Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Weekly Log: April 26-May 2, 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 (two) week(s) in our local world. Enjoy!

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

The Weekly Race Report


The Penn Relays is annually the biggest, most prestigious, and arguably the most exciting track meet in the entire country. Part of the appeal is the fact that you have high schoolers, collegians, and professionals all competing on the same track over a three day span. The other part is that the athletes are coming not only from all over the country, but from all over the world as well. Jamaica especially places a heavy emphasis on the meet, and they annually send their best high schools up to compete in the 4x100, 4x400, and 4x800 meter relays. Even the great Usain Bolt competed here as a youngster and the news that he would be returning this year to run on Jamaica's team in the USA vs the World 4x100 relay meant that Saturday's tickets were going to be a very hot commodity. A record sellout crowd of 54,310 people, most of them clad in Jamaican yellow and green, greeted Bolt with a roar of appreciation, the noise so deafening during his warmup that several races had to be delayed. When the race was finally run, Bolt got the baton a few steps out of the lead, but roared back to win easily, his anchor split of 8.79 one of the fastest ever run. Bolt wasn't the only one out to make headlines at Penn, however, as Virginia head coach Jason Vigilante and his men's 4x800 relay team had made the trip up to Philly with one goal. To win UVA's first Championship of America relay title (and the very large wooden wheel that goes with it) since 1943 and prove to the country that Virginia has arrived as a national middle distance powerhouse to stay...

The quartet of Alex Bowman, Lance Roller, Steve Finley and Robby Andrews toes the line against the nation's best teams, including the favored Ducks of Oregon, who have made the trip all the way from the West Coast with their all-star middle distance squad. Also in the race is Penn State with four runners who all qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet at 800 meters (only 16 make it per event, so they had 25% of the entire field) this year and who all own personal bests of 1:48 or faster. It is pretty obvious that UVA couldn't care less about times, as they stick their noses in it from the gun as fourth year Bowman leads off in a stellar 1:50.20 to give the baton to Roller in 2nd. Lance takes off and runs the relay leg of his life, a scorching 1:46.67 that is the 2nd fastest leg of the entire day and over a second faster than his previous lifetime best. Finley, the fourth year steeplechaser who is not really known for his 800 speed, gets the stick in 2nd and runs UVA's gutsiest leg of the day, chasing Penn State's Lionel Williams at a blistering pace over the first lap and then moving past him to give the baton to Robby tied for the lead with Oregon, with Penn State a couple strides back. Showing no fear, Andrews calmly assumes the pacing duties on the first lap while Oregon's Andrew Wheating and Penn State's Ryan Foster bide their time just off his shoulder. The clock ticks 54, 55 as the trio approaches the bell lap, the slow early pace ensuring a fast, frantic finish over the final 400 meters. Right on cue, Foster barrels by on the inside as the bell sounds, giving Robby a little shove as he makes his bid for home, knowing he can't leave it to a kick against his two faster rivals. As the pace ratchets down, Wheating follows in second while Robby stalks both of them in third, even allowing a 5 meter gap to open up which prompts the announcers (and I'm sure many of the fans in attendance) to believe this three-man race is now down to two. And just when you think he's out of it, Robby shifts gears with 100 meters to go and just like that, he has moved by Foster and is in second, closing on Wheating with every stride. 50 meters to go and he shifts one more time, finding a gear that the other two can't match, and all of a sudden, he is even with the tall Oregon runner who has been the nation's best 800 man the past two years, and then he is by him, flying over the final few meters as he breaks the tape in 7:15.38.

