The last day of October and suddenly the end of the season seems imminent.
Before moving on to the final weeks of regional and statewide competition, I want to take a moment to reflect one more time on Saturday's Bay State Championships. In particular, I want to congratulate runners and teams who don't often get a lot of attention, but who represent the accomplishment that every one of us hopes for when we train and race -- they got better.
The conditions at Saturday's meet were not conducive to setting personal bests. Steady rain made the soft parts of the course softer and the slick parts of the course slicker. The wind impaired the runners as they passed the bathhouse (three times!), throwing off strides and wrecking PRs. Even the two best runners at the meet, Brookline's Robert Gibson and Newton's Jess Barton, weren't able to run as fast as last year. Brookline's dominant team averaged 17 seconds slower per man in 2006 than in 2005!
So we should recognize and praise anyone who actually ran faster this year than last. These folks worked hard, and as a result, they improved enough to run better this year than last year, despite the horrendous weather.
Note about the lists that follow: I looked at all runners who completed both the 2005 and 2006 varsity races at the Bay State championships. To be truly comprehensive, I should have also included runners who competed in the JV races last year and stepped up to varsity this year. I would then be able to recognize runners like Newton's Dan Hamilton and Franca Godenzi, Weymouth's Ben Chasen, and others who improved dramatically from last year. That would be the right thing to do, but I simply don't have time to do it. Instead, I'll rely on my readers to call attention to runners who made the jump from JV to varsity this year and represent a high level of improvement.
Boys List - Varsity Runners who improved the most 2005-2006
1. Rob Stanton (Norwood) 19:13 -> 17:57 (-76s)
2. Michael McShane (Natick) 18:32 -> 17:46 (-46s)
3. Alex Chmielinski (Framingham) 17:30 -> 16:48 (-42s)
4. John Howard (Dedham) 19:58 -> 19:16 (-42s)
5. Will Volkman (Wellesley) -> 17:22 -> 16:40 (-42s)
6. Dan Pope (Weymouth) -> 17:21 -> 16:54 (-27s)
7. Nick Carroll (Wellesley) -> 16:56 -> 16:34 (-22s)
8. Charlie Krasnow (Newton North) -> 18:01 -> 17:40 (-21s)
9. Tim O'Connor (Dedham) -> 19:49 -> 19:29 (-20s)
10. Peter Spadoni (Norwood) -> 18:11 -> 17:52 (-19s)
Honorable Mention: Kevin Potterton (Needham), Ben Chebot (Newton), Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot (Brookline), Michael Burnstein (Brooklne), Peter Sun (Newton), Seb Putzys (Newton) - they all got better.
Only one boys team in the league had a better average over its top five runners in 2006 than in 2005: Norwood. Congratulations to Jim Forrest and the Norwood team!
Girls List - Varsity Runners who improved the most 2005-2006
1. Lauren Sheehan (Norwood) 24:48 -> 22:31 (-137s!!)
2. Julie Kheyfats (Brookline) 23:12 -> 21:31 (-103s!)
3. Katherine Wood (Norwood) 22:42 -> 21:15 (-87s)
4. Melissa Hallisey (Dedham) 24:57 -> 23:42 (-75s)
5. Nora Barnicle (Newton North) 20:56 -> 19:53 (-63s)
6. Kim Medeiros (Braintree) 22:09 -> 21:13 (-56s)
7. Caitlin Schwinden (Needham) 21:22 -> 20:35 (-47s)
8. Carolyn Connolly (Weymouth) 20:55 -> 20:14 (-41s)
9. Kristen Mahoney (Weymouth) 19:32 -> 18:53 (-39s)
9. Nicole Pearce (Weymouth) 19:46 -> 19:07 (-39s)
11. Ilona Kats (Brookline) 21:11 -> 20:33 (-38s)
Honorable mention: Stacey Shephard (Norwood), Adina Hemley-Bronstein (Newton), Liz Bellofatto (Braintree), Rebecca White (Natick), Annamarie Lukes (Wellesley), Eliza Carrera (Milton). They all got better.
Four teams improved in 2006: Norwood had by far the largest improvement, going form an average of 23:29 in 2005 to 22:04 in 2006 (-85s!). Other teams with more modest improvements included Brookline (-19s), Braintree (-14s), and league champion Newton North (-10s).
Once again, congratulations to the Norwood program, and now you know why I think Jim Forrest should be the Coach of the year!
October 31, 2006
October 30, 2006
Dropped!
At the finish line everyone gets a time and a place, but those numbers don't always tell you the story of the race. After all, the final result is the product of physical and mental processes that have weird feedback loops and cross-effects.
What I mean is, you might see "Fred" finish 30 seconds ahead of "Barney" and as a result, conclude that Fred is 30 seconds better than Barney in some absolute sense. But what actually happened was that when Fred finally broke away from Barney, the effect was entirely different on the two of them: Fred felt just great; the flood of positive feelings helped him to accelerate over the last mile. He finished with a smile on his face and a wave to the crowd. Barney, on the other hand, had been trying everything to hang on to Fred in the early miles, but as soon as Fred got a little gap, Barney started tightening up trying to run a little bit harder than his body could handle. He faded badly in the last mile.
Barney could have gone out at a more moderate pace and maybe produced a better time, but there's no way to tell from the results.
Here's another example: at the league meet, "Betty" finishes way behind "Wilma," even though Betty has beaten Wilma every other time they have raced. You might conclude that Wilma is now better than Betty, but that's not the whole story. Betty slipped when the gun went off, sprinted awkwardly and ineffciently to get back in position, felt frustrated at having a bad start, and never got into her rhythm. As a result, Betty's efficiency spiraled down through the race, and every attempt to pick it up ended up making her race worse. Next week, Betty might be back on top.
Racing well is such a balancing act... when it goes badly, the results can be warped beyond what anyone would expect or predict.
(On man! I just had a flashback to one of the worst races of my life -- it was the Boston Marathon, and I was in really good shape but I went out too fast, accelerating to get around slower runners at the start. I absolutely crashed in that race, and had the excruciating experience of watching hundreds and hundreds of runners stream past me in the final four miles.)
Anyway...
One of the awesome things about races is that two runners can be together for a long time and then all of a sudden -- boom -- one runner puts in a little surge and drops the other runner. If you are the runner being dropped, it's startling how quickly you can lose all hope of beating the other guy. Once dropped, runners tend to stay dropped. This is because prior to being dropped, you try everything to stay in contact. If you can keep yourself in the race, that's great, so it's not always a bad idea to hang on to a better runner for dear life. On the other hand, hanging on is not a very efficient way to run, and if you are dropped early, you can look forward to a long, miserable run to the finish as other, fresher runners catch and pass you.
And yet, being dropped isn't the worst thing that can happen to you, even if your time at the end suffers. Sometimes it's worse to just let someone go early without putting up a fight. If you've never been dropped, then maybe you've never really explored how good you can be. Or, to put it another way, bad races are just that: bad races. You can learn from them, use them to become better, and then try to forget them. The important thing to remember is that bad races are not an absolute judgement on you as a runner. They are what they are. You move on.
And yeah, this happens to me, too.
On Sunday, I raced a 5K in my hometown. I worked hard to stay with the leader, matching his first two or three surges, staying on his shoulder through a mile and a half. Then he opened a tiny little gap. I struggled to maintain contact but I could feel my form deteriorating. A little before the 2M mark it happened... I was dropped! All I could do was watch him pull away. He put 30 seconds on me in the last mile. Ouch!
Yes, I am Barney.
What I mean is, you might see "Fred" finish 30 seconds ahead of "Barney" and as a result, conclude that Fred is 30 seconds better than Barney in some absolute sense. But what actually happened was that when Fred finally broke away from Barney, the effect was entirely different on the two of them: Fred felt just great; the flood of positive feelings helped him to accelerate over the last mile. He finished with a smile on his face and a wave to the crowd. Barney, on the other hand, had been trying everything to hang on to Fred in the early miles, but as soon as Fred got a little gap, Barney started tightening up trying to run a little bit harder than his body could handle. He faded badly in the last mile.
Barney could have gone out at a more moderate pace and maybe produced a better time, but there's no way to tell from the results.
Here's another example: at the league meet, "Betty" finishes way behind "Wilma," even though Betty has beaten Wilma every other time they have raced. You might conclude that Wilma is now better than Betty, but that's not the whole story. Betty slipped when the gun went off, sprinted awkwardly and ineffciently to get back in position, felt frustrated at having a bad start, and never got into her rhythm. As a result, Betty's efficiency spiraled down through the race, and every attempt to pick it up ended up making her race worse. Next week, Betty might be back on top.
Racing well is such a balancing act... when it goes badly, the results can be warped beyond what anyone would expect or predict.
(On man! I just had a flashback to one of the worst races of my life -- it was the Boston Marathon, and I was in really good shape but I went out too fast, accelerating to get around slower runners at the start. I absolutely crashed in that race, and had the excruciating experience of watching hundreds and hundreds of runners stream past me in the final four miles.)
Anyway...
One of the awesome things about races is that two runners can be together for a long time and then all of a sudden -- boom -- one runner puts in a little surge and drops the other runner. If you are the runner being dropped, it's startling how quickly you can lose all hope of beating the other guy. Once dropped, runners tend to stay dropped. This is because prior to being dropped, you try everything to stay in contact. If you can keep yourself in the race, that's great, so it's not always a bad idea to hang on to a better runner for dear life. On the other hand, hanging on is not a very efficient way to run, and if you are dropped early, you can look forward to a long, miserable run to the finish as other, fresher runners catch and pass you.
And yet, being dropped isn't the worst thing that can happen to you, even if your time at the end suffers. Sometimes it's worse to just let someone go early without putting up a fight. If you've never been dropped, then maybe you've never really explored how good you can be. Or, to put it another way, bad races are just that: bad races. You can learn from them, use them to become better, and then try to forget them. The important thing to remember is that bad races are not an absolute judgement on you as a runner. They are what they are. You move on.
And yeah, this happens to me, too.
On Sunday, I raced a 5K in my hometown. I worked hard to stay with the leader, matching his first two or three surges, staying on his shoulder through a mile and a half. Then he opened a tiny little gap. I struggled to maintain contact but I could feel my form deteriorating. A little before the 2M mark it happened... I was dropped! All I could do was watch him pull away. He put 30 seconds on me in the last mile. Ouch!
Yes, I am Barney.
October 28, 2006
NNHS Alumni Results - Oct 28. 2006
Polgar Runs 26:09 at America East!
BU Freshman David Polgar ran 26:09 (5:15 per mile) to finish 32nd in the America East Championships held Saturday in Orono, Maine.
At the UAA Championships in St. Louis, U. or Rochester sophomore Dan Chebot ran 27:15 for 52nd place overall. Three other former bay staters were in the race: Weymouth alum Tim Condon (now running for Brandeis) finished 8th overall with an outstanding time of 25:48. Adam Kaye (now running for U. of Chicago) ran 28:31, and just behind him was Condon's former teammate Joe Ruvido (now a freshman at Brandeis), who ran 28:45.
A number of former Massachusetts and Bay State runners competed at the 2006 NESCAC Championships held Saturday in Waterford, CT. In the women's 6K, Williams junior Liz Gleason finished 12th in 23:32 (6:19 per mile). In the men's 8K, Bates freshman Doug Brecher finished 65th overall (out of 126) in 27:59.
Women's 6K Results
Men's 8K results
BU Freshman David Polgar ran 26:09 (5:15 per mile) to finish 32nd in the America East Championships held Saturday in Orono, Maine.
At the UAA Championships in St. Louis, U. or Rochester sophomore Dan Chebot ran 27:15 for 52nd place overall. Three other former bay staters were in the race: Weymouth alum Tim Condon (now running for Brandeis) finished 8th overall with an outstanding time of 25:48. Adam Kaye (now running for U. of Chicago) ran 28:31, and just behind him was Condon's former teammate Joe Ruvido (now a freshman at Brandeis), who ran 28:45.
A number of former Massachusetts and Bay State runners competed at the 2006 NESCAC Championships held Saturday in Waterford, CT. In the women's 6K, Williams junior Liz Gleason finished 12th in 23:32 (6:19 per mile). In the men's 8K, Bates freshman Doug Brecher finished 65th overall (out of 126) in 27:59.
Women's 6K Results
Men's 8K results
Bay State League Meet Results
Official Results now posted!
Varsity Girls
Newton North wins with 44 points, easily outscoring Wellesley (79), Natick (82), and Weymouth (87). Barton set the pace the whole way, with White doing a great job to hold on to second. Weymouth's Mahoney and Pearce looked great. Very solid run for Newton's 2-6!
Boys Varsity Results
Brookline scores the minimum 15 points to obliterate NN's record from 2002. Sam Miller ran bravely in the early going, and was still in second with a mile to go when Brookline's pack closed in. Matt Stewart ran his best race of the year to nab 5th. North had a good pack, led by Seb.
After Brookline, Needham took second and Newton North finished third, ahead of both Wellesley and Weymouth (two teams that defeated North in their dual meets).
Varsity Girls
1 Barton Newton North 18:17.74
2 White Natick 18:29.84
3 Mahoney Weymouth 18:53.69
4 Pearce Weymouth 19:07.24
5 Lipman Needham 19:21.39
6 Ranti Newton North 19:23.52
7 Richardson Wellesley 19:27.90
8 Perry Walpole 19:35.02
9 Price Natick 19:38.73
10 Lukes Wellesley 19:42.38
11 Smith Newton North 19:48.07
12 Barnicle Newton North 19:53.83
14 Godenzi Newton North 20:13.67
17 H-Bronstein Newton North 20:30.88
76 Edelstein Newton North 24:03.64
Newton North wins with 44 points, easily outscoring Wellesley (79), Natick (82), and Weymouth (87). Barton set the pace the whole way, with White doing a great job to hold on to second. Weymouth's Mahoney and Pearce looked great. Very solid run for Newton's 2-6!
