It was foggy and cool. Perfect running weather. Congratulations and good job to everyone!
-Win
Beautiful day with leaves flying, sun and warmth!!! Congratulations to those who raced!
-Win
Categories
Category: Cross Country
Destry (2nd from right) and the SRC squadron at the Emerald City Open
Photo: Win Van Pelt
I had dedicated the second half of 2012 to the preparation for and the successful execution of…the 2012 New York City Marathon. But I’ll get to that in a minute.
Having run the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon every year since the inaugural 2009 race, I was excited to put down a solid half time in June of 2012. Unfortunately, the course had been changed from a one-way course to a loop course with much more difficult terrain. It wasn’t exactly a fast race before and the changes certainly didn’t make it any faster. I knew the course had been altered going into the race, of course, but I hadn’t scouted it out in detail. I knew the race…sorta, kinda…it was to head down from Seattle, cross Beacon Hill and then head back up around the stadium area to finish at Seattle Center. I took off and cruised through about the first half of the race on pace, but I slowed in the second half as the hills caught up with me. Boy, make sure you scout your course: Lesson Learned…again. I’m supposed to be older and wiser now, aren’t I? There was much carnage on the course and I didn’t fare too bad over all, finishing in 8th place with a time of 73:29.
August came before I knew it and that means the Seafair Torchlight 8k. Torchlight is one of my favorite races, hands down, even though I think the older course(s) were much, much better than the current version. It’s summer time, the race is in the evening, the course rolls through the parade route…it’s just all good. Well, until that last climb at the finish. They should change that…REALLY should change that. Anyway, I had been ramping the mileage up in August and I came into the race tired and ran my slowest time ever. At least it was still fun and I didn’t get lost like many of the 5k leaders did. Many of them ran 10k or more as they were still heading South when the 8k racers looped back toward Seattle Center! To top it all off I ended up with the flu the next day – honestly, who gets the flu in August?!
In September I decided to run the Joint Base Lewis McChord Half Marathon. I figured it would be a good way to gauge my fitness and probably run a decent time. The day was beautiful, with Mt. Rainier majestically rising in the east as the sun came up. The course is excellent, with just a few rolling hills. It’s definitely a PR course. With all the training and 100+ mile weeks I was unable to hang on for a real fast time, however, and finished 2nd in 71:50.
Emerald City Open
Photo: Win Van Pelt
Having missed some of my favorite cross country races due to training or preparation for the JBLM Half, I was anxious to at least run in one cross race before New York. Seattle University’s Emerald City Open provided the opportunity and the shock and awe of the differences in training for 8 or 10k versus the marathon became evident quickly. Slow and steady didn’t win the race for me, but I did finish in 12th place with a 26:44. My ankles were sore for days due to my marathon training on mostly roads and paved trail.
In late October I recall watching the news coverage of a tropical storm-then-hurricane named Sandy as it decimated various areas in the Caribbean. “Glad I’m not headed that far South when I go East in a few weeks,” I remember thinking. Well as fate would have it, Sandy crashed into New York one week before the 43rd running of the New York City Marathon. “This is NYC,” I thought,” no way a storm will keep them down for a week. If there is one city on earth ready for anything, it’s NYC. Right?”
Monday and Tuesday more details became available: it had been a real whopper. No power, no gas, flooding, all three local airports closed until further notice, beaches gone, houses gone, a crane dangling in shambles from a Manhattan skyscraper. I had prepaid for some of my hotel stay, no refunds. I had paid for our airfare with points, no refunds. I had logged 1,251 miles from July 1st to the Tuesday before the race. Do I check in for my flight at 6:30AM Thursday if Newark is open?
I had been fortunate enough to qualify for the sub-elite group and thus had some good contacts with the NYRR association. Tuesday I called the elite/sub-elite coordinator to find out more information. I learned that the race coordination center was up and running, trying to rebook elite athletes from all over the world on flights later in the week. They had been told by the mayor’s office that the race would go on: the city needed the 370 million dollars the race brings in. Perhaps I would go after all. Wednesday I called again to make sure I wouldn’t be displacing any recently made homeless locals if I was to travel to NYC. I was assured that there was plenty of room and they wanted my business. Newark had just reopened. “OK,” I thought, “it’s on!”
