The luck ran out in the weather department for the Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix series for the inaugural Proud to Serve 6K Run, held May 18 at Jamestown High. All spring long, the weather has been exceptionally conducive to fast times, state records, all-time CRR age group records, lifetime PRs and an amazing number of world-class and national-class age grades. The temperatures have been in the ideal range, 50s to low 60s, and often with overcast skies, and little wind. Two races (Virginia Fire Chiefs 5K and DOG Street 5K) did have some rain, but it was either light, or occurred around 45 minutes into the race, when 95% of the runners had finished.
Until last Saturday. There was rain before, during and after the 6K run that utilized three of the finest trails in Williamsburg—the Greensprings Trail (fortunately with a crushed stone surface that drains exceptionally well), the Powhatan Creek Trail and the Virginia Capital Trail. About 1 ½ miles was on the soft surface Greensprings Trail, the remainder on asphalt. The route was a loop course, starting and finishing by the Jamestown tennis courts and track.
There were 83 entrants (many of them virtual entrants) with 57 finishers (there were a few no-shows, and only three entered race morning). Of the no-shows, the rain and the fear of risking injury on the potentially slippery bridges was the main factor. CRR Grand Prix men’s leader Adam Otstot, 42, of Williamsburg made it a runaway from the start, and won by more than three minutes in a time of 20:14, 10 seconds slower than the time he ran at the May 11 Run for Mental Strength 6K at Warhill High, on a much hillier course. The remainder of the men’s top five were Jack Strumke, 14, of Toano (23:25), Pete Gibson, 68, of Murfreesboro, N.C. (24:06), Joe Calkins, 53, of Lanexa (24:29) and CRR first vice president David Anderson, 54, of Williamsburg (25:03). Otstot is the CRR second vice president.
For the women, six-time CRR Grand Prix champion Emily Honeycutt, 33, of Newport News finished five seconds ahead of her 10-year-old rival Isabella Strumke, 23:58 to 24:03. The next four women were Svitlana Honcharova, 26, of Williamsburg (25:17), Tricia Murphy, 43, of Williamsburg (25:37), Karen Grabowski, 40, of Toano (26:11, and 40 seconds faster than her winning time the previous week at the Mental Strength 6K), and Aimee Gianoukos, 48, of Williamsburg (27:04).
On an age graded basis, as compiled by CRR statistician Jim Gullo, only three were above the national-class level of 80% (as opposed to a record 18 at DOG Street)—Isabella Strumke (86.50%), Gibson (85.64%), and Otstot (81.86%). One was above 75%, Carol Hansen-Vessa, 69, of Williamsburg (33:09, 75.73%), and 11 more bettered the regional-class level of 70%–Honeycutt (74.11%), Jim Duffy, 72, of Poquoson (29:16, 73.86%), Calkins (73.82%), Ken Mitchell, 79, of Williamsburg (33:25, 73.13%), David Anderson (72.75%), Murphy (72.60%), Dale Abrahamson, 74, of Yorktown (30:52, 72.10%), Steve Menzies, 60, of Williamsburg (26:42, 71.87%), Gianoukos (71.85%), Jack Strumke (70.08%) and Honcharova (70.01%). Grabowski just missed that level with her 69.65%.
Two all-time CRR 6K age group records were broken, and both previous records were set at the Mental Strength 6K. Isabella Strumke improved her 2023 time from Warhill (25:42 at age 9) to 24:03 at Jamestown at age 10 for the all-time CRR 6K record for 14-and-under. Gibson improved his 2024 Mental Strength time of 24:59 to 24:06 at Jamestown for the men’s 65-69 record.
The Armed Forces Day event was directed by Karen Corl, a Navy veteran, and the distance was a 6K to reflect the six branches of the Armed Forces. It was held “in recognition of and appreciation for all the active duty service members serving in our military services. The six branches are the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Space Force, and includes the Reserve components.”
