This summer saw long-time and new Club Northwest athletes competing on the track and roads.

After a one-year hiatus, the Seafair Torchlight Run resumed with a pack of orange up front. The Reed household grabbed two victories as Chris and Annie won the men’s and women’s 8k, with Andy Reed (no relation) taking the men’s 5k for to ensure surname dominance. Behind Chris were four more Club runners, as Spencer Walsh was second, Lance Thompson third (and masters champ), Ari Schorr fourth, and Destry Johnson fifth and second masters.

CNW also led the way at several half marathons this summer. In August, Pete
Hanson ran away from the field to win the Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon in 1:15:30. Later that month at the Labor Day Half Marathon — the Pacific Northwest Association half marathon championship — Megan Heuer was third overall and John Christian took fourth on the men’s side. In the master’s division, Deborah Fletcher and Kristen Mossman went 1-2, with Todd Maruca second for the men.

Megan Heuer and Todd Maruca working together at the Labor Day Half

Pete Hanson racing at the Skagit Flats Marathon

In September, Nick Welch and Spencer Walsh finished top two in the Skagit Flats Half Marathon in 1:10:20 and 1:13:27, with Pete Hanson and Mark Bloudek coming second and third in the full.

The 49th All Comers meets were again a big success. In meet 3, Rob Scanlon and Jamin King both got under 4:20 in the mile. Two weeks later, Jamin was seconds behind Tyler Van Dooren as they ran 15:00.33 and 15:05.25 in the 5,000 meters. Annie Reed won the 1500 meters in week 8 and Hillary Shaw broke 20 minutes in meet 3 and won the event in meet 9. Dylan Kent won the 800 meters in three meets, and Waqar Shaikh moved down in distance and set new PRs at 800 and 1500 meters during the summer.

Lana Lacey celebrating a huge 5K PR with teammate, Alex Rockhill

Rob Scanlon impressed in several other races and distances in his first season racing in orange. The Iowa State graduate also joined Ashley Nichols in winning the Fremont 5k in June, finished fourth in the very competitive Beat the Bridge 8k in May (the PNW Association 8k championships), and won the Tenacious Ten 10k in April. Most importantly, Rob also won the third annual Seattle vs. Portland race at the Portland Track Festival in June, where the Seattle squad composed of several CNW members finally defeated the Portland contingent over 3,000 meters. At the same meet, Lana Lacey set a new PR over 5,000 meters in 16:46.93.

CNW teammates celebrating strong races all around after the Shore Run 5K and 10K

Other August racing included the Seattle Marathon 10k at Seward Park, where Megan Heuer and Janet McDevitt were 1-2 (with Janet the master’s winner) and Drew Polley second for the men in 32:06. At the 40th edition of the Shore Run, CNW filled the top spots.

Laura Mizumoto running strong at the Tunnel Marathon

Shaun Frandsen, Pete Hanson, and Ari Schorr swept the men’s 10k podium, Drea Garvue took the women’s 10k title, and Megan Heuer repeated as 5k champ. In September’s Tunnel Marathon, Laura Mizumoto qualified for Boston finishing third overall in 3:14:57 in her marathon debut.

In the mountains, the CNW team “Old Dogs New Tics” was second overall and masters champs with their performance of 21:00:09 (i.e., just shy of one day) in the Ragnar Trail Rainier relay. Jeff Hashimoto was out even longer earning his fifth-place finish over the 28,000 feet of elevation gain in the Fat Dog 120, one of North America’s toughest ultras. Paul Young also set a new PR in the White River 50-mile trail race, finish fifth in the competitive 25-29 age group in 9:48.

"Old Dogs New Tics" after taking 2nd overall at the Ragnar Trail Rainier relay race

For many the focus now shifts to cross country and fall marathons. The XC teams will compete at meets in Washington and Oregon through the fall, leading up to the USATF Club XC National Championships in Lexington, Kentucky, where our teams will return to the site of the 2012 meet.