About Athletics East Track Club

Train hard, Win Easy with Athletics East Masters Track Club 

Everyone wants to be #1… but we really are! Athletics East Track Club is an Elite Masters running team based in Virginia. Our team was founded to give competitive 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 masters we actively compete in USATF events in track, cross country and road racing and even a few of us still race in marathons and triathlons too.

Join us for some fun on the roads, track and cross country -
Still feels like college again even though we’re masters 
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. 

If this sounds like your type of team contact Team General Manager David Sullivan 
Phone: 617-823-5254 or Email:  

Tell us about your success and running goals. 

We are looking to add a few additional athletes to our roster that meet our team standards.

Alexandria, VA 22315, USA

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 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 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 (55-59 ) age group.

Bob Briggs 

Marathoner - Distance Runner 

Bob focuses on distances 10k- Marathon. Having broke 3 hours for the marathon every decade for the last 40 years, we may see him do it again. Very accomplished runner. Currently competes in the (60-64) AG. He is also our team uniform manager. 

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. 

Mark Neff

Distance Runner - 5k-13.1 

Whatever the other team throws at us, Mark is always there keeping things on track making the team look great.  With tremendous athletic abilities we know that there couldn’t be a better runner with us. In addition he has multiple large road race wins in his age group (55-59) including wins at the prestigious Cherry Blossom 10 miler. Mark has also had a lot of success in both cross country and on the track. We are tremendously excited to have him on the team.

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 is also one of the top 800-1500m middle distance runners in the (55-59) age group in the country. Also 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.

Bruce Becker 

Middle Distance Runner

Bruce comes from a soccer background  turned track runner. He is one fast 400m-800m runner. Our relays would not be so successful without him. Bruce competes in the (55-59) age group.

Jim Garster

Middle Distance Runner

Jim's background includes years of successful running at every distance on both roads, track and cross country.  His specialties are in the 800m-10 mile distances.  He currently also coaches very successfully in both cross country and track at the private school level. Currently competing in the (50-54) age group.

Brian Kelly 

Distance Runner - Triathlete 

Brian comes to the team as one of the original 6 runners on Athletics East.  Multiple years experience. One of the top regional (60-64) runners in the area, especially at 5k-10k distances. Also competes in triathlons.

Peter Bandettini 

800/1500m runner 

Peter is one of top middle distance runners in the USA at 800m/1500m in the (50-54) age group. In addition he has been the anchor to our successful national class relay teams. Great guy to motivate and be with us on the team.

Hasan Hobbs 

Miler - MD runner 

Hasan is one of the top regional-middle distance masters runners in the (45-49) age group. Recently moved to the Washington DC area from California. He is new to track racing, but has already established himself as a top notch miler. Recently finished very high in his age group at the National Club XC Championships his first ever xc race.

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.

James Coates 

Middle Distance Runner 

James is one of our newest athletes in our growing (40-44 )  masters  team. Athletics East Is very fortunate to have him with us. Recently has decided to drop down in distances and race on both the track and cross country. We expect James will do very well.

Dwight Denlinger

1500m-5000m events

Dwight comes to the team with an extensive background in running. One of top regional runners in the (60-64) age group. Extremely motivated, hard racing athlete.

Eddie Chen 

Distance Runner 

Eddie not only is new to the team, he is new to running. Already establishing fast times at every distance from 5k-marathon. With Eddie recently  turned 40  we expect big things from this talented young runner in the masters ranks.

Jose Idler

Triathlete - Runner

Jose comes to the team as an excellent,  very competitive triathlete and distance runner. He is also a fantastic cross country runner consistently finishing way up in local races.  Great news for Athletics East, Jose is moving up next year to the (50-54) age group.

Justin Runac

Distance Runner - Cyclist - Cross Country Harrier 

Justin is a recent addition to our racing team having moved back to his home state of Virginia from San Diego. He is an excellent distance runner, xc harrier and cyclist.  Currently competing in the (45-49) age group. This runner is a tremendous asset to the team.

Kostyantyn ( KG) Grabovsky 

Distance Runner

KG comes to the team as one of our newest athletes and a very new masters athlete. Already showing signs of being a top masters distance runner. We look forward to seeing him compete on the track oval, on the road and trails. He’s also quite a character. He currently competes in the (40-44) age group. 

