Steven Lopez's Road to 50

41 - STEVEN LOPEZ

4:48:55 - Disney World Marathon, Orlando, FL, 1/11/09 (State #1)

4:06:11 - Disney World Marathon, Orlando, FL, 1/9/11

3:47:05 - Chevron Houston Marathon, Houston, 1/15/12 (State #2)

3:46:18 - The Woodlands Marathon, The Woodlands, 3/3/12

4:26:20 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon, San Antonio, 11/11/12

4:02:55 - Chevron Houston Marathon, Houston, 1/13/13

4:13:36 - Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, 10/6/13 (State #3)

4:30:25 - Disney World Marathon, Orlando, FL, 1/12/14

4:07:22 - Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, Cincinnati, OH, 5/4/14 (State #4)

4:04:11 - Chicago Marathon, Chicago, IL, 10/12/14 (State #5)

4:11:32 - Richmond Marathon, Richmond, VA, 11/15/14 (State #6)

5:03:37 - Big Sur International Marathon, Carmel, CA, 4/26/15 (State #7)

4:20:45 - Detroit Free Press International Marathon, Detroit, MI, 10/18/15 (State #8)

4:51:22 - New York City Marathon, New York City, NY, 11/1/15 (State #9)

5:02:36 - Ironman Texas, The Woodlands, 5/14/16

5:18:36 - Aspen Valley Marathon, Aspen, CO, 7/16/16 (State #10)

5:27:27 - Portland Marathon, Portland, OR, 10/9/16 (State #11)

4:44:15 - Kiawah Island Marathon, Kiawah Island, SC, 12/10/16 (State #12)

4:40:12 - Rock 'N' Roll New Orleans Marathon, New Orleans, LA, 2/5/17 (State #13)

4:53:47 - Missoula Marathon, Missoula, MT, 7/9/17 (State #14)

5:57:19 - Steamtown Marathon, Scranton, PA, 10/8/17 (State #15)

5:08:36 - Rocket City Marathon, Huntsville, AL, 12/9/17 (State #16)

4:58:02 - Little Rock Marathon, Little Rock, AR, 3/4/18 (State #17)

5:08:56 - Fargo Marathon, Fargo, ND, 5/19/18 (State #18)

5:06:37 - Hartford Marathon, Hartford, CT, 10/13/18 (State #19)

5:19:10 - Tulsa Marathon, Tulsa, OK, 11/18/18 (State #20)

5:50:48 - Mississippi Blues Marathon, Jackson, MS, 1/26/19 (State #21)

5:25:50 - Sand Hollow Marathon, St. George, UT, 3/9/19 (State #22)

5:39:20 - Sugarloaf Marathon, Carrabassett Valley, ME, 5/19/19 (State #23)

5:42:55 - Mesa Falls Marathon, Ashton, ID, 8/24/19 (State #24)

4:59:14 - Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Indianapolis, IN, 11/9/19 (State #25)

5:28:10 - Callaway Gardens Marathon, Pine Mountain, GA, 1/25/20 (State #26)

5:51:38 - Des Moines Marathon, Des Moines, IA, 10/17/21 (State #27)

5:40:08 - Lost Dutchman Marathon, Apache Junction, AZ, 2/20/22 (State #28)

5:25:23 - Tobacco Road Marathon, Cary, NC, 3/20/22 (State #29)

5:29:50 - Eau Claire Marathon, Eau Claire, WI, 5/1/22 (State #30)

6:21:55 - Mad Marathon, Waitsfield, VT, 7/10/22 (State #31)

5:50:44 - Kansas City Marathon, Kansas City, MO, 10/15/22 (State #32)

10:52:01 - Baatan Memorial Death March Marathon, White Sands Missile Range, NM, 3/19/23 (State #33)

5:44:02 - Revel Mt. Charleston, Las Vegas, NV, 4/1/23 (State #34)

6:25:12 - Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon, Deadwood, SD, 6/4/23 (State #35)

Lopez Gets State #35, The Road to 100 and June Racing and Training Updates

June is for Jerritt.

Well, May was too.

As we head into the last weekend of the month, Volte's Jerritt Park has completed 49 races on his road to 100 races in 2023.

And he finished nine races in both May and June (so far).

He hit the road to Corpus Christi and Waco this month to go with trips to Keller, San Antonio and Dripping Springs earlier this year.

Below is a list of his races for this month:

41.  6/1/23 - 25:36 - Millican Summer Series 5K #1, College Station - 2nd AG

42.  6/2/23 - 19:59 - Fun Fit Endurance Fest Glow Run 5K, Corpus Christi - 1st AG, 4th overall

43.  6/3/23 - 20:17 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #72, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

44.  6/4/23 - 20:51 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K, The Woodlands - 1st overall

45.  6/10/23 - 19:57 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #73, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

46.  6/11/23 - 1:02:20 - Xterra Cameron Park Trail Run 10.5K, Waco - 1st masters, 3rd overall

47.  6/15/23 - 24:20 - Millican Summer Series 5K #2, College Station - 1st masters, 9th overall

48.  6/17/23 - 20:18 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #74, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

49.  6/18/23 - 45:05 - Warehouse Distance Challenge 10K - Race 2, Cypress - 1st overall

But, yes, we had other Voltes and friends running through the first three weeks of the month.

Friends Randall Ivins and Ken Johnson joined Jerritt at Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #72 where they finished the triple loop course in 28:07 and 53:45, respectively.

Just a few short miles from the 45th Parallel North marker and a figurative stone's throw from Canada, Paul Roche was second in his 70-79 age group at the Cobscook Bay 10K on Sunday, June 4 in Pembroke, Maine.

Navigating over the flyover states, we journey to Deadwood, South Dakota where Steven Lopez finished the vaunted Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon to log a marathon finish in his 35th different state.

State #35 for Steven Lopez:  Sweet Finish in South Dakota
(Photo courtesy of Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon)

Steven takes over the story from here:

"Feeling thankful and blessed," he said.  "The route had beautiful views but for this flatlander, it was truly another challenge.

"However, if for a sign, on the bus ride back to the hotel, I sat near a woman who, with this marathon, has completed her 48th state.

"Although truly an inspiration for anyone, she shared something that made me somewhat emotional. She shared that she has stage 4 cancer but that the marathons have kept her alive.

"She shared also that the last two will be this year. She was completely positive and thankful for every day of life.

"My hat was off to her as well as a huge level of respect. Needless to say, the pain in my legs was nothing compared to what she has been going through.

"I will again say my appreciation for every day of life and for the thankfulness for my health."

A definite lesson for us all.

And in the beautiful California city of San Diego, Keith Wiley finished the Rock 'N Roll San Diego Half Marathon in 2:51:15.

Back home, and later that Sunday, June 4, Kristi Park took over for our founder Bill Dwyer, who was out of state attending to family matters, and organized the monthly The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K.  (Thanks Kristi!)

Jerritt, as noted above, won, but Christopher Branch was second in 22:30.  

Kim White easily took third in 24:10 followed by Trey Taylor with a mark of 25:14.

Judith Albarran rocking the Volte blues for a Sunday Night 5K win!
(Photo courtesy of Kristi Park)

Judith Albarran was the first female finisher in 26:13 and Julie White was second in 27:58.  

Julia Di Paolo, Kimberly Roth and Mona Draper all finished in 46:56.

Again, Randall Ivins and Ken Johnson were Volte friends that were out and they posted times of 30:29 and 49:08, respectively.

The following Saturday, June 10, Christopher Branch and Judith Albarran kicked the tires on a new race - the Hometown 10K by a race production company new to the greater Houston area (Bodie's) as did Volte friends Josh Rivas and John Nguyen.

First overall female in the 10K was Judith in 48:18, while Christopher was first in his age group in 44:24.

