NETT Nabs a 1st (Hale) and two Seconds (Blue Hills, Ludlow Tri) in Busy Weekend

In another busy weekend of racing, NETT's Mini Ponies grabbed a first place and two second place finishes at some challenging trail and multisport events.

Mary continued her winning ways on the trails on Sunday by walking away with the Hale Reservation 5K trail race, while Dustin did the real dirty work at the event. Here's her report:

Sunday was the kickoff to the Hale Reservation Summer Trail Race Season. There was a smallish crowd at Hale for the race, but as usual the folks at Hale put on a great low key race. True to form, the course was "different" than all other Hale courses. The course used part of the Blue & Red trails and looped around Noanet & Storrow Ponds, which was very familiar territory for me, and I think gave me the home turf advantage. I placed 6th overall, and 1st woman (editor's note: that's right, only 5 speedy men were in front of her)!! She covered the 5.2K in 25:06 (according to fellow Mini Pony Stephen Peckiconis, who finished just a couple spots back, the course was a 5.2K).

In true Mini Pony fashion, I made sure to get her "secret training" in by running home after the race, claiming "It's only 6 more miles".

But while I was out having fun on the trails, the more impressive performance at the Hale race was Dustin's stealth distribution of Wellesley 1 Mile Road Race fliers. Dustin patiently waited for the race to being, and then discretely distributed the Wellesley race fliers on the other runners' cars. He did his 'job' and got out of there before anyone could become aware of his mission!"

Great teamwork Pizarros!

Meanwhile, only a couple exits down 95, Chris was busy nabbing second overall at the Blue Hills 10 Mile Trail Race (Fox Trot). Here's his report:

"I did not have high expectations going into the race after a week of taking care of a crazy dog that has a bad habit of waking me up a couple times a night. I did not adhere to my usual pre race routine. Instead I went to a brew pub the night before and grabbed breakfast at Starbucks on the way to the race.

I didn't feel great at the start but stuck to my usual game plan of going out fast. I was talking to a guy at the start who knows Crazy Dave (that would be NETT lurker Jerry "Rocket Start" Hughes") I knew he was doing the three mile. He set a brutal pace and we ran side by side until the split, but I still heard foot steps. I was only able to match that pace for the next mile or so. I ran the rest of the race alone. The hills in that race just keep coming. My pace definitely dropped off the last couple miles. Fortunately I had enough of a buffer and managed a second place. Good enough to win some chocolate chip cookies!"

And lastly the elite relay team of Dave's niece Julie (swim), Dave (bike) and Doris (run) headed out to the Ludlow Sprint Tri and worked hard enough to win second place in the mixed relay division, 7th relay team overall! Julie set the tone by passing a couple swimmers in the very short swim leg, Dave did he best to hold it even on the bike, and Doris enjoyed the benefits of her increased fitness by throwing down her fastest 3-mile pace ever!

The very busy and successful weekend kicked off Saturday morning with a healthy jaunt down the Battle Road Trail.

Go Mini Ponies!

Boston Marathon in Pictures (and video)

It was a long hot day out on the Boston Marathon course. Here's a few pictures that tell the story. Emma and Frank were waiting in the hot sun for all the NETT folks to come by.














An exclusive post-race interview with Crazy Dave.

For more photos, find NETT on The Facebook.

Marshall Leads NETT To Inspired Results at Boston Marathon

Well this year's Boston Marathon certainly lived up to all the hype and more but thanks to some great team preparation, some veteran experience, and a lot of inspiration, the New England Track & Trail folks out on the course Monday posted some simply amazing results.

First off, I simply can't say enough about what an inspired race Marshall ran out there. Personally, I'm going to tell people about this guy's performance for years to come. To toe the line, in sweltering heat, and throw down a 3:18, good for 5th place in his division is simply...simply....I can't even....

Marshall you did what you never thought anyone could do. You made Crazy Dave....speechless.

Seriously. He came in with bib number 7195 pinned to his very special Hannah singlet and finished 1635! It's literally unthinkable. Perhaps the only thing MORE unthinkable is the fact that he went to his weekly track workout the NEXT DAY! (I wish I was kidding, but I'm not).

I could dedicate the rest of this page to superlatives and try to describe what we're all feeling about Marshall's performance, but it really wouldn't do it justice. But let's say this: If every other one of us dropped out at mile 2, his result alone would have us all one cloud nine for the rest of the spring.

But we didn't drop out. Anywhere.

