(3/10-3/16): Two Weeks Away: 20k Team Championships

20k Team Championships: 2 Weeks!

Incredibly, two things are happening quite quickly: the weather is warming up, and…the first team race is upon us!

 

The 20k USATF-NJ Grand Prix Team Championships is happening two weeks from today, on Sunday March 23.  A multi-loop course around Piscataway’s Johnson Park, it doesn’t get any flatter or faster than this.  As always, we encourage all our runners, fast and slow and everything in between, to participate and pre-register.  Indeed, everyone can help us score team points!  You can sign up here.

 

Since it’s the first scoring team race, the adidas GSTC will take its first step in defending its 2013 USATF Overall Grand Prix Team Championship.  Last year, the club set a USATF-NJ record for most points scored in one season while capturing its first overall team title.  The men bring a 21-race winning streak to the event that dates back to the fall of 2011; the women have won 12 in a row and hope to extend it to thirteen.

 

In 2012, the Gold swept the top two team spots, going 1-2 with Tom Poland leading the charge up front with a 65:18 finish, currently the 2^nd fastest time ever run on the course.  The teams averaged 68:34 and 71:04 in its early-season domination of the event.  The women, however, were 2^nd overall, averaging 1:26:09 for its four scoring runners.

 

Last year, G-State returned with an even more dominating 1-2-3-6 finish, as Ken Goglas, Steve Mennitt, and Paul Matuszak finished 1-2-4 overall.  However, due to a clerical paperwork error in the USATF-NJ office, the club’s top team had one runner who was ruled ineligible.  The men’s 40s team snagged 7^th overall averaging 1:27:01.

 

On the women’s side, there was a drastic improvement.  Not only did they go 1-3, but the average time per team—1:21:32 and 1:25:47—were both faster than the 2012 team.  Cheyenne Ogletree has won both in 2012 and 2013, making her the only athlete to win the event two years in a row.  The women’s masters group added a 5^th place with a 1:40:27 average.

 

Excited to continue its tradition of success at the event, the club will announce its lineups in next week’s emails.  If interested, shoot us an email…we want as many gold uniforms out there as possible, and it's not too late to be placed on a team!

 

Results: Wesley Breaks Two CRs

NYC- Making his adidas/GSTC indoor track and field debut, Cyrus Wesley shattered two indoor club records at the Columbia Last Chance Invitational.  In the 60m, he won the 3^rd heat in 6.96, finishing 3^rd overall.  In the 200m, his stronger event, he rolled to a dominating 21.84 victory, clocking the third best time ever run by an adidas GSTC sprinter.

 

Robyn Evangelist overcame two end-of-season performances to finish her indoor season off successfully, running 5:06.82 in the full mile.  800m club record holder Tony Harris, who somehow got placed in the slowest heat, cruised to an easy win in his heat, finishing on 1:57.14.  Addy Jean-Philippe (see Gold Star below) won his heat of the 60m high hurdles in 8.24, finishing 3rd overall in the event.

 

Kaspszyk Wins in….Key West

Florida- Masters runner Sandi Kaspszyk opened up her racing season in style, winning the Mendez Scholarship 5k in a blazing 18:58.  We aren’t sure which is more impressive: her new 5k PR or her frequent vacationing schedule.  Either way, a big performance for Sandi as she looks to have a breakthrough season for the GSTC!

 

GSTC Racing Schedule

 

USATF-NJ Grand Prix

3/23  Miles for Music 20k Championships (all divisions)

4/6  Cherry Blossom 10k (masters women)

4/26 Clinton Country 15k (all divisions)

5/3 Newport 10,0000 (open men and women)

6/1 Stomp the Monster (open women)

6/7 College Ave Mile (all divisions)

6/16 President’s Cup (open men)

6/22 Lager Run  (masters men)

6/26 Sunset Classic (open, masters women)

 

 

 

Spring Track and Field

3/29   Monmouth Opener (Monmouth)

4/5     Ramapo Invitational (Ramapo)

4/19   Larry Ellis Invite (Princeton)

4/25   Penn Relays (UPenn)

4/26   Lion Invitational (TCNJ)

5/12   Tuppeny Twilight (Swarthmore)

6/14   adidas Grand Prix (Icahn Stadium, NYC)

6/21   USATF East Region Championships (date?)

