Dallas White Rock Half Marathon

Team FSR athletes Jackie Lewis and David Smart took on the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon on December 13 along with a field of 6,000 competitors. Jackie finished the 13.1 miles in under 2 hours in a time of 1:59. Jackie placed in the top 19% of her age group.

Jackie said, "Overall, I was extremely pleased with my results. At the beginning of this year, I would have never thought I could achieve this. Thanks, Dana."

David ran the half marathon as a training run for the upcoming marathon. David finished in 1:54:44. His overall pace was 8:34 per mile.

Congrats, Jackie and David!!

ARC Decker Challenge Half Marathon

Finish Strong athlete Craig Wakefield competed in the ARC Decker Challenge Half Marathlon in Austin on December 6. Craig finished in a time of 1:42. Congrats, Craig!

California International Marathon

The California International Marathon was held on December 6 in Sacramento. Representing Finish Strong Coaching in a stellar manner was Gavish Mago. Gavish ran a 2:55:45 marathon finishing 32nd in the men's 25-29 age group and 162nd overall. His overall pace was 6:42 per mile. He passed the half marathon mark at 1:27:48. Outstanding race, Gavish!!

Run through the Woods

Over 5,000 athletes made their way to the starting line for the Run Through the Woods 5 mile run/3 mile/1 mile race in The Woodlands. Lots of Finish Strong coached athletes were among the crowd in the 5 mile run.

Here's some of the Finish Strong athletes participated in the 5 mile race.

Sharon Morin 35:11.3 2nd overall female masters. PR!!

Allan Richardson 29:18.8 1st in 50-54

Dana Lyons 29:25.9 2nd in 50-54
Hannah Monk 49:45.8 2nd 10 and under (Tim's daughter)

Anna Lyons 39:57.8

Margo Lyons 33:34.5 5th in 15 to 19 age group

Christelle Gigant 34:07.8 2nd in 30 to 34

Shannon Strole 41:21.8

Kristin Collins 39:27.9

Casey Clark 32:21.2 8th in 35-39 age group

Randy Barron 43:07.6

Laura Gaddy 40:21.5 11th in 40 -44 age group

Jackie Lewis 43:01.4

Kristie Chandler 42:52.3

Carolyn Barron 43:15.5

Janet Luna 50:54.2

Richard Mac Namee 33:09.9 5th in 40-44 age group in his combat boots!

Chris Hill 33:37.4 19th in 40 to 44 age group

Jody Gaddy 34:34.5

Deb Lyons 41:35.3 10th in 45-49

Cindy McMannis 46:50.6

Deena Birdsong 48:58.8

Cassandra Mays 48:50.2

David Smart 39:35.9

Jed Beck 42:17.1

Rich Cooper 43:05.5

Jimmy Baker 54:31.5

Mark Tefft 45:20.5

Scott Lebsack 43:24.8 7th in 60 to 64 age group

Dave Holsey 44:15.9 9th in 60 to 64 age group

3 Mile Run participants

Hannah Barron 22:19.9 2nd in 12 to 13 age group. And she's only 11!

Lane Barron 21:25 9th in 12 to 13 age group. And he's only 10!

What a great way to start off Thanksgiving! Congrats to all!

Ironman Arizona

The sixth running Ford Ironman Arizona took place Sunday, November 22 in Tempe, Arizona and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Just over 2,400 athletes undertook the 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. Among them were TEAM FSR athletes Tommy Sustala, Jim Harrington, Michael Collins, Tom Schwartzkopf, Marshall McGinnis, and Kyle Mays.

Tommy Sustala had a PR of 11:04:43 and improvement of 17 minutes over his Ironman Arizona 2008 race. Tommy completed the swim in 57:37, had a blisteringly fast bike in 5:19 and trudged through the final marathon in 4:38:49.

Another veteran ironman was Jim Harrington who posted his second sub 11 hour Ironman coming in at 10:59:47! Jim swam the 2.4 mile course in 1:06:58, biked a solid 5:32:58, and ran a 4:11:16 final marathon.

Another veteran who posted a sub 11 hour Ironman was Michael Collins who finished in 10:54:18. Michael finished the swim in 1:18:27, biked 5:20:48, and ran the final leg in 4:06:29.

First time Ironman Tom Schwartzkopf finished in just 11:16:18. Tom had a strong 59:03 swim, 5:55:14 bike, and finished strong with a 4:11:37 marathon.

Marshall McInnis was another first time Ironman. Marshall finished the challenging event in 12:48:07. He logged a 1:04:46 swim, a 6:08:44 bike, and 5:15:32 run.

First timer Kyle Mays persevered and crossed the finish line in 13:48:27. Kyle posted a 1:23:19 swim, a 6:06:40 bike and a 5:56:35 run.

Congrats -- you each worked hard to earn the Ironman title!

Rock and Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2

Featuring a scenic course and ideal temperatures in the mid-60s, the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon and Half Marathon was the place to be on November 15. It was a great day for TEAM FSR runner Gavish Mago. Gavish, 29, posted a 1:24:42 half marathon placing 12th in his age group (25-29). He came in 63rd out of the 20,067 runners who completed the 13.1 mile race. Way to go Gavish!!

Also, Rodrigo Abascal competed in the half marathon. See photo to the right. He met his goal time by completing the event in 1:34:52. Well

done!

Iron Star Half Ironman

Another race venue for Finish Strong coached athletes this weekend was the Iron Star, a half ironman race, held in Montgomery on Sunday, November 8. Participants included Kent Morris, Jennifer Zambrano, Dave Moulthen, Rip Reynolds, and Jack Ladenheim.

Kent finished the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run in 5:31:14. He placed 9th in his age group. He swam the first leg in 46:31, biked in 2:48:58, and finished the half marathon in 1:50:48.

Dave Moulthen posted an overall time of 5:26:20 earning 7th place in his age group. He completed the swim in 39:41, the bike in 2:52:16, and the run in 1:51:65 at a solid 8:33 per mile pace.

Rip Reynolds finished 7th in his age group with a time of 5:35:28. His swim time was 45:09 followed by a steady 2:57:15 bike, and finishing strong with a 1:48:29 half marathon at a brisk 8:17 per mile pace.

Jack Ladenheim took 2nd in his age group with an overall time of 6:07:28. He flew through the water in 37:35, kept going on the bike to finish the 56 miles in 3:02:41, and completed the final half marathon in 2:22:32.

The participants were cheered on by other Finish Strong athletes who volunteered at various aid stations along the race course. Go team!