Road Relays The Route 1 Rivalry The Road Relays, in its 5th year, has been a long standing tradition of the aGSTC to welcome in the spring racing season. However, a new tradition started last year: the Rutgers Running Club (RRC) vs. the Princeton Running Club (PRC).
The club teams compete in three different categories (men, women, and co-ed), and it's scored like a cross country meet. For example, last year the PRC men's team finished 1st and 3rd, followed by the RRC placing 2nd and 4th. So, the PRC scored four points (1+3) and the RRC six (2+4).
In 2014, the PRC defeated the RRC, 13-17. The PRC took the men, the RRC took the women, but the PRC swept the top two team spots in the co-ed, resulting in the Karnes Cup going south to Princeton.  | | The RRC (left) and PRC (right) pose after RR last year. |
This year, however, is an entirely new year. While the PRC is hot off a top-10 finish at NIRCA Nationals during cross country, the RRC has been building steadily all winter.
While the PRC is shown here holding the Karnes Cup, named after former PRC president Ryan Karnes, 2015 may have a different outcome.
Two weeks to go!
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aGSTC SPRING PLAN WEEK SEVEN Those who have paid dues will have the spring training plan sent to them; it is built around the team schedule. It will be done via a google doc. There are other plans available as well. Pay your yearly dues here.
Intermediate/advanced 1500m-5k: on the track for indoor and outdoor track, 6-7 days a week of running, 2 weekly workouts and a long run
Intermediate/Advance Marathon: 6-7 days of runningThe focus being on a weekly workout and long run
Beginner 5k-HM: 4 days a week of running focus on weekly workout and long run
Email ken_goglas@hotmail.com for access to other plans or a specific individualized plan that fits your needs and goals. Spring plan built around USATF-NJ team races here Marathon Plan (Intermediate/Advanced) here 5k-Half Marathon Beginner: here
Kyle's Canyon by Kyle Price
Kyle's Korner is a segment of the Club's weekly email that will focus on reacquainting you with a different current club member each week. We will catch you up on how they are doing with regards to their training, their lives, and other general nonsense. This segment intends to be informative and educational while attempting humor in a purely inoffensive way. Mostly. This week on Kyle's Korner we talked with an athlete whose name you've all heard, but whose story with the club might surprise you. Tyrone Ross has run and won some big time races wearing a black and yellow uniform and is a well recognized athlete where ever he goes. He pushes himself to the max at practice and motivates everyone else around him while doing so. Whether he is taking on the roll of athlete or coach, his personality is always energetic.
Flex Jackson Kyle: Hello Flex, thanks for joining us. Mr. Jackson: What's going on playa? Kyle: Well for starters, why don't you give us a little background on yourself? What lead you to the GSTC? Mr. Jackson: So this is my first season with GSTC..I had a short stint with Rutgers track team..I had two back to back knee surgeries so my time at Rutgers was short lived. I've been running for 19 years year now and I just love the sport of track and field...but I do hate running alone so I started researching clubs in the area and I've found a home here at GSTC. Kyle: Those are the stories we love. Perseverance in running. I recall seeing very recent post saying that you have reached the level of fitness that you left off prior to surgery. How does that feel? Mr. Jackson: Yea I haven't been much of great indoor runner and the marks I got in Boston this past weekend are where I was prior to surgery.. it feels amazing ! I have a great group of guys that I train with during the week at Highland Park... I know I am only going to get faster as the season goes on! Kyle: Sounds like an awesome comeback story! Mr. Jackson: "Minor setbacks for a major comeback" is what they say right? lol Kyle: I believe they do ha. So are you faster now then in college? Mr. Jackson: I am not. When I was competing in college my Pr's were 48 high in the quarter and 154 for the half mile...I want to get back to that half mile its just a little rough cause I was going to Physical therapy throughout the summer and all the half milers were building their base at that time. So hopefully I can get in a couple 800s this outdoor season. Kyle: Well you're already where you were at prior to surgery so I think you're well on your way to getting back down to those times. What big meets are you training for right now? Mr. Jackson: The meet on my list next is Millrose..I'm hoping to have a relay spot so I can do some damage at the armory. Kyle: 800 or 400? Or you taking whatever you can get ha? Mr. Jackson: I would love to run the open 400 at Millrose..I know its a pretty restrictive meet as far as entries, so we will see what chuck does with the entries. Kyle: Chuck is known for being crafty with entries. What about you outdoor season? What are looking to accomplish? Mr. Jackson: As far as outdoor that is the turn up!! That's when all the cuties come out and watch you run lol but as far as accomplishments if I can hit 48 low in the open I will be happy and if I can hit 152ish I will be happy with that. 
