Irfan Anwar was expected to contribute big time by running four events and he did not disappoint. He won the 1500 in 4:21.60, placed fourth in the 800 in 2:01.84 and third in the 5000.  Last but not least, he helped the 4×400 team to come in second.

“Congradulations on a fabulous job, performance WELL DONE by all. It was simply wonderful to see all of you at the start and at the finish. The tough course of the Coogan’s 5K did not stop the spectacular performances of today by all.
 
The 50+ Women and the 60+ Women teams both came in first place! A fabulous way to start the 2010 Season.
 
The 50+ Team was as follows:
 
Stacy Creamer with a time of 19:50. First in her Age Group of 50-54. Not only did Stacy lead the 50+ Women’s Team, but she also led the 40+ Team and also scored for the Open Team, as well. A spectacular performance, well done. Congradulations, Stacy.
 
Margot Sheehan with a time of 22:28. Seventh in her Age Group of 50-54. Margot very recently had a PR in the 800 Meters with a time of 2:52. Fabulous comeback for Margot. Congradulations, Margot!
 
Sylvie Kimche with a time of 23:07. First in her Age Group of 60-64. Sylvie not only led the 60+ Women’s Team but she also scored for the 50+ as well. NIce to have you back from Australia, Sylvie. Congradulations.
 
My time was 24:31. Third in my Age Group of 55-59. I missed second place by only 4 seconds! OUCH!
 
Jane Kenney with a time of 25:27. Ninetenth in her Age Group of 50-54. Great performance. Congradulations, Jane.
 
The 60+ Team were as follows:
 
Sylvie Kimche with a time of 23:07.
Deborah Barchat with a time of 24:29. Third in her Age Group of 60-64. First race after injury. Deborah, great comeback. Congradulations.
 
Judith Tripp with a time of 25:12. Fourth in her Age Group of 60-64. Great performance, Judith. Congradulations!
 
Lynn Blackstone with a time of 29:28. Sixth in her Age Group of 65-69. Great performance, Lynn. Congradulations.
 
Caryl Baron with a time of 32:21. Thirtenth in her Age Group of 65-69. Great performance after a long layoff. So glad to see you Caryl out there and racing again. Welcome back!!
 
I hope that all of us stay healthy, train well and smart. It was great to see all you Fine Fabulous Ladies do so well, and Look Fabulous at the same time, as always.
 
Look forward to seeing you all at the next club scoring race in March.
 
Again, Congradulations on the Spectacular and Faboulous performance by all.
 
Sincerely,
MaryD”

Marge started running at the Kenyanesque age of 9, and by 17, at North Hunterdon High School, she was on the podium in the 800 at the New Jersey State Championships. Too young  yet to join that pack in NYC,  she went south to Princeton,  where she and Lynn Jennings were part of a strong track and cross country program. Marge broke 4:30 in the indoor 1500, which is to this day a top-4 all-time for that other orange team.

After college Marge moved to the city and started burning a candle at both ends: training and racing as both an elite miler and elite investor in Bonfire of the Vanities-era Manhattan. That candle was apparently extraordinarily hardy, and Marge excelled at both, speeding to a lifetime best 1500 of 4:20 with the Westchester Track Club while simultaneously tending to her career.

Inevitably, working so hard and running so competitively took a toll, especially because at the time runners had to travel far to find competitive track races. Through her 30s Marge fought hard and never stopped running, but had injury troubles and found it increasingly hard to blend her professional and athletic lives.

But Marge came back stronger than ever a few years ago, and here is where we can start learning from her success. The number-one rule of masters running is “do not get injured,” and Marge has figured out for herself how to follow that rule. She began an intense core training program that has made her stronger than ever and able to run big miles without strain. While most of us run and pray for health, Marge is somewhere working on her abdominals, hip flexors, and other areas.

Resistance training doesn’t get you an American record — Marge seems able to do the volume and intense back-to-back workouts that many of us shy away from. In season she will run either two hard workouts each week or one workout and a race. In the fall she ran with Tony’s road group to get strong, and now she is with Devon’s track group for 1500-specific training. Her longest runs are around 11 miles.  Her 50 miles per week are fewer than she used to run, so she tends carefully to her leg speed. One of her favorite workouts this year was 800/400/800/400 at mile race pace.  If that is one of her favorite workouts, I don’t think we’ll soon see her lining up in Fort Wadsworth.

