By: Roger Hopper
Male Overall
Perhaps someday I will get to be atop my own rankings, but not this time. Seth Kolosso swooped in on the final day of the winter season and stole #1 away with his sensational 2:27:00 (83.64% age-graded) for 2nd in perfect racing conditions at the Newport News One City Marathon, a PR by over 4 minutes. Kolosso's triumph was well-earned, to say the least, as the member of the US Navy had no choice but to train on a treadmill during months at sea in preparation for a winter of racing that included a 2:31:12 at the Houston Marathon and a 1:27:26 win at the Tidewater Strider Distance Series 15 Miler. My personal best-ever race, a 25:21 (83.63% AG) win at the Toano Icy 8K, also on a perfect morning for fast times, would have to settle for 2nd. I was in good company at Toano, where William Thompson was on my heels en route to placing 2nd and earning 3rd on this list with his 25:39 (82.65% AG). Thompson had a fantastic winter with wins at the Christmas Town Dash 8K (where he bested me 25:53-26:19) and the Blue Talon Bistro Turkey Trot 5K (15:43, 82.61% AG) to go with his outstanding 4th place finish at the always challenging and competitive Colonial Half Marathon (1:12:15, 80.81% AG), where he was the top local finisher. Andrew Osborne revealed he has been putting in the miles with his 1:11:34 (81.58% AG) at the One City Half Marathon, a huge improvement from his lone fall effort, for 4th in that race and on this list. Osborne was the top local finisher in the One City Half, and also picked up wins at the short course Menchville Winter Chill 5K (3.05 miles in 15:50) and the New Year's Day 5K (16:33). 5th-ranked Patrick Wachter was in the mix with Thompson and me at Toano, and finished 3rd in an admirable 25:53 (81.91% AG). Like Osborne, 6th-ranked Ryan Carroll also stepped up his game compared to the fall, traveling to Daytona Beach to defend his half marathon title there in 1:12:11 (81.85% AG) and move up 2 spots from 8th last season. Carroll also picked up the win at the Southside GameDay SuperK 5K in 16:22. David Kidd rounds out a loaded top 7 with his 26:22 effort for 2nd at the Surf N Santa 5 Miler (80.97% AG), dropping 3 spots from the fall only due to a marked increase in quality up top. Drew Midland and Emmanuel Gomez displayed their distance prowess with strong 10 mile+ performancess to slot into 8th and 9th, respectively, with Gomez edging out 10th- ranked Samuel Stephenson's superior 5K time (16:29 for the win at the Love Run 5K) based on Gomez's massive head-to-head advantage at the Strider Distance Series 15 Miler. 2019 Tidewater Striders Grand Prix Champion Chris Free held steady at 11th-ranked, as he was in the fall, with his massive PR 16:54 win at the SMILE Gingerbread 5K. Mark Tompkins is the top master here at 12th overall, and moves up 2 spots from the fall with his 16:55 (83.40% AG) for 2nd to only Osborne at the New Year's Day 5K. The men's overall ranking was almost identically as competitive as the fall, where it took a sub-35 10K equivalent to crack the top 10 and sub- 37:30 to make the top 25. The fall's top-ranked runner, Jeffrey Dover, only ran 1 race, a 25:36 win at the Oozlefinch 5 Miler (83.27% AG).
Male Masters
With fall #1 Victor Flemming only running 1 race, Mark Tompkins reigns supreme here, moving up from 2nd in the fall with his blazing 16:55 for 2nd at the New Year's Day 5K (83.40% AG). Tompkins also defended his One City Maritime 8K masters crown with his 28:12 (80.91% AG). Rich Hayes burst onto the scene with a brisk 59:47 (80.99% AG) for 3rd at the Oozlefinch 10 Miler among several strong Tidewater Strider races. 2019 Tidewater Striders Grand Prix masters champion Chuck Inman held steady at his 3rd place ranking from the fall, continuing to turn in high-quality times at the longer distances, most notably his 1:00:52 for 2nd at the Chesapeake Strider Distance Series 10 Miler. The adventurous Keith Schumann took a break from the trails and hit the roads for a 2nd place 17:45 (82.48% AG) at the Big Turkey Burn 5K, just 4 seconds back from victory, to earn himself 4th on this list. Toby Worm followed up a successful 4th in the fall to rank 5th here with his 1:02:06 for 6th at Oozlefinch 10 Miler. Tidewater Striders president himself Thomas Hicks threw down a swift 17:25 (80.36% AG) at the short course Santa Claus Shuffle 5K (3 miles) for 2nd in that race and 6th on this list, jumping up 5 spots from 11th in the fall. After only running 1 fall race, top grand master Steve Speirs finds himself ranked 7th here off of his 2:56:31 for 13th overall and 2nd master at the One City Marathon. Andrew Hoffer was the biggest positive mover on all lists, jumping from 24th in the fall to 8th here thanks to his 38:13 for 13th at the Tidewater Striders Turkey Trot 10K. Tommy Neeson also fared well at the Striders Turkey Trot, running 38:32 for 16th there and 9th on this list. Timothy Suhr rounds out the top 10 with a pair of 18:37 5Ks. 2019 Hampton Roads Super Grand Prix masters and Colonial Road Runners masters champion Jason Miller is 12th here with his 18:42 at the Blue Talon Bistro Turkey Trot 5K. Top senior grand master Pete Gibson, the lone runner in his or her 60s to be ranked this season, ran impressively as usual with his 1:25:54 for 13th at the Daytona Beach Half Marathon, which is worth a rankings-high 85.49% AG. Victor Flemming's lone race, 27:41 for 1st at the Chilly Bob 8K, had a 10K equivalent of 35:00 that would've just barely been good for #1 had he run a second race. The male masters category was just a touch more competitive than the fall; while the fall's top 5 was of higher quality, the 38:49 10K equivalent required to make the top 10 last season improved to 38:36 here, while the 40:47 top-25 qualifier became sub-40.
