Current '08 to '09 Season Archived Results

YMCARUNNERS ENJOY DELIGHTS OF THE COUNTRY

2008-11-23T08:03:00.000-08:00

On November 23, 2008, the Downtown YMCARunners enjoyed some time in the country. Our runners had two diversions from which to choose: the annual/semi-annual/whenever-we-have-it "Flirt in the Dirt" in Clermont and the X-Country Marathon, Half Marathon, 5k and Water Boarding (more on that later) near Plant City.

FALL FLIRT IN THE DIRT

As advertised, the Flirt in the Dirt followed the Bradshaw Road outside of Clermont. Way outside. This lonely 10 mile (ish) dirt road rises and falls along the outer wilderness of Lake County. The course is beautiful in a barren, former-Orange-grove-stalled-development sort of way and offers gorgeous views of the surrounding hills and any number of critters: coyotes, deer, and the dreaded "Feral Gifford." This version of the Flirt sported an air of legitimacy with race numbers and a sporty race drink provided by the ubiquitous Hector Clemente, dubbed "Hector's Nectar." Indeed.

Twenty or so YMCARunners ran the dirt and rolling hills with (surprise) Mike Easterling leading the way, fresh off his recent victory at the Florida Special Olympics Triathlon. His Honorableness Alan Lawson would have come in second, but alas, Judge Lawson's brilliance on the bench does not extend to navigational know-how. Alan missed the proper exit and was halfway to Ocala before he realized his non-appealable error.

For more information and other unmentionables, CLICK HERE.

For race photo album, CLICK HERE.

X-COUNTRY MARATHON / HALF MARATHON / 5K

Teresa Calio led the women, or at least most of them (Dame Hulya and Entourage had an exclusive engagement). Paul Duckett was kind enough to loop back and lend a hand to a few of the women at the rear, lest they encounter the Feral Gifford. This was a wasted effort because the Feral Gifford was elsewhere convincing Mylene's son to eat a piece of muffin found on the ground (the Gifford is known for enticing the very young and very old into any number of senseless acts).

On Sunday, a tiny coterie of YMCARunners travelled to Alafia River State Park near Plant City for the X-Country trail running series consisting of a marathon, half marathon and 5k. The website described the course as something akin to an idyllic stroll among fields and wide forest paths. What we found instead was something like the 80's video game "Pitfall." Yes, there were plenty of fields alright, but there were plenty of twisty, narrow-rooted paths and knee deep sugar sand as well. The area was beautiful, not that anyone noticed while leaping over boiling tar pits and fording rivers of powdery sand for the last mile before the finish. The race was summed up perfectly by Adam Gifford: "I felt pretty good until I threw up at mile 22."

If not for the excellent post-race campground breakfast provided by Danielle Heath and Liz Calio, this country excursion would have been most unpleasant. Two notable exceptions were David Dix, who bounced around the half marathon course like a winning lotto ball to finish second in his age group (11th overall), and Danielle, who was the 5k Masters Champion. Kurt Brewer, who b**ched endlessly about the half marathon terrain and his sundry "itises" managed to finish 3rd in his age group, and Teresa Calio won her age group in the half.

YMCARunners Accept the Challenge!

2008-11-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

On October 25, 2008, a handful of YMCARunners showed off their athletic multi-tasking abilities at the Great Floridian Triathlon (Ironman) and the Florida Challenge Triathlon (ooohh...the "Intimidator"). The "Challenge" covered the "Half Ironman" distance comprising a 1.2 mile splash around Lake Minneola, a 58 mile bike tour of the greater Clermont area and a half marathon (13.1 miles). A Half Ironman is no small fete, but this race is particularly wicked in that the bike portion incorporates the gnarley hills of Buckhill Road in Ferndale and the "widow maker" side of Sugarloaf Mountain. Intimidating? Not for our runners.

