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BATC Race Recap: Payton Jordan 2010

May 4, 2010, 5:20pm

The Bay Area Track Club sent six athletes into action at Sunday's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Leading the way for the club was Shannon Rowbury, who used savvy tactics and a devastating kick to win the women's 5000 meters. On the men's side, David Torrence finished 2nd in the 800 meters, narrowly missing the win by a mere .09 of a second. 

The news of Rowbury's 5000 meter victory would have been shocking to anyone who saw the first half of the race and decided to head home early. Shalane Flanagan ran to a huge early lead, hot on the heels of a pacesetter and well under American record pace, a record that she set herself in 2009. Quickly a chase pack formed, with Rowbury working alongside Amy Yoder Begley to chip away at Flanagan's advantage. Not until the final 800 meters did it seem like their efforts were producing any results. At that point Flanagan began to tire from the relentless early pace, and Rowbury began to wind up her fabled finishing kick. She really let loose with 400 meters to go and instantly gaped Yoder Begley. On the final turn she passed Flanagan and cruised home to victory in a new personal best time of 15:00.51.

Torrence left the meet also possessing a new personal best. His time of 1:46.83 for 800m knocked more than an entire second off his previous record. Showing the strength of a miler, Torrence threaded through the pack on the final lap, swinging wide into lane three on the homestretch to pass all but one of his competitors. Torrence and Rowbury recently returned from a high altitude training camp in Mexico under the guidance of their coach, John Cook.

Watch video of Torrence's race and his post-race interview.

Also running well in the men's 800m were Tim Bayley, who ran 1:49.84, and Francis Gadayan, who ran 1:54.17. In the men's 5000 meters, Bolota Asmerom looked poised to run for the win when he ran out of gas on the last lap. He hung on for a solid 13:42.65. In the women's 5000 meters, Clara Horowitz-Peterson ran a strong 16:36.94.


Tags: bay area track club, BATC, shannon rowbury, david torrence, bolota asmerom, tim bayley, francis gadayan, clara horowitz peterson, payton jordan
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on May 6, 2010, 6:53pm

BATC Meet Preview: Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational

April 30, 2010, 2:05pm

The Bay Area Track Club is sending seven athletes into action this weekend at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. The meet will be held at Stanford University's lightning fast Cobb Track and Angel Field. Traditionally, the Payton Jordan meet has been one of the most competitive in the U.S. for long distance events, where cool, calm weather combines with loaded fields and rabbited races to produce numerous world leading performances and even several American records.  
 
The BATC's Shannon Rowbury, Blake Russell, and Clara Horowitz-Peterson will all race in the women's 5000 meters. The field is stacked with talent including 5000 meter American record holder Shalane Flanagan, 2010 world leader at 3000 meters Amy Yoder-Begley, and 2009 NCAA Cross Country Champion Angela Bizzarri. Rumors of an assault on the American record have been floating around in the past few weeks, so there is some great suspense going into this race. 
 
On the men's side, Bolota Asmerom faces a tough field in the 5000 meters, including Olympian Abdi Abdirahman. David Torrence, Tim Bayley, and Francis Gadayan will compete in the always unpredictable 800 meter event.

The meet starts at 3:45 PM on Saturday, with middle distance events starting at 4:54PM. 
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Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on April 30, 2010, 2:06pm

BATC Race Recap: Rotterdam Marathon

April 15, 2010, 12:59pm

Bay Area Track Club member, Madga Lewy-Boulet, ran a huge personal best time to finish second in the Fortis Rotterdam Marathon on Sunday. Her time, 2:26:22, was nearly a four minute improvement from her previous best set at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. It also makes her the fourth fastest American woman of all time in the marathon. 

Lewy-Boulet ran a sensible early pace, content to let the leaders go and run her own race. The strategy paid off in the final miles as she closed quickly on the eventual winner, Aberu Kebede of Ethiopia. Kebede hung on to win by a mere :57 seconds, with Lewy-Boulet second, and Xialin Zhu, of China, finishing third in 2:29:42. In what is usually a rare feat in marathons, Lewy-Boulet negative-split the race with an opening half of 1:13:55 and a closing half of 1:12:25. 

