Rachel Ward and Chris Post both competed this past weekend on the roads.

Ward tackled the Montalto Challenge 5k, an all-uphill race that starts with the Saunders-Monticello Trail and continues all the way to the top of Montalto. Ward took home the blue ribbon on the women’s side and took second overall, running 20:31. Her time eclipsed the previous course record by over three minutes. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Montalto Challenge 5k

Post traveled to Richmond, Virginia to compete in the Carytown 10k. Post took control early and never looked back, breaking the tape in a time of 33:34. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Carytown 10k

Seth Hutchinson and Sallie Ford both posted impressive performances in the Washington, DC area over the weekend.

Hutchinson traveled to Alexandria, Virginia for the George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler. On a cool day with a bit of a headwind, Hutchinson started out conservatively but kept the leaders in his sights. Gradually he moved up and took the lead by the five mile mark, running the first half of the race in 25:56. From there Hutchinson was able to pull away from second and third with a strong 25:00 clocking over the final five miles. Hutchinson took home the victory in a time of 50:56, eclipsing his previous best by a second set back in 2011 at the Charlottesville Ten Miler. Results and an article about the race can be found below.

Copyright 2013 Swim Bike Run Photography

Results: 2013 George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler

Article: GW Parkway Classic provides catharsis for many with Boston on their minds

North of DC, Ford competed in the Pike’s Peek 10K in Rockville, Maryland. Fast times were waiting to be had as the weather was ideal and the race is well-known for being competitive and having a PR type of course. Ford got out nice and controlled the first mile then eyed a group of four women to go after over the next few miles. Ford was able to catch them and cruised through the 5k in 17:25.

After the halfway point, the pack broke up and Sallie took the opportunity to make a move. Ford kept her eyes up and looked for women coming back to her. In the end Ford crossed the line in a time of 34:37, which is 41 seconds faster than her college track PR set three years ago. Her efforts placed her 9th overall and 1st American in the highly competitive field. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Pike’s Peek 10k

Melissa Rittenhouse and Amy Martin competed in one of the most prestigious marathons in the world, the Boston Marathon. The weather was much more marathon-friendly this year compared to the unseasonably warm temperatures felt the past two years.

Rittenhouse took advantage of the good weather and the downhill beginning miles of the course, running 6:20s comfortably early on. Around eight miles, the marathon veteran knew to respect not only the distance but also the difficulty of Boston’s course and decided to back off a bit to save energy for later in the race. While Melissa faded a bit the second half of the race, her performance was quite impressive considering that several months ago she was struggling to run at all. Her time of 2:54:19 is validation that the passion is still there and that she is well on her way to getting back to her former self and beyond.

Martin also got out well in her race, running comfortably through the half in 1:28:02, below her target goal pace. Amy was still cruising at 18 until she was knocked down by another runner not paying attention at a water station. The fall/stop caused her legs to cramp, so she intelligently kept moving (but at a slower pace) until her body had a chance to regroup. After getting down some fluids and gels at the next two water stops, Martin was able to pick it back up and charged up Heartbreak hill, passing numerous runners. She was able to even drop the pace in the final miles and, despite her fall, set a new personal record, running 3:00:44. Her time bested her previous mark by 1:47 from Chicago in 2011 and also placed her 14th among all women 40 and over in the race. While Martin was happy with the time all things considered, her performance also shows that she has more time to drop in the future.

Two other members of the RMR family competed at Boston as well. Heidi Johnson, aka the queen of core, ran 3:43:04 in her 12th consecutive Boston Marathon appearance. Harry Landers, who has been helping out at workouts in recent months, ran 3:39:52 in his 5th consecutive Boston Marathon. Both of their times are good enough to qualify them for next year’s race.

Last but not least, the Boston Marathon is always a special event for Coach Mark Lorenzoni as he is able to see a good number of the runners he mentors compete on one of running’s biggest stages. Whether he is helping a member of the RMR team or the Boston Bound group, Mark gives it his all to prepare his athletes to reach their goals on race day and loves getting the opportunity to see them compete in person.

Sadly, the Boston Marathon this year was overshadowed by the bombings that occurred later in the day which resulted in three deaths and over 170 injuries. The Charlottesville community was very fortunate as all of the runners and spectators at the event were out of harm’s way at the time of the explosions. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this tragic event.

