Undaunted by the steamy, blazing heat this weekend, Wicked runners hit the pavement in local (and not so local) road races as well as in the Club’s featured runs.
New member Kerry Gertz of South Hamilton traveled to Pelham, NH, to participate in the St. Patrick’s Family Fun Day 5K. Out of 147 runners, Kerry finished 48th with a time of 25:13 (8:08 pace). An excited Kerry very proudly proclaimed that she “shattered” her personal best time of 26:02. Kerry finished 5th out of 21 females in her age group. Very well done, Kerry. See what the Club has done for you already!! Almost a minute off your PR!
Taking advantage of any relief the South Boston Waterfront might have provided (as well as perhaps a brew or two after the race?) three new members, Adam Fitch of Salem, Amber Woolfenden and Bob Grant of Swampscott, ran in the 7th Annual Harpoon Brewery 5 Miler to benefit the Angel Fund. The race was actually 5.25 miles, and, as Adam reports,”with the heat, a very long 5.25 miles.” Out of 1,542 runners, Adam finished 594th with a net time of 45:55 (8:45 pace). Adam reported, “I managed to finish in 46 minutes, which is pretty good for me.” That was your gun time, Adam. You actually finished faster than you thought. Great job! Adam is 37 years old and finished 297th out of 532 runners in his age group. Amber, 36, finished 1252nd at 53:50 (10:16 pace). She was 557th out of 745 in her age group. Amber reports, “Saturday was way hot, but the beer was worth it!” I bet it was. Congratulations, Amber. Bob, 47, finished in 41:55 (8:00 pace). He was 326th overall and 37th out of 107 in his age group. Excellent run, Bob. Finally, past Wicked Running president, Sherrie Feffer ran this race too, finishing in 57:48. I believe that this is Sherrie’s first race since the 2007 Boston Marathon - great to see you racing, Sherrie!
Things heated up on Sunday, and with an 11:30 AM start to the Massachusetts State Police 5 Miler in Framingham, Steph and Dan Cooper (with friends, Jen and Tom Ryan) joined a crew of 166 for a blazing hot run through downtown Framingham. Despite a 1.2 mile swim and 50 mile bike ride the day before, Dan finished an amazing 8th overall (35:33, 7:07 pace) and received a medal for the 4th civilian finisher. You represent us well, Dan Cooper! By the way, what is this I’m hearing about adolescent type antics between you and Jay at the Track workout last Thursday night? Huh??? Liz says, “Very nice, but you need a tan.” Watch out, Jay. Turnaround is fair play! Ever the lady, Steph reports that she ran a more leisurely pace and enjoyed the company of her friends.
Rounding out Sunday racing was Billy Prentiss who finished 9th overall out of 82 runners in the 3rd Annual On The Hill Tavern 4 Miler in Somerville. Billy ran 26:28 (6:37 pace) and, as has become custom of late, won the award for first in his age group. Billy was the featured runner profile this past week on the Danvers 5K Fun Run site. Check it out at www.danvers5k.com. That’s Billy in the picture with his daughter, Andrea. The hair looks kind of short there, doesn’t it?
Last Wednesday’s Danvers Fun Run featured three of Wicked’s finest: Billy Prentiss, John Bosse (new member), and Eileen Dunn. I’m not sure what the quote next to Eileen’s time means: “Inching her way back to being my favorite.” Attributed to my nephew, Adam Prentiss, I’m wondering if we’ll be seeing you at Thanksgiving dinner this fall?
Braving the Lynn Woods in the rain and muck were Deb, Steve, and Liz Touchette, Chip Bott, Jay Curry, Karen Giroux and son, and Steph and Dan Cooper. I hope I didn’t leave anyone out. As of “press time” results had not as yet been posted. My sources report that Deb took a nasty fall, and a very cavalier Chip Bott stopped to attend to her needs. Once up, though, Chip was “history” and Deb “was making up for lost time.” Is that anyway to show your appreciation, Deb? You are truly Wicked!!!! Speaking of Deb, check out her shoulder the next time you see her. She got “inked!” And as for hubby, Steve, did anyone see him “high fiving” Paul Pierce at the conclusion of Sunday night’s Celtic’s game? I did! Steve was lucky enough to “score” seats on the floor for this exciting game. Also, it has been reported to me that Woods pioneer, Jay Curry, actually got himself lost in the woods Wednesday night. Next time, Jay, consider bread crumbs? GPS? run a little slower with a friend? Chip was very excited that he beat you!
Saturday’s “feature run” had two shifts. The early birds at 7:30 AM were Deb, Liz, and Steve Touchette, Beth Clancy, and Tony Aloi. With Beth recently joining the Club, we can now brag that we are represented by the very lovely “First Lady of Lynn.” Great to have you on board, Beth. And Tony, always a pleasure to see you when you’re home from New York. Going out at 8:00 AM were John Mahoney, Tim Short, Karen Giroux, Jay Curry, Melissa Jaynes, and Ruth Brediger. Reporting from the trail, John writes, “While we were running, Melissa told us about taking an ice bath after the Covered Bridges race-turned her legs beet red. I am not sure I want to ever take one of those. I also understand that Melissa and Ruth are also planning to run the Yankee Homecoming Race in Newburyport. They are inspiring me to maybe run this race for the first time ever.” See, even the new folks are an inspiration to us veterans. Great Saturday showing! Keep coming, everybody.
The Tuesday/Thursday runs featured the “usual suspects” plus or minus a few. Join us tomorrow and get your run in before the predicted record heat.
That’s it for this week. In writing these the past couple weeks, I have been so impressed with the seemingly endless influx of new members to the Club. I understand we are up to 78. This is wonderful, and it has made me wonder exactly how people found out about the Club and why they joined. If you care to, drop me a line at sheabilly@aol.com and I’ll compile what I get for an article. Also, thinking of doing some “Runners’ Profiles.” Anyone interested in being interviewed??? Have a great week. Stay cool.