And 2018 was no exception.
Volte had 53 runners – including two overachievers, Mike Kuykendall and Leanne Rosser, who both ran the 5K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday – cross a unified finish line.
A half-dozen racers got things started on Saturday, January 13 in the ABB 5K.
Illustrating that it is not always about how fast you can go; Amanda Cruise paced her husband Jeff for most of the race and then joined Leanne Rosser down the stretch to aid her to a 24:44 finish.
Amanda’s time was 24:25 while Jeff stopped the clock in 28:31.
Mike enjoyed the morning with a time of 31:55 while Jimmy Baker paced Christine Falzon to a 36:26 finish.
In the marquee race, 29 Volte racers pinned a bib on and included eight PR’s, three debuts and two Boston Qualifiers.
Judith Albarran led us alphabetically with a 4:19:31 finish, which took 14 minutes and 22 seconds off of her previous best marathon finish of 4:33:53 at last September’s Tunnel Light Marathon.
Her debut marathon a stone’s throw from a Boston Qualifier, Keri Amador literally got some last-minute help from Volte’s first homegrown Ironman, Landa Wright.
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| Another day and Keri Amador will secure her Boston Qualifier. So close! (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
“Without hesitation Landa pulled off her watch and gave it to me. She had her own race to run and her own PR to chase, but literally didn't even give me a chance to refuse, just took it off and gave it to me.
“Because of her, I was not totally blind to my paces, and could ensure I didn't go out too fast.”
We’re certain that there’ll be more days for Keri to pick up the pace even more.
Larry Batton was also quick to credit some Volte race day assistance in helping him slay the “one tough hombre” that was the Houston Marathon.
“A special thanks to Wil Cole for helping to motivate me the last few miles,” Larry said. “My coach Mary Carter was also out there at mile 22. Just two of all the wonderful people in Volte who push me and make it all a joy.”
He added that while the 3:55:52 wasn’t “the time I wanted” he added that he was happy to break four hours.
“(I) think the lingering impact of a flu, poor sleep, cold weather, and a shoe that was tied too tight -which irritated the nerve and tossed off my stride - all had a contributing impact,” he added.
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| Mike "Sunshine" Csikos gives a two Gig 'Em affirmation that all is well with his CHM effort. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
Our second debut marathoner was Megan Eastin.
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| Megan following Mike's Gig 'Em lead, but that's only natural for the Aggie grad finishing her first marathon. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
Laura Godfrey was ecstatic over her 3:37:59, which bettered her initial Tunnel Light Marathon effort in September 2016 by a minute and 36 seconds.
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| Laura Godfrey made Houston her best marathon effort ever and will head back to Boston yet another time next March. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
A year ago, Randy Harris, by virtue of finishing under four hours (3:54:23) was in the pool to be selected for the Chevron Houston Marathon’s giveaway of a free trip to one male and one female runner to the 2017 Athens Classic Marathon in Greece.
This January, Randy was two minutes and 39 seconds shy of lightning possibly striking twice by completing his fifth consecutive Houston Marathon in 4:02:39.
Writing about the Hanyzewskis is always fun.
We always envision Laura and Brian battling out each race against each other till death do they part.
Last year, Laura ran with Brian every step of the way for his 5:26:54 marathon debut.
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| Brian Hanyzewski puts the hammer down on a 50-minute PR with his 4:36:21 finish. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
How does it happen that two people next to each other alphabetically – Yaya Herrera and Todd Hunter – both had to recover from the flu to make it to the starting line?
Todd completed the course in 3:55:26 while Yaya did in 3:59:32.
Each time out, Monse Louimeus keeps chipping away at her marathon time – with a little help from her friends.
“The Houston Marathon is a beast, but we did it,” she said alluding the to total teamwork of her Volte teammates, coach and family. “A special thanks to my family for being so supportive and keeping up with the cold weather this morning.
“It really made a difference seeing each of you and it really helped me push through the pain with a smile.”
