Rosendale Plains Run

The famous Rosendale Plains Run, a 4.4-mile loop through scenic Rosendale and Tillson, will take place on August 8th. Gunker Chris Peone directs as always. The application is available here. The Plains Run is also race #5 in the SRC Pursuit Series.

Solstice Run

The 2009 Solstice Run will be on Wednesday, June 24, at 6:30 pm at Minnewaska State Park. The beautiful, challenging 15K course is one of the best trail runs in the Hudson Valley, and the race is a fundraiser for the Lou Gross Memorial Fund, a cause near and dear to our hearts. The race application is available now.

Summer Series 2009

The following are the dates for the Shawangunk Runners Summer XC Series, the famous series of Monday-night races that takes us through the heat of July.

July 6: Overcliff/Undercliff (4.7 miles)
July 13: Lou's Run (4+ miles)
July 20: Patterson's Pellet (3 miles)
July 27: Blueberry Run(4+ miles)

All races start with kid's events at 7pm; adult races follow immediately afterwards. The end-of-series awards and fun run/relay will be on August 3.

Download an application here.

Vermont City Marathon

A large Gunks contingent undertook the traditional spring pilgrimmage to Burlington for the Vermont City Marathon last weekend. This has long been a Gunks favorite, and this year was no exception, as the race again saw several outstanding performances.

C-Boy had the race of the day, leading the Gunkers with a big-time PR of 2:59:07, good for fifth among 50-54-year-olds. He ran a brilliantly paced race, splitting halfway in 1:28:06 and coming back in 1:31:01. It seems Chris solved his long-standing issues with taking in fuel during a marathon by simply not taking in anything.

Annie ran a strong 3:14:15, not quite up to her usual standards but still a solid performance, good for second in the 45-49 age group. El Fredo also had a strong showing, though not quite to the insanely fast level he set for himself in 2008. His 3:22:00 (off a 1:36 opening half) also placed him second among 60-64-year-olds. Dr. Doug ran an excellent 3:26:02 for third in the same group. He appears to be all the way back from that horrendous ITB injury.

Other Gunkers:

Steve Schindler 3:33:27

Rachel Schabot 3:40:49

Jackie Schiffer 3:43:39

FOGs:

Wayne McDaniel 2:57:21 (3rd place, 45-49)

Brian Hickey 3:11:41 (marathon debut--nice job Brian!)

Spring Sprint 5k @ Shaupeneak

A new addition to the race calendar, the Scenic Hudson Spring Sprint can lay claim to being the toughest 5K in the area. The brainchild of Gunker Jason Taylor, the Spring Sprint covers some wicked, nasty singletrack in the beautiful Shaupeneak Ridge Park, a hidden gem just off Route 9W in Esopus.

A nice Gunk contingent turned out for the inaugural Sprint, with Charlie Gadol leading the way with his third-place overall finish. Paul Muessig followed closely in fifth. Coach Beth outkicked Steve Schallenkamp for 10th overall (and third female).

Gunkers
3. Charlie Gadol 26:21

5. Paul Muessig 27:32

10. Beth Glace 30:38

11. Steve Schallenkamp 30:39

19. Rachel Schabot 35:12

42. Maggie Schoonmaker 46:11

You can view full results here and race photos here.

Kingston Classic: The HEAT is ON!

Damn, it was hot in Kingston for the Classic 10K. The area's premier road race saw unseasonably warm, humid conditions that limited finishes to a record-low number of 418. The winning time of 31:01 was the slowest in at least 10 years.

Top Gunker honors went to road warrior Brian Nagel, who placed 48th in 44:11, good for the win in the 55-59 age group. Pat Lopiano was close behind, placing second in the group in 44:39 (53rd overall).

Other Gunkers:
72. Norman Goluskin 48:06 (1st 70-74)
78. Jason Taylor 48:51
90. Doug Heller 50:14
91. Anne Gullickson 50:15

FOGs
19. Mike Halstead 38:12
20. Robert Muller 39:07
24. Connie Grace 40:09
26. Wayne McDaniel 40:35 (1st 45-49)
37. Mark Wilson 42:00
69. Kristen Hjeltnes 47:48
73. Abidi Bouazza 48:27
101. Winter Eyres 51:13 (1st 20-24)

Boston 2009!

