And Then, There Was Ironman Texas

What a busy, exciting week it was:  the 127th running of the Boston Marathon on a Monday and then - of course, in our own backyard, the 12th running of the Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas on Saturday.

Before we tell our Ironman stories, Volte saw other fine performances that weekend.

Darren Hadden ran along for the ride as his daughter, Brooke, took second in her age group on Saturday, April 22 in the Tomball ISD Superintendent's Fun Run 5K.

Youth was also served at the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #66 as Brayden Park raced to a winning time of 18:53 while Dad, Jerritt, finished second overall in 20:33.  

 

Volte friend Vincent Attanucci finished in 29:02.

 

We'll start to see more triathlons and duathlons in our results soon and getting in on the fun was Angel Martinez-Interiano at the Xterra ATX Trail Triathlon.

He covered the 1,000-meter swim in Lake Travis, 25K bike ride and 8K trail run in Pace Bend Park in two hours, 53 minutes and 15 seconds.

Notching a likely PR with the non-standard 6K distance, Sherry Cameron ran the XKlusive 6K in Sugar Land in 46:39.  

Volte friend Paul Blutt stopped the clock in 28:39.

The following day - Sunday April 23, we had athletes in all three races at Vintage Half Marathon, 5K and 1K.

Two weeks, two pacing opportunities for Lillian Evans and once again, she nailed her effort.

Leading a group for the 2:25 time, just over 11 minutes per mile, Lillian took them through the course in 2:24:31.

She and Roger could open up Volte Run With Me any day now!

Our good friend Dee Akers from Team Strive (the old days) and Strike Force Racing was second in her age group in 2:44:02.

 

In the 5K, Jerritt Park finished his 28th race of the year with a ninth overall and first in division time of 19:50.

Volte friends Mark and Dawn Poole grabbed first place age group awards in 21:13 and 25:08, respectively.

And grabbing the win in the 1K was Riley Park in 5:02.

And now, Ironman.

Ironman Texas never disappoints.  (Well, almost never, but we'll get to more of that later.)

Yaya Herrera nearly squeezes Tammy Grado's finish out of her with excitement!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

 

It was a great day that most of our entire team, including some we haven't seen in awhile, was out to support and cheer on Yaya Herrera and Tammy Grado as they competed with many Volte friends.

Yaya finished her second Ironman in a time of 14:10:10 and Tammy was able to put behind her unique challenges from Ironman Texas and Ironman Waco behind as she registered her first Ironman finish in 15:43:28.

Just as awesome was knowing that Volte alumni Kate Looney, who started coaching for Michelle Truesdale's Mach 5 Racing, got both of our ladies to the water ready in all facets to complete their goal.

"Yaya hit a big PR with a 1:33 swim," said Looney. "A little over a year ago, she was just learning to swim."

Amazing ... knowing that Yaya is as tough as nails out there competing athletically.

Yaya Herrera - tough as a train - on the bike.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Yaya excited, off on the run!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

While the water has proved to be a little bit of challenge for Tammy (as it is and would be for many of us), we would have been celebrating Tammy's first finish in October 2021 if it weren't for poor information from a volunteer regarding the amount of time that the bike course would be open - because that - 2:01:37 - was Tammy's best swim of her three attempts.

Tammy Grado dialed in to finish what she started two years ago.  Well done.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

This year, after being over a little in Waco two weeks after Ironman Texas in 2021, Tammy made it out of the water in 2:14:52 - and was off for that 15:43:28 finish.

"Watching Tammy become a first time Ironman finisher brought tears to my eyes," Looney added.

Yes, we're not crying, you are!

Tammy Grado always knew that if she could get to the run, her chances were high that she'd get her Ironman finish.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Seven is a lucky number, right?  Well, that's how many friends of Volte who also finished Ironman Texas.

All you can say about Volte alumni Meredith Moss' performance is "Wow."  

It was her third career Ironman finish after finishing Ironman Texas and Ironman Arizona last year in 11:40:48 and 12:45:35, respectively.

This year, she clocked in at 11:00:05 - and is going to Kona to compete in the Ironman World Championship on October 14, 2023.

"I am beyond grateful and excited for this opportunity!" Meredith said on her Instagram page.  "The race is on my birthday this year!"

What-a-birthday present!

Bob Looney decided to finally make it a two-Ironman household.

"I had done 7 half distance races, needed a new challenge, and was finally ready to give the full distance a shot," said Bob as he gave E3's Jorge Amine Martinez the coaching reins.

He finished in 11:36:09.

