wrr may 2012

The Wicked Running RegisterMay 2012 • Priceless EST. JAN 2010

Continued, next page

A Trilogy of Marathons Ends at ProvidencePatrick Smith

Three marathons in 20 days wasn’t the plan, but somehow ended in storybook fashion ... In Rhode Island?

It’s 4:45am on May 6th and I’m up and driving to the Cox Providence Mara-thon. My car dash says its 48-degrees, the skies are night black and there is the biggest full moon of the year on the horizon to the southwest to follow … until the clouds suck it in 20 minutes later. The day is projected to be partly cloudy with temps in the 50s at race start and 60s to finish. All good vibes. If Boston, 20 days earlier, could have been 30 degrees cooler I would not be taking this drive, alone, keeping it quiet incase it all fell apart.

Boston started out so grand, living the good life on the air conditioned charter bus from Salem with my Wicked Run-ning mates all about and chatting up a storm with excitement for the day to come. Shari Hewson with her bag of bags in bags leaving everyone in stitches, Dawn Cobak in her pink PJs, Melissa Jaynes, MJ, covered in MJs, Jason Carraro calm as can be like he’s done this a dozen times (it was his second), and many others made for a merry time. Too bad the temp outside was 70 at 6am and would stretch to near 90 and not a

cloud in sight. Wow did Mother Nature hit hard that day. Seven days after the Boston Burner, and well off a BQ time or even an enjoyable time, I was still in pain and looking to Mike “Magic hands” Toomey to set me straight. The Big Sur California Marathon was just 6 days away (13 days between races) and running any distance still hurt. Heck my favorite activity, cycling, hurt.

As I continued my solitary drive to what I was hoping would be a Boston Qualifying finish, thoughts went back to Marathon No. 2, Big Sur 7 days earlier. If I hadn’t gone to Mike for some seri-ous muscle/tendon release, if I hadn’t actually learned something from Boston, if I hadn’t raced Big Sur with Tim Clarke and Dan Cooper to keep me running smart, I wouldn’t have picked my arse up this morning to go for race No. 3.

Big Sur was so similar, yet so differ-ent from Boston. Both were point-to-point, both required you to be bused to the start (although Big Sur had a 3:30am bus start), both had a 5+ mile downhill start, both had hills in the middle, and were connected by the Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge that I was participating in, but that’s where it ended. Big Sur is 4,000 runners vs 27,000 and was almost guaranteed to be in the 50-60s every

year, but also guaranteed to have high winds and possible fog around Hur-ricane Point at mile 10 (a heartbreak hill with gusto, a 2-mile long accent with a 700 elevation gain), and instead of loud crowds throughout, Big Sur had bands and drums of all kinds from start to finish, for an open air MP3 experience. The scenery along the coastline course of US Cal Rt 1 was brilliant (when not in the fog). I learned to keep my feet be-neath me (shorter stride) on the open-ing downhill, something I didn’t do at Boston that killed my quads and IT, to start conservative and enjoy the first 20 while in the great company of Wicked’s Tim C and Dan C, and found I had a little in the tank to up the pace for the final 6 for a 3:41 finish ... hmmm only 12 minutes off the BQ. After a quick picture with Tim and Dan, I’m having beers and snacks with Dean Karnazes

Big Sur Smiles! L to R: Tim Clarke, Patrick Smith, Denise Murphy, Kathey Moskal, Dan Cooper and Steph Cooper.

The Wicked Running Register • May 2012 • [email protected]

Trilogy of Marathons, Continued

and my legs aren’t screaming at me for Ice (or Mike T). At the finish we have a great Wicked Running Club gather-ing as all starters (me, Tim C, Dan C, Steph Cooper, Kathy Moskal, Amber Woolfenden) finish with smiles. Even my Denise (Murphy) who couldn’t run due to a stress fracture is smiling, because she knows this race is too good not to come back. Wicked will be back to Big Sur.

I hit the Rhode Island boarder realiz-ing this routine is all too familiar, third early morning for a third marathon in a short span. Oh yeah, and I just did this drive 36-hours earlier when I decided to register on Friday. Still couldn’t believe I felt good enough just 5 days after Big Sur to take this on. Am I nuts, or paving the way for more crazy Wicked Runners to follow? I mean if I can do this, why couldn’t other Wicked Marathoners give it a go? I see a future trend.

