Registration for the 25th annual St. Anthony's Olympic distance triathlon opens tomorrow at 9 a.m. This year's .93-mile swim; 24.8-mile bike and 6.2-mile run will take place at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg with the first wave leaving Spa Beach (Pier) at 7 a.m.  Last year's registration closed out within 48 hours. For more information on this historic race, log on to http://www.satriathlon.com/

If registering for this event doesn't get you jazzed for next season, turn on your local NBC station at 4:30 p.m. and check out the 2007 Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona.

One thing we love about distance runners is that most of them are honest. They usually 'get' that cutting a course short or using illegal performance enhancing drugs only hurts themselves and most cringe even when race organizers post a faster time then they actually ran. 

Such was the case with Mike Wasson's reaction to his finish time listed in the Nov. 17 Chain of Lakes 5K results.(Wasson, left, after SCC 15K, Robin Hernandez photo) Race organizers listed his overall winning time as 16:16, thirty seconds faster than the good Colonel knew his own watch had read when he hit the line.

We appreciate his efforts to get the time corrected and his honesty is part of the character that produces true champions.

CONGRATULATIONS SPACE COAST MARATHON and HALF FINISHERS!!
More than 1,300 runners, including pre-race dinner featured speakers former astronaut Mike McCulley and marathon Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit-Samuelson (photo right)   crossed the Riverfront Park finish line in Cocoa Village this morning, bringing to an end this year's Space Coast Marathon and Half Marathon. With unseasonably warm temperatures, the athletes were even more grateful for the more than 200 volunteers that kept up with the demands for fluids, medical support and traffic control.

Complete race results for the race can be found at:
http://www.altavistasports.com/results/2007results/spacecoastmarathon112507.html  full
http://www.altavistasports.com/results/2007results/spacecoasthalfmarathon112507.html half

Check out this approriate video submitted by John Campbell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-hCuYjvw2I and look for tomorrow's post race stories written by Robert Hughes in FLORIDA TODAY as well as the on-line video and photo gallary.

Rob Downey, (left, in photo) of Melbourne Village, turned into an angel this morning as he stopped to get gas and coffee at 5:30 a.m. at a West Melbourne 7-11 before heading to his post as a Marathon volunteer. A knee injury has kept him from racing for a couple of months now.

Approached by a man asking how to get to the race, Rob told the guy to follow him to the race shuttle parking site at Rockledge high school. Luckily, the final bus had not departed and the man and his passenger got to the race site on time.

That was a good thing for Ramilia Burangulova, the passenger in the man’s car. Turns out the 46-year-old Russian, who didn’t speak a word of English, had come to Brevard to take a shot at the $8,100 in prize money offered to the top runners.

According to Phil Moore, who was also volunteering, Burangulova had about six minutes to get her number, toss her bag and get to the start.

One hour, eighteen minutes and 58 seconds later, she blew through the finish, taking the top women’s spot, eighth overall and a check for $500.

Maybe it was a good thing she didn’t speak English. The stress of getting to the starting line at the last minute can make getting to the finish line a bit dicey.

Jessica Crate, 22, was the top local women’s finisher in 1:28:27. This was her first time running the half distance, the longest race she has attempted and her time was good enough for twentieth out of a finishers’ field 965 strong.

+++

Doug Butler had huge blisters on just about all of his toes after the half but the smile on his face showed he was walking on air.

And no wonder. The Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy cross country coach had taken his charges to the Foot Locker South Regional cross country championships in Charlotte, SC yesterday where Indialantic’s Kayla Hale, a three-time state champ, was nosed out for second with both girls clocking a 16:56. (Hale, left, in race photo at left) Hale's finish earned her another spot to the National Championships on Dec. 8 in San Diego.

In spite of his own lack of sleep and the blisters bleeding through his shoes, Butler, 44, took today’s Master’s victory in 1:18:32, the fastest local half finish, a check for $125 and seventh overall.