A happy second-place finisher
Ahead of her on the American all-time list are 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor (2:19:36), 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit-Samuelson (2:21:21), and 2008 ING New York City Marathon third place finisher Kara Goucher (2:25:53). Lewy-Boulet has, in effect, catapulted herself into the upper echelon among the superstars in American women's marathoning. What's more, as a 36-year-old, Lewy-Boulet is still improving at the distance. Rotterdam represented her eleventh marathon, and with the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials looming in 2012, Lewy-Boulet is arriving just in time to position herself for another shot at a US Olympic Team.

More interesting analysis of Lewy-Boulet's performance can be read on Chanman's Blog and in LetsRun.com's weekly update.
Tags: Magda Lewy Boulet, Rotterdam Marathon, BATC
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on June 22, 2010, 9:44pm

BATC Race Preview: Fortis Rotterdam Marathon

April 9, 2010, 6:05pm

Magda Lewy-Boulet, of the Bay Area Track Club, will put the finishing touches on a fine spring racing season this Sunday at the Fortis Rotterdam Marathon. Two weeks ago she placed 20th at the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Rotterdam's flat, fast course will give Lewy-Boulet the perfect opportunity to lower her personal best in the marathon, which currently stands at 2:30:19. 

Lewy-Boulet has a straightforward goal going into the race. "Timewise, I want to run a personal best," she said. "This is a fast course and it looks like the weather will be good, so I’ll be shooting for a sub-2:30." 

Last year, Rotterdam's fast course helped Kenyan training partners Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai both run 2:04:27, with Kibet leaning ahead for the win. The performances were the 2nd and 3rd fastest men's marathon times in history. 

The women's field should help Lewy-Boulet reach her goals. "The women’s field is solid, though not as crazy as the men’s field. There is a Chinese woman who’s run 2:23, and is looking to PR, then 4 or 5 other women in the 2:28 range. There should be plenty of people to race, which always helps push me in the later miles." 

The World Cross Country Championships provided a perfect tune up for the marathon. "The race went about as well as I could have hoped, and it’s always nice to have your last race going into a marathon be a good one," Lewy-Boulet said. "It gives me a lot of confidence in my fitness."  After the race, Lewy-Boulet spent time visiting relatives in Poland before heading off to Rotterdam. 

Highlights of the Fortis Rotterdam Marathon can be found at http://www.fortismarathonrotterdam.co.uk/. TV coverage will be shown on Universal Sports at 9:00 AM Sunday, as well as on the website www.universalsports.com.
Tags: Magda Lewy Boulet, BATC, Bay Area Track Club, Rotterdam Marathon
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on April 9, 2010, 6:06pm

Lewy-Boulet Finishes 20th as Americans Nab Bronze at World XC

March 29, 2010, 9:39pm

Bay Area Track Club co-founder Magda Lewy-Boulet ran to an outstanding 20th place finish at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on Sunday in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Lewy-Boulet was also the 3rd American women to cross the line, helping the team win a coveted bronze medal. The medal was the first for any American team since the women's team won bronze at the 2003 championships.

The race was dominated from the gun by the Kenyan team, who agressively pushed the pace. Top American finisher Shalane Flanagan held on to the leaders until the final lap of the course, when the surges of eventual silver medalist, Linet Masai of Kenya, left Flanagan fighting to stay in the top 10. Masai led into the home stretch where she was outkicked for the win by her teammate, Emily Chebet.

Magda en route to her 20th place finish

Flanagan hung on for 12th place overall, closely followed by Molly Huddle (19th), Lewy-Boulet (20th), Amy Hastings (25th), Renee Metivier Baillie (38th), and Emily Brown (41st). Many experts consider the IAAF World Cross Country Championships to be the most competitive distance running event in the world, which makes the American's team bronze medal all the more impressive.
 
Lewy-Boulet will stay in Europe for the next two weeks to prepare for the Rotterdam Marathon on April 11th. She hopes to use the notoriously flat, fast course in Rotterdam to improve her 2:30:19 personal best in the marathon.

Tags: BATC, Magda Lewy Boulet, IAAF World Cross Country Championships
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on March 29, 2010, 9:39pm

Lewy-Boulet to Challenge the World's Finest

March 27, 2010, 2:28pm

Bay Area Track Club co-founder Magda Lewy-Boulet will take on many of the world's finest distance runners this Sunday, March 28th, at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The race will be held in extremely muddy conditions at Myślęcinek Park, in the city of Bydgoszcz, Poland.
 
