The Cambridge Running Club

Race Results

1999 Results
Race of the Month

Wakefield Breakheart

Marino Lookout Farm

Covered Bridges 1/2

Michael LaDouceur Main Streets

FonteBonne Academy

Arlington Memorial

Other Months

May 1999

Race of the Month
Vermont City Marathon Relay
While most of the CRC was taking it easy in the Relay, Dana Laird was our so(u)le representitive in the full marathon! With a 25% dropout rate,Dana perservered once again displaying her tenacity! Aiming for 3:40:00 she just missed her mark coming in at 3:44:39 (8:34) and 10th in her age group! As for the relay...

(C) Connotes Team Captain

CRC Teams
Team Name Mixed Open
Three Peat Women's Open
Lactose Lasses Mixed Open
CRC Mixed Open 3 Mixed Open
Cambridge Cowboys and Dairy Queens

Leg 1: 3.3m
Rolling, in town Melissa Mendel Kathleen Cunniff Gina Koprowski Anne Trenk

Leg 2: 7.6m
rolling, country highway Peter Gallimore Diane Sagnella (C) Joe McCarty (C) Drew Hanchett

Leg 3: 5.5m
The hill! Brian Crounse Allison Abbott David Loutenheiser Feliciano Protasi (C)

Leg 4: 4.1m
flat & fast Bob Gillon Beth Bolyn Lori Marcotte Jill Merriam

Leg 5: 5.6m
Flat/downhill bike path Bruce Davie (C) Kerry Kirkendall Jodi Crofut Siana LaForest

Results - Time
Div. Place, Overall
Pace 2:34:49
2/302, 5/596
5:55 3:05:42
4/79, 34/596
7:05 3:11:11
16/302, 42/596
7:18 3:13:22
19/302, 47/596
7:23

The CRC Race of the Month proved to be a bittersweet experience for some. While the results disappointed a few, they smacked of unrealized potential making some of us anxious to go back next year. These are their stories...

Three-Peat (Bruce Davie captain)
On Memorial Day weekend, 4 teams of CRCers and one marathoner headed up to Burlington, VT for our third annual attempt at the Vermont City Marathon & Relay. Our mixed open team was looking for their third victory, but arrived at the starting line with a full set of excuses, notably Missy Mendel's last-minute flu. In what was probably the most heroic run of the day, she ran the first leg anyway and clearly expended every last ounce of energy doing so. Peter Gallimore and Brian Crounse ran strong second and third legs, while Bob Gillon's digestive system seemed to be acting in sympathy with Missy's on leg 4. When I took the hand-off from Bob for the final leg, I knew that there was at least one mixed team ahead of us, but that their final runner was a woman. Surely I would be able to catch her over the course of 5.6 miles. Little did I know that the woman in question was Erin Sullivan, the national junior cross-country champion. Suffice it to say that I gained not one second on her, and I crossed the finish line a minute out of first place. All things considered, a satisfying result, and one which leaves room for improvement next year if we can run a full strength team.

CRC Mixed Open 3 (Joe McCarty captain)
The heat of the day took a toll on everyone, begging many people to wonder how the race coordinators could plan a course route totally devoid of shade in an area of the country that boasts about 1,000 trees for every person?

However, I am proud to report that the five CRC Open 3 runners performed beyond the originality of the team name, as well as our own expectations- placing 16th out of approximately 300 teams. After crunching the numbers, we beat about 95% of all the teams. (Being in the 95th percentile can take you far in life). This is outstanding if you consider the fact that the majority of the team members met for the first time on race day.

Gina K. started the process with a blistering pace on leg 1, and amazingly still found the energy to go for a bike ride afterwards. Leg 2 was mine, and with an oppressive sun and a throbbing plantar fascia I persevered by repeating the mantra "what does not kill me makes me stronger..." Dave L. made up a lot of distance during leg 3, making everyone marvel at the fact that he could run so hard without secreting a single droplet of perspiration. Lori M. ran an impressive leg 4, handing off smoothly to Jodi C. who brought the wrist band home, receiving the applause and adoration of the crowd at the finish.

