Update: NETT braves the cold at Derry

NETT had another solid showing at the Boston Prep 16 mile race in Derry, NH this weekend, which lived up to its reputation for bone-chilling temps and a course of non-stop hills. But never ones to be intimidated by such things, a group of hearty Mini Ponies galloped their way to strong finishes.

The day started with a visit from a "ghost of Derrys past" when Big Leo Fahey rang up Crazy Dave on the cell phone on the ride up. "Dude, I'm in the car in front of you" Leo said. But, when asked if he was, in fact, making his return to the Derry race, he said "What are you f--ing crazy? I'm going to coach a volleyball tournament! I'm NEVER running that race again."

Well, despite Big Leo's absence, New England Track & Trail was well represented. Frank White posted yet another solid result at Derry, coming off an ankle injury and a triple effort in Bermuda last weekend to finish in 1:45. Dima Feinhaus notched a 1:50 effort for 27th place overall and Karen Ringheiser put up a very strong 2:06 run, good for 10th female master. And Crazy Dave slogged his way to a 1:42.

The tag team of Karyn Miller-Medzon and Peter Evers churned out a 2:26 effort for a very solid Boston prep run while ultra specialist Bogie D simply laughed the hills off en route to a 2:46.

But clearly the star of the day goes to youngster Eri Verter, who ran not only his first-ever 16 mile race, but likely his first 16-mile run in a stunning 1:55, or 7:12 pace, to finish 61st place out of 650 finishers. Given the course, the cold and his race experience level, this amounts to a very promising finish for a guy who's only done a handful of races. His secret? Well regular trips to Prospect Hill are a good start.

(photos here courtesy of Dima F. To see more pics of the race, see Scott Mason's PHOTOS HERE )

Not the USUAL Bermuda vacation

How did you spend YOUR weekend? Maybe you did a race? Maybe you even did two races? Or maybe you jetted off to Bermuda for the weekend? Well even if you did ALL of that this past weekend, Frank White's got you beat. This lunatic flew to Bermuda Friday, ran three races in three days, and flew home Monday!

The Bermuda International Race weekend hosts a mile race on Friday, a 10K race on Saturday and a marathon/half marathon on Sunday. But if those events individually aren't challenging enough for you there's the Triangle Challenge where you do all three events in three days and your times from all three are combined.

And apparently Frank just felt doing one race in a foreign country on a weekend wasn't enough of a challenge, because he did the mile, 10K and half marathon in a combined time of 2:11 to finish third overall. "I died in the last 5K of the half-marathon and got passed for second place," Frank griped, but still gave the trip and the races high marks. And Frank's got some friends that live in Bermuda, so the overall costs of the weekend sufferfest were limited.

Snowshoe season heats up for Mini Ponies

Well if you don't like snow, you've probably either moved to Florida or taken the radio into the bath tub with you by now, but for those that do like the white stuff (not THAT white stuff), it's been a very good January. And that certainly includes a big part of New England Track & Trail's members.

Last weekend, it was a great day for a casual snowshoe hike on the trails in Lincoln. Crazy Dave led the way on his XC skis and Doris, Adrienne, Mary and Chris followed the tracks on their snowshoes. It was only the second time for Mary and Adrienne, but they shoed like seasoned veterans, hopping rock walls and following their brainless leader across fields and trails.

But this weekend, it was time to get our race on and NETT attacked the Beaver Brook 5K Snowshoe Race in Hollis, NH with great success, taking 2nd and 4th on the men's side and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd on the women's side, in addition to various age group awards.

For the women, NETT North's Jennifer Shultis (now a resident of Peterborough, NH) took 2nd behind a ridiculously fast Kara Haas (more on that later). While Jennifer's run was very strong, she's an experienced snowshoer and we've come to expect those kinds of finishes from her (although not always wearing a skirt! No sh-t, the chic wore a skirt in the snowshoe race). The surprise on the women's side was Mary Smith, taking third place overall in her FIRST EVER snowshoe race. Before the race, she was calm and cool, as the video at the bottom of the page documents. It was clear that she handled the new sport with ease and even added a snowshoe cooldown for good measure. Another one hooked!

