January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: The Shore AC men's 60+ team tells Father Time who's boss as they prepare for the big race.  Left to right: Gary Wiesinger, Harry Pino, Henry Notaro and Rick Lee.  To the right of Rick, Mike DiLeva admires their verve.

Shore AC Results for the 2023 USATF National Cross Country Race in Richmond, VA

Race date: January 21, 2023                                             Full Results from Blue Ridge Timing.
                                                                                          Race photos courtesy Rick Lee.  Requires a Google login to access.
​                                                                                          Race web site here.
SHORE AC TEAM RESULTS:

40+ Women:
4. 29 Shore Athletic Club -A      ( 32:07    1:36:21    4:59)
=============================================
  Score  Name                      Age     Time       Bib
1     8    Kim Anicito               43      29:39      387
2   10    Susan Stirrat            67      32:05      427
3   11    Leslie Nowicki          59      34:35      413

50+ Women:
1. 14 Shore Athletic Club -A      ( 26:12    1:18:35    1:49)
=============================================
  Score  Name                      Age     Time       Bib
1     2    Suzanne La Burt      59      25:11      412
2     5    Nora Cary                67      26:21      426
3     7    Alysia Puma             51      27:00      401


50+ Men:
​5. 144 Shore Athletic Club -A      ( 34:32    2:52:38    6:26)
=============================================
  Score  Name                      Age     Time       Bib
1   12    Jeffrey Conston        54      30:12      503
2   28    Christopher Rinaldi   53      33:28      505
3   33    Michael DiLeva         50      35:49      504
4   35    Reno Stirrat              68      36:27      586
5   36    Scott Linnell             66      36:39      585

60+ Men:
2.  21  Shore Athletic Club -A      ( 31:58    1:35:54    4:54)
=============================================
  Score  Name                      Age     Time       Bib
1     1    Rick Lee                   61      29:40      566
2     3    Henry Notaro            60      31:37      567
3   16    Gary Wiesinger        64       34:34      569
4   23    Harry Pino                63      38:06      568

SHORE AC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

Masters Men 8k:
Place  Name                           Bib     Age  Sex   Team                               Time
​134     John Kilduff                  609     71     M     Shore Athletic Club         36:54
​163     Przemyslaw Nowicki    621     77     M     Shore Athletic Club         45:40

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: The Shore AC women's 50+ team exudes confidence before the start of the women's masters race.  Left to right: Alysia Puma, Nora Cary, and Suzanne La Burt.

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: The Shore AC women's 40+ team members pump each other up (with an assist from Suzanne La Burt) prior to the start of their 10:30 am race.  Left to right: Leslie Nowicki, Suzanne, Kim Anicito and Susan Stirrat.

Shore AC Glitters in Richmond

It was a beautiful sight.  Shiny medals draped the necks of many Shore AC runners after the USATF Masters Cross Country races concluded in Richmond, Virginia.  Gold, silver and bronze colors glittered in the sun!  Moreover, our Shore AC age group teams scooped up piles of points in the 2023 USATF Masters National Long Distance Running Grand Prix.

As you, dear reader, might know, the harriers of Shore AC want to follow up last year's accomplishments in the National Grand Prix with even greater success this year.  Last year, two of our age group teams (women's 50+ and men's 60+) won.  This year, we hope to place more of our age group teams on the Grand Prix podium.  However, to reach the Grand Prix podium, a team generally needs to compete in five or more races.  (A team's Grand Prix score is based on its best five races.)  This isn't easy.  We all lead busy lives, so getting a team of three or more runners to a distant location can prove challenging.

We did manage to assemble four Shore AC teams for the Richmond Cross Country meet.  Two teams -- 40+ and 50+ -- dove into the women's masters skirmish, while the other two teams -- 50+ and 60+ -- pounded away in the men's masters tilt.  (We had planned for a fifth team, namely men's 70+.  However, one of that trio had to scratch due to circumstances beyond his control, leaving us with less than the minimum of three runners required for a team.)

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: Shore AC masters ladies find their spots along the starting line while waiting for the gun to sound.  Such excitement!  Photo courtesy Rick Lee.

So, you ask, how did the races go?  Well, when the dust settled after the women's race, our 50+ crew was declared the winner!  Their exciting victory came via a razor-thin margin of 1 point over rival Greater Philadelphia.  Suzanne La Burt led the charge, kicking out a magnificent time of 25:11 to snare second place among all 50+ women in the race.  Next, 67-year-old Nora Cary stunned the admiring crowd with an incredible 26:21 clocking.  Her blistering pace earned Nora second place in the age grading competition.  Alysia Puma then wrapped up team scoring when she flew down the finish chute in 27:00.  Alysia's 16-second edging of Greater Philadelphia's third runner cemented Shore AC's win.  Hooray, ladies!  Their victory puts the Shore AC W50+ team in second place in the Grand Prix.

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: The Shore AC women's 50+ team beams with joy over its hard-earned victory.  Left to right: Nora Cary, Alysia Puma and Suzanne La Burt.

