Virginia's top 40 5K runners (Seniors)

I've decided to try to rank middle school and high school 5K runners around Virginia by age/grade. I will be looking up times in 5K's around the state of Virginia. I will also look at 3 milers and 2.98 milers as I have formulas that covert these times to 5K times. I can't vouch too much for the accuracy of these ratings as a lot of things make this endeavor hard (many results are posted without age or grade listings, many race results don't end up on the Internet at all, courses aren't always measured correctly or the distance is reported wrong, mistakes happen when entering this much data). If you know of a girl you think I'm missing then e-mail me at kgilliam@ocss-va.org with URL of results of a race that show she should be included-any 3 miler or 5K will do. Just so you know, a high school runner needs to be running under 21:30 to have any chance at all of making these lists (faster the older you get). 8th graders should be sub 23:00, 7th graders should be sub 25:00, 6th graders should be sub 27:00 and 5th graders should be sub 30:00. I don't want to post younger than that as pediatricians don't all agree on how much kids under 10 should be pushing to break distance running records. Private schools often don't publish grades with their cross country results so many of those kids are floating on a list of "mystery kids." I'll publish that list once in a while and hopefully someone can clue me in on their grade levels.

Gr 12 Rank Name School/City
1 Kathleen Stevens Blacksburg
2 Joanna Stevens Blacksburg
3 Katherine Walker Brooke Point
4 Kaitlyn Davis Mountain View
5 Kathleen Lautzenhesier Midlothian
6 Clarissa Schick Maggie Walker
7 Stephanie Fenchik Landstown
8 Paige Kvartunas West Springfield
9 Madalyn Nuckols Deep Run
10 Liana Epstein Lake Braddock
11 Ariel Karabinus Osbourn Park
12 Alex Watt West Springfield
13 Lindsi Arrington Gar-Field
14 Julie Strange Loudoun County
15 Allison Bartels Brentsville District
16 Leah Fitchett Blacksburg
17 Tammy Cheung Millbrook
18 Ashley Wybersky Osbourn Park
19 Claire Sibley Hidden Valley
20 Kristina Woodard Hampton
21 Julianne Bigler West Potomac
22 Stephanie Cario Lee-Davis
23 Taylor Crosson James Robinson
24 Amy Witt Midlothian
25 Anna Barber West Sprinfield
26 Lanie Smith Oakton
27 Natalie Wright Potomac Falls
28 Kelly Hagen Lake Braddock
29 Courtney Dobbs Deep Run
30 Erica Howes W. T. Woodson
31 Amanda Tomlin Prince George
32 Lauren Hopper Hanover
33 Melanie Rice Marion
34 Anneka Wilson Potomac School
35 Katie Butt Hickory
36 Mary Sanders Western Branch
37 Becky Dobosy Lafayette
38 Christina Lee Potomac Falls
39 McKenna Ledbetter Tallwood
40 Amanda Lineberry Lee-Davis

I was supposed to cross train yesterday and didn't. So I'm making myself do an unscheduled 2 mile run today.

Official Turkey Trot Results are in. The top female finisher, Izzy Gomez, is listed as a 13 year old female. There seemed to be some confusion about that. I think the age and/or sex classification may be wrong. If there really is a 13 year old out there running 19:28 5K's on that course, then she is the top middle school runner in the state, that I know of.

Anyhow:

Helen's 24:27 finished 127th place overall, 29th among the women, and 5th among 10-14 year old females!
Brenda's 29:49 placed her in 372nd place, and 21st of 77 women the 40-44 year old category.
Matt's 44:55 placed him in 837th place, and 42nd of 49 men in the 45-49 year old category.
Hunter's 46:06 placed him in 868th place, and 42nd of 51 men in the 10-14 year old category.

Waiting for times...

I always can't wait to see race times published to the Internet. I've been up early this morning waiting. While I was up I ended up looking at some message boards about the Cowboys/Redskins rivalry. I am a Cowboys fans and I wanted to look up some facts. Here goes (sorry if this isn't your thing, but the blog goes where it goes; it has a mind of its own).

