PRTC Bi/Tri -Weekly 11/26/2022: Marathon Weekend, Trots, AND MORE
Race Results
Marathon Weekend
The 8k and Half recap below are brought to you by guest contributor, Nick Cardamone.
Half
As dawn broke on Philadelphia marathon weekend, only a select few were aware of the ensuing wave of PRTC jerseys about to flood the parkway.
Jason Richwall initiated the weekend with a 16th overall finish for his first half race with a 1:09:12. This effort is made more impressive after knowing that Jason came down with an illness leading up to the race – Jason is welcoming Michael Jordan flu game comparisons.
Jason was followed by Frank Dougherty (1:15:14) who placed 78th overall and notched a “dad PR”. After getting stuck in the security line, Frank had no time to check his bag and, not wanting to sacrifice his favorite Eagles sweatshirt, ran the first 9 miles of the race with a draw string backpack before dropping it off safely with his cheering wife and daughter.
In her first season of racing since becoming a mom last year, Margaret Vido came across the line with a PR and the 7th woman in the race. Any of those who had the privilege of joining Margaret on a Sunday long run in the weeks leading up to the race aren’t surprised – she’s fit.
Matt Bruner got back into shape in no time after a dominant performance at the Twin City’s marathon just 7 weeks ago running a PR of 1:18:07.
Club treasurer, Evan Skalski, went to the bank and cashed a PR of over a minute, completing the 13.1 mile tour in a time of 1:19:45.
I don’t know if you’re paying attention but we’re on a six person PR streak, and nice guy Andy Potocek extended that to seven after shattering his previous best at the distance by over two minutes with at time of 1:19:45.
Steph Benko is proving to be a running Swiss army knife after coming across the line with a PR of 1:19:46 after running a 5:01 at the 5th Avenue Mile in September and a 2:50:46 at the Chicago marathon.
Iron Man Zach Sibson beat his 85-minute goal by 33 seconds (1:24:27). Rumor has it he plans on swimming 1.2 miles in the Schuylkill and cycling to Phoenixville and back before next year’s race.
Will Vedder made the PR streak enter double digits after coming in with a time of 1:24:32.
Club newcomer, Andrea Allen, ran a fundamentally unchill PR of 1:25:44, followed by legacy club member, Christy Cohick, who ran a time of 1:26:42.
Beer mile legend, Ben Nieto, put a cap on his great year of racing with a time 1:27:07.
Aadi Mharte ran a great time of 1:27:23, having just joined the club in the footsteps of fellow CMU alum Harry Branch-Shaw.
Gina Hostetler proved that you can smile the entire race and run a PR after gliding to a 1:28:48.
Congratulations to Kyra Sheeve who ran a 1:29:24, Julie Platt who debuted with a 1:30:15, the fastest Kait in the field, Kait Ward (1:34:18), and Sarah Tampio (1:38:38)!
8k
These amazing performances from the half runners definitely set the tone for the 8K onslaught later that morning. With over forty runners on the line, it is safe to say that this was the biggest field the club has ever put up for this race. And, despite the howling headwind going out on Kelly Drive and a finishing stretch that (according to Strava analysis) was a tenth of a mile too long, this was also the most impressive Rothman the club has ever ran.
Incredibly, we placed five out of the top ten overall spots, 20 out of the top 50, and in honor of Puerto Rico probably deserving to be our 51st state, 10 out of the top 51 women were from our club.
Let’s talk about the women’s side first.
Ellen “Fearless” Feringa flew to fourth place with an impressive time of 27:50. The cold temperatures might have been a shock to the Louisiana native, but fitness and a well-executed race plan speak for themselves.
Ellen was followed in fifth by Belmont Plateau legend Maria Seykora who took the race out HOT. Maria came through the first mile in 5:12 and (eventually) through the finish line with a PR of 27:58.
Steph “Dental Influencer” Ng ran well-executed race and a PR (29:26) for 13th place. San Francisco isn’t ready for post-exam season Steph – look out.
After over a year battling three major injuries, Bridget Gottlieb smiled her way to an amazing time of 31:49 and 33rd place - working with Lexi Ambrogi (31:37, 31st) for most of the race.
The pride of Ambler and club newcomer, Candice Ionescu, came in 38th with a 32:30.
Cynthia Cuiule flew through the first mile in (fire emoji) 6:05 on her way to a 32:55, good for 41st.
Sarah Moxham was documented early in the race with jazz hands. She put them away after the first mile to run a great time of 33:29 and 45th place.
Cindy George who is just now ramping back up after a training hiatus, placed 51st with a 34:29, a minute faster than the “turkey trot of death” she ran last year.
Buckle up we have a LOT more ground to cover with the guy’s race.
After placing 2nd in a hard-fought race last year, Zach Michon returned to take the win with a PR of 23:33. With the winnings, Zach intends to buy 557 boxes of Pop Tarts, which have been his go-to prerace fuel this season.
