Dramatic Finale Awaits NRRL Teams!

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Three teams are dead-locked for 1st place in the 2012 edition of the National Road Racing League!  DC Running Coach, Athletes Without Limits, and Capital Alumni Network have each amassed 17 points through 9 races thus far.  AWL has won the last 2 races and has the momentum, while DCRC has won the most races (and would therefore win a tie-breaker if there were to be one).  CAN has been consistent all year-long, so this winner-take-all race at the final showdown of the season should prove to be a hotly contested battle of team strength!

At the last race, the Navy 5-Miler, AWL took first place with a strong showing from all 4 runners.  Captain Melani Hom, a.k.a., Mevani, won the women's race with teammate Michelle "Duece" Harburg in 2nd.  CAN captain Natalie Allgeier was once again on the NRRL podium taking 3rd.  Allgeier led 3 other teammates (Eubanks, Nistler and Still) who were next across the line.  All four of these CAN runners have a shot at an Individual Plaque at the awards party, as each can finish top-3 overall in the final rankings.  Faith Korbel can earn a 3rd place spot with a strong showing, while Hom and Sosland will be in contention for the overall title!

For the men at the Navy 5M, AWL runners Dave Deschyver and Andrae Baly led the way, finishing 1st and 5th, respectively.  Frequent top dogs Steven Leibowitz and Tyler Howell represented CAN and finished 2nd and 4th.  Memo Saenz from Evolution was the 3rd place finisher, while teammate Mark Hindin earned more points and moved into the top-10 in the overall standings.  Leibowitz has all but clinched the overall title, as teammate Howell can still technically gain the most points depending on who shows up at the final race.  Saenz, Holman, and Williamson are all battling for the final two Individual Plaques.

This last race will be very exciting for the individual standings, as nothing will be for certain until we see who shows up on race day!  More importantly, a 3-way tie needs to be broken in the Team Rankings!  Kinetic Fitness and Evolution runners can certainly play spoiler when it's time to do the math!

The Accumen Solutions Race for a Cause 8k was also the last race of the season in 2011, and a similar scenario had to be played out to determine a team champion and men's individual champion.  It's a relatively fast course with a long steady decline to the turnaround cone, followed by some hard work on the way back, before rounding the final 2 turns in a straight, flat sprint to the finish!

Who will win!?  Cast your vote on Facebook or Twitter!  Bragging rights are on the line for top running club in the Washington, DC area!

Results are updated on the NRRL site.

Come out and support your team in the final race of the 2012 NRRL season!

Mike

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

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

Pay Day 5k Pays Off for team DC Running Coach

 

From top to bottom in the final results, the NRRL runners were competitive with one another at the Pay Day 5k, the 6th race in the season.  There were several instances where NRRL runners were separated by less than 10 seconds, including men's winner Taylor Williamson (AWL), who edged out runner-up Steven Leibowitz (CAN) at the line by 2 seconds.  Mouli Nagarajan (DCRC) was the 3rd place finisher, squeezing past teammate Ben Mitchell by 6 seconds, who in turn was 6 seconds ahead of the current leader in the Individual Points race, Barry Holman (AWL).

In the women's race, Faith Korbel (DCRC) made it 3-for-3, as she won by a considerable margin.  Natalie Allgeier (CAN), was runner-up and . The 3rd place finisher was Genemarie Pade (DCRC), who made this her first NRRL appearance and beat out Melani Hom (AWL) by 9 seconds.  Hom maintains her overall lead in the Individual Points rankings.

The top-4 places in the men's overall Individual Points race remained unchanged, while women's top-3 places also remained intact.  These specific point-getters opened up a substantial point lead on the rest of the pack at this last race.  The top-3 men and women receive plaques at the end of the year party!

In the race for the ridiculously over-sized team trophies, DC Running Coach had another close duel with Athletes Without Limits and took the top-spot by 2 points.  Capital Alumni Network was 3rd and Evolution was 4th.

Full results are now available on the NRRL Results page.

The next race is the relentless Riley's Rumble Half-Marathon on August 5th, with plenty of Triple H expected (heat, hills, humidity).  This race is not for the faint of heart and is the only Half Marathon on the NRRL schedule this year.

Keep having fun with your running,

Mike

Back to the Track

With Olympic fever high in the air and the top athletes in the world taking to the track, the top DC area runners also hit the track this past Friday night for the MidsummerNight's Mile, an annual twilight track event put on by MCRRC.

