Wings Flies at Reach the Beach Relay

The Result

The NETT-heavy Team Wings flew through nearly 200 miles of New Hampshire roads to finish 16th overall in this year’s Reach the Beach relay. 16th out of 434 teams.
See the official results here (and scroll through some of those team names—very funny)

To put this feat in perspective, here are a few statistics:
• That is an average of 6:50/mile for 191 miles
• Although we have virtually the same team we did two years ago, we lopped off 10 seconds/mile average
• We finished 7th place out of 119 teams in the men’s open category
• We only had three actually “open men” (men under 40). We had three men in their 40s, one in his 50s, one in his 60s, one woman in her 40s, and three open women.

Preparation is Key to Success
One of the secrets to Wings’ success is team-oriented preparation. Even before we left of the race, there was Chris waiting for Crazy Dave to get off the plane that morning at Logan Airport, fresh from a week of partying in Vegas. Team-oriented preparation in action.

The team vans headed up to the start on Friday morning and then we relaxed a bit.
Chrissy outfitted us with some goodies from CitySports to help us glow in the night legs.

Dave’s week in Vegas had him a bit overweight, but he and Peter had a smoke and relaxed before the start.

A few Wings members partied with the Hello Kitty team at the start (Hello Kitty Loves You, Justine). And of course we decorated our vans with the usual slogans and borderline profanity.


Off and Running
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.

With that solid start, Wings was off and running. The next 35 legs and 190 miles are a blur. Jean Dany set a new team record by passing more than 48 teams on a single leg! (He stopped counting at that point).

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.

Before we knew it we were joining Eri on the final run into the finish on the beach (and no, he didn’t even slow up to let us jog in with him on the sand, he continued pushing hard all the way to the finish line to get us every second possible).

Upon Reflection
It was a really inspiring performance by literally every member of the team, putting in the extra effort at every turn. This race requires not only good running – it requires good organization, good communication between vans and runners to make sure everyone is in the right place at the right time, it requires a keen understanding of the rules (Note how many teams lost time or were even DQed due to rule violations). Captain Karyn deserves huge credit for not only organizing, but setting the tone for our crew. (Yes, there is such a thing as too much information-Mary keeps WHAT in her pants?)

And it requires a LOT of understanding from our spouses and families who allow us to partake in this craziness every year so special thanks to them. Especially this year.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we dedicate this year’s performance to Wings member Jeannette. We were thinking of you and know you were with us out there in spirit and can't wait to see you next year.

You can see more pictures of our race:

Here on Karyn's Facebook page

And more HERE on Karyn's Facebook page

And Justine has posted more here

NETT Relay Team Takes 2nd at FirmMan

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's Pastry-inspired Hill Repeats from Denmark

Frank and Tina are just back from a trip to Denmark and, as always, Frank provides an amusing travelogue:

So you thought Denmark was flat as a pancake. Think again, we actually do have some good hills. While vacationing on the island of Bornholm I did hill repeats up a 0.4 mile 6% grade road complete with two hairpin turns. You can check the route and elevation here.

The view of the small coastal town is quite picturesque.

I then ran along and over the rocky coastal cliffs [photo attached] back to the hotel and then ate some more yummy Danish pastry while listening to this wonderful song from a 1959 movie celebrating Bornholm.

Thomas Chamberas XC Race Another Success in 2011

The Thomas Chamberas 6K XC Race is in the books for 2011. It was a great success, as we put on a great race and raised more than $3500 for the Cystic Fibroris Foundation--and we got the race in right before Hurricane Irene let open a can of whoopass on New England. About 150 runners finished the race this year. Results posted here

Chris Miller of the Naval Academy Prep took the men's race in 18:06. Amelia Lanberg of GBTC took the women's race in 21:11. Both Navy Prep and GBTC brought a ton of runners to the race, as they have in the past, so very big thanks to them and their coaches. The Greater Framingham Runnning Club and the E Streeters also brought teams. But the highlight of the day came when the race's namesake, Thomas, came striding into the finish, having run almost the entire course -- at six years old!! Wow. Check out the stride this kid has! Specail thanks to all our volunteers again this year. And of course to all our sponsors and folks who donated prizes. We had some very generous donors all around. Thanks!

Weekend of tris and trails for NETT gang

It was a weekend of triathlons and trail runs as a couple groups of Mini Ponies set off on some adventures this weekend.

Question: Would you run into the deep woods with two guys named Crazy Dave and Farmer Ed? Well Mary and Molkie answered "yes" and were treated to an epic run up, down, and around Mount Greylock this weekend.

Farmer Ed Alizbozek and his trusty canine guide Tippy led the NETT trio on a guided tour of Greylock, starting with a 50-minute climb, hitting the War Memorial Tower and the Bascomb Lodge, taking a detour to take in an astounding view from Stony Ledge, and winding up with a dip in the falls at Lower Peck Brook. It was a fantastic day of running. Many thanks to Farmer Ed!


Not to be outdone, Frank KJ headed out to the Westborough tri this weekend and met up with an old (but young) NETT member who's been a bit quiet recently. Here's Frank's report:

"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.

P.S. The ice cream run is now officially over as I finished the last bit of Cherry Bomb the other night!"

History Almost Repeats at Greenfield and Thankfully Doesn't Repeat at Dam Race

There were some great NETT results this weekend from the trails and the tris, with history nearly repeating itself in one instance and thankfully not repeating itself in another.

Here's a report from Frank KJ:

"Martin and I ventured out to Greenfield triathlon again this year and with almost equal success as last year. Last year Martin won the international distance and Frank took 3rd in the sprint. This year Martin was the first person to cross the finish line but some ueberbiker in the next wave eventually ended up with the victory. Martin was, however, more than one minute faster than last year and once again had the fastest run time so all in all great race.

I was 3rd to cross the finish line in the sprint but some even older dude got me by a mere 12 seconds. Looking closely at the results reveals that he was 29 seconds faster than me in the transitions - guess I need to spray some more PAM on that wetsuit. I had the fastest run split of the day and 3rd best bike split so another good day in Western Mass for me.

Thanks to Lincoln, Emma, Chrissy and Tina for cheering us on - and letting us race ;-) "

Great report, Frank. Meanwhile this weekend, Dave Molk continued his tour of the classic New England trail races, this time at the Dam Trail Race in Oxford, a notoriously tricky course to follow. Here's Molkie's report:

"I ran the Oxford Dam race this past Saturday, finishing 12th. Going into it, I didn't know much other than that the course has a reputation for being hard to follow and features a river crossing. The first mile or so was really dusty, so the footing wasn't the best, but it quickly became packed down.

It's definitely a run-and-gun type course, with minimal technical spots or hill work. The water level was extremely low, so the crossing wasn't particularly intimidating and unfortunately didn't provide much of a cooling effect (there was a fair amount of exposure with hot/humid conditions, something that really hit home on my overly ambitious cool-down).