The men's race was chock full of drama, with Chris Smith taking us all out strong in his only second snowshoe race (he was third last week at the Pooh Hill race). Chris led for most of the race, towing a few guys along including Crazy Dave, sucking wind a few yards back by halfway. But lurking back in fourth was the always tough Rob Smith who found a high gear in the last half-mile to dust us all easily. You'd love to hate a guy that pulls something like that off, but Rob's such a nice guy (seen here with Dave and Mary), you gotta give the guy credit for a good win. Chris did an amazing job and finished second in his second ever snowshoe race--it's clear that he's got some serious potential in this sport. And Crazy Dave was fourth place only 13 seconds in front of a fast-charging Kara Haas (I swear I looked back with 200m to go and there was no one behind me--she came out of NOWHERE!).

RD Michael Amarello gets high marks for not only getting 50 people to a first-time snowshoe race but a good course and markings and nice t-shirts and prizes.

But the person that deserves perhaps the MOST props, is Mary's beau Dustin, who was perhaps on of five spectators in the freezing temperatures supporting Mary and the rest of us, taking great pics, shivering and looking at us all like we really really need professional help. When asked if he'll be at the next snowshoe race, Dutsin's reply was: "I'll be there in spirit."(In comparison, Doris has been to enough snowshoe races at this point, that she had me drop her off at the Pheasant Lane Mall on the way up!)

All in all, it was a fun day in the snow. Those interested in doing some snowshoe races, there's plenty more coming up:

• Jan 31 Northfield, Mass. (A very tough mountain course)


• Feb. 8 Frosty's Dash for a Cure (5K) in Atkinson NH to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis


• Feb. 14 Horse Hill 7K in Merrimack, NH
  

And plenty more on these sites: http://www.runwmac.com/ and the Granite State Snowshoe Series.

Winter Multisport Races coming up

For those of you who haven't heard about it yet, the rapidly growing winter multisport concept is gaining traction (get it--traction!) in the New England area.

The 2009 New England Winter Multisport Series is made up of three races--one in New Hampshire and two at the Weston Ski Track in Weston, Mass. The first winter triathlon in the series on January 25 is at Gunstock in New Hampshire and according to the web site, it's pretty simple: "Winter Triathlon is a succession of a run, mountain bike ride, and X-country ski segment separated by transitions."

The Gunstock race distances are scheduled to be a 5K run (on snow), 7.5K mountain bike (on snow), and a 6K X-country ski (on water--just kidding, on snow).

The Weston triathlon on Saturday, Feb. 7 will shoot for the same distances, although snow in Weston is less reliable.

The final event of the series is a winter duathlon at Weston on Feb. 22 (unfortunately, the same day as the Hyannis Marathon!) and will feature a 4K run, 6K ski, and another 4K run. This race is also designated as the club championship race, so anyone not doing the Hyannis race for NETT should consider this event.

Lastly, note one the sponsors of this series, Patrick F. Dwyer and Associates, should be a familiar name to NETT members.

While you might not have tried this sport before--no worries. I don't think many people have, so there's definitely no harm in giving it a whirl, especially if you're an experienced mountain biker and skier.

How to make your CURRENT mile time into your PR using Math.

Recently, I was chatting with Rick Cleary, NETT's resident mathemetician, mostly lamenting about my mile time. He was talking about a recent math meeting he attended and I jokingly suggested that with all that brainpower, they could figure out a way to turn my latest, extremlely sub-par mile time of 5:06, into a respectable PR. Here's Rick's surprisingly lucid and realistic reply:

"This is easy, in fact I've already solved it using the famous ClearNote (TM) system, short for Cleary Notation.

Here's how clear note could work for you:

First, and most importantly, rephrase 5:06 as 4:66. Just tell a couple of people you did a mile in 4:66 without saying it too coyly.

Second, in a later conversation with one of these people remind them that you recently ran "Four something."

Third, as word of your four something makes its way through the running community, start to call it "Four and change."

Fourth and finally, tell people "My PR is 4 and change, I just ran that time again the other day."

Voila.

