TIMBER! NETT goes BIG at Timberman Tri

There were a slew of Mini Ponies out at the Timberman Triathlon in New Hampshire this weekend, so let's get right to the results so I can resume watching women's diving.

In the sprint tri, it was Jerry De Zutter in 12th and Paul Miller in 13th finishing together in 1:06:56. It was something of a family reunion for the De Zutters in the sprint tri, as little bro Phil came in at 1:23, big brother Jim in 1:25 and Jim Senior at 74 years young came in at 2:08. It's only a matter of time before Audrey and Bradon get out there!

In the women's sprint, Tina Wang finished very well in 1:27:40.

In the half-iron distance, Ali Azarbayejani had a good race, finishing 62nd in 4:48 Frank KJ clocked a 5:14 in his third half-iron this year! And young Dave Guertin put in a very solid effort to finsih up in 5:34. And NETT pal Pat Dwyer continued his stellar season on his way to Kona by finishing 12th in 4:28. Great work guys!

The crew had a pre-race workout on Friday AM at Walden Pond with a breakfast after. Whatever they ate it worked! Congrat to all.


And just in case you don't feel lazy enough as it is reading about these maniacs, the Hoyts, Dick and Rick, did the half iron race as well. I'm off to eat a whoopie pie!

NETTers find business as usual at the Oxford Dam Trail Race

Three NETT runners made it out to the Oxford Dam Trail Race on Saturday with good results. Here's the report from Dima Feinhaus:

"The Oxford Dam Trail Race certainly lived up to its reputation again this year as people were massively getting lost yet again. To assure success of the race, the RD made sure to use three different colors to mark the course and changed the course yet again this year. There were plenty of volunteers first two miles, but then ... not quite as many.

At one of the turns I saw NETT's own John Kinnee running across the field in the opposite direction. I was impressed and surprised that someone could be so far ahead. Indeed John was just speeding up back to the trail after taking a short detour. About a mile later as we were running under powerlines (mostly up, on loose rock) yours truly followed four runners (including John) up the steep hill against my best judgment. That was the biggest and steepest hill of the race and Ben Nephew called it the bonus hill. He made the same mistake but proceeded to win the race.

But it wasn't the end of the story for Young John. He missed the final turn to the finish and had to run an extra 200 yards at the end too but still managed to finish 6th overall--not bad. I finished 7th right behind him (2nd master).

On the women's side Karen Ringheiser finished 2nd female without a single scratch, great progress for a pretty technical race. The woman who pushed her last year chickened out and diddn't show up this year after several death threats from the NETT hit squad. Always trying to fit in, Karen missed the last turn too just like John but still managed to get back to the finish without losing any spots in the women's race. Running the race this time included a few muddy puddles and an "over the knees" river crossing--- I dunked myself into the water as a pleasant way to cool down.

Overall the race attracted more than 100 people, 50% growth over last year. Wow!

Toledo Joe takes Masters title at Wild Cat Tri, Tina goes West

Toledo Joe Hardin finished fourth overall, first master at the Wild Cat Triathlon in Lowell this weekend. Joe put in a solid swim and run and absolutely tore it apart on the bike with the second fastest bike split (27:05 for 11 miles!). Notably, the fastest run split of the day was a blistering 13:32 thrown down by a new entrant into the world of triathlon, Eric "Bosh" Beauchesne. (At least Toledo Joe's from Toledo--after growing up with us in Chelmsford, I don't know HOW Bosh could swim in the Merrimack! Yuuuccck). Joe's strong performance racks up more points for NETT in the FIRM Grand Prix. NETT is currently 7th overall with 66 points.

In other tri racing news, Tina Wang finished sixth in her age group, 79th overall at the Greenfield Sprint Triathlon in 1:27.

Congrats to both Joe and Tina! Keep up the good work!

Young nabs another top 10 finish at his 10th Escarpment Trail Race

Most people are happy if they can finish the very challenging Escarpment 30K Trail Run in upstate New York once. Some finish one and never come back. According to the race web site, "This single track trail crosses no roads, has total elevation changes of nearly 10,000 feet, and requires all aid to be backpacked in by volunteers. This is not for your average runner but for the runner who trains 12 months a year, and has spent years building a base and gaining long distance experience. Therefore, qualifying standards are required to insure that all participants have experience with endurance events and have a reasonable chance of completing the course within 6 hours."

But not one to be deterred by a rugged course, Mr. Young this year finished his 10th Escarpment, amassing one of the most impressive lists of finishes in the race’s storied history.

Unlike most years when the challenge is the extreme heat, this year, the challenge was water—lots of it. According to the race director’s report, “This year's event was highlighted by incredible electrical storms that for all of the runners aside from some of the early leaders, got dumped upon with rain, hail, and near lightning strikes.”

But true to form, Mr. Young pushed through it and finished 8th overall and third master. “It’s hard to believe I've finished 10 of these now,” he says. “It’s my longest streak at any one race. This year there were extremely wet conditions. I feel bad for people finishing after me as it thundered, lightning and hailed on them. I'll get my 200 mile shirt next year.”

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

This summer I went to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. It was fun. The mountains there are really high. Doris came too. I did a race up Cypress Mountain too. It was supposed to be on Mount Seymour but the snow there was still too deep. I finished 11th. Doris said that was good, but I am not sure. Most of the other guys in the race were better at the downhills than me but that's cool. I saw a black bear on my run in Whistler. It was big. A nice girl gave me a ride in her car so the bear would not eat me. He looked hungry. We have lots of pictures.

NETT crew heads North for some big climbs

A few of the NETT diehards took to the Green Mountains of Vermont on Saturday to test their mettle. Jerry the Tick, Frank KJ, Toledo Joe and Dave Guertin (who needs a nickname by the way), took on the "Four Gap" 112-mile bike ride that criss-crossed the Green Mountains with some unbelievable climbs. (Note: These are significantly steeper than ANYTHING In the Tour de France--no BS).
Here's Frank's report:

"It was hot and humid for most of the day and you throw in a couple of T-storms here and there including the summit of Lincoln Gap and it was a very demanding day for us.

Lincoln Gap was brutally steep up and scary going down. So yes, I was off my bike walking it for most of the last 1 mile on Lincoln Gap. Jerry and Joe rode the all way up - to me that seems humanly impossible on the gearing Jerry had. Brandon and Middlebury were great climbs, Lincoln was crazy and App Gap was very challenging, especially the last 0.6 miles when it kicks up to 18%; you can see the summit yet it is so far away. Total climbing on the ride was around 10,000 ft.

So the conclusion was that that Toledo Joe gets the yellow jersey for being up front on all hills and overall strength. Jerry clearly gets the polka dot jersey for his insane Lincoln Gap effort. Dave G was the clear winner of the white jersey for the strongest 'young' rider not only for his age, but given this was his first ride of this type, he did phenomenally well. And we decided I get the green jersey for having the cue sheets and telling people when to turn and sprint.

Will I do the ride again? I would probably rather go back and forth on App Gap and do whatever it takes to avoid Lincoln gap."

Thanks Frank. That gives a pretty good picture of what these maniacs did. For a finer point on it, here's Jerry's two cents:

"Yes, having done Lincoln Gap once I'm not sure I'll ever feel the need to ride it again or at least ride it without walking. Having considered it a little more I think that climb alone pushes the ride into the "epic" category. Dave Guertin does get the white jersey on his FIRST group ride. They're not all like that Dave!

