Wednesday, December 26, 2012

2012 in Review: Quite a Year!

As we prepare to close out 2012, we in the NETT news room thought we’d take a look back at what was really a remarkable year for our little band of runners. We had some new faces join us, we had some great racing results , we had some great social events, and we dedicated it all to Hannah’s memory.

Here’s a few of the highlights:

In February, we welcomed Danyson to the NETT family and he’s been an active and popular member since.

In March, we launched our own Facebook page and it’s been growing and bringing NETT news and photos to cyberspace in a way we could only have imagined. Huge Kudos to Eminem for her work on this in addition to everything else she does for NETT. Where do we FIND these people? (In the bathroom line apparently?)

April saw one of the most successful NETT weekends in a long time. On Saturday, Mary and Adrienne went 1-4 at the Merrimack Trail Race. On the same day, one of our original Mini Ponies finished her first half marathon! And on Monday, a stable of Mini Ponies were ready to run the Boston Marathon on what would turn out to be one of the hottest Bostons on record. But thanks to some added inspiration and an angel on our shirts, we made it Copley Square in a LOT better shape than most.

In May, NETT came out in droves to help support the Wellesley 1 Miler race which raised money for the Hannah Randolph Memorial Fund. Yes, it was a huge success thanks to the many NETT members who came out to volunteer and run!

Also in May, two teams of NETT members won their categories at the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon. We finished 1st in the mixed open relay (out of 493 teams) and first in the two-person mixed masters relay (out of 72 teams). Oh, and Karyn finished the full race and then a crew of NETT v 2.0 crushed the Vermonster too.

In July, sure we ran some races, but Frank and Tina’s Ice Cream Run was the real highlight. In fact, HUGE thanks to F&T for all of the brunch runs they hosted this year. Their hospitality and generosity is really one of the things that NETT members enjoy most. On behalf of all of us THANK YOU!

In August, NETT hosted another successful Chamberas XC Race. Thanks to NETT’s crew of volunteers we raised a record amount of money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Hannah Randolph Memorial Fund. It’s always great to see so many folks come out for a good cause.

In September the Wings team captured 13th overall at the Reach the Beach relay, our highest finish ever. And later in September, the Mini Ponies stampeded into the GBTC XC Race in Wellesley with a record number of runners (11 men in the men’s master’s race alone!). There were longtime Mini Ponies and new faces flying the NETT colors and it was a great sight.

In October, things got even busier. The Mini Ponyettes won the women’s race at the Wayland XC Race, while the men were second. There were a couple stellar individual performances as well, with NETT-South’s Molkie finishing his first 50 miler while NETT newcomer Zack just blistered a 1:08 half marathon, establishing an NETT record for decades to come.

November saw an NETT wedding and a father/daughter Turkey King and Queen crowned.

And December topped off the year with an amazing performance by NETT at the Kickoff to Winter Double Header. On Dec. 8 NETT mounted an all-out assault on the Mt Hood XC Race, winning the men’s open, men’s masters and women’s masters team competition, as well as the individual overall title and we had our youngest finisher ever!
The next day, a swarm of more than 15 Mini Ponies swept the age groups at Walter’s Run 5K and enjoyed a great holiday brunch.

Overall it was a great year – a banner year – for NETT. We ran strong, we ran proud, and we ran with a purpose this year. Will we be able to top it in 2013? I eagerly await the answer to that question

As always Go Mini Ponies.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Our Thoughts

New England Track and Trail sends its collective thoughts, prayers, good wishes and hopes for healing to the families affected by the senseless shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.

Monday, December 10, 2012

NETT Tears it UP at Walter's Run


In our second race of the Winter Kickoff Weekend NETT was all over Walter's Run in West Roxbury and all over the pastries at the post-race brunch!

First, the race. NETT brought 15 uniformed members and a few more friends and family also out on the course and cheering runners on as well. It was really a great showing but in terms of supporting a good cause and in terms of performance.


We won three age groups, placed second in another and third in one more. Count how many times you see New England Track & Trail in the results here.



The race was well organized by the host Parkway Running Club as always and RD Keith Shields leading the show. The money raised goes to three local charities: Globe Santa, YMCA of Boston Reach Out Program and the Walter Burgess Scholarship Fund.


