by Tim O’Keefe
Welcome
Interesting Year for the decathlon – weather was amazing – few blazing hot days – no rain outs
Numbers down a bit – 82 men, 63 women (last year 90 men, 84 women)
- average – 22 men, 18 women
- high – 40 men (1500 – 6/29) women – 28 (800 – 7/13)
- low – 13 men (3000 – 7/27) women – 9 (3000 – 7/27)
- oldest – Jim Lowrie 75, Jeanette Novak – 71
- youngest – Colin Basford & Donovan Gaskin -5, Brigid Malone – 4
Streakers – 5 runners ran 10/10 races – 4 women, 1 man
- John Way has done 69 SD races in a row; 99/100
Thanks to…
- Lou King and the board for making the races free for Steeps
- Lou King, Harriet Langlois, Art Gregory, and Ruth Taylor for music, Brusters, and shoe display, and especially to If the Shoe Fits and Saucony for sponsoring the event
- Lou King for being in charge of the finish line
- Jenny Hallberg for getting results published in under 24 hours
- the race directors…Crista Horn, Art Gregory, Ruth Taylor, Cassy Crouse, Tim Dodd,
- Cassi Dodd, Javier Montenegro, Paul Christiansen, Chad and Cheryl Connors
- Special thanks to Joe Basford for directing & for hauling the equipment for races 9 & 10
Awards go to top 10 men and women based on cumulative age graded times with at least 5 races
#10
- Bill Duke (51) 5/10 races
- Must be good to run only half the races and crack the top ten
- looks like 41, not 51!
- 200 m – 29.7 AG 25.3 5th place; 800 m – 2:42 AG 2:18; 1500 m – 5:46 AG 4:58
- Sophie Geernaert (12) 5/10 races
- The little ones do grow up
- part of a fun group of preteens/teens
- top 10 with only 5 races
- 200 m – 36.2 AG 33 4th; 400 m – 1:21 AG 1:12.2 4th (.3 ahead of mom!!!); 7:35 mile AG 7:01
#9
- Joe Basford (37) 6/10 races
- healthy year – returning to form
- always in the lead group
- pushes hard in the races AND the relays
- 200 m – 27.1 2nd fastest; 2 mile – 11:27 AG 11:04 #2; 800 m – 2:24 AG 2:21
- Brenda Jacobs (50) 8/10 races
- Stepped up in times in each race
- ran race and then off for mega miles in the park with Meaghan Vance
- fast in both sprints and distances
- 2 mile – 16:26 AG 14:02; 200 m – 40.4 AG 33.9; 800 m – 3:45 AG 3:19
#8
- Jeff Jones (68) 8/10 races
- Great to see him back and in the same race shape
- despite gaining in years he is still a demon in the sprints
- 400m – 1:16 AG 58.1 4th; 200 m- 33.4 AG 25.5; 600 m – 2:14 AG 1:141
- Lib Rood (51) 8/10 races
- came into summer looking to hone speed…and she succeeded
- already strong in distances, she now shines in all the races
- started with a 7:54 mile in June and ended with a 7:49 mile in August AG 6:25
- 800 m – 2:36 AG 3:08; 200 m – 41 AG 33
#7
- James Moreland (63) 9/10 races
- When James didn’t show for the first race…we worried something big was up BUT he made it to the last 9
- his involvement in other race series often had him racing in the a m before the evening decathlon
- as ferocious in the relays as in the races
- 1 mile – 6:34 AG 5:09 5th; 3000 m – 13:15 AG 10:23 3rd; 2 mile – 15:17 AG11:58
- Pam Geernaert (48) 7/10 races
- did the catoctin 50 k in the middle of the series
- always seems to be having fun – always positive attitude
- one of the runners that pushes the pace every race
- 1 ml – 7:08 AG 6:09 5th; 3000 m – 13:28 AG 11:47 4th; 2 ml – 14:40 AG 12:50 3rd
#6
- James Lowrie (43) 7/10 races
- What could be better than having James run with us? Having all the Lowries there – Jim, Barb, Liz & their kids – a true example of the family atmosphere of the decathlon
- Oh…and James is crazy fast on the track!