Christopher Branch closes out the Hometown 10K in Sugar Land
(Photo courtesy of Hometown 10K)

Josh was first in his age group in the half in 1:40:10 and John was second in his - at the same distance - in 2:06:24.

Volte friends Randall Ivins and Vincent Attanucci joined Jerritt at Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #74 on Saturday, June 17.

They finished in 32:48 and 39:32, respectively.

On the day before Father's Day, some of our Volte friends ran the No Label Brewing 5K in Katy, which is produced by Run In Texas.

Reported as a short 2.9 miles, Mark Amann was first in his age group in 16:17.  

Paul Blutt stopped the clock in 23:35 while Dr. John Slate covered the course in 36:22.

And rounding out of Volte's efforts in Stateline, Nevada, Kate Semmelrogge-Thomas ran the Rock Tahoe Half Marathon in 2:55:06.

It has been a great start to the summer as we've welcomed close to 10 new runners to our group -- even though we've never been one to focus too much on numbers at Volte -- and our walking group, within that, is gaining momentum.

Running with us recently has been Megan Cardon from Utah.  

She is in town with her husband who is finishing up an internship.

And, lastly, Volte will have nearly 30 runners going to the Tunnel Light Marathon in North Bend, Washington in September, including at least four in a brand new half marathon distance event.

Come run with us!

Jerritt Park's Road to 100 in 2023

January
1.  1/7/23 - 20:20 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #51, Magnolia - 2nd overall

2.  1/8/23 - 1:10:11 - Texas 10 Bridgeland, Cypress - 4th AG

3.  1/14/23 - 20:16 - We Are Houston 5K, Houston - 7th AG

4.  1/28/23 - 26:01 - Rerun 5x5 #1, Navasota

5.  1/28/23 - 25:11 - Rerun 5x5 #2, Navasota

6.  1/28/23 - 25:56 - Rerun 5x5 #3, Navasota

7.  1/28/23 - 28:11 - Rerun 5x5 #4, Navasota

8.  1/28/23 - 26:58 - Rerun 5x5 #5, Navasota

February

9.  2/5/23 - 1:12:36 - Texas 10 Sienna, Missouri City - 5th AG

10.  2/5/23 - 21:30 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K, The Woodlands - 1st overall

11.  2/18/23 - 21:45 - Muddy Trails 5K, The Woodlands - 1st AG

12.  2/25/23 - 20:12 - The Woodlands Marathon 5K, The Woodlands - 1st AG

March
13.  3/4/23 - 42:29.5 - The Woodlands Marathon 10K, The Woodlands - 2nd AG

14.  3/5/23 - 21:46 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K, The Woodlands - 1st overall

15.  3/11/23 - 21:15 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #60, Magnolia - 2nd masters, 9th overall

16.  3/16/23 - 9:09 - Fleet Feet Hughes Landing Donut Mile, The Woodlands (1.16 miles) - 1st overall

17.  3/18/23 - 21:00 - Shannon Brewing Company 5K, Keller - 1st AG, 3rd overall

18.  3/20/23 - 45:22 - Mainly Marathon Gulf Coast Series 10K, Beaumont - 1st overall

19.  3/25/23 - 43:16.9 - Blue Bell Fun Run 10K, Brenham - 2nd AG, 9th overall

20.  3/26/23 - 20:40 - Run Houston Minute Maid Park 5K, Houston - 1st AG

April

21.  4/1/23 - 21:43 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #63, Magnolia - 2nd masters, 5th overall

22.  4/1/23 - 22:19 - Tomball Cheer 5K Color Run, Tomball - 4th overall

23.  4/2/23 - 21:03 - Saint Arnold Art Car IPA 5K, Houston - 2nd AG

24.  4/2/23 - 20:46 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K, The Woodlands - 3rd overall

25.  4/15/23 - 20:52 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #65, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

26.  4/16/23 - 1:46:00 (12.4 miles) - Gator Bait 15K Trail Run, Huntsville - 1st AG

