Penguin Pace 5K

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2001 Penguin Pace Overall Results

2001 Penguin Pace Awards

Two Virginians vied for the title of fastest fowl in Sunday’s hilly Penguin Pace 5k (3.1 miles) in Harper’s Choice. Ted Poulos of McLean, VA, who ran 100 races in 2000, outlasted Tim Renkiewicz of Burke, VA, who had ran a high school indoor meet the Saturday before the race. “I had a great first half,” Ted remarked about the first downhill mile in the race. He pulled away from the lead pack at the bottom of the first big hill, and Renkiewicz, who can run a flat mile in under 5 minutes, did his best to hold the pace. But the master of 100 races took a substantial lead going back up the same long hill and went on to win in 17:13- a time about 30 seconds slower than usual.

The women’s race featured the 1998 winner Connie Buckwalter of Lancaster, PA, and Rockville’s Marjan Huizing, who won the race in 2000. Ms. Buckwalter took off from the start and never let up, beating Huizing by the substantial margin of 17 seconds. “I didn’t know the competition,” commented the winner, who ran the 3.1 miles with a heart rate monitor so she could maintain her level of effort. “My heart rate went up slightly on the hill,” she said.

The Penguin Pace began and ended at the Florence Bain Senior Center in Harper’s Choice, winding down and then back up the steep hills of the Longfellow community next door. The event takes its inspiration from John Bingham’s “Penguin Chronicles,” a regular feature in Runners’ World magazine. Penguin affectionadoes have made the race their own, and penguins reportedly came from as far away as Vermont, Connecticutt, and California to run the race this year. Bingham himself was not available- he was in Antarctica running a real Penguin chase!

The field included one Vivian Bailey, born in February 1918, who celebrated her 83rd birthday at the Penguin Pace. Wearing race number 83, she received a special recognition award, and afterwards participants sang “Happy Birthday” to her. Ms. Bailey works out weekly at the senior center. Although intending to do the Penguin Pace next year, she commented “I don’t think I’ll become a runner.”

With the assistance of the Howard County Striders, Arleen Dinneen directed the race, which was the fifth Penguin Pace. The Howard County Police provided traffic control. Howard County Executive Jim Robey was on hand to start the race at 8 am. The Howard County Office of Aging provided organization and volunteers.

Nearly 300 registered for the race and 267 finished. Participants received a special Penguin Pace long-sleeved t-shirt, specially designed by artist Dan Herrick, and age-group winners received Penguin Pace knit caps. Participants and volunteers gathered in the Senior Center after the race for a lavish catered brunch by the Elkridge Furnace Inn (“since 1744”). The Banjo Buddies provided live entertainment while everyone chowed down on literal cornicopias of fresh fruit, vegetables, muffins and croissants, and assorted Dairy Maid juices.

James Carbary

Women’s Distance Festival 5K

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2000 Women’s Distance Festival Overall Results

2000 Women’s Distance Festival Awards

2000 Women’s Distance Festival Team Results

Cool temperatures produced sizzling times at the Howard County General Hospital’s Women’s Distance Festival 5k race last Friday night. It was appropriate that the 3.1 mile race around Columbia Mall started at Midnight as surely many of the 438 runners must have thought they were dreaming. The exact opposite of last year, the 2000 edition featured unusually cool weather and new, fast (Phish-free) course. “It was the nicest weather of any race this summer,” remarked winner Connie Buckwalter. Buckwalter, a PA resident and frequent visitor to the Baltimore racing scene, jumped to an early lead and never let it go. Local favorite, Vicki Lang, was elated over her 2nd place finish in a time of 18:22 as it was the fastest 5k time she’d run in 5 years! She attributed her stellar performance to “perfect weather and good competition”. Michelle Smith, who duked it out with Vicki for 2nd place last year, was 3rd in a time of 18:32, her fastest 5k time on the roads ever! Michelle, who runs for James Madison University, declined her finisher’s prize in order to retain her NCAA eligibility. She did, however, get to share this special evening with her mom, Gloria Smith, by running as part of a mother-daughter team, another great feature of this unique event. The team competition was won by “Archcats”, which was comprised on Nancy Catizone and Keesha Archard.

