October 30 was the big day for high school and college conference championships all across the land. No exception to that rule, The BSC held its league meet at Norwood again this year, and both Newton North teams ran very well.
In the boys varsity race, Weymouth's Steve Sollowin (16:05) defended his title with a dominating win over Wellesley's Peter Krieg (16:26) and the rest of the field. Newton North junior Justin Keefe had a total break-out race, finishing third in the deep field in a personal best time of 16:30. It should be noted that Keefe finished ahead of five Brookline runners who had beat him only four days earlier at Larz Anderson (beating everyone on Brookline's varsity except Chernet Sisay, who did not run).
Seniors Ezra Lichtman (16:47) and Dan Ranti (16:62) also had all-star caliber races, finishing 9th and 11th, respectively.
Brookline won the team title convincingly, even without Sisay, as they placed five runners in the top twenty to score 50 points, well ahead of second-place Weymouth. After those two teams, the next three teams were separated by only three points, showing the new parity of the league. Walpole and Newton North both scored 101 points, with the Rebels taking 3rd on the strength of the finish of their sixth man, Dave Connors. I believe it was the highest place for the Walpole boys since the glory days of the mid-90s.
Results of BSC boys varsity race
In the girls varsity race, Margo Gillis also defended her title, but had her hands full with Wellesley's Priyanka Fouda, outkicking her by a mere 2.5 seconds for the victory. Overall, times were much faster this year than in 2009, where Gillis won by half a minute and was the only girl under 20:00. This year eight girls broke 20:00, and twenty broke 21:00 compared with nine last year.
The girls team race looked like it was all Wellesley, as the Raiders took 2-3-5-9, but the Carey champion Weymouth team placed all five of their scorers in the top 13, with Julie Tevenan and Molly Barker slipping in before Milton's Clara Heiden for the last two spots. Those places would be decisive, as Wellesley's fifth runner placed only 25th, and Weymouth won by a single point, 33 to 34.
In their best meet of the season, the Newton North girls earned an upset third-place finish over three teams that had beaten them earlier in the season. After Gillis, North's second finisher was Devika Banerjee in 26th. North's next four runners -- Emma Walter, Julia Schlossman, Julia Schiantarelli, and Meghan Bellerose -- blanketed the finish in 33rd-38th with a 13-second spread.
Results of BSC girls varsity race
October 31, 2010
October 27, 2010
NNHS Loses to Brookline in Dual Meet Finale
Newton North wrapped up its dual meet season on Tuesday with a trip to the hills of Larz Anderson Park.
In the boys race, the Tigers were no match for the host Warriors. Brookline's Chernet Sisay, Mark Perry, and Romey Sklar took the top three places, clinching the win before NN's first runner crossed the line. Dan Ranti and Ezra Lichtman had strong races to finish fourth and fifth, but Brookine took 10 of the next 12 places. Final score: 19-40 for the home team.
The boys finish the season with only two losses to Weymouth and Brookline. The team now looks forward to the BSC Championship meet at Norwood on Saturday, followed by the coaches meet, and the state class meet.
Boys results (compiled from athletic.net)
In the girls race, the Tigers couldn't leverage another dominating performance by Margo Gillis, and ended up losing a close meet to the Warriors 26-31.
Gillis (18:39) finished nearly a minute in front of Brookline freshman Charlotte Cole (19:37). Devika Banerjee took second, and Rebecca Trayner sixth for the Tigers. Brookline had four of the next five finishers, though, showing superior depth.
Girls results (compiled from athletic.net)
In the boys race, the Tigers were no match for the host Warriors. Brookline's Chernet Sisay, Mark Perry, and Romey Sklar took the top three places, clinching the win before NN's first runner crossed the line. Dan Ranti and Ezra Lichtman had strong races to finish fourth and fifth, but Brookine took 10 of the next 12 places. Final score: 19-40 for the home team.
The boys finish the season with only two losses to Weymouth and Brookline. The team now looks forward to the BSC Championship meet at Norwood on Saturday, followed by the coaches meet, and the state class meet.
Boys results (compiled from athletic.net)
1 Chernet Sisay 15:25 Broo 11
2 Mark Perry 15:26 Broo 11
3 Romey Sklar 15:33 Broo 12
4 Dan Ranti 15:46 NNHS 12
5 Ezra Lichtman 15:49 NNHS 12
6 Matt Goroff 15:55 Broo 11
7 Evan Sternstein 16:01 Broo 11
8 Michael Katzeff 16:04 Broo 12
9 Justin Keefe 16:15 NNHS 11
10 Jon Long 16:39 NNHS 10
11 Aaron Klein 16:41 Broo 10
12 Andrew Triedman 16:49 Broo 12
13 William Jackson 16:53 Broo 12
14 Zane McInturf 16:57 Broo 12
15 Danny Waldroop 17:01 Broo 11
16 Max Shore 17:17 Broo 11
17 Grigoriy Gressel17:18 Broo 11
18 Steven Michael 17:34 NNHS 11
19 David Demerest 17:39 NNHS 10
20 Hikari Mamata 17:43 Broo 11
21 Sam Lauffer 17:46 Broo 12
22 Teddy Cullinane 18:07 Broo 11
23 Mike Schlichting18:37 NNHS 9
24 Ben Duvall 18:44 NNHS 11
25 Bernard McSally 19:12 NNHS 11
In the girls race, the Tigers couldn't leverage another dominating performance by Margo Gillis, and ended up losing a close meet to the Warriors 26-31.
