By David Rogers. WALNUT, Calif. — It was just three weeks ago (April 15) that Ryan Ford won the Men’s Elite 5,000m race against stiff professional competition at the Mt. Sac Relays. On May 6, he doubled the distance, finished No. 4 in another elite field of 18, and posted a time that likely qualified him to run in the USATF nationals later this year.
And he set a new ZAP Endurance club record for the event. ZAP Endurance is the professional running team based in Blowing Rock, competing worldwide with a team of elite athletes.
“I guess Ryan really likes running here in Southern California on this Mt. San Antonio College track,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea. “And what is not to like about snow-capped Mt. Baldy in the background while running in 70-degree weather just a few miles away? We are very impressed with the work Ryan has put in and his progression toward nationals.”
Of course, Mt. Baldy was not visible during the running of the 10,000 meter races since they were conducted at about 11:00 p.m. at night on May 6 for the On Track Fest, produced by Sound Running and sponsored by the On athletic footwear and performance sportswear company based in Switzerland.
“Some might wonder about the time of day for this event,” said Rea, “but for a long distance race like the 10,000m, this is actually perfect because the temperature have cooled off.”
The top finishers in the 10,000m race were:
- Adrian Wildschutt, Hoka NAZ Elite, 27:23.10
- Alex Masai, Hoka NAZ Elite, 27:51.68
- Thomas George, Roots Running Project, 28:06.26
- Ryan Ford, ZAP Endurance, 28:09.53
- Eric Hammer, Boston Athletic Association, 28:21.39
- Noah Schutte, unattached, 28:25.23
- Andre Waring, Brooks Running Australia, 28:31.10
Other runners represented Asics, NIke, China, London (UK) Western Track Club, U.S. Army, Puma, and India, among others.
Schaffer runs another sub-4 minute mile at Penn Relays in stacked field
Ford’s performance comes on the heels of another ZAP Endurance athlete’s elite performance just a week earlier, on May 2.
Middle distance specialist Dan Schaffer finished No. 6 in an elite field running 5,000 meters at the historic Penn Relays, barely one second behind the first place finisher, Geordie Beamish, of New Zealand in the Olympic Development Men’s Benjamin Franklin Mile Run Elite. Beamish stopped the clock at 3:57.68, while Schaffer finished in 3:58.86. Ten elite athletes from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Kenya, New Zealand, Spain, GHANA and Great Britain were entered in the race. Nine finished and all clocked under a 4-minute mile.