Once all of our hard work was done it was time to eat! The gang made it back to Dave and Doris' place for a brunch we'll remember (mostly because we will have food from it for months!)


It was the capper to one of the best weekends in the 10 years of NETT weekends. It was great to see new and old faces, kids, parents, spouses, siblings, you name it this weekend.

Saturday, December 08, 2012

NETT Mounts All-Out Assault on Mt Hood

Overall race winner Zack Schwartz
1st Place Male, 60+ Marshall Randolph
2nd Place Woman, Masters Kristin Hall
2nd Place Male, 50+ Patrick McVeigh
3rd Place Woman Overall, Mary Pizarro
1st Place Team Men's Open (Zack Schwartz, Dave Hannon, and Chris Smith)
1st Place Team Women's Masters (Kristin Hall, Tina Wang, Karyn Miller-Medzon)
2nd Place Team, Men's Masters (Ryan Hunt, Andy Hall, Patrick McVeigh, Marshall Randolph, Jack Burke)
3rd Place Team, Women's Open (Mary Pizzaro, Julie McVeigh, Bridget)
And a boatload of nutcrackers!


I'd say that's a pretty successful day.


The NETT MiniPonies stormed the insanely hilly golf course at Mt Hood in Melrose in one of the most successful days in NETT history. With only three people required to score as a team and master's categories added this year, NETT came up with a "divide and conquer" strategy and it paid off. Masters runner Chris Smith and Crazy Dave rode Zack's coattails to the overall men's open team win. (It helps when Zack runs a 5:22 pace and gives us a huge lead).


The women's masters team just dominated their category, winning by almost 20 minutes. That's just pure domination. The men's masters team ran true XC style and put three finishers in 10 seconds, only losing to a very strong CSU eam.

And yeah, Marshall won the 60+ category by over a minute of course.


But perhaps better than anything, it was a classic NETT day, with spouses, kids, siblings, friends all joining in as well. HUGE thanks to Frank for babysitting all those kids so their folks could run the race. And for taking pictures.

And lastly, big thanks to Brian Slater and the rest of the Melrose Running Club for putting on another great event this year. A great feast, free beer, glasses, and, oh yeah, nutcrackers!


Now onto Walter's Run!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

NETT Goes to Hill and Back

Several members of the extended NETT family took part in the To Hill and Back trail run on Friday after Thanksgiving.

Kristin took the overall women's race in a time of 33:37 over the rugged four mile course while her better half Andy was a couple minutes in front of her, seventh overall and fourth in his age group . And the applette doesn't fall far from the tree, as their 10-year old daughter Bridget took second in the 21 and under category while her grandad was only about 40 seconds behind. Crikies what a fit family!

There was a non-Hall out there representing the Mini Ponies. Chris Smith took fourth overall in his backyard run.

Congrats to all.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

All Hail the Turkey King and Queen

NETT took to the streets of Lexington on Thanksgiving and came away with a newly crowned Turkey King and Queen, and did a pretty good job of filling out the King's court as well, all for a great cause (besides offsetting the day's anticipated caloric intake).

Eric Vandendries and his daughter, 13-year-old Gabrielle took the overall men's and "women's" titles in the Steven T. Hill Stroke Foundation 5K, and won the honor of being crowned Turkey King and Turkey Queen for the day.

And NETT members really swept the ranks of the results. While official results aren't really available (it's that low-key of a race), NETT men took the top 4 spots and women several of the top spots. The list of NETTers running included:

Eric V
Crazy Dave
Slava
Frank KJ
Noah M-M
Mary
Tina
Deb
Chrissy
Emma

(How many NETTers can you spot in this pic?

And special thanks to our specators Doris (team photographer) and Martin.
It was the second year in a row that NETT has claimed the Turkey King crown. Last year, it was Frank KJ that was crowned as the fowl monarch.

The race funds all went to a very worthy cause. The family of stroke victim Steven Hill started the foundation to help with Steven's care after he suffered a stroke at age 33 in 2009. We had the honor of meeting Steven and his family at the race and they personally thanked NETT for showing up in force to support their cause.
To read more about the foundation and Steven's story, vist this site: http://sthstrokefoundation.org/
Life is like a monkey sometimes...sometimes you just gotta bring the bananas!


