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Posted by: Brian S-ski
It’s definitely summer in Arkansas. That means heat, humidity and 5Ks. First on the docket for 2010 was the Brickfest 5K. There was a new course this year for the race, otherwise things felt as sticky as ever. The route started in a large parking lot, turned onto a side road, turned again to plunge down a short, steep hill then flowed along next to the Ouachita River until reaching a cone at the 2.5 K point. The course turned at the cone and traversed the same route back to the finish line in the parking lot.
The new route did the job, but I preferred the old race course to the new one. There was more traffic and more congestion on the course this year. The race organizers were forced to change though, since the entire Brickfest Festival moved out of downtown.
The good news is that our men’s team took top points! Gary Taylor, Scott Anderson, me, Imari Dellimore, Kevin Golden, Steven Preston, Joel Perez, Carl Carter, Jeff Maher, Dan Belanger and Carl Northcutt combined to easily take down the 2nd Place Conway Running Club. That also moved us into sole possession of 1st place on the 2010 Leaderboard. But don’t get too big in the head, there are still 9 Grand Prix races left this year.
The women’s team finished fifth place at Brickfest. Leah Thorvilson, our female team captain and resident assassin was in Seattle but will be back in action for the next race. Oh, and we got a new female recruit named Tracy Johanning. The future looks good for the women’s team. The LRRC ladies at the Brick were Tina Coutu, Becky Humes, Ashley Philbrick and Alesa Davis.
Next up is the Dam Night Run 5K on July 31st. Come for the race, stay for the LRRC tailgate party!
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago. Add a comment
Posted by: Brian S-ski
In what seems like a blink of an eye, the 2010 Grand Prix season is already 20% done! The LRRC racing teams are looking strong and, as of this writing, have 64 club members in total signed up. That matches our year end total from 2009, which was an all-time record for greatest Grand Prix participation by one club. So….. we need just one more person to sign up and we will break our own record! Thank you to each Roadrunner that signed up for the Grand Prix to represent the club - Go Birds!
And now for a quick recap of the action thus far…
January 24th: Grand Prix Race #1 - One Hour Track Run at Russellville
Yanoviak and Nichols fight the wind at the One Hour Track Run
Both the men’s and women’s LRRC teams took 2nd place at the first GP race of the year though we did have both the individual winners with Leah Thorvilson and myself (yep, the sun shines on a dog’s rear every now and then). As would become a theme in the first four races, the wind was a factor. At the Track Run at least, the headwind is broken up into short little segments. Then again, the lack of head wind is just as fleeting. Our men’s team at the Track Run consisted of Steve Yanoviak, David Williams, Joel Perez, Mark Hagemeier, Tim Steadman, Ross Bolding, Joseph Nichols, Craig Lair, Billy Shurley, Roy Smith, Andrew Kenley, Michael Harmon, David Meroney, Dave Conrad, Bill Bulloch, Dan Belanger, and Carl Northcutt. For the women’s team it was Thorvilson, Andrea Sieczkowski, Alison Acott, Ashley Philbrick, April Rand, Eileen Turan, Alea Humes, Becky Humes, Alesa Davis, Rhonda Smith, and Coreen Frasier.
February 6th: Grand Prix Race #2 - River Trail 15K at North Little Rock
Becky Humes sprints for the finish line in Burns Park at the River Trail 15K
The good news is the LRRC Women took first place at the 15K! The other news is that the Men took third place. On the positive side though, we did get Scott Anderson to sign up for the GP after the race. Leah Thorvilson won again to lead our women’s team at the 15K: Mary Wells, Tina Coutu, Becky Humes, Alea Humes, Eileen Turan, Ginea Qualls, Lisa Alberius, Ashley Philbrick, Wyanette Traub, and Coreen Frasier. The men’s team was me, Kevin Golden, Steve Yanoviak, Joel Perez, Greg Sorenson, Billy Shurley, Bert Sanders, Bryan Jones, Kevin Groustra, Brian Watson, David Meroney, Mark Hagemeier, Joe Nichols, Jeff Bost, Dave Conrad, Bill Torrey, DHW, Ross Bolding, Roy Smith, and Carl Northcutt. In other words, it was another huge turnout for the Birds. Would have been even bigger too, except so many club members selflessly volunteered to work the race: Steve Hollowell, Robert Holmes, Lisa Luyet, Dan “the Man” Belanger, Paul Ward, Alesa Davis, Linda House, Steven Preston, and Glen Mays. Mary, Ginea and Tina also helped with registration and then ran the race too. Andrea and I have directed the 15K the past two years and couldn’t do it alone, so again, thanks to all that helped out!
