Midnight Sun Wrap Up
OVERALL RESULTS
I staggered around in a stupor all day yesterday, after sleeping only a few hours after getting home early Sunday morning. Crashed big time last night, and slept almost 9 hours.
Let's survey the damage here--how bad did I do with prognostication? Maybe it would help if I could see the startlists ahead of time...
Bryant Wright isn't exactly a ringer, as he grew up here as a youngster but went to high school in Oklahoma and college in Texas. Wright just graduated from Trinity University and according to the university track and field/cross country website (updated last September), he had PRs of 31:43 for 10K cross country and 4:01 for 1500 m on the track. Nice run Bryant. Hope he sticks around.
My predictions were not bad for 2nd and 3rd, as Jason Walker ran 33:33 (27 sec slower than predicted) and Andrey Ionashku was 34:11, 21 seconds off my guessed pace. Instead of Zach Ginn (who didn't run), another Lathrop grad Devin McDowell (MSR winner in 2004) was 4th with 34:24, just edging out Chris Eversman who ran 34:28. It's good to have a solid contingent of post college runners to carry the torch.
The top 3 forged ahead early, and crossed the mile in about 5:06 to 5:10 (hard to see when you're so far back!), with McDowell, Eversman and a few others already strung out in pursuit.
Former three time champ Kevin Brinegar was the fastest masters runner with a 35:56, and 8th overall.
As expected Maggie Callahan won the women's race(38:41), but she was pushed by a costumed Laura Brosius (who said last week that she wasn't planning on running MSR) who ran 38:49. West Valley alums/students were well represented, with Christina (Gillis) Turman taking 3rd (40:08) and Molly Callahan in 4th (40:22), followed closely by Jana Benedix (Monroe grad) in 40:28 with Melanie Nussbaumber of Fairbanks 6th in 40:52.
Dorli McWayne was the first woman over 40, and at 57 ran a fine 43:44 for 13th.
MY RACE: AN EXCELLENT FAMILY ADVENTURE
This was the first time all of us have entered. We picked up Mikko from all day refereeing at the Midnight Sun Soccer Tournament at about 8 PM, and hung out at the Pioneer Park for a bit while he refueld and changed. Took the bus from Carlson Center to UAF, along with a couple of Star Wars Storm Troopers and a dozen or more people in various costumes--MSR is always big on the costume theme, and it seemed like 20% or more had costumes this year.
Mikko is ready for a sub 40 min 10K (+/-) but he wanted to walk with his friends. Tristan wanted to run 7:00 pace, but we figured a 45 min would be a reasonable goal. Tamara planned on an hour but promised to walk if she got hot.
It was mildly muggy, but a reasonable 68 degrees at the start. My plan was to run with Kuba, and our goal was to go out easy and work into a good pace, 3 miles about 17:30 and push through from there, maybe to sub 36 (although I figured I wasn't ready for that).
We came through 3 miles at 17:40, but could only hold low 6:00s after that. Although the most of the effort felt more like a tempo run, I didn't have that gear either. (I'm convinced that you need two or three good hard 5K efforts within recent weeks to run a good 10K. Due to schedule and other things I didn't do that this year).
Finished in 37:01 in 16th place. My slowest and lowest placing MSR. Oh well, considering the events of last fall/winter I'm also just grateful to be out there running and it was fun to be a rabbit/pacer for Kuba (who ended up running 36:47, and 2nd for high school aged runners).
Tristan held on gamely with a 45:39, despite some stomach discomfort over the 2nd half of the race.
Tamara was the big surprise of the night: 50:50, in her first 10K in nearly 15 years. This turn around is almost miraculous. A year ago May she ran Chena River Run 5K in 33:48 (11:24/mile). This time on a decent, but on a borderline warm evening she averaged 8:10/mile pace for 10K! This is 20 years after experiencing her first MS symptoms. I only regret that I missed her finish because I thought she'd be on the course for another 10 minutes.
Mikko sauntered in with a couple friends, a few minutes after midnight, and we got home just a few minutes before sunset, at 12:40 AM.
I hope that we can repeat next year.
Next up: we'll age grade the masters results.
