By David Rogers. LOS ANGELES, Calif. (remote) — In a field of 18 elite performers, Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance team member Amanda Vestri finished No. 5 on May 24, in Sound Running’s Track Fest hosted by Occidental College at Jack Kemp Stadium. Her time was a new ZAP Endurance club record among distaff team members.
Most of the runners had affiliations with the various athletic shoe and apparel companies, most notably Puma, New Balance, Saucony, HOKA and Under Armour. The Women’s 5000 event title was captured by Linden Hall (14:43.61, Puma), followed by No. 2 Melissa Courtney Bryant (14:48.20, New Balance), No. 3 Hannah Nuttall (14:50.42, New Balance), No. 4 Lea Meyer (14:58.85, New Balance), No. 5 Amanda Vestri (15:01.22)
“For Amanda, this was a great performance in establish a new personal record as well as the ZAP club record for the 5000-meter distance,” said Pete Rea, ZAP Endurance head coach. “It really demonstrates how effective her strength training has been in running longer distances like the half marathon for which she qualified for the U.S. world team earlier this year and sets her up for the U.S. championships in Eugene, Ore., in July. She will make her marathon debut in the fall.”
Saturday’s performance at the 5000-meters’ distance is Vestri’s second personal best established in 2025. In making the U.S. team for the World half marathon championships, Vestri ran a 1:07:35 in Houston on Jan. 19. Vestri qualified for July’s championships in Eugene at 10,000 meters with her 31:10.53 performance in London, England, on May 18, 2024.
Van Der Els sparkles in Men’s 5000
Just five seconds separated Blowing Rock’s Eric Van Der Els from first place in the Men’s 5000 Run at Track Fest, finishing No. 2 in 13:27.33. The ZAP Endurance runner finished just behind No. 1 Brian Barraza, of the Roots Running Project (13:22.09). No. 3 Jean-Simon Desgagnes, representing New Balance, crossed the line a little more than eight seconds behind Van Der Els, in 13:35.48.
Blowing Rock’s Dan Schaffer, also a member of the ZAP Endurance professional running team, was No. 7 in the 26-man elite field, crossing the line with a pack and less than a second behind No. 4, with a time of 13:36.37.
“Coming off surgery in December, this was a really good race and performance for Eric,” said Rea, the ZAP Endurance coach. “When you consider that his personal best of 13:21.78, just six seconds faster than today’s race, you have to be impressed. He is on track to meet the U.S. championships qualifying standard of 13:20 in the next few weeks.”