I arrive early. Parking is easy, a free meter 300-yds from the start. I stroll to the start, port-a-Johns are wide open, it’s 49 degrees and partly cloudy, and all is quite at the start line. I turn around and one person is standing in the road, it’s Wicked President Tim Short, quickly asking “What are you doing here?!” We meet up with Melissa J, and I can start to feel the marathon excitement kick-ing in, this is going to be a good day. At the start Wicked is all around, I have Tim, Billy Jackson and Greg Esbitt in

front of me, Peter Gagnon beside me, Melissa behind me, and somewhere further back Michele Campbell and John Gordon and a few others mixed in as the gun goes off and 1,600 mara-thoner’s are off.

The course is hillier than advertised (in my opinion Baystate Marathon is a better marathon qualifier for time), and had so many turns it was like a trail race course without dirt. At 13 miles I’m on target but legs are feeling tired, I start using the arms more and more. By the end of the race I’ll feel like I swam an Ironman course. Why was I doing this? This was a third marathon in 20-days, covering east to west to east coasts. Boston was sweltering hot, I had a bad memory of the final 8 miles, was way off the qualifying mark, and 10 days of pain recovery. But Big Sur was fantastic with no expectations, beautiful scenery, the best running company (Tim Clarke and Dan Cooper), just 12 minutes off the qual and needing only 3 days of recovery ... so another marathon 7 days after the last, why not? Boston was supposed to be a one time event for me but the memory was not something to hold, so why not the Cox Providence Marathon, I was already distance tested, and for the most part healthy (except in the head)? The multitude of turns and the crazy bridge crossing of the river at mile 25 (up a winding path on one side, down a 4 story, 8 ramp, 9 turn on the other) made it a bit more challenging and the fact that none of the mile mark-ers were set correctly on this course added to the challenge. But with a strong determined finish a Boston Qual time of 3:27:02 (7:54 pace) was had. It was great to see my Wicked Running

Marathon Man: TOP: Patrick with Melissa Jaynes at the Boston Mara-thon; ABOVE: Patrick with Michele Campbell at the finish in Providence.

“AmInuts,orpavingthewayformorecrazyWickedRunnerstofollow?”

—Patrick Smith

mates after the finish. Although happier to be hugging Michele C on her finish than visiting Pres Tim bellying up to the IV bottle in the med tent. And really happy to be phoning home to Denise with news for 2013.

Boston will be run again (I’m with ya Mike Higgins), but for now, just get me back on the bike!

The Wicked Running Register • May 2012 • [email protected] 3

???Question of the Month: What’s your favorite movie about running?

Rich TabbutTreasurer and MemberMy favorite running movie is Hood to Coast, edging out Chariots of Fire.

Doug BollenMemberFavorite movie is Fire on the Track, documen-tary on Steve Prefon-taine.

Miles Fartlek Mascot Cats (think deeply and it really is about run-ning — figuratively.)

Beth O’GradyMemberForrest Gump: “I de-cided to go for a little run.” Sounds like how most of the Wicked

Running Club members started out!

Amber WoolfendenMemberFavorite running movie is Unbreakable The Western States 100

Michele CampbellMemberRun Fatboy Run.

RunSalem Signature Group Tours take place on the last Saturday of every month. If you haven’t taken a history tour of Salem lately, this is a great way to get in a 5K and learn some fun facts. Visit www.runsalem.org for all the details or contact [email protected].

Sunday 6/24 • 7:30am Bentley School, SalemRegister: northshorecancerrun.orgQuestions: [email protected]

run • volunteer • fundraise • join Team Wicked Nation

north shore

guideROAD RACE

Join in the conversation about road races and running with North Shore Road Race Guide on Facebook! Check us out at www.facebook.com/northshoreroadraceguide

QUOTESONTHERUN:

“Ialwayslovedrunning...itwassomethingyoucoulddobyyourself,andunderyourownpower.Youcouldgoinanydirection,fastorslowasyouwanted,fightingthewindifyoufeltlikeit,seek-ingoutnewsightsjustonthestrengthofyourfeetandthecourageofyourlungs.”