The rest of the NETT crew drew inspiration from the same well and threw down some of the best results possible on such an incredibly unrunnable day. Tina came into the race qualified at 16,536. She claims she never quite hit her stride, but we all know Tina's always a bit tough on herself with results, but the numbers don't lie Tina. You finished 5776, almost 11,000 spots higher than you came in with. 11 THOUSAND!!!! You were the 1276th woman to come across the finish line. You were 189th in your divison. Holy crap. THAT is some inspired running.

Crazy Dave posted a strong result in his first Boston as well, gaining a lot of added inspiration from the "Hannah" cheers he heard on the course starting in Framingham, getting very loud and frequent in Wellesley, and continuing all the way into Kenmore Square until things got so loud, nothing could be made out over the roar. He posted a 2:58, good for 476th overall (1527th qualifier) and 55th in his division. ("I may run faster, but I will never run another race that even in my life. I can guarantee you that much.")

Another person that clearly put in an inspired race and ran almost even splits was Ali, clocking a 3:02 in a sweltering heat, finishing in 634th overall and 78th in his division! He only lost about six minutes on the back half of this race when most folks were losing 30 to 60 minutes. As a result of his smart pacing, he improved about 5500 spots from his qualifer as well. Insane! AND he was our gracious host for the post-race decompression session, so we all owe him a BIG word of thanks for that.

The Youngstah, with a photo of Hannah pinned to his shirt, put in his own gutsy performance out there, pacing himself in the early miles and working a bit with pal Keith Schmitt to run a very solid 3:32, good for 350th in his division. Paul's the most experienced marathoner most of us will ever know and has run marathons in every possilbe condition, so when he pulls things back, you know it's a hot day out there! Great work Paul.

The same goes for Keith, in fact, who posted a 3:28 in blazing conditions, losing clothing and gaining strength as he went. Really impressive stuff, especially for a guy who spends most of his time crushing trails like you would not even believe.

There is more to tell, but I'm out of time. I'll post photos ASAP. For now, like the Ponies on the Facebook.

Lastly (for now), a big thanks to our support crews:
-Doris and Mary popped up around every corner with fresh Gatorade which was literally the difference in Crazy Dave's race and guided three zombies around the crowded streets of downtown (we'd probably still be down there otherwise)
-Karyn and Ron were providing ice to runners in Newton (you want milk with that ice?)
-The Chamberi clan, AC and Chris all up on that "hill" (what's it called again?).
-Frank, Nick and Emma cheering and helping us all decompress after.
-Dustin for his calming influence post-race (and quick medic-alert reaction to help a runner in distress)
-BScan somewhere on Beacon (how did he yell loud enough to get my attention in that crowd?)
-Mike M out there and many many more
-And a big shout to to Dave and Doris' "mistress" club, the Parkway Club who hosted a few of us on their bus to Hopkinton and provided a lot of support this training cycle. A great group of folks who had their own success out there on Monday.
-Sorry to those I missed. You know who you are. More soon.

"Boston" Weekend Brings More Strong Results for NETT at Wrentham Duathlon, River Rat and Hale O

"Boston" weekend also brought about the kickoff of NETT's multisport (and I emphasize the "multi") season with some very strong results.

First up was Frank KJ's annaul trip down to Wrentham to kick off the season at the Wrentham Duathlon. Frank finished 19th overall and 6th in his age group in 1:01:56. Here's his report:

"This was my 10th trip to Wrentham since 2000 and thus my 4th age-group that I've raced in. And surely there is no denying I am getting older. Despite plenty of recovery in the week leading up to Wrentham and not overeating at Jean-Dany's (which took a lot of discipline with all that great food!) I felt sluggish right out of the gate and never really found my stride. In the end I was almost 2 minutes slower than last year. Good thing the CRW Thursday rides start soon and Walden Pond should soon be ready for open water swimming so there is plenty of time to get in shape for more Dus and Tris. The season has just started."

While that might be a sub-par result by Frank's standards, many of us would never dream of that kind of result. Congrats Frank!

Also this weekend in the "multisport" category, Andy and Kristin notched some great results in their areas of expertise, canoeing and orienteeering. Andy and his teammate finished second in the Athol River Rat canoe race. That's second out of 275 canoes. See a great picture and read the story in the Worcestor Telegram and Gazette here.

And the uber-fit Hall clan was well represented at an early season orienteering meet in Hale Reservation with mom Kristen winning the 5K course outright in 45:30, while the apple fell very close to the tree in the white course and the yellow course. (See full results here and you'll catch my drift)

Now that is the kind of family weekend NETT members love!

