PRTC Weekly: 06/11/2019 (Travel Grants, USATF Trail Half Champs, and More)
Travel Grants
Applications for PRTC's Travel Grant and Entry Program are now open! This is made possible thanks to generous support from Diadora. We are able to consider any request involving race dates from June 2019 to December 2019.
Our goal is to provide funding to members who seek to enter high profile competitions, national events, and otherwise unique races. We are here to support PR attempts, OTQ efforts, and other goals. Grant money may be used for entries, travel costs, and lodging.
Philadelphia has a strong race scene and we always encourage local efforts. At the same time, we see many opportunities to continue building our national profile. We're excited to help those who dream of qualifying for Boston, 2020 Trials, or have defined track/road/xc goals in locations across the country/world.
To apply, email Chris Mateer (men at ctmateer@gmail.com) or Lauren Kelly (women at laurenke@wharton.upenn.edu). Early requests will have the best chance of approval. We will also be considering social media presence, tier placement, and other factors. Our aim is to approve as many applications as possible, so please apply!
Also, we've updated our race calendar. This is a great time to start mapping out schedules. Let us know if we've missed anything!
(Almost) Time to Plog
A reminder: The club is hosting our 2nd annual plogging fundraiser this Saturday!
For the unfamiliar: Philadelphia's Zero Waste & Litter Cabinet is again offering local community groups $0.50 for removal of any illicitly posted sign throughout the city (up to $250 or 500 signs). These signs often end up as litter and are frequently of a predatory nature (Cash 4 Houses, other scams, etc).
To win the $250 and clean up our streets we are organizing three runs which will cover Brewerytown, Loft District, South Philly, and West Philly. Collecting 500 signs should be easy and we can all get a few miles in during the process!
When: Saturday, June 15th from 9 am to 10 am
Starting Points: Fairmount (Led by Kevin at Pennock and Poplar), Center City (Lauren at City Hall), and West Philly (Chris at 52nd and Larchwood)
Brunch: Will survey participants before selecting a location!
Sign up here!
Race Results
Scranton, PA: PRTC placed 2nd in the men's division at USATF Half Marathon Trail on Sunday morning. This very challenging race was held in Scranton at Montage Mountain Resort. Instead of the water park or ski course, racers were directed to run up, down, and then back up the steep slopes through trails, rocks, and even a stream.
We’d like to say the team made a smooth transition from the road/tracks to the trail scene, but that wasn’t exactly the case. Quotes from after the race included: “Brutal Course. Hit the wall, and bonked *hard* with 4 miles to go.” “Highly unprepared for “trail.” “The second half of that course is what nightmares are made of.” “Died harder than Apollo Creed.”
Despite all this PRTC persevered and ran very well at this National Championship event. The team was led by Kieran Sutton's strong 4th place finish while Abby Cember repped the women just one day after winning the ½ Saur ½ Kraut Half Marathon.
Post-race the Water Park amenities (free to all runners) were enjoyed by some while others nursed wounds, cleaned off mud, and otherwise started daydreaming of returning to races on flat and even surfaces.
Results
Kieran Sutton: 1:31:19 (4th)
Ethan Rissell: 1:45:46 (17th)
Tommy McClellan: 1:59:47 (34th)
Abby Cember: 2:08:59 (15th)
Alex Predhome: 2:11:28 (46th)
Full results here.
Philadelphia, PA: PRTC was proud to have several club members race the third annual Philadelphia Pride Run 5k. This important community event was supported by Philadelphia Runner, Lez Run, Out Philadelphia Athletic League, and Philadelphia Front Runners. All proceeds benefited the William Way LGBTQ Community Center.
The course began in the "Gayborhood" and directed runners past the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and other historically significant landmarks before culminating at Penn's Landing just in time for the Pride Festival Parade which was attended by approximately 25,000 celebrants .
Cain Leathers retained his title as winner of the Pride Run from 2018. He ran nearly the same speed as last year (10 second differential). This time he was chased by Ross Martinson who took 2nd in 17:32. Ross was followed by Kurt Palumbo (11th) who ran 19:19.
Preshita Gadkari (women's winner in 2018) returned to the field in 2019. She was pleased with her 21:23 time which earned 7th place. This result came after some post-Broad Street healing to address a troublesome oblique injury. Nice racing and thanks to all for supporting this great cause!