27.  4/22/23 - 20:33 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #66, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall
28.  4/23/23 - 19:51 - Vintage Half Marathon 5K, Klein - 1st AG, 9th overall

29.  4/29/23 - 21:21 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #67, Magnolia - 2nd masters, 9th overall

30.  4/29/23 - 14:14.1 - HARRA Bayou Bash Relay, Houston - 2-mile leg - 2nd Mixed Masters division
31.  4/30/23 - 21:13 - 5K for Kelsey Fun Run, League City - 2nd overall

May

32.  5/4/23 - 28:10 - San Antonio Road Runners May The Fourth Be With You 4-Miler - 2nd overall

33.  5/6/23 - 20:50 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #68, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

34.  5/7/23 - 20:40 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K, The Woodlands - 1st overall
35.  5/13/23 - 4.83 miles (just over 19 laps) - 54th annual LP Run, Houston (Rice University)
36.  5/20/23 - 20:43 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #70, Magnolia - 1st masters, 3rd overall
37.  5/21/23 - 41:18 - Run Houston Clear Lake 10K, Houston - 1st AG, 8th overall

38.  5/27/23 - 19:57 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #71, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

39.  5/28/23 - 20:06 - Bell Springs Winery & Brewery 5K Run, Dripping Springs - 1st overall

40.  5/29/23 - 20:30 - Seven Hills Running Club Memorial Day 5K, Huntsville - 1st overall

June

41.  6/1/23 - 25:36 - Millican Summer Series 5K #1, College Station - 2nd AG

42.  6/2/23 - 19:59 - Fun Fit Endurance Fest Glow Run 5K, Corpus Christi - 1st AG, 4th overall

43.  6/3/23 - 20:17 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #72, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

44.  6/4/23 - 20:51 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K, The Woodlands - 1st overall

45.  6/10/23 - 19:57 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #73, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

46.  6/11/23 - 1:02:20 - Xterra Cameron Park Trail Run 10.5K, Waco - 1st masters, 3rd overall

47.  6/15/23 - 24:20 - Millican Summer Series 5K #2, College Station - 1st masters, 9th overall

48.  6/17/23 - 20:18 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #74, Magnolia - 1st masters, 2nd overall

49.  6/18/23 - 45:05 - Warehouse Distance Challenge 10K - Race 2, Cypress - 1st overall

Volte Closes The Books on May with a Sylvan Beach Recap

Sylvan Beachers, we didn't miss you from last weekend!

The only one of Team Tri Volte that got shutout from the awards podium at the Sylvan Beach Duathon, Triathlon and Paratriathlon was the guy that was coming back from having surgery performed recently, Paolo Biagi.

That's a whole medal of courage of its own to overcome - and the deductible to go with it!

Team Tri Volte:  New competitors welcome - including the guy - Debut Darren - on the far right!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

In the longer Olympic distance race, which was a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run, Yaya Herrera finished in 3:09:31 to grab third overall in her age group.

Yaya to the finish!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Making his multisport debut was Darren Hadden, and he turned the Duathlon into a new athletic home if he wants to take up longer residence there.

He finished the 1.7-mile run, 20-kilometer bike and 5K run in 1:11:26, also picking a third place age group award.  

Even though they weren't in the same age division, he held off one of Houston's top veteran runners, Francisco "Paco" Garza, from catching him on the run.

Biagi was next across in 1:18:11 while Tammy Grado, putting to work the advantages gained from preparation for Ironman Texas, won her division in 1:27:30.

(Actually, preliminary results showed Biagi in third, but when the event producer acknowledged before the awards presentation that there were no separate overall and masters winners in the duathlon he got bumped down to fourth.)

Volte friend Nicholle Winger was second in her age group in 1:15:49.

And another Volte friend, Alejandro Bedoya, took second in his division in the Sprint triathlon, which replaced the 1.7-mile run with a 500-meter swim.

Thanks to Bill Dwyer and Roger King for supporting the team in La Porte.

