Volte Shines On Its Home Turf at Texas 10 Conroe

In the Texas 10 Series, Conroe has always been Volte's home turf.

Sure, we typically travel as well as many of the other clubs that frequent the Series on a regular basis, but you can't beat the shorter drives there and to Huntsville.

Well, on the latter, too, to break bread with our good friends from the Seven Hills Running Club.

On this day, Volte did well.

Nineteen runners among the three races.  

Sixteen age group placements, enough glassware to stock the local IHOP.

And eight new personal bests.

We also got to see Volte friend Norman Langwell return to local racing along with his great wife, Tiffany.  

They had both, for many years, been parts of our local running community in the The Woodlands area.

They were two of 19 of our friends who were out racing too on Sunday, November 28.

Luis Murillo became only the second Volte to win a Texas 10 Series 5K - joining eight-time winner Brayden Park - with the fastest time of the 2021-2022 Texas 10 Series, 17:26.  

Brother Juan was third overall and first in his age group with a time of 19:29, the fourth fastest of four races so far in the current Series cycle.

Juan Murillo nice and steady coming in for a third place overall finish in the 5K.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Their father Jose, who is 70, won his age group in 24:44.  Only one other individual 50 or older has run a faster time than Jose this cycle.

Coach Layton Gill took second in his age group in 26:26 while Volte friends Tiffany Langwell and Debbie Tripp finished in 40:14 and 48:16, respectively.  Debbie was second in her age group.

Talk about a fast five mile race - six age group awards and three personal bests.

And three Voltes put times down that were in the best seven so far of the 2021-2022 Texas 10 Series.

Robert King was second overall (first in his age group) in 31:34 with Brayden Park and his brother Roger close behind.

Brayden was third overall in 31:57 - a new personal best for first in his age group, while Roger was five seconds behind in 32:02, good for second place in his division.

Ironman training partners Paolo Biagi and Tammy Grado are going on a hardware run like some high rollers in Vegas here recently.

Paolo ran his fastest five mile time ever while picking up a second place award in 37 minutes even while Tammy was first in hers in 40:37.

Coach Rich Cooper ready to make a break to the right to the 5M finish line.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Coach Rich Cooper scored a new five-mile best time of 44:28 while George Rux, one of his athletes, was first in his division in 49:20.

George Rux's training is paying off; running strong.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Our Volte friends did well too.

Sonia Dhodapkar was first in her age group in 38:39.  Randy Bradley and Alvaro Trejo finished within a minute of each other in 51:14 and 51:53, respectively.

Alvaro's wife Lusi finished in 53:48 while Dianna and Ray Sarno covered the distance in 57:48.  Ray was second in his age group.

Ken Johnson was third in his age group in 1:17:08.

Dianna, Ray and Ken have all run all four 5-milers in the current 2021-2022 Texas 10 Series.

Six age group awards and five personal bests for Volte in the 10-Miler.

Christopher Branch led our group of eight runners with a first place age group - and personal best - time of 1:07:36, while Jerritt Park was second in his age group in 1:12:32.  He has run all four 10-milers in the current Texas 10 Series cycle and has finished in first, second, third and fourth.

Christopher Branch, heading towards the end of the first loop, ended up beating Jesus Moreno (590) by nearly two minutes.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Jason Bodie was the second of our runners with a personal best, running nicely with a mark of 1:15:16 but his age division is a beast where he finished sixth.

Four of the top 40-44 women's times this Series were run at Conroe, led by our Mayra Caamano and Judith Albarran, where they went first and second in the division (and they are the third and fourth best times of the current Series).

Judith Albarran wrapping up the first five-mile loop; was down 23 seconds before closing it to seven seconds for second place in her division.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Mayra had her fourth straight Texas 10 Series time in the 1:17 minute, including the last three races of last year's Series, and won the division in 1:17:19 with Judith seven seconds behind with a brand new personal best of 1:17:26.

Caamano has run 17 Texas 10 Series races dating back to 2013 and has never finished out of the top three.