The WDF enjoyed a new title sponsor this year in Howard County General Hospital. Paul M. Gleichauf of HCGH, said the hospital was very pleased to sponsor the race because, “It’s about people being fit,” and is in keeping with a large part of their overall mission which is caring for the community and keeping it healthy. Other contributors to the race included Moving Comfort and Feet First. Runners enjoyed post-race refreshments provided by Einstein Bros. Bagels, Honest Tea, Stonyfield Farms Yogurt and Product Galore.

Race Director Kelly Barton put on another outstanding event and was assisted this year by assistant race director, Judith Gilbert. Of course, none of this would be possible without the invaluable assistance of the Columbia Mall, the Howard County Police and an army of Strider (& other) volunteers. Heading the volunteer group was Judith Colon, who was assisted by Ron Weber (race night registration), Jim Discuillo (results) Ralph Massella (water), Kathleen Lefkowitz (packet pickup), Bob Burns, Miles Weigold, and Dave and Jason Tripp (finish line), Ray Lake (course measurement) and Mick Slonaker(traffic).

RRCA Club Challenge 10M

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2000 Club Challenge Overall Results

2000 Club Challenge Team Results

The Mongomery County Road Runners made a concerted effort to beat the Howard County Striders and win this year’s 10 Mile Challenge, a road race in which competed the local chapters of the Road Runners Club of America. To that end, the Mongomerians held special winter track workouts for their runners to build “depth up front.” Montgomery County’s Steve Smith explained, “We knew Howard County would have their ‘stud-runners’ up front,so we had to improve our ‘B-team’,” which would simply outnumber the Howard Countians. In the actual event, held last Sunday on the hilly streets of Clary’s Forest, the strategy almost worked.

As expected, the core of Howard County’s men’s and women’s racing teams dominated the top positions. Columbia’s Mark Gilmore out-kicked Montgomery’s Rob Magin and won the overall race in 52:55, and Strider men took three of the top five places; while among the women, Howard County’s Vanessa Cox placed second to Marine Corps Marathon winner Donna Moore, and Strider women took three of the top five places among their gender and handily won the women’s championship. But after these speedsters came a flood of Montgomery County “depth” runners that seemingly tipped the score in favor of their team. The first compilation of the points from seven clubs (based on scoring the top 14 men and 3 women from each) had Mongomery County winning the overall team race, and at the post-race ceremony Montgomery County actually received the championship prize, an engraved pewter plate. However, Phil Anderson of the Renaissance All-Sports Athletic Club explained to race scorers that he had actually dropped out of the race, which altered the scoring qualifications to the top 13 men and 3 women on each team. This displacement still left Montgomery County with the men’s championship, but gave the overall championship to Howard County by a margin of only three points.

Although the fiercest competition was between the Howard and Montgomery teams, five other local running clubs participated in the 10-Mile Challenge, which the Howard County Striders host every February. The entire field numbered 360 runners, the largest contingent of which came from Montgomery County. This year a conflict with a swim meet at the Howard Community College caused a change of the race venue, with the course beginning at the Florence Bain Senior Center and ending at Swansfield Elementary School. Nevertheless, runners had to negotiate many of the same Clary’s Forest hills for which the race is famous. “Survive the hills” was how Baltimore’s Dave Brendle (5th overall) entitled the race. Paul Goldenberg directed the Challenge race with the help of the Howard County Police and an outstanding volunteer crew that roused themselves on a damp, foggy morning to cone and marshall the course. The Striders especially wish to thank the Florence Bain Senior Center, which provided facilities for pre-race registration and post-race ceremonies.

by Jim Carbary

Penguin Pace 5K

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2000 Penguin Pace Overall Results – Female

2000 Penguin Pace Overall Results – Male

2000 Penguin Pace Awards

Last Sunday morning dawned cold and clear with temperatures near 20F. The streets in Columbia had been cleared of recent snow, but small patches of ice remained at key turns on the Penguin Pace 5k, a very hilly race that started and ended at the Florence Bain Senior Center. Jeff Olenick, last year’s winner, and Mike Styczynski, Howard County Junior runner of 1999, found themselves locked in a close duel from the beginning until a sharp left-hand turn near the half-way point. “It was neck-and-neck until I slipped on the ice,” said Styczynski about his tumble that skinned his left knee and left Olenick, who runs for Goucher College, the leader of the field. “It was just dumb luck that he [Mike] fell down and I didn’t,” commented Jeff. Styczynski bounced right up after his fall, but neither runner regained his speed on the last, mostly-uphill part of the race. Olenick cruised the final mile and won in 16:11, 15 seconds ahead of Styczynski.