 

 

 

Team Runs: Come Holla at us

Monday:  (track and field) Team workout 5:30 at Highland Park HS

 

Monday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 @ RSC

Tuesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ Rutgers Student Center (RSC)

Wednesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Wednesday: (Morristown Enclave) 6:15 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Wednesday: (track and field) Team workout 5:30 at Highland Park HS

Thursday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Friday: (Central Enclave): 4:15 at RSC

Saturday: (Morristown) 9:00 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Saturday: (Central Enclave) 10:00am track workout at HPHS

Sunday:  TEAM RUN:  Duke Farms, 9:00am!  1112 Dukes Pkwy W, Hillsborough Township, NJ 08844  http://www.dukefarms.org/

 

Quotes of the Week

“That might be the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”  -Andrew Tschesnok, before Sunday team run, regarding the park’s portajohn.  Yes….it truly was one of the worst things ever….ewwww.

“I never got hand me down clothes from my sister, but I did get her bike.  My first bike was a strawberry shortcake bike.”  -Adin Mickle, South Enclave Co-Captain, after Sunday’s South Enclave team run.

“Yesterday all I wanted to do was throw.  Just take a whole bunch of full throws with the 10lb shot.  And I did just that; two hours later, I thought I would feel satisfied from throwing so much and working on things.  Low and behold…it’s the next day, and I just want to throw some more.”  -Mo Riddick, adidas/GSTC’s shit putter who finished 12^th at 2014 indoor USA’s, via FB 

“Actions speak louder than words.  Words men nothing without results.”  -Montez Blair, GSTC record holder (and USATF Club Nationals Record Holder) in the high jump, after winning the IC4A HJ for Cornell University, via FB

“Hopefully the track is clear because there might be some repeat 400s in my future.  Should also lift today.  This afternoon is shaping up to be jam-packed with awesomeness.”  -Mike Stomiany, via FB

“A lot of snow in my neighborhood is melting finally.  I take my dog for a walk and of course he’s only peeing on spots where there is small piles of snow making it yellow.  We are the same person.”  -Kyle Price via FB. 

“I love running.  You do it when you are happy or sad.  It clears your mind when you don’t want to think.  It pushes you to your limit-and then past it.  Improves your mind, body and soul.  You can do it alone or with friends.  I don’t think I will ever stop.”  -Kristin Cupido via FB.

“Long runs make me smile.”  -women’s co-captain Angela Dunn, via FB

 

GSTC TRIVIA

Ashwin Anantharaman serves many important roles on the adidas/GSTC.  One is to run fast, and the other is to introduce new members to the group in his weekly section entitled the “Gold Star.”  That said, another role he plays is creating nicknames for himself.  While he once held the club ten mile record, now his is only club record is most self-proclaimed nicknames (4).  This week’s trivia question (see far below for the answer): which nickname does he not use when referring to himself in the third person?

A-The Dark Horse

B- The Egyptian Magician

C- Shwin

D- Curry in a Hurry

E- Ash Wins

 

Gold Star

By Ashwin Anantharaman

Addenford Jean-Philippe

Addy joined GSTC in September of 2013. He joined because he needed people to push him in order to reach his goals and potential. He also knew that joining GSTC would be the best move for him with the many different ability levels that we have to offer. His main even is the 60 meter hurdles with a PR of 8.12 in the 60m high hurdles. He is hoping to improve his times in the 60 meter hurdles and help GSTC in any way he can. Before races/runs he does a lot of jumps, skips and stretches. Outside of running he likes music and video production.

 

Omari Johnson

Omari joined GSTC to become not just a good runner but a great runner. He knew that with the success GSTC has been having that it was an easy choice to make when deciding to join a club. HIs goals include running sub 11 in the 100 and to win a national title. Before races he does two laps of moderate to hard strides along with dynamic warmups and stretches. Outside of running he is focused on doing well in school and work.

Steady Striders

By Amy Denholtz

This week the steady striders will meet to run at 10am on Sunday, March 16th, at Colonial Park, in Franklin Township (Somerset County) and we will assemble in parking lot D off of Colonial Drive.  The park has a running trail, a nature path, and also hugs the D&R Canal Tow Path.  For a park map, see http://www.somersetcountyparks.org/maps/ColonialParkMap.pdf.  We will also be competing with the GSTC team members in the Miles for Music race the following weekend. Email Amy, at adenholtz@gmail.com, with questions or to RSVP for the Sunday run, and to let her know if you're interested in the race the following weekend!  

