Kudos to the High Noon and FLRC cross country teams who once again braved unseasonably hot temperatures while racing on our “home” 6K course at Watkins Glen State Park. We “warmed” up (read “overheated”) in bright sun and near-80-degree temperatures, but as the 11 AM start approached, dark clouds moved over. We were psyched to run in dimmer conditions, but at the last minute, literally, the park officials delayed the race to make many of us move our parked cars to avoid blocking the mobile villages that pass for RVs these days. By the time we were reassembled on the starting line 30 minutes later (which would have been enough time to finish for many), the clouds had passed, and we raced in tropical conditions. Times and mile splits were slow, due to the heat and steep hills that dotted the course, but it was still a good set of finishes. (Full results.) This was the third race in the five race series.
The High Noon Masters Men took the team award of a case of beer—we’ll ignore the fact that no other team managed to field more than two masters runners. You can’t win if you don’t play! And now we have two cases of beer cooling their heels for the post-season party.
Individually, four men took home Trader Joe’s candy. Adam Engst won the Masters category (for the first time ever in the series, with six weeks before he turns 50—woo!), Alan Lockett won the SuperVet category, and Alex Colvin and Joe Reynolds were each third in the Vet and UltraVet categories.
It was great to see the Open Men’s team filling out, with Mik Kern in his first XC race since last year, ultramarathoner Rich Heffron making his XC debut, and Ximing Yin in his first XC race after doubling after running the 20K at Danby Down & Dirty the day before. Josh Brockner, Brendan O’Brien, Charlie Fay, Kris Haines-Sharp, and Gail Tremblay also ran their first races of the season—welcome all!
On the women’s side, Kris Haines-Sharp led the FLRC Vets, while Julie Barclay led the Masters team. The FLRC took second place (only two teams were registered!) The FLRC ladies did not have any runners in the open division.
We have a few weeks off before the fourth race at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester on Sunday, October 29th. That will be a split race, with separate Open Men, Masters Men, and Women’s races so we’ll be able to cheer for our teammates.
Special thanks to Scott and Amy Dawson for hosting the race after-party!
Photo: Ximing Yin