April was a busy month for RC2 racers – we had the Indian Trails 15K, the Cherry Blossom 10K and Stomp the Monster 5K.  Add in the Boston Marathon and other races that team members participated in, and runners were all over the state and country!  The busy schedule continues with the Clinton Country Run at the end of April, followed by the Our House 5 Mile, Newport 10K and Run for Rachel in May.

It’s never too late to join the team – we’re always looking for new spirit to keep us moving forward.

Make sure to keep an eye on your USATF-NJ Individual ranking:  http://www.usatfnj.org/ldr/2012_GP_updates.html.  There are 3 individual competitions; each year RC2 has a few runners who place quite well in these rankings.  The times that some of our runners have been posting will put them in good position.  For Mini-1, you need to do 9 shorter races, only three can be championship races.  For Mini-2, you need to do 7 mid-distance races, with a maximum of three being championship races.  For the Overall ranking, you need three races in each distance category, and only two in each category can be championships.  If you’d like more information on the individual rankings, take a look at the USATF-NJ web page, and let me know if you have any questions.

Upcoming Races:

May 6  - Our House 5 Mile  http://www.oymp.net/Raceinfo/our_house_5_miler.htm

May 12 - Newport 10,000  http://www.oymp.net/Raceinfo/newport.htm

May 20 - Run for Rachel 5k http://www.oymp.net/Raceinfo/run_for_rachel.htm

June 24 - Lager Run 5k

Indian Trails 15K, April 1, 2012

Anyone who looked at the elevation profile for Sunday’s race might have thought it was an April Fool’s joke.  This 15K course, on dirt trails and some paved roads, climbs up and down, and up and down, and up and down…..you get the idea!  There was also a rumor that Ken was going to show up in a dress, or perhaps a wig, and race for the women’s team, but I guess that was another joke!

Convincing anyone who has raced this course in the past to do it again is not an easy task, but despite the challenging course, the Rose City team turned in some impressive times.  Twelve Rose City team members participated in the second team race of the season, which was an open men’s and women’s championship.  We entered two teams:  the open women placed 13^th out of 15 teams and the open men placed 12^th out of 17 teams.

Mark Nyhan found a great spot as runners came down the last hill and took photos of many RC2 members – check them out on Facebook.  Thanks Mark!  Thanks to everyone who ran this race!

Cherry Blossom 10K, April 15, 2012

An April race through Branch Brook Park – lots of cherry blossoms, nice April temps for the masters women’s 10K championship, right?  Not so much!  April 15 felt more like June, and the early spring/summer weather in 2012 meant that we saw fewer blossoms than normal.  The course is all on paved roads (closed to traffic) that wind through Branch Brook Park in Newark .  The race starts uphill – no problem for RC2 runners used to training around Loantaka!  Familiar faces out on the course helped to take our minds off the hills, but not the heat!

Rose City entered two teams for this race:  the 40s women placed 8^th and the 50s women placed 7^th.  The warm weather definitely impacted some of our results, but others thrived in the hot weather and turned in some great times.  Welcome to Jen, who ran in her first RC2 race, and welcome back to Helen for her first RC2 race in a while!  Thanks to Lee and Len for being out on the course and volunteering, and to Hilary and Doug Clark (and Ellie!) for volunteering.   Lee’s photos are on Facebook for your viewing pleasure.

Stomp the Monster 5K, April 22, 2012

Despite a gloomy weather forecast, over 900 runners completed Sunday's Stomp The Monster 5K.  The race was a flat out-and-back, starting from the Marlboro Recreation Complex.   Fortunately the hard rain held off until after the race.  Runners enjoyed perfect cool temperatures with a bit of rain; times were fast despite slightly slippery roads.   Although Rose City did not have enough men to field an Open Team for the championship, our guys ran impressively.  And they did their part to make sure the Beer Tent was well attended. 

RC2 Team Member Results:

      Indian Trails 15K, April 1, 2012

Joe Balint  1:00:21 (5^th, 45-49)
Ed Chao  1:05:08
Mike Gentile  1:07:39
Dick Helmer  1:13:42 (6^th, 60-64)
Heather Lukeman  1:15:32
Lou Grunfelder  1:15:35
Ken Cenicola  1:17:46
Vivian Wilson  1:19:35 (9^th, 50-54)
Gina Calleo  1:30:14
Kathy Hale  1:31:11
Aileen Flanagan  1:31:27
George Grosso  1:31:43

Other Rose City members who participated in this race included:  Jane Parks, Shirley Pettijohn, Bill Welsh, Barry Lass, Dave Hoch and Karen Gregory.

     Cherry Blossom 10K, April 15, 2012

Joseph Balint  39:44 (4^th, 45-49)
Jennifer Selverian   46:30 (3^rd, 35-39)
Derek Shendell  47:12
Heather Lukeman 47:24  (8^th, 45-49)
Lou Grunfelder  48:10
Kenneth Cenicola  51:35
Vivian Wilson 52:21
Denise Byrnes 54:36
Lynda Brush 55:49  (4^th, 60-64)
Eileen O’brien 57:50
Kathleen Hale 58:34
George Grosso  59:24
Helen Leung 1:05:12

Other RC2 club members who participated in this race included Shirley Pettijohn and Jane Parks.

      Stomp the Monster 5K, April 22, 2012

 Joe Balint  18:59 (3rd, AG)

 Chuck Paul  19:16  (2^nd, AG)  

 John Doyle  19:48   (10^th AG)

 Ken Cenicola  21:33  (8^th AG)

 DeDe Paul  22:23  (1^st AG)

 Cande Olsen   25:02  (1^st AG)

Other RC2 club members who participated in this race included Shirley Pettijohn and Dave Hoch.