Good course marking - apparently a different course from last year's (which I guess has been the trend). Lots of helpful volunteers - definitely worth checking out."

Nice work Molkie. Keep it up!

NETT Screams for Ice Cream

The Mini Ponies ran, biked, walked and did everything we could to burn a few calories before indulging in the 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.

("What? Pictures? Quick put down the ice cream and pick up some fruit!" says Dave.)

It was great to see the "extended" NETT family enjoying the day.

NETT "B" Teamers Get Straight A's at Mass State Tri

Karyn Eminem provided a great update on the NETT B teamers at the Mass State Triathalon in Winchendon. Here's her update:

Our Team #1, doing an Olympic distance, was composed of Eri-the-Fish Verter, Doctor Ron, and our very own poet athlete, Jean Dany.

It took The Fish almost as long to get into his wet suit as it did to swim the 3/4 of a mile, but he did it with such speed that he literally almost fainted when he got out of the water. Doctor Ron took over on the bike leg and took off for his second-ever race and his first time riding 25 miles. He re-emerged about 80 minutes later, sprinting into the finish chute -- the only 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.

Team 2 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.

I was the final athlete in the NETT roster. My swim went surprisingly smoothly. Somehow I didn't have to vie for a clear corridor. So I didn't make any stops at all along the way and felt great at the finish. My transition was slow (how do people do it so quickly????). I couldn't get my socks on my wet feet and started heading out without a helmet (oops) and headed back for it. Once I was on the bike I realized how hot it was, and also how hilly. I got passed a fair amount on the flat and downhill portions, but passed literally a dozen people on the first 1.2-mile-long hill (okay...some of them re-passed me later) and half a dozen people on the second long hill. So I wasn't disappointed. What 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.

It was a great day and we missed the NETT'ers who weren't there!

Report from NETT North (WAY NORTH)

The NETT news room got a report recently from our furthest North (and Western) member, Liz who's gone to live out in the wilds of Manitoba among the woodland creatures. Apparently, she's already getting to know some of the "locals." Here's her report:

"So the other day I had a crazy run and I knew NETT would appreciate it. I was running on our island trail, which on average takes me 21 minutes, so I don't know how long it is because it's a trail, but my guess is 2.5 miles at the most. However all of that doesn't really matter, I was out the other night before dinner and I was only planning on doing one lap, and I was just coming to the last turn on the trail when I spotted a bear! Now I knew a bear had been spotted a couple of times so I wasn't surprised I saw it. I made some noise and it got scared, but instead of running into the woods it ran up a tree, and not any tree but one I needed to run under!

So I stood there for a bit weighing my options, trying to decide if I should A) run under the tree with the bear in it, B) wait for it to come out of the tree and continue or C) turn around and run two laps. I decided my safest bet was to turn around and run a second lap and I was still on time for dinner. Oh the adventures of trail running up here."

Good Choice Liz!

Molkie Continues his Tour of the New England Classic Trail Races at Greylock

Dave Molk has been on a mission this spring to run what many consider the "classic" New England rrail races and he's doing a great job. So far he's hit Soapstone, 7 Sisters and this weekend he ran the Greylock Half Marathon (Greylock Gallop to some of us old timers). Here's Molkie's reoprt:

"I ran this one strong and am feeling better on the hills (singular in this case). After losing a shoe in the first mud pile (literally the instant we hit the single-track), I regrouped, re-shoed, and began the climb, hiking a few parts but keeping a run for most of it. I felt great on the downhills but was a little overzealous in hammering them, as my right calf started twitching towards the end (though I didn't know how much was left). Scary moment for a borderline cramp, as well as the first I've had in my leg. Thankfully it didn't seize or buckle and I didn't lose any spots, although I gave up trying to reel people in. I finished maybe 3/4 of a mile later in 24th, spent but satisfied."

Congrats Molkie. Great to see you touring the classics.

NETT Relay Team Wins the Big Take at the Big Lake!

Well, you gotta give Frank credit for not shying away from a challenge. At Sudbury, it was the Battle of the Dynasties, relay team vs. relay team. This week, it was the Big Take at the Big Lake at the Webster Triathlon, where Frank -- solo -- challenged the relay team of Nicholas (swim), Bruce (bike) and Crazy Dave (run).

Frank headed off in the first wave, and three minutes back, Nicholas hit the water. As the results show, Nicholas was about 13 seconds faster than Frank, so it was close. But then, the rules worked against the Great Dane. The organizers at the last minute allowed relay teams' runner to run the chip up the 200 meters from the beach to the first transition area which was a big advantage for team Nicholas. They put a minute on Frank there (closing the head-start he got going in the first wave to about two minutes).

On the bike, Bruce surprised himself and threw down a 34:29 to Frank's 34:02, keeping Team Nicholas' about a minute ahead (and only two minutes back physically). "I have to say I was very impressed with Bruce's bike split, especially given the hilly course," Frank said.

On the run, Crazy Dave set out about 2 minutes after Frank and got a glimpse of Frank at the turn around. "Frrrannkk....I'm commminnning Frank!" Dave caught Frank with about 300 meters to go on the run and the two came in stride for stride to the finish.

At the end of the day, Frank deserves big credit for organizing everyone and putting in a great effort. He was 11th overall and first in his division.

Team Nicholas ran away with the relay team crown, finishing more than 2:30 ahead of the next team. It was a lot of fun.

"Another successful day for NETT in a multisport race," Frank summed it up.

Quick Recap of Lincoln Steeplechase, Exeter Trail Race

Several NETT members hit the trails this weekend. On Sunday it was the Lincoln Steeplechase 6.7 mile trail run on our "home turf." Here's the news from Frank:

"I haven't seen the results yet but as I recall Chris Smith ran 41:50 for 6th overall, I was 44:40 for 15th, Dave Molk ran with a friend in 47-48, and Marshall was 48 and change. Marshall won his age group, but by mistake they gave it to someone else. They probably didn't think anyone over 60 could run under 50 minutes on that course! (NETT pal and multiple winner of the Thomas Chamberas 6K Race) Ryan Carera won in 38:32 or something like that actually quite a lot of runners considering the weather. Paul Young, Tina and Emma were on hand to cheer. My wet muddy shoes are on the porch optimistically waiting for the sun to return."

Thanks Frank. Dave Molk's run at Lincoln was actually his second of the day! Earlier on Sunday, he was up in Exeter, NH for The Exeter Trail Races . Here's his report:

"I felt really strong on this one. It was cold and wet (read slippery, especially the wooden bridges) but I went out hard and basically stayed in 13th for most of the race. I tucked behind a guy I thought was Scott Livingston from the Shenipsit Striders (who I know is fast) and passed a guy with him towards the end but couldn't get past him too. After finishing 12th, I discovered that the guy I was behind was in fact not Scott, but had still beaten me in other races this season, so still fast.

