December 14, 2024, Tacoma, WA: And they're off!  Masters women spring forward at the sound of the gun to begin the races at the 2024 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships.  The Shore AC women's 60+ team can be seen in their white jerseys in front of the middle pillar of the pedestrian bridge in the background.  Suzanne La Burt is readily identifiable with her bright red sleeves.

Shore AC Results for the 2024 USATF National Club XC Championships in Tacoma, WA

Race date: December 14, 2024                                          Race results here from Record Timing.
​                                                                                           Picture album here by Denise Dollard.  (Requires Google login.)
​                                                                                           Race web site here.                            
SHORE AC TEAM RESULTS:

60+ Women:

  4. 36 Shore Athletic Club -A W60+                         ( 30:21   1:31:01     7:21)
=======================================================
  1     1  Suzanne La Burt                61      Greenwood Lake, NY           1575           26:05
  2   15  Donna Grocki                    65       Hammonton, NJ                   1574           31:30
  3   20  Deborah Capko                 61       Belmar, NJ                           1573           33:26
  4 ( 22) Leslie Nowicki                   61       Holmdel, NJ                         1576           33:47
  5 ( 28) Susan Stirrat                     69       Denville., NJ                         1577           36:09

  5. 51 Shore Athletic Club -A M70+                         ( 41:09   2:03:25   11:11)
=======================================================
  1     2  James Linn                        72       Harleysville, PA                    1585          36:42
  2   10  Reno Stirrat                       70       Denville, NJ                          1588          38:50
  3   39  Przemyslaw Nowicki          80       Holmdel, NJ                          1587          47:53

  x. xx Shore Athletic Club -A M60+                         ( xx:xx   x:xx:xx   xx:xx -- incomplete team)
=======================================================
  1     --  Mark Zamek                      61      Minnetonka, MN                   1777           31:58
  2     --  Kevin Dollard                     69      Hopewell Station, NY           1580           36:42

11. 300 Shore Athletic Club -A M50+                     ( 43:04   3:35:17    9:48)
=======================================================
  1   17  Richard Falcone                 54      Madison, NJ                         1581           38:20
  2   31  Shane Anthony                  56       Palmerton, PA                      1578           39:16
  3   76  Miles Hersey                      62      Hazlet, NJ                            1583           44:12
  4   85  Joseph Demetrick              53      Scotch Plains, NJ                 1579          45:21
  5   91  Brian Hill                            58      Middletown, NJ                    1584           48:08
  6 ( 98) Scott Linnell                       68     Colts Neck, NJ                      1586          52:58

39.  1083  Shore Athletic Club -A MOpen                 (  36:36  3:02:58     4:45)
=======================================================
  1   96  Brian Hill                            24      Middletown, NJ                     2407           34:18
  2  220  Kyle Spector                     22      Englishtown, NJ                    2408           36:12
  3  226  Zachary Greenberg           24      Hightstown, NJ                     2406           36:23
  4  248  Ryan Corbett                     30      Fair Haven, NJ                     2405           37:02
  5  293  John Spinelli                      25      Leonardo, NJ                       2409           39:03

Shore AC Proudly Waves its Flag at USATF Club XC Nationals

On this you can rely: USATF's National Club Cross Country Championships draws the biggest and best crowd of post-collegiate athletes in the land.  This year was no exception.

Legions of dedicated harriers showed up despite miserable weather.  Perhaps Mother Nature took one look at the golf-course smooth and nearly flat course in Tacoma's Chambers Bay Regional Park and said, "No, too easy.  A race of this caliber requires far more adversity."  She got started the day before, thoroughly soaking the ground with drenching rain all day.  Then, overnight, she slammed the facilities with gale-force winds that shredded tents -- included the club tent for which we had paid good money.  Thanks to the copious precipitation from the previous day, the course turned muddier and muddier with each race.  Moreover, the wind and rain continued.  It took fortitude to pound through one's race and endure Mother Nature's lashing!  And nary a tent to shield us from the elements!

December 14, 2024, Tacoma, WA: With encouragement from Coach Joe Compagni (at right), the ladies of the Shore AC women's 60+ team put on a brave face before their race.  Left to right: Donna Grocki, Deb Capko, Suzanne La Burt, Leslie Nowicki, Susan Stirrat and Coach Joe.

