Bedford Good, Rhody Next

We runners can be a critical bunch. Go to any race and you'll hear some complaints about the weather, the course, the amenities, the awards, or (usually) some combination thereof. Over at the high school in Bedford, New Hampshire last Saturday, (May 16), though, nary a discouraging word was heard. Weather was ideal, the hospitality excellent, the post-race feed more than adequate, the competition fine, and comments this correspondent heard pertaining to the new course were uniformly positive. A fast finish on a spanking new track (reminiscent of the Ro-Jack's days), and an undulating course that some said actually felt as if it contained more downs than ups -- unheard of. (Of course, some of us long for the days when age-group cash awards went two or three deep, but in this economy whaddyagonnado?)

It was good showings by Greater Lowell teams. Let's start with the women: The all-masters-plus squad of Mel Hire (54:20), Moira Durnin (55:27), Peg Bastien (56:58) and Patty Foltz (58:19) ran well enough to place 8th out 13 Open teams -- quite an accomplishment! Of course at the masters level they were even better, placing 5th. Seniors and Vets were one and two runners respectively shy of complete teams, though when that day comes look out, as Senior Moira and Veteran Patty are among the best. Patty won the 60-69 division, despite running with a painful leg injury, to increase her Grand Prix lead.

Men: Again we're talking all-masters-plus, in fact Tom Doody at 47 may be the baby of the lot. (Oops, sorry Adam.) Tom's appearance was a happy surprise (at least to some of us) and he showed he was plenty fit by placing 25th overall and #5 Master in a fleet 40:21, leading GLRR to a 6th place Open finish out of 15, and 3rd of 11 Masters. He was joined therein by Mark Reeder (42:02), John Barbour (42:16), Dave Oliver (43:02) Tom Offenbacher (45:59) and Adam Sherer (48:18). Senior team scoring was muy interesting: several observers, both impartial and otherwise, noted that one result of the aging of the 'running boom' generation is a packed Seniors group, and that a 12K ought rightfully be scored five deep rather than the present three. At three-deep, GLRR was at the mercy of a Whirlaway squad which, Craig Fram having turned 50 and Reno Stirrat having recently joined, is tough to match. And though we gave it our best, we were a little short, 2:09:33 - 2:11:17 (2nd of 11 teams). Go five deep, though, and adding the prodigal John Dowling (46:03), Ken Jacobson (46:50) plus ever-youthful Phil Riley (48:41) and Ken Goodin (51:53) and the flips are flopped. The Veterans team was full and fine even without American-in-Paris Bill Dixon, placing 3rd and represented by Gary See (57:03), Tom Foltz (58:31), Steve Kanarcus (59:15) and Jon "Father" MacKenzie (1:08:58), who was last seen picking up the rice in the church where the wedding had been.

June 7th is not far off, and by now many of us can find our way to the dog track in Lincoln with our eyes closed, though please let's no one try that. This is the sprint race of the year, a 5K that may or may not finish on the dog track itself this time. It'll take nothing out of you so there's no excuse for not giving it everything, whether you're training through or not. And for Senior men it's a chance to atone for our collective failure to account for the evergreen talents of John Dowling, who fooled us all by taking the wild card position at Bedford in the Dixon Cross Country Wager Pool. If you're not on Glenn's list and can run, please let one or both of us know. Right now. No, don't wait. Do it now. Okay, that's good.

Track Is Under Way and Bedford Is Upon Us

Yes indeedy, Thursday, May 14 will mark Week II in the GLRR Spring Track Series. It's good to be with folks again, many new since I last did this. . . . Tewksbury HS, 6:00 p.m. Thursday, ready to run. Workouts are on the "Track & Coaching" section of the GLRR web page.

The Bedford, New Hampshire, Rotary Club 12K is on tap this Saturday, starting at 9:00 a.m. from Bedford High School, not far from the Manchester airport. Here's who is entered to date:
Women: Peg Bastien, Moira Durnin, Patty Foltz, Melanie Hire. (Got Open, Masters, and almost Seniors covered there.) Men: John Barbour, Andrew Bianchieri, Mark Corbett, John Dowling, Tom Foltz, Ken Goodin, E. J. Hrynowski, Ken Jacobson, Steve Kanarcus, Jonathan MacKenzie, Tom Offenbacher, Dave Oliver, Mark Reeder, Gary See, Adam Sherer, Glenn Stewart. (Good Masters-Seniors-Veterans teams.) It'll be good to be on the starting line with John and Peg for the first time in a while, along with others for the very first time! Get there in plenty o' time and we'll see you at the start.

Note on the front page of the GLRR web site, acknowledgment of the passing of Bob Gould. Bob was a frequent track workout attendee when I was club coach in the early part of this decade -- physically large, to the extent that one might night take him for a runner right off the bat. But he and Steve Kanarcus were faithful regulars, and always put in the work together. Bob was not only friendly but enjoyed talking about track work, his fitness and racing hopes, his family, and life in general. Bob was one of the people that made the long drive from Gloucester to Cawley Stadium worthwhile: a non-elite runner for whom running had an important place, and who was willing to work at it while enjoying and embracing the effort. I miss him already.

Spring Track Start: Thursday, May 7th

The Boston Marathon's in the rearview mirror, ergo it must be time for GLRR Spring Track sessions to begin. Hurray!

The club's decided to go for the retro look this season, meaning that they've dragged the old coach out of mothballs. I look forward being on hand for the nine track sessions this spring, the first of which is Thursday, May 7th, at Tewksbury High School starting at 6:00 p.m. (Warm up at your leisure prior to then.)

Tewksbury HS has an excellent track (I recall doing a good, tough session of 15 x 400, relay style, there with Tom Doody a few years back), easily accessible from both the Lowell and Boston areas. It's near the town center, just off Route 38, convenient to both I-93 and I-495. Click on the "Track & Coaching" section of the GLRR web site; there's a link to a map there. (oh! here it is! http://local.yahoo.com/info-10106775-tewksbury-memorial-high-school-tewksbury).

I enjoyed a truly wonderful seven year-stint as your Wednesday-evening coach, and look forward to the opportunity to see many of you out there again. (We're doing Thursdays in order to allow a day's recovery for those doing the Good Times 5K series.) Some who read this know others who were regulars or semi-regulars during that period -- pass the word around. Spring is racing season, and in order to race your best you need to hit the track. And there's nothing like getting onto a track with fellow runners on a regular basis.

There will be workout options each week to accomodate varying levels of fitness and experience. Challenge yourself (realistically). You'll be a better runner for it.

See you at Tewksbury next week!
John

The Bedford 12K Cometh

Mayday, Mayday! (Yes, it's May Day. So what?)

Our intrepid club president, he of the Glenn Stewart persuasion, plans to submit entry names for the Bedford 12K this coming Monday. Here's who's on the GLRR list at the moment (meaning: if you intend to run and don't see your name here, contact Glenn a.s.a.p.):
Men = Barbour, Chandonnet, Corbett, Dixon, Foltz, Jacobson, Kanarcus, Mackenzie, Offenbacher, Oliver, Reeder, Riley, See, Stewart.
Women = Foltz, Hire.

The Bedford 12K is race #3 on the USATF-NE Grand Prix circuit. It starts at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday (that's correct, Saturday) May 16th; note that the course and start area are slightly different since the last time this was a GP race, so do plan accordingly. (http://www.rotarybedfordnh.com/brmrr.html.)

It's a good course, and the closest to Lowell and the Merrimack Valley area of any GP race this year (save the Bay State Marathon of course), so let us have a most excellent turnout.