Todd Strumke, father of Isabella and Jack, emailed, “Jack and Isabella actually enjoyed running in the rain in large part because it harkens back on why they started running in the first place…a desire to challenge oneself and to learn that when you face adversity, if you have the right mindset, you can easily overcome it. They shared that they love the course as it is in the shade, it drains really well and is thus not muddy, and most importantly, they felt like they were running on their home course as this is where they practice all the time with the Greater Williamsburg Distance Running Club.”
“All of us really loved that the race was held on Armed Forces Day and the incredibly impressive job Corl did to honor those who are currently serving our country. As a former Marine, I can honestly say that I was not aware that a Navy veteran like Karen was capable of such an incredible attention to detail, but holy cow did she knock every detail of this race out of the park. From the amazing medals, to the a cappella group [Williamsburg A Capella Singers] who sang our national anthem and other patriotic music so beautifully, to the bins of candy whose wrappers all matched the colors of the branches of service, it was all incredible and the rain was incapable of dampening the spirit of the event.”
Otstot also thrives on adversity, emailing, “I’ve done races in 40F and rain and races with the heat index over 105F. The races I remember and cherish the most are those that presented unique challenges. Weather is a big part of that, and so I enjoy racing in suboptimal weather conditions. Other than being a little more careful running over the wooden bridges, the weather did not affect my race at all. My splits were 5:36, 5:27, 5:30, and then 5:30 pace for the final 0.7 miles. I was able to get a gap right away and settled into a good solid pace for the remainder of the event. The singing pre-race was fantastic and that group did a wonderful job. It added a lot to the event!”
Honeycutt emailed, “I wasn’t sure if the race would still take place with the weather [the CRR always holds their races, rain or shine, unless there is dangerous lightning]. The bridges were slippery so I ran very cautiously. I would have pushed a little more in better conditions. I just ran with the pack until the 3-mile mark and then picked it up a little. My mile splits were 6:41, 6:21, 6:42, and 6:19 pace for the last .72.”
Murphy emailed, “I’m glad I ran, the rain doesn’t bother me too much.I was cautious on the bridges because I was worried they might be slippery. I really liked the course. I run in this area a lot and enjoy the variety of the trails and paved Capital Trail.”
Honcharova, a native of Ukraine, emailed, “Sometimes I don’t like running in the rain, but I told myself I’d be OK because I am not sugar and I will not melt. I enjoy running in the woods more than roads. It was a great course. I really enjoyed them [the military] supporting us in the race and in this country that they keep us all safe, thanks everyone.”
Corl emailed, “I did the Proud to Serve 6K because I love our military, having served in the Navy for 20 years.I retired as a Navy Chief Petty Officer.Last duty station before retirement aboard USS Santa Barbara AE-28.Deployed to the Red Sea in the MED during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Saw first hand the dedication and commitment to duty and mission accomplishment of the shipboard crew I was a part of. I wanted to recognize and show appreciation for all military personnel currently serving on active duty, in the U.S. and deployed around the world for what they do on a daily basis, routinely as we say in the military “under the radar”.
Corl selected the post-race candies by color, green Andes mints for the Army, dark chocolate truffles in blue/gold wrappers for the Navy, Almond Joy in white/light blue wrappers for the Air Force, red/gold wrappers for peanut butter cups for the Marine Corps, Kit Kats in white/red wrapper for the Coast Guard, and Milky Way bars for the Space Force.She prepared for the weather with hot water for tea, coffee and hot cider. She noted Strumke’s Facebook post race day, saying “It was incredibly appropriate that it was a wet and rainy day out there, and it made the run even more challenging, which was appropriate as anything worthwhile should be difficult.”
Corl appreciated the support from the U.S. Army Yorktown recruiting, Navy Williamsburg, Army National Guard Newport News, Coast Guard Yorktown, and Veteran organizations Vietnam Veterans of America, VFW Post 4639 and American Legion Post 39.
Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.
