5/26/2024

FU5K Cancer Run 5K

Kent, Ohio

Renee Buckus

Finish Time:  36:29

Overall Place:  68th Place / 144

Division Place:  8th Place / 15

Kevin Christensen

Finish Time:  56:17

Overall Place:  111th Place / 144

Division Place:  12th Place / 13

Peter Heroux

Finish Time:  56:19

Overall Place 112th Place / 144

Division Place:  16th Place / 17

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  56:22

Overall Place:  113th Place / 144

Division Place:  14th Place 17

Volunteers:

Stephanie Orwick assisted with packet pickup

5/25/2024

The Fools Trail Race

Peninsula, Ohio

50K Trail Race

Josh Keane

Finish Time:  7:15:28

Overall Place:  24th Place / 39

Division Place:  3rd Place / 4

25K Trail Race

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Finish Time:  3:34:30

Overall Place:  81st Place ? 114

Division Place:  4th Place / 8

Volunteers

Brittany Kiehl
Lisa Keane

Race Recap By Josh Keane:

What a tough day at the Fools Trail Race today! Started out a little too fast and ran out of gas towards the end of the race but still managed to take 3rd in my age group and 24th overall in the 50k! It was great to see Team ER represented so well today at the race!

5/25/2024

The Medina Half Marathon

Medina, Ohio

Kris Engstrom

Finish Time:  2:03:39

Overall Place:  207th Place / 570

Division Place:  16th Place / 31

Race Recap By Kris Engstrom:

I ran the Medina Half Marathon today. Weather was good but got warm at the end. My last three miles were slow. I finished in 2:03:39. I thought this was one of the nicer half courses. Went through some nice neighborhoods, up around a lake, and a trail. Spectators were great. The sprinklers they put out were much appreciated. I plan on doing this one again.

5/18/2024 and 5/19/2024

The Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon, And 10K

Cleveland, Ohio

Full Marathon

George McFall

Finish Time:  3:45:12

Overall Place:  323rd Place / 1131

Division Place:  11th Place / 42

Half Marathon

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  3:04:03

Overall Place:  3364th Place / 3645

Division Place:  300th Place / 324

10K

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  48:22

Overall Place:  72nd Place / 1030

Division Place:  3rd Place / 70

Brittany Kiehl:

Finish Time:  1:24:55

Overall Place:  857th Place / 1030

Division Place:  68th Place / 82

Brittany Kiehl earned the Cleveland Marathon Challenge Series Medal by completing both the 10K and Saturday and Half Marathon on Sunday.

Race Recap By George McFall:

I didn’t share it on social media or tell my friends. Sometimes we lose sight of why we do what we do. Is it for us or to satisfy others? I wanted to do this race for me. I ran the Glass City Marathon 3 weeks ago and was feeling really good so I wanted to go after that BQ again. And no matter what happened out there today, I would be OK with the outcome. And guess what, I am. I crossed the finish line in 3:45:12. Well off where I needed be. I’ll spare you the details. The Cleveland Marathon was my 1st marathon back in 2010 and today, when I crossed the finish line, it became my 24th overall marathon. I love the marathon distance. I keep coming back to it. There will be good days and bad days. It’s about showing up everyday, putting in the work and giving it everything you have on race day.

5/19/2024

The Colfax Half Marathon

Denver Colorado

Amy Stumpf

Finish Time:  1:56:52

Overall Place:  1016th Place / 6040

Division Place:  55th Place / 643

5/18/2024

The Great Guernsey Trail 10K

Cambridge, Ohio

Kris Engstrom

Finish Time:  52:12

Overall Place:  2nd Place / 25

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  1:05:43

Overall Place:  15th Place / 25

Division Place:  3rd Place / 6

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I had fun running at the Great Guernsey 10k Trail race in Cambridge this morning! Weather was pretty good, but slightly humid. Trails were beautiful with a simple out and back run. I finished at 1:05:43 with a pace of 10:36 and finished 3rd in my age group! Congratulations to fellow Teammate Kris Engstrom who finished 2nd male overall! He crushed it today! They had a great award ceremony afterwards too with hot dogs, hamburgers, bananas, potato chips, granola bars, Gatorade, and more!

