Volte Busy In Mid-October

Give a Volte two weeks and see what they can do.

There was no rest for the busy a couple of weeks removed from the Tunnel Light Marathon in late September.

The Memorial Hermann Ten For Texas was the next major race for us on Saturday, October 14.

Including Letty Gonzalez’s 5K effort, 30 of us crossed a finish line on Market Street.

Three went home with hardware – Rip Reynolds won his division in 1:07:40, Marta Mixa – paced by Leanne Rosser – took second in hers in 1:37:58 and Chris Weir, our fastest Volte of the morning, was third in a competitive men’s age group in 1:02:07.

Our Tunnel Light marathoners jumped back into the fray with Juan Flores leading the way with a 1:13:41 showing followed by Sandra Tezino (1:20:54), Yaya Herrera (1:22:50), Gabby Westbrook (1:22:51) and Lauren Hoffart (1:34:54).

Gabby Westbrook charging fast to the Ten For Texas finish line.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Meridith Moss was our fourth fastest Volte of the morning with a time of 1:15:57.

Landa Wright and Jill Tresaugue were under 1:30 with performances of 1:20:52 and 1:28:15, respectively.

Denise Powers (1:31:39), Kristi Park (1:37:01), Tiffanie Haider (1:38:27) and Dana Forman (1:39:31), who was getting ready for Marathon 2 Marathon, all finished in under 10 minutes per mile.

Rounding out our 10-milers were Tricia Driver - 1:43:52, Wil Cole - 1:43:56, Megan Eastin - 1:44:33, Waverly Walk - 1:47:19, Rob Myers - 1:50:55, Debra Myers - 1:50:58, Monica Moreno - 1:54:08, Nilay Dinc - 1:55:12, Michael Newsome - 2:04:16, Jeanine Price - 2:04:57, Kim Driver - 2:13:13, Lisa Johnson -  2:15:56 and Alfredo Gonzalez - 2:20:37.

Rob and Debra Myers and Llana Bingham early in the race at Ten For Texas
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

It was Nilay Dinc’s first running race ever, but her other competitive race was another event produced by The Woodlands Township – CB&I Triathlon, and Waverly Walk, answered her Dad’s call, and stepped up and “did an outstanding job with the National Anthem.”

We’re often asked, “What’s a Volte friend?”

It is someone who trains with us occasionally, is family of a member, is a good friend of a member, or has been a part of the running community with the same core values.

And we had a lot of Volte friends also at Ten For Texas.

They included:  Ronnie Delzer - 1:01:35, Mike Menster - 1:02:40, Sarah Tyler - 1:19:34, Tim Griepp - 1:10:22, James Reed - 1:10:38, Brandi Herrera - 1:20:12, Mandi Fowlkes - 1:21:55, Edson Jones - 1:23:26, Reggie Bruhn - 1:27:10, Vince Attanucci - 1:30:44, Susan Rouse - 1:31:34, Maygen Ritchie - 1:35:47, Hector Lopez - 1:49:43, Sabina Lorca - 1:56:40 (pacing her husband), Barry Blanton - 1:59:59 and Mario Vazquez - 2:03:01.

The following day, Sunday, October 15, we spanned the United States.

Randy Smith finished the Northshore Half Marathon in Mandeville, Louisiana – the site of Bill Dwyer’s last half marathon finish – in 2:04:02.  Great to have Randy back in the results again.

Brian Schultz checked off another Rock ‘N Roll race with a half marathon finish in St. Louis, Missouri that found him posting a time of 1:51:02.

And a very good friend of Volte, who’s coached by Penn State graduate and professional triathlete Liz Baugher, John Trocko completed Ironman Louisville in less than a minute over 12 hours.

He finished the 2.4-mile swim in 1:04:43, the 112-mile bike half full of rolling hills in 6:08:50 and the marathon in 4:32:33. 

Throw in a pair of seven-minute transitions and Trocko called it a day in 12:00:58.

The following weekend – Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22 – was a bit quieter for Volte and friends.

But, of course, it isn’t a race weekend unless Juan Flores or Jerritt Park has a bib on, right?

