SCM ON THE RADAR

Check out the write-up about this year's Space Coast Marathon and Half Marathon at http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/1/1_18/9970.shtml

GRANDMAS LOVE THEIR KIDS

Especially those who finished Grandma's Marathon on Saturday in Duluth, MN. More than 6,800 runners cruised the 26.2-mile point-to-point course that winds along Lake Superior's north shore. Those 65 participants from Florida got a well-deserved break in temperature the start boasted 59 degrees and NW winds at six miles per hour.  Finishing first and secondly, respectively, from the sunshine state were Cocoa Beach's Rudy Behrend, left, and Danny Cochran who ran 3:09:36 and 3:14:54, each taking another Boston Qualifier. The duo completed their tenth Beantown pilgrimage in April.  Other locals joining the finish line festivities included Ruth Rodriguez, 5:12:04; Karen Sanchez, 5:12:03; Fiona Wright, 4:47:41 and Wayne Wright, 4:33:52.

ONE  SPOT

and three minutes were the difference between Ed Donner flying home from IM Coeur d'Alene and booking a flight for Kona vs. figuring out why his stomach gave him issues around mile 20 of the marathon and moving him from eighth in the 30-34 age group to 11th. Even without a World Championship spot in hand, Ed had a remarkable race and it was his third IM distance in 10 months.  We'll let the results speak for themselves.
2.4-mile swim:  1:08:54 (1:48/100)
T1: 4:32
112-mile bike: 5:20:58 (20.94 mph)
T2: 2:17
26.2-mile run: 3:42:17 (8:29/mile)
IM Finish: 10:18:58; 11th AG, 83rd OA, or top four percent out of 2,060 starters.

Half a world away, Cape Canaveral's John Jordan, 44, crossed the finish line of IM France in 14:19:11.  Ooh, la, la!

Congrats to both Iron men!

Closer to home on Sunday, competitors in the State of Mind Marineland Triathlon started their Olympic and Sprint-distance (.5-mile; 12.4; 3.1) an hour later than scheduled after a lifeguard was ejected from this water-craft which then sped wildly out of control in the swim zone. With no time to don a hero-protection cape, one of the athletes swam out to try and bring to a halt the renegade vehicle. Unfortunately, the renegade won and put an end to the athlete's race, giving him several cuts, including one to the bone. Above left to right: Suzie Enlow and Angie Preston are glad that these jaws are on land! Photo courtesy Suzie Enlow.

Athletes finally got in the water around 9 a.m. and each of our local folks  brought home hardware. In the sprint (1/2, 12.4, 3.1), Suzie Enlow won the 45-49 age group in 1:20:18 while new triathlete, Angie Preston, took third in the 40-44 in 1:38:16.  Wes Ott, left, took the 50-54 AG in the Olympic-distance event in 2:27:21 while Christy Zieres won the Athena division  in 2:56:00. Loran Serwin got to take home a plaque announcing that he was third in the elite open division after his name was mistakenly added to that category with the two men who registered as elite.  Loran's time of 2:52:30 would have given the 53-year-old competitive Master's runner second in the correct category of 50-54 male.

DEJA VU

CFT Sommer Sports kicked off the first of their three sprint race series on Sunday at UCF in Orlando. Athletes began with a 1/4-mile swim in Lake Claire and then cycled eight miles and ran 5K across the Knight's campus. Local finishers included Liz Cerow, 1st 55-59, 1:07:33, left; Laurie Disanto, 2nd 55-59, 1:32:32; Philip Foy, 1:04:10; Hunter French, 1:07:25; Robert French, 1:05:27; Nicole Kurschat, 1:13:23; Thomas Mayer, 1:02:41; Kevin Mcintyre, 1:04:24; Paul Setlak, 1:02:27; Kaitlin Shiver, 1st 15-19, 53:57; Eric Zelna, 1:11:54. For some, the place and distance brought back memories of some of the old sprint races in the 80s when CFT got the sport going in central Florida along with the folks at Cypress Gardens and the Track Shack Digital series.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Why you'd want the word 'shark' in the name of a triathlon that hosts its swim in the salty brine is beyond us but the Tiger Shark Triathlon was the name of the sprint tri (1/4; 8; 3) in Daytona Beach on Sunday. Fred Burgess took 1st in the 60-64 division in 1:03:52; Chris Counts pulled in at 1:10:09 and Jim Schaeffer broke an hour in 58:14.