Sunday, November 18, 2012

An NETT Wedding and a Brunch Run Brings New Faces

Well the big news in NETTland this week was Chris and Adrienne's wedding Friday night. It was a great event and we're very fortunate to count both Adrienne and Chris as members and friends. Congrats! Of course it was a rare chance to catch a few Mini Ponies without mud or sweat on them.

Sunday was back to our normal schedule of runnning and eating. Frank and Tina hosted one of their beloved brunch runs, with some new faces (and tails!) coming out to meet the NETT gang. As always, it was a family affair--parents, kids, grandparents, kids not yet arrived, family pets, you name it, they were there! Thanks as always for hosting, F&T.




Sunday, November 04, 2012

Bob Stones the Cat and the Wang-KJs Battle the Battlegreen

As usual, there were some strong results from NETT runners this weekend on the trails and roads.

First off, big congrats to Bob Segal who finished his second trail marathon in about a month at the Stone Cat Trail Marathon. Here's his report:

"I left it all out on the course today and ran 4:41 at Stone Cat. I was shocked that I ran that fast after doing NipMuck in 5:51. I even beat a guy in my age group who has beaten me in every single other race in the North Shore trail series." Bob's secret to success? Protein! "At 2 hours, I drank a container of chocolate protein mix (21 grams of protein) that I added to my fuel belt. It seemed to help. I went out in 2:18 (with an extra mile) and came back in 2:23."

Congrats Bob. Best of luck in the end-of-series scoring! (See the North Shore Trail Series scoring here).

On Sunday, with some unexpected free time on their hands, the Wang-Kjaersgaards (Tina, Frank, and Emma) tackled the Genesis Battlegreen races. Tina, clearly razor sharp this weekend, took second overall in the 10K in 44:07. Wowsers!

Meanwhile Frank and Emma teamed up to take 12th overall in the 5K and third in the 40-49 age group in 20:05. (Emmma is clearly spent from pulling the load while her dad enjoyed the ride!)



Congrats!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Big Congrats to Eri and Bridget

Big congrats to Eri for finishing the Baystate Marathon this weekend in an impressive 3:42. Not bad for a guy who's been immersed in medical school for the past few months! Here's his report:

"I was supposed to run the race with my friend Alex, but unfortunately he got sick last week and he couldn't make it to the race! A few weeks before the race he insisted on staying in a hotel around the area so we booked one in Lowell. Well since he didn't come I enjoyed the whole room to myself!

The race was great, I loved the course, and it is a great time of the year to do it since the colors are gorgeous. I kept a nice 8 min/mile pace for the first 20 miles and then the pain hit me! it started with my feet and progressed to my legs. My breathing was not the problem, my muscles just gave up on me (no cramping but a lot of pain!). I slowed down to around 9 minute pace, and the last 2 miles were VERY hard, I think I did 9:40 pace. But heck I finished it without any injury (I think). I blame my anatomy course for bonking at mile 20, took way to much of my time."

Big congrats Eri!

And another big congratulations to Bridget Chamberas for finishing her first half marathon at Baystate as well. You pretty much can't be a member of that family and not be a runner! Great stuff.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

NETT has a new half-marathon record!

Okay, technically NETT doesn't keep "official" records. And sure, some of us ran some pretty fast times in our younger days in other uniforms.

But I feel very very very confident that our new half-marathon record will never be broken, unless its current holder chooses to run another half.

HUGE congrats to Zack Schwartz who ran a 1:08:24 at the Hartford Half Marathon on Saturday. There are no typos on the previous sentence, by the way.

And judging by the race photos posted here Zack didn't leave anything out on on the course.

Just astounding. Great job Zack!

Ravenswood Trail Race: Another Day at the Races

Rain. Mud. Blood. Age group wins and prizes. Big support from the extended NETT family.
Yeah, it was another day at the races for the NETT Mini Ponies at the Ravenswood Trail Race on Sunday.

NETT had a number of folks running in the latest race in the North Shore Trail Race series (race results to come). Age group wins were collected by Chris Smith and Kristin Hall, but of course, that's nothing new. Congrats to both. Chris is actually close to (or may already be) tops in the 40-49 scoring for the series and cleaned up today, so to speak (he drew some blood).

