Lorraine Jasper of Athena TC takes top prize at Philly pentathlon

Lorraine in final event (400) with Duncan Smith.

Throwers have pentathlons, so why not runners? That’s the theory behind the third annual Greater Philadelphia Runners Pentathlon held August 12 at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The club reports: “Lorraine Jasper of Athena Track Club led from the first event, 3000, and was never seriously challenged after placing close second in the two previous years. She opted to change up her strategy by selecting the 400 in lieu of her specialty race, the 800.” She was trailed (in age-graded times) by Chuck Shields, Sean Patrick Oswald, Delvin Dinkins and Duncan Smith. Greater Philadelphia TC claimed the team prize. Eight teams competed, including Gotham Spark from NYC, “which who would have factored in the team championship had they not missed the first event,” I’m told. See results.

Here’s Lorraine with her trophy. She accepts top prize from meet director Kyle Mecklenborg (left) and GPTC President Bill Kampf. (Photos by John Tran)


Chuck Shields also shares this:

Pete Taylor came up from Virginia for announcing duties. Volunteers were from Greater Philadelphia TC. Pete Taylor was heavily involved in an earlier incarnation of this type of meet. It’s been a labor of love for Kyle Mecklenborg to bring this type of competition back to Philly where runners of all ages can see where they stand on a level playing field. The youngest competitor was 14 while the oldest was 74 years old.

GPTC Club President Bill Kampf and the winning GPTC team of (from left) Nick Berra, Wayne Foulke and Carl Stocking with meet director Kyle Mecklenborg.

Here is a brief explanation of how the meet works from our website:

Each runner will compete in 5 track races (3000m – 200m – 1500m – 100m – 400m/800m), with a minimum of 30 minutes recovery time in between. Athletes will choose either the 400m or the 800m for their fifth event (400 and 800m heats will alternate). With an equal mix of sprints and distance events (order as above), this challenging(but fun!) competition pits sprinter against distance runner to determine the best all-around track runner.

Races will be timed using the fully automatic Finish Lynx Timing System. Runners will be seeded based on their most recent Mile and 400m times. Due to the unique format of this meet, the field is limited to 54 runners. Cash award are 5-deep in the individual competition..

SCORING will be age-graded using the World Masters Association’s 2006 age/gender-graded tables. Points are tabulated for each race (the age/gender-graded percentage), and awards are based on the cumulative percentages for the five races. This meet presents a rare opportunity for men and women, young and old, to compete directly against each other on a level playing field.

Print Friendly

August 16, 2012

10 Responses

  1. peter taylor - August 17, 2012

    Wonderful job, Lorraine. I very much enjoyed watching your brilliant performance at Germantown Academy (Ft. Washington, PA) on Sunday. Kudos to Pete (your husband) for running the 3000.

  2. Mary Harada - August 17, 2012

    next year -Lorraine – watch out (just kidding) but I want to try this. But I better start training now!

  3. Ocean Everlsey - August 17, 2012

    Congratulations Lorraine!

  4. Leo Sanders - August 18, 2012

    Awesome job!!!

  5. Mohamed Ali - August 18, 2012

    Sounds fun… except for the 1500 and 3000 meter parts. I wonder how sprinters would do in that format, so may try it next year if I’m healthy around that time. Just have to get over the mental block of going around the track more than once!

  6. Kyle Mecklenborg - August 18, 2012

    Mohamed,
    A sprinter won this pentathlon in 2011, so it is possible for a sprinter like yourself to do very well in the individual competition. But if you’re really not interested in doing the 1500 and the 3000, consider entering the three-person team competition (separate heats). You can take care of the sprint events (the 100, the 200, and pick the 400) while your teammates handle the 1500 and the 3000. No mental block!

  7. Matt B. - August 19, 2012

    2011 – Rash was more of a long sprinter 400-800. He does have decent top end speed as well, but I think it would be difficult for a pure sprinter 100/200 to win the event.

  8. Gary Leigh - August 20, 2012

    Great job Lorraine! You are quite an athlete.

    Gary

  9. Craig Strimel - August 25, 2012

    A brilliant performance by Lorraine — great job! @Mohamed – It’s harder than you can even imagine :). But you should do it anyway! Or, as Kyle suggested, enter the team competition, which I’m sure will heat up next year. I also agree that Bruce Rash is more of a long sprinter with decent top end speed, but he would tell you his 400 is much stronger than his 800. I should know these things — he runs me into the ground in workouts! But the point is, anyone can win this thing. Actually, on second thought, the POINT has nothing to do with winning it — it’s just an incredibly fun, different, and challenging way to spend a morning with other athletes. Even if you opt to not compete, you should consider volunteering just to be a part of it.

  10. Bruce R - September 7, 2012

    Great Job Lorraine !
    It was great to watch you claim the title.
    Hopefully, I’ll be back again next year to give you a push.
    This event really is great, it’s challenging for sure but, it’s also filled with comradely.
    If you are up for a physical as well as a mental challenge filled with friendly completion I would surely recommend giving the GPTC Runners Pentathlon a try you won’t regret it.

Leave a Reply