Another fine race for Newton North alumna Liz Gleason at the NESCAC championships, held Saturday Oct 29 at Middlebry College. Liz ran a PR 18:21 for 5K to finish 5th overall, and second for Williams, which won the women's championship. In the same race, Anna Schindler ran a season's best 20:05 to place 66th, and 5th for Wesleyan.
Ciaran O'Donovan ran in the open 5K race and placed 9th in 18:00.
Also on Saturday, Chris Barnicle ran in the SEC championships. Arkansas won the team championships, but Chris, still hampered by a foot injury, finished in 50th place (25:01), well back of his usual position in the Arkansas pack.
Dan Chebot continued to play a key role for the University of Rochester XC team, placing 36th overall and 5th on his team at the UAA Championships held in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Dan ran 26:54 for the 8K course.
At the NCAC Conference Championships, Earlham senior Joni Waldron ran 26:10 for 6K, finishing 47th overall and fifth for her team.
October 31, 2005
October 30, 2005
At the League Meet...
In a lot of ways, the Bay State League meet is my favorite XC race of the year. It always feels to me like just the right mix of friendly interaction and fierce competition among the twelve schools. Every year, teams come to the league meet knowing it is basically their last chance to acheive status in the league. Often a team or an individual has a score to settle: a chance to reverse the outcome of a close meet, or make up for a bad race earlier in the season.
The league meet is the conclusion and culmination of the league season. After this, there are the big meets, but the teams are scattered across the different divisions and don't necessarily face each other any more. And in the really big meets like the EMass Divisional championships, no team can afford to focus on any single rival. All of this means that the league meet is a unique occasion to look back and look forward, to assess the teams relative to previous years, and to speculate on what next year's league will look like.
On Saturday, we saw Jess Barton run like the defending state champion she is. Running against Wellesley's Brielle Chabot (who had beaten Barton by 53 seconds at Walpole), Barton took the lead at the start and refused to let the race get tactical. Chabot is nothing if not tough, and she hung on and hung on, but couldn't close the gap and get contact. It was a superb effort by Barton and erased any doubts about her ability to do well in the big meets ahead.
Wellesley won the girls team competition, but Newton avenged a home loss to Weymouth, beating the Wildcats by two points. It must have been a bitter pill to swallow for the Weymouth girls, who entered the meet undefeated and were anxious to prove that they were as good as their record. Becca MacDonald ran a game race to finish 4th overall, and Weymouth's second and third runners were 13th and 14th, but their dominant pack didn't perform as well as they had against Newton and Wellesley. It wouldn't have mattered, except Newton's freshman class, and in particular Nora Barnicle and Adina Henley-Bronstein, ran their best races of the year to place 26th and 29th, respectively. Looking forward, one might also note that Newton North's top five are all underclassmen so presumably they'll all be back next year.
In 2004, Wellesley was by far the dominant girls team. Not only did they place four runners in the the top five in the varsity race, they swept the first six places in the JV race. This year they came back to earth, and it looks like 2005 will feature close competition between Newton, Wellesley, Weymouth, and Natick.
In the boys varsity race, a lot went according to form, but there were also some surprises. For the fourth year in a row, a Newton North boy won the individual league championship. For the third time in four years, Newton North boys went 1-2 (the other year, they went 1-3). Brookline reclaimed the team title after three years of Newton North dominance. Brookline placed five runners in the top 12, a feat that Newton North accomplished in 2003 and 2004.
One of the great sub-plots to the race was the battle between Newton North and Wellesley for second-place team. Wellesley, you will recall, ended Newton North's five-year streak of consecutive dual meet wins by racing them to a tie at Walpole, and winning the tie-breaker on the performance of their sixth man. The league meet was just as close, but with the edge going to Newton. Unlike at Walpole, Brecher was able to use his strength to defeat the speedier Charlie Meade. Meanwhile, Noah Jampol beat last year's all-scholastic Tom Mayell and the rest of the Wellesley pack. The fate of the Tigers lay in the legs of Seb Putzeys and first-year XC runner Peter Sun, who had confided before the race, "I really don't feel like running today..." But Seb and Peter came through for 25th and 32nd, and that proved to be just enough to shake Wellesley out of second place. Ben Chebot and Charlie Krasnow also ran tough races, but Ben has been battling injuries and struggled to finish 39th in 17:45. Charlie finished 48th in 18:01.
Interestingly, if the boys' race was scored as a dual meet between Newton and Wellesley, the results come out like this:
And... it's a tie! In this scenario, Wellesley would win the tie-break again, and the frustration for Newton North would go on...
I guess, all in all, it's a good thing we have the rest of the league!
The league meet is the conclusion and culmination of the league season. After this, there are the big meets, but the teams are scattered across the different divisions and don't necessarily face each other any more. And in the really big meets like the EMass Divisional championships, no team can afford to focus on any single rival. All of this means that the league meet is a unique occasion to look back and look forward, to assess the teams relative to previous years, and to speculate on what next year's league will look like.
On Saturday, we saw Jess Barton run like the defending state champion she is. Running against Wellesley's Brielle Chabot (who had beaten Barton by 53 seconds at Walpole), Barton took the lead at the start and refused to let the race get tactical. Chabot is nothing if not tough, and she hung on and hung on, but couldn't close the gap and get contact. It was a superb effort by Barton and erased any doubts about her ability to do well in the big meets ahead.
Wellesley won the girls team competition, but Newton avenged a home loss to Weymouth, beating the Wildcats by two points. It must have been a bitter pill to swallow for the Weymouth girls, who entered the meet undefeated and were anxious to prove that they were as good as their record. Becca MacDonald ran a game race to finish 4th overall, and Weymouth's second and third runners were 13th and 14th, but their dominant pack didn't perform as well as they had against Newton and Wellesley. It wouldn't have mattered, except Newton's freshman class, and in particular Nora Barnicle and Adina Henley-Bronstein, ran their best races of the year to place 26th and 29th, respectively. Looking forward, one might also note that Newton North's top five are all underclassmen so presumably they'll all be back next year.
In 2004, Wellesley was by far the dominant girls team. Not only did they place four runners in the the top five in the varsity race, they swept the first six places in the JV race. This year they came back to earth, and it looks like 2005 will feature close competition between Newton, Wellesley, Weymouth, and Natick.
In the boys varsity race, a lot went according to form, but there were also some surprises. For the fourth year in a row, a Newton North boy won the individual league championship. For the third time in four years, Newton North boys went 1-2 (the other year, they went 1-3). Brookline reclaimed the team title after three years of Newton North dominance. Brookline placed five runners in the top 12, a feat that Newton North accomplished in 2003 and 2004.
One of the great sub-plots to the race was the battle between Newton North and Wellesley for second-place team. Wellesley, you will recall, ended Newton North's five-year streak of consecutive dual meet wins by racing them to a tie at Walpole, and winning the tie-breaker on the performance of their sixth man. The league meet was just as close, but with the edge going to Newton. Unlike at Walpole, Brecher was able to use his strength to defeat the speedier Charlie Meade. Meanwhile, Noah Jampol beat last year's all-scholastic Tom Mayell and the rest of the Wellesley pack. The fate of the Tigers lay in the legs of Seb Putzeys and first-year XC runner Peter Sun, who had confided before the race, "I really don't feel like running today..." But Seb and Peter came through for 25th and 32nd, and that proved to be just enough to shake Wellesley out of second place. Ben Chebot and Charlie Krasnow also ran tough races, but Ben has been battling injuries and struggled to finish 39th in 17:45. Charlie finished 48th in 18:01.
Interestingly, if the boys' race was scored as a dual meet between Newton and Wellesley, the results come out like this:
NNHS Wellesley
1 3
2 5
4 6
10 7
12 8
-- --
29 29
And... it's a tie! In this scenario, Wellesley would win the tie-break again, and the frustration for Newton North would go on...
I guess, all in all, it's a good thing we have the rest of the league!
October 27, 2005
Random thoughts...
Why is it that Brookline always has such a good boys team, and rarely has a good girls team? The boys race at yesterday's meet was great, with four really strong runners battling throughout, and David Polgar taking the victory only 2 seconds off the course record. The girls race was boring, with Newton winning easily. Brookline didn't even field a complete team for the varsity girls race. What's up with that?
Brookline's sophomore class (boys) is really, really good. Robert Gibson, Mike Burnstein, and Eliot Lehane are the nucleus of a Brookline team that will be formidable through 2007.
Thanks to all who have left comments on previous posts. I really appreciate them! Unfortunately, I have also started receiving comment spam (automated comments with links to commercial web sites). To keep the blog free of this stuff, I've turned on "word verification." All this means is that when you leave a comment, you'll need to read a word from the screen and type it into a verification field. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Ben Chebot missed the Brookline meet because of a music trip. Don't worry, Ben, you'll get another chance to run the Larz Anderson course October 23rd, 2007. Unless the meet is postponed. Let me check the weather forecast.... no, you're good to go that day.
The League meet is on Saturday. The girls race has been the subject of some serious trash-talking between partisans of Wellesley and Weymouth. The Wellesley girls want to revenge their loss to Weymouth during the regular season (a loss in which they were missing their #1 and #3 runners). The individual race will be exciting, with Jess Barton getting another shot at Brielle Chabot. Newton North girls have finished second for the past three years. Can Barton break through and win the individual title?
The boys race will be the deepest in years, with runners from Brookline, Wellesley, Newton, and Weymouth dominating. Needham should also have one or two runners in the top 15. Brookline is aiming to have six in the top twelve, which would surpass Newton's record of 6 in the top 13 from two years ago. Brookline should win the team race easily, but Newton vs. Wellesley will be very close. Again.
Yesterday Wellesley beat Needham 21-36. Wellesley's Charlie Meade and Tom Mayell went 1-2 in 12:43 and 12:50, respectively. There is NO WAY that they ran exactly the same course that North ran against Natick.
Yesterday, someone mentioned to me that the Needham coach should be boys coach of the year. If I had a vote (which I don't) I would vote for Needham senior Charles Beard, who got his team to run all summer. The results speak for themselves.
Not to look too far ahead, but the organizational meeting for boys indoor track is Monday Oct. 31 after school. The meeting for girls indoor track is Thursday Nov. 3 after school.
Brookline's sophomore class (boys) is really, really good. Robert Gibson, Mike Burnstein, and Eliot Lehane are the nucleus of a Brookline team that will be formidable through 2007.
Thanks to all who have left comments on previous posts. I really appreciate them! Unfortunately, I have also started receiving comment spam (automated comments with links to commercial web sites). To keep the blog free of this stuff, I've turned on "word verification." All this means is that when you leave a comment, you'll need to read a word from the screen and type it into a verification field. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Ben Chebot missed the Brookline meet because of a music trip. Don't worry, Ben, you'll get another chance to run the Larz Anderson course October 23rd, 2007. Unless the meet is postponed. Let me check the weather forecast.... no, you're good to go that day.
The League meet is on Saturday. The girls race has been the subject of some serious trash-talking between partisans of Wellesley and Weymouth. The Wellesley girls want to revenge their loss to Weymouth during the regular season (a loss in which they were missing their #1 and #3 runners). The individual race will be exciting, with Jess Barton getting another shot at Brielle Chabot. Newton North girls have finished second for the past three years. Can Barton break through and win the individual title?
The boys race will be the deepest in years, with runners from Brookline, Wellesley, Newton, and Weymouth dominating. Needham should also have one or two runners in the top 15. Brookline is aiming to have six in the top twelve, which would surpass Newton's record of 6 in the top 13 from two years ago. Brookline should win the team race easily, but Newton vs. Wellesley will be very close. Again.
Yesterday Wellesley beat Needham 21-36. Wellesley's Charlie Meade and Tom Mayell went 1-2 in 12:43 and 12:50, respectively. There is NO WAY that they ran exactly the same course that North ran against Natick.
Yesterday, someone mentioned to me that the Needham coach should be boys coach of the year. If I had a vote (which I don't) I would vote for Needham senior Charles Beard, who got his team to run all summer. The results speak for themselves.
Not to look too far ahead, but the organizational meeting for boys indoor track is Monday Oct. 31 after school. The meeting for girls indoor track is Thursday Nov. 3 after school.
October 26, 2005
Farewell to Tuesday nights
Yesterday's meet at Brookline was postponed, as expected, and will be held today instead. With rain still falling this morning, it promises to be a very soggy affair. The forecast looks considerably better for the league meet on Saturday.
On a personal note, last night marked the final Tuesday night outdoor track workout of the season for me. From mid April to the end of October Tuesday nights mean workouts at the Harvard Track with my running club. But on Sunday morning, Daylight Savings Time will end, darkness will descend on the afternoon commute, and we'll move indoors. In case there was any doubt, another summer will be over.
The rhythm of the Tuesday night workout is deeply ingained in my running psyche, and the familiarity and routine helps me get through a lot tough runs in all kinds of weather. Last night was no exception. Normally, there would be dozens of runners doing intervals of various sorts, but last night the track was empty except for me, my training buddy Terry, and one other soul fighting the gusts of rain and wind that plagued the far turn of the track. We warmed up for about twenty minutes, becoming increasingly water-logged. After four strides, we switched to our lightweight shoes, peeled off multiple layers of wet clothing, and got into it.
The night's workout was 2 x 1000, 4 x 600, 4 x 400, all with a 200m jog recovery (about 1:30-2:00). Terry set the pace for the opening 1000 felt hard, but turned out to be pretty slow as we fought the wind and the puddles that had gathered on the inside lane of the track. To avoid the spray off Terry's shoes, I ran slightly to his outside, which exposed me more to the wind. I led the second 1000, which was a couple of seconds faster, but still much slower than what we had been running on previous weeks.