February 13th: Grand Prix Race #3 - Valentine’s Day 5K at Russellville
LT collects some hardware
The LRRC men came through at the V-Day 5K with their first win of 2010! The women had a good showing too, finishing 2nd to the hometown RVR crew. Leah Thorvilson was the overall female winner, our own Justin Radke got 2nd on the men’s side and Becky Humes and Joel Perez won a Couples Award. The women representing the LRRC at the V-day 5K were: Thorvilson, Humes, Lisa Luyet, Alea Humes, April Rand, Eileen Turan, Ashley Philbrick, Alesa Davis, Lynnette Watts, and Coreen Frasier. The men were lead by Radke, then me, Presto, Yanoviak, Joel Perez, Tim Steadman, DHW, Mark Hagemeier, Roy Smith, Michael Harmon, Dave Conrad, Billy Shurley, Carl Northcutt and Dan Belanger.
February 21st: Grand Prix Race #4 - Run the Line Half Marathon at Texarkana
The LRRC crew at the starting line of the Run the Line Half Marathon
2010 marks the Grand Prix debut of the Run the Line Half Marathon, and (I think) the first ever GP race in Texarkana.
Fun Fact About Texarkana that Radke Doesn’t Believe: the name Texarkana is actually derived from three states: TEXas, ARKansas, and louisiANA. Apparently, back in the day the entire local region was often called Texarkana. It was so catchy that the towns adopted the name even though their location was 30 miles north of the Louisiana border.
Quick Quiz Based on the Fun Fact: The name “Texarkana” was first coined for…
A.) A Steamboat
B.) An Alcoholic Beverage
C.) Just made up by a Railroad Surveyor
Answer will appear at the end of this blog post.
Anyway… for those that didn’t make the trip, I highly recommend you put it on your to-do list for 2011. The course starts in Texas, heads into Arkansas, crosses back into Texas, runs a bit on the actual state line, then finishes in Arkansas. Immediately crossing the finish line you can head into an open bar with free hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta, porkchops and beer. The finisher’s medal is actually cool too. And once again, the LRRC Blog will be the first to break huge news: our Arkansas RRCA State Rep is working with her Texas counterpart to create some sort of Arkansas-Texas challenge at this race for 2011. And… a traveling trophy is likely to be involved. Stay tuned for more details.
And now the big news: LRRC swept the team titles at Run the Line! The men won in very dramatic fashion by a single point over the River Valley Runners. Special mention needs to go to Joel Perez who set a big PR as our third scorer and to Joseph Nichols who sealed the deal as our 4th man as he continues a strong rookie GP season. Oh, and I guess we can give a few props to Radke who actually won the race. Our men’s team also consisted of me, Billy Shurley, Roy Smith, and Carl Northcutt. On the women’s side, Leah won her fourth (of 4) GP race this year. The women’s team was completed by Tina Coutu, Becky Humes, Ashely Philbrick and Lisa Alberius.
Quiz Answer: D.) All of the Above? It is actually uncertain which, if any, of these three urban legends is the original source of the name Texarkana. Thanks for playing!
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago. Add a comment
Posted by: Brian S-ski
Okay LRRC, it’s time to sign up for the 2010 Grand Prix Series!
In 2009, we had a total of 64 LRRC members on our GP team. That was an all time state record for greatest participation by one club! Let’s beat our own record and get at least 65 in 2010.
So far we have 14 men and 10 women signed up for our team:
Dan Belanger
David Conrad - new to our team for 2010!