Dallas leads the series 58-39-2

1960-1962 Redskins 2-1-2 over Cowboys
1962-1967 Cowboys 5-5 even with Redskins (Split every season)
1968-1970 Cowboys 6-0 over Redskins
1971-1976 Redskins 7-6 over Cowboys (Glory years--every year a split--Redskins win playoff matchup)
1977-1982 Cowboys 9-3 over Redskins
1983-1984 Redskins 3-1 over Cowboys
1985-1988 Cowboys 4-4 even with Redskins (Skins longest win streak of 4 in middle of this span)
1989-1996 Cowboys 9-9 even with Redskins (Neither team puts together a streak of more than 3 games)
1997-2004 Cowboys 13-1 over Redskins (Cowboys longest streak of 10 games starts this span)
2005-2009 Redskins 4-5 over Cowboys

Biggest Margin of Victory for Cowboys 38-3 in 1993
Biggest Margin of Victory for Redskins 35-7 in 2005
Lowest Cowboy total: 3 points in 24-3 loss in 1972
Lowest Redskin total: 0 points in 13-0 loss in 1971 and 27-0 loss in 2003
Highest Cowboy total: 45 points in 1970
Highest Redskin total: 41 points in 1986
Highest combined score: Dallas wins 41-35 in 1999
Lowest combined score: Dallas wins 13-0 in 1971, Dallas wins 7-6 in 2009

We finished the Turkey Trot!

I'm sure results aren't posted yet, but we were all at least 6 minutes faster than last year.

Helen turned last year's 36:00 run into a 24:11 this year. A great time for her on this hilly course. She was a little disappointed that she didn't win a prize, but considering she's in bed now with a 101 degree fever we'll take the time.

Brenda had a great 29:40. This is her fastest time in 8 years or so.

I ran a 44:57, but I'd like to qualify it by saying it had to take me at least a minute to reach the starting line and another minute before traffic was moving enough for me to run.

Hunter was right behind me but we don't know his exact time.

Warmer this year

Last year it was 25 at start time for the Turkey Trot. Looks like 48 this year. 41 right now. Leaving! See ya!

Photos of the Family Running (and a backpacking pic)

Brenda running as Princess Leia

Hunter as Darth Vader (mask long gone)

Matt and Hunter on the homestretch

Little Red Riding Hood: Helen on her way to a second place finish

Matt just before an 11-day backpack through Shenendoah National Park and farther south.

Orange County High School's Best Runs of the Decade

Thanks to Milestat I was able to look up Orange County High School's best times this decade in the Jefferson District Cross Country Championships at Panorama Farms. Notice, that as a seventh grader, my daughter Helen has already made the list (sorry, about being the bragging dad).

Top 10 Boys Runs
1. Jeff Taylor (17:49) 2009
2. M. Szalach (18:03) 2000
3. Chris Lewis (18:05) 2008
4. Jay Fasenmyer (18:45) 2002
5. Ben Sanner (19:13) 2007
6. Jay Fasenmyer (19:14) 2001
7. Adam Sidelko (19:19) 2009
8. Adam Sidelko (19:25) 2008
9. Ben Sanner (19:25) 2006
10. Luke Dulin (19:30) 2007


Top 10 Girls Runs
1. Liza Collins (21:27) 2004
2. Zoe Klug (23:17) 2008
3. Nicole Walters (23:38) 2007
4. Sarah McLeod (24:15) 2001
5. Crystal Wever (24:20) 2004
6. Shannon Spade (24:25) 2002
7. Shannon Spade (24:26) 2001
8. Lindsay Aylor (24:46) 2009
9. Zoe Klug (24:48) 2009
10. Helen Gilliam (25:12) 2009


Good news for the team is that Lindsay will be back next year as well as Anna Bosworth and Emani Coleman Combs. Along with Helen, all four should be able to crack the list next year. The bad news is they need at least 2 more runners (and could use even more) in order to have enough girls to count at next year's meets. Locust Grove and Prospect Heights 8th graders, we hope to see you out there next year as freshmen.

The photograph is of the 2009 Orange Girls Cross Country team walking the course at Woodbury Forest. Left to Right: Coach Ashley Hawkins, Devan Kelly, Jessica Hensley, Lindsay Aylor, Helen Gilliam, Anna Bosworth and Zoe Klug (Emani Coleman-Combs is not pictured).

