Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Weekly Log: March 22-28, 2010

As father and son, we share a similar passion for the sport of running and wanted to share some worthy accomplishments and news from the past week in our local world. Enjoy!

-Mark Lorenzoni (on the run since 1973) and Alec Lorenzoni (running since 1999)

The Weekly Race Report

Run For Haiti


The third time is a charm. After two postponements due to winter weather and a whole lot of snow that took its sweet time melting, the Run For Haiti finally happened this past Sunday out in Free Union. A small group of runners hit the road in a unique format that allowed them to choose their race distance (and their turnaround point) of either one mile, two miles, or a full 5K. The kids were also able to get in on the action, with their choice of a half or full mile. Brad Hunt took home the overall 5K title with a very impressive 17:20 (more on his run later), while Western Albemarle distance star Killian O'Connell was the top female in 20:43. Albemarle high school freshman Aaron Elder was third overall, but would have been a much closer 2nd to Hunt if it weren't for a wrong turn less than a quarter mile from the finish. Elder was still able to run 22:04 for his 5K+ effort (probably closer to 3.5 miles). In the kid's races, seven year old Hayes Hegemeier ran an impressive 4:28 to win the half mile, while Annamarie Leach narrowly defeated her younger sister Sarah 9:38-9:44 to win the full mile. Congrats to all the participants and a big thank you to the McIntoshs for use of their "parking" field.

Killian O'Connell, female winner in 20:43

Hayes Hegemeier, who won the kids half mile in 4:28

Annamarie Leach, winner of the kids mile in 9:38

For more Run For Haiti pictures, check out our Facebook page.

George Mason Spring Open

The UVA track team opened up their outdoor track season this past weekend at George Mason, where five different Cavaliers won their events at this small, early season meet. Most of the team will travel south to North Carolina this weekend for the bigger, more competitive Raleigh Relays. In other UVA news, NCAA Indoor 800 champ Robby Andrews was named the ACC Men's Freshmen of the Year after winning two ACC titles and enjoying an undefeated season. If you want to see the freshman phenom in action, Andrews will be competing in the Invitational Mile at The Lou Onesty Invite (UVA's only home meet this spring) on Friday, April 9th at 7:00pm. Mark the date on your calendar as we could very possibly see the 2nd ever sub-4:00 mile in school history from Andrews or one of his teammates...

Blue Ribbons To...

Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures, several area distance runners had impressive outings at the National Marathon and Half Marathon races in Washington, DC last Saturday. RMR racer Shannon Saunders finished as the 5th overall woman in the full with a 2:59 clocking and Steve Kozusko was the first area male across the tape, as he finished 8th in his age group with an equally impressive 2:57 PR. 48 year old Andrea Wright had quite possibly the best race of the day as she finished first in her age group and 9th overall in 3:05! Some other personal records of note were turned in by Amy Martin (3:18, 3rd in her age group) and Casey Opitz (3:19). Of particular note is "newcomer" Mike Gaffney, who has only been lacing on his running shoes for the past 18 months, yet at 55 punched his first ticket to Boston with a very impressive 3:43, good enough for 8th in his age group. Heidi Johnson (3:33, 4th in age group) and Peggy Mowbray (3:39, 3rd in age group) also finished near the top of their respective age divisions. All total, 2,300 folks came across the finish line.

In the half marathon, RMR standout Seth Hutchinson finished 8th overall with a 1:08 clock stopper (5:14/mile pace) and Vickie Schandevel was the top local female finisher as the assistant Western Albemarle track coach sped into the chutes in 1:23 (6:25 pace)! Some other area times of note in this field of 6,300 were clocked by Andrew Zapanta (1:39), Will Cox (1:21), Ben Doherty (1:20), Kristin Keller (1:33), Kurt Siefker (1:54), Anne Hogge (1:56), Kim Morris (1:44), Jill Snow (2:10), Leah Connor (1:52) and Courtenay Johnson (1:27).

Carmia Steyn finished 14th overall female at the Shamrock Half Marathon last Sunday with a fine 1:27 and husband Gerhard van deVenter clocked an equally impressive 29:20 in the 8K. RMR racer Charlie Hurt finished in the top 20 (out of 7,000) with a 25:14 in the 8K, while Eric Moore ran a fine 1:26 and Diane Farineau and Dena Birckhead also had excellent halfs!