Gillis (18:39) finished nearly a minute in front of Brookline freshman Charlotte Cole (19:37). Devika Banerjee took second, and Rebecca Trayner sixth for the Tigers. Brookline had four of the next five finishers, though, showing superior depth.
Girls results (compiled from athletic.net)
1 Margo Gillis 18:39 NNHS 12
2 Charlotte Cole 19:37 Broo 9
3 Devika Banerjee 19:58 NNHS 12
4 Jessica Lu 20:13 Broo 10
5 Lilly Gadhe 20:22 Broo 11
6 Rebecca Trayner 20:24 NNHS 11
7 Hannah Warren 20:26 Broo 12
8 Hannah Breck 20:43 Broo 11
9 J.Schiantarelli 21:02 NNHS 10
10 Anya Filina 21:08 Broo 12
11 Sabrina Lee 21:08 Broo 10
12 J. Schlossman 21:26 NNHS 10
13 Anna Russo 21:47 Broo 10
14 Emily Brown 22:00 Broo 11
15 Hannah Gottlieb 22:16 Broo 11
16 Allie Phillips 22:19 NNHS 11
17 Amanda Frankel 22:32 Broo 11
18 Meghan Bellerose22:39 NNHS 10
19 Melissa Weikart 22:51 NNHS 11
20 Katy Ames 23:14 Broo 12
21 Rose LaPlante 24:29 Broo 12
22 Michaela Corn 26:09 Broo 12
23 Iris Naimark 26:18 Broo 12
24 Kimberly Yu 29:46 Broo 12
25 Asuya Rozental 29:47 Broo 12
26 Hanna Pinsky 29:48 Broo 12
October 24, 2010
Checking in With the Chameleons
As a general rule, on Monday afternoons I don't like surprises.
As we head into each new week of cross country, I find myself hoping that last week's hard workouts have left no lingering soreness or impairment, and that the young minds and bodies in my care have been refreshed and recharged. I'm hoping that the faces I see will be ready and eager to plunge into another week of training and racing.
So I wasn't overjoyed when one my top runners showed up last Monday at practice in street clothes. Street clothes = trouble.
"You're going to be mad at me," he announced.
"I am?" I replied in a non-committal way, as I quickly ran through a mental checklist of the disasters that might befall a highly-trained H.S. distance runner: academic problems, illness (strep throat, flu, mono!), injury, new car, new job to pay for new car, use of drugs/alcohol, college stress, sleep deprivation, spiritual crisis, romance going badly, romance going too well...
He interrupted my train of thought. "I was playing hockey yesterday..." he said, and I nodded. I could see where this was going; no doubt, hockey is exactly the sport I want my runners playing on their day off. I sighed, and waited to see how bad this was going to be. Not so bad as the spiritual crisis, I thought...
---
In fact, the hockey injury turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise. Yes, it kept one of my top guys from running last week, and sure, we could have used him in our meet Wednesday (we were racing against last year's league champions). But having one of our leaders on the sidelines cheering had a curiously potent affect on the rest of the team.
Knowing that every place counted and that they were undermanned, the rest of the Chameleons approached the mid-week meet with uncommon resolve. There was an edge to the pre-race preparations and a sense of purpose. Although slightly behind in the early going, as the race wore on, our top two edged ahead of their top guy, pulling away by 20 seconds in the final mile. Our nominal fourth best runner had the race of his life and caught their top guy in the final 100 meters. In all, six of our top seven runners set personal bests. In almost every man-to-man battle, we came out ahead, and what was an even race with a mile to go turned into a lopsided 20-35 victory. It wasn't that the other team ran poorly; their coach was very happy with the number of his runners who also set lifetime bests. Everything just seemed to come together for us.
Three days later, at our annual competition against Pingree School, we had another good day, taking the top six places against a decent team, and recording another spate of personal bests, especially from the middle of our pack.
---
That hockey injury notwithstanding, it's been a fun season so far. This is my fourth year at Concord Academy, and this year's team is special in many ways. For one thing, the runners on my team seem to really LIKE to run. I confess, this surprises me, as I am used to having to be a cheerleader for running, selling its benefits to a skeptical audience that has other priorities. But this year feels different.
For example, there is this new enthusiasm for the long run. It started with a small group, as it usually does, and has spread through the 34-person team. When I asked them to write down their seasonal goals, many of my mid-packers listed running continuously for 10 miles (or 15 miles, or... ) rather than racing a particular time.
It remains to be seen how this will all translate to the championship season. We face tough competition in our league meet, and go into it as an underdog. We will have a tough challenge to try to reach the podium at the New England level.
But this year's team has already recorded the fastest five-man average time in CA history (at least so far as I can determine; some other CA team might have run faster in the dawn of time). And equally exciting, the success at the top has seemed to inspire success in the middle. For example, on Saturday, half a dozen runners ran faster than 7:00 pace over 5K for the first time in their lives. One of my freshmen cut 77 seconds off his best time, skipping the 21's entirely to run 20:54.
