7/20/2024

Christmas In July 5K

Akron, Ohio

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  37:04

Overall Place:  187th Place / 282

Division Place:  10th Place / 15

7/14/2024

Market Avenue Mile

Canton, Ohio

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  10:43

Overall Place:  54th Place / 73

Division Place:  2nd Place / 4

Race Recap By Brittany Kiehl:

An inexpensive, fast downhill race on Sunday evening. Limited number of participants so no congestion. You park along the middle of the course and walked about .5 mile to the start line. Afterwards you get a free drink at a restaurant by the finish.

7/14/2024

Pan American Masters Games Triathlon

Cleveland, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Volunteer for kayak safety patrol for the swim leg and helping at the finish line.

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

Seeing as this was the first time that the Pan American Masters Games were being held in the United States and in Cleveland, Ohio none the less I Knew that I wanted to be part of the games.   I decided to volunteer to help keep the swimmers safe and join the kayak water patrol.  I had to get up at 4:30 am and make my way to Cleveland for the 6:30 am start times.  I had a little bit of trouble getting to Edgewater Park because they closed many of the roads around the event area sooner than the publicised times.  My GPS finally got me to Edgewater Park where I found it very easy to get my kayak an equipment down to the beach and find a parking spot.   There where about 8 of us ready to patrol the waters in kayaks plus a crew of Edgewater Park Lifeguards, an inflatable motorized rescue boat, rescue jet ski, and two very intimidating large Police Marine Rescue ships standing by in the the deeper water just outside the course.

One look at my 16′ Stellar Multisport kayak and the person in charge of the kayak patrol assigned me the farthest buoy position from the swim start / finish area.  I didn’t mind and took it as a compliment.   We hit the water around 6:15 am.  The water conditions were extremely calm and flat.  The sun was just rising which made for some beautiful scenery that I was able to capture in some pre race pictures from my kayak.

At 6:30 am the first wave of swimmers hit the water.  It took some time for them to make it to my position located on the first right turn of the Olympic distance swim course.  The sprint distance swimmers turned right well before they got to my location.   As the swimmers reached my location they turned right around a buoy then headed North into deeper water making another right turn creating a large rectangle shaped course.  All of the Olympic swimmers did a great job navigating the calm waters of the course.  After the last Olympic swimmer passed the second right turn of the course I received instructions from the Police Rescue Marine Ship to leave my position and follow the last swimmer to shore.  Each kayaker did the same as the last swimmer passed their assigned location.

As I followed the last swimmers along the back side of the course there were several that requested assistance.  One by one they would grab the front of our kayaks and hold on for a quick break to adjust goggles, lower their heart rates or just ease their nerves.  The last few swimmers received a private escort of our kayaks making sure they got to shore safely.   I am happy to report that all swimmers that entered the water completed the swim course.

After all the swimmers were out of the water and headed to the transition to the bike leg I returned my kayak and gear to my car and headed to the finish line.  Mickey Rzymek put me to work handing out water bottles to the finishers.  I really enjoyed being at the finish line to congratulate the racers and greet them with a cold bottle of water.  It was amazing to see athletes from so many different countries compete as well as local athletes that I know and recognize from other races.

The event was well organized and I thought it was great how many race options and divisions there were including triathlon, duathlon, and aqua bike all offered in sprint and Olympic distances.  As a volunteer I received a t-shirt, water bottle, hat, bag, and plenty of snacks and drinks.   Volunteering for the Pan American Masters Games was a great experience!

7/13/2024

The Women’s 6K Festival

Canton, Ohio

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  27:55

Overall Place:  65th Place / 293

Division Place:  8th Place / 34

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  35:35

Overall Place:  153rd Place / 293

Division Place:  18th Place / 34

Lisa Keane

Finish Time:  36:24

Overall Place:  166th Place / 293

Division Place:  6th Place / 31

Stephanie Orwick was on location as a vendor and to support the Team ER and local runners.

Race Recap By Christine Churpek:

I had an amazing time at the Women’s 6K Festival this morning! All the strong and powerful women out there today inspire me to stay motivated. I am dedicated to training hard and becoming stronger every day.

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I completed the Women’s 6k Festival in Canton, Ohio this morning and was thankful to see my beautiful Team-ER ladies there too (Lisa Keane, Christine Churpek, and Stephanie Orwick). It was good to have Lisa Keane to walk around with for a bit afterwards and look at all the fun freebees and stands! I finished the 6K at 35:35 with a 9:32 per mile pace and finished 18th of 34 in my age group. I loved  the after celebration at Centennial Plaza with the great goodies including a free flavored lemonade, homemade chocolate chip cookie, and beautiful sunflower.  Not a bad day in Canton!

Race Recap By Lisa Keane:

Well marked, fast and mostly downhill course for this Women’s 6K race. The race is definitely geared more toward the elite runners so if you are an elite runner or fan girl, this is the race for you. Nice after party with lots of vendors and giveaways.