NETT Kicks off Busy "Boston" Weekend With A Few "Wins"

A 1-4 finish. A new distance PR. A great team dinner. And an unveiling of a special new team shirt. It was a very busy day for NETT and only the first of three in a row this weekend.

Up in Vermont, Doris tackled her first half-marathon at the Unplugged Half Marathon from Colchester to Burlington. With the help of her personal sherpa, Doris finished her first half in 2:06, far exceeding her goal by running a consistent and steady race. Big congrats. And, what a great event from the folks at RunVermont. Well organized, great post-race feast, and a very nice course. You couldn't ask for a better event.

While Dave and Doris were pacing along the bike path up north, Mary and Adrienne were hauling ass along the Rivah! At the Merrimack River 10 Mile Trail Race, Mary and Adrienne absolutely crushed it by going 1-4 in the women's division. Mary even won a tasty treat for her troubles. Huge congrats to both on a job well done. For more pictures check out the NETT The Facebook thingy.

And to wrap up the very busy day, Jean Dany hosted a pre-Boston pasta party where the new NETT "Hannah" shirts were officially unveiled. NETT be honoring Hannah's memory at Boston and the Vermont City Marathon and other upcoming races by wearing the shirts. Special thanks to JD for hosting a very nice dinner.

Changed for the better. Changed for good.

Coming up tomorrow, Frank kicks off NETT's multipsport season at the Wrentham Duathlon and on Monday, it's Dave, Marshall, Ali, Tina, and Paul tackling Boston in a sweltering heat. Think cool!

If you're going to lose, do it with style....

Favorite Hometown Runs: Kolding, Denmark

Editor's Note: This post is the first in NETT's new series of "Favorite Hometown Runs." This one comes in from Frank and provides a detailed tour of his hometown of Kolding, Denmark. If you've got a Favorite Hometown Run you'd like to submit, email to Crazy Dave.


I thought it could be interesting if NETT runners shared a favorite run from their hometown and thus gives us all a glimpse into different parts of the world, USA or New England. I will go first with a run I have done a number of times in my hometown of Kolding, Denmark. You can run along by using this course on MapMyRun: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/77863134

Mile 0-2
The course starts from my parent’s house. They have lived there since 1975 meaning I lived there for many years myself. Within less than 2 minutes I am already on familiar trails running along one of Kolding’s tourist attractions, a botanical garden. We used to climb the fence after closing hours to play hide-and-seek in some grottos in the Asian section.

The trail becomes a gravel trail in ‘The Devil’s Canyon’ – yes they call it a canyon, despite at best having 30 feet hills on each side of the Dalby Mill Creek that runs through it. I spent endless hours climbing the hills, catching tadpoles and one time a trout along in this canyon.

After ¾ of a mile the trail becomes muddy as it continues inside a cow pasture before popping out on the road in the small suburb of Vonsild; it is pronounced “One Sild” which in Danglish means “One Herring”. I am not making this stuff up – it is a standing joke in Kolding. Between high school and college I actually worked as a bank teller in this little town.

Mile 2-3.75
I run up a hill, cross a major road and then down into “Hylke Valley” (not sure what Hylke means – possibly a wild flower). This trail runs along Seest Mill Creek. It is a great but sadly little used trail. At one section there is a huge amount of poisonous plants called “Bearclaw” next to the trail. The plants can grow to almost 7 feet.

Mile 3.75-5.25
The nice trail ends soon and becomes a single trail that first goes up then drops steeply down to a section that is so close to the creek it is saturated with water almost all the time. No point in trying to avoid wet shoes here so I just run through it. A bit further and it is steep up to the spot of Kolding’s only ski lift (yes, I kid you not). Needless to say there can go years between it being in use.

There is one more steep trail followed by a set of wooden stairs up the other side and into the neighborhood of my High School.

Mile 5.25-6.25
The next mile is on a road above “The Alpine Valley” - are you starting to get the point that we are very creative with the names of our geographic landmarks, despite the lack of real elevation ;-) There are some real nice views East over the city and the fjord. From here you can clearly see the Koldinghus castle.

Mile 6.25-8
I turn left down a winding road and right onto a trail along Kolding River. This trail is a wide gravel trail that is used by many for daily commute to school and work. There are typically lots of cows in the meadow/marsh.

Just before downtown I can see on the left side of the river the soccer fields where I played soccer. I was 100% convinced I would be the next Pele or Michel Platini (I didn’t care much for Beckenbauer). At one point Kolding Football Club was in the best league in Denmark and I got to play a couple of exhibition matches with several thousand people watching. Clearly none of the scouts ever wrote down my name and thus I ended up in Boston instead of Barcelona.

