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12/31/2019 Ken, Scott, Christine, Roy, Loretta & Jerry Great New Year’s Eve 5K Stow, Ohio

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12/31/2019

Great New Year’s Eve 5K

Stow, Ohio

Ken Frankenbery

Finish Time:  21:15

Overall Place:  18 / 414

Division Place:  1 / 23

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  23:01

Overall Place:  40 / 414

Division Place:  5 / 18

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  23:15

Overall Place:  44 / 414

Division Place:  2 / 28

Roy Miller

Finish Time:  23:46

Overall Place:  50 / 414

Division Place:  5 / 19

Loretta Harland

Finish Time:  27:51

Overall Place:  133 / 414

Division Place:  3 / 20

Jerry Lynch

Finish Time:  32:42

Overall Place:  244 / 414

Division Place:  12 / 15

Race Recap by Fen Frankenbery

Less than ideal conditions (snow /28 degree’s/icy roads/wind gusts), a out & back course with rolling hills, made for a challenging race.

This is a long running race, billed as Ohio State Championship race for Summit County with great awards (shoes & gift cards for overall/masters winners), gets a good turnout, and draws top runners from around the area.

It’s also close to gym I go to, so most of serious runners from the gym attend this race. It’s a chance to race against people you train with & see how you stack up. I was really looking forward to it.

Warming up, I felt good, this race doesn’t start till 4 pm, so had to change my routine of not eating before racing ( do not do well with any food in my stomach had a very light lunch at 11 am.), was dressed just right, (big mittens with heater packs to keep my hands warm ) and when gun went off I was warmed up & ready to go.

Started in top 20, passed a few people, tried to stay with George (one of top runners from gym), stayed close but just couldn’t get him. It made me push hard-ended up 1st in my age group & 18th overall. Won Grand Masters awards (nice gift card!) and had a solid time for conditions – 21:13, so thankful to be healthy & racing!!!

Race Recap by Scott Orlando

I have competed in this race for many years now and one thing I can tell you about it is that it never gets easier!  The course is one of the more challenging 5K’s in the area.  You feel like you are running uphill almost the entire race.  Especially after the turnaround and on the back half of the course.  The weather is always brutal!  This year did not see freezing rain like last year but runners were challenged by cold temperatures, snow, and strong winds.  As tough as this race is, I can’t think of a better way to end the year then with one last race.

I started out at a faster pace and managed a first mile of 6:50.  I tried to take advantage of what felt like the only downhill section of the course.  My second mile was a little slower as the hills started to appear putting me at a 7:04 pace at mile 2.  The last and most challenging mile really slowed down my pace as I battled the wind and most hilly parts of the course.  My GPS watch had me at finishing with a 7:14 mile pace for 3.2 miles and a finish time of 23:01.  This was not my fastest finish at this race but I was mush faster then last year so I was happy with my time.

Summit Athletic Runners club did an outstanding job organizing the race.  All participants received hooded long sleeve t -shirts.  There were plenty of awards and raffle prizes to go around.  For me the best part of this year’s race was seeing so many of my running friends.   It was truly a great race and great way to celebrate the New Year and my 50th birthday.

11/28/2019 Scott Orlando Lexington Mansfield Turkey Trot 10K Lexington, Ohio

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11/28/2019

Lexington Mansfield Turkey Trot 5K, 10K and Half Marathon

Lexington, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  44:36

Overall Place:  4th Place

Division Place:  1st Place

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

The Lexington Mansfield Turkey Trot is a new race held for just the second year.  The race give runners the distance options of 5K, 10K, and a half marathon.  Last year this race had a total 70 participants but the word quickly spread of the quality of the race and over 300 people ran or walked this year.   The entire course (for all distances) is on the paved bike trail.  Race conditions were cold and windy.  All three race distances started and finished at the same location, but did have different turnaround points on the out and bake course.  The course itself is very flat and fast.  The only thing that slowed runners down was the headwinds gusting at 13 – 15 mph on the way back after the turnaround points.  The most popular distance was the 5K with a lot of families and dogs taking to the course.  The Lexington Senior Center was the host location for the race which made for a nice warm place for pre and post race activities.  I chose the 10K course.   I started a little bit slower then what I had hoped for my first 2 miles.  I was looking to be at under 14 minutes at the 2 mile split and I was very close averaging a 7:02 mile pace.  At the turnaround point I was at an even 7:00 mile pace and saw that there were 4 people in front of me.  I decided not to worry about the other runners but instead to challenge myself to see if I could finish with a sub 7:00 minute average mile pace.  The heavy headwinds had me increasing my efforts to maintain the same pace.   At the finish my GPS had me just missing my goal with a 7:03 mile pace for 6.33 miles.  I though I had secured 5th overall but I was surprised to learn that the overall winner who clocked a blistering 38 minute finish time wasn’t registered for the race.  He was a bandit!   This moved me up to 4th overall still maintaining 1st place in my division.  The race directors were very engaged and friendly with all of the participants and did an outstanding job.  All participants received performance hoodies, finisher medals, and individual pumpkin pies.  Post race snacks were plentiful with most of the offerings of muffins, cookies, and cupcakes being home made by volunteers.   I have no doubt this race will continue to grow.  I certainly plan to return next year!