Of course, a smile that has seen Monse go from a .8-mile shortened time of 4:29:20 at last March’s The Woodlands Marathon to 4:23:25 at the Tunnel Light Marathon this past September to a nice even 4:09.
Michelle McGill led our three pack of M&M’s – including Mack Miller and Monica Moreno – with her 12th consecutive Chevron Houston Marathon finish.
She finished in 3:52:03 – her seventh sub-4 at Houston in the last eight years.
Mack and Monica came in at 4:42:02 and 5:33:35, respectively.
In baseball, they call it a walk-off home run.
Greg Nettleton may be calling the marathon a done deal with a walk-off PR perhaps?
“Marathon two is in the books with a respectable 4:05:29. Room for improvement, but I score it as a win,” he said after bettering his 4:50:02 marathon debut last year at the Chicago Marathon. “That makes it Marathon 1 - Greg 1.”
“Not sure if there will be a rubber match,” he added. “To be honest I love the journey - my running group Volte Endurance Training -is awesome, but not too fond of the race.”
Jerritt Park and Tim Russell both completed their second Houston Marathon in respective times of 4:15:16 and 4:20:33.
Brian Schultz notched his best time of five straight Houston Marathon finishes with a 3:53:12 showing.
Andrew Smith finished his first Houston in 4:38:40 while Jen Smith returned from England to complete her fifth Houston in the last six years in 4:04:34. (Jen had also complete Aramco Houston half marathons in 2011 and 2012.)
The only “Juliee” ever to post a finish at Houston – in either the half or the marathon – had the curve of food poisoning thrown at her, Juliee Sparks finished her third Houston Marathon in five years in 4:23:38.
Amber Speers, who shares the same hometown (Groves) as Sparks, stopped the clock in her fourth Houston Marathon (and 11th overall) in 4:40:04.
Saying it wasn’t her best time, Sandra Tezino still could have used her Houston effort to qualify – and be able to sign up too – for the Boston Marathon if she hadn’t already off her Tunnel Light performance.
“It wasn’t the time I desired but it was the race I ran,” she said of her 3:50:01 time. “Sometimes finishing has to be enough for me … and it was today.”
Four marathoners left – three PR’s and a debut.
Richard Tong beat last year’s Houston Marathon time by just more than 20 minutes as he punched out a 4:14:32 finish, bettering his 4:34:55 showing from 2017.
Jill Tresaugue made her fourth career Houston Marathon finish her best marathon time ever as she crossed in 3:51:44. It is her third straight sub-4 at Houston.
She and her husband Matthew have combined 10 marathon and six half marathon finishes since 2007.
For the most of her father’s nine Houston Marathon finishes, Waverly Walk would run him in the last one to three miles – just depending on the year.
And Dad ran along with her every step in 2006 when she completed her first half marathon at Houston in 2:54:06 as a 10-year-old.
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| A smile and an effort even Sparky - #goflames - would approve of as Waverly Walk challenged Dad's family PR in her marathon debut. (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer) |
“It was tough, but God was so faithful to give me strength and place people perfectly throughout the course to give me the extra ounce of encouragement I needed in that moment,” she said. “Two of those people were my Mom, who saw me along the course, and Dad, who ran part of the race with me.
“I couldn't have asked for a better coach, Bill Dwyer, to train me and running partner, Megan Eastin, to complete the long runs with. Thank you to every person who encouraged me and prayed for me on race day and throughout the training process.”
The final PR of the group came from Gabby Westbrook.
And like Waverly, she echoed the hard work.
“The marathon is a beast,” she said. “Bill Dwyer reminds us to respect the marathon for what it is.
“So many miles are spent on the road training, many hours running, but the best part is building relationships at crazy early hours in the morning.”
Those crazy hours almost turned into an 11 a.m. celebration at the finish line.
“I tried to beat sub 4, but came one minute over at 4:01,” she exclaimed of her official 4:01:44 time – 12 minutes better than last year’s 4:13:51 at Houston. “(It was a) personal best for this momma and I am happy considering the foot cramps that came and went and those hills at the end.
