News and Announcements
April 1: LaPlata Biathlon (1st place relay - Czarman and Uncle Vern) 1:29.01
No April fooling today! Uncle Vern and Czarman teamed together to win the relay division at the LaPlata Biathlon April 1 in LaPlata, Md.
Overall, we placed 27 out 142 participants. Vern snapped off two excellent 3-mile runs while Czarman man averaged 19.7 MPH over a somewhat hilly 16-mile bike trek, despite getting a flat tire with 1.5 miles remaining. No fooling: I rimmed it out until the exchange zone. :)
First, I'll apologize to all those folks (three maybe) who haven't seen a special sauce update in a while. Actually, until this past weekend, the Special Saucers hadn't competed in many races, but of course, the summer season is getting hot so it's time to start hitting the roads.
Well, two years ago, I vowed never to do the Rehoboth Biathlon again, but there I was sucking in the salt water Sunday afternoon. Actually, Ol' Bloom never stopped paddling for a half-mile and completed the 5K in 100th place overall (out of 121). Plus, I was about three minutes faster, coming in at about 45 minutes flat.
Superstar Jessi Rivera said she had a rough swim start, but still blew by Bloom at the half-way mark in the 5K to finish 95th overall, and Dan, Dan the Running Man Pennington also caught up with Bloom in the 5K to finish 93rd. Still, none of us could catch fellow MHS teacher and coach Jan Kelley who placed 87th, about two minutes ahead of Bloom. Congrats!
Uncle Vern, who's been nursing a sore hammy, squirted water, which probably helped Marty Thomas (the Barrs' uncle) catch Bloom at the end. Of course, none of us could keep up with the younger folks of the family: Congrats to solo stud Stuart Barr and the rest of the gang, Clare, Emma and Kate who teamed with some Lake Forest standouts included the Wilson sisters and Brad Lands. Lake alum Dan Matta also did a fine job.
Feb. 10 - Cupid Chase 5K 20:00(3rd in age group)
Feb. 24 - Icicle 5K 19:13 (1st in age group, 2nd overall)
April 8 - Clean Air 5K 18:58 (1st age group, 4th overall)
April 21 - ARC 5K 19:33 (1st in age group, 2nd overall)
May 27 - Run for Danielle 5K 19:37 (2nd in age group, 21st overall)
June 10 - Dover Downs 5K 19:36 (3rd in age group, 9th overall)
July 4 - Laurel Independence Day 5K 19:44 (1st in age group, 9th overall)
July 7 - Freedom 5K 18:55 (1st in age group, 6th overall)
July 15 - Father's Day 5K 19:04 (1st in age group, 10th overall)
July 21 - Buffalo Stampede 5K 19:10 (2nd in age group, 21st overall)
July 29 - Men's Seashore Strider 5K 18:40 (1st in age group, 13th overall)
Aug. 5 - YMCA 5-miler 31:04 (Masters Champion, 9th overall)
Aug. 11 - Dam Mill 5K 18:35 (2nd in age group, 9th overall)
sept. 1 - Labor Day Classic 5K 18:44 (1st in age group, 9th overall)
Sept. 3 - Prediction 5K 21:10 (18th overall)
FALL SEASON
Oct. 20 - Friends of Killens Pond 5K 20:09 (6th overall, 2nd in age group)
Nov. 17 - Kent County Parks & Rec 5K 19:47 (8th overall, 1st in age group)
Nov. 24 - Reindeer Stampede 20:02 (13th overall, 1st in age group)
Nearly a decade removed from competitive running, Ol' Bloom came out of retirement last season and put together a very satisfying comeback. In all, I completed 13 5Ks, a grueling 5-miler (that's still my longest competitive run), and also teamed with my Uncle Vern to win the Barnyard Biathlon.
Overall, I finished fourth in my age group (I'm 26 and will be 27 by the end of spring track for those wondering) in the Seashore Striders Series and scored a season-best time of 21:20 by the end of the summer in the Labor Day Classic. Though I couldn't hang with some of those wily cross country coaches like Ray Rodriguez of St. Thomas More, I held my own and sparked my goals for 2001.
So here it is: the new season is upon us, and I'm officially started after completing the Cupid Chase 5K on Feb. 10. I've expanded Special Sauce this season to include my wife Shelly (who finished her first-ever 5K on Feb. 10), my Uncle Vernon Redding (who will move up to the masters over-40 group this year after placing third in his Strider age group in '00), my cousin Lauren Redding (who also finished her first 5K Feb. 10), and my good running friend Dan Pennington (2000 Most Improved Runner in the Strider Series).
Remember: if you want to make Special Sauce, I guess I'll have to see you out there running! :) Click on the above picture to see last year's Special Sauce reports! :)
Check out the race results below:
June 3: CAPE MAY BIATHLON (1st place relay - Czarman and Uncle Vern) 1:19.22
Uncle Vern and Ol' Bloom kept up their biathlon winning streak, teamming together for their third-straight relay win this time at the Cape May Biathlon June 3 in New Jersey.
Placing in the top 20 overall, the duo teamed together to run the 2.7 mile run-15 mile bike- 2.7 mile run course in 1 hour, 19 minutes and 22 seconds.
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