Meanwhile, our Shore AC women's 40+ team fashioned a fourth-place finish in the women's masters race.  Kim Anicito rallied from the stultifying effects of driving all the way from New Jersey on the morning of the race (now that's dedication!) to find the finish line in 29:39.  Susan Stirrat employed an up-tempo pace to cover the 6-kilometer course in an excellent time of 32:05, good for third place in her 65-69 age group.  Leslie Nowicki sealed the deal as third team scorer when she crossed in 34:35.  The 70 Grand Prix points that this intrepid trio of ladies earned bumped the Shore AC women's 40+ team up to seventh place in the Grand Prix.  Well done, gals!

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: Members of the Shore AC men's 60+ team stand proudly on the pudium in honor of their second-place finish.  Left to right: Henry Notaro, Rick Lee and Harry Pino.  Not pictured: Gary Wiesinger, who had to drive back to New Jersey immediately after the race.

As for the two Shore AC men's teams, things played out as expected -- and that was fine!  Our men's 60+ squad lost to an excellent team from Atlanta but beat a fine flock from Greater Philadelphia by a mere 2 points for second place.  Our wingman Rick Lee spearheaded our attack as usual, incinerating the 8-kilometer course with a scorching 29:40.  Rick's phenomenal run garnered top spot among all 60+ team members.  Drinking buddy Henry Notaro delivered an amazing 31:37 with very little recent training, thereby yielding a terrific "3" score.  Shore AC was off to a great 1-3 start!  However, other 60+ teams stuffed an impressive array of ultra-fast harriers into the chute over the next two minutes.  We were very fortunate to have new Shore AC member Gary Wiesinger in the race, but even his outstanding time of 34:34 yielded only a score of "17" in such a stacked field.  Fortunately, our overall team score of 21 clipped Greater Philly's 23.  Harry Pino provided the team with all-important insurance when he tripped the timer in 38:06.  With the 90 points that comes with our second-place finish at Richmond, our men's 60+ team takes the lead in the 2023 Grand Prix with 145 total points after 2 races.  However, this is no time to rest, as Atlanta lurks in second place with 140 points -- only 5 points behind us!

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: Undaunted by the national-caliber competition that it is about to face, a determined Shore AC men's 50+ team prepares to race and collect Grand Prix points.  Left to right: Scott Linnell, Chris Rinaldi, Jeff Conston, Mike DiLeva and Reno Stirrat.

With regard to our Shore AC men's 50+ team, we were delighted simply to have enough guys to enter a team.  Per USATF rules, an age 50+ team must have a minimum of 5 members for National Cross Country races.  (By contrast, 60+ teams require only 3 runners.)  Given that we had to fill out our 50+ team with two harriers over the wrinkled age of 65, we expected to place in the back of the pack.  And, yes, expectations were achieved.  But our younger team members made it interesting!  Jeff Conston translated his top-notch training to a terrific 30:13, placing 12th among the 36 50+ team scorers.  Chris Rinaldi scampered across the finish line with a solid 33:29 to score 28.  Mike DiLeva completed his four tours of the 2K loop course in 35:50 to chalk up a 33.  Team scoring concluded when 68-year-old Reno Stirrat and 66-year-old Scott Linnell chugged down the chute in 36:27 and 36:39, respectively, to close out all 50+ team scoring.

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: Shore AC's John Kilduff tackles the steepest incline of the course during his third loop.  John would place fifth in the 70-74 age group with an excellent time of 36:54.  Photo courtesy Rick Lee.

January 21, 2023, Mechanicsville, VA: Full of joy, Przemek Nowicki and good friend Jan Frisby of Boulder Road Runners finish side-by-side in the masters men's 8K race.  Photo courtesy Rick Lee.

January 20, 2023, Glen Allen, VA: Per tradition, the Shore AC gang gathers for an uplifting team dinner.  Left to right: Nora Cary, Bebi Brathwaite (of New Jersey's Fleet Feet / Essex Running Club), Chris Rinaldi, Alysia Puma, Gary Wiesinger, WIlliam Amor (of Cal Coast Track Club), Henry Notaro, Rick Lee, Mike DiLEva, Reno Stirrat, Nora's husband Dave and Scott Linnell.

Individual Accomplishments

​Shore AC colors shone proudly on the age group podium at Richmond.  These SAC athletes ascended their thrones as top-3 scorers in their 5-year age groups.

• Suzanne La Burt         2nd F55-59               25:12           88.6%   -- 5th AG among masters women
• Rick Lee                       3rd M60-64                29:41           87.7%   -- 3rd AG among masters men
• Nora Cary                    1st F65-69                26:22           92.7%   -- 2nd AG among masters women
• Susan Stirrat                3rd F65-69                32:06           76.1%

In addition, these Shore AC harriers made the club proud by finishing among the top ten in their 5-year age groups.

• Alysia Puma                 5th F50-54                27:01           74.4%
• Henry Notaro                7th M60-64               31:38           82.3%
• Reno Stirrat                  8th M65-69               36:27           76.3%
• Scott Linnell                  9th M65-69              36:39            74.4%
• John Kilduff                   5th M70-74              36:55            77.7%
• Przemek Nowicki          6th M75-79               45:40            70.1%

January 21, 2023, Richmond, VA: Members of Shore AC celebrate a fantastic weekend with a scrumptious dinner at the Southern Railway Taphouse in downtown Richmond.  Left to right: Reno Stirrat, Harry Pino, Scott Linnell, Alysia Puma, Dave Cary, Nora Cary, Suzanne La Burt, Debi Brathwaite (of Fleet Feet / Essex) and Susan Stirrat.