September 29, 2008

Big Week Ahead in Mass HS XC

It's a big week in the high school XC calendar, with a mid-week interleague clash between Newton South and Lincoln-Sudbury on Wednesday, Oct 1, and the Bay State Invitational on Saturday.

Newton South is on a certified roll. Their girls team won the Amherst Invitational a couple of weekends ago, and their boys team won the Ocean State Invitational Championship race last Saturday. With all due respect, the NS boys should have a relatively easy time against Lincoln-Sudbury and Arlington (the forgotten third team in the meet). The girls will be well-tested by Lincoln-Sudbury, the only other team that might be on the same level as the Lions.

Meanwhile, the NS girls continue to run fast, have fun. and look unbeatable. Last week they romped over Boston Latin and Waltham, setting an all-time record for team average time on their home course at Cold Spring Park. Bridget Dahlberg and Kelsey Karys tied for first, setting a new CSP course record of 15:41 in the process.

Then, only three days later, everyone goes at it again at the Bay State Invitational, which EVERYONE seems to be running this year. Newton North will be there, too, and it should be a great test for them, and for other up-and-coming teams. Obviously a lot can change between early October and mid-November, but all those early season polls will be reshuffled after the results of Saturday's meet are in.

Here's the schedule of races at the Bay State meet, Saturday, Oct 4:


9:30 a.m. JV Boys Div I 5K 12:15p.m. JV Boys Div II 5K
9:50 a.m. JV Girls Div I 5K 12:40 p.m. JV Girls Div II 5K
10:15 a.m. 9th Boys Div I 3K 1:10 p.m. 9th Grade Boys Div II 3K
10:35 a.m. 9th Girls Div I 3K 1:30 p.m. 9th Grade Girls Div II 3K
10:55 a.m. Varsity Boys Div I 5K 1:45 p.m. Varsity Boys Div II 5K
11:25 a.m. Varsity Girls Div I 5K 2:10 p.m. Varsity Girls Div II 5K

September 28, 2008

NNHS Alumni Results - 9/27/08

It was a wet and windy weekend for collegiate cross-country.

At the Wesleyan Invitational, Doug Brecher and Ben Chebot represented Bates College (2nd out of 8 teams) in the men's 8K. Doug ran 28:12 to place 16th, while Ben ran 28:42 to place 25th (7th for his team). For host Wesleyan, Scott Cole ran 31:32 to finish 64th. In the women's 5K, Wesleyan's Anna Schindler placed 14th overall in 20:54.

The University of Rochester dominated the field at the Harry Anderson Invitational at Roberts Wesleyan College. Dan Chebot finished 8th overall and sixth for the team, running 27:16 for the 8K course.

September 27, 2008

Learning from the Freshmen

Four weeks into the season, the Concord Academy Chameleons continue to amaze me.

Every team has its own personality, and last year's CA team had a strong character determined by 8 seniors who were fine runners and forceful leaders. In our league meet last year, those seniors accounted for our top five places, a formidable pack that overcame the lack of a single great runner.

The 2008 Chameleons couldn't be more different, demographically speaking. We have three returning seniors, five juniors, eight sophomores, and a small army of freshmen -- ten in all. The personality of this group is a work in progress. The seniors have done a great job imposing order on this horde of relatively new runners, and our juniors and sophomore have all found themselves at one time or another being leaders. I have sense that they are all "growing up" as runners at an accelerated pace.

For example, in our last meet, four sophomores finished in our top eight, an outcome that would have been unthinkable last year.

But those freshmen! Every day is an adventure and a learning opportunity for them -- and for me, too. Often, the obstacles to be overcome are pretty basic: remembering to bring running shoes and shorts to practice, for example. But some days, there are much more profound insights -- no less profound for being simple.

For example, the other day I had one of my new runners relate to me his amazement that after running for 20 minutes, he still felt really good, not tired at all. This was a guy who four weeks ago couldn't run 20 minutes without stopping. All of them, in one way or another are having their first real experience of the miracle of steady training. After making it through the first week or so, when running every day seemed like a deadly grind, the benefits are beginning to emerge.

It's most dramatic in races, of course, where my freshmen are taking off a minute or more every time they race. Some of those gains are from improved fitness, but some (most) of the gains are from a growing understanding that they are capable of sustaining a higher level of effort without blowing up. Or, to put it another way, they discover that they can be tired and still keep running, even run a little faster.