IRONMAN (Great Floridian)

Mike Easterling continued his impressive string of Ironman & Olympic distance performances by placing FIFTH OVERALL with a freakish time of 9:54:00.40

HALF IRONMAN (Florida Challenge)

Heather "Fire Starter" Bellardo
6:21:09 3RD AGE GROUP

Sean "Swimfan" McCormack
5:18:45 1ST AGE GROUP

Adam Gifford 6:30:47

Chris Scott 6:52:53

Julie Scott 7:02:03

Flight of the Bumblebee--YMCARunners Buzz Fouder's Day 10k

2008-11-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

From a bird's-eye view of the Founder's Day 10k last weekend, it looks like the race staff planned the course using silly string. There were plenty of twists and turns to challenge our runners, but an ideal start temperature of 56 degrees more than made up for it.

Our Downtown YMCARunners raced through the manicured streets of Truman Show-inspired Celebration, cheered on by throngs of Stepford wives and tipsy Junior Leaguers. Maybe it was the Disney magic or perhaps it was the reassurance that the race ended at a hospital, but either way, our YMCARunners turned in some impressive performances for a club somewhat diminished by recovering marathoners and an injured list as long as the number of Celebration HOA covenants. Led by Coach Emeritus Pat Marshall, the club scored loads of hardware and left Celebration with more than fond memories.

Be sure to congratulate our runners for their excellent efforts in this latest Grand Prix event.

(partial list...in progress!)

Pat Marshall 33:07 3rd Overall
Aleks Markovic 38:03 2nd Age Group
E. J. Wunderlich 38:54 1st Age Group PR
Danny Wardeh 41:15 3rd Age Group
John Napolitano 42:31 5th Age Group
Bill Vanos 35:47 1st Age Group
Carey Rothschild 44:19 4th Age Group
Jim Shea 42:24
Patricia Arango 49:58
Mylene Dally 45:24 2nd Age Group
Bob Ericson 51:23
Dina Meng 45:42 3rd Age Group
Terry Kitch 51:32
Nancy Kitch 59:31

UCF FIVE MILER OFFERS COOL SURPRISE

2008-11-02T11:50:00.001-08:00

The Downtown YMCARunners competed in the latest installment in the Track Shack Grand Prix Series on Sunday, October 19. The U Can Finish Five Miler follows a circuitous route in and around the University of Central Florida. This race provides a glimpse of the storied campus of UCF, renowned for its historic architecture and ivy clad buildings reminiscent of Yale or Harvard (UCF is often referred to as the "Princeton of East Orlando"). As with this year's Miracle Miles 15k, U Can Finish was blessed with unseasonably cool temperatures that helped our runners take home plenty of Grand Prix hardware. Here are their results:

Patrick Marshall, 26:13 (4th overall, 1st Age Group)

Bill Vanos, 29:01 (1st Age Group)

Aleks Markovic, 29:53

Bruce Geise, 30:37

Brent Schmierbach, 30:40 (3rd Age Group)

EJ Wunderlich, 31:49

Danny Wardeh, 31:54

Brian Furgala, 32:07

Kathy Gagnier, 32:35 (Grand Masters Champ)

Cesar Estrada, 32:52

John Napolitano, 32:58

Oneal Barnett, 33:54

Carey Rothschild, 35:08

Rod Jaeger, 35:10

Dina Meng, 37:24

Peter Barts, 37:35

Bob Erickson, 42:22
Nancy Kitch 46:15 (3rd Age Group)

Chagrin in Chicago; Steamtown Lives up to its Namesake

2008-11-02T09:49:00.001-08:00

It looks like the Cubs aren't the only Chicago athletic franchise suffering from some seriously impaired mojo. This year's Chicago Marathon wasn't the Dante's Inferno of 2007, but it was still more Miami than Magnificent Mile. Hills are a challenge, and rain just plain sucks, but nothing will sink a marathon time faster than heat and humidity. Most of our YMCARunners had to adjust their race strategies from "goal time" to "I just want to finish this thing." For instance, Donnie McCammon (2:53 at '08 Boston) decided by mile seven that he wasn't going to sweat through another Chicago race after posting a stunning 3:18 time in 88 degrees in '07. So Donnie saved his race for New York and enjoyed the Chicago sights with his sister, Amanda, who enjoyed the company. Congratulations to all of our YMCARunners for completing yet another tough Chicago marathon.