TEAM STUFF

Yearly dues----à https://runsignup.com/Club/NJ/NewBrunswick/GardenStateTrackClub

 

2013 Highlight video---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esIXfUe1QNU

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 

 

This Week in Training

By Chris Tafelski (cjtafelski@yahoo.com)

Monday - comfortable run + 10x8-10sec hillsprints.

 

Tuesday - 8x1k at 10k pace with 2:00 rest.  If your reps take 4:00 or longer, run 800s instead.

 

Wednesday - medium run of 15-20% of week's mileage

 

Thursday - super easy 40-60mins OR off

 

Friday - 4-6x mile reps with 1:00 rest.  Start at T pace + 20s, then cut down 10s each rep.  If your miles take more than 7:00, do fewer reps, or run 1200s instead.  Finish with 2x200 at mile pace, and 2x200 on 800 pace on full recovery.

 

Saturday - same as Monday.

 

Sunday - long run

 

What is this email?

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! 

 

TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer- EGYPTIAN MAGICIAN.  This is actually a reference to the old Jerky Boys prank phone calls from the 90s.  All others, however, Ashwin has called himself over the years.

(March 3 - March 9): Mo Interview, Spring Schedule, NJ Marathon

Catching Up with Monique Riddick

Unfortunately, Mo threw at nationals during a super busy week for the adidas Garden State Track Club.  A week later, we were able to catch up with her a bit after her 12th place finish.  Check out our interview below, listen to her being introduced here (this is worth it….VERY cool….at ten second mark), and check out her throw here!

 

The Weekly Email (TWE):  Mo!  Congratulations on qualifying and competing at the USATF National Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We are so excited here at GSTC Headquarters to have our first athlete at a national championship.  For starters, how did you do?

 

Monique Riddick (MR):  I did well for myself. I do feel as if I had more in the tank and another three throws would have shown it, but overall I did pretty well myself.

 

TWE:  Tell us about the experience of competing alongside some of the best shot putters in the world.  How did it feel to be so close with them, to warm up with them, to talk with them, etc.?

 

MR:  Some of the girls that threw this past weekend, I had thrown against in college minus a few. But I didn't really talk to many of the girls. Only the ones I knew. As far was warming up and competing, many throwers tend to stay in their own worlds; personally I try to make light of things and keep it fun.

 

TWE:  There were two big controversies out in New Mexico, with two DQs in the 3,000m.  What is the throwing culture like: are throwers talking about the track or the jumping events, or is the only focus throwing?  

 

MR:  I heard about one of the DQs, but many of us throwers tend to just talk about throwing unless you know someone in another event then you'll cheer and see if they are doing well.      

 

TWE:  What was the most memorable part of your experience in New Mexico?  

 

MR: One of the most memorable things at the meet is when I was being announced; they had my entire throwing and school history as they were introducing me. It really made me feel like I had "made it."    

 

TWE:  There are numerous GSTC athletes who are very close to qualifying for this meet.  What advice would you pass along to them after this experience?

 

MO:  One thing I will say is that, I'm pretty stubborn person, and I will almost never back down. If you want to get to the "Big Show,” set yourself to be in that position. What I mean by that is put in the working during training. Have quality practices where you work on one or two problems and really try to fix them. Not only do you need confidence, believe in yourself and that what you're doing is the best thing for you.

 

TWE:  What are your goals for the outdoor season?

 

MO: For my outdoor season, I'd like to throw 17m (55ft 9in) or just break my personal record of 16.66m (54ft 8in) and I'd like to make it to Outdoor Nationals and while there make the finals to get another 3 throws.

 

 

TWE:  How do you celebrate an accomplishment like this?  Please remember there are small children and very old people who read this weekly email. 

 

MO:  I celebrate this accomplishment with a week of rest, hanging out with friends when I'd normally have practice, eating copious amounts of Chipotle-I do that on a normal basis anyway-and gearing up for the outdoor season.

,

TWE:  Finally, tell us this: in a hypothetical situation, the adidas Garden State Track Club women's co-captain calls you.  We are one woman short in the USATF-NJ Half Marathon Championships.  We need a fifth runner to fill out a team.  What do you do when you get this phone call?

 

MO:  If someone called me up to be a runner in a half marathon, my first thought would to be "Do they know I don't do more than a 400?" I would probably have to delightfully decline for one big reason: I don't like losing. And if I'm on the team we probably wouldn't win as I am not a seasoned runner.