And a wet, technical, tricky trail course? The smart money's always on Kristin in those conditions. Both won great prizes for their efforts.

In the "awww..cute" category NETT "power couples" Crazy Dave and Doris and Jack and Jenn mixed it up in the mud as well. Jack and brought his brother and Cool Footed Luke as well.

And Bob Segal turned his white socks to black but kept pace in the 50-59 age category as always (although he "handicapped" himself for this one by running Nipmuck Marathon a couple weeks ago!)

There was one NETT no-show, but when we saw the weather, none of can say it was a surprise (well, she IS consistent).

Kudos to Team Gloucestor, the host club. The race was really well organized and marked. The post-race ceremonies were great. There were tons of raffle prizes--both Jenn and Doris won prizes (Yodels and four pairs of socks--how awesome is that?). And for third-place age group finish, Crazy Dave won the "trails runner's survival kit" a bag with band-aids, tissues, and pain relievers).

And special thanks to the New England Running Co. in Beverly for supporting the race and series. Doris and Crazy Dave dropped by on the way home to pick up their prizes and the folks there were super friendly and the store's got a great selection of running clothes and shoes. Definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.


Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Molkie Conquers the Vermont 50

Our pal from NETT-South Dave Molk recently hit a major milestone as a trail runner, finishing his first 50 miler. As he does in all things, Molkie ran a smart race. Here’s his report:

"I enjoyed the Vermont 50 (hard not to as it's held in the 802, arguably the best state in the nation). After a really solid summer of training, I (true to form, it seems) tweaked something in my foot and so spent the weeks leading up to the race feeling fairly anxious about how things would hold up.

This race has relay options for both the 50 miler and the 50k as well as simultaneous mountain bike races on the same course. Fortunately for me, Emily of Dirty German fame decided to run the relay, so I had some good company during the first 12 miles on what was a rainy but mild morning. The bikes churned up most of the single track into mud, but the footing was decent for running and I kept a good pace. My foot acted up a bit around mile 20, so I spent most of the remaining 30 miles focusing on every foot plant and hoping that I wouldn't get a flare-up.

Not the best way to have the day go by, but every time I looked up and saw the countryside, I remembered why I chose this race as my first 50. All told, I went through about 18 gels, one and a half blisters, and a fairly chafed lower back from an REI pouch that I am no longer going to use. Why it worked fine on all the long runs of the summer and then rubbed with a vengeance the last two races is beyond me.

I took a really conservative approach to running it and was therefore able to have a much stronger second half, finishing around 8:44. I'm confident that I can lop significant time off of that the next go-round. Fantastic volunteers and exemplary course markings!"

Great job Molkie!

Sunday, October 07, 2012

Ponyettes Win Wayland XC Race, Men Take 3rd



Okay, not to brag, but there was a prediction made. Earlier on this very blog, I said this: "Bold prediction: One of our two teams will win the team competition."

Well the NETT Ponyettes lived up to that prediction by winning the Wayland XC race today. Huge congrats!

The ladies were led by the duo of Mary Pizarro and Kristin Hall who worked together and came onto the final 300 meter stretch together, stride for stride. NETT's Deb Robertson made the trip up from NYC to run a great race and score as third place for NETT. And Peggy Davis and Karyn Miller-Medzon came in together to round out the scoring.

Big congrats ladies!

On the men's side, the NETT squad had a bit tougher competition finishing third overall behind HFC Striders and Greater Boston Track Club. Dmitry Drozdov, Paul Miller, Eric Vandendries, Dave Hannon, Chris Smith and Marshall Randolph ran well together with Dmitry taking top master's honors and Marshall winning the always competitive 60-69 age group.

In the "future NETT stars" division, Alex Miller's gym sprinting paid off as she finished in almost the exact spot her dad in his race, thanks to her strong finishing kick (her dad's sure Alex didn't get that from him!).


All in all it was a really great day. The weather cooperated and as always race director Eric Bucher and his team put on a top-notch XC event for adults and kids.


Frank KJ Cracks Top 10 at Scituate Duathlon

Congrats to Frank, who's winding down his LONG multisport season in style, finishing 9th place overall at the Scituate Duathlon.

"I was happy with it, but my body is definitely telling me it is October."