The Lincoln Steeple Chase got a bit uncomfortable after 15 minutes or so but my friend and I gritted it out. Chris and Frank both looked good (at least at the start, as I didn't see them after that. Marshall was a class act as always. Strong cheering by Paul, Tina, and Emma."

Great show of support out there folks!

Martin's Mooseman Report

Here is my Mooseman 2011 International Distance race report.

First the pros: It was a beautiful day, cool - water temps high 50s-low 60s. The course was well laid-out and marked - overall, a very professional event.

The cons: It is an Iron Man event so they could care less about the International distance. They still have not posted the results for the race even though using the exact same timing system, they were able to post the results for the 1/2 iron man race as the race was happening. Also, they only worked to accommodate the 1/2 Iron so the bike course was long by 2.5+ miles - that favored the heavy bikers which had me at a bit of a disadvantage.

Overall, I would have to say that it was a good International-distance season opener. The swim went well - I got out of the water 4th in my division - there was a pro that I didn't even see and who beat us all by a lot. I got out of the water right with the next two guys who beat me in the swim and made it out of the transition before them. The bike course was really hilly and I am still a little twitchy on downhills from my incident last summer so I gave up a little time there. Also, it was a long bike course - 27.5+ Miles so all of the heavy bikers got a good advantage out there. Coming out of the bike transition, I passed two people immediately and began hunting down others. The leader was flying as was a guy from the 40+ age group. I was able to hunt down one other runner before the finish to cross the tape 7th.

The IronMan folks still have not posted the international results 3 days after the event - someone literally photographed them and posted them to flickr, which is where I have figured out my overalls. I ended up 10th over all in the swim, 49th overall in the bike and 1st in the run(maybe - I still have not seen them because work blocks flickr). That was good for 2nd in my age group and 13th over all for a time of 2:22. I wish that I would have done a bit better and broken top 10 over all but it was a great race nonetheless.

(Lincoln's Proud of his Dad!)

Here are the "results"

Here is the context:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=3371984;

NETT Continues the Summer Tradition at the Corrib Classic 5K

The NETT Mini Ponies kicked off the summer racing season in what's become an annual tradition by racing the Corrib Classic 5K in West Roxbury.

It was a great day, with some strong performances. On the men's side, Crazy Dave and Chris Smith took 1-2 in the master's race, (4th and 7th overall). It was a particularly impressive run for Chris, given he ran the Rhody 5K earlier in the day, as did Steve Peckiconis, who took fourth in his age group. (How do these guys DO it?)

On the ladies' side, Adrienne and Tina outdid Dave and Chris by finishing 4th and 6th in the women's field, Tina the first master. Also, the speedwork has been paying off for Doris, who had a strong run on a hot day, and NETT pals Victoria ran well with Alissa's pacing help.

After the race, it was back to Doris and Dave's for the annual post-race cookout, with a long list of NETT members and pals and some surprise guests!

Frank takes to the Sea for the Rye Duathlon

Frank journeyed north this weekend to the Rye-By-the-Sea Duathlon. And here's his report:

"With Black Bear Duathlon sadly canceled this year I decided to race Rye-By-The-Sea Duathlon. It a great scenic course and very well run event. The 3M run leg starts out with 1M on the roads, then 1.2M on trails in a small wood and finally 0.8 on dirt road. I had a solid first run leg coming in to T1 in 6th place. The first 5M were right into the wind but luckily with a slight downhill. I could, however, not match the strong cyclists so by the time we turned south on the Ocean Rd I had dropped down to 9th.

For the next 7 miles the was a strong tailwind and I averaged around 27 mph - that feels pretty cool. Around mile 9 I had a scary situation as a small terrier came running out from a driveway in front of me; luckily for me it decided to simply just stand still in the middle of the road. The last 4 miles were tough as we headed back into the wind and now with a slight uphill so suddenly my speed dropped to more moderate readings. The second run (which is the 1st leg run in reverse) was quite uneventful as I was not able to close the gap to any of the guys in front of me and I myself had a solid gap on the next guys. So I remained 9th overall and with (yet another) 2nd place finish in my age group. A great race on a day with near perfect weather."

Congrats Frank!

Race Report: Soapstone Mountain Trail Race

A few hearty NETT members headed down to the legendary Soapstone Trail Race on a wet Sunday. A first-timer, a second timer seeking redemption, and a veteran of more Soapstones than most of us could ever hope for.

Big congrats to Chris Smith, for his successful return to Soapstone after getting disastrously lost here last year (we were about 80% sure he had been abducted by aliens at a certain point). Chris finished 10th in 1:56 this year. Here's his take on it:

"I laugh at you Soapstone Moutain! (insert diabolical laughter) Is that all you've got? Actually, I almost didn't go when I woke up to hard rain. I checked the radar and it didn't look too bad so I got up and headed out. The race started with a nice temperature but sketchy footing. I was going even slower than usual on the downhills. With about 5m to go it started to downpour. The trails turned to rivers. After the last big climb I was just ahead of two guys. I fell at the beginning of the decent and lost one spot, lost another spot due to my slow decending speed. I could see them just ahead on the fire road to the finish but there was nothing left in my legs. I finished 10th place, but I am beat."

Also big congrats to Dave Molk who cracked the top 20 in his first attempt at Soapstone. (After his strong effort at 7 Sisters, clearly Molkie is checking off all the "classics" on the New England Trail racing circuit). Here's Dave's report:

"It was a wet race, although we started off dry (at least, not raining). I took two diggers but didn't have any shoes sucked off by the mud, which I was pretty worried about. Fun course, thank god we didn't have to go back down that big hill, although there was a long descent near the end that was also really slippery. As seems to be the trend at the moment, I had a better second half. Fun race. Chris looked good, but I couldn't actually see him, as he was out of sight in front of me the whole time."

And one of NETT's trail running veterans Dave Mingori was just minute behind Molkie in 2:05. Surf through the Soapstone results and you'll see Dave's name in a lot of results, always pretty high up--the guy's just a trail running stalwart and put in another great effort.

Great work guys! Putting the "T" back in NETT!

NETT Dynasties Do Battle at the Duel in the Pool

The stakes were high and the terms were set. Two all-star NETT triathlon relay teams went head to head at the Sudbury Sprint Triathlon, pushing each other to phenomenal results.

Team 1, aka the Wang Dynasty, of Nicholas (swim), Frank (bike) and Tina (run) was unbeatable head-to-head. So in a show of true sportsmanship, they agreed to provide a 10-minute cushion (thanks in part to the Montreal Canadiens' Lars Eller) to NETT team two, aka the Chow Dynasty, which consisted of Dave's niece Julie (swim), Crazy Dave (bike) and Doris (run).