Pre Race Excitement

My wife just found photos posted from our Halloween run. The Screamin' 5K at Willow Creek. Unfortunately, they're on facebook which I've never used. I'm trying to figure it out so I can post some photos here.

This was really a fun race and I hope a lot more people will participate next year.

I'm surprised how excited I am for tomorrow's race even though I thinking I'll fall short of my goal. We've got our numbers. Brenda is 1043, Hunter is 1044, Helen is 1045 and I'm 1046. If you see us there say hello. One nice thing about racing is that your entry fee almost always goes to a good cause. In this case, it's the UVA Children's Hospital. UVA Children's Hospital.

She did it.

I drove behind Helen in the truck as she made 3 miles look super easy. I'm not sure her pulse increased during the run.

Finding time to run.

While a lot of people will dismiss the idea that one can't find the time to exercise, it can be difficult, particularly in the winter to get all the runs in you need.

Case in point is today with my daughter. We don't have enough daylight in the morning for her to get in her 3 mile run before school and after school she has Destination Imagination practice. By the time we get home it will be dark. Her mother has several pre Thanksgiving stops to make in Charlottesville and will probably not get home until 7:00 pm at the best.

Helen hates running on the treadmill so that means driving to town and running with me following in the truck or running with a flashlight (headlight) while I do the same (she's too young to run unsupervised). A lot of times you can just move a run to another day, but Thursday is race day so she can't back it up to Wednesday and still run her peak time. Brenda is in the same boat, but a little more (just a little) willing to run on the treadmill. We did pay a lot of money for the thing; I wish somebody would use it. :)

Resting for the Race

I will take a three day break from race training after the Turkey Trot. I know what you're thinking...this guy's already giving up on running. No, I'm just going to switch to my other love and do some hiking those days. I've hiked a good deal of the trail (over 200 miles which is about 10%). I've knocked out everything north of Three Ridges in Virginia to the Maryland/Pennsylvania line except for 0.6 miles just north of Bear's Den Rocks. So I'll probably hike that (plus some) this weekend and maybe do the Three Ridges loop. Summertime plans are to hike the rest of Virginia.

I'm also not running for two days before the race. I have been following this plan to get ready for the Turkey Trot: Hal Higdon's 5K Novice Plan.

On Monday Hunter and I switch to this plan: 8K Running Plan. I'm excited about it because it includes some much needed weight training (we have a weight machine in our basement).

Brenda and I feel that 5K is the longest run Hunter should be doing right now since he's only 10 years old. We figure each year we'll let him bump up one race distance, but he will not be doing any runs in the 8K plan longer than 3 miles. So in March he will do a 4K walk when Brenda, Helen and I run the Martha Jefferson 8K in Charlottesville. I am hoping one or more of his grandparents will join him that day. If you are interested in walking a 4K (or more commonly a 5K) here's a plan to get you started: Hal Higdon's 5K Walk Training

Interestingly, since I'm switching to the 8K plan after the Turkey Trot, I won't have another 3 mile run until I run a race on Dec. 12 and I won't run a longer distance than that until Dec. 27. That's okay at my size (256 lbs. yesterday) I need to bump up the mileage very slowly.

Today's Run

49 degrees with a drizzle: Matt runs a 26:49 two mile. Over a minute faster than last week's two mile, but probably not as good as I would like as it makes running a sub 40:00 5K look awfully tough. LOSE WEIGHT!

Running in the rain

I'm not disciplined enough to skip days and reschedule them. I need to run what my plan says when it says. Today is 2 miles.

What's the problem? 47 degrees and rain is the problem.

Yuck, I hate running in cold rain. Summer time rain is no problem, except for the chaffing. But late fall rain? I'm not looking forward to it.

I think the mistake most rookies make (I learned this backpacking) is to wear some sort of rain coat. This will keep the rain off of you but you will get soaking wet from your own sweat. You need layers. Wicking inner layers and a weather resistant, but not water proof outer shell.

I got chilled in this stuff backpacking last year, but I think I'll be okay with a quick 27 minute run and a hop in the tub today.

Here's a link that has more info on running in the rain:
Running in the Rain

P.S. The photograph is not of ME running in the rain. I weigh 250. I just imagine that's how I look running in the rain.

