Another Successful Trip to the Assault on Mount Hood

NETT once again made its annual trip to the Assault on Mount Hood XC race in Melrose and again had great results.

NETT won the men's master's race with its "first" masters team of Crazy Dave, Joe C and Andy. But NETT had such a great participation on the men's side we had an "extra" Master's team of Patrick, Ilya and Marshall finished 6th Master's team overall. How about that? Patrick, by the way, ran away with the men's 60-69 age group and got a nice new friend for his hard work.

In the very competitive men's open race, the team of Matt, Martin and Ethan finished 6th team overall.

On the women's side the mother-daughter duo of Kristin and Bridget represented NETT well, as Kristin was third female master.

As always, the Melrose Running Club did a fantastic job with this race. The course was just as hilly as always (they use a different route every year) and the post-race festivities were a lot of fun.

NETT has been supporting this race as far back as 2007 (the infamous Mount Hood Massacre) and we'll keep going back as long as they keep doing such a great job with it!

NETT Masters Take 2nd Overall at Myles Standish Marathon Relay

NETT's most..mature team of five runners grabbed second place overall and first in their age group at the Myles Standish Marathon Relay in Plymouth, Mass. this week.

The team of Rick, Steve, Marshall, Patrick and JD steadily weaved their way through the field to finish 2nd overall in the relay in 3:07.

Great work men!

Check out the results here

NETT all over the Busa Bushwhack

The Mini Ponies were all over the Busa Bushwhack this year (again) coming up winners in a variety of age groups.

4th OVERALL in the 10 miler was Brodie Miles, cracking the 70 minute mark! Looks like that marathon training run a few weeks back did some good! Andy Hall was just a few spots behind in 9th place overall.

The top performance of the day goes to Adrienne, who made a triumphant return to Busa after mangling herself last year and finished second in her age group,

In the five miler, another major "return" came from Martin who we haven't heard from in quite a while (it turns our raising a couple kids can be time-consuming!) Martin just crushed it to finish in 12th place overall. And of course  Marshall won his age group in the 5 miler as well!

NETT has been a long supporter of this great event put on by the Greater Framingham Running Club and it's always great to see it doing well.

Race Report: Joe and Dave's Homegrown Backyard Marathon

What do you call it when 12 Mini Ponies run a wheel-measured 26.2 mile course through the trails of Weston and Lincoln?

The First Annual Joe and Dave's Homegrown Backyard Marathon, of course! An instant classic NETT event.

A few facts about the JDHBM:

• Wheel measured? Yup, courtesy of the Redneck 5000!
• Aid stations? Yup. More than you'd need?
• Shuttle service? Yes, runners were shuttled from the finish to the start to let them run the first or second half if they so chose.
• Spectators? Yes. Well, at least two of Joe's family were nice enough to come out and watch us run by!
• Finish line? You bet.



Redneck 5000

• Post-race party? Yup, pizza with family members and Paddler Steve.

It was a really really fun run and perfect for NETT. We all owe a huge thanks to Joe for putting so much effort into this thing. Seriously.

Here's the results:

Full marathon finishers:
Joe, Jason, YP, Tom, and Crazy Dave

First half finishers:
Brodie, Slava, JD and Andy

Second half finishers:
Ken, Ilya

A bit of both:
Frank


Purple Heart Award: Jason


Best Stunt Man Impression: Ilya

Best Bucky Goldstein Impression at Horsehendge: JD


Most Mileage Run: YP (of course, he ran extra before and probably after the run)
Best Comeback Run: Andy--great to see him out there.
Best Impression of a Lion Pacing the Cage: Tom
Bloodiest Shirt: Dave
Best Video: Patrick

Thanks to everyone who came out for the run and post-run party. It was really NETT at its best. Low-key, impressive, and family-friendly.

Racing Update: Reach the Beach, Scottish and US XC, Steve Cashes in

Just a quick update on the NETT racing news from August and September.....

The top news is that the NETT-Wings team finished EIGHTH overall in the 200-mile Reach the Beach Relay. It was the team's best overall place in the event and represents the ultimate in teamwork. From race logistics (Capn K) to all out speed (YP), to preparation (JD), the team was really ready this year. We had new faces (Joe C), and a lot of veterans (Justine, Tom, Christy, Marshall, Julie, OP, Slava, and Crazy Dave. Every year, this race is a real test and every year we get a bit older, but somehow, we all seem to manage it better.

