4/13/2024 Scott Orlando, Asad Khan, Steve Zenar, Mike Williams, Gretchen Snyder, Terri Bednar, Nancy Wardell, Cleopatra Sirnic Cifford, And Christine Churpek The Black Squirrel 5K Kent, Ohio

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4/13/2024

Kent Black Squirrel 5K

Kent, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time: 22:38

Overall Place: 40th Place / 337

Division Place: 3rd Place / 11

Asad Khan

Finish Time:  23:45

Overall Place:  51st Place / 337

Division Place:  4th Place / 337

Steve Zenar

Finish Time:  24:45

Overall Place:  63rd Place / 337

Division Place:  3rd Place / 11

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  25:34

Overall Place:  74th Place / 337

Division Place:  6th Place / 11

Gretchen Snyder

Finish Time:  26:07

Overall Place:  81st Place / 337

Division Place:  3rd Place / 21

Terri Bednar

Finish Time:  26:10

Overall Place:  83rd Place / 337

Division Place:  1st Place / 19

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  29:12

Overall Place:  129th Place / 337

Division Place:  4th Place / 21

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Finish Time:  30:18

Overall Place:  139th Place / 337

Division Place:  1st Place / 16

Christine Churpek provided course support and took pictures of all Team ER members.

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I was a windy morning in Kent, but still completed the Black Squirrel 5K!  Congratulations to all of the Team-ER members that were there and ran, and also to those that placed! I finished the race in 29:12 with a pace of 9:25 and took 4th in my age group.

Race Recap By Steve Zenar:

I had a great morning running the 2024 Black Squirrel 5K. As per previous years this was a well organized and enjoyable race with a wonderful awards ceremony (always love the warm bowl of chili after a cool run ). It was also wonderful seeing a sea of green Team ER shirts – Go Team-ER!

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

It was a cold and windy morning for the annual Black Squirrel 5K in Kent, Ohio.  This year’s race was much larger than last year’s race field with almost 500 competitors pre registered.  Of those registered 337 crossed the finish line.  I think the cold temperatures and strong winds kept many of the pre registered racers from competing.

I have competed in this race several times over the years.  The race takes place at the Kent State Recreation And Wellness Center.  Pre race activities are all inside and the indoor track is a great place to warm up for the race.  The course is hilly!  It race starts at the Recreation And Wellness Center, loops around the campus, and then finishes back at the Recreation And Wellness Center.

My goal heading into the race was to finish in the top 3 in my age division.  I knew there was at least one very fast runner competing in my age division so it was likely I was competing for 2nd or 3rd place.  The race started and we were off towards the campus.  From the start I felt like I was working really hard.  It was very challenging running into the strong wind gusts.  At the first mile marker I was a bit discouraged that my watch was feeding me data saying that my first mile split was 8:02.  That is at least a minute off of my normal first mile spilt and I felt like I was working really hard.   The second mile featured some more nasty hills and once again I received a slow mile split of 8:17.  I felt like I was exerting a lot of energy and effort.  I was able to pass a runner that appeared to be close to my age group if not in it.  At that point I felt pretty confident that if I maintained my position in the race field I would be on the podium.  During the turns in the final mile I was able to look over my shoulder to determine if anyone was making a push from behind to challenge me.  Luckily no one was so I was able to maintain my pace and cruise into the finish.  My finish time was 22:38 placing me 3rd in my division and 40th overall.  My time was about 34 seconds slower than last year but understandable with the challenging running conditions.  Results have me averaging a 7:18 mile pace which is far faster than the 8:11 mile pace my watch calculated.  I think I may have started my watch early waiting for the gun start.  This would explain the slow mile splits.

Overall the race was once again very well organized.  The indoor post race celebration was very nice and included a buffet of bagels, fruit, granola bars and chili.  Race results were immediately posted which is always nice.  I love the mini race bibs that the timing company used.  Often race bibs are large and cumbersome.  The awards ceremony was well done although the sound system they always use makes it very difficult to hear.  It was great to see so many of my teammates and running friends receive medals.

I was a little bummed that the race organizers decided not to offer awards for the team competition divisions that they offered.  This was a little frustrating to me because I spent a fair amount of effort recruiting our team members to register for the race to be included in the team competition.  After the race I asked the director of about the team awards.  He said they cancelled those divisions due to lack of participation.  I went back and checked and there were only a few teams register for the male and female teams but the coed team division had 7 teams registered with a total of 49 individuals registered for the coed teams so I would have liked to have seen them at least present the coed team awards.

Race Swag included t-shirts and the mini race bibs.  The race advertises performance shirts for all runners registering before the shirt deadline but the shirts provided are actually just standard all cotton shirts.  This happened last year as well.  I made mention of this last year on the post race survey but nothing changed.  There is nothing wrong with offering standard cotton t-shirts but I don’t think they should promote performance shirts in the race descriptions.  I would recommend changing the race description information, or actually provide performance shirts.   Runners that missed the registration deadline to receive a shirt were given the opportunity to purchase a shirt after the race for $5.00.  I don’t understand the extra payment to purchase a shirt when the runners that registered late paid higher race registration fees.  I would prefer to see them give left over shirts for free to any registered runner that did not receive one.   I would also like to see them offer finisher medals for all participants.  They did provide finisher medals for all of the 1 mile fun run participants which was nice.  They do offer a lot of award divisions but with a larger race not everyone received a medal.  The race is a great event and I would recommend for anyone to consider running it next year.