As our plane turned in on final approach to Newark runway 22L, we had a view of Manhattan. Everything looked normal from the air. Once we landed and got inside the airport we found it sparsely populated. The van ride to midtown took us by lowland marsh areas where you could see storage containers and supply sheds near radio/TV towers that were in shambles, 3 mile gas lines, a traffic jam at the entrance of the Lincoln tunnel like I’ve never seen before and as many dead signal lights as one can imagine. You think traffic is crazy in Jersey? Try it without any traffic lights! Finally we arrived in Manhattan and everything seemed…fine. People were out, Times Square was bright and everything seemed normal. After dinner that night we walked down past Times Square toward 34th where the power was still out at the south end of the island. It was a very odd site indeed to see half of New York City bright and bustling behind us and then an imaginary line marked where power stopped and we looked down into a forest of cold, dark skyscrapers. Apocalyptic movies came to mind.
Friday came and I needed to go for a little run and pick up my packet at the runner’s expo. With breakfast came the worst effect of the storm we personally experienced: the hotel restaurant was out of wheat bread. As I ran up to Central Park I saw the now infamous crane dangling from a skyscraper. Our hotel was located two blocks away. Central Park was closed due to trees and branches being down, but it was a fraction of the devastation the Puget Sound saw last winter when an inch or so of ice covered everything. That afternoon we took the bus down to the runner’s expo, picked up my race packet and headed back to the hotel. My number for the 43rd running of the New York City Marathon was active! “It looks like I’ll be running this thing, after all,” I thought. At 5PM when we returned to the hotel I stopped by the elite runners suite to make sure everything seemed to be coming together. It looked like everyone who planned to run was going to make it in and the race really was a go! Thirty minutes later as my wife and I got ready for dinner we heard an announcement on the news: “There is a rumor that the New York Marathon has been canceled; press conference to come momentarily.” I couldn’t believe it, the mayor had gone on world news just a few days ago essentially begging runners from around the world to still come, and spend our money, in New York. The NYRR association had told me 30 minutes earlier that everything was coming together…and now it’s canceled?! I rushed up stairs and found the NYRR folks and many runners watching the news amongst murmurs. Nobody could believe it, including the NYRR employees there with the elite athletes. There had been no advance notice to any of them.
Destry & Amy Hastings
I think there were decent arguments to be made either way for both going ahead with the race or canceling it. What is unbelievable to me is the indecisiveness of the mayor’s office and it’s inability to communicate in an effective manner and timeline. I’m only speculating, but I do not think Rudy Giuliani would have handled the situation as Bloomberg did. He would have made a decision early and sold people on it with facts and data. That’s what clear leadership does. We were heading out to dinner Friday just after the news as two large groups of runners were arriving…they hadn’t heard the race was canceled until they got into the lobby of the hotel. One included about 15 folks from Japan and another was larger than 30 from Australia. I’m sure they would have preferred even more than me for a firm decision to be made earlier in the week. It’s certainly the truth that any of us traveling to NY for the marathon and were put out both financially and with our time have it much better than those who lost everything due to hurricane Sandy. But the mayor didn’t have to cause more problems with his indecisiveness.
With the race now canceled my wife and I had some time on our hands. We had heard of people volunteering in various areas, but reports were that there were too many people trying to help and the vast majority just stood around for hours as there wasn’t anything to do. As we walked through the city we realized the best thing we could do was to support local business, as many were not being patronized as they normally would. We went to a couple Broadway shows, ate good food and enjoyed ourselves. We also decided to leave Sunday afternoon instead of Wednesday afternoon.
