NETT & Heartbreak Hill Put the Derry Boston Prep 16 Miler in its Place

3 Mini Ponies & 3 Heartbreak Hill'ers (only 4 people...you do the math) decided to trudge up to Derry, NH and take on the 16 miler and the forecast of high temperatures of 20 degrees with 15 mph winds. The trip started off with a slight glitch (the one & only glitch of the day). Someone locked their keys in the car - thankfully it wasn't the driver. As Amanda, Marshall, Mary & Ted arrived at Derry, they were greeted with a blustery wind. After surveying the weather, all made last minute wardrobe adjustments and headed out for the 16 mile run.

Marshall took off like a flash, never to be seen again. Mary & Amanda worked together, chit chatting through the first 8 miles and solving the world's problems. At mile 8, they split apart and finished the race solo. Mary crested the hills like they were ant hills, passing runners the entire time. She even said "the hills weren't as relentless as I expected - they were all runnable. One runner even pointed out a hawk that was perched up in the tree. It must have been looking down at all the runners, looking for its next victim."  Amanda worked the hills and kept Mary in sight through mile 13....which should be renamed the 'wind zone'.  Mile 13 battered the Mini Ponies with gale force winds as they covered the course.  

Marshall was the 1st in the group to finish. He finished 77th overall in a time of 1:56 (1st in his age group & the winner of NH maple syrup). Mary came next in 124th place (11th in her age group), with a time of 2:03.  Amanda finished right behind Mary, in a time of 2:06 and 147th place (14th in her age group).  Ted rounded out the crew with a finish of 2:29.  

All in all a great race, plenty of post-race food and luxurious accommodations (specifically the warm Gatorade on the course and the warm high school for post-race festivities). The day was full of good conversation, quite a few laughs and stories, and a few hilly miles.

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/nh/Jan27_Boston_set1.shtml