Sun's out, guns out . . .

Just so we have no misunderstanding
Guns means biceps here.

Popularity contest
Saturday was a little warmish for a half marathon, but it sure beats rain for the biggest half marathon party in the country. The Popular Brooklyn Half was popular indeed (see what I did there?), and we fielded seven teams for the May club points race.

Francesco Presutti joined us from overseas to storm through the course, claim first place for the team and seventh in the 55-59 age group, and triple score by capturing first place for the twenty-seventh place Flyer Open Men, the eleventh place 40+ Flyer Men, and the sixth place 50+ Flyer Men in 1:23:22 (6:22 pace). Dan Lam followed Francesco across the finish line with a triple score, capturing second for the Flyer Open and 40+ Men in 1:24:08 (6:26 pace). Mr. President also double scored, capturing third in the Open and 40+ Flyer Men divisions in 1:24:39 (6:28 pace). Jeffrey Tente and James Dunham placed fourth and fifth for the Flyer Open Men in 1:25:52 (6:33 pace) and 1:27:08 (6:39 pace).

Tim Decker placed second for the Flyer 50+ Men in 1:30:04 (6:53 pace), followed by Marc Bochner in 1:33:38 (7:09 pace). The Flyer 60+ Men finished third in their division, and Andreas Werder showed everyone how it's done with a first place finish and twelfth in the 60-64 age group in 1:37:52 (7:28 pace). Guy Simoneau placed second for the team in 1:44:39 (7:59 pace), and Brad Goz finished third in 1:45:51 (8:05 pace). The 70+ Flyer Men also placed third in their division, and Delton Mace set the pace with a first place team finish and ninth in the 70-74 age group in 2:06:01 (9:37 pace). Gary Heard came in for second in 2:41:37 (12:20 pace), and Vincent Doogan placed third for the team in 3:04:57 (14:07 pace).

In the women's race, Pamela Hunt continued her winning ways with a first place team finish, fourth Flyer overall, third in the 50-54 age group, and a triple score, capturing first for the seventeenth place Flyer Open Women, the third place Flyer 40+ Women, and the third place Flyer 50+ Women in 1:24:42 (6:28 pace). Frieda Edelmann double scored, placing second for the Flyer Open and 40+ Women as well as seventh in the 45-49 age group in 1:34:48 (7:14 pace). Rising star Elena Riecke placed third for the Flyer Open Women in 1:35:56 (7:20 pace), followed by the amazing quadruple scoring Heather Tolford. Heather placed fourth for the Flyer Open Women, third for the Flyer 40+ Women, and first for both the third place Flyer 50+ Women and the first place Flyer 60+ Women, also capturing first place in the 60-64 age group, all in a mere 1:36:38 (7:23 pace). Marcy Withington placed fifth for the Flyer Open Women and eighteenth in the 45-49 age group in 1:37:47 (7:28 pace).

Veteran superstar Denise Iannizzotto finished second for the Flyer 50+ Women and eighth in the 55-59 age group in 1:41:19 (7:44 pace), and Hiromi Nobata came in for third in 1:46:29 (8:08 pace). Andrea Kent picked up second for the Flyer 60+ Women and tenth in the 60-64 age group in 1:50:09 (8:25 pace0, and Nina Parks-Taylor placed third for the team and seventeenth in the 60-64 age group in 1:54:49 (8:46 pace).

2 fast
On Sunday, two Flyers ran the NYCRUNS Summer Loving 10K. Marc Feldman placed second in the men's 50-59 age group in 45:41 (7:22 pace), and Peter Connors placed tenth in the men's 60-69 age group in 1:24:46 (12:13 pace).

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According to Google Translate, that is Japanese for "very wet day for a run". I commend every Flyer for braving a wet and cooler-than-normal day in May for this nice 4 mile run. Several Flyers did very well. First, let's call out to the Flyer Women overall for coming in 3rd Place.
Heather Tolford displayed her usual and amazing running ability. She was the first Flyer Lady to finish the race and came in first in her age finishing in 28:49 (7:12 pace). Heather! You continue to excel. Sungwon Hwang was close behind her by about 9 seconds and finished 2nd in her age in 28:58 (7:14 pace). Nina Zoe Parks-Taylor finished close behind in 31:50 (7:57 pace) gaining a second place age group award.
For the men, Denis Saat finished in a very fast 25:45 finish tie (6:26 pace) followed closely by Michael Alexander in 26:08 and Tomohiro Inoue in 27:02. A special call out to Connor Yung, son of Tony Yung who finished in 35:00 for an 8th place in the 1-14 age group. Great job Connor!

