We're getting ready for the third race of the Shannon Trail Series on February 17th! I didn't write race report blogs but I wanted to do a little of that mixed with a preview of what to watch/run for in the next race.
Mike is bringing Dennis and I in to teach us how to race direct in hopes that one (or both) of us will take over some races in the future. And, I think, so he can rest a bit. After doing just a portion of the work, I can totally see why.
Since I was running around before and after the races trying to learn and make sure things were going well, I didn't get any pictures. I've got some pics that others took that I'll throw in here.
Race one took place at Middle Concho Park. It was freezing that morning, with temperatures in the mid 20s at the start. I was almost ready for that. I forgot to wear warm socks so my toes were frozen but everything else was good. The race had a bigger turnout than I expected with the cold, 146 runners between the 5K and 10K distances. Since it was Middle Concho Park, it was a fairly tough course. There was a steep climb and lots of little rocks just waiting to trip you up (the scab on my knee and Ally's X-Ray are proof of that).
Personally, I had one of my worst races in years. I couldn't get into a rhythm and too often found myself walking to catch my breath. I really fell into a funk for a few months and Trail Series Race #1 was the best example of it. On the 5K side, the Rodriguez siblings, Adrian and Alex, were the male and female winners. For us 10K runners, it was the return of Alex Wright on the male side and Sam King for the women.
After the awards were handed out and we FINALLY got Cliff's fire out, we headed to IHOP for our celebratory brunch.
The second race of the series took place at the south end of San Angelo State Park. The Tuesdays following up to the race were for course marking, so we got a good preview of the course, even if it was at night. The biggest difference between the races was the course. Race #2 still has the cacti and little rocks that can trip you up (the scabs on my elbows are proof), but much of the course is flat and either clay or dirt. That played a big part in how I ran. From a 9:18 pace during the first race, I improved to 8:33. I was able to run more consistently and it was pretty encouraging going into Cowtown at the end of this month. This time brunch was at Cork and Pig to celebrate Kent and Nicole's co-birthday with way too many beignets and brownies.
But a review isn't the point of this post. If you're one of the runners, you're wanting to see the results, and what you've got to do in the last race, right?
We'll start with how the scoring works. It's fairly simple, actually. All people that signed up for the series are eligible to place. Points are given based on overall finishing place. If you were the 5th person crossing the line, regardless of age group, you get 5 points. Every finisher is counted for points, no matter if they're signed up for the series or just one race. Additionally, if someone is signed up for the series and does not show up or finish a race, they are counted as coming in last place. For example, if we had 99 finishers in a race and someone doesn't show, they receive 100 points for that race. As you can see, the lower the points total the better.
For the 5K overall, Adrian Rodriguez won the first race and David Hoien won the second. However, David is not part of the series. Adrian is leading the overall series with three points. It's still tight as Jose Madera (9 points) and Matt Garcia (11 points) are close behind. They'll also have to be looking over their shoulders as Jamison Jurado isn't far back with 15 points. The under 15 male division is one of the tightest as Luke, Ben, and Jackson White had 32, 44, and 51 points respectively. If one of the top 3 (Rodriguez, Madera, Garcia) skip the race OR Jamison is able to make up the ground on one of them, the Whites will be the top 3 in the under 15 age group.
The 15-29 division has two races as Adrian simply needs to finish to come away with either an overall place or the age group win. The race for first is separated by only one point with Augustine Mendoza's 60 points holding off Zachary Daniel's 61. The race for 3rd has 3 guys within 6 points as Ketan Kumar has 142 and Jacob Hogeda and Desmond Salamanca have 148. If Hogeda or Salamanca beat Kumar by 7 or more places, they'll be able to lock up that 3rd place.
Even though he's currently in 2nd place overall, Jose Madera still has to finish in the top half of the race to ensure a medal. Jann Jann Jurado's 23 points, Cody Guins 29 points, and Eric Molina's 54 points all put them in theoretical striking range of Madera. The race for first will be interesting as Guins has to make up 6 places on Jurado.
In the 40-49 division, Matt Garcia and Bob Biggers have their medals locked up. William Mayfield has a 7 point lead over Jason Well for 2nd place in the division and Lance Overstreet is only 8 points behind Well on the outside looking in.