Zach was followed by his workout companion (and D3 legend) Greg Morgan (23:49) who came across the line in 5th, shattering his time from last year by 90 seconds.
Liam “Send it” Galligan made sure the race was honest by taking the lead at one point in the 2nd mile and ran an extremely impressive time of 24:12 and 7th overall.
David “PR” Dorsey lived up to his name by taking TWO AND A HALF MINUTES off his time from last year with a 24:18, good for 8th overall. Although last years’ time was ran on an illness, Dorsey has made an unmistakable leap over the last year through consistent training, smart planning, and weekday beers.
Paul Matuszak ran a world record 8K in Diadora tights with a time of 24:20, crossing the line in 9th overall.
Owen Wing shed a layer down from his usual crew neck to a cotton long sleeve shirt to notch 11th overall and run a strong 24:25.
Frank “the Tank” Livolsi ran a consistent race and steamrolled to 13th overall and a time of 24:44. This club newcomer and Widener legend is already making an impact might be the key piece to the lightning-fast squad we’re sending out to San Francisco in a few weeks.
Josh Hibbs (25:22) took the flagging Nick Cardamone (25:27) to school in the last mile to capture 15th overall and tuning up for CIM in a few weeks.
Declan “Top 20” Walkush (25:30) gritted his way to 18th place.
Bucks County High School Cross Country legend, Connor Harriman, cut 15 seconds on his time from last year to run 25:42 (22nd)
Chris “the 8K has no correlation with performance at XC nationals” Mateer ran 25:49 for 23rd.
Kris “I like trains” Lizins overcame a nagging case of posterior tibialis and pulled into station with a time of 26:19 (31st).
Withered from only breathing thin air and only consuming empanadas over the last two months in Chile, Harry Branch-Shaw executed a premeditated “half-send”. After coming through the first mile in 4:51 HBS immediately “went lactic” and lowered the gears for the rest of the race. Impressively, Harry came in with a solid time of 26:24.
Vicente Iglesias is exponentially gaining fitness after his cross-country season was cut short by sickness in September. He shattered his previous 8K PR and with a 26:48. Vicente crossed the line with Steve Gourley, who was the 2nd Masters runner.
Luke “Lemon Hill” Myers ran a great time of 26:52 (finishing with PRTC affiliate and former Pitt panther Chris Pastore).
Kevin “Dad Mode” Brandon ran another great race on his amazing injury comeback season with a time of 27:28.
Kevin was followed closely by Harsha Thirumurthy, who stepped down from the marathon to run his first Rothman 8K, placing 50th overall (27:33). Steve Hallman (27:43), Jenia Vinogradskiy (27:59), and Hiro Ono (28:13) packed it in closely behind.
Congrats to:
Philadelphia newcomer Roni Teich (29:18)
Peter Celona, days before entering the Master's category (29:22)
John Hoffman who ran 29:25. Clearly, his engine must run hotter than everyone else because he was walking around shirtless after the race.
Colin "Age Group Warrior" Bodels (29:25)
Debut 8K runner, automatic 50-flat 400m runner, and math guy, Mike "" Tait (29:56)
Tuesday night Franklin Field fixtures Zach Brooks (30:15) and Mark Baker (32:02)
Adam "wait this isn't XC??" Moffift (32:40)
Club newcomer and debut 8K runner Vincent Xia (32:48)
Last but not least, we have everyone’s favorite coach, Rob Hewitt, who ran about the same pace as his wife ran for 26.2 miles the next day. Way to go Rob!
Marathon
You thought the wind was bad in the 8k? Well, the marathon conditions are probably best described as "brutal" and "complete carnage". With wind chills in the low 20's and wind gusts up to 30 mph, the Philly Marathon was tough, to say the least. With that being said, the club still saw a slew of formidable PRs, debuts, and just all around tough efforts.
Leading the way for the PRTC women was Rosie Mascoli, who placed 12th overall in a 4.5 minute PR, finishing in 2:45:35. Closely following Rosie in her debt was Elaine Estes, who placed 16th in 2:46:50.
Third across the line for the PRTC women was coach Claire Hewitt, who held on to finish in 2:55:35.
Next over the line was Emily Molitoris coming through in a very solid 3:02:53.
Packing in it was the Thursday morning crew, better known as the Bad Bitches Brigade, who showed that all thsoe 7am miles certainly paid off. Rachael Wittmer PR'ed in 3:09:46, Emily Lawson PR'ed in 3:20:00, Elizabeth Clinton PR'ed in 3:20:20, Kate Couritn PR'ed in 3:21:09, and honorary member Katie Pokorny PR'ed in 3:21:58.
Putting up valiant efforts before opting to fight another day was Jess Smith and Lauren Kelly, who I'm sure we'll see come back stronger than ever. Rumor has it Lauren is already eyeing Houston.
On the men's side, we saw a pair of PRTC men battle it out down the homestretch with David Watt edging Joe McGuire. The pair finished in 29th and 30th place, respectively, in times of 2:30:21 and 2:30:56.
