(4/22-4/28): Win $200 Cash in CAM Contest; GSTC Results from Four States!

$200 Cash Money: College Ave Mile Contest

Thanks to a recent grant, the College Ave Mile is excited to offer all members a chance at winning $200.  How?  Be the person who gets the most people to pre-register using your code.  Don't have a personalized code?  We made about a hundred already.....we can make more.  Hit us up for yours!  Registrants will get 15% off, you already get half the registration fee put toward future races, and you will get one more added to your total!

Current Leaders

2 Karen Auteri 

1 Jeff Blough

Let the games begin.....

NJ Marathon Expo

We have the NJ Marathon Expo coming up Friday and Saturday, May 3rd and 4th.  If you're willing to help (think big here:  College Ave Mile $200 incentive plan...), please email Amy at adenholtz@gmail.com.  

Meanwhile, thanks to Dave Fett, Cathy Stutzman, Erin Higgins, Michele Tuchol, Tim Morgan, Courtney Connolly, Steve Mennitt, and Portia Brown for helping out at yesterday's UNITE Expo.  Check out the attached picture!  So much fun with an awesome wheel--thanks to Kyle Price for his awesome hand crafted work!

Team Runs This Week

Monday         5:30 run @ Rutgers Student Center (New Brunswick)

                      5:30 track workout @ Highland Park High School

Tuesday         5:30 run at RSC

                      6:00pm at Holmdel Park (Beach Enclave w/ Ken Walsh)

Wednesday    3:30 run at RSC

                      6:15 run at Morristown Running Company (Morristown)

                      5:30 track workout @ HPHS 

                      6:00 track workout at Antrim Elementary track (GSTC Beach Enclave)

Thursday        5:30 run at RSC

Thursday        5:30 run at Princeton towpath (parking lot off washington road)

Friday            4:30run at RSC / PENN RELAYS

Saturday        TRACK MEET at TCNJ (email if you want to race!)

Sunday          9:00am team run at River Road  Bring money for brunch afterward!  

Steady Striders & Couch to 5k Update
The steady striders are excited to welcome new member, Gingi!  This week, the steady striders and couch to 5k runners will meet to run on Saturday, April 27th at 9:30 am, beginning from Grove 5 of Johnson Park in Highland Park/Piscataway and across from the Rutgers football stadium.  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).  the group run leader this week is Prudence. For questions or to RSVP, email Prudence at prudence_jones@yahoo.com.

GSTC Announces Penn Relays Lineup

For Friday's Olympic Development Races

4x100 Relay 

"A" Julius Frederick, Amr Gharseldin, Chris Turner, Kaseem Jackson

4x400 Relay

"A"   Tony Harris, Ricky Garcia, Joe LaFleur, Mike Brito

"B"   Kyle Price, Kaseem Jackson, Mark Parisen, Julius Frederick

This Week in Results

Monday: Boston Marathon

Auteri Breaks Club Record, Fonder GSTC #2 as Team is Fastest in NJ

Boston, MA- The GSTC men and women were both the top NJ teams, as the women's team was 21st out of 51 while the men were 24th out of 59.  Team scores are kept by combining the times of each team's top three runners.

For the ladies, Karen Auteri led the way with a PR of 3:09:04, breaking the old GSTC marathon record of 3:13:24.  Her teammates Meghan DeCarlo (3:17:59), Ingrid Garofalo (3:20:33), and Jessica Byrnes (3:27:48).

On the men's side, Mike Fonder ran the 2nd fastest time in club history, as he averaged 5:40 a mile for a 2:28:24.  He was followed by James Lothian (2:49:11), Jay Margolis (3:01:41), and Mark Kohler (3:19:54).  Taylor Burmeister also rocked the gold well, crossing the finish line in 2:47:12, but we didn't learn about his racing it until the team rosters were due.

Friday: Larry Ellis Invitational

Harris, Goglas Shatter Club Records Under Princeton Lights

Princeton- Tony Harris and Ken Goglas broke their own GSTC records in the 800m and 3000m steeplechase, respectively, this Friday night.  Harris was 15th out of 50 athletes in the "Elite 800m", crossing the line in 1:51.91.  Goglas was 17th out of 34 in the steeple, hitting the tape in 9:19.71.  In addition, Timmy Morgan hammered his last lap in 66 to break 15:00 in the 5k for his first time in years, coming through in 14:58.68, finishing 59th out of 99 competitors.  Chris Heibell also raced in the elite 1500m, running 3:59.06.   

Saturday: Beach Racing, ESU Invitational

Walsh, Whitehead Race in JSRC Runapolooza

Asbury Park-  Ken Walsh was second in the Jersey Shore 5, getting outleaned by .26 seconds.  Ouch....this is surely a game of inches and milliseconds.  Chris Whitehead, in his GSTC debut, finished the half marathon in 1:27:14, good for 13th place.  

Ogletree, Douma, Mickle, Half Milers Lead the Charge

East Stroudburg, PA-  Cheyenne Ogletree highlighted the day for the GSTC tracksters, as she won two events, set two club records, and broke one meet record.  Not a bad day at the office.  Oh, and she lead-off a 4x400 that won their heat.

Ogletree steamrolled the competition in the 1500m, crossing at 4:36.26...bettering the event record by three seconds.  A few hours later, despite trailing for 700 meters, she uncorked a furious final sprint, blowing past two Seton Hall and one Ramapo athletes for the dubya in 2:15.62.  She later split 60.6 in the mile relay, giving the GSTC Golden Girls the lead which they never relinquished.

