Week in Review - 100 Miles of Fun

The ARC had one guy tackle his first 100 miler and two guys race 13.1 miles.

View fullsize

Out in Oregon, Scott Williams had a great debut at 100 miles by taking 2nd at the Mountain Lakes 100. Tracking his race all day was fun for the guys back in NC. We all learned that 17 hours is a long time... it was challenging for us to stay focused, but we persevered and stuck it out. Scott did pretty well in the race, as well. He shared some thoughts:

“There's not much to say about the race itself, and honestly I don't remember much of those 17 hours. I just kinda locked into a pace early on, chatted with a couple guys for a few miles, and otherwise spent the bulk of the day in one easy gear running alone with my limited thoughts for the rest of the day.”

While Scott did hit a rough patch in the last 11 miles - due to some sciatic pain - his debut at 100 went pretty damn smooth. This was the culmination of a great deal of work. Congrats to SW on his successful move up in distance this year.

View fullsize

View fullsize

The Collective also had some success at shorter distances this weekend, as Alex Griggs and Chass Armstrong raced the half marathon distance. Alex got the W at the Hiddenite Festival Half in NC, while Chass took 6th at Rock 'n' Roll Montreal, Canada. Both guys will line up for the French Broad River Half Marathon in a few weeks. Join the fun here: http://www.fbrhalf.com

Hiddenite Festival Half Marathon - Hiddenite, NC
Alex Griggs - 1st - 1:16:06
Results

Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon - Montreal, Canada
Chass Armstrong - 6th - 1:13:35
Results

Mountain Lakes 100 - PCT, Oregon
Scott Williams - 2nd - 17:11:24
Results

Week in Review: Blue Ridge Relay!

View fullsize

"Post-Blue Ridge Relay Hangover Syndrome" is real.  Symptoms include acute muscle soreness, general sluggishness, dehydration, an inability to stop smelling certain odors, strained vocal cords, and in extreme cases - queasiness.  One way to ensure queasiness, even days later, is a 10-second margin of defeat.

The thrill of the back-and-forth race was intense.  The pain of BRR victory slipping through our fingers cut deep. We plan to document this battle in depth in the coming days / weeks.  In the meantime, check out the recap on the Citizen-Times.

Major props to our rivals and this year’s BRR champions, the Charlotte Running Club.  They showed grit throughout and fought back to take the hard-earned win.  We are grateful to these guys for keeping the rivalry alive and well.  Ok, enough nice talk.  Take care of our championship belt, boys.  We plan to take it back to the mountains in 137 days time at the Winter Classic 8k. 

View fullsize

Final thoughts on BRR (for today) - there was some seriously impressive racing put forth by Asheville teams and Asheville runners.  We loved seeing friendly (and tired) faces throughout the night. Big ups to Norm’s Maggots (2nd masters), Sole Asylum (1st ultra!), Electro Maggots (2nd ultra mixed), Parkway Poppy-Razzi (1st ultra women!), and many more! 

Surprisingly, the BRR was not the only ARC event of the weekend.  Out in Oregon, our West Coast operative, Scott Williams, was joined by master ace David Workman for the McKenzie River Trail Run 50k.  These guys represented well with 3rd and 4th (1st master for Dave).  

Blue Ridge Relay - 206+ Miles from Grayson Highlands, VA to Asheville, NC
Charlotte Running Club - 1st - 19:48:47 (5:46 mile pace)
Asheville Running Collective - 2nd - 19:48:57 (5:46 mile pace)
Results

McKenzie River Trail Run 50k - Blue River, OR
Scott Williams - 3rd - 3:54:51
David Workman - 4th- 3:59:27
Results

Week in Review - Main Street Miling

The ARC's resident mid-distance aficionado, Javan Lapp, ran his last short-distance race of the season at the Waynesville Main Street Mile this past Friday. Even though he has already transitioned to long efforts and hill climbs with his sights set on the Blue Ridge Relay and Shut-In Ridge Trail Run, he showed some speed by taking the win in 4:14. This was Javan's third victory at the Waynesville Mile and great prep for the BRR's quick downhills.

View fullsize

Waynesville Main Street Mile
Javan Lapp - 1st - 4:14
Results

Week in Review - Moonlight 5k

It was a light week of racing for the ARC, as most of the crew focused on Blue Ridge Relay prep.  

Over in Bryson City, Phil Latter worked on a BRR simulation by testing himself on tired legs at the Moonlight 5k. He put out a strong effort and grabbed the W along the way.  Nice running, Phil!

View fullsize

Bryson City Moonlight 5k*
Phillip Latter - 1st - 15:23 (*Phil says “3 miles”)
Results

 

Pop Up Mile Recap

Tucked in among tall pines and surrounded by taller mountains, Montreat College’s new track and field facility was a picturesque setting for Saturday’s Western NC Pop Up Mile.  

View fullsize

The event kicked off with strong performances in the over-5:00 section. Bob Fay led the way with a very fast 5:14 (age graded to 4:23!) and was followed by string of quick finishes (including many Wedge Run regulars!). The second section kept the theme of “fast” going. Javan Lapp took out the first lap in 63 seconds and kept it rolling for the wire-to-wire win in 4:26. He led the rest of the field to fast times, including a couple of first-time sub-5s and an impressive 5:03 from women’s winner Kate Schwartz.  

View fullsize

The night finished in true “pop up” fashion with an impromptu 400m dash. Hats off to our men’s and women’s winners, Evan Fisher and Brittany Crisp, who gave it a go in street clothes after about 3 minutes notice.  

Thanks to Coach Jason Lewkowicz of Montreat College Track and Field for hosting, Foot Rx Running for graciously lending the clock, Sir Walter Running for their great partnership, and all the runners and spectators who made it such a fun night.  Let’s do it again sometime (soon?).

Mile
1. Javan Lapp (M) - 4:26
2. Phillip Latter (M) - 4:35
3. Joshua Dubin (M) - 4:37
4. Reece Collie (M) - 4:51
5. Joe Ainsworth (M) - 4:52
6. Parker Hale (M) - 4:55
7. Almon Cox (M) - 4:55
8. David Chandler (M) - 4:58
9. Kate Schwartz (F) - 5:03
10. Bob Fay (M) - 5:14
11. Lance Morsell (M) - 5:19
12. Bryan White (M) - 5:26
13. Wes Miller (M) - 5:35
14. JK Douglas (M) - 5:44
15. Claire Bartholic (F) - 5:50
16. John Douglas (M) - 6:04

400m
1. Evan Fisher (M) - 1:00.18
2. Brittany Crisp (F) - 1:12.19
3. Wyatt Shepson (M) - 1:22.84
4. Brett Miller (M) - 1:26.73
5. T. Miller (M) - 1:55.66
6. Riley Miller (F) - 2:03.51
7. Wes Miller (M) - 2:04.22
8. Aspen Latter (F) - 2:16.02
9. Macy Latter (F) - 2:16.25
10. Willow Latter (F) - 3:03.27
11. Phillip Latter (M) - 3:04.22