Booster Club gets the State Championship they wanted

The Square State Striders bused up to Boulder for the Colorado XC state championships. The race was held on a bluebird day at Harlowe Platts park, which hosted the previous years' Masters XC Nationals meet. Weather was similar, unsure if goose poop levels were equal but likely. 

The Masters mens squad brought a full team to race some outstanding Front Range club competition (Summit Co. you don't have a team???). Taking the team title this year capped a great first year for the Square State team. Carson Rickey suited up and repped the Squares in the deep open competition, possibly impressing his wife. 

Here's what the crew had to say about the event.

Lars Heckman, recent team addition: 

"The course was hard, the pain was exquisite, but the memory was everlasting! The hardest race I've run, probably ever, maybe because it was my first cross country race! What a great experience to be thrown onto the shoulders of an awesome group of elite runners and walk away state champ! It only gets easier from here right?"

James Kaminski broke a roughly 20+ years of cross country racing sobriety and had a great return for the Striders. 

"That was hands down the hardest running event I did this year, including Leadville. But I can't wait till next season. I had an absolute blast."

Gerald Romero, a fixture on the Colorado (and most of America if we're honest) racing scene is finally a Square State Strider. He threw down and placed on the podium for the 50+ group while mixing it up in the overall masters ranks.

"It was a beautiful day for a classic cross country race. It was a pleasure to be a part of our 40+ USATF team win. and I am proud of our whole team. Our Square State Strider singlets looked awesome out there. Lets continue to be THE BEST EVER!"

Tom Caughlin went full Uncle Rico and showed everyone that he used to be somebody. 

"After 400 meters I knew I was in trouble, but my impending sense of embarrassment for getting beaten by JT led me to continue on, in vain, for another roughly 4,600m. Had it not been for a few brief strides next to Melody Fairchild, a national champion, my ego would be decimated by Teishers dominance of the day. I never mentioned this outing to my 103 lb 15 yr old son, who'd run almost a minute faster in the same park a month ago. I will revel in hubris bordering anemia for a time in the late 90's....I was once....fast. Could I drop five minutes in the coming Turkey Trot?"

JT, showed up in all black (defying potential uniform disqualification) and rocking insider access merch.

Credit: Dave Albo- Lane1 Photos

"My race was just like Tom's but faster."

Neil McDonagh, conducted a live field test science experiment on himself. 

Credit: Dave Albo - Lane1 Photos

"I'm 42 years old now. Maybe in my 6th decade of life I will stop going out at 4:20/mi pace in the first minute of XC races. Until then I shall bathe in the lactate all those Norwegians talk about."

Logan Wealing, ran all the Boulder XC series races and demonstrated his usual full attention and vigor for the season.

"As an inducted member of the International Society of Weights and Measures, I would like to clarify that the variance distance the course can not be truly calculated because 37% of the course did not have double flagged boundaries but in fact natural environmental borders. "

Carson Rickey decided to send a postcard to his old PA-USATF pals about what real XC is about.  (we can not confirm if Carson met the standards of his Tiger Spouse)

"Didn’t walk this year. Great crowd support from SSS Masters. "

Ruth Black was signed up and ready throw down in the ladies race but disaster struck.

"Paid for it, drove to it, then gladly sat out the wind and small field in lieu of cheering on SSS teammates! I do not recommend wearing wool socks on carpeted stairs with full arms and my tailbone is pretty mad about it too."

Mini Striders, Erin and Julia McDonagh dueled with what appeared to be an exceedingly well prepared army of Boulder children in the kids 1km race.

Credit: Dave Albo- Lane1 Photos

"I liked when Constantine (2008 Olympic marathon gold medalist) signed my medal and kissed my head after the race." - Julia

"My race was fun but very hard. I like when Constantina Dita signed my medal."- Erin

The Square State Striders had a great booster squad representation at the meet, and are super thankful for all their support and pity.

Nearly double the amount of Square State Striders were potentials for the big weekend of XC racing in Boulder but there was a litany of 'Reasons' why they could not participate. Please pick your favorite 'Reason'

• My wife is out of town
• My wife thinks I'm not in very good shape
• My Mother-in-law's visiting
• I don't like that course.
• I fell down the stairs maybe broke my tailbone likely have a concussion.
• I avoided saying why I can't do the race.
• Going to a party where they ask you for money.
• Boulder charges $0.20/bag
• My child is going swimming. 

WeWork May Be Done but WeBeWorkin'

Bunch of Striders doing bunch of races and bunch of distances. Lets all huddle up for a lil Cognitive Dissonance pause from the rest of the world. 