— Jesse Owens

“Runningisthegreatestmetaphorforlife,becauseyougetoutofitwhatyouputintoit.”

— Oprah Winfrey


Lake Winni Is a WinnerAn endorsement from Beth O’ Grady

Lake Winnipesaukee RelayWeirs Beach, NH • 9/8/12

As a long time club member, I would highly recommend the Lake Winnipe-saukee Relay race in September. A destination race is a big commitment, but I can also attest that it is a lot of fun and a fantastic way to make new run-ning friends. It seems you always have a connection with people you are on a relay team with! For newer runners there are shorter legs, and for experi-enced runners ... roll the dice and offer to run any leg ... some of them will certainly be unforgettable!

Be like Beth and run Lake Winni!

Contact John Mahoney to learn more: [email protected].

Product ReviewsJohn Childs

As a race director I’m always interested in new products or services which enhance our sport in some way. Last time I wrote about the Elliptigo exercise bike and the Outside Interactive video series. Both of them were unique items. In fact, I pur-chased the Elliptigo and have been riding pain free for several months. I intend to use it to lead several road races this summer and to allow runners with similar knee problems to test ride it.

In this edition I’d like to provide some information about another new product. It’s called www.viewtherace.com and is a website which allows runners to preview different race courses before signing up for a race. Although it’s new this year they already have over fifty races in the can ready for viewing.

The product is the creation of Dave Hardy, a local entrepreneur and endurance athlete. He does an amazing job of filming, editing and narrating each race. He then speeds up the tape so that you can view it in just a few minutes. He spends time re-searching each event and hits on the unique aspects and points of interest along the course as he narrates. The technique works especially well when you have a course which has distinct characteristics. I had an opportunity to ride along with him as he filmed my End of Summer Classic in Hingham. It’s a very unique course and he did a great job of showcasing those aspects which make it interesting and fun.

I can see several groups using the product. Elite runners who are planning a race strategy and don’t have time to run the course prior to the race would find it valu-able. Experienced runners who may not be elite but want to see the course before

they spend their money to register for a race would also find it helpful. First timers could also use it to determine if they are capable of handling the course. Some race directors would also be inter-ested in using it as a marketing tool. I’ll definitely be using it to showcase some of my events. I believe it would work well for some of The Wicked Club races.

They offer a free trial period followed by a reasonable monthly subscription fee. It’s a fun and valuable tool. Check out the free offer and judge for yourself.

John on his Elliptigo, training pain-free.


Presidential PerspectiveTim Short

As a club we are gearing up for many fun events this summer. From the Open House to our club hosted races (North Shore Cancer RUN, Wicked Kidz Race & Miles Over the Moon) to our annual Summer Party at Camp Naumkeag or the relays that we participate in, there is something for every member. Oh and I can’t forget about the great races that are part of our Grand Prix

Series. A membership with WRC is full of awesome benefits! With the number of events we put on, one would think that Wicked has been around for a decade or so, yet we are only in our 8th year!

One reason why Wicked has been able to offer so much to its members over the past few years is because of the dedication of certain members who step up and take on extra responsibilities and serve this club in a way that continues to amaze me.

To show that the club appreciates members who truly go the extra distance, we developed the Wicked Ambassador Award. The Wicked Ambassador Award is given to members who have been with the club for at least 5 years and have con-tinuously given back to Wicked in ways that have made our club truly special. Beyond being with the club for 5 years, the Board of Directors also came up with the following guidelines that would allow members to meet the criteria for the Wicked Ambassador Award, which is our club’s version of the lifetime membership award.