Newport news
It was a Flyer fiesta across the water this weekend for the NYRR Newport Fiesta 5K. May's points race started with a twelfth place finish for the Flyer Open Women and first for the Flyer 40+ Women, led by double scorers Melissa Labozzetta and Kristel McKanna in 22:51 (7:21 pace and eighth in the 40-44 age group) and 23:17 (7:30 pace and twelfth in the 45-49 age group). Jeanhie Hahn triple scored, capturing third for the Flyers in the Open and 40+ divisions, and first for the first place Flyer 50+ Women in 24:05 (7:46 pace). Jeanhie also placed sixth in the 50-54 age group. Peri Saat placed fourth for the Flyer Open Women in 25:11 (8:07 pace), and Luiza Silva placed fifth for the team in 25:44 (8:17 pace). Deborah McDuffie-Saat placed second for the Flyer 50+ Women and third in the 60-64 age group in 26:29 (8:32 pace), and Diane Klein captured third for the team in 27:46 (8:57 pace and eighteenth in the 55-59 age group).

In the men's race, Deniz Saat placd first for the sixteenth place Flyer Open Men in 19:22 (6:14 pace). Adolfo Ferrando double scored, placing second for the Flyer Open Men and first for the eighteenth place Flyer 40+ Men in 21:21 (6:53 pace). Christian Rodriguez placed third for the Flyer Open Men in 21:47 (7:01 pace), and Jim Crawford triple scored with a fourth place finish for the Flyer Open Men, second for the Flyer 40+ Men, and first for the fourth place Flyer 50+ Men in 23:23 (7:32 pace). Timothy Hadel also triple scored, and if we had fielded a full 60+ Men's team, he would have quadruple scored, placing fifth for the Flyer Open Men, third for the Flyer 40+ Men, and second for the Flyer 50+ Men in 23:37 (7:37 pace). Stefan Brundobler placed third for the Flyer 50+ Men in 24:07 (7:46 pace).

You and your healthy kidneys
Sunday's UAE Health Kidney 10K was NYRR's April points race and the Flyers came out in force to represent, knocking out multiple double and triple scores in the process. In the women's races, Heather Tolford blasted out a quadruple score, placing first for the fifteenth place Open Women, the fourth place 40+ Women, the second place 50+ Women, and the first place 60+ Women, as well as placing first for the 60-64 age group in a blazing 43:08 (6:57 pace). Jane Baker triple scored, placing second for the Flyers in the Open, 40+, and 50+ divisions and sixth in the 50-54 age group in 44:33 (7:11 pace). Amanda Schachter placed third for the Flyer Open Women and Kristel McKanna placed fourh. Amanda and Kristel were also fourth and fifth for the 45-49 age group in 46:21 (7:38 pace) and 47:51 (7:42 pace). Amanda also double scored by placing third for the Flyer 40+ Women.

Andrea Kent double scored with a third place finish in the 50+ age group and second in the 60+ age group, also capturing second in the 60-64 age group in 49:58 (8:03 pace). Nina Parks-Taylor placed third for the 60+ age group and third in the 60-64 age group in 50:54 (8:12 pace). The Flyer 70+ Women placed fourth in their division, led by Barbara Fratta in 1:15:40 (12:11 pace and ninth in the 70-74 age group).Karen Kenney and Hindy Schachter placed second and third for the team and sixteenth and seventeenth in the 70-74 age group in 1:33:56 (15:08 pace) and 1:35:55 (15:27 pace).

Mr. President placed first for the seventeenth place Flyer Open Men and first for the seventh place 40+ Men in 38:17 (6:10 pace and seventeenth in the 40-44 age group). Dan Lam placed second in both divisions in 38:21 (6:11 pace), also finishing eighteenth in the 40-44 age group. Stephen Orr triple scored, placing third for the Flyer Open and 40+ Men, and first for the fourth place Flyer 50+ Men in 38:34 (6:13 pace and eighth in the 50-54 age group). Pat Duffy also double scored with a fourth place finish for the Flyer Open Men and second for the Flyer 50+ Men and 40:09 (6:38 pace), also capturing sixth in the 55-59 age group. Jeffrey Tente placed fifth for the Flyer Open Men in 40:34 (6:32 pace).

Andreas Werder double scored as well with a third place finish for the 50+ Flyer Men and first for the fourth place 60+ Flyer Men and eighth in the 60-64 age group in 44:17 (7:08 pace). Brad Goz and Guy Simoneau finished in second and third for the Flyer 60+ Men in 46:48 (7:32 pace and fifteenth in the 60-64 age group) and 48:32 (7:49 pace and twenty-second in the 60-64 age group). The 70+ Flyer Men finished in third place in their division, led by Gary Heard in 59:04 (9:31 pace and fifteenth in the 70-74 age group); Gary Smeal in 1:05:43 (10:35 pace and twenty-first in the 70-74 age group); and Vincent Doogan in 1:23:14 (13:24 pace). Other age group honors went to Howard Tanz (ninth in the men's 65-69 age group) and Dee Vogt (eighth in the women's 55-59 age group).

