Volte Makes 8th Annual College Station 10 Great

A limited, yet quality crew took on the 8th annual College Station 10 on Sunday, January 31, 2021 at College Station High School in south Aggieland.

Volte’s entire team was supported by founder Bill Dwyer and kudos to race director Willie Fowlkes for a second straight COVID-19 responsible Texas 10 Series race whose protocols will be reproduced on a grander scale at The Woodlands Marathon in less than four weeks.

Seven-time Texas 10 Series winner Amanda Jenkins, who won at College Station 10 in 2017 and 2018, was second overall -- to former TCU Horned Frog Tricia Terry -- in a time of 1:03:46.

Amanda Jenkins gets ready to pass Waco's Pedro Beltan.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Third in her 40-44 age group for the second consecutive Texas 10 Series race was Mayra Caamano.

Caamano pushing to hold off Houston's Valeria Angarita, who started in an earlier wave.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

And for the second straight race, Caamano ran a negative split on the second loop en route to her finishing time of 1:18:34.

After an impressive half marathon two weeks ago at the USA Fit Marathon in Sugar Land, Erika Sampson dialed it back a little bit, but – like Caamano - also negative split the second loop before posting a time of 1:23:41.

Erika Sampson gets her miles in with a focus on The Woodlands Half Marathon.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

They are two of 64 runners who have run the first two races of the 2020-2021 Texas 10 Series.

Volte friends Kim White and Julie Stevenson both placed second in their age group and notched new personal records with respective times of 1:20:04 and 1:21:23.

You smile big when you PR.  At least that's what Kim White and Julie Stevenson say!
(Photo courtesy of Kim White)

And our friends with the Seven Hills Running Club had 12 runners finish, according to the race results.  (If you’re running for Volte, please designate Volte as your club when you register.)

Ray Sarno and Ken Johnson went 1-2 in the 70-and-over men’s division of the 5-miler.  

In the 10-miler, Rylie Seale was paced by Sara McCullough to a second-place 14-and-under ladies age group finish, while recently turned 60-year-old Steve Bickford celebrated his new age group with a third place finish.

Volte friend Jon Walk ran the five-miler in 48:27.

The Love Of Running; January 31, 2021

By Rich Cooper, Volte Coach

I love running! 

It has defined me and helped to make me the man I am today.  

I discovered running at the young age of 16 when I decided that football hurt too much, not to mention I wasn’t very good at it.  

I grew up in Northern California in the shadow of the Santa Cruz Mountains which were filled with tall Redwood and Pine trees. 

It was my playground for four years. 

I loved running and I ran my first marathon in those mountains. 

It was probably one of the toughest marathons I have ever run as it took off from Los Gatos, climbed through the mountains and ended down in Soquel which was just south of Santa Cruz on the Pacific Ocean. 

It was 13 miles up, four miles along the summit and then nine miles downhill. 

Looking back on the experience, it wasn’t the uphill that got me, but the nine miles down that challenged me. 

After that race, my love for marathons took off.  

For a while it stayed with me; then it left me because of college. 

It's very difficult to run in the harsh winters of Nebraska.  

Everything changed in my early 30’s when one day I woke up, looked in the mirror and decided I needed to change my lifestyle or else I would be in big trouble.  

Running changed my life. 

Two years after I started up again. I was 100 pounds lighter and a new confident man.  

Because of running I met my wife Ginger. This March we will celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary.

Ginger gave me two sons. They have seen me as a runner as long as they have been alive.  

I owe everything I have in my life to running.  

What I love about running, is it is a mirror of life. You get back what you put into it. The harder you work, the greater the success. Just like in life, you have good days and you have bad ones. The way you respond to those bad days will determine how the next day goes.  

Just like life, you experience moments of euphoria as well as moments of despair. 

There is good pain and there is bad. 

And when you don’t expect it, you’ll experience that “Runners High” where everything in your body and mind tingle with excitement.

