ROSE CITY RUNNERS CLUB
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<--Mark Washburn, RCR USATF Team Chair
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ROSE CITY RUNNERS CLUB
<--Mark Washburn, RCR USATF Team Chair |
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ROSE CITY RUNNERS 60S WOMEN
FINISH #1 IN NEW JERSEY
50S WOMEN CAPTURE 3RD; ENTIRE TEAM PLACES 6TH
The 2008 USATF-NJ Championship season has ended with the Rose City Runners 60s Women in first place in their age and gender division in the State of New Jersey. This is a stunning victory for our Senior Masters athletes in just our first year of competition against more established running clubs in the state. The victory is also surprising because our 60s Women team won the Championship series with only four core runners and a special assist from a supportive friend who joined USATF-NJ for just one race so that we could complete our 60s team for a five mile race in Summit back in May. Our core runners were Carol Beardslee, Lynda Boynton, Celeste Fondaco, and Mary Ann Murphy. Our special friend was Arlene Maynard who contributed to our 60s Women scoring much needed points at the Our House 5 Mile race on May 4. Congratulations to these five women! Your first place victory and dedication rock our runners world!
Another Rose City Runners team that deserves special mention is our 50s Women. This team was plagued by injury but still managed to place third in their division at the season end. Women who ran for our 50s team included Betty Fisher, Kathy Lifland, Geri O'Brien, Carol Beardslee, Lynda Boynton, Celeste Fondaco, Arlene Maynard, and Mary Ann Murphy.
All our Rose City Runners team combined finished in 6th place out of 17 running clubs who registered teams to compete in the 2008 Championship series. Given this was our first year entering teams in a competition that had been contested for over a decade and that we competed against bigger and more seasoned running clubs in the state, we did remarkably well in the overall standings. Below are the results for all our Rose City Runners teams in the 2008 Grand Prix USATF-NJ Championship Series:
Open
Women: 5th Place
40s Women: 5th Place
50s Women: 3rd Place
60s Women: 1st Place
Open
Men: 6th Place
40s Men: 7th Place
50s Men: 5th Place
60s Men: No Rank
Overall Team: 6th Place
INDIVIDUAL USATF-NJ RESULTS
The "Final" individual results for the USATF-NJ Overall, Mini I, and Mini 2 competition series have been posted. Below are a list of Rose City Runners who finished in the top 15 for their perspective age groups. Congratulations to all our runners and finishers!
The results include races through
NBGP Series Statistics
Men: 468 Women: 231
Total Races: 167
Category I: 131 Category II: 24 Category III: 12
WOMEN AGES 1 TO 34
4 Mecca Cerny 28 4690
12 Christine Cooke 31 2971
WOMEN AGES 35 TO 39
8 Denise Byrnes 39 2797
12 Ann Shea 38 2328
WOMEN AGES 45 TO 49
8 Vivian Wilson 48 3214
12 Arlene Driscoll 47 2562
13 Geriann Smith 47 2550
WOMEN AGES 50 TO 54
5 Kathleen Lifland 51 4137
12 Gaye Cataldo McVeigh 50 3212
WOMEN AGES 55 TO 59
1 Jane Parks 55 5461
3 Cande Olsen 57 4286
WOMEN AGES 60 TO 64
5 Lynda Boynton 60 3015
9 Carol Beardslee 61 2012
WOMEN AGES 65 TO 69
2 Mary Ann Murphy 65 3205
4 Celeste Fondaco 67 1778
WOMEN AGES 70 TO 74
2 Shirley Pettijohn 74 1423
MEN 40 TO 44
4 Mark Nyhan 43 5252
13 Barry Lass 44 3903
MEN 50 TO 54
10 Mark Washburne 51 4640
MEN 55 TO 59
3 Franz Mitterer 56 5126
15 Thomas Allen 55 3570
MEN 60 TO 64
12 Richard Helmer 60 2940
Scoring is Best 3 Championship Races and 9 Races Total
The results include races through
NBGP Series Statistics
Men: 136 Women: 63
Total Category I Races: 131
WOMEN AGES 35 TO 39
8 Kate Duncan 38 2128
WOMEN AGES 40 TO 44
7 Karen Verderame 40 4256
10 Amy Duncan 40 2992
WOMEN AGES 45 TO 49
7 Geriann Smith 47 3024
WOMEN AGES 70 TO 74
3 Shirley Pettijohn 74 1305
MEN 50 TO 54
7 Mark Washburne 51 4361
13 Lou Grunfelder 54 3849
MEN 55 TO 59
3 Franz Mitterer 56 4467
Scoring is Best 3 Championship Races and 7 Races Total
The results include races through
