AE is an elite national open post collegiate and masters running team that actively competes in cross country, indoor and outdoor track field meets and road racing, including AAU , USATF Regional and National Club Championship events.
About Athletics East Track Club
Everyone wants to be #1… but we really are! Athletics East Track Club is an Elite Open and Masters National running team based in Virginia and Utah. Our team was founded to give competitive post collegiate and masters runners the chance to compete, train together and have fun. Many of us competed at NCAA levels in college and a few of us went to the Olympic trials in our younger days. Now as post collegiate and masters athletes we actively compete events in track, cross country and road racing and even a few of us still race in marathons and triathlons too.
Welcome to Athletics East Track Club
Athletics East Track Club, we’re all about competitive open and masters athletics and running. Our experienced track and field, middle distance and distance runners have competed at national class masters levels. Our goals are for our members to reach their highest potential, and to always have a great time wherever we compete. We formed the team in the fall of 2018 to give our local masters group in the metro DC area and recently Northern Utah to provide support to compete on teams, relays for AAU , USATF , RRCA Club as well as other independent running company events and championships. We also opened the team up to a few post collegiate runners. Currently building a second training group team at altitude that is based in Northern Utah. The team has been very successful early in its existence having set a world record age group masters (4 x 800m) relay record. Also winning the 2021 AAU National Open-Masters Cross Country team title. We still have fun and feel like we’re back in HS and College again. We are not planning on going anywhere and are looking for sponsorship.
Hope to see you on the road, track and trails soon.
Join us for some fun on the roads, track and cross country -
Still feels like college again even though we’re masters and post collegiate athletes.
If interested, get in touch with us and let us know about your running interests and history.
We are always interested in adding a few additional athletes to our roster that meet our team time standards and have similar individual and team goals.
Alexandria VA - Midway Utah
617-823-5254
Our Team
Check Us Out -Meet the team
Get to know Athletics East Track Club, your #1 masters running team in the DC Mid Atlantic region. If you still haven’t heard of us, we guarantee that once you do you won’t be able to forget us. Our team is made up only of the very best post collegiate and masters runners around who all work extremely hard to reach the goals.
David Sullivan
Team Founder- General Manager - Middle Distance Runner- Triathlete
With a mind for strategy, coaching athletes and a vision to develop the team, David has grown the team to 30 plus extremely talented masters and open athletes and coaches. His personal focus is on events 400m-1500m. Also loves cross country, road mile races, running on track relays and was once a pretty good open 3000m Steeple Runner. He is also a former Ironman age group champion. Currently competes in the ( 60-64) AG.
Steve Martin
Distance Runner - 10k- Marathon
One of the original athletes on the team, Steve is a top distance runner (55-59) AG as well as our team website manager for Athletics East Track Club. The team would have not have been able to land so much marketing exposure without his skills. Also one heck of a fast distance runner both on the road , track and in cross country.
Chris Johnston
Captain - Distance Runner
With an mind for strategy, coaching and organizing teams, Chris makes every one of us inspired and motivated to train and win. There is no wonder that we made Chris the team’s Captain. The team members couldn’t be any prouder. Chris is a very good 5k-1/2 marathon runner. Fantastic XC runner. Currently competes in the (55-59) age group.
Steve Crelli
Cross Country Champion - Distance Runner
Steve is one of the original team members. He has finished multiple times in the top 25 runners in his age group at national club cross country championships having finished as high as 4th overall at the national club XC championships. Very good 1500m-5000m runner too. This runner has no weaknesses and we are lucky to have him race with us on AE. Just moved into a new age group (60-64). We have no doubt he will dominate this age group at both the local and national level.
Harris Hardy
Co- Founder Athletics East - Middle Distance runner
Harris in one of the original Athletics East Track Club athletes dating back to the original farm team. He was one of the top 800-1500m middle distance runners in the (55-59) age group in the country. Recently in 2023 turned 60 move into a new AG. Harris is a traditional old school track runner who loves cross country and racing in the mud. Harris was great miler in his open running days and now again as a master.
Paul Ryan
Miler- 5000m runner
Paul is amazing middle distance athlete. He has quickly established himself both on the road and the track as one of the top (65-69) In 2020 Paul was ranked the number one miler in the country both on the track oval and road from usatf masters rankings. Recently turned 70. We think Paul will dominate this new age group on a national level. We are lucky to have him on the team.
Jeff Duyn
Marathon - XC Runner
Jeff did not start racing till later in life you would never know it. Currently one of top marathon runners in the country having won (55-59) age group at the Boston Marathon. Recently turned 60 where we believe he will dominate at the National level in the marathon.
Josh Van Tassel
Middle Distance Runner
Josh comes to the team with extensive athletic background. After several years of cycling and running road races, he recently moved to the track oval in 2018. Immediately became one of the top 800m/1500m runners in the USA over 50. Recently moved to the next age group (55-59) he will be a force on the national Masters track circuit. He is also a coach and a motivational speaker.