There is nothing like that feeling of sprinting to the finish line passing people. 

And the marathon, don't get me started. 

Some of my most memorable moments were completing a marathon. 

There is nothing like going from tears to the sheer feeling of joy when crossing that finish line. 

There is nothing like that feeling of being soaking wet after a hard workout but you still feel so good because you know you gave everything you had into it.  

Every day I get to run is a blessing from God. He has given all of us a gift; the gift of running. I always remind runners that not everyone has the gift of running.  

We’re a special breed. 

Getting up and running before the sun comes up or going out in 85-degree, 90 percent humidity to run 10 miles. 

It takes a special person with a special gift to do that. 

Running lays foundation to our successes in life because it trains us on how to deal with life.  

There is no other sport like running. It takes dedication and discipline to strap on the running shoes and go out and run. 

And even though running can be tough on the body, if you take care of yourself and listen to your body your running days can go far into your life.  

2020 was a tough year for us runners. 

During that time, it was my refuge from all the craziness in this world. 

Through it all, the one constant was I could run and nothing could stop me. 

I know 2021 will be a great year as we are already starting to see races crank up. 

2020 sparked my love for running because I couldn’t race, it made me stronger and more determined to run, because I wouldn’t let it be taken away from me.  

So, the next time you’re not sure if you want to step out and get your daily run in, remember everything it has given you. 

I guarantee you; you’ll be strapping up those shoes and hitting the road.  

Yes, I love running and I will for the rest of my life.  

Keep running friends!   

Volte's Back To Live Racing in 2021!

As live racing continues to pick up – well, that is, anywhere outside of Harris County, Volte’s efforts in training this past year have not gone to waste in the first few races of the month of January.

Trudy Regnier, supported there by George Roffe and Bill Dwyer, started the year off with a 2:25:03 half marathon in Kingwood on New Year’s Day at the Texas Half Marathon.

And while there are no official awards, Trudy was third in her age group – a great testament, actually, to the good group of runners in her division.  

The winner of her division was just over three minutes ahead while the runner-up only beat Trudy to the finish line by 13 seconds.

Volte is always so fortunate to have many friends at races and one of those was The Woodlands’ Nora Wilson.

Nora, who ran the marathon at Kingwood last year (2020) in 4:35:37, decided to call it a morning after two loops of the course, posting a time of 2:20:18.

Filling up the spot in the race calendar vacated by the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon and the We Are Houston 5K going virtual was the USA Fit Marathon and its affiliated events in Sugar Land.

Moving two weeks up on the normal calendar, runners were treated to ideal conditions and Volte athletes leveraged it to their advantage.

Running in the toughest 10-year age group in the race, our Gourav Kumar was 57th overall, but 16th in his 30-39 division.

Of course, we all know what is important:  time.  Both on the clock and the overall experience.

Gourav did, enjoying a mark of 3:44:01.

In the half marathon, Erika Sampson decimated the women’s 40-49 division with a dazzling time of 1:38:11.

In fact, only 43-year-old Lorena Tschen Carlisle kept her from the ladies’ masters title with a winning time of 1:35:45.

Alejandro Bedoya, drawing one of those special single-digit bib numbers, didn’t disappoint with a 1:43:21 showing in the half marathon, good for seventh overall in the 20-29 men’s division.

And Volte friend John Rivas, who made the trip with us to Tunnel Lite in 2019 and ran a blazing time of 3:16:28 there, posted his third straight sub-3:30 with a 3:21:45 – good for 25th overall and one spot behind BCS Marathon race director Chris Field.

Our good friend Steve Allen, the president of the Seven Hills Running Club, ran the half marathon there also in 1:45:13.

This past weekend, Saturday, January 23, runners invaded the hilly Tyler State Park for Trail Racing Over Texas’ Running The Rose.

Our Bonnie Scholz was 29th overall and sixth among all females in the 22-mile contest with a 4:25:14 finish, vindicating needing to drop three years ago at the event while attempting the arduous 108K.