Results
Cain Leathers: 16:38 (1st)
Ross Martinson: 17:32 (2nd)
Kurt Palumbo: 19:19 (11th)
Preshita Gadkari: 21:23 (7th)
Full results here.
Malvern, PA: A Slack message from Craig Eppler put PRTC on notice that there was cash up for grabs at the Good Samaritan 5k. Kaitlin Frei bit at the opportunity and claimed a cool $200 as she cruised to a 1st place victory in 19:23. Congrats! The men's race was won by none other than Daryl Brown who was closely followed by Chris Naimoli. Thanks for the heads up Craig and a reminder for everyone to stay active on Slack. It may pay off!
Results
Kaitlin Frei: 19:23 (1st)
Full results here.
West Chester, PA: Jeff Young did some hometown racing at the 10th running of the Dub C 5k. He performed very well at the event which had participants run approximately two rotations of the "Downtown West Chester Loop." Jeff's time of 16:26 was good for 2nd in what must have been a close finish (1st was 16:17 and 3rd ran 16:37). Congrats!
Results
Jeff Young: 16:26 (2nd)
Full results here.
Philadelphia, PA: Abby Cember won a cuckoo clock from www.german-cuckoos.com at the best named race of the weekend: the 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut Half Marathon.
To get the win, she faced 13.1 miles of trails at Pennpack Park in Northeast Philadelphia. To make things even more difficult the race directors threw in a few surprises, "We added Mount Cuckoo at mile 6. This is a 1 mile trail section that might feature minor roadblocks like rocks, dirt, possibly horse poop, and some sort rolling hills."
Further digging reveals that truly every effort was made to ensure this was a unique event. Other participant prizes included German Weather Houses which, "predict weather pretty much as reliable as "Glen Hurricane Schwartz" How is this possible you may ask? Well, "there is a gut string inside which reacts to all changes in air humidity. Depending upon whether the air is dry or humid, the gut string changes position and twists so the female figure is shown outside when it is dry (predicting nice weather) and the male displays when it is humid."
Results
Abby Cember: 1:26:35 (1st)
Full results here.
Upcoming Runs, Events, & Races
Tuesday: 6:30 PM from Lloyd (Confirm workout parameters & partners via Slack.)
Sunday: Long run at 9:00 AM from Lloyd Hall.
June 11th, 2019: Henderson All Comers Track Meet (West Chester, PA)
June 13th, 2019: Midsummer Night 5k Series (Wynnewood, PA)
June 15th, 2019: Go! Mile (Little Rock, AR)
June 21st, 2019: Media Five Miler (Media, PA)
June 22nd, 2019: Grandma's Marathon (Duluth, MN)
July 11th, 2019: Midsummer Night 5k Series (Wynnewood, PA)
July 16th, 2019: Henderson All Comers Track Meet (West Chester, PA)
July 24th, 2019: Henderson All Comers Track Meet (West Chester, PA)
August 8th, 2019: Midsummer Night 5k Series (Wynnewood, PA)
August 10th, 2019: Philadelphia Mayor's Cup (Philadelphia, PA)
August 25th, 2019: The Philly 10k (Philadelphia, PA)
September 7th, 2019: 9/11 Heroes Run (Philadelphia, PA)
September 8th, 2019: The Main Line Run 5k (Wayne, PA) *
September 15th, 2019: Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)
September 29th, 2019: BWM-Berlin Marathon (Berlin, Germany)
October 5th, 2019: Paul Short Invitational (Bethlehem, PA)
October 12th, 2019: Hartford Marathon (Hartford, CT)
October 13th, 2019: Delaware Distance Classic 15k (Delaware City, DE) *
October 13th, 2019: Chicago Marathon (Chicago, IL)
November 3rd, 2019: Marshall Half Marathon (Huntington, WV)
November 3rd, 2019: New York Marathon (New York, NY)
November 3rd, 2019: Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge (Camden, NJ) *
November 23rd, 2019: Philadelphia Half Marathon (Philadelphia, PA) *
November 23rd, 2019: Rothman 8k (Philadelphia, PA) *
November 24th, 2019: Philadelphia Marathon (Philadelphia, PA) *
December 8th, 2019: California International Marathon (Sacramento, CA)
December 14th, 2019: USATF Club XC Nationals (Bethlehem, PA)
February 29th, 2020: US Olympic Team Trials - Marathon (Atlanta, GA)
* USATF Mid-Atlantic Grand Prix Event
