Monthly Archives: May 2023

5/29/2023 Jillian Kearns, Veronica Neubert, Steve Zenar, Kris Engstrom, Mike Williams, Laura Fairfax, Gretchen Snyder, And Russ Neubert Tallmadge Memorial Day 5K Tallmadge, Ohio

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5/29/2023

Tallmadge Memorial Day 5K

Tallmadge, Ohio

Jillian Kearns

Finish Time:  21:54

Overall Place:  21st Place / 160

Division Place:  1st Place / 7

Veronica Neubert

Finish Time:  23:05

Overall Place:  29th Place / 160

Division Place:  1st Place / 11

Steve Zenar

Finish Time:  24:12

Overall Place:  39th Place / 160

Division Place:  3rd Place / 10

Kris Engstrom

Finish Time:  24:36

Overall Place:  42nd Place / 160

Division Place:  1st Place / 3

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  25:51

Overall Place:  55th Place / 160

Division Place:  3rd place / 3

Laura Fairfax

Finish Time:  26:02

Overall Place:  60th Place / 160

Division Place:  3rd Place / 12

Gretchen Snyder

Finish Time:  26:11

Overall Place:  62nd Place / 160

Division Place:  4th Place / 11

Russ Neubert was part of the bike escort that led the race field through the streets of Tallmadge.

Race Recap By Gretchen Snyder:

I’m slowly making a comeback after a lengthy injury break.  This morning, my daughter and I ran the Tallmadge Memorial 5k (me, for the first time since 2018).  As always, it was well organized, challenging course (those hills are killer) and the snacks were delicious (Fresh Planet Smoothie bowls!!). It wasn’t my fastest, but not my slowest either.  I earned fourth in my age group; short of third by one second. I will 100% will run this race again.  It was my daughter’s first ever 5k, and she says, “it was good. I liked it.” From a 13 year old, this is as good as it gets.

5/29/2023 Amy Stumpf Bolder Boulder 10K Boulder, CO

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5/29/2023

Bolder Boulder 10K

Boulder, CO

Amy Stumpf

Finish Time:  50:44

Overall Place:  2945th Place / 32706

Division Place:  12th Place / 323

Race Recap By Amy Stumpf:

Bolder Boulder 10k is epic!  97 starting waves, over 45,000 runners! Lots of goodies following the race at expo, tons of volunteers, slip and slides, flamingo tunnels, bacon, shots of vodka, cotton candy, cold beer along the course! I hate waking up at 4:50 am for a race, but definitely worth it.

5/27/2023 Jobadiah Christiansen and Lisa Keane Summa Health Medina Half Marathon Medina, Ohio

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5/27/2023

Summa Health Medina Half Marathon

Medina, Ohio

Jobadiah Christiansen

Finish Time:  1:11:50

Overall Place: 3rd Place / 558

Lisa Keane

Finish Time:  2:42:39

Overall Place:  505th Place / 558

Division Place:  29th Place / 37

Race Recap By Lisa Keane:

I love this race! Race course is challenging with plenty of elevation but also gradual and completely achievable! The run on the levy and through the park is my favorite part.  Tons of volunteers and community support with a finish in the square where there is a huge after party and farmer’s market. Swag is great!

5/20/2023 Mike Williams And Steve Zenar Mohican 100K Mountain Bike Race Loudonville, Ohio

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5/20/2023

Mohican 100K Mountain Bike Race

Loudonville, Ohio

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  10:35:12

Overall Place:  202nd Place / 2030

Steve Zenar:  DNF

Race Recap By Mike Williams:

What a day! This was my 1st attempt at the 100k Mountain bike race.  I finished 30 minutes ahead of my goal on the muddy wet course. This is absolutely the most difficult thing I have ever done. I’m still processing. What a great group of guys to jump in and do this with me!

Race Recap By Steve Zenar:

Yesterday was one of the toughest things I’ve ever attempted. I knew going in I was not ready training wise or MTB skill wise but I was hoping I could somehow muscle through. Conditions were absolutely horrible due to rains over night and about 4 hours into the race start which made a difficult course even worse with all the mud and slick rocks and roots. Unfortunately, due to all of this combined I was able to make it to aide station 2 but I missed the cutoff by almost 1 hour. By this time I was in bad shape and with no food left and also having missed my drop bag due to the cutoff rimes I took the decision to take a DNF and get transferred to the finish line. I am still working to get better on the MTB so although it was difficult to not finish (my first time ever for that experience) I learned a lot, did some things I would have typically never attempted in the past and still set some personal records (longest distance ride on a MTB, most climbs in a single ride and longest time on a ride).

5/20/2023 Lisa Keane Let’s Move Summit County Bike Ride Akron, Ohio

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5/20/2023

Let’s Move Summit County Bike Ride

Summit Lake

Akron, Ohio

6 Mile Bike Ride

Lisa Keane

Event Review By Lisa Keane:

This FREE family friendly event has something for everyone! We chose the 6 mile bike for a leisurely group ride with scenic views of the lake, wildlife, and spring flowers. Lots of friendly volunteers, free lunch, and swag bag with T-shirt!
5 out of 5 stars!