Video of Race (courtesy of flotrack)

Robby breaking the tape (courtesy of virginiasports.com)

It is a truly stunning win with repercussions that will reverberate across the world of track and field over the next few days, not only because Virginia has upset their two more heavily favored opponents, but because their freshman anchor has again bested the Olympian Wheating. The first time was indoors by only a hundreth of a second, some arguing that Robby was only able to pull it off because he had timed his kick so well that by the time Wheating realized he was there, it was too late to react. This time is different though, as the two ran flat out, man vs man, over the final 100 meters. No surprise lunges at the tape, just superior closing speed by Robby as he won by almost two tenths of a second, a margin that is much greater than it may look on paper. But despite the win, there will still be the naysayers, pointing out that Wheating had to anchor the DMR the day before while Robby was fresh, and that the slow first lap meant that Wheating's superior strength was negated. That if the first lap had been closer to 52, Robby wouldn't have been close enough to be able to kick like that at the end. But whatever you may think, there is no doubt that part 3 of this drama is going to be nothing short of epic, as the next scheduled matchup will be at the NCAA Outdoor Championships which is at, you guessed it, Wheating's home track in Eugene, Oregon. No one likes to lose to a freshman, certainly not twice, so the prospect of revenge on his home track in his last collegiate race is something Wheating will surely be thinking about on a daily basis for the next couple months. And while the entire state of Oregon will be hoping for a different ending to Act III, everyone back East has absolutely no problems with the same old story...

The first COA wheel since 1943. Roller, Andrews, Bowman, Finley (from left). Courtesy of virginiasports.com

In other Penn action, former UVA standout Kevin Tschirhart was 5th in the Men's Olympic Development Mile in 4:02.81, another personal best as he continues his quest for a sub-4:00 mile this spring. In the high school boys mile, Albemarle senior Anthony Kostelac was 8th in 4:12.91, a solid showing for the future UVA trackster. Cavalier distance runners Sean Keveren and Andrew Revelle both scored personal bests with Keveren running 14:10.00 in the 5,000 and Revelle hitting 9:10.44 in the 3,000 steeplechase.

Dogwood Track Classic

Fork Union, 2010 Dogwood Track Classic Champions

Most of the area high schoolers descended on UVA's Lannigan Field this past Saturday for the Dogwood Track Classic. Central Virginia was represented well in the team standings as Louisa got the win on the girl's side with 68 points and Fork Union narrowly won the boy's title with 65 points (Albemarle was 2nd with 63 pts). Other area team placings in the top 10 were the Western Albemarle girls (3rd, 54 pts) and the Louisa boys (5th, 37 pts). Individually, Jordan Hill of Albemarle had a great meet as he won four events (high jump, long jump, triple jump, 100 meters) and was 2nd in his fifth (200 meters). On the girl's side, Ashontae Jackson of Orange was a double winner in the 200/400 with blistering times of 25.66 and 56.59.

Jordan Hill, MVP Field Events

For more pictures from the meet, check out our Facebook page...

Other local event winners...

Girls: Mattie Webb (WAHS)- 1600, Javanique Burruss (Louisa)- Long Jump, Western Albemarle- Sprint Medley Relay & Distance Medley Relay

Boys: Wojciech Czernek (FUMA)- 1600, Josh Morris (FUMA)- 3200, Dante Davis (Louisa)- 110 Hurdles & 300 Hurdles, Jan Jeuschede (Woodberry Forest)- Shot Put, Fork Union- 4x100 Relay & Sprint Medley Relay, Western Albemarle- Distance Medley Relay

Blue Ribbons To...

Monticello distance runners Mike Albert and Nathaniel Hermsmeier (as well as Mustang distance coach Doug Bloor), who both set school records at the Dogwood Track Classic on Saturday. Albert ran a great race with a huge last lap to finish 2nd in the 1600 with a time of 4:24.59, bettering the old record by over 2 seconds (Brian Huffman, 4:26.73 from 2009). The only bad news for Albert on the day was that his 3200 meter school record was broken by junior Nathaniel Hermsmeier, whose time of 9:45.00 smashed both his old personal best of 9:59.46 and the old school record of 9:58.01!

Wojciech Czernek (1st, 4:24.06) and Mike Albert (2nd, 4:24.59) in the 1600

The Virginia 4x800 relay quartet of Lyndsay Harper, Ariane Sloan, Rosemary Barber and Tasia Potasinski, who combined to finish 8th in the Championship of America section with a time of 8:44.19, the fourth fastest in school history and the best time since 1986. Potasinski had the fastest split at 2:08.17.