Bonnie’s sister, Michele Fregia, of Pearland, finished the same distance in 5:29:46.

And when there is a TROT race, there’s usually a Murillo there.

Juan drew the long straw and ran the 54K, finishing 11th overall in 5:51:54.

Brother Luis, 37, was third overall in the 11-miler in a time of 1:21:46, while father Jose, 70, blazed a field of 89 finishers in the seven-kilometer race with a seventh place overall time of 48:28.

We look forward to seeing many of you at Sunday's Texas 10 College Station.

Volte Did Indeed Labor on Labor Day Weekend

While we had a number of runners competing before and after the Labor Day holiday, seems like our Nine Volte took a little time off during that time – and is now getting us caught up.

It was Volte girl power at the 15th annual Beneezy Purple Monkey 10K and 5K in Alvin on Saturday, August 31.

Our ladies went three-for-three in coming home with purple monkeys – the beloved prize for placing in your age group.

Purple monkey for you, purple monkey for you ... Volte even better than Oprah as Yvette, Amanda and Liah all place.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

There’s a poignant and notable story on the race’s website that is worthy of reading. 

You can find it here.

Amanda Jenkins ran the 5K and was first overall in a time of 18:25.  Liah Olsen took second in her age group in 27:35.

Focused and first is Amanda Jenkins as she bears down on the Purple Monkey 5K finish line.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Yvette Guerra got her purple monkey with a third-place age group finish in the 10K of 52:33.

Oh, and when we said “first overall” two sentences ago, it wasn’t just first overall female.  She was the first across the finish line – guys or girls.

In fact, in the 10K, the top two finishers were some of Houston’s best female races, Lauren Stroud and Chelsea Barr, beating the field and all of the men.

Our friend Vincent Attanucci from The Woodlands, who runs the race every year, was third in his age group with a time of 1:00:36.

Even though Erika Sampson woke up the next morning in Virginia Beach, Virginia a little bit under the weather, she still decided to run the Rock ‘N Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon.

At their prices, anything less than having to visit the doctor, you run.

Erika finished the half marathon in 2:17:16.

Later that evening, a small group of ours came out for the monthly The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands.

Basking in 96 degrees heat, Jerritt Park slowed it down with a 24:10 finishing time while Sharon Mitchell followed in 31:54.

Making 96 degrees look easy for the Minnesota native Sharon Mitchell at the Sunday Night 5K.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Volte friends Curtis Barton, Vincent Attanucci and Ken Johnson also competed.  Curtis led the three in 27:02, Vincent – who likely still ran long Sunday morning – finished in 35:01 while Ken came to the finish in 46:21.

The heat wasn’t going to slow Jerritt down forever though.

The next morning, he and his son, Brayden, were off to Katy to run the Back to School 5K on Monday, September 2.

Dad beat son again as Jerritt finished in 21:36 and Brayden ran a solid 23:23.

Volte friend Sonia Dhodapkar won her age group in 22:34.

Two Volte friends – Reggie Bruhn and Ken Rademacher – competed the following Saturday at Ironman Wisconsin in Madison, the state’s capitol.

Bruhn, who is coached by TxTri’s – and one of the best people in our endurance sports community in Montgomery County – Sandra Sutherland, finished in 13 hours, 25 minutes and four seconds.

He swam the 2.4 miles in 1:33:04, biked 112 miles in 6:36:43 and ran the 26.2 miles in 4:53:42.

Ken finished his third career Ironman in 14:28:33 with the following splits:  1:37:34 (swim), 7:11:59 (bike) and 5:18:47 (run).

Volte friend Jon Walk was in Pennsylvania for Labor Day weekend and - in the spirit of fellow Pennsylvanian Jerritt Park – he squeezed in two races.

He raced a first-year event on Saturday, August 31 in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania – the Run For Their Lives 5K.

Mostly everybody got to run a little extra in this race as either the leaders missed the first veer to the left or a volunteer failed to direct them.