Sara Douma got her first win wearing black and gold, as she won the triple jump in 36-4.

In the Elite 800, three of the seven competitors were GSTC'ers.  Two of them, Kyle Price and Ricky Garcia, had big PRs.  Price was second in 1:54.23, while Garcia dropped a two second PR as he finished in 1:55.28.  Price, Garcia, Kaseem Jackson, and Joe LaFleur teamed up for a silver medal in the 4x400 relay.

Dharan Kadiyala (4:11.26) was third in the 1500m, Adin Mickle was second in the 5k (15:47), Declan Fitzmaurice was seventh in the LJ (21-3), Erin LaCosta was eigth in the HJ (4-9), Amr Gharseldin was sixth in the 100m (11.02), Julius Frederick was sixth in the 200m (22.61), and a legion of half milers finished in the top 15 of 54 competitors in the 800m: Nobert Kuter (1:59.53), Kadiyala (1:59.95), Jaris Rousseau (2:00.28/PR), and Andrew Stuart (2:01.56).

The performances by Gharseldin and Frederick qualified them for the club national championships at the end of June.

Props to GSTC'ers Chris Schneider for making the ESU 4x800 Penn Relay squad and Mike Saparito for winning the 800m and shattering his old school record!

Sunday: Trail/Road Half Marathons, a 5k, a 5 Miler, and a Track Meet

Meling Prs by 12 Minutes at UNITE Half Marathon; Wins TWO Golds

New Brunswick- Erika Meling ran a 12 minute PR today at the UNITE Half Marathon, repping the Gold well in our club's city headquarters.  She won her age group and top female alumni, along with finishing fifth women overall with a time of 1:27:02.  Woody Kongsamut also ran a big PR, dipping under 7:00 pace to run 1:31:16, while teammate clocked in at 1:38:26 for a 7:31 average.  We also peeped Rob Guyla, brother of GSTC'er Jason, finished fifth in 76:49.  When does he sign up and rock the black and gold?

Trail Half Marathon for the Masters Duo

Rockland State Park, NY- Peter Auteri and Francis Beideman ran the George Wodicka Hook Mountain Half Marathon, a trail race with some very challenging terrain.  Sure enough, Auteri (1:45:01) wo his age group, and Beideman (1:46:36) took second.   

Turner Wins 100m in GSTC Debut

Princeton, NJ- Chris Turner, making his GSTC debut, won the 100m in the Princeton Running Club Spring Classic Track Meet.  He ran 11.11 for the win, with teammate Perryn Lord (12.64) a few paces behind him.  With his performance, Turner qualified himself for the GSTC 4x100 at Penn Relays.

  Patrick Wins Harvey's Lake 5k

Wilkes Barre, PA- Alexis Patrick won the Harvey's Lake 5k on Sunday, running 19:46 for the win as she preps for the 10k team championship race on Saturday, May 11th.

Quotes of the Week 

 "I couldn't talk for the last 4 miles of that run, but I'd rather not talk and get a good workout in."  -Chris Whitehead when running with Beach Enclave last week

"better QOTW than a TMA" ken walsh

"I'm so happy to actually be part of a team dynamic again and can't wait to meet everyone!" -new member Danielle Czohla via email

"Clear as a crisp spring morning. This may be the day I drink more coffee than my body is able to process.  Looking forward to it!"  -Steve Mennitt, via email, in response to an early morning ahead doing baggage for the NJ Marathon on May 5th.

"I'm looking forward to meeting u too and the team:)"  -Gingi Brooks, via email 

"Well, we warmed up together and high fived during the race at some turnarounds."  -Woody Kongsamut, via text, when asked "Did you see fellow GSTC'er Pete K?"

" Friday afternoon I went to asbury park for the phantom expo (tma nomination for chuck for not giving the new guy the update)."  -masters runner Jeff Blough, via email, referring to Friday's Runapoolza Expo that was originally planned for Friday and Saturday, but someone forgot to tell Jeff it was canceled on Friday.  The GSTC learned about this two days beforehand, and....well....we forgot to tell all parties to not show up 

"That was great.  I've read so much about her, and now, after getting to watch her run, it was even greater to meet her, finally in person."  -GSTC club member Larry Saparito, father of Mike, and avid reader of the weekly email, reveling in Cheyene Ogletree's presence at the ESU Invite.

"These people are all my age see me going up the stairs and think i'm showing off."  -Jeremy Stratton, masters runner, while running at team run today at Manasquan Reservoir

"I will also run the Penn Relays without the z" -Peter Bolgert, via text, excited to finally start running fast this year.  Thus far, he's run mostly college club races, including the bootleg Penn Relays, called "Penn Relayz"

"I heard!  sweet stuff, looks like this nationals race is gonna be a GSTC sweep."  -Mike Saparito, on teammate and fellow half miler Tony Harris' FB wall, regarding USATF Club Nationals at the end of June.

 

This Week in Training

Monday - comfortable run + 6-8 8-10sec hill sprints OR 4-6 in-and-out 150s
Tuesday - 3 sets of 4x400 - you want each set to consist of reps at 3k-5k-3k-mile pace.  Take 200 jog within each set and a lap jog between sets.
Wednesday - steady state run of 7% long run duration
Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins + strides
Friday - 8x1k @ T pace with 2 mins rest.  Finish with 4x150 @ mile pace on full recovery.
Saturday - same as Monday
Sunday - long run!

