Race Results Part 2

What a week for the White Lake Tri group! Saturday's weather was perfect for a race, and the results show it. Below are the results from the Rocky Mount crew:

• 5:40:32 - Jeff Miller
• 5:41:02 - Jason Irvin
• 5:53:19 - Cliff Amos
• 6:04:37 - Dave Lavely
• 6:10:52 - Mary Whitwell
• 6:36:21 - Kinnie Pruden

This was Jeff's first ever triathlon, and he finished 2nd Place Overall Novice! Great Job Jeff! After the 1.2 mile swim, and 56 mile bike, Jeff showed the field where his strength was, running a 1:41:47 half marathon to finish. WOW!

Next in line was Jason. Many of you met Jason at the Chase of Champions last week. Jason was only 30 seconds behind Jeff in overall time and finished just one place behind him. Jason's best leg was on the bike where he averaged 20 mph over the 56 mile ride.

Behind Jason was Cliff in a time of 5:53:19. Cliff had an outstanding race, knocking roughly 30 minutes off his time from 2006, and breaking the six hour mark for the first time.

This was not Dave's first tri, but his first of this distance. Dave took 2nd Place Overall Master's Novice! Despite very limited running due to some knee injuries late in his training, Dave came strong out of the water in under 40 minutes, and finished strong in the running right at two hours for the half marathon.

Not be be outdone by the men, Mary also took home some hardware. Mary finished 1st in her age group. She started out strong in the water and never looked back. Her swim time was an amazing 36:27. . . that is for 1.2 miles y'all! Overall, only 109 women finished in front of Mary.

Kinnie completed her first triathlon in 20 years, and her first ever Half Iron Man as well. Some hydration issues landed her in a medical tent post race, but nothing was going to stop her from finishing. She also started strong in the water. Who knew this cyclist (that converted to a runner), could be such a strong swimmer too!

What all of you did is truly outstanding. Regardless of time or place, just having the guts and the drive to complete such a grueling event deserves recognition. Much like a marathon, I have always said the most challenging part of an endurance event is the commitment it takes to prepare. What each of you sacrificed to get ready for the event is commendable. Congratulations to you all on a job well done!

• Fastest Swim: Mary Whitwell @ 36:27
• Fastest Bike: Jason Irvin @ 2:49:26
• Fastest Run: Jeff Miller @ 1:41:47

I cannot help but think that we are going to have some strong teams performing in the Duke Half Ironman team event this September. If anyone is interested in being on a team, let me know. We have seven entered so far, and would love to add more!

Complete White Lake Results

Photo Album

Updated RMEC Race Results

Race Results Part 1

I have lots of updates this week, so be sure to check the blog often, as there will probably be new information each day this week. As mentioned before, this was a busy week for the Rocky Mount Endurance Club. There were 5ks, half marathons, and even triathlons on the agenda for our team. I will save the triathlon update for a separate post, and stick to just the foot races in this one.

Indianapolis Mini Marathon: Russ ran back closer to home on Saturday, and completed an old favorite of his. This was Russ' first "long race" back after surgery. Looks like the legs are doing just fine, as he finished in 2:24:52. Not a PR for Russ, but considering his condensed training schedule, this is clearly a race to be proud of, and shows that many more races are in his future.

Wilson 5k: First of all, what a fun race! Mascots, child care, hot food, cold drinks, kids races, and more! For a small town race, this was a great event. the RMEC was well represented at this race. Several PRs were set, and four runners even left with some hardware. Below are the results for names you will know, to include RMEC members, friends, and others at the Rocky Mount YMCA.

• 20:38 - Michael Forrester
• 21:57 - Brent Brondyke
• 22:05 - Larry McKeel
• 23:21 - Angela Barnhill
• 25:07 - Michael Barnhill
• 26:22 - Andy Barker
• 26:41 - Ursula Forrester
• 27:16 - Arthur Bennett
• 32:15 - Amber Poole
• 32:20 - Jon Shingleton
• 37:13 - Carol Dickens

Some of us took home some age group hardware (aka, plastic trophies). Larry, Carol, and Angela took 2nd in their respective categories, and Ursula took 3rd. Great jobs guys! Whenever a name from the RMEC was announced, the cheers got louder. You could tell our little group had an impact on this event. Put this one on your calendar for next year, and bring the kids.

To my knowledge, Ursula, Arthur, and Jon all set 5k PRs. If I missed someone else, let me know.

Big Foot Running: There is a link to the right for BigfootRunning.com. This site is an excellent race calendar for all events in North Carolina. They also have race reviews completed by runners. This is a new site, so they are short on review right now. I strongly encourage you guys to review the Wilson 5k (or any other race you have done), to help get this database started. It will only take you a few minutes to register. This site is giving me a lot, because I am able to tell all of you about race opportunities, so take a few minutes and give something back to BigfootRunning. This is a great online resource that we don't want to see go away.

Update: RMEC Shirts

Okay, I need to know who is interested in ordering a shirt or shirts with the RMEC logo on them. I have been working with BaySixUSA on this. They are a sponsor of the City of Oaks Marathon. I feel like we are getting a good deal on the shirts. You can check out their website to see we are buying well below their retail price. Here is the run down of the details and costs of the shirts. I need to know ASAP if you are interested, so I can order the correct quantity and sizes.

Logo: Same as the RMEC logo on this page.

Color: Shirts will be white. Women will have a pink/black and the men's shirts will be blue/black logo.