In the women’s contest, local favorite Robyn Humphrey assessed U.S. Team Duathlete Marjan Huizing at the start line with a “she looks pretty fast,” which turned out to be true. Humphrey’s own fast start did not phase Huizing, who normally runs a (flat) 5k in under 18 minutes. After the first downhill mile, Huizing overhauled Humphrey and, on the final uphill mile, put nearly a minute between herself and her competition, winning the women’s race in 19:29. “I don’t like the hills until after I’ve run them,” Marjan said about the terrain.

Among the older runners, Dr. Bobby Gessler annihilated the over-40 runners, with a time of 19:06, about a minute ahead of the second master, Gary Prada (father of the well-known Mike Prada). Robin Goodwin of Timonium surprised Columbia’s own Dorothy Beckett to win the women’s masters title. Second-place finisher Mike Styczynski seems to have been the only person in the race to fall down on the ice, which had been thoroughly sanded and salted. “We were going too slow to fall down,” said Al Greuter about the rest of the field. Barbara Walters and Ralph Massella agreed that, aside from the ice, the course was too hilly to set a personal record, so they didn’t try. “The experience [of running the course] was humbling,” said Ralph.

The main attraction to the Penguin Pace was probably not the challenging hills, but the lavish brunch enjoyed by all participants after the race at the cafeteria of the Senior Center. The brunch included muffins, sweet rolls, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables with dip, bread, croissants, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and orange juice. The Elkridge Furnace Inn, which has been in business since 1744, catered the affair and replenished the food trays as soon as supplies diminished. The Banjo Buddies Dixieland Band entertained the runners while they ate and provided drum rolls when the winners received their prizes.

The 2000 Penguin Pace drew a field of 311 finishers, which included a significant contingent of actual “penguins,” or followers of the “Penguin Chronicles” feature in Runner’s World. Columbia’s chief Penguin, Jeannette Lampron, estimated that about 40 of them showed up for the race. Some of them wore characteristic pink caps in the race, but none of them figured in the scoring. “After all, we’re penguins!”

Arleen Dineen directed the Penguin Pace, a Howard County Strider race that benefits the Howard County Department of Aging. Race and age-group winners received, appropriately, heavy knit caps appropriate for the season, and many others also won random awards. Principal sponsors of the race included Howard County General Hospital, the Lazarus Computer Foundation, Feet First of Wilde Lake, the Rouse Company, the Colosseum Gym and Fitness, the Manekin Real Estate, Comcast, and, of course, Team Penguin.

James Carbary

Police Pace 5K

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Police_Pace_Results

Women’s Distance Festival 5K

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1999 Women’s Distance Festival Overall Results

1999 Women’s Distance Festival Awards

1999 Women’s Distance Festival Team Results

The approximately 500 women who assembled at the Columbia Mall last Friday night expected the St. Agnes Health Care Women’s Distance Festival 5k would start on schedule at midnight, but the Phish concert across the street at the Merriweather Post Pavillion seriously disrupted the agenda. The race was supposed to take place entirely within the Mall’s parking lot, but the lot was still jammed with Phishite vehicles long after the announced 11 pm conclusion of the performance. At midnight, the traffic had barely started to leave, and race officials had no choice but to delay the race. For over one hour, Howard County Police and Mall Security worked heroically to clear the parking lot, often against the wishes of the Phishes. At about 12:45 am, the women were gathered at the start line one the lot’s perimeter loop near the new Lord and Taylor. There they waited for another half hour while police cleared Phish remnants from the northwest lot. The women raised a cheer at 1:10 am when Miles Weigold announced that police had finally cleared the course and would let the race proceed.

