Hard to believe: the season has one month remaining. Many are itching for one final race, one last hurruh, one closing chapter to an otherwise awesome fall book of racing. Below, we outline what's left on the docket. But first, let's take a look a club nationals, and the runners a committee of seven selected to represent the club.
GSTC Announces National Selections
Men's Gold Team "In the Hunt" for USATF National Title
After the most dominant fall season by any USATF-NJ club, the Gold Team now eyes a bigger prize: the USATF Club Cross Country National Championship. Held in Lexington, Kentucky this December 8th, it's predictably an unpredictable race. Since it regionally rotates every year, this often impacts the attending teams. For example, last year in Seattle, the top three teams were West Coast clubs: McMillan Elite (AZ), Boulder Running Company (CO), and the Asics Aggies (CA). Conversely, in 2010 when the event was held in North Carolina, 5 of the top 6 teams were NOT from the West Coast. What does that mean?
The boys in black and gold, by now established as an East Coast powerhouse, will be in the hunt for a national title.
Gold Team: Chris Heibell, Tom Poland, Rob Nihen, Ken Goglas, Anthony Harris, Steven Mennitt
Returning is #1 man from 2011 club nats, Chris Heibell. Coming off a 25:29 8k at the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff two weeks ago, look for Heibell to dip under 31:00 in a month. Despite coming off a late-spring injury, Tom Poland ran very well at the Gorilla 8k, and will certainly be right with Heibell challenging for the team's top spot as he's now built another two months of fitness. Rob Nihen is running so well, including his first USATF-NJ title last week in the 8k xc race, he deferred his Philly marathon spot to crank a serious 10k out in Kentucky. Also in the best shape of his life is big Ken Goglas, who started the season with two dominating wins at the Liberty Waterfront Half Marathon and at the Gorilla 8k, where he looked absolutely untouchable. Similar to Goglas, Steven Mennitt is also in the best shape of his life and running very well, including a strong outing at the USATF-NJ 8k xc championships. He is, perhaps, the biggest surprise on the Gold Team, as he's had just an outstanding season thus far. Finally, half miler Anthony Harris, who showed incredible fitness in late September running 4:15 (mile) and 73:45 (HM) on back-to-back days, could very well be the surprise #1 man when the dust settles in Kentucky. With 48 second 400m closing speed and strong aerobic development after numerous months with 70-80 mile weeks, he may serve as the group's secret weapon in December.
Black Team: Kyle Price, Adin Mickle, Andrew Capizzi, Mike Anis, Tim Morgan, Ashwin Anantharaman, David dos Santos
Only one club in the history of the USATF Club XC National Championships has ever cracked the top 20: Club Northwest. The GSTC Black Team, emboldened from a BIG September and October, hope to add one more team to that list.
Enter Kyle Price, whose 4:20 road mile ranks him as #3 all-time on GSTC, who was the #4 man at the USATF-NJ 8k champs two weeks ago. Next is Adin Mickle, last year's #3 man in Seattle who, despite a nagging knee injury early in the season, is now at full strength and logging 80 mile weeks once again. Andrew Capizzi, also straddled with a mid-season injury, is now up and at 'em, building from very solid races at the half marathon and Gorilla 8k. Mike Anis, the club's surprise #5 man in Seattle a year ago, has trained with a strong 10k focus this fall and, quite honestly, it shows. Owning a 14:40 5k PR, Timothy Morgan is the team's biggest sleeper. Rebounding from a disappointing fall in 2011, where he failed to make the nationals team, he hopes to close out 2012 that, months ago, was dubbed "The Year of Tim Morgan." Ashwin Anantharaman also gets his first nationals nod, as he was the first one left home last year in a close contest. David dos Santos makes the final cut for the MIG, opting to defer his Philly marathon to crank a huge 10k out in Kentucky. Now THAT is a team player.
Women Set to Make Nationals Debut
For the first time in club history, the GSTC women will line-up for the USATF Cross Country National Championships. And, with a little luck, they could crack the top 15, matching the men's debut last year in Seattle.
Gold Team: Cheyenne Ogletree, Chelsea Callan, Lindsey Lambert, Alyssa Douma, Karen Auteri, Meghan DeCarlo, Erin Higgins, Erika Meling
Leading the pack, as she has all year, will be Cheyenne Ogletree. After a fall where she literally re-wrote the USATF-NJ record books, look for her to possibly crack the top 50. Rider alum Chelsea Callan has been slowly closing the gap on Ogletree all year, and she will most likely be the 1-2 punch with her up front. In a final tune-up for nationals, Callan hopes to break the magical 18:00 barrier in an upcoming Thanksgiving 5k. Look for Lock Haven star Lindsey Lambert, the owner of a swift 17:18 5k PR, to be stride for stride with Callan. Since overcoming a late-summer injury, Lambert has improved every week, and an additionally month of fitness will only bring her closer to Ogletree's heels. Next is Alyssa Douma, who also has been sharpening well throughout the season, including PRs at 13.1 and 8k, and should be close to breaking her 18:22 PR by Thanksgiving. Karen Auteri cracked 20:00 at the Gorilla Elite 5k and, while frustrated to not have raced NYC today, she will now be able to focus her training, workouts, and runs for a 6k on grass. Meghan DeCarlo has also showed great progression throughout the year, healing up a September injury and running her best race weeks ago in the USATF-NJ 8k. Such was also the case for Erin Higgins, who has overcome a few early-season injuries to finish as the #7 team finisher at the 8k, by far her best race os 2012. Erika Meling, the team's #7 finisher at the Gorilla 5k race, is close to a break-through performance. She missed the 8k due to illness, and she just needs to string together a few more weeks of uninterrupted training to make a push for the #5 spot in Kentucky, as she sports an impressive 18:45 PR at Holmdel.
