Sunday, December 19, 2010

2010 Fleet Feet Racing Team Volunteer of the Year

The Nike Fleet Feet Racing Team of Huntsville is far more than just stellar athletes dominating in races. It is also a set of individuals that exemplify good upstanding people, who give unselfishly of themselves in volunteer work and are true ambassadors to the sport.
It was my honor last night at the Team/Staff Christmas Party to award Josh Kennedy with the distinction of being the Volunteer of the Year. Josh had a few set backs this season with injuries, but he kept a positive attitude toward running and was involved in so many things with the Huntsville Track Club, Fleet Feet and running in general. In May, Josh sacrificed a week of his personal time to help two crazy ultra athletes realize a dream during the 335 mile Pinhoti Adventure Run. This was so much more than a week spent in the woods of Central Alabama, but months of preparation, planning and execution. Josh was also a heavily in involved in coaching other runners through Fleet Feet with the No Boundaries program that ended with the Jingle Bell Run in November. Some of the other things Josh was involved in include a high level role with aid stations at Rocket City Marathon, working the 7 mile aid station at McKay Hollow Madness, staffing the 5.5 mile aid station at the Xterra Monte Sano 15km and also providing an aid station during the Fleet Feet sponsored Pinhoti 100 mile race. These are just a few things that Josh was in during the season. While so many of our team members volunteered countless hours of their time this year, Josh was selected as the one who best represented what the non-racing side of the team is all about with providing support for our running community.

2010 Fleet Feet Racing Team Performance of the Year

Over the past month the Nike Fleet Feet Racing Team blog has been a hot bed for public to vote on the individual female and male performances of the year. After the public votes were tallied, we held a Fleet Feet Staff/Team vote at the Christmas party last night and the combination of the two determined the winners. There were so many outstanding events, but we narrowed it down to the nominees below. Fleet Feet Racing Team Huntsville Female Performance of the Year
  • Kathy Youngren - 5th FOA (1st American) Spartathlon 246km - 33h 35m 6s
  • Candace Jacobs - 1st FOA Spooktacular 5km - 17:34
  • Christy Scott - 3rd FOA (14th OA) Heartland 100M - 22:56:58
  • Dana Overton - 1st FOA (8th OA / near CR) Dizzy 50km - 4:37:27
  • Lori Jandreau - 3rd FOA (18th OA) Kennedy Space Center 26.2 - 3:14:01
Fleet Feet Racing Team Huntsville Female Performance of the Year
  • Blake Thompson - 2nd OA Lean Horse 100M - 17:45
  • Brandon York - 1st OA Monte Sano FF 15km - 50:04
  • Eric Charette - 2nd OA Life Without Limits 1/2M - 1:15:32
  • Rob Youngren - FKT 335 mile Pinhoti Trail 6d 8h 48m
  • Tim Vinson - 235th OA at Boston Marathon - 2:41:20
  • David Riddle - 2nd OA JFK50M - 5:53:09
After all of the votes were counted, Kathy Youngren earned the honor of the performance of the year with her amazing effort at Spartathlon, where she finished as 5th female overall and the first American in a time of 33 hours, 35 minutes and 6 seconds for 246km.
On the men's side, it was a unanimous selection as Rob Youngren's 335 mile conquest of the Pinhoti Trail in May was determined to be the best single performance. Rob's time of 6 days, 8 hours and 48 minutes earns him the distinction of having set the fastest known time ever for the trail.
Congrats to all team members on a great year!

2010 Fleet Feet Racing Team Athletes of the Year

It was a great year for the entire Nike Fleet Feet Racing Team from Huntsville in 2010.  The annual awards for Outstanding Female and Male Athletes of the Year were handed out last night.  Amongst the nominees were the previous Athletes of the Month, Tim Vinson, Rob Youngren, Eric Charette, Blake Thompson, Donald Bowman, Kathy Youngren, Brandon York and Candace Jacobs.  Their monthly accomplishments are listed below.

In the end, the Team Advisory board selected Candace Jacobs and Eric Charette as Female and Male Athletes of the year.  Here is a list of accomplishments for each athlete that helped them to earn this honor.