Whew, it was tough to work against the wind resistance, especially on the homestretch! We dug into the 600s trying to maintain about the same pace or a little faster than the 1000s. The first one (with Terry leading) felt ok. The second one (with me leading) felt hard. The third one (with Terry leading) felt ok again. Every interval now fell into the same pattern -- the opening 200 felt good with the wind pushing us down the backstretch, helping stretch out our cramped strides; then the second 200 would be a struggle to maintain pace and form in the teeth of the gale, then the final 200 much harder than it should be. I led the fourth 600, and was glad when it was over.
Into the 400s, trying to run them a bit faster than the 1000s and 600s. Each one felt hard, but now the 200 rest in between intervals seemed generous. I broke the pattern and led the 2nd and 3rd, figuring that Terry would run faster than me on the last one, and he did. It was our fastest interval of the night, and as I trailed him across the finish, I was glad to have it over.
It was a challenge to get our warm clothes and gloves back on, but we managed, and then shared a damp and sodden cooldown -- 14-15 minutes jogging around the Harvard Satdium complex, reminiscing about the crappy weather we had run through this year. Spring had been too cold, summer too hot, and late October too wet -- all in all, another typical New England outdoor season.
The leaves fall, the clocks are turned back, and now we move our track workouts to the indoor boards. That can only mean that summer is truly over and snowstorms are right around the corner. Around and around we go, around the narrow oval to the rhythm of the seasons... Like a flock of migrating birds, such is the life of the competitive runner.
On a personal note, last night marked the final Tuesday night outdoor track workout of the season for me. From mid April to the end of October Tuesday nights mean workouts at the Harvard Track with my running club. But on Sunday morning, Daylight Savings Time will end, darkness will descend on the afternoon commute, and we'll move indoors. In case there was any doubt, another summer will be over.
The rhythm of the Tuesday night workout is deeply ingained in my running psyche, and the familiarity and routine helps me get through a lot tough runs in all kinds of weather. Last night was no exception. Normally, there would be dozens of runners doing intervals of various sorts, but last night the track was empty except for me, my training buddy Terry, and one other soul fighting the gusts of rain and wind that plagued the far turn of the track. We warmed up for about twenty minutes, becoming increasingly water-logged. After four strides, we switched to our lightweight shoes, peeled off multiple layers of wet clothing, and got into it.
The night's workout was 2 x 1000, 4 x 600, 4 x 400, all with a 200m jog recovery (about 1:30-2:00). Terry set the pace for the opening 1000 felt hard, but turned out to be pretty slow as we fought the wind and the puddles that had gathered on the inside lane of the track. To avoid the spray off Terry's shoes, I ran slightly to his outside, which exposed me more to the wind. I led the second 1000, which was a couple of seconds faster, but still much slower than what we had been running on previous weeks.
Whew, it was tough to work against the wind resistance, especially on the homestretch! We dug into the 600s trying to maintain about the same pace or a little faster than the 1000s. The first one (with Terry leading) felt ok. The second one (with me leading) felt hard. The third one (with Terry leading) felt ok again. Every interval now fell into the same pattern -- the opening 200 felt good with the wind pushing us down the backstretch, helping stretch out our cramped strides; then the second 200 would be a struggle to maintain pace and form in the teeth of the gale, then the final 200 much harder than it should be. I led the fourth 600, and was glad when it was over.
Into the 400s, trying to run them a bit faster than the 1000s and 600s. Each one felt hard, but now the 200 rest in between intervals seemed generous. I broke the pattern and led the 2nd and 3rd, figuring that Terry would run faster than me on the last one, and he did. It was our fastest interval of the night, and as I trailed him across the finish, I was glad to have it over.
It was a challenge to get our warm clothes and gloves back on, but we managed, and then shared a damp and sodden cooldown -- 14-15 minutes jogging around the Harvard Satdium complex, reminiscing about the crappy weather we had run through this year. Spring had been too cold, summer too hot, and late October too wet -- all in all, another typical New England outdoor season.
The leaves fall, the clocks are turned back, and now we move our track workouts to the indoor boards. That can only mean that summer is truly over and snowstorms are right around the corner. Around and around we go, around the narrow oval to the rhythm of the seasons... Like a flock of migrating birds, such is the life of the competitive runner.
October 25, 2005
Siiiinging in the rain...
Here it is Tuesday morning and it's blowing a gale out there. The traffic in to work was heavy but no worse than many mornings. I'm guessing there's no meet this afternoon, but it will probably be a while before I get the official word from the school.
It seems like a good day to run -- maybe not a good day to race, but a good day to run. There's just something about running in wildly inclement weather that feels satisfying, bracing, and good for one's confidence. It's also a good chance to enjoy a little solitude, away from the fair weather joggers, dog walkers, strollers, and other pedestrians that dot the landscape on milder days. Plus, whatever difficulties one feels running in weather like this are temporary and soon forgotten. The positive feelings of being resilient enough to get out there when no one else is out there last for a lot longer. And you know, And months from now when you are looking back at your training log, you don't want to see a zero staring at you from the day when there was a little rain and wind.
I remember running an XC race in a Nor'easter one year. The race was held in the Middlesex Fells in late October and was put on by a local running club with no sponsorship, no t-shirts, no prizes to speak of, and hardly any publicity. Much like today, New England was getting a couple of inches of rain and high winds from an off-shore storm. The race was on a Sunday, and the roads were empty as I drove to the Fells. When I got there, a couple of officials were standing around and you could tell they were wondering whether to cancel the race. It turned out that several parts of the course were underwater. In one spot, we had to run through a puddle that was about a foot deep in the middle. On another section of the trail, a small river had formed from the rainwater running down the hill. Jogging around before the race was no fun; by the time we were ready for the race, we were pretty much as wet as we were going to be. There were about 30 runners altogether, and in our numbers we found additional strength of will. Once the race got started it was fun. It was as though the pack of runners regressed to a more primitive state, all animal instincts and animal feelings as we ploshed about in the woods. I fell once on a grassy turn, but I was up again before I knew it and almost made me laugh.
On that day, a number of larger races around New England were cancelled. Our little race was not cancelled, and I think it's because those few of us who showed up felt a collective sense of adventure that overrode our more cautious side. Like everyone else, we started out hesitant and unsure of ourselves, but with every muddy ditch we navigated, with every stream we splashed through, we felt better and better about ourselves. There wasn't ANYTHING we couldn't handle.
If you never get out and run in a cold drenching rain like today, you miss something. Maybe it's something you don't care to experience, and I respect that. But I feel that from time to time, it's worth a little discomfort to let your wild animal side out of its cage and roam around for a bit. As the remnants of the hurricane pass through the area, if you venture outside and listen very carefully, you might just hear weird howls in the distance, barely distinguishable above the whipping of the wind. That's the sound of the really crazy runners singing in the rain.
It seems like a good day to run -- maybe not a good day to race, but a good day to run. There's just something about running in wildly inclement weather that feels satisfying, bracing, and good for one's confidence. It's also a good chance to enjoy a little solitude, away from the fair weather joggers, dog walkers, strollers, and other pedestrians that dot the landscape on milder days. Plus, whatever difficulties one feels running in weather like this are temporary and soon forgotten. The positive feelings of being resilient enough to get out there when no one else is out there last for a lot longer. And you know, And months from now when you are looking back at your training log, you don't want to see a zero staring at you from the day when there was a little rain and wind.
I remember running an XC race in a Nor'easter one year. The race was held in the Middlesex Fells in late October and was put on by a local running club with no sponsorship, no t-shirts, no prizes to speak of, and hardly any publicity. Much like today, New England was getting a couple of inches of rain and high winds from an off-shore storm. The race was on a Sunday, and the roads were empty as I drove to the Fells. When I got there, a couple of officials were standing around and you could tell they were wondering whether to cancel the race. It turned out that several parts of the course were underwater. In one spot, we had to run through a puddle that was about a foot deep in the middle. On another section of the trail, a small river had formed from the rainwater running down the hill. Jogging around before the race was no fun; by the time we were ready for the race, we were pretty much as wet as we were going to be. There were about 30 runners altogether, and in our numbers we found additional strength of will. Once the race got started it was fun. It was as though the pack of runners regressed to a more primitive state, all animal instincts and animal feelings as we ploshed about in the woods. I fell once on a grassy turn, but I was up again before I knew it and almost made me laugh.
On that day, a number of larger races around New England were cancelled. Our little race was not cancelled, and I think it's because those few of us who showed up felt a collective sense of adventure that overrode our more cautious side. Like everyone else, we started out hesitant and unsure of ourselves, but with every muddy ditch we navigated, with every stream we splashed through, we felt better and better about ourselves. There wasn't ANYTHING we couldn't handle.
If you never get out and run in a cold drenching rain like today, you miss something. Maybe it's something you don't care to experience, and I respect that. But I feel that from time to time, it's worth a little discomfort to let your wild animal side out of its cage and roam around for a bit. As the remnants of the hurricane pass through the area, if you venture outside and listen very carefully, you might just hear weird howls in the distance, barely distinguishable above the whipping of the wind. That's the sound of the really crazy runners singing in the rain.
October 24, 2005
Watching the Weather Again
The final dual meet of the season is scheduled for Tuesday at Brookline, but a quick check of the weather forecast casts doubt on the chances of the meet taking place without a postponement. On Monday Morning, the forecast is for temperatures in the upper 40s, with periods of rain and winds gusting 35-50 mph.
If the meet is not held Tuesday, it seems likely that both schools would try to squeeze it in on Wednesday, 10/25. That's not the best situation because the BSC League meet is on Saturday, so there will be little time to rest and recover from what figures to be an all-out effort against the Warriors. At least all the BSC teams will be dealing with the same issue.
Besides Brookline v. Newton North, another good meet will be Needham v. Wellesley at Wellesley's home course. In what might be referred to as a "Run of the Charles," Wellesley's Charlie Meade takes on Needham's Charles Beard. I pick Wellesley, but it should be a battle.
Although it's early to be looking at the weather for the weekend, it looks like we might luck out and have a beautiful fall day for the league meet. Last year's league meet was held on the same day as the Red Sox World Seres Championship Parade, decimating the ranks of our boys JV team. What a long time ago that seems!
If the meet is not held Tuesday, it seems likely that both schools would try to squeeze it in on Wednesday, 10/25. That's not the best situation because the BSC League meet is on Saturday, so there will be little time to rest and recover from what figures to be an all-out effort against the Warriors. At least all the BSC teams will be dealing with the same issue.
Besides Brookline v. Newton North, another good meet will be Needham v. Wellesley at Wellesley's home course. In what might be referred to as a "Run of the Charles," Wellesley's Charlie Meade takes on Needham's Charles Beard. I pick Wellesley, but it should be a battle.
Although it's early to be looking at the weather for the weekend, it looks like we might luck out and have a beautiful fall day for the league meet. Last year's league meet was held on the same day as the Red Sox World Seres Championship Parade, decimating the ranks of our boys JV team. What a long time ago that seems!
October 23, 2005
Alumni News from Oct 15 and 22
Let's catch up on the exploits of Newton North alumni.
Liz Gleason ran a PR 18:26 for 5K to place 5th overall for Williams at the Little Three Championships held in Williamstown, Mass. on October 22. Williams won the team title easily over Amherst and Wesleyan. Liz has solidified her position as the 3rd runner for the defending NCAA Div III National Champions. Other local runners in the same race included Newton South alumna Caitlin McDermott-Murphy (Amherst), Norwood H.S. alumna Lisa Davenport (Williams), and former Danvers H.S. standout Heather Wilson.
Scott Cole is at Skidmore College in upstate New York where he has been taking a break from competitive bike racing to run as an unattached competitor at area road and XC races (Skidmore does not have a cross-country or trcak team). On Oct 16, Scott set a PR 17:55 for 5K XC at the Saratoga National Bank Cross Country Classic, finishing 20th overall and 2nd in his age group. In that race, Scott hung out with 2004 Footlocker finalists Nicole Blood and Caitlin Lane for a while before chivalry took over and he let them go first. On Saturday Oct 22 Scott took to the roads, running another PR 17:31 at the Great Pumpkin Challenge 5K in Saratoga, NY.
Dan Chebot was 21st at the 2005 Yellowjacket Cross Country Invitational hosted by the University of Rochester on Oct. 15th. Dan ran 27:23 for 8K and was fifth man for his team.
Earlham College senior Joni Waldron ran a season's best 21:33 for 5K to finish 38th overall and third for her team at the Wilmington College Fall Classic on Oct. 14th.
Jason Abbott-Dalamora ('03) ran 31:42 for 8K at Van Cortland Park while competing for University of New Haven in the NYCAC Championship meet.
Kat Chiong notes that Azuree Catledge ('05) is running XC for Howard University. I found one result on Howard's web site but I'm not sure if there have been any recent races for Azuree.
Univ. of Arkansas freshman Chris Barnicle suffered a minor setback on Oct. 15th when a foot injury forced him to drop out of the 10K XC race at the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
It was good to see Brandeis teammates Clayton Lloyd (NNHS '05) and Tim Condon (Weymouth H.S. '04) at the Weymouth-Newton North dual meet on Oct. 18th. We will assume that Clay enjoyed the run home more than Tim.
Do you know of any other NNHS alumni making news in the running world? Please leave a comment and a link to results.
Liz Gleason ran a PR 18:26 for 5K to place 5th overall for Williams at the Little Three Championships held in Williamstown, Mass. on October 22. Williams won the team title easily over Amherst and Wesleyan. Liz has solidified her position as the 3rd runner for the defending NCAA Div III National Champions. Other local runners in the same race included Newton South alumna Caitlin McDermott-Murphy (Amherst), Norwood H.S. alumna Lisa Davenport (Williams), and former Danvers H.S. standout Heather Wilson.