"Congrats Bob on the hard work you put in training this go around!" said Kate.  "Definitely re-inspired to get at that full distance again after watching your performance! Proud of you!"

Want to talk about a walking billboard for inspiration, see Reggie Bruhn with Sandra Sutherland's TXTRI.

Reggie has energy we only wish we could have.

This was his sixth Ironman finish in the last four years and his 12:18:40 was a PR for him.

Waco's Nancy Goodnight is an incredible human force of nature - and a great friend to us here at Volte.

For the first time in a while, Nancy did not do a Boston-Ironman Texas double as she shared she came into Ironman Texas with a torn hamstring.

However, she's in the Ironman Texas Survivor race as she is one of seven athletes who have finished all 12 Ironman Texas races - and the only female.

And if you're competing in Ironman 70.3 Waco, she's your race director!

Having run and worked out with us for a season, Ken Rademacher is a good friend of Volte who finished at least his fourth career Ironman (three at Ironman Texas) in 13:45:09.

It had been five years since former Team Strive - and current Mach 5 Racing athlete - John Laskowski had done an Ironman.

He did a couple of 70.3's in 2019 and had a solid showing at Ironman 70.3 three weeks before in 5:40:36, but he joked with his coach, Michelle Truesdale, after she commented, "Welcome back to long course!" that "Long course didn't like me."

Us having known John for more than a decade, if not longer, it was a tough day for John - finishing in 13:50:36; however, John has one of the more humble, pleasant dispositions in the Bubble.

And closing it all out was The Woodlands' Ram Rajagopalan who finished his second consecutive Ironman Texas in 15:43:01, slicing 45 minutes off of his time from 2022 where he got it done in 16:28:57!

So who are we going to see in 2024?

Two guys that we won't see, unfortunately, are Barry Blanton and Jim Chiles.

Barry Blanton provided this kind of personal support to our hometown folks - and other athletes every year for 12 years.
(Photo courtesy of Barry Blanton)

After 12 great years of being the co-captains of Run Aid Station #8 - affectionately known as "Some Like It Hot!", and being the creators of the world famous Third Lap Bell, they are retiring from being captains there.

Many, many Volte athletes - and their families - have volunteered there and athletes have enjoyed the support at what could have been a lonely spot on the run course.

Teamwork makes the dream work.
(Photo courtesy of Barry Blanton)

Gentlemen, thank you for what you did for all of us the last 12 years!

Volte Has Four or More Runners Finish Boston for the 10th Consecutive Year

Forty-six different runners since 2013 have run the Boston Marathon under Volte's colors.

Some want to run Boston every chance they can.

And for others, it is a one and done career running achievement.

Both are OK.

However, Volte's become a place where if you're willing to dream and do the work, its coaches will help you achieve it.

Even when you yourself might not believe you can get there.

Everybody knows that Volte is going to have runners run Houston or The Woodlands - and the newest annual marathon stop at Tunnel Light, but there's been a growing expectation that Volte will have folks at Boston.

This year, we had 12 finishers.

Darren Hadden, Roger King, Jane Cardnell, Robert King and Rob Gay before the 2023 Boston Marathon  (Photo Courtesy of ... one of them!)

It is the third Boston Marathon that we've had 10 or more finishers -- with 10 in 2015 and a record 13 in 2018.

And we've had another 30 runners since the 2018 race who have held a qualifying time, but either elected not to run - or fell in a small gap of time where the time underneath the qualifying standard wasn't large enough for all who entered to take up the race's entries.

We're also grateful that there are runners out there who want to join us to help them make it back to be able to qualify again for Boston - or just get there for the first time.

Leading our group this year - and who has been a pleasant addition to the team the last couple of years - was Lu Bouanga.

We sure hope to see a lot more of Lu Bouanga at the Boston Marathon like this!

The former East Central University runner bettered his 2:39:00 personal best from his debut at Houston last January by 46 seconds with a Volte all-time best of 2:38:14 - bettering Ramon Rosales' time of 2:44:17 in October 2021 .

When Robert King first qualified for Boston - with his debut marathon time of 3:02:25 at The Woodlands two years ago, his first Boston that October was something that a lot of runners appropriately embrace:  a victory lap.

This year, after a sterling time of 2:59:57 at California International Marathon last December, Robert attacked the course for a Volte all-time top ten time at Boston of 3:08:16.

Darren Hadden was going to use the Legacy Capital The Woodlands Marathon as a training run and drop out around mile 20, but the day went well and he finished easily in 3:42:26.

