The Official Blog of the GSTC: Men, Women Run the Table at 10k Championships; Brooks Partnership Announced

Men, Women Run the Table at 10k Championships

Auteri Makes the Difference as GSTC Women Squeak Out Team Win by 7 Seconds

Jersey City- Last weekend, at the USATF-NJ 5 Mile Championships, the GSTC women were about 30 seconds short of a win. Despite a significant lead after three finishers, they lost by a slim margin after the fourth and final scoring finisher.

This weekend, enter Karen Auteri.

The GSTC top three, like last week, ran a very solid race up front at the Newport 10k. Cheyenne Ogletree continued to wallop the USATF-NJ, as her 38:50 finish put her 1:15 faster than the next team scorer, Kavitha Manley. For being the top USATF-NJ finisher ($500) and 5th American ($100), Ogletree brought in $600 of total prize money for the day. Kristin Cupido and Meghan DeCarlo rolled in together, averaging 6:43/mile to come in at 41:48.30 and 41:48.63, respectively. After the first three women finished, the GSTC ladies were up by 35 seconds. When the RVRR #4 came in at 42:21, the real clock started. If Auteri came in within the next 35 seconds, they would win and tie up the Grand Prix Open Women score; if not, they would fall four points back at second place.

Sure enough, Auteri came in at 42:49...28 seconds later, locking up the GSTC win by a mere seven total seconds: 2:45:16 - 2:45:24. That's 1.7 seconds per woman. And who says every second doesn't count?

Other 10k finishers included Erin Higgins (49:36), Cathy Stutzman (49:36), Amy Denholtz (64:46), and Prudence Jones (65:02). We aren't sure what Prudence is drinking, but we'd like to have some. She has PRed in every distance thus far in 2012: 5k, 10k, 15k, and half marathon. Wow.

This sets the table for the rubber match, the final spring USATF-NJ Grand Prix Championship race, the Run for Rachel 5k, next Sunday in Livingston. Things look good for the Girls in Gold, as they'll get a helpful bump from teammates Alyssa Douma and Jamie Liberti, former running stars from Lock Haven and Penn, respectively. The action starts at 9:30am at Memorial Oval!

Perrella Storms Back, Leads GSTC Men to Spring Sweep in Final USATF-NJ Race

It's been a rough stretch for team captain Jeff "Quiet Storm" Perrella. In December, he struggled through the 10k national cross country championships, grimacing in hip pain. Through January and February, he was went from one injury to the next; during the first USATF-NJ Grand Prix Championship race, the 20k, he was working a water station instead of working the competition. Running 40 minutes without pain was a success.

All that said, yesterday's 10k showed one thing: The Q-Storm is back.

Averaging 5:01.4 a mile, Perrella finished in 31:13 to finally end the half-year of injury-induced frustration. This was 8th overall, top NJ finisher, top USATF-NJ finisher, and 3rd American Elite finisher. $750 in 31 minutes of running...not a bad day at the office.

The MIG won the team race by ten minutes over second place Sneaker Factory: 2:47:44 - 2:57:22. Like the women, this first place finish brought in $150 of prize money, which will most likely go to buying Chuck some new Air Jordans for the summer.

Finishing second was team ironman Ken "Kenny G" Goglas in 33:13; KG was also 2nd man in the Five Mile Championship just six days earlier. Team legend Timmy Morgan was the #3 man (33:20), workhorse Mike Anis (three races in ten days?!) was the #4 man (34:05), teenage phenom Edsel "The Pretzel" Flores was #5 (35:51), and Germany-bound, Rutgers sehr gut sophomore Dan Teichmann was the #6 man (36:02).

This race marks the end of the USATF-NJ Grand Prix for the spring. Team scores are below.

Current USATF-NJ Open Men Grand Prix Team Scores

50pts - Garden State Track Club "A"

28pts - Garden State Track Club "B"

28pts - Sneaker Factory

20pts - Raritan Valley Road Runners

12pts - Fleet Feet

Other GSTC'ers in Action

On May 3rd, we forgot to mention Mike Anis' 10:11.99 effort at the Don Bosco Prep Ironman Invite on May 3. Anis, the GSTC steeple record holder, will defend his HONOR and club record on June 3rd at the USATF-NJ Championships.

Two Rutgers GSTC'ers finished the NJ Marathon two weekends ago. They were Pasq Balena (3:48) and Jason Weiner (2:53). Jason was 15th overall...not bad for his first ever marathon as a junior in college! We are excited for Jason to do some work for the GSTC in his senior year!

