Category Archives: Uncategorized

4/16/2023 Lisa Keane Ohio State 4 Miler Columbus, Ohio

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4/16/2023

Ohio State 4 Miler

Columbus, Ohio

Finish Time 55:42

Overall Place:  4349th Place / 7125

Division Place:  219th Place / 500

Race Recap By Lisa Keane:

I highly recommend this family friendly event made extra with tickets for the spring game!  Flat, fast course around the beautiful OSU campus and the shirt and medal are top notch!  I can’t wait to do it again next year!

4/8/2023 Scott Orlando, Asad Khan, Steve Zenar, Christine Churpek, Peter Heroux, And Kevin Christensen Black Squirrel 5K Kent, Ohio

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4/8/2023

The Black Squirrel 5K

Kent, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  22:04

Overall Place:  16th Place / 256

Division Place:  1st Place / 15

Asad Khan

Finish Time:  24:25

Overall Place:  34th Place / 256

Division Place:  3rd Place / 15

Steve Zenar

Finish Time:  25:05

Overall Place:  42nd Place / 256

Division Place:  2nd Place / 7

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  25:33

Overall Place:  49th Place / 256

Division Place:  3rd Place / 15

Peter Heroux

Finish Time:  25:51

Overall Place:  57th Place / 256

Division Place:  4th Place / 12

Kevin Christensen

Finish Time:  27:52

Overall Place:  83rd Place / 256

Division Place:  3rd Place / 7

Race Recap By Steve Zenar:

I had a wonderful morning running the Black Squirrel 5K.  I always enjoy this race and running through my old stomping grounds at KSU! I placed 2nd in age group and improved my time by almost 2 minutes from 2022.  It was also really great to see so many Team ER team members there.

Race recap by Scott Orlando:

I haven’t run the Black Squirrel 5K since 2015 because of schedule conflicts.  I was happy that this year in the 11th annual year of the race I was able to compete.   I had 2 goals in mind heading into this race.  I wanted to beat my time from 2015 and win my age group.  I am not sure why, but for some reason I was overly nervous about competing in this race.  The week before the race I found myself reviewing the race registration website and scanning for participants in my age group.  With each day the list grew and I found myself more anxious seeing so many registrants in my division.  I had to remind myself to focus on my own race and not worry about anyone else.

The morning of the race the weather was cool with some gusting winds and bright sunshine.  It was a little cold but running conditions were favorable.  I took advantage of the indoor track at the host site of the Kent State University Recreation And Wellness Center to warm up.  The registration site indicated close to 350 entries and of that 256 were listed as finishers in the final results.  I knew a lot of runners competing in the race.  We had 6 Team ER members in the field plus several of my neighbors ran as well as members of other run groups I train with, and other running friends.   One of my neighbor’s competed with her daughter who is a professional soccer player for Racing Louisville FC and the daughter’s boyfriend who is a hockey player for Ohio State University.  As the gun sounded I quickly found myself running with the professional soccer player and Ohio State hockey player.  The Hockey Player made his way ahead of us and stayed there for the remainder of the race.  The professional soccer player and I went back and forth passing each other.  I would pass her on the flats and downhill sections and she would come back strong and pass me on the hills and there were definitely hills!  The first one was short and steep and really took my breath and speed away but I managed to recover and get back to my pace.   I was better prepared for the rest of the hills.  As we headed into the last half mile I again passed the professional soccer player only to find that she slowed down just enough to catch her breath for the final push to the finish.  She suddenly sprinted past me and I was unable to catch her.  I finished just a few seconds behind her.  She was the 2nd overall female finisher.  I was 16th overall and won my age group with a finish time of 22:04.  I had achieved my 2 goals and was happy with my result.  After the race I was joking with the professional soccer player how I thought she was just toying with me each time I passed her and she quickly passed me back.  She explained that was her strategy to slow down at points to recover.   In the end I felt pretty accomplished in that I was able to keep up with the hockey player and professional soccer player that I doubled in age.

After the race runners were treated to a nice buffet of bagels, fruit, chili, and juices.  It was so fun to see so many of our Team ER members, friends, and neighbors win awards.  Age group and overall winners received nice custom medals of gold, silver, and bronze colors.  All participants received green t-shirts with a race logo that included a gray squirrel on it which had many of us joking and questioning why a race sponsored by a school who’s colors are gold and navy would have green race shirts with a gray squirrel on them when the race is called the Black Squirrel 5K.  Kent, Ohio is known for it’s black squirrels which were introduced in 1961 to help control the gray squirrel population that was getting out of control.  So if you know the history the choice of a gray squirrel on the shirt is even more perplexing.  The race was well organized and I loved the mini race bib that were used.  I whish more races utilized the smaller bibs.  Just prior to leaving the race we took advantage of the black squirrel photo op set up that included a wifi enabled photo printer that produced free photo prints with race branding on them.  I must say that was a nice touch and we had fun taking pictures.

