Appman Wins, Leads Men to 1-2-3-4 Team Sweep
| | | Will breaks the finish line tape in traditional GSTC fashion. |
Will Appman, an actuary, Penn State alum, and member of the Jersey City Enclave, has been on the club for years--and has done many great things. He's run some fast marathons, he's anchored a DMR at Millrose Games, he scored in the 10k at club nationals this June--but he's yet to have a signature, defining moment on the club.
Until, of course, Sunday morning's win at the Liberty Waterfront Half Marathon.
Sitting in sixth at mile five, he moved into second by mile six, trailing his teammate Sean Donohue by just ten seconds. At mile seven, he made a huge move, surging into the lead and building a ten second cushion. He finished in 74:21, well off his personal best, but certainly a fast time considering the heat, humidity, and the course--one known to be slow with windy turns.
| | | The lead men's pack roll through mile two. |
The surprise second place finisher was Ted Doyle, who ran a strategic race throughout the 13.1 miles, carefully moving his way up after being far behind at the half way point. The Boston College alum was just eleven seconds behind his teammate, his highest ever finish at the event.
In all, eight GSTC'ers flooded the top eleven spots. Those included Donohue (4th/74:48), Edsel Flores (5th/75:04), Matt Eder (6th/75:38), Ashwin Anantharaman (7th/76:18), Ken Goglas (10th/77:04), and Stephen Rathbun (11th/77:27).
Thanks to these efforts, the club swept the top four team spots, averaging 79:19, 79:59, 81:23, and 81:35 for their teams.
Perhaps the best individual effort came from Flores, whose time was a whopping two minutes faster than his previous personal best.
Mark Parisen edged out his age-old rival, Drew Pennyfeather, on the final stretch 1:34:09.02-1:34:09.42. His performance would have ranked him 6th among masters women in the race.
40s Men Win Again as 50s, 60s Take Silver | | | Osifchin was the club's top masters finisher. |
The masters men had another incredible day of team racing, as they took home one gold and two silver team medals at the USATF-NJ Half Marathon Championships. This opens a two-race winning streak for the 40s group, a team that continues to strengthen as 2016 continues.
Rich Osifchin was the top finisher, coming in at 81:39. Nick Van Langen was just behind him 82:24, and Thom Knowles was the #3 man at 82:52. After three men in, the first and second place 40s teams were about equal, but the aGSTC had far superior #4 and #5 runners, as Gary Leaman (84:49) and Eric Davis (91:55) came up clutch to help the black and gold muscle their way to a second straight win. Wesley Cole was the #6 man in the lineup, as he finished in 99:37.
| | | Harris crosses the finish line |
The 50s team was just 34 seconds away from winning gold as well. With Osifchin and Leaman offering a terrific 1-2 punch up front, Kevin Dollard (1:30:39), Brian Harris (1:40:18), and Peter Auteri (1:49:43) rounded out the scoring top five for the 50s group.
Incredibly, the 60s team finished 2nd, as well. Dollard was the top man, followed by Auteri, Fran Beideman (1:53:38), and John Bergacs (2:25:38).
For perspective on what a big great day this was for the men's masters team, the 40s were 4th, the 50s were 6th, and the 60s were 8th in this race in 2015.
Women Split Squad and Go 2-4 | | Prazenica surges to the finish line
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Like the men, the women split up their squad to maximize team points on Sunday, resulting in a fine 2-4 team finish.
For the 2nd place team, Aimee Chegwidden was the top finisher, impressively coming in just under 1:27:00; yes, she ran 1:26:59.99! Nikki Hallenborg was next (1:38:19), while Erica Canas (club debut- 1:38:28), Aya Leitz (1:39:10), and Shannon McKenna (1:41:09) rounded out the scoring top five. Filling out the team was Brianne Teichmann (1:56:01), Prudence Jones (2:38:20), and Ana Garcia (3:13:57).
For the 4th place team, Kristen Prazenica was the top finisher, and perhaps with the finest female performance of the day, finishing in 1:35:58. Allison Malecki, running on her home turf, was second in 1:39:34, with miler Andrea Bourgal #3 in 1:40:29, masters Sandi Kaspszyk 4th in 1:40:36, and Jackie Lemme the final scoring member 5th in 1:54:48. Kristina Petillo (1:55:57) and Megan Cafferty (2:17:09), who hails from the fine hamlet of North Brunswick, ran under this team, as well.
Had the club stacked one team, they would have won by over four minutes.
Email us if you're interested!
Three More to Go! 10/2 Little Silver 5k (women only) 10/23 8k Cross Country Championships (Natirar)
What human being, in their right mind, would pass up the opportunity to hang out with this bunch of fine, upstanding gentlemen at a local foot race?