Keeping with the triathlon theme, we bend the Alan Jackson tune in saying that Dana Formon and Gabby Westbrook were "way down yonder in the Chattanooga"!

The duo took on Iromnan 70.3 Chattanooga in Tennessee on Sunday, May 21 and did well.

Formon, who is coached by T3's Brian Tucker, stopped the clock in 6:33:15 while Westbrook, directed by TxTri's Sandra Sutherland, finished in 6:50:36.

Great job, ladies!

Volte friend Pam Meaux - one of our local female legends in running and triathlon in The Woodlands - was fourth in her 60-64 division in 5:44:37.

And in a light racing week otherwise, we kicked the tires on Run Houston! Clear Lake - also on Sunday, May 21.

Were we snoozing on Saturday, May 20?

No, we almost overlooked Jerritt Park in Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #70, where he took third overall and first masters in 20:43.

We take our readers back to Clear Lake.

Sherry Cameron led us off with a 39:38 finish in the 5K.

In the 10K, Jerritt logged a new personal best at the distance and finished first in his age group in 41:18.

Volte friend Josh Rivas was second in his age group in 42:20.  

He shared that his daughter Kylie ran her very first 10K ever and finished first in her division in 49:46.

And Jennifer Vieira closed the books on the race, doing well for Volte in 1:19:31.

Volte Thankful For The Freedom To Run on Memorial Day Weekend

We hope your Memorial Day weekend was restful and that you had time to spend with family and/or friends as well as reflect on those who gave their lives in service to our great, but always much to work on country.

Volte had a great group at the fourth annual Memorial Day 5K and 10K at Houston's St. Thomas High School, produced by Houston Running Company.

Four came home with some hardware as all of our athletes - including our friends there - chose to do the 5K.  

Seriously, who wants to choose to do the 10K when you don't have to, right?

Bling, bling at the Memorial Day 5K and 10K in Houston from this good-looking Volte crew!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Luis Murillo got the fanfare started with a third overall finish in 18:02, behind Houston Strake Jesuit graduating senior Jake Chandler and Hockley's John Brown.

Another third overall - this time the Master's division - went to the older Murillo brother, Juan, as he was 12th overall and five seconds out of second Master's with a time of 20:21 - behind Richard Oeschlin and Mani Walia.

Two spots behind in the wide 40-49 division, especially so with 502 finishers, was Chris Branch in 20:45.

Sixth overall female and first in the ladies Master's division was Judith Albarran with a nice time of 22:49.  

Judith Albarran putting the beat down on Tomball's Paul Hellen, thanks to Tuesday's track workouts!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

The next two ladies in the division figuratively escorted (finishing one spot ahead and behind) Luis and Juan's dad, Jose, to the finish, more than two minutes behind.

He crushed the 70-and-over division as he stopped the clock in 25 minutes even, more than 13 minutes ahead of second place.

Coach Rich Cooper and Sherry Cameron rounded out our team's efforts with marks of 30:41 and 37:13, respectively.

Volte friend Alejandro Bedoya got in the age group winning business with a near three-minute win in the 20-29 age group - good for fifth overall - in 18:59.

Christina Gray and Marta Mixa - our friends with Northside Running - ran well with times of 27:47 and 28:25.  

Marta headed back up Interstate 45 with a third place age group award for the keeping.

Longest distance of the weekend went to Steven Sfeir as he finished his second career Buffalo Marathon in 4:38:18 on Sunday, May 28. 

He ran it two years ago in 4:39:51.

Well done, Steven!

And that leaves us with the weekly Jerritt Park #roadto100 report.

Second overall on Saturday morning at the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #71 in east Magnolia is where Jerritt dropped his first sub-20 minute parkrun with a time of 19:57 - just 13 seconds back of McCullough eighth grader (and soon to be The Woodlands freshman) Max Charbonneau.

Volte friend Ken Johnson of the Seven Hills Running Club finished his 17th career parkrun in 49:41.

