Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A no-excuse 30K for Linton and Showman

Stanley LintonDistance runners are notorious for excuses. Many years ago I won a 10,000-meter race on the track. The next day I read in the newspaper that the runner I had edged out for the win had said that he didn't know where the finish line was. Keep in mind that this was on a track, and during the 25-lap race we had already passed the finish line 24 times before the grim business on the home stretch.


The excuses at a local road race aren't nearly as creative, but you'll hear plenty of them. An athlete's training isn't going well, or he's coming off an injury, or he just had the flu. The course is too long, too short, too hilly, or too flat. The weather is always a good excuse. A slow time can always be blamed on extreme weather.


Vince MoloskyAt the 36th annual Gulf Winds Track Club 30K, though, a lot of the usual excuses rang a little hollow when the winner broke the course record by more than three minutes.


With the runners that lined up at the start on Saturday morning, 12 January 2013, you'd expect records to be broken. Four-time GWTC 30K winner Vince Molosky was there, but so was Stanley Linton who had finished ahead of Molosky a week earlier at the Bowlegs 5K. Kevin Sullivan of Capital City Runners, a four-time member of the Canadian Olympic team, was also on the starting line outside of the Retreat on Bradley's Pond.


Kevin SullivanVince Molosky set the early pace as the runners headed north on Old Centerville Road. Around five kilometers, though, Stanley Linton took over the lead. At seven kilometers Linton was 200 meters ahead of Molosky, with Kevin Sullivan running in a distant third. The runners held their positions through the turn-around at the halfway point on Sunny Hill Road. With ten kilomters to go, Linton was more than a full kilometer ahead of Molosky, with Sullivan another half a kilometer back, but Sullivan was already starting to close on Molosky. Linton maintained his lead, however, and ran home in 1:48:22, crushing Charlie Johnson's 2012 course record of 1:51:30. Sullivan picked off Molosky on the way back to Bradley's Pond, finishing runner-up in 1:54:48. Molosky had to be content with third place in 1:58:32.


Katie ShowmanKatie Showman didn't enjoy nearly as large a margin in the women's competition as Stanley Linton did in the men's race, but by seven kilometers she was already a few steps in front of Savannah, Georgia master runner Sarah Batt. With ten kilometers to go Showman had lengthened that lead to half a kilometer. Showman went on to successfully defend her women's title at the 30K, placing 14th overall in 2:16:42. Batt was the second woman in and the top woman master, 18th overall in 2:19:16. Four-time 30K champion and women's course record holder Sheryl Rosen was the third female finisher, 25th overall in 2:26:29.


Top Ten Males, 30K
  1. Jay Wallace1:48:21.88 ~ Stanley Linton (M, 19)
  2. 1:54:47.38 ~ Kevin Sullivan (M, 38)
  3. 1:58:31.24 ~ Vince Molosky (M, 33)
  4. 2:02:02.68 ~ Grady Smith (M, 36)
  5. 2:03:49.66 ~ Eric Godin (M, 28)
  6. 2:04:33.50 ~ Jay Wallace (M, 48)
  7. 2:07:28.67 ~ Sean Hudson (M, 42)
  8. 2:09:26.76 ~ Geb Kiros (M, 46)
  9. 2:13:28.13 ~ Charn McAllister (M, 29)
  10. 2:13:49.89 ~ Bing Xu (M, 44)

Top Ten Females, 30K
Sarah Batt
  1. 2:16:41.38 ~ Katie Showman (M, 31)
  2. 2:19:15.28 ~ Sarah Batt (F, 47)
  3. 2:26:28.53 ~ Sheryl Rosen (F, 28)
  4. 2:27:57.54 ~ Micah Adriani (F, 35)
  5. 2:28:21.93 ~ Ashley Daily (F, 26)
  6. 2:29:45.54 ~ Kristine Cox (F, 35)
  7. 2:32:11.54 ~ Lorien Abbey (F, 45)
  8. 2:36:37.72 ~ Urska Dobersek (F, 30)
  9. 2:42:38.99 ~ Christina Greene (F, 30)
  10. 2:44:25.31 ~ Constance Mayo (F, 46)

Sukhi KhoslaWhile 150 athletes were meeting the challenge of the 30K, another 200 negotiated a 15K race. Tallahassee runner Will Stanford led the 15K runners on the outbound trek over the hills of Old Centerville Road, reaching the turn-around about 60 meters ahead of the next runner, Sukhi Khosla of the Leon High cross-country team. On the way back to Bradley's Pond Khosla closed the gap on Stanford, pulling even with  about three kilometers to go. The two swapped the lead several times on the way to the finish, but the race wasn't decided until the final hundred meters, where Khosla prevailed over Stanford 52:57 to 53:02. Maclay distance runner Kristin Sweeney was the first female finisher in the 15K, running 64:19 for 19th overall.