Carlos Pereyra 3:17:53

Dan Traver 4:08:02

Donald McCammon 4:05:36

Amanda McCammon 4:03:19

Mike Hoffman 4:05:17

Joel Remigio 3:59:24

2008 STEAMTOWN MARATHON

YMCARunners David Dix, Judge Alan Lawson and Tim Perry took on what is heavily touted as "America's Best Downhill Course." Well, mostly downhill. What the race organizers don't advertise is the killer inclines at the end just before you come into lovely Scranton, PA (the "Paris of Northeast PA"). What ever happened to truth in advertising? No matter, our YMCARunners kept running full steam ahead, even though the race end was a bit steamy with unseasonably warm temperatures.

David Dix 3:08:54

Tim Perry 3:41:06

Alan Lawson 3:41:11

IRON MAIDEN KATHY GAGNIER TACKLES IRONMAN CHAMPIONSHIP

2008-11-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

YMCARunner Kathy Gagnier traveled to Kona, Hawaii this weekend for the most competitive and demanding triathlon on the planet: the Ironman World Championship. Kathy is one of Central Florida's most talented athletes, as showcased by her age group win at the Arizona Ironman in April. At Saturday's Ironman Championship, Kathy brought here "K" game and did not disappoint with an impressive 12:31:40. Her time was a bit slower than her 12:13:02 Ironman debut, but Kona doesn't host the championship for naught: the Kona course embraces a special brand of brutality with its searing black lava roads, exploding volcanoes and intense heat. The race course would make great stock footage for a disaster epic. Think Jurassic Park, rather than Magnum PI. For more details, click on http://ironman.com/.

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
533	51	Winter Park FL USA	Engineer

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
1:18:24	6:37:05	4:22:37	12:31:40	1225 of 1736	13 of 37

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM	2.4 mi. (1:18:24)	2:03/100m	1242	14

FIRST BIKE SEGMENT	5.5 mi. (1:40:58)	19.88 mph
SECOND BIKE SEGMENT	28 mi. (2:53:14)	18.68 mph
THIRD BIKE SEGMENT	59 mi. (4:47:14)	16.32 mph
FOURTH BIKE SEGMENT	88 mi. (6:32:05)	16.60 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT	112 mi. (8:01:27)	16.11 mph
TOTAL BIKE	112 mi. (6:37:05)	16.92 mph	1317	14

FIRST RUN SEGMENT	5.2 mi. (8:54:01)	8:38/mile
SECOND RUN SEGMENT	10.3 mi. (9:38:16)	8:40/mile
THIRD RUN SEGMENT	17.6 mi. (10:58:03)	10:55/mile
FINAL RUN SEGMENT	26.2 mi. (12:31:40)	10:53/mile
TOTAL RUN	26.2 mi. (4:22:37)	10:01/mile

YMCARunners Take Manhattan at NYC Marathon

2008-11-02T05:25:00.000-08:00

November in New York. The leaves are changing in Central Park, the summer hoards are a distant memory, and the natives can finally find seats at all the good shows. Few things herald the beginning of fall in Gotham like the New York Marathon. Marathon purists tout Boston as the world's best marathon, but the millions of screaming New Yorkers who stand 10 deep throughout NYC's five boroughs beg to differ. In many ways, it's the difference between McCain and Obama. Boston, like McCain, has all of that glorious history, experience and perfect pedigree. The race in New York is far less experienced, but it has all the energy and enthusiasm of a monster rock concert (like, say, AC/DC & U2 together).

Five of our YMCARunners performed onstage at this consummate marathon show and posted some blazing times, although all claimed beforehand that "I'm just taking it easy and enjoying the sights." We didn't believe it for a moment. Hulya Atli, in particular, ran one of the fastest times ever posted by a woman YMCARunner. Here are their results:

Hulya Atli 3:08:16 (7:10 pace)
Donnie McCammon 3:08:22 (7:11 pace)
Mike Masur 3:12:24 (7:20 pace)
Jeff Tecau 3:03:54 (7:00 pace)
Kelly Partain 4:12:52 (9:38 pace)

YMCARunners Manhandle Mount Desert Island Marathon

2008-10-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

On October 19, 2008, a small band of YMCARunners traveled to beautiful Bar Harbor, Maine to take on the Mount Desert Island Marathon. Many runners consider this course to be among the toughest in the U.S., and we can confirm as much. The pre-marathon disclaimer read more like a canned obituary for someone who was ready to meet his maker. Our favorite part:

"Our best advice is to treat this race as a 'mini-ultra marathon' . The terrain is challenging and personal bests for the distance are extremely difficult to achieve." (Apparently, Teresa Calio didn't read the disclaimer)

The MDI Marathon was a Halloween nightmare featuring a relentless roller coaster of nearly nonstop hills and little level terrain. With a frosty start temp of 32 degrees and a stiff wind off the North Atlantic, our runners encountered more trick than treat. Nevertheless, our YMCARunners pulled out some excellent performances among stunning fall foliage, picturesque villages and MDI's gorgeous granite ledged coast. Here are their results:

Tony Stafford 3:03:20 6:59 Pace (16 / 700ish)

Kurt Brewer 3:04:52 7:04 Pace (17 / 700ish) 3rd Age Group

Teresa Calio 3:22:17 7:45ish Pace 1ST Age Group PR!!

John Fish 3:35:08 8:10 Pace PR

Micale Miles Indeed! YMCARunners Race 15k

2008-09-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

The Downtown YMCARunners enjoyed a miraculous break in the customarily torrid race conditions for the Chick-fil-A Miracles Miles 15k this weekend. Yes, we get the irony of a fast food outfit sponsoring an athletic event. For the record, Chick-fil-A offers the "healthiest" fast food in the business. And let's be clear: the chicken sandwiches offered by Chick-fil-A at the end of the race are no worse than the usual post-race indulgence of pancakes/bacon/eggs/mimosa's.

Miracle Miles is always a surly event because of the distance required (9.3 miles) in Orlando's tropical September conditions. A few years ago the event organizers got savvy and moved the race to the end of September with an earlier start time. "Chick" super sized the post race party (I know, wrong fast food company) and offered up some serious Tag Heuer bling to the overall finishers. This year, Miracle Miles was blessed with a miraculous cold front that dropped the starting temp to an astounding 67 degrees with scant humidity. Our YMCARunners took advantage of the November-like conditions to post some impressive results.

Alan Lawson, 1:05:25 (7:01)
Carey Rothschild, 1:07:41 (7:15)
Carlos "Speedy" Pereyera, 59:43 (6:24)
Christina Sahr, 1:25:39 (9:11)
Dave Collias, 1:09:11 (7:25)
David Dix, 1:01:10 (6:33), 4th Age Group
David King, 1:33:42 (10:03)
Donnie McCammon, 59:35 (6:23)
Erin Volz, 1:17:43 (8:20)
Hulya Atli, 1:06:27 (7:07), 1st Age Group
Jason Kaiser, 1:02:18 (6:41)
Jeff "T-Plow" Tecau, 58:18 (6:15)
Joe Kivett, 1:25:38 (9:11)
Joel Remigio, 1:08:00 (7:17)
John Napolitano, 1:06:23 (7:07)
Julie Yocum, 1:20:08 (8:35)
Karlye Martorelli, 1:38:20 (10:33)
Kevin Radbill, 1:04:18 (6:53)
Kim Capps, 1:14:48 (8:01)
Kim Thomas, 1:35:33 (10:15)
Kristi Troy, 1:14:58 (8:02)
Kurt Brewer, 58:29:00 (6:16), 3rd Age Group
Marc Hustad, 1:16:19 (8:11)
"Boss" Mark Russell, 1:20: 11 (8:36)
Mary Beth Mottern, 1:18:11 (8:23)
Matt Renfroe, 1:21:18 (8:43)
Mike Hoffman, 1:12:32 (7:46)
Mike Masur, 1:03:30 (6:48)
Mylene Dally, 1:14:49 (8:01)
Patrick Marshall, 51:38 (5:32), 1st Age Group, 4th Overall
Paul Lynn, 1:14:47 (8:01), 3rd Age Group
Pauline Cumming, 1:31:17 (9:47)
Rebecca Hickam, 1:27:15 (9:21)
Rob Hambrecht, 59:06 (6:20)
Rod Jaeger, 1:12:03 (7:43)
Shannon Sarkarati, 1:27:15 (9:21)
Stephen Gidus, 1:03:42 (6:50)
Steve Key, 1:02:51 (6:44)
Teresa Calio, 1:03:11 (6:46), 1st Age Group
Tim Perry, 1:01:59 (6:39), 5th Age Group
Tracy Cook, 1:20:37 (8:38)
Victor Sojos, 1:09:03 (7:24)