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Can these temperatures be right? http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KFLSHARP2

The Cocoa weather station reporting for Weatherunderground.com showed temps in Cocoa hitting a high of 93.9 at 9:35 a.m., just three hours and five minutes into the race. Even if they are off on the upside by a few degrees it could explain why so many were brutalized by today’s unseasonable heat. Most half splits show huge positive variances and several people got sick. Congrats to the 354 marathon runners who gutted it out to the finish – especially Kim Badgett, of Cocoa, who passed out at mile 24 and spent a considerable amount of time with the medics before insisting on finishing the race.

Top local male finisher was Rudy Behrend, left, 44, of Cocoa Beach who finished second in his age group and sixteenth overall with his 3:18:28, which was also good enough for a Boston Qualifier.

Others also gaining a Beantown berth include Dan Cochran, 45, of Titusville who took third in his age group with a 3:18:44 and Matt Mahoney, 53, of Melbourne, who won his age group in 3:26:18.

Sage LaJoie, last month’s overall female winner of the Great Floridian Ironman-distance race in Clermont took today’s local ladies’ top spot in 3:30:34. LaJoie also showed some smart pacing with her half splits within three minutes of each other-most splits were way off on the second half.

Joining LaJoie with Boston qualifying times were Diana Burton, 45, Indian Harbour Beach, third age group, 4:00:19; Kerstin Dea, 30, Rockledge, first age group, 3:35:08; Susie Enlow, 44, Merritt Island, 3:50:52; Sarah Guttery, 42, Titusville, second age group, 3:41:31 and Lori Jenkins, 47, Melbourne, second age group, 3:50:57.

 

The combination of Christmas lights and Carrabbas provided a festive lure for the fifth annual Space Coast Lightfest 5K and more than 500 runners and walkers signed on for the Nov. 18 evening race through Wickham Park, which had been strung with more than a million sparkling and colorful lights in arrangements of all holiday shapes and sizes.

Although the post-race Italian feast was a new touch, the name on the top winner's spot was the same as the inaugural race. Melbourne's Doug Butler, left, with wife, Rhonda, put almost a minute on the rest of the field when he hit the finish in 16:30, six seconds slower than his winning 16:24 in 2003. This year, it was Nicholas Arjoon who took second in 17:25 with John Davis taking third in 17:46.

We've lost count of how many she has won now, but Jessica Crate, left, has won every single race she has entered since moving to Brevard and Lightfest was no exception. Not only did she win by more than two minutes, but she took fourth overall as well as break the course record of 18:26 which was set by Devin Spoerle in 2005.  Deanna Loafman was second in 20:01 and Teresa Ristow was third in 20:24. Pam Meier went 22:30, good enough for Masters.

Race proceeds will benefit numerous Rotary charities.  For complete race results, log on to http://mahoney4.home.netcom.com/scr/races/07lightfest.txt

 

The second annual Titusville Racing Series kicked off on Nov. 17 with the Chain of Lakes 5K in Titusville. The four-race series is unique in that, while the individual races give standard age group awards, the series winners are scored on an age-graded basis, giving us older geezers a chance at a slice of the prize purse of $1,600 at season's end.

Not sure some of the, ahem, elder generation needs special timing as 42-year-old Mike Wasson, left, dominated the Chain of Lakes race, taking the win in 16:46. Rob Abel and speedy sidekick, Ed Springer took second and third respectively in 17:11 and 17:39. Perpetual youngster, Art Anderson, scored the Master's spot in 18:25.

It was a close race for a pair of 30-year-olds on the ladies' side. When it was over Kerstin Dea managed to out-sprint Kara Neidermeier, left with Ed Springer, for first in 19:44. Kara was two seconds behind in 19:46 and Nancy Buonanni took third in 20:52. Titusville resident and mother of three, Sarah Guttery, grabbed Master's in 21:19.