Overall, a great day and a wonderful weekend.

Lactose Lasses (Diane Sagnella captain)

I didn't sleep a wink the night before. Missy was ill and there was a chance of Kerry running in her place. Sure she would still do our last leg but what would remain of her after having done their first? Leg 1, Leg 5, Leg 1 Leg 5 filled my mind. I tossed and turned. Man was I nervous.

Well, my worries were groundless, the next day Missy was ready to run. It was a beautiful day for spectators, warm temperatures and bright sun. Kathleen Cunniff started us out running a strong first leg. She passed the 'baton' to me and I took off. I remember battling with some women but honestly cannot remember who won. I do know I was passed by two, one of which was a 37 minute 10K runner. I can say they were not that far ahead by the time I handed off to Allison Abbott. Allison flew through her leg putting us amongst the top women's teams. While I did not see the hand off to Beth Bolyn, the reports say she started and finished strong. Unfortunately it would appear that she ran against a man running for a rival Women's Open Team, giving them an unfair advantage. That left Kerry Kirkendall. Fortunately she was up to the challenge despite recent injury and finished fourth overall.

The first four women's teams came in within 3 minutes of eachother (the fifth was approx. a 1/2 hour behind) indicating it could have been anyones race that day. Furthermore, this performance bettered last years CRC women's open team by ~5 minutes and edged us up one place in the standings (from 5th to 4th). We can't wait to go back next year, and show them what we are really made of!

NOTE:

Allison Abbott
Kathleen Cunniff
Beth Bolyn
Kerry Kirkendall
notice a trend?
Diane Sagnella
I obviously don't fit in. Perhaps if We were to have had Melissa Mendel....

Cambridge Cowboys and the Dairy Queens (Feliciano Protasi captain)

Memorial day weekend....... most normal people decided to go away from the city and spend a relaxing couple of days trying to forget the stresses of everyday life!!

NOT US!! We are RUNNERS and everyday stress is not enough for us!! We need to do something more!! So..... what do we do on Memorial Day week end??

We go to run a Marathon relay in over 80 degree weather somewhere in Vermont almost 4 hours from Boston!! What's wrong with us?? Why do we do this to ourselves?? I haven't found an answer yet...... Hours and hours talking about race tatics and fearing the event.... hoping that the weather would help..... discussing who is going to replace whom. Isn't that additional stress??

The only thing I know is that it turn out to be a great weekend (not considering those never ending minutes of leg 3 in which I promised myself several times I wasn't going to race EVER AGAIN). Thanks to all CRC members and especially to Bruce, Melissa, and Bob for organizing the whole week end and making the event possible. A special thanks goes to the members of my team (Jennifer, Siana, Jill and Drew) for their great performance. Ciao da Feliciano

Dana Laird on how to get perfect Marathon splits

I headed up to Burlington with a crowd of CRC runners to make my second assault on the Vermont City Marathon, the site of my marathon PR two years ago. Everything seemed in line for a great run, but there is only so much you can control in a race, and the weather turned out to be the unknown factor that brought me down this time, with temperatures that started in the 70s and went quickly up to I-don't-want-to-know-how-high.

The start at VCM dumps out pretty quickly, so even lining up at my appropriate expected pace (8:00-8:30) it didn't take more than a few seconds to get over the line and moving. Of course there's a little shuffling at the beginning, but I was up to pace fairly quickly.

The first couple of miles looping through town serve as a good pace- setting warm-up, and then you set out on a long highway out-and-back loop which brings you up to mile 10. My plan for this part of the race was to keep my pace around 8:30 and keep the energy in reserve for later. Largely I was able to stick to this, in part by running a race very much inside my own head, as opposed to taking in the crowd scene as I usually do. The feeling I was aiming for was that of a long run at slightly faster pace than normal; I knew that adrenaline would take care of getting me up to where I should be beyond that. This worked out quite well, and I rather enjoyed the sense of mental control that it gave me.

