Special thanks to David
Baskwill welcoming me back into the fold, after a long posting haitus on my
part. (The title of the post is because I'm in Aruba right now. But it has little-to-nothing to do with the actual post)
Happy Holidays and New
Year to all the great Alumni across the country keeping up with the blog. I have been following XC and Indoor seasons
from Vista, CA (can’t believe I didn’t get invited to the formal! I would have flown back!) But wanted to say here that seriously I am just
so proud of the way all of you guys and ladies ran this XC season. And on the
dudes’ side – you should know I was grinning from ear to ear after Big Tens and
the Regionals. I was proud of everyone. From younger guys like Bobby Hill stepping up
and making an impact in the post-season, to the steadfast leadership of Matt
Fischer, Wade Endress, Glen Burkhardt, and Robby Creese, everyone brought awe-inspiring
grit and determination (no surprise). Cherish
the college XC memories. Every morning
this fall I would rise to read about your new successes and it was adding fuel
to my fire. Even from 3000 miles away, all of your hard work does not go
unappreciated, because you give me a reason to get out of bed in the morning
and start training. So congratulations
again everyone, both guys and ladies, and thank you! I wear the Alumni singlet on the west coast
with a lot of pride! At most road races they refer to me as simply "The Guy from Penn State".
Tyler McCandless and I unexpectedly run into each other at a 5K in Encinitas, CA in late October. Naturally we took the pacing duties. These west-coast runners are so soft. |
So since October I’ve
been working as a Recruiter in San Diego, living with my brother Justin, but I
spend my mornings and evenings training in North County’s beautiful desert
trails. I’m running with the Milestone
Track Club, and a few of us (including me) are building up to a fast 5K at Mt.
Sac in April, with hopes of qualifying for Stanford. In the interim we’ll all
do a few road races together including the Encinitas Mile and The Carlsbad 5000.
My training partners are just all-around a phenomenal group of guys. And
talented. It’s a mix of both milers and marathoners with high ambitions.
· “Danger” David Edwards - formerly
of Rogue AC, 3:44 1500m
·
Paul Wellman - team
captain, 66 minute half-marathon
·
Justin Turner –
officially races for New Balance Prado Racing Team, Active Duty Navy, 65-minute
half marathon
·
Mark Sarno, Sean Brosnan,
and the Prado Racing Team also all join us for some training sessions as well
Penn Staters of course
are easy to find wherever you go, by the way.
This fall I had the pleasure of running into Tyler McCandless at the
Moonlight Beach 5K in Encinitas, and a few weeks later Coach Gondak at Foot
Locker Nationals. A week after that, the
Marathon-Man Deep-Dishing Tyler Jones (PSU XC ’12) drove down from San Francisco
to celebrate my birthday with me and relive the Penn State memories while
checking out San Diego’s local microbrew scene. Tyler works now in the Bay Area
as a software engineer and has his eyes set on soon improving upon his 2:19
marathon PR. From the looks of it, after
some awesome runs along San Diego’s canyon trails with Tyler, he is well on his
way.
Cooking pizza and "getting pitted" in the waves: Tyler Jones' two hidden talents outside of running and computer hacking. |
If anyone is looking for
a fast, competitive road mile in March by the way, join us for the Encinitas Mile. Mark Sarno, Paul Wellman and I work on the
race’s planning committee and we are looking to attract some more local talent.
We’re offering more than $1,000 in Prize Money and you have a free place to
crash for the weekend if you need it! www.encinitasmile.com. That’s all for now. Enjoy the
winter. -Scarp
Thanks for the post! Enjoy paradise while you are at it. My aunt has traveled all over the world and rates Aruba's beaches as the 2nd best in the world. (No. 1 is Long Island's Hampton Beaches BTW!)
ReplyDeleteThe Hampton's beaches are #1? Shirley you jest?
ReplyDeleteNo I'm not! And don't call me Shirley. She swears that they have the widest beach, the whitest sand and the best waves (not too little, not too much). There is limited parking which is rigidly enforced by towing to Manhattan! Therefore, even the public beaches are never crowded. This is her opinion, and she has been everywhere. I hate all beaches equally, so what do I know?
ReplyDelete