However, he was fully ready to lower his former Boston times of 3:28:16 in 2013 and 3:21:30 in 2007 - and he did so in grand fashion by requalifying for next year's Boston Marathon with a time of 3:17:16.

After jumping in to help pace Jane Cardnell at Houston in January, Roger King finished his fifth career marathon - all in the last three years - in 3:18:27.

While the times look similar for Boston, Roger did not pace Jane in Beantown, but all the hard work - and teamwork within Volte - paid off for Jane as she opened up a new chapter of running with a dazzling 3:18:36 that allows her to go back to Boston in 2024.

Christopher Branch finished his second consecutive Boston - and ninth career marathon - in 3:32:03, followed by Christopher and Stephanie Reed, who ran together for a time of 3:36:07.  

Check yourself for a pulse if you can get excited about this picture of Christopher and Stephanie Reed!

It was their second straight year to run the course together and they shaved three minutes and 36 seconds off of last year's time.

Devyn Cook loves Boston, but it always hasn't loved her back in a reciprocal way.

Nonetheless, Devyn finished Boston for the third straight year and recorded her best time there with a 3:49:19 effort; however, she still desires to master it like she has Houston and The Woodlands -- the two locations that have accounted for the other 10 of her 13 career marathons.

With one more marathon than Devyn to her career credit (14), Judith Albarran finished her second straight Boston and lowered her Beantown best by 14 minutes and two seconds with a showing of 3:50:01.

Another with unfinished Boston business was Erika Sampson.

After a tough race a year ago, she finished this year in 3:56:46 - more than a 37-minute improvement.

Rounding us out was Michelle McGill, who finished her sixth Boston Marathon - all with Volte - in 4:09:20.  

In fact, Michelle is tied with former Volte athlete Derek Bailey for the most Boston finishes - six, which is two more than any other Volte.  

Laura Godfrey and Sandra Tezino have both finished Boston four times.

We had another 14 friends who made the trip to Boston.

Christine Berenz was so close to slipping under three hours as she finished in 3:01:52.  It was her second Boston finish, the first coming in 2018 in 3:31:43.  (Christine is coached by another Volte friend, ZDT's Michael Menster, who did a great job directing her efforts at this race.)

Last June, Michael Attanucci set the world on fire with a 2:58:58 at the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon - and he delivered in his debut Boston Marathon with a time of 3:09:23.

Samie Leigh is perfect as far as Boston Marathon qualifying times - 4-for-4 (Dallas, Houston, CIM) - and she requalified for 2024 with a debut Boston of 3:16:53.

Former Volte coach Adrienne Neal improved upon her time from her qualifying race - the 2022 Phoenix Marathon, where she ran 3:27:20 - to punch her Boston ticket for 2024 with a mark of 3:21:03.

Rip Reynolds and Kevin Baker finished close - in terms of time - with respective showings of 3:23:23 and 3:24:46.

With her third Boston finish - 2016 and 2019 being the other two, Sonia Dhodapkar requalified with a 3:41:51 - just 13 days before she completed the Boston 2 Big Sur double with a 3:53:50 in Carmel, California.

Josh Rivas finished his third consecutive Boston Marathon (2021-2023) in a time of 3:45:00.

Four more runners cracked the four-hour mark at Boston:  C. Stephenson-Lake in 3:49:48, Mia Cieslar in 3:54:58, Mary-Ellen Wilderman-Hay in 3:55:38 and Paul Blutt in 3:56:46.

Jetola Anderson-Blair and Nora Wilson rounded things out with performances of 4:12:06 and 4:39:35, respectively.

Along with our friends - and family, of course, Volte, USA is as good of a place to be as its ever been.

Volte Leveraged Great Mid-April Weather to Solid Racing Results

The second weekend of April - Saturday and Sunday, April 8-9 - was quiet from a racing standpoint as it was Easter Weekend.

When The Woodlands Township Parks and Recreation Department moved Muddy Trails to February, it opened an opportunity for them to create the Run and Done 3.1 race that is held completely on The Woodlands Waterway.

The Park family took home a pair of second-place age group awards to add to their Easter baskets as Brayden finished in 17:16 while his Mom, Kristi, put down a time of 22:24.

Dawn Spoljaric led our Volte friends by denying Kristi a first-place award as she led their division with a time of 20:57.  Northside Running's Cristina Gray slipped in under 25 minutes in a time of 24:59, while one of The Woodlands' all-time legends, Jim Braden, 87 years young, won his age group in 39:10.