Eliza O'Connell, who finished 8th in her age group at the National Duathlon Championships in Richmond this past Saturday. O'Connell's stellar position (in her debut duathlon!) qualifies her for the World Duathlon Championships in Scotland in September. Other area races of note were turned in by Brownsville P.E. teacher Cherie Witt and former Ten Miler champion Nicola Ratcliffe.

Stacey & Dave Bruns, and Lance Weisend, who organized and directed the Family Fitness Day on Sunday at Panorama Farms. Hosted by the Charlottesville Day School, this fun run for young runners was the second leg of the Kid's Triple Crown. The third and final leg will be the Discovery Dash on May 29th. For more information on Family Fitness Day, check out NBC 29's article.

Dr. Bob Wilder, who volunteered most of his weekend serving as the medical doctor at the Dogwood Track Classic all day Saturday, as well as the Family Fitness Day on Sunday!

Meet director Rick Lilly, who put on another great meet this year as the Dogwood Track Classic returned to UVA's Lannigan Field.

Madison County junior Clare Moretz, who set two school records at the Woodberry Forest Invitational a few weeks ago with her 5:16.13 (1600 meters) and 11:38.99 (3200 meters) double. Both performances were good enough for first place!

Father/Son Running Tandem of the Week...
(As father and son we've enjoyed many memorable running times together all over the world over the years, so we thought it would be fun to recognize a father/son running team each week)

Ethan and Asher Long have only been in town a few weeks, and yet they are already impressing with their road racing finishes. Ethan, who is the brand new executive director at the Virginia Institute of Autism, followed up his 1:16:17 at the Charlottesville Ten Miler with a 20:11 clocking at the Run for Autism 5K, good enough for 13th place overall. His son Asher was the first four year old to cross the line at the Kid's Quarter Mile run at the same event with a time of 2:23, while younger sister Ellery was the first two year old across the line in 4:08!

In the Starting Blocks...

Several road races on tap this weekend including the Batesville 10K and the Hoos For a Cure 5K on Saturday. Batesville is one of the area's oldest road races and takes runners through a very scenic 6.2 miles as it winds its way up through Crown Orchard before descending back into the town of Batesville over the 2nd half of the race. Hoos for a Cure will take place on the UVA course and all the proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you're looking for something a little longer, the 2nd annual Park to Park Half Marathon in Waynesboro will also take place on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be the first annual Dogwood Youth Duathlon for kids ages 7-14.

On tap for next week (Saturday, May 8th), two completely different races of note. First in the morning, the 2nd annual Montalto Challenge 5K. A unique, all uphill climb to arguably the most beautiful finish line views of any race in Virginia. After the challenging climb, the runners are treated to 360 degree panoramic views of Central Virginia including looking down on the dome room of Jefferson's Monticello. This is a must race for anyone looking to add extra adventure to their running resume. In the evening, at a completely different venue, runners will have the opportunity to go for a two mile personal best at the annual Jennifer Wells Moonlight Run for Meningitis.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Weekly (Belated) Log: April 19-25, 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 (two) week(s) in our local world. Enjoy!

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

The Weekly Race Report

Sintayehu Taye (right) getting the win in the Men's 1500, courtesy of virginiasports.com

Jason Vigilante's Cavalier track squad headed south to Clemson this past weekend to compete in the 2010 ACC Championships and came away with a third place finish on the men's side and an 8th place finish for the women. Leading the way for the men were sophomore middle distance stars Lance Roller and Sintayehu Taye, who won their first ever ACC individual titles. Roller led a 1-2-4 Cavalier finish in the 800 meters as he outkicked teammate Robby Andrews 1:50.79 to 1:50.92 for the victory (senior Alex Bowman was 4th in 1:51.33). In the 1500, Taye narrowly got the win as a very slow early pace for the first half led to a mad dash over the final 400 meters. Taye ran his last quarter in 52 to eke out the victory in 3:59.96 as only a half second separated the top 6 finishers. Teammates Bowman and freshman Brett Johnson were 3rd and 6th respectively in 4:00.19 and 4:00.53. All told, the Cavaliers scored an amazing 42 of their 125 points in these two events. On the women's side, Meghan Briggs was the lone ACC champion as the senior All-American won her third consecutive title in the javelin with a toss of 171'10" to wrap up a stellar conference career for Virginia.

