A couple hearty MiniPonies took to the trails at the
Nipmcuk Trail Marathon on Sunday and the results were one great finish, one acceptable finish given the circumstances, and a whole lot of stories to tell.
First, we'll check in with Mary "Candy Pants" Smith on her race. CP finished 7th woman overall in 4:50 (time means nothing in this event, except to say it's a rugged run). But it's not even so much WHAT she did, but how she did it. Starting out easy, weaving her way up through the pack, bee-bopping along most of the way, and finishing looking like she could have run another 10 miles. Here's her report:
"Overall this was a great race! A little crazy, a smidge muddy, and a bit hilly...but I would do it again. The race was 2 out and back runs: 6+ miles one way back to the start and then 6+ miles in the other direction and then back to the finish. The out and back on the single track made it tougher to pass (especially when the speedy runners were coming toward you) but it was encouraging to see the other runners. Somehow Dave managed to provide pertinent advice both times we passed each other.
I was a little nervous going into the race, wondering if I trained enough - I just ignored that part of my brain until the race started. The pre-race de-brief was informative yet, shall we say 'interesting'. I don't think words could explain the actions of Nipmuck Dave & his pre-race mud jaunt. When the race started, I was toward the back, which was good and bad...good because it forced to start slowly, but bad because it was hard to pass on the single track. The people in front of me were walking up every hill and through every mud crossing (and there was plenty of mud). The 1st 3 miles of the race were slow and mentally tough - trying to navigate around the other runners. About 30 minutes into the race, the weather gods decided it wasn't muddy enough, so they brought on some more rain. It rained just long enough to make sure everything was soaked and that the mud was plentiful.
I got to see Dustin & Doris (our biggest fans) at the half way point. Dustin told me I could quit the race, but I told him that if I quit - I'd have to find another marathon to run before the wedding (I set a goal for myself to run one more marathon before the wedding-mission accomplished). I enjoyed the 2nd half of the race more than the 1st, even though the 2nd half was slightly longer & more technical. All the runners spread out and I was able to run alone in the woods...and there was less mud. Plus, since I started so slowly, I was able to speed past people who were starting to struggle. A memorable section of the 2nd half was having to slide over a big fallen log (because it was too big for me to jump) but then crossing a marshy area - where I had to wade into shin deep water for 3 or 4 steps before I got to the footbridge (which was also submerged). I thought of it as a way to clean off some of the mud. The course continued through the woods, on a short stretch of dirt roads, over some significant climbs, and down a treacherously slippery set of stairs to the final turnaround.
The last 6 miles were challenging, but we were all like horses headed to the barn. I tried using Jean Dany's attitude of "run harder when you're tired so you finish sooner". I saw Doris & Dustin again at one of the aid stations, and then was off to finish the race. The last 2 miles were the toughest but I knew the end was near. As I crested the last hill and headed to the finish I felt "OK" but was glad to see Dustin waiting for me at the bottom - I knew it was almost over and that I was about to finish! I finished in 4:50 slightly slower than Dave's 3:55 effort.
There was post race food and drink (who in their right mind wants more Gatorade after a marathon). We got some food, checked some results, & I even found some evidence of Candy - CP lives on!! Thanks to Dustin & Doris for waking up at 5am on a Sunday, and especially to Dustin who missed all the 1:00 football games!"
Crazy Dave could have taken a lesson from Candy Pants and taken a different approach. Unfortunately for him, the race played out in a not-so-pleasant manner. A slightly upset stomach meant he limited his food intake to basically less than half a sports bar. And for a race this long, that spells disaster. The last five miles, he was not his usual peppy self and struggled up some of the hills he was actually looking forward to early on. The result? He gave up two places in the last 1/4 mile to finsih 6th overall in 3:55, good for first master (thanks mostly to a kids' soccer game up in NH somewhere).
As the
photos on Dustin and Mary's Facebook show, Crazy Dave was basically a ghost after the race (check out the last picture as well as Dustin's hilarious comments throughout!), turning whiter than Pat Boone at a Clan rally. Not to worry for all of his many many fans out there, all's well with Crazy Dave and he's back to his usual wisecracking self (as the previous and current sentence will attest to).
