Off With a Bang
Indoor Season's Opening Weekend and Other NIRCA News
For somebody relatively new to the competitive side of running, indoor track is something of a bizarre proposition. Take your standard 400m track and shrink it. How much? Usually 50%, but if you’re feeling quirky then you can make this thing whatever size you want. Just make sure it fits in a big room, ideally one that feels vaguely like a high school gym. Whatever you do - and this part’s crucial - make sure to pump it full of the dryest, dustiest air you can find. Air so dry it makes your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth every time you make an “l” sound. Fantastic.
Unlike cross country & outdoor track, NIRCA doesn’t have an official indoor track season. This leaves it to the clubs to find their way into races on their own. It also leaves it to me, personally, to figure out what clubs ran where and how they fared. I have managed, by way of Instagram and DirectAthletics, to compile the results of several races that took place this past weekend - as many as I could find that included club runners - but I’m sure I’ve missed a few. If I’ve overlooked a meet your club participated in (or, even better, if you want to keep me apprised of any upcoming races your club will be running in), let me know! One of my hopes in starting Reasonably Speedy was to be a source for those trying to keep up with club running. For that to happen, I might need some help tracking down all these results, at least as first. If your club has results, photos, or updates you want me to be aware of, reach out via either email or Instagram!
Now, with that out of the way, on to the results!
Indoor Season Gets Up & Running
The Millrose Games wasn’t the only track meet last weekend! Just as January drew to a close, indoor season got off to quite an exciting start. Though this time of year is seen by most athletes more as a training phase than anything - often a stepping stone for outdoor season or Spring road races - Winter track still provides an exciting, lower-pressure opportunity to get out, bust some rust, and remember what it feels like to suffer. That’s exactly what we saw this weekend as club athletes around the country took to the track and got their first race effort of 2022 under their belts
Though not technically a race, the University of Wisconsin Track Club kicked things off with their annual Time Trial of the Cows. In distances ranging from 60m to the mile, the Cows toed the line and tested their fitness - several of them competing in multiple events. If this event is any indication, the WTC is a team you absolutely ought to have on your radar come Outdoor season, both for their numbers (a staggering 26 men competed in the mile alone) and their depth (of those 26 men, 9 went under 5:00, and 22 went under 5:30).
Some other performances that caught my eye were Greig Dimailig and Sabina Dayal, who won the men’s and women’s 200m in 23.59 and 27.83, respectively, and the terrifying triple performances of Frank DeGuire, Aidan Rigby, and Zach Spears - all of whom ran in all five events - respectively placing 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the mile (4:36.4, 4:42.7, 4:44.3), 2nd, 1st, and 3rd in the 800m (2:13.7, 2:12.7, 2:15.3), 17th, 15th, and 11th in the 200m (28.39, 27.73, 27.21) and, understandably, taking the final 3 places in the 60m dash (10.04, 10.05, 10.06) before immediately running legs in the team’s 4x400m relay.
My shins hurt just from typing that.
A few hours southeast in the great state of Ohio, club running had itself a weekend. The Akron Running Club sent 4 men to the Youngstown State Mid-Major Invitational, 3 of whom competed in the mile and 1 in the 3000m. The Ohio State Running Club was also present in strong numbers, with strong performances in everything from the 60m hurdles to the 5000m. Notable results include Jack Kreisler’s 7.13 second 60m dash (earning him 13th place), Casey Manos’ 4:25/2:05 double in the mile and 800m, Emily Lally’s 11:58 3000m, and Andrew Ye’ s 3000m/5000m double performance of 9:08 and 15:44, respectively. Elsewhere in Ohio, Bowling Green State Running Club competed in the University of Findlay’s Alumni Classic.
Runners from Central Michigan University’s club team competed on their home turf in the delightfully-titled Jack Skoog Invitational (their club’s second meet of the season), where Brandon Mehl and Logan Douglas went 5th and 6th in the 400m (54.79 and 55.64), Marissa Anderson’s 8.94 60m earned her an 8th place finish, and Ian Thomsen won the men’s mile in 4:49.18.
Finally, running clubs from across Virginia and North Carolina descended upon Newport News for CNU’s annual Vince Brown Invitational. Runners from UVA, UNC, VCU, and William & Mary (guilty as charged) were all in attendance. Toeing the line against a number of Division III schools, club athletes proved themselves forces to be reckoned with across all distances, but especially in the 3k. In the men’s 3000m, UNC’s Ethan Turner took 1st place in a decisive 8:44.76, finishing nearly 18 seconds ahead of the runner 2nd. John Micheal Barstow of UVA Club Running also finished 4th in 9:08.21, and sophomore Dan Gittelman of Team Blitz (William & Mary’s club team) finished 7th in 9:15.50. In the women’s race, UNC’s Cici Lounes was just barely out-leaned at the finish line by Corrine Weaver, a DIII runner from Meredith College, finishing only .48 seconds behind and earning a hard-fought 2nd place (10:59.76).
Meanwhile, in the women’s mile, 6 of the top 10 were representing club teams: Le Lyann of UNC in 6th place, Rachel Parthasarthy of Team Blitz in 5th, and Thi Nguyen, Sophia Meagher, Olivia Chiappetta, and Rachel Weghorst of UVA taking 3rd, 7th, 9th, and 10th respectively. Runners from UVA also finished 2nd and 3rd in the men’s 5000m and 1st in the women’s 5000m (Thi Nguyen with a killer double!).
If this is the start we’re off to - at a time when most clubs have barely returned to campus and resumed team practices - then we’ve got quite the Spring to look forward to. If January is any indication, this outdoor season will be one to watch closely. Speaking of which…
NIRCA Announces Tentative Spring Schedule
Until roughly a week ago, NIRCA had yet to announce any upcoming races, likely due to the ongoing unpredictability of the pandemic. It seems, however, they are now feeling confident enough to begin populating the Spring calender, including outdoor track nationals at a location to-be-determined to be held on April 2-3 (though couched in the disclaimer that it could well be postponed a week) and the NIRCA half marathon championships included as part of the Hoosier Half in Bloomington, Indiana on April 9th.
A number of NIRCA-sanctioned outdoor meets have also been announced in the last week, including the Charlotte Outdoor Invite (hosted by the 49er Running Club), the Dashing Dukes Invite at JMU, the Billy Brockmueller Invitational at Brown University, and the Hokie Invitational hosted by the Virginia Tech Running Club.
Whether you’re a runner or simply a fan, there’s plenty to look forward to this year in club running. With NIRCA races back on the table and warmer weather on the way, a number of the nation’s best Division IV runners will be back with a bone to pick. Subscribe to Reasonably Speedy to stay up to date on the season to come, and until next time, I wish you all warm weather and dry socks.