NETT scores big at Mt. Hood and enjoys the fruits of their labor

It was a busy weekend for the NETT crew, mixing with the Assault on Mt. Hood XC Race in Melrose on Saturday and another wildly successful brunch run on Sunday at Casa de Miller-Medzon.

At the Assault on Mt. Hood, it was the NETT ladies who were all smiles, easily defending their women's crown with a top-notch team led by Adrienne Cyrulik, Mary Smith, Karen Ringheiser, Katherine De Zutter (seen here), Karyn Miller-Medzon and Chrissy Durden. (Note results on coolrunning are innacurate and RD has confirmed NETT's team score well ahead of the other women's teams). After their impressive win at Andover a couple weeks ago, they really have gotten used to the paparazzi attention.

On the men's side, it was all the Mini Ponies finishing up in third place (by a mere two points). Team members included Crazy Dave, Chris Smith, Ryan Hunt (an early NETT runner that comes out of semi-retirement each year for this race), Martin Bures, Dima Feinhaus, Jack Burke, (who brought along not only the always lovely Jen this time, but also his brother Paul) and Jim De Zutter.

Just as last year, the Assault on Mt. Hood was capped off with a great post-race party including free beer and a plentiful pasta dinnner that can't be beat. Age-group awards included the much sought after Tough as Nails Ale homebrew.

More photos from the Assault can be found here on the Melrose Running Club's site.

On Sunday, it was the NETT holiday brunch run hosted by the ever hospitable Miller-Medzons. After a nice run down to Fresh Pond, it was back to the house for a great brunch at Dr. Ron's waffle house. It was a great chance to relax and socialize for NETT members old and new. Special thanks to Ron, Karyn, Noah and Daniel for the hospitality.

There was even a nice surprise at the brunch some of you might have missed--Oona proposing to Doris, which came as a surprise to almost all of us--especially Bridget and Crazy Dave! Thomas, however, seemed to be unphased, yawning at the prospect of a second mommy, and more concerned with what everyone was planning to be for Halloween next year.

And with the Patriots capping the weekend off with a thrashing of that biker gang-turned football team, it was just about the perfect weekend anyone could hope for.

NETT dominates Andover XC Race again

It was a tour de force for the NETT teams at the Andover Country Club XC Race today in Andover, Mass. with the men's team easily taking their fifth team title and the women battling it out for a four-point win to defend their own title.

The men's team was just an army of MiniPonies galloping around the golf course, winning with a score of 25 points. The massive squad included: Paul Miller-Medzon (the M-M family liked Paul and Alex so much they decided to adopt Paul, apparently), Crazy Dave, Dave Mingori (who ran out of his mind in a PR time), NETT rising stars Pat Dwyer and Martin Bures (see how tightly bunched the four NETTers are here), stalwarts Jerry De Zutter, Paul Young and Frank KJ, Janos Mako, XC star in training Brian Scanlon, Noah "Little Skittles" Miller-Medzon, trail expert Jack Burke and the always enthusiastic Jim De Zutter, who threw down the hardest kick of the day flying to the finish line. That's a baker's dozen of coyotes out there ripping up the course for our fifth straight men's team win at Andover, dating all the way back to 2004.

The Ponyettes had a much tougher job, in an extremely competitive women's field, but definitely rose to the occassion, successfully defending their title with a tiny score of 14 points, only four points in front of AHS (?) in second and five points in front of MRC in third. Led by Adrienne Cyrulik, who's wrapping up a very strong fall, the women's team also included Tina "I hate trails" Wang, rapidly rising star Katherine De Zutter, NETT newcomer Peggy Davis and a slightly disabled Karyn "Eminem" Miller-Medzon and trail expert Chrissy Durden. Jack's better half Jenn was also ripping it up out on the course (just in case she thought her great run went under the radar).

All in all, it was a banner day for our growing team. Special thanks go out to Dr. Ron's Daycare as well as Alex Miller and Jimmy De Zutter for their steadfast support of NETT.

One thing you notice in reviewing the photos is the groupings of NETT runners working together. Dave H, Dave M, Pat D and Martn all ran close. Jerry and Paul ran their umpeenth race in close proximity. Chrissy and Eminem were neck and neck. Photos even show Jack and Katherine pacing together mid-race. Great stuff.