It was a smaller Gunks contingent than last year at the fabled Boston Marathon, but the group's size did not diminish the quality of the performances. One in particular stood out. Kevin Roach, coming off a fantastic 2:57 at New York, set his sights on a PR--and got one, running a brilliant (and palindromic) 2:55:52, a nearly two-minute PR and good for an amazing 58th place in the ultra-competitive 40-49 age group.

Other great performances were turned in by Gunkers Muark Mulpeter (3:15), Rosibel Landau (3:42), and Mary Denitto (an amazing 3:52 at 61 years old!).

Check the Boston website for more information.

Lowe's 5K/Ray's Run

Two mainstays of the early-spring racing calendar, the Lowe's 5K and Ray's Run, attracted the usual slew of solid performances from the Gunkers. Lowe's, in late March, was a hot-spot for New Paltz runners, as Coach Mike Trunkes brought the SUNY team out for their first race of the spring. Mike's athletes took three of the top 5 places in the race, including overall winner Joe Gentsch in 16:58. Mike himself led the Gunkers with his third-place finish in 17:20 (first master). Mendy Taylor ran her first race since sustaining an injury last October, placing third for women in a credible 19:48. Welcome back Mendy! Brian Nagel ran a fine 20:25 to win the 50-59 age group, and Steve Schallenkamp placed third in the same category in 21:22. Complete results can be found here.

Steve co-directed Ray's Run for the umpteenth year, putting on another fine event by all accounts. Gunk participation was limited by volunteering the Boston Marathon, which was run the next day. However, the "exchange" program with the MHRRC that was championed by Steve over the winter paid off, as the Mid-Hudson Runners paid back the Gunkers for their fine showing at Ed Erichson with an excellent turnout. Among Gunkers, Pat Lopiano placed 16th overall, good for third in the 50-59 age group.

Winter Updates: Some random races

Plenty of FOGs out at the Celebrate Life Half Marathon in March, as well as the Race Around Briggs (where we did not get a team together as usual...Steve, why can't we ever make that happen?), so I won't go into detail here, except to mention that Pat Lopiano and Steve Schallenkamp represented the group quite well at Briggs.

Trail racing: at the infamous Mudders and Grunters trail run in Westchester, in addition to an outstanding win by SRC store manager and Gunker/FOG Justin Harris, Paul Muessig ran a strong 42:28 for the exacting 5-mile technical course, good for first place in the 50-59 age group. And there was a slew of good performances at the Mt. Penn Mudfest 15K, a perennial favorite of Gunkers and FOGs, which I detailed on the SRC blog.

At the world-renowned Cherry Blossom 10 mile in Washington, DC, C-Boy continued his excellent 2009 with a brilliant 1:00:50, a new PR for the distance, which landed him fifth in the 50-54 age group. Myron Baker ran a strong 1:07:32 for third among 60-64-year-olds.

Winter Updates: MHRRC Races

February and March saw the start of the Mid-Hudson Road Racers 2009 calendar. The Gunkers made a concerted effort to show up in force for the Winter Run 5 mile in February and particularly the Ed Erichson 5- and 10-milers in March. C-Boy again led the way, though he continued a disturbing trend that carried over from last year of losing to women. Women who run really, really fast.

Winter Run 5-mile

2. Chris Peone 30:03 (1st male)
7. Kevin Roach 30:59
10. Mark Mulpeter 31:41
11. Anne Gullickson 32:15 (3rd female)
12. Brian Nagle 32:49
17. Steve Schallenkamp 34:41 (3rd 50-59)

Ed Erichson 5-mile

5. Brian Nagle 32:50
11. Steve Schallenkamp 36:11

Ed Erichson 10-mile

4. Chris Peone 1:03:13 (1st master)
8. Kevin Roach 1:06:59 (3rd master)
9. Mark Mulpeter 1:07:58
11. Anne Gullickson 1:09:52 (3rd female, 1st master)
17. Doug Heller 1:15:49

Full results are available here.

Winter Updates: Viking Run

Now that we've gotten used to nice warm weather, running in shorts, and clear trails up on the mountain, I thought it was just about time to post some results from the winter.

Honestly, I don't know what happened over the last few months. My apologies for not getting any race result updates since basically January. No excuses. But now that the spring season is in full swing, it's time to get this show on the road.

