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

116th Penn Relays

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.

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

ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships

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.

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.

The Weekly Log: March 29-April 4, 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

Not much to report in the world of local racing this past weekend, as the only road race in the area was the Zeta Tau Alpha Run for Life 5K, which is held annually on the UVA grounds course to raise money for breast cancer and typically has around 500 finishers (no results available yet for this year's edition). In other action, the UVA track and field team traveled south to compete at the Raleigh Relays, while the area high schoolers enjoyed one more week of training before April arrives and the spring outdoor season begins in earnest.

The highlight of this past weekend was probably in Lexington at the Washington & Lee Track Carnival, where several RMR athletes took to the track for the first time this spring. Racing for the first time in a RMR singlet was former VMI standout Donnie Cowart, who ran to an easy victory in the 3000 meter steeplechase, his time of 9:01.66 just missing his goal of 9:00-flat. Last year, Cowart was an All-American steeplechaser at VMI, where he holds the school record of 8:44.66 in the event. In the men's 1500, Mike Hendry's 3:51.57 clocking led a 1-2-3 sweep of the event for RMR as two former UVA greats Alex Tatu and Kevin Tschirhart followed closely in 3:52.60 and 3:52.61. Capping the evening off was Thomas Adam, whose time of 14:49.46 in the 5000 meters was good enough for 3rd overall and a big personal best, as the UVA graduate student cracked the 15:00 barrier for the first time!

Blue Ribbons To...

Local trail speedsters Eliza O'Connell, Sophie Speidel and Hallie Hegemier, who scored impressive outings at The Terrapin Mountain Trail races outside Bedford last Saturday. O'Connell led the ENTIRE half marathon field for most of the race and ended up finishing second overall (first female) in a blazing time of 2:05 over this steep mountainous course. Speidel finished atop the masters leader board in the 50K, as she clocked a stellar 5:53. She was followed by training partner Hegemier, who scored a big personal beset of 6:47.
Go to Sophie's blog for photos and a complete report.

Mark Hampton, who ran a big personal best of 40:50, and was among several dozen local runners who weaved their way in and round over 32,000 other racers en route to excellent times at The Monument Avenue 10K in Richmond last Saturday. Other times of note were turned in by the following locals: Diana Burk, Chris Samley, Harold Smith, Kase Lazur, Becky Keller, Joseph Strukl, Katie Goode, Kevin Wells, David Zirkle, Stewart Ackley, Madelyn Saunders, Jennifer Tucker, Fernando Dizon, Margaret Murphy and Dean Johnson to name just a few.

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)

Vic Schiller and twin sons Ben and Adam are quite the running trio. The boys are sophomores at Western Albemarle high school, where they have excelled on the cross country and track teams under Coach Lindy Bain's guidance. Ben had a great cross country season this past fall which included a 3rd place finish at the Jefferson District Meet and a huge personal best of 16:03 for 5K at the Footlocker South meet, where he was 3rd in the sophomore race. In the same race, Adam finished in a PR of 17:12 and wrapped up a great cross country season where his big improvements led to him toeing the line with the varsity seven for several races. Adam also has the tough task of splitting his training time with WAHS pole vault coach Kevin Matheny, who has turned him into one of the area's better vaulters (PR of 11'0"). Meanwhile, Dad (and Mom) has taken a liking to long distance running and he will be competing in the Ten Miler this Saturday.

In the Starting Blocks...

The area's oldest and most prestigious foot race, The Charlottesville Ten Miler, will fire it's starting gun outside the McCue Center and JPJ at 7:45am this Saturday. Close to 3,000 folks are expected to do battle with the famous hills at the 35th running of this legendary CTC event.

As coaches, our #1 tip is to have our athletes run the first 2 miles (which are deceptively hilly) of the race SLOWER than their targeted race pace. The best way to warm up your engine properly is to line up at the start in a "pace group" BEHIND your normal pace. This will allow you to ease into your race pace. Here is a pace suggestion handout that details the conservative paces you might try running on a hot day for each mile of the race (broken down into specific goals).

This golden rule of negative splits is particularly important this year because the forecast is calling for sunny skies and temperatures of 55 degrees at the start. Highs will be in the mid-eighties, so we're expecting the temps to be somewhere in the high sixties for most of the race. UGH! This is a huge handicap for us folks (up to 30 seconds/mile as you get over 60 degrees) who have been training in winter like temperatures (in the morning anyway) up until a few days ago. So, go out EXTRA slow for the first few miles and take water at each and EVERY stop...don't wait until you "feel thirsty"!

