The Official Blog of the GSTC: (6/29-7/5): Epps Wins USATF National Title

THE WEEKLY EMAIL

#nationaltitle

Fall Training Plan: From Our Coaching Staff

The fall training plan will be shared Tuesday June 30th with all those who are dues paying members. This is being done trough google drive. If you have questions about how to access the document, what something means, or anything training plan related contact ken_goglas@hotmail.com ormichael.fonder@gmail.com.

The team's fall racing schedule is below.

Order your team gear in time for the fall racing season HERE

***

EPPS WINS NATIONAL TITLE

Eugene, Oregon: When it's hot, humid, and sunny, no one wins the triple jump in the final three jumps. It usually happens in the preliminaries, the first three jumps, when athletes are relatively fresh and not fatigued from the competition elements.

And, that, indeed, is exactly what Christina Epps did.

The Morristown native popped a huge personal best of 46' 2.75" in her very first jump, taking the lead instantly. She knew it, too, pumping her fist the moment she pulled herself out of the pit. Although she never jumped farther--nor did anyone else in the star-studded field that included athletes from Georgia, Memphis, and Texas Tech.

Her winning jump, 14.09m, is just .11m shy of the World Championships standard. She now will chase the standard with the hopes to compete in Beijing, China with the best athletes in the world.

During the competition, her second and third jumps were respectable ones of 13.72 and 13.81, respectively. This third jump equalled that of eventual third place finisher Keturah Orji--also a Jersey Girl. However, her fourth jump was a 13.44, as her left calf began to cramp. Due to extreme muscle fatigue, she fouled her final two attempts--yet still held on to a commanding ten-inch lead to win her first national title.

Watch Christina's final attempt and public declaration as the national champion here.

Watch Christina's victory lap around Hayward Field here.

Watch Christina's interview and gold medal presentation here.

Van Liew 9th in Jav

Tim VanLiew, from South Jersey and a Rutgers Camden alum, headed into USAs with a ton of momentum. Coming off several recent PRs, he was ranked 5th on the start list--with the possibility of making the World Championship team if everything happened right.

Unfortunately for Tim, it did not.

He struggled with the tough headwind, as his first two throws (68.62m, 66.89) were both significantly shorter than his seed and PR of 79.49m. The entire field was throwing shorter, however, due to the wind. After round two of the second flight, Tim sat in 8th place--with the top eight throwers getting three more attempts in the final.

Although he did better his best mark of the day on attempt three, at 69.20, Benjamin Woodruff slipped past him with a 70.34, throw to take the 8th and final spot in the final.

Disappointed, the always thoughtful VanLiew posted this on Facebook, showing why he's such successful, national-caliber athlete: "Today was tough, but it is not a defeat, it is a lesson. Placed 9th for the 2nd time at USA Nationals. I am healthy and still confident I can get some good throws this season."

Watch Tim's last throw here.

Gaines 12th in LJ

Although she had an up-and-down outdoor season in the long jump pit, Jessie Gaines is known for her big-time performances at big-time meets. After all, the LIU alum did finish third at the Indoor USA Championships this March in Boston, MA, and she did have a solid outing at the adidas Grand Prix two weeks ago in NYC.

Gaines had a great attempt in jump one, but sadly fouled. She then jumped 20-10 on her second attempt, nearing her seed mark of 21-6. With a good effort on her final jump, she would surely make the eight-woman final.

That said, she mustered only a 6.22m - a few inches short of attempt #2- and thus finished 5th in flight one. As the second flight progressed, she slowly slipped in the standings and ended up 12th in the field of 18.

Disappointed, she's excited for next year, as 2016 is the Olympic Trials--her ultimate goal.

Graves 18th in SC

Last year, Carmen Graves finished 11th in the preliminaries with a 9:47 clocking, and later finished 10th in the final with a 9:50.

Half way through her race, the collegiate triple jumper-recently-turned steeplechaser was on pace for a very similar effort. At the 2k mark, she sat with two other women, on pace to make the final.