“They were pretty mellow out there for the most part,” one woman said of the few concerteers who remained in the lot during the race. Theall-woman field made three loops around the Mall’s perimeter, each time encountering friendly police and Strider volunteers as well as the Phishers in addition to escort by a police cruiser and two Vespa scooters from the Baltimore Bombers club. Most Phish offered encouraging words, but a few tried to run along with the women, and at least one attempted to skate-board with them! The women kept their cool, if not always their speed, and at total of 416 runners finished the appointed 3.1 mile tour of the Mall parking lot without incident.

In the actual race, national-class triathlete Amanda Gillam seized an early lead and then a commanding lead by the half-mile mark. She and the police car held a speed session that culminated in a time of 18:48. Well behind Gillam, Columbians Michele Smith and Vicki Lang duelled each other through the first mile until Smith, who runs for James Madison University, pulled away from Lang. A graduate of the University of Tennesse, Gillam celebrated her 27th birthday with the victory and credited her younger cousin, Jackie Fowler (1st, 11-14 yrs), for encouraging her to run the race.

The Women’s Distance Festival also featured competition between 38 mother-daughter teams. Lissa George and her daughter Libby won the team championship for the second year in a row. They creditied their success to their training together and to a special diet of ice-cream.

Barbara Gorman of St. Agnes Healthcare and Courtney Blair of the Sexual Trauma Treatment Advocacy and Recovery (STTAR) Center were on hand to help race director Kelly Barton distribute prizes and random awards after the race, which didn’t end until after 2 am. In its second year as a the principal sponsor of the race, St. Agnes made a donation to the STTAR fund on behalf of the Women’s Distance Festival. Other sponsors included Moving Comfort and Runner’s World, who sponsor the nationwide series of Women’s Distance Festivals for the Road Runner’s Club of America.

The overall race winners received medals, polo shirts, heavy medallions, and gift certificates from Feet First of Wilde Lake. In spite of the hour, many women stuck around for random awards and post-race refreshments of bagels, fruit, and veggie platters.

The WDF 5k is staged each year at the Columbia Mall by the Howard County Striders. Ms. Barton was assisted by Brad Speierman and Miles Weigold at the finish line, Carla Styczynski at packet pick-up, Lisa Lowe at race-night registration, Judith Colon as water coordinator, Jim DiScuillo on race results, and especially by Mick Slonaker and his all-male traffic control volunteers. Columbia Mall security and the Howard County Police “bent over backwards” to make the race safe and clear up the concert traffic.

by Jim Carbary

All Fruit Relay

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All Fruit Relay
Oakland Mills Middle School
May 31, 1999

1. Chicken Fried Rice 45:54
Mike Styczynski
Mike Prada
Steve Chu
Zach Heidepriem

2. Where’s Brenda 56:33
Ed Reynolds
Brenda Marshall
Tom Lewis
Julie Deutschmann

3. Banana Splits 57:36
Judith Colon
Phil Heiliger
Steve Zelenak
Steve Anderson

4. Weekly Race Series Team 57:41
Toni Henry
Byron Henry
Al Greuter
Clint Henderson

5. Columbia Sloths 60:43
Serban Padencov
Claus Becker
Mike Fleg
Carla Styczynski/Rose Fleg

6. The Blacksmiths 62:15
Tunda Morakinyo
Sue Ellen Morakinyo
Sarah Pileggi
Bill Buinbera

7. Amazing “A’s” 62:55
Gregory Arbalaez
Chris Arbalaez
Bill Arbalaez
Anthony Fleg

8. Jr. Striders 65:59
Joey Esposito
Johnna Esposito
Dad Esposito
Jacob Esposito

9. Flying Apples 74:34
Jim Carbary
Rachel Carbary
David Heiliger
Eric Johnson

RRCA Club Challenge 10M

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1999 Club Challenge Overall Results

1999 Club Challenge Team Results (Summary)

1999 Club Challenge Team Results (Women)

1999 Club Challenge Team Results (Men)

1999 Club Challenge Team Results (Coed)

The Strider men’s racing team crushed the competition at the Annual RRCA 10-Mile Challenge race last Sunday and more than made up for a poor showing by a women’s team decimated by illnesses and absences. When the smoke cleared, the Strider combined team had compiled an overall total of 823 points, well ahead of the second-place Baltimore Road Runners who had 1073 points (low score wins).