For complete race results, log on to http://mahoney4.home.netcom.com/scr/races/07chain.txt 

Age graded series results will be updated throughout the season at
http://www.spacecoastrunners.org/TRS/TRS_Update.htm

After running the Space Coast Classic 15K on Saturday, some of the Up and Running racing team members drove to Celebration on Sunday for the Founder's Day 10K, the fourth in the Track Shack Grand Prix Series. Ron Abel, left, led the team home with his 35:42, which was good enough for second in the 20-24 age group. Other finishers included Michelle Boggs, 1:20:14; Gina Caccamo, Team U&R, 58:58; James Faircloth, 56:56; Theresa Miller, Team U&R, (also ran a 1:13:18 15K the day before) Rose Myers, 58:37; Kara Niedermeier, Team U&P, (also ran the 15K the day before with a cold, finishing 1:09:21 for second in the 30-34 age group), 42:44; Elizabeth Ring, 53:27; William Roth, 58:52; Rebecca Sparks, Team U&R Coach, Masters, 42:58; Ed Springer, Team U&R, (won the 30-34 age at the 15K in 58:29), 39:03; Sue Strout, Team U&R, first 50-54, 46:43 and Tristan Webbe, 45:43. Congrats to all!

Melbourne's Pam Maxwell, left in a Space Coast Velo Sport jersey, spent the first half of the triathlon season recovering from injuries sustained in a cycling accident. Her performance at Sunday's Miami Man triathlon, a Half Ironman distance race, showed that you just can't slow a speedy woman down. The 42-year-old pharmaceutical rep and mother of one burned through the 1.2-mile swim in 30:42 and then averaged 22.8 miles per hour on the 56-mile bike for a 2:27:06 split. Maxwell then continued her rampage with a 1:40:08 13.1-mile run, taking the overall women's spot in 4:42:47 and finishing 16th out of more than 400 finishers.

Also bringing hardware back to Brevard was Tricia Rydson, of Melbourne Beach, who placed third in the 30-34 age group with her 5:22:12 and Mike Smith who was 5th Clydesdale age 40+. Mike's time was 6:25:54. Other local finishers included John Jordan, 4:57:21, Phillip Mazzella, 5:57:53; Annie OConnor-Smith, 6:37:52; Seth Price, 7:21:43; Greg Savage, 7:12:54, and Christine Tripodi, 6:07:19.

Christy Smith, of Malabar, was one of 42 who raced the corresponding Half Ironman duathlon replacing the swim with a one-mile run before the 56-mile bike and the 13.1-mile half marathon. Smith placed third in the 45-49 with her finish of 6:03:57. Indialantic's John Goodman also place third in the 30-34 age group with his 5:25:41.

Congrats to all the Miami Man finishers!

 How would you like to race a personal best Half Ironman time of 4:33:07 and come up mid-pack in the age group? That is exactly what Melbourne's Ed Donner did at Saturday's Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater.  At most races, a time like that could have put the 31-year-old financial investor into the top 10 percent of his age group - but here Donnor was competing with the best in the world. In spite of a 32:31 swim; a bike split averaging 24.22 mph  and a half marathon run split of 1:36:22, he placed 70th out of 157 in the 30-34 division but 381 out of more than 1,800 overall.

Because it was the World Championship, one that WTC hopes will share the same prestige as Kona for the distance, most of the times were incredibly fast and a women's world record was set as Australia's Mirinda Carfrae crossed the line in 4:07:25. On the men's side, Triathlete Magazine's 2006 Triathlete of the Year, Andy Potts, of Boulder, took the overall win in 3:42:33.

Congratulations, Ed!

Gotta hand it to Cyndi Bergs. Just a few months ago, Space Coast Runners was without a race director for today's Space Coast Classic 15K, the third in the10-race Runner of the Year series. Cyndi, who had never directed a race before, stepped up to the plate and pulled off a great Hawaiian-themed event. Special kudos to Cyndi and the rest of the volunteers for all of their hard work and allowing this event to continue.  (Left, Dudley Ojeda dons Hawaiian attire in support of his mom's race)

We also want to know how they managed to deliver such perfect racing weather? Cooler and drier temperatures combined with great local talent produced new records for that Windover course that was moved from the old Melbourne Beach location in 2004. Today's top three men each broke the previous Windover record of 54:15 which was set by Steve Hedgespeth last year.