I staggered around in a stupor all day yesterday, after sleeping only a few hours after getting home early Sunday morning. Crashed big time last night, and slept almost 9 hours.
Let's survey the damage here--how bad did I do with prognostication? Maybe it would help if I could see the startlists ahead of time...
Bryant Wright isn't exactly a ringer, as he grew up here as a youngster but went to high school in Oklahoma and college in Texas. Wright just graduated from Trinity University and according to the university track and field/cross country website (updated last September), he had PRs of 31:43 for 10K cross country and 4:01 for 1500 m on the track. Nice run Bryant. Hope he sticks around.
My predictions were not bad for 2nd and 3rd, as Jason Walker ran 33:33 (27 sec slower than predicted) and Andrey Ionashku was 34:11, 21 seconds off my guessed pace. Instead of Zach Ginn (who didn't run), another Lathrop grad Devin McDowell (MSR winner in 2004) was 4th with 34:24, just edging out Chris Eversman who ran 34:28. It's good to have a solid contingent of post college runners to carry the torch.
The top 3 forged ahead early, and crossed the mile in about 5:06 to 5:10 (hard to see when you're so far back!), with McDowell, Eversman and a few others already strung out in pursuit.
Former three time champ Kevin Brinegar was the fastest masters runner with a 35:56, and 8th overall.
As expected Maggie Callahan won the women's race(38:41), but she was pushed by a costumed Laura Brosius (who said last week that she wasn't planning on running MSR) who ran 38:49. West Valley alums/students were well represented, with Christina (Gillis) Turman taking 3rd (40:08) and Molly Callahan in 4th (40:22), followed closely by Jana Benedix (Monroe grad) in 40:28 with Melanie Nussbaumber of Fairbanks 6th in 40:52.
Dorli McWayne was the first woman over 40, and at 57 ran a fine 43:44 for 13th.
MY RACE: AN EXCELLENT FAMILY ADVENTURE
This was the first time all of us have entered. We picked up Mikko from all day refereeing at the Midnight Sun Soccer Tournament at about 8 PM, and hung out at the Pioneer Park for a bit while he refueld and changed. Took the bus from Carlson Center to UAF, along with a couple of Star Wars Storm Troopers and a dozen or more people in various costumes--MSR is always big on the costume theme, and it seemed like 20% or more had costumes this year.
Mikko is ready for a sub 40 min 10K (+/-) but he wanted to walk with his friends. Tristan wanted to run 7:00 pace, but we figured a 45 min would be a reasonable goal. Tamara planned on an hour but promised to walk if she got hot.
It was mildly muggy, but a reasonable 68 degrees at the start. My plan was to run with Kuba, and our goal was to go out easy and work into a good pace, 3 miles about 17:30 and push through from there, maybe to sub 36 (although I figured I wasn't ready for that).
We came through 3 miles at 17:40, but could only hold low 6:00s after that. Although the most of the effort felt more like a tempo run, I didn't have that gear either. (I'm convinced that you need two or three good hard 5K efforts within recent weeks to run a good 10K. Due to schedule and other things I didn't do that this year).
Finished in 37:01 in 16th place. My slowest and lowest placing MSR. Oh well, considering the events of last fall/winter I'm also just grateful to be out there running and it was fun to be a rabbit/pacer for Kuba (who ended up running 36:47, and 2nd for high school aged runners).
Tristan held on gamely with a 45:39, despite some stomach discomfort over the 2nd half of the race.
Tamara was the big surprise of the night: 50:50, in her first 10K in nearly 15 years. This turn around is almost miraculous. A year ago May she ran Chena River Run 5K in 33:48 (11:24/mile). This time on a decent, but on a borderline warm evening she averaged 8:10/mile pace for 10K! This is 20 years after experiencing her first MS symptoms. I only regret that I missed her finish because I thought she'd be on the course for another 10 minutes.
Mikko sauntered in with a couple friends, a few minutes after midnight, and we got home just a few minutes before sunset, at 12:40 AM.
I hope that we can repeat next year.
Next up: we'll age grade the masters results.
posted by Roger at
12:11 PM
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