Here are those guidelines (not all are required but we use this list as a guide):• There is a limit on how many Wicked Ambassador awards are given per year –

up to 5 per year• Volunteering at races – 3 races per year• Participation in relays – 2 relays per year• Percentage of participation in Grand Prix scheduled races – 60% of these

races should be completed• Participation at Board meetings, various planning race committees and helping

out at various Club functions• Donating food or supplies for events• Sponsorship and recruitment of raffle items for Wicked’s own races – Wicked

Frosty Four, Wicked Kidz 1/2 Mile & 1 Mile Race, North Shore Cancer RUN or Wicked Presents Miles Over the Moon

Last year was the first year that Wicked awarded the Wicked Ambassador award to a very talented group of Wicked Runners. Over the next month the Board of Direc-tors will be selecting this year’s recipients who I know will be equally amazing. It’s the goal of the Wicked Running Club to always given back to its members and to highlight those members who are the foundation and bedrock of our continued success.

Get Out and Race

Louise Rossetti Women’s 5KWednesday, June 20, 2012 at Lynch Park in Beverly, MA 6:00 PM startwww.louiserossettiwomens5k.com

Beth O’ Grady says: I’m not usually a fan of all girl races, but I recommend the Louise Rossetti 5k. Jill Page (of NE Running) does a nice job with this event, and you gotta love how Louise starts the race so quietly: “Don’t you girls all look lovely, GO!!!!” If you run, be prepared because she is a sneaky starter!

Derby Street MileFriday, August 17, 2012Salem, MAwww.salemroadraces.com

TRAIN WITH TOOMEY

12 Week Marathon and Half Marathon Running ClinicSession: 7/19 - 10/4

• Thursdays, workouts (6:30pm) and Saturdays, long runs (7am)

• Cost is $125• Ideal for ALL levels and will focus

on marathon and half marathon

REGISTER: http://mypersonalrunningcoach.com


Wicked Grand Prix Series Update T.R. Ramsdell

Wow!

That’s how I’m going to start this month off.

Wow!

What an amazing turnout we had at the Patrick Downey 5K held on Mothers Day, Sunday May 16. This was the second year effort put on by our very own Shannon Downey, on behalf of her brother Patrick. A huge gathering of Wicked team mates made the trip, showing their love, and racing to help stomp out Esophageal Cancer. And speaking of stomping, Converse stepped up and gave away 50 pairs of their world famous “Chuck Taylor’s”, so loved by Patrick. As well as some really cute key chains with miniature sneakers as well.

An absolutely perfect morning was in store for our Wicked brethren as they toed the line for this fast, flat 5K through the streets of Peabody. There was a lot of flannel present as well, since this was also a favorite of Patrick, and was well repre-sented by those paying tribute.

At the sound of “GO”, Wicked took off, with John Ayers leading the way. It looked like a pack of Kenyans wearing red jerseys heading up Lowell St. In the end, it seemed like the magic of being a Wicked member shined through. Of the top 25 places, 18 of those belonged to Wicked members. And out of the total 185 finish-ers, 85 were Wicked members, which only goes to show that when it comes to style and class points, Wicked wins out all the way around, by not only by performing well, but by coming out and supporting a fellow member. Doesn’t everyone just want to join hands and sing Kumbaya about now?

Thank you to all that came out to help Shanny on her race!

Next month, we’ll talk about the next race in the series, the Greenbelt Run for the Hills 10K trail race held on July 14, in Hamilton. Until then. I’m out. I hope to see y’all out there running somewhere. C’mon. Who’s in?

Join the fun in 2012! Wicked Grand Prix Series Schedule

MarchOlde Salem Greens 5K, Salem • 3/25/12

May2nd Annual Patrick Downey 5K, Peabody • 5/13/12

JulyGreenbelt Run for the Hills 10K Trail Race, S. Hamilton, MA • 7/14/12

Yankee Homecoming 10 Mile Road Race, Newburyport • 7/31/12

AugustDerby Street Mile, Salem • 8/17/12

Lynn Woods Relay, Lynn • 8/22/12*

SeptemberLake Winnipesaukee RelayWeirs Beach, NH • 9/8/12*

Lone Gull 10k, Gloucester, MA9/16/12*

OctoberGreen Stride 1/2 MarathonNewburyport • 10/21/12*

NovemberWild Turkey 5 Miler, Salem11/22/12

DecemberMill Cities Relay, Nashua, NH12/2/12*

*tentative dates

Complete5oftheregular8racestoqualifyasaseriesfinisher.Relaysareextraandrewardyouwithbigbonuspoints.

