Running Scared

Muwahahahahahahahahhaaaaa!

Ghastly turnout this weekend. Congrats to all the creepy Poland Spring runners! Best costume award goes to the tres amigos. Check out the ghoulish results on the NYRR site!

It's a Family Affair!

Alan, Ben and Eliza Wagman all completed the Cider Mill 5K in Tolland, CT on September 29. On a beautiful early fall morning, the three of them toed the line near the front of the pack. Alan and Ben went out in 8 minutes flat for the first mile, a fairly hilly start. Ben then started to labor and fell back a bit. Dad kept encouraging him to stay close. As we passed mile 2 in about 16:10, Ben kept pushing himself. Ben's competitive fire began to come out when he spied another young runner who he decided he wanted to catch. At 2.5 miles, Ben started to make his move but Dad told him to wait. Ben bided his time and passed the other runner as we approached the 3 mile mark. Ben finished strong, edging his proud father by 1 second in 25 minutes flat. Alan finished in 25:01. Ben was 15th out of 41 11-14 year olds.

While Ben and Alan were running together, Eliza took the challenge on by herself. Hoping to break 30 minutes in her first race ever, she struggled mightily but persevered and eventually crossed the line in 32:02, finishing 8th out of 18 10 and under females. Overall, this was a great race on a fairly easy course. Good local crowds cheered all of the runners on. Definitely a race we will run again!

-Contributed by Alan Wagman, Proud Papa

Congratulations Wagman clan! What a fantastic race!

Great Galloping Hellgaters!

Sixteen days into fall and the temperature at dawn on October 6 was near 70 degrees with 90% humidity... This was not great running weather for Grete's Great Gallop.

However the weather was not going to stop us from running in this club points race (or participating in the 1.7 mile Noway Run)! Hellgate fielded a men's and a women's team who placed 13th and 22nd, respectively in the Half. Leading the team was Phil with an amazing 20th place finish screaming across the line at 1:16:40, a 5:51 pace!

Andrei and Diego also finished strong at 6:44 and 6:46 pace respectively. Captain Suzanne placed 4th in her age group again! Unbelievable! Alan showed up after doing 10 miles to finish at a 8 minute mile pace AND he got to Hi-Five Grete the Great herself after the first loop! And double congratulations to Jon D. for not only getting hitched in August to the lovely (and recovering) Shayna, but he also completed his first ever half marathon! Fantastic effort, Jon! We hope to keep seeing you out for those 13.1's!

Now the Norway Run took place prior to the Half and we had our very own Canadian, Andrew, running a stellar 1.7 miles. We also had one of Hellgate's newest members, Beth, going neck and neck to the finish line with some other women. Great work!

The children's races also proved no match for Soula's daughter who took 3rd place in her age group for the half mile run! When interviewed about her fantastic performance, she admitted to enjoying the race tremendously! Like mother, like daughter!

For all the race results please go the NYRR web site!

***OTHER NEWS***

Stay tuned for an interview with Levi on his scorching Chi-town marathon experience!

The HG Blog is happy to announce (for those that might have missed it on the message board) that Josh and Salena welcomed their son, Jackson, into the world last Wednesday, October 3rd. I'm sure we'll see Josh behind a jogging stroller soon! Congratulations!

Turned Up at the Tune Up!

What a fantastic day for an 18 mile run! Sunday, September 30, 2007, was the last of the longest runs for many a marathoner-in-training on the Hellgate squad. There was a fantastic cheering crew for us! We had Lauren on the lonely West Side and Jared, Janine, and Andrew on the East Side. Andrei unfortunately is nursing a sprained ankle so also stuck around to support us on to the finish!

There were of course some standouts in this race! We are happy to report that Soula completed her longest race ever and came screeching to a halt across the finish line at a 9:00 minute pace (1:42:14). Congratulations Soula, and we can’t wait to cheer for you in NYC next month! Meanwhile Ben finished at a blistering 6:29 pace (1:56:48) to come in 11th in his age group and 23rd overall! Amazing!

Also those royals from the Queens Half ruled again! Mary turned out an amazing race finishing 2nd (2:14:07) in her age group while Suzanne placed 4th (2:18:36)! They are unstoppable! Eamonn also displayed just how strong he is with a 2:14:15 finish. Mary managed to nip him in the last mile, but Eamonn threatened revenge in the Staten Island Half in 2 weeks! (Place all bets with me!)

Check out the results on the NYRR site! And check out those smiling faces below! Another weekend race with amazing photos by Jared!