However, the unusual heat wave that was plaguing the state took a hit on the event. Times were slow, and many runners, Carmen included, were clearly hit hard by the temperature.

After fighting hard for 2,000m, Graves fell off the chase pack, and after a few tricky water barriers, finished in 10:12. Although she did finish 10th in her heat, and 15 move on to the final, several others beat her from heat one.

That said, this was Graves' first year of year-round distance running, so it was quite an adjustment year. Indeed, most runners at this level have been doing aerobic work in all three seasons for years, but Graves was a sprinter/jumper/hurdler up until her senior year in college. The prospects of what will come next year, in the Olympic Trials year, are very exciting for her.

See all USAs results here.

The aGSTC Compound

The four aGSTC athletes stayed at a ranch in Creswell, just ten minutes south of Eugene. It had horses, goats, a dozen wild cats, a gravel road, and a big pool with no water inside it--all for no extra charge.

Instead of paying for overpriced, run-down Eugene hotels, the group had access to a kitchen, a grill, and other similar commodities.

Kyle's Corner

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 the Korner we spoke with Erin Varga. A member and Captain of our Women's Masters team she has been a big part of the club team life with recruiting and racing. She also until recently put on the very popular Jimmy D 5k right here in New Brunswick for the last 10 years. She began her running on the streets of New Brunswick, started a race here, and looks like she'll be doing it for a long time still!

Erin Varga

Kyle: Hello Erin, thank you for joining us!

Mrs. Varga: Thank you for having me!

Kyle: Lets start with a little intro for those who may not know you. You're a captain on our team correct?

Mrs. Varga: Yes, co-captain of the women's masters team

Kyle: How did you come to earn such a prestigious position?

Mrs. Varga: Chuck asked and I said sure, I'd love it! I think being a race director for a long time helped.

Kyle: Simple Q&A, I love it! How has the experience been for you?

Mrs. Varga: Super! Love getting to know the women and love recruiting more to run with us!

Kyle: Exacty what we're all about! How did you become a race director?

Mrs. Varga: I always wanted to be a race director of a race with a great cause, because at the time 10-15 years ago I felt there was a need for more races that runners and families really wanted to attend. When my father died in a house fire (NBFD Deputy Chief James D'heron) I thought it would be great to host a 5K in New Brunswick and raise funds for burn survivors. I wanted it to be a great run for avid runners, but I wanted newer runners to feel comfortable.

Loved hearing from folks that it was there first 5K and now they are "runners"!

Kyle: That's wonderful that you were able to turn a passion of yours into something so meaningful for yourself and others by being able to honor your father and help the community. Many club members over the past few years have run in your 5k and I'm sure they have all loved it like I have. It must be a bitter sweet feeling to have the Jimmy D 5K tradition come to and end.

Mrs. Varga: Yes, it definitely is. It was a great run for 10 years, and I really wanted to end it on a positive note. I'm still volunteering at the Children's Burn Camp for severely burned children, so dad's mission is still going. I actually leave for camp on July 11th. I will never forget the first time GSTC ran the 5K and Chuck ran in the gorilla costume... Everyone was saying "who's the crazy guy running in a gorilla costume...?"

Kyle: Chuck will pull any stunt to market a new race at least once! Do you think youll ever get the itch to race direct again?

Mrs. Varga: Depends. The politics and cost behind races now is insane. I can't even believe how much race fees have gone up the past few years. They don't make it easy to direct a great race. If the money is there and the cause is a good one, and someone I liked asked, I might. (wink, wink)

Kyle: Nice nudge ha. How did your year of running go since we're on the subject of races?

Mrs. Varga: It went as good as can be expected. Coming off of my hip surgery last December was a bit tricky, but I'm chugging along. Being a part of GSTC has definitely helped push me a bit. The older you get the harder it gets, but that's okay. I have a goal for the fall and I'm really trying to reach it. I was asked to help coach the Rutgers Prep XC team again this fall so that will definitely help. I really loved making new friends and running partners this past year with GSTC, that's an extra bonus.