The Wang Dynasty was first up, with Nicholas swimming his 400m pool leg like a marlin covered in butter. Fast and smooth despite having spent 6 hours doing hard labor the day before. Frank headed out on the bike and put down the Danish hammer, and laying down the second-fastest bike split in the relay. With that Tina took off looking like she'd never even heard of the Boston Marathon, throwing down a sub-16 minute run for a total relay time of 40:27.

If the Chow Dynasty was going to win the bet and a free breakfast at Helen's Restaurant in Concord, it would need to put in a 50:27, no small task for two first-time triathletes and a "cyclist" who looks more the part than acts it. After a long warmup, Julie took off on her first-ever triathlon swim leg like a pro. She beat her seed time by 30 seconds and ran like a started deer out to the transition area to send Dave off on the bike leg. Dave, extremely concerned he would be the weak leg on his team, gave it everything he had, but still gave up more than two minutes to Frank. The race was in Doris' hands, er, feet.

Doris sped off on the run leg, knowing she'd have to work hard to keep her team in contention. With the bet on the line, Doris knew it was close and kicked it in the last 300 meters like there was a shoe sale on the other side of the finish line.

When the dust settled, it was close, but the Chow Dynasty kept it to an 8:41 gap with a 49:08, thereby winning the bet!! Breakfast at Helen's to the victors!! (Special thanks to the Chow Dynasty team mascot, M, and of course Emma for her undivided attention as a spectator).


Also putting in great performances at Sudbury were Big Al Prescott and his wife Judy. Al, who even took a spill on the bike ("It's boring if there's no blood!") put down a 49-minute effort while Judy put in a 1:02 solo effort. Great job by both.

All in all it was a fun event--the pool swim makes it a great first-time event, and the weather cooperated nicely.

Liz's Take on Boston

Well, as most of you know our latest NETT casualty, Liz Haacke, has returned to her native Northlands. But before she left, she threw down a great Boston Marathon. Here’s her take on her first Boston.

My thoughts on the marathon:
This is a little later than I had hoped to write it, but moving kind of came at me fast and took over my life a bit. So here is what my impressions are from what I remember.

First up, the bus ride out. I was so happy to be going on the bus with Karyn and Peter, it gave me people to talk to and calm me down. And Karyn mentioned that the bus ride is one of the worst parts of the race, and I agree. You are driving and driving and driving thinking the whole time that you need to run the whole way back, you really get a sense of how far you have to run. Also, I was surprised to be surrounded by fellow Canadians on the bus, so we had a pleasant chat about Canada and also the marathon until the man sitting next to me told me Winnipeg is a horrible place, well seeing as that is where I now reside, our conversation was over after that.

Once I got off the bus I found a line for a port-o-potty. Walked around a little then I was time for my wave. Deciding what to keep on, what to put in my bag and what to toss along the way was a challenge as it was a cold wind that morning. One the way to the start I made one last pit stop and then had about 3 minutes to make it to my coral.

Then we were off, and it was a smooth start, one of the fastest starts of all the races I have done, and I kept telling myself to take it slow, that if I thought I was going slow enough I probably still wasn’t and to run my own race. The first half felt great, I had what I thought was a great pace, I saw my friends that had volunteered and had been put at the elite water stop at the 5k mark, so seeing them gave me a boost. Going through Wellesley was fine. Then a few miles after the half my quads started to hurt and my pace started to slow again.

When I knew the Newton hills were coming I welcomed them in a way, I had trained on hills quite a bit, and it gave my quads a break. So I took heart break in stride, it was challenging yes, but so much better than going downhill at that point. The last few miles were decently painful, but I kept going and I saw my friends again in the last half a mile so that gave me a boost.

Crossing the finish line was a great feeling and way more emotional than I thought it would be. Moving through everything in the finisher’s chute was slow and didn’t help with cramping, but it was well organized.

Overall I am glad I did it, and it was a great way to say goodbye to Boston.

Thanks Liz. We miss you already! Best of luck from NETT!!!

Molkie Tackles the 7 Bitches the Hard Way

Congrats to Dave Molk, who not only survived his first run at the 7 Sisters Trail Race, but finished in 2:33, 41st place, in one of the toughest races in New England. Here's his report:

"The first half was somewhat miserable despite my starting conservatively, with a few wrong turns, higher temps/sun exposure, and my not being in the race, mentally.

I regrouped at the turn-around, ate a cookie, and started to pull things together. I wish I carried more water, as I kept running out between stations, but passed a lot of people on the way back. I actually avoided getting passed myself on the last 6. Felt really solid on the downhills (except one or two that had me praying to avoid a broken ankle) but the uphills reminded me just how out of shape I am from where I'd like to be.

I'll be trying to get my act together for some races later in the season.
Bottom line: Despite still walking down stairs like Frankenstein (running hard downhills without training them beforehand = demolished quads), I'm planning on coming back next year to run it again and knock some solid time off."

Congrats Dave!

NETT goes 2 for 2 at opening Hale Trail Race

The nice folks at Hale Reservation in Westwood kicked off their 5K trail race series this weekend, and NETT members took the men's and women's division wins. Mary Smith made it look easy, cruising to sixth place overall and the women's win in 25:05, while Crazy Dave took the men's race.

Here's Mary's report:

"After spending 6 nights in Seattle, I couldn't think of a better way to start my weekend than a 5K trail race. I knew I would be tired & still on West Coast time - but as Dustin always says "You can run a 5K in your sleep." So I made the long 4 mile drive over to Hale Reservation. It was a small, low key 5K (close to 75 people)...on nice single track trails. Nothing was too technical or too hilly and the course was well marked. Doing all those runs in Hale definitely gave me a "home advantage" - for the most part I knew what was coming next.

My least favorite part of the race came with about 100 feet to go - some man trying to "Coach" me...saying the finish was right around the corner and telling me to "Empty It Out". I could see the finish line, I know how to run a race, I was in the lead, and there was NO one nearby....I didn't enjoy his "Coaching". However it did provide for some entertainment during Sunday's long run.

So now to the BEST parts of the day. The men's & women's races were swept by NETT!! Crazy Dave crossed the line 1st for the men and I finished 1st for the Women, in about 25 min (notice - I did not mention Crazy's time). The day was filled with nice trails, beautiful weather, "Winner Loving" flies, and quite a few laughs!!

Next 5K at Hale is June 25th at 9 am. They were planning to design a course up Powisset Peak. I definitely recommend them to anyone interested.

Tina's Take on Boston

As many of you know, Tina Wang basically defied the laws of nature and came back from having a baby to run Boston in a few short months. Here's her take on how the race played out:

"I know that I wasn't as disciplined as Karyn on the training so I knew that I would definitely bonk during the second half of the marathon. So the strategy was to run as fast as I could during the first half. Yup, weird strategy and opposite to what everybody else recommends. The first half I felt good. But the second half, oh, boy, was a torture. Frank and Nicholas were waiting for me at mile 23. Which was great, but meant I couldn't even drop out before then. If I made it to mile 23, I guess I'd better finish it. Then during the final 2K, I thought, hey if I can finish with 3:40, I might have a little chance to register for Boston next year (I will be "allowed" to registered on the third day, I believe). Therefore, I picked up my pace a bit and finished in 3:38. I was so sore the next couple days....... I have never been this sore after a marathon before. This is what happens when you don't train enough, I guess.