Team Meeting: Sunday @ DeCarlos
We'll do a long run at 9:00am, and this will be followed by a meeting with a packed agenda: club nats trip planning, February's Road Relays plannng, team fundraiser @ Road Runner Sports, and team banquet. The more the merrier, as we got some BIG THINGS to plan!
Upcoming Races
The club will be attending two Thanksgiving Day 5ks: one up north (Dick Meighan Memorial Run) and one central (Flemington Turkey Trot). These aren't team races, but they are both flat and fast course....and those going to club nationals are hoping to crack that 82% PLP barrier!
From there, we have the Big Chill 5k in New Brunswick on December 9. This is a HUGE recruiting race for our club, as we love to show those Rutgers folks just how awesome we are. There is also the USATF-NJ Grand Finale Ten Miler, but we are thinking.....the heck with it. This will be its last year, anyway. RIP Ten Miler that everyone in NJ hates.
And for our tracksters.....we open up at the Jasper Invitational on December 8th. It's that time of year!
"A Letter From Pt. Pleasant"
An Email from Our Shore Buddy, Ken Walsh, He Wanted Us to Share...
My home still stands at the moment but the extent of the damage is still unknown. I just wanted to thank everyone from the club for the well wishes and kind acts I have received in recent days (and if I haven't responded yet I apologize). I cannot at this time possibly repay you all for the boost you have given me this week. Whether it was Kyle Price coming unasked twice to my house to help clean up or Karen Auteri (and the whole Auteri clan) taking me in for 2 days in anticipation for The Marathon That Never Was, I cannot possibly thank you enough. And it goes beyond Kyle and Karen, one day I'll put together a list of people to thank individually who helped make me smile when I was at my lowest point (James Lothian, Tom Poland, Sarah and Alyssa Douma, and Team DeCarlo just to name a few). I'm really lucky to have this group to call my club and my friends. It could be some time before I am back to running, and living for that matter, at full steam, but I know I've got a support group like no other in this team. Thank you all, it really does mean a lot.
GSTC Trivia Question
How many people attended the GSTC's first long run held at Holmdel Park in October of 2010?
A- 10
B- 1
C- 7
D- 11
E- 13.5
TMA & Q.o.t.W.
After such a rough stretch, we ain't got a whole lot. Anytime Tim Morgan proclaims a three day hiatus from Facebook, you know some $%^& really went down in New Jersey. Jokes aside--many of us were not on Facebook, very few team runs happened, many still haven't power, and truly---there just isn't much to report.
We are thankful our running family is safe, healthy, and in good spirits. We promise an email chock-full of zingers and clown moments next week!
Road Relays III
Our team's February race just got a website: www.roadrelays.org. The third annual is slated for February 24th, 2013!
TRIVIA ANSWER: 1. Chris Tafelski drove down there, waited around for about twenty minutes, then just did his thing....alone. Ah, the difference two years makes.
Team Runs
Monday: 5:30 @ Rutgers Student Center (sprinters: 5:30 @ HPHS)
Tuesday 6:00 @ RSC (track session)
Wednesday 5:30 @ Rutgers Student Center
Thursday 5:30 @ Rutgers Student Center
Friday 4:00 @ Rutgers Student Center
Saturday 10:00am sprinters @ HPHS
Sunday 9:00am LR @ DeCarlos OR
2:00pm LR @ New Brunswick (hit up Dan Teichmann)
This Week in Training
Monday - comfortable run + 8x80m strides or 8x8-10s hill sprints
Tuesday - If you're running CLub Nats, your workout is 8x1200 @ 10k pace with 1:00 rest. Try to shave down on the last two. Take an 800m jog, then go 4x200 at 800m pace.
If you're running Big Chill, you're doing 6x800 also, but you're running at 5k pace with equal rest. Take an 800m jog and finish with 4x200 at 800m pace.
Wednesday - moderate run of 75% long run duration.
Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins
Friday - tempo runs for everyone - 4-6 miles at T pace. Finish with 6-8 strides.
Saturday - comfortable run + 8x80m strides or 8x8-10s hill sprints
Sunday - long run
Tuesday - If you're running CLub Nats, your workout is 8x1200 @ 10k pace with 1:00 rest. Try to shave down on the last two. Take an 800m jog, then go 4x200 at 800m pace.
If you're running Big Chill, you're doing 6x800 also, but you're running at 5k pace with equal rest. Take an 800m jog and finish with 4x200 at 800m pace.
Wednesday - moderate run of 75% long run duration.
Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins
Friday - tempo runs for everyone - 4-6 miles at T pace. Finish with 6-8 strides.
Saturday - comfortable run + 8x80m strides or 8x8-10s hill sprints
Sunday - long run
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