Lewy-Boulet qualified for the World Championships by way of her 4th place finish at the US Cross Country Championships on February 28th, in Spokane, Washington. More recently, she notched a strong 3rd place finish at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida, which served as the 2010 US 15k National Championship. Even more impressive, she has accomplished all this while keeping her training focused on the Rotterdam Marathon, which will take place on April 11th.
 
Warm, wet conditions have soaked the course at Myślęcinek Park over the past week. That added to already difficult conditions that turned the Polish National Championships into a slog through ankle deep mud earlier this month. Challenging conditions can only help the chances of the underdog U.S. team, which faces and uphill battle against powerhouses like Kenya and Ethiopia.
 
More information and race updates can be found at http://www.iaaf.org/wxc10/index.html. 

Tags: Magda Lewy Boulet, IAAF World Cross Country Championships, BATC
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on March 27, 2010, 2:30pm

Stephan Shay follows steps of champion brother

March 22, 2010, 11:57am

By Francine King (Original article)

Stephan Shay finished 10th in his first Gate River Run on Saturday, spending most of the 9.3-mile race like the rest of the elite men’s field — following runaway winner Mo Trafeh.
But Shay, 24, was also following the footsteps of someone more important to him: his brother Ryan.

Ryan Shay, an elite American long-distance runner won the River Run in 2005 in a time of 43:52. He collapsed at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in New York City in 2007 and died of a heart attack at the age of 28.

Ryan, who was six years older than Stephan, had been diagnosed with an enlarged heart as a teenager. Stephan, the youngest of eight siblings, said his entire family was evaluated after Ryan’s death and it appears the condition that enlarged Ryan’s heart and led to his heart attack was not genetic.

“Every time I run, whether it’s racing or going for a training run, I always think about [Ryan],” said Stephan, who finished Saturday’s race in 44 minutes, 54 seconds. “It helps me push it a little bit harder.” Stephan said he had to push fairly hard on Saturday to meet his goal of finishing in the top 10 in his first 15K race. He won $500 for his effort.

Charlie Serrano of Long Beach, Calif., also finished in 44:54, but crossed the finish line ahead of Shay.

CLICK HERE to see complete results from the 2010 Gate River Run

“To come in here the first time and win it, I didn’t completely rule it out, but I thought top 10 with this field would be good,” he said. “I felt bad the whole time, so I was able to salvage a decent race.” He finished nearly two minutes behind Trafeh, who won the U.S. 15K national championship in 42:58. Tim Nelson was second in 43:52, nearly a minute behind Trafeh.

VIDEO: See videos of the 2010 Gate River Run start line and interviews with the winners

Shay a native of East Jordan, Mich., said he typically runs longer distances. He plans to race the 25K national championship in May in Grand Rapids, Mich.

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here for photos from the 2010 Gate River Run

In January, he finished fifth in the Houston Half Marathon in a breakthrough performance that defied predictions of a 20th-place finish for the former Brigham Young University runner. His time also qualified him for the U.S. Olympic trials, which are scheduled for Jan. 14, 2012, in Houston.

If Shay qualifies for the Olympic team — which he admits is a long shot for 2012 in his first attempt — he would accomplish something Ryan had hoped to achieve but was never able to do.

“I grew up kind of chasing him,” Shay said. “It was just, 'OK, I see what he can do. Maybe I’m capable of that, as well.’ ”

Tags: Stephan Shay, BATC, Gate River Run
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on March 22, 2010, 11:58am

Snow & Mud…What an Opportunity

March 19, 2010, 6:42pm

The following is a blog excerpt written by Magda Lewy Boulet

The last three months have been busy and full of excitement. Since January, I have traveled from Flagstaff AZ, to Houston & Austin TX, Spokane WA, and most recently to sunny Jacksonville, FL. It has been quite a whirlwind experience. 

The Gate River Run in Jacksonville was a blast (huge thanks to Richard Fannin for putting together a great field and a great event). The day before the Gate River Run, Samia Akbar, Phil Wharton, and I were given the chance to talk to underprivileged children at the Sanctuary on 8th Street School in Jacksonville and after the race Bolota Asmerom, Phil Wharton, and I had the opportunity to speak with the Florida Cross Country State Champions from Bishop Kenny High. Both events were so much fun. Thanks to the Bishop Kenny boys we were able to enjoy a sweet long run the day after the race. We drove out to University of North Florida and ran on their trail system, which was perfect for a recovery two and a half hour run on soft single-track trails. To top off the trip, the BATC women's team (Blake Russell, Clara Peterson and I) finished first in the team competition.