Jon figures he ran about 3.5 miles and finished in 32:30.

Two days later, before heading back to Texas, he ran in the Labor Day Pump and Run 5K in Tipton, Pennsylvania – a race that started less than a mile from his grandparents’ house.

A mix of cross country (on the way out), roads and trail (on the way back), Jon covered the distance in 32:44 after rains blew through the area in the night to cool things down on race morning.

Runners could reduce their time by bench-pressing their weight (or a percentage of it based on age) so many times before the race start.  To be sure not to embarrass himself, he passed.

Better Than A Four-Topping Pizza, Volte Runs Well in Four States!

Great weekend in Volte, USA.  Hope it was for you as well!

Our runners and friends raced close to home in addition to Illinois, Idaho and Washington state.

Mike Csikos and Kelly Hugo both earned age group awards in the Woodforest Charity Run 10K on Saturday, September 14 in Conroe.

Sunshine stopped the clock in 44:20, good for third, while Kelly’s time of 57:13 earned her second in her division.

Mark Amann led our Volte friends with a first-place overall finish, getting the win in 35:35.

Mia Cieslar and Dr. John Slate garnered hardware with times of 49:08 and 51:27, good for second and third places, respectively.

Vincent Attanucci finished in 57:23.

When you finish two Ironmans, you can pick your Volte label – whether it is Volte, friend or alumni.

They all fit interchangeably for Landa Wright, who was third in her age group in the Woodforest Charity Run 5K in 23:23.  Our Yvette Guerra followed in 24 minutes even.

And Volte friend Christina Gray finished in 28:14.

The same morning in Illinois, Michelle McGill posted yet another Boston Qualifier with a 3:50:25 effort at the Last Chance BQ26.2 Marathon in Geneva.

Michelle channeled her unique bib number (35516 - the time she needed and 16th time to beat it) into a bell-ringing finale.
(Photo courtesy by Tammy Grado)

It beat the new qualifying standard by four minutes and 34 seconds.

Brian Schultz was under the weather and didn’t run, but joined Tammy Grado and Kristi Chen – who flew in from Texas and New Jersey – to support Michelle and her effort.

On Sunday, September 15 in Boise, Idaho, Faith Craig’s dad, Thomas Thomson, was second in his 60-64 age group in the Jack & Jill Marathon.

That’s nice, right?

The nicest thing of all was a blazing time of 3:49:37, which was a qualifying time by 15 minutes and 23 seconds.  No worries about Thomas being able to sign up to run Boston!

Our founder Bill Dwyer led a group of seven, including five competitors, to the Tunnel Light Marathon – a Volte staple – in North Bend, Washington.

And the rain, sometimes heavy, yet delivered all day, didn’t dampen the spirits of our runners or friends.

Of six Voltes and friends, there were definitely four personal bests and four Boston qualifying times (maybe a fifth for 2020), but most importantly, 100% good times.

First across the line was Juan Flores, who clocked a four-minute, 39-second personal best time of 3:12:42 – a Boston qualifier by eight minutes and 18 seconds.

Juan Flores stalking the 3:15 pacer.  And it worked!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

A few minutes back was Juan’s friend, Josh Rivas, who finished in 3:16:25 – a PR of four minutes and 58 seconds in addition to a BQ by 3:35.

The biggest personal best of the group belonged to Holly Benson, who rolled out a 12-minute, 11-second reduction of her previous best that showed 3:37:35 on the clock.

That's a triumphant, 12-minute PR look from Holly Benson!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Two-time Ironman finisher Mandi Fowlkes – a long-time Volte friend – PR’d by three minutes and 26 seconds for a finishing time of 3:45:10 – a BQ time by four minutes and 50 seconds.

“Mandi is coached by Ashley Williams, a teacher and soccer program director at The Woodlands Christian Academy, who coaches cycling and triathletes,” said Dwyer.  “He did a really good job in preparing Mandi (for this race).”