Boys Varsity Results
1 Gibson Brookline 5:30.6 15:58.72 1
2 Burnstein Brookline 5:34.8 16:10.88 2
3 Lehane Brookline 5:38.0 16:20.13 3
4 Eisenberg-Guyot Brookline 5:38.3 16:20.99 4
5 Stewart Brookline 5:40.6 16:27.67 5
6 Miller Needham 5:41.6 16:30.61 6
7 Carroll Wellesley 5:43.1 16:34.90 7
8 Mecurio Brookline 5:43.7 16:36.58 8
9 Volkmann Wellesley 5:45.0 16:40.46 9
10 Potterton Needham 5:47.4 16:47.45 10
11 Chmilinski Framingham 5:47.8 16:48.64 11
12 Riley Needham 5:48.0 16:48.98 12
16 Puyzeys Newton North 5:52.7 17:02.76 16
22 Hamilton Newton North 5:58.4 17:19.12 22
24 Sun Newton North 5:59.4 17:22.03 24
26 Chebot Newton North 6:02.1 17:30.09 26
28 Krasnow Newton North 6:05.6 17:40.09 28
36 Ribner Newton North 6:10.2 17:53.59 36
40 Goldenberg, D. Newton North 6:13.5 18:03.14 40
Brookline scores the minimum 15 points to obliterate NN's record from 2002. Sam Miller ran bravely in the early going, and was still in second with a mile to go when Brookline's pack closed in. Matt Stewart ran his best race of the year to nab 5th. North had a good pack, led by Seb.
After Brookline, Needham took second and Newton North finished third, ahead of both Wellesley and Weymouth (two teams that defeated North in their dual meets).
October 27, 2006
Bay State League Meet Preview
While we all wait to see whether the Bay State Championship meet scheduled for Saturday will be postponed to Monday, let's look at the meet itself and which individuals and teams are likely to shine.
Girls
For quality and depth, this is one of the best girls fields in Bay State league history. You have an multiple all-state champion, four MSTCA-ranked teams, and a host of good individuals.
Three teams will view for the team championship and any one of them could win. The Newton North girls must be considered favorities to win and end a four-year streak of second-place finishes at this meet. It would not be a shock, however, to see either Wellesley or Weymouth have a good day and displace the Tigers. As they have all year, Natick brings two terrific runners to the meet, but the rest of their team will likely finish back in the pack. It will be interesting to see how the Brookline runners compete after taking it easy against North on Tuesday.
The individual race favorite is Jess Barton, of course, but don't be surprised to see Natick's Rebecca White right with Barton in the early going. After Barton and White, it's a battle for third among Natick's Anya Price, Weymouth's Kristen Mahoney and Nicole Pearce, Newton's Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti, and Wellesley's Faith Richardson. It's also possible that Brookline's Sabrina Parise and Emily Groopman will be in the mix. Price beat the two Weymouth girls in the Natick-Weymouth dual meet at Elm Bank Park, but I expect Mahoney to do better on the longer, hillier course at Milton.
Here are my predictions for top ten, plus some others to watch:
Boys
The boys race holds much less suspense than the girls race. Brookline has no real rivals for the team title. Also, barring a disaster, Robert Gibson should win the individual race easily. Indeed, Brookline seems to be racing ghosts of the past, with their runners openly speculating about having six all-stars and scoring fewer points than the 22 scored by the 2002 Newton North team.
We shall see.
There are a number of strong individual runners not wearing Brookline's red and white, and these include Needham's Sam Miller and Kevin Potterton, Wellesley's Tommy Mayell (and a Wellesley cast of thousands), and Weymouth's Dan Pope. There has been speculation that the gap from 2nd to 12th place will be only twenty seconds, but I don't agree and point out that in the previous seven years, that gap has never been under thirty seconds.
Anyway, here are my predictions for the boys race:
Girls
For quality and depth, this is one of the best girls fields in Bay State league history. You have an multiple all-state champion, four MSTCA-ranked teams, and a host of good individuals.
Three teams will view for the team championship and any one of them could win. The Newton North girls must be considered favorities to win and end a four-year streak of second-place finishes at this meet. It would not be a shock, however, to see either Wellesley or Weymouth have a good day and displace the Tigers. As they have all year, Natick brings two terrific runners to the meet, but the rest of their team will likely finish back in the pack. It will be interesting to see how the Brookline runners compete after taking it easy against North on Tuesday.
The individual race favorite is Jess Barton, of course, but don't be surprised to see Natick's Rebecca White right with Barton in the early going. After Barton and White, it's a battle for third among Natick's Anya Price, Weymouth's Kristen Mahoney and Nicole Pearce, Newton's Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti, and Wellesley's Faith Richardson. It's also possible that Brookline's Sabrina Parise and Emily Groopman will be in the mix. Price beat the two Weymouth girls in the Natick-Weymouth dual meet at Elm Bank Park, but I expect Mahoney to do better on the longer, hillier course at Milton.
Here are my predictions for top ten, plus some others to watch:
1. Barton NNHS (won Bay State Invite at Northfield)
2. White Natick (won Boston Invite at Franklin Park)
3. Mahoney Weymouth (3rd at Boston Invite)
4. Price Natick
5. Ranti NNHS
6. Smith NNHS
7. Pearce Weymouth
8. Richardson Wellesley
9. Parise Brookline
10. Gnirke Wellesley
Also (in no particular order):
Barnicle NNHS
Connolly Weymouth
Godenzi NNHS
Groopman Brookline
Hemley-Bronstein NNHS
Lipman Needham
Lukes Wellesley
Sachetti Weymouth
Boys
The boys race holds much less suspense than the girls race. Brookline has no real rivals for the team title. Also, barring a disaster, Robert Gibson should win the individual race easily. Indeed, Brookline seems to be racing ghosts of the past, with their runners openly speculating about having six all-stars and scoring fewer points than the 22 scored by the 2002 Newton North team.
We shall see.
There are a number of strong individual runners not wearing Brookline's red and white, and these include Needham's Sam Miller and Kevin Potterton, Wellesley's Tommy Mayell (and a Wellesley cast of thousands), and Weymouth's Dan Pope. There has been speculation that the gap from 2nd to 12th place will be only twenty seconds, but I don't agree and point out that in the previous seven years, that gap has never been under thirty seconds.
Anyway, here are my predictions for the boys race:
1. Gibson Brookline (2nd at Bay State Invite)
2. Burnstein Brookline (16:16 at Brown)
3. Miller Needham (course record 16:30-something at Norwood)
4. Eisenberg-Guyot Brookline (sub-17 at Franklin Park)
5. Lehane Brookline (sub-17 at Franklin Park)
6. Mayell Wellesley
7. Pope Weymouth
8. Potterton Needham
9. Mercurio Brookline
10. Putzys NNHS
Also (in no particular order):
Carroll Wellesley
Chiemelinsky Framingham
Gluck Needham
Hamilton NNHS
Jordan Weymouth
Julian Weymouth
Manning Milton
Stewart Brookline
Stravinski Wellesley
October 24, 2006
Newton North - Brookline Results
Boys
Brookline dominated. Newton North's top seven all ran PRs to make the race appear closer than it was. Putzys is gaining strength and speed and will be in the mix at the meet on Saturday.
Girls
Everyone ran a fairly pedestrian first lap, with the top six together. A good win for Ranti (two in three days!), and excellent performances by Gleason and Hanselman.
Link to complete results
Brookline 18 - NNHS 42
1. Gibson B 16:59
2. Burnstein B 17:02
3. Eisenberg-Guyot B 17:04
4. Putzys NN 17:10
5. Mercurio B 17:11
6. Hamilton NN 17:13
7. Stewart B 17:33
8. Benjamin B 17:33
9. Hardiman B 17:35
10. Chebot NN 17:39
11. Sun NN 17:40
12. Krasnow NN 17:45
13. Baker B 17:55
14. Ribner NN 18:05
15. Forman NN 18:07
Brookline dominated. Newton North's top seven all ran PRs to make the race appear closer than it was. Putzys is gaining strength and speed and will be in the mix at the meet on Saturday.
Girls
NNHS 15 - Brookline 48
1. Ranti NN 20:46
2. Barnicle NN 20:54
3. Smith NN 21:10
4. Godenzi NN 21:11
5. Hemley-Bronstein NN 21:34
6. Gleason NN 21:38
7. Parise B 22:04
8. Groopman B 22:08
9. Hanselman NN 22:15
10. Calderwood B 22:26
Everyone ran a fairly pedestrian first lap, with the top six together. A good win for Ranti (two in three days!), and excellent performances by Gleason and Hanselman.
Link to complete results
Brookline v. Newton - The Last Dual Meet
The dual meet season wraps up today with a meet against Brookline at Cold Springs Park. After this, it's on to the league meet, the State Coaches meet, and the EMass championships.
The Brookline boys expect to wrap up their second straight undefeated season with a win over the Tigers today. On paper, it's no contest, with Brookline having four runners well under 17:00 minutes (no one on North has ever run that fast). On the other hand, Newton has a lot of motivation to run well. For one thing, it is only their second home meet of the year. For another, they have been working really hard and have skipped invitational meets to focus on the dual meet season. Win or lose, I expect the Newton boys to set a host of PR's and make the meet respectable.
The Cold Springs Park course is in excellent shape and should be fast. Yesterday the girls team went over the course with rakes to remove dead leaves, branches, and loose rocks. The result is a safer and faster course for the final meet.
Like the Brookline boys, the Newton North girls are expected to win their meet easily. Although the Brookline girls have had an excellent season, and will finish with a winning record, the word on the street is that Brookline's top two runners -- Sabrina Parise and Emily Groopman -- are training through this meet to save themselves for the league meet on Saturday. On the Newton side, Jess Barton is expected to either skip the meet entirely (she is nursing a slight cold) or work with other runners on the team to help them to better times.
While the outcome of the team races might seem to be a forgone conclusion, the meet is important and significant to the dozens of runners who have their one chance to see how much they have improved in the last six weeks. It is very powerful to see times drop by 1-2 minutes or even more in that time, as the kids gain confidence and fitness and find themselves able to push themselves to new levels of accomplishment. Good luck to all, and may everyone set a personal best!
Cold Spring Park Best Times
On the Newton North web site is a list of all the sub-18:00 times recorded at the Cold Springs course since 2001. (I apologize for not having a similar list for girls -- that will have to be a project for off-season).
How many boys will go sub 18:00 today? Will anyone challenge the course record of 15:34, or the fastest non-NNHS time of 16:15? Surprisingly, only five runners from other schools have gone under 17:00 in the last five+ years. It seems that this year's Brookline team has a chance to add several names to that list.
The Brookline boys expect to wrap up their second straight undefeated season with a win over the Tigers today. On paper, it's no contest, with Brookline having four runners well under 17:00 minutes (no one on North has ever run that fast). On the other hand, Newton has a lot of motivation to run well. For one thing, it is only their second home meet of the year. For another, they have been working really hard and have skipped invitational meets to focus on the dual meet season. Win or lose, I expect the Newton boys to set a host of PR's and make the meet respectable.
The Cold Springs Park course is in excellent shape and should be fast. Yesterday the girls team went over the course with rakes to remove dead leaves, branches, and loose rocks. The result is a safer and faster course for the final meet.
Like the Brookline boys, the Newton North girls are expected to win their meet easily. Although the Brookline girls have had an excellent season, and will finish with a winning record, the word on the street is that Brookline's top two runners -- Sabrina Parise and Emily Groopman -- are training through this meet to save themselves for the league meet on Saturday. On the Newton side, Jess Barton is expected to either skip the meet entirely (she is nursing a slight cold) or work with other runners on the team to help them to better times.
While the outcome of the team races might seem to be a forgone conclusion, the meet is important and significant to the dozens of runners who have their one chance to see how much they have improved in the last six weeks. It is very powerful to see times drop by 1-2 minutes or even more in that time, as the kids gain confidence and fitness and find themselves able to push themselves to new levels of accomplishment. Good luck to all, and may everyone set a personal best!
Cold Spring Park Best Times
On the Newton North web site is a list of all the sub-18:00 times recorded at the Cold Springs course since 2001. (I apologize for not having a similar list for girls -- that will have to be a project for off-season).
How many boys will go sub 18:00 today? Will anyone challenge the course record of 15:34, or the fastest non-NNHS time of 16:15? Surprisingly, only five runners from other schools have gone under 17:00 in the last five+ years. It seems that this year's Brookline team has a chance to add several names to that list.
October 23, 2006
Signs in the Trees
A last backward glance at last Tuesday's meet at Weymouth...
I think I will remember this afternoon for a long time -- the buses full of kids departing for home on an overcast October afternoon, the quickening patter of rain on the pavement and in the woods, the stragglers still hanging around talking about the meet -- At the moment, I don't feel like I can process and put into perspective all the things I've watched this afternoon, and I don't feel like leaving.
And so I don't leave, I run instead.
I set out into the woods, quiet now but so lately filled with the sights and sounds of racing and the passing of colorful squads of runners. It's all pretty quiet now; the paved path on which I run is matted with pine needles and leaves, and my footfalls are muffled and indistinct.