Saturday, September 29, 2012

NETT sets its sights on Wayland


After a day of highs and lows at the GBTC XC Race last weekend, the NETT MiniPonies are regrouping and strategizing a plan for an all-out assault at the upcoming Wayland XC Festival next weekend.

The men's masters team lost a controversial battle to GBTC by a single point and will be looking to exact some revenge on someone at Wayland.

The MiniPonyettes produced what might have been our best women's team of all time at GBTC and finished second to the national-class GBTC women's team.

The Wayland race is always a favorite for NETT. We've had an overall men's winner there in 2007. In 2008 we had a third-place women's team and a fourth-place men's team. That's the year Tina implemented her very successful "women's bathroom line" recruiting technique. In 2009, both men and woment were third place.

The last couple years, however, we haven't fielded a team and it's time to gallop back into the results higher than ever.

Bold prediction: One of our two teams will win the team competition.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

That time of Year: Mini Ponies Stampeded at GBTC XC Race




They were just everywhere! The NETT Mini Ponies had a great showing at the Greater Boston Track Club XC Invitational today at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley. There were some stellar individual performances and great team results for both men and women.


In the men's open 8K race, NETT rock star Zack Schwartz ran like a veteran, stalking the leaders well throughout the race. By the time he got to the finish, he had broken his 8K PR by more than 40 seconds with a furious kick to the finish good for second place overall. Honestly--if this race was another quarter mile he would have won this thing at the rate he was moving. So great to see a great guy produce great results. Beet juice all around! Congrats to the youngest Mini Pony.


In the women's race, NETT fielded one of its strongest squads in recent memory. Amanda Mahoney, Kristin Hall, Adrienne Cyrulik, Julie McVeigh, Tina Wang and Cindy Winther combined for second place overall in the women's open race. (While the scoring and results were a bit hard to follow in all of the races, it would have been nice for the organizers to recognize our ladis as second place at the awards as second place team, but we salute you, oh strong Ponyettes!) Kristin and Tina were among the top masters as well. It was so great to NETT Ponyettes out there mixing it up on the XC course. It's been a while.

In the men's masters race, NETT fielded its largest men's team ever with no less than 11 finishers! Dmitry Drozdov took the overall win in a smart and strategic race. Paul Miller ran his first race in three years and finished as our second scorer. The gang of Frank, Jerry, Youngstah, Andy and Big Ben all worked well together over the course. Patrick, Marshall and Bob were steady in the back. (Marshall fell for a GBTC booby trap, but it can happen to the best of us).


With top five scoring the Ponies got beat by GBTC by a mere one point....arrggghh.

Official results haven't been posted, but all in all it was a great day for us all.

Here's a video that captures the highlights for those of you with WAAAY too much time on your hands:



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Mini Ponies Planning Stampede at GBTC XC Race

There will be a record herd of NETT Mini Ponies at the GBTC XC race in Wellesley on Sunday. The men's masters 5K will be a sea of NETT white and the women's team is a serious contender for a top 3 finish.

To find out more about the race go here:
http://www.gbtc.org/events/topsfield/

There is a kid's race too so bring the mini mini ponies!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Frank KJ Gets a Boost at Dover Tri


Frank KJ is just packing in the multisport events before it gets too cold. Here's his latest report:

"It was another successful triathlon weekend for me. This time I did all 3 legs myself and the Dover-Sherborn Boosters triathlon. But luckily the combined time was only about half the time I spend on the bike at Firmman.

The swim took place in Farm pond - a tucked away little pond in Dover (then again everything seems tucked in Dover). It was a short 1/4 mile swim and I had good swim despite being clobbered so bad at the first buoy that I was out breath for about 30 seconds and barely moving forward. The bike leg winded its way through shaded bucolic (love it when I get a chance to use that word) roads in Dover and Sherborn with lots of rolling hills and some good headwind on the backside. My speed for the 14.3 miles was actually quite a bit slower than last week when I did 56 miles due to the hills and wind. But since I only passed people and nobody passed I was confident my bike split was pretty good. Coming out of T2 my legs surprisingly felt good. Surprising since I have only run a total 28 miles in the last 3 weeks - guess they were fresh. Similarly to the bike leg, the run leg is quite hilly but I felt strong the whole way and was passing people all the way to finish on the track at the high school. In the end I placed 5th overall just squeezing into the leader board - and 1st in my age-group.