Howard County’s Mark Gilmore seized the early lead in the race and never looked back. “I never had to look back,” he said, “because I could see my competition at the turn-arounds.” By four miles, Mark had a lead of 100 yards, and by six miles the race was his. He finished over a quarter mile ahead of the second place runner with a time of 53:39. Gilmore’s effort set the tone for the Strider Men’s Racing Team, which overwhelmed teams from Baltimore, Montgomery County, Annapolis, and DC. Striders Dave Berardi, Tony Basile, Jon Shuskinsky, and Faisal Hasan followed the lead of Gilmore and all broke into the top finishers (and all of them broke 58 minutes, too). The Strider men enjoyed a point total of 571, nearly 400 points better than the nearest men’s team (from Baltimore).

The story in the women’s team race was exactly the opposite, however, as illnesses and absences decimated the Strider Women’s Team. Baltimore’s Denise Knickman, an Olympic Marathon trials qualifier and Baltimore Road Runner Women’s Runner of the year for 1998, easily won the women’s overall race (1:02:55) and lead the her women’s team to the women’s team championship. Without Strider women such a Bea Marie Altieri and Vanessa Cox, she confessed that the race “was not as competitive as in years past.” The Strider women sank to fourth place behind teams from Montgomery County and DC as well as Baltimore. Pat Keating, the top Strider woman, ran with the flu and still managed to place eighth among the women (1:08:41).

The Strider Men so dominated the scoring, however, that the local Striders won the overall team challenge by a significant margin of over 200 points. The top 19 men and the top three women on each team scored, as Howard County won its third Challenge Race in as many years. The overall men’s and women’s winners and each team won an engraved pewter plate, but there were no other awards. “If you finished second, you lost,” explained race director Paul Goldenberg. After the Challenge awards were preents, RRCA Eastern Representative Jim Adams distributed awards to winners of the 1998 RRCA Championship Series.

As usual, the Annual RRCA Challenge 10 Miler took place on the hills of Clary’s Forest Neighborhood in Columbia, MD, and most runners had more trouble with the hills than the seasonably cold temperatures. The out-and-back course visited several steep uphills twice. “If you didn’t like the hills the first time, you got a second chance,” said one runner. The 30F temperatures did not seem to bother the runners as all. “It was only a two-gloves day,” said Jim Moreland, who also ran in shorts and a t-shirt.

A total of 341 of runners turned out for seven RRCA club teams on the cold, clear February morning, many of them registering at the last moment. For the first time in a decade, the DC Road Runners Club posted a full racing team in the Challenge. Organized by team captain Mark DeAngelis, the group indicated they had been “re-invigorated by team racing.” In addition, for the first time a “Goat Runners” team from the U.S. Naval Academy participated but did not score because of their non-affiliation with the RRCA. Had the goats been an official team, they would have done well because two of them placed among the top ten.

The Howard County Striders host the 10 Mile Challenge every year, using the Howard Community College as the start and finish. Striders coned much of the 10 mile course, and Howard County police imposed a strict traffic control to ensure runners’ safety.

by Jim Carbary

Penguin Pace 5K

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1999 Penguin Pace Overall Results

1999 Penguin Pace Awards

Last Sunday, nearly three hundred runners, including about 40 penguins, participated in the Third Annual Penguin Pace 5k in Columbia, MD. Wearing pink caps of the “Penguin Brigade”, the penguins are the faithful of John Bingham’s Penguin Chronicles articles in Runner’s World. [Their motto is: “The miracle is not that I finished but that I had the courage to start.”] Corresponding by email, the penguins assembled a large contingent, members of which came from as far away as Tennessee. Chief penguin John Bingham himself ran in the race with his son Terry, who outsprinted him at the finish. “I want to complement the race organizers- on the food,” he said. “When you’re as slow as me, there usually isn’t this much food left!” At least one penguin didn’t waddle through the race: Cathy Renkiewicz of Burke, VA, placed third among all women (second master) in 21:53. When local penguin and Howard County Strider Jeannette Lampron sent out email announcements of the race, penguins from all over the country responded by raising of $400 for the Florence Bain Senior Center, the race’s charity.