Nevertheless, Shore AC teams fared well amid the tempest.  As has often been the case over the past year, our women's 60+ team led the way.  Suzanne La Burt was an absolute dynamo as the W60+ team's front runner.  She destroyed the rest of the W60+ field -- which featured many of the nation's top ladies -- winning by more than 50 seconds.  Her time of 26:05 earned Suzanne an age grading of 86.65%.  Only 75-year-old Jeannette Grosz of Team Red Lizard age graded higher than Suzanne in this masters women's race.  Next to cross the finish line for the Shore AC W60+ squad was Donna Grocki.  Competing in only the second cross-country race of her life, Donna struggled with the mud.  It sucked her shoe off at one point.  Donna lost precious time retrieving and pulling her shoe back on.  Her finish time of 31:30 left Donna sorely disappointed -- and yearning to return to paved roads!  The team's final scorer was Deb Capko.  Mother Nature was downright cruel with Deb.  The howling winds pummeled Deb's light body, even yanking her off the course with one powerful gust.  Between the gales and the gunk underfoot, Deb had a miserable experience.  Her 33:26 result bore no resemblance to what she accomplishes on firmer surfaces.  Nevertheless, it was enough to place Shore AC fourth, only 4 points behind third-place Impala.  It was also enough to beat arch-rival Liberty by 4 points.  Leslie Nowicki (33:47) and Susan Stirrat (36:09) contributed mightily in their backup roles, helping to displace runners from other teams.  Well done, ladies!

December 14, 2024, Tacoma, WA: Ready and determined, the gallant members of the Shore AC men's 70+ team huddle at the starting line before their race.  Left to right: Reno Stirrat, Jim Linn and Przemek Nowicki.

After 212 masters women left their imprints in the grass during two loops around the 3K course, it was time for the age 60+ masters men to do damage.  Their race would involve two 3K loops followed by a 2K subset of the 3K loop for a total of 8 kilometers.  Low-lying stretches that had already begun to turn muddy during the masters women's race became even sloppier, thanks to the hoofs of 172 grey stallions.  Among them were the three stalwart gentlemen that comprised our men's 70+ team.  Rookie sensation Jim Linn galloped into the forefront, trailing only national legends Rick Becker and John Barbour in the 70+ race.  Because Becker ran for Atlanta's M60+ team, thus eliminating him from 70+ team scoring, Jim grabbed the 2-point position when he crossed the finish line in 36:42.  Shore AC's M70+ team was off to a great start!  Next up for the lads in white was warhorse Reno Stirrat.  Having hit his stride in recent races with superior outcomes, hopes were high that Reno could post another outstanding race.  Alas, with his thin frame, Reno fell victim to the muck, wind and rain.  Shivering from the cold, Reno finished 2 minutes behind Jim in 38:50 and netted 10 points.  At that point, Shore AC was still tied with Boulder Road Runners for the M70+ team lead at 12 points.  The race would come down to the teams' third men.  For Shore AC, that would be 80-year-old Przemek Nowicki.  Przemek ran a great race for his age, finishing second in the 80-84 age group at 47:53.  However, one's speed declines rapidly past age 70.  Przemek was no match against men in the early seventies.  His score of 39 gave the team a total of 51 points.  That put us well behind Boulder and tied for fourth.  Bowerman Track Club won the tie-breaker, relegating us to fifth place.  But that's not a bad start to the 2025 USATF Masters National Grand Prix.  Importantly, we beat arch-rivals Genesee Valley and Atlanta.  Go, guys, go!!!

December 14, 2024, Tacoma, WA: Though left with an incomplete men's 60+ team, Shore AC harriers Mark Zamek (bib #1777) and Kevin Dollard (bib #1580) ham it up with the 70+ guys before the start of the men's 60+ race.

Regrettably, Shore AC had an incomplete men's 60+ team in Tacoma.  Ironically, earlier in the week, our M60+ crew was the only Shore AC men's team to sport more than the minimum number of runners for a team.  However, a member of the 50+ team had to cancel his travel plans.  That prompted yours truly to switch himself from the M60+ team to the M50+ team.  Now, even our M60+ team had none to spare.  Calamity struck again the day before the race, when our ace Mark Zamek tweaked his fickle hamstring during course check-out and decided against racing.  As a result, we opted to move Miles Hersey from the M60+ to the M50+ team.

Fie, we pulled the plug too quickly on the M60+ team.  Mark's resilience knows no bounds.  When race day dawned, his hamstring felt good as new!  However, we had already implemented the team changes, leaving only two runners on our M60+ team -- one less than the minimum of three.  Besides Mark, Kevin Dollard also remained on the M60+ squad.  This allowed Kevin to compete against his future 70+ foes.  (Kevin turns 70 in September of 2025.)

Thankfully, Mark's hamstring cooperated throughout the M60+ race.  He completed the muddy 8-kilometer course in a stunning 31:58 to finish 8th overall.  Kevin finished neck-and-neck with future M70+ teammate Jim Linn at 36:42.  Great performances by both gentlemen!  Too bad that we didn't have an M60+ team!!!

December 14, 2024, Tacoma, WA: Exuding confidence, the Shore AC men's 50+ team flashes bright smiles despite another storm rolling in from Puget Sound.  Left to right: Joe Demetrick, Brian Hill, Scott Linnell, Miles Hersey, Shane Alexander and Rocky Falcone.  Photograph by De Dollard.

Mother Nature just wouldn't relent.  As athletes gathered for the start of the men's 40-59 race at 11:15 am, yet another storm rumbled in off the bay.  All 328 of us appreciated hearing the gun fire so that we could start running and warm up in the cold rain.  Sleet even mixed in for a brief time.  Of course, 656 pounding spiked shoes dug deeper into the various and inescapable stretches of mud along the course.  Yes, these were legitimate cross country conditions!

