Power Miler Track Club

The Power Mile Is Back!

5/18/2022

Who's ready to run fast?

The Power Mile returns to the streets of New Orleans for the first time since 2019!

The race, held on Saturday, August 20, will take place at West End Park near the New Orleans lakefront.

Proceeds from The Power Mile benefit Youth Run NOLA.

We'll have more information in the coming weeks!

2022 Rock n Roll New Orleans Events

2/6/2022

PMTC took on the 2022 Rock n Roll New Orleans Weekend to great success.

It started on Saturday in the 5k when Lauren F. Haro took second out of all women in 21:00.

Then, we had a strong contingent compete on Sunday between the 10k and half marathon.

Victoria Brignac finished 14th out of all women in the half in 1:28:15.
Mark Kirkikis finished 2nd overall in the 10k in 37:20, despite a wrong turn by the lead bike that nearly took him out of contention.
Michele Bravo finished 2nd out of all women - and sixth out of all competitors - in the 10k with a PR of 40:59.

Elsewhere, Matthew Dalton won the Q50 Trail Extravaganza Half Marathon at Bogue Chitto State Park on Saturday in 1:48:13, a race that featured 1204 feet of elevation gain.

2022 Run on the Bayou 5K/10K

1/22/2022

A small contingent of Power Milers turned in fantastic results at the Run on the Bayou on Saturday in Westwego.

Three women from PMTC placed in the overall top-7 among all entrants in the 10k: Victoria Brignac won the women's race - and finished third overall - with a time of 41:05; Grace Thacker, fresh off competing at the Houston Marathon six days earlier, finished sixth overall in 42:07; Michele Bravo took seventh overall in 42:43.

Next up for PMTC: New Orleans Rock n Roll 5k/10k/Half on February 5-6.

2022 Houston Marathon

1/19/2022

"Houston, we have a problem."

And that problem was the Power Miler Track Club on January 16, 2022.

To say that PMTC thrived in H-Town would be an understatement.

Ten of the 16 members who raced the marathon set PRs; as did two of the five who raced the half.

Power Milers Take Over Houston
Club Members Who PR'd The Full Marathon
Name	Previous PR	Houston	PR Delta
Rich Bouckaert	2:28:15	2:26:01	0:02:14
Will Kirkikis	Debut	2:29:21	Debut
Tyler Mayforth	2:36:53	2:33:19	0:03:34
Kevin McNeill	3:03:33	2:48:11	0:15:22
Paul Thiels	2:49:52	2:49:47	0:00:05
Jeff Gennusa	3:01:56	2:53:52	0:08:04
Sara Porter	3:01:04	2:55:44	0:05:20
Michael Pou	2:57:08	2:56:54	0:00:14
Jonathan Ley	3:11:04	3:09:53	0:01:11
Sam Ward	4:54:00	3:12:25	1:41:35
Kate Baldwin	3:23:15	3:16:11	0:07:05
Club Members Who PR'd The Half Marathon
Name	Previous PR	Houston	PR Delta
Josh Browning	1:23:28	1:18:16	0:05:12
Lauren F. Haro	1:45:06	1:30:23	0:14:43

There were also a number of superlatives among the finishers.

Rich ran the club's fastest marathon time ever
Will made his marathon debut and ran the club's fastest first-time marathon ever
Tyler set a PR more than three years in the making
Paul finished first in the 55-59 age group, nearly 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place
Paige Fisher, who ran 2:55:46, did so while pregnant with her first child
Michelle Parks (52nd, 2:54:07), Sara (57th) and Paige (60th) all finished among the top-60 in the women's race
Jonathan earned the first BQ of his marathon career
Sam ran strong his first marathon with the club
Kate finished a clear 2nd in the 55-59 age group
Josh PR'd after working the expo all day on Saturday
Wayne Pertuit ran 1:30:34 in his first major race since surgery
Matt Dalton battled fierce wind at the Louisiana Marathon to finish in 3:08:36

You better believe there will be more exceptional performances to come!

Next up for PMTC: Run on the Bayou 5k/10k on Saturday, January 22.

