I’m now halfway through my fall racing schedule and things feel like they are starting to come together. Greg, Joe and I traveled to Western NY to meet up with Derrick and race in the USATF Masters 5k Championships. I’ve done this race one other time back in 2014 as part of Roadkill and I ran my 40+ 5k PR of 16:14. Back then I was striving to break 16 minutes, this year I had a much more modest target of helping the team win a national championship.
We finally got a break in the weather with the start time temps in the low 50’s and no wind. While none of the CMS team had an exemplary performance, we all ran solid races and that was just what was needed to take the win.
- 49:04 CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS ( 16:22)
1 16:03 Greg Putnam 47 Stoneham MA
2 16:20 Derrick Jones 45 Henrietta NY
3 16:41 Joshua Perks 43 Windham NH
4 ( 16:55) Joe Shairs 49 Peabody MA
- 50:21 GARMIN RUNNERS ( 16:47)
1 16:25 Brian Crowley 52 Hillsborough NJ
2 16:33 Mark Williams 44 Columbia NJ
3 17:23 Peter Kashulines, Jr. 54 Mountain Lakes NJ
4 ( 18:15) Robert Decarlo, Jr. 40 Saddle Brook NJ
5 ( 19:57) Joel Garrell 59 Morristown NJ
- 51:08 ADIDAS GARDEN STATE TRACK CLUB ( 17:03)
1 16:42 Thomas Knowles 41 Oakland NJ
2 17:01 Chuck Schneekloth, Jr.40 Franklin NJ
3 17:25 Gary Leaman 58 Hardwick NJ
https://leonetiming.com/2017/Roads/Festival/USATFMenOverall.htm
I wanted to say a special thanks to Dave Oja, who directed all 25 years of the Syracuse Festival of Races. Having directed the Wally Waddle 5k for 8 years I have just the tiniest bit of understanding of the amount of time and effort that goes into putting on an event like the Festival of Races. Dave is stepping down as the director and it is uncertain anyone will take up the mantel to keep the race going, but I hope someone does. There is a shortage of well run AND highly competitive races and the Festival Races would be sorely missed. A Syracuse news station did a nice piece on Dave and the race, which you can watch HERE (look for a certain blogger finishing at around 45 seconds.)
Next Sunday is the USATF Masters 5k Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park in Boston. The competition is shaping up to be a bit tougher for that race than for the Syracuse race, but the 5 man scoring plays in our favor. We will be fielding a very deep roster to take on the likes of BAA and the Atlanta Track Club both of whom were absent from last weeks race. This will be my first cross country race 2 years, and I’m excited to lace up the spikes and see what I can do to help the team win 2 championships in a row.