Brad (and Chloe) Hunt, who together completed what is probably the fastest 5K ever run in town with a baby stroller. Brad, the assistant track and cross country coach at Virginia, pushed his infant daughter Chloe to a 17:20 victory at the Run For Haiti this past Sunday. Certainly an impressive feat considering it is just a shade over 5:30 mile pace, and that the first half of the race was into the wind, effectively turning the stroller into a kite!

Brad and Chloe heading to their 17:20 victory

Father/Son Running Tandem of the Week...

(As father and son we've enjoyed many memorable running times together over the years, so we thought it might be fun to recognize a father/son running duo each week)

Dad Mike Cotton and son David are a true UVA running tandem legacy. Mike, who competed for the Cavaliers from 1977-1981, still holds the school record in the 10,000 (28:55.34), was the inaugural winner of The Charlottesville Ten Miler on the new "city" course in 1984 and is one of only three runners to have posted a sub 50 minute time on that legendary course. For his Cavalier harrier efforts, Mike was selected as a member of the ACC's 50th Anniversary Cross Country squad in 2002. David, who like Dad, has cut his running teeth as a scholastic competitor in Connecticut and has a running resume packed with stellar times in the mile (4:22) and two mile. The highly recruited Cotton will join Jason Vigilante's talented corps of runners as a first year this coming autumn and will be the first legacy runner of the modern Cavalier era.

A Sad Farewell...

It was with both shock and great sadness that our running community received the tragic news of the passing of one of our area's great community neighbors. Tom Buckley, who at the way too young age of 53 died quietly and suddenly in his home last Saturday, was a wonderful father, husband, employee (he was a compassionate nurse at the UVa Health Science Center) and friend. Anyone that had the pleasure of knowing Tom, absolutely loved this most gentle, kind, caring and peaceful man. We loved hearing Brooklyn native Tom's tales of him chasing the sub four hour marathon as he competed in 13 out of 14 straight New York City Marathons. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom's wife, daughters and extended family during this sad time. We are already missing our dear friend...

Odds & Ends

Spring Fashion Show (March 31st)
We will be hosting a spring fashion show with live models (guys and gals) showcasing the latest warm weather apparel and accessories (shoes,water belts, wicking socks, cool hats, Garmin GPS's, gu's/gels, etc.). There will be free raffle giveaways and a special one night only 20-25% discount on apparel and certain accessories. Dessert will be served. Come join us for the fun this Wednesday (3/31) at 7:00pm at Ragged Mountain!

Glen Anderson
just might be the most dedicated marathon runner in town, as this Pepsi salesman has made it his quest to run a marathon in each of the 50 states by the end of 2012! Over the next three weeks this marathon maniac will check off #22 and #23 as plans to compete in a 26.2 mile event in Washington this weekend and another in Kansas on the 10th of April. He will "recover" in between the two races with a shorter race: The Charlottesville Ten Miler on April 3rd. Fellow area marathoner Peggy Mowbray is also on a quest to do the same and hopes to match her friend's amazing accomplishment in the coming few years!

In the Starting Blocks...

-The Zeta girls will be hosting their annual Run For Life 5K through UVA Grounds this coming Saturday, March 27th. The race will begin at 10:00am and race day sign-up will take place from 8:00-9:30am.

-The Charlottesville Ten Miler, the area's oldest and most prestigious footrace, is set for next Saturday, April 3rd. Race directors Alice and Dan Wiggins are expecting close to 3,000 folks for this year's edition of the very popular CTC event. Unless the race closes early, you may sign up until next Thursday (April 1st). Our #1 tip for the race is to have a game plan all mapped out ahead of time and on race day line up behind (yes, behind) your targeted pace group and take it very slow (~30 seconds/mile slower than your targeted race pace). The first two miles of this legendary race course are the most difficult, yet never gain that respect because they come so early in the game. Trust us, the slower you hit the first few miles the better position you'll be in to run negative splits over the last half of the race! Have no idea what overall pace you're capable of handling for the race?...

-...Then come join us this Saturday, March 27th for a two mile time trial at the UVA track (warm up starts at 8:00am). We have a handy dandy chart that tells you what to expect to run for 10 miles based on your two mile time.

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