I am so glad that Karyn, Liz, Deb, and Peter all did so well. I am so proud of everybody!

Eminem's Boston Race Report

Karyn M-M defied the laws of medicine by not only meeting her post-surgery goal of completeing Boston, but re-qualifying for next year. Here's Karyn's report:

Done!

What a day -- the weather was perfect. A light breeze, constant sunshine and temps between 48 and 60.

Peter and I kept a steady pace until about mile 16 when he was felled with a calf cramp -- he'd been having calf problems for the last week.

I ended up running ahead and stayed pretty much on pace to achieve my goal of under-four-hours (okay...I cut it a little close at 3:59:03...but I wasn't the least bit disappointed. I was ecstatic). Five months after knee surgery and I re-qualified...if by the skin of my teeth : ) Also fabulous was that Daniel jumped in just before mile 23 and encouraged, cheered and paced me to the end -- making sure that I crossed under hours. He was awesome. (A cheer from Little Skittles at mile 23 -- where he was sitting in his throne with his track buddies was pretty nice too).

The only foolish thing I did was not dealing with a pebble that landed in my shoe at mile 7. By the half I knew I had a decent cut or blister and by the finish line I was a bit worried about taking my shoe off and looking. I spent about 15 minutes in the med tent while they cleaned and bandaged it. Turned out to be a lovely cut-and-blister combo package. I won't be wearing shoes for a few days : )

Best news is that Peter picked himself up and finished despite his calf. He crossed the finish line in 4:13! I had been worrying for 10 miles that he wouldn't make it. I shouldn't have!

That's our news. Off to an icebath with the hockey game in the background.

Mini Ponies Gallop Through Historic Boston Marathon

It was a historic day at the Boston Marathon with world-record times and the NETT Mini Ponies were right there in the thick of it all.

Liz Haacke said a fond farewell to the Hub by pounding out a 3:41 in only her second attempt at the distance. Here's hoping Liz enjoyed it so much she'll be back again next year to run! (We'll hear more from Liz tomorrow on her run)

Deb Robertson somehow managed to sneak in some great training while putting wedding plans together at the same time. In what will (I assume) be her last marathon as a single lady, Deb knocked out a 4:05.

New mommy Tina Wang somehow managed to balance a newborn baby, driving lessons for Nicholas and marathon training to run 3:38. Poor woman is so sleep-deprived, she was making coffee stops on the course! I don't know how she did it. (And if you're thinking this photo of Tina gulping starbucks looks familair, it's a repeat of her pose from two years ago here Same outfit, same pose, pretty funny!

And Karyn Miller Medzon, only a few months after knee surgery, held steady and strong to requalify with a 3:59 (Karyn's report will be posted separately, shortly).

On the men's side, Frank White's weekly training efforts on Heartbreak Hill clearly paid off as he skated to a 2:50 effort.

Congrats to all!!

Multi-sport Season Kicks off at Wrentham Duathlon

How often can you say you outdueled a political juggernaut -- and you're not even a politician? NETT's Martin and Frank KJ did just that at the Wrentham Duathlon today.

"We both had the pleasure of kicking Senator Scott Brown's ass, but enough about him," said Frank. "We were lucky with the weather as the sun broke through the clouds as we toed the start line."

Frank reports that Martin was a bit off pace on the run but improved his bike leg from last year by more than a minute! "If he had worn a more aero outfit instead of a loose-fitted jersey he likely would shaved another 30 seconds off."

Frank had another "just missed the hour mark" race at Wrentham with the same old run and bike splits but good enough for 5th place overall. All in all a promising start to the multisport season. Results at http://www.firm-racing.com/

In other racing news, Toledo Joe Hardin outran a juggernaut of his own at the BAA 5K, just outkicking the great Uta Pipig in 19:32. Nice work Joe!

NETT Men Head for the Hills to Kick Off the Trail Racing Season

NETT runners has a variety of trail races to choose from this weekend to kick off the season in style, with Merrimack Rivah, Northern Nipmuck and Blue Hills all taking place on the same Saturday. And our boys chose to head for the hills!

Dave Molk made his triumphant return to trail racing after an extended absence, cranking out a 1:19 at the Blue Hill Fox Trot 10 Miler. That effort got Molkie fifth in his age group and 11th overall on a very hilly course. "This was my first race since Stone Cat 09 and it's great to be back at it. Looking forward to digging in this season," he said.

Can't wait to see more great results from this guy before he heads south at the end of the summer to go become a musical doctor.

Also on Saturday a few NETT folks and friends hit the Northern Nipmuck 16 Mile Trail Race (or should I say it hit US!). Kidding aside, NETT went 2-3-6 in the men's masters race with Youngstah, Crazy Dave and Dave Mingori tackling the extremely rugged course. Old pals Keith Schmitt and John Kinnee deserve acknowledgement as well for running top-notch times on their first times on this course.

Nice work all and looking forward to more trail racing success out there.

Battle Road Runs are Back!

Even though it's snowing as I write this, Spring is officially here and we're starting up one of NETT's longest traditions, our Monday night runs on the Battle Road Trail.

We meet every Monday night in the parking lot of the Element Hotel in Lexington, Mass. and run 10 miles (five out and back). At the end of the run, our sponsor, the Element Hotel, provides beverages and snacks for us in a private room (no joke--they really do!).

If you don't feel up to a full 10-miler, you're welcome to start out with us and turn back at any point and meet up with us back at the hotel later.

Details are posted in the Meetup group every week, so please RSVP if you plan to attend.

SPECIAL TREAT:
To get you all in the right frame of mind, I wanted to point you to a song called "Battle Road" written by one of my favorite singer-songwriters Kevin Connolly, who lives in the area and walks his dog out on the Battle Road Trail regularly.

If you go to his web site here, you can play his song on the bottom of the site (hit the arrows to the left if you want to get to Battle Road).

"Do what you gotta do, down the Battle Road."

Liz tackles Stu's, Dave makes masters' debut

It's been a bit quiet on the racing front, but here's a couple NETT results from the past couple weeks.

Liz Haacke's dedicated Boston training showed through in her performance at Stu's 30K on March 6. Liz churned out a 2:36 in her first run on the hilly 30K course.

"I felt good the whole race," Liz said. "I didn't go out too fast which was good. I ran pretty hard, but I think I could have run harder. I definitely think my hill workouts have been helping, the hills were challenging, but I never came to something and thought I couldn't handle it. I was by myself for a good few miles, and during those miles I think I slowed down, but then someone picked me up a mile or so past the half way point and we talked the rest of the race, which helped keep my pace up a bit. And, in really good news, I was not too sore after the race, so no injuries or too much of a beating on my legs."