My Garmin unit recorded 101 miles of the ride (forgot to start the watch couple times) and it spit back just over 11,000 ft of climb. Good stuff. Not sure we could make all 6 gaps without a significant modification to pace in between gaps."

So, what was Crazy Dave doing while these nuts were out trying to flatten the Green Mountains? He took a solid four-hour hike on the Long Trail from Brandon Gap (saw an amazing amout of moose poop and paw prints up there!) and then followed it up with a great trail run up the Chittenden Trail to the top of the ridge as well.

Then he took a nap in the van while the cyclists were still out on the roads.

Go Mini Ponies.

Dwyer, De Zutter make tracks at the Old Colony Tri

Congrats to NETT pal Pat Dwyer, who kept on his vicious tear on the tri circuit, taking the win this weekend at the Old Colony Triathlon. Looks like his regular Wednesday visits to the Bentley Track are paying off in spades (he has already qualified for Kona and finished second at the last tri he entered).

NETT's Jerry De Zutter had a solid race, as well finishing third master and scoring some more points for NETT in the FIRM Grand Prix. While official results aren't posted yet (check www.firm-racing.com), here's Jerry's report:

"My game plan was to: 1. have a solid swim (of course "solid" still means giving up the three minutes to the leaders) 2. focus on/hammer the bike leg and 3. Hang on for the run.

In the real world, here's how it worked out: 1. Had an OK swim 2. Had a mediocre bike (never felt like the hammer I wanted to be), 3. Still ended up hanging on to a lackluster run.

Really I just wanted to be quite a bit faster particularly on the bike, but I just didn't have it. Just glancing at the results before I left I think I recall a 25 min swim, 1:00:XX on the bike and a 43:XX on the run. I was also annoyed that 2 other 40-44 beat me, not sure if they are on teams or not though.

THink I need to ride my TT bike a bit more. Congrats to Pat for his win there.

Jerry


Nice work, Jer. Just think how much more intimidating we Mini-Ponies are going to look when we put on those very cool new uniforms you've got in the works for us all!

Redlining it in the Blue Hills

While official results aren't out yet, Dima, Karen and Jennifer took on the Blue Hills Trail Race again this year and had very good results. Here's Dima's report:

"I was surrounded by NETT women: Karen and Jennifer. It wasn't as hot as last year, but Ben Nephew ran about as fast as last year and was 2nd, while Josh Ferenc broke an hour. I was 12th about 5 min faster than last year. Karen was 4th woman (2nd master F) and improved her time by 1 second. Jennifer was a couple of minutes ahead of her running down the hill like a crazy maniac she is (3rd woman). The were more females at the race than usual. There was Simonetta Piergentili was the second female, she was always well ahead of me on the roads, but today she was way behind ... her 1st technical trail race.

Karen says the "race seems easier and quicker this year. Too bad my stop watch doesn't support that notion. After all that training and races on the trails I felt my more confident and at home in old Blue Hills. Humidity wasn't that hard and there was a nice breeze on the top. There was a talkative guy running just behind who was chatting away about every upcoming uphill and downhill. It was nice to leave him in the dust somewhere behind. A guy with ipod passed me just before the finish though, it was upsetting on so many levels."

A well-earned brunch

After a nice run on the Battle Road Trail on Sunday, Frank and Tina hosted a great brunch for us all. The photos tell the story.





Seeya suckers!

USATF-NE Announces Races for the XC Series

USATF-New England has announced the races selected for its Cross Country Grand Prix this fall. Similar to the road race Grand Prix, the six-race XC Grand Prix will include both team and individual scoring throughout the series. To score for NETT you need to 1. Be registered with USATF and 2. Either have selected NETT as your club or at least have not selected another club for 2008.

8/3/08 GMAA Scholarship 5K X-C Run, South Burlington, VT

8/24/08 Thomas Chamberas 6K, Carlisle, MA

9/13/08 Feel Good Farm 7K, Lyndeborough, NH

10/5/08 Topsfield X-C Festival, Topsfield, MA

10/12/08 Wayland X-C Challenge 5K, Wayland, MA

10/19/08 Groton Town Forest, Groton, MA 3.4M

10/26/08 Boston Mayor's Cup, Boston, MA

11/9/08 USATFNE X-C Championships, Boston, MA

Find the latest updates at www.nexcgrandprix.org.

Down with Sudbury! Support the Latest Rails to Trails Effort

There's a big debate going on about the latest Rails to Trails project. It seems a few staunch citizens in the town of Sudbury are creating enough of a stink that a major rails to trails bike path from Framingham to Lowell may not be complete.

The Boston Globe covered it nicely here with some great quotes from the opponents that are surely going to do them in (sometimes you just "give them enough rope" and they'll hang themselves).

As runners, cyclists, and general fitness nuts, it's partly our duty--even if we don't live in this town--to get this thing done. According to the Globe, "The trail would be part of a web of more than 100 miles of bike trails planned for Massachusetts that state officials say could one day permit riders to bike 120 miles from Lowell to Westfield, or along the Mystic River to the beaches of Lynn. The big vision has proved challenging to knit together, with efforts often meeting intense local opposition."

Resources:
In favor: Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail
Against it: Sudbury Citizens for Responsible Land Stewardship


Any suggestions?

KJ captures Masters title at Patriot tri to cap off busy weekend of July 4th racing

Congrats to Frank KJ who claimed the Masters title and 8th place overall in the appropriately named Patriot Half-Ironman Triathlon this weekend in the appropriately named town of Freetown. Frank's time of 4:44 was clearly supplemented by a 1:25 run split (3rd overall in the run) which helped hold off the second place master only a minute back. For those keeping track that is Frank's second half-iron this summer. Stay tuned for more.

Also playing the Patriot this weekend, in his debut at the distance, Dave Guertin turned in a solid 84th place (out of 333 finishers), 12 out of 31 in AG, real nice 1:42 run split to finish off a fine performance.

Also in TRILAND, on Sunday at Holliston Lions triathlon, De Zutter brothers Jim (swim and bike) and Jerry (run) teamed up to finish first overall in the relay division just before heading over to the NETT run/brunch soiree at Frank and Tina's place.


But there were plenty of other NETTers out mixing it up on the roads this weekend in 4th of July Races. Here's a short recap--if I missed you, send me an email.

Despite mom's injury woes, the Miller-Medzon clan keeps right on racing. This weekend, Eminem's speedy sons Little and Medium Skittles (currently in the NETT farm team program)ran the Lynnfield Athletic Association 5k . Noah, 10, came first in the 12-and-under division with a 21:39 and Daniel, who just turned 15, came 6th in the very competitive 13- to 19- division (and 18th overall). His time was 20:31. Some promising news for the future of NETT!

Not too far away over in Boxford, the Youngstah cranked out a 29:52 to nab 5th place overall and TOP MASTER at the Jennifer Tinney Memorial 5 Miler. Someone check this 42-year-old's back yard for the Fountain of Youth, please???

Meanwhile over in his hometown of Harvard, master blaster Jerry De Zutter successfully tested the age vs. experience theory and ran a 30:36 for 15th place at the Harvard 4th of July 5 Miler Young John "Anakin" Kinnee couldn't keep up with the Tick and finished up in 30:58. Experience 1, age 0.
(Note they both got their jocks handed to them by the first female, so I guess it's women 2, experience 1, age 0).