Race Recap By Kris Engstrom:

I decided last night to run the Guernsey County Spring 10k this morning. Ended up getting 2nd overall in the 10k with a time of 52:17. This is a well run event with lots of food. The trail is in great shape with shade on most of it. Look forward to running it again next year.

5/11/2024

Running With My Gnomies Trail Race

Dover, Ohio

9ish Mile Trail Race

Josh Keane

Finish Time:  2:12:12

Overall Place:  12th Place / NA

Division Place:  N/A

Lisa Keane still being on IR was at the race volunteering to help with packet pick up.

Race Recap By Josh Keane:

Running with my Gnomies, like always, did not disappoint! Race Brimstone did an outstanding job. I would highly encourage anyone that wants to run a fun, challenging trail run to head down to Tuscarawas county next year for this one. My run was perfect training and a blast. I finished the Gnomie 9ish 12th overall and I placed 1st or 2nd in my age group (not posted yet…) hence the hand made gnomie award!

5/11/2024

To The Clocktower And Back 5K

Portage Lakes, Ohio

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  36:06

Overall Place:  258th Place / 336

Division Place:  25th Place / 32

5/1/2024

The Mother Of All Races 10K

Canal Fulton, Ohio

Terri Bednar

Finish Time:  56:05

Overall Place:  12th Place / 42

Division Place:  3rd Place Overall Female

Race Recap By Terri Bednar:

This was a fun course and fun race. I will do this race again but their were several problem areas.  Packet pickup was a cluster.
They only had 2 water stops. I am glad I carried my own water.  Walkers were not mindful of racers and I had to dodge them at the finish. When they announced the winners it was very disorganized. The didn’t have a podium and did not announce finish times. and announced 1st place first.  The post race snacks and treats were good and I got a really nice hooded sweatshirt. The race was easy to get to and parking was a breeze. I received a 3rd place trophy for finishing as the 3rd overall female. I have a 2nd place trophy from last year so next year I am going to try to get the 1st place trophy!

5/11/2024

Sweat Now Wine Later Adventure Race

2 Mile Kayak And 2.5 Mile Run

Canton, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  51:50

Overall Place:  83rd Place / 200

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

The Sweat Now Wine Race at Gervasi Vineyard in Canton, Ohio is not the longest race but certainly one I look forward to because it incorporates kayaking, running and wine which are a few of my favorite things.  This was my 7th time competing in the 2 mile kayak / 2.5 mile run race.   I have previously won the race twice and set the course record in 2019 so my expectations leading into the race were very high with the goal of being the first three time winner of the race.  Unfortunately I made a bad decision to play soccer 4 nights before the race which ultimately cost me the opportunity to compete for a 3rd win at this race.  I have been having some plantar fasciitis tightness for several weeks.  Usually when I run it is tight at first but then loosens up and feels better the longer I run.  I thought this would be the case playing soccer but the lateral movement really aggravated it making it much worse.  I spent the next four days icing, stretching, rolling, performing ultra sound, and electric stimulation on it in an effort to be able to compete in this race.  I showed up to the race not knowing if I could run at all.  Three minutes into warming up I knew my answer was an absolute no to running.  After attempting to run in warm ups my foot was in a lot of pain and I wasn’t sure if I could even walk the course but I was determined to give it a try.

It was very disappointing knowing that my decision to play soccer cost me a chance at being competitive in this race.  Expectations for me to perform at this race were very high.  Even at race check in the Canton Park And Recreation staff officials working commented “our winner is here” when I picked up my packet.  Race conditions were nasty but well suited for fast times because the creek was high with faster than normal water from several days of rain leading up to the race.  The race is offered in heats and you show up and compete based on your heat time.  I chose a 9:30 am heat time which was the second heat of the morning.  It was colder than normal with temperatures in the high 40’s  Rain that was predicted to start a few hours later had already started making it feel even colder.  Knowing I wouldn’t compete for an overall spot I decided to focus on a fast kayak leg of the race.

