Wicked Running Club

There are several races that wind around picturesque Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, and many consider this to be an easy course because it is flat. That’s not necessarily the case, though, as our intrepid group of Wicked Runners who ran this morning in the Take The Lake 5K will attest. Strong winds, mostly in their faces, made all who ran it struggle to reach that finish line. While the Wicked group was smaller than expected, we did have six members participate: Deb, Liz and Steve Touchette, Billy Prentiss, Danny (Wha-Woo) Leadvaro, and new member Susan Keezer. It was a pleasure meeting Susan for the first time, and we hope she continues to represent us in upcoming races.

With 636 runners participating, the following are the Wicked results:

48 Billy Prentiss 1/23 20:32 6:38

76 Steve Touchette 5/36 22:07 7:08

90 Danny Leadvaro 12/60 22:43 7:20

127 Liz Touchette 12/74 24:08 7:47

128 Deb Touchette 2/36 24:08 7:47

387 Susan Keezer 45/100 31:58 10:19

Congratulations to Billy Prentiss for coming in first in his age group, Deb Touchette for coming in second in her age group, and a tip of the hat to Steve Touchette who placed fifth in his division. Below are pictures of a few of our runners coming down the finish:

Steve Touchette

Liz and Deb Touchette

Danny Leadvaro

I purposely left out a picture of Billy Prentiss because I know if he saw what I had to post, there would be family trouble. And Susan, well, I didn’t meet her until after the race.

All in all, a great time. And, judging by what Doug Bollen and Tim Short have had to say about the Khoury’s Summer Steamer run which also took place this morning, THAT may have been the race to be at. As Tim Short reported to me,

“A solid race, great post race food, free beer, very good race course managament and reasonable race entry fees, I would give this a 95 out of 100, A+ Wicked approved.”

I’m waiting to hear in from Tim Clarke on his Half Iron Man which he ran this morning in Rhode Island and from Dan Cooper who also participated in one of those “extreme” events.

Wicked Scoop: Someone in the Club is getting married!!!!!! You’ll have to wait for a surprise announcement on this one. But, I can’t keep a secret for long, so wait until maybe…..Tuesday.

Finally, Deb Touchette did not exactly get doctor’s clearance to run this race today, so we’re all sworn to secrecy that she ran this (and, so well!) You cannot give out this address to anyone in the medical community.

Vacation week? Too hot? Overslept? For whatever reasons, the crowd at Front Street this morning was pretty sparse. However, those who did show up got their workout in early, escaping what is predicted to be a scorcher. Starting their mad dash down Front Street are Dan, Steve, Billy, Tim, Paula, Karen (in back), Brett, and Stephanie. Tucked in back on the right is Deb who remains, much to her chagrin, on the injured list. Undaunted, she joined me for a speed walk. This is always a good run to catch up on conversation, and I was sad to hear, although I had heard rumors, that Paula Novelli, one of our newer members, will be leaving Wicked soon. The good news is that she is getting married this fall and has accepted a new teaching position in Arlington. The bad news is that she will have to relocate further south, sell her condo which is literally right around the corner from Front St, and leave Wicked. Paula is pretty bummed out about this. She attributes Wicked with helping her run faster and with meeting new friends. We will all miss Paula, too. Always pleasant, smiling, and upbeat, Paula makes the perfect running partner. I’m sure I speak for all from Wicked who have met you when I say, “Good luck. We’ll really miss you!” One nice feature about this morning was that a few of us, because of vacations, etc., were able to go to Red’s for breakfast. We’re planning breakfast again on Thursday morning, so if you’re running (or walking!) and are able and interested, you are more than welcome.

A big day is coming up this Sunday for Tim Clarke who will be participating in a Half Iron Man down in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Best of luck, Tim. Be tough! Show your Wicked colors. Look for a feature story on Tim’s “adventure” next week.

Save the date, September 15, a Monday evening, for a Wicked Running Club Pot Luck outing at Camp Naumkeag at Salem Willows. With our membership burgeoning at 85 members, we hope everyone can make it. It should be a nice event and an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better (or, at the very least, be able to say, “Oh, I’ve seen you at races. Now I know you’re a Wicked runner!”) Also, make sure you periodically check out the “Calendar” feature on this website for important upcoming events.

Everybody have a wicked “cool” week.

Congratulations to Dan Cooper for a very successful triathlon in Holliston on Sunday. Out of 157 racers, Dan finished 38th overall. His results are as follows: