Josh Izewski and Tyler Pennel ran their final marathon preceding the US Olympic Marathon Trials next February at the Berlin Marathon on September 24th. Both Tyler and Josh have seen personal bests at the marathon this year.
Tyler finished 5th on a warm day in Houston this January in 2:12:16 while Josh took 5th at the Gold Coast Marathon in July, running 2:11:26 – a time that tied Andrew Colley for the ZAP Record. Tyler and Josh both went into Berlin with the intention of bettering those marks and had difficult days.
The scheduled pacemaker went out too fast, leaving Josh and Tyler on their own from the beginning to share the leading. They remained together through almost halfway, coming through in 1:05:04. Right around that point Josh began to slip back and slow down. He had dealt with a hip issue 2 weeks prior to the race that appeared to be completely resolved within a week. However, by the halfway point in Berlin his hip was causing him more and more pain with each passing step. By 27k he was slowing dramatically, no longer able to run without limping, and made the decision to step off the course.
Tyler continued to press on, feeling strong headed into the 2nd half of the race. He reached 25k, still on 2:10 pace, but then began to fatigue as he approached 30k. At the 30k mark he had latched on to another runner and was still running 2:11 pace. But after drafting behind for 2-3k he couldn’t hold on to the pace and slowed a bit, finishing in 2:14:28.
Josh is currently recovering and both are looking forward to getting back and ready for the Marathon Trials buildup later in November. They both have struggled at times with injuries in their careers and put together healthy training blocks. So despite difficult races they are confident in taking another step forward as they look forward to February.
You can find the full results from Berlin here.
Vestri Takes 4th in ZAP Debut
Amanda Vestri, the newest ZAP athlete, made her ZAP debut the same weekend as the Berlin Marathon at the US 10km Championships as part of the Great Cow Harbor Run. Taking on some of the best 10k runners in the country, Amanda ran a savvy race, moving her way up the field and nearly landing herself on the podium.
Amanda joined a small chase group of 5 athletes behind eventual winner Weini Kelati. As the race progressed Amanda hung off the back of that group, content to wait and bide her time. As she entered the final stages of the race the pack began to spread out. Amanda made a bid for the podium, moving into 3rd place in the final kilometer. She would eventually finish 4th, her best finish at a US Championship, bettering her 8th place finish in the 10k at the US Track and Field Championships.
Amanda will be back in action at the US 5k Championships the day before the New York City Marathon.