Race Results of the Week: January

Week 4:  Audrey Reed

 

Week 3:  Ramon Rosales and Trevor Lemaster

Week 3:  Josie You

Week 2:  Kate Thomas

Week 1:  Mark Moran

January 22-28, 2025: Week In Review

While we're still working on our recaps for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon and the Chevron Houston Marathon, racing by Volte athletes and friends goes on!

The weekend got started in east Magnolia at the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #160 where Kevin Baker and Jerritt Park went three and four overall, posting times of 19:47 and 19:59, respectively.

The two of them have combined for 101 Spindle Tree parkruns (Kevin 56 and Jerritt 45).

Volte friend Vincent Attanucci finished his 91st parkrun in a time of 35:10.  

Always good to see our friends Steven and Cathy Bickford of the Seven Hills Running Club, and thank you to Fleet Feet's Lindsey Perkins and her daughter, Emmerson, for volunteering as tailwalkers for Saturday's event.

In Bastrop, the Murrillo family chased the Cowboy Yetis around the Lost Pines Trail at Bastrop State Park on Saturday and left with a bagful of firsts.

Luis won the Cowboy Yeti Trail Run 7K by three and a half minutes in a time of 30:06, Jose was first in his age group in the 20K in 2:35:40 and Juan drew the long straw and went 60K in 7:11:36 for another first place age group finish - and fourth overall.

Then we had a big crew "get them some chocolate", as race announcer Todd Busteed likes to say, at the seventh annual USA Today Hot Chocolate Run in downtown Houston on Saturday.

Eleven of our 17 runners finished in the top three of their race or age division, while three of our eight friends did the same.

In the 5K, we went four for four as Nora Dominguez led us with a first-place time of 22:15.  

Kim White was second in his division in 22:26 while his wife Julie won hers in 23:42.  

Julie White leaving the city behind in the Hot Chocolate Run 5K.
(Photo courtesy of Hot Chocolate Run)

Erika Sampson grabbed third place in 24:07.

Volte friend Bonnie Farinella won her division in 22:09, while Diana Aurrecoechea stopped the clock in 32:25.

Lu Bouanga was the overall winner of the 10K in 35:45, a 13-second win over former Grambling State runner Ryan Burrell, who lives in Farmers Branch.

Ricardo Roche and Christopher Reed won their respective 45-49 and 50-54 age divisions with marks of 42:03 and 43:55.

Christopher Reed flying down the decline in the Hot Chocolate Run 15K
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Ricardo posted a win of just over two minutes over good guy Michael Sparks of Northside Running while our Vinod Kumar was third in 45:27.

Meanwhile, Christopher had a minute and 40-second win over Houston's Ed Lai.

Running with Vinod the entire way, Caitlin Cain was the second overall female in the 10K in 45:26.

Caitlin Cain on her way to a third place overall finish in the 10K
(Photo courtesy of Hot Chocolate Run)

Audrey Reed rounded out our team efforts in the 10K with a showing of 1:01:23 while Volte friend Ram Rajagopalan came across the line in 1:22:29.

And then were our distance fiends who took on the 15K.

Third overall for all females was Stephanie Reed with her personal best Hot Chocolate time of 1:06:49. 

Stephanie Reed finds time to smile on the way to a Hot Chocolate Run PR for her.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

It was the fifth time that she has run in the event and her previous best time was 1:13:38 in 2019.

Isabel Burbano-Bedoya was third in her age group in 1:14:20 while David Hsieh was right behind her in 1:14:45.

Her first race back since her 100-miler last month, Cheryl Edwards and Volte friend Scott Cohen both finished in 1:37:08.

Greg Broad completed his third career Hot Chocolate 15K in a time of 1:41:40, Joe Armstrong crossed the finish line with Volte friend and former Houston Running Blogger Cassie Mondragon in 1:49:02 and Devyn Cook paced a friend to a time of 1:56:51.

Joe Armstrong running the line at the Hot Chocolate Run 15K
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

A couple of Volte friends won first in their age group - Jetola Anderson-Blair and Michael Dwyer.  They did so in 1:19:58 and 1:24:31, respectively.

Erika Lawton and Mariela Rodriguez with USA Fit finished in 1:47:22 and 1:48:24, respectively.

Next up?  USA Fit Marathon and Half Marathon as well as Texas 10 Sienna.

January 18, 2025: Houston Marathon Saturday

As we've mentioned many times here in the past, Chevron Houston Marathon weekend is huge in our southeast Texas running community as well as for our Volte athletes and friends.

But it isn't always the only race in town!

Kevin Baker and Katerina Savelieva got us started on Saturday morning, January 18 - well, technically, it was a few minutes behind the 5K downtown (but it's our story, right?) - at the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K in east Magnolia.