Candace Jacobs

  • 9 times first female overall (Winter Winds 2 mile, Winter Winds 4 mile, Monte Sano 10km, Spooktacular 5km, Jingle Bell 5km, Huntsville Half Marathon)
  • 4 state age records (Spooktacular 5km, Winter Winds 4 mile, Monte Sano 15km, Huntsville 1/2M)
  • 5+ 2nd place finishes
  • 1st FOA Huntsville Half Marathon, State Age Record, State Champion
  • 1st FOA Rocket City Marathon - 2:54:20 (personal best)
  • Personal bests at every distance raced this year
  • 2010 Huntsville Track Club Open Female Gran Prix Series Winner
  • Honorable mention athlete of the Month in November
  • Athlete of the Month in October






Eric Charette

  • 9 overall wins (Winter Winds 2M, Spring Zing 5km, Keyes Peak Trail Marathon, Windsor Rodeo 10km, DOXA 5km, Care Center 5km, Xterra Monte Sano 5km, Turkey Trot 5km)
  • 8 times 2nd place
  • 24 times top 3 overall
  • 2nd OA at Life Without Limits Half Marathon in 1:15:32 (season best for team)
  • Personal bests set at 2M, 5km, 10M, 1/2M, Marathon, 50M
  • 2 mile at Winter Winds - 10:38 (season best for team)
  • 5km in Liz Hurley in 16:36
  • 50 miles at Delano Park in 7:14:16 (207th fastest time in US in 2010)
  • Marathon at California International Marathon in 2:43:40
  • 11th fastest time ever Mount Cheaha 50km 4:54:07
  • 2nd fastest time ever 172 mile Pinhoti Trail (Alabama section) 4 days 5 hours 39 minutes
  • 2010 Huntsville Track Club Open Male Gran Prix Series Runner Up
  • Honorable mention athlete of the Month in July, August, September, October, November


Athlete of the Month November

Rob Youngren
  • Dizzy 50's - 40 mile title in 6:35:21
  • Huntsville Half Marathon 8th overall - 1:19:33 (personal record)

Athletes of the Month October

Brandon York
  • 1st overall Spooktacular 5km - 15:19 (Team season best)
  • 2nd overall Liz Hurley 5km - 15:44
  • 1st overall Fleet Feet Monte Sano 15km - 50:04 (Team season best)
Candace Jacobs
  • 1st female overall (13th overall) Spooktacular 5km - 17:34 (State age record & Team season best)
  • 1st overall Liz Hurley 5km - 17:55
  • 1st female overall (12th overall) Fleet Feet Monte Sano 15km - 58:37 (State age record & Team season best)

Athletes of the Month September

Kathy Youngren
  • 5th Female Overall (44th Overall, 1st American) at Spartathlon 246km - 33:35:06
  • 1st Female Overall (7th oveall) at Care Center 5km - 20:15
  • 1st Female Overall (3rd overall) at Doxa 3.2mi
  • 2nd Female Overall at Monte Sano 5km - 21:58
  • 2nd Female Overall at Monte Sano 10km - 41:54

Athlete of the Month August

Donald Bowman
  • 1st overall 17:07 Brooke Hill 5km
  • 1st overall 16:57 Running of the Bulls 5km (Season best)

Athlete of the Month July

Blake Thompson
  • 3rd overall 18:05 Firecracker 5km (personal record)
  • 4th overall 18:50 Paint the Streets 5km
  • 1st overall 4:41:00 Big Butt 50km
  • 8th overall 18:45 Cross Country 3miler 7/6
  • 3rd overall 19:19 Cross Country 3miler 7/13
  • 7th overall 19:02 Cross Country 3miler 7/20

Athlete of the Month June

Eric Charette
  • 1st overall Keyes Peak Trail Marathon 3:19
  • 3rd overall at Alabama A&M 10km

Athlete of the Month May

Rob Youngren
  • Set the fastest known time on the 335 mile Pinhoti Trail in a time of 6 days 8 hours 48 minutes

Athlete of the Month April

Tim Vinson
  • 2:41:20 at Boston Marathon
  • 1st OA at Running Wild 1/2 marathon

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Athlete of the Month - November

The month of November featured quite a few races and as the weather began to cool, the times got progressively faster and the distances got progressively longer as the nearly every member of the Nike Fleet Feet Racing took to the roads or trails.

