The PRT men’s team, back in black, showed up in impressive numbers at the Mizuno-sponsored Coronado Valentines Day 10k, the first team-focus event of the year. Thirteen men, both open and masters, finished the race, and the theme of the day may have been team pack running. The top four PRT men took 7th through 10th place (Derek Bradley, Daniel Seidel, Alex Phipps, Daniel Farmer), all of them running sub-33 minutes by working together through the tough middle miles. If current trends continue, we might see a sub-32 minute 10k on this course next year from one or more guys.
Not far behind were Andrew Corman (33:17) and Luis de la Vega (33:30), and another PRT pack took 20th through 23rd (Mario Fraioli, Brian Culley, Michael Daly, and Alec Fillmore). Also running were Robert Verhees (35:08), Matt Sheremata (36:38), and Gerard Reski (38:40). Full results are available here.
The Carlsbad 5000, held on April 7, was host to some further strong performances from the PRT men, across various age groups and competing on various teams—open, masters, and mixed. The men’s A Team (Daniel Seidel, Daniel Farmer, Alex Phipps, Derek Bradley) claimed second place, losing to CalCoast (by a measly seven seconds!). The men’s B Team (Chuck McKeown, Dan Mansfield, and James Fieberg) took third, with a collective time of 51:46.
In the masters men’s division, the team of Brian Culley, Robert Verhees, Matt Sheremata, Gerard Reski, and Chris Hupfield took third place, while the mixed A (Michael Daly, Luis de la Vega) and mixed B (Alec Fillmore, Stephen Moxey) took second and third place, respectively. Full team results are available here.
The next team-focus event, the inaugural Fast Times 5k on April 21, was a clear victory for the PRT men. Led by Fernando Blanco with a 15:21, the men took the team title, with an average top-three time of 15:39 (Dan Seidel and Andy Corman running 15:46 and 15:51, respectively). Captain Brian Culley ran 16:25, and Dan Mansfield had a strong race, running 16:35.
At the Encinitas Sports Festival Bloom Natural Health 5k, Derek Bradley led wire to wire along the picturesque course, and won in a convincing 15:26. Dan Seidel was second in 15:37, followed by Dan Mansfield (16:35), Chuck McKeown (16:41), and Steve Moxey (16:54), all of whom placed in the top ten.
In recent days, we saw outstanding performances from Mike Daly, who ran 2:47 at the Rock N Roll San Diego Marathon, and from Fernando Blanco, who ran a blistering 1:10:40 in the half marathon, a two-minute PR and a breakthrough performance.
Happy training, everyone, and see you at the Scripps 10k on July 4!
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PRT New Balance Team Photo
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
PRT Women Winter and Spring Wrap-up
The women of Prado Racing Team have been busy since taking the Dirt Dog title at the end of fall in November. The women have been racing almost every weekend and competing in every distance from the 1500 meters to the marathon.
Winter Road Racing
Several of the women kicked off the winter season by competing in the Carlsbad Half Marathon at the end of January. Hilary Corno had the most impressive performance of the day, placing eighth among a stacked women's field and running her fastest-ever half marathon in 1:20:36. Julie Sawyer and Gina Merchant snagged top-15 finishes as well, in their big return to racing after both recovering from running-related injuries, finishing in 1:24:41 and 1:25:57, respectively. Kathy Falkenhagen rounded out the finishers from PRT, running a personal record (PR) of 1:34:41.
A few weeks later the team came together to show its pride for the North County running community by participating as a team in the Cardiff Kook 5K, spreading the love of running in Encinitas. The women started and finished the entire race together showing their strength as a team, whether it be pushing their bodies to the limits in training and racing or just coming together on a Saturday morning and supporting running in their local community. The team has no comment on the similarity of the dress of the Cardiff Kook on race day and the team's costumes for the race.
A week later Kristin Schleicher traded in the cupid wings for wings on her feet, and dominated the San Dieguito 5K, taking both the win as well as dipping below 18 minutes for the first time in the 5K for a PR of 17:52.
In one of the last races of the winter road racing season, several of PRT's women competed in the San Diego Half Marathon. Sam Espindola led the team, finishing in an impressive 1:23:56, good for a fourth-place finish and a new PR, on a course with a grueling uphill climb in the late miles of the race. Sam was followed by Kelcie Wiemann in 1:30:38 and Jordana Henderson in 1:31:41.