Scott Cole is at Skidmore College in upstate New York where he has been taking a break from competitive bike racing to run as an unattached competitor at area road and XC races (Skidmore does not have a cross-country or trcak team). On Oct 16, Scott set a PR 17:55 for 5K XC at the Saratoga National Bank Cross Country Classic, finishing 20th overall and 2nd in his age group. In that race, Scott hung out with 2004 Footlocker finalists Nicole Blood and Caitlin Lane for a while before chivalry took over and he let them go first. On Saturday Oct 22 Scott took to the roads, running another PR 17:31 at the Great Pumpkin Challenge 5K in Saratoga, NY.
Dan Chebot was 21st at the 2005 Yellowjacket Cross Country Invitational hosted by the University of Rochester on Oct. 15th. Dan ran 27:23 for 8K and was fifth man for his team.
Earlham College senior Joni Waldron ran a season's best 21:33 for 5K to finish 38th overall and third for her team at the Wilmington College Fall Classic on Oct. 14th.
Jason Abbott-Dalamora ('03) ran 31:42 for 8K at Van Cortland Park while competing for University of New Haven in the NYCAC Championship meet.
Kat Chiong notes that Azuree Catledge ('05) is running XC for Howard University. I found one result on Howard's web site but I'm not sure if there have been any recent races for Azuree.
Univ. of Arkansas freshman Chris Barnicle suffered a minor setback on Oct. 15th when a foot injury forced him to drop out of the 10K XC race at the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
It was good to see Brandeis teammates Clayton Lloyd (NNHS '05) and Tim Condon (Weymouth H.S. '04) at the Weymouth-Newton North dual meet on Oct. 18th. We will assume that Clay enjoyed the run home more than Tim.
Do you know of any other NNHS alumni making news in the running world? Please leave a comment and a link to results.
October 22, 2005
With friends like these...
"As soon as one makes peace with hills, they do get easier. They become like a friend who always tells you the truth." – Patti Catalano Dillon (2005)
A few of us ran at Larz Anderson Park this morning. It's a lovely spot, and the view from the top of the ridge of the Boston skyline is quite stunning.
Brookline's course is very hilly. So what? It's a good course that challenges you in many ways. First, it requires patience. On many courses, the penalty for going too fast at the beginning is slowing down a little at the end. At Larz Anderson, the penalty for rushing up the hills with too much gusto is to kill your race. The oxygen debt incurred is too great, and recovery is impossible. Second, it requires courage. It's not helpful to dwell on the imagined difficulties of the course, but simply trust that training is sufficient, and you don't have to find the hills easy, just a little easier than the person running next to you.
There's an XC race I run pretty much every Fall that's held at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield. It's also very hilly and I always look forward to it because I can beat people who are better than me on flat courses but have difficulty lugging themselves up the hills.
I like Patti Catalano's quote because it suggests to me that, as runners, we are constantly in need of someone or something to shake us out of our comfort zone. Hills do that with alarming efficiency. There's no coasting up a hill.
I have a training partner who likes to simulate hills by throwing surges into the middle of his 800's and 1000's during track workouts. It's tough to sprint for 200m and then settle right back into a fast 1000, but it teaches the same readiness that hills teach.
The meet is On Tuesday. Let's hope our friends, the hills, won't have unpleasant truths to tell.
A few of us ran at Larz Anderson Park this morning. It's a lovely spot, and the view from the top of the ridge of the Boston skyline is quite stunning.
Brookline's course is very hilly. So what? It's a good course that challenges you in many ways. First, it requires patience. On many courses, the penalty for going too fast at the beginning is slowing down a little at the end. At Larz Anderson, the penalty for rushing up the hills with too much gusto is to kill your race. The oxygen debt incurred is too great, and recovery is impossible. Second, it requires courage. It's not helpful to dwell on the imagined difficulties of the course, but simply trust that training is sufficient, and you don't have to find the hills easy, just a little easier than the person running next to you.
There's an XC race I run pretty much every Fall that's held at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield. It's also very hilly and I always look forward to it because I can beat people who are better than me on flat courses but have difficulty lugging themselves up the hills.
I like Patti Catalano's quote because it suggests to me that, as runners, we are constantly in need of someone or something to shake us out of our comfort zone. Hills do that with alarming efficiency. There's no coasting up a hill.
I have a training partner who likes to simulate hills by throwing surges into the middle of his 800's and 1000's during track workouts. It's tough to sprint for 200m and then settle right back into a fast 1000, but it teaches the same readiness that hills teach.
The meet is On Tuesday. Let's hope our friends, the hills, won't have unpleasant truths to tell.
October 20, 2005
Brookline, Brookline...
I'll go out on a limb and say that the Newton North girls will beat the Brookline girls next Tuesday, and finish the season at 9-2. At the league meet, Jess Barton will win -- ending a three-year string of second-place finishes for Tiger girls (Liz Gleason in '02 and '03, and Barton in '04).
Ah, but the boys meet against Brookline will more interesting.
It might seem that Brookline has already won the psychological battle. As the Newton North boys were handling Weymouth with relative ease, Brookline was humiliating a very good Wellesley team at Larz Anderson Park. Brookline had the first five finishers against Wellesley, and seven of the top ten. Charlie Meade, who was only five seconds behind David Polgar at Walpole, was humbled by the hills at Larz Anderson.
Much has been made of Brookline's home-course advantage. As evidence, all you need to do is consider the dramatic turnaround from last year to this between the two teams. In 2004, Brookline ran at Wellesley's 2.5 mile flat course. Both teams had basically the same personnel, and Wellesley put six runners in front of Brookline's second (Matias Carrasco went off-course while in the lead, so technically Wellesley took the top six places). A year later at Brookline's 2.65 mile hilly course, Brookline placed five in front of Wellesley's first (Brookline's 5th runner missed a turn and was disqualified for cutting the course, although he certainly would have beaten Meade).
A home-course advantage consists of knowing a course and how to run it, as well as being prepared physically for its rigors. Few runners actually practice running downhill, and if Brookline has an advantage in preparation, it is that they have had a lot of practice running downhill. Opponents try to run the uphills at Larz Anderson Park hard, but the Brookline kids know that one has to run the uphills easy, and then accelerate across the top of the hill. Running downhill is a matter of technique and confidence, and the Warriors believe they can make up any deficit they might have incurred on the uphill by running a better downhill.
But before we join Doug Brecher in throwing in the towel on behalf of the Tigers, let's pause to remember that two years ago North beat Brookline on its home course, by running a batter tactical race than the host team. On that day Chris Barnicle, Pat Pierce, and Dan Chebot held back early, resisted the temptation to charge up the hills in a rush of fear and adrenaline, and cooly destroyed the Brookline pack on the downhill sections of the course. That was also the day that Clayton Lloyd gave the first indication that he would be something special, as he came from 9th to 6th in the final 1000 meters of the race. It can be done.
NNHS v. Brookline 10/21/2003
Sure, Brookline is good, maybe they are the best. But they still have to run the race, and Newton North will give them a better fight than Wellesley did.
Ah, but the boys meet against Brookline will more interesting.
It might seem that Brookline has already won the psychological battle. As the Newton North boys were handling Weymouth with relative ease, Brookline was humiliating a very good Wellesley team at Larz Anderson Park. Brookline had the first five finishers against Wellesley, and seven of the top ten. Charlie Meade, who was only five seconds behind David Polgar at Walpole, was humbled by the hills at Larz Anderson.
Much has been made of Brookline's home-course advantage. As evidence, all you need to do is consider the dramatic turnaround from last year to this between the two teams. In 2004, Brookline ran at Wellesley's 2.5 mile flat course. Both teams had basically the same personnel, and Wellesley put six runners in front of Brookline's second (Matias Carrasco went off-course while in the lead, so technically Wellesley took the top six places). A year later at Brookline's 2.65 mile hilly course, Brookline placed five in front of Wellesley's first (Brookline's 5th runner missed a turn and was disqualified for cutting the course, although he certainly would have beaten Meade).
A home-course advantage consists of knowing a course and how to run it, as well as being prepared physically for its rigors. Few runners actually practice running downhill, and if Brookline has an advantage in preparation, it is that they have had a lot of practice running downhill. Opponents try to run the uphills at Larz Anderson Park hard, but the Brookline kids know that one has to run the uphills easy, and then accelerate across the top of the hill. Running downhill is a matter of technique and confidence, and the Warriors believe they can make up any deficit they might have incurred on the uphill by running a better downhill.
But before we join Doug Brecher in throwing in the towel on behalf of the Tigers, let's pause to remember that two years ago North beat Brookline on its home course, by running a batter tactical race than the host team. On that day Chris Barnicle, Pat Pierce, and Dan Chebot held back early, resisted the temptation to charge up the hills in a rush of fear and adrenaline, and cooly destroyed the Brookline pack on the downhill sections of the course. That was also the day that Clayton Lloyd gave the first indication that he would be something special, as he came from 9th to 6th in the final 1000 meters of the race. It can be done.
NNHS v. Brookline 10/21/2003
1. Barnicle NN 15:56
2. Pierce NN 16:00
3. Chebot, D. NN 16:02
4. Carrasco B 16:16
5. Housman B 16:25
6. Lloyd NN 16:27
7. Okrochkov B 16:31
8. Kaye B 16:34
9. Rowe B 16:36
10. Polgar NN 16:57
11. Kaufman NN 17:01
12. Ewenstein B 17:30
13. Hessney B 17:34
14. McLoughlin NN 17:52
15. Smith NN 18:02
16. Jampol NN 18:06
17. Merlet, R. NN 18:13
18. Chebot, J. NN 18:24
19. Prakash NN 19:24
Sure, Brookline is good, maybe they are the best. But they still have to run the race, and Newton North will give them a better fight than Wellesley did.
October 19, 2005
History in the Making
It has been a great cross-country season for history buffs, as teams from Wellesley, and Weymouth have done things unthinkable only a few years before. Yesterday was no exception, as Weymouth's Lady Wildcats ended a lifetime curse by beating the perpetually great Newton North girls 28-30.
It was a strange meet in the sense that the Weymouth team resembled all those great Newton teams of the past, teams that won with relentless pack running and an endless supply of good runners to displace other teams' #4 and #5 runners. I well remember a meet I watched in 2000 in which Brookline took 1-2-4 against North and the Tigers won by taking the next six places. It was like that yesterday, as Jess barton, Haleigh Smith, and Carolyn Ranti took places 1-3-4, and then Weymouth opened the floodgates, taking the next five spots. Hall of Fame coach Peter Martin must have wondered where was that one senior to shore up the second pack and help the freshmen bridge the gap to the Weymouth pack.
But give credit to Weymouth -- they won with a team approach and placed eight runners before Newton North's 5th.
The boys meet was also thrilling, but with a happier outcome for the host Tigers. From the first moments of the race, it was obvious that the Weymouth boys were using the same game plan as the Weymouth girls: concede the individual win, but use superior numbers to pack in six finishers before North's #4 and #5. But Weymouth didn't fully appreciate the maturity and race acumen of North's underclassmen -- especially sophomore Seb Putzeys and Ben Chebot, and junior Peter Sun.
The race went out very fast, with David Polgar taking a rare turn at the front and hitting the mile in 4:53. Doug Brecher was holding on for dear life at 5:01, with Joe Ruvido, Sean Coleran, and Noah Jampol in a tight pack nearly twenty seconds back. Then another gap of 10-15 seconds, and another pack of three Weymouth runners, Putzeys, and Chebot. The Weymouth kids looked strained, the North kids looked comfortable. At halfway, nothing significant had changed except that Weymouth now had only two kids running with Putzeys and Chebot, and Peter Sun was moving up through the pack. It turned out that Weymouth's fourth man, Alex Bober, had to drop out with achilles tendonitis, but even had he finished with their third man, it wouldn't have made a difference.
Weymouth's fate was all but sealed when Jampol outkicked Ruvido in a 38-second PR of 17:04. It was a big-time race -- fast but under control -- from Jampol, who said his farewell to Cold Spring Park in memorable fashion. Forty seconds later, Putzeys came in 7th, and Chebot outkicked Weymouth's John Connolly for 8th. Whe Peter Sun (PR 18:04) placed 10th, Newton had done what Weymouth had wanted to do, put six runners ahead of the other team's 5th.
A few other notes: Polgar remains the only runner, male or female, in the BSC to be undefeated this year in dual meets. Polgar's 16:18 and Brecher's 16:31 were the 6th and 10th fastest times on the Cold Spring course in the last five years. Sean Coleran just missed becoming the 5th non-NNHS runner to break 17:00 on the course in that period. Jess Barton's 18:57 was one second slower than her best time from last year. Jess ran comfortably for the final 100 meters or would have certainly improved her time. As it is, she becomes the first girl ever to break 19 minutes twice on the course.
How would the 2005 boys team compare with the undefeated 2001 team? Coincidentally, Tuesday's meet was held on the four year anniversary of the final home meet of the 2001 season. Here's a comparison of North's top eight finishers from 2001 and 2005:
So the 2005 team would take places 1-2-4-9-12 vs 3-5-6-7-8 resulting in... a 28-29 win!