11/28/21 - 1:17:21 - Conroe - 1 (7 OA)

04/18/21 - 1:17:18 - Sienna - 2 (9 OA)

04/11/21 - 1:17:07 - Katy - 1

03/28/21 - 1:17:14 - Huntsville - 1 (8 OA)

01/31/21 - 1:18:34 - College Station - 3

11/29/20 - 1:15:37 - Conroe - 3

12/01/19 - 1:12:56 - Conroe - 1 (4 OA)

12/02/18 - 1:15:07 - Conroe - 2 

12/06/15 - 1:12:57 - Conroe - 1 (6 OA)

12/07/14 - 1:16:17 - Conroe - 2 (6 OA)

11/02/14 - 1:15:43 - Katy - 1 (6 OA)

10/12/14 - 1:16:13 - Fort Worth - 2 (4 OA)

05/10/14 - 1:21:50 - Plano - 2 (6 OA)

04/13/14 - 1:17:06 - Huntsville - 1 (7 OA)

12/07/13 - 1:14:41 - Conroe - 2 (5 OA)

09/29/13 - 1:15:32 - Katy - 1 (6 OA)

04/06/13 - 1:17:17 - Huntsville - 2 (4 OA)

Sources:  Texas 10 Series, Athlinks.com, mychiptime.com

Rob Gay has run all four Texas 10 Series races this cycle, but grabbed his first age group placement of the season with a third place time of 1:20:04

A pair of personal bests were in order for Kyley Hampton and Sue Griffis.

Kyley Hampton leading a local legend in James Griffis into the finish.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Kyley's 1:25:44 was one spot off of the podium, which she made the last race at Katy, while Sue was third in her division in 1:34:44.

Volte friends Lu Buoanga and Mark Amann both cracked an hour as they finished second and third overall - behind winner Oscar Garcia - in times of 56:25 and 57 minutes even.

Lu Buoanga has now finished first and second in the last two Texas 10 Series races.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Rip Reynolds was first in his age group in 1:09:15.

Terrence Baptiste finished a place in front of Bodie in their men's 50-54 division with a time of 1:12:39.

John Slate and James Griffis were second and third, respectively, in theirs with times of 1:24:33 and 1:26:07.

Judy Selfridge finished in 1:31:48 while Erin and Jimmie Gowton got their fourth straight Texas 10 finish of the current Series with marks of 1:34:44 and 1:44:43, respectively.

And Norman Langwell made his Texas 10 Series debut in 1:51:30, which may have been his first race in nearly 13 years.

Volte Sees Great Groups of Runners for Turkey Day Races

"Over the river and through the woods to ...."

Oops, wrong holiday.

Or was it?

Who knew that three-mile and five-mile participants of the 32nd annual Run Thru The Woods in The Woodlands on Thanksgiving Day were going to have to run through standing water on the roads that felt like running "over the river" to Grandma's house.

While we had 27 Volte athletes and 16 friends get in two-thirds of a triathlon, we did also have some friends and Voltes that ran elsewhere on Thanksgiving Day.

Darren Hadden and his daughter Brooke ran in the Fleet Feet Turkey Day 8K in Ridgeland, Mississippi, just north of Jackson.

Dad grabbed second place in his age group with a 32:04 effort while Brooke set a PR - first time at the distance - with a mark of 49:57.

Moving west, Volte friend Terence Baptiste scored a time of 36:59 in the 112th New Orleans Athletic Club Turkey Day Race 5-Miler in New Orleans.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Volte friend George Orebe ran to a time of 22:24 in the Plano Turkey Trot 5K.

And, then, down in the Valley, Yaya Herrera, in her first race since Ironman Texas, was the third overall woman, in 47:10, in the Turkey Trot 10K in Mission.

Yaya all smiles with her third overall effort!
(Photo courtesy of Yaya Herrera)

Jerritt and Kristi Park's daughter, Riley, was the only Volte athlete who got to run rain free at Run Thru The Woods as she was second in her age group with a 7:40 one-mile that started and finished before the downpours started.

