PRTC Weekly: 05/27/2019 (Memorial Day Weekend Racing and More)
MDW Race Results
Burlington, VT: (Recap of Vermont City Marathon as submitted by Lauren K.)
The weekend getaway started early Friday morning with Christy, Stephanie, Kaitlin, and Lauren embarking on their journey in the heart of East Falls. Despite Christy's excessive packing, they sped off up north with space to spare in the car. The ride was smooth and consistent of games such as Egos Aside, and Christy’s extensive playlist ranging from high school tunes to today's hits, with lots of skips on the hardcore rap. They made their first stop at a rest stop south of Albany. With low expectations, Stephanie and Lauren had salads which were fair and Kaitlin enjoyed her chicken sandwich. Christy’s packing skills proved to be a benefit as she enjoyed a homemade sandwich, yogurt and fruit. Thanks to Christy’s exceptional baking skills, Kaitlin and Lauren enjoyed brownies as they restarted their journey. The ride continued smoothly until they entered the quiet backroads of New York. Despite Steph's excellent navigational skills, they suddenly found themselves at the head of Lake Champlain without any sight of a bridge. After Christy's moderate panic attack, stopped in the middle of the road, they successfully realized they would not have to leave behind their belongings and car, and drove onto the ferry to get from New York to Vermont. Realizing this was a rare opportunity for Diadora photo documentation, they asked fellow passengers to take their picture. In the 30 minute crossing to Vermont, the women took lots of photos, stretched, and laughed about the situation. They eventually arrived safely at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel, sans Kaitlin, as they dropped her off at the Elite college dorm room where she would be staying for the weekend. The women then grabbed dinner at Lauren’s recommendation of Sweetwaters American Bistro. Despite the sub par service, the pasta dishes and sandwich came in at a solid 4.5.
After a good night's sleep, they woke up and did a shakeout run and strides. Lauren hopped in the shower first while Steph and Christy stretched. Despite thinking their shower was broken after Steph couldn't turn it on after that, Mike the maintenance guy fixed it with a quick turn and realized it was just because Lauren shut it off too hard. Lauren’s strength is not to be tested (hulk arms) and they were grateful for the shower to be fixed. Wanting to capitalize on the day, they ate a quick breakfast in the hotel room before heading to the expo. Steph won herself a free pair of sunglasses by performing a Robot dance (as seen on Christy's insta story). At the expo, they enjoyed some free samples of homemade Vermont granola and waffle stinger. They then picked up bib numbers and shirts and triple entered for Christy to win a new bed for herself. Upon Steph's extensive Burlington research and despite the hotel manager's lack of enthusiasm for it, they headed to the world's largest filing cabinet where Diadora/PRTC again made an appearance for a photo opp. Famished from the photo opp, they enjoyed a delicious lunch of sandwiches at the Red Onion Cafe, ranking again a high yelp review of 4.5. Due to the excessive time on their hands, they decided not to go stir crazy in the hotel and instead checked out a giant teddy bear made of hay bales. Wanting to extend Diadora's presence, they found even more Vermont attractions, such as a collection of fire hydrants and a skeleton riding a bike. After the photo shoot was finished, they returned to the hotel and quickly decorated Lauren’s elite water bottles with hot pink sparkly duct tape and silver pipe cleaners. After securing a reservation at the popular Italian restaurant in town, Pascolos, they enjoyed an early pre-race dinner. Lauren’s chicken parm was a. 3.5, while Steph and Christy's veggie pasta dish came in slightly higher at a 4.
With an early anticipated start time of 7am, the women rose at 4:30am to get ready for the race and catch the shuttle. Arriving at 6am, Christy and Steph parted from Lauren as she joined Kaitlin in the elite tent. Minutes after Steph and Christy checked their bags, an announcement on the loudspeaker startled everyone to evacuate Battery Park. Finding out this was storm-related, Steph and Christy found shelter in a police station while Lauren and Kaitlin went to the church. After a 48 minute delay due to what appeared as just rain, the gun went off. With temps that rose ten degrees over the course of the race and humidity starting at 80 percent, race strategy quickly came down to survival. Despite Lauren having raced it previously, the course had several changes including a steep ass hill at mile 15. Additionally, the course was marked with excessive turns, a 50-meter mud pit, and maple syrup shots. Lauren developed a second wind at mile 18 and was able to catch Christy around mile 22 to finish the race off together with a 4 mile progression run, ending in a 6:26 mile, which goes to show how strong their bond is and what they can achieve when together. While Christy and Steph were receiving medical attention (they’re ok), Lauren found Kaitlin and discovered she had a stellar performance of 2nd place and a time of 2:49:26, earning some serious cash. Steph finished 8th in 3:01:43 and Christy and Lauren crossed the line together in 9th and 10th with a time of 3:03:53. Overall, all four women agreed it was a tough day for racing and were proud to persevere despite the conditions. 4 PRTC in the top 10 proved to be a solid showing for the club in Burlington.
Post race celebrations included several breweries with the first stop at Foam Brewery followed by Zero Gravity, where they enjoyed brews and bottomless popcorn. Still hungry and reaching dinner time, they traveled back into town to eat at The Gryphon. All enjoyed burgers and sweet potato nachos, coming in at another 4.5 to round out the excellent Burlington food reviews. The night concluded with a stop at Farmhouse Tap & Grill with local brews and then an early bedtime of 9pm. Kaitlin departed back to Philadelphia with her parents to see her horse, while the other three departed at 6:45am, bypassing the ferry this time. Powering through with fatigue and hobbling legs, they debated getting home in record time, but hunger got the best of them and they made a stop at the always delicious Panera with an hour to go in the ride. Feeling better after sandwiches and salads, the remaining hour went by quickly and without incident. That's a wrap on a memorable weekend up north in Burlington!
