Rain or Shine Come Run The 14th Annual Mug Mile on May 3rd at the Germantown High School Track

The Mug Mile celebrates the most coveted of all accomplishments that any middle distance runner desires, the Four Minute Mile. On May 3rd, the Pilgrimage Track Club will assemble a group of runners to commemorate this event by running the mile to get as close to 4 minutes as possible. Come out and be a part of the tradition. Club membership is not required and all times are welcomed.

This goal was once thought of as unattainable. Doctors and coaches alike thought that if someone breaking 4 minute mile, they would die of a heart attack shortly afterwards. In the Spring of 1954 three young men felt they were close to this goal, one from the U.S.A (Wes Santee), one from England (Roger Bannister), and one from Australia (John Landy). Only one could be the first and make their way into the record books.

The desire was to get all three athletes in the same race at the same time. This was difficult with Wes Santee having a duty to his University that out weighed his own glory, John Landy living in Australia where their season was opposite of the rest of the world and Roger Bannister studying to be a doctor.

Roger Bannister will forever be known as the man who broke the 4-Minute mile on that rainy day at Iffley Road Track on May 6th, 1954. After multiple attempts at the goal he finally accomplished this task and couldn't believe it even after seeing the clocks. Never again has the mile received so much attention for a goal that seems like everyone is breaking it these days.

Click here to Download the Mug Mile Registration Form The race entry is free of cost. Come be a part of history and run the Mug Mile.

Germantown Half Marathon and Mayor’s Cup 5K

Perfect conditions highlighted this year’s events: temps in the mid 50’s, cloud cover, and no wind (SteveO wasn’t too happy with the humidity, but not too much to complain about). Gary “Kong” McGraw took full advantage of it to be sure. Going for broke he put the hammer down and finished as the overall champ in the Mayor’s Cup 5K with a solid 6:01 pace (18:37). Not bad indeed for a 57 year old Grandmaster!

All Pilgrims came out with age group awards in this race. Awesome! Starting with the youngest: the Skinner boys didn’t disappoint. 9 year old Caleb won the 9 and under category while his 7 year old brother, Will, despite hitting the asphalt and suffering some significant abrasions to the knees and hand, placed 3rd. Tough competitors! Alison Sullivan, while coming back from some injuries pulled out a 3rd in the 35-39 division. Bruce Keisling and Aaron Edwards came in 1-2 in the 40-44 AG, while Sgt. Whitten Ortega got the win in the 45-49 division.

In the half marathon there was also some hardware and prize money taken by the team. Frank “the Tank” Buscher, crossed the finish line in 1:24:54; good enough for the Grandmaster title and $300! Great payday Frank. Kris Huff and Brenda Walton both brought home $200 for 2nd place in the Masters and Grandmasters respectively. Not too shabby.

In the age group competition, both Jim Slaba (40-44) and John Geiger (45-49) brought home 1st place titles. One of our newest members, Matt Lotz (45-49), while running his first competitive race in decades, finished in 2nd in a solid time of 1:26:41. Timmy “the pacer” Verner nabbed a 3rd place title in the 50-54 AG, while helping friend Sarah Harris complete one of her fastest halves ever.

Great day! Congrats to all the winners. Submitted by Joel Lyons

2013 Winter Off Road Series- Final

What a great XC series for the Pilgrimage Men and Boys. Running the full XC series which consisted of a 3k, 5k, 8k, and 10k were Bruce Keisling, Michael Barnes, Michael Hecht, Kells Hecht, Kirk Hecht, Caleb Skinner, and Will Skinner. Also, running the 10k XC only was John Geiger who placed 2nd overall today. Caleb Skinner placed 1st in the series for the 9 and under, his younger brother Will took 3rd. Kirk Hecht placed 2nd in the series for the 10 to 11 age, and his older brother Kells took 2nd in the 12 to 14. Michael Barnes who ran well took 1st in the series for the 40 to 44 age group. Bruce Keisling who ran a strong 3rd for the 40 to 44 age. Michael Hecht ran a nice series of runs but had to miss the 8k because of work obligations. This caused him to miss out on a podium stand for 3rd. Way to go Pilgrimage guys!!!

Rhodes College Mike Cody 4 Miler

This weekend the Pilgrims were out supporting the Rhodes College Track and Field fund raiser despite the potentially icy roads and cold weather. Sat. Feb 2th began with icy roads, and numerous road closures in the Greater Memphis area. Fortunately, come 9 am there was plenty of sunshine at Rhodes College. Over 160 people lined up to run this annual trip twice around the beautiful Rhodes' campus. The relatively flat course makes for a good tune-up to the Spring racing season. Several Pilgrims were right in there in the mix, led by the veterans Frank Buscher and Joel Lyons. They were closely followed by one of our newer members, Houston Wolf. Caleb Skinner who has been running the MTRC XC Winter Series was out for a tuneup race with dear old Dad "SteveO". Caleb placed 2nd in the 14 and under age group. Running a very nice and fast race was Tyler Juniker in 23:51. The women’s contingent included Brenda Walton, Ashley Spriggs, JJ Jensen, and Shelby Cavagnaro who ran well in their age groups placing 1st or 2nd. Great race team. Good luck this year!