There's a bit of an uphill at the end of this loop, and it reminded me of how I ran this leg as part of the women's open team last year and puked as I finished, thus earning my stripes as a real runner, or at least a real masochist. This year no puking, though it was starting to be a grind by this point, mile 10.

The heat, as mentioned, is what took the toll. I was spared the worst effects by making sure I got plenty of water along the way. At dinner the night before Bruce had talked about stopping to walk through the aid stations in order to drink two cups of water at each one. Not a bad idea, I thought, and I gave it a try. I wasn't able to put down that much water at every stop, but I did my best, and I think that contributed to my not blowing up in the heat. Instead I just bloated out with water, which seemed like a better alternative.

So moving on from mile 10 I planned to pick up pace to 8:20 per mile. This part of my strategy was less even, with some of my splits in the low 8:00's at this point and others hovering around 8:30. Some of the variation was due to terrain (a big hill at mile 17 makes things tough), and some to that heat again. It was around this point that the race took on some of the intensity of a 10K with that sense of needing to keep pushing but you'll get to stop soon -- except that here you didn't get to stop soon.

After clearing the hill, the intensity continued but was helped some by the relief of townspeople out spraying runners with hoses. By keeping a steady pace I was able to start passing a lot of people at this point, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the supportive comments from other runners I got as I slowly pulled past folks.

Mentally I was having a tough time of it from about mile 18 on, but it didn't take a physical toll until 23 or so (where I clocked a 9:22, my slowest split of the race, including even the start and the big hill). By this point, however, you can start mantra-ing yourself in to the finish, and that's what I did. One of the interesting things I observed was that even once I knew I wasn't likely to make my goal time of 3:40, I still ran as hard as I could instead of easing off and jogging it in. I liked seeing that effort, and I liked thinking that that's what the race is really about: doing the best you can under the conditions and at every point along the way.

Crowd support into the finish is good and almost makes up for that difficult finish area layout with the loooooong turn and loop back before you cross the line. I made it over and even heard the announcer calling out my name as I did, plus I saw lots of CRC faces cheering me in for the final bit.

I was able to stagger off reasonably well for food and a massage, and as I walked about I realized that I had run perfectly even splits for the first and second halves of the race, 1:52/1:52. This was a first for me, and it underscored the tactical nature of managing a race like that in those conditions. And I felt remarkably good afterwards and even these last few recovery days, facts which I again credit to the sensible race plan and the good training that went into it. Thanks to everyone there for your support!

Other Races:
May 1st

Wakefield Breakheart 6K Saturday May 1, 1999

Name Time Pace

Bob Gillon 22:19 (2/17) 6:00

Kelly Robertson 30:57 8:19

Linda Gillon 35:02 9:25

Beth Biega 35:17 9:29

Notes by Bob Gillon: Although the day was a picture perfect day to run a road race, the winter was not good to the hills at the Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield/Saugus. There seemed to be more hills and they definitely were steeper this year compared to last year.

May 2nd

Marino Lookout Farm Road Race Natick, MA.

Lending support to the recent observation that women are becoming an ever stronger force for the CRC, members Kathleen Cuniff, Allison Abbott and, Shelley McDonough, under the nom de plume Elizabeth Joyce (perhaps a vestige of her recent JJR PR) grabbed 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively at the Marino Lookout Farm Road Race (4.5M).

Shelley McDonough reports:
I ran the 4.5 mile benefit race for the Doug Flutie Jr. Autism Foundation today. It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny, and a huge crowd turned out for the first annual benefit in Doug Flutie's hometown. I'm not sure whether to blame the heat or the "gently" rolling hills, or my sheer lack of energy, but whatever the reason, I didn't have a great race. Apparently, the race coordinators seemed to agree with me, as they neglected to include me in the list of finishers! Actually, I am in the results, but in an oddly disguised form. Luckily, I knew my race number (1164) and my finishing time (32:46) so I was able to locate what was supposed to be my name ... but apparently I was running under the pseudonym "Elizabeth Joyce " -- with no age/sex/division info attached -- because that's who they have me listed as! Strange. I guess I should've known I was having an identity crisis when I lined up at the start and realized I had seeded myself next to Bill Rodgers. Reconsidering my pace, I moved myself back in the pack and bumped into Allison Abbot and Kathleen Cunniff. I tried to hang with the "b" group women, but they proved to be too much the speedsters for me to handle, finishing 3rd and 4th in the open division! (Yeah, ladies!!!) Despite a pretty crappy race, I -- er, Elizabeth Joyce -- did manage to come in 5th in our division. I wonder where the "real" Elizabeth Joyce finished?!