If physical training is 50 percent of the battle, the other 100 percent is mental. Marge maintains a sharp fire in the belly by building on success, layer by layer. Still stung by a slump years ago, Marge clearly does not take her success for granted. She says strengthening her core was the start of a snowballing process that has kept her fired up. As she became stronger she could run more consistently, which took off some weight, which made her faster, which inspired her even more, and so on until she was running 50 mpw and breaking American records. Age-graded tables  also keep her motivated. As far as I know, her 4:47.9/91.4% 1500 at TNAR makes her one of only three distance CPTCers above 90%. But age is not an excuse — “I don’t feel any limits from age,” Marge says.

As for her plans, Marge will race March 6 at the Armory and, if all goes well,  finish her indoor season in Boston at Masters Nationals.  She will take a break after Nats, run a few outdoor meets, then maybe move up to the 5k in the fall.

Will she go for an official 1500 AR (4:50) at Boston? She was coy when I asked, but  I think that if the pace is fast she may take a shot at it. But more important to understanding Marge,  she made it clear that she relishes competition more than fast times. One of the things that make elite runners like Marge elite is that they have a powerful need to compete and win. Even after a very difficult race they will say things like “That was really fun — it was great to get out with that kind of field and compete.” Marge says things like that. I would not want to be leading going into the last lap of the mile up in Boston, with Marge hammering right behind me.

Hey, let’s keep talking about hammering. The CPTC 40+ men, last year not the strongest link in the orange and blue chain, have come out swinging in 2010. Jesus Mateo de Castro, Joshua Rayman, and David Greenberg swept the podium in the Gridiron four-miler. Stay tuned: If a couple others come out of the woodwork, it could be a good year in the 40-44.

It was a good race overall for CPTCers — beside Jesus, Stacy Creamer and Mary Diver also won their age groups. Stacy in particular sped molto velocemente around the inner loop — turning in a 25:39/85.7%, for her best age-graded time ever, the tenth-best women’s score since 2008, and the best women’s score of 2010 period. Put another way, Stacy is running faster now than when she was in her 20s.

Others who ran 52-week age-graded PRs were Kevin McGuire, Fred Trilli, Larry Kellogg, and Audrey Kingsley (for the third race in a row).

Speaking of coming out of the woodwork, a large contingent of CPTCers came out for the Haiti run, raising $750 for earthquake relief. While fast racing wasn’t the priority, Alan Ruben and Yasuhiro Makoshi won their age groups, and Fred Trilli, Peter Tipograph, James Hanrahan, and Larry Kellogg had their best races in the past year.

Fourteen CPTCers trekked out to Prospect Park to compete in the Al Gordon, and Margot Sheehan came back with a win. Fred Trilli is on a tear — he scored his third age-graded PR in as many races. Leandro Germosen came off the cross country course to record a 52-week PR for himself.

While they don’t fit in exactly with the Faster Masters tarmac-centric bias, I should re-recognize the great Anselm Lebourne’s 4:35/92.5% mile — that is an extraordinary performance. Alston Brown’s 2:20/90.1% is nearly as good. Finally, when you see Michael Rosenthal or Hank Schiffman, ask them how much it hurts to run up 86 flights of stairs.

dgreenb300@aol.com

Field Performance of the Week
John Langhauser
USATF New England Shot Put Runner-up
Season PR
16.83m

Kyra James
Armory Sprint Night Weight Throw & Shot Put Champion
13.51m Weight
12.11m Shot

Masters Track Performance of the Week
Lisa Daley
60 meters – Armory Sprint Night
New Masters Club Record
8.19

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Chris Spooner
3000m – Boston University Valentine Invitational
New Club Record
8:16.45

Stephanie Herrick
800m – Boston University Valentine Invitational
#2 on the CPTC All-Time Indoor List
2:10.44

Cat Beck
1500m Champion – Thursday Night at the Races
#5 on the CPTC All-Time Indoor List
4:31.8

Masters Track Performance of the Week
Marge Demarrais
1500m – Thursday Night at the Races
unofficial Masters American Record
CPTC Masters Record
4:47.9

Lisa Daley
200m & 400m – Boston University Valentine Invitational
2 CPTC Masters Records
26.18 & 59.63