To see a BIG photo album, check the NETT Facebook page here. Really, they are worth a look, 

Earlier in September, Crazy Dave took to the trails on a trip to Scotland and finished a solid third while setting two firsts: The first time he's been introduced as a special guest before the race and the first time he ever had to do a slip-and-slide to finish the race.

XC season is here! In early September, the NETT men's masters team ran the GBTC Elm Bank XC festival. Jason DJ Crazy Dave, JD, OP, and Paddler Steve teamed up to finish fourth overall team. Results are here. 

On the ladies side, Adrienne and Julie were in the top 10 masters for females. 

A couple weeks later Paddler Steve won his age group at the Holdenwood Trail Run in Shirley, Mass.and went home with $50 for his trouble. Katy got third in her age group and her daughter Laura won hers as well. Nice work! Always, the humble guy, Paddler said, "For some reason the announcer thought my time was great. I thought Marshall's effort last year was even better."

Has anyone stopped to think about the amazing quality of 60+ runners NETT has right now? 

For more frequent updates, be sure to check the Facebook page at /newenglandtrackandtrail. 

NETT goes Cherry Picking on the 4th

NETT's Men's Masters "plus" squad celebrated the nation's birthday by sweeping the standings at the Lincoln, Ma. 4 Miler.

Frank decided to lose his best training partner (Emma) and run without a babyjogger this year and just ran away with the 2.5 miler, winning easily in 15:33. Of course, Emma did jump out and help Frank with his finishing kick.

Also in the 2.5 miler, Steve easily took the 60+ category finishing second overall.

In the 4 miler Crazy Dave put on his patriotic (Darn Tough) socks and took the overall win while Marshall destroyed the field in the 60+ category. And Emma was kind enough to jump out and help Marshall with his kick (apparently Emma is not happy with our finishing speed!).

And the extended NETT family even took the win in the women's race as Steve's daughter Olivia won the overall women's race!

Overall it was a great day, a fun race and so great to see the NETT gang out there together.

Congrats Bogie!

Big congrats to "NETT West" member Bogie who worked his tail off this year to achieve a longtime goal of running a Boston Qualifier at the Revel Rockies marathon. He crossed the line at 3:14, a qualifier for his age group.

At the finish Bogie got a great sign (BQ) and made his own to acknowledge an old NETT pal (zoom in close)

Congrats Bogie--you earned that one!

Results update: May 2016

Okay, the blogmaster is woefully behind in his updates, but here are just a few of the amazing results from NETT runers in the past month...or two..

Patrick Caron won...that's right, WON the Pineland Farms 50 miler this year. He said of the day, "The trails up there are awesome!" NETT has had some great races up there over the years and YP's clearly keeping up the tradition.

Also on Memorial Day weekend a couple new NETT members had good runs. Our new pal Jerome just crushed the Run to Remember finishing in a blistering 1:12 for third overall.

Up in Vermont Jason Dejoannis ran a very very solid 3:11 at the Vermont City Marathon, good for sixth in his division.

On our training runs we've seen a few new faces coming out regularly too, so it is a great time for new NETT members to come out and take part!
As always to get more updated info check the Facebook page!

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A Fast News Day for Joe C

NETT newcomer Joe C has run a lot of Boston Marathons and we all know how consistent he is. But the folks over at the Metrowest Daily News are recognizing it as well.

Check out this article: Boston Marathon: Weston runner seeks satisfaction of finish line

Hannah's Helpers in Full Swing

Hannah's Helpers is here and NETT is supporting it in every way! 

Here's the official announcement:

The organizers of the Wellesley One Mile and the Board of the Hannah Randolph Fund are proud to announce Hannah’s Helpers, our small effort to make the world a better place in memory of a very special girl.

Please visit the Hannah’s Helpers site for more information.

From the Archives: Lou's 4x1600 Relay

This time of year always makes some of us (okay one of us) remember one of the earliest NETT successes on the track. In one of our first years, we had two teams run in the Lou's 4x1600 relay on the (then) brand new BU indoor track. Here's a page from my log book with a card that includes the splits for both teams. Pretty impressive.

Anyone remember what year this was? Or even better, who the individual runners were?

To find out, check out the results posted here: Lou's 4x1600 relay results.

Bobble Head Bob ran the 1st Day 5 K in Whitinsville, MA on New Year's Day. "That's me with an old college buddy," Bob says. "It's the third year in a row I've run the race and visited with him and his family. I won my age group the first two years but this year I was second by 9 seconds. But the cool thing is the medal was made out of a cookie!"

Nice work Bob. Full results here.