Top Ten Males, 15K
  1. Will Stanford52:56.28 ~ Sukhi Khosla (M, 16)
  2. 53:01.57 ~ Will Stanford (M, 20)
  3. 54:23.34 ~ Will Henderson (M, 18)
  4. 54:50.13 ~ Charlie Johnson (M, 33)
  5. 54:55.37 ~ Zac Buchholz (M, 17)
  6. 55:35.38 ~ Jarod Hoffman (M, 17)
  7. 56:03.18 ~ Colin Abbey (M, 18)
  8. 57:08.88 ~ Hunter Scott (M, 16)
  9. 57:59.29 ~ Travis Covert (M, 18)
  10. 57:59.89 ~ Stephen Cox (M, 29)

Top Ten Females, 15K
  1. Kristin Sweeney1:04:18.19 ~ Kristin Sweeney (F, 18)
  2. 1:05:17.50 ~ Melissa Thompson (F, 28)
  3. 1:07:24.32 ~ Marci Gray (F, 38)
  4. 1:08:53.45 ~ Mary Anne Grayson (F, 46)
  5. 1:09:15.57 ~ Autumn Wable (F, 17)
  6. 1:09:15.66 ~ Angela Wable (F, 39)
  7. 1:10:14.24 ~ Dana Black (F, 47)
  8. 1:10:38.41 ~ Juanita Chalmers (F, 30)
  9. 1:12:55.66 ~ Emily Ness (F, 22)
  10. 1:14:44.28 ~ Grace Lockhart (F, 14)

Gulf Winds Track Club 30K Champions, 1978-2013
DatesMenWomen
12 January 20131:48:22, Stanley Linton2:16:41, Katie Showman
14 January 20121:51:30, Charlie Johnson2:17:38, Katie Showman
15 January 20111:51:48, Vince Molosky2:17:15, Heather Griffis
16 January 20101:56:14, Vince Molosky2:14:22, Sheryl Rosen
17 January 20091:54:06, Vince Molosky2:11:41, Sheryl Rosen
12 January 20082:00:29, Vince Molosky2:17:24, Sheryl Rosen
13 January 20072:01:23, Justin Dickieson2:04:21, Sheryl Rosen
21 January 20062:03:36, Michael Douma2:09:27, Stephanie Liles
22 January 20051:56:18, Art Remillard2:13:50, Jane Johnson
16 January 20041:56:00, Timothy Bolton2:09:27, Jane Johnson
18 January 20032:02:28, Larry Mengelkoch2:07:46, Jane Johnson
15 December 20012:09:43, Tom Ratliffe2:22:56, Carrie Weyant
3 February 20012:00:29, Kevin Porter2:02:27, Jane Johnson
5 February 20001:57:47, Garth Grumme1:53:04, Anne Van Schuppen
6 February 19991:58:17, Doug Gorton2:11:20, Jane Johnson
10 January 19981:57:45, Clarence Calloway2:04:34, Jane Johnson
7 January 19971:54:26, Tracy Burch2:00:28, Jane Johnson
13 January 19961:46:14, John Viitanen2:12:30, Eileen Telford
14 January 19951:49:45, Herb Wills2:22:18, Nancy Stuparich
22 January 19941:43:50, Herb Wills2:07:27, Lisa Herman
16 January 19931:43:54, Herb Wills2:12:42, Carrie Hunnicutt
4 January 19921:46:36, Jessie Close2:13:46, Lynda Nilges
12 January 19911:37:31, David Keen2:06:03, Paula Johnson
13 January 19901:43:57, Herb Wills2:12:00, Paula Johnson
14 January 19891:45:31, Jessie Close2:22:07, Mary Jean Yon
16 January 19881:45:24, Tom Burr2:10:04, Mae Cleveland
10 January 19871:44:45, Larry Greene2:11:59, Karen Macharg
18 January 19861:38:54, Herb Wills2:10:48, Missy James
14 January 19851:45:10, Herb Wills2:17:56, Mae Cleveland
14 January 19841:43:32, Noel Shumann2:04:20, Barbara Balzer
15 January 19831:48:18, Andrew Wills2:18:18, Christy Orthman
16 January 19821:44:41, Rick Miller1:56:57, Laura Ledbetter
1981

12 January 19801:51:19, Steve Ray2:48:31, Robyn Anderson
3 February 19791:42:13, Ken Misner2:12:44, Lynda Heimann
11 March 19781:46:19, Tim Simpkins2:22:31, Donna Glotzbach


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Posted by Herb Wills at 12:17 AM
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