NETT take the beach at Cohasset

A few Mini Ponies were down at the Cohasset tri recently. Martin Bures has been really ripping it up this year. Here's his report:

So Jim and Katherine and I did Cohasset this past weekend. It is an Age Group Nationals Qualifier Race and it was filled up. There were 804 competitors. It was a perfect day - sunny, the ocean was glass and it was not windy. The water was cold so a full wetsuit was in order.

I lined up for my wave and waited for the gun to go off. There was some jostling at the start but I sprinted for the open, dove into the water and took a few strong strokes to put me in the lead. I kept the lead through the swim and ran up the beach to the first transition.

I was a little winded from the swim and had a slow swim-to-bike transition but was still in good shape. Only a few people passed me during the bike leg which went surprisingly well despite a few shifting problems due to some cable stretch. We had driven the course the previous day and it didn't seem too bad but we missed a hilly
section which was an unwelcome surprise. All-in-all, the bike went well and I have definitely improved this season thanks to Frank.

T2 was a bit faster and I was out for the run. It felt sluggish at first and there were a few challenging hills but I was able to take back a few places that I lost during the bike. I was empty at the end but it was a great effort. I finished 2nd in my age group, 22/804 for 1:00:25 with some strong competition."

Nice work Martin!

Despite the top-notch competition at this race, Katherine still managed to win her age group by less than a minute in a gutsy performance.

Jim De Zutter put in a super strong swim as well and finished in 1:14. He credits his strong race to his unusual habit of inspecting every grain of sand on the beach prior to the swim.

The Inside Scoop on Sisters Smith Success

Sisters Mary and Clare Smith did so well at their first 50K recently, the NETT news team decided to pick their brains on it. (Note the picture here includes their "adopted" sister Janelle Smith.) Here's what we found out from Mary:

• The Mantra for the day was "Stay upright & keep moving forward", which we both followed.
• We enjoyed our day on the trail, stopping at 2 lookouts to look down the valley & take in the scenery.
• The aid station volunteers were extremely friendly & helpful. The watermelon was our best friend!!
• Mile 1-20 were tough, lots of steep climbs (both up & down).
• Miles 21 - 25 Both Smith Sister were plagued with nauseau (thankfully one of us lost the feeling at mile 25)
• Miles 26 - 30 one of us learned that nothing calms nauseau (not water, not gatorade, not ginger candy, not gum, not walking, not running, not nothing.....)
• Mile 30 - We FINALLY found the cure!! One Smith lost their cookies - "I mean Gatorade" all over the trail!! Afterwards - she felt GREAT & wished the "incident" had occured 10 miles ago.
• Miles 30 - 31.2 The Smith Sister rolled toward the finish (finishing together as the 2nd & 3rd Women).
• No major injuries to report (just some heat rash & expected dehydration).We're also pretty sure having a rock-solid sibling to run with is a BIG advantage in a long race like that. Congrats again!

MiniPonies out in force at Webster Lake Triathlon

NETT was well represented both in quantiy and quality at the Webster Tri this weekend, with three relay teams and an open competitor taking the race by storm.

In the relays, the big showdown between Dream Team II (Nicholas, Doctor Ron and Little Skittles) and Frank, Adrienee and Crazy Dave was uniquely handicapped at the last minute. Little Skittles had to pull out with an injury, so Tina subbed in. Crazy Dave did his own version of handicapping the race by showing up to the starting line...out of sorts as many of you can attest to.

But at the end of the day, it was a win-win-win for NETT. Frank and Nicholas were both phenomenal in the water (I'm not sure who made it to the beach first, but when you factored in the run across the parking lot to T1 it was basically a dead heat). Dream Team II was slowed slightly when an overzealous race official decided to lecture Dr. Ron on the finer points of triathlon and being such a big proponent of education, Dr. Ron listened and took notes before heading out on the bike.