Shirt: There are two options for shirts. Both are technical shirts, and both have sleeves. They do have a women's cut available as well.

• Micromesh - The first is the standard 100% Poly "dry release" style shirt. This is what most race shirts are like and will be the cooler option.
• Dry-release - The second option is a 85/15 Poly/Cotton blend shirt. This shirt is still a technical "wicking" shirt, but is a better quality shirt

Cost: The cost will vary based on how many shirt we get. I am going to assume 35 shirts for my numbers below. I plan to order extras, because I hope we will continue to discover new Rocky Mount runners in the future.

• Micromesh - $12.50
• Dry-release - $14.50

I have been asked by several of you about getting t-shirts made as well. I thought the logo would look good on a black t-shirt. See below for a mock-up. Black is a bad color choice for racing because of the heat, but would work well on a cotton t-shirt. I do not have pricing on these yet. I am checking with Carol to see if this is something we can do here in Rocky Mount.

The more shirts I order, the cheaper the cost, because we can spread out the one time fixed cost of creating the screen. Please reply if you are interested in a shirt ASAP. In your reply, please include the following. If you want a technical shirt, but not a t-shirt or the reverse put that in your comments too. Likewise, let me know if you want extra shirts:

Name: Michael Forrester
Technical Size: Men's L (2 shirts)
Technical Shirt Style: Dry-release
T-Shirt Size: XL

James River Scramble

Looking for a 10k that is anything but ordinary? Then check out the XTERRA James River Scramble 10k. Run over a unique course bringing together some of Richmond's greatest riverfront attributes, including Brown's Island, the Canal Walk, James River Park, Belle Isle and the Flood wall.

You literally hop over rocks, splash through the river, and take in all kinds of terrain. Leave your new shoes at home for this event. This SportsBackers race has grown in popularity every year. It is just a short drive down I95 to race. The event is not a race for walkers!

Big Race Weekend!

A big race weekend is ahead for the Rocky Mount Endurance Club! There are lots of people racing this weekend. Here is a run down of what is going on this weekend.

White Lake Tri:
I will begin with the White Lake Triathlon. Several people are doing this race, and many of those are doing their first every tri. Here are the names I know that are signed up for Saturday's Half Ironman. Jeff, Dave, Clif, Mary, Kinnie, and Jason. On Sunday, Patti will be competing in the Sprint distance of the Tri. I admit, I am impressed with all of you. Over the past several months, you have made your training preparations look ordinary, when in actuality, you are all about to do something that is nothing short of amazing! Good luck to all of you!

OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon:
Russ is continuing his comeback by running one of his favorite races. He will be running a half marathon back in Indianapolis. This race is part of the 500 Festival going on this weekend. The race is this Saturday, and will enable Russ to put his old knee pains in the past. Good luck Russ!

Wilson 5k:
Many of us have picked something shorter and closer to do this weekend. The Wilson 5k is also on Saturday. To my knowledge, Larry, Arthur, Amber, Ursula, and myself (and kids) are running this race. I think John T. will also be running the 5k as part of the Corporate Challenge series. I expect others will be running that I have not heard from yet. Good luck to all Wilson 5k runners too!

In total, we will have at least 13 from our group participating over the weekend. Be sure to check back next week to see how they all did. With so many people racing this weekend, and a local 5k, we will not have a group run on Saturday.

City of Oaks Price Increase

If you are interested in the City of Oaks Marathon or Half Marathon, today is the last day before the first price increase. The deadline has caused a spike in entrants, as there are now 382* total. This is up 30% over the past few days.

• Half Marathon - 209
• Marathon - 173

If you are on-the-fence about entering, you can enter the half marathon for only $30.00 today. You can then upgrade to the full marathon at any time for only $20.00 more. For example, if you enter the half today, you can upgrade to the full on 11/03 for only 20 bucks. If you were to sign up on 11/03 for the full marathon, the entry fee is $80.00.

*05/03 Update: There are now 473 entered. (263 Half, 210 Full)

NC Masters Swim Results

This past weekend was the North Carolina Short Course Yards Championships for masters swimming. Three people from the Rocky Mount YMCA participated in the event, and did very well. Doug Slater swam in men's 45-49 division, Brooks Whitehurst in women's 25-29 division and Mike Schuttinga in the men's 40-44 division.

Doug, took two 2nds, two 3rds, and a 4th place finish:

• 4th 50 Yard Freestyle 24.86
• 3rd 100 Yard Freestyle 53.55
• 2nd 200 Yard Freestyle 2:02:.12
• 3rd 500 Yard Freestyle 5:45:85
• 2nd 100 Yard Backstroke 1:01:93

Brooks, also took two 2nd finishes and a 6th as well:

• 2nd 50 Yard Freestyle 36.07
• 6th 100 Yard Freestyle 1:22.58
• 2nd 100 Yard Freestyle 3:06.67

Mike, had a 2nd place finish and two 3rds:

• 2nd 1000 Yard Freestyle 12:44:50
• 3rd 50 Yard Butterfly 27.08
• 3rd 100 Yard Butterfly 1:00.37

This is truly a remarkable performance by all three swimmers. This event hosted some of the top competitors in the state. Only three people from the Rocky Mount YMCA swam in the event, yet the still managed to finish in the top six eleven times! Great Job everyone! For complete results click here.

Mike Schuttinga has done an excellent job building the Masters Swim program at the YMCA. If you have any interest in swimming, or are looking to supplement some of you running with cross training, please take some time to speak to him the next time you are in the Y.