Authored by: Joy Chan & Paula Murray
Event Date/Location: November 10, 2024, Lincoln Park, Seattle, WA
Last Sunday the largest LSRC cross-country (XC) team to date braved the prospect of mid-day storms to race against some of the best club teams in the state at the Pacific Northwest Track and Field (PNTF) Open and Masters XC Championships, held at Lincoln Park in West Seattle. It is a fan favorite course, with Puget Sound water views and only one short but notable hill. The weather gods acted in our favor, granting four hours of partly cloudy skies, no wind, and temperatures in the fifties. The trees were a-blaze in hues of yellow and orange, adding to a perfect fall morning. We could not have asked for better racing conditions on the fast, hard-packed, and mostly dry 2k loop course.
LSRC fielded the largest women’s XC team since the club’s inception, with five women in the Open division (age 39 and under), three in the 40-49 division, and three in the 50-59 division. The LSRC team toed off further back in the crowded start area, but quickly made up ground after the gun. A total of 63 women battled for position, and while the LSRC women placed 4th of four scoring teams, several of our women placed in their age divisions: Maricruz Del Pozo took 2nd place in the F45-49, and Paula Murray took 3rd place in the F55-59. Additionally, strong performances across the board contributed to the LSRC women placing third in the F40-49 and second in the F50-59 team scoring. We are thrilled to see the women’s team continue to grow and improve throughout this season!
Next up were the Masters (age 40+) men in the 8k, running four laps of the 2k course. This year we fielded a Masters men’s team of five, consisting of three in the 40-49 division and two in the 50-59 division. A dominant Club Northwest team brought heavy competition, and the Masters men narrowly missed the podium finishing fourth out of four scoring teams. However, the span between the five Masters men was less than two minutes – demonstrating smart, consistent races by our runners.
The event concluded with the Open men’s 10k – a brutal five laps of the course. This year was the first time LSRC did not have enough Open men to form a scoring team for an XC event, but the four who showed up did so with determination and grit. Racing against some of the fastest runners in the state, it was exhilarating to watch them fly through the course! We are proud of the Open men for representing LSRC as well as they did.
We had plenty to celebrate at PNTF – from individual and team performances, a chance to run on such a perfect fall day, to being part of a supportive team that rallied around one another. This is exactly the momentum we need as we approach the end of the season and the final two championship meets of 2024. Even when we don’t come in first, we always have the most fun!
Full Team Results: http://live.pntfo.com/meets/11102024/events
Check out more photos from club member Steve Dion!