In the three-mile race, Erika Sampson led us with a first place age group time of 21:59.  

Erika Sampson gets an assist from Mother Nature to her 7:20 pace for an AG win!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Isaac Rodriguez just barely finished in a faster time than Jason Bodie and his son, Theodore.  Isaac crossed in 23:41, while the father-and-son team followed three seconds later by chip time.

Rebecca Coates posted a time of 31:27 while Debra Myers and Llana Bingham ran the race together and finished in 33:28.

And in the father-daughter division, Gilbert Grado ran with his and Tammy's daughter Cassidy in a time of 44:40.

Father-daughter combination, Gilbert and Cassidy Grado look totally unbothered by the rain!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

A good group of friends also participated in the three mile, including The Woodlands High School freshman Stoya Laydevant, who was second overall in 18:29; Wil and Lauren Cole, who ran together in 27:37; Strike Force Racing's Greg and Gena Alvarez with times of 28:48 and 30:44, and Galloway The Woodlands' Molly Field-Stout and Debbie Tripp, who completed the course together in 49:29.

Seventeen (17) runners ran the marquee five-mile race and eight of our Voltes bragged at lunchtime dinner tables about their age group awards!

They wouldn't brag, would they?  :-)

Where there's a race, there's a Murillo, right?

Luis and Juan led the way with first-place age group awards with times of 29:54 and 34:03, respectively.  Jerritt Park and Christopher Branch were not too far back of Juan with first and third place age group placements of their own on efforts of 34:41 and 34:45, respectively.

You might have though that Brayden took it easy on Dad after beating him on Saturday on the cross country course when you see his posted time of 36:40, but there's a story.

He managed to take a wrong turn, following a runner that was not in the race when the rain was very heavy), and by the time he realized it and got back on track he added about a half mile to the run.

Paolo Biagi, after a blazing first mile trying to ride on former Rice Owl Connor Meaux's coattails, settled in for a five-mile best time of 38:10.

Finishing slightly under eight minutes a mile was Judith Albarran with a time of 39:30 while Jose Murillo was slightly over, capturing first place in his 70-74 age group in 40:47.

Tammy Grado took third place in her age group with a 42:34 mark, while daughter and father Michaela and Mike Csikos ran together in 45:57 and coaches Layton Gill and Rich Cooper finished in 47:06 and 47:52, respectively.

Dan Jordan and Susan Rouse finished a minute apart in 48:02 and 49:12, respectively, but Susan took third in her division.

After singing the National Anthem before the race, Waverly Walk finished in 52:33 and our group's effort was rounded out by Taylor Grado, who finished her first five-miler in 1:00:07, and Geri Henry, who was second in her age group with a time of 1:05:41.

Our friends ran well in the rain too, including four age group placements.

Patrick Wills and Rip Reynolds went first in their age groups in 30:33 and 33:39, respectively.  John Slate and James Griffis followed with second and third place winnings of their own with times within a minute of each other, 43:13 and 43:39.

Christina Gray and Jill Tresaugue, kind of like soccer, finished in the 45th minute, Cristina at the 45-minute even mark while Jill was just 51 seconds behind.

Volte friend Jill Tresaugue is smiling in the downpour. 
First time we may have gotten a picture of Jill on the Volte blog.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Vincent Attanucci came in in 48:13, while Erika Lawton and Mariela Rodriguez closed the books on all of our friends' finishes with times of 52:46 and 54:42, respectively.

The following two days, the last two races of the Montgomery County Triple, created back in 2006 by Bill Dwyer, Jon Walk and Rick Cook, were contested.

Bill and Jon - more Bill some years - produce the Friends of the Running Community 5K and sometimes a second version on Saturday when Run The Woodlands doesn't fall on the fourth Saturday in November.  (In some years, it has been on the fifth Saturday.)