Female Overall
It is no mistake that hundreds of runners flock to the California International Marathon every year to qualify for Boston or the Olympic Trials, or to just reliably set a personal best - it is without a doubt one of the fastest marathon courses around. Teresa Allman flaunted her fitness while capitalizing on the fast course with an awe-inspiring 2:50:17 (83.81% AG) to take the top spot on this list. Allman also picked up the win at the Fort Monroe Strider Distance Series 10 Miler in 1:09:46. 2nd-ranked Abigail Motley showed her mettle this winter with a pair of superior times, highlighted by her 29:40 (81.01% AG) for 3rd at the One City Maritime 8K, to go with her win at the Christmas Town Dash 8K in 31:18. Saki Wilson turned in a quartet of winning performances at the Tacky Sweater 5K (18:43), Chesapeake Strider Distance Series 10 Miler (1:05:03), Run for the Heart 10 Miler (1:04:41), and Love Run 5K (18:57) to replicate her 3rd-place ranking from the fall. Christin Hoffstadt is up one spot from 5th in the fall on the strength of her 1:27:37 for 8th at the Colonial Half, where she was only 1 spot and 14 seconds behind Wilson, in addition to her 40:04 win at the Cookie Classic 10K, where she was 2nd overall and a mere 13 seconds behind the male winner. Renee (High) Merchant was climbing as well, up 3 spots to 5th thanks to a pair of 5Ks in the low 19s, including a 19:20 win at the Resolution Run 5K. Newly-ranked Jennifer Anderson took the win at the short course Menchville Winter Chill 5K (3.05 miles) in 18:47 to earn herself 6th. Bethany Spector, who ran 1:28:53 at the One City Half for 7th there and on this list, was also runner-up, to Wilson, in 1:08:05 at the Run for the Heart 10 Miler. 8th-ranked Mollie Turner had a pair of great wins at the Jingle Jog 5K (19:22) and Surf N Santa 5 Miler (32:26). Megan Schulze, a Newport News native who lives in Glen Allen, is 9th after her Menchville 2nd in 19:03 and her New Year's Day 5K win in 20:03. Despite dropping 6 spots from the fall, Stephanie Rice remains in the top 10 with her 40:41 for 3rd at the Tidewater Striders Turkey Trot 10K. 2019 Hampton Roads Super Grand Prix champion Megan Doty moves up 2 spots to 11th with her 19:59 win at the SMILE Gingerbread 5K. 2019 Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix Champion Emily Honeycutt is 12th here, down 1 spot from the fall, with her 19:37 for 3rd at Menchville and 20:16 Peninsula GameDay SuperK 5K win. Despite the fall's #1 ranked runner, Megan Cunningham, along with 4 others in the fall top 10, not being ranked this winter, the female category was significantly more compeitive this season. While qualifying for the top 10 again took a 10K equivalent at least in the low- to mid-40s, the top-25 standard increased in quality by over a minute, from the low-44s to the lower-43s, resulting in several of the fall's lower-ranked runners getting knocked off by faster rankings newcomers. The fall's #2, Maeve Stiles, did have a very nice win at the Blue Talon Bistro Turkey Trot 5K in 18:32 (80.97% AG), but that was her lone road race of the season amidst dominating the high school indoor track scene for Maury High School.
Female Masters
After taking the top spot in the overall category with her superb 2:50:17 (83.81% AG) at the California International Marathon, of course Teresa Allman is our masters #1 as well. The fall's #1 master, Jennifer Moran, is relegated to 2nd here after her strong 20:17 for 3rd at the Resolution Run 5K to go with her 42:59 win at the Strider Distance Series 6 Miler. Newly-ranked Meghan Haswell ran a fine 1:36:11 for 16th at the One City Half and 3rd on this list. Julie Hicks is up 3 spots from the fall to 4th after her pair of 2nd place finishes, 20:25 at the Santa Claus Shuffle 5K (3 miles) and 21:13 at the SMILE Gingerbread 5K. A slew of runners who were unranked in the fall, two of whom did have one notable fall race (Kerry Johnson and Karla Havens), make up the rest of the top 11, led by 5th-ranked Tamara Pelletier and her 21:25 for 2nd at the New Year's Day 5K. Her 1:45:39 Colonial Half Marathon must've just been a tune-up race for Patricia Rice, who 2 weeks later ran 3:27:24 at the One City Marathon to earn her spot at 6th. 7th-ranked Kerry Johnson also finished 7th at the Surf N Santa 5 Miler, in 36:07. Karen Sanzo ran 21:57 for 7th at the Fast Before the Feast 5K for her 8th place ranking before picking up the win at the Outer Banks Jingle Jog 5K in 22:26. Claire McCrary fared well at a pair of Striders Distance Series races to earn 9th, the best of which was her 1:15:42 for 6th at the Chesapeake 10 Miler. Rounding out the top 10 is the ageless Karla Havens, who turned in 2 of the top female age-graded times at the 3.05 mile Menchville Winter Chill 5K (21:38, 81.04%) and the Toano Icy 8K (36:06, 81.58%). The winter female masters rankings saw a massive uptick in quality from the fall, with the 10K equivalent standard to make the top 10 improving almost 2 minutes from the mid-47s to nearly the mid-45s, and the top 25 qualifier going from largely sub-50 to sub-49. Laura Shannon only ran one race, but it was great one: 21:10 at the Blue Talon Bistro Turkey Trot 5K for a rankings-female-high age grade of 84.49%.
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.
