Alums In Action

Former NCAA qualifier Chris Cipro took a stab at the marathon over the weekend placing 12th in the Baltimore Running Festival Marathon. His debut at the distance was clocked in 2:53:57 which is very impressive considering he spends more time teaching 3rd graders and coaching high schoolers in Bellefonte than training these days. It will be a quick turnaround for Cipro as he is expected to race with the Alumni Team this friday at the Penn State National (more to come on that later). Also earning a 12th place finish on Saturday was former Penn Stater Stephanie Pezzullo with a 2:38:04 in the prestigious Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Hell of a run for the girl known as "Pezz". Results here for Chicago,

Looks like it was a painful final 8 miles

As Chris and Stephanie were running the streets of B'more and Chi-Town other PSU Track Alums reunited for a great homecoming tailgate and football game. Steve and Beth Shisler stopped by to stick it to the young guns in a game of stump. Concerns about the weather were unfounded as the day turned out to be gorgeous and good times were had by all. 

Half of Running is 90% Mental

Well, somebody finally tried to quantify it.  And came up with the figure of 14%.  She says 14% of running is mental.  Great!  That leaves me with just 86% to start.  With a body that's half what it once was, at best, that leaves me with being 43% of a real runner.  Maybe he's on to something? That feels about right.

But to get serious for once, I was directed to this article about one of our very own.  Stephanie Pezullo will be lacing up her shoes in her second marathon this weekend, the Chicago Marathon, and has already won.  I say that after reading the article.  And you should read it all too.

For those who don't know, Pezz was once a star on the Nittany Lion Soccer team.  When her eligibility ran out she contacted the track coaches and walked onto the distance team.  She had a good year with the Nits and her career has steadily gotten better since.

I knew just a little bit of the things detailed in the extensive article, and I already considered her a role model for overcoming adversity.  Knowing more humbles me beyond words.  Now she is near the pinnacle of my PSU Track Alumni Role Models. Her road is never really going to be downhill, but I hope the prayers and thoughts of the rest of us rabble in "The Group" always puts a little wind behind her back.  And I officially invite her to a future Coach Groves Golf Tourney/Reunion.  I'm sure Coach Groves would be pleased.

It's Homecoming. Alumni Unite!

In an effort to unite alumni young and old (wise). We are hosting an alumni tailgate for the Homecoming matchup with Michigan this Saturday.  By we I mean fellow PSU Track Alums John Mahoney, Tim Johnson, Scott Sherwood, Jay Ifert, Kevin Fuller, Brian Fuller, Kyle Dawson, Owen Dawson, and myself. The excact location is being worked out but we will be in a yellow lot. Which if you look at this map could be anywhere between the IM Fields and Altoona. We plan to start early and will have plenty of food, beverages, and tailgate games. Anyone coming for the game drop me an email at Groves10287@gmail.com so I can give you our location once we have a parking spot. Happy Homecoming!

* If it is anything like the golf outing. You know it will be a good time.

PSU Track Alums In the News

At the pinnacle of their chosen fields...

First up, Ryan McGarry is appearing in an award winning documentary Code Black, a reference to a completely full Emergency Room.  Heavy stuff.  And he says some PSU Track and Field footage is in the film.  4 Thumbs up!

Code Black Official Trailer from Linda Knowlton on Vimeo.

Next up, Carl Wolter's attempt to win the RE/MAX Long Drive Championship for the third time.  PSU Track and golf in one sweet package!  It doesn't get better than that!

Masters Exploits Astound

Well, they astound me anyway.  My 3 miles daily on the treadmill at about 10:00/mile* is about all I'm up for anymore.  That's OK, though.  Before my third knee surgery I told the doc to get me to the point where I could run 3 daily.  I'm sort of afraid to go for more, and when I do I usually break it into 2 parts.  Pitiful, I know, but at least I still have that.

Word from the Blog Muse came my way that Don Ziter ran a very nice 19:17 for a 5K over the weekend in his native Pittsburgh.  (At least there is one victory of sorts in that town!)  Ahead of him was our very own le Faucon d'Orange Mark Hawkins in 18 and change.  I salute my teammates on the splendid effort and for "bringing it" with PSU Track Alumni Singlets on display.  I'm trying to get more specifics and possible photos.