Kyle: Do those plans include a plane ticket to San Fran?

Mrs. Varga: Those plans include a conversation about that ticket! Thanks for the reminder!

Kyle: Anytime! Now my keen sense of smell has lead me to discover you have a daughter and a son. Do they share your running passion as well?

Mrs. Varga: Hee! Yes, I have a 16 year old daughter, Kiera and a 15 year old son Danny. They started running with me at about 6 weeks old! The jogger counts! My daughter does not share that running passion. I have my fingers crossed she will wake up one morning and go out for a run. My son has been running XC since 6th grade and will be running on the Rutgers Prep XC team this fall as a freshman. He is also plays lacrosse and his speed has definitely been an asset on the lacrosse field.

Kyle: Maybe he can follow Josiah and come workout at Highland Park with us! How is the dynamic between the mother as coach and son as athlete? Does he get the easy treatment or the hard?

Mrs. Varga: That is the plan. He is very excited to run with Josiah! I'm much, much harder on my own kids. I've told the other 2 coaches that he is all theirs, we both like it that way.

Kyle: Im sure he appreciates the coaching even it's stern. How did you get into running?

Mrs. Varga: Yes, he does. He likes a tough coach. My running history is kind of weird but I actually first realized I loved to run when I was about 10 years old. Living in New Brunswick we were always outside playing in the street and I could run faster than all the boys in the neighborhood. Boys would challenge me to run up the city block to see if they could beat me. I think only 1 boy could beat me and that wasn't all the time! There was no youth track teams in NB in the 70s and my high school did not have one or a XC team. I played soccer and then after high school began running races on my own.

Running has really been there for me. It's been there for the best moments of my life and helped me get through the worst moments of my life including my father's untimely death. Two months after my dad died I ran the NYC Marathon. The emotions did not make this easy for me, but I did it and I raised $5000 for the burn center at St. Barnabas.

Kyle: You must have had incredible support from family and friends to come so far with your running.

Mrs. Varga: Yes, I do. My parents were a big support, especially when I had my kids. They would babysit when I couldn't take them, and come to races to watch the kids while I ran. My husband John is terrific! He's an amazing athlete and he makes sure that running and working out are a part of our life. He's a good kick in the you know what when I need it.

Kyle: A life partner and training partner, perfect! Before we wrap up would you mind sharing some information about your burn victims organization so anyone that wants to can help out as well?

Mrs. Varga: Sure! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this information!

http://www.arfbf.org The Atlantic Regional Firefighter's Burn Foundation is an amazing group of firefighters from up and down the east coast, from Maine to Washington, DC. I have the opportunity to be a part of this foundation and to volunteer at the Children's Burn Camp in Union, CT with some of these fabulous firefighters. We give these kids a chance to be a kid and not worry about their burns, and they in turn teach us what strength and resilience really is. It has been life changing for me.

Kyle: Thank you for sharing! And thank you for speaking with us! That's all the time we have this week.

Mrs. Varga: Thank you!

Kyle: Tune in next week to see who we interview!

This Week's Team Event

Sunday - 9:00am

River Road- Bedminster (see maps here)

Weekly Results

aGSTC Masters Women Get 7th

The masters women closed out the first half of the USATF-NJ Grand Prix season with a strong finish, as the women had a very good showing. The competition, however, was stronger than it's ever been, and the ladies ended up finishing 7th overall in the USATF-NJ 5k Masters Women Championships at the Lager Run.

Sandi Kaspszyk was the team's top finisher, as the 49 year old ran a fantastic 20:15--good

for an impressive 80% PLP. Sarah Hersey, who tends to be stronger at longer races, dropped down to the 5k and ran very well, finishing at 21:22. Lucinda Warren was the team's third and final scoring finisher, coming across in 22:42. Ellen Patterson was the team's safety fourth runner, as she ran 25:07. The group had a
total time of 64:20, just thirteen seconds shy of the 6th place team.

