Winter '05, Spring '06
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DeLeon starts strong but whimpers home to yet another
2:34 marathon, this time in oh so pretty Vermont. Fortunately the heat and hills got to other competitors and the most handsome CRC Mizuno team member managed to pull in 4th place overall and some money for his new wife. Running alone in 3rd until mile 23, the wheels came off a little to early. The race marked the first time he didn't compete in his lucky domino's hat, which proved costly as his head got sun burnt. Rachael, his wife, wore the DeLeon name proud and qualified for her first Boston marathon. |
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Nate Ritz PR's by over five minutes in route
to a 5th place finish at the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. A determined Ritz shocked the world by wearing sunglasses instead of his usual hat, despite the fact that the race started before sunrise. The hat wasn't the only thing to come off this day, as Ritz peeled five minutes off his best to finish in a 2:35.05. Our CRC photographer at the event knew something was down when he saw the grit of determination on our CRC hero's face in the final mile, and the negative split second half proves Ritz meant business and that there's more to come... |
| Ordway finally lowers his 10k PR with a close
2nd at the Gina Relays in Hillsdale. Determined to slice into his 10k personal best, the Great Ord, (GORD) took a solo trip to Michigan to try his luck on the blue oval at Hillsdale. Leading with 50 meters to go and the PR in the bag, GORD began blowing kisses and waving to the pretty ladies in the stands. Just then some dude with a mind bending kick blew down the stretch and passed GORD. GORD stopped waving and blowing kisses, but finished a strong second in 29:53.55. GORD. Results here. |
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Stacey Ritz completes her first
marathon of many in 3:04:09 at the Official Kentucky Derby
Festival. |
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CRC Store Team takes ORRRC Half by surprise,
taking a win and two seconds! Macho Male Ritz took a chunk off his half PR and boosted his confidence going into the Flying Pig in a few weeks, running 69 and missing the win by mere seconds. Meanwhile, Fabulous Female Ritz and Amazing Amy decided it would be fun to shake the legs out in another half marathon. Business as usual, as the two ladies easily finished 1-2. |
| Aaron Rowe wins his hometown's Here's Looking
At You, Kid, 5k. In only his third week back since some winter injuries, Rowelicious runs 14:57 and wins. Yeah, well, what else is new? Well done, Rowe. |
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Stacey and Amy head to Tennessee to take on
the half marathon; Stacey wins big bucks and buys Amy some
clothes. The CRC damsels took to the roads at the Knoxville Half Marathon, with Stacey racing her way to a second place finish overall in her half-marathon debut. Amy crossed the line in eighth, and left this reporter with one quote to sum up her past few winter races "I was cold as hell!". Actions speak louder than words, and staying true to the CRC code Stacey used good sportsmanship and took her 2nd place payout to buy her training partner some clothes. |
| Jim, Josh, and Eric Hamner run and this way
and that way at the Columbus Distance Classic and eventually
cross the finish line in second, third, and fifthish. Multiple people failed to run the right way going in all different directions like those players in the electronic football game. In order to help direct the boys, Matt and Eric started store truck Bess who was waiting at the finish line. The sweet smell of exhaust directed them home. All in all, a fun time was had and everyone looks forward to next year. |
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Nate Ritz continues his marathon build up
with a 15:29 indoor 5k win at Ohio Northern and a 3rd place
finish at the Beer Bottle Open in Columbus Grove. Although Matt has tried relentlessly to convince Nate to run Boston, his fortunes appear to rest in Cincinnati at the Flying Pig. He is looking for a big PR and top three finish. "Everything I do, I do it for the CRC jersey and my good woman," says Ritz. Go get 'em, Nate, go get 'em. |
| Jurcevich and Ordway go to Austin and bring
home the biggest piece of bacon the CRC has seen since the '05
bonfire. Jim PR's by a minute clocking a 2:14:28, and Ordway PR's with a huge 2:15:39. Jim was 4th overall and the top American finisher. Josh was 9th overall and the 5th American in a tight race. Working together through 22 miles, the two both easily hit the A standard for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials and did so in stunning fashion. After the race, Jim threw on his cowboy |
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hat and pulled out his twang to sing a happy tune: "I've got a happy feelin', cause I finally broke free. After a year of my tryin', Josh didn't beat meee! Yeeehhaaaaww!" The CRC is proud to announce the first U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers in its history. More details about the event can be found at the FreeScale Austin Marathon homepage. Way to go Jim and Josh! |
| Eric Hamner runs strong in NY for the USATF
XC National Championships. The CRC was out of frequent flyer miles (Matt used all them all on his upcoming April honeymoon) so Hamner drove 10 hours to New York for the 12k event. The young Hamner hit the Casino in NJ and lost all his Taco Bell money. Hungry but determined, the lad finished a strong 57th. In an earlier tune-up, he pulled a 15:24 at an indoor 5k. We're not sure how he's getting home. |
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NRitz (seen here in a t-shirt and shorts),
DeLeon, and Hamner duke it out in the CRC Fantastic Frigid 5k's.
SRitz and Beatty walk away with the big bucks. Race #1: Hamner nearly got DQ'd for purposely tying Brooks' signee Joe Eby and recent Otterbein grad Mike Cauley. DeLeon was too embarrassed by the fact he couldn't keep up to the hand holding trio so he let it slide. One the women's side, Amy and a smiling Stacey repeated their '05 first and second place performances- this time in a sweet jersey. Race #2: DeLeon calls in a ringer (Fila Ian from MD) to be sure the antics of race one aren't repeated. CRC results- Hamner 2nd, DeLeon 4th, Ritz 5th. The soggy race results and pictures can be found here. |
| Rowe still on fire, turning in a 14:26 5k at
the Kent State Golden Flash Gala while Hamner notches his place
among the CRC record boards. They had to shut off the sprinkler system as Rowe clocked an outstanding race- not far from his outdoor PR. Eric Hamner went out hard and held on for 15:40. |
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