On the course there are signs celebrating and encouraging the runners from Weymouth -- bright and cheery, recognizing each runner (or maybe just the seniors) by name. I can easily imagine a group of girls sitting around someone's living room making these signs and then going through the woods hanging them on trees. It would be the girls, wouldn't it? I imagine the boys wouldn't be caught dead having that kind of fun. Boys are still in hiding at this age, and aren't given to leaving clues about what they actually think and feel. I wonder, do the boys appreciate these signs in the woods? Or do they think they're stupid?
Maybe the signs worked, because the Weymouth girls (and boys) ran wonderfully today. The Weymouth coach tells me that the top six Weymouth girls all set PRs for their home course, the third runner by a minute. Newton North's girls ran a superb effort themeselves, to eke out a narrow win.
Call me a sentimentalist, but I can't help feeling there's more to these signs in the woods than a rah-rah home course advantage. To me, there is something real and poignant about these poster-board love letters hung on trees in the rain. They celebrate the last home meet for the home team, the last home meet for the seniors. Already tomorrow they will be ruined by the overnight showers. Only a few moments to enjoy them, and then the race is over, the season is over. On to the next thing.
The signs are there for all of us, really, a reminder of how good it is to be part of a team, part of a group of people who care about you. And a reminder, too, that it won't last forever. Enjoy it now -- even as you struggle up the hill fighting the impulse to slow down and make it easier on yourself, enjoy it; you'll look back on the hardest race of the year as one of the best moments.
I finish my run. It's raining harder now, the sky darkening. I know I'll be late getting home, I know I'll have to deal with all the traffic on 128. But still I take my time. I'm in no hurry to leave. The signs are still in the trees.
I think I will remember this afternoon for a long time -- the buses full of kids departing for home on an overcast October afternoon, the quickening patter of rain on the pavement and in the woods, the stragglers still hanging around talking about the meet -- At the moment, I don't feel like I can process and put into perspective all the things I've watched this afternoon, and I don't feel like leaving.
And so I don't leave, I run instead.
I set out into the woods, quiet now but so lately filled with the sights and sounds of racing and the passing of colorful squads of runners. It's all pretty quiet now; the paved path on which I run is matted with pine needles and leaves, and my footfalls are muffled and indistinct.
On the course there are signs celebrating and encouraging the runners from Weymouth -- bright and cheery, recognizing each runner (or maybe just the seniors) by name. I can easily imagine a group of girls sitting around someone's living room making these signs and then going through the woods hanging them on trees. It would be the girls, wouldn't it? I imagine the boys wouldn't be caught dead having that kind of fun. Boys are still in hiding at this age, and aren't given to leaving clues about what they actually think and feel. I wonder, do the boys appreciate these signs in the woods? Or do they think they're stupid?
Maybe the signs worked, because the Weymouth girls (and boys) ran wonderfully today. The Weymouth coach tells me that the top six Weymouth girls all set PRs for their home course, the third runner by a minute. Newton North's girls ran a superb effort themeselves, to eke out a narrow win.
Call me a sentimentalist, but I can't help feeling there's more to these signs in the woods than a rah-rah home course advantage. To me, there is something real and poignant about these poster-board love letters hung on trees in the rain. They celebrate the last home meet for the home team, the last home meet for the seniors. Already tomorrow they will be ruined by the overnight showers. Only a few moments to enjoy them, and then the race is over, the season is over. On to the next thing.
The signs are there for all of us, really, a reminder of how good it is to be part of a team, part of a group of people who care about you. And a reminder, too, that it won't last forever. Enjoy it now -- even as you struggle up the hill fighting the impulse to slow down and make it easier on yourself, enjoy it; you'll look back on the hardest race of the year as one of the best moments.
I finish my run. It's raining harder now, the sky darkening. I know I'll be late getting home, I know I'll have to deal with all the traffic on 128. But still I take my time. I'm in no hurry to leave. The signs are still in the trees.
October 22, 2006
Mayor's Cup
On Sunday, Boston hosted the 17th annual Mayor's Cup cross-country races at Franklin Park. It was a perfect day for cross-country with cool temperatures and a dry course.
Newton North sophomore Carolyn Ranti won the girls 14-and-under 1.1 mile race in a time of 6:30, 16 seconds ahead of second place. Last year Carolyn ran 16:44 to finish 4th. Next year she'll have to run the 5K! Also running in the girls race were NNHS freshmen Susannah Gleason (7:11) and Jaya Tribathi (7:36).
Jess Barton ran well race in the women's championship 5K, placing 38th in what I believe is a Franklin Park PR for her of 18:43. That's also a minute faster than last year!
In the men's championship 8K, North alum Tom Davis finished 45th overall in 25:35.
Newton North sophomore Carolyn Ranti won the girls 14-and-under 1.1 mile race in a time of 6:30, 16 seconds ahead of second place. Last year Carolyn ran 16:44 to finish 4th. Next year she'll have to run the 5K! Also running in the girls race were NNHS freshmen Susannah Gleason (7:11) and Jaya Tribathi (7:36).
Jess Barton ran well race in the women's championship 5K, placing 38th in what I believe is a Franklin Park PR for her of 18:43. That's also a minute faster than last year!
In the men's championship 8K, North alum Tom Davis finished 45th overall in 25:35.
October 21, 2006
NNHS (& Bay State) Alumni Results - 10/21
Dan Chebot (NNHS class of '05) ran 26:54 to place 19th overall, 3rd for the Univ. of Rochester in the UR Invitational at Genesee Valley Park. Results
In the Little Three (Amherst, Wellesley, Williams) Championships on Saturday, Liz Gleason finished 4th overall in the women's 5K in 19:00... Other Bay Staters in the race included Wellesley alum Ryan (RJ) Jacoby, in 20:49, and Norwood alum and former Bay State champion Lisa Davenport, in 21:21. Also, two ex-Newton South runners were competing for opposing teams: Caitlin McDermott Murphy (19:58) ran for Amherst, and Liz Bacon (24:12) ran for Williams. Women's Results
So this might be a passing fancy of mine -- to note the times and places of former Bay State runners, but humor me for a little longer... At the same Little Three championships, Brookline alum Matt Franco (Wesleyan) ran 29:03 in the men's 8K.
In the MASCAC championships, Phil Gingras (Walpole '06) and Charles Beard (Needham '06) competed for Westfield State. Phil finished 17th in 28:23; Charles finished 20th in 28:35.
In the Little Three (Amherst, Wellesley, Williams) Championships on Saturday, Liz Gleason finished 4th overall in the women's 5K in 19:00... Other Bay Staters in the race included Wellesley alum Ryan (RJ) Jacoby, in 20:49, and Norwood alum and former Bay State champion Lisa Davenport, in 21:21. Also, two ex-Newton South runners were competing for opposing teams: Caitlin McDermott Murphy (19:58) ran for Amherst, and Liz Bacon (24:12) ran for Williams. Women's Results
So this might be a passing fancy of mine -- to note the times and places of former Bay State runners, but humor me for a little longer... At the same Little Three championships, Brookline alum Matt Franco (Wesleyan) ran 29:03 in the men's 8K.
In the MASCAC championships, Phil Gingras (Walpole '06) and Charles Beard (Needham '06) competed for Westfield State. Phil finished 17th in 28:23; Charles finished 20th in 28:35.
October 20, 2006
The Gift of Gab
[for David Polgar]
"The easy wakers who found the morning workout a lark annoyed him to distraction, But the gentle conversation made it easier, a social occasion of sorts, for just as rank has its privileges so indeed does the barely comprehensible conditioning of good distance runners. They gab like magpies." - John L. Parker, Once a Runner
On the first day I ever coached high school runners, I told them to go for a 5-mile run "at conversational pace," and they had no idea what I was talking about.
What I was talking about was the happy state of equilibirum that characterizes exercise at moderate intensity. In that state, oxygen breathed in is sufficient to power muscles for an hour or more without significant build-up of blood lactate or other markers of metabolic distress. Conversational pace is made possible by the miracle of aerobic conditioning -- a gradual adaptation to the demands of running mileage. Distance runners mostly take it for granted, but it is a powerful mystery to those who lack the fitness to travel along at a pretty good pace, without laboring, and without incurring oxygen debt.
With one's oxygen needs largely met, the runner discovers that there's breath left over for other things, like talking. When out with the team for an over-distance run, the steady pace, strong but even breathing, and somewhat tedious nature of the training create an ideal environment for conversation.
There are all kinds of conversations and all kinds of conversationalists on runs. Oddly enough, a lot of the conversation is about running -- who looks good this year, who ran what time on what course, who was a beast in training -- that sort of thing. But really, almost any subject is fair game. I have had deep philosophical talks on runs, and have talked about the most mundane things. I have dispensed advice and received it. For a while, I ran with a guy who loved trivia contests and would keep the rest of us entertained by asking us trivia questions he had come across in his travels.
Sometimes you run with someone who makes you laugh so hard you have to stop. Many of us at Newton North remember running with Ciaran O'Donovan, who would regularly bring a whole pack of runners to a stumble with his offbeat sense of humor.
Sometimes you run with someone who just doesn't want to reciprocate your conversational overtures, and prefers to run in silence. I find this to be very awkward if its someone I don't know in trust. I think running together is a fairly intimate experience, and not spending time getting to know the other person seems...well, sort of strange... like dancing with a stranger and not even asking their name.
Then there are the people who take their running so seriously that they consider talking to be off-limits. David Polgar found himself in this position when he first started ruinning with his mates at Boston University. The thought of David Polgar going for 10 mile runs without being able to chat along the way is a sad thought, indeed! I have hopes, though, that David will manage to thaw the icy resolve of the BU team, and before long they, too, will be gabbing like Magpies.
Oh, and David... a magpie is a kind of bird, noted for its chattering call. The word can also be used to describe a person who chatters all the time. What is the Hungarian word for magpie?
"The easy wakers who found the morning workout a lark annoyed him to distraction, But the gentle conversation made it easier, a social occasion of sorts, for just as rank has its privileges so indeed does the barely comprehensible conditioning of good distance runners. They gab like magpies." - John L. Parker, Once a Runner
On the first day I ever coached high school runners, I told them to go for a 5-mile run "at conversational pace," and they had no idea what I was talking about.
What I was talking about was the happy state of equilibirum that characterizes exercise at moderate intensity. In that state, oxygen breathed in is sufficient to power muscles for an hour or more without significant build-up of blood lactate or other markers of metabolic distress. Conversational pace is made possible by the miracle of aerobic conditioning -- a gradual adaptation to the demands of running mileage. Distance runners mostly take it for granted, but it is a powerful mystery to those who lack the fitness to travel along at a pretty good pace, without laboring, and without incurring oxygen debt.
With one's oxygen needs largely met, the runner discovers that there's breath left over for other things, like talking. When out with the team for an over-distance run, the steady pace, strong but even breathing, and somewhat tedious nature of the training create an ideal environment for conversation.
There are all kinds of conversations and all kinds of conversationalists on runs. Oddly enough, a lot of the conversation is about running -- who looks good this year, who ran what time on what course, who was a beast in training -- that sort of thing. But really, almost any subject is fair game. I have had deep philosophical talks on runs, and have talked about the most mundane things. I have dispensed advice and received it. For a while, I ran with a guy who loved trivia contests and would keep the rest of us entertained by asking us trivia questions he had come across in his travels.
Sometimes you run with someone who makes you laugh so hard you have to stop. Many of us at Newton North remember running with Ciaran O'Donovan, who would regularly bring a whole pack of runners to a stumble with his offbeat sense of humor.
Sometimes you run with someone who just doesn't want to reciprocate your conversational overtures, and prefers to run in silence. I find this to be very awkward if its someone I don't know in trust. I think running together is a fairly intimate experience, and not spending time getting to know the other person seems...well, sort of strange... like dancing with a stranger and not even asking their name.
Then there are the people who take their running so seriously that they consider talking to be off-limits. David Polgar found himself in this position when he first started ruinning with his mates at Boston University. The thought of David Polgar going for 10 mile runs without being able to chat along the way is a sad thought, indeed! I have hopes, though, that David will manage to thaw the icy resolve of the BU team, and before long they, too, will be gabbing like Magpies.
Oh, and David... a magpie is a kind of bird, noted for its chattering call. The word can also be used to describe a person who chatters all the time. What is the Hungarian word for magpie?
October 18, 2006
Rating the courses...
A friend and fellow runner who lives in Natick travelled to Framingham last week to watch the Natick-Norwood-Framingham tri-meet. He enjoyed the meet, but thought the course was embarassing -- too much asphalt, confusing and overlapping loops, and poor course marking in the short woods section.
It got me thinking about the courses in the Bay State league. Which are the best and which are the ones most in need of improvement? At Newton, we've been racking our brains trying to think of a way to improve the Cold Springs course or move it to another venue. We haven't come up with anything better than the current situation, but we continue to try.
Both the Wellesley coach and Norwood coaches changed their home courses this year. The Norwood coach, Jim Forrest, abandoned the 3-mile road race around Norwood H.S. and replaced it with a course of multiple loops of grass and trails at a different venue. He and an assistant spent many hours clearing brush and preparing the new course. It can be done!
Now, I know a lot of kids (and adults?) from other schools read this blog. What do YOU think about the courses in our league? I'll offer my opinions, but would love to hear from others.
