Race #8 of the Grand Pricks Series, #6
Running with scissors, Friends
This is Race #8 installment in the twenty one race series. Most running mags who report on these races center around who won and quick times. This blog revolves around the seamy underbelly in each race; the also-rans: the has-beens: the crippled: the infirm: the insane.
These are my people. Read on.
Canton, Massachusetts
Kinda busy this weekend,
And the Canton Fall Classic was wedged in the middle of things. So with the clock ticking I literally zipped in, ran it, and left.
I post register, get my number and swanky long sleeved t-shirt. Share a few chuckles over a picture of Runner X. I see a heavy turnout of Colonials for this Harvey Blonder organized Masterpiece for their Grand Prix Series.
Great organization, wonderful volunteers and a challenging course make this race an annual must attend event.
The first three miles are generally down hill from Washington Street down to the Neponset River and Interstate 93 next to the Milton-Hoosick Club and three miles uphill back.
I queue up find Tresa Casaletto, Sarah Winkley, and J.G.
After the start gun goes off together we pick through the crowd.
Suddenly I’m alone, I hate it when J.G. hangs back. He’s waay faster than me. It’s like swimming in shark infested water. Sooner or later he’s going to get me.
Ahead I spy Runner X, New England's all time toughest runner: Judy Ramvos, Manny Arruda, Gail Martin and I work my way up there.
Further ahead is Dave Martin, Nancy MacDonald, Ted Ridout.
First Mile 7:24, Miles two and three: a pair of 7:22s for 22:09. After Two, Rick Bayko passes me, I study his gait and marvel at the efficiency, each footfall is relaxed and seemingly without effort and he's passing me!
Mile four is when the serious fun begins – uphill. I tag along with Nancy Mac and Steve Pepe through four at 30:22 on Elm Street and we take turns passing each other up to mile five on Dedham Street for 38:20.
On Dedham Street it’s a long gentle downhill back to the Washington Street finish and Nancy, Ted, Dave, Steve all pull away, again, leaving me and I’m alone again.
I muster everything I got, knowing that J.G. is right behind me waiting for the right moment to strike. But not today.
Cross the finish and back to the truck.
Now, with runners still streaming in Pete Brook and I make our exit.
Fly home, shower, change, hop on the scoot and head over to Boston Harley–Davidson for their annual Halloween Muscular Dystrophy Charity Run from their fancy Everett showroom to downtown Salem. Every year this popular motorcycle event raises a hundred thousand dollars for Muscular Dystrophy Research.
There I meet my good friend Kevin Dowd who just won a 2006 Harley Road King and joined the Boston Harley Owners Group (HOG). Kevin is known to the group as: “the guy who won the bike”. The Boston HOG’s organize this event and help the police block intersections along the route for the thousands of bikes making the Run. At the appointed time Kevin and I head over to where the HOGs are lined up with the escort police motorcycles. Each HOG rider is supposed to get paired off with a cop.
We arrive late and find everyone already paired off and the HOG Road Captain simply tells Kevin and I to ride along and help out where we can.
The lead of this group is to ride ahead to Salem with a van that is taking a group of kids with Muscular Dystrophy (Parade Grand Marshall’s) to Salem. At noon we pull out with the escort police bikes sirens wailing with a dozen plus HOGs and the van.
At each intersection a cop and a couple of HOG volunteers pull off to block each intersection to let the group through.
Since we don’t have an assignment, we tag along with the van, out onto 93 north we go, police sirens ahead wailing, cars pulling out of the way, and Kevin and I ahead of the van now weaving through traffic behind the police with the biggest shit-eating grins on our faces all the way to an empty downtown Salem parking lot an hour ahead of the Biker Run.
We hang out in Salem, take in the sights, and a hour later we hear the wail of the sirens announcing the arrival of the tour. Thousands and thousands of bikes stream into Salem under police escort and we’re there to watch it all. Kevin and I haven’t stopped smiling. In fact, Kevin hasn’t stopped smiling since picking his raffle grand prize scooter.