Wade Compton
Looking Back on 2009: Part One
The Lake Monroe Roadkillers were well represented at the 2010 Walt Disney World Marathon, which signaled the start of a new running year in Central Florida. We’re sure that great things are ahead for our group in 2010, but it was the 2009 season that got us here. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights we experienced in 2009...
Mike “Fly T” Baron kicked off 2009 with a remarkable performance in Disney’s Goofy Challenge; running the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon & Marathon on consecutive days. After cruising to a 1:47 finish in the half, Baron ran a 3:18 marathon the following day. His incredible performance came on the heels of his 3:21 finish at the Chicago Marathon in Oct. 2008. Great running, Mike!
At the end of January, Shawn Barkley and April “Shortcut” Darrow both qualified for the Boston Marathon by finishing the ING Miami Marathon in 3:37 and 3:43, respectively. Wade “Runner of 1” Compton finished another edition of the Ocala Marathon on Feb. 1, as “GPS” Jim Masters completed his first marathon and won his age group at the Tallahassee Marathon. By the end of the year, Masters had won his age group in 12 of 13 races he ran in 2009. Incredible.
“Psycho” Dan Stojic also qualified for Boston, at the State Farm Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon the following week. As a prelude to Stojic’s performance in that marathon, Baron visited Melbourne and ran a solid 19:55 5K the day before, his best 5K result in several years.
Meanwhile, Mike “T-Dog” Scures was busy compiling great finishes, on the way to winning his age group title in the prestigious Track Shack Grand Prix. On Feb. 21, Scures posted an 18:28 finish in the Run Around the Pines 5K, in his hometown of Winter Park.
Craig Dixon sprinted to a 1:18 finish in the Five Points of Life Half-Marathon in Gainesville, while “Young” Daniel McCarthy ran a most-impressive 3:00 at the Five Points of Life Marathon. And McCarthy wasn’t done yet. Just seven days later, McCarthy bravely paced Sara “Crash” Van Meter to her Boston-qualifying 3:49 finish at the Gasparilla Marathon in Tampa. Also running in Tampa was Jeremy Davidson, who posted a 2:56 finish. The 2009 Gasparilla Marathon would be remembered for punishing winds and heavy rain. Not ideal conditions, but the Roadkillers ran through them!
Elliott Strouse became the Roadkillers’ first race winner of the year on March 14, with a 19:14 finish at the Victoria Park 5K in DeLand. This race was also one of Jim Masters’ many age group victories. The following week at the Winter Park 10K, Scures clinched his Grand Prix championship with a 39:20 finish.
March 14 was also the date for the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, one of the nation’s premier distance running events. Dixon and McCarthy both finished the race in under an hour. Other Roadkillers completing the 9.3-mile race were “Man Pants” Danny Fritz, “Psycho” Dan and Martine McCarthy.
Diana Hampel had joined the group in the spring, and was the first overall female in the March 21 Be a Trailblazer 5K in Lake Mary. On March 28, Strouse finished the ING Georgia Marathon in 3:36.
Roadkillers were running strong as the season continued and temperatures began to rise. The “Summer of Speed” was ahead, but our runners were already showing plenty of speed in local races.
To be continued...
Mike “Fly T” Baron kicked off 2009 with a remarkable performance in Disney’s Goofy Challenge; running the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon & Marathon on consecutive days. After cruising to a 1:47 finish in the half, Baron ran a 3:18 marathon the following day. His incredible performance came on the heels of his 3:21 finish at the Chicago Marathon in Oct. 2008. Great running, Mike!
At the end of January, Shawn Barkley and April “Shortcut” Darrow both qualified for the Boston Marathon by finishing the ING Miami Marathon in 3:37 and 3:43, respectively. Wade “Runner of 1” Compton finished another edition of the Ocala Marathon on Feb. 1, as “GPS” Jim Masters completed his first marathon and won his age group at the Tallahassee Marathon. By the end of the year, Masters had won his age group in 12 of 13 races he ran in 2009. Incredible.
“Psycho” Dan Stojic also qualified for Boston, at the State Farm Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon the following week. As a prelude to Stojic’s performance in that marathon, Baron visited Melbourne and ran a solid 19:55 5K the day before, his best 5K result in several years.
