PRT women just can’t be stopped

The Prado women's cross country team did what they do best Saturday 10/25 at the 2012 Cougar Challenge— win races. For the fourth time this season!! On a crisp morning, the defending Dirt Dog Champions asserted themselves once again as a powerhouse to be reckoned with, winning the Cal State San Marcos Cougar Challenge.

The individual winner was Paula Whiting, who ran 17:01 and came within six seconds of former Cougar Dallon Williams' course record of 16:55. Our very own Jenna Munguia finished second in 17:11, followed by Marie at 17:44, Kristin Schleicher at 18:10, Hilary Corno at 18:15 and Caela Timinsky at 18:20 to round out our top five. Samantha Espindola, 18:35, and Gina Merchant, 19:02, completed our top seven finishers.

Please see photos from San Diego Runners.

The Prado women will compete on November 10, 2012 for the Dirt Dog Championship at Tecolote Shores – East Mission Bay Park. The course is located just south of the Hilton Hotel in East Mission Bay Park. This is the same basic course that is used for the USATF National Championships. See you out there!

In other news, three weeks ago we had some outstanding performances from three wonderful individuals on the women's Prado Racing Team. Marie Schaper participated in the San Jose ½ marathon to place a respectable 6th place overall. She ran an outstanding time of 1:21 for almost a minute PR.

Second, Hilary Corno "jumped in" a marathon to qualify for Boston in time and ran 2:55. The Wednesday before the race, she made the decision to run the Long Beach Marathon and chase a 2013 Boston qualifier as registration remained open. She went out and won it, on a whim!! See the article below:
Corno wins Long Beach Marathon women's race.

Third, Kristin Schleicher ran a 1:24:26 half-marathon PR at Primo's Run For Education in Danville, CA. She placed 3rd which also helped her grab some cash!!!

Balboa 4-Miler / Bonita 8K Stampede Update

The PRT Open Men's squad turned in a very solid performance at the Balboa 4-miler on September 1, taking third place in a tight battle with SDTC and Adidas Movin Shoes. We were led by new member Armando Lara, who put himself right in the mix with the lead group and finished fifth overall, breaking twenty-two minutes on a sadistic course on a hot day. Rounding out our scoring runners were Dan Seidel (22:13), Derek Bradley (22:34), Alex Phipps (22:43), and Andy Corman (22:51), all finishing in the top twenty. Luis de la Vega (23:18) and Chuck McKeown (23:29) were close behind.

The Bonita 8k, held in Sweetwater Park on September 22 and featuring several hay bale jumps, was a tougher day for the Open Men. We had a small turnout and the other squads were too strong, so PRT had to settle for fourth. Dan S. took seventh (26:30), followed by Alex (27:15), Derek (27:23), Brian Culley (28:23), and James Fieberg (29:49).

Roughly halfway through the Dirt Dog Series, PRT now sits in third place, a few points behind Adidas. We're still looking for a team victory at one of the three remaining races before the championship on November 10, so mark your calendars for the next race--the Balboa Boogie 5k, on October 13. Register here for that race.

Recap of Balboa 4-Miler

The defending Dirt Dog Champions have dominated with their second win of the season at the Balboa 4-Miler. While the team was still missing a few women, the woman managed to have a presence in the field. PRT women have established a reputation as a consistently dominant team and will continue to try and hold on to No. 1 this season. Click here for results : Balboa 4-Miler 2012.

Our first athlete Jenna Munguia came in second at 24:21 behind, Adidas/ Moving Shoes athlete Claire Rethmeier, at 24:03. Our next two athletes came in before Adidas/ Moving Shoes second athlete crossed the line. Hilary Corno, at 25:14 and Marie Schaper at 25:34. Caela Timinsky, 26:12 and Kristin Schleicher 26:35 rounded out our top five, as 7 and 8.

One of the trademarks of the PRT Women is the impressive depth of the group. The Prado Women were able to send out so many talented runners that if one or two had an injury or an off day, someone else would be able to fill right in without missing a beat. Look for the Prado Racing Women at the Bonita 8K on the 22nd!

Pictures to follow soon!

