NETT men chug through the Edaville Rail Run

It was the best of times it was the wettest of times. No.

You win some, you lose some, you get soaked at some. Uh uh.

When it rains it pours. And when it pours the wind blows. And when the wind and rain are both at their worst, NETT is usually running. Yeah, that's the one.

It was a wet and wild day for a few of the hearty Mini Ponies that braved the Edaville Rail Run, held Saturday in the midst of the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Weather aside, it was a fun, well organized race, a five-miler on a pancake flat course winding its way around cranberry bogs in Carver, Mass. Pretty much all dirt paths, so the rain made it a big sloppy.

NETT men showed pretty strong regults: Crazy Dave (second) Youngstah (sixth) and Marshall (35th) all won their age groups while Marshall and Jack Burke both piled more points onto their 1-2 places in the ENTRS.

NETT pal Jim DeSisto did extremely well also running only his second-ever race in 8-minute pace in blazing rain and wind.

Turns out we're all nuts!

It turns out that Chris Smith isn't the lunatic after all. The results of the latest NETT poll show that the overwhelming majority of respondents said "you guys are all twisted. Get some help." Of course, it begs the question, who among is responding saying we're all twisted, but is not so twisted? Let he who has not run two races in one weekend cast the first stone!
And be sure to take our latest poll on the Andover XC race!

Mary cracks top 10 in women's-only Maine Coast Half-Marathon

Well it was a weekend for the NETT kids to crack top 10 in competitive races. The same day Dave Molk was turning heads at the Stone Cat Marathon, Mary Smith was up in Maine, cracking the top 10 at the Maine Coast Half-Marathon for Women (and one lucky guy!).

Mary tells the NETT Newsroom the "One Lucky Guy was chosen through a lottery and he told me that he only found out that he had won Oct 18th. I ran for about 5 minutes with the Lucky Guy and chatted with him, but then he took off & I ran the majority of the race alone (passing people here & there). I almost caught back up to the Lucky Guy at the finish - if I had another 1/2 mile I would've gotten him. I tried my best to catch him in a sprint to the finish - but he just had more left in the tank. However, it's important to note that due to "chip timing" I actually beat the One Lucky Guy, and came in 10th out of about 850 runners. More importantly I beat one of my co-workers (who's a pretty good runner). The best part is that she had no idea I was gunning for her!!"

But true to the NETT code of ethics, Mary finished the race and then backtracked for about 1.5 miles to meet up with her friend to pace her into the finishas well. "That was my secret training for the day," she says.

Mary calls it a "a false flat" course because it seemed flat, but there were a lot of gradual grades plus it ran along the Maine Coast, so the wind was always hitting you in the face.

"It was a great day to run...perfect temperature, sunshine and ocean view."

Here's the link to the race website:
http://www.locorunning.com/mainecoasthalf.html

Molk top 10 in debut marathon at Stone Cat

Big congrats to Dave Molk who finished 10th place at Stone Cat Trail Marathon, his first marathon ever! Dave had his sites on this race for a long time and definitely did his homework. At least once he did double-secret training on a long run (means he showed up to secret training having already run!) and it clearly paid off in his 3:44.

Dave says, "Yes, I rocked the Mini Ponies race top at Stone Cat. Unfortunately, it was pretty cold, so it remained under my jacket, but it was there. I had a blast and am stoked with my 10th place finish, as I didn't really know what I was doing (other than my predominant race strategy of 'don't twist or break anything'). Karen and Dima were both looking good when I left."

Karen Ringheiser dropped down to the marathon and did her third (I think--I have lost track) marathon this fall!.

Dima Feinhaus completed the 50 mile and says "not much to report."I felt pretty beaten up after 3-4 miles. Just to much heavy duty stuff in the last month I guess. 15 min behind last year schedule after 25 miles, but quickly deteriorating. Regrouped, stopped competing and turned it into an endurance training. Second 25 run evenly but slow. Everyone and their grandmother passed me. I finished 40th in 9:20. This is always a great event though. Very well organized. There were a bunch of mountain bikers insisted on using same trails. Scary. The most amazing part of my race was when I came across a girl I was trading places with from 33 to 44. She got a vision problem during the race but wanted to finish any way. She was stumbling. Loosing the trail. Checking the path with her hands And falling down. "

Women take 2nd place team at Genesis Battlegreen race

Three women run the Genesis Battle Green race and all three PRed at the 12K distance. Of course none of them KNEW they'd be running 12K.

Apparently it was a weekend for course mishaps, as the NETT team of Tina Wang, Deb Robertson and Chrissy Bures (yes, Bures) got a little "secret racing" distance in on their way to the second place team overall.

Congrats!

Drama, intrigue at the Busa Bushwhack

Well, for the NETTers looking to experience the true drama and intrigue that trail running has to offer, they found it at this year's Busa Bushwhack in Framingham on Sunday. This is always a special race, because it honors a true running legend, Rich Busa. But this year was particularly special because it came only a day after Rich's 80th birthday. As always, he was the consumate host, greeting runners with a smile, a pat on the back and encouraging words.

Right from the start, there was drama at this year's Bushwhack. While we all stood and chatted at the starting line until well past 9 a.m., someone pointed out--Did it still start at the same spot? Did we miss the start? No, we were early it turns out. The footing on the course was particularly challenging with so many leaves and acorns this year. There were definitely more spills than normal for a course of this difficulty.