Mark Hagemeier - new to our team for 2010!
Greg Helmbeck
Robert Holmes
Bryan Jones
Hillary Kogo
Joseph Nichols - new to our team for 2010!
Joel Perez
Ron Sanders
Billy Shurley - new to our team for 2010!
Brian Sieczkowski
Roy Smith
Steve Yanoviak
Allison Acott
Alesa Davis
Kenya Doucette - new to our team for 2010!
Alea Humes
Becky Humes
Lisa Luyet - new to our team for 2010!
Ginea Qualls
Andrea Sieczkowski
Rhonda Smith - new to our team for 2010!
Eileen Turan - new to our team for 2010!
If you’ve run for the LRRC in the past, we need again for 2010. If you’ve never entered the Grand Prix before, this could be your year. You can find out more information on the Arkansas Grand Prix Series at www.arkrrca.com, but in a nutshell it is a series of 20 races all across the state. For every race you finish you accumulate points in your age group and help out the LRRC in the team competition. We were able to win both the men’s and women’s team competitions in 2009 largely because we had great participation from club members and that helped us score points at every race. No matter your speed or racing frequency, you can help out the LRRC and probably have a lot of fun in the process.
There are two ways to sign up for the Grand Prix:
Click here for Online Registration
-or-
Click here for a printable entry form that you can mail in
That’s all it takes. Your Grand Prix entry just has to be received 5 days before a race. The first race is the One Hour Track Run on January 24th, so if you plan on running that race then make sure you sign up for the Grand Prix by January 19th. But there is no benefit to waiting, so just sign up today - the data entry personnel for the GP Series (me) would be very happy if everyone didn’t wait until the last minute!
Posted by: Brian S-ski
By all accounts, it was a great weekend in Hot Springs for the Little Rock Roadrunners. Many of us booked rooms at the famed Arlington Hotel for Friday and Saturday night and made a nice weekend of it in Spa City. The Spa Pacers hosted the Spa 10K/5K for the 29th year and things kicked off on Friday evening with packet pickup and a welcome reception at the Arlington.
On Saturday morning an easy warm up mile took us to the Hot Springs Convention Center where the races start and end. After last year’s freezing temps, the 45 degrees or so felt perfect at the start. The first two miles of the course are a deceptively gradual uphill, running along Central Ave past the Arlington and then a lap around Whittington Park before the real fun begins. The race course heads into Hot Springs National Park and up West Mountain Drive. Up a huge hill, then it levels out a bit and then back up another. Just about the time you are considering heading over to the side of the road and yacking up last night’s dinner, the road screams back down the mountain and before you know it there is only a mile to go.
LRRC was king of the mountain as both our male and female squads won the team competition at the race. Leah Thorvilson was the overall female winner to lead the women. Jenny Weatter, Mary Wells, Tina Coutu, Alea Humes, Becky Humes, Ginea Qualls, Shareese Kondo, Alesa Davis, and Coreen Frasier rounded out our female team.
On the men’s side, Steven Preston set a 30 second PR to take 3rd overall. Brian Sieczkowski, Kevin Golden, Bill Diamond, Joel Perez, Steve Yanoviak, Greg Helmbeck, John Russell, Harold Hays, Bill Torrey, David Williams, and Dan Belanger were the rest of the 1st Place men’s team at the race.
After the race was the annual Arkansas RRCA Awards Ceremony back at the Arlington Hotel. Our own Leah Thorvilson was crowned Arkansas Female Runner of the Year while Bill Torrey was named Race Director of the Year for the Capital City Classic 10K! After the awards were handed out, the LRRC members hit the town with much to celebrate. Make sure to put the Spa 10K weekend on your calendar for 2010, it is a must-do.
