Breaking News: Adrienne wins Groton Town Forrest Trail Race

While official results aren't posted yet, the NETT newsroom is abuzz today with the news that Adrienne Cyrulik won the women's division at the Groton Town Forest Trail Race.

In an exclusive interview, Adrienne told NETT news: "Because all the good runners were elsewhere, I won the woman's race today! I didn't even feel that great which makes it even more surprising. I was tripping a lot and went flying once. The good thing is that compared to my 2007 race, I ran 2 min, 15 sec faster overall for a time of 1:16:15."

Of course Marhsall Randolph and Jack Burke were there racking up points in the ENTRS. Getting down to crunch time and looks like they're both afraid to give up any potential points!

Stone Tower 15K: The Battle of the Running Lunatics

What happens when a guy who recently ran two marathons in a week race against another guy who recently pulled a hamstring, ran a marathon (BONKS) and runs a XC in a week? Well they go 1-2 in the Stone Tower 15K Trail Race this weekend, that's what.

NETTers Chris Smith and Paul Young--who we're all agreed should both be committed for their running pursuits of late--matched up for one last hurrah at Lynn Woods this weekend and here's how it played out.

"We started out at a comfortable pace," Chris says (most of us know Chris has never started at a "comfortable pace" in his life, right?) "Paul and I were swapping off the lead. I pushed on a couple of the climbs but there was no loosing that pesky Paul. I was first to the Under Cliff single track and Paul was stuck behind me as my pace slowed. Once out of the single track and back on the carriage road Paul was off like a scalded rabbit. The gap opened so fast I thought he may have taken a wrong turn. I came across the parking lot to the finish and there he was, drat. I paid those course marshals good money! grrr."

Paul reports that "Chris's account of the race is accurate. We both took turns at the front in the early miles. At around 37-40mins Chris had opened up a good gap on me. Thankfully there is more technical single track in during the second half and I was able to reel him in. The two sections of downhill running at the end played into my strength but I was seriously in the hurt zone for the last 3-4 minutes of running and never would have run as fast without Chirs out there pushing me. Great race put on by a group of very nice people."

This was the umpteenth time these two master blasters matched up in Lynn Woods this year, with pretty mixed results. Nice to know two guys can compete that often against each other and still fling more compliments around than mud! Class acts, both for sure.

But we still think they should both be put in a state institution.

NETT finishes the multisport year in style at Wrentham Duathlon

It was a great way to cap off the multisport season today at Wrentham Duathlon. More pics and stories to come, but FULL RESULTS are as follows:
Jerry 4th overall in 58:50
Frank KJ 8th in 1:00:39
Crazy Dave 14th in 1:03:12
Phil De Z in 1:20
And in the relay, father-daughter duo of Jim and Katherine finished 3rd in 1:07!

After the race, in a small private ceremony, NETT was awarded its winnings for its third place finish in the FIRM race series, which will be shared at an upcoming social event (see the Meetup page for details). Special congrats to those that won or ranked in their age-groups in the series. We really did well.(Insert lyrics to Danish national anthem here.)

Congrats!

Video interview with Rich Busa

Some real gems here from Richie. Inspiration for both experienced runners and newbies alike. Courtesy of Greater Framingham Running Club.

BUSA even has his own WIKIPEDIA ENTRY!

NETT women rise over adversity at Baystate Marathon

Huge congrats to the NETT women's team for becoming the first NETT team to score in a USATF-NE Championship road race this weekend at the Baystate Marathon in Lowell. And they did in perhaps the worst conditions imaginable for an October marathon.

Karyn Miller-Medzon led the charge with a PR performace of 3:54, followed closely by Deb Robertson in 3:57 and Chrissy Durden running a very strong 4:02.

And in the "NETTers scoring for other teams" category, the results were just as impressive: Dima Feinhaus (scoring for CSU) ran out of his mind in 2:54 (PR I believe?) with CSU teammate Marhall Randolph clocking a 3:28 (wins the 60-plus age group--yawn). And Karen Ringheiser in her always solid manner clocked a 3:37 for the BAA women's team.

Keep in mind this was in a rainy, windy cold day. To give you a sense of it, here's Karyn MM's report, which includes a description of her now usual mid-race migraine:

"Well...the weather was every bit as bad as predicted.

