How is it the end of October already? Fall has been full of races at varying distances and specialties for BDP. Starting with the Run Like a Girl 1/2 Marathon, Shelby, who had previously placed 4th at the Bellingham Bay Marathon the week before, won the 1/2 marathon on Saturday, October 5th! The out-and-back race took off from Fairhaven Park, coursing along the autumnal Interurban trail above Chuckanut and Samish Bay. Run Like a Girl Bellingham (RLAG) is a non-competitive event for folks (for all sexes) that hosts celebratory miles with tiaras, chocolate and other fun surprises. All proceeds are donated to Girls on the Run of NW Washington. We absolutely LOVE GOTR and RLAG, and it was a pleasure to have Shelby show her support by competing at such an important event.
Saturday, October 5 – Also taking place on Saturday, Kathryn raced the Fall City 1/2, placing 7th F/1st AG and Katelyn, Nikki, Nick and Thomas raced Northwest Endurance Events’ Baker Lake 50K. Against stands of giant old growth trees draped in lichen and moss, the Baker Lake 50K (31.2 miles) course runs through Mt. Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest. Riccardo Tortini of Vancouver, BC won the 50K in 3:55:29, followed by our teammate, Thomas, who finished 2nd in 4:13:29. Nick was 8th in 4:43:55. Katelyn set a new course record, was the female champion AND 4th OA in 4:29:09! Nikki placed 6th F/29th OA in 5:27:08! Katelyn and Nikki used the event as a means of training and race day prep for some exciting races they have coming up. Full Results HERE!
Saturday, October 12 – BDP women put together a team at the 46th Annual WWU Classic, held at the Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham. A few of our men (David & Jonathan) represented on the WWU Alumni Team. At 10:00 am the Women’s 6K took off on the 95% mucky grass course. Courtney led the BDP women, finishing in 6th in 22:07, followed by Allison in 23rd in 22:36, Alma in 65th in 24:03, Kathryn in 66th in 24:04 (*course PR) and Tanya in 100th in 25:23. The team took 8th behind CNW (top Open team) with 195 pts. Full Results (Women & Team) HERE! In the men’s 10K which took off at 11:00 am, Jonathan helped the WWU Alumni team to a 12th place team finish with his 89th place finish in 34:39 and David’s 99th place finish in 34:53. Full Results (Men & Team) HERE!
Saturday morning was also host to the 11th Annual Defiance 15K, where Hazel raced for the first time since giving birth a few months ago. We are so proud and amazed at this new mama, who simply wanted to finish, but who ended up WINNING…The 15K course consists of one 10.3 mile loop through old growth forest, starting and ending at Owen Beach in Tacoma, WA. Other race distances of 30K and 50K were also available. Hazel was 1st F/7th OA in 1:23:10! Full Results HERE!
Today marks the first day of racing since pregnancy! My only goal was to finish! Therefore, I was ecstatic and felt overwhelmingly blessed to have placed first female and 7th overall in the Pt. Defiance 15k. Calep Clapp was such a great support and ended up placing 4th overall!
– Hazel Clapp
Concluding one fine Saturday, October 12th was the Snohomish River Run 1/2 and Marathon. Like Chicago, this race had been on our athletes’ calendars for a long time, most notably for Amber & Derek, who had been training towards the Olympic Trials Qualifier. For Amber it would be a hometown race, her having been born/raised there. Derek sought to pace her to 2:45, which would be a PR for him as well. As BIG fans of Snohomish Running Co. and the race director, Grant, it was the perfect place to attempt a big fall marathon goal. Unfortunately but wisely, Amber withdrew halfway through, as the legs just didn’t have it, but not to fear, she will be ready to go at CIM in a little over a month! Derek absolutely ROCKED IT, continuing on to finish 1st in 2:44:19, shattering his previous best, and winning the damn thing! Full Marathon Results HERE!
In the Snohomish River Run 1/2, Kristen dominated with a 1st place finish, winning in 1:22:58, as she heads towards CIM this December, and Shelby, who has been on an absolute tear was 10th in 1:30:04 (she PR’d with a sub 1:30, but the course was long…we’re still going to give it to her!) 1/2 Results HERE!
Sunday, October 13 – BDP was on high Chicago Marathon alert with many friends to follow including our own Josh Kaplan. After a little hiccup in training along the way, Josh set out with a slightly more conservative race plan, though in the end, it wouldn’t matter, because he absolutely rocked it, and with a smile on his face the entire way! Josh finished in 2:34:26, which earned him 182nd place. For the 2019 Chicago Marathon Results, see HERE!
Saturday, October 19 – Our dear friends at GBRC hosted the Blanchard Beast Trail Race last weekend. Several of our athletes competed, including Alma, Haley, Shelby, Maxx and Thomas. The Blanchard Beast is approx. 10 miles long, and takes place on the trails of the Blanchard State Forest due South of Bellingham. With over 2,000 ft. in elevation gain (including near 1500 ft. in the first 2 miles), our athletes gutted it out to some top finishes, with Thomas in 2nd in 1:19:21 behind Bellingham’s Conner Johnsen who was 1st in 1:14:23. Maxx was 4th in 1:22:51. Haley, our newest BDP addition was 1st F/10th OA in 1:25:43. Alma was 2nd F/17th OA in 1:31:24, and Shelby was 31st F in 2:01:03. Full Results HERE!
Sunday, October 20 – Our incredible October went out with a BANG with the US Women’s 1st Place Gold Finish at the NACAC Mountain Running Championships in Tepatitlan, Gaudalajara, Mexico. Our dear Maria Dalzot had the fortune of representing the US alongside teammates Dani Moreno, Sam Lewis and Kristen Findley. The men’s team consisted of Andy Wacker, Eric Blake, David Fuentes and Travis Fuller. Held “…at a countryside venue located just 30 minutes from Tepatitlan de Morelos, Jalisco, Mexico” the course incorporated the Cerro Gordo mountain, which brought forth challenging mud and slick rocks. “Andy Wacker, Boulder, CO, and Dani Moreno, Santa Barbara, CA, earned NACAC championships titles with Moreno leading the US women to a gold medal and Wacker leading the men to silver. Stormy weather throughout the days preceding the 16th NACAC Mountain Running Championships did nothing to dampen the spirits of the records 5 nations competing this year. The host event, the 12th Carrera Cerro Gordo, offered a challenging course with over 2000 feet of climbing from a starting elevation of 7000 feet to nearly 8700 feet at the high point – the turnaround point – on an out and back course covering 12 kilometers of trail. The route feature rocky sections, hard-packed dirt, grassy terrain and muddy spots…On the women’s side, US teammates Sam Lewis and Moreno led the way approaching the mountain top turnaround. Behind these two, the ladies’ field had begun to string out with the mixture of the Mexican, Canadian and US team members Kristen Findley and Maria Dalzot in pursuit…The lead two USA women would stay out front of the rest of the field on the return down Cerro Gordo for a one-two finish. Moreno overtook Lewis on the descent to claim the women’s NACAC Mountain Championship title in a time of 1:05:28. Lewis claimed the silver position in 1:06:26. The final podium spot would go to Susana Bautista of Mexico in 1:07:22. Findley just missed a podium finish following closely in fourth timed in 1:07:49, while Dalzot crossed the line with a tenth place finish in 1:16:36. The USA women claimed the team title with 7 points ahead of Mexico in team silver with 18 points. Canada took the team bronze with 22 points.”
*Information and quotes pulled from ATRA’s article, “Team USA Wins Three Gold Medals at NACAC Mountain Running Championships,” by Nancy Hobbs