(4/15-4/21): Six National Qualifiers, a Yuengling Win, and the Team Spring Schedule

Team Races and Runs

Below is our team race schedule for the remainder of the spring.  Tall or short, fast or slow, old or young....anyone can come out and join the action.  Email us if you're interested!

Road Racing Schedule

April 27- Clinton Country 15k (masters 40+)

May 11- Newport 10k 

June 8- College Ave Mile

June 17- President's Cup 5k 

June 23- Lager Run 5k (masters 40+)

Oh, and order you uniform here!!!

Remaining Track Schedule (email us with interest)

April 20- Larry Ellis (Princeton)

April 20- ESU Invite

April 26- Penn Relays

April 27- Lion Invite (TCNJ)

May 13- Swarthmore Last Chance   

June 15- USATF East Regional Championships (Icahn)

June 28-29: USATF Club Nationals (Icahn)

Team Runs This Week

Monday         5:30 run @ Rutgers Student Center (New Brunswick)

                      5:30 track workout @ Highland Park High School

Tuesday         5:30 run at RSC

                      6:00pm at Holmdel Park (Beach Enclave w/ Ken Walsh)

Wednesday    3:30 run at RSC

                      6:15 run at Morristown Running Company (Morristown)

                      5:30 track workout @ HPHS (****change- start 30min later*****)

                      6:00 track workout at Antrim Elementary track (GSTC Beach Enclave)

Thursday        5:30 run at RSC

Thursday        5:30 run at Princeton towpath (parking lot off washington road)

Friday            4:30run at RSC / TRACK MEET at PRINCETON

Saturday        TRACK MEET at ESU

Sunday          9:00am team run at )  Bring money for brunch afterward!

College Ave Mile Update

We have created codes for ALL members.  This code is a fundraiser for you!  Get people to sign up using your code, two things happen: 

1- the registrant saves 15% on the race

2- your get HALF of the registration money to go toward a fall race, team gear, etc!

If you don't have your personal code yet, please email us ASAP for it!

Meanwhile, please keep posting the event's website on Facebook: http://www.collegeavemile.org/

 

Gold Star: Awesomeness   by Ashwin Anantharaman

Roland Cote 

Roland is a thrower who joined GSTC in November. He has been throwing since 8th grade and has continued up to this point. His hobbies outside of the field events include working out("He lifts things up and puts them down"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOSeOieLh7s) and focusing on school work like a true college student should, and long walks on the beach with that special someone. Before meets he eats a good meal, drinks plenty of fluids and then energizes with an energy drink. Once he hits the circle his usual fun and calm demeanor goes into beast mode. His goal is to improve his distance at every meet and to put GSTC on the map for throwing as he wants to recruit more throwers to solidify our status of a national powerhouse!

Christine Mockenhaupt  

Christine joined GSTC after realizing that fitness training since 2010 and a few 5ks weren't enough to gain her true potential. He decided that GSTC would be just the right push for her to get her running career rolling. Last weekend she made her GSTC and 15k debut at the Indian Trails 15k  in 89:36 which was well under her goal of 90 minutes on a very challenging course. She usually tends to get to races early so she does not feel rushed and can just relax before the race goes off. Before running she used to be a competitive bowler and once held a high 3 game set for the state with an 855( I think that is nearly 280 a game). She is a running addict though as she runs before sun rise and tries to beat push herself to the limit every race. She is training for DC Half on April 28th right with hopes of running the NYC marathon in 2015. She ran an impressive 2:07:41 at the NYC half and hopes to improve next week in the DC half. Her ultimate goal by the end of October is to break that prestigious 2 hour mark in the half. No doubt in anyones mind that training with this team will help her achieve this goal. 

Couch to 5k Group: by Amy Denholtz

Steady Striders and Couch to 5k Weekend Run
This weekend the steady striders and couch to 5k runners will set off for an early pre-Unite Expo 30-minute run (see below), beginning sharply at 8am from the Werblin Recreation Center parking lot #64 on Busch Campus, in Piscataway.  A map of Werblin, and Lot 64, is available at: http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/?id=C71959.  Email Amy at adenholtz@gmail.com with any questions or to RSVP.

Volunteer at the Unite Half Marathon Expo - THIS SATURDAY
Join Kyle Price, Tim Morgan, Stephen Mennitt, Cathy Stutzman, Portia Brown, Amy Denholtz, and Chuck Schneekcloth for the Unite Half Marathon and 8k Expo this Saturday, April 20th.  The expo is from 9am - 4pm (setup begins at 8:30am) at the Werblin Recreation Center on Rutgers Busch Campus and our table will be recruiting for the team and promoting the College Ave Mile and the RRCA-NJ Grand Prix races.  Can you volunteer for an hour or two?  Please email Amy Denholtz at adenholtz@gmail.com with your availability or go to http://doodle.com/2bivr6nsncrzvrai. 

Boston Bound Baby

While you're reading this, eight of your teammates are rocking the black and gold on the streets of Boston.  The Boston Marathon scores teams of three, so check out the ladies (Karen Auteri, Jessica Byrnes, Meghan DeCarlo, Ingrid Garofalo) and the men (Taylor Burmeister, Jay Margolis, Mike Fonder, James Lothian).  Have fun and kick some butt out there!!!