Results
Kaitlin Frei: 2:49:26 (2nd)
Steph Fulmer: 3:01:43 (8th)
Christy Cohick: 3:03:53 (9th)
Lauren Kelly: 3:03:53 (10th)
Full results here.
Edison, NJ: PRTC took a trip into hostile territory to take on the Garden State Track Club Twilight Meet. The marquee event of the evening was the 5k. Alex Predhome and Chris Hatler traveled to the race with Breakneck Track Club's finest, Pat McCurry. The trio faced competition from Garden State, Breakneck, and other local harriers. At stake was a growler of beer to be awarded to anyone who broke the 15 minute mark with extra incentives for first overall.
The 5k was pushed back after some logistical confusion and the field thinned out turning the event into essentially a dual meet between Garden State, PRTC, and a few other local guys. Chris Hatler did PRTC proud by "dropping GSTC's (Matt) Gillette like a bad habit" after cranking the pace up 6 laps in. For his part, Alex Predhome turned in another sub 15:30 performance sneaking under the mark by about a second resulting in 5th. Meanwhile, after a long and futile search for track events in the immediate NYC area, Colin McGrath was pleased to discover this race in Edison. He happily leapt at the chance to take the 1500m distance for a spin. This resulted in a very strong 4:01 finish and 4th place. Congrats!
(Thanks to Alex Predhome for help with this recap!)
Results
Chris Hatler: 14:37 (1st) 5000m
Alex Predhome: 15:29 (5th) 5000m
Colin McGrath: 4:01 (4th) 1500m
Full results here.
Fredericksburg, VA: Abby Cember celebrated Memorial Day Weekend in appropriate fashion at the Marines Corp Historic Half where she faced high temperatures. This made her 2nd place finish all the more impressive. She dedicated her effort to, "The Marines and others whom we have lost this year." Way to go Abby!
Results
Abby Cember: 1:27:07 (2nd)
Full results here.
Boston, MA: Ivan Runchkin raced the Run to Remember in Boston. The theme of difficult weather continued in New England's biggest city as wind on the way out and sun on the way back turned the race into a bit of a drag. All the same, Ivan was tough enough to hang and claimed 4th. Great effort!
Results
Ivan Runchkin: 1:18:26 (4th)
Full results here.
Philadelphia, PA: Ethan Rissell turned to the trails in our backyard at the Wissahickon Wanders Spring Series Race #4. As is not infrequent in trail races, Ethan had an unfortunate mistep on a rock which caused some foot issues. He managed to perservere and still land third place. There is one more race at the Wiss this season. For those interested in fun (and FREE) trail racing, check out the Wanderers website here and stay safe!
Results
Ethan Rissell: 40:07 (3rd)
Full results here.
Upcoming Runs, Events, & Races
Tuesday: 6:30 PM from Lloyd (Confirm workout parameters & partners via Slack.)
Sunday: Long run at 9:00 AM from Lloyd Hall.
May 31st: John Hay Memorial Distance Festival (West Chester, PA)
May 31st - June 1st 2019: Music City Distance Festival (Nashville, TN)
June 1st, 2019: Scott Coffee 8k (Moorestown, NJ) *
June 2nd, 2019: Philly Run Fest (Philadelphia, PA)
June 8th & 9th, 2019: Portland Track Festival (Portland, OR)
June 9th, 2019: USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships (Scranton, PA)
June 13th, 2019: Midsummer Night 5k Series (Wynnewood, PA)
June 21st, 2019: Media Five Miler (Media, PA)
June 22nd, 2019: Grandma's Marathon (Duluth, MN)
July 11th, 2019: Midsummer Night 5k Series (Wynnewood, PA)
August 8th, 2019: Midsummer Night 5k Series (Wynnewood, PA)
August 10th, 2019: Philadelphia Mayor's Cup (Philadelphia, PA)
August 25th, 2019: The Philly 10k (Philadelphia, PA)
September 7th, 2019: 9/11 Heroes Run (Philadelphia, PA)
September 8th, 2019: The Main Line Run 5k (Wayne, PA) *
September 15th, 2019: Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)
September 29th, 2019: BWM-Berlin Marathon (Berlin, Germany)
October 5th, 2019: Paul Short Invitational (Bethlehem, PA)
October 12th, 2019: Hartford Marathon (Hartford, CT)
October 13th, 2019: Delaware Distance Classic 15k (Delaware City, DE) *
October 13th, 2019: Chicago Marathon (Chicago, IL)
November 3rd, 2019: New York Marathon (New York, NY)
November 3rd, 2019: Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge (Camden, NJ) *
November 23rd, 2019: Philadelphia Half Marathon (Philadelphia, PA) *
November 23rd, 2019: Rothman 8k (Philadelphia, PA) *
November 24th, 2019: Philadelphia Marathon (Philadelphia, PA) *
December 8th, 2019: California International Marathon (Sacramento, CA)
December 14th, 2019: USATF Club XC Nationals (Bethlehem, PA)
February 29th, 2020: US Olympic Team Trials - Marathon (Atlanta, GA)
* USATF Mid-Atlantic Grand Prix Event