Congrats Liz!

And in other racing news, Crazy Dave made his master's debut, but not in a running race. He finished in the top half (just barely!) of the Bretton Woods Nordic 20K race this past weekend, finishing 50th place in 1:43 in his first "official" classic nordic ski race.

NETT comes out of hibernation at Hyannis

Despite the very tough winter, it's clear the members of NETT have remained steadfastly focused on their training this year, as evidenced by the performances thrown down at the Hyannis races this weekend. Heck, just getting to the race was a challenge, as the New England winter threw us another curveball on Sunday, dropping several inches of snow in the morning.

In the 10K, Frank KJ blistered out a near-PR 36:18, finishing third overall. The ages of the first place and second place finsher combined are still less than Frank's age! Great work Frank. (It's a good day for the Danish, as I type this, a Danish film, In a Better World, just won the Oscar for the best foreign film).

In the half-marathon, Martin Bures led the charge, knocking out a 1:22 in despite less-than-ideal conditions. On the ladies' side, Karyn Miller-Medzon cranked a speedy 1:48, clearly having a strong winter of training. Deb Robertson was just a bit back in 1:49, according to the netttime.

Congrats to all! Great work out there.

Burke Wins Eastern New England Trail Race Series!

Huge -- I mean HUGE -- congrats to Jack Burke for winning the overall crown in the Eastern New England Trail Race Series!
Jack scored 871 points over 12 races throughout the year. That is a lot miles both running and in the car! He travelled as far as Maine and Northern New Hampshire. This marks the second year in a row an NETT member has won the series. Marshall Randolph was first last year, with Jack.

NETT also shows up strong in the age group results, with Eri Verter taking second in the 20-29 age group, Dave Hannon taking 3rd in the 30-39 age group, Paul Young and Chris Smith scoring in the top 20 in the 40-49 group. Jim De Zutter and

On the women's side Adrienne Cyrulik was second in her age group with 260 points while Katherine De Zutter, Karyn MM, Kristin Hall and Mary Smith all scored points.

The organizers of the ENETRS are looking for help. Rob MacDonald crunched the results again this year, but Renee the organizer says, "If there is anyone who enjoys playing with numbers and would like to take over the keeping of results or if they would like to be part of a team who shares the duties please contact me at rainman52@verizon.net."

NETT's Resolution for 2011: Recruit some younger talent

Is this too young?

NETT comes out in force at Walter's Run

Nothing gets the Mini Ponies out like a free brunch!

There were plenty of NETT folks out at the Walter's Run in West Roxbury on Sunday, taking a number of age-group awards.

In the women's race, Mary Smith took first in the 20-29 category (6th overall) Adrienne Cyrulik just a place behind took second in the 30-39 category, while friends of the club Wendy Akeson took 3rd in the 40-49. Also in the women's race, Karyn Eminem took her first strides post-surgery to support the race, Chrissy "Buros" made us all feel wimpy by running pregnant, with Doris working as pacer for both.

In the men's race, NETT went 7-8-9 with Crazy Dave, Chris Smith and Frank KJ all scoring in their age groups.


Along with all those folks, it was great to see some friends of NETT were out in force including Alissa Nelson, Victoria Groves, Tom Donohoe, and Harry Benzan.
(Apologies to anyone I missed!)

After the race it was back to Dave and Doris' for brunch by a cozy fire.

HUGE congrats to race director Keith Shields and all of the volunteers from the Parkway Running Club. The course was filled with volunteers and the pre- and post-race organization was perfect. There is a lot of effort put into this race and it showed on race day. Nice job PRCers!

The race is named in memory of Walter Burgess, a PRC member who passed away. The race raised more than $7,000, which will be split evenly between the Walter Burgess Scholarship Fund, the Boston Globe's Globe Santa charity program, and the YMCA's Reach Out Campaign. (Photo courtesy of West Roxbury Patch)

The Early Days of NETT (part II)

We'll continue our reflective period here with some thoughts from another one of NETT's founders, Paul Miller, about the early days of NETT. (To see part I go here)
"So in my memory, it was Dave and Bruce (not sure which one first) that got fed up of our previous club and decided to leave it. You said you had mulled over for some time the idea of starting your own club. With you and Bruce deciding to leave, I decided I'd rather join whatever you were up to as training with friends was more important. (We got some early flack from former coach about forming "a social club" rather than "racing team".)

In terms of the early name, I know there were suggestions of calling it "Banana" among some of early members and Bruce and I were against that as making the team name an "inside joke" would not be ideal for encouraging outsiders to join, and certainly not for encouraging any serious runners. Various names, including things like "MetroWest" were flung around but NETT became agreed upon. Whether there should be three "T"s or not (the third one being "Tri") was also a matter of debate.

The first track workouts I remember were at the Watertown track, before they shifted to Bentley due to too many "walkers" on the town track. The Weston High School grass intervals were a regular summer + early fall favorite workout as well. I remember my Dad coming to one of those the year Alex was born: 2003 (yikes -- seems like yesterday). He commented on what a nice bunch you were, after we had a meal post-workout. As an aside, seemed like you'd already been dating Doris for a while then ;-)

I'm pretty sure that Jerry was one of the early members as well as Paul Young, Ben Winter and Anthony Chamberas. I think Joe Hardin joined NETT pretty early too -- I think he joined NETT in the first year. Dave Shackelford came to workouts pretty early on too.

The early races I remember were the Mayor's Cup, New England XC Champs, Andover XC and the BU mini-meets in those first years I think. I think my first official non-tri race with NETT was the Marathon Sports 5-miler in Wellesley, a few weeks pre-Ironman when I PR-ed. Later that summer Dave and I both did the Pisgah 50K while I think Anthony and Dave Bartel did the shorter race.

I also did my only ever snowshoe race with Dave the first winter on the team. I would never have even worn snowshoes or done a 50K trail race without the influence of NETT.

The early social events I recall inclued the annual party with "awards" at your apartment on in Newton and "Table football" competitions were a big hit.

For me a great memory was seeing Dave after we all clubbed together to get him a decent bike when he was injured. He was quite overcome and surprised as I recall. (Editor's note: I'm STILL overcome when I think about it and tell people where I got such a kickass bike! I still don't feel like I belong on that thing, but love it nonetheless).

All in all, I think the way the team works is great -- without a strict set of rules or anything, essentially anyone who is willing to put in the effort gets to make something happen. If they are thoughtful of others then what happens will be popular and keep going. So, as it should be, those who put the most in are the ones who get to decide the direction of the club.

For me the ideal club is one within which you can find a training partner/company in any of your regular workouts (hence variety of members is good) and go to races knowing you'll have a team member there to look out for. Pretty much as it is -- no obligations, but the more you put in the more you get out.