5 ... 3 ... 1 ... PR! for George Orebe at this year's Vintage Park 13.1.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Earlier in the following week, Chloe Kramer, the daughter of Volte's Mayra Caamano, ran her last high school race as she finished eighth overall in the 3,200 meter run in a time of 12:02.35 at the UIL 13-6A district meet that was held at The Woodlands College Park High School.

The following Saturday, April 15, Jerritt Park finished his 32nd race of the year with a second place overall finish of 20:52 in the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K #65 in Magnolia.  

Volte friend Vincent Attanucci completed his 23rd career parkrun in 28:58.

Running in just his second race in the last year or so, Randy Harris won his age group in The Mercy Run 10K in Carrollton (DFW Metroplex) in 48:35.

And with our folks taking in the entire Boston experience, a few ran the B.A.A. 5K as an easy shake-out run.

Erika Sampson led in a time of 26:19 while Judith Albarran and Christopher Branch finished together in 27:52.

Jetola Anderson-Blair led our friends in 26:59 and Allison Urvan ran with a friend in a time of 31:13.

On Sunday, April 16, we headed off into four different directions.

Jennifer Vieira ran with her daughter Megan Wittrop at the Austin American-Statesman Capitol 10K in a time of 1:32:55.

The Murillo family raided the prize chest of the Run For the Rose 5K in Houston as Luis, Juan and Jose all carted home first place age group awards.

Luis led with a time of 17:06.  Juan finished in 19:04 and Jose posted an always impressive 23:33.

Waverly Walk with a steady performance in the Vintage Park 13.1
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

A good group of four took to the trails in Huntsville State Park taking part in the Gator Bait Trail Runs.

Tim Russell won his age group in the 5K in 31:17.

And the 15K, well, it was more like 12 miles.

Jerritt Park took first place in his division in 1:47:24 followed by Rob Myers who was second in his age group in 2:03:11.  

Brittany Haddad rounded out our team in 2:08:50.

On the long course, Jerritt explained it this way:

"So I’m in fourth and miss a turn," he said.  "But then the lead pack misses a turn and then the whole rest of the field misses the same turn.

"I met up with the leaders and we decided to back track.

"We were nice and told the next 30 people they were going the wrong way.  We ended up running 12.4 miles!"

Only thing that Jerritt was really bummed about is that this year's Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee hadn't started yet and he couldn't count the bonus miles for that yet!

Volte wrapped up weeks two and three of April at the Vintage Park 13.1 and 5K, along Highway 249 in northwest Houston.

Rich Cooper was Volte's only runner in the 5K with a second place age group finish of 27:20.  Volte alumni, friend and Northside Running's Marta Mixa won her age group in a time of 27:59.

George Orebe led us in the half marathon with a first place age group finish of 1:35:21.  Mary Ann Miller followed with a time of 2:18:46.

Finishing her 23rd career half marathon, in her 30 halves by age 30 quest, Waverly Walk finished in 2:21:10.

It was super great for us to see Holly Benson, who came over from Liberty, to run as she finished in 2:26:23 - while being five months pregnant!

Lillian Evans and her runners are all smiles at about mile 6 of the Vintage Park 13.1
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

And Lillian Evans was right on the money leading the 2:30 group as a pacer as she crossed the finish in 2:29:07.

Our friends did well too.

Mark Amann was first overall in 1:14:09 and Than Dinh was the first men's masters finisher in 1:26:08.

First in his age group was Mark Poole in 1:37:45.

Dawn Spojaric posted a personal best time with a third place age group finish of 1:42:20.

Former Team Strive triathlete Courtney Grube ran the distance in 1:52:50 while Tabatha Poole also took home a third-place age group bottle of wine after her 2:07:33 effort.

Volte and Friends Open April With Eight Events in the First Weekend

April generally - except for those running the Boston Marathon - is the kickoff to the racing season, especially for triathlons, but also for many shorter distance races - half marathon and below.

It wouldn't be Volte unless we had some of our folks - and friends - starting to put feet to the pavement and trails for yet another year of fun.

Eight different events we were in just in the first weekend of April - Saturday and Sunday, 1-2.

Eunice Allen opened things up in Dallas on Saturday morning, April 1 with a 54:03, five-mile time in the Dallas Running Club's Breakfast Bash 5-Miler.

The 63rd running of the Spindle Tree parkrun on the Spindle Tree Jogging Trail in far east Magnolia - call it, The Woodlands, if you'd like - saw Jerritt Park finish his 21st race of the year with a fifth-place overall time of 21:43.  He was also the second masters finisher.