If San Antonio wasn't far enough alone for Jerritt, well, this time, he packed up the family for adventures on Sunday, May 28 in Dripping Springs, with an 11 a.m. start at the Bell Springs Wine Run 5K.

On a hilly course, he threw down an impressive 20:16 - almost a minute and a half in front of 24-year-old Peter Mitchell - for the overall win.

And on Memorial Day, Jerritt got to race #40 of the year with another overall win - this time at the Seven Hills Running Club Memorial Day 5K in Huntsville.

The race, which is hosted from Ken and Marilynn Johnson's house in the Timberwilde subdivision, saw Jerritt crossing the finish line in 20:30.

Volte friend Becky Nesbitt from Hempstead won the women's race in 22:28.

Also in Austin on Monday, we had friends competing in the Memorial Day classic triathlon, the Ascension Seton CapTex Tri.

Volte alumni Kate Looney finished sixth overall in the Olympic division in 2:19:43.  

Two spots in front of her was local legend - and two-time Olympic Trials marathoner and multi Kona podium finisher - Peggy Yetman.

Scott Mayer, Volte friend from the Team Strive days and former Strike Force Racing team member, overcame a couple of bike flats and finished the Olympic in 3:00:59.

Kate's husband, Bob, competed in the equally popular Sprint race, and finished third in his 40-44 division (27th overall) in 1:11:40.

Volte Off and Running in May

When you get crazy goals, you do crazy things!

Alright, not really crazy, just committed - to drive three hours for a race on a weekday evening!

Race #32 for Jerritt Park was the May The Fourth Be With You 4-Miler hosted by the San Antonio Road Runners on Thursday, May 4, of course.

Thing is, it was something other than four miles.

We'll let Jerritt take over the storytelling:

"Runners go out about .35 mile and can choose which way to run the loop (one is the dark side and the other the light side)," he explained.  "Four of us go out and I’m the only one to take the dark side.

"Me and the leader cross at 1.5? and we both meet up again at 2.65 with .35 left?"

Jerritt said that it appeared that they forgot to mark some loop. 

"I turn around and got four in the 2nd and fourth guy stopped at 3.  I’ll take unofficially 2nd overall in 28.10."

Always better executed is the annual Woodforest Sprint Triathlon produced by The Woodlands Township Parks and Recreation department and run out of North Shore Park.

Mike Kuykendahl led Team Tri Volte with a 1:38:49 finish over the 500-meter swim, 12.8-mile bike and 5K run courses.

Former Team Strive and Strike Force Racing athlete - and Volte friend - Scott Mayer posted a 1:12:11 finish while Nicholle Winger was second in her age group in 1:15:27.

Jerritt finished race #33 the same Saturday morning, May 6, in the 68th running of the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K.

He was second overall in 20:50, while Volte friends - and community legends - Vincent Attanucci and Ken Johnson ran the course in 30:52 and 47:03, respectively.

Then we had long, and comparatively short, the rest of the day.

Mark Embry ran the Wildflower 50K in Bastrop in 8:33:34.

Darren Hadden was called in to duty by his employer, ExxonMobil, to compete in the annual Corporate Track & Field Meet, this year hosted at Barnett Stadium in Houston.

Darren Hadden handing off to an ExxonMobil teammate, much like the way he works in tandem with many of the runners in our Volte group.
(Photo courtesy of Darren Hadden)

While his overall ExxonMobil team took first, Darren was on two separate second place relay teams.  He posted a 2:30 800 meters in the Masters Relay and then followed with a 5:30 in the 1600 meters Executive Relay.

Tabbed for one more event, he covered the 3,200 meters in 11:30.

Big group at The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K on Sunday, May 7 at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands.

Voltes 9, Friends 4 was the final score!

Jerritt Park was first overall - in his race #34 - in 20:39.  

Christopher Branch was second in 23:55, followed by Volte friends Edson Jones in 24:58 and James Spencer in 25:37.