It was a strange meet in the sense that the Weymouth team resembled all those great Newton teams of the past, teams that won with relentless pack running and an endless supply of good runners to displace other teams' #4 and #5 runners. I well remember a meet I watched in 2000 in which Brookline took 1-2-4 against North and the Tigers won by taking the next six places. It was like that yesterday, as Jess barton, Haleigh Smith, and Carolyn Ranti took places 1-3-4, and then Weymouth opened the floodgates, taking the next five spots. Hall of Fame coach Peter Martin must have wondered where was that one senior to shore up the second pack and help the freshmen bridge the gap to the Weymouth pack.
But give credit to Weymouth -- they won with a team approach and placed eight runners before Newton North's 5th.
The boys meet was also thrilling, but with a happier outcome for the host Tigers. From the first moments of the race, it was obvious that the Weymouth boys were using the same game plan as the Weymouth girls: concede the individual win, but use superior numbers to pack in six finishers before North's #4 and #5. But Weymouth didn't fully appreciate the maturity and race acumen of North's underclassmen -- especially sophomore Seb Putzeys and Ben Chebot, and junior Peter Sun.
The race went out very fast, with David Polgar taking a rare turn at the front and hitting the mile in 4:53. Doug Brecher was holding on for dear life at 5:01, with Joe Ruvido, Sean Coleran, and Noah Jampol in a tight pack nearly twenty seconds back. Then another gap of 10-15 seconds, and another pack of three Weymouth runners, Putzeys, and Chebot. The Weymouth kids looked strained, the North kids looked comfortable. At halfway, nothing significant had changed except that Weymouth now had only two kids running with Putzeys and Chebot, and Peter Sun was moving up through the pack. It turned out that Weymouth's fourth man, Alex Bober, had to drop out with achilles tendonitis, but even had he finished with their third man, it wouldn't have made a difference.
Weymouth's fate was all but sealed when Jampol outkicked Ruvido in a 38-second PR of 17:04. It was a big-time race -- fast but under control -- from Jampol, who said his farewell to Cold Spring Park in memorable fashion. Forty seconds later, Putzeys came in 7th, and Chebot outkicked Weymouth's John Connolly for 8th. Whe Peter Sun (PR 18:04) placed 10th, Newton had done what Weymouth had wanted to do, put six runners ahead of the other team's 5th.
A few other notes: Polgar remains the only runner, male or female, in the BSC to be undefeated this year in dual meets. Polgar's 16:18 and Brecher's 16:31 were the 6th and 10th fastest times on the Cold Spring course in the last five years. Sean Coleran just missed becoming the 5th non-NNHS runner to break 17:00 on the course in that period. Jess Barton's 18:57 was one second slower than her best time from last year. Jess ran comfortably for the final 100 meters or would have certainly improved her time. As it is, she becomes the first girl ever to break 19 minutes twice on the course.
How would the 2005 boys team compare with the undefeated 2001 team? Coincidentally, Tuesday's meet was held on the four year anniversary of the final home meet of the 2001 season. Here's a comparison of North's top eight finishers from 2001 and 2005:
2001 2005
Barnicle 16:58 Polgar 16:18
Heidlage 17:29 Brecher 16:31
O'Donovan 17:32 Jampol 17:04
Burkly 17:33 Putzeys 17:50
Ronfard 17:38 Chebot 17:59
Pierce 17:54 Sun 18:04
Robb 17:56 Krasnow 18:24
Lichtmann 18:00 Abbott 18:36
So the 2005 team would take places 1-2-4-9-12 vs 3-5-6-7-8 resulting in... a 28-29 win!
October 17, 2005
NNHS v. Weymouth
This is FUN!
Another great meet this Tuesday, as the undefeated (9-0) Weymouth girls travel to Newton to take on the 8-1 Tigers at Cold Spring Park. The Weymouth girls have never beaten Newton North in cross-country. Not ever. Is this the year it will finally happen?
I think the meet will be very close, but I think North will win in an upset. It might seem illogical to think that Newton North, who were overrun by Wellesley, could beat Weymouth, who won handily against Wellesley, but that's the way I see it. When Weymouth beat Wellesley, Wellesley was missing their #1 and #3 runners. And the race was at a flat, fast 2.5M course.
At Cold Spring Park, I think a healthy Jess Barton will beat Becca MacDonald. After that, Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti will have to go 3-4 against Weymouth's Nicole Pearce and Kristin Mahoney. Then it's up to the veterans (Szeman Lam and Jackie Faneuil) and the new kids (Adina Henley-Bronstein and Liz Altieri) to break up Weymouth's formidable pack. Here's how I see it:
NN Wey
1 2
3 5
4 6
9 7
10 8
27-28 Newton North.
And, with all due respect to Weyouth coach Mike Miller, I think that Peter Martin will have the best possible game plan going into the race to use the Cold Spring Park to his team's advantage. Whatever happens, it will be exciting to watch two of the top BSC teams battle it out for the Carey Division title.
Oh yeah, the boys meet should be a great one, too! Weymouth is 7-2 this year, with its only two losses to Wellesley and Brookline. And are they hungry to beat Newton North? It would absolutely make their season a success to pull off the upset. Believe it, Weymouth will be jacked up for this meet.
On paper, Newton North looks stronger. It would be a major surprise if North's duo of David Polgar and Doug Brecher don't totally run away from Weymouth's Joe Ruvido and Sean Coleran. After that, it gets a little more interesting. Noah Jampol is strong enough to finish 5th, maybe even better, and then Ben Chebot and Seb Putzeys should be better than Weymouth's 5th runner. Here's the way I project the score:
NN Wey
1 3
2 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
NN 24 - Weymouth 31
The course should be a little drier this Tuesday than it was last week. And it's the last home meet ever for Polgar, Brecher, and Jampol.
It will be a blast!
Another great meet this Tuesday, as the undefeated (9-0) Weymouth girls travel to Newton to take on the 8-1 Tigers at Cold Spring Park. The Weymouth girls have never beaten Newton North in cross-country. Not ever. Is this the year it will finally happen?
I think the meet will be very close, but I think North will win in an upset. It might seem illogical to think that Newton North, who were overrun by Wellesley, could beat Weymouth, who won handily against Wellesley, but that's the way I see it. When Weymouth beat Wellesley, Wellesley was missing their #1 and #3 runners. And the race was at a flat, fast 2.5M course.
At Cold Spring Park, I think a healthy Jess Barton will beat Becca MacDonald. After that, Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti will have to go 3-4 against Weymouth's Nicole Pearce and Kristin Mahoney. Then it's up to the veterans (Szeman Lam and Jackie Faneuil) and the new kids (Adina Henley-Bronstein and Liz Altieri) to break up Weymouth's formidable pack. Here's how I see it:
NN Wey
1 2
3 5
4 6
9 7
10 8
27-28 Newton North.
And, with all due respect to Weyouth coach Mike Miller, I think that Peter Martin will have the best possible game plan going into the race to use the Cold Spring Park to his team's advantage. Whatever happens, it will be exciting to watch two of the top BSC teams battle it out for the Carey Division title.
Oh yeah, the boys meet should be a great one, too! Weymouth is 7-2 this year, with its only two losses to Wellesley and Brookline. And are they hungry to beat Newton North? It would absolutely make their season a success to pull off the upset. Believe it, Weymouth will be jacked up for this meet.
On paper, Newton North looks stronger. It would be a major surprise if North's duo of David Polgar and Doug Brecher don't totally run away from Weymouth's Joe Ruvido and Sean Coleran. After that, it gets a little more interesting. Noah Jampol is strong enough to finish 5th, maybe even better, and then Ben Chebot and Seb Putzeys should be better than Weymouth's 5th runner. Here's the way I project the score:
NN Wey
1 3
2 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
NN 24 - Weymouth 31
The course should be a little drier this Tuesday than it was last week. And it's the last home meet ever for Polgar, Brecher, and Jampol.
It will be a blast!
October 16, 2005
Brown Invite Results
Full results here.
Newton North without Seb Putzeys finished 17th of 22 teams, ahead of Lincoln-Sudbury, St. John's Prep, and Barnstable, and behind Brockton, Amherst, Brookline, and Xaverian.
Individual Results:
10. David Polgar 16:30
24. Doug Brecher 16:54
125. Noah Jampol 18:22
142. Peter Sun 18:53
150. Ben Chebot 19:12
151. Charlie Krasnow 19:14
Newton North without Seb Putzeys finished 17th of 22 teams, ahead of Lincoln-Sudbury, St. John's Prep, and Barnstable, and behind Brockton, Amherst, Brookline, and Xaverian.
Individual Results:
10. David Polgar 16:30
24. Doug Brecher 16:54
125. Noah Jampol 18:22
142. Peter Sun 18:53
150. Ben Chebot 19:12
151. Charlie Krasnow 19:14
At the Brown Invite
As late as 9:30 Saturday morning, the NNHS Boys varsity XC team wasn't sure they were actually going to drive down to East Greenwich, RI, for the Championship Race at the Brown HS Invitational. The rain had been heavy overnight, reports from the course indicated huge puddles and mud, and several teams had already dropped out.
At the last moment, the decision was made to run, but Seb Putzeys (he of the ailing knee) was told to stay home to rest up for Weymouth on Tuesday.
All during the 90-minute drive south, there was hope that the skies would clear, the sun would come out, and the course might have a chance to dry out. Puddles? We weren't afraid of puddles. But when we arrived an inspected the course, it was obvious that rain or no rain, the major impediment to a fast race was the mud. Most of the course runs through the woods, and the rain had turned every soft spot into a bog of mud, sometimes 6-8 inches deep. No spikes on earth provide good traction in that much mud.
The NNHS boys were told to double- and triple-knot their spikes, to avoid having them sucked of their feet by the mud bogs. The rain did cease for a bit just before the championship race, and the temperatures were fairly mild for the introductions.
The race itself went out very fast. Tom Webb of Bishop Hendricken in RI took out the first mile in under five minutes, which, given the poor conditions might have been the physiological equivalent of a 4:40 mile in dry conditions. David Polgar established himself in 4-5th place early, with Doug Brecher lurking in the top 20. Also running were Noah Jampol, Peter Sun, Ben Chebot, and Charlie Krasnow. As the mud took its toll, Polgar faded back to 9th at the 2M mark, with Brecher in 17th only a few seconds back. Jampol still looked good at this point. Sun, Chebot, and Krasnow were running steadily towards the back of the very talented field.
The final 600m was on relatively solid ground, and that helped Polgar who had slipped to 13th, but rallied in the final 200 meters to outkick three other runners and finish 10th in 16:31. Brecher continued his strong run, and although he lost some places in the final mile, finished in 24th in 16:55, high enough to earn one of the prized race t-shirts. Jampol did not have a happy last mile, and finished in the low 18's (official results are not available yet). Sun was the 4th finisher for North, outdueling Brookline's Matt Stewart who figures to be a rival of Sun's in the 600 this winter. Chebot and Krasnow finished together.
Because of the mud, the times are misleading and not representative of what these runners will be able to do Tuesday. The Newton North team acquitted itself well.
There were a number of Mass. teams running. Brockton made a case for being the top team in the state, with Jr. Kevin Gill coming within a second of winning the championship race. His time of 15:57 in such awful conditions is very impressive and indicates that is in contention for the state championship. Mark Amirault of Xaverian and Jose DePina of Brockton finshed 4th and 5th, respectively. Brookline ran their varsity team, which looked strong even without their #3 runner Elliot Lehane. Matias Carrasco was top finisher for the Warriors in about 35th. Amherst, once ranked #1 in the state, was clearly not as strong as Brockton, but might be better on a different day on a different course.
At the end of the awards ceremony the rain started again. Nine straight days of rain in October. That was probably the only record that fell on Saturday.
At the last moment, the decision was made to run, but Seb Putzeys (he of the ailing knee) was told to stay home to rest up for Weymouth on Tuesday.
All during the 90-minute drive south, there was hope that the skies would clear, the sun would come out, and the course might have a chance to dry out. Puddles? We weren't afraid of puddles. But when we arrived an inspected the course, it was obvious that rain or no rain, the major impediment to a fast race was the mud. Most of the course runs through the woods, and the rain had turned every soft spot into a bog of mud, sometimes 6-8 inches deep. No spikes on earth provide good traction in that much mud.
The NNHS boys were told to double- and triple-knot their spikes, to avoid having them sucked of their feet by the mud bogs. The rain did cease for a bit just before the championship race, and the temperatures were fairly mild for the introductions.
The race itself went out very fast. Tom Webb of Bishop Hendricken in RI took out the first mile in under five minutes, which, given the poor conditions might have been the physiological equivalent of a 4:40 mile in dry conditions. David Polgar established himself in 4-5th place early, with Doug Brecher lurking in the top 20. Also running were Noah Jampol, Peter Sun, Ben Chebot, and Charlie Krasnow. As the mud took its toll, Polgar faded back to 9th at the 2M mark, with Brecher in 17th only a few seconds back. Jampol still looked good at this point. Sun, Chebot, and Krasnow were running steadily towards the back of the very talented field.
The final 600m was on relatively solid ground, and that helped Polgar who had slipped to 13th, but rallied in the final 200 meters to outkick three other runners and finish 10th in 16:31. Brecher continued his strong run, and although he lost some places in the final mile, finished in 24th in 16:55, high enough to earn one of the prized race t-shirts. Jampol did not have a happy last mile, and finished in the low 18's (official results are not available yet). Sun was the 4th finisher for North, outdueling Brookline's Matt Stewart who figures to be a rival of Sun's in the 600 this winter. Chebot and Krasnow finished together.
Because of the mud, the times are misleading and not representative of what these runners will be able to do Tuesday. The Newton North team acquitted itself well.