Jeffrey Townsend
Distance Runner
Jeff is one of our newer athletes to our growing roster. However Jeff’s history with the team goes back a lot of years. As he was one of the original Athletics East athletes when it was a post collegiate farm-team going back twenty plus years. Currently competes in the ( 50-54) age group. Jeff is also a former usatf national masters 3000m indoor champion. Recently won the USATF National 20k masters championship on the road. USATF NE indoor 5000m championships. We expect Jeff’s success will continue.
Coach Lou Ristano
Distance Coach
Coach Lou comes to the team with many years as accomplished runner. Now Coach and USATF official. Lou is a former teammate of team founder David Sullivan when they were both on Boston based New Balance Coastal Farm Team. Injuries and medical reasons moved him to Coaching. Although still active runner. In his day he was one of the most competitive top runners in New England. We are very fortunate to have him with us. Coach Lou experience and knowledge of the sport are well appreciated.
Michael Southwood
Middle Distance- Field athlete
Michael is one of our newest athletes on the team. Originally from Hawaii, but now resides and is retired in Virginia. Currently competes in the (65-69) age group. In addition to being a fantastic middle distance runner. He is also very skilled in multiple of field events such as Long jump, High jump other track field events. Having won or podium finishes multiple masters and senior titles both local and regional, national championships. We’re excited to have such talented athlete on the team.
Rob Cranston
Sprints- Middle Distances
Rob is our newest athlete on the team. Started running later in life like a lot of masters athletes. Although he runs road races his best distances are 200m/400m events has the range to go up to the 800/1500m distances. Also enjoys cross county once ran a 50 mile off road distance. We are very excited to have him with us look forward to seeing Rob on our relays. Currently competes in the (50-54) age group.
Patrick Horne
Sprinter - Relays
Pat is a former world class open sprinter and former professional arena football player. He is no stranger to Athletics East as he was a former teammate member on the original team. Life time PRs as open sprinter of 6:65. (60m) 10:17 (100m) 20:55 (200m) 45:89. He has been ranked in the top 50 in the world at 200m. Now as a masters athlete (40-44) AG .Ranked as high as number 1 in the country , number 2 in the world in various age groups. Holds MS in Sports Management and is also as USATF level 1 certified coach. Needless to say our relays got a lot better with adding Patrick to the team.
Todd Blair
Sprinter - Field Event Athlete
Blair is one of our newest athletes to the team. He lives down in the Virginia Beach area. Also a Track and Field Coach at a local school. Currently competes in the (40-44) age group in sprints, hurdles and field events. Also open to doing pentathlon or decathlon. We welcome Todd to our growing masters track and field group.
Mike Naff
Distance Runner
Mike is one of our new distance runners to the team. Currently living in Northern VA competes in the (50-54) Age Group. His distance resume is amazing having run over 50 marathons and still running sub 3 hours. Recently interested in racing cross country and other shorter road distances. We think he will have a lot of success.
Peter Guevera
Distance Runner
Peter is excellent distance runner and coach in the northern VA area. His specialty run from 1500m - 5000m. Also competes in the open division. Already in his short tenure on Athletics East has made a big impact we’re glad to have him on AE
Travis Dunbar
Middle distance runner
Travis is new to the team, but his history with Athletics East goes back over twenty years. He was one of the original athletes on the old Boston based AE farm team. In his 20s set PRs on the team at every distance from 400m to 10,000m. Excellent XC, Track athlete. Recently entered masters Division is making a come back. We are excited to have Travis in the team.
Julia Fletcher
Middle distance runner
Julia comes to the team a our first female athlete. She currently competes in the (35-39) age group. Places in the Open or Wins age group often in local races. She lives in northern Virginia and has interest in running track and cross country as well. We are excited to have Julia and the team get a picture up of you soon.
Martha Mertz
Distance Runner
Martha running background is extensive. She has been winning and podium placing for many years from the track , road races up to the marathon distances. Currently lives in northern Virginia competes in the (55-59) age group soon to move up to the next age group. We believe she will be a force on the National level. We will get a picture of Martha up soon.
Michael Simpson
Distance Runner
Mike is one of our newest runners on the team. Currently lives in northern utah. Although Michael did not start running till his late 30s. Currently competing in the (50-54) AG. He is excellent distance runner and competed in his first ultra marathon recently. We welcome Michael to the team. For the moment here is a picture of him with teammate David Sullivan. We will get individual picture of you soon.
Chris Hilfiger
Sprinter / Hurdler / field athlete
Chris is one of our newest track and field athletes. Currently lives in southern Maryland. Chris is all round athlete one of the top masters in the country competing in sprints, hurdles and even does the pole vault. He is excellent asset to the team.
Harry Delahunta
Distance Runner - Triathlete
Harry has been a distance runner and triathlete for many years. Currently lives in northern utah. Originally from upper state New York. Moved to utah to ski be instructor. He competes in the (60-64) AG. Harry recently did his first cross country race in years. We’re glad he’s with us.
