sitting: Beth O’Grady, Allison Rourke, Kathey Moskal, Deb Touchette, Karen Giroux
middle row: Alison Phelan, Kerry Phelan, Shannon O’Donnell, Shari Hewson, Susan Keezer, Billy Shea
back: Jay (“The Man”) Curry, Steve (Just Plain) Touchette, Steph (ever smiling) Cooper, Bill (Invincible) Morse, Dan (Shy One) Cooper, Doug (The Magnificent) Bollen, Liz (Lefty) Touchette, and Danny (Wha-Whoo!) Leadvaro
Let’s see. What can I compare the Stone Tower Trail Challenge at Lynn Woods to? Well, I imagine it’s probably like the Halloween maze that they’re “pushing” at Connor’s Farm in Danvers–lots of twists and turns, getting lost, and chocking it all up to having fun. Throughout the race, I asked myself, “Have I been here before?” ” Did I run by Stone Tower twice or three times already?” ”How did I get in front of her (Alison P.)? She was way out in front.” ”Hey, Buddy, you were supposed to turn left here!” Now, over the past two years, I feel like I’ve traversed most of what Lynn Woods has to offer, but after Sunday’s experience, I now know that for me there continue to be unexplored paths, unappreciated breathtaking scenery, as well as tortuous roots, rocks, and flimsy bridges. Running the 15K was no “walk in the park,” but for anyone who appreciates living in this part of the country, running in Lynn Woods on a beautiful autumn Sunday morning is right up there with anything else that causes you to pause, sigh, and say to yourself, “Life is good.” And what better way to experience this than with Wicked friends–both old and new. Several of us made either the 15K or the 5K journey through the Woods. For me, trail running is not so much about running as fast as you can, as it is about fine tuning your powers of concentration (don’t let me trip!) appreciating the vistas set before you, and enjoying the comaradrie of friends, both new and old. On my “journey” I had the pleasure of traveling with Ed Mulvey, a guy that I had met a few years back when he ran the former Border to Border race while I traveled the route by car, providing my brother-in-law, Billy Prentiss (who, by the way, is going in for an MRI Tues. morning for what is suspected to be a torn meniscus) with coca-cola. Ed had the distinctive number, 444 (I still refer to him as this number), and he was close by Billy P. so he got to partake of the refreshments also. When my head was focused on the ground, Ed’s was looking upward, announcing imminent turns. Without him guiding, I would have been very lost! Not to say that Liam Brady didn’t do a great job marking out the race; he did. It was just that you had to train yourself to look for the markings, and when the ground beneath you becomes treacherous, it’s sometimes hard to do.
Well, I ramble on…. How did we all do? Check out the results here. I know that running this race resulted in one Wicked female achieving something she has never achieved before–being first female finisher in a race. Congratulations to Beth O’Grady for achieving this distinction in the 5K race. She was one happy lady! 
Congratulations also to Alison Phelan, who came in first in her age group in the 15K. And that perennial winner, Deb Touchette, finished second in her age group. A very excited Kathey Moskal eagerly proclaimed that this was her first ever trail race (an impressive feat completing this one, Kathey!) And a good sportsmanship award goes out to Shannon O’Donnell and Susan Keezer who missed a turn and finished ahead of others whom they knew were faster than they, and pleaded with the time keeper to put them last. And I was psyched because I won a raffle to New England Running Company–just in time for tonight’s (Tuesday) festivities. All of the proceeds from the race went to the Friends of Lynn Woods to help them in their efforts to restore Stone Tower. It felt good to “give back” to something that brings many of us lots of pleasure throughout the year.
The morning was capped off with several of us dining on pancakes at IHop while others visited a local “watering hole” in downtown Lynn, the name of which escapes me, but a place everyone else seemed to know about. And now, two weeks to Stone Cat where many of us get to do this again for 26.2 or 50 miles. Yikes!
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