Mile 8-9
I follow the river through the edge of downtown to reach the place where the river flows into the fjord.

Mile 9-10.5
Right around mile 10 I can see the place where my grandparents lived. I have many fond memories of walking down to the fjord for picnic with them. My granddad lived there until 2004 so it is still very present in my life.

A bit further up is a small boat dock where my best high school friends and I used to sail out on the fjord to water ski in the summer. From here on there is a really nice run along the fjord but a description of that will have to wait for another time.

Mile 10.5-12
I turn away from the fjord and head back into Devil’s Canyon from where I have another stretch of trail before heading back up the last hill and back to my parent’s house.

3 valleys, 2 creeks, 1 river and 1 fjord, 1 castle and lots of trails and scenery in just 12 miles. Hope you can join me one day.

How not to taper for a 10K

Frank KJ provides his thoughts on his preparation for his second place finish at the Malden 10K Race

Last Saturday: Great long run. Sunday: Great bike ride.

Monday: Total headache - allergy or cold. Definitely a cold.

Tuesday: Went through what seemed like 5 Kleenex boxes

Wednesday: Went through what seemed like 4 Kleenex boxes. Swam 25 minutes and biked one hour in the gorgeous weather; riding way too hard for a person with a cold!

Thursday: Went through what seemed like 3 Kleenex boxes. Headache gone so attempted to run - after 60 seconds my body begged me to stop. So I walked back home

Friday: Went through what seemed like only 1 Kleenex box. Yeah

Saturday. Game day decision to race. First mile was good. Next 3 miles were like "I think this was a bad idea". Last two miles I pulled myself together if not physically then at least mentally. Ended up taking 3rd overall and 1st master (or so I believe). Not quite the time I was looking for but I will take it and hope the warm weather returns soon.

And I am still keeping the Kleenex box nearby.

Nice work Frank! Third place in any 10K is...wait for it.....NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT!!!

Mini Ponies Recovering in Dedham

Here's a story about one of the heros who rescued these mini ponies:
Mini Horses, Extraordinary Hero

GO MINI PONIES GO!!!!

Friday Fun: Count on Me...Like 123..

MiniPonies on The Facebook

Yup, we have finally submitted to the pressure. Mark Zuckerburg calling us, sobbing, saying "It's just not complete without the MiniPonies."

Betty White, whose career was revived on the Facebook, visiting NETT headquarters to offer her own brand of female persuasion.

Angry Birds crashing into our window panes.

Yes, finally we have caved and NETT now has the Facebook. Its here:

http://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandTrackAndTrail

So enjoy all you cyberpunks and cyberpunkettes. Like us. Love us. Friend us. Poke us. Call the pizza guy. Turn it up to 11. Spread the gospel of the MiniPony to the outer limits of cyberspace. Bring those like-minded souls into the fold and convert the heretics. Okay, maybe I'm getting a bit too dramatic here.

But know this: you can never unfriend me!

Friday Fun: Do you know THIS guy?

NETT Ponyettes Stop Traffic. Literally.

Green light.
Yellow light.
Red light.
The NETT Ponyettes decided to dress like a traffic light this week so they can control traffic on their runs. Safety first!

Frank Flies at Foxboro

Congrats to Frank KJ for taking the master's win in the 5K at the Old Fashioned 10 Miler and 5K in Foxboro. Here's his report:

"I surprised myself with a better than expected 5K race today, running 18:13 and taking 2nd in the Masters and 5th overall. Of course all the fast people were in the 10 miler but I took home a trophy that says 1st 40-49 thanks to no double-dipping. The winner, who's a master, ran a freaking 15:59. I found myself in 7th out of the gate. At mile one a Saucony female runner came up along me and we paced each for the next one mile but in the end I was a bit stronger into the wind and put some time between her and me. By the way my GPS showed 3.16M and 5:46 pace - sound even better than the official 5:53 pace so I will go with that."

In the 10 miler, a couple more Mini Pony Masters put in strong runs, with the Youngstah cranking a 1:03 and Chris Smith putting down a 1:04 for the 10 miler course. When are those Fluff people going to call about a sponsorship?? Chris isn't gettin' any younger!

Welcome NETT's Newest Member

Welcome to NETT Danyson! Congrats to Jean Dany and Jo! He writes beautiful poetry, dazzles us with his phenomenal running, but this is JD's finest performance.

News Flash: Forefoot Strikers Less Likely to Get Injured

A recent study at Harvard confirms what many runners suspected -- heel strikers are more likely to get injured than forefoot strikers.