Leah Thorvilson: Arkansas RRCA Runner of the Year
Bill Torrey: Arkansas RRCA Race Director of the Year
Posted 9 months, 2 weeks ago. Add a comment
Posted by: Preztc
LRRC Team Women did not delay in catching up to LRRC first place male grand prix team. The 2nd annual Soaring Wings Half Marathon held Saturday, October 24th, saw 1000 runners start in the crisp, chilly air but under CLEAR, BLUE skies with SUN. As the rain has been relentless in the past two months the crowd support and runners were enjoying the bright conditions. The course was rolling and had some steep inclines with wonderful aid stations every mile and half. Great goodies at the end too-candy, pizza, granola bars, hamburgers, and more stuff I did not see as was enjoying visiting with runners and they seemed very pleased with this race. The men’s team were second this time, guess they already knew they had the title so they let Conway win (actually Conway had awesome talent there). LRRC Grand Prix team, the amazing male members who ran the race: Steven Preston, Kevin Golden, Bill Diamond, Imari Dellimore, David Williams, Joel Perez, Bill Torrey,Kevin Groustra, Brian Watson, Jeff Maher, Keith McCain, Harold Hays, John Russell,Ron Sanders Jr, Dan Belanger, Carl Northcutt.
On top of this race being very well organized, a somewhat challenging course and a fundraiser for youth camp, it saw the LRRC ladies team capture the Grand Prix team title (for the FOURTH year in a row)! The (Wonder)Women’s team on Saturday: Jenny Weatter, Tina Coutu, Mary Wells Alison Acott, Mackie Buckelew, Rebecca Humes, Ginea Qualls.
Thanks Ladies! Proud of both our teams. This was a great race with wonderful spirit, my favorite part was at the end when the kids’ place the finishers’ medal on you. So glad to have signed up in time as it was sold out and many of my friends were not able to get in. Make sure to save the date for next year.
Posted 10 months, 1 week ago. Add a comment
Posted by: Presto
With a win at Chile Pepper, the LRRC has clinched the team title for the 2009 Grand Prix Series. So with 4 races left in the schedule the men can sit back with a beer and cheer on the women as the continue their sprint to the finish for the women’s team title. Or at least that’s what they would like to do!
Arkansas Cross Country Agri-Park
Our own Glen Mays was the top male Grand Prix finisher in a time of 34:23 and Leah Thorvilson the top female Grand Prix finisher in 36:52. The course was a little muddy, but not as bad as was expected. There was some re-routing around the starting line, which was pretty much a mud pit. Overall, a great day for a brisk cross country run!
If you have not participated in this event, I suggest you add this to your race calendar for next year right now. It’s currently the only cross country event on the Grand Prix series. Good change of pace from the road races we do most of the year. Also, you can stay after the race and cheer on some of the best collegiate cross country runners in the nation. This year, the Okky State Cowboys took home the men’s team title with a glamorous 1-2-3 finish.
Oklahoma State Men Capture Collegiate Team Title
Hope to see everyone among the 1,000 participants in the Soaring Wings Half-Marathon this Saturday in Conway. This is the state championship half-marathon for the Grand Prix series.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
Posted by: Presto
The Roadrunners traveled down I-30 to Benton to tackle the Arkansas 20K. When all was said and done both the LRRC men and women’s teams took home the 20K titles. After an interesting start where the lead-pack of runners paced the pace car (see below), Leah Thorvilson came in as 1st overall female in 1:22:24. That was after taking to scenic detours. 1st at the beginning when the lead pack missed the first turn because of the pace car not being ready and the 2nd when almost back to the finish line thinking the girl directing runners was yelling “Go Leah, Go Leah”. Go…No…Same thing : ) Other LRRC women completing the 20K include: Jenny Weatter (3rd Overall Female, way to go Jenny!), Mary Wells, Sarah Olney, Tina Coutu, Mira Lelovic, Ginea Qualls, Becky Humes, and Donna Trawick.
Wondering why the pace car is BEHIND most of the runners?!?
On the men’s side, Josh Holt of CCC won in a time of 1:13:51. Kevin Golden was the first LRRC, 5th overall finisher, and 2nd Overall Male Masters in 1:22:20. LRRC would go on to take the next 6 places on the men’s side! Other LRRC men completing the 20K include: Steven Preston, Imari Dellimore, Scott Anderson, David Williams (3rd Overall Male Masters), Bill Diamond, Joel Perez, Bill Torrey (3rd Overall Male Grand Masters), Ross Bolding, Raj Bhanot, Brian Watson, Keving Groustra, Daniel Butler, Jeff Maher, John Russell, Dan Belanger, and Jesse Garrett.