Kevin Baker (right) giving a little fist bump to Houston Homeschool Athletics'
Luis McCauley on a job well done, beating him by six seconds.
(Photo courtesy of Spindle Tree parkrun 5K)

It was the 159th running of the event and Kevin was second overall among 55 hardy finishers in 20:06 while Katerina was the fifth overall female in 26:06.

Moving to downtown Houston for the We Are Houston 5K, which is actually sponsored by both Chevron and Aramco, five Volte athletes and five of our friends did a little shake out run getting ready for Sunday's main events.

Mark Moran was the first across in 35:39, followed by Damon Foy in 35:57.  

Mike Kuykendall rounded out our men with a 36:54 effort, while Donna Moran and Sherry Cameron took it easy with marks of 39:55 and 41:35, respectively.

Our friends were led by Elvira Hall with her time of 27:18. 

She was joined by Femi Adegbola in 28:29, Josh Rivas in 29:59 and Melissa Holloway, and her husband, Rob, in 40:48.

And even though it was Sunday morning when he started where he was, it was still Saturday evening here in the States.

The time zones between Houston and Mumbai, Maharashtra, India are 11 hours and 30 minutes apart.

So Gourav Kumar either closed out our Saturday or kicked off our Sunday from half way around the globe with a 1:51:39 half marathon at the Mumbai Half Marathon - a companion event with the Tata Mumbai Marathon.

Some nice swag in Mumbai!
(Photo courtesy of Gourav Kumar)

"The hype about the Mumbai Marathon didn't disappoint," he said on his Facebook page.  "It was a fun filled weekend to catch up with friends, be part of the courageous gang and of course some running as well."

January 8-14, 2025; Week in Review

With the majority of Volte gearing up for one of this coming weekend's races at the Chevron Houston Marathon, the racing card for Week 2 was light.

Kevin Baker and Katerina Savelieva - as well as Volte friend Vincent Attanucci - ran the 158th edition of the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K in east Magnolia on Saturday morning.

Baker was the first across the line as he finished second overall in 20:05.

And Katerina was the first female as she held off a pair of high school runners to grab the women's win in 25:27.

The all-time winningest female runner, Katerina Savelieva, at Spindle Tree parkrun.
(Courtesy of Spindle Tree parkrun)

It was her 15th win at Spindle Tree, bettering Kevin by three wins as he has finished first 12 times, and her seventh fastest time out of 45 races there.

Those 15 wins are the most of any female and she leads Aimee Wong and Lynn Wright, who have 11 and 10, respectively.

Meanwhile, Attanucci finished in 32:09.

He has run Spindle Tree 90 times out of the 158 races that have been put on - and might have been more if Run The Woodlands had folded sooner.

Also on Saturday, another Volte friend, Jon Walk, took to the road and ran the 10th annual Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival 5K in Cameron, Louisiana in 29:03 on the flat, out-and-back course.

It was a race in his 15th of 64 Louisiana parishes.

Finishing 20th overall out of 42 finishers and faster than the average time of 33:03, Jon landed in the most populous age group, where he chuckled that he was sixth of seventh.

Closing us out on Sunday, January 12 was Kate Semmelrogge Thomas in San Francisco, California where she was celebrating her birthday by competing in the San Francisco Hot Chocolate 15K.

She finished in a time of 2:11:37.

Too much fun?  No such thing for Kate Thomas (middle) and her friends at Sunday's Hot Chocolate 15K in San Francisco.  (Photo courtesy of Hot Chocolate Run)

January 1-5, 2025: Week In Review

Volte Year 13 is going to be lucky, right?

Regardless, here we go.

The race year began in Erie, Pennsylvania on Wednedsay, January 1 as the Park family woke up to four inches of snow 10 miles in from Lake Erie, but races were on at the race site which only had light rain and was just 35 degrees.

Brayden and his Dad, Jerritt, ran the Erie Running Club New Year's Day 5-Miler in 30:59 and 33:32, respectively, both good for first place age group wins, while Mom, Kristi, and sister, Riley, ran the 5K.

Kristi was the first overall woman in 27:34 while Riley finished in 29:36.

Closer to home, we had a handful of Volte friends running either Spindle Tree parkrun in east Magnolia or the Texas Half Marathon and Marathon in Kingwood.

Randall Ivins was our first friend to cross the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K finish line in 26:57, followed by Jon Walk in 29:37.  

Paul Blutt and Ken Johnson covered the distance in 31:26 and 53:49.

Thanh Dinh was third overall in the Texas Marathon in 3:13:40, while C. Stephenson-Lake was second in her age group in the half marathon in 2:04:58. 

Gretchen Dixon and her son, Zane, also ran the half.  Zane came in first in 2:04:58 while Gretchen stopped the clock in 2:33:35.

