The Woodlands Marathon Expo

Finish Strong Coaching is proud to be the official coach for The Woodlands Marathon, sponsor of the Finish Line Festival, Exhibitor at the Expo, and presenters at the Expo.  Coach Dana Lyons and Ronnie Delzer each spoke at the Expo.  Ronnie shared his experience running the 100 Mile Rocky Raccoon Race where he placed third for the national championships.  Coach Dana helped athletes with "Tips to Finish Strong."  Our team members enjoyed stopping by the booth to enjoy pre-race stretching with Dutch Thomson and use of Normatec boots.  Others entered our raffle for entry and coaching for next year marathon/half. 

Amber Swan and her daughters at the Expo!

Coach Dana speaks at the Expo!

Great pre-race stretching with Dutch Thomson.

Enjoying Normatec boots at FSC booth at the Expo.

Ronnie Delzer speaking at TW Marathon Expo!

Walt Disney World 5K, 10K and Half Marathon

Finish Strong's Lara Dunlap-Font completed the WDW 5k, 10k and half marathon on Feb.21-22 at Disney World.  Lara finished the 5K in 22:25, the 10K in 43:39 and the half marathon in 1:36:04. Lara took 2nd place in her age group in the 10K and 3rd place in her age group in the half marathon Although she didn't PR, she did achieve her goals for this multi-race weekend.  Congrats!

Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon

Congrats to Finish Strong's Sara Portilla who completed the Rhythm and Blues half marathon on February 15th in a fast finishing time of 1:41.  Well done!

Challenge Phillipines 70.3

Finish Strong Coaching's Jerry Palmer completed Challenge Philippines on Saturday, February 14. It's  a half iron distance race.  Jerry reports, "That thing was brutal. Probably 6000 ft of climbing over 56 miles. Most at 7%+ grade and a good portion between 11-15%. Then a trail run for. 21k. Good warm up for ironman. Finish time was right around 8 hours, cutoff was 9. 40 minute swim, 4:30 bike, 2:50 ish run on the hardest 70.3 course I've ever been on. Oh and it was definitely in the 90's all day."

"Soles for Hope" - Shoe Drive in Conjunction with The Woodlands Marathon!

Hi Gang,

Please consider donating gently used or new shoes.  Read on!


My name is Jamie Bryant, I am an active triathlete/runner (Ironman, Marathon Runner, etc..), a resident of the Woodlands, but more importantly I am working with the Woodlands Marathon, Woodlands Church, and Fleet Feet to help promote our annual shoe drive “Soles for Hope”.

I was hoping you would be so kind, and forward this message along to your team and athletes, as we are trying to get the message out strong this year to help collect 10,000 pairs of gently used and new shoes in conjunction with the Woodlands Marathon.  We will have donation bins located throughout the race weekend (at the Expo and Race Day), and are asking all that can, to bring anything they can and drop them in the bins (all sizes, all types, not just athletic shoes, male/female/children).

We have partnered with many wonderful local organizations such as Star of Hope, Freedom Place, Casa de Esperanza, and others to come along side them and help them fill their ongoing needs for shoes to serve those men/women and children that they serve on a daily basis.  We will also be sending a large shipment to a partner in mountains of Haiti, where we have been working the last few years to help them establish a growing community.  

In addition, on race day, after the finish line, if an athlete feels called, they can remove their shoes and donate them on the spot, but not to worry, we’ll have pairs of flip flops to trade them so they don’t have to walk to their cars barefooted.  It is a great way for the running/triathlete community to give back, and I hope you will share this with your group.

All the best, and continued success.
-Jamie

Stephen J. "Jamie" Bryant
Executive Vice President

FSC Supported Bike Ride

Sunday FSC Bike Ride! Many of our triathletes rode half the Ironman course during our supported bike ride.

More pics here (from Manuel's camera): https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A2Grq0zwuosjP

Big thanks to Barry Carroll for sag support!

Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon

Congratulations to Finish Strong Coach Jack Alexander who won his age group at Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon held on February 1, 2015 .