The Criteria
In rating the courses, I took into account the following criteria, in descending order of importance:
1. Safe and well-marked
2. Variety of terrain, with predominance of grass or trails
3. Good start/finish areas
4. Good for spectators
5. Distance (accurate, not too short)
The Rankings
1. Brookline (Larz Anderson Park, 2.65 miles) - The course we love to hate. I know that it's difficult to love the hills, but other than the fact that it's really hard to run, it has everything that a good course should have. It's safe and self-contained; there's a small amount of pavement, but spikes are still possible; it is good for spectators (if they're willing to climb a hill!); and the start and finish area is a good gathering place. Do you disagree? Let me hear about it!
2. Milton (Houghton's Pond, 2.95 miles) - Mostly a great place to run, with two flaws that I can't overlook: the paved hill (up and down) and the poor footing at the bottom of the hill, which leads to the bad footing along the path that runs parallel to the road. If it were not for these features, this would be the best course in the league by far.
3. Walpole (Walpole H.S & Town Forest, 2.7 miles) - Starts on the football field, then to the track, then to the woods, then back to the track. It's too narrow in places, and the start is weird, but it's a fair course with a lot of variety.
4. Weymouth (Wompatuck State Park, 2.78 miles) - This would be a great course if it were not all on pavement, and if you didn't have to drive 3/4 of a mile to watch the middle parts of the race.
5. Wellesley (Elm bank Park) - Give credit to Lou Pearlman for trying to improve the Elm Bank course (see Natick, below), but there's still a lot of pavement and the course is still too short. Adding the embankment to the course is a great idea, let's keep tinkering and turn this into a first rate course.
6. Norwood (Middle School, 3.05 miles) - Almost all grass or trails, some confusing loops, including a loop around a little league field, which feels forced and unnatural. An excellent spectator course, and fair to the runners.
7. Natick (Elm Bank Park, 2.5 miles) - I love Elm Bank Park, but I really dislike the course here. It's flat, unimaginative, and too short.
8. Newton (Cold Springs Park, 3.05 miles) - Field start and finish and two big loops through the park. The footing on the trails is getting worse year-by-year, and it is a poor spectator course.
9. Needham (Cutler Park, 3.1 miles) - The start is narrow and inappropriate for more than two teams. There are no real hills, and the footing is poor in places. Even worse as a spectator course than Cold Springs.
10. Braintree (Braintree H.S., 3 miles) - Track start, all over the school grounds folling a million cones, out into suburban neighborhoods, and back to the track. Easy to watch, but seems annoying to run.
11. Dedham (Dedham H.S., 3 miles?) - I don't know this course, I've only seen the map, but I worry about the amount of the course run on roads, and the need for traffic control. Can someone who has run the course offer their opinion?
12. Framingham (Framingham H.S., 3 miles?) - Has an uncomfortable and dangerous start, confusing loops through a dreary suburban neighboorhood, confusing poorly marked section through the woods with some very poor footing, and a poorly laid out finish area. I've written about this course before. If you're interested in my suggestions for improving it, let me know.
It got me thinking about the courses in the Bay State league. Which are the best and which are the ones most in need of improvement? At Newton, we've been racking our brains trying to think of a way to improve the Cold Springs course or move it to another venue. We haven't come up with anything better than the current situation, but we continue to try.
Both the Wellesley coach and Norwood coaches changed their home courses this year. The Norwood coach, Jim Forrest, abandoned the 3-mile road race around Norwood H.S. and replaced it with a course of multiple loops of grass and trails at a different venue. He and an assistant spent many hours clearing brush and preparing the new course. It can be done!
Now, I know a lot of kids (and adults?) from other schools read this blog. What do YOU think about the courses in our league? I'll offer my opinions, but would love to hear from others.
The Criteria
In rating the courses, I took into account the following criteria, in descending order of importance:
1. Safe and well-marked
2. Variety of terrain, with predominance of grass or trails
3. Good start/finish areas
4. Good for spectators
5. Distance (accurate, not too short)
The Rankings
1. Brookline (Larz Anderson Park, 2.65 miles) - The course we love to hate. I know that it's difficult to love the hills, but other than the fact that it's really hard to run, it has everything that a good course should have. It's safe and self-contained; there's a small amount of pavement, but spikes are still possible; it is good for spectators (if they're willing to climb a hill!); and the start and finish area is a good gathering place. Do you disagree? Let me hear about it!
2. Milton (Houghton's Pond, 2.95 miles) - Mostly a great place to run, with two flaws that I can't overlook: the paved hill (up and down) and the poor footing at the bottom of the hill, which leads to the bad footing along the path that runs parallel to the road. If it were not for these features, this would be the best course in the league by far.
3. Walpole (Walpole H.S & Town Forest, 2.7 miles) - Starts on the football field, then to the track, then to the woods, then back to the track. It's too narrow in places, and the start is weird, but it's a fair course with a lot of variety.
4. Weymouth (Wompatuck State Park, 2.78 miles) - This would be a great course if it were not all on pavement, and if you didn't have to drive 3/4 of a mile to watch the middle parts of the race.
5. Wellesley (Elm bank Park) - Give credit to Lou Pearlman for trying to improve the Elm Bank course (see Natick, below), but there's still a lot of pavement and the course is still too short. Adding the embankment to the course is a great idea, let's keep tinkering and turn this into a first rate course.
6. Norwood (Middle School, 3.05 miles) - Almost all grass or trails, some confusing loops, including a loop around a little league field, which feels forced and unnatural. An excellent spectator course, and fair to the runners.
7. Natick (Elm Bank Park, 2.5 miles) - I love Elm Bank Park, but I really dislike the course here. It's flat, unimaginative, and too short.
8. Newton (Cold Springs Park, 3.05 miles) - Field start and finish and two big loops through the park. The footing on the trails is getting worse year-by-year, and it is a poor spectator course.
9. Needham (Cutler Park, 3.1 miles) - The start is narrow and inappropriate for more than two teams. There are no real hills, and the footing is poor in places. Even worse as a spectator course than Cold Springs.
10. Braintree (Braintree H.S., 3 miles) - Track start, all over the school grounds folling a million cones, out into suburban neighborhoods, and back to the track. Easy to watch, but seems annoying to run.
11. Dedham (Dedham H.S., 3 miles?) - I don't know this course, I've only seen the map, but I worry about the amount of the course run on roads, and the need for traffic control. Can someone who has run the course offer their opinion?
12. Framingham (Framingham H.S., 3 miles?) - Has an uncomfortable and dangerous start, confusing loops through a dreary suburban neighboorhood, confusing poorly marked section through the woods with some very poor footing, and a poorly laid out finish area. I've written about this course before. If you're interested in my suggestions for improving it, let me know.
October 17, 2006
Newton North - Weymouth Results
Boys
A close race until the end, when Weymouth pulled away. Jordan ran down Putzeys AND Hamilton; Myers runs down Peter Sun; Chasen runs down Ribner, Krasnow, and Chebot. Weymouth looked very strong today.
Girls
Two years ago, only one girl under 18:00 (Barton); this year there were six. Two years ago, Becca Macdonald (18:40) led Weymouth; this year, that time would have placed her a distant fifth on the team. Barton only six seconds off the course record while running at tempo run pace!
Weymouth 22 - NNHS 33
1. Pope W 15:10
2. Jordan W 15:15
3. Hamilton NN 15:26
4. Putzys NN 15:32
5. Julian W 15:34
6. Myers W 15:39
7. Sun NN 15:41
8. Chasen W 15:54
9. Ribner NN 15:58
10. Krasnow NN 16:01
A close race until the end, when Weymouth pulled away. Jordan ran down Putzeys AND Hamilton; Myers runs down Peter Sun; Chasen runs down Ribner, Krasnow, and Chebot. Weymouth looked very strong today.
Girls
NNHS 26 - Weymouth 30
1. Barton NN 16:41
2. Pearce W 17:08
3. Mahoney W 17:12
4. Smith NN 17:39
5. Ranti NN 17:40
6. Sacchetti W 17:52
7. Barnicle NN 18:06
8. Connolly W 18:21
9. Godenzi NN 18:30
10. Hemley-Bronstein NN 18:36
Two years ago, only one girl under 18:00 (Barton); this year there were six. Two years ago, Becca Macdonald (18:40) led Weymouth; this year, that time would have placed her a distant fifth on the team. Barton only six seconds off the course record while running at tempo run pace!
October 16, 2006
Paddy's Pub Shillelagh Shuffle 3M
What the heck are Seb, Ben, and Mike doing running in a road race two days before the Weymouth meet? Oh well, here are the results I gleaned from Cool Running...
Paddy's Shillelagh Shuffle 3M - 10/15/06
18. Seb Putzys 17:13 (2nd in age group)
19 Ben Chebot 17:23 (3rd in age group)
43 Mike Dorfman 18:41
52. Jon Scorzelli 19:11
How Good is Weymouth?
Tuesday is a bona fide big meet for both the NN girls and boys, as they travel to Wompatuck State Park for a match-up with Weymouth.
Girls Race
The Weymouth girls are a strong team and currently ranked 5th in the MSTCA Div I poll, two spots ahead of Newton North. The Wildcats earned that ranking by placing third in the Bay State Invite on Sept. 30th, their highest finish ever in that event. Although they suffered an early season loss to Wellesley (27-30), they are undefeated against the rest of the league and are very, very determined to be at their best for the meet with North. The Wildcats hope to repeat last year's magic when they beat North and won the league title for the first time in living memory.
The Weymouth girls are led by junior Kristen Mahoney, a steady performer who never seems to have a bad race. Mahoney ran 19:28 at Franklin Park to place 3rd at the Bay State Invite. Not far behind is senior captain Nicole Pearce who ran 19:47 at the Bay State meet. After that, the team must count on big races from seniors Sam Sachetti (20:22 at Bay State) and Christine Connolly (20:53). If the team has a big weakness, it is the gap between their 4th and 5th runners (Sarah McCarthey and Heather Wiencko). At the Bay State meet, that gap was over a minute.
When Weymouth and North met last year, North took 1-3-4, but lost the meet when Weymouth took the next five spots. It seems highly unlikely that Weymouth will be able to pull that off this year, as North's top 4-5-6 runners are dramatically improved. I think that once again Newton has an advantage in the top spots. Mahoney is very good, but no match for Jess Barton. Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti have been running very well, and should give Pearce a great battle. The race will almost certainly be determined by the 4th and 5th runners, and North holds the advantage there.
Might there be a home-course advantage for the Wildcats? Perhaps a slight advantage based on familiarity. The 2.78-mile course at Wompatuck is run entirely on pavement, with two sharp uphills, both of which come fairly early. The final 3/4 of a mile is flat with a couple of small turns, so there aren't any big surprises. The most important thing is to judge the amount of distance left, whcih can be tricky. Both Barton and Smith have run the course before. I'd guess the course won't bother the Tigers.
Overall, I like Newton's chances in this one.
Boys Race
The Weymouth boys are not as strong as their girls team, but they own a 7-2 league record, and the meet with Newton North is likely to be very, very close. Weymouth graduated its top two runners from last year, while Newton graduated its top three. On both teams, new faces have stepped in to take up the slack.
For the Wildcats, the fastest new face is senior Dan Pope who has been winning races and recording excellent times. Last week he broke 16:00 minutes against Brookline on the very difficult course at Larz Anderson. After Pope, the cast of characters shifts from race to race. Sometimes their second runner is sophomore Brett Julian, sometimes seniors Craig Myers or Mark Jordan. Like the Weymouth girls, the team has a significant gap from their fourth to their fifth runner (junior Ben Chasen). That gap could be the difference in the meet against North.
Weymouth is extremely motivated by the prospect of beating North for the first time in a decade. Senior captain Mark Jordan said this to the Weymouth News on the subject of racing against North: "we have not beaten them in my career...I have lost to them ever since I was an eighth grader and now I just want to beat them my senior year." Wow. That's monomania for you!
Anyway, the Tigers are very happy to have Seb Putzys back for this meet. Although he is not at 100%, he is still capable of a high finish against Weymouth. Putzys and sophomore Dan Hamilton must break up Weymouth's top three; after that, Newton's pack of Charlie Krasnow, Ben Chebot, Peter Sun, Alex Ribner, and Jared Forman must win some one-on-one matchups with Weymouth's 4th and 5th runners. Although it's always dangerous to predict a specific score, I could see the meet going like this:
Weymouth: 1-4-5-7-11 = 28 (Pope wins)
NNHS: 2-3-6-8-9 (10)= 28 (Putzys, Hamilton go 2-3)
...with North winning the tie-break! It would be very cool if the race came down to the sixth man, and it could happen!
Girls Race
The Weymouth girls are a strong team and currently ranked 5th in the MSTCA Div I poll, two spots ahead of Newton North. The Wildcats earned that ranking by placing third in the Bay State Invite on Sept. 30th, their highest finish ever in that event. Although they suffered an early season loss to Wellesley (27-30), they are undefeated against the rest of the league and are very, very determined to be at their best for the meet with North. The Wildcats hope to repeat last year's magic when they beat North and won the league title for the first time in living memory.
The Weymouth girls are led by junior Kristen Mahoney, a steady performer who never seems to have a bad race. Mahoney ran 19:28 at Franklin Park to place 3rd at the Bay State Invite. Not far behind is senior captain Nicole Pearce who ran 19:47 at the Bay State meet. After that, the team must count on big races from seniors Sam Sachetti (20:22 at Bay State) and Christine Connolly (20:53). If the team has a big weakness, it is the gap between their 4th and 5th runners (Sarah McCarthey and Heather Wiencko). At the Bay State meet, that gap was over a minute.