After reviewing race results and blog posts for the month of November here are the top Nike Fleet Fleet Racing Team athletes of the month. Included are the events that earned each athlete this distinction. Athletes of the month are slightly different than top performances, as these runners had great showings at multiple events in the month. The top athlete of each month will be honored at the year end Christmas Party.

The top performer of the month of November is Rob Youngren. While there were others than ran some fast times, it was Rob who the selection committee determined earned the honor. Rob ran a personal best time at the Huntsville Half Marathon in 1:19:33, placing 8th overall amongst some very good competition.  Then just one week later, Rob ran 6:25:21 at the Dizzy 50's 40 miler, taking the overall victory.

These performances have earned Rob Youngren the distinction of the Athlete of the Month for November.

Athlete of the Month - Rob Youngren
  • Dizzy 50's - 40 mile title in 6:35:21 
  • Huntsville Half Marathon 8th overall - 1:19:33 (personal record)




Other Nominees for Athlete of the Month

Eric Charette
  • Huntsville Half Marathon 5th overall - 1:16:56
  • Helpline Turkey Trot - 1st place overall 16:41.9
Dana Overton
  • Huntsville Half Marathon 6th female overall - 1:39:35
  • Dizzy 50's 50km - 1st female and 8th overall overall 4:37:27
Candace Jacobs
  • Jingle Bell 5km - 1st female overall, 2nd overall 
  • Huntsville Half Marathon 1st female overall, 17th overall, state champion - 1:21:35
Blake Thompson
  • Krispy Creme Donut Champion
  • Huntsville Half Marathon - 9th overall - 1:19:43
  • Ragnar Relay Tennessee 5th overall and 1st ultra team with a time of 24:52:49 for 195 miles
Tim Vinson
  • Dizzy 50's 50km - 4th overall 4:13:03
  • Huntsville Half Marathon 11th overall - 1:20:02
Other athletes to watch who are on the rise include Brett Wilks and Greg Reynolds.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Weekend Results

What an amazing weekend it was for the Nike Fleet Feet Racing Team from Huntsville!  The Rocket City Marathon was the premier event not only in town but in the southeast and the team was well represented both in racing and with the Nike/Fleet Feet Pacing Teams.



On the men's side, last year's winner David Riddle ran a stellar 2:28:14 and earned 4th overall.  Personal bests were set by Blake Thompson and Greg Reynolds who both ran under three hours.  Brett Wilks had a great marathon debut by running 3:04.

On the women's side it was a run away win for local Candace Jacobs who ran a personal best 2:54:20.  Heather Day was the only other female team athlete who raced.


Official Results

Racing
4 2:28:14/2:28:14 David Riddle
23 2:53:03/2:53:04 Blake Thompson
27 2:54:20/2:54:21 Candace Jacobs
31 2:57:22/2:57:23 Greg Reynolds
33 2:57:54/2:57:54 Dave Purinton
47 3:04:08/3:04:09 3 Brett Wilks
51 3:05:14/3:05:16 Marty Clarke
80 3:10:45/3:10:46 Dewayne Satterfield
90 3:14:02/ 3:14:06 Shane O'Neill
174 3:27:10/3:27:22 Randy McFarland
225 3:32:20/3:32:40 Heather Day

Proving that the team is more than just racing, we had numerous current and former team mates who signed up to be Nike/Fleet Feet Pacers, unselfishly giving up their race day and training to help others achieve their goals.  Listed below are the pacers and how they ran.