I'll post a few results in semi-chronological order. Fortunately for you I wasn't at any of the races we've missed, so I won't have much to say about them.

I'm reserving this first update post for the Viking Run, since as usual the results were dominated by Gunkers and FOGs, and as usual C-Boy led the way with a fine fifth-place finish.

Gunkers:
5. Chris Peone 43:08
8. Gavin Gullickson 44:58
9. Tomi Stern 45:15
13. Rosibel Landau 45:48
14. Fred Stewart 45:58
18. Pat Lopiano 48:06
24. Anne Gullickson 49:17
28. Jason Taylor 50:37
33. Patti Lankhorst 52:01

FOGs:
2. Brian Hickey 40:03
3. Robert Muller 43:35
12. Myron Baker 45:42
23. Mike Halstead 49:08
39. Mary Denito 54:45
59. Doug Freese 61:31

Full results are available here. If I've missed anyone please email me and I'll add you.

Naples Half Marathon

Naples, you say? The winter home of Gunker Fred Stewart also hosts a world-class half-marathon each January, and this year three other Gunkers joined El Fredo in Florida for some early-season racing.

Fred took the 60-64 age group in 1:31:16. Former Boston age-group champ Rich Edwards was second in 1:34:36. C-Boy led the Gunk effort with a strong 1:23:01, placing second in the 45-49 age group. Marathon wizard Dr. Doug Heller ran a strong 1:39:36 for eighth in the 55-59 group.

Onteora Grand Prix--Final Standings

Steve Schallenkamp and Pat Lopiano scored top prizes in the final Onteora Grand Prix standings for 2008.

Steve, the two-time defending series champ, saw his goal of a three-peat dashed when a mid-season injury forced him out of the final three races in the series. He accumulated enough points, however, to place third overall. Pat's 8-race total of 39 points was good for fifth overall.

In age-group scoring, the two reversed positions, with Pat winning the 50-59 age group and Steve placing second. (Yes, the scoring is a bit counterintuitive.)

Great job guys!

Complete series results are available here.

JFK 50 Mile

Well, a bunch of people have asked how it went down at JFK. The short answer is, really good for awhile, then I got hurt and it sucked. You can read the full report here which I posted on the store blog.

I'm going to see Dr. Ness sometime this week to see if I can't get this hip/back thing straightened out. Hoping to be back in time for the Viking Run.

El Fredo Moves to Second in NYC Results!

As reported earlier, Gunker Fred Stewart narrowly missed age-group hardware at the venerable NYC Marathon (sorry, the ING New York City Marathon), placing third in the 60-64 age group, a category which "pays" two deep. (This after placing fourth earlier this year at Boston, where the top three took home hardware!) However, investigation into the age-group winner revealed that his 2:38 finishing time actually was too good to be true. Apparently, the man had given his chip to a younger friend, who ran the course with two chips (which subsequently recorded identical times at each split) until he handed his chip to the older runner at some point in the last mile, allowing the man to "win" his age group. C-Boy, at the finish line, noted immediately that something seemed to be amiss, as this gentleman was moving much, much slower than all of the other sub-2:40 finishers streaming across the line. It seems that this man had never actually broken four hours before. A remarkable PR!

Anyway, after Gunker and NYRR board member Norman Goluskin headed up the investigation, the man was DQ'd and Freddy moved up to his rightful second spot, missing the win by only six seconds. Congrats to Fred, who now can bost a second at NY and fourth at Boston in the same year--quite a double. Gunker Rich Edwards, the 2007 Boston age-group champ, also moves up to sixth in the same category. Nice job guys!

Winter Workout Schedule

The workouts for the winter have been moved to New Paltz. Times remain the same (6:30 pm, Wednesday and Friday). Tempo runs Wednesday night will be leaving from the Shawangunk Running Company (2 Church Street, New Paltz) at 6:30. Track work on Friday will be at the SUNY-New Paltz track.

Sunday long runs are still 8:30 am at Spring Farm unless otherwise noted.

Remember that group runs are also held Thursday evenings at 6:30 from the Shawangunk Running Company--easy runs of between 30-60 minutes. All abilities encouraged.

