Gubbins - Running Ahead

Barbara Gubbins (December 29, 1959) grew up playing sports at a time when many females steered clear of athletics. By the time she graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1978, Barbara had excelled in field hockey, basketball, volleyball and softball, often voted Captain of the team and receiving MVP honors. Barbara did not begin running competitively until college, when her endurance on the lacrosse field caught the attention of the track coaches. Barbara took to the sport immediately, achieving All American honors in Cross Country in 1983 and in Indoor Track in 1985. As a nationally ranked runner and Olympic trials qualifier, Barbara was a Nike sponsored athlete. After graduating from Stony Brook University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Barbara continued to train, joining the Warren Street Racing Team in NYC, of which she is still an active member. Barbara recently received All American honors in both the mile and 3000m in the Women’s Masters (over 40) category. She is also well known in the Long Island running circuit due to her proven staying power, appearing on the cover of Island Wide Running and in Running Times magazine for her many outstanding performances. When not working at one of the four Gubbins stores, Barbara continues to run on a daily basis and dominate local road races.

Personal Records:
800m: 2:16
1500m: 4:33
3000m: 9:48
5000m: 17:04
10000m: 34:30
20000m: 1:13:52
Marathon: 3:04

Justin Andrew Gubbins (February 13, 1952) still holds the Bellport High School record in the 2 mile, set in 1969. As a high school runner, Justin was an All State athlete and held the 10th fastest high school marathon time in the nation. He attended Georgetown University on a full track scholarship from 1970 to 1974. Justin was captain of the Hoya Cross Country and Track teams and earned All IC4A honors. He is also a two time qualifier for the Olympic Trials in the marathon, both in ’72 and ’76. He has been ranked nationally in the 15 mile (5th) and 20 mile (2nd) races, among such running legends of the 70s as Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers. His marathon time of 2:20:21 at the AAU National Championship was the 10th fastest in the US in 1975. As a professional runner sponsored by Adidas, Justin was also a 9 time winner of the Cross Island Marathon, 3 time winner of the Newsday Marathon (previously known as the Earth Day Marathon), and a 14th place finisher in the Boston Marathon. After retiring from competitive running, Justin continued to stay involved in the sport as a cross country and track coach at Southampton High School, where he works as a special education teacher.

Personal Records:
1 mile: 4:12
2 mile: 9:01
5 mile: 24:05
15 mile: 1:22:07
25000m: 1:22:05
20 mile: 1:49:26
Marathon: 2:20:21

Megan Gubbins (September 16, 1982) began running competitively in the 7th grade. As captain of the Southampton High School Cross Country and Track and Field teams, Megan broke 6 school records on the track and holds every cross country record. She also earned multiple County Championship titles and All State honors. As a senior, Megan excelled in the girls’ steeple chase, breaking the New York State record and placing 5th at Nike Outdoor Nationals, earning All American honors. An exceptional student, Megan also broke records in the academic arena. As valedictorian of her class, Megan achieved the highest grade point average to ever graduate from her high school in 2001. She attended Harvard University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Megan continues to run and train recreationally. She is now a 2012 J.D. candidate at Tulane Law School.

Personal Records:
1500m: 4:54
2000m Steeple Chase: 7:13
3000m: 10:25
5000m: 18:20
Half Marathon: 1:25:49
Marathon: 3:10:16

Geary Patrick Gubbins (May 29, 1987) was a competitive runner at the high school and collegiate levels. Graduating from Southampton High School in 2005 with multiple school records, County Championships, All State and All American honors, he then matriculated to Duke University as a scholarship athlete to further his education and running career. Geary ran personal bests in cross country and on the track, qualifying for the IC4A Indoor Championships in 2006. In addition to running, Geary also enjoys playing basketball and golf recreationally. As a member of the Delta Sigma fraternity at Duke, his intramural team was named dodgeball champions and competed in the championship basketball game in the historic Cameron Indoor Stadium. Also an avid golfer, Geary spent many weekends on the Washington Duke golf course. Geary graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2006 and is now working at Gubbins Running Ahead with the goal of applying to law school in Fall of 2010. He would ultimately like to pursue a career in Sports Law.

Personal Records:
1500m: 3:54
3000m: 8:29
5000m: 14:46

John Honerkamp ran for St. John’s from 1993-98. He was an eight-time All-Big East and six-time All-East (IC4A) runner, and became the youngest semifinalist at the US Olympic Trials for the 800m run in
1996. After graduation, John ran professionally for the Reebok Enclave Track Club from 1998 to 2001, and then began running for the New York Athletic Club, which he still competes for today. John is an eight-time top-10 finisher at the USA Track & Field Senior Nationals. He is also a member of the American record-holding 4×1500m relay team. Prior to coaching at St. John’s, John was a volunteer assistant for Chaminade High School in Mineola, NY, and was an assistant coach in 2001 for Episcopal High School in Arlington, VA. He has been a
camp-counselor at The Running School in upstate New York for nine years, coaching some of the top high school athletes in the country. John still does weekly track workouts under the guidance of the
legendary coach Frank Gagliano, rabbits elite races and is currently training for the ING New York City Marathon. If you are looking for a coach, whatever your ability level or personal athletic goals, you can contact John at john@johnhonerkamp.com or visit his website at johnhonerkamp.com. John trains clients in both the Hamptons and Manhattan.

