One of the busiest running/racing weekends of the fall and I spent it high as a kite. OK, more like twenty feet off the ground, paintbrush in hand, giving the old barn trim a fresh coat of red paint. Only a couple acrophobia moments, conquered by a steady and loving hand. It was a great way to keep my mind pre-occupied. The first year in many that I didn’t invest my emotional soul into the race performances of others. A double edged respite.
On the one hand, the sanquine viscosity rolling off my brush was comforting. On the other I just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something I had to contribute to the weekend. But no, I suppose not.
Some congratulations are in order at any rate.
Kudos to Jeremy Morris for winning the USATF 50K Championships. At first blush I was ready to shower Overall Winner Kaci Lickteig with praise but alas she isn’t a USATF member. Still a good run by her. A little surprised to see that in fact Jeremy was the only male USATF member in the race. Team Nebraska’s Jennifer Freeman was the lone female USATF finisher. Good to see my old mates still supporting the program.
The Lincoln Running Co. Racing Team has proved that this is their year. They started out 2013 by topping my old mates at the Shamrock Shuffle Elite Team Challenge in Chicago. In June, they bested Team Nebraska at the Hospital Hill Team Challenge in Kansas City. They completed the hat trick this weekend by being the first across the line, if by only 40 seconds. So hats off to the guys across the river.
They also shattered the old event record by averaging 5:24/mile. On the brighter side of the slice,Team Nebraska also were under the old mark of 5:32/mile. Competition is alive and well in Nebraska. I just hope it never goes back to where we were just a few years ago.
Congratulations too to the Team Nebraska Women’s Team. Victorious for the second consecutive year. And to NRGE’s Walter Key, he led his Offut Road Warriors to a 4th Overall team finish.
The 2010 Team Nebraska mixed team record withstood a hard charge by Team Jaybird Dirkson. With Ashley Miller and Rachel Carrizales “on loan??” from Team Nebraska they averaged 6:11 pace for 5th Overall. Nice work Jaybirds!
My old buddy Mike Morgan ran a fine 2:15:01 to finish 16th overall at Sunday’s Chicago Marathon. Also at Chicago Megan Zavorka had a breakthrough running 2:50:49. Cory Logsdon exactly matched my personal best running 2:46:56. York Thomas ran 2:48:46 after opening with a quick 1:18:55 first half.
The best women and women’s clubs in the United States are competing at the Tufts 10K Elite Challenge in Boston today. Tufts has hosted our Women’s National Championships for over 20 years and is one of my favorite races. We added the USATF Club Championships component this year and I’m excited to see who will be competing for the cash and bragging rights!
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