Results: On The Track

Six Qualify for Nationals at Rider Invitational

Lawrencevile- Six GSTC'ers hit the national championship standard yesterday, while many crept closer at the Rider Invitational.

Those qualifying were Julius Frederick (100m/11.10), Mark Parisen (1:59.5/800m), Erin Lacosta (72.41/400IH), Mike Brito (54.56/400IH), Tony Harris (3:59.65/1500m), and Ricky Garcia (1:57.29/800m).

While putting on a great show in the jumps, many fell just shy of the club nationals mark.  That crew included a Westfield duo both making their GSTC debuts, Declan Fitzmaurice (6.47m/ 5th in LJ) and Mike DePaulo (1.89m/T 2nd in HJ), while Kaseem Jackson also cleared 1.89m in the HJ, tying for second as well.  Paul Matuszak was the highest finisher for the GSTC, placing 2nd in a very windy 5k at 15:33.

The 1500 was a particularly strong event for the Gold, as six men ran the equivalent of a 4:32 mile or faster: Harris, Peter Bolgert (4:06.58), Dharan Kadiyala (4:08.04), Tim Morgan (4:12.66), Zak Martins (4:13.89), and Edsel Flores (4:14.81). 

The 4x400s were exciting as always, as the C team ran away with the second heat, with Carson Keers on the anchor, and the A Team, missing regular anchor Harris, settled for third in the hot heat.

Heibell Fails to Win Back 800m Club Record

Chris Heibell, former club record holder in the 800m until Tony Polite shattered it by nearly four seconds, was caught by the GSTC paparazzi this weekend trying to win his beloved record back.  Sadly, his effort sneaking into some bogus meet down in Maryland was all in futility, as he faded to a 1:56.  Womp womp. 

Oh....and much love to Chris Scheider, a 2012 TMA Finalist, who broke 15:00 for a 5k for the first time this weekend while running for ESU!

Results: On The Roads

Mohawk Man Wins Yuengling 5k

Pottersville, PA- Well, if the race has a beer name in its title, we suppose it's inevitable that someone--or three--members of the club go to it.  

Kyle Price won the first annual Yuengling Light Jager Jogger 5k on Saturday, coasting to a 16:58 win with teammate Ken Walsh finishing sixth overall in 19:12.   Teammate Amy Denholtz also ran it in 38:05.

Mennitt Runs 15:40, Finishes 2nd in Colonia

Colonia- Using the Colonia Classic 5k as his first hard effort after the 15k last weekend, Steve Mennitt ran 15:41 to win $75 and finish 2nd overall.  Just two spots behind him was his hero and dear friend Chuck Schneekloth at 16:42.  Props to Allison Dublinski who ran a speedy 17:42 for second, as well!  

Tim Morgan Award

For better or for worse, we will soon have a new Morgan on the team.  No relation to Tim, but man, can this guy HURDLE!  We're psyched to see Morgan 2.0 at club nationals, but while all we have is Timmy, let's get right down to the two nominations this week.

First is STEVE MENNITT.  After getting his car broken into twice last week, he loses his car keys on Friday.  So, in the spirit on Tim Morgan himself, Steve decides to buy new shoes and shorts and RUN six miles home from work because, well, his parents can help him call Triple A.  Only problem is, you got it, his parents weren't home, the house was locked, and he forgot his cell phone at work.  We still aren't fully sure how this entire problem got resolved, we just know that, for Saturday's race, we had to pick his #$% up because he still didn't have his car keys.

Second is the glorious USATF-NJ.  For those that don't know, the GSTC has attended numerous meetings advocating for a championship grand prix schedule that is more alluring to the younger runner (read: below 50).  As a host of an open mile race, three club members actually went to the USATF-NJ fall meeting to propose the mile be officially recognized as a road racing distance which, it goes without saying, was shot down by the Long Distance Running (LDR) Committee, 9-0.  Well, fast forward six months, and this organization has announced that the only other open mile race is a "one-time, trial only" USATF-NJ Championship Mile Race.  If it seems off that a race with half the numbers would be selected over our mile race....it is.  But caddy USATF-NJ politics aside, they have illegally circumvented the USATF By-Law 18F, "Championship-Awarding Procedure" which clearly outlines the bidding process all championship races must go through.  We await their response, as they have yet to respond to our email asking about the large gap between the national office by-laws and the USATF-NJ LDR Committee.

This Week in Training

Monday - comfortable run and 6-8x 8-10sec hill sprints (substitute with 4-6 in-and-out 150s if you don't have a decent hill)
Tuesday - 2x mile at 10k pace with 3:00 jog, 2x1000 @ 5k pace with 3:00 jog, 2x600 @ 3k pace with 2 min jog, 22x300 @ mile pace with 2 minute jog
Wednesday - progression run of 75% long run duration
Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins and strides
Friday - 4-6M tempo run.  you want to be at T pace if you're between 20-25 minutes.  Tpace +10sec for 25-35 minutes.  Finish with 4x200 at mile pace after complete rest.
Saturday - same as Monday
Sunday - long run! 

(4/8-4/14): GSTC Sweeps 15k Team Titles; 8 Qualify for Nationals; College Ave Mile Update

Only a Few Spots Left.....

The New Jersey Marathon has asked the GSTC to manage the baggage check for over 10,000 runners on Sunday morning, May 5th.  We need 40 people, and we only have a few spots left.  Since they are paying us to do it, any helper will get around $50 to put toward gear, racing entries fees, or travel.  Please respond immediately to this email...first come, first serve, and there ain't many more spots to serve!