Meanwhile, Mike “T-Dog” Scures was busy compiling great finishes, on the way to winning his age group title in the prestigious Track Shack Grand Prix. On Feb. 21, Scures posted an 18:28 finish in the Run Around the Pines 5K, in his hometown of Winter Park.
Craig Dixon sprinted to a 1:18 finish in the Five Points of Life Half-Marathon in Gainesville, while “Young” Daniel McCarthy ran a most-impressive 3:00 at the Five Points of Life Marathon. And McCarthy wasn’t done yet. Just seven days later, McCarthy bravely paced Sara “Crash” Van Meter to her Boston-qualifying 3:49 finish at the Gasparilla Marathon in Tampa. Also running in Tampa was Jeremy Davidson, who posted a 2:56 finish. The 2009 Gasparilla Marathon would be remembered for punishing winds and heavy rain. Not ideal conditions, but the Roadkillers ran through them!
Elliott Strouse became the Roadkillers’ first race winner of the year on March 14, with a 19:14 finish at the Victoria Park 5K in DeLand. This race was also one of Jim Masters’ many age group victories. The following week at the Winter Park 10K, Scures clinched his Grand Prix championship with a 39:20 finish.
March 14 was also the date for the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, one of the nation’s premier distance running events. Dixon and McCarthy both finished the race in under an hour. Other Roadkillers completing the 9.3-mile race were “Man Pants” Danny Fritz, “Psycho” Dan and Martine McCarthy.
Diana Hampel had joined the group in the spring, and was the first overall female in the March 21 Be a Trailblazer 5K in Lake Mary. On March 28, Strouse finished the ING Georgia Marathon in 3:36.
Roadkillers were running strong as the season continued and temperatures began to rise. The “Summer of Speed” was ahead, but our runners were already showing plenty of speed in local races.
To be continued...
Age-Grading the Roadkillers
10/20/2009 09:19 Filed in: Marathons | 5K and 10K
Scanning the results from this years' UCF Five-Miler, I was reminded of an important characteristic of the Lake Monroe Roadkillers: our group ranges in age from 21 to 55+. Our training goals and race performances are just as diverse. We run together as much as possible, but inevitable separations occur when we toe the line for races.
But it's easy to wonder: all things equal, who's the best runner?
Thanks to the World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA), there is a tool to measure this. WAVA's age-grading formula measures running performances without bias for age or gender. The formula levels the playing field, to demonstrate which performances are better than others, across age groups and genders. It's based on a runners' theoretical performance in their prime running years (20's or early 30's) and shown as a percentage of that prime performance. For example, a 55 year-old male runner with a 21:45 5K, has an age-graded performance of 69.6%. It's the equivalent of an 18:38 5K for a male in his prime running years.
Without further ado... we analyzed the results of 90 Roadkiller performances from January - October and calculated the average age-graded result for each runner. Jim Masters, 57, of Longwood, Fla., and Mike Scures, 53, of Winter Park, Fla. top the list.
Top 10 Roadkillers
Name, Average Age-Graded Performance:
1. Jim Masters, 75.94%
2. Mike Scures, 75.80%
3. Daniel McCarthy, 74.41%
4. Mike Baron, 73.53%
5. Jeremy Davidson, 72.52%
6. Diana Hampel, 70.57%
7. Danny Fritz, 68.48%
8. April Darrow, 67.32%
9. Elliott Strouse, 66.90%
10. Wade Compton, 63.09%
To put these results in perspective, consider Masters' performance at the No Boundaries 5K, held May 2 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Masters ran a 19:26 to win the Masters Division at this race. It was the equivalent of a 16:22 5K, for a male runner in his prime years. An excellent performance.
Other highlights:
Mike Scures running a 39:20 at the CNL Bank Winter Park 10K. It was the equivalent of a 34:45 10K, for a male runner in his prime.
Daniel McCarthy's 56:45 at the Miracle Miles 15K - the equivalent of a 54:53 result for a male runner in his prime.