The race will be covered live on WINA radio (1070 AM) and complete results will be in Sunday's Daily Progress.

Two time Olympic Marathon medalist (1972 and 1976) Frank Shorter will be in town this weekend and will be on hand for autographs at Ragged Mountain from 10:45-noon on Friday (4/2). He will also be handing out the awards at the Ten Miler post race ceremony on Saturday.

Odds & Ends

UVA's only home Outdoor Track meet, The Lou Onesty Invitational (named after the legendary UVA coach), will be held at Lannigan Field Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10. This is a great opportunity to see Jason's Vigilante's talented squad, one of the best programs in the nation, in action.

The Kids Triple Crown series kicks off at the Run for Autism 5K (kids quarter mile road race) on April 17. This fun series for kids ages 4-12 will also feature a cross country race (Charlottesville Day School Family Fitness runs at Panorama Farms in Earlysville on April 25) and a track race (The Discovery Dash at Monticello High on May 29). Kids participating in ALL three events will be awarded a very special Triple Crown medal!

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.

The Weekly Log: March 15-21, 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

NCAA Indoor Track Championships

(courtesy of LetsRun.com)

The dream season continued for Virginia's Robby Andrews this past weekend at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships as the true freshmen captured a national title in the Men's 800 meters by just one hundreth of a second. Andrews ran a tactically brilliant race and timed his move perfectly on the final lap to outsprint Oregon's Andrew Wheating, a 2008 USA Olympian, with a time of 1:48.39 to 1:48.40. Andrews, who has STILL yet to lose a race this entire indoor season, won the Cavalier's second ever national title at 800 meters (1988 Olympic Champion Paul Ereng won the first in 1989) and finishes the season ranked #4 all-time in school history in the event with his time of 1:48.01 from earlier in the year. In other Cavalier action, teammate Ryan Collins finished 11th in the Men's 5000 meters with a time of 14:06, good enough to garner his first ever All-American honors. For a more detailed race report plus an interview with Andrews, check out the Cavalier's track website.

Race video here (skip to 1:38:08 mark)

Nike Indoor Nationals

The nice thing about collegiate track and field is that there is only one national track meet, whereas the high schoolers have to choose between the NSIC meet (which is traditionally stronger in the sprints and jumps) in New York City and Nike Indoor Nationals (usually stronger in the middle distance and distance events) in Boston, both of which took place this past weekend. A handful of local tracksters made the trip up the East Coast to compete against the nation's best, and Central Virginia came away with an All-American relay team and one lone national champion.

In Saturday's action, the Fork Union relay team of Eddie Jones, Louis Litkett, Nick Naimool, and Wojciech Czernek ran a great race to easily win their section of the sprint medley relay (200, 200, 400, 800 meter legs). Their time of 3:32.65 was good enough to place 3rd overall and left one to wonder how much faster they could have run if they had been in the fastest section with better competition. Albemarle also competed in the event and finished just out of the All-American (top 6) honors in 8th place with their time of 3:33.93. Anchor runner Anthony Kostelac ran a monster leg of 1:51.7, by far the fastest split of the day, but was a little too far back to chase down the front of the pack.

(courtesy of milesplit.us)

Kostelac's weekend wasn't over yet, as he came back on Sunday to win a national championship in the 800 meters, using a blistering kick over the final 50 meters to win in a time of 1:50.96 over Nick Kaiser's 1:51.34. This is the third national championship for the Albemarle senior, but the first individual one, as he anchored the 4x800 and distance medley relays to victories at the 2009 edition of this meet. His time of 1:50.96 is not only a personal best and a meet record, but now ranks him as the #6 all-time indoor performer in high school history, trailing only some of the sport's most legendary names. Perhaps the most impressive part of the victory, and especially the time, is the manner in which Kostelac ran the race. His split of 56.6 for 400 meters means that he closed his final 400 meters in 54.3, suggesting that the Patriot senior may be able to go faster in a more evenly paced race, an opportunity that will hopefully present itself outdoors this spring...

Race Video (courtesy of runnerspace)

Blue Ribbons To...