That said, I actually had a great race--my best marathon yet. For the first five miles, it was cloudy and a little drizzly and only slightly cold. After 5 miles, that changed--the wind and rain picked up and it was fairly miserable. Very hard to stay dry...and later...impossible. Still...things seemed to be going fine, and then at mile 8 I realized that I was having a migraine. Started seeing flashing lights, and my vision narrowed to a small tunnel. I figured I would just stay in until I was completely blind, or in such bad pain that I couldn't go on. I popped 3 motrin and hoped for the best. By mile 11 my sight was clearing and instead of crushing pain, I felt only slight pressure...so I continued. I soon forgot about it altogether. I got to the half where I was expecting to find Mary...but alas, she wasn't there. I pondered that for a few miles, and then, by mile 17, I realized that I felt GREAT. I just wasn't tired! So I sped up a little and just ticked off the miles. Around that time a friendly Vietnamese guy who could barely speak English was running with me, and he was a riot. i didn't have the energy to entertain him, so he simply entertained me, and stayed with me until the end.

Paul Young was wonderful, handing me a much-appreciated banana at mile 20. Saw him twice actually. So nice to see a familiar face through the downpour. For the last 5 miles, when the rain was really coming down, my new friend and I were able to speed up and passed about 40 runners. Just a great feeling. I ran into the stadium feeling strong, and finished in 3:53. I needed a 4:00 to qualify for Boston, so I had minutes to spare! Couldn't wait to get out of my wet clothes which by that time weighed about 20 pounds. Deb finished only 3 minutes later in 3:56 and Chrissy wasn't far behind in 4:01, which was also her marathon PR. Finally, I found Mary....who, with Martin, had miscalculated where the half was going to be...and ended up running much of the course looking for us. Thanks Mary and Martin! Ron and Justine and Paul were a great (and soggy) support team on the sidelines."

The night before the race, NETT had a team dinner at the Chateau in Waltham, and not only prepped for the race, but celebrated Chrissy and Martin's great news (they got hitched on the sly a couple weeks back!!).

Congrats to all!

The last of my running idols...

We have all had our idols when it comes to sports. Heck, that's part of the fun. When I was a youngster, I idolized hockey players like Terry O'Reilly, Stan Jonathan and..the great...Robert Gordon Orr. Great players, but more importantly, tough players who clearly loved the game more than air and set a good example.

As I got older and into running my idols ran along the same lines--it was guys like Alberto Salazar for his mighty heroics on the Boston course and Bob Kennedy for his refusal to use the excuse that the Kenyans were simply too good.

But as you get older you tend to rely less on idols and more on your own abilities and training. But when it comes to running, I still have one idol that stands head and shoulders above the rest. For his attitude as much as his ability. For being there with a handshake and a smile every time I see him. For turning 80 years young this month and maintaining a racing schedule that would make most of us shudder.

My running idol is.....CLICK HERE to find out who Dave's idol is

NETT teams 3rd at Wayland XC Race

It was a solid showing for the NETT Mini-Ponies at the Wayland XC Race this weekend, with both the men's and women's teams taking 3rd place in their divisions.

See the results here

The women's team was a study in contrats with three masters' one sub-master and a very speedy 14-year old making the team of five. Kristin Hall led the way for the Ponyettes running a very solid 20:44 for the rugged 5K course, good for second master. Wendy Johnecheck was next for NETT in 21:57, followed by Karen Ringheiser on a tuneup for Baystate in 22:10. Katherine De Zutter had a week off from high school racing and skated right along to a 22:27 clocking (good for 2nd in her age group)and Karyn MM finished the scoring with a sub-24 effort. Great work ladies!

On the men's side, Chris Smith gets the Medal of Honor for coming out and scoring as our fourth runner only 24 hours after finishing the Hartford Marathon! Owwwwch...But in a addition to Chris' gutsy run, NETT newcomer Barry Phelps did a fantastic job and was our second man in 17:46. Martin Bures was just a few ticks behind Barry, while Andy Hall put in a very strong effort to finish as fifth scorer in 19:35. And we even had a great saftey net (or is it "NETT"?) in the form of Janos Mako (19:42), Eri Verter (20:20) and Jim De Zuttter out on the course. And even though he runs for CSU, we all have a soft spot for Marshall Randolph, who continues to defy the laws of physics winning the 60+ age group handily.

And in the "NETT stars of the future" category, Noah Miller-Medzon kicked butt in the 3K, cranking out a 12:03, good for 7th place in his division. For the mathematically challenged, that's a 6:27 pace, which would put him in the top 50 of the adult race! Clock is ticking--we only have so much time before this kid just starts thrashing us all in open races. Also along those lines, Dima F's two sons did a great job out on the course as well.

As always, race director Eric Bucher puts on a great event for kids and adults alike--open to all, it's a great way for folks to get introduced to cross country running. Thanks to our cheering section of Doris, Anthony and Thomas out on the course.