NETT fun fact: Andover was the first race we did as "NETT" back in 2002 (see results here), when the men (we didn't even dream of a women's team back then-we didn't even have uniforms yet) finished second with 69 points.

NETT Thanksgiving Racing Roundup

There were Mini Ponies out at all turns on Turkey Day. Here's a quick rundown of some of the highlights:

First off, here's a report from Frank KJ out at the Stow Gobbler, in Stow, Mass.:

"It was a fast and flat 5K course that is actually closer to 5.1km than 5km. 500+ runners/walkers in its second year. I came in at 17:49, 7th overall, 2nd master. Jerry 18:02. 8th overall, 3rd master. Jerry claims I am now a professional runner since I am out of work. Personally, I believe the 3 years age difference is starting to show ;-)Tina 21:08. 8th overall, 1st in her age-group. Continues her natural talent for picking races at which to shine. Katherine De Zutter zipped along in 22:31, 15th overall, 4th in her age-group. She's definitely learning and improving each race with some guidance from here dad, Jim Jr. who finished in 26:37.,193rd overall; Jim Jr. keeps shaving off the pounds and the seconds.

After the race we headed over to Jim Sr's place for the traditional De Zutter Thanksgiving 5K run aka the Tri Town Turkey Trot."

Over at the Feaster Five in Andover it was Frank White in 28:33, Karyn M-M in 38:30 in the 8K and Karyn's sons Daniel in the 5K (21:33) and Noah (23:22), who took second in his age group of 283 kids!

Over in Somerville at the Gobble Gobble Gobble 4 miler, it was Crazy Dave in 22:23, Pat Dwyer a few ticks back in 23 flat and Chris Smith in 23:25.

And a late-breaking note from John Kinnee who ran the Ayer Firefighters 5K (which starts basically 100 yards from his door!): "The Ayer race went great yesterday. I finished 5th overall in 16:54. [John's friend] Halaina was the first woman in 18:30 and won by 1.5 minutes. I'm psyched to break 17 and I want to continue running hard for a while. When is the first BU inddor meet?" Talking BU meets already! Good sign for Young John.

Our pal Vlad Luppov popped up at the Thanks4giving 5 miler in Lowell, running 30:29 for 5 miles!

I'm sure there's more out there, so will post as I get time. Congrats to all. On to Andover!

Brunch Run Fattens NETT Ranks

We all had a great run and brunch at Frank and Tina's place today. The five-mile group sped around the Battle Road Trail while the longer group followed Frank over the river through the woods, quite literally.(Adrienne teaches the boys a lesson in common sense)

We had the usual stalwarts (I always hated that term--stalwarts--sounds like something you catch in a public restroom) along with some new faces coming out. While we don't keep very accurate records, it's likely the largest group run in NETT history. Everybody chipped in with the massive food spread, but special thanks have to go out to Jim D and his fam for the extra efforts on the food prep--what a great spread. This guy keeps showing up with piles of turkey, he's going to be in great shape because he's going to get invited to a LOT of runs.

DimaD resurfaces—on Dorney Lake

Bad news for the runners in the U.K. Dmitry Drozdov aka the Russian Rocket has begun running again across the pond. He recently crushed the competition in a 10K around Dorney Lake near his home. Here’s his report:

“The Coyote shirt is running again. Too bad New England is abbreviated. I managed to run 10k under 33 minutes with almost no training. The second guy was around 35 minutes. This was a cancer research charity race around Dorney Lake which is the rowing venue for London Olympics. The place is 3 miles from our house.”

Where's Dima? Look for the biggest grin. WE know why he's smiling, don't we?

Congrats Dima. Great to hear. Dima makes friends so easily, doesn't he?

Mini-Ponies swarm the Busa Bushwhack Trail Race

Holy Coyotes Bat Man!

It was an all-out trail running assault at the Busa Bushwhack in Framingham on Sunday, as the NETT runners were out in force, showing up in various age groups, genders and distances in the results.

