And Then Another Gold

Following the 800m final Rob Vancleve asked me if I,d be interested in a Ad Hoc 4x800m relay.......oh hell yeah!!!I have a love affair w/ the 4x800m relay at Nationals.
In Charlotte in 06 I got my first ever National Championship Gold thanks to the 4x800m relay along side my team mates Chuck,Russ and Scott,it was that first ever trip to the medal podium at Nationals that convinced me track was where my future lay in running,I liked being a National Champion and a year later in Orono I took my first ever individual gold in the 800m b4 adding another 4x800m relay gold thanks to Ray,Russ and Chuck,last years medal was also my 100th ever in running so you can see why the 4x800m relay at Nationals has a special place in my heart.
Going into Spokane I didn,t think about a 4x800m,PAC or as we now go by Greater Philadelphia Track Club was only sending 3 athletes,myself,Ray in the Pentathlon and Sean in the 45-49 1,500m so I didn,t think it was on the cards.............cue Rob post 800m final preposing a 4x800m relay I said if he could find 2 more guys I was in,enter Francis Burdett and Scott Pesch,Francis had won the 5,000m and gotten silver in the 10,000m,Scott had finished 2nd to Francis in the 5,000m and would eventually get bronze in my 1,500m race,and thus"Team East/West" was formed,Francis and I representing the east coast,Rob and Scott represent the west.
We sellected a running order of Rob,Scott,Francis and I,all the credit in the world to Rob for not only putting the team together but also stepping up big time,clearly suffering from getting sick a week prior to Nationals Rob had gotten 6th in the 800m but had suffered a tough day in the 1,500m yet he duked out the lead off leg w/ fellow 800m/1,500m runner Sid Sullivan and brought us home in second w/ a 2.13,Scott now had to duke it out w/ 45-49 bronze 1,500m medalist Rodney Zook,Scott hung tough to clock a 2.11,Francis was matched against Dave Albo who had became a new friend of mine on this visit to National,Dave was giving a sizable age difference to Francis and Francis handed off to me w/ a 2.15 split,we had a sizable lead.
I opened w/ a 58 second 400m b4 easing down to a 66 second closing lap to notch my third ever gold at the Masters Nationals in 4x800m,like last year I came away from Nationals w/ 2 golds and 1 silver and now in three years I,ve won 5 golds and 2 silvers and I,m hoping if only for another crack at a 4x800m gold next year in Clearmont I may well make the trip down to Florida{the dates for Nationals have yet to be set,rumours abound of early July which would serve as the final part of my build up for Worlds in Lathi Finland in late july/early August}next year.