Two MiniPonies top the ENTRS standings

Very quietly, two members of the NETT "family" have climbed their way to the top of the Eastern New England Trail Race series. Marshall Randolph, the youngest 60-year old any of us will ever know, is currently the points leader in the series. And Jack Burke is just below Marshall sitting solidly in second place.

Both did the Houghton's Pond trail race last weekend, with Marshall finishing 12th overall and Jack notching a 31st place. The grueling schedule of the series has two races this weekend, one up in New London, NH and the other is Wayland XC race.

Check the standings in the Eastern New England Trail Race Series here.

Let's do our best to help these two guys finish the series in 1-2!!

MiniPonies get whipped at Topsfield

Well, at least we have our sense of humor.

It was a rough day on the race course for the NETT crew at the Topsfield XC Race, but at the end of it all, we stood by what we do best--had a good time running with good company and did our best.


The women's team was one short due to a faulty alarm clock, and despite the race director assuring us we could use a ghost runner to round out the five scorers, it turned out not to be the case. But big kudos the Ponyettes for putting in some gutsy runs. Adrienne led the charge and cracked the top 20 in 21:45 (equal as last year's time in sloppier conditions!). Mary was just a bit back in 22:12, newcomer Jess Walden ran strong in 23:40 and Tina clocked a solid 24:01 (beating last year's time!).

On the men's side, the NETT squad finished 6th place with Crazy Dave (26th in 29:17), Ben Gray (33rd in 30:17), Frank KJ (43rd in 32:20), Big Ben (44th in 32:33), newbie John Grainge (48th in 33:05). Unfortunately, Chris Smith got injured, but still managed to stagger into the finish in a gutsy run.

While most of us were suffering away in the back of the pack, it was really great to hear the other NETTers cheering us on and shouting encouragement.

After the race, we headed off to drown the sorrows in fried clams and beer at Woodmans, where we had a lot of laughs and planned our Topsfield strategy for next year (we all sleep in!).

Extra special thanks to our pep squad Youngstah, Dustin, Cindy and Elsa-Bean.

Dave Mingori anchors winning team at Greenway Challenge

Dave Mingori sent in a great report from the Greenway Challenge, a multisport relay event. Dave's team. Great Canadian, has won it several times and this year was put to the test. Here's his report:

This year's race started well (my friend Chris put down 5:18's for the opening 4.25 mile leg) and we were in 2nd. The first place team had a great runner but other than that wasn't a concern. Then it all fell apart as on the 1st bike leg, which was 1/2 on, 1/2 off road, our biker flatted and crashed on a rocky section. Luckily he finished but not only lost our lead but came in almost 10 minutes out of 1st (and I think only 12th overall)

From there it was just pick off as many as possible. Made up 4 places and about a minute on the 1st paddle section. Next was a road bike section and when our biker came in 3rd, now less than 6 minutes back I began to think it just might be possible if I can pull one out of my a** on the middle run (Chris was planning on doubling back for the anchor). So I hammered it, somehow managing very close to 5:40's for the 4.7 mile leg, making up another 1:10.

Then it got interesting again. Mark took off for the 2nd paddle and Chris and I headed for the last run start. We got stuck in traffic and show up with probably only 10-12 minutes to spare. Chris starts warming up and 5 minutes later comes back to the car and tells me he can't run, that his HR is staying really elevated and he's feeling very light headed. Of course my first concern is if he needs medical attention. Luckily Deb was driving around with us for the day and she agreed to watch over Chris. Now I'm running again, on short rest and probably have less than 5 minutes. First place team takes off and the runner looks okay, but nothing great. By the way he looked, I didn't think he'd manage much under 6:15's. Suddenly Mark shows up and he took back another 3 minutes and I'm only 1:30 back. Damn, if I can put sub 6's we've got a chance!

Luckily I'd run the course the prior weekend so knew where to push it and that there was a BIG 1/2 mile hill just after 2 miles. I turned the corner to start the hill and could just see the 1st place guy about 2/3 up the hill. I really pushed the hill, then let up a bit and used a short downhill to recover. With just under a mile to go (it was 4.2 miles) I made another big move on a sustained downhill, passing the guy and just going flat out. If he wanted to go with me, he was gonna hurt just as much as I was! He didn't respond, then I found yet another gear for the final 1/4 mile and we won by 38 seconds and I managed 5:52's (which felt like 5:30's!)

Great job Dave! Final results are posted here.

NETT finishes third in FIRM Grand Prix!!!

Great news from Frank on the FIRM Grand Prix final standings:

New England Track & Trail had tremendous success in the 2009 FIRM Grand Prix Series. For a relatively small team we scored often and high putting us in 3rd place overall. We had 21 mini ponies participate in at least one race.

