Four Teams Score as Golden Girls Bring GSTC Within 1 Point in Overall GP
New Brunswick- The GSTC open women put on their greatest display of depth Sunday morning, as twenty-six members comprising five teams participated in the Grand Prix 5k Open Women's Championship. Out of fifteen scoring teams, the ladies finished 1st, 2nd, 5th, 9th, and 12th—racking up thirty total team points. While extending their perfect, unbeaten streak in 2013, they set club records both for number of women, and number of teams, competing in one team event.
In addition, their passionate team effort closed the gap in the USATF-NJ Overall Grand Prix Series. Down twenty points prior to the race, the GSTC is now down just one point with four open and five masters team championship races remaining: the half marathon (9/22), 5k cross country (10/20), 8k cross country (10/27), Giralda Farms 10k (master's women only, 11/10), and Ashenfelter 8k (11/28).
The GSTC has never won the overall team title, as it requires a delicate balance of both open and masters runners. It also just takes a massive number of participants, much like the open women did yesterday, as the top ten teams score points of 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 respectively. So, every runner on every team counts in such a tight team race.
The club would have taken the lead by six points had it not been for a last-minute injury, fifteen minutes before the race. The team of Danielle Czohla (18:42- GSTC#9), Erika Meling (18:49- GSTC #10), and Jess Byrnes (19:58) would have finished third overall and completed the 1-2-3 team sweep had they had a fourth and final scoring team member.
Cheyenne Ogletree shattered her club 5k record by twelve seconds, as she won the women's race in 17:27. Teammates Alyssa Douma (18:36), Angela Dunn (19:06), Robyn Evangelist (19:19) and Meghan DeCarlo (20:44) comprised the winning team, as the top four scoring women averaged 18:37 for the dubya.
Katie Chaput, making her Grand Prix debut, was the GSTC's second finisher in 17:56- creating a three-way tie for the third fastest time in club history. Joining her was Erin Higgins (19:24), Tiffany Schwartz (20:13), Courtney Stanton (20:45), and Shanna Beairsto (22:27).
The old adage "every second counts" really mattered with the team of Danielle Stanton (20:34), Sandi Kapszyk (21:04), Christina Chafos (21:54), and Kelly Polisin (23:13) who finished an impressive fifth place overall. Their total team time of 1:26:46 was just two seconds shy of RVRR's A-Team of 1:26:44 team time. Three more seconds would have been fourth place, not fifth, giving the club a one point lead in the overall standings.
Team co-captain Cathy Stutzman (21:15) was the top finisher for the team that finished 9th, squeezing in two more team points. Joining her was Nicole Callaghan (23:42), Brianne Teichmann (25:14), Vanessa Chafos (26:22), and Joan Darnsteadt (26:54).
The GSTC's final team averaged 29:44 per runner. They included Christine Mockenhaup (27:49), Prudence Jones (27:55), Ana Garcia (31:18), and Amy Denholtz (31:54).
Several men hopped in, as well. Steve Mennitt brought home the overall win, averaging 5:06 pace, dominating the field by about a minute in 15:50. Other men who ran were Woody Kongsamut (19:30), Kyle Flyer (19:30), Ruscel Kirkland (20:43), and Rob DeCarlo (20:44).
Results can be found here.
Other Weekend Results
Allie Dublinski ran back-to-back races this weekend after coming off a week of back pain. On Sunday, she averaged 6:40 pace for the first 8.5 miles until the back pain and downpour arrived; thus, she finished an unfortunate 5th with a 1:40 time, far off her typical performance but won 50 beans. The next day, however, she averaged 6:10 a mile at the Labor Day Verona 5k to finish 2nd overall women. That said, she got engaged after the race…so it was quite a weekend for Allie!
Mark Parisen avoided the competition of the Jimmy D 5k and ran 18:55 in the Woodbridge 5k, while Tim Morgan won his South Plainfield Labor Day 5k for the 78th straight year in 16:14. Yeee haw.