Out in the "west of 495" world, Dave Mingori grabbed the top masters spot and 6th overall at the 59th Leonide J Lemire 4.9 Mile Road Race in 28:22.

And Crazy Dave took 7th at the Duxbury Road Race.

And late last week, an interesting cast of characters toed the line at the Pat Poletta 5K race in Haverhill. Jim Rhoades in 11th place in 17:25, just a few ticks ahead of Battle Road compadre Chris Smith in 17:39.

Young overcomes more obstacles than usual at Cranmore

First, he gets lost on the warmup before the race resulting in a longer than usual warmup in a torrential downpour. Then he takes a rare wrong turn on one of his patented screaming downhills, costing him as much as 90 very painful seconds. But despite a couple mishaps, Youngstah managed to put finish a very solid 11th place overall (3rd master) at the Cranmore Hill Climb on Sunday.

Now many of you may have taken a wrong turn in a race--but in a hill climb/descent it can be truly devastating (because you have to trudge back up the steep section you just came down!). But Youngstah took it all in stride and extended his lead (I think) in the USATF-NE Mountain Running Series (results/standings are a bit hard to digest here, but looks like he's top master, with Martin Tighe in front of him as a 50 year old.) See photos here.

Nice work Youngstah! Way to represent NETT out there (or NETAT as they like to list us in the results for this thing).

In other racing news, Chris Smith finished 17th overall and fifth master (45:25) while Karen Ringheiser finished second female master at the New Charles River Run in Cambridge in 50:53.

NETT ranks in the triathlon world!

For those of you unaware, New England Track & Trail is an officially registered triathlon club, thanks to the efforts of Frank KJ.

While we don't have the masses of numbers that some tri clubs have (although, we've got some names on our tri roster some of you might not know!), we're definitely in the "quality not quantity" realm and it's paying off. With the very strong results at the recent FirmMan race (three men in the top 12, one of the top relay teams), NETT is currently ranked 8th in the FIRM Grand Prix, only a few points behind some much much bigger clubs like Wheelworks.

For those interested in helping our tri team score some points, check in with Frank KJ on which races are included and what it takes to score us some points. (And don't forget--Jerry hosts Tuesday night swims at Walden for the land lubbers looking to try their first tri!)

But rest assured, we're still staying very close to our trail-running roots as well. NETT currently owns the top two spots in the Eastern New England Trail Race Series (note: these standings don't include the Boxford Forest 10K, which Crazy Dave won and Mr. Young was second--that pretty much puts these two guys miles ahead of the rest.

NETT puts three in top five, second woman at NMC's Boxford 10K Trail Race

NETTers braved the heat and humidity to dominate the top spots at the North Medford Club's Boxford State Forest 10K, the fifth event in the Eastern New England Trail Race Series.

To give us the details, here's a report from the Hungarian Land Shark himself, Janos:

"The NETT group had a decent showing with 4 of us there, although we were outnumbered by the North Medford and GAC clubs. The North Medford club has to have the oldest members of any running club I’ve ever seen, as well as the lowest entry fees of $5. Since this was my first race wearing the NETT singlet I wanted to have a good showing. Crazy Dave ran a conservative race and got another win, Paul Young captured 2nd, and I got 5th place. Just to show how memory fades, I thought I had run this same race about 7 years ago, and I remember it being fairly flat with some technical running due to rocks. I looked it up and it was actually 13 years ago! In 1995 it was a 7.5 mile race that I ran in 51:15 (7:04 pace) good for 11th place out of 44. Yesterday the course was 6.3 miles in 47:12 (7:30) for 5th place out of about 25 runners. I found that the course had more little rolling hills than I had remembered, and I was feeling pretty tired running up and down them by the end of the course. The entire race was run “inside an oven” of probably 85 degree heat and high humidity despite starting past 6:30 p.m."

Janos was kind enough to host NETT members to a post-race BBQ at his house. All in all, about as much fun as a runner can have in that much heat!!

Coyotes take to the trails at Fitchburg (yes, I said Fitchburg), Lincoln, etc.

At the NMC Overlook 7 Mile Trail Race in Fitchburg Sunday, Crazy Dave and Jack Burke braved the record-high temps with good results (they finished standing up--that's good result when you're racing in 90-plus temps.)

Out in Fitchburg Sunday, "head for the shade" was the phrase of the day at the Overlook 7 mile race, the fourth race in the Eastern New England Trail Race Series. With legs that felt like tires with the air let out, Dave struggled to a third-place finish in 46:33, while Jack Burke easily achieved his pre-race goal of cracking the hour mark by finishing strong in 59:36. Pretty much all runners gave the race good marks for organization, course variety and marking.

While updated standings aren't yet posted, after four events, it looks like Mr. Young and Crazy Dave should be 1-2 in the standings (by virtue of the fact that no one else has done three races, I think?) Check back here later: Eastern New England Trail Race Standings if you really care at all.

And even the "extended NETT family" had some inspiring performances this weekend. Jean Dany Joachim not only worked to raise some money for charity, but he also posted a BLISTERING 16:18 at the Vision 5K on Saturday in Boston.

And Marshall Randolph won his age group at the Great Lincoln Steeplechase this weekend, finishing 9th overall in 50:19 in that blistering heat. In case you're wondering, his age group is 50-59 and he's at the very tail end of that--he's 59 and finished 9th overall...wowie zowie! That's just plain impressive.

Miller wins! NETT puts three in the top 12 at FirmMan Mass

Big Congrats to Paul Miller, Frank KJ and Jerry De Zutter for their fantastic performances at the FirmMan Mass 08 Half-Ironman Distance Triathlon in a scorching heat. Paul crushed the field in a convincing 4:32. Especially impressive given his being 84th coming out of the water--there's hope for us LAND LUBBERS! Paul's half-marathon split was a smoking 1:25 off the bike. Ouch.

Frank KJ was second master and ninth overall in 4:51, with a strong 2:43 on the bike and a swim five minutes faster than the race winner's! Nice work Frank!

Jerry wound up 12th overall in 4:57 and fourth master. Of special note: Jerry's bike split of 2:35 was 6th fastest overall! That is one free-wheeling tick! Jerry's brother Jim did very well in the aqua bike competition as well (just swim and bike--no run).

AND...in case that just wasn't enough good news...Tina's relay team finished 3rd overall in 4:45, thanks to Tina's super-speedy 1:39 half marathon.

And, now the "from the field reports" that we all love. Here's Frank KJ's report on the race:

"Most astounding is that Paul took a spill on the bike course and ran a little extra on the run. Guess the crash got him really fired up. For an extremely hot day he ran fast. I had a great swim but never found the legs on the bike leg; but lucky for me they came back on the run leg and I picked up a lot up heat exhausted casualties to move into 2nd (very happy with that). One of those "casualties" were Jerry who - despite an email last week claiming he would go easy on the bike - really put the hammer down. Jerry caught me at mile 23, Paul at mile 32 of the bike leg. I passed Jerry at mile 8 of the run. It was extremely hot today; I have never seen people cramping after after the bike leg in a New England race but it happened today.

Tina's team did very well winning the mixed relay category. They are now 3 for 3. They started 5 minutes behind and their biker passed me. I spotted Tina at the turnaround. She had about a minute on me and I thought I would catch her but I never got closer than 45 seconds. She was flying - as many people kept mentioning to her. (I would like to point out though that I did run 48 seconds faster thus winning the Tina vs. Frank 13.1 race Jerry mentioned the other day ;-) )

It was good to see the De Zutters and Millers cheering us on: Jennifer, Audrey, Braden and Alex out there too. I'm sure the kids all fell asleep fast with all the energy they burned swimming and playing."

