Fast RunnerZ Marathon Group Lives Up To Its Name
By Matt Scherer
May 11, 2008

EUGENE, OR – The Fast RunnerZ marathon group brought their A game to the Eugene Marathon last Sunday. Personal bests were shattered and Boston qualifying times were popping up on the results all morning.

The biggest surprise of the day came from Eileen Grimm of Eugene who crushed her previous best time by 37 minutes. Her final time of 3:23:11 placed her 32nd overall among women and 5th in her age group. “I missed her at mile 15 because she was running much faster than pace,” said the group’s coach Matt Scherer.

Grimm wasn’t the only runner to have a big day. Karla Snyder set a new personal best by 25 minutes and was 5 minutes under the qualifying time for next spring’s Boston Marathon. Kenny Hoffman was the fastest of the group finishing the 26.2 mile race in 2:50:57, a 10 minute improvement over his best marathon and good for a 28th place finish overall. Jerry Stromme crossed the finish line 3:30:26. The time was not only a personal best but was about 30 seconds under the Boston qualifying time. “I am super-excited for Jerry,” said Heather Hanscom, the group’s head coach. “Getting that qualifying time was a big goal for several of the runners and they all did an awesome job at racing and staying focused.

In the half marathon, Sarah McConnell placed 16th overall for women and 2nd in her age group with her time of 1:33:33.

I was really proud of the way everyone in the group ran today,” said Scherer. “They listened to their bodies and all had great races. As a group, they averaged almost a 12 minute personal best per person. I think that’s pretty impressive and reflective of all the work and dedication they put into this over the last 8 months. I’m very proud of them.”

To learn more about Fast RunnerZ and next year’s marathon training group, visit www.fastrunnerz.com