After our last meet, I was talking with one of the ninth-graders and his father, blabbing on about how we organized our training. At some point, I started talking about this idea that the kids were learning how to handle progressive amounts of discomfort, and the boy interjected something about "ignoring the pain." I thought a moment and said, "not pain, discomfort." I went on to say that functioning with the discomfort of oxygen debt was quite different than "running through pain" and that was one of the lessons: learning that all those sensations associated with hard effort were useful information for a runner -- data to be processed, not alarm bells to be ignored.

Another thing that astounds the freshmen is how much easier it is to run fast in a group than on one's own. On the CA team we are constantly tinkering with groups, getting people to run in compatible bands. I say "compatible" meaning both running ability and emotional temperament. Good groups train better with less strife. of course, groups can become obstacles to progress, too, and I'm always on the lookout for the group that decides that walking for five (or ten) minutes is a good way to get the run done. Sometimes I wonder who is teaching whom.

Realistically, I have to expect that not all of my freshmen will stick with running for all the time they are at CA, but the goal is for each of them to discover some reasons to make this running thing a part of their life for the long haul. One thing I say a lot is that running affords an endless opportunity to learn -- about racing and training, yes -- but also about people, about oneself.

It's hard to believe that all these guys will be seniors some day, but they will. If we all manage to stick together through four years, it will be a very educational trip.

September 26, 2008

Berlin Marathon: Could Geb Run 2:03?

In a little more than 24 hours, On Sunday September 28, the Great One -- Haile Gebrselassie -- will toe the line at the Berlin Marathon, with the goal of breaking his own world record of 2:04:26 (also set in Berlin). Gebrselassie famously passed up the Olympic Marathon because of concerns about the air quality in Beijing. Now he no doubt hopes to cap his peerless career with the fastest marathon in history.

Can a human being in 2008 run 2:03 and change? A 2:03:59 marathon would be 4:44 per mile -- for 26 miles without a break. It boggles the mind.

But if anyone is capable, it is the 35-year-old Ethiopian, who owns a stunning seven sub-2:07 marathons over the past four years.

Here's the IAAF preview of the race:

Gebrselassie, Mikitenko in the Berlin Spotlight

But, on the off chance that you do read this before the race, here's an even better link, where you can watch the race live:

Berlin Marathon on Universal Sports.com

September 24, 2008

NN Girls Remain Unbeaten After Edging Framingham

While the NN boys continued to dominate their competition, the girls needed all their depth to fend off the challenge of a talented Framingham team that took three of the first four places against the Tigers.

It took Framingham's Camille Murphy just 17:14 to complete her 2.9-mile home course, nearly 45 seconds in front of Newton's Carolyn Ranti (18:01). Framingam really put the pressure on North as sophomores Sarah Bowhill (18:38) and Maria Grandoni (19:05) finished 3rd and 4th for the Flyers.

Newton needed to take the next four places to have a chance to tie. In fact, they took the next five places and six of the next seven to record a narrow 28-30 win. Nora Barnicle placed 5th in 19:08, followed by Becca Park (6th, 19:14), Adina Hemley-Bronstein (a strong 7th in 19:23), Susannah Gleason (8th, 19:45), and Franca Godenzi (9th, 19:50). Elena Hemler placed 11th in 20:25, also displacing Framinghams's fifth runner.

Newton now looks forward to the Bay State Invitational on Saturday, and a showdown with Natick and Milton Oct. 15.

In the boys race, there was no such drama as North took the top five places and easily dispatched Framingham and Dedham. Dan Hamilton won his third straight race, finishing in 15:31. Mike Goldenberg ran his best race of the year to finish second in 15:36. Jarad Forman (15:45) was 3rd, while sophomores Ezra Lichtman and Dan Ranti finished 4th and 5th in the identical time of 16:03.

Hamilton completed the 2.9-mile course in 15 minutes, 31 seconds, leading the Tigers to a 15-48 victory over host Framingham and a 15-50 win over Dedham. Mike Goldenberg came in five seconds behind Hamilton in second place while Jared Forman (15:45), Ezra Lichtman (16:03) and Dan Ranti (16:03) finished 3-4-5. Mike Weinfeld placed seventh in 16:20 and Jake Gleason (16:59) was eighth while Chris Keefe was 11th (17:30) as North remained unbeaten at 5-0.