Peter Christensen
Distance Runner- Triathlete
Peter comes to the team with extensive background in multi sport. Currently lives in northern utah outside of Salt Lake City. He shows a lot of potential as a masters runner. Competes in the (40-44) AG.
Jason Lynch
Distance Runner - Marathoner
Jason is a native of Utah. Current lives outside of Salt Lake City. He has extensive background was a multi distance record holder at Utah Valley University. After college moved up in distance and qualified and competed in the 2020 Olympic marathon trials. Jason is coming back from some recent health issues. Soon will be back racing. Competes in the open division. We look forward to seeing Jason AE singlet soon.
Shawnette Adams
Sprinter
Shawnette comes to the team as our newest female sprinter. Having been a state champion in high school competed as a division one college track athlete. Currently resides in northern Virginia. She is making a come back and recently moved into the masters division. In addition Shawnette is a black belt several stripes over in martial arts. We are excited to have her on the team. We will get a picture up soon.
Michael Pavia
Middle distance runner - Triathlete
Michael lives in northern utah is a native. He is excellent triathlete recently started to focus on his running. Excellent all round athlete with a lot of potential. Coach Sullivan recently exposed him to track and cross country. Currently competes in the open division. We believe he will have a lot of success. Michael Is in the Red shirt. We will get AE picture up of you soon.
Jim Kliner
Distance Runner
Jimmy lives in northern Virginia. He is excellent distance runner especially enjoys the marathon distance. We have no doubt he will be asset to our core of talented 10,000m up athletes. We will get a picture of you up soon.
Irving Terrell
Sprinter
Irvin competes in predominantly short sprints 60m through 200m events. Excellent short speed sprinter. Competes over 50. Currently lives in the DC area. Hope to see him run in our masters 4 x 100m relays soon.
Hasan Hobbs
Distance Runner
Hasan is one of the top masters runners in the country with a wide range of abilities from 1500m up to 1/2 marathon distances. He is also excellent XC runner. Originally from California now living in the Washington DC area. Just moved into the (50-54) AG. We have no doubt Hasan will be a major competitive athlete in this division at the national level.
David Rasmussen
Distance Runner
David is one of our newest athletes to our growing post collegiate and masters team based in AE west team in northern utah. David is a top distance runner regularly winning or podium in races in the area. He’s a former BYU grad and coach. Currently competes in the (35-39) AG about to turn 40. We have no doubt that he will be able to compete with some of the top masters in the country especially at distances in the 10,000m to marathon distances.
David Taylor
Distance Runner- Marathoner
David is one of our newest top masters distance runners on the team. Currently lives in Salem Utah. Originally from California although attended college at BYU moved back to Utah. David didn’t start running till later in life. Quickly became a top distance runner regularly winning or podium at various distances. Currently competes in the (50-54) AG. David will be a force at any distance from 5k- marathon. He’s a great asset to our team excited to see him race.
Jeff Strong
Sprinter - Hurdler
Jeff comes to the team as a top masters sprinter and hurdler. His main event is one of the hardest events in track and field the 400IM. Jeff started to compete in track and field later in life currently competes in the ( 55-59) AG. Resides in Northern Utah. We will get a picture of you up soon on AE singlet.
Bob Briggs
Distance Runner - Marathon
Bob is one of the original members back in 2018 when we reformed Athletics East as a masters team. He is absolutely amazing athlete with a wide range of abilities from track up to the marathon. Bob also one of the few athletes on the planet to have broken 3 hours for the marathon over 5 decades. Currently competes in the (60-64) AG and resides in Asheville NC.
Samantha Kirby- Cole
Middle distance runner
Kirby is one our newest additions to our growing woman’s team. She is a very talented runner. Having raced in high school and at the collegiate level as a sprinter - middle distance runner. She spent many years post collegiate running on the roads. Now as a masters athlete is looking to compete again in track and cross country. Currently living in MD we are excited to see Kirby race for the team.We will get a picture of you in AE singlet up soon.
Want to see our star-studded team in action? Come to our next game!
Head Coach - Middle Distances
Team General Manager
The Athletics East Track Club team wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for Coach Sullivan who oversees our strategy and advises on the best course of action. His back ground includes almost 50 years in the sport having competed in track, cross country and on the roads and triathlons. In addition has been advising and coaching for over 25 years. Also a personal coach to many of the middle and distance athletes on the team. We really couldn’t have wished for a better Team General Manager. Additional background information is listed in the meet the team section.
Assistant Coach Lou Ristano
Head Distance Coach - USATF Official
The Athletics East Track Club team is honored to have such excellent knowledgeable assistant coach. Coach Lou oversees our distance program. His back ground include graduate degree in exercise physiology. He advises athletes on the team. We really couldn’t have wished for a better Coach. See more his extensive running background in the meet the team section. Also a certified USATF official.