A lot of ground to cover this morning. First of all congratulations to Jordan Tucker on his New York City Marathon yesterday. He ran a pr 2:42:20 on a difficult course. Nice job Jordo! Our mate Matt Heesch didn’t have his day at all but lives to fight another day. Good job by our NYC TNB field correspondent Andre Lejeune. He was shooting for sub 3 (45-49 age group) and turned in a nice 3:05:18 after experiencing calf cramps midway. Congrats also to my old buddy Meb Keflezighi, now 36, on his new pr 2:09:13 and 6th place finish, almost 8 years after his Silver Medal in Athens.
We had a great turnout for pizza and Lucky Bucket beer at Oscar’s Saturday night. Nearly 30 came out and enjoyed the festivities while crying in our pitchers over the Husker loss. Wrapped things up early enough to get a good night sleep for Sunday’s Beer & Bagel.
And B&B was a real treat. A newer, more difficult course greeted us. Almost like a mini Living History Farms if you will. And 2500 participants, I could hardly believe I was in Ashland, NE. Justin Mollak continues to improve and impress as he preps for USA Club Cross next month. He led a trio of mates to the podium spots in a fast 22:29. 5:38 pace on that course really is impressive! Andrew Jacob was next in 22:49, and Tim Langdon was hot on his heels in 22:55. Perennial favorite Ivan “Mister Beer” Marsh would finish 5th in 23:28. On the women’s side Andrea Bowen, who hardly ever races but is definitely “in it to win it” when she shows, did just that in a fast 26:17. “Sweet” Emily Kraus showed her tough side finishing 2nd female in 26:39. Emily will also be running Club Cross. Kelly Crawford (49 years old) was 12th overall and first master in 24:37, and yep, you guessed it, he too will be headed to Seattle next month. Linda Barnhart was first overall masters female in 29:31, and you know where she’s headed. I ran and felt young and strong and confident throughout, closing Very Fast the last half mile-including a wicked steep uphill finish- to finish in 27:19 for 5th (but no sweet Warsteiner mug, sniff) in the 50-54.
Worth noting that Mollak, Crawford, Kraus, Barnhart, and myself are all being coached by “Killer Coach” Glen van der Westhuizen in our lead up to Seattle. Coincidence?
Our vegan and gluten free mate Mike Reilly could not attend Beer & Bagel citing the presence of “Too much gluten”.
Andrea Bowen’s list of race performances in Nebraska is quietly very impressive.
Justin Mollak earned his way onto the USA Club Cross team this fall and continues to improve every week.
Kelly Crawford has been tearing up the workouts and the results are paying off handsomely.
Linda once again running away with the masters division.
Andrew Jacob, Justin Mollak, and Tim Langdon with their very sweet hardware.
This Mo-Mo was seen on the course and made an appearance at the awards ceremony. At 6’7″ Andrew Jacob towers to nearly mythical heights.
In the late 1960s, my dad went to Louisiana, Missouri to hunt a creature that had been seen roaming the wilds in that part of the state. Dubbed Mo-Mo for Missouri Monster, he spent a fortnight tracking and hoping, instilling in me that anything in the world is possible for dreamers.
About Author