September 21, 2008

NNHS/NSRP/BSL Alumni Results - Weekend of 9/20-21

Barnicle 9th at USATF 5K Championship

Chris Barnicle (NNHS '05) made an unexpected appearance at the CVS/Caremark Downtown 5K in Providence, Sunday, finishing 9th in 14:21.5. The CVS race is designated as the USATF 2008 5K Road Championship.

Up until last spring, Chris was competing for the University of Arkansas, but this would suggest he's not running for the Hogs this fall. If I'm remembering correctly, he still has two seasons of collegiate XC eligibility left.

14:21 is a good time on the roads. Good job, Chris, and if you read this, let us know your plans for this fall and beyond.

Local Runners at UMass Dartmouth Invitational

Times were very fast at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday, and there were some great times from runners who met at Cold Springs for runs this summer.

Paul Norton (Amherst Regional HS/Brandeis) finished 3rd in an outstanding personal best 25:08. Other NSRP friend include:


20. Mike Burnstein (Brookline/Trinity) 25:33
39. Seb Putzeys (NNHS/Northeastern) 25:54
84. Sam Donovan (NSHS/Brandeis) 26:51
88. James Vance (NSHS/Johnson & Wales) 26:56
(278 finishers!)


There were several other Bay State league runners, including:


62. Philip Gingras (Walpole/Westfield State) 26:28
64. Chris O'Day (Braintree/Assumption) 26:30
83. Kyle Higgins (Braintree/Assumption) 26:48
205. Craig Myers (Weymouth/UMass Boston) 29:55
245. Ryan Norton (Walpole/UMass Boston) 31:50

September 20, 2008

Dahlberg Leads Newton South to 18:37 (!!) Average at Amherst

The races might be a bit longer, but she still knows how to win them.

On a cool, clear day that was ideal for fast times, NS senior Bridget Dahlberg (18:13) led Newton South to a 1-2-4-6-11 finish at Saturday's Amherst Invitational, as the Lions confirmed that they are one of the very best teams in the Northeast region. Junior Madeline Reed was right behind Dahlberg in 18:14, and Kelsey Karys and Kathy O'Keefe also ran under 19:00. It's early yet, but this team has the potential to be one of the best teams in the history of Massachusetts XC.

South scored a paltry 24 points, far ahead of host Amherst and Concord-Carlisle, both of whom finished with 116 points.

Amherst Invitational Varsity Girls Results

The Newton South boys had a great race themselves, as they averaged 16:20 for their top five and finished second with 97 points to Danbury (CT), and ahead of host Amherst and defending state champs Brookline, among others, in one of the strongest boys field at this race in years, if not ever.

Brookline's David Wilson won the race in a (course record?) 15:23, 9 seconds ahead of Nashoba junior Brendan Aylaian. Newton South's Andrew Wortham was third in 15:34, as an unprecedented 7 runners went under 16:00. Other than Brookline, the only other Bay State team competing was Needham, who finished 10th. The Rockets were led by Jake Newfield (24th, PR 16:33).

Amherst Invitational Varsity Boys Results

In case anyone missed the point, Newton South showed off its depth in the JV races, winning both the Boys and Girls events. The NS boys averaged 17:45, while the NS girls averaged 21:03. Yikes. A couple of years ago, we thought we would never see a girls team with the depth of Lincoln-Sudbury, but now...

September 19, 2008

Bring XC back to the Olympics


I missed this when letsrun.com first posted it several days ago, but three legends of long-distance running have written a letter to the IOC requesting that cross-country be re-instated as an Olympic sport.

Athletics legends want cross-country back in the Olympics

The letter, signed by Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie, Keninisa Bekele, and by Kenya's Paul Tergat, reminds the IOC that XC was last contested in the Olympics in 1924 in Paris. In the ill-fated individual 6-mile XC race, competitors had to deal with intense heat and the poisonous fumes of a nearby factory. Finnish great Paavo Nurmi won the race, but of the 38 starters, only 15 finished. That was it for XC on the Olympic stage.