- 1 mile – 5:36 AG 5:11; 2 mile – 12:06 AG 11:11; 600 m – 1:47 AG 1:38
- Meaghan Vance (30) 10/10 races
- actually tied for 5th but lost in head to head tie breaker
- used to be a solid mid packer but has raced herself to the front pack
- always makes every race look so easy
- to young for AG points so all her times are no adjustment
- June mile 6:32, august mile 6:22; 800 m – 2:50; 400 m- 75 sec
#5
- John Way (51) 10/10 races
- not only 10/10 races this year but also for the last 7 years AND he is in several other club series in the summer
- despite entering the 50 age group last year, he has not lost much speed
- june mile5:57, august mile5:54 AG 5:08; 3000 m- 12:28 AG 10:49; 800 m- 2:44 AG 2:21
- MaxAnn Keller (25) 6/10 races
- has the speed and endurance of youth to offset the lack of AG points
- part of the lead pack of women that pushed every race
- successfully worked on juggling marathon training with track speed
- 1 mile – 6:13; 800 m – 2:48 3rd; 200 m- 30.5 2nd (.3 from 1st!)
#4
- Tim O’Keefe (63) 9/10 races
- probably the only runner to have a slower august mile than june mile
- learned that getting beat by a woman is called “chicked” – he was pretty sure he got “flocked” this summer
- 2 mile – 14:15 AG 11:10 4th; 1000 m 3:51 AG 2:59 4th
- Crystal Achuo (36) 8/10 races
- ran the catoctin 50 k
- was a strong mid pack runner and now is part of the lead pack
- has made huge strides on the track as well as on the roads
- 1 mile – 6:17 AG 6:08 4th; 800 m – 2:49 5th; 400 m – 1:14 AG 1:10 3rd
#3
- Tim Morgan (65) 8/10 races
- ran the CAT 50 k
- even with missing 2 races was only ½ point out of 2nd place
- led the decathlon through 6 races
- very fast AND has an awesome kick
- 1 mile 6:25 AG 4:56 2nd; 1000 m – 3:46 AG 2:52 2nd; 2 mile – 13:50 AG 10:38 #1
- Harriet Langlois (60) 10/10 races
- back from a year of injuries and stronger than ever
- led decathlon through 6 races
- part of the information group that let runners know what other events were going on that they may be interested in doing
- mile-7:40 AG 5:38 2nd; 2 mil-17:02 AG 12:41 2nd; 3000 m 15:22 AG 11:26 2nd
#2
- Mike Geisler (43) 9/10 races
- ran the CAT 50 k
- he’s lean, he’s strong, he’s fast and he bleeds black & gold like all Steeler fans do
- with Chi triaining, his form is tighter and times are dropping from the marathon on down
- highlight was bringing his daughter Olivia to run the last two races with us
- june mile 5:46, august mile 5:40 AG 5:15; 800 m-2:26 AG 2:15 5th; 400 m- 61 AG 56 3rd
- Michelle Mitchell (58) 10/10 races
- amazing on the track given the fact she trains more for ultras
- honed her speed and has developed a great finish kick
- always early and always willing to help set up and always happy!
- june mile 7:41, august mile 7:37 AG 5:45 3rd; 3000 m – 15:09 AG 11:36 3rd 1000 m – 4:40 AG 3:41
CHAMPION
- ART GREGORY (72) 9/10 races
- 205 points ahead of 2nd
- ran CAT 50 k, came back 4 days later and rand 33.9 for the 200 2nd place (AG 24.7)
- used to be a sprint specialist but has greatly improved distance speed
- no matter the race, ALWAYS has an amazing kick
- 400 m – 78 AG 55 1st; 3000 m – 14:12 AG 10:08 2nd; 1 mile – 7:09 AG 5:06 3rd
- RUTH TAYLOR (47) 10/10 races
- 355 points ahead of 2nd place
- ran the CAT 50 k – 4 days later ran the 200 m – only race she did not win all summer
- led series from start to finish
-
race time AG Time seconds ahead of next runner 1600 6:25 5:32 16 1000 3:42 3:19 15 2mile 13:39 11:57 44 600 2:05 1:49 9 1500 5:50 5:01 5 400 1:17 64 2 800 2:49 2:34 9 3000 12:41 11:06 20 1mile 6:26 5:33 5
Thanks to all who came out and had fun and made the series a success. See you in 9 months!!!