Spring Track Season
With the start of spring, several ladies traded in the road flats for racing spikes, and began faster, shorter intervals around the track. Typically participating in open collegiate events, the women could be found racing almost every weekend on university tracks between San Diego and Los Angeles. After warming up their legs in Cerritos in a 1500 race, Julie Sawyer and Kristin Schleicher teamed up to take on the 5000m at the Ben Brown Invitational. Julie and Kristin placed third (17:34) and eighthh (17:45), respectively, each notching a PR for the event.
In one of the most impressive track races of the season, Kristin Schleicher competed late at night at the coveted Mt. Sac Relays in the 10K. Competing at well past ten o'clock at night in a field of almost thirty runners, Kristin knocked almost thirty seconds off her previous PR in the distance to break 37 minutes and finish in 36:55.32. Not a bad way to wrap up her track season!
A few nights later Julie Sawyer traveled up to Long Beach to participate in the 5K at the Long Beach Invitational. Also battling a large crowd on the track, Julie shaved fourteen seconds of her personal best on the track to finish 5th in 17:20.23.
Marie Schaper, Gina Merchant, and Julie Sawyer spent much of their track seasons tackling the 1500 meters, and even occasionally an 800 meter race. Over the course of the spring, the women have competed at San Diego State University, UCSD, UCLA, Point Loma Nazarene, Cerritos College, and CSU Stanislaus. Gina posted a PR of 4:47.49 at PLNU, while Marie posted her season best of 4:45.06 at UCLA and Julie posted her season best of 4:43.27 at PLNU.
Spring Road Racing
The spring road racing season kicked off with the world-famous Carlsbad 5000, a race that breaks the 5K race into age groups and draws competition from all over the country. Gina Merchant set the pace for the day, snagging a top-ten finish in the women's 30-39 race running 18:30. The rest of the PRT women competed in the women's 29-and-under race, with four women on the team breaking the 18-minute barrier. Julie Sawyer led the pack, finishing second with a PR of 17:30. Julie was closely followed by Kristin Schleicher (17:48, a road PR), Caela Timinsky (17:53, a PR), and Marie Schaper (17:56). Also finishing for PRT were Samantha Espindola (18:44), Jordana Henderson (18:53), and Kelcie Wiemann (19:32).
The PRT women also took first in the women's open team division, and several of its members, along with members of the men's PRT team, took second and third in the mixed open teams.
Only days after PRT dominated in Carlsbad, Hilary Corno and Liz Johnson competed all the way across the country and the ever-prestigious Boston Marathon. We are grateful that these two members of our family were not harmed in the tragedy of the events that took place at the 2013 Boston Marathon. Before the chaos erupted, both women crossed the finish line with sub-3-hour performances and PRs in the marathon, finishing in impressive times of 2:54:35 and 2:57:18 respectively.
A strong pack of PRT women came out to compete in the Encinitas 5K, taking six of the top ten places. Hilary and Liz showed that despite having competed in the Boston Marathon only a month before, they had the speed and strength to dominate the 5K, coming in first and second, respectively. Liz even recorded a PR (17:43) for good measure. Following them were Julie Sawyer (17:47), Marie Schaper (18:08), Caela Timinisky (18:12), Jordana Henderson (19:38), and Kathy Falkenhagen, placing third, fourth, fifth, tenth, and nineteenth, respectively.
Several members of PRT participated in one of the last big races of the spring season: the San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. Samantha Espindola was extremely impressive in her marathon debut, taking eighth place and clocking in at 3:04:34. She was followed by Jordana Henderson, also competing in her debut marathon, in 3:30:58. Kathy Falkenhagen competed in the half marathon and shaved even more time off the PR she had set earlier in the Carlsbad Half Marathon, finishing in 1:34:34.
Team Support
You may have noticed a few names missing from the above recap, but not including them in this post would not be a fair representation of the presence that certain women on this team have maintained. Whether it was because of the frustration of injury or the joy of pregnancy, at least one of these women, and usually more, were at every race cheering on their teammates. So a huge thanks to Darcy, Jenna, and Becki, proving that being a good teammate is more than just the trials of miles.
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| Hilary Corno - PRs in both the half and full marathons in 2013 |
A few weeks later the team came together to show its pride for the North County running community by participating as a team in the Cardiff Kook 5K, spreading the love of running in Encinitas. The women started and finished the entire race together showing their strength as a team, whether it be pushing their bodies to the limits in training and racing or just coming together on a Saturday morning and supporting running in their local community. The team has no comment on the similarity of the dress of the Cardiff Kook on race day and the team's costumes for the race.A week later Kristin Schleicher traded in the cupid wings for wings on her feet, and dominated the San Dieguito 5K, taking both the win as well as dipping below 18 minutes for the first time in the 5K for a PR of 17:52.
