Results: Ayer Rail Trail 5K/10K

Ayer Rail Trail 5K/10K
Ayer, MA
Monday, May 25, 2015
Weather: 70 degrees, muggy, no wind, and a few mosquitoes
(Training race, not judged)

The next New England Walkers training race will be Sunday, June 14th at Danehy Park, Cambridge MA–5K,10:30am start, no entry fee, no DQs.

5 Km
1. Brian Savilonis        33:03
2. Charlie Mansbach   35:57
3. Tom Knatt               37:24
4. Annie Montgomery  41:42
5. Joanne Harriman    46:10

10Km
1. Ed O’Rourke           59:12
2. Maegan Allen          59:17
3. Bob Keating            61:12
4. Nolan Allen             62:13

Thanks to Ed O’Rourke and Tom Knatt for organizing the event, and Bill Harriman for timing.

2015 Ayer Rail Trail start DSCN0425

Results: 2015 Londonderry Invitational

2015 Londonderry Invitational
Londonderry High School, Londonderry, NH
May 23, 2015
Weather: Sunny, 55 degrees, windy

Girls 1500 M Race Walk
1. Allen, Maegan           Arlington MA   6:57.00
2. Vaitones, Valentina   12 Pinkerton   7:37.75
3. Bickford, Haley          Gorham ME    8:02.07
4. MacGilvary, Isabelle   09 Pinkerton  9:21.60

Boys 1500 M Race Walk
1. Allen, Nolan             Arlington MA     7:11.53

Judges: Vera Vaitones, Todd Bickford, Rich McElvery
Special thanks to Ed Vaitones for coordinating this event and the Londonderry coaching staff for their support and help to set this up.

Londonderry start DSCN0411 cropped

Maeghan and Nolan Allen Set Massachusetts Scholastic RW Records

Congratulations to brother and sister, Nolan and Maeghan Allen, from Arlington! They each set 3000m MA scholastic records last Sunday at the USATF-NE Masters / Open race in Providence, RI. Maeghan and Nolan were the top New England finishers in a talented field. They clocked times of 15:28.90 and 16:18.08 respectively.
meaghan nolan emerson-Don Lawrence photo
Meaghan and Nolan after the race with 2012 Olympian Emerson Hernandez.
Photo: Don Lawrence

Lindoe & O’Rourke Winners of the Tom Knatt NE 1-Mile Championship

Tom Knatt USATF New England Indoor 1 Mile Race Walk Championship
Johnson Athletic Center, M.I.T, Cambridge MA
13 December 2014

In a classic photo finish, Holly Lindoe of Franklin Pierce University edged out New England Walkers Ed O’Rourke at the line to win the overall inaugural Tom Knatt NE 1-Mile Championship at MIT last Saturday.

Photo Finish: Lindoe/O'Rourke

1    Holly Lindoe         Franklin Pierce U     7:49.33

2    Ed O’Rourke         NEWalkers              7:49.36

3    Nolan Allen           Unattached             7:56.22

4    Maegan Allen        Unattached             7:59.64

5    Val Vaitones          NEWalkers              9:06.59

6    Alessia Caira          Waltham TC            9:34.18

7    Jay Diener             Granite State RW    9:40.43

8    Charles Mansbach  NEWalkers            10:49.92

9    Tom Knatt             NEWalkers            11:50.65

2014-12-13 MIT TK Mile ValVaitones 01

Tom Knatt NE 1-Mile Championship (Photo: Ed Vaitones)

2014-12-13 MIT TK Mile VaitonesVal 02

Winners Holly Lindoe and Ed O’Rourke with Tom Knatt (Photo: Ed Vaitones)

Thank you Jeff Salvage!

A warm thank you to Jeff Salvage for offering a successful Race Walking Clinic, September 27-28. Combining active sessions and classroom lectures, Jeff covered everything from technique to nutrition, flexibility, to training, and and mixed in a bit of race strategy. Thanks to Ed O’Rourke for organizing the event.

USA 1 Hour RW Championships to include Youth/Novice Race and free RW Clinic

On Sunday August 10th USATF-NE and the New England Walkers will be hosting the USA National 1 Hour Championships at the New Balance Track, Newell Stadium in Gloucester MA. Following the open events there will be a Youth/Novice 1 Mile race (no fee), and a free RW clinic open to all ages.

Prize money will be awarded in the top three places in the Men’s and Women’s Open races–medals will be awarded for the first six finishers in the Open and Junior divisions, and the top three finishers Master’s for each 5-year age group.

Gloucester is close to beaches, historic Salem, and great seafood…

Applications can be found at: http://www.usatf.org/Events—Calendar/2014/USA-1-Hour-Race-Walk-Championships.aspx

Desi Smith/ Gloucester Daily Times.     August 27,2013

Youth RW Mini-Clinic held June 15th

On Sunday on June 15th, before the Youth Track & Field Development Meet in Amherst NH, Ed and Valia Vaitones held a Race Walking Mini-Clinic for 15 athletes.   In the 30 minutes, Ed led the group through a progression of exercises leading to the correct race walk technique.  One of the participants, Ella Karhl (Wellesley Youth T&F) later went on to race the 800m RW in 5:13.9.  Valia walked the 1500m in 8:07.4.