Jack was 1st in his AG and 14th overall. He ranked 1st in his swim, bike, and run for his AG.  Jack completed the first 2 mile run in 13:03.6 (6:32/mi pace); biked the 16.8m course in 46:39.2 (21.6/mi pace), and finished the final 2 mile run in 13:55.8 finishing in 1:17:37.

For more results, go to:
http://www.sportspectrumusa.com/files/FYFResults2015.pdf

Katy Half Marathon and 5K

The Katy Half Marathon and 5K was held on Saturday, February 7th.  Finish Strong's Irasema de Aquina had a great comeback.  She came in 3rd in her age group for her first 5K in 2015 following surgery.  FSC's Amanda Cruise also participated.  She ran the half marathon race as a training run along with her husband who did his first 5K.

Amanda Cruise runs the Katy half marathon.

Ira takes 3rd in her AG at Katy 5K!

For more race results, go to:

http://katyhalfmarathon.com/participants/results/

Kids Running For Kids Race

Congratulations to our Finish Strong kids who participated in the Kids Running For Kids 1+ mile fund-raiser race held in Market Street on Saturday, February 7 along with 800 others.  Despite freezing cold temperatures, they made it look easy! Y'all rocked it!

Brothers Mauricio and Matias Ramirez de Alva also put in good runs.
 Mauricio took 2nd in his grade finishing in 7:54.8 (6:49 pace)

Simon Gringas took 2nd in his grade finishing in 7:40.6 (6:37/pace).

Coach Mike helped the kids warm up prior to the race.

Simon Gringas and Michael Maar both looked fierce on the course!
Michael finished 5th in his grade in 8:57.2 (7:43/mi pace).

Caleb Bigler won for his grade in 8:07.0 (7:00/mi pace) 

For more results, go to: http://www.eztoregister.com/assets/Kidsrun15AG.HTM

Hall of Famer - Coach Jack Alexander

Congratulations to Finish Strong Coach Jack Alexander who received the Hall of Fame award from the USAT SMW Region for his successful career as a triathlete and coach.

Finish Strong athletes know Jack as our amazing swim coach who has coached national champions in sprint triathlon.  And some even know that Jack was a member of the Olympic team representing Canada in the modern pentathlon in 1976.  Jack has racked up a number of awards over his long career, including winning the Canadian National Championship many times between 1972 and 1984. And he continues to compete at the international level.  This year Jack captured 4th in his age group at the world championship.

So, it comes as no surprise that Jack was awarded this prestigious Hall of Fame award. Congratulations, Jack!!

Jack awarded Hall of Fame by Orb Greenwald of USAT SMW Region.

 

Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Run

Congrats to Finish Strong's Ronnie Delzer who finished 3rd in the US National Championships with a time of 14:15:53.  Ronnie had the support of his family and Finish Strong Coaching friends who helped pace him during the final 25 miles.  367 people started the event held on Saturday, January 31st's in Huntsville and 249 finished.  Time to recover!

Coach Dana paces Ronnie (left) during a portion of his last 25 mile loop.

Texas10 College Station

Texas10, first race of the series for 2015, was held in College Station on Sunday, February 1st.  Finish Strong was well represented at the 10 mile race by Kevin Baker, Matt Horak, James Vultaggio, Rip Reynolds, Jesse Balboa, Mike Flake, Chris Weir, Kristin Collins and Rebecca Schanny.  Kevin Baker won his AG in 1:07:58 (6:47/mi pace).  Kevin reports, "My goal was just to finish and have a nice run 2 weeks after the Houston Marathon, I kept a pace I knew my legs could handle. Great course on the Texas A&M campus, ran by Kyle Field twice."

James Vultaggio shows off his medal after Texas10 race.

Kevin Baker - 1:07:58 - 1st in AG!
Jesse Balboa - 1:23:11.4
Michael Flake - 1:32:49.2

James Vultaggio - 1:27:42  

Chris Weir - 1:05:50.2 - 2nd in AG; 5th overall!

Rip Reynolds - 1:08:25.1 - 2nd in AG

Matt Horak - 1:21 PR!

Kristin Collins - 1:27:56.7

Rebecca Schanny - 1:37:22.4

For more results, go to:

https://www.nolimitstiming.com/results/default.aspx?event=31609