The 50-59 male division is the most intriguing of the race as first through fifth are only separated by 9 points. Jehu Hernandez is one point ahead (41-42) of Sammy Chappa for first. Scott Burrow is in 3rd place with 47 points but has Wendell Baucom and Dennis Hayes just behind him at 50 and 51 points. THAT will be a fun one to watch play out.
Wendell Wheaton has the 60+ division sewn up with an 84 point lead on second place Jerry Roach. Roach had better be careful as third place Michael Salem, who is only 2 points behind. Just 9 points behind him is Dean McInturff, who could find himself medalling with a good race.
The top 3 women have a degree of separation from the pack and each other. Alex Rodriguez (#19 overall 5k runner, #3 female, #2 20-29 female) leads the way with 7 points. She trails only her brother on points. Deloras Shubert (#2 50-59 female) is second with 15 and Stephanie Starnes is 3rd with 21.
Lyla Bancroft is your winner of the under 15 age group as she's the only one that signed up. Woohoo Lyla! The Rodriguez family looks to bring home all golds as Adrian and Alex' sister Vanessa leads the 15-29 pack with 52 points. Second and third are close as Jennifer Agee has 64 points and Shannon Buyaki has 67. Kailee Malleck has 83 and Stephanie Eckert has 86. They could also potentially find themselves on the podium.
The women's 30-39 division might be all figured out too. As long as the women don't have terrible races, that is. Vanessa Rodriguez leads with 33 points, Jessica Packard is in 2nd with 43, and Kristi Cook has 69 points.
In contrast, the 40-49 division medals are still very much up for grabs, particularly 3rd place. Tiffanie Cutrer has the lead with 70 points and Sophia Flores trails her with 80. There is a 3 way tie for 3rd with Sharon Simmons, Brenda Tyler, and Carmen Vasquez all having 98 points. Whoever wins between those three women gets the medal.
The women's 50-59 division is another that appears already done and dusted. Rosa Lara leads the way with 96 points, Lorie Heath follows her with 127 points, and Angie Martin has 142. The 60+ division only has 2 runners but they're close, Pam Holubec leads with 188 points and Virginia Adams (#3 female 70+) is just behind her with 190.
Mike is bringing Dennis and I in to teach us how to race direct in hopes that one (or both) of us will take over some races in the future. And, I think, so he can rest a bit. After doing just a portion of the work, I can totally see why.
Since I was running around before and after the races trying to learn and make sure things were going well, I didn't get any pictures. I've got some pics that others took that I'll throw in here.
Race one took place at Middle Concho Park. It was freezing that morning, with temperatures in the mid 20s at the start. I was almost ready for that. I forgot to wear warm socks so my toes were frozen but everything else was good. The race had a bigger turnout than I expected with the cold, 146 runners between the 5K and 10K distances. Since it was Middle Concho Park, it was a fairly tough course. There was a steep climb and lots of little rocks just waiting to trip you up (the scab on my knee and Ally's X-Ray are proof of that).
Personally, I had one of my worst races in years. I couldn't get into a rhythm and too often found myself walking to catch my breath. I really fell into a funk for a few months and Trail Series Race #1 was the best example of it. On the 5K side, the Rodriguez siblings, Adrian and Alex, were the male and female winners. For us 10K runners, it was the return of Alex Wright on the male side and Sam King for the women.
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| 5K top 3 male and female (photo credit: Mike Buck) |
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| 10K top 3 male and female (photo credit: Mike Buck) |
The second race of the series took place at the south end of San Angelo State Park. The Tuesdays following up to the race were for course marking, so we got a good preview of the course, even if it was at night. The biggest difference between the races was the course. Race #2 still has the cacti and little rocks that can trip you up (the scabs on my elbows are proof), but much of the course is flat and either clay or dirt. That played a big part in how I ran. From a 9:18 pace during the first race, I improved to 8:33. I was able to run more consistently and it was pretty encouraging going into Cowtown at the end of this month. This time brunch was at Cork and Pig to celebrate Kent and Nicole's co-birthday with way too many beignets and brownies.