Questions? Email Rich at [email protected], or T.R. at [email protected].

Get your trail

on!


Where in the World is Wicked?

Wicked Wellness: North Shore Wellness Fair 5K Road Race & Fun Walk, April 29. LEFT: Rich Tabbut smiling at the start; CENTER: Nancy Hathaway finishes strong; RIGHT: Ron Devoe doing Wicked proud.

Hellions at Harpoon: L to R: Team Inebriators’ Billy Hutchinson, Shannon Downey, TJ Woodcock, Michele “Devil Horns” Campbell, and Amber and Steve Woolfenden invaded Boston on behalf of Jackie’s Packie for the Harpoon 5-Miler.

Cat-tastic: Miles reached the beach with the help of Team Wicked 24-7! See more Reach the Beach - MA pho-tos on pages 8-10.


There are a few relay races that happen in the New England, however, I am guessing most do not involve a team running for 200 miles, constantly, day and night, in whatever weather happens to be present. Reach The Beach Massa-chusetts (RTB-MA) is that race and the Wicked Running Club was well repre-sented at this year’s event. I guess this all started last summer after running with No Rest For The Wicked (NRFTW) one Thursday night, working on a beer at the Engine House, when a talk about doing some kind of major relay race came up. I did an internet search that weekend and RTB was found. Dur-ing the 2011 fall and winter, RTB-MA stayed in the back of my mind. January I put out an email to the club to gauge the level of enthusiasm. By early March, I had 12 committed to the race…team “Wicked 24-7” was then formed. On the team from the Wicked Running Club was myself, TR Ramsdell, Beth Griffin, Jason Carraro, Karra Cheev-er, Bob Callanan, John Bosse, Lee-anne Nagle, Mike Smith, and Cathy Bozek. Also on the team were Bill Glover and Brendan Galvin who filled in for WRC member Maria Ramirez when she injured herself a couple of weeks before the race.

RTB-MA is a relay race that spans 200 miles from Wachusetts to Westport, MA with the finish line located at the Horseneck Beach State Park. The relay consisted of (a maximum of) 12 person teams that rotated through 36 transi-tion areas (TAs) as they cover the 200 mile distance of the race. This means that each relay team member will run

3 legs of varying lengths and difficulty and will cover an average total distance of ~15 miles on average. A team of 12 will have two vans, each with 6 people. The team’s runner rotation has to be fixed. For example, at the completion of the 12th leg, the person who ran the 1st leg will then run the 13th and the 25th leg. The person who ran the 2nd leg will then run the 14th and 26th legs, and so forth. While one van is dropping off and picking up its runners, the other van was “off duty” to do whatever they wanted, which usually involved

eating tons of food, drinking gallons of water, and resting. When a van had cycled through its 6 runners, the other van would be at the same transition area, called the “vehicle transition area” or VTA, to take over for their shift of 6 legs. This pattern repeated again and again, non stop, until all 36 legs were completed. A 12 to 7 person team costs $1280 to register. An ultra team of 4 to 6 people costs $700.

As you can tell, the logistics could be a challenge. A sample of the issues to deal

Race ReviewReach The Beach Massachusetts (RTB-MA)

Mickel McClish

Finished! L to R: Mike Smith, Karra Cheever, Bill Glover, Beth Griffin, Leeanne Nagle, Bob Callanan, Cathy Bozek, Brendan Galvin, Jason Carraro; Seated T.R. Ramsdell, Mickel McClish, John Paul Bosse


with: 1) obtaining two vans (ideally for free) that can accommodate 6 people each plus gear and supplies, 2) obtaining teams shirts and the specified required safety equipment for night time legs as cheaply as possible, 3) deciding what and how much of food items, first aid supplies, water, etc. to bring and who should be responsible to buy or bring what items, 4) leg assignments that made the team competitive while also accommodating runners’ requests for specific legs or mileage. But with March and April to prepare, and several team email exchanges, and two team meetings (over several beers at Gulu Gulu Café), we managed to work everything out.

