Read the November RICK REPORT

Here's the latest updates from our DEEPLY embedded BAA spy Rick Cleary:

"Congrats to the NETT team on many excellent recent results, and very good stories. I especially enjoyed reading about the Green Mountain Marathon which I've run several times; and which in 1982 (back when it was in August and went for a complete loop of South Hero Island, rather than the current out and back in October) I thought I was going to win. I was in the lead from 13 to 22 that year but then remembered that I wasn't very good and finshed third.

On Sunday 10/8 I did the Wayland XC Challenge at Wayland High, alma mater of Alberto Salazar. His picture was prominently displayed several places. I snuck into the top half of the field by running seven minute pace on a very pleasant and reasonably challenging course. I got beat by a kid who might have been 10 but might have been 4, certainly the smallest person I've lost to in my adult running career. I saw him at the start and thought, "Awww, look at that little kid going out too hard ... he's so CUTE!" Then I noticed I wasn't catching him. I eased by him at the mile mark and figured he was gone for good. The second mile was a very hilly and treacherous section of dirt trail and soft sand pit. Near the end of it I heard somebody gaining on me. I was stunned when this little 60 pounder scooted by and I worked very hard to keep up. I was just about back to even when we turned a corner and faced a fairly short but VERY steep hill. Much better for 60 pounds than 200. On the ensuing downhill I made up most of the ground but he was tougher around the track to the finish.

The big running news here came from my much better half, who returned to racing after over five years off for various pregnancies and the like. Ann did the Tufts 10K for women and zipped around at 10:30 pace, just missing top half in the master's group. Not bad for her longest run in six years. Generally her being excited about running is good for my training, so let's hope it rubs off on me. It was sort of fun to take my turn being the support guy and spending much of the hour Ann was running putting the recently potty trained Eddie into and out of most the roughly 100 outhouses near the start. "

EDITOR'S NOTE: Rick that was Eli Bucher, son of race director Eric Bucher. Eli did our race in Carlisle last year and is certainly no regular "KID" by any stretch of the imagination (I think he's a Kenyan in caucasian drag). Great run and as always, entertaining story.