Competition was fierce for this year's Male Master Runner of the Year. Defending-champ Larry Gutierrez, Tom Yates and Bryan Alfonso put together impressive outings. Dave Furey seemed to be everywhere -- and at the top. Keeping pace with all of these "masters blasters" was Krys Warszawski. The Northville physician's first-place masters finish at the last of 12 R.O.Y. races, the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon, clinched him this year's crown. Warszawski, 43, enjoyed an impressive, consistent season. Of the nine R.O.Y. series races in which he competed, he was the first masters runner in two, second in two others, third once, fourth twice, 10th and 12th. Among those, two were overall second places, while three others put him among the top 20 finishers. In the mega-races, the Fifth-Third River Bank Run and Crim, he was 66th and 104th overall, respectively. Warszawski fared well at distances ranging from one mile to 26.2. When asked about his year's highlights, Warszawski said, "We have to go back to 2001. I had 12 races and 10 PRs. In 2002 I raced less, but 50 percent were PRs. Now if I don't get a PR, friends ask, 'What's wrong?'" The Milford Labor Day 30K was one of his '02 highlights. "I thought I would do it as a training run, with no tapering," said Warszawski. "After three or four miles, I got running faster (trying to match strides with Yates). "Tom would pass me on uphills, I'd pass him on downhills," Warszawski remembered. "If only there'd been more downhills ..." Yates beat him, but Warszawski found it, "a nice surprise that I ran a six-minute flat pace." His Freep Marathon win (in 2:40:48) was especially gratifying. "I respect the marathon most of all distances," said Warszawski, who came to the U.S. from Poland in 1993. "I was pleased that my pace in the Free Press was the same as in shorter races." The father of two saw another highlight when his wife, Iwana Warszawska, "started jogging 15 miles a week, then decided to run a marathon." After passing on the Y2K Marathon in New Zealand as a "vacation," Warszawski realized that Iwana was serious. He designed a training schedule for her, introducing her to the track, and they targeted the Free Press. Iwana aimed for four hours, but Krys thought she'd run closer to 3:50. He was right -- she finished in 3:49:34, qualifying for Boston. Warszawski started running in 1996, at the end of his residency. "I went for walks in the apartment complex where I lived," he remembered. "I tried jogging, liked it and went further: two miles at a time, three miles ..." Then he met former MR Runner of the Year Gerard Malaczynski. "Gerard introduced me to racing, how to train and run," Warszawski said. "I was surprised, I enjoyed it. I didn't do very well when I started." He read about running, experimented with what worked for him, and got faster. Then he read up on the latest research and laid plans. He still trains with Malaczynski, hitting the track once a week for speed work. "We disagree on almost everything about training," laughed Warszawski. "But I respect Gerard a lot and enjoy training with him." Another training partner is Alfonso. The masters standouts usually run once a week, going long on Saturdays. "Brian and I always agree," said Warszawski. "Same method of training, same pace, same philosophy ... it's uncanny. We agree without even talking. "It's great to have such training friends," he declared. "I'm a low-mileage guy," said Warszawski, noting he averaged 38 miles a week in 2002. His top weeks were 45-46 miles for about three months, prepping for the marathon. "I like to have at least three 20-mile long runs before a marathon," he said, pointing out these comprised about half of his weekly mileage. He continued his track workouts during those weeks, with additional runs seldom longer than five miles. "Lower mileage keeps me fresh and hungry," said Warszawski. "I do my best." He follows the speed-training methods of Veronique Bihat of France, starting out with three miles of heavy running, broken into 60- or 90-second parts. "I extend those into intervals, first 800 meters, then 1000, then three-quarters of a mile," said Warszawski. "As a marathon closes in, I do more threshold running at my 10-mile pace." He'll supplement running with weight-training during that time. "I run for fun, because I like it. It's even more fun when I run fast," Warszawski said. He likes "the truth" of running, something on which he and Malaczynski actually agree. "The clock will tell the truth." "Running happens to be healthy. The benefits come with it, so I take them," the doctor said. What waits in 2003? "I want to get faster at all distances, from one mile up," said Warszawski. "I'd like to break 2:40 in the marathon. It was a goal for 2002, but I didn't get it." Don't bet against him getting it in '03. Ron Marinucci can be reached by e-mail at RMarin6424@aol.com. MR