Volte friend Meri Laydevant, who runs at the track at Knox Junior High and has a daughter that has completed our Friends of the Running Community Montgomery County Triple, will definitely be qualified for the 2021 Boston Marathon as she finished in 3:45:05 – four minutes and 55 seconds faster than her standard.

“She’s 44,” Dwyer said.  “So depending on her birthday she may have qualified for 2020.”

And 47 will be Trudy Regnier’s new favorite number for awhile.

With less than a minute to spare, Trudy did a great job in earning her BQ on Sunday!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

That’s the close margin - in seconds - that she can once again call herself a Boston qualifier as she earned the title with a time of 4:19:13.

Trudy did so bouncing back from an injury or two this summer.

Flat, Not So Flat and Tri: A Weekend in Volte, USA

Flat, not so flat and splash and dash were the themes involving our Volte athletes who competed this past weekend.

Katy was the scene of a hot, inaugural Watermelon Dash 5K and 10K on Saturday in the Cane Island area.

And Lillian Evans’ effort in the 5K left it a bit hotter.

Defeating the next closest master’s finisher by 30 seconds, Lillian was the fourth overall female and first overall master’s female to cross the finish line, doing so in 24:59.

From 141 feet above sea level to 9,097 is where Erica Coleman picked things up later in the morning.

She ran the Run The Rockies Trail Half Marathon, produced by the town of Frisco, Colorado, which included 250 feet of climbing from miles 5 to 9 – and then coming back down in the next two.

Erica was fourth in her age group, just missing third by less than a minute (50 seconds, to be exact), as she stopped the clock in 2:32:32.

Can't look much happier than that with a race than this shot of Erica Coleman from Saturday
(Photo courtesy of Erica Coleman)

Former The Woodlands Running Club runner Sydney Zywicki, who used to live here in the area with her husband, Ben, was the third overall female in the 10K in 54:13.

Back on the east coast on Sunday, August 11, Dana Formon returned home to Morrisville, North Carolina after receiving her Ph.D. from Sam Houston State University and competed in the Rex Healthcare Wellness Sprint Triathlon in Raleigh.

Dana was third in her age group in 1:07:18.

She swam the 250-yard in Rex Wellness’ lap pool in less than six minutes, biked a 10-mile course that featured some “nice flats and a few small climbs” in 40:41 and finished with a two-mile run through the northernmost parts of Wake County in 18:01.

Great job ladies – and thanks for representing Volte so well!

Sgt. Joe Friday Says "Just The Results, Volte!"

The TV show Dragnet - those of you under about 45 will probably need to Google it - used to start out with, "Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."

Well, as we start rolling into the fall racing season in a short while, you'll notice the changes in some of the names here - and, over time, we'll work to introduce them throughout the remainder of 2019.

After a little respite in racing activity in the month of July after the Baytown Bud Heat Wave on the Fourth, things will once again get busy as our athletes - race for fun or as checkpoints for their upcoming fall marathons.

And, as usual, we got around a little bit.  :-)

Alta, Wyoming is not likely the newest location of the store that goes by the same name, but it was where our Bonnie Scholz and her sister Michelle Fregia competed in the Ragnar Trail Tetons.

The duo competed as part of an Open Female division team of eight - named "Let's Get Physically Exhausted" - which covered 126.4 total miles over three trails of four (Jolly Green Giant), 5.3 (Buffalo Solder) and 6.5 (Grand View) miles.

Contested over Friday and Saturday, July 26-27 near the Grand Targhee Resort, the team covered the distance in 32 hours, 39 minutes and 30 seconds (32:39:30).

The next day in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, Carrie Hyde got back to racing in preparation for late October's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, put on by our friend race director Alan Brookes.

And she was happy to do so, she noted, after a five-month hiatus from running due to "acclimating to weather conditions and minus-stupid temperatures".

She posted a time of 1:34:44 for the Tely 10 Miler.