But there was even more drama! Due to a couple slight miscues by some overwhelmed course marshals, a good number of runners were sent off-course in this race, including many of the NETT congingent. Nonethless, the Ponies persevered and showed up all over the results in both the 10 and 5 mile races.

Here's a rundown:

In the 10 miler:
6 153 Hannon Dave West Roxbury 38 1:06:35 6:40:00 M30-39 5
12 67 Smith Christopher Woburn 43 1:11:22 7:08:00 M40-49 1
31 163 Feinhaus Dima Newton 46 1:15:44 7:34:00 M40-49 10
33 88 Verter Erol Somerville 24 1:15:56 7:36:00 M20-29 7
37 69 Randolph Marshall Wellesley 61 1:17:16 7:44:00 M60-69 1
45 189 Cyrulik Adrienne Belmont 35 1:19:36 7:58:00 F30-39 3
86 111 Burke John Cambridge 43 1:31:53 9:11:00 M40-49 25

And in the 5.3 miler:
17 356 DeZutter Katherine Shrewsbury 14 0:43:10 8:09:00 F0-19 1
71 353 DeZutter Jim Shrewsbury 47 0:57:25 10:50:00 M40-49 7

Of particular note at the Bushwhack:
-In his first long trail race, Eri Verter continued to prove he can pretty much handle whatever we can throw at him with a cool head.
-Kathereine De Zutter continues to shoot up the results page (she was 35th at this race a year ago, 17th this year in a more competitive field!) And her experience is growing as well, saying she knew when a course marshall tried to direct her to the 10-miler. This kid's trophy closest is growing faster than Crazy Dave's list of PWs!
-Marshall's daughter, Hannah, and her friend also brought the exuberence of youth to the race, dealing with unique race conditions easily, finishing in 47:38. All the while expressing deep concerns about the race's impact on the area's insect population (where's George??)

All in all, a fun day at a great race with good company. And of course, the chance to honor the "Johnny Kelley of Trail Running" as one person put it yesterday.

Happy Birthday Richie!

Breaking News: Adrienne wins Groton Town Forrest Trail Race

While official results aren't posted yet, the NETT newsroom is abuzz today with the news that Adrienne Cyrulik won the women's division at the Groton Town Forest Trail Race.

In an exclusive interview, Adrienne told NETT news: "Because all the good runners were elsewhere, I won the woman's race today! I didn't even feel that great which makes it even more surprising. I was tripping a lot and went flying once. The good thing is that compared to my 2007 race, I ran 2 min, 15 sec faster overall for a time of 1:16:15."

Of course Marhsall Randolph and Jack Burke were there racking up points in the ENTRS. Getting down to crunch time and looks like they're both afraid to give up any potential points!

Stone Tower 15K: The Battle of the Running Lunatics

What happens when a guy who recently ran two marathons in a week race against another guy who recently pulled a hamstring, ran a marathon (BONKS) and runs a XC in a week? Well they go 1-2 in the Stone Tower 15K Trail Race this weekend, that's what.

NETTers Chris Smith and Paul Young--who we're all agreed should both be committed for their running pursuits of late--matched up for one last hurrah at Lynn Woods this weekend and here's how it played out.

"We started out at a comfortable pace," Chris says (most of us know Chris has never started at a "comfortable pace" in his life, right?) "Paul and I were swapping off the lead. I pushed on a couple of the climbs but there was no loosing that pesky Paul. I was first to the Under Cliff single track and Paul was stuck behind me as my pace slowed. Once out of the single track and back on the carriage road Paul was off like a scalded rabbit. The gap opened so fast I thought he may have taken a wrong turn. I came across the parking lot to the finish and there he was, drat. I paid those course marshals good money! grrr."

Paul reports that "Chris's account of the race is accurate. We both took turns at the front in the early miles. At around 37-40mins Chris had opened up a good gap on me. Thankfully there is more technical single track in during the second half and I was able to reel him in. The two sections of downhill running at the end played into my strength but I was seriously in the hurt zone for the last 3-4 minutes of running and never would have run as fast without Chirs out there pushing me. Great race put on by a group of very nice people."

This was the umpteenth time these two master blasters matched up in Lynn Woods this year, with pretty mixed results. Nice to know two guys can compete that often against each other and still fling more compliments around than mud! Class acts, both for sure.

But we still think they should both be put in a state institution.

NETT finishes the multisport year in style at Wrentham Duathlon

It was a great way to cap off the multisport season today at Wrentham Duathlon. More pics and stories to come, but FULL RESULTS are as follows:
Jerry 4th overall in 58:50
Frank KJ 8th in 1:00:39
Crazy Dave 14th in 1:03:12
Phil De Z in 1:20
And in the relay, father-daughter duo of Jim and Katherine finished 3rd in 1:07!

After the race, in a small private ceremony, NETT was awarded its winnings for its third place finish in the FIRM race series, which will be shared at an upcoming social event (see the Meetup page for details). Special congrats to those that won or ranked in their age-groups in the series. We really did well.(Insert lyrics to Danish national anthem here.)

Congrats!

Video interview with Rich Busa

Some real gems here from Richie. Inspiration for both experienced runners and newbies alike. Courtesy of Greater Framingham Running Club.

BUSA even has his own WIKIPEDIA ENTRY!