Team Stuff

Get GSTC gear here.

Get those 2013 dues in here- become a member!

College Ave Mile Update: Two Months Away

The website is up and running, and we are just TWO MONTHS AWAY from the GSTC's spring team and individual fundraiser.  You ready for a mile race, a relay, a beer garden, a BBQ, a dunk tank, and five other games?????

Here's how it works: each GSTC member will get his/her own CODE.  This enables the runner to a 15% off discount.  Meanwhile, every runner you get to sign up you get to split that profit with the club.  The funds you raise can go directly to buying new gear, race entry fees, travel costs, etc.  It is a part of the RRCA-NJ Grand Prix, so we gotta get the word out ASAP!    

 

Team Runs: Warm Weather, At Last!

Monday         5:30 run @ Rutgers Student Center (New Brunswick)

                      5:30 track workout @ Highland Park High School

Tuesday         5:30 run at RSC

Wednesday    3:30 run at RSC

                      6:15 run at Morristown Running Company (Morristown)

                      6:00 track workout @ HPHS (****change- start 30min later*****)

                      6:30 track workout at Point Pleasant HS track (GSTC Beach Enclave)

Thursday        5:30 run at RSC

Thursday        5:30 run at Princeton towpath (parking lot off washington road)

Friday            4:30run at RSC

Saturday        TRACK MEET at Rider University (email us if interested!)

Sunday          9:00am team run at Duke Farms (1112 Duke Parkway West Hillsborough, NJ)  Bring money for brunch afterward!

 

Sunday: Men, Women Sweep 15k Team Titles

Goglas, Belgiovine, Price Go 1-2-3 as Men Go 1-2 in Team Scores

Middletown- The Garden State Track Club didn't let a few hills, and the state's least enjoyable race, get in the way of business.  

 

Ken Goglas, Mike Belgiovine, and Kyle Price swept the top three spots at the 15k Team Grand Prix Championships today, helping lead the team to yet another 1-2 team sweep of the top two team spots.  The win gave the men's team their 14th straight victory- the longest winning streak in USATF-NJ history for any team in any division.  See the video of the start here.

The "A Team" finished with an overall team time of 4:28:24, and it consisted of Goglas (50:38- $300 prize money), Price (50:40, $100 prize money), Andrew Capizzi (52:32), Stephen Comanto (55:31), TJ Zablocki (59:01), Francis Beideman (71:07), and Peter Auteri (72:28).

The "B Team" finished second overall in a total team time of 4:35:34, over 28 minutes in front of Sneaker Factory, the third place team.  Belgiovine (50:39) was the top man, with teammates Stephen Mennitt (51:59), Chuck Schneekloth (54:13), Edsel Flores (58:45), Marty Doherty (59:57), and Eric Davis (66:18) rounding out the rest of the team scoring.

  

 

Ogletree, Sieve, Douma Go 1-2-4 as Women Win Big

It was "Sun's out, gun's out" for the GSTC ladies this morning, as they flexed their muscles under the crisp Jersey beach air to roll to a huge win at the Indian Trails 15k team championships.

The quartet of Cheyenne Ogletree (56:27), Greta Sieve (56:59), Alyssa Douma (61:05), and Shanna Beairsto (69:02) straight wholly-whopped the competition, finishing in an overall team time of 4:03, an incredible 18 minutes faster than the second place team.  GSTC's top two ladies demolished the course record set by Catherine Smith in 2011 of 60:19.

Ogletree won $300 for finishing 1st, and Sieve, making her gold and black debut, took home $200 for her silver medal efforts.  Beairsto, who just has way too many vowels for us to handle right now in her last name, had a fantastic debut for the GSTC as well, coming in as the fourth and final scoring women.

Rounding out the team's other runners were Danielle Stanton (73:09), Cathy Stutzman (73:09), Erin Blum (73:56- GSTC debut), Christine Mockenhaupt (89:36- GSTC debut), Prudence Jones (100:05- one minute PR)

Although the women's results need to be corrected on several fronts, they can all be found here,  

Harris, Brito, Heibell Lead GSTC at Princeton Invite

Princeton- The GSTC opened their spring track season at the Sam Howell Invitational, and already eight athletes qualified for club nationalsin late June.

Mike Brito was the highest finisher for the team, as his sloppy 54.88 in the 400IH finished 9th overall.  Tony Harris (1:54.25) and Ricardo Garcia (1:57.24- two second PR) both qualified in the 800m, as did Ken Goglas (14:48) and Tim Morgan (15:05) in the 5,000m, Chris Heibell in the 1500m (3:55.98), Joe Lafleur in the 400m (50.86), and Julius Fredrick in the 200m (22.52).

Perhaps the most exciting race of the day was the 4x400, where Harris splits 49.4 and brings the Gold and Black from 4th to 2nd in the final 50m.  Brito (50.6), Garcia (50.1), and Lafleur (50.3) helped bring the baton across in 3:21.02--nearly 1.5 seconds faster than the team's time there in 2012.  The B and C Teams ran well, except the anchor of the B Team....don't get us started.

Also competing for GSTC were Dharan Kadiyala (1500m), Sara Douma (TJ), Amr Gharseldin (100m), and the women's 4x400 relay.

See all the results here. 