Frank also points out that, as NETT is an officialy registered triathlon team, these performances give us big points in the FIRM Grand Prix!

Jerry is his usual humble self in his report:
"My performance can be explained as, you get out of it what you put into it. I started swim training 3wks ago and have very few runs over 1hr this spring not to mention no hard bricks longer than ~35m bike/5mile run (multi-brick aside). Been spinning and getting on the bike all along. So when my swim came up mediocre, had a good bike split and couldn't finish off with a solid run, I more or less got what I deserved. I wouldn't blame it on the heat or the fact that the 4 gels and powerbar taped to my bike fell off in the first mile
of the ride.

My brother Jim did the aquabike. He had a good swim but not quite the bike he was looking for. Already chomping at the bit for the next race.

But easily the race highlight of the weekend for me was the induction of my (and Paul's) daughter into the ranks of triathletes. Check out the photo album of the kids race the day before our race. Was great to watch and support the kids who really made good efforts on a hot day!!"


Tina's report is short and sweet: "It was brutally hot! Paul ran down everybody and got the first place. Jerry biked super fast and I almost let Frank catch me on the run."


Congrats to all....very very strong representation out there.

Proud to be a Pony!

Walden Pond Swim Trivia

With the Tuesday night swims getting into full swing, Frank KJ decicded it was time to share a bit of trivia about Walden Pond. Here's his report:

"With swim season at Walden Pond in full gear, I thought I’d share some facts and trivia.

Walden Pond is a 102-foot (31 m) deep pond, 61 acres in area and 1.7 miles (2.7 km) around. A famous example of a kettlehole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000 - 12,000 years ago. More data and photos on WIKIPEDIA'S WALDEN POND ENTRY.

Walden Pond is of course famous because of Thoreau but what you may not know is that Thoreau had first chosen a section of shoreline of Sandy Pond (Flints Pond); I am sure you trail runners are all familiar with Sandy Pond, which is not accessible as it serves as drinking water for Lincoln. Tradition say, however, that Thoreau was not granted a permission to build a cabin because Captain Flint had heard about the extensive forest fire Thoreau had set by Fairhaven Bay (also known from our runs in Lincoln Woods). Had Thoreau had his will we might have been swimming in Sandy Pond instead.

Finally, if you just want to know how far you have been swimming in Walden, then you can find just about all the yardage listed in the PDF posted here, courtesy of Breakwater Sports Training.

In NH Elsa gets going; Tina Wang cranks at Rye

It wasn't just down in Dub-Rox where the NETT action was happening this weekend.
Breaking news into the NETT Newsroom confirm that Elsa Winther, who is SOOO far ahead of the rest of us in the running gene pool, completed her first race this weekend at Mary's Run in Henniker, NH. And, oh, her parents Ben & Cindy completed it as well but really, Elsa is the star here...NETT's News Department has scored these EXCLUSIVE first photos of the future phenom.








And lastly, the Double Duty award this weekend goes to Tina Wang. Not only was she in attendance Sunday at the Corrib race cheerng us on and scooped up a coveted NETT award at the post-race party, but she also managed to finish 4th woman overall and 2nd in her age group at the Rye By the Sea Duathlon on Saturday, finishing in 1:39. Congrats to Tina!

Whew!

Corrib Pub 5K gets high marks, high finishes from NETT

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood of West Roxbury on Sunday at NETT members gathered to run the Corrib Pub 5K and assemble at Dave and Doris' for the post-race cookout and social festivities. UPDATE: We even made the West Roxbury Newspaper's BLOG.

First the race. As is becoming the norm these days, the Coyotettes completely showed up us menfolk by putting two women in the top 6 places in this race of more than 1600 people. Let me repeat that: Two women in the top six women (both of which ran 25K trail race last weekend!) Impressive. Mary Smith got the turnover rolling to crank out a sub-21 effort, good for 3rd woman overall and tops in her age group. And not far behind was Adrienne Cyrulik who also rebounded from the Pineland Farms race extremely well to lay down a 21:17 good for 6th place (note: results have her as 7th, but we counted--she was 6th dammit--one of those two ladies in front of her in the results doesn't really exist, trust me).

Excellent job ladies!

On the men's side, Crazy Dave didn't quite rebound from Pineland Farms quite as successfully putting in a 17:15 good for 9th overall. Dave Mingori, who has spent every free waking moment for the past three months skiing down various parts of the Presidential Range, cracked the top 20 with a 17:50, good for 5th master.

As promised, the post-race festivities were the real draw at this one, though. After we watched the awards ceremony, where Mary represented us proudly, it was back to the house for some burgers, beeaahs and socializing. It was great to see NETT faces old and new mixing together.






The NETT awards were handed out to the following folks in attendance (and some not):

Multisporter of the Year: Jerry the Tick De Zutter
Performance of the Year: Leo Fahey (Blue Hills trail race)
Workout of the Year: Alex Miller (6x1000m @ 3:15 avg on the Bentley track and not even breathing hard!)
Recruiter of the Year: Tina Wang for her last-minute heroics at Wayland XC among others.
Relay Leg of the Year: Nicholas for his swim leg on the Wang Dynasty Team at the Sudbury Triathlon.
Best Recipe: Oona Chamberas' Cinnamon Eggs!
Team Performance of the Year: Andover XC Race (Mens and Women's Champions). Honorable mention: Lynn Woods (three complete teams) and Mt. Hood Melrose.
Most Sorely Missed: Dmitry Drozdov.

Note: All photos courtesy of Frank KJ Productions
MORE TO COME>

UPDATE: NETT runs strong at Pineland Farms Trail Challenge

With the official results in, NETT officially recorded a kickass performance at the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge.
Crazy Dave managed to pull a race out of some orifice and win the 50K in 3:42, less than two minutes in front of David Herr in second. "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes" was the phrase of the day on that one!

In the women's 25K, Mary Smith (4th woman in 2:06 winning the Lawn Girl award?) and Adrienne Cyrulik (13th in 2:12) represented NETT very well in the women's field. Adrienne says "I thought it was a great race. I was too focused on the incessant rolling hills and leg cramping during the last 4 miles to appreciate the scenery, but I know it was gorgeous. I also realized towards the end that I did my math wrong and it actually was 15.5 not 15- that extra half is critical! :) I would definitely do it again."

In the men's 25K, it was NETT pal Pat Dwyer taking the win in 1:42, with NETT newcomerss Brodie Miles 10th overall in 1:51 with a very solid run and Jack Burke cruising along to a 2:19 making it look easy.

Overall the team of Brodie, Mary, Adrienne and Jack finished 4th in the 25K team results!!!

Here's Brodie's take on the race:

"A)I'd call the course "relentless" - Pre-race I thought to myself, "it'd be cool to be in shape for the 50 miler next year," but three loops of those rollers? It'd be like dying of paper cuts.
B) And while the course was scenic and beautiful - those fields were not my favorite. Cambered! (is that a real word?) Sunny! Hot!
C) For all my complaining - the 25k was fun and do-able. A challenge for sure - but who wants an easy course? And of course, what idiot would do that race just for the shirt. Me - that's who. A tech-t with a tractor on it? - Icing on the cake!
D) And congrats to the NETT women - I think the woman who won set a new course record (judging by the old one that was posted - 2 flat I think it was). So the Coyotee.ettes were all over that time."

