Races

RACES Staying competitive

Minnesota was well represented at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships

This summer a group of us “experienced” running buddies decided to compete in the National Club Cross Country Championships. We had a solid core of guys, most of whom had recently turned 60, and wanted to see how we might stack up against national competition. Many of us have been running competitively since high school, back in the 1970’s. Quite a few of us trained around the Minneapolis chain of lakes as a part of the “Road Warriors” team. Bobby Paxton and I competed in cross country together at rival Iowa colleges: Wartburg and Luther. Now, 40 years later, we were competing and rooming together on the same team!

This fall’s Rocky’s Run provided a nice reintroduction to the sport of cross country for many of us. It was below freezing at race time, with sleet. The course at Les Bolstad was soft and hilly. This was dramatically different from the warm summer road races to which we had grown accustomed.

At the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, held on December 8, in Spokane, Washington, race conditions were close to ideal for Minnesota runners. It was 30 degrees and overcast. Those of us cold weather runners made the best of it. Teams from places like Atlanta and San Diego weren’t quite so excited about the cool temps. One of the San Diego runners mentioned to me afterwards their adverse weather conditions only involved occasional rain showers.

The national cross country course was mostly flat and grassy, looping around Plantes Ferry Park. It was great for spectators. For me, who regularly runs the hills in Crystal and Golden Valley, the course was disappointingly flat. The women ran 6K, while the men ran 10K, with the exception of those of us who were 60 +, we ran 8K.

Run N Fun brought two teams for the 60+ race. I was pleased to be on the team that placed second in the 8K race. I came in sixth at 30:17, followed by Doug Keller, Paul Brown, Bobby Paxton and Bill Langhout. The other Run N Fun team placed 14th lead by Ken Valley, Wayne Fynboh, Dan Roden and Michael Bjornberg.

BY DANIEL JOHNSON

Members of a Run n Fun team are pictured at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships. From left to right are William Langout, Doug keller, Paul brown, bobby paxton and daniel johnson. Submitted photo

Team USA Minnesota’s Katy Jermann placed 10th in the Women’s Open 6K. Breanna Sieracki was close behind, coming in 13th. Joel Reichow placed a respectable 22nd in the Men’s Open 10K, while his teammate Daniel Docherty was 81st.

Run N Fun Open Women’s team placed 26th in the 6K. Lauren Rice was the top finisher, in 22:00, good for 110th. Teammates include Sasha Gallagher, Suzie Fox, Jordan Lutz and Kiley Green.

John Vodacek was the first through the shoot for the 14th place Run N Fun Men’s Open team, coming in at 30:49, for 39th place. Additional team members were Trevor Capra, Calvin Lehn, Brendan Sage and Jacob Gallagher.

Collegeville Track Club placed 35th in the Men’s Open 10K run. They were led by Paul Nordquist, 160th in 32:38, followed by Thomas Knobbe, Zach Kughn, Jacob Eggers, Matt Burgstahler, MacCoy Benzen, Samueal Friesen and Evan Jones.

Run MN Masters 40+ team placed fourth, and was led by Eric Loeffler, who placed second in the 10K, with a time of 33:07. He was followed by team mates Eric Hartmark, Tim Hardy, Olivier Vrambout, Patrick Russell, Eric Johnson, Kenny Miller, Chris Lundstrom and Dan Feda.

Run MN Masters 50+ team ran a strong 10K race, also finishing fourth. The team was led by W Scott Lindell at 36:10, followed by Matthew Waite, Rob Economy, Jim Larranaga, Patrick Billig, Rob Class and Pete Kessler.

Full race results can be found at: http:// www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2018/USATF-National-Club-Cross-Country/Results.aspx