See the review here in a NY Times blog.

I'd emphasize that while the study bears out the trend, the takeaway here is "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." If you don't have a lot of injuries, go with what you got. If you're a heel striker and you tend to have more injuries than most (and you know who you ARE within NETT), it might be worth trying to gradually change that pattern.

We now return to regularly scheduled blogging.

What is Going on Here?

What on earth is going on here? Frank is being awarded a sash like a beauty queen? ("I feel pretty...oh so pretty..")

And then crowned Turkey Prince? And who the hell is that crazy chic? And WHY did Frank come home covered in...of all things...glitter?


What is going on here??

Good Press for NETT

The NETT Mini Ponies were out in force this past weekend at both the Assault on Mount Hood XC Race in Melrose and Walter's Run in West Roxbury.

In addition to our great results, we got some great press from these races as well.

In additon to NETT being thanked for coming out to Walter's Run in this article, Crazy Dave gets a brief quote here in a story in the West Roxbury Transcript about Walter's Run. And here's a good picture of the start, with Frank KJ right up there with the baby jogger! Love it.

Here's a couple NETTers toeing the line at Walter's Run courtesy of the West Roxbury Patch.

We didn't get mentioned in the Mount Hood coverage, except that our pal Ryan Hunt gets a mention here as the first Melrose finisher. (And I love the picture of Walter the Dog--he could give a s-t about the race. He's like "is that bacon I smell? What is that?"

NETT Caps Off Double-Header Weekend in Style at Walter's Run

For the second year, NETT showed up in force at Walter's Run in West Roxbury, just flooding the results before enjoying a delicious brunch.

In the results, it was a swarm of Mini Ponies up front. In the women's race, NETT swept three age groups--Mrs. Pizzaro took the 20-29 age group, Adrienne took the 30-39 age group and NETT newcomer Sinead took the 40-49 category. In addition, Tina was 11th overall/4th in her age group and Eminem took 7th in her age group.


Of course, technically Emma was the first NETT lady across the finish line.

On the men's side, it was NETT all over the place as well. Chris exacted his revenge on Crazy Dave by two seconds as they finished 3rd and 4th overall. The Youngstah was only a few spots back in 7th and Martin was 11th. Chris G put in a great effort as well, hitting 8 minute pace on a very hilly course. I think he's getting used to this running stuff....

The most impressive men's result of the day is a toss up between Frank, pushing Emma in the baby jogger, finishing in 19:39, good for 13th place overall or Little Skittles finishing his first race in many moons. Great work guys!

In addition to the NETT regulars, a few of the FATC members were ripping it up out there including Victora, Alissa, Ken and Matt, with Amy and Cara out for support. And Paul's Sheryl put in a solid effort as well.

Doris greeted us all at the finish line by "pulling our tags" when we crossed the line (she was volunteering). We had plenty of support (thanks to Ron, Chrissy and Lincoln!).

After the race it was back to Dave and Doris' for the new NETT tradition of a festive holiday potluck brunch. It was great to catch up with the regulars and new folks.

As usual, race director Keith Shields and the Parkway Running Club put on a fantastic race. A challenging course, great raffle, nice volunteers and all for a good cause. Read more about the The Walter Burgess American Running Camp Scholarship
here.

All in all it was a great day and the capper to a great weekend of NETT racing and socializing. Here's looking forward to a great 2012!

NETT Shines in First Half of December "Double Header" at Mt Hood XC Race

In the first race of the NETT December Double Header, the Mini Ponies tested their mettle at the always demanding Assault on Mt. Hood XC Race, hosted by the Melrose Running Club.

The NETT men's team showed some numbers and finished as the 4th men's team behind CMS, CRC, and CSU and just in front of our pals on Team Glennon. This was NETT's first time scoring as a team in 2011. The top three scorers for NETT were Dave Hannon, Chris Smith and Andy Hall. The supporting crew was strong with Marshall Randolph (2nd in his age group), Jack Burke and Patrick McVeigh all battling a very tough course.

For the women, Kristin Hall led the charge, finishing 2nd in the master's division. Jenn and Doris also did a fabulous job of tackling the steep climbs and descents of the Mt. Hood Golf Course.

As usual, Brian Slater and the folks at the Melrose Running Club put on a great race. Every year the course changes and this year's was called the toughest version yet, by more than a few runners. The post-race buffet at the Melrose Fish and Game Club was very very nice. Pasta, meatballs, salad, desserts, and BEER!

Looking forward to the second half of the weeken's double-heard, Walter's Run tomorrow.