First Carolina State Bank Recap

Where do I begin? So many from the RMEC had great performances this weekend, that it might take me half a day to write a recap that does justice to your accomplishments. I could easily write a paragraph each about everyone, but to avoid having the longest blog entry ever written, I am going to try to sum it up quickly. . .

Right off the bat, we had three runners in the top ten for their gender. Ashley Bass finished 4th overall, and 1st in the Master's Division with a time of 1:25:08 in his half marathon debut. Jeff Miller was close behind in 8th place with a time of 1:28:45. This PR for Jeff earned him first place in his age group. The top female finisher for the club goes to Kinnie Pruden with a PR time of 1:52:16. This earned her 8th among all women, and third place in the Masters!

Jeff Hartney finished in 11th place with a time of 1:30:45, which was first in the 45-49 age group. This is easily the most competitive age category in the race (seriously, take a look) so taking first is impressive. Dave Lavely came in one minute behind for second place with a time of 1:31:57. Also in this age group was Tim Shea (1:40:21), Kevin Boudreau (1:44:17), and Larry McKeel (1:45:41). Kevin had been sick late in the week, so finishing alone was great, his strong time makes it even more impressive. Larry set a new PR, knocking almost two minutes off of last years time.

Also in the top 20 overall was Derek Hurdle. Like many others, Derek set a half marathon PR finishing in 1:33:38. This was a three minute improvement over 2007. Ironman, Cliff Amos came in just over the 1:40 mark with a time of 1:40:04 taking second in the 40-44 age group. Also placing in that group was Brent Brondyke with 1:44:18. Our other Ironman, Jason Irvin anchored his corporate team, and finished in 1:46:40.

Scott Wingfield place 37th overall, and had a time of 1:43:28. This was a PR by more than four minutes! Certainly a welcome site after some aggressive fall marathon training. Fellow "nooner" Gerry Felton finished in 1:47:39, only five seconds behind the 3rd place finisher in his age group! Eric Pate, another regular "nooner" just ran the OBX Half a few weeks ago and set a PR. This did not stop him from knocking another five minutes off his time on Saturday!

For the second year in a row, Bob Land impressed at the Half Marathon. This year he ran a 1:50:43, and showed that he is poised for even better racing during the winter. Ron Fleming was a little over two minutes behind Bob, when he finished in 1:53:06. This was Ron's half marathon debut, and he did outstanding! Also making their debut was Kelly Allen and Robin Johnson. This duo has been inseparable on training runs. It was only fitting to see them continue to motivate each other in the race. Both looked strong from start to finish, and smiled the entire way. Great job ladies (the Flying Pig is calling you).

Another inseparatable team was the duo of Misty Schmitt and Elaine Weisner. The two ran together the entire race and crossed the line in 2:30:54. For the second time this year, they tied for 3rd place in their age group! That is hard to do once. . . how do you pull that off twice? Also from the Wesiner family, was Brad Weisner, finishing in 1:58:23, three minutes better than 2007. Speaking of three minute improvements, Levi Moore seems to be fully recovered from his OBX marathon as he posted a 1:54:27 on Saturday (three minutes over last year).

Mary Whitwell continues to rack up age group awards in virtually everything she enters. This year her time 2:02:29 placed her second in her age group, and in the top 25 of all women. Mike Votava came in just a minute sooner with a time 2:01:01. I am not positive, but I feel pretty certain this is a PR for Mike. Amber Poole improved by 10 minutes over last year, and by one minute over her PR. Russ Hinesly also continues to impress, posting a time of 2:15:53, good enough for 6th in his age group.

For complete results, you can view them online. I can't put into words how impressed I am with everyone's performances this weekend. You have my true admiration. A half marathon is not an easy task, and you should all feel proud of your accomplishments! I will try to have some 5k updates very soon.

A few other non-RMEC times worthy of note is Richard Stotlar of Oriental, NC with a time of 1:30:37 (10th place), and Jackeitha Baker of Knightdale, NC with a time of 1:58:54. So, why did I single out these times? Richard is 67, and Jackeitha is 12. . . WOW!