Intro
The GSTC Weekly Email is a collaborative effort to bring club membership an accurate and entertaining update on all team events, runs, results, workouts, quotes, and even mishaps every Sunday night. It is also often referred to as "The Email" or, by more prominent members of the running community, "error-fraught spam." If you'd like to submit anything that would contribute to any of these sections, please email us!
Corrections
Last week, we made a few egregious errors. While we strive for perfection, the GSTC Weekly Informercial is susceptible to mistakes, and we apologize for the many in the past and in the future. Not only did we leave out Kristen Cupido in the nationals preview, we also mistyped Jeff Blough's result. He ran a PR of 25:28, not 28:28, two weekends ago.
GSTC at Nationals
A Trip About Survival
Bend, Oregon- For many, flying across country is an exhausting odyssey. For the GSTC-Elite this weekend, the adventure didn't actually start until stepping off the plane after flying 3,000 miles.
The group first had to endure a white-knuckle, late-night trek over Mt. Hood in the blizzard-esque conditions. Viewing steep cliffs with short guard rails with the pass covered in packed ice and snow, Route 26 East, peaking at 3,000' of elevation, didn't reveal black road for almost forty-five minutes. Indeed, you know it was a trip of peril when your roommate welcomes you with a handshake and says, "Well, we survived."
The course atRiver's Edge Golf Course in Bend was, in many ways, just as dangerous. A 2k loop the women ran three times and the men five, it was fraught with hay bales to jump, sharp turns to navigate, steep and gradual hills to climb, narrow trails to manage, and ice patches to traverse. Several GSTC athletes fell not just during the race, but during the easy pre-race shakeout the day before.
Yes, fast, seasoned cross country experts were falling on the shakeout run the day before.
Oh, and it was at 3,500 feet elevation.
GSTC Ties for Most Finishers
At the national championships, it's all about performance; every point and place counts. However, despite traveling across the country, the GSTC shared a unique distinction with a Seattle-based Elite Development Club (EDC): most open finishers.
Like Club Northwest, the GSTC had twenty-nine athletes cross the finish line at Bend on Saturday afternoon: eighteen men and eleven women.
The top five biggest teams included New Balance Boston (22/Massachusetts), Run n Fun (21/Minnesota), and Central Oregon Running Club (20/Oregon).
While Club Northwest was the only other team besides the GSTC to field a men's and women's B team, the Black and Gold was the only club to have a C Team—a team, impressively, that beat eight others by finishing 42nd out of 50.
GSTC Finishes 11th Overall
The reality of club running is that groups form last-minute, fleeting all-star teams frequently. In fact, both the men's (Champions League Athletic Performance) and women's (Beast's TC) were both making their first appearance at the USATF XC National Championships. And, chances are, that may be their last appearance at this event.
That said, it isn't surprising that less than half of the fifty-one teams that traveled to Bend didn't have both a men's and women's complete team. Indeed, it's hard to have both. This year, Central Park TC couldn't do it. Nor could Hanson's. Or Zap Fitness. Or Bryn Mawr RC. Or Georgetown RC. And the list goes on. In fact, only twenty-one clubs had full men's and women's squads--meaning thirty couldn't do it.
Out of those twenty-one teams, the GSTC finished 11th overall with 40 points, as the men finished 19th, and the women were 21st. Just behind New Balance Boston, they were the 2nd overall team from the East Coast in this combined score.
Place Points Team (Men Finish/Women Finish) State
1) 9 Bouder Running Company (7, 2)- Colorado
1) 9 Team Run Flagstaff (3, 6)- Arizona
3) 18 Adidas/Rogue (14, 4)- Texas
4) 21 Club Northwest (10, 11)- WA
5) 22 Playmakers Elite/New Balance (8, 14)- Michigan
6) 24 Asics Aggies (6, 18)- California
7) 25 Twin Cities TC (17, 8)- Minnesota
8) 28 Team Run Eugene (18, 10)- Oregon
9) 29 Run N Fun (16, 13)- Minnesota
10) 32 New Balance Boston (27, 5)- Massachusetts
11) 40 Garden State Track Club (19, 21)- New Jersey
12) 42 So-Cal Elite RC (25, 17)- California
13) 49 West Valley TC (22, 27)- California
14) 55 Greater Boston TC (36, 19)- Massachusetts
15) 57 Central Oregon RK (24, 33)- Oregon
16) 58 Greater Bellingham RC (43, 15)- Washington
17) 60 Dukes TC 28, 32- New Mexico
18) 65 Run Portland (34, 31)- Oregon
19) 66 Atlanta TC (41, 25)- Georgia
20) 68 Prado RT (46, 22)- California
21) 70 Team Red Lizard (44, 26)- Oregon
Men's Results: Johnson Leads GSTC to Top 20 Finish
Thanks to Chris Johnson's 71st place, the highest individual finish in club history, the GSTC men finished 19th overall in the event's biggest and most competitive year with fifty scoring teams and 410 finishers. The group finished with 501 points, just 61 points out of 15th. Results can be found here.
