9/24/2022 Akron Marathon, Half Marathon, And Team Relay Akron, Ohio

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9/24/2022

Akron Marathon, Half Marathon, And Team Relay

Akron, Ohio

Marathon

Jobadiah Christiansen

Finish Time / NA

Jobadiah put up a tremendous fight but ultimately had to withdraw at mile 14 due to food poisoning he contracted earlier in the week.

Half Marathon

Roy Miller

Finish Time:  1:35:34

Overall Place:  97th Place / 2090

Division Place:  5th Place / 107

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  1:43:21

Overall Place:  207th Place / 2090

Division Place:  10th Place / 107

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  1:48:55

Overall Place:  329th Place / 2090

Division Place 16th Place / 179

Kristi Gunyula

Finish Time:  1:52:26

Overall Place:  428th Place / 2090

Division Place:  22nd Place / 179

Asad Khan

Finish Time:  1:52:53

Overall Place:  443rd Place / 2090

Division Place:  20th Place / 102

Veronica Neubert

Finish Time:  1:56:11

Overall Place:  530th Place / 2090

Division Place:  24th Place / 179

Loretta Harland

Finish Time:  2:14:21

Overall Place:  1117th Place / 2090

Division Place:  22nd Place / 79

Marathon Team Relay

Christine Churpek

Member Of The Hip To Be Square Relay Team 8481

Finish Time:  3:16:00

Overall Place:  14th Place / 438

Division Place:  3rd Place / 274 (Mixed Division)

 

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford and Kevin Christensen

Members Of The 5th Dimension Relay Team 8010

Finish Time:  4:25:02

Overall Place:  239th Place / 438

Division Place:  151st Place / 274 (Mixed Division)

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

This was my 10th time running in the Akron Marathon having previously completed the half marathon 6 times and the full marathon 3 times.  This year I once again ran the half marathon.  Race conditions were almost ideal for a long race with temperatures in the high 40’s at the start and just a slight breeze.   The course for both the full marathon and half were altered again from previous years which is pretty typical for this race.   The biggest challenge in course construction for this race is that Akron is a hilly city.   With more and more runners opting for flatter and faster courses to qualify for other races the race directors are always trying to improve the course to make it more appealing.  This year’s half marathon course was fairly typical of what to expect from this race which is lots of rolling hills strung together by periodic stretches of flat and downhill sections.   The course is always challenging and if you set a PR (personal record) at this race you earned it!   My goal was to beat last year’s time and finish under an 8 minute mile pace.   I started a little faster then my goal pace and then settled into a nice consistent pace for the middle miles.  Some of the more hilly sections slowed me below my goal pace but I was able to make up the lost time on the flat and downhill sections.  The last three miles I was feeling pretty good and began to push my pace.  Miles 11 and 12 had some hills which made it tough, but I was able to make up time in the last 2 miles thanks to the downhill and flat finish.  I even posted a 7:17 13th mile that I was pretty proud of.  I finished with a time of 1:43:21 and placed 10th in my age group.  Not my fastest half marathon but I achieved my goals so I am happy with my efforts and result.   This race is always well organized.  Runners received the usual great swag and a bonus running hat for the 20th anniversary of the race.   My favorite part of the race was seeing so many other Team ER runners and running friends out there competing and celebrating after the race.

 

8/26/2022 Nancy Wardell Backyard Crusher 5K Canton, Ohio

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8/26/2022

Backyard Crusher 5K

Canton, Ohio

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  28:13

Overall Place:  82nd Place / 221

Division Place:  6th Place / 20

Race recap by Nancy Wardell:

Completed the Backyard Crusher 5K in Canton, OH last night! I improved my pace again which I’m very happy about!  I had a 9 minute 5 second pace and an overall time of 28 minutes and 13 seconds which is the best time yet since hurting my knee in May!  I finished 6th in my age group and received a lovely finisher’s beer Glass from Royal Docks and a token for a free brewsky!  Successful run!