But that wasn't the rookie mistake that cost him. It was his decision to pass, and taunt, Adrienne early in the bike leg. That woke the beast and AC just stomped the pedals and shot off like a rocket before coming into the closely scrutinized transition area yet again (I'm pretty sure the race officials at Webster were trained by the KGB because they were watching everyone's moves). All kidding aside, Ron's performance on the bike in his FIRST EVER race of any kind was huge. According to one report, he was about one minute off Adrienne's time, which is phenomenal. This guy's going to be a secret weapon in some relays coming up!

Meanwhile, at T2, still in a haze of sorts, it took Crazy Dave three attempts to properly attach the chip to his leg while a race official literally stood over him and watched. With Frank and AC having done the heavy lifting, there was only one relay team to run down which they did easily to capture the relay team title.

Dream Team II, however, produced the most impressive run leg of the day on its way to fourth overall and with Tina and "company" churning out something like a 22-minute run leg (results are a bit messed up). Now while we want to give her praise for this performance, we DO NOT want to encourage such behavior in the future. A 30 or 40 minute stroll would have sufficed there speedypants Wang, so next time we WILL pull you off the course for non-compliance to the very strict rules in the NETT Future Stars development program. (We've already contracted some of those ex-KGB guys that FIRM has!)

Not to be outdone, the third NETT relay team of Eminem, Eminem and Daniel produced some pretty staggering results of its own. For example, what would you give to shave, say, three minutes off your swim time and a couple more off your bike in a year? Well that's pretty much what Karyn did yesterday before Daniel uncorked the third-fastest run leg in the relay competition. Consider they had two people and Dream Team II had four on their (I'll let you do the math!) I'd say they can all be proud.

Despite the whirl of chaos and paparrazi surrounding the relay competition, our sole individual competitor, Eri, was his usual calm and collected self on his way to a 6th place finish in his age group. While we all know he's a very strong swimmer, I'd point out that comparatively his run split was ranked higher than his swim in this race...good sign for this guy's development.

And perhaps the most fun part of this father's day event, is the family affair that is has become for NETT. Last year it was a swarm of De Zutters out there. This year the families were also very well represented in many ways. Great great to see and, I think, a great illustration of what NETT is all about.

Having a Great time at the Lincoln Steeplechase

Several NETT members made good impressions at the Great Lincoln Steeplechase on Sunday and it wasn't all in the results.

Crazy Dave ran the race for the fourth (?) time in 13 years, finishing second in 41:17. Chris Smith took it out hard and held on for fourth overall and top masters' honors. Marshall Randolph won the 60+ age group in 49:17 and Wendy Johnecheck was sixth woman overall thanks to some pacing help from the Youngstah.

But it was Frank KJ, who showed up mainly to take these great pics, that deserves the biggest kudos. While hanging out waiting for us all to finish, Frank was asked if he could help call out numbers at the finish and, true to form, he took to the job with gusto. SO much so, the race organizers gave him a special word of thanks at the awards ceremony
Just the kind of folks we are...

Sisters Smith finish second in their first 50K

Teamwork! That's what helped Mary Smith and sister Clare not only survive, but thrive in their first 50K at the Laurel Highlands this weekend down in Pennsylvania.

It was hot and humid on race day--not the optimial conditions to run any race, never mind your first 50K. For those of you thinking Pennsylvania is flat, think again! According to the race web site, the point-to-point course begins at elev. 1200 ft. and ends at elev. 2760 ft. The 50K race saw only 83% of starters actually finish the race this year. Oowwwwccch.

But as we've come to expect Mary and Clare handled what came their way in stride. They ran together to manage the challenges and finished together in 7:14 as the second and third women in the race. That gives you an indication--7 hours for the second place woman to run a 50K course is clearly a brutal race.

Big congrats to Mary and Clare. Great work out there!

NETT relay teams to duke it out at Webster Lake Triathlon

Let the smack talk and the side-bets begin!

NETT has two very strong relay teams set to go at the upcoming Webster Lake Triathlon and we're taking bets on who's going to win (you can post your vote on the poll on the NETT meetup page).

The first NETT trio has Frank doing the swim, a day post-half-iron, Adrienne on the bike and Crazy Dave handling run duties. At full strength, this is a very solid relay squad for the Mini Ponies.