Mary Smith on her longest trail race to date:

"I think it was a great day for all of us sporting NETT gear. Personally I had to keep reminding myself that the race WAS 25K & to not start too fast...but it was hard since the trails were so much "smoother"/less technical than what we'd trained on. I definitely liked the sections through the woods better than running along the edge of the fields. Maybe I'm crazy but I'd rather run those hills twice and skip out on the slanted field edge.

About 80 min into the race I realized that I was feeling great and somehow found myself passing people like crazy...and I have no idea where that feeling came from!! I also experienced 1st hand how much time carrying my own water/gatorade saves.

I can only think of 2 things that could've made the day a little better: 1-Having the "Distance Covered" / "Distance to-go" marked more clearly on the course. The only time I knew how much farther I had to run was when I had less than a mile to go.

2-Being a little cooler. It was a little warm, especially running through the open fields. But on a positive note, it allowed for a nice start to my annual 'watch tan line' Great job everyone...and especially Congrats to Dave, who ran twice as far as the rest of us!"

And here's Pat Dwyer's report on his win in the 25K:
"I went up to this race on the suggestion of one of my Boston Tri teammates, Juli Davenport, who was first overall woman in the 50K. I went up to run the 25K as a prep for Ironman Lake Placid. I was definitely running on some "heavy" legs from the training volume I was doing. Just like at the Merrimack River Trail race, I got some funny looks as I stood at the starting line in my road racing flats (although they were fine on this course). I ran with a pack for the first couple of miles. Everytime I would get a little lead, it would evaporate on the downhills (I'm a slow descender). About 17 minutes in I started to think that it was stupid for me to be leading. I was just about to drift back and let someone else do the work when I realized the "voices" behind me were no longer there. I turned back to see no one. That's when I pushed the pace for a couple of miles. The nice thing about the course is that if you get a lead, you can virtually dissappear with all the turns. As we hit the first field clearing (where you can see everyone), I realized I had a pretty significant lead of at least 2-3 minutes. I continued to run fairly hard from fear of getting caught. However, around an hour into the race, the constant hills started to wear on me (it could have also been that 140 mile bike ride I did the week before:)). At that point, with an even larger lead, I went into cruise control. I figured that as long as I didn't completely blow up, I was going to win. I would up being the second person to cross the finish line...Crazy Dave being the first (although he won the 50K). In fact, my wife thought Dave was in the 25K...and she told me at I was only 2 minutes behind the leader...to which I said she was crazy unless someone cut the course! Anyway, I wound up winning 5 minutes over second place. My impressions from the race are that it's fantastic. Great course (think Cape Ann 25K w/more rollers and on soft surface) and great after party. Great awards. Just a great race atmosphere. It didn't hurt that it was the best weather day of the long weekend. And the best part about it was that my legs actually felt great afterwards (unlike a road race)."

I see a trail runner being born here!!

And lastly, the nearly unbeatable Leigh Schmitt ran away with the 50-mile race in 6:35, telling Dave he was pretty lonely for much of the race. In additon to his trail running prowess, Leigh is also a master sculptor--You've never seen a guy who can pile pasta salad on a paper plate like Leigh!!

All in all, the race got very high marks from everyone that ran or watched it. Great food after--music, gelato, free beer, and burgers. Special thanks to all the NETT friends that came out to watch! Definitely helps to see a friendly face out there when you're grinding away the long miles.

All photos courtesy of JentheArtTeacher Productions.

Young extends lead in Eastern New England Trail Racing Series

Paul Young extended his lead in the Eastern New England Trail Race Series this weekend, with a solid performance at Trav's Trail Run in Newburyport. Paul clocked 17:14 on the 3 mile course, good for 17th overall and 3rd master.

Also out on the trails at Trav's was the Janos "The Hungarian Land Shark" Mako, who clocked an 18:22 as the sixth master to cross the line (yet another stacked master's field)

While the series standings have not yet been updated, few runners of Paul's stature have completed all three of the races so far.

Wang Dynasty Minus Two takes to the streets of Marlboro

Tina was missing her two teammates this past weekend but toughed it out and did the Lions Spring Sprint Triathlon solo. Her hard efforts got her a 1:02, good for fourth in her division and 75th overall. NOTE: She did have the fastest run split for her divison.

The secret to her success? It was clearly her "unintentional taper" at the Bentley workout on Wednesday.

"You guys did a second set? I thought the workout was over and went home!"

Nice work.

Big Ben, Crazy Dave and Eminem play the MODEL role

Last week, Big Ben, Crazy Dave and Karyn "Eminem" Miller-Medzon got the call from CitySports to be included as models in their exclusive photo shoot along the Chaaahles Rivah. After many long hours of negotiating with agents and several calls to Miley Cyrus, the NETT trio donned the CS branded running gear.

While there were many many of the city's most gorgeous runners scampering around in front of the lens at the shoot, CitySports clearly has taste and chose to feature a shot of Big Ben Crazy Dave and a slightly (okay more than slightly) obscured Eminem striding along the river.

Here's the result. Let us know what YOU THINK.

De Zutter WINS HOPKINTON DUATHLON

This just into the NETT newsroom: Jerry De Zutter won the Hopkinton Duathlon this weekend in convincing fashion in 1:01. He laid down the fastest splits for run1 and the bike leg and cruised in more than a minute in front. Here's Jerry's report:

A beautiful morning at Hopkinton State Park. Ran into
Dave Guertin before the race who was to get in the
chilly water in the concurrently running triathlon.
Dave did well in his season opening tri despite having
to take a breather on the swim and some technical
difficulties on the bike. A unique twist, we
started the duathlon at the same time the gun went off
for the triathlon and we began by running on a sandy
path across the back of the beach from which the
triathletes were launching. I don't think the
spectators knew which way to look. I
semi-reluctantly took the lead on the first 2mile run
after an energetic young lady had it for ~30sec. Had a
small advantage when we got to T1 but then got caught
by a couple guys coming out of transition/very early
on the bike. I think they blew themselves up trying to
catch up and I passed them back fairly quickly and
rode pretty solid to the transition with ~1:30 lead.
2nd run, 5K, was a little more interesting as early
on, I was debating with myself how hard/easy I could
run and still win. Not a good way to be thinking. A
short out-back stretch during that run revealed that
some of the other athletes had obviously made up some
ground on me which gave me incentive to stop debating
and run harder to the finish. I was happy to win but
didn't feel like I had any more gears if I had been
more seriously challenged.

Dave Guertin ran tough for an early season opener for 9th in his age group and 54th
overall

Mini-massage, decent food and beverages and
complimentary red bull(s) made for a pretty good
post-race too.


-Jerry

Wang Dynasty Takes Second at the Sudbury Triathlon

Frank KJ, Tina and Tina's son Nicholas as a family took second place relay team at the Subury Sprint Triathlon this weekend and judging by the results, it might be something we see more of! Here's Frank's report:

"The Wang dynasty ruled Sudbury today. We came in second and had a blast doing this as a family relay. Nicholas was seeded to swim 5:40 and finished on the dot. He passed the chip on to yours truly who posted a respectable split and finally Tina, as always, surpassed herself running 6:40 min/mile pace. To put things a bit in perspective, Nicholas had the 56th best swim time out of 400+ (this race appeals to swimmers); Frank had the 6th best bike time; and Tina had the 22nd best run time (including the men) and 2nd fastest of all the women."

