ZAP sent five athletes to compete in the HCA Virginia 8k this past weekend. Both the men’s and women’s fields were unusually deep as a few of the athletes, including ZAP athlete Cameron Bean, scheduled to compete at the New York Dash to the Finish 5k competed in Richmond after the NYC event was cancelled last weekend. The athletes enjoyed a great early morning in Richmond with the race kicking off at 7am to beautiful racing weather.
In the women’s race, 2nd year ZAP athlete Sarah Crouch (formerly Sarah Porter), was out with the early pace and raced to a 4th place finish, covering the 8,000m course in 26:12.
On the men’s side ZAP had four athletes competing: Cole Atkins, Cameron Bean, Michael Crouch, and Tyler Pennell. Pennell made the most of his professional debut, taking to the front after halfway and stringing the pack out. He finished in 5th place, with NC State standout Ryan Hill taking the win over a tightly bunched top 5. Pennell crossed the line in a blistering 22:43, followed 7 seconds later by teammate Cole Atkins in 6th place. Crouch and Bean followed close behind in 7th and 8th place, running 22:54 and 22:56 respectively. The performances produced personal bests across the board. For the two athletes returning to Richmond, Atkins improved upon his time from two years ago by 28 seconds and Bean improved his time by 57 seconds.
All of the athletes that competed in the Richmond 8k will see action again on Thanksgiving Day at the historic Manchester Road Race. The Manchester Road Race is the oldest continually run Thanksgiving Day race in the world, and is certainly the most competitive. ZAP will be sending athletes to the race for the 11th year in a row, and will be looking to continue their tradition of strong performances.
A week and a half later, Jesse Cherry will be toeing the line in Fukuoka, Japan for his second marathon. Jesse is in the final stages of preparation and is coming off a strong 1:06:10 marathon pace effort at the Columbia Half Marathon in South Carolina last week.