M AS T E R S C O R N E R
R O B L E M K E - C H AI R
2013 MASTERS ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Jill Skelly – Female Long Distance Runner of the Year
Jill also was the 2012 winner. Jill (W50) is getting better year after year.
In 2012 her goal was to break 20 minutes for 5k. She is now consistently
under 20 minutes. She was the top female masters runner in both the
Road Racing and XC Grand Prix. Jill also ran 3:18 in both the Boston and
USMC Marathons.
Wil Widman - Male Long Distance Runner of the Year
Wil is another runner defying age and getting faster each year. It was near
impossible to race on Long Island without seeing Wil as he ran in 19 of the
LDR Grand Prix races, winning his age group 16 times, and ran in a total of
49 races throughout the year. In many of those races he was the first
masters finisher and finished in the top 5 overall, giving the kids a run for
the money.
Kevin Carroll - Male Senior Long Distance Runner of the Year
Since turning 60 years old Kevin Carroll has dominated the Senior Masters LDR
scene on Long Island. He was the first senior master in 9 of the 10 USATF-LI
Grand Prix events he ran in as well as being the first finisher in many other races.
He has rewritten the record book for his age group. In 2013 he set road racing
records for the mile (5:26), 5k (18:32), 8k (31:47), 10k (38:38) and 15k (1:01:28).
These are times that many high school boys would like to run and rank Kevin as
one of the fastest runners of his age in the nation.
Kate Shreck - Female Senior Long Distance Runner of the Year
Kate is not rewriting the record book – she is writing the record book! She turned
75 years old last year (not that you would ever guess that) and since there are
no existing USATF-LI road racing records for 75 year old women she is setting a
record every time she runs a race at a new distance. She is setting the bar for
future generations and setting it pretty high. Kate started running 12 years ago
and has set many age group records. She races almost every weekend and
serves as a great role model for the younger Masters runners on LI.
6 • Spring 2014 • ONE STEP AHEAD