Non-USATF-NJ Championships 11/6 USATF East Region XC Champs (Philly; GSTC hosts) 12/10 USATF Club National XC Championships (Tallahassee, FL)***
aGSTC Fall Training Plan We have a fantastic team training plan for the fall races.
If you've paid your 2016 dues, please click here and we'll approve your access to the plan.
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| | Team Results [please email us your results! we don't see everything posted on Facebook!]
Gotschall PRs Twice...In One Weekend Jenn Gotschall ran the Philly Rock n' Roll Half Marathon last weekend, and she came away with two personal bests. How's that for a weekend of running? On Saturday, she knocked a full minute of her personal best, finishing in 22:24--good enough to win her age group. A day later, she finished the half marathon in 1:45:10. Despite the humidity and tired legs, this was a nine minute PR. Wow...great running!
Rissell Finishes Top 20 Ethan Rissell continues to build his fall fitness, as he ran 73:11 in the Philly Rock n Roll Half Marathon. This was good enough for 20th overall.
Mooney at Semper Five 5k We were relieved to hear Lee Mooney, one of our favorite (and most versatile) masters athletes walked away unharmed from the terribly unfortunate bombing at the Semper Five 5k weeks ago in Seaside Park.
Castroagudin Wins Ramsey 5k Katie Castroagudin won the Jack McKeown Memorial 5k last weekend, running an impressive 19:14 for the dubya. She also happened to finish 2nd overall, making her performance that much more impressive!
Maltin Breaks 16:00 Will Maltin, in his second race wearing black and gold, broke 16:00 for the first time this season, as he ran 15:57 at the Haworth 5k. This was good enough for third overall.
Above, he is shown hanging out beside a random pillar of balloons, giving out more of a feel of "junior prom" than "road race."
GSTC Sprinter Tyrone Ross Runs 2:08 Marathon; Sets CR In a surprise, last minute entry, GSTC 400m sprinter Tyrone Ross competed in the London Marathon. He finished in 2:08:30, a new club record. He is seen finishing with various other elite sub-2:10 marathoners, running the final 200m in 27.5.
GSTC Wins M5k, M10k, W10k at Sunday's Steeplechase A small group of GSTC'ers participated in the Steeplechase 5k and 10k, an event to support the Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJ-Somerset Hospital.
Kyle Price won both the 10k and 5k, as he ran 37:49 and 16:32, respectively. Sadly, a course official sent him the wrong way in the 10k, resulting in him running closer to 6.6 miles in the earlier race.
In the 10k, Amy Williams won the women's race in a fine 40:34, averaging 6:34 pace over the flat course. Eric Davis was third overall in 39:52 as masters teammate Mike Terruso cranked a 2:00 PR, finishing 11th in 42:33. Aya Leitz was the third woman overall in 43:51, defeating her husband Karl, in his first race as a 50 year old, who was 2nd in his new age group at 45:44.
In the 5k, Tom Visicaro and Chuck Schneekloth went 2-4, in 17:16-17:19, respectively, while Leah Roberts ran her last race as a "Roberts", finishing 2nd in 20:13.
Dov Does Paine to Pain This past weekend, Dov Gertzulin finished 11th in the grueling Paine to Pain Trail Half Marathon, a huge loop around Westchester County in NY. He ran 1:29:03, despite taking a pretty nasty spill during the race.
Triathlon Action: Roberts 3rd in 1/2 IM Leah Roberts finished 3rd overall in the Toughman Half Ironman up in Harriman State Park last weekend. After finishing her 1.2 mile swim in 30:52, the first woman out of the water, she then biked the 56 miles in 2:59:42. From there, she finished the hilly half marathon in 1:43:05, helping her finish in a final time of 5:16:21.
No, those flowers are not from her cheap-ass fiance. She won those.
Fonder Changes Linked In Picture After much consideration, Mr. Fonder decided to change his Linked In profile picture to the above one, hoping "it will attract more quality employers to my resume." At Mile 3, Tahir Realizes He Forgot to Turn off the Kitchen Light Twenty-some minutes into his race last weekend, Tahir Qadeer realized he forgot to turn off the kitchen light as he ran out of the house, in a hurry, for his race. This was a week after he left his milk out. It's been a tough stretch for Tahir.
Facebook Action: Morgan Doesn't Watch Pence Interview
The day after a ninety minute debate Monday night, VP candidate Mike Pence was interviewed. On Facebook, he asserted, "Mike Pence is about to be interviewed. Not for me. TV is going off now." |
Saturday Team Workouts: 9:30, Johnson Park in Highland Park The tracksters have started meeting weekly every Saturday morning at 9:30am. The indoor season isn't far away! If you want to do more of a distance-based workout, feel free to join us and do reps around the paved loop (1000m) or grass (1.5 miles).
Either way, all are welcome...the more athletes, the more energy, the more fun for everyone!