Run For Autism 5K

On Saturday, April 17th a record crowd of 576 participated in this popular local fund raiser with 50 youngsters competing in the inaugural kid's quarter mile section of the event (the first leg of the area's Kid's Triple Crown series). Fellow blogger, Alec, running in support of his wife, who is a teacher at the Virginia Institute of Autism, and all the wonderful families who have children at the school, set the record over the beautiful Rugby Avenue/Greenleaf/Oxford neighborhood course with a 16:07 clock stopper. Jeff Wilson (17:36) and Peter Krebs (17:59) helped round out the top three spots. Carmia Steyn was the first woman into the chutes as she also set a new course record with a blistering 18:20. Jennifer Hochrein (20:15) and Sophie Speidel (20:43) topped off the medal stand.

Age group blue ribbon winners in the 5K included Bruce Bowman and Jessica Oxford (9 & younger), Lee Parkhill and Alice Ducharme (10-13), Matt Hantzmon and Madaline Ducharme (14-17), Lee Eschenroeder and Amy Duncan (18-23), Harrison Jones and Maggie Frye (24-29), Jeff Wilson and Severine Beatret (30-34), Peter Krebs and Jennifer Hochrein (35-39), Patrick Sandis and Susan Shrum (40-44), Chris Samley and Sophie Speidel (45-49), Scott Smith and Mary Claire Smith (50-54), Kevin Cox and Karen Maray (55-59), Tom Teisberg and Linda Owens (60-69), Don Simroth (70+).

The top finishers in their respective ages over the quarter mile Kid's road course were Ellery Long (top 2 year old), Linden Scherer (top 3 year old), Asher Long and Suna Erdim (top 4 year olds), Jenna Stutzman (top 5 year old), Adrian Grubbs and Ella Reed (top 6 year olds), Tom Fischer and Madeline Packer (top 7 year olds), Jack Bruns and Lauren Sullivan (top 8 year olds), Cleve Packer and Kathleen Bianchetto (top 9 year olds), Danny Talbert (top 10 year old), and Trevor Stutzman (top 12 year old).

Thanks again to the support of longtime VIA board member Tommy Brannock, over 200 area lacrosse players joined the festivities with Nancy Haws' Western Albemarle girls taking the top honors and claiming the Golden Stick Award once again (70 WAHS girls ran the race). The Module 2 team of teachers had the highest VIA participation as they earned the Golden Clipboard Award.

Over 65 folks helped event coordinators Kate Lambert, Linda Sharp, and Eileen Stanczak with course and finish line logistics on race day including Doug Schneider, Alison Webb, Joanne Rogol, Bill Blodgett, Dave Murphy, John Lloyd, Carol Finch, Coleman Charleton, Audrey Lorenzoni, Rob Cordaro, Kathy Thomas, Stacey Bruns, Dan Monahan, Bev and Marily McCoid, Jeff Stanczak, Val Lopez, Rorie Hutter, Becky Weybright, Rachel Rose, Dennis Craft and Kelly Moore.

Thanks to an outpouring of fundraising support from many of the participants, the race was able to raise over $50,000 for valuable programs benefitting the many students with autism at VIA and making this special event the 2nd largest fundraising race in the area (behind the Women's Four Miler). Top fundraisers included the Stanczaks, the Webbs and 15 year old Samantha Moore, who all by herself collected over $3,000 from friends and family for her younger brother's school!

Gus Lacy Track Classic

Even though it officially started over a month ago, the high school outdoor track season never really begins until the middle of April with Fork Union's annual Gus Lacy Track Classic. Most of the area schools attended the 11th edition of the meet with Albemarle placing best on the boys side (2nd) and Western Albemarle on the girls (4th). In the individual action, the highlight of the meet was undoubtedly Anthony Kostelac in the boys 800 meters, which he won in a time of 1:51.19, the #3 time in the US this spring!