Training continues to go really well for me, while this week has been pretty challenging. This is my last high mileage week before World Cross and the Rotterdam marathon on April 11th. I had a great workout on Wednesday that consisted of 800 repeats at 5k pace and some 400 repeats at mile pace. Friday is a marathon specific workout and Sunday my final long run. After all the miles I will be ready to switch gears and get ready for racing in snow and mud.

I am so excited for the opportunity to race World XC next weekend. The opportunity to represent Team USA is so amazing to me because this will be the first time ever racing in Poland since I left at the age of 15. I have been dreaming about representing Team USA at this event for years and now more than ever I get a chance to run my heart out on Polish soil. The course is not fast, but rather tough. Check out the IAAF link to some pictures from the Polish National Championships earlier this year. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be on such a strong team of incredible female athletes. Our team is full of accomplished athletes who are hungry to race for a medal.   

Best of luck to the entire USA Cross Country team!

Magda
Tags: BATC, Magda Lewy Boulet
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on March 19, 2010, 6:48pm

Johnson and Heath Compete at World Track Indoor Championships

March 17, 2010, 2:06pm

This past weekend, Bay Area Track Club athletes Alysia Johnson and Garrett Heath raced at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Doha, Qatar. Johnson ran a personal best and won the bronze medal in the women's 800 meters, while Heath finished 7th in the men's 1500 meters.
 
Johnson took the pace out fast, leading the pack through the 400 meter split in 58 seconds. Jenny Meadows of Great Britain took the lead in the third 200, but was passed by Mariya Savinova of Russia (1:58.26) for the gold medal. Meadows (1:58.43) hung on for the silver, while Johnson ran her fastest time ever (1:59.60) to take the bronze. See full results from this race here.
Heath finished 7th (3:43.81) in the very tactical 1500 meter final. Deresse Mekonnen (3:41.86) won the gold medal by a mere .10 seconds over Abdalaati Iguider (3:41.96) of Morroco. The race started slowly, with the field bunched up and elbows flying to fight for space on the 200 meter track. The pace picked up over the last half of the race and ended in a wild sprint finish. Less than 2 seconds split the finishing times of the first 7 finishers. See full results from this race here. 

Garrett leading the men's 1500m final

The action in Doha capped a successful weekend of racing for BATC athletes that included a first place team finish for the BATC women and third place for the BATC men at the Gate River Run 15k in Jacksonville, FL. You can read more about the BATC's experience at Gate River here. 
Tags: BATC, World Indoor Championships, Alysia Johnson, Garrett Heath
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on March 17, 2010, 5:32pm

BATC Athletes Compete at Gate River Run 15k

March 17, 2010, 1:59pm

Six Bay Area Track Club athletes took to the roads this past weekend at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, FL. The race is the annual USATF 15k Road Championship and always features top notch competition given its timing in the lead-up to the outdoor track season. The BATC women's team finished first in the team competition while the men finished third.
 
The women's team was led by Madga Lewy Boulet's third place finish overall, in a time of 50:39. Blake Russell also cracked the top 10 with a stong 7th place finish, in 51:46. In her BATC debut, Clara Horowitz-Peterson finished 18th overall in a time of 53:41. The team narrowly beat out a very strong challenge from Team USA Minnesota, which featured the overall winner, Katie McGregor (49:51).
 
The men were paced by the newest member of the BATC, Stephan Shay. Shay finished 10th overall, in a time of 44:54. Bolota Asmerom overcame some early troubles to finish 23rd (46:23), just ahead of his BATC teammate, Tom Kloos, who finished 25th (46:34). The men's team competition was won by Team USA Minnesota, led by 3rd place finisher Antonio Vega (43:56). The individual men's champion was Mo Trafeh, who dominated the field and the course in a time of 42:58.
The BATC's successful racing in Jacksonville was matched by Alyisa Johnson's bronze medal (800 meters) and Garrett Heath's 7th place finish (1500 meters) at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Doha, Qatar, which were held the same weekend. You can read more about these performances here.

Tags: Gate River Run 15k, BATC, Magda Lewy Boulet, Blake Russell, Clara Horowitz Peterson, Stephan Shay, Bolota Asmerom, Tom Kloos
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on March 17, 2010, 2:06pm

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