The Shenipsit Striders did a great job putting this race on for the first time in the fall. They made sure there was plenty of mud, a couple knee deep water crossings, and plenty of aid at the aid stations and volunteers on the course. Congrats to Clint Morse, taking the reigns from Nipmuck Dave.
HUUUUGE thanks to:Dustin for waking up at the crack of dawn, driving all the way there and back, taking pictures and all out support.
Doris for the continued support and post-race medical care.
The race volunteer in the white Boston Marathon jacket who watched Crazy Dave like a hawk after the race, repeatedly asking if he was okay and if there was someone coming to get him. No joke--that is exactly what he (I) needed at the time whether he (I) knew it or not.
The Newton Wellesely Hosptial Bear for checking vitals.
And ALL of the race volunteers who spent a long Sunday in the woods so that a bunch of us whackos could run around in the mud.
"I swear to you Emma. If you walk through that door over there, they will give you FREE BEER! Uncle Crazy would never lie to you!"
To put this feat in perspective, here are a few statistics:
Dave’s week in Vegas had him a bit overweight, but he and Peter had a smoke and relaxed before the start. 
As part of his negotiated contract terms, Wings’ newest member Marshall Randolph took the first leg from Cannon Mountain. He toed the line with a group of runners roughly 30 to 40 years his junior. And let’s just say experience won out over enthusiasm, with Marshall patiently watching a couple of the overzealous kids pull away before patiently running them down. 
Crazy Dave set a new volume-based team benchmark of another sort (the look on his face in this pic should give you a clue). Team Captain Karyn has the most experience in this race and set a personal record by passing 10 runners in a short five mile leg. Van 2 set the bar really high in their last set of legs—a sub-2 hour marathon. But with that goal a bit unattainable (by humans, at least), they reset their goal to a more volume-based one as well. 
The relay team of Big Al, Frank and Tina took 2nd in the mixed relay at Firm Man. Al put down a great effort on the swim including swimming through layers of sea weed at the end. Frank paid for not having done more than two rides longer than 56M this year by hitting the wall at mile 46. Of course it didn't help that there was a headwind and 3 miles of grooved pavement. Tina put the hammer down on the run and ran a supersonic 1:33 (or so) half-marathon. Thanks to Al's wife Judy for coming out to cheer and babysitting Emma.
Frank and Tina are just back from a trip to Denmark and, as always, Frank provides an amusing travelogue:
"Katherine and I did Westborough Sprint Triathlon today and with great success. Katherine won her AG and I took 3rd overall. Steve Levandosky who is in my AG won overall. The swim was super short so I stayed in contact with Steve the entire way. On the way out of T1 he realized he had forgot to put his helmet so that gave me a chance to get a head start. Nevertheless he got me around mile 3 and then steadily pulled away from. The run was a great mix of trails along Chauncy lake and through corn fields and some road and grass sections. I knew I had a good race but I was still surprised to learn that I had taken 3rd overall. Good luck to Katherine at Nationals next week.
The Mini Ponies ran, biked, walked and did everything we could to burn a few calories before indulging in t
he First Annual (I hope!) NETT Brunch and Ice Cream party. One group rode their bikes while another ran the Battle Road all in the name of ice cream.
y athlete carrying his bike instead of rolling it. Jean Dany took off on the run so quickly we barely saw him speed by, and he passed almost EVERY athlete on the course, finishing in about 40 minutes, despite the 90-degree heat. The effort earned the team 3rd place in the male Olympic relay.
was composed of resident musician Daniel (or DMM as his friends call him), running, and two non-NETT women biking and swimming. Daniel (who's been concentrating more on music than running of late) confessed that he started slowly, until some guy came by and said "Hey, I'm in the relay too" at which point he took off and ran the second half of the race minutes faster than the first half-- passing half a dozen people in the last quarter mile (which looked great!) That effort earned his team a 3rd place in the Mixed Sprint Relay.
hat I had forgotten is how hard it is to actually run when you get off a bike. Yowch! The run was fine -- I didn't set any personal records, but I didn't get passed either, and had some satisfaction running by nearly every woman who had sped by me on the hills. I think my time was in the mid 23's (haven't seen the official breakdown yet). I came 5th in my age group, satisfied by the effort and humbled by how talented real triathletes are.