But as strong as that first team is, if they want the crown, they're going to have to wrestle it from the Dream Team II, which has Nicholas "the fish" in the water (I swear this kid has gills!), Dr. Ron hammering the bike leg and the always speedy Little Skittles on the run (You really don't want to have to kick the last 200 against this kid!).

A third Dark Horse team has Eminem, still recovering from injury, doing double-duty in the swim and bike, and Daniel throwing down the run. With all her cross-training lately, Eminem could make it close enough to give Big Dan a chance to open up those monstrous ground-eating strides and make a run at it.

There is already some controversy surrounding the race, as the NETT News Room, which is fully impartial in such matters, has obtained this photo clearly showing two of the three teams plotting some kind of underhanded doings. Frank's team is clearly a trio of marked men..uh..athletes.

No matter who wins, with those teams it's sure to mean a good day for NETT all around. But just for fun, log into the NETT MEETUP GROUP and post your vote today!

Mary tunes up at her own hometown 5K

With a big race coming up this weekend, Mary Smith decided to tune up by running a 5K in her newly adopted hometown of Norwood. Here's her report:

"I did a little seret racing this weekend! I couldn't resist, it was a 5K in Norwood (less than 1 mile from my house). I felt like a little bit of a Crazy Runner as I ran to the start of the race, ran the race, & ran home.

The St. Catherine of Sierra School 5K was a pretty flat 5K & probably would've been fast except it was so humid & sticky at race time. Plus it was to benefit the St Catherine School, so there were tons of little kids crowing the front of the starting line (but no one there would discourage any of the youngsters from getting into running....so we all patiently took a back seat to the kids).

It was just around some of the streets in Norwood. About 2 miles into the race I contemplated if I'd rather be running a 5K fast or a marathon!?!? I ran a 20:20 (no chip timing....it was quite low key), but I ended up being the 3rd women overall & 1st in my age group - I could see the 2nd women ahead of me the entire race....but just couldn't catch her. The best part was there was a cash prize ($100 for 1st, $50 for 2nd, & $25 for 3rd), which was nice because it paid for my registration fee.

It might not have been the smartest thing to do a week before a 50K, but it was a 5K in my newly established "hometown" so I couldn't resist...

Unfortunately no major politicians at the Norwood race (no governor or mayor).

NETT celebrates in style at Corrib 5K

There's nothing better than a surprise, is there? Weather holding out when it was supposed to be a washout. A friend offering to run with you just to keep you company. Shaking the Governor's hand on the street. Those were just some of the pleasant surprises for the extended NETT family on Sunday at the Corrib 5K race and post-race cookout.

The race itself saw some very gutsy performances by NETT runners. Chris Smith was his ever-consistent self, churning out a 17:42 on the hilly course, good for 15th overall and 8th master--yeah, it was a pretty stiff field, especially in the 40-plus group. Crazy Dave benefitted from the stacked master's field by finishing 3rd in his age group in 17:15.

The gutsiest performance of the day came from Little Skittles, however. As you can see he was all business on the course, kicking like an absolute demon to finish in 21:24. And just for good measure, the kid jets off to a soccer game after the race while the rest of us had a nap.


"Geez, where ARE those slow old people? I've been done for like 20 minutes!"

On the woment's side, Deb Robertson tested out her racing speed and produced a 23:16 for her efforts. Look for big things later this year from Deb, as she's on a new program with a very elite new coach guiding her training.

Doris had a surprise racing partner when Tina showed up and generously offered to run the race with her. Misery loves company, as we at NETT love to say.


After the race it was back to Dave and Doris' for a cookout with some special guests. A couple members of the extended NETT "family" even got to shake hands with Gov. Deval Patrick, who was attending a party in the neighborhood.


"M...A....R...yes, that's good."


Adrienne even treated folks to a demonstration of her "index finger hypnosis technique." "Now Chris, I want you to touch your chin with your index finger...."

Doris and Dave still have plenty of leftover food, so feel free to stop by any night this week for a hot dog!