The future of UVA middle distance running, as newly crowned NCAA 800 meter champion Robby Andrews will be joined next year by newly crowned high school NIN 800 meter champion Anthony Kostelac. Andrews set two national records indoors last year, and is ranked #1 all-time with his 1:49.21, while Kostelac is ranked #6 all-time as previously mentioned. In addition, sophomore Lance Roller was the fastest freshmen in the NCAA last year with his time of 1:47.88, and new transfer John Minen just ran the 2nd fastest time ever by a Cavalier in the mile with his mark of 4:02.77 (4th year Alex Bowman is #8 all-time with his 4:05.48 from the same meet). Throw in high school national record-holders (and former Patriot teammates of Kostelac) Zach Vrhovac and Luke Noble, both of whom are freshmen at UVA, and things are really looking good for the Cavs. Topping it all off is the recent signing of Long Island, New York senior Patrick Farmer, who took the world of high school track by storm this winter. Competing in his first real season of track, Farmer has run some truly jaw-dropping quarter miles, including a 48.20 open 400 that ranks him #8 in the country and a 46.5 relay split that saw him overcome a 40 meter gap to win a 4x400 relay. Pretty impressive stuff for the former soccer player who has shifted his focus to track (one wonders how many great runners are out there on the soccer fields, never knowing that they could potentially be a national-class trackster).

The Western Albemarle girls 4x800 relay team of Claire Johnson, Katie Farina, Jordan Haws and Perri Bowser, who shaved another half second off their school record with a time of 9:33.43 at the NSIC Meet in NYC. The same relay team who, under the guidance of Coach Katie Pugh, was fresh off a AA state relay title two weeks ago with their then school record time of 9:33.94, finished 11th overall in the event.

The rest of Central Virginia who competed in the two high school national meets this past weekend...

-Vaulters Nicole Harding (14th) and Kelsey Grupp (24th) of WAHS, who tied their season bests at 11'2.5" and 10'6" respectively at the NSIC meet on Saturday. Harding then made the trek up to Boston the next day and made it over 10'8.75" at the NIN meet for 25th place. Fellow Warrior and state champion Zach Lawson was also 25th at NIN with his clearance of 13'8.5".

-Double state champion Ashontae Jackson of Orange, who competed in both the 60 and 200 meter dash at NIN. Her times of 7.98 and 26.09 were good enough for 35th and 30th place, respectively.

-Woodberry Forest distance star Kevin Bennert, who ran the very tough 5K/2 Mile double at NIN and ran it very, very well. His 7th place finish in the 5K was oh, so close to All-American honors, as his personal best time of 15:21.34 was just one second out of 6th place. He then came back the next day to run another huge personal best (15 seconds) with a 9:29.13 (converts to 9:25.83 for 3200 meters) in the 2 mile to finish 19th overall.

-Wojciech Czernek, the anchor leg of the 3rd place Fork Union SMR team, who doubled back the next day to run a big personal best in the mile with his 8th place time of 4:15.92 (converts to 4:14.44 for 1600 meters). The junior from Poland finished the indoor season ranked #2 in the entire state of Virginia in this event.

-Fellow Fork Union teammate Rich Dyer, who ran a personal best time of 7.10 in the 60 meter dash to finish 19th overall and also competed on FUMA's 4x200 meter relay team, which placed 25th overall with their time of 1:33.95. Orange County also made the long drive up to Boston and came away with a 35th place finish in the same event with a time of 1:35.29.

Seth Hutchinson, who comfortably cruised over the MJ8K course en route to a convincing 25:02 (5:02 pace) clock stopper and Nicole Kelleher,who shattered the previous course record with an impressive 29:11 (5:53 pace) win. Kelleher, who is a UVa Med student, will be hitting the professional Triathlon circuit as one of the top ranked female triathletes in the nation. Louise Knudson, who along with Hutchinson trains as a member of the RMR team, also broke the old course record with a fine Boston tune-up time of 29:33 (5:58). William & Mary runner Thomas Baker (26:32) and triathlete Barry Rodgers (27:38), rounded out the top three on the men's side and Carmia Steyn was the 3rd woman, as the 31 year old mother of two clocked a stellar 31:19 (6:19 pace).

start of the race

(Nicole Kelleher, 1st 29:11)

(Louise Knudson, 2nd 29:33)

(Thomas Baker, 2nd 26:32)

For more pictures of the race, check out our Facebook page.

Ginny Boothe, Tracy Dinning,Ursula Hull and Lindsey Keefe, who were among the the crew of racers who scored big personal records at the MJ8K.

Skip Mullaney, who crossed the finish line of The Florida Senior Games 5K in first place with an impressive 21:30 clocking. The 70 year old Locust Avenue resident sported his Charlottesville Track Club singlet as he led the Masters field over the Fort Meyers course.

Amy Pritchard, on the recent birth of a baby boy. The CHS cross country/track coach and her husband now have two beautiful children.

