Donnie Cowart traveled back to the Armory to compete in the men’s open 1500m at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational held in New York, New York. Cowart was aggressive early on and sat right behind the rabbit for the first half of the race. Once the pacer stepped off the track, Donnie led the rest of the race until Brian Gagnon passed him in the final 100 meters. Cowart’s second place time of 3:41.73 bested his previous record of 3:43.56 set last year outdoors at the North Carolina A & T Meet. A video of the meet can be found below, skip ahead to 3:54:30 to see the race.

Results: 2012 NB Collegiate Invitational

Video: New Balance Collegiate Invitational – Saturday Afternoon

Donald Cowart traveled to New York, New York to compete at the Great Dane Classic held at the Armory. The race was fast and competitive this time of year, with the top four under 4:05 and less than a second and a half between them. Cowart was leading until the final straightaway but was passed at the end, finishing in 2nd in a time of 4:02.92. This race was a great rust buster for Donnie and prepares him well for another competitive mile at the Armory in two weeks. Results can be found below.

Results: 2012 Great Dane Classic

Louise Knudson and Melissa Rittenhouse toed the line at the Olympic Marathon Trials held in Houston, Texas. Although  Knudson and Rittenhouse had subpar days on the road, both gutted it out and finished the best they could on that day. Louise finished in 2:49:00 for 114th place and Melissa crossed the line in 2:49:40 for 120th place. For Rittenhouse this was her third appearance at the Olympic Marathon Trials, a very impressive accomplishment showing consistent excellence for over a decade. For Knudson this was her first trip to the trials and a positive experience for the coming years. Congratulations to both women for hitting the standard and representing RMR well in Houston.

Results: 2012 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials

Donnie Cowart, new RMR harrier Kent Pecora, Lee Gabler, Louise Knudson, Melissa Rittenhouse, Julia Webb, Sallie Ford, and Ann Mazur all competed in Richmond, Virginia this past weekend.

Cowart (left) takes home the victory

Cowart, Pecora, Gabler, Knudson, and Rittenhouse toed the line in the HCA Virginia 8k. Cowart hit the final straight away neck and neck with Julius Kogo and battled him all of the way to the line. Cowart was able to hold Kogo off in the end by the slimmest of margins (officially 22:56.20 to 22:56.26) to get the win. This was another big PR for Cowart as he ran 23:25 in the same race last year for 5th. Kent Pecora, making his RMR debut, ran an 8k PR of 24:32, good enough for 10th place. Lee Gabler, who was also making his RMR debut, finished 14th overall in a time of 25:28. Knudson and Rittenhouse, both of whom are training for the marathon Olympic Trials in January, ran personal bests. Knudson finished in 28:57 and Rittenhouse finished in 29:59, placing 7th and 8th respectively.

Webb, Ford, and Mazur competed in the McDonald’s Half Marathon. Webb and Ford ran solid races, placing 4th and 5th overall running 1:20:17 and 1:20:40. Mazur, competing in her second half marathon, ran 1:23:22, good enough for 7th place overall.

Last but not least, two integral members of the RMR family competed in the SunTrust Marathon. RMR distance coach Dana Thiele ran her first marathon “post-Alex” and placed 10th overall in a time of 3:06:13. RMR ball class and yoga expert Heidi Johnson was able to overcome numb and burning feet and still qualify for Boston, running 3:38:11. Results for all three races can be found below.

Results: 2011 Richmond 8k, Half and Full Marathon

Cowart (left, USA) down the stretch

Donnie Cowart donned the red, white, and blue and represented the USA at the Pan American Games held in Guadalajara, Mexico. With the heat, humidity, and altitude, the race became a tactical affair with five guys in contention for the win with a lap to go. Cowart held back a bit then turned it on in the final 200. Cowart came up just a bit short of medaling, finishing 4th in 8:49.97, just 0.24 seconds behind 3rd. Donnie will now take some down time before he begins his build up for the Olympic trials next summer. Results and video of the race can be found below.

Results: 2011 Pan American Games

Video: Pan Am 3000m steeplechase