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. 

Scott Harmon

Distance Runner 

Scott is one of our newest athletes on the team. Originally from California he comes from a highly competitive cycling background before  becoming excellent runner. Recently moved into the (50-54) age group already showing signs of being a top distance runner in this age group. Scott is highly competitive and has amazing drive. We expect big things from this runner.

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 (45-49) age group. Jeff is also a former usatf national masters 3000m indoor champion. Recently won the USATF National 20k masters championship on the road. We expect Jeff’s success will continue. Will get a picture of Jeff up soon.

Judson Cake 

Distance Runner 

Judson is our newest athlete on the roster. His routes to Athletics East go back over 20 years as a former AE member recruited from Coach Sullivan out of the University of Maine when Athletics East was a post collegiate farm team. Judson recently moved to the (40-44) age group. Has quickly established himself as a top national class masters runner.  Since turning 40 some of his accomplishments Include a top 30 finish at USATF National XC Championships in 2017.  In 2018 he was a winner of 2 gold medals and a silver in the 3k, mile and 800m at the USATF National masters indoor track championships. In 2019 finished 3rd master at the Philadelphia Marathon. We expect Judson will be a asset to our masters racing team.

Pete Wergin 

Distance Runner 

Pete is comes the team having spent many years as a top tennis player. Having injuries and needing a new goal he decided to try running. Quickly he has become one of the top runners in the DC market in the (55-59) age group. We expect him to be a great asset to the team.
Will get a picture up of Pete soon. 

Richard A. Bruneas 

Distance Runner 

Richard is one of our newest team members. He competes in the (60-64) AG and consistently wins or podiums at many of the local road races in the area. Spent many years running in the Army now open to running track and cross country as well as road racing. Somehow we know he will be very competitive. Rich is also a career military recently retired. 

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. 

Scott Worthington 

Distance Runner 

Scott is one our newest athletes in our growing (45-49) masters team. Originally from the Boston area moved to Virginia after college where he was a successful collegiate track athlete distance runner. Also ran the 3k Steeple event.  In addition he coaches and teaches locally. Scott is excited to race with us on the roads, track and cross country circuit. We promise to get a picture of you up on the site soon.

Henry Wigglesworth 

Middle Distances - Miler 

Henry comes to AE as a former member of lot of us on the team from our old DC based club. Originally from NYC currently living in DC is a well known runner. His specialty is the 1500m/ mile distances and is a National caliber both on the track and the road. Currently competing in the (60-64) Age group. We expect Henry to be very competitive both locally and on a national level. Welcome addition to the team

David Murray

Triathlete- Distance Runner

Dave is one of our newest athletes on the team. His background comes from many years as a very competitive national class age group triathlete. Competes in duathlons.  Also was collegiate track and cross country athlete. Currently competing in the (55-59) Age group. We think Dave will be a force on the road, track and XC circuit. 

Mark Walchinsky 

Middle Distances 

Mark is one of our newest members on our growing (40-44) roster. Currently competes in the middle distances and his best events are 400m-1500m. Mark lives in northern Virginia enjoys competing on the track, relays, road events  and cross country. We welcome him looking forward to racing with the team. We will get a picture of you up soon.

Dickson Mercer 

Distance Runner 

Dickson is one runner the team made exception. Only 39 about to turn 40 in 2021. We recruited Dickson to our very talented masters racing team. He currently lives in the DC area. Is a consistent sub 16 minute 5k runner and a sub 2:30 marathon runner. We expect Dickson will be a major force on the road, track and cross country races. We are excited to have him on the team. Dickson we will get a picture of you up on the AE site soon. 

Robert ( Bob) Draim

Distance Runner - Triathlete 

Bob comes to us as one of our newest members of our very talented 60 plus team. Currently lives in DC and is a very well known accomplished runner and triathlete. Bob is the former winner of his age group in the DC triathlon. In 2018 he ran on the gold medal 4 x 800m relay team with two other AE athletes at indoor nationals. He is also a competed in over 50 multi-sport races. We are excited to have him with us. Bob we will get a picture of you up soon.

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. Will get a picture of you up soon.

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.