In retrospect, I think a turning point came in a team meeting four weeks ago. It was a chance to talk about individual goals and team goals, and how the two could be reconciled. There were a lot of things said about how we wanted to win the league championship, etc. But one kid, a sophomore who at that time had a best time of 23:26, spoke up and said, "I know that I'm not going to be in the top seven this year, but I also know that if I train hard this season and keep running after the season and next summer, I can be in the top seven next year." I'm probably not doing him justice, because he said it in direct words and very much from the heart. On Saturday, he ran 20:24, a new personal best by 53 seconds.
---
As we head into the final three weeks of the season, there are no guarantees. Like every other team out there, we're trying to find the balance of training and recovery, we're trying to stay healthy, and we're trying not to get too distracted by things we can't control, like how fast other teams are running.
But we're in a good place right now. I'd like to think we've developed some resilience, too, so that if we experience a little hardship -- as I'm sure we will -- we'll see it as a challenge that can motivate us to accomplish more.
Good luck to all teams as we approach November and championship season!
As we head into each new week of cross country, I find myself hoping that last week's hard workouts have left no lingering soreness or impairment, and that the young minds and bodies in my care have been refreshed and recharged. I'm hoping that the faces I see will be ready and eager to plunge into another week of training and racing.
So I wasn't overjoyed when one my top runners showed up last Monday at practice in street clothes. Street clothes = trouble.
"You're going to be mad at me," he announced.
"I am?" I replied in a non-committal way, as I quickly ran through a mental checklist of the disasters that might befall a highly-trained H.S. distance runner: academic problems, illness (strep throat, flu, mono!), injury, new car, new job to pay for new car, use of drugs/alcohol, college stress, sleep deprivation, spiritual crisis, romance going badly, romance going too well...
He interrupted my train of thought. "I was playing hockey yesterday..." he said, and I nodded. I could see where this was going; no doubt, hockey is exactly the sport I want my runners playing on their day off. I sighed, and waited to see how bad this was going to be. Not so bad as the spiritual crisis, I thought...
---
In fact, the hockey injury turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise. Yes, it kept one of my top guys from running last week, and sure, we could have used him in our meet Wednesday (we were racing against last year's league champions). But having one of our leaders on the sidelines cheering had a curiously potent affect on the rest of the team.
Knowing that every place counted and that they were undermanned, the rest of the Chameleons approached the mid-week meet with uncommon resolve. There was an edge to the pre-race preparations and a sense of purpose. Although slightly behind in the early going, as the race wore on, our top two edged ahead of their top guy, pulling away by 20 seconds in the final mile. Our nominal fourth best runner had the race of his life and caught their top guy in the final 100 meters. In all, six of our top seven runners set personal bests. In almost every man-to-man battle, we came out ahead, and what was an even race with a mile to go turned into a lopsided 20-35 victory. It wasn't that the other team ran poorly; their coach was very happy with the number of his runners who also set lifetime bests. Everything just seemed to come together for us.
Three days later, at our annual competition against Pingree School, we had another good day, taking the top six places against a decent team, and recording another spate of personal bests, especially from the middle of our pack.
---
That hockey injury notwithstanding, it's been a fun season so far. This is my fourth year at Concord Academy, and this year's team is special in many ways. For one thing, the runners on my team seem to really LIKE to run. I confess, this surprises me, as I am used to having to be a cheerleader for running, selling its benefits to a skeptical audience that has other priorities. But this year feels different.
For example, there is this new enthusiasm for the long run. It started with a small group, as it usually does, and has spread through the 34-person team. When I asked them to write down their seasonal goals, many of my mid-packers listed running continuously for 10 miles (or 15 miles, or... ) rather than racing a particular time.
It remains to be seen how this will all translate to the championship season. We face tough competition in our league meet, and go into it as an underdog. We will have a tough challenge to try to reach the podium at the New England level.
But this year's team has already recorded the fastest five-man average time in CA history (at least so far as I can determine; some other CA team might have run faster in the dawn of time). And equally exciting, the success at the top has seemed to inspire success in the middle. For example, on Saturday, half a dozen runners ran faster than 7:00 pace over 5K for the first time in their lives. One of my freshmen cut 77 seconds off his best time, skipping the 21's entirely to run 20:54.
In retrospect, I think a turning point came in a team meeting four weeks ago. It was a chance to talk about individual goals and team goals, and how the two could be reconciled. There were a lot of things said about how we wanted to win the league championship, etc. But one kid, a sophomore who at that time had a best time of 23:26, spoke up and said, "I know that I'm not going to be in the top seven this year, but I also know that if I train hard this season and keep running after the season and next summer, I can be in the top seven next year." I'm probably not doing him justice, because he said it in direct words and very much from the heart. On Saturday, he ran 20:24, a new personal best by 53 seconds.
---
As we head into the final three weeks of the season, there are no guarantees. Like every other team out there, we're trying to find the balance of training and recovery, we're trying to stay healthy, and we're trying not to get too distracted by things we can't control, like how fast other teams are running.
But we're in a good place right now. I'd like to think we've developed some resilience, too, so that if we experience a little hardship -- as I'm sure we will -- we'll see it as a challenge that can motivate us to accomplish more.
Good luck to all teams as we approach November and championship season!