Produced by the Newfoundland and Labrador Athletics Association, this year's Tely 10 was its 92nd annual running.  (Ah, I don't think we'll be here for year 92 of the Texas 10 Series, but maybe Willie will!)

"I ran a steady and conservative pace," she said.  "No records broken and happy with the time as finishing strong was the goal! 

That she did, along with 3,693 other finishers.

Another steady, conservative effort was sought -- and obtained -- by Waverly Walk as she ran the third annual Canton Half Marathon in east Texas on Sunday, August 4 with her Dad.

Waverly, whose early training runs for October's Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. have been right at 11 minutes per mile, delivered a similar result of 2:27:24 in extremely humid conditions.

The day before, Volte had an excellent group of runners and friends participate in the fifth annual Southern Star Brewing Company 5K in Conroe.

The Run In Texas-produced race had its most number of finishers ever, and our folks got a little challenge in being part of an event that offered a bit more elevation change than July's pancake-flat Bud Heat Wave.

Jerritt Park led our Volte runners with a time of 22:50 while Stephanie Reed took first place in her 10-year age group with a time of 24:05.

Jerritt's son Brayden posted a time of 24:51 while the Register family - husband Aaron first in 25:38 and wife Anita in 28:22 - crossed the finish line next.

Sharon Mitchell notched a new PR - by a little more than a minute with a time of 28:48 beating Rob Myers to the line by about a half a minute as he cranked out a 29:14 effort.

Tim Russell and Amanda Becker followed in 34:13 and 37:03, respectively, while Alfredo and Letty Gonzalez covered the course in 42:33 and 44:07.

Alfredo has finished all five years that the race has been held.

Volte alumni Brian Jackson was second in his age group in 19:59.

Mark Amann led all our Volte friends with an overall win of 17:47.  It is the second year that Mark has won the race, having done so two years ago.

Chris Weir and Paul Blutt cracked 21 minutes with efforts of 20:15 and 20:36, respectively,  The latter time earned Paul a third place age group finish.

Kim White got in under 25 minutes in 24:21, but while Julie Stevenson and Sonia Carr were next, both with age group winnings to show for it.

Julie took second in 25:02 and Sonia was third in her division in 25:06.

Lisa Shulze ran well in 26:56, while Mary-Ellen Wilderman-Hay and her husband, Brad, finished in 28:43 and 29:58, respectively, as the Fleet Feet of Greater Houston team was out in support of Run In Texas race directors Bill and Karen Gardner.

Seven Hills Running Club's Ken Johnson of Huntsville, like Alfredo, has finished all five Southern Star Brewing Company 5Ks.  He noted on his blog that he was the oldest finisher of 558 and finished in 46:05.

Even though he said he was three minutes slower than last year, he noted, "The beer was good and it was great visiting with a lot of friends."

Ken always comes back for more, though.

Out west in San Leandro, California, Kate Semmelrogge-Thomas finished the Summer Breeze 10K in 1:32:32.

Volte wrapped up the weekend with The Woodlands Running Club's Sunday Night 5K from Barbara Bush Elementary.

Jerritt Park and Mayra Caamano were the race's overall winners in 22:28 and 23:53, respectively.

Laura Godfrey was not far behind Caamano in 24:01, despite having run 12 miles in training earlier in the day.

Godfrey gets over 15 miles on Sunday with a sharp effort during the Sunday Night 5K.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

She noted, after crossing the finish line and looking at her GPS, "Exactly 3.1."  (Say "thank you, Nine Volte" for his measuring wheel.)

Volte friend Curtis Barton led a group of four runners across in the race's 27th minute as he finished in 27:11.

Faith Craig followed in 27:27 while Robert Dempsey and Volte friend Lisa Schulze finished together in 27:50.

Faith says two thumbs up to a strong showing during the Sunday Night 5K.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

The two multi-day running streakers - Vincent Attanucci and Ken Johnson - stopped the clock in 31:06 and 44:21, respectively, while Letty and Alfredo Gonzalez walked the course in 51:13.