West Melbourne's Mike Wasson hammered the 9.3-mile course alone. (Wasson near finish left. Photo courtesy Kelly Hedgespeth)

"My goal was time based," said the 42-year-old Lt. Colonel who currently leads the Series. "I wanted to run 5:45 miles. I thought it would be fast enough to win."

Yes, it was.

Wasson pulled into the chute and across the line in 52:03. Titusville's John Lothrop, 47, and West Melbourne's Hedgespeth, 29, had closed a bit of the gap on Wasson in the last two miles with Lothrop taking second in 52:15 and Hedgespeth grabbing third in 52:20.

And then there was Jessica Crate. Again.

In her longest race to date, Crate, 22 from Rockledge, annihilated the women's field in 56:08, finishing fourth overall and dropping the women's course record by almost a full five minutes. Palm Bay's Tracy Smith was second in 1:02:13 and 50-year-old Brenda Wilson from Stuart took third in 1:03:00.

Complete results, provided by Cyndi Bergs, are on-line at http://mahoney4.home.netcom.com/scr/races/07scc15k.txt

Congrats to all who raced today!

What a great weekend to be racing in central and south Florida with cooler temps and sunny skies on tap for the next 24 hours.

If you're stuck in the house tomorrow, log on to www.ironman.com and watch the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championships - broadcasting begins at 6 a.m. Live athlete tracking will also be available so you might want to check and see how Melbourne's Ed Donner, #943 or WESH 2 News anchor Wendy Chioji, #511, are doing during the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and/or 13.1-mile run.

Closer to home, Space Coast Runners will kick off the Space Coast Classic 15K, the third race in the 10-race Runner of the Year series, at 7:30 a.m. in Windover Farms, Melbourne.

Several locals will be making the trip south tomorrow to compete in Sunday's Miami Man Triathlon. The half-iron distance race is the USAT 2007 Regional Championship race and those registered include John Jordan, Cape Canaveral; Pam Maxwell, Melbourne; Philip Mazzella, Cape Canaveral; Annie OConnor-Smith, Malabar; Seth Price, Titusville, Tricia Rydson, Melbourne Beach; Gregory Savage, Melbourne, Mike Smith, Malabar and Christine Tripodi, Melbourne Beach.

Running concurrently with the event is a shortened international-distance race which includes a .6-mile swim, 22-mile bike and 6.2-mile run. Locals registered include Garry Branch, Satellite Beach; D.J. Giovannini, Cocoa Beach; Randy Hierbaum, Merritt Island, Bob Lynch, Melbourne, Yvonne Martinez, Rockledge, Kevin Oliver, Merritt Island and Linda Rydson, Melbourne Beach.

Also on Sunday, Track Shack will offer the fourth race in their Grand Prix Series, the Florida Hospital Founder's Day 10K which will kick off at 7:30 a.m.

Good luck to all who are racing.  We will post results and photos as we get them.

Cathy Poor, left, was happy with her New York City Marathon finish on Sunday and she had every reason to be proud. After all, it was the first time the 46-year-old administrative assistant had ever trained for such a lengthy event (26.2 miles) and her persistent hard work raised $4,800 for the American Heart Association.

"I am passionate about the charity," said Poor, who was thrilled to be one of more than 200  applicants chosen for one of the 20 Association charity spots. "My dad died of a heart attack and my brother died at 19 from a congenital heart defect."

Utilizing one of Hal Higdon's on-line training plans (www.halhigdon.com), Poor trained hard through the hot Florida summer knocking out her longest run of 22 miles in 3:51.

With a goal of a four-hour finish, an upbeat and confident Poor lined up with close to 39,000 others - a record for the race.