Submitted by:Steve Skinner
Photo Courtesy of:Jessica Suzore

Frank the Tank running Abroad in Germany

Happy New Year, Y'all!

Today I ran the last race of 2012 near my old high school in Germany. It was the Silvesterlauf (New Year´s Eve run) at Zollverein. The latter used to be a giant coal mine, which ceased operations a couple of decades ago. It´s now a cultural and artistic center, and - believe it or not - actually serves as a model for what they have in mind for the Sears Crosstown building in Memphis. As far as the race is concerned, the temperature was pleasant, but the wind was brutal. I finished in 38:48, placing first in my age group. The attached photo shows the awards ceremony, which is in dire need of some good old American efficiency. Also, I think that the course was about 150-200 meters short. Submitted by Frank Buscher

2012 St. Jude Marathon, Half Marathon, and Relay

Bruce Keisling put together a top notch Pilgrim team for the inaugural running of the marathon relay at the St. Jude events this year. Scott Peatross got things started with a 5K in 19:35. Jessica Tatum took the next 10K bringing the chip through 9.3 miles while keeping the team’s average to 6:56 mile pace. Next, Kelley Willis took the team to the halfway mark in 1:32:18 while never relinquishing the lead. Bruce then took charge through the hilly part of the marathon course. While enduring the unseasonably warm temps, Bruce managed to maintain the team average of 7 min miles. Whitten Ortega brought the team home in 3:03:38, good enough to win the event and beat the next closest team by about 24 minutes. Excellent job ladies and gentlemen! In the marathon many Pilgrims participated and grinded through a tough race this year. There were stories of runners laying down to stretch, stopping to shoot the breeze, and upchucking at the finish line. Tim Verner finished in 3:30:20 to lead the Pilgrims. Vince Perryman wasn’t far behind in 3:31:38. Other finishers were Michael Hecht 4:12:07, LaDell George 4:36:44, and Houston Wolf 4:54:28. Angie Tackett led the Pilgrim women with a 4:17:13.

In the half marathon Atlanta based Pilgrim, Jeff Haushalter, ran another outstanding race. His 1:20:46 was good enough for runner-up Master. Alison Hammersla also fared well. She finished as the 3rd female master in 1:39:09. Other finishers were Adam Sommers in 1:35:15, Lori Sokoloff 1:42:38, and Shelby Cavagnaro 2:04:33. Marathon entrants who ended at the half were Jim Slaba and John Geiger, both well under 1:30.

Other noteworthy efforts were Jeff Haushalter’s 16 year old son, Grant who finished 3rd overall in the Memphis Grizzlies House 5K in 18:20. Joe Coffelt led the volunteer efforts at the start and finish line again this year. Danny Greer and Clint Powell also put in a full days work helping out.

14th Annual Tour d’Esprit

This year’s event was quite challenging for all. The weather was a roller coaster ride. Starting in the mid 80’s and bright sunshine, the afternoon runners felt the heat but did not submit. Houston Wolf, one of the newest Pilgrims, led off the PTC co-ed team with 17 miles straight in the hottest part of the day. Tyler Juniker, Adam Sommers, and BJ Edwards took the first shift for the men’s team and were by far the most consistent work-horses the entire 24 hours. They took shifts in the evening and again at 8am the next morning. In addition to that they put in mile repeats to finish up the last 2 hours. All total they put in 48 miles by themselves!

The women’s team had their own pair of spark plugs, Shelby Cavagnaro and Michelle Pleasant. The duo got things started with captain, Padma Lyons at 3pm. They continued to contribute in the early morning and final hours. They were always eager to help out.

Through the night the men got contributions from Tim Verner, Michael Barnes, Steve Skinner, Brad Cordts and James Tatum. Late night runners were met with a strong cold front dropping the temperature to 46 degrees alongside a brutal wind and semi-torrential rains. Whitten Ortega, Joel Lyons, Bruce Keisling, Gary McCraw, and Vince Perryman took some of the worst conditions in stride with only a little grumbling and bleary eyes.

On the women’s front, Valerie French, Kris Huff, Eva Rehkopf, Angela Conley, Brenda Walton, and Angie Tackett took the baton from afternoon to evening. Sarah Harris, Michele Fredenburg, Lisa Burnett, and Nicki Edney took the worst overnight shifts in the worst of conditions and still had smiles.

