Okay, so today's the day to just settle on a team name and sign up already. Seriously. Oh, and get your friends to sign up, too! It's gonna be 45 degrees and a perfect day to run with a baton in your hand. Sign up here!!!!
A little history tidbit from the Road Relays I: In 2011, we got a ton of snow the week before the event.....then it got real warm. This resulted in huge (two feet deep) puddles in the Buccleuch Park roads as the snow melted and, of course, the park's sewers were not working. After several hours of futile use of a rented water pump, the race actually was redirected on the running path, which required better wood chips, and after we did that....ehh, let's just be happy for good weather this week leading up to Road Relays III!
Three Club Records Fall at Millrose Games
The grand finale of the indoor season is really the true test of the depth and true quality of a track club. By the summer, it's about renting college and high school kids for a month. But the winter season- that's the real measuring stick of a club: who ya got, and how fast are they? While not dominating either the 4x200 or distance medley relays for either gender, the collective results for the club section of the Millrose Games indicate one thing: the GSTC had the strongest showing of any East Coast club.
Men's DMR: Bronze Medal as Three PR in Deep Field in Armory
It took four gutsy efforts, three PRs, and an unlikely deciding leg, but in the end, the Men in Gold rolled to a 10:02.17 finish, defeating rivals NYAC and Central Park TC for the first time in the DMR. Every second counted, as just 1.1 seconds separated these three teams, as NJ/NY TC and Syracuse Chargers took the top two spots.
In the opening leg, Tony Harris battled nine other teams, PR'ing in 3:03.8, handing off in 5th just a stride off from CPTC's Carlos Jamieson- a nationals qualifier in the mile last year. Mike Brito took it from there, moving the Gold up two places to 3rd, dropping CPTC and NYAC in the final 100m with his 49.4 leg- the race's fastest 400m split. On the penultimate leg, Kyle Price set an early blistering pace in the 800m, blazing a four second PR in the 800 with a 1:53.5 split- a club indoor record for that distance.
As the DMR always does, it came down to the anchor, and Chris Heibell fought Syracuse for most of his race with the other two teams giving chase. He ran a season best of 4:14.5 as he was in second for much of the race until the final 200m. Although NYAC and CPTC finished just a second behind, Heibell's gutsy fight with the Syracuse Charger is what pulled him through the finish line, helping set a club record by nine seconds.
Interesting enough, the leg that was the decisive factor was the 400m. Despite it being the shortest leg, it was the one that the GSTC got the biggest advantage: CPTC's 400m guy ran 51.4, NYAC's 52.1---but Brito split 49.4, a two second difference that made a world of distance in the final results.
The B Team ran well, but not great, running below their individual goals but meeting their team one: to beat the Central Park TC's B team. Mike Belgiovine opened up in 3:08, Ricky Garcia split 50.2 (the 3rd fastest 400m of the race), Mark Parisen ran 2:00, and Zak Martins anchored in 4:30, finishing in 7th of nine teams in 10:30.11.
Women's DMR: 4th Place as Distance Ladies Debut in Millrose
Last year, the GSTC had one Millrose event they didn't compete in: the women's DMR. This year, it was one of their strongest showings of the night.
Chelsea Callan, despite nursing a sore foot all week, ran brilliantly on the lead-off, hanging on to the chase-pack with a solid 3:38 (72/lap) personal best. From there, Justine Ameye, the club's fastest 400m runner from Boston, went out incredibly (too) fast with the group for her opening lap- resulting in a slower 65.8 400m leg as she tied up in the final stretch.
This put half miler Alyssa Douma in a tough spot: all alone. Pacing herself well, Douma slowed moved back into the race, eventually catching- and passing- Shore AC with a 2:16 split. Despite the fast leg, NYAC and CPTC B Team's lead only widened, as their half milers ran 2:11 and 2:12, respectively. Anchor Cheyenne Ogletree had a lot of work to do, as there was now an eleven second deficit between her and the chase pack nearly 80 meters down the track.
Ogletree went out hard and just kept going. Gobbling up CPTC then NYAC by the 1200m mark, she pushed the baton from 6th to 4th, finishing in 4:54 for the full mile. Defeating NYAC was especially impressive for the group, as they were not only the defending champions- but the defending meet record holders.