8/21/2022 Scott Orlando Miamisburg Triathlon Miamisburg, Ohio

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8/21/2022

Miamisburg Triathlon

2.5 mile kayak, 5K run, 10 mile bike race

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  1:19:12

Overall Place:   2nd Place

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

This was my first time competing in the Miamisburg Triathlon which is a 2.5 mile kayak, 5K run, and 10 mile race and it almost didn’t happen!   The night before the race I was in my hotel room inflating my bike tires and the valve to my back tire tube broke.  At first I thought no problem I always carry a spare tube with me.   when I started to replace the tube I quickly noticed that the valve was too short for the carbon fiber rims and would not work.  Now it was time to panic.   I contacted the race director who I had met earlier at the race site when I was scouting things out and he was setting up.   He said he had some tubes that would fit and that the local bike shop would be on hand to assist.  So again no worries.  I got to the race extra early to address my tire problem.  The bike shop seemed late to show up so I began replacing the tube myself.  The race director left two tubes for me at the registration desk.   The valves were plenty long enough to work.  I tried the first tube and it would not hold any air so I stared again with the second tube.  Again no luck with that tube holding air.  Now I had 20 minutes to race start and was starting to really panic.   The bike shop never showed up so I was in trouble.   Luckily I had found a valve extender in my bike bag and the race director figured out how to install it on the tube that I had.   I was able to use my back up tube with the valve extender and got the tire repaired with just 5 minutes to go before the start of the race.   Funny how a little piece of metal thrown in my bag 4 years ago all of a sudden became the most important piece of race gear I brought!   I quickly set up my bike transition and ran down the street, across the bridge, and down to the kayak start.  My mind was racing and my stress was high but I made it to the start.

I quickly identified the man who seemed to own this race winning it every year.  I thought if I can stay with him I might have a shot to do well.   He had an older Stellar surfski and I brought my Stellar Multisport S18S EXP to race.  I chose this boat over my longer Stellar Multi Sport SR because the S18S EXP has a hatch where my SR does not and I needed it to carry my running shoes.     Thunderstorms threatened all night and morning.  Temperatures were climbing and humidity was 100%.   It started to rain just as we started to kayak.  From the start it became clear that it was a 2 man race with he and I quickly distancing ourselves from the rest of the kayak field. My strategy was to stay with him and push him to see if I could fatigue him.  I stayed right on his stern drafting off of him almost the entire kayak leg.  Near the end I pulled up next to him and we arrived at the kayak exit at the exact same time.  I was actually out of the water before him but he beat me to the timing mat logging a faster kayak split because I took the extra time to switch to my running shoes where he did not.   My run time was slower then I expected.  I believe it was because of the extreme humidity.  I managed to make up a lot of lost ground and made it to the timing mat for the bike transition just a few seconds behind him.  My run split was actually faster then his but I was still just off the overall pace because of my slower transition.   In the bike transition I lost a few more seconds when I started to follow him out the wrong way of the transition area and turned around to correctly exit.  He did not correct and just went off to start the bike course.   He was a better biker then I was and extended his lead.   By the 5 mile halfway mark I knew I couldn’t catch him but saw some good bikers not far behind me looking strong on expensive bikes.  I didn’t want to be passed from behind so I put the hammer down and pushed really hard the last 5 miles to secure second place overall.   I finished with a time of 1:19:12.

The race was really well organized by Speedy-Feet and had a ton of volunteers.  There was a nice selection of food after the race.  All participants received nice t-shirts and finisher medals.  This was probably the flattest course that I have ever competed on for an adventure triathlon.   No awards were presented for overall or any divisions.  In the future I would like to see them offer some overall awards.   Despite the weather and my tire issue I really enjoyed the race and definitely plan to return.

 

8/20/2022 Loretta Harland, Nancy Wardell, Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford, And Renee Buckus PorchRokr 5K Akron, Ohio

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08/20/2022

PorchRokr 5K

Akron, Ohio

Loretta Harland

Finish Time:  26:48

Overall Place:  169th Place / 393

Division Place:  14th Place / 33

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  28:48

Overall Place:  218th Place / 393

Division Place:  27th Place / 60

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Finish Time:  30:03

Overall Place:  243rd Place / 393

Division Place:  18th Place / 33

Renee Buckus

Finish Time:  30:25

Overall Place:  249th Place / 393

Division Place:  33rd Place / 60