YMCARunners Roll at Rock 'N Run 5k

2008-09-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the YMCARunners who braved sultry race conditions to suffer through 3.1 miles of all-out pain at the Rock 'N Run 5k. As usual, the Downtown YMCARunners posted some awesome results, the likely product of our brutal summer training program. Here are the preliminary results from the 5K:

PAT MARSHALL (16:06) 3rd Overall
ALEKS MARKOVICS (18:00) 2nd Age Group
BRENT SCHMIERBACH (18:58) 3rd Age group
DANNY WARDEH (19:08) 4th Age Group
KATHY GAGNIER (20:26) Masters Champion
KEVIN RADBILL (19:44)
CESAR ESTRADA (19:52)
CAREY ROTHSCHILD (21:23)
ONEAL BARNETT (21:32)
ALEX NEGRON (21:44)
DINA MENG (22:38) 3rd Age Group
JULIAN WHITAKUS (29:07)
BOB ERICSON (25:27)

YMCARunners Race 2008-'09 Grand Prix Kick Off

2008-08-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all of the Downtown YMCARunners who rolled out for the first event of the "Grand Prix" Series sponsored by Track Shack. Given the lovely August weather, the Celebration of Running 5k is kind of like elective surgery. You want to put it off, but you just have to get past it. The folks at Track Shack sweetened the pot with a tech shirts and Disneyesque pageantry, but this was a difficult run nevertheless with plenty of twists and turns, brick streets and Sri Lanken style humidity.

Here are the club results:

Katy Radkewich, 3rd overall, 18:31
Pat Marshall, 2nd overall, 15:58
Kathy Gagnier, 1st Grand Masters, 19:34
Bill Vanos, 1st age group, 17:16
Aleks Markovic, 4th age group, 18:33
DAnny Wardeh, 2nd age group, 19:02
Brian Furgala, 3rd age group, 19:51
John Napolitano, 4th age group, 20:55
Kim Capps, 2nd age group, 22:50
John Van Valkenburg, 4th age group, 21:13
Alex Negron, 21:52
O'Neal Barnett, 22:23
DAve Collias, 22:22
Sean Dishman, 24:00
Pete Barts, 22:48
Jeff Boley, 19:43
Julian Whitekus, 23:23
Bob Ericson, 24:07
Paul Lynn, 24:01
Tara O'Keeffe, 24:52
Carey Rothschild (Kosson), 21:43
Beth Stone, 24:22

YMCARunners Kick Off 2008-'09 Season with 12th Annual Xentury City 5K

2008-08-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Before Track Shack's storied Grand Prix Series begins, there is a little known 5k race that is unfortunately one of the best kept secrets of the Central Florida racing season. Located in the strangely named "Xentury City" area around the corner from the Gaylord Palms Hotel, the I-Drive U-Run 5k features the fastest 5k course in the greater Orlando area. Unlike every Grand Prix 5k, there are no brick streets, no twists and turns, no narrow passages. What you get instead is a straight out and back course on a capacious three lane highway. If this race was held later in the season, it would easily boast the fastest 5k times in Central Florida. The I-Drive U-Run also features loads of distractions for the kiddies, and this year's gorgeous dark blue tech t-shirt could easily be the nicest racing T handed out in years. With the first event of the Grand Prix the following, week, many of Orlando's racing elite skip this treat in preparation for the Grand Prix kickoff. Travesty! No matter, because our YMCARunners always make a great showing at this event, albeit not in the numbers found at the typical downtown Orlando/ Winter Park races. Here are their results:

Teresa Calio 20:19 / 6:32 pace Masters Champion
Kurt Brewer 18:29 / 5:56 pace 1st Place Age Group
Aaron Michelson 25:08 / 8:05
Jeff Boley 19:05 / 6:08 2nd Place Age Group
Paul Linn 23:09 / 7:27 2nd Place Age Group
Terry Kitch 30:08 / 9:41
Nancy Kitch 30:09 / 9:42