2011 Nittany Valley Running Club Indoor Mile #1
Saturday, January 8, 2011
by Marty Mazur

The first Indoor Mile of this year's Series drew enough runners for two heats. In the "slow" heat (which keeps getting faster all the time), Mike Renz went out like gangbusters, clocking a sub-5 pace for nearly half a mile. But even-keel Ann Skulas-Ray reeled him in by Lap 7 to win in 5:24. Renz was second in 5:33 and Cory Neff was third in 5:41. Mike Goldfine ran at an over-6 pace for most of the race, but put on a ferocious kick to finish in 5:55. It was not quite enough to reel in the more even paced Tara Murray, who ran 5:53.

Harrisburg area Master Nick Berra heard about the Indoor Mile Series from his friend Bob McGinty, who was the NVRC Masters record holder until today's meet. Berra led from start to finish and eclipsed McGinty's mark by over 4 seconds, winning in 4:27.30. The current NVRC Indoor Mile record holder Mark Burnham was tuning up today and finished second in 4:39. He will have to race hard to keep his record if Berra makes a return visit. It's less than a second faster! Four runners finished under 5 minutes. But the best footrace was between Yu Zhang and Costas Maranas. Costas did not hear Zhang coming on the final straight and lost out by a quarter second.

Next week's race will be a little later in the morning, giving everyon a chance for a little more coffee and faster times.

Results

Heat 1
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Ann Skkulas-Ray          5:24.22
 2.    Mike Renz                5:33.92
 3.    Cory Neff                5:41.84
 4.    Tara Murray              5:53.61
 5.    Michael Goldfine         5:55.84 (M)
 6.    Earl Lake                6:20.03 (M)
 7.    Marty Klanchar           6:21.14 (M)

Heat 2
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Nick Berra               4:27.30 (MR)
 2.    Mark Burnham             4:39.73
 3.    Nate King                4:42.17
 4.    Britt Kern               4:52.91
 5.    Derek Gerberich          5:01.64
 6.    Drew Welch               5:07.86
 7.    Yu Zhang                 5:11.44
 8.    Costas Maranas           5:11.69 (M)
 9.    Dave Crown               5:23.57
10.    Kelsey Markham           5:33.13
11.    Bill Maloney             5:49.37

 
   (M) - Designates Masters (over 40) runners.
  (R) - NVRC Indoor Mile Record
Photos: Marty Mazur.

Nick Berra leads the field on his way to an
NVRC Masters Record time of 4:27.30
Ann-Skulas-Ray took the first heat.

Back to Indoor Mile Results Page.
Return to NVRC home page.