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Race three of the Grand Pricks Series, #6
“Reality Sets In”
This is the third race 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.
Marshfield, MA, August 27, 2006
It was
great to see Pete
Buhl
running something greater than 10 miles.
Ali Abbas
was there too.
Peter Orni, Charlie
Farrington, Ted Ridout, Richard Paulson, Peter THE RAT Wallan, Larry Morris, Ron
Trippett, Ray Boutotte
and his Amazing Technicolor Dream Running Shorts,
My
heroes all. As in, all faster than me AND ten plus years older!
Rumor
has it that the streaker,
Runner X
might have been sighted.
Everyone
lived. Not one ambulance was called. You know you’re involved in something
dangerous when you hear ambulances screaming by with an injured runner aboard.
The
first two races of this series were simply a tease. A sneaky way to lure
runner’s uninitiated in what a
RAT SERIES is about.
Hey,
Mike Tammaro
and Kevin Guarnotta
you listening?
Khoury’s offered a hint: atrocious hot weather and a demanding course.
Lowell has a hill, but it’s a party race, lets face it. Not that there is
anything wrong with that.
For the
few who showed up at the
New London 11.6 miler, a bonus race,
they got
a bitter taste of the terror that awaits.
Terror
like being confronted by a wild eyed, knife welding, crack head mugger in
Central Park at midnight.
The
Marshfield 20K, is the first official real distance race in the series
that is a difficult S.O.B.
A
bruiser.
The
weather took the edge off it though, pleasant temperatures in the upper sixties
with a slight breeze. Perfect running conditions.
In
previous years this killer race went off at noon amid temps and humidity in the
80’s.
“The
course starts at the Forest Street entrance to the Marshfield High School. It
begins with one loop around the High School (all loops are counter clockwise)
before heading up Forest Street. Follow Forest Street to a left turn on to Oak
Street. At the end of Oak Street take a left on Union Street. Follow Union
Street to a left turn on Pine Street. Follow Pine Street (this is a gradual 1
mile hill) to a left turn on Valley Path. Follow Valley Path which turns into
Highland Street. There is a NASTY hill on Highland Street. Follow Highland
Street straight onto Union Street. Follow Union Street to Pine Street (again!).
Follow Pine Street to right turn on Forest Street. From here it's a gradual
downhill to the finish!!”
How
do you like that? MRR folks don’t want to scare too many people away.
Lets read between the lines
shall we?
The course begins with a loop around the High School,
like
the Australian soldiers at
Gallipoli, on parade, before marching off to their Turkish doom.
Heading up Forest Street,
a polite
way a saying “one grinder uphill”.
The
one mile Pine Street gradual uphill; gradual my arse, I strained my neck
looking so far up that hill.
-Remember the MRR folks are hard-core runners and when THEY say a NASTY
hill on Highland Street, you better believe it.-
Another loop with the NASTY Hill on Highland Street and back to run the
Pine Street hill again, just in case you forgot how painful running a gradual
1-mile uphill can be.
Oh,
and a gradual downhill to the finish.
Just what a runner (me) needs to see after churning out a Personal Record time
(1:45:59) on this 12.5 mile course,
a
half mile downhill sprint to the finish in the vain hope you can catch the
runner ahead-
Schneider!
Two
grandpa’s battling it out yet again.
and what
happens…
Marianne Withingiton
is what happened,
J.G.
wanted to catch her at the finish.
There we
were, after 12 blistering miles, sprinting, arms flailing, running on the balls of
our feet, in-line, like some amphetamine fueled, out of control wedding
conga-line, each desperately trying to catch the next.
This, the by the way is only mention that at some point you gotta race downhill.
A
fiendish omission to say the least.
Oak
Street and Union Streets?
Forgetaboudit, quadriceps shredding straight ski-slope downhill.
Larry Olsen
would love this course. He once told me “never hold back running downhill, take
advantage of it, run it as fast as you can”
Very
nice MRR…you diabolical bastards!
This
course is the very definition of the RAT Series.
Well
Done! Marshfield Road Runners!
NOW,
the series has started.
Who’s ready?
For
the
Cape Ann 25K, Labor Day, series race #4, You will hear ambulances if
you run this one.
A
puny little 4 miler interrupting your marathon training in Norwood, The 4th
Annual Caritas Norwood Hospital 4 Mile Road Race, 9/16/06 #5,
Then
TWO Marathons (The Demar and The New Hampshire) SIX DAYS APART!
And
this is only six races into the 21 races series!
Wicked!
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