May 8th

Covered Bridges Half Marathon Woodstock-Quechee, VT

Five CRC representatives ran the scenic point to point course of the covered Bridges Half Marathon. Leading the pack was Bruce Davie:

For the third year in a row, I returned to Woodstock, VT to run the Covered Bridges Half Marathon, in my annual attempt to test my body's ability to adapt to long distance road racing after a winter of indoor track competition. Overcast skies, moderate humidity and a slight headwind prevailed on the incredibly scenic point-to-point course. I set out aiming to run 6 min/mile or a little better and by the 10 mile mark I was 40 seconds ahead of that pace. I was also looking at the back of a 13 year old kid who, having gone out in front of me at the start, had failed to crash and burn in the way that one expects of inexperienced runners. Somewhere around mile 11 a wobbliness in my legs began to suggest that a winter devoid of long distance training was about to take its toll. However I wasn't hurting as much as the 13 year old, whom I tried to encourage as I went past him. By mile 12 I had given up looking at my splits for fear of getting depressed, but then soon enough the end was in sight and I started to pick up the pace, only to be outsprinted at the tape by a 50 year old, who probably felt the same way about me as I did about the kid I had passed earlier. My final time of 1:18:13 was safely under 6 minute pace (5:58) and my second best time for the distance. It was also good enough for 15th place, my best finish yet in this event.

Below are the results I found for CRC runners. "Peter Gallimore" is actually Drew Hanchett running with Peter's number.

Charles Schultz:
As you know I ran the 1/2. Did 1:45:15 by my watch. Lily also ran and finished at 2:14:42 with a big smile on her face. The co-ordination at the race was great except for the procedure to get the T-shirts by standing in multiple lines for about 45 minutes after you finished the run. I kept looking for Ben and Jerry's food tent only to be disappointed to learn that Green Mountain Coffee took their place. A caffeine boost to the bathroom after the 1/2 is not what I needed. We did get some on the way home.

Name Place/Div Time Pace

Bruce Davie 9/346 1:18:13 5:58

"Peter Gallimore" 36/346 1:28:09 6:44

Francis Tietje 37/149 1:36:01 7:20

Charles Schultz 54/150 1:46:16 8:07

Kate Middleweek 179/355 2:00:47 9:13

Lily Schultz 38/58 2:17:42 10:31

May 23rd

Michael LaDouceur Main Streets 5K

Peter Gallimore gathered in the big Numero Uno (first place) with a 16:15 finish and a 5:15 pace. As usual Peter was too shy to file a report about his exploits.

FonteBonne Academy 5M

Charles DalCorobbo efforts produced another strong result with 6:29 pace and 32:25 finish. Chuck a proud graduate of Peters' school of self promotion also neglected to file a report about his exploits.

May 30th Memorial Day Week-end!

Arlington Memorial Day Road Race 5K

Shelley McDonough takes a first at Arlington and shares her experiences:

I ran in the Arlington Memorial Day 5k this morning. While standing in line at the registration table, I briefly toyed with the idea of running the 10k rather than the 5k, but ultimately decided to stick with my original plan ... and boy was I glad! It was soooo hot and humid that I was sweating profusely after only about 30 seconds. I managed to fumble at both water stations, and as a result felt pretty much dehydrated the whole way. My finishing time (21:26) was about 8 seconds slower than last year's time, but it was good enough for 1st in the 20-29 division, and 6th woman overall (I think). I had hoped to do a lot better, but given the heat, it just didn't seem meant to be.

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