Swimming to the finish
Saturday was a singularly unpleasant weather day for the Run As One 4-Miler, but that didn't keep many Flyers off the course. The top five finishers for the Flyer men all represented for the Master division: These speedy forty-somethings included Tomohiro Inoue, who placed first for the Flyer men in 26:55 (6:44 pace), followed by Adolfo Ferrando in 28:10 (7:03 pace). Tony Yung and Babak Ghatan captured third and fourth for the team in 28:51 (7:13 pace) and 29:16 (7:19 pace), and Oscar Gomez placed fifth for the Flyers in 29:27 (7:22 pace).

Veteran Flyer women Amy Thakkar and Laura Torrado-Malley placed first and second for the team and fifth and sixth in the 50-54 age group in 31:27 (7:42 pace) and 31:30 (7:53 pace). Julie Connolly placed third for the Flyer women in 31:34 (7:54 pace and eighteenth in the 40-44 age group). Eileen O'Farrell crossed the finish line in fifth place for the team in 32:39 (8:10 pace), and Laura Guerra placed fifth for the team and eighth in the 55-59 age group in 33:29 (8:23 pace). Other age group honors went to Howard Tanz (third in the men's 65-69 age group); Ricky Lam (seventh in the men's 65-69 age group); Delton Mace (fifth in the men's 70-74 age group); Felix Alicea (ninth in the men's 70-74 age group); Barbara Fratta (third in the women's 70-74 age gorup); and Karen Kenney (eighth in the women's 70-74 age group).

Rooty toot toot
The monthly long run series continues in May with the Little Toot Battery Park Hudson River Long Run on Sunday, May 05. Free to members and fifteen bucks for our non-Flyer friends, this run will give you up to twenty solid miles, plus all the fluid support and camaraderie you could want. Registration closes on May 03, so get your calendar organized soon.

Welcome to everyone's least productive day of the year
Get ready to keep hitting the refresh button on the BAA website as we wish our powerful Boston Marathoners speedy legs, strong heart, and reliable colons on Monday. No matter what the time on the clock says at the finish, taking your place at the starting line is already a victory like no other.

Shaping up
Sunday's race was all about the ladies: Elena Riecke captured a smooth first place team finish in the Shape Women's Half Marathon, crossing the finish line in eleventh place in the 20-24 age group in 1:38:47 (7:33 pace). Amy Knepper and Susan Riskin placed second and third for the Flyers in 1:54:18 (8:44 pace) and 1:46:56 (8:56 pace). Brooke Fricke captured fourth for the team in 1:57:03 (8:56 pace), and Kathleen McCormack picked up a fifth place Flyer finish in 1:58:53 (9:05 pace).

Meanwhile, just one day earlier
Three Flyers took it to the streets in Queens for the NYCRUNS Queens Half Marathon. Adolfo Ferrando placed first for the team and twenty-fourth in the men's 40-49 age group in 1:42:21 (7:49 pace), followed by Mark Feldman, who placed eighth in the men's 50-59 age group in 1:44:16 (7:58 pace); and Kristel McKanna, who placed fifth in the women's 40-49 age group in 1:48:12 (8:15 pace).

Breathing easier
The Flyer women captured second place in Sunday's Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 4-Miler, once again led by our fabulous Veteran runners. Jane Baker placed first for the team, first in the 50-54 age group, and nineteenth overall in 27:39 (6:55 pace). Denise Iannizzotto placed second for the team and first in the women's 55-59 age group in 29:06 (7:17 pace). Michelle Yuen represented for the Flyer Open women, placing third for the team and seventeenth in the 30-34 age group in 29:55 (7:29 pace). Amy Knepper captured fourth for the team and tenth in the 40-44 age group in 30:22 (7:36 pace), and Yumi Morishige placed fifth for teh Flyer women and sixth in the 50-54 age group in 30:24 (7:36 pace).

In the men's race, Stephen Orr placed first for the team, first in the 50-54 age group, and twentieth overall in 23:48 (5:57 pace). Matthew Sullivan and Tomohiro Inoue cruised in for second and third for the team in 26:59 (6:45 pace) and 27:22 (6:51 pace). James Tarleton and Howard Choi finished up the rest of the Flyer men's points in 28:49 (7:13 pace) and 29:00 (7:15 pace). Other age group honors went to Delton Mace (third in the men's 70-74 age group); Barbara Fratta (fourth in the women's 70-74 age group); Karen Kenney (seventh in the women's 70-74 age group); and Hindy Schachter (tenth in the women's 70-74 age group).

Palisades power
Meanwhile, a bunch of people double dipped this weekend by participating in the Saturday morning Palisades Run. This Flyer classic brings runners across the GW Bridge and up and down some scenic rolling hills for a course up to fifteen miles (which you can push to twenty if you're really feeling good about hills or need a bathroom in Alpine). Thanks and appreciation to event captain and Vice President Elaine Rosen, ably assisted by Deena Novick, Fern Romero, Hiromi Nobata, Melissa Labozzetta, and Stephanie Pianka for making the whole thing happen.