Come morning Christine Cordts, Lori Sokoloff, Tammie Skinner, Shira Levy, and Jan Jensen came out to help the team complete 24 hours of non-stop running. They finished with a dominating win and 173 miles.

The men were aided in the morning by Michael Hecht and Stacey Spriggs. After that all legs were run by a team member who had already put in miles earlier. Both the women’s and men’s team were the smallest in several years, competing with only 19 and 20 runners respectively. The men finished strong with 214 miles.

This year featured a third PTC team, the Co-ed team. As mentioned above, Houston got them started. He was followed by Julia Keisling, 9 year old daughter of Bruce. Clint Powell then put in 6 miles. Other family members contributed throughout the night including Whitten’s son Jacob Ortega and Tyler’s mother, Ann Juniker. Julia, Jacob and Ann all set PRs for most miles ever run in a 24 hour period. Congratulations!

A couple of solo efforts were also had this year by the PTC. Scot Peatross got in 20+ miles a week after his Bourbon Chase effort. And Danny Greer went out to run his age, and sure enough did it: 54 miles! He split it up between with a night’s sleep and ran very smart to finish with a good 4 minutes to spare. Amazing Danny!

The whole event was truly a team effort. There are many people to thank including Tammie and Steve Skinner for getting the RV; Bruce, Scott, Clint P., and the Cordts for getting supplies, and Tim for coordination. Treats were provided by Ashley, Valerie, and Whitten. Clean-up was provided by Tammie, Christine, and others.

It was another fine year with significant contributions to Haiti Medical Mission. See you next year.

Submitted by Joel Lyons

39th Annual Overton Park 5 mile Classic

The Pilgrims sent a full contingent to this year’s Classic. They were greeted with the familiar H&H (Heat and Humidity). Despite this they persevered and ran some fantastic efforts. Top finishers were Tyler Juniker (3rd in Age Group (AG), 31:54) and Frank Buscher (Master champ 31:56). Laura Jaggar (2 nd AG, 37:11) and Ashley Spriggs (Master’s Runner-up, 37:55) were tops in the women’s competition.

Other fine female finishes were posted by Brenda Walton (Grandmaster’s Champ 39:47), Jan Jensen (2 nd AG, 41:49), and Padma Lyons (1st AG 46:31). Brenda returned to her winning ways after medical leave the past 6 months. Padma was the only Pilgrim to be awarded a bottle of wine thanks to her first place AG finish.

Among the men, John Geiger returned to action with a strong showing and runner-up Master’s finish in 32:37. Adam Sommers was in a stacked age group but still managed a 5th place finish in 31:54. Glenn Hudnall (Grandmaster Runner-up 34:58) was able to hold off a closing Joel Lyons (3 rd AG 35:09). Danny Greer (2nd AG, 37:20) is back to consistent racing after his 3rd race in the past 2 months. Tim Verner (3rd AG) and Whitten Ortega (5th AG, 37:52) got in a good workout trying to keep pace with Ashley. Clint Daniels led the official Pilgrim cheering team.

Again this year James Bailey honored us with his return and handed out the awards. He was the first person to run a sub 4 minute mile on US soil. Congrats to all finishers!!

Submitted by Joel Lyons

2012 Green Street Mile

This year version of the straight-line mile race featured what look to be the largest crowd in recent history (75+ runners!). The 7am start gave way to a surprisingly cool temperature considering the heat we’ve had of late. Kris Huff, in her first Green Street race, got off to a great start and crossed the line first overall for women in 5:50.  Defending champ, Ashley Spriggs, was elated with a faster time this year (6:12), which was good enough for 3rd overall.  Newest Pilgrim, Tyler Juniker, coming off a runner-up finish at the Bud Mile a week ago, put together another fine race and ended up with another runner-up position in 4:53. Tim Verner and Padma Lyons both took home the first place Master’s title, while Vince Perryman and Joel Lyons both finished first in their respective age groups.  Team support was added by John Geiger (who worked as a professional pacer) and Bruce Keisling (who had head photography duties).  Another successful trip was had by all.  

Submitted by Joel Lyons

First Annual Overton Park Memorial Day Run

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USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. All Pilgrimage Track Club members need to be signed up each year as members of the USA Track Field (USATF). The PTC is an official USTAF club thanks to Bradley Cordts, but each individual needs to sign up or renew their membership. Especially for those individuals that are running the 2011 Boston Marathon. Technically, if each person isn't signed up, they could disqualify our team from any of the team results. To sign up go to www.USATF.org Click on the tab that says "product/services", go to "individual memberships". If it's your first time fill-out the information that it asks for. Our Club Membership number is 159.