 

TWE:  Thanks, Mo.  Looking forward for an exciting spring!

 

 

Results: E. Murray Todd Half Marathon

Ken Walsh ran a 19 second personal best today in the half marathon, finishing 7^th in 78:39.4.  He averaged 6:03/mile for his opening 5 miles, then 6:14 pace for his middle five miles, then 5:36 for his final 5k. 

 

Jeremy Klapper was one place ahead of Walsh, finishing in 77:49.  Michael Stomiany ran 85:40, Zachary Dietrick from the Beach Enclave ran 86:17, and Chris Whitehead ran 89:10.  Nicole Corre was the lone GSTC lady in the race, finishing 2^nd in her AG with a 1:38:37

 

Glass Slipper Challenge

Last weekend, Amy Denholtz completed the Glass Slipper Challenge, running the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday and after the Saturday Enchanted 10k, in humid Florida.  Amy finished the Half Marathon in the top third of all women finishers, and broke the top quarter for all 10k female finishers.

 

New Jersey Marathon Baggage is Back!

As many know, the adidas GSTC has a close relationship with the Novo Nordisk NJ Marathon.  Every year, we are in charge of 10,000 pieces of luggage, and in return…they make a nice donation to the club.  In turn, we take this donation and subsidize a race, or two, for you.  If you’re interested, please email us ASAP.  There are limited slots, and like last year, it’s on a first-come, first-serve basis.

 

GSTC Racing Schedule: Spring 2014

 

USATF-NJ Grand Prix

3/23  Miles for Music 20k Championships (all divisions)

4/6  Cherry Blossom 10k (masters women)

4/26 Clinton Country 15k (all divisions)

5/3 Newport 10,0000 (open men and women)

6/1 Stomp the Monster (open women)

6/7 College Ave Mile (all divisions)

6/16 President’s Cup (open men)

6/22 Lager Run  (masters men)

6/26 Sunset Classic (open, masters women)

 

To race in the Grand Prix for the adidas GSTC, you must be a USATF member!  Be sure to indicate your affiliation with us, team #385!

 

 

Track and Field

3/29   Monmouth Opener (Monmouth)

4/5     Ramapo Invitational (Ramapo)

4/19   Larry Ellis Invite (Princeton)

4/25   Penn Relays (UPenn)

4/26   Lion Invitational (TCNJ)

5/12   Tuppeny Twilight (Swarthmore)

6/14   adidas Grand Prix (Icahn Stadium, NYC)

6/21   USATF East Region Championships (date?)

 

 

 

Team Runs

Monday:  (track and field) Team workout 5:30 at Highland Park HS

 

Monday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 @ RSC

Tuesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ Rutgers Student Center (RSC)

Wednesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Wednesday: (Morristown Enclave) 6:15 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Wednesday: (South Enclave) 9:30pm Stockton

Thursday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Friday: (Central Enclave): 4:15 at RSC

Friday: (South Jersey): 4:30 at Delsea

Saturday: (Morristown) 9:00 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Saturday: (Central Enclave) 10:00am track workout at HPHS

Sunday:  ROWAN UNIVERSITY, 10AM AT THE TRACK!!

 

Quotes of the Week

“Yes, I beat the banana!”  -Karen Auteri, when discussing Road Relays costume runner (we think this was her reference)

“Pshh, who would spend their Saturday night in the gym?  Oh, wait…”  -Alina Duran, FB post

“It’s too cold for books!”  -Kyle Price, to fellow miler Dennie Waite, prior to their Friday workout.  Indeed, the context is irrelevant.  

“If I don’t find a track team here, pray they send me back to Jersey so I can be in the right spot for everything and I can run for the great GSTC.”  -Antonio Gaines, GSTC sprinter via Facebook, who is currently stationed in Clarksville, Tennessee for the Air Force

“Can’t stop the progress train.”  -Josh Neyhart, via FB in Thailand, as he gets in his runs while on vacation

 

 

Totally Misunderstood Award…TMA

Anytime you walk into a Starbucks and a club member is walking in flip flops….while holding his running shoes with myriad holes in them….while it’s 25 degrees outside, it’s not even a question who gets the nod this week.  Mohamed El Hedi Bahri….c'mon man.  The ladies really aren't a big fan of the homeless look.

COACHING PAGE

It's taken a little while, and there are a few imperfections, but check out the new adidas GSTC coaching staff page here.  To gain access to them all, ya just gotta pay your 2014 dues!

