St Patrick's Day Running

Lucky Green 5k - Rochester, MN

Reported by Mario Minelli

The atmosphere for the 2012 Lucky Green 5k was unusual, but festive at the same time.  Unusual for a March race in MN:  temp in the 60’s, people in shorts and tank tops, and one shirtless guy.  Festive because of St. Patrick’s Day: plenty of green clothing, make-up, Leprechaun-like accessories, consumes, and green beer. Ok, I didn’t see any green beer.  There were also bagpipes blaring in the background which added a little more to the scene.   

A couple of the regular top finishers were there among the 160 or so that registered, which was record attendance for this race.  Rob Mitchell was there along with Dallas Davidson, favorites for the race.  Ruth was there as well and, looking calm before the race, she revealed that this was her first true 5k in eleven years.   As all the participants wandered over from the Running Room lot to the starting line about a block away I ran into a handful of other Tri-Rochester members: Andy O’Galbus, Bobby “I just ran 10 miles this morning” O’Miller (aka: Speed Queen), Mark O’Parry, Kelly O’Hara just to name a few. Kelly has the only real “O” name.    

Wally started us off and I got in front as we turn the first corner, just a few feet from the start. Then Ruth and Rob got in front of me along with Eric Nelson.  The four of us made it to the bridge by the Soldiers Field playground and I think Ruth was in front at that point, then Rob took the lead.  I was in fourth position at that point and Rob was just a few seconds up.  This was still the first quarter to third mile.  Then the gaps started forming.  Rob got a little more distance on Ruth, Ruth pulled away from Eric, and was fading.  Eventually we ended up back on the main path that most of the first mile was on and we’re heading back.  It was fairly straight with few curves so I could see all four people ahead of me, but Rob was way up there. 

Crossing the bridge back to Soldiers Field you get a good view of the Running Room and the finish line.  I saw Rob finishing about the time I was coming off the bridge. Rob won with 16:50, Ruth was just about on the last section of trail going up to the finish line. She crossed at 17:12, which surely has to be a female course record and top 5 fastest time ever for the LG5k.  The other two were behind her; Eric at 17:23 and Dallas at 17:43. 

Aside from getting “chick’d”, it was a pretty good race.  Wally and Peg put on a great event--good post-race snacks, gift cards to overall and AG winners, and they even rewarded a couple ladies for best costume.  Consider this race for next year.  Overall results are HERE

Get Lucky 7k and Half Marathon - Minneapolis, MN  

Reported by Bill Nevala

My 8-year old son, Zach, is getting enthusiastic about our family's interest in the endurance sports lifestyle. Zach has competed in a few running events up to 5K in length. This weekend Zach and I ran in Team Ortho's Get Lucky 7K Run on St. Patrick's Day. We chose this race as a stepping stone for Zach who is working his way up to running a 10K in the future. The Team Ortho website for the Get Lucky 7K and 21K running events looked very professional and fun. The race provided us with some cool hoodies and really awesome finisher medals!

When Zach and I arrived at the starting line area at 8 a.m, people were already filling up the parking lot area. The Jumbotron was showing footage of the Team Ortho races, music was playing, and the vibe was growing with the thousands of participants. This run was like no other in that most everyone had some sort of green clothing and accessories. Good luck finding someone in this crowd. The Team Ortho organization has proved to me that they are serious about participant experience. The course was well planned and lined with large Get Lucky pennants to mark the way. The course ran down the cobblestone streets of the city with the backdrop of the Minneapolis skyline. The race had plenty of volunteers and water stations. The excitement built up for Zach and me as we entered the last quarter mile of the race. Thousands of people lined the streets we ran down, which put a smile on everyone, especially Zach. There was truly a party at the finish line for us as Zach and I crossed together. The finisher medals are really nice, one of the biggest I have received. Zach, of course, was grinning from ear to ear after running the entire 7K distance. Overall I would give this race four stars out of five. I recommend this event if you like the spectacle of big races. This race had some 8500 people in the 7K and 3000 in the 21K. Anyway, Zach and I had a blast. Fun way to spend St. Patrick's Day morning with my son.   Full results available HERE.

TriRochester Member Results

Lucky Green 5k (Rochester)
Name			Overall	Time	Pace
Rob	Mitchell		1/154	16:50	5:26
Ruth	Brennan-Morrey		2/154	17:12	5:33
Mario	Minelli		5/154	18:04	5:49
Jim	Hannon		6/154	18:31	5:58
Bobby	Miller		7/154	18:34	5:59
Andrew	Galbus		23/154	22:26	7:14
Mark	Parry		39/154	24:26	7:52
Andy	Koch		45/154	25:36	8:15
Kelly	O’Hara		74/154	28:46	9:16
Get Lucky 7k and 21k (Minneapolis)
Name		Race	Overall	Time
Nick	Rogness	7k	581/8785	35:21:00
Bill	Nevala	7k	4919/8785	46:24:00
Zach	Nevala	7k	4913/8785	46:24:00
Joe	Moyer	half	78/2483	1:31:58
Ann	Moyer	half	463/2483	1:48:41
Amber	Aslakson	half	2266/2483	2:35:57
Adam	Aslakson	half	2267/2483	2:35:58