Big Results at MCM for the Dojo

Well, let's start with the big one and dive right in.  Chris Pruitt finished EIGHTH OVERALL at MCM this morning, running a mind-blowing 2:29, averaging 5:42 miles.

Perhaps most impressive was the way he did it. He lurked outside of the top ten until the 40k mark, and over the last 2k, reeled in two more runners. His first K's were his slowest, as he got his bearings, and then he poured it on over the final miles.

Chris finished as the fourth fastest local finisher behind Patrick Fernandez, Michael Wardian, and Richard Morris. Also finished second in his age group, behind overall winner Girma Bedada.

Bigger than any of that, though, Chris now tops me atop the Dojo all-time performance list. Grrr! I happily welcomed him into Club Sub-2:35, but then he kept on walking past me and got into the sub-2:30 VIP lounge.

Congrats to Chris! I'm sure he'd like to respond, but I think he is off at an awards ceremony or being interviewed on the local news right about now.

***

So I paced Alan this morning (joining me on Team Pembie at various points was Brian, Janet, and Chris Hamley). Around the 6 mile point, Alan already say that this was going to be a rough day. At the halfway point, we went through in about 1:31, and we went through some serious rough patches. Most would have gone in the tank. But Alan just kept grinding on, churning out mile after mile in the 6:50s. Incredible that despite the early struggles, Alan ran nearly even splits at finished in 3:03, DOMINATING the 60-64 age group by 12 minutes over the next competitor, finishing 291st overall! Rack up yet another age group win at a prestigious race for Alan.

***

On top of this, Ryan Johnson had a spectacular marathon debut (if not debut, than 2nd marathon?). I saw him at Mile 20, when he flew by looking like he had just finished his warmup. He ended up finishing in 2:47, 80th overall! Fantastic race, and a sign of big things to come from Ryan.

***

Newcomer Frank Fung ran great today, also saw him at Mile 20 when he was really cranking. Frank ran a 3:00:28, tantalizingly close to the 3 hr mark, and fast enough to be way way up in the field at 229th overall! Great job Frank!.

***

Gareth Coville took a step down in distance today, deciding that he'd take it easy after taking on the ultra and ironman scene. GC ran an impressive 3:09:35, running some of his fastest miles between the 30-40K mark and doing the Dojo singlet proud. Gareth finished way up in the standings, at 444th overall.

***

Great job today, and one of the best single days in our brief club history. We had some great support out there, with Jen, Brian, Janet, Nick, Henry, Megan, and Miriam (Alan's wife and honorary member) all coming out to lend a hand.

Dan