Members of the Atlanta Track Club (ATC) men’s and women’s masters teams had an impressive showing this past weekend at two masters championship events – the USA Masters 5 km Championship at the Syracuse Festival of Races in Syracuse, N.Y. and the USA Masters Marathon Championship at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis, Minn.
ATC women’s team member, Stephanie Herbst-Lucke, was crowned USA Masters 5 km Champion on Sunday, October 2. Herbst-Lucke’s time of 16:37 was not only good for the overall and USA Masters victory, but it also produced two pending records - the U.S. W45-49 and the U.S. 45 both previously held by four-time Olympian, Colleen De Reuck. ATC teammate, Nancy Stewart, 55, placed second in the 55-59 age group and 16th overall with her time of 19:22 at the USA Masters 5 km Championship.
On the men’s side, Kristian Blaich, 45, placed second in the USA Masters 5 km Championship with a time of 15:34, just eight seconds behind champion, Mark Andrews, 40, of Rochester, N.Y. The ATC men’s masters team also brought home two first place victories in the team division with the M40+ team consisting of Blaich, Chad Newton and Michael Strickland and the M50+ team made up of Gary Droze, Ken Youngers and Jeffery Dundas.
Elsewhere on the roads, ATC men’s masters team member, Malcolm Campbell, 40, took runner-up honors in the USA Masters Marathon Championship at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, October 2 with a time of 2:25:58. Campbell finish just over a minute behind USA Masters Marathon Champion, Tracy Lokken (2:24:44), 46, of Marquette, Mich.