There were a number of Mass. teams running. Brockton made a case for being the top team in the state, with Jr. Kevin Gill coming within a second of winning the championship race. His time of 15:57 in such awful conditions is very impressive and indicates that is in contention for the state championship. Mark Amirault of Xaverian and Jose DePina of Brockton finshed 4th and 5th, respectively. Brookline ran their varsity team, which looked strong even without their #3 runner Elliot Lehane. Matias Carrasco was top finisher for the Warriors in about 35th. Amherst, once ranked #1 in the state, was clearly not as strong as Brockton, but might be better on a different day on a different course.
At the end of the awards ceremony the rain started again. Nine straight days of rain in October. That was probably the only record that fell on Saturday.
October 14, 2005
Weekend Outlook
Someone pointed out that it has been raining ever since the Red Sox were eliminated from the Playoffs. Coincidence?
Forecasters are predicting more rain to start the weekend, but that only means more interesting cross-country. The big event on Saturday is the Brown Invitational, held in Goddard State Park in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The course starts on a golf course, runs for about a half mile before entering a fairly narrow trail through a wooded area that borders Narragansett Bay. Runners proceed around a big loop and then come back the same way they started out, finishing on the golf course. In dry conditions, the course is considered very fast. (Last year's winning time was 15:00). It won't be dry this year! Heavy rains will lead to wide puddles all along the trail, slowing it down considerably, and making it treacherous. Newton North boys are sending a team, but they will be facing top-notch competition in the Championship race, including Brockton, Brookline, and Chelmsford from Mass., and several ranked teams, including Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) from New Jersey, and Bishop Hendricken from RI.
Also on Saturday, Franklin Park hosts the Catholic Memorial Invitational, favored by those teams that don't want to travel out of state to get a good competitive race. It is rumored that Xaverian will be running at the CMI event.
On Sunday, there is an open 5K "development" race at Frankln Park. Newton North assistant coaches are sometimes known to run such open events.
On the national scene, there is a big meet in Arkansas this weekend -- the Chili Pepper Invitational -- with races for both HS and collegiate runners. Newton North alum Chris Barnicle will be running his first 10K for Arkansas.
Forecasters are predicting more rain to start the weekend, but that only means more interesting cross-country. The big event on Saturday is the Brown Invitational, held in Goddard State Park in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The course starts on a golf course, runs for about a half mile before entering a fairly narrow trail through a wooded area that borders Narragansett Bay. Runners proceed around a big loop and then come back the same way they started out, finishing on the golf course. In dry conditions, the course is considered very fast. (Last year's winning time was 15:00). It won't be dry this year! Heavy rains will lead to wide puddles all along the trail, slowing it down considerably, and making it treacherous. Newton North boys are sending a team, but they will be facing top-notch competition in the Championship race, including Brockton, Brookline, and Chelmsford from Mass., and several ranked teams, including Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) from New Jersey, and Bishop Hendricken from RI.
Also on Saturday, Franklin Park hosts the Catholic Memorial Invitational, favored by those teams that don't want to travel out of state to get a good competitive race. It is rumored that Xaverian will be running at the CMI event.
On Sunday, there is an open 5K "development" race at Frankln Park. Newton North assistant coaches are sometimes known to run such open events.
On the national scene, there is a big meet in Arkansas this weekend -- the Chili Pepper Invitational -- with races for both HS and collegiate runners. Newton North alum Chris Barnicle will be running his first 10K for Arkansas.
October 13, 2005
News Outlets
I'm always interested to know what's going on with other cross-country teams around our league and around the state, and an invaluable source of this info is the collection of community newspapers serving the cities and towns of the BSC. I really enjoy reading about other teams, from the perspective of their hometown news staff.
So for today, let's look at some recent news coverage of cross-country programs around the BSC and elsewhere.
(Wellesley) The Wait is Over (Oct 13)
Geez, not only can Tom Mayell run, he's a damn good writer, too! If you can handle reliving the disappointment, read Tom's gripping account of Wellesley's historic victory over Newton North from today's Wellesley Townsman.
(Brookline) Boys cross country continues unbeaten (Oct 6)
Contains coverage of the Bay State Invitational, Brookline's meet against Walpole, and the rise Brookline's outstanding sophomore class.
(Weymouth) In Cruise Control (Oct 12)
Coverage of the unbeaten Weymouth Girls team (now 9-0) as they prepare for their showdown with Newton North next Tuesday.
L-S boys end C-C harrier streak (Oct 12)
Running on Empty (Oct 12)
You think NNHS was the only program defending a winning streak? Read about how Lincoln-Sudbury snapped Concord-Carlisle's five-year dual meet win streak, and how Hopedale snapped Whitsinville Christian's six-year streak.
So for today, let's look at some recent news coverage of cross-country programs around the BSC and elsewhere.
(Wellesley) The Wait is Over (Oct 13)
Geez, not only can Tom Mayell run, he's a damn good writer, too! If you can handle reliving the disappointment, read Tom's gripping account of Wellesley's historic victory over Newton North from today's Wellesley Townsman.
(Brookline) Boys cross country continues unbeaten (Oct 6)
Contains coverage of the Bay State Invitational, Brookline's meet against Walpole, and the rise Brookline's outstanding sophomore class.
(Weymouth) In Cruise Control (Oct 12)
Coverage of the unbeaten Weymouth Girls team (now 9-0) as they prepare for their showdown with Newton North next Tuesday.
L-S boys end C-C harrier streak (Oct 12)
Running on Empty (Oct 12)
You think NNHS was the only program defending a winning streak? Read about how Lincoln-Sudbury snapped Concord-Carlisle's five-year dual meet win streak, and how Hopedale snapped Whitsinville Christian's six-year streak.
October 12, 2005
Around the Bay State League
In spite of the rain, a number of BSC meets were held yesterday.
Of course Newton North swept Braintree and Dedham, 15-48 and 15-50, respectively. David Polgar remained the only unbeaten runner in the BSC.
Weymouth fell to visiting Brookline 24-35, as Brookline placed 1-4-5-6-8-9-10. It's tough to win a meet when the other team puts seven runners in front of your fourth. Newton North runs against Weymouth on Tuesday 10/18 in what is shaping up to be a very good meet for both the girls and boys. Weymouth girls are undefeated (9-0), while North is 8-1, having lost only to Wellesley.
Unofficial League standings as of 10/12:
Boys:
BSL Carey:
1) Brookline 9-0
2) Newton North 8-1
3) Weymouth 7-2
4) Needham 6-3
5) Framingham 4-5
6) Braintree 1-8
BSL Herget
1) Wellesley 9-0
2) Natick 5-4
3) Walpole 3-6
4) Norwood 2-7
5) Milton 1-8
6) Dedham 0-9
Girls:
BSL Carey
1) Weymouth 9-0
2) Newton North 8-1
3) Needham 6-3
4) Brookline 3-6
5) Framingham 2-7
6) Braintree 0-9
BSL Herget
1) Wellesley 8-1
2) Natick 7-2
3) Walpole 5-4
4) Milton 4-5
5) Norwood 1-8
5) Dedham 1-8
Of course Newton North swept Braintree and Dedham, 15-48 and 15-50, respectively. David Polgar remained the only unbeaten runner in the BSC.
Weymouth fell to visiting Brookline 24-35, as Brookline placed 1-4-5-6-8-9-10. It's tough to win a meet when the other team puts seven runners in front of your fourth. Newton North runs against Weymouth on Tuesday 10/18 in what is shaping up to be a very good meet for both the girls and boys. Weymouth girls are undefeated (9-0), while North is 8-1, having lost only to Wellesley.
Unofficial League standings as of 10/12:
Boys:
BSL Carey:
1) Brookline 9-0
2) Newton North 8-1
3) Weymouth 7-2
4) Needham 6-3
5) Framingham 4-5
6) Braintree 1-8
BSL Herget
1) Wellesley 9-0
2) Natick 5-4
3) Walpole 3-6
4) Norwood 2-7
5) Milton 1-8
6) Dedham 0-9
Girls:
BSL Carey
1) Weymouth 9-0
2) Newton North 8-1
3) Needham 6-3
4) Brookline 3-6
5) Framingham 2-7
6) Braintree 0-9
BSL Herget
1) Wellesley 8-1
2) Natick 7-2
3) Walpole 5-4
4) Milton 4-5
5) Norwood 1-8
5) Dedham 1-8
October 11, 2005
Flyers and Tigers and Marauders, Oh My!
Waiting for the rain to clear, the mind wanders...
Consider:
Welcome to the world of team nicknames in the Bay State Conference. As you might expect, the sleepy suburban towns of the BSC have adopted nicknames that bristle with barely controlled fury and mayhem. From wild animals to aviators to Native American stereotypes, the team nicknames persist, to the consternation of politically correct educators and to the great delight of local sportwriters.
Here are the school team nicknames for all the schools in the BSC, ranked from least to most offensive:
Least Offensive: Flying Objects
FLYERS - Framingham
ROCKETS - Needham
I like the name "Flyers," although I'm not sure whether it actually refers to aviators, skaters, or Frisbees flung through the air. "Flyer" is perfectly tame, although there is the disadvantage that it's hard to have a Flyer mascot (What does a flyer look like?). Also, flyers don't seem especially competitive. On the other hand, I think "Rockets" is just plain puzzling. The only inanimate nickname of the bunch, "Rockets" suggests 1950's enthusiasm for space travel. It must be hard to cheer for a rocket. For that matter, it must be hard to think up cheers that use the word rocket in clever ways.
Relatively Inoffensive: Wild Animals
MUSTANGS - Norwood
TIGERS - Newton North
WILDCATS - Milton
WILDCATS - Weymouth
These schools were content to play it safe. Who could argue with a "Tiger" or a "Wildcat?" (Well, maybe animal rights activists would prefer that the schools not exploit these clearly endangered species...). Cats have the obvious advantage that they can be ferocious when you need them to be, but soft and cuddly mascots the rest of the time (Think of "George the Tiger"). Norwood doesn't get enough credit for its school team nickname. "Mustangs" is fairly original and suggests a wild, unfettered, and free spirit... roaming untamed through the American Southwest. Never mind that these are exactly the opposite of the qualities valued by HS coaches...
Relatively Offensive: Violent Names
MARAUDERS - Dedham
REBELS - Walpole
WARRIORS - Brookline
"Marauders" and "Warriors" would be ok if they weren't linked to Native American sterotypes and iconography. As it is, Brookline depicts its warrior mascot as a chief in full Native American headress. Dedham depicts its mascot as a Native American brave, going so far as to put it on the sign outside the school. Where is the outrage?
As for the "Rebels," well, are they meant to represent the Colonial rebels, the secessionist South during the Civil War, or teenagers wearing "Question Authority" buttons. At football games, is there some Walpole student who dresses up as Jimmy Dean?
Most Offensive: Blatant Sterotypes
REDMEN - Natick
RED RAIDERS - Wellesley
In this day and age, it's surprising that these names have survived.
Offensive? Inoffensive?
WAMPANOAGS - Braintree
How to characterize Braintree's nickname -- Wampanoags -- the name given to the people who lived in the area long before Braintree had a cross-country team... long before there was an official country to cross. Once those people had been marginalized, their name was taken to represent something strong and capable, but what qualities exactly? The word "Wampanoag" seems to mean "People of the East," although I might be misreading the definition. The Wampanoag people might or might not have been fierce warriors or swift runners. The name itself doesn't offer any clue. Inevitably, in newspaper headlines "Wampanoag" is shortened to "Wamp," which sounds like "whomp!" and gives the name a vaguely belligerent feel.
Pretty silly stuff, I guess.
Or, as Shakespeare wrote long ago, "What's in a name? That which we call a Tiger by any other name would run as fast..."
...or something like that.
Consider:
- When Weymouth competes with Milton, it's always a cat fight.
- When Framingham toes the line against Needham, the sky's the limit.
- When Wellesley battles Natick, both teams see red
Welcome to the world of team nicknames in the Bay State Conference. As you might expect, the sleepy suburban towns of the BSC have adopted nicknames that bristle with barely controlled fury and mayhem. From wild animals to aviators to Native American stereotypes, the team nicknames persist, to the consternation of politically correct educators and to the great delight of local sportwriters.
Here are the school team nicknames for all the schools in the BSC, ranked from least to most offensive:
Least Offensive: Flying Objects
FLYERS - Framingham
ROCKETS - Needham
I like the name "Flyers," although I'm not sure whether it actually refers to aviators, skaters, or Frisbees flung through the air. "Flyer" is perfectly tame, although there is the disadvantage that it's hard to have a Flyer mascot (What does a flyer look like?). Also, flyers don't seem especially competitive. On the other hand, I think "Rockets" is just plain puzzling. The only inanimate nickname of the bunch, "Rockets" suggests 1950's enthusiasm for space travel. It must be hard to cheer for a rocket. For that matter, it must be hard to think up cheers that use the word rocket in clever ways.
Relatively Inoffensive: Wild Animals
MUSTANGS - Norwood
TIGERS - Newton North
WILDCATS - Milton
WILDCATS - Weymouth
These schools were content to play it safe. Who could argue with a "Tiger" or a "Wildcat?" (Well, maybe animal rights activists would prefer that the schools not exploit these clearly endangered species...). Cats have the obvious advantage that they can be ferocious when you need them to be, but soft and cuddly mascots the rest of the time (Think of "George the Tiger"). Norwood doesn't get enough credit for its school team nickname. "Mustangs" is fairly original and suggests a wild, unfettered, and free spirit... roaming untamed through the American Southwest. Never mind that these are exactly the opposite of the qualities valued by HS coaches...