GSTC TRIVIA

As previously established last week, South Jersey is, let’s be honest, a wasteland of trailer parks and Jerry Springer-watching hillbillies deep in the Pine Barrens who, on a weekly basis, will think about issues of personal hygiene, such as flossing, and do things like bowl in smoky bowling allies with the local yokals.  However, we love them dearly.

Along those lines, this week’s question is as follows: Who from the South Enclave is in a bowling league with the team name “Bowl Movements”?  You just can't make this stuff up.

1-    Brittany McCann

2-    Eric DuBois

3-    Angela Dunn

4-    Adin Mickle

5-    Robyn Evangelist

6-    Paul Matuszak

 

Gold Star

By Ashwin Anantharaman

Miggy Jones

Miggy joined GSTC after the new year. He wanted to see what kind times he could run ten years after his last race and meet new people. He likes to run the mile, 800 and 5k cross races with PRs of  4:10 in the mile  and 1.51.5 in the 800.  He run during lunch at work so he doesn't have much of a routine. He likes to relax and watch movies before races. Outside of running he travels a lot as he has friends all over the globe and likes to see them often.He has been on over 30 trips (plane rides)

 in the past two years!

 

Octavious Wesley

Octavious joined GSTC because it was the right move for him and the club. He likes the family atmosphere that Matt Baker and  Chuck presented him since he was looking for a team since his post-collegiate career.  His PRs are 6.88 in the 60m, 10.65 in the 100m, 21.25 in the 200 outdoors and 21.33 indoors. His goal is to break his country (Liberia) national record in the 100m, 60 and 200m. He currently has the 200m record indoors. He is also looking to make the African championship in 2015 and the Rio games in 2016. He really doesn't have a pre-race routine but before a meet he always finds myself doing laundry. He gets very nervous so he can barely eat before he runs. He has fruits instead and some gummy bears or sour patch kids. Hobbies outside of track are hanging with his nephews and nieces and just enjoying his friends and family.

Steady Striders

By Amy Denholtz

This past weekend the steady striders welcomed a special guest Boston Marathon, Alicia Straus.  She attempted Boston last year but didn't finish before the devastating explosions kept her from finishing the final miles of the course.  This year she will be running to benefit the We Are College Bound charity, and she is a great example of steady striders everywhere making a difference and accomplishing impressive running goals.  We wish you good luck at Boston, Alicia!

Our upcoming steady strider group run will be on Saturday, March 8th, 2014 at 9am at Donaldson Park, in Highland Park, beginning at the parking lot nearest to Grove 1, the first parking area on the right side as you enter the park (and conveniently located near the restrooms).   A map/directions are available at http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/parksrecreation/donaldson.asp.  Please email Amy, at adenholtz@gmail.com, with any questions or to RSVP. 

TEAM STUFF

Sunday Morning, 2/23: Road Relays  www.roadrelays.org

Yearly dues----à https://runsignup.com/Club/NJ/NewBrunswick/GardenStateTrackClub

 

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 

 

This Week in Training

By Chris Tafelski (cjtafelski@yahoo.com)

Monday - comfortable run + 8x8-10sec hill sprints.  Skip the sprints if you're feeling sore from the race.

 

Tuesday - 2x12 mins at T pace with 2 minutes recovery, followed by 2x800 at 5k pace, followed by 2x400 at 3k pace.  Take 2:00 recovery between everything.  

 

Wednesday - medium run of 15-20% of week's mileage

 

Thursday - super easy 40-60mins OR off

 

Friday - 4-6x mile reps with 1:00 rest.  Start at T pace + 20s, then cut down 10s each rep.  If your miles take more than 7:00, do fewer reps, or run 1200s instead.  Finish with 2x200 at mile pace, and 2x200 on 800 pace on full recovery.

 

Saturday - same as Monday.

 

Sunday - long run

 

 

What is this email?

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! 

 

TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer- BRITTANY MCCANN.  

(2/24-3/2): Record Crowd at Road Relays; Riddick, Ross, Harris Big Track Performances

Riddick Finishes 12 at USAs

Albuquerque, New Mexico- While a few have qualified, no one has actually gone and done it…until this weekend.

 

Monique Riddick became the first member of the adidas Garden State Track Club to compete in the USATF National Championships, competing in the shot put this weekend for the Black and Gold.