Friends of the Running Community 5K

Friday, November 26, The Woodlands, TX

Jerritt Park – 21:31, Christopher Branch – 23:21, Jason Bodie – 23:37, Layton Gill – 29:08, Rich Cooper – 30:52, Tammy Grado – 31:56, Paolo Biagi – 31:56

Friends: John Slate – 28:19, Jon Walk – 46:52, Ken Johnson – 46:55

Tim Russell and Rob Myers.  We think they've run more than a few miles together.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Run The Woodlands 5K

Saturday, November 27, The Woodlands, TX

Brayden Park – 20:41, Jerritt Park – 21:02, Christopher Branch – 23:48, Jason Bodie – 24:22, Cara Branch – 31:55, Rich Cooper – 30:11, Tim Russell – 30:24, Rob Myers – 30:24, Tammy Grado – 32:28, Layton Gill – 32:28, Paolo Biagi – 32:28

Friends: John Slate – 27:54, Nita Shinde – 28:58

Nine Volte would have said, "Don't let your Dad beat you!" to Brayden Park
(Photo courtesy of Bil Dwyer)

This year's Montgomery County Triple finishers are Jerritt Park, Christopher Branch, Jason Bodie, Layton Gill, Rich Cooper, Tammy Grado, Paolo Biagi, John Slate and Ken Johnson.

Thank you for helping to keep a longstanding Thanksgiving weekend tradition alive.

Volte Ran Before Turkey Day Cometh

Even though the number of races dwindles on the weekend before Thanksgiving, leave it to some of our Voltes and friends to find places to either get out and run or kick the tires on their distance training.

Jerritt and Brayden Park and Volte friend Mark Amann kicked off Saturday, November 20 racing in the Nike Cross Regional South Community Run 5K, which was part of the NXR South Regional held at Bear Branch Sports Park.

Their race was even webcast across the Internet!

But former The Woodlands High School harrier and current University of Arkansas-Little Rock sophomore Spencer Cardinal got most of the attention with a commanding, decisive overall win.

Brayden covered the distance for the first time at Bear Branch - after many middle school races for McCullough Junior High - in 18:46.  

He'll step up to the distance in high school competition next fall for The Woodlands.

In a field with other post-collegians, Jerritt, who ran for Slippery Rock University, did well with a time of 20:21.

Volte friend Mark Amann, who lettered a year for Sam Houston State University, was third overall in 17:02.

On an eat, drink and be merry Saturday, we had three participate in the Great Houston Pie Run, just inside the loop in Houston.

Happy for running and pie both!  Great job at the Great Houston Pie Run!
(Photo courtesy of Mike Kuykendall)

Christopher Branch was the first overall master in the 10K in 42:39 while Judith Albarran was the third overall female with a nice time of 46:27.

Christopher Branch working on more "V" salutes than Mork!  Wait, that was a double V!  :-)
(Photo courtesy of Mike Kuykendall)

This is what third place overall looks like!  Great job Judith Albarran!
(Photo courtesy of Mike Kuykendall)

Mike Kuykendall got more than a post-race pie as a treat as he continues to steadily come back from an injury recording a 5K mark of 32:39 to grab second in his age group.

The drink part of the equation came in Shiner as Volte friends Erin and Jimmie Gowton took part in the 10th annual Shiner Beer Run.

The event, which now features a marathon to go with its original half marathon, 10K and 5K, saw the couple running in the 10K which Erin finished in 54:24 and Jimmie in 1:00:54.

And the merry came at the City of Conroe Turkey Trot 5K, one of the original races at the start of the Montgomery County Triple in 2006, when Volte friends John Slate and Ken Johnson both left Carl Barton, Jr. Park with first place age group awards.

John won his division in 24:57 while Ken took his in 45:18.

On Sunday, Sunday 21, the Murillo family ruled the HMSA Classical 5K in downtown Houston.

Gus took first overall in 18:20 while Juan and Luis ran together in 19:57 where they both won first place in their respective age groups.  Their father, Jose, was first in his division in 24:13.

Volte friends Kahn Grice and Sabina Lorca ran in the La Porte By The Bay Half Marathon.

