Volte was so busy we broke our recaps into before Spring Break (March 3-4 and March 10-11) and Spring Break and beyond (March 17-18, 24-25 and March 31).
A hearty crew participated in the Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon, the Houston Methodist The Woodlands Half Marathon and the Fleet Feet Sports The Woodlands 5K.
And those who didn't run were helping out Volte founder Bill Dwyer as he once again was the race's Finish Line Coordinator.
"Thank you to the many volunteers from Volte who helped with set up, race day and tear down," said Dwyer.
The first to greet Dwyer at the finish line were those athletes competing in the Fleet Feet Sports The Woodlands 5K.
Volte friend Sonia Dhodapkar made it there first - to win her age group in the process - with a time of 22:47.
Jon Braunersreuther led all of our Voltes in 24:34. Tiffanie Haidar was the first of the four females to finish in 27:05 while Kim Joyce captured second in her age group with a showing of 28:38.
Jenny Forseca and Marta Mixa rounded the group out with marks of 29:29 and 31:17, respectively.
Over 30 Voltes, friends and family dialed home along The Woodlands Waterway with a finish in the Houston Methodist The Woodlands Half Marathon.
Volte friends Chris Weir and Skye Moody led their respective genders in 1:23:08 and 1:29:15, respectively, but our Voltes were in chase with Derek Bailey crossing in 1:25:12 and Shelby Williams snaring third in her age group in 1:32:11.
A quintet of runners broke 1:40.
Ken Rieger and Juan Flores led that group in 1:31:13 and 1:35:05, respectively.
Laura Godfrey was the only female, throwing down a personal-best time of 1:37:43 -- 93 seconds better than her Cypress Half Marathon effort last November.
Volte friends Rob Rodriguez and Carlos Rodriquez completed the bunch out with times of 1:36:28 and 1:39:53, respectively.
Another half dozen finished in under 1:50 as Kimberly Simmons used a 1:41:24 to win first in her age group. She wasn't the only one on the podium though.
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| Kimberly Simmons approaching The Woodlands Half Marathon finish line. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
Dave Campbell led the three guys in the group with a mark of 1:43:04 while Jerritt Park and Will Ott crossed in 1:44:26 and 1:47:12, respectively.
Another six-pack broke two hours, including two who did so for the first time ever.
The first one across was Mike Kuykendall, who was more than estatic with his time.
"I finally posted a sub-2 hour half marathon of 1:57:58. God gets the glory," he exclaimed. "My coach Rich Cooper created programming that led to a four-minute, 17-second personal best. And a shout out to coach Bill Dwyer for the mental preparation."
Mike had run his previous best just two months earlier at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in 2:02:18.
Rob Myers got under two hours with a personal best of 1:59:43 that bettered his previous best time at the distance of 2:00:56 that was achieved at last year's The Woodlands Half Marathon.
Wil Cole was the first of the remaining four in 1:52:29 while Tammy Grado, Kristi Park and Megan Miller all got underneath two hours.
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| Tammy Grado's double V means her finish is twice as nice for Volte. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
Allysa Smith and Amber Speers both knocked on the two-hour door with efforts of 2:01:39 and 2:03:47, respectively.
Llana Bingham, Carrie Hyde and Laura Hanyzewski all put pressure on the 10-minute per mile standard as Carrie and Laura finished in identical times of 2:12:41 while Llana was three seconds ahead of the duo.
Lauren Hoffart finished in 2:15:41 as Paul Vita and Richard Tong tried to chase her down with marks of 2:20:43 and 2:26-even, respectively.
Volte friend Nilay Dinc crossed in 2:28:09, Leah Bolton in 2:36:50 and Oswaldo Amador - Keri's husband - finished his first half marathon in 2:48:36.
Seven of our Voltes ran the Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon as did four of our Volte friends.
Two debut marathons and a pair of BQ's -- and a couple of close calls on the latter.
Keri Amador channeled her husband's good half marathon vibes to post a 2:32 personal best (previous was January's Chevron Houston Marathon) that gave her a Boston Qualifier of 3:37:46.
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| Starting the push down along The Woodlands Waterway for a BQ is Keri Amador. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
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| Getting some encouragement from Derek Bailey, Juliee Sparks wasn't too far at this point from her BQ. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
Sparks' standard-beating margin of 3:40 would have allowed her entry, but may not in 2019.
Meredith Moss couldn't have gotten any closer to getting a BQ as she finished in 3:40:01 - one second off of the standard.
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| Meredith Moss was all smiles on her way to The Woodlands Marathon finish line. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
Still, Caamano worked closer to her second Boston Qualifier with a 3:47:44 showing - her third best of eight career marathons.
Brian Schultz finished his 23rd career marathon. Andrew Smith broke the proverbial tape in 4:29:26 while Amanda Becker finished her first marathon in 6:21:09 - just under the official cutoff.
Volte friends Gus Murillo and Luis Murillo battled it out as brothers often do with times of 3:01:22 and 3:06:56. Bob Looney stopped the clock in 3:48:23 while Christina Gray did so in 4:43:06.
Another first-time marathon finish came from Lisa Johnson the next day at the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas as she recorded a time of 6:54:51.
She had run the 5K the day before in 45:48.
Steven Lopez finished the race's 16th annual running in 4:58:02 for his 18th state to finish a marathon in.
Next door in Lafayette, Louisiana, Ruth Perez grabbed second place in her age group with a 2:16:08 time at the Zydeco Half Marathon on Sunday, March 4.
Later that evening, five Voltes and two friends showed up for The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary.
Jerritt Park led all Voltes in 21:52. Larry Batton and George Rux followed in 23:57 and 24:41, respectively, while friends Curtis Barton and Jon Walk came along in 25:47 and 31:56.
Alfredo and Letty Gonzalez finished in 41:05 and 50:46, respectively.
The following weekend, it was the Volte ladies and Juan at the Zooma Half Marathon, 10K and 5K in Bastrop.
Griselda Borrero took second in her age group in the half marathon in 2:00:44 while Juan Flores paced Leanne Rosser to a 2:05:59 third place AG finish.
In the 10K, Marta Mixa won her age group in 1:06:17. Michelle Hanes stopped the clock in 1:12:24, while Falon Gunter and Dawn Johnson ran together for a finish of 1:22:20.
Mary Carter and Lynn Smith also completed the 10K in 1:31:05 and 1:41:48, respectively, while Letty Gonzalez was third in her age group in the 5K in 42:20.
Before the sun rose in Bastrop, Bonnie Scholz was already off and running on Friday, March 9 as she ran with the Cruzin Crusaders team in 200-mile Ragnar Relay Luckenbach from San Marcos to Luckenbach.
Scholz's team finished in 32 hours, 48 minutes and 20 seconds, good for second in their division.
In Houston's Memorial Park, Laura Godfrey ran strong to grab third in her age group in the Memorial Park Conservancy Brunch Run 4-Miler on Saturday, March 10 in 29:11.
Volte friend Carlos Rodriguez was the only one that got to the finish line sooner in 28:49 while another Volte friend Sonia Dhodapkar was next in 30:32.
Amber Speers and Volte friend Vincent Attanucci posted times of 35:47 and 38:53, respectively, while Volte friend Jon Walk exacted a little revenge on his daughter, Waverly, for her half marathon win last month.
Dad led wire-to-wire in a time of 40:46 while Waverly prepared for the next battle with a fine showing of 41:30.
And Lauren and Jared Hoffart actually kicked off Spring Break by teaming up for a 2:28:17 Team Hoffart showing at the San Diego Half Marathon Relay on Sunday, March 11.
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