Pacing
65 3:08:18/3:08:20 Josh Hite - 3:10 pace group
98 3:14:35/3:14:40 Eric Schotz - 3:15 pace group
142 3:20:52/ 3:20:59 Eric Fritz - 3:20 pace group
201 3:29:3/3:29:43 Brett Addington - 3:30 pace group
230 3:33:23/3:33:37 John Nevels - 3:35 pace group
231 3:33:23/3:33:38 Dana Overton - 3:35 pace group
248 3:36:27/3:36:33 Jon Elmore - 3:20 pace group
284 3:38:46/3:39:04 Eric Charette - 3:40 pace group
337 3:45:04/3:45:24 Eric Patterson - 3:45 pace group
391 3:49:58/3:50:19 James Falcon - 3:50 pace group
516 3:59:33/4:00:01 Linda Scavarda - 4:40 pace group
560 4:04:24/4:05:00 David Rawlings - 4:05 pace group
637 4:12:47/4:13:28 Katie Maehlmann - 4:15 pace group
777 4:29:16/4:30:01 Jane Reneau - 4:30 pace group
1134 5:58:46/6:00:00 Rob Youngren - 6:00 sweep
1135 5:58:47/6:00:01 Kathy Youngren - 6:00 sweep

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Weekend Results

While the racing schedule has lightened up since the fall and moving toward Rocket City Marathon, this weekend still featured some impressive performances from the Nike Fleet Feet Racing Team.

Starting in Sacramento at the California International Marathon on Sunday, where Eric Charette improved his personal best by 10 minutes and 31 seconds by running 2:43:40 and placing 94th overall of 8,000 registered runners.  The competition was steep as the top 150 runners were under 2:50:00 and 290 runners were under the 3 hour mark.  14 American Women met the 2:47 time barrier to make the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.  After splitting the half marathon in 1:20:07 (and in 115th place) Eric gained 21 places with a late surge once the course crossed the American River in the final 5km.

Official Results



Locally in Huntsville, many team members were logging final miles for the upcoming marathon, but some chose to run the Over the River and Through the Woods 5 miler on the newly completed Hampton Cove Greenway.  Rob Youngren narrowly missed out on the overall win by 15 seconds, placing 2nd overall in a time of 29:43.  Kathy Youngren notched yet another win with a 34:58 and took 10th place overall.

Official Results

2 Robert Youngren - 29:43
10 Kathy Youngren - 34:58
18 Joey Butler - 7:31



The annual running of Frosty Freeze in Decatur was also this weekend and Jon Elmore posted a strong 2nd place overall finish with another sub 18 minute 5km!

Official Results

2 Elmore, Jon 17:59.96
6 Schotz, Eric 19:22.09
12 Rawlings, David 20:29.60
19 Rawlings, Lisa 21:26.19

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Weekend Results

With the past weekend being a holiday, it was a light race schedule but the team still rocked the HELPLine Turkey Trot 5km on Thanksgiving in Huntsville.

Celebrating his 35th birthday in style, Eric Charette took the overall win in a time of 16:41.9 on a rolling hill course located on the UA-Huntsville campus.  The team took all three podium positions with Greg Reynolds and Rob Youngren placing 2nd and 3rd overall.  Tim Vinson was the top male master in a time of 18:16.

Several times were significant on this day, including Blake Thompson breaking the 18 minute mark for the first time, Lynn Curry posting a 21:44 just 4 weeks after having her last child and Greg knocking 20 seconds off of his personal best; outstanding!

Overall Results

1 Eric Charette - 16:41.9 5:23/M
2 Gregory Reynolds -  17:24.0 5:37/M
3 Robert Youngren - 17:37.6 5:41/M
4 Blake Thompson -  17:55.0 5:47/M
7 Tim Vinson -18:16.8 5:54/M
28 David Rawlings - 20:53.7 6:44/M
32 Kathy Youngren - 20:58.7 6:46/M
33 Joey Butler - 21:02.9 6:47/M
40 Lynn Curry - 21:24.8 6:54/M
46 Lisa Rawlings - 21:44.9 7:01/M



At the Kennedy Space Center Marathon on Sunday, Lori Jandreau ran a personal best 3:14:01, earning her 3rd place female and 18th place overall.  Lori cut over 11 minutes off of her personal best!

Official Results



At the Gold's Gym Turkey Day 5km, Christy Scott ran a personal best 21:17! Another outstanding effort.