OREGON- After 12 consecutive days of rain, April 1 dawned rainy and breezy, just in time for the IAAF World Cup Race Walk Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Maine Race Walkers, Abby Dunn and Nicole Court-Menendez, toed the line at 7:02 am with a berth on the World Cup Team on the line. With a goal of 53 minutes for the 10k on a 1k loop road course the walkers took off into the steady rain. Abby settled in at 5:15/k pace and knew that she had to remain consistent in order to reach the time she needed, she also knew that to do that would require a personal best of 2 minutes. As the laps went by she remained steadily on track achieving a 10k time of 53:04.1, a new PR by 1:56, finishing second and punching her ticket to Saransk, Russia where the IAAF World Cup will be contested on May 12 and 13.
Nicole set off at an aggressive 5:40 pace which was what she needed to hit to qualify for Junior Nationals. She maintained a steady pace hitting 5K only 10 seconds off her 5K PR but with half a race still to go. At 6K it looked like she was in trouble with stomach distress and vomiting but after 1 slow lap she was able to get herself back together and finish the race in 58:44.9. Qualifying for Nationals, posting a PR of 2:53 and finishing fourth. Nicole's time was not fast enough to qualify for the team but the speed and determination with which she walked bodes well for the rest of the season.
The next event for the team, other than the start of the outdoor track season, will be the Penn Relays on April 28. -Submitted by Tom Menendez
Also not to be missed was the 3rd place finish in the Women's 20k by Maine native Lauren Forgues who covered the distance in 1:39:13.
Junior Women Results
Place No. Name Time Pace Affiliation
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1 4 Maite Moscoso 51:22.8 8:17 Central Florida Gliders Track..
2 2 Abby Dunn 53:04.1 8:33 Maine Racewalkers
3 3 Molly Josephs 54:56.3 8:51 Walk USA
4 1 Nicole Court-Menendez 58:44.9 9:28 Maine Racewalkers
Open Women Results
Place No. Name Time Pace Affiliation
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1 32 Maria Michta 1:35:57 7:44 Walk USA
2 26 Erin Gray 1:36:08 7:45 Bowerman Athletic Club
3 25 Lauren Forgues 1:39:13 7:59 New York Athletic Club (NYAC)
4 23 Katie Burnett 1:41:19 8:10 Unattached
5 30 Solomiya Login 1:41:25 8:10 Southeastern Pa Athletic Club
6 31 Miranda Melville 1:42:10 8:14 Unattached
7 34 Susan Randall 1:46:09 8:33 Miami Valley TC
8 35 Erika Shaver 1:47:47 8:41 Unattached
9 24 Kelly Clark 1:55:13 9:17 Unattached
10 29 Jamie Kootz 1:56:25 9:22 Unattached
11 27 Kathryn Grimes 1:59:27 9:37 Racewalkers Northwest
12 21 Melissa Bosserman 2:17:45 11:06 Racewalkers Northwest
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