In This Edition
Pace Setter : September 2023
Malta 5K and 10K Races September 9, 2023
by Chris Bishop and Jon Lindenauer
Jon Lindenauer Racing toward 1st Place in Malta10K Race
At the website for the race the following is given as a description and raison d’etre for the race which has been a major money maker for veterans and Malta’s emergency first responders:
Saturday, September 9th, the 14th annual 5K road race, starting at 8:30AM, along with the 10k starting at 8:15AM in Malta’s two technology parks -- NYSERDA’s Saratoga Technology and Energy Park & Luther Forest Technology Campus. With Global Foundries’ Fab 8 facility now located in the Luther Forest Technology Campus, this event raised well over $300,000 since its inception in 2010 to support veteran and Malta’s emergency first responders. To stay updated on the event, go to our Facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/malta5k. Should you have any questions about this event, you can also call Paul Loomis at 518-290-7202
or send an email to info@malta5k.com. Thank you in advance for considering this invitation. We hope you’ll join us on September 9th.
Malta 5K Race Statistics
The 5k Race top three winners:
5k Statistics
Click here for the Overall Results
Click here for Age Graded Winners
Click here for Stats and Analysis
Click here for Age Graded Percentages
Two runners returned who had been gone for a long time, and we were thrilled to see them racing again. Eric Macknight came in 5th and Anthony Giuliano in ninth. So glad to see you back the Capital District races!
Malta 10K Race Statistics
The 10k Race top three winners:
http://www.albanyrunningexchange.org/results/ageGroupCalc.php?ID=8794
10K Statistics
Click here for the Overall Results
Click here for Age Graded Winners'
Click here for Stats and Analysis
Click here for Age Graded Percentages
*The 2nd highest age graded % went to David Glass age 77!
Beginning of race with Jacob Andrews 1st, Jon Lindenauer 2nd, and Shaun Donegan 3rd
The Race and What the Victory Meant to Me
by Jon Lindenauer
In 2021 I still vividly recall trying to warm up and having just a slow jog be excruciatingly painful. I stood at the starting line wondering whether or not I would actually be able to complete the race. I hobbled through the first third of a mile before my injured hip became numb and was able to run and finish - despite the fact that I would later learn I had a stress fracture of my femoral head.
In 2022 I felt extremely ill throughout the week leading up to the race. I had tested negative numerous times for COVID, but it was not until I tested myself after the race that I finally tested positive - this made total sense, given how I felt and ran in the race. To date this was probably the most miserable I ever felt in a race which was not a marathon.
This year, there was no obvious calamity leading up to the race. I told myself that no matter what it was unlikely this would be my WORST performance. From about a mile into the race it was clear that the podium was likely going to be myself, Shaun Donegan, and Jacob Andrews - two extraordinarily talented runners who nobody should feel any shame in losing out to in any given race… and me. I made a surge to go out ahead just after the three-mile mark and told myself that it was probably a foolish, amateurish move on my part that I would pay for later on. I stayed ahead through four miles and five, wondering when I would ultimately get my doors blown off by fiery-paced Jake and/or Shaun - especially as I began the hilly climb through the sixth mile. It was not until I could see the final turn that I really began to have faith in myself that I could take the top spot. And it was not until I broke the finishing tape that it set in I had actually won. As many races as I have completed this was actually a race I had particularly fantasized about winning. I had to tell myself though, running is not about winning, it is about doing your best: whether that puts you in 2nd or 5th or 10th, etc. And so, after two previous times of being elated just to finish the race I finally felt as though I had run my best, and that for me was the real victory.
Youngest volunteers
Austin and Tanner Donegan – training them young
*Thanks to Kim Donegan and Marcia Cooper for taking pictures
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