHALL WINS GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP!!

The YMCA Running Club is among the best in Florida, and our storied reputation was helped along at the Winter Park Road Race 10k, the final event of the Track Shack Grand Prix Series. Pat Marshall, our very own coach, bar tender and cheerleader ("good job, Tommy, keep it going, Suzy"), captured the Overall Grand Prix Championship. For the uninitiated (or for the 5 or 6 of us who actually care), the Track Shack Grand Prix Racing Series comprises seven races of varying lengths in which the top 10 runners overall and in each age group are awarded points based upon their performance in each event. The points are totaled after the Winter Park Road Race, which is considered the Grand Prix championship event (double points are awarded!).

In addition to Pat's achievement, here are the results for the other YMCA Runners who placed in the Grand Prix Series:

Kathy Gagnier: Female Masters Winner (we've lost track of how many she's won)

Katy Radkewich: 2nd Place Overall / 1st Place Age Group

Aleks Markovic: 1st Place Age Group Winner

Kurt Brewer: 2nd Place Age Group

Nikki (Shaw) Bell: 5th Age Group

Brent Schmierbach: 6th Age Group

YMCA RUNNERS ROLL AT WINTER PARK ROAD RACE 10K

This year’s Winter Park Road Race had more twists and turns than a John Le Carre spy novel. It didn’t matter whether you were tearing around corners a la Jason Bourne or cruising along the bricks picking out your fantasy home: this was an AWESOME race. Pat Marshall, our humble leader, took 4th overall and won the overall Grand Prix Series Championship (see previous article). Katy Radkewich finished 2nd Overall, and Kathy Gagnier took home her, like, 73rd Masters award. Special consideration goes out to Kyle Williams who chose to roll out on his MILESTONE birthday (I’m not saying which one) after a night of debauchery.

As usual, the YMCA Runners brought home a slew of age group awards, PR’s, landscaping ideas and Grand Prix finishes. Here are the results from our incredible runners:

Pat Marshall 33:44 (5:25 pace) 4th Overall, 1st Age Group, GRAND PRIX CHAMPION
Katy Radkewich 36:58 (5:56) 2nd Overall, 2nd Overall / 1st Age Group Grand Prix
Kathy Gagnier 40:37 (6:32) 10k Female Masters, Grand Prix Female Masters Champion
Paul Duckett 36:17 (5:50) 1st Age Group
Kurt Brewer 38:03 (6:07) 3rd Age Group, 2nd Grand Prix Age Group, PR
Hulya Atli 42:15 (6:47) 3rd Age Group, PR
Kirsten Palacios 42:08 (6:46) 2nd Age Group
Bruce Geise 38:51 (6:15) 3rd Age Group
Aleks Markovich 41:21 (6:39) 1st Grand Prix Age Group
Donnie McCammon 37:26 (6:01) (Just moved to Melbourne: Visit us often Kiddo!)
Rob Hambrecht 38:02 (6:07)
Allen Gorney 46:57 (7:33)
Allyson Lodge 48:34 (7:48)
Erin Walsh 49:22 (7:56)
Brent Schmierbach 39:25 (6:20) PR
John Napolitano 42:42 (6:52)
Amanda McCammon 49:41 (7:59)
Carey Rothschild 43:17 (6:57)
Kevin Radbill 41:28 (6:40)
Ken Boral 42:47 (6:53)
David Collias 43:46 (7:02)
Victor Sojos 49:56 (8:02)
Caleb Lawson 59:39 (9:35)
Julie Lawson 1:14 (12:00)
Joe Kivett 48:45 (7:50)
Jeff Thill 46:09 (7:25)
Kyle Williams 47:45 (7:41) (HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY, KYLE!!!)
Mark Russell 56:33 (9:06) (broken toe, strong spirit)
Teresa Tinsley 52:42 (8:28)
Robert Denney 42:34 (6:50)
Glenn Gullikson 45:06 (7:15)
Doug Heimbach 41:25 (6:39)
Shannon Sarkarati 49:35 (7:58)