Personal Records:
400m: 47.7 (relay)
800m: 1:47.26
1500m: 3:41.58 (equivalent to a sub 4 mile)
Mile: 4:01.3

Tara Farrel ran for Stony Brook University, where she met Barbara Gubbins, who would occasionally visit her alumna mater to run track workouts with the team. Following graduation, Tara began to work for Gubbins and is now the Southampton store's manager. In addition to working full time at Gubbins and abiding by a strict training regime of daily runs and weight lifting, Tara also managed to become a certified massage therapist. Tara recently gave birth to her first son, Seth Farrel. The Gubbins team is happy to welcome baby Seth and wishes Tara and Seth Sr. the best of luck!

Laura Brown has led an extremely active lifestyle since childhood, but focused her athletic abilities on tennis before starting to run. Laura is Gubbins’ resident tennis pro, as she worked as a tennis instructor and coordinator for Sportime from 2000 to 2008 before joining the Gubbins Team. Laura is a 4.5 tennis player and can masterfully string your racket in 20 minutes. Laura now runs regularly, but she did not begin until some of her tennis friends suggested she join them in a road race. Since then, she has been an avid runner and racer. Tempo runs, track workout and trail runs have helped Laura become a stronger, faster runner. Laura now competes in road races across the Long Island, often capturing first place in the Women's Masters category. Laura received her Bachelor of Arts Degree, Summa Cum Laude, in 1995 from Hunter College, City University of New York. Following graduation, she worked as an Ombudsman for the Public Advocate Mark Green.

Luis Darwin German (September 22, 1987) began a career in running during his freshmen year at Southampton High School. Born in the Dominican Republic, Luis was active in baseball, soccer, basketball, wrestling, and volleyball as a youth before he dedicated himself to the sport of track and field. Graduating from Southampton High School in 2005 with multiple school records, County Championships, and All State Honors, Luis matriculated to Sacred Heart University and continues to compete in both cross-country and track and field. During the summer, Luis is active on the east end road racing circuit with a 5k personal best of 15:14. In addition to running, Luis continues to have a passion for his childhood sport of soccer. A highly competitive individual, Luis has been extremely successful in all sports, and has excelled in a wide variety of events on the track. Luis plans to graduate from Sacred Heart University in 2009, and he would ultimately like to pursue a career in business.

Personal Records:
800m: 1:51
1500m: 3:56
5000m: 15:04
8000m: 25:09

Alexander James Reinhart (September 30, 1984) began his running career in high school at University School of Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI). He culminated his senior year by winning the Wisconsin state cross country championship and matriculated to Colorado College in 2003. After finishing All-West in the NCAA Cross Country Division III regionals and breaking several collegiate records his freshman year he transferred to Duke University in 2004. Alex ran his personal best time at Duke in the 3000m Steeplechase at the IC4A championships in 2006 when he finished with All-East designation and qualified for regionals. Alex is also an avid ice hockey player and golfer. Alex graduated from Duke in 2007 and now works for Barclays Capital in London. He would ultimately like to marry a model and own a bar on a golf course.

Personal Records:
3000m Steeple Chase: 9:06.71

Bob Beattie has over 35 years experience in both retail and wholesale management in sporting goods. Bob began his sports career in retail at Schwab’s Second Wind before moving on to the Gubbins team, where he has been actively involved in the operations of Gubbins since the 1990s. Bob has lived on Long Island for most of his life, and for the past 20 years he has been a key contributor to the east end road race circuit through his involvement in race management and timing. In 2008, formed Island Timing, which uses state of the art timing chips in all of its races. Bob organizes and times over 30 races a year for non profit organization, including the Ridley 5K in Riverhead, Firecracker 8K in Southampton, Koziars 5K in Westhampton, Run for Ron 10K in Amagansett and many more. In his spare time, Bob enjoys hiking, kayaking and other outdoor activities.
Find Bob at Island Running on Facebook and on islandrunning.com

Jennifer Zayas (January 27, 1988) has been a Gubbins Running Ahead employee since August of 2007. She enjoys a variety of sports and fitness activities, including tennis, biking and light weight lifting. Jen began running recreationally about two years ago in order to keep fit and relieve stress. Her running strength has steadily improved to the point where she now runs a minimum of four days a week and participates in local 5k road races. Jen graduated from Westhampton Beach High School in 2006 and is currently working towards obtaining her degree in Elementary Education at St. Joseph's College.