October 19, 2010
Registration for BAA Marathon Opens, Closes in a Day
In a development that surprised everyone and will disappoint many, the BAA shut down online registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon race after receiving 22,000 online applications in a little over eight hours yesterday. Last year, it took two months to fill all the slots; this year it took one business day.
The news was significant enough to merit a front-page story in the Boston Globe,
Unlike most marathons, Boston requires that non-charity entrants achieve qualifying times at other marathons. This makes the entry process more severe, but also increases the cachet. Qualifying for Boston is a big, big deal -- a lifetime goal for many recreational runners. That also leads to an unspoken expectation that running the qualifying standard more or less ensures entry into the race.
Not this year.
As race director Dave McGillivray said, "There are more people running these days, more people qualifying and a greater inventory of people who want to run Boston. As a result of all that, there was a sense of urgency that hasn’t existed before."
Leaving aside his unfortunate use of the word "inventory" to describe the many runners who are willing to pay a couple of hundred bucks for the privilege of running from Hopkinton to Newton in mid-April, he's right that there was a sense of urgency. Facebook was abuzz yesterday with people sharing their stories of registering or trying to register, or alerting other runners to get in their applications quickly.
We've yet to see the fallout, but I don't think the story will end here. For one thing there's bound to be discussion about the thousands of charity numbers given out every year to people who have NOT qualified. There will be much discussion of whether the race can accommodate more runners, perhaps adding a third wave, or a charity wave to what is currently a two-wave start for the masses. There will be another discussion about whether qualifying standard should be made tighter. (There was a time when an open male needed to run 2:50 or better to qualify for Boston; now it's 3:10 or better.)
And whenever there is enough demand, there is sure to be a black market for race numbers.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the BAA handles the issue, and how their experience affects other major marathons.
Did YOU register for Boston? Did you want to register but missed the window? I'd like to hear from you.
The news was significant enough to merit a front-page story in the Boston Globe,
Unlike most marathons, Boston requires that non-charity entrants achieve qualifying times at other marathons. This makes the entry process more severe, but also increases the cachet. Qualifying for Boston is a big, big deal -- a lifetime goal for many recreational runners. That also leads to an unspoken expectation that running the qualifying standard more or less ensures entry into the race.
Not this year.
As race director Dave McGillivray said, "There are more people running these days, more people qualifying and a greater inventory of people who want to run Boston. As a result of all that, there was a sense of urgency that hasn’t existed before."
Leaving aside his unfortunate use of the word "inventory" to describe the many runners who are willing to pay a couple of hundred bucks for the privilege of running from Hopkinton to Newton in mid-April, he's right that there was a sense of urgency. Facebook was abuzz yesterday with people sharing their stories of registering or trying to register, or alerting other runners to get in their applications quickly.
We've yet to see the fallout, but I don't think the story will end here. For one thing there's bound to be discussion about the thousands of charity numbers given out every year to people who have NOT qualified. There will be much discussion of whether the race can accommodate more runners, perhaps adding a third wave, or a charity wave to what is currently a two-wave start for the masses. There will be another discussion about whether qualifying standard should be made tighter. (There was a time when an open male needed to run 2:50 or better to qualify for Boston; now it's 3:10 or better.)
And whenever there is enough demand, there is sure to be a black market for race numbers.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the BAA handles the issue, and how their experience affects other major marathons.
Did YOU register for Boston? Did you want to register but missed the window? I'd like to hear from you.
October 18, 2010
NNHS Alumni Results - 10/17/10
The annual Paddy's Pub Shillelagh Shuffle 3M Road Race took over my neighborhood in Newton for a couple of hours on Sunday. I was driving home from a race elsewhere, and was two blocks from home when I reached a police barricade and had to turn back. Ironic.
Anyway, NNHS Asst. Coach Shawn Wallace had a good day, finishing 7th overall in 15:46, but more importantly staying ahead (for the moment) of NNHS junior Justin Keefe, who was 11th in 16:04. I realize neither one of these two are actually NNHS alumni... In fact, girls Asst. Coach Brandon Mogayzel isn't either (he's a Dennis-Yarmouth alum), but he was also in the results, finishing 28th in 17:15. Looking down the list, the first true NNHS alumus was Tim Killilea, who finished in 19:09, the 3M race being about 23.2 miles shorter than his favorite distance.
And speaking of marathons, David Robb (brother of Dan and Brian) ran a huge personal best at the Bay State Marathon in Lowell on Sunday. After running Boston last year, Davy finished 263d out of ~1600 in a time of 3:17:39.
In college news, NNHS alum and recent (2009) Univ of Rochester grad Dan Chebot returned to Western New York to compete at the Yellowjacket Invitational. He acquitted himself well, finishing 27th overall in a very solid time of 26:46.
Anyway, NNHS Asst. Coach Shawn Wallace had a good day, finishing 7th overall in 15:46, but more importantly staying ahead (for the moment) of NNHS junior Justin Keefe, who was 11th in 16:04. I realize neither one of these two are actually NNHS alumni... In fact, girls Asst. Coach Brandon Mogayzel isn't either (he's a Dennis-Yarmouth alum), but he was also in the results, finishing 28th in 17:15. Looking down the list, the first true NNHS alumus was Tim Killilea, who finished in 19:09, the 3M race being about 23.2 miles shorter than his favorite distance.