I want to give a shout out to all the GREAT volunteers who came from all over the state to help support this race after the Saline County Striders lost a large portion of the volunteers they had gathered in the last week before the race. It goes to show you the greatness of RUNNERS! Keep it up. Overall, the race was a good time and the post-race hot dogs hit the spot (Thanks to Charles Gattin!).
We also had 3 women members competing in the Arkansas Marathon that day as well. Alison Acott and Michelle Rupp (new PR!) came in as 2nd and 3rd Overall Females. Tammy Walther also completed the grueling double out-and-back course. You go girls!!!
Next up on the 2009 Grand Prix Series is the Tyler Curtis 5K right here in our backyard. Hope to see a very large LRRC contingent. Check out this Monday’s Dem-Gaz Active section for an article on the race. Easy Runner will accept registrations from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday. Since this race is supported by the LRRC, if you are resting your legs this weekend, please contact Bill Torrey at (501) 231-3730 or bjtorrey@sbcglobal.net and lend your hands.
Steady as she goes!
Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago. Add a comment
Posted by: Brian S-ski
The Arkansas Running Klub hosted the 5K State Championship Race in NLR once again this year and the LRRC crossed to the river in huge numbers to claim both the men’s and women’s team titles! Leah Thorvilson set the pace on the women’s side, winning in 17:12 to set a new course record. Our women’s team dominated in kind as Leah was joined by Mary Wells, Mira Lelovic, Tina Coutu, Shareese Kondo, Ginea Qualls, Rebecca Humes, Carol Torrey, Mackie Buckelew, Alea Humes, Alesa Davis, and Coreen Frasier to rout the other club teams.
Not to be outdone, the LRRC men showed up with a fearsome crew of 22 runners. Justin Radke, Imari Dellimore, Kevin Golden, Brian Sieczkowski, Steve Yanoviak, Bill Diamond, Steven Preston, Greg Helmbeck, Joel Perez, Ross Bolding, David Williams, Raj Bhanot, Bill Torrey, Kevin Groustra, Jeff Maher, John Russell, Dan Belanger, Roy Smith, Michael Harmon, Ron Sanders, Bryan Jones, and Carl Northcutt made up the male 5K State Championship-winning squad.
For the 2nd year in a row, LRRC swept the 5K state titles!
The LRRC men have now won the 15K, 10K and 5K state titles in 2009 while the women have both 15K and 5K titles. Looking ahead there are three State Championship races left this season: Cross Country at the Chile Pepper Festival, Half Marathon at Soaring Wings, and the Marathon at MidSouth. Let’s try to sweep all three!
But first is the Arkansas 20K in Benton on September 19th. If you’ve never run this race, I strongly encourage you to check it out as it is an Arkansas road running institution and back in the Grand Prix Series. And if you’ve never run a 20K at all, you’ll get a PR for sure! I was really looking forward to running this race since it was added to the GP for this year but then got sidelined with a stress fracture after the Toad Suck 10K. As my longest run post-injury has only been 8.5 miles, I’m going to have to wait until next year for a 12.4 mile PR. Look for me somewhere out on the course doing volunteer duty for the Saline County Striders. If anyone else isn’t up for the distance, please consider volunteering as well. The SCS recently learned that 24 of their volunteers have backed out with just a week until race time. If you can help out, contact the race’s volunteer coordinator, Maurice Robinson at mrobinson1124@att.net - I’m sure they could use a few more workers. Either running or working, hope to see you all there!
Posted 11 months, 4 weeks ago. 1 comment
Posted by: sweetdaddycane
Sweet Daddy Cane here to bring you a better late than never report on the crushing blow delivered to the Grand Prix series by the Little Rock Roadrunners at the Hope Watermelon festival 5K.