Kahn was third in his division in 1:44:04 while Sabina pounded out an 8:24 per mile pace for a time of 1:50:09.

No Spooks In Volte's Running on Halloween

While we're still not all the way back to pre-pandemic racing calendars, there is some semblance of things returning to a state of normalcy in our sport(s), including trail racing and triathlons.

It is just rare that - while somebody is typically racing every weekend between Labor Day and Memorial Day - nobody was on Saturday, October 30.

Volte and friends all bunched it up on Halloween, Sunday, October 31 with most racing the Houston Half Marathon and 10K in downtown Houston.

Carrie Hyde, though, took part in one of the oldest races in North America -- the 93rd annual Tely 10-Mile Road Race, which runs through Paradise, Mount Pearl and St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Finishing in the top 25% of her age group, Carrie stopped the clock in 1:33:22, good for 34th in that division.

Susan Rouse and Dan Jordan ran the West University Halloween Dash 5K together in 30:02, which netted Susan second place in her age group.

The Houston Half Marathon and 10K, produced by the Houston Striders, became the largest race post-pandemic in the greater Houston area, surpassing The Woodlands Marathon, by seeing nearly 5,000 runners across its finish lines, including 1,420 in the 10K and 3,563 in the half marathon.

Those numbers, of course, will be surpassed by the Chevron Houston Marathon and its companion events in January.

In the 10K, Volte put two on the podium with Erika Sampson winning her age group in 46:46 while Juan Murillo was second in his in 41:41.  

Sue Griffis rounded out our runners with a 1:00:20 effort.

Our friends were led by Erika Park, who was the second overall Masters runner in 42:49, and Jimmie Gowton, who posted a time of 1:00:53.

Volte had a huge contingent in the half marathon -- 11 of our own athletes and 14 friends!

Luis Murillo led us with a 1:15:14 first place age group, but Ramon Rosales stole the show with first place masters finish - with a time of 1:16:07 - that also earned him the designation of the 2021 Road Runners Club of America Southern Region half marathon masters champion.

Christopher Branch followed with a steady time of 1:31:51.  

1:31:51 was A-OK for Christopher Branch!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Amanda Jenkins ran casually with her sister Megan Saloom as they both crossed the finish line in 1:40:32.

Judith Albarran and Carlos Rodriguez finished within a couple of minutes of each other in 1:45:35 and 1:47:26, respectively.

Mimi Torrez easily kept it under two hours in 1:54:44, while Lillian Evans made excellent time in 2:05:49.

Lillian coming into the finish as nice and steady as possible!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Waverly Walk finished her 17th career half marathon - and her second in three weeks - with a mark of 2:21:15.

Could anybody have been more happy than Waverly Walk?!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Coach Rich Cooper and Sherry Cameron rounded out our half marathon performances with times of 2:26:18 and 2:35:24, respectively.

Mark Amann led our Volte friends in 1:15:52 and he was followed by Peter Lash and Josh Rivas with respective times of 1:21:19 and 1:35:22.

Kahn Grice and Sabina Lorca posted efforts of 1:46:18 and 1:49:43 while Cristina Gray finished in 2:03:41.

Randy Bradley continued to get ready for the Brazos Bend 50 with a time of 2:09:33.

Sisters Patricia Hernandez and Mariela Rodriguez ran the course in 2:10:20 and 2:34:18, respectively.

Vincent Attanucci added to his Dallas Marathon preparation with a 2:22:55 finish while Loren Denton stopped the clock in 2:29:50.

Lusi and Alvaro Trejo ran the course together, finishing in 2:39:09.

Volte Spanned the Globe, Country and State on Veterans Day Weekend

The second week of November saw Volte and friends stretching out across the state, country and even a little bit beyond.

We had a limited group participating on Sunday, November 14 at the Cypress Half Marathon and 5K, but there was certainly nothing limiting in their performances.

