Local runners close to the top in grand prix

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, Sept 30, 2018

  

LOCAL RUNNERS CLOSE TO THE TOP IN GRAND PRIX

You’ve got to love it when a 55 year old is leading in the New Balance Grand Prix.  Jorge Lopes of Linden has the lead with all races in.  But lookee’ here - Fifty-three-year-old John Hogan of the township of Washington is in second place with all his races counted. 

The first man who is younger than masters age is 27-year-old Aaron Leskow of Morristown in fourteenth place with Michael Dixon, 36, of Highland Park in 16^th place and just 23 points behind.  When those two men run in another championship and a non-championship Category Two race they will fly past Lopes and Hogan and the other masters men currently ahead of them.

On the women’s side of the chart it is a different story.  Aya Leitz of Jersey City has a 128 point lead over Stacy Slaughter, 26, of Parsippany.  Slaughter has all nine races posted, as does Leitz, but Slaughter has to replace a non-championship Category One race a with 700 point championship.  Slaughter has two more opportunities to add a minimum of 200 points by racing in today’s Little Silver 5K, the masters men championship or the Harrington Park in November that is the masters women’s race.  When head to head Slaughter is the faster of the two while Leitz has the points advantage with two non-championship wins.

The sleeper though is Karen Auteri of Belvidere who is hiding in eleventh place needing a championship Category Two race.  Only two more are on the schedule; the 8km cross country race in October, and the Ashenfelter 8K in November.  She also needs to be racing today or the Harrington Park race to replace a non-championship Category One race.  Auteri is training for a fall marathon and that could complicate things for her.

Take a look at the cross country grand prix and who do we see in the lead in the women’s side?  None other than Nora Cary, 63, of Morristown.

SHADES OF DEATH

Runners who are looking to enhance a low score in the Category Three division will have their chance next Sunday.  They will be able to select the point value of the Shades of Death Half Marathon; 500 points or championship value of 700 points.  Hosted by USATF New Jersey it is the sole wild card race in the year.  The race is also one of the co-ed team series races. 

The course is a beautiful six-plus mile double loop in Allamuchy Township.  The sister race is a 6.6 mile Devils Run that is a 500 point non-championship event.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS

In Buffalo this past Sunday Jonathan Frieder hit the medal podium* at the national masters cross country 5km championship.  Frieder, formerly of Randolph and now living in Rye Brook NY, but still a member of the local association, finished in 17:46 for third in the M45 age division and seventh overall.   

The Shore Athletic Club M60 team finished in fourth place just one scoring point off third.  Reno Stirrat of Rockaway and Roger Price of Randolph were on the Shore team, along with Kevin Dollard and Scott Linnell.  Morris county runners Susan Stirrat and Madeline Bost were the two sole New Jersey women who competed.

*medal podium  -  Some national races actually do have a podium, or at least a stage where the medal winners have their medals placed around their necks, and then a pause for a photo shoot opportunity.  At Sunday’s race the “medal podium” reference was tongue in cheek.  The announcer, who was clearly not familiar with many of the names nor of championship protocol, read your name and a volunteer unceremoniously handed you your medal, so that you could quickly fade back into the crowd.  Fame is sometimes fleeting.

##

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

Local masters had their day again at the half marathon

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, Sept 23, 2018

LOCAL MASTERS HAD THEIR DAY AGAIN AT THE HALF MARATHON

Kyle Price, 30, of North Brunswick won the Newport Liberty Waterfront half marathon this past Sunday in Jersey City.  Price’s time of 1:12:53 was well ahead of his 2017 time of 1:14:04 when he placed seventh.  The bigger story is that three masters age men place in the top eleven in a race generally dominated by younger runners.

Stuart Haynes, 42, of Chatham placed second in 1:13:25, and the 47-year old Frieder twins, Elliott of Montville and Jonathan of Rye Brook, NY, finished in 1:17:48 and 1:17:54 respectively.

On the women’s side, Brianna Feerst, 24, of Brick was first in 1:25:00 with Allison Goldstein, 32, second in 1:25:57.  Fifty-two-year-old Misa Tamura of Ridgewood was third in 1:28:11.  Surprisingly her time was good for only third in the masters age grading with an 86.13% PLP. 

The top spot in age grading was taken by Morristown’s Nora Cary whose 1:38:27 at age 63 scored at 89.15% PLP.  Suzanne LaBurt, 55, of Greenwood Lake NY hit 87.58% with her time of 1:30:02.

Feerst helped to put her Shore Athletic Club in Second place in the open women’s team scoring, which was won by the Garden State Athletic Club New Balance.  The Garmin Runners were third.

It was a see-saw for places in the men’s divisions with the Garden State teams taking the top two places and fourth and fifth, with the Garmin Runners sandwich in between in third.  In the M40 division Garden State was first with Garmin second and Shore AC third.  Those places were repeated in the M50 but with the Clifton Road Runners in third.  Clifton had their revenge in the M60 division with Garden State in Second and the Fleet Feet Essex runners in third.  Clifton also won the M70 division and the North Jersey Masters in second out of two teams competing.

