National Title(s)!

In case you missed the news last week, Rogue coach Carmen Troncoso had another incredible set of races and brought home two National Masters titles!

51-year old Carmen headed to the USA Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento and easily won her age group, flying through the 800m in 2:29 – second place was a full seven seconds behind her! The next night, Carmen lined up for the 1500m and again cruised to victory in 4:55.31.

One of Carmen’s runners, 33 year-old Laura Mitchell, also competed in Sacremento and followed in her coach’s footsteps, crossing the 800m finish line in 2:29 and finishing the 1500m in an impressive 5:02.

Congratulations, and thank you for again making Rogue look so good!

Carmen beats Joan!!

The 32nd Freihofer’s Run for Women 5-K took place in Albany, NY on Saturday and Rogue coach Carmen Troncoso was among the headline-makers!

Carmen, age 51, outsprinted Joan Samuelson (yes, the former Olympic gold medalist), 53, to win the 50-and-over title by one second in 17:47. It was her 20th consecutive finish at Freihofer’s, and her 19th time breaking 18 minutes.

You can read the whole race recap, including the story behind the overall winner, a 24 year old Kenyan named Emily Chebet who set a course record of 15:12, here.

There was also a great story on Carmen and her history with Freihofer’s that was published leading up to the race – check it out here, and make sure to congratulate her the next time you run into her!

High-Performance Rogues

It was another great weekend for Rogue coach Carmen Ayala-Troncoso! She headed to Lexington for the 2009 USATF Cross Country Championships, where she raced the Masters Women 6K. As usual, Carmen had a fantastic showing, finishing second in 22:11, a time which also earned her the 50 and over National Championship title.

There is a great video interview of post-race Carmen on Flotrack – check it out!

There were several other outstanding Rogue performances this past weekend: Graham Bettis ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon in an impressive 3:16:29, while John Peck ran 3:23 and Kevin Lyons finished in 3:36.

Nora Douglas not only PRed, but finished 3rd in her age group at the Fiesta Marathon in McAllen, while Lori Grimm also ran the Fiesta Marathon and had a huge PR, smashing the four hour mark with a 3:55:20.

Congratulations to all!

Carmen does it again

Carmen Troncoso had another stellar run this past weekend at the Syracuse Festival of Races yesterday. 50 year old Carmen ran the 5K race in 17:34, the third-fastest all-time for an American in that age group!

Those of you who know Carmen should make sure to congratulate her, and check back for reports on future races as this Austin running legend continues to run better and better!

The gold medal

Rogue coach and elite runner Carmen Ayala-Troncoso has done it again! Carmen is in Finland, competing in the World Masters Championships, and made headlines instantly. 50-year old Carmen posted the first win for USA in any event, taking the women’s 8K cross country race in a phenomenal 29:10 – that’s a 5:52 pace, just to save you some calculation time.

This win was especially sweet – she ranks it in her top five (and she’s had a lot!) – because it is the result of the first healthy year that she’s had in awhile. Carmen fought nagging injuries for nearly two years, but was proactive rather than discouraged, focusing on strength work and recovery. This diligence paid off, as her training and racing has been strong and consistent ever since her 50th birthday.

Carmen is now gearing up to not only compete in the 5000m during the final week of the WMA Championships, but to set a masters world record. Check back soon for what are sure to be impressive results!

An American Record

photo: Josh Baker

Rogue coach Carmen Troncoso recently set the 3000m American record in her age group, running 10:10 at the Portland Track Festival. She smashed the previous record by 9 seconds, and was only 2 seconds off of the world record!

News 8 Austin posted her account of the race and reveals what she has in store for the 5000m at the World Championships in Finland later this summer. Read it here!