(Nicholas gets the chip to Frank on their way to a seond place finish).

Talk about a fit household! Congrats!

NETT trail runners attack the Wapack MorFun run

Well our crew of trail runners certainly put the last "T" in Track & Trail this weekend, with some top finishes at a couple of the longest, toughest trail runs around.

First off, the trio of Dima Feinhaus, Jennifer Shultis and Karen Ringheiser took on the MorFUn Wapack Trail Run of 21 or 50 very rugged miles on the Wapack Trail.

Dima reports that: "Weather was great, trails were dry, and all I ended up being second in a very competitive race with 4:09 (official time are a few minutes off). 6th at 1st aid station -- it's a longer story -- but guy # 3 and I left 3rd (last) aid station virtually at the same time and were killing each other up to the finish line.

"Jennifer was 2nd female if I'm not mistaken, it's hard to read the results. I was too out of it at the finish line to remember who came when.
Karen was 4th female (out of 7), which is really good for her, as she did Boston just a few weeks ago and definitely does not like the long rocky sections that were prevalent out there."

Young cracks top 10 at 7 Sisters, Eminem and Little Skittles take on the Great Bear

As the rain poured down on Sunday morning, Paul Young was bravely toeing the line for what's unanimously considered the most difficult trail race in New England, the 7 Sisters Trail Race in Amherst, Mass. Paul's a veteran of the course and a very strong runner on technical and downhill trails, so it's no surprise that he managed yet another top-10 finish this year by hurtling himself down the sharp jagged rocks that line the last quarter mile of the course.

"It wasn't a PR year, but I ran with Keith Schmitt again this year and we did some real damage on the field on the way back, picking off a lot of runners and managing to finsih in the top 10 in 2:02," Paul said.

Results are not yet available online, but a look at some past years' results shows a LOT of NETT names near the top of the list of the years (namely De Zutter, Young, Hannon, Mingori and at least one Drozdov and a Shirokov).

And in the "Son Spanks Mom" department, Karyn M-M(aka Eminem) reports that her 10-year old son Noah (aka Little Skittles) not only won his age division at the Great Bear 5K in a stunning PR of 21:40 but dusted his mom by a soild minute. Let me repeat that in case you missed it: He's 10 and he ran 21:40 for 5K. Whew!

Karyn says "His slow-moving Canadiens-loving mother had a less impressive finish of 22:40 (4th in age group), resulting in no bling whatsoever."

Note: Little Skittles is a Bruins fan, while Eminem, a native of Quebec, is a Montreal Candiens fan. So we know the good guys won out in this race!

NETT takes 3 of top 7 at Blue Hills, makes strong Masters showing at the James Joyce Ramble

As I was thinking about how to review all of the NETT-related events going on this past weekend, I thought it would be easiest to do it in the first person—as me, Dave, rather than as the third-person reporter I usually cover our events in. With that said…

So, Saturday morning kicked off well with a nice warmup run on the Battle Road trails before meeting up with Frank KJ, Youngstah, Mary Smith and Tina for a long run from the Battle Road Farm condo plex in Lincoln. As always, Frank dazzled us with his internal map function and took us from his house, by the Sandy Pond reservoir, around Walden and a host of other trails until right when we were starting to think we’d never get home again, we “popped right out” at the end of the Battle Road Trail. Don’t ask me how. I can’t explain it. But a great run followed by bagels and coffee, courtesy of the Wang-Kjaarsgaards. Muchas Gracias!

Sunday, it was what will likely be my shortest race commute of the year, driving the 10 miles or so to Milton for the Blue Hills 10 Mile Trail Race . Quite eventful. Before the race, I meet up with Paul Young, Chris Smith and Rob Smith for a nice easy warmup jog. The legs are definitely a little flat from the long run the day before, but other than, ready to mix it up. Just prior to the race, I catch Ben Nephew and Jim Pawlicki hammering down a hill on the trail and I’m thinking “man, that has got to be the fastest warmup I’ve ever seen!”

Okay, time to toe the line. Looking around, Rob points out a guy that we might want to keep an eye on (he was eventual 3-mile winner Aaron Price). False start and we’re off like bats from hell, but it’s hard to keep track of who’s where, since the 3-miler starts with the 10milers. After a half-mile or so, me, Chris, Paul and Rob are grouped nicely (“Geez, Paul, if you wore your white NETT shirt like me and Chris, it would make a great photo!”) and we look up to see Nephew and Pawlicki on the sidelines cheering.

Dave: What the hell are you guys doing?
Ben: We didn’t know you had to pre-register.
Dave: We all just moved up two places, guys!

At the split for the three-milers, it’s impossible to know what places we’re in, but me, Paul and Rob run close for a while. We do an out-and-back section on the course, and it doesn’t look like there’s anyone else in front of us. A bit later we see the CMS twins again cheering us on loudly and I ask what place we’re in. “I think you’re the leaders” comes the reply. “Okay boys…things just got interesting,” I shout over my shoulder to two of the top masters trail runners in New England and crank the pace up a bit.

I really crank it up on a long uphill just before 6 miles and for the first time in about 40 minutes I don’t hear footsteps behind me. But with two very experienced guys keeping chase, I have to keep the foot on the gas.

At about 8 miles, I get the bad news, as I come through a check point and hear one of the volunteers say “Great work. You’re number 2.” Number 2? First off, no one likes to be called “number 2” but secondly, where did number one come from? Well, long story short, it looks like the first-place finisher was so far ahead that maybe a couple folks didn’t even notice him. So me, Paul and Rob finish 2-3-4 and Chris only a bit back in 7th. Talk about a SOLID masters field!


UPDATE: For photos of the Blue Hills race, courtesy of the host Colonial Road Runners, click here.

Okay, fast forward to the drive home. I know the James Joyce Ramble is clogging up the streets of Dedham, which sits smack between Blue Hills and West-Roxbury, so I’m not surprised when I get stuck at a closed street crossing. However, as I watch some of the runners flying past my eyes pop out when I catch that all-too-familiar coyote image on the front of a shirt! It’s Karen Ringheiser blasting through the 10K on her way to a FOURTH MASTER finish in 41:13. And of course if Karen’s there, Dima Feinhaus is there as well and he too battled a tough masters field to finish 41st overall, 12th master in 38:19.

WHEW! Busy busy. Check back for photos, details.

Dave Mingori is half of winning team at Tuckerman's Inferno

Never one to take the easy route, rather than run Boston or du the du at Wrentham, Dave Mingori chose to compete as half of a two-man team at the very challenging Tuckerman's Inferno race this past weekend. For those who don't know about the race, it's an adventure/multisport race that starts with a hilly road run, goes to a kayak and then a bike, then it's a hike up the side of Mt. Washington and then a ski down Tuckerman's Ravine. You can do it as a full team, two-person relay, or individual. Dave was part of a a two-person team, handling the run, hike/climb and ski. Here's his report:


So, I'm alive, and we won the 2-person division of the Inferno (plus some wonderful bonus skiing in Gulf of Slides on Sunday).

Executive summary:

1) Mark and I were 13th overall (1st place in the duo division) out of 90 total teams.
2) I split 53:02 for the 8.4 mile run (8th fastest run).
3) I split 52:30 for the 3.1 mile hike from Pinkham into the bowl (also 8th fastest split; ~2000' elevation gain).
4) I then proceeded to become seriously dehydrated and cramped horribly in the transition to ski, the ski climb and the ski down.