 

Her farthest toss was 54’-4”, or 16.47m.  Just five inches away from placing ninth overall, her three attempts in Sunday’s first round were a foul, 16.41m, then 16.47m.

Look for a longer article about this historic event in next weekend's weekly email.

 

Harris Wins Long Jump

Ithica, New York- Going against a field of twenty-six athletes, GSTC long jumper Nafee Harris seemed to finally regain his form after an injury-riddled spring.

 

In his second jump, Harris popped a 7.46m/24’-5.75” leap to win the 2014 Deneault Memorial Cornell Invitational Long Jump this weekend.  His first indoor meet of the year, he broke Aaron Lucas’ indoor club record from West Point’s Crowell Invite in January of 2013. 

 

Harris’ mark falls just short of the all-time GSTC long jump record, as Lutalo Boyce leaped 7.53 last June at Club Nationals to win the national title for the Gold.

 

Ross Wins 500m

Princeton, NJ-  Tyrone Ross continued his undefeated streak in the 500m, rolling in the 500m yet again this weekend at the Princeton Invite.  Running stride for stride with Princeton’s Ray Mennin, Ross won the event by a quarter of a second, 1:05.35-1:05.58.

 

Dennie Waite competed in the mile, finishing 3^rd in 4:19.77, while Kelsey Lewis finished 13^th in the high jump at 4-11.

 

Angi Races in Brooklyn

This weekend, Diana Angi ran the Al Gordon 4 Miler in Prospect Park in 34:07.

 

Road Relays Action

 

Open Action: 8 Teams Break Men, Women Records

New Brunswick, NJ-  With warm weather comes fast times, and that’s certainly what happened in the fourth running of the GSTC Road Relays.  On the men’s side, the top three teams broke the old record of 31:03; on the women’s side, five teams crushed the former record from 2013. 

 

Leading the onslaught was Josh Neyhart and his boys from Shippensburg.  Rocking their “Spring Street Track Club” uniforms from yesteryear, Neyhart sat on the lead pack of Ken Goglas, Jose Escamilla, Atilla Sabahoglu, and Dillon Gracey.  Rolling through the first mile in 4:35, Neyhart took control on the gentle uphill, rolled hard on the downhill, and handed off in the lead that “Spring Street Track Club White” never relinquished.  Not only did they set a new event record of 29:54, they are also the first team to ever break 30:00 for the 10k relay.  They averaged 4:49 a mile with their counterparts, “Spring Street Track Club Black,” finishing fourth in 31:26, or 5:04 a mile.

 

On the women’s side, five very good teams dipped under the former record of 38:27.  Cheyenne Ogletree and Alyssa Douma, aka “Kittens with Mittens,” led from wire to wire, averaging an impressive 5:48 pace to finish in 36:01.  Just seven seconds behind them were the “Southern Belles” of Robyn Evangelist and Brittany McCann.  While just a few strides away from the winning team, we were, quite honestly, just happy they found the finish line and didn’t get lost running around the circle, ending up somewhere in Maryland.  Surely they may have asked us to hold up the awards ceremony as they made their way back.

 

“Beat the Meet” rounded out the top three open women teams, as Karen Auteri and Christen Rillo came in at 37:52 with a 6:06 average.  The Foam Rollers team of Erika Meling and Stephanie Donatone finished at 38:09, the final team to break the former course record.

 

Team “RU Speed Racers” of Allison Payenski, a current Rutgers miler and graduate student, and Victoria Pontecorvo, a recent RU grad and current GSTC member, averaged 5:51 a mile to run 36:19 in the Rutgers female alumni division. 

 

Other Records Fall

Several other records fell thanks to GSTC efforts.  In the college women’s division, Kelly Thow and Kristen Prazenica put on a dominating show, winning the category by exactly two minutes in 39:42 and setting a new course record.  The male costume team of Mike Fonder and Matt Eder, aka “Better Late Than Never”, established a new standard with their 30:48 effort, an impressive 4:58 average carrying a sword the entire race.  Not entirely sure why they did that…but alas, they did.

 

The Gruchacz brothers, Keith and Adam, shaved more than 2:00 off the Brother-Brother record, rolling to a 33:07 team time.  We were particularly happy here as they handed the lone Central Park Track Club entry, “CPTC Twins,” a loss by almost 90 seconds.  Ahh, peace has been restored in the universe.  Thank you, gentlemen. 