5/13/2023 Jobadiah Christiansen, Roy Miller, Kristi Gunyula, Christine Churpek, And Brittany Kiehl To The Clocktower And Back 5K Portage Lakes, Ohio

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5/13/2023

To The Clocktower And Back 5K

Portage Lakes, Ohio

Jobadiah Christiansen

Finish Time:  16:00

Overall Place:  3rd Place / 302

Roy Miller

Finish Time:  20:26

Overall Place 33rd Place / 302

Division Place:  1st Place / 20

Kristi Gunyula

Finish Time:  20:57

Overall Place:  37th Place / 302

Division Place 1st Place Overall Female Masters

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  24:19

Overall Place:  89th Place / 302

Division Place:  4th Place / 24

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  52:50

Overall Place:  277th Place / 302

Division Place:  31st Place / 34

5/13/2023 Scott Orlando Sweat Now Wine Later Canton, Ohio

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5/13/2023

Sweat Now Wine Later Race

2 Mile Kayak And 2 Mile Run Race

Canton, Ohio

Finish Tine: 32:44

Overall Place:  1st Place / 234

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

The Sweat Now Wine Later Race is a 2 mile kayak / 2 mile run race held at the beautiful Gervasi Vineyard in Canton, Ohio.  I have been the overall winner of this race twice and set the course record in 2019.  Because of my previous success at this race my goal was simply to win it again.  The combination of kayaking and running seems to be a good fit for my skills and abilities.   Unfortunately exactly 7 days before the race I strained my calf in a training session.  I was lucky enough to get in to see Dr. Shah at Summa the very next day to get some treatment.  I received 5 trigger point injections in my calves.  The remainder of the week before the race was about rest and recovery.  The trigger point injections helped and my calves felt much better but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to run or for how long.  My goal of winning the race quickly changed to try to finish it.  My plan was to rip through the kayak leg as fast as I could and then run as long as my calf would hold out.  I knew first sign of calf strain I would have to shut it down and walk.

The race starts with a short bus trip to a park close by.  Racers exit the bus, grab a PFD, and head to the start line.  When ready racers one by one cross the timing mat, sprint through a field about 50 yards, hop in a waiting kayak, and go.  To avoid slow kayak traffic on the narrow creek I always try to start first in my wave of racers.  I was able to do that again this year.  The water was extremely low so I knew any traffic on the creek in front of me would surely slow me down.  I got off to a clean start sprinting across the field and jumping into a waiting kayak.   As soon as I got in the kayak and started paddling I knew I had a small problem with the left foot peg.   The right one felt fine and was actually in a decent position for my height and paddling position but the left one was set extremely short and tight.  I tried a few times to try to figure out if I could find an alternative place in the kayak to position my left leg but came up empty.  In kayak racing a lot of power is generated with your legs and torso.  It is hard enough to generate power from your legs in short wide recreational kayaks because yours hips are so wide but this made it more challenging.  I tried not using the foot pegs but then I had no leverage at all to drive with my legs so I had to paddle with my left leg bent and almost sticking out of the cockpit.  I managed to make it work.

As I stated the water was very low.  If you didn’t read the creek water correctly and choose a good line you were probably going to be hung up in the shallows.  I managed to navigate the shallow creek fairly well finding that some of the best lines were directly under low lying tree branches that I had to duck under.  It wasn’t ideal but still faster than being hung up on rocks.  I didn’t have much traffic on the creek to deal with until I got to the end near the take out point.  I had caught up to several slower kayakers from the previous wave most of which were hung up on rocks.  They did help me navigate the creek as I learned not to go where they did.  At the takeout I was slowed down by a line of kayaks waiting to exit the water.   I pulled up to the bank and asked if I could go ahead as I was trying to win the race.  Everyone was okay with my request and I was only delayed shortly.   I jumped out of the kayak dropped my PFD and hit the run course.

The run course was where I knew I might have problems with my calf.  I got off to a good start and pace not feeling too fatigued from the kayak.  A half mile into the run I felt my calf starting to ache.  I wasn’t sure if I should stop and walk or keep running but decided to press on as long as I could.  I wasn’t sure how long my calf would hold on and if each stride would be my last.  At mile one I saw that I had a pretty good run split time and felt if I could just keep that pace I might have a shot to win.  At the 1.5 mile mark I was still running but a little more cautiously hoping my calf could last just a little longer.  Soon the finish line came into view and I was able to sprint the last 25 meters across the timing mats.   I was thankful my calf survived and allowed me to run the entire course.  I didn’t know my time but felt like if I was around 34 minutes I might have a chance to win.  I was surprised when I checked the results to see that I finished in 32:44.  I am the only person to complete this race in under 33 minutes and I had just done it again for the 2nd time.  At that point I realized it was likely that I would be the overall winner.   I had to wait until the additional waves behind me finished the race but when they did I was the clear winner with the 2nd place finisher coming in with a time of 35:40.  The first time I completed the course in under 33 minutes the water level was very high.  I was surprised I could do it again in such low and slow water conditions.  For the third time i was the overall winner of this race.

The race was taken over from Run Canton by the Canton Park and Recreation Department last year as the fine people at Run Canton retired from organizing races.  Canton Park and Recreation Department did an excellent job organizing the race.  I was able to meet and talk with several of their employees and they were very friendly and delightful.  All participants received short sleeve tech shirts, custom finisher medals, and $10 to spend on food or wine at Gervasi.  There were lots of great snacks at the finish line as well.  This is a fun well organized race that I would recommend to anyone looking to get into a short multi sport race.  They provide all of the kayak gear which makes it easy as fun.  I highly recommend this race!