Relatively Offensive: Violent Names
MARAUDERS - Dedham
REBELS - Walpole
WARRIORS - Brookline
"Marauders" and "Warriors" would be ok if they weren't linked to Native American sterotypes and iconography. As it is, Brookline depicts its warrior mascot as a chief in full Native American headress. Dedham depicts its mascot as a Native American brave, going so far as to put it on the sign outside the school. Where is the outrage?
As for the "Rebels," well, are they meant to represent the Colonial rebels, the secessionist South during the Civil War, or teenagers wearing "Question Authority" buttons. At football games, is there some Walpole student who dresses up as Jimmy Dean?
Most Offensive: Blatant Sterotypes
REDMEN - Natick
RED RAIDERS - Wellesley
In this day and age, it's surprising that these names have survived.
Offensive? Inoffensive?
WAMPANOAGS - Braintree
How to characterize Braintree's nickname -- Wampanoags -- the name given to the people who lived in the area long before Braintree had a cross-country team... long before there was an official country to cross. Once those people had been marginalized, their name was taken to represent something strong and capable, but what qualities exactly? The word "Wampanoag" seems to mean "People of the East," although I might be misreading the definition. The Wampanoag people might or might not have been fierce warriors or swift runners. The name itself doesn't offer any clue. Inevitably, in newspaper headlines "Wampanoag" is shortened to "Wamp," which sounds like "whomp!" and gives the name a vaguely belligerent feel.
Pretty silly stuff, I guess.
Or, as Shakespeare wrote long ago, "What's in a name? That which we call a Tiger by any other name would run as fast..."
...or something like that.
October 10, 2005
"Talent is a myth"
A reader writes...
"Could you possibly write an entry about your opinion about the quote 'talent is a myth?' I've gotten in many arguments about that question."
.. always happy to oblige!
What is talent?
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines talent as "a natural endowment" or "gift" -- an ability that you have been given and (by implication) that you never had to earn for yourself.
We all know people who have a talent for music, math, art, or sport. While others struggle to achieve basic proficiency, the talented one displays an apparently effortless mastery. One thinks of famous prodigies, such as Mozart, who composed his first symphony at age eight; Leonhard Euler, who made major contributions to the field of number theory in his teens; Sammy Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer, who were chess masters as children.
What about distance running? Are there prodigies in distance running as well? And what does that mean for the rest of us?
In 1970, Sports Illustrated put 18-year old Steve Prefontaine on its cover with the headline "America's Distance Running Prodigy." Since I was myself a young runner, you can imagine I read that story many times over, and one thing I remember is Oregon coach Bill Bowerman claiming that Pre had been uniquely blessed with a superior cardiovascular system. A natural talent, right?
But in that same article, Oregon Asst. Coach Bill Dellinger was quoted as follows:
"The kid is just plain amazing. Usually it takes guys in our event ten or twelve years to build confidence in themselves, the confidence you need to win. Here's a young man who has the right attitude naturally. He wouldn't be afraid to stand on the line against anybody in the world in the three mile. If the competition is tough or the wind is blowing like crazy or if it's awfully hot, hell that's not going to stop him. There is nothing in running he doesn't believe he can't do."
As a freshman in high school, Prefontaine had gone out for football but was a 100-lb. benchwarmer. He had no natural talent for football. When he discovered running, he discovered a sport in which he could excel, and he had a burning desire to excel so he drove himself to improve. He ran constantly. By the time he was a junior in high school he was a state champion. A few years later he would hold seven American records in track at distances from 2000 to 10,000 meters.
Prefontaine's development illustrates nicely the real part that talent plays, and the insufficiency of talent as an explanation for ultimate success.
To begin with, most people don't really understand what a talent for distance running looks like.
It's not like sprinting, where natural speed is fairly evident even in someone who hasn't trained. Of course, no sprinter will reach their potential or become a champion without backbreaking training, but no amount of training will make a champion sprinter out of someone who doesn't have a talent for sprinting.
And it's not like baseball or soccer where a degree of natural hand-eye or foot-eye coordination is of paramount importance.
No, a talent for distance running can be completely invisible, lurking undiscovered in an individual who has failed at every other sport he or she has tried. Now this doesn't describe ALL distance runners, but it describes some of them. The reason is that distance running success is dependent on the body's ability to assimilate and use oxygen. Without a prodigious ability to use the stuff, you can't sustain maximum effort for the time required to run 5K. And here's the thing: people don't start out with this ability very highly developed.
This is where talent comes in. Some people have a gift -- there's no other word for it -- for improving their aerobic fitness (the ability to lope along at a sub-maximal pace for long periods of time). These "high responders" might have zero sprinting talent, but their bodies are somehow programmed to respond to high volume training by adapting to that training to an extreme degree. Everyone adapts to training, but not everyone adapts the same. High responders are at the far end of the adaptation curve.
So how can you tell who is a high responder? That's the thing. You can't tell by looking at someone. The secret of their ability lies buried deep in the mitochondria of their cells. You simply don't know who is going to keep getting better and better as they train more and more. And we're talking about training over a period of several years.
At the end of the day, there's no way to tell whether you personally have transcendant "talent" for distance running without training your a** off. And if you do train your a** off, you'll realize that you *do* have at least one talent -- a talent for persistence and dedication and toughness. Then the question of whether you have the talent to win an Olympic gold medal becomes irrelevant. You will be better, stronger, fitter, and wiser than you were before. As Emil Zatopek said, "you will have grown in more ways than one."
No, talent is not a myth; it's real. In fact, you can find it anywhere you care to look. Arthur Lydiard wrote that there were potential champions in every small village and town on earth. However, there is nothing more common than someone with talent, but not the will to develop it. You might have the cardiovascular system of a deer, but if you don't have the mind the train your cardiovascular system you will be beaten by those who do.
Talent is not a myth.
Talent ALONE is the myth.
"Could you possibly write an entry about your opinion about the quote 'talent is a myth?' I've gotten in many arguments about that question."
.. always happy to oblige!
What is talent?
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines talent as "a natural endowment" or "gift" -- an ability that you have been given and (by implication) that you never had to earn for yourself.
We all know people who have a talent for music, math, art, or sport. While others struggle to achieve basic proficiency, the talented one displays an apparently effortless mastery. One thinks of famous prodigies, such as Mozart, who composed his first symphony at age eight; Leonhard Euler, who made major contributions to the field of number theory in his teens; Sammy Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer, who were chess masters as children.
What about distance running? Are there prodigies in distance running as well? And what does that mean for the rest of us?
In 1970, Sports Illustrated put 18-year old Steve Prefontaine on its cover with the headline "America's Distance Running Prodigy." Since I was myself a young runner, you can imagine I read that story many times over, and one thing I remember is Oregon coach Bill Bowerman claiming that Pre had been uniquely blessed with a superior cardiovascular system. A natural talent, right?
But in that same article, Oregon Asst. Coach Bill Dellinger was quoted as follows:
"The kid is just plain amazing. Usually it takes guys in our event ten or twelve years to build confidence in themselves, the confidence you need to win. Here's a young man who has the right attitude naturally. He wouldn't be afraid to stand on the line against anybody in the world in the three mile. If the competition is tough or the wind is blowing like crazy or if it's awfully hot, hell that's not going to stop him. There is nothing in running he doesn't believe he can't do."
As a freshman in high school, Prefontaine had gone out for football but was a 100-lb. benchwarmer. He had no natural talent for football. When he discovered running, he discovered a sport in which he could excel, and he had a burning desire to excel so he drove himself to improve. He ran constantly. By the time he was a junior in high school he was a state champion. A few years later he would hold seven American records in track at distances from 2000 to 10,000 meters.
Prefontaine's development illustrates nicely the real part that talent plays, and the insufficiency of talent as an explanation for ultimate success.
To begin with, most people don't really understand what a talent for distance running looks like.
It's not like sprinting, where natural speed is fairly evident even in someone who hasn't trained. Of course, no sprinter will reach their potential or become a champion without backbreaking training, but no amount of training will make a champion sprinter out of someone who doesn't have a talent for sprinting.
And it's not like baseball or soccer where a degree of natural hand-eye or foot-eye coordination is of paramount importance.
No, a talent for distance running can be completely invisible, lurking undiscovered in an individual who has failed at every other sport he or she has tried. Now this doesn't describe ALL distance runners, but it describes some of them. The reason is that distance running success is dependent on the body's ability to assimilate and use oxygen. Without a prodigious ability to use the stuff, you can't sustain maximum effort for the time required to run 5K. And here's the thing: people don't start out with this ability very highly developed.
This is where talent comes in. Some people have a gift -- there's no other word for it -- for improving their aerobic fitness (the ability to lope along at a sub-maximal pace for long periods of time). These "high responders" might have zero sprinting talent, but their bodies are somehow programmed to respond to high volume training by adapting to that training to an extreme degree. Everyone adapts to training, but not everyone adapts the same. High responders are at the far end of the adaptation curve.
So how can you tell who is a high responder? That's the thing. You can't tell by looking at someone. The secret of their ability lies buried deep in the mitochondria of their cells. You simply don't know who is going to keep getting better and better as they train more and more. And we're talking about training over a period of several years.
At the end of the day, there's no way to tell whether you personally have transcendant "talent" for distance running without training your a** off. And if you do train your a** off, you'll realize that you *do* have at least one talent -- a talent for persistence and dedication and toughness. Then the question of whether you have the talent to win an Olympic gold medal becomes irrelevant. You will be better, stronger, fitter, and wiser than you were before. As Emil Zatopek said, "you will have grown in more ways than one."
No, talent is not a myth; it's real. In fact, you can find it anywhere you care to look. Arthur Lydiard wrote that there were potential champions in every small village and town on earth. However, there is nothing more common than someone with talent, but not the will to develop it. You might have the cardiovascular system of a deer, but if you don't have the mind the train your cardiovascular system you will be beaten by those who do.
Talent is not a myth.
Talent ALONE is the myth.
October 08, 2005
Alumni News - NE Collegiates @ Franklin Park
The New England Collegeiate Cross Country Championships were held at Franklin Park in Boston on Saturday in a light rain. It was a great chance to see many athletes who competed for local high high schools.
Several Newton North Alumni competed:
In the Women's Varsity 5K, Liz Gleason (Williams '08) placed 18th overall and 3rd on her team in a personal best 18:36. The Williams women placed 2nd out of 44 teams at the meet.
Also in the women's varsity race, Anna Schindler (Wesleyan '09) placed 208th in 20:58. Teammate Brittany Morse sat out the race due to achilles tendonitis.
In the Men's varsity race, Clayton Lloyd (Brandeis '09) placed 158th in an 8K PR of 27:26 and was 45th man for the Judges. Clayton ran his trademark race -- staying back and under control through the early stages and then moving up many places in the final 3K.
Jason Abbott-Dallamora (New Haven '08) competed in his first race since recovering from a back injury and ran 31:34. Jason also ran a patient race, passing about 15 runners in the second half of the race.
Ciaran O'Donovan (Tufts '07) ran in the men's sub-varsity race and placed 175th in 29:55.
Several Newton North Alumni competed:
In the Women's Varsity 5K, Liz Gleason (Williams '08) placed 18th overall and 3rd on her team in a personal best 18:36. The Williams women placed 2nd out of 44 teams at the meet.
Also in the women's varsity race, Anna Schindler (Wesleyan '09) placed 208th in 20:58. Teammate Brittany Morse sat out the race due to achilles tendonitis.
In the Men's varsity race, Clayton Lloyd (Brandeis '09) placed 158th in an 8K PR of 27:26 and was 45th man for the Judges. Clayton ran his trademark race -- staying back and under control through the early stages and then moving up many places in the final 3K.
Jason Abbott-Dallamora (New Haven '08) competed in his first race since recovering from a back injury and ran 31:34. Jason also ran a patient race, passing about 15 runners in the second half of the race.
Ciaran O'Donovan (Tufts '07) ran in the men's sub-varsity race and placed 175th in 29:55.
October 07, 2005
Roger Bannister
I watched "Four Minutes" last night.
I seriously doubt that Roger Bannister ever ran a race without warming up, or showed up at a track meet a minute before his event was scheduled. I also doubt whether a 19-year old upper-class English lad speaking to his young lady friend in the late 1940's would use the word "bloody."
Did they really count the laps UP from 1 to 4, instead of down? Would someone please research that for me...
The movie made it seem like an accident that Bannister ever ran a single race for Oxford. Huh. Also, you'd never know that he ran other events, was a world-class half-miler, for example, that he frequently competed for his school in inter-collegiate meets...
Graham Wood, the actor who played Chris Chataway (one of Bannister's pacers in his four-minute attempt), looked a little top-heavy to be a world-class runner. During the climactic racing scene, I kept thinking "Bannister must be running really slowly, if he can barely beat that guy...""
On film, the four-minute race takes 4:39.
All in all, I'd rather watch real runners.
Here's a link to old footage of the "Miracle Mile" in which Bannister and Landy (the only two men to run under four minutes for a mile at the time) finally met in competition. Watch Landy look back over his left shoulder at precisely the wrong instant.
I seriously doubt that Roger Bannister ever ran a race without warming up, or showed up at a track meet a minute before his event was scheduled. I also doubt whether a 19-year old upper-class English lad speaking to his young lady friend in the late 1940's would use the word "bloody."
Did they really count the laps UP from 1 to 4, instead of down? Would someone please research that for me...
The movie made it seem like an accident that Bannister ever ran a single race for Oxford. Huh. Also, you'd never know that he ran other events, was a world-class half-miler, for example, that he frequently competed for his school in inter-collegiate meets...
Graham Wood, the actor who played Chris Chataway (one of Bannister's pacers in his four-minute attempt), looked a little top-heavy to be a world-class runner. During the climactic racing scene, I kept thinking "Bannister must be running really slowly, if he can barely beat that guy...""