"Hearing the cannon and then the song 'New York, New York' at the start was just awesome," she said. "It was a perfect, perfect day. As we crossed the Verrazano-Narrows bridge into Manhattan, we were treated to a spectacular view. I said to the girl next to me 'just take a minute and look'. It is something you want etched in your memory."

Motivated by the thoughts of loved ones cheering her on from heaven, Poor ran strong and, at one point, thought she had time to spare while still breaking four hours.

"For a while I was ahead of my pace group," she said.  "I thought I was ahead of my goal and had a few minutes of banked time, so I eased up and  walked through two of the water stations."

As she began to close the final miles of the race, Poor realized that her GPS had lost satellite connection during the time that the course took the runners under the Queensboro bridge. Thinking that the lost connection had also stopped the timing function, she worried that she may have blown it by easing up at the water stations. While her 4:00:21 was just shy of her goal, the time was good enough to still squeak into Boston.

What Poor and many others also did not realize was that, due to a starting mat malfunction, many of the times recorded were total times, not chip times and perhaps Poor's Garmin time of 3:54:01 may be correct since a loss of satellite pick-up does not stop the clock function on a Garmin.

It took guts for the New York Road Runners Club to send out the message below and it will be interesting to see what shakes out.  CONGRATS, again, to all local finishers and we look forward to posting corrected results.

Congratulations on your spectacular race at the ING New York City Marathon 2007 on Sunday. Unfortunately, due to a race-scoring issue at the start, your time was not recorded when you crossed the starting-line mat. The e-mail that you received earlier this week referred to your gun time--the time from when the start cannon sounded until you crossed the finish line.

We have determined that this issue, which began about two minutes into the race and ended approximately three minutes later, was caused by interference from other devices (such as wireless microphones, street lights, or a power surge in a conduit under the roadway) on the same frequency as the timing equipment. There was no indication of interference with the timing equipment during the testing done before the race.

To confirm your official net time, we ask that you provide us with the following information:

* The time between when you heard the start cannon and when you crossed the starting-line mat.

OR

* The net time recorded for your race on your watch or clock.

We ask that you provide this information to us by replying to this e-mail on or before November 19. We will use the information you provide to update our website results and print your finisher certificate.

If you do not respond by November 19, your result and your finisher certificate will reflect your gun time.

We apologize for any confusion that this has caused.

Again, congratulations on your accomplishment!

It's a beautiful day here  in Brevard county, FL, today and in New York City as well. And that's a good thing since more than 40,000 athletes were registered for today's New York City Marathon. The 10:08 start greeted the open class with 50-degree temperatures, light west winds and dropping humidity. Local times are starting to roll in. Cathy Friedel, 43, just qualified for Boston with her (unofficial) time of 3:45:57. The Satellite Beach mother of five hit the line with 14 minutes to spare. 26-year-old Erica Feltz is in at 3:53:39; Melbourne's Kim Graham, 47, just earned another spot to Boston with her 3:53:58 finish; Don Piercy, 46, is in at 3:58:09 - multiple injuries have hampered him throughout his training; looks like Cathie Poor, photo left, of Rockledge, just earned her first trip to Beantown with her 4:00:21 - Boston will let the seconds roll as Cathie, at 46, needed four hours.

There are still many others out on the course and complete local results will be posted here later today. NBC stations will be showing a one-hour overview of the race at 3 p.m.

Congrats to all local finishers including Walter Day, 4:52:02; Tracie Donnelly, 4:22:41; Erika Feltz, 3:53:39; Cathy Friedel, BOSTON QUALIFIER, 3:45:57; Kim Graham, BOSTON QUALIFIER, 3:53:58; Scott Jackson, 4:56:04; Audrey Joiner, 4:32:03; Ann Meacham, 5:40:39; Michelle Moreno, 7:22:59; Lisa O'Brien, 7:26:19; Denise Piercy, 4:32:03; Don Piercy, 3:58:09; Cathy Poor, BOSTON QUALIFIER, 4:00:21; Juan Posada, 4:16:35; Robert Rall, 4:41:38; Lea Richard, 4:32:03; Justin Shein, 5:32:52; Tina St. Clair, 5:09:48; Doug St. Clair, 5:09:48; Elizabeth Van Hemel, 4:02:18.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Ford Ironman Florida finishers:

DANA ARTZ, 37, Cocoa Beach, 13:20:06 (photo left)
DOUG MONDA, 38, Cocoa Beach, 13:33:23
WES OTT, 52, Cocoa Beach, 11:30:55 (photo right)

It must have felt like deja vu for Jessica Crate, left, and Art Anderson at today's Fun 'N Sun 4-miler in Cocoa Beach. Although the margin was a bit closer than the BK 5K in September, Crate again beat Anderson to the finish line for the overall victory. Her 25:07 finish was the fifth female victory in as many races for the recent Tallahassee transplant and the second time she has taken the overall win. Anderson came through 14 seconds later, taking second, or first male, in 25:21.  Danny Barrett and Matt Mahoney were second and third male, respectively, in 27:01 and 27:37.

Complete results of the race, which also included a two-miler, can be found at http://mahoney4.home.netcom.com/scr/races/07sunnfun.txt

What should have been a celebration for American distance running turned out to be a grim reminder of  mortality as the 2003 USA men's marathon champ, Ryan Shay, collapsed and died during the early miles of this morning's Olympic trials in New York City. The 28-year-old five-time national racing champ stepped off the course at about five and a half miles and collapsed. The cause of his death has yet to be determined.

Shay's training partner, Ryan Hall, left,setting American Record at the half marathon championships in Houston earlier this year, negative split the race, running the second half in 1:02:45 to win the event in 2:09:02. Dathan Ritzenhein was second in 2:11:07 and Brian Sell was third in 2:11:40.  Complete Olympic Trials stories on-line at http://runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-399--12279-0,00.html

Shay's death has likely cast a shadow on those registered to run tomorrow's ING New York City Marathon. Locals registered include Walter Day, Merritt Island; Tracie Donnelly, Melbourne Beach; Erika Feltz, Viera; Cathy Friedel, left, Satellite Beach; Kim Graham, Melbourne; Scott Jackson, Viera; Audrey Joiner, Melbourne; Ann Meacham, Cocoa; Michelle Moreno, Melbourne; Lisa O'Brien, Indian Harbour Beach; Denise Piercy, Indian Harbour Beach; Don Piercy; Indian Harbour Beach; Cathie Poor, Rockledge; Juan Posada, Rockledge; Robert Rall, Merritt Island; Lea Richard, Melbourne; Justin Shein, Melbourne; Tina St. Clair, Melbourne; Doug St. Clair, Melbroune; Madeline Touza Martelli, Rockledge; Elizabeth Van Hemel, West Melbourne.

Good luck to Cocoa Beach locals Dana Artz,  #2313; Doug Monda, #925 and Wes Ott, #1884 at tomorrow's race which begins at 7 a.m. (8 a.m. eastern) in Panama City Beach, FL. We hope you enjoy the day!!

Special good vides to Dana, as this will be the first time she will hear the words "you ARE an Ironman!"

Follow our local athletes and the rest of the race on-line at www.ironman.com

24-year-old Ron Abel took second at last Friday night's Pumpkins in the Park 5K with his 16:54. Less than 14 hours later, the father of three dropped his time to 16:44 and took the win at the Parrish Family Spirit 5K in Titusville and there was no one even close at the finish.  The clock rolled to 17:36 before John Lothrop ran in for second and Steve Raymond followed in 18:13 for third.

The real race was on the ladies' side between Christina Slayman and Teresa Huff who dueled it out in the final stretch. Slayman's zesty kick gave her a one-second win in 20:53. Huff settled for second in 20:54 and Danielle Collier cruised in more than a minute later, taking third in 22:06.

Complete results at: http://mahoney4.home.netcom.com/scr/races/07parrish.txt

Congratulations to all the finishers and volunteers!