Evelyn, who I know from the Minuteman swim club, Walden pond and cycling was there as well and funny enough she placed 5th overall for the women and 1st in her age-group. Nicely done Evelyn."

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Wings Flies to 13th Place at Reach the Beach NH

The NETT-heavy WINGS team took its game to an entirely new level at the Reach the Beach relay this year, finishing a staggering 13th place overall out of 420 teams! We finished in 23:17, sixth in the "men's open" category (yeah, right), averaging 6:53/mile over 202 miles.

We DID have one "extra" pair of wings this year and it clearly made a difference. We dedicated our race this year Hannah. And as he always does Marshall provided us with more inspiration than any team should be lucky enough to have. He led us off from Cannon Mountain in the second-fastest group in the entire race and ran stride-for-stride with them putting us in great position to start the race. And at the other end, 23 hours later, when it came time for him to step up for us and run an extra leg, he didn't hesitate. He took the bracelet and ran four unexpected miles including a half-mile on the sand to bring us across the finish line in the highest spot we've ever been!

We had a new mascot this year--Willy Wings, co-piloting van 1. At some point during that long overnight drive, he was definitely responding to Crazy Dave's questions and laughing at his jokes--he's sure of it.

Some other fun facts about our team this year:

We were in the men's open category. We had exactly ONE person on our team in that category.

Our oldest runner was 40 years older than our youngest runner. And he ran the most of any of us.

The oldest child of our members is three four years younger than our youngest team member.

We had five women, two of which are masters. Of the seven men, one in his 20s, two in their 30s, two in their 40s, one is his 50s and one in his 60s. Yeah, men's open.

None of us, apparently, has six pack abs.

We had two new members this year and both outperformed.
Three of the runners in van two broke our previous record by passing more than 50 runners each on their legs. That's 150 teams in three legs.

For the record, we like to pass you when you tell us you don't like to be passed. A lot.

If you tell us "I have 30 years on you" when we pass you, you might as well paint a target on your van. Or if you prefer, we'll paint it on there for you in the middle of the night.

While a 15-passenger van may be the largest vehicle some of us ever drive, for one of us, it's many many tons smaller than her usual "vehicle" of choice.

We had only one first-time RTBer on our team this year. And he is hooked.

This was our best finish ever. Our past finishes have included: 26th (2008), 20th (2009), 16th (2011), 13th (2012).

As always, team captain Karyn MM organized us well, handled the curve balls with grace, and matched up the right legs to the right runners, which are the keys to a successful RTB finish. Thanks for all the hard work Karyn!

Another Video Review of our Experience.


Monday, September 10, 2012

NETT takes the mixed relay crown at "Frank Man"


NETT muscled, cranked, and tip-toed its way to the mixed relay crown at the FIRM MAN Half-Ironman Triathlon this weekend. Given that Frank has competed in 12 out of the past 13 FIRM MAN tris, NETT will begin a legitimate lobbying campaign to change the name of this race to FRANK MAN. Here's his report:

"Sunday it was yet again time for a trip to Narrangansett to partake in the Firmman Half-Ironman. Similar to last year we mustered a great mixed relay team with Al as the swimmer, yours truly on the bike and Tina as the closer on the run leg.

Hurricane Leslie may be several hundred miles out in the Atlantic but still close enough that swimmers had 4-7 feet waves to battle. Some people decided not to swim, some started and then turned. Not Al of course who took the challenge head-on and swam a phenomenal 22:30.

Next up, it was me and Kuota. There was a bit of rain at the beginning of the bike leg which resulted in lots of flats but luckily I had none today. My new wheels were perfect for the course since there was a bit of crosswind which bothered people with deep rims but allowed my short rim wheels not to be caught by the wind. My 10K splits were very consistent and I felt good from start to finishing – so good that I ended up with a PB of 2:26 (23.0 mph) for the 56 miles. Coming into T2 we were 10th of all despite starting in the 4th and last wave.

In fact I came in to T2 before Tina expected so she quickly handed Emma to Al before we exchanged the timing chip, then I took my helmet off and next thing I had Emma in my arms. She fell asleep and so for the next 20 minutes I stood with a sleeping toddler next to my bike in the transition exchanging stories with Al and fellow relay cyclists.

