The Square State Striders wasted no time during Colorado's false winter. Likely a good choice since the summer could likely be a blanket of smoke at this point. People raced everything from 400 meters to 100 miles. Some had injuries. Some had babies. Some cried (probably). Here's the roundup.
Ruth BlackI got the most insta-worthy race pic at Run Through Time half in Salida March 13th (attached).
Gorgeous course, glad I went with a tank top and shorts because it got hot and super windy.
Still amazed at how fast the lead marathoners rip down the mountain. I'm a baby on descents,
and proud of it.
SRAM held their 3rd annual "850 Short Track" relay race last week. An e-bike, 4 MTB's, and a
runner from each team... costumes encouraged. 0.35 loops around the perimeter of the office,
although this year the runners sprinted through the warehouse as part of the wild course. I ran
for two teams less than 20 minutes apart, and we proudly took 1st and 4th place.
I was subsequently sore for 4 days straight.
Mad respect Ruth, I stopped running by your work because of the antipathy of drivers heading to the gun club a block away.
Here's JT's report. Squint all you want but he sends reports without asking and before any of the others. Get out your readers, you'll be impressed.
Samantha Wood:
The only race I’ve run is a DEKAFIT race to try out for the All-Guard Endurance TeamThis was my 4th tryout race and 3rd time winning for the females. Despite my advancing age,
the jorts I wore clutched the victory.
Fun fact, two out of the three athletes representing the California Army National Guard don’t
even live in California. Probably the high taxes.
*actually Texas has dramatically higher proper taxes than California
Gerald and Kari Romero:
I am convinced that Gerald and Kari got a jury summons in 2016 and have been getting
deferments ever since under the claim they have a race vacation planned.
Gerald and Kari kicked off their race season at the Honolulu Merrie Mile in December, where Gerald ran 5:54 (1st, 50-54) and Kari ran 8:31,followed by race weekend where Gerald ran the Honolulu 10k in 42:54 (2nd, 50-54) and Kari completed the full marathon in 5:10. After Kari's major vascular surgery on December 31st, she walked the Rescue Run 5k on January 1st while Gerald ran the 10k in 42:04 (1st, 50-54). At Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, Gerald ran the 10k in 40:43 (1st, 50-54), the half marathon in 1:30:19 (2nd, 50-54), and jogged the full marathon with Kari in 4:57, with Kari completing all four Dopey Challenge races just one week post-surgery. At Key West, Gerald ran the 10k in 43:09 (1st, 50-54) and the half marathon in 1:31:55 (4th, 50-54), while Kari completed the Big Pecker Challenge.
At Disneyland's Dumbo Double Dare, Gerald ran the 10k in 41:56 (1st, 50-54) and the half marathon in 1:29:46 (2nd, 50-54), earning the Coast to Coast medal, then immediately drove to Huntington Beach
and ran the Surf City 5k in 20:08 (1st, 50-54). Gerald ran the Superbowl Half Marathon in 1:31:18 (1st, 50-54) for his 14th completion, then at Las Vegas Rock and Roll, ran the 5k in 19:28 (1st, 50-54) and the half marathon in 1:28:12 (3rd, 50-54). At the Disney Princess Weekend, Gerald ran the 10k in 40:54 (1st, 50-54) and the half marathon in 1:28:40 (2nd, 50-54), racing alongside Des Linden. At the Moab Run the Rocks 3-Day Stage Race, Gerald won the overall half-pint division with a combined time of 4:43:39, while Kari completed the full-pint stages including a half marathon, full marathon, and 12-mile
run. Gerald then won the RRCA 10k State Championship at the Shamrock Stampede in 41:29 (1st, 50-54), and most recently completed the Behind the Rocks 10-Miler in Moab in 1:21:18 (3rd overall) while Kari finished the 30k.
Denver area road racers over the last 25 years dare not whisper the name 'Adam Rich' into a darkened mirror 3x ,
or else he'll appear and steal their prize money.
Adam opened the year at the Polar Bear 5k in January with a 16:40 (2nd place), feeling off after a month without racing. He rebounded strongly in February,
winning the Super Bowl 5k in 16:08, the Valentine's Day 4-Miler in 20:26, and the Ralston Creek 5k in 16:17, setting the fastest time on that course in years. March was his busiest month,
winning the Dam Run 5k in 16:03 (his fastest on that course since 2017), the Running of the Green 2-Miler in 10:33, and the Donut Dash 5k in 16:12 before taking 2nd at the St. Pats 5k in 15:55 after getting outkicked near the finish. He also ran the City Park 2-Miler in 9:50 (14th place). April brought wins at the Donut Dash 5k in 16:12 and the Tortoise and Hare 5k in 16:24. Adam has logged four sub-16 performances on the year across multiple courses, showing strong
consistent fitness throughout the early season.
Lars Heckman, probably wears compression socks more than anyone on the team, but just for work. We are all waiting for him to start posting Oceania and Asian race results because Square State is really lacking in representation in those continental race scenes.
3/22 Central Park 5K: First race in 18 months. Finished just off the age group podium but I did certify myself as a villain passing two preteens on my way to a 20:45.
4/25 Salt Lake Marathon 5K Edition: This race had an & walk at the end of it. So I figured, like most people with unnaturally low VO2 Max's, the walks and Fun Run's are where all the glory is found. Long course at 3.17K, possibly due to the ducking and dodging of a 5k/10k mass start and lots of rookies pushing their way to the front only to slow me down. 20:37 was good for age group title.
Neil McDonagh raced track in January and had the most old guy injury of hurting himself 36 hours after a race because he wore track spikes for the first time in over 10 months. But was able to bounce back and like the guy with the roller backpack in Econ 202, pretended to be a college athlete again racing in Boulder and Denver against some young fellas. Clearly as he ages he'll have to seek out racing younger competition, sounds like one of those tech CEO's.
Denver Athletics 1600m: 4:25
CU Boulder Jerry Quiller outdor track: 1500m: 4:05
Runnin the Green 7k: 22:24
Potts Invitational indoor CU Boulder: mile: 4:27