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| The women of PRT |
Shortly thereafter, the team participated in the Coronado Valentines Day 10K, where a majority of the team showed up to compete. Hilary Corno again led the team, finishing in 36:14. Liz Johnson, who had joined the team only a few weeks before, rocked her new singlet with pride, coming in 2nd for PRT with a PR of 37:21. Kristin Schleicher and Samantha Espindola were the next runners in. Sam's time of 37:47 was a PR for her, and her first time dipping under 38 minutes for the 10K. She was followed by Caela Timinsky (who rocked a 38:06 despite feeling ill before the race), Julie Sawyer, Marie Schaper, Kelcie Wiemann, Nancy DiBenedetto, and Kathy Falkenhagen.
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| Kelcie Wiemann and Jordana Henderson after a successful half marathon. |
In one of the last races of the winter road racing season, several of PRT's women competed in the San Diego Half Marathon. Sam Espindola led the team, finishing in an impressive 1:23:56, good for a fourth-place finish and a new PR, on a course with a grueling uphill climb in the late miles of the race. Sam was followed by Kelcie Wiemann in 1:30:38 and Jordana Henderson in 1:31:41.
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| Marie Shaper and Julie Sawyer - mixin' it up in the 1500 |
With the start of spring, several ladies traded in the road flats for racing spikes, and began faster, shorter intervals around the track. Typically participating in open collegiate events, the women could be found racing almost every weekend on university tracks between San Diego and Los Angeles. After warming up their legs in Cerritos in a 1500 race, Julie Sawyer and Kristin Schleicher teamed up to take on the 5000m at the Ben Brown Invitational. Julie and Kristin placed third (17:34) and eighthh (17:45), respectively, each notching a PR for the event.
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| Gina Merchant and Marie Shaper - taking down collegiates! |
A few nights later Julie Sawyer traveled up to Long Beach to participate in the 5K at the Long Beach Invitational. Also battling a large crowd on the track, Julie shaved fourteen seconds of her personal best on the track to finish 5th in 17:20.23.
Marie Schaper, Gina Merchant, and Julie Sawyer spent much of their track seasons tackling the 1500 meters, and even occasionally an 800 meter race. Over the course of the spring, the women have competed at San Diego State University, UCSD, UCLA, Point Loma Nazarene, Cerritos College, and CSU Stanislaus. Gina posted a PR of 4:47.49 at PLNU, while Marie posted her season best of 4:45.06 at UCLA and Julie posted her season best of 4:43.27 at PLNU.
Spring Road Racing
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| Kristin Schleicher - a PR Machine! |
The PRT women also took first in the women's open team division, and several of its members, along with members of the men's PRT team, took second and third in the mixed open teams.
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| Liz Johnson - Always smiling! |
A strong pack of PRT women came out to compete in the Encinitas 5K, taking six of the top ten places. Hilary and Liz showed that despite having competed in the Boston Marathon only a month before, they had the speed and strength to dominate the 5K, coming in first and second, respectively. Liz even recorded a PR (17:43) for good measure. Following them were Julie Sawyer (17:47), Marie Schaper (18:08), Caela Timinisky (18:12), Jordana Henderson (19:38), and Kathy Falkenhagen, placing third, fourth, fifth, tenth, and nineteenth, respectively.
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| Samantha Espindola - PRs in both the Half and Full Marathon! |
Team Support
You may have noticed a few names missing from the above recap, but not including them in this post would not be a fair representation of the presence that certain women on this team have maintained. Whether it was because of the frustration of injury or the joy of pregnancy, at least one of these women, and usually more, were at every race cheering on their teammates. So a huge thanks to Darcy, Jenna, and Becki, proving that being a good teammate is more than just the trials of miles.
Friday, January 25, 2013
PRT Men Take Dirt Dog Title!
Before the new year gets rolling and last year's Dirt Dog series fades into a distant memory of wind and dust and criterium-style suffering, it's time for a quick recap. Heading into the championship race on Nov. 10, PRT had pressed hard for a win to put the men in better position to compete for the overall title at the Champs, but we came up just short at the Cuyamaca College 6k, losing by one point to San Diego Track Club.