7/13/2024

Miles For Migraine 5K

Cleveland, Ohio

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  38:30

Overall Place:  82nd Place / 123

Division Place:  7th Place / 13

Race Recap By Brittany Kiehl:

This race had a 10 am start which made it incredibly hot. 84° There was no water on the course so I was grateful to had brought mine with me. The course in North Chagrin Reservation was beautiful. It was an out and back course. The first half was downhill and the second half was uphill. The 2 mile walk started after the 5k on the same course so it was difficult to navigate through all the walkers. I am not sure why a group of about 15 people thought it’s okay to bunch together and take up the entire path. I kept yelling passing on your right and they still refused to move over. Overall, though, it was a fun race with great finisher medals.

7/7/2024

Charles Marquis North Hill 5K

Akron, Ohio

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  27:11

Overall Place:  94th Place / 216

Division Place:  6th Place / 9

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Cleopatra completed the race virtually.

7/4/2024

Raintree 5K

Uniontown, Ohio

Roy Miller

Finish Time:  23:29

Overall Place:  25th Place / 134

Division Place:  4th Place / 12

Kris Engstrom

Finish Time:  25:13

Overall Place 36th Place / 134

Division Place 2nd Place / 4

Josh Keane

Finish Time:  25:32

Overall Place:  38th Place / 134

Division Place:  5th Place / 12

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  28:52

Overall Place:  60th Place / 134

Division Place 3rd Place / 17

Lisa Keane:

Finish Time:  31:49

Overall Place:  76th Place / 134

Division Place:  4th Place / 7

Race Volunteers:  Josh Keane, Kevin Christensen, Lisa Keane, and Scott Orlando

Race Recap By Lisa Keane:

What a fantastic turn out for TEAM ER this morning to volunteer and run The Raintree 5K!
This is a unique, fun, and fast 5K with a tour through scenic Raintree Golf Course and its surrounding neighborhood. Super organized, well marked course, lots of support, and nice shirts. Congrats to all the overall and age group winners who walked away with A pie.

Race Recap By Kris Engstrom:

I ran the Raintree 5k today. This is one of my favorite races. 2/3 of the run is on the golf course. Very organized and well marked course. One of the best finishes on the 18th hole. My daughters also ran this morning. She finished second overall female and my other daughter finished first in her age group. I finished second in my age group.  I look forward to running it again next year.

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I had a great time at the Raintree 4th of July 5K in Uniontown this morning! I loved seeing so many Team-ER members and being able to joke around a little bit before and after the race! Great job to those who volunteered and ran today! This is a great race on the golf course that has a slight elevation change at times and goes into the neighborhood for part of the race as well. It ends with a nice reward ceremony with great snacks and refreshments and fun prizes! I finished 3rd in my age group with a finish time of 28:52 and pace of 9:18! I loved seeing Mickey Rzymek as always and all the support from our teammates!

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

I had a great time this morning with Team-ER and friends at the Raintree 5K. I took a break from running this morning to let my torn plantar fasciitis continue to rehab and volunteered at the race helping with registration and the water station.   It was again amazing to see so many Team ER members volunteering and racing.  The race was well organized and seemed to have a larger field than last year.  The course is one of the more unique with most of the race being ran on the fairways.  Participants received t-shirts and snacks were provided after the race.  Award winners received gift certificates to Ritchie’s Sporting Goods and pies.  Congratulations to everyone that raced and earned their pies!

7/4/2024

Four On The 4th

Hudson, Ohio

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  36:09

Overall Place:  157th Place / 372

Division Place:  6th Place / 11

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Finish Time:  39:30

Overall Place:  204th Place / 372

Division Place:  5th Place / 17

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  52:55

Overall Place:  318th Place / 372

Division Place:  19th Place / 21

Race Recap By Brittany Kiehl:

I enjoyed volunteering for packet pickup this morning and afterwards running this race. It was a great course through neighborhoods with lots of fun crowd support. There were people in festive 4th of July costumes and kids with water guns. However, the late start (9:35am) made the heat tough to run in. I also loved the medal and shirts! It was fun seeing members of Team ER.

7/4/2024

Firecracker 4 Miler

Stow, Ohio

Terri Bednar

Finish Time:  37:58

Overall Place 121st Place / 219

Division Place 5th Place / 10

7/4/2024

Aurora Fourth Of July Fun Run 5K

Aurora, Ohio

George McFall

Finish Time:  21:36

Overall Place:  52nd Place / 425

Division Place:  2nd Place / 27

Race Recap By George McFall:

Happy Birthday, America (and to me too). The tradition of running a race on my birthday continues. For the 3rd (I think) year in a row I ran the Aurora July 4th 5k. The course is on streets through a neighborhood that offers a little climb at the beginning and then another later on but the finish is fast (after another little climb). The residents come out to support the runners and walkers which is very much appreciated. I like courses where I don’t have to think. It was well marked. Just follow the arrows. I ran a great race. I had a negative split which is awesome and placed 2nd in a large and competitive age group (51-60). The 1st place guy was a minute faster than me and the 3rd place guy came in a minute and half after me.