Stacked. How else to describe a field of around 30 women that includes three TTB champions from 2016, facing newcomers who have crushed 18 minutes for 5K or 3 hours for the marathon?
So we’re super excited for the TTB Triboro women’s race this Thursday night, part two of our 2017 Summer Series. This is our first course on Randall’s Island. And word is that it’s hard as hell, with that steep start up the Ward’s Island ramp, the mad dash through the bike paths, and an out-and-back on the Triboro where there is literally no flat ground. Yeah, and those stairs.
Now, about those returnees — all running their first TTB of 2017. Meg Ryan won last year’s Queensboro race unattached, in a gutsy wire-to-wire run. Jennie Cohen of Dashing Whippets took two early victories — Williamsburg and Manhattan — before ending her season with a hip injury. And Vicky Kornieva of Bellmore Striders stamped her own wire-to-wire win at TTB Brooklyn. As always, you can learn about some of these incredible athletes in our past journal entries. We’ve got profiles on Vicky, Jennie, and the Whippets’ Emmi Aguillard and Carly Graham.
Now let’s get to know the top new contenders. We’re throwing in a profile on Meg (now on Team MHRC), because she flew in under the radar last year! We’ve also got her speedy teammate Jenny Donnelly, NP’s talented triathlete Nicole Falcaro and the Whippets’ Jess Chichester, who clocked an impressive 2:53 at last year’s NYC Marathon. It’s not a coincidence that these three teams are leading the way in our Custom Performance team series.
See you on the bridges (yep, there are two this time). And thanks to Elise Mordos for helping to write these profiles!
Adam Barcan
JESS CHICHESTER
CREW/CLUB | Dashing Whippets
WHY WE ARE WATCHING HER | Some sick PRs. The endorsement of none other than Jennie Cohen. Bridge training. Course recon. Why would we NOT watch her?
RUNNING BACKGROUND | Jess has been running track and X-C since 7th grade, through high school and college at the University of Albany.
Post-college, she started running marathons. Well, that’s an understatement; she was the friggin’ 31st female at NYC Marathon 2016, in 2:53.
WHAT DREW HER TO SIGN UP | Jess wants to see if TTB is as awesome as her friends claim. And did we mention she loves running bridges?
FAVORITE WORKOUT | Canova Ks
MILE PR | 5:31
5K PR | 18:15
WHEN SHE’S NOT RUNNING | Works as a nurse practitioner at a family practice in Queens. Loves to travel and explore the great outdoors whenever possible.
PHOTO BY MEGAN JONES
MEG RYAN
CREW/CLUB | Team MHRC
WHY WE ARE WATCHING HER | Serious track and X-C cred. The fastest PRs in the field. We didn’t know who she was when she won TTB Queenboro 2016. But now we know better (and so do her competitors)!
RUNNING BACKGROUND | A high school state champion in Connecticut, Meg ran on Notre Dame’s cross country and track teams. She has impressive PRs in numerous distances — from the mile (4:50) to the half marathon (Brooklyn Half Marathon in 1:17:44).
WHAT DREW HER TO SIGN UP | Team MHRC! That was Meg’s exclamation point. Coach Vinnie will do that.
FAVORITE WORKOUT | Wednesday AM MHRC with Coach Vinnie. Haha, who else? Note to self: do this workout. The FOMO is killing us.
MILE PR: 4:50
5K PR: 16:42
JENNY DONNELLY
CREW/CLUB | Team MHRC
WHY WE ARE WATCHING HER | Another D1 runner, whose 5K and 10K PRs are some of the best in the field. Talk to Jenny, and you’ll see a runner with a passion for our sport, from the beauty of the mile to the patterns of her running stats.. We know she’s gonna embrace our race as a fresh challenge on a new course.
RUNNING BACKGROUND | Running high school cross country made Jenny fall in love with the sport. We can sure relate — high school X-C is the best! She ran year-around at Yale, including cross-country, 5K and 10K. And she’s turned that college foundation into a string of impressive distance performances, including that 10K PR of 37:09 and a half marathon PR of 1:24.
Jenny calls her two NYC half marathons “[my] proudest races to date”. She loves the changing terrain, the crowds and just running through her home city. She’s run six marathons — with 3 Bostons in the mix — and is taking to the streets of New York this fall for marathon number 7,
WHAT DREW HER TO SIGN UP | Jenny is ready to rev her engines after a much needed break from running over the last few months.
FAVORITE WORKOUT | Mile repeats.
5K PR | 17:34
WHEN SHE’S NOT RUNNING | Works on the Data & Analytics team at Glossier (hence her love for numbers). Jenny spends a lot of time at Mile High Run Club “analyzing all the numbers on the treadmill.”
PHOTO BY NIGEL FRANCIS
NICOLE FALCARO
CREW/CLUB | November Project
WHY WE ARE WATCHING HER | Nicole is an impressive athlete, plain and simple. She’s translated a strong running and swimming background into outstanding triathlons. We know she’ll handle any wrinkle this course dishes out.
RUNNING BACKGROUND | A high school track and swim star in Pennsylvania, Nicole ran track and cross-country at Bucknell. Although she’s now an outstanding triathlete, she still calls running her first love. But those triathlons! And that fitness. Nicole is rightfully proud of the 37:38 10K she ran to close the recent NYC Triathlon as the first amateur female (near top 50 overall).
WHAT DREW HER TO SIGN UP | Nicole is up our alley. She digs TTB’s grassroots, underground feel. She loves running at night. And agrees with us on one important thing - the bridge is called the friggin’ Triboro. RFK is a stadium.
FAVORITE WORKOUT | First choice, long trail runs. Second, a couple of brick miles off a bike. Did we mention running is her first love?
MILE PR | 5:10
5K PR | 17:55
WHEN SHE’S NOT RUNNING | Biking or swimming (but not at the same time). She also walks dogs and can top the whole TTB field in reciting digits of Pi (3.1415926536). Nicole you’re backing up that claim at the afterparty.