PRTC Weekly: 04/29/2019 (OTQ's, London, Penn, and More)
Race Results
Long Branch, NJ: What a weekend! Among many race highlights, the New Jersey Marathonstands out as the clear lead story for our newsletter. Sunday morning dawned with perfect conditions and PRTC took to the Jersey Shore like Bruce Springsteen at an Asbury Park stage.
Meghan Bishop, Kylie Pearse, and Kinjal Parikh struck out from the start with a very clear goal. Qualify for the Olympic Trials. The trio shared many months of rigorous training as well as pacing duties throughout portions of the race. When the dust from 26.2 miles of racing settled, Meghan Bishop emerged as the winner. Her 2:42:17 placed her well below the 2020 Trials standard. The time was also an impressive PR of more than 5 minutes. Way to go, Meghan! Kylie Pearse claimed second and her own OTQ by following with a 2:43:02! This time is more than 7 minutes faster than her previous best. Congrats, Kylie! The sweep of the podium was completed by Kinjal Parikh's third place finish. Her 2:45:31 was heartbreakingly close to the standard. All the same, this was a PR of almost 4 minutes after her 2018 debut in Philly. We're all very proud!
Sean Clark claimed 1st overall male with a stellar 2:25:51. His race day story was expertly captured by the Asbury Park Press. We'll let their reporter take it from here: "The man who placed first in the 2019 New Jersey Marathon wasn’t even sure that he’d be running Sunday. It had nothing to do with a balky hamstring or jittery nerves. He was physically ready, but he had just landed from a multi-day bachelor party in South Carolina for his best friend a mere 24 hours before the marathon kicked off at 7:30 a.m. at Monmouth Park. Sean Clark, a 33-year-old from Philadelphia, admits that the bachelor party was a fun, albeit crazy, time, but it certainly wasn’t advantageous to take part in only one day before a 26.2-mile marathon. But Clark woke up to perfect running weather on Sunday. It wasn’t too hot, with temperatures sitting in the mid-to-upper 50s, and the cloud cover and low humidity were the perfect setting for Clark to capture his first ever marathon win with a finish of 2:25:51. “It feels pretty surreal,” Clark said. “I feel like we went a little overboard the last few days, so my expectations were all over the place, but it went really well. My wife and baby were out on the course, so it was nice seeing them.” Clark said that his flight in from the Charleston bachelor party was a bumpy one, and the crazy turbulence caused him to vomit on the plane. It didn’t look good at that point, but he decided to give the marathon a go. It paid off as he crossed the finish line along the beach in Long Branch."
Preshita Gadkari's day at beach was rewarded with a PR of her own in the half marathon distance. She placed 42nd with a 1:35:13 besting her previous fastest effort by over a minute. She was joined by new member Arianna Watters who ran 1:41:03 for 79th. Great job!
Results
Sean Clark: 2:25:51 (1st) PR
Meghan Bishop: 2:42:17 (1st) PR
Kylie Pearse: 2:43:02 (2nd) PR
Kinjal Parikh: 2:45:31 (3rd) PR
Preshita Gadkari: 1:35:13 (42nd) PR
Arianna Watters: 1:41:03 (79th)
Full results here.
Asbury Park Press article here.
London, UK: Not to be outdone, but on the other side of the pond, Colin Leak had his own standout performance Sunday morning. He was the first American finisher at the London Marathon! Colin's 2:15:02 placed him 24th overall. London is considered a World Marathon Major. Needless to say, first American is a "major" accomplishment. Colin was honored to represent the U.S.A as the first finisher and nearly PR'd during the effort. Colin crossed the half marathon mark at a speedy 1:06:37 slowing only slightly in the 2nd half. Safe trip home Colin and congrats!
Results
Colin Leak: 2:15:02 (24th)
Full results here.
Philadelphia, PA: The 125th Annual Penn Relays saw the team in familiar territory. PRTC had a strong showing at Franklin Field beginning with Distance Night on Thursday. Kaitlin Frei kicked things off for the club with a solid 5k race. She ran 17:25 for 24th place in the fast heat. Much much later... the men's 10k began. At 11 PM, and way past his (and his kid's) bedtime, Paul Matuszak ran a 30:52 for 17th and immediately vowed to never race so late at night again. Matt Kane had a better experience in his club debut. He recorded a nicely paced 30:56 for 18th. We're thrilled to have him on board! Alex Predhome's 32:02 was his fastest 10k on the season. Chris Mateer was 28th with a 32:25. All will return for the BSR.
On Saturday in front of a full house, Chris Hatler's found his way onto the club record board again. He was featured in the Men's Olympic Development Mile. Chris placed 7th with a 4:07.59 besting Brian Gallagher's 4:08:48 mile from 2004 which was also run at Penn Relays. Nice work, all!
Results
Kaitlin Frei: 17:25 (24th) 5k
Paul Matuszak: 30:52 (17th) 10k
Matt Kane: 30:56 (18th) 10k
Alex Predhome: 32:02 (27th) 10k
Chris Mateer: 32:25 (28th) 10k
Chris Hatler: 4:07:59 (7th) Mile
Full results here.
Valley Forge, PA: The 2019 USATF Grand Prix Circuit challenge marched on with the Valley Forge Revolutionary Run on Sunday morning. Dylan Gearinger led the charge for PRTC by claiming 1st overall. His 25:01 bodes well for Broad Street this coming Sunday. Joe Binder (also appearing at Broad Street) tuned up and scored a third place finish at this race with a 27:18. Harsha Thirumurthy followed with his first race of the year after being sidelined with a tibial stress fracture for all of February of March. He reports feeling "pleased" with his 29:21 effort which earned him 9th overall and 2nd in his AG. Best of all, he was pain free! Alexis Geslin rounded out the scoring for the club at 33:56.
Results
Dylan Gearinger: 25:01 (1st)
Joe Binder: 27:18 (3rd)
Harsha Thirumurthy: 29:21 (9th)
Alexis Geslin: 33:56 (37th)
Full results here.
Narberth, PA: Finally, the club swept the podium at the Narberth Take A Breather 5 Miler. Liz Barrett took the top spot and completed 5 miles in just under 30 minutes at 29:59. Katie Rodden tailed for 2nd at 30:16 and Abby Cember recently returned from her Boston Marathon performance was 3rd with 31:43.
Results
Liz Barrett: 29:59 (1st)
Katie Rodden: 30:16 (2nd)
Abby Cember: 31:43 (3rd)
Full results here.
Upcoming Runs, Events, & Races
Tuesday: Franklin Field at 6:30 (warm-up at 6:15. Organize workouts via Slack.)
Sunday: Long run at 9:00 AM from Lloyd Hall.
May 5th, 2019: Broad Street Run (Philadelphia, PA) *
May 11th, 2019: Great Cape May Foot Race (Cape May, NJ)
June 2nd, 2019: Philly Run Fest (Philadelphia, PA)
June 9th, 2019: USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships (Scranton, PA)
* Denotes USATF Mid-Atlantic Grand Prix Event
