Wicked Running Club

This Memorial Day weekend proved to be a busy one for Wicked members. We were very well represented in a variety of races throughout the state.

On Saturday, nearly 250 runners braved strong winds to compete in the US Coast Guard F.I.R.M. Duathlon down in Bourne. Running 2 miles, biking 12 miles, and then running another 2 miles were Wicked’s Patrick Smith, Jay Curry, Dan Cooper, Denise Murphy, and Stephanie Cooper. While he has competed previously in triathlons, this was Dan’s first duathlon–not bad for a first attempt (with a nasty cold, to boot). A special commendation to Steph for even attempting this grueling event, still recovering from an injury and pretty sick with a cold.

Everyone in this group is registered for the Timberman 1/2 Iron Man in August (as well as a slew of other triathlons and multi-sport events) and will be doing swim and bike training in addition to running. If you are interested in multi-sport training, contact Steph Cooper for group workout schedule.

17 Patrick Smith 1:00:21
41 Jay Curry 1:04:50
49 Dan Cooper 1:06:07
96 Denise Murphy 1:13:21
164 Stephanie Cooper 1:25:33

Also on Saturday, Deb, Liz and Steve Touchette ran the Wachusett Mountain Run, first race in the La Sportiva USATF New England Mountain Series. There were 338 finishers. Steve left the family behind, but mother and daughter ran together. It was noted that at one point in the race, Liz said to her mom, “Hey, how come we don’t do ‘normal’ mother and daughter things together like manicures, massages, and facials?” Well, lucky for Wicked, family time means running time. AND, scoop here. Rumor has it that another member of the Touchette family has been training and will make her debut at an upcoming race. HINT: They don’t allow guys in this one. Congratulations, Deb, for finishing third in your age group and thanks for the “bag of goodies” you saved for your friend. Best of luck with Mt. Washington.

160 Steve Touchette 39:30
189 Liz Touchette 40:49
190 Deb Touchette 40:50

Sunday’s Run To Remember 5 mile and Half Marathon in Boston drew the largest contingent of Wicked runners. It was a beautiful run through the historic streets of Boston, heating up towards the end. 1,702 runners competed in the 5 miler and 3,477 runners finished the half marathon. Beth and Doug ran the 5 miler with very respectable times:

240 Beth O’Grady 39:55 7:59
258 Doug Bollen 40:21 8:05

Great running, you two. Top 15%. It was great seeing Beth and Doug’s familiar faces cheering us half marathoners onto the finish.

Half Marathon results are as follows:

274 1/40 Billy Prentiss 1:39:19 7:35 (1st. in age group)
602 32/171 Billy Shea 1:45:49 8:05 (top 17%)
608 95/376 Danny Leadvaro 1:45:53 8:05 (1st half marathon)
1503 213/630 Paula Novelli 1:58:09 9:01 (top 44%)
1577 318/512 Chip Bott 1:58:20 9:02 (missed PR by 16 sec)
1594 110/356 Sally Holtzman 1:58:37 9:03 (top 46%)
3072 155/171 Frank Kilroy 2:22:51 10:54 (1st half marathon)
3073 295/356 Darla Johnson 2:22:52 10:54 (1st half marathon)

Darla reports that she and Frank had such a fun experience on their first half marathon. They ran “to finish; not for time.” Both had “plenty left over, and can’t wait to do it again next year.” I have to compliment Darla. For someone new to running, she has put her heart and soul into it–training regularly, competing in races, participating in the Thursday night track workouts. And it all shows. She’s getting better and better. It seems to be rubbing off also on her partner, Frank. Darla is very sweet and an inspiration and role model for all the new runners out there. Congratulations also to Billy Prentiss, another inspiring runner who proves that age doesn’t have to slow us down, for coming in first in his age group. Too bad we didn’t stick around for you to accept your award. The Chip and Sally team were in fine form, with Mr. Bott barely missing capturing a second PR within a week’s time. If this morning’s run is any indication, it’s only a matter of time. Paula, one of our newer members, “Great job!” It was fun meeting up with you at the start. And Danny boy, well, I think we all know how you did. A terrific first! “Whawooh!”

Down in beautiful Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Rachel Hunt and Colin Maclay ran the Oak Bluffs 5K Memorial Day Road Race on Sunday. Out of 511 runners, Rachel (23:19:19) and Colin (23:20:20) finished 71st and 72nd. Great runs! Speaking of running (more specifically, flying), Colin is back to Switzerland to meet with “world leaders” to discuss the ethical use of technology in our society (or something like that! Hey, he taught me how to text!).

The Dory Run 5K in Swampscott on Monday drew a crowd of 165 including some of Wicked’s fastest runners. It also included Jen Toomey, our Thursday night track coach, who was first overall female with a blazing time of 17:56. Not far behind were the following proud Wicked runners:

8 Rich Tomlins 2/33 18:38 6:00
9 Steve Nickerson 3/24 18:43 6:02
10 Tim Short 3/7 18:51 6:05
35 Steve Touchette 8/24 22:53 7:22
46 Liz Touchette 1/7 23:50 7:41
48 Deb Touchette 1/5 23:53 7:42
88 Annalisa DiPalma 5/12 26:56 8:41 (ran w/ husband, Dino)
115 Ruth Brediger 10/17 29:52 9:37

A warm welcome goes out to Steve Nickerson, one of our newest members. Unfortunately, he joined right after last week’s Beach To Beach Race where if he had been a Wicked member, we would have finished 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Good recruiting, whoever!

Welcome also to Ruth Brediger who looks forward to “getting in shape and getting a little quicker with help from the Club.”

You’ll find many in the Club who share your goal, Ruth.

Kudos to award winners: Rich Tomlins, Steve Nickerson, Tim Short, Liz Touchette, and Deb Touchette. Not bad, Wicked. Not bad at all.

Last, but certainly not least, Karen Giroux ran the Pineland Farms 25K Trail Run in Maine. While not official yet, Karen clocked in at 3:04:42, a great showing despite worn trail shoes and resulting blisters on both feet! Trooper that she is, though, she was at Front Street this morning at 5:30 AM with both feet bandaged and ready to run. Great job, Karen.

Some New Member Tidbits:

Jason Matulewicz writes that he had no results to report but that he is working with Aline Systems, testing foot beds for them. He writes that this is “a really cool company out of Marblehead that is reshaping orthotics.” Learn more about it at http://www.aline.com/Default.aspx?Page=stay Also,check out Jason’s website at http://www.29photographs.com/.

Welcome to the Club, Jason.

Melissa Jaynes also did no racing this weekend, but shared with us a little about herself. Melissa is 27 (until June) and has been running for about a year. Her best pace was a 36 minute 4 miler (at our very own Frosty 4!) Her favorite distance is half-marathon and she recently completed New Bedford in 2:15, a PR. Her next race is the Covered Bridge half marathon on June 1 (I believe Doug and Beth are also doing this one). She has recovered from an IT band injury and claims to have survived ice baths after long runs (see Dan Cooper about those!) She is the proud owner of Otis, a 10 month old Rottweiler pup and likes to knit in her spare time. She admits, though, that knitting during running could be dangerous. Hhhhmmmmmmm. Welcome, Melissa. Hope to meet up with you soon.

And that’s it. Again, my apologies to anyone I may have left out.

Also, thanks to those who sent me blurbs. It helped to put this together.

I hope everyone has a good week ahead. Remember, Lynn Woods starts Wednesday night at 6:30 PM.