Fall Racing Report

Wow!

It’s about all I can say as I review the many weekends full of superb races, fantastic PRs and lots of happy runners.  I am blown away by the performances handed in over the last month; I don’t even know where to begin.  Perhaps I should work backwards….

This weekend marks the second year Rachel Goochey and her sister Abby raced in Arizona’s Be The Match 5k.  The run raises money for bone cancer research and the girls run in memory of their lovely mother, Mary Kay.  Such an inspirational woman; such a great family- big hugs and high fives to Rachel and Abby!

Last weekend, the newest memberof the team, Erica Richardson ran 5k XC in the Lewis-Clark home meet to an outstanding time of 17:27!  Awesome prospects for this postpartum mama- Congrats Erica!

City of Trees boasted incredible weather and a fun group of gals out to run the full and half marathons.  Candace Madarieta Smith completed the full in a stellar time of 4:15:51- good for 7th in her age group.  Candace was on a roll this fall as she also ran a huge PR in the Barber to Boise 10K, running 48:54 and a 1:55:47 in the Fit One Half Marathon.  Awesome racing Candace!

Samantha Andreas ran her half marathon debut at the City of Trees in 1:51:59- a huge show of heart and muscle as she hit the gas instead of the breaks at mile 10!  Sam says sage was helped along by keeping an eye on the pink singlet just ahead of her- teammate Jackie Pronovost who ran a season best 1:49:14, despite the training interruption recently.

Shalini Ramachandran and Claire Boyd ran close together in the City of Trees half, finishing in 2:25:16 and 2:26:14 respectively.  Love the teamwork, ladies!

Claire donned the Betties’ singlet for the first time at COT but I have to give mention to the fact that this was her 4th Half this year, peaking with the perfect conditions of FitOne with a time of 2:20.  Way to put the miles in Claire!

Speaking of marathons, Gabby Reeves ran her debut at the Portland Marathon earlier this month.  Coming through the finish at 3:11, her race stands out given the heat and the fact that she only started racing seriously in the last year.  Incredible effort in your first marathon, Gabby!  Looking forward to great things in the months and years to come!

FitOne was the big race for many, and the Betties were out in full force.  Nicole Fitzgerald led the 5K from the start, Layla Brown and Maria Morgan showed us their strength by racing the competitive stroller division (with Maria pushing a TRIPLE stroller and 3 toddler boys), Sam paced an easy 10k as a workout (still finishing 6th for women!), but the highlight may have been Samia McCall‘s incredible half marathon.  Though the course was long- 13.4 according to the race website- Samia ran a 1:51:51 for a huge PR, resetting a personal record that had stood for years!  Samia went on to run a 10K PR at Barber to Boise (though she was intending to just run, not race) in 50:27.  Just seconds behind her was another new member to the team, Amber Kiertly-Perez in 50:36!  Again, awesome AWESOME running.  So proud of these gals!

Our last big race before the new year is the Zeitgeist Half Marathon– a classic hilly Boise course that keeps the runners coming back every year.  I know we have two signed up, so look for the pink singlets out on the course and get ready to celebrate a few more incredible performances!

Happy Trails!

coach G