ThunderDome Athletes Roll at the Chicago Shamrock 8k

Over the weekend ThunderDome runners raced in the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago the world's largest 8k.  The 2012 edition of the Shamrock Shuffle was a deep year in terms of competition & fast race times so it was a great March test of fitness for everyone.  In the 34,000+ race field ThunderDome runner's Keith Mullholon (Lake Geneva, WI) & Marek Kotrly (Brookfield, WI) placed 2nd & 3rd respectively in the master's race field with times of 25:31 & 26:43.  Those times were good for 64th and 98th overall. Marek's time was a massive PR and both took advantage of the competition and awesome race weather. 

This was the fourth year the Shamrock Shuffle 8k had an Elite club team competition. The Elite club competition features teams from all over the United States made up of 4-5 runners with the top 4 runners finish times added up for overall placing.  For the first time ThunderDome Running sent a team to the competition and placed 11th overall.  It was a deep race field with the Hanson's Olympic Development team winning the overall team competition.  Thunderdome was led by Matt Thull racing to a time of 24:17 & placing 22nd overall.

Continue to follow what ThunderDome Runners are up to this spring as ThunderDome has runnners racing in Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Alabama, & in the Boston marathon over the next 2 months.

ThunderDome Running Race Team Action (Records & Medal Performances)

2012 has gotten off to a blazing start for the ThunderDome Running race team. Through mid-February the race team already has one race record in the books and two top 5 individual race performances in USATF National meets.

The ThunderDome Running team of Eamon McKenna (Milwaukee), Cal Kromm (Oshkosh), Aaron Nodolf (Menomonee Falls), and Matt Thull (Milwaukee) set the Ice Breaker Indoor Marathon relay record placing first in the 110 team relay field in a time of 2:12:44.The race took place on Jan 21 at the Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis, WI.

Over this past weekend Keith Mulhollon, fresh off his 5th place finish at the USATF National Master's 1/2 marathon champs in Florida the previous weekend, raced to a 3rd place finish at the Master's 8k Cross Country National champs in St Louis. A crazy double for Keith a week apart coming from the 70 degree race temps & high humidity of Florida to St Louis where on race day it was 18 degrees and 25 MPH winds.  Keith took control of the 8k cc race early on and pushed the pace working to take the kick out the the field but just came up a bit short finishing 3rd in a time of 26:15. A national USATF medal stand performance and an awesome way to wrap the week.

Next up for the ThunderDome team is the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k (the worlds largest 8k) in Chicago on Sunday March 25 and the Martian Invasion of races in Dearborn, MI. If you ever wanted to see first hand one of the most organized and well run races in the entire Midwest check out the Martian Invasion of races on April 14 this year.

The 2012 ThunderDome Running Race team is out of the gates

This past Sunday the United States Master's road race 1/2 marathon championships took place in Melbourne, Florida.  ThunderDome Running's Keith Mulhollon (Lake Geneva, WI) raced to a 5th place finish in 71:29 in some pretty tough race temps and humidity.  Big congrats to Keith especially going from the 30 degree temps here to the hotbox that was Florida over the weekend. The overall master's 1/2 marathon champ was Mbarak Hussein of Albuquerque, New Mexico finishing in 69:39.  Keith's next race has him hitting the United States Master's 8k cross country championships this upcoming weekend in Saint Louis.

New for 2012 the ThunderDome Running Race team is a USATF registered club. We are accepting individual runner team applications for the 2012 race season---so please inquire about our new racing team & individualized coaching opportunities through ThunderDome Running.

Another ThunderDome Running PR

Over the weekend the 2012 edition of the Icebreaker indoor marathon and half marathon took place at the Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis, WI. The event sold out again this year with five total races that include a 5k, marathon relay, two heats of the half marathon, and the marathon to wrap up the racing on Sunday.  Race director Chris Ponteri and his race team do an amazing job with the event and the fourth year event is now on everyone's race calendar each January.


*photo is courtesy of Bill Flaws of Running in the USA. www.runningintheusa.com

Marek Kotrly, Brookfield, WI, raced to a 3rd place finish in the fast section of the half marathon Saturday morning. Marek's time of 75:39 was a PR and kept him on track for his key race of 2012. Marek is racing in the 2012 USA National Marathon Master's Championships held in conjunction with the Twin Cities Marathon this fall.

