Harriers Take Three of
Four at Bridge of Flowers
Led by Mike Brouillette,
Meg Mathews, and Sheila Masaon, the Harriers won three
of the four team titles at the 29th annual
Bridge of Flowers 10K on August 11th to debut
our new team uniforms in impressive fashion. Remarkably
cool weather (58 degrees just before the start) and an
enthusiastic crowd of spectators made for a picture
perfect run over the infamous Shelburne Falls course
(still with only one hill).
Mike placed 7th
overall in 33:07 only a couple of minutes behind a trio
of world class Ethiopians, right there with some of the
best runners New England has to offer.
Dave Burnham wasn’t far behind in
12th in 34:14 as the local standout, the day
before he leaves for engineering grad school in Texas,
continues to return to form. Joe
Hegarty was close
behind in 13th in 34:20 while Carlos Rivera
(19th in 35:22) and Joe Fois (27th
in 37:28) rounded out the team scoring to nip the
Central Mass Striders by 39 seconds.
Meg was equally
impressive on the women’s side with a 6th
place 39:46 while also chasing a couple of world class
Ethiopians and mixing it up with several elite area road racers.
Heather Wenninger (11th in 41:17), Abby Woods (12th
in 41:24) and Sheila Mason (13th in 41:36)
finished within seconds of each other and together with
Dawn Roberts (19th in 43:10) combined for a
comfortable victory over the Central Mass Striders.
Sheila also placed 2nd
among the masters women, trailing only former Polish
national team member Zofia Wieciorkowska (39:12), while
leading the Harrier masters women to the team crown.
Kathy Lynch was 5th in 44:49 followed by
Judy
Williams (55:03), Bobbi Smith (1:04:22) and
Doris
Aronson (1:13:23) who’s been running one way or another
for 75 years.
Using two seniors to
score, a depleted masters men’s team still managed a
third place finish behind the victorious Sugarloaf
Mountain Athletic Club and Central Mass Striders.
Peter Fratini led the way finishing 9th among the
masters in 38:56 followed by Elvin Torres (40:29), 5th
place senior Rich Clark (41:22), Bill Rowe (42:33) and
senior Cliff Bresett (44:27).
2007 Summer
Sizzlers Draw to a Close
The
final Summer Sizzler will be held this Wednesday August
29th on the 8K road course. Last chance to
vie for one of those hard to get age records or PRs.
Remember that any club member who sets an age record is
rewarded with a $50 gift certificate to Fast Feet, Inc.
(non-club members get a $10 certificate). All the age
records for both courses are listed on the Harrier web
site. After the race everyone is invited for pizza at
the Red Rose, to socialize with your fellow Harriers and
thank the volunteers who made this season such a
success, especially race director Kathy Lynch.
Teams, Teams and More Teams
Several
top notch road races are on tap this fall and the
Harriers will be there.
Monday,
September 3rd, New Haven, CT. First up is
the USATF Men’s and Women’s 20K National Championships
on Labor Day. Starting and finishing on the green in New
Haven it will be the 30th anniversary of this
well regarded race. The law firm of Stratton Faxon is
the name sponsor. New Balance commemorative technical
t-shirts to the first 5,000 entries, numerous bands
along the course, refreshments, and of course the chance
to run along side America’s best distance runners.
Well, maybe not quite along side… The championship is
open men and women only (although all ages are welcome)
and the club with thus pay entry fees for open men and
women. But please let us know ASAP so we can enter at
the pre-race price. There is also a 5K fun run.
Saturday,
September 8th, Boston, MA. The New England
Grand Prix returns at the Ollie Road Race, the 8K
Championship. All of our teams are doing well so let’s
have a strong showing in our new uniforms. Call Fast
Feet, Inc. or Art or Pete to enter. Open men and women, masters men and
women, senior and veterans. For current team and
individual standings go to our web site.
Sunday, September 16th,
Providence, RI. The CVS Downtown 5K Yet another USATF
National Championship in our back yard, only an hour
away. Again the championship is for open men and women
but all ages are welcome to enter. The Harriers will
again be fielding teams (remember last year?!!!) so
please let us know if you are interested. And by the
way, there are a variety of youth races as well as a
high school 3K with a chance to earn your high school
$500. Check out the race web site at
www.cvsdowntown5k.com
Sunday, September 23rd,
Harvard, MA. The New England 10 Mile Championships at
the 16th annual Apple Harvest Ramble. The
next to the last race in the 2007 Grand Prix. All New
England clubs will be trying to gain points in all the
divisions, including the Harriers.
Monday, October 8th,
Boston, MA The 31st Annual Tufts Health Plan
10K for Women. Quite simply one of the best races in
the country. Elite runners from around the country will
join over 7,000 others in a celebration of women’s
running. It is also the USATF National 10K Women’s
Championships and the Harriers will send teams, open
and masters. Won’t we?!?!
Saturday, December 8th,
West Chester, OH. Voice of America Park. It ain’t San
Francisco but the Harriers will again be sending teams
to the annual USATF National Club Cross Country
Championships. Planning is underway so save the date
and schedule appropriately.
Volunteers,
Volunteers,
and More Volunteers
We’re trying to put together 5 person
committees for the following events sponsored by the
Harriers. Snowstorm Classics 2007-2008, Walter Childs
Holyoke Marathon for 2008, Harrier 4th of
July race 2008, Summer Sizzlers 2008. Anyone willing
and able, please let us know. Our club is only as
successful as its members make it.
Underdog Road Race, September 5th
We’re planning on
bringing back the Underdog Road Race on the Summer
Sizzler 8K course in Forest Park on Wednesday, September
8th. Starts at 6:00 pm. Stay tuned.
We hope that you have enjoyed
this edition of the
Harrier e-news. Please let
us know if you have any
comments or suggestions as
to how we can
improve upon this effort.