Here's the details for those who are interested:

After our final planning strategy, my teamate and I decided to drive my car to Pinkham Friday night and leave it, which turned out to be a VERY smart move. Out of the condo at 6:15, dropped off Mark's kayak then over to Storyland for the start. I finished the 8.4 mile run just over 53 minutes (either the 7th or 8th fastest run - quite a competitive run field this year). My support vehicle (ie the parents) then drove me to Pinkham to get geared up for the hike. Meanwhile, my sherpa had already started up with boots, skis and pack.

Mark put in an exceptional kayak, ending up with the 5th or 6th fastest time on the water. A solid bike (what we thought would be our weakest section) brought him to Pinkham and we're top 10. I maintained our position on the hike. Made it to Hermit Lake in 35 minutes, putting me right on pace for my goal of 45-47 minutes. Unfortunately the crowds made it REALLY tough on the final narrow stretch and I also got taken down by a dog!

Yes, a dog came out of nowhere, clipped me right below the knee and sent me sliding off the trail down into the bushes. Just a few scrapes, but lost time there. Made it to the base of left gully in 52 minutes (ended up also being the 8th fastest hike). So now for the ugly part. I knew I was getting dehydrated so I took some extra time to down a couple waters. My right quad was beginning to cramp a bit (no thanks to the dog and my fall). I finally get my boots and skis on when a buckle breaks. My first thought is forget it and go, but then I realize I can fix it. Overall though wasted way too much time in the transition. I was figuring on 4-5 minutes but it ended up being over 10. The climb up Left Gully, usually my favorite, was pure torture. The ski down even worse. Quads cramping every other turn. 40 minutes later I cross the finish (last year when I did just the ski I went up and down in 24!)

I crossed the line, fell over and then literally had both quads seize up. I could not bend my knees for the next 5 minutes or so, just laid in the snow guzzling gatorade and water.

But.... it was all worth it as we won the 2-man division in just over 4:30. Interesting in that we had figured a "best case" time of 4:15, and had I not had my issues we'd have been real close.

Rick's take on the Boston Marathon

As always, our roving reporter, Rick Cleary, has provided his own unique take on his 31st--YES 31st Boston Marathon start:


Hi Running Pals:

So here are a collection of thoughts and scenes from my 31st Boston marathon start, 29th same day finish:

The basic question: HOW'D YA DO?
Pretty good! I ran 3:37:02 to crack the top 8500 of almost 22000 finishers. I was 900th male 50 - 59, but one of the first 899 was Fast Eddie Sandier, so call me Fat Ricky for at least another year. The good news was that it was my fastest Boston marathon since 2002 (what a coincidence that my son Eddie was born in March, 2003!), the bad news is that to officially requalify for my age group I needed a 3:35:59 so I missed by 63 seconds. I hope to take advantage of my upcoming sabbatical, actually our upcoming sabbaticals since Ann has one too, to get in slightly better shape and run a good time somewhere in the fall.

The follow-up: WOW, 63 SECONDS SHORT OF RE-QUALIFYING ... WHERE COULD YOU HAVE MADE THAT UP?
Well, the obvious place would have been to reach down and run the last couple of miles hard. At 24 miles I was 3:16:05 on my watch with 2.2 miles to go, and my recent miles had been about 9:30 each. A modest pick-up to under nines would do the trick. But I'm just not a reach down kind of guy. I like to think that the same failure to stress myself to make up those 63 seconds accounts for the fact that I've been running for 35 years without injury.

Related story #1: I saw two guys earlier in the race wearing t-shirts that said, "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever!" I didn't want to waste energy in a debate but I immediately thought to myself, "No, no, no! Quit and try again next year; but hurt yourself seriously and you might never run again." This will all be explained in my upcoming book, "The Mediocrity Manifesto: How Doing Your Best is Killing You."

Related story #2: Two weeks before the marathon I went Marathon Sports in Wellesley and bought a new pair of shoes for the race. The eager twenty-something waiting on me said, "If you go outside and run along the sidewalk we'll do a stride analysis and we'll know if you need a stability shoe and..." I said, "I've been running for 35 years, never been hurt, and I almost always buy the second cheapest Asics. Get me a pair of these in 11."

Some other places I might have made up that 63 seconds to requalify:
-I did need to stop briefly in the woods by the railroad tracks near the 15K mark in Natick, and in my modesty I probably went farther off Route 135 than was really necessary given the circumstances. Let's call that 30 seconds lost.
-Mugging for a picture taken by Sunday AM running pal Jeff Dosdall at the Natick/Wellesley line. Maybe five seconds.
-High fiving the family and friends at Wellesley College ... another 15 seconds.
-Shouting to spectators with radios on to get Red Sox score updates ... maybe three times at five seconds each time.
There, that's 65 seconds. OK, I've convinced myself and I'm strong enough to run the time I need if I focus better!

Experienced runners would ask: DID YOU RUN EVEN SPLITS?
Well, no. Fast Eddie ran impressively negative splits, running the second half faster which is something I've managed only twice 78 marathons. I ran the first half in a little over 1:42; (7:50/mile) the second half a little under 1:55 (8:45/mile) so a minute per mile slower the second half. So should have I gone out slower? I'm not so sure. I know as a coach and as a rational math professor that everything in the literature would suggest even pacing is better. But I get really tired of running after two hours or so. I did my 20 mile training run in March at about 8:30 pace for the first 14 and I was still so tired I slowed way down and was well over 10 minute pace the last couple of miles. I think picking it up can work if you're generally fit but for those of us living on the margin getting time in the bank might not be a crazy strategy. Steady splits also require great mental focus and toughness, which (as previously noted) is not my long suit. At least this year the decline in splits was linear, not exponential!


And everybody asks: HOW WAS THE WEATHER?
Close to ideal. Sixty or so, sun came out just as we started. I'm glad I wore a tee shirt under my BAA singlet, as I saw a lot of badly sunburned shoulders after the race! I got slightly burned on the right (south facing) arm.

Other little moments from the day:

-My number of 14024 (the zip code of Bliss, NY, near Geneseo) put me in the first corral, right near the starting line, in the second wave. This was great, as it only took about 30 seconds to get across the line and I was running comfortably within the first mile. The earlier start and two wave starts are both huge improvements in the whole process.

-There's always those people you keep trading back and forth with ... For me this year the most memorable was a women whose entire uniform was an ad for Aquaphor ointment. I spent more time than usual worried about chafing.

-It's astonishing to me that in a race with water and Gatorade every mile there are people carrying enormous amounts of their favorite foods and beverages in various tummy packs, fanny packs, camelbacks ... I expect to soon see people pulling small carts with their preferred refreshments. This is especially annoying for those of us who weigh a little more than we'd like to and would run better if we were a bit lighter; seeing these people deciding to carry a few extra pounds just seems crazy to me!

And the thank yous:

-Ann, Eddie and Tommy for training encouragement, race day logistics and excellent cheering.

-My Wellesley College fan club, whose support really encouraged me to get into this year's race using my membership in the Quarter Century Club. One of the reasons I run the first half faster is to get to see everybody there!

-Martha and Bob Collins for the super service ride to Hopkinton; and the rest of the Sunday morning training group for their encouragement.