In the 9.3 mile race, on the men's side NETT had three in the top eight finishers (John Kinnee--no longer fighting for the dark side--as well as Dave Mingori and Chris Smith), and four in the top 13 with Dima Feinhaus thrown in there. We had the top two masters, (Dave Mingori and Chris Smith) and Bogie D proudly flying the NETT flag out there.

Chris gets the "how to make a hard race harder" award as he struggled with a deviant contact lens most of the race and wound up losing a good chunk of time and about 50% of his vision by the time he hit the tape.

On the women's side, defending champ Adrienne Cyrulik shaved more than a minute from her time last year, but the women's field was just outstanding this year. Adrienne finished a very strong 6th woman overall, 5th in her division. And Karen Ringheiser, with only a week's rest after the Baystate Marathon, churned out a very good run to finish second master.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!! In the 5.3 mile race NETT's Paul Young took the win in a very speedy 31:36. (Editor's Note: Mr. Young's been on a victory march of late, also winning the Diamond Hill trail run and the Stone Tower 15K). Dima's 14-year-old son Issac finished 18th overall in 40:29 and got an autograph from Richie B himself.13-year-old NETT newcomer Katherine De Zutter finished in 45:15, outclassing her dad, Big Jim De Zutter, who ran his second race of the weekend in 51:43. This guy has caught the racing bug!

Where was big Jim the day before, you may ask? Why he was ripping it up out on the trails Saturday with little bro Jerry out at the Wachusett Reservoir Deer Run, another NETT favorite. Jerry skidded around to a third-place finish in the 10K while big Jim took 14th in the 5K.


All in all, it was a great weekend for the NETT teams out there. And what better race to support than the one to honor the one and only Rich Busa, a living legend if ever there was one!

All photos courtesy of the Michael Laing & Glenn Meister and the Greater Framingham Running Club. For more photos, go here.

Mary runs phenmoenal debut marathon in Manchester

Not only was it a fast debut marathon for Mary Smith at the Manchester City Marathon, but it was a smart one too.

Mary started off running relaxed and comfortable and by the halfway point in the race, when the crowd thinned dramatically with the drop of the half-marathoners, she got down to business, cranking the pace down to 7:45s and passing people left and right. By the last mile of the race, at a steep hill, she was one of the few runners striding up past walkers and shufflers. "You must be running a great race, as you're only the second person to pass me today," one runner told her as she flew past.

The end result was a 3:28:56, good for 77th place overall and 6th in her age group. (Note, Frank points out that the "net time listed on the results are not accurate. Mary did not cross the start line until 1:20-1:25 after the gun went off.
I would say her halfway time is closer to 1:43:50 and net time 3:27:30 - so even splits and a very well-paced run.")


Mary's fans were all over the course, cheering her on.

Note the strong form she maintained all the way through the race.


Congrats Mary!Photos courtesy Big Ben Winther and Frank KJ.

NETT Duathlon & Triathlon Season Recap

And now, here's Frank KJ with the NETT triathlon season wrapup for 2008:

This year marked the first year New England Track & Trail was listed as an official USAT club. As a result of that this was also the first time we participated as a club in FIRM’s Grand Prix Series. And Jerry did an outstanding job in creating some truly unique triathlon and cycling uniforms!

The FIRM Grand Prix Series is comprised of 10 triathlon and duathlon races between April and September. NETT participated in 6 of those races and scored enough to place 7th place out of 12 clubs in its first year. The following 11 people raced in at least one GP race: Paul Miller, Joe Hardin, Jerry De Zutter, Jim De Zutter, James De Zutter, Tina Wang, Mary Smith, Bruce Goode, Frank Kjaersgaard, Al Prescott (swimmer) and Norm Collard (cyclist).

Clubs that participate with at least 3+ people in at least 5 GP races are eligible for price money. Although we participated in 6 races we only had 3 or more people in 3 races so we missed the payout. If for example just 2 more had raced at Old Colony and 1 more at Webster we would have won about $200. Hopefully, we can add more people to the 09 roster and show up in bigger numbers.

Beyond the Firm Grand Prix Series, NETT multisporters were present at many other races:

-In the Kids’ category Alex (Paul’s daughter) and Audrey (Jerry’s daughter) entered the ranks of triathletes by participating in the FirmKids race.