Juan ran with seven other runners on Team “Getafterit” in the Ragnar Trail Relay Hill Country Texas that spanned Friday and Saturday, October 20-21 at Flat Rock Ranch, located just outside of San Antonio.

Each runner ran three trails that totaled 15.5 miles – or 124 for the team.

The Flores-led team finished in 25 hours, seven minutes and one second, good for sixth in their division.

Closer to home, we had eight runners compete in the Love Fosters Hope race – five in the 10K and a trio in the 5K.

Four of the five placed in their age group.

Derek Bailey was first across the line in 41:47, good for second place.

Kristi Park was second in hers in 53:15 and nine seconds behind – off the podium in her age group – was Leanne Rosser.

Marta Mixa and Lauren Hoffart finished second and first, respectively, in their divisions in 1:00:01 and 1:01:42.

Laura Godfrey was second in her age group in the 5K in 23:28, while Faith Craig and Alfredo Gonzalez covered the 3.1 miles in 31:05 and 36:12, respectively.

Crossing the Galveston Causeway Bridge over to Tiki Island and back was Monica Moreno, who finished the Toughest 10K Galveston in 1:08:29.

Volte friend Erika Park was second in her age group in 45:10 while Alvaro and Lusi Trejo stopped the clocks in 53:37 and 1:08:32, respectively.

In west Texas, Dana Formon completed Marathon 2 Marathon by running into the city of Marathon, Texas in 5:09:21.

While we all know that Texas is pretty great, George Rux actually got to compete in one of the great triathlons of all time.

In its 27th year, the Great Floridian is Florida’s original 140.6 triathlon and the second oldest iron-distance race in the continental United States.

That’s a fancy way of saying, “We were here before Ironman Florida” and “yeah, only the Ironman World Championship” has been around longer.

It didn’t always used to be that way, but George was able to take part in the race’s GFT 1/3 triathlon, which allowed athletes to swim .8 miles, bike 37 miles and run another 8.7 miles.

George finished in 4:35:13, second in his age group, and has a good sense of humor about his placement.

“Results can get a bit goofy in the “Medicare Eligible” age groups. There aren’t that many old folks who are healthy enough to try these events,” he says.  “Initially, there were only five men registered for the 65-69 age group and three didn’t show up for the start.

“So there was only a 65 year old from Canada and me in the age group competition. If I hadn’t dropped my chain, I think my bike split would have matched his.

“However, he ran about 20 sec/mile faster so there is no way I can rationalize the race might have gone differently.  Still, I was the oldest competitor in the field by four years and I am quite pleased with my overall placing against all the age groups.”

George, we’re pleased too.

He covered the swim in 28:06, the bike course in 2:23:05 and the run course in 1:34:38.

“The swim went exceptionally well, as there was little wind,” he said.  “Even with a mass start of all men, there were only about 80 male entrants so there was minimal body contact. 

“I finished two minutes ahead of plan with a sub 2 min/100 yard pace, which is good for me.”

No, Larry Batton didn't get an invite to the West Wing, but he did run into one of President Trump's team Kellyanne Conway the day before at the Marine Corps Marathon Expo.
(Photo courtesy of Will Cole)

We close the two-week window of mid-October with our athletes that did battle with the Marine Corps Marathon course on Sunday, October 22 in Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC.

Rob Myers, Will Cole and Larry Batton all smiles after finishing the Marine Corps Marathon
(Photo courtesy of Debra Myers)

Larry Batton led the way with a 3:52:13.  Will Cole followed in 4:17:08.

Rob Myers ran the marathon in 4:53:39, while his wife, Debra, ran the 10K in 1:11:37.

Paul Vita literally gutted out his marathon with an upset stomach that delayed his arrival to the Marine Corps Memorial in 6:52:21.

Volte friend Susan Marrero got in under the five-hour mark in 4:59:19 while her husband, Rafael, ran the 10K in 1:16:06. 

Seven miles from the finish, coming across the bridge into Crystal City, Susan was slowed down as she was hit by a bike that was on the course.