Close to Charlottesville, Lee Gabler, Joel Hess, and Sallie Ford showed a little bit of speed in the Bruce Barnes Mile. The race got out hard as the leader went out in around 57 seconds for the first quarter mile. Gabler went out more controlled the first part of the race, sitting in second. While Gabler wasn’t able to catch first the second half of the race, Lee improved upon his time and place from the year before, finishing 2nd in a time of 4:12 (last year he ran 4:22 for 3rd). Hess had a solid outing as well. Although he was a few seconds slower than last year, he moved up one place, finishing 4th in a time of 4:33.

Ford crossing the line

Sallie Ford finished her spring season with a bang as she won the women’s title and broke the course record, running 4:48. It was the first time a woman has dipped under five minutes for the race.  Last but not least, RMR’s very own Harry Landers ran an impressive 5:16 mile. Not too shabby for a 60 year old. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Bruce Barnes Mile

In Williamsburg, Virginia, runners turned triathletes Sarah Breevoort and Vicky Schandevel competed in the Jamestown International Triathlon. The event consisted of a 1500m swim, 40k bike, and 10k run. Breevoort secured the top spot in her age group with a great day on the bike, distancing herself by almost five minutes from her next closest competitor on that leg alone. Schandevel was consistent across the disciplines, finishing 2nd in the swim, 3rd in the bike, and 2nd in the run to take runner-up in the same age group. Overall, Breevoort finished 5th in a time of 2:15:01 and Schandevel finished 6th in a time of 2:20:44. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Jamestown International Triathlon

Melissa Rittenhouse traveled with Sarah and Vicky and decided to do the Bacon Street Run for Mental Health 5k, also held in Williamsburg. Rittenhouse came away with the victory in a time of 19:44. A blog post with the results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Bacon Street Run for Mental Health 5k

Watch more video of 2013 Music City Distance Carnival on flotrack.org

Browning established herself early on, running in third position behind the rabbit and one other runner. While she was not able to respond as well as she would have liked when the leaders moved, Browning finished strong in 5th place in a time of 4:18.27. While the race may not have showed her true fitness, it is a great stepping stone for the rest of her season as it is the fastest she has ever opened up with and her first positive race since having surgery back in 2011. Now that Browning has her first race of the year out of the way, she will be looking to drop her time when she travels to Indiana to compete in the American Milers Club High Performance Series on June 12th and 15th. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 Music City Distance Carnival

Hurt took off at the beginning and never looked back, cruising to a victory in a time of 32:51. The win completes a solid winter/spring season for Hurt as he now looks forward to some down time before gearing up for the summer and fall.

Bert also distanced himself from the rest of the field and ran the first half in around 17 flat. Despite a tight hamstring the second half, Jacoby held strong and finished second in 34:09, over two minutes ahead of third place. This was a good comeback race for Bert as he had been battling an injury most of the winter and is now getting his legs under him. Results can be found below.

Results: 2013 YMCA/Civitan 10K Run

Results: 2013 Virginia Challenge

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

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

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

Searchable Results: 2013 Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k

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

Results: 2013 Washington & Lee Track and Field Carnival