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 Rick Kwiatkowski and son David absolutely love to run but it's not very often that they actually get to compete together. Rick, who is one of the area's most accomplished ultra-marathoners, recently finished a 100 mile race whereas David (only a 7th grader), runs the "shorter" distances (800-5,000 meters) wearing his Albemarle Patriots singlet. But on Saturday this Earlysville running tandem crossed the finish line of the hilly MJ8K together in 35:44 (7:13 pace). Mom Lisa, who is a 3:58 marathoner, is currently training for the Boston Marathon and sisters Mary and Laura are also excellent runners, as they too compete for the Patriots.

In Other News...

The MJ8K was a wonderful success as close to 600 runners and walkers traversed some of the hilliest sections of downtown in a steady drizzle en route to impressive finishes at this popular fund raiser. In addition to the above mentioned times (see Blue Ribbons) many folks had excellent times, including these age group winners: Noah Jones, Helen Gilliam, Hannah Best, Joseph Strukl, Jessica Geisler, Joel Hess, Leigh Baumgart, Taulsa Cook, Dee Dee Winfield, Meg Cook, Doug Bloor, Jeanine Wolanski, Cal Biesecker, Lise Willingham, Ken Nail, Peggy Mowbray, John Bauman, Eileen Wittwer, John Post, Beth Schmid, Michale Collins, Jack Schmid, Nancy Fraser and Wendell Golden.

The Camp Holiday Trails 5K has been a Ten Miler tune-up spring racing ritual for the past 27 years. Started in 1983 by then second year medical student Paul Kelly (now a famous doctor in Waterbury, CT) is hosted annually by the UVA Med School students, and has over the years raised close to $100,000 for this very special local camp (for kids with a variety of serious health issues). The race is set for this Saturday (3/27) at 9:00am at the Newcomb Hall Plaza and runs over the traditional UVA/Lewis Mountain neighborhood course. Race day entry is permitted from 8:00-8:45.

Wednesday Workouts are in full swing! If you're looking to improve your racing or training times, come join us any Wednesday morning at 5:30 in the University Hall parking lot. All (and we mean ALL abilities, as long as you've been running for a year or more) are encouraged to join us. Want to get on our weekly workout e-mail list (so you receive the workouts ahead of time)? Send your e-mail to alec@raggedmountainrunning.com. Come join us!

Tori McClure, the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic (or any other ocean) will be joining us as our guest at The Virginia Festival of the Book this Friday (3/19) at 6:00pm at Ragged Mountain. This amazing person will be speaking about her excellent book "A Pearl in the Storm". The event if free and open to the public (great for families too).

Ten Miler Tips...If you're training for the Ten Miler, this is the last weekend you should be trying to get in a "long" run (10-14 miles). A common mistake is to squeeze in this very important training run on the Saturday, or worse yet, Sunday just prior to race day. Use this run as a test to see just how good you have become at "going out slowly" and pacing yourself, as this is the most abused rule on race day! Two of the hardest miles of this grueling course are actually the first two miles of the race and historically, over half the field takes it out too quickly (sometimes as fast as 30 seconds/mile). Our advice is to take it out about 15-45 seconds/mile slower for the first two miles before settling into your targeted race pace. Practice this and you will most likely have a gratifying experience over the last 8 miles of this special event!

The rescheduled Run For Haiti is set for this Sunday at 3:00pm in Free Union. Runners will have their choice of four events: A half mile for kids, as well as an open mile, two mile and 5K. All races will start together and donations will be accepted. No pre-race day signup. Important note: Any rain at all on Sunday cancels due to parking issues in the McIntosh's field.

The Weekly Log: March 8-14, 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)

Upcoming Events

MJ8K Tidbits...

This Saturday's running of the popular MJ8K represents a great Ten Miler preview opportunity, as the race traverses over some of downtown's most challenging hills and covers many of the same city streets as the Ten Miler. A record crowd is expected as this 2009 Top 10 event may top the 900 mark for the first time ever! Entries are still open as we went to press. Call 293-3367 for entry status.

Course Records:
Open : Seth Hutchinson 24:37 & Jill Krebs- 29:38
40-49: Burkhard Spiekermann 28:00 & Andrea Wright- 30:52
50-59: Bill Guerrant 30:14 & Cynthia Lorenzoni 36:20
60-69: Cal Fowler 33:48 & Lis Villadsen 39:52
70+ Harry Freestone 43:13 & Jane Berkely 59:20

Virginia Festival of the Book

Tori McLure, author of the bestselling "A Pearl in the Storm", will be speaking about her book and adventure of crossing the Atlantic solo, as our guest next Friday, March 19th at 6:00pm at Ragged Mountain. The event is free (thanks to our host Dr. Wilder and his Runner's Clinic at UVa) and it should be an inspiring talk for all ages...come join us!