Before their heads expand too much I must point out the exploits of Zola Budd.  Yeah, that Zola Budd.  She lives in North Carolina and wears shoes now, much to the chagrin of the crazy bare-footers and their entrepreneurial cousins, the "minimalists".

She ran a rather spirited 5K in 17:47 at a college meet.   Beat the number 2 runner, 25 years her junior, by 50 seconds.  Zola is 47 years old and quite obviously still Bringing It.

*And even that is a bit of a lie.

Public Property. Keep Out!

Stay off my lawn kids!



 "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." - Abraham Lincoln

 

Apparently the people have been forgotten. If running in cemeteries is offensive don't even think about running in our national parks and monuments during the federal government shutdown. A man was fined $100 for the heinous act of running in Valley Forge National Historical Park on Sunday by two rangers in flashing cruisers.

I have done a few runs at the park and it is quite a lovely place especially this time of year but hey maybe this fine can go towards balancing the budget.

*Despite the government hiatus the debut of Pegula Ice Arena will go on as scheduled.

*Update 11:00 pm: The $90 million shrine to hockey may be christened in a match against Canisius College. Looks like the Army athletic department jumped the jumped the gun on their commitment. Regardless the games must go on.

They're Dying To Get In

I have always loved to run in cemeteries.  Never even thought about what others thought about it, even the people under ground!  It never crossed my mind that anyone would object to it.  But I was wrong.  People get offended all the time about just about everything.

I especially remember a great warm-up loop in Syracuse prior to the indoor meets at Manley Field House.  There was a very large cemetery right across the street with seemingly endless empty roads to run on.  Combine that with the greatest of all indoor tracks*, and it made for a great combo.

Turns out the cemetery is actually two cemeteries, Morningside Cemetery and Oakwood Cemetery. And not a single person there objected to my warm-up.

*The track had straights which were about 10M long and turns that were wider than an outdoor track.  The building was round so the track had to be squeezed to fit. The sides of the building were all the bleachers which made it like a wood-paneled den.  Quite a homey feel.

Round track, paneled walls! And that's the strightaway on the right!

First Ever Blog "Eye of the Tiger" Award

In the lead at 10.

Goes to Tyler McCandless for his "going for it" in the US Marathon Championships in Minnesota yesterday.  Tyler led the race for a lot of the first 20 miles (1:41:38) before fading in the last 10K.  He finished with a PR 2:16:46. And he mini-golfed at the Mall of America afterward with the winner.  This makes him overqualified for a future Coach Harry Groves Golf Tournament!  And by the way, Coach Groves would give him a growl for his efforts.  One of running's highest honors.

Unseasonable Heat in Bethlehem's Saucon Valley

"XC is hard."

-Brannon Kidder.

Saw this tweet on that Social Internettie Thingie yeasterday and it got me to thinking.

The Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh's XC course yesterday was held in some unseasonably warm conditions, making an already difficult sport more so.  The temps approached 90 degrees and 27 college athletes were hauled off the the Lehigh Valley Hospital before the decision was made to scrap the entire high school slate of races.  The PSU Women ended up in 9th place and the Men finished 10th.

I remember XC races in snow, temps below 20 degrees, rain, downpours but never any with heat as the main impediment to good times.  Anybody have any good and tough XC race stories?

The Bestest* List of PSU Track Alumni Outdoor Records

*It's the best of the lists that have been prepared by blog minions using ancient sources, voodoo, chicken entrails and expletives galore.

Send us any changes that are necessary via friendly or caustic comments, emails or rabid carrier pigeon.

