Club News
Club Places 6th overall at Army Ten Miler while Seven Men Break 55:10; Kirk Baird Second Master at Virginia and Army Ten Miler; Steve Tappan Faces Upcoming Nuptials; Yancy Hall Goes Hollywood
New Members
Mike Campbell, of Dale City. Mike will be running on our JFK 50 miler team November 5th, along with Prasad Gerard and Keith Moore. Mike has done three 100 mile races and competed in JFK three times as well. Sunday will be the 14th consecutive Marine Corps Marathon Mike has run. We welcome Mr. Campbell to the club, and wish him all the best in the coming weeks.
Race Results
Army Ten Miler, October 15th
In the best team performance the club has put together in years, WRC Men took second in the men’s open category at the Army Ten Miler on October 15th. Led by Frank Sprtel, WRC placed seven of its runners in the top sixty five. Among all teams (military, corporate, government, etc) combined, WRC finished sixth out of 560.
What is perhaps most remarkable about the performance is the tightness of WRC’s pack. Only two minutes separated WRC’s first man (Frank Sprtel, 53:02) from our seventh man (Anthony Belber, 55:10). This is extraordinarily encouraging.
Commented Chris Hartshorne about the race
“Gary passed me at four miles – I went out a wee bit quick. For all I know I could have been running with some of the others at times.”
Adds Gary O’Donnell
“Around mile seven I was really struggling and then had to dig down deep. The motivation to help the team out is what kept my head in it. We did extremely well as a team and the incredible thing is several of us are not even running at our fullest capabilities.”
Observed Captain Todd Martin
“I’m not suggesting that we would have beat all these guys if they scored five deep, but we had incredible depth. Our seventh man [Anthony Belber] beat the fifth man on the every other team that was ahead of us except for Ft. Bragg.”
Below is a listing of men’s open team times
- Frank Sprtel 53:02
- Gary O’Donnell 53:43
- Kirk Baird 53:53
- Chris Hartshorne 54:29
- Todd Martin 54:36
- Yancy Hall 54:43
- Anthony Belber 55:10
- John Ward 61:57
Not to be outdone, WRC’s co-ed team took 4th out of 28th in the mixed open category, being led by Jeff “Spudman” Stratton and “Rocking” Robin Oswald.
- Jeff Stratton 57:35
- Robin Oswald 65:31
- Matt Hochstetler 65:59
- David Keating 68:44
- Farrell Malone 69:49
Said Captain Oswald after the race
“One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the number of army folks at the water stops–that was incredible. The 14th street bridge seemed endless, as always.”
Among the free lancers the club had running were the following
- Dan Wallace 58:41
- Prasad Gerard 61:45
- Jeff Aronis 62:49
- Kelley McLean 70:16
The next team races we do will be decided by Todd Martin, and his merry bend of revelers. However likely candidates include the Boston Marathon, Cherry Blossom and Sallie Mae.
Kudos to Yancy, Farrell, and John Ward, for whom this was their first race with our club. We hope they decide to do others with us.
Kirk Baird Second Master At Virginia & Army Ten Miler
Kirk Baird took second in the masters division at the Virginia Ten Miler September 23rd in a time of 56:20. The winner Lanny Doan of Virginia beach finished twenty seconds ahead of Kirk.
And on Sunday, Kirk Baird, took second in the masters’ division at Army Ten Miler. Kirk seems to be adjusting to forty very nicely, thanks for asking.
In the “Better Late than Never” Department
Robert Platt reports:
“Your report of the 20 Miler should note that Drosky and Platt were on the winning Master Male team. (I guess it helps when you are in charge of tabulating the team results. ) :-)”
News of the Club
The Vow of Steve
We are happy to report that our President and good friend Steve Tappan is engaged to Marie Sandrock. This is terrific news. We extend to both our best wishes for their happiness together.
No word on when the wedding is. Perhaps Steve is keeping mum, lest certain club members actually attend.
“Well Marie, I guess Paul and Gary opted not to wear coat and tie”
Yancy Appears in Season Premiere of the “West Wing”
Our friend Yancy Hall was featured in the season’s premiere of the West Wing, as an extra. True Story. It seems that Yancy was watching the filming in downtown DC last month, and when the director yelled “Okay I want all extras over here” Yancy simply walked on. Unfortunately, his one part – he was part of a horde running from a large explosion – was obscured because of a close up of Rob Lowe.
Rob Lowe – His Mug Denied Yancy His 15 Minutes of Fame
Marine Corps Marathon Week
Please note the following items.
- Our weekend workout is moving up to Saturday. We will meet at the 3300 Block of M Street at 7:30 on Saturday morning
- We will be meeting between miles 20 and 21 at the Marine Corps Marathon to cheer on our runners. We have Jascha Fields, Kevin Ryan and Mark Drosky all running under our banner. We wish them (and everyone else running) all the best. Be Valiant and Speed Well!
Our Favorite Quote About the NBC Olympic Coverage
For those of you who ferverntly hope never to see another “Up Close and Personal”for as long as you live , we bring you this quote:
“In its relentless search for high drama, NBC has stumbled into high camp.”
(New York Times,Sept 27, Carlyn James)