114th Annual Boston Marathon

In the world of running, the stage doesn't get much bigger than the Boston Marathon and for Charlottesville's Seth Hutchinson, his debut at the world's most prestigious long distance race was a command performance as he finished 21st overall among a record field of 27,000. Hutchinson's impressive 2:20:56 (5:23/mile) catapulted him to a 8th place finish among his US peers.

"I felt good pretty much the entire way," commented the area's fastest marathoner and the 2010 Ten Miler champ. "Thanks to good coaching (Dana Thiele) and a well laid out race day game plan, I felt very prepared for the challenging aspects of the course, including the hills at Heartbreak."

Hutchinson's Olympic Development teammate Louise Knudson was the area's top female finisher as she ran a huge personal best of 2:51:24 (6:33/mile). Knudson, whose previous best was her 2:58 performance at last year's NYC Marathon, finished 37th in the women's field and was the 21st American across the finish line.

"I loved the huge and loud crowds that lined the entire course," gushed an excited Knudson. "I went out very conservatively over the first half of the course, which really helped me to run negative splits over the last ten miles. I loved the whole experience!"

Over thirty area marathoners joined the speedy duo at the 114th running of our nation's oldest marathon, including the following folks who had excellent performances over this most challenging course: Brian Kayser, Bill Potts, Kenny Ball, Kristen Keller, George Rich, Cheryl Hahn, Harry Landers, Mark Hampton, Julia Bellis, Heidi Johnson, Lindsey Cressy, Kara Williams, Cynthia Lorenzoni, Kim Morris, Ken Nail, Bev Wispelwey, Marit Gay, Brian Hoard, Paul Humphreys, Trish Foley, Paula Capobianco, Katie Craven, Gayle Jones, Jerri Emm, Lisa & Rick Kwiatkowski, Linda Scandore, Bonnie Wilfore, Claire Mitchell, Diane Rosin and Wendy Golden.


RMR Kid's Running Camp

The Ragged Mountain Racing team athletes will be hosting the area's first running camp for kids (ages 5-12) this summer on July 13th and 14th. Registration opened earlier this week and you may download the form on our website here. Entry is limited to the first 100 campers and is expected to fill quickly.

Blue Ribbons To...


All of the Virginia Cavaliers who earned All-Conference (top 3) distinctions in their respective events, including:

Meghan Briggs- Javelin (1st)
Lance Roller- 800 (1st), 4x400 relay (3rd)
Sintayehu Taye- 1500 (1st)
Adams Abdulrazaaq- 110 Hurdles (2nd), 4x400 relay (3rd)
Robby Andrews- 800 (2nd), 4x400 relay (3rd)
Ryan Collins- 10,000 (2nd), 5000 (3rd)
Steve Delice- 400 Hurdles (2nd)
Andy Fahringer- Javelin (2nd)
Steve Finley- 3,000 Steeplechase (2nd)
Emily Vannoy- Shot Put (2nd)
Alex Bowman- 1500 (3rd)
Trey Miller- 10,000 (3rd)
Marcus Robinson- Triple Jump (3rd)
Kevin Anding- 4x400 relay (3rd)

All of the poor souls who had to run (and have EVER had to run) the dreaded 10,000/5,000 meter "double" at the ACC Championships. In high school, the best distance runners oftentimes bite the bullet and run the 1600/3200 double to maximize their team's points, but in college it gets much, much worse (and longer). The only good news is that the 10,000 (25 laps) is on Thursday night and the 5,000 (12.5 laps) is on Saturday afternoon. All told, Ryan Collins, Trey Miller, Sean Keveren, Anna Corrigan and Lauretta Dezubay ran 9.3 miles (and 37.5 laps) for the good of the Cavaliers!

High school multi-talented athletes Jordan Hill & Javanique Burruss who scored 32 and 24 points respectively for their teams at the Gus Lacy Track Classic. Hill, a senior at Albemarle, won the long and high jump, was 2nd in the 200, 7th in the triple jump, and ran the 3rd leg on the Patriots 2nd place 4x400 relay team. Burruss, who is just a freshman at Louisa, was 2nd in all three of her events (long jump, triple jump, 100). In the state rankings, she is currently #3 in the long jump (#1 in Group AA) and #5 in the triple jump (#2 in Group AA).