And speaking of marathons, David Robb (brother of Dan and Brian) ran a huge personal best at the Bay State Marathon in Lowell on Sunday. After running Boston last year, Davy finished 263d out of ~1600 in a time of 3:17:39.
In college news, NNHS alum and recent (2009) Univ of Rochester grad Dan Chebot returned to Western New York to compete at the Yellowjacket Invitational. He acquitted himself well, finishing 27th overall in a very solid time of 26:46.
October 13, 2010
NN Boys Win, Girls Lose at Wellesley
Cross Country races at Elm Bank Park can be over in a hurry. The 2.55-mile mostly flat course is the shortest in the Bay State League, making for highly tactical races and furious finishes.
Newton North visited Elm Bank on Tuesday for a meet against Wellesley. In the boys race, Wellelsey's Peter Krieg won in 13:00, but North's depth proved decisive as they took the next three places plus 7th and 8th to turn back the Raiders 24-32. Senior Dan Ranti finished 2nd for the Tigers in 13:09, followed closely by Ezra Lichtman in 3rd (13:11), and Justin Keefe in 4th (13:14, just in front of Wellesley's James Eisenstein who crossed the line in 13:16). After a long gap, the rest of the field started rolling in, with sophomore David Demerest (7th, 14:18) and Jon Long (8th, 14:23) completed the scoring for North.
Boys Results:
The girls race was almost a mirror image of the boys race. Newton North had the top finisher, as Margo Gillis won the race in 15:10. Wellesley took the next three places before Devika Banerjee crossed the line for North in 5th (16:42). Before another North runner could cross the line, Wellesley had nailed down 7th and 8th to win the meet 22-33.
Girls Results:
(Times are taken from athletic.net and Metrowest Daily News)
Newton North visited Elm Bank on Tuesday for a meet against Wellesley. In the boys race, Wellelsey's Peter Krieg won in 13:00, but North's depth proved decisive as they took the next three places plus 7th and 8th to turn back the Raiders 24-32. Senior Dan Ranti finished 2nd for the Tigers in 13:09, followed closely by Ezra Lichtman in 3rd (13:11), and Justin Keefe in 4th (13:14, just in front of Wellesley's James Eisenstein who crossed the line in 13:16). After a long gap, the rest of the field started rolling in, with sophomore David Demerest (7th, 14:18) and Jon Long (8th, 14:23) completed the scoring for North.
Boys Results:
1. Peter Krieg (W) 13:00
2. Dan Ranti (NN) 13:09
3. Ezra Lichtman (NN) 13:11
4. Justin Keefe (NN) 13:14
5. James Eisenstein (W) 13:16
6. John Williamson (W) 13:58
7. David Demerest (NN) 14:18
8. Jon Long (NN) 14:23
9. Andrew Griswold (W) 14:29
10. Mike Schlichting (NN) 14:48
The girls race was almost a mirror image of the boys race. Newton North had the top finisher, as Margo Gillis won the race in 15:10. Wellesley took the next three places before Devika Banerjee crossed the line for North in 5th (16:42). Before another North runner could cross the line, Wellesley had nailed down 7th and 8th to win the meet 22-33.
Girls Results:
1. Margo Gillis (NN) 15:10
2. Priyanka Fouda (W) 15:23
3. Eva Lauer (W) 15:36
4. Eve Roth (W) 16:26
5. Devika Banerjee (NN) 16:42
6. Brennan Mullin (W) 16:44
7. Sarah Carrigan (W) 17:04
8. Julia Schlossman (NN) 17:10
9. Rebecca Trayner (NN) 17:11
10. J. Schiantarelli (NN) 17:16
(Times are taken from athletic.net and Metrowest Daily News)
October 12, 2010
Our National Treasure
On the 25th anniversary of her remarkable victory over Ingrid Kristiansen in the 1985 Chicago Marathon in a lifetime best of 2:21:21, 53-year-old Joan Benoit Samuelson returned to Chicago on Sunday and celebrated the occasion by running 2:47:50. That time improves upon her American age-group record and stands as the world's best for women over 51 years old.
It is also, according to WMA age-grading tables, the equivalent of an open athlete running 2:15:50.
Considering that the temperature in Chicago reached 80 degrees, and that Benoit Samuelson ran the first 10K in 37:32 and the first half in 1:21:09, her final time is so improbable that all you can do is shake your head at the toughness of the athlete who could pull off such an effort.
"It wasn't a smart race, but it was my race," said Samuelson afterward.
But then, Joanie has given us this kind of off-the-charts kind of performance before. There was the breakthrough race in Boston in 1983 where she bolted through the 10K at nearly 5:00 per mile pace (a PR at the time) and held it together to record a world's best 2:23:43. She will go down in history as the first woman to win an Olympic Marathon (famously breaking away from the safety of the pack three miles into the 1984 race in Los Angeles), but her win in the Olympic Trials 17 days after arthroscopic knee surgery still defines the limits of mental and physical courage in my book.
That win over Kristiansen in 1985 was something to see. At the time, Kristiansen held the world records for 5K, 10K, and the marathon, but Joanie broke her to pieces with long punishing surges in the late miles.
