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Summer, Fall '06
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Jim strokes his beard to a third place finish
in the Detroit Marathon, 2:19:51.
As the CRC hero toed the line in Detroit, he stroked his
marathon beard in curiosity as to what place he may finish
today. "I think I'll finish first," Jim said to himself. Two
miles into the race he again stroked his beard. "Maybe I won't
finish first today," he said to himself. "But I will try". Try
he did, but he fell less than 2 minutes short of his original
goal. 25mph winds ensured that nobody would be setting PR's, but
the race was on. Jim split the half on 2:15 pace, and ended in
2:19:51. Now, sitting in CRC Pickerington, he strokes his beard
once more. "Maybe I'll run Philly in 3 weeks," he says. Could
he? Should he? Will he? Stay tuned for more....
Update: He didn't.
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| Ordway clocks a 2:17:13 in a loaded Chicago
Marathon race, Hamner falls a few miles short of the Olympic
Trails standard. |
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CRC was lucky to have a good chuck of it's crew up to support
the guys in their run. Unfortunately Nate Ritz got a nasty flu
bug and had to miss the race he's been gearing up for, but
Hamner and Ordway provided plenty of entertainment. Ordway fit
snugly in a nice pack on the cold, windy day, before dropping
back a bit to fend off some fatigue and a calf cramp.
Fortunately he finished strong and caught those who gambled
early and couldn't hold on to the pace. Josh was the 12th
American and finished 24th overall in one of the strongest
marathon fields in the world. |
Meanwhile, Eric Hamner was shooting to break 2:22, which is the
standard to qualify individuals for the U.S. Olympic Trails held
in the fall of '07. Numerous other Americans were looking for
that time in Chicago, and Hamner took turns leading a pack of
men through the streets on pace. Unfortunately, the often
unpredictable marathon took it's toll on Eric, who fell off the
pace with 4 miles to go and was reduced to a walk, finishing in
2:32. It was the fittest we've seen Hamner, and we're sure he'll
have a shot again soon. Hamner went to extra-ordinary measures
to please the CRC gods, landing himself front and center in one
of the official press photos, which has since been passed
through multiple media outlets such as Running Times, and now
the CRC store team website. Just like we teach them.... |
Aaron Rowe, who is a major part of nearly all
things good and righteous, plowed though the Peace Race.
He headed up for Youngstown for another fast race,
finishing 4th overall and as the first American. The damage done
to the 10k course was 30:46. We got the official race report
from the FILA truck in town from Baltimore. "After the race he
was walking around with a pretty girl, too," said Jeff the FILA
truck driver. Good things are starting to happen for Rowe.
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We thought Ordway was done racing until the
Chicago Marathon. We thought wrong!
Josh currently goes to med-school in Dayton. So why not
run the Dayton River Corridor Classic Half Marathon? Makes sense
to us. Dollars and cents, that is. Med-School students need
cash. Josh trains hard all the time so he can be fast. So why
not race for some cash? That he did, easily winning the race in
1:07:11. However we think half the stash goes towards chasing
women. All kinds of women. Ladies, if you'd like an interview
with a fast man who just won some cash, please call the store
for a screening interview. No crazies please! |
Ordway and Jim roll in their final tune up
before their fall marathons. It's evident they are ready to
go...
Nothing makes Jim run faster than a half gallon of beer.
Nothing makes Josh run faster than Jim on his heels. The two
challenged a strong field including record breaking Fernando
Cabada. Cabada lived up to his nickname Cabadass and won in
28:58. Josh and Jim finished 5th and 6th behind a couple
Hanson's athletes in an impressive 30:15 and 30:28. Josh is
shooting for a strong showing with Ritz and Hamner in Chicago,
while Jim hopes to capture the title at the Detroit Marathon. |
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Ritz and Ordway duel to a 1-2 finish at the
Red Tail Run.
Ritz came out to shake out the legs, and Ordway came out
to win the weekend getaway first place prize. With Oktoberfest
the day after, his plan was to run easy. We paid Ritz a little
to give him a run for his money, and as always, Ritz doesn't
disappoint. The two went 1-2 on the hilly course in 15:33 and
15:47, respectively. |
Josh spanks Jim not once, but twice, at the
A&F Challenge. No Mercy!
The A&F Challenge gets some decent competition for
Central Ohio standards, in part due to the 'secret' 1st place
prize package, but mostly cause of the free beer, BBQ, and
national act band. Ordway took the title again with a 14:56, but
Jim turned heads with his strongest 5k performance in a CRC
jersey to date, 15:09. Part of the secret prize is a giant, frat
like paddle. It didn't take too many beers before Josh started
beating people with it. |
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Ritz runs to Indiana and back at the State to
State Half Marathon.
Despite having the sniffles Nate let things roll at the
half marathon in Oxford, finishing a strong 4th in 73:30. Rumor
has it at the finish he talked to a long haired trail layer from
the west coast who once was a clean cut CRC lad. If only we
could have all been there. The next biggie for Ritz is Chicago. |
Rowe returns to RI for another stab at the
USA 5k Championships.
Despite suffering from some recent small injuries, Rowe
bucked up and made the trip to RI for the national 5k
championship. He managed to best all finishers from Ohio, and
with a 15:08 finish 34th overall. Kudos to Rowe for taking some
long trips to race some of the best in the country. Hopefully he
stays injury free and puts in some more solid traces this
summer! |
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Ordway PR's big at Westlake 5 Mile.
Big as in 37 seconds. "By nature, men are nearly alike; by
practice, they get to be wide apart."
- Confucious |
Team CRC puts on first ever high school meet,
the Dublin Distance Classic.