On Saturday, January 4, the next edition of the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K was held and found Kevin Baker in third overall in 20:39.

Jerritt Park, back from Erie, was fourth in 21:01, while Katerina Savelieva ran the triple-loop course in 29:17.

Volte friends Randall Ivins, Vincent Attanucci and Ken Johnson also ran.  They posted times of 27:30, 31:21 and 52:42, respectively.

At the Run Houston! Sam Houston Race Park 5K, Sherry Cameron finished in 39:45.

A pair of Volte friends won hardware there.  Alejandro Bedoya was first in his division in the 5K in 19:56, while John Slate was second in his in the 10K in 55:18.

A light, but fierce crowd at the Texas 10 Series Bridgeland races in Cypress.

Simon Campbell set a new personal best in The Resolution 5K in a time of 22:44 while Mom, Jane Cardnell, ran right with him to earn the overall female title in 22:48, pausing just a second or two to break a physical tape.  

Breaking the tape is always fun for Jane Cardnell.
(Photo courtesy of David Reynolds with Digital Knight Productions)

Volte friend Jimmie Gowton was good for a time of 48:05.

In the 5-mile race, Mike Kuykendall took first in his division in 58:06 while Donna Moran was second in hers in 1:11:28.

Erin Gowton and Ken Johnson were Volte friends in this race as Erin won first in her age group in 45:49 while Ken was third in his in 1:29:53.

And in the marquee 10-mile distance, Mark Moran and Waverly Walk won their divisions in 1:33:24 and 1:47:28, respectively.

Waverly Walk with her Dad, Jon, finish their first Texas 10 Series 10-Miler
(Photo courtesy of David Reynolds with Digital Knight Productions)

Volte friend Mark Amann was the overall winner in 58:48, while C. Stephenson-Lake and John Slate went home with hardware.  C. was first in her division in 1:21:36 while Slate grabbed third in 1:35:37.

Danny Grube finished in 1:45-even, while Jon Walk made it in with his daughter in 1:47:29.

And in the Bigfoot Classic 10K and 15K in Sugar Land at Brazos River Bend Park, courses were of the improvisational kind.

Jerritt Park's in the 10K might have been long - because a first-time volunteer led out with the bike, while the 15K appeared to be short.

Either way, both Jerritt and Volte friend Sabina Lorca won their respective distances.

Sabina Lorca-Acosta (right) with her husband, Robert, who ran the 10K
(Photo courtesy of Sabina Lorca-Acosta)

Jerritt ran away from the lead bike - as he connected back to course on the map - to stop the clock in 45:12, while Sabina won in 1:06:53 in the 15K.

And closing out the week was the 198th edition of the Sunday Night 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands.

Riley Park outpaced her Dad, Jerritt, who was finishing up his fourth race in five days, by two seconds as she ran the course in 25:50. 

Layton Gill posted a time of 29:40 while Robert Morgan and Todd Hunter followed in 30:07 and 30:30, respectively.

Volte Year in Review - 2024 - Jerritt Park: Volte's Road Race King

The last of our Year In Review is Volte's racing machine, Jerritt Park.

114 races in 2023.

24 half marathons in 2024.

Even though he's posted four race finishes in the first week of the New Year already, we're awaiting his new official goal for 2025.

Seriously, though, we should all strive for the same level of excitement about staying active - and having fun doing so.

Especially when it involves family and friends, like Jerritt's does.

Volte Year in Review - 2024 - Cheryl Edwards Outlasts Mud at Brazos Bend

Another of our Year In Review mentions also happened in December as Cheryl Edwards became just the second female in Volte's 12-year history to finish a 100-mile (or more) race, joining Mimi Torrez.

The late Joe Martinez also finished a 100-miler in 2012 followed two years later by Curtis Hooper.

Multiple 100-mile finishes have also been recorded by our training partners and friends such as Ramon Rosales, Rick Cook and the Murillos - Juan, Jose and Luis.

Also noteworthy is that even though he's been an encouragement - as a multiple 100-mile finisher himself - to so many in the community, head coach Bill Dwyer noted that Cheryl's training plan was the first that he wrote the complete training plan for.

And that Cheryl followed nearly 100 percent.

While she heaped praise upon her three pacers - Melissa Holloway, Scott Cohen and Ram Rajagopalan and her coach, Cheryl made clear in her post-race report that she was not planning to add "multiple 100-mile finishes" to her life resume.

"Never again! There. I said it." she said in her post-race report.  "And this is not one of those races where in a week when the pain is gone I’ll change my mind.

"Bucket list run? Yes, and it has been checked. My body sufficiently hates me."

But Volte doesn't and admires your commitment and effort to realize an important goal and continue Volte's tradition of strong female runners.