In 2011 they were 15th, and 20th in 2012. However, the A-Team's effort on Saturday enabled the club to revenge earlier losses to rival clubs at the national championships: West Valley TC (2012), New Balance Boston (2012), Seattle Running Club (2011), Bowerman Athletic Club (2011), and Central Park TC (2011).
Johnson ran a careful race, going out conservatively and passing dozens of runners in the final 5k. However, he did fall twice, possibly costing him a top-seventy finish. Ken Goglas was the team's #2 finisher, as he also opened up his first few miles slowly, mindful of the elevation and the over-ambitious tendencies of the race. He crossed at 98th, just a few strides behind Hansons-Brooks #6 man, Riley Jacobs.
Two Connecticut natives-turned NJ residents, Will Griffin and Chris Croff, finished 3-4, respectively. Despite finishing with the same time, they ran nearly antithetical races. Griffin (119th) went out slow and worked his way up, as Croff was in the top 40 for the first 2k loop, fading hard in the final four circuits to 121st.
Rowan teammates Stephen Mennitt and Eric DuBois also finished with the identical time, with Mennitt holding off the hard-kicking DuBois for the photo-finish win as the team's #5 man. Finishing 169th and 170th, they were both just one second behind Nike's sub-4:00 miler, German Fernandez.
Princeton Enclave Co-Captain Mike Fonder was 200th place, and South Enclave product Paul Matuszak finished a disappointing 377th, as he suffered numerous falls through the 10k race.
Had every athlete executed a perfect racing plan, the group could have scored as high as 15th in the stacked open men's race. That said, the race will be held at Lehigh next year, a much faster, more convenient course for the G-Club.
Ogletree Cracks Top 100 as Women Are 21st
The GSTC women finished 21st out of 34 teams, taking down one team- the Impala Racing Team, an EDC from San Francisco- that beat them in 2012. Plagued by injury and last-minute family emergencies, the group finished just 17 points shy of 20th and 21 points behind 19th—yet 190 points behind California's Asics Aggies, in 18th.
Cheyenne Ogletree ran a crafty race up front, utilizing the final two of three circuits to pass numerous gassed runners to crack the top 100 with a 98th place of 276 finishers. Interestingly enough, her boyfriend Goglas finished in the same place- 98th. If we were smart, we'd give you the mathematical chances of that happening. It probably involves multiplying a "coefficient" and doing a "permutation."
Alyssa Douma, just like last year, was the team's #2 finisher at 168th place. Like the many others who ran good races, she went out slow, passing many in the final stages of the race who were in oxygen debt from going out too hard in elevation. Just twenty spots behind her, in 188th place, was Erika Meling, the Central Enclave Captain, and teammate Sarah Schillaci also ran a strong race, good for 215th overall.
Due to the course being short, in elevation, and incredibly challenging, times are almost meaningless. Thus, we are reporting only place, not time, for all GSTC athletes.
The team's #5 and #6 runners, Danielle Czohla and Erin Higgins respectively, finished just three seconds apart, thanks to a strong kick by Czohla on the final stretch. They finished 220th and 224th of the 276 women field.
The women defeated twelve other teams, thirteen including their b team. Women team results can be found here.
Men's B Team: 38th of 50
The men's b team ran very well, handing twelve other teams, including the GSTC C Team, a defeat. Leading the way was Kyle Price, captain of the Mohawk Enclave, who was the group's surprise #1 man as he finished in 218th out of 410 finishers. Next was the always reliable South Enclave Captain Adin Mickle at 240th, followed by Will Appman and Mike Anis who finished 279-280. Ashwin Anantharaman rounded out the team's scoring with a distant 300th place. They finished with 1,119 points, beating teams such as Team Nebraska and Atlanta Track Club.
Men's C Team: 42nd out of 50
Perhaps the finest team effort of the day was by the C Team, as they defeated eight other teams scoring 1,211 points. Josh Neyhart saved his finest race for the end, coming in at 244th as the group's top man and 10th overall finisher for the club. Joe Zeoli was the #2 man at 273rd, with teammate Matt Eder just three seconds and three places behind him in 276th. Ted Doyle finished in 304th place, and David Fett closed out the team's scoring with a 330th finish--still beating 80 runners.
Women's B Team: 34th of 34
The women's b team struggled, as they finished last overall in the race. The group was led by Lindsey Carney and Kristin Cupido, who finished stride for stride in 231st and 232nd, respectively. Rounding out the team's top five were Meghan DeCarlo (242nd), Karen Auteri (248th), and Alexis Patrick (259th).
Team Runs
None
GSTC TRIVIA
In 2011, where did the GSTC rent their team van for the national cross country championships in Seattle?