Next up for the men was Seth Kampf in 2:35:17, Tom Thomas sneaking out a PR in 2:38:21, and Simon Voorhees who debuted in 2:40:35, after serving the early portion of the race as the 2:45 pacer.
The next group of men across the line was Travis Leaderbetter in 2:45:56 in a PR, Kevin Dugan in 2:51:07, Jason Norat PR;ing in 2:53:21, club friend and SEPTA enthusiast John Li in 2:55:30, and Doug Edwards PR'ing in 3:07:59.
PRTC album, Andrew Van Hoogenstyn, also had a fantastic race, snagging 21st overall in 2:27:51.
Erik Reitinger was a sole casualty for the men, opting to save himself for a (hopefully) less windy effort at CIM next weekend. He bounced back with a 5k PR on Thanksgiving, so it's looking like he's no worse for the wear.
Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend. All results can be found here.
Pittsburgh Turkey Trot
Trot time! We had so many trots!
PRTC Power Couple Stephanie Ng and Declan Walkush competed in the Pittsburgh Turkey Trot.
Stephanie Ng took 2nd overall and smashed her 5k PR in the process, breaking 18 for the first time by a significant margin, finishing in 17:41.
Declan took a comfortable win in 16:10.
Results here.
Emmitsburg Wattle Waddle 5 Mile
David Dorsey continued his year of dominance, winning the Emmitsburg Turkey Trot and breaking his own course record in the process, finishing in 25:58.
Results seem nonexistant online, so we have to take his word for it.
Medford Lakes Colony Turkey Trot
Jason Richwall hawked St. Joe's legend (and club friend), Mike Rankin at the Medford Lakes Colony Turkey Trot to take the win in 16:06.
Club veteran, Nick Crits, took 4th overall in 17:09 in what seems to be a kick off for a marathon training block if his Instagram is to be any indication.
Results here.
Inside Out Turkey Trot
Lauren Kelly won the 8k Inside Out Turkey Trot in North Carolina, with a finishing time of 29:22, good for almost 40 seconds up on 2nd place.
Results here.
Towson YMCA Turkey Trot
Vicente followed up his breakout race at Rothman with another great performance at the Towson Turkey Trot. The race was very hilly and involved a lot of overlap with passing walkers. Even with those challenges, Vicente finished in 16:31 for 3rd overall.
Results here.
Webster Turkey Trot
Chris Mateer (me) failed to defend his title at the Webster Turkey Trot and had to tell every person he knew from high school, college, and both his immediate and extended family that he failed to win a turkey. Chris covered the rolling 4.2 mile course in 21:21.
Results here (note the that the course is 4.2 miles, not 4.4)
MoTown Turkey Trot
Sarah Tampio took 6th overall and 2nd in her age group at the MoTown 8k Turkey Trot in Montgomery County, finishing in a finishing time of 35:18.
Results here.
Gobble Wobble 5k
The Phil Celona Comeback Tour continues, as he took the win the at the Willow Grove 5k Gobble Wobble in 15:50, besting 2nd place by 8 seconds.
Pat said the course is short, but this hasn't been independently verified, and the editor has reason to believe Pat may be biased.
Results here.
Garnet Valley Turkey Trot
The Garnet Valley Turkey Trot had a hefty prize pursue that pulled some of the area's best talent.
Paul Matuszak notched a win over sub 4 miler Michael Lederhouse in a time of 15:26. Club members Calvin Schneck and Austin Berry competed as well, coming in 6th and 8th, respectively, in finishing times of 16:43 and 16:51. Hiro Ono took 14th overall for the men in a time of 17:40.
Maria Seykora took a close 2nd to Erin Jaskot of Delaware, in a finishing time of 17:39.
Results here.
PHLY Turkey Trot
Harsha Thirumurthy took 5th overall and 2nd Master's runner at the PHLY 5 miler Turkey Trot, held in Wissahickon Park. Harsha snuck under 28, finishing in 27:59 on the undulating course.
Frank Dougherty followed up his draw string half marathon, placing 11th overall in a time of 29:27.
PRTC Alum, Sean Clark, took 3rd overall in a time of 27:13.
Results here.
Delco Turkey Trot
Liz Coda took 1st overall at the Delco 5k Turkey Trot in a finishing time of 18:35.
Results here.
Mercer County Turkey Trot
Cindy George took 3rd overall and 1st in her age group with a time of 20:10 at the Mercer County 5k Turkey Trot
Results here.
ERC Turkey Trot
Erik Reitinger set a PR, took 1st overall for the master's division, finished 6th overall, and came painfully close to breaking 16 with a 16:02 5k at the ERC Turkey Trot in Erie, PA.
Results here.
SMT Turkey Trot
Kevin Brandon continued his comeback with a 16:30 at the SMT 5k Turkey Trot. He, unfortunately, once again failed to secure a pie.
Results here.
Races
December 10, 2022: USATF XC Club Nationals (San Francisco)
January 21, 2023: USATF Cross-Country Nationals (Richmond, VA)