Amherst Mini-Clinic 127 2014-06-24Amherst Mini-Clinic 169 2014-06-24

 

results: Pepperell Rail Trail 8K Race Walk (Apr 13, 2014)

20140413-pepperell-rail+-trail-1The 3rd annual Pepperell Rail Trail Race was held today in cool, rainy conditions. Here are the results of the judged 8K NE Grand Prix racewalk.

1. Ed O'Rourke - 45:25
2. Bob Keating - 47:24
3. Larry Epstein - 49:24
4. Brian Savilonis - 51:33
5. Charlie Mansbach - 58:30
6. Clyde Wilder - 63:42

Steve Vaitones walked an unofficial 6k, and Holly Wenninger and Pat Godfrey walked 4k.

The race was judged by Ed Vaitones, Vera Vaitones, and Joanne Harriman. Timing by Ann Neuberg. A potluck get-together took place at the Harrimans’ trailside condo after the race.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Bill Harriman

Results: USATF New England Indoor Championship – 2/23/2014

Maryanne Daniel set a Masters Age Group record in the 3000 meter race walk at the USATF New England Track & Field Championship on Feb 23, 2014.

Maryanne Daniel set a Masters Age Group record in the 3000 meter race walk at the USATF New England Track & Field Championship on Feb 23, 2014.

Here are the results of the 2014 USATF New England Indoor Championship, 3000 meter and 1 mile race walks held at Harvard University, Boston MA on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014.

220 Yard banked track, Combined co-ed race

Women 3000 Meter Race Walk
================================================================
Name                  Age Team                  Finals
================================================================
1 Annica Penn          18 Unattached            14:53.97 (Collegian)
2 Maegan Allen         15 MA HS (home school)   15:44.19 MA HS Rec
3 Holly Lindoe         18 Franklin Pierce Col.  15:54.91
4 Maryanne Daniel      55 Connecticut RW        16:02.41 New W55 Record
5 Cheryl Armstrong        Unattached            17:36.86

Men 3000 Meter Race Walk
================================================================
Name                  Age Team                  Finals
================================================================
1 Edward O'Rourke III  52 New England Walkers   14:52.09
2 Spencer Dunn         15 ME HS                 14:59.70
3 Nolan Allen          13 MA HS (home school)   16:15.35
4 Stephen Peckiconis   54 Cambridge Sports Un   16:40.68
5 Larry Epstein        55 New England Walkers   17:32.07
6 James Miner          65 Unattached            18:05.34

Junior 1 Mile Race Walk (concurrent with 3000)
================================================================
Name                  Age Team                  Finals
================================================================
1 Timothy Sunnerberg   17   M  MA HS             8:33.8H

Judges: Geoff Bye, Thomas Knatt (chief), Justin Kuo, Rich McElvery and Steve Vaitones

Valia Vaitones attends Elite Junior Race Walk Camp

To encourage and develop young race walkers, the NE Walkers board of Directors voted last November to donate $250 toward travel expenses for Valia Vaitones to attend the Elite Junior Race Walk Camp in Texas.

Valia contributed the following article about her experiences while in Texas:

I attended the National Junior Race Walking Camp in Pharr, Texas, which lasted for a week, beginning December 28, 2013. It was a great experience being among so many athletes who enjoy race walking, and to be taught by such great coaches. The other walkers were very encouraging to everyone there—from different parts of the USA, and from four other countries, over 65 in all— all just sharing the sport we love. It was a great youth camp experience without any youth drama! There was lots of time to get to know everyone, and to get to know the other girls as friends and as future competitors.

Valia Vaitones (with red cap) attended the RW camp in Pharr TX.

Valia Vaitones (with red cap) attended the RW camp in Pharr TX.

The second day there, most people walked a 3 km track race. Before the race, we watched the older athletes do 10 and 15 Km races—Rachel Seaman set a Canadian record! It was a bit overwhelming to be around so many good walkers. In my race, I decided to stay with a small group in the middle to start. Then I broke off and found that I had the will to set my own pace, and I caught up to Kaitlin who competes in college. We walked together for the 2nd half of the race—I paced off of her, and I in turn pushed her. I had strong last lap—but my legs were burning! I ended up with a personal record of 17:13, which makes me the first New Hampshire high school walker to be nationally ranked! That time was a 40 second improvement from this summer.

The evening after the race, we saw race films and got feedback on our form. The next day we did lots of mobility and form work, and I learned some new things to practice. Ian Whatley set up a treadmill with two cameras and a screen. Most athletes don’t get to see themselves “live”, but we got to see ourselves walk in real time from two sides! We were critiqued on our form, and could adjust and see instantly how we corrected things.

Caption

Valia Vaitones (center) and friends.

We had evening talks about walking after high school, and how to keep up the motivation, and about the NAIA schools that have good walkers. Tim Seaman talked about excellence in training. He challenged us to incorporate workouts that challenge us!

Unfortunately, a few of us got the flu, including me. But it was still a great event! I thank the New England Walkers for supporting me this year! I can’t wait for next year!

“Dream it, walk it, live it”
Valia Vaitones