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| There was even a bench on Race #2 |
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| Some of the 12K winners |
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| Top 3 5K males and females |
We'll start with how the scoring works. It's fairly simple, actually. All people that signed up for the series are eligible to place. Points are given based on overall finishing place. If you were the 5th person crossing the line, regardless of age group, you get 5 points. Every finisher is counted for points, no matter if they're signed up for the series or just one race. Additionally, if someone is signed up for the series and does not show up or finish a race, they are counted as coming in last place. For example, if we had 99 finishers in a race and someone doesn't show, they receive 100 points for that race. As you can see, the lower the points total the better.
For the 5K overall, Adrian Rodriguez won the first race and David Hoien won the second. However, David is not part of the series. Adrian is leading the overall series with three points. It's still tight as Jose Madera (9 points) and Matt Garcia (11 points) are close behind. They'll also have to be looking over their shoulders as Jamison Jurado isn't far back with 15 points. The under 15 male division is one of the tightest as Luke, Ben, and Jackson White had 32, 44, and 51 points respectively. If one of the top 3 (Rodriguez, Madera, Garcia) skip the race OR Jamison is able to make up the ground on one of them, the Whites will be the top 3 in the under 15 age group.
The 15-29 division has two races as Adrian simply needs to finish to come away with either an overall place or the age group win. The race for first is separated by only one point with Augustine Mendoza's 60 points holding off Zachary Daniel's 61. The race for 3rd has 3 guys within 6 points as Ketan Kumar has 142 and Jacob Hogeda and Desmond Salamanca have 148. If Hogeda or Salamanca beat Kumar by 7 or more places, they'll be able to lock up that 3rd place.
Even though he's currently in 2nd place overall, Jose Madera still has to finish in the top half of the race to ensure a medal. Jann Jann Jurado's 23 points, Cody Guins 29 points, and Eric Molina's 54 points all put them in theoretical striking range of Madera. The race for first will be interesting as Guins has to make up 6 places on Jurado.
In the 40-49 division, Matt Garcia and Bob Biggers have their medals locked up. William Mayfield has a 7 point lead over Jason Well for 2nd place in the division and Lance Overstreet is only 8 points behind Well on the outside looking in.
The 50-59 male division is the most intriguing of the race as first through fifth are only separated by 9 points. Jehu Hernandez is one point ahead (41-42) of Sammy Chappa for first. Scott Burrow is in 3rd place with 47 points but has Wendell Baucom and Dennis Hayes just behind him at 50 and 51 points. THAT will be a fun one to watch play out.
Wendell Wheaton has the 60+ division sewn up with an 84 point lead on second place Jerry Roach. Roach had better be careful as third place Michael Salem, who is only 2 points behind. Just 9 points behind him is Dean McInturff, who could find himself medalling with a good race.
The top 3 women have a degree of separation from the pack and each other. Alex Rodriguez (#19 overall 5k runner, #3 female, #2 20-29 female) leads the way with 7 points. She trails only her brother on points. Deloras Shubert (#2 50-59 female) is second with 15 and Stephanie Starnes is 3rd with 21.
Lyla Bancroft is your winner of the under 15 age group as she's the only one that signed up. Woohoo Lyla! The Rodriguez family looks to bring home all golds as Adrian and Alex' sister Vanessa leads the 15-29 pack with 52 points. Second and third are close as Jennifer Agee has 64 points and Shannon Buyaki has 67. Kailee Malleck has 83 and Stephanie Eckert has 86. They could also potentially find themselves on the podium.
The women's 30-39 division might be all figured out too. As long as the women don't have terrible races, that is. Vanessa Rodriguez leads with 33 points, Jessica Packard is in 2nd with 43, and Kristi Cook has 69 points.
In contrast, the 40-49 division medals are still very much up for grabs, particularly 3rd place. Tiffanie Cutrer has the lead with 70 points and Sophia Flores trails her with 80. There is a 3 way tie for 3rd with Sharon Simmons, Brenda Tyler, and Carmen Vasquez all having 98 points. Whoever wins between those three women gets the medal.