Then there were all the wins at Tufts and at Falmouth. There was the patient, informative commentary at the Boston Marathon alongside know-nothings from the local TV stations. There were the appearances at countless running events and seminars -- always gracious and generous to the running community. There were the years of injury and bio-mechanical problems following her pregnancies, followed by a gradual return to competitive excellence as an age-group athlete.
Since turning 50, she has seemed to get better every year. Last fall, she won her age group at the Tufts Health Plan for women 10K by seven minutes, and then went on to run sub 2:50 at the New York City Marathon.
And if you think she has been coasting along on natural talent alone, you should know that she consistently ran 80 miles per week in the months leading up to the Chicago race.
After Sunday's age-defying performance, Benoit Samuelson was again at the Tufts 10K on Monday, where she "recovered" from her Sunday effort by running 40:27 and placing 2nd in her age group and 60th overall. It might not have been the smartest thing to do, but it was pure Joanie -- motivated by a desire to give back to a race that had meant so much to her and to the development of women's running over the years.
Really, there should be a statue of this woman on Boston Common. Under her name, it would be fitting to inscribe the words she spoke leading up to her latest achievement:
"It's important to remember to run your own race. I run my own race. You can't run anybody's race but your own."
October 11, 2010
NNHS Alumni Results - 10/10/10
Jason Abbott-Dallamora - 3:01:04
One thing about Jason Abbott-Dallamora (NNHS '03), he always worked his butt off. In high school he had PRs of ~10:40 for two miles and ~18:15 for 5K, not fast enough to be among the top seven during the Barnicle era, but plenty respectable... and nobody trained harder to get the most out of his abilities.
Jason ran in college, but had injuries and interruptions that kept him from training the way he wanted to. This spring and summer, finally healthy, he made a commitment to train for a fall marathon with a goal of getting a qualifying time for Boston (qualifying for his age group is sub 3:10).
Training alone, Jason averaged over 80 miles a week for three straight months, hitting a peak of 93 miles one week in September.
On Sunday, Jason finished 77th out of nearly 2000 finishers in the Steamboat Marathon, held in Scranton, PA, running 3:01:04 (6:55 pace) and got his qualifying time. Congratulations, Jason! All that hard work paid off.
Tom Davis - 12th at BAA Half Marathon in 1:09:39
Gotta give another shout-out to Tom Davis (NNHS '04), who finished 12th overall in the BAA Half Marathon on Sunday, running an evenly paced 1:09:39 (5:17 pace). Tom was also 6th American in a race dominated by Kenyan runners, and 3rd from Massachusetts.
Congratulations, Tom!
One thing about Jason Abbott-Dallamora (NNHS '03), he always worked his butt off. In high school he had PRs of ~10:40 for two miles and ~18:15 for 5K, not fast enough to be among the top seven during the Barnicle era, but plenty respectable... and nobody trained harder to get the most out of his abilities.
Jason ran in college, but had injuries and interruptions that kept him from training the way he wanted to. This spring and summer, finally healthy, he made a commitment to train for a fall marathon with a goal of getting a qualifying time for Boston (qualifying for his age group is sub 3:10).
Training alone, Jason averaged over 80 miles a week for three straight months, hitting a peak of 93 miles one week in September.
On Sunday, Jason finished 77th out of nearly 2000 finishers in the Steamboat Marathon, held in Scranton, PA, running 3:01:04 (6:55 pace) and got his qualifying time. Congratulations, Jason! All that hard work paid off.
Tom Davis - 12th at BAA Half Marathon in 1:09:39
Gotta give another shout-out to Tom Davis (NNHS '04), who finished 12th overall in the BAA Half Marathon on Sunday, running an evenly paced 1:09:39 (5:17 pace). Tom was also 6th American in a race dominated by Kenyan runners, and 3rd from Massachusetts.
Congratulations, Tom!
October 10, 2010
10/9/10 College XC Results
Open New Englands at Franklin Park
It had been 11 months since I had driven the familiar route through Brookline, past the Arboretum and Forest Hills, and through narrow back streets into the quiet neighborhood that borders the North side of Franklin Park and my "secret" parking spot. From there it is a short walk to White Stadium, and then to Playstead field and the start of the cross-country course.
The occasion, of course, was the Collegiate Open New England Championships and a chance to see some exciting races, cheer for runners I knew, and reconnect with others who were there to support certain runners or teams, or who, like me, were just spectating. It certainly was a great day for that. The leaves were still green on the trees; the sun was warm but not hot; and the mood was festive.
It was almost enough to make you forget that, as Tyler wrote to me after the race, "cross country is just really hard."
Yeah, it is. When the gun goes off and you begin that mad sprint across the field, there's not a lot of time to appreciate any scenery other than the immediate view of the backsides of hundreds of crazed runners in sharp spikes. It takes a ton of energy to move up through the agitated pack, and if you tire and slow for even a few moments, you're immediately passed by ten guys. Only a couple of dozen runners at the very front and a handful at the back aren't running in constant danger from the mayhem that surrounds them.
Given all that, numbers from the races were quite impressive. There were 322 finishers in the women's varsity 5K, 372 in the women's JV 5K. In the varsity race, there were stretches where over 100 women crossed line within a minute of each other, creating near-chaos in the chutes. The men's varsity 8k had 318 finishers and was, if anything, even more congested, with two men per second piling into the chutes between 26:00 and 26:40.