2018 Houston Marathon

1/23/2018

Thirteen members of the Power Milers finished the 2018 Houston Marathon on Jan. 14. Aided by favorable conditions, every single runner acheived either a lifetime, Masters, or Grandmasters personal best, and all met the time qualifying standards for the Boston Marathon.

On the men's side, the team was lead by Rich Bouckaert, who finished 28th place overall in a blazing 2:28:15. Bouckaert lowered his personal best marathon time by over 2.5 minutes. on his marathon debut, Paul Thiels won the Grandmasters (age 50+) category with a time of 2:49:52. Paige Fisher was the first female Power Miler across the line in 3:03:49. Fisher fell shy of an agressive sub-3 hour goal, but she lowered her PR by 10 minutes.

Club Results:

Houston Marathon
Richard Bouckaert: 2:28:15
Casey Keiser: 2:38:55
Paul Thiels: 2:49:52; 1st Grandmasters
Wayne Pertuit: 2:56:48
Tom Luongo: 3:00:16
David Merryman: 3:01:28
Tarak Anada: 3:02:41
Paige Fisher: 3:03:49
Michael Pou: 3:06:03
Jeff Gennusa: 3:07:33
Van Merceron: 3:08:17
Daniella Mora: 3:10:38
Jimi Smith: 3:11:42

Houston Half Marathon
Doug Holmes: 1:27:05

Houston Marathon Complete Results

On the same day, three Power Milers competed at the Louisiana Marathon in Baton Rouge. One of the newest members of PMTC, lead the club with a 2:58:30. Brian Rowan succeeded in his quest for a sub-3 hour marathon with a 2:59:04, which also earned him top Masters honors.

Louisiana Marathon
Ondrej Blaha: 2:58:30
Brian Rowan: 2:59:04; 1st Masters
Kevin McNeill: 3:07:44

Louisiana Marathon Complete Results

Special thanks to the all of the family, friends, and fellow club members who traveled to theses races to support, cheer, and take photos. We would not have made it without you.

Photos:

Houston Marathon Race Preview

1/12/2018

Cash on the barrel: It all started when a couple of club members registered last summer. After some gentle peer pressure, a little bit of momentum was born, and before we fully realized what we were getting into, 16 Power Milers were registered to run the 2018 Houston Marathon. Marathon-specific training began in earnest in October. One was lost due to injury (Get well soon, Grace!) Four months later, race weekend has arrived.

Thanks to PMTC's high performance coach Jimi Smith and his individualized training guidance, this team is race-ready. While coaching the marathon contingent and balancing the demands of parenting and running an acupuncture practice, Smith somehow managed to fit in his own marathon training. Smith is returning to Houston after a 10-year hiatus from the 26.2 distance. After overcoming numerous injuries over the past few years, his goal is to stay healthy and finish in the low 3:00s.

Fellow Masters runner Paul Thiels is "apprehensive about debuting at the age of 54" but "very curious to experience the mystery zone beyond 20 miles of racing." Thiels' goal finishing time is 2:49. Casey Keiser and Dave Merryman will also be taking on the marathon for the first time on Sunday.

For those not travelling to Houston to run or spectate, a live stream of the race will be available:
http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/race-weekend/spectator-info/

Live tracking of individual runners:
https://live.sporthive.com/event/3822/Live

Bib numbers to track the Power Milers:

Paul Thiels: 1661
Jimi Smith: 1656
Rich Bouckaert: 424
Jeff Gennusa: 1925
Daniella Mora: 2039
Luciano Retana: 2040
Michael Pou: 31934
Paige Fischer: 2093
Jeff Gennusa: 1925
Tom Luongo: 1693
Van Merceron: 1604
Dave Merryman: 1833
Wayne Pertuit: 1631
Casey Keiser: 1536
Doug Holmes: 2028

Follow @PowerMilers on Twitter for live updates from the race.

While he isn't racing this go-round, PMTC's Brandon Wingate, who at age 41 ran 2:31 at the 2016 Houston Marathon, offers the following message to all those racing this weekend:

"There are a lot of questions going through your head.
Have I trained enough?
Am I mentally ready?
Will I hit my pace?
Will I be to anxious?
Short answer, YES!
This is what you have trained for mentally and physically.
Your mind and body will know what to do when the gun goes off.
I hope that you all have a great race and make some memories..."