New Shore AC members Rocky Falcone and Shane Anthony had waited eagerly for this race to make their national debuts in white singlets.  They did not disappoint!  Rocky led our charge, navigating the 4-loop course at an incredible 6:10 per mile pace to finish in 38:20.  His 17 points got our M50+ team scoring off to a great start.  Less than a minute later, Shane splashed through the chute in a superb 39:16.  His 31 points put the team score at 48 after two finishers.  A start that good might portend a top-10 team finish.  Could the remaining boys make it happen?  Miles Hersey churned his long 62-year-old legs as fast as they would go in the ever-expanding quagmire.  He managed a magnificent 44:12 to garner 76 points.  Team captain Joe Demetrick rocketed home a minute later in 45:21 to contribute 85 points.  When longtime SAC member Brian Hill willed his aching muscles across the timing mat at 48:08. our five scorers were in the barn!  Brian's 91 points, plus the tallies from his four teammates, added up to a team score of 300.  It placed our Shore AC M50+ squadron in eleventh, ever so close to tenth-place Atlanta (297 points) and ninth-place West Valley B (294 points).  Well done, mates!  Sixth man Scott Linnell slogged his 68-year-old body in like a wet rat at 52:58, thinking he was dead last.  To his pleasant surprise, he somehow beat six other contestants.  Whew!

December 14, 2024, Tacoma, WA: Marvel at this milestone for the Shore Athletic Club: our first-ever Open Men team at a USATF National Club Country Championship race!  Left to right: Brian Hill, Ryan Corbett, Kyle Spector, Zack Greenberg, John Spinelli and Coach Joe Compagni.

After the Open Women race trashed the course even more, the time finally arrived for the Open Men to take on the Tacoma Mud.  Luckily for them, the sun actually appeared, lifting spirits and adding a modicum of warmth.  Shore AC partisans celebrated this moment.  For the first time since 2019, we were putting a complete Open Men team on the starting line at a USATF National Club Cross Country Championships race.  All five guys had a sense that this might be a humbling experience.  After all, the participants listing read like a who's who in the national racing scene.  The size of the humble pie became shockingly clear when our top runner, the amazing Brian Hill, found that his stupendous 34:18 performance earned him a whopping 96 points.  Ouch!  Kyle Spector was the next man to taste bitter reality.  Accustomed to top-3 finishes in USATF-NJ Association-level races, his terrific 36:12 translated to a jaw-dropping 220 points.  Talk about competition!  Zack Greenberg spun a mighty 36:23, only to see 226 points next to his name.  Team captain Ryan Corbett followed shortly thereafter with a truly impressive 37:02.  (Keep in mind the long expanses of shoe-sucking muck that these runners had to contend with.)  Ryan's superb running incurred a massive 248 points.  Crazy!  Our final man, John Spinelli, gave it a yeoman's effort and achieved a remarkable 39:03.  For all of his magnificent striving, John got pasted with 293 points.  When results were tallied, our valiant Shore AC Open Men team stood in 39th place with 1083 points.  But that's how it goes at the premier post-collegiate cross country race in the nation!  We did, however, beat 13 other teams in the 52-team field.  One of those 13 other teams was the Garden State Track Club's B team.  Good work, men!

Individual Accomplishments

As you may have gathered from the race description above, Club XC Nationals are insanely competitive.  That is why, anytime a Shore AC athlete mounts the age group podium at this event, it is truly an event worth celebrating.  So, shower the stage with abundant applause for these SAC harriers who placed among the top 3 in their age groups!

• Suzanne La Burt          61      1st F60-64          26:05 (6K)          86.65%   <== 2nd highest AG among masters women
• James Linn                   72      3rd M70-74          36:42 (8K)          79.16%
• Przemyslaw Nowicki    80      2nd M80-84        47:53 (10K)        69.82%

Now, thunder out shouts of joy for these Shore AC athletes who finished among the top ten in their 5-year age groups.

• Shane Anthony            56      9th M55-59           39:16 (10K)         79.71%
• Mark Zamek                 61     7th M60-64            31:58 (8K)          81.44%
• Donna Grocki               65     4th F65-69             31:30 (6K)          75.50%

December 13, 2024, Tacoma, WA: The tradition continues!  Shore AC athletes gather the night before a national race for a team dinner, this time at the Bite restaurant inside the Hotel Murano.  Left to right: Rocky Falcone, Miles Hersey, Joe Demetrick, son Andrew Demetrick, Denise Dollard, Jim Linn, Leslie Nowicki, father Alan Spector, Kyle Spector, father Brian Hill, son Brian Hill, John Spinelli, Donna Grocki, Deb Capko, Ryan Corbett, Zack Greenberg, Scott Linnell, Kevin Dollard, Przemek Nowicki, Shane Anthony, friend Mike and new club member Scott Siriano.