Steady Striders and Couch to 5k by Amy Denholtz

The steady striders and couch to 5k runners had a busy weekend, with a group running 3.1 on the tow path today and other runners racing in the Indian Trails 15k and one runner completing the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC.  This upcoming weekend, the group will run with the full GSTC team on Sunday, April 14th at TIME at Duke Farms in Hillsborough.  A map of Duke Farms is available at: http://www.dukefarms.org/en/Visit/Plan-Your-Visit/Map/Overview/  Email Amy at adenholtz@gmail.com with any questions or to RSVP.  

Volunteer at the Unite Half Marathon & 8k Expo - Saturday April 20th at Rutgers by Amy Denholtz
The GSTC is looking for volunteers to be at the Rutgers Unite Half Marathon and 8k Expo on Saturday, April 20th.  The Expo is from 9am - 4pm (setup begins at 8:30am) and our table will be recruiting for the team and promoting the College Ave Mile and the RRCA-NJ Grand Prix races.  Can you volunteer for an hour or two?  Please fill out the survey and let us know when you are available, at http://doodle.com/2bivr6nsncrzvrai.  Email Amy at adenholtz@gmail.com with any questions.

Gold Star: Celebrating Awesome Team Members

by Ashwin Anantharaman

Geoffrey Blough 

Geoffrey is one of the newest additions to the Garden State Track Club in our 40 or over division. He started running in August 2010 and after attending few races he decided it would be wise to join a club to train with. The ultimate decision came down between Shore AC and Garden State Track Club and the deciding factor surprisingly was the prestigious Tim Morgan Award. According to Geoffrey, since Shore AC had no Tim Morgan award, they were out of the running for his services. He decided to announce this decision on a live ESPN broadcast to commit his talents to the Garden State Track Club. Before races Geoffrey focuses on stretching as he really works on trying to prevent his calf from tightening up and his previously ruptured achilles from giving out on him. He ran the April Fools Half Marathon today in an amazing 2:07:10 as he said it was a learning experience. He has a BA in Philosophy and BS in finance and loves working in his backyard trying to make it more appealing to the general public. In high school he was a thrower and a hurdler but decided to take his talents to longer distance running where his current idol is Chuck Schneekloth, the current Tim Morgan Award Champion. Goals include running under 7:19 for a mile and under 25:26 for a 5k and of he apparently wants to dethrone his idol Chuck and take home that Tim Morgan award.

Erin Blum 

Erin joined the Garden State Track Club because she wanted to run faster and win medals. It is obvious that she also realized that we are the best looking club in the nation as well. She's been running since junior high school cross country but took some time off in between that and her running career now. Pre race she likes to warm up until her nose runs and sit till the gun goes off. It obviously works because at the Indian Trails 15k she ran a very impressive time of 74 minutes. Indian Trails is a very tough and hilly course for over 9 miles!!!!! During the race she said at mile 5.5 she was wishing it was a 10k but the blue sky view of the Verrazano Bridge and New York City at mile 8 made it all worth it. Outside of running Erin has 4 daughters ages 6,4,3 and 1 and they are her priority along with eating brownies. Her goals for the season is to break 20 in the 5k because she ran 2140 a few weekends ago. She acknowledges that this is a tough goal but with the help of the excellent coaching of Rob DeCarlo and great teammates to train with there is no doubt that she will be able to do especially with her running faster than ever in 15 years!!!!

TMA: Long Overdue

The master himself, Timmy Morgan, was at it again this week.  This time, he emailed us the "2013 heat sheets" for the Princeton meet, alarmed that Ken Goglas didn't make the cut for the 5k.  In a panic, GSTC Headquarters quickly emailed the Princeton meet management, only to hear that Ken was, in fact, accepted into the meet. 

 

A closer look at the link Timmy sent us and we realized, ugggh, it was from 2012.  Shame on Tim for acting in haste, and shame on us for not triple checking his work (although we did go to the PU website looking for validation....now we know why we couldn't find it)

 

A second nomination goes to the USATF-NJ for continuing to vote the Indian Trails 15k on the team championship circuit.  This race sucks....let's just say it.  Along with being a devastingly painful, hilly course which turns runners off (there's a reason why there aren't many frequent flyers), it screwed up the awards for a second year in a row, and it still doesn't have an address on the website, resulting in three GSTC athletes getting lost.  If the USATF-NJ truly hopes to grow the sport of road running in this state, it needs to select large, fun races that have a history of growth.  As one of our top women said today, "That was the last time I'm ever runing this race again."

 

A final nomination goes to Ed Neighbour, the USATF-NJ Executive Committee President.  This morning, upon handing in our team declaration sheets, he said with snarky sarcasm to one of our female members, "Oh, you mean you aren't going to have an A, B, C, D, E, and F team today?"  Look, how about a "Good morning" or "Thanks for coming" or somethng with a little more twinge of positivity and customer service?  While we wanna just say, "Don't hate...appreciate!", we also wanna say, in all seriousness, how about a little professionalism.  Perhaps it isn't helping his cause that the last two GSTC emails sent to the USATF-NJ office, asking for confirmation of residence verification, have been ignored. without response this week.