Tina had a very solid run. So much that when Lisbeth Kenyon (the overall winner at Firmman and 3 time age-group in Hawaii Ironman) saw Tina on the run course she started doing math in her head. She started in the elite wave and got nervous there was some fast unknown age-grouper outracing her down. Pretty funny and good practice for Lisbeth to dig a bit deeper. Talking about digging then Tina had her challenges digging through the ¼ mile run on the beach. Seen from the finish line she was tip-toeing her way through and going sideways at times as if the beach were filled with landmines. She just doesn’t dig the sand. Of course her face lit up when she saw Emma and there was even time for a High-five before crossing the line.

Final outcome: We finished 1st mixed team relay out of 8, and 4th overall out of 19 teams. Results are posted www.firm-racing.com. Another great trip to the beach."

Sunday, September 09, 2012

NETT goes 1-3-3 at Friends of Arlington 5K


Three NETTers took to the roads this weekend to shake off some rust at the Friends of Arlington 5K.

Zack Schwartz took the race wire-to-wire, setting a new course record in 15:39. After the race, Zack was mobbed by groupies, including a 11 (?) year old kid who knew more about Zack's race than Zack did. No word of a lie, the kid walks right up to Zack and said "You're Zack. You did great. You finished in 15:39, and that is 5 minute miles" and continued to talk with Zack about the race. It was really funny and Zack did a great job of encouraging the kid in his running as well.

Doris' goal for the race was to focus on pacing early on and her focus definitely paid off. She finished 3rd female master on the day in under 27 minutes. But the highlight for her was the Whole Foods swag at the post-race event. "I got a bag--you know these are a buck at the store--and a bottle of electrolyte water, a banana, a nice water bottle, some granola..."

Crazy Dave got outkicked for second and finished third overall (the more things change the more they stay the same) and top master in 17:22.

The race itself was a very nice event, raising money for a good cause (the Arlington Council on Aging). They had a lot of very nice extras including a Dixieland band, pizza and drinks, GREAT prizes (Dave and Zack both went home with gift certificates) and handmade medals for the top finishers in each group. Definitely a race we'd go back to.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Chamberas Race hits 10 Years STRONG!


The Thomas Chamberas XC Race turned 10 with a bang this weekend! We had more registrants, more runners, more finishers, more sponsors, and a bigger donation to our charities than ever!

NETT onced again served as the host club and provided volunteers, runners, and support. Huge thanks to all the volunteers who were out there on Friday and Saturday. We raised a lot of money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Hannah Randolph Memorial Fund and we have many many people to thank.

Results are posted on coolrunning.com

(Somewhat belated) Congrats to Eri

Huge congrats to Eri on completing his first half-ironman last weekend at Timberman in New Hampshire. He met his goal of finishing in 6 hours and did it in true Eri fashion. Here's his report:

"The race was great! It was a beautiful day for a race and amazing location! The views were phenomenal!

Of course I had a shoe related incident! They said that you can go into to the bike transition area at 6:45 am at the latest. Our hotel was a little far, about 40 mins so we got to the park at 6:15ish thinking that we will have plenty of time, but of course we did not anticipate that the parking lot was going to be full! So I had to park at Gunstock (where they provided shuttle service). That meant that I had to give my shoes and socks and everything else to my friend Erik! So I ended up walking barefoot at Gunstock and had to drive my car barefoot too!

But the race itself went well. My swim was pretty good (for me) I think I did 1:45min/100m average, so close to 34 mins. The bike went well too, I did around 17-18 mph average, but I dropped my water bottle at mile 3 and I was really thirsty until the next water station which was around mile 15 I think. I also forgot to bring anything to eat with me! That absolutely killed me at the run.

Right at the start of the run I ate 4 GU packets and 2 protein bars (pretty much anything I can find,) because I was really hungry! And as I ate my second protein bar I started to regret what I had done. Things were fine until mile 2 where I actually had to stop and consider throwing up or not. It was pretty bad, I walked at least 0.3 miles or so, then slowly started to run. Thankfully nothing happened but it def. affected my run. I think I did 9:40 average for the whole run which is pretty slow for me. My lungs were fine, but my muscles mile 11 I started to cramp up a bit.

