Hidden Gem Half Marathon brought fast times, but the race winners were not the top performance of the day. That belongs to Evanston Running Club’s Nancy Rollins. With her highest age graded score of the year (933.1), Rollins earned 25 Circuit points and clinched another perfect season atop the Age Graded category in style. At half her age, but more than half her time, Colin Mickow, the overall winner, finished second age graded with a score of 913.9. The original DW, DWRunning’s Dave Walters rounded out the top 3 with an age graded score of 909.6.
With Rollins clinching the Age Graded category, the rest of the group is competing for pride and to see who the next best runner is. Evanston’s Aaron Barnhart’s hard fought 22nd place was necessary for him to keep in second in the standings, because DW’s Trent Fifield leap frogged over teammate Kristin Daily and Fleet Feet’s Angelica Guerrero into third place.
Of the top 10 in Age Graded, Keith Holzmueller of Evanston Running Club was the only other athlete to score points at Hidden Gem, moving up one spot in standings. Unfortunately, his 21st place was not enough to close the gap, and he will finish no higher than 4th in this category. Jeremy Ruston as well, does not have enough points and won’t be able to reach the top five. While Fast Track’s Volker Rose has an outside shot of moving up to the podium, the other competitors from 2nd-7th place in standings could finish in any order. The race is on!
Notable Hidden Gem Age Graded Scores (top 25 score points)
Place | Age Graded Score | Name | Time | Team |
1 | 933.1 | Rollins, Nancy | 1:54:49 | Evanston Running Club |
2 | 913.9 | Mickow, Colin* | 1:03:40 | |
3 | 909.6 | Walters, Dave | 1:25:41 | DWRunning |
6 | 866.2 | Fifield, Trent | 1:16:24 | DWRunning |
7 | 865.9 | Danner, Alec | 1:07:00 | Naperville Running Co TC |
10 | 854.2 | Brosilow, Michael | 1:29:22 | DWRunning |
11 | 848.0 | Ordzowialy, Julia | 1:20:15 | DWRunning |
12 | 847.7 | Jaskiewicz, Ryan | 1:10:35 | DWRunning |
13 | 846.1 | Ellenberger, Michael | 1:08:35 | Nameless Track Club |
14 | 842.5 | Matteson, Brittany | 1:17:19 | DWRunning |
15 | 841.5 | Krummenacher, Claire* | 1:16:40 | Fleet Feet x New Balance |
17 | 841.0 | Hennessy, William | 1:08:59 | Nameless Track Club |
18 | 840.4 | Forte, Alex | 1:09:02 | DWRunning |
21 | 837.3 | Holzmueller, Keith | 1:32:07 | Evanston Running Club |
22 | 836.2 | Barnhart, Aaron | 1:24:23 | Evanston Running Club |
23 | 829.8 | Porst, Chris | 1:10:07 | DWRunning |
24 | 825.9 | DaDamio, Rachel | 1:18:07 | Nameless Track Club |
26 | 823.5 | Harvey-Hill, Libby | 1:41:52 | CARA Racing Team |
*Overall male and female winners
Age-Graded Standings (top 25 score points)
Place | Name | Team | Points | Races |
1 | Nancy Rollins* | Evanston Running Club | 200 | 8 |
2 | Aaron Barnhart | Evanston Running Club | 157 | 8 |
3 | Trent Fifield | DWRunning | 155 | 8 |
4 | Kristin Dailey | DWRunning | 150 | 7 |
5 | Angelica Guerrero | Fleet Feet Racing X New Balance | 146 | 10 |
6 | Daniel Lennington | Evanston Running Club | 128 | 6 |
7 | Grace Wasielewski | Xtra Mile Fast Track Racing Team | 100 | 6 |
8 | Volker Rose | Xtra Mile Fast Track Racing Team | 92 | 9 |
8 | Keith Holzmueller | Evanston Running Club | 92 | 8 |
10 | Jeremy Ruston | Xtra Mile Fast Track Racing Team | 73 | 5 |
*Clinched 1st place with a perfect score.
As of 10/12/24
Clydesdale and Athena Categories
Edward Donovan of Evanston Running Club was the sole Clydesdale/Athena participant at Hidden Gem Half Marathon. While official Chicago Marathon results are still pending and not included in official CARA results yet, we have included preliminary results in this standings update.
