Male Overall
The top four men are all members of the Colonial Road Runners, and the rankings order followed the season’s definitive spring race, the Run the DOG Street 5K, where Roger Hopper (15:20) won over Adam Otstot (15:30), Isaac Lamprecht (15:37) and Will Jeter (15:39). Otstot handed Hopper his only spring season loss two weeks later at the Virginia Fire Chiefs 5K, reversing the places and the times, Otstot with an all-time CRR men’s 40-44 record of 15:20 (and an age grade of 88.91%, the highest for the men), with Hopper second in 15:30. Jeter was strongly considered for the third spot, based on his 15:37 at the Virginia Fire Chiefs 5K, equalling Lamprecht’s DOG Street time, but the head-to-head duel was the deciding factor. Those four had 10K equivalent times of 32:33 or better, and there was over a full minute’s gap to the next ranking runner.
For Hopper it was his eighth consecutive season at #1. The last time he wasn’t ranked #1 was the spring 2021 season, when Forest Braden and Adam Otstot went 1-2. Since the winter 2020-21 season, Hopper has nine #1’s, no #2’s, and the one #3. Does it make it difference that Hopper compiles the rankings? Absolutely not! As the editor of these rankings, one of my jobs is to make sure the rankings are fair to all, including Roger. If he didn’t deserve to be #1, I’d tell him so in a second.
It's not that Hopper is unbeatable. He often has been beaten by out-of-area runners in major races like the Colonial Half Marathon or the DOG Street 5K (but not this year), and it seems every summer some hot-shot college runner from Hampton Roads beats him in an area summer race. But they don’t do the second race in a season that is required to be ranked. And in CRR races, occasionally Otstot or Braden prevails.
Three teenagers ran fast half marathons at Shamrock, but didn’t make the rankings as they only ran one spring race--graduating seniors Will Griesmer from Princess Anne (1:12:44), Nick Pham from Ocean Lakes (1:13:25), and Jackson Price from Kellam (1:15:08), all Virginia Beach schools. Griesmer and Pham would have been #5 and #6, had they run another race. Another one-race wonder was rankings regular David “Zion” Gregory, who was fourth at Shamrock in 1:10:28, and his 31:55 10K equivalent would have challenged Otstot for the second spot.
Male Masters
Otstot dominates here, with a 10K equivalent (31:58) almost three minutes faster than the second-ranked runner, Striders president Thomas Hicks (34:49). But Hicks at age 51 is an amazing runner himself, competing for Masters and overall supremacy against runners a decade younger. And he has to deal with balance issues due to his MS, needing to push a stroller with 50 pounds of weight to keep from falling. He won the Dismal Swamp 5 Miler in 27:37, age grading 86.84%, and was an impressive 1:17:43 at the Shamrock Half, age grading 84.41%. All that and being an RRCA award winning club president, and race directing many of the most competitive Striders races. Ryan Carroll, one of the premier runners in the Hampton Roads area for several decades, now at age 40, was third Master, his 16:55 at the Bunny Hop 5K giving him a 10K equivalent of 35:14. No other Masters male bettered 37:00 for their 10K equivalent.
As often happens, Mark Tompkins ran just one race, and would have made the rankings with a second spring race. His impressive one race was a 1:16:44 half marathon at One City, a 10K equivalent of 34:43, slightly better than Hicks.
Male 60+
This has been a great year for now injury-free Rob Whitaker, age 64, of the CRR, the only 60+ runner with a 10K equivalent under 40 minutes, based on his 19:07 at Fire Chiefs and 19:11 at First Colony, and an age grade of 85.96%. Perennial 60+ rival Pete Gibson has recovered well, but not completely, from a bout of COVID last November that affected his joints and made it hard to even walk until treatment resolved the problem. Gibson at age 67 had a better age grade (86.45%) from his 19:33 at DOG Street, but his 10K equivalent was just 40:41. Two others, Jon Leiding, now age 60 (41:26) and Ken Alberg, 62 (42:01) were the only others to better 44 minutes for their 10K equivalent.
Female Overall
Five women stood out from the rest, all with 10K equivalents in the 37s, and a case could be made for each of them. For example #5 Ann Mazur beat #1 Marie Grace at the Victory at Yorktown 10K with her 37:51. And #1 (Grace) and #2 (Ida Oesteraas) had the same 10K equivalent of 37:04, and the same 5K best time of 17:49. The deciding factor was Grace’s win at the Dismal Swamp Marathon in 2:52:26. Third ranked Hanna Peterson, the women’s distance coach at William and Mary, only had time to race twice during the spring, a winning 17:59 at the Virginia Fire Chiefs 5K, and another first, in 18:36 at the trail Jamestown Swamp Run 5K. Fourth ranked Jo Reihner had a faster half marathon (1:22:51 at Shamrock) than Mazur (1:23:33 at Tobacco Road).
Three very talented runners through the years were at 10-11-12, Emily Honeycutt, Ekaterina Allen and Bethany Spector, with 10K equivalents of 39:36, 39:47 and 40:42. Look for much more from them in the summer and fall rankings, especially Spector, a former #1, who is returning to form after her first child was born last August.
Female Masters
A relatively weak season for the 40+ runners, with just two making the top 25 in the overall category, Kristen Lawrence (ranked #7 overall) and Lania Herman (ranked #24 overall). Lawrence dominate the 40+ group with a 10K equivalent of 38:56 based on her 1:26:09 at the Shamrock Half, to go with a runner-up 3:06:58 at the Dismal Swamp Half Marathon. Herman was next, four minutes behind, with a 10K equivalent of 42:55, and a 1:35:02 at Shamrock.
Female 60+
Don’t tell Joey Hallock and Betty Brothers that they can’t compete with the 60+ crowd because they’re a decade or more older! Hallock, 70, age graded 85.93% and had a 10K equivalent of 50:52 from her 40:03 at the Shamrock 8K. And her 24:50 at the CHKD 5K would have been a Virginia state record for women 70-74, had the course been USATF certified. But Hallock, who already holds multiple state records from the 65-69 age group, will undoubtedly have opportunities this summer and fall to break state records from 5K on up in her new 70-74 age group.
And the legendary Betty Brothers continues to excel at age 76, and was ranked #9 for women 60+ based on her 54:44 at the CHKD 10K (age grading 87.09%). That time also would have been a state record had the course been certified, but Brothers already holds the state 10K record (broken twice last year).
Marie Shay, 66, was not too far behind Hallock for second 60+, based on her 24:44 at DOG Street (age grade 80.66%), with her 10K equivalent 51:28, compared to Hallock’s 50:52.
Races
In order to be considered for these rankings, a race must have open entry to all, have full results listed on a website, and preferably list age, gender, and city of residence of all runners. Road and cross country races will be considered. Any race that is known to have an actual distance significantly different from its advertised distance will have its actual, or more accurate best-guess, distance displayed in parentheses. Races will fall into the following seasons based on the following boundaries: spring is the first full weekend of March up to but not including Memorial Day weekend, summer includes Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, fall is from after Labor Day to before Thanksgiving, and winter includes Thanksgiving races up to but not including the first full weekend of March.