Last but not least, the best age-graded marathon performance goes to Mike Baron, 55 years young. He placed 5th in his age group at the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon in 3:18. Baron's marathon was the equivalent of a 2:53 marathon for a younger runner in his prime. By the way, his absolutely great result at Disney was part of the Goofy Challege - he'd finished the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon the day before!!
Great running by all.
A few notes: We only analyzed the results of Roadkillers who'd run at least four races this year. There are several versions of the WAVA age-graded results calculator online. The calculator we used can be found here, courtesy of the Heartbreak Hill Striders.
But it's easy to wonder: all things equal, who's the best runner?
Thanks to the World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA), there is a tool to measure this. WAVA's age-grading formula measures running performances without bias for age or gender. The formula levels the playing field, to demonstrate which performances are better than others, across age groups and genders. It's based on a runners' theoretical performance in their prime running years (20's or early 30's) and shown as a percentage of that prime performance. For example, a 55 year-old male runner with a 21:45 5K, has an age-graded performance of 69.6%. It's the equivalent of an 18:38 5K for a male in his prime running years.
Without further ado... we analyzed the results of 90 Roadkiller performances from January - October and calculated the average age-graded result for each runner. Jim Masters, 57, of Longwood, Fla., and Mike Scures, 53, of Winter Park, Fla. top the list.
Top 10 Roadkillers
Name, Average Age-Graded Performance:
1. Jim Masters, 75.94%
2. Mike Scures, 75.80%
3. Daniel McCarthy, 74.41%
4. Mike Baron, 73.53%
5. Jeremy Davidson, 72.52%
6. Diana Hampel, 70.57%
7. Danny Fritz, 68.48%
8. April Darrow, 67.32%
9. Elliott Strouse, 66.90%
10. Wade Compton, 63.09%
To put these results in perspective, consider Masters' performance at the No Boundaries 5K, held May 2 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Masters ran a 19:26 to win the Masters Division at this race. It was the equivalent of a 16:22 5K, for a male runner in his prime years. An excellent performance.
Other highlights:
Mike Scures running a 39:20 at the CNL Bank Winter Park 10K. It was the equivalent of a 34:45 10K, for a male runner in his prime.
Daniel McCarthy's 56:45 at the Miracle Miles 15K - the equivalent of a 54:53 result for a male runner in his prime.
Last but not least, the best age-graded marathon performance goes to Mike Baron, 55 years young. He placed 5th in his age group at the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon in 3:18. Baron's marathon was the equivalent of a 2:53 marathon for a younger runner in his prime. By the way, his absolutely great result at Disney was part of the Goofy Challege - he'd finished the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon the day before!!
Great running by all.
A few notes: We only analyzed the results of Roadkillers who'd run at least four races this year. There are several versions of the WAVA age-graded results calculator online. The calculator we used can be found here, courtesy of the Heartbreak Hill Striders.
Roadkillers Win Team Title at "Spirit of the Y" 5K
04/18/2009 18:27 Filed in: 5K and 10K
With three runners in the top four and five among the top 10, it's no wonder the Lake Monroe Roadkillers scored the team championship at the "Spirit of the Y" 5K. Jeremy Davidson led the way by winning the race in 18:00, with Daniel McCarthy third (18:20) and Danny Fritz (18:48) fourth. Jim Masters continued his solid 5K performances by finishing seventh (19:35) while Diana Grainger was the second-fastest female of the day, in 10th overall (20:19). The Roadkillers handily won the team title, with a 659-point margin over the second-place group.
Club President "Young Daniel" McCarthy points out: "there were 235 people in the race and the Roadkillers had nine people in the top 28. The SLOWEST time at the race for a Roadkiller was a 22:32."
Good stuff. Congratulations to all. Even Skippy.
For complete team competition results, go to http://www.frontrunningsports.com/blog/spirit-of-the-y-5k-team-results.php.
Club President "Young Daniel" McCarthy points out: "there were 235 people in the race and the Roadkillers had nine people in the top 28. The SLOWEST time at the race for a Roadkiller was a 22:32."
Good stuff. Congratulations to all. Even Skippy.
For complete team competition results, go to http://www.frontrunningsports.com/blog/spirit-of-the-y-5k-team-results.php.