Monday, August 13, 2012

2-mile Track Race Sets the Stage





The Going Green 2-miler was the 3rd MCRRC race used this season by the National Road Racing League.  What a competitive night on the track to end the Olympic fever as well!

Only 2 teams were able to muster a full lineup of 2 males and 2 females for this one, and it was Capital Alumni Network pulling out the victory over Kinetic Fitness by a score of 8 – 12 (low score wins).  The CAN team of Liebowitz, Howell, Nistler and Drake held off Kinetic's Savoy, Brown, Henneman and Mathey.  Drake and Liebowitz led the way for CAN, being the first female and males runners in the team competition. 

Individual runners from teams that don't have a regulation roster for the race (at least 2 males and 2 females) are not factored into team scoring, but those runners do count in the Individual Points scoring.  The team rankings have been shaken up just enough to keep things exciting for the final 2 races!  DC Running Coach holds a narrow lead over 2nd and 3rd place teams, CAN and AWL, respectively, with Kinetic and Evolution not too far behind.  Remember that the tie-breaker to determine the league champion (if needed) is the team with the most 1st place team finishes throughout the season, for which DCRC currently leads that category with 4.

In the Individual Rankings, Elissa Sosland cranked out another race for Evolution Personal Training Studio and took advantage of the small race field, earning 3rd place and jumping out to a dozen-point lead over AWL captain Melani Hom, who holds a 20-point lead over fast-paced Faith Korbel of DCRC. Cristina Nistler from CAN ran well in the last race and put herself into a 4th place tie with teammate Susannah Still.  These 5 ladies have 2 more races to sort out the race for the podium!

The men's race is also down to a 5-horse show.  Liebowitz and Howell from CAN have come on strong and are currently sitting 1-2 over Holman and Williamson from AWL, both of whom are consistent runners.  Saenz from Evolution sits in 4th place in the thick of things as well. 

Similar to the team competition, the tie-breaker in the individual rankings is determined by the number of 1st place finishes, or 2nd place finishes, etc, until a tie-breaker is found.

The final 2 NRRL races and the updated results can be found HERE.  The trophy in the picture above reminds you what your team is racing for!  This is about healthy team competition, the first of its kind to bring clubs and groups together from all over the DC area!

We head to the Navy 5-miler next, with a new start location by the Washington Monument.

Hope to see your there!

Mike

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Heat, Humidity & Hills!



The toughest National Road Racing League race on paper did not disappoint!  The Riley's Rumble Half is hands down one of the toughest races in the country, especially for those trying to tackle the course with any sort of competitiveness.  Up and down and round-and-round, the Maryland course had everyone spent who crossed the finish line. 

In the end, Evolution proved to be the most dedicated team, as they had the only full race lineup and took the team title for the race.  The overall team standings remained unchanged after this race, but hats off to Evolution for a job well done!

Only 3 NRRL men took to the course, with Ben Mitchell of DCRC coming in less than a minute ahead of AWL rep Taylor Williamson.  Steven Leibowitz of CAN took the bronze and leapfrogged into 1st place in the overall Individual Rankings in what has now become a 5 person race perhaps, as Mitchell will be unable to race the final two races (according to inside sources close to the DCRC camp).

On the women's side, Faith Korbel of DCRC made it 4-for-4 and won another one among NRRL runners, finishing just 5 seconds behind the overall female winner (non-NRRL runner).  Melani Hom finished 2nd and Tracy Dodge was 3rd.  All 3 of these women are in the top-10 in the Individual Rankings, along with Elissa Sosland and Sandra Grance, who completed the brutal course.

The NRRL results are updated on the website.

There are now 3 races left in the 2012 season, all short-distance races.  The team competition and overall individual titles are still up for grabs!  In the heart of Olympic fever, the next race the Going Green 2-miler on the track Friday night!

We hope to see you there!

Mike