2011 Lakefront Marathon, Milwaukee, WI

This sports weekend around Milwaukee is amazing with the Milwaukee Brewers opening their NLDS series, the Badgers play Nebraska, Packers trying to go 4-0, and the 2011 Lakefront Marathon Sunday.

ThunderDome Running has a solid group racing Sunday at Lakefront. Just wanted to wish Cheryl and Marek good luck on Sunday. Looking for great weather, fast times, and a fun event.

With the Chicago marathon coming up just (9) days out, we are full into sharpen and rest mode for that group.  Fall is absolutely the best time to run, train hard, and get out there and race.  ThunderDome athletes have a lot happening over the next month with the Lakefront Marathon, Chicago Marathon, and New York City Marathon all on our racing radar and calendars.  Good Luck to everyone.

New World Record Set Sunday in Berlin

Patrick Makau of Kenya raced to a 2:03:38 World Marathon record in Berlin.  Check the New York Times race recap along.  Great Britian's Paula Radcliffe was back to form as well racing to a 2:23:46 and at 37 ran her first marathon in just 2 years.

photo courtesy of Wolfgang Kumm/European Pressphoto agency

The Great Cow Harbor Run 10k race report

It was a great race weekend at the Cow Harbor 10k in Northport, NY. The race course as usual was totally tough with the rolling hills but that is part of the challenge and fun of it and the weather was perfect in the 50's. Two course records went down. The men's side saw Mo Trafeh blister a 28:17 taking down Ryan Hall's course record and in the woman's race Janet Cherobon-Bawcom raced to 32:26 also a course record.  Up and down the top 20 the competition was fierce as Will Fodor (the elite race director) put together the best elite race field in the history of the race -- packed with Olympic Trials qualifiers, Pan Am games participants, and future Olympians all lining it up.  Check out the race recap here.
 photo courtesy of Steve Pfost

ThunderDome Running was well represented in the race and showed up huge. Kathleen Fodor ran an awesome race placing 2nd in the master's division in a blazing 39:52. Laura Fitzgerald stepped up and ran well when it mattered in a solid 48:38. I have to mention I had a crummy day grinding out a 31:34 placing 12th, but was happy with the effort--so move on from there.

2012 will have a ThunderDome Running race field trip to the small island town of Northport. Plans are in the works for a group to make the trip to the 35th annual Cow Harbor 10k.  Please check back or email for further details.  This is a race you have to do one time in your life. After the race you can head into NYC (Northport is just an hour train ride/drive from NYC) or make a trek to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY. A great weekend of running, travel and fun.

Best Road Race Ever - The Great Cow Harbor 10k in Northport, NY

This weekend Saturday Sept 17 is the 34th annual Great Cow Harbor 10k in Northport, NY. This is one of the most fun and challenging races you will race.  Many runners measure themselves against the clock far too often, but the Cow Harbor 10k race course is a race where you can line it up and just compete.  By that I mean you have the opportunity to compete against a stellar competition - up and down the 5600 runner field - and you have the opportunity to compete against the most challenging hills you will ever see within a 10k race course.

The small island town of Northport's streets are are always lined with cheering running fans and the amazing scenery along the course is enough to distract you just a bit while you try to even split this race.  Up and down the race organizers and volunteers make this a top 100 race in all of the United States. I would rank it in the top ten though!  I have had the opportunity to race in Northport 6 out of the last 7 years.  It is just one of those races you have to experience one time the atmoshere and race buzz is very cool. Get the Great Cow Harbor 10k on your race field trip plan in the future.  Tackle one of the toughest 10k courses in the US and if you are lucky you will get to line it up and race against Olympians Ryan Hall or Deena Kastor in any given year.

ThunderDome Running's own Keith Mulhollon finishes 2nd in USA Master's 15k Road Champs!

The ThunderDome Racing team was in action last week with Keith Mulhollon from Lake Geneva, WI racing his way to a runner-up finish in the USA National Master's 15k road championship. The race was in Buffalo NY and featured a challenging rolling course.  Keith ran a solid time of 49:06 at a 5:17 mile pace clip.  It was one of those races where the initial race plan we set up went out the window early on as the race was full of surges and slowdowns.  Just a crazy race overall, but a race that if you are not fit and ready to roll in can go array with all the surging.

Keith is a great example of someone who is able to balance family, a career, and high school cross country/track coaching, all with his running. He is on of the top Master's runners in the United States right now, and it gives us all hope that you can still be fast and roll races even with hectic days.  All set on Keith's fall racing calendar is the Master's USATF National Club Cross Country championship race is Seattle, WA on December 10.