NETT takes two podium spots at Black Bear duathlon

Some great multisport results from up North this weekend. Here's Frank's report:

Martin took 1st place in the Black Bear short-course duathlon and Frank repeated his 2nd place finish from last year in the long course. And NETT friend and fellow Minuteman swimmer Keri Boyle won the women’s long course. And thanks to Chrissy for coming along to cheer.

This year the short-course and long-course were on the same day. The short-course started at 8am and Martin took the lead right from the start – so much that he actually overshot a turn and had to backtrack. Martin had great bike leg and held the lead into T2 and he could then pretty much cruise the last 5K to victory. To be things in perspective he matched the time of Patrick Dwyer from last year and Pat is a very good duathlete by my standards. Congratulations to Martin and I am sure he will be at the top of the podium many more times.

I had to work hard for my second place this year as I had another guy chase me the entire last 7.5K. In fact so hard that I ended up with the fastest run split for the 2nd run leg. My first run was a repeat of last year and put me in 3rd place going into the bike leg. On the final uphill section of the bike leg l I passed the guy and second and was able to put some time between him and me. But another guy had also passed him and he closed in on me a little more than I liked forcing me to run beyond my comfort zone on the second run. Buy hey “pain is temporary, pride is forever”.

Unlike last year, we had beautiful weather this year and I have the sun burn and red neck to prove it.

Black Bear duathlon is a great race but unless more people show up it likely won’t stick around. Hopefully more NETT’ers will be able to put this race into their calendar next year. Even if it means I will drop from 2nd place to my place in the pecking order."

DimaD becomes DimaDad!

Great news from across the pond. Our pal Dmitry Drozdov and wife Venus had a son! Yes, Dima's fast genes and Venus' good looks were passed on to Baby Drozdov (name is still being decided).

"We’re really happy with this occasion," Dmitry said. "Look, he has long legs and big feet. He’s 6.9 lbs and 54 cm long. He’s gonna be a runner or a mountain biker for sure. We’re ecstatic to have this baby."

Big Congrats to them from all of us back here in the Boston area, still waiting for their return to the states. "Hey when can we head out for a run dad?"

A day of surprises for NETT at Soapstone Mountain Trail Race

It was a day of surprises at the Soapstone Mountain Trail Race this weekend for NETTers. Mostly pleasant surprises, but at least one mini pony got an unwanted surprise, to say the least.

Soapstone is a fan favorite among the trail running faithful in New England. You don't stick around for 26 years without doing something right. In fact, it looked like this year might have seen a record number of entries. Getting better with age.

But without a doubt, the MOST pleasant suprirse of the day came from BIG LEO FAHEY! It was a surprise when Leo said he was going to run this race. He's never done a trail race this long and has been in semi-seclusion for much of the past year, so his fitness level was a real unknown. But Leo's a guy full of surprises and quieted the skeptics when he came galloping up the grassy hill to the finish on Sunday, completing probably one of the toughest races of his career. Big Congrats Leo. Despite his raving about the veggie burgers after the race, Leo treated himself and Shereen to dinner at the Capital Grille later that night. He certainly earned it! BIG CONGRATS to BIG LEO. This might top his performance at the Skyline Trail race a couple years back....the legend grows.

Unfortunately for Chris Smith, it was a less-than-pleasant surprise when, well into the race, he came into the second aid station for the second time! It seems he and a couple other runners went off-course and, after wandering for a bit, found their way back onto the course, but at a much EARLIER portion, so they had to re-run a pretty lengthy section. Testament to Chris' toughness, when they did get to aid station two, the second time, the other two guys with Chris chose to drop out and hitch a ride back to the finish. Chris, however, sucked it up and continued running and was one of the last runners into the finish.

As he trotted toward the finish line, more than three and a half hours after he started, Crazy Dave asked him..."Are you okay? What happened?" To which Chris replied, "I got a little bit lost" making that "little bit" sign with his fingers. Gotta love this guy's attitude. No tantrums. No blame game. Take it as life brings it and keep on running.