The Clifton women’s teams fared better than their male counterparts.  They won the W40, W50 and placed second in the W60 divisions.  In a reverse of sorts, the North Jersey Masters placed second in the W40 and W50 and won the W60 division pushing the Clifton women to second.

GRONER IN TOP THREE AT PHILLY

Another half marathon was run this past weekend down in Philadelphia.  Randolph’s Roberta Groner finished the race with a time that would have put her in first place overall in the Jersey City race - in 1:12:20. It is not a fair comparison however, as the Jersey City race has numerous turns while the Philly race has very few.  Groner finished third overall with national caliber Desiree Linden the winner in 1:11:48. Lest we forget, Groner is now forty years old and I would venture to guess that her time puts her in an exclusive masters woman category. 

RACES CLOSER TO HOME

Runners looking for a race to run next weekend can check out the 5K in Mountain Lakes hosted by the Lakeland Hills Family YMCA Saturday.  In Mendham Borough on Saturday is the Harvest Hustle 5K

You don’t have to jump over any obstacles at the Steeplechase Runs on Sunday.  Both the 5K and 10K in Hillsborough are run on local roads.   Up in Franklin Lakes, run in the “Scenic” Half Marathon on Sunday.  Given the locale it’s a sure bet that the course route is very scenic and probably features some scenic hills.

MASTERS MEN WILL RUN 5K CHAMPIONSHIP IN LITTLE SILVER

With only a two-week rest after the half marathon, the USATF masters men will be running their 5K championship in the Little Silver Classic next Sunday, September 30^th.  

New Jersey masters men and women are racing today at the national cross country meet in Buffalo New York.  We will be looking for the Garden State TC New Balance team to win the M40 division and the Shore Athletic Club to score in the top three in that tough division.

##

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

Chatham man in top three, first master at 12K

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, Sept 16, 2018

CHATHAM MAN, TOP THREE, FIRST MASTER AT 12K

Stuart Haynes of Chatham didn’t let the young runners from the Garden State Track Club New Balance intimidate him.  The forty-two-year-old, running on the open Garmin team placed third overall in the 12K at the first annual by Hook or by Crook at Sandy Hook this past Sunday.  The Garden State club with well balanced squads took first through fourth place with the Shore Athletic Club in fifth and Haynes’ Garmin team in sixth place.

Haynes finished in 40:30, behind Kyle Price of North Brunswick, who finished in 40:10, and Matt Gillette of Orefield PA who topped the field in 39:50.

Erika Meling of North Brunswick won the women’s race in 46:45, with Kiera Russo of Long Branch next in 46:57.  Karen Auteri of Belvidere was third in 47:06.

Meling was on the winning open women’s Garden State Track Club New Balance team, while Russo was on the third place Shore Athletic Club team, behind the second place Garden State B team.

The Garden State club had winning teams in the M40 and M50 and W40 divisions.  Clifton women won the W50 division and their M70 team won that division.  Raritan Valley Road Runners won the W60 division and the Shore AC won the M60 division.

These same clubs are competing this morning in Jersey City running in the Newport Liberty Half Marathon.

NEW JERSEY RUNNERS LOVE THE FIFTH AVENUE MILE

While the clubs and individuals were enjoying their taste of running the unfamiliar 12 kilometers, which translates into seven and four tenths of a mile, others were running faster and much shorter at the Fifth Avenue Mile in Manhattan.  Several New Jersey runners had excellent races.

 Suzanne LaBurt of Greenwood Lake won the W55 division in a time of 5:40. Peter Kashulines of Mountain Lakes was first in the M55 division in 4:51.  Erika Campbell of Ridgewood placed second in the W65 division in 6:51 and Harry Nolan of Navesink also placed second, in his M70 division in 6:12.

Diane DeOliveira of Brick placed third in the W45 division in 5:29 and John Killduff of Middletown also took third, in his M65 division in 6:00.

Going even further from home, Mark Williams of Columbia    took second in the 800 meter run at the World Masters Athletics championship in Malaga Spain last week.  Williams’ time was 2:01.26.  As of press time on Friday his 1,500 meter race had not been run.

##

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

Liberty Waterfront Half Marathon opens fall road racing championship season

Published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey

On Sunday, Sept 9, 2018

LIBERTY WATERFRONT HALF MARATHON OPENS FALL ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

While the 5km New Jersey cross country championship opened the fall cross country season, the first fall road championship of the season is the Newark Liberty half marathon that will be held next Sunday in Jersey City.  Blessed with stunning views of the Manhattan skyline, and flat, flat, flat, it can still be a challenging course due to the many turns and changes of surfaces to run on.

Nevertheless, the race draws a huge field of runners with 2017 topping out at 2,514 finishers.  Joshua Izewski of Doylestown PA won the race in 1:11:46. The women’s race was won by Sairi Maeda, whose hometown was listed simply as Japan.  She finished third overall in 1:12:48, one second ahead of her countryman Takashi Kakimoto.

The half marathon will play a big role in the club and team grand prix.  The Garden State Track Club New Balance has a huge lead in the club grand prix thanks to their abundance of open men and women’s teams.  The Clifton Running Club is in second with the Garmin Runners third and the Shore Athletic Club in fourth place.  The open men’s division has three teams taking first through third followed by the Freedom Running Club with the Garmin Runners a close fifth.