I believe onlytwothree Newton North alumni competed: Jess Barton competed in the women's varsity race, finishing as the first runner for Northeastern and 48th overall with a time of 18:49. Former teammate at NNHS and current Brown sophomore Carolyn Ranti also competed in the varsity race, running 20:39. Jake Gleason ran the men's sub-varsity race for UMass-Lowell, finishing 65th with time of 27:13.
Among Bay State runners, performance of the day probably belongs to Quinnipiac sophomore and Natick alum Rebecca White, who placed 8th in the varsity women's race in a time of 17:54. On the men's side, BU junior transfer and Brookline alum Robert Gibson placed 27th in the men's varsity race in 25:20.
There were impressive times from other Massachusetts natives, however. Whitman-Hanson's Eric Ashe was second overall in the men's varsity race in 24:21, just 13 seconds behind winner Glarius Rop of AIC. Angus Macdonald, a Central Catholic grad was 6th overall, and Haverhill alum Pat Fullerton was 10th. Pentucket grad Eric McDonald was 15th, and another former W-H star, Peter Gilmore, finished 18th. Two-time MA state mile champion Coby Horowitz (now a freshman at Bowdoin) finished 22nd.
It had been 11 months since I had driven the familiar route through Brookline, past the Arboretum and Forest Hills, and through narrow back streets into the quiet neighborhood that borders the North side of Franklin Park and my "secret" parking spot. From there it is a short walk to White Stadium, and then to Playstead field and the start of the cross-country course.
The occasion, of course, was the Collegiate Open New England Championships and a chance to see some exciting races, cheer for runners I knew, and reconnect with others who were there to support certain runners or teams, or who, like me, were just spectating. It certainly was a great day for that. The leaves were still green on the trees; the sun was warm but not hot; and the mood was festive.
It was almost enough to make you forget that, as Tyler wrote to me after the race, "cross country is just really hard."
Yeah, it is. When the gun goes off and you begin that mad sprint across the field, there's not a lot of time to appreciate any scenery other than the immediate view of the backsides of hundreds of crazed runners in sharp spikes. It takes a ton of energy to move up through the agitated pack, and if you tire and slow for even a few moments, you're immediately passed by ten guys. Only a couple of dozen runners at the very front and a handful at the back aren't running in constant danger from the mayhem that surrounds them.
Given all that, numbers from the races were quite impressive. There were 322 finishers in the women's varsity 5K, 372 in the women's JV 5K. In the varsity race, there were stretches where over 100 women crossed line within a minute of each other, creating near-chaos in the chutes. The men's varsity 8k had 318 finishers and was, if anything, even more congested, with two men per second piling into the chutes between 26:00 and 26:40.
I believe only
Among Bay State runners, performance of the day probably belongs to Quinnipiac sophomore and Natick alum Rebecca White, who placed 8th in the varsity women's race in a time of 17:54. On the men's side, BU junior transfer and Brookline alum Robert Gibson placed 27th in the men's varsity race in 25:20.
There were impressive times from other Massachusetts natives, however. Whitman-Hanson's Eric Ashe was second overall in the men's varsity race in 24:21, just 13 seconds behind winner Glarius Rop of AIC. Angus Macdonald, a Central Catholic grad was 6th overall, and Haverhill alum Pat Fullerton was 10th. Pentucket grad Eric McDonald was 15th, and another former W-H star, Peter Gilmore, finished 18th. Two-time MA state mile champion Coby Horowitz (now a freshman at Bowdoin) finished 22nd.
October 08, 2010
Colleges: New England Championships On Saturday
One of the best cross country meets of the year for seeing local talent in the college ranks is the NEICAAA (aka "Open New Englands") Championships. The 2010 Championships will be held Saturday, October 9, at Franklin Park.
The meet is one of the few that brings together D1, D2, and D3 teams, and it is always exciting to see how the smaller programs stack up against the D1 powers.
Here's the schedule of races:
12:00 pm Women's Sub Varsity 5k
12:45 pm Women's Varsity 5k
1:30 pm Men's Varsity 8k
2:15 pm Men's Sub Varsity 8k
According to the NEICAAA website, there are 52 teams entered in the men's varsity race and 50 teams entered in the women's varsity race.
There are far too many local runners to list, and I don't know who's healthy and who's not, but the team rosters include NNHS alumni Seb Putzeys (Northeastern), Jess Barton (Northeastern), Jake Gleason (UMass Lowell), and Carolyn Ranti (Brown). The BSC is well represented, and it should be exciting to see Rob Gibson, Elliot Lehane, and Ryan Hardiman among the Bay Staters competing. NSRP and Newton South are also in the house, and the meet will bring together former NSHS teammates Bridget Dahlberg, Madeleine Reed, and Melanie Fineman.
Even tiny Concord Academy has three runners, including Tyler Andrews, who has been running well for Tufts in his first collegiate XC season.
And the weather looks like it will be spectator-friendly (a little warm for the runners), so there's no excuse not to be there cheering on your favorites.
October 06, 2010
Ryan Who?
