Pre Race Info
Location: JMU
Date: 9/24/16
Departure Time: 5:50 AM
Women 6000m: 9:15 AM
Men 8000m: 10:00 AM
Awards: Top 7 individuals, top 2 teams
Goal: Hold the pace you ran in the time trial for the whole race. Place in the top half of schools as a team.
More info can be found here!
Date: 9/24/16
Departure Time: 5:50 AM
Women 6000m: 9:15 AM
Men 8000m: 10:00 AM
Awards: Top 7 individuals, top 2 teams
Goal: Hold the pace you ran in the time trial for the whole race. Place in the top half of schools as a team.
More info can be found here!
Meet Preview
This Saturday, the UMBC Running Club will be opening up their 2016 cross country season at the JMU Invitational.
In the women’s race, Junior Emily Merritt (Jr.) debuts in the 6k and will lead the team with her first race for the club in almost a year. Last year at the UMBC Dawg Chase, she covered the 5k distance in an official PR time of 23:56, and looks to take that down and more this weekend!
In the men’s race, top returning runner Matt Glessner (Sr.) looks to lead the team to a podium finish. Returning runners Brandon Folio (Jr.) and Tom Kersting (Sr.) claim to be in top-notch shape and will be looking to be top scorers. However, there are never any guarantees, stud recruits, Dawit Tegegn and Kevin Wegner will be fighting to make their names known as forces to be reckoned with. Tegegn placed 2nd in the pre-season time trial only behind Folio, and Wegner has the fastest 5k PR of the bunch. Rounding out the rest of the team, Thomas Ryba (Sr.) makes his return to racing after a year of uncountable injuries. Drew Bowling (Jr.) steps back up to the 8k distance once again in an attempt to improve his mental toughness for the 800m. Tanny Ser (Jr.) and Jason Schuler (So.) are looking to work their way through the ranks with some fast times, and new members, Nirmal Nandi, Justin Drew, Garrett Wong, Alex Hulbert and Sam Clemens will all be debuting at the 8k distance.
The course is fast with some rolling hills. Early weather forecasts predict low 70’s with light wind at race time. Expect some solid times across the board. Friends and family are encouraged to attend. Finally, make sure to stay tuned for updates, photos, and results after the meet. Let's Go Dawgs!
In the women’s race, Junior Emily Merritt (Jr.) debuts in the 6k and will lead the team with her first race for the club in almost a year. Last year at the UMBC Dawg Chase, she covered the 5k distance in an official PR time of 23:56, and looks to take that down and more this weekend!
In the men’s race, top returning runner Matt Glessner (Sr.) looks to lead the team to a podium finish. Returning runners Brandon Folio (Jr.) and Tom Kersting (Sr.) claim to be in top-notch shape and will be looking to be top scorers. However, there are never any guarantees, stud recruits, Dawit Tegegn and Kevin Wegner will be fighting to make their names known as forces to be reckoned with. Tegegn placed 2nd in the pre-season time trial only behind Folio, and Wegner has the fastest 5k PR of the bunch. Rounding out the rest of the team, Thomas Ryba (Sr.) makes his return to racing after a year of uncountable injuries. Drew Bowling (Jr.) steps back up to the 8k distance once again in an attempt to improve his mental toughness for the 800m. Tanny Ser (Jr.) and Jason Schuler (So.) are looking to work their way through the ranks with some fast times, and new members, Nirmal Nandi, Justin Drew, Garrett Wong, Alex Hulbert and Sam Clemens will all be debuting at the 8k distance.
The course is fast with some rolling hills. Early weather forecasts predict low 70’s with light wind at race time. Expect some solid times across the board. Friends and family are encouraged to attend. Finally, make sure to stay tuned for updates, photos, and results after the meet. Let's Go Dawgs!
The Race
Meet Recap
The UMBC Running Club opened their season Saturday, on a hot, sunny morning at James Madison University. A range of athletes from experienced veterans to first time racers hit the roads before sunrise to put their summer training to the test.
After getting a 10 minute head start, Matt’s car was in the lead, with Drew and Brandon 10 minutes behind. Realizing he wasn’t fast enough, Brandon tricked Matt into taking a detour route around an “accident.” All that was left was Drew who sacrificed his own race in order to get some gas. Brandon won easily.
With 30 minutes until the women’s race, the runners were eager to learn the course. Luckily a course map was found in its natural habitat under the JMU canopy and was quickly captured for further analysis. Despite their best efforts, none of the runners were able to decipher the immense complexity of the map. Winging it was the only option.
The restrooms provided an even greater challenge. Both the men and women faced insurmountable lines with only minutes until the start of the meet. For the women, a choice had to be made. The men had an extra 45 minutes to revise their strategy.
Before long, the women’s race was underway. Junior Emily Merritt led the women, taking it out conservatively in her debut at 6k. At the mile, she appeared fresh and ready to pick off the girls who took it out too fast. With 400 meters left, the hill left most defeated, but Emily powered through and placed 79th in a record time of 33:10. As if she hadn’t worked hard enough, she was relegated to filming duties after a short recovery. What a boss.
Meanwhile back in the bathrooms, the men were under serious pressure with lines failing to subdue. With the women’s race occurring simultaneously, the women’s room was empty, and the temptation to use it was overwhelming. It is still unclear whether anyone actually did it.
