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Several RMR harriers hit the track in their backyard this past weekend at the Virginia Challenge, hosted by the University of Virginia.

Pecora over the barrier

Kent Pecora toed the line in the 3000m steeplechase hoping to hit the Olympic Trials ‘B’ standard of 8:45. Pecora was patient early on and worked his way to the front as the race progressed. Pecora finished strong but just missed the ‘B’ standard, running 8:50.16 for 2nd place. Although Kent came up a bit short this time, this was another step in the right direction and a career best time for him. A video of the race can be found below.

Video: 2012 Virginia Challenge Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Ward leading the way

Rachel Ward competed in the 5000m hoping to hit the Olympic Trials ‘A’ standard of 15:35. Ward took the lead from the gun and never looked back. After six laps Ward was all alone and was on pace for the ‘A’ standard. Unfortunately Rachel faded a bit the last few laps and came up a bit short, winning in a time of 15:47.05.  While Rachel missed the ‘A’ standard, her personal best still eclipsed the ‘B’ standard of 15:50 and smashed the facility record of 16:16.04 set by Kristin Price in 2002. A video of the race can be found below.

Video: 2012 Virginia Challenge Women’s 5000m

Other RMR athletes running in the Virginia Challenge included Mike Smayda, Sallie Ford, and Ann Mazur. Smayda was under the weather and had an off day, running 2:01.78 in the 800m. Ford and Mazur also did not have their best days, running 17:26.33 and 19:31.29 in the 5000m. Full results from the meet can be found below.

Results: 2012 Virginia Challenge

Nicole Kelleher traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to compete in another olympic distance triathlon in the REV3 series, REV3 Knoxville. Kelleher, coming off some setbacks recently, finished 5th in 2:05:53 on the challenging course against tough competition. Results and recap of the race can be found below.

Results: 2012 REV3 Knoxville

Recap: REV3 Knoxville 2012 – PRO Recap Show

RMR competed at two of the biggest meets in the country this past weekend, Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California.

On Thursday night, Kent Pecora competed in the Olympic Development 3000m steeplechase, and Sallie Ford and Louise Knudson competed in the Olympic Development 10,000m at Penn Relays. Pecora ran well, placing 3rd in 8:55.91 and just missing 2nd place by 0.05. Pecora’s time was only four seconds off his personal best as he continues to gain momentum this spring going into the summer.

In her first 10,000m on the track, Knudson gained some valuable big race experience, running 36:17.53 for 8th place. Ford struggled a bit, placing 7th in a time of 36:10.68. Results from the two races can be found below.

Results: 2012 Penn Relays Olympic Development Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Results: 2012 Penn Relays Olympic Development Women’s 10,000m

Donnie Cowart and Rachel Ward toed the line at the prestigious Payton Jordan Invitational this past Sunday. Cowart competed in heat 1 of the 3000m steeplechase. Due to a dawdling pace, Cowart was more aggressive than usual and was near the front early on. With about three laps to go, Cowart and two other runners pulled away from the rest of the field. Cowart ended up finishing 3rd overall (2nd American) in 8:29.05, his second fastest time ever.

Ward made her debut in the 10,000m in the fast heat of the Payton Jordan Invitational. Ward started off in the back and moved her way through the field as the race went on. Ward ran a great race and finished 21st in a time of 32:47.97, just missing the Olympic Trials ‘A’ standard of 32:45. Both Cowart and Ward are now sitting in good position to make the Olympic Trials, beginning June 21st in Eugene, Oregon. Results from the meet as well as videos of the races can be found below.

Results: 2012 Payton Jordan Invitational

Video: 2012 Payton Jordan Invitational M 3kSC H01

Video: 2012 Payton Jordan Invitational W 10k H01

Donnie Cowart traveled to Greenville, South Carolina to compete in the Blue Shoes Elite Mile at the Furman Invitational. Cowart started off in the back of the pack the first lap then moved up into fourth during the second lap. After the rabbit dropped out with 600 meters to go, Cowart made a move and took the lead with 450 meters to go. Once there Donnie was able to hold off Ryan Witt for the win in 4:00.62. This betters Cowart’s previous best of 4:02.92 set indoors this past winter at the Great Dane Classic. A video of the race as well as full results from the meet can be found below. Donnie’s next race will be at the Payton Jordan Invitational in two weeks where he will be looking for a fast time in his primary event, the 3000m steeplechase.

Video: 2012 Blue Shoes Mile

Results: 2012 Furman Invitational

For the second week in a row, several RMR harriers tested their fitness in various races. Kent Pecora, Rachel Ward, Sallie Ford, and Louise Knudson headed to Williamsburg, Virginia to compete in the Colonial Relays. Pecora ran his first steeple of the year in a competitive field that produced two sub nine minute performances. Pecora started out conservatively in the back of the pack and finished strong, running 9:05.53 for third place. This is another good sign that Kent is getting fitter every week and is gearing up for bigger and better things in the coming weeks.

As for the women, Ward and Ford competed in heat 1 of the 5000m while Knudson competed in heat 2. In her 5000m track debut, Louise started off in the middle of the pack and slowly moved up the field. By the end she was able to move into second place and finished in a time of 17:19.68. In heat 1, Rachel took the lead and set an aggressive pace from the gun. After battling two other ladies in the closing laps, Ward came up just short of the victory, finishing second in a time of 16:05.81 in her 5000m track debut. Her debut performance is impressive considering Ward ran a fast 10k on the roads just six days before. Also in heat 1, Ford battled tired legs, running 17:09.58 in a solid effort. Results and videos of the races can be found below.