 

4/7/2024 Nancy Wardell Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Run For Home Half Marathon New Philadelphia, Ohio

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4/7/2024

Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Run For Home Half Marathon

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  2:26:54

Overall Place:  157th Place / 208

Division Place:  12th Place / 16

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I ran the 2024 Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Run for Home Half Marathon this morning in New Philadelphia, Ohio and it was another beautiful day for a race! I definitely went a little slower today after the 10K yesterday, but completed the run! I finished with a time of 2:26:54 and pace of 11:13 and finished 12th of 16 in my age group, which is fine by me because my legs were wobbly the whole last mile! I received my bonus hoodie for completing the 10K and half marathon challenge this weekend and even received a voucher for the after party celebration this afternoon! Happy running everyone!

4/6/2024 Christine Churpek, Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford, Kevin Christensen, and Renee Buckus MSK 5K Eclipse Edition Kent, Ohio

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4/6/2024

MSK 5K Eclipse Edition

Kent, Ohio

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  N/A

Overall Place:  N/A

Division Place:  N/A

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Finish Time:  N/A

Overall Place:  N/A

Division Place:  N/A

Kevin Christensen

Finish Time:  N/A

Overall Place:  N/A

Division Place:  N/A

Renee Buckus

Finish Time:  N/A

Overall Place:  N/A

Division Place:  N/A

 

4/6/2024 Nancy Wardell Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Run For Home 10K New Philadelphia, Ohio

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4/6/2024

Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Run For Home 10K

New Philadelphia, Ohio

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  1:10:40

Overall Place:  46th Place / 82

Division Place:  3rd Place / 6

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I ran the 2024 Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Run for Home 10k today in New Philadelphia, OH and it was a beautiful day for a run! My first race as a 40 year old lady and I can’t complain! I wasn’t feeling great this morning, but finished third in my age group and 46th female overall with a total race time of 1:01:40 and pace of 9:56 per mile. They had tons of goodies and gave key chains for age group awards which was neat! They also fed us pizza so the day overall was an epic win.

3/30/2024 Josh Keane, Kris Engstrom, and Nancy Wardell Friends Of The Park Half Marathon and 10K Coshocton, Ohio

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3/30/2024

Friends Of The Park Half Marathon and 10K

Coshocton, Ohio

Half Marathon

Josh Keane

Finish Time: 2:16:55

Overall Place:  55th Place / 65

Division Place:  11th Place / 12

10K

Kris Engstrom

Finish Time:  54:11

Overall Place:  9th Place / 47

Division Place:  1st Place / 5

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  1:01:47

Overall Place: 15th Place / 47

Division Place:  2nd Place/ 4

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I completed the Friends of the Parks 10k this morning in Coshocton, Ohio! It was a cooler spring day and I was happy the rain stayed away until after the race was over! I finished the race at 1:01:47 with a pace of 9:57.  I was the 5th female overall finisher!  They didn’t do age groups, but if they did Team-ER would’ve have dominated! Great job to Kris Engstrom and Josh Keane who were out there running too! Loved seeing our members out there giving high-fives as we passed by each other!

This race definitely has some elevation changes, so be prepared for some hills! The volunteers and host were great with directions and giving some yummy snacks, great finishing medals, and great swag! The 10k was definitely a challenge so be prepared.

Race Recap By Kris Engstrom

I ran the Friends of the Parks 10k this morning in Coshocton, Ohio. The Weather Channel got it wrong and the rain held off. Team-ER members Josh Keane and Nancy Wardell ran great today. Josh ran the half carrying the American flag. I finished 9th overall and first in my age division.

3/17/2024 Mike Williams, Stephanie Orwick, Roy Miller, Josh Keane, Terri Bednar, Gretchen Snyder, and Lisa Keane The Shamrock 15K and 5K Peninsula, Ohio

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3/17/2024

The Shamrock 15K and 5K

Peninsula, Ohio

15K

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  1:31:03

Overall Place:  66th Place / 100

Division Place:  4th Place / 5

Stephanie Orwick

Finish Time:  1:35:47

Overall Place:  83rd Place / 100

Division Place:  4th Place / 6

5K

Roy Miller

Finish Time:  23:29

Overall Place:  16th Place / 232

Division Place:  1st Place / 14

Josh Keane

Finish Time:  25:47

Overall Place:  32nd Place / 232

Division Place:  4th Place / 14

Terri Bednar

Finish Time:  26:33

Overall Place:  46th Place / 232

Division Place:  1st Place / 16

Gretchen Snyder

Finish Time:  27:01

Overall Place:  54th Place / 232

Division Place:  1st Place / 10

Team ER race volunteers included Josh Keane, Lisa Keane, Stephanie Orwick, and Mike Williams.