Longtime Fork Union cross country and track coach Winston Brown who not only hosted a great track meet (along with his entire staff) in the Gus Lacy Classic this past weekend, but who also provided knowledgeable and entertaining commentary throughout the entirety of the meet.

Seth Hutchinson (2:20:56, 21st overall and 8th US finisher) and Louise Knudson (2:51:34, 37th overall female and 21st US finisher), who were the top area finishers at Monday's 114th running of the Boston Marathon. Over 40 area runners successfully completed the world's most famous marathon.

Nicole Kelleher, a UVA Medical student who finished first at the USA Triathlon Collegiate Championships in Lubbock, Texas on April 17th. Kelleher, who is one of the top ranked profesisonal triathletes in the nation, beat last year's champion by two minutes!

Suzanna Turanyi, who ran her first 24 hour relay and in doing so, completed 75 miles (in 21 hours). Turanyi completed her first ultra in Hampton during the weekend of April 17-18, and in the process, helped to raise several thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society.

Jay James, who not only was the official guest starter for the Run For Autism, but also one of the top finishers as he sped to a 20:08 clocking (18th overall), making the popular WINA sportscaster one of the fastest radio runners in town.

Nicolein Wilder, who in only her second marathon scored a ticket to the Boston Marathon, as she ran a stellar 3:55 over the challenging Charlottesville Marathon course on April 17th.

Scott and Mary Claire Smith, who became the first local couple in recent memory to win the same age group in their respective gender at the same race, when they both took home blue ribbons in the 50-54 age group at the Run For Autism on April 17th.


In the Starting Blocks...

Another very busy weekend of racing on tap, including...

Several area not-for-profit road races (check our list of upcoming events for more details), as well as the Charlottesville Day School's Family Fitness Cross Country runs . This special event (all on grass) will begin at 1:00pm on Sunday afternoon at the beautiful Panorama Farms in Earlysville, and will be a part of the First Annual Virginia Youth Fitness Day. It also marks the second leg of the Kid's Triple Crown and is open to all families who are interested!

The Dogwood Track Classic, by far the area's biggest annual track meet which will feature virtually all of Central Virginia's tracksters on UVA's Lannigan Field. The meet begins at 8:30am with the 3200 meter runs.

The 116th Annual Penn Relays, the biggest and most prestigious track meet in the entire country. The best part of the this meet is the fact that high schoolers, collegiates, and professionals all share the same track in front of 50,000 fans over the course of this three day event. Also unique to this meet is the number of Jamaican high school teams who make the long trip up from the Caribbean to compete in what is essentially the highlight of their spring racing calendar. The emphasis that the Jamaicans place on this meet is reflected in the overwhelming majority of Jamaican-Americans spectators in attendance. The "sea of green and gold" will get a special treat this year as Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt will compete for his home country in the USA vs the World 4x100 relay. Representing the area will be several Cavalier relays, as Coach Vig's squad does battle with the country's best. Also competing will be senior Patriot Anthony Kostelac in the High School Boy's Invitational Mile, as well as former UVA middle distance standout Kevin Tschirhart in the Olympic Development Mile.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Weekly Log(s): April 5-18, 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 (two) week(s) in our local world. Enjoy!

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

The Weekly Race Report

Charlottesville Ten Miler

Now Seth Hutchinson feels ready for the Boston Marathon. Hutchinson took the lead at the two mile mark of the Charlottesville Ten Miler and never looked back as he cruised to an impressive 50:58 victory at the area's oldest and most prestigious footrace. The Ten Miler course is widely considered to be one of the most challenging urban courses in the country and with only two weeks until the granddaddy of them all, Hutchinson is ready to go. His time of 50:58 represents the fastest time clocked since 1993.