Rob Myers making the turn to the finish with one of Houston's most recognizable runners and nice guys, Hiroshi Himada.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Rob Myers had a goal to get under two hours in the half marathon and did so in a big way with a superb 1:57:25 effort.

Tammy Grado makes a strong bee line for the finish.  Great to see her back at a road race!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Continuing to maximize their Ironman fitness were Paolo Biagi and Tammy Grado as they both captured second place age group wins with times of 21:16 and 24:12, respectively, and paces nicely under seven and eight minutes.

Three Happy Voltes -- Paolo Biaga, Rob Myers and Tammy Grado
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Our friends did well as Patrick Wills was the first overall men's finisher in the 5K in 17:37, in addition to three age group awards in the half marathon.

Peter Lash set the table with a 1:24:45 first place showing followed closely by Rip Reynolds' 1:30:36 performance that was good enough for second.

C. Stevenson Lake shined with a 1:37:14 age group win while Hailey King ran well with a 2:20:25 performance.

As part of their preparation for December's Rock 'N Roll San Antonio Half Marathon, Bill and Dana-Susan Crews ran the Navy 10-Miler in Fort Worth on Saturday, November 13 where they both earned second place age group awards.

Bill stopped the clock in 1:16:49 while Dana-Susan posted a time of 1:32:39.

Working backwards, Sherry Cameron took herself to the origins of the modern marathon -- Greece -- to run the Athens Marathon, Authentic on Sunday, November 14.

Interestingly, there was an "A" and a "B" race for the marathon, but the two were really just different starting times, one about an hour and a half after another.

She finished in 6:20:48.

Out west, a pair of Volte friends took on the Revel Big Bear Marathon and Half Marathon in Big Bear, California, mostly made running famous by the Halls - Ryan and Sara.

Instead of name dropping, our friends did a little time dropping while they were there.

Paul Blutt early in last month's Big Bear Marathon in California
(Photo courtesy of Revel)

Paul Blutt was 44th overall (41st male and ninth in his 40-44 age group) with an excellent time of 2:54:09, while Daniel Garcia executed his "no such thing as too much fun" approach to his 2:04:50 finish.

Too good not to share from Daniel Garcia during the Big Bear Half Marathon.
(Photo courtesy of Revel)

Running one of the more beautiful courses in the country was Dana-Leigh Formon as she ran the Richmond Marathon in Virginia.

She took advantage of temperatures, albeit a little biting cold at the start, which never got above 50 degrees before she finished in 4:38:06.

And, closing us out - and close to home - is Terence Baptiste with his 45:34 first place age group finish in the 10K race of Explore The Falls in Spring on Saturday, November 13.

Volte Starts November Off Strong

Volte kicked off the month of November with alcohol.

Let me restate, rather, Volte participated in a few races with some adult beverages in their name!

The Gayles - Michael and Diana - and the Haneys - Scott and Leticia - got us rolling on Saturday, November 6 with finishes at the Back Pew Brewing 5K in Porter.

Earlier, we called this a couples draw as Michael beat Scott to the finish by 40 seconds with his 24:03 finish while Leticia crossed a minute and 23 seconds before Diana did as she chalked up a time of 30:12.

A pair of our Volte friends - John Slate and Ken Johnson - made the podium with a pair of third place finishes.

John finished just before Scott did in 24:42 while Ken stopped running after 47:28 on the course.

George Rux imbibed - on running - with a pair of races at the Disney Wine & Dine event in Orlando, Florida.

He ran the 10K on Saturday in 1:06:03 and followed up with the half marathon in 2:38:25 on Sunday.

Then, back closer to home, Kim White took third in his age group in 23:55 at the St. Arnold Art Cap IPA 5K while Volte friends Erika Lawton covered the distance in 30:50 followed by Mariela Rodriguez in 32:00.

The sons and husband of Volte alumni Jill Treasague also ran - Luke, the older of the two boys, was 14th overall in 20:09 while Jack was seven places behind in 20:39 while Dad, Matthew, punched in with a time of 23:16.