For those who need reminding, Bekele is the greatest XC runner of all time, having won the world XC championships a staggering 11 times (six long (12K) course and five short (4K) course titles). Tergat isn't far behind, with five straight world XC titles from 1995 to 1999. Gebrselassie is merely the current world-record holder for the marathon (2:04:26), a two-time Olympic gold medalist at 10,000m (where he narrowly defeated Tergat), and, until Bekele arrived on the scene, widely considered the greatest distance runner of all time. As the article above points out, Geb never won a major title in cross-country, although he has won just about everything else.

Adding XC to the Olympics would also introduce an intriguing question about how athletes might choose to double (or triple... or quadruple!) in the distance races. In 1924, Nurmi won five distance gold medals (take that, Michael Phelps!) including two XC golds, one in the individual race and one in the team XC race.

Wouldn't it be great to have team XC in London?

September 18, 2008

Newton Upends Needham, Walpole

In their first home race of the year over the familiar Cold Spring Park course, Newton North's boys and girls remained unbeaten on the season, recording double sweeps against Needham and Walpole, Wednesday.

For the boys, it was an early test against a Needham team that had beaten them each of the last two years. With Needham out of the way, it was hard not to look ahead towards the end of the season and the prospect of unbeaten Newton North facing unbeaten Brookline for the league title.

But that day is six weeks off.

In the meantime, Dan Hamilton and Jarad Forman went 1-2 on the Rockets and Rebels, with Hamilton leading the way in a Cold Spring PR 16:48, and Forman not far behind in 16:56. Needham's Jake Newfield and Dan Shields finished 3-4, and followed by Newton's Mike Goldenberg (17:06 - PR) and Ezra Lichtman (17:19 - PR), clinching the meet. Sophomore Dan Ranti (17:36), junior Mike Weinfeld (18:11), and junior Jake Gleason (18:27) rounded out the Tigers' top seven.

1.Hamilton-NN-16:48
2.Foreman-NN-16:56
3.Newfield-Need.-16:58
4.Shields-Need.-17:00
5.Goldenberg-NN-17:06
6.Lichtman-NN-17:19
7.Doherty-Walp.-17:26
8.Lotsbom-Walp.-17:27
9.Ranti-NN-17:36
10.Ricci-Need._17:58
11.Gluesing-Need.-17:59
12.O'Connor-Need.-18:05
13.Woodward-Need.-18:18:01
14.Weinfeld-NN-18:11
15.Goula-Walp.-18:23
16.Corcin-Walp.-18:27
17.Gleason-NN-18:27
18.Saraiva-Need.-18:41
19.Goula,J.-Need.-18:41
20.Olevman-Need.-18:48
(Results from Jim Blackburn via DyeStat)


In the girls race, Carolyn Ranti won easily in 19:35, leading Newton to a 22-34 victory over Walpole and a 18-43 win over Needham. Franca Godenzi (20:47, and why can't the local papers spell her name correctly?) was fourth overall in 20:47. After Walpole took fifth, Newton's Susannah Gleason (6th, 21:08), Nora Barnicle (7th, 21:12), and Becca Park (8th, 21:13) finished the scoring for the Tigers.

September 13, 2008

NNHS Alumni Results - 9/13/08

Dan Chebot finished 8th overall and fourth for Rochester as the Yellowjackets dominated the men's 5K race at the Brockport Invitational. Dan ran 16:25 in the early season tune-up.

Bates College was in action at the (Tufts) Jumbo Invitational at the Farm Course in Grafton (Mass.) on Saturday. Doug Brecher finished 9th overall in a time of 27:49, and Ben Chebot finished 31st in 29:10. I'm guessing that Ben is thinking the 8k is a lot farther than the 5k.

At the Dartmouth Invitational, David Polgar made a solid debut for the 2008 season running a controlled 27:35 to place 41st overall and secure the fifth spot for BU. Also at Dartmouth, Jess Barton ran her first race as a Northeastern Husky, running 20:59 for what is billed as 5K, but based on all the times, must be considerably longer.

September 12, 2008

Ben Chebot Debut at Bates

When I posted NNHS alumni results last week, I missed Ben Chebot (Bates '12). Ben writes to say...

"Here are the results of the first meet (flat 2.8 mile course):

Freshmen
930 Sean Colligan Bates 14:59
931 Peter Corcoran Bates 14:59
929 Ben Chebot Bates 15:05
etc...