On film, the four-minute race takes 4:39.
All in all, I'd rather watch real runners.
Here's a link to old footage of the "Miracle Mile" in which Bannister and Landy (the only two men to run under four minutes for a mile at the time) finally met in competition. Watch Landy look back over his left shoulder at precisely the wrong instant.
October 06, 2005
The Kids are Alright
"In a meet that brought out the best from both teams, the Wellesley boys ended Newton North's four-year reign over the Bay State Conference by the slimmest of margins..."
When I write stories for the NNHS-XC website, I often struggle to find the right words to capture the spirit of the moment. But last night, having lingered a while at the edge of the Walpole town forest, the words quoted above flashed into my mind on their own. In this case, the spirit of the moment was quite willing to express itself without my intervention.
It was a terrific cross-country meet, one of the most anticipated and exciting meets I have ever experienced as a competitor or as coach. Both teams ran valiantly. Both teams deserved to win. The competition elevated both teams, and elevated the mutual respect between them.
With Wellesley holding an early advantage, Newton fought back as Noah Jampol, Seb Putzeys, and Ben Chebot ran their best races of the season so far, moving up against an extremeley deep and capable Wellesley pack. In the final four hundred meters of the race, the relative score of the teams changed not once, but several times, as Wellesley's Erich Reinhard and Tom Mayell overtook a courageous run by North's Noah Jampol, and then Seb caught and passed Wellesley's 4th and 5th runners, and Ben caught Wellesley's 7th runner. Seb's final 50 meters in which he gave everything he had to hold off Wellesley's Nick Carroll was outstanding and shows how far Seb has come in developing as a runner.
The times were very fast. When Newton last ran this course in 2002, then sophomore Chris Barnicle ran 14:37, and Pat Pierce ran 15:04. Those two would go 1-2 in the Bay State Conference meet that year, and Barnicle would go on to win the EMass Div I meet in 15:53 at Franklin Park. Yesterday, Polgar and Meade ran 14:20 and 14:25. Brecher ran 14:50. Reinhard and Mayell ran 15:00 and 15:05.
The only cloud in the sky occured after the meet when Mike Mahon, Natick's self-styled cross-country guru, announced in a loud voice that Newton North had won the meet 27-28. Not only was he wrong about the score, he was wrong to say anything about the score before official results were in. Credit goes to the Walpole coach, Tim Giblin, for maintaining his cool and making sure all the coaches had the results in hand and understood the tiebreaking procedure before announcing the actual result.
Oh, and the tiebreaker... It's very simple. If after the team's top five scorers have been counted the result is a tie, then the team with the faster sixth man wins. Wellesley had the faster sixth man and they won. Any protests to the contrary, Wellesley was the better team on Wednesday -- if only by the slimmest of margins.
It reminded me of that famous football headline from the 1968 Harvard-Yale game,
"Harvard Wins 29-29!"
I thought about using the headline "Wellesley Wins 28-28" but figured no one would appreciate the reference.
I'm sorry not to give equal press to the girls meet. Unlike three years ago, when the girls meet was THE outstanding dual meet of the year, yesterday's meet was over soon after it began. The race between Wellesley's Brielle Chabot and Jess Barton turned out not to be the difference. The difference was the depth of Wellesley's pack, which simply overwhlemed the Tigers, despit fine performances from Haleigh Smith (5th) and Carolyn Ranti (6th).
As Coach Peter Martin said, "This [Wellesley] team reminds me of my teams." Deep, talented, and confident.
When I write stories for the NNHS-XC website, I often struggle to find the right words to capture the spirit of the moment. But last night, having lingered a while at the edge of the Walpole town forest, the words quoted above flashed into my mind on their own. In this case, the spirit of the moment was quite willing to express itself without my intervention.
It was a terrific cross-country meet, one of the most anticipated and exciting meets I have ever experienced as a competitor or as coach. Both teams ran valiantly. Both teams deserved to win. The competition elevated both teams, and elevated the mutual respect between them.
With Wellesley holding an early advantage, Newton fought back as Noah Jampol, Seb Putzeys, and Ben Chebot ran their best races of the season so far, moving up against an extremeley deep and capable Wellesley pack. In the final four hundred meters of the race, the relative score of the teams changed not once, but several times, as Wellesley's Erich Reinhard and Tom Mayell overtook a courageous run by North's Noah Jampol, and then Seb caught and passed Wellesley's 4th and 5th runners, and Ben caught Wellesley's 7th runner. Seb's final 50 meters in which he gave everything he had to hold off Wellesley's Nick Carroll was outstanding and shows how far Seb has come in developing as a runner.
The times were very fast. When Newton last ran this course in 2002, then sophomore Chris Barnicle ran 14:37, and Pat Pierce ran 15:04. Those two would go 1-2 in the Bay State Conference meet that year, and Barnicle would go on to win the EMass Div I meet in 15:53 at Franklin Park. Yesterday, Polgar and Meade ran 14:20 and 14:25. Brecher ran 14:50. Reinhard and Mayell ran 15:00 and 15:05.
The only cloud in the sky occured after the meet when Mike Mahon, Natick's self-styled cross-country guru, announced in a loud voice that Newton North had won the meet 27-28. Not only was he wrong about the score, he was wrong to say anything about the score before official results were in. Credit goes to the Walpole coach, Tim Giblin, for maintaining his cool and making sure all the coaches had the results in hand and understood the tiebreaking procedure before announcing the actual result.
Oh, and the tiebreaker... It's very simple. If after the team's top five scorers have been counted the result is a tie, then the team with the faster sixth man wins. Wellesley had the faster sixth man and they won. Any protests to the contrary, Wellesley was the better team on Wednesday -- if only by the slimmest of margins.
It reminded me of that famous football headline from the 1968 Harvard-Yale game,
"Harvard Wins 29-29!"
I thought about using the headline "Wellesley Wins 28-28" but figured no one would appreciate the reference.
I'm sorry not to give equal press to the girls meet. Unlike three years ago, when the girls meet was THE outstanding dual meet of the year, yesterday's meet was over soon after it began. The race between Wellesley's Brielle Chabot and Jess Barton turned out not to be the difference. The difference was the depth of Wellesley's pack, which simply overwhlemed the Tigers, despit fine performances from Haleigh Smith (5th) and Carolyn Ranti (6th).
As Coach Peter Martin said, "This [Wellesley] team reminds me of my teams." Deep, talented, and confident.
October 05, 2005
Showdown
It's ridiculously early Wednesday morning and a thick fog muffles every sound in the dark street including the slapping of running shoes against asphalt as I perform the ritual of my morning run. I have heard that the early fog is supposed to burn off by the afternoon, revealing another fine fall day. I think about today's meet against Wellesley, and it occurs to me that, like the weather, today will begin with vague shapes and indistinct impressions, and will end in bright certainty.
Newton North vs. Wellesley. Two defending state champion teams (Wellesley girls, Newton North boys) and one defending state champion individual (Jess Barton). And none of that makes any difference or counts for a thing once the race is underway. It is a certified showdown, with many questions to be answered. By the way, forget about Walpole -- they are the hosts but have no hope of winning today against either one of the BSC's powerhouse programs.
So what to watch for in today's races? I've thought a lot about this meet over the past two months, and here's what I think are the key issues for each of the teams
1. The top spot
Has Jess Barton recovered from last week's illness and sub-par performance at the Bay State Invite? If so, she wins over Wellesley's Brielle Chabot, and that's a battle the Tigers have to win to have a chance. A similar issue applies to the boys race, where David Polgar must overcome his recent knee problems and assert himself as the best runner in the BSC. As with the girls race, if North can't win the top spot, they can't win the meet.
2. Doug Brecher must stay on course
Literally and figuratively, Doug Brecher must stay on course today and finish first or second. He must avoid beoming over-stimulated by nerves and hype in school today; he must not insult the other teams on the starting line; he must keep his head during the race and not take a wrong turn; he must not let small obstacles or minor annoyances distract him from the main objective.
3. The youth movement must come through
Carolyn Ranti showed that she is a force to be reckoned with by winning the Bay State freshman race. Today she won't be able to run away from the field. Instead, she and Haleigh Smith must run an intelligent and purposeful race from the first strides across the field, to the final strides on the track. These two must break up Wellesley's depth, and then hope another of the freshmen, or Szeman can break into Wellesley's top seven.
4. Let's get down to business
In all honesty, the North boys have been coasting through their meets so far. There have been moments when the potential has been evident, most recently when Seb Putzeys and Ben Chebot ran so well against Norwood, but the team as a whole has not shown what it is made of. Yet. Noah Jampol needs to run with confidence, remembering all those 2:20 halves he did with Doug a couple of weeks ago. Seb and Ben will have a chance to show that they are varsity runners to be reckoned with. Alex Polizzotti needs to have himself a RACE, and not just another run. Peter Sun and Charlie Krasnow need to run with measured efficiency in the early stages of the race, and with fury and commitment at the end. This meet is the true beginning of the forging of the identity of the 2005 team.
5. The mind of the enemy
How will Wellesley run their races? Three years ago, both of Wellesley's teams ran with impetuous lack of caution, taking early leads and fading badly. Both Wellesley teams are more mature and have learned how to race. How will the girls team handle Barton? How will the boys team handle Polgar and Brecher? Will they pursue a suicidal pace, or lie back in wait? Will they run as a team or as a bunch of individuals?
6. The track finish
It is more than probable that at least one of the races will be decided in the final sprint around the Walpole HS track. Someone will outkick someone else and that will be the difference in the meet. Who will have more guts and determination when it comes down to those final few hundred yards?
Newton North vs. Wellesley. Two defending state champion teams (Wellesley girls, Newton North boys) and one defending state champion individual (Jess Barton). And none of that makes any difference or counts for a thing once the race is underway. It is a certified showdown, with many questions to be answered. By the way, forget about Walpole -- they are the hosts but have no hope of winning today against either one of the BSC's powerhouse programs.
So what to watch for in today's races? I've thought a lot about this meet over the past two months, and here's what I think are the key issues for each of the teams
1. The top spot
Has Jess Barton recovered from last week's illness and sub-par performance at the Bay State Invite? If so, she wins over Wellesley's Brielle Chabot, and that's a battle the Tigers have to win to have a chance. A similar issue applies to the boys race, where David Polgar must overcome his recent knee problems and assert himself as the best runner in the BSC. As with the girls race, if North can't win the top spot, they can't win the meet.
2. Doug Brecher must stay on course
Literally and figuratively, Doug Brecher must stay on course today and finish first or second. He must avoid beoming over-stimulated by nerves and hype in school today; he must not insult the other teams on the starting line; he must keep his head during the race and not take a wrong turn; he must not let small obstacles or minor annoyances distract him from the main objective.
3. The youth movement must come through
Carolyn Ranti showed that she is a force to be reckoned with by winning the Bay State freshman race. Today she won't be able to run away from the field. Instead, she and Haleigh Smith must run an intelligent and purposeful race from the first strides across the field, to the final strides on the track. These two must break up Wellesley's depth, and then hope another of the freshmen, or Szeman can break into Wellesley's top seven.
4. Let's get down to business
In all honesty, the North boys have been coasting through their meets so far. There have been moments when the potential has been evident, most recently when Seb Putzeys and Ben Chebot ran so well against Norwood, but the team as a whole has not shown what it is made of. Yet. Noah Jampol needs to run with confidence, remembering all those 2:20 halves he did with Doug a couple of weeks ago. Seb and Ben will have a chance to show that they are varsity runners to be reckoned with. Alex Polizzotti needs to have himself a RACE, and not just another run. Peter Sun and Charlie Krasnow need to run with measured efficiency in the early stages of the race, and with fury and commitment at the end. This meet is the true beginning of the forging of the identity of the 2005 team.
5. The mind of the enemy
How will Wellesley run their races? Three years ago, both of Wellesley's teams ran with impetuous lack of caution, taking early leads and fading badly. Both Wellesley teams are more mature and have learned how to race. How will the girls team handle Barton? How will the boys team handle Polgar and Brecher? Will they pursue a suicidal pace, or lie back in wait? Will they run as a team or as a bunch of individuals?
6. The track finish
It is more than probable that at least one of the races will be decided in the final sprint around the Walpole HS track. Someone will outkick someone else and that will be the difference in the meet. Who will have more guts and determination when it comes down to those final few hundred yards?
October 04, 2005
Brothers, Sisters
Sometimes you know from the first day of practice that a runner has talent and could be really good. Sometimes you have no idea, and you don't realize that someone is going to be really good until they've been running for a while. It's plain hard to predict success in a sport like cross-country, where it might take years of training, tempered by growing maturity for the true abilities of an athlete to emerge.
So one can't help be excited when genetics seems to offer you a shortcut, presenting you with a runner who is the younger sibling of an athlete who has already left his or her mark. It seems a bit easier to make predictions, then...
But is it?
There are lots of examples where the brothers or sisters of former greats became great themselves. One thinks of the Tom and George McArdle of Brookline who helped Brookline go undefeated in XC for five years; Andy and Sara Powell of Oliver Ames (Andy ran a 4:06 mile; Sara ran 4:58); Abdulgani and Khalil Abdi of Brockton; Keith Gill and Kevin Gill of Brockton; and the list goes on...
In the Bay State League right now, there are younger brothers and sisters making their own marks on the XC scene. At Newton North, younger brothers Ben Chebot and Seb Putzeys are a huge part of the team's success so far.