We are going to feature Marek next week in our ThunderDome Running blog section with an interview finding out how he balances his busy life schedule with his running goals. Marek is an amazing example of how it can be done with the right dedication and planning.  Hopefully everyone can take something away from Marek's secret to solid running as he continues to PR after turning 40!!

Still Fast after 40!

A huge congrats goes to ThunderDome's own Kathy Fodor from Northport, NY who raced last weekend in Syosset. Kathy rolled to a 2nd place overall finish in her 5k racing to a 18:41 finish time. Kathy is a great example of sticking to a training plan and seeing the big training picture of stacked months of running. Kathy's 18:41 was 40+ seconds faster than a couple of 5k's she ran in just July and August.  Plus when you are as fast as Kathy is, at 44, there is not usually that much room for improvement or time drop in a 5k!  Think of that zone you get into when all of a sudden things begin to click after slogging around for 2-3 months. Many runners do not get to that point because they stress themselves out by not seeing instant results.

Overall consistency, not the glamor workouts, or seeing how many workouts you can cram into a week is going to pay off in the end. Those right away results do not come after a month or two of training but end up down the road in positive workouts and races. For Kathy this 2011 year of totally solid race results has been 8-9 months (the pic on the left is from a 5k in March of this year so from 1947 to 1841) in the making of just solid mileage (35-45 a week) , workouts, and consistency.  Congrats again to Kathy and hopefully very motivating for everyone to get out there these winter months for the spring/summer race payoffs.

Milwaukee Area racing weekend - The Fall Classic Run 5k & 10k

Sunday October 23 is the Fall Classic Run 5k & 10k in Menomonee Falls, WI. The Fall Classic Run is surprisingly one of the few 10k's in Wisconsin. The unique part about this race is the challenging and scenic race course, be ready to take on the hills of Menomonee Falls. I mean how many pancake flat races can you run in one year---get out and try something new. The Fall Classic Run creates a race environment around each runner having a fun experience. Be sure to stick around for the post race raffle prizes and unique race and age group awards.

ThunderDome's Keith Mulhollon rolls to title in Des Moines

Over the weekend Keith Mulhollon raced in the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon. Keith placed 15th overall and raced to the overall Master's title with a time of 70:53 (5:24 pace) on a windy race day.  Up next for Keith is the USA Track & Field Club Cross Country Championships in Seattle, WA in December.

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

Weekend Race Update

It was a huge racing weekend for the ThunderDome Running Crew.  We had runners racing in Colorado, New York, and Pennsylvania...the Wisconsin race was canceled.  It is finally rolling into the time of year where all the hard work (base training/mileage) is paying off and the legs are coming around.

Dave Romano raced to a 5k PR of 20:42 in the 2nd of 3 races in the Frozen Foot Series held in Elizabethtown, PA.  Dave has been running for less than a year and continues to train and race tough leading up to his half marathon in a couple months.

Kathy Fodor's team raced in the Runner's Edge 3 x 2 mile winter trail relay held at Bethpage State Park, NY which was the site of the 2002 & 2009 US Golf Open. Kathy's team placed 4th out of 39 teams. The cool part about Kathy's team is that her team was made up of the most awesome running family in NY. Her son Thomas ran a blistering 2 mile relay leg along with her husband Will. Will is the elite runner race director of one of the all-time best road races in the United States the Cow Harbor 10k in Northport, NY. Kathy is prepping for a 5k in New York City the Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrock 5k on March 6.

My wife Erin raced for a second weekend in a row. She ran the 5 mile and I raced the 10 mile at the Snowman Stampede in Littleton, CO Saturday. Coming off of a 40:45 effort at the Cullen run 5 mile in Wauwatosa, WI, Erin raced to a new 5 mile PR of 39:54 on Saturday. PR's at altitude do not come very often.

I stuck to my 8 week base training plan by just logging miles & strength workouts and expected to have tired legs going into the race. The "just compete" goal worked great - ran 52:50 for 10 miles and ended up 2nd behind a 24 year old runner who ran for Penn State and is now a part of Brad Hudson's Boulder, CO elite training group. He won the race in 52:09.  Up until the 8 mile mark I was 12 seconds down but just could not hold pace over the last 2 miles, it is still early in training so eventually that fitness will be there.