Sophomores
936 Devin Dilts Bates 14:42
941 Ben Taska Bates 15:23
937 Tom Esponette Bates 15:28
etc...

Juniors
942 Doug Brecher Bates 15:14
980 Ben Ossof Colby 16:51

Seniors
982 John Hall Colby 14:49
943 Patrick Foster Bates 15:06
981 Chris DeRoo Colby 15:12
etc...

"I placed fourth on the team in 15:05 (third for the freshman and 5th overall...). Doug Brecher ran 15:14 (hurt his foot before and during the race) for 9th place overall and 7th on the team."

Congratulations, Ben! Have they given you a nickname yet?

September 11, 2008

The Rivalry

Did you read the title of this post and think I was going to talk about Newton North and Brookline? Red Sox and Tampa Bay? Obama and McCain. No, not this morning.

Yesterday's Daily News tribune has an article about the 2008 Newton South Girls Cross-Country team and their rivalry with Lincoln-Sudbury.

On the trail of history

On paper, the Newton South girls look unfathomably strong, returning their top five from last year while adding senior Bridget Dahlberg (a 4:52 miler and four-time state champion at that distance) and sophomore Kathy O'Keefe, a 5:05 miler and 19:11 three-miler). Dahlberg, who has played soccer every fall until this year, instantly becomes a contender for the state XC championship.

But then there's Lincoln-Sudbury, last year's state champions and winners of the Northeast regional meet who also return their top five -- a top five that averaged under 19:00 at Franklin Park. L-S is ranked #1 in the Northeast and #9 in the country, while N-S is ranked #2 in the Northeast and #13 in the country.

Of course the funny part is that they both compete in the same league - the Dual County League -- and will face each other in a league meet October 1st. That will be "interesting" but might not be a good predictor of what will happen when they face each other again in the DCL league meet, the EMass meet and (most likely) as the top two teams in the All-State meet.

These two teams ALWAYS seem to be battling for some title or other. In indoor track, outdoor track, and cross-country it seems that it always comes down to Newton South against Lincoln-Sudbury. The two teams could get sick of seeing each other so often, but the rivalry seems to have just pushed both teams to get better. And better and better.

Last year at the EMass meet, the top three, 8 of the top 14, and 10 of the top 19 finishers were from these two schools. And both teams might be stronger this year.

And now South adds Dahlberg and O'Keefe. This could possibly be the best girls team in the history of Massachusetts.

Or they might not even win their league.

September 10, 2008

North Opens With Double Win at Wellesley

After captain's practices, a week of pre-season, and another week of early season runs and workouts, it was time to race -- finally! Newton North opened its Fall XC season by beating Wellesley -- twice -- on the Raiders home course at Elm Bank Park.

The NNHS boys were led by Dan Hamilton, who won the 2.55-mile race in 13:35 despite taking a fall with a mile to go. After Wellesley's Billy Littlefield crossed the line in second (13:41), North took the next four places, within a span of five seconds. North's Mike Weinfeld finished sixth for the Tigers and tenth overall. Final score: 19-37. Here are the results of the top ten (as reported on DyeStat by North Coach Jim Blackburn):


1. Hamilton, NN 13.35
2. Littlefield, Wel 13.41
3. Ranti, NN 13.49
4. Goldenberg, NN 13.51
5. Lichtman, NN 13.52
6. Foreman, NN 13.54
7. Williamson, Wel 13.57
8. Pini, Wel 14.03
9. Cobo, Wel 14.07
10.Weinfeld, NN 14.18



The NNHS girls had the unenviable task of facing one of their toughest league opponents in the first race, but came away with a close victory, beating Wellesley 25-30. Carolyn Ranti won the race in an excellent early season time of 15:29, but North won the meet with its solid pack of Franca Godenzi (4th, 16:44), Nora Barnicle (5th, 16:49), Susannah Gleason (7th, 16:58), and Becca Park (8th, 17:02).

September 09, 2008

Race Report: Ollie 5-Mile

On Saturday, Sept. 6, I ran in the Ollie 5-Mile race in South Boston, which also served as the USATF-NE 5-Mile Championship. The race is very competitive, drawing top runners from around the region. The course is fast, or would be if the race didn't always seem to fall on one of the steamiest weekends of the fall. It was brutal last year, and only slightly better (cooler, but perhaps more humid) this year.