Ben is the younger brother of Jesse and Dan Chebot, twins who graduated in 2005. Jesse's an avid bike racer now, and had a remarkable XC career, improving from 25 minutes for 5K his freshman year to 18:10 his senior year. Dan was the better XC runner, and ran a 16:28 5K as part of the State Champion team. As a sophomore, Ben has shown he is a runner to be reckoned with, as he has moved up to the fifth spot in the Tiger's pack.
Seb Putzeys is the younger brother of Olivier, who ran for North in the late 90's and won the league title in the 2-mile his senior year. He also has an older brother who is a strong swimmer. Seb has made good progress in his two seasons of XC and one of track and is 4th for the Tigers in most meets behind the trio of seniors.
In the case of these two, the younger brothers give every indication of equaling or surpassing their older siblings, a coach's dream come true! But it's not always the case. Sometimes, the younger brother or sister has different talents or inclinations and has no interest in competing with the departed older sibling. It could be a burden to live up to other's expectations.
Siblings might have a little bit better idea of what to expect in terms of progress over the years, but ultimately -- whether a younger sibling or not -- each runner has to find his or her own way. But I can imagine that beating the times of an older sibling who has beaten you up your entire life might be sweet revenge.
So one can't help be excited when genetics seems to offer you a shortcut, presenting you with a runner who is the younger sibling of an athlete who has already left his or her mark. It seems a bit easier to make predictions, then...
But is it?
There are lots of examples where the brothers or sisters of former greats became great themselves. One thinks of the Tom and George McArdle of Brookline who helped Brookline go undefeated in XC for five years; Andy and Sara Powell of Oliver Ames (Andy ran a 4:06 mile; Sara ran 4:58); Abdulgani and Khalil Abdi of Brockton; Keith Gill and Kevin Gill of Brockton; and the list goes on...
In the Bay State League right now, there are younger brothers and sisters making their own marks on the XC scene. At Newton North, younger brothers Ben Chebot and Seb Putzeys are a huge part of the team's success so far.
Ben is the younger brother of Jesse and Dan Chebot, twins who graduated in 2005. Jesse's an avid bike racer now, and had a remarkable XC career, improving from 25 minutes for 5K his freshman year to 18:10 his senior year. Dan was the better XC runner, and ran a 16:28 5K as part of the State Champion team. As a sophomore, Ben has shown he is a runner to be reckoned with, as he has moved up to the fifth spot in the Tiger's pack.
Seb Putzeys is the younger brother of Olivier, who ran for North in the late 90's and won the league title in the 2-mile his senior year. He also has an older brother who is a strong swimmer. Seb has made good progress in his two seasons of XC and one of track and is 4th for the Tigers in most meets behind the trio of seniors.
In the case of these two, the younger brothers give every indication of equaling or surpassing their older siblings, a coach's dream come true! But it's not always the case. Sometimes, the younger brother or sister has different talents or inclinations and has no interest in competing with the departed older sibling. It could be a burden to live up to other's expectations.
Siblings might have a little bit better idea of what to expect in terms of progress over the years, but ultimately -- whether a younger sibling or not -- each runner has to find his or her own way. But I can imagine that beating the times of an older sibling who has beaten you up your entire life might be sweet revenge.
October 03, 2005
The Best Running Movies
With the anticipated broadcast of "Four Minutes" -- an ESPN movie that chronicles Roger Banniester's attempt to become the first man to run the mile in under 4:00.0 -- it seems fitting to offer my opinion about other movies that have managed to capture something of the magic of running on the silver screen.
I admit, there aren't that many to choose from. Hollywood has never seemed particularly smitten with the dramatic possibilities inherent in running. One might almost conclude that runners are boring people, but we know that is not the case. I guess it will remain a mystery why we aren't good at the box office.
Anyway, here's one man's list of the Bronze, Silver and Gold running movies ever made:
Bronze: Running Brave
A somewhat dated film about American Billy Mills, a Native American Sioux, who pulled off one of the greatest Olympic upsets in history to win the gold medal in the 10000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. I have watched the actual race on film dozens of times, and it is still shocking to see the virtually unknown Mills charge past the world's best and win. The movie isn't so much about running as about the burden of living between two worlds -- the world of the reservation, with its tight-knit community but little hope for anything better, and the world of the mostly white University of Kansas.
Silver: Without Limits
One of two movies made about the Life and early death of Steve Prefontaine, "America's Distance Running Prodigy." Prefontaine had rock star appeal, a fierce individual spirit, and a ferocious front-running mentality that brought him both glory and heartache in his only Olympic appearance. The movie itself is not a work of art, but is redeemed by the performances of Billy Crudup as Pre, and Donald Sutherland as the enigmatic Oregon Coach, Bill Bowerman. In some ways, Bowerman was every bit as interesting a character as Prefontaine, and Sutherland very nearly steals the film.
Gold: Chariots of Fire
The gold medalist among running movies, Chariots of Fire is a mostly true account of a handful of British runners leading up to the 1924 Olympic Games. At the center of the film is Harold Abrahams, a brilliant and ambitious son of a Jewish businessman who demands respect from the anti-semetic upper crust of British society, and vows to take on all those who would keep him down and "run them off their feet." His chief rival is the preternaturally talented Eric Liddell, a Scottish footballer who has devoted his life to Christian missionary work. Their intertwined stories, and those of several other athletes who succeed or fail in their Olympic quests, are told to the background of a sublime musical score by Vangelis.
I admit, there aren't that many to choose from. Hollywood has never seemed particularly smitten with the dramatic possibilities inherent in running. One might almost conclude that runners are boring people, but we know that is not the case. I guess it will remain a mystery why we aren't good at the box office.
Anyway, here's one man's list of the Bronze, Silver and Gold running movies ever made:
Bronze: Running Brave
A somewhat dated film about American Billy Mills, a Native American Sioux, who pulled off one of the greatest Olympic upsets in history to win the gold medal in the 10000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. I have watched the actual race on film dozens of times, and it is still shocking to see the virtually unknown Mills charge past the world's best and win. The movie isn't so much about running as about the burden of living between two worlds -- the world of the reservation, with its tight-knit community but little hope for anything better, and the world of the mostly white University of Kansas.
Silver: Without Limits
One of two movies made about the Life and early death of Steve Prefontaine, "America's Distance Running Prodigy." Prefontaine had rock star appeal, a fierce individual spirit, and a ferocious front-running mentality that brought him both glory and heartache in his only Olympic appearance. The movie itself is not a work of art, but is redeemed by the performances of Billy Crudup as Pre, and Donald Sutherland as the enigmatic Oregon Coach, Bill Bowerman. In some ways, Bowerman was every bit as interesting a character as Prefontaine, and Sutherland very nearly steals the film.
Gold: Chariots of Fire
The gold medalist among running movies, Chariots of Fire is a mostly true account of a handful of British runners leading up to the 1924 Olympic Games. At the center of the film is Harold Abrahams, a brilliant and ambitious son of a Jewish businessman who demands respect from the anti-semetic upper crust of British society, and vows to take on all those who would keep him down and "run them off their feet." His chief rival is the preternaturally talented Eric Liddell, a Scottish footballer who has devoted his life to Christian missionary work. Their intertwined stories, and those of several other athletes who succeed or fail in their Olympic quests, are told to the background of a sublime musical score by Vangelis.
October 02, 2005
At the Bay State Invitational
Thoughts gathered while spectating at Franklin Park on Saturday...
Newton North's Carolyn Ranti looked terrific winning the Div I Freshman Girls Race. Her time of 12:06 for 3K is the fastest in the Girls' freshman race at this meet in over five years...with the exception of the 11:49 run by Bromfield freshman Emily Jones in the Div II race in the morning. The North freshman did quite well, finishing 3rd in the Div I team scoring.
Matias Carrasco failed to finish the Boys Div I varsity race (bad ankle). With Matias, Brookline is a formidable team. Without him, they are still good, but other teams are better. Will he be healthy for the NNHS v. Brookline dual meet on October 25th?
You can't always draw conclusions about the rest of the season from the times run at the Bay State meet. Some runners will improve by a minute or more over 5K. Other slip backward. In his sophomore year, Chris Barnicle ran 16:32 at this meet and finished 7th. Five weeks later he ran 15:53 and won the EMass Div I meet.
Jess Barton struggled. She wasn't the only runner who had a tough time. Bay State rival Weymouth's Becca MacDonald, who has been running terrific times all Fall, faded badly and finished far back. It happens.
Among BSC teams, Weymouth's boys had a sub-par meet. Only two of their runners broke 18:00, and their #3 guy dropped out with 400m to go. Apparently Wellesley's girls and boys teams skipped the meet to prepare for the meet against Newton on Oct. 5th.
The Amherst girls look very good. So do the Newton South girls.
Throw in Geovanni Timberlake, tehir fourth man, and the Brockton boys look very strong with four runners well under 17:00. Cambridge shocked everyone by winning the Boys Div I team race. They better find a sixth man or hope their top five stay healthy. Their fifth man on Saturday ran 17:05... their sixth man ran 18:29.
Colleen Weatherbee of Dennis Yarmouth broke 19:00 and looked like she could go faster. She will give Jess a run for her money when both are healthy.
Newton North's Carolyn Ranti looked terrific winning the Div I Freshman Girls Race. Her time of 12:06 for 3K is the fastest in the Girls' freshman race at this meet in over five years...with the exception of the 11:49 run by Bromfield freshman Emily Jones in the Div II race in the morning. The North freshman did quite well, finishing 3rd in the Div I team scoring.
Matias Carrasco failed to finish the Boys Div I varsity race (bad ankle). With Matias, Brookline is a formidable team. Without him, they are still good, but other teams are better. Will he be healthy for the NNHS v. Brookline dual meet on October 25th?
You can't always draw conclusions about the rest of the season from the times run at the Bay State meet. Some runners will improve by a minute or more over 5K. Other slip backward. In his sophomore year, Chris Barnicle ran 16:32 at this meet and finished 7th. Five weeks later he ran 15:53 and won the EMass Div I meet.
Jess Barton struggled. She wasn't the only runner who had a tough time. Bay State rival Weymouth's Becca MacDonald, who has been running terrific times all Fall, faded badly and finished far back. It happens.
Among BSC teams, Weymouth's boys had a sub-par meet. Only two of their runners broke 18:00, and their #3 guy dropped out with 400m to go. Apparently Wellesley's girls and boys teams skipped the meet to prepare for the meet against Newton on Oct. 5th.
The Amherst girls look very good. So do the Newton South girls.
Throw in Geovanni Timberlake, tehir fourth man, and the Brockton boys look very strong with four runners well under 17:00. Cambridge shocked everyone by winning the Boys Div I team race. They better find a sixth man or hope their top five stay healthy. Their fifth man on Saturday ran 17:05... their sixth man ran 18:29.
Colleen Weatherbee of Dennis Yarmouth broke 19:00 and looked like she could go faster. She will give Jess a run for her money when both are healthy.
October 01, 2005
October
Hard to believe it's already October. At our house, we stubbornly refuse to turn on the heat until October 1... it was 61 degrees in my living room when I woke up this morning.
There's a lot to loook forward to this month. Of course, we all hope the Red Sox will be playing well into October. Their magic number for making the postseason is 2 (one win, one Cleveland loss) and for winning the pennant 3 (two wins against New York). Hard to believe it's been almost a year since Doug Mankiewicz caught that throw to first from Keith Foulke.
October is the best month for cross-country. The weather is usually cool and crisp, the scenery spectacular, and the meets are more exciting. Here's a sampling of what's coming up this month:
Oct 1 - Bay State Invitational (NNHS girls compete)
Oct 5 - Showdown between NNHS and Wellesley at Walpole
Oct 8 - Collegiate meet at Franklin Park with many NNHS alumni
Oct 8 - Manhattan Invitational in NYC, biggest HS meet in the East
Oct 15 - Brown Invitational in RI... will NNHS boys race there?
Oct 18 - NNHS Showdown with Weymouth (home)
Oct 25 - NNHS showdown with Brookline (away)
Oct 29 - BSC League meet
Hard to believe that in four short weeks the league season will have ended, and all but a couple of big meets will remain.
And of course, it will be colder and darker. In four weeks (October 30) we'll be turning our clocks back, marking the end of Daylight Savings time. In four weeks, we'll have 70 minutes less daylight every day, and the sun will set at 4:55 p.m. After-school runs will finish in the gloaming.
Hard to believe.
There's a lot to loook forward to this month. Of course, we all hope the Red Sox will be playing well into October. Their magic number for making the postseason is 2 (one win, one Cleveland loss) and for winning the pennant 3 (two wins against New York). Hard to believe it's been almost a year since Doug Mankiewicz caught that throw to first from Keith Foulke.
October is the best month for cross-country. The weather is usually cool and crisp, the scenery spectacular, and the meets are more exciting. Here's a sampling of what's coming up this month:
Oct 1 - Bay State Invitational (NNHS girls compete)
Oct 5 - Showdown between NNHS and Wellesley at Walpole
Oct 8 - Collegiate meet at Franklin Park with many NNHS alumni
Oct 8 - Manhattan Invitational in NYC, biggest HS meet in the East
Oct 15 - Brown Invitational in RI... will NNHS boys race there?
Oct 18 - NNHS Showdown with Weymouth (home)
Oct 25 - NNHS showdown with Brookline (away)
Oct 29 - BSC League meet
Hard to believe that in four short weeks the league season will have ended, and all but a couple of big meets will remain.
And of course, it will be colder and darker. In four weeks (October 30) we'll be turning our clocks back, marking the end of Daylight Savings time. In four weeks, we'll have 70 minutes less daylight every day, and the sun will set at 4:55 p.m. After-school runs will finish in the gloaming.
Hard to believe.
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