Athena A (top 15 score points)
Place | Name | Team | Points | Races |
1 | Kristin Bowen | Unattached | 105* | 7 |
*Includes unofficial Chicago Marathon results
Even though Kristin Bowen already clinched the Athena A category, she continued her pursuit of running excellence and tackled the Chicago Marathon in 6:09:57. If she wins this category in one more Circuit race, she will have a perfect score.
Athena B (top 15 score points)
Place | Name | Team | Points | Races |
1 | Marsha Komosa | Unattached | 119* | 9 |
2 | ‘Lovie Twine | Oak Park Runners Club | 88 | 6 |
3 | Grace Hussar | Unattached | 82* | 6 |
4 | Melissa Grandt | Xtra Mile Fast Track Racing | 25 | 2 |
*Includes unofficial Chicago Marathon results
Marsha Komosa continues to throw the hammer down and notched another victory at the Chicago Marathon. Her age graded score of 465.1 (5:13:18) was enough to beat Grace Hussar who had a score of 332.4 (6:53:13).
The three races left on the Circuit have left the door open just enough for the other competitors to remain in the fight. Melissa Grandt must race all three to get the Circuit minimum of five races and earn her CARA Racing Award. ‘Love Twine of Oak Park Runners Club is good there but has standings pressure from above and below. Hussar is now only 6 points behind Twine, inching ever closer to second place. If she’s still going for gold, Twine must also race all three remaining Circuit races, and she must also win each one. With a 2-2 record head-to-head with Komosa, it’s possible. Komosa, however, can slam that door shut with one more victory, which would give her a perfect score.
Clydesdale A (top 15 score points)
Place | Name | Team | Points | Races |
1 | Greg Smith | Unattached | 120 | 8 |
2 | Lynn Crim | CARA Run Crew | 114 | 9 |
Neither Lynn Crim nor Greg Smith participated in the Hidden Gem Half Marathon or the Chicago Marathon, so there is no change in points or standings. With Smith already clinching 1st place with a perfect score, he couldn’t gain any more points anyway. Now he can just run for fun! Wait, isn’t that what we’ve been doing??
Clydesdale B (top 15 score points)
Place | Name | Team | Points | Races |
1 | Shane Petrelli | Xtra Mile Fast Track Racing | 117* | 8 |
2 | John Archer | CARA Run Crew | 102 | 7 |
3 | Edward Donovan | Evanston Running Club | 84 | 6 |
4 | Muhammad Alansari | Xtra Mile Fast Track Racing | 74 | 6 |
5 | Peter Roberts | Evanston Running Club | 49 | 4 |
6 | Rob Warner | Unattached | 41 | 3 |
*Includes unofficial Chicago Marathon results
As mentioned previously, Edward Donovan raced Hidden Gem Half Marathon and won uncontested with an age graded score of 594 (1:49:23). This was his third victory this year and moves him up from 4th to 3rd. The 10-point gap he created could assure him a podium spot if he matches Muhammad Alansari’s race count through the end of the season. That’s always a challenge though, as you don’t know when your competitors will show up.
Fast Track’s Shane Petrelli went for it at the Chicago Marathon and was rewarded with 15 more points. He finished in 5:12:35 for an age graded score of 404.4. While it was uncontested, this was a huge win – it keeps open the path to a perfect Circuit score of 120 points. CARA Run Crew’s John Archer could tie him with another victory, but with only three races left, Archer has a point cap of 119. Once Archer gets his 8th race completed, both he and Petrelli’s head-to-head battle comes to a pinnacle. Currently at 3-3, both would only be able to gain points only through outright victories, which means beating the other guy.
Peter Roberts and Rob Warner are still in the game to get on the podium, but time is running out. They first need to get their 5th Circuit race completed to remain eligible for the CARA Racing Award.
Clydesdale C (top 15 score points)
Place | Name | Points | Races |
1 | Leonard Donaire | 75 | 5 |
2 | David Dziagwa | 72 | 5 |
In this category as well, neither participant competed in the Hidden Gem Half Marathon nor the Chicago Marathon. With only three races left, David Dziagwa’s back is against the wall, and Leonard Donaire has full control, but only if he continues to race. For every remaining race Donaire competes in, Dziagwa must do one more to take the title and time is just about up. Conversely, if Donaire is done for the season, then the door opens up for Dziagwa. Either way, just like the playoffs in professional sports, you just have to take it one race at a time, starting in Lake Bluff.
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