After finishing 2nd on both the mens and women’s teams at the 4 miler, the LRRC showed up in Hope hungry for wins….and they got ‘em. Glen Mays led the men’s team taking 2nd overall and just getting edged for victory by a young punk from Texas. Behind Mays were Kevin Golden (1st Masters), Bill Diamond, Brian Sieczkowski, Steven Preston, Greg Helmbeck, Kevin Groustra, Ross Bolding, Jeff Maher, Michael Harmon, Dan Belanger, and Roy Smith. Leah Thorvilson won the women’s title and led the LRRC ladies to their 1st place finish, followed by Mary Wells, Tina Coutu (2nd overall masters), Ginea Qualls, Alea Humes, and Alesa Davis. Most runners I talked to did not have their best times, probably because of the heat…but Michael Harmon took no prisoners and came away with not only a watermelon, but a big PR!
Glen Mays shows off the new LRRC temporary tattoo!
The race wasnt the only cause for competition OR celebration down in Hope. Ginea Qualls celebrated her birthday in style with some beers smuggled in to the dry county by a secret agent Dan…i mean….man… And possibly the most fierce competition of the day took place post race at the community pool. Harmon came back from his 5k PR to kill the backward dive division. The surprise competitor of the day in the pool was the mysterious Lee Epperson…now we know why he has not signed up for the Grand Prix, even though he is an LRRC member…he has secretly been perfecting his canonball! Well done Mr. Epperson. Rounding up the awards for our team was Brian Sieczkowski with his can-opener. Although this had to be deliberated on by the judges to determine WHAT a can-opener was. All other divisions of the dive were won in a landslide by a local boy whose name I do not know… he took home gold for the belly flop, half flip, jelly roll, side twist and facial splat. Hats off, young one.
The Grand Prix now takes a rest until we compete on our home turf at the Clear Mountain 5k Labor Day weekend. Until then, Sweet Daddy Cane, out.
Posted 1 year ago. 1 comment
Posted by: Brian S-ski
We met in the pre-5 AM darkness with reason to be optimistic. The weather forecast called for 68 degrees at race time, almost 20 degrees cooler than in past years. The race course had been rerouted due to road construction and was rumored to be a little less hilly. Ready for the challenge we crammed into the Dan Van and the Great White Shark and hit Highway 167 for Batesville and the White River 4 Mile Classic.
The White River Roadrunners once again put on a great race. Technical race shirts, chip timing, and prize money were added this year while the entry fee actually went down! With the break in the weather and the nice new course, it was a great day for a race.
Leah Thorvilson finished as top female by a landslide and beat all the LRRC men at the race in the process. The women’s team finished second at the race behind the River Valley Runners but maintain a solid lead on the 2009 Grand Prix leaderboard. Thorvilson, Mary Wells, Tina Coutu, Becky Humes, Ginea Qualls, and Alea Humes made up the LRRC women’s team at the race.
The men’s team also strengthened their lead in the season’s standings despite placing second to the Conway Running Club. The Grand Prix season can be a bit like the Tour de France: sometimes you let a little guy get the stage win while resting back in the peloton with your main rivals. The LRRC men were nice enough to let the CRC guys get a first place finish while still increasing our lead over our closest rival Club Arkadelphia on the season’s leaderboard. I explained this cute analogy to some Conway guys after the race and a bit of good natured trash talking ensued. Bottom line, I’ve guaranteed to some other clubs that the LRRC men will win the next four races. Now you all have to come out, run hard and back up my mouth! Kevin Golden, Bill Diamond, Brian Sieczkowski, David Williams, Joel Perez, Raj Bhanot, Greg Helmbeck, Bill Torrey, Kevin Groustra, Jeff Maher, Dan Belanger, Roy Smith, Ron Sanders Jr, and Carl Northcutt made up the men’s team at the 4 Mile Classic.
Next up on the Grand Prix circuit is the Watermelon 5K in Hope on August 8th. LRRC members Glen Mays and Leah Thorvilson are the defending champions. Car pool plans are being made on the LRRC forum so get ready to come on out and help LRRC get first place at the Melon!
Posted 1 year, 1 month ago. Add a comment