4/8/2023 Kris Engstrom, Nancy Wardell, And Brittany Kiehl Canalway Classic Spring Peeper 5 Miler Canal Fulton, Ohio

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4/8/2023

Canalway Classic Spring Peeper 5 Miler

Canal Fulton, Ohio

Kris Engstrom

Finish Time:  40:30

Overall Place:  21st Place:  / 106

Division Place:  2nd Place / 10

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  54:28

Overall Place:  84th Place / 106

Division Place:  5th Place / 6

Brittany Kiehl

Brittany completed the race virtually on her treadmill due to a conflict with the rescheduled race date.  The race was postponed a week due to severe weather on the original race date.

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

This 5 miler was on a long flat course through the woods on trails. It had some great music and loved the frog mascot handing out medals at the end! The donuts were a great touch and free shirts and cup of coffee as well! Great course for beginners!

3/19/2023 Chrstine Churpek, Mike Williams, Scott Orlando, Brad Hain, Lisa Keane, Nancy Wardell The Shamrock 15K & 5K Peninsula, Ohio

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3/19/2023

The Shamrock 15K and 5K

Peninsula, Ohio

15K

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  1:23:21

Overall Place:  52nd Place / 91

Division Place:  2nd Place / 6

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  1:25:51

Overall Place:  58th Place / 91

Division Place:  7th Place / 9

5K

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  22:25

Overall Place:  14th Place / 131

Division Place:  1st Place / 5

Brad Hain

Finish Time:  25:18

Overall Place:  24th Place

Division Place:  1st Place / 1

Lisa Keane

Finish Time:  25:26

Overall Place:  26th Place / 131

Division Place:  1st Place / 7

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  31:01

Overall Place:  67th Place / 131

Division Place:  3rd Place / 6

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

Great race today at the Shamrock 5K in Peninsula, OH with so many Team-ER teammates!  I finished the race at 31:01 which I’ll take on this very chilly Sunday!  I placed 3rd in my age group and received my beautiful bobble-head trophy!  Another race in the books!

Race Review By Scott Orlando:

It was another chilly and windy winter race in Northeast Ohio.   Temperatures in the low 20’s with strong wind gusts had the wind chill in the teens.  I arrived to the race 2 hours early ready to help with registration.  I wasn’t liking the thought of standing it the cold for 2 hours helping before running the 5K.  I came prepared with layer after layer of clothes on to stay warm.  When I arrived I was ecstatic to discover that all pre and post race activities would be held inside the school gym!  I quickly shed multiple layers of clothes and proceeded to help with registration.  I left the registration desks about 25 minutes before the start of the race to begin my race preps.  After some warm up running it was off to the start line.

The gun sounded and we were off.  The course is mostly flat with no real significant hills just a few areas of slight incline.  The race field quickly spread out over the course.  My first mile was a little slower than I typically like for a 5K but within my pace range.  I soon found myself slowing down a little fighting the gusting winds.  By the second mile the race field was really spreading out.  I picked up my pace a little in the 3rd mile but with no runners in site ahead or behind me I didn’t find much motivation to do more than to settle into my current pace.   I managed a slight kick for the last quarter mile to the finish and crossed the line in 22:25.

My finish time was a little slower than I would have liked but under the cold windy conditions I was content with the time.  Coming into the race I had 2 goals.  I wanted to finish in the top 25 to receive a finisher medal, and place in my age division to earn a world famous bobble head trophy.  I am happy to report that I achieved both goals by finishing 14th overall and 1st in my age division.

It was great to see so many Team ER members at the race with 5 out of 6 of us taking home bobble head age group trophies.

Summit Athletic Runners Club, Ritchie’s Sporting Goods, and North Coast Multisports once again produced a fantastic event.  There where lots of great snacks after the race and it was so nice to have the indoor facilities for the post race celebrations and awards.   All 15K runners received crewneck sweatshirts and all 5K runners received long sleeve t-shirts.  The first 25 finishers in each race received finisher medals.  My preference would be that all runners received finisher medals.   Helping with registration I was told that almost 400 runners were registered, but it appeared that there were quite a few people that no showed.  Maybe the wind and cold temps kept them away.  It was a great race and I look forward to running it again next year.

 

3/19/2023 Kristi Gunyula Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon Virginia Beach, VA

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3/19/2023

Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon

Kristi Gunyula

Finish Time:  1:36:18 (New PR)

Overall Place:  312th Place / 5214

Division Place:  9th Place / 453

Race Recap By Kristi Gunyula:

The Shamrock Marathon Weekend did not disappoint! I have always loved traveling with friends to out-of-town races, but this one will forever have a special place in my heart.  I have always wanted to run the NYC Marathon and have entered my name in the lottery multiple times, but have never been selected. Well, my wait may be over, because this weekend I ran fast enough to earn myself a spot at the starting line!  Thankful for all of my training buddies back home, my coach, everyone who sent me inspiring vibes and well wishes this weekend and for all the amazing women who were there to encourage me on race morning! I couldn’t have done it without you!