In each race in the FIRM Grand Prix points are awarded within each category as follows: 1st place 8 points, 2nd place 5 points, 3rd place 3 points, 4th place 2 points, and 5th place 1 point. Across the 10 GP races we had 40 entries and scored a total of 248 points. The maximum potential points we could have scored is 293 points resulting in a “utility rate” close to 85% - that is an incredible achievement that truly shows the quality of NETT. In fact every single member who entered a race scored points.

This year the "next generation" of NETT emerged on the scene and the 5 teenagers showed lots of talent. Katherine was perfect in her 4 races adding up 32 points in the spring. Jim III, Daniel, Noah and Nicholas all scored in relay teams at Wrentham and Webster. At Webster Crazy Dave crashed the Kids relay and did the bike leg in gut wrenching style when Jim III had to opt out.

Eri, Karyn, Martin and Jim were the newcomers on the multisport scene. Eri surprised us all by showing that he's a fantastic swimmer and great bikeer in addition to being a strong runner - and no wetsuit for this powerhouse. Karyn simply surprised everyone on at the beach in Webster by popping out the water like a submarine; and in both races she used her fast run to pass a multitude of people in her age-group.

Martin was a great success story this year, getting better for each race he did this season putting down some amazing swim and run splits. The other guys in his age group better start getting used to see the NETT coyote pull away from them in that final leg.

And then there is Jim--our Clydesdale monster swimmer and cyclist; the guy looks like a low-flying missile on the bike.

On the relay side Big Al, Ali and Martin truly showed the colors at the FIRMMan race by winning in convincing style. And Big Al, Bruce and Dave won the Old Colony in equally impressive style. Al has done many relays with us over the years so thanks again for coming out and giving it all on those swim legs.

And finally there are the multisport veterans. Although unrelated to the FIRM GP the biggest achievement no doubt goes to Jerry who completed his first Ironman race – congratulations. Jerry still found time to score in 3 FIRM GP races as well and to no surprise won his age-group each time. Tina smartly built up her training and came out and with two strong performances in August and September. Bayside was Tina’s first ever ocean swim.

Lastly, there were the old pros Paul, Joe and Frank in the M40-44 that all did very well in their races. At the TDD triathlon we for once got our calendars synchronized so that we could race against each other. We used that opportunity to sweep the podium by taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in our age-group.

In the individual age-group standings the quality came through as well. We have 5 people winning their age-group in the series (Jerry, Jim, Katherine, Eri and Frank), two second places (Karyn and Martin), one third place (Paul), one 4th (Tina), one 5th (Chelsea) and one 7th (Joe) place finishes. Last year FIRM had the Grand Prix ceremony at the Wrentham Halloween Duathlon with awards to teams and age-group winners so you may want to consider blocking October 25 in your calendar.

All details about the FIRM Grand Prix at http://www.firm-racing.com/grandprix.asp
Congratulations to everyone for who made 2009 a stellar year for New England Track and Trail.

Editor's Note: A VERY special thanks to Frank KJ who did a lot of organizing to get our teams lined up and did a LOT of fact-checking on the scoring to make sure we got credit for all our efforts in this series. We're all very busy people and this is a 100% volunteer organization, and it takes folks like this to make these things happen, so thanks Frank.

Wings takes top 20 finish at Reach the Beach Relay

Short story is with a team of 5 women and 7 men, most over 40, the NETT-heavey WINGS Reach the Beach team finished 20th overall in 24:15 (an average pace of 7:01 for the entire 210 miles) and sixth in the men's open--which is what we qualified as since we weren't 6 and 6. By comparison, our time last year was 25:36:35 (a full hour and 20 minutes longer!)
It was another tremendous experience. Here's the abbreviated version:

-Martin's heroic effort with a toe the size of a cucumber
-Crazy Dave's final leg, where he passed a full 20-percent of the field
-Jeanette's kleptomania
-Jean Dany's brilliant quote: "I waited for the pain, but it never came."
-Eri running circles around the parking lot while van 1 watched
-And of course our all-around great team-ness.
-The bear!


More details to come later but Crazy Dave is out of town so gotta keep it short. Results Posted here

NETT Sweeps M40-44 at TDD Triathlon

Another very encouraging update on the mutlisport front from Frank KJ:

TDD Triathlon was the last FIRM Grand Prix race and NETT had 5 people at the start line. Paul, Joe and Frank battled it out in the M40-44 while Jim and Tina were in their respective age groups.