It was a small but very pleasant surprise when Doris said she was interested in running the Soapstone Sampler, a 6K handicap race they hold in conjunction with the 24K race. And it was a surprise to Doris when she found out that she had to run a massive sand hill as part of the Sampler. But, no surprise, she tackled it without much effort and was all smiles by the end of the race (in fact she was in such good shape, she was mugging for the cameras here).

It was also a pleasant surprise to have Mary Smith come along to Soapstone as well. She's a kickass trail runner and this is a kickass trail race, so it was a perfect match. And no big shocker that Mary handled Soapstone's steep climbs, rocky descents and long stretches of streambed running perfectly in stride, finishing as the 7th woman overall in 2:27. While there's just a hint of strain on her face at the finish, clearly we still haven't found anything that will break Mary. Heck, she barely even got her new shoes muddy!

Crazy Dave had a less-than-surprising race, finishing 6th overall in 1:49, the exact same finish he had last time he ran this race in 2006. And he ran much of the race with trail running cronie Keith Schmitt, two veterans of the trail running circuit putting in another race. "It's just like the days of old," Keith yelled over his shoulder as he pulled away in the last mile. Yup, just like the days of old, Dave thought to himself.

It was also no surprise that the Shenipsit Strider crew put on a great event with tons--I mean tons--of volunteers involved. After years of successfully guiding this race through some choppy waters, trail legend Jerry Stage missed his first Soapstone this year, but it's in the capable hands of Deb Livingston full-time now, so Jerry can rest easy with that knowledge. Thanks for the years of service, Jerry and keep up the good work Deb.

To see more photos go here.

FULL RESULTS OF THE 24K posted here.

Photos courtesy O'Shannon/McGillicuddy Productions.

NETT Male Dominance at Sudbury Sprint Triathlon

The NETT male relay team of Nicholas, Dave and Frank battled the horrendous winds Sunday morning at the Sudbury Sprint Triathlon and took home relay gold in convincing style. With an overall time of 36:46 the team was light years ahead of all other teams. Here's Frank's report:

Since it was a pool swim, Nicholas luckily did not have to deal with the wind; if this had been an ocean swim the waves would have been 6-9ft! Nicholas continues to make big improvements in the water and chopped 15 seconds off from last year’s time in the 400m. His time of 5:17 was roughly the 25th best time out of almost 500 participants!

After a quick and cold transition (Nicholas had to run out of the pool into about 40 degree temps), I set out on the bike course. The bike course is fairly sheltered so the wind was not as big a factor as feared. But just 0.5 mile into the bike course, an elderly driver got nervous about the all the cyclists on the road and decided to stay behind a slow cyclists resulting in me being boxed in for 300 yards. Just bad luck and probably a loss of 15 seconds. In the end I ended up being a bit slower than last year.

Crazy was ready in T2 to unleash a massive attack on anyone still ahead of us on the course. He blasted through the 2.18 mile course in about 12 minutes – likely the fastest the run split of the day. We started as number 39 but thanks to Dave’s high cadence he crossed the line as the 10th person. Nice work.

Also racing were Big Al and his wife Judy. Despite being haunted by back pain recently, Big Al cranked out a great race and finished fifth in his category, 31st overall. Attaboy! Judy was immensely patient waiting for her start time in the pool and finished 12th in her category!

Finally special thanks to Tina for spending her mother's day morning cheering us on, giving Dave a guided tour of the run course, making sure we were all where we needed to be and taking pictures.

Results at www.firm-racing.com

NETT chips in at A Cure is Coming

Race Director Jerry De Zutter put on another successful event on Saturday at the A Cure is Coming 5K with the help of a long list of Mini Ponies.

The race and walk are fundraisers for the ALS Therapy Development Institute and together raised $40,000.

Among the NETT volunteers out on the course included Youngstah, Sister Mary, Crazy Dave, Doris, Frank, Tina and Nicholas, Paul Miller, Toledo Joe, Rod and I'm sure a few others I can't remember. ANd there were plenty of NETTers racing as well: Chris Smith (3rd), Marshall Randolph (9th), Adrienne Cyrulik (2nd female!), Katherine De Zutter (3rd female), Jim Dezutter and a host of new and old friends like Cecile, John Kinnee, Steve Peckinonis and a bunch of others we're forgetting. Heck, there was even a Sean "Hannan" out there.