-My colleagues Dave Carhart and Erl Sorensen for their excellent cheering by Dave's house near mile 2, and the traditional complicated math sign with a code for my goal time. (This year's sign: 3^3+4^3+5^3-(Sum n=1 to infinity of 1/2^n)
Note that's 215, and 3:35 is 215 minutes.)

OK, time to rest up and get 63 seconds faster... I'd love to speed up enough to get my qualifying time back toward an Eastern NY zip code ...

Rick

NETT puts its best feet forward at Boston, Wrentham

Well if you were a runner, running fan or just a sports fan in Boston, this might have been your dream weekend.

While many of us were out watching Deena Kastor provide a tutorial on how to stalk like a Big Cat at the Women's U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday, a few NETTers were out multisporting it up at the annual multisport kickoff event, the Wrentham Duathlon. Always a perrenial favorite at this event (spring or fall), Paul Miller had his work cut out for him this year, as he threw down a very solid 55-minute time for a third-place overall finish, behind two professional (or semi-pro) athletes. Most of us could only hope for such results.

And true to form, NETT had a couple of the top masters in Frank KJ notching a PR at Wrentham to slip in the top 10 overall (second master) in 59 minutes, while Toledo Joe pulled out the old Ganges Surprise to finish 1:01 and fourth in his age group. As always, great work.

And of course, Monday was the big day for that Fun Run from Hopkinton to Boston. As a specator home watching on TV, it was one of the most exciting races I can remember. Women's race right down to the wire and men's race was yet another clinic by a man possesed.
(Note the NETT on the back of the shirt which says "Congratulations! You've just been chicked by a Mini Pony!")

There were more than a few of the extended NETT family taking part. We'll be getting more details in dribs and drabs, but here's a roundup of folks' times that I can dig up:

Frank White 2:50:05
Tina Wang 3:32:22
Karen Mahoney-Ringheiser 3:20:32
Dima Feinhaus 2:58:39 (PR?)
Rick Cleary 3:37:02
Vlad Luppov 3:06:24
Ben Spiess 2:57:59
Chrissy Durden 4:24:27

For Dima Feinhaus, it was a marathon PR by over a minute and a 9-minute improvement over Boston last year. “I might have overhydrated on Sunday, because in the morning I was 3 lbs over my usual weight and I don't recall ever being so nervous before a race,” Dima reports. (Some of the overhydrated are executing their plan at mile 1--photo courtesy of JimRhoades.com)

For Karen Ringheiser, it was a PR on the Boston course even though she felt the sun was a bit hotter than she expected.

“I had so much fun!” exclaims Chrissy Durden about her run. “I had a bit of a rocky start due to some stomach issues, so once I realized I wouldn’t be able to make up enough time I decided to just have fun with it; and as strange as that may sound, I had a blast!”

Okay, I'm sure I missed a few, but that's a start....if you've got some pics or personal stories out on the course, send them along and I'm happy to post. Or if anyone has a picture of a Montreal Candiens shirt in flames, we can post that too.

(Tina says: "Uh oh...the Coke isn't that bad, but I think I should have skipped the burrito at mile 18!")

Also, for those running geeks that JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH of it all, I recommend checking out the Flocasts site for post-race interviews with elite athletes from the women's Olympic trials including Deena Kastor and Crazy Dave's pal Yolanda Flamino. Very cool stuff.

NETT runs the Rivah!

Despite some gloomy-looking skies early on, NETT was out in force at the 17th Annual Merrimack River Trail Race (the RIVAH) in Andover, Mass on Saturday.

Overall, NETT was third in team scoring. On the men’s side, Paul Young ran a rare PR on the wet course to finish 12th overall in 1:05:30. John Kinnee (although registered to CMS—BOO!!!) finished in 1:08, and the pair of Big Ben Winther and Crazy Dave Hannon chugged in together in 1:17. Also out on the course were NETT pals Pat Dwyer completing his first trail race in an impressive 1:07 and Brodie Miles clocking a 1:11.

The ladies had a fine showing with trail expert Adrienne Cyrulik finishing fifth woman in 1:25. Karyn Miller-Medzon (Eminem) slim-shadied her way to a 1:36 and Laura Wieland was just behind in 1:38, both running in their first longer trail race.

As usual, the race was well-organized by Dave Dunham and Steve Peterson, and Petey gets the most enthusiastic race director award! (“He gets a t-shirt and SKITTTLES!!!”) Funds raised by the race support the Thomas Chamberas Memorial Runners Scholarship.

To see a video of the race CLICK HERE

NETT goes South at Northern Nipmuck, Ringheiser tops at Crowleys, Frank KJ at Upton

Some days you feel great. Some days you feel crappy. Some days your feel so crappy that 1/4 into the race you pull the plug and turn it into a training run. And SOME DAYS, you find out your teammate did the same!

Such was the case for the Daves (Hannon and Mingori) at the Northern Nipmuck trail race this weekend. DaveH felt the woes of a hefty training schedule early on and by the first aid station had shifted gears from race pace to training pace, thinking when Dave M caught up with him, he'd try to push it up again. But Dave M never came, having his own troubles, struggling through what he called a general lack of zip.

End result: Dave H a personal worst 2:23 and Dave M in at 2:39. And just to add insult to injury, NETT's Dmitry Drozdov's former course record was smashed as well, with race winner Josh Ferenc running a blistering 1:59.

But all was not lost for NETT this weekend and several other members rallied to save our reputation. Karen Ringheiser won the women's division at the RJ Crowley's 3 mile race in Newton. Karen finished 16th overall in 3-mile race in 19:08, a mere 10 seconds in front of the the second place woman (16 years her junior!). Congrats Karen. Honorable mention goes to Dima Feinhaus' son, Isaac, who took second in the males 0-19 age group in 22:56.

And our other Karyn (Miller-Medzon, or Eminem, as she's known on the streets of Belmont), took a top 30 and FOURTH MASTERS women's place at the Marathon Sports City Run 5 Miler in Cambridge. Rumor has it she danced around after her 38:30, singing "I'm the real Shady, all you other Miller-Medzons are just imitateys" (okay, I'm not up on my hip hop lyrics).

Also, in the "Saving our Face" category, Frank KJ put in a strong run at the Upton 15K on Saturday, finishing 14th overall in 58:53. If you can believe it, he was 8th master with that finish--a very competitive master's field!

APRIL FOOLS!!! Meb Keflezighi to run for NETT

FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT FIGURE IT OUT YET, THIS WAS DAVE'S PATHETIC ATTEMPT AT AN APRIL FOOL'S JOKE. A COUPLE PEOPLE DID BITE ON IT!

Yes, it’s true! Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi is moving to Boston for the summer to train and plans train regularly with NETT, so get in shape!

After running the Boston Marathon in 2006, Meb found he really liked the area, especially the Newton/Wellesely and Metrowest area of Boston. And he has two siblings that go to Boston-area schools. So he wanted to move here for a summer and train and began looking for a running club that focuses on trail running in the area who could show him the best off-road spots to run. Plus, his sponsor, Nike, has no ties to any local clubs here. Hence, NETT!

Now, we’ve been very clear that we’re not runners near his caliber but he is fully aware of that but says, “I really am looking to do some very easy long runs (7 mpm) on soft trails in the area, and you guys are the only group that seem to specialize in that around Boston.”

And yes, he said he’s open to running a couple races for us wearing the NETT colors!

While he’s still working out the details of his arrival and housing, plan on being in tip-top shape in the beginning of June!