An extremely short 300m swim with two 90 degree turns resulted in the swim leg being a whirlpool and everyone being hit and kicked. In the M40-44 Joe managed to find the perfect line and got out the water first, followed by Paul (yes you read correctly) and Frank right behind. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Paul right in front me running in to T1. Afterwards Joe and I agreed that we would like to see the aerial footage of the swim as we have suspicion Paul cut the swim course short (just kidding – nice job on the swim Superman).

(Editor's note: Paul responds to Frank's remarks by saying "Let it be noted that Frank is a *way* better swimmer than me and would trounce me in any real swimming race. The problem was there were loads of swimmers even worse than me and a crowded course. I was 50% slower than the fastest guys (given the run to the timing mat out of the water) which is par for the course for me these days. Frank must have found himself in worst positions than me...He and Joe called it right pre-swim "a mosh pit".)

The bike leg is very hilly which suited Paul so well that he quickly moved away from me (I naively tried to hang with Paul for as long as possible – that was 0.5 miles) and later also passed Joe.
The run leg is pretty much 1.5 mile uphill and then 1.5 mile downhill. Paul used his usual strong run to secure 3rd place overall. And I used whatever I had left in the tank to chase down Joe and finish a few strides ahead of him. End result was that we ended up sweeping the podium spots in the M40-44. How is that for showing off the NETT colors?

Jim was as always flying fast through the swim and bike leg – so fast that he was first Clydesdale coming into T2. The hilly run put its toll on Jim though and he had to let one guy slip by him on the run. But with the points earned today Jim moves into 1st place in the GP Clydesdale division. Congratulations.

And finally there was Tina who used her strong run leg to pass a ton of people in her age-group on the run – both uphill and downhill. Tina finished around 5th in her age-group.

Results on the FIRM SITE HERE (Tina's time not correct - she did around 1:14)

I will summarize the success of NETT in the FIRM Grand Prix series in a separate posting. One thing is for sure –we have had great success so congratulation to everyone who raced. We will have a celebration party later in the fall.

MiniPony Cup heats up

Folks, here's the latest update on the Mini Pony Cup based on the replies I've gotten. Want in? It's not too late. Email one race for each category you have completed to CrazyDave to be included.

Mini Pony Cup

NETT shines at FIRMMAN

Great results from the FIRM MAN half-iron triathlon this weekend. Here's Frank KJ's report:

"The male relay team did their job and finished 1st well ahead of everyone else. Al lead off with a very fast swim, Ali followed through on the bike, Martin ran down what may have been left on the course - and posted the fastest run split of the day in the progress. Results posted here.

Jim De Zutter did the Aquabike and shaved 6 minutes off his last half-ironman bike split. That on a course that was quite windy and due to the rain saw 50+ flats on the day! Frank did the whole thing, finishing 20th overall and 9th in the M40-44; apparently everyone but Paul and Joe showed up in my age-group today. Great ocean swim, solid bike split and a rough 4 minute mid-way in the run leg where I overheated and had to walk and drink. But all in all another great race in Narragansett. Results posted here.

We scored another 18 points in the Grand Prix series. More to follow on that later in the week..."

Thanks Frank. And in less impressive NETT multisport news, Crazy Dave took his life and the life of 150 other competitors in his hands and faked his way through the Hale Kids 2 Camp off-road triathlon on Sunday. Anyone who's seen this guy on a mountain bike knows the risk to all involved, but thankfully there was no bloodshed. A review of Dave's splits are pretty comical: 58th out of the water and 38th off the bike and a winning run split all add up to an 11th place finish.

Update on Mini Pony Cup

Well the response to the Mini Pony Cup has been lackluster to say the least. But as of right now we have four competitors: Crazy Dave, Frank KJ, Karyn MM and Jennifer Shultis. I won't even give an update on the points right now, but it's still pretty close, so it's anyone's game.

You want in? All you have to do is send Dave the name of races you finished--don't even need what place or time--just name of the race--in any of the following categories:

Road race (1/2 marathon and under)
Road Race (over 1/2 marathon)
Track race any distance
XC race
Team XC race
Team relay event, any
Snowshoe race
Trail race (under 1/2 marathon)
Trail race (1/2m or over)
Adventure race
Duathlon
Triathon (under 1/2 iron)
Cycling road race
Cyclocross/Mtn Bike Race
Triathlon (1/2 iron or over)
Orienteering
Volunteer at a race
Direct a race
Host a social event for NETT
OTHER (Make a suggestion and the judges will consider it).

Jerry takes 3rd at Plymouth Ironman triathlon

HUUUGGGEEE congrats to Jerry De Zutter who finished third in the Iron Distance Triathlon at Plymouth Rock yesterday in a staggering 10:12:55 (adjusted time for start in wave two). It was Jerry's first Ironman and truly inspiring to watch.