The conditions at Mission Bay for the 8k championship race were slow, with a strong headwind on the long, exposed stretch heading north that each runner had to face four times. With his trademark aggressive racing style, Daniel Farmer went out with the leaders, and ended up first among PRT’s men, finishing in fifth place (26:50). He was followed close behind by Alex Phipps (26:55), who turned in a strong performance. Derek Bradley (27:16) and Dan Seidel (27:28) were third and fourth scorers, with Andrew Corman (27:40) and Luis de la Vega (27:48) not far behind. Although it initially appeared that PRT would finish second overall, a recalibration of the team scoring resulted in a PRT team victory. The double score (40) for the Champs win was enough to push us over the top for the overall Dirt Dog team title.
On an individual level, PRT had a strong season as well. Four of our runners—Daniel Farmer, Alex Phipps, Dan Seidel, and Derek Bradley—finished in the top ten for the series and took home a bit of prize money.
Meanwhile, the season for some of our masters runners was not yet over. A group of four headed down to Lexington, Kentucky, in December to compete in the national club cross-country championships. Tim Gore (35:31; 28th place) and Brian Culley (35:31; 29th place) were joined by Robert Verhees (36:11; 52nd place) and Gerard Reski (40:30; 165th place).
The 2013 season for the PRT men kicks off in earnest at the Mizuno-sponsored Coronado 10k on Feb. 17. Hope to see you there!
The conditions at Mission Bay for the 8k championship race were slow, with a strong headwind on the long, exposed stretch heading north that each runner had to face four times. With his trademark aggressive racing style, Daniel Farmer went out with the leaders, and ended up first among PRT’s men, finishing in fifth place (26:50). He was followed close behind by Alex Phipps (26:55), who turned in a strong performance. Derek Bradley (27:16) and Dan Seidel (27:28) were third and fourth scorers, with Andrew Corman (27:40) and Luis de la Vega (27:48) not far behind. Although it initially appeared that PRT would finish second overall, a recalibration of the team scoring resulted in a PRT team victory. The double score (40) for the Champs win was enough to push us over the top for the overall Dirt Dog team title.
On an individual level, PRT had a strong season as well. Four of our runners—Daniel Farmer, Alex Phipps, Dan Seidel, and Derek Bradley—finished in the top ten for the series and took home a bit of prize money.
Meanwhile, the season for some of our masters runners was not yet over. A group of four headed down to Lexington, Kentucky, in December to compete in the national club cross-country championships. Tim Gore (35:31; 28th place) and Brian Culley (35:31; 29th place) were joined by Robert Verhees (36:11; 52nd place) and Gerard Reski (40:30; 165th place).
The 2013 season for the PRT men kicks off in earnest at the Mizuno-sponsored Coronado 10k on Feb. 17. Hope to see you there!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
The ladies of Prado Racing Team wrapped up the fall season with a win at the 2012 Dirt Dog Series Championship. The women repeated as USATF-SD Dirt Dog XC team champions on November 10 at Mission Bay Park, topping Adidas Movin Shoes, 19–24. Even though the conditions were not ideal, with winds and humidity, the women still managed to win the 8K race. The women’s scoring five placed within one minute of one another: Jenna Munguia placed 6th with a time of 31:05, Marie Schaper 7th with a time of 31:11, Hilary Corno 8th in 31:18, Caela Timinsky 11th in 31:57, and Kristin Schleicher 12th in 32:00.
Samathan Espindola rounded off the rest of the PRT ladies with a time of 32:28, followed by Gina Merchant with a time of 33:29, Kelcie Wieman at 34:54, and Jordana Henderson in a respectable time of 35:32.
The victory at Club Championships was the culmination of a season with many strong team performances, including wins at the Wild Duck 5K in Guajome Park on August 25, at the Balboa Park 4-Miler, and at the Cougar Challenge on October 25 (the latter in a field ranging from college freshmen to dominant amateur athletes).
The highlights of the season were not just from team performances, however. Kristin Schleicher ran the Cal Internaional Marathon, capping off an incredible year with a PR of 3:02:12. Schleicher had also run a half marathon at the Primo’s Run for Education in Danville, CA, with a PR of 1:24:26. A few weeks before that, Marie Schaper finished 6th at the Rock ’n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon in 1:21:01, a personal best this season. The most impressive win this season, though, came from Hilary Corno, who “ jumped into” the Long Beach Marathon to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. She not only qualified, she won with a time of 2:55:32!!
The women of Prado Racing Team looked strong from start to finish, with only a few women injured this season. Every runner has stepped up and run in a way that shows her continuing passion for the sport. The women seek direction, advice, and inspiration from one another. From the first runner to their last, every woman counts and can carry the team. The women kick off the spring season with the Carlsbad Half Marathon on January 27, 2013!!
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