It’s a bit like Christmas in July.
Runners in the Bucks County Roadrunners Club’s Winter Series found out who won what in a ceremony at the tail end of June and this month is one for celebrating, even if the thermometer has been pushing 100 lately.
The brightest female competitor turned out to be Yardley’s Morgan Leh, who edged Brittany Debord for the women’s crown.
For some, like Leh, there’s ulterior purpose for running in the Series, mainly because it enhances training levels for the rest of the year.
Leh, who accrued the most points in the slate of popular races at Tyler State Park, has already completed the Boston Marathon in April and now has her sights set on Berlin in September.
Last year she posted a sparkling 3:18 at New York and right now she has her eye on something close to 3:10 when she takes on a flat, fast course in Germany.
Leh, 31, gives some of the credit for her extended distance performances to the Winter Series, which she rejoined recently.
She had taken some extended time off and when she returned, she realized how valuable something like that can be for the overall discipline of training.
“I didn’t underestimate its value, because I really enjoyed it when I did it (before COVID),” she said in a recent telephone interview. “The last couple years I guess I just made excuses.
“This year my mom (Colleen, who is a marathon runner herself) pushed me to do the Series. She promised it would pay off.”
And pay off it did.
The Tyler hills are notorious for humbling runners but Leh recorded personal bests at just about every distance. That included a 32:28 in the Honest Abe 4.6-Miler (6:46 mile pace).
“The Series is invaluable,” said Leh, who is a physician’s assistant. “The hills, the terrain, the camaraderie. Just running with people. They push you. There are so many competitive, great runners in the club. I started seeing paces that I had never seen.”
One of those off-the-Series performances took place at the Gasparilla Half-Marathon in Florida this past February. She managed to break the 1:30 mark for the first time.
“The Winter Series was why I was able to break 1:30,” she said. “It gives you invaluable training that you can’t find anywhere else.”
As an added bonus at Gasparilla, former U.S. marathon Olympic medalist Meb Keflezighi was the pace-setter for the 1:30 crowd. So there was a chance to exchange some ideas between the two along the way.
“It was a fun time and a real confidence booster,” Leh said. “I had seen him at the expo but didn’t realize he was running. He said he was and I thought, if there’s ever time to run alongside an Olympian, this is it.
“He’s kind of an icon in the sport (having won both Boston and New York marathons). So I ran with him from like miles 3 to 11. I was close to the finish line and saw the clock (she finished in 1:29.55). My parents (including dad, Fred, also a marathon runner) were screaming. Meb paced me through a lot of it and it was so cool.”
Leh has battled through a case of cervical cancer and her good health now has provided peace of mind.
“Everything continues to be clear,” she said. “Best case scenario was that everything was taken care of at the time. Hopefully all the future charts will continue to be clear.”
Ethan Frank was the men’s overall Series winner. Some of Bucks County’s speediest senior statesmen – including Joe Boyce, Bob Boland, Phil Davies and Tom Jennings – posted some very impressive performances.
No doubt the challenging hills of Tyler set up everyone for quick times down the road on the race calendar.
“Those hills (like Big Bertha) are not small,” Leh noted. “You have to get conditioned to do them. The beauty of the Winter Series is that it allows you to do that. You’re going in there every single week for a couple months and your body gets used to them. Then you go to a flat course like Gasparilla, it feels like you’re flying.”
The 2023-24 BCRR Winter Series award winners:
Male
Overall: Ethan Frank
– 13 and under: 1. Henry Seymour; 2. Damian Manavi; 3. Ryan Sock.
– 14-19: 1. Braylen Clayton; 2. Matthew Pantalone; 3. Mason Pantalone.
– 25-29: 1. Nick Accardo; 2. Stephen Algeo; 3. Alex Smirnov.
– 30-34: 1. Logan Brady; 2. Jim O’Neill; 3. Ryan Braemer.
– 35-39: 1. Michael Hood; 2. Sam Cler; 3. Justin Nawn.
– 40-44: 1. Paul Watsko; 2. Timothy Kline; 3. Michael Sinkevich.
– 45-49: 1. Michael Karl; 2. Ryan Goldblum; 3. Jonnie Shackman.
– 50-54: 1. Vitaly Belotserkovsky; 2. Pat Donadio; 3. Kevin McKale.
– 55-59: 1. Colm Quinn; 2. Paul Lancaster; 3. Michael Haston.
– 60-64: 1. Joe Boyce; 2. Joe Haughey; 3. Jim Maze.
– 65-69: 1. Bob Boland; 2. Ray Willhoft; 3. Jeffrey Ledbetter.
– 70-74: 1. Phil Davies; 2. Ed Kastenhuber; 3. Edward Klenk.
– 75-79: 1. Tom Jennings; 2. Skip Schanbacker; 3. George Ashmore.
– 80-and-over: 1. Ed Haines.
Female
Overall: Morgan Leh
– 13-and-under: 1. Isha Awasthi; 2. Erin Minster; 3. Haley Hopkins.
– 14-19: 1. Julianna Cosenza; 2. Jennifer Tran; 3. Sian Kall
– 20-24: 1. Colleen Quinn; 2. Holly Pantalone; 3. Rachel Ayzenberg.
– 25-29: 1. Brittany Chamberlin; 2. Maura Koehler; 3. Claire Reeves.
– 30-34: 1. Brittany Debord; 2. Mel Ely; 3. Maria Oei.
– 35-39: 1. Bronwyn Bird; 2. Susan Cosgrove; Tracy Topolin.
– 40-44: 1. Aleta Budd; 2. Kristi Wiley; 3. Lori Wade.
– 45-49: 1. Natacha Smith; 2. Jin Lee; 3. Julie Whittemore.
– 50-54: 1. Lisa Kall; 2. Jen Quinn; 3. Siobhan McHugh.
– 55-59: 1. Lisa Kuliczkowski; 2. Sharon Michaelson; 3. Maureen Harnishfeger.
– 60-64: 1. Hilary Goodman; 2. Gert Freas; 3. Angela Griffis.
– 65-69: 1. Julianne Domm; 2. Lynn Lubbe; 3. Kit Schweiker.
– 70-74: 1. Sharon Schanbacker; 2. Emily Grace.
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