-In the Teen’s category Katherine De Zutter finished 2nd in her age-group at Wrentham Halloween. And Nicholas used his swim skills to help Frank and Tina place 2nd relay team at Sudbury.

-Martin Bures took 3rd at WildCat before we really "knew" him. This guy can swim, he can run and he can bike. If he joins some rides with us and he will be moving way up in the ranks next season.

-Adrienne re-emerged on the duathlon scene at Wrentham Halloween – and took 1st place.

-Our pal Adam Brown and his better half Liz finished their first Ironman race with a strong performance at Ironman USA in Lake Placid.

-Karyn Miller-Medzon had some bad luck early in the season with injuries and never got to race in a triathlon. I have no doubt she will be on the circuit next year.

-Crazy Dave missed out on his usual one or two multisport races this year due to "scheduling conflicts", but did manage to coordinate a Mock Tri out at Walden that saw some first-timers like Mary Smith and Eri give triathlon a tri.

Many others purchased the new cool NETT multisport uniforms, some overcame their fear of swimming in open water and expressed interest in racing triathlon next year. DimaF and Karen Ringheiser attended a few Walden swims and boldly stated she is ready to make her Ironman and triathlon debut at the same race next season; how about we start you up with a few sprint races first Karen?

Congratulations to everyone on their accomplishments and looking forward to an exciting season next year.

NETT takes Wrentham by storm

It was a very good day for NETT at the Wrentham Halloween Duathlon with the men taking three of the top five spots and the women also taking top spots in their age groups.

First off, in the "what else would you expect?" category, Paul Miller won the race, for the umpteenth, finishing in 56:10. Jerry De Zutter put in a rock solid performance to finish second overall and Frank KJ just a bit back in fifth. Three in the top five! Jerry's brother Jim had a great race also, finishing in 1:21, sixth clydesdale!

And the NETT ladies just dominated their age groups. Adrienne Cyrulik finished 1st in the 30-34 group in 1:09, Tina Wang fourth in her 35-39 group in 1:11 and Katherine De Zutter, Jim's daughter, took second in the 0-19 age group!Here's Jerry's report on the race from the field:

"The day started very moist and rather windy, the wind died down at race time and the sun came out as we raced and warmed our bones by the time we left.

Paul and a relay team runner pulled away from the rest of the field in the opening 3 mile run. Frank and I were near each other early in the run, eventually separated by the agressive running of a combative lady (why do they have to be like that!!) which made me want to leave the comfort of our nice little group and forge ahead. I'm not sure if the speedy Adrienne and Tina duo ran near each other but their splits indicate they were able to keep each other in sight with Adrienne just ahead. Bro Jim was watching his daughter Katherine run away from him keeping in mind, I'll get you on the bike my pretty!! When I got to T1 I saw Paul leaving the transition on his bike and never saw him again til after the race. In fact I didn't see anybody the entire ride, well except for the guy who was in second and missed a turn very early on, heading out to Rt.495, bummer. Multiple accounts of wheel slippage by myself and others at speed during the 11 mile ride due to the wet leaves and twigs covering the roadways. Except for the back and forth battle between Jim and Katherine the rest of us maintained our NETT-relative positions. Other athletes challenged us but we beat them back! So, Jim was able to pass Katherine on the bike and got out onto the second run well ahead of her. And Jim was able to hold Katherine off to the finish but he now has a bad case of swivel head-itis."


And to top it all off, everyone looked great in their new NETT uniforms.

Black Cloud over Mayor's Cup

Despite the surprisingly sunny skies on Sunday, it seems NETT was covered by a big black cloud at Franklin Park.

After managing to get five hearty souls signed on to run the Franklin Park 5K at the Mayors Cup XC race, when all was said and done, only two Mini Ponies crossed the finish line, Dave Hannon and Janos Mako, thanks to a set of circumstances beyond our control (a car accident and a migraine headache).

But always the optimists, we here at the NETT news desk want to highlight the bright spots. First off, Janos Mako, aka the Hungarian Land Shark, ran a great 5K to finish up at 19:11, 10 seconds better than his time from last year and 7th master overall. We should all be that lucky, huh?