A- A-Alamo
B- B-Rent a Wreck
C- C-Avis
D- D- Enterprise
E- E-Hertz
President's Award
We thank Mike Anis, Alyssa Douma, Ken Goglas, and Paul Matuszak for driving our team mini-vans over the scariest mountains west of the Mississippi River. The team is very grateful for your efforts in helping the team travel safely throughout the rugged West Coast terrain of Oregon.
Steady Striders
By Amy Denholtz
This Saturday, Dec. 21, the steady striders will run one more race to close out 2013, the Super Santa 5k in Morristown, an RRCA-NJ Grand Prix race organized by Superhero Racing (http://www.superheroracing.com/super-santa.html). Please email Amy, at adenholtz@gmail.com, if you are registered or planning on running it, or to ask any questions. All GSTC members are invited to race, the more the merrier!
TEAM STUFF
Saturday Night, 1/18: GSTC Banquet @ Rutgers University
Sunday Morning, 2/23: Road Relays www.roadrelays.org
Buy team gear here-------> http://phenetix.com/lab2/#top
Team website---------------> www.gardenstatetc.org
Team Facebook Fan Page----> https://www.facebook.com/groups/159501487397707/
Team Blog---------------> http://gardenstatetc.blogspot.com/
Team YouTube Channel---> http://www.youtube.com/user/GardenStateTC
Gold Star
By Ashwin Anantharaman
Ashwin hasn't submitted this at the time of publication. There was very little hurry is his curry this week.
Quotes of the Week
"If the snow wasn't covering these road signs, it would probably say: 'Speed Limit: Good luck.'" -Mike Fonder, during a very scary drive toward Bend that required forty minutes of driving through heavy snow, over a mountain of 2,000 feel elevation, where you could only just see snow and ice, not black pavement
"I've never gripped a steering wheel so tight." -Ken Goglas, regarding the same trek
"Good to see you." (Pause) "We aren't dead." -Mike Anis, upon arriving to Bend after the
"I've done a lot of scary drives, especially during winters when I was touring with my band. That was, easily, one of the top five scariest drives I've ever done. No wonder why the guy at the rental place was selling the **** out of the driving accessories." -Paul Matuszak
"I've been sitting next to you for five minutes. I'm a little offended that you haven't tried to hit on me yet." -Alyssa Douma to Steve Mennitt on the plane
"Staches for naches." -Josh Neyhart, responding to Alyssa's question about still having his mustache despite Movember being over. We're curious, and hopeful, to see it finally go after nationals.
"Ha ha- you grabbed it to READ?" -Kyle Price, not a huge academic, to his teammates when taking newspapers to dry out his shoes.
"I wish the guy who designed the course was right here. If he was, I would punch him right in the balls." -a very elite USA athlete, to the GSTC during the nationals after party.
"It was in our best interests to get out of there as soon as we could." -Adin Mickle, regarding the 6:00am Sunday morning departure, considering the huge messes the club made all throughout the hotel property the night before.
"Normally, I would just say 'Be yourself', but in this case, I just had to tell him to stop talking." -Adin Mickle, in airport, when talking about Ashwin's inability to talk with ladies during the afterparty
"When I am a dad, I want my kids to look at old pictures and say, 'Wow, dad was a f***ing badass with a mullet and a mustache.'" -Paul Matuszak, explaining his ironic homeless look over the weekend
"Princeton airport gains another member while at the airport. Now that's good recruiting!" -Mike Fonder, via text. Perhaps they'll now field a full team at the next team race?
"Well, I got two legs that can run." -Trevor Green, head coach at Zenith Velocity, talking smash about the 4x800 over FB chat. He's got another thing coming to him, as the 4x800 is not a 2x800 relay.
"One more meet before dad Paul and coaching is my whole existence." -Paul Mongone, three time Big east silver medalist in the javelin.
"I have some pretty talented, fast, awesome teammates! Congarts GardenStateTc on a phenomenal day at nationals! So proud!" -Robyn Evangelist via Twitter
Tim Morgan Award
First, Steve Mennitt forgets his phone in NJ, making it impossible to communicate with him throughout the weekend in Bend.
Next, he is kicked out of the post-race party for popping balloons. Popping balloons? Who does that in a bar?
Finally, he leaves a bunch of clothes in the back of the van, forcing the GSTC cameraman to lug it all the way back home to NJ in his own bag.
Oh yeah, and Ashwin once again misses the weekly email deadline...
This Week in Training
OFF. Enjoy some down time. Let all those microinjuries, many that you don't even know you have, heal up. Rest and relax. It is helpful, both physically and mentally, to separate the fall and spring seasons with a period of down time for one to two weeks.
GSTC Trivia
ANSWER: B- Rent a Wreck. Are you really surprised? The doors didn't even have padding or any type of interior…they were just simply cheap metal that made for some very cold transportation. You can take a track club outta Jersey, but you can't...
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