The month of May rolled around and we were all anxious to know what time our race would start on Friday the 18th. The race organizers started slower teams in the morning and faster teams in the afternoon. That way, teams finish the race about approximately the same time of day. The race started for some at 9am and for others, 3pm. Based on our team’s average half marathon pace which was 8 min/mile, we were assigned a 1pm start time. Perfect.

We traveled to Wachusetts packed in our two vans. Pulling into the ski resort to park, we saw other vans … our competition. Vans were decorated with all kinds of crazy things by teams with hilarious (and bizarre) names such as “Frogs in Boiling Water”, “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”, and “A case of the Runners”. Our vans were nicely decorated by TR with renderings of Miles and the names of the runners on our team. The energy at Wachusetts with definitely ON. Lots of excitement by everyone. [But then again, we drank a few free bottles of 5 Hour Energy for the hell of it.] I might also add that the weather was perfect that day and for

the rest of the race; all sun during the day and starry at night. Had there been a tropical down pour, we would have attacked the 200 mile course just the same, but I am glad the weather was super nice.

After our safety equipment check with the race officials, the orientation meeting, packet pickup, and team photo, we were done and ready to get it on. Near 1pm Beth Griffin, our lead runner, lined up at the start line with a few other runners. Leg 1 was only 2.8 miles but it was nearly all up hill. After a 10 second count down, the clock struck 1pm, and she was off, storming up the hill. We were now, officially, racing RTB-MA!

Van #1 with runners 1 to 6 was on duty. Van #2, the van I was in, was off so we decided to drive to Worcester to grab some lunch and then head over to VTA #1 at Assumption College to wait for Van #1 to show up. We had some time to burn so we took a nap outside on the grass. Then, feeling refreshed, we decided to have some fun with the competition and tagged some vans. TR made some small WRC magnetic stick-ers and we slapped some of them on neighboring vans. So, eventually van #1 showed up. Our van now took over and ran legs 7 through 12.

At night, the general idea was for the off-duty van to drive straight to the next VTA to give runners a chance to sleep for a couple of hours (if at all). At my van’s night time VTA, it was jammed

packed with vans and runners. Race officials told teams that during night hours “quiet zones” were in affect on certain legs and in VTAs. This was to give runners a chance to sleep. The runners in our van slept anywhere they could … on the asphalt, under a tree off to the side of the parking area, in our cramped van, and beside a lake with bullfrog chatter going on under the stars. It was noisy with all the people around you, but we were too tired to care. This was 1am and it was about 45 degrees outside. At 2:30am we were running again and driving to our next 6 legs. We all agreed that we did our best running at night despite the lack of sleep. It’s amazing how you can power through the physical obstacles and keep going. Runners fed off the energy and thrill of the race.

All the legs were well marked with the exception of maybe one or two places. The legs varied in length from 2.7 to 8.2 miles. Some were quite hilly while others were not so much. The course wandered through some beautiful country side as it meandered to West-port and the beach. Only a few times did a runner find themselves in a heavily

Running Miles Across the Finish Line L to R: Jason, Karra, Cathy, Mike


Wicked Kudos

From Beth O’Grady: Kudos to Michele Campbell for continuing to put together our fantastic newsletter, and to her cohort Gif, who conveniently has a camera ready at every Wicked event. You are a great team! Congrats to Shannon Downey on honoring her brother Patrick with a mother’s day 5k, and for scoring Converse as a major sponsor! The good sport award goes to Annie Rose Willis who traded in her running sneaks for Converse on race day, and won a gift card for being the fastest runner in Chucks.

From Amber Woolfenden: Thanks to Gif-ford Campbell for photographing our race day shenanigans!

From Cathy Bozek: Thanks to the Wick-ed 24-7 Reach the Beach team. You all helped make 3 races in 24 hours; an all-nighter fueled by Gatorade, pretzels, and cookie bits; and a van ride with many sweaty friends into a great time.

From Melissa Jaynes: Congrats to Shari Hewson and Alison Phelan on their recent Mother’s Day training run of 30 miles. I was touched to be included and allowed to mother two awesome women just a little. Good luck on the 50 miler!

From Shannon Downey: A heartfelt thanks to all of my wonderful Wicked friends who supported me at this year’s Patrick Downey 5K. It was wonderful to see the sea of red. An extra special thanks to the fabulous volunteers who made the day run perfectly! I’m so proud to be a member of Wicked and to be as-sociate with such a fantastic group of people!

Reach the Beach, Continued

trafficked area. The TAs had plenty of parking for vans for the most part and the areas where the actual hand-offs happened were well marked. Each TA and VTA had enough port-a-potties. Often there was a line, but the waiting time was never excessive. TAs at night also had a small tent setup where people could buy hot coffee or hot chocolate and food items.

We survived the night and kept running. The daylight definitely helped to wake you up. The realization that you were close to finishing the race also helped too!! The last leg, 7.2 miles, eventually brings you onto the beach where the team meets the last runner and you all run together across the finish line and collect your medal. Officially, we finished the race in 26 hours, 13 mins and 28 secs, and finished in 22nd place overall out of 175 finishing teams. Our team average pace was 7:50min/mile. This year, unlike last year, beer was served at the finish under massive tents. Tired, hungry, and sun burnt, some of us shuffled to the beer tent. As you can imagine, by that point, beer never tasted better. There was food served there as well. The beer you pay for, but the food

was paid by your registration.

The logistics and planning to put a team together for this is daunting. Each run-ner had to commit to the race several months in advance, which puts some degree of risk of an injury taking you out of the race. There is a moderate cost involved between the registration itself, transportation, supplies, gas, etc. But despite all of that, it’s totally worth it. The race itself was well-managed and organized, and it was exciting the moment we arrived at Wachusetts to the moment we sat down to work on some beers proudly displaying our medals. I would definitely do this again. And FYI, there is a RTB-NH too in the fall. Double the fun?

Lastly, a suggestion: considering how tired we knew we would be, the team rented at house on the beach in nearby Wareham for the night. This was TO-TALLY the right and safest thing to do. I would recommend any future teams doing that.

I give this race 5 cats. No doubt about it.

Waiting for a hand-off at night. L to R: John Paul, Jason, Cathy, Leeanne, Mickel, T.R., Brendan, Beth, Bob.


Wicked Board 2012If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or just want to say “hello” feel free to email us:

President: Tim [email protected]

Past President: Shari [email protected]

Vice President: T.R. [email protected]

Treasurer: Rich [email protected]

Secretary: Dawn [email protected]

Membership Director: Tennille [email protected]

Clothing Director: Jay [email protected]

Member-at-Large: Alison [email protected]

Member-at-Large: John [email protected]

Non-Board Positions

Newsletter Editor: Michele [email protected]

Grand Prix Series Co-Coordinator:T.R. [email protected]

Grand Prix Series Co-Coordinator:Rich [email protected]

Webmasters: Tim Short, Tennille Doyle [email protected] [email protected]

Social Activities Coordinator: Tennille Doyle [email protected]

Get to Know Your Board

Name: Tim Short • Board Position: President • Years in WRC: 6 years

Fun in the Club: Some of the best moments I’ve had with Wicked comes when I get to participate in relays. Whether it’s the Club Challenge 26x1 mile Marathon Relay, Lynn Woods Relay, Lake Winnipesaukee or Mill Cities, each of them offer me a chance to meet up with other members that I don’t normally get to hang out with. This is especially true for Lake Winni.

Runner’s High: Breaking 1 hour in the 2003 Newburyport 10 Miler will always be a special moment in my running life. This was the last race my dad was able to come to before he passed away in 2004. Crossing the finish line and being able to celebrate this accomplishment with both my dad and mom is a memory that I’ll always cherish.

Favorite book and/or TV show: I’m a big fan of BurnNotice. I started watching this show on Netflix and was hooked instant-

ly. Looking forward to the new season starting in June!

Running shoe brand: Nike

Guilty pleasure: StarWars! If I could watch the movies everyday I would. Nothing better than watching Jedi take down battle droids.

wrr may 2012

Documents

big sur challenge

big sur california marathon

boston burner

boston qualifying finish

bus start

mile downhill start

days wasnt

bq time