In the men’s race, a pack of 5 consisting of Matt Glessner, Dawit Tegegn, Kevin Wegner, Brandon Folio, and Tom Kersting, took the pace out relaxed at 5:40 pace. Before long, the pack disintegrated and Kevin found himself in 3rd place battling the leaders. At 1.5 miles, Tegegn was the first fall victim to the harsh conditions and chose to save his body unlike the other crazy runners. At 6k, everyone began to struggle. The pace had slowed drastically and it quickly became a case of who would die the least. Glessner was the one to hold that title (as well as his 4-0 win streak) to place 18th in 29:47 after gradually working his way through the field. Folio ran similarly, only to be passed by Glessner, and placed 20th (30:16). Wegner and Kersting held on valiantly and placed 29th (30:52) and 38th (31:37) respectively. After running 6k, first time racer Nirmal Nandi was poorly directed by the race marshals to the finish. Fortunately, he turned out to be the final scorer and secured the team 4th place with 160 points!
Pushing through his demolished knee, Thomas Ryba broke away to a solid 70th place finish (33:42). A minute back, Sam Clemens solidified his debut with an 87th place finish (35:11). Speed guys Drew Bowling and Alex Hulbert finished well in 98th (37:03) and 103rd (37:48) after contemplating mid-race why they ever chose to run cross country. Close behind, Jason Schuler, Tanny Ser, and Justin Drew rounded out the final spots in 105th (38:11), 116th (40:43), and 119th (41:48) respectively.
This weeks “kick of the day” belongs to Tanny Ser who closed a tremendous gap in the home stretch of the race to out sprint an opposing JMU runner. The runner-up goes to Justin Drew who flew down the home stretch for an impressive finish in his first career 8k.
The club celebrated their performance with a delicious lunch at Cookout before embarking on their journey home.
The Retrievers will be back in action next Saturday at the Princeton Invitational looking for redemption…
After getting a 10 minute head start, Matt’s car was in the lead, with Drew and Brandon 10 minutes behind. Realizing he wasn’t fast enough, Brandon tricked Matt into taking a detour route around an “accident.” All that was left was Drew who sacrificed his own race in order to get some gas. Brandon won easily.
With 30 minutes until the women’s race, the runners were eager to learn the course. Luckily a course map was found in its natural habitat under the JMU canopy and was quickly captured for further analysis. Despite their best efforts, none of the runners were able to decipher the immense complexity of the map. Winging it was the only option.
The restrooms provided an even greater challenge. Both the men and women faced insurmountable lines with only minutes until the start of the meet. For the women, a choice had to be made. The men had an extra 45 minutes to revise their strategy.
Before long, the women’s race was underway. Junior Emily Merritt led the women, taking it out conservatively in her debut at 6k. At the mile, she appeared fresh and ready to pick off the girls who took it out too fast. With 400 meters left, the hill left most defeated, but Emily powered through and placed 79th in a record time of 33:10. As if she hadn’t worked hard enough, she was relegated to filming duties after a short recovery. What a boss.
Meanwhile back in the bathrooms, the men were under serious pressure with lines failing to subdue. With the women’s race occurring simultaneously, the women’s room was empty, and the temptation to use it was overwhelming. It is still unclear whether anyone actually did it.
In the men’s race, a pack of 5 consisting of Matt Glessner, Dawit Tegegn, Kevin Wegner, Brandon Folio, and Tom Kersting, took the pace out relaxed at 5:40 pace. Before long, the pack disintegrated and Kevin found himself in 3rd place battling the leaders. At 1.5 miles, Tegegn was the first fall victim to the harsh conditions and chose to save his body unlike the other crazy runners. At 6k, everyone began to struggle. The pace had slowed drastically and it quickly became a case of who would die the least. Glessner was the one to hold that title (as well as his 4-0 win streak) to place 18th in 29:47 after gradually working his way through the field. Folio ran similarly, only to be passed by Glessner, and placed 20th (30:16). Wegner and Kersting held on valiantly and placed 29th (30:52) and 38th (31:37) respectively. After running 6k, first time racer Nirmal Nandi was poorly directed by the race marshals to the finish. Fortunately, he turned out to be the final scorer and secured the team 4th place with 160 points!
Pushing through his demolished knee, Thomas Ryba broke away to a solid 70th place finish (33:42). A minute back, Sam Clemens solidified his debut with an 87th place finish (35:11). Speed guys Drew Bowling and Alex Hulbert finished well in 98th (37:03) and 103rd (37:48) after contemplating mid-race why they ever chose to run cross country. Close behind, Jason Schuler, Tanny Ser, and Justin Drew rounded out the final spots in 105th (38:11), 116th (40:43), and 119th (41:48) respectively.
This weeks “kick of the day” belongs to Tanny Ser who closed a tremendous gap in the home stretch of the race to out sprint an opposing JMU runner. The runner-up goes to Justin Drew who flew down the home stretch for an impressive finish in his first career 8k.
The club celebrated their performance with a delicious lunch at Cookout before embarking on their journey home.
The Retrievers will be back in action next Saturday at the Princeton Invitational looking for redemption…