And in the boys' 11-12 year old race, Noah Miller-Medzon aka Little Skittles, blasted out a 6:52 for 1.1 miles to finish 21st out of 154 kids. Congrats!

Given that kind of bad kharma, maybe it's time we all go volunteer at a homeless shelter or something?

Great results at Groton, Baystate

NETT sure showed some strong results at the Groton Trail Race this weekend. While results aren't posted yet, here's a quick report from Frank KJ:

Paul Young was 2nd overall and first master in 1:01:53. We came really close to the master's record but took a spill in the last mile. John (Aniken) Kinnee was 5th overall in 1:02:51, and a bit faster than last year. Frank KJ, 9th overall, 5th master in 1:06:43 (2:50 faster than last year - just missed 7 min/mile pace)


And finally Jennifer Schultis was on hand with a small EMS expo and Darn Tough Sock raffle.

Thanks for the report Frank. Meanwhile, up in Lowell on Sunday, there was some phenomenal results from some Mini-Ponies at the Baystate Marathon. Dima Feinhaus (a half-degree of separation) ran a phenomenal time of 2:54 and Karen Ringheiser did the same by clocking a 3:14. Also Jean-Dany Joachim clocked a solid 3:36 up Lowell.

Wayland XC in Pictures

It was another strong showing for NETT on the trail at the Wayland XC Festival on Sunday with the women finishing third and men fourth. But sometimes pictures just tell the story better than results. So here's the Wayland XC race in photo essay form:

Eminem hugs the corner tight.

Good looking group!


Take no prisoners Mary!
DaveandDave.

Karen scampers along.




Dave takes second masters honor!

NETT Women Cash in on Last Place Finish, Men Sprint to Faster Finish; Leave with Empty Pockets

It was another strong showing out on the XC trails of the Topsfield Cross Country Festival this year for NETT, with the women and men racing in extremely competitive fields. Here's Karyn Miller-Medzon's (Eminem)report:

"The women approached the 5k starting line this morning with the intrepid team of Karen Ringheiser, Adrienne Cyrulik, Liz Wagner, Tina Wang, Chrissy Durden, Deb Robertson, and Eminem (aka Karyn Miller-Medzon). The field was small (only 35 runners) but very fast. Merrimack Valley's Kara Haas won in speedy 18:40 and the top 10 women were all under 19:30.

Karen Ringheiser led the NETT team with a valiant 21:21 (19th) , followed close behind by Adrienne, with a 21:42 (22nd). Liz was next with a very balanced 23:23 (29th), then came Tina with 24:14 (despite having to retrieve her shoe from an oozing hill of mud). Chrissy and Deb were close behind with respective (and respectable) 24:30 and 24:46 (32nd and 33rd place). And then, finally, Eminem came barreling through the finish line with a 25:05 (quickly noting that the old adage "I might not be first, but I'm not last either" had to be amended--because she was, in fact, the last placing female).


BUT....last place finish aside, the NETT women placed 4th overall, and were handed a hefty check for $75, which paid for a delightfully deep-fried lunch at Woodman's.


As for the men, the field was larger, and incredibly competitive. But that didn't scare our manly men (who included Paul Young, Martin Bures, Frank Kjaersgaard, Adam Brown, Brian Scanlon, and Daniel Miller-Medzon). Jerrod Shoemaker won in a seemingly effortless 25:20 and second place finisher Kibrom Temelso finished nearly a minute later in 26-even. Paul led the NETT charge with 31:08 putting him in 38th place. Martin, Frank and Brian followed closely, all timing out in the 32-minute range. Adam was next, with a 33:41, and Daniel completed his first-ever 5-mile race (after a too-quick start) with a very respectable 37:12. (Unlike his mom, and despite being 15 and the youngest competitor, he didn't come last)!

The Youngstah (Paul Young) and the Youngster (Daniel M-M)

The men's team finished in 6th place overall--bringing them lots of congratulations, but no cash. Still, the kindly women of NETT generously decided to split their bounty with the men, and everyone had a great lunch following the race."

Congrats to ALL! ESPECIALLY some of the new faces we saw out there.