 

 

This Week in Training

Monday - Recovery run if you raced the 15k.  Otherwise go the standard Monday run and hill sprints.  If a good hill isn't available for you, you can do some in-and-out 150s instead.  This means you break up the 150 into three segments.  Use the first 50 to accelerate, run the middle 50 all out, then decelerate the last 50.  The hill sprints are a better choice, especially if it's grass.
Tuesday - If you raced on Sunday - make this a very off-the-clock fartlek.  You choose the number of cycles, the duration of the cycles and the recovery intervals.  Take it completely by feel.  If you didn't race, let's hit up those 2ks.  Run 3 at T pace, with 3 mins rest, then follow it up with a HARD 800.  How quick can you go?
Wednesday - steady-state run of 75% LR duration
Thursday - super easy 40-60 minutes and strides
Friday - If you raced Sunday, do Tuesday's workout.  If you didn't race, go for some more shorter stuff: 6x600 at 2M race pace with 2minutes rest.
Saturday - same as Monday.

Sunday - long run!                      

(4/1-4/6): After Three Years, GSTC Shifts Team Name, Focus, Mission

GSTC Changes Name, Focus, Mission

Team Leadership Decides: Running Is Just Too Damn Hard, Anyway

After three years of operating under the guise of a 501c3 non-profit running club organization through the RRCA, the GSTC Senior Leadership voted last night, during a behind-doors closed board meeting,  to make some fundamental shifts to the club.  The first is to change the acronym of the team to the Garden State Twinkie Club, a reflection of the new direction of the group.

"Let's face the facts here people.  If we want to be a financially solvent organization, more people are interested in the famous Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling than exercising every day.  And, quite honestly, so am I," noted Jeff Perrella, one of the early advocates for the change who, during his long injury, has found a new interest in his free time.

Erin LaCosta, a Rutgers freshman who is a member of the GSTC women's 4x400 team, stated, "Most of my friends just sit around and eat Twinkies anyway.  It's starting to get a little awkward.  'Why exercise when you can just hang around the dorm and eat Twinkies?' they ask me.  I see what they're saying.  Going to practice requires so much time to drive there, drive back, uhhhhhh.  I'm so over it, OMG."

From his lab in Princeton, PhD candidate Peter Bolgert spoke quite highly of the Twinkie.  "Many believe the Twinkie has an infinite shelf life.  I can assure you that, based on my research here in my shiny Ivy Tower, this is merely just an urban myth.  We have studied the chemical composition of the Twinkie, and while they can last a relatively long time thanks to their lack of unstabilized dairy products and thus spoil very slowly--they can, indeed, spoil.  25 days is the commonly accepted maximum shelf life of the Twinkie.  But usually, those suckers are eaten between 7-10 days....accordingly to Wikipedia, anyway."     

While most club members will see a dramatic shift in their day to day life, some won't at all, such as thrower Roland Cote.  "Wait, you're telling me that I originally did NOT join the Garden State Twinkie Club?  Well, then, what did I join--a club I had to exert myself?  I'm glad to hear they changed, regardless."  

Amy Denholtz, the current GSTC Couch to 5k organizer, has already made a few simple changes on the MeetUp page, adjusting one word in the group name to "Couch to Couch" Program.  

Jones Flips Reading Interest

Dr. Prudence Jones, a GSTC member and Professor of the Classics at Monclair State University, decided last week that she met her reading threshold on Cleopatra and the Peloponnesian 

War.  As of Saturday afternoon, Dr. Jones announced via a Facebook post, that she would now be indulging in contemporary literature only, including Life of Pi, Fifty Shades of Grey, and Fifty Shades Darker.

Heibell Applies for Job

Despite a long-standing streak of never applying for a job, miler Chris Heibell applied for a job last night.  The opportunity, becoming the Superintendent of Schools of the Princeton Unified School District, pays $146,000 a year.  Allegedly, his application stated in the experience section, "I attended an elementary school,  a middle school, and a high school.  Think about it: that's a lot of experience."  

Ogletree Buys Three Dogs

Despite her incessant Facebook posts about cats and kittens, GSTC superstar Cheyenne Ogletree has purchased three pit bulls over the weekend.  "I'm really inspired by the musician Pit Bull, so I decided to by a few.  Plus ten points!" she told the GSTC paparazzi early yesterday morning.

 

Morgan Gets Sarcastic Joke

During yesterday's long run, Jay Margolis made a sarcastic joke. Tim understood it.

Morris County Striders Change Team Name

Much like the GSTC, the MCS have undergone some roadwork, and have now emerged with a new team name: the "USATF-NJ Striders."  The idea first came during the 2012 USATF-NJ Banquet, when many members realized it was mostly just their club in attendance.  Then, when MCS member and acting USATF-NJ director Pam Fales awarded the President's Award to fellow team member Madeline Bost, much to the delight of the many MCS members in attendance, some MCS members saw the potential the idea just might have.  See the inner-team celebration of this award on their website: http://www.morriscountystriders.com/.  Conversely, the USATF-NJ Grand Prix is considering changing the name of this racing series to "The Morris County Striders Grand Prix."  This final change will be voted on during the next club board meeting at the fourth Wednesday or every month.  

