Sunday, July 8, 2018

Groner does it again, Scheid and Leskow in top three



On Sunday, July 8, 2018



GRONER DOES IT AGAIN; SCHEID AND LESKOW IN TOP THREE

There I was in an Air Canada jet with my family two Sundays ago, while all the New Jersey runners were gathering in Glen Ridge for one of the state’s most loved races.  We were on our way to Calgary, Canada with our final destination Banff, for an unforgettable week-long vacation.

Back in New Jersey the Fitzgerald’s Lager Run 5K lived up to its reputation despite oppressive heat and humidity.  Thirty-four men’s teams and twenty-three women’s teams finished the race with three other incomplete teams finishing but not getting scored.

Three local runners earned headlines with their performances.  Roberta Groner of Randolph won the women’s race with her 16:11, finishing 15th overall and earning the top masters age grade of 93.64% PLP. 


The race was won by Nicholas Filippazzo of Valley Stream  in 14:51, with second taken by Justin Scheid of Succasunna in 15:22 and third by Aaron Leskow of Morristown in 15:27.

Not to be overlooked is Nora Cary of Morristown who is 63 and finished in 21:21 for 90.06% PLP, second only to Groner.

Of course, as a championship the teams become the focal point and what is interesting is the new teams this season.  The Garden State Track Club was well represented and their A team took first in both the men and women’s division.  But the Shore Athletic Club’s women’s team placed second, with the Garden State B team in third, with the fledgling New Jersey Racing Project taking fourth.


On the men’s side Garden State’s B team took second but the Leonia Track Club was third, the Freedom Running Club fourth and the Garmin Runner fifth.  In sixth place was another new team, the Race Faster team that placed seventh.  Also competing were the long time local clubs like the Rose City Runners and the Morris County Striders although both of those teams featured  mostly masters age runners.  


SUNSET CLASSIC
Maybe the weather finally did in the runners or maybe it was just too close to the Sunday Lager race, but the Tom Fleming Sunset Classic on the 28th had a light field and at a slower pace than the Sunday race.  Sean Prinz of Bloomfield was first in 27:26 with Hortencia Aliaga of Garfield the first woman in 31:45. The feature within the race was the USATF NJ coed teams.   Only two clubs fielded open teams with Fleet Feet Essex winning over the Raritan Valley Road Runners.

There was more enthusiasm for the masters division with the Fleet Feet Essex club winning that division, the Clifton Road Runners second and the North Jersey Masters taking third.  Also fielding teams were the New Jersey Racing Project, the Morris County Striders and the Central Jersey Road Runners.

MORRIS COUNTY STRIDERS 5K TOO HOT TO HANDLE
This past Tuesday was the hottest day of the week and that was a tough break for the second race in the Morris County Striders cross country series at Johanson Park in Boonton .  Runners may have stayed away because of the heat, or they were saving their legs for a Fourth of July run the next day.  Only sixty-one loyalists showed up, and the irony was that a weather pattern had just come through and cleared the heat and to some extent the humidity.  Conditions for a summer race were not bad at all.  Steve Manole of Great Meadows won the race in 18:32 and Christine Carney of Denville won the women’s side in 22:36.

MARKET STREET MISSION 5K
Two hundred and seventy-five runners turned out the next day for the Market Street Mission 5K cross country race in Central Park.  Colin Schweitzer of Lebanon finished first in 18:26 and Ariana Bauer of Morris Plains was first woman in 22:37.

BANFF ALTITUDE
Meanwhile, in Banff  the temperatures were cool but the altitude in the Canadian Rockies are not to be dismissed by us flatlanders.  Our hike from Lake Louise at 5,249 feet to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes at 7,005 was interrupted by catch-your-breath stops.  Even the two runs in Banff had to be done at a slow pace.  Now looking forward to more summer racing.

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Race Results can often be found at www.compuscore.com or at www.bestrace.com
A calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com for running and tri and biathlon events.
Contact Madeline Bost at madelinebost@verizon.net





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