All in all, it was a very good day for running, fundraising and hockey (Go Bruins!!).

Jail Break! Martin successfully Escapes from Alcatraz

Martin lived out a dream of his this weekend and kicked some major arse in the process at the Alcatraz triathlon. Here's his report:

Escape From Alcatraz has been a race that I have wanted to do for a long time. I remember seeing it on television years ago and thinking "What is that?" It was not until later that I started doing triathlons that I remembered the race, realized it was a triathlon, and signed up. I entered the lottery last season and got selected on the first round. That was when I figured out how much the entry was - $400.

We got into San Francisco on Friday and had a rental car. Hindsight 20/20, I would take a van to and from the hotel next time. We thought that we were going to sightsee a bit but we didn't have the time. Parking was very expensive at all of the hotels. Saturday was the triathlon expo, sign-in, marking, orientation extravaganza. The expo was mainly food and unrelated services - no real gear booths or clothing booths - kind of surprising. We got our goodie bag - for the price of the entry I thought that we would have been given more gear but it was reflective of the expo. No socks or hat or anything like that and no advertisements for other races either - oh well. The day was absolutely beautiful - Chrissy and I actually got a bit sunburnt. A speaker gave us an overview of the course - what to expect and some strategies. The trick with the ocean swim is that there is a strong current out to sea - so you have to travel to cross the current before directly heading to the transition. I was a little upset that during his presentation he kept saying that unless you were a pro that you have no chance and should just not even try in the race. For the amount that I spent to get there and enter the race and whatnot - just keep your mouth shut and perpetuate the fantasy of the race.

We went back to the hotel, prepped my gear and laid low. I had to be at the transition area for 4:30am the next morning. i had two bags to pack and place plus set up transition area. One bag was handed off that contained gear for the transition from swim to bike. Between the swim and bike was a 1/2+ mile run. When you get out of the bay, you take off your wet suit, cap and goggles and place them in the transisiton bag. you then take out the shoes in there and run to the bike transition, leaving behind the swim gear in the bag. From there you take another bag with your wetsuit in it and whatever you want on the ferry and get on a shuttle - when we jump off the boat this second bag is left behind and collected. We were driven down to pier 3 several miles away where the ferry was that would take us to alcatraz and from where we would jump into the bay. We got there about 5:30 and hung out until 6am when we got on the boat. At around 7 we left the dock and started heading to the start. At 8 the pros went off with helicopter over head. We were all divided by age group and were supposed to go off in that order but the second the pros jumped, everyone crushed to the 3 jump spots and it was a mad dash to get into the water. It was a crush of people on the way to the jump spot - with the neoprene cap and goggles and wet suit on it was a quiet sensory-depravation calm. Suddenly the guy in front of me disappeared and there was the water. I jumped and was suddenly confronted with 55 degree salt water. Wet suit + salt water = super-buoyant. It took me a few minutes to get used to the cold water but finally I really put my head in the water and dug in for the swim. For the first 1/3 of the race, the water was glass - totally calm. After that there was a mild but steady chop. You could feel the current taking you as you sighted for shore. I was steadily passing people but it was unclear where the finish for the swim leg was so I was a little timid in my angle of attack to avoid overshooting the finish. They did not have the swim exit marked the previous day and just kind of pointed and said that the exit was "over there" during the orientation. The swim was so amazing. out in the middle of the bay with the golden gate on the right and land coming up in front and to the left. I paused a few times to take it in.