USATF Club Cross Country Nationals 2017

12/15/2017

Masterson Station Park
Lexington, KY
December 9, 2017

The Power Milers braved sub-freezing temperatures, wind, hills, and a bit of snow to compete at the USATF Club Cross Country National Championships on Saturday. PMTC fielded teams for the Men's Masters (40+) 10K and Open 10K races.

The Masters team finished in 20th place, while the open team finished in 40th. Both results were first among teams from the USTAF Southern Region. Despite the conditions, Aucoin, Keiser, and Merryman notched 10K personal bests, with Keiser dipping under 34 minutes for the first time.

Individual club results:

Men's Masters 40+

166: Paul Thiels, 38:28
191: Wayne Pertuit, 39:18
204: Michael Pou, 39:56
214: Van Merceron, 40:16
219: Jimi Smith, 40:40
220: Tom Luongo, 40:40

Open 10K

169: Patrick Aucoin, 32:37
196: Richard Bouckaert, 32:56
281: Casey Keiser, 33:54
380: Bryant White, 36:25
383: Sean Allerton, 36:41
292: David Merryman, 37:18
411: Jeffrey Gennusa, 40:01

The race marked the fourth consecutive year that PMTC has sent a team to club nationals. Next year's race will be held on December 8, 2018 in Spokane, WA.

Complete results

8 Weeks Out: On Staying Focused

11/14/2017

January 14: For many club members, it is the goal race date for the Houston Marathon or the Louisiana Marathon. With just over eight weeks to go until race day, Power Miler Track Club's high performance coach Jimi Smith shares the following message with the team:

These next 5 weeks are going to be the most marathon specific and highest mileage weeks of our training. We'll be at or near peak mileage for 3 out of 5 of those weeks. With holidays approaching, it is important we don't lose focus on the training. Now more than ever it is important to get the rest you need, respect the recovery runs, do the ancillary things that keep you healthy, seek attention should any issues come up, etc, etc.

See y'all tonight!
Jimi

Cresecent City Fall Classic 5K

11/4/2017

Despite the warm weather, several Power Milers managed to set personal bests at the Crescent City Fall Classic 5K in City Park on Saturday. Patrick Aucoin took the win in 15:45, while Paige Fischer lead the women's team in 19:02 for 4th place. Paul Thiels took top Masters honors with an 18:15 performance.

Race coverage from the New Orleans Advocate:
"Runners battle summer weather at Crescent City Fall Classic"

Club Results

Women
Paige Fisher: 19:02
Daniella Mora: 19:39
Grace Thacker: 20:01
Kate Massey: 20:07

Men
Patrick Aucoin: 15:45
Richard Bouckaert: 15:55
Casey Keiser: 16:45
Sean Allerton: 17:10
Paul Thiels: 18:16
David Merryman: 18:19
Michael Iverson: 18:30
Tarak Anada: 18:40
Kevin McNeill: 18:40
Wayne Pertuit: 18:46
Tom Luongo: 18:48
Jeff Gennusa: 18:51
Michael Pou: 18:54
Van Merceron: 18:55
Brian Rowan: 19:27
Jeremy Smith: 19:35
Jimi Smith: 19:56

complete results

Photos from Cresecent City Classic

Photos from Louisiana Running Company

2017 BlueDoo Run

10/2/2017

The PMTC women announced their presence at Saturday's BlueDoo Run.

Led by Paige Fisher's course record victory in 11:29, the Power Milers took the first through fifth place. All five women set personal best times on the 2 mile course:

1) Paige Fisher: 11:29
2) Morgan Evans: 11:39
3) Grace Thacker: 12:04
4) Kate Massey: 12:05
5) Daniella Mora: 12:24

On the men's side, Casey Keiser battled back and forth in the lead group but fell just short of Ian Carr in the final sprint, 9:31 to 9:32. Keiser also set a personal best on the day. PMTC took the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th places overall. Coming back from injury, Paul Thiels won top Grandmaster in 11:06.

Held on the Tulane University campus, the 4th annual NOLA BlueDoo Run benefits the Prostate Cancer Research Fund at the Tulane Cancer Center.

results