Men's 4x200: Both Relays Break Club Record as Anchors Struggle
It's an event of precision and fine detail, as every step and baton exchange can make a world of difference. Despite the weeks of baton preparation, both A and B teams sizzled around the track flawlessly until...the anchors.
In section one, lead-off man and 100m club record holder Ish Robbins got out of the gates well, putting the crew in 2nd with a 22.8 split. Brito and Kaseem Jackson also followed with sub-23 legs, leaving it to anchor Joe LaFleur to finish the job. After looking fine through 150m, he faded in the final stretch, allowing Dare to Dream to pass him. The B Team's 1:31.62 bettered the old club record of 1:32.83.
In section two, Amr Ghardseldin blasted an impressive lead-off leg, handing off in 22.3. Jason Romsak and Kevin Parker kept the baton in second, fighting off a herd of teams in their wake, and it came down to anchor Julius Samuel. Sadly, he made three big mistakes: first, he was slow getting out of the exchange zone, thus slowing down the baton; second, he ran in lane 2, thus giving up lane one for easy passage; three, he eased up at the finish line, allowing a second team to pass him in the heat--and a third team to beat them by .007 in the earlier heat. Although finishing a disappointing 5th of twelve teams, their time of 1:30.80 shaved a hefty two seconds in the short sprint relay.
Women's 4x200
The women's sprint group had not ran a relay qualifier, and they were asked, last minute, to fill a lane. The group of Haleigh Simon, Alexis Simon, Grace Chong, and Justine Ameye finished sixth overall in 1:53.13.
Lucas, Clark Medal at Princeton Invite
The Black and Gold sent a smaller track crew to Princeton this Saturday to compete in the jumps, sprints, relays, and half mile.
Jumper Aaron Lucas finished 4th in the high jump (6-4) while sprinter Barry Clark, making his GSTC debut, grabbed third in the 200m (23.09).
Welsh Falls 13 Seconds Short of BQ
John Welsh ran the Albany Marathon this weekend with hopes to simply run 3:05:00 to qualify for Boston in a few months.
However, the running gods were just not on his side. Fighting through 20mph winds and a 4f wind chill, poor Mr. Welsh crossed the line in 3:05:13...surely a valiant effort despite the conditions, but short of the time he needed.
Tim Morgan Award
Well, same old stuff- Tim is late to weekday runs, Anis is late to the long run van...not sure if any scarlet letter may change such behavior. Yet, it was humorous that somehow ol' Timmy was super late to his own birthday party after the Tuesday work out, arriving to the pizza joint with just two slices remaining from four pies. We actually thought he forgot and went home instead.
However, a few interesting nominees this weekend. First, Ricardo Garcia got his car towed from the Toys R Us parking lot, where he parked it during the Millrose Games. He kept saying "I hope it doesn't get towed" almost admitting to knowing it shouldn't be there. Sure enough, $400 later, he got it back late Saturday night.
Next, Rutgers sophomore David Fett took an odd spill during the long run, somehow falling on a tree and gashing his leg. He claims he was pushed, but we're pretty sure this was a team long run- not roller derby. We received photo evidence of him smiling in the emergency room for a few stitches, which totally sucks, but in this day in age, it lands him for his first nomination.
Finally, sprinter Julius Samuel gets the grand nomination for the week, for the three reasons listed above in the 4x200. One mistake is one thing....three in a 22 second race- well, that lands you in the feared TMA section.
And, what the heck- the USATF gets a well-deserved one, too. We mailed in our Elite Development Club Application in late August. They cashed the $100 check in a week, but we still haven't heard back....six months later, despite numerous emails and calls requesting some feedback.
Team Runs
Monday- 5:30 @ Rutgers Student Center
Tuesday- 5:30 @ RSC, run to HPHS track by 5:50
Wednesday- 6:15 at Morristown Running Company
Thursday- 5:30 @ RSC
Friday- 4:30 @ RSC (changed time- 30 minutes later)
Sunday- Road Relays 11:00am at Buccleuch Park
***sprinter/half miler workouts will resume next Monday...to start the spring track season!****
This Week in Training
Monday - comfortable run + 6-8 8-10sec hill sprints
Tuesday - 6-8x1000 at 5k pace with equal rest
Wednesday - steady state run 75% long run duration
Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins
Friday - 4-5x mile reps at T pace + 10 sec. Take 2 mins in between. Jog 800 then go 4x200 at mile pace.
Saturday - comfortable run + 6-8 8-10sec hill sprints
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