NETT Mucks it Up at Pineland Farms Trail Races

A few Mini Ponies made the trip up to Maine to run the (very messy) Pineland Farms Trail Races with some very strong results on a very muddy course.

YP defended his 50-mile title in conditions that were definitely not ideal. Somehow he skimmed over the mud and slop to finishing in 6:27 and crossed the line to the most anti-climactic 50 mile win you can imagine. (The format of the race makes it a bit difficult to know when a race winner crosses the line amongst finishers of other distances).  

YP: I've been running so long I grew a beard!
Dave: Holy s-t! 

In the 25K, Adrienne's top-secret Italian training methods paid off, as she finished 8th woman overall and third in her age group (and we all know how Adrienne feels about soggy conditions!) 

On the men's side of the 25K, Jack made a great return to Pinelands dancing over the mud to finish in the top half of his age group while Crazy Dave's pre-race diet of fried chicken, craft beer, and loud 90s rock seemed to work okay, as he finished 11th overall, 2nd in his age group. 

Special thanks to the NETT support crew (Doris, Jenn, Ben, Cindy and Elsa) for sacrificing perfectly good shoes to hand around at the finish line (yes even the finish area was a swamp!) 

After the race, in true NETT tradition, the gang headed out for some seafood and post-race beverages.  

As always, the folks at Pinelands put on a great event and the post-race party is one of the best around.

To read about past NETT trips to Pineland Farms, check out the archives here.

YP Directs Successful Boston Bulldogs Race for Recovery

HUUUUGE congrats to Young Patrick who added "successful race director" to his insanely long list of running-related accomplishments.

The Boston Bulldogs Run for Recovery raised money for the Boston Bulldogs, a running club that strives "to provide an anonymous and safe community of support for all those adversely affected by addiction - those in recovery, their families and friends, the clinical community and the community at large."  YP is a volunteer coach for the Bulldogs.

The race took place on the Franklin Park 5K XC course, ground that Crazy Dave and Fluffy Chris both know well (although they've reached such an advanced age neither could remember the sequence of loops for the 5K).

The results? Well, both won their age group with Dave finishing 5th overall, 1st in the 40-50 and Chris two spots behind in 7th overall, 1st in 50-59 age group. (We won't mention that the 60-69 age group winner beat them both and even got a ride home from Crazy Dave!) The Parkway Running Club were also out in force supporting the race, which was great to see.

Overall it was a really well run event with a very positive feel for a good cause. The work YP is doing with this group is (IMHO) the most impressive bullet on his already (very) long running resume and inspires us all to find more ways we can use our running to make the world a better place.

Congrats, YP.

PS--to read more about YP's involvement in the Bulldogs read this article.

Spring Racing Roundup: Boston, Merrimack, and more

The NETT crew has been busy this spring -- too busy to keep the blog updated obviously😞! But at least now we have emojis 😑 so that's somethin' 

Here's some of the latest news.

It was a mixed bag at the Boston Marathon for the MiniPonies. YP had a phenomenal run busting in at 2:40. He was definitely comin' in hot! Joe C ran a very smart race and beat the heat in 3:08. Jason D was consistent as always at a 3:17. Bobblehead Bob dealt with some curveballs and came in just under five hours. It was a rougher day for a few other Mini Ponies, who had to cut their runs short, but finishing a marathon is no. easy. task. 

The week before Boston a few MiniPonies tackled the NETT favorite Merrimack River Trail Race. YP took 3rd overall and set an age group record in 1:00, while Crazy Dave and Eri took a leisurely (as leisurely as you can on that course!) run together and covered a lot of ground (conversationally, that is). It is always a great event and there's always a good crowd of old-school trail runners there! 

Speaking of trail running, Marshall the Machine, did his usual thing at the Blue Hills Fox Trot--by that we mean won his age group by a country mile, finishing in 1:25. 

And lastly, the new Monday night Weston trail runs seem to be going well. Check the Meetup for details.