Jerry spent months building up to this effort and on race day, stuck to his game plan and competed smart, snaking his way up through the field throughout the race. For a first-time Ironman, it was a very smart race, but not surprising to those of us that know Jerry's training and racing tactics.

Jerry was certainly well supported by friends, family and teammates out on the course as well. In addition to his wife Jennifer and kids those out there cheering him on were his dad, Jim, brothers Phil and Jim, Frank and Tina, Joe Hardin, Paul Young, Paul, Candance and Alex (and newest NETTer, Theo!), Crazy Dave, Bruce Goode and I'm sure there were more. It certainly says a lot about a guy that can get that many people to wake up early get down to Plymouth and cheer him on.

Also, big big congrats to NETT's adventure race queen Jennifer Shultis who was the fifth woman overall in 12:0. And NETT pal Pat Dwyer finished 6th in the aqua bike competition (just swim and bike). FULL RESULTS HERE

Heading into the race last week, Jerry was quick to point out that getting in shape for an Ironman is not easy to do but is made easier with good training partners. "I couldn't have gotten to this point in my build-up to the IM without you guys, my fellow NETTers. The best part of NETT is that we are never lacking for great training partners. I am always psyched when I'm heading to a workout with teammates (and assoc.) since I know we're going to have some laughs, maybe a little light ribbing, trade training and racing war stories AND get a workout in. This makes putting in the training so much more enjoyable. Case in point, do you think I would have been trudging up and down Beacon Hill by myself in the dark in the dead of winter? Everyone is out there training and working hard towards their own goals, but I sure have benefited greatly from the fitness environment we've created on NETT. As I learned a while back, good training partners are hard to find and so when you've found some you make the effort to keep them together. That's got nothing to do with paying 'dues'."Afterwards, it was the usual NETT feast to celebrate the success!

NETT Tri Update

Here's the latest update from Frank KJ on NETT's place in the FIRM Series:

Although NETT is in a secure 3rd place in the FIRM Grand Prix serieswith 192 points it would be great to see NETT finish off the series with strong attendance and performances at the last two races.

Sunday 9/13 is the FIRMMan - a half ironman distance in Narragansett, RI. It is a fast ocean swim, a pretty fast bike leg - depending on the wind, and a run that if the sun is out can be quite brutal. The last 1/3 mile is definitely brutal as they have you run on the beach to the finish line - imagine running in loose sands after 4-5 hours at near LT. Jim De Zutter will participate in the the aqua bike, Frank will race individually and then we have a superfast male relay team that most likely will win their division. Big Al will swim, Ali will bike and Martin will run.

Saturday 9/19 is the TDD sprint triathlon in Douglas State Forest. I have personally never raced it but from others I have heard it is a great course. It is a sweet short swim of just 1/4 mile, then 11 miles bike and 3 mile run. A distance that everyone can manage so having a crowd of mini ponies would be phenomenal. Not sure yet who will be there, so if you plan on racing, please indicate so on Meetup (or let me know).

Once the season has come to end, I will plan a social to celebrate our success in not just the FIRM series but all the great accomplishments NETT has posted this season.

Frank
P.S. Don't forget about Jerry's Ironman race this coming Sunday in Plymouth - all these multisport races he has done and yet this is his first ever Ironman. Go Jerry!

What a week! Chrissy and Martin share their tale of adventure from the Transrockies Run

Chrissy and Martin have been kind enough to provide us with a detailed report about their once in a lifetime experience in finishing the Transrockies Run last week. So go grab a Fat Tire ale and kick back and enjoy:

So we flew into Denver, got picked up by a gore rep, Vicky, who was also picking up two other guys from Michigan - Marshall and Kyle - from Gazelle sports in Michigan. They were really cool and we had a good time driving out to Buena Vista, this cool mountain town that I would have never thought to go to in a million years. But there were mountain bikes everywhere and we were surrounded by desert mountains. We checked into our rooms and then into the event. They hooked us up with gear - we each got a large duffle that would hold all of our belongings for the next 6 days, a gore windstopper jacket, race shirt, aluminmum water bottle, timex titanium watch, nathan running waterbottle, lots of food bars and gels and salt pills, socks. We got our chip and number also.

We dumped all of that at our hotel and got dinner. Dinner was really good and they gave a presentation about the event and how it would go and how the last ones were. The event had 240+ teams of two from 6 countries. They gave us a briefing for the next day then went back to the hotel to get ready and go to sleep.

