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.

7/4/2024

North Port Firecracker 5K

North Port, Florida

Kristi Quesenberry Gunyula

Finish Time:  38:58

Overall Place:  186th Place / 282

Division Place:  7th Place / 13

6/29/2024

National Interstate 8K

Akron, Ohio

George McFall

Finish Time:  35:39

Overall Place: 59th Place / 1284

Division Place:  3rd Place / 48

Kristi Quesenberry Gunyula

Finish Time:  35:57

Overall Place: 67th Place / 1284

Division Place:  1st Place / 121

Josh Keane

Finish Time:  43:23

Overall Place: 274th Place / 1284

Division Place:  25th Place / 51

Asad Khan

Finish Time:  45:54

Overall Place: 378th Place / 1284

Division Place:  17th Place / 48

Brad Hain

Finish Time:  46:27

Overall Place: 409th Place / 1284

Division Place:  10th Place / 30

Terri Bednar

Finish Time:  48:15

Overall Place: 479th Place / 1284

Division Place:  16th Place / 83

Kevin Christensen

Finish Time:  48:31

Overall Place: 491st Place / 1284

Division Place:  17th Place / 41

Renee Buckus

Finish Time:  51:00

Overall Place: 613th Place / 1284

Division Place:  52nd Place / 95

Lisa Keane

Finish Time:  55:01

Overall Place: 770th Place / 1284

Division Place:  36th Place / 82

Stephanie Orwick

Finish Time:  56:42

Overall Place: 840th Place / 1284

Division Place:  65th Place / 109

Stephanie also volunteered to help packet pick up.

Brittany Kiehl

Finish Time:  1:06:53

Overall Place: 1084th Place / 1284

Division Place:  85th Place / 95

Race Recap By George McFall:

The 2024 Akron Marathon race series is underway. First race, National Interstate 8k. It’s always great to see so many familiar faces. So happy the rain and thunderstorms stayed away. Upper 70s and humid at the start. The course starts with a little uphill then gets faster with a downhill and flattens out. It kind of like this the entire course. Take the downhills fast, keep churning on the rollers and let loose on the flats and approaching the finish line,
I felt I executed my race plan well. The goal was to be 7 minute overall pace. I had a few miles under/a little over that. I did post a 7:15 on mile 4. I crossed the finish line with a time of 35:39; 7:11 pace and placed 3rd in my age group . I was 59th overall out of 1284. The post race party was fun.  I enjoyed the live music and catching up with people. Looking forward to the Goodyear 10k in August.

Race Recap By Josh Keane:

The National Interstate 8k was a great race for Team ER without question! I really enjoyed seeing everyone out there and thought it was a well organized race as always. The course was challenging and it was a little hotter and more humid than my body liked. I pushed a little too hard on the downhills at the beginning and slowed on the second half but look forward to crushing this one with the team next year! Great job to everyone else out there today!

Race Recap By Lisa Keane:

I am pretty sure we were all prepared for a monsoon to postpone our race day but the rain held off and it was a great morning for a run! A little muggy but overcast and breezy for my first crack at this race!  The race was super organized and heavily supported 8K on a “mostly” flat course. I really enjoyed running around the Akron University campus and surrounding neighborhoods. It toured some familiar race routes that brought back some memories.
Nice swag and fantastic after party with food trucks, beverages, photo ops, and live music!
I will definitely do this one again next year!

Race Recap By Kevin Christensen:

It was a hot and humid morning but no thunderstorms as predicted so race went on as scheduled.  I had a good run. It was great seeing all of the Team ER runners as well as plenty of wonderful volunteers.

Race Recap By Brittany Kiehl:

This race was well organized. The course highlights The University of Akron’s campus along with parts of downtown Akron. It was a manageable course with rolling hills. There was a nice shirt and finishers medal. Also, great post race festivities. I just miss the finish on the field in the stadium.

6/29/2024

Headwaters Adventure Triathlon

Mantua, Ohio

2 Mile Run, 10 Mile Bike, 5 Mile Kayak

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  1:44:03

Overall Place:  3rd Place / 103

Veronica Neubert

Finish Time:  2:00:19

Overall Place:  1st Place Overall Female / 103

Russ Neubert provided course support and took pictures for Team ER members racing.

Race Recap By Veronica Neubert:

Wake up 5 am, race is still on. Load every thing and drive through a rainstorm to get there. It did not look good! Dropped my bike off and it was sprinkling. Drove through the bike portion of the race and it appeared pretty wet so that made me nervous.  Dropped the kayak off and the rain stopped! I felt decent in the warm up but the run portion of this race was probably the worst I have ever felt, ever!! It was only 2 miles and I thought about dropping out more than once. I am so discouraged with my running since the concussion. I wonder if I will ever be back to where I was? I was passed by 3 women in the run, I knew I could make up time on the bike and I did, but then a race marshal indicated a left turn when the race map showed to continue forward. I thought maybe there was an accident or something, so I turned left. I caught up to a few guys that were just as confused as I was. Then the 2 leaders turned around and told us we took a wrong turn. I actually stopped, I didn’t know what to do. The guy I was right next to said the course went this way last year and we should continue, so I did. We were able to get back on the route.  We still ended up with a 10 mile bike! I was the first female to enter the kayak phase and thanks to Russ’s faster boat, I was able to remain in the lead for the entire 5 mile kayak!

This was the first triathlon I ever completed in 2021 and I was second female overall.
In 2022, I was third female overall by 2 seconds. We were in France last year so I was unable to compete.
The weather held off and I was able to win!  I wanted this so badly! The sweetest victory!

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

Today I competed in the Headwaters Adventure Triathlon. I have competed in this race many times.  Having torn my plantar fasciitis 5 weeks ago I wasn’t sure how I would perform.  The morning of the race was extremely humid and severe storms were expected but luckily they were not as strong as predicted and we were able to race.  The combined race field between the solo competitors and relay teams was around 200 racers.

My 2 mile run time was about a minute slower than my usual pace, but I was able to run without any pain. The 10 mile bike was pure chaos. 3 miles into the bike leg a volunteer directed all the riders left off course instead of straight up the steep hill. This sent bike riders in all directions trying to find the course. Some bikers pedaled extra miles trying to get back on course while others shorter distances. It was a mess! After stopping twice and turning around twice I found my way to Camp Hi for the transition to the kayak. I biked pretty close to 10 miles which was the distance of the bike course. When I arrived at Camp Hi my heart sank realizing the bikers ahead of me were still lost on the course. I honestly didn’t know what to do. It did not feel right to proceed with the race. I decided to get in my kayak and start paddling. I paddled very slow contemplating the situation.

After a mile a racer who was ahead of me prior to the bike course issue caught up to me and passed me. At that point I decided to start racing again. Kayaking was difficult with the high seaweed. It was like kayaking on carpet. Many of my paddle strokes were half scoops but my Stellar Kayaks SR Multisport was able to cut through the seaweed and hold off all other kayaks from passing me. I was the 2nd overall racer to cross the finish line.

Another fast racer known to me was having a great race until he got lost on the bike course and finished just behind me. After a little discussion with him and realizing he biked almost 4 extra miles and finished just a minute behind me I decided to concede 2nd place to him who clearly beat me in all phases of the race. I was happy to accept the 3rd place overall award.

Congratulations to Team ER member Veronica Neubert who was the women’s overall winner.  Thank you to Russ Neubert for taking pictures and providing race support.  Thank you to all of the volunteers and for Portage Park District Foundation for putting on a great race.

All participants received nice t-shirts and custom finisher medals along with a bag filled with sponsor items.