When Weymouth and North met last year, North took 1-3-4, but lost the meet when Weymouth took the next five spots. It seems highly unlikely that Weymouth will be able to pull that off this year, as North's top 4-5-6 runners are dramatically improved. I think that once again Newton has an advantage in the top spots. Mahoney is very good, but no match for Jess Barton. Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti have been running very well, and should give Pearce a great battle. The race will almost certainly be determined by the 4th and 5th runners, and North holds the advantage there.
Might there be a home-course advantage for the Wildcats? Perhaps a slight advantage based on familiarity. The 2.78-mile course at Wompatuck is run entirely on pavement, with two sharp uphills, both of which come fairly early. The final 3/4 of a mile is flat with a couple of small turns, so there aren't any big surprises. The most important thing is to judge the amount of distance left, whcih can be tricky. Both Barton and Smith have run the course before. I'd guess the course won't bother the Tigers.
Overall, I like Newton's chances in this one.
Boys Race
The Weymouth boys are not as strong as their girls team, but they own a 7-2 league record, and the meet with Newton North is likely to be very, very close. Weymouth graduated its top two runners from last year, while Newton graduated its top three. On both teams, new faces have stepped in to take up the slack.
For the Wildcats, the fastest new face is senior Dan Pope who has been winning races and recording excellent times. Last week he broke 16:00 minutes against Brookline on the very difficult course at Larz Anderson. After Pope, the cast of characters shifts from race to race. Sometimes their second runner is sophomore Brett Julian, sometimes seniors Craig Myers or Mark Jordan. Like the Weymouth girls, the team has a significant gap from their fourth to their fifth runner (junior Ben Chasen). That gap could be the difference in the meet against North.
Weymouth is extremely motivated by the prospect of beating North for the first time in a decade. Senior captain Mark Jordan said this to the Weymouth News on the subject of racing against North: "we have not beaten them in my career...I have lost to them ever since I was an eighth grader and now I just want to beat them my senior year." Wow. That's monomania for you!
Anyway, the Tigers are very happy to have Seb Putzys back for this meet. Although he is not at 100%, he is still capable of a high finish against Weymouth. Putzys and sophomore Dan Hamilton must break up Weymouth's top three; after that, Newton's pack of Charlie Krasnow, Ben Chebot, Peter Sun, Alex Ribner, and Jared Forman must win some one-on-one matchups with Weymouth's 4th and 5th runners. Although it's always dangerous to predict a specific score, I could see the meet going like this:
Weymouth: 1-4-5-7-11 = 28 (Pope wins)
NNHS: 2-3-6-8-9 (10)= 28 (Putzys, Hamilton go 2-3)
...with North winning the tie-break! It would be very cool if the race came down to the sixth man, and it could happen!
October 15, 2006
NNHS Alumni Results - 10/14
Chris Barnicle ran his first race of the 2006 cross-country campaign and set a nice PR of 30:19.7 for 10K 94:53 per mile) at the Arkansas Chili Pepper Invitational. Chris finished 7th for Arkansas and 38th overall in a loaded field.
Chile Pepper Invitational - Men's 10K
Doug Brecher continued his resurgent Fall campaign as he finished 19th overall and 6th for Bates College at the State of Maine Championships, hosted by Bowdoin. Doug's time was 26:53.7, (5:25 per mile), which is superior to the time he ran last week on the short Franklin Park 8K course.
Maine State XC Championship - Men's 8K
Noah Jampol placed 100th at the Gettysburg Invitational in 28:47.
Gettysburg Invitational Results - Mens 8K
On Friday, Oct. 13, Jesse Chebot ran 28:59 to finish 33rd overall in a tri-meet with St. Michael's College and Lyndon State at St. Micahel's.
UVM/St. Michael's/Lyndon State - Mens 8K (PDF)
Chile Pepper Invitational - Men's 10K
Doug Brecher continued his resurgent Fall campaign as he finished 19th overall and 6th for Bates College at the State of Maine Championships, hosted by Bowdoin. Doug's time was 26:53.7, (5:25 per mile), which is superior to the time he ran last week on the short Franklin Park 8K course.
Maine State XC Championship - Men's 8K
Noah Jampol placed 100th at the Gettysburg Invitational in 28:47.
Gettysburg Invitational Results - Mens 8K
On Friday, Oct. 13, Jesse Chebot ran 28:59 to finish 33rd overall in a tri-meet with St. Michael's College and Lyndon State at St. Micahel's.
UVM/St. Michael's/Lyndon State - Mens 8K (PDF)
October 14, 2006
Results, Photos of Bay State Invite
Jess Barton won the Div. I race at the Bay State Invitational in Northfield today, besting Licoln-Sudbury's Dana Jamieson by 4 seconds. Jess admitted she was running easy the whole way.
Jess Barton in the finishing straight
In the freshmen girls race, Susannah Gleason was the top finisher for North in 27th place (14:59 for 2M), followed by Jaya Tripathi, 35th in 15:33.
Bailey Hanselman running in 10th pace at one mile.
Becca Park and Maalika Banerjee
Jess explains how flat the course was to a skeptical Joe Reardon from the Boston Herald.
Jess Barton in the finishing straight
In the freshmen girls race, Susannah Gleason was the top finisher for North in 27th place (14:59 for 2M), followed by Jaya Tripathi, 35th in 15:33.
Results of Girls Freshmen Race (2M)
27 Susannah Gleason 14:59
35 Jaya Tripathi 15:33
44 Shoshana Kruskal 16:20
46 Katherine Lasell 16:23
95 Sherrie Deng 18:27
In the girls JV race, Bailey Hanselman ran her best race of the year to finish 11th overall in an outstanding time of 23:39 (keep in mind that Northfield Mtn. runs at least 30-40 seconds slower than Franklin Park). Becca Park and Maalika Banerjee finished in 25th and 26th; Elisabeth Gill placed 44th. Jenny Zhao 50th, Claire Merlet 64th, and Caroline Stinehart 70th.
Results of Girls JV Race (5K)
11 Bailey Hanselman 23:39
25 Rebecca Park 24:39
26 Maalika Banerjee 24:39
44 Elizabeth Gill 25:48
50 Jenny Zhao 26:10
64 Claire Merlet 27:45
70 Caroline Stinehart 28:01
Bailey Hanselman running in 10th pace at one mile.
Becca Park and Maalika Banerjee
Jess explains how flat the course was to a skeptical Joe Reardon from the Boston Herald.
October 13, 2006
Northfield Mountain - Bay State Invite
The 5K course at Northfield Mountain (site of the 2006 All-State meet) has inspired a lot of talk and debate this year. On Saturday, the Newton North girls will have a chance to try out the course at the Bay State Invitational.
Bay State Invite - Meet information and Schedule (PDF)
The course at Northfield Mountain is particularly challenging because it is so hard to figure out exactly how to run it. One must not only know the course, but know one's own strengths and weaknesses.
The race begins with a short sprint across a field, up and over a little rise, and then into the woods for a lengthy climb up the side of the mountain. The climb is interrupted half-way up by a short strecth of level ground, and then resumes at the same grade as before. The highest point on the course is reached after about 3/4 of a mile. After that the course basically rolls downhill until about 600m to go, at which point there is a short but extremely nasty hill that interrupts the overall downward momentum of the final miles.
The State meet was last run at Northfield in 2003, and the times were approximately 25-45 seconds slower for Northfield than for Franklin Park the week before. The meet produced a huge upset in the Boys Div I team race, as St. John's Prep beat Brockton, Wachusett, Methuen, and Newton North in an extremely close contest. The Prep had trained on hills all year, and it paid off when they ran at Northfield.
The race rewards a combination of toughness and patience. In that sense, it is a true, fair test of cross-country prowess. North's Liz Gleason ran a terrific race at Northfield in '03, finishing fifth overall and beating runners who had beaten her in at Franklin Park. Having had several years to think about it, I believe the key to Northfield is first to have trained for long hills, and second to run the hill at the beginning at a normal effort, not trying too hard to establish a gap over one's competitors, but not intimidated. The bad thing about having a big hill so early is that one is likely to feel the discomfort of oxygen debt much earlier than normal, and this can be alarming. The good thing is that as long as the effort used on the first climb is not excessive, there is time to recover. Early patience should start to pay off by about the 1.5 Mile mark, as the recovered runner starts really working the downhills. Of course, it helps if you are running in a pack -- where the hazards and inefficiencies of an inconsistent pace are smoothed out by collective wisdom.
This Saturday, North will be running a JV team, a freshman team, and one runner in the varsity race (Jess Barton). Many upperclassmen on the team are taking SATs that day, and the varsity runners other than Jess will be resting up for next week's meet with Weymouth. They'll be at the course, though, running through it, taking its measure, in the hope that the information will prove useful in Novemeber.
October 12, 2006
Pictures from Braintree Meet
Newton North Boys and Girls Sweep Braintree and Dedham. Here are some pictures from the meet:
Newton North runners take control from the start.
Dan Hamilton crosses the line first in 17:07.
The gang of four: from l-to-r - Carolyn, Franca, Adina, Nora
6th and 7th for the Tigers (8th and 9th overall): Bailey Hanselman and Becca Park.
Newton North runners take control from the start.
Dan Hamilton crosses the line first in 17:07.
The gang of four: from l-to-r - Carolyn, Franca, Adina, Nora
6th and 7th for the Tigers (8th and 9th overall): Bailey Hanselman and Becca Park.
October 11, 2006
Runners at Play
"Encourage young athletes, but don't force them. Let them play at athletics... If you encourage training from that perspective, their capacity for exercise, and the benefits they draw from it, will astound you." - Arthur Lydiard (1978)
I was reminded of Lydiard's quote yesterday, when I read that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just released a report on the role of play in the mental and physical health of children. The report sounds a familiar theme: changes in society have resulted in less time for children and youth to engage in play, with potentially negative consequences for both children and their families.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Report
The reason that this caught my attention is that I feel strongly that running is essentially and importantly a form of play. No one that I know, child or adult, runs for a living. It's possible, I admit, that our ancestors could have been running to find food or to escape peril, literally running for their lives. Maybe the rite of racing re-enacts some of that ancient survival mentality -- I don't know. But I do know that these days, for all but a handful of elite athletes, running is not work. It might be hard, but it's what we CHOOSE to do, not what we are FORCED to do.
As a coach, I feel that one of my most important duties is to show athletes how to play at running. Of course, you need a certain level of fitness to play at running, but once over that initial hurdle, a world of possibilities opens up for the runner.
I think the most basic form of running-play is exploration. A runner can go places without requiring a vehicle or money for a ticket. When I was a kid, I was thrilled that I could run places, when others chose to drive. It was like magic to be able to transport myself all over town, or to other towns. And yes, I did own a bike. I liked cycling, too, but the simplicity of running somewhere was always more attractive to me. Plus, there are places you can go on foot that are difficult to navigate on bike.
Another way of playing is to run at different paces -- starting slow, finishing fast; doing a slow run and following it with strides; doing a regular run and interspersing bursts of speed at random intervals. This last is called a "Fartlek" workout -- "fartlek" being the Swedish word for "Speedplay" (there's that word again!).
Perhaps most important, running is a delicious escape from the pressure-filled activities that fill our days. And I'm not just talking about running as a gentle, relaxing, jog in the park -- I'm also including Tuesday night track workouts in foul weather, Thursday night hill repeats, Saturday races, and other intense forms of the sport that, to me, still qualify as "play." There's no rule that says that play can't be strenuous and require immense effort and concentration. I'm telling you, there is no better way to erase the bad feelings from petty feuds and failures at the office or a bad day in school, than to spend half an hour running hard intervals on the track. It is good to be consumed with an activity that requires much, and gives back a feeling of self-satisfaction and contentment.
And this, I think, is at the heart of the issue: to remain playful, the focus of athletics must not be on results and outcomes, but on the activity itself. If goals such as times or championships becomes all-important, then running ceases to be play and becomes one more source of stress.
Finally, I would add that even runners who aspire to great things would do well to nurture the sense of play in their chosen sport. Racing an all-out mile or 5K is a daunting task, and becomes harder, not easier, when the mind dwells unproductively on the difficulties of the task. Among runners of equal ability, the one who survives this test is likely to be the one who finds the whole race thing kind of fun, who enjoys the challenge for its own sake, who is not fighting fatigue but playing with it.
I was reminded of Lydiard's quote yesterday, when I read that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just released a report on the role of play in the mental and physical health of children. The report sounds a familiar theme: changes in society have resulted in less time for children and youth to engage in play, with potentially negative consequences for both children and their families.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Report
The reason that this caught my attention is that I feel strongly that running is essentially and importantly a form of play. No one that I know, child or adult, runs for a living. It's possible, I admit, that our ancestors could have been running to find food or to escape peril, literally running for their lives. Maybe the rite of racing re-enacts some of that ancient survival mentality -- I don't know. But I do know that these days, for all but a handful of elite athletes, running is not work. It might be hard, but it's what we CHOOSE to do, not what we are FORCED to do.
As a coach, I feel that one of my most important duties is to show athletes how to play at running. Of course, you need a certain level of fitness to play at running, but once over that initial hurdle, a world of possibilities opens up for the runner.
I think the most basic form of running-play is exploration. A runner can go places without requiring a vehicle or money for a ticket. When I was a kid, I was thrilled that I could run places, when others chose to drive. It was like magic to be able to transport myself all over town, or to other towns. And yes, I did own a bike. I liked cycling, too, but the simplicity of running somewhere was always more attractive to me. Plus, there are places you can go on foot that are difficult to navigate on bike.