 

The “Wonder Twins”, Michelle Brangan and Maureen Ruckelshaus, set a 40s masters record of 41:13.  In the masters 50s, Brian Harris and Matt Baker also made history under their “Groovy Guys” name, finishing in a record time of 37:21.  Much like the Gruchasz boys, this was a sweet one as it tops the 2012 record set by a Shore AC duo.

 

PRC Squeaks Past RRC in “Route 1 Rivalry”

It was close, as expected, but the Princeton Running Club (PRC) won the first annual “Karnes Cup” over the Rutgers Running Club (RRC), 13-17.  Each of the three divisions, male/female/coed, were scored like a cross country meet, with two teams per club allowed to score.  The finishing places, 1-4, were tallied for all three divisions, then combined for a final team score.

 

It was a dead heat after scoring the men’s and women’s races.  The PRC won the men’s races, 4-6, thanks to a 1-3 finish.  However, the RRC won the women’s side with the same score, 4-6, thanks to a 1^st and 3^rd place finishes (Erin LaCosta and Monika Juzwiak were the third place team).  So, that brought the team score to 10-10.

 

However, the PRC swept the top two places in the coed division, clinching the win.  This resulted in a 3-7 score, bringing the final team score to 13-17, PRC.  In all, ten PRC and nine RRC teams competed, setting the table for an interesting rematch in 2015.

 

Team Runs

Monday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 @ RSC

Tuesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ Rutgers Student Center (RSC)

Tuesday: (South Enclave) 9:30pm at Stockton

Wednesday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Wednesday: (South Enclave) 7:00pm run

Wednesday: (Morristown Enclave) 6:15 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Thursday: (Central Enclave) 5:30 group run @ RSC

Thursday: (South Enclave) 7:00pm run at Rowan

Friday: (Central Enclave): 4:15 at RSC

Friday: (South Enclave) 4:30 track workout at Delsea

Saturday: (Morristown) 9:00 group run @ Morristown Running Company

Saturday: (Central Enclave) 10:00am track workout at HPHS

Sunday:  Manasquan Reservoir @ 9am

Quotes of the Week

“Is Mike Anis really a doctor?”  -Angela Dunn, at Leadership Team meeting

“Beat the Meet?  Hood and Wood?  I can’t say some of these team names out loud.  There are women and children all around us.”  -Josh Neyhart, while emceeing the awards ceremony, to meet management.

“So could you delay the start by ten minutes?  Robyn and I accidentally ended up in PA and will be late.  We know we’re getting the TMA for this one.”  -Brittany McCann, via text

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a good TMA.”  -Peter Bolgert, upon hearing of the infamous drive to Pennsylvania

 

TMA

Somehow, despite driving to New Brunswick successfully numerous times, Brittany McCann and Robyn Evangelist ended up somewhere in Pennsylvania while trekking up for the Road Relays.  Don’t get us wrong, we appreciate the efforts they make to attend GSTC events, but this one has left everyone scratching their heads. 

With all due respect, we haven’t a clue how the ended up in Pennsylvania while en route to New Brunswick.  No clue.  But somehow they did, we held up the race ten minutes, and low and behold, they made it, and raced very well without a warm up.

The caveat here is that we do understand that the South Enclave, hidden in the dark shadows of southern New Jersey, lives within an underdeveloped, to some degree third world country down in the Pine Barrens.  We are empathetic to the fact that they don’t have many roads, not every house has running water, and the luxury homes “dial into” the Internet.  However, we are saddened by their inability to cope with the real world and its complex system of highways, road signs, and general transportation infrastructure that has been supporting human travel now for several generations.  Indeed, you can take a lady out of the south, but you can’t take the south out of the lady.

Keeping it classy, these ladies rolled out of their Pontiac Trans Am hoopty in ripped Wa Wa shirts, showing their true colors…both literally and metaphorically.  Here’s to the Ladies of the South Enclave.  Hashtag, keepitclassy!  

GSTC TRIVIA…IS BACK

In 2011, during the inaugural Road Relays I, several future GSTC’ers competed without having any idea what the GSTC was.  Well, most people didn’t, as it was just a few months old at the time.  Which member did NOT compete three years ago?

