The Women of PRT raced to personal records in races from the mile up to the marathon this Spring. Many of those performances took place in local San Diego races where a majority of the team showed up in force to dominate the competition.
In February, ten women toed the line of the Cardiff Kook 10K, coming away with multiple PRs and top ten finishes. Hilary Corno led the way, running her fastest 10K ever in 35:55, taking fourth place in the race. She was followed by Julie Sawyer in 36:28 and Darcy Davidson in 36:50, both of whom also PR’d in the race, finishing 5th and 6th overall, respectively. The rest of the team put up notable performances as well, with the following women placing in the top 15: Marie Schaper (37:14), Angela Moll (37:17), Cortney Staruch (37:34) and new teammate Kathy Dunbar (38:12).
Angela Moll and Hilary Corno make racing look easy!
Many of the women chose to test themselves in an event that was out of their comfort zone by participating in the Encinitas Mile in March. Thus unique event allowed the women to show their versatility at all distances on the road. Darcy Davidson started things off right for the women by coming away with the Masters Women’s win in 5:14. In the elite field, a tight pack of PRT women came in within a second of each other, with Julie Sawyer finishing 6th in 5:09, Kathy Dunbar finishing 7th in 5:10, and Gina Merchant finishing 9th in 5:10.
As the season progressed, many of the women focused on their speed to race in the always competitive Carlsbad 5000. The races are broken down by age group, giving the women the chance to snag more podium spots. Julie Sawyer led the 30-39 women by placing 3rd in a PR of 17:19. She was followed by Hilary Corno (18:21), Angela Moll (18:23), and Kathy Dunbar (18:27), all of whom placed in the top 10 in the race. Marie Schaper led the women in the 20-29 division, also taking third in 17:48, impressive off her Marathon training.
Marie Schaper cruised to a podium finish at the Carlsbad 5000
In addition to the impressive performances in local races, many of the PRT women went outside of San Diego to seek out competitive fields in which to lower those race times.
Several women trained for Marathons this past spring, Sabina Piras, who joined the team earlier in the year, raced to a PR despite the miserable weather at the Boston Marathon, running 2:51. Darcy Davidson didn’t mess around in her debut at the Mountains to Beach Marathon. Not only did she run 2:54, but she also won the race! What a great start to her Marathon career! Marie once again left the country for her Marathon, though not quite as far this time around. She went up to Vancouver and finished 4th against a competitive field running 2:49 on a difficult and hilly course.
Darcy Davidson won her debut Marathon this past May
In the world of track and field, Julie Sawyer laced up her spikes for her first ever 10K on the track, competing at the Mt. Sac Relays. Despite a start time after her usual bedtime, she raced to 3rd place in her heat and ran a PR of 35:15.
Julie Sawyer took over a minute off her previous 10K PR at Mt. Sac in April.
PRT had Half Marathon PRs booked its spring season. Angela Moll didn’t let congestion stop her from racing to a 1:21 PR in the Arizona Rock and Roll Half Marathon in January. Then in June, Hilary Corno shaved over a minute and a half off of her previous best to run 1:17 in the San Diego Rock and Roll Half Marathon.