It was an overcast Monday, and I was jogging back to Concord Academy with several runners from my team after watching them complete a hard workout on the dreaded Pine Hill. I happened to be chatting with Adam about plans for the rest of the week, and how we were training through our scheduled meet on Wednesday. Adam loves to run mileage, so he was happy to hear there were no easy days in the forecast. As our conversation continued, one topic led to another, and soon I was talking about the upcoming Fall marathons and Ryan Hall's decision to withdraw from Chicago.
And Adam asked, "who is Ryan Hall?"
Now coming from one of the other kids, I wouldn't have been surprised, but I never expected it from one of my best runners, a slender sandy-haired junior who thinks nothing of sneaking out on the weekend to do illicit 15-mile runs by himself on the trails of Concord. How could it be that he had never heard of Hall?
Well, clearly I have been failing in one of my responsibilities as coach, and that is to educate my runners in the history of their sport. I don't necessarily want them spending every waking moment on the letsrun message boards, but they should know who Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi are, and why they're important. They should know who Alan Webb and Bernard Lagat and Lopez Lomong are. They should know the story of how a soccer player named Andrew Wheating competed for a tiny NEPSTA Div III cross-country school and eventually became a pretty good runner.
They should know about the big meets in the Fall -- not just their league meet or the NEPSTA meet, but NXN and NCAA Nationals. they should know that the U.S. runs XC in the fall, and the rest of the world runs it in the winter, culminating with the World championships in March. I want them to know who Keninisa Bekele is. I want them to know about York and Fayetteville-Manlius, too.
Maybe we need to stop running for a day and watch "Without Limits."
Maybe we need to get in a van and drive over to watch a dual meet between Weymouth and Brookline.
Maybe I should show a YouTube clip every day at practice.
See -- here's Billy Mills kicking down the great Rob Clarke in Tokyo. See -- here's El Guerrouj holding off Lagat in 2004. See -- here's David Rudisha, the two-lap superman. See -- Usain Bolt, Tirunesh Dibaba, Seb Coe, Joan Samuelson, Zatopek, Bannister, Viren.
But there's so little time. And that raises the question, what constitutes "running literacy" anyway? What are the most important things that my guys should know, as they run happily, innocently, through their Fall season?
And Adam asked, "who is Ryan Hall?"
Now coming from one of the other kids, I wouldn't have been surprised, but I never expected it from one of my best runners, a slender sandy-haired junior who thinks nothing of sneaking out on the weekend to do illicit 15-mile runs by himself on the trails of Concord. How could it be that he had never heard of Hall?
Well, clearly I have been failing in one of my responsibilities as coach, and that is to educate my runners in the history of their sport. I don't necessarily want them spending every waking moment on the letsrun message boards, but they should know who Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi are, and why they're important. They should know who Alan Webb and Bernard Lagat and Lopez Lomong are. They should know the story of how a soccer player named Andrew Wheating competed for a tiny NEPSTA Div III cross-country school and eventually became a pretty good runner.
They should know about the big meets in the Fall -- not just their league meet or the NEPSTA meet, but NXN and NCAA Nationals. they should know that the U.S. runs XC in the fall, and the rest of the world runs it in the winter, culminating with the World championships in March. I want them to know who Keninisa Bekele is. I want them to know about York and Fayetteville-Manlius, too.
Maybe we need to stop running for a day and watch "Without Limits."
Maybe we need to get in a van and drive over to watch a dual meet between Weymouth and Brookline.
Maybe I should show a YouTube clip every day at practice.
See -- here's Billy Mills kicking down the great Rob Clarke in Tokyo. See -- here's El Guerrouj holding off Lagat in 2004. See -- here's David Rudisha, the two-lap superman. See -- Usain Bolt, Tirunesh Dibaba, Seb Coe, Joan Samuelson, Zatopek, Bannister, Viren.
But there's so little time. And that raises the question, what constitutes "running literacy" anyway? What are the most important things that my guys should know, as they run happily, innocently, through their Fall season?
October 05, 2010
NNHS Alumni Results - 10/2/10
Two NNHS alumni from different eras found themselves on the same starting line at the Presidio Challenge 5K cross-country race in San Francisco last Saturday. Josh Seeherman writes to say the course was challenging -- very hilly with bad sand dune footing -- and that the top two, who ran 16:18 and 16:27 respectively, were both sub 15:00 guys on the track.
Dan Chebot finished 19th in 17:47, while Josh finished 51st in 20:22.
Univ of Rochester sophomore Dan Hamilton had a strong race at the SUNY Geneseo Invitational on Saturday, running 27:13 for 8K, and finishing second for the Yellowjackets and 27th overall.
Although he didn't run in any of the races, it seems fitting to note that Westwood XC Coach (and NNHS grad) Tom Davis was at the Bay State Invitational on Saturday, where his team earned a plaque for finishing 3rd in the small schools division against very good competition.
Dan Chebot finished 19th in 17:47, while Josh finished 51st in 20:22.
Univ of Rochester sophomore Dan Hamilton had a strong race at the SUNY Geneseo Invitational on Saturday, running 27:13 for 8K, and finishing second for the Yellowjackets and 27th overall.
Although he didn't run in any of the races, it seems fitting to note that Westwood XC Coach (and NNHS grad) Tom Davis was at the Bay State Invitational on Saturday, where his team earned a plaque for finishing 3rd in the small schools division against very good competition.
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