Overall I finished with 6:00:43 I think. so exactly what I wanted!"

Great job Eri!!

While Eri was kicking butt up there, there were other Mini Ponies cycling all over NH. Frank, Ali, and Toledo Joe climbed the Kanc. Crazy, Big Ben, Oona, and Dr. Ron climbed some monster hills and looped Newfound Lake. And Jerry apparently had to cut his riding a bit short on vacation.

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Things Get Messy at Greenfield "Tri"


Frank KJ journeyed out to Greenfield this weekend and came across some interesting challenges. Here's his report:

I raced at Greenfield Triathlon today - or should I say Greenfield Bike & Run.
The swim was canceled because as the photos show there was hardly any water in the river. Earlier this week they had to empty out the water (open the dam) because of some human error resulting in water pollution. Instead they started us out with short 200m dash to the bike racks. I was quickly out first in my wave (45+) together with another person. Throughout the entire bike leg we went back and forth depending on the terrain with me pulling away on the hills and he on the downhills. We never drafted on each other but nevertheless the referee came up and gave me a 2 minute penalty for falling back far enough after being passed before re-passing - B.S.

Afterward I spoke with the other guy and he actually thought he got the penalty. Annoying when the athletes both agree there was no foul play and some referee has to screw it up. I put the (slow) hammer down on the run and pulled away quickly to run the 5K in 19:57. In the end I was over one minute ahead of the other guy but still ended up one minute behind in the results - and was robbed of a podium spot as he ended up 3rd overall and I ended up 4th overall. Still I am very happy with my bike split which compares to 23.3 mph and with going under 20 minutes on the run leg.

Results at http://www.coolrunning.com/results/12/ma/Aug5_Greenf_set1.shtml

Sunday, July 29, 2012

I Scream for NETT


It was really great to see so many new and old NETT faces out at Frank and Tina's ice cream run this weekend! With 20-plus people there, it was one of our most well-attended events in recent memory.

Friday, July 13, 2012

New NETT Rivalry Emerges at Marathon Sports 5 Miler

There's a new NETT rivalry...the M&M rivalry (Mary & Marshall). Here's Mary's report:

I first saw Marshall (far in front of me) at mile 1.5. I then proceeded to chased him down from mile 1.5 to mile 4. As I passed him I told him "Good Job You Crazy Old Man". However, when we got to the track for the last 300 meters, he hunted me down. Sprinted past me in the last hundred, I caught back up to him, but he ELBOWED me to finish one step ahead of me. Our times say he beat me by one second, but it was pretty instantaneous. We finished the 4.9miles (too many GPS's there all saying it was 4.9M) in 33:37 & 33:38 - full results are below.

I didn't start too fast (was toward the middle / back so it was really jammed up). Marshall said he wasn't going to sprint on the track, but said because it was me & because I called him a Crazy Old Man, his racing instinct kicked in.
NETT finished 5th in the "Mixed Team" competition. Karyn harped on Chris the entire time (calling him a traitor) as he had on a Somerville singlet while scoring for an NETT-organized team.
Great time had by all...

http://coolrunning.com/results/12/ma/Jul12_37thAn_set2.shtml

Also BIG congrats to Zack for his second place at the Corporate Challenge!! Wowsers!!
 

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Frank Manages to Not Swear His Way to the Podium at Middleboro


Earlier this year Middleboro introduced a ‘No Swearing Policy’ which Wendy from FIRM reminded everybody prior to the Old Colony race. Luckily the race takes place on quiet roads with little traffic so there were not any aggressive drivers to deal with (verbally). The race itself was a bit of a mixed bag for me with an okay swim, a good bike leg and a run leg where I bonked at mile 3 and found myself walking way too often. Oh well, s... happens! Whoops sorry I forgot the ‘no swearing policy’. But sometimes you are lucky enough that your competitors decide to not show up so despite ending up 23rd overall I took 3rd in my age-group. Barry Phelps took 3rd overall so in the awards ceremony I was 2nd in my age-group.

And Zoltan ended up taking 2nd overall – just a few ticks behind a guy who managed to catch him on the run. Results should be posted at http://www.firm-racing.com/ soon.