Night Time is the Right Time for NRRL!

The inaugural Chris Carter Memorial Twilight 5k provided the first evening race for the NRRL, and also provided a very challenging course through one of Arlington's neighborhoods.  It's accurate to say that there weren't many steps taken on flat road, as the runners were usually moving either up or down over the rolling course.

For the second straight race in a row (in as many weekends) Mike Hamberger and Rory Duffield finished 1-2 in the NRRL field, both with top-10 performances in the overall 5k results in what was a competitive field.  Jason Kagarise took the 3rd spot and moved into 1st place in the NRRL Individual Points race.

Memo Saenz has emerged as VIDA Fitness' top runner in terms of finish place at races, while teammate Dan Hunt leads the team in total points, currently 2nd in the overall points standings.  And by running his third race, Theron Thilenius has jumped into the top-10.  In the season team results, Potomac River Running leads DC Running Coach and VIDA Fitness.

Johanna Mansilla (pictured above) won her 2nd NRRL race in a row, after running the another 5k earlier in the morning.  Sandra Grance of DC Running Coach also pulled off the daily double on Saturday.  Mansilla's win now puts her in a tie for 1st place in the NRRL Individual standings with teammate Carolee Williamson, who finished 3rd in the 5k, behind teammate Lexi Castenalli.  The Kinetic Fitness team was off for their bye week, and the two female teams are now tied in the Team Standings.


All NRRL league standings and results can be found on the NRRL Results page.

All teams square off again at the next race, the Friends of the W&OD 10k.  This is another twilight race, taking place on Saturday, July 30th.  It is also the first 10k of the NRRL, so we'll see who's got the legs for the longer distance.

Alexandria 5k led by Potomac River Running team

The first annual Alexandria Running Festival featured a Half Marathon and 5k, with the National Road Racing League utilizing the fast out and back 5k course.  The men's team competition was won by Potomac River Running, as they placed runners in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 8th, finishing with 22 points. Rory Duffield was the first =PRR= runner across the line, out-sprinting another runner at the finish to take the final podium spot in the overall field and 2nd place within NRRL competition.

DC Running Coach came in 2nd place with 42 points, led by 3 runners in the top-10 of the NRRL field, including winner Mike Hamberger, who was also 2nd in the overall 5k field.  The VIDA Fitness squad placed 2 runners in the top-10 of the NRRL race, led by Memo Saenz, as the team finished with 56 points.

In the Individual Points race, Brian Cunningham now sits atop the rankings, with 3 =PRR= teammates close behind.

In the women's race, Kinetic Fitness has a strong showing with 6 runners entered in the race.  Team captain Becca Lipscomb led her team and finished 2nd in the NRRL, behind Johanna Mansilla (leading the pack below) of DC Running Coach, whose victory keeps her just ahead of Lipscomb in the overall Individual Points race.  Four other Kinetic runners are in the chase thus far.

The next race for the National Road Racing League schedule is the inaugural Chris Carter Memorial 5k, a twilight race in Arlington on Saturday, June 4th.

Wet, but no rain at the Run For The Animals 5k

The 2nd race in the inaugural National Road Racing League season is complete.  The rain stopped early in the morning in time for the Run For The Animals 5k, which is a fundraiser for the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary.  There were plenty of runners on hand for the 8th annual event that takes place on a very challenging course at Wheaton Regional Park.

Kinetic Fitness and Potomac River Running ran very well and took the 1st place spots in the NRRL team results, as other team took their bye week.  Kinetic and PRR each had some top overall finishers, with PRR placing 4 of its runners in the top-20 of the overall field.  Brian Cunningham led the way with a sub-20 minute performance on the hilly course.  Teammates Chris Marshall and Josh Posilkin rounded out the NRRL podium spots and came in the top-10 of the overall field.

On the women's side, Carolee Williamson of DC Running Coach made it 2-for-2 as she was the first NRRL runner across the line, finishing 5th overall.  Mandie Samuels and Nikki Souris took 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the NRRL competition, with Samuels finishing 7th in the overall field.  Several runners confirmed this course as being one of the toughest 5k courses in the DC area!

The NRRL team and individual rankings are updated on the website.

Mouli and Carolee of DCRC

The next stop on the schedule is the Alexandria Running Festival on Sunday, May 29th, where the NRRL runners will tackle the 5k course at 8:00am.  The Marathon Charity Cooperation has graciously given NRRL runners a discount on registration!