Another way of playing is to run at different paces -- starting slow, finishing fast; doing a slow run and following it with strides; doing a regular run and interspersing bursts of speed at random intervals. This last is called a "Fartlek" workout -- "fartlek" being the Swedish word for "Speedplay" (there's that word again!).
Perhaps most important, running is a delicious escape from the pressure-filled activities that fill our days. And I'm not just talking about running as a gentle, relaxing, jog in the park -- I'm also including Tuesday night track workouts in foul weather, Thursday night hill repeats, Saturday races, and other intense forms of the sport that, to me, still qualify as "play." There's no rule that says that play can't be strenuous and require immense effort and concentration. I'm telling you, there is no better way to erase the bad feelings from petty feuds and failures at the office or a bad day in school, than to spend half an hour running hard intervals on the track. It is good to be consumed with an activity that requires much, and gives back a feeling of self-satisfaction and contentment.
And this, I think, is at the heart of the issue: to remain playful, the focus of athletics must not be on results and outcomes, but on the activity itself. If goals such as times or championships becomes all-important, then running ceases to be play and becomes one more source of stress.
Finally, I would add that even runners who aspire to great things would do well to nurture the sense of play in their chosen sport. Racing an all-out mile or 5K is a daunting task, and becomes harder, not easier, when the mind dwells unproductively on the difficulties of the task. Among runners of equal ability, the one who survives this test is likely to be the one who finds the whole race thing kind of fun, who enjoys the challenge for its own sake, who is not fighting fatigue but playing with it.
October 09, 2006
Noah's T-Shirt is Gone!
As the photograph below makes tragically clear, Noah Jampol, who never ran without his signature white t-shirt throughout his high-school career, has lost the t-shirt and now runs only in a singlet. It is, indeed, a sad day for all of us. We can only hope that he is still not tying his shoelaces. Some traditions must not die!
Photo courtesy of the Johns Hopkins School of Investigative Journalism
Photo courtesy of the Johns Hopkins School of Investigative Journalism
Odd Encounters with the Non-running World
It was a beautiful fall morning -- sunny, warm, and with the leaves in full splendor. Having raced the day before, I was out for an easy seven mile run, and my route took me to Cold Springs Park and a loop on the path. I was feeling very comfortable and relaxed, taking in the glorious foliage and thinking about things that I think about when I run.
I had already passed a few people, when I came up behind a party of four people and a dog. I was slowing down when they stepped to the side of the path to let me pass. I thought that was very nice of them.
But as I glided past them, the eldest member of the group -- a woman of about 60 -- suddenly uttered a single-word command that was unmistakably directed to me: "Faster!" she blurted out.
I slowed to a stop, which took me about about 10 meters, turned around and jogged slowly back to the group. There were three young adults and the older woman who had yelled at me, presumably their mom. I looked at the woman with my most angelic smile and I said, "Why do you want me to go faster?"
At this point, the others in her group were twittering with nervous laughter. I held out my arm to the woman and invited her to run with me. She took my arm and ran about 10 steps very slowly. The laughter in the group became a little louder and a little more uncomfortable. As we were approaching one of the exercise stations on the fitness trail, the woman leaned over to me and whispered "up to this bench... I don't want to have a cardiac arrest." I stopped, she let go of my arm, and I continued on my run.
I had already passed a few people, when I came up behind a party of four people and a dog. I was slowing down when they stepped to the side of the path to let me pass. I thought that was very nice of them.
But as I glided past them, the eldest member of the group -- a woman of about 60 -- suddenly uttered a single-word command that was unmistakably directed to me: "Faster!" she blurted out.
I slowed to a stop, which took me about about 10 meters, turned around and jogged slowly back to the group. There were three young adults and the older woman who had yelled at me, presumably their mom. I looked at the woman with my most angelic smile and I said, "Why do you want me to go faster?"
At this point, the others in her group were twittering with nervous laughter. I held out my arm to the woman and invited her to run with me. She took my arm and ran about 10 steps very slowly. The laughter in the group became a little louder and a little more uncomfortable. As we were approaching one of the exercise stations on the fitness trail, the woman leaned over to me and whispered "up to this bench... I don't want to have a cardiac arrest." I stopped, she let go of my arm, and I continued on my run.
October 08, 2006
NNHS Alumni Results - Oct 7
Liz Gleason comes out of the Wilderness
NE Intercollegiate XC Championships - Franklin Park
In the women's varsity 5K, Liz Gleason ran 18:28 to place 28th overall (one place ahead of old rival Alexander Krieg of Wellesley, now Middlebury) and 2nd for Williams. Anna Schindler ran 20:17 for Wesleyan.
Women's Varsity 5K Results
In the men's sub-varsity 8K, Doug Brecher ran 26:38 to place 37th. Jesse Chebot ran 28:33 (due to a number mix-up, he's listed as "Jim Halbert" in the results).
Men's Sub-Varsity 8K Results
Who Would Have Ever Believed... ?
Former Dedham runner Rex Radloff (25:08) beat former MA State mile champ and 2003 Mass State XC runner-up Keith Gill (25:13).
NNHS Alum Doug Brecher (26:38) beat former State Indoor 2M champ and 2004 Mass State XC runner-up Josh Boone (26:56)
Doug Brecher shares a laugh with Brookline's Rob Gibson
Walt Disney Classic
At the Walt Disney XC Classic in Lake Buena Vista, FL, Noah Jampol placed 42nd out of 239 runners in the Men's 8K in a time of 26:48. Noah was 3rd man for the Johns Hopkins team, which finished 5th out of 30 teams.
Penn State Invitational
Tom Davis continues to run impressive times in high-profile meets. Tom placed 26th overall in the Penn State Invite, running 26:28 for 5.2 miles (5:05 pace!).
October 07, 2006
Around the Bay State League
We're about at the mid-point of the XC season, and it seems like a good time to take a good long look at the Bay State conference -- its teams and individual runners. So with no further ado, let's start with...
Boys - Carey Division
Brookline is 7-0, but hasn't faced a top-tier team in Bay State action since its early win against Needham. On the other hand, they have raced two big invitationals with impressive results. With four runners (Gibson, Burnstein, Lehane, and Eisenberg-Guyot) under 16:45 for 5K, they should have no trouble with Weymouth or Newton North. They migt get a fight from Wellesley, but unless the Warriors decide to take a meet off, they will finish undefeated... I'm frankly surprised to see Weymouth at 6-1 this late in the season. Although they lost to Wellesley, they managed an excruciatingly close victory (27-30) over Needham. They still have to face Brookline (10/11) and Newton North (10/17). If North has Seb Putzys back by then, that will be a very close meet. Dan Pope has been the top runner for the Wildcats, with Mark Jordan not far behind. Pope ran 17:39 at the Bay State Invite, but it wasn't a good race for him or for the team. He's Weymouth's best hope for a top-12 finish at the league meet... Needham started the year with a victory over Newton North, lost to Brookline, and had hopes of winning out, but an injury to Brett Riley doomed them against Weymouth. Sam Miller has been running extremely well (16:38 at Norwood's 3+ mile course), with Kevin Potterton and Liam Gluck in supporting roles. Needham should win easily against Walpole/Milton next week and Dedham the week after, setting up a final meet showdown with Wellesley. If Riley is healthy, I think they'll win that meet... Newton North has been struggling without Putzys (mono), but it has been encouraging to see underclassmen Dan Hamilton (soph), Ben Chebot (junior), and Charlie Krasnow (junior) step up. Hamilton has won two meets outright, and finished 3rd against Wellesley, only a few seconds behind Volkman. All the same, they would dearly love to have Putzys back for their dual meet against Weymouth on 10/17... Framingham always seems to have one or two good runners, and this year's star is Alex Chmielinski, who beat Needham's Potterton and North's Putzys in the opening meet of the year and hasn't looked back... Braintree has struggled this year lacking both a top runner (last year it was Chris O'Day) and depth. Here's hoping that in future years Braintree rebounds to its previous stature. (It was Braintree, after all, that in 2001 ended Brookline's 5-year dual meet win streak.)
Boys - Herget Division
Undefeated Wellesley has beaten two of the top four teams in the Carey (Weymouth and Newton North), but has yet to run against Needham or Brookline. Coach Lou Perlman thinks he has five guys who can go under 17:00 for 5K, but I think that might be a stretch for them. Wellesley definitely needs to get Tommy Mayell back. As a soph, Mayell ran 16:45 for 5K and finished in the top 15 in the State for Div II. This year he has battled injuries and illness. Let's hope he returns to form for the second half the season... The rest of the Herget divisision is fairly weak, with Norwood making a minor resurgence. Led by Slubelus Villius and Peter Spadoni (2nd and 3rd against North), the Mustangs beat Natick last Wednesday... for Natick, Mike Zanchi has emerged as Natick's top runner (he ran 17:55 for 2nd at Cold Springs Park), but their underclassmen haven't come along enough to make them a power yet... Walpole and Milton are languishing. Walpole's top runner is James (?) Scipione, while Milton's top runner, Connors, actually beat North's Hamilton at Houghton's Pond. However, neither team has depth to compete with the larger schools... Dedham, the only Division IV school in the BSC is very undermanned and lost recently to Braintree.
Top Individuals - Boys
Gibson (BRK)
Miller (NEE)
Lehane (BRK)
Burnstein (BRK)
Eisenberg-Guyot (BRK)
Chmielinski (FRA)
Pope (WEY)
Mercurio (BRK)
Potterton (NEE)
Mayell (WEL)
Volkman (WEL)
Stravinski (WEL)
Connor (MIL)
Jordan (WEY)
Hamilton (NN)
Girls - Carey Division
Newton North lost two dual meets last year -- to Wellesley and Weymouth. Last Wednesday, the Tigers avenged the loss to Wellesley in stunning fashion, placing three in front of Wellesley's freshman phenom Faith Richardson, and taking 4 of the top 5. The Weymouth girls must be very, very anxious right now. Unless she runs off-course, Jess Barton looks unstoppable -- in better form than when she was State Champion in 2004. Behind her, Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti look like top 8 runners at the league meet, with Nora Barnicle and Franca Godenzi close behind... Weymouth is also looking very strong, led by junior Kristen Mahoney and returning all-star Nicole Pearce. Although they lost an early meet to Wellesley, last Saturday they showed how good they can be in a big meet, finishing 3rd at the Bay State Invite, ahead of perennial power Newton South. On the strength of that meet, they have leaped to 5th in the MSTCA poll of top Div I teams... Brookline continues to amaze, taking a 6-1 record into the final four meets. Their star is freshman Emily Groopman, who looks very likely to be in the top 12 at the league meet. Brookline still needs to run against the big three: Weymouth, Wellesley, and Newton North, but if they finish 7-4, that's still a huge improvement for the program... Needham has struggled somewhat this year. Emily Lipman has been a consistent #1 performer for the Rockets, but the gap back to Scwinden and Kelley has been too great... Braintree won their meet with Framingham, and should win against Dedham, but are unlikely to do more than that... Framingham gets points for enthusiasm -- they have a large, boisterous team and an energetic coaching staff -- but they are at least a year away from developing the runners to win meets. Here's hoping they keep the program growing and improving.
Girls - Herget Division
I thought Wellesley would be hurting this year, but with freshman Faith Richardson at the front of their pack, they look surprisingly good. The Raiders beat defending Carey division champs, Weymouth, and gave Newton North a good run. Richardson looks like the real deal, and has won three of five races, losing only to the Newton girls and Weymouth's Mahoney. I expect Wellesley to beat Brookline easily, and take down Natick for the Herget division crown... Natick has an tremendous one-two in Becca White and Anya Price (2nd and 3rd behind Barton at Cold Springs Park), but the drop off to Emily Panek cost them against the Tigers and will cost them even more in bigger meets. Natick has yet to face Wellesley or Weymouth. In both races, they might take the top spots, but will find it hard to find the depth to win the meet... Milton is the best of the rest in the Herget, with Horowitz their best runner... Walpole and Norwood are rebuilding... Dedham has struggled to field a complete and healthy team all year.