Sunday morning I thought I’d go for a run. I mean, I had planned on it anyway! When I got to the lobby of the hotel Sunday morning I was greeted by droves of runners. Some wearing their number, some wearing their number upside down. Apparently all the runners in attendance for the NY marathon were going on a Sunday run too. The experience was quite surreal, as ran around the island I would see two runners here, fifty there, a few thousand running here and there in Central Park. Even down in Battery Park there were hundreds of runners. Nearly everywhere I turned I saw runners. It was awesome – every day should be like that America! Interestingly enough, one of the runners out and about in Central Park was Edgar Martinez’s wife Holly, who had organized an impromptu marathon around the park. I had the opportunity to meander over and chat with Edgar for a few minutes after the crowds died down. He not only is one of my favorite baseball players of all time, but one heck of a nice guy!
Destry & Edgar Martinez
In all, I’m not sorry my wife and I took the trek out to New York for the non-marathon. I feel as though I supported various businesses, both large and small, including Rupert’s Deli, in the process. My heart goes out to those victims of the storm and I hope my donations go to good use as they rebuild and get back on their feet. And like Arnold Schwarzenegger always says, “I’ll be back.”
Second half of 2012 race summary
Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon: 73:29, 8th place
Seattle Torchlight 8k: 26:49, 9th place
Joint Base Lewis McChord Half Marathon: 71:50, 2nd place
Emerald City Seattle U 8k XC Open: 26:44, 12th place
New York Marathon: DNS…well, nobody did
Each Brooks Team member has accomplished a lot this year. Some are fantastic race highlights, particularly on the trails. Beyond racing, their efforts show that they are deeply involved in the local running community, giving back in many different volunteer ways and also being wonderful ambassadors for the sport, for SRC and for Brooks. Here is what occurred for members in the second half of 2012:
Travis Boyd
I volunteered for the second time in 2012 at the Cougar Mountain Race Series on October 28th. I also enjoyed running with and helping the Kamiak High School Cross Country team for speed workouts during the week and watching the boys team take first place at the conference and regional meet.
I ran several cross country races this season. My first XC race of the year was at Sundodger where I ran 25:39 for 8k and got 24th. Then at the Western Washington Classic on October 6th I ran 32:19 for 10k and got 26th place. At my next race, Emerald City on October 13, I finished my highest place of the year at 5th place. On October 27th I hit the roads and raced the Snohomish River Run Half Marathon in
Everett, WA and placed 1st in a time of 1:09:09.
Marlene Farrell
Image:Trisha SteidlI ran a lot of trails this summer for the joy of it and also to stay injury-free. I enjoyed a couple months of not racing until I ran the Cougar Mountain half marathon trail race and came in first with a time of 1:56:09. I also helped with timing after my race. I raced with the SRC cross country team at three races this fall, Sundodger, Emerald City and PNTFs. My highest placing was at Sundodger, where I finished 2nd in the Women’s Open race in a time of 22:02. I kept my racing fun by inserting three low-key races into my late fall. As a giant candy cane I ran and won the Leavenworth Pumpkin Run 6.5k. I also won the Turkey on the Run 12k in Wenatchee and set a new course record for the Pigtails Marathon in a time of 3:02:09. I love doing events for good causes and ones in which I see a lot of friends. Now that it’s winter, I am focused on cross country skiing, ski coaching and ski racing. Come spring I hope to run the Sunflower trail marathon and one or more Cougar Mountain races.
My main volunteer efforts this year were my springtime running club for 75 elementary kids and my assistant coaching for the high school cross country team. I hope to continue both endeavors in 2013, with the hope of sharing my love of running, providing kids with a healthy after-school activity, and helping kids of all ages work toward running and fitness goals. I also write a blog for RunWenatchee.com (and occasionally for SRC) to share stories and inspiration about running. I was only able to volunteer at one SRC race, but I am taking over the coordination of the Brooks team, in terms of updates, apparel needs and hopefully organizing for Brooks team members to make a strong showing at certain events in 2013.