My goal for the race was fairly simple: avoid a repeat of the 2007 race. I've told the story elsewhere, but basically it was a horror show of heat, humidity, and the first ominous signs of "the injury."

I had a lot of motivation to run better this year.

In practical terms, I wanted to run 6:00 miles. In fact, that had been my goal last year, too, but last year I had run the first mile in 6:00 exactly and felt like crap, slowing with each successive mile until I was trudging along at 7:00 pace by the end.

This year, I had better omens leading up to the race -- many weeks of steady training with little discomfort, several weeks of modest interval workouts, and good tempo efforts at Newburyport (long) and Fresh Pond (short). So I was in a positive frame of mind as I returned to the scene of last year's carnage.

The weather forecast had called for heavy rain Friday night and early Saturday morning, and then again Saturday night. In between, there was a break. In South Boston, at least, there was almost no precipitation leading up and during the race. The humidity, however, was incredible. the air felt thick and heavy, and sweat gathered on the skin and stayed there, having nowhere to evaporate to.

When the gun went off, I started slowly, immediately obstructing the hotheads behind me who were hell-bent on running themselves into heat distress as soon as possible. I spent the entire first mile telling myself to relax, to control the urge to match the pace of runners going by on either side. There is a short, but significant hill leading up to the 1-mile mark, and I consciously slowed down at that point. I passed the mile in 5:58, taking a moment to hail Brookline standout David Wilson, who was volunteering at the race and calling out splits.

The second mile began with a gradual downhill to Day Boulevard. I tried to maintain my effort without getting too excited. When I passed two miles in 11:56, I knew that if nothing else, this was not going to be a repeat of last year. Actually, I was suprised that I felt no serious discomfort. I was settled into a pace that I thought I could maintain for quite a while, and what was even better, other runners were starting to come back to me. I passed the venerable veteran Larry Olsen right after two miles, took the turnaround and started thinking about a group 30 meters ahead that looked vulnerable.

At three miles, the split was 17:55 and two more miles didn't seem very far at all. I was definitely aware of the heat and humidity, but I had the wonderful feeling of being locked in to a pace, and continued to enjoy a feeling of control over what was happening around me. There is a tremendous satisfaction when all of the running systems are operating normally, and that was what this was like -- legs, lungs, arms, head, all operating as expected, all doing their jobs.

In 2007, the fourth mile had been my undoing, and even now, I felt like I was whistling past the graveyard, as I tried to keep my pace steady while catching another pair of runners and going by them. The four mile split was 23:51.

It was hot! In the final mile, I finally started suffering, as I tried to measure my effort against the remaining distance. After I had gotten the four mile split, I remember thinking that I had only to run 6:08 to break 30:00, and I wondered whether I could hold my pace long enough to do that. With a little less than a half mile to go, I had forgotten all that, and I had entered that claustrophobic world of trying to eke out one more place, a couple more seconds. The ease of the early miles was gone now, and I felt a bit dizzy from the humidity. I took the last turn feeling extremely grateful that it was the last turn, and managed just enough of a sprint to hold off a much younger guy who looked like he had been out very fast and had paid the price.

As I approached the finish line clock, I was surprised and pleased to see it reading 29:36. It would take a while before my brain was capable of simple math skills, but after I had stopped and spent several minutes in the finish chute removing the chip from my shoes, I realized I had run the last mile in 5:45.

...

I want to acknowledge Josh for painting such a vivid picture of my meltdown last year, and for all his encouragement to do better this year.

I also want to say thanks to Dr. Bob for his help diagnosing and treating my physical problems. I think I'm finally ready to start writing that "alternate ending" we talked about a couple of months ago.

"Ollie" 5M Race Results

September 08, 2008

NNHS 2008 XC Schedule

Newton North's Fall 2008 Cross-Country Schedule gets underway tomorrow (Tuesday) with a much anticipated meet against Wellesley at Elm Bank Park. The Wellesley girls project to be very strong, but it's only a first meet and anything can happen.

