Week in Review - Two Veterans and an ARC Debut

It was another week of track racing for the ARC.  We had two veterans and one new member in action.

At Wingate University, Javan Lapp lined up for his second 1500m of the season.  After a smooth race last week that saw him move up throughout the pack and finish second, he planned on a more aggressive start this time around. Unfortunately, the fast early pace lead to a nice blow-up in the final lap.  He jogged it in, but lived to fight another day.  He’ll be back on the track in a few weeks at his alma mater, UNC-Charlotte. 

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Lapp lacing up.

At the Raleigh Relays, Justin Gragg ran his second 5000m of the season and new Asheville resident John Raneri shook off his marathon legs with a 1500m and pacing duties in the 10000m. 

For most of his race, Justin was up with the leaders and on pace for a personal best.  He hit a lull in the last 1600m before rallying for a quick last lap.  His 14:48 didn’t satisfy his goal, but he should have more opportunities to pop a fast one in the coming weeks.  

Just over a month after his 50th place finish at the US Olympic Trials Marathon, John stepped down to 1500m to test his speed.  His 3:51 (equivalent to a 4:10 mile) was only a few seconds off of his personal best and a sign of good things to come this spring.  A short while after his race, John jumped back on the track to pace the 10000m.  He kept it going at the front for a bit over halfway at 29-low pace.  Nice day of work! 

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Welcome to Asheville, John Raneri!

NC State University’s Raleigh Relays - Raleigh, NC
John Raneri - 1500m - 3:51.
Justin Gragg - 5000m - 14:48.78
Results

Week in Review - Track is Back

Outdoor track is back! For several racers in the Collective, this season is the focus of the year. Chasing fast times, these guys will be travelling all over to college and open invitationals. This past weekend, both Javan Lapp and and Ryan Courtoy laced up the spikes at their alma maters.

Ryan, one of the middle-distance specialists on the team, tested his strength in the 5000m at the University of South Florida. His time of 16:08 demonstrates strong progress as he continues his comeback after several years away from the sport. It will be fun to watch him return to top form and challenge his college bests.

Javan opened his season at UNC-Charlotte’s 49er Classic with a solid effort at 1500m. His 2nd place third-heat finish in 4:00, over two seconds faster than last year’s opener, shows the strength work of the fall and winter is paying off. Up next for Javan is another 1500m at Wingate University this weekend.

USF Bulls Invitational - Tampa, FL
Ryan Courtoy - 5000m - 16:08.21
Results 

UNC-Charlotte 49er Classic - Charlotte, NC
Javan Lapp - 1500m - 4:00.37
Results

Week in Review

The High Country contingent of the ARC was in action around the southeast this weekend.

Boone’s Caleb Masland started things off on Friday with a competitive 4-miler in Virginia. Coming off the LA Marathon in February (the 20th marathon of his career!), he has been getting back in touch with faster paces.  His 21:34 4-mile result shows he’s beginning to shake the rust off. It will be fun to watch Caleb’s results this spring as he works to chip away at his personal bests in the shorter distances.  If you are interested in following his progress more closely, check out CoachCaleb.com, where he will be posting training updates along the way.

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Caleb, seen here during the recent LA Marathon, is returning to some speed.

On Sunday, Blowing Rock’s Peyton Hoyal lined up for the USATF-NC championship at the Tobacco Road Marathon.  Running this event was a last-minute choice for Peyton, so he didn’t have the traditional marathon-specific training block under his belt.  Even so, he was able to rely on the strong base of fitness he’s been building for the last few years and get in a solid effort.  His 2:33:22 was a few minutes off of his personal best, but good enough for second in the USATF-NC division and third overall (and a decent payday!).  Find out more about Peyton’s training at ZapFitnessCoaching.com, where he offers coaching services.

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Peyton digging deep at Mile 25.  Photo Credit: Tim Meigs

Shamrock 4 Miler - Abingdon, VA
Caleb Masland - 6th - 21:34
Results

Tobacco Road Marathon (USATF-NC Championships) - Cary, NC
Peyton Hoyal - 3rd - 2:33:21
Results

Week in Review - Oskar Blues!

One race to recap from this weekend. Down in Brevard, Friend-of-the-Collective, “Wild” Bill Baldwin, put on the 4th edition of the Oskar Blues 4-Miler. This has become a local favorite - nice course, great competition, and… well... Oskar Blues Brewery!

Philip Latter and David Workman represented the ARC well with strong finishes. Phil placed 3rd overall behind some heat from Charlotte Running Club and ZAP Fitness, while Dave continued his string of master’s wins (he’s on a tear!) and earned 9th overall.

If you haven’t raced the Oskar Blues 4 Miler yet, put it on your to-do list. We will see you there in 2017.

Oskar Blues 4 Miler - Brevard, NC
Philip Latter - 3rd - 21:19
David Workman - 9th - 23:21
Results

Week in Review - action packed

Wow - this past weekend was packed with great racing!  Looking through the results was another reminder of just how lucky we are to be a part of such a special running community in Western North Carolina.  Not only were Collective racers tearing it up, but Wedge Run regulars and friends-of-the-Collective provided plenty of inspiration and motivation at a variety of events.

First up for the ARC, Javan Lapp competed in a historic race on the Caribbean island of St. John. 8 Tuff Miles lives up to its name with 1400+ feet of climbing in the first 5 miles and 3+ miles screaming back to the finish.  Javan came in looking to improve on his 3rd place finish from last year, but ended up having a tough day from the start. Fortunately for him, he has two weeks in the Virgin Islands to get over the disappointment. Also - shout out to Emily Egelhoff Whalen, who placed 2nd off very sporadic training. Impressive!

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Javan recovering on the beach

Back in the Carolinas, Chass Armstrong and Peyton Hoyal competed in the GHS Swamp Rabbit Half Marathon.  This event, known for it’s lighting-fast point-to-point course layout, is becoming a target on more and more WNC-area racers’ schedules.  Early in the race, both Chass and Peyton were in the mix with the lead pack. A few miles in, surges were made and the real racing began.  Chass pushed the pace in the second half and broke away with the eventual winner.  His efforts earned him a strong 2nd place in the mid-68s.  Peyton grinded it out through an “off day” and kicked well to earn 3rd in a near photo finish.  Nice efforts from both guys.

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Peyton throwing down his kick

Brent Schouler and David Workman also laced up this weekend to represent the Collective locally at the Chilly Challenge 8k.  Brent had a great battle up front throughout the race and held on for 2nd place in 26:56 on the hilly course.  Dave bounced back well from his recent 25k trail race to grab fourth place overall, as well as the Master’s win.

Finally, major props to all of those from the WNC running scene who represented the mountains so well at both Swamp Rabbit and the Black Mountain Marathon!

8 Tuff Miles Road Race - St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Javan Lapp - 8th - 55:52
Results

GHS Swamp Rabbit Half Marathon - Greenville, SC
Chass Armstrong - 2nd - 1:08:40
Peyton Hoyal - 3rd - 1:10:02
Results

Chilly Challenge 8k - Weaverville, NC
Brent Schouler - 2nd - 26:56
David Workman - 4th - 28:50
Results