Volte friend Vincent Attanucci made the three-loop course in 29:28.

It's always "peace"ful, easy running for Lu Bouanga, right?
If not, well, he just makes it look that way.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Out west, Stephen Lopez finished his 40th career marathon at the Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon in Las Vegas, Nevada in a time of 5:44:01.  

It is the 34th different state that he has finished a marathon in.

Good guy - and Volte friend - Terence Baptiste also made the trip, cashing in his chips with a sparkling time of 3:20:12.

From downhill to flat as a pancake we go as we had a small group at the Brazos Bend Trail Run in Needville.

Luis Murillo won the 5K in 18:49 while Volte friend Paul Blutt registered a time of 23:18.

Appearing in Volte's results for the first time, Cheryl Edwards ran the 25K in 3:51:38.

Seventy-two years young, Jose Murillo - already in midseason form - won his age group in the 50K in 7:51:16.

Running in the longest distance, 50 miles, Juan Murillo was forced to stop after 43 miles and eight hours, 58 minutes and 34 seconds due to the hot and humid conditions the day challenged with.

Sis-boom-bah for Jerritt Park after he finished fourth overall a couple of hours after the Spindle Tree parkrun with a 22:19 finish in the Tomball (High School) Cheer 5K in Tomball.

Roger King and Jason Bodie
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

And he celebrated on Sunday, April 2, with another seven Voltes and a half dozen friends at the Art Car IPA 5K in downtown Houston.

Christopher Branch led our five age group winners with a time of 20:43, passing Park at about the two-mile mark, to take first in his division.  Jerritt was second in 21:05.

Judith Albarran and Julie White led the ladies with age group wins in times of 22:43 and 23:33, respectively.

Kim White rounded Volte's winnings out with a second-place age group mark of 22:05.

Paolo Biagi ran the distance in 24:26 while Greg Broad and Jennifer Vieira followed in 32:24 and 47:58, respectively.

Volte friends saw Josh Rivas take third place in his division in 21:20.  Paul Blutt timed himself in 24:32 as Erika Lawton completed the course in 28:40 and Mariela Rodriguez did so in 36:43.

Melinda Evans and Marvin Adamson rounded out our friends' efforts with times of 40:04.

Speaking of Ironman below, Dan Jordan is one of the few in our community to do both an Ironman and a 100-mile race.  (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

 Good group of Volte friends down on The Island in Galveston competing in Ironman Texas 70.3.

Volte alumni Kate Looney was the second overall female in 4:40:03.

Volte friend Alejandro Bedoya (TXTRI, Sandra Sutherland) and John Laskowski (MACH 5, Michelle Truesdale) both went sub-six with respective marks of 5:34:43 and 5:40:37.

"Mama Goose" Brandi Watkins turned in a steady performance of 6:43:58 while Kahn Grice and Gary Knoll finished the day with showings of 7:08:12 and 7:35:30.

We wrapped up April's opening weekend of racing at The Woodlands Running Club's Sunday Night 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands. 

Even though he had run three races previously, nobody was able to catch Jerritt Park as he finished his 24th race of 2023 in 20:41.  Rob Gay was second overall in 23:02.

The first female finisher was Jane Cardnell in 23:24.

Christopher Branch edged Devyn Cook to the finish line in 24:22 and 24:33, respectively, while Paolo Biagi took it easy with a time of 26:01.

Rounding out our crew was Trey Taylor and Judith Albarran, who finished in 27:44 and 28:33, respectively.

Volte friend Ken Johnson of the Seven Hills Running Club stopped the clock in 47:27.

Another Great Year for Volte at The Woodlands Marathon

Forty athletes.  

Sixteen friends (and probably more that we didn't list).  

All participated in the 12th annual Legacy Capital The Woodlands Marathon weekend nearly three weeks ago.

With many of the Volte family serving on the race committee or in volunteer roles, thank you from all of us for being a part and supporting our hometown race!

Our lucky seven in The Woodlands Marathon 10K was led by The Woodlands High School freshman Brayden Park, who finished third in his age group in 38:06, tenth among all males and 12th overall.

His father Jarrett also earned hardware with a second place age group time of 42:29.

Park is the only Jerritt that has ever finished a race in conjunction with The Woodlands Marathon
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

In between the two was Volte friend, alumni and Mach 5 Racing coach Kate Looney, who won the 5K at The Woodlands Marathon in 2015, but finished third overall in 39 minutes even.