Kyle: I would be extremely happy with times like that as well! You excited to compete at Club Nationals? Mr. Jackson: Definitely! I know the club won a club national championship last year I believe...I believe we have the talent to definitely do it again this year! Kyle: It was two years ago, but last year was on the west coast and we didn't go so that hardly counts lol. I would still consider this year as defending our title. Let's get a little personal before we finish this up. Did you even consider any other sports before settling on track? Mr. Jackson: Yea we didn't go there so it doesn't count lol.But yes did I!! I loved playing football and basketball I would say I was slightly above average in both I was also a soccer player and wrestler but pretty much once I got to high school I concentrated on track cause that's what I was best at...if I could choose a sport to play and be really good at I think I would lean towards basketball slightly more than football. I hate the cold so playing indoors is always a plus for me lol. Kyle: I think most everyone save us crazy distance runners would agree with you ha. Now I and those of us that see you at practice all the time know the real answer to this, but can you clear up any questions for our viewers on where the name Flex comes from? Mr. Jackson: Hahaha believe it or not Flex is my legal middle name, it was a name given by my father, my father was an incredible bodybuilder back in his prime..so this where the name flex came from, the bodybuilding world lol. Kyle:Well like father like son. Both incredible athletes. Mr. Jackson: Thank you, appreciate that Kyle! Kyle: Anytime Flex! That's all the time we have this week. Thank you for speaking with us. Mr. Jackson:No problem, have a good one. Thank you for having me. Kyle: Tune in next week to see who we interview! |
aGSTC Wins Gold at Millrose Games NYC- On paper, the club's sprint medley relay of Tyrone Ross (400m), Jamal Roberts (200m), Isaiah Gill (200m), and Dylan Lowry (800m) seemed unbeatable. However, anything can happen in the sport of track and field--especially with sprint handoffs--so execution was essential.
And execute they did.
Ross ran a flawless opening leg of 49.35, sitting on the Central Park lead-off for 350 meters, waiting for the final stretch to unleash a kick pushing the Black and Gold to a half-second lead they would only build during the next three legs.
From there, Gill (22.26) opened up a full second on the CPTC, whose athlete split 23.32; Roberts widened the lead even more, rolling a 22.29 while the cross-river rivals countered with a 22.70.  | | Roberts passes to Lowry in the final exchange |
This left anchor Lowry a comfortable two second buffer, and the crafty middle-distance star opened his first 400m in a relaxed 57.0. The Central Park half miler worked hard to get on his shoulder, but Lowry evenly-split his next 400m in 57, leaving the Blue and Orange three seconds back. Crossing the finish line, knowing it was the club's first-ever gold medal at the historic meet dating back to 1908, he extended his arm upward, baton to the sky, as he hit the famed Millrose Games tape. Watch the race here.  | | Ross, Roberts, Lowry, and Gill (sitting) pose after winning the SMR |
And with that, the club's quartet joined an elite group of athletes such as Kip Keino, Bernard Lagat, Eamonn Coghlan, Paavo Nurmi, Mary Decker, and Carl Lewis: Millrose Games champions.
Men's 4x2: OUTLEANED  | | Kirkland, Duncan, Roberts, and Robbins post-race |
The good news: they ran a club record by a whopping two seconds, leading for most of the race. The bad news: they lost by .02, getting out leaned at the finish line.
Things got off to a rocky start, as Gill became dehydrated minutes before the race and passed out. Rushed to the medical tent, the group had to take Herman Kirkland, who has only long jumped this year, from the B team to the A Team. This left the B Team one man short, but that's a different story below.  | | Robbins on the final stretch |
Kirkland leadoff in 22.7, putting the team in a distant fourth. Duncan grabbed the baton and pushed the team into third, closing the gap with the top two teams. He and Roberts struggled with the baton pass, but once Roberts got rolling, he picked off another team--pushing the club into second. Robbins opened up a very hard 100m, bringing the crowd to its feet as he moved into the lead. As he navigated the final turn, however, John Lundy of DC International gained hard on him. They both leaned hard at the tape, but it was clear Lundy, with a season best 21.02 FAT this year, had stolen the gold medal. The final times were 1:28.82-1:28.84.
 | | Black, Salge, Prettyman, and Davis |
Despite lots of last minute scratches, resulting in the unfortunate scratching of the B Team just two days before, the quartet of Ally Black (1200), Shene Davis (400), Nicole Salge (800), and Lindsay Prettyman (1600) ran an incredibly tough race. They finished 3rd in 11:57.37, the second fastest time in club history. They also beat Central Park TC, putting them as the 2nd overall club, both club firsts.