On the open women’s side, the Garden State club’s A team has a 31 point lead over the Garmin women followed by the Garden State B team.  Clifton is in fourth place.

  

There is a tie between Garden State and the Garmin team in the M40 division with both teams holding 68 points.  There is a triple tie for the next three places at 39 points for the Garden State’s B team, the Shore club and Clifton.  

There are no ties in the Women’s 40 division with Clifton in first place over the Garmin runners with the Garden State team in third.

The Garmin M50 team has a 14 point lead over Garden State at 70 points to 56 with Clifton in third with 49 points in their division.  The Clifton women are also in first in the W50 division with the Garmin team in second and the North Jersey Masters third.

In the M60 division the Shore’s A team has a twelve point lead over Clifton with the Fleet Feet Essex men only three points back.  The Shore’s B team is in a tie at 21 points with the North Jersey Masters for fourth place.  The North Jersey Masters lead the W60 division with the Raritan Valley Road Runners next and Clifton in third.

 Clifton is in the lead in the M70 division with the North Jersey club in second and the Central Jersey Road Runners in third.  The Morris County Striders have the lead in the W70 division over the North Jersey Club.  The Striders W80 team is the sole contender in that division.

USATF NEW JERSEY HAS TRANSFERRED TO SNAPPY NEW WEBSITE

The standings will be posted on the new New Jersey USATF website.  It has been a bumpy ride as the website has undergone a makeover and not without mishap.  Some files were lost temporarily during the transition and some pages are still missing and some pages are incomplete.

However, information is now available that had never been before.  In a changing montage New Jersey athletes are pictured with their accomplishments lauded on the home page.  The results of recent events are now available on the home page, including long distance running championships.  The long distance running calendar is now a click away on the home page as are the two grand prix and the individual New Balance grand prix standings.

##

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

Morris area men top finishers at cross country on Sunday

On Sunday, Sept 2, 2018

MORRIS AREA MEN TOP FINISHERS AT CROSS COUNTRY ON SUNDAY

Colin Frost of Randolph outran all comers on Sunday to win the USATF New Jersey 5 kilometer cross country championship at Natirar Park in Somerset to finish in 15:34.  Justin Scheid of Succasunna was not far behind, finishing in 15:40. 

Erika Meling and Emily Rosario, both listed as living in North Brunswick placed first and second in 18:38 and 18:54 respectively.  Both women were on the Garden State Track Club, New Balance A team to win that division.  The Shore Athletic Club placed second and Raritan Valley Road Runners were third out of seven teams.

Frost led his Breakneck Track Club team to first in the open men’s division with the Garden State A team in second place and their B team in third.  Scheid led in the Shore A team to fourth place.  Twelve open teams competed in the division.

The Morris area Garmin Runners won the M40 division with Stuart Haynes of Chatham the first masters man in the race at 16:54. The Garden State team placed second and the Shore team was third out of six teams.

Eight teams competed in the M50 division with the Garmin men first, Garden State second and the Shore third.

The Shore Athletic Club was able to field four M60 teams with their A team taking first in the division and their B team in third, with the Clifton Running Club sandwiched in between in second place.  Twelve teams competed in the M60 division.

The Shore M70 A team also won in that division with Clifton second and the North Jersey Masters third.

In the masters women’s division, the Clifton runners placed first in the W40 division, with the Bella N Motion team in second and the Garmin runners third out of nine teams.

The Clifton W50 team finished on top in that division with the Garmin women next and the Shore team in third.  The Raritan Valley W60 team took first, Shore second and Clifton third.    The Morris County Striders W70 team was the only team competing in that division.

Next up for the clubs is the newly minted By Hook or By Crook 12K at Sandy Hook National Park on Sunday, September 9th.  The course is billed as being flat and fast and not many would disagree with that given the location.  A study of the course map is interesting.  The start and finish are in the same location at Parking Lot E and runs out and back into Fort Hancock at the northern end of the peninsula.

 If a runner wants to strategize he or she will be out of luck as the out-and-back becomes a loop course in the fort.   With a cone turn-around on an out-and-back course a runner can see who is ahead and who might be coming up from behind you.  With the loop turn-around there is no way to see who is directly ahead of or behind you in the race.  The pre- entry discounted fee ends on Wednesday, September 5^th. 

NEW JERSEY TEAMS AT NATIONALS

New Jersey masters teams did well last week at the road mile championship in Flint MI.  The Garden State Track Club- New Balance is in first place in the national long distance running team grand prix with their win in the mile race.  The team’s 5 point score from the club 5km cross country race is dropped and their 100 points for first in the mile gives them 480 points.

The team was lead in by Chuck Schneekloth of Franklin who finished in third place in 4:49, followed by Sam Teigen of Hawthorne in fourth and credited with the same time.

The Shore Athletic Club placed second in the M60 division.  Laura DeLea of Sparta placed third in the W50 division in a time of 5:59.

Next up for individuals and teams competing at national championships is the 5km cross country in Buffalo NY on September 23^rd.

##

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