04/28/2024 Dedham, MA
The top Masters runners in the country set off over the rolling hills of Dedham MA. Temperatures were in the upper 50’s under cloudy skies, almost perfect for the 2024 Masters 10 Km Championships, the tenth running of these championships on this course.
AMERICAN RECORDS [AR] Jan Holmquist, 79, lowered the 50:01 AR she set here last year by 15 seconds. Pending ratification, her new AR will stand at 49:46. Edna Hyer celebrated her 90th birthday on Saturday and established a new mark for Women 90-94. Hyer’s 1:28:06 will become the new AR once ratified.
COURSE RECORDS [CR] In addition to the CR’s smashed by Holmquist and Hyer, five other individuals set CR’s. Barbara Belanger, 87, broke the 85-89 CR, set in 2018. She lowered the record by over three minutes, from 1:24:58 to 1:21:41. Joseph Gray, the Men’s overall winner, lowered the 2023 CR by just over a minute, dropping it to 30:44. That also becomes the new M40 CR. Mario Vazquez turned 45 this year and lowered the M45 CR by well over a minute to 31:02. Gene Dykes, 76, lowered the 75-79 CR, set in 2022, from 44:38 to 43:56. Jan Frisby turned 80 earlier this week and celebrated with a new M80 CR of 51:57!
OVERALL A 16-time National Mountain Running and 2-time World Running Champion, Joseph Gray kicked off his Masters career with a dominant win at these championships. The Masters Overall Course Record [CR] holder, Mario Vazquez did his best to match Gray. But Gray pulled away for the win by nearly a hundred meters, 30:44 to 31:02. The 2023 Silver Medalist overall here last year, Justin Freeman, claimed the bronze in 32:04. Within a ten-second spread, beginning at 32:50, Eric Blake, Dickson Mercer, Ben Jarrett and David Angell finished in 4th through 7th!
A finalist in the 3000 Meter Steeplechase at the 2011 USATF Outdoor Championships, Stephanie Pezzullo was gunning for her first Masters Road Racing National Championship. Denied at the Masters 5 Km Championships in Atlanta by April Lund’s sparkling 16:58, Pezzullo was seeking redemption. It came in spades! Pezzullo traversed the rolling hills in 35:35, finishing more than a minute ahead of Elizabeth Camy, the silver medalist at 36:43. Jennifer Lutz took third at 37:06, with Erin Genova fourth at 37:30. Genova enjoyed a gap of 200 meters back to the rest of the field.
AGE GRADING The age grading score, the Performance Level Percentage (PLP), identifies the runners, across all age divisions, who had the best performance relative to the best times in the world. Holmquist’s AR effort was off the charts at 101.57%. Nora Cary, 69, was not far behind; her 42:56 earned a 99.81 PLP. The youngster of this crew, Stella Gibbs, 65, claimed the bronze age grading medal at 94.12 from her 43:04. Top honors on the Men’s side went to Nat Larson, 61, whose 34:59 netted a 93.62 PLP. Vazquez’s 2nd place Overall effort qualified for the Silver Medal; his 31:02 scored a 91.84 PLP. Rick Lee, 63, closed off the podium with his 36:32 that earned a 91.33 PLP.
AGE DIVISION National Men’s Champions were crowned in 40-44 Gray 30:44 45-49 Vazquez 31:02 50-54 Mark Andrews 34:09 55-59 Joseph Shairs 36:07 60-64 Larson 34:59 65-69 David Westenberg 39:00 70-74 Joseph Reda 43:20 75-79 Gene Dykes 44:01 80-84 Jan Frisby 52:02 85-89 Ram Satyaprasad 1:31:46 90-94 Lawrence Cole 1:37:48.
National Women’s Champions were crowned in 40-44 Pezzullo 35:35 45-49 Linda Spooner 39:50 50-54 Perry Shoemaker 37:34 55-59 Susan Mix 39:47 60-64 Suzanne La Burt 40:59 65-69 Cary 42:58 70-74 Francoise Levinson 56:10 75-79 Holmquist 49:46 80-84 None 85-89 Belanger 1:21:49 90-94 Hyer 1:28:18.
TEAM score=cumulative time of first three finishing athletes]: The Tracksmith Boston Hares won both the Men’s and Women’s 40+ titles in 1:41:24 and 1:59:24. The Atlanta Track Club [ATC] had the top results of visiting clubs; ATC won Men’s 50+ in 1:49:23 and 60+ in 1:57:28. They also won Women’s 70+ in 3:56:03. The Boulder Road Runners, Impala racing, and Shore AC took one title each in Men 70+, Women 50+ and Women 60+, respectively.
Masters National Grand Prix excitement continues to build; the athletes head next to Danville CA for the USATF Masters 1 Mile Championships on May 19th. They are being hosted by Devil Mountain/Mile of Truth for the first time! Registration is here.
Submitted By
Paul Carlin
Consultant to USATF Masters LDR
www.runningprof.com