PIE IN YOUR EYE

How can a 5K that gives cash awards to the open field; free Mizuno shoes to the studs; pies to the men who break 20:00 and the women who break 24:00 plus free food, beer and live rock n roll for all go wrong? Maybe that is why the Run for the Pies celebrated its 30th year Sat. evening in Jacksonville.  The evening event began at 7:30 p.m. with the Mizuno open field, or those men and women who had run a 5K under 17:00 and 20:00 respectively in the last year.  Brevard's fastest super hero, Kyle Cook, received a pair of shoes for finishing in 16:03 and 20th place. He was followed in the open division by James Stern, who finished 39th in 16:43 and Jim Van Veen, whose 16:56 was good enough for 43rd. In the ladies' open, Tracy Smith whipped out a 19:53 and 13th overall. Her speedy feet earned her a free pair of Mizunos as well.

Locals who were able to stay up late enough to complete the age group race, which began at 8 p.m., included Michael Baker, 19:50 (pie); Anya Givens, 25:24; Michael Kearns, 18:34 (pie); Logan Lindsay, 25;04; Joan Meadows, 28:18; Denise Piercy, 24:39; Don Piercy 18:19 (4th 45-49, pie and medal); Trish Piercy, 25:56; Gina Zingarelli, 28:21. We want to know who was running the store with so many Running Zone employees competing in Jacksonville??? Photo at left: L to R boyz: Jim Van Veen, James Stern and Kyle Cook. Tracy Smith in front. Photo courtesy Don Piercy at Running Zone.

WHERE OR WHAT IS ST. LEO?

The Family Fitness folks kicked off race #3 in their eight-race sprint triathlon series on Sat. at St. Leo University across the state in hilly Pasco county.  Locals competing in the 600-yard swim, 10-mile bike and 3.1 cross-country style run included Garry Branch, 3rd 45-49, 1:10:00; Rob Downey, 2nd 55-59, left, 1:05:24; Debra Johansen, 1:17:55; Eric Turner, 1:29:36 and Fiona Wright, 1:58:23.

John Gilmore placed 2nd 45-49 in 1:06:00 in the duathlon and Eric Turner, Jr. also took second in the male first-timer with his 1:13:56. Du distances included a 2-mile run, 10-mile bike and 3.1-mile run.

WE GOT IT GOOD (relatively)

We may moan and complain about local traffic impeding our workouts but we've got it great compared to those athletes who choose to live in NYC! Our hats are off to those athletes and the commitment it takes to stay fit in that town. It was mind-boggling to see runners and cyclists on the busy streets weaving, bobbing and stopping for pedestrians who weren't paying attention or cars driven by the seemingly blind. Speaking of which....

DRIVING BLIND

"A little known fact among the blind driving community is that those reflectors that are placed on the center lines of most highways are not only there for the sighted drivers.  They are raised up an inch or two so that when a blind driver such as myself drives on them they make a very distinct bumping sound to warn the driver that he’s crossing over the center lane.  This is sort of like driving by Braille."

That paragraph was written by blind runner Randall Crosby about his own driving experience in the story Blind Driving Burnout. Check it out, along with more photos and a poem, on the 'Running Blind' tab on this site. Photo courtesy Randall Crosby. You can also e-mail Randall with your thoughts, feedback and encouragement at blindrunner@cfl.rr.com

LEAPING FROGS?

That is how the author of the e-mail story about this year's Muddy Buddy in Orlando described the overall winning team of Ron Abel and Ed Springer.  The two studs, however, still refer to themselves as 'the dirtbags' and judging by the photo at left (L to R: Ed and Ron), we can see why! Check out the story at http://maildogmanager.com/page.html?p=0000015Fu8vt1G5UsrPWmZ/3tLjrrvdGQ=

Photo courtesy Ed Springer, Ron Abel