Max Ferguson
My summer started out phenomenally, following another disappointing Vancouver Marathon (3rd time, still haven’t gotten it nailed!). I chronicled the early portion of the summer in a blog post for the SRC. After a week long break following my victory at the Cougar Mountain 13 miler I began my build up for my upcoming assault on the Cle Elum 25k CR. I held a steady diet of long runs along the Wonderland Trail encircling Mt. Rainier. After months of phenomenal training and preparation, Cle Elum was cancelled at the last minute due to smoke. Using my fitness, I traveled to Mt. St. Helens and, despite a very scary dehydration situation, managed to squeak under six hours for the Loowit Trail. This sets an official FKT, and beats the winning time run a week prior at the Mt. St. Helens 50k. I will return next summer, and, with better knowledge of the course, hope to bring that record under five hours.
My fitness was at an all time high leading into XC season. However, my quickness seemed to have faded a bit over the summer. XC season flew by in a lactic haze, the only lasting memory being a slightly disappointing 35:53 at PNTFs, and a more uplifting 5th place at the NW regional XC meet.
This left me with one last race for the year before I was able to curl up in the fetal position and endure some much deserved R&R, Amica Seattle Half Marathon. Placing 3rd last year, I had high hopes for finishing top 5 regardless of who was there. The race went out brutally hard, and I was relegated to ‘hanging on’ for 10 miles until I FINALLY began to feel a smidgen of competitive juices. Rallying, I managed to hold off several other runners, and gain on the rest of the field. I finished 9th in 1:13:59. Not quite the time I wanted, or the place, but, given how poorly I felt before and during the race, I feel it is a testament to a base of fitness I had hidden away for months on end. The culmination of this year is a very real new year’s resolution to not train for road marathons for a full two years, and focus on the trails. My success there is hard to ignore, and I hope to add to the ever growing list of top finishes and course records I have been amassing off the roads.
Destry Johnson
Sunday morning I thought I’d go for a run. I mean, I had planned on it anyway! When I got to the lobby of the hotel Sunday morning I was greeted by droves of runners. Some wearing their number, some wearing their number upside down. Apparently all the runners in attendance for the NY marathon were going on a Sunday run too. The experience was quite surreal, as ran around the island I would see two runners here, fifty there, a few thousand running here and there in Central Park. Even down in Battery Park there were hundreds of runners. Nearly everywhere I turned I saw runners. It was awesome – every day should be like that America! Interestingly enough, one of the runners out and about in Central Park was Edgar Martinez’s wife Holly, who had organized an impromptu marathon around the park. I had the opportunity to meander over and chat with Edgar for a few minutes after the crowds died down. He not only is one of my favorite baseball players of all time, but one heck of a nice guy!
In all, I’m not sorry my wife and I took the trek out to New York for the non-marathon. I feel as though I supported various businesses, both large and small, including Rupert’s Deli, in the process. My heart goes out to those victims of the storm and I hope my donations go to good use as they rebuild and get back on their feet. And like Arnold Schwarzenegger always says, “I’ll be back.”
Read more about Destry’s 2012 racing season…
Trisha Steidl
In August I raced the Cougar Mountain Half. Unfortunately somewhere on/near DeLeo Wall I smashed my right heel down on a rock and bruised it severely. Two minutes later I did the same thing in the same place, causing an immense amount of pain, leaving me unable to run normally. I ran as best as I could for the remainder of the race, which got me a 2nd place finish. After the race I wasn’t able to stand on my right foot. Long story short, I fractured my heel and, not too surprisingly, wasn’t able to run much. It’s been almost five months since then and the past three weeks finally put me back closer to my normal mileage and training. I’m still not 100% as my body adjusts to a new way of running and getting stronger, but there has been a lot of positive movement over the past couple of weeks and I look forward to getting back in shape and doing some racing again.
The lack of my own running allowed me to focus more energy on my team. The men finished 3rd and the women 6th in their first WAC XC Championship. My top guy, Erik Barkhaus, also won the conference meet and, thus, earned the Athlete of the Year award! The teams went on to finish 16th and 23rd respectively at the toughest regional championships in the nation, which was held on the same course as the 2011 Club Nationals race. Again, Barkhaus ran very well, finishing 15th in the Region. This earned him all-region honors. The team did our annual volunteering at Cougar Mountain, which gave SRC 60+ hours of work time to go towards our requirements to be able to host the Cougar Series. We have some pictures posted on our SU XC/T&F Facebook site.