Day 1: We woke up, left our duffles for the race people to pick up and went to breakfast(I will not comment on food anymore. It was very good and plentiful - there were no complaints). Then we milled around waiting for the start at 10. 30 minutes prior to the race we beeped into the starting gate - every morning, you file into the start box 1 at a time. They check that you have all of the necessary race gear - jacket, hat that covers your ears, gloves, emergency blanket, first aid kit - then you arm your chip so that it starts a new split when you cross the starting line which makes a beep sound. We ran out of the town - less than a mile and then hit our first ascent into the mountain desert. This was big rock, not a ridiculous climb but 21 miles. Steep sections and steep rolling hills. Dirt and large rocks. Very daunting introduction to the race.

Every night, we had hot showers after the race. We would get our bag from the race crew and would find an empty tent. We had a clip on number tag that we would clip to the tent to show that it was claimed and to help us find it. We would unpack a bit, then go shower. After, there was a tent with free food and beer and a bunch of marketing things from Salomon and Gore - you could try to win jackets and packs and shoes every night. Dinner was at 5 pm. At 7 was the daily race presentation. First they would give out the category awards 3 deep then the overall stage winner for each category. Next, the sponsors would give a marketing promo, give out prizes. Then they would go over the next day's race - first the race director talked about the course, then the medical team would give a weather report, and highlight any medical items - hydration, blisters. Finally they would do a google earth flythrough of the course and hightlight anything necessary. Finally there were two slideshows for the day and a movie created from footage captured during the day. They would then let you know when the race would start - usually 8am, when breakfast started - usually 6-7:30.

Day 2: We started with 2.5 miles slight uphill on gravel road. Then hit mountain and very vertical - 1/2 was up through steep lush forest. It was very cold that day. About halfway way up, we passed above treeline on our ascent to 12,500 feet. We were going for a pass between 14,500ft peaks with snow in them. Then we started a descent to the finish - lower than the start for the day. It was very fast - first through the barren treeless section and then into steep twisty woods. Chrissy and I were flying and passing people. This leveled out and popped out into a beautiful, expansive valley meadow with a stream winding through the middle. We made a stream crossing almost waist deep and then had another 3 miles or so to the finish of the 10 mile leg.

That night we went to Leadville - where it rained. No fun. Day 3: We started from the town center just up the street from camp and walked to the start. It was a very cold morning. This was a 24-25 mile day with several big climbs. I remember endless pine forest. We both abandoned our trail shoes today. They were terrible. We both rocked the road racers from here out - Nike Lunar Racers for me and a pair of Asics racers and the Lunars for Chrissy - our feet thanked us profusely. The day warmed up and we did not go above treeline. We even crossed the continental divide. It was a very long day and was hard to stay fueled. We came out at Nova Guides where the 10th mountain division trained for WWII, way out in the middle of nowhere. I soaked in a very cold mountain stream after the race. It rained that night and then got extremely cold. The tent had ice on it.

Day 4: This leg went from Nova Guides to Red Cliff. We started from Nova Guides and ran into the mountains. It wsa the now familiar M.O. of 2.5ish miles then boom - a mountain. This was a crazy climb. Just short of the 10 miler on Tuesday but it was steeper. We hit this beautiful forest with steep switchbacks. Then maybe 1500M from the top it got ridiculously steep. I mean unrunnable steep. We popped above treeline and then had a top-of-the world lush grassy field run. This went on over a mile and then we started our descent. Very steep fast endless doubletrack switchbacks. This seemd to go on for miles before it leveled out a bit and we raced a stream, crossing it several times. It was deep in places and cold but refreshing. We finished with 2.5 miles of downhill dirt road in the town. Total distance was ~14 miles.

We camped in Nova Guides again because this town did not have a place for us to stay but we came back and started the next day exactly where we finished. That night it did not rain but was even colder.

Day 5: Redcliff to Vail. This was another 24-25 mile leg. We climed for 10 miles and it was relentless. Through doubletrack flanked with forest and stream and expansive sunny meadows. On the way up we went through beautiful forest singletrack. It was cool and damp and somewhat rooty with few rocks. There were steep uphill and downhill stretches and some flat undulating sections. We came out into a huge meadow where we crossed into the Vail back bowls area on our way to the second climb of the day for another 1000M. From here it was an endless descent. It was about 5.5 miles to the first checkpoint of switchbacks through pine forests. Then another 4.7 miles down into the Vail ski area before dropping into this amazing tight steep downhill singletrack trail into the finsish in the Vail resort. Dean Karnazes was out that day because he cracked 3 ribs in a fall several days before. Owwwwch. Check out his blog about it and the times that he ran injured - amazing. Nonetheless, his team was out. I had a fall but nothing major. Very tight with toe-grabbing roots. We had a steak dinner. Oh, did I mention that the food was really good?