This weekend, Pete Klapsogeorge ran 20:58 in the Home Front Run for Hope 5k yesterday in Princeton, and placed third in his age group! Also, Amalie Park ran the HOHA 5 Miler in 43:20, or 8:40 pace. Major props to Amalie, who has really improved a lot!

Finally, congrats to Ken Walsh, who won the Titan 5k in Keansburg this weekend in 17:32. He claims he promised a friend who was organizing it that he would race it; we wonder if he's ducking the real comp and cherry picking softy races? Either way, a win is a win

Brooks, WRC, GSTC Announce Partnership

Westfield, NJ: While not all details have been finalized, the Garden State Track Club will soon partner with Brooks and the Westfield Running Company in a mutually beneficial relationship for all three. While the GSTC will receive a yearly budget to support its elite athletes, all team members will be encouraged to invest in discounted Brooks gear through the Westfield Running Company. More details, including the date of a launch party, will be announced shortly!

Let's get off to a good start: like this page! http://www.facebook.com/#!/brooksrunning

Jackson Leads New Group of GSTC Tracksters

Swarthmore, PA: They like to flex literally, as they did in Saturday's practice (attached picture), but tomorrow's track meet at the Swarthmore Last Chance Invitational will showcase several recent GSTC additions flexing the speed for the first time in gold and blacj. This group is headlined by Tahlief Jackson, the former St. Benedict's Prep star and Eastside transfer. The 1200m leg (3:03) in last year's distance medley group that broke the all-time national record in 9:51 (thanks to a 4:02 Cheserek anchor), Jackson will race the 800m, 1500m, and 4x400 in his GSTC debut.

A pair of East Stroudsburg half milers will also join in on the fun, as Michael Saparito (1:50 split indoors) and San Janssen (1:55 open outdoors) will lace up Monday as well. Other new additions to Monday's racing group include Penn State's Tiye-Saran Mutazz, MCC's Sarah Barnes and Hayleigh Simon, and former Kean short-sprinter standout Jean Leblanc. Sara Douma, a May graduate of Monclair State University, will be jumping for MSU one final meet before joining the GSTC!

We'd also like to welcome Nicole Callaghan, who recently joined the GSTC. A medal winner in the 3200m at the Meet of Champions, she is slowly getting back into things. Welcome aboard, Nicole!

Tim Morgan Award

Our hope is that this award will soon disappear, but sadly, it appears this is far from reality.

This week's TMA goes to an unassuming, hard working sprinter/jumper Jibril Beamon. Someone named Innocent Attah (we are not making this up; look him up!) messaged him on Facebook, asking for more details about his track club. He gave this dude my phone number, as he sounded like another promising recruit for the GSTC sprint stable.

However, this guy started texting me and calling me from a 13-digit international number. His last message stated he was from Nigeria, wants to come to the US to run track, and all he needs is my home address to do so...

Lesson learned: next time a guy from Nigeria named "Innocent" asks for personal information of your track coach....assume he may not be so innocent. This has eerie similarities to when Tim Morgan's credit card got scammed months ago for $4,100 from someone in South Africa...just saying.

The Amy Award: A Test Run

Yesterday via email, Prudence Jones suggested we begin an award called the "Amy Award" for acts of positivity, friendlyness, and good spiritness. While this goes against much of what our club stands for, we are willing to give anything a test run, so here goes nothing.

Prudence submitted a nomination for her teammate Amy Denholtz, hence gthe award name, who she ran most of the 10k with this weekend. Prudence writes, "She thanked every police officer and course volunteer (and almost every spectator) for 10 whole kilometers...I had a great time running with her and her positive attitude helped me stay motivated even when the heat was reflecting off the pavement."

The GSTC headquarters will add that she has also been working nonstop for the College Ave Mile, and has slowly brought in a few community sponsors. Thanks, Amy, for all your positive contributions to the GSTC!

Quotes of the Week

"All I need is your home address, coach, and I can come to America and run for your club." -Innocent Attah

"I am off on Monday, as opposed to the hard work I am getting done right now." - Ryan Grote, in email from work Sunday

"Just glad to have somehow raced better today! now i am going to sleep for the next 387047347 hours." -Meghan DeCarlo, FB post, after winning the 10k team title this weekend

"Say what you want now. In a few months, I'll let my spikes do the talking." -32 year old Curtis Scafe, in month #2 of a long retirement from sprinting, after Monday's sprint practice

"I think the girls won. It wasn't by much...but I think they won." -Ken Goglas, after adding up published results in Newport 10k

"To beat Tim Morgan next year." -Drew O'Neill, explaining to me why he ran 102 miles last week over FB

"Hey man, I've only been with you guys for a month and I'm feeling good about training. Come this fall season I wanna be more primed!" -Wilfredo Benitez, junior at Rutgers, via text message

"There's a lot more youth groups than I thought." -Ashwin Anantharamn, text at 8:10 Friday night, while emailing youth club teams about the College Ave Mile.