(Hutchinson leading the Ten Miler)

Two-time defending Ten Miler champion Charlie Hurt, who is Hutchinson's teammate and training partner, ran stride for stride with him through two miles, clicking off two straight 5:10's. As the speedy duo passed UVA's Aquatic Fitness Center, Hutchinson made a move and surged ahead. He lengthened his lead on the defending champ as he sped through the next three miles at 5:06, 4:48 and then a 4:54 down Preston and up the downtown mall. By the time he hit the halfway point (25:18), he had a solid 22-second lead over Hurt.

"Because we went out at a comfortable pace for those first two miles, I was able to cruise the middle section of the race, but by the time I got to the long hill at Lexington [the 10K mark] my legs were starting to really tire," Hutchinson said, "so I relaxed my breathing and by the time I got to seven miles I felt like I was cruising again. The crowds and support along the way really helped too. My coach [Dana Thiele] really did a great job of preparing me for this special race."

(Runner-up Charlie Hurt, the 2008 & 2009 winner)

Hurt, a former Western Albemarle and William & Mary standout, finished with a 52:55. Hutchinson and Hurt's teammate, Chris Post, rounded out the top three with a personal best of 55:14.

Former Albemarle High and West Point star Emily Potter took a different route to the blue ribbon, as she came from behind for her 61:07 victory. The Army's top female road racer of 2009 was in fifth place at the mile, third at two miles and moved into second at three miles before overtaking the early leader, Alexandria's Laura O'Hara at the 3.5 mile mark. "I knew that the first mile of the course was very hilly, so I went out conservatively (6:15) and that really helped as I felt great the entire way. It's a tough but enjoyable course with loads of spectator support," said the 2008 Olympic Trials marathoner.

Potter's march to the lead included three straight miles of negative splits as she followed her first mile with a 6:04, then a 6:00 and threw in an impressive 5:54 fourth mile to cement her lead. Potter, who is a member of the "World Class Athlete Program", competes all over the world for the Army, having raced in Belgium, Switzerland and Italy in the past year. "I've always wanted to run this race and this year, because of Easter, I was able to fit it into my schedule. It's a great way to kick off my spring racing season," said Potter, who will run the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth in June. "I really wanted to win the Ten Miler as a hometown girl."

Louise Knudson (61:52), who is on the same team as Hurt and Hutchinson, ran with teammate Vickie Schandevel (fifth in 63:38) for the first two miles before steadily working her way through the women's field. The UVA nurse was in eighth place at five miles, but by the seventh mile she had moved past O'Hara into second place, where she remained until the finish line.

(from Mark Lorenzoni's article that appeared in The Daily Progress)

Lou Onesty Invitational

Over 700 fans came out on a chilly, breezy evening this past Friday to watch the Lou Onesty Invitational Mile at the UVA Track. Fourteen different men, including ten Cavaliers, toed the line as pacemaker Donnie Cowart tried to pull the field to the area's first ever sub-4:00 mile. Cowart, the former VMI All-American, did a brilliant job of pacing, hitting splits of 59, 1:59, and 3:00 as he fought a swirling, gusting wind down the backstretch of every lap. Despite the evenly run splits, only Robby Andrews and Steve Finley attempted to go with Cowart, with Finley falling back on the third lap. Heading into the bell lap, Cowart dropped out, his job done for the day, leaving the freshman phenom all alone to race the clock. Needing a 59 second last quarter to break the magical 4:00 barrier, Andrews, the NCAA champion indoors at 800 meters, valiantly fought the wind and his rising lactic acid, breaking the tape in a new meet record and personal best of 4:01.53, a scant two seconds away from sub-4:00. Several seconds back, a race for second was taking place as Cowart's RMR teammate Mike Hendry outleaned former Albemarle standout Zach Vrhovac, 4:07.16 to 4:07.18. Fourth years Alex Bowman and Trey Miller were 4th and 5th respectively in 4:07.56 and 4:08.06. With his victory, Andrews becomes the fastest freshman and the #2 overall miler in school history, trailing only the 3:59.2 from Vince Draddy way back in 1982. Draddy, who is the "logo" on the RMRS t-shirts, is still the program's only sub-4:00 miler.