Sabrina Mengual and Angel Martinez Interiano crossed the finish line together in 56:14 less than a minute in front of Rob Myers, who stopped the clock in 57:03.  

It was Rob's ninth race finish of an event at The Woodlands Marathon, after six half marathons and two marathons.

Finishing in just over an hour was Brittany Haddad in 1:01:03 while Mike Kuykendall continued to tune up for triathlon season in 1:04:07 and George Rux powerwalked the course in 1:32:47.

When Brittany Haddad sports the Volte Orange it almost looks Burnt Orange.  Hook 'em!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Twenty-six Volte athletes ran the 12th annual Houston Methodist Orthopedics and Sports Medicine The Woodlands Half Marathon plus another nine Volte friends.

Lu Bouanga led us all in a time of 1:11:21 while Robert King improved his time by six minutes from a year ago with a showing of 1:24:01.

The breeze from Lu Bouanga nearly knocked the cone over!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Great race from Robert King, and likely had a quip on his mind as he went by!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Gustavo Murillo, who ran 3:02 five years ago in the marathon, slipped under 1:30 in the half with a 1:29:51 and almost pulled Beto Alvarez with him, but Beto was two seconds over in 1:30:02.

Volte friend Rip Reynolds, who has finished all 12 The Woodlands Half Marathons, led Christopher Branch across the line with a time of 1:31:09 while Chris was three seconds behind.  

All of Rip's times have been between 1:27:33 and 1:31:09 over those 12 races, while Chris has brought his time down from 1:49:11 in 2019 and 1:38:52 in 2020.

Volte friends Halie Elzoghbi and Auggie Campbell posted respective efforts of 1:32:41 and 1:34:57 before Kim White grabbed third place in his age group in 1:39:38 while shaving five minutes off of last year's time.

Gourav Kumar and Trey Taylor owned the 1:41 minute with marks of 1:41:04 and 1:41:33, respectively, while Volte friend Paul Blutt and Santiago Alvarez ended their mornings with times of 1:44:39 and 1:45:01.

Paul was one of the two 1:45 half marathon pacers with Casey Wilson.

Meanwhile, Jason Bodie, Jane Cardnell and Rob Gay all were quite chuffed with their jolly run down the motorways of The Woodlands as they all finished together - nearly hands-in-hands - in 1:46:09.

Erika Sampson finished her third The Woodlands Half Marathon in 1:48:33 followed by Paolo Biagi in his fifth The Woodlands Half Marathon finish - and best - in 1:49:52.

Kimberly Simmons was just over the 1:50 mark in 1:50:13, but went home with a second place age group award to boot!

Urica Chevis and Volte friend Kahn Grice together were close behind in 1:50:20 while Tammy Grado and Kyley Hampton easily stayed under two hours in 1:51:17 and 1:52:20, respectively.

It was Grado's eighth The Woodlands Half Marathon and her best ever - a year removed from pacing her daughter Taylor to her first half marathon finish.  

Hampton shaved more than nine minutes from her 2021 half marathon time of 2:01:58.

Improving on his time from the last two The Woodlands Half Marathons was Michael Donelan with a finish of 2:01:14.  

He has run eight The Woodlands Half Marathons like Grado and two The Woodlands Marathons - and is the second fastest half marathoner in the event's history with four or more finishes at the age of 70 and older behind Porter's Lee Topham.

A trio of Volte friends took Donelan's lead - Cristina Gray finished her fifth career The Woodlands Half in 2:04:43, William Ott his ninth in 2:09:18 and Kevin Kranson debuted in 2:11:01.

Susan Rouse finished her seventh The Woodlands Half Marathon in 2:14:01 - to go along with a pair of The Woodlands Marathon, while Michelle Wells ran her first The Woodlands Half - in 2:15:58 - after running the 5K race seven times between 2013 and 2020.

Volte friend Mariela Rodriguez with Woodlands Fit finished her third straight The Woodlands Half Marathon in 2:30:17 - an event best for her, while Volte coach Rich Cooper recorded his seventh The Woodlands Half Marathon in a time of 2:30:33.

The seventh The Woodlands Half Marathon came nice, steady for Volte coach Rich Cooper.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Kimberly Roth and Lori Tell worked together to come to the finish line in 3:15:05 while Jessica Shen and Heiki Dierck teamed up for an effort of 3:18:29.

In the marathon, we played a pair of sixes - six Volte athletes and six friends.

Third in his age group in the marathon was Volte friend Than Dinh, with a Boston qualifying time of 3:13:34.  

