NETT Claims 4th Place at the SRR 26x1 Mile Relay

NETT made history on Saturday, by gathering 26 club members to claim 4th place overall at the Somerville Road Runners 26x1 Mile Relay. This was (as far as any NETT member can recall) the biggest group of NETT runners ever assembled for a single race and huge thanks to team captain Eminem for gathering the troops, herding the cats, and dealing with a few last-minute curveballs with her usual calm.

Here's NETT's race by the numbers:
Overall place: 4 out of 17
Finish time: 2:34:56
Fastest split of the day: 4:33
Youngest member of the NETT team: 15
Oldest member: 62
"Top 3" finishes in the age groups: 6
Countries represented on the NETT team: 8

• Haiti
• Taiwan
• Denmark
• Turkey
• England 
• Russia
• Canada
• US

But perhaps the most fun part was the mix of members that came out for the day. The NETT roster represented a great mix of longtime members and new faces (some very new) and all mixed together well. The "old guard" was well represented. Two of the club's founders Crazy Dave and Paul actually finished within two seconds of each other and were 9th and 10th masters overall--how's that for consistency over the years? "First generation" NETTers who have been members for more than a decade came out including the Winthers, Jean Dany, and Jerry D. Club stalwarts like Bob, Eminem and the KJ-Wangs were there all day. And a host of new faces all seemed to really enjoy the event.

The team's performance was best summed up by the comments of an SRR runner who approached the NETT table at the post-race party and asked "So Track and Trail? What are you guys all about?" (And just to show she respected our club she dumped a pitcher of beer on our table and laps!)

Big thanks to the SRR folks who organized this fun event. What a nightmare the results for this thing must be! Nice work. (I was impressed at the "green" commitment when a guy who ran a 4:45 mile is picking recyclables out of the trash 20 minutes later).

We'll be back next year.