Searchable Results: 2013 Boston Marathon

Rachel Ward and Charlie Hurt toed the line along with 32,000+ other runners at the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k in Richmond, Virginia. Rachel Ward had a solid day, running 34:53. Her time placed her 8th overall and she finished as the 2nd American in the field. For Hurt, the race was his second in as many weeks, coming off of the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Hurt followed up his 15th place showing at the 10 miler with a 15th place showing at the 10k, running 31:53. Hurt was the 5th American to finish. Results can be found below.

Searchable Results: 2013 Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k

Sallie Ford traveled to Arlington, Virginia to compete in the Crystal Run 5K, an event held every Friday in April. While the course was fairly flat, there were a few 180-degree turns and a strong wind to deal with. Ford took home the victory for the women and was 13th overall in a field of over 1,600. Her time of 17:42 was only four seconds off the course record set back in 2009. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Crystal Run 5K, April 5th

Also on Friday, Chris Post hit the track for another 5,000m at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Virginia. Unfortunately Post was a bit under the weather leading up to the race and did not run as well as he had hoped, crossing the line in 16:00.45. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Colonial Relays

On Sunday Charlie Hurt traveled to Washington, DC to race in the highly competitive Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run. Hurt got out well, running the first five miles in 25:54 and was in the middle of a big pack. Hurt’s strength over the longer distances prevailed as he was able to break away from most of the guys in his group and finished in a time of 52:12. Hurt placed 15th overall and 6th in his age group. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, Men 25-29

My apologies for not keeping up with race updates better. Here is a brief summary of results from Thanksgiving until now.

There were several trotters on turkey day. Sallie Ford and Lee Gabler both took impressive victories to the dinner table. Ford won the Drumstick Dash 5k in 16:13, outdistancing second place by 38 seconds. While the course was deemed a bit short, the effort was still impressive in a field of 15,000 runners. Gabler had a different experience in his win as he had to battle the second place finisher to the end, winning the Townwide Fund Thanksgiving Day 4 Mile Run by a second in 20:41. Thomas Adam ran the Home Run for the Homeless in Akron, OH and placed 3rd in a time of 20:15. Bert Jacoby raced the Turkey Trot 5k in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Jacoby put in a solid effort, running 15:51 for 11th place.

Jacoby wasn’t done though and went back to Fredericksburg a few weeks later in December to run the Blue & Grey Half Marathon. The purpose was not to run a personal best but to place high enough in order to win the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix Series. This would be Bert’s seventh and final race he needed to run in order to be qualified to win it all. Crossing the line in 1:14:23, Jacoby placed 4th overall and clinched the series victory (final standings here).

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Also racing in December were Seth Hutchinson and Melissa Rittenhouse. Both took home the blue ribbon at a small, fun, local event, the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 5k held in Crozet, Virginia.

Seth in the holiday spirit!

Rachel Ward kicked of the new year with an overall victory at the New Year’s 5k in Free Union, Virginia. Ward broke the tape in a time of 17:04.

Ward with a little pacing help from teammate Chris Post

A few RMR athletes headed indoors for some winter track action. With some pacing from teammate Charlotte Browning, Ward opened up her season at the VT Invitational mid-January with a 3000m. Rachel won by 23 seconds, running 9:36.54. Thomas Adam and Lee Gabler busted some rust off in a 3000m race the following week at the Liberty Open. Adam ran 8:48.40 and Gabler ran 9:00.20. On the roads, Louise Knudson and Melissa Rittenhouse ran the Frostbite 15k in Richmond, Virginia. Knudson placed 2nd in 59:20 and Rittenhouse was close behind in 3rd in a time of 59:37.

In February Gabler traveled back to Lynchburg with Chris Post to run in the Liberty Quad. Gabler and Post both ran the mile, clocking times of 4:36.05 and 4:32.47. Their times were not quite what they were looking for, but Gabler was sick at the time and it was Post’s first indoor mile since high school. Ward competed the next day on the roads a local road race, the Amnesty International/CTC Valentine Couples 5K. Ward went 1-2 with race teammate Adrian Lorenzoni, running 17:13.