Day 6: Vail to Beaver Creek. 21-23 miles. We climed immediately into these beautiful aspens that were so dense that they blocked out the sun overhead. Switchbacks into the cool forest with waist high underbrush then into a slow undulating climb to the first peak of the day. We started a slow descent from the peak to the first checkpoint then down steeply into what Chrissy and I refer to as the dream run. We were in a very close singletrack trail of tall grasses and flowers - the path seemed to be only inches wide. It was very steep and fast. We ran next to a shallow ravine with rocks and trees and a brook. The mountain went up steeply on both sides. We were flying down the mountain with butterflys flapping around us. There were a few hurdle style jumps across small streams. We popped out into a town called Avon after 4 miles or so of this. There was a brief run through the town and then up a mountain into the Beaver Creek resort for the last climb of 1000M followed by several hundred meters of descent into the finish. The finish climb was tough after so many miles. We then started the final descent which went across a wide ski slope then would dive into the woods, make a switchback turn then pop bac out onto the slope. This continued several times.

Chrissy and I were making our last switchback on the slope before the finish and were about to pop back into the woods for the last time. I was leading Chrissy by about 20-30 feet and was maybe 50 feet from the woods. Just then I saw a black bear popped out of the woods on the trail in front of me. I froze and yelled to Chrissy to freeze and to the people on a switchback on the road to the finish. Just as we were about to make it, we saw maybe 100 feet ahead of us two more black bears right in the turn eating. We stopped and they looked at us. As soon as they looked back to their food and we backed away and cut the course again and finished with a gaggle of the other runners near us all yelling "BEARS!". Thankfully, we did not get DQed. But in truth, the distance we cut was less than the time we spent frozen.

We've also got a couple videos to share below. The first is from a day with a section of stream crossings. We did this on day 4. 14 Miles. We started out and then hit this stupidly-vertical climb(almost hands and knees steep). We found out later that even the pros were walking this part. They would watch each other and the second a flattish stretch occurred, they would start sprinting again. Must have been crazy.

However, after the peak, it was this 2 part descent. The first was on a steep section of dirt rocky double track for maybe 4 miles. Then it leveled out a bit and we kept crossing over this stream which finished with a 2.5 mile section of road and then the finish.

So in closing, we can definitely say this race was intense. It was like 3 weeks of intensity packed into 6 days. I realized at one point during the run that I had absolutely not a single thought in my head at times, hours into the runs I could barely remember where we had even started from. It had everything you'd want in this kind of event: interesting friendly people, good food, amazing running, excitement and danger. Totally. Awesome. Thanks for reading.

Chamberas XC Race a Success on All Levels

Despite the fact that Mother Nature was not cooperating, the 7th Annual Thomas Chamberas 6K XC Race was a rousing success this year, with record entries, record times and a record donation for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

First off, a huge thank you to the team of volunteers this year, coming out in the rain to help at registration, course marshalling, course set up and take down, water stop detail and all the other things required to make this race such a success. We really would be up a creek without such a crack team of experienced volunteers who know where they need to be and when.

Secondly, a massive thanks to all the runners that came out. We had about 160 finishers, and even more registrants so the numbers were as good as we've ever had. We had everything from Olympic athletes to first-time XC racers, from kids under 10 to folks over 70! It really is a "people's race" and we want to keep it that way. Open to any and all.

In terms of performance, we have to highlight the stunning run from the top two men. Olympic triathlete and BAA runner Jarrod Shoemaker showed up and just flew across the mud and puddles to set a mind-boggling course record of 17:27. And matching Jarrod nearly stride for stride was second-place finisher Brian Harvey in an equally impressive 17:29. As the person who designed this course and ran it in the morning to see all the puddles out there, I am simply dumbfounded by that pace--astonished. Also impressive in the men's race was the GBTC team taking places 3-6 all in very fast times, especially given the conditions.

The women's race was also very close at the finish, with Esther Erb outkicking Amelia Bishop for the win by a hair in an outstanding 21:15.

On the team front, huge thanks to GBTC, MVS, SISU Project, Naval Academy Prep,and all the others that brought members out.

I'd also like to highlight our 70-plus finishers John Parker and Jonathan MacKenzie, both finishing under 33 minutes on a rainy tough course!

And of course, thank you to our sponsors including: Adidas, Mizuno, La Sportiva, Reebok, Sporthill, Asics, CitySports, Marathon Sports, Darn Tough Vermont, Welch's, and all the others I may have forgotten. Also thanks to the organizers of the USATF-NE XC Series and the Eastern New England Trail Race Series for including our race in their series.

Photos available here, courtesy of the mighty Jim Rhoades.