After the Leaves Have Fallen

The final major race of the season on the local trail-racing calendar, After the Leaves this year was the ninth stop on the Onteora Grand Prix circuit, which, along with near-perfect racing weather, boosted entries to a record level. Nearly 200 registered, and 164 finished the 20K race on the carraige trails of Minnewaska SP.

Gunker Steve Schallenkamp, the RD, did another admirable job putting the race together; as always the race benefitted the Kingston XC team, for which Steve is the longtime coach.

Gunk attendance was slightly below its usual levels for this race, which was mostly attributable to the fact that a large contingent of Gunkers went to New York to either run in the marathon, or cheer on those who were running; as well as some late-season injuries (Mendy, Steve) keeping others out of action. Still, there were a number of solid showings. I don't know if I'd characterize my own race as such, but the 1:19:02 did lead the team for the day.

Gunkers

15. Jeff Feinsod 1:29:12

18. Pat Lopiano 1:30:47

31. Paul Muessig 1:37:36

45. Barbara Sessa 1:40:25

Sorry, I don't have the age-group results yet, but when they are available I will update the post.

The final race in the Onteora Grand Prix will be the Hudson Holiday Classic 5K on 12/21.

New York, New York!

It never ceases to amaze me how competitive the Gunkers are when we travel to big-time races...and races don't get any bigger than New York. (I'm sorry, the ING New York City Marathon. Did that annoy anyone else watching the TV coverage? I love how they even refer to old editions of the race by including the title sponsor. As in, "Grete Waitz won a total of nine ING New York City Marathons." Of course, ING didn't exist when Grete won her last marathon, but why let facts get in the way of plugging the sponsors!)

Five Gunkers made the short trip down I-87 for the race that first put the "major" in "World Marathon Majors." Racing in near-ideal conditions (sunny, low-40s, slight wind) they put on a real show.

The performance of the day belonged to Fred Stewart. El Fredo followed up his 3:09 in Boston, where he placed fourth in his age group, with a brilliant 3:08:08 for third in the age group. A fourth at Boston and a third at New York--not a bad year, Freddy! Now if only Fred would learn how to run even splits! Fred was a mere 5 seconds out of second place. Fred's fellow 60-64 man, 2007 Boston age-group champ Rich Edwards, was out in 1:33:43 (only two minutes behind Fred) at halfway; he struggled with a 1:45:18 over the second half but still wound up with a credible 3:19:01 for a strong seventh in the group. Two top-10 age group places from the same club--not too shabby.

Kevin Roach had the fastest time of the day for the Gunkers, as expected. The big news for Kevin was the time; after a surfeit of recent marathons in the 3:02-3:05 range, Kevin finally broke through with a 2:57:56 off a 1:27:52 opening half (second half in 1:30:04, a mere 2:12 split--now that's some nice even running!).

Philip Vondra just missed cracking the 3-hour barrier with a strong 3:00:28; Doug Heller continued his comeback from injury with a solid 3:37:23. Great job by everyone in representing the club with such success

Section 9 XC Championships

Some big news out of Bear Mountain this weekend, where the Section 9 Cross-country Championships were held and yes, the Gunkers made their presence felt. The New Paltz girls' team, led by the 1-2 finish of Gabby Mancuso (daughter of Gunker Gail) and Jordan Stern (daughter of Gunkers Jon and Tomi), won the girls' Class B title, scoring a one-point victory over Onteora.

Gunker Gavin Gullickson (son of Gunker Anne), who has led his Rondout team all season, ran a huge PR (16:57) on the tough 3-mile Bear Mountain course, placing fifth in the boys' Class A race and earning a trip to the state championships. Clearly the product of superior coaching by Anne and C-Boy!

Congrats to all the Gunk families!

Hairy Gorilla Half

A small contingent of Gunkers and FOGs made their way north for the wild and wooly Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon, a trail race/cookout/costume party. The race is the brainchild of Josh Merlis of the Albany Running Exchange, which basically guarantees it will be more fun than should be allowed in civilized society. Robert Muller and Charlie Gadol led the locals, placing 24th and 25th, respectively, in a field of over 200 runners. Charlie was able to nab first place in the 50-59 age group with his 1:38:25, just 9 seconds behind Robert.

FOGs:
44. John Holt 1:49:06
92. Doug Freese 2:06:46 (second, 60-69)
94. Jimmy Buff 2:07:21

Full results are available here.