Run for Haiti Finally Happening!

The twice rescheduled "Run for Haiti" is set for next Sunday, March 21st at 3:00pm in Free union. The event, which will feature a half mile run for kids and an open mile, two mile and 5K, will donate all of the proceeds to local groups working to help Haiti get back on its feet. Race day entry only and donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. Parking is in the Mcintosh's field off Wesley Chapel Road.

Blue Ribbons To...

Emily Potter, the former Albemarle cross country star who was awarded the Army's 2009 Female Athlete of the Year Award last week. Potter, who with Patriot star Jennifer Owens, formed the best tandem harrier punch in Virginia while at Albemarle, went on to have a stellar racing career at West Point. She competed at the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston, where she ran an impressive 2:45. Potter is currently the fastest U.S. Army female distance runner in the world.

Zach Vrhovac, who one upped his blue ribbon performance from last week with a huge 4:02 anchor leg for Virginia's Distance Medley Relay team this past weekend at the Notre Dame Last Chance Invite. Vrhovac, who ran the 1600 meter leg, received the baton amidst a group of sub-4:00 milers and more than held his own in his first real test against national class competition. The final time of 9:37.92 is the fastest for UVA this season, and was only a couple seconds away from qualifying the team for the NCAA Indoor Championships this upcoming weekend.

DMR relay-mate John Minen, who led off with a stellar 2:54 1200 leg on Friday night only to come back with an even more impressive 4:02.77 mile the next day. Minen, who transferred from Kent State earlier this winter, has made impressive strides under the UVA coaching staff and is now ranked #2 all-time on Virginia's indoor mile list, trailing only the 3:59.2 from Vince Draddy way back in 1982. (Draddy by the way is still the ONLY Virginia miler to ever break 4:00, indoors or out) Fourth year Alex Bowman also impressed with a big personal best of 4:05.48 and now ranks #8 all-time at UVA.

Virginia tracksters Robby Andrews and Ryan Collins, who both qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend. Andrews, who dazzled the world of high school track last year with indoor national records of 2:22.28 in the 1000 and 1:49.21 in the 800, is undefeated this year as a frosh and is currently ranked #10 nationally in the 800 with his time of 1:48.01. 2008 Olympian Andrew Wheating from Oregon is the heavy favorite in the event as his qualifying time is over a second faster than everyone else, but look for Andrews to be a potential darkhorse if he can get into position to unleash his devastating kick over the final 200 meters. Joining Andrews will be teammate Collins, who is fresh off his second consecutive Indoor ACC 5000 meter crown and will be looking to garner his first ever All-American honors on the track, as he is currently ranked #4 nationally with his time of 13:46.41. The meet will take place Friday and Saturday, and results can be viewed here.

Jim Hall, who ran an impressive 1:33 (~7:00/mile pace) at the Williamsburg Half Marathon.

Tyler and Debbie Rork, who ran their first 9 mile training run of their life last weekend! The couple began their running journey last October and have been participating in the Ten Miler Training Program for the first time this winter.

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)

Dave Bloor and son Doug are two of the best known long distance running coaches in the state, yet both started their running careers as accomplished racers. Dave ran varsity track and cross country for UVa in the late fifties (see any Corks and Curls yearbook from 1957-1960 and you're sure to see Dave's speedy legs) and son Doug was one of the fastest harriers in the state as he clocked an amazing 15:59 on the legendary Piedmont course his senior year (the only local cross country runner to ever do so). Like his dad, he went on to be a collegiate star as he was one of JMU's top distance runners of the late 1980's. Dave now coaches at St. Catherine's and Doug is the head distance coach at Monticello High.

In Other News...

Wednesday Workouts Underway
If you're looking to improve your race times and want some company (as in other folks) and a coach to help you do so, then look no further than our Ragged Mountain Wednesday workouts. All abilities (and we mean ALL as long as you're already running) are welcome to join us. We meet in the Univ. Hall parking lot at 5:30am (we know, kind of early) and usually knock of just before 7:00am. Come join us!

The Adidas Supernova Classic, one of the most popular and revered running shoes of all-time, will be phased out of Adidas shoe line later this spring. The beloved shoe,which has been keeping runners comfortable for over 15 years,will be replaced by an updated "modern" version sometime this summer.