September 20, 2009 Fast times despite wet weather at Country Roads 10K Last Saturday local runners had a chance to run the Country Roads 10K out at the Country Estates subdivision. It was a wet day with intermittent rain showers through portions of the race. Despite the rain, 117 runners registered for the run. David Alexander, the race director, and his crew were there very early in the morning to set things up and get ready for the runners to arrive. David was receiving phone calls on his cell phone from runners asking if the race was going to be held in the rain. He answered that the run was on; and unless there was lightning flashing, the event was on schedule. And despite some pretty wet conditions, the runners showed up for a great run. There were some real quality runners this year; and to let you know just how fast they turned out to be, let me relate my experience at the race. I was the lead bicycle to make sure the runners followed the correct route. I rode my heavy mountain bike since it handles better on wet roads. It was raining hard at times; and my glasses were having me try to see through a lot of raindrops on the lens. My shirt and the seat of my bike shorts were wet from water splashing up from the rear tire; and it seemed the faster I went, the wetter I got. The hard part for me was going up hills with that heavy bike. As I reached the back part of the course, the slight uphill climb became a little rough. At mile 4 1/2, I decided to shift down to a lower gear to make it easier to pedal. This is about the same mile that the lead runners decided to shift into high gear. The two lead runners, Sean O’Neil (35:03) and Ashish Patel (35:18), went by me without much of glance. So in the race, the lead bike came in third place overall. Local and area runners that ran the race included the following: The female Masters Champion was San Marcos’ own Terry Irwin in a time of 48:53. In the 20-29 age group for males, Tyler Newlin ran a 41:55; Christopher Werk came in at 50:52; Kiel Mitchell ran a 56:27 and Taylor Hays ran a 1:10:21. For the females in that age category, Nicole Nuckols took first place with a 50:11 time; Meredith Dawson took 4th in 58:02; Ashley Bishop ran in at 58:40; Andrea Jeter crossed the finish line in 59:33; Kelly Boysen ran 1:00:04; Andrea Friesenhahn ran a 1:03:20 and Kristeen Elrod ran a 1:03:59 time. The 30-39 age group for men had the following: Bobby Seibert came in 2nd with a time of 39:26; Joe Cardenas came in 3rd in 40:01; Phillip Jones ran a 45:12; Joe Merchant had a 48:36 time; Andy McCoy ran a 50:10 and Rob Shivers ran in at 50:13. For the women in that age group, Shauna Metcalf came in 3rd in 53:52; Silvia Clark took 4th place with a 57:17 time and Becca Campa ran a 1:27:48. In the 40-49 age category for men, Ros Hill gathered in a first-place finish with a 39:24 and James Alford ran in at 56:46. For the women, Liz Kaminski ran a 58:20 time; Naomi Medina ran a 59:25 after leading the group in a warm-up aerobic session; and Rae Ann Roberts ran a 1:04:53. In the 50-59 category for men, Greg Pannell came in 4th place with a 57:27 and Robert Kantz ran in at 1:00:35. For the women in that age group, Gina Moore Eben took first place with a 1:00:12; Julie Kantz had a 4th place with a 1:06:17; Cindy D’Anton ran a 1:14:42; Nelda Pannell walked a 1:16:23 and Brigitte Payne ran in with a 1:20:46. In the 60-69 age group for men, Frank Payne took 2nd place with a 56:11; Richard Earl grabbed 3rd in 56:57 and Ronnie Murphey ran a 1:21:07. In the over-70 age group, their age did not slow them down as 73-year-old John Perkins from Cedar Creek took first for the men with a 49:30, and 74-years-young Vonda Lee Adorno from Austin took first place for the women as she came across the finish in 1:04:56. Next up in San Marcos is the “From Here to Eternity” 5K on October 3rd, starting at the Lamar school and running through the cemetery. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!