Champions are made in the Summer

The summer is now ending and fall is sneaking its way in, as Cross Country season has officially started for the Women's Prado Racing Team. The women have made their stance in the first race at the Wild Duck in Oceanside on August 25, 2012, at Guajome Park. The women dominated in the race, taking first place, without all of our women present. Marie Schaper came in at 18:00, followed by teammate Hilary Corno ( winner of the La Jolla Half Marathon 2012) at 18:14, as well as new teammate Mercy Ray at 19:07 in third. Kelcie Wiemann, 19:22, and Jordana Henderson, 19:35, rounded out the top five, with Becki McClintock close behind at 19:39.

Summer training has paid off as the PRT women let their presence be known. The hard work on the track and on the road during the blistering heat this summer was shown as these women have already had success in the first race.

Here are the results.

It was an awesome start to the season and the goal is to have continued success in the Dirt Dog series. Many of the women have begun to set goals for the season. Kristin Schleicher plans to continue running in the Dirt Dog series, but will also be training for the Cal International Marathon (CIM). Samantha Espindola is a new teammate who joined us last spring from USD. She also plans to prepare for a marathon, with a goal time of 2:50-3:00.

Other teammates are focused on getting through the Dirt Dog series and plan to have just as much as success as they did last year. The PRT women will be gearing up for the next race, the Balboa 4-miler, on September 1, 2012.

Strong Debut for PRT Open Men and Masters at Wild Duck 5k

The PRT Open Men's team took second at the Wild Duck 5k this past weekend, losing by only three spots to the GivingTree3/BSK squad. Dan Farmer and Alex Phipps took out the race in honest fashion, leading through approximately two miles and holding on for fourth and fifth place, respectively, both comfortably under sixteen minutes. Not far behind were your humble correspondent, Derek Bradley, and Andrew Corman (7-8-9, all around sixteen minutes). We also had strong races from Chuck McKeon (16:34), Steve Moxey (16:52), and Alec Fillmore (17:06). My general sense is that a few people ran quite a bit faster this year than last, which bodes well for the upcoming Dirt Dog series.

Brian Culley and Steve Johnson led the 40+ men's squad in the Masters race, coming in fourth and sixth (17:09; 17:20). The PRT Masters were second in the team competition behind the Jamul Toads.

Full results are at runprt.com.

This weekend is the Balboa 4-miler; register online here.

Mario heads to London!

Check out the Union-Trib's nice article on PRT's Mario Fraioli and his upcoming trip to the London Games as coach of Costa Rican marathoner Cesar Lizano.

PRT Men's Team Update

Okay, here we go. The inaugural entry in the PRT monthly (sort of) wrap-up for the men.

Let’s begin with the team-focus Encinitas 5k on May 19. Our guys placed 3-5-6-7-8-9-12 (Bradley-Seidel-Christman-Phipps-Fraioli-De La Vega-Daly). Such a display of team dominance has not been seen in any sport since 1992, when the USA Dream Team humiliated Angola at the Barcelona Olympics in basketball. Keep in mind, though, that we were the only team that showed up with any numbers. Still, an impressive turnout and performance. Special recognition goes to Derek, who broke fifteen minutes for the first time and gives the rest of us over-30-year-olds hope that all is not lost.

Precisely one month to the day after Encinitas, Alec set off from Santa Monica Pier with a friend, hoping to reach San Francisco in two weeks, running the entire way (the high-speed-rail link between LA and San Francisco had not yet been approved when his journey began, or I would have recommended he wait for its completion). Although injuries and fatigue prevented them from completing the trip, Alec made it well past Santa Barbara, and in the process raised a nice amount of money for the Hall Steps foundation, a charity created by Ryan and Sara Hall.

On July 4, a date that will go down in history as the night that San Diego couldn’t contain itself and exploded all its fireworks prematurely, we had a good crew at the team-focus Scripps Ranch 10k, placing 5-6-9-11-20-32 (Farmer-Phipps-De La Vega-Corman-Fraioli-McKeon).

Now the focus turns toward cross country; it’s time to put in the miles, and get all dirty-dog when the time comes. I don’t actually know what that means, but I look forward to recapping the first month of xc action.