This Week's Workout Schedules:

Race Week. Race is on a Thursday so it will be strange.

Matt and Hunter:
Sunday: Cross Training
Monday: 2 miles
Tuesday: Rest for race
Wednesday: Rest for race
Thursday: Turkey Trot 5K
Friday: Cross Train
Saturday: Cross Train

Brenda and Helen:
Sunday: 5000 meter run
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Turkey Trot 5K
Friday: Rest
Saturday 3-4 Miles

How did I get this fat?

I was always a decent athlete. Never great by any means but I could play any sport decently. I was a quick study and never had trouble learning the skills it took to play most sports decently (okay, I was never a quick study at skiing and skating--apparently balance isn't my thing).

After high school I went to VMI for a semester and after those four months of hell I think my physical fitness level slowly deteriorated. The next four years of college probably saw me put on a little bit of weight, but I continued to participate in enough outdoor activities to stay in decent shape.

I began teaching and coaching and put on a little more weight, but again seemed to stay fit, but finally around 10 years after I got out of college I crossed into the 200 pound category. At 5'11" the gut wasn't pretty and I managed to lose down to 170 or so, but after getting married and starting a family I quit coaching and even playing golf and started comforting myself with food.

Finally, at some point I was up to 272 pounds (it bounced around but the overall trend was definitely up_ and suffering from gout and sleep apnea. I didn't have the energy to do much.

In May of 2008 I got my weight back down to 218 through diet and backpacking. I fell in love with the AT and I have decided that I will hike all of it eventually (with my family joining me for significant portions. This past summer I did quite a bit of backpacking but I was back up to nearly 270 pounds and after having been able to pull 18 miles in a day back in 2008 it was humbling to realize I could only backpack 8 miles at best and I was done for the day.

Meanwhile, my daughter had shown promise as a distance runner and decided she wanted to run cross country for our local high school this past fall (she is only in the 7th grade so she didn't count this year, but still ran as an unofficial member of the team). I was noticing that my son was following in my lazy footsteps so I convinced him that we would start running too. My ulterior motive was to have a family in shape so that we could backpack together in the summer of 2010 without pain (my wife has always been a runner so she was in good shape already).

Anyway, the first day of cross country practice for my daughter led my son and I to the track. We could only do a mile and we walked most of that. There is no way we ran more than about 3/8 of a mile that day. We were suffering, too.

Well since then I've dropped about 20 pounds and Hunter and I have completed two competitive 5K's (my best time is 40:39 and his is 44:05). We are much healthier and happier and this Thanksgiving we will run the Turkey Trot in Charlottesville, VA. It's a hilly run so our personal records may not fall, but we are looking to finish together in under 40 minutes.

My wife is shooting for under 30 minutes and my daughter is looking to win a prize in the 14 and under category and she'll have to run a blistering 22:30 or so in order to pull it off. I'll let you know how we do.

Click here to visit Charlottesville Turkey Trot page. If you check out the Turkey Trot Results from last year you'll see that our times our pretty ambitious compared to what we did last year:

Helen was 579th place with a 35:57 last year (shooting for sub 23:00 this year). Personal best 23:36 on Halloween in a race in which she was the second place woman.
Brenda was 590th place with a 36:31 (shooting for a sub 30:00 this year). Personal best is 28:10 but several years ago
Matt was 911th place with a 50:50 (shooting for a sub 40:00 this year). Personal best was a long time ago in college, but since I started running this year it is 40:39.
Hunter was 915th place with a 51:03 (shooting for a sub 40:00 this year). Personal best was on Halloween with a 44:05.

Our goals are a tad ambitious for all of us (again this is a hilly course) and I don't think any of us will be unhappy if we are slightly slower

Welcome to the blog!

This blog will be centered around one family's backpacking and distance running adventures. My name is Matt Gilliam and I'm 46 years old. My wife is Brenda and she's 43. My daughter is Helen; she is 12. My son, Hunter, is 10.

I will try to post regularly about how our family is doing with our attempts to be better runners and to eventually hike the Appalachian Trail.

Let me first of all post a photograph of my daughter running for the Orange County High School Cross Country team. She is definitely the stud runner of the family (23:36 is her best 5K), while the rest of us have a long way to go (40:39 5K for me, for instance).