The B Team finished 18th, averaging 27:08 with an 81:24 total team time. Erin Varga
ran well, finishing as the team's top runner in 27:08. Stephanie Edwards (26:34) and Sue Lawlor (29:56) were the group's scoring 2-3 finishers, and Prudence Jones rounded out the team with a 31:28 effort.

Other club members ran the race, including Jay Margolis running a monster PR of 17:26. Also competing were Steve Warren (18:22), Will Parker (18:24), Karen Auteri (18:53), James Lothian (18:57), Aya Leitz (19:48), Brian Harris (19:59), Heather McDermott (20:27), and Peter Auteri (21:19).

On an unrelated note, the finisher at 250th place was named "Furious George."

A Message from the President

The fall is a long racing season. Please: follow the team training plan that Mike and Ken have carefully created for us. Racing is fun in the summer, but please don't over do it. We want to see everyone have a great fall racing season, so keep the intensity on hold for now!

2015 adidas GSTC

Fall Racing Schedule

8/22 USATF-NJ 5k Masters Men Championships

8/30 USATF-NJ 5k XC Championships @ Nadirar Park

9/20 USATF-NJ Half Marathon Championships

10/4 USATF-NJ Little Silver Open Women 5k Championships

10/26 USATF-NJ 8k XC Championships @ Deer Valley Park

11/8 USATF-NJ 10k Masters Women Championships

11/15 Garden State XC Invite @ Philly (TBD)

11/26 USATF-NJ 8k Championships

It's time to pay your 2015 Team Dues.

The club has many operating expenses that depend on membership dues.

Renew your aGSTC Membership here!

***

Goodbye, Woody

A large group of GSTC'ers paid their final respects to Woody Kongsamut last week.

Woody joined the club in the spring of 2013. Still an active fencer on the Rutgers club team, he split his time between fencing and a real man's sport: running. Over the next two years, he went from a fairly recreational, few times a week runner to a very serious one who just cracked 18:00 for the first time at President's Cup weeks ago.

He served on the Leadership Team (LT) for two years, enabling him to pad his resume for UC Berkeley--his new endeavor of graduate school. School officials who wanted to remain anonymous have stated he was an "on the bubble" candidate, but his experiences on the aGSTC's LT put him over the edge.

In all seriousness, he will be greatly missed. Perhaps he will flunk out and rejoin us in a few months. Eh, probably not.

Peter's Puzzler

Source: Martin Gardner

An airplane flies in a straight line from airport A to airport B, then back in a straight line from B to A. It travels with a constant engine speed and there is no wind. Will its travel time for the same round trip be greater, less or the same if, throughout both flights, at the same engine speed, a constant wind blows from A to B?

For the solution, click here.

For a more mathematical solution, click here.

Anis Angle

But will there be free peanuts?

aGSTC Runs

The spring racing season is over, so most flks will be taking 1-2 weeks off from running. By July 1, check your regional enclave FB pages for summer runs starting up!

Quotes of the Week

"The best thing Jessie ever did was say yes to you guys." -Coach Solomon, coach of Jessie Gaines, after USA's.

"Diners are getting off the charts with their chocolate milk prices these days." -cheapskate Mike Anis weeks ago after a long run. He bought his own and brought it into the diner!

"I'm so glad I found you guys. I really had no idea what to do after college." Christina Epps, triple jump national champion, before leaving for the flight Wednesday

"I'm not your typical Indian." -Ashwin Anantharaman

Pictures of the Week

The original picture taken in 2013

The replica picture of 2015. Different people, similar poses...?

Steady Striders

Do you run 9-12 minute mile pace on your runs?

Come join the aGSTC Steady Striders! They have their own Facebook Group Page, coach, and group runs. Email gardenstatetrackclub@gmail.com and we will introduce you to our two co-captains, Amy and Erika.

STAY CONNECTED

Forward this email

This email was sent to vargzz@gmail.com by gardenstatetrackclub@gmail.com |
Update Profile/Email Address | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

adidas Garden State Track Club | 944 Herman Road | North Brunswick | NJ | 08902