Results: 2012 Colonial Relays

Videos: Men’s 3000m steeplechase, heat 1

Women’s 5000m, heat 1

Women’s 5000m, heat 2

Cowart in mid flight (photo by Andrew Rigler)

Donnie Cowart opened up his 2012 outdoor campaign at the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in Lynchburg, Virginia. Cowart used this opportunity to get a steeplechase under his belt before he heads out to Stanford for the Payton Jordan Invitational in a few weeks. Cowart led the entire race and lapped the entire field, winning in a time of 8:50.21. Donnie’s next race will be the Furman Blue Shoes Elite Mile in Greenville, South Carolina next weekend. Results from Liberty can be found below.

Results: 2012 Liberty Collegiate Invitational

Finally, Ann Mazur hit the roads of Charlottesville for the second weekend in a row, competing in the Bad to the Bone 8k Run. Mazur cruised to victory, running 31:12 on the hilly course. Results can be found below.

Results: 2012 Bad to the Bone 8k Run

RMR harriers took to the roads and the track this weekend at three separate locations. Rachel Ward, Louise Knudson, Seth Hutchinson, and Charlie Hurt traveled to Richmond Virginia to compete against 33,000+ runners in the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k. Rachel Ward led the way with a big third place finish (1st American) running 33:22. Although this race was on the road, her time bettered the Olympic Trials ‘B’ standard of 34:00 which bodes well for later in the spring. Knudson also had a good showing as she is still new to the ‘shorter’ races, running 36:32 for 10th place.  Hutchinson and Hurt had solid races, finishing in 30:50 for 10th and 31:14 for 11th, respectively. Results of the 10k can be found below.

Results: 2012 Ukrop’s Monument 10k

Ann Mazur also hit the roads at the Charlottesville Ten Miler in RMR’s backyard. Ann improved on last year’s time by over two minutes, running 1:04:15 for second place. RMR worked hard behind the scenes in this race as well. In particular, RMR athlete Mike Inge was the race director and was integral in the success of the event that raised tens of thousands of dollars for lung cancer research at UVA. An article recapping the race and results can be found below.

Article: Charlottesville Ten Miler: Aldrich races to decisive victory

Results: 2012 Charlottesville Ten Miler

Last but not least, Kent Pecora stepped on the track for the first time this spring in the 1500m at Raleigh Relays. Pecora hung back early and moved up well, finishing in 3:56.50 for 4th. Pecora’s performances in the McCormick Mile last week and the 1500m this week show that his comeback from an injury in the winter is progressing well and the times should continue to drop as the spring goes on. Results of the meet can be found below, with Pecora in Section IV.

Results: 2012 Raleigh Relays

RMR action continues this coming weekend as Rachel Ward, Sallie Ford, Louise Knudson, and Ann Mazur head to Williamsburg, Virginia to compete in the 5000m at Colonial Relays. On the men’s side, Donnie Cowart opens his outdoor campaign at the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in the steeplechase.

Mike Smayda, Kent Pecora, Lee Gabler, Rachel Ward, Sallie Ford, Louise Knudson, and Ann Mazur all toed the line on a rainy Saturday morning at the inaugural McCormick Mile held in Charlottesville, Virginia. The race started in the middle of Grounds on McCormick Road and finished on the Corner at Dunkin’ Donuts who sponsored the event.

Smayda finishes strong. (c) 2012 Natalie Krovetz

On the men’s side, Smayda, Pecora, and Gabler were all together at three quarters of a mile. In the final downhill stretch, Smayda separated himself and took home the victory in 4:15.04. Pecora and Gabler finished close behind in 4:18.48 and 4:20.40, respectively, completing the RMR sweep of the top three spots.

Ward on the final stretch. (c) 2012 Natalie Krovetz

On the women’s side, the race was a bit more spread out. RMR grabbed the first four spots, with Ward winning the race in 4:42.03, Ford finishing 2nd in 4:54.76, Knudson running 5:03.42 for 3rd, and Mazur stopping the clock in 5:15.13 for 4th.

Two other members of the RMR family also laced up their racing shoes for the McCormick Mile. Coach Dan Murray took home top honors in his age group as he ran 5:49 and Heidi Johnson won her age group in a time of 5:37.

RMR had a great turnout on the roads as well as on the sidelines. Charlie Hurt, Donnie Coward, Mike Inge, Seth Hutchinson, Chris Post, Thomas Adam, Nicole Kelleher, Julia Webb, Vicky Schandevel, Sarah Breevoort, Dr. Bob Wilder, and Mark,  Cynthia, Audrey, and Alec Lorenzoni all helped put on the event. Photos taken by Natalie Krovetz can be found on Ragged Mountain Running Shop’s facebook page linked below.

Photos: 2012 McCormick Mile

Kelleher (middle) on the podium

Nicole Kelleher started off her triathlon season with a big victory at Revolution3 Costa Rica. Kelleher competed at the Olympic distance and finished the course on a warm day in 2:16:15 (unofficially). This was her first major professional win after a few runner up finishes last year. Nicole will not have much time to celebrate as she will compete in the Ironman 70.3 US Professional Championship in Galveston, Texas on April 1st. Results were not available at the time this was written, interviews from the race can be found below.

Interview: 2012 Rev3 Costa Rica

Post-race interview: 2012 Rev3 Costa Rica