Sunday also saw Mike Kuykendall competing in the Oilman Texas Triathlon Aquabike, which included a 1.2-mile swim and 56 miles on the bike.

He completed the two distances in 4:26:18.

Volte friend and alumni Kate Looney was the women's overall winner in 5:04:47 while friend Alejandro Bedoya was third in his age group in 5:50:10 and Reggie Bruhn won his division in 6:07:54 -- just a few weeks after finishing Ironman Waco.

We certainly hope Kate's husband Bob celebrated her win with a nice bottle of wine, keeping with the alcohol theme.

While they were spending some extended time in Conroe, ten of our runners - including Roger and Robert King in support of the team - ventured south and west to Katy for the Texas 10 Series race on Sunday morning.

Brooke Hadden led the way with a second-place age group finish of 27:49 in the 5K while Jane Campbell grabbed first in her age group as she ran with her and Auggie's son, Simon, with a time of 28:46.

The Hadden family - daughter and Dad - had good races at Texas 10 Katy.
Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer

Auggie won second in his division with his mark of 31:32 while Toni Cardnell chalked up a time of 42:33.

It was another Hadden leading the way in the marquee 10-mile event.

Darren scored a first place age group award with his 1:06:05 while Jerritt Park took home a third place division award with a time of 1:11:22.

Erika Sampson spirited away from Bon the second loop - after coming into the turnaround close to one another.  

She was second in his age group in 1:16:30 while Rob finished in 1:20:42.

Kyley Hampton rounded out Volte's efforts in the 10-mile race with a 1:26:60 that netted her third place.

Kyley Hampton smiling as the finish line is in sight at Texas 10 Katy.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Our friends ran in both the 5-mile and 10-mile races

Northside Running's Cristina Gray led our friends in the 5-mile race in 43:37.  Ray and Dianna Sarno ran together in a time of 57:02 with Ray taking home a third place age group award.  Ken Johnson recorded a time of 1:16:10.

Lu Bouanga ended Mark Amann's long Texas 10 win streak with a 56:35 time for the overall win.

Lu for the win!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Josh Rivas won first in his age group in 1:10:53 while C. Stephenson-Lake and Erin Gowton finished first and third, respectively, in their groups with marks of 1:14:31 and 1:31:14.

Randy Bradley and Jimmie Gowton rounded out our Volte friend efforts with times of 1:35:17 and 1:44:02.

In the next-to-the-last The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K of 2021 later that afternoon, Jerritt Park led the way with a time of 21:40 - making it a half marathon for the day.

Jane Campbell outsprinted her husband Auggie to the finish by 19 seconds in 24:26, while Curtis Barton ran it in 26:28.

Volte Achieves Trail Success in Late October

If you're a movie buff, we don't have to tell you the end of the expression that Bruce Willis uttered in the movie, "Die Hard", when he told Hans, the terrorist, "Yippee-Ki-Yay."

We're betting though that you didn't know that "Yippee-Ki-Yay" really stands for an expression of joy.

We also think a new PR is another form of expressing joy.

The two came together when Krystal Salinas met up with her friend Cassandra Rodriguez in Council Bluffs, Iowa and Krystal did just that:  belting out a new personal best in the Yippee-Ki-Yay Half Marathon on Saturday, October 23, 2021 with a time of 2:10:57.

Photo courtesy of Krystal Salinas

The race was contested on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail, which consisted of about 90% rail-to-trail and 10% concrete.

The same morning at the Land Heritage Institute in San Antonio, the Miller and Murillo families were also getting on some trails in the El Taco Loco races, produced by Trail Racing Over Texas (TROT).

Volte alumni Megan Miller, who competed in high school with Houston Homeschool Athletics and also trained with Salt and Light Homeschool, finished third in her age group in the 50K in a time of 5:03:19 while her mother, Lori, ran the 25K in 2:42:13.

Luis Murillo won the 5K in 19:19 while his father Jose was first in her age group in the 10K in 42:42.

Juan attempted the 100K, but completed 46.5 miles.