Penn State Alumni Outdoor Records
Event	Mark	Individual	Year
100 m	10.1	Barney Ewell '42	1948
200 m	20.50	Mike Sands '75	1976
400 m	46.01	Mike Sands '75	1976
600 m	1:14.84	Casimir Loxsom '13	2013
1000 m	2:19.72	Randy Moore ' 85	1986
800 m	1:45.75	Casimir Loxsom '13	2013
1500 m "	3:38.44 3:38.44	Larry Mangan '81 Matt Lincoln '06	1984 2009
One mile	3:56.90	Larry Mangan '81	1983
3000 m	7:50.40	Alan Scharsu '82	1985
5000 m	13:31.61	James Carney '01	2008
10,000 m	27:34.64	James Carney '01	2007
3000 m SC	8:21.72	'77	1978 (AR)
110 m HH	13.80	Mike Shine '76	1979
400 m IH	49.30	Mike Shine '76	1979
High Jump	7' 3/4"	Dave Kriz '96	1996
Long Jump	25' 10 3/4"	George Adu '99	1999
Triple Jump	53' 7 3/4"	Ricardo Hall	1995
Pole Vault	16' 8 3/4"	Dave Masgay '87	1987
Hammer	211' 11"	Alvin Jackson "77	1979
Shot Put	71' 9"	C.J. Hunter '90	2000
Discus	228' 5"	Knut Hjeltnes "75	1985
Javelin (old)	272' 0"	Jim Stevenson '66	1964
Javelin (new)	235' 9 1/4"	Dave Masgay '87	2000
Decathlon	8188 pts	Lennart Hedmark '66	1973

I'm Pretty Sure Time Travel Isn't Possible

Stephen Hawking was our Official Group Physicist in the early days of the blog. That's only because Richard Feynman was dead. When Brian Boyer* made it to the Links for the Coach Groves Golf Tournament in 2009 and promptly got his named engraved on the Coach Harry Groves Memorial Cup, he became our exalted Grand Physicist. Anyone reading this can also poke Ron Moore to let him know that he will become co-Official Group Physicist when he attends the next event.

When Stephen Hawking put his mind to concocting an experiment to determine whether Time Travel is possible, he didn't use Science in any way.  He used common sense and a nice Ballroom back in 2009.

He held a grand party with only time travelers as the invited guests.  That's because he told no one about it and only promoted it after it had already occurred. The elegant invitations look like this:

 

The really hard part of the experiment is making sure that the invitation will be around long enough to be seen by someone in the position to travel back in time to attend. I have done my little part by putting this post on the blog. 

 If you try to get your mind around this whole time travel thing, you end up with a headache.  Or worse. 

*Yes, I do know that Brian is a Nuclear Engineer.  Stop nagging.

The Slightly More Authoriatative* List of Indoor PSU Alumni Records

Yeah, these probably aren't right either.  You know the drill.  We'll get them right just in time for someone to break them.  Thanks to Matt Groves and the wonders of Excel, Adobe ExportPDF and that internetty thingie. (@Matt, I eliminated the 2-mile mark of Bob Snyder on the advice of someone that it was as an undergrad.)  Anyone can chime in on it with correction, scorn or adulation in the comments.

Addendum: Changed the 800 M mark to the correct Cas Loxsom post-PSU time.  And I can't wait to change it many more times... 
Ooops. I posted this in the wrong spreadsheet!  My bad.  Re-corrections coming.

Penn State Mens Alumni Indoor Records
Event	Mark	Individual	Year
55 meters	6.1	Barney Ewell '42	1947 (WR))
55 meters	6.1	Mike Sands '75	1980
60 meters	6.77	Mike Shine '76	1978
200 meters	21.25	Ryan Olkowski '02	2003
300 meters	34.5	Mike Sands '75	1976
400 meters	47.5	Mike Sands '75	1976
500 meters	1:03.9	Mike Sands '75	1976
800 meters	1:50.87	Owen Dawson '12	2013
1000 meters	2:22.66	Randy Moore ' 85	1986
1500 meters	3:42.3	Larry Managn '81	1982
One mile	3:59.39	Matt Lincoln '06	2007
3000 meters	8:08.7	Greg Fredericks '72	1979
Two mile	8:35.0	'77	1979
5000 meters	13:39.27	James Carney '01	2005
60 meter HH	7.70	Mike Shine '76	1978
Distance MR	9:48.59	Owen Dawson '12, Kevin Fuller ' 10,	2012
		Ryan Foster ' 11, Brian Fuller ' 09	"
High Jump	7' 2 1/4"	Dave Kriz '96	1999
Long Jump	25' 3 1/4"	Rob Boulware '87	1988
Triple Jump	53' 2 3/4"	Ricardo Hall '??	1995
Pole Vault	17' 2"	Rick Kleban '85	1988
35 lb weight	65' 0"	Alvin Jackson '77	1980
Shot Put	70' 4 1/4"	C.J. Hunter '90	1999
Pentathlon	3909 pts	Jamie Cook ' 97	2002
Heptathlon	5827 pts	Ryan Olkowski '02	2005