Ritz, Rowe, Sawicki, Komocki, and Fruth headed over to Dublin
Coffman High School for the first annual Dublin Distance
Classic, designed as an ice breaker for the upcoming cross
season. All three Dublin high schools participated, and an open
race free to the public saw Nate and Mike lace the spikes up for
a spin. After the meet, the teams gathered and a few of the CRC
member ran a few clinics. It was great to see everyone out and
we were thrilled to be involved. |
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Ordway drives to Indiana twice and finishes a
close 3rd in the Broad Ripple Village 10k.
Broad Ripple is home to a thriving bar scene and a few
tree huggers, as well as a 10k that takes place on Sunday, not
Saturday. Indy race timers
KLA puts on some good races, and this
one didn't disappoint. Josh ran strong and just missed second
place, while first place Ernest Kimeli wasn't going to be tested
on this Sunday, not Saturday. Kudos to Josh and his
determination to represent on Sunday, not Saturday.
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Hamner returns to form with a pretty looking
5k in Baltimore, Ohio.
Eric Hamner, who every week finds himself further immersed in
B.F.E. Ohio, participated in the Baltimore 5k, which draws
nearly 400 runners in the 5k alone. The course is fast like
grease on skinned rabbit, and Hamner is not one to nibble at a
buffet. He finished in 15:15, which might land him a notch on
the CRC top 5 list. During the school year Hamner will be at
Heidelberg, serving as Assistant Coach and getting some leaning
done. |
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Mike Sawicki, who loves running, makes his
debut in a CRC jersey, taking second at the Gary Smith Classic.
In the first of what we hope is a long string of races
with the CRC, Mike ran strong to finish second overall with a
26:32 over the 5 mile course. Fellow Ohioan Eric Putman won the
race. Afterwards, a journalist from the SNP asked Mike what
inspires him to run races like Gary Smith. "I love running,"
said Mike, "it's the essence of my inner being." |
RRCA National Champ Again! Ordway takes the
title at the Debbie Green Memorial 5k in West Virginia.
Josh is now the current RRCA 5k and Half-Marathon
champion. The article, including picture, from the 5k is
located
here. His time of 14:33.9 marks a new 5k PR, despite the
hills the runners had to face. 2nd and 3rd was Matt Folk and
Kyle Baker. It also marks the first time he has won a race since
the girl he met at DeLeon's wedding starting referring to him as
"my boyfriend"; which could stymie any man's performance. Way to
go, Ordway! |
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Nate Ritz pulls away from the field in the
New Albany 10 Mile Classic.
He continues his solid running this season with the 54:38
effort. This spring and summer he's bettered his times from a
year ago, and added the Ritz name to the CRC record board in a
few places. He's starting a new teaching job this fall, and not
long after getting married to the Amazing Andrea. "I've got to
be gettin' the runnin' when the gettin's good," he explains.
Yup. |
Josh and Jim go 1-2, Stacey and Amy finish
2-3 for the CRC at the Run 4 Kids.
This great first year event featured a course that
actually ran through the lumber aisle at Home Depot. Proof is in
the picture to your right. It's nice blast of AC on a humid day.
Ordway crossed the line in 15:04, and Stacey in 18:09. All won a
little cash for their efforts, but Josh says it's not about the
money. |
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CRC jerseys all up front in the ever famous
Mile Dash Anniversary Bash.
Mile dash bash- Bradley got whiplash from watching the
CRC squad go by. Ordway sped home in a spicy 4:17. His lady
friend was there and he had to impress, rumor has it she now
refers to him as her boyfriend! Oh my. Employee Ben Engelhardt
dawned a jersey to finish second, his time in that is limited as
next year he'll be at ASU. James Jurcevich II, after 356 days of
whining, finally finished in the top 3 to earn a CRC plate,
given to the top three each year. Former CRC manager made an
appearance to finish 4th. |
Hamner serves up a dish of Hambone.
He started easy, held strong in the middle, and finished
hamerific to outlast B-Master, who happens to be a DPU alumni.
Hambone and B-Master used to run together in high school,
further proving the theory that you are connected to anyone in
the world by 7 people. Or something like that. Afterwards they
ate a ham sandwich together.
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CRC's Bess hauls a small squad to Hyde Park
to make big.
We loaded up the couches, coolers, grill and flats and
headed down to the mighty Hyde Park Blast. Despite being kept up
late by Sol watching T.V. all night, Ordway fought the hilly
course to the end to finish 2nd overall and got rich. Nicole
Gleam, making a guest appearance in a CRC jersey, finished
fourth overall and earned some aquarium money for being 3rd at
the 3 mile mark. Ritz finished much stronger than previous years
in a nice 20:30. Not to far back from our mid-size hero, |
| Hamner stopped to stretch on a big hill and both him and
Matt hobbled home humbled in the 21:20's. Meanwhile, Sol's quest
to not get beat by the opposing gender fell just short, but
luckily he was registered under Kinsey's name and it was all
smiles when it was time to bust out the BBQ. Most importantly,
we made some friends with the Earth Drummers, who promised to
race us from time to time. This website is proof. No turning
back now.
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Rowe takes USATF Ohio 10k Championship again;
Ritz finishes with an impressive 3rd.
The win paved his way to the national 10k championship
this fall, where he finished 20th the previous year and had his
first run in with Pooh. He added icing on the cake when his
picture appeared in the Dispatch the next day, which always
pleases the head office. Ritz, just weeks off his marathon,
laced up the flats to assess his fitness level. He picked up
right where he left off and is ready to begin the training for
Chicago this fall, where both he and DeLeon look to crack the
2:30 barrier. If they are successful, it will be the first time
in the history of the entire universe that either of them have
done so. |
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