First up is Ruth Black, who started out a year ago shoving 1-2 children in a stroller for 5k's, looking worked (no offense Ruth). To just casually ripping off trail ultra's. 

Here's what she ha d to say:

New Belgium half in Fort Collins Oct 1st

When you pay $77 for a beer, I mean race, you have to show up even if it's inconveniently served a week before your first ultramarathon. Flat course, drop-dead gorgeous morning, and I went in with a plan for progression. I'm proud to say that I've never run a smarter race!! (Even when Neil pretended to be an innocent bystander at my college races) Slave to my watch the first 5k, then eased into tempo, stayed reserved until the turn-around, then entered the pain cave. I crossed the line knowing I gave it everything I had. Hammies were nice and tender for the next 4 days but I made it to my next starting line healthy and super stoked.

Above the Clouds 50k in Woodland Park Oct 7th

My first ultramarathon!! The excitement for this race was off the charts. And I actually made an excel chart of every single mile with associated course terrain, goal pace adjusted to expected terrain, nutrition targets, and more nerdy stuff. I was really hoping to go sub-5:30 based on a few factors, but the 10%+ grade hills at miles 15, 24-26 served me some fun humble pie. Crossed the line in 6:01 as 3rd female and 18th overall. It was a beautiful clear morning, the race had amazing volunteers, and I would definitely recommend this race to anyone local looking to try out a trail ultra without committing to a more expensive trip to Moab or wherever.

(first her husband Jared, now Ruth sneaking in a dirty foot pic. NOT THAT KIND OF BLOG!)

Gerald Romero, I assume only races to keep his Delta Diamond Medallion status intact. The G-Man was all over the country this month in a variety of distances.

Chicago marathon and 5k- Chicago 5k- 19:06 Chicago marathon - 3:18- Boston qualifier

The great trailhead footrace 10 mile(10/23)-- 1:11:23/ 2nd overall bear creek park golden

The YMCA creepy crawl 5k- October 28, 2023--Palmer lake 3rd overall--- 20:28

(Gerald trying to get me in hot water with Marathon Foto)

He's a fixture at Square State Strider events, but now he's pulling his own weight. Felix Stepanowich makes his race debut.

"The Littlest Square"

My name is Felix and I am the littlest square. You might recognize my parents because my Dad holds the record for the most inclines in 24 hours while my Mom walks around wearing shirts that say "Married to the fastest man to cross North Carolina." This season was my first racing season and I am participating in the Fall Series Super-Mini distance.  My first race was 25 meters and I was so excited!  I even got direct coaching from Zach Miller on the drive to the race. When we got there, I ran and ran and ran.  Then I went to the start line and there were so many kids!  As soon as they said "Go!", I froze up and started crying.  I ran it in with my Mom and Dad and kept saying "I want to do it again!" My second race was 50 meters....and same thing...sheer overwhelm with the amount of kids.  I was so upset this past weekend when my 75 meter race was canceled due to the snow but I can't wait until my 100 meter race to wrap up the fall series!"

Lars Heckman continues a fruitful summer of racing, rolling out of bed 100 yards from the race start line of the City Park 5k. Here's what Lars had to say:

Going into the 1 year of racing mark, I knew I'd have a massive target on my back in the City Park 5k as defending champion in the men's 40-49 division (to be fair I think I was the only participant last year). Luckily, my part time training partner was there telling me he "didn't feel like running fast" so just stay with him and realize your dreams of cracking 20 minutes. I found myself in a nice group through about two miles before the pain started to become a factor. Luckily, as is rarely the case, this time I ignored it and tried to stick with the group I was in. The last 200m was awesome. Felt like a sprint for glory as the cheers from my girlfriend inspired me to pick off the annoying 10 year old who was ahead of me . Finally, after 20 years of not running, I was able to break 20 minutes and promptly announced my retirement to no fanfare whatsoever, just like the last race. 19:44, good for second in age group. (Shout out to Adam Rich for taking the overall win and not pushing me down a spot!)

Guy in Goodr's and sweats had no idea he was tangling with The City Park Swede. 

Never had a chance buddy. Never had a chance.

I had a nice sit down with Adam Rich about his recent races. Here's the transcript:

Neil: Adam did you do that City Park 5k?

Adam: 15:35

Neil: Any other races?

Adam: I raced the last 7 weeks

Neil: Oh which ones?

Adam:

So folks if you are interested in those past 7 weeks of races, here's what I suggest.

From a website I found:

Search the person's first name and last name as a single search term within double quotation marks: e.g. "Adam Rich"+ "5k". If the name is a somewhat common one, many irrelevant results will show up. To filter these results, try including a middle initial or middle name with your original search: "Adam A.

Happy queries folks!