Week in Review

The ARC’s fall racing season has been jam-packed with strong results. This past week was no different. We had guys grinding it out at a traditional downtown road race, prepping for Shut-In with a time trial on the trails, and running among giants in California.

First up, Saturday morning was the 39th edition of the Thomas Wolfe 8k, an Asheville institution. Phillip Latter and Victor McHenry took on a strong local field on the hilly downtown course and earned solid 2nd and 4th place finishes, respectively. The race was won by Asheville’s own sub-4:00 miler, Isaac Presson, who fought off all contenders to take the 1 mile bonus (strong effort by the guy in the cut-off flannel shirt), 3 mile bonus, and cross the finish in 25:50. Nice running, guys.

Also on Saturday, Shiloh Mielke and Javan Lapp tested their climbing and descending skills with a time trial on the famed Kitsuma trail in Black Mountain. While not a race, this is a popular time trial course in WNC and a noteworthy effort for anyone who takes on the challenge. The Kitsuma Klimb TT is an out-and-back ~8.5 mile singletrack trail which requires runners to fly down nearly 1,500 feet of descent before turning around and switching to a grindy climbing gear for the journey back up. Shout-out to the WNC Trail Runner wiki for promoting and keeping records for great runs like Kitsuma! Both ARC guys had a great day in the woods, with Javan lopping nearly 10 minutes off his previous best and Shiloh setting an overall FKT (fastest known time) of 1:06:01 in his first attempt. On to Shut-In!

Finally, Scott Williams represented the ARC out in California at the Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon. This out-and-back course is run entirely on the Avenue of Giants with nearly constant redwood canopy cover. Sounds like a decent place for a run. Scott took advantage of the great course and laid down a solid 1:13:48. He is on the right track as he gets deeper into Cal International Marathon training.

Thomas Wolfe 8k - Asheville, NC
Phil Latter - 2nd - 26:38
Victor McHenry - 4th - 27:08
Results

Kitsuma Klimb TT - Black Mountain, NC
Shiloh Mielke - 1:06:01
Javan Lapp - 1:07:24
TT Leaderboard

Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon - Humboldt County, CA
Scott Williams - 14th - 1:13:48
Results

Week in Review

Packed weekend of racing with fast times and high finishes. 

Justin Gragg started things off for the Collective on in Charlotte with a shiny new 8k XC PR of 24:31. He raced in a pack of guys including his Mars Hill University training mate, Alex Griggs, who notched a school record of 24:23. Keep up the great work, guys! 

On Saturday, Victor McHenry tested his fitness at the Bethel Half Marathon & 5K. For the past two months, he has been on a comeback from a hamstring injury that took him out of training for the Blue Ridge Relay. His 1st place half marathon finish in 1:14:43 shows that he is making strong progress. The problem with a fit Victor is that no Strava CR in the Asheville area is safe. Prepare yourself. 

Peyton Hoyal rounded out the weekend of racing for the ARC with a very strong 2nd place finish at the Steamtown Marathon in a PR of 2:30:44. The race turned into a bit of a tactical affair with a slower than planned first half and a tough race for places in the second half. In the end, Peyton won his battle with the 2nd-4th place guys and walked away with a cool $1,000. Pitchers of Iron Rail IPA on Peyton next time he is at the Wedge Run! 

Also - we want to give a shout out to some strong performances from friends of the ARC at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and Ironman Louisville. In Chicago, Rich Heffron ran a smart, steady race to earn a 2:33:29, Tony Casey snuck under 2:40 with a PR of 2:39:51 (the Johnson City crew ran great), and Wedge Run regular Claire Bartholic dropped nearly 15 minutes off her PR for a 3:11:51. Finally, major congrats are in order for Wedge Run-stalwarts Dwight Shuler (11:04:32) and Susan Harrell (12:54:56) for their strong finishes at IM Louisville. Inspiring stuff, everyone. 

Royals XC Challenge - McAlpine Park, Charlotte, NC
Justin Gragg - 8th - 24:31
Results (PDF) 

Bethel Half Marathon - Canton, NC
Victor McHenry - 1st - 1:14:42
Results

Steamtown Marathon - Scranton, PA
Peyton Hoyal - 2nd - 2:30:44
Results

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Week In Review - XC is Here

Cross Country season has arrived! On Saturday, the Collective braved the elements in Greensboro at the Hagan Stone XC Classic (which ended up being moved to a different location due to the storm), which also served as the USATF-NC Club XC Championships. This was a race-within-a-race, as the clubs ran in the University section. It was a wet, windy, and muddy affair on the two-loop 8k course. The ARC had a good battle with Bull City Track Club and earned the USATF-NC win with 26 points. This XC race was an important first step on our way to the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships in San Francisco this December. 

Also this weekend - Brent Schouler lined up for the Harwich Cranberry Harvest Half Marathon in his motherland - Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He felt the effects of Hurricane Joaquin with strong winds throughout, but still managed to post a strong result and earn the W. Clearly Brent is in fine form, as evidenced by his recent capture of the all-important “Wedge Run” Strava CR. He is rumored to be making an attempt on the infamous Chumbawaba 8.7-mile CR (set this weekend by Victor McHenry) in Bent Creek in the coming weeks. Contact ARC’s bookie, Javan Lapp, to place your bets.

USATF-NC Club XC Championships - Ivy Redmond Park, Greensboro, NC
ARC - 1st place USATF-NC team, 2nd in University / Open teams
Shiloh Mielke - 4th  
Mark Driscoll - 5th  
Chass Armstrong - 8th
Javan Lapp - 11th
Frankie Adkins - 30th
Results
*Some of the times in the results are a bit off, but the places are spot on. 

Harwich Cranberry Harvest Half Marathon - Harwich, MA
Brent Schouler - 1st - 1:13:24
Results not posted yet

View fullsize

View fullsize

Brent's Tough Day

While working on the ARC Blue Ridge Relay 2015 video, we put together a little teaser to give you a taste of life on the road... at least from Brent's (less than positive) view of it.

Stomach aches, loud music, car sickness... Brent had a rough time on his first Blue Ridge Relay.

Blue Ridge Relay Roster Reveal - Part 3

Finally, the third set of the Asheville Running Collective's Blue Ridge Relay roster.  

How did your favorite Collective member fare at the BRR?  Stay tuned for a recap coming soon.
 

----------------------------

Hometown: Odessa, TX
College: Texas State University
Fueling: Ruby Redbirds with Old Cub chasers
PRs: 1500m- 3:56, 8k XC- 25:37, HM- 1:11:35

Hometown: Wolcottville, IN
College: Eastern Michigan University
Fueling: The souls of CRC roadkill and Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Hometown: Nelson, New Zealand
College: Eastern Michigan University
PRs: Largest carp - 30lb, 100 pushups - 1:35, 400m - 57s
Fueling: PBR

Hometown: Thetford, VT
College: Wake Forest University
PRs: 5k- 15:43, HM- 1:10:55, Marathon- 2:30:39
Fueling: Appalachian Mtn Brewery Imperial Stout