On Sunday, June 10, 2018
BEAUTIFUL BEAST LIVED UP TO ITS NAME
It is unlikely that any of the 143 finishers in the Beautiful
Beast of Hunterdon 15 kilometer trail race on Saturday would argue with the
title. Just climbing more than half a
mile uphill to the finish was a slow-the-pace-to-a-walk beast. This was the second year that the race was
held and the first to be designated a New Jersey Trail championship.
After the race in 2017, Ed Neighbour of Sparta, the USATF
Long Distance Running chair suggested to Managing Director Terry Mullane that
he invite the race organizers to apply for championship status. The suggestion was well received by the race
director Eric Eisenhart.
Justin Scheid of Succasunna leapt to the lead at the
start when the field completed a small loop on the ESC Hoffman’s Crossing Campus
before plunging down the hill that would become the beast on the way back. He was followed by Patrick Neighbour of Millford,
Dominic Grillo of Whitehouse Station, and Lou Palma of Clinton.
The runners disappeared down the Columbia Trail heading
east to a turnback onto the local roads paralleling the trail. From there the course headed toward the Ken
Lockwood Gorge with awesome views of the river and falls before taking a trip
into the gorge with a beastly climb back out to the trail and heading back to
the finish.
When Scheid reappeared, he had a nearly two and a half
minute lead over Grillo, who was now in second place. Palma had overtaken Neighbour and that is how
they finished back at the campus. The surprise
finisher was Kristen Prendergast, 37, of Annandale who finished in fifth place in
1:01:51, ahead of the course designer Frank Batiste of Flemington who finished
in 1:03.19.
Scheid’s time was 53:06, Grillo’s 55:59 and Palma’s
57:00.
ROXBURY COMMUNITY BENEFIT HAS ALMOST NO HILLS
The Roxbury Community Benefit 5K in Succasunna Monday
night will seem virtually flat after the 15K beast race. The race, that starts on Eyland Avenue in front
of the Eisenhower Middle School has a small pop up hill in the first mile and
another slight grade in the final mile.
That grade is rewarded with one of those wonderful downgrades that fools
you into thinking you are flying when in fact you have the pull of gravity
speeding your pace.
Registration at the middle school begins at 5:00 pm, with
the race starting at 7:00 pm. This is a
community focused race that attracts plenty of runners from around Morris
county and beyond. In 2017 over five
hundred runners competed.
While the sweet course might be a draw, the post race
goodies could also be a factor in the turnout.
Pizza, nutrition bars, yogurt and ice cream from the local favorite
Cliff’s ice cream makes the price of admission a bargain.
NEW JERSEY TEAMS MAKING WAVES
Two New Jersey masters teams had a good day last weekend
in Ann Arbor Michigan competing at the masters half marathon championship.
Finishing in first place was the Garden State Track Club
New Balance, with Jonathan Frieder of Rye Brook NY in the lead. Frieder finished fifth overall and first in
his M45 age division. He was followed by
Sam Tiegan of Hawthorne who finished just behind Frieder in 1:14:58. Aaron
Cooper of Englewood was next for the team with Gary Leaman of Hawthorne back-up
man. Leaman finished in third place in the M55 age division.
Reno Stirrat of Rockaway was the top man on the M60 Shore
Athletic Club team that placed second to the Atlanta Track Club. Stirrat finished in 1:26:44 for seventh in
the highly competitive M60 division.
The Garden State team has a lock right now on first place
in the season long team grand prix. With
just one more good race they will overcome a weak finish in last December’s
club cross country 10kilometer race.
Only the highest scoring five races are counted in the grand prix and
the poor races are dropped. Next up for
the teams is the 5K championship in Atlanta in August.
GRONER AND CARY TOP THEIR DIVISIONS
Roberta Groner of Randolph has done it again. At Saturday’s New York Mini Marathon 10K
Groner finished in 11th place and first master woman in 34:10. Not
to be outdone, Morristown’s Nora Cary was the first W60 woman to finish with
time of 44:28. Both women age graded
above 91% PLP.
##
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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