On to March! Charlie Hurt hit the roads down south at the Reedy River 10k in Greenville, South Carolina. Hurt fought through some tough weather conditions to run 32:44, good enough for 7th place and a small pay day. Seth Hutchinson, Joel Hess, and Rachel Ward stayed closer to home and ran the Martha Jefferson 8k. Hutchinson won the event for the fifth year in a row, running a comfortable 25:09 on a very hilly course. Hess came in next in second in a time of 28:17, followed close behind by Ward in third in a time of 28:21. Ward broke the course record, previously held by teammate Nicole Kelleher. Local race photographer Natalie Krovetz was at the race capturing the event. Her photos can be found here.

Chris Post and Sallie Ford traveled to Washington, DC to run the St. Patrick’s Day 8k. Both harriers came away with PRs as Post finished 11th in 25:43 and Ford placed 7th in a time of 28:53. For Post this was redemption for his subpar mile a few weeks before and for Ford it was validation that her comeback from an injury this winter is going well.

Almost caught up! Below is a recap of this weekend’s action.

The area’s oldest and most prestigious foot race, the Charlottesville Ten Miler, was held this weekend. The RMR family had a big hand putting on the event as former team member Mike Inge was the race director and Mark Lorenzoni, Cynthia Lorenzoni, Audrey Lorenzoni, Chris Post, Dr. Bob Wilder, Joel Hess, Nicole Kelleher, Vicky Schandevel, Sarah Breevoort, and Sallie Ford all helped out on race day. Amy Martin made her RMR debut by using the race as more of a workout, running 1:06:14 for 3rd place. Thomas Adam, who has been battling an injury for a few weeks, also used this race as more of a tempo, running 58:14 for 10th.

Melissa Rittenhouse traveled to Washington, DC to compete in the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA half marathon. Rittenhouse ran this race at marathon pace, completing the course in 1:24:08, good enough for 19th female.

Last but not least, Seth Hutchinson, Charlie Hurt, and Rachel Ward traveled to Virginia Beach to compete in the TowneBank 8k. Hutchinson placed 4th overall in a new personal best of 24:18. Hurt followed in 5th place, running 25:21. Ward also placed 4th, finishing in a time of 27:29.

A group of RMR athletes headed to Richmond, Virginia to compete in the HCA Virginia 8k and the American Family Fitness Half Marathon.

Rachel Ward, Louise Knudson, Melissa Rittenhouse, Lee Gabler, Bert Jacoby, and Joel Hess all ran in the HCA Virginia 8k. Ward had a solid day, running 26:52 for 6th place in a highly competitive field. Knudson and Rittenhouse, both returning from injuries, turned in good efforts, placing 10th in 29:42 and 16th in 30:51, respectively. On the men’s side, Lee Gabler and Bert Jacoby ran just off their personal bests. Gabler ran 25:31 for 25th and Jacoby ran 25:43 for 29th place. Joel Hess set a personal best for the first time in five years with his time of 27:17, good enough for 43rd place.

Last but not least, Sallie Ford competed in the American Family Fitness Half Marathon. Ford has ran this race the past two years, with her PR coming in 2010 (1:19:34). Coming in, Sallie was looking to break 1:19:00, but she even surprised herself when she shattered her previous best by running 1:18:14 for 5th place. Results for both races can be found below.

Results: 2012 Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8k

Nicole Kelleher competed in the last event of the REV3 Series, REV3 Florida. Going into the race, Kelleher needed a solid performance to finalize her spot at the top of the REV3 Series leader board. The race itself had to overcome some adversity as the approaching Hurricane Sandy produced significant waves that forced the race directors to cancel the swim and replace it with a mile and a half run. On the bike, triathletes had to deal with high winds, also resulting from the impending storm. Despite these unforeseen obstacles, Kelleher persevered and finished second, securing a nice race day pay day as well as the series win. Kelleher recounts the race and her series experience in her blog below.

Nicole Kelleher’s Blog

Videos with a race recap as well as an interview with Kelleher can be found below. Congrats, Nicole!

Videos:

REV3 Florida 2012 Pro Recap from REVOLUTION3 Triathlon on Vimeo.

women 2nd Nicole Kelleher from REVOLUTION3 Triathlon on Vimeo.