USATF National
Masters 8K Championships
February 23, 2014
(Story by Marty
Friedman; Stats Support by Ed Avol)
Maybe they were escaping the Arctic vortexes, or maybe the
words “national championships” attracts like moths to light, but there were
some strong runners from all over the country at the Brea Masters 8K. Of course
Club Ed runners were attracted, even without Coach Ed’s promise of “under the
table” appearance money. Did you get yours?
A large group of runners congregated at MCHS in the early
morning cold and fog for the caravan to Brea. There was a lot of shivering
during the redundant check-in process, but the sun broke out shortly before the
race started, for perfect running weather.
The course was tough, with sustained uphill sections for the
entire 3rd Mile, after “rollers” in Miles 1 and 2. After one last
climb, Mile 4 was entirely downhill, and the last “mile” was a gentle roller.
Our top team finish was 3rd place for the Men’s
50-59 team, represented by Jake “Cyclone” Courtney, Rich “Gusting” Gust, Kevin
“Fury” Farrington, and Chuck “Kamikaze” Kaminski. We had a second Men’s 50-59
team that took 6th place. This team was comprised of Will “Leopard”
Longyear, Kevin “Swift” Sullivan and Jim “Tornado” Torii.
Our Women’s 40-49 team achieved 4th place, led by
Nathalie “Hurricane” Higley, Tami “Supersonic” Shalvarjian and Karina
“Ballistic” Bird. Taking a 5th place was the Women’s 50-59, with
contributions from Debbie “Rampaging” Richardson, Julia “Frenzied” Fretschl and
Marian “Dynamo” Drahnak.
We had some masters “orphans” (guys and gals without a
minimum 3 team members) also. Marty “Flying” Friedman (35:54), Art “Cooking”
Cookson (36:37), Sharon “Smoking” Lotesto (39:08), and Monyean “Air Flow” Acuna
(47:57) ran their senior hearts out as individuals. “Flying” said the course
turbulence led to his late arrival at the gate (Finish).
Individual achievements were made by “Rampaging” Richardson
with a 50-54 AG 2nd place and “Air Flow” Acuna, 3rd in
her AG (unlisted out of respect). Just missing medals were “Hurricane” Higley
and “Supersonic” Shalvarjian, both in 4th place. The women’s field
was packed by an Olympic marathoner and a former high school phenom. The
fastest Master Male was Greg Mitchell (40yrs old) from McMinnville OR, in
25:07; first Woman was Magdalena Lewy Boulet (40yrs old) from Oakland CA, in
28:16. Oldest finisher was 81yr old Al Ray from Diamond Bar CA, who traversed
the course in an impressive 1:00:59.
Cheering on the club were our recovering running addicts: Ed
“Air Mail” Avol, Dave “Galloping” Grethen and Mark “Swift” Shalvarjian. Non
runner supporters included “Smoking” Lotesto’s soulmate Dale and “Dynamo”
Drahnak’s significant other.
Youth was served also. In the “kid’s race”(the Classic Brea
Open 8K), we had another outstanding battle between Aaron “Meteor” Munger
(27:33) and Humberto “Superman” Sanchez (27:58), with the former taking 2nd
in his AG and the latter taking 4th. “Superman” said he will take down
“Meteor” as soon as he gets his taste of baby-induced sleep deprivation. Mike
“Comet” Cortez (29:24) was 6th in his always tough AG, followed by
Andy “Yeoman” Yurko (31:02) in 8th place. James “Miler” Miles
(28:34) was our youngest competitor, taking 4th in the 25-29 AG.
Irene Mapua represented our “younger” women racers with a yeoman 42:11.
Editor’s note: Nicknames can be changed, for a small
banking/baggage fee or chocolate bribes
PS – Our fastest finisher (young guy Aaron Munger at 27:33)
would have placed 21st in the Masters’ race!!!
Masters’ Championship 8K Results: https://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2014/USA-Masters-8-km-Championships/Results.aspx
(“Kid’s” Race, the Regular Brea 8K Classic): https://results.active.com/events/23rd-annual-brea-8k-classic-presented-by-brea-mall
Club Ed summary:
Team finishes:
W40-49 4th Team (Nathalie 30:47,Tami 31:43,Karina
36:47)
W50-59 5th Team (Debbie 31:32, Julia 40:16,
Marian 42:55)
M50-59A 3rd Team (Rich 29:42, Jake 29:48, Bill
30:10, Chuck 31:26)
M50-59B 6th Team (Will 30:28, Kevin F 30:35,
Kevin S 31:39, Jim 34:47)
Individual Awards:
Silver Medalist (2nd AG, 50-59) -- Debbie
Richardson
Bronze Medalist (3rd AG 65-69)-- Monyean Acuna