Dinh is a Spring High graduate who Bill helped coach on the side in the late 1980s.  Than's older brother and sister graduated with Waverly Walk's father, Jon.

Finishing her third The Woodlands Marathon - to go along with a pair of half marathon finishes - was Devyn Cook, who covered the distance in 3:39:06 - just ten seconds in front of Mark Embry.  

Embry was running his first event at The Woodlands Marathon.

Volte friend Lorena Rowell finished her second The Woodlands Marathon in 3:44:47 while another Volte friend Dawn Spoljaric notched her best of four career The Woodlands Marathons in 3:45:26.

Faith Craig's father Thomas Thomson recorded a time of 3:55:26 - the second fastest of his six The Woodlands Marathon races.  

He went home to Shavano Park, in the greater San Antonio Area, and ran a half marathon the following day.

In her tenth year at a The Woodlands Marathon race and her 12th race finish, Julie White completed her first one in her married name - and the marathon was the second best time - 4:06:04 - of her seven The Woodlands Marathon journeys.  

Some call 511 for traffic info; Julie White dials in her second best The Woodlands Marathon
finish ever!  (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Julie also has three half marathons and a pair of 5K finishes here to her credit.

"Waverly Walk from Spring.  The family PR is going to go down!" said the announcer.

Waverly Walk has the marathon mantle passed to her by her father, Jon, at the finish!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

And she finished her third career marathon in 4:45:27 - to go with her 2:06:47 half PR at The Woodlands two years - to take down her Dad's best of 54 marathon finishes, 4:47:32 at the Freescale Austin Marathon in 2006.

Volte friend Cheryl Edwards ran the distance in 5:20:17 just a short while before another Volte friend - Vincent Attanucci - finished his 11th The Woodlands Marathon in 5:24:37.

And getting every minute and penny out of his entry fee was Neven Krstulovic-Opara, who closed out our efforts with a 5:55:16 finish - his seventh The Woodlands Marathon in addition to his two The Woodlands Half Marathon finishes.

Great work by everybody that toed the starting line, crossed the finish, volunteered or worked on the race committee!

Wins, Classic Races and Old Mainstays Kick Off March for Volte

Outside of the 12th annual Legacy Capital The Woodlands Marathon and its affiliated events more than two weeks ago, Volte had athletes at other events that weekend.

The big news is that Volte had another first place finish at the Miles for Meals event in Conroe on Saturday, March 4.

Two years after Mayra Caamano won the women's 10K race there, Stephanie Reed picked up the ladies' 5K victory - while finishing eight overall - in a time of 22:45.

Stephanie Reed gets the gold shiny medal for winning overall!
(Photo courtesy of Christopher Reed)

Her husband Christopher clipped 20 minutes by a second to finish third overall.

Volte is also pretty proud of Judith Albarran representing us well as an ambassador for the Bayou City Classic 10K, one of the two oldest 10K races in the state of Texas along with the Statesman Capital 10K in Austin.

While she grabbed first in her age group in a time of 46:40, she pulled a few friends along to participate in downtown Houston as opposed to The Woodlands.

Jose Murillo was first in his division in the companion 5K event in 25:59.

The master's division of the 10K was won by one of our athletes and a friend of Volte.

Ramon Rosales took the win with a mark of 35:19 while Houston's Erika Park was first for the ladies in 41:51.

Juan Murillo and Robert Cardnell stopped the clock, respectively, in 42:22 and 43:29, while Volte friend Josh Rivas ran the distance in 48:06.

The following day, Sunday, March 5, Volte friend Greg Broad traveled to Arkansas to finish the Little Rock Marathon in 5:27:53.

A little bit closer to Houston was Eunice Allen, who ran the Towne Lake 5K in McKinney, in 30:18.

Good group at that evening's The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands.

Jerritt Park led the way with a 21:46 finish, while Tim Russell and Rob Myers finished together in 31:46 and Deb Myers and Llana Bingham did so together too in 36:49.

Volte friend Randall Ivins came across the line in 30:19 and Ken Johnson followed in 47:20.

The following week in the 60th running of the Spindle Tree park run 5K in Magnolia, Jerritt was ninth overall in 21:15, while his wife, Kristi, was the third overall female in 23:50.  

Ken was first in his age group in 48:22.

Volte Goes Green for St. Patrick's Day on the Track, Road and Trails

This past Saturday morning, Volte founder Bill Dwyer was asking John Stevens how his son, Henry, who runs for Trina Jones' Spring Providence Classical School track team, was doing.