GSTC Steady Striders
By Amy Denholtz
First, the steady striders welcome new member Courteney! And secondly, congrats to Prudence, Ana, and Amy, the steady striders who raced the Jimmy D 5k with the team this weekend! The upcoming steady striders group run will be the team run on Sunday, September 8th, at Manasquan Reservoir. This 5-mile loop is an opportunity for the group to get in a nice longer run along the reservoir or a shorter out and back run. Email Amy at adenholtz@gmail.com with any questions.
GSTC Personal Training Daily Tip
By Mark Parisen
If you enjoyed the plank work a few weeks ago, then you're going to enjoy some of these more advanced aspects of it. Check it out here.
Gold Star
By Ashwin Anantharaman
Ezra Chefitz
Ezra joined GSTC in July as he is prepping for the NYC marathon in November. He decided he needed some coaching and there is no one better than Rob DeCarlo when it comes to coaching runners for the marathon. His Prs are 1:48:12 in the half marathon and 21:40 in the 5k, but his ultimate goals are to break 4 hours in the marathon and 20 minutes in the 5k. Before runs/races he eats toast with peanut butter and a banana. He also wets his hair before every run as he likes to run with wet hair as it keeps him cool during the summer(wonder how that will work out in the winter). When he is not running you can catch Ezra brushing up on some World War II history, playing the drums or watching HBO.
Brittany McCann
Brittany joined GSTC this past weekend. After hearing about GSTC from current member Angela Dunn, Brittany decided that we were a good match for her running goals. She ran for Delsea High School(class of 02) and Mount Saint Mary's University(class of 06). Her Prs show that she is very versatile in all aspects of distance running, from a 2:19 800m to a 18:00 5k to a 1:40 half marathon. Her goal right now is to get back into running shape as she had to take time off to rest her hip. She is currently training for the Atlantic City half marathon in October and will be a huge addition to our team once she puts on the gold and black uniform. When she is not training you can catch her helping the young runners of Delsea High School as she is the assistant coach for both their track and xc programs.
Team Runs
TMA: It's Back
We got two zingers this week. First, classic moment with Central Enclave Captain Erika Meling. She's on a run with seven other guys, and one stops behind the tree. What is he doing? Probably not dendrochronology, but rather, peeing. Sure enough, she turns around to inspect, and sure enough....well, yeah. You get it.
Second, an unnamed runner showed up to the Jimmy D 5k Monday morning at 8:00am and sent us some frantic FB messages. Alas....the race was he day before. D'oh!
Quotes of the Week
"It's so exciting to see everyone. I love knowing I'm running on a team where there is so much talent!" -Angela Dunn, via text, after the 5k race
"I guess 'At the strip mall by her house' just wasn't specific enough directions for New Jersey.'" -Peter Bolgert, after showing up at the wrong nearby strip mall for a group run.
"I got three messages. One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you are never too old to chase your dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it's a team." -Coutney Stanton, via FB post
"I was very honored and proud to run with such a great group of ladies yesterday at the Jimmy D 5k. A great job was done by everyone. Looking forward to the next race." -Joan Darnsteadt, via FB post
"Great racing today, ladies! Awesome event and I'm glad to finally meet some or you!" -Jessica Barnes, via FB post
"Ashwin, you snake. quit spying on central's secret missions." -Steve Mennitt, via FB, after Ashwin trolling on the wrong enclave group page
"Humidity. I hate you I hate you I hate you." -Danielle Czohla, via FB post. It's been a tough week here in Jersey.
"However things shape up, I remain true to the (GSTC) mission of showing the rest of this nation what a united NJ will do to them on the national stage." -Mike Anis, via text
This Week in Training
By Chris Tafelski
Monday - 6-8x 8-10sec hill sprints, followed by a comfortable run. Be sure you're well warmed up before doing the sprints!
Tuesday - 4-5x mile reps at T pace with 3 minutes recovery. Run the last one at 8-10 sec faster. Seek out grass or cinder, if possible. If your mile reps take longer than 6:30, run 1200s instead
Wednesday - steady-state run of 75% long run duration
Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins
Friday - 10x 800 at 8k pace with 2 mins rest. Finish with 4x200 at mile pace on full recovery.
Saturday - same as Monday.
Sunday - long run!
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