“Thank you to my Coach who has faith in me, to Todd Hunter who helped me with my nutrition plan, and to my running peeps who make this journey fun and teach me so much.”
Our Volte friends finished this year’s Chevron Houston Marathon as follows:
Chris Weir - 2:46:32, James Reed - 3:05:22, Tim Griepp - 3:09:25, Ronnie Delzer - 3:10:39, Sarah Tyler - 3:34:06, Brandi Herrera - 3:41:09, Tina Saims - 3:41:24, Juan Murillo - 3:43:27, Sabina Lorca - 3:47:27, Griselda Borrero - 3:49:16, Mandi Fowlkes - 3:51:22, Reggie Bruhn - 4:04:34, Susan Rouse - 4:25:31, Gary Kroll - 4:26:31, Allyssa Smith - 4:26:34, Tom Tomson - 4:40:25, Vincent Attanucci - 4:43:50, Hector Lopez - 5:21:29.
In the half marathon, our team of 20 had two debuts at the distance, five personal bests and a sixth sacrificed their race to help another break two hours for another PR.
Derek Bailey led the way in 1:25:38, bettering his best by a minute and 33 seconds from his Aramco Houston Half three years ago of 1:27:11.
Rip Reynolds followed with a 1:30:14 while our top two females were Kimberly Simmons and Landa Wright, who finished in 1:43:42 and 1:45:28, respectively.
Randy Smith completed his seventh consecutive Aramco Houston Half in 1:52:16.
Eight seconds. Tammy Grado might call her running career as wild as an eight-second ride in that her debut Aramco Houston Half Marathon came in 2006 when she ran a 2:33:28.
Twelve years later, she shaved eight seconds off her previous 13.1 personal best – set at Aramco in 2016 – with a 1:52:39 effort.
Grado has now completed the half marathon or marathon at Houston 11 of the last 13 years (six marathons and five halves).
Sally Buckelew finished her third consecutive race at Houston with a 1:53:08 half marathon – ten minutes and two seconds better than last year following a 4:15:28 marathon in 2016.
Pacing Volte friend Cristina Gray, Leanne Rosser helped her break two hours with a 1:59:37 time that was a 4-min, 28-second PR for Cristina.
Completing his fifth Aramco Houston Half in the last six years – and with a new best time to boot, Mike Kuykendall lowered his PR by three minutes and 42 seconds to 2:02:16, shedding the time from his effort two years ago.
Lauren Hoffart ran her first Aramco Half ever in 2:08:37 while Tiffanie Haidar completed her first half marathon ever in 2:11:49.
Paul Vita completed his third straight Aramco Houston Half Marathon in 2:19:58, extending his streak of half or marathon finishes at Houston to eight (five marathons from 2011-2015 and half marathons the last three years.)
One finish shy of 20 between the marathon and the half, coach Rich Cooper made it a 2:24:25 finish for his eighth half marathon to going along with 11 Chevron Houston Marathon finishes.
Marta Mixa and Naika Vargas ran their second and fourth consecutive Aramco Houston Half Marathons in 2:28:49 and 2:30:25, respectively.
Posting a 14-minute, 22-second PR from her The Woodlands Half Marathon time two years ago, Julie Spain used a 2:31:09 for her second straight Aramco Houston Half finish.
Nilay Dinc debuted at the half marathon distance in 2:32:57, while Jeanine Price’s 2:44:22 was a minute and 19 seconds better than last year’s Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon.
Lisa Johnson’s first Aramco Houston Half Marathon was executed in 3:10:44 as Alfredo Gonzalez finished his fifth straight Aramco Houston Half – and seventh since 2009 – with a time of 3:20:23.
Our Volte friends did it this way in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon:
Kate Looney - 1:27:04, Tiffanie Hauerwas - 1:32:41, Rob Rodriguez - 1:38:52, Sonia Dhodapkar - 1:44:52, Pam Owens - 1:54:25, Kim Hamilton - 1:56:47, Dan Jordan - 2:07:49, Jamie Kuder - 2:15:43, Fran Blanton - 2:28:10, Barry Blanton - 2:32:47
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