Inaugural NRRL Race Is Now in the Books!

 

The first race of the 2011 National Road Racing Leauge is official, which means the ball is rolling for the NRRL!  All race results and standings can be found on the National Road Racing League website. 

The rain held off on Saturday morning as the Race To Stop The Silence 8k got underway.  With a male and female team each taking their bye week, it was a dual meet on both sides.  In the men's race, DC Running Coach, LLC held off the VIDA Fitness team to capture the inaugural victory.  Eddie Valentine of Arlington, VA led all NRRL runners across the finish line to pave the way for DC Running Coach, thus building a strong case for his future Hall of Fame status.  Jacques Tisne and Grant Garton were next across the line, before 4 more runners came through within nearly 60 seconds of one another, including VIDA captain, Dan Hunt.

On the women's side, Carolee Williamson of DC Running Coach hit a big 8k distance PR and is the first NRRL runner to wear the crown, coming in 1st among NRRL runners and 3rd overall among the entire 8k field.  Claudia Amendola took the silver position in the NRRL (3rd AG) and earned individual points despite VIDA Fitness taking the bye week.  The 3rd NRRL runner across the line was Johanna Mansilla (DC Running Coach), who also won her AG.  Kinetic Fitness team captain, Becca Lipscomb, was 4th in the NRRL race.

As a reminder about the scoring, runners from teams taking their bye week do not factor into the team scores, but these individual runners still earn points in the Individual Rankings.  Individual points and rankings are based on the finishing order of NRRL runners only.

Runners can join an existing team until May 28th, contact us for details!

Special thanks goes to the race directors and staff at Stop The Silence and timing coordinators at the Capital Running Company!

The next stop on the NRRL schedule is the Poplar Spring Run for the Animals 5k at Wheaton Regional Park on Sunday, May 15th @ 8:30am.

Thank you to Liz and Jodi and everyone else who helped get the National Road Racing League up and running!

See you at the next race,

Mike

Kinetic Fitness joins the NRRL & race #1 approaching!

The newest team to join the NRRL is Kinetic Fitness (LLC), which is captained by local running coach Becca Lipscomb.  Becca's team is a formidable bunch, comprised of runners she coaches and other running buddies.  More information on the team will be coming soon via a video interview with the captain and teammates to be posted on the NRRL Youtube page, along with interviews of other league captains. 

The first race is set for this Saturday downtown at Freedom Plaza.  The Race to Stop the Silence 8k will serve as the inaugural race in the National Road Racing League!  We'll bring you plenty of race highlights all season long through this blog. 

Any runners interested in joining a team in the DC Region can check out our Teams page and contact one of the captains.  The transaction deadline to join a team is May 28th. 

See you at the races!

Mike

8th annual Run Ror The Animals 5k added to NRRL

With the recent cancellation of The Bulldog 5k due to construction on the race course, the NRRL is happy to have the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary step up to fill in the slot!

The 8th annual Run for the Animals 5k takes place on Sunday, May 15th at Wheaton Regional Park in Wheaton, MD.  The festivities on the day also include a 1-mile fun walk as part of Poplar Spring's fund raising efforts for their charitable mission.

"From the warm up, running and walking on the scenic trails, the dog and people raffles, the prizes, and the abundance of food, a good time will be had by all."

NRRL runners receive $5 off registration!

Thank you to the folks at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary for supporting the NRRL!

This race is the 2nd on the DC Region NRRL schedule, following the Stop the Silence 8k on April 23rd.

Captains' meeting for DC Region is set

The captains' meeting for the Washington DC Region will be held on Saturday, April 16th at 1:00pm at the downtown Capital City Brewing Company.  The meeting will cover the topics of: team rosters, race registrations, race lineups, scoring, team webpages, and uniforms.

The NRRL is open for teams to join until April 23rd, which is the date of the inaugural NRRL race!

Individual runners can be added to any team roster until the transaction deadline on May 28th.

To officially join a team, all runners must register themselves on the NRRL registration page, which is a very quick process.

Entry fees for each team (male/female separately) will be divided among all the runners on the team, but only 1 payment is submitted per team.  This fee covers league T-shirts for all runners, as well as the team trophies and individual plaques for top runners.