He told Bill that Henry had run the 1600 meters Friday night at the 71st annual Texas Southern University Relays in 4:51 and that he was going to run the 3200 meters later that day.

While Henry ran 10:34, ten seconds better than The Woodlands' Jack Tresague, John told Bill that there was a Volte runner in the 5K Friday night.

It was our Lu Bouanga!

Lu, who ran collegiately for East Central Oklahoma, wasn't too far off of his collegiate PR of 15:47.04 as he was second overall in the University 5K.

He covered the distance in 16:15.58, second only to current Texas Southern graduate student Albert Norman.

The racing season is starting to pick up even after the completion of January's Chevron Houston Marathon, the 2022-2023 campaign of the Texas 10 Series and the 12th annual Legacy Capital The Woodlands Marathon.

The biggest news is that Randy Harris ran his first race in about a year at the Eva Strong Memorial 10K in Uvalde Saturday morning.

He was second overall in 46:51 - and ran it in wire-to-wire rain, according to the race's timer, Ricky Garza with Zapata Roadrunners.

Randy is now an assistant principal at Uvalde High School.

Jerritt Park's road to 100 races in 2023 went through Keller Saturday morning as he traveled to the Metroplex as his son, Brayden, was competing in the Texas Distance Festival, hosted by Southlake Carroll High School.

Missing a chance to run in the Bear Creek Greenbelt parkrun 5K in Keller, Jerritt opted for the Shannon Brewing Company's St. Patrick's 5K, where he was first in his age group in 21 minutes even.

He said it was "super hilly" - for a flatlander - as he was also third overall.

Transitioning to this weekend's trail races, Volte had friends at the 61st running of the Spindle Tree park run 5K in east Magnolia.

Stoya Laydevant set a new Spindle Tree park run course record in 18:29 on the triple loop crushed trail track.  She was third overall and first female.

Her parents - Meri and Pierre - finished in 25:02 and 26:43, respectively, and first in their respective age groups, while Vincent Attanucci completed his 21st career park run in a personal park run best of 28:58.

What happens - sometimes - when you run every day - for 7,377 days, as of Monday, March 20, 2023.

Volte had two runners participating in Trail Racing Over Texas' San Felipe Shootout at Stephen F. Austin State Park on Saturday.

The San Felipe Shootout allows for runners to run a 5K, 10K and half marathon consecutively in one morning.

The 5K began at 7:30, the 10K an hour later and the half marathon at 10:30 a.m.

Paolo Biagi finished the 5K in 26:20 and the 10K in 59:26 and was the sixth overall masters male in both races.

Meanwhile, Nita Shinde chewed up and spit out the entire trail - running all three races and completing the Shootout.

Her times were 36:45 in the 5K, 1:35:25 in the 10K and 3:29:00 in the half marathon.

Moving back to crushed trail surfaces, we had four athletes and as many friends competing in this weekend's Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon.

On Saturday, with their coach Rich Cooper in-person supporting their efforts, Andrew Carrillo and Mike D'Errico took first and third in their age groups in Saturday's half marathon in 1:34:34 and 1:39:39, respectively.

Running Alliance Sport ambassadors - and Volte friends - Alvaro and Lusi Trejo teammed up with two more Trejos - Isabel and Suvenal - to make up Team Trejo and finish the marathon relay on Saturday in 3:59:15.

They came back on Sunday morning - as cold, but not as wet as Saturday morning - and ran the 5K in 25:52 and 40:37.  Alvaro earned third place in his age group.

Earning sparkling new personal bests in the Quarter Marathon - and their first time to ever run the distance - were Kim and Julie White.

Kim was second in his age group in 50:15, while Julie was first in hers in 53:01.

Volte friend Sabina Lorca not only ran the half marathon in a first place division finish of 1:46:55, she also sang the National Anthem to start the morning.

Working our way back to the track, it was noted earlier that Jerritt and Kristi's son Brayden was running the 1600 meters at the Texas Distance Festival in Southlake Carroll.

Just under 550 young men ran the 1600 meters and 378 were under five minutes.

Brayden clocked a time of 4:50.056.

At Saturday's Kingwood True Team Meet, which featured the host school, Kingwood HS, Montgomery HS and The Woodlands College Park, the daughter of Mayra Caamano - Chloe Kramer - was fifth overall in the 1600 meters, posting a career best time of 5:25.84 in her senior year.

She was second three weeks ago at the Klein Cain Invitational in the 3200 meters in 11:44.04.