Black, an eighteen year old first-year student at Rutgers, ran a gutsy opening leg. Battling NYAC and St. John's down to the very last stride, she handed off in fourth in 3:43. CPTC opened a six second lead on the field with an impressive 3:37 lead-off. Davis, a triple jumper nursing an injury sustained last month, gained on the entire field. With 100m to go, all four teams were clustered together, as the CPTC 400 leg split a pedestrian 65.05 dissolving their once insurmountable lead. The aGSTC were still in 4th, but just a second separated the entire pack.  | | Black taking an early lead in the DMR |
The race immediately broke up during the third leg, as NYAC (2:12), CPTC (2:12), and St. John's (2:14) all had monster half milers. Salge, a last-minute switch from the b-team, ran her heart out, splitting an all-time indoor PR of 2:19.37 despite doing all of it alone.
Anchor Prettyman opened up her first several laps running sub-5:00 pace, but it all looked futile as fourth place seemed a lock. At the half mile mark, however, the CPTC anchor began to falter, as she no longer could keep pace with the NYAC anchor Esther Erb. Prettyman made up ground during the entire last 800m, finally passing her on the final lap. She carried the baton in 4:55.85--the fastest in club history and the second fastest in the race behind Erb's 4:49 carry.
SMR: B Team Medals  | | Ramirez, Parisen, Duncan, and Robbins (sitting) |
The sprint medley "B Team" lined up knowing they had a chance to win it all, and coming off the final turn, they were a stride behind Central Park, fighting for a silver medal.
Mark Parisen started things off with a 51.7 400m leg, handing off in third by almost two seconds. From there, Duncan and Robbins made up serious ground in the 200m legs, splitting 22.56 and 22.43, respectively. This put anchor Larry Ramirez just three strides behind second place, and he pushed hard in the opening lap to get on CPTC's shoulder. He hung on for the next 500 meters, fighting hard off the last turn to pass for the silver medal, but his efforts fell just .4 short. His 1:53.76 was the fastest split in the race, as the club finished eight seconds ahead of 4th place Shore AC. The top three teams in each race medaled, making this group the only B Team to win hardware in the evening.
4x2 B Team: Literally, Last Second Heroics  | | Parisen, Jackson, Persson, Erazo after the 4x200 relay |
This race was about two minutes from not happening.
When the A Team took Kirkland, this left the B Team with just three runners. Kevin Persson ran over to club management, shared the news just one event before the 4x200, and the hunt was on to find a replacement.
As luck would have it, Parisen, Lowry, and Ramirez were in the midst of a three mile warm down, but Parisen and Lowry decided to head back and finish just two after the sprint medley. The moment they came back into the building, Parisen was told, "You're going to hate me for this, but grab your spikes, run across the track, and anchor the $%^& 4x2 relay." As such an event usually requires a rigorous 45-60 minute warm up, this was an extremely unusual demand to be placed on an athlete.
George Erazo, the lead-off man, was literally in the blocks as he trotted across the track. Moments later, Parisen got the baton in fourth out of six teams, blasted a 23.3, passed two teams, and helped the group finish 2nd in the heat--and 6th overall, out of twelve teams in 1:32.83...just .05 behind CPTC's A Team from the fast heat.
2015 adidas GSTC Spring Racing Schedule
March 1 Road Relays V March 22 Miles for Music 20k All Divisions April 25 Clinton 15k All Divisions May 2 Newport 10k Open Men, Women May 25 Ridgewood 10k Masters Men June 6 *College Ave Mile All Divisions June 15 President's Cup Open Men June 28 Lager Run Masters Women
2015 adidas aGSTC Winter/Spring Track Schedule February 4 Monmouth Showcase February 14 Millrose Games February 14 Monmouth Open April 3-4 Sam Howell (Princeton) April 11 Rider Invite April 17-18 Larry Ellis (Princeton) April 23-25 Penn Relays April 25 TCNJ Lions Invite May 11 Swarthmore Last Chance May 30 GSTC Invitational (Highland Park) June ? USATF Club Nationals |
| It's time to pay your 2015 Team Dues. The club has many operating expenses that depend on membership dues.
 | | Check your enclave Facebook pages for enclave group runs.
The team has two under-the-lights track practices at Highland Park HS: Monday and Wednesday (5:30pm). We also train Saturday mornings at 10:00am at the same location. All are welcome....come do your workout! |
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