Something's In the Air
Something's In the Air
And it ain't just dust!
We’re in the thick of it, now. The indoor results are coming in almost faster than I can keep up with, and as the Club Relays rapidly approaches, I’m starting to get hunkered down and prepared to watch records fall. Turns out, though, I didn’t even need to wait to see records fall. It’s been, as they say, a week. Let’s get into it.
CNU Vince Brown Invitational
Team Blitz and UVA both attended the Vince Brown Invitational at CNU last Sunday, with good showings in every event from 60m to 5000m. In addition to strong sprint performances from both teams and a solid DMR from the Cavaliers, Blitz freshman Lucas Thompson soloed a 4:35 mile in the unseeded heated, beating the next-place finisher by 40 seconds and finishing faster than anyone in the next-fastest seeded heat. I was in that heat, and I can confirm firsthand: that boy was movin’. Please enjoy this photo of me definitely beating him and definitely not getting lapped twice.
Lucas then doubled back to win his 800m heat in 2:03. I had the good sense to stay in the infield for that one!
2023 Hillsdale Wide Track Classic
Notre Dame showed up and showed out last weekend in Hillsdale. Patrick Jamieson ran 2:03 for 800m, and Freshman Pieter Heesters ran a blazing 15:32 for third overall in the 5000m. Emily Arenas ran a stellar 5:20 in the mile, finishing 4th overall. Just behind in fifth, Sarah Mirkin crossed the line in 5:35. The Notre Dame women were one of the most consistent winners last XC season, and it seems like they’re having no issue translating their prowess on the grass over to the boards.
Jet’s Pizza Invitational
Every year at the Jet’s Pizza Invitational, SVSU hosts what is, historically speaking, one of the fastest indoor meets in the country for club performances. This year was no exception. MRun’s Ashley Heidenrich ran a ridiculous 9:49 in the 3000m, a time fast enough to earn her (according to the official results) an NCAA provisional qualifier. Lucky for us, the NCAA can go kick rocks. Heidenrich’s teammate Anna Nagelhout lowered her season best to 10:19, which would have been a league-leading time were it not for Ashley. Something tells me Anna’s doing just fine, however, considering she dropped a 5:12 mile to take a league lead of her own. Lydia Alig and Katelyn King, also of Michigan, were close behind in 5:15 and 5:25, respectively. Per my “calculations,” the MRun women now own all 5 of this season’s top 3000m marks (Heidenrich, Nagelhout, Nagelhout, Katelyn King, and Heidenrich, in that order).
MRun miler Ben Deguire ran a 4:15 mile, good enough for a league-leading time and a sixth-place overall finish. Not far behind, in tenth, MSU’s River Meckstroth crushed a 4:22, edging out MRun’s Zach Duval in 4:24. Lincoln Johnson, Andrew Quaal, and Tomas Peralta of Michigan also ran under 4:30 that day. Deguire then doubled back for a killer 8:41 3k performance. I believe (and feel free to fact-check me on this one), that every sub-9 3000m club performance so far this season has been from the MRun fellas.
MEANWHILE, Mackenna Burkholder ran 2:17 in the 800, a new MRun record. Nathan Nohr and Ricky Shackleford both ran 1:58 in the 800m, the 2nd and 3rd fastest times in the league so far this year1. Daniel Berg was just behind, running 2 flat. William Barhite ran 51.25 in the 400m. AND, in the 5000m, MRun Freshman Conner Rose ran 15:14 in the 5000m, one of four Michigan men (Rose, Jorden Sowash, Brock Denuyl, and Max Klarman) to break 16 that day.
I’m genuinely at a bit of a loss for words on this one. What’s in the air in Ann Arbor? Is it just proximity to Ron Warhurst? Is Harvard Hill really that good for reps? Do the dining hall drink machines serve EPO La Croix? This is getting wild.
A Quick Singlet Update
I have packed and addressed the singlets for you all, and they will be in the mail ASAP. When you wind up racing or working out in them, be sure to send me some pictures! You may just wind up on the RS IG page.
And, if you’re kicking yourself for missing this order, fear not: we’ll do another at some point. Maybe a new design! Maybe we’ll do shirts or hats or something! Who knows! In the meantime, the year-round merch shop can be found here. I’ve priced these as affordably as the platform will let me — I’m not trying to turn a profit here, I just think it’s cool seeing Reasonably Speedy shirts out in the wild! If any of you more artistically-inlined clubbers find yourself struck with inspiration for a shirt or sticker design, feel free to get in touch. I don’t have much in the way of “money2," but we'll work something out.
just behind Thomas Harmon of Illinois, who ran 1:56 back in December
is that what it’s called??