The NRRL runners turned in some great performances, with several runners from both genders cracking the 6-minute milestone, and even more runners going under 7-minutes!  When the dust had settled (a.k.a., when the results were posted online), it was Athletes Without Limits who claimed a single point victory over 2nd place Kinetic Fitness.  Capital Alumni Network was the 3rd place team, with Evolution finally taking its bye week.  In the overall standings, DC Running Coach still holds the top spot, but the chase is even closer now, it's anybody's game!

AWL captain Melani Hom led the way, beating all other female participants, not just the NRRL runners.  Her 30-sec NRRL victory was impressive, as she was 12th in her heat (mixed genders) after the first lap, moving up to 3rd at the tape.  Laura Zeilinger and Sarah Todd rounded out the podium spots, each coming in around the 6-minute mark.  Hom's victory now gives her a one point lead in the individual rankings.

On the men's side, Brandon Hirsch of Kinetic Fitness edged out NRRL founder Mike Hamberger at the finish line, delivering the 1-2 punch.  CAN runner Steven Leibowitz wasn't far behind in 3rd.  A slew of runners came in just behind them, including AWL runner Barry "Duane Allman" Holman, who leapfrogged into first place in the individual rankings with his 5th place finish on the track.  Leibowitz and teammates Tyler Howell and Berlin Madison are now within striking distance of the top spot.

Team and individual rankings are are now up-to-date online.

We're halfway through the NRRL season.  Please note the 9th race on the calendar was canceled by the race director and a replacement race will be added as soon as possible (most likely in the 5k – 10k range).

Mike

Georgetown Running Company presents the Father's Day 8k

The NRRL brought 26 runners to the Georgetown Father's Day 8k and once again the NRRL runners put in a very strong showing in the overall results, placing eight runners in the top-50 OA out of 200+ participants.  The flat and fast course is one of the first twilight races of the year and therefore has the makings of a standout annual event to look forward to!

This was the 4th race (out of 10) in the 2012 season, and DC Running Coach, LLC won its 3rd race of the year, holding its top spot in the team rankings.  Every other team has proven itself a formidable foe, as each team has several runners who crack the top-10 in NRRL rankings each race.  CAN, AWL, and Kinetic Fitness are currently within striking distance. 

Evolution and CAN are dominating the women's individual NRRL rankings, each team having 3 runners in the top-8.  Elissa Sosland is the only runner to have run in each race and she leads the pack as she is running well.  Susannah Still and Rebekah Eubanks are chasing in the 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.  At the Father's Day 8k, Faith Korbel won her 2nd race, Melani Hom podium-finished for the second time, as did Natalie Allgeier. 

In the men's individual NRRL rankings, Memo Saenz of Evolution is the lone 4-race finisher and he leads the men, representing Evolution.  Barry Holman and Tyler Howell round out the podium places, with Holman proving very consistent over 3 races thus far.  The men's rankings are wide open at this point.  Taylor Williamson won the Gtown 8k in the NRRL scoring, doing AWL proud once again.  Steven Leibowitz took 2nd place, moving up in the overall standings, and DCRC captain Max Huffman took 3rd in his first NRRL race of the year.

The team and individual rankings are updated on the NRRL results page.  The next race is the Midsummer Night's Mile, a fast and furious track race, the first one for NRRL!  Dust off your track spikes and test your true grit on July 6th! 

Hope to see you at the track!

Mike

Alexandria Running Festival 5k provides fast times!

At the Alexandria Running Festival 5k, the first four NRRL runners across the line were also in the top-10 of the overall field of almost 350 runners.  DC Running Coach finished 1st in the team standings, with Kinetic Fitness not far behind in 2nd place.  Athletes Without Limits was 3rd, with Evolution in 4th and Potomac River Running in 5th.  These are also the standings after three races, with Capital Alumni Network tied for 2nd.  Evolution is the only team yet to take their bye week.

In the men's race, Ben Mitchell edged out Diaa Nour for the top two spots, while Brandon Hirsch took 3rd place among NRRL runners.  After 3 races, Memo Saenz of Evolution is the only runner having done all 3 races and moved into the top spot in the individual rankings with some impressive finishes.

Faith Korbel was the top female NRRL runner, giving DC Running Coach, LLC the 1st place finishers in both the male and female races.  Kinetic Fitness brought the next two runners in on the female side, Sarah Todd and Madelynne Manansala.  Once again, after 3 races, Evolution has the only female runner who has completed all of them, Elissa Sosland, who sits atop the individual rankings.

The updated team and individual results are on the website.

The next event in the 10-race schedule is the Father's Day 8k Georgetown, which is also the first twilight race in the 2012 season.  NRRL runners receive a discount on registration.

Hope to see you at the start line!

Mike