If I had any recommendations to new members it would be to take what opportunity you get to try something new (snowshoe/orienteering/trail racing/triathlon?) and don't be shy of suggesting your own "meetups" and races to do."

Thanks for the memories Paul! Great stuff.

Thanksgiving Race Roundup

There were a few NETTers out on the roads this Thanksgiving.

Frank KJ headed out to the Stow race. Here's his report:

Returning for the 3rd time to Stow Gobbler 5K I had expected to toe the lines with Jerry but he was MIA for the day. Instead there were a bunch of high school kids including Katherine DZ; Daddy-o Jim was there as well. The high school kids took off like rockets and I was in 15th place. Some of them were good and stayed ahead, some of them faded quickly so around mile 10 I was in 11th place. A guy around my age came alongside at mile 1 and we pushed each other until mile 2 where he decided to make a move and got a gap of about 10 feet. Meanwhile we had passed a couple of guy and I was now running in 9th place. I thought I would not be able to close the gap again but at around 2.5M he started to fade on the slight uphill up to the parking lot while I was able to keep my pace. We ran together for .25M and then at the 3M sign I put whatever I had left into a "sprint" and crossed the line in 17:55; good for eight 8th place and third master. Katherine was sub-24 on a cruise and Daddy-O Jim DZ was just under 28. The course is actually 5.1K (3.16M) so based on that I am very happy the performance. Next up is Walter's Run."

Crazy Dave and DOris headed to the Donohue's 5K Turkey Trot in Watertown for a great pre-Turkey Day run. Well organized, and the best part was the post-race food! Eggs, bacon, sausage and home fries for all runners! Doris ran great at 29:21 on a very long 5K course while Dave was 18:20.

If you have other results to add, send them along to Crazy Dave.



Nice work Frank!

The Early Days of NETT (part I)

This time of year, I always get a little nostalgic because NETT really took shape during the fall of 2002 (the Andover XC Race was our first official NETT race).

A lot of runners have come and gone in the past eight years, but a few folks have asked recently about the history of NETT. So I decided to check in with my co-founders Paul Miller, Dave Bartel and Bruce Goode about those early days and see if they remember things the way I do (none of us are getting any younger).

In this, the first installment, we'll have a Q&A with Dave Bartel about the early days. I've known Dave since the 7th grade and while he's not all that active in NETT these days, he was an important player in those early days and continues to do a VERY good job of reminding us all not to take ourselves too seriously.

In your memory, how was NETT formed? Who played what role?

The idea of forming a running club was first brought up by Dave Hannon. He had run with other running clubs in the past and wanted to branch out on with his own club with the idea to create a more laid back, let's have fun and win some races idea. This idea of a running club was one of the many topics we would discuss while running. It should be noted that Dave and I originally met while growing up and running at Chelmsford High. Having more like minded people to run and ultimately train with was very refreshing for me. It almost made the running aspect take a back seat to the comraderie of everyone and we ran with.

Was there any mission statement or overarching plan or goals to it all or was it more of a less structured thing?

In the beginning it was less structured, getting together for runs and going from there. It worked out for me and Dave that we both lived and worked in the Waltham/Newton area. This afforded us the opportunity to meet up for runs more often than not. Dave introduced me to the Lincoln Woods and was one of my favorite places to run. (The other being the Carlisle State Forest.) As I (we) started meeting up with more people, Bruce, Paul Miller, random one off's, Ben, Anthony, Dave Shackelford, workouts and races became more structured (planned) with time.

What were the early runs and workouts like? Where did we meet?

The early runs were divided between Lincoln Woods and runs from Brandeis into the Weston area. I recall participating in a majority of the causal runs and especially the Sunday monring long run at Lincoln Woods. Eventually I began participating in the specific workouts, tempo runs, hill workouts and track workouts. The fondest memories that stuck with me are the long runs in Lincoln and the Prospect Hill hill workouts (that mother effer is appox .9 miles gate to top!!)

Beyond the four founders, who do you recall as being the earliest members of NETT?

Anthony Chamberas. Anthony was like the fifth Beatle. He had the right mindset, participated in runs when his time allowed and could be considered and original 'silent' founder. And Ben Winther. Why? Exactly. Paul Young was also involved in those days.

How about races? Do you remember doing any races in the early days of NETT?

In the early days I really enjoyed the training more than the races. On training runs we all ran as fast as the the slowest person there. No one was there to 'win' the training run. Well, maybe Big Ben sometimes, but that's why we love him! When Dave did coax me into a race it was a Thanksgiving day race or the Yankee Homecoming. On a personal note, the Falmouth Road Race was one that I looked forward to each and every year.

Do you remember any early social events? Where were they what were they?

I do not recall many social events. Rumor has it I was at one particular event from what I was told. Apparently I horrified a friend's girlfriend (now wife) when I relieved myself on the sidewalk outside their apartment. Dave and Doris drove me home. The next day I saw Anthony and his girlfriend (now wife) when I went back the next morning to pick up my car. Pictures of this event never surfaced so it may not have ever happened!!

Overall what is your favorite memory/memories with NETT?

Favorite memories are of the Lincoln Woods training runs. One in particular was with Dave, Ben and Cindy. After crossing the MBTA train bridge re-entering the woods into the rocky, curvy downhill Dave stumbled and fell banging his knee on a rock. We were unaware that something like this would cause him to pass out, or as I like to call it, taking a "dirt nap." As we suddenly stopped and stood over Dave lying on the ground barely breathing, Ben's first response was, "Should we poke him with a stick?"

The other memory was always having a steady, reliable running partner in Crazy Dave.

Any words of advice for new members? What you, as a founder, would like to see happen with it all?

Know about and understand the banana. If that makes sense to you, you certainly belong with NETT!!

Thanks Dave! Stay tuned for interviews with our other co-founders.

UPDATED: Mini Ponies run Wild in the streets of Manchester

Yes, the herd of Mini Ponies took to the roads this weekend at the Manchester City Marathon with some great results. But why not let some of the herd tell the story themselves.

First off, Eri "Muscles" Verter's report:

"This was my first official half marathon. My goal was to break my Derry performance which was 7:16 m/h avg. I don't know if it was waking up to an adrenaline rush from Dave's phone call of "Are you almost here Eri?" or was my hard training with you guys, but I shattered it with a 7:02 pace (according to official results and 6:59 according to my watch). I was a bit faster on the second half which tells me that I was efficient in my energy conservation. It was a lot of fun to do it with so many people that I knew. Doris's signs and shouts of "Go Eri" and Ben's "Go Muscles" shouts definitely helped me a lot mentally while I was running. Thanks to some competitive people at the end I finished my last mile with 6:22 m/h and kept my impassibility since mile1-2. The next challenge will be this year's Derry 16 miler at the end of Jan."

Oh yeah. We got tickets to the GUN SHOW. Muscles finished 44th overall in 1:32 for the mathematically challenged.