    

Okay...enough of the April Fools Edition.....let's be for real for a hot minute

Team Runs

Monday         5:30 run at Rutgers Student Center (New Brunswick)

                       5:30 track workout at Highland Park HS (Highland Park)

Tuesday       5:30 run at RSC (NB)

                       6:00 run a Holmdel Park (Holmdel-Kenneth.m.walsh@gmail.com for more info )

Wednesday  3:30 run at RSC (NB)

                        5:30 track workout Highland Park HS (Highland Park)

                        6:00pm track workout Antrim Elementary School (Pt Pleasant Beach- email Ken Walsh)

                        6:15 run at Morristown Running Company (jamesmlothian@gmail.com for more info)

Thursday       5:30 run at RSC (NB)

Friday             4:30 run at RSC (NB)

Saturday        10:00 track workout (Highland Park)

Sunday           9:00am Indian Trails Race- 15k team championship

Gold Star: Celebrating Our Awesomeness

By Ashwin Anantharaman

 Andrew Stewart 

A graduate from Cinnaminson High School, Andrew made a New Year's Resolution to join the best looking and fastest team in the state of New Jersey hence he joined the Garden State Track Club in the month of January. Andrew holds very fast personal bests of 158 in the 800 and 430 in the mile. His goal joining Garden State Track Club is to set some new personal bests which is certain to happen with the amazing training groups we have on this team. Before races Andrew eats a banana or a powerbar to get energized for the big day. To this date he has no pre race routine but I am sure he will work on it. Outside of running Andrew is an engineering major at Rutgers University and loves to ski. 

Brianna Florovito 

Brianna is a graduate from Valley View High School in Pennsylvania and is currently attending Rutgers University. She got into running her sophomore year in order to get into better shape. She is a sprinter who ranges from running 100m to 400m. Perhaps the biggest race in her high school career happened in her opening meet of the season called Icebreakers where she was on the 2nd place team for the 4 by 1, 3rd place team in the 4 by 4, and capped it off running an incredible 61 for the open 400. She loves to do some strides an jumps in order to get a feel on how she will do. Outside of running she is a big nature girl and loves archery which is obvious as she recently got a bow and arrow tattoo on her foot(the most painful spot to get a tattoo). She also cheered till she was 12 years old and played tennis. Lucky for us she left both of those sports to become a star runner. 

Couch to 5k Group by Amy Denholtz

Saturday was a beautiful day for the steady striders, who ran 3 miles in Colonial Park in Franklin (Somerset County).  This week, the steady striders and couch to 5k runners will meet to run along the D&R Canal towpath on Sunday, April 7th at 9:30 am, beginning from Grove 5 of Johnson Park in Highland Park/Piscataway and across from the Rutgers football stadium.  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).  Email Amy, at adenholtz@gmail.com, with any questions or to RSVP.

The GSTC is looking for volunteers to be at the Rutgers Unite Half Marathon and 8k Expo on Saturday, April 20th.  The Expo is from 9am - 4pm (setup begins at 8:30am) and our table will be recruiting for the team and promoting the College Ave Mile and the RRCA-NJ Grand Prix races.  Can you volunteer for an hour or two?  Please fill out the survey and let us know when you are available, at http://doodle.com/2bivr6nsncrzvrai.  Email Amy at adenholtz@gmail.com with any questions.

The GSTC is now on meetup.com, at http://www.meetup.com/Garden-State-Track-Club/!  The black and gold is actively recruiting runners throughout the Garden State and one initiative is to reach out to the running community by getting people offline and onto the track, roads, and trails.  If you or someone you know is on meetup, please get active and join the GSTC meetup community at http://www.meetup.com/Garden-State-Track-Club/!

Douma, Anis, Fonder, Heibell Qualify for Nationals

Four GSTC athletes, Chris Heibell, Mike Anis, Mike Fonder, and Chris Heibell, qualified for the 2013 USATF Club National Championships this weekend.

At the Ramapo Northeast Challenge, Alyssa Douma not only qualified for nationals, but she also won the race and set a GSTC record, hitting the tape in 4:47.76.  Steeplechaser Mike Anis similarly lead from wire to wire in the 3k steeple, until the final 100 meters when overtaken by Ramapo's Billy Howell.  Anis ran a 13 second PR, finishing in 9:54.76 for second.  While not a nationals qualifier, Zak Martins ran an all-time best of 9:19.84 in the 3,000 meters finishing him 12th of 27 athletes.  

At the Monmouth University Invitational, Fonder finished 3rd in 32:15, making his his final workout before the Boston Marathon.

Finally, down in North Carolina, while Heibell's 3:57.88 is far from a personal best, it still qualified him for the club national championships as well.

15k Team Championships

The second grand prix team championship is this weekend at the Indian Trails 15k.  Below are the GSTC members racing it.  Want in?  Shoot us an email!

Men: Ken Goglas, Steve Mennitt, Mike Belgiovine, Edsel Flores, TJ Zablocki, Marty Doherty, Fran Beideman, Peter Auteri

Women: Cheyenne Ogletree, Alyssa Douma, Prudence Jones, Christine Mockenhaupt, Cathy Stutzman, Robyn Evangelist, Greta Sieve, Michelle Tuchol, Danielle Stanton

Register here: http://indiantrailsroadrace.com/  Prize money is $300, $200, and $100!

This Week in Training

Monday - comfortable run and 6-8x 8-10sec hill sprint
Tuesday - 4x1600 at 10k pace with 3:00 rest. Take a 6 min jog, then go 3x300 hard on full recovery.
Wednesday - progression run of 75% long run duration, start out nice and easy and get your last mile down to about 10k pace
Thursday - super easy 40-60 mins, followed by 6x80m strides
Friday - get a full warmup, then go 20x 400 in 60 on 2:30 cycle. Take a lap jog, then go 20x400 in 60 on 2:30 cycle. Take a lap jog, and go 20x400 in 60 on 2:30 cycle. Run home for a cool down.
Saturday - same as Monday.
Sunday - long run