My Recap of the HoHa Classic

On Sunday, I ran my first race since November 2013—the HoHa Classic.

By the end of mile one, I already felt worn out. The next few miles continued to beat me down. I couldn't even push out a kick during the race's last quarter mile around Pier A Park—in fact, not even during the final 100 meters.

Well, at least no ligament, tendon or muscle pain was to blame for my sluggishness. I was simply out of shape. Despite my less than stellar performance (I averaged 7:39/mile), I am thrilled to have gotten through a full five-mile race; achieving such a feat had seemed unattainable last year, when my right ankle was aching with every step.

Instead of continuing to discuss my huffings and puffings, I would like to direct your attention to the many runners who finished among the top in their age groups and the entire field of competitors.

Many of these runners are members of the Hoboken Harriers better known as the—HoHas—the race's sponsors and the running club I grew so fond of when I lived in Hoboken a couple of years ago.

My first shout-out goes to Victor Matveev. He finished number 1 in his age group and ninth overall, with a time of 30:48.1. A fun fact about this consistently successful runner is that he completed his first marathon just two weeks prior to the HoHa Classic.

Following closely behind Victor was Mike Gugliemlo, another HoHa. Completing the race in 30:55, Mike was 10th overall and third in the 30-39 age group, which he joked was due to him being one of the youngest in that category.

For the women, Angela Colarusso clearly deserves some recognition. Placing fourth of all of the female competitors, she completed the race in 33:53.4. And rumor has it that this HoHa had already raced in New York City within hours of the HoHa Classic start.

Caroline Lennon, my sister-in-law, was another of the Classic's top females. Hailing from Philadelphia, Lennon certainly didn't have the home-court advantage of her HoHa competitors. Nonetheless, she was the 11th female finisher and second in her age group. Her time was 36:06. Caroline said she was surprised to have performed so well in the 5-mile-race, because she had been focusing her training on running longer distances at a slower pace.

Of course, I would be remiss to leave out the name of the race's overall winner, which was Ned Cunningham. He averaged 5:24/mile on the humid morning of the HoHa Classic. Way to go, Ned!

I am still trying to find the name of the race's first female finisher. If anyone can help me out here, I would appreciate it.

Congratulations to everyone who ran the HoHa Classic! Your competitiveness inspired me to keep moving all the way to the finish—and even speed up a few times.

Visit this address to learn how other harriers performed during the 2015 HoHa Classic.