Finally we started funneling and the finish became obvious. I made a final surge for land and stumbled onto shore. Up a set of stairs was the swim-to-bike run transition area with bags. My bag was not in the row that it was supposed to be and it took me a while to locate it. I then stripped my wetsuit and put on my shoes. I was so disoriented and didn't want to waste time stuffing my swim gear into the bag that I just grabbed everything and ran. That was a mistake. It was a 1/2+ mile run and that stuff was heavy in my arms. I got to the bike transition, dropped the gear and put on my bike gear. The sun had come up by now and the day was perfectly clear and very sunny. I took of on the bike and as having a good ride. I was attacking the climbs and battling. The scenery was varied and hilly and stunning. Around the turn around point at mile 9 I suddenly realized that my pedal stroke was feeling shorter and that I wasn't getting power. I discovered that in reassembling my bike, I had not tightened the seatpost bolts sufficiently and the seat had begun slipping - spectacular. With 9 miles remaining and the most substantial section of hills, I gave up in total ~4" of seatpost height. Lots of standing going up hills. Burning quads.

Despite the difficulty, the bike was not terrible and I came into the transition. I had a quick transition and was out on the run. I had my best leg on the run. I had nobody pass me and was able to claw back many places. The run was 8 miles, very hilly and very tough - it wound its way along the shore, in the cliffs and down on the beach - going under the golden gate bridge. There was also a substantial sand section followed by a brutal set of sand stairs. After this was another uphill section and then it was mostly downhill and flat back to the finish.

The race was really amazing. It was an intensely-challenging course. It was a great way to start the season and I think that I have a lot of impovement ahead of me.

Of 1800+ entries, 1492 people finished. I was 75/1492 and 16/208 for my age group with a time of 2:30.32. Here are the full results.


The winner was an animal. He finished in 1:58.21. The top age grouper finished in 2:04.20 - he was in my age group.

Some ponies charge up the Blue Hills

There were a select few members of the NETT stable out at the Blue Hills Trail Races this past weekend. Yes, they were the ones who remembered to register early.

Chris Smith put in another solid effort there (his third year in a row) finishing 9th overall and 4th master (yikes!) in 1:12.

Marshall Randolph won his age group (yawn) and cracked the top 20 in 1:20 over the rugged course.

But run of the day goes to Jack Burke who finished in 1:24 this year. "I was able to knock seven minutes off my time from last year," he tells the NETT news room. "Of course, if you recall it was hot as hell last year but this year the weather was perfect. But man did those trails take a beating from the rain this year. I felt like I did as much hopping and criss-crossing as I did actual running."

Let's see, Jack's done both the Merrimack Rivah and Blue Hills races but swears he's not vying to win the Eastern New England Trail Race series this year...do we believe him?

Mini Pony may have set WORLD RECORD in New Hampshire

Yes, you read that right. There's a mini pony that may have set a world record in New Hampshire recently.

Want the details? READ MORE HERE

NETT's "extended family" at Boston Marathon

Some of the NETT gang gathered on Route 16 in Wellesley on Monday to cheer on some NETT members and friends. Frank, Tina, Mary, Eminem, Crazy Dave, Doris, Dave Molk and others were on hand to cheer Big Ben Winther as he came barreling by on his way to a 3:07. And in the annual Battle of the Scanlans, Brian edged out his sister Claire by a nose in 3:19:14 to 3:20:04. Longtime NETT pal Tricia Grenier notched a 3:25, while Karen Mahoney-Ringheiser clocked a 3:44. Dima Feinhaus cranked out a 2:58 at 47-years young while Rick Cleary finished his umpteenth Boston in 3:54.

Congrats to all!

NETT kicks off multisport season at Wrentham Duathlon

NETT kicked off the multisport season in good form today at the Wrentham Duathlon. Here's Frank KJ's report:

Despite the cold weather a record number of people showed up for Wrentham duathlon. And NETT was well represented with 6 people racing and 3 getting on the podium. The man of the day was NETT friend Barry Phelps who posted an amazing 57:05– 1st in M40-44 and good enough for 5th overall in a very strong field. Barry used Wrentham as a tune-up for next week’s national championship in Richmond, VA. Good luck Barry!

Katherine swept the F0-19 in the sense that she was too only girl in that category. Who cares, a 1st place is a 1st place and equally important she continues to get better. Jim broke his promise and raced in the Clydesdale division – Jim!!! And he lost the father-daughter challenge with Katherine being right on his tail coming into T2 and quickly passing him on the second run. Yes, Jim they get faster and faster while us parents just try to hang on to old splits.