In the real race, former Centennial High School runner Jeff Olenick broke away from a lead pack of four runners near the mile mark at the bottom of the first hill. He went on to win the race easily in 16:11, a new course record. The steep hills of the penguin course didn’t seem to bother Olenick, who now runs for Goucher College. “None of the courses I run are flat!” he said. As a measure of Mr. Olenick’s pace, he beat second-place Tony Basile, who won the race the previous year, by 30 seconds.

Westmister Road Runner Jenny Caple won the women’s race in 20:51, and she also had little trouble with her competition, although she didn’t expect the hills. Training for the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon, Ms. Caple ran the Penguin Pace 5k because she wanted to do some speedwork. She returned to Westminster to run a longer race with the Road Runners in the afternoon.

Arleen Dinneen directed the race for the third time. Howard County Striders provided course volunteers, finish line management, and race results; and Howard County Executive Jim Robey was on hand to officially start the race at 8:00 am. Post race refreshments were catered by Elkridge Furnace Inn, which provided an elegant brunch including pastries, fresh fruit, mixed vegetables, coffee and orange juice; the food was liberally replenished as runners consumed it. Random prizes, selected by computer, were donated by Amore’s Deli, Brunswick Lanes, the Crab Shanty, Eyre Travel, the Columbia Hilton, Raimondi’s, Shear Magic, Toby’s Dinner Theatre, the Walters Art Gallery, and Runner’s World. Principal sponsors included Howard County General Hospital, Feet First of Wilde Lake, PowerBar, Target, and the Lazarus Foundation. The race benefitted the Florence Bain Senior Center, which also hosted the post-race brunch. Winners received handsome blue knit caps with “Penguin Pace 1999” in gold letters.

by James Carbary

Women’s Distance Festival 5K

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1998 Women’s Distance Festival Overall Results

1998 Women’s Distance Festival Awards

1998 Women’s Distance Festival Team Results

In its 19th year, the Annual Women’s Distance Festival 5k enjoyed new sponsorship as well as a new course. St. Agnes HealthCare System provided major funding for the Festival and also supported the Females in Training (FIT) program, which trained women for the event. The Howard County Striders, who staged the race, in turn donated race proceeds to the Howard County Sexual Trauma Treatment Advocacy and Recovery Center. Barbara Gorman of St. Agnes was on hand to help hand out awards, while Dr. Janice Shih provided race-time medical assistance.

The 5k race also served as the graduation ceremony for the FIT women. Under the tutelage of various Howard County Striders, the FITs began training in the early Spring for the 5k (as well as for the Avon 10k in June). Over 100 women graduated and received workout wristwatches courtesy of St. Agnes HealthCare. In a post-race ceremony, Miles Weigold read off each of the FIT names to the accolades of the assembled multitude.

The cool dry weather of Friday night encouraged no fewer than 195 women to register on race night. All together, a near-record 649 women signed up for the event and 580 finished. The field represented a vast cross section of running abilities and even included a large number of walkers. After the start, a line of women stretched over a mile in length.

Lancaster’s Connie Buckwalter outduelled local favorite Bea Marie Altieri to win the race by 10 seconds. Rockville’s Gretchen Triantos, the first master, finished third overall in 18:47.

In addition to the individual competitions, the WDF featured mother-daughter team competitions. A total of 59 teams attested to the fitness of two generations of women. The “Dashing Duo” team of Libby and Lissa George won the overall mother-daughter competition with a low-point score of 16.

Construction at the Columbia Mall required a revision of the course. The new course wound back and forth throught the Mall parking lot and then up and down a significant hill on a road outside the Mall. The Baltimore Bombers Vespa Scooter Club paced the lead runners alongthe new route. Race Director Kelly Barton, who won the race last year, rode on the back of one such scooter.

The race winner received merchanise from Moving Comfort, the national sponsor of all Women’s Distance Festival races, while Feet First donated gift certificates to the top overall finishers as well as age group winners. Post-race refreshments included Stoneyfield Yogurts, several bags of Einstein bagels, Power Bars and Harvest Bars, two Bun Penny vegetable platters, and Produce Galore fruit.

by Jim Carbary