“And Now for Something Completely Different.” Not Monty Python, but the Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix series after the fifth annual Run for Mental Strength 6K on May 11 at Warhill High. After four consecutive fast and mostly flat 5K CRR races this spring (Virginia Fire Chiefs, Queens Lake, Run the DOG and Virginia Regional Ballet at First Colony), with many spectacularly fast times, area runners changed their focus to a 6K race (3.72 miles), and a very challenging and much slower course on the Warhill Nature Trail.
The Mental Strength race was founded by then Warhill High student Hannah Buttner in 2020, and the first year was held on the road 5K course at Eastern State Hospital. In 2021 and ’22, the 5K switched to a trail, dirt, grass, and country-country type course from Warhill High. For 2023 and this year, the distance was changed to 6K, and the course was simplified to a straight out-and-back, with the first quarter mile on asphalt (the Warhill High parking lot nearest the school’s track, and the bike path parallel to Opportunity Way, before making a left onto the Warhill Nature Trail to the turnaround point shortly before the trail crosses over the main Warhill Sports Complex entrance road.
Hannah Buttner was the race director for the first three years for her sophom*ore through senior years at Warhill. Now a second year student at VMI, Hannah passed on the race directing duties to her father Louis Buttner. The race is a benefit for NAMI (National Association for Mental Health) and the Warhill High cross country team.
This spring saw extremely fast times at the four CRR 5K races. Jonathan Grimm, 14, broke the all-time CRR and state 5K records for the 14-and-under category, first with a 15:54 at the rainy Virginia Fire Chiefs, and culminating with a 15:19 at DOG Street. Isabella Strumke, 10, ran an 18:31 at DOG Street (age grading a world-class 93%), two seconds behind Amelia Valenti, 13.
W&M freshman Will Griesmer, 19, won DOG Street in 15:04, just five seconds off the state 15-19 record. Runner-up and W&M coach Forest Braden, 41, ran 15:07, just nine seconds off the state 40-44 record. Isaac Lamprecht, 17, had a lifetime PR of 15:08, and Adam Otstot, 41, ran 15:14, one second off his lifetime PR from his 20s.
At Queens Lake, David Angell, 47, ran an all-time CRR record of 16:00 for the 45-49 age group, just seven seconds off the state 45-49 record. And Emily Honeycutt ran a PR 18:37 at Queens Lake, and a course record 18:45 at First Colony.
Of all those elite runners, only Otstot accepted the challenge of running an odd distance (no state records for the 6K distance, but it is the standard distance for college women’s and USATF women’s cross country races) and a challenging course at Warhill. Otstot won the men’s race in 20:04, 14 seconds off the course record set by last year’s winner Roger Hopper of Chesapeake. Hopper, 33, was second in 20:42, holding off a fast-charging Erik Stauderman, 24, of Williamsburg (20:50). Following were Christopher Minty, 36, of Williamsburg (22:39), Timothy Suhr, 53, of Williamsburg (24:01), Kyle Aulenbach, 47, of Yorktown (24:44), Pete Gibson, 68, of Murfreesboro, N.C. (24:59), Alexey Popov, 41, of Newport News (25:07) David Anderson, 54, of Williamsburg (25:57) and Danny Herrera-Jimenez, 26, of Hanford, Calif. (26:59). From that group, Warhill 6K men’s age group records were broken by Stauderman (20-24), Herrera-Jimenez (25-29), Minty (35-39), Otstot (40-44), Suhr (50-54) and Gibson (65-69), along with Jim Duffy of Poquoson (70-74, 30:17).
For the women, the top six were all 40-and-older. Karen Grabowski, 40, of Toano won in 26:51, followed by Aimee Gianoukos, 48, of Williamsburg (27:33), Megan Syrett, 41, of Yorktown (28:08), Marjorie Friedrichs, 56, of Williamsburg (28:50), Jessica Anderson, 42, of Williamsburg (30:19), May Carlson, 48, of Hampton (30:55) and Tori Otstot, 39, of Williamsburg (31:29). Breaking Warhill 6K women’s age group records were Grabowski (40-44), Gianoukos 45-49) and Friedrichs (55-59), along with Christine Williams of Poquoson (60-64, 38:10), Martha Gullo of Williamsburg (70-and-over, 41:59), and Deneen Venters of Newport News (race walk, 49:05). The women’s course record is 24:21 by Bethany Spector, 33, of Virginia Beach, the 2023 winner.
Taking the biggest hit from the challenging course was the age graded scores. As compiled by CRR statistician Jim Gullo, only two runners bettered the national-class level of 80%, Gibson (82.62%) and Otstot (82.54%). Only eight more were above the 70% regional-class level, Hopper (75.52%), Suhr (75.25%), Stauderman (74.64%), Friedrichs (73.77%), Ken Mitchell, 79, of Williamsburg (33:14, 73.54%), Duffy (71.38%), Gianoukos (70.59%) and David Anderson (70.23%). In comparison, at DOG Street, three runners were above the 90% world class level (Strumke, Braden and Gibson), six more were above 85% (including Otstot’s 89.50%), and nine more were above the national-class level of 80%.
But races are not just about fast times and high age grades. Otstot emailed, “I am a big fan of challenging, often slower courses.I enjoy the variety on the course, and I like having features like gravel or hills that can allow for additional tactics in a race. It’s why cross country was always favored over track when I was younger and why races on courses like this are still a ton of fun for me today.You stop worrying about your GPS watch and focus more on who is in front or behind you and how you can maximize your speed relative to those in the race to place as high as you can.I got out well and things spread out pretty quickly. At the turnaround, I had roughly 15-20 seconds on second, so it was all about just doing what I needed to hold that position.It was a good, strong run, and I had fun.Icing on the cake that I broke an age group record for the race, and I got to see [wife] Tori finish with an 8.5 minute improvement over her race here last year!”
Women’s winner Grabowski emailed, “I treat this hilly course like a tempo run, starting out much slower than a regular 5K, or even a flat 6K. So a quarter mile into the race I think I was the sixth woman overall. First mile I just wanted to keep Aimee and Megan close and was hoping to maintain my pace after that. My first mile was a 7:10 and overall I averaged a 7:12 or so. I’m okay with the challenging course, I think it would be boring if all the courses were flat and easy. I like this course more than the previous 5k course. I’m just glad they have kept it going, no matter what the course. We all need to keep talking about mental health as much as we talk about physical health, to decrease the stigma and help people know they are not alone if they are experiencing mental health challenges.”
Gianoukos emailed, “I am not a trail racer so I just tried to keep a steady pace. I went out fast but settled in at 1 mile a pace I knew I could hold.” Gianoukos led the women for the first mile, then was passed by Grabowski and Syrett, but passed Syrett back around two miles, and picked it up for the final quarter mile.
Minty emailed, “I spent almost all of it by myself, but I enjoyed the course. Hilly courses like Warhill challenge you in different ways, including keeping your feet on those slippery bridges.”
Suhr emailed, “I really love the trails / hills… just not the weekend after a marathon!”
Duffy emailed, “CRR’s diversity of race courses has always been a magnet for runners all over Hampton Roads. Many Tidewater Striders love the different CRR (and Peninsula Track Club) courses. The Warhill course was a surprise and a reminder for mental strength. Fast and flat courses are great so we can all test our speed. XC and trail courses always add another dimension to the running community experience. Camaraderie abounds!”
Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.