Lance Thompson
I had a spring full of strong 5km races and 2nd place at the Cougar Mountain 5 Mile Race. I placed 3rd in the Cougar Mountain 8 miler. In the early summer, I had the first of a few injuries that kept me from racing the second half of the year. I then ran as a volunteer pacer helping those who wanted to break 3 hours through the first half of the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon in Seattle. I volunteered for a work party at Cougar Mountain, and also volunteered during the Cougar Mountain 50K as an aid station worker.
Wendy Wheeler Jacobs
After completing my racing season with a 100 mile endurance run in July, I focused on volunteering. In July I worked the first and last aid stations at White River 50 Miler.
In August I managed the marking for the Cascade Crest 100 Mile. I also participated in the WTA hike-a-thon, covering 250+ trail miles in the month to raise money for this cause. I swept the course for one of the Cougar Mountain races.
In September to October I volunteered my time on the “Tribute to the Trails” 2013 calendar, a fundraiser for the WTA. I was elected president of the board for the WTA and now lead the strategic planning effort for that organization. I will be working registration at Bridle Trails. I put in a lot of back-country mountain miles in the fall, mostly in the Goat Rocks Wilderness region, exploring trails there in between forest fires.
Two hundred images from a beautiful fall day full of cross country racing here in Seattle at Lower Woodland Park. Seattle Running Club also debuted their slick new jerseys!
The USATF Pacific Northwest Open Cross Country Championships.
November 4, 2012
All images © John Wallace III
Categories
2012 Sundodger XC Images
The Seattle Running Club XC teams had their 2012 debut on a beautiful day in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park. Results from the races can be found here.
Lincoln Park, Seattle, WA
Sep 15th, 2012
All Photos by John Wallace III
Categories
Sundodger!
I have a race in one week. The day is circled on my calendar. Every day I jot down my training and the circle haunts me from its space one row down. I haven’t tailored my training for this race and yet I harbor a mini-obsession about it.
Because I’ve run this race before and it spells FALL. I can run a marathon in any weather, anywhere. The first trail race of the year denotes spring on muddy trails adorned with wildflowers. But September means cross country. And my first cross country race is Sundodger.
If you think cross country is only for high school and college runners, you’ll be surprised to know there is a thriving Master’s division of cross country in the Pacific Northwest as well as throughout the country. It is the arena where seasoned road racers, track stars and trail runners meet and the strengths of each discipline are necessary for success.
Sundodger is not a fun run. People don’t dress in goofy costumes and gorge themselves at a finish line buffet. We are dressed in uniforms. We are a team, bravely facing off other teams. Bravery is requisite because we’re Masters competing in a college meet, so we’ll be tearing it up against legs and lungs half our age.
Sundodger – I love the name. It evokes images of heavy clouds bombarding runners who must dodge a gauntlet of raindrops. The race, however, means something different to me. True, the sun is scarce in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park. And dodging does describe the style of racing. It’s not raindrops that I’m dodging. I’m dodging the other women, their elbows pink from the cold, like jabbing weapons as I weave around them. It is dodging in tight, feather-light spikes around turns in the trail, stepping on the balls of my feet, pushing off roots and edges of puddles and pivoting, my ankles working hard, coordinating with my core to steer me.
Cross country gives me the exhilarating feel of a herd in flight. Maybe for some it is like being in a pack of wolves. But for me, it’s like I’m a deer. I’m running together with the herd but I’m always trying to break ahead, not necessarily victory seeking. Rather, I’m pushed by a fear of being at the back, of being devoured, engulfed. The whites of my eyes likely show, though I never look back.
There’s more adrenaline packed into the 22 minutes of the 6k for me than is spread out in an entire marathon. My race is about intense alertness and physical intent.
I hope readers are not turned off by this extreme description. Cross country is not all seriousness. There are elements of fun and team camaraderie. Honestly, I am one who hated cross country in high school but love it now, for its purity and quintessence in the vast milieu of weekend races. I manage to drive five hours round-trip several times each fall because the obsession hasn’t weakened its grip on me.