(Robby Andrews finishing down the final straight)

Blue Ribbons To...

Anthony Kostelac, the senior from Albemarle who finished 2nd in the mile run at the Arcadia Invitational in California this past weekend. Kostelac made the trip all the way out to L.A. to run in one of the nation's most prestigious track meets against the top talent from the West Coast. Kostelac closed fastest of the field with a final lap of 56, but was just a little too far back to win, his time of 4:12.90 a scant tenth of a second away from the win (4:12.80). The future UVA trackster faces his next big national test when he runs the mile at Penn Relays on April 23rd, where he will face the best middle distance runners of the East.

(courtesy of ImageOfSport)

Western Albemarle lady Warriors Claire Johnson, Emily Moffett, and Killian O'Connell, who swept their age group at the Charlottesville Ten Miler with a 1-2-3 finish. Johnson led the way with a time of 1:07:22, good enough to also place as the 16th overall female. On the boy's side, Albemarle freshman Aaron Elder was the top local finisher as the 14 year old finished 2nd in his age group in 1:02:50.

Kevin Tschirhart and Alex Tatu, who finished 2nd and 4th at the Furman Elite Mile this past Saturday with times of 4:03.10 and 4:03.95. The two former UVA standouts and current RMR teammates were running in only their second track meet of the spring as they try to qualify for the US Track & Field Championships in late June.

John Holden, Janet Posner and Monticello head gardener Peter Hatch, who ran their Ten Miler consecutive finishes streaks to 29, 27 and 23 years, respectively.

Earlysville ultramarathoner Rick Kwiatkowski, who started the Ten Miler in dead last and proceeded to run the entire race while juggling three balls. Kwiatkowski donated 10 cents for every runner he passed to our area Food Bank (one of the recipients of this year's Ten Miler proceeds), and ended up passing 1500 runners for a total of $150!

Area runners Aimee Moores, Mackenzi Hillard, Chris Clark, Meghan Cloud, Phil Curran, Lise Willingham, Jill Bascom, Nancy Fraser and Skip Mullaney, who won their respective age group divisions at the Charlottesville Ten Miler.

The hundreds of graduates of the Charlottesville Track Club's Ten Miler Training Program, who made their debut at this year's race, including Chloe Ball, who followed her speedy dad, Kenny, into the chutes.

Veteran race directors Alice and Dan Wiggins, who directed their fourth Ten Miler.

Two-time Olympic medalist in the marathon (gold in 1972 and silver in 1976) Frank Shorter, who handed out all the awards to the top finishers of the Ten Miler.


Father/Son Running Tandem of the Week...
(As father and son we've enjoyed many memorable running times together all over the world over the years,so we thought it would be fun to recognize a father/son running team each week)

Not many fathers can say that they are able to keep up with their 14 year old sons, especially when their son is one of the fastest freshman in the entire state. But Steve Elder (age 38) was able to do just that when he ran with his son Aaron at the Charlottesville Ten Miler a couple weeks ago. Steve (85th overall, 65:28), who is in the US Army, ran much of the first part of the race before Aaron, who runs for Albemarle and has a 4:50 mile to his credential, took off over the second half of the course to finish 50th in 62:50. Not too shabby for the elder Elder, especially when you consider that Steve would end up in the hospital a couple days later to treat flesh eating bacteria from a cat bite he received the night before the race!

In the Starting Blocks...

April is a busy month in the world of local not-for-profit races, and this weekend is no exception. Six different races will take place on Saturday and Sunday, and the Run For Autism 5K (proceeds benefit the Virginia Institute of Autism) on Saturday will be the biggest one. Last year, this race had almost 500 entrants and raised over $53,000 for the school, which makes it the second largest fundraising race in the area! A complete list of other weekend races can be found on our website here.

The Cavaliers head south to Clemson, SC this weekend to compete in the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Last year, the men tied for first to earn their first ever ACC title while the women were 4th. Live results can be found here.

The outdoor high school track season begins in earnest this weekend with most of the local schools competing at Fork Union's Gus Lacy Classic.