Picture of the Week This fine chap competed for the club last fall as a pole vaulter. His goal was to improve his PR and eventually walk on to the Rutgers team this year. Well, Chris Mazzacano did, in fact, improve by almost a foot, and he did, in fact, get offered a spot on the Rutgers team roster as a junior. As you can tell above, he is making many fine contributions to the fine institution of Rutgers University as a young man respected by peers and professors, alike.
SUNDAY TEAM RUNS Start Time 9:00am | | Yes! the Sunday team runs are always this fun!!
Upcoming Sunday Team Runs
9:00am: Little Silver Come run and support our women at the USATF-NJ 5k Championship! |
The Anis Angle Please meet Mike Anis, one of the original founding members of the GSTC. The only man who has competed at every club XC nationals over the past five years, he has a penchant for sharing, oversharing, pontificating, overpontificating, complaining, and overcomplaining. And he wears this from time to time, as well, which the ladies seem to love. "Lenwich in Manhattan, serves coffee at 203 degrees F. Do you we think this is wise, legal, safe? Not I.!"
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| | Kyle's Kanteen This week on the Korner with spoke with Kristina Petillo. She had been on the team a few years now and is big and the big distances. She's got numerous full and half marathons on her belt and plans on making many more notches, maybe even some bigger ones! If you don't already then here is your chance to get to know her!Kristina Petillo
Kyle: Hello Kristen and thank you for joining us!Ms. Petillo: Hey! Thanks for having me.Kyle: How has your season been shaping up so far?Ms. Petillo: It's been rough. After this summer I honestly didn't think I could run more than 10 miles. It seems things are starting to get better.Kyle: Well I'll say, you ran Newport after all!Ms. Petillo: Yea, run, swam through the humidity and heat, same difference. I was shocked I was able to finish that race.Kyle: Well congratulations! Yes not great weather. Has that been your longest run so far?Ms. Petillo: It was. I finished my first 18 mile run of the season this morning. I've never been so happy to see 40 degrees.Kyle: Phenomenal! So you predominately do longer runs and races?Ms. Petillo: Yea, I love doing half marathons, but the marathon is a distance I have yet to figure out. I like the challenge of that distance. Plus not always feeling so fast, it gives me a longer time to pass a few more people than I can in a short race. Haha.Kyle: A distance I haven't yet attempted. How many have you done?Ms. Petillo: I have only completed 6 and getting ready for my 7th now.Kyle: Only she says... What's the next one coming up?Ms. Petillo: I am training for the Richmond marathon.Kyle: What has been your favorite marathon so far?Ms. Petillo: I don't think I can choose one, I loved the Disney marathon but also really like NYC.Kyle: Both great ones! What's your best finishing time?Ms. Petillo: Right now my best is 4:05. I've been trying to break 4 hours for a while now. It's coming soon. 
Kyle: I believe it! Has being a club member helped you chase down your goal?
Ms. Petillo: Definitely, there's always someone who needs to get in a similar distance, like Rachel helped me this morning. And so many people have been willing to run with me knowing I was slightly slower than their normal pace and it's helped me really push myself to go faster. Within the first 5 months of joining the club I cut 15 minutes off my half time.
Kyle: That's awesome! How long have you been into running?
Ms. Petillo: I actually started in middle school on the cross country team, but stopped in high school and have been running for only 5 years.
Kyle: What made you want to come back?
Ms. Petillo: One day I was curious to see if I could run farther than the 2 miles I had to run for soccer in high school, and then I became obsessed with wanting to go farther.
Kyle: Caught the run bug hard. Have you given any thoughts to anything longer than a marathon?
Ms. Petillo: I have, but I am not sure I am ready for that training plan yet. It's on the bucket list for sure, but I need to find the right time for it.
Kyle: That certainly takes a lot of commitment to get ready for.
Ms. Petillo: I admire those who have found the time for it. It's hard enough to find time for all of my marathon training runs right now.
Kyle: How do you balance it with work and life things?
Ms. Petillo: I go to sleep pretty early, but will occasionally wake up at 2 a.m. to get a run in if I know I have a busy day and can't do it after work.
Kyle: Major dedication. That's not something many people can commit to.
Ms. Petillo: I'd rather get it done than worry all day about how it's going to happen or what I won't have time for because I need to get it done. I don't want to stop hanging out with friends and family because of training.
Kyle: Gotta find that healthy balance otherwise the running becomes a chore instead of an enjoyment. Good for you!
Ms. Petillo: Definitely! Thanks!
Kyle: Well thank you for speaking with us and good luck in Richmond!
Ms. Petillo: You're welcome, thank you!
Kyle: Tune in next time to see who we interview!
2015 aGSTC HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
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FROM OUR COACHING STAFF
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Mr. Ward: There's a tie between the 