The women's 50-59 division is another that appears already done and dusted. Rosa Lara leads the way with 96 points, Lorie Heath follows her with 127 points, and Angie Martin has 142. The 60+ division only has 2 runners but they're close, Pam Holubec leads with 188 points and Virginia Adams (#3 female 70+) is just behind her with 190.
Long Course
The Long Course Series has had fewer runners (60 compared to 96 in the 5k series) but there has been plenty of competition. The overall winners, Alex Wright, and Matt Lindsey, are not part of the series but both had very impressive runs. That has left the door open for Ryan Ruh, who leads the way with 4 points. If Ryan is up for the "Mr. Consistency" award, then Mars Torres is up there too with 6 points. It'll be interesting to see how things play out between the two of them. Taylor Harrison is third with 11 points but he'll have to look over his shoulder at Brian Trainer who has 15 (more on that later).
On the women's side, Sam King is dominating with only 10 points. Reagan Brown leads the chase pack with 31 and Elise Mitchell is in third with 47. Lucia Hernandez has an outside chance at the podium with 54 points.
Just like the 5k series, there is only one lady in the 15 and under age group, Ariel Schmidt. Taking Brown and Hernandez out of the picture, all 3 women in the 15-29 division will come home with a medal. Rocio Cruz leads, and Abigail Wilkinson and Aubrie Frazier rounds out the medals with a pretty sizable cushion between all three of them.
Assuming that King will win the series, Apolynne McCarthy leads the 30-39 division with 65 points. She's got a good lead over second place Melissa Rocha who has 90 points. Right behind her is Valerie Schmidt with 97 points. Schmidt will have to stay strong as Keerthana Karumbaiah is only 7 points behind her.
Lucia Hernandez holds a good lead in the 40-49 division with 54 points. However, there's a bit of chaos behind her. Susanna McDole has 73 points and then Ramona Lucas, Catherine Cuenca-Torres, and Jane Jackson have 80, 81, and 83 points.
The 50-59 division has three women in it, Lisa Warechowski has 75 points, Susan Terry has 87, and Kathy Walker has 113. But, the REAL race is the 60+ division. Blanca de la Rosa and Dorothy Langdon are tied with 110 points. Just remember to keep it clean out there ladies.
Starting with the men, Carlos Cruz has a sizable lead as he has 31 points and second place Alex Wright (the race #1 winner) has 55. Third, fourth, and fifth place are fairly close with Blake McCarthy having 62 points, Casey Madigan having 69 points, and James Slauson being close behind with 71. It will be interesting to see a Matt Lindsey/Alex Wright show down if Wright shows up.
Then we get to the 30-39 division, the largest in the series. In fact, nearly 1/4 of all long couse series runners are in the male 30-39 division. Brian Trainer leads the way with 15 points. Dennis Hall (yes THAT Dr. Hall that was my running buddy of the year last year) is in second with 26 points and Cary Johansen is right behind him with 29. I am a little ways back with 38 points. Basically for me to medal, I need someone to not show up. Either Ryan Ruh, Mars Torres, Taylor Harrison, Brian Trainer, Dennis, or Cary need to not show up for me to move into 3rd. Even if I won the race, I'd need one of them to do poorly compared to how they've been doing. Needless to say, I'm not planning on medalling haha.
The top 3 men in the 40-49 have separated each other from the pack, but not each other. Andy Vecllio has 57 points, Blake Snider has 59 points and Luke Vosburg has 61 points. Snider and Vosburg didn't run in race #2 so Tim Smith (84 points) has a chance to maybe move up if they again don't show up. James Slauson and Brian Kulik are only separated by a point (31-32) in the 50-59 division. There might be an interesting run for 3rd as Lynn Zaruba (76 points) pulled up during the last race with an aggravated muscle. That means last year's SARL president George Orr (88) points will have to make sure he does 13 better than last if Zaruba can't go.
All that course marking has helped get Kent Fish has only 19 points and the 60+ lead. Terry Shaner follows with 39 points. Mike Sparks rounds out the top 3 with 81 points.
The final race is February 17th. You can still register at https://secure.getmeregistered.com/get_information.php?event_id=128392 If you'd like to volunteer and watch how the races shake out, let me know. We could always use an extra volunteer or two! See you guys on the trails.
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