The race starts with a sprint of 100 yards to the creek before jumping into a waiting kayak and paddling away.  I usually like to get off the shuttle bus and head to the start to be the first person to compete from my heat.  The creek is narrow and it can be hard to pass slower kayakers.  I was unable to be the first to start because I could not get the life jacket adjusted properly so 8 – 10 people started ahead of me.  Knowing I wasn’t going to be competitive I didn’t let it bother me to much.  I finally got my chance to start.  I was unable to run so I walked down to the creek and got in my kayak.  The race provides the kayak equipment.  I hopped in the short plastic kayak and was handed what felt like the heaviest paddle I had ever used and was off.  I quickly caught up to the kayaks in front of me some being backwards and sideways in the water.  Luckily the water was unusually high for this race so passing in most areas was a little easier.  I was making quick work of the kayak course but did have to wait a couple of times to find clear passage to pass a few more kayaks which cost me some time.  Near the end of the kayak leg I caught up to and passed some of the paddlers from the previous heat.  Exiting the kayak was fairly smooth and quick.  Next I was off on the 2.5 mile run / walk course to the finish.   I was trying to walk as fast as I could.  My foot was in pain but the rain was really coming down hard so I tried to maintain a fast pace just to keep my body temperature up.  At one point I was getting really cold and did attempt to run but that ended quickly.  When I approached the 2 mile mark I came to a fork in the path that was unmarked.  I wasn’t sure if I should go straight or to the left.  I thought straight but I saw a runner in front of me head left so I followed.  That ended up being the wrong direction.  After about a half mile the trail ended so I turned around.  Funny but on the way back I could now see that someone had posted 3 course direction markers at the fork in the trail during the time I was off course.  Apparently the race officials were told of the problem and placed the signs at the same time I was off course.  This detour added about 13 minutes to my finish time.

I finished the course in a time of 51:50 placing 83rd overall out of 200.  Usually there are around 500 participants in this race.  I believe they had a high percentage of no shows do to the cold and rain.   This was my slowest finish time ever at this race.  After the race finishers are presented with a nice custom medal, snacks, and a glass of Gervasi wine.  In years past participants were given a $10 coupon for the purchase of food or beverage at Gervasi.  I think having the wine at the finish was a nice change.  I had a hard time drinking my wine because I was shivering from the cold and rain.  I waited until I could get to my car and change into warmer dry clothes.

I want to congratulate the overall winner and 2nd place finisher who became only the 2nd and 3rd person to complete this race in under 33:00 minutes.  Until this year I was the only person to ever do it in less than 33:00 minutes which I have done twice.  They did not beat my course record but got fairly close.  Looking at my race data I had the fastest kayak split time I have ever logged at 15:25 with probably a minute of that time being walking to the kayak.  Had I been able to run at my typical pace I would have shattered my course record.  This will give me motivation for next year’s race.

Participants received nice tech shirts, custom medals, a glass of wine, and snacks.  The race as always was well organized.  There were a couple organizational hiccups during the race.  The volunteer that was starting the racers was having them line up in front of the chip timing mats after crossing them.  I watched her doing this and said something to her suggesting she start people behind the mats.  The timing company employee working was watching her do this and I was surprised he did not say anything to her.  She looked and him after I made the suggestion to her and he confirmed what I had told her.  I hope she did not do this for the entire fist heat of participants but I am guessing she did.  She was also sending racers off too close together resulting in a delay in getting each kayaker into the water.  I purposely waited for the racers in front of me to clear the kayak launch so I would not be delayed.  I suggested also to the starter that she wait for each kayak to be cleared before starting the next racer.  She thanked me and told me that no one told her any of what I had suggested.   There was also the issue with the last fork in the trail not being marked with course direction signs.  I am glad they corrected the problem but I feel bad for any of the racers in the first heat or my heat that went the wrong way prior to the signs being placed.  I would have been upset if I was going for a course record and went the wrong direction.  I really wasn’t that happy I had to walk an extra mile on a hurt foot and add 13 minutes to my overall time.  Overall this is an excellent event.  This race is great for beginners looking to get into some multi sport racing or for anyone looking for an adventure with wine at the finish.