Category Archives: Racing

Plans for heading off to the races!

Karlsen, Kennedy Cleared for Chicago Competition

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WRCers Paul Karlsen and Rick Kennedy are ready to rumble tomorrow morning (Sunday) at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, one of the World Marathon Majors (i.e. most prestigious marathon races on the planet). Paul will be hyper-visible throughout this Second City in his 2013 Series Singlet.

The Wave 1 Start is set for 7:30 a.m. CDT (UTC−05:00). We’ll be updating their splits and results below, immediately following the unstoppable Sunday Distance Run.

UPDATE: Paul finished 555th overall, shaving over 3 minutes off of his previous personal best!

Splits

Paul Karlsen, bib #1050, profile
Checkpoint Time Pace
10K 0:40:51 6:33/mi, 4:04/Km
Half (21.1K) 1:26:21 6:35/mi, 4:05/Km
30K 2:03:14 6:36/mi, 4:06/Km
Marathon (42.2K) 2:54:56 PR 6:40/mi, 4:08/Km

Full splits (unofficial), 555th place overall

MCM Team Entry

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Lauren Gabler, who is stepping up as captain of the squad preparing for this course, sez:

The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is just around the corner and WRC is going to be well represented, both by our talented runners and our awesome new racing singlets. We’d like to enter the team competition, which consists of 3-5 runners for either a men’s, women’s, or co-ed team.

If you’re registered for the MCM and want to represent our club on October 27th, please contact Lauren at lauren.gabler@gmail.com. She’ll figure out the team logistics and make sure we’re registered by the cut-off date!

Best of luck with the rest of your fall marathon training!

Historic MCM Team Results

SDR Time Change, or Race, and Party

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Sunday Distance Run Time Change to 8:00 a.m.

Sunday is going to be a perfect day, so to embrace the moment we will start our Sunday Distance Run an hour later, effective Sunday, September 8, 2013. The 8 a.m. start time will be in effect through spring of 2014, as reflected on WRC’s calendar. Watch out for triathlon-related traffic.

Good luck to Parks Half Marathon racers

Julia Taylor is captain of the squad headed up to Rockville to squiggle their way down to Bethesda. Some of the marathoners rehearsed the final two miles of this course last weekend. This race is part of WRC’s 2013 Grand Prix series. Good luck to them all!

Don’t miss the Cookout and Pool Party!

If you haven’t already done so, let Carla know you’re coming to the Cookout and Pool Party! You didn’t think we’d let the remaining good weather go to waste, did you?

Race Opportunity: Summer Strides 5K

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This comes from the weekend desk of club member and racePacket guru, Bob Platt:

Thank you for allowing me to announce the Summer Strides 5K at today’s run. Any member of WRC can get a $5 discount when entering the race by typing in “WRC” as the coupon code on the online entry form. Again, the race will be held on Sunday, Aug 4 at 8 a.m. at Bluemont Park in Arlington. I hope to see many of my WRC friends there.

For those keeping score, Bluemont Park is a destination along our Tour D’Arlington (16.7 miles) training route. So, you see, membership has its privileges.

WRC Heads to Vienna for the Fourth

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Running has become as much a part of July 4th as fireworks and parades.

The Washington Running Club used to run a 5K in Potomac, Md., then head to Tris Kruger’s place, but that wholesome tradition has passed.

In my hometown of Atlanta, they’ve raced the Peachtree Road Race 10K every year since 1970. It’s now the largest road race in the world with 60,000 runners.

This year as a club we’re throwing our support behind the Potomac Valley Track Club‘s Go Fourth 8K at Centennial Park in Vienna, Va. Get directions.

This will also be the July race for WRC’s inaugural Grand Prix. Previously, the race was “to be determined.”

Race Registration is inexpensive by today’s standards at $8 for non-members. The course is described as “park trail, entirely flat.”

The winning time last year—albeit a different course—was just under 30 minutes for men and just under 33 minutes for women, so I know several members can beat that.

What’s not to be liked?

Sound The Klaxon! Grand Prix is Aweigh

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The Washington Running Club garnered recognition over the weekend as several members ran in Sunday’s Capitol Hill Classic 10K under the club’s team.

WRC finished in a respectable 7th place out of 44 teams (results). Finishers had their club name—Washington Running Club in our case—called out over the public address system as they finished.

Rachel Clattenburg (42:08), Julia Taylor (43:44), and Jerry Paulson (48:19) comprised the WRC team scorers. Julia finished second in her age group, getting nipped by a mere 11 seconds. Christine Hackman finished in fourth in the same age group while netting a 46:35.

Dan Yi—running for the Civil Rights Racers—ran an impressive 37:07 the day after running 30 miles in preparation for the upcoming Comrades Marathon on June 2nd.

The 10K’s team competition counted the top 3 finishers on the team with at least one being of the opposite sex.

This weekend’s race also marked the sixth race in WRC’s inaugural Grand Prix. Up-to-date standings show President Kirk Masterson leading the men’s division with an average age-graded score of 79.32% through three races.

Christine Hackman has the highest age-graded score on the women’s side with a 73.22%. Julia Taylor is just behind her with a 72.53%.

The age-graded scoring system is meant to account for age in performances and give runners of all ages an equal chance to compete on the same scale.

Runners must compete in 5 races to qualify for the Grand Prix—at least 4 from the selected races in the series, with the option of one performance from outside. The standings above don’t yet reflect the one elective race.

The next race in the WRC Grand Prix is the Lawyers Have Heart 10K on June 8.