[Sorry for the abortive post before—I must have hit a wrong key while starting the draft.]
Now that we’re past our first month, it’s time to check in on the standings on the FLRC Challenge leaderboard. Caitlin Loehr has run to solid leads in Most Points for women, Age Grade, and Most Miles, but even her accomplishments haven’t been enough to boost the @Fabulous-50s out of fourth place and onto the front page. Jilene Demont and Nora McIver-Sheridan are climbing in the Most Points standings as they get closer to completing all ten courses, but Caitlin’s lead is all the more impressive when you realize she’s 20 years older than both of them.
For the men, Patrick Milano is the guy to catch since he’s leading Most Points for men and is third in Most Miles with nine courses done. Once he finishes his tenth course—perhaps this weekend—the rest of the fast men will have a clear target. But some of this year’s courses need multiple passes before you can hit top speed, which may hamper those with a one-and-done strategy.
Speaking of completions, congrats to Bob Walters, the sixth person to complete all ten courses this year and, at 64, the oldest so far. He and 60-year-old Jamie Loehr are doing good things for the @Super-60s-70s this year, and once Keith Eggleston and Klaas Van Wijk bring their strong age-grade capabilities to more courses, the 60+ team might have a shot at supplanting the @Thundering-30s. Currently, the @Fantastic-40s are running away with the team competition, with less than half the points of second place. Remember, for the team competition, the points are calculated based on the top ten age-graded runners and the total number of runs. So, to improve a team’s ranking, you want ten fast runners for the age-grade points and as large a team as you can assemble for the number of runs points. Recruit shamelessly! Note that each team can coordinate in private group messages using those @group-names shown above—click one and click the Message button to start a private message.
Our total weekly mileage is down a bit from last year, likely because we don’t have any serious mileage monsters or Ultra Challenge completions so far this year. Nonetheless, we’re still averaging 725 miles per week, which puts us on track for a total of an impressive 13,000 miles. Who will be the first to notch the Ultra Challenge this year?
Photo of the week goes to Michelle Woods (as the photographer) and Simon Woods for showing us how it’s done on Ellis Hollow Creek Crossings. If a 7-year-old can run a Personal Challenge, so can you! He’s aiming for seven courses this year, up from when he completed six last year.
No group run again this week because so many runners will be partaking of the trails at Hammond Hill for Thom B tomorrow (you can still sign up), but we’ll be heading out to Lime Hollow the following weekend. Check the schedule for details, but beware that it may change slightly. We always announce group runs in the forum beforehand.
Until next week, keep covering the ground!