Chrissy showed guts by holding true to her Friday decision on racing and she was solid from start to finish; looking very comfortable when she crossed the line. Martin took his new bike out for its first race and first rainy day. He was right behind Barry on the first run - 3M in sub 16:30 that is, had a solid bike leg, especially the second half, and finished off with another fast 2M split. Martin just missed the podium this time.

Lastly, I Frank continued my tradition of just missing the hour mark with another “one hour and change” time. My run splits at Wrentham continue to be very consistent, literally with +/- 2 seconds. Scary but in a good way! I was battling it out with Gary David from MRC for most of the race but I couldn’t match his second run leg. I thought I had come in 5th in my age-group but to my positive surprise I was actually 3rd.

Full results at http://www.firm-racing.com/

The original Ponyette comes out of the stable!

Great news from up North. Cindy Winther has returned to racing and we're all pumped to here about her first race in a couple years. And she hit her goal time to the bloddy minute! Here's her report:

"I did the Great bay 1/2 in Newmarket, NH. My goal was to hit 1/2 of my fastest marathon time (3:38) so I needed to hit 1:49. Ben's advice was to go out easy for the first 8 and then if I felt good to push it the last 5. So I ignored that and went out hard the first 5 and just stuck it through for the last 8. It was like running in Henniker, a little hilly with some dirt roads thrown in. It was a nice course.

I ran the last mile near trail runner extraordinaire Tom Parker. After the race we chatted a little. He said he had run the Merrimack 10 miler the day before and said he knew Crazy Dave. I also saw NETT's Paul Young there and he was flying as usual and super supportive.

It was good to be back - other than our local 5K in Henniker I have not run a race since I had Elsa. I think Ben and I are going to try to the Yankee Homecoming in Newburyport in August."

For the record, Cindy finished in exactly 1:49, her goal time on the nose! Don't we all wish we could pull that off after a couple years out! Nice work.

I know it's hard for some of the current NETT Ponyettes to picture it, but in the early days of NETT, Cindy was often the sole female participating in our early excursions(think Lynn Woods 2003). Even during her break from racing, she has been a big supporter coming out to races (cheering us on at Topsfield, volunteering at the Chamberas race EVERY year) and supporting us all.

AND OF COURSEshe has the distinction of coining the phrase "MiniPonies" so we ALL owe her a big thank you for that one.

Congrats again Cindy!

NETT runs wicked awesome at the Rivah

(Editor's Note: The following blog post is written in the vernacular of the region where it takes place, the Merrimack Valley, circa the late 1980s, a region and era this reporter knows all too well).

Oh my Gawd you guys, you shouldah been theah!

That frickin rivah race? It was soo awesome. I mean it was totally awesome. I thought there was like gonnuh be some mud, but oh my gawd it was wicked muddy and people were like wipin' out and stuff everywhere.

You know that chic Adrienne or whatever? So she like thought she did bad, but she did wicked good you guys. Her time was like 1:23 and I'm like oh my gawd that is awesome. Jack was wicked good too and did like 1:25 and he says he's going to Doyle's with his brothuh tomorrow cuz they have free beah and I'm like I'm theah, Burkey.

It was so cool to see guyz pukin theyah guts out and stuff at the finish with mud and stuff. Fricking Smitty was theah too. I guess he like rode his bike or something queer and I was liks Smitty you shoulda run it was soo awesome. That Greek guy and his hot wife were theah too just watchin. I was like tellin his kid he should be a runnah cuz you can get muddy and stuff and no one gives you crap about it.

It was soo cool. Petey and Dunham did such an awesome job you guys. Petey's frickin' nuts. His like watchacallit awahds speech at the end was soo funny. Tommy get outta heah. Okay my little brothah needs the computah to like talk to his stupid friends, but you guys shoulda been theah.

(The author clearly enjoying a typical day in the The Valley circa 1989.)

Rivah pics courtesy Steve Wolfe. More pics and videos here. Last pic courtesy of bad haircuts and misspent youth.