Top Individuals - Girls
Barton (NN)
White (NAT)
Mahoney (WEY)
Price (NAT)
Smith (NN)
Ranti (NN)
Richardson (WEL)
Groopman (BRK)
Barnicle (NN)
Pearce (WEY)
Gnirke (WEL)
Parise (BRK)
Lipman (NEE)
Sachetti (WEY)
Godenzi (NN)
Boys - Carey Division
Brookline 7 - 0
Weymouth 6 - 1
Needham 5 - 2
NNHS 5 - 2
Framingham 3 - 4
Braintree 0 - 7
Brookline is 7-0, but hasn't faced a top-tier team in Bay State action since its early win against Needham. On the other hand, they have raced two big invitationals with impressive results. With four runners (Gibson, Burnstein, Lehane, and Eisenberg-Guyot) under 16:45 for 5K, they should have no trouble with Weymouth or Newton North. They migt get a fight from Wellesley, but unless the Warriors decide to take a meet off, they will finish undefeated... I'm frankly surprised to see Weymouth at 6-1 this late in the season. Although they lost to Wellesley, they managed an excruciatingly close victory (27-30) over Needham. They still have to face Brookline (10/11) and Newton North (10/17). If North has Seb Putzys back by then, that will be a very close meet. Dan Pope has been the top runner for the Wildcats, with Mark Jordan not far behind. Pope ran 17:39 at the Bay State Invite, but it wasn't a good race for him or for the team. He's Weymouth's best hope for a top-12 finish at the league meet... Needham started the year with a victory over Newton North, lost to Brookline, and had hopes of winning out, but an injury to Brett Riley doomed them against Weymouth. Sam Miller has been running extremely well (16:38 at Norwood's 3+ mile course), with Kevin Potterton and Liam Gluck in supporting roles. Needham should win easily against Walpole/Milton next week and Dedham the week after, setting up a final meet showdown with Wellesley. If Riley is healthy, I think they'll win that meet... Newton North has been struggling without Putzys (mono), but it has been encouraging to see underclassmen Dan Hamilton (soph), Ben Chebot (junior), and Charlie Krasnow (junior) step up. Hamilton has won two meets outright, and finished 3rd against Wellesley, only a few seconds behind Volkman. All the same, they would dearly love to have Putzys back for their dual meet against Weymouth on 10/17... Framingham always seems to have one or two good runners, and this year's star is Alex Chmielinski, who beat Needham's Potterton and North's Putzys in the opening meet of the year and hasn't looked back... Braintree has struggled this year lacking both a top runner (last year it was Chris O'Day) and depth. Here's hoping that in future years Braintree rebounds to its previous stature. (It was Braintree, after all, that in 2001 ended Brookline's 5-year dual meet win streak.)
Boys - Herget Division
Wellesley 7 - 0
Norwood 3 - 4
Natick 3 - 4
Walpole 2 - 5
Milton 1 - 6
Dedham 0 - 7
Undefeated Wellesley has beaten two of the top four teams in the Carey (Weymouth and Newton North), but has yet to run against Needham or Brookline. Coach Lou Perlman thinks he has five guys who can go under 17:00 for 5K, but I think that might be a stretch for them. Wellesley definitely needs to get Tommy Mayell back. As a soph, Mayell ran 16:45 for 5K and finished in the top 15 in the State for Div II. This year he has battled injuries and illness. Let's hope he returns to form for the second half the season... The rest of the Herget divisision is fairly weak, with Norwood making a minor resurgence. Led by Slubelus Villius and Peter Spadoni (2nd and 3rd against North), the Mustangs beat Natick last Wednesday... for Natick, Mike Zanchi has emerged as Natick's top runner (he ran 17:55 for 2nd at Cold Springs Park), but their underclassmen haven't come along enough to make them a power yet... Walpole and Milton are languishing. Walpole's top runner is James (?) Scipione, while Milton's top runner, Connors, actually beat North's Hamilton at Houghton's Pond. However, neither team has depth to compete with the larger schools... Dedham, the only Division IV school in the BSC is very undermanned and lost recently to Braintree.
Top Individuals - Boys
Gibson (BRK)
Miller (NEE)
Lehane (BRK)
Burnstein (BRK)
Eisenberg-Guyot (BRK)
Chmielinski (FRA)
Pope (WEY)
Mercurio (BRK)
Potterton (NEE)
Mayell (WEL)
Volkman (WEL)
Stravinski (WEL)
Connor (MIL)
Jordan (WEY)
Hamilton (NN)
Girls - Carey Division
NNHS 7 - 0
Brookline 6 - 1
Weymouth 6 - 1
Needham 3 - 4
Braintree 1 - 6
Framingham 1 - 6
Newton North lost two dual meets last year -- to Wellesley and Weymouth. Last Wednesday, the Tigers avenged the loss to Wellesley in stunning fashion, placing three in front of Wellesley's freshman phenom Faith Richardson, and taking 4 of the top 5. The Weymouth girls must be very, very anxious right now. Unless she runs off-course, Jess Barton looks unstoppable -- in better form than when she was State Champion in 2004. Behind her, Haleigh Smith and Carolyn Ranti look like top 8 runners at the league meet, with Nora Barnicle and Franca Godenzi close behind... Weymouth is also looking very strong, led by junior Kristen Mahoney and returning all-star Nicole Pearce. Although they lost an early meet to Wellesley, last Saturday they showed how good they can be in a big meet, finishing 3rd at the Bay State Invite, ahead of perennial power Newton South. On the strength of that meet, they have leaped to 5th in the MSTCA poll of top Div I teams... Brookline continues to amaze, taking a 6-1 record into the final four meets. Their star is freshman Emily Groopman, who looks very likely to be in the top 12 at the league meet. Brookline still needs to run against the big three: Weymouth, Wellesley, and Newton North, but if they finish 7-4, that's still a huge improvement for the program... Needham has struggled somewhat this year. Emily Lipman has been a consistent #1 performer for the Rockets, but the gap back to Scwinden and Kelley has been too great... Braintree won their meet with Framingham, and should win against Dedham, but are unlikely to do more than that... Framingham gets points for enthusiasm -- they have a large, boisterous team and an energetic coaching staff -- but they are at least a year away from developing the runners to win meets. Here's hoping they keep the program growing and improving.
Girls - Herget Division
Wellesley 6 - 1
Natick 6 - 1
Milton 3 - 4
Walpole 2 - 5
Norwood 1 - 6
Dedham 0 - 7
I thought Wellesley would be hurting this year, but with freshman Faith Richardson at the front of their pack, they look surprisingly good. The Raiders beat defending Carey division champs, Weymouth, and gave Newton North a good run. Richardson looks like the real deal, and has won three of five races, losing only to the Newton girls and Weymouth's Mahoney. I expect Wellesley to beat Brookline easily, and take down Natick for the Herget division crown... Natick has an tremendous one-two in Becca White and Anya Price (2nd and 3rd behind Barton at Cold Springs Park), but the drop off to Emily Panek cost them against the Tigers and will cost them even more in bigger meets. Natick has yet to face Wellesley or Weymouth. In both races, they might take the top spots, but will find it hard to find the depth to win the meet... Milton is the best of the rest in the Herget, with Horowitz their best runner... Walpole and Norwood are rebuilding... Dedham has struggled to field a complete and healthy team all year.
Top Individuals - Girls
Barton (NN)
White (NAT)
Mahoney (WEY)
Price (NAT)
Smith (NN)
Ranti (NN)
Richardson (WEL)
Groopman (BRK)
Barnicle (NN)
Pearce (WEY)
Gnirke (WEL)
Parise (BRK)
Lipman (NEE)
Sachetti (WEY)
Godenzi (NN)
October 06, 2006
Columbus Day Weekend
It looks like Columbus Day weekend will bring several more days of beautiful Autumn weather, with warm days, cool evenings, foliage so bright that it hurts your eyes, and not a rain cloud in sight.
While some will take the long weekend to rake leaves, visit colleges, or drive to Vermont, there are some big events on the running calendar. The biggest in this area is the New England Collegiate Championships at Franklin Park on Saturday. The meet brings together Div. I, II, and III schools from around the region, with several Newton North alumni scheduled to compete. These include Liz Gleason (Williams), Dave Polgar (BU), Anna Schindler (Wesleyan), Scott Cole (Wesleyan), Doug Brecher (Bates), and Jesse Chebot (Vermont). There are four races (Men and Women Varsity and JV), with the first getting underway at 12:00 noon.
[I lied: the Manhattan Invite is NEXT weekend, Oct 14. Sorry about that]
While there aren't any big races on the Mass. high school calendar, one of the biggest events in the country takes place at Van Cortland Park in NYC NEXT weekend. The Manhattan Invitational has dozens of races, with many of the top-ranked high school teams in the country. Bromfield HS (Harvard, MA) will be competing in the prestigious Eastern States championship race there, and will have their chance to show how they stack up against the best in the East. Other Mass. school participating include Xaverian, Brockton, and Brookline.
Monday is the Tufts Health Care 10K for women. This will be the 30th running of the internationally known race that features world-class runners and a field of over 6000 competitors. The race is at noon and starts and finishes at Boston Common. The best place to watch the race is from Memorial Drive in Cambridge, where you can see the runners three times before they head over the Harvard bridge towards the finish.
There are a number of smaller events on the calendar for this weekend, including the Wayland XC Challenge -- a youth 3K (14 and under) and open 5K XC race at Wayland HS on Sunday (that's where I'm planning to be!).
While some will take the long weekend to rake leaves, visit colleges, or drive to Vermont, there are some big events on the running calendar. The biggest in this area is the New England Collegiate Championships at Franklin Park on Saturday. The meet brings together Div. I, II, and III schools from around the region, with several Newton North alumni scheduled to compete. These include Liz Gleason (Williams), Dave Polgar (BU), Anna Schindler (Wesleyan), Scott Cole (Wesleyan), Doug Brecher (Bates), and Jesse Chebot (Vermont). There are four races (Men and Women Varsity and JV), with the first getting underway at 12:00 noon.
[I lied: the Manhattan Invite is NEXT weekend, Oct 14. Sorry about that]
While there aren't any big races on the Mass. high school calendar, one of the biggest events in the country takes place at Van Cortland Park in NYC NEXT weekend. The Manhattan Invitational has dozens of races, with many of the top-ranked high school teams in the country. Bromfield HS (Harvard, MA) will be competing in the prestigious Eastern States championship race there, and will have their chance to show how they stack up against the best in the East. Other Mass. school participating include Xaverian, Brockton, and Brookline.
Monday is the Tufts Health Care 10K for women. This will be the 30th running of the internationally known race that features world-class runners and a field of over 6000 competitors. The race is at noon and starts and finishes at Boston Common. The best place to watch the race is from Memorial Drive in Cambridge, where you can see the runners three times before they head over the Harvard bridge towards the finish.
There are a number of smaller events on the calendar for this weekend, including the Wayland XC Challenge -- a youth 3K (14 and under) and open 5K XC race at Wayland HS on Sunday (that's where I'm planning to be!).
October 05, 2006
More Photos From Wednesday's Meet
After 100 meters, Walpole is well-represented at the start of the race. Dan Hamilton is in second, with Charlie Krasnow (head down -- what's up with that?), Peter Sun, and Mike Dorfman also in the picture. Wellesley's top runners are just out of the picture, biding their time. 
This year's meet featured a half mile loop around the lower fields, including a trip down the embankment (shown to the left). Unfortunately, the runners had to climb back up at the steepest part!
The girls lead pack climbs the embankment. Wellelsey's Faith Richardson is in the lead, with Jess Barton running comfortably behind. Carolyn, Haleigh, and Nora are all together at this point, just ahead of Walpole's Nicole Perry. Franca and Adina are out of the picture but actually not far behind. Newton's early lead would prove difficult for Wellesley to overcome.
Halfway into the race and Jess has opened up a 15-20 meter gap. It was to be short-lived, however, as she went down the wrong path in the woods and had to make up a couple of hundred yards to re-join the leaders. There's a moral in that story somewhere, but I sure don't know what it is.
October 04, 2006
Results of the Wellesley-Walpole meet
(Mostly) Full Results
Newton North girls take 1-2-3-5-10 to beat Wellesley 21-34.
Newton North boys lose to Wellesley 22-33. The meet was closer than the score. Wellelsey's Greg Stravinsky and Will Volkman pass Dan Hamilton in the last 800 meters to go 1-2. After Hamilton in 3rd, Wellesley takes 4-5, after a Walpole runner in 6th, Newton takes 7-8-9, then Walpole, then Newton.
Mostly full results will be posted at about 9:30 p.m.
Newton North girls take 1-2-3-5-10 to beat Wellesley 21-34.
Newton North boys lose to Wellesley 22-33. The meet was closer than the score. Wellelsey's Greg Stravinsky and Will Volkman pass Dan Hamilton in the last 800 meters to go 1-2. After Hamilton in 3rd, Wellesley takes 4-5, after a Walpole runner in 6th, Newton takes 7-8-9, then Walpole, then Newton.
Mostly full results will be posted at about 9:30 p.m.
Of Two Minds
Newton North-Wellesley-Walpole today at Elm Bank Park -- it should be a great meet, especially the face-off between the two girls teams, 5-0 Herget-leading Wellesley and 5-0 Carey-leading Newton North.
So how important are dual meets, anyway? If you had seen North Coach Peter Martin yesterday at practice you would certainly conclude that league showdowns like NN-Wellesley are very important to him and to his team. He was at his multi-tasking best, calling over one group after another in rapid succession and giving his instructions with brisk military efficiency. When I was foolish enough to suggest that there was no need to be nervous, he looked at me sternly and said in his best professorial voice, "Actually, I'm very calm."
Later, as we started thinking about the next several weeks, we wondered aloud about the trade-off between preparing the team for a big invitational meet (The Bay State Invite at Northfield) vs. preparing the for an important dual meet vs. Weymouth. Since the Bay State Invite is on Saturday 10/14, and the Weymouth meet is on Tuesday 10/17, choices must be made.
So how important are dual meets anyway? Well, dual meets are more intimate both in the sense of highlighting one-on-one battles between runners from two teams, and also in helping to bring together a WHOLE team. When you ride on a bus with your entire team, race together, and ride back to school together, it generates a different feeling then when the top seven go off to compete in an invitational meet. Both situations are part of the season, but they have different satisfactions.
As far as statewide recognition goes, dual meets have little impact. For example, the results of dual meets are rarely taken into consideration for rankings. I have been amused to see this working itself out on DyeStat, where a popular thread ranks the top Massachusetts girls teams. On August 30th, the Newton North girls were ranked 6th in the state. After winning their first two dual meets, they were ranked 7th. After convincingly dispatching a strong Natick team, North was dropped to 12th. After another win in which they took the top six places, they were dropped again to 14th! Of course, the reason for this has nothing to do with North's performances in dual meets during that time, but that all attention was on other teams who were proving themselves at invitational meets (Clipper Relays, Manchester Invite, Boston Invite).