Here's the rest of the 2008 schedule:


Day Date Opponent(s) Site

Tue 09/09/08 Wellesley Elm Bank Park 3:45PM
Wed 09/17/08 Needham COLD SPRINGS 3:45PM
Walpole
Tue 09/23/08 Framingham Framingham HS 3:45PM
Sat 10/04/08 Bay State Inv Franklin Park 10:00AM
Wed 10/08/08 Weymouth COLD SPRINGS 3:45PM
Wed 10/15/08 Milton Houghton's Pond 3:45PM
Tue 10/21/08 Braintree Braintree HS 3:45PM
Sat 10/25/08 League Meet Houghton's Pond 10:00AM
Tue 10/28/08 Brookline Larz Anderson 3:45PM
Sat 11/01/08 Coaches Inv Wrentham TBD
Sat 11/08/08 EMass Div I Franklin Park TBD
Sat 11/15/08 All-State Meet Franklin Park TBD


Directions to Elm Bank

September 07, 2008

NNHS Alumni Results - Sep 6, 2008


The Olympics are over and cross-country has begun, so even though the weather feels like the dog days of August, here we go with our first NNHS alumni results of the Fall seaosn.

The Bates College site has a nice cross-country preview, in which Doug Brecher is given prominent ink and a photo. Here's what they had to say about Doug:

"'Doug Brecher should develop into on of the premier cross country runners in New England. He will be a threat to claim top spots at the state and NESCAC championships, and if he stays healthy he should have a chance to qualify individually for NCAAs,' Fereshetian said. Last year, Brecher finished 35th at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship with a time of 25:36.2 to earn All-New England honors."


Bates ran against Colby in a unique class-based format on Saturday, and won, but I haven't found individual results yet.

Saturday was a really steamy day for running on the East Coast, thanks to Hurricane Hanna. It must have been especially oppressive in Baltimore where Noah Jampol ran 16:18 for 5K at the Baltimore Metro Invitational. That time placed him 11th (out of 90 finishers) and fourth on the Johns Hopkins team.

Seb Putzeys ran his first race for Northeastern at the Central Connecticut Blue Devil Invitational, running 28:41 to place 17th (fourth for his team).

By the way, hearty congratulations to Brookline alum and Trinity freshman Mike Burnstein who ran and WON his first collegiate race, the Trinity College Invitational, running 16:21 for 5K. Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot ran 17:00 to place 17th. UMass Lowell used the race as a tempo run, as Rex Radloff, Ruben Sanca, Greg Wilson, and two other teammates cruised the course in 16:48-16:50.

September 06, 2008

"When Training Backfires"

Interesting and fairly balanced article in the NY Times on the subject of overtraining. I say balanced, because the article both describes the condition of training that is too hard for too long, and also cautions against over-diagnosis of over-training.

When Training Backfires: Hard Work That's Too Hard

Here's a representative quote:

"Overtraining is an unintended consequence of the only known way for athletes to improve — by pushing their bodies and stressing themselves by deliberately going faster or longer than feels comfortable. “Training a little bit beyond your capabilities is the only way to get better,” Dr. Kraus said. “But you have to balance that with rest and recovery. It’s a fine line. Where is that edge and how do you get as close as possible without going over it?”

September 05, 2008

Why Do the Republicans Have Better Runners?


Bias Alert: I'm not a fan of Sarah Palin and her conservative politics, nor am I impressed by her claims to be a reformer and a maverick now, when it is politically expedient. I'm a registered Democrat and voted for the democratic presidential candidates in the last two elections. I support the Obama-Biden ticket.

But, dang, the Republicans always seem to have the better runners.

I don't understand this. I don't think it necessarily proves anything about which candidates (or party) are better prepared to lead the country, but it certainly proves something about which candidates you would want on your Hood-to-Coast relay team. Al Gore ran a marathon -- slowly. He ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 1988. But George Bush was more than an hour faster (3:44:52, at Houston), and still apparently jogs on a treadmill on Air Force One.

John Kerry famously got into trouble for his claim to have run the Boston Marathon unofficially, without being able to recall the year or his finishing time. A bandit, and couldn't even remember his time. Oh, the shame!

Now it turns out that the Sarah Palin is a lifelong runner, who has been known to train 7-10 miles a day, according to this blog entry in the WSJ magazine.

If it's a pickup basketball game, I'll take Obama. But as a running mate, well, I understand why McCain picked Palin.