NBGP Series Statistics
Men: 67 Women: 31
Total Category 2 Races: 24
WOMEN AGES 55 TO 59
1 Jane Parks 55 3390
WOMEN AGES 65 TO 69
1 Mary Ann Murphy 65 1848
MEN 50 TO 54
5 Mark Washburne 51 2913
MEN 55 TO 59
1 Franz Mitterer 56 3750
THE GRAND FINALE 14 K RESULTS
The fourteenth and final USATF-NJ Championship race for 2008, The Grand Finale 14K, was held on Sunday, December 14, at Mercer County Park in West Windsor. The 14K race was a USATF-NJ Championship race for Masters men and women. The event was originally scheduled to be a 15K but because of water on the course it was shorten to a 14K. Being this was the 14th Championship race of the year and being it was contested on the 14th of December, it was somehow fitting that the course was shorten to a 14K. The unusual distance also led many of us to claim that we had a P. R. (Personal Record) since we had never raced a 14K in competition before. In any case, the weather was cold and windy at the 11 a.m. start. Eventually 211 runners would complete the course including eleven Masters athletes and one Open runner from the Rose City Runners' racing team. (Another Masters runner started the race but did not finish due to an injury.)
Not surprising, our best showing came from our Women's Masters 60s team, who placed 2nd in their age division at the 14K. This team was made up of Celeste Fondaco, Lynda Boynton and Mary Ann Murphy. As noted above, this 2nd place showing scored enough points for these Senior Women to win their age division for the overall season.
At The Grand Finale 14K, we also had a strong showing from our 50s Women's team, who came in 4th place, and our 40s Women, who finished in 7th place. Our 50s team consisted of Kathy Lifland, Lynda Boynton and Mary Ann Murphy. Our 40s women were Denise Byrnes, Kathy Lifland, and Celeste Fondaco.
Our fastest woman at the 14K distance was Denise Byrnes, who completed the course in a smoking time of 1:05:11. Our second woman runner was Kathy Lifland (1:06:43), followed by Michele Ricciardi (1:15:10), Mary Ann Murphy (1:18:11), Celeste Fondaco (1:18:45) and Lynda Boynton (1:20:25).
In the individual age group awards, Michele Ricciardi won a medal for 1st place among 20-24 year old women, Mary Ann Murphy placed 2nd among the 65-69 year old women, and Kathy Lifland finished third among 50-54 women. Other women runners that cracked the top ten in their age group included Lynda Boynton (4th; 60-64 Women), Celeste Fondaco (4th; 65-69 Women) and Denise Byrnes (7th; 40-44 Women).
On the men's side, both our 40s team and 50s team scored points in the overall standings by placing 7th and 5th in their respective age divisions. Our 40s Men were Robin Dawson, Karl Fenske, George Grosso, Lou Grunfelder, Franz Mitterer, and Mark Washburne. Our 50s Men included Karl Fenske, George Grosso, Lou Grunfelder, Franz Mitterer, and Mark Washburne. While Doug MacGibbon started the race for our team and despite a noble attempt, a nagging injury preventing him from finishing.
Our fastest men's runner on The Grand Finale course was Franz Mitterer in a cruising time of 56:45. We also had strong outings from Mark Washburne (1:02:33), Lou Grunfelder (1:04:23), Robin Dawson (1:07:29), Karl Fenske (1:14:36), and George Grosso (1:24:35)
Breaking the top ten finishers in his age group was Franz Mitterer who finished 5th among 55-59 year old men.
This race concludes the 2008 Championship season. Thank you to all those who competed in The Grand Finale 14K race and for all those runners who competed in any of the 14 different Championship races this year. It was an honor and a privilege to be your team captain in this our inaugural year of team competition. Please let me know your experience as being part of the race team this year and if you think the Rose City Runners should continue entering racing teams in next year's Championship series. Please also let me know what changes should be made to make the team better if we do decide to have a race team next year.
I want to wish everyone happy holidays and a great "running" 2009 New Year.