Especially in the Bay State League with it's 8-meet schedule, it's difficult to balance the desire to compete within the league and compete against the rest of the state. This is less of a problem in other leagues, like the Dual-County league, where Newton South has only four league meets (plus a league championship). One consequnce of having so many league meets is the devaluation of individual meets against weaker opponents. A team's top runners might be held out of meets where they are not needed, or told to run easily instead of racing. I'm not at all sure this is a good thing. Wouldn't it be better to have fewer meets, but make them more important?
I'm sure all of our collegiate athletes are having to adjust to a schedule in which they run fewer meets, but each meet has a number of teams. It's a different balance that allows more time for training, less time for experimenting in race situations. Actually, one argument in favor of dual meets at the high school level is that it better serves the needs of the JV runners who won't be able to participate in the big end-of-the-year meets. I don't know. I think one meet a week should be enough for anyone.
So how important are dual meets. I find it difficult to answer the question in general. All I know is that the meet this afternoon is very important, and should be tremendous fun.
So how important are dual meets, anyway? If you had seen North Coach Peter Martin yesterday at practice you would certainly conclude that league showdowns like NN-Wellesley are very important to him and to his team. He was at his multi-tasking best, calling over one group after another in rapid succession and giving his instructions with brisk military efficiency. When I was foolish enough to suggest that there was no need to be nervous, he looked at me sternly and said in his best professorial voice, "Actually, I'm very calm."
Later, as we started thinking about the next several weeks, we wondered aloud about the trade-off between preparing the team for a big invitational meet (The Bay State Invite at Northfield) vs. preparing the for an important dual meet vs. Weymouth. Since the Bay State Invite is on Saturday 10/14, and the Weymouth meet is on Tuesday 10/17, choices must be made.
So how important are dual meets anyway? Well, dual meets are more intimate both in the sense of highlighting one-on-one battles between runners from two teams, and also in helping to bring together a WHOLE team. When you ride on a bus with your entire team, race together, and ride back to school together, it generates a different feeling then when the top seven go off to compete in an invitational meet. Both situations are part of the season, but they have different satisfactions.
As far as statewide recognition goes, dual meets have little impact. For example, the results of dual meets are rarely taken into consideration for rankings. I have been amused to see this working itself out on DyeStat, where a popular thread ranks the top Massachusetts girls teams. On August 30th, the Newton North girls were ranked 6th in the state. After winning their first two dual meets, they were ranked 7th. After convincingly dispatching a strong Natick team, North was dropped to 12th. After another win in which they took the top six places, they were dropped again to 14th! Of course, the reason for this has nothing to do with North's performances in dual meets during that time, but that all attention was on other teams who were proving themselves at invitational meets (Clipper Relays, Manchester Invite, Boston Invite).
Especially in the Bay State League with it's 8-meet schedule, it's difficult to balance the desire to compete within the league and compete against the rest of the state. This is less of a problem in other leagues, like the Dual-County league, where Newton South has only four league meets (plus a league championship). One consequnce of having so many league meets is the devaluation of individual meets against weaker opponents. A team's top runners might be held out of meets where they are not needed, or told to run easily instead of racing. I'm not at all sure this is a good thing. Wouldn't it be better to have fewer meets, but make them more important?
I'm sure all of our collegiate athletes are having to adjust to a schedule in which they run fewer meets, but each meet has a number of teams. It's a different balance that allows more time for training, less time for experimenting in race situations. Actually, one argument in favor of dual meets at the high school level is that it better serves the needs of the JV runners who won't be able to participate in the big end-of-the-year meets. I don't know. I think one meet a week should be enough for anyone.
So how important are dual meets. I find it difficult to answer the question in general. All I know is that the meet this afternoon is very important, and should be tremendous fun.
October 02, 2006
Fruitlands
On Sunday I ran in the USATF-NE 10-Mile championship, held on a hilly course in Harvard, MA. The race had its start and finish near the Fruitlands Museum, a scattering of buildings that commemorates the founding of a transcendentalist commune in 1844 by Amos Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott) and Charles Lane.
The race began in a drizzle that gradually became a steady, if gentle, rain. The rain didn't bother me at all, but I had some anxiety about racing 10 miles, since I haven't been running a lot of miles in training lately and didn't feel quite ready to tackle what will almost certainly be my longest race of the year. I decided I would play it very cool, go out very easy, and save something for the hills later in the race.
As the crowd of runners surged forward with the firing of the gun, I tried to relax and focus all my attention on running efficiently, ignoring as best I could the instinct to chase every other runner who passed by. As the first half mile was downhill, it was hard to hold back. One mile went by in 5:45 and there were maybe a hundred runners in front of me. Two miles in 11:33 and now I was in a comfortable rhythm, not pushing too hard, but starting to improve my position a bit. As I would come up alongside someone who had gone out faster, I would exchange a few words (if I knew the person) and move on, certain I wouldn't see them again until after the finish. Mile three featured the first real uphill, and I was happy to find that I rolled right over it without a lot of straining. As I continued on, trying to judge my pace, I found myself running alone. I had passed the easy targets and they were back there somewhere, but the next pack of runners was way ahead -- maybe 25-30 seconds. I settled myself in for a long chase.
When I passed four miles in 23:33, I felt that I had let the pace drag too much. I was feeling fine, and knew that no matter what kind of climbs were ahead, I wasn't going to crash and burn. The next mile had a long gradual downhill, so I tried to focus on turnover and make up some of the distance to the stragglers who were being spit out by the pack ahead of me. Just before we hit halfway, we climbed another short, fairly steep uphill and I caught a couple more people. I reached halfway in 29:24 -- 5:53 pace, and I found myself thinking, I feel too good.
Mile six was uneventful. Mile seven we went up another hill and I passed another two-three more people. In front of me, I could see the top two women who were running shoulder to shoulder about 10 seconds in front of me. I figured I had a good chance to catch them, and a short climb just before we passed Bromfield High School at about the 8-mile mark gave me my opportunity. At this point, I knew that uphills were my allies -- the steeper the better -- and I was glad for all the hill repeats my running buddy Terry and I had run up Comm Ave for the past five weeks. (Terry was about a minute in front of me at this point).
I went by the lead women and saw a lot of empty road ahead. But I knew from my warm-up before the race that the last mile climbed about 150 feet before a short downhill finish. I felt I could get one more place, and I tried to gauge my effort to accomplish that goal. At this point, the course turned off the main road and ascended a short and nasty little hill that stole away momentum and -- for the first time in the race -- made me aware that I was hurting. I tried to focus on turnover, efficiency, not over-striding. As the road leveled out, I told myself there was one more hill to go.
I had jogged the last part of the course before the race and I figured that once you had crested the last hill, there was maybe a minute and a half of hard running on a slight downhill before the finish. This was useful to know, because the uphill curved around in such a way that you couldn't actually see where you were relative to the end until the very top. So that was where I made a last push, using my weary but Heartbreak-Hill-trained legs to catch one last guy, got a little gap on him and then held on for dear life in the final downhill.
I finished in 58:37, not a spectacular time, but not bad considering my pre-race concerns about fitness. But then I realized that I had run negative splits: 29:24/29:13, even though the course dropped 100 feet in the first five miles, and climbed back up in the second half of the race. It had felt too easy, and now I knew why: it HAD been too easy! I had never actually been able to make up for my relatively slow start, although I had certainly saved myself a great deal of pain and suffering by being conservative. Ah well, it had been fun. Maybe it hadn't been perfect, but it would do.
After the race, as the rain came down, I talked with my friend Sumner about Fruitlands and the "experiment" that it represented. The residents of the Fruitlands commune had wanted to support themselves in what they believed would be an earthly paradise, without "corrupting" themselves or the land. They were vegetarians, eschewing even milk and eggs. They didn't know the first thing about farming. They were much fonder of discoursing on philosophical topics than actually working the land. Not surprisingly, the commune failed within six months.
Perhaps I, too, had just wanted the whole enterprise to be easier than such things generally are.
Read "Transcendentalist Wild Oats" - Louisa May Alcott's satirical reminiscence on the Fruitlands experiment.
October 01, 2006
How Good is Wellesley?
Only one program in the BSC has two undefeated teams. The Wellesley girls and boys have not lost a meet through the first half of the dual meet season. Wellesley has yet to face Brookline or Needham or Newton North, but both their teams beat strong Weymouth squads, and have demolished lesser competition.
This Wednesday, Oct. 4, Wellesley, Newton North, and Walpole will race a tri-meet at Wellesley's new course at Elm Bank Park. Wellesley and North have identical 5-0 records, and the meet will likely decide the league championship.
So how good is Wellesley?
Their girls team lost their #1 runner from 2005 to graduation, but have found a new #1 in freshman sensation Faith Richardson. Richardson has won three meets already, and lost narrowly to Weymouth's Kristen Mahoney. At Braintree, Richardson ran 19:48 for 3 miles, and she holds the brand new course record on her home course, having covered the 2.7 miles in 16:47. After Richardson, Weymouth relies on veterans Marlis Gnirke and Anna Lukes. Gnirke finished just ahead of Haleigh Smith at last year's BSC league meet. Lukes finished 15th, about 40 seconds back. Another returning veteran, Krysten Hartman, who finished 5th at the BSC meet and is the #3 returner, has been recovering from knee surgery and it is not known if she will be running. Wellesley is very deep, and their next pack of runners will not be far behind. They include sophomore Ali Griswold and Senior Mari Oye (a soccer convert?), who have been running in the top five all year.
I don't think any of the Wellesley girls can run with Jess, but Richardson and Gnirke can run with anyone else on Newton's team. It should be a real battles for places 2-6. I think North's depth through their top six will be the difference in the meet, although it will be close.
The Wellesley boys don't really have a number #1 runner. Their senior captain and top returner, Tom Mayell, has been coming back from injury and hasn't returned to the form he had as a sophomore. However, the rest of the team constitutes a tight pack with Will Volkman (17:19 at Braintree), Greg Stravinsky (17:25), Andrew Wagner (17:35), and Nick Carroll (who didn't run against Braintree), but probably the #2 guy on the team. In 5K terms, Wellesley has five guys who can run 17:00-18:00, and Mayell is sub 17:00 when he's healthy. That's going to be tough for the Newton North boys to handle without Seb Putzys, who continues to make progress recovering from Mononucleosis.
But the North boys have surprised me already this season, so they might be able to pull off an upset, and should certainly make the meet close one way or the other.
As for the course, the Wellesley coaches have added a 1K loop to the beginning of the old course that takes runners down a semi-steep hill, along a grassy stretch in the shadow of the woods, and then back up a short but very steep embankment. The course then rejoins the old course for a long loop on the roads and in the woods. I think the hill comes too early to be much of a strategic factor in the race, but again, running it every week might give the Red Raiders an edge in competition.
It should be a very good, very competitive meet.
This Wednesday, Oct. 4, Wellesley, Newton North, and Walpole will race a tri-meet at Wellesley's new course at Elm Bank Park. Wellesley and North have identical 5-0 records, and the meet will likely decide the league championship.
So how good is Wellesley?
Their girls team lost their #1 runner from 2005 to graduation, but have found a new #1 in freshman sensation Faith Richardson. Richardson has won three meets already, and lost narrowly to Weymouth's Kristen Mahoney. At Braintree, Richardson ran 19:48 for 3 miles, and she holds the brand new course record on her home course, having covered the 2.7 miles in 16:47. After Richardson, Weymouth relies on veterans Marlis Gnirke and Anna Lukes. Gnirke finished just ahead of Haleigh Smith at last year's BSC league meet. Lukes finished 15th, about 40 seconds back. Another returning veteran, Krysten Hartman, who finished 5th at the BSC meet and is the #3 returner, has been recovering from knee surgery and it is not known if she will be running. Wellesley is very deep, and their next pack of runners will not be far behind. They include sophomore Ali Griswold and Senior Mari Oye (a soccer convert?), who have been running in the top five all year.
I don't think any of the Wellesley girls can run with Jess, but Richardson and Gnirke can run with anyone else on Newton's team. It should be a real battles for places 2-6. I think North's depth through their top six will be the difference in the meet, although it will be close.
The Wellesley boys don't really have a number #1 runner. Their senior captain and top returner, Tom Mayell, has been coming back from injury and hasn't returned to the form he had as a sophomore. However, the rest of the team constitutes a tight pack with Will Volkman (17:19 at Braintree), Greg Stravinsky (17:25), Andrew Wagner (17:35), and Nick Carroll (who didn't run against Braintree), but probably the #2 guy on the team. In 5K terms, Wellesley has five guys who can run 17:00-18:00, and Mayell is sub 17:00 when he's healthy. That's going to be tough for the Newton North boys to handle without Seb Putzys, who continues to make progress recovering from Mononucleosis.
But the North boys have surprised me already this season, so they might be able to pull off an upset, and should certainly make the meet close one way or the other.
As for the course, the Wellesley coaches have added a 1K loop to the beginning of the old course that takes runners down a semi-steep hill, along a grassy stretch in the shadow of the woods, and then back up a short but very steep embankment. The course then rejoins the old course for a long loop on the roads and in the woods. I think the hill comes too early to be much of a strategic factor in the race, but again, running it every week might give the Red Raiders an edge in competition.
It should be a very good, very competitive meet.
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