"I have been actively marking the College Ave Mile via phone, in-person and email, but haven't been on Facebook because most night I'm not getting home from work until 8:00ish and I don't even go on it. I'm trying to recruit the girl I paced at the NJ 1/2 marathon. She's 29 and ran 89:17 (6:49 mile)." -Alex Fowlie via email

The College Ave Mile: Four Items

1. Like the FB page, and post it once a week! (http://www.facebook.com/sarah.fairbrook#!/CollegeAveRoadMile)

2. Be there- either running or volunteering. Sign up here! http://raceforum.com/registration/EventDetail.aspx?e=5075

3. Get Two People to Come. We all know two people who can run a mile--fast or slow. Go get 'em!

4. Distribute Applications at Work/School. We all have co-workers (or peers at school) who may be interested. Do more than hang up randomly; give an application to a few people personally and talk it up. Who knows what might happen, but it's an easy step we can all take.

More info on NJ's first road mile here: http://www.gardenstatetc.org/college/mile.html

Athletes of the Week: Jeff Perrella & Karen Auteri

Jeff Perrella

For his triumphant return to the road racing scene, the Quiet Storm has been selected as the Athlete of the Week.

A former NCAA xc qualifier at Yale with a 14:23 5k PR, Jeff now works at North Star Academy through Teach for America. On weekends, he works at Sneaker Factory, and in his free time, he plays in a blue grass band. A frequent traveler, his favorite locale has been St. Johns, Newfoundland thus far.

Mr. Perrella's favorite breakfast meal: peanut butter on toast with "a lot of milk." Before a race, he eats a cereal, milk, and a banana. To prepare for a race, he runs twnety minutes then his usual dynamic warm up routine.

Karen Auteri

As stated above, Karen played an instrumental part in helping the GSTC women win the USATF-10k Championship this weekend.

In addition to running, she plays in a kickball league and considers running the bases her "sprint workout" of the week. Her mom's french toast is her favorite breakfast food, and she adds that, if she learns how to cook by June, she may bring some for the GSTC beach weekend (sounds like a BIG if, but...we are hoping)

All of her training runs are with her father, along with other friends and neighbors. The former TCNJ star often opts for a pasta dinner the night before, and eats a bagel with butter and salt before a race; if it's longer, she adds a banana and cliff blocks. For a warm up, she runs a mile, does dynamic stretches, and strides. And, you ask, what is her favorite place she's visited? Aruba and Alaska!

This Week in Training

Distance

For the men, we start our prep for College Ave Mile/ President's Cup, so we're going to cut down on some volume and fire up the pace son some of the workouts. It's time to start thinking about what a goal time would be. Don't hold yourself back with conservative goals - if you're in good aerobic shape there can be very big gains in a short time by doing some shorter, faster stuff!

Monday - comfortable run + 8x80m strides/8x8-10s hill sprint
Tuesday - 10x400 at mile pace + 2sec, take 2 minutes recovery. cut the pace down 1-2 seconds for each of the last three - so if you go 75 for the first 7, go 74, 72, 70 for the last three.

*Women racing Sunday, run Friday's workout - see below
Wednesday - medium run of 75% long run duration.
Thursday - super easy 40-60 minutes
Friday - 1.5 miles at T pace, rest 2 mins, then go 4x600 at 5k, 5k, 3k, mile pace with equal recovery

*Women racing Sunday - 40-60 minute comfortable run with some race-pace pickups thrown in. Recover, feel good!
Saturday - comfortable run +8x80m strides/hill sprint

*Women racing Sunday - shakeout run and strides.
Sunday - long run

Sprinters

Monday- Race @ Swarthmore Last Chance

Tuesday- recovery workouts: 800: 40min easy run; 400: 8x100 stride

Wednesday- 5:30 @ Highland Park. 800: 4 x (2x600@3200 w/ 60sec) 400: 4 x (3x150 @ 800 w/ 50m walk)

Thursday- reocovery workouts: 800: 30min easy; 400: 12x50

Friday: OFF

Saturday- NOON @ Bishop Ahr. 800: 3 x (500, 300, 200 @1600 w/45sec) 400: 3 x (2x200 @ 600m w/ 40 secs)

Sunday- 800: 70min run 400: 10x150 easy stride

Garden State Track Club

USATF & RRCA Members

2012 US Open SMR Champions