1-    Sergio Ocontrillo

2-    Wismith Francois

3-    Matt Eder

4-    Chelsea Callan

5-    Nicole Salge

 

This Week in Club History

Three years ago, the GSTC held the first annual Road Relays.  But there was a very small problem: the snow was melting, and the drains weren’t working.  A huge puddle, over 100 meters long, formed on the backstretch.  After renting a gas-powered water pump from Home Depot, it was apparent after an hour this wasn’t helping.  The water was pumped off the road onto the grass, but the grass was frozen, so it just rolled back onto the road.  For about 150m, the race was run on the gravel path, above the water puddle, as luckily the snow had melted enough there.  It was really fun.

 

Gold Star

By Ashwin Anantharaman

Lori-Ann Woodard

Lori started working out with GSTC February 10th because she spent years looking for a running club that included sprinters workouts (instead of long distance runs which she is not interested in at all). She did another search a few months ago and was pleased to find GSTC on line. She is tired of the boring gym workouts and short distance running for fitness. In the last 2 years, she lost a considerable amount of weight and her health has significantly improved. Now she has a sprinters itch again and wants to get back to being in great shape by doing what she always loved to do - run hard and run fast! It's never too late to do what you love! Her goal is by next year to compete as a masters sprinter. When she was in college her 200meter PR was 26.2 and 400m PR was 62.5! She loved every step as a sprinter and is looking forward to continuing what she loves. Her routines are to complete sprinter workouts every week. She also started working out one on one with GSTC Personal Trainer Pro Mark Parisen who created a fitness plan for her. She is a full time Director of Quality at Medtronic a pacemaker company located in Monmouth Junction. She also started her own business last year by making organic body butters and facial creams. She encourages everyone to visit www.umaglow.com. She also likes to sing and write songs as her goal is to record them in a studio some time in the near future. 

 

Allison Herdje 

Allison  recently joined GSTC and is a sophomore at the  Hun School in Princeton . She joined because she knew it was a very good club and she wanted good training so she

 could reduce my times! Her PR for the 1600 is 6:16 and her goal in the spring is to break 6 minutes in the mile. Before runs she usually stretches and goes for a warm up run. She hoping to add some effective rituals for her race routine this spring. Her hobbies outside of running include baking, crafts, and doing community service, playing soccer recreationally and for Hun in the fall.

Steady Striders

By Amy Denholtz

Congrats to everyone who ran in the team's annual Road Relays race!  Our next steady striders run is set for this coming Saturday, March 1st, at 9am, beginning from Grove 5 of Johnson Park in Highland Park/Piscataway.  Grove 5 is across from the Rutgers football stadium and off of Landing Lane.  The Grove 5 parking lot is the first parking lot on the left and has a picnic area with bathrooms (for directions and park map, see: www.co.middlesex.nj.us/parksrecreation/johnson.asp).  Please email Amy, at adenholtz@gmail.com, with any questions or to RSVP for the group run on Saturday.

TEAM STUFF

Sunday Morning, 2/23: Road Relays  www.roadrelays.org

Yearly dues----à https://runsignup.com/Club/NJ/NewBrunswick/GardenStateTrackClub

 

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 

 

This Week in Training

By Chris Tafelski (cjtafelski@yahoo.com)

If you raced this week, we should make some adjustments to the usual routine to give you some recovery time.  Since this is a fairly nonspecific block of training and the paces are fairly flexible, the best way to recover is to modify your volume and intensity based on the feel of your runs.  Some people may be able to do normal training starting Monday.  For others, it may be Wednesday or Thursday until they feel normal again.  This is a classic time where being a slave to the numbers can backfire on you - Are you hitting a goal volume or pace because it will make you a better runner, or are you hitting it for the sake of hitting it?  Less (or slower) running in the few days following a race may allow you to return to full training sooner, resulting in an overall greater benefit down the line.

 

Monday - comfortable run + 8x8-10sec hillsprints.  Skip the sprints if you're feeling sore from the race.

 

Tuesday - another comfortable run OR 4-5 sets of 4x400 at 5k pace on a 2:00 cycle.  If your 400s take 80-90 seconds, go on a 2:30 cycle.  If they take 2:00, go on a 3:00 cycle.  Take 3:00 between sets.  

 

Wednesday - medium run of 15-20% of week's mileage

 

Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins or OFF.

 

Friday - 25-45 minutes of T-pace running, followed by 4x300 at mile pace cutting down to 800 pace with 100m recovery

 

Saturday - same as Monday

 

Sunday - long run.

 

What is this email?

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! 

 

TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer- Chelsea Callan did not.  We couldn’t believe, when looking at results from 2011 last week, how many current GSTC members randomly competed in it.