Judith Albarran was the first female finisher in 26:53 and Paolo Biagi in his first race post-procedure was not too far behind in 27:39.

Volte friend Randall Ivins was next in 30:56.

Our Geri Henry led a small group in 45 minutes even as Volte friend Ken Johnson followed in 48:13.

Mona Draper, Kimberly Roth and Julia Di Paolo all finished together in 48:32 and Julie Purcell was close behind in 50:43.

A little bit lighter fare on Mother's Day weekend.

Volte friend Ken Johnson finished his 16th career parkrun in 50:10 at Spindle Tree parkrun #69 on Saturday, May 13.

Jerritt?  Well, that same morning, he travelled south to Houston's Rice University to take place in one of Texas' oldest races - the 54th annual LP Run, where you run as many laps as possible in 33 and a third minutes (33:20).

He covered a little of 19 laps for an official distance of 4.83 miles, which equated to a 6:54 pace.

Eunice Allen ran the Shoots & Ladders 5K produced by AMPT Running in Plano finishing in 29:32 - good for 108th out of 481 finishers.

And finally, who knew that the Kings were cookers?!

First place brisket in the Willis VFW BBQ Cook Off went to Roger and Robert King.

Probably not a long list of guys that can win a BBQ cook off and drop sub-3 hour marathons.
(Photo courtesy of We Two Kings)

Holy smokes!

Maybe we'll enlist them for a Volte Sausage Eating Contest or something like at the Bud Heat Wave on the Fourth of July!

Volte Closes Out April With a Little History-Making

So where did we leave off?  Ironman Texas?  

Ah yes.  Still great memories for all!

Actually the last weekend of April was quite historic in Volte, USA - and may have only happened - partly - because Jerritt Park was looking for more races.

Even though some of the veterans among us have known about it for quite some time.

Saturday morning, April 29, began with a good crew - Voltes and friends - at the 67th running of the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K in east Magnolia.

The entire Park family participated.  

Brayden led the way with a fifth place overall time of 18:27.

Jerritt was ninth overall and the second masters finisher - behind Kevin Baker - with a mark of 21:21.  Put it in the books for race #29 of the year.

Riley Park would make it to the finish line a few seconds before Mom, Kristi, did.  

Kristi stopped the clock in 26:35, while Riley dashed in at 26:23 - and now holds the fastest 10 and under time in Spindle Tree parkrun history.

Greg Broad rounded out our group with a time of 34:18.

Lots of friends getting in the action too as Lorena Rowell led the way in 24:25.  

Vincent Attanucci finished his 25th career parkrun in 29:08.  

Woodlands Fit runners Erika Lawton and Mariela Rodriguez covered the three-loop course in 31:39 and 36:59, respectively, and Ken Johnson finished his 14th career parkrun in 50:10.

The first bit of historic took place a little later in the morning in Eugene, Oregon as Keith Wiley ran the Eugene Half Marathon.

Keith Wiley putting the dot on Oregon at historic Hayward Field
(Photo courtesy of Keith Wiley)

Historic in the sense that the finish was on the track at Hayward Field.

Keith made the best of it with a 2:10:38 finish despite having one of his shoes literally fall apart during the race that slowed him down.

Never before this Saturday had a complete Volte team run in HARRA's Bayou Bash Relay.

It is a race that features four runners each doing a 2.2-mile leg - and it is typically against some of the best runners with many of Houston's long-time running clubs.

Team Volte Endurance was the second overall Mixed Masters team with a total time of 1:00:29.

Team Volte Endurance.  Volte's first-ever complete team in HARRA's Bayou Bash Relay
(Photo courtesy of Jerritt Park)

Jerritt Park paced the group with a split of 14:14.  Jane Cardnell and Rob Gay followed in 14:31 and 14:39, respectively.  

Kristi Park, with her second race of the day, posted a nice effort of 17:03.

That was race #29 for Jerritt, and #30 came the next day as he finished second overall in 21:13 at the League City-based Run For Kelsi 5K.