Next up, let's get Chris Smith's take on the day:

"My day started off with a little adrenaline rush. I rolled over in bed looked
at the clock to see how much more time I had to sleep and to my surprise the
alarm should have gone off twenty minutes prior. I jumped up but figured I still had plenty of time to get to Manchester by 8:00 to meet Ben with my number. Had breakfast and was on the road by 6:40. I had already made up ten minutes. Got to Manchester, no trouble finding parking, to the hotel, find Dave, Doris and Mary. Eri… woke up more than twenty minutes late. Ben and Cindy show up then Eri(followed by the NH state police). Dave, Cindy, Mary, Eri and I head to the start as Ben and Doris tactically plan out their viewing/support route.

Being a smallish race I am able to line up near the front Dave a couple rows back. I don’t know where everyone else ended up. The first mile was mostly downhill but a little bit of a head wind to contend with, I still think it was a little short though, I had a ~5:40 split. I settled into my pace. The course was littered with these annoying hills, up and down. Some of the down hills where so steep they were tougher than going up. Overall I felt good throughout the race. My time does not reflect it though but it was one of the more difficult half’s I have run.

After it was quickly back to the car for some warm clothes then some hot soup and hot chocolate and hot chocolate and. … ok maybe I had more than my share but did I mention it was cold. I then find Cindy and Eri and we then spot the familiar pink hat of Mary. She looks like she has not even gone for an easy jog. I’m starting to suspect that she may have just gone back to the car and taken a nap. Now we wait for Dave. The only one crazy enough to do the full marathon. The clock ticks 2:54 and here he comes with a smooth stride but looking a little rough around the edges. Dave was bloody with a dazed look on his face as he finished. Crazy may have beat the hills of Manchester but they didn’t go down with out a fight."

Thanks Chris. For the record, Chris was 11th overall in the half in 1:24 (sixth master--stacked field eh?)

Now let's get Big Ben's unique take on the day.

Some folks know that I scratched from the Marathon, after pulling a calf muscle during a track workout on the Tuesday before the race. I’m a moron. I know most of the team was all worked up about oversleeping and whatnot, but I woke up on time. I ate a leisurely English breakfast of blood sausage and grilled tomato, dry white toast, and tea. I quit coffee the previous Friday.I might start up again, I’m not sure.

At 7:15am my beautiful wife Cindy told me to get in the car, and we flew down to meet the team for our 8am rendezvous. I wasn’t worried about anything until 7:45 when I looked at my phone, which was set to silent, and noticed that I’d missed a call from Crazy. I was immediately worried something was wrong, so I handed the phone to Cindy. Cin’ called Crazy, he was in our designated meeting spot, we caught up with the group about 5 minutes later. No big problems.

After we handed out the number bags it became apparent I hadn’t made sure there were pins for the numbers. My bad. It was stressful time for me. Chris had a whole bunch of pins. I felt a lot better.

We took some photos. We all checked out Mary’s new ring. It’s pretty impressive. I have a picture. The gun went off and Doris and I drove out to the 7 mile mark. It was really cool. Everyone looked awesome. I almost missed Cindy running by because I went to take a wiz. Doris had me driving her car through Manchester, because I knew the area. She’s a great new car. It’s a stick shift. I learned how to drive on a stick shift…in 1985. It still works.

We drove around some more, saw those guys at the half finish, then drove back out to get some Powerbars to Crazy. We saw him at 23 and 24, then back at the finish.
We had a great conversation with the volunteer at mile 23. He was stationed right next to a fresh dead squirrel, I covered it with leaves so Doris wouldn’t have to look at it. A group of spectators showed up a little later and stepped in it. I apologized, but I thought it was really funny.

Doris got really mad at me because I farted while we were outside waiting for Dave at mile 24, and the wind blew it at her. I felt bad, but I thought that was really funny too. Then we saw everyone back at finish. Doris probably won’t hang out with me any time soon, but I think she still likes me.

I’m really impressed with everyone’s performance. The half marathoners all exceeded THEIR own expectations and they all looked fantastic coming through. Crazy Dave ran a ballsy race, it’s a hard course, it was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, and he ran all by himself for the last half."

Thanks Benny. In terms of numbers, the orignal ponyette Cindy Winther busted out a 1:49, obviously unflusterd by the fact that her husband sat the race out with a genital injury.

As brother Chris alluded to, Sister Mary Smith sailed through a 1:42, unphased by the extra piece of equipment she carried on race day (I'll let her tell you that one!). Congrats to her!

HUUUGGE thanks to Big Ben and Little Doris for their support on the course. Afterwards it was time for Mexican food and the biggest glass of beer you ever saw a bloodied marathoner drink!

And in the full marathon, Crazy Dave made his less-than-triumphant return to the road marathon after a LLLOOONGGG layoff to post a 2:54, clearly paying the price for adopting the "Ricky Bobby" race strategy. If you ain't FIRST YOU'RE LAST!

Getting Down with a Crowd at Busa Bushwhack

"There's a lot leaves and acorns out on the course, so remember, there's only one winner, so the rest of you can be careful."

The words of our esteemed host Rich Busa was more than just Richie being his jovial self, it was a fair warning. There was more blood at this race than most but the great vibes are always unbeatable at this race.

First off, big thanks to the Greater Framingham folks for hosting and putting on such a great race. They brought a ton of folks out to the Chamberas race this year and we did our best to return the favor and bring a lot of NETT folks to this race as well, in both the 10 miler and the 5 miler.

Okay, onto the results. In the 10 miler Chris Smith continued to show his fitness with a 1:08 to walk away with the master's title. And then back in the 1:16 to 1:18 range, there were a few members of the NETT family. Not-yet dad Frank KJ got in his last race before the big day and cranked out a 1:16 (It was great to see our old pal Andy Illidge one spot behind Frank looking fit and half his age!) Marshall Randolph was 1:17 [insert generic comment of disbelief about a guy his age, etc.], and the Turkish Twist Eri Verter was just a few ticks behind in 1:18. Mr. Consistency Jack Burke ran 1:24.

Mary Smith celebrated her "NETT anniversary race" by hula hooping her way to a 1:28. Katherine De Zutter took the long way home to finish in 1:45 while dad Jim finished the 10 miler in 2:01.

In the short race, Crazy Dave and Doris ran 1:04 and were greeted by our host, Richie, who gave every finisher their own dog tags. I really like the fact that Rich greets everyone at the finish personally. Always a class guy.

Post-race fare provided a special surprise: Pancakes! In all the years I've been doing races, never had pancakes. That was great. And there were donuts, pastries, and all kinds of other great stuff. DEFINITELY, a good feast at this race.

All in all, it's a great race and a favorite for the NETT gang--definitely the biggest group we've had at any race this year, with a LOT of NETT shirts out there too, which is great to see.

Pics posted here.