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Baystate Marathon and Half Marathon (10/18/2009) | |
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Baystate Marathon and Half Marathon Lowell, MA October 18, 2009 Sunday, October 18, 2009. 40 degree temperatures. 20mph winds. Rain. Nor'easter. Most of the state slept in, made a Dunkin Donuts run, and killed time indoors until the Pats kicked off. A few dozen CRC runners and spectators traveled to Lowell on Sunday for the Baystate Marathon and Half Marathon. The day began with a 5:00am wake-up and another check of the Doppler: the green blob was still headed for Lowell. The runners met in the Tsongas arena before the race, exchanged nervous greetings, and walked to the start line. Puddles were already forming in the chaotic starting corral at 8:00am. For the first 90 minutes of the race, the conditions were tame. Blustery wind and a few raindrops did little to slow CRC's march along the Merrimack River. At miles 3 and 13 on the loop course, a huge and enthusiastic group of CRC spectators (at least a dozen - maybe 20?) cheered on the passing runners, sipped coffee and orange juice discreetly, and put the rest of the timid spectators to shame. By 9:30, however, the wind had grown fiercer and the roads wetter. Drawing on months of long runs and track work, 16 CRC marathoners and 6 half marathoners pushed toward the finish. At mile 23 of the marathon, the CRC group cheered again, this time as wet and cold as the runners. Fueled by their cheers, the runners pushed on, directly into the strengthening northeasterly wind, toward the finish line (conveniently located inside a minor league baseball stadium). Success! After the race, the runners gulped down bowls of chicken broth and ate bags of potato chips. The results were impressive: Justin ran a 13-minute PR, Becky PR'd by 10 minutes and took home an age group prize, and Joe "Highway" Cattell laid down an impressive marathon debut. Kimberly ran a big PR, as did Jon Dovev, whose progression continues after several CRC marathons. Emily McCloskey PR'd and qualified for Boston, and Geoff Philbrick PR'd and broke the 4:00 barrier. In the half, Meghan Weaver ran a gutsy race right out of the gate to take 5th in her age group (out of 212). And Jen Baima, in the midst of training for her first marathon (Philly in mid-November - mark your calendars) ran a break-through 1:46 half, including a near-world record Mile 10 split as she picked off competitors on Rourke Bridge. In the team standings, CRC took 6th of 27 on the men's side, and 6th of 16 on the women's side. Collectively, CRC took first (and set a USATF-NE record) for most post-race calories consumed, with several members PR'ing despite hitting the wall at U Burger after the race. The runners would like to extend a big thank you to all of the spectators for braving the elements to cheer us on (particularly Todd); to Tammy Feldman for hosting an excellent post-race party; to pacers like Jon Puz, Bernat, and Joe Shapiro for their contributions